What Could Have Been: An Alternate Baseball Reality

[Big Six]

July 1, 1937

The All-Star game was played on June 23 at Pittsburgh's Forbes Field. The following players took the field for the American and National League All-Star squads:

AMERICAN LEAGUE ALL-STARS

SP  Gene Schott         KC    12-4, 2.47
SP  Stephen Jennings    CHC   11-7, 2.70
SP  Spud Chandler       LA    10-7, 2.71, 75 K
SP  Ray Brown           CHW   10-2, 3.52, 79 K
SP  Cliff Melton        SD    8-7, 2.71, 82 K
SP  Roy Weir            SD    9-4, 3.00
RP  Jud McLaughlin      POR   4-1, 3.20, 12 SV
RP  Jaime Soto          CHW   6-6, 3.43, 9 SV
RP  Ken Smith           OAK   3-1, 3.78, 11 SV
RP  Lance Thompson      SEA   0-3, 2.35, 4 SV
RP  Bob Adams           SF    4-2, 4.24, 9 SV
RP  Lorenzo Garcia      SAC   4-4, 2.83, 4 SV

C   Josh Gibson         POR   .344-18-62
C   Ted Radcliffe       SF    .313-6-49
1B  Jimmie Foxx         KC    .288-22-52
1B  Hal Trosky          CHC   .337-17-68
1B  Ripper Collins      CHW   .353-9-48
1B  Jack Cummings       SD    .330-1-51
2B  Odell Hale          SD    .290-12-57
3B  Ray Dandridge       POR   .327-3-29
SS  Arky Vaughan        CHW   .336-12-51
LF  Joe DiMaggio        SAC   .291-20-60
LF  Buzz Arlett         KC    .327-10-31
CF  Dave LaPointe       HOL   .393-7-40
CF  Earl Averill        STL   .304-7-34
RF  Chuck Klein         POR   .352-15-53
RF  Oscar Eckhardt      CHW   .359-4-41
RF  Tommy Henrich       STL   .313-9-42


NATIONAL LEAGUE ALL-STARS

SP  Al Hollingsworth    NYG   10-4, 2.14
SP  Mike Crawford       BAL   8-4, 2.17, 60 K
SP  Ed Brandt           BOS   9-4, 2.84, 67 K
SP  Tommy Thomas        WAS   10-3, 3.40, 68 K
SP  Enrique Hernandez   PHI   9-4, 2.92, 89 K
SP  Johnny Broaca       PIT   9-6, 2.80
RP  Steve Swetonic      CIN   6-5, 2.70, 6 SV
RP  Bob Lewis           CLE   1-4, 2.13, 12 SV
RP  Milt Shoffner       NYY   2-3, 2.11, 10 SV
RP  Syd Cohen           MIL   0-4, 1.92, 3 SV
RP  Herb Bradley        PIT   3-0, 5.45, 9 SV
RP  Hugh Casey          NYG   3-1, 2.04, 6 SV

C   Jimmie Wilson       PHI   .337-0-22
C   Bennie Tate         NYG   .310-4-33
1B  Lou Gehrig          PIT   .376-24-78
1B  Johnny Mize         DET   .369-18-65
1B  Hank Greenberg      MIL   .313-25-64
2B  Brian Benton        NYY   .374-4-42
3B  Harlond Clift       DET   .308-16-58
3B  Jimmy Brown         PIT   .357-4-39
SS  Joe Cronin          MIL   .339-12-60
LF  Mule Suttles        WAS   .360-22-62
LF  Pete Fox            BKN   .323-8-47
CF  Hank Leiber         PHI   .340-7-35
CF  Hersh Martin        CLE   .320-4-45
RF  Bob Fothergill      WAS   .325-2-29
RF  Jose Sanchez        CLE   .327-7-39

The American League shut down the NL's fearsome, slugger-packed lineup to earn a 3-0 victory.

• What's even better than hitting a game-winning home run for your team?
  
  Hitting a game-winning home run AND the 500th home run of your career in the same game.
  
  That's what Lou Gehrig did on June 30. In the sixth inning, Lou took a two-strike curveball from Cleveland rookie Howie Krist and belted it 398 feet over the right-centerfield wall. Three innings later, Gehrig blasted a walk-off solo shot against the Indians' All-Star reliever, Bob Lewis.
  
  
• Gehrig became the second player in history to hit 500 career homers, and both acheived the feat this season. He's a career .336 hitter, with lifetime totals of 2557 hits, 1675 runs scored, and 1665 RBI.
  
  
• The New York Yankees endured a nightmarish June, losing nine games in the standings to their crosstown rivals, the Giants. Yankees first baseman Buck Leonard was the team's lone bright spot. Stung by his omission from the National League All-Star team, Buck hammered 14 homers and drove in 36 runs during June, batting .412 and getting on base at a .498 clip. He's now tied with Gehrig for the major league home run lead at 29.
  
