Brooklyn Dodgers: An Alternate History

[DonnieBaseball]

Game 4 loss 2-1 puts the Dodgers backs to the wall !!

Temperature: 51F
Wind: Calm
Attendance: 58,714

Now down 3-1 in the series !!

Bottom of the first Larry Doby scores Les Fleming off of Dodger pitcher Don Newcombe. 1-0 lead for the Indians.

Top third, Gil Hodges doubled in the right field gap, scoring pitcher Don Newcombe. 1-1

Bottom of the fifth Al Rosen flied out to right, Les Fleming tagged up and reached home, scoring a run. 2-1 Cleveland.

And thats how it would stay...Bob Lemon surrendered just 7 hits and no walks over a full 9 innings.

Newcombe pitched great as well, but came up a bit short.

So Dodger fans it looks tough but we aint beat yet, as they say on the streets of Brooklyn.

Hold your chin up and root for the Dodgers in game 5 !!!

[DonnieBaseball]

Dodgers take game 5 !!!

A 9-5 final insures a Game 6 in Brooklyn !!!

Kirby Higbe gets the win behind Home runs by Campanella, Arky Vaughn ,Duke Snider and Pete Reiser.


Pete Reiser has 2 homeruns this World Series and hit a two run shot in the First and the Dodgers didnt look back.

Cleveland rallied late for 4 runs but the lead was too much.



So The Indians and Brooklyn return to Ebbets where the Dodgers look to get some magic for 2 more wins !!



Lets hope we have it in us because game 6 starter is Bob Feller !!

[DonnieBaseball]

Game six was one for the ages....

Temperature: 50F
Wind: 4 MPH (left to right)
Attendance: 32,000 ** Sell Out **

Not one hit for 4 innings as Bob Feller and Ralph Branca sat down guys like waiters.



Bottom 5 and Feller looks like the Hall of Famer he will probably one day be....untill he faces Spider Jorgensen who homered to deep left-center. 1-0 Dodgers....Followed by :
Roy Campanella doubled over the left fielder.
Arky Vaughan walked.
Ralph Branca bunts for a base hit down the first base line.
Pete Reiser singled to center for two RBIs. 3-0 Dodgers.



Pete Reiser would get a huge ovation when he takes the field again. This young man could probably win the popular vote in Brooklyn for president tonight !!

But Cleveland wouldnt die....

Top 6 and Branca finally gets hit....

Al Rosen and Eddie Robinson both get RBIs and it is a 3-2 ball game....

Hank Behrman came in and stopped a threat in the ninth and the Dodgers win 3-2 to tie the Series 3 games to 3 !!



Behrman picks up his 2nd post season save and has pitched 5 scoreless innings this post season. He was 5-3 with a MLB leading 20 saves and a 3.06 ERA this year. Here's to hoping he gets a chance again tommorow night to save the Dodgers game 7 lead !!

See you tommorow fans with a full recap of game 7 !!!!!!!!!

[DonnieBaseball]

An Absolute Classic Game 7 !!!!!!!!!!

Temperature: 52F
Wind: 8 MPH (right to left)
Attendance: 32,000 in a sold out Ebbets Field

Hal Gregg (12-12 3.79) would get the start for Brooklyn....



With Don Newcombe (solid post season start) and Vic Lombardi (15-2 3.22) available ...Many fans were questioning Manager/GM Walter Jacobs call.

On the Cleveland side of the ball Mel Harder (15 wins and a solid post season start)



This game would be a knock down dog fight between 2 pitchers

Mel Harder - 7 Innings Pitched 3 Hits 0 Walks 1 K 0 Earned Runs
Hal Gregg - 8 Innings Pitched 2 Hits 1 Walk 5 Ks 0 Earned Runs

Bottom of the 8th and Bryan Stephens comes in.

Stephens (6-1 1.33 and 6 saves) Shuts down the Dodgers in the bottom of the 8th.

The score 0-0 Game 7 of the World Series and in comes Hank Behrman to try and hold em.

Joe Gordon lined out to center
Tommy Holmes walked.
Larry Doby laid down a sacrifice bunt to first base. Moving Holmes to 2nd.
Les Fleming popped up to third.

