[Big Six]

January 1, 1937

Let's take a look at the list of the 20 best players in the big leagues:

PLAYER                 TEAM  AGE   LY    AVG  HR  RBI
 1  Josh Gibson         POR   24    1   .346  35   96
 2  Lou Gehrig          PIT   33    3   .358  50  134
 3  Harlond Clift       DET   24    6   .327  26  105
 4  Buck Leonard        NYY   29    2   .332  28   96
 5  Joe DiMaggio        SAC   22   13   .336  24  113
 6  Arky Vaughan        CHW   24   10   .381  17  112
 7  Bob McBryde         WAS   24   NR   .362   9   84
 8  Chuck Klein         POR   32    8   .359  41  138
 9  Jimmie Foxx         KC    29    7   .294  40  103
10  Earl Averill        STL   34    4   .321  24   78
11  Charlie Gehringer   WAS   33    5   .304  11   97
12  Hank Greenberg      MIL   26   NR   .375  34  100
13  Cool Papa Bell      SD    33   20   .383   2   83
14  Johnny Mize         DET   23   11   .299  29  101
15  Roy Weatherly       POR   21   NR   .353  22  126
16  Jim Bottomley       WAS   36   16   .355  27  129
17  Dave LaPointe       HOL   23   NR   .345   4   59
18  Ray Dandridge       POR   23   NR   .348   6   72
19  Buzz Boyle          BOS   28   18   .340  15   89
20  Joe Medwick         BRO   25   17   .363  21  116

• I can't understand how Chuck Klein can be so low on this list. The fact that his Contact rating has dropped from 18 to 16 must have something to do with it. Still, I'll be surprised if, at the end of next season, there are eight players I'd rather have on my team than Chuck Klein.
  
  
• McBryde and LaPointe are the only two fictional players on the list.
  
  
• Hank Greenberg had a monster year, didn't he? He slugged .655 and hit 64 doubles, only three behind Owen Hall's all-time single season record. It might not be a coincidence that both Hall and Greenberg were/are Milwaukee Braves first basemen. County Stadium allows more doubles than the average park by a factor of 1.082.
  
  
• Some of you might be wondering what happened to Al Simmons. He hit .304 with 24 home runs, 117 RBI, and an .850 OPS, which would be a great year for most players. For Simmons, a lifetime .345 hitter with a career OPS of .967, that qualifies as somewhat of a disappointment. He'll be 34 when the season begins and, like Klein, his bat is showing the first small signs of slowing down.

Next up: the 20 best pitchers in major league baseball:

PITCHER                TEAM  AGE   LY   W-L     ERA   K
 1  Satchel Paige       BOS   30    4   21-9   2.69  234
 2  Tommy Bridges       PHI   30    1   22-11  3.14  209
 3  Dizzy Dean          WAS   26    6   18-16  3.79  256
 4  Gene Schott         KC    23   12   17-11  3.45  113
 5  Whit Wyatt          SF    29    5   11-12  2.95  104
 6  Stephen Jennings    CHC   25   11   11-11  3.35  125
 7  Cliff Melton        SD    24   NR   12-5   2.73  109
 8  Carl Hubbell        HOL   33    2   18-14  3.83  134
 9  Quincy Dorst        CHC   37    3   13-7   2.66  120
10  Ed Brandt           BOS   31    7   21-10  3.60  147
11  Johnny Allen        SEA   32    8   14-12  4.17  127
12  Ray Brown           CHW   28   10   14-12  3.66  167
13  Spud Chandler       LA    29   NR   8-9    3.44   79
14  Mike Crawford       BAL   40   13   13-17  3.42   94
15  Dutch Leonard       SD    27   15   13-11  3.47   60
16  Roy Weir            SD    26   NR   14-8   3.69  140
17  Fred Barnes         SAC   28   16   11-19  3.96  121
18  Bill Swift          NYY   28    9   13-15  4.54   90
19  Paul Baker          POR   28   17   17-10  3.75  111
20  Jim Turner          NYG   33   NR   11-9   3.71   57

• What does this system have against Pat Caraway? I think he's one of the best five pitchers in the league. No offense to Paul Baker, who's good, but Caraway is the ace of the Portland staff.
  
  
• Melton, Chandler, and Turner were part of a fine group of pitchers who made their debuts immediately after they were chosen in the 1936 rookie draft. Another newcomer, Milwaukee's Lou Fette, went 13-6 and posted a 2.17 ERA. Fette barely worked enough innings to claim the NL ERA title. I almost slipped up and called this foursome a "fine group of young pitchers." That's not true; only Melton is young.
  
