1956 NL End Of April Report

April is completed in my new APBA baseball project, the 1956 National League. It's been kind of a surprising month in some ways, and a lot of fun to send these old players back onto the field. I was only a year old in 1956 and so most of these players are new to me, and my 1956 Baseball Register is getting a work out!

The most surprising thing--and one I am not very thrilled about--is the preponderance of shutouts in the early going. I have played 50 games and 21 of them have ended in shutouts. Part of this can be attributed to top starters going more often at the beginning, what with the rotations being set for Opening Day, and the frequent off days. Also, I am still learning the players and doodling around with the line-ups. But 42% shutouts? (My 1969 NL replay started out with an avalanche of errors, and I was worried about that, but over the length of the replay, it came out right on the money. So, maybe this is an aberration, too.) By contrast, there have only been 9 games decided by one run, and only 2 extra inning games. (Both went into extras tied at 0!) But for all of the zeroes, there was only 1 low-hit game, a 2-hitter by Bob Friend on Opening Day. 

Lou Burdette: 3 starts, 3 shutouts!

Milwaukee (9-3, 0 gb)  The Braves shot out of the gate like gangbusters, winning 9 of their first 10, and riding unbelievably good starting pitching. The team e.r.a. is a microscopic 1.18--well over a run better than any other team. Braves chuckers completed 10 of 12 starts (again well ahead of the league) and tossed a whopping 6 blank jobs, allowing only 16 runs against total. Del Crandall and Joe Adcock paced the offense with a 5 and a 6 rbi game respectively (leader board to follow team reports) while Spahn and Burdette headed the staff. In a total 50's move, the Braves did not even attempt a stolen base so far.

Gil thought the rbi's would just never come.

Brooklyn (9-4, 1/2 gb)  The Dodgers twirled 5 blanks of their own, headed by Roger Craig and 4-game winner Don Newcombe, who had a little luck in the form of booming Dodger bats. Brooklyn is second in the league in batting average (.252) and leads in doubles with 29. Sandy Amoros and Duke Snider paced the attack. Jim Gilliam is always on base, and third sacker Ransom Jackson did his share. Veteran shortstop Pee Wee Reese struggled to get above .100, and legendary Jackie Robinson has been relegated to utility duty in his final season, but is hitting north of .400 in that role. Gil "Gill Man" Hodges took forever to get his first rbi, but ended the month with 5.

"I want to be league president!" crowed a delirious Bill White.

New York (8-6, 2 gb) The Giants want to say just one word to you, young man. No, not "plastics." They say, "Power!" The Giants paced the loop with 17 round trippers and placed 4th in runs (50) despite being 6th in average (.217). Bill White, who would have been player of the month if they had that in 1956, sprayed the ball all over the Polo Grounds, and despite a disappointing .236 average, Willie Mays did plenty of damage, too. Add in timely blasts from Hank Thompson and Dusty Rhodes (2 pinch hit home runs, including a grand slam!) and the New Yorkers found themselves in third place at month's end despite having lost their first two games at home to Pittsburgh.  

Cincinnati (6-6, 3 gb) As expected, the Reds pounded the ball, leading the circuit in average (.265) runs (62) and even stolen bases (8). The pitching was suspect, placing 7th with a 4.29 e.r.a. The attack was remarkably balanced, with 9 different players hitting either 1 or 2 home runs. Ace Brooks Lawrence would like to forget April, after having gone 0-3. 

"Call me. Don't be afraid you can't call me..."

Philadelphia (5-7, 4 gb) The Quakers had surprisingly good pitching, placing second with a nifty 2.47 team mark despite being last in strikeouts (45). The problem in Philly was a lack of scoring. The Phils plated just 32 runs (7th) and were tied for last in homers with just 6. Stan Lopata and Granny Hamner (who had a 2-homer, 8 rbi game against Brooklyn) did their bit, but Richie Ashburn--after stroking 3 hits on opening day--hit just .149 and Del "The Black Hole" Ennis hit a mere .125 with 1 HR and 2 rbi. Saul Rogovin came out of nowhere to post a zero e.r.a. based on one shutout start and a few innings of relief. 

