Necessary Changes

Lately, I experienced some difficulties accessing my Boys of Summer Blog via Blogger's Dynamic View style, so I decided to go with the more common way to see it. I will miss the little pictured tiles that helped make the site look interesting, but in the long run to show all my APBA Baseball projects currently and in the past -- this was the best way to express the league, easier for people to get around and check things out.

APBA Tournament: Wagner Bracket Preview (Part 2)

Part 2 of the Wagner Bracket Preview

WAGNER BRACKET

1931 Philadelphia Athletics (3)

Vs.

1960 Pittsburgh Pirates (14)

Connie Mack's second dynasty featuring Hall of Fame super-stud sluggers Jimmie Foxx and Al Simmons against Roberto Clemente & the 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates (who shocked the baseball world with their upset of the New York Yankees) -- in a battle of Pennsylvania! Problem is, will it be much of a battle? or will Pittsburgh be taking Cinderella to the second round?

Philadelphia's Simmons won the 1931 American League Batting Title with a .390 clipping, with 22 HR's and knocking in 128 ribbies. Not only will Pittsburgh have their hands full with Simmons, but they'll have to deal with Foxx (.291, 30 HR & 120 RBI) & HOF catcher Mickey Cochrane, who batted .349, with 17 HR & 89 RBI! The rotation is anchored by Lefty Grove (Grade A&C-XZ), who went led the league with 31 wins, a 2.06 ERA & 175 K's in 288.2 Innings. George Earnshaw (B-XZ) and Rube Walberg (B-Y) show their solid ability as #2 and #3 SP's by pitching in 281.2 Innings and 291 Innings respectfully (Walberg led league in IP); with aging Waite Hoyt as a probable #4 starting pitcher.

The Pirates do a lot of mixing and matching by platooning a lot, first baseman Dick Stuart led the Pirates in Home Runs (23) despite getting only 438 at-bats, his backup Rocky Nelson hit 7 HRs in 200 at-bats. Rocky's OPS of .852 would be higher than Stuart's .796. Smokey Burgess (.294 Avg, .768 OPS) and Hal Smith (.295, .859 OPS) will platoon for the tournament at catcher. Don Hoak (Ex-Tiger) is the team's star 3B with a .282 average, 16 HRs & 79 RBI. A balanced lineup with Bob Skinner (.273, 15, 86) and Hall of Fame Clemente (.314, 16, 94) rounding out the outfield. Their top three starting pitchers are really dependable: Bob Friend (18-12, 3.00 ERA & 183 K's), Vern Law (20-9, 3.08 ERA) & Bill Mizell (14-8, 3.50 ERA) all are grade B's and have over 200 innings each. The bullpen drops off after Roy Face and Freddie Green though.

#21 - The great Roberto Clemente.

The team's offense are actually similar overall, the A's have most of their offense come out of three to four players in which the Pirates whole lineup contributes little by little consistently. The teams are close in AVG, OPS, HR, very little steals, and pitching ERA -- the difference was the run differential and winning percentage. The A's ran away with a 232 run differential, and a winning pct of .704 by winning 107 games; while the Pirates were not as dominant with 141 runs differential (which led league) and a league best .617 winning percentage (95 wins).

PREDICTION: Connie Mack's boys will win the series 3-1, the cool thing for the Pirates is that they won a World Championship in their represented season, the A's lost to the Cardinals (who haven't gone by the "Gas House Gang" yet.

The "G-Men" : Goslin, Greenberg & Gehringer of the 34' Tigers.

1934 Detroit Tigers (6)

Vs.

1917 Chicago White Sox (11)

The 1934 Detroit Tigers led by the "G-Men": Hank Greenberg (.339, 26 HR & 139 RBI), Charlie Gehringer (.356, 11 HR & 127 RBI) & Goose Goslin (.305, 13 HR & 100 RBI); while manager by catcher Mickey Cochrane (.320, 2 HR & 76 RBI) and another player with 100 RBI's (to go with the "G-Men") in shortstop Billy Rogell (who only had 3 HR's). History will show that this Tigers team will go on to lose the World Series to the "Gas House Gang" St. Louis Cardinals (who are playing the 1954 Indians in the same Wagner bracket/Part 1), but will rebound against the Chicago Cubs in 1935 to win the World Title. So the 34' Tigers could get revenge on the Cards, if both teams are capable of getting to the "Elite Eight"... but the Tigers will have to get past one of MLB history's most notorious teams, the "Black Sox"!

The 1917 Chicago White Sox, the last glorious highlight before their transformation into the "Black Sox", they first got the nickname when they continued to wear their dirty uniforms in protest against their money-pinching owner Charles Comiskey charging them laundry fees on top of their pay. Most of the players were underpaid for the success the team has brought to the owner, which would lead to the 8 players involved in "throwing" the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds. The team though, did win the World Series against the New York Giants in 1917.

