MLB: 1958 and Beyond...

[Jeff1787]

I just can't force myself to root for the Dodgers, so goodbye Mr. Alston...

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Jeff1787

I just can't force myself to root for the Dodgers, so goodbye Mr. Alston...

I can't understand why the Dodgers have sucked so bad seeing as in real life they won the World Series in '59. Oh, well. At least it's given me something unexpected to write about.

[kenyan_cheena]

THE OHIO EXPRESS

Thursday, 29 July, 1959

WARD RECORDS THREE RBI AS
BLUES COMPLETE BRONX SWEEP

Story by Grady McCallum

The Cleveland Blues secured a comprehensive three-game sweep of the New York Yankees in the Bronx yesterday, winning 10-4 on the back of a 3-for-5 3-RBI outing from 1st baseman Preston Ward and eight solid innings from starting pitcher Tom Acker. The victory followed up a 10-6 win on Monday and a 9-4 triumph on Tuesday, the Blues batting a fantastic .372 in the series (45-for-121) including a 14-for-36 effort yesterday. In an alarming sign for the Yankees it was the second time in July they had been swept at home as the Tigers achieved the feat on the 5th, 6th and 7th of the month. That both sweeps have come against the two teams they're duelling with for the pennant must be of huge concern to the ballclub's management.

The Blues blew this one out early, scoring four in the 2nd and five in the 3rd to race to a 9-1 lead. Acker gave himself some help while batting when he hit a two-out two-run homer in the 2nd, the first of his career. 3rd baseman Billy Harrell hammered a two-out solo shot in the 3rd. Ward's two-RBI single had given the Blues the lead in the 2nd before Acker's unexpected smash and Minnie Minoso's two-RBI double preceeded Harrell's home run in the 3rd. In what has been a fantastic season for him Ward's 60 RBI rank him 2nd on the Blues behind Rocky Colavito (77).

As mentioned earlier Acker produced a solid effort on the mound, giving up eight hits and four earned runs in 7.2 innings of work. He walked four, struck out four and improved to 5-2 in just his second start of the season. Acker was brought into the rotation following the injury to Herb Score and had recorded seventeen saves for the Blues to that point. Acker's is an unusual story. After starting his career with the Reds in '56 he was traded to the White Sox on the 13th of July 1958. On the following day the White Sox traded him back to Cincinnati and he was then traded to the Blues only two weeks later. Cleveland gave him a one-year contract back in January and based on his efforts this season it's quite possible he could remain with the Ohio ballclub into the future. In 177 career appearances he has a 29-18 record with 29 saves and an ERA of 4.02. He was named to this year's All-Star game on the back of his excellent relief work and it's a real bonus for the Blues that he looks just as capable as a starter.

With yesterday's win the Blues improved to 58-43 and maintained a share of 1st place with the Tigers, the Bronx Bombers now two games behind them at 55-44. It's been a tough month for New York as their losing home sweep to Detroit was followed by a fourteen-game road trip on which they went a respectable 8-6. But after yesterday's defeat they're 11-12 in July, a mark that's simply not good enough if they want to make a fifth consecutive trip to the World Series...

[kenyan_cheena]

THE ST. LOUIS STAR

* LATE EDITION *

Friday 30 July 1959

FOYTACK NO-HITS REDS!

Story by Leon Fletcher

St. Louis Cardinals starter Paul Foytack recorded just the second no-hitter of the 1959 Major League Baseball season this afternoon, the 28 year-old keeping the Cincinnati Reds batters silent in a 6-1 victory at Busch Stadium. Foytack walked four and struck out five on 115 pitches, improving his record to 11-8 and dropping his ERA to 3.42. The Reds were only able to score after a two-out fielding error by 3rd baseman Jim Davenport in the 5th allowed Jerry Lynch to cross home plate. Foytack retired the first ten batters he faced before walking Ed Bailey in the 4th. From striking out George Crowe to end the 5th through to the end of the game he was perfect, just a single batter reaching and that was on a catcher's interference call in the 8th.