  
• The American League's top slugger for June was Josh Gibson of the Continental Division-leading Portland Beavers. Josh hit .345 with nine homers and 34 RBI last month.
  
  
• Kansas City's Gene Schott leads all major league pitchers with 14 wins, and he parlayed a 5-1 June into an American League Pitcher of the Month award. Schott pitched to a 1.70 ERA during the month, and he's led the A's to a winning record as the season passes the halfway mark.
  
  
• The NL Mid-East Division has been hotly contested all year, with three teams battling for the top spot. Right now, the Washington Senators lead the list, with the Detroit Tigers a game behind them and the Milwaukee Braves four games off the pace. Washington righthander Dizzy Dean went 6-0 in June, striking out 50 batters in 54 innings, propelling his team into the lead and earning the NL Pitcher of the Month award.
  
  
• The Senators have managed to win without the services of their star second baseman, Charlie Gehringer. He's been missing from the lineup since he broke his ankle during the first week of the season. Gehringer, 34, will miss the remainder of this season, but he hopes to return to action in 1938.
  
  
• The race for the American League Pacific race continues to excite fans on the left coast. San Diego is still in first place, but the Hollywood Stars have closed to within a game of the Padres, and the San Francisco Seals are a game behind the Stars.

[Big Six]

August 1, 1937

• The list of Lou Gehrig's baseball accomplishments is a long one, filled with noteworthy feats. It's entirely possible he'll add a Triple Crown to his resume this year. The Pirates' slugger leads both leagues with a .375 batting average. His total of 118 RBI is 17 more than that of runner-up Buck Leonard of the Yankees. And he's tied with Leonard and the Braves' Hank Greenberg with 36 home runs.
  
  
• Gehrig won his second National League Batter of the Month Award of the season, batting .371 and driving in 33 runs during July. His Pirates currently trade the Northern Division-leading New York Giants by three games.
  
  
• Righthander Johnny Broaca has also given Pirates fans plenty to cheer about. Broaca posted a 16-16 record and a 4.64 ERA in 1936, but he's already won 15 games in 1937 with almost two months remaining in the season. He went 5-1 with a 1.90 ERA and won the National League Pitcher of the Month Award for July.
  
  
• Portland's Chuck Klein has won 15 Batter of the Month awards during his 11-year career, so his selection as the American League's best batsman for July wasn't completely unexpected. His .378-9-28 line certainly made him a worthy honoree.
  
  
• Klein and the Beavers are riding high with a 70-38 record, the best in either league. Their lead of 12 games in the AL Continental Division is also the biggest among the four division leaders.
  
  
• The Hollywood Stars needed every one of Jesse Cooke's six July victories, because they're locked in a great pennant race with the Sacramento Solons and the San Francisco Seals. Cooke, the American League Pitcher of the Month, has a 13-6 record and a fine 2.22 ERA this season.
  
  
• A 10-19 record in July caused the San Diego Padres to fall to fourth place in the Pacific Division. They're only five games off the lead, and there's plenty of time left, but Padres fans have to be concerned about their team's chances of returning to the World Series.
  
  
• Baltimore's Mike Crawford has been among the game's top pitchers for nearly two decades and, at age 40, he seems as good as he's ever been. His 2.24 ERA is among the best in baseball. Iron Mike has suffered sone bad luck in 1937, losing games by 2-0, 3-1, and 1-0 scores in the last month alone. He's pitched better than his 10-9 record indicates, but Crawford refuses to blame his teammates for his misfortune. His ten victories give him a total of 297 for his career.

[NYY #23]

Its great to see Gehrig have continued success. I'm hoping he can add that Triple Crown.

Good to see Crawford getting ever so closer to 300 as well.

[Big Six]

Originally Posted by NYY #23

Its great to see Gehrig have continued success. I'm hoping he can add that Triple Crown.

Good to see Crawford getting ever so closer to 300 as well.

Gehrig has had a tremendous career. His name can be found high on the all-time leaderboard in most important offensive categories. He's second all-time in slugging (.601), second in OPS (1.012), first in VORP (927.26), third in runs scored (1696), fourth in total bases (4634), second in home runs (508), and third in RBI (1698).

Lou was born on June 19, 1903, so he just celebrated his 34th birthday. His ratings remain very high (Contact 17, Gap Power 15, Power 16, Eye 15, Avoid K 16 on the 20-point scale), so he looks like he'll remain productive for a few years yet. It appears that Gehrig will set fmost of the standards for future power hitters to pursue.

With any luck at all, Crawford would have his 300 wins by now. He's certainly pitched well enough this year to win three more games, and it's not his fault the Orioles have become such a mediocre team lately. Right now they're languishing in fifth place, six games under .500, and they have a really hard time scoring runs.

[Big Six]

August 31, 1937

August was a month of milestones across major league baseball, and the most significant of them all occurred on the month's final day.

