1927 Yankees vs 1922 STL Browns!

1922 STL Browns
Yankees go 85-65 .566 (2nd)

PLAYER……BA/SA…....HR……RBI
Combs .337/.478 7 50
Koenig .297/.417 3 84
Ruth .326/.777 66 155
Gehrig .350/.676 32 147
Meusel .344/.494 5 125
Lazzeri .320/.510 20 142
Collins .278/.442 20 103
Dugan .258/.352 4 68
Paschal .314/.548 15 101(465AB)
Gazella .261/.374OBA 26(252AB)

PLAYER……BA/SA…....HR……RBI
Tobin .336/.450 6 87
Sisler .390/.520 6 97
Williams .339/.509 15 148
Jacobson .303/.401 5 141
McManus .285/.416 5 117
Severeid .328/.414 2 58
Collins .283/.389 7 45
Vangilder .413/.652 1 22
Since 4-16 start, Browns go 20-20, 9-21, 15-15, 17-13

The ’22 Browns gave the 1927 Yankees the most fits of everyone except the Cubs. Their approach could not have been more diametrically opposite. The Brownies bludgeoned pitching staffs into submission. As I pointed out when they ‘played’ (and beat) the 1932 Yankees, the Browns could also pitch – they paced the 1922 American League in staff ERA, and were 2nd in runs allowed – by two runs – to the 1922 AL champion New York Yankees. Of course the Browns’ batsmen led the American League in hitting, slugging, stolen bases, scoring and triples. Kind of begs the question – HOW DID THEY BLOW THAT ’22 PENNANT?

In Mac’s Legendary Baseball the 1922 Browns finished 20 games behind the 1927 Yankees. Remember, the American League finished 64 games behind in ’27. Before facing the 1927 Murderer’s Row, the 1922 St. Louisians whipped the 1932 World Champions, posting a 84-66 mark against a squad that went 107-47 and swept the Cubs. Then the Brownies beat the 1921 AL pennant-winning Yankees, going 79-71. The 1921 NY Yankees were much better than the 1922 edition. So again - HOW DID THE ’22 BROWNS BLOW THAT ’22 PENNANT?

Here in Mac’s LB the Brown’s suffered two slumps, a 4-16 stretch to start the season and a 9-21 midseason funk just as it looked as if the Brownies were getting back into it. The 1922 Browns had one Hall-of-Famer, a .300 hitting outfield, and baseball’s first ‘30-30’ man. But they also had Elam Vangilder, who turned out to be, well, the Babe Ruth of the Browns. Vangilder batted .344 in 1922 with 10 doubles, 2 triples, 2 home runs, and 11 RBIs in only 93 at-bats. In addition he went 19-13 with a 3.42 ERA over 245 innings. A product of Cape Girardeau, Mo (born there 1896, died there 1977), Elam went 99-102 lifetime and batted a respectable .244. He never attained the same heights in pitching or hitting after that great 1922 season, which leads to an interesting rhetorical question; should he have switched another position a la Babe Ruth and his own ex-pitching teammate George Sisler?
Here Vangilder does even better – a fat .413 average, an even fatter .652 slugging mark, 18 doubles and 22 RBI – in only 121 at-bats.

To illustrate the ferocity with which these two offensive behemoths locked horns, here are a few games from this mythical season matchup.

Game 31
NYY – 2 2 5 3 2 1 3 2 2 - 22 23 1
STL – 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 - 4 10 2

The Yanks have actually scored more runs. Even this season – 24. But this was domination… not a single zero anywhere on the scoreboard for the Yanks. The Yanks won every inning. The ‘computer’ designated the Babe as the Player of the Game, and indeed it’s hard to argue with 3 HRs, 4 hits, 5 RBIs, and thirteen (13) Total Bases. Hard to argue but not impossible; super-sub Ben Paschal hit safely 5 times, including 3 doubles, 2 runs scored and six (6) driven in. And that was from the leadoff spot! The other super-sub, Mike Gazella, who has been spelling both Mark Koenig and Jumping’ Joe Dugan, only collected one safety, but he walked twice, scored thrice, and drove in three more. Every starter including hurler George Pipgras hit safely, and every starter except Pipgras scored – but Pipgras did drive one in!

The Bambino’s blasts come in the 1st (2-run, CF, 477 ft), 6th (solo, left-center, 421 ft), and 9th (2-run, LF, 388 ft).