While Foytack kept Cincinnati under wraps his teammates didn't consolidate until the 8th inning, a four-hit four-run outburst breaking open what had been a tight, tense affair. Davenport made up for his 5th inning error with an RBI single before Gus Triandos cleared the bases with a three-RBI triple soon after. The near capacity crowd of 33,956 gave Foytack a standing ovation as he left the field at the game's conclusion, his fantastic showing a bright light in what has been a frustrating season for the Cardinals. After an impressive April they have slowly but surely drifted out of the pennant race and although today's win was their third straight they're only 50-51 and eleven games behind their league-leading rivals the Chicago Cubs...

[kenyan_cheena]

The Cleveland Courier

SATURDAY 31 JULY 1959

MARIS GETS THREE HITS,
BLUES WIN 4TH STRAIGHT

Story by Larry Jacobson

Slotted into the lineup for the rested Rocky Colavito, 24 year-old rightfielder Roger Maris went 3-for-5 in Cleveland's come-from-behind 6-4 win over the Kansas City Athletics yesterday afternoon. It was the fourth win in a row for the Blues following their impressive sweep of the Yankees, Maris showing once again that he is one of the real young talents of the sport. The Minnesota-born slugger is batting .411 on the season with eight home runs and thirty RBI, having started in 21 games and appearing in 77. In ten of those outings he's recorded at least two hits and yesterday's effort was his fourth three-hit performance of the season.

However, with both Maris and Colavito playing rightfield it appears that the Blues have something of a problem on their hands. There's no doubt they'd like nothing more than to accomodate them both in the lineup but with Willie Mays and Minnie Minoso forming the rest of Cleveland's outfield it seems quite unlikely. Both are in their mid-twenties with what should be the best years of their careers still ahead of them. More importantly, both will be off-contract at the end of the year. Following how the organisation handles the situation will be one of the stories of the coming off-season.

Trailing 4-1 in the top of the 5th the Blues took the lead with an explosive frame, a two-run homer from Minoso followed by a Preston Ward double and a Willie Mays single that brought Ward home. Mays then scored on Russ Nixon's single down the 3rd base line before Nixon became the fourth run of the inning when Maris doubled to the gap in right-centre. Ward added a solo home run in the 9th to bring about the final score, the Athletics going down in order to end the game. The loss continued what has been a terrible stretch for Kansas City as it was their sixth in a row after pulling themselves up to .500 with a six-game winning streak last week.

While Maris was excellent Preston Ward continued what has been a great run of form, the 32 year-old recording his sixth consecutive multi-hit game. He's 14-for-29 over that stretch (.483) with six runs scored and eight RBI. While manager Joe Gordon was happy with the continued hot streak his hitters are on he gained most satisfaction from the performance of his bullpen, which gave up just two hits in five innings of work after starter Don Ferrarese was chased out of the game in the 4th.

"They were the reason we won this game," said Gordon with a smile. "They just suffocated KC and allowed our hitters to get us back into it. It's a memorable win for that reason."

The Blues close out July with the second game of the series this afternoon, a matchup they'll be confident of winning on the back of yesterday's victory and their 13-4 record since July 9...

[kenyan_cheena]

THE MICHIGAN HERALD

Saturday 31 July 1959

PAPPAS COMES HOME:
ORIOLES AND TIGERS
TRADE STARTING PITCHERS

Story by Michael Fredricks

The Detroit Tigers and Baltimore Orioles announced yesterday that they had made a trade involving their starting pitchers, the Tigers acquiring 1958 American League Rookie of the Year Milt Pappas and the Orioles taking on the contract of 27 year-old Billy Hoeft. Still only 20 years old, Pappas enjoyed a fantastic debut season in which he went 14-13 in 41 starts with an ERA of 3.05. Most believed he would form the heart of Baltimore's pitching alongside All-Star Billy O'Dell for years to come but it appears that the Orioles have been unhappy with the progress he's made this season and have decided to part ways with him.

No doubt, many fans of the ballclub will be infuriated by the decision. Not only does it make them older but it also increases their payroll, Hoeft having only agreed on a pricy three-year extension with the Tigers last August. Hoeft was signed by the Tigers as a rookie in 1952 and had spent his entire career with the organisation. He had been a major part of their quest for the pennant this season and will certainly be feeling some disappointment at being sent to the struggling Maryland team. By comparison, Pappas was said to be over the moon with the trade when informed of it after he held the White Sox to seven hits and one run in a Player of the Game performance yesterday afternoon. Born and raised in Detroit it has always been his dream to play for the Tigers and now he gets the chance in just his second year in the majors. Pappas' current contract expires at the end of the season but one would think that if he can impress through the remainder of the campaign he'll have a bright future with the organisation.