The "Black Sox" defendants with their lawyers.

All eight of the (eventually) banned players are on the 1917 Sox team: They are Eddie Cicotte, Happy Felsch, Chick Gandil, "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, Fred McMullin, Swede Risberg, Buck Weaver, and Claude "Lefty" Williams.

Now let's get away from the Baseball history lesson, and look at this match-up, the problem is that the 17' White Sox have the same problem as most "dead-ball era" teams, they simply can't hit.. and that will probably lead to early exits for most of these styled teams. They also didn't have much depth, and the teams usually had no more than a total of 7 to 8 pitchers. With many of these teams, they really had no bullpen, and were not used in the same ways that the teams of today are used.

The 34' Tigers will do it with their bats, since their pitching is a team ERA of 4.06! They do have a good one-two punch at the top of their rotation with Tommy Bridges (22-11, 3.67 ERA & 151 K's) & Schoolboy Rowe (24-8, 3.45 ERA & 149 K's). The White Sox have them beat in team ERA with the second-best team ERA in the tournament with 2.16 (second only to 1906 Cubs' 1.75!) -- but their weak OPS (of .655) is the lowest!

PREDICTION: The Detroit Tigers of 34' will go on to the second round to play a team from it's era in the 1931 Philadelphia Athletics.

Mays & Williams: When planets align! 

1954 New York Giants (7)

Vs.

1946 Boston Red Sox (10)

Looking at this match-up, I'm wondering if I didn't give the 1954 New York Giants enough credit, or if I gave the 1946 Boston Red Sox too much credit. Well, it's an intriguing match-up no matter what happens.

Not only do we simply have a New York vs. Boston scenario here (which we already have the 37'Yankees/14' Braves match-up in the Wagner Bracket), but the fact it's also between two franchises that had a bit of history between 1900-1920, and were part of the creme of the crop with two other franchises during this era in the Philadelphia Athletics and Chicago Cubs.

We also have the head-to-head match-up of two amazing Hall of Fame superstars in the Giants' Willie Mays (.345, 41 HR & 110 RBI, 1.078 OPS) and the Red Sox' Ted Williams (.342, 38 HR & 123 RBI, 1.164 OPS)!

The teams are very similar across the board in many areas, the only difference is that the Giants have significantly more Home Runs and a few more top notch relievers.

PREDICTION: This is going to be incredibly close, I really do like what I see from Boston's rotation 1-4, but I think the Giants have an edge with nearly 234 innings combined by their two relievers Marv Grissom and Hoyt Wilhelm. Part of me really wants to go with Boston, but I'll go with the Giants in 5!

1995 Cleveland Indians (2)

Vs.

1967 Boston Red Sox (15)

The 1995 Cleveland Indians may go down as one of the top 5 teams in MLB history, not to win a World Series. The team won 100 games in it's shortened 144 game season (a winning percentage of .697), while the only team with a higher OPS than the Indians' .843 OPS was the 1927 New York Yankees (an OPS of .872)! The Indians (207 HR's) are one of only eight teams with 200 or more Home Runs in the tournament.

The 1967 Boston Red Sox season would have two memorable moments that would define it's season other than the World Series against the Cardinals, one a great memory, the other being a bad memory. Until Miguel Cabrera sealed the deal with a Triple Crown, 1967 would serve as the last time that any player in Major League Baseball won the elusive Triple Crown (League Leader of all three major categories: Batting Avg, HR & RBI's) -- and that man was Carl Yastrzemski, or known to fans as "Yaz"! Yastrzemski batted .326, 44 HR & 121 RBI's, while also leading the league in Runs, Hits, On-Base Percetage, Slugging Percentage & OPS (On-Base + Slugging)!  The bad memory would be the unfortunate pitch that got away from the Angels' Jack Hamilton that would bean Tony Conigilaro in the face. The damage sustained was a linear fracture of the left cheekbone, dislocated jaw, and severe damage to his left retina -- his once promising career would never be the same. Shortly after the protective ear-flap on helmets would become standard. Conigilaro would not return, until a season & half later. The Red Sox lost the World Series to the Cardinals, 4-3 -- who knows what would have happened if they had Conigilaro for that series.

The fortunate thing is that the Red Sox will have Conigilaro for the tournament, but their first test will not be an easy one. Although the Red Sox led the American League in slugging percentage and OPS, it was during a time of pitching dominance, and compares relatively low to the rest of the tourney, especially to the 95' Indians! The Red Sox have only two full-time players ("Yaz" and George Scott) with OPS's of over .800, compared to the tribe's 6 players in their starting lineup!

PREDICTION: The Red Sox rotation may be slightly better, but the Indians bullpen may have the edge. The Indians line-up is a total superior mismatch towards the Red Sox' weak .715 OPS. It's up to "Yaz" and Conigilaro to try to carry off an upset. Indians will win, 3-1!

