Post War Baseball League

Horton, Blasingame win Rookie honors

2006-10-13T15:43:00.000-05:00

Oct. 8, 1965

Willie Horton led all PWBL rookies with 34 homeruns while Wade Blasingame placed first with 17 rookie wins, and today the two were honored with Rookie of the Year awards.

Horton, the 22-year-old left fielder for the San Diego Padres, outpolled 16-game winner Pete Richert of the New York Mets by 42 votes to 33 to take home the trophy for best rookie in the Players League.

Meanwhile, Blasingame prevailed in a tight three-way Federal League race, edging Curt Blefary of the Cincinnati Reds by 34 votes to 28. The San Francisco Giants' Joe Morgan was a close third with 21 votes.

The 21-year-old Houston Buffs southpaw won 17 games against 14 losses while compiling an ERA of 3.29 in 34 starts. Blasingame became the fifth Rookie of the Year in Houston history.

Horton, the first Rookie of the Year since his franchise relocated to San Diego from Milwaukee, clubbed 34 homers and drove in 95 runs while hitting .265. His slugging percentage of .501 was seventh best in the Players League.

Blefary was the second-best slugger among rookies, banging out 29 homeruns. The 21-year-old Brooklyn native hit just .233, however.

Morgan, the Giants' 21-year-old second baseman, reached base at a .348 clip, but he too suffered because of his .235 batting average.

Richert's record of 16 wins and 6 losses duplicated that of 16-years-older teammate Robin Roberts. The 22-year-old southpaw from Floral Park, N.Y., went 7 and 1 in July and August as the Mets sprinted to the Williams Division title.

No other Players League rookie received more than five votes.

Voting results:


Federal League
W.Blasingame, Hou            34
C.Blefary, Cin               28
J.Morgan, SFG                21
J.Cardenal, Pit               6
J.Gosger, Hou                 1

Players League
W.Horton, SD                 42
P.Richert, NYM               33
T.Perez, Sea                  5
J.Lonborg, LA                 3
D.Sutherland, NYM             3
G.Wagner, Cle                 2
J.Alou, Det                   1
J.Lefebvre, StL               1

McDowell, Koufax win Cy Young awards

2006-10-09T10:15:00.000-05:00

Oct. 6, 1965

A pair of 300-strikeout pitchers were selected to win their leagues' Cy Young Award in close votes.

Sam McDowell of the Dallas Colt .45s was named best pitcher in the Federal League, outpolling the San Francisco Giants' Jim Bunning by 62 to 53 votes. McDowell was named first on 10 ballots while Bunning was placed first on two.

Meanwhile, Detroit's Sandy Koufax became the first three-time Cy Young winner in PWBL history when he collected 54 votes to outdistance 300-game winner Robin Roberts of the New York Mets, who polled 40. Koufax was listed first on nine ballots; Roberts, on three.

Koufax set a new single-season record with 357 strikeouts, breaking the 19-year-old mark of 339 established in the PWBL's inaugural campaign of 1946. McDowell compiled the third-highest total in history, fanning 330.

McDowell won 20 games and lost 12 on a team that finished 16 games below .500 in the Kiner Division. Koufax went 17 and 13 for the Lemon Division-winning Tigers, suffering from erratic run support.

The 29-year-old Brooklyn-born southpaw lost seven decisions in which he permitted three runs or fewer. In one stretch from August 17 to September 24, Koufax lost eight games against only two wins while lowering his ERA from 2.41 to 2.36.

Koufax won back-to-back Cy Young trophies in 1961-'62. The 22-year-old McDowell, pitching in only his second full season, tossed eight shutouts and completed 23 starts, the third-highest total in PWBL history.

Hoyt Wilhelm, the Pittsburgh Panther reliever who notched his 600th lifetime save during the season and saved 50 games for the seventh time in his career, was named first on one ballot and finished third in the Federal League voting.

Washington's Juan Marichal came in third in the Players League, while Koufax's Detroit teammate Eddie Fisher received the only other first-place ballot in the polling.

The voting:


Federal League
S.McDowell, Dal                  62
J.Bunning, SFG                   53
H.Wilhelm, Pit                   34
V.Law, Dal                       22
S.Siebert, SFG                   15
B.Veale, Dal                      4
D.Hall, Hou                       3
J.Buzhardt, Chi                   1
H.Woodeshick, Chi                 1

Players League
S.Koufax, Det                    54
R.Roberts, NYM                   40
J.Marichal, Was                  34
E.Fisher, Det                    19
D.McLain, Cle                    15
B.Gibson, SD                      8
S.Miller, NYM                     5
M.Stottlemyre, StL                4
B.Lee, Was                        2
B.Shaw, NYM                       1

Roberts wins 300th, Mays hits 63rd

2006-09-25T18:10:00.000-05:00

New York -- Robin Roberts and Willie Mays turned a meaningless game for the Williams Division-winning New York Mets into something for the ages.

Roberts became only the second pitcher in PWBL history to win 300 games and Mays moved into third place on the single-season homerun boards when he slammed three roundtrippers, raising his year-to-date total to 63.

Roberts went seven innings in the New York Mets' 8-to-5 win over the San Diego Padres at Shea Stadium here. The 38-year-old righthander from Springfield, Ill., scattered four hits and walked two while yielding three unearned runs in earning his 16th victory of the season against just five losses.

Mays backed Roberts with an awesome display of power, hitting a two-run homerun in the first, a solo shot in the sixth, and another two-run roundtripper in the eighth. The 44-year veteran improved his PWBL-leading RBI total to 150.

Roberts won for the first time since August 26th and lowered his Players League-leading ERA to 1.99. Mays's three-homerun day, the sixth in the league this year, left him six short of 500 career roundtrippers.

The Mets clinched the Williams on September 2nd. Birdie Tebbetts's team has not been out of first place since the third day of the season.


BOXSCORE: 1965 San Diego Padres At 1965 New York Mets               9/24/1965

  Padres             AB  R  H RBI AVG     Mets               AB  R  H RBI AVG
  R.Clemente RF       5  0  0  0 .278     D.Clendenon 1B      3  0  0  0 .236  
  P.Blair CF          5  0  0  0 .246   D-B.Johnson 1B        1  0  0  0 .263  
  G.Coleman 1B        5  2  4  0 .269     F.Bolling 2B        4  1  0  0 .248  
  H.Killebrew 3B      5  1  0  0 .248     T.Tresh LF          4  3  3  2 .306  
  W.Horton LF         4  2  1  2 .263     W.Mays CF           4  3  3  5 .352  
  G.Beckert 2B        4  0  0  0 .205     F.Alou RF           4  0  0  0 .286  
  R.McMillan SS       4  0  3  3 .224     J.Hiatt C           3  0  0  0 .190  
E-J.Stewart PR,SS     0  0  0  0 .152     W.Woodward SS       3  0  0  0 .391  
  B.Tillman C         4  0  0  0 .173     C.Boyer 3B          3  1  1  1 .261  
  J.Gibbon P          1  0  0  0 .000     R.Roberts P         1  0  0  0 .134  
A-W.Parker PH         1  0  0  0 .192   C-S.Valdespino PH     1  0  0  0 .295  
  B.O'Dell P          0  0  0  0 .250     H.Reniff P          0  0  0  0 .000  
  J.Cullen P          0  0  0  0 .500     S.Miller P          0  0  0  0 .048  
B-E.Kirkpatrick PH    1  0  0  0 .083                                          
  J.Owens P           0  0  0  0 ----                                          
F-S.Burgess PH        1  0  1  0 .220                                          
                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---      
         Totals      40  5  9  5                 Totals      31  8  7  8

A-Pinch Hit For Gibbon In 5th Inning
B-Pinch Hit For Cullen In 7th Inning
C-Pinch Hit For Roberts In 7th Inning
D-Subbed Defensively (1B) For Clendenon In 8th Inning
E-Pinch Ran For McMillan In 8th Inning
F-Pinch Hit For Owens In 9th Inning

Padres.......... 0 0 0  2 0 1  0 2 0  -  5  9  0
Mets............ 2 0 2  0 1 1  0 2    -  8  7  4

Padres (71-83)           IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR  PC    ERA 
J.Gibbon LOSS(5-4)        4       3   4   4   1   3   2  57   3.54 
B.O'Dell                  0       1   1   1   0   0   1   3   3.71 
J.Cullen                  2       1   1   1   0   1   1  29   5.74 
J.Owens                   2       2   2   2   0   1   1  26   5.06 
Totals                    8       7   8   8   1   5   5

Mets (109-44)            IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR  PC    ERA 
R.Roberts WIN(16-5)       7       4   3   0   0   2   0 117   1.99 
H.Reniff                  0 2/3   3   2   2   0   0   1  15   2.57 
S.Miller SAVE(31st)       1 1/3   2   0   0   0   2   0  16   1.96 
Totals                    9       9   5   2   0   4   1

ATTENDANCE- 53,808 DATE- Friday, September 24th 1965 TIME- Night WEATHER- Good
T- 2:17
LEFT ON BASE- Padres: 8  Mets: 0
DOUBLE PLAYS- Padres: 0  Mets: 0
ERRORS- W.Woodward, R.Roberts-3
DOUBLES- R.McMillan(19th)
HOME RUNS- W.Horton(33rd), T.Tresh(34th), W.Mays-3(63rd), C.Boyer(26th)
WALKS- R.Roberts
STRIKE OUTS- R.Clemente, P.Blair, H.Killebrew, B.Tillman, D.Clendenon,
             F.Bolling, W.Mays, J.Hiatt, R.Roberts

Colavito racks up 1,000th rbi

2006-08-13T19:07:00.000-05:00

June 23, 1965

Philadelphia -- Rocky Colavito drove in four runs with two singles and a sacrifice fly at Connie Mack Stadium here, becoming the 17th man in PWBL history to rack up 1,000 lifetime rbi's.

Colavito, a 31-year-old New Yorker who has played his entire ten-year career with Houston, ripped a Luis Tiant fastball up the middle in the third to score Tommy McCraw and Vada Pinson, putting the Buffs up by 3 to 0 and giving southpaw Wade Blasingame (7-6) all the runs he needed.

The defending PWBL champions won by 9 to 0 as Blasingame shut out the Phillies on three hits.

Colavito hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh to bring the score to 4 to 0. He added a run-scoring single in the Buffs' five-run eighth inning.

The 6'3", 190-pound left fielder broke in with Houston in 1955 and played his first full season the next year, hitting .321 with 21 homeruns in just 104 games. His best year was 1961 when he won the Players League Most Valuable Player award after hammering 53 homers and driving in 158 runs.

Colavito hit his 300th career homerun in 1964 when Houston won the Mulcahy Cup.


BOXSCORE: 1965 Houston Buffs At 1965 Philadelphia Phillies         6/23/1965

 Buffs              AB  R  H RBI AVG     Phillies           AB  R  H RBI AVG
 T.McCraw 1B         4  3  2  0 .196     P.Rose 2B           4  0  0  0 .293
 V.Pinson CF         5  2  3  3 .276     W.Smith 1B          4  0  0  0 .262
 R.Colavito LF       4  0  2  4 .295     F.Robinson RF       4  0  2  0 .289
 J.Gosger RF         4  0  1  0 .284     D.Demeter CF        1  0  0  0 .240
 J.Edwards C         4  1  2  1 .274   A-M.Brumley PR        0  0  0  0 .355
 E.Bressoud SS       4  0  1  1 .185   B-H.Kuenn CF          2  0  0  0 .108
 P.Gagliano 3B       4  0  0  0 .188     B.Robinson 3B       4  0  0  0 .267
 P.Gonzalez 2B       5  1  0  0 .247     J.Christopher LF    3  0  0  0 .261
 W.Blasingame P      5  2  3  0 .289     T.McCarver C        3  0  0  0 .276
                                         B.Wine SS           2  0  1  0 .244
                                         L.Tiant P           1  0  0  0 .074
                                       C-J.Gotay PH          1  0  0  0 .000
                                         B.Sadowski P        0  0  0  0 .000
                                         D.Boswell P         0  0  0  0 .000
                    -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---
        Totals      39  9 14  9                 Totals      29  0  3  0

A-Pinch Ran For Demeter In 4th Inning
B-Subbed Defensively (CF) For Brumley In 5th Inning
C-Pinch Hit For Tiant In 7th Inning

INJURY: Don Demeter INJURED (for 15 more games) in 4th inning

Buffs........... 0 0 3  0 0 0  1 5 0  -  9 14  0
Phillies........ 0 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 0  -  0  3  0

Buffs (35-35)            IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR  PC    ERA
W.Blasingame WIN(7-6)     9       3   0   0   3   1   0 150   2.83
Totals                    9       3   0   0   3   1   0

Phillies (31-38)         IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR  PC    ERA
L.Tiant LOSS(6-4)         7       7   4   4   4   4   0 123   2.48
B.Sadowski                0 2/3   5   5   5   0   0   0  25   4.87
D.Boswell                 1 1/3   2   0   0   1   2   0  31   4.66
Totals                    9      14   9   9   5   6   0

ATTENDANCE- 16,970 DATE- Wednesday, June 23rd 1965 TIME- Night WEATHER- Bad
T- 2:14
LEFT ON BASE- Buffs: 9  Phillies: 7
DOUBLE PLAYS- Buffs: 0  Phillies: 1
DOUBLES- V.Pinson(15th), J.Edwards(12th), E.Bressoud(6th)
SACRIFICE HITS- L.Tiant
SACRIFICE FLIES- R.Colavito
WALKS- T.McCraw, J.Gosger, J.Edwards, E.Bressoud, P.Gagliano, J.Christopher,
      T.McCarver, B.Wine
HIT BY PITCH- D.Demeter
STRIKE OUTS- T.McCraw, J.Edwards, E.Bressoud, P.Gagliano, P.Gonzalez,
            W.Blasingame, F.Robinson
GIDP- E.Bressoud

Koufax no-hits Padres for 9, wins shutout in 13th

2006-08-04T11:27:00.000-05:00

June 4, 1965

San Diego -- Sandy Koufax held the San Diego Padres hitless for nine innings and shut them out for 13 complete innings as the Detroit Tigers moved into a tie for first place in the Lemon Division, winning by 1 to 0 at Jack Murphy Stadium here.

Koufax walked one and struck out 12 while not allowing a hit for the first nine innings--an official no-hitter, according to PWBL rules--and though the 29-year-old southpaw surrendered a one-out single to Harmon Killebrew in the bottom of the 10th and gave up two more one-base hits, he did not permit a runner past first base in recording his second shutout of the season.

For seven-and-two-thirds innings the 32,000 fans in attendance watched a double no-hitter as San Diego starter Joe Sparma also held the Tigers to just three walks.

Jerry Lynch finally snapped Sparma's bid for PWBL immortality with a pull single in the eighth. The 23-year-old righthander did not allow another hit, holding Detroit scoreless before departing for a pinchhitter in the ninth.

Lynch led off the 13th with a double, and after Padre reliever Jim Owens had retired Tom Haller on a fly to left and Koufax on a grounder to short, Chico Cardenas tripled into the left-center gap for the game's only run.

Koufax (7-2) finished with 15 strikeouts while walking only Glenn Beckert in the second. Owens (1-2) took the loss.


BOXSCORE: 1965 Detroit Tigers At 1965 San Diego Padres               6/4/1965

  Tigers             AB  R  H RBI AVG     Padres             AB  R  H RBI AVG
  L.Cardenas SS       5  0  1  1 .238     M.Mota CF           5  0  1  0 .220  
  C.Rojas 2B          6  0  0  0 .242     R.Clemente RF       5  0  0  0 .291  
  W.McCovey 1B        4  0  1  0 .308     H.Killebrew 3B      5  0  1  0 .251  
  R.Repoz CF          5  0  0  0 .232     W.Horton LF         5  0  0  0 .288  
  M.Alvis 3B          4  0  0  0 .217     G.Beckert 2B        4  0  0  0 .216  
  F.Robinson RF       5  0  0  0 .240     W.Parker 1B         5  0  1  0 .188  
  J.Lynch LF          4  1  2  0 .217     R.McMillan SS       4  0  0  0 .212  
  T.Haller C          4  0  1  0 .250     C.Cannizzaro C      4  0  0  0 .203  
  S.Koufax P          5  0  0  0 .125     J.Sparma P          2  0  0  0 .059  
                                        A-J.Amalfitano PH     1  0  0  0 .217  
                                          B.O'Dell P          0  0  0  0 .286  
                                          T.Fox P             0  0  0  0 .143  
                                        B-M.Jones PH          1  0  0  0 .278  
                                          J.Owens P           0  0  0  0 ----  
                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---      
         Totals      42  1  5  1                 Totals      41  0  3  0

A-Pinch Hit For Sparma In 9th Inning
B-Pinch Hit For Fox In 11th Inning

Tigers.......... 0 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 0  1 -  1  5  0
Padres.......... 0 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 0  0 -  0  3  1

Tigers (30-24)           IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR  PC    ERA
S.Koufax WIN(7-2)        13       3   0   0   1  15   0 161   1.63
Totals                   13       3   0   0   1  15   0

Padres (27-29)           IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR  PC    ERA
J.Sparma                  9       1   0   0   4   7   0 114   3.38
B.O'Dell                  0 1/3   0   0   0   0   0   0   3   3.88
T.Fox                     1 2/3   1   0   0   1   1   0  24   3.30
J.Owens LOSS(1-2)         2       3   1   1   0   2   0  36   3.21
Totals                   13       5   1   1   5  10   0

ATTENDANCE- 32,000 DATE- Friday, June 4th 1965 TIME- Night WEATHER- Good
T- 2:49
LEFT ON BASE- Tigers: 7  Padres: 3
DOUBLE PLAYS- Tigers: 1  Padres: 1
ERRORS- T.Fox
DOUBLES- J.Lynch(2nd)
TRIPLES- L.Cardenas(5th)
WALKS- L.Cardenas, W.McCovey, M.Alvis, J.Lynch, T.Haller, G.Beckert
STRIKE OUTS- L.Cardenas-3, C.Rojas, R.Repoz-2, M.Alvis, S.Koufax-3, M.Mota-2,
             R.Clemente, H.Killebrew-2, G.Beckert-2, W.Parker-3, R.McMillan-2,
             C.Cannizzaro, J.Sparma, J.Amalfitano
GIDP- T.Haller, R.Clemente
WILD PITCHES- J.Owens

Mays, Koufax win Player of Month honors

2006-08-04T11:15:00.000-05:00

June 1, 1965

Willie Mays, who alone accounted for one third of the New York Mets' runs during May, was selected the PWBL's Player of the Month, while Sandy Koufax won Pitcher of the Month honors after holding opposition batters to a .178 average and compiling an ERA of 1.10.

Koufax, the 29-year-old Detroit Tiger southpaw, easily outdistanced Claude Osteen of the San Francisco Giants in the best pitcher voting. Koufax won four games and lost only one during May, while completing three of his five starts and tossing a shutout.

Mays's 12 homeruns during the month left him just one shy of 450 for his 15-year Postwar Baseball League career. The two-time MVP was named first on all but one ballot as no other player received more than six votes.

Mays created 40.3 runs in May, while the Mets scored 127. The 34-year-old centerfielder hit .369 with 23 runs scored and 26 rbi's.

Kaline collects 2,000th hit

2006-07-27T08:19:00.000-05:00

May 19, 1965

San Diego -- Al Kaline singled to lead off the sixth inning in the Houston Buffs' 4-to-2 win over the San Diego Padres here, collecting the 2,000th hit of his 13-year PWBL career.

Kaline, a 30-year-old native of Baltimore, singled up the middle off Joe Sparma to reach a career milestone attained by only twelve other players in Postwar Baseball League history. The other active PWBL players with 2,000 career hits are Nellie Fox (2,492), Willie Mays (2,342), Hank Aaron (2,239), Eddie Mathews (2,155), and Mickey Mantle (2,080).

Kaline also singled in the seventh, driving home two runs and extending his Federal League-leading batting average to .395. The 6'2", 180-pound rightfielder has a 15-game hitting streak, despite battling knee problems all season.

Ron Herbel (2-4) went seven innings for Houston's victory. Dick Hall retired five of the last six batters for his 12th save as the Buffs won their fourth in a row. Sparma (1-3) was hung with the loss.


BOXSCORE: 1965 Houston Buffs At 1965 San Diego Padres               5/21/1965

  Buffs              AB  R  H RBI AVG     Padres             AB  R  H RBI AVG
  A.Kaline RF         4  1  2  2 .395     R.Clemente RF       4  0  2  0 .289  
  V.Pinson CF         3  0  1  0 .254     G.Coleman 1B        3  0  1  0 .246  
  R.Colavito LF       4  1  1  2 .331   B-J.Stewart PR,3B     0  0  0  0 .105  
  J.Gosger 1B         4  0  1  0 .240     M.Jones CF          4  0  1  0 .282  
  J.Edwards C         3  0  0  0 .269     H.Killebrew 3B,1B   4  0  0  0 .238  
  E.Bressoud SS       4  0  0  0 .149     W.Horton LF         4  0  1  0 .286  
  F.Malzone 3B        3  1  0  0 .210     G.Beckert 2B        4  0  1  0 .233  
  D.Hall P            0  0  0  01.000     R.McMillan SS       4  0  2  0 .217  
  B.Knoop 2B          4  0  0  0 .220     B.Tillman C         3  1  0  0 .127  
  R.Herbel P          3  1  0  0 .059     J.Sparma P          1  0  0  0 .083  
  D.Kelley P          0  0  0  0 ----     T.Fox P             0  0  0  0 .250  
C-J.Kennedy 3B        1  0  0  0 .237   A-W.Parker PH         1  1  1  2 .204  
                                          L.McDaniel P        0  0  0  0 ----  
                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---      
         Totals      33  4  5  4                 Totals      32  2  9  2

A-Pinch Hit For Fox In 8th Inning
B-Pinch Ran For Coleman In 8th Inning
C-Subbed Defensively (3B) For Kelley In 8th Inning

INJURY: Bob Tillman INJURED (for 1 more game) in 9th inning

Buffs........... 2 0 0  0 0 0  2 0 0  -  4  5  0
Padres.......... 0 0 0  0 0 0  0 2 0  -  2  9  1

Buffs (22-19)            IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR  PC    ERA
R.Herbel WIN(2-4)         7       7   2   2   1   5   1 112   3.12
D.Kelley HOLD(3rd)        0 1/3   1   0   0   1   0   0  13   0.00
D.Hall SAVE(12th)         1 2/3   1   0   0   0   0   0  15   0.41
Totals                    9       9   2   2   2   5   1

Padres (19-24)           IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR  PC    ERA
J.Sparma LOSS(1-3)        6 1/3   5   4   2   3   6   1 110   3.75
T.Fox                     1 2/3   0   0   0   1   0   0  29   4.28
L.McDaniel                1       0   0   0   0   2   0  10   1.47
Totals                    9       5   4   2   4   8   1

ATTENDANCE- 27,624 DATE- Friday, May 21st 1965 TIME- Night WEATHER- Good
T- 2:31
LEFT ON BASE- Buffs: 6  Padres: 6
DOUBLE PLAYS- Buffs: 2  Padres: 0
ERRORS- M.Jones
DOUBLES- J.Gosger(3rd), G.Coleman(6th), W.Horton(6th)
HOME RUNS- R.Colavito(5th), W.Parker(1st)
SACRIFICE HITS- J.Sparma
WALKS- A.Kaline, V.Pinson, J.Edwards, F.Malzone, G.Coleman, B.Tillman
STRIKE OUTS- A.Kaline, V.Pinson, J.Edwards, E.Bressoud-2, F.Malzone, B.Knoop,
             J.Kennedy, R.Clemente, H.Killebrew, G.Beckert, B.Tillman, J.Sparma
GIDP- H.Killebrew, B.Tillman

Kaline's career record as of the May 19th game:


             G    AB    R     H   2B  3B   HR  RBI   BB   SO   AVG   OBP   SLG
1953 Hou    10    31    3     7    0   0    1    3    0    9  .226  .226  .323
1954 Hou   142   518   53   144   25   2    3   47   17   47  .278  .299  .351
1955 Hou   156   613   96   215   26   4   23  107   76   57  .351  .423  .519
1956 Hou   156   665  106   192   40   9   22  100   61   70  .289  .348  .475
1957 Hou   156   648   67   174   33   2   17   70   40   50  .269  .314  .404
1958 Hou   145   578  100   176   28   3   14   60   76   68  .304  .386  .436
1959 Hou   147   574  109   192   18   1   25   90   79   39  .334  .419  .500
1960 Hou   148   582   90   161   32   3   15   53   58   48  .277  .344  .419
1961 Hou   159   625  125   204   45   5   26  100   82   50  .326  .406  .539
1962 Hou   123   431   90   142   21   5   39  103   44   53  .329  .388  .673
1963 Hou   146   604  106   173   24   2   24   70   55   54  .286  .349  .452
1964 Hou   147   569  103   176   42   7   10   62   72   59  .309  .387  .460
1965 Hou    30   114   26    45    8   0    5   18   23   10  .395  .496  .596
          1665  6552 1074  2001  342  43  224  883  683  614  .305  .371  .472

Williams, McDowell selected Players of April

2006-07-20T12:11:00.000-05:00

May 5, 1965

Billy Williams was the unanimous selection as Player of the Month for April 1965, while Sam McDowell was the clear-cut choice for Pitcher of the Month.

Williams, right fielder for the Lemon Division-leading Washington Senators, hit .381 with a 23 rbi's and a PWBL-high 11 homeruns.

McDowell, a 22-year-old southpaw, won four games for the Dallas Colt .45s against only one loss, while striking out 62 batters in 53 innings.

Mets plate 22 in blasting Reds

2006-07-19T14:35:00.000-05:00

May 4, 1965

Donn Clendonon and Clete Boyer had four rbi's apiece and every player in the lineup scored at least two runs and drove in two as the New York Mets blasted the
Cincinnati Reds by 22 to 2 at Crosley Field.

The 22 runs were the highest total in the PWBL in two seasons.

Pete Richert pitched a complete-game four hitter for his second victory of the year.

Reds' starter Dick Ellsworth surrendered seven runs in six and a third innings, while reliever Howie Reed was floored by ten runs in just an inning and a third. Ellsworth was hung with his sixth loss.

Denis Menke pulled a hamstring in the third inning as he ran out a groundball, sending the only dark cloud over the Mets' afternoon.


BOXSCORE: 1965 New York Mets At 1965 Cincinnati Reds                 5/4/1965
 
  Mets               AB  R  H RBI AVG     Reds               AB  R  H RBI AVG
  D.Clendenon 1B      5  2  3  4 .231     B.Bailey 3B         3  0  0  0 .271  
  F.Bolling 2B        6  2  2  2 .286     T.Taylor 2B         3  0  0  0 .310  
  T.Tresh LF          7  2  3  2 .316     J.Hall CF           4  0  0  0 .269  
  W.Mays CF           4  2  2  2 .382     D.Cater LF          3  0  1  0 .304  
  F.Alou RF           6  3  3  2 .308     J.Pepitone 1B       4  0  1  0 .290  
  D.Menke SS          1  0  0  0 .342     C.Smith SS          4  1  1  0 .242  
A-K.Hamlin SS         3  3  2  2 .343     C.Blefary RF        2  1  1  2 .138  
  C.Boyer 3B          4  4  2  4 .233     R.Lachemann C       3  0  0  0 .261  
  D.Brown C           6  2  4  2 .212     D.Ellsworth P       2  0  0  0 .083  
  P.Richert P         4  2  1  2 .133     H.Reed P            0  0  0  0 ----  
                                          P.Ramos P           0  0  0  0 ----  
                                          P.Mikkelsen P       0  0  0  0 ----  
                                        B-E.Kasko PH          1  0  0  0 .154  
                                          B.Locker P          0  0  0  0 .000  
                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---      
         Totals      46 22 22 22                 Totals      29  2  4  2
 
A-Subbed Defensively (SS) For Menke In 3rd Inning
B-Pinch Hit For Mikkelsen In 8th Inning
 
INJURY: Denis Menke INJURED (for 15 more games) in 3rd inning
 
Mets............ 1 0 1  2 1 0  611 0  - 22 22  0
Reds............ 0 0 0  0 2 0  0 0 0  -  2  4  0
 
Mets (17-9)              IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR  PC    ERA
P.Richert WIN(2-1)        9       4   2   2   4   9   1 130   2.66
Totals                    9       4   2   2   4   9   1
 
Reds (12-14)             IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR  PC    ERA
D.Ellsworth LOSS(1-6)     6 1/3   8   7   7   5   2   1 116   7.17
H.Reed                    1 1/3   9  10  10   1   1   0  50  13.00
P.Ramos                   0       4   5   5   2   0   0  25  12.46
P.Mikkelsen               0 1/3   0   0   0   1   0   0  10   0.00
B.Locker                  1       1   0   0   0   1   0  15   3.21
Totals                    9      22  22  22   9   4   1
 
ATTENDANCE- 12,979 DATE- Tuesday, May 4th 1965 TIME- Day WEATHER- Average
T- 3:04
LEFT ON BASE- Mets:10  Reds: 4
DOUBLE PLAYS- Mets: 2  Reds: 0
DOUBLES- D.Clendenon(4th), T.Tresh-2(8th), W.Mays(5th), C.Boyer(6th),
         D.Brown-3(4th), D.Cater(4th)
TRIPLES- J.Pepitone(2nd)
HOME RUNS- T.Tresh(6th), C.Blefary(2nd)
SACRIFICE HITS- F.Bolling, P.Richert
SACRIFICE FLIES- D.Clendenon, W.Mays
WALKS- D.Clendenon, W.Mays-2, F.Alou, D.Menke, K.Hamlin, C.Boyer-2, P.Richert,
       B.Bailey, T.Taylor, D.Cater, C.Blefary
STRIKE OUTS- T.Tresh, C.Boyer, D.Brown-2, T.Taylor, J.Hall-3, D.Cater, C.Smith,
             C.Blefary, R.Lachemann, D.Ellsworth
GIDP- J.Hall, C.Smith
WILD PITCHES- H.Reed
WEB GEMS- Bot 5th: Frank Bolling robbed Bob Bailey of a base hit.

Cepeda suffers season-ending knee injury

2006-07-11T21:59:00.000-05:00

April 16, 1965

San Francisco -- All-star firstbaseman Orlando Cepeda suffered a season-ending knee injury in the first inning of the Houston Buffs' 1-to-0 extra-inning loss to the Giants here last night.

Cepeda tore the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments of his right knee in flying to left against righthander Jim Bunning. The .303 lifetime hitter, the MVP of last season's Mulcahy Cup Series, crumpled to the ground immediately as teammates rushed out of the dugout.

"The injury is definitely season-ending and potentially career-ending," said team doctor Naomi J. Kertesz, M.D. "It's not just like it was a simple torn ligament. It's a magnitude more difficult to recover from and repair. It can and has ended careers, without a doubt."

Cepeda was hitting just .162 with no homers in 1965 when he came to bat for Houston in the first. The 27-year-old native of Ponce, P.R., has never played fewer than 125 games in his eight-year PWBL career.

Gene Oliver took Cepeda's place at first when the subdued Buffs took the field in the bottom of the first, but Eddie Joost was mum about his plans for replacing Cepeda during the remainder of the season.

Roberts highlights stat chase in 1965

2006-07-11T11:13:00.000-05:00

For PWBL statophiles, Robin Roberts's pursuit of 300 wins is the race to follow in '65.

Roberts's 284 career wins going into the season leaves him tantalizing close to this rare PWBL mark.

Only Warren Spahn, who has pitched for the Cardinals and the old New York Gems, has reached the mark (323). Roberts, starting his 18th season, still pitches effectively, but history shows that the end comes quickly for pitchers.

The highly competitive PWBL also makes piling up wins a tough chore. Only six pitchers have chalked up more than 200 victories and only Roberts and Spahn are still active. Whitey Ford, 174 wins, and Larry Jackson, 171, are the closest to Roberts among active players.

500 homers loom for The Mick

The other big stat chase of note is Mickey Mantle's attempt to reach 500 homers. Mantle, with 486 homers, would join Eddie Mathews (512) as the only players to reach this mark.

But Hank Aaron (451) is one typical Aaron-year away, and Willie Mays (431) should be there sometime in 1966, barring catastrophes.

The 400-homer club has nine members, likely soon to be joined by Ernie Banks (385) and Frank Robinson (349).

Ode to Hoyt WilhelmM

Pittsburgh's fabulous reliever likely will add to key records he already holds by a wide margin. Wilhelm needs 22 game appearances to reach 1,000 for his career. The closest is Spahn at 772. Wilhelm needs 45 saves, not a stretch for him in an ordinary year, to reach 500. Second on the list is Roy Face (167).

Mays, Aparicio near stolen-base marks

Luis Aparicio should easily reach 300 steals this year and likely will become the all-time stolen-base leader. Aparicio has 297 career steals, only 18 behind career leader Richie Ashburn.

Mays needs only two steals to reach 200 for his career, a feat that only four players have reached (Pee Wee Reese, 263, and Jackie Robinson, 234, are the other two). Lou Brock could join this club with a good year (135 career steals).

Ken Boyer close to elite mark

Only 12 PWBL players have chalked up 1,000 RBIs and 1,000 runs scored in a career. Boyer, coming off an MVP year, 53 runs and 80 RBIs to claim membership.

Team mark tied by San Francisco

OK, this is only for the stat nuts. San Francisco tied the team mark for most triples in a season last year (87). The 1947 Panthers were the sole leader.

Consistent run producers

Last year Mays set a record for most RBIs over a two-year span. Here's the complete list:


Mays, N.Y. Mets         304, '63-'64
Gordon, Boston          301, '51-'52
Kiner, St. Louis        298, '50-'51
Kiner, St. Louis        297, '47-'48
Snider, N.Y. Gems       288, '49-'50
Aaron, Cleveland        288, '57-'58
Sievers, Boston         286, '57-'58
Mathews, Pittsburgh     279, '60-'61
Killebrew, San Diego    278, '61-'62
Musial, Philadelphia    276, '48-'49
Mantle, St. Louis       275, '56-'57

Joost named Manager of Year

2006-07-09T09:38:00.000-05:00

Oct. 30, 1964

Eddie Joost, skipper of the Mulcahy Cup-winning Houston Buffs, was selected as the Manager of the Year in the PWBL after a close vote.

