The Arizona League: Real Players. Fictional Teams

[AZTarHeel]

Originally Posted by Sir Lurksalot

Talk about a thin pool of talent. I honestly only recognized a handful of those guys.

Indeed, and poor Sedona needs all the help it can get right now...

[AZTarHeel]

1912 Season Recap — Northern League



Tris Speaker of Payson was a man on a mission after losing out on last year's Big Stick Award, an honor many around the Arizona League thought he deserved. The Longhorn OF took out his frustration at not winning the prestigious honor on Northern League teams in 1912, helping Payson to the best record in baseball for the season.

Speaker hit .320 with five homers and 69 RBIs from the No. 3 hole. It wasn't close to his .398 clip a year ago but offense in general seemed to be down some this season. And Speaker certainly didn't get as much to hit. Fellow lefty Jack Daubert, a first baseman and this year's clean-up hitter, was the run-producing machine for the 'Horns. He had 99 RBIs and hit 10 home runs. LF Ginger Beaumont batted .308 with 77 RBIs and 33 stolen bases (Speaker stole 30).

Case Patten paced the Payson pitching core, earning a 25-8 record and 1.65 ERA. Bill Burns won 22 games.

Payson managers definitely favored lefty hitters. The Longhorns usually pencilled in six or seven left-handed hitters in most games, including guys like Speaker, Daubert and speedy leadoff 3B Del Paddock, who stole 44 bases.

The Longhorns, winners of the inaugural Cactus Champions Cup in 1901, will return to the playoffs for the first time since 1909. Jerome, which held off a late-charging Flagstaff team to win the wild card, will return to the AZL playoffs for the first time since winning the NL in 1903.

The Copper Miners were pretty solid on the road, winning 48 games. The rough and tough crew didn't have an real superstars. Barney Wolfe won 24 games from the mound, and Heinie Berger won 20. LF Matty McIntyre had the best batting average at .329, with 57 RBIs. 1B Jake Stahl had 92 RBIs for the season, pretty good for a guy hitting No. 2 in the lineup.

Stahl was talking pretty boldly before the playoff series with Payson about not being afraid of the Longhorns and their potent offense, which led the league in batting average. Of course, Stahl did record five hits and three RBIs in a single game against Payson over the summer. "We're a lot tougher than they are," the 1B said. "They'll crumble when they get in here around our fans. And we know we can win on the road."

Here are the final NL standings for 1912:

Team      	W	L	PCT	GB	 Pyt.Rec	Diff	 	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Payson  	95	67	.586	-	98-64	-3	 	51-30	44-37	9-5	28-28	*	L3	4-6
Jerome  	93	69	.574	2.0	91-71	2	 	45-36	48-33	2-7	32-24	-	W1	6-4
Flagstaff	89	73	.549	6.0	92-70	-3	 	49-32	40-41	6-13	26-25	-	L1	8-2
Prescott 	85	77	.525	10.0	92-70	-7	 	50-31	35-46	6-5	26-35	-	L3	3-7
Cottonwood	79	83	.488	16.0	75-87	4	 	36-45	43-38	7-3	24-22	-	L1	5-5
Grand Canyon	76	86	.469	19.0	77-85	-1	 	45-36	31-50	6-7	25-30	-	W2	6-4
Sedona  	70	92	.432	25.0	67-95	3	 	35-46	35-46	9-5	27-24	-	W2	4-6
Kayenta 	61	101	.377	34.0	55-107	6	 	32-49	29-52	7-7	26-26	-	W1	4-6

[AZTarHeel]

1912 Player Profile



Nap Lajoie: Still Going Strong at 38

While Jerome doesn't have a true superstar this season, there is no doubt who the clubhouse leader of the Copper Miners is — Nap Lajoie, the team's 38-year-old tough-as-nails second baseman.

Lajoie was the very first pick in the Arizona League draft, back in 1901. He's spent his entire career in Jerome and said he plans to live out his days in the copper mining town perched high above the Verde Valley after retirement, whenever that might be.

Lajoie has appeared in nine all-star games over the past 12 seasons, including this summer's classic. During his entire career, numero uno (the number he wears) has appeared in 1,729 games, recorded 6,769 plate appearances, stroked 1,927 hits. His total hits and 491 doubles both rank fourth on the all-time career list. His 44 doubles was tops in the NL this season.

"I just love this game," he said in an interview before the Payson playoff series. "I love the guys and feel like I could play until I'm 60. Maybe I will and maybe I won't."

Lajoie had a pretty good line this season, batting .280 with 170 hits and 55 RBIs. He still had the umph in his legs to steal 21 bases. "Not bad for an old timer," he quipped.

The last time he missed more than a few games because of injury was back in 1902.

"I figure these guys who live here and work in the mines all day and night are among the toughest fellas around. They are my heroes," Lajoie said. "I'm just playing baseball. I might as well give my all, even if the legs feel like giving out some times."

Here are some more of his career highlights:

Drafted in 1st round, 1st overall pick, by Jerome in 1901...
Was selected to the 1901 Allstar game...
Had 5 hits with 3 RBI against Cottonwood on 8/17/1901...
Was selected to the 1902 Allstar game...
Won Field General Award at Second Base in 1902...
Won Player of the Week award on 4/14/1903, hitting .458 with 2 HR, 6 RBI...
Won Player of the Week award on 6/30/1903, hitting .458 with 2 HR, 6 RBI...
Won Batter of the Month award on 7/1/1903, hitting .406 with 2 HR, 16 RBI...
Was selected to the 1903 Allstar game...
Had 5 hits with 4 RBI against Sedona on 9/26/1903...
Won Batter of the Month award on 10/1/1904, hitting .407 with 0 HR, 12 RBI...
Was selected to the 1905 Allstar game...
Was selected to the 1906 Allstar game...
Had 5 hits with 3 RBI against Sedona on 9/11/1906...
Won Player of the Week award on 9/15/1906, hitting .474 with 1 HR, 8 RBI...
Won Player of the Week award on 5/19/1907, hitting .500 with 0 HR, 4 RBI...
Was selected to the 1907 Allstar game...
Won Field General Award at Second Base in 1907...
Was selected to the 1909 Allstar game...
Won Field General Award at Second Base in 1909...
Had 23-game hitting streak snapped on 9/18/1910...
Won Field General Award at Second Base in 1910...
Had 5 hits with 2 RBI against Payson on 4/11/1911...
Won Player of the Week award on 4/14/1911, hitting .593 with 0 HR, 4 RBI...
Had 5 hits with 3 RBI against Cottonwood on 6/3/1911...
Was selected to the 1911 Allstar game...
Had 5 hits with 1 RBI against Flagstaff on 9/24/1911...
Won Player of the Week award on 9/29/1911, hitting .625 with 1 HR, 5 RBI...
Was selected to the 1912 Allstar game...

