Week 20 Summary (August 29, 1938 - September 4, 1938)

Week Twenty of the 1938 BBW Replay is in the books, and it was another busy and exciting week. There were only nine doubleheaders this week, as opposed to the twenty doubleheaders last week, but I have no fear. Next week starts off with Labor Day, and a total of eight doubleheaders are on the schedule, so everyone will get in two more games to start off next week. Everyone has passed the 120-games-played mark, but no one has reached the 130-games-played mark, so all sixteen teams' games played for all teams have really come much closer over the past few weeks. 

In the AL, the Yankees continue to build on their lead and are now 12.5 games ahead of second-place Boston. The Red Sox lead the third-place Cleveland Indians by 10 games, so while it may look futile for the Indians, this is actually the culmination of a long slog up from the bottom of the standings. Washington sits behind Cleveland - they're batting .324 as a team, but even though their 5.02 ERA is third best in the AL, they are finding out they can only out-pound the opposition so many times without some stability on the mound besides Dutch Leonard. Detroit has spent most of the past few months struggling to stay above .500, but they finally fell through that floor last week, and as of yet haven't been able to right their ship.

 

In the NL, Pittsburgh is still in first place, currently 3.0 games ahead of Chicago, but recently every game has been a struggle. They still lead the NL in hitting, pitching, and defense, and they are going to have to rely on each one of those if they hope to hang on and capture the NL pennant. They face Chicago and third-place Cincinnati to start off this upcoming week, and it isn’t going to get easier for them over these final few weeks.

New York sits in fourth place, 0.5 games behind third-place Cincinnati, but knows the pennant is within its grasp. In their next few weeks, they will spend playing the teams that fill out the bottom of the NL standings. If the teams at the top of the standings can knock each other round, and if the Giants can dominate the teams at the bottom, they might be able to slip into the top spot yet. Carl Hubbell won't be coming back following his recent elbow surgery, but they have stayed strong in his absence, so they remain hopeful.

 

League Leaders (through Week 20)

 

American League Leaders

 

Batting Average: Jimmie Foxx (BOS) .442, Jeff Heath (CLE) .404, Hal Trosky (CLE) .400, Buddy Myer (WAS) .396, Joe DiMaggio (NYY) .396

 

Hits: Jimmie Foxx (BOS) 217, Joe DiMaggio (NYY) 199, Doc Cramer (BOS) 195, Mel Almada (STB) 183, Joe Vosmik (BOS)  185

 

Runs: Jimmie Foxx (BOS) 146, Frank Crosetti (NYY) 128, Joe DiMaggio (NYY) 122, Joe Vosmik (Bos) 111, Hank Greenberg (Det) 109, Harlond Clift (STB) 109

 

RBI's: Jimmie Foxx (BOS) 161, Hank Greenberg (DET) 159, Joe DiMaggio (NYY) 137, Lou Gehrig (NYY) 125, Rudy York (DET) 122

 

Doubles: Doc Cramer (BOS) 41, Hal Trosky (CLE) 37, Lou Gehrig (NYY) 37, George McQuinn (STB) 35, Jimmie Foxx (BOS) 35

 

Triples: Lou Finey (PHA) 18, Jeff Heath (CLE) 16, Harlond Clift (STB) 12, Jimmie Foxx (BOS) 12, Buddy Myer (WAS) 11

 

Homeruns: Jimmie Foxx (BOS) 49, Hank Greenberg (DET) 47, Joe DiMaggio (NYY) 31, Rudy York (DET) 29, Harlond Clift (STB) 26

 

Walks: Hank Greenberg (DET) 106, Billy Werber (PHA) 105, Jimmie Foxx (BOS) 103, Lou Gehrig (NYY) 98, Frank Crosetti (NYY) 95

 

Pitching: Red Ruffing (NYY) 19-5 3.21, Dutch Leonard (WAS) 18-3 2.70, Monte Pearson (NYY) 17-3 4.52, Bobo Newsom (STB) 17-12, 4.15, Lefty Grove (BOS) 16-4 2.03, Lefty Gomez (NYY) 16-6 3.52)

 

National League Leaders

 

Batting Average: Ernie Lombardi (CIN) .390, Ripper Collins (CHC) .386, Frank McCormick (CIN) .376, Johnny Mize (STC) .369, Jo-Jo Moore (NYG) .344

 

Hits: Frank McCormick (CIN) 198, Paul Waner (PIT) 168, Lloyd Waner (PIT) 165, Ripper Collins (CHC 160, Johnny Mize (STC) 154

 

Runs: Mel Ott (NYG) 97, Arky Vaughan (PIT) 92, Stan Hack (CHC) 87, Ival Goodman (CIN) 81, Johnny Rizzo (PIT) 80

 

RBI's: Mel Ott (NYG) 97, Johnny Mize (STC) 93, Frank McCormick (CIN) 85, Ernie Lombardi (CIN) 82, Joe Medwick (STC) 82

 

Doubles: Hersh Martin (PHP) 42, Johnny Rizzo (PIT) 36, Frank McCormick (CIN) 35, Ernie Lombardi (CIN) 34, Cookie Lavagetto (BKN) 33

 

Triples: Johnny Mize (STC) 18, Ripper Collins (CHC) 13, Lew Riggs (CIN) 12, Ernie Koy (BKN) 11, Enos Slaughter (STC) 10, Harry Craft (CIN) 10, Mel Ott (NYG) 10, Ival Goodman (CIN) 10, Stan Hack (CHC) 10

 

Homeruns: Johnny Mize (STC) 28, Mel Ott (NYG) 28, Harry Craft (CIN) 24, Dolph Camilli (BKN) 21, Johnny Rizzo (PIT) 20

 

Walks: Dolph Camilli (BKN) 94, Arky Vaughan (PIT) 91, Mel Ott (NYG) 86, Johnny Mize (STC) 72, Stan Hack (CHC) 70

 

Pitching: Paul Derringer (CIN) 22-6 2.09, Jim Tobin (PIT) 21-6 1.91, Bill Lee (CHC) 18-9 1.69, Russ Bauers (PIT) 17-4 2.66, Clay Bryant (CHC) 17-8 2.52

 

Only four weeks remain, and we have moved into September, so time is starting to run out. All the teams have a few youngsters they want to bring up and take a look at, plus there are a spate of players that will be shut down for various reasons as the end draws near. As mentioned previously, next week starts off with a Labor Day doubleheader extravaganza, so that can only mean one thing: 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