Hoeft is scheduled to make his first start for the Orioles in Boston on Tuesday, Pappas suiting up for Detroit against the Kansas City Athletics on the same afternoon...

[kenyan_cheena]

MILWAUKEE * WISCONSIN
JOURNAL SENTINEL

Sunday 1 August 1959

BRAVES ROOKIE FISHER
FINISHED FOR THE YEAR
IN LOSS TO PIRATES

Story by Lomas Robertson

What has been a cruel injury toll for the Milwaukee Braves in season 1959 was added to yesterday as rookie starter Jack Fisher was ruled out for the rest of the year when he tore his rotator cuff muscle in the 6th inning of a costly 5-4 extra-innings loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates at Forbes Field. It was the third defeat in a row for the Braves following a 15-5 rout in San Francisco on Wednesday and an 8-7 heartbreaker to kick off this series on Friday. The unfortunate streak has come right after they had run off five straight wins to move into 3rd place in the National League but what makes it even worse is that while they've been losing the Cubs, Pirates and Phillies were all 3-0. So in the space of four days the Braves have gone from being 4.5 games out of the lead and a single game behind the 2nd-placed Phillies to being 7.5 games back from the Cubs, 3.5 behind Philadelphia and 2.5 behind the now 3rd-placed Pirates.

To pile more misery onto the situation, the Braves were leading yesterday's game 4-1 going into the bottom of the 7th. Fisher had held the Pirates to just six hits through the first six innings, striking out four and walking just one on 82 pitches before leaving the game with his injury. But in the 7th walks to Bill Mazeroski and Roberto Clemente were followed by back-to-back singles from Dick Groat and Ted Kluszewski to bring the Pirates within one run before they tied it up on a Roman Mejias solo homer in the 9th and then almost won it before the frame was over, leaving a runner stranded at 3rd. But they finished the job soon after, Bob Skinner tripling and then scoring on Bill Hall's single to short right-centre in the 10th.

The list of injuries the Braves have endured this year is long, especially those to their pitchers. But manager Fred Haney has never been one to make excuses and his stance didn't change yesterday.

"I'm more frustrated by what's happened these last few days, to be honest," he said. "You'll always have injuries. That's unavoidable. But these three losses have just completely undone all the good work from the previous week. We were in a good position to make a run at the lead but now we're going to have to work even harder just to get back there. It's gonna have to be one hell of an August for us."

[kenyan_cheena]

1959 MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL SEASON
LEAGUE STANDINGS AS AT END OF PLAY,
SATURDAY 31 JULY 1959


AMERICAN LEAGUE

1ST: CLEVELAND BLUES 60-43 (.583)
(35-20, 25-23), (.273, 3.68), (504-407)

1ST: DETROIT TIGERS 60-43 (.583)
(28-20, 32-23), (.276, 3.88), (517-474)

3rd: New York Yankees 56-46 (.549), (3.5 G.B.)
(29-21, 27-25), (.283, 4.41), (555-497)

4th: Washington Senators 48-54 (.471), (11.5 G.B.)
(25-25, 23-29), (.249, 4.49), (491-504)

5th: Boston Red Sox 48-55 (.466), (12.0 G.B.)
(26-27, 22-28), (.241, 3.84), (430-449)

5th: Kansas City Athletics 48-55 (.466), (12.0 G.B.)
(22-30, 26-25), (.254, 4.12), (409-474)

7th: Baltimore Orioles 47-55 (.461), (12.5 G.B.)
(22-30, 25-25), (.253, 4.17), (415-462)

8th: Chicago White Sox 43-59 (.422), (16.5 G.B.)
(22-28, 21-31), (.265, 4.14), (406-460)


NATIONAL LEAGUE

1ST: CHICAGO CUBS 62-40 (.608)
(31-21, 31-19), (.252, 3.34), (482-389)

2nd: Philadelphia Phillies 59-44 (.573), (3.5 G.B.)
(28-20, 31-24), (.271, 4.00), (549-476)