Joost guided the Buffs to the second Cup of his four-year tenure, finishing with a record of 101 wins against 61 losses. After falling from first to third with a 4-to-2 loss to San Diego on Sept. 20, Houston won ten of its final 13 games, including nine of ten from Gordon Division opponents to end with a two-game advantage over the San Francisco Giants.

Al Dark, the Giants' manager, came in a close second to Joost in the voting among sportswriters who cover the Postwar Baseball League. Joost polled 24 votes, while Dark received 22.

Joost, a 48-year-old native of San Francisco, played nine years in the PWBL, mostly with the Buffs. He was the starting shortstop of the 1949 league champions, hitting 20 homeruns and driving in 82 runners for Moe Berg.

Dark, also a former shortstop who played 14 PWBL seasons, took over as the Giants' playing manager in 1960. The 44-year-old native of Comanche, Okla., led San Francisco to a remarkable 28-game improvement, taking the team from last place in the Lemon Division almost to the Gordon title.

The Giants entered the season's last week in first place after sweeping four games from Chicago, but lost two of three to Houston and split a four-game series with last place Dallas to fall two games short.

The voting for Manager of the Year went like this:


Joost, Hou          24
Dark, SFG           22
Lopez, Cle          11
Carrasquel, StL      4
Anderson, Det        3
Berra, Bos           1
Hatton, Pit          1

Managers of the Year since the PWBL's founding in 1946:
1946   Pie Traynor, Pittsburgh
1947   Moe Berg, Houston
1948   Bill Terry, N.Y. Mets
1949   Yogi Berra, Boston
1950   Mel Ott, N.Y. Gems
1951   Al Lopez, Cleveland
1952   Al Lopez, Cleveland
1953   Mel Ott, N. Y. Gems
1954   Leo Durocher, Pittsburgh
1955   Charlie Dressen, Detroit
1956   Del Crandall, Pittsburgh
1957   Al Lopez, Cleveland
1958   Joe Schultz, Seattle
1959   Bobby Bragan, Los Angeles
1960   Lou Boudreau, Washington
1961   Eddie Joost, Houston
1962   Birdie Tebbetts, N.Y. Mets
1963   Danny Murtaugh, Pittsburgh
1964   Eddie Joost, Houston

Looking back on 1964: a season of highlights

2006-07-06T13:56:00.000-05:00

Feb. 15—Houston second baseman Ken Hubbs, 22, is killed in plane crash outside Provo, Ut.

Apr. 9—Houston relief pitcher Jim Umbricht, 33, dies of cancer.

Apr. 18—Five Los Angeles pitchers surrender 28 hits in eight innings as Washington wins by 19 to 2.

May 1—Willie Mays of New York is named Player of the Month for April, while Pittsburgh's Larry Jackson wins Pitcher of the Month honors.

May 16— Don Zimmer hits three homeruns in Boston's 9-to-5 victory over Seattle.

May 22—Billy Pierce, pitching in relief, wins the 250th game of his career as Houston bests Seattle by 8 to 2.

May 23—Willie Davis steals four bases in New York's 8-to-5 ten-inning win over San Diego.

May 31—Joe Adcock of Pittsburgh hits a walk-off grand slam, his fourth consecutive game-winning homerun. Panthers take a six-game lead in the Kiner Division.

June 1—Adcock is selected as the Player of the Month for May. Sandy Koufax of Detroit is named Pitcher of the Month.

June 5—Seattle fires Pee Wee Reese after the Pilots' eighth straight loss. Danny Murtaugh, dismissed by Pittsburgh after the 1963 season despite winning 99 games, the Players League pennant, and Manager of the Year honors, is hired to replace him.

June 9—Johnny Callison and Lee Maye compile four rbi's apiece as San Francisco defeats New York by 19 to 0.

June 11—Jimmie Hall of Cincinnati homers three times and collects eight rbi's in a 16-inning loss to Detroit.

June 13—Larry Jackson pitches three times in three days—starting twice and relieving in the intervening game—to improve his record to 15–2.

June 24—Cincinnati trades catcher Johnny Edwards to Houston in return for Clay Dalrymple and draft choices.

July 1—Detroit's Rico Carty wins Player of the Month honors, while Don Drysdale of Washington is selected as the Pitcher of the Month.

July 4—Eddie Mathews's 500th career homerun is the winning blow in Houston's 2-to-1 win over Los Angeles.

July 5—Detroit leads the Lemon Division by seven games at the all-star break; Pittsburgh, the Kiner by five; Cleveland, the Williams by three and a half. San Francisco and Houston are tied for first in the Gordon.

July 16—Deron Johnson hits three homeruns as Chicago edges Seattle by 11 to 9. In New York, Juan Marichal strikes out 15 for the second time in the season as Washington tips the Mets by 3 to 2.

July 19—Chicago wins fifth straight to climb to .600, giving the Gordon Division the three teams in the PWBL with the best records. San Francisco and Houston remain tied for the lead.

Aug. 1—Dean Chance of Cleveland wins unanimous vote for Pitcher of the Month for July, while Boston's Lou Brock takes Player of the Month. New York defeats Boston by 20 to 11 as Mudcat Grant and Wilbur Wood give up 13 runs in the first three innings.

Aug. 6—Houston's Vada Pinson hits for the cycle as the Buffs defeat Boston by 18 to 2.

Aug. 8—Larry Jackson gets his 20th victory of the year as Pittsburgh blanks St. Louis by 7 to 0.

Aug. 16— Frank Robinson hits three consecutive two-run homers in Philadelphia's 10-to-9 win over Seattle.

Sept. 1—Orlando Cepeda of Houston is named Player of the Month for August. San Francisco's Jim Kaat wins the Pitcher of the Month trophy.

Sept. 13—Seattle trounces Los Angeles by 20 to 4. Bob Heffner hits a homerun and goes the distance for the Pilots.

Sept. 16—Mickey Mantle hits three homeruns in St. Louis's 10-to-4 win over Seattle—the fourth time Pilot pitchers have coughed up a three-homer game to a single player. In Philadelphia, Boston scores three runs in the top of the 22nd inning to defeat the Phillies by 12 to 9. The teams combine for 44 hits, using 19 pitchers.

Sept. 19—Lou Brock of Boston steals two bases in a 10-to-5 loss to Detroit, giving him 63 on the year to break Maury Wills's single-season record (set in 1962).

Sept. 25—Cleveland's Jim Maloney comes within one out of a no-hitter and settles for a two-hit shutout, beating Washington by 4 to 0. In Detroit, the Tigers clinch the Lemon with a 7-to-6 win over Seattle. Max Alvis's two-run walk-off homerun provides the winning runs.

Sept. 27—Pittsburgh clinches the Kiner Division after sweeping a doubleheader from St. Louis.

Sept. 29—Cleveland clinches the Williams Division, defeating second-place San Diego by 6 to 4.

Sept. 31—Chicago completes four-game sweep of Dallas while Houston is beating San Francisco by two games to one, setting up final weekend showdown in the Gordon. The Buffs lead the Giants by half a game with the White Sox just one behind.

Oct. 2—Houston comes back from eight runs down to beat Chicago by 10 to 8 while Bob Veale is shutting out San Francisco at home in Dallas. The Buffs open a game-and-a-half lead in the Gordon.

Oct. 3—Orlando Pena throws a no-hitter on the last day of the year, whitewashing a makeshift Cleveland lineup by 6 to 0. In Houston, the Buffs complete a three-game sweep of Chicago to take the Gordon flag. Jim O'Toole wins his 20th.

Oct. 4—Duke Snider announces his retirement. The "Silver Fox" ends his 18-year PWBL career with 2,189 hits, 487 homeruns, 1,493 rbi's, and a .293 average.

Oct. 5—Cincinnati wins the 1965 draft lottery and selects 20-year-old lefthander Steven Norman Carlton of Miami.

Oct. 13—Detroit defeats Cleveland by 6 to 1 on Milt Pappas's two-hitter to capture the Players League Championship Series in six games. In Houston, the Buffs upend Pittsburgh by 6 to 5 on Eddie Bressoud's rbi single in the bottom of the ninth, winning the Federal League Championship Series in six games.

Oct. 14—Larry Jackson wins his second straight Cy Young Award, being selected as the best pitcher in the Federal League. Dean Chance takes the Award in the Players League.

Oct. 15—Houston wins the opening game of the 1964 Mulcahy Cup Series, snapping Sandy Koufax's string of shutout innings at 30 and prevailing by 3 to 1 over Detroit.

Oct. 16—Orlando Cepeda's walk-off three-run homerun completes Houston comeback from 6-to-2 deficit as the Buffs win the second game of the Cup Series by 9 to 7.

Oct. 18—Detroit wins the third game of the Cup Series, defeating Houston by 5 to 3 on homeruns by Floyd Robinson and Elston Howard.

Oct. 19—Houston draws to within one game of the Mulcahy Cup as Camilo Pascual wins his second game of the Cup Series, beating Detroit by 5 to 3.

Oct. 20—Rico Carty's homerun in the bottom of the 13th narrows the margin to three games to two as Detroit defeats Houston by 2 to 1.

Oct. 21—Houston wins the Mulcahy Cup on Orlando Cepeda's 16th-inning double, scoring the last position player on Eddie Joost's roster.

Oct. 24—Richie Allen of Dallas is named the Federal League's Rookie of the Year, while Washington's Tony Conigliaro wins the award in the Players.

Oct. 27—Willie Mays wins his second straight MVP award in the Federal League. Ken Boyer of Seattle is selected as the Players League Most Valuable Player.

Oct. 28—Billy Pierce announces his retirement after winning 251 games and four championship rings in 17 seasons with Houston in the PWBL.

New York Mets 1965 Preview

2006-07-06T10:00:00.000-05:00

March 31, 1965

by Dick Old, NY Dally News

The 1964-disappointing NY Mets broke camp today, heading for Opening day 1965, and carrying a number of question marks into the season, if no major player changes. Here's how the team shapes up from this observer's eye.

Infield

Donn Clendenon will remain the Mets' regular firstbaseman, and, without a real speedster on the club that can get on base, Donn will likely be the leadoff batter by default. He did have a solid '64, and should be just coming into his own in the PWBL. Second base is one of those questions alluded to earlier, because of the off-season hamstring tear suffered by Denis Menke, who was an MVP contender in 1964. Management was none too pleased to see Menke hurt himself in that pickup basketball game last December. While he's now up and around, Menke's defensive range (nothing to write home about to begin with) and batting stroke seem to have been affected, providing an opportunity for Frank Bolling to reclaim his old job patrolling the 2nd sack. Shortstop is another area of change for the New Yorkers, with Tom Tresh slated to move to left field (really, more his natural position than ss), in favor of the recently acquired Ken Hamlin, who hasn't played in the PWBL since 1962 with Washington. Menke, if healed, may become part of the shortstop mix as well. And Clete Boyer will continue providing his great defense at thirdbase, and occasional power at the bat.

Outfield

As mentioned earlier, Tom Tresh will become the new leftfielder, taking the place of the departed, disappointing Joe Christopher. Felipe Alou seems to have the inside track at this point on the rightfield assignment over Willie Davis. Alou has been getting on base more than Davis this spring, and he contributes more power, offsetting Willie's great speed. Speaking of the Willies, Mr. Mays hopes to defy time for at least one more season in centerfield. The 34 year old Mays reacted strongly to this reporters' recent question of whether he was slowing down, saying "Say hey, man! Don't write that I'm slower, just say I'm maybe a little less fast" Less fast he may be, but he has put together a series of incredible seasons relatively late in what is sure to be a Hall Of Fame career. Much will be determined by his ability to do so one more time.

Catching

Ed Bailey is looking older and slower this spring, and may be nearing the end of a distinguished career. For 1965, he looks to share time behind the plate with Charlie Lau, and another recent signing, Dick Brown, who will immediately become the best defensively of a motley group. Also in the mix are Jack Hiatt and Jesse Gonder.

Pitching

Another Met looking to add to his HOF credentials is lifetime 285 game winner Robin Roberts. Roberts went through some rough times a few years ago when his arm went dead for awhile, but he's adapted to the loss of some of the bite on his great fastball, learning to become a complete pitcher. Roberts will be joined by Bob Shaw and Ray Culp in the starting rotation. Last year's standout Gary Peters has been hampered by lingering stiffness in his throwing arm (perhaps from overwork the last couple of year), and there are concerns as to how much the team can rely on him in 1965. Juan Pizarro has also looked like a 'tired arm' in his spring outings. Young pitchers Pete Richert and Bruce Howard will be asked to pick up the slack if necessary. The bullpen is anchored by Stu Miller, accompanied by Hal Reniff and Darrell Sutherland.

Management

This reporter is more than a little concerned with the state of the Mets' "brain trust" these days. Birdie Tebbetts, always somewhat of a laid-back manager, seemed to me to be a little too lethargic in 1964, piloting the '63 champion club to a rather disappointing 87-75 record, in spite of multiple leading MVP candidates. He'll be looking over his shoulder this year to gauge GM cookie Lavagetto's attitude. However, Lavagetto has been no house afire of late himself. He's engineered no trades of any significance in years, and the players he acquired via free agency don't look like major contributors this year. I think this is a make-or-break year for the pair that have kept the Mets continually competitive in recent years, if not exactly dominant. Of course, it's really impossible to dominate the PWBL for any length of time, not with the likes of Houston, Pittsburgh, and the other perennial powerhouses around.

Summary

This year's edition of the New York Mets has the potential to be a playoff team. Whether the potential will be realized depends on how the question marks are answered, and on the degree that Tebbetts can become more of an active manager. My fearless prediction: 91 Wins - 71 Losses, which may not be enough to take the Williams division crown this year.

1965 Rookie and Free-agent Draft

2006-07-06T08:30:00.000-05:00

Round one
    1. Cincinnati—Steve Carlton, p
    2. Dallas—Jim Palmer, p
    3. St. Louis—Bobby Murcer, of
    4. Philadelphia—Ferguson Jenkins, p
    5. Boston—Catfish Hunter, p
    6. Washington—Davey Johnson, 2b
    7. Los Angeles—Roy White, of
    8. Seattle—Ken Holtzman, p
    9. San Diego—Lee May, 1b-of
  10. New York—Joe Coleman, p
  11. Chicago—Cesar Tovar, 2b
  12. Boston [from San Francisco]—Mark Belanger, ss
  13. Cleveland—Ken Henderson, of
  14. Pittsburgh—Bud Harrelson, ss
  15. Detroit—Rudy May, p
  16. Houston—Tug McGraw, p

Round two
  17. Philadelphia—Bill Hands, p
  18. Dallas—Tito Fuentes, ss
  19. Cincinnati—Curt Blefary, of
  20. San Francisco (from Boston)—John Hiller, p
  21. Cleveland (from Washington)—Nelson Briles, p
  22. Los Angeles—Jim Lonborg, p
  23. Seattle—Bobby Tolan, of
  24. San Diego—Glenn Beckert, 2b
  25. St. Louis—Jim Lefebvre, 2b
  26. New York—Darold Knowles, p
  27. Chicago—Jim Merritt, p
  28. San Francisco—Al Weis, inf
  29. Cleveland—Jim McGlothlin, p
  30. Pittsburgh—Horace Clarke, inf
  31. Detroit—Ollie Brown, of
  32. Cincinnati (from Houston)—Bob Locker, p

Round three
  33. Dallas—Grant Jackson, p
  34. Philadelphia—Ralph Terry, p
  35. Cincinnati—Steve Hargan, p
  36. Boston—Ted Uhlaender, of
  37. Washington—Len Gabrielson, of
  38. Los Angeles—Paul Lindblad, p
  39. Seattle—Ron Swoboda, of
  40. San Diego—Skip Lockwood, p
  41. St. Louis—Art Shamsky, of
  42. New York—Ken Hamlin, ss
  43. Chicago—Andy Etchebarren, c
  44. San Francisco—Pat Corrales, c
  45. Dallas (from Cleveland)—Chico Ruiz, 3b
  46. Dallas (from Pittsburgh)—Chico Salmon, 2b
  47. Detroit—Paul Casanova, c
  48. Houston—Bob Oliver, 1b-of

Round four
  49. Philadelphia—Jimmy Piersall, of
  50. Dallas—Larry Jaster, p
  51. Cincinnati—Hector Lopez, of
  52. Boston—Dick Selma, p
  53. Washington—Phil Linz, ss
  54. Los Angeles—Pete Cimino, p
  55. Seattle—Bill Faul, p
  56. San Diego—Bob Tillman, c
  57. St. Louis—Ted Davidson, p
  58. New York—Dick Brown, c
  59. Chicago—George Thomas, of
  60. San Francisco—Ray Barker, 1b
  61. Cleveland—Ron Brand, c
  62. Pittsburgh—Chris Krug, c
  63. Detroit—Masanori Murakami, p
  64. Houston—Richie Scheinblum, of

Round five
  65. Pittsburgh (from Dallas)—Arnold Earley, p
  66. Philadelphia—Willie Smith, of
  67. Cincinnati—Rene Lachemann, c
  68. Boston—Jim Ray, p
  69. Washington—Don Landrum, of
  70. Los Angeles—John Sullivan, c
  71. Seattle—Joe Cunningham, 1b
  72. Chicago (from San Diego)—Don Dennis, p
  73. St. Louis—Ray Oyler, ss
  74. New York—Darrell Sutherland, p
  75. Chicago—Rich Rollins, 3b
  76. San Francisco—Gary Geiger, of
  77. Cleveland—Gary Wagner, p
  78. Pittsburgh—Chris Cannizzaro, c
  79. Detroit—Brant Alyea, of
  80. Houston—Jim O'Toole, p

Round six
  81. Philadelphia—Joe Christopher, of
  82. Dallas—Dick Nen, 1b
  83. Houston (from Cincinnati)—Luke Walker, p
  84. Boston—Ron Taylor, p
  85. Washington—Chuck Harrison, 1b
  86. Los Angeles—Nelson Mathews, of
  87. Seattle—Don Larsen, p
  88. San Diego—Jack Cullen, p
  89. St. Louis—Norm Miller, of
  90. New York—Woody Woodward, ss
  91. Chicago—Tom Kelley, p
  92. San Francisco—Jim Coates, p
  93. Cleveland—Don Mossi, p
  94. Pittsburgh—Vic Roznovsky, c
  95. Detroit—Cap Peterson, of
  96. Houston—Del Crandall, c

Round seven
  97. Dallas—Joe Nossek, of
  98. Philadelphia—Mike Brumley, c
  99. Cincinnati—John Stephenson, c
100. Boston—Duane Josephson, c
        Washington—Pass
101. Los Angeles—Doug Camilli, c
102. Seattle—Rob Gardner, p
103. San Diego—Jim Owens, p
104. St. Louis—Byron Browne, of
105. New York—Jesse Gonder, c
106. Chicago—Jerry Kindall, 2b-3b
        San Francisco—Pass
107. Cleveland—Steve Ridzik, p
108. Pittsburgh—Gus Triandos, c
109. Detroit—Jack Lamabe, p
110. Houston—Bob Purkey, p

Mays unanimous choice for Federal MVP, Boyer reigns in PL

2006-07-06T08:22:00.000-05:00

October 27, 1964

New York -- Willie Mays captured his second straight MVP award in the Federal League, winning a unanimous vote from sportswriters who cover the Postwar Baseball League, while ten-year veteran Ken Boyer took home the first postseason award of his career, grabbing the Players League MVP trophy in a close vote.

Mays, who hit more than 50 homers and drove in more than 150 runners for the second consecutive year, polled 55 votes and easily outdistanced Ron Santo of San Francisco, the Federal League runnerup. The 33-year-old centerfielder played all 162 of the New York Mets' games for the fourth year in a row, hitting .294 with 51 roundtrippers and 151 rbi's.

Boyer, who is exactly two weeks younger than Mays, hit .323 with 26 homeruns and 110 runs batted in for the Seattle Pilots. The thirdbaseman from Liberty, Mo., also banged out 200 hits for the first time since joining the PWBL in 1955 with the New York Gems.

Boyer edged the Philadelphia Phillies' Frank Robinson by 45 to 38 votes with Billy Williams of the Washington Senators slipping into third, just ahead of Cleveland's Hank Aaron and Roberto Clemente of San Diego.

Both Mays and Boyer played on second-place ballclubs in 1964. The Mets finished six games behind the division-winning Pittsburgh Panthers in the PWBL Kiner, while Seattle trailed the Players League pennant-winning Detroit Tigers by ten games in the Lemon.

Neither pennant winner landed a player in the top four vote getters. Houston's Orlando Cepeda came closest, finishing in a tie with Mays's teammate Denis Menke for fifth in the Federal MVP voting.

The final tallies looked like this.


Federal League
Mays, NYM            55
Santo, SFG           23
Mantle, StL          19
Torre, Bos           16
Cepeda, Hou          15
Menke, NYM           15
Jackson, Pit         10
Flood, Pit            7
Wilhelm, Pit          2
Brock, Bos            1
Pascual, Hou          1
Peters, NYM           1

Players League
Boyer, Sea           45
F.Robinson, Phi      38
Williams, Was        21
Aaron, Cle           19
Clemente, SD         18
Conigliaro, Was       5
Killebrew, SD         5
Chance, Cle           4
B.Robinson, Phi       4
Bond, Cle             3
Bunker, Det           2
Powell, Sea           2
Carty, Det            1
Ford, Cle             1
Howard, Det           1

Most Valuable Players since the PWBL's founding in 1946:
1946   Stan Musial, Philadelphia
1947   Ted Williams, Brooklyn
1948   Stan Musial, Philadelphia
1949   Bobby Doerr, Houston
1950   Andy Pafko, Detroit
1951   Sid Gordon, Boston
1952   Sid Gordon, Boston
1953   Roy Campanella, Detroit
1954   Gil Hodges, Chicago
1955   Duke Snider, N.Y. Gems
1956   Mickey Mantle, St. Louis
1957   Mickey Mantle, St. Louis
1958   Richie Ashburn, Chicago
1959   Eddie Mathews, Pittsburgh
1960   Eddie Mathews, Pittsburgh
1961   Harmon Killebrew, San Diego    (Federal League)
           Rocky Colavito, Houston            (Players League)
1962   Orlando Cepeda, Houston          (Federal League)
           Hank Aaron, Cleveland               (Players League)
1963   Willie Mays, New York                (Federal League)
           Hank Aaron, Cleveland               (Players League)
1964   Willie Mays, New York                (Federal League)
           Ken Boyer, Seattle                         (Players League)

Allen, Conigliaro win Rookie honors

2006-06-27T11:35:00.000-05:00

October 24, 1964

Richie Allen and Tony Conigliaro, two young sluggers who combined for 66 homers, have won Rookie of the Year honors in the PWBL for 1964.

Allen hit .309 with 31 homers and 94 rbi's for the Dallas Colt .45s. The 22-year-old outfielder and third baseman from Wampum, Pa., was the unanimous choice for best first-year player in the Federal League.

Conigliaro, a teenager from Revere, Mass., hit .302 with 35 roundtrippers and 108 runs batted in. The Washington Senators' rightfielder outpolled two Detroit Tigers--righthander Wally Bunker and outfielder Rico Carty--to win the Players League Rookie of the Year trophy.

Ron Herbel, a 10-game winning swingman for the Mulcahy Cup-winning Houston Buffs, finished second to Allen in the Federal voting, while San Francisco second baseman Dick Green came in third.

PWBL Rookies of the Year since 1946:
1946   Ralph Kiner, St. Louis
1947   Larry Jansen, St. Louis
1948   Hank Sauer, Milwaukee
1949   Billy Pierce, Houston
1950   Al Rosen, Milwaukee
1951   Minnie Minoso, Pittsburgh
1952   Eddie Mathews, Pittsburgh
1953   Jim Gilliam, Houston
1954   Frank Sullivan, Detroit
1955   Wally Post, Chicago
1956   Frank Robinson, Philadelphia
1957   Jim Bunning, St. Louis
1958   Orlando Cepeda, Houston
1959   Vada Pinson, Houston
1960   Ron Hansen, Pittsburgh
1961   Carl Yastrzemski, Chicago (Federal League)
           Billy Williams, Washington (Players League)
1962   Rich Rollins, Chicago (Federal League)
           Tom Tresh, New York (Players League)
1963   Gary Peters, New York               (Federal League)
           Al Downing, Chicago                  (Players League)
1964   Richie Allen, Dallas                       (Federal League)
           Tony Conigliaro, Washington   (Players League)

Chance named best pitcher in PL

2006-06-21T06:26:00.000-05:00

October 14, 1963

Dean Chance was awarded the Cy Young trophy for the best pitcher in the Players League, outpolling Sandy Koufax and preventing the southpaw from winning the award for an unprecedented third time.

Chance, a 20-game winner with the Cleveland Indians, found some consolation from the Tribe's elimination from the PWBL playoffs yesterday at the hands of Koufax's Tigers. The two best pitchers in the Players League had dueled for 14 scoreless innings just a week ago.

This time around Chance came up the winner, receiving 67 votes to Koufax's 54. Cleveland teammate Whitey Ford was a close third, getting 41 votes.

The 23-year-old Ohioan won his 20th game in shutting out the second-place San Diego Padres by 3 to 0 on September 17th, putting the Indians up by four games in the Williams Division and effectively ending the Padres' hopes. The win was Chance's PWBL-leading sixth shutout of the season.

Koufax won the Federal League award for best pitcher in consecutive 1961–1962 seasons. In 1964 the Brooklyn-born lefty won 16 and lost 6 with a PWBL-best 2.04 ERA.

Ford, a 35-year-old New Yorker who broke into the PWBL in 1950 with the New York Gems, won 20 games for the first time in his career. Despite 174 lifetime wins, the southpaw has never captured a Cy Young Award.

The voting results:


D.Chance, Cle           67
S.Koufax, Det           54
W.Ford, Cle             41
D.Drysdale, Was         21
W.Bunker, Det           18
L.McDaniel, SD           2
J.Marichal, Was          2
B.Gibson, SD             1
H.Haddix, Det            1
C.Simmons, SD            1

Winners of the Cy Young Award since the PWBL was founded:
1946 Bob Feller, Milwaukee
1947 Hal Newhouser, Houston
1948 Bob Lemon, Brooklyn
1949 Howie Pollet, N.Y. Mets
1950 Ewell Blackwell, N.Y. Gems
1951 Don Newcombe, Detroit
1952 Bob Lemon, Cleveland
1953 Robin Roberts, N.Y. Mets
1954 Curt Simmons, Chicago
1955 Billy Pierce, Houston
1956 Johnny Antonelli, Philadelphia
1957 Curt Simmons, Chicago
1958 Billy Pierce, Houston
1959 Camilo Pascual, Houston
1960 Bob Friend, Pittsburgh
1961 Sandy Koufax, Detroit (Federal League)
     Jim O’Toole, Houston (Players League)
1962 Sandy Koufax, Detroit (Federal League)
     Bob Purkey, Houston (Players League)
1963 Camilo Pascual, Houston (Federal League)
     Larry Jackson, Pittsburgh (Players League)
1964 Larry Jackson, Pittsburgh (Federal League)
     Dean Chance, Cleveland (Players League)

Jackson wins second straight Cy Young

2006-06-21T05:53:00.000-05:00

October 14, 1964

Larry Jackson, winner of 56 games over the past two seasons, won his second straight Cy Young Award, being selected by sportswriters who cover the PWBL as the best Federal League pitcher of 1964.

Jackson received 64 votes easily to outdistance second-place finisher Camilo Pascual, who polled 49. The 33-year-old native of Idaho led the Federals with 26 wins and lost 10 while putting together an ERA of 2.27 for the Kiner Division-winning Pittsburgh Panthers.

Since August 1962 (when he went 7 and 3 down the stretch for the pennant-pursuing Panthers), Jackson has won 63 games and lost only 17 with an earned-run average of 2.38 in 714 innings. No pitcher in PWBL has been more dominating over a similar length of time.

Hal Newhouser by comparison won 62 and lost 19 with a 2.45 ERA in 692 innings from August 1947 through the end of 1949. Newhouser is the only PWBL pitcher to have won 20 games over three straight seasons, a feat that Jackson will be aiming for in 1965.

Pascual went 21-8 with an ERA of 2.34 for the Federal League pennant-winning Houston Buffs, falling 15 votes short of winning his second straight Cy Young Award. The 30-year-old Cuban righthander won the Federal prize in 1963, while Jackson rang the bell in the Players League.

Bob Bruce of the Chicago White Sox finished third in the voting with 32, while the New York Mets' Gary Peters came in third with 19. Pepto Bismol Award winner Hoyt Wilhelm was fourth with 17 votes.

The voting results:


L.Jackson, Pit       64
C.Pascual, Hou       49
B.Bruce, Chi         32
G.Peters, NYM        19
H.Wilhelm, Pit       17
J.O'Toole, Hou        7
J.Horlen, StL         3
D.Hall, Hou           1

Giants Announce Hirings of Howsam, Franks

2006-06-20T09:42:00.000-05:00

October 1964

Robert L. "Bob" Howsam is the new General Manager of the San Francisco Giants. The team issued a press release immediately following the press conference in which previous General Manager Larry MacPhail and bench coach Charlie Dressen announced their retirements. The press release also identified Herman Franks as the Giants' new bench coach.

Bob Howsam, age 46, a Denver native, comes to the team with a varied sports management background. The Howsam family (including Bob Howsam's father and brother) own the Pacific Coast League's Denver Bears franchise, where Bob had been serving as General Manager. They also founded and owned the AFL Denver Broncos, but sold the team earlier this year.

Herman Franks, the new bench coach, has been serving the team for years as an advance scout, and many thought he was in line to become the Giants' Scouting Director. But he reportedly expressed a strong interest in returning to the playing field (Franks broke into the game as a catcher and had a modest playing career before moving into the scouting department). The team obliged his request by offering him the bench coach position upon the retirement of his predecessor, Charlie Dressen.

Bert Cane
San Francisco Chronicle

San Francisco Giants Announce Retirements

2006-06-20T09:39:00.000-05:00

October 1964

In the wake of their bittersweet 1964 season, the San Francisco Giants have announced the retirements of General Manager Larry MacPhail and bench coach Charlie Dressen. Both MacPhail and Dressen cited the success of the team on the field in 1964 as a major factor in their decisions to retire.

MacPhail, in his resignation speech, said, "The Boss [team owner David Atkinson] brought me here to revamp the baseball operations side of the club from top to bottom. I told him at the time it would take five years to do it right and be able to see the results on the field. Fortunately for my reputation, that's exactly how it turned out. Now that the purpose for which I was hired has been accomplished, it is time for me to hand over the reins to a deserving successor and begin enjoying my retirement."

Dressen expressed similar sentiments in his portion of the press conference. When MacPhail cleaned house prior to the 1960 season, he hired an almost all-rookie field management staff, with Dressen being the sole exception. He had been out of baseball for one year after being let go by the Detroit Tigers, the team he managed from 1948-1958, when MacPhail contacted him about the Giants coaching position. "MacPhail asked me to serve as a mentor to Al [Dark] and his coaching staff, guide them through the rough spots, and help them concentrate on the job of putting a winning team on the field. Obviously, after this past season, there's nothing left for me to teach them in that regard. I expect you'll be seeing the Giants at or near the top of the standings for many years to come, and I want to get out of the way and let Al enjoy the success and credit that he richly deserves." Dressen also cited health concerns as a factor in his decision.

Inside sources report that both MacPhail and Dressen notified ownership of their intentions during the season, but agreed not to say anything to the team or the press until the season was concluded. Sources also report a rumor--unconfirmed--that MacPhail had a falling out with Atkinson over the issue of hiring MacPhail's son Lee as Director of Player Personnel. Larry MacPhail reportedly hoped to groom his son to become his successor in the GM position, but was rebuffed by ownership.

The Giants front office quietly spent the final months of the season identifying candidates to replace MacPhail and Dressen, and an announcement of their replacements is expected to be imminent.

Bert Cane
San Francisco Chronicle

Final Standings for 1964

2006-06-13T11:00:00.000-05:00


Federal League
Kiner                  WON LOST  PCT 
1964 Pittsburgh     93  69  .574 ----
1964 New York       87  75  .537  6.0
1964 St. Louis      86  76  .531  7.0
1964 Boston         71  91  .438 22.0

Gordon             WON LOST  PCT   GB
1964 Houston       101  61  .623 ----
1964 San Francisco  99  63  .611  2.0
1964 Chicago        97  65  .599  4.0
1964 Dallas         60 102  .370 41.0


Players League
Lemon              WON LOST  PCT   GB
1964 Detroit        87  75  .537 ----
1964 Seattle        77  85  .475 10.0
1964 Los Angeles    73  89  .451 14.0
1964 Philadelphia   60 102  .370 27.0

Williams           WON LOST  PCT   GB
1964 Cleveland      87  75  .537 ----
1964 San Diego      84  78  .519  3.0
1964 Washington     72  90  .444 15.0
1964 Cincinnati     62 100  .383 25.0

Pilots fire Reese after 8th straight loss

2006-04-09T22:30:00.000-05:00

June 5, 1964

Cleveland -- The Seattle Pilots have fired manager Pee Wee Reese after skidding to their eighth straight loss here.

Reese replaced Ralph Houk at the Seattle helm after 37 games last season, but lasted through the first 52 games of the 1964 campaign before being relieved of his duties.

After losing to the Cleveland Indians by 5 to 4 last night, the Pilots had fallen into third place in the Lemon, five games behind the division-leading Detroit Tigers.

Reese, a 13-year PWBL veteran who spent his entire career in Detroit, began his managerial efforts in 1960 with the Tigers. He led the team to 97 wins and a second-place Kiner finish in 1961.