[AZTarHeel]

1912 Season Recap — Southern League



The Yuma Prisoners swooned a bit over the final weeks, and the Tucson Saguaros caught them on the final day of the regular season, leaving a tie at the top of the SL. Since both teams made the playoffs, a special one-game winner-take-all contest wasn't scheduled to break the stalemate.

Tucson won its last three games of the year, while Yuma dropped two of the last three. The Saguaros made up four games over the last 10 days of the season. Carefree nearly made it a three-way tie for first but the Blues were singing the blues despite winning four of their last five (which included wins over Tucson, Yuma and last year's champion, Bisbee during the free-for-all final week schedule). A 5-3 loss to Nogales on the next to the last day of the regular season clinched their fate as outsiders to the post-season.

Tucson was pretty unstoppable playing in the Old Pueblo, winning 54 home games. The Saguaros epitomized the team concept. Yes, they had Ty Cobb, who batted .278 with 63 RBIs and 47 stolen bases, but eight other players had at least 40 runs driven in. Three pitchers, Barney Pelty, George McQuillan and Ralph Glaze combined for 62 wins -- each getting at least 20.

The Saguaros overcame a late-season injury to Cobb, who fractured his hand in early August. At first doctors feared he might miss the rest of the 1912 campaign, but he came back in early September good as new. He hit .280 in his last 21 games of the regular season.

Shortstop Freddy Parent, another "Old Timer" like Jerome's Nap Lajoie, proved one of Yuma's MVPs. His .293 batting average was a career best. He also drove home 81 runs (second only to his 99 from the year before). Parent was a seventh-round pick in the 1901 draft. The 36-year-old proved he still has it, driving home eight runs in an August game against Tombstone and twice being named Batter of the Month for the SL.

All-star Carl Druhot paced Yuma's pitching rotation with 25 wins. He was a nice pick-up from Bisbee last season. He missed out on a title run a year ago, maybe this will be his season to win a ring.

Yuma picked up the nickname "Lifers" during the season because of the age of some of its standouts (i.e. players who have been a Prisoner forever). Parent is 36. Davey Crockett, who platoons at 1B and had a .265 average, is 38. Starting LF John Dobbs is 37 -- he hit .278 with 71 RBIs. Reserve RF Tom McCreery is 38. He struggled at the plate however (.165) and seems on the verge of retirement. Others are in their mid-30s. This could be their last chance to win it all for awhile.

We already know we'll have a new AZL champion in 1912 since Bisbee didn't earn the right to defend its title. But who will stand tallest in the Cactus Champions Cup -- Tris Speaker and Payson, Jerome's mining boys led by Lajoie, Tucson and Ty Cobb or Yuma's Old Time Prisoners? Stay tuned...

Final SL Standings:

Team      	W	L	PCT	GB	 Pyt.Rec	Diff	 	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Tucson  	92	70	.568	-	95-67	-3	 	54-27	38-43	9-9	32-32	1	W3	7-3
Yuma    	92	70	.568	-	95-67	-3	 	46-35	46-35	6-12	23-26	1	L1	3-7
Carefree	91	71	.562	1.0	86-76	5	 	44-37	47-34	18-8	38-23	-	W1	6-4
Bisbee   	81	81	.500	11.0	76-86	5	 	46-35	35-46	8-7	36-28	-	L4	4-6
Nogales  	79	83	.488	13.0	84-78	-5	 	41-40	38-43	7-11	25-33	-	L1	7-3
Tombstone	74	88	.457	18.0	75-87	-1	 	38-43	36-45	9-7	25-30	-	W1	3-7
Tempe   	71	91	.438	21.0	67-95	4	 	35-46	36-45	8-10	21-29	-	L1	5-5
Phoenix 	68	94	.420	24.0	71-91	-3	 	34-47	34-47	10-11	31-30	-	W1	5-5

[Sir Lurksalot]

"Lifers"


I think that's the best nickname of all time. lol!!

[AZTarHeel]

1912 Division Playoffs



The Northern League

Payson drills Miners, 4-2

This one looked to be a tight series from the get-go. Jerome won a back-and-forth opener 5-4. Payson bounced back with a 6-1 decision in Game Two. The Longhorns then took command, earning a 4-2 triumph in Game Three.

In the pivotal Game Four, the 'Horns Bill Burns pitched a two-hit gem, lifting Payson to a 1-0 victory (Tris Speaker had the winning RBI, hitting a double in the fifth). But Jerome's Barney Wolfe answered with a three-hitter in Game Five, giving the Miners a 7-0 shutout and keeping the (turquoise) blue-collar boys alive.

It was at this point that Speaker and the Longhorns invoked some of Jake Stahl's comments made before the series started.

"We're a lot tougher than they are," the Jerome first baseman had said. "They'll crumble when they get in here around our fans. And we know we can win on the road."

Those statements were posted all over the Payson clubhouse before the start of Game Six. Players made sure to remind fans just what Stahl had said during chats with reporters in the lead up to the game (hoping they would be printed in the newspaper). The Longhorns ultimately made Stahl eat his words, drilling the Miners 11-0 to move on to the Cactus Champions Cup.

Everyone, it seemed, crushed the ball when they were at the plate.