Baltimore Orioles righthander Mike Crawford missed the first two weeks of August with a blister on his the middle finger of his salary hand. When he returned to the mound on August 16, he did so with style, shutting out the Cleveland Indians on two hits.

Five days later, he lost, 4-0, to the Pittsburgh Pirates, but he righted himself on August 26. Iron Mike threw another shutout, victimizing the Cincinnati Reds this time. The victory was his 12th of the season, and the 299th of his career, and it lowered his MLB-best ERA to 2.12.

Today, a capacity crowd filled New York's Polo Grounds to see the Orioles take on the Giants. Of course, many in the crowd wanted to see a victory by the home team. Perhaps as many, however, wanted to see the 6'1", 232-pound Bloomington, Indiana native make history. The Giants, after all, lead the National League Northern division by a comfortable seven-game margin.

The pitching matchup could not have been much more intriguing. The Giants' starter, Bob Feller, was a year and a half old when Crawford made his major league debut in 1920. Crawford, on the other hand, was born in 1896.

The Orioles scored in the fourth inning, but Crawford allowed the Giants to tally twice in the sixth. Baltimore immediately responded with a run in the top of the seventh, and the 2-2 score held up through nine innings.

"There was no way I was coming out of the game," said Crawford. "I hadn't thrown that many pitches, and I still felt strong."

On the Orioles bench, veterans Rick Mar and Dave McBride, who like Crawford has been with the Orioles since 1920, rallied their teammates around him. "Let's score right now and win this game for Mike," they said. The Orioles did just that, stringing together two walks, two singles, and a sacrifice fly to produce two runs against ace Giants reliever Hugh Casey. Crawford then retired the Giants in order in the bottom of the tenth to secure his historic victory.

Crawford is the first pitcher in major league history to record 300 victories. His career record stands at 300-192, and his lifetime ERA of 2.84 is also the best of all time. He has more shutouts (52) and a higher VORP (1187.2) than any pitcher in history.

Crawford's feat partly overshadowed two other landmark performances. On August 1, Portland's Chuck Klein became the fourth player in big league history to hit 400 career home runs. He connected off Kansas City's Paul Derringer in the fourth inning of the Beavers' 7-4 win over the Athletics at Portland's Vaughn Street Stadium.

Klein hit #400 at age 32, making him the second-youngest player to achieve this feat (Lou Gehrig was ten months younger). Klein's .363 lifetime average is currently the best in history, and he already ranks among the all-time best in several other offensive categories as well.

Many experts believe Boston's Satchel Paige has the best chance to join Crawford in the exclusive 300-win fraternity. Satchel took a big step in that direction on August 14, when he edged the Brooklyn Dodgers, 7-6, to earn the 200th victory of his big league career.

Satch is believed to be 31 years old, making him just a little younger than Crawford was when he won #200. Then again, it's rumored that Satch might actually be considerably older than his reported age. With Satch, you never know.

[Big Six]

September 1, 1937

• The Detroit Tigers are close to clinching the NL Mid-East Division title, and the consistently excellent play of third baseman Harlond Clift is one big reason why. Clift was recently named the National League Batter of the Month for August, when he produced a .390 average, nine homers, and 25 RBI. His season totals of .326-32-103 are evidence of his status as one of the best players in the game, and he combines with 1B Johnny Mize (.360-38-122) to give the Tigers one of the most dangerous 3-4 combinations in baseball.
  
  
• The American League Pacific Division is once again providing fans with a classic pennant race. The Hollywood Stars and the San Francisco Seals are tied for first, with identical 76-61 records, and the Sacramento Solons and San Diego Padres, each four games back, aren't out of the race yet.
  
  
• The Stars and Seals are winning with lineups that lack true star power. Catcher Ted Radcliffe and pitcher Whit Wyatt are the biggest names on a Seals roster that is filled with capable, often overlooked pros. Hollywood outfielder Dave LaPointe (.355-13-82, .434 OBP) might one day be a marquee name, but at 24, he's far from a household name across much of the baseball world.
  
  
• Not so for the Solons' star outfielder, Joe DiMaggio. Joe D unleashed a fearsome power surge in August, hammering 15 homers and walking away with the AL Batter of the Month trophy. DiMaggio now has 42 homers on the year, second only to Lou Gehrig among big league sluggers.
  
  
• Speaking of Gehrig, he is now facing a serious challenge to his Triple Crown aspirations by a hard-hitting Portland outfielder.
  
  No, it's not Chuck Klein; it's Roy "Stormy" Weatherly. The 22-year-old Weatherly rapped 50 (yes, 50) hits during August, good for a .459 average, and raised his season mark to .372. Gehrig's average currently stands at .368. Lou holds a comfortable lead over the Yankees' Buck Leonard in the RBI race, 144-128.
  
