Wednesday, June 20, 2007

April 28th, 1934 - NL Game Summaries

Davis is Sterling in Shutout of Brooklyn Ball Club
Philly Ace Holds Dodgers to six hits in complete game shut out

Brooklyn 0 6 1
Philadelphia (NL) 2 4 1

Ethan Allen hit a home run and Curt Davis (pictured) whitewashed Brooklyn as thePhiladelphia Phillies topped the Brooklyn Dodgers by a score of 2 to 0 at the Baker Bowl. Davis (2-0) gave Philadelphia a solid outing. Davis was stingy, allowing just 6 hits, all singles and 1 walk in 9 innings and seeing his ERA drop from 1.00 to 0.50. Philadelphia had only 4 hits for the afternoon. Ray Benge (1-1) was charged with the loss. He surrendered 2 runs and 4 hits in 8 innings. One of those hits, however, was Allan's home run, which proved the difference.
Reds Top Bucs in 12
Piet hits, gets hit, in Cinci victory

Cincinnati 4 11 2
Pittsburgh 3 8 1

Tony Piet (pictured) had already had a fine day at Forbes Field when he came to bat in the 12th inning. He had three hits, two of them doubles, had scored twice and knocked in one of his own. But Piet's game winning moment came when he got hit by Pirates pitcher Waite Hoyt. Piet then stole second base and was able to get to third when Bucs catcher Pat Veltman threw the ball into the outfield. Reds catcher Bob O'Farrell then hit a fly out deep enough to allow the speedy Piet to tag up.

The victory went to Don Brennan (1-0) who went 4 and 2/3 innings, allowing noruns. Hoyt (0-1) was charged with the loss in relief. He was a hard-luck loser as he did not allow an earned run in his 5 innings of work.

Giants Nick Braves in Hard Fought Contest
Hubbell outduels Brandt


New York (NL) 2 7 1
Boston (NL) 1 5 2

'The two best players were definitely both on the mound today,' admitted Giants slugger Mel Ott. 'We couldn't hit their pitcher and they couldn't hit ours.' In a game that saw only 12 hits and two walks, the Giants were able to notch their fifth win of the season. The difference in the game in retrospect turned out to be Boston shortstop Bill Urbanski's muff that allowed the Giants to score on what would have been the third out. Fortunately for New York, Giants pitcher Carl Hubbell (3-0) simply dominated Boston. He didn't allow much, just 5 hits and no walks in 9 innings. New York had a total of 7 hits for the game. The loss was charged to Ed Brandt (2-1). He gave up 5 hits and 2 walks in 8 innings.


Cards Outhit, Outpitch Cubs in Tough 5-3 Win
Dean's Third Start Goes Better

St. Louis (NL) 5 10 1
Chicago (NL) 3 5 2


Dizzy Dean admits that he still isn't pitching quite as well as he'd like, but his second best was still good enough to allow the Cards a 5-3 wins over league leading Chicago. Dean allowed 5 hits and 3 walks in his complete game win to improve to 1-2. Jack Rothrock (pictured), who has struggled at the plate this year, got two hits and improved his batting average to .125. Spud Davis also had 2 base hits. In all, St. Louis had 10 hits for the afternoon. Guy Bush (2-1) absorbed the loss for the Cubbies. He pitched 9 innings and surrendered 10 hits and no walks. 'I'm just glad we were able to get Diz some runs this time,' said Rothrock, reminding reporters that Dean's second loss came in a 2-0 loss to the Cubs earlier in the year.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

April 28th, 1934 - AL Game Summaries


Harder Shuts Down Tigers in 2-1 Pitching Duel
Bridges held Tribe to 1 over 8th

Cleveland 2 10 0
Detroit 1 9 0

In a tension filled pitchers' duel in Detroit, Cleveland pitcher Mel Harder (pictured) was only a little better than his rival, Tiger Tommy Bridges, but it was just enough to give the Tribe its 5th win of the season. 'Tommy was brilliant for us today,' said Tigers manager Mickey Cochrane. 'The boys and me just couldn't get it done at the plate.' A pivotal moment came when Tigers third baseman Billy Rogell was thrown out at home plate in the bottom of the 8th with what would have been the tying run.

Joe Vosmik hit one over the fence and Mel Harder allowed Walter Johnson tor est his bullpen, tossing a complete game at Navin Field. Harder(2-0) gave a fine effort for Cleveland. He went 9 innings allowing 9 hits and 4 walks improving his ERA from 2.00 to 1.50. Detroit threatened in the 9th but their rally came up short. Bridges(0-1) suffered the loss.



