United League of American Base B

Barons Claim First Place With 12 Straight Wins...
CLEVELAND (August 1) -- The Cleveland Barons sliced through their late July schedule like a hot knife through butter, sweeping Washington, Manhattan, Dallas, and Los Angeles to overtake the Brooklyn Superbas for first place in the East Division. Eight of the 12 wins came on the road, where the Barons have won nine in a row and are 14-1 in their last 15. Baron pitchers have held opponents to two runs or less in seven of their last eight games. Johnny Podres (16-4, 1.93) and Earl Francis (14-4, 2.35) are in the top three in ERA, wins, and VORP.

...Ending Brooklyn's Seven-Year Run Atop East
CLEVELAND (July 28) -- There is a new leader in the UL's East Division. The Cleveland Barons claimed first place with an 8-1 win over Dallas tonight after Brooklyn lost to Los Angeles 2-1 in 11 innings. As a result, the Brooklyn Superbas are in second place after April for the first time since May 21, 1958. Johnny Podres held the Texans to a Boog Powell RBI single, and the Barons exploded for a seven-run fifth off Gaylord Perry. Meanwhile, at Frank Thomas Memorial Stadium, named for the club's first owner, who built the foundation for the dynasty GM Glen Reed helmed, Frank Robinson and Hank Aaron singled and doubled off former teammate Ray Narleski, and Jimmie Hall drove in Robinson with a sac fly. Frank Baumann allowed two hits, but struck out shortstop Jose Pagan for the final out, sending a crowd of 26,961 home shell-shocked. Clumps of Bas faithful moped to their cars in a stupor, not yet coming to grips with the historical importance of this moment.
For seven years, Brooklyn fans looked in the morning paper and saw their team listed atop the East Division standings. On May 22, 1958, Gene Conley beat Louisville's Herm Wehmeier 8-4, as catcher Hobie Landrith drove in four runs, while the New York Gothams' Bob Friend shut down Detroit's Johnny Podres 6-1 with a five-hit complete game. Podres, ironically, was on the mound for opposing teams on both the day the first-place run began, and the day it ended. The run lasted a nearly unfathomable 1,165 games over seven years, two months, and seven days. During their reign in first place, the Superbas won seven straight East Division titles and five straight World Series. Reed stepped down last fall after the record-breaking fifth Series ring, and new GM Rick Magar took on the unenviable task of trying to meet the over-inflated expectations of the world's most spoiled baseball fans.

Then... May 21, 1958				and Now... July 28, 1965
	W	L	GB		W	L	GB
DET	24	17	--	CLE	67	38	--
BRO	23	17	1/2	BRO	66	38	1/2

Brooklyn was in first place every day between May 21, 1958 and July 28, 1965 (not counting Aprils). The table shows the standings the day before and the day after the Superbas 1,165-game run atop the East Division. The last team to lead the East was the 1957 Detroit Griffins, who were led by Ralph Kiner (.268-41-130), who led the league in RBIs and walks, and Pedro Ramos (23-12, 3.29), who set the club record for wins. The Griffins faltered and finished 71-83, 28 games behind in fourth place.

My Dinner With Quallsie
by Charlie Qualls
"We're WHAT?!?!" he said, spewing roast beef in most directions, including backward into his esophagus. Cleveland Barons GM CB Qualls must not have known his beloved Barons had taken over first place from the Mighty Superbas, otherwise I wouldn't have brought it up while his mouth was full. Well, probably not,
anyway. The Heimlich Maneuver gave way to the Heineken Maneuver, and CQ was ready to talk. Sort of.
"Don't ask me... I'm noodles!" he said giddily, using a squeaky voice, possibly mimicking a comedian or cartoon character. I didn't ask, as per his wish. Come to think of it, I didn't ask anything BEFORE he said that. After we shared a bottle of what he assured me was "the finest four-month-old scotch money can buy," he started to make a lot more sense.
Over the course of dinner, he must have used the phrase "Pitching and Defense" a hundred times, and I'm pretty sure he thinks he coined the phrase as well as inventing the formula. Who am I to correct him?
Also, I'm not convinced that he doesn't believe his Barons have already clinched a post season berth, despite two months worth of games left to go, including eleven head-to-head match-ups with the UL Champs themselves. But again, why burst his celebratory bubble?
As the evening wore thin, I mean ON, he waxed and waned on the subject of his favorite player, Harvey
Kuenn, and how the newly forming UL Hall Of Fame probably wouldn't be calling HK home. The bastards.
Then he pleaded with me not to print that, especially the "bastards" part.
After dinner, we smoked cigars and talked some more. He loves talking about the old days, and proved
to be a mildly talented mime as he acted out the peaks and valleys of the 1965 season thus far (his "lame
Moose" impression being the highlight). But when I asked him about the future of the Barons franchise,
his position is best summed up by a shrug and a weak smile. The man has no clue.
As we said our good-byes, he seemed surprised that I was leaving. Overall, he doesn't strike me as a deep man. Not to say he's not thoughtful, he just seems to enjoy living in the moment. But mostly the impression I got was that of a lucky man. In any case, I had a good night, and he'll always be "noodles" in my book.