  
• The National League's winningest pitcher, Ed Brandt of the Red Sox, went 6-0 during August and won his league's Pitcher of the Month Award. Gene Schott of the Kansas City Athletics leads the American league with 21 victories, while Brandt has won 19 times.
  
  
• Super sophomore Cliff Melton of the Padres crafted a 6-0 record during August, pitching to a 1.67 ERA and striking out 38 batters in 54 frames. Now 16-11 for the year with a 2.66 ERA, Cliff was named the AL Pitcher of the Month.

[Big Six]

September 19, 1937

Forgive San Francisco Seals fans if they felt confident about their chances to clinch the American League Pacific Division championship today.

The Seals, leading the Hollywood Stars by one game, were in Oakland to play the last-place Oaks, whose 52-99 record was the worst in the major leagues. Meanwhile, the Stars were in Portland to face the Beavers, whose 103-51 mark was eleven games better than any other team in either league.
A Seals win or a Stars loss would give the division crown to San Francisco.

However, The Oaks weren't about to roll over for their Bay Area rivals. Righthander Ralph Birkofer, who entered the game with a 9-24 record, fired a six-hit shutout and the Oaks beat the Seals, 2-0.

Journeyman righthander Clay Touchstone, who has spent most of his eleven-year career with the St. Paul Saints of the International League, pitched the Stars to a 7-4 victory over the mighty Beavers who, like the Oaks, played almost all their regulars. With that victory, Touchstone endeared himself forever to Stars fans.

The Seals and Stars will meet tomorrow in a one-game playoff to decide the Pacific Division championship. The winner will face the Beavers for the American League pennant, while the New York Giants and the Detroit Tigers will battle for the National League crown.

Lou Gehrig's pursuit of the Triple Crown intrigued baseball fans all year long. By mid-September, another slugging first baseman emerged to make an equally impressive run at the three-way prize.

Buck Leonard of the New York Yankees caught fire during the last weeks of the season. He belted nine homers in September, giving him a total of 50. Meanwhile Gehrig went deep only four times, allowing Leonard to capture the home run title, 50-48.

Leonard lost the batting title by .0001 of a point to the Tigers' Johnny Mize. Johnny hit .3668 (212/578) to Buck's .3667 (220/600). Gehrig faded to .360, while Portland's Roy Weatherly led the American League at .372.

Gehrig did retain the RBI title, but not by much. Lou's total of 154 was just three higher than Buck's 151.

[Big Six]

September 20, 1937

One-game playoffs always have the potential to become classics, but the contest played today between the Hollywood Stars and the San Francisco Seals fell far short of that lofty standard. The Stars won a rather uninteresting game, 5-2, to advance to the American League Championship Series, where they will face the powerful Continental champion Portland Beavers.

Spades Wood, who spent most of the year in the Hollywood bullpen, teamed with Ben Cantwell and Belve Bean to stymie the Seals' bats. Dave LaPointe and Billy Herman each had three hits for the winners, while rookie Johnny Rizzo drove in two runs.

[NYY #23]

An exciting season. I'm happy to see your first 300 game winner. Heck of a way to do it too!

Also a nice triple crown race between Gehrig and Buck Leonard. Even though Leonard is on the Yankees now I was still pulling for Lou. In the end they both missed out, but Gehrig just keeps putting up huge numbers.

I had to look up Weatherly, because I never heard of him before. A .372 average is pretty impressive though.

The Seals have to be kicking themselves after blowing a one game lead, and the one game playoff.

[TribeFanInNC]

Originally Posted by Big Six

One-game playoffs always have the potential to become classics, but the contest played today between the Hollywood Stars and the San Francisco Seals fell far short of that lofty standard.

I hate it when dynasties have the chance for a great moment, then the game lets you down. Doesn't OOTP know we are creating groundbreaking fictional journalism here?!?!

Too bad the Iron Horse faded at the end. Would have made for another great story. Great year for milestones though. Keep up the great work Big Six.

[Big Six]

Originally Posted by NYY #23

An exciting season. I'm happy to see your first 300 game winner. Heck of a way to do it too!

Also a nice triple crown race between Gehrig and Buck Leonard. Even though Leonard is on the Yankees now I was still pulling for Lou. In the end they both missed out, but Gehrig just keeps putting up huge numbers.

I had to look up Weatherly, because I never heard of him before. A .372 average is pretty impressive though.

The Seals have to be kicking themselves after blowing a one game lead, and the one game playoff.

Mike Crawford is now among my three or four all-time favorite fictional pitchers. I've really enjoyed watching his career unfold, partially because, for some reason, I've never really taken a huge liking to any of the "real" pitchers from the era, with the exception of Satchel Paige, who's always intrigued me.

Iron Mike's ratings have remained pretty solid, even as he enters his forties. It seems possible that he could keep pitching well for another two or three years.

I'd barely heard of Roy Weatherly, but he was actually better than I thought. He put up big numbers his rookie year, which is probably why he imported so well.