St. Louis (5-7, 4 gb) The Cardinals pitching was so awful that even a double shutout of the Braves on the 29th only lowered the team e.r.a. to a dismal 5.43, worst by far in the loop.  Redbird pitchers gave up a league-high 65 runs and 17 homers against. The offense was capable of exploding, but was spotty. They hit only 9 homers, and were 0-2 in steal attempts. Catcher "Cura" Smith started hot, going 7-for-14 with 6 rbi's including a grand slam, but then he was kicked in the head by a Missouri mule and will miss several weeks. Expect GM Frank "Trader" Lane to start dealing soon if the cards don't start flying a little higher. 

Pete rocks a 1926 vibe for the 1956 Cubs.

Chicago (4-8, 5 gb) The Cubbies had one remarkable stat at the end of April, quite an amazing one, in fact: they grounded into only 1 double play. The next least in the league was 7. Perhaps part of the reason is that they hit just .215 (7th). However, they did get a big performance from journeyman flyhawk Pete Whisenant, who had the audacity to hit for the cycle against St. Louis. "The Whiz" scored 4 runs that day, and cemented his place in Cubs history. There wasn't much else to crow about except for ace Bob Rush's three wins.

Pirate skipper Bobby Bragan keeps searching for solutions.

Pittsburgh (4-9, 5 1/2 gb) The Pirates won their first two games, then dropped 9 of their next 11. The problem is, that in a league starved for runs, the Pirates were the most anemic of all, plating just 28, last in the circuit. They were also last in average at .203, and tied for last in HR with 6 and triples with 2. Did I mention they were last in fielding as well, with 17 errors? Dick Groat and first sacker Dale Long were a comedy team on the Pirate infield, each charged with a whopping 6 miscues in just 13 games. The one bright spot was the pitching, which clocked in 5th at 2.99.  

LEADERS

WINS: Newcombe-brk 4-0, Burdette-mil 3-0, Rush-chi 3-1, Spahn-mil 3-1

ERA: Burdette-mil 0.00, Rogovin-phi 0.00, Spahn-mil 0.25, Wehmeier-phi 0.60, Craig-brk 0.88, Nuxhall-cin 1.15, Gomez-ny 1.17, Friend-pit 1.43,  Conley-mil 1.50, Dickson-phi 1.67

CG: Spahn-mil 4, Burdette-mil 3, Dickson-phi 3

Shutouts: Burdette-mil 3, 3 tied with 2

IP: Spahn-mil  36, Newcombe-brk 33, Friend-pit 28, Burdette-mil 27, Dickson-phi 27, Kline-pit 26.2, Rush-chi 26

K's: Spahn-mil 27, Fowler-cin 19, Kline-pit 19, Haddix-stl 16, Burdette-mil 15, Newcombe-brk 15

Losses: Kaiser-chi 0-3, Law-pit 0-3, Lawrence-cin 0-3, Roberts-phi 0-3

AVG: Kluszewski-cin .409, Adcock-mil .400, Aaron-mil .373, Lopata-phi .357, Crandall-mil .342, Jones-phi .317, Jackson-brk .311, Musial-stl .311, Thompson-ny .310, White-ny .306

HR: Crandall-mil 5, Snider-brk 5, White-ny 5, Adcock-mil 4, Amoros-brk 4

RBI: Crandall-mil 13, Adcock-mil 12, Snider-brk 11, Mays-ny 10, 5 tied with 9

RUNS: White-ny 13, Aaron-mil 10, Snider-brk 10, Bell-cin 9

2B: Jablonski-cin 8, Snider-brk 6, 6 tied with 5

3B: Bruton-mil 3, 7 tied with 2

STEALS: Mays-ny 5, Bell-cin 4, Gilliam-brk 2, McMillan-cin 2

ERR: Groat-pit 6, Long-pit 6, Spencer-ny 5

See you next time for the end of May report!

Coming Soon.....

...1956 NL!

What A Game ! ! ! : Thursday, September 18th, 1969

Scores

CHI 3, PHI 0  W-Selma 11-14 L-Wise 11-15  Selma 11 K's.