REACTION FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE

The Sporting News roving East Division beat writer solicits GMs for their take on yesterday's news.

What is your reaction to Cleveland displacing Brooklyn atop the Division?
Rick Magar (Brooklyn): Cleveland is an excellent team playing .600 ball, I'm sure this will be a battle right down to the final day of the regular season. the Superbas have been dealt one significant injury after another, but we haven't let them destroy us. Keep in mind, we've still got 2+ months to go and things can change in a hurry in this league.
Shawn Martin (Boston): It was bound to happen at some point. All I care about is where "BOS" ends up in the rankings. Where the other teams are is inconsequential.

The New York press is calling this a seismic shift portending the end of the Superbas dynasty? Do you agree?
Rick Magar (Brooklyn): No. The Superbas will be contending for championships for years to come. Are we a shoe-in for a championship in 1965? Of course not, to suggest such a thing would be just as foolish now as it would have been in April.
Shawn Martin (Boston): It was over when they dismissed "GReed".
Doug Aiton (Washington): A new dynasty is exactly what this division doesn't need!

Brooklyn fans are calling for Rick Magar's head on a platter? Is this fair?
Rick Magar (Brooklyn): The Brooklyn fans have very high expectations, as do I.
Shawn Martin (Boston): Of course not. Fans in NYC can be awfully short-sighted and have a case of entitlement in regards to winning. Believe me, I know. [Martin managed the New York Gothams from 1957-61 and engineered their move to Fenway Park in 1962.]
Doug Aiton (Washington): 67 wins? If I had twice the problems Rick Magar has right now, I'd be a happy man.

When the Cupboard Runs Bare
by Glen Reed
Props to Cleveland for making the moves to put a team on the field that can sock it to the Black and Blue. And this is especially true when you consider the adversity by the lake--promising spects Rusty Staub and Mack Jones have been crushed by downgrades, and several other key ingredients in the first-place soup missed important time.

The injury bug is an important element in baseball's favored borough, too, but not for the reason you might think. I mean, sure, injuries to Conley and Mantle and Sisler and Kaline (read in your best "twelve days of Christmas" voice: that's two hall of famers, one good closer, and an overhyped loser with a bum knee) have had an impact on the team's place in the standings, but if Brooklyn are to storm back and take their rightful place atop the East division table, the key injury may be the one sustained by long-time fourth starter/bench jockey Johnny Kucks. That's because with Kucks out for the remainder of the season and a lack of viable arms left in the pitching cupboard, Rockin' Ricky Magar may well be forced to abandon the five-man rotation experiment, maximizing the starts down the stretch for some of the biggest pitching names in the game--Conley, Burdette, and Perry.

But win, lose, or draw in '65, the tale of Brooklyn's demise, it seems to me, has been years in the making, where a series of bad/unfortunate trades have turned down the volume on the Screaming Bats. Most notable are two involving Al Kaline. The first, to acquire Kaline, cost the team two first-round draft picks and the player now driving Cleveland's challenge to the throne--25-year old All-Star middle infielder Bernie Allen. The second, to move Kaline off the payroll, cost the team 30-year old All-Star middle infielder Felix Mantilla. Finally, last year's trade of Whitey Ford for two 27-year olds has been a horrible failure, as the players acquired for His Whiteness have regressed during their stay by the East River, and the team is left with Baby Joe Presko in the fourth-starter role.

Art Mahaffey: Ace to Cripple
by Peter Vays
On June 18, 1964 Art and the LA Outlaws were at the top of the world. They were chasing the hated Chicago Colts and Art was again threatening for a 20 win season and his ERA was below 2.50. Then on the morning of the 19th he started having uncontrollable back spasms which eventually led to him missing a year of playing time.

Art is now back and while he has lost some pop on his pitches as he can't get proper extension his legs are as strong as ever and he is now a crafty righty instead of the ace he once was. On June 22 he returned to the L.A. minor league system in hopes of finding his fastball again but quickly got out to a 1-5 start with a 4.39 ERA. Even in failure, Art was not giving up homeruns which has been the trademark of his success, but was giving up hits and walks at a very fast pace. Despite the failure in the minors the L.A. organization brought him up to the majors.

"We felt that Art has been the face of the pitching staff for a few years and his presence alone would bring joy to the club house. While we don't expect the complete game shutout master that he once used to be, we do expect him to be effective and give our pen relief by pitching deep into games." GM Peter Vays said.

His first two appearances in the majors have been a mild success. On July 25th he faced the powerful St. Louis Maroons. He held Torre/Maris/Perez to just two hits (non of the extra base variety) and walked away
with a complete game win. Then on July 30th he faced the streaking Barons. While he did give up 6 runs, he pitched another complete game throwing over 140 pitches. Overall, his start has been positive going
the distance twice and holding two very good offensive clubs in relative check.

Will Mahaffey ever be an ace again? Probably not, but time will tell if he is now the inning eater that will
fool guys with his variety of pitches or if he is just another cripple in the injury riddled UL.