Reese was sacked after the Tigers lost 20 of its first 26 games the following season.

After replacing Houk, Reese led Seattle to 60 wins in 125 games. This year the team climbed into first on May 3rd. The Pilots were the Lemon Division leader when their losing streak began with a 3-to-2 loss to the Indians at Sick's Stadium.

Frankie Crosetti, the team's third-base coach who directed the Pilots briefly in 1962 when Houk walked off the job in protest, will serve as interim skipper until a permanent replacement for Reese is hired.

Mays, Jackson named players of April 1964

2006-03-29T07:00:00.000-05:00

Two award-winners from 1963 picked up where they left off in April.

Willie Mays of the New York Mets and Larry Jackson of the Pittsburgh Panthers have been named respectively the PWBL's Player and Pitcher of the Month.

Mays, who leads the Federal League with 10 homeruns and 22 rbi's, earned 17 votes, outdistancing Cleveland's Hank Aaron, who pulled in 12.

Jackson, the first 30-game winner in PWBL history, went 5-1 in April, giving him exactly 150 victories in his 10-year career. The 33-year-old Nampa, Ida., native also notched an ERA of 1.64 in polling 19 votes.

Cleveland's Whitey Ford edged out Washington's Jack Kralick for second place in the pitchers' voting by 8 votes to 7.

Buffs reeling despite fast start

2006-03-15T19:30:00.000-05:00

Sunday, April 12, 1964

by Bubba Bright

The Houston Buffs have broken from the gate with a 4-0 start, but the players have barely noticed. They are thinking about something other than baseball. Absent friends, to be exact.

Has any other Postwar Baseball League team ever absorbed two tragedies in such quick succession? Ken Hubbs, the team's brash 22-year-old on-field leader, died when his small plane crashed outside Provo, Utah, just two weeks before spring training. Then, on the same day that Eddie Joost's crew opened the season at home, tall quiet Jim Umbricht succumbed to cancer a few miles away at St. Luke's Hospital.

Paul Richards, the team's grizzled GM, did not tell the players until they had sleepwalked through an 8-to-5 victory over the San Francisco Giants. Several of Umbricht's teammates broke down upon hearing the news in the lockerroom after the game.

The team's postseason awards will be renamed in Hubbs's and Umbricht's honor, Richards told The Post. Houston's MVP will be presented with the Ken Hubbs trophy, while the best pitcher will be given the Jim Umbricht award.

Dick Hall, just ten days Umbricht's junior, has inherited the former Georgia Bulldog's role as closer. Already the 33-year-old St. Louis native has racked up four saves in the Buffs' four games, but he feels as if he is pitching on behalf of a ghost.

"Jim is out there with me, I know it," Hall said. "I can't believe he's gone."

Eddie Bressoud joined the Buffs in 1962, the same year that Hubbs won the starting job at second base. Joost asked the veteran to room with the rookie, and despite the ten years' difference in their ages, the two became inseperable friends--especially on the road.

"I broke into the PWBL in 1956 with the Mets, watching Frank Bolling play second base. Bolling is one of the best that ever was, but he couldn't hold a candle to Kenny," Bressoud said, his voice barely above a whisper. "Kenny was like a figure skater out there. I've never seen anyone so graceful."

Joost has been splitting the second-base chores between two rookies--23-year-old John Kennedy and 25-year-old Bobby Knoop.

Kennedy, a native of Chicago, enjoyed cups of coffee with the Buffs the last two seasons, but failed to hit, putting together just an .095 average in 21 at bats. Although he is reputed to be almost as good with the glove, Knoop was stuck behind Hubbs in the Houston farm system. He too is a weak hitter, finishing with a .235 average last season at Bryan.

"We are not going to claim that we are dedicating the season to Jim and Kenny. That would be vulgar. We want people to think about them, not us," Joost said after yesterday's 8-to-5 win over the Colt .45s in Dallas.

"But I won't pretend to you that our minds are on baseball. Nobody is supposed to die that young," Joost said.

Bubba Bright covers the Buffs for The Houston Post

Jim Umbricht dead; pitcher on Buffs, 33

2006-03-15T07:00:00.000-05:00

April 9, 1964

Houston, April 8 -- Jim Umbricht, Houston Buff righthanded relief pitcher, died today of cancer at St. Luke's Hospital here. He was 33 years old.

Despite a six-hour operation on March 7, 1963, to remove a tumor in his leg, Umbricht was in uniform on Opening Day last season and before the season ended he compiled a 6-6 record in 65 innings. He saved eight games and finished with an ERA of 2.77.

The Buffs obtained Umbricht from the St. Louis Cardinals for Roy Face in a trade prior to 1963. In five PWBL seasons, the 6'4", 215-pound native of Chicago compiled a record of 14-13 with an ERA of 3.06.

Umbricht graduated from the University of Georgia where he starred in both baseball and basketball. In 1951 he was an All-Southeastern Conference shortstop.

Buffs star killed in Utah air crash

2006-03-13T06:54:00.000-05:00

Saturday, February 15, 1964

Provo, Utah -- Ken Hubbs, star second baseman for the Houston Buffs, and a friend were found dead today in the wreckage of a light plane that crashed on a frozen lake near here.

Hubbs, 22, won the Federal League's Gold Glove in his rookie season of 1962.

He and his traveling companion, Dennis Dayle, 23, left this north-central Utah town in Hubbs's single-engined Cessna 172 Thursday morning for their homes in Colton, Calif. Their plane got only about five miles.

The wreckage was sighted on Utah Lake, just south of Provo, late this morning by Harlon Bement, state aeronautics director.

Bement was directing the Utah phase of a three-state aerial search that began yesterday evening when Hubbs's father reported the plane had failed to arrive in Colton.

Hubbs and Dayle were flying home after participating in a basketball tournament at Provo sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Hubbs bought the plane last year and obtained his pilot's license just two weeks ago. He reportedly took flying lessons in order to conquer a fear of flying.

Hubbs committed only six errors while hitting .290 with six homeruns and 67 rbi's in 1962, when the Buffs won the PWBL Kiner Division. He finished second to Rich Rollins of the Chicago Cubs in voting for Rookie of the Year that season.

The 6'2", 175-pound native of Riverside, Calif., slipped to a batting average of .228, but still contributed ten homers and 61 rbi's last year.

Hubbs was selected by Houston in the second-round pick of the 1961 draft--the 49th pick overall--and hit .241 in a 29-at-bat cup of coffee with the Buffs at the end of the season. Houston traded veteran Jim Gilliam to Pittsburgh over the winter to make room at second base for the slick-fielding youngster.

Hubbs's death is the second offseason tragedy for the Buffs. Relief pitcher Jim Umbricht, who underwent surgery to rumor a tumor from his leg last March, was diagnosed in December with inoperable lymphoma and is reportedly near death in Houston.

"Our prayers are with Ken's family," Paul Richards, the team GM, said in a prepared statement. The untimely death creates major problems for the Buffs. Because of Hubbs's youth, the team neglected the second-base position in recent years. 35-year-old Billy Gardner was the backup last season.

Richards could not be reached for further comment.

Aaron wins second straight Players League MVP

2006-03-06T10:00:00.000-05:00

November 9, 1963

Hank Aaron, the 29-year-old slugger who carried the Cleveland Indians all the way to the Mulcahy Cup, won his second straight Most Valuable Player Award in the PWBL Players League.

Aaron outpolled 30-game-winner Larry Jackson of the Pittsburgh Panthers by 59 to 39 votes after hitting a league-leading .341 and blasting 56 homeruns. The Mobile, Ala., native hit 54 homers in 1962 when he won the MVP trophy for the first time.

Aaron hit 400th career homerun on July 24th against Boston, finishing the season with a lifetime total of 429. He also chalked up his 2,000th career hit on the third-to-last day of the season when he doubled in the fourth against San Diego.

The Detroit Tigers' Willie McCovey came in third in the voting with 35, nosing ahead of the Washington Senators' Billy Williams--the Players League rbi leader--who tallied 27.

The complete voting:


Aaron, Cle          59
Jackson, Pit        39
McCovey, Det        35
B.Williams, Wash    27
Yastrzemski, Chi     5
Koufax, Det          4
Flood, Pit           3
Callison, SFG        2
Drysdale, Wash       2
Killebrew, SD        2
Downing, Chi         1
Wilhelm, Pit         1
Woodeshick, Chi      1

PWBL Most Valuable Players since 1946:
1946   Stan Musial, Philadelphia
1947   Ted Williams, Brooklyn
1948   Stan Musial, Philadelphia
1949   Bobby Doerr, Houston
1950   Andy Pafko, Detroit
1951   Sid Gordon, Boston
1952   Sid Gordon, Boston
1953   Roy Campanella, Detroit
1954   Gil Hodges, Chicago
1955   Duke Snider, N.Y. Gems
1956   Mickey Mantle, St. Louis
1957   Mickey Mantle, St. Louis
1958   Richie Ashburn, Chicago
1959   Eddie Mathews, Pittsburgh
1960   Eddie Mathews, Pittsburgh
1961   Harmon Killebrew, San Diego     (Federal League)
         Rocky Colavito, Houston              (Players League)
1962   Orlando Cepeda, Houston          (Federal League)
         Hank Aaron, Cleveland               (Players League)
1963   Willie Mays, New York                (Federal League)
         Hank Aaron, Cleveland               (Players League)

Mays is unanimous MVP in Federal League

2006-03-06T09:00:00.000-05:00

November 4, 1963

Willie Mays, who became only the second player in PWBL history to win the Triple Crown, topped off his once-in-a-lifetime season by unanimously winning the Most Valuable Player award for the Federal League.

The 32-year-old Alabaman, who also won the league's Gold Glove for center fielders, hit .363 with 53 homeruns and 153 rbi's to lead the Federals in all three categories. Mays polled 65 votes to outdistance second-place finisher Vada Pinson by 27 votes.

Mays hit 50 homeruns for the second time in his career and banged out his 2,000th career hit--a single--on August 10th at home against Cincinnati. By the end of the year, the 5'11", 180-pound captain of the New York Mets had hit 380 homeruns.

Mays became only the second player to win the MVP trophy on a unanimous vote. Mickey Mantle unanimously won the 1956 award after becoming the first PWBL player to secure the Triple Crown.

Pinson gathered 38 votes to come in behind Mays, followed by Bill White's 31.

The compete voting:


Mays, NYM         65
Pinson, Hou       38
White, LA         31
F.Howard, Bos     19
Tresh, NYM        17
Pearson, Sea      10
Peters, NYM        6
Dailey, LA         3
Mathews, Hou       3
Roberts, NYM       3

Murtaugh wins Manager of Year honors

2006-03-05T09:10:00.000-05:00

October 29, 1963

Danny Murtaugh, who led the Pittsburgh Panthers to the Williams Division crown after being fired by the St. Louis Cardinals, has been selected the PWBL Manager of the Year.

Murtaugh inherited a Panthers team that had won just 75 games in 1962 under Casey Stengel and finishing 23 games behind. The 46-year-old native of Chester, Pa., was fired after leading the Cardinals to a similar third-place record of 74-88.

Under their new skipper, the Panthers got off to the league's best record in April 1963, winning 14 and losing just four. They slipped into second place six times in June, but never trailed by more than a game and a half.

Murtaugh became the fourth Pittsburgh manager to win the trophy, following Pie Traynor (now the team's GM), Leo Durocher (now a Cleveland coach), and Del Crandall (now a backup catcher with Los Angeles).

Al Lopez, manager of the surprising Lemon Division-winning Cleveland Indians, came in second in the voting with 13 tallies, edging out the Detroit Tigers' Sparky Anderson, who polled 11. Lopez is the only three-time winner of the award in PWBL history.

The complete voting:


Murtaugh, Pit       26
Lopez, Cle          13
Anderson, Det       11
Hodges, Chi          9
Tebbetts, NYM        3
Hutchinson, Cin      2
Williams, Wash       2
Joost, Hou           1

PWBL Managers of the Year since 1946:
1946   Pie Traynor, Pittsburgh
1947   Moe Berg, Houston
1948   Bill Terry, N.Y. Mets
1949   Yogi Berra, Boston
1950   Mel Ott, N.Y. Gems
1951   Al Lopez, Cleveland
1952   Al Lopez, Cleveland
1953   Mel Ott, N. Y. Gems
1954   Leo Durocher, Pittsburgh
1955   Charlie Dressen, Detroit
1956   Del Crandall, Pittsburgh
1957   Al Lopez, Cleveland
1958   Joe Schultz, Seattle
1959   Bobby Bragan, Los Angeles
1960   Lou Boudreau, Washington
1961   Eddie Joost, Houston
1962   Birdie Tebbetts, N.Y. Mets
1963   Danny Murtaugh, Pittsburgh

Cleveland fires GM McPhail

2006-02-21T16:30:00.000-05:00

Lopez becomes GM; stays as manager

By Herk Creston
Cleveland Plain-Dealer
October 28, 1963

The war is over.

No, not the 1963 season--a war of epic proportions for the Cleveland Indians.

And not the 1963 Mulcahy Cup Finals--a war unmatched in the long history of the PWBL.

The war just ended is the civil war waged for control of the Cleveland front office. Lee McPhail lost and was fired this morning by owner Max Salzman. His replacement as Indians‚ general manager is the man who survived the internal struggle--Al Lopez, the field boss who never gave up on his players and whose quiet leadership guided them through a most difficult season.

Lopez will remain as field manager, with the recently retired Albert "Red" Schoendiest brought aboard as "bench coach." In that role, Schoendiest will be something of an "assistant manager." Dominic DiMaggio, a former ballplayer and brother of Joe DiMaggio, has been hired as assistant general manager. Lopez and Schoendiest will ramrod the Indians' effort in the upcoming draft.

"Lee McPhail served this organization well," Salzman said in a prepared statement. "But philosophical differences emerged over the course of the recent season to the point where both Lee and I thought it was time to part ways."

McPhail was the Tribe's second GM, having replaced Branch Rickey a few seasons ago.

Internal differences surfaced during the summer, when the Indians suffered through a disastrous June and early July--at one point losing 26 of 34 games. McPhail never blamed the well-respected Lopez--something akin to heresy in the world of PWBL baseball. Instead, he blamed the players and sought to dismantle the team, trading catcher Gus Triandos and outfielder George Alusik to Pittsburgh and young shortstop Zolio Versailles to Chicago in exchange for draft picks and roster filler. At the time, it was widely known that Lopez opposed both moves, insisting that the team still could contend. Ever the gentleman, Lopez refused to make his displeasure public.

Nevertheless, McPhail responded to Lopez's private arguments by demoting pitcher Dean Chance to Sacramento and by actively shopping veteran hurlers Ken McBride and Turk Farrell. Oddly, McPhail publicly lambasted Farrell at the same time he tried to trade him. Not surprisingly, no team stepped forward with a deal McPhail thought serious. Both pitchers were pulled off the market after Lopez personally appealed to owner Max Salzman.

More significant, it was rumored that McPhail was working on a deal to ship Henry Aaron back to St. Louis--a rumor that Cardinals' officials denied but was never put to rest by Cleveland management. Lopez apparently threatened to quit over the possibility that Aaron might be traded.

Meanwhile, Lopez--aided by Schoendiest and coaches Leo Durocher and James "Cool Papa" Bell and by veteran players such as Wally Moon--went about the business of restoring the team's shattered confidence. Chance was returned from the purgatory of the Pacific Coast League and rookie Dennis McLain returned to Sacramento. Chance pitched well upon his return, while Farrell began to regain control of his curve.

In perhaps his greatest achievement, Lopez kept McBride from imploding as trade rumors swirled through the summer, along the way repairing damage done to the staff ace's injured pride. As a result, the 28-year-old hurler experienced his best season, winning 17 games, and then starting two games in the semifinals. He started twice more in the finals and was slated to take the hill for the seventh and deciding game when a sore arm sidelined him at the last moment. Farrell was tabbed as his replacement. Despite the aching limb, McBride eventually pitched an inning of scoreless relief.

Lopez also made the best of the hand he had been dealt by McPhail. He pasted utilityman John Goryl into an effective shortstop platoon with newly acquired Dick Howser to fill the hole left by Versailles's departure, and engineered the promotion of catcher Hank Foiles from Sacramento to work behind the plate with Ed Sadowski and the inexperienced Jesse Gonder. He also installed the red-hot Aaron into the leadoff spot, giving him more chances to bat and also to help spark the offense with his underrated speed.

The change likely cost Aaron the Players League Triple Crown since it diminished his chances to drive in runs. But it increased his impact. Aaron compiled one of his best seasons, leading all the PWBL in home runs and also winning the Players League batting title. He also led the league in stolen bases.

Most of all, however, Lopez provided leadership, using his quiet but forceful personality to marginalize McPhail both in the clubhouse and with upper management. He constantly reminded his players that the Lemon Division did not have a New York or a Pittsburgh or a Houston or any other dominant team. It was, he repeated daily, wide open for the taking. His confidence in himself, and in his players, became infectious. Aaron couldn't do it alone. He needed help, and you could see that help form day-by-day, as sure as you can see a summer storm gather at the far end of a prairie. Along about August, Chuck Hinton, Gordy Coleman, Jerry Adair, Al Weis, and their teammates began to believe in themselves again.

The rest, as they say, is remarkable history.

Herk Creston covers baseball for the Cleveland Plain-Dealer.

Berra homers, retires in Boston

2006-01-25T16:34:00.000-05:00

September 13, 1963

Boston -- Yogi Berra, the 38-year-old veteran who has guided the Boston Minutemen as player-manager since 1948, announced his retirement from baseball after blasting his 474th career homerun in a 5-to-2 win over the Los Angeles Stars here.

Berra homered off Hal Brown (11-6) in the seventh inning in his last at bat, following up Frank Thomas's two-run blast with an opposite-field solo shot over Fenway Park's Green Monster. The 16-year veteran's roundtripper was his tenth of the season, and his first since August 2.

"It's difficult to make predictions, especially about the future, but I don't think I'm going to get any better. I've accomplished most of my goals, won a Mulcahy Cup, proved that I could play a little. It's time to hang 'em up," Berra told reporters crowded into his office after the game.

Thomas's two-run dinger in the seventh tied the score at 2 to 2. Berra's homer put the Minutemen on top to stay.

Joe Torre's two-run single in the eighth padded Boston's lead for Chris Short (6-9). The Minutemen improved their record to 46-93 with 23 games remaining as they hope to avoid their fourth straight 100-loss season.

Berra declined to answer questions about his managerial future with the team.

Jackson, Mays take home Player of the Month Awards for May

2005-12-08T11:27:00.000-05:00

June 17, 1963

Larry Jackson and Willie Mays have been named the Players of the Month for May 1963.

Mays, who batted .381 with 10 HRs and 27 RBIS for the month, was the driving force behind New York's top ranked offense.

Mays compiled 10 first place votes to push him ahead of Bob Allison, who had 1 first place and 7 second votes. Vada Pinson finished third with one second place vote.

Jackson was an astounding 7-0 in May for the Williams Division leading Pittsburgh Panthers and extended his league leading win total to 12, with no losses.

Jackson ran away with the award, far ahead of Orlando Pena of the Stars and Hal Woodeshick of the White Sox. Jackson finished first on 9 ballots, but second place votes were split among seven different players.

Voting Details

Batters 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Pts
W. Mays 10 1 0 0 0 54
B. Allison 1 7 5 1 0 41
V. Pinson 0 1 4 2 0 20
R. Colavito 0 1 2 3 1 17
H. Aaron 0 0 2 3 1 13
W. McCovey 0 0 0 2 5 9
J. Gilliam 0 1 0 0 0 4
C. Flood 0 0 1 0 0 3
B. White 0 0 0 0 2 2
B. Freehan 0 0 0 0 1 1
F. Mantilla 0 0 0 0 1 1

Pitchers 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Pts
L. Jackson 9 1 0 0 0 49
O. Pena 1 3 1 2 1 25
H. Woodeshick 0 3 1 4 0 23
M. Pappas 0 1 2 3 0 16
J. Pizarro 0 1 2 1 1 16
S. Koufax 1 1 0 1 3 14
R. Perranoski 0 1 1 0 1 8
B. Shantz 0 0 1 0 0 3
C. Willey 0 0 0 0 3 3
A. Downing 0 0 1 0 0 3
B. Miller 0 0 1 0 0 3
D. Ellsworth 0 0 0 0 2 2

Drabowsky, Mays named Players of Month

2005-10-28T06:21:00.000-05:00

May 1, 1963

Moe Drabowsky was the unanimous choice for Pitcher of the Month in April, while Willie Mays took home the honors for Player of the Month in a vote of baseball writers who cover the PWBL.

Drabowsky, a 27-year-old hardthrowing righthander who was born in Ozanna, Poland, won four games against no losses for the Detroit Tigers. The eight-year veteran tossed 29 consecutive scoreless innings before yielding an unearned run to the Pittsburgh Panthers on Tuesday.

Mays hit .329 with five homers and 18 rbi's for the Mulcahy Cup-defending New York Mets. The 32-year-old centerfielder, who hit .429 in clutch situations, outpolled Roberto Clemente of the San Diego Padres and Hank Aaron of the Cleveland Indians to win the prize.

Drabowsky cleared the table in the voting, easily outdistancing 5-and-0 Larry Jackson of the Panthers.

Apr 21, 1963: Musial gets 3,000th hit

2005-10-19T17:01:00.000-05:00

Philadelphia — Stan Musial wasted no time at Shibe Park here tonight, singling in the bottom of the second off Bob Purkey for his 3,000th hit in the Phillies' 9 to 4 win over the Houston Buffs.

Musial drove home Frank Robinson, who had singled to lead off the inning and had taken second on a basehit by Willie Stargell. The 42-year-old veteran from Donora, Pa., pulled Purkey's pitch into right for his fifth hit of the season and 3,000th of his 18-year Postwar Baseball League career.

"It's feels fine," Musial said modestly when asked after the game how it felt to become the PWBL's first hitter to reach the 3,000 hit plateau.

Musial was lifted for a pinchhitter in the seventh with southpaw Denny Lemaster on the mound. Vic Power, his replacement, homered to left with a man aboard to seal the five-run victory and even Philadelphia's record at six wins against six losses.

Apr 19, 1963: Musial at 2,999

2005-10-17T16:44:00.000-05:00

Philadelphia — Stan Musial hit a fourth-inning run-scoring single for the Phillies' only hit off Camilo Pascual, giving the 42-year-old veteran 2,999 hits for his 18-year Postwar Baseball League career.

Musial, who holds PWBL records for games, runs, hits, total bases, doubles, triples, and rbi's, will have a chance to become the league's first player to reach 3,000 tomorrow night at Shibe Park against Bob Purkey, last year's Cy Young Award winner in the Federal League.

Musial, relegated to part-time duty by manager Walter Alston, is hitting .364 with four hits in 11 trips to the plate. He has driven in three runs for the 5-and-5 Phils.

All-Time Pitching Leaders

2005-10-12T10:34:00.000-05:00


ERA
2.71  H.Newhouser  
3.05  B.Pierce  
3.05  C.Pascual  
3.24  C.Simmons  
3.34  F.Sullivan  
3.41  R.Roberts  
3.44  D.Donovan  
3.49  B.Feller  
3.50  B.Friend  
3.50  B.Lemon  
3.51  F.Lary  
3.53  W.Spahn  
3.57  D.Newcombe  
3.57  J.Bunning  
3.65  B.Rush  
3.71  J.Dobson  
3.71  K.Raffensberger  
3.74  E.Lopat  
3.74  J.Sain  
3.75  B.Buhl  
3.76  V.Law  
3.78  W.Ford  
3.79  J.Antonelli  
3.80  S.Maglie  
3.84  M.Parnell  



Strikeouts
2718  W.Spahn  
2325  R.Roberts  
2271  E.Wynn  
2187  B.Pierce  
1644  W.Ford  
1637  H.Haddix  
1483  B.Lemon  
1476  B.Feller  
1453  D.Drysdale  
1451  V.Trucks  
1390  B.Friend  
1380  C.Simmons  
1351  M.Garcia  
1327  C.Pascual  
1307  B.Rush  
1305  J.Bunning  
1234  M.Dickson  
1233  A.Reynolds  
1231  J.Antonelli  
1176  H.Newhouser  
1154  S.Jones  
1136  D.Newcombe  
1126  V.Raschi  
1126  B.Turley  
1066  E.Blackwell  



Walks
1555  W.Spahn  
1526  E.Wynn  
1299  B.Lemon  
1094  B.Pierce  
1004  W.Ford  
 954  V.Trucks  
 941  B.Feller  
 926  M.Dickson  
 918  A.Reynolds  
 878  R.Roberts  
 862  B.Turley  
 847  B.Rush  
 836  B.Buhl  
 809  C.Simmons  
 777  T.Byrne  
 740  V.Raschi  
 727  M.Garcia  
 718  J.Antonelli  
 704  M.Parnell  
 693  N.Garver  
 683  L.Burdette  
 653  H.Haddix  
 652  H.Wehmeier  
 648  E.Blackwell  
 645  S.Jones  



Wins
303  W.Spahn  
250  R.Roberts  
241  B.Pierce  
205  E.Wynn  
186  B.Lemon  
181  B.Friend  
176  C.Simmons  
141  M.Garcia  
140  L.Burdette  
140  W.Ford  
138  H.Newhouser  
135  B.Feller  
133  M.Dickson  
127  N.Garver  
126  D.Newcombe  
125  J.Antonelli  
125  H.Haddix  
125  C.Pascual  
125  V.Trucks  
121  B.Rush  
117  A.Reynolds  
115  L.Jackson  
112  E.Lopat  
109  F.Lary  
108  B.Purkey  



Losses
242  W.Spahn  
214  R.Roberts  
212  E.Wynn  
180  M.Dickson  
164  B.Lemon  
156  L.Burdette  
140  P.Ramos  
137  W.Ford  
134  V.Trucks  
133  B.Rush  
133  B.Friend  
130  B.Pierce  
125  A.Kellner  
119  E.Lopat  
115  C.Simmons  
114  B.Feller  
112  D.Newcombe  
110  H.Haddix  
106  V.Mizell  
105  V.Raschi  
103  D.Drysdale  
103  F.Lary  
103  W.Hacker  
102  M.Garcia  
100  S.Maglie  



Winning Pct
.710  C.Pascual  
.670  H.Newhouser  
.650  B.Pierce  
.605  C.Simmons  
.593  F.Sullivan  
.580  M.Garcia  
.576  B.Friend  
.562  N.Garver  
.556  W.Spahn  
.556  J.Antonelli  
.555  A.Reynolds  
.545  L.Jackson  
.545  J.Dobson  
.542  B.Feller  
.542  M.Parnell  
.539  R.Roberts  
.538  D.Donovan  
.536  L.Jansen  
.533  J.Sain  
.532  V.Law  
.532  H.Haddix  
.531  B.Lemon  
.529  D.Newcombe  
.527  K.Raffensberger  
.514  F.Lary  



Ks / 9 Innings
7.26  D.Drysdale  
7.10  J.Bunning  
7.04  C.Pascual  
6.95  H.Haddix  
6.07  W.Ford  
5.91  H.Newhouser  
5.89  B.Pierce  
5.86  A.Reynolds  
5.83  V.Trucks  
5.75  B.Feller  
5.59  V.Raschi  
5.43  J.Antonelli  
5.40  S.Maglie  
5.38  M.Garcia  
5.34  E.Wynn  
5.17  C.Simmons  
5.12  F.Lary  
5.00  F.Sullivan  
4.95  R.Roberts  
4.88  L.Jansen  
4.88  W.Spahn  
4.87  B.Rush  
4.77  L.Jackson  
4.77  D.Newcombe  
4.74  P.Ramos  



BB / 9 Innings
1.87  R.Roberts  
2.01  D.Donovan  
2.14  K.Raffensberger  
2.14  B.Friend  
2.21  D.Newcombe  
2.34  L.Burdette  
2.37  V.Law  
2.51  E.Lopat  
2.58  D.Drysdale  
2.68  L.Jansen  
2.70  F.Lary  
2.77  H.Haddix  
2.77  L.Jackson  
2.79  W.Spahn  
2.79  F.Sullivan  
2.83  H.Newhouser  
2.84  J.Sain  
2.90  M.Garcia  
2.91  J.Bunning  
2.94  B.Pierce  
3.03  C.Simmons  
3.03  P.Ramos  
3.08  S.Maglie  
3.11  N.Garver  
3.12  M.Dickson  



Hits / 9 Innings
7.84  C.Pascual  
7.85  B.Pierce  
7.93  H.Newhouser  
8.09  B.Lemon  
8.12  C.Simmons  
8.16  E.Wynn  
8.26  B.Feller  
8.42  W.Ford  
8.48  F.Sullivan  
8.48  J.Dobson  
8.48  B.Buhl  
8.49  S.Maglie  
8.50  J.Bunning  
8.56  B.Rush  
8.56  V.Trucks  
8.59  W.Spahn  
8.59  A.Reynolds  
8.61  M.Dickson  
8.61  R.Roberts  
8.62  D.Donovan  
8.67  T.Brewer  
8.79  M.Parnell  
8.86  F.Lary  
8.87  D.Drysdale  
8.87  V.Raschi  



HRs / 9 Innings
 .62  H.Newhouser  
 .75  A.Reynolds  
 .76  B.Lemon  
 .79  M.Garcia  
 .80  F .Lary  
 .81  C .Pascual  
 .82  J .Sain  
 .82  B .Friend  
 .83  M .Parnell  
 .83  C .Simmons  
 .84  B .Rush  
 .84  B .Pierce  
 .86  K .Raffensberger  
 .88  B .Feller  
 .89  E .Lopat  
 .91  B .Buhl  
 .91  T .Brewer  
 .92  L .Burdette  
 .92  V .Raschi  
 .94  F .Sullivan  
 .95  J .Antonelli  
 .98  D .Donovan  
 .99  L .Jackson  
1.00  N.Garver  
1.01  W.Ford  



Innings Pitched
5013.6  W.Spahn  
4231.3  R.Roberts  
3827.3  E.Wynn  
3344.3  B.Pierce  
3036.6  B.Lemon  
2695.6  B.Friend  
2674.0  M.Dickson  
2627.0  L.Burdette  
2437.3  W.Ford  
2415.3  B.Rush  
2403.6  C.Simmons  
2312.0  B.Feller  
2259.3  M.Garcia  
2240.3  V.Trucks  
2144.3  D.Newcombe  
2121.0  E.Lopat  
2120.0  H.Haddix  
2039.0  J.Antonelli  
2003.3  N.Garver  
1892.6  A.Reynolds  
1853.6  J.Sain  
1851.0  F.Lary  
1815.3  P.Ramos  
1811.6  V.Raschi  
1801.0  D.Drysdale  



Games Pitched
822  H.Wilhelm  
710  W.Spahn  
621  E.Wynn  
606  R.Roberts  
596  C.Labine  
575  G.Staley  
528  B.Shantz  
520  R.Face  
509  S.Gromek  
505  B.Friend  
497  H.Brown  
496  V.Trucks  
489  B.Lemon  
487  J.Konstanty  
487  B.Pierce  
461  T.Lown  
455  J.Nuxhall  
451  E.Kinder  
448  J.Antonelli  
448  M.Garcia  
447  M.Dickson  
441  B.Porterfield  
439  W.Ford  
438  M.Fornieles  
419  B.Buhl  



Games Started
669  W.Spahn  
592  R.Roberts  
514  E.Wynn  
464  B.Pierce  
406  B.Friend  
394  B.Lemon  
383  L.Burdette  
366  M.Dickson  
330  W.Ford  
326  C.Simmons  
321  B.Rush  
307  M.Garcia  
302  D.Newcombe  
297  B.Feller  
290  V.Trucks  
284  P.Ramos  
281  E.Lopat  
276  H.Haddix  
272  F.Lary  
263  A.Reynolds  
262  N.Garver  
257  J.Antonelli  
256  V.Raschi  
253  K.Raffensberger  
249  D.Drysdale  



Complete Games
206  W.Spahn  
137  E.Wynn  
137  R.Roberts  
133  B.Pierce  
 96  B.Lemon  
 88  B.Rush  
 79  C.Simmons  
 76  B.Feller  
 74  M.Dickson  
 70  D.Newcombe  
 69  W.Ford  
 69  H.Newhouser  
 62  D.Drysdale  
 60  L.Burdette  
 54  V.Trucks  
 50  J.Sain  
 48  C.Pascual  
 47  E.Blackwell  
 46  J.Sanford  



Shutouts
54  B.Pierce  
52  W.Spahn  
39  R.Roberts  
30  B.Lemon  
28  B.Feller  
25  H.Newhouser  
25  C.Simmons  
24  E.Wynn  
20  D.Newcombe  
19  C.Pascual  
18  H.Pollet  
17  B.Rush  
17  L.Burdette  
17  H.Brecheen  
16  M.Dickson  
16  V.Trucks  
16  T.Brewer  
16  J.Sanford  
16  K.Raffensberger  
15  M.Parnell  
15  E.Blackwell  



Saves
446  H.Wilhelm  
155  R.Face  
143  C.Labine  
132  B.Shantz  
129  E.Kinder  
103  J.Konstanty  
 87  T.Wilks  
 84  A.Benton  
 81  S.Gromek  
 79  T.Farrell  
 73  B.Porterfield  
 69  T.Morgan  
 69  H.Dorish  
 69  D.Elston  
 68  S.Paige  
 67  R.Duren  
 64  E.Roebuck  
 62  M.Grissom  
 61  T.Lown  
 61  H.Brown  
 59  D.McMahon  
 56  B.Byerly  
 56  E.Klieman  



Home Runs Allowed
569  W.Spahn  
515  R.Roberts  
438  E.Wynn  
356  M.Dickson  
313  B.Pierce  
297  H.Haddix  
281  P.Ramos  
274  W.Ford  
272  D.Newcombe  
269  L.Burdette  
257  B.Lemon  
253  V.Trucks  
246  B.Friend  
227  B.Feller  
225  B.Rush  
223  N.Garver  
222  C.Simmons  
219  J.Bunning  
216  J.Antonelli  
210  D.Drysdale  
209  E.Lopat  
204  W.Hacker  
199  M.Garcia  
195  V.Law  
190  S.Gromek  



