Roger's 1949 APBA Replay

Week 3 is completed and the pennant races are all quite close. Most teams are right around the twenty game mark with others right behind. The number of homeruns is still high but are slowly but surely leveling off somewhat. Batting Averages and ERA's are still high also, but like the homeruns, they are leveling off as well. The pitching continues to recover after their Week 1 thumping as there were eleven shutouts in Week 3, including a pair of 1-0 games. In the three weeks completed there have been thirteen instances where a player has homered twice in a game, ten times where teammates have hit back-to-back homeruns, five grand slams, and six pinch-hit homeruns. This week saw the Giants Bobby Thomson , Willard Marshall , and Walker Cooper hit back-to-back-to-back homeruns off Pittsburgh's Bob Muncrief , although Muncrief shut down the Giants the rest of the way and Pittsburgh came back to win the game. George Kell In the AL Boston remains on top with their powerf...

Monday, May 2, 1949 It's a Monday and it’s the start of Week 3, so that means it's a travel day and there are no games scheduled. In looking through the schedule I see another Monday or two with no games scheduled, plus several that have only one game scheduled. Trains are still the primary mode of team transportation, and while I am sure the trains of 1949 are more modern and more comfortable than the trains of 1930, a train ride from St. Louis to or from anywhere on the east coast is still a long train ride. My guess is that baseball figured out it wasn't worth the effort of trying to have teams rush across the country and then try to squeeze a game in on the same day - get on the train Sunday evening, ride all night and part of the next day, get to your hotel, get some rest (or not) and be ready to go the next day. Conversely, both Sundays so far have featured multiple doubleheaders, and looking through the schedule ahead I can see that every Sunday features ...

Week 2 is in the books and after the offensive explosion of Week 1, it is fair to say the pitchers started to reassert themselves in Week 2. Both league ERA's dropped by over half a run and the league batting averages dipped as well. This was to be expected of course, but it is always interesting to see how the pull of statistics to normal comes into play. The usual suspects in the AL have already drifted toward the top of the standings. Boston is scoring just under eight runs a game and hasn't won or lost any games by only one run as of yet. Cleveland has played strong so far as well, and New York has played well also although they ran into to a bit of a buzz saw when facing the Red Sox offense. Philadelphia and Chicago have played like .500 teams - some good, some bad. Detroit's pitching has really suffered so far, but they'll come around. St. Louis lost their first six games but won their next five. Washington is going to have a long season. Bob Dillinger ...

Monday, April 25, 1949 Boston (AL) (H) 2 Washington 0 Mel Parnell (1-1) held Washington four hits and two walks as he threw a complete game shutout to get the week started. The Red Sox would have had more, but following a two-run bases loaded single by Vern Stephens the Senators appealed and Johnny Pesky was declared out for having missed third base. Ted Williams had four walks in four plate appearances. Note: On this date in 1949 Boston defeated Washington 2-0. New York (AL) (H) 7 Philadelphia (AL) 5 The Athletics scored first, the Yankees regained the lead, then the Athletics got it back, and then finally the Yankees scored three times in the sixth to take a 5-3 lead. Vic Raschi (2-0) gave up a two-run pinch-hit single to Wally Moses in the top of the ninth to even the score but got out of the inning without any more damage. In the bottom of the ninth Tommy Henrich hit a two-out two run homerun for a hard-fought Yankee victory. Boston (NL) 10 Brookl...