3rd: Pittsburgh Pirates 58-45 (.563), (4.5 G.B.)
(34-18, 24-27), (.284, 4.03), (489-466)

4th: Milwaukee Braves 55-48 (.534), (7.5 G.B.)
(34-21, 21-27), (.268, 3.82), (490-442)

5th: St. Louis Cardinals 51-51 (.500), (11.0 G.B.)
(26-24, 25-27), (.238, 4.01), (446-443)

6th: Cincinnati Reds 46-57 (.447), (16.5 G.B.)
(23-30, 23-27), (.261, 4.45), (468-505)

7th: San Francisco Giants 44-58 (.431), (18.0 G.B.)
(21-29, 23-29), (.271, 4.76), (494-531)

8th: Brooklyn Dodgers 35-67 (.343), (27.0 G.B.)
(21-29, 14-38), (.255, 5.51), (430-596)

[kenyan_cheena]

1959 MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL SEASON
STATISTICAL LEADERS AS AT END OF PLAY,
SATURDAY 31 JULY 1959


AMERICAN LEAGUE - BATTING

AVG

1ST: HARVEY KUENN (DETROIT TIGERS) .362
2nd: Norm Siebern (New York Yankees) .340
3rd: Bob Nieman (Baltimore Orioles) .337

OBP

1ST: MICKEY MANTLE (NEW YORK YANKEES) .450
2nd: Norm Siebern (New York Yankees) .448
3rd: Harvey Kuenn (Detroit Tigers) .435

H

1ST: HARVEY KUENN (DETROIT TIGERS) 137
2nd: Ken Boyer (Detroit Tigers) 129
3rd: Bob Nieman (Baltimore Orioles) 120

RBI

1ST: KEN BOYER (DETROIT TIGERS) 78
1ST: ROCKY COLAVITO (CLEVELAND BLUES) 78
3rd: Yogi Berra (New York Yankees) 77

HR

1ST: ROCKY COLAVITO (CLEVELAND BLUES) 35
2nd: Mickey Mantle (New York Yankees) 26
2nd: Ken Boyer (Detroit Tigers) 26

AMERICAN LEAGUE - PITCHING

ERA

1ST: DON FERRARESE (CLEVELAND BLUES) 2.34
2nd: Herb Score (Cleveland Blues) 2.59
3rd: Pedro Ramos (Washington Senators) 2.60

W

1ST: BOBBY SHANTZ (NEW YORK YANKEES) 17
1ST: HERB SCORE (CLEVELAND BLUES) 17
3rd: Robin Roberts (Washington Senators) 14
3rd: Ryne Duren (Kansas City Athletics) 14

K

1ST: HERB SCORE (CLEVELAND BLUES) 206
2nd: Ryne Duren (Kansas City Athletics) 203
3rd: Jim Bunning (Detroit Tigers) 145

IP

1ST: FRANK SULLIVAN (BOSTON RED SOX) 229.0
2nd: Whitey Ford (New York Yankees) 209.2
3rd: Jim Bunning (Detroit Tigers) 209.1

OAVG

1ST: HERB SCORE (CLEVELAND BLUES) .180
2nd: Bob Smith (Boston Red Sox) .217
3rd: Don Ferrarese (Cleveland Blues) .223


NATIONAL LEAGUE - BATTING

AVG

1ST: ROBERTO CLEMENTE (PITTSBURGH PIRATES) .359
2nd: Gus Bell (Cincinnati Reds) .345
3rd: Richie Ashburn (Philadelphia Phillies) .341

OBP

1ST: RICHIE ASHBURN (PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES) .419
2nd: Gus Bell (Cincinnati Reds) .418
3rd: Ed Bouchee (Philadelphia Phillies) .413

H

1ST: ROBERTO CLEMENTE (PITTSBURGH PIRATES) 144
2nd: Orlando Cepeda (San Francisco Giants) 133
3rd: Gus Bell (Cincinnati Reds) 127

RBI

1ST: ERNIE BANKS (CHICAGO CUBS) 86
2nd: Roy Sievers (Philadelphia Phillies) 80
3rd: Willie Jones (Philadelphia Phillies) 79