K/BB Ratio
2.81  D.Drysdale  
2.65  R.Roberts  
2.51  H.Haddix  
2.44  J.Bunning  
2.26  C.Pascual  
2.17  B.Friend  
2.16  D.Newcombe  
2.09  H.Newhouser  
2.01  D.Donovan  
2.00  B.Pierce  
1.90  F.Lary  
1.86  M.Garcia  
1.82  L.Jansen  
1.79  F.Sullivan  
1.77  K.Raffensberger  
1.76  S.Maglie  
1.75  W.Spahn  
1.72  L.Jackson  
1.71  J.Antonelli  
1.71  C.Simmons  
1.64  W.Ford  
1.57  B.Feller  
1.56  P.Ramos  
1.55  J.Sain  
1.54  B.Rush

All-Time Batting Leaders

2005-10-12T06:47:00.000-05:00


Hitting
.323  S.Musial  
.323  H.Aaron  
.318  T.Williams  
.316  G.Kell  
.305  A.Kaline  
.304  S.Gordon  
.303  W.Mays  
.302  R.Ashburn  
.301  H.Kuenn  
.301  M.Minoso  
.298  N.Fox  
.297  J.Robinson  
.297  D.Snider  
.295  B.Goodman  
.292  T.Kluszewski  
.290  M.Mantle  
.289  L.Doby  
.286  E.Mathews  
.286  R.Schoendienst  
.286  Y.Berra  
.285  J.Temple  
.284  R.Kiner  
.284  R.Boone  
.284  E.Slaughter  
.282  K.Boyer  



On Base PCT
.446  T.Williams  
.409  S.Musial  
.408  M.Mantle  
.390  S.Gordon  
.389  F.Fain  
.387  R.Ashburn  
.386  R.Kiner  
.383  M.Minoso  
.382  J.Robinson  
.382  D.Snider  
.379  L.Doby  
.378  E.Mathews  
.378  W.Mays  
.377  G.Kell  
.375  H.Aaron  
.370  A.Kaline  
.370  E.Yost  
.368  E.Slaughter  
.364  R.Sievers  
.363  G.Woodling  
.362  J.Jensen  
.361  R.Boone  
.360  P.Runnels  
.360  J.Temple  
.358  J.Gilliam  



Slugging PCT
.609  H.Aaron  
.606  T.Williams  
.581  R.Kiner  
.565  E.Mathews  
.561  D.Snider  
.554  M.Mantle  
.547  S.Musial  
.540  W.Mays  
.532  S.Gordon  
.528  E.Banks  
.523  L.Doby  
.521  T.Kluszewski  
.517  R.Sievers  
.514  Y.Berra  
.503  J.Adcock  
.489  F.Thomas  
.482  H.Sauer  
.474  A.Kaline  
.474  R.Campanella  
.473  R.Boone  
.469  G.Hodges  
.467  D.Ennis  
.467  K.Boyer  
.461  M.Minoso  
.458  V.Wertz  



Games
2492  S.Musial  
2211  R.Ashburn  
2161  Y.Berra  
2125  E.Yost  
2025  N.Fox  
1998  R.Schoendienst  
1996  G.Hodges  
1935  D.Snider  
1929  P.Reese  
1908  A.Dark  
1886  D.Ennis  
1857  V.Wertz  
1807  T.Williams  
1792  M.Minoso  
1778  M.Mantle  
1777  C.Furillo  
1740  S.Lollar  
1688  G.Bell  
1686  E.Mathews  
1611  G.Woodling  
1603  E.Slaughter  
1598  W.Mays  
1585  P.Runnels  
1571  W.Lockman  
1567  A.Pafko  



Runs Scored
1627  S.Musial  
1396  R.Ashburn  
1309  Y.Berra  
1303  M.Mantle  
1298  T.Williams  
1277  D.Snider  
1255  E.Mathews  
1202  M.Minoso  
1097  N.Fox  
1086  L.Doby  
1076  E.Yost  
1075  G.Hodges  
1068  W.Mays  
1063  P.Reese  
1049  R.Schoendienst  
1012  R.Kiner  
 992  H.Aaron  
 968  D.Ennis  
 912  S.Gordon  
 906  R.Sievers  
 896  E.Banks  
 885  J.Jensen  
 885  A.Dark  
 870  J.Robinson  
 867  J.Gilliam  



Hits
2995  S.Musial  
2654  R.Ashburn  
2370  N.Fox  
2344  Y.Berra  
2331  R.Schoendienst  
2081  A.Dark  
2074  D.Snider  
2061  M.Minoso  
1964  D.Ennis  
1947  T.Williams  
1873  W.Mays  
1860  E.Mathews  
1859  G.Hodges  
1856  M.Mantle  
1841  P.Reese  
1787  H.Aaron  
1768  E.Yost  
1726  G.Bell  
1704  H.Kuenn  
1686  G.Kell  
1683  C.Furillo  
1670  B.Goodman  
1666  V.Wertz  
1648  L.Doby  
1607  A.Kaline  



Total Bases
5074  S.Musial  
4218  Y.Berra  
3925  D.Snider  
3713  T.Williams  
3672  E.Mathews  
3544  M.Mantle  
3373  H.Aaron  
3360  D.Ennis  
3342  W.Mays  
3322  G.Hodges  
3299  R.Ashburn  
3191  R.Schoendienst  
3176  R.Kiner  
3160  M.Minoso  
3068  N.Fox  
2989  L.Doby  
2932  E.Banks  
2932  R.Sievers  
2903  A.Dark  
2859  V.Wertz  
2826  G.Bell  
2721  S.Gordon  
2718  T.Kluszewski  
2712  F.Thomas  
2679  E.Yost  



Doubles
510  S.Musial  
364  Y.Berra  
357  D.Ennis  
353  R.Schoendienst  
352  M.Minoso  
350  G.Kell  
326  H.Kuenn  
323  H.Aaron  
315  T.Williams  
315  V.Wertz  
314  W.Mays  
310  A.Dark  
310  N.Fox  
305  D.Snider  
295  E.Mathews  
291  E.Yost  
283  L.Doby  
278  G.Bell  
271  C.Furillo  
270  J.Jensen  
269  R.Ashburn  
268  A.Kaline  
266  R.Sievers  
261  S.Gordon  
258  S.Lollar  



Triples
111  S.Musial  
101  N.Fox  
 95  R.Ashburn  
 92  E.Slaughter  
 87  W.Mays  
 84  M.Minoso  
 78  B.Bruton  
 77  D.Snider  
 72  H.Aaron  
 70  M.Mantle  
 68  M.Vernon  
 67  E.Mathews  
 67  A.Dark  
 65  B.Thomson  
 65  D.Ennis  
 64  B.Virdon  
 63  J.Gilliam  
 62  P.Reese  
 60  D.Mitchell  
 59  G.McDougald  
 59  Y.Berra  
 59  J.Piersall  
 58  G.Hamner  
 58  E.Valo  
 57  R.Clemente  



Home Runs
464  D.Snider  
464  Y.Berra  
463  T.Williams  
461  E.Mathews  
449  S.Musial  
441  R.Kiner  
437  M.Mantle  
383  G.Hodges  
373  H.Aaron  
349  E.Banks  
346  R.Sievers  
327  W.Mays  
316  L.Doby  
311  F.Thomas  
303  T.Kluszewski  
303  D.Ennis  
295  H.Sauer  
280  F.Robinson  
278  S.Gordon  
266  V.Wertz  
265  R.Colavito  
261  J.Adcock  
257  R.Campanella  



Runs Batted In
1623  S.Musial  
1453  Y.Berra  
1428  D.Snider  
1345  E.Mathews  
1215  T.Williams  
1207  G.Hodges  
1192  R.Kiner  
1172  M.Mantle  
1098  D.Ennis  
1091  R.Sievers  
1087  H.Aaron  
1081  E.Banks  
1069  W.Mays  
1022  L.Doby  
 957  S.Gordon  
 955  T.Kluszewski  
 954  V.Wertz  
 920  R.Campanella  
 910  G.Bell  
 907  F.Thomas  
 865  A.Pafko  
 864  M.Minoso  
 854  F.Robinson  
 838  W.Jones  
 834  H.Sauer  



Walks
1486  E.Yost  
1442  T.Williams  
1365  S.Musial  
1294  M.Mantle  
1200  R.Ashburn  
1031  P.Reese  
1010  G.Hodges  
 982  D.Snider  
 978  E.Mathews  
 923  R.Kiner  
 827  L.Doby  
 817  F.Fain  
 807  J.Gilliam  
 802  M.Minoso  
 789  E.Torgeson  
 786  J.Jensen  
 772  V.Wertz  
 761  R.Sievers  
 751  W.Mays  
 728  S.Gordon  
 722  Y.Berra  
 708  E.Slaughter  
 696  P.Runnels  
 687  G.Woodling  
 685  J.Robinson  



Strikeouts
1462  M.Mantle  
1333  G.Hodges  
1278  D.Snider  
1200  L.Doby  
1108  E.Mathews  
1050  E.Yost  
 947  P.Reese  
 918  V.Wertz  
 914  R.Kiner  
 893  R.Sievers  
 890  A.Seminick  
 857  H.Sauer  
 838  G.Zernial  
 838  F.Thomas  
 815  G.McDougald  
 797  D.Ennis  
 782  E.Banks  
 778  J.Adcock  
 769  W.Mays  
 763  B.Thomson  
 750  B.Skowron  
 742  W.Post  
 727  J.Lemon  
 716  S.Musial  
 714  K.Boyer  



Hit By Pitch
141  M.Minoso  
110  S.Lollar  
 92  N.Fox  
 77  F.Robinson  
 70  E.Yost  
 63  F.Thomas  
 58  Y.Berra  
 58  A.Smith  
 54  R.Ashburn  
 51  S.Musial  
 50  N.Cash  
 46  R.Sievers  
 46  A.Pafko  
 45  A.Dark  
 45  L.Doby  
 39  H.Bauer  
 39  C.Carrasquel  
 39  J.Robinson  
 36  J.Gentile  
 35  P.Rizzuto  
 35  P.Reese  



Stolen Bases
315  R.Ashburn  
263  P.Reese  
234  J.Robinson  
223  L.Aparicio  
189  J.Temple  
178  W.Mays  
171  M.Minoso  
164  M.Mantle  
158  E.Torgeson  
148  J.Rivera  
143  E.Valo  
137  B.Dillinger  
128  J.Busby  
124  J.Jensen  
119  M.Wills  
117  J.Gilliam  
110  B.Bruton  
106  J.Landis  
102  D.Dimaggio  
101  J.Pesky  
 99  R.Schoendienst  
 99  D.Snider  
 98  B.Avila  
 95  E.Stanky  
 94  P.Rizzuto

Aaron, Cepeda capture MVP trophies

2005-10-11T19:24:00.000-05:00

Orlando Cepeda was a unanimous choice for the 1962 Most Valuable Player award in the PWBL Federal League, while Hank Aaron easily outdistanced his rivals to take home the MVP trophy in the Players League.

Cepeda, who looked for much of the season as if he would capture the Triple Crown, polled 55 votes to just 23 for Rocky Colavito, his teammate on the Houston Buffs, who finished second.

Aaron hit more than 50 homeruns for the third time in his career to lead the Players League while finishing second in hitting with a .326 average. The Cleveland Indians' rightfielder received 53 votes to 36 for runnerup Frank Robinson.

Cepeda led the Federal League in hitting with a .358 average on 241 hits, the second-highest total in PWBL history. The 24-year-native of Ponce, P.R., known to his teammates as "Baby Bull," became the first Latin American player to win the MVP prize. Colavito won the award in 1961.

Aaron grabbed the trophy for the first time despite hitting 62 homeruns in 1960. The 28-year-old native of Mobile, Ala., finished second to Eddie Mathews that season.

The vote totals in each league:

Federal League


Cepeda, Hou       55
Colavito, Hou     23
Killebrew, SD     17
Kaline, Hou       16
Siebern, Chi      13
Allison, LA       10
Banks, SD         10
Maris, LA         10
Purkey, Hou        5
Lumpe, LA          4
Wills, LA          2
Mathews, Pit-Hou   1

Players League


Aaron, Cle        53
F.Robinson, Phi   36
T.Davis, Sea      29
Mays, NYM         27
Altman, Sea        6
Mantle, StL        5
B.Williams, Was    5
Koufax, Det        2
Aparicio, Sea      1
Monbouquette, Sea  1

Most Valuable Players since the Postwar Baseball League's inception in 1946:
1946   Stan Musial, Philadelphia
1947   Ted Williams, Brooklyn
1948   Stan Musial, Philadelphia
1949   Bobby Doerr, Houston
1950   Andy Pafko, Detroit
1951   Sid Gordon, Boston
1952   Sid Gordon, Boston
1953   Roy Campanella, Detroit
1954   Gil Hodges, Chicago
1955   Duke Snider, N.Y. Gems
1956   Mickey Mantle, St. Louis
1957   Mickey Mantle, St. Louis
1958   Richie Ashburn, Chicago
1959   Eddie Mathews, Pittsburgh
1960   Eddie Mathews, Pittsburgh
1961   Harmon Killebrew, San Diego (Federal League)
       Rocky Colavito, Houston (Players League)
1962   Orlando Cepeda, Houston (Federal League)
       Hank Aaron, Cleveland (Players League)

Koufax, Purkey win Cy Young awards

2005-10-09T05:45:00.000-05:00

Sandy Koufax became the first PWBL pitcher to win two straight and Bob Purkey became the sixth Houston pitcher to win as the winners of the 1962 Cy Young awards were announced.

Koufax, whose Players League-leading 1.75 ERA was the third lowest in history, won 16 games for the Detroit Tigers and captured 25 votes. Cleveland's Turk Farrell, who made the successful transition from reliever to 20-game-winning starter, was second with 20 votes.

Purkey won 22 and lost just six for the pennant-winning Houston Buffs, lapping Ken Johnson of the Los Angeles Stars by 31 votes to 20 to capture the Federal League award.

Koufax won the 1961 award for the Players League's best pitcher after a 22-10 season with a 2.84 ERA. Although his win total fell and though he pitched 82 fewer innings, the 26-year-old Brooklyn-born lefthander completed nine games and tossed five shutouts both years. His strikeout ratio rose to 10.7 last season from 8.8 in 1961.

Purkey joins five other Buff hurlers who have taken home the Cy Young trophy in the Postwar Baseball League's 17 years. Hal Newhouser won in 1947, Billy Pierce in 1955 and 1958, Camilo Pascual in 1959, and Jim O'Toole last year. The 32-year-old Purkey, a native of Pittsburgh, won 20 games for the second consecutive season after going 21-4 in 1961.

A list of the Cy Young winners since the PWBL's inception in 1946:
1946   Bob Feller, Milwaukee
1947   Hal Newhouser, Houston
1948   Bob Lemon, Brooklyn
1949   Howie Pollet, N.Y. Mets
1950   Ewell Blackwell, N.Y. Gems
1951   Don Newcombe, Detroit
1952   Bob Lemon, Cleveland
1953   Robin Roberts, N.Y. Mets
1954   Curt Simmons, Chicago
1955   Billy Pierce, Houston
1956   Johnny Antonelli, Philadelphia
1957   Curt Simmons, Chicago
1958   Billy Pierce, Houston
1959   Camilo Pascual, Houston
1960   Bob Friend, Pittsburgh
1961   Jim O’Toole, Houston (Federal League)
       Sandy Koufax, Detroit (Players League)
1962   Bob Purkey, Houston (Federal League)
       Sandy Koufax, Detroit (Players League)

Rollins, Tresh win rookie awards

2005-09-19T13:30:00.000-05:00

Rich Rollins of the Chicago White Sox has been selected the 1962 Federal League rookie of the year, while Tom Tresh of the Mulcahy Cup-winning New York Mets has been selected the best first-year player in the Players League.

Rollins, who hit .294 with 18 homeruns while playing third base for Gil Hodges in Chicago, scored 25 votes in outdistancing teammate Jim Golden, the runnerup. Ken Hubbs of the Houston Buffs finished third with just eight votes.

Tresh, who played 114 games in left field and another 53 at shortstop for Birdie Tebbetts's PWBL champions, hit .284 with 26 homeruns. He edged the Washington Senators' Bernie Allen by 20 votes to 16 with Mets' teammate Don Rudolph finishing third, gathering 10 ballots.

Rollins was the second straight Chicago player to win Rookie of the Year honors. Carl Yastrzemski was selected for the honor in 1961.

Tresh became the first Mets' rookie ever to win the award.

Rookies of the Year since 1946:
Rookie of the Year
1946  Ralph Kiner, St. Louis
1947  Larry Jansen, St. Louis
1948  Hank Sauer, Milwaukee
1949  Billy Pierce, Houston
1950  Al Rosen, Milwaukee
1951  Minnie Minoso, Pittsburgh
1952  Eddie Mathews, Pittsburgh
1953  Jim Gilliam, Houston
1954  Frank Sullivan, Detroit
1955  Wally Post, Chicago
1956  Frank Robinson, Philadelphia
1957  Jim Bunning, St. Louis
1958  Orlando Cepeda, Houston
1959  Vada Pinson, Houston
1960  Ron Hansen, Pittsburgh
1961  Carl Yastrzemski, Chicago (Federal League)
          Billy Williams, Washington (Players League)
1962 Rich Rollins, Chicago (Federal League)
          Tom Tresh, New York (Players League)

Mets Release Don Rudolph

2005-09-13T08:24:00.000-05:00

Mets Release Playoff Hero Rudolph

New York Herald-Tribune
January 13, 1963

In a stunning move, the New York Mets this morning announced the unconditional release of pitcher Don Rudolph, who just a few short months ago was the toast of the town after coming through with clutch playoff appearances, culminating in the Game 6 3-hit gem against the Buffs to take the Mulcahy Cup for 1962.

Rudolph was rumored to have been loudly proclaiming himself the ace of the Mets staff, and looking for a big raise in 1963. He also has apparently spent the winter months in non-stop celebration, none of which sat well with some of the veterans, particularly 250 game winner Robin Roberts. The Met front office of late has developed a pattern of abruptly disposing of pitchers after a single season, for example, 1961 Rookie Of The Year candidate Jim Archer, who looked to have a promising future, but instead all but disappeared off the face of the earth.

When asked about the roster move, Met manager Birdie Tebbetts said "No one's bigger than the team around here, especially a guy who hasn't proven himself over a few years. We were very happy with Don's pitching last year, but we'll get by without him. I'm gonna take a close look at some of the young guys. That kid Peters, who threw a shutout last September for us, will sure get a good look, and we also have that young feller Culp that we just picked up. I think we'll be ok in '63."

Gold Gloves winners announced

2005-09-09T14:30:00.000-05:00

Federal League
Catcher—Earl Battey, LA
Firstbase—Bill White, LA
Secondbase—Ken Hubbs, Hou
Thirdbase—Eddie Mathews, Pit-Hou
Shortstop—Jose Pagan, Dal
Leftfield—Carl Yastrzemski, Chi
Centerfield—Curt Flood, Pit
Rightfield—Al Kaline, Hou
Pitcher—Don Stenhouse, Bos

Players League
Catcher—Elston Howard, Det
Firstbase—Felipe Alou, NYM
Secondbase—Bill Mazeroski, Sea
Thirdbase—Brooks Robinson, Phi
Shortstop—Luis Aparicio, Sea
Leftfield—Chuck Hinton, Cle
Centerfield—Jimmy Piersall, Was
Rightfield—Frank Robinson, Phi
Pitcher—Don Lee, NYM

White Sox Announce Broadcasting Change

2005-09-08T12:54:00.000-05:00

November 15, 1962

Chicago, Illinois - The Chicago White Sox announce that Vince Lloyd will take over the duties as the team's color announcer on WGN broadcasts.

Lloyd has a varied résumé that includes many years as a sports editor and broadcaster of college football and basketball as well as semi-pro baseball for WMBD in Peoria, Illinois. He graduated from Yankton College in Yankton, South Dakota, where he played tackle on the school's football team, acted in local theater productions, and performed in radio dramas on WNAX. Lloyd held early radio jobs at KTRI in Sioux City, Iowa, WJBC in Bloomington, Illinois, and WMBD in Peoria, Illinois. His broadcast career was interrupted by service in the United States Marine Corps during World War II. After the war, he returned to WMBD.

Lloyd had done occasional work in a fill-in role on White Sox radio broadcasts for the past two seasons. He will partner with Jack Brickhouse, who will continue to provide play-by-play.

Philadelphia up in second round of '63 draft

2005-09-08T08:09:00.001-05:00

Second round
17. Cincinnati--Jimmie Hall, of
18. Dallas--Cleon Jones, of
19. Boston--Gene Alley, ss
20. Philadelphia
21. Washington
22. San Francisco
23. Cleveland (from St. Louis)
24. Detroit (from Pittsburgh)
25. Detroit
26. Chicago
27. San Diego
28. Cleveland
29. Seattle
30. Los Angeles
31. Houston
32. New York

First round
1. San Francisco--Joe Morgan, 2b
2. St. Louis--Jimmy Wynn, of
3. Philadelphia--Pete Rose, 2b
4. Dallas--Richie Allen, 3b
5. Cincinnati--Mickey Lolich, p
6. Boston--Rusty Staub, of
7. Washington--Ron Hunt, 2b
8. Pittsburgh--Tommy John, p
9. Detroit--Rico Carty, of
10. Chicago--Rico Petrocelli, ss
11. San Diego--Willie Horton, of
12. Cleveland--Dennis McLain, p
13. Los Angeles--Jim Ray Hart, 3b
14. Boston (from Seattle--Don Buford, of
15. Pittsburgh (from Houston)--Jose Cardenal, of
16. New York--Ray Culp, p

Stars clinch Gordon

2005-08-24T06:51:00.000-05:00

September 23, 1962

Pittsburgh—Johnny Podres surrendered eight runs but hung on for his 17th win of the season, and the Los Angeles Stars clinched the PWBL Gordon by defeating the Pittsburgh Panthers by 10 to 8 at Forbes Field here last night.

The Stars’ win combined with the Chicago White Sox’ 13-to-7 loss in Dallas put Los Angeles nine games ahead with just eight games remaining on the schedule.

"Winning the pennant is phase one of a three-phase project. We want to beat the [Kiner Division-winning Houston] Buffs and get back to the Mulcahy Cup Finals," said Bobby Bragan, the Stars’ seventh-year manager.

Los Angeles won its second pennant in a row with an effective mix of power and pitching. Roger Maris and Bob Allison have both hit more than 30 homeruns so far this season for the Stars, while Joey Jay and Ken Johnson give Bragan the league’s only starting staff with two 20-game winners.

Podres helped himself last night with a three-run homer—his fourth of the season—in a big six-run fourth inning.

The 29-year-old lefthander, who came to Los Angeles from the San Diego Padres after the 1959 season, nearly handed the game back to the Panthers in the bottom of the ninth. A leadoff walk to Junior Gilliam and a double by Curt Flood put runners on second and third with no one out.

Bragan summoned Bill Dailey, making only his fourth appearance of the year after a September callup from Albuquerque, to face Joe Adcock. The big first baseman with 33 homeruns grounded to Jerry Lumpe at second as Gilliam scored.

Chico Fernandez followed with a run-scoring single to cut the Stars’ lead to two runs. Dailey then walked Al Spangler to put the tying run aboard, but Dick Brown grounded back to him for the final out.

The Stars rushed to the locker room to crowd around the radio broadcast from Dallas. When the Colts came up with five runs in the eighth to sew up their win over Chicago, the Los Angeles players exploded into a tumult of champagne and congratulatory hugs.

The Stars will open the 1962 playoffs at the home of the Mulcahy Cup-defending Buffs on October 2.

Spahn tries for 300 against Buffs

2005-08-14T11:15:00.000-05:00

August 27, 1962

St. Louis — An overflow crowd is expected Tuesday when Warren Spahn goes for his 300th career victory in the matinee of the Labor Day doubleheader against the Houston Buffs here.

The left-hander’s quest for PWBL history is one of the few things Cardinals fans have had to root of this year. Spahn is 11-16 but has pitched well enough to have a better record. His ERA is a respectable 3.58.

"I’ll confess that this one will be special," Spahn said. "It means I have not only managed to hang around a long time but I’ve been successful.

Spahn won the bulk of his games—223 to be exact—with the old New York Gems, but has had several outstanding years, including two 20-win seasons, since moving to the Cardinals in a ’59 trade for Jim Bunning.

St. Louis Daily Bugle

Craig tosses no-hitter, but no shutout

2005-08-05T06:15:00.000-05:00

August 10, 1962

Boston — Roger Craig no-hit the Boston Minutemen earlier this evening, despite giving up two unearned runs in the San Francisco Giants’ 3 to 2 win at Fenway Park here.

The 32-year-old righthander from Durham, N.Car., walked two and struck out seven in tossing the second no-hitter of the 1962 PWBL season, which was also the second no-hitter of the year against Boston. Dick Ellsworth of the Dallas Colts held the Minutemen hitless on May 24.

"The funny thing is, I didn’t have my best stuff tonight. With them scoring off me, I didn’t think anything special was going on. It wasn’t till Chris [Cannizzaro, the Giants’ catcher] motioned toward the scoreboard in the eighth," Craig said after the game.

A three-base error by Don Lock and Craig’s wild pitch scored the first Minuteman run in the second. In the seventh, Craig hit leadoff batter Frank Thomas with a pitch, an error on shortstop Marv Breeding moved him to second, a Cannizzaro passed ball put him on third, and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Dave Nicholson scored Boston’s second run.

It was the most runs ever scored in a Postwar Baseball League game by a team that went hitless.

The Giants scored two in the sixth on back-to-back homers by Johnny Callison and Ron Santo to take their first lead in the game.

After the Minutemen tied the score in the seventh, Callison and Santo teamed up again to produce the winning run. Callison led off the visitors’ eighth with a triple. Santo’s fly to the Green Monster drove in the run.

Craig’s gem was the 35th no-hitter in PWBL history, and the fifth in Giants’ franchise history. Jim Bunning threw the team’s last no-hitter in August 1959.

PWBL No-Hitters
8/28/46 -- Howie Pollet, Pit, vs Mil in 9 innings
7/29/47 -- Bob Feller, Mil, vs Hou in 9 innings
4/23/48 -- Virgil Trucks, Det, vs NYM in 9 innings
6/15/48 -- Joe Dobson, NYG, vs Chi in 9 innings
4/27/49 -- Dick Fowler, Cle, vs Det in 8 innings
5/ 5/49 -- Tommy Byrne, Chi, vs NYG in 9 innings
6/12/49 -- Don Newcombe, Det, vs Bos in 9 innings
6/20/49 -- Virgil Trucks, Det, vs Hou in 11 innings (11 inning game)
5/24/50 -- Sheldon (Available) Jones, Pit, vs Phi in 9 innings
7/ 7/50 -- Ewell Blackwell, NYG, vs StL in 9 innings
8/ 5/50 -- Warren Spahn, NYG, vs Cle in 9 innings
4/22/51 -- Sam Zoldak, Hou, vs Mil in 9 innings
5/ 9/51 -- Allie Reynolds, Clem Labine, and Russ Meyer, StL, vs Was in
12 innings (lost in 13th)
6/ 2/51 -- Mel Parnell, Phi, vs Chi in 9 innings
6/ 6/51 -- Don Newcombe, Det, vs NYM in 9 2/3 innings (lost in 13th)
4/13/52 -- Karl Drews, StL, vs Phi in 9 innings
5/16/52 -- Curt Simmons, Chi, vs Hou in 9 innings
8/29/52 -- Lew Burdette, Phi, vs Chi in 9 innings [perfect game]
4/ 7/54 -- Bob Lemon, Cle, vs StL in 9 innings [Opening Day]
5/11/55 -- Herb Score, Phi, vs Chi in 9 innings
5/20/55 -- Sam Jones, Pit, vs SD in 9 innings
4/13/56 -- Early Wynn, Chi, vs Det in 9 innings (lost in 11th)
8/22/57 -- Bob Turley, Cle, vs StL in 9 innings
9/11/57 -- Robin Roberts, NYM, vs Det in 9 innings
8/27/58 -- Don Drysdale, Was, vs Det in 9 innings
9/30/58 -- Billy O’Dell, SD, vs NYG in 9 innings
5/23/59 -- Warren Spahn, StL, vs NYG in 9 innings
7/10/59 -- Milt Pappas, Det, vs Phi in 11 innings (team won in 12th)
8/25/59 -- Jim Bunning, NYG, vs StL in 9 innings
8/25/59 -- Glen Hobbie, Pit, vs NYM in 9 innings
9/23/60 -- Sam Jones, SD, vs Chi in 10 innings
9/29/61 -- Bill Stafford, StL, vs Phi in 9 innings
5/24/62 -- Dick Ellsworth, Cin, vs Bos in 9 innings
8/10/62 -- Roger Craig, SFG, vs Bos in 9 innings

Buffs stay hot with Mathews at hot corner

2005-08-03T06:30:00.000-05:00

August 7, 1962

The Houston Buffs defeated the Lemon Division-leading New York Mets on Tuesday night at Shea Stadium by 12 to 8, grabbing the seat at the top of the PWBL with the league’s best record.

Orlando Cepeda extended his leads in the Triple Crown categories with a three-for-five evening, including a three-run homerun and an RBI single, to lead the Buffs. And veteran southpaw Billy Pierce went six and two-thirds innings for his ninth victory of the year and the 237th of his storied career.

The Buffs have now won 11 of 15 games since acquiring Eddie Mathews from the Pittsburgh Panthers on July 18. Although Mathews has made a steady contribution in the field and at the plate—the Texas native is hitting .294 with two homeruns and 13 rbi’s since returning to his home state—his presence has had the effect of spurring his new teammates to even stronger performances.

Cepeda has raised his average by seven points since Mathews joined the team, hitting five doubles and four homeruns and driving in 14 over the stretch. With Mathews on deck, Rocky Colavito has preyed upon timid pitchers, blasting nine homers and driving in an incredible 24 runners.

The Buffs’ victory over the Mets gives Houston a winning percentage of .619 after 113 games. The Cleveland Indians, who lead the Williams, are next best in the PWBL with a .614 winning rate.

With 49 games to go and a lead of seven and a half in the Kiner, manager Eddie Joost remains cautiously optimistic. "I like our chances," he says, and won’t say more.

Mathews says even less. Famously uncommunicative with reporters, the 30-year-old with 454 career roundtrippers answers "Yes" when asked if he is glad to be in Houston and "No" if he thinks the Buffs are a cinch for the Mulcahy Cup.

But you know that, inside, the 11-year veteran has to be hoping that this year, at last, is the year that he gets to wear a championship ring.

Bubba Bright
Houston Post

Cleveland Trades Perry for Ford, Lamabe

2005-07-24T20:14:00.000-05:00

July 19, 1962

The Cleveland Indians today acquired veteran southpaw Whitey Ford from the Pittsburgh Panthers. Cleveland surrendered Jim Perry, the young right-hander who has struggled thus far in 1962. The Indians also got reliever Jack Lamabe.

Ford, who will pitch for his fouth team in a 12-year career that began in 1950, has struggled himself in 1962. He is 10-10 with a 4.74 earned run average in 146 innings. He has surrendered 19 home runs. But general
manager Lee McPhail said that Ford will add a veteran presence to a young staff. Lamabe is expected to slide into a set-up roll in the bullpen and also help lefty Dean Stone close out close games.

The trade marks the second in as many days for Pittsburgh, the perennial powerhouse now fallen on hard times. Superstar third sacker Eddie Mathews was dispatched to Houston in exchange for veteran Jim Gilliam, minor-league hurler Fredie Norman and a pair of first round draft choices. Manager Casey Stengel, a good manager for veterans but considered less than adequate when it comes to developing young players, was fired.

Panthers trade Mathews to Buffs, fire Stengel

2005-07-23T20:17:00.000-05:00

July 18, 1962

Pittsburgh -- The third-place Pittsburgh Panthers, nine games below .500 and 14 games behind in the PWBL Gordon, have made the abrupt decision to start planning for life beyond 1962, trading franchise cornerstone Eddie Mathews and firing manager Casey Stengel.

Mathews, hitting .289 with 21 homeruns, went to the Houston Buffs in return for Junior Gilliam, southpaw pitching prospect Fredie Norman, and the Buffs' first-round draft picks for the next two years.

"We hadn’t given a single thought to trading Mathews until the Buffs' offer. He's been so much the core of the team for so long. But Paul [Richards, the Houston general manager] made a pretty great offer," Pie Traynor, the team's GM, told reporters.

Mathews will only have to cross Forbes Field to the other side to join his new team, since Houston is in town for a four-game series against the Panthers. Pittsburgh won the first game of the series by 6 to 1 in what turned out to be Stengel’s last game at the helm.

Joe Ginsberg, longtime backup catcher who first came to the Panthers in 1948, will replace Stengel as field general.

Mathews, the first pick in the 1952 draft and Rookie of the Year that season, ended the Pittsburgh portion of his career with 452 homeruns, 1,793 hits, 1,307 rbi’s, and a .286 lifetime average. Houston also gets the Panthers’ fifth-round draft choices in 1963 and 1964 as part of the deal.

Gilliam, who carried home the Rookie-of-the-Year trophy one year after Mathews captured it, will take over at third base for the 30-year-old fan favorite and Texas native. After a slow start that saw him hitting below .200 in late May, Gilliam has lifted his average to .248.

Norman, a 19-year-old lefthander out of San Antonio, is described by Traynor as "raw, but capable of becoming a 200-inning-a-year workhorse some day."

Traynor told reporters that Richards had pitched the unexpected offer when the two GM’s met for dinner at the Town House Bar & Grill. As soon as he agreed to trade Mathews, he realized that he needed to replace Stengel too, Traynor later said.