Catcher Ted Easterly, CF Tris Speaker, 1B Jack Daubert and 2B Jimmy Williams each had two hits. Easterly recorded three RBIs. Daubert had a two-out triple in the opening inning that set the tone, putting a charge into the Payson dugout and the home fans.

Case Patten, Payson's 36-year-old right-hander, was near flawless from the mound, getting his second win of the series. He surrendered four harmless hits and struck out six. It was the ninth start in a row where he was named Player of the Game. Stahl did get one of the hits but it didn't amount to anything. Patten stared Stahl down after striking him out late in the game, and umpires had to break the two up.

"I guess the tougher team won," Patten said. "And the weaker team crumbled under the pressure. I don't see anyone stopping us now. We'll win the Cactus Cup."

Stahl rushed out of the stadium before reporters could get to him after the loss...




The Southern League

Yuma's heartbeat returns in 4-1 win over Tucson

Many had left the Prisoners for dead after their fade act at the end of the regular season. "These guys are just too old," some muttered. "They have nothing left for the post-season."

Wrong.

Tucson's only sterling performance came in Game Two, a 6-1 win. Young 1B Hap Myers had two hits and two RBIs and CF Ty Cobb had a key hit, much to the delight of the hometown Saguaro fans. But the momentum would be short-lived.

Building off a 5-3 win in the opening game, Yuma went back home and closed out the series with three straight victories in Jailbird Stadium.

Game Five featured a dramatic ending. Yuma trailed 5-4 going into the bottom of the ninth, facing the prospect of going back to Tucson with a loss. The Saguaros had scored all of their runs in the top of the second, and the Prisoners spent the rest of the night fighting to get back into contention. Finally in the ninth, Yuma caught and overtook the cactus kids.

One of Yuma's "Lifers" — 37-year-old LF John Dobbs — led off the ninth with a double. Shortstop Freddy Parent (who is 36) then drew a walk off pitcher George McQuillan. A wild pitch moved Dobbs and Parent into scoring position, and 2B Charlie French french-kissed a bad curve ball into the right-center field gap, scoring both teammates for the victory.

Cobb, who couldn't chase down the hard-hit shot by French, just sat there on his knees in the outfield for several minutes after the game. He couldn't believe the Saguaros had let their big chance at winning a championship slip away yet again. He had a pretty good series overall despite the losses, batting .333. But for the third year in a row, Tucson was stopped short of reaching the Cactus Champions Cup in the division series. (And fans weren't going to see two of the best centerfielders in the game, Cobb and Speaker, duke it out).

French had a great series overall, batting .412. 3B Harry Lord, who is a youngster at 30 compared to some of the Lifers on the team, batted .500 from the No. 8 hole. He was 3-for-3 in Game Four. Not bad for a career .196 hitter. Pitcher Addie Joss, likely headed to the AZL Hall of Fame, won two games for Yuma during the series. That gave him 223 victories for his career...

It's on to the Cactus Cup. Will there be a Longhorn roundup or will the Prisoners break out and seize the trophy?

[AZTarHeel]

... Gee, for a dynasty that started off with a simple premise I sure am spending a lot of time on it ... I keep getting more and more drawn in by the characters and the thought of storylines that keep popping in my head ...

The toughest part of recapping a league is worrying about missing something. Each year, I go through all the retired players just to see what stories are there. I'm in search of the perfect Cup of Coffee guy, the one who maybe had just one big-league at-bat or something like that ...

[AZTarHeel]

1912 Cactus Champions Cup



Tris Speaker won his first Arizona League title, and the Payson Longhorns won their second as a franchise.

Longhorns round up Prisoners in five games

Yuma fired the opening salvo in the 1912 championship series, but Payson had more than enough answers to take the series in a near sweep.

The purple and yellow-clad Longhorns captured four straight games after losing the Cactus Cup opener and picked up their second title in franchise history.

The 'Horns definitely had a Murderer's Row offensive lineup. No. 3 hitter Tris Speaker, clean-up man Jake Daubert and No. 5 hitter Del Paddock combined for 27 hits over five games. Paddock, a rookie third baseman, may have been the MVP of the series, finishing 10 of 18 with two doubles and two triples. He drove home three runs and set the table for a lot of other scores.

Speaker was outstanding as well, finishing 8 of 20 with five runs scored, a double, a triple and a homer in five games. He drove home five scores.

"This all really began after last season," Speaker said after the Game Five victory that clinched the series, an 8-4 decision that saw Payson stroke 14 hits. "A lot of us just got together, went camping and fishing for a few days in the White Mountains and talked about what we wanted this season to be. We all committed to being a championship caliber outfit and fulfilled our goals."

Charley "Sea Lion" Hall earned two of Payson's pitching victories, winning Game Two and Game Five. Hall finished 3-1 in the post-season, a nice finish to what had been an average year for him.

LF John Dobbs was one of Yuma's top players. He had three hits in Game One and three more in Game Two. But the 'Horns kept him quiet the rest of the series.

Speaker dismissed reporters when asked about his thoughts on whether he'll win this year's Big Stick Award for the Northern League. Speaker again led the NL in many offensive categories. "I don't worry about that stuff," he said with a twinkle in his eye. "Really, I just want to win games and championships, and we did that."

Daubert was more blunt. "If he doesn't win, then it will be a travesty. Just like last year."

No word on whether the Payson boys have any camping trips planned this off-season...

[Sir Lurksalot]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! !!!!


We were meant to win this year!!!

[AZTarHeel]

Originally Posted by Sir Lurksalot

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! !!!!


We were meant to win this year!!!

Step back from the ledge, my friend... it's going to be OK ...

Commissioner Victory likes the passion of the Yuma fans, however...

[AZTarHeel]

1912 Player Awards

Top Hurler Awards
To the victor go the spoils. Payson's Case Patten, part of the Longhorns' AZL championship rotation, was named the Northern Top Hurler. Payson's left-hander put up fabulous numbers this year. He compiled an ERA of 1.65, going 25-8 in 37 starts. He fanned 316 while giving up 231 hits in 333 innings. Case pitched 8 shutouts and 32 complete games. He was 1st in the Northern in ERA and third in wins.