HR

1ST: ERNIE BANKS (CHICAGO CUBS) 30
2nd: Willie Jones (Philadelphia Phillies) 26
2nd: Frank Robinson (Cincinnati Reds) 26
2nd: Bobby Thomson (Chicago Cubs) 26

NATIONAL LEAGUE - PITCHING

ERA

1ST: BOB CONLEY (CHICAGO CUBS) 2.39
2nd: Bob Anderson (Chicago Cubs) 2.75
3rd: Curt Simmons (Philadelphia Phillies) 3.03
3rd: Juan Pizarro (Milwaukee Braves) 3.03

W

1ST: CURT SIMMONS (PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES) 18
2nd: Bob Anderson (Chicago Cubs) 17
2nd: Bob Conley (Chicago Cubs) 17

K

1ST: SAM JONES (ST. LOUIS CARDINALS) 180
2nd: George Witt (Pittsburgh Pirates) 160
3rd: Earl Wilson (San Francisco Giants) 141

IP

1ST: CURT SIMMONS (PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES) 220.0
1ST: STU MILLER (SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS) 220.0
3rd: Sam Jones (St. Louis Cardinals) 217.2

OAVG

1ST: SAM JONES (ST. LOUIS CARDINALS) .198
2nd: Juan Pizarro (Milwaukee Braves) .200
3rd: Bob Anderson (Chicago Cubs) .230

[LFC1892]

Thats a good 1-2 for the Cubs.

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by LFC1892

Thats a good 1-2 for the Cubs.

I'm really intrigued to see if they can take them all the way to a World Championship. With the Blues in the running in the AL it could be a great ending to the season.

[kenyan_cheena]

BASEBALL WEEKLY

Monday 2 August 1959

VOLUME 25, ISSUE 31

BOYER AND BELL WIN
BATTER OF THE MONTH AWARDS

Story by Howard Notts, published in the
2 August 1959 issue of BASEBALL WEEKLY

Detroit Tigers 3rd baseman Ken Boyer was recognised yesterday for his fantastic efforts in July with MLB naming him the American League's Batter of the Month. The 28 year-old led the Michigan ballclub brilliantly to a 16-10 record, the Tigers ending July tied with the Cleveland Blues in 1st place. Boyer batted .378, hit seven home runs and recorded 23 RBI while scoring 24. The Missouri-born slugger has exceeded expectations since being acquired from the Cardinals in a trade for starting pitcher Paul Foytack last year and is hitting .334 this season with 26 home runs (tied for 2nd in the AL) and 78 RBI (tied for 1st in the AL).

Over in the National League Cincinnati Reds outfielder Gus Bell took out the award, the 30 year-old All-Star continuing what has been a great season by batting .343 with five homers and a season-high 23 RBI during July. Bell has been an absolute standout for the struggling Reds and is ranked in the top three in the NL in batting average (.345), on-base percentage (.418) and hits (127). Bell is in his 7th season with Cincinnati and is off contract at the end of the year. No doubt, the organisation will be keen to retain his services.

One of the "three Bobs" in the fantastic pitching rotation of the Chicago Cubs, 30 year-old Bob Purkey was perhaps a surprise winner of the NL's Pitcher of the Month award. He was only moved into the starting rotation on the 9th and made a great start in the role, getting wins and Player of the Game awards in his first three outings before ending the month with a 3-1 record and an unbelieveable ERA of 1.05 in 34.1 innings of work. His efforts are just another sign of how ridiculously strong the Cubs are in the pitching department as Purkey's fellow starters Bob Conley and Bob Anderson are 1st and 2nd in ERA and tied for 2nd in wins with 17. Meanwhile the fourth member of the quartet and last season's Cy Young winner Jim Brosnan has struggled to a 9-13 record and an ERA of 3.89. The rotation would be truly scary if he had been able to repeat his success of '58.

In a comical example of how bad the Chicago White Sox season has been, Barry Latman was named the American League's Pitcher of the Month ... one day after the team traded him to the Red Sox! Latman had spent most of the year in the minors, only making three appearances for the White Sox through the end of June. But like Purkey the 23 year-old was brought into the rotation last month and he flourished. In five games he was 2-1 with an ERA of 1.07, pitching 33.2 innings. It will be interesting to see if he can maintain this hot form streak for Boston. If so, White Sox fans will just have one more thing to gripe about during this terrible campaign...