  
• Jennings, Dorst, Crawford, Barnes, and Baker are fictional players. I thought Barnes was real for the longest time, until I looked him up and didn't find him.
  
  
• Mike Crawford won exactly half the games he needed to reach 300 victories and currently stands at 287. His skills haven't eroded at all in several years, so I think he's got a shot at reaching his goal. The poor quality of the Orioles team is the biggest factor working against him, however. If he played for the Beavers, the Oaks, the Red Sox, or the Senators, he'd win 13 games with ease.

And here are the ten best prospects in the game:

PROSPECT               TEAM  AGE  POS
 1  Bob Feller          NYG   18   P
 2  Willard Brown       CHC   21   CF
 3  Ty Lewis            CHW   22   2B
 4  Valentyn Santos     NYG   22   P
 5  Chris McPhee        POR   23   CF
 6  Hal Trosky          CHC   24   1B
 7  Bobby Doerr         BOS   18   2B
 8  Tommy Henrich       STL   23   RF
 9  Al Cuccinello       OAK   22   2B
10  Bill Nicholson      SF    22   RF

• Feller pitched enough in the majors that I wouldn't put him on the list if he wasn't so young. He began the year at AAA Jersey City, where he went 4.3, 2.68, striking out 69 men in 57 innings. Promoted to a bad Giants team, Rapid Robert went 11-6 with a 4.16 ERA and struck out 132 men in 180 innings. He walked 102 batters, but I think that's the price you'll have to pay for Bob's electrifying stuff. Oddly enough, I just noticed that Feller imported with a 87-89 MPH fastball. I played Great Baseball Deity and bumped his velocity up 10 MPH or so.
  
  
• Brown spent half the year with the Nashville Vols (AAA), hitting .279-9-60. Upon his promotion to the Cubs, he was even better (.297-2-13 in 111 AB). He needs to learn to command the strike zone better, but that can be said for almost every hitter his age.
  
  
• Ty Lewis spent the entire season with the White Sox, who found 142 at bats for him as a reserve infielder and a pinch hitter. He did well, hitting .310 with 24 RBI, and he stole nine bases. Look for him to play every day at second next year, because all-time great Wilton Schmitt plans to retire.
  
  
• Santos doesn't have as much stuff as Feller (who does?) but his command and control are both more refined. This Venezuelan righthander won five of six decisions with Jersey City (AAA) and earned a promotion to New York, where he went 5-6 with a 4.64 ERA.
  
  
• McPhee, too, spent a lot of time in the big leagues, hitting .303-5-52 in 264 AB for Portland, stealing bases, and fielding brilliantly. He's a keeper, and as he develops his batting eye, he should be a prototypical leadoff man.
  
  
• I don't know what the Cubs are thinking. Trosky hit .364/.431/.580 for Nashville, with 20 homers and 114 RBI. He's been named the Oustanding AAA Hitter for two straight seasons. Unless the Cubs plan on grooming Hal to be the governor of Tennessee instead of their starting first baseman, they need to get him to the majors, and soon. Gus Suhr isn't that good, folks. (Should the Deity force a trade?)
  
  
• Doerr toyed with AA pitchers down at Hartford, hitting .326 in 13 games, and won a promotion to Birmingham. Facing AAA competition as an 18-year-old, Bobby held his own (.247-3-22 in 186 AB). The Red Sox have Joe Jones at second right now, and he's good, so they can take their time with Doerr and let him develop.
  
  
• Henrich brought his sweet lefty swing directly to St. Louis after the draft and hit .285 with six homers and ten doubles in 239 AB. He also drew 30 walks, striking out only 18 times. The Cards have a surplus of outfielders, with Wally Berger, Earl Averill, Turkey Stearnes, and Henrich on their roster. Note to Cardinals: Trade one of the first three for a pitcher or two .
  
  
• Cuccinello played well when he got a chance late last season, hitting .322 and showing some power. The Oaks need all the offense they can get, and there's a position open for him now that Luke Appling has been traded.
  
  
• Big "Swish" Nicholson moved up a level in 1936 and found AA ball to his liking. He hit .344-24-70 for Augusta, slugging .515 and making the All-Star team. He'll likely begin the 1937 season in Dallas (AAA), but the Seals probably have a train ticket to San Fran ready for him.