APBA Tournament: Wagner Bracket (Part 1)

The Wagner Bracket is obviously named after the great Honus Wagner. Wagner's famous T-206 Baseball card reportedly went for a reportedly $2.8 million back in 2007 to an anonymous card collector.

The only Pirates team in the bracket is the 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates, and the one that Wagner plays on (the 1902 Pirates) are in the Aaron Bracket.

WAGNER BRACKET

One of history's surprise World Champions: The 1914 Boston Braves.

1937 New York Yankees (1)

Vs.

1914 Boston Braves (16)

The 1937 New York Yankees are easily one of the best teams to ever play the game, where they exactly rank at the top is more of the question, in some ways this team may be more dangerous than the praised 1927 Yankees team. On the other side, the 1914 Boston Braves are one of the strangest, most surprising success stories in Major League history. 

The Yankees are led by the two-headed dragon named Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio. Gehrig batted .351, 37 HR & 159 RBI (Leading the league in Bases on Balls, OBP & a 1.116 OPS!), while DiMaggio batted .346, led the league with 46 Home Runs, and had 167 RBI (with a 1.085 OPS, while leading the league with a .673 Slugging Pct.)! One player was in his second-to-last full season (Gehrig), while the other (DiMaggio) was in his second full season -- two glorious careers at different areas of their career. Ruth is retired, while Mantle is still a 6 year-old boy somewhere in Oklahoma.

The lineup also had a big year by catcher Bill Dickey (.332, 29 HR & 133 RBI), while both George Selkirk (.328, 18 HR & 68 RBI, 1.046 OPS in 256 at-bats) and Tommy Henrich (.320, 8 HR & 42 RBI,  .972 OPS in 200 at-bats) contributed in limited play.

Both teams have durable starters 1-3 in their rotation, while the Yankees may have a little more to work with in the bullpen.

The Boston Braves will have a tough time though keeping up with the Yankees' powerful lineup, the Braves biggest slugger may be outfielder Joe Connolly, who didn't get his first real break until the prior season at age 29, and really wouldn't add much more in a short 4-year career that spans from 1913-1917. During the 1914 season, Connolly led the Braves with 9 HR while he was fourth on the team with 65 RBI; he would also have career bests in Batting Avg (.306) and OPS (.886). The team also had Hall of Famers Johnny Evers and Rabbit Maranville.

PREDICTION: The Yankees should not have a hard time taking this series from Boston, 3-1. Only two teams in the entire tournament have a OPS lower than .658! 

1985 Toronto Blue Jays (8)

Vs.

1993 San Francisco Giants (9)

This series might be the tale of two "choke artists", the 1985 Toronto Blue Jays that surrendered a 3-1 ALCS lead to the Kansas City Royals, and Barry Bonds & the 1993 San Francisco Giants, that would get caught by the Atlanta Braves for the N.L. West Division Crown (Atlanta would end up moving to the N.L. East, the following season). 

The Blue Jays had a lot of talent, including their young outfield (above) in George Bell, Lloyd Moseby & Jesse Barfield. The three stars combined for 73 HR & 80 SB's! Besides the usual in Willie Upshaw, Ernie Whitt & Tony Fernandez, the team got some good contribution from part-timers Rance Mulliniks, Garth Iorg, Cliff Johnson & Cecil Fielder. The team's top 3 are stellar in Dave Stieb, Jimmy Key & Doyle Alexander, while the bullpen has 5 pitchers with at least Grade B's in APBA!

Bonds made a splash in his first season w/San Fran

The San Francisco Giants have a good balanced lineup led by the 1993 N.L. Most Valuable Player in Bonds (.336, 46 HR & 123 RBI) and Matt Williams (.294, 38 HR & 110 RBI), with additional pop from Will Clark and Robby Thompson (who had a career year). The rotation is anchored by career years from Bill Swift (21-8, 2.92 ERA & 157 K's) and John Burkett (22-7, 3.65 ERA & 145 K's). They have plenty of relievers, but not as many top notch guys as the Jays have in their pen. The Giants' Rod Beck had a monster year at closer, with 48 Saves & a 2.16 ERA!

These two teams are smack dab in the middle of the overall rankings in the tournament, and match-up almost identical in all major statistics:

• Toronto: .615 winning pct, .269 AVG, (.334 OBP / .425 SLG) .759 OPS, 158 HR & 144 SB's, with a 3.31 ERA & +171 run differential.

• San Fran: .636 winning pct, .276 AVG, (.343 OBP / .427 SLG) .770 OPS, 168 HR & 125 SB's, with a 3.61 ERA & +172 run differential.

PREDICTION: I'm going to lean with the team with home-field advantage on this one, and that is the Toronto Blue Jays, plus they have a stronger bullpen and a little more on the bench as well.