NY 4, MON 3  W-Taylor 7-3 L-Waslewski 4-3  S-McGraw(24)  HR-Clendenon 2(24) Staub(30)

STL 6, PIT 3  W-Giusti 4-4 L-Blass 15-8  S-Hoerner(14)  HR-Torre(12)

LA 3, ATL 1  W-Singer 22-8 L-P.Niekro 15-13  HR-Kosco(16)  

CIN 11, SD 3  W-Maloney 19-10  L-J.Niekro 9-14  HR-Tolan(18)

SF 10, HOU 9 (11inns)  W-Herbel 6-3 L-Guinn 0-2  HR-Menke(8) Bonds(23) Hunt(2)  Fuentes 2-out walk-off single.


Two weeks and 68 games to go.

"Why can't you just trust me?!?"

This is where it gets good, ball fans! The Giants faced the Astros at Candlestick, needing a win to keep pace with the Dodgers. The Astros stink but can be dangerous in any given game. Add to that, the Giants had to send the sketchy Mr. Bolin to the hill; despite his 15-10 record, he isn't very reliable. The Astros countered with bullpen reclamation project Wade Blasingame.

"So what if it landed in the front row. I didn't want to hit Uecker!"

Bolin went straight out there and coughed up three singles, punctuated with an error by Ron Hunt. Two runs came across, and only a double play saved the inning for Bob. In the bottom of the first, the fumble-fingered Mister Hunt, known more for being hit with baseballs than for hitting them out of the park, belted his 2nd dinger to cut the score to 2-1. But, behold! Bolin settled down, and the Giants tallied 3 in the 4th and 2 more in the 6th to take a commanding 6-2 advantage. 

The immortal Julio Gotay.

Lookin' good for San Francisco, right? Wrong. Mr. Bolin, despite having advanced to a "C", suddenly remembered who he is after retiring the first two hitters of the 7th. He walked Menke, then hit Rader to put two on. Blefary singled Menke in. Then slump-encrusted Jim Wynn, demoted to the 7th spot in the order, cued one off the end of the bat and busted it down the line. "Safe!" screamed arbiter I.C.Poorlee, because it sounded that way. Rader scored to make it 6-4, but Wynn came up lame and had to depart. At least he got his first rbi of the month. He's day to day. Johnny "Johnny Angel" Edwards greeted new pitcher Ron Bryant, brought in to face the lefty, with a single to make it 6-5, and pinch hitter Julio Gotay knocked in the tying run off of Frank Linzy, although Edwards was gunned down at third to finally end the frame. 6-6!

Drunk with success?

It stayed that way until the top of the ninth when, with Don McMahon on the mound, Doug Rader led off with a single. Curt Blefary doubled, and Tommy Davis, who had replaced Wynn, singled Rader in to make it 7-6 as the home crowd groaned. Davis, giddy with success, took off for second, but was cut down by Dick Dietz, and the rally fizzled from there. Nonetheless, the Astros handed Fred Gladding a lead to protect in the bottom of the 9th.

Is this a confident face, or what?

Ron Hunt, swinging for the fences, struck out, reminding himself to choke up and smack singles. The canny veteran Willie Mays rose to the occasion and hit a mighty fly to left center, which fell and bounced off the fence as Willie motored into third with one out! Reluctant to put the winning run on intentionally, Astro skipper Harry Walker had Gladding pitch to Willie McCovey, who grounded to third. There was nothing Mays could do but get back to the bag and watch McCovey be thrown out for the second out. The air seemed to go out of the crowd. Jim Ray Hart was the last hope for San Franciso. He lined a clean single to center, scoring Mays and causing the home crowd to go wild. 7-7! Dick Dietz struck out, and extra innings (again!) were on tap in San Fran.

"Watch this!"

