June 20, 1931
Code:
NATIONAL LEAGUE STANDINGS
NORTHERN W L PCT GB
Boston 42 29 .592 --
Brooklyn 42 29 .592 --
Pittsburgh 37 34 .521 5
New York G 36 35 .507 6
New York Y 35 36 .493 7
Philadelphia 34 37 .479 8
MID-EAST W L PCT GB
Cincinnati 42 29 .592 --
Washington 40 31 .563 2
Baltimore 33 38 .465 9
Cleveland 33 38 .465 9
Detroit 29 42 .408 13
Milwaukee 23 48 .324 19
AMERICAN LEAGUE STANDINGS
CONTINENTAL W L PCT GB
Seattle 45 26 .634 --
Kansas City 34 37 .479 11
St. Louis 34 37 .479 11
Chicago C 33 38 .465 12
Portland 33 38 .465 12
Chicago W 29 42 .408 16
PACIFIC W L PCT GB
San Francisco 44 27 .620 --
Oakland 39 32 .549 5
Hollywood 37 34 .521 7
Sacramento 35 36 .493 9
Los Angeles 32 39 .451 12
San Diego 31 40 .437 13
Three tight divisional races gave baseball fans plenty to enjoy during the first half of the 1931 season. Defending Northern Division champion Boston is locked in a dandy duel with up-and-coming Brooklyn, while the resurgent Cincinnati Reds are barely holding off the hard-hitting Senators in the Mid-East. And, out West, the San Francisco Seals are out to an early lead over last year's regular season sensation, the Oakland Oaks.
The Red Sox are once again reaping the benefits of a talented young pitching staff, with
Jesse Hester and
Satchel Paige off to great starts.
Jay Green, Paul James, and outfielder
Maurice Archdeacon key the Sox offense. Archdeacon, one of this season's biggest surprises, has kept his batting average in the neighborhood of .340 all year long.
Brooklyn's hard-hitting attack is led, as usual, by
Mike Dickey, who on May 4 became the first player in major league history to accumulate 2500 hits.
Mel Ott, who leads both leagues in home runs, and
Larry Bettencourt provide first-rate assistance.
Several stars have been bitten by the injury bug this year, some of them very hard. Cincinnati slugger
Dale Alexander broke his ankle two weeks ago and will miss the remainder of the season, putting a formidable obstacle in the way of the Reds' path to the pennant. "Moose" was hitting .335, with 11 homers and 36 RBI, when he was stricken.
When the season began, St. Louis'
Wally Berger looked like he was picking up right where he left off last year. Berger, who set new ML records with 59 home runs and 175 RBI in 1930, smashed three circuit clouts and drove in 9 runs in the Cardinals' first six games. Then, Berger injured his neck--the initial diagnosis is nerve damage--and he, like Alexander, will be out for the year.
Berger should be back as good as ever, but such is not the case for the Athletics'
Max Bishop. Known as "Camera Eye" for his impeccable strike zone judgment, Bishop was up to his usual tricks, with a .408 OBP, when he fractured his elbow. At age 31, Bishop now faces the end of his playing career.
There's happier news out of San Francisco, where veteran pitcher
Colton Blanton is still going strong at age 40. On May 29, Blanton became the second pitcher to win 200 games in his career when he defeated the Chicago White Sox. Blanton's record at that point was 200-144, with a 3.34 career ERA. The only pitcher with more wins than Blanton is
Hector Orozoco of the Reds, who is struggling to come back from a back injury at age 39.
The inaugural major league All-Star Game will be played today at Cincinnati's Crosley Field. Here are the rosters for the American and National League All-Stars:
Code:
NATIONAL LEAGUE
SP Sloppy Thurston PIT 13-1, 2.54
SP Mike Chase NYG 11-3, 2.94, 85 K
SP Jesse Hester BOS 10-4, 2.63
SP Tommy Bridges PHI 8-7, 2.66
SP Claude Jonnard WAS 10-2, 2.97
SP Dave Gates WAS 9-3, 2.09, 1.00 WHIP
SP Satchel Paige BOS 9-9, 3.25, 116 K
SP Joe Heving CIN 8-3, 3.41, 11 SV
SP Randy Lynch NYG 3-4, 2.18, 9 SV
SP Greg Skinner BAL 6-2, 2.05, 6 SV
C Ernie Lombardi WAS .336-2-40
C Gabby Hartnett CLE .321-7-44
1B Mike Dickey BKN .360-1-41
1B Lou Gehrig PIT .312-18-54
1B Owen Hall MIL .314-4-36
2B Charlie Gehringer WAS .304-10-41
2B Jay Green BOS .307-10-60
2B Tony Lazzeri PIT .273-11-49
3B Larry Bettencourt BKN .327-13-54
3B Paul James BOS .322-5-37
LF Mule Suttles WAS .357-17-57
LF Jigger Statz NYY .363-3-27
CF Al Simmons NYY .312-14-43
CF Bob Fothergill WAS .366-6-54
RF Mel Ott BKN .313-22-63
RF Paul Waner DET .350-4-34
AMERICAN LEAGUE
SP Whit Wyatt SF 11-3, 3.19
SP Colton Blanton SF 9-3, 3.06
SP Hod Lisenbee SEA 9-2, 2.36
SP Carl Hubbell HOL 9-6, 3.74, 82 K
SP Bill Foster KC 8-5, 2.90, 92 K
SP Ray Brown CHW 6-4, 2.71
SP Jonathon Vance SAC 6-5, 2.45
RP Brennan Thomas SEA 4-1, 2.49, 9 SV
RP Alex Carey SF 1-3, 3.60, 7 SV
RP Lance Thompson SEA 4-4, 3.02, 9 SV
C Mickey Cochrane STL .307-7-45, .395 OBP
C Tim Stephens OAK .300-1-21
C Henry Harris POR .352-1-30
1B Joe Hauser HOL .291-14-47
1B Del Bissonette LA .290-11-42
2B Billy Herman HOL .337-5-29
2B Doc Farrell CHC .300-9-46
3B Bill Akers LA .270-10-43
3B Ed Morgan CHC .293-8-32
SS Jose Garcia SD .300-13-36, 19 SB
SS Jose Carlos SF .348-1-28, 31 SB
LF Heinie Manush OAK .299-8-47
LF Arnold Burns HOL .331-3-40
CF Earl Averill STL .352-10-57
CF Cool Papa Bell SD .317-2-26, 41 SB
CF Earle Combs SF .358-1-25
RF Chuck Klein POR .309-18-55