This Week in Stratball - 7/24/17

CRAWFORDS CRUISE!!

Paige & Company on a Roll

Winners of 13 Games in 16 Outings

The Pittsburgh Crawfords resumed their schedule with a series of 4-game sets against the 1934 National League clubs. The Crawfords had completed one run through the league, compiling a satisfying 13-8 record in their first 21 games. The next 13 wins can in a flurry - it took only 16 games against four opponents to double their win total and create a 26-11 record!!

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Pittsburgh first traveled to St, Louis to take on the world-champion Cardinals, featuring 30-game winner Dizzy Dean. In the opener, Harry Kincannon allowed a 2-run homer in the first to STL first-baseman Rip Collins and a run-scoring triple in the second to SS Leo Durocher. The Crawfords scratched out runs in the second, third and fourth innings to tie it. The score held at 3 until the 9th when Ted Page doubled and Josh Gibson tripled. Satchel Paige came on for the bottom half of the 9th and picked up his second save of the year.

The Cards came back the next day to even the series at 1 game apiece with a 6-4 victory. Rip Collins's triple set up a 2-run 8th inning that secured the win for Bill Walker, who provided 4 innings of stellar relief.

With Dizzy Dean on the mound for STL, the situation looked good for the Cards. But Josh Gibson led a parade of Crawfords batters with a 2-run homer in the first and a grand slam in the fourth which chased Ol' Diz from the hill. Oscar Charleston and Vic Harris also homered and the Pittsburghers came away with a 9-2 win. Sam Streeter evened his record at 3-3.

Oscar Charleston
#1 On Buzzfeed's Best Players who Never Played in MLB

Diz and Satch, planning a barnstorming tour for the off-season

The finale took 12 innings to settle as the teams were knotted at 5 after 9 innings. Satchel Paige came on in the 10th and hurled 3 innings of 1-hit ball. He wound up as the winning pitcher by driving in 2 runs off of Dizzy Dean (who was looking to prove himself after his short outing the day before) with a single in the 12th. Satch ran his record to 6-0 while Diz fell to 1-4.

Satch!

Next, the Crawfords came home to host the Chicago Cubs. Paige pitched the opener and was outstanding - 3 hits, 2 walks and 14 Ks as he went to 7-0 on the year! The Cubbies took the next 2, scoring 18 runs off of Bert Hunter and William Bell in the process. Sam Streeter broke the mini-slump and began a 9 -game win streak with a complete game, 4-2 win. Back-up catcher Bill Perkins came off the disabled list to drive in all four runs.

The home-stand extended to include 4 games each against the Cincinnati Reds and the Philadelphia Phillies. By scoring 59 runs in these 8 games, the Crawfords seemed invincible! They won all 8 games and provided clear evidence that these players - outlawed by the senseless Jim Crow mentality of pre-Jackie Robinson baseball - would have easily competed in 1930s-era baseball. Some highlights from these games:

- Chet Williams, SS, drove in 11 runs and started numerous doubleplays.
- Josh Gibson, the Crawfords' best player, was injured in the second game... the team won all 5 games he missed!
- Cool Papa Bell and Ted Page each stole 5 bases.
- Satchel Paige followed his 3-hitter with a 2-hit shutout, striking out 11 in the process.
- William Bell got his first victory of the year with a shutout of the reds.
- Pitcher Leroy Matlock swatted a grand slam homer in his complete-game victory over the Phillies.

One final note about the team so far: Paige and Matlock have a combined record of 15-1!!

Next up will be an Eastern road trip as the Craw-dads head to NYC where they'll face both the Giants and Dodgers, then off to Beantown to face the Boston Braves. All three teams, especially the Giants, represent a step up from the recent competition; how far can the Crawfords run their streak?

ONE YEAR AGO IN STRATBALL ...

July, 2016 - News from the Depression Era League

The 1934 Pittsburgh Pirates took 4 of 5 from the 1941 Brooklyn Dodgers, bringing each team's record to 15-9. Larry French ran his record to 5-1 with a win in the fourth game while Paul Waner, Fred Lindstrom, and Pie Traynor all homered for the Bucs.

