United League of American Base B

Bro-Chi IV
Familiar Rivals Prepare For Another Series Encounter
Bas Clinch Home Field on Next to Last Day As Conley Wins 24th

Glen Reed
GM, Brooklyn Superbas
The Sporting News Interview

TSN: You won your eighth straight division title and will face Chicago in the World Series for the fourth time in a row. How does this team stack up with the great Superba teams in the past?
GR: It stacked up a whole lot better before I traded away the Cy Young winner, I tell you that! And truly, I thought the best team I ever had was the 1959 edition, and all that earned me was eight kicks in my playoff pants, courtesy of the Cinderella Spiders. In fact, the set-up to this World Series is not too far off that one. In 1959, I was facing a team with whom I'd made a huge trade several seasons earlier, and it was also a year of a blockbuster trade in its own right, swapping Ashburn and Mossi and Gorman and two year's worth of picks for Mantle and Ford. So here I am in 1964, facing a team with whom I've made a monster trade in the past, and after shaking up my rotation in another big deal this year. Bad omens all around, Jack!

TSN: Midseason, you traded away Whitey Ford, who was the league's hottest pitcher and is the likely Cy Young winner. How much will Ford's absence affect the club going into the World Series? Do you have any seller's remorse?
GR: I define success the same way every year--getting to the postseason. Actually winning the Series is just gravy. In the event, the trade of Ford may well cost me the Series in 1964, but I did it because I thought it would improve the team's chances of getting to the postseason in '65 and beyond. So, do I regret trading Whitey? Not for a second. Do I regret *not trading* for Torre? Now that's another matter entirely!

TSN: Lew Burdette (28-7, 2.50) lead the league in wins, but had his worst month in September (3.13 ERA, 1.31 WHIP) and was shelled in the season finale at Boston. He is less than two months from his 37th birthday and critics say he is starting to show his age. Does this concern you?
GR: Somewhere, I have a bunch of material about how Lew's always the bridesmaid and never the Cy Young bride, no matter how bad ass he really is. And while I think there's a strong case to be made that Lew is among the four or five best pitchers in league history (Conley, Antonelli, Pierce, and Erskine likely standing ahead of him), it's incredible that he's never even been the best pitcher on his own team. So while I am worried that his career is coming to a close, I figure the success of the Superbas depends more on how Conley ages, and that Captain Lew Albano only has to be good long enough for Siebert and Ellis and their ilk to develop into their ratings.

TSN: When you drafted Granville Wilbur Hamner as the 23rd overall pick in the 1952 Reentry Draft, did you have any idea he would be a four-time MVP and batting champion?
GR: This points to the fundamental reason for Superba success--original Brooklyn owner Frank Thomas left the prospect cubbard absolutely packed with hitting talent. He left me mashers and OBP hounds aplenty--young Granny Hamner and Sandy Amoros being just two examples--throughout the organization, but he apparently didn't have a good eye for pitchers, and had even less patience, bolting before they had a chance to develop. So my job was pretty easy, really--get some pitchers and wait for all those studlers to grow into their superman costumes.

TSN: Your strained relationship with club president Walter O'Malley has splashed across the New York papers all year. Mr. O'Malley has called you an "out of control megalomaniac" who has grown "too big for his breeches." Some insiders claim you were forced out of the club by Mr. O'Malley. Is there any truth to this?
GR: I got something too big for my britches right here pal!