0 Runs 1 hit score 0-0 bottom of the ninth.

Bryan Stephens on the mound for the Indians.

Jackie Robinson drops down a bunt on the first pitch and beats it out SAFE at first.....

Up comes Pete Reiser....he has been a hero this post season so far !!

Stephens digs in and..........Jackie takes off !!!!!!

The crowd goes insane as Jackie runs hard to second.....his hat flies off and is called...............SAFE !!!

The crowd goes wild and Stephens rocks back and delivers a 0-0 fastball to Reiser...........................................................





Pete Reiser homered over the right field fence for two RBIs.

THE DODGERS WIN THE WORLD SERIES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pete Reiser rounds the bases with tears in his eyes.......unreal !!!!!!!

He hits home plate and is mobbed by the Dodgers !!!!



He fractured his skull running into the outfield wall on one occasion (but still made the throw back to the infield), was temporarily paralyzed on another and was taken off the field on a stretcher many times. *

On one occasion Pete was given his Last Rites in the ballpark. *

As a rookie in 1941, he won the National League batting title while the Dodgers took home the pennant. The following year, he was hitting .380 until he ran into the concrete outfield wall while running at full speed. That incident robbed him of any more effective play that year, and caused Brooklyn's painful drop in the NL standings. *

And now he is the most beloved man in Brooklyn !!!!

See you soon with all the off season details.....for tonight the Dodgers are champions !!!

* (all true as per wikipedia)

[DonnieBaseball]

************* Late Breaking News ***************

Pete Reiser signed a 4 year $ 25,500 a year extension in the wee hours of the morning over much champagne with Walter Jacobs



(After this World Series and those cool Wiki Stories.....how could I not ?!!?!)

[DonnieBaseball]

***** The Hot Stove *****

Welcome fans to a look at the Dodgers Off Season.

The Dodgers won the World Series and now we look to the future and hopefully Walter Jacobs can continue the winning ways in Brooklyn.

Firstly :

Eddie Stanky ,Bobby Bragan, and Howie Schultz were all let go as thier contracts expired.

31 year old Stanky is a talent no doubt but Jackie Robinson will be the future at second base. Stanky will find another home and probably be the starter.

29 year old Bobby Bragan is an adaquate back up SS and perhaps a starter on some clubs but the 4 year extension Pee Wee Reese signed earlier this year pushes Bragan out.

25 year old Howie Schultz is a solid prospect on the verge of some solid years but again, 1B is locked up by Gil Hodges so we had to part ways.

The three departures do hurt the Dodgers bench, but we have a solid young core and I would like to keep them in Brooklyn if possible. Arbitration is gonna hit me hard in a few years !!!

Next order of biz is the Dodgers staying put :

Vic Lombardi got a 4 year $ 30,000 deal...The 24 year old was 15-2 with a 3.22 ERA...It would be foolish to let him go...

Rube Melton gets a 1 year deal for $ 24,500. Melton was a decent option out of the pen. (7-1 3.63 ERA) He will get another year to hopefully bring the ERA down a bit and help secure another ring.

Hugh Casey gets a 2 year $ 24,000 deal. Casey was a disappointment last season. He was 8-4 with a 4.22 ERA. He had 12 saves with 15 blown saves.
He lost his closer role early in the year but he did have several holds setting up for new closer Hank Behrman. We will take a shot with him and hope he can excel in the set up role, at 33 this is his swan song.

Hal Gregg was also rewarded with a 1 year $30,000 extension. Gregg was 12-12 with a 3.79 ERA but he did come up huge in the World Series with an 8 inning 2 hit shut out on his only post season start. Ohhh that start was Game 7 of the World Series by the way. He is 26 and part of my philosophy is 27 is the start of most players primes, a 1 year deal is good here we believe.