Red Sox Take Opener Against NY Rivals
Boston makes it seven straight with win

Boston (AL) 7 9 5
New York (AL) 5 12 3

Right fielder Moose Solters had 2 base hits at Yankee Stadium as the streaking Boston Red Sox beat the New York Yankees 7 to 5. Gordon Rhodes(2-1) contributed a pedestrian performance to earn the win. Heallowed 7 hits and 6 walks in 6 and 1/3 innings. Although they lost, New York did out-hit Boston 12 to 9. Rhodes was helped out by Fritz Ostermueller who recorded his 2nd save. RussVan Atta (0-1) absorbed the loss. He was knocked around pretty good, givingup 6 runs in 5 innings. Boston won for the 7th straight time. 'Everything seems to be going right forus' said Bucky Harris (pictured from his playing days in Washington). 'I've got the easiest job in the league right now!'


www.dickperez.com


White Sox Down Browns 7-3
Earnshaw picks up second victory

Chicago (AL) 7 16 0
St. Louis (AL) 3 11 1

George Earnshaw tossed a complete game and right fielder Frenchy Bordagarayhad 3 base hits as the Chicago White Sox beat the St. Louis Browns by a scoreof 7 to 3. Chicago set the tone of the game in the first inning scoring 2 runners on 2 hits. The highlight belonged to Zeke Bonura who silenced the stadium when helifted one out of the park for a two run home run (his 2nd of the season). Chicago banged out 16 on the afternoon. The victory was credited to Earnshaw (2-0) who went the distance, allowing 3runs. Bobo Newsom(0-1) was hit with the loss. He was knocked around by Chicago, allowing 14 hits and 5 walks in 7 and 2/3 innings.



Nationals Achieve Victory at Home Over A's
Senators improve to .500 with win

Philadelphia (AL) 4 10 1
Washington (AL) 6 8 2

In a good matchup it was the Washington Nationals 6, the Philadelphia Athletics 4 at Griffith Stadium. Washington brought 5 runs across the plate in the bottom of the 3rd inningwith the help of 4 hits. That early run support was enough for Tommy Thomas (2-0) and Washington. Philadelphia made it exciting in the 9th, but they were unable to push the needed runs across. Alex McColl got the save, his 1st. Sugar Cain (1-2) ended up with the loss. He was not very effective, surrendering 5 runs in 3 innings.

Monday, June 18, 2007

April 27th, 1934 - Book Review

Memories of a Baseball Player: Bill Werber and Baseball in the 1930s.


Bill Werber and C. Paul Rogers III

2001, pp. 250, index (privately printed)*



(Replay note: During 1934, Werber was the Red Sox's regular shortstop. Although error prone, he had an excellent season at the plate.)


Bill Werber (HA78) was mostly a journeyman infielder who had managed a few very good years during his playing career that spanned from 1933 to 1942 (with a few games in 1930).


The book is appropriately named as a collection of "memories" rather than a memoir or autobiography. It contains a broad range of Werber's anecdotes from his playing days, and does not pretend to be anything more. Because he played in both leagues, and for five teams, however, his experience was broad enough for that to give the reader a good sense of what baseball during the 1930s was like for the players. Great stories abound, of course, but the book is ultimately greater than the sum of its total.


In fact, because he was not a star, Werber's account is particularly useful. The stories are well written and well organized, which chapters specifically covering managers, various teams, umpires, etc. A fast reader could finish it in half an afternoon and, unless already well versed in the game during that era, will have a much better sense of the game during the period Werber describes when finished.

Memories suffers from the usual drawbacks of a book of its genre. It appears to be nothing more than Werber retelling all of his best baseball stories with Rogers helping to organize and edit them in an interesting, meaningful way. There are apparently no secondary sources, nor did either do any additional "homework" to make the book more than what it is. As a result, one would want to verify Werber's account, told decades after the fact. One example: Werber dates a self-inflicted foot injury to 1934, which, he explains, caused his game to decline. Bill James dates Werber's injury to 1938. Although one would think Werber himself would be the authority, a good researcher would probably want to do more digging on such points.


Still, what it is is quite enough to reward the reader well for the relatively small investment in time and attention it takes to read it.


* Publishing note: My copy only lists a printer; not a publisher. The book is available through the University of Nebraska's Bison Press at the link below. Amazon lists the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) as the publisher.


Rating: ***/**** (Recommend buying it discount or second hand)


Purchasing Information: It can be obtained from the University of Nebraska Bison Press in paperback, usually at a discount, at:




Or new or used through internet new and used book sellers.

