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5 CENTS THE "TIMES"
National Socialists Gain Power In Germany
Adolf Hitler's Party Wins With Just 43.9% of Vote
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B1 ENTERTAINMENT
King Kong Premieres In New York City
Big Gorilla Debuts At RKO Theater, Radio City Music Hall
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C1 LIVING
Beer Legalized In USA
Prohibition Expected To Be Repealed By End of Year
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D1 SPORTS
Philadelphia Athletics Are Resurgent
1931 Pennant Winners Jump Out To Early Lead[/b]
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American League Standings
Team W L PCT GB Streak
Philadelphia Athletics 12 6 0.667 - W5
Chicago White Sox 11 8 0.579 1.5 L2
New York Yankees 10 7 0.588 1.5 L2
Detroit Tigers 10 9 0.526 2.5 W2
Cleveland Indians 9 10 0.474 3.5 W2
St. Louis Browns 8 11 0.421 4.5 L2
Washington Senators 7 11 0.389 5 L1
Boston Red Sox 6 11 0.353 5.5 W1
National League Standings
Team W L PCT GB Streak
New York Giants 13 5 0.722 - W1
Cincinnati Reds 11 7 0.611 2 W2
Philadelphia Phillies 10 8 0.556 3 W1
St Louis Cardinals 9 9 0.500 4 L1
Chicago Cubs 8 9 0.471 4.5 W1
Pittsburgh Pirates 7 10 0.412 5.5 L4
Brooklyn Dodgers 7 11 0.389 6 L1
Boston Braves 7 13 0.350 7 L1
After looking absolutely pedestrian last year, the Athletics of Philadelphia are out to a very nice start and are looking very much the contenders they were in 1930 and '31, when they won 2 consecutive pennants. It's hard to see it from the statistics but they're doing it the same way they did last year: through hitting. Their .266 average is second in the league and although their 71 runs - 3.9 per game - is just 4th in the league, they're spreading them out much better than last year.
Gustavo Pena (.348, 0, 12), who came out of nowhere to finish 9th in the AL in average last year, is showing no signs of turning back into a pumpkin. The loss of Jay Carbaugh for the first third of the season opened the way for CF Mark Bergeron (.295, 0, 9), and he's making the most of his chances. On the pitching side, Raul Carillo has taken the run support and... ran with it (4-1, 1.67). Peter Carillo (3-1, 2.45) and Brian Barnes (2-1, 4.80) also hold winning records for the A's.
The National League is a bit more mundane, with the top two teams set the same as the close of last year. The Giants seem to have forgotten about the less lively ball; they're scorching the ball at a .292 rate and are tied for the major league lead with 14 home runs in their first 18 games. Lively oldster Erik Conn (.431, 3, 15) is an early-year chaser of the .400 mark, as is Mason Taylor (.406, 3, 18). The pitching isn't quite as dominating as last season but it's still #1 in the league. 29-game winner Ryan Rush leads the way (4-0, 2.91).
The Reds are fast on their heels thanks to a dominating performance at home so far (9-2 vs. just 2-5 on the road). 3B Jay Calvin is actually slightly off from his torrid early pace (.427, 1, 16 so far). Brad Box (.344, 3, 15) is right on pace with what he did last year, which makes him the early season favorite for MVP. And on the mound, Earl Crockett (4-1, 2.49) is as good as ever.
Where Did The Offense Go?
As mysteriously as it came, the massive upswing in offense has pretty much disappeared. The American League as a whole has an ERA of 3.03, which, if it stays that low, will be the lowest average for the league since 1917. The batting average around the league has dipped precipitously - it's 31 points lower than the .287 level it was at in 1932 - but just as huge is the dip in balls hit out of the parks. So far, the entire AL has experienced just 46, a littl less than 6 per team and about 1 every three games. As a result, pitchers are less leery about allowing hitters to put the ball into play; strikeouts and walks are also both down.
It's not as extreme in the National League but things are still on a big downswing. You still have to go back to 1921 to find a lower ERA than the current 3.61 posted by the Senior Circuit. So far there have been 12 shutouts. Last year there were only 43 the entire season! As noted earlier, the Giants seem to be playing with the lively ball, averaging 5.9 runs per game, but the rest of the league is fully into the new terrain of 1933.