TSN: What was the biggest factor in your decision to leave Brooklyn at the end of the season?
GR: Bunch of reasons, but the biggies are that I think Brooklyn has the look of a viable, winning side for as long as Conley and Mantle remain healthy, much the same way that Washington continued to win 90-plus games under a caretaker after Kaplan left. As a result, I don't really see me doing a lot for the next several seasons. Meanwhile, I love to tinker with shit and make trades, and there's no team that needs more tinkering and shit done than Louisville. Also, I love a challenge, and there's no bigger one than resurrecting the Colonels, as opposed to taking over a talent-rich Brooklyn side with the stars aligning for me in 1952--big difference Louisville in 1964. Finally, I thought it better for league competitiveness as a whole to have LOU run by someone who knows the league and what a good player looks like in UL terms than to ask a total newbie--which all indications were that we were getting at the time--to figure it out and risk blowing all those draft picks, as appears to have happened with last year's picks. What's more, the East looks awesome going forward, so again, from a league competitiveness standpoint, I have no problem leaving the high-rent division to try to bring up the worst team in the West.

TSN: Which Superbas do you have the strongest attachment to? If you could take one Superba with you to Louisville next year, who would it be?
GR: I may look like a clown, but I'm no sentimental bozo--Ashburn, Woodling, Minoso, Kiner, Hodges, Bobby Brown, Frank Thomas, etc. The list of players I've shown the door with no remorse is long. And I can't even begin to count the pitchers. But for all that, I am a softie of sorts for Conley and Hamner, who've spent their entire careers in Black and Blue, and I hope to see go into the Hall that way. I think there's an argument to be made that those are the two best players in league history, and it's no coincidence that the team's arc matches their own.

Lance Mueller
GM, Chicago Colts
The Sporting News Interview

TSN: How heavily do the three Series losses to Brooklyn weigh on your team? Do the Colts have an inferiority complex? Put another way, is the monkey on your back too big to shake off?
LM: October is the only time those three Series losses even enter our minds, the rest of the time we're concentrating on winning ballgames, no matter who our opponent may be. I can tell you from my time spent with the boys that the only feeling this team carries with it is one of pride. We've won four consecutive Western titles and are returning to the World Series -- the most coveted championship in all of sports -- for the fourth year running, how many teams can say that? So, no, there's not a monkey on our backs, just one hairy gorilla standing in our way of a Series title.

TSN: What's your Series rotation? Will Billy Pierce again get the nod for Game 1?
LM: We're going with the three-man rotation of Pierce, Sturdivant and Mossi. The acquisition of Bob Friend in July was about much more than getting our hands on a top flight pitcher before anyone else grabbed him. "Warrior" allowed us to go with a five man rotation for the first time in team history and that really helped keep the top three guys' arms fresh for the post season. As for Piercey getting the nod in game 1, there really was no question about that. He's earned it, not only with his performance this year but by all he's done in his outstanding career.

TSN: "Smoke" Sturdivant (20-9, 2.56, 1.18 WHIP) had a career year and was unbeatable down the stretch (4-0, 1.50 in last 5 starts). But given his well-documented problems in the postseason, including the disastrous '62 Series in which he blew a lead in Game 2 and was was knocked out of Game 5 trailing 8-0 in the first, do you have confidence in him going into the Series?
LM: We've stuck by Tom for seven seasons when other teams might have given up on him reaching his full potential. These past two seasons Tom has proved just how good of a pitcher and how great of a competitor he is, and we have no reason to doubt his ability to win, in the regular or the post-season. I've never hesitated to hand the ball to Tom in any situation, and I certainly won't start now. You'll see him in Game 2 and Game 5, no doubt about it.

TSN: The Colts won a record 103 games and flirted with the best record in the league until the last days of the season. Some commentators have said this team is better than Brooklyn this year. Do you feel this year was a turning point? Is this team better than Brooklyn?
LM: The only team we compare ourselves to is ourselves, so we don't look at this year as any more of a "turning point" than any other season. The only players the men on this team compare themselves to are the players they were the season before. What I mean by that is that every year I see in these boys an unbridled desire to hit better, pitch better, play better and win more than they did in past seasons. The only time we think about the Superbas is when we make the trip to Brooklyn or they come to the southside to visit us, the rest of the time they're just another team in the league. Being "better" than another team is a subjective thing anyhow, our only concern is being the best Colts team we can possibly be.

