|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
TRADES |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
FREE AGENT SIGNINGS |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
INJURED LIST |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
HOME RUN HAT TRICKS |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
United
League of
American Base Ball Clubs
est.
1951
LEAGUE
FILE (5/30) ·
HEADLINES
· NEWS
LOG · TRANSACTIONS ·
INJURIES ·
FINANCES
STANDINGS ·
BOX
SCORES · SCHEDULE ·
BATTING ·
PITCHING ·
FIELDING · LEADERS
LEAGUE
RULES · TEAM INFO ·
ROSTERS ·
FREE
AGENTS · TOP
PROSPECTS · TOP
FARMS
TOP
PERFORMANCES ·
RECORD
BOOK · PAST
LEADERS · CAREER
LEADERS
BEGINNINGS ·
CITIES ·
BALLPARKS ·
PLAYER PHOTOS (1957)
·
OOTP 6.1 PATCH
TOTAL UL
· 1951 ·
1952 · 1953 ·
1954 ·
1955 ·
1956
·
1957 DRAFTS
4/7 (Season Preview) ·
4/17 ·
5/1 ·
5/16
|
|
Hodges'
Hapless Homer Hat Trick
New Colt Drives in 8
Runs in 16-13 Loss
CHICAGO (May 13) - Gil Hodges just can't win. Since joining the
Colts in a blockbuster deal that sent fan favorite Yogi Berra to Brooklyn,
Hodges has been dogged by accusations that he is an overpaid,
underachieving putz. Today, the ex-Brooklyn slugger at once answered
and rearmed his critics with a home run hat trick, driving in 8 runs, but
still faced jeers after the Colts lost the game 16-13. Hodges belted
a pair of dingers off starter Art Ditmar -- who left after allowing 10
runs in four innings -- and added a third off reliever Andy Hansen in the
ninth. Meanwhile, Colts starter Whitey Ford allowed five unearned
runs on three Chicago errors, which was the margin of victory.
"See, even when he has a career game, we still lose," one
disgruntled season ticket holder lamented. "It was those three
errors, not my three homers, that cost us the game," Hodges huffed
amid of throng of reporters in the Colts clubhouse.
Hodges is the sixth player in United League history to hit
three home runs in a game, the first Chicago Colt, and the first since
Louisville's Hank Sauer on July 19, 1953. Hodges, who will earn $8.3
million per year through 1960, is batting .215 in the hitter's paradise
that is Wrigley Field. When asked about his hitting funk, Hodges
remarked dryly, "I can't explain it," to a press corps spoiled
for six years by a steady stream of 'Yogiisms.' Asked to elaborate,
Hodges added, shaking his head, "I just can't explain it."
Minnie and Granny's
Hitting Clinic
Diminutive Brooklynites
Terrorize Circuit's Hurlers
BROOKLYN
(May 16) -- An unlikely Brooklyn duo took the league by storm in early
May. Saturnino Orestes Armas Minoso Arrieta and Granville Wilbur
Hamner each hit over .400 and were among the top three in hitting and
slugging. Left fielder Minoso, 33, hit .488 (21-43) in 11
games, while shortstop Hamner, 29, hit .414 (24-58) with 11 extra-base
hits in 13 games. Minoso is a two-time batting champion who hit .358
over the last two seasons. Hamner, by contrast, is a career .272
hitting coming into this season who has never hit higher than .296 and
never slugged higher than .398.
Brooklyn ranks first in batting and second in runs, which
bodes well for the Screaming Bats. In 1955, Minoso and teammate Gene
Woodling battled for the batting title, finishing 1st and 3rd,
respectively, as the Superbas won their first UL pennant.
GM Glen Reed has dealt with Bob Porterfield's strained
rotator cuff by shifting him to the bullpen, rather than the DL, and
switching to a four-man rotation. 1955 Cy Young winner Tom Gorman is
due back in the rotation in late May, and upon his and Porterfield's
return to full health, Reed will have a plethora of pitching
options. Despite injuries, Brooklyn's staff has managed to post the
best ERA and fewest runs allowed in the circuit. The Bas are 9-3 in
their last 12 games, and sit just two games behind first place Washington
in the newly-created East Division.
Washington, St. Louis
in Salary-Swapping Deal
ST.
LOUIS (May 1) -- The Washington Monuments and St. Louis Maroons completed
a three-for-one deal involving salaries totaling $22 million today, in a
payroll-swapping deal that reduces the Maroons payroll and gives the
Monuments more roster flexibility at the end of this season. The
deal nominally increases Washington's already massive payroll by $3.5
million, but by replacing Larry Jansen's contract with those of Vern
Stephens and Monte Kennedy, the Mons will free up $10.6 million in payroll
space next year that they otherwise wouldn't have. This was a key objective for GM Jay
Kaplan, who can retain star centerfielder Willie Mays, whose
$8.25 million contract comes up for renewal this fall.
St. Louis, meanwhile, gets the services of Larry Jansen
through 1958. Jansen, 35, is the league's second winningest pitcher
(113 wins) and 1952 Cy Young Award winner. He won 20 games three
seasons in a row (1952-54), helping Washington to three consecutive
pennants. He missed a chunk of last season with a bicep injury, and
finished 11-8 with a career-best 2.73 ERA. His $9.55 million
contract is tied for the sixth largest in the league. Fresh in GM
Timothy Smith's mind is the dreadful performance of another former
Monuments ace, Steve Gromek, who turned out to be a total washup after a
blockbuster deal that cost St. Louis Roy Campanella and Willie 'Puddin
Head' Jones.
Shortstop Vern Stephens was the Brooklyn Superbas' third pick
in the United League's Initial Draft in 1951. After one and half
seasons in the borough, "Junior" joined the Maroons in the Ken
Raffensberger trade. He posted career highs in 1953, his first full
year with the Dark Reds, batting .260 with 27 home runs and 117 RBIs
(third in the league). After two years of diminishing production,
Stephens posted another strong season last year (.257-23-91). His
$8.5 million contract (12th highest) expires at the end of this season,
and St. Louis GM Timothy Smith had no intention of renewing it. Also
going to Washington are starter Vern Law, 27, 35-35 lifetime with a 4.37
career ERA; and Monte Kennedy, a former Colonel reliever whom Smith
characterizes as an 'overpriced non-role player.' Kennedy, signed
for $2.1 million per year in the 1955 Reentry draft, has pitched a total
of 9.0 innings in seven appearances with the Maroons.
Hacker Beats Acker,
Sphinx Blanks Smoke
In a happy coincindence of goofy nicknames and pitching matchups, Warren
Hacker beat Tom Acker and Don "Sphinx" Mossi beat Tom
"Smoke" Sturdivant on June 10.