Lemon, Feller & Wynn: 3 Hall-of-Famers in the rotation for 54!

1954 Cleveland Indians (5)

Vs.

1934 St. Louis Cardinals (12)

Now looking at the match-up and the lineups, the Cardinals may have not gotten a fair shake when it came to the rankings, this 1934 St.Louis Cardinals are pretty much the same group that knocked off the 1931 Philadelphia Athletics dynasty in the World Series. Plus these are the same 1954 Cleveland Indians, that were favored to defeat the 1954 New York Giants and ended up losing the series.

Even though the Cardinals didn't run away with their league (95 wins & only a run differential of +143) while the Cleveland Indians had a record of 111-43 (and a run differential of +242), they clearly have a better hitting team (.288/led N.L. to the tribe's .262 Avg), they have a better OPS (slightly), and definitely more speed. The Indians are one of the more slower base-running teams in the tournament. The Cards pitching doesn't seem to be as bad as a 3.69 ERA in 1934 would show, or at least that's the case if the game doesn't come down to the bullpens; as they are led by Dizzy Dean, and his brother Paul Dean. The Indians are anchored by Hall of Famers Bob Lemon and Early Wynn, with the third slot taken by Mike Garcia, while Bob Feller (another HOF'er) ends the rotation in the fourth spot of the rotation. 

Larry Doby is the star for the tribe with great support coming from Al Rosen and Bobby Avila, the Cards are led by player/manager Frankie Frisch and Joe Medwick (both Hall of Famers), and a career year in Ripper Collins, who led the N.L. with 35 HRs in 1934 (He also batted .333 & 128 RBI's!).

PREDICTION: The Tribe pulls this out 3-2, unless Dizzy Dean can win both of his outings in this series, than it could be the Cardinals. This will be closer than the rankings indicate.

The Roar of 84' - The Tigers celebrate their remarkable season!

1984 Detroit Tigers (4)

Vs.

1980 Kansas City Royals (13)

The 1984 Detroit Tigers made Major League Baseball history, by storming out of the gates and winning a unheard of 35 games out of the first 40 games played! That's a winning percentage of .875! They never trailed during the season, leading the whole way to be one of a few teams to ever accomplish that! It will be interesting to see if this team can get far in the tournament despite it's place in history, since they are dealing with the best of the best teams to have ever taken the field.

Their first opponent will be the 1980 Kansas City Royals, Royals fans would probably prefer the 1985 Kansas City Royals to take their shot at the 84' Tigers instead. I don't blame them for thinking that with only one Grade B reliever in the pen in Dan Quisenberry. The Tigers have much more to work with in the bullpen (thinking about Aurelio Lopez and A.L. MVP/Cy Young - Willie Hernandez alone) and on the bench, the Tigers have a lineup in which they can mix and match really well... the lineup uses about the same 14 players, and not strictly 9 batters.

This will be a series featuring an entire series with the Designated Hitter in play, remember wherever and whoever the home team is from what era, is the difference if pitchers hit or if the DH rule is in play. For the Tigers, their one experience in exhibition play for me against a National League team did not fare well for them -- they got swept by the 1986 New York Mets, 4-0.

The Tigers' best three full-time hitters in terms of OPS was Kirk Gibson (.282, 27 HR, 91 RBI & 29 SB's), Chet Lemon (.287, 20 HR & 76 RBI) & Alan Trammell (.314, 14 HR, 69 RBI & 19 SB's); while Lance Parrish led the team with 33 Home Runs. They will have to go head-to-head with possibly the greatest Third Baseman in MLB history in George Brett and his 1980 season in which he flirted with .400, by hitting .390! The Royals though, only have one other full-time player over an .800 OPS, and that was Hal McRae (.297, 14 HR & 83 RBI).

PREDICTION: The Tigers will take the series, 3-1. In APBA terms, both teams pitching grades don't fly off the pages, but the Tigers have much more depth on the bench and interchangeable parts when it comes to putting together a lineup.

*** To Be Continued / Part 2 of the Wagner Bracket Preview***

Big Mistake!

Most wins in the 1980's.

Many of these yahoos with their BBWA badges, that get to vote on the Hall of Fame ballots, need to have their electing rights taken away when someone like Jack Morris does not make the Hall of Fame.

I really thought this might be the year for Morris. Overall, he pitched half of his games at home in a hitter-friendly ballpark, during an era where pitching ERA's were starting to go up, he also pitched many complete games, and refused to come out in some situations that may have increased those ERA's.

The thing is this, Morris won the most games in the 1980's, 5-time All-Star, 4-time World Champion, 1991 World Series MVP, a career no-hitter & 2-time Babe Ruth Award Winner (for best Post-season, in 1984 & 1991). So what more does he need to do, to get in? Is this the writers or media's way to get back at Morris, who wasn't too fond of interviews after a game? There is really no explanation why Morris is not in the Hall.

