APBA News - Monday, September 3, 1951

In real life, the Giants continued their onslaught against their crosstown rival Dodgers by not just taking both games of a weekend series, they dominated them 8-1 and 11-2.  In my alternate reality, the two teams split the effort with the Dodgers taking Saturday's game 3-2, while the Giants picked up the Sunday contest 4-3.  My games seem much more enjoyable.  Brooklyn maintains it's comfortable 7 game lead rather than seeing it shrink, as it did in real life, to only 5.

But in the first game of this replay, it was interesting that Ralph Branca would toe the rubber for the Dodgers against the Giants and 1951's biggest hero, Bobby Thomson, in a rematch of the final at bat of the season.  Over his career, Thomson faced Branca 66 times (a meaninful number for APBA fans).  In those opportunities, he managed 4 home runs (including his most famous), but hit only .237 against Branca over his entire career.  Thomson managed a 1 for 3 night with a walk for me.

Ted Williams and the Red Sox were rained out in real life of their scheduled games against the Philadelphia Athletics on Saturday and Sunday.  Those games were rescheduled as a double header in Philadelphia on September 7th.  Even with a time machine, I can't change the weather.  It turns out that weathermen in the early 1950s are just as accurate as they are in 2016.

Doc Brown starts at third base for the Bronx Bombers
No - not "that" Doc Brown

The Yankees had their Sunday contest against the Senators washed out in the same torrential rain storm that cancelled play in Boston.  But on Saturday, Eddie Lopat hurled a 4 hit shutout against the Senators, and the Yanks picked up a 5-0 win.  In a "Back To The Future" moment, in the first game of the A.L. replay, Doc Brown was starting at third base for the Yankees.  Great Scott!!  This Doc Brown was not climbing a Clock Tower during the storm.  See spotlight story at the bottom of the page.  

Like the Bronx Bombers, the Tribe swept 2 game in the dry confines of Cleveland, as both teams matched their efforts in real life.

After my first weekend of games, I can tell, this is going to be a fun project for me.  However, due to either scheduling or weather, on my first Monday of the replay, all 5 of the teams I'm following have double headers against non-contending teams.  That means I have 10 games to enjoy on the first weekday of the schedule.

ON THIS DATE (September 1st) IN BASEBALL HISTORY:

September 1, 1918 - Ty Cobb entered in relief of the second game of a double header at Sportsman Park against the Browns.  Cobb pitched 2 innings, allowing 1 earned run on 3 hits.  Interestingly, Cobb moved to the mound from centerfield in relief of the starting pitcher, George Cunningham.  Cunningham was not removed from the game, but rather switched with Cobb and played the remaining 2 innings in centerfield.  The Browns won the game 6-2.

Cobb pitched twice in 1918 and would take the mound again in 1925.  Overall, he finished his career with a total of 5 innings and allowing only 2 earned runs for a career ERA of 3.61.

September 1, 1945 - In Philadelphia, the oldest of the three Dimaggio brothers, Vince, slugged his 4th Grand Slam of the year tying the major league single season record. 

VINCE DiMAGGIO

Vince's younger brother Joe will retire at the end of this season (1951) with two batting titles, two home run titles, and two RBI titles over his career.  Baby brother Dom led the league in runs scored, triples and stolen bases last season.  He will lead in runs scored again this season.  But Vince has more titles than either younger sibling.  He has led the league in striking out SIX times!

(CRYSTAL BALL): In 1955, the grand slam record will be broken by a young shortstop in Chicago named Ernie Banks with 5.  Many years in the future, in 1987, this record will fall when Don Mattingly slugs 6 for the New York Yankees.  Travis Hafner of the Cleveland Indians will match the mark in 2006 for the Cleveland Indians.  

SPOTLIGHT: Bobby "Doc" Brown

One of the things I've enjoyed so far, is learning about some of the lesser known stars of the era.  Many of these guys were not just good ball players, but very interesing people.  Robert "Doc" Brown is one of them.

