United League Baseball

Brooklyn Joins Pennant Race
Woodling Snaps Out of Slump
BROOKLYN (July 1) -- Brooklyn rightfielder Gene Woodling awoke from an early season batting coma to win the Batter of the Month for June. Woodling, 30, the Superbas' eighth overall pick in the Initial Draft, hit .323 and averaged 92 RBIs a year in his first three UL seasons, but had just 24 RBI through 51 games, with meager .266 batting average. That all turned around in June, when the struggling slugger erupted with 22 RBI and 19 runs in 21 games. He led the league with a .378 June average, a co-led with teammate Gil Hodges with 22 RBIs.
   Hodges, a two-time All-Star and the most prolific home run hitter in UL history (134), is having a career year. He earned his second Player of the Week award on June 28. He hit .421 with 10 RBIs, drove in a run all in six games, and homered in five. Gil was POW on May 31, and Batter of the Month in May. Woodling and Hodges won back-to-back Brooklyn POWs for the first time since early 1952, when Woodling (2) and Hodges won three of the first four POWs of the UL's second season.
   Brooklyn now has the league's second most production offense to complement the second best pitching staff (in ERA, third in runs allowed). Despite this combination, the Superbas have lingered below .500 for most of the season. But a 14-8 month has lifted the Screaming Bats to 39-38, just eight games off the pace and certainly within striking distance of first place Washington.

Puttin' on the Fritz
Harry "Fritz" Dorish (3-3, 2.91), who was in the bullpen until June 4, led the rotation with a 3.03 ERA in five starts in June. "Fritz" was a marginal mop-up man with Washington in 1951 and '52, but emerged as a quality relief man after joining Brooklyn via the 1953 reentry draft. Dorish appeared in 55 games in the last two seasons, including five starts last year, for an aggregate ERA of 3.06.
   Fred Hutchinson and Tom Gorman also both had good months, and in the bullpen, Bob Miller and Hoyt Wilhelm combined to earn four saves in seven appearances without an earned run.

Pierce Pitches Two Shutouts,
Eyes Pitching Triple Crown
ST. LOUIS (June 22) -- Maroon ace Billy Pierce tossed a pair of shutouts this week, in 4-0 and 6-0 wins over Louisville and Washington. Pierce (12-3, 2.23) overtook Stu Miller in ERA and now leads or co-leads the league in all three Triple Crown categories. Tuesday's 2-hit shutout of the Monuments was Pierce's finest outing of the year. It was his third shutout, ninth complete game, and eighth game with double-digit strikeouts. Pierce, 26, has been particularly hard on left-handers this season. Southpaws are batting just .107 against him, with just four extra-base hits in 149 at bats.
   The win closed the gap between Washington and St. Louis to just three games, and leveled the series at a game a piece. In the rubber game Wednesday, Ken Raffensberger and a pair of relievers handed a 5-4 lead to Johnny Klippstein in the ninth, when the Mons erupted for four runs and a 8-5 win, spoiling Klippstein's first save opportunity in weeks.

AROUND THE HORN

WASHINGTON MONUMENTS 46-29 -- 4-5	Who's Hot: Hank Thomson (5-13 in last 5 games) and Joe Adcock (6-14 in last 5 games). Who's Not: Willie Mays (2-18 in last 5 games) and Billy Goodman (2-21 in last 5 games). . . Lost His Touch? Steve Gromek is 2-5 in his last 7 starts, with a 5.60 ERA. The three-time All-Star was 21-9, 2.59 last year, and started this season 8-3 before falling on hard times with a 10-run rout in 5.2 innings on May 29.
ST. LOUIS MAROONS 43-32 3 4-5	Dom DiMaggio, Gil Coan, and Del Ennis are all batting over .400 in their last 5 games. The "Little Professor" was 4-for-5 with 4 RBIs against Brooklyn June 14, and was 3-4 with 3 RBIs against Louisville June 19. Ennis has 5 RBIs in his last 2 games. . . After 5 straight wins in May, Sam Zoldak was 2-3, 6.00 in June. . . Up and Down: Beat Brooklyn 12-5, then lost 0-8 on June 14-15; won 10-1, then lost 2-13 (June 19 and 21).
CHICAGO COLTS 42-33 4 6-3	Saul Rogovin (3-5, 7.41) is still in the wilderness. The one-time 18-game winner was relegated to a spot starter role after four disastrous starts, but hasn't pitched since June 4. . . Rookie sensation Jim Finigan has been unsensational since batting .600 (18-30) in his first month in the majors. Since May 1, the 25 year-old third baseman is hitting just .205 (17-83).
NEW YORK GOTHAMS 41-34 5 4-5	Lost 4 straight June 17-21, then won three in a row June 22-24. . . Only team with winning record vs. St. Louis (8-3). . . Frank Sullivan is 3-0, 2.57 in his last 5 starts. . . Aging Duds: Lou Boudreau and Pat Mullin are burning out like dark stars. Boudreau hit under .200 for the second straight month, batting .187 (14-75) after a .177 May. Mullin is hitting .158 (12-76) since May 1.
BROOKLYN SUPERBAS 38-37 8 5-4	Lefthanded starter Curt Simmons (8-9, 4.86) is out for the season with a torn elbow ligament. Simmons, a 25 year-old #4 starter, hurt his elbow in the eighth inning of a 9-4 win at Boston on June 19. . . Lefty Lou Brissie (5-6, 4.70), who started 28 games last year and 13 this year, is a likely replacement.
BOSTON BEACONS 33-43 13.5 4-5	Who's Hot: Nobody. It's official, look it up. . . Lost 5 straight, including sweep at Louisville, June 13-17. . . Coming to Life: Offense broke out of duldrums with 9-7 and 8-1 wins over Washington June 24-25. Mickey Mantle's bases-loaded double capped a 6-run 8th in Thursday's comeback win, and Mantle and Eddie Mathews each drove in 3 runs in Friday's win.
DETROIT SOUND 30-45 16 4-5	Robin Roberts is 5-0 in his last 6 starts, posting a 3.06 ERA. . . Jerry Priddy hit .375 (6-16) in his last 5 games. . . Kiner has cooled, batting 2-for-17 in his last 5 games, both hits were home runs (2nd in league with 20). . . Pitching woes: Cal McLish (0-2, 11.42)was touched for 13 hits and 8 runs in his UL debut June 17. Jim Wilson is 0-2, 7.08 in his last 3 starts. In his first two starts since Apr. 15, Bob Rush allowed 16 hits and 12 runs in 12.1 innings (8.76 ERA).
LOUISVILLE COLONELS 28-48 18.5 5-4	Won four straight, including sweep of Boston, June 13-16. . . Crushed Detroit 11-3 on June 21. Luke Easter and Sid Gordon each drove in 4 runs, coming off the bench. . . Gordon is batting .440 (11-25) with 11 RBI in his last 9 games. . . Hank Bauer (6-12), Clyde Kluttz (6-13), and Alvin Dark (7-16) are swinging hot bats. . . Art Houtteman pitched great in June (1.93 ERA, 33 hits in 40 innings), but was just 2-2 due to poor run support (lost 2-3 and 0-4).