Patten saved some of his best stuff for the post-season, going 3-0 with a 1.00 ERA. He had a shutout against Yuma in the Cactus Cup series.

The 1912 Southern Top Hurler Award winner is from Bisbee. Harry Gaspar put together impressive numbers on the mound this season as well. His ERA of 2.33 helped him to a 24-15 record. He struck out 127 and walked 119 in 352 innings. He has 38 complete games and 4 shutouts. He was 3rd in the Southern in ERA and 2nd in wins. Gaspar wins the award for the 2nd time in his 3-year career.

Yuma's Carl Druhot, who led the SL with 25 wins, was a bit irked at not winning the honor (as were some of the more passionate Prisoner fans).


Big Stick Awards
That's more like it. A year after getting spurned by voters, Payson centerfielder Tris Speaker was feeling the love. Speaker had a great offensive year, posting a .395 OBP. He batted .320 (185 hits in 578 at-bats). He drove in 69 runs. He was first in the Northern in batting and 10th in RBI.

"I really didn't have as good a year as last season when I felt like I should have won," Speaker said. "But I enjoyed this season much more because we won the championship. That's more important."

The Big Stick Award in the Southern was handed to an emerging star, Nogales left fielder Joe Jackson. While compiling an on base percentage of .398, Shoeless Joe hit .340 and slugged .489. He collected 70 runs batted in this year. He was 1st in the Southern in batting and 9th in RBI!

Last year's Rookie of the Year already has 420 career hits. In two seasons, he's batting .345.

"Now, that's a sweet hitter," Speaker said when asked about Jackson.


Rookie of the Year Awards
The 1912 Northern Rookie of the Year winner is from Cottonwood. Gus Williams put together impressive numbers en route to win the first major award of his career. The 24-year-old compiled an on base percentage of .367, Gus hit .274 and slugged .404. He collected 80 runs batted in this year.

Getting an award is a nice way to start a career. Carefree pitcher Hank Robinson smiled as he was named the Southern Rookie of the Year winner. This season Robinson compiled an ERA of 2.35, going 19-12 in 39 starts. He fanned 106 while giving up 239 hits in 307 innings. He had 11 complete games and 2 shutouts.


Field General Awards

Northern Field General Award Winners:
Pitcher: Ed Walsh (CTW)
Catcher: Otto Miller (PRE)
First Base: Tim Jordan (PRE)
Second Base: Nap Lajoie (JER)
Third Base: Germany Schaefer (PRE)
Shortstop: Otis Johnson (FLG)
Leftfield: Zack Wheat (SED)
Centerfield: Tris Speaker (PAY) - really feeling the love
Rightfield: Gus Williams (CTW) - nice job, rook

Southern Field General Award Winners:
Pitcher: Doc White (CAR)
Catcher: Ed Phelps (PHX)
First Base: Hap Myers (TUC)
Second Base: Amby Mcconnell (NOG)
Third Base: Tillie Shafer (PHX)
Shortstop: Freddy Parent (YUM)
Leftfield: Pop Foster (TEM)
Centerfield: George Browne (TEM)
Rightfield: Bill Hinchman (TEM)

[AZTarHeel]

1912 News & Notes

- Frank “Wildfire” Schulte of Nogales hit for the cycle during the first week of the season against Tempe. A double off Harry Coveleski in the 2nd inning accounted for his 1st hit. A pitch from Coveleski in the 3rd inning left his bat for a two-run homerun, landing 393 feet from home plate in right field. In the 7th inning he unloaded a triple off Joe Benz. A single in the 9th off Benz accounted for his 4th hit. Frank scored 3 runs, and he collected 2 RBI as well. 15 players in league history have so far hit for the cycle, including Frank. On 9/29/1911, Sherry Magee was the last player to hit for the cycle.

- Carefree left-hander Doc White threw the second NO-HITTER of his career, blanking Phoenix’s bats on May 27. He struck out three and had just one walk. It was White’s second shutout of the season and the 38th of his amazing career. His other no-hitter came in 1909 against Tucson. White is building a Hall of Fame resume, improving his career record to 249-184 with a season mark of 23-11. He’s enjoyed nine seasons with 20 or more wins…

- The other NO-HITTER this season went to Prescott’s Russ Ford. He fanned nine in a win over Cottonwood over the summer. Ford joined the league in 1909 and has a 59-53 career record.

- Jerome picked 2B Baldy Louden during the 1912 draft but let him get away pretty quickly, trading him to Yuma in mid-April. Louden had a pretty stellar rookie season for the runner-up Prisoners, batting .259 with 24 triples, 50 RBIs and 73 stolen bases. Louden should help ease the transition as all the old guys (Lifers) move on to other things...

- It’s interesting to see how Payson helped itself with trades during the summer. The Longhorns beefed up its infield with 28-year-old 1B Jake Daubert (from Flagstaff) and veteran 2B Jimmy Williams (from Phoenix). Daubert was 17 of 44 in the post-season (.386). Williams was 12 of 38 (.316) in the playoffs and drove him 15 runs.

The Horns traded away long-time pitcher Noodles Hahn, who had been around since the beginning of the franchise. That move wasn’t received well by everyone since he had been so good for so long. Payson got 29-year-old Tex Pruett out of that deal, and Pruett had a save in the Cactus Cup series against Yuma…

- Cottonwood lost starting pitcher Harry McIntyre and OF Jim Jackson to season-ending injuries early on, two reasons the Monsoon never could get out of the middle of the NL pack …

- Flagstaff pitcher Jack Rowan, just 25 years old, saw his career come to an end, tearing up his back while pitching. He was a first-round pick in 1908 and was just starting to break into the Lumberjacks’ major league rotation in 1912. He ends up with a career record of 6-9.

- It was a rough year for Cottonwood pitcher Ed Walsh. He set a new NL record for losses in a season with 27. And he was the pitcher on the hill when Prescott OF Danny Green recorded his 2,000th hit on July 29. Only one other player has 2,000 hits right now, Flagstaff OF Sam Crawford (2,112). Green is a career .299 hitter.