Game 70
STL - 0 0 0 0 8 2 0 0 0 0 1 - 11 17 2
NYY - 4 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 - 10 11 1

This game sums up how close these two teams are, despite the Yanks’ 18-game bulge in the season. These two heavyweights swapped haymakers as they have all season. Today the Browns were left standing with arms raised, while the Yanks were bloody, beaten but unbowed.

It looked like a good day for the home crowd, which was 44,323. In the bottom of the 1st Bob Meusel lines a bases-loaded, bases-clearing double into the huge left-centerfield death valley gap (470 ft) of 1927 Yankee Stadium. One out later, Yankee catcher Pat Collins, having another fine season (actually two fine seasons, one for each squad…) lines a 411 foot triple into the same gap, easily scoring Meusel. With a 4-0 edge and 18-game winner Urban Shocker on the hill, things look good for the Murderer’s Row bunch.

Until the 5th. TO that point, Shocker holds the mighty Browns to one hit, a lonely single to his ex-catcher Hank Severeid. Interestingly enough, Severeid opens the 5th frame with his (and the Browns’) 2nd single, a shot to centerfield. This time, it opens a floodgate, allowing a tide that would carry Shocker away. Consecutive singles follow and load the bases. Pitcher Dixie Davis would knock in the 1st STL tally with a fielder’s choice, but then it would get ugly. Tiny Jack Tobin singles in 3B-man Eddie Foster. Hall-of-Famer Sisler walks to reload the rifle for Kenny Williams, who fires… crushing a grand slam HR down the RF line into the short porch at Yankee Stadium. STL takes the lead, 6-4.

Out comes Shocker, and in comes Myles Thomas, the reliever with an accountant’s name. But the numbers get ugly for Myles too. Baby Doll (did they have great names in the 1920s or what?) Jacobson singles, Marty McManus triples, and then Hank Severeid, who started all of this, ends it by singling home the 8th run of the inning.

STL piles it on in the 6th, with Williams and Jacobson again driving in runs to increase the score to 10-4 STL.

After the glum home fans stand for the 7th inning stretch, they are cheered by their home team. As they root-root-rooted the Yankees on, the boys show why 44,000 paid their way in and stuck around thus far. The Yanks score a half-dozen times to tie it 10-10. Super sub Paschal, imitating the man he replaced (Earle Combs), leads off with a triple (Earle led the AL with 23 in ’27). Mark Koenig likes the idea, and triples himself… no I don’t mean that Koenig replicated himself twice! Anyway, Koenig scores a moment later on Gehrig’s single and the NY comeback is in full swing. Lazzeri, super sub #2 Gazella, reliever Wilcy Moore, and super sub #1 Ben Paschal all drive in runs. Gazella and Paschal both take bases-loaded walks, while Moore is hit by a pitch, all of which is driving STL manager Lee Fohl out of his baseball mind. This streak of wildness by STL hurlers Hub Pruitt and Bill Bayne furnish the Yankees with runs 8,9, and 10 to knot the game.

And knotted it stays until the STL 11th. By the 11th it’s ex-Yankee ace Bob Shawkey on the mound. 1927 is Bob’s final year, and unfortunately, today he shows why… he walks the winning run on board in 3rd baseman Eddie Foster. Huggins then relieves him with current ace Waite Hoyt. Hoyt tries nobly to stem the tide. But this is a great hitting club he’s up against. Hoyt gets Wally Gerber to bounce into a fielder’s choice, with Koenig tossing to Lazzeri to erase Foster. Foster upends Tony Lazzeri, preventing a throw to 1st for a double play. Of course that would prove crucial. Up comes Elam Vangilder.

STL emergency reliever Elam Vangilder, a starter who himself entered the game in the 8th, has pitched 3 innings of one-hit shutout ball. He is also, during this fictional season is batting near .400, slugging well over .600, and pitching whenever and however Lee Fohl can ask.

Now here in the 11th Elam lines a single to RF, sending Eddie Foster to 2nd. Foster then scores the game winner when 142 pound Jack Tobin grounds a single to LF. Rifle-armed Bob Meusel makes a strong, on-the-money throw to home but Wally Gerber slides around Pat Collins’ tag with the ball game.

Game 94
NY….1 0 0…1 0 1…0 0 0 – 3 8 4
STL.. 0 9 4..3 0 3..0 3 x – 22 21 1

Marty McManus doubles three times, triples once, and knocks in seven.