[kenyan_cheena]

THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE

TUESDAY, 3 AUGUST, 1959

BANKS SMASHES FIVE RBI
IN CINCINNATI SLAUGHTER

Story by Brian Davison

Having ended July on a 10-2 run the Chicago Cubs maintained their MLB-best form streak yesterday, commencing a three-day stay in Cincinnati with a 10-0 rout of the Reds for their fifth win in a row. Regarded as one of the favourites to take out the National League's MVP award shortstop Ernie Banks had a field day, batting 2-for-4 with a run scored and five RBI. He hammered a three-run homer in the 3rd and a two-RBI single to short left-centre in the 5th that would turn out to be the last scoring play of the game. The Texas-born 28 year-old was joined by 1st baseman Walt Dropo (3-for-5, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 HR) and centrefielder Bobby Thomson (4-for-5, 3 R, 1 RBI) in pounding the Reds, Chicago recording seventeen hits.

While the Cubs' bats were swinging hot it was starting pitcher Bob Anderson who was named Player of the Game. In a complete game shutout he kept Cincinnati to just four hits and struck out six batters on 114 pitches. Anderson is now a fantastic 18-2 on the season, his ERA 2.62. The victory sees Chicago improve to 64-40 and stay 3.5 games ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies, who also won their fifth consecutive game with a come-from-behind 8-7 victory over the Pirates in the latest chapter of the Turnpike Series...

[kenyan_cheena]

The New York Age

FRIDAY, 6 AUGUST, 1959

YANKEES WIN SERIES OPENER ON
BERRA'S WALK-OFF HOMER

Story by Louis Greenberg

After eleven scoreless innings New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra smashed a solo home run into the centrefield stands to give his ballclub a vital 1-0 win over the visiting Detroit Tigers yesterday afternoon. The victory moved the Bronx Bombers to within 2.5 games of the league lead and was their fourth consecutive triumph after they'd swept the Senators in Washington to start the week.

As the final score indicates yesterday's encounter was a classic pitcher's duel, Yankees starter Whitey Ford allowing just three hits in ten innings of work and taking the Player of the Game award. Hank Aguirre lasted seven frames for the Tigers and gave up only four hits, also striking out four batters.

Despite the game lasting twelve innings it was over in just over three-and-a-half hours, the Yankee faithful going home satisfied after a matchup that had them on the edge of their seats. Berra's 12th inning shot was his 22nd home run of the season and 80th RBI, not bad for a 34 year-old in his 14th season in the majors. Yankees manager Casey Stengel spoke of his admiration for Berra afterwards.

"He's been one of the greats of our sport for a long time now," Stengel said. "But he hasn't always received the recognition he deserves, but it doesn't bother him one bit. He just goes out there each day and gets it done. There's nothing I'd like more than to see him back in another World Series, but it's gonna take a lot of hard work for us to achieve that."

With three games still remaining in the series the Yankees have a great chance to close the gap on the Tigers. In what should be an intriguing game, today's matchup sees Jim Bunning (12-6, 3.75) starting for Detroit against the veteran Bobby Shantz (17-7, 4.38)...

[kenyan_cheena]

THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE

SATURDAY, 7 AUGUST, 1959

OLIVER STARS AS CUBS
WINNING STREAK HITS NINE

Story by Brian Davison

The Chicago Cubs continued what could very well be a defining sequence of games in the NL pennant race yesterday, the Illinois ballclub winning their ninth consecutive contest with a come-from-behind 4-3 win over the Dodgers at Ebbets. Back-up catcher Gene Oliver produced a Player of the Game performance, the 24 year-old batting 3-for-4 and scoring twice in his 41st appearance of the season. He scored the opening run of the game in the 2nd inning and then crossed the plate from 3rd on a wild pitch to bring the Cubs within one at 3-2 in the 7th.