He had 254 wins & a career 3.90 ERA, the ERA is what some of the voters have stated that they feel he doesn't belong, but if you take out the fact that he had basically four seasons that destroyed his career ERA (89'-90' & 93'-94' were rough areas -- not to mention this time was the actual birth of the steroid era for sluggers like McGwire & Canseco). Now I know some people will argue, well that's his fault and he should have pitched better -- my argument is that he is even more dominant than his career numbers suggest!

It's about the era, who stands out?!

But look there are hitters in the Hall of Fame that really only flashed for 8 seasons, two come straight to mind -- both have deserved their place in the Hall, one died prematurely (but who's to say how the rest of his career would have went?) and the other was a Yankee (of course, this helped a bit). The two players are Joe Gordon (Yankees) & Ross Youngs (N.Y. Giants), who died of Bright's Disease at age 30! My point I guess is that Morris had a stretch from 79' to 88' that was consistently good, and shows that he was indeed a dominant ace in the game of baseball and in his era. That's what it should be about, how you did in your era. I'm glad Jim Rice finally made it a few years back, it was ludicrous that he was out as long as he was, he was one of the most feared sluggers in his era!

Just from some brief research here is a bit of my argument, I'm going to post Jack Morris's career up against two Hall of Fame pitchers that come straight to mind, one is Bob Lemon's who, I have a baseball card that compares the two players similar numbers, and also Red Ruffing's 3.80 ERA came straight to mind as well.

• Jack Morris (254 Wins, 186 Losses / .577 winning pct): Morris pitched half of his career games basically at Tiger Stadium, notorious for offensive numbers, he had a career 3.90 ERA, 175 Complete Games, while collecting 2,478 K's in 3,824 innings.

Pitched for a great run by the Indians.

• Bob Lemon (207 Wins, 128 Losses / .618 winning pct): Bob Lemon missed the beginning of his career from 1943-1945 due to Military service, but didn't do much in MLB until his breakthrough 1948 Season, so it's safe to say that he really didn't lose any years there, so his career numbers are what they are. He has a better winning percentage than Morris, but even though Morris played on a few winning teams of the Tigers, most notably seasons like 1984 & 1987 -- he wasn't with a consistent winning team like the Indians were for Lemon, nor did Morris have pitchers like Bob Feller and Early Wynn constantly to take the pressure off him. Jack Morris had Dan Petry! Petry was good, but Feller & Wynn are Hall of Fame pitchers!  Lemon wins convincingly in ERA (3.23 ERA), but also note the era that Lemon played and having the constant pleasure to play for a winner. Morris was definitely a better strike-out artist, nearly doubling Lemon's 1,277 K's; and all though Lemon still has 13 more complete games (188), it's once again about the era, where there was only 3 relievers tops, and they aren't used the same way as today.

Ruffing's similar 3.80 ERA to that of Morris.

• Red Ruffing (273 Wins, 225 Losses / .548 winning pct): At first glance, I was going to slam on Ruffing for only having a career winning pct of .548 when most of his career he pitched for the Yankees, and having those lineups supporting him; In all fairness he played for some lousy Red Sox teams in the late 20's (ones that played the Yankees many times through the years) in which he led the league back-to-back in losses with 22 & 25! Then again there are two ways of looking at this, he may not even came close to 273 wins if it wasn't for playing for the Yankees; he had a career record of 231-111 with New York (.675 winning pct! -- the equivalent of a baseball team going 109-53 for the season). He had 1,987 K's in 4,344 innings, the strikeout rate per 9 innings, quite lower than Morris. The only area I can't debate against Ruffing, is his ridiculous 335 complete games -- sure pitchers completed their games much more then, but still impressive!

Now to make things clear, I am not saying that either Bob Lemon and Red Ruffing don't deserve to be in the Baseball Hall of Fame, because they totally do -- I'm just bringing up two similar careers to that of Jack Morris. A player that deserves to be in the Hall, and I feel the fact he has played for Detroit does play a part in that (for being an unattractive market), if he wore pinstripes (a Yankees jersey), he would already be in there --- the same goes for his two teammates shortstop Alan Trammell and second baseman Lou Whitaker (Major League Baseball's longest running double-play combination in history!), not to mention they were far superior to that of Joe Tinker and Johnny Evers (who basically got in for a famous poem and the 1906 Chicago Cubs historic season)! Those two players On Base Percentage + Slugging (OPS) barely eclipses that of utility/journeyman Aaron Miles! But this is the thing, Tinker and Evers were from the "deadball era" and so they are a reflection of their era, meaning so is Morris in his era -- so with that Tinker and Evers are Hall of Famers.

Trammell and Whitaker tipping their hats off to each other.

These arguments can go on and on.

