1954 Baltimore vs New York and St. Louis vs Pittsburgh

 Today I'm going to give you a two-for-one. I'll summarize two 1954 APBA series I played. The first was a three game series using the Master game between the Baltimore Orioles and the New York Yankees.

This series was all Yankees. Winning game 1 5 - 0 on a complete-game three-hit shutout by Bob Grim. Interesting highlight of game 1. Bottom of the first Gil McDougald, Andy Carey, and Mickey Mantle all walk. Berra grounds into a double play; McDougald scores. Joe Collins walks, men on 1st and 3rd. Enos Slaughter gets on on an error, Carey scores. Gene Woodling gets out. They score two runs without a hit or an RBI. The Yankees walked 10 times in Game 1.

Game 2: Sees the visiting Yankees winning 4 to 2 on a complete game by Harry Byrd. Yankees score all their runs in the 2nd; the Orioles tally single runs in the 1st and 9th. Still no homeruns by either team through the first two games.

Game 3: Sees the visiting Yankees winning 7 to 4. Yankees score all 7 runs in the 2nd, culminating with a three-run shot off the bat of Yogi Berra. The Orioles had a solo homer from Jim Fridley. The Orioles scored single runs in the 5th and 7th and put up a two-spot in the 8th.

The second series was played between the St Louis Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Pirates using the APBA basic game.

Game 1: Sees the visiting Cardinals winning 9 to 7. St Louis had 17 hits, scoring 2 runs in the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 8th and a single run in the 7th. Homeruns for St Louis came off the bats of Joe Cunningham who was 4 for 5 with 3 runs 3 RBIs and a triple and a homerun, he was double shy of the cycle and Rip Repulski who was 3 for 5 with 2 runs, 2 RBIs and the homerun. Amazingly in the 17 hits Stan Musial never got one. The Pirates racked up 14 hits of their own with a homerun off the bat of Sid Gordon. In the 9th inning of this game two pirates got injured, Jake Thies injured 10 games and Curtis Roberts injured 5 games.

Game 2: Sees the hometown Cardinals winning 8 to 1. The cardinals rack up another 14 hits off Pirate pitching. No long balls by the Cardinals but Red Schoendienst was 3 for 5 with a double, 3 RBIs and 2 runs scored. Harvey Haddix pitched a complete game for the Cardinals. The lone Pirate run was a homerun from Jerry Lynch.

Game 3: The visiting Cardinals win 6 to 2. They score 5 of their runs in the 1st and drop Dick Littlefield's grade from a C to a D. He still made it through 5 innings before being relieved. No homeruns in this game but Stan the Man finally got his first hit of the series in that 1st inning 5 run outburst. Gordon Jones pitched a complete game for the Cardinals.

Next Up will be the 1949 season.

Detroit vs Baltimore 1957

I've finished two APBA series since the last time I posted, so this summary and the next one will be shorter than usual.

This series pits the 1957 Detroit Tigers against the 1957 Baltimore Orioles.

 Game 1 - Location, Memorial Stadium, Baltimore

Both teams' aces were facing each other, Jim Bunning vs Connie Johnson. If you like pitching duels, this game did not disappoint. The Tigers beat the home team Orioles 2 to 1 on the pitching of Bunning, and a 2nd inning 2 run homer off the bat of first baseman Ray Boone. Both pitchers went the distance.

Game 2 - Location, Briggs Stadium, Detroit

This game turned out to be another low-scoring affair with the Tigers scoring single runs in the 1st, 2nd, and 6th to win 3 to 2. The Orioles scored their two runs in the 3rd and 5th. Paul Foytack got the win with Harry Byrd getting the save. Billy Loes took the loss for the Orioles. After Al Kaline singled in the first run in the 1st he got injured sliding into second and had to leave the game. He's out for 2 games.

