This Week in Stratball - 6/26/17

This Week in Stratball 

6/26/17

CRAWFORDS STUMBLE, THEN ROAR

With a 5-4 record, the barnstorming Pittsburgh Crawfords came home to host the Brooklyn Dodgers. Though not a formidable team, Brooklyn slapped around Sam Streeter for 7 runs in little more than 3 innings and cruised to a 9-5 win (see side note regarding Astoria-born Tony Cuccinello's contributions). The Crawfords' Bert Hunter dug a hole for himself in the next game, allowing 4 runs in the opening frame. The Craws fought back and tied the game after 5 innings, but Hunter stumbled in the 8th and the Dodgers walked away with a 6-4 win. Buzz Boyle (3-run double in the first) and Len Koenecke (solo HR in the 8th) provided the offensive spark for Brooklyn.

Buzz Boyle, Brooklyn

Len Koenecke, Dodger slugger

With a record of 5-6, Pittsburgh seemed listless. But, sparked by the bottom of their lineup and some stout pitching from Leroy Matlock, they evened their record the next day by beating Brooklyn 7-4. In that game, the bottom third of the order, including Matlock in the 9-hole, collected 7 hits and scored and drove in 2 key runs. John Henry Russell collected three of those hits and scored both of the runs.

The New York Giants, featuring Carl Hubbell, Bill Terry, and Mel Ott, then came into town. Satchel Paige committed an error in the first, leading to 3 runs. Josh Gibson responded with a 2-run HR in the bottom of the first and Oscar Charleston supplied his own 2-run bomb in the third. Paige, meanwhile, allowed just 2 hits for the rest of the game, improving his record to 4-0. Though Prince Hal Schumacher quieted Crawford bats the next day - he allowed just four hits en route to a 4-2 victory - a corner had been turned. Pittsburgh went forward to win 6 of the next 7, completing its first tour of the National League with a 13-8 record.

Some highlights of those games:

- an 11-run inning against the Giants in which Charleston doubled and tripled in the same inning.
- a 12 strikeout performance by Paige against the Phillies, running his record to 5-0.
- Judy Johnson went 5-5 with 3 doubles, leading a 14-3 shellacking of the Phillies.
- the reversal of Sam Streeter, winner of 2 straight games with fine pitching performances.
- a thrilling comeback from a 7-1 deficit against the Boston Braves, with Paige providing 9th-inning relief help in a 9-7 win.

"COOCH" REPRESENTS ASTORIA COMMUNITY

My hometown burg, Astoria, is a busy little NYC community bordered,  on the west, by the East River and framed by the Triboro (now RFK) and Hell Gate Bridges. 

The Hell Gate Bridge, looking heavenly

Though now bustling, in the early 20th century it was countryside and farmland, famously referenced in The Great Gatsby. It was THIS Astoria that gave major league baseball the Cuccinello brothers, Tony and Al.

Tony, the focus of these thoughts, became the first Astoria-born batter (I've used the great Whitey Ford - a Hall-of-Fame pitcher for the Yankees who grew up in Astoria - many times) that I've ever used in Strat-o-matic. He was a capable middle infielder who bounced around the National League during the Great Depression. He made the All-star team three times and occasionally garnered some MVP votes. Looking through the record book, it's clear that Tony, while not a star, was a valuable guy to have on your team. I had long been aware that he was from Astoria and looked forward to using his card in one of my games.

All the way from "the country"... Astoria, NYC

His debut was sensational. In the first, he singled and drove in a run. In the third, he doubled and drove in a run. In the fourth, he put the game away with a 3-run homer! In his fourth at bat, "Cooch" completed the cycle with a triple. In his first 4 at bats, he drove in 5 runs and completed one of the rarest batting feats in baseball! My hometown heart swelled. Congrats, Cooch, ya dun good ...

This Week In Stratball - 6/19/17

Satchel Paige, ready to fire!

THIS WEEK IN STRATBALL

JUNE 19, 2017

CRAWFORDS CRASH 1934 NATIONAL LEAGUE

Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, and Oscar Charleston are leading a parade of Pittsburgh Crawfords stars into battle against the 1934 National League. They are replacing the Pittsburgh Pirates and retroactively integrating the league thirteen years ahead of schedule.

The Crawfords' Strat cards come courtesy of Paul Dylan, long-time Strat player and curator of the awesome One For Five website, from which one can download the cards. This is a single team from the barnstorming winter of 1933 & 1934 and, as such, has the feel of a real team - some great players, for sure, but others of just modest talent. Managing the team will have its challenges as one will need to balance the front-line talent with a shallow bench.

Paige got the team off to a fast start, out-pitching Dizzy Dean and the Gas House Gang on Opening Day. He struck out 9 en route to a 3-hit shutout and received some surprising support from Judy Johnson who crushed a grand-slam homer in the 6-0 win.

After 9 games, however, the Craw-dads are scuffling with a 5-4 record. They run hot and cold, capable of scalding opposing pitchers for 28 hits and 16 runs one day and being shackled to just 1 run the next. Satch is 3-0 with 3 complete games - he's had just one earned run scored off of him! But the pitching seems pretty thin after him. And, outside of Gibson and Charleston, there's little homerun muscle - though that seems true for most 1934 NL teams.

Next up is Brooklyn, then across the river to the New York Giants of Mel Ott and Carl Hubbell fame.

TOP TEAMS OF THE 90S LEAGUE GETS UNDERWAY

Grab 5 teams from the 90s, one from the late 80s, 2 from the early aughts, and 4 fictionalized teams and what would you call it? Well, I settled on "Top Teams of the 90s" and, frankly, the playing of the league is much more interesting than the naming of the league.

The league is divided into two divisions: an Early 90s and a Late 90s division:

EARLY:

1988 NEW YORK METS
1990 OAKLAND A's
1993 TORONTO BLUE JAYS
1996 ATLANTA BRAVES

LATE:

1998 NEW YORK YANKEES
1998 HOUSTON ASTROS
2001 SEATTLE MARINERS
2002 ANAHEIM ANGELS

Each division is rounded out with "semi-stars" of Strat's 42 Old-Timer Teams. For those in the know, the names will delight - Lew Riggs, Alpha Brazle, Curly Ogden, etc. They are organized by decade and were allowed to draft one era-specific star (say, Tris Speaker for the 1920 American League team), one modern hitter (Larry Walker, par example), and one modern pitcher (Pedro Martinez is represented by both his 1999 and 200 cards). More on these teams at a later time.

Randy Johnson doesn't like you.

One notable feat has already occurred in this young league: Randy Johnson, pitching for the 1998 Houston Astros, tossed a no-hitter in the team's 9th game. It was, perhaps, the worst no-hitter ever thrown: he walked 13, including four in the first to give up a run, and needed 9th-inning heroics from Craig Biggio who singled home Brad Ausmus for the walk-off: Astros won 2-1.

Randy's pitching line: 9 IP, 1 ER, 0 Hits, 13 walks, 7 strikeouts and the win. I'm guessing a pitch count of at least 160.