The Pacific Division has been a lot of fun to follow lately. It seems like there's always a good battle for the division championship, and at least one different team is involved every year.

Thanks for the comments!

[Big Six]

Originally Posted by TribeFanInNC

I hate it when dynasties have the chance for a great moment, then the game lets you down. Doesn't OOTP know we are creating groundbreaking fictional journalism here?!?!

Too bad the Iron Horse faded at the end. Would have made for another great story. Great year for milestones though. Keep up the great work Big Six.

Thanks very much! I was hoping for a classic playoff moment, but I suppose a divisional playoff is a great story in itself. One game, win or lose, do or die, continue or go home. Hopefully the LCS and World Series will be particularly memorable.

I wanted to see Lou win the Triple Crown, too. He's one of the players I always hope will do well whenever I play a historical/semi-historical league, and in my two longest-running dynasties, Lou's been a superstar both times.

[Big Six]

September 29, 1937

The National and American League pennants have both been decided, and this year's World Series will match a team which is making its first appearance in the Fall Classic against a team whose only Series victory came over a decade ago.

The Detroit Tigers made their second consecutive playoff appearance this year, and swept the New York Giants to win the American League championship. The first and fourth contests were both exciting, and demonstrated that entertaining baseball can feature hard hitting or skillfull pitching. The Tigers won Game One 14-12, and triumphed 2-1 in the finale when Johnny Mize hit a solo home run off Giants' righthander Bob Feller in the bottom of the eighth inning. Harlond Clift led the Detroiters with a .433 average, a home run, and six RBI.

The mighty Portland Beavers won the most games in either league during the regular season and took the Continental Division title with ease, while the Pacific Division winners, the Hollywood Stars, needed to win a one-game playoff to secure their title. However, it was the underdog Stars who prevailed in the ALCS, dispatching the Beavers in six games. Hollywood catcher Ernie Lombardi hit .500, homered twice, and drove in seven runs.

The Stars are celebrating their first league championship, while the Tigers have played in two World Series and won in 1925. Only two current Tigers--pitcher Cole Barrett and outfielder Paul Waner--remain from the '25 champions, and one more--relief ace Pat Richardson--was a member of the '27 squad.

[Big Six]

October 9, 1937

For the first time in their history, the Hollywood Stars are World Series champions!

Lefty ace Carl Hubbell won the first and final games of an intriguing seven-game Series to propel the Stars to victory over the National League champion Detroit Tigers. King Carl tossed a three-hit shutout in Game One, and beat Tigers star Jim Tobin 4-3 to win Game Seven.

The Stars won the first two games of the Series, only to see the Tigers take three straight and move to within a game of the championship. Detroit's offense was truly fearsome in the middle games of the Series, producing 12, 11, and 11 runs in successive contests.

With his team facing elimination, Hollywood's Tex Carleton shut out the Detroiters on three hits in Game Six, giving Hubbell the opportunity to pitch the Stars to victory the next night.

Tigers 3B Harlond Clift, who homered twice in his team's Game Four victory, led all batters with three home runs and 12 RBI during the post-season. For the Stars, 1B Gus Suhr hit .347 with 11 RBI, while C Ernie Lombardi batted an even .400, homered twice, and drove in ten runs.

[Big Six]

October 24, 1937

NATIONAL LEAGUE STANDINGS

NORTHERN        W   L    PCT  GB
New York G      92  62  .597  --
Pittsburgh      86  68  .558   6
New York Y      82  72  .532  10
Philadelphia    82  72  .532  10
Boston          72  82  .468  20
Brooklyn        68  86  .442  24

MID-EAST        W   L    PCT  GB
Detroit         86  68  .558  --
Washington      83  71  .538   3
Cleveland       72  82  .468  14
Baltimore       70  84  .455  16
Milwaukee       69  85  .448  17
Cincinnati      62  92  .403  24


AMERICAN LEAGUE STANDINGS

CONTINENTAL     W   L    PCT  GB
Portland       103  51  .669  --
Chicago W       83  71  .539  20
Chicago C       78  76  .506  25
Kansas City     77  77  .500  26
Seattle         76  78  .494  27
St. Louis       71  83  .461  32

PACIFIC         W   L    PCT  GB
Hollywood       85  70  .548  --
San Francisco   84  71  .542   1
San Diego       80  74  .519   4.5
Sacramento      78  76  .506   6.5
Los Angeles     55  99  .357  29.5
Oakland         55  99  .357  29.5

• For the second straight season, the Portland Beavers won over 100 games, but failed to win the World Series.
  
  
• Beavers fans could take pride in the fact that their oustanding young catcher, Josh Gibson, won the American League Outstanding Batter Award. The 25-year-old slugger hit .360 with 37 homers and 139 RBI, finishing no worse than third in any Triple Crown category.
  