TSN: The median age of your roster is over 33 years. Billy Pierce is 36, Don Mossi is 35, Sturdivant 34. Is this Series your last, best chance to win a championship before your club starts to show its age?
LM: Pierce 36 = 24 wins, Mossi 35 = 19 wins, Sturdivant 34 = 20 wins...these guys may play "old" but they win young. The age of my players is of little concern to me, all I want is for them to give me all they've got game in and game out. Personally, I think this team is an excellent mix of vets with 10+ years of experience and some younger guys who are proving themselves on the big league level. There are certainly some strong teams in the West filled with young, up-and-comers -- Dallas and L.A. come to mind -- and it will be impossible to hold them down forever, but I have faith that my boys will do everything in their power to reach the post-season for a fifth time. Besides, if some cracks in the armor do start to appear, there's always the off-season to find the right pieces to make the armor as strong as ever. You can call us old but don't call us over-the-hill, we plan on being at the top for some time to come.

TSN: Thank you for your time, and good luck in the Series.
LM: Any time, and thank you.

The Best of Time, The Worst of Times
Maloney No-Hits Colts, Blows Out Elbow
by Jeff Tonole
SAN FRANCISCO (Oct. 1) -- After a solid season for the minor-league Seattle Totems, pitcher Jim Maloney (14-12, 3.08 in AAA) was rewarded with a call-up to the big club, enjoying a cup of coffee with the San Francisco Spiders during the September roster expansion. Desperate for pitching help and needing to replace the injured Tom Cheney in the rotation, the Spiders gave Maloney a few starts at the major-league level.
   Maloney looked sharp in his first two outings, allowing just two earned runs and five hits in 14 innings, but his third start was one for the record books -- on September 19th, 24-year-old Jim Maloney threw the 10th no-hitter in United League history, shutting down the potent offense of the World Series-bound Chicago Colts in their home park. Maloney walked two and fanned five, but the key to his no-hitter was keeping the ball low, inducing 15 groundouts from a team that was second in the league in home runs and extra-base hits.
   The Spiders, overjoyed at the prospect of having Maloney as a part of their rotation in 1965, planned to give him one more start after the no-hitter before shutting him down for the season. But his shutdown came early -- in the second inning of that game, on a 2-1 pitch to Dallas Texans left fielder Norm Siebern, Maloney ruptured an elbow ligament, significantly damaging his pitching arm.
   Maloney will spend the off-season rehabbing the elbow and hopes to return to the mound early next season. However, the injury is severe enough that it's unclear whether the Spiders' best pitching prospect will be able to regain the form he showed in September.

Heir Apparents
Are the winds of change finally blowing in the East?
by Charlie Qualls
CLEVELAND (Oct. 1) -- After sucking on Brooklyn’s exhaust for so long, are teams like the Cleveland Barons and Washington Monuments ready to hop into the driver’s seat? What about the rest of the division? Boston may be a pitcher or two short from assuming the mantle left by Mantle, but with Willie Davis and Orlando Cepeda locked in and ready to lead… anything’s possible. Take away a certain Outlaw’s Hammer, and Orlando is the UL’s Magic Kingdom. The .500 Griffins are just trying to find their footing while waiting for Big Dick Allen to swing in and for Gibson and Koufax to decide who they want to be. Manhattan’s fairy tale future is well documented in a non-binding resolution, but is still a couple years from Happily Ever After. That leaves Cleveland and Washington as the dupes of the division in 1965.
   The Barons were as hot as any team down the ‘64 stretch, and plugged in their best record in franchise
history. On the Hill, Steve Barber’s poking his head into the Ace window, and durable Don Drysdale is getting more comfortable in his uniform. Earl Francis rounds out a nice third for the rotation. Tsitouris may have to fight Sadowski and Hobbie for the coveted fourth spot. On offense, Curt Flood is staying afloat among the league’s most buoyant run producers. Bernie Allen’s got another year under his belt, and looks ready to bust out of his shell. Assuming the O can keep steadily generating, the Barons may still be a super stick or two away from pantsing the Superbas.
   In Washington, the Antonelli/Ford combo should be enough to keep the Monuments erect in ‘65, but a couple Bobs could mean the difference between a happy ending and a lonely October. The offense overall hit the skids in ’64, but Mays is as hot as he ever was, and in one short year, Yaz seems to be up to speed on
dismantling UL pitching. Dick Howser rapped out his second straight .350 season in only four years of UL
service. The Mons need youngsters Santo, Hansen and Callison to ease into more prominent contribution
roles if they want to fly another flag.
   In reality, the fate of the near future East rests on the Superbas and their new GM. Can they squeeze a
couple more title runs out of the status quo? Will they begin rebuilding right away? Is Jim Perry for real? The answer tree grows in Brooklyn as the rest of the East chomps at the bit of a chance of a real race... for a change.