Dr. Robert "Bobby" Brown
American League President

Born October 25, 1924, Dr. Bobby Brown is still alive and well.  I started to write a quick bio, but to be honest, nothing I could put together would do this man justice.  Instead, below are two links.  One is from the Dallas Morning News and the other is a story from the MLB site.  I encourage you to check out both.  Brown was a World Series champion who worked his way through medical school while playing baseball.  He was a leading cardiologist for over a quarter of a century.  Then in later years, he returned to baseball as American League President from 1984 to 1994.  What an amazing character of the game!

CLICK HERE FOR THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS ARTICLE

CLICK HERE FOR THE MLB STORY. DR. BROWN SPEAKS AT 2:28 IN THE VIDEO

Back to the Future - 1951

I've been thinking about my next project.  After coming up with my priorities, and eliminating long time commitments like a full season replay, it came to me, after bumping my head while standing on the toilet to hang a clock.

On August 11, 1951, the Brooklyn Dodgers held a 13 game lead over their crosstown rival, New York Giants.  We all know what followed.  The Dodgers didn't play that bad the rest of the way going 26-22.  But the Giants did something...well..."gigantic".  Over their next 44 games, the tenants of the Polo Grounds won 37 to pull even with the Boys of Summer. Then came the three game series to decide the pennant which was capped off by Bobby Thomson's "Shot Heard Round the World".

But what if I could jump in a special made "APBA-lorean" and go back to that time and watch the final month unfold again?  Would the Giants catch the Dodgers a second time? 

Could The Duke of Flatbush, who trailed Ralph Kiner for the NL RBI title on September 1st by only 3, possibly hit .191 with only 1 home run and 9 RBI's over the final month again?  Is it possible that Ralph Branca, a very solid B-Y pitcher, could go 1-7 with a 5.93 ERA on my table like he did on the field that fateful September?

And then, there are the Giants.  Could Sal "The Barber" Maglie and Larry Jansen duplicate their 6-1 records over the last 30 days of the 1951 season?  

Everyone knows what Bobby Thomson did on October 3rd, but I didn't realize that in the month preceding the three game series, the Flying Scott had 9 home runs and 24 RBI's while batting .440!  Outside of Game 3, I've honestly heard very little about Thomson.  Teammate Monte Irvin picked up 7 of his 24 home runs in September, and drove in 28 on his way to the only RBI title of his Major League career.

Then, no matter which team won, the Yankees would be waiting.  Or would they?  On September 1, 1951, the Bronx Bombers had only a 1 game lead over the Indians and a 4.5 game lead on Ted Williams and the Red Sox.  If I'm going back to 1951, how could I not follow along with the Yankees and the last month of Joe D's career? 

And speaking of Ted Williams, the Splendid Splinter was at or near the top of the batting average, home runs and RBI leaders in the American League on September 1st.  Could he win a triple crown if I gave him a chance to replay the final month?  Or better yet, could he, Johnny Pesky and Joe D's little brother Dom find a way to overtake the Yanks and Indians and claim a pennant?

There were lots of "what if's" to consider.  Here is what I've decided upon my return to 1951.  I will re-play the actual schedules for the Giants, Dodgers, Yankees, Indians and Red Sox using the real life starting lineups for each game.  

All league leader stats are rolled back to where everyone was on September 1, 1951.  For games in which the 5 teams I'm following are playing, my stats will be used.  In games for league leaders that I am not playing, their actual stats for those games will count.  For example, Gus Zernial and Ted Williams are tied for the AL RBI lead on September 1st with 112 each.  Williams final total will depend on how he does in the replay, since I will be playing all of Boston's games.  Zernial's Athletics play the Yankees, Red Sox and Indians a combination of 10 times in September.  His RBI totals for those games will count along with his real life totals in the other 14 games.