"We hoped that Casey would take us to one last pennant with this group of guys, but it hasn’t worked out that way. It’s time to start over with a younger man and a fresh set of ideas," Traynor said.

Stengel lasted less than a season in Pittsburgh after replacing the ousted Buddy Kerr over the winter. At 71, the "Old Perfesser" was the dean of PWBL managers.

The Kansas City native, who started his managerial career with the Milwaukee Gold Sox in the PWBL’s inaugural season of 1946, finished with a 1962 record of 40 wins against 49 losses. His career totals are 880 wins and 984 losses for a winning percentage of .472.

Only three skippers in PWBL history—Yogi Berra, Al Lopez, and Mel Ott—have lost more games. Stengel won two pennants in Milwaukee, but could never grab the Mulcahy Cup.

Stengel was philosophical after his firing. "There comes a time in every man’s life, and I’ve had plenty of them," he said.

Ginsberg, 35, will be in charge starting with tonight’s game here against the Buffs, having the strange experience of looking out and seeing Mathews in another team’s uniform.

Grady Tripp
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

May Player of the Month voting announced

2005-07-15T19:14:00.000-05:00

In perhaps the most dispersed vote in league history, Houston first baseman Orlando Cepeda and Seattle starting pitcher Art Mahaffey were named the PWBL Player and Pitcher of the Month for May 1962.

Cepeda batted .323 for the month with 12 homeruns and 32 RBI. In seven starts, Mahaffey compiled a 6-0 record and completed three games, two of them shutouts.

Pittsburgh third baseman Eddie Mathews actually drew more first-place votes, four to three, but Cepeda tallied four second-place votes to just one for Mathews. Four other outfielders also drew first-place support: New York’s Willie Davis and Stan Musial of the Cardinals (two votes each), and Philadelphia’s Frank Robinson and Chicago’s Carl Yastrzemski (one vote apiece).

Mahaffey polled six first-place votes, two-second place votes, and a third-place vote. Also garnering first-place support were Detroit’s Sandy Koufax, San Diego’s Billy O’Dell, and Seattle’s Bill Monbouquette (two votes each), and Claude Osteen of the Giants (one vote).

The voting:

NAME First: Second: Third: Points:
Cepeda HOU 3 4 0 17
Mathews PIT 4 1 0 14
Musial PHI 2 3 0 12
Davis NYM 2 1 2 10
Robinson PHI 1 1 2 7
Aaron CLE 0 2 2 6
Yastrzemski CHI 1 0 1 4
Lumpe LA 0 1 2 4
Thomas BOS 0 0 2 2
Williams WAS 0 0 1 1

NAME
Mahaffey SEA 6 2 1 23
Koufax DET 2 3 2 14
O'Dell SD 2 3 1 13
Monbouquette SEA 2 2 2 12
Osteen SF 1 0 3 6
Gibson SD 0 1 0 2
Pascual HOU 0 1 0 2
Aguirre CHI 0 0 1 1
Schultz LA 0 0 1 1
Washburn BOS 0 0 1 1
Wilhelm PIT 0 0 1 1

NAME BAVG GM AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO HB SH DP SB CS E
O.Cepeda HOU .323 31 130 21 42 4 0 12 32 10 17 2 0 2 0 0 2
E.Mathews PIT .327 30 107 27 35 7 2 9 27 21 15 1 0 5 0 1 5
S.Musial PHI .407 26 81 16 33 3 1 7 17 17 6 1 0 4 1 0 0
W.Davis NYM .364 31 129 28 47 4 3 6 15 10 11 1 2 0 9 1 4
F.Robinson PHI .299 31 127 22 38 6 1 10 31 10 14 0 0 5 0 1 1
H.Aaron CLE .310 32 126 26 39 6 1 12 22 12 14 0 0 4 2 0 2
C.Yastrzemski CHI .358 32 120 15 43 8 0 4 20 14 17 0 0 2 1 0 0
J.Lumpe LA .348 31 132 24 46 3 1 3 22 8 8 0 1 3 0 0 4
F.Thomas BOS .289 32 121 20 35 5 0 12 28 6 13 1 0 2 0 1 15
B.Williams WAS .351 31 94 15 33 6 0 1 11 20 7 0 0 3 1 0 2

NAME ERA W L PCT G GS CG SH SV IP H R ER HR BB SO
A.Mahaffey SEA 2.33 6 0 1.000 7 7 3 2 0 58.0 51 15 15 4 17 36
S.Koufax DET 2.18 3 0 1.000 5 5 1 1 0 41.1 25 10 10 4 13 47
B.O'Dell SD 2.62 7 1 .875 9 9 4 0 0 65.1 68 23 19 3 20 43
B.MonbouquetteSEA 2.08 5 0 1.000 6 6 2 0 0 47.2 34 11 11 4 13 20
C.Osteen SF 1.85 5 1 .833 15 1 0 0 0 34.0 29 14 7 1 7 9
B.Gibson SD 2.50 4 1 .800 7 7 2 1 0 54.0 36 16 15 2 28 49
C.Pascual HOU 2.35 3 2 .600 6 6 3 2 0 46.0 37 12 12 4 14 34
H.Aguirre CHI 2.30 5 1 .833 7 7 0 0 0 47.0 35 14 12 2 15 35
B.Schultz LA 1.96 0 0 ---- 11 0 0 0 9 18.1 16 5 4 3 4 18
R.Washburn BOS 1.65 1 1 .500 6 4 0 0 0 32.2 28 7 6 2 5 21
H.Wilhelm PIT 1.62 1 1 .500 11 0 0 0 8 16.2 10 5 3 2 6 27

June 10, 1962: Frank Howard blasts four homeruns at San Francisco

2005-07-10T08:03:00.000-05:00

June 10, 1962 – San Francisco, CA – Boston Minuteman slugger Frank Howard homered in his first four at bats off four different pitchers today, driving home seven runs and leading his team to a 10-1 thrashing of the San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park.

Boston starter Dave Stenhouse threw seven shutout innings, and Lou Brock and Frank Thomas added homeruns for the visitors.

Howard hit a three-run homer off Roger Craig that ended the Giant starter’s abbreviated start. Norm Larker had opened the game by reaching on shortstop Marv Breeding’s error. Brock then hit his fourth homerun of the season. Craig, rattled, allowed a single to Thomas and then walked Charley Maxwell. Trying to find the plate, Craig then served a first-pitch fastball which Howard delivered into the left-field bleachers to put the Giants in a 5-0 hole and end Craig’s day after just 21 pitches.

Southpaw Dick Stigman entered for the Giants and retired eight batters in a row before facing Howard with two out in the third. Nibbling at the corners, Stigman fell behind 2-0 in the count, then tried to sneak a fastball past the 6’-7” slugger. Howard deposited the pitch beyond the wall to straightaway center field, an estimated 410-foot blast.

The Boston right fielder next faced Claude Osteen in the fifth inning, and again jumped on a first-pitch fastball, pulling it down the left-field line. The ball was fair by about five feet, landing in the third row of the bleachers, about 340 feet from home plate.

Howard came up in the seventh against Al McBean with teammate Dave Nicholson, who had singled, on first base. McBean, a hard-throwing righty, challenged Howard with fastballs. Howard jumped on a 1-1 pitch in his wheelhouse and smashed it high and deep to left-center field for his fourth homerun of the day.

Howard had one more chance to add to his total, facing Don McMahon in the ninth inning. The game well in hand for the visitors, the Sunday afternoon crowd of over 38,000 was pulling for the opposing batter, but he settled for a lined single to left field.

After the game, Howard was characteristically modest. “I was very lucky today. I got some good pitches to hit, and I made some pretty good swings. I’ve been struggling lately, so it sure felt good to turn things around and contribute for a change!”

Indeed, Howard had not homered since May 15, a 23-game, 86-at bat stretch in which he batted just .209 with eight RBI, his season average dipping from .294 to .259. His perfect day at the plate boosted his average by 17 points, to .276. The 25-year-old slugger, dubbed “The Bunker Hill Monument” by the Boston papers, now has 60 career homeruns.

BOXSCORE: 1962 Boston Minutemen At 1962 San Francisco Giants 6/10/1962

Minutemen AB R H RBI AVG Giants AB R H RBI AVG
N.Larker 1B 4 1 0 0 .266 J.Amalfitano 2B 4 0 1 1 .250
L.Brock CF 5 1 2 2 .242 R.Fairly CF 5 0 1 0 .282
F.Thomas 3B 5 2 2 1 .280 J.Callison RF 5 0 2 0 .275
C.Maxwell LF 2 1 0 0 .238 R.Santo 3B 3 0 0 0 .173
B-D.Nicholson LF 2 1 1 0 .191 T.Francona 1B 4 0 2 0 .269
F.Howard RF 5 4 5 7 .276 L.Maye LF 3 0 0 0 .236
Y.Berra C 5 0 1 0 .234 M.Breeding SS 4 0 1 0 .221
B.Lillis 2B 4 0 0 0 .247 M.Ranew C 4 0 0 0 .167
D.Zimmer SS 4 0 0 0 .185 R.Craig P 0 0 0 0 .095
E-D.Buddin SS 0 0 0 0 .127 D.Stigman P 0 0 0 0 .200
D.Stenhouse P 4 0 2 0 .214 A-M.Alou PH 1 0 0 0 .333
T.Bowsfield P 0 0 0 0 .000 C.Osteen P 0 0 0 0 .143
C-J.Fregosi PH 1 0 1 0 .485
A.McBean P 0 0 0 0 .000
D-B.Zipfel PH 1 0 0 0 .172
D.McMahon P 0 0 0 0 .000
F-D.Lock PH 1 1 1 0 .324
-- -- -- --- -- -- -- ---
Totals 40 10 13 10 Totals 36 1 9 1

A-Pinch Hit For Stigman In 3rd Inning
B-Subbed Defensively (LF) For Maxwell In 5th Inning
C-Pinch Hit For Osteen In 5th Inning
D-Pinch Hit For McBean In 7th Inning
E-Subbed Defensively (SS) For Zimmer In 8th Inning
F-Pinch Hit For McMahon In 9th Inning

INJURY: Charley Maxwell INJURED (for 0 more games) in 5th inning
INJURY: Don Zimmer INJURED (for 3 more games) in 8th inning

Minutemen....... 5 0 1 0 1 0 2 0 1 - 10 13 0
Giants.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 - 1 9 1

Minutemen (26-33) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA SCORESHEET
D.Stenhouse WIN(6-3) 7 6 0 0 3 4 0 143 4.16 A1 D3
T.Bowsfield 2 3 1 1 0 0 0 33 3.59 D4
Totals 9 9 1 1 3 4 0

Giants (22-38) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA SCORESHEET
R.Craig LOSS(3-8) 0 3 5 4 1 0 2 21 8.03 A1 A5
D.Stigman 3 2 1 1 0 2 1 53 1.95 A6 B7
C.Osteen 2 3 1 1 0 0 1 33 3.12 B8 C6
A.McBean 2 3 2 2 1 1 1 35 4.14 C7 D7
D.McMahon 2 2 1 1 0 4 1 39 2.78 D8
Totals 9 13 10 9 2 7 6

ATTENDANCE- 38,279 DATE- Sunday, June 10th 1962 TIME- Day WEATHER- Average
T- 3:06
LEFT ON BASE- Minutemen: 5 Giants:11
DOUBLE PLAYS- Minutemen: 0 Giants: 0
ERRORS- M.Breeding
DOUBLES- L.Brock(4th), D.Lock(4th)
TRIPLES- R.Fairly(4th), J.Fregosi(3rd)
HOME RUNS- L.Brock(4th), F.Thomas(18th), F.Howard-4(9th)
WALKS- N.Larker, C.Maxwell, J.Amalfitano, R.Santo, L.Maye
STRIKE OUTS- L.Brock-2, D.Nicholson, Y.Berra, D.Zimmer, D.Stenhouse-2, R.Fairly,
L.Maye, M.Breeding-2

*** TOP OF INNING 1 ***
0 N.Larker 3 1 Base Error - SS b-1
0 1 L.Brock 3 Home Run 1-H b-H
0 F.Thomas 3 Single b-1
0 1 C.Maxwell 6 Walk 1-2 b-1
0 12 F.Howard 6 Home Run 2-H 1-H b-H
SUBSTITUTE P - Dick Stigman
0 Y.Berra 6 Fly Out b-0
1 B.Lillis 6 Line Out b-0
2 D.Zimmer 6 Strike Out b-0
*** BOTTOM OF INNING 1 ***
0 J.Amalfitano 6 Fly Out b-0
1 R.Fairly 6 Line Out b-0
2 J.Callison 6 Single b-1
2 1 R.Santo 5 Fly Out b-0
*** TOP OF INNING 2 ***
0 D.Stenhouse 6 Strike Out b-0
1 N.Larker 6 Pop Out b-0
2 L.Brock 6 Ground Out b-0
*** BOTTOM OF INNING 2 ***
0 T.Francona 6 Fly Out b-0
1 L.Maye 6 Fly Out b-0
2 M.Breeding 6 Single b-1
2 1 M.Ranew 2 Ground Out b-0
*** TOP OF INNING 3 ***
0 F.Thomas 3 Ground Out b-0
1 C.Maxwell 3 Ground Out b-0
2 F.Howard 3 Home Run b-H
2 Y.Berra 3 Single b-1
2 1 B.Lillis 5 Fly Out b-0
*** BOTTOM OF INNING 3 ***
SUBSTITUTE PH- Matty Alou
0 M.Alou 4 Ground Out b-0
1 J.Amalfitano 4 Ground Out b-0
2 R.Fairly 4 Triple b-3
2 3 J.Callison 4 Fly Out b-0
*** TOP OF INNING 4 ***
SUBSTITUTE P - Claude Osteen
0 D.Zimmer 2 Pop Out b-0
1 D.Stenhouse 2 Single b-1
1 1 N.Larker 6 Fly Out b-0
2 1 L.Brock 3 Double 1-o b-3
*** BOTTOM OF INNING 4 ***
0 R.Santo 6 Walk b-1
0 1 T.Francona 5 Fly Out b-0
1 1 L.Maye 4 Strike Out b-0
2 1 M.Breeding 3 Strike Out b-0
*** TOP OF INNING 5 ***
0 F.Thomas 5 Ground Out b-0
1 C.Maxwell 5 Ground Out b-0
C. Maxwell Injured for 0 more games
2 F.Howard 5 Home Run b-H
2 Y.Berra 5 Pop Out b-0
*** BOTTOM OF INNING 5 ***
SUBSTITUTE LF- Dave Nicholson
0 M.Ranew 5 Ground Out b-0
SUBSTITUTE PH- Jim Fregosi
1 J.Fregosi 5 Triple b-3
1 3 J.Amalfitano 4 Walk b-1
1 1 3 R.Fairly 4 Strike Out b-0
2 1 3 J.Callison 5 Pop Out b-0
*** TOP OF INNING 6 ***
SUBSTITUTE P - Al McBean
0 B.Lillis 1 Ground Out b-0
1 D.Zimmer 1 Pop Out b-0
2 D.Stenhouse 1 Single b-1
2 1 N.Larker 4 Walk 1-2 b-1
2 12 L.Brock 6 Strike Out b-0
*** BOTTOM OF INNING 6 ***
0 R.Santo 3 Fly Out b-0
1 T.Francona 3 Single b-1
1 1 L.Maye 5 Walk 1-2 b-1
1 12 M.Breeding 4 Strike Out b-0
2 12 M.Ranew 4 Fly Out b-0
*** TOP OF INNING 7 ***
0 F.Thomas 2 Foul Out b-0
1 D.Nicholson 2 Single b-1
1 1 F.Howard 6 Home Run 1-H b-H
1 Y.Berra 6 Pop Out b-0
2 B.Lillis 6 Ground Out b-0
*** BOTTOM OF INNING 7 ***
SUBSTITUTE PH- Bud Zipfel
0 B.Zipfel 6 Ground Out b-0
1 J.Amalfitano 6 Ground Out b-0
2 R.Fairly 6 Fly Out b-0
*** TOP OF INNING 8 ***
SUBSTITUTE P - Don McMahon
0 D.Zimmer 6 Line Out b-0
D. Zimmer Injured for 3 more games
1 D.Stenhouse 6 Strike Out b-0
2 N.Larker 6 Line Out b-0
*** BOTTOM OF INNING 8 ***
SUBSTITUTE SS- Don Buddin
0 J.Callison 6 Single b-1
SUBSTITUTE P - Ted Bowsfield
0 1 R.Santo 5 Line Out b-0
1 1 T.Francona 4 Single 1-2 b-1
1 12 L.Maye 5 Fly Out b-0
2 12 M.Breeding 3 Ground Out b-0
*** TOP OF INNING 9 ***
0 L.Brock 3 Strike Out b-0
1 F.Thomas 5 Home Run b-H
1 D.Nicholson 3 Strike Out b-0
2 F.Howard 4 Single b-1
2 1 Y.Berra 6 Strike Out b-0
*** BOTTOM OF INNING 9 ***
0 M.Ranew 5 Pop Out b-0
SUBSTITUTE PH- Don Lock
1 D.Lock 1 Double b-2
1 2 J.Amalfitano 5 Single 2-H b-1
1 1 R.Fairly 3 Force Play 1-o b-1
2 1 J.Callison 2 Fly Out b-0

June 7, 1962: Kiner Division notes

2005-07-09T13:21:00.000-05:00

Boston is last in the league in batting (.229 – San Francisco is next-lowest, at .235), but 11th in runs scored and eighth in homeruns… The Minutemen are also last in runs allowed and have yielded the league-high opponents’ batting average… Outfielder Dave Nicholson leads the team’s hitters in strikeouts with 38 despite ranking tenth in at bats with 92… May was the first month the Minutemen posted a better-than-.500 record since July 1958… First baseman Norm Larker hit .353 in April, just .191 in May; he’s 5 for his first 15 in June… Eight different Minutemen pitchers have recorded saves… Frank Thomas is slugging .833 versus left-handed pitching; his 23 errors leads the league… Minutemen like their home cooking: they’re above .500 at home, and have outhomered opponents at Fenway 24-12… Rookie Ted Savage is doing the little things right: he’s 5 for 5 in stolen-base attempts, leads the team with five outfield assists, and his .379 on-base percentage bests everyone on the team except part-timer Tim Harkness…

Houston’s 22 home victories leads the league… Buffs also are first in runs scored (310), homeruns (77), OPS (.793), being hit by pitches (20), and shutouts (six, three by Camilo Pascual)… Four Buffs are already in double digits in homeruns: triple-crown-leader Orlando Cepeda, Rocky Colavito, and Vada Pinson; no other Buff has more than four… Houston pitchers are batting .199, slugging a respectable .298, and have four homeruns (two each by Bob Purkey and Ray Herbert)… Buffs hitting third and cleanup have combined for OPS of 1.063 and .958… Houston was at 7-8 after losing to Warren Spahn and the Cardinals April 24; they’ve gone 30-14 since… Cepeda, Kaline, Pinson, and Ken Hubbs have put together hitting streaks of 12 or more games… Buffs have made only two stolen base attempts, both successful (one each by Pinson and Colavito)… Houston hitters are batting just .189 with 19 RBI in 40 bases-loaded opportunities…

San Diego is 13-2 (.867) versus left-handed starters, 21-20 versus righties… Harmon Killebrew and Ernie Banks lead the team in homeruns (18 and 14) and RBI (34 and 44), but their .240 averages are lowest for Padre position players with more than 13 at bats. The Padres have gotten a higher average, .241, out of the ninth spot in the order than from third (.238) or cleanup (.239), though of course with a bit less power: four homeruns from the nine-hole, 14 and 18 from third and fourth… Padre pitchers are batting .227, slugging .318, have three homeruns; Bob Gibson leads PWBL pitchers with a .394 average… Killebrew leads the league in times struck out with 56… San Diego centerfielders (Robert Clemente, Jim Landis, Bobby Del Greco, and Mack Jones) have yet to commit an error; Clemente’s and Del Greco’s miscues – one each – came while patrolling right field… Padres are 14-1 versus other cities that begin with S, 20-21 against the rest of the alphabet…

San Francisco cleanup hitters have a combined .580 OPS and just 29 RBI, one big reason the Giants are last in the league in runs scored with 194 – the only team yet to reach the 200 mark; the team average in the cleanup spot is .193, same as for the nine-hole… Jim Kaat is 2-10 despite a very respectable 3.06 ERA. How come? His run support number: 1.47. Meanwhile, Dan Pfister is 4-1 despite a 4.16 ERA, thanks to his peeps getting him 5.36 runs per nine… Giants have amassed 26 outfield assists, most in the league. Ten of those belong to center fielder Ron Fairly, whose personal total is greater than that of seven teams… Seven different Giants have played left field this season… Third baseman Ron Santo is struggling with a .177 average, but is second on the team with 26 RBI and 22 walks. Santo’s batting .148 with just one homerun against southpaws… San Francisco pinch-hitters are batting .340 (32 for 94) with two homeruns; Jim Fregosi’s batting .542 (13 for 24) coming off the bench… Manager Alvin Dark has ordered 27 intentional walks, most in the league… Second baseman John Schaive is hitting one homerun every 10.1 at bats, has both of the Giants’ grand slams, and has 19 RBI in 25 games. Eight of his homeruns have come against left-handed pitching. He’s 0 for 12 so far in June, however… Catcher Merritt Ranew has thrown out nine of the 20 runners who’ve tried to steal on him…

June 1, 1962: Gordon Division notes

2005-07-06T21:31:00.000-05:00

Chicago has spent all but five days this season in second place, and they’ve held undisputed control of the spot since May 4. The Sox have been in third place four days, and tied for first place just one – April 16… Chicago’s staff is last in the league in complete games; John Buzhardt is the only Sox hurler to complete a start so far… Earl Wilson leads the league’s pitchers in appearances with 38. All six homeruns he’s allowed to date have been on the road… Bob Tillman has thrown out five of 11 runners attempting to steal on him… The Pale Hose are 15-5 (.750) versus left-handed starters, just 14-17 (.452) against righties… Gary Geiger has been successful on all seven steal attempts, leads the league in success percentage… Southpaw Hank Aguirre, who leads the league with a 1.88 ERA, is holding right-handed batters to a .164 average; lefties are hitting .317 against him… Gil Hodges has hit all six of his homeruns against lefties, in just 59 at bats… Windy City leadoff hitters are averaging just .209, with a .290 OBP… Closer Claude Raymond’s ERA is 4.50, but he’s converted 15 of 17 save opportunities… Carl Yastrzemski has been walked intentionally six times – only Willie Mays, with eight, has more IBBs…

Dallas is 2-8 in extra-inning games, worst performance in the league… Charlie Neal is 7 for 15 (.467) with two homeruns pinch-hitting; other Colt pinch-hitters are 6 for 50 (.120)… Chuck Estrada has a 3-8 record, despite a respectable 3.68 ERA, due to poor run support, just 3.57 per nine. Some chunk of that is off Estrada’s own bat, as he’s hitting .231 with a homerun. He’s one of six Dallas pitchers batting better than .230… The Colts are batting .200, and slugging just .268, versus lefties… Bill Virdon has played center field in every single Dallas defensive inning so far, and has yet to commit an error. He has three assists; the team as a whole has only five, fewest in the league… Jose Pagan’s five caught-stealing is a league high; Colts at 8 SB/13 CS have the worst success rate of any team… Dallas catchers lead the league in passed balls…

Los Angeles is 11-5 in one-run games… After 52 games, Roger Maris (37), Bob Allison (33), and Jerry Lumpe (31) are all on a 90+-RBI pace; those three plus Maury Wills on track to score 90+ runs as well… The Angelenos lead the league in stolen bases with 25; of course, Wills has 20 of those… Johnny Podres is batting just .129, but two of his four hits are homeruns, the first of his career, in this his ninth PWBL season… The Stars played just one extra-inning game in May, a ten-inning loss at Cleveland on the 24th… In 17 innings Bob Tiefenauer has issued six intentional walks; the rest of the staff has just four… Joey Jay leads the staff with nine wins despite receiving the poorest run support (3.54) among LA’s Big Four (Ken Johnson: 6.09, Earl Francis: 5.63, Podres: 5.00)… Stars have been alone in first since April 17; they were never further than one game in back. They’ve lost just four player-games to injury, fewest in the league – coincidence?

Pittsburgh’s consecutive losing months in April and May were the team’s first since 1952, the last season the Panthers finished under .500 (72-84). From 1956 through 1961, the team had only two losing months, both in ’58, when the squad was 14-15 in May and August… Matching former Panther Virdon, defensive whiz Curt Flood has played every one of the team’s innings in center fielder, has five assists, hasn’t committed an error… Pittsburgh’s cleanup hitters are batting just .211, though with ten homeruns – only the three-hole (i.e., Eddie Mathews), with 13, has produced more homers… The Panthers are 3-1 in extra-inning games, all those games decided in ten frames… Of the team’s 23 wins, Hoyt Wilhelm has saved 16… Pittsburgh’s 1962 high-water mark came on tax day: the team was two games over .500 on April 15, hasn’t seen that level since… Pittsburgh’s batting .228 against right-handed pitching; regulars Jackie Brandt (.149), Dick Brown (.153), and Chico Fernandez (.183) in particular have struggled…

May 28, 1962: Lemon Division notes

2005-07-04T13:54:00.000-05:00

Cincinnati is 2-10 versus Williams Division opponents, 13-19 versus the rest of the league… Roman Mejias leads the Reds in at bats (190), runs (26), hits (54), homeruns (10), and RBI (25), as well as outfield assists (5). He, Tony Taylor, and Eddie Kasko have played in every game so far… The Reds have received just two intentional walks, fewest in the league; both were issued to Kasko, who leads the team in hitting… Righty-lefty relief combo Orlando Pena and Ron Perranoski have combined for a 4-1 record, 8 saves, and a 2.17 ERA in 49.2 innings; they’ve yielded just 46 hits plus walks, and both are limiting both left- and right-handed hitters to sub-.200 averages… The Reds are just 3 for 29 with the bases loaded, with three singles, a walk, and 10 RBI… Veteran Duke Snider is 4 for 5 with a homerun pinch-hitting; other Cincy pinch-hitters are batting just .121 in 58 AB… Cincy’s leadoff hitters are batting just .207… Left-handed-hitting catcher Johnny Edwards is batting just .133 versus southpaws, but three of his four hits are homeruns… Edwards and Joe Pignatano have yet to throw out an opposing runner trying to steal; they’ve been touched for seven swipes… Meanwhile, the Reds are barely breaking even on their running games, with 13 steals and 12 caught-stealing…

Detroit has outscored its opposition 167-165, but is six games under .500; one big reason: the squad’s 6-13 record in one-run games… Only the Mets (164) have given up fewer runs, but Tiger hitters are last in the league in runs scored and homeruns… How tough is Sandy Koufax? He’s dominating the K/9 and H/9 boards. His 10.23 whiffs-per-9 is 2.59 ahead of his nearest competitor; his 5.18 hits-allowed-per-9 is almost one full hit fewer than the league’s next-best. He’s holding left-handed hitters to a .117 average. He’s the only PWBL pitcher to strike out more than 12 batters in a game this season, and he’s done it twice, whiffing 15 Giants on April 28 and 15 Cardinals on May 20… The Tigers have hit just two homeruns off left-handed pitching in 364 AB, one each by Norm Cash and Elston Howard; the team OPS against lefties is .598, against righties .696… Through 44 games, there hasn’t yet been a caught-stealing in a game involving the Tigers: Detroit has succeeded in five attempts by four players (only Don Landrum has more than one), while opponents have made but a single (and successful) attempt… The Tigers are 7-0 versus Cincinnati and Cleveland, 12-25 versus non-Buckeyes… Tigers have yet to get an outfield assist from a center fielder…

New York is at .500 (18-18) versus right-handed starting pitchers, but winning at an .800 clip (8-2) against southpaws… Four Mets – Clete Boyer, Willie Davis, Willie Mays, and Tom Tresh – have appeared in every game so far… Mays already has 43 RBI (second in the league) and is on pace to shatter his personal single-season best (138 in 1956)… He’s been driving in Davis a lot – the Other Willie leads the league with 40 runs scored… Of the Mets’ 421 defensive innings, Say Hey has played all but five in center field. He has five assists, no errors… In right field, Davis has five errors, no assists… The Mets have hit twice as many homeruns at home as on the road (32-16)… Tresh leads the league in sacrifice hits, and has been successful on all 14 attempts… Streaky: the Mets have put together six winning streaks and four losing streaks of three-plus games… New York has committed the fewest errors (25) and yielded the fewest earned runs (12) in the league… But the catchers have allowed the most opposition stolen bases (26)…

Philadelphia, like Detroit, is under .500 despite outscoring its opposition (221-209)… The Phillies are 19-19 versus everyone except Seattle (1-7)… Stan Musial is in a zone: The Man is at .455 with 7 homeruns, has walked 22 times but fanned just 9, has just one game of 0-for-more-than-3, and has been held hitless in consecutive games only once, when he went 0 for 3 on May 13 and 15… Phillie pinch-hitters are batting .388 (26 for 67); rookie Willie Stargell is .615 (8 for 13) off the bench… With the bases loaded the Phillies are batting .313 with three grand slams (tied with Boston for most in the league) and four walks… Brooks Robinson has made just one error in 397 innings at third base, and has started 11 double plays and one triple play… Philly base stealers have been successful in only 5 of 14 attempts, worst success rate in the league…

May 25, 1962: Williams Division Notes

2005-07-03T15:07:00.000-05:00

Cleveland has won seven in a row, nine of ten, since starting May 7-9… Leading the surge has been the Tribe’s bullpen corps. Jim Maloney is 7-0 in 16 appearances; he and fellow denizens Danny McDevitt, Ray Sadecki, and Dean Stone are a combined 11-0; the rest of the Cleveland staff is 17-17… Frank Malzone is working on a 14-game hitting streak, currently the league’s longest active streak… Catcher Del Crandall, who missed most of 1961 with a shoulder injury and played poorly (.146 in 41 at bats) when he tried to hurry his return, has shown the All Star form he displayed in 1960 with Pittsburgh. The backstop is batting .361 (third best in the league) with 6 homeruns and 33 RBI, a pace that could see him exceeding his 1960 line (.328/23/103). And word is out that his shoulder has healed: only three runners have attempted to steal on him, and he’s tossed out two of ‘em… Four of Walt Bond’s six pinch-hit safeties have been homeruns, including Monday’s game-winning tenth-inning grand slam… The Indians have hit 34 homeruns at home, just 21 on the road…

Since starting the season 7-0, St. Louis has gone 10-25 and not won more than two consecutive games… Mickey Mantle and Jim Gentile, who combined to hit 97 homeruns in 1961, have just five apiece so far, a pace that would leave thme with fewer than 20 for the season… His power numbers may be off, but his plate discipline is not: Mantle’s on-base percentage is at .486… Mantle has yet to hit a homerun batting right-handed, while Gentile is batting just .122 versus lefties; as a team, the Cards are slugging just .315 versus southpaws… Warren Spahn’s ERA (3.17), is almost a full run better than the next best starter on the staff, Bill Stafford (4.02), but the veteran lefty’s record is just 4-5, in large part because of poor run support: just 3.4 runs per start… Marv Throneberry has been marvelous coming off the bench, 5 for 10 with two homeruns as a pinch-hitter…

The Big Three starting pitchers for Seattle, Dennis Bennett, Art Mahaffey, and Bill Monbouquette, are a combined 17-5 in 26 starts… No big surprise that the Pilot staff has the league’s best team ERA… George Altman leads the Pilots in the triple crown categories, at .340 with 10 homers and 40 RBI in 46 games… Seattle hitters lead the league with 85 doubles; the Buffs and Mets have the next-highest total, 72… After a decade of struggling to find his niche, lefty Joe Nuxhall has established himself as a bullpen ace for the Pilots. He’s 1-0 with eight saves and a tiny 1.31 ERA working exclusively out of the bullpen this season… The Pilots have four steals of third and have yet to be caught trying for that bag… Outfielder Lu Clinton is having a breakthrough season. He hit .245 with just two homeruns as a rookie in 1960, got only 15 big-league at bats in 1961, but so far this season is busting the ball at a .340 clip with seven homers and 21 RBI, and has swiped three bases without getting caught. Clinton has a .716 slugging percentage against right-handed pitching… Seattle pinch-hitters are hitting .319… The Pilots have been in undisputed control of first place since April 21…

Washington and Dallas pitchers are tied for the most homeruns allowed, 51. Don Drysdale and Juan Marichal have given up 28 of those… The Dominican Dandy is 6-1, while the rest of the staff has combined for a 14-22 record… The Senators lead the league in triples with 15… Billy Williams leads the team with a .368 average; the next-best regular is Bernie Allen, at .288; unsurprisingly, Williams has also drawn the most walks, 26 – Don Hoak has 14… Hoak is batting .389 (and slugging .722) versus lefties, but is struggling at .164 (.236 slugging) against righties… Washington pinch-hitters are just 9 for 68 (.132) without a homerun… Center fielder Jimmy Piersall has been successful on all six of his sacrifice attempts, and also has the team’s only grand slam so far; that May 4 blast is his only circuit clout this season. Piersall has yet to commit an error and has five assists… The Senators’ leadoff and number-two hitters have a combined .289 on-base percentage…

May 24, 1962: Reds' Ellsworth no-hits Minutemen

2005-07-03T13:33:00.000-05:00

Cincinnati southpaw Dick Ellsworth hurled a no-hitter versus the Boston Minutemen on this cold, drizzly night, the Reds winning 2-0. A sparse weeknight crowd of under 7,000 Queen City fans enjoyed the greatest game to date in the expansion team’s history.

The 23-year-old from Lusk, Wyoming, walked four batters but had strong command of his sinking fastball and curve all night, striking out six and dispatching the Bostonians in just over two hours.

Ellsworth got all the offensive support he would need in the fourth inning, when two Boston errors led to an unearned run. Right fielder Roman Mejias’ solo homerun in the sixth, his ninth of the season, provided the lefty an insurance run. Boston starter Ray Washburn pitched well, yielding just six hits and the one earned run, walking none, but Ellsworth dominated the proceedings.