  
• Gibson's teammate, Chuck Klein, produced another superb season, hitting .350 with 41 HR and an American League-best 140 RBI. As we saw earlier, Beavers OF Roy Weatherly won the batting title, and yet another Beaver, 3B Roy Dandridge, put up outstanding numbers from the leadoff spot.
  
  
• Gene Schott of the Kansas City Athletics tied for the major league lead with 22 victories, and won the American League's Outstanding Pitcher prize. Schott, who posted a 2.70 ERA, is one of the league's best young hurlers.
  
  
• Like Schott, Pittsburgh's Johnny Broaca won 22 games, and he was recently named the National League's Outstanding Pitcher for 1937. Broaca pitched to a 2.57 ERA.
  
  
• Mike Crawford put the finishing touches on his unforgettable '37 season by capturing the National League ERA crown. Crawford, who turned 41 during the season, posted a 2.24 figure that was the best in baseball, just a little lower than the 2.30 recorded by Hollywood's Jesse Cooke.
  
  
• There's a great battle for the all-time lead in saves that is largely overlooked by all but the most stat-oriented fans. Seattle's long-time relief ace, Brennan Thomas, currently leads Oakland's venerable Ken Smith, 219-217. Brooklyn's Mike MacMoran is the only other pitcher to record 200 career saves; he has 203 to his credit.
  
  
• Nobody was surprised when Yankees first baseman Buck Leonard walked away with the National League's Outstanding Batter Award. Buck hit .367 with 50 homers and 151 RBI, and won the OBA for the fourth time in the last five years. He joins Lou Gehrig as the only National Leaguers to have won four OBAs; Chuck Klein has won the AL award six times.
  
  
• It took long enough, but the Cubs' Hal Trosky finally got a chance to show what he could do at the big league level, and he was good enough to win the American League Rookie of the Year Award. Trosky, 24, hit .323-34-136.
  
  
• The National League's top rookie was Jimmy Brown of the Pirates. The 27-year-old Brown, who didn't play pro ball until last year, hit .341 with seven homers and 77 RBI, and scored 109 runs.

[Big Six]

January 1, 1938

Happy New Year! let's meet the 20 top players for 1938:

NO  PLAYER             TEAM  AGE   POS  LY   AVG  HR  RBI
 1  Josh Gibson         POR   25   C     1  .360  37  139
 2  Buck Leonard        NYY   30   1B    4  .367  50  151
 3  Harlond Clift       DET   25   3B    3  .314  34  114
 4  Joe DiMaggio        SAC   23   LF    5  .307  46  119
 5  Bob McBryde         WAS   25   C     7  .331  12   79
 6  Lou Gehrig          PIT   34   1B    2  .360  48  154
 7  Dave LaPointe       HOL   24   CF   17  .365  15   92
 8  Jimmie Foxx         KC    30   1B    9  .300  45  115
 9  Johnny Mize         DET   24   1B   13  .367  44  141
10  Earl Averill        STL   35   CF   10  .313  17   76
11  Chuck Klein         POR   33   RF    8  .350  41  140
12  Arky Vaughan        CHW   25   SS    6  .314  20  104
13  Hank Greenberg      MIL   27   1B   12  .310  46  127
14  Roy Weatherly       POR   22   LF   15  .372  19   94
15  Ray Dandridge       POR   24   3B   18  .318   4   62
16  Mule Suttles        WAS   36   LF   NR  .325  36  137
17  Hal Trosky          CHC   25   1B   NR  .323  34  136
18  Jim Bottomley       WAS   37   1B   16  .334  24  124
19  Buzz Boyle          BOS   29   LF   19  .322  12   74
20  Jose Sanchez        CLE   29   RF   NR  .335  15  101

Lou Gehrig produces a monster year in 1937, and he falls four spots on the list. Are there some concerns that Lou could be entering his decline phase? Still, being the sixth best player in baseball is far from a bad thing.


Chuck Klein continues to slide down the list, despite putting up big numbers year after year. I'm not sure why.


Look at how many great young hitters seem to be emerging! Granted, 1937 was a great year for offense, but Gibson, Clift, DiMaggio, McBryde, LaPointe, Mize, Vaughan, Weatherly, and Dandridge are all 25 years old or younger.


McBryde, LaPointe, and Sanchez are fictional players.

