Here is a game-by-game look at Mike O'Farrell's performance as a member of the 1938 Boston Red Sox:
Code:
DATE OPP IP H R ER BB K DEC
9/7/38 PHI 6.2 6 3 3 6 4
9/12/38 DET 7.2 8 2 2 2 4 W
9/16/38 STL 7 6 3 3 3 6
9/21/38 CHI 7.1 9 3 2 2 6 W
9/25/38 CLE 9 10 5 5 0 3 W
The Red Sox have to be satisfied with the way this young righthander pitched after his recall from Minneapolis. He gave the Red Sox a solid outing every time he took the hill, and in fact, he was the team's most dependable starter during the month of September. Mike was the only member of the rotation who wasn't shelled at least once while the team was fighting the Tigers and Yankees for the pennant.
Despite the fact that he retains his rookie status, Mike has enough service time that he doesn't appear on the league's list of the 100 best prospects. I'm guessing that, if he did, he would rank among the four most promising young pitchers in baseball, along with Bob Feller of the Indians, Leon Day of the Tigers, and Victor Starffin of the Giants.
O'Farrell and Starffin, who has completed four full seasons in the major leagues and is an established star at age 22, are the only members of the precocious quartet who have pitched in a major league game. Day and Feller both tore up the minors this season, and while both were added to their team's rosters for September, neither computer manager saw fit to actually let them pitch. Both Feller and Day are wild as March hares right now--Feller walked 138 men in 156 innings at AAA--but they both have the talent of an ace. Rapid Robert racked up 184 strikeouts, while Day notched 188 in 160 frames.