We shouldn't be measuring up players to other players overall totals, if this is the case, no one before 1987 has a chance to make the Hall. It all should be a reflection of it's era. Plus once you open the door to a player, it does open up about other similar players that played in that era. Andre Dawson was held out for awhile, due to a relatively low career On-Base Percentage (.323) for a slugger in his day, where OBP was a thing in it's day -- he eventually got inducted in 2010. Since the door opened for Dawson though... now comes new debates. For example, Harold Baines...

• Andre Dawson - 2,744 hits, .279 Avg, 438 HR & 1,591 RBI (.806 OPS / .323 OBP): Dawson was also a 8-time All-Star selection, 8 Gold Gloves, as well as the 1977 N.L. Rookie-of-the-Year for the Montreal Expos & 1987 Most Valuable Player for the Chicago Cubs. He had 4 seasons of at-least 100 RBI's! Dawson also had 314 stolen bases.

Baines & a very underrated baseball career.

• Harold Baines - 2,866 hits, .289 Avg, 384 HR & 1,628 RBI (.820 OPS / .356 OBP): Baines was also a 6-time All-Star selection, who would get a World Championship ring as a coach for the Chicago White Sox in 2005. He didn't have as many awards or trophies as Dawson, and he didn't have the speed (only 34 career steals), but he only had 54 fewer HR's, while beating Dawson across the board in everything else. Plus even though, Baines played plenty of DH later in his career, let's not forget that Baines was actually a pretty good fielder with an excellent arm during peak form. It's also seems to me, that the American League during both of these guys' careers (that happened during the same period) had far more superior outfielders, so this also means that Baines may have gotten more All-Star nods if he played in the National League. Baines had 3 seasons of 100 or more RBI's.

Carter: Always a class act, always smiling.

Once again, Dawson in my book is a legit Hall of Famer, letting him in, has opened this debate -- Same goes with Gary Carter, he opens the door for other hitters' careers. Carter, for a catcher he should be in the Hall, but as a straight-up hitter? That's another answer. His career numbers read nothing special when you think Hall of Famer -- .262 Batting Avg, 324 HR's (great for a catcher) & 1,225 RBI's; go deeper with a decent .335 OBP & an average to pretty-good star's .775 OPS. Some may say, hey that's an OPS just .031 lower than slugger Andre Dawson! Sure, but Dawson compared to other outfielders in the Hall of Fame is really low in comparison. Plus Carter has only 2,092 hits.

Now back to Trammell, he batted .285, 185 HR &1,003 RBI's, he had more hits (2,365 hits) and a higher On-Base Percentage of .352 than Carter; plus a similar OPS of .767 to him as well. It seems to many that Carter would have had more Gold Gloves than three, he really stood out as his position -- Trammell? He had four Gold Gloves sharing a league with Cal Ripken and Tony Fernandez! Some can argue that comparing catchers to shortstops, is like comparing Oranges to Apples. Yes, both positions were not known for their power then -- but if you want to see one more comparison, than let's compare Trammell to the "Wonderful Wizard of Oz" -- Ozzie Smith!

Ozzie batted .262, 28 HRs & 793 RBI, with 2,460 hits in 9,396 at-bats -- which is only 95 hits more than Trammell, with 1,108 more at-bats and opportunities! His .262 career average and .666 OPS pales in comparison to that of Trammell's .285 Avg & .767 OPS. Oh, what's that? Ozzie was a better fielder than Trammell? He certainly had more Gold Gloves with 13, and also was selected to the All-Star Game (which is a bit of a popularity contest) 15 times! Trammell with more competition made only 6 selections. But when it came to fielding they were almost exactly the same in fielding percentages (Smith .978 to Tram's .977), double-plays (Smith 1,590 to Tram's 1,307) , and assists (Smith 8,375 to Tram's 6,172); it's also safe to note that Ozzie played in 3,500 more innings, and could do many more acrobatic back-flips!

McGriff gets a lot of grief for playing with so many teams.

It's all interesting and very fascinating when it comes to debating, who should be in and who should not? The way I look at it, why not put more people in, instead of having the grasp too tight! We need to see a bigger perspective of the Hall of Fame, so that players like Morris, Trammell, Whitaker, Tim Raines, Fred McGriff, and Albert Belle (oh yes, I said it!) are not forgotten about. The game of Baseball's Hall of Fame should be more of a time capsule, so that 200 years from now, people can get an idea about the time and it's era, how can you reflect the 80's without Jack Morris?

Not to beat a dead horse, but it's all about the reflection of the era that these players come from.

27' Yankees vs. 44' Browns (APBA Tourney)

It's literally baseball's version of David vs. Goliath, but David in this circumstances doesn't have a prayer. The 44' St. Louis Browns were a primary success only due to the fact that most of the league's star players at the time were off serving the country due to World War II.