Ford Claims Cy Young

Mantle Wins Second MVP, 11 Years Apart

Havana Wins! Havana Wins! Havana Wins!
Sugar Kings Repeat as IL Champions
by Jeff Gurganus
HAVANA (Sept. 18) -- Having seen the likes of Ray Sadecki, Dean Chance, Jimmie Hall and Pete Ward called up to the parent club Manhattan, many of the Sugar Kings faithful fans expected a rebuilding year for the Cubans. However, the team followed last year’s 101-29/Governor’s Cup season with another stellar year, going 100-30 and beating Philadelphia 3 games to 1 to take a second straight Governor’s Cup. Even the team’s number 1 fan, a shackled and downtrodden Fidel Castro was quoted as saying “Damn, those gringos guys can play.” Having not left his prison cell since the successful Bay of Pigs invasion, Castro seemingly did not realize that several of the Sugar Kings hail from Latin America. Perhaps it was one too many mojitos.
   As with last year, Havana’s success started with pitching. The team’s starting rotation included Big Daddy Williams (15-5, 2.43), Dave McNally (17-2, 1.75), Jim Bouton (15-2, 1.85), Mickey Lolich (21-4k, 2.48) any Tony Cloninger (14-4, 2.72), all of whom notched at least one victory during the postseason. Rookie Jay Ritchie (2-0, 1.01, 12 saves) and Jim Brewer (4-4, 1.60, 19 saves) anchored the bullpen. Collectively, the team led the league in six pitching categories and was second in another four.
   The Cubans were even more successful at the plate, ranking in the top two in all ten offensive categories tracked. The team’s big three -– Ken Harrelson (.328-21-79), Rico Carty (.309-14-69) and Tony Oliva (.335-18-90) -– were supported by a cast of characters, including Don Buford (.278, .365 OBP, 22 stolen bases) and Tom Tresh (.278, .385 OBP).
   However, the celebrations in Havana could be short-lived as team officials have already been informed that many of the Sugar Kings young stars will be receiving tickets to the Big Apple, meaning next year’s roster will likely be composed of veterans either on the downside of their careers or trying to rekindle lost potential. Nevertheless, the Cubans can take great pride in being dubbed the “Southern Superbas” in their homeland.

MINOR LEAGUE AWARDS

SWISH NICHOLSON AWARD

BOB MUNCRIEF AWARD

ISOTONER TOP GLOVE AWARD

C	Joe Azcue, HOU
1B	Donn Clendenon, DEN
2B	Bobby Knoop, HOU
3B	Felix Torres, PIT
SS	Bob Lillis, BAL
LF	Charlie Maxwell, TOR
CF	Joe Pepitone, BAL
RF	George Thomas, SD
P	Fred Newman, SEA

Dick Allen (TOR)
.358, 33 HR, 127 RBI, 1.070 OPS

Mickey Lolich, HAV (MAN)
21-4, 2.28 ERA, 0.95 WHIP