Season Leaders

TOP 5 in BATTING AVG :
.340 Joe Jackson(NOG,SL)
.320 Tris Speaker(PAY,NL)
.308 Ginger Beaumont(PAY,NL)
.302 Danny Green(PRE,NL)
.294 Bill Carrigan(BIS,SL)

TOP 5 in HOMERUNS :
18 Bert Conn(TOM)
14 Gavvy Cravath(CAR,SL)
11 Larry Doyle(CTW,NL)
10 Jake Daubert(FLG PAY,NL)
9 Germany Schaefer(PRE)

TOP 5 in RBI :
99 Jake Daubert(FLG PAY,NL)
92 Jake Stahl(JER,NL)
90 Larry Doyle(CTW,NL)
89 Sam Crawford(FLG,NL)
88 Sherry Magee(NOG,SL)

TOP 5 in ERA :
1.65 Case Patten(PAY,NL)
2.10 Bill Burns(PAY,NL)
2.19 Jake Boultes(TOM,SL)
2.23 Russ Ford(PRE,NL)
2.30 Barney Pelty(TUC)

TOP 5 in WINS :
27 Jack Coombs(CTW,NL)
26 Fred Beebe(FLG,NL)
25 Case Patten(PAY,NL)
25 Russ Ford(PRE,NL)
25 Carl Druhot(YUM,SL)

TOP 5 in SAVES :
8 George Disch(BIS,SL)
8 Walter Johnson(CAR)
7 Jack Ferry(BIS)
6 Alex Malloy(CAR)
6 Mack Allison(PHX)

[Jestor]

Argh, so close but yet so far from a Tucson title.

[AZTarHeel]

1912 Winter Meetings



The Winter Meetings came to the White Mountains town of Payson in 1912, and the home of the champion Longhorns pulled out all of the stops for their guests.

Commissioner Doc Victory loved going to the Payson area. The rugged, pine tree-filled mountain town was such a refreshing change from the high desert home he was used to in the Verde Valley. Victory disappeared every so often to show friends a few of his favorite haunts, like a giant natural bridge located between Payson and Pine.

The event was nearly upstaged by a large contingent from the town of Show Low, also located in the White Mountains about an hour away. For the past few years, Show Low has been pushing hard for an AZL franchise. Their zeal seemed to reach fever pitch at the Winter Meetings with officials handing out fliers and holding rallies to show support for baseball in their town. They seemed to be on every corner.

Victory admired their passion but thought the group overbearing at times. He was proud of the fact that had made so much of their minor league franchise, which played in a huge park and sold out every game even though the squad finished well below .500. But good grief, Victory thought, there were no plans to expand the league at this time and no one was in the market to sell their current franchise. "I wish they would gear down their crusade a bit," he thought...

In other news from the Winter Meetings:

• The Phoenix contingent proposed dividing the Southern League into two four-team divisions (and the NL as well). The winner of each division would then meet in the SL and NL playoffs, respectively. The proposal never made it out of committee. "The league structure is fine the way it is," Victory affirmed.

• Sedona officials confirmed that a fire a few days after the end of the regular season torched a large portion of their outfield bleachers and burned down a few team buildings. "We should have things repaired before spring training," team owners said. "It's going to cost us a bunch to replace everything, and we're struggling a bit financially as it is."

Sedona officials said the fire seemed "suspicious" in nature but no one had any idea who might have done this.

• There were no real ill effects on the league from the 1912 ban on the sale of liquor in Arizona. If anything, even more spirits flowed on game days than when the sale of alcohol was legal. Some marshals argued that the prohibition actually caused their number of drunk and disorderly arrests to go up in the past year. "It's not legal but alcohol is out there," one officer said.

• A couple of players coming up through the youth ranks impressed during some pre-draft workouts. Twins George and Babe Ruth had scouts taking furious notes during a simulated game at Payson's Longhorn Stadium with an all-star youth team from Las Vegas.

George pitched three scoreless innings, giving up just two hits. Babe parked a home run into the upper right field deck on his first at-bat. There were some who thought he pointed to that area of the bleachers before the pitch was delivered. The two Ruth boys are just 16 and likely will throw their names into the draft hat in a few seasons.

The pitcher for Babe's supposed "called shot" was none other than a young Phinieus Victory III -- commissioner Victory's oldest grandson -- who used some of his influence to win a spot on the all-star team. He was such a spitting image of his grandpa, folks started calling him Li'l Doc.

"He can throw the ball as hard as anyone," grandpa Doc said. "But the boy has no control, just like his old man (Commissioner Victory's oldest son, "Wild Bill" Victory).

"He probably hits as many batters as he strikes out. If he gets on base, he can fly around the base paths. But getting on base isn't so easy for him..."

Victory was amused that his grandson was born on the exact same day as the Ruth boys, Feb. 6, 1895. "Hey, you guys are triplets," Victory mused...

[AZTarHeel]

1912 Retirees

The follow players retired from the Arizona League after the 1912 season. Not a lot of standout players hanging it up this year. Lots of interesting stories on Cup of Coffee guys this year (one of the things I like about tracking a league like this). Some notes follow the list

