Week 9 Summary (June 13, 1938 - June 19, 1938)

Week Nine of the 1938 BBW Replay is in the books, and another outstanding week it was. This was the week when Ebbets Field hosted its first night game, and Johnny Vander Meer threw his second consecutive no-hitter as a way to open the park. Of course, Vander Meer didn’t throw a no-hitter in the replay, but it was the kind of event that brought attention to the baseball world. Schedules on both Friday and Sunday included five double headers as teams are starting to make up for games missed earlier in the season. Only two teams (Boston and Philadelphia, both in the NL) haven't reached the fifty games played mark yet, but they both have played forty-nine games, so it won’t be very long.

Pittsburgh Manager
Pie Traynor
In the AL, after a relatively slow start, the Yankees have begun to assert themselves. Joe DiMaggio was a salary hold out and missed the first two weeks of the season, then rookie second baseman Joe Gordon missed a month due to injuries, plus it took some time for them to sort out their pitching rotation, but they just completed a twelve game winning streak and have opened a 4.5 games lead over second place Detroit. Detroit had gotten off to a good start, but Hank Greenberg (19 homeruns, 78 RBI's) has cooled off and the Tigers are struggling to keep up. Boston may not have the horses to challenge for the top spot, but they are still a very good team (team batting average: .322), and as of recently Jimmie Foxx (18 homeruns, 62 RBI's) has been on an absolute tear in an attempt to carry the Red Sox to the top.

Washington passed St. Louis this past week and now resides in the four-spot in the AL standings. The Nationals have been on a hitting binge (team batting average: .322) these past few weeks, but with their pitching problems, they need every hit they can get. St. Louis, now in fifth place, continues to fade, although on Sunday, they did get to end New York's twelve-game winning streak. Cleveland has its eyes on catching and passing St. Louis next, but they need to take care of their own business rather than rely on the Browns to collapse even further.

 

In the NL, thanks to Chicago ending their week by losing both ends of a doubleheader versus Brooklyn, Pittsburgh climbed back atop the NL standings. While these two continue to fight for the top spot, behind them, New York appears to have righted their ship after several weeks of struggling. Having Mel Ott start hitting again is a boon, but the front end of their starting rotation remains strong, so the Giants are still optimistic about their chances.

 

St. Louis and Brooklyn have spent much of the season tangling over ownership of fourth place, but while the Cardinals hold the four-spot today, Cincinnati has suddenly injected itself into the middle of this race towards the middle and sits alone in fifth place. The Reds have had trouble getting their hitting in gear, plus their pitching is all over the place. If they can keep pulling it together, then better days are ahead for the Queen City.

 

Even as teams work to catch up with rescheduled games, next week has several curious openings in the schedule that will likely set this process back. Regardless, the season carries on, so let's go play.





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Week 1 Results (April 18, 1938 - April 24, 1938)

Image
Monday, April 18, 1938   Transactions:   Boston (AL) pitcher Jim Bagby made his Major League Debut on 04/18/1838   New York (AL) pitcher Joe Beggs made his Major League Debut on 04/19/1938. New York (AL) infielder Joe Gordon made his Major League Debut on 04/18/1938   Detroit outfielder Roy Cullenbine made his Major League Debut on 04/19/1938. Detroit infielder Don Ross made his Major League Debut on 04/19/1938   Cincinnati catcher Willard Hershberger made his Major League Debut on 04/19/1938   Pittsburgh pitcher Bob Klinger made his Major League Debut on 04/19/1938. Pittsburgh outfielder Johnny Rizzo made his Major League Debut on 04/19/1938   Brooklyn outfielder Ernie Koy made his Major League Debut on 04/19/1938   St. Louis (NL) outfielder Enos Slaughter made his Major League Debut on 04/19/1938. St. Louis (NL) pitcher Max Lanier made his Major League Debut on 04/20/1938   Philadelphia (AL) infi...
Read more

Week 4 Summary (May 9, 1938 - May 15, 1938)

Image
Boston (AL) Player/Manager Joe Cronin Week Four of the 1938 BBW replay is in the books, and even after the leaders in both standings had tightened up in Week Three, they have tightened up even more in Week Four. The other thing worth noting from this past week is that in Week Three, there were 52 games played (one tie), whereas in Week Four, there were a total of 33 games played (two ties). The weather has been a major disruptor in every team's schedule so far, and while it is nice to get an extra day off here and there, every game not played now is a game that will have to be made up at a later date, and these later dates are starting to add up. There were no doubleheaders played in either of these past two weeks, so everyone knows what is coming. In the AL, St. Louis remains in first place, 1.0 games ahead of Boston and 1.5 games ahead of New York. The Browns are fighting tooth and nail to hold on to their top spot, but that is what it is going to take if they wish to remain ...
Read more

Week 3 Summary (May 2, 1938 - May 8, 1938)

Image
Week Three of the 1938 BBW replay is in the books, and it was another exciting week. While it is still early, pennant races in both leagues tightened up as teams that got off to a good start slowed down a bit, while teams that struggled out of the gate appeared to have found their stride. Of course, bad teams are still bad teams, and they continue to struggle. The weather has been a problem for some teams, but teams are all either right at or just below twenty games played. There is still some level of roster adjustment going on as well, as teams are still looking to pare down their rosters in preparation for the upcoming summer. Boston (NL) Manager Casey Stengel In the AL, the surprising St. Louis Browns still sit atop the standings - barely, but right on top. They had temporarily fallen out of first place in mid-week but regained their footing and moved back on top by week's end. They have been coming through with key hits when they need them, and they have gotten just enough s...
Read more