The 1927 New York Yankees were led by Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, while the Browns' only real star was SS-Vern Stephens. The odds are stacked against St. Louis's "second team" while they face off against what most baseball critics "the best team ever in baseball history".

GAME 1

at New York / Old Yankee Stadium

The St. Louis Browns sent Jack Kramer to the mound (who sported a 17-13 record with a 2.49 ERA in 1944) while the Yankees sent Waite Hoyt who led the American League in 1927 with 22 victories (while only losing 7 games), with a ERA of 2.63.

Bottom of the 1st

After Earle Combs lead-off fly-out to left, the Yankees strike quickly with back-to-back solo jacks off Kramer by Bobby Meusel and Babe Ruth. Yankees 2, Browns 0

P-Waite Hoyt (NYY) goes 2-for-4, with 2 RBI

Bottom of the 2nd

After back to back walks by Kramer, placing Pat Collins and Joe Dugan on first and second, Yankees' pitcher Waite Hoyt helps his cause by driving in Joe Dugan on a RBI single. Yankees 3, Browns 0

Bottom of the 5th

Earle Combs leads off the bottom of the inning with a double to left. Meusel would fly-out to advance Combs to third, as Babe Ruth scores in an insurance run, hitting into a ground out. 

Yankees 4, Browns 0

Bottom of the 6th

The bottom of the inning started with Browns' SS-Vern Stephens' off-centered throw pulled 1B-George McQuinn off the base (resulting in an error) on a ball hit by the Yankees' Tony Lazzeri. Yankees SS-Mark Koenig followed that play  up with a single that moved Lazzeri to second. 

With runners on first and second, Joe Dugan would drive in a 2-run double off of St.Louis reliever Denny Galehouse, while two batters later -- Yankees' Waite Hoyt helps contribute to his cause once again with another RBI single. Yankees 7, Browns 0

Bottom of the 8th

Earle Combs adds another run to the scoreboard with a RBI single off of Browns' reliever Al Hollingsworth. Yankees 8, Browns 0

FINAL SCORE:

27' YANKEES 8

44' BROWNS 0
WP - W.Hoyt (NYY) / LP - J.Kramer (STL-A)

POST-GAME:

• Babe Ruth (NYY) went 3-for-4, with a HR, double & 2 RBI.
• Waite Hoyt (NYY) pitched a 5-hit, compete game shutout, striking out 6 on the mound, while going 2 for 4 at the plate, with two RBI's; earning himself as the player of the game.
• Starting pitcher Jack Kramer (STL-A) allowed 5 hits and 4 runs, while walking two batters in five innings. The bullpen would allow 4 runs in 3 innings. The Browns' pitchers failed to strike out a single batter in Game 1.

GAME 2

at New York / Old Yankee Stadium

Just as predicted, the Browns were completely outmatched in Game 1. Their batters only managed five hitters, while their pitchers allowed 12 hits and 8 runs while failing to strike out any of the 1927 New York Yankees' batters.

The Browns send Nels Potter to the mound to see if he can have much better luck against the Yankees, he went 19-7 with a 2.83 ERA in 1944. He will face off against Herb Pennock of the Yankees, who was tied for second on the team with 19 wins (losing 8) and an ERA of 3.00.

Bottom of the 4th

With the game scoreless, with 2 outs, and the Yankees searching for their first hit, Babe Ruth smashes a solo shot to right field -- his second HR of the series. The very next batter, Lou Gehrig would hit to the right side of the pitcher Nels Potter, in which Potter hurries his throw and throws the ball over the first baseman's head.

Now with a runner on second, the Yankees' second baseman Tony Lazzeri will add to the lead with an RBI single to right field. The fourth inning would be all she wrote for Game 2.

FINAL SCORE:

27' YANKEES 2

44' BROWNS 0
WP - H.Pennock (NYY) / LP - N.Potter (STL-A)

Ruth hits second HR of the series.

POST-GAME:

• Babe Ruth (NYY) was the "Player of the Game" with a 2-for-4 performance, solo HR.
• Herb Pennock (NYY) allowed only two hits (1st & 3rd innings), 2 K's & 1 BB, as another Yankees starting pitcher pitches a complete game, shutout.
• Chet Laabs (STL-A), the left-fielder, has the most hits (2) in the first two games for the Browns, going 1-for-4 in Game 2, after a pinch-hit and stolen base in Game 1.
• Nels Potter (STL-A) would pitch good for being on the losing end of the match-up, allowing only 6 hits and 2 runs, pitching the entire game.

GAME 3

at St. Louis / Sportsman's Park III

The Browns knew it would not be easy, and find themselves in a 2-0 series hole in the best-of-five, first round match-up in the Ruth Bracket. Everything has gone as predicted as the 1944 St.Louis Browns (#16) face possible elimination from the top-seeded 1927 New York Yankees.