***** Award Winners *****

AL Cy Young - Bob Feller 18 - 14 2.60 ERA 220 Ks
AL MVP-Charlie Keller .311 30 122 15 SB (3rd in AVG , SB 2nd in HR , RBI)
AL ROY - Larry Doby .287 29 122 5 SB

NL Cy Young - Warren Spahn 16 - 11 3.28 ERA 173 Ks
NL MVP- Ralph Kiner .300 57 148 6 SB
NL ROY - Duke Snider .306 42 133 4 SB

Brooklyn's Carl Furillo won a gold glove for OF as well.

+++++ Free Agents +++++

After the majority of players returned in 1946 they began to gripe about not being able to have open bids on thier services. The issue was heavily discussed but nothing came to pass. This year however Free Agency will take place. It is a tremendous departure from the old set up, however, if there ever was a season that changed baseball it was 1947 so why not have an open market for players as well ?

Some of the big name free agents are shocking !!!

Joe DiMaggio is the biggest name and the White Sox are heavily rumored ....

Enos Slaughter

Johnny Pesky

Allie Reynolds

Johnny Vander Meer

Preacher Roe

Phil Rizzuto

It will be interesting how it all shakes down.....and will Brooklyn get involved ?

Stay tuned.....In a day or two we will have the answers !!!

[DonnieBaseball]

As a side note I have a cool idea.....lets see how it works....

This forum is filled with some good baseball minds....Reply all you want for the next day or two and you can act as the New York Media.....

Who should we sign ??

What are your concerns ??

Is Walter Jacobs proving a good GM with the off season moves ??

I think this could be fun with some audience participation.

I will give it a day or two to see if I get any bites then I will continue with my Franchise and sign whatever free agents I will (and the "media" can sway me)


Just so you are informed my line-up as is would look like this :

C- Roy Campanella
1b - Gil Hodges
2b- Jackie Robinson
SS- Pee Wee Reese
3b - Spider Jorgensen
OF- Pete Rieser
OF- Duke Snider
OF- Carl Furillo

SP- Kirby Higbe
SP- Ralph Branca
SP- Don Newcombe
SP- Vic Lombardi
SP- Hal Gregg

CP - Hank Behrman

Well Media....thats what we have.....

Who's game to play ????

To clarify and to keep thing somewhat even I will only allow myself a maximum of 2 80+ rated players in the off season either via trade or free agency.

[DonnieBaseball]

The Off Season is done for the Dodgers....

The Big Free Agent Signing for Brooklyn was Johnny Pesky



Pesky hit .296 last season with 1 Homerun and 48 RBIs

The 28 Year old signed a 4 year $ 35,000 a year deal. He will move to Third Base in all likelyhood.

Brooklyn also traded OF Prospect Dick Whitman, SS Stan Rojeck, and Closing Prospect Mall Mallette to the Philidelphia Phillies for Pitching Prospect Curt Simmons



Simmons was 8-6 with a 3.61 ERA last year at only 18 years old. He split time between starting and relieving. He spent no time in the minors and GM Walt Jacobs said " If a kid can do what he did at 18 in the bigs...I am impressed."

Dick Whitman has all the tools to be bigtime...Some prospects have him rated as high as a 91 peak rating out of 100. He is 26 and on the verge of breaking out. Injuries kept his playing time limited last season but he played very well hitting .315 in AAA.

Stan Rojeck is a very good fielding SS with a decent bat hitting .275 in AAA last year with no errors in 129 games played !!

Mal Mallette is a 25 year old rookie who has a very live fastball and a 3.30 ERA last season in AAA.

So the Dodgers will have a bit of a new look next season.

Next Radio show will be spring training !!

[DonnieBaseball]

Spring Training Results :

Jackie Robinson .370 0 9
Johnny Pesky .377 0 8
Gil Hodges .352 2 11
Duke Snider .438 1 8
Carl Furillo .377 1 4
Pete Reiser .267 3 7
Pee Wee Resse .419 1 6
Roy Campanella .212 3 6

Kirby Higbie 3-0 1.85
Ralph Branca 2-0 3.32
Don Newcombe 3-0 2.08
Vic Lombardi 2-1 2.13
Hal Gregg 0-2 2.50

Newly acquired Curt Simmons 2-2 4.66

Closer Hank Behrman 1-0 0.59 0 saves

Looking Good this spring fans

[Silverbullet]

I am 72 years young and I grew up in Brooklyn in this era of baseball.
I saw many games at Ebbets Field, taking the train to the ballpark.
The most exciting player I ever saw was Jackie Robinson (today it is the Mets Jose Reyes).
Your Alternate History made very nostalgic and exciting reading for me.