John Butler retires ...
Pat Carney retires ...
Charlie Case retires ...
Jimmy Austin retires ...
Kid Elberfeld retires ...
Elmer Flick retires ...
Billy Gilbert retires ...
Pug Bennett retires ...
Bill Hallman retires ...
Topsy Hartsel retires ...
Nick Carter retires ...
Otto Krueger retires ...
Paddy Livingston retires ...
George Magoon retires ...
Jake Atz retires ...
Doc Mcjames retires ...
Harry Mcneal retires ...
George Merritt retires ...
Billy Milligan retires ...
Fred Mitchell retires ...
Wiley Piatt retires ...
Rip Cannell retires ...
Dick Scott retires ...
Ed Siever retires ...
Harry Smith retires ...
Bill Clancy retires ...
Luis Castro retires ...
Clarence Currie retires ...
Red Dooin retires ...
John Durham retires ...
Bob Ewing retires ...
Jim Hackett retires ...
Dad Hale retires ...
Pete Lepine retires ...
John Mcmakin retires ...
Danny Murphy retires ...
Ed Wheeler retires ...
Jesse Whiting retires ...
Lave Winham retires ...
John Deering retires ...
Norwood Gibson retires ...
Hunter Hill retires ...
Charles Moran retires ...
Frank Roth retires ...
Bill O'neill retires ...
Rube Vinson retires ...
Hub Hart retires ...
Jack Himes retires ...
Bris Lord retires ...
Charlie Malay retires ...
Oscar Graham retires ...
Ed Holly retires ...
George Mcbride retires ...
Dutch Meier retires ...
John Kelly retires ...
Mike Welday retires ...
Paddy O'connor retires ...
Dode Paskert retires ...
Jack Rowan retires ...
FLG: Ed Mcnichol retires ...
JER: Claude Elliott retires ...
JER: George Stovall retires ...
KAY: Honus Wagner retires ...
PAY: Bobby Wallace retires ...
PAY: Ed Smith retires ...
BIS: Bob Edmondson retires ...
CAR: Roy Thomas retires ...
CAR: Mal Eason retires ...
CAR: Jim Murray retires ...
NOG: Dan Mcgann retires ...
NOG: Elmer Stricklett retires ...
NOG: Fred Smith retires ...
NOG: Ed Hahn retires ...
PHX: Nick Kahl retires ...
TUC: Charlie Jones retires ...
YUM: Tom Mccreery retires ...

• Jimmy "Pepper" Austin didn't stick around the AZL very long, being drafted in 1909. He only had seven big league at-bats in five regular season games with Bisbee, all his rookie season. But in the playoffs that year, Pepper jacked two home runs for the Prospectors. He was released after 37 AAA games in May 1910 and never got on with another team. "Hey, I'll always have those two home runs to tell my grandkids about," Austin said.

• Kid "The Tabasco Kid" Elberfield retired from Bisbee after a long career as the team's starting shortstop. He collected 1,480 career hits and played on two AZL championship teams.

• Elmer Flick had the top batting average in the Northern League (.358) during the first year of the AZL. He retired with 1,690 career hits.

• Harry McNeal got traded six times between April 1909 and July 1910. The oft-injured pitcher was bouncing around the minor leagues at the time and never made it back up the majors. His last big-league pitch came in 1905. "I think people just liked to tack me onto the end of their trade deals, just for fun," McNeal said.

• Reliever Billy Milligan, who played for Kayenta since that team's inception, had just two big-league wins and 10 saves, but was named to three AZL All-Star Games. Interesting quirk of the game. "It must have been my personality -- of the fact that we just weren't that good in Kayenta most years."

• Wiley "Iron Man" Piatt pitched 141 complete games in his career, with 14 shutouts.

• Pitcher John Durham never won a game in 32 major league appearances. He retired with an 0-6 record and a 12.55 ERA. He did have one big-league save.

• Reliever Jesse Whiting appeared in 25 big league games in 1902 and 1903 but never got a decision. He spent the rest of his career in the minors trying to get one more chance at the big show. He stepped away when that shot never came. Interestingly he was 2-for-2 as a hitter in the bigs, with two RBIs and a run scored.

• Shortstop Ed Holly appeared in just two big-league games, both with Tucson. He was 0-for-5 with a strikeout...

• John Kelly, a centerfielder, also had just five at-bats in the bigs, with Kayenta. But he went 4-for-5 with a double and two RBIs. "I'm not sure why they didn't leave me up there. I was producing," he lamented. Kelly hit .296 in his last year of AAA.

• Honus Wagner, a shortstop with Kayenta since 1901, was named to seven All-Star games and earned three Field General awards. The Flying Dutchman was a .282 career hitter with 1,564 hits.

• Another long-time starting shortstop, Bobby Wallace of Payson, stepped away from the game. Wallace finished with 1,583 career hits, beating out his buddy by just a few.

"It won't be the same not seeing guys like Wagner, Elberfield and Wallace out there every day at short," Commissioner Victory said. "They were anchors in our league for a long, long time."

Wallace won two league titles with the Longhorns, though he played sparingly in the 1912 series victory (14 at-bats, three hits). Harry Spratt is the new club leader at short.

• CF Roy Thomas won seven Field General Awards, all with the Lake Havasu-Carefree franchise. He was a career .246 hitter, with 1,442 hits in all.

• Dan "Cap" McGann joined the 1,500-hit club in his final year with Nogales. The 41-year-old (!!) first baseman retires with 1,527 hits and a career average of .254. He had a cool 777 RBIs.

• RF Tom McCreery won the 1907 Big Stick Award while playing for the Yuma Prisoners. He never really had a great season after that...

[AZTarHeel]

1913 Player Draft

This year's draft was a pitcher's paradise. It took awhile for a position player to be picked. Not tons of names on here I recognized, save for maybe that new RF for Kayenta, Casey Stengel, picked in the fourth round...

Kayenta and Sedona have got to become a pitching hotbed sometime with all the No. 1 picks they've gotten and used on pitchers...