It will be the Browns' Bob Muncrief (13-8, 3.08 ERA, 88 K's in 219.1 IP) against the Yankees' starting pitcher Urban Shocker (18-6, 2.84 ERA, 35 K's in 200 IP). The funny thing is Shocker spent a considerable amount of his career playing for the Browns, so it's only fitting that he may send them home.

Top of the 1st

After a lead-off single by the Yankees' Earle Combs, Mark Koenig drives in Combs on an RBI double. After a Babe Ruth strikeout, Lou Gehrig would add to the early lead with an RBI triple.

Yankees 2, Browns 0

Top of the 3rd

Earle Combs leads off the third with a triple, in which Koenig failed to hit the flyball far enough to drive in Combs, setting the tables for Babe Ruth. Ruth would bash his 3rd HR of the series, with this two-run shot to left-field off of Muncrief. Yankees 4, Browns 0

Bottom of the 5th

Urban Shocker of the Yankees, who was pitching very effectively the first four innings (3 K's & only 1 hit allowed) starts to get himself into some trouble in the fifth, starting with a throwing error over Gehrig's head at first base-- allowing for the hitter George McQuinn to go to second. The Browns' Milt Byrnes would come up next and drive in McQuinn for the Browns' first run of the entire series, ending a 22-inning scoring drought! Third Baseman Mark Christman then followed with a single to left field to move Byrnes to second.

Shocker survives the bottom of the 5th for Yankees.

With runners on 1st and 2nd, and the Browns trailing 4-1, Shocker was throw a wild pitch that moves the runners to second and third. The Yankees SS-Mark Koening would keep the Browns' threat alive by booting a grounder hit by catcher Red Hayworth, but kept the ball in front of him enough to not allow Byrnes to score. Shocker, noticeably rattled would throw yet another wild pitch to the backstop, allowing for Byrnes to cut the lead in half.

With no outs, with runners on second and third, and the St. Louis fans getting really loud and excited in the home stands, Yankees manager Miller Huggins decides to make a mound visit to settle down Shocker. The mound visit would pay off, as Shocker strikes out pinch-hitter Al Zarilla (hitting for pitcher Muncrief), while Don Gutteridge (2B) and Mike Kreevich would hit back-to-back flyouts, failing to cut into the Yankees lead any further.
Yankees 4, Browns 2

Top of the 8th

The score would stay 4-2 going into the top of the 8th, the Browns' closer George Caster, who has already pitched in the 6th and 7th innings (trying to keep the Browns chances alive) would run out of gas in the 8th. After a lead-off double by Lou Gehrig and walks to Tony Lazzeri and catcher Pat Collins, pinch-hitter Benny Bengorgh (hitting for pitcher George Pipgras) would hit a 2-run single, to help add insurance runs for the Yankees. Yankees 6, Browns 2

Bottom of the 8th
The Browns' Floyd Baker pinch-hitting for the struggling Don Gutteridge, hits a one-out double, in which Mike Kreevich followed by hitting him in with his own double. Yankees 6, Browns 3


FINAL SCORE:
27' YANKEES 6
44' BROWNS 3
WP - U.Shocker (NYY) / LP - B.Muncrief (STL-A) / SV - W.Moore (NYY)


POST-GAME:

• Babe Ruth (NYY), once again was the hero, for his 3rd HR of the series, the 2-run shot in the top of the 3rd ends up being the deciding factor. Ruth would go 3-for-5, a triple short of the cycle.
• Earle Combs (NYY) would have another productive game going 2-for-4, triple, 2 runs & drawing a walk.
• Lou Gehrig (NYY) entered the game 1-for-8, but his bat woke up for Game 3 with a 2-for-4 performance in which he had a RBI triple in the 1st inning & a double in the 8th.
• Mark Christman (STL-A) entered the game hitless in 6 at-bats, and went 2-for-4 with a double.

Babe Ruth had a productive series, batting .615, with 3 HRs and 6 ribbies!

SERIES RECAP:   27' YANKEES sweep 44' BROWNS

• Babe Ruth (NYY) was the series' most valuable player, going 8-for-13, 3 HR & 5 RBI. His batting average was .615, while his OPS was through the roof at 2.077!
• Bobby Meusel (NYY) would go hitless in his next 11 at-bats for New York after his HR in the first inning of Game 1.
• Vern Stephens (STL-A), the Browns' star player, was noticeably absent with 1-for-10 performance in the series; while Mark Christman and Chet Laabs led the Browns with 2 hits, the team only had 12 hits all series. The Browns batted .128 during the series.
• Waite Hoyt (NYY) and Herb Pennock (NYY) pitched back-to-back shutouts in Games 1 & 2. The Browns would not score until the bottom of the 5th in Game 3, making it 22 consecutive scoreless innings.

Next Opponent: The winner of the 99'Arizona (8) / 41'Brooklyn (9) series.