Starter Bob Anderson produced a solid outing, giving up six hits and three earned runs in 7.2 innings of work. He struck out eight batters on 107 pitches and now boasts a fantastic 19-2 record, his ERA 2.66. His efforts yesterday followed a PotG afternoon in his previous start on Monday when the Cubs routed Cincinnati 10-0. As mentioned earlier, today's win was the ninth in a row for the Cubs. They're 6-0 in August and 16-2 since July 18, a fantastic run that now sees them 68-40 and a season-high 5.5 games ahead of the 2nd placed Philadelphia Phillies (63-46). The Pennsylvanian team went down 2-0 to the Giants yesterday at Candlestick Park, their second straight loss to the Californians.

It's been fourteen years since the Cubs last claimed the National League pennant and 51 since their last World Championship. Right now, they look closer than they've ever been in some time to erasing both of those numbers...

[Jeff1787]

Chicago vs. Cleveland would be sweet!!!

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Jeff1787

Chicago vs. Cleveland would be sweet!!!

I'd love to see that, too. Cleveland's power hitting taking on Chicago's ace pitching staff. We can only hope for now...

[kenyan_cheena]

MILWAUKEE * WISCONSIN
JOURNAL SENTINEL

Monday 9 August 1959

CRANDALL BREAKS NOSE
IN UGLY LOSS TO REDS

Story by Lomas Robertson

Veteran Milwaukee Braves catcher Del Crandall was hit in the face by a pitch during his team's 8-2 loss to the Cincinnati Reds yesterday at County Stadium, suffering a broken nose that will apparently keep him out of action for the next week. The defeat ended a bad series for the Braves, dropping three of four at home to a struggling ballclub after starting August with four consecutive victories, including a sweep of the Dodgers in Brooklyn. They're now 60-51, 9.5 games out of 1st place in the National League.

"It's been like this all year long," said a frustrated Hank Aaron. "Just incredible how many injuries this team has endured. Almost like the baseball gods put a curse on us before the season started. But like Pudge says, we just gotta keep on fightin'. Ain't no use cryin' over it."

Aaron has been one of the few players on the Braves roster who has remained injury free. As for Crandall, his unfortunate break came in the bottom of the 8th in his next at-bat following a two-run homer in the 6th that brought the Braves within two runs of the lead at 4-2. But the Reds put the game out of reach in the 7th when Gus Bell hit a three-run shot as part of a four-run inning to bring about the final scoreline. The Reds had started the week with a disheartening three-game losing sweep against the Cubs in Cincinnati and are now 49-62.

With just seven weeks remaining in the season the goal of a third consecutive trip to the World Series looks out of reach for the Braves. Of course, as Aaron said they'll keep fighting but only a fool would bet on them running down the red-hot Cubs at this stage.

[kenyan_cheena]

THE OHIO EXPRESS

Thursday, 12 August, 1959

COLAVITO HOMERS TWICE
IN ATHLETICS ANNIHILATION

Story by Grady McCallum

Following a disappointing series-opening 5-1 loss on Tuesday the Cleveland Blues answered back in the best possible fashion yesterday, hammering eighteen hits in an 11-1 demolition of the Kansas City Athletics at Municipal Stadium. MLB's home run record holder Rocky Colavito was in fine form, batting 3-for-5 with three runs scored and four RBI. Colavito celebrated his 26th birthday this past Tuesday and gave himself a belated gift, hitting an RBI-double in the 3rd before smashing a two-run homer in the 6th and a two-out solo blast in his next at-bat in the 7th. They were his 38th and 39th home runs of the season.

Colavito received fantastic support from catcher Russ Nixon, who was 5-for-5 with a run and two RBI. Four other Blues players recorded at least two hits, shortstop Billy Moran hitting 3-for-4 with two runs scored while starting pitcher Don Ferrarese knocked in his first runs of the season in a 2-for-5, 3-RBI effort that included a two-run double in the 5th. Willie Mays scored twice in a 2-for-3 effort before being sent to the showers early and 3rd baseman Billy Harrell was 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Ferrarese complimented Cleveland's excellent offense with 8.1 innings of five-hit ball, MLB's ERA leader striking out seven batters on 116 pitches to improve to 10-5. His ERA is 2.28.

Before Tuesday's defeat the Blues had reeled off five consecutive wins, including a four-game sweep of the Red Sox in Cleveland (where three of the wins came by a single run). Yesterday's win saw them move to 67-46 and maintain a one-game lead over the Detroit Tigers (66-47) at the top of the American League, the Yankees 4.5 games back at 62-50...