Game 3 - Location, Memorial Stadium, Baltimore

Game 3 finally saw the Baltimore bats come to life. Baltimore scored seven runs off of Duke Maas and Luke Sleater. They tallied nine hits and 6 of them were extra base hits. The homerun came off the bat of the youngster Brooks Robinson. On top of the hitting they got a pitching gem from Ray Moore who only gave up one run in the ninth notching a four hit complete game. The Tigers lose Charlie Maxwell for 1 game.

My next one will see the 54 Orioles against the 54 Yankees. I'll write that one in a few days.

World Cup Disappointment

The World Cup is over for the US team. It was a terrible loss, 4 - 1 to the boys from Belgium. I'm not going to summarize the game, but I'm just going to offer a few insights into the world of the World Cup.

I was never a huge fan of futbol (Soccer), but after coaching it for the past 2 years, I've grown to like it. I'm going to share a few observations after watching the World Cup over the past few weeks.

1. The Argentina vs Cape Verde game was by far the most entertaining and fun game to watch. I've always loved cheering for the underdogs, and watching Cape Verde hang in there the whole time was pretty exciting.

2. There isn't any other sport where the referees can and do have a major impact on the outcome and results of the game. Yes, you still have to score goals but calling a penalty on one end but not the same penalty at the other end can give teams an unfair advantage.

3. There is way more flopping in the World Cup than in the NBA.  I've never seen a sport where so many players are constantly lying on the ground in mortal pain and then getting up and playing the rest of the game. 

4. The USA team played well except for the last game. I think they captured the love of America with how well they actually did. Most of those countries, that is their only game worth anything, this is not so in America. But they captured the hearts of America and hope they can advance further in 4 years.

5. In no other sport do you see the impact the stars have on a game. In the World Cup if your star doesn't perform you are probably losing. Messi, Mbappe, Haaland, Kane all have been making an impact and their teams are still winning.

There are my five observations from the world of the World Cup.

New York vs Chicago 1957

 Today I'm back to give a summary of a recent APBA series I played. The 1957 New York Giants versus the 1957 Chicago Cubs. A match up of two future hall of famers, Willie Mays (The Say Hey Kid) and Ernie Banks (Mr. Cub). This three game series was played using the master game addition. 1957 was the last year that the Giants played in New York. After the season they left the Polo Grounds behind and moved to San Francisco.

GAME 1: Location: New York, Polo Grounds.

Visiting team Chicago got the scoring started with a first inning homerun from Chuck Tanner. In the bottom of the 2nd New York answered with a home run of their own off the bat of Whitey Lockman. The Giants scored again in the 4th and then put up a two spot in the 6th on a two-run double by Don Mueller. The Cubs scored in the 8th on a triple by Mr Cub, driving in Tanner, who had singled. The Giants win 4 to 2 on the pitching from Curt Barclay and Marv Grissom, who got the save. The biggest Highlight of the game came in the 6th, with the Cubs threatening to score, the game referred to the RP boards and the Giants pulled off a triple play with Danny O'Connell spearing the line drive, stepping on 2nd and throwing to first. Giants 4 Cubs 2

GAME 2: Location: Chicago, Wrigley Field

This game sees a pitching match-up between Ruben Gomez of the Giants and Moe Drabowsky of the Cubs. The Cubs strike first in the bottom of the first with a run scoring double by Banks driving in Tanner. Gomez is able to shut down the Cubs until the 8th when they score three more runs. The Giants were held at bay until the 6th and 7th innings when they put up two in the 6th and four in the 7th. Willlie Mays drove in two and Hank Sauer drove in three. The Giants score 2 more in the 9th to win 8 to 4.

GAME 3: Location: Chicago, Wrigley Field

This game shaped up to be a pitchers duel between Johnny Antonelli of the Giants and Dave Hillman, Dick Littlefield, and Don Elston of the Cubs. Both teams plate two in the first inning with the Giants coming from a two run blast off the bat of Mays. The Cubs scored two when the first four guys reached and Banks and Dale Long drove in the two runs. The only scoring after the first was Gail Harris coming home on a double play. Giants 3 Cubs 2