Round 1:
Kayenta pick: P Ray Keating
Phoenix pick: P Dick Robertson
Sedona pick: P Bob Shawkey
Tempe pick: P Carl Weilman
Tombstone pick: P Wilbur Cooper
Grand Canyon pick: P Joe Boehling
Cottonwood pick: P Bill James
Nogales pick: P Reb Russell
Bisbee pick: P Bert Gallia
Prescott pick: P Hooks Dauss
Flagstaff pick: P Pol Perritt
Carefree pick: P Gene Packard
Yuma pick: P Ralph Comstock
Tucson pick: P Dick Rudolph
Jerome pick: P Bill Doak
Payson pick: P Nick Cullop

Round 2 :
Kayenta pick: P Erskine Mayer
Phoenix pick: P Al Demaree
Sedona pick: P Dutch Leonard
Tempe pick: P Chief Johnson
Tombstone pick: P George Pearce
Grand Canyon pick: P Walt Leverenz
Cottonwood pick: P Fred Anderson
Nogales pick: P Joe Bush
Bisbee pick: P Rube Foster
Prescott pick: P Win Noyes
Flagstaff pick: P Al Schulz
Carefree pick: C Ray Schalk
Yuma pick: LF Bobby Veach
Tucson pick: P Dwight Stone
Jerome pick: P Carl Zamloch
Payson pick: P Earl Moseley

Round 3 :
Kayenta pick: CF Nemo Leibold
Phoenix pick: P Harry Trekell
Sedona pick: CF Fred Kommers
Tempe pick: C William Fischer
Tombstone pick: RF Ernie Walker
Grand Canyon pick: 2B Jim Viox
Cottonwood pick: P Weldon Wyckoff
Nogales pick: P Fred House
Bisbee pick: C Ernie Krueger
Prescott pick: LF George Burns
Flagstaff pick: P Rube Schauer
Carefree pick: RF Merito Acosta
Yuma pick: P Dick Niehaus
Tucson pick: LF Al Scheer
Jerome pick: P Lynn Brenton
Payson pick: SS Ray Chapman

Round 4 :
Kayenta pick: RF Casey Stengel
Phoenix pick: P Bill Lathrop
Sedona pick: P Cy Pieh
Tempe pick: RF Benny Meyer
Tombstone pick: RF Doc Cook
Grand Canyon pick: LF Possum Whitted
Cottonwood pick: SS Rabbit Maranville
Nogales pick: LF Les Mann
Bisbee pick: C Bob Coleman
Prescott pick: 3B Fritz Maisel
Flagstaff pick: LF Claude Cooper
Carefree pick: P Zip Zabel
Yuma pick: P Ernie Herbert
Tucson pick: P Wild bill Luhrsen
Jerome pick: RF Eddie Eayrs
Payson pick: P Bull Wagner

Round 5 :
Kayenta pick: RF Leo Callahan
Phoenix pick: CF Vern Duncan
Sedona pick: 2B Oscar Dugey
Tempe pick: SS Buzzy Wares
Tombstone pick: P Doc Watson
Grand Canyon pick: LF Jim Thorpe
Cottonwood pick: C Red Mckee
Nogales pick: P Joe Conzelman
Bisbee pick: LF Joe Connolly
Prescott pick: C Frank Gibson
Flagstaff pick: LF Hugh High
Carefree pick: 3B Fred Smith
Yuma pick: CF George Maisel
Tucson pick: 1B Harry Williams
Jerome pick: CF Jimmy Walsh
Payson pick: CF Dee Walsh

Round 6 :
Kayenta pick: CF Bill Holden
Phoenix pick: P Bob Smith
Sedona pick: C Bill Mcallester
Tempe pick: C Bert Whaling
Tombstone pick: 3B Ray Bates
Grand Canyon pick: RF Everett Booe
Cottonwood pick: CF Henri Rondeau
Nogales pick: LF Johnny Johnston
Bisbee pick: 2B Lute Boone
Prescott pick: RF Tod Sloan
Flagstaff pick: 3B Jim Breton
Carefree pick: LF Larry Chappell
Yuma pick: C Sam Agnew
Tucson pick: 3B Harry Fritz
Jerome pick: SS Milt Reed
Payson pick: CF Johnny Beall

Round 7 :
Kayenta pick: C Tom Daly
Phoenix pick: C Billy Meyer
Sedona pick: C Skipper Roberts
Tempe pick: C Wickey Mcavoy
Tombstone pick: SS Hal Janvrin
Grand Canyon pick: LF Paul Strand
Cottonwood pick: P Charlie Boardman
Nogales pick: P Pop-boy Smith
Bisbee pick: 1B Roy Wood
Prescott pick: 3B Zinn Beck
Flagstaff pick: C Josh Billings
Carefree pick: P Gene Cocreham
Yuma pick: C Walt Tragesser
Tucson pick: P Bill Hopper
Jerome pick: C Drummond Brown
Payson pick: 2B Joe Berger

Round 8 :
Kayenta pick: SS Billy Orr
Phoenix pick: C Dick Gossett
Sedona pick: 1B Sam Covington
Tempe pick: RF Finners Quinlan
Tombstone pick: SS Rivington Bisland

[Sir Lurksalot]

Your computer drafts most bizarre.

[AZTarHeel]

1913 Season Recap - Northern League



Year of the Antelopes (yet again)

Two teams ran away with the Northern League this season, defending champion Payson and perennial power Prescott. The Antelopes beat the Longhorns for the division title but both will advance to the playoffs.

Prescott had the top pitching staff in the NL, led by flamethrower Christy Matthewson, who finished an amazing 30-7. "Big Six" Matthewson, age 33, was a nice pick-up for the Antelopes before last year's trading deadline. He appeared to be on the decline and missed the last month of the 1912 season with an elbow ligiment injury that could have ended his career.

But he rebounded to have the best season of his life. His previous best record was 28-12 way back in his debut year of 1901. Matthewson boasted an ERA of 2.15, also stellar. He was September's Pitcher of the Month after going 5-1 with a 2.03 ERA. An Ironman indeed.

Other solid pitchers for the 'Lopes included Russ Ford (24-15) and Happy Townsend (18-14). Ford, who hurled a no-hitter in 1912, was on fire in July of this year, going 7-0 with a 0.44 ERA. Yowzers!

Third baseman Germany Schaeffer carried some heavy lumber for Prescott, finishing with a .299 average, 11 homers and 105 RBIs. He had a six RBI game against Cottonwood in June. OF Danny Green batted a cool .326 with 65 RBIs. Green, who had his 2,000th hit last season (can't remember if that got reported or not), had a pair of five-hit games this season. CF Fred Snodgrass and 1B Tim Jordan each had 85 RBIs, making Prescott one of the most potent offensive teams in the league this season...