The joy was short-lived when an exhausted Mr. McMahon--done in not only from all the extra innings lately, but also from handing out sweepstakes prizes--gave up a two-run bomb to Denis Menke in the top of the 10th to give Houston a 9-7 lead. The crowd gnashed their teeth and rent their garments and called McMahon unkind names as Menke circled the sacks. Gladding, given a second chance to close it out, gave up a pinch single to Tito Fuentes to lead off the bottom of the 10th, but he was erased on a double play ball by fellow pinch hitter Bobby "Call me Melissa" Etheridge. Dark clouds blocked the sun as the Giants seemed done. But wait! Clyde King sent up a third straight pinch hitter, little Don Mason, who ripped a double! Up stepped Bobby Bonds, 0-for-5, all strikeouts. Harry Walker stroked his chin and eyed Ron Hunt, an on-base machine, on deck, and decided not to walk the flailing Mr. Bonds and put the tying run on base with Mays and McCovey lurking behind Hunt. BAM! Bonds launched a Gladding pitch into the left field stands and the fans lost their minds! 9-9! Hunt then made the third out, naturally, as Walker did violence to the Gatorade dispenser. 

"I'm too sexy for my shirt...so sexy that it hurts..."

Ron "Herbal Essence" Herbel, the last man in the Giants bullpen, was made to cut short his totally organic experience and enter the game in the top of the 11th. He disposed of Hector Torres, Marty Martinez and Joe Morgan in order. On came Skip Guinn for the Astros, the man with an e.r.a. above 12, the highest by far in the entire league. Hey, there just wasn't anyone else! He managed to retire Mays, but slap-hitter Willie McCovey dinked a single and was pinch run for by kid flyhawk Dave Marshall. Jim Ray Hart, the hero of the 9th inning, stepped up and the crowd went bananas. Come on, Jim! But he fanned, and everybody moaned. Last chance--Dick Dietz. He took pitch after pitch, fouled off a few, and finally worked a walk, putting runners on first and second for Tito Fuentes, who had stayed in the game at third. Guinn delivered. Fuentes swung and lofted a dying quail into left field. Marshall steamed around third and headed for home, arms and legs pumping as the crowd held its breath and left fielder Marty Martinez scooped up the ball and fired it home. In came the ball. In came Dave Marshall. Plate umpire "Hell" Enkeller leaned forward to get a good look and called Marshall....SAFE! Astro catcher Johnny Edwards spun on his heel in frustration and stared heavenward as the Giants poured out of the dugout to mob Marshall and Fuentes. 10-9 Giants in eleven innings! What a game. The Giants now welcome L.A. into Candlestick for a three game weekend series. Hang on to your hats!

16 HR for Montreal in 2 months, 8 for the Mets in 3.

In other news, Andy Kosco's 3-run jack in the bottom of the first inning sunk Phil Niekro and the Braves, as Bill Singer made it stand up the rest of the way. In Montreal, Donn Clendenon suddenly remembered how to hit home runs, and socked two of them, including a 2-run 9th inning heartbreaker. Nonetheless, a Cardinal victory over the Pirates mathematically eliminated the Mets. One reason I chose to play '69 NL was to see whether I could make them win it again; now I have my answer, a resounding "No!" I don't think anybody could. It was truly a miracle that such a light-hitting crew won a hundred games. But who cares about that? Bring on Dodgers-Giants!

 

Sunday, August 31st, 1969 and End of Month Leader Board

Scores

ATL 2, CHI 1  W-Jarvis 14-9 L-Jenkins 15-8  S-Upshaw(25)

CIN 7, STL 3  W-Carroll 6-4 L-Gibson 16-6  HR-Tolan(11) Perez(23) 

PIT 6, HOU 2  W-Gibbon 5-6 L-Gladding 3-5  S-Dal Canton(9)  HR-Clemente(13) Morgan(13)

LA 4, PHI 0  W-Sutton 16-8 L-Jackson 12-12  HR-Sudakis(8)  Sutton 1-hitter.

MON 6, SD 4 (10inns)  W-Face 3-7 L-Reberger 5-11  HR-Staub(27) Kelly(3) Pena(3)  Staub 4 rbi.

SF 3, NY 2  W-Perry 18-6 L-Koosman 15-10  HR-Agee(16)  Perry 2-hitter.

SF 9, NY 3  W-McCormick 12-5 L-Gentry 14-9  HR-Clendenon(21) Swoboda(4) Burda(3)

August is over! 803 games played, 169 to go in my replay. The Dodgers and Giants find themselves in a virtual tie for first in the west going into September, while the Cardinals lead Chicago by 5 and a half, and the Mets by 6 and a half. The Giants posted the best record in August at 21-7, followed by the Dodgers at 20-8. The worst two teams were the Phillies and Astros at 8-20 (coming on the heels of Houston's 21-5 July. What a season.) Each team has just one cross-divisional series left, then it's all within their own division after that! Now, how about those stats...