STL puts their stamp on the game in the 2nd, scoring nine times. George Pipgras self-destructs, loading the bases by walking Baby Doll Jacobson, Pat Collins and Wally Gerber. Jacobson and Collins pull off a double steal before the Gerber walk, which rattles Pipgras. Then opposing pitcher Elam Vangilder, a .370 hitter all year, rattles Pipgras big time, lining a long one between Combs and Paschal… a 3-run, bases clearing triple, giving STL a 3-1 lead. Tobin, Sisler, Williams, and Jacobson (batting for the 2nd time in the inning) all follow with singles. Miller Huggins relieves the battered Pipgras with a hastily warmed up Myles Thomas. The barrage continues. Marty McManus, who had stuck out looking earlier in the inning, doesn’t miss this time, lining a double past Ruth down the RF line. Williams and Jacobson score runs 7 and 8. Third sacker Frank Ellerbe rounds out the scoring by singling home McManus, and the Browns are on their way to a romp.

Interesting side notes of this matchup. I gave two Yankee subs much more playing time than they got in 1927… Ben Paschal and Mike Gazella. Ben Paschal was the Yanks 4th outfielder, and by all accounts, really good. A .309 lifetime hitter in 364 games, he played what amounts to one full season from 1925-28. He hit .321 (214-666) with 43 doubles, 11 triples, 22 homers and 22 steals. His on-base average was .380 and he slugged .518. Ben did this playing in mammoth Yankee Stadium, which was even bigger in 1927 than it would be later on.

In this particular mythic season I spotted all three Yankee outfielders with Ben Paschal. He started enough to accumulate 465 at-bats. And besides the numbers listed above Big Ben lined 46 doubles and 9 triples. Note: whenever I don’t start Paschal, he’s always Miller Huggins’ (the computerized version) 1st and best pinch-hitter.

The other sub, infielder Mike Gazella, started seeing playing time as both Mark Koenig and Jumping Joe Dugan each got off to slow starts. Koenig was stuck at .222 after 40 team games, and Dugan .203. Mike Gazella was not a thumper. But apparently he knew how to play winning baseball…the 5’7” Gazella posted a .407 on-base mark in ’27, a skill that placed atop this line-up has immense value. And in this mythic season it did. Mike managed to post a .374 OBP here in 299 plate appearances. And if you look at the stats above, you see that Koenig and Dugan were able to revive their seasons in the 2nd half, giving this team some nice infield options!

Another interesting side note: there were two men who participated on both sides of this battle – catcher Pat Collins and pitcher Urban Shocker. Shocker didn’t do particularly great for either side here. He went 11-11 for the Yanks and 6-19 for the Brownies. Shock did much better in real life and also in other seasons of Mac’s Legendary Baseball. Pat Collins did so-so here with the Browns, where he is often manager Lee Fohl’s 1st option off the bench. He did much better with the Yanks. Of course, the Browns have/had two good hitting catchers, and it’s hard to justify sitting Hank Severeid for very long. Still, Fohl never pinch-hits with Severeid, but always finds a way to get Collins’ bat in there, even for just one swing.

Once again, the Final Stats.

1922 STL Browns vs 1927 Yanks
Yankees go 85-65 .566 (2nd)

PLAYER……BA/SA…....HR……RBI
Combs .337/.478 7 50
Koenig .297/.417 3 84
Ruth .326/.777 66 155
Gehrig .350/.676 32 147
Meusel .344/.494 5 125
Lazzeri .320/.510 20 142
Collins .278/.442 20 103
Dugan .258/.352 4 68
Paschal .314/.548 15 101(465AB)
Gazella .261/.374OBA 26(252AB)

PLAYER……BA/SA…....HR……RBI
Tobin .336/.450 6 87
Sisler .390/.520 6 97
Williams .339/.509 15 148
Jacobson .303/.401 5 141
McManus .285/.416 5 117
Severeid .328/.414 2 58
Collins .283/.389 7 45
Vangilder .413/.652 1 22
Since 4-16 start, Browns go 20-20, 9-21, 15-15, 17-13

Wally Schang

When I stumbled upon the fact that 42-year old Wally Schang had played out the string in the single-A Texas League I was amazed. I was also a bit saddened. Then I was heartened.