Ellsworth retired 19 of the last 20 batters he faced; after walking Dave Nicholson with one out in the seventh, he set down the last eight in a row. In the ninth he got Joe Torre and Frank Howard on medium-length opposite-field flies to Mejias, then completed his masterpiece by inducing the most dangerous hitter in the Boston lineup, third baseman Frank Thomas, to fly out to center fielder Ty Cline.

Ellsworth was in a jubilant mood after the game, commenting, “If I'd known I was going to throw a no-hitter, I’d have gotten a haircut!” In a more serious vein, the young lefty credited his battery mate, second-year catcher Johnny Edwards, with calling a great game. “Johnny was inside their heads all night. I don’t think I shook him off once. He had the Boston hitters constantly guessing wrong.”

Now in his third full season in the PWBL, Ellsworth first broke in at age 19 with the Washington Senators at the tail end of the 1958 season, hurling two scoreless innings and earning a save. After compiling a 13-8 record with the Senators in 1960, he came to the Reds in the 1961 expansion draft and has been a mainstay of the Cincinnati starting rotation. He is now 22-25 with a 3.98 ERA for his career.

BOXSCORE: 1962 Boston Minutemen At 1962 Cincinnati Reds 5/24/1962

Minutemen AB R H RBI AVG Reds AB R H RBI AVG

T.Savage CF 4 0 0 0 .283 T.Taylor 2B 4 0 0 0 .205

J.Torre 1B 2 0 0 0 .283 T.Cline CF 4 1 1 0 .281

F.Howard RF 4 0 0 0 .289 R.Mejias RF 4 1 1 1 .280

F.Thomas 3B 4 0 0 0 .262 E.Kasko SS 2 0 0 0 .331

D.Nicholson LF 2 0 0 0 .179 J.Pepitone LF 3 0 1 0 .227

B.Schmidt C 3 0 0 0 .182 B.Phillips 3B 3 0 1 0 .175

B.Lillis SS 3 0 0 0 .254 D.Long 1B 3 0 0 0 .200

D.Zimmer 2B 3 0 0 0 .178 J.Edwards C 3 0 2 0 .250

R.Washburn P 1 0 0 0 .111 D.Ellsworth P 3 0 0 0 .056

A-F.Torres PH 1 0 0 0 .000

B.Duliba P 0 0 0 0 ----

-- -- -- --- -- -- -- ---

Totals 27 0 0 0 Totals 29 2 6 1

A-Pinch Hit For Washburn In 8th Inning

Minutemen....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 2

Reds............ 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 - 2 6 0

Minutemen (19-24) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA SCORESHEET

R.Washburn LOSS(0-2) 7 6 2 1 0 2 1 98 3.92 A1 C9

B.Duliba 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 2.50 D1

Totals 8 6 2 1 0 2 1

Reds (14-28) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA SCORESHEET

D.Ellsworth WIN(2-5) 9 0 0 0 4 6 0 136 6.30 A1

Totals 9 0 0 0 4 6 0

ATTENDANCE- 6,734 DATE- Thursday, May 24th 1962 TIME- Night WEATHER- Bad

T- 2:02

LEFT ON BASE- Minutemen: 4 Reds: 4

DOUBLE PLAYS- Minutemen: 1 Reds: 0

ERRORS- T.Savage, F.Thomas

DOUBLES- J.Edwards(6th)

HOME RUNS- R.Mejias(9th)

WALKS- J.Torre-2, D.Nicholson, R.Washburn

HIT BY PITCH- E.Kasko

STRIKE OUTS- T.Savage, J.Torre, F.Howard-2, D.Nicholson, F.Torres, J.Pepitone,

B.Phillips

GIDP- R.Mejias

*** TOP OF INNING 1 ***

0 T.Savage 4 Ground Out b-0

1 J.Torre 4 Walk b-1

1 1 F.Howard 4 Strike Out b-0

2 1 F.Thomas 4 Ground Out b-0

*** BOTTOM OF INNING 1 ***

0 T.Taylor 2 Pop Out b-0

1 T.Cline 2 Single b-1

1 1 R.Mejias 5 Ground Out Double Play 1-o b-0

*** TOP OF INNING 2 ***

0 D.Nicholson 5 Strike Out b-0

1 B.Schmidt 5 Fly Out b-0

2 B.Lillis 5 Fly Out b-0

*** BOTTOM OF INNING 2 ***

0 E.Kasko 5 Ground Out b-0

1 J.Pepitone 5 Strike Out b-0

2 B.Phillips 5 Single b-1

2 1 Pickoff 1-o

*** TOP OF INNING 3 ***

0 D.Zimmer 6 Fly Out b-0

1 R.Washburn 6 Walk b-1

1 1 T.Savage 4 Strike Out b-0

2 1 J.Torre 5 Walk 1-2 b-1

2 12 F.Howard 4 Fly Out b-0

*** BOTTOM OF INNING 3 ***

0 D.Long 3 Fly Out b-0

1 J.Edwards 3 Double b-2

1 2 D.Ellsworth 1 Ground Out b-0

2 2 T.Taylor 3 Pop Out b-0

*** TOP OF INNING 4 ***

0 F.Thomas 5 Ground Out b-0

1 D.Nicholson 5 Line Out b-0

2 B.Schmidt 5 Ground Out b-0

*** BOTTOM OF INNING 4 ***

0 T.Cline 5 1 Base Error - CF b-1

0 1 R.Mejias 1 Ground Out 1-2 b-0

1 2 E.Kasko 8 HBP b-1

1 12 J.Pepitone 5 Single & Error - 3B 2-H 1-3 b-2

1 23 B.Phillips 3 Strike Out b-0

2 23 D.Long 3 Ground Out b-0

*** TOP OF INNING 5 ***

0 B.Lillis 3 Line Out b-0

1 D.Zimmer 3 Pop Out b-0

2 R.Washburn 3 Ground Out b-0

*** BOTTOM OF INNING 5 ***

0 J.Edwards 3 Fly Out b-0

1 D.Ellsworth 3 Fly Out b-0

2 T.Taylor 3 Pop Out b-0

*** TOP OF INNING 6 ***

0 T.Savage 3 Fly Out b-0

1 J.Torre 3 Strike Out b-0

2 F.Howard 3 Strike Out b-0

*** BOTTOM OF INNING 6 ***

0 T.Cline 3 Ground Out b-0

1 R.Mejias 3 Home Run b-H

1 E.Kasko 3 Fly Out b-0

2 J.Pepitone 3 Ground Out b-0

*** TOP OF INNING 7 ***

0 F.Thomas 3 Fly Out b-0

1 D.Nicholson 6 Walk b-1

1 1 B.Schmidt 4 Fly Out b-0

2 1 B.Lillis 3 Pop Out b-0

*** BOTTOM OF INNING 7 ***

0 B.Phillips 5 Ground Out b-0

1 D.Long 5 Fly Out b-0

2 J.Edwards 5 Single b-1

2 1 D.Ellsworth 3 Ground Out b-0

*** TOP OF INNING 8 ***

0 D.Zimmer 6 Line Out b-0

SUBSTITUTE PH- Felix Torres

1 F.Torres 6 Strike Out b-0

2 T.Savage 6 Ground Out b-0

*** BOTTOM OF INNING 8 ***

SUBSTITUTE P - Bob Duliba

0 T.Taylor 6 Foul Out b-0

1 T.Cline 6 Ground Out b-0

2 R.Mejias 6 Ground Out b-0

*** TOP OF INNING 9 ***

0 J.Torre 3 Fly Out b-0

1 F.Howard 5 Fly Out b-0

2 F.Thomas 5 Fly Out b-0

Around the PWBL

2005-06-29T08:21:00.000-05:00

May 19, 1962

Ernie Broglio of the Detroit Tigers carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning before losing by 2 to 0 to the St. Louis Cardinals on Johnny Roseboro's two-run homer in the eighth.

Warren Spahn got the victory--the 292nd of his career (and his 50th shutout).

The rapidly improving Boston Minutemen won their seventh straight behind the pitching of Dave Stenhouse, the 28-year-old rookie out of the University of Rhode Island. Frank Thomas, who hit the 286th homerun of his career on Friday, contributed an RBI double.

Minnie Minoso went 3-for-4 in the Pittsburgh Panthers' 2 to 1 ten-inning win over the San Diego Padres, giving him 2,043 hits for his career. The 39-year-old Cuban, the first overall selection in the 1949 draft, is a .302 lifetime hitter.

Ken McBride of the Cleveland Indians notched his first victory of the year when Hank Aaron's solo homerun made him a 1 to 0 winner over the New York Mets. Aaron has ten roundtrippers on the season, 329 for his career.

The Seattle Pilots prolonged their welcome-back party for Ralph Houk, defeating the Philadelphia Phillies by 6 to 3. The Phils lost starting shortstop Julio Gotay for at least a week and a half when he pulled a groin muscle in the seventh.

Rookie southpaw Dennis Bennett, a 22-year-old from Oakland, went the distance for Seattle to pick up his fifth victory against one loss.

Joe Pepitone, Cincinnati's top selection in the 1962 draft and the fifth pick overall, made his debut in the Reds' 7 to 6 ten-inning loss to the Washington Senators. The 21-year-old Brooklyn boy went 0-for-three, striking out twice, although he did hit a sacrifice fly.

Showing the first signs of breaking out of his season-long slump, Lee Thomas homered twice, but the Dallas Colts still lost to the San Francisco Giants by 5 to 4 in ten innings. Thomas, who hit 28 homeruns and drove in 91 for the expansion Colts in 1961, came into the game hitting just .201.

The Giants won the game when Merritt Ranew singled home Ron Santo, who had walked. Ranew had three hits on the day.

Although he came close to giving it away, Camilo Pascual won his fifth game of the season without a loss in the Houston Buffs' 6 to 4 victory over the Stars in Los Angeles. Leading by 5 to 1 heading into the eighth, Pascual walked the first two men and then surrendered three straight hits, topped off by Bob Allison's two-run double, to bring the Stars back to within one.

Pascual improved his lifetime record to 113 wins against 44 losses in 197 career starts.

Sparky lights fire under Tigers

2005-06-28T14:42:00.000-05:00

May 16, 1962

Today the Tigers lost, 9-0. They still own one of the worst records in the PWBL. But no one in Tigerland is particularly upset. In fact, most fans are downright optomistic. So what is going on? Have they been hitting the suds a bit too hard?

Actually, the Tigers are on a roll under their new manager, Sparky Anderson. Sparky's first game as coach was a 6-1 win over the Mets. It was followed by three straight one run losses, but in every game the Tigers rallied late and played well for nine (or more) innings. One of those losses was in 11 innings, and the other two involved poor relief outings by Frank Funk, who ran his record to 0-6 and likely punched his plane ticket to Denver. After that, the Tigers reeled off 7 wins in a row. They swept Cincinnati at home, outscoring them 29-3, and managing to climb out of the Lemon division cellar for the first time all year - all this after looking like locks for the first draft pick in 1963.

Sparky has been quiet on what has enabled him to create an 8-4 managerial record, but it is obvious that the players enjoy playing for him, and the cloud which hung over the team during the start of the year under Pee Wee Reese seens to have dissipated. Sparky has also been seen in the dugout with new coach Earl Weaver hovering over a black 3 ring binder during games. Both coaches are mum on its contents. For now, let's hope whatever magic resides there continues.

Joe Falls
Detroit Free Press

De Ja Vu in Pilotland

2005-06-22T19:37:00.000-05:00

In a surprise to Seattle Pilot fans, Ralph Houk is returning to manage the Pilots. Houk returns after just three days earlier resigning citing unbearable pressure. Ken Boyer, acting as spokesman for the players, and acting manager Frankie Crosetti had requested a meeting with owner Ed Daley and new GM of Operations Charlie Silvera to discuss the turmoil the team has been experiencing. Reportedly udring the meeting Crosetti expressed his desire to return to basecoaching. Crosetti has never mentioned any desire to manage and has at times intimated he is not comfortable taking disciplinary action. Boyer again emphasized that the team would be best suited if Houk was managing the team. Daley and Silvera reportedly had no reservations about Houk managing the team.

Once the agreement was made that Houk would be the best man for the team, the ball started rolling quickly. A phone call from Silvera to Houk laid the groundwork for a possible return. Houk, naturally cautious, was assured he would be given a fair shot this year to manage the team. Houk would not commit until he talked one on one with Crosetti. After talking with Crosetti Houk stated he would make a decision within twenty-four hours. The final convincing prod came in the form a phone call from Boyer expressing the wishes of the players for Houk to return. Houk is expected back in the dugout in the next couple of days.

The tradition in Seattle has always been to give a manager the benefit of the doubt in an adverse situation. Last year in Seattle was an extremely trying time for fans, management and likely the players as the team faded badly in the second half of the season. Much like Joe Schultz was given the opportunity to succeed after a bad year in 1960, the feeling entering this year was Houk deserved a chance to prove last year was a fluke. Pilot players have always maintained that Houk did nothing wrong and the fault was the players' inability to get the big hit or make the big pitch.

DETROIT PRESS CONFERENCE

2005-06-22T13:06:00.000-05:00

Buzzy Bavasi: Gentlemen, thank you for coming. Let me take this opportunity to formally introduce Sparky Anderson as the new manager of the Tigers.
applause
Sparky: Thank you.
BB: Sparky, tell us a little bit about your plans for the team.
Sparky: Buzzy, I think we have a lot of talent on this team. I think we're losing because some players were put into positions where their talents were not put to best use. If you ask a player to do something he isn't meant to do time and time again, he's going to perform poorly, and get frustrated and upset in the process. I've spent a lot of time re-evaluating all of our players, and I wil be making some lineup changes as well as some different in-game decisions. That, plus I'll be keeping a rabbit's foot inside my left sock.
laughter
BB: Let's talk about pitching first. Sandy Koufax got roughed up in his first start, but has been brilliant since. The rest of the staff has gotten hit hard. Are you planning any major changes?
Sparky: Yes. Frank Funk has been highly ineffective as our end-game reliever. I am going to pull Eddie Fisher out of the starting rotation to fill that role. Our record in one run games is awful, and our relief pitching has a lot to do with that. Frank will pitch middle relief, and Tom Cheney will become the fourth starter. We considered moving Harvey Haddix back into the starting rotation, however he has been by far our best reliever, and at this point in his career Harvey has expressed an interest in relief pitching full-time. We need to work with Mike Joyce a bit more, as his fast ball has lost its zip. We did not expect much from Moe Drabowsky this year, what with his tendonitis, but we have gotten some quality innings out of him when the starters have faltered. Which is often.
laughter and grumbling
BB:Rookie Jim Bouton has beenhit hard in his recent starts and some have suggested that he be sent down to Denver.
Sparky: He also hasn't gotten any run support. From what I can see, he has good enough stuff to stay as our #5 starter for now. I actually think some of our other starters have been hit harder. But nobody's going to win if we don't score any runs.
BB:And speaking of hitting...
Sparky:Yup, we have some changes. Willie McCovey has been playing well but has been nursing along a hamstring pull since spring training. He needs to rest it, and we will be leaving him out of the lineup for now. He will stay on the active roster as a pinch hitter. He has a lot of future talent, and we don't want to see any of it wasted.
Chuck Cottier had worked his way into Pee Wee's doghouse. I think his speed can be useful for us, and he will be batting leadoff part-time. We're going to move Jim Davenport up in the lineup to see if he can produce, as he is a good contact hitter, and many of our other batters have been striking out in key situations. Joe Koppe and Tom Haller are two other players Pee Wee did not use much, and they will see more playing time for me. Elston Howard is an all-star, but to expect him to catch and bat clean up every day is a bit much.
BB: How do you feel about the new coaching staff?
Sparky: George Kell was a great player who will help our hitters make contact better. I have all the respect in the world for Virgil, but he just wasn't getting the job done. Dizzy has been following the team form the broadcast booth and definitely knows what changes need to be done. Sal Maglie will also help. An then there's this Weaver kid you dug up...
BB: Yes, I hired him away from another organization. I've watched his work at Elmira, and I'm impressed how well he has been developing talent, which is something we need more of in this organization.
Well, time is up. Thank you, Sparky.

Gehringer out, Silvera in as Pilots' GM

2005-06-22T05:27:00.000-05:00

May 9, 1962

The question resounding out of Seattle is "Are the inmates running the asylum?" In the latest twist of the Seattle asylum, Charlie Gehringer has been reassigned as General Manager in charge of player Acquisition and Development. The day-to-day operations will be covered by Charlie Silvera in the newly created position of General Manager of Operations. This change puts the hiring and firing of the manager under Silvera's control.

The new position resulted from a meeting between Pilot players, Gehringer and owner Ed Daley. The meeting had been requested by the players and attended by their representatives Ken Boyer, Bill Mazeroski and Bill Monbouquette. The players requested the meeting to clear the air and address concerns that management has expressed about the team. Boyer later stated "We didn't quit last year. We have played hard this year and will keep playing hard. Our struggles last year weren't Skip's (Houk) fault. He's not the one who failed to get the big hit or make the big pitch. We were. A couple of guys may have stretched the rules some last year but Skip let us know in spring training this year none of that would be tolerated. No way that happens again. One of the complaints about us this year is that we can't beat the Indians. I think people just aren't giving the Indians credit. That is a really good ballclub. We're also a really good club and we'll win our share of games against them. I'll tell you though that this team was better with Ralph managing. Nothing against Frankie (Crosetti), but he doesn't want to manage. Ask him, he'll tell you. Ralph knows this team and has the feel about who to play and who to sit."

Earlier this week manager Ralph Houk resigned despite the Pilots being in first place and playing near .700 ball. Houk resigned due to constant criticism and rumors his job was in jeopardy. Houk felt the unnamed rumor source was GM Charlie Gehringer. It is without question that there were doubts about the job Houk did last last year as the Pilots started strong under Houk then struggled to the finish the season. Gehringer has not confirmed nor denied that other managerial candidates were being interviewed. Even if the rumors were untrue there can be no doubt that Houk was under the microscope.

May 8: Minutemen Stumble Along

2005-06-21T09:02:00.000-05:00

By Charles Hibernius Boyle, columnist, Boston Record-American

With the promotion last Friday of a trio of hard-throwing young right-handed hurlers, Minuteman skipper Yogi Berra assured Boston’s fandom that the team’s seemingly intractable pitching woes were being addressed.

As if!

While Dave Giusti made an acceptably effective debut versus Houston over the weekend, holding the defending Mulcahy Cup champions scoreless in a brief appearance Friday and limiting them to one run in two innings Sunday, last night he received a ruder welcome to the league at the hands of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Entering in the seventh with his team down 3-0, Giusti created a double-digit deficit faster than Lou Brock runs out a weak grounder to second base. Philadelphia’s seven-run onslaught was capped by a monumental three-run homerun by Frank Robinson.

Welcome to the big league, rookie.

At the end of the day, Giusti’s career ERA stood at 15.43.

Boston fans are left to wonder whether Berra’s insistence on throwing young pitchers into the deep end sans water wings not only will backfire, so far as the team’s ability to compete is concerned, but may in fact harm the development of these young guns. Certainly Giusti had a look of shell-shock about him after the game.

My prediction? This young man will never amount to anything while under Berra’s tutelage. About all Yogi knows concerning young pitchers is that he can no longer get around on their offerings -- witness his .224 average, even after managing two singles yesterday.

This in marked contract to Philadelphia’s ageless wonder, Stan “The Man” Musial, who yesterday teed off on Boston pitching for three-quarters of a cycle. Musial tripled to start the fourth, slugged a two-run homer off Bill Fischer in the sixth, and singled to start the eighth-inning rally off the hapless Mr. Giusti. Musial, the career PWBL leader in more batting categories than you shake a stick at, upped his season average to .515 with the performance.

The excitement in Philadelphia these days is palpable. General Manager Fred Haney has assembled a mix of veterans and young stars, and manager Walter Alston has them playing aggressively and, more to the point, successfully. The Phils trail the Lemon Divison-leading Mets by just a game and a half. In addition to Musial, Frank and Brooks Robinson and Pete Runnels are all tearing the cover off the ball, with batting averages over .345.

It reminds me of the great, offensive-minded Minutemen teams of a decade ago, when Sid Gordon, Eddie Robinson, George Kell, Nellie Fox, Hank Thompson, and of course Yogi Berra -- in his prime -- struck fear into the hearts of PWBL pitching staffs.

Alas, those halcyon days are gone for good. What this franchise needs, but evidently is not going to receive, is a good strong dose of the attitude being exhibited in Seattle, where a talented but underachieving team is not allowed to coast.

Would that we had such pro-active management in Boston.

Cepeda, Koufax named Players of April 1962

2005-06-21T07:38:00.000-05:00

May 7, 1962
Orlando Cepeda and Sandy Koufax have been named the Players of the Month for April 1962.

Cepeda, whose six homeruns and .432 batting average led the Houston Buffs to a 13 and 8 record in the opening month of the PWBL season, was a unanimous selection. Willie Mays of the New York Mets was listed second on all but one ballot to finish behind Cepeda.

Koufax came within five outs of a no-hitter on April 22 and followed up with a 12-inning shutout in his next start. Although he was rocked for six runs in fewer than four innings in his first start of the season, the Detroit southpaw came back to yield only one run in eight innings his next time out. The Tigers were shut out by the Los Angeles Stars, though, by 1 to 0.

Koufax edged Turk Farrell of the Cleveland Indians by a single vote in the Pitcher of the Month balloting. Farrell won four and lost only one for the Tribe.

Houk walks off job in Seattle

2005-06-21T06:12:00.000-05:00

May 7, 1962
One day after Seattle general manager Charlie Gehringer was said to be "interviewing managerial candidates," and just hours after Bill Monbouquette's complete-game win over the Cleveland Indians raised the Pilots over the .700 bar again this season, Ralph Houk announced that he was quitting as the team's field manager.

"I can't work under this insane pressure. No one could," Houk said. "If .700 ball isn't good enough for Gehringer then nothing will be."

Gehringer continues to blame Houk for what he calls the Pilots' "collapse" last season. Houk replaced Joe Schultz after the first 28 games of the 1961 season, and improved their mark slightly.

But expectations were high in Seattle, and the Pilots' third-place finish in the Kiner, 22 games out, disappointed everyone, especially Gehringer.

The former Chicago manager has been outspokenly critical of Houk all season, even though the Pilots have got off to one of the best starts in PWBL history.

After Saturday's 7-to-0 loss to the Indians, the Post-Intelligencer reported that "Houk's inability to motivate his team enough to even win one of four games versus Cleveland is driving the front office to look in another direction, according to unnamed sources."

Houk told reporters that those "sources" were unmistakably Gehringer. "It's really rather ironic, considering that his [Gehringer's] lifetime winning percentage as a manager is below .400," Houk laughed humorlessly. Houk used a more colorful term for his former boss, which cannot be printed in a family newspaper.

The White Sox' first PWBL skipper, Gehringer lost 564 games in six years in Chicago, never finishing higher than second. His 1948 club lost a then-record 113 games.

Houk by contrast guided the Houston Buffs to the Mulcahy Cup in 1958, his first full season at the helm, winning a then-record 112 regular-season games. Houk was fired in Houston, despite leading the team to three straight playoff appearances, when the Buffs stumbled badly in the next two postseasons.

Third base coach Frankie Crosetti will manage the Pilots on an interim basis when they return home this evening to face Gehringer's old team, the White Sox, at Sicks Stadium.

Houk finishes with an 84-win, 77-loss record in Seattle. His career record in the PWBL is 406 wins, 269 losses for a .601 winning percentage.

The 42-year-old ex-catcher said that he would return to his native Lawrence, Kans., and enjoy himself for a while before deciding what to do next with his life.

"I'll miss the players--a great bunch of guys," Houk said in announcing his resignation. "But the managerial melodrama was detracting from their great play this year, and they deserve the spotlight. Not me."

Ross Granville
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Lollar happy to be staying in Houston

2005-06-19T07:44:00.000-05:00

May 4, 1962

Sherm Lollar is not upset that he was passed over for the Detroit Tigers’ managerial job. And he wants everyone in Houston to stop talking about it.

"I am happy in Houston. I don't want to be anywhere else,” Lollar told this reporter in a one-to-one interview before this evening’s game in Boston.

Lollar, 37, is widely considered one of the best baseball minds in the PWBL. Eddie Joost asked him to serve as pitching coach half an hour after he was hired to take over for Ralph Houk in Houston. “That was the first phone call I made. Sherm already talks to the pitchers all the time about what they are doing. Who are they going to respect any more than him?” Joost said at the time.

The Tigers announced that first base coach Sparky Anderson would be assuming the duties of Pee Wee Reese, who was fired after Detroit got off to a dismal 5 and 17 start. “It just makes sense that the Tigers would turn to someone inside the organization. After all, the season has started. You don’t have time for a lengthy search process. Nor do you want to disrupt a team that’s already reeling any more than you have to," Lollar explained.

Anderson played one season for the Tigers, hitting .253 in 146 games as the team's starting second baseman in 1959. Even then, teammates described him as the "informal team captain."

Lollar declined to say whether the Tigers had contacted him. “I don’t want anyone thinking that I am fishing for a manager’s job. I already have a job with the Buffs. I am perfectly happy as one of Eddie’s coaches,” Lollar said.

The Durham, Ark., native was troubled by the speculation that he might be going to Detroit, because he was afraid that it was distracting attention away from the Buffs’ fast start. Joost’s crew has won 15 of its first 24 games and sits atop the Kiner Division by one game.

The Buffs’ regime is stocked with current and former players from base coaches Larry Doby and Willie Jones to Lollar and new hitting coach Eddie Yost, who took over for Tommy Henrich in the spring.

Henrich returned to his hometown Massillon, Ohio, to open a Rambler dealership.

“There’s not much of a dividing line between coaches and players here in Houston,” Lollar said. “We [coaches] don’t feel like we’re above it all. We don’t feel like we’re ‘management’ and the players are ‘labor.’ All of us, players and coaches alike, are part of the same team. And our goal is to repeat as PWBL champions.

“I couldn’t’ve done that if I’d gone to Detroit,” Lollar concluded.

Bubba Bright
The Houston Post

Reese Hired by Cleveland

2005-06-18T16:46:00.000-05:00

The Cleveland Indians wasted no time in securing the services of Harold "Pee Wee" Reese today, one day after the former big-league shortstop had been fired as manager by the Detroit Tigers.

"We are pleased to be able to tell you that Pee Wee Reese has agreed to come on board as hitting coach," General Manager Lee McPhail told reporters this afternoon. "He may have fallen from favor in Detroit, but we here in Cleveland pride ourselves in having established a leadership team of the highest caliber. Pee Wee fits well with our plans. Above all, we value Reese's dignified approach to the game and his quiet aggressiveness."

McPhail merely smiled when asked how Leo Durocher fits with that definition of "dignified approach," saying only that the team also values diversity.

Reese was unavailable for comment, as was manager Al Lopez, who hinted earlier this week that the Indians would find a spot for Reese should he be released by Detroit.

James "Cool Papa" Bell, the team's hitting coach since its days in Brooklyn, has been retained as chief of advance scouting. He will oversee a small team of former players who scout Indians' opponents. During spring training, Bell had expressed a desire to stop traveling with the team but agreed to remain as hitting coach until a suitable replacement was found.

Reese is expected to join the team tomorrow.

--- Herk Creston in the Cleveland Plain-Dealer

Detroit Press Release

2005-06-18T11:36:00.000-05:00

The Detroit Tigers wish to confirm the following personnel changes:

Sparky Anderson will be replacing Pee Wee Reese as manager. He will also be serving as bench coach.

Earl Weaver has been promoted from Elmira and will be the new first base coach.

Virgil Trucks has been released and will be replaced by Dizzy Trout. The new bullpen coach is Sal Maglie.

George Kell will replace Andy Pafko as hitting instructor.

Lindsay Nelson will fill the vacancy in the Tigers' broadcast booth next to Ernie Harwell.

The Tigers will be holding a press conference on May 6 with Mr. Anderson and Mr. Bavasi to discuss these changes, as well as other issues.

May 4, 1962: Looking for Traction, Yogi Shakes Things Up

2005-06-18T08:09:00.000-05:00

Boston Globe, May 4, 1962

His squad having struggled through a difficult season-opening month, Minuteman player-manager Yogi Berra announced this morning a set of roster changes he hopes will right his listing ship. The team opens a weekend series versus the Kiner Division-leading Houston Buffs tonight.

Off to a hot start with the AAA Providence Grays, 21-year-old infielder Tommy Harper has been promoted to the parent club to take the roster spot of center fielder Lou Brock, who suffered a hamstring injury last night in Boston’s win in Detroit.

“Lou’s game is all about speed,” noted Yogi. “If he’s hobbled, he’s not going to be able to bring to the table what we need. It’s best for him to get healed and come back 100%. In the meantime, Harper’s speed will be a big help. We’ve been playing too much station-to-station ball – this kid can make things happen.”

Berra indicated he will work Harper into the lineup slowly, giving him a chance to get his feet wet against left-handed starting pitching. When Boston faces southpaws Harper will play third base, his position with the Grays, with Frank Thomas moving to left field.

Said Yogi, “It looks like we’ll be facing Billy Pierce tomorrow afternoon, so Harper will get to play then, top of the lineup. That’s a tough debut, leading off against a 200-game winner, but we want to see what the kid can do.”

Rookie Ted Savage, who has played well (.273 with a homerun and a stolen base) in a limited role, will get the bulk of Brock’s playing time in center field.

Berra also announced the promotion of right-handed pitchers Dave Giusti, Lee Stange, and Johnny Wyatt from Providence.

Stange and Wyatt had cups of coffee with Boston in 1961, with mixed results. Stange compiled a 2.84 ERA and had one save in 13 innings, though he did yield 15 hits and 7 walks in that time. Wyatt was 0-1 with an ERA of 10.13 over eight innings, giving up 18 hits, including two homeruns, over that stretch.

Giusti, a product of upstate New York – he grew up in Seneca Falls and attended Syracuse University – is a 22-year-old getting his first taste of The Show.

To make room for this trio, southpaws Ted Bowsfield and Arnold Earley and right-hander Bob Duliba were farmed out to Providence. All three have scuffled so far this season: Earley is 0-2 with a 10.61 ERA and has yielded 17 hits and 8 walks in 9 innings of work; Bowfield is 0-1 with a 4.61 ERA; and Duliba, while sporting a respectable 3.75 ERA, is 0-3 working out of the bullpen.

Berra said Duliba, who logged nine appearances totaling 11 innings over the first three weeks of the season, is suffering “a tired arm.” The veteran right-hander was tight-lipped as he cleared out his Fenway Park locker this morning.

“Look,” said Yogi, “I can’t and won’t sugar-coat it. We’ve been playing poorly.” (Indeed, after winning three of its first four games, the team dropped 12 of its next 14, finishing April with a 5-12 record.) “I never expected to seriously contend this season, but I do expect us to play hard and improve significantly over last season. Thus far it isn’t happening, and our pitching is the problem.”

Boston pitchers have given up a league-worst 131 runs, the team ERA a smidgeon better than Cincinnati’s only because 27 of those runs have been unearned. Opposing batters have tattooed Boston hurling for a .301 average – the next worst in the league is .283.

Cincy snaps 13-game skid

2005-06-17T18:01:00.000-05:00

May 3, 1962

The Cincinnati Reds snapped their 13-game losing streak with a 4-to-3 victory over the San Diego Padres in front of 11,138 fans at Crosley Field earlier today.

The Reds scored two in the bottom of the eighth to turn a 3-to-2 deficit into their winning margin. Roman Mejias led off the inning with a sharp double to right center off Dick Donovan.

After Johnny Blanchard lined out, Duke Snider drove the ball over the head of left fielder Harmon Killebrew, who was playing the pull-hitting 35-year-old slugger dangerously shallow. Snider motored to third before Killebrew could chase down his drive and get the ball back to the infield.

Mejias's run tied the score.

Ty Cline, the next batter, grounded to short, and third base coach Virgil Stallcup unwisely sent Snider to the plate. Rookie Dal Maxvill's throw cut him down. Eddie Kasko followed with a two-out single, though, and Bubba Phillips scored Cline with the go-ahead run by singling up the middle.

Phillips was a surprise entrant in the game, taking over when third-string catcher Joe Pignatano left the game due to injury. Pignatano collided with Ernie Banks when Maxvill's throw on an infield grounder pulled the first baseman off the bag. Pignatano was called out for leaving the basepath.

With no catchers left on his roster--Mike Roarke had stayed home with the flu, and Johnny Edwards is still out with a sprained ankle--Fred Hutchinson asked the jack-of-all-trades Phillips to catch the final four innings.

The 34-year-old graduate of Southern Mississippi, who has played the outfield and all four infield positions during his eight-year PWBL career, did more than merely fill in. He took out his bat and shattered Cincinnati's franchise-record losing streak.

Earl Lawson
Cincinnati Star and Post

Reds lose tenth straight

2005-06-16T07:37:00.000-05:00

April 29, 1962

CINCINNATI AT HOUSTON
Reds............ 0 2 0  0 0 0  0 0 0  -  2  7  1
Buffs........... 2 1 2  0 0 0  0 0    -  5 12  0
Win:Pascual(2-0) Loss:Jackson(1-5)
Homeruns- E.Kasko(2nd), O.Cepeda(6th), R.Colavito(5th)

The Cincinnati Reds lost their tenth straight game on Sunday, dropping a 5-to-2 decision to the Buffs in Houston.

Orlando Cepeda and Rocky Colavito homered to back Camilo Pascual's complete-game pitching. Al Jackson lost his fifth game of the season. He lasted six innings, surrendering five runs on ten hits.

New Cincinnati owner Terry Cappellieri and GM Bill DeWitt have been mum on the fate of Reds skipper Fred Hutchinson during the team's losing streak. The 42-year-old ex-pitcher, who served as pitching coach in Detroit before taking the controls in Cincinnati last year, led the Reds to a 69-93 record in their first season in the PWBL.