PITCHING
NY  2.83 (least runs against, 421)
CHI  2.89 
STL  2.91 (most CG, 65. most shutouts, 18)
ATL  3.06
LA  3.23 (most saves, 32.)
SF  3.30 (least K's, 740.)
HOU  3.71 (tied for least saves, 12.)
PIT  3.71 (most K's, 939)
CIN  3.87
MON  4.48 (least CG, 24.)
PHI  4.53 (tied for least saves, 12.)
SD  4.85 (most runs allowed, 734. least shutouts, 2.)

BATTING
CIN  .270 (most runs, 660. least caught stealing, 21.)
PIT  .269 
LA  .260 (tied for most triples, 45. least times shut out, 6.) 
ATL  .255 (most home runs, 126. tied for least triples, 20. tied for most caught stealing, 41.)
SF  .253 (tied for most caught stealing, 41.)
STL  .252 (least home runs, 53.)
MON  .251
CHI  .244 (tied least triples, 20. least steals, 31.)
HOU  .241 (tied most triples, 45. most steals, 99. most doubles, 203.)
NY  .228 (least doubles, 136.) 
PHI  .225 (most times shut out, 20)
SD  .212 (least runs, 406.) 

FIELDING (avg is IP divided by errors.)
STL  14.34 (least errors, 86.)
ATL  12.88 (most DP's turned, 163.)
CHI  12.71
CIN  11.57
LA  10.20
NY  10.03
SF  9.88
PIT  9.24
MON  8.87
SD  8.76
PHI  8.70
HOU  7.91 (most errors, 150. least DP's turned, 86.)

Random team stuff:
best 1-run record SF 27-15, worst PHI 12-29
best x-inn record ATL and STL 12-6, worst  PHI 5-14

Player of the Month--Bobby Tolan, Cincinnati. He drove in 30 runs in August!

WINS: Singer-la 19-8, Carlton-stl 18-6, Perry-sf 18-6, Hands-chi 17-9

ERA: Perry-sf 1.64, Hands-chi 1.99,  Gibson-stl 2.09, P.Niekro-atl 2.14, Marichal-sf 2.17

Al "Losing Pitcher" Santorini

LOSSES: Santorini-sd 5-20, J.Johnson-phi  5-19

SHUTOUTS: Dierker-hou, Marichal-sf, Perry-sf, and Singer-la all with 6.

IP: Hands-chi 257.2, Carlton-stl  249.2, Maloney-cin 243.2, P.Niekro-atl 243.2

Her door man rocks.

K's: Carlton-stl 196, Singer-la 190, Jenkins-chi 183, Wilson-hou 178, Hands-chi 177 

CG: Carlton-stl 21, Hands-chi 20,  Koosman-ny 20, Marichal-sf 20

SAVES: Upshaw-atl 25, McGraw-ny 21, Granger-cin 17, Mikkelsen-la 16

ERRORS: Morgan-hou 34, Arcia-sd 29, Money-phi 29, Sizemore-la 29

AVG (353 ab): Rose-cin .364, McCovey-sf .355, Davis-la .347, Mota-la .347, Jones,ny .343, Hebner-pit 325, H.Aaron-atl 323, Oliver-pit .322, Tolan-cin .318, Johnson-cin .317

HR: H.Aaron-atl 40, Allen-phi 30, McCovey-sf 27, Staub-mon 27, Oliver-pit 26

RBI: Staub-mon 105, May-cin 103, McCovey-sf 97, Oliver-pit 97, H.Aaron-atl 96

RUNS: Rose-cin 114, Bonds-sf 106, Wynn-hou 104, Brock-stl 100, two tied with 89.

DOUBLES: Kessinger-chi 33, Laboy-mon 33, 3 tied with 29.

TRIPLES: Davis-la 11, Sanguillen-pit 11, 3 tied with 10.

STEALS: Morgan-hou 52, Bonds-sf 50, Wills-la 43, Brock-stl 38, Wynn-hou 30

I Got APBA'viewed !

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