I fired up the APBA-lorean, and opened it up to a newly modified and much safer "66" MPH (88 in a mall parking lot is crazy), and transported back to a time before Sports Illustrated or Playboy magazines.  Back to the first year APBA or Topps would generate cards.  It's before the weekly broadcast of "Game of the Week".  In fact the Dodgers - Giants 1951 NLCS would be the first coast-to-coast televised baseball game.  

About the only things I recognize in this 1951 world as familiar, are the cards coming out of Lancaster, PA and the voice of Vin Scully coming out of WMGM radio in New York.  It's a time when Humphrey Bogart, Marlon Brando, Vivien Leigh and Elizabeth Taylor rule the big screens.  James Arness has never heard of Gunsmoke.  Nat King Cole, Tony Bennett and Rosemary Clooney top the music charts.

After picking up an APBA News at a corner newstand (those are timeless), I found the league leaders had been posted that morning.

Current standings and remaining schedules of the clubs chasing pennants were also in there.  What a handy publication!

I hope I brought enough Plutonium to get back.  I also wonder if anyone will notice a funky looking stainless steel car cruising around from ballpark to ballpark in 1951?  I'll just tell them it's an import.

GWB - League Championships

NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

Folks in the dessert are searching for their warranty cards, so they can see if the Big Unit is still under warranty.  Johnson was roughed up by the 1999 Mets and the 1999 Reds in the first games of Arizona's prior series.  In both instances, the DBacks had escaped elimination with stout pitching performances from their #2 starter, Omar Daal and their bullpen.  They also needed timely clutch hitting from Matt Williams, Luis Gonzalez and Steve Finley.  They would need a better performance from their ace against the 1998 Braves.

Looking at the matchup of Johnson (A17-XYZ) vs. Greg Maddux (A18-XZ) for Game 1 would put a smile on any APBA replayer's face.  The anticipation of two Hall of Famers going toe to toe on your tabletop is almost as good as watching the real thing.  But these two titans had experienced very different roads on their way to this marquee matchup.  Maddux (2-0, 0.53) had thrown the tournament's only no-hitter against the 97 Marlins in his first appearance, and followed it up by allowing only 1 run in 8 innings of work to Barry Bonds and the 2000 Giants.  Johnson (0-2, 12.14) had been the polar opposite of Maddux.  If Arizona thought his 5 1/3 innings early exit against the Mets was disappointing, it was nothing compared to the barrage of double dice rolls by the 99 Reds.  Johnson surrendered 7 runs, all earned, to Cincinnati in 1 1/3 innings.  After two bad losses, the Big Unit’s earned run average was north of 12.  Things had to get better, right?

In Game 1, the two centerfielders provided some early fireworks.  In the top of the 2^nd Inning, Steve Finley blasted a two-run homer and Andruw Jones cut the margin in half with a solo shot in the bottom half of the inning.  After Finley ran into the Maddux offering, the Professor pulled the fangs out of the Snakes, holding them to only 2 hits over the next 7 innings.  Meanwhile, Chipper Jones picked up 3 RBIs with a home run in the 4^th and a double in the 5^th, as the Braves moved ahead to the final 6-2 margin.  Johnson was chased early (again), lasting only 4 2/3 innings, while surrendering the 6 Braves runs, all earned.  His record fell to 0-3, while even the bad outing reduced his gigantic 6’10” sized ERA to 11.57.  Maddux improved to 3-0, but his one mistake pitch to Finley, moved his ERA all the way up to 1.04.

Just as he had done in two prior outings, Omar Daal pulled the Diamondbacks back from the brink of elimination with a win, this time over the Braves second Hall of Fame starter Tom Glavine.  Andres Galarraga homered in the top of the first inning to put the Braves ahead early, 2-0.  But in the 2^nd inning, Travis Lee drove a Glavine pitch into the seats to get the home team on the board.  Luis Gonzalez drove home Jay Bell with a single in the 3^rd, then went yard in the 6^th to put the DBacks up 3-2.  Daal held firm through 7 innings, before turning things over to Greg Swindell and Matt Mantei for scoreless 8^th and 9^th frames.