Payson also rode strong pitching to the top of the NL. The Longhorns had the second best team ERA in the league (2.95) behind Prescott. "Sleepy Bill" Burns was wide awake on the hill, winning 24 games. Lefty Leifield had 21 wins. This was Burns' fourth-straight season of winning 22 or more games.

CF Tris Speaker was solid, though maybe not spectacular as in season's past. Maybe Payson fans have gotten spoiled but he likely won't win Big Stick honors again with a .303 batting average and 65 RBIs. He did bat .346 over the final month, so maybe The Grey Eagle is heating up at just the right time. Payson did beat Prescott in a late September game in which Speaker had six RBIs.

Payson 2B Jimmy Williams had 13 homers and 89 RBIs. 1B Jake Daubert added 86 RBIs. RF Wilbur Good never hit one out of the park and had just one stolen base. But he was good (pun intended) with men on base in front of him, recording 88 RBIs. 3B Del Paddock had the top batting average among the regulars at .308.

The NL championship series should be a good one - 'Lopes vs. Longhorns.

Commissioner Victory is quite concerned that Sedona and Kayenta continue to struggle to field competitive teams. Sedona has been seventh or eighth each of the past five years after its one division title. Kayenta has been last four out of the past seven years, with one playoff berth in that span. The Turquoise Warriors were third the first three or four seasons but could never get over the hump. Now they are under the hump...


Final 1913 NL Standings

Team      	W	L	PCT	GB	 Pyt.Rec	Diff	 	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Prescott  	97	65	.599	-	100-62	-3	 	51-30	46-35	12-13	33-33	*	L1	7-3
Payson  	91	71	.562	6.0	98-64	-7	 	46-35	45-36	7-9	31-32	-	L1	7-3
Flagstaff	86	76	.531	11.0	85-77	1	 	39-42	47-34	4-6	23-27	-	L1	2-8
Jerome  	81	81	.500	16.0	76-86	5	 	44-37	37-44	14-7	25-25	-	W1	5-5
Grand Canyon	76	86	.469	21.0	84-78	-8	 	38-43	38-43	9-9	23-28	-	W1	6-4
Cottonwood	75	87	.463	22.0	72-90	3	 	45-36	30-51	10-11	26-25	-	W2	5-5
Sedona  	75	87	.463	22.0	75-87	0	 	38-43	37-44	6-9	25-27	-	L2	3-7
Kayenta 	67	95	.414	30.0	62-100	5	 	35-46	32-49	7-5	30-19	-	W1	5-5

[AZTarHeel]

1913 Season Recap - Southern League



Tucson Saguaros corral SL title

Yuma gets the Big Fade award. After cruising into the AZL championship series last year, the Prisoners belly-flopped into eighth place. The team appears to have aged out.

Tucson, though, makes it back to the playoffs after taking the Southern League regular season crown this season. The Saguaros scored 800 runs, tops in the SL, and finished with the second best record in baseball (96 wins).

Ty Cobb continues to drive Tucson. The Georgia Peach, now 26, hit .309 this season, with 15 triples and 95 RBIs. He stole 47 bases. Shortstop Art Fletcher also had a stellar year, hitting .306 with 88 RBIs. Joe Ward and Heinie Zimmerman platooned at second base (with Ward also playing some at first), and the two combined for 133 RBIs. Both hit just above .300.

The Cactus Kids had three pitchers win 20 games, led by Barney Pelty (28-7). Pelty, 21-14 a year ago, has really emerged the past two years after having losing records the previous three. George McQuillan was 21-10. Jake Boultes won 20 games but also lost 20. Boultes led the SL with 190 strikeouts and was fifth in ERA (2.90). Control problems kept his record from being even better. McQuillan (2.23) and Pelty (2.52) topped the ERA list for the Southern.

Phoenix makes the playoffs for the first time since the 1905 season. The Dust Devils also won the division in 1901 but have been hanging out in the cellar for the past 4-5 years. Phoenix won its last four games to fend off Nogales, which lost its last four.

1B Fred Luderus carried a big bat for the Devils. In his third season, he hit 11 home runs, batted .278 and drove home 96 runs. 2B Del Pratt also had a solid season for a balanced team, hitting .282 with six homers and 80 RBIs. It's hard to find a real go-to guy on this team. But everyone was pretty good. RF Jack Hayden had the best batting average at .281.

Pitcher Willie Mitchell was 23-10. Like Tucson, Phoenix had a guy with a 20-20 record, Al Demaree. Claude Hendrix won 19 games but lost 18. Looking at their stats, it makes you wonder how these guys finished second. They appear to be an average squad, but the Dust Devils just had a habit of winning games ... We'll see how that pans out in the SL playoffs.

Carefree fans are still waiting for their team to break through. The Blues were singing the blues after another finish out of the playoffs. Carefree has been to the post-season just once, when the franchise was still in Lake Havasu in the early 1900s. There have been a handful of other near misses and other years where they were way back...

Final SL standings (sorry about the Yuma Prisoners sirlurksalot):

Team      	W	L	PCT	GB	 Pyt.Rec	Diff	 	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Tucson  	96	66	.593	-	98-64	-2	 	45-36	51-30	8-9	24-33	*	W5	8-2
Phoenix  	89	73	.549	7.0	83-79	6	 	39-42	50-31	11-6	36-21	-	W4	5-5
Nogales 	84	78	.519	12.0	85-77	-1	 	45-36	39-42	11-4	22-23	-	L4	4-6
Carefree	81	81	.500	15.0	80-82	1	 	40-41	41-40	7-5	22-16	-	W1	7-3
Bisbee   	78	84	.481	18.0	80-82	-2	 	42-39	36-45	1-13	31-28	-	W3	5-5
Tombstone   	76	86	.469	20.0	80-82	-4	 	32-49	44-37	8-8	24-32	-	L3	3-7
Tempe   	73	89	.451	23.0	69-93	4	 	37-44	36-45	4-6	22-26	-	L1	6-4
Yuma    	71	91	.438	25.0	72-90	-1	 	32-49	39-42	7-6	24-26	-	L5	2-8

[Sir Lurksalot]

Yuma did lousy so they could get a high draft pick.