April 27th, 1934 - NL Game Summaries

Warneke Blanks Cards in Cubs' 2-0 Win

Yields only two hits to earn third win


Cardinals....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 2 1
Cubs............... 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 x - 2 7 0



Lon Warneke (pictured) allowed only 2 hits while blanking St. Louis as the Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals by a score of 2 to 0. Warneke (3-0) was virtually untouchable. He didn't give up much, just 2 hits and 1 walk in 9 innings lowering his ERA to 0.67. The pitchers took over after the 2nd inning as neither team was able to score again. Tex Carleton (0-2) was given the loss. He pitched 7 innings, giving up 7 hits and 2 walks.

Warneke was obviously very pleased with his performance in the aftermath of the game, 'It was just one of those games where everything worked. My arm felt great, heck, I could have pitched another two or three innings. I only hope that I can do it again next time out!'

Sunday, June 17, 2007

April 27th, 1934 - AL Standings and Leaders




Strat-O-Matic Report (brought to you by America's Railroads)













































NEWSPAPER STYLE RECAP FOR 1934 American League Date: 4/27/1934































































TEAM WON LOST BATTING AVERAGE HOME RUNS RUNS BATTED IN































1934 BOA 6 2 J.Vosmik CLA .640 J.Foxx PHA 5 L.Gehrig NYA 15































1934 CLA 4 2 E.Averill CLA .500 L.Gehrig NYA 4 C.Reynold BOA 11































1934 CHA 4 3 L.Appling CHA .481 E.Averill CLA 3 P.Higgins PHA 11































1934 WAA 4 5 C.Gehring DEA .480 OTHERS TIED W 2 J.Foxx PHA 10































1934 PHA 4 5 J.Foxx PHA .462 OTHERS TIED W 8































1934 DEA 3 4































1934 NYA 3 5 WINS SAVES ERA































1934 SLA 2 4 J.Welch BOA 2 D.Coffman SLA 2 D.Coffman SLA 0.00































R.Ruffing NYA 2 OTHERS TIED W 1 R.Walberg BOA 0.00































E.Whitehi WAA 2 R.Ruffing NYA 1.00































OTHERS TIED W 1 G.Earnsha CHA 1.00































M.Harder CLA 2.00































































CUR HIT STREAK STOLEN BASES STRIKEOUTS































M.Solters BOA 7 E.Combs NYA 2 J.Allen NYA 14































R.Ferrell BOA 7 OTHERS TIED W 1 M.Pearson CLA 11































G.Walker DEA 7 M.Weaver WAA 9































OTHERS TIED W 6 L.Gomez NYA 8































R.Ruffing NYA 8































































YESTERDAY'S GAMES TODAY'S SCHEDULE AND PROBABLE STARTERS































BOA 5 at WAA 2































CHA 2 at DEA 9































PHA 2 at NYA 5































































YESTERDAY'S BEST PERFORMANCES































BATTER TM OPP AB R H RB BB Ks HR SB































R.Johnson BOA WAA 3 1 2 2 1 0 1 0































J.Foxx PHA NYA 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 0































L.Gehrig NYA PHA 4 2 3 2 0 0 0 0































B.Chapman NYA PHA 4 1 2 2 0 0 0 0































H.Manush WAA BOA 3 1 3 0 1 0 0 0































































PITCHER TM OPP INN H R ER BB Ks HR WLS































V.Sorrell DEA CHA 9.0 5 2 0 2 3 0 W