The 1934 Detroit Tigers fashioned 5 straight come-from-behind victories over the 1941 St, Louis Cardinals.  In game one, they scored 2 in the ninth to tie, and 2 in the 10th to win it! Game two; 3 in the 9th, 3 in the 10th to win again! Eighth and ninth-inning runs in game three and 2 in the 10th to win game four. Down 7-3 in the fifth game, the Tigers scored 3 in the 7th and 2 more in the 8th to walk away with an 8-7 win!!

We are Tigers ... hear us roar!

This Week in Stratball - 7/14/17

This Week in Stratball

7/14/17

NATIONAL LEAGUE CATCHES UP

The Pittsburgh Crawfords enjoyed a week's respite as the schedule-makers provided an opportunity for the rest of the National League to engage in internecine battle - the seven NL teams took turns hosting one another in single-game action.

Brooklyn got surprising pitching from Johnny Babich and Boom-Boom Beck as, early on, they moved to a 4-1 record. Babich pitched into the 9th against the Cincinnati Reds before faltering and allowing the Rhinelanders to tie it up at 5. The Dodgers prevailed in the 11th when Len Koenecke's 4th hit of the game drove in the go-ahead run.

Babich's performance was a pleasant surprise: Beck's effort was shocking! "Boom-boom" earned his nickname from contemporary observers who tried to describe the sound of balls hitting bats ... and then outfield walls in rapid succession! His 7.42 ERA for 1934 seems to corroborate this description.

Larry "Boom-boom" Miller

Boom-boom, as portrayed by comedian Larry Miller

In Beck's start against the Boston Braves, the first inning went according to script. Wally Berger, slugging Boston CF, drove one of Beck's offerings into the seats for a 2-0 lead. But Beck settled down and, remarkably, held the Braves scoreless for the rest of the game: Boom-boom went the distance while striking out 7, surrendering 6 hits, and walking only 2.

In other news from around the league ...NY Giants screwballer Carl Hubbell  subdued the St, Louis Cardinals in a 4-2 victory. Mel Ott homered for the Giants. The Phillies outslugged the Reds 11-8 as Bucky Walters drove in 4 runs on a homer and a double. Walters, later to transform into an outstanding PITCHER for the Reds, was the Phillies' third baseman in 1934.

Bucky Walters, seeing into his future as a Red

The Cubs' Lon Warneke won his second game of the year, outpitching the Cards' Dizzy Dean, 6-1. Both of these top-notch clubs are struggling in the early going and are looking forward to playing the softer spots on the schedule.

The early standings:

Pittsburgh Crawfords               13-8
Brooklyn Dodgers                     5-2
New York Giants                       4-2
Philadelphia Phillies                  4-3
St. Louis Cardinals                    2-4
Chicago Cubs                            2-4
Boston Braves                           2-5
Cincinnati Reds                         1-5

NEWS FROM OTHER LEAGUES

The New York teams are claiming the top spots in the Top Teams of the 90s league. The 1988 Mets and their vaunted pitching rotation are leading the "Early 90s" division with an 8-4 record. The 1998 Yankees, with their 9-3 record, lead the "Late 90s" division.

In the Roaring Twenties league, the 1927 Yankees sport a 24-11 record, good for the top ranking in the "Mostly AL" division. In the "Mostly NL" division, the 1920 Cleveland Indians, led by Tris Speaker, have an identical 24-11 record, two games better than the 1911 New York Giants. Though dormant since this past December, play should be resuming in this league quite soon.

Speaking of dormant, the Johnson-Nixon league has been suspended since May of 2014!! It features a dog-fight in the 1964 (Johnson) division - both the Minnesota Twins and New York Yanks are 33-22. In the 1971 (Nixon) division, the Baltimore orioles are 5 games ahead of the LA Dodgers with a 35-17 record.

The Depression Era league has the 1941 Brooklyn Dodgers atop the "Pre-War"division with a 23-12 record, comfortably ahead of the 1941 Red Sox (with .406-hitting Ted Williams) and the 1941 Yanks (with 56-game hitting streak Joe DiMaggio). In the "Dust Bowl" division, the 1930 A's (23-12) are a game ahead of the 1934 Pittsburgh Pirates and 2 ahead of the 1934 Detroit Tigers.

Finally, with a 15-9 record, the 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers lead the 50s division of the NL Pennant Winners league, while the 1962 San Francisco Giants (16-8) are one game up on the 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates in the 60s division.