Hutchinson has been hurt by the loss of Ken Hunt, the team's offensive leader last season (36 homers, 95 rbi's). The 26-year-old centerfielder accidentally shot his foot in a hunting accident in his native North Dakota during the offseason.

Only Johnny Blanchard, the 29-year-old first baseman and catcher who was originally drafted by the Washington Senators in 1955, has stepped up to shoulder some of the offensive load this year. Blanchard has four homeruns and 12 rbi's. No one else on the Reds has more than two homers and eight runs driven in.

If Cappellieri and DeWitt decide to replace Hutchinson, they may have to look no further than the Reds' bench for a successor. Dick Sisler, Hutchinson's bench coach, is known to harbor managerial ambitions.

The son of the great George Sisler won a "Mulcahy ring" with Houston in 1949, giving him the chance to learn strategy from one of the PWBL's alltime great managers--Moe Berg.

Snoring Through Springtime

2005-06-16T00:58:00.000-05:00

Somewhere, stretched out in a corner of a flower-dappled pasture, slumbers the well-lathed bat of Henry Aaron. Nearby, engulfed in a rhapsody of grunts and snorts, lay more "Sluggers" bearing the names Malzone, Adair, Sievers and Coleman. They have snored through the first 14 games of the current baseball campaign, blissfully unencumbered by any violent act that might resemble, say, contact with a pitched ball.
That the team for which they "toil" should have won 10 of those 14 games and sport the second best record in all the universe is due in no small measure to the Indians' pitching staff --- which, as of this writing, stood atop the PWBL with an earned run average of 2.79. Of course, in this young season, that second-best universal record is not playoff worthy, because the first best universal record belongs to the Seattle Pilots, who also occupy the same division as the Indians. Seattle's pitching staff is a nose behind Cleveland, with a 2.86 ERA. Pilot hitters, on the other hand, also are a nose out of the offensive top spot as well, trailing only Philadelphia .294 to .291.
Cleveland hiiters, on the other hand, are hitting .239 --- way down in the nether regions, fourth from the bottom. It is not difficult to see why.
* Jerry Adair, he of the tin glove, is hitting .158, has a double and has driven in a run. He has walked once and struck out 15 times in 57 at bats. He has about as much familiarity with the strike zone these days as Marlon Brando has with proper diction.
* Frank Malzone is slightly better, hitting .175 --- but he has homered twice and driven in five runs in 51 at bats.
* Roy Sievers, who in his dotage is only slightly more agile than the Creature from the Black Lagoon, is bashing the ball at a steady .167 clip.
* Gordy Coleman has three home runs and eight driven across, but his average, too, is .175 and he has yet to draw a single walk in 40 at bats. Some observers can't remember El Gordo even suffering enough patience to work a full count.
* And then there is Hammerin' Hank. Compared to the aforementioned Thundering Nerd, Aaron's batting average is a stratospheric .245 over 57 plate appearances. But the power outage that plagued him during the second half of 1961 continues --- he has one double and one home run and has driven in all of five runs. This from the hide whacker who hit 62 homers not long ago. New York's Willie Mays has seven homers, as does San Diego's Harmon Killebrew. Even a spaghetti-bat like the Cardinals' Richie Ashburn has two.
The Indians have been kept afloat by their pitching staff, and some well-timed hitting from three unlikely sources: Del Crandall (.366, 3 HR, 7 RBI), Zorro Versailles (.333, 2 HR, 7 RBI) and Chuck Hinton (.291, 3 HR, 8 RBI). Among the staff, Dick Farrell has been nothing short of Serling-esque (4-0, 1.80 ERA)
But they need help. Someone --- Al Lopez? James Bell? Leo? --- needs to toss a cherry bomb into that pasture. The silence coming from those slumbering bats is deafening.

--- Herk Creston for the Cleveland Plain-Dealer

Roberts, Wynn add to win totals

2005-06-15T14:30:00.000-05:00

April 28, 1962

200-game winners Robin Roberts and Early Wynn added to their win totals earlier today.

Roberts went seven innings, yielding three runs on ten hits to the Boston Minutemen, in notching his 237th career victory for the New York Mets. Roberts has lost 208 games.

Meanwhile, Early Wynn got his first victory of the 1962 season, lasting seven innings and giving up four runs on ten hits, as the Chicago White Sox outscored the Cleveland Indians by 10 to 5. Wynn evened his career record at 201-201.

Superman is alive and well

2005-06-15T14:17:00.000-05:00

Superman is alive and well and wears number 32 for the Tigers. Today, Sandy Koufax won the game singlehandedly, pitching 12 shutout innings against the Giants, and singling in the top of the twelfth to assist in producing his team's only run. His previous outing was a one-hit gem, and again he needed to be nearly perfect because of the lack of run support the Tigers have shown. "I'm just doing all I can to help the team", Koufax said after the game.

I don't mean to sound crotchety here, but Sandy is doing his part, and it's time for everyone else - players, coaches and owners - to step up and perform. There is plenty of talent on this team, and everyone performs up to a fraction of their ability the Tigers should be at .500 at least. Maybe then we wouldn't have the managerial strife we seem to be afflicted with now. And if nothing else changes, I'll take solace in the fact that I can watch pitching artistry every fifth day the Tigers play.

Joe Falls
Detroit Free Press

Drysdale warned for throwing at batters

2005-06-15T06:06:00.000-05:00

April 28, 1962

Don Drysdale of the Washington Senators was warned by the league office after twice hitting Bill White with pitches in yesterday's 10-to-8 loss to the Los Angeles Stars.

Drysdale coughed up three gopher balls and surrendered ten runs--eight of them earned--in being hung with his fourth straight loss of the PWBL season.

Drysdale drilled White in the first after Maury Wills had led off with a double and Jerry Lumpe picked up the run with a single through the box. The 24-year-old righthander knocked White down again in the sixth after Carl Sawatski and Jim Marshall had touched him for back-to-back homers in the fifth. Sawatski's was a grand slam.

Commissioner Moe Berg's office was not specific about the nature of the warning issued to Drysdale, although a source close to the commissioner hinted at a substantial fine.

Hymie Wiseman
New York Telegraph-American

LOPEZ MUM ON REESE

2005-06-14T16:08:00.000-05:00

They go way back, do Al Lopez and Harold Reese, the roots of their friendship steeped in minor league duty when Lopez was a coach and Reese a young shortstop struggling to regain his skills after World War II.

Now, Reese is manager of the Detroit Tigers --- a team with high expectations and thus far faltering performances. It is widely rumored that Reese soon will be fired and replaced with Sherm Lollar. That, says Lopez, is an inevitable risk in a league as competitive as the PWBL.

"I have great sympathy for Harold," Lopez said to a gaggle of Cleveland reporters gathered in the lobby of Chicago's famed Drake Hotel. "We all know that owners and general managers get impatient when they think they've got a pennant winner. Someone has to take the fall when injuries hit, or some players don't live up to expectations, and the club struggles. It has to be someone's fault."

Had he heard from Reese, Lopez was asked?

"Not directly, no." the Senor said, with enough hedge in his voice and choice of words to lead even the casual listener down a different path.

If Reese were let go, would Lopez offer him a spot with Cleveland?

"Listen, boys," Lopez said, "I can't be accused of tampering. If Harold is out of work, and interested in coming here, the Indians would probably welcome the chance to bring him on board. But that's a decision for the owners. I'm just an employee."

Sure, and the Tafts are just another Ohio clan.

It is no secret that hitting coach James "Cool Papa" Bell wants to retire, and it's no secret that management would like to accommodate him --- given the team's aenemic offensive production to date. But the aging Negro League legend won't be allowed to creak off into the sunset until Lopez and General Manager Lee McPhail agree on a replacement (trust us, the human fulminate of mercury known as Leo Durocher ain't the guy). That replacement could be Harold "Pee Wee" Reese, but developments depend on events in Detroit.

All Cleveland can do is stay tuned.

--- Herk Creston for the Cleveland Plain-Dealer

Lollar next Detroit skipper?

2005-06-14T15:48:00.000-05:00

April 27, 1962
Houston Buffs' GM Paul Richards declined to confirm or deny press reports that the Tigers front office has asked permission to interview Sherm Lollar for the Detroit managerial job, should it come open.

Unhappiness in Detroit with Pee Wee Reese is the worst kept secret in PWBL baseball. The Tigers have won only four of their first 15 games, scoring an average of just three runs per nine innings.

Lollar was drafted by the Tigers in the inaugural 1946 draft, but transferred to Houston along with Billy Pierce in the trade that brought Roy Campanella to Detroit. "Campy" won the Most Valuable Player award in 1954 when the Tigers captured the Mulcahy Cup.

Currently the Buffs' pitching coach, the 37-year-old Lollar has been relegated to third-string status on the defending Mulcahy Cup winners. The Durham, Ark., native refused to comment when asked about the rumors of his move back to Detroit.

Bubba Bright
The Houston Post

Cash homer keys Tiger comeback; heat off Reese for now

2005-06-14T11:27:00.000-05:00

The Tigers showed some signs of life today in capping a thrilling 5-4 10 inning victory over the LA Stars today. Down 3-1 in the 8th, Leo Cardenas slugged a solo HR to make it 3-2. Reliever Harvey Haddix gave up a run in the top of the ninth on an Allison single and a Battey double sandwiched between 3 strikeouts. All looked lost in the bottom of the ninth when Elston Howard grounded into a double play, but with two out McCovey singled and Cash belted the next pitch into the third row of the upper deck to tie the game. Tom Cheney retired the side in the top of the tenth, and in the bottom of the inning three straight Tiger singles broke the tie.

Mangaer Pee Wee Reese said "Our boys played hard today and didn't give up, and today we finally got a good result. They really have been playing hard all year, but we just haven't been scoring the runs." Despite the hard-earned victory, Detroit was only able to elevate their record to 4-10, 5 games behind the first place Mets. Since their 0-8 start, speculation has been rampant about Reese's job, especially after he admitted to having some personal problems affect his performance for the first 4 games of the year. "We need to keep doing what we're doing. We have a good team and things will turn around shortly", Reeses commented. Hopefully a few more wins like this will be enough to keep the sharks at bay.

Joe Falls
DEtroit Free Press

Spahn outduels Pierce for 290th

2005-06-12T18:35:00.000-05:00

April 24, 1962


HOUSTON AT ST. LOUIS
Buffs........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 - 1 5 1
Cardinals....... 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1   - 2 6 0
Win:Spahn(2-1) Loss:Ferrarese(0-1)
Homeruns- V.Pinson(1st)

St. Louis -- In a duel between two old warhorses, Warren Spahn of the St. Louis Cardinals won the 290th game of his storied career, besting fellow 200-game winner Billy Pierce of the Houston Buffs by 2 to 1 at Sportsman's Park here.

A sacrifice fly by Jim Gentile in the eighth scored Ed Charles with the winning run. Charles had led off with a single and stole second before being moved to third on an infield single by Mickey Mantle.

"Three hundred wins is a goal that I have been aiming at for some time now. I look at it this way, aiming for wins is both an individual and a team goal," Spahn told reporters afterwards as he upped his season mark to 2-1 while lowering his ERA to 3.21.

Spahn tossed a complete game, scattering five hits and walking none. The 17-year veteran, who celebrated his 41st birthday yesterday, struck out four in running his career record to 290 wins against 223 losses.

Vada Pinson's seventh-inning solo homerun accounted for the only Houston run and tied the game at 1 to 1. Tommie Aaron's run-scoring single put Spahn and the Cardinals on top in the second.

Pierce tossed seven innings, yielding four hits and walking three, before being lifted for a pinchhitter in the eighth. Don Ferrarese (0-1) took the loss in relief.

The 35-year-old Pierce's lifetime record stayed at 230 wins against 124 losses. Robin Roberts of the New York Mets remains second to Spahn in career PWBL wins with 236.

"Spahn was really aggressive today. He kept coming after our hitters. Heck, why not? He kept sitting our guys down one after another like so many bowling pins!" Eddie Joost, the Buffs' manager, lamented after the game.

Koufax one-hits Chi Sox

2005-06-12T17:06:00.000-05:00

April 22, 1962

Sandy Koufax came within five outs of a no-hitter and settled for a one-hit shutout at Crawford Field as the Detroit Tigers edged the Chicago White Sox by 1 to 0.

Koufax (1-2) was virtually untouchable. He allowed just hit and walked two in nine innings. The Brooklyn-born southpaw, Cy Young Award-winner last season in the Federal League, struck out 12 Chicago batters in lowering his ERA from 5.40 to 3.05.

Koufax lost his no-hit bid when Bob Tillman singled up the middle with one out in the eighth inning. The 26-year-old retired the final five hitters, though, to preserve the seventh shutout of his eight-year PWBL career.

Earl Wilson (1-3) suffered the loss in relief, yielding the game's only run on singles to Tom Haller and Billy Moran. Chicago starter Bob Bruce hurled five innings of shutout ball, but came away with nothing to show for his effort.

"He had his good stuff out there this afternoon. The fans really get into it when the strikeouts start mounting up, and that seems to give him even more adrenalin," Pee Wee Reese, the Detroit manager, said of Koufax's performance after the game.


Chicago..... 0 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 0  -  0  1  0
Detroit..... 0 0 0  0 0 1  0 0    -  1  7  2
Win: Koufax (1-2)   Loss: Wilson (1-3)
Homeruns--None

White hits three homeruns for Stars

2005-06-12T07:00:00.000-05:00

April 21, 1962

LOS ANGELES AT PHILADELPHIA
Stars........... 2 0 0  0 4 1  1 0 1  -  9 12  0
Phillies........ 0 1 0  0 3 0  1 2 0  -  7 10  1
Win:Francis(2-0) Loss:Regan(0-2) Save:Schultz(4th)
Homeruns- J.Lumpe(2nd), B.White-3(4th), S.Musial(1st)

Bill White ripped three homeruns at Shibe Park where the Los Angeles Stars outscored the Philadelphia Phillies by 9 to 7.

White cracked a two-run shot in the first inning, ripped another solo shot in the fifth, and added a final roundtripper in the ninth. The homeruns gave the 27-year-old Florida native four on the season and 73 in his six-year PWBL career.

Los Angeles rapped out 12 hits for the night. Jerry Lumpe also hit a three-run homerun in the fifth.

The victory was credited to Earl Francis (2-0) who went seven innings, allowing five runs. Barney Schultz earned his 4th save. Phil Regan (0-2) was saddled with the loss. He coughed up three gopher balls in his five innings of work.

"Sure, I had a big day, but there's a lot of credit to go around," White said after the game. "We played well together as a team."

The last time three homeruns were hit in a PWBL game was August 6 of last year, when Mickey Mantle of the St. Louis Cardinals skied three against the New York Mets.

FARRELL, GREEN Do Damage

2005-06-10T19:08:00.000-05:00

Dick Farrell never liked the notion of leaving San Francisco. The pitcher known as "Turk" had settled in nicely in a high-rise apartment, with a fine view of San Francisco Bay and only a short drive to the Giants' ballyard. Gorgeous sunsets lit up his evenings. Now he lives in an apartment within smelling distance of the Lake, and the evening light is just as likely to come from yet another patch of burning water on dear old Erie. The contrast must be mind bending.
"They even named a street after me," he said, referring to "Turk Street," an east-west artery through downtown San Francisco.
But all that West Coast love ended recently when Farrell, along with outfielder Lenny Green, was dispatched to Cleveland in exchange for outfielder Ron Fairly and pitcher Roger Craig. Green welcomed the change; Farrell did not.
"I don't think they gave me much of a chance," Farrell said after throwing a nifty three-hit complete game victory over the Giants yesterday. "I guess I showed them today."
So did Green, who homered and drove in a pair of runs --- all the offensive help Farrell needed in his 6-1 triumph. Farrell ran his record to 3-0 and lowered his earned run average to 2.08. Green, who also singled in four at bats, raised his average to .297. Thus far, the deal has worked fine for the Tribe, whose management was criticized for dumping its leading hitter from the 1961 campaign. Fairly, who took the collar in three at bats yesterday, still is hitting .357.
"Sweet revenge," Farrell chortled.
"Just another day," added Green.

April 19, 1962: Berra Belts 450th Homer

2005-06-10T11:48:00.000-05:00

Yogi Berra's three-run, game-tying blast in the fourth inning was the 450th homerun of his PWBL career


BOXSCORE: 1962 Dallas Colts At 1962 Boston Minutemen                4/19/1962

  Colts              AB  R  H RBI AVG     Minutemen          AB  R  H RBI AVG
  C.Hiller 2B         5  0  2  0 .357     N.Larker 1B         4  0  0  0 .417
  B.Aspromonte 3B     4  0  0  0 .375     L.Brock CF          5  1  1  0 .276
  L.Thomas 1B         4  0  0  0 .244     F.Thomas 3B         4  1  1  0 .182
  M.Jimenez LF        5  1  2  0 .233     C.Maxwell LF        3  1  0  0 .200
F-F.Mantilla LF       0  0  0  0 .182     F.Howard RF         4  2  2  2 .222
  R.Snyder RF         5  2  2  0 .314     Y.Berra C           2  1  1  3 .278
  B.Virdon CF         4  2  3  2 .326     T.Bowsfield P       0  0  0  0 ----
  J.Pagan SS          4  2  3  4 .361   D-G.Banks PH          0  0  0  0 .000
  R.Nixon C           3  0  1  1 .318   E-T.Savage PR         0  0  0  0 .143
A-G.Triandos C        2  0  0  0 .250     B.Duliba P          0  0  0  0 ----
  J.Hook P            3  0  1  0 .125     B.Lillis 2B         4  0  2  1 .200
C-D.Stuart PH         1  0  0  0 .067     D.Zimmer SS         4  0  0  0 .280
  T.Morgan P          0  0  0  0 .000     D.Stenhouse P       2  0  0  0 .000
  V.Law P             0  0  0  0 ----   B-B.Schmidt C         2  0  0  0 .167
                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- --- 
         Totals      40  7 14  7                 Totals      34  6  7  6

A-Subbed Defensively (C ) For Nixon In 6th Inning
B-Subbed Defensively (C ) For Stenhouse In 7th Inning
C-Pinch Hit For Hook In 8th Inning
D-Pinch Hit For Bowsfield In 8th Inning
E-Pinch Ran For Banks In 8th Inning
F-Subbed Defensively (LF) For Jimenez In 9th Inning

INJURY: Russ Nixon INJURED (for 0 more games) in 6th inning
INJURY: Manny Jimenez INJURED (for 6 more games) in 9th inning

Colts........... 0 3 0  0 0 0  3 0 1  -  7 14  0
Minutemen....... 0 0 0  3 0 0  0 3 0  -  6  7  0

Colts                    IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR  PC    ERA
J.Hook                    7       3   3   3   3   3   1 121   1.96
T.Morgan                  0 2/3   3   3   3   0   1   0  24  13.50
V.Law WIN(1-0) BS(2nd)    1 1/3   1   0   0   1   0   0  25   0.00
Totals                    9       7   6   6   4   4   1

Minutemen                IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR  PC    ERA
D.Stenhouse               6 2/3  12   6   6   2   4   1 132   6.75
T.Bowsfield               1 1/3   0   0   0   0   0   0  20   8.10
B.Duliba LOSS(0-2)        1       2   1   1   1   0   0  19   6.75
Totals                    9      14   7   7   3   4   1

ATTENDANCE- 32,589 DATE- Thursday, April 19th 1962 TIME- Night WEATHER- Average
T- 2:19
LEFT ON BASE- Colts:10  Minutemen: 5
DOUBLE PLAYS- Colts: 0  Minutemen: 1
DOUBLES- M.Jimenez(2nd), R.Snyder-2(4th), B.Virdon(3rd), R.Nixon(3rd)
TRIPLES- F.Howard(2nd)
HOME RUNS- J.Pagan(1st), Y.Berra(2nd)
WALKS- L.Thomas, B.Virdon, J.Pagan, N.Larker, C.Maxwell, Y.Berra, G.Banks
HIT BY PITCH- B.Aspromonte
STRIKE OUTS- L.Thomas-2, J.Pagan, J.Hook, F.Thomas, C.Maxwell, F.Howard,
             D.Stenhouse
WILD PITCHES- B.Duliba

O'Dell Fined by Club

2005-06-10T07:36:00.000-05:00

According to team sources, Billy O'Dell was fined $1,250 for a violent outburst inside the team clubhouse after being pulled for pinch-hitter Joe Cunningham in today's 12-6 loss to the in-state rival LA Stars. O'Dell reportedly knocked over the dinner spread and took a bat to a teammate's locker. The same source identified the locker as belonging to third baseman/outfielder Al Smith, whom O'Dell was visibly upset with during the loss, apparently for Smith's lack of defensive concentration at the hot corner. Neither manager Vern Stephens nor general manager Gene Mauch offered any comment after the game.

Pilots win eighth straight

2005-06-10T07:17:00.000-05:00

April 19, 1962
Bill Mazeroski hit one over the fence and had 3 RBI and Dennis Bennett hurled a two-hitter at Crosley Field where the blistering-hot Seattle Pilots beat the Cincinnati Reds by 10 to 3.

Mazeroski cracked a solo homerun (his 3rd of the season) in the fifth after doubling in two runs in the opening frame. Seattle had a total of 13 hits for the game in winning for the eighth straight time.

Bennett (2-0), a rookie lefthander, picked up the complete game victory, yielding three runs. Al Jackson (1-2) suffered the loss. He allowed six hits and a walk in just two-thirds of an inning.

Giants lose Lock for two weeks

2005-06-10T07:00:00.000-05:00

April 19, 1962
The San Francisco Giants' 2-to-1 ten-inning win over the Chicago White Sox proved costly Thursday night when starting leftfielder Don Lock was lost to the team for two weeks.

Lock said that he heard something "pop" when he swung at strike three in the first inning against Sox starter Hal Woodeshick.

When asked for his diagnosis, team doctor Hugo Z. Hackenbush said, "Lock heard something 'pop.'"

The White Sox also lost a player for two weeks in the same game when starting rightfielder Howie Goss pulled a ribcage muscle in the third inning, swinging at a third strike from Giants' starter Jim Kaat.

Goss said later that he "heard something 'pop'" when he swung at the pitch.

Gilliam's two-year slump

2005-06-09T22:50:00.000-05:00

Houston Buffs' manager Eddie Joost is beginning to wonder if Junior Gilliam will ever break out of his two-year slump. By the end of June last year, Gilliam was still hitting under .230. (He finished at .245.) So far this season he has one hit in 23 at bats. Joost has moved the 33-year-old, nine-year veteran to leadoff, hoping that the pressure to get on base will force Gilliam to concentrate upon what he is doing. If he doesn't snap out of his slump, Joost may shift Eddie Bressoud to third and start Ruben Amaro at short.

Chicago White Sox 1962 preseason preview

2005-06-09T22:14:00.000-05:00

Projected Record: 73-89
Project finish: 3rd Gordon Division

Manager:
It was obvious that Hodges was uncomfortable taking over for the Windy City icon Luke Appling last season, whom he played under for 7+ seasons. He rode out the season while maintaining the 'status quo', making very little changes to the lineups or rotations that Appling had entered the season with. 1962 will be a completely different story. After an offseason pow-wow with GM Bobby Doerr and a vote of confidence from owner Chris Thomas, Hodges opened spring training with the announcement that 'All positions are up for grabs'. Hodges' philosophy is not drastically different from Appling's, not a big surprise since that's who he learned from, but his style is somewhat different. Appling was more of a numbers manager who seemed to always play the percentages, whereas Hodges seems to be more of a player's coach who will go with his gut feeling rather than by the book at times. It remains to be seen how the players will respond to this, but we believe it is a breath of fresh air.
Grade: C

Rotation:
This is a staff in disarray... gone are Ted Bowsfield and Joe McLain (1961 team innings leader) and moved to the bullpen is Joe Gibbon. In their place are three unproven commodities – Hank Aguirre, Bob Bruce and Earl Wilson. Lets start with the things that remain unchanged from 1961... Early Wynn and Jon Buzhardt. Health issues limited Early Wynn to only 128 innings in 17 starts for the 1961 season, his lowest total since 1949. If he can regain his health and return to his old form the White Sox have a bonafide ace, but at 42 can he bounce back like a younger man would? John Buzhardt was first among starters in ERA over the '61 campaign and one of only 3 White Sox pitchers with sub-4 ERA. This 26 year old, acquired via trade with San Diego, is probably the most dependable of all the White Sox hurlers. Hank Aguirre, a 2nd round draft pick in the 1955 draft, moves from the bullpen to starter role. Apparently Hodges sees something he likes in this 31 year old journeyman, and let's hope he's right since this is probably Aguirre's last chance in the majors after 7 years of little action. Bob Bruce and Earl Wilson (acquired in deal including Dick Stigman and first round selection Dave McNally) are both relatively unproven, but honestly the bar has been set pretty low for the 4th and 5th ChiSox starters and it would hard for them to be worse than their 1961 couterparts. All of these changes beg the question... where is Mike Cuellar? This first round draft pick in 1959 has yet to log a single inning in the PWBL while players like Joe Gibbon and Bob Bruce have already contributed although they were later picks. Overall much of this staff is comepletely unproven, but should be a bit of an improvement over the horrible 1961 starters.
Grade: D

Bullpen:
Again the pitching disarray is apparent in a Sox bullpen which boasts only 1 proven effective reliever. Don Larsen, whose 9 year career has been somewhat inconsistent, is coming off a very strong 1961 season and looks to be the ace of this pen. The rest of this crew is nothing but question marks. Russ Kemmerer (statistically the Sox's best pitcher in 1961), Warren Hacker (who blew 7 saves in only 17 opportunitIes) and John Gabler (who led the team in wins with 12 out of the bullpen) were all released in the offseason. In an attempt to make up for these losses Hodges will move Joe Gibbon, 1961 team leader in wins among starters, to the bullpen. Doerr also made several moves to acquire Claude Raymond, Jim Golden and veteran Frank Sullivan. Raymond and Golden are still unproven, but pitching coach Ed Lopat likes both of their stuff. Golden is a workhorse type who can also start if the need should arise. The 42 year old Sullivan, a starter most of his career, moves to the bullpen in an attempt to extend his career. Hodges could also call upon Hal Woddeshick or Bob Miller to burn some innings out of the pen. Woodeshick, 30, has been a big disappointment after Doerr traded Wally Post for his rights during the 1956 draft. Miller looked to be on his way to a strong career until he suffered a disappointing 1961 season, but at only 23 he may still have some good days ahead. Overall, it may be a mistake to expect much out of this crew, but it’s hard to imagine them being worse than their couterparts last season.
Grade: D

Catching:
Returning from last year's squad are Dick Bertell and Ken Retzer. Neither have a very good arm OR call a good game, but Retzer's potent bat (.328/.417/.459 in 71 plate appearances last season) and torrid spring gives some hope for them offensively. Retzer will probably get most of the time versus Righties with Bertell catching against Southpaws. The offseason pick up of John Orsino will probably have little impact on the '62 squad since he will start the season in the minors, but 2nd round draft pick Bob Tillman may have won himself a spot on the roster with his 7 spring training homers. Of all these players none have the kind of arm you'd like to see out of a major league catcher and there are question marks about their abilities to call a good game. Let's hope that Hodges, who played catcher early in his career, and veteran hurler Early Wynn can teach them a few things.
Grade: D

Infield:
There is reason to be excited about the White Sox infield this season. The emergence of Dick Howser last season has gone a long way in easing the sting of losing Ernie Banks following the '58 season. Howser was handed the leadoff spot as a rookie in 1961 and never looked back... riding his swift legs to 34 SB and 36 doubles, team leads in both. He also did an admirable job as a leadoff hitter in scoring 110 runs and forcing the pitchers to throw deep into the count, drawing 95 walks to lead the team. The Sox may have found the heir apparent to leadoff great Richie Ashburn in this young SS. Howser's doubleplay partner will again be Johnny Temple, who last season saw his OBP, SBs and AB slip from past levels. Some believe that his career is on the downswing, but Sox management maintains that at 35 he still has a lot left in the tank. If they are wrong Dick McAuliffe will see some time at secondbase, although he appeared overmatched much of last season. Returning at firstbase this season is Norm Siebern, who was second on the team with 20 HRs. Siebern showed good pitch selection last year (he drew 71 walks) and Hodges believes he is capable of driving in 100 runs and hitting 30 homers in the near future. The biggest question mark for this season's Sox infield is the Hot Corner. The pre-draft release of Andy Carey seemed to open the third base job to his platoon-mate Deron Johnson, but a spring training knee injury will probably shelve Johnson for the entire season. This injury may be a blessing in disguise, considering Johnson's abyssmal .179 BA average last season and the way Rich Rollins played in spring training (.358/.422/.516). Rollins might have beat out Johnson even if he had remained healthy.
Grade: B

Outfield:
The definite highlight of last season was watching the budding stars roam the White Sox outfield. This trio of lefties (Tony Gonzalez, Leon Wagner and Carl Yastrzemski) hit for a combined .291 average and were responsible for a whopping 60% of the team's runs, and with an average age of only 24 it looks like the best might be yet to come. The youngest of the three at 21, Yastrzemski might be the best of the bunch. He led the team in RBIs with 101 and played a stellar Leftfield... winning the Gold Glove. This combination of hitting and defense was enough to net him Rookie of the Year honors in the Federal League, only the second White Sox player to do so (Wally Post in 1955). Tony Gonzalez proved that Doerr knew what he was doing when trading Ashburn for him and then subsequently trading Curt Flood to hand him the CF job. Gonzalez, in his first full season for the Sox, was second on the team in batting average (.305) and stolen bases (18) plus showed signs of developing power. The Sox coaching staff believes that Gonzalez is due for a true breakout season in '62. Leon Wagner (27 - the old man of the bunch) was shifted to RF to make room for Yastrzemski prior to last season. Although only an average leftfielder he transitioned well to his new postion, but the move may have affected his offensive production early on. He started the season in a horrible slump, but returned to his 1958 rookie form around midseason and finished with 26 HRs and 91 RBIs. His strong finish should carry over to this season and it would be no surprise if he hit 40 HRs and drove in 120, although 30 and 100 is more likely. There's no reason not to expect this outfield to build on their 1961 success and continue it over the next eight or nine years.
Grade: A

Final Anlysis:
The final word for this team is change... especially on the pitching staff. Of the 10 pitchers with significant roles in 1961, 5 are gone and 2 will be expected to play completely different roles than they did in '61. In contrast the lineup is finally taking shape with much of the starters from last season returning, the first time that's been true since the infamous '58 fire sale. Offensively the team should be above average but that will be tempered by a pitching staff that projects to be well below the league average. All things considered, the White Sox should still be better than they were in 1961, how could they not be? The rookies will be one year older and wiser and the managing situation will be more stable. If Ed Lopat can coax even average performances out of the starters this team could surprise some folks.
Grade: D+

Projected Batting Order:
SS - Dick Howser
2B - Johnny Temple
1B - Norm Siebern
RF - Leon Wagner
LF - Carl Yastrzemski
CF - Tony Gonzalez
3B - Rich Rollins
C - Ken Retzer/Dick Bertell

Projected Rotation:
RHP - Early Wynn
RHP - John Buzhardt
LHP - Hank Aguirre
RHP - Earl Wilson
RHP - Bob Bruce

Projected Bullpen:
RHP - Don Larsen
LHP - Joe Gibbon
RHP - Jim Golden
LHP - Hal Woodeshick
RHP - Claude Raymond

PWBL blog open for business, June 9, 2005

2005-06-09T21:58:00.000-05:00

Let the posting begin!

- Jack

April 2, 1962: Big career marks likely to fall in ‘62

2005-06-04T19:04:00.000-05:00

Big River Weekly

As the PWBL prepares to open its 17th season, several players stand on the verge of significant career milestones, perhaps the most notable being St. Louis pitcher Warren Spahn.

Spahn needs 12 wins to reach 300. It would seen a reach for a 40-year-old pitcher, but Spahn won 19 games last year, 22 the year before than and 24 the pervious year. Even calculating a continued fall in wins, he would appear to have an excellent chance.

Only four pitchers in PWBL history have won at least 200 games. Beside Spahn, they are Robin Roberts, 234; Billy Pierce, 229; and Early Wynn, 200. The closest active pitcher to 200 is Curt Simmons with 170, who would have to exceed the league mark in single-season wins (28) to make it. Not likely.

Spahn also could achieve a less heralded mark by becoming the first pitcher to have 200 career complete games (he's 8 short).

Edie Mathews, averaging 43-plus homers a year, has a good chance at becoming the PWBL's career homerun leader. Although several other players have a shot at reaching it first, Mathews has the best chance to take the mark and hold it for some time. "Fast Eddie" enters the 1962 season with 431 career homers. The retired Ted Williams holds the all-time mark of 463.

Duke Snider is just 7 short of tying Williams, but the PWBL's royal slugger is winding down a Hall of Fame career. In the same situation is Yogi Berra who has 448 career homers, all with Boston. Still, these old war horses could surprise with 20-plus homer years, and hold the mark for a season or two.

Mathews is second only to HOF member Ralph Kiner in homers-averaged per season. Kiner averaged a shade over 44 a year in his 10-season career. Mathews is odds-on favorite to be the first to reach 500 career homers.

The 400-homer club is unlikely to change: Williams, 463; Snider, 456; Berra, 448; Kiner 441; Stan Musial and Mathews, 431; Mickey Mantle, 413. Gil Hodges is the closest at 368 but his production has been in sharp decline. Reaching double-digit homers would be a major surprise.

A mark that would equal or even exceed 300 careers wins in significance is 3,000 hits. And Musial is only 139 away entering '62. However, Stan the Man could only manage 114 hits last year and 94 the year before. Maybe if he gets close, Musial will get a second wind and become the first PWBL player to reach 3,000.

Musial already was the first to a number of milestones, including 2,000 hits, 100 triples, 400 doubles, 1,000 runs scored, 400 doubles. He is 7 doubles short of becoming the first to reach 500 doubles (no other player has yet reached 400 doubles or 100 triples, and only 7 others have reached 2,000 hits).