In the finale, Jay Bell and the Ice Man, Gerald Williams both found the Turner Field seats in the first inning.  But the Big Cat got hot crushing home runs in the 4^th and 6^th innings.  Denny Neagle worked the first 3 innings, allowing only 1 run.  John Smoltz hurled the next 4 innings, giving up 1 more.  John Rocker worked two scoreless innings for the save.  Kerry Ligtenberg was warmed and ready, but with a steady diet of Arizona lefty batters in the lineup, Rocker kept on rockin’.  The ’98 Braves won the National League title, and will advance into the Final Bracket as the only Brave representative.  How they fare against the AL champion will determine if the enter that field in the Winners Bracket of the Losers.

AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

The Yankee Boy faced his old rivals in these tournaments, the Baltimore Orioles.  4 times he’s faced a team of O’s and 3 of those times, they’ve sent his team home.  In Game 1, the 98 Bronx Bombers started out fast again roughing Jimmy Key up for 8 runs in the first 2 innings, highlighted by a 2 run homer by Scott Brosius and two 2 run homers by Bernie Williams.  Unlike the game with the Chicago White Sox, where the Yankees got out to an 8-0 lead, only to give up 13 unanswered runs in the loss, the boys in pinstripes kept their foot on the gas and coasted to a 12-5 win.

When the series moved to Baltimore, it set up another classic pitching matchup.  David Cone would toe the rubber for the Yanks, while APBA tournament pitching great Mike Mussina would take the ball and try to keep his team’s hopes alive.  Through the first 5 innings, Mussina allowed 4 hits, while Coney gave up only 2.  In the 6^th, Darryl Strawberry connected for a solo home run to put New York ahead 1-0.  At that point, the birds took flight, scoring 6 times in the bottom of the inning, highlighted by a bases clearing double by Brady Anderson.  Joe Girardi and Derek Jeter added solo homers, but NY could make no serious rally, and Baltimore evened the series with an 8-3 win.

Both of the first 2 games had been without a lot of suspense or drama.  Game 3 would make up for it.  Brady Anderson led off the game against David Wells with a double, Robby Alomar drew a walk, and B.J. Surhoff followed with a 3 run homer before most of the fans had settled into their seats at Yankee Stadium.  Geronimo Berroa added a solo shot in the 6^th to put the Birds ahead 4-0.  Scott Erickson pitched 6 beautiful innings, allowing only 3 hits to the Yankees before handing the ball to the previously dependable Oriole bull pen in the 7th.  The Yankees finally came to life, batted around and scored 3 runs on 3 straight hits by O’Neill, Brosius and Girardi.  Brady Anderson smashed Mariano Rivera’s first pitch into the gap for a lead off triple and scored on a Robby Alomar sac fly to give Baltimore some breathing room, 5-3.  When O’Neill connected on a Jesse Orosco offering in the 8^th to make it 5-4, it was clear New York was not going to just quit. 

Randy Myers couldn’t close the door in the 9^th.  Homer Bush singled, stole second and scored when the Captain, Derek Jeter, singled him home to tie the game.  The teams moved into extra innings, and Ramiro Mendoza took over in long relief.  In 2 innings of work in the 10^th and 11^th, he faced 6 batters and retired them all.  Meanwhile, the brilliant Orioles manager (me) had burned through all of the quality Oriole pitchers trying to win the game in regulation.  When that failed, it left only Scott Kamieniecki as the best long relief option for Baltimore.  He retired the first batters he faced, but when Homer Bush singled in the 11^th and Derek Jeter stepped back in the box, things had that old familiar feeling.  Jeter came through with a 33-6 double scoring Bush from first base for the walk off and advancing the Yankees into the finals against 98 Braves.  The Sinatra was cued up, and the word was spread.  The 98 Yanks solidified their spot in the final tournament of champions along with the 1985 and 1986 squads.