Wally Schang is perhaps only dimly remembered today, by avid baseball historians and his descendants, if there are any. And that's a shame. Schang, if not a Hall of Fame catcher, is probably better than many players who are in the Hall. First and foremost, he was a consistent winner. He played on World Series teams in Philadelphia (1913-14 Athletics), Boston (1918 Red Sox), New York (1921,1922, 1923 Yankees), and back in Philadelphia (1930 Athletics) again. Granted, the 1930 Athletics probably would have won with or without Wally... they had another pretty good catcher named Mickey Cochrane. But the point is, winning baseball and Wally Schang seemed to meet up time and time again... too often and in too many different settings to be a mere coincidence. Wally, who hailed from South Wales, New York, played 1842 major league games in a 19 year major league career, mostly as a catcher. He hit .284 lifetime with six .300 seasons including four straight years (1919-22). Schang also had an outstanding lifetime On Base Percentage of .393. He handled Hall of Famers such as Eddie Plank, Herb Pennock, Waite Hoyt, and a young southpaw named George Ruth with the 1918 World Champion Red Sox.

And apparently, when the major leagues were finished with Wally Schang, Wally refused to let go of baseball entirely. He began a long descent through the minors, as lots of ex-major leaguers did in those days. As mentioned in an earlier article, Schang teamed with George Sisler and fellow ex-Yankee Aaron Ward on the 1932 Shreveport/Tyler team in the Texas League. This was single-A ball. Single-A is now the lowest rung on the baseball ladder, but it wasn't back then. And alas, Wally went lower, finding himself on the Joplin Miners in 1934. Joplin was a Class C team, belonged to the Western Association, and was affiliated with his old team, the Boston Red Sox. If any of you recognize the name Joplin, it is probably because it also would later have on its roster an 18-year old Oklahoman named Mickey Mantle.

Wally continued to play parts of seasons until he was in his fifties, at classifications between A and D. As I said at the top, at first I was a bit saddened at the thought of a great catcher hanging on. But then I got to thinking... maybe he wasn't hanging on at all. Maybe , as Bill James said about old-time minor leaguers, he was just playing baseball. And what's wrong with that? What's wrong with a man playing the game he loves, simply for the love of playing? A few years back, Hall-of-Famer and all-time base thief Rickey Henderson was caught playing baseball with the San Diego Surf Dogs, an independent team. He was well into his forties. Newspaper articles lamented the great Rickey, humbled and hanging on. And Rickey was probably having the time of his life, playing in games that no one but his team cared about, the way we all did as kids when you chose up sides and played till it got dark.

I wish the minor leagues were like they used to be... taking in ex-major leaguers and all-time greats and mixing them with up-and-comers like Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams and the DiMaggio brothers. Wouldn't it be great to see a 44 year old Albert Pujols lining hits into the Missouri twilight during the twilight of his career? And perhaps mentoring a future star or two in the process? I'll bet in the old days the George Sislers, Wally Schangs and Aaron Wards acted as unofficial coaches toward the youngsters. And I venture to guess that some of those old-timers enjoyed that aspect of their careers as much as any.

I know I would. If I could.

The Father Of Our Country

What do George Sisler and George Washington have in common?
Both could flat out HIT!

George Sisler played 299 games in the minors and hit .299... at ages 38 and 39, after his Hall of Fame major league career.

He had hit .400 over three major league seasons (1920-22) and .361 over his first eight, all with the St. Louis Browns. Then on the heels of his spectacular 1922 season (.420), sinusitis adversely affected his eyesight. He missed all of 1923 with double vision. Thereafter he continued his career with less spectacular results, hitting .320 (1924-30) with several clubs.

After he left the big leagues, George Sisler played with the Rochester Red Wings, a double-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals (1931). Then he played at single-A Shreveport/Tyler in the Texas League (1932) before bowing out entirely.

Sisler's teammates on that independent Texas League squad included former NY Yankee stars Aaron Ward (35) and Wally Schang (42), as well as future major leaguer Wally Moses (21) and another youngster by the name of George Washington. The 25-year old Washington hit Texas League pitching at a sterling .350 clip in 89 games.

Looking up George Washington's entire career, he played 16 minor league seasons, several at double-A, which was the highest minor league level in those days. George hit a robust .347 (2295 for 6623) over 1793 games, proving that the father of our country could rake!

Did George Washington ever get a shot at the big time? YES! He played parts of two seasons (1935-36) with the Chicago White Sox, hitting .268 with 11 bombs and 66 ribbies. Then he went back to the minors and continued his great career until 1950. After hitting .278 for the Dallas Eagles the 43-year old George Washington retired. Since Washington was born in Linden, Texas in 1907, and died there in 1985, perhaps he went home in 1950 to put a cap on his career before retiring.

Apparently both George's felt what Jim Bouton once said; that after gripping a baseball all of those years they realized that it was the other way around.

(Stats are from Baseball Reference.com)