J.Allen NYA PHA 9.0 6 2 2 5 10 1 W































H.Pennock BOA WAA 1.1 0 0 0 0 1 0 S































B.Burke WAA BOA 2.0 1 1 1 0 4 1































































WHO'S HOT - BEST IN LAST 10 DAYS































BATTER TM AVG AB H RB BB HR PITCHER TM IP H ER BB Ks HR WLS































J.Foxx PHA .462 26 12 10 10 5 H.Pennock BOA 5 2 0 0 4 0 001































E.Averill CLA .500 24 12 6 5 3 R.Ruffing NYA 18 9 2 4 8 2 200































L.Gehrig NYA .382 34 13 15 4 4 J.Welch BOA 17 16 4 6 6 0 200































B.Ruth NYA .375 24 9 3 15 1 R.Walberg BOA 9 8 0 1 0 0 100































C.Gehringer DEA .480 25 12 5 8 1 E.Whitehill WAA 18 17 6 6 5 1 200































































WHO'S NOT - WORST IN LAST 10 DAYS































BATTER TM AVG AB H RB BB HR PITCHER TM IP H ER BB Ks HR WLS































O.Melillo SLA .167 24 4 1 1 0 E.Wells SLA 6 11 9 5 3 0 020































B.Dickey NYA .130 23 3 3 0 0 L.Gomez NYA 7 10 7 4 8 0 020































E.McNair PHA .176 34 6 1 2 0 D.Macfayden NYA 10 18 11 5 4 0 010































E.Coleman PHA .111 18 2 2 1 0 F.Marberry DEA 11 18 11 6 5 1 110































G.Goslin DEA .156 32 5 4 1 0 R.Mahaffey PHA 17 21 14 8 3 0 020































































INJURY REPORT































No injuries to report













































































April 27th, 2934 - NL Standings and Leaders



NEWSPAPER STYLE RECAP FOR 1934 National League Date: 4/28/1934

TEAM WON LOST BATTING AVERAGE HOME RUNS RUNS BATTED IN
1934 CHN 7 2 S.Leslie BRN .500 H.Wilson BRN 3 W.Berger BON 10
1934 PIN 5 2 H.Wilson BRN .500 W.Berger BON 2 S.Leslie BRN 9
1934 BON 5 3 M.Ott NYN .500 J.Moore NYN 2 H.Wilson BRN 9
1934 NYN 4 4 C.Grimm CHN .485 M.Ott NYN 2 OTHERS TIED W 7
1934 BRN 4 4 B.Terry NYN .485 OTHERS TIED W 1
1934 PHN 3 5
1934 SLN 2 6 WINS SAVES ERA
1934 CIN 2 6 L.Warneke CHN 3 B.Smith BON 2 C.Hubbell NYN 0.00
E.Brandt BON 2 A.Herring BRN 1 B.Cantwel BON 0.00
G.Bush CHN 2 L.Warneke CHN 0.67
P.Derring CIN 2 B.Swift PIN 1.00
C.Hubbell NYN 2 C.Davis PHN 1.00

CUR HIT STREAK STOLEN BASES STRIKEOUTS
M.Ott NYN 8 P.Martin SLN 3 L.Warneke CHN 20
J.Jordan BRN 7 W.English CHN 2 D.Vance CIN 16
F.Lindstr PIN 7 B.Jurges CHN 2 V.Mungo BRN 15
OTHERS TIED W 6 D.Bartell PHN 2 P.Malone CHN 11
L.Chiozza PHN 2 S.Johnson CIN 11

YESTERDAY'S GAMES TODAY'S SCHEDULE AND PROBABLE STARTERS
SLN 0 at CHN 2 BRN-Benge(1-0, 0.00) at PHN-Davis(1-0, 1.00)
CIN-Stout(0-1, 3.00) at PIN-French(1-1, 4.61)
NYN-Hubbell(2-0, 0.00) at BON-Brandt(2-0, 2.08)
SLN-Dean(0-2, 3.71) at CHN-Lee(0-0, ----)

WHO'S HOT - BEST IN LAST 10 DAYS
BATTER TM AVG AB H RB BB HR PITCHER TM IP H ER BB Ks HR WLS
H.Wilson BRN .476 21 10 8 6 2 L.Warneke CHN 18 7 0 1 12 0 200
M.Ott NYN .519 27 14 7 3 2 P.Derringer CIN 18 16 3 0 6 0 200
A.Vaughan PIN .348 23 8 7 4 1 G.Bush CHN 18 18 4 1 9 0 200
S.Leslie BRN .462 26 12 8 5 0 C.Davis PHN 9 4 1 2 2 0 100
B.Terry NYN .483 29 14 6 2 1 B.Cantwell BON 9 7 0 2 5 0 100

WHO'S NOT - WORST IN LAST 10 DAYS
BATTER TM AVG AB H RB BB HR PITCHER TM IP H ER BB Ks HR WLS
I.Shiver CIN .040 25 1 0 1 0 B.Hallahan SLN 8 19 11 7 4 0 010
J.Rothrock SLN .097 31 3 0 1 0 D.Luque NYN 5 15 6 1 2 0 010
J.Vergez NYN .125 24 3 0 2 0 S.Johnson CIN 13 18 12 10 6 0 020
W.English CHN .129 31 4 0 3 0 C.Moore PHN 12 18 10 7 9 2 010
J.Bottomley CIN .192 26 5 1 1 0 F.Frankhouse BON 15 24 13 9 1 0 110