Here are the 20 top pitchers in the game:

NO  PITCHER            TEAM  AGE   LY   W-L    ERA   K
 1  Satchel Paige       BOS   31    1  15-16  3.83  253
 2  Tommy Bridges       PHI   31    2  17-14  3.06  207
 3  Gene Schott         KC    24    4  22-7   2.70  135
 4  Cliff Melton        SD    25    7  18-13  2.65  170
 5  Ray Brown           CHW   29   12  18-8   3.80  170
 6  Whit Wyatt          SF    30    5  16-8   3.56  121
 7  Bob Feller          NYG   19   NR  18-11  3.77  229
 8  Ed Brandt           BOS   32   10  20-6   2.94  146
 9  Dutch Leonard       SD    28   15  16-13  3.91   61
10  Spud Chandler       LA    30   13  17-15  2.98  127
11  Johnny Allen        SEA   33   11  13-18  3.55  186
12  Stephen Jennings    CHC   26    6  19-7   2.60  129
13  Enrique Hernandez   PHI   27   NR  18-9   3.59  188
14  Fred Barnes         SAC   29   17  18-9   2.94  118
15  Bill Swift          SAC   29   18  11-17  4.22   70
16  Carl Hubbell        HOL   34    8  13-17  4.39  116
17  Roy Weir            SD    26   16  15-10  3.16  136
18  Quincy Dorst        CHC   38    9  12-13  3.90  125
19  Jim Turner          WAS   34   20  15-11  4.64  106
20  Ricardo Morales     SEA   31   NR  11-16  4.41  116

• It's hard to believe there's not a single Portland pitcher on the list. It's clear that the experts are unwilling to show Pat Caraway (21-7, 3.68) any love. I'd put Paul Baker (16-13, 3.10) on my top 20 list, too.
  
  
• Dizzy Dean appears to be in the process of dropping off the radar once again. After recovering from serious arm problems, Diz is losing his skills at a rapid pace. He's only 27, and he hasn't been hurt, so I'm not sure why it's happening this time.
  
  
• Jennings, Hernandez, Barnes, Dorst, and Morales are all fictional pitchers.

And, let's meet the ten brightest prospects in baseball:

 1  Willard Brown       CHC   22  CF
 2  Bobby Doerr         BOS   19  2B
 3  Pedro Alba          POR   18  P
 4  Valentyn Santos     NYG   23  P
 5  Enos Slaughter      BKN   21  RF
 6  Joe Gordon          SAC   22  2B
 7  Frankie Kelleher    BKN   21  RF
 8  Leon Day            KC    19  P
 9  Lou Boudreau        STL   20  SS
10  Ken Keltner         OAK   21  3B

• Brown ranked #2 on this list last year. He won a regular job in the Cubs' outfield this spring, hit four homers in 11 games, tore his biceps, and missed the rest of the year. He looks like he's recovered fully, so look for him to pick up where he left off in 1938.
  
  
• Doerr hit .309-5-42 with a .378 OBP in 349 AB with the Red Sox in 1937. He's still a teenager, so I put him on the list. He's projected to add power as he matures, too.
  
  
• Alba, a native of the Dominican Republic, signed with the Beavers in June, and pitched the rest of the year for Class A Lynn. He should develop better-than-average stuff, and nothing he throws is straight. Like many pitchers his age, he's wild, but experience should fix that problem.
  
  
• Santos went 15-9, 3.51 for the Giants' division-winning club, so he's more experienced than the guys on this list usually are. I included him because we've been tracking him for a while, and I thought you might be interested to see how well he's developed.
  
  
• Highly touted Slaughter didn't disappoint, reporting straight to the Dodgers after the draft and hitting .284 in 168 AB. He's got some pop, and he's a better-than-average outfielder with a strong arm.
  
  
• Gordon flashed some power in 42 games with the Solons, cracking nine homers. His .235 batting average should improve, since Joe makes good contact and judges the strike zone well.
  
  
• The Dodgers promoted Kelleher to Class AAA Montreal for 1937, and he responded with a .314-9-67 line. His power stroke is beginning to emerge, and he looks like he'll be a clubhouse leader, too.
  
  
• It looks like the A's struck it rich with Day, who struck out a batter per inning for York (A) this year. His 0.84 WHIP indicates his ability to dominate hitters, and the A's hope he'll continue to do so as he moves up the ladder.
  
  
• Boudreau hit .281-6-25 for Spokane (A) in 58 games, and played brillant defense at shortstop. The Cardinals need a replacement for 40-year-old 2B Kenny Hopkins, so Lou might force Glenn Myatt to move to the other side of the bag before long.
  
  
• The Oaks resisted the temptation to promote Keltner last September, choosing to let him enjoy the afterglow from his .295-7-58 season with AAA Louisville rather than having him stew in the bitter atmosphere surrounding the sad-sack big league club. Ken's ready for full-time duty in Oakland now, however.

[TribeFanInNC]

heh...3/4 of the 1948 Indians infield is represented in the Top 10 Prospects. Of course, these are the last Indians to win it all IRL.

Eddie Robinson feels left out

[Big Six]

Originally Posted by TribeFanInNC

heh...3/4 of the 1948 Indians infield is represented in the Top 10 Prospects. Of course, these are the last Indians to win it all IRL.

Eddie Robinson feels left out

Unfortunately for a Tribe fan like you, none of the '48 Indians you mention plays for Cleveland in this universe.

I just checked Eddie's record, and he's not quite ready to make his debut. On January 1, 1938, Eddie would have just turned seventeen. He'll appear in the 1941 or 1942 draft, and we'll see how he turns out.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for the post!