EXCELLENT JOB.

[DonnieBaseball]

I am 72 years young and I grew up in Brooklyn in this era of baseball.
I saw many games at Ebbets Field, taking the train to the ballpark.
The most exciting player I ever saw was Jackie Robinson (today it is the Mets Jose Reyes).
Your Alternate History made very nostalgic and exciting reading for me.

EXCELLENT JOB.

Thanks Silverbullet.......That will keep me going for a long time

[DonnieBaseball]

Brooklyn wins on Opening Day Slugfest 8-7

Temperature: 54F
Wind: 2 MPH (out to right)
Attendance: 36,672

The Braves Warren Spahn didnt stick around long and niether did Kirby Higbe.

IP H BB HR R ER K PIT ERA
Kirby Higbe 5.0 6 3 0 2 2 4 109 3.60
Warren Spahn 4.0 7 2 2 4 4 3 69 9.00

The slugfest went on and on with Gil Hodges taking the batting honors of the day



Gil was 3 for 4 with 2 homeruns and 4 RBIs

Johnny Van Cuyk took the win and the save was a suprise !!
New Dodger Curt Simmons got a save when Hank Behrman was complaining of tightness in his elbow. Nothing to worry about as Hank says 3 days at most.

Well thats all for now Dodger fans.....

Next report on the radio will be April results on the young 1948 season !!!

[Silverbullet]

I also spent many a wonderful day on the beach of Coney island.
The Nathan's hot dogs were the best, washed down by a cold root beer.
Keep em coming!

[DonnieBaseball]

April sees the Dodgers at 17 - 11 and 2 games behind the Pirates.

The Dodgers are not hitting very well....The only starter to hit over .300 was Carl Furillo and he is out with a Sprained ankle for the next 5 days.

Gil Hodges is hitting .291 with 8 HRs and 24 RBIs and with Furillo is keeping the Dodgers afloat.

Dodger pitching is starting slow as well....Every starter has an ERA over 4.00 except one.

Hal Gregg is 3-0 with a 0.62 ERA in 29 IP.




Lets hope Hilda has a lot to cheer about in May.

Stay tuned for an update of May next time from Brooklyn

[DonnieBaseball]

The Dodgers go 21-8 in May but are still 2 games back of Pittsburgh.

The Dodgers went 6-2 against the Pirates this month but the Pirates remained red hot going 21-8 as well.

Al Kaline is on a torrid pace .323 25 HRs and 75 RBIs.

2 former Cardinals and New Pirates Whitey Kurowski and Enos Slaughter are helping out both batting over .300 and another new Pirate Phil Rizzuto is hitting over .300 as well.

The Pirates will be tough to catch with an offense like that !!

The Dodgers are getting some good play as well....

Roy Campanella is hitting .303 21 HRs and 51 RBIs
Carl Furillo is batting .360 13 HRs and 39 RBIs

and the Pitching has been tremendous....

Higbe 3-0 3.06
Branca 3-1 3.29
Simmons 5-1 3.68
Gregg 6-1 1.67

Struggling Don Newcombe was sent down to AAA to make room for the newly acquired Bill Wight.



The New York Yankees acquired Dixie Walker and Joe Landrum in return.

Walker, an aging OF who still has some pop in his bat didn't fit into the OF picture in Brooklyn and Landrum, a 19 year old rookie had a great year so far in rookie ball with a big upside.

Bill Wight is a 26 year old pitcher with a live curve ball and will be mainly out of the bullpen with some spot starts.

In other Dodger News... Branch Rickey announces that the Dodgers have signed an agreement with Bud Holman and the city of Vero Beach to rent 104 acres of a former pre-war municipal airport.

The AAA affiliate will be based out of Vero Beach.

Look for June Results next time fans....