The closest player to Musial in hits is Asburn at 2,532. Ashburn is close to a major milestone, too. He is one stolen base from become the first player to reach 300 steals. (Ashburn has announced this will be his last season, after which he will join the Cardinals' or the White Sox's TV and radio team.)

Hoyt Wilhelm, if he is healthy, is expected to become first pitcher with 400 saves and to appear in 800 games. He leads both categories now. He is has 396 saves in 754 games, all but one in relief. His fewest annual save total was 19 in his rookie year, 1952. His fewest single-season game total was 54 in 1957.

The closest to him in career saves is Clem Labine with 143. The closest in game appearances is Spahn with 670. Wilhelm also holds the single-season marks in both categories (100 game appearances and 59 saves).

Single-season records are, obviously, impossible to predict. But eyes will be on Harmon Killebrew to see what it does for an encore after his record-setting 71 homers in 1961. The 60-or-more homer club is Killebrew; Mantle, 66, 1956; Hank Aaron, 62, 1960; and Roger Maris, 62, 1961.

1962 Managers, Coaches, and Front Office Personnel

2005-06-03T18:52:00.000-05:00

Boston Minutemen
Manager: Yogi Berra
First base coach: Gus Niarhos
Third base coach: Billy Southworth
Pitching coach: Satchel Paige
Hitting instructor: Eddie Robinson
Bullpen coach: Gus Niarhos
Bench coach: Billy Southworth
Head groundskeeper: Willie McGregor
Doctor: Julius Hibbert
Owner: Jack Spellman
General manager: Billy Southworth
Play by play: Ken Coleman
Color: Ned Martin

Chicago White Sox
Manager: Gil Hodges
First base coach: Bill Baker
Third base coach: Jimmy Dykes
Pitching coach: Ed Lopat
Hitting instructor: Grady Hatton
Bullpen coach: Ken Trinkle
Bench coach: Carl Furillo
Owner: Chris Thomas
General manager: Bobby Doerr
Play by play: Jack Brickhouse
Color: Harry Creighton

Cincinnati Reds
Manager: Fred Hutchinson
First base coach: Clyde Shoun
Third base coach: Virgil Stallcup
Pitching coach: Otis Douglas
Hitting instructor: Cot Deal
Bullpen coach: Pete Whisenant
Bench coach: Dick Sisler
Owner: Terry Cappellieri
General manager: Bill DeWitt Sr.
Play by play: Waite Hoyt
Color: Frank McCormick

Cleveland Indians
Manager: Al Lopez
First base coach: Gene Baker
Third base coach: Leo Durocher
Pitching coach: Bob Lemon
Hitting instructor: Cool Papa Bell
Bullpen coach: Walker Cooper
Bench coach: Emil Verban
Owner: A. G. Block
General manager: Lee McPhail
Play by play: Bill King
Color: Phil Cavarretta

Dallas Colts
Manager: Bobby Brown
First base coach: Johnny Pesky
Third base coach: Ray Boone
Pitching coach: Allie Reynolds
Hitting coach: Ferris Fain
Bench coach: Pete Castiglione
Bullpen coach: Don Newcombe
Play by play: Ted Williams
Color: Johnny Wyrostek

Detroit Tigers
Manager: Pee Wee Reese
First base coach: Sparky Anderson
Third base coach: Bob Swift
Pitching coach: Virgil Trucks
Hitting instructor: Andy Pafko
Bench coach: Martin DiHigo
Owner: Mike Kuduk
General manager: Buzzie Bavasi
Play by play: Ernie Harwell
Color: Dizzy Trout

Houston Buffs
Manager: Eddie Joost
First base coach: Willie Jones
Third base coach: Larry Doby
Pitching coach: Sherm Lollar
Hitting instructor: Eddie Yost
Bench coach: Sherm Lollar
Owner: David Myers
General manager: Paul Richards
Play by play: Milo Hamilton
Color: Joe Garagiola

Los Angeles Stars
Manager: Bobby Bragan
First base coach: George Case
Third base coach: Bill Rigney
Pitching coach: Freddie Fitzsimmons
Hitting instructor: Pete Reiser
Owner: Scott Silberfein
General manager: Carl Hubbell
Scorekeeper: Allan Roth
Play by play: Vin Scully
Color: Buddy Blattner

New York Mets
Manager: Birdie Tebbetts
First base coach: Babe Herman
Third base coach: Travis Jackson
Pitching coach: Dutch Leonard
Hitting instructor: Bob Elliott
Bullpen coach: Bill Dickey
Owner: Ron Patalona
General manager: Cookie Lavagetto
Play by play: Bob Murphy
Color: Ralph Kiner

Philadelphia Phillies
Manager: Walter Alston
First base coach: Monte Irvin
Third base coach: Pepper Martin
Pitching coach: Red Ruffing
Hitting instructor: Monte Irvin
Bullpen coach: Schoolboy Rowe
Bench coach: Ernie Lombardi
Owner: Roch Doran
General manager: Fred Haney
Play by play: Byrum Saam
Color: Gene Kelly

Pittsburgh Panthers
Manager: Casey Stengel
First base coach: Pete Daley
Third base coach: Willie Miranda
Pitching coach: Gerry Staley
Owner: Sandy Lohm
General manager: Pie Traynor
Play by play: Bob Prince
Color: Dick Bingham

San Diego Padres
Manager: Vern Stephens
First base coach: Rudy York
Third base coach: Preston Gomez
Pitching coach: Lefty Gomez
Bench coach: Lefty Gomez
Owner: Jim Correll
General manager: Gene Mauch
Play by play: Harry Caray
Color: Gus Mancuso

San Francisco Giants
Manager: Alvin Dark
First base coach: Whitey Lockman
Third base coach: Eddie Stanky
Pitching coach: Monte Kennedy
Hitting instructor: Dusty Rhodes
Bullpen coach: Sal Yvars
Bench coach: Charlie Dressen
Owner: David Atkinson
General manager: Larry McPhail
Play by play: Red Barber
Color: Mel Allen

Seattle Pilots
Manager: Ralph Houk
First base coach: Tuck Stainback
Third base coach: Frankie Crosetti
Pitching coach: Johnny Sain
Hitting instructor: Jeff Heath
Bench coach: Red Rolfe
Owner: Ed Daley
General manager: Charlie Gehringer
Play by play: Russ Hodges

St. Louis Cardinals
Manager: Danny Murtaugh
First base coach: Billy Hitchcock
Third base coach: Marty Marion
Pitching coach: Larry Jansen
Hitting instructor: Solly Hemus
Bench coach: Sam Chapman
Owner: Bill Enfield
General manager: Joe Gordon
Play by play: Jack Buck
Color: Dizzy Dean

Washington Senators
Manager: Dick Williams
First base coach: Wes Westrum
Third base coach: Jackie Robinson
Pitching coach: Wes Westrum
Hitting instructor: Harry Walker
Bench coach: Harry Walker
Owner: David Pinto
General manager: Dixie Walker
Play by play: Arch McDonald
Color: Bob Wolff

March 15, 1962: Senators Sack Boudreau, Hire Williams

2005-06-02T19:00:00.000-05:00

Dixie Walker, GM of the disappointing Washington Senators announced the sudden firing of Lou Boudreau this afternoon.

"When the team fell 30 games back in 1961," Walker stated, "we decided we needed to make a move. However, we could not find the right combination of alcoholism and sabermetric savvy until Dick Williams was released. We hope Dick takes more than a couple of years to wear out his welcome."

Williams was overjoyed.

"I thought I was going back to being a bouncer," said the new skipper, a man gruff beyond his years. "Now I get to kick the butts of players who are much better than I ever was!"

March 19, 1962: Another Season of Futility in Store for Boston Fans

2005-05-31T19:11:00.000-05:00

By Charles Hibernius Boyle, columnist, Boston Record-American

In its annual spring PR blitz for the hometown team, the Globe has, once again, printed the dependably disingenuous musings of Minuteman manager Yogi Berra, declining, once again, the opportunity to ask anything resembling a difficult question.

Predictably, the aging backstop takes a sunny view of the team's development and chances, ignoring his horrific 153-325 managerial record since the playoff-contending team of 1958 was dismantled at the start of the '59 campaign.

Here's a blow-by-blow translation of the puff piece for the team's beleaguered fans:

"I was hoping we would contend again before I hang 'em up, and, frankly, I don't think that's going to happen. We're still a couple seasons away..."

Folks, let's be clear: The Minutemen are, at minimum, a decade away from seriously contending. While Mr. Berra pays lip service to a youth movement, this is a team of aging sluggers at the corners (the leviathan Thomas at third, the fireplug-like Wertz at first) and behind the plate (Yogi himself), with an aging-slugger-in-the-making in right field (Frank Howard, a.k.a. the Bunker Hill Monument, which actually has greater foot speed than the plodding Boston fly-chaser.)

Where is the youth? Perpetual prospect (and disappointment) Don Buddin is 28. Every other infielder on the roster is on the wrong side of 30. Joe Torre is 21, Lou Brock - more on him later - 23, and that's about it. Even highly touted rookies Ted Savage and Dave Stenhouse are 26 and 28.

Speaking of the pitchers, that's where some experience might do some good. Instead, the Minutemen are going with a boatload of young arms, throwing these guys into the deep end, hoping to ride the ones who don't drown. Good luck!

"...this year's going to be especially tough, being in the same division [the Kiner] with Houston and San Diego, two of the league's powerhouses."

No kidding! Your humble correspondent sees this year's edition threatening last year's record-breaking 117-loss mark.

"But I do see the team improving enormously. Not to .500 yet, probably not, but enough that we'll cause problems and play a role in the league's pennant races."

When the time comes to compile an encyclopedia of the American vernacular, the above will serve as the entry for "Dark, Whistling in the."

I do agree with Yogi on one thing: This team will not play .500 ball.

Berra went on to assess his roster. Some choice comments:

"Frank Thomas is our anchor."

I'll say! Frank's got a post-career gig waiting for him at the U.S.S. Constitution.

"In the middle infield, Bob Lillis, Don Zimmer, and Don Buddin will split time. They all three can play second, short, and even spell Thomas at third."

Listen! Hear that? It's the collective sound of baseball fans in New England and the Canadian maritimes weeping and gnashing teeth. Is there another PWBL team that can boast a worse trio of no-range, no-offense, has-been/never-was infielders?

"Lou Brock will be in left, and leading off. He's going to be a real force, with his great speed."

As Minuteman radio voice Ned Martin is wont to say: Mercy. Boston fans are going to be treated to the leadoff stylings of a player who reached base exactly twice in 1961, albeit in just 21 plate appearances. It seems Yogi is not aware of the rule that prohibits stealing first base.

"And Dave Nicholson and Ted Savage will hold down center field."

I'm not feeling any better. Nicholson spent 1961 in Providence after whiffing 76 times in 181 at bats in 1960. Savage, while he has an undeniably major-league name, is an utterly unproved (and 26-year-old) quantity.

"Overall, the offense will improve."

Memo to Yogi: Wishing doesn't make it so.

"What killed us last year was our pitching - terribly inconsistent, and our lefties in particular had a hard time."

Yogi's putting lipstick on the pig. Sure, the pitching was awful in '61 - 941 runs allowed, league-worst, by 99 runs - but the offense stunk up the joint, too, scoring just 577 times - also a league-worst, by more than 100.

"Mudcat Grant had a fine season for us last year, and he's coming in as our number-one starting pitcher."

Er... 19 losses, 133 walks allowed, league-high 48 homers allowed, 155 runs allowed. Indeed, fine, fine work.

"We're moving Ray Washburn out of the bullpen and into the rotation."

This is the Ray Washburn who had to be shut down after throwing 24 innings, correct? Yes, move him into the rotation! Nothing could possibly go wrong with this plan!

"A guy I'm really excited about is Dave Stenhouse."

Mr. Stenhouse is this year's candidate for the annual role of overhyped late draft pick who won't amount to anything.

"I'm liking our flexibility - all of these guys can take on multiple roles as events warrant, just as a lot of our position players can move around as need be."

Move 'em anywhere you like, Yogi, they'll still stink the joint up.

"Bob Duliba will be our bullpen ace. He's a steady, veteran presence, just what you need in that role."

Duliba is the veteran who was 0-2 with a 7.64 ERA in 1960, then sat out most of last season nursing a sore arm. Just what you need in that role.

The rest of the interview was spent puffing up AAA ballplayers who won't amount to anything, I suppose in the hope of gulling some other team into overpaying for their "potential."

And, of course, the Globe again, in its role as mouthpiece for the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, went to bat on behalf of building a new stadium, this latest iteration supposedly to be located in Allston. There's more chance of Harvard jumping across the river and snapping up that real estate!

March 18, 1962: Yogi Excited by Boston's Youth Movement

2005-05-30T19:10:00.000-05:00

Special to the Boston Globe

In a wide-ranging interview with the Globe, Boston player-manager Yogi Berra discussed his team's rebuilding efforts, plans to build a new stadium, and the winding-down of his own playing career.

"I was hoping we would contend again before I hang 'em up, and, frankly, I don't think that's going to happen. We're still a couple seasons away, and this year's going to be especially tough, being in the same division [the Kiner] with Houston and San Diego, two of the league's powerhouses."

"But I do see the team improving enormously. Not to .500 yet, probably not, but enough that we'll cause problems and play a role in the league's pennant races."

Yogi offered a position-by-position look at this year's edition of the Minutemen.

"At catcher, we're grooming Joe Torre to take over. I'll get some at bats, and we'll find playing time for Bob Schmidt, but going forward, the position is Joe's."

"Norm Larker will be at first base, though Frank Howard may play a bit there to give Norm a break against tough southpaws. Frank Torre's a good first sacker, too, but we may look to deal him somewhere he can get more playing time - there's a logjam for us at the position, especially with Tim Harkness now available. Vic Wertz is another fella can play the position, but I see him as our number-one pinch-hitter. Like me, he's winding down."

"Frank Thomas is our anchor. He'll play third, mostly, though we can move him around if - I suppose I should say when - we get hit by injuries. He'll be in the middle of the lineup, too, and I think he's going to have another monster season."

"In the middle infield, Bob Lillis, Don Zimmer, and Don Buddin will split time. They all three can play second, short, and even spell Thomas at third."

"And I'm really excited about our outfield situation. Frank Howard is going to be playing every day in right. I believe he's going to have a breakout season for us. Lou Brock will be in left, and leading off. He's going to be a real force, with his great speed. Lou spent all last season on the major-league roster, but we used him primarily as a pinch-runner, just getting his feet wet.

"And Dave Nicholson and Ted Savage will hold down center field. They'll be in a rotation with Brock, so they'll all get a lot of at bats."

"Overall, the offense will improve. I'm confident we've got a legitimate leadoff hitter now in Brock, and some guys who will drive in runs from the middle of the order."

"What killed us last year was our pitching - terribly inconsistent, and our lefties in particular had a hard time. It's not easy for them to learn to pitch in Fenway, but I think Chris Short and Steve Hamilton are poised to improve in a big way."

"Mudcat Grant had a fine season for us last year, and he's coming in as our number-one starting pitcher. We're moving Ray Washburn out of the bullpen and into the rotation."

"A guy I'm really excited about is Dave Stenhouse. He has a nasty slider and a knuckle-curve the league really hasn't seen before, and even though he's a rookie, I like his mental toughness. He'll be a swing man, getting some starts and working out of the bullpen both. I expect great things from him."

"Then we have a bunch of live arms in Bill Fischer, Barry Latman, John Wyatt, Lee Stange, and rookie Dave Giusti, who will all get some starts and some chances to establish themselves out of the pen. I'm liking our flexibility - all of these guys can take on multiple roles as events warrant, just as a lot of our position players can move around as need be."

"Bob Duliba will be our bullpen ace. He's a steady, veteran presence, just what you need in that role."

"We have some talented players who'll be playing in Providence [for the International League Grays] this summer. We just drafted Tommy Harper and Mike Shannon, and we want them to play every day. They both have a world of talent. They're outfielders, but we'll look at possibly using them in the infield as well. Boston fans will love Harper - like Brock, he's a speed demon."

Speaking of Fenway, and its offense-enhancing proclivities, rumors are swirling anew that the team is investigating the possibility of building a new, more pitcher-friendly ballpark on a parcel of unused land near the Allston-Brighton rail yard. Commented Berra, "Beantown politics being what they are, it may take a year or two for plans to be finalized, permits secured, and construction begun. Look, we all love Fenway, but that facility is now 50 years old. Boston's fans deserve a new stadium with all the modern amenities."

1962 Free Agent Draft

2005-05-30T10:00:00.000-05:00

First round
1. St. Louis--Gaylord Perry, p
2. Philadelphia--Willie Stargell, of
3. Seattle [from Boston]--Tony Oliva, of
4. Dallas--Bob Veale, p
5. Cincinnati [from San Francisco]--Joe Pepitone, 1b
6. Chicago--Dave McNally, p
7. Cincinnati--Bob Bailey, 3b
8. Washington--Dick Radatz, p
9. Boston [from Seattle]--Tommy Harper, of
10. New York--Denis Menke, ss
11. Cleveland--Ken McMullen, 3b
12. Detroit--Cookie Rojas, 2b
13. Los Angeles--Pete Ward, 3b
14. San Diego--Manny Mota, of
15. Pittsburgh--Tommie Agee, of
16. Houston--Denny Lemaster, p

Second round
17. Boston--Dave Giusti, p
18. San Francisco--Don Lock, of
19. Dallas--Jack Hamilton, p
20. Chicago--Bob Tillman, c
21. Cincinnati--Diego Segui, p
22. Washington--Bernie Allen, 2b
23. Philadelphia--Bo Belinsky, p
24. Seattle--Dennis Bennett, p
25. St. Louis--Ed Charles, 3b
26. Cleveland--Jim Hickman, of
27. New York--Pete Richert, p
28. Detroit--Jim Bouton, p
29. Los Angeles--Ken Berry, of
30. Pittsburgh--Ed Kranepool, 1b
31. San Diego--Ed Kirkpatrick, c
32. Houston--Fredie Norman, p

Third round
33. Boston--Dave Stenhouse, p
34. San Francisco--Merritt Ranew, c
35. Dallas--Manny Jimenez, of
36. St. Louis [from Chicago]--Fred Whitfield, 1b
37. Cincinnati--Andy Etchebarren, c
38. Philadelphia--Sammy Ellis, p
39. Washington--Jose Tartabull, of
40. Seattle--Dan Osinski, p
41. St. Louis--Fred Newman, p
42. New York--Don Rudolph, p
43. Pittsburgh [from Cleveland]--Cal Koonce, p
44. Detroit--Max Alvis, 3b
45. Los Angeles--Ron Taylor, p
46. Pittsburgh--Jack Lamabe, p
47. San Diego--Dal Maxvill, ss
48. Houston--Gene Woodling, of

Fourth round
49. Boston--Mike Shannon, of
50. San Francisco--Don Pavletich, c
51. Dallas--Jim Roland, p
52. San Francisco [from Chicago]--Joe Koppe, ss
53. Cincinnati--Jim Hannan, p
54. Washington--Don Hoak, 3b
55. Philadelphia--Paul Toth, p
56. New York [from Seattle]--Diomedes Olivo, p
57. St. Louis--Al Weis, ss
58. Cleveland--Dean Stone, p
59. New York--Joe Bonikowski, p
60. Detroit--Don Landrum, of
61. Los Angeles--Bob Humphreys, p
62. San Francisco [from Pittsburgh]--Doc Edwards, c
63. San Diego--John Tsitouris, p
64. Houston--Joe Gaines, of

Fifth round
65. Boston--Ted Savage, of
66. San Francisco--Joey Amalfitano, 2b
67. Dallas--Bobby Darwin, p
68. Chicago--Jim Golden, p
69. Cincinnati--Carroll Hardy, of
70. Philadelphia--Julio Gotay, ss
71. Washington--Tex Clevenger, p
72. St. Louis--Elio Chacon, ss
73. New York--Bob Botz, p
74. Cleveland--Phil Linz, ss
75. Detroit--Bill Tuttle, of
76. Los Angeles--Doug Gallagher, p
77. Pittsburgh--Bob Oldis, c
78. San Diego--Bob Uecker, c
79. Houston--Eddie Yost, 3b

Sixth round
80. Cleveland [from Boston]--Roger Craig, p
81. San Francisco--Chet Nichols, p
82. Dallas--John Boozer, p
83. Chicago--Leo Burke, of
84. Cincinnati--Rod Kanehl, 2b
85. Washington--Doug Clemens, of
86. Philadelphia--Sam Jones, p
87. St. Louis--Tommie Aaron, 1b
88. Boston [from Cleveland]--George Banks, 3b
89. New York--Cuno Barragan, c
90. Detroit--Mike Joyce, p
91. Los Angeles--Jim Marshall, 1b
92. Pittsburgh--Bob Sadowski, 2b
93. San Diego--Bill Smith, p
94. Houston--John Kennedy, 3b

Seventh round
95. Boston--Tim Harkness, 1b
96. San Francisco--John Schaive, 3b
97. Dallas--Jay Hook, p
98. Chicago--Frank Sullivan, p
99. Cincinnati--Dick Tracewski, ss
100. Philadelphia--J. C. Hartman, ss
101. Washington--Cecil Butler, p
102. St. Louis--Jim Pendleton, of
103. New York--Russ Kemmerer, p
104. Cleveland--Tommie Sisk, p
105. Detroit--Billy Consolo, inf
106. Los Angeles--Pass
107. Pittsburgh--Jake Gibbs, c
108. San Diego--Moe Thacker, c

Eighth round
109. Boston--Ted Bowsfield, p
110. San Francisco--Dan Pfister, p
111. Chicago--Larry Burright, 2b
112. Cincinnati--Nelson Mathews, of
113. Washington--Jim Mahoney, ss
114. St. Louis--Luis Arroyo, p
115. Cleveland--John Goryl, inf
116. New York--Tom Burgess, 1b
117. Detroit--Julio Navarro, p
118. Los Angeles--Jimmie Schaffer, c
119. Pittsburgh--Ron Nischwitz, p
120. San Diego--Norm Sherry, c

Ninth round
121. Boston--Felix Torres, 3b
122. San Francisco--Bud Zipfel, 1b
123. Chicago--Elder White, ss
124. Cincinnati--Dale Long, 1b
125. Washington--Dave Sisler, p
126. St. Louis--Ray Moore, p
127. Cleveland--Jim Campbell, c
128. Los Angeles--Dave Roberts, 1b

Tenth round
129. San Francisco--Marv Breeding, 2b
130. Chicago--Howie Goss, of
131. Cleveland--Ruben Gomez, p

March 5, 1962: San Diego Announces Gomez Re-Hiring

2005-05-26T19:20:00.000-05:00

San Diego - Later this afternoon, San Diego General Manager Gene Mauch is set to announce the hiring of former Padres manager Preston Gomez as the new third base coach on Vern Stephens' field staff.

Gomez, 38 years old, first worked as an international scout for the old Milwaukee Gold Sox before being hired during the 1953 season by the recently retired Rogers Hornsby as the first field manager under the new ownership. At the time, he was by far the youngest manager in the PWBL, and his inexperience showed. After taking over from the fired Casey Stengel, he guided the Sox to a 10-28 record to end the season.

Following the franchise move to San Diego, Gomez wouldn't fare much better, guiding the ball club to a league worst 42-114 record before reaching just 60 and 59 wins in successive seasons. While manager, he was often criticized for not giving developing players such as Harmon Killebrew, Curt Flood, Frank Torre, and Cura Smith a chance to play for the struggling team. In the end, Gomez would be dismissed by Hornsby for philosophical differences. He finished with a managerial record of 171-337 for a .337 winning percentage, the lowest in PWBL history for anyone with more than two years at the helm.

Despite his failure in leading the team on the field, Gomez has always been held in high regard by team and peers for his strategic insight and scouting ability. He takes over for coach Pinky Higgins, who leaves the team to tend to his ailing father's ranch in Red Oak, Texas.

Padres Personnel

Manager: Vern Stephens

First Base coach - Rudy York

Third Base coach - Preston Gomez

Pitching coach - Lefty Gomez

Bench coach - Lefty Gomez

Owner: Jim Correll

General Manager: Gene Mauch

Play by Play: Harry Caray

Color: Gus Mancuso

November 1, 1961: Panthers Can Kerr, Hire Stengel

2005-05-24T19:19:00.000-05:00

Following another disappointing playoff defeat, the Pittsburgh Panthers today announced that the team has cleaned house, firing one-year manager Buddy Kerr and his entire coach staff.

Replacing Kerr will be 71-year-old Casey Stengel. "The Old Perfesser," as he is affectionately known, last managed the Washington Senators, taking them to 98 losses and a fifth-place finish in the PWBL Blue in 1957.

"I feel greatly honored to be named manager, especially since I was fired the last time I was one," Stengel said at Forbes Field, where GM Pie Traynor introduced him to the press. "I plan to tell the guys, 'Look, if we're going to win the pennant, we've got to start thinking we're not as good as we think we are.'"

Last year Kerr guided Pittsburgh to 100 wins and first place in the PWBL Kiner in his rookie season at the helm. But the team lost to the Houston Buffs in five games in the Mulcahy Cup finals. It was the six straight year that the Panthers have gone to the postseason, only to come home empty-handed.

Kerr assistants Don Padgett and Eddie Smith were pink-slipped along with their boss. Three former Panther players have been hired to serve as Stengel's new coaches.

Former catcher Pete Daley will coach first base, where Padgett used to roam. Willie Miranda will coach third base and work with infielders.

Gerry Staley, who announced his retirement following Pittsburgh's playoff loss to the Buffs, will return to the team as pitching coach, replacing Smith. Staley finished his career with 103 wins against 68 losses, for a winning percentage of .602 and an ERA of 3.87.

"Managing is not so hard," Stengel concluded. "You simply take credit for all the homeruns that somebody else hits."

Awards

2005-05-23T11:00:00.000-05:00

Most Valuable Player
1946  Stan Musial, Philadelphia
1947  Ted Williams, Brooklyn
1948  Stan Musial, Philadelphia
1949  Bobby Doerr, Houston
1950  Andy Pafko, Detroit
1951  Sid Gordon, Boston
1952  Sid Gordon, Boston
1953  Roy Campanella, Detroit
1954  Gil Hodges, Chicago
1955  Duke Snider, N.Y. Gems
1956  Mickey Mantle, St. Louis
1957  Mickey Mantle, St. Louis
1958  Richie Ashburn, Chicago
1959  Eddie Mathews, Pittsburgh
1960  Eddie Mathews, Pittsburgh
1961  Harmon Killebrew, San Diego (Federal League)
      Rocky Colavito, Houston     (Players League)

Cy Young Award
1946  Bob Feller, Milwaukee
1947  Hal Newhouser, Houston
1948  Bob Lemon, Brooklyn
1949  Howie Pollet, N.Y. Mets
1950  Ewell Blackwell, N.Y. Gems
1951  Don Newcombe, Detroit
1952  Bob Lemon, Cleveland
1953  Robin Roberts, N.Y. Mets
1954  Curt Simmons, Chicago
1955  Billy Pierce, Houston
1956  Johnny Antonelli, Philadelphia
1957  Curt Simmons, Chicago
1958  Billy Pierce, Houston
1959  Camilo Pascual, Houston
1960  Bob Friend, Pittsburgh
1961  Sandy Koufax, Detroit (Federal League)
      Jim O'Toole, Houston  (Players League)

Rookie of the Year
1946  Ralph Kiner, St. Louis
1947  Larry Jansen, St. Louis
1948  Hank Sauer, Milwaukee
1949  Billy Pierce, Houston
1950  Al Rosen, Milwaukee
1951  Minnie Minoso, Pittsburgh
1952  Eddie Mathews, Pittsburgh
1953  Jim Gilliam, Houston
1954  Frank Sullivan, Detroit
1955  Wally Post, Chicago
1956  Frank Robinson, Philadelphia
1957  Jim Bunning, St. Louis
1958  Orlando Cepeda, Houston
1959  Vada Pinson, Houston
1960  Ron Hansen, Pittsburgh
1961  Carl Yastrzemski, Chicago  (Federal League)
      Billy Williams, Washington (Players League)

Pepto Bismol Award
1946  Hugh Casey, Philadelphia
1947  Spec Shea, Washington
1948  Ted Wilks, Houston
1949  Al Benton, Detroit
1950  Jim Konstanty, Boston
1951  Ellis Kinder, N.Y. Gems
1952  Joe Black, Detroit
1953  Hoyt Wilhelm, Pittsburgh
1954  Hoyt Wilhelm, Pittsburgh
1955  Hoyt Wilhelm, Pittsburgh
1956  Hoyt Wilhelm, Pittsburgh
1957  Ken Lehman, Chicago
1958  Hoyt Wilhelm, Pittsburgh
1959  Hoyt Wilhelm, Pittsburgh
1960  Hoyt Wilhelm, Pittsburgh
1961  Hoyt Wilhelm, Pittsburgh (Federal League)
      Clem Labine, St. Louis   (Players League)

Manager of the Year
1946  Pie Traynor, Pittsburgh
1947  Moe Berg, Houston
1948  Bill Terry, N.Y. Mets
1949  Yogi Berra, Boston
1950  Mel Ott, N.Y. Gems
1951  Al Lopez, Cleveland
1952  Al Lopez, Cleveland
1953  Mel Ott, N. Y. Gems
1954  Leo Durocher, Pittsburgh
1955  Charlie Dressen, Detroit
1956  Del Crandall, Pittsburgh
1957  Al Lopez, Cleveland
1958  Joe Schultz, Seattle
1959  Bobby Bragan, Los Angeles
1960  Lou Boudreau, Washington
1961  Eddie Joost, Houston

Batters	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	Pts
W. Mays	10	1	0	0	0	54
B. Allison	1	7	5	1	0	41
V. Pinson	0	1	4	2	0	20
R. Colavito	0	1	2	3	1	17
H. Aaron	0	0	2	3	1	13
W. McCovey	0	0	0	2	5	9
J. Gilliam	0	1	0	0	0	4
C. Flood	0	0	1	0	0	3
B. White	0	0	0	0	2	2
B. Freehan	0	0	0	0	1	1
F. Mantilla	0	0	0	0	1	1

Pitchers	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	Pts
L. Jackson	9	1	0	0	0	49
O. Pena	1	3	1	2	1	25
H. Woodeshick	0	3	1	4	0	23
M. Pappas	0	1	2	3	0	16
J. Pizarro	0	1	2	1	1	16
S. Koufax	1	1	0	1	3	14
R. Perranoski	0	1	1	0	1	8
B. Shantz	0	0	1	0	0	3
C. Willey	0	0	0	0	3	3
A. Downing	0	0	1	0	0	3
B. Miller	0	0	1	0	0	3
D. Ellsworth	0	0	0	0	2	2

Post War Baseball League

Horton, Blasingame win Rookie honors

McDowell, Koufax win Cy Young awards

Roberts wins 300th, Mays hits 63rd

Colavito racks up 1,000th rbi

Koufax no-hits Padres for 9, wins shutout in 13th

Mays, Koufax win Player of Month honors

Kaline collects 2,000th hit

Williams, McDowell selected Players of April

Mets plate 22 in blasting Reds

Cepeda suffers season-ending knee injury

Roberts highlights stat chase in 1965

Joost named Manager of Year

Looking back on 1964: a season of highlights

New York Mets 1965 Preview

1965 Rookie and Free-agent Draft

Mays unanimous choice for Federal MVP, Boyer reigns in PL

Allen, Conigliaro win Rookie honors

Chance named best pitcher in PL

Jackson wins second straight Cy Young

Giants Announce Hirings of Howsam, Franks

San Francisco Giants Announce Retirements

Final Standings for 1964

Pilots fire Reese after 8th straight loss

Mays, Jackson named players of April 1964

Buffs reeling despite fast start

Jim Umbricht dead; pitcher on Buffs, 33

Buffs star killed in Utah air crash

Aaron wins second straight Players League MVP

Mays is unanimous MVP in Federal League

Murtaugh wins Manager of Year honors

Cleveland fires GM McPhail

Berra homers, retires in Boston

Jackson, Mays take home Player of the Month Awards for May

Drabowsky, Mays named Players of Month

Apr 21, 1963: Musial gets 3,000th hit

Apr 19, 1963: Musial at 2,999

All-Time Pitching Leaders

All-Time Batting Leaders

Aaron, Cepeda capture MVP trophies

Koufax, Purkey win Cy Young awards

Rollins, Tresh win rookie awards

Mets Release Don Rudolph

Gold Gloves winners announced

White Sox Announce Broadcasting Change

Philadelphia up in second round of '63 draft

Stars clinch Gordon

Spahn tries for 300 against Buffs

Craig tosses no-hitter, but no shutout

Buffs stay hot with Mathews at hot corner

Cleveland Trades Perry for Ford, Lamabe

Panthers trade Mathews to Buffs, fire Stengel

May Player of the Month voting announced

June 10, 1962: Frank Howard blasts four homeruns at San Francisco

June 7, 1962: Kiner Division notes

June 1, 1962: Gordon Division notes

May 28, 1962: Lemon Division notes

May 25, 1962: Williams Division Notes

May 24, 1962: Reds' Ellsworth no-hits Minutemen

Around the PWBL

Sparky lights fire under Tigers

De Ja Vu in Pilotland

DETROIT PRESS CONFERENCE

Gehringer out, Silvera in as Pilots' GM

May 8: Minutemen Stumble Along

Cepeda, Koufax named Players of April 1962

Houk walks off job in Seattle

Lollar happy to be staying in Houston

Reese Hired by Cleveland

Detroit Press Release

May 4, 1962: Looking for Traction, Yogi Shakes Things Up

Cincy snaps 13-game skid

Reds lose tenth straight

Snoring Through Springtime

Roberts, Wynn add to win totals

Superman is alive and well

Drysdale warned for throwing at batters

LOPEZ MUM ON REESE

Lollar next Detroit skipper?

More Tiger questions