INJURY REPORT
No injuries to report

LEAGUE STANDINGS FOR 1934 National League

WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC# ACTWON ACTLOST ACTPCT
1934 Chicago CHN 7 2 .778 ---- 146 86 65 .570
1934 Pittsburgh PIN 5 2 .714 1.0 74 76 .493
1934 Boston BON 5 3 .625 1.5 78 73 .517
1934 New York NYN 4 4 .500 2.5 93 60 .608
1934 Brooklyn BRN 4 4 .500 2.5 71 81 .467
1934 Philadelphia PHN 3 5 .375 3.5 56 93 .376
1934 St. Louis SLN 2 6 .250 4.5 95 58 .621
1934 Cincinnati CIN 2 6 .250 4.5 52 99 .344



OVERALL RECORD
Team WON LOST PCT HOME ROAD LEFT RIGHT EXTRA 1-RUN LAST 10 STREAK
BON 5 3 .625 1- 2 4- 1 0- 1 5- 2 0- 0 2- 0 5-3 Lost 1
BRN 4 4 .500 2- 3 2- 1 2- 1 2- 3 0- 0 1- 2 4-4 Won 1
CHN 7 2 .778 3- 1 4- 1 0- 0 7- 2 0- 0 1- 0 7-2 Won 2
CIN 2 6 .250 1- 4 1- 2 0- 1 2- 5 0- 0 0- 1 2-6 Lost 1
NYN 4 4 .500 4- 2 0- 2 1- 1 3- 3 0- 1 0- 2 4-4 Lost 3
PHN 3 5 .375 2- 0 1- 5 0- 1 3- 4 1- 0 2- 1 3-5 Won 2
PIN 5 2 .714 2- 0 3- 2 2- 1 3- 1 1- 0 1- 1 5-2 Won 4
SLN 2 6 .250 2- 3 0- 3 2- 1 0- 5 0- 1 1- 1 2-6 Lost 5
TOTAL 32 32 .500

TEAM -APRIL MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT+
BON 5- 3 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0
BRN 4- 4 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0
CHN 7- 2 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0
CIN 2- 6 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0
NYN 4- 4 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0
PHN 3- 5 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0
PIN 5- 2 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0
SLN 2- 6 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0


WINS ARE ACROSS, LOSSES ARE DOWN:

TEAM BON BRN CHN CIN NYN PHN PIN SLN
BON - 3 0 0 2 0 0 0
BRN 2 - 0 0 0 2 0 0
CHN 0 0 - 4 0 0 0 3
CIN 0 0 2 - 0 0 0 0
NYN 1 0 0 0 - 3 0 0
PHN 0 1 0 0 2 - 0 0
PIN 0 0 0 2 0 0 - 3
SLN 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 -

 

Saturday, June 16, 2007

April 26th, 1934 - NL Player of the Week - Carl Hubbell

NL Player of the Week

“King Carl” Hubbell (HA13) pitched for the New York Giants from 1929 through 1943. He won 2 NL MVP awards and was a 9 time All Star.

In 1934 Hubbell was coming off his first MVP year (his second would be 1936). He was 21-12 with a 2.30 ERA. He led the NL in ERA and WHIP. Lifetime, Hubbell was 253-154 with an ERA of 2.98 for an almost unheard of ERA+ of 130.


Hubbell is known for his use of the screwball, which is generally thought to be the reinvention of the "fadeaway" pitch made famous by Christy Mathewson. After Mathewson retired, the pitch fell into disuse. Hubbell's use of the term "screwball" for the pitch may have caused confusion with another pitch of the same name from the 1920s, according to pitching expert and historian Rob Neyer, which was actually closer to what we now call a sinker. One possible explanation for why Hubbell's screwball was different from Mathewson's fadeaway was that the seams on the ball in the 1930s were raised, allowing for similar mechanics to produce different results. Hubbell, with his long wrists, could get an exceptional "snap" to the ball. GOI1, p. 163.

The single feat for which he is perhaps most remembered was striking out Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin, all Hall of Fame hitters, in order, during the 1934 All Star game.

After retiring as a player, Hubbell became director of the Giants farm system until 1977, and then became a team scout. A "baseball man" through and through, Hubbell spent roughly 60 years with the Giants organization. According to baseball historian Bill James, during Hubbell's tenure running the Giant's scouting outfit, "the farm system was producing ballplayers like McDonald's produces hamburgers." Some of the players that emerged during Hubbell's tenure include Willie McCovey, Juan Marichal, the Alou brothers, Orlando Cepeda and Gaylord Perry.

Hubbell was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1947.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/

http://www.carlhubbell.com/