[Big Six]

May 1, 1938

• Bob Fothergill broke in with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1922, spent several years with the Cardinals, and since 1930 has been a fixture in the Washington Senators lineup. He's hit everywhere he played, and on April 25, he became the newest member of the 3000 hit club.
  
  Fothergill's historic hit was a single off the Phillies' Enrique Hernandez, one of 16 safeties the division-leading Senators amassed in a 10-7 victory at Shibe Park. A career .341 hitter, Bob has 515 doubles, 158 home runs, 1630 runs scored, and 1463 RBI to his credit.
  
  It's possible that as many as five other players might record their 3000th career hit before the 1938 season ends.
  
  
• Fothergill's teammate Jim Bottomley is off to a great start, and won the National League Batter of the Month Award for April. Bottomley, 38, hit .373 with four homers and 27 RBI.
  
  
  
• Another slugging first baseman, Kansas City's Jimmie Foxx, smacked 13 home runs in April, driving in 30 runs in 25 games. He's batting .360 and slugging .790, and he's a worthy winner of the AL Batter of the Month.
  
  
• Jim Turner didn't make the major leagues until 1936, when he was 32 years old. Last year, the Giants traded him to Washington, and he's taken his place in the Nats rotation with style. "Milkman Jim" went 6-0 with a 2.29 ERA during April.
  
  
• Rufus "Shirt" Smith has been the quintessential journeyman pitcher, spending about the same amount of time at AAA as he has in the majors since he signed with the Padres in 1926. He's been anything but a journeyman this year, however, and his 5-0 record and 2.25 ERA earned him the AL Pitcher of the Month Award for April.
  
  
• The early leaders in the division races aren't too surprising. The Giants and Yankees are doing battle in the NL North, while the Senators and Tigers are the early pace-setters in the NL Mid-East. The Cubs narrowly lead the Beavers in the AL Continental, while the Padres and Stars are off to good starts in the AL Pacific.

[Big Six]

June 1, 1938

• After spending his entire career on the West Coast, with Los Angeles and Seattle, infielder Judy Johnson was traded to Philadelphia in February. That's why he was wearing a Phillies uniform on May 2, when he smacked two singles, a double, and a triple against the Baltimore Orioles. His second hit, the triple, was the 3000th of Judy's career. Nearly 42,000 fans showed up at Shibe Park on a chilly, windy night to witness the feat.
  
  Undoubtedly there are a number of fans who have seen two players make their 3000th career hit at Shibe Park this year. Bob Fothergill of the Senators got #3000 against the Phillies last month.
  
  
• The Yankees' Buck Leonard leads the National League in homers (16) and RBI (58), and his .348-9-30 performance during May was enough to merit the league's Batter of the Month Award. Despite Leonard's heroics, the Yankees have fallen six games behind the Giants in the Northern Division race.
  
  
• One reason why the Giants are on top is the excellent mound work of fastballing teenager Bob Feller. Rapid Robert went 5-2 during June, striking out 52 batters in 48 innings and posting a 1.31 ERA, and opposing batters hit .152 against him. Feller's nine wins are tied for the National League lead, and his 96 strikeouts are the most in the big leagues.
  
  
• Carl Hubbell of the defending world champion Hollywood Stars has ten wins this year, and the Stars have needed every one of them to keep ahead of the San Diego Padres. King Carl posted six wins without a defeat in May, pitched to a 2.00 ERA, and was named the American League's top pitcher for the month.
  
  
• A second Kansas City Athletic has won the AL Batter of the Month Award. This time it's Buzz Arlett, a hard-hitting outfielder, who batted .349 with a .427 OBP during May, driving in 39 runs on 39 hits. Arlett is 39, but his bat shows no signs of slowing down.
  
  
• It seems that Detroit outfielder Paul Waner never makes it through a season without hurting himself badly. This year is no exception; he'll miss the remainder of the year with a badly injured shoulder. Paul has nearly 2200 career hits, and he'd have a lot more if he'd been more durable.
  
  
• Washington's star second baseman, Charlie Gehringer, is back on the field after missing more than a year with a horrible fractured ankle. Scouts say Gehringer has lost some of his formidable talent; we'll see if the 35-year-old veteran can prove them wrong.
  
  
  
• The list of players available for the June 15 rookie draft contains several youngsters who look like they're destined for greatness. These future stars include first basemen Mickey Vernon and Tetsuharu Kawakami; outfielders Barney McCosky and Charlie Keller; pitchers Hal Newhouser, Early Wynn, and Dizzy Trout; and the biggest prize of all, outfielder Ted Williams. The Oakland Oaks and the Los Angeles Angels, who tied for the worst record in the majors last year, will have the first picks in the draft, so it's almost certain that Williams, a San Diego native, will be chosen by a club from his home state.