United League of American Base B

Return of the Pennant Race
ST. LOUIS (Sept. 1) -- For the first time in four years, the World Series matchup is not a foregone conclusion heading into the final month. In fact, the combined margin of the East and West division leaders is the smallest since the beginning of the divisional era in 1957, raising the potential for the most exciting pennant race in United League history (see Pennant Race graphs below).
   In the five years (1961-65) the Chicago Colts and Brooklyn Superbas have met in the Fall Classic, the dual dynasties have lead their divisions going into September by an average of 15 and 10 games, respectively. But this September 1, Chicago's lead is just 5.5 games over surprising St. Louis, and the Superbas actually trail the Cleveland Barons by a game. It is the first time that a team other than Brooklyn has led the East this late in the season.
   The Superbas have come close to clinching the division before Labor Day on three occasions, mounting leads of 24, 22, and 19 games in '63, '61, '59, and even in their "off" years, the Screaming Bats had comfortable nine-game cushions over their various hapless challengers. The last time the East Division margin was less than nine games was 1958, when Brooklyn and Washington battled down to the wire. The Brooks led by 2.5 games on Sept. 1 that year, but the Monuments won 10 straight in September -- in the midst of Carl Erskine's record streak of 27 straight wins -- to close the gap to one game by mid-September.
   The West Division generally has had closer races than the East, but nothing approximating a genuine pennant race since 1961, when Chicago led Louisville by six games with a month to go en route to its first pennant. The year before, the Colonels pulled away in August, after leading the Colts by just four games at the end of July.

Divisional Lead on September 1
	1957	1958	1959	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965
East	7.5	2.5	19	9	22	9	24	11	1
West	1.5	10.5	9.5	7.5	6	11	10	15	5.5
Combined	9	13	28.5	16.5	28	20	34	26	6.5

Bas Narrow Gap with Series Win Over Barons
Brooks Take 3 of 4, Mantle Hits Key Homers
BROOKLYN (Sept. 1) -- The Brooklyn Superbas bounced back from a 7-6 defeat to take three straight from the East-leading Cleveland Barons and close their lead to one game. The Barons swept Brooklyn at the Frank in the first week of August and led the season series 6-5 coming into Saturday's series opener.
   The visitors scored a pair off Earl Francis in the first inning on four hits and a walk, but the Barons touched "Baby Joe" Presko for five runs in the first two innings. Bernie Allen hit a solo homer in the first, and Chris Hinton hit a two-run triple, followed by RBI hits by Johnny Roseboro and Allen in the second. Cleveland led 6-4 going into the ninth, but closer Don Elston could not put the game away. Coming in with one out and a runner on first inherited from Jackie Collum, Elston walked Dick Williams and gave up a single to Jose Pagan to load the bases. Ted Lepcio then walked to halve the lead, and Tim McCarver tied it up with a sac fly to left before Alex Johnson meekly grounded out to third to end the inning. But the heart of the order rallied in the home half of the ninth off new Brooklyn closer Ray Narleski. Bill "Moose" Skowron singled and Eddie Mathews walked, setting up Harvey Kuenn's game-winning RBI single to left-center. Kuenn had just five days before become the fifth member of the 2,000 hit club. The win momentarily gave Cleveland a four-game lead, but the Bas came back on Sunday to split the Lakeside half of the four-game set. Lew Burdette went the distance in a 7-3 win, despite allowing 13 hits. Mickey Mantle was 3-for-5 with a homer, and Granny Hamner drove in three runs. Johnny Podres allowed four runs through six innings and took his seventh loss, but the Mick's seventh-inning dong off reliever Terry Fox put the game out of reach.
   Back in Brooklyn on Monday, the Bas eked out a 4-3 win in a duel between Gene Conley and Bob Friend. Cleveland plated three in fourth on Mathews' bases loaded walk and a two-run single by Mack Jones. But the Brooks tied it up in the fifth on another Mantle homer. With Jackie Collum on the hill in the bottom of the eighth, Tim McCarver, Alex Johnson, and Granny Hamner all singled to bring around the go-ahead run. Narleski then retired the ninth on three groundballs for his 12th save.
   In the series finale on Tuesday, Brooklyn touched Earl Francis for seven runs in the third, and added an eighth in the fourth before getting the hook. Dick Williams hit a two-run single and Charlie Neal hit a first-pitch three-run homer, effectively putting the game out of reach. It was Francis' shortest outing since a 15-0 blowout against Detroit Apr. 29. Francis was 14-1 from May 20 to Aug. 13, but is only 1-2 with a 7.89 ERA in his last four starts. Jim Perry, Brooklyn's hottest starter and August's Pitcher of the Month, cruised to his 17th win in 21 decisions, pitching six innings of three-hit ball. Bob Lee earned the save for pitching three innings.

St. Louis Keeping Pace with Surging Chicago
Colts Have 12-3 Run . . . But Lose Ground to Hot Maroons

Maris Keeps St. Louis in Race
ST. LOUIS (Sept. 1) -- A 12-3 run by a first place team in late August is usually a prelude to a pennant celebration, but don't tell that to the St. Louis Maroons. They didn't get the memo.
   St. Louis is playing its best ball of the season and is clicking on all cylinders. The Dark Reds have steady chipped away at the West-leading Colts' lead, and sit just 5.5 games beack with 28 games to go. What's more, they feature the league's hottest slugger, one of the best rookies hitters, and the most consistent starting rotation.
   The Maroons were 22-8 in August, their best month in years, and they enter September having won their last seven and 14 of their last 16.
   Roger Maris hit only .281-11-42 in his first 75 games, but is hitting .354-14-40 in his last 43, and had the UL's hottest bat in the month of August, leading the league in batting (.415), OBP (.489), and SLG (.736). Maris belted eight homers in August, including five in his last seven games, running up his season total to 25 HR and 82 RBI, on pace to have his first 30-100 season since his high-water 1962 season.
   3B Tony Perez worked himself out of a July slump (.243-0-7) to grab Rookie of the Month hardware in August with a .369 average, .988 OPS, 19 RBIs, and 29 runs in 28 games. However, Perez was merely middle of the pack on his own club. No fewer than four regulars hit over .400 for the month, including fellow rookie LF Willie Horton (.407, 17 RBI, 1.200 OPS), newcomer Wes Covington (.418/.461/.642 in 21 games), and utility infielder Bob Johnson (.408, .943 OPS in 20 games).
   The acquisition of lefty Whitey Ford on July 20 shored up an already solid rotation. Ford is 6-2 with a 2.40 ERA and 0.97 WHIP in his first 10 St. Louis starts. In that same period Bob Sadowski is 6-1 and Billy O'Dell is 5-3. Ford and O'Dell were rewarded with big-ticket contracts extensions. Fored will earn $8 million next year and O'Dell just shy of $6 million.
   The bullpen has been rock solid of late. Billy Hoeft posted a 1.64 ERA and earned six saves, thanks in part to solid months by setup men Bob Shaw (2.11) and rookie Bob Locker (2.13). Hoeft's six saves equals his total for the previous three months. The 33-year-old closer was St. Louis' 2nd round pick in 1952, has been with the club 14 years, and figures to be the next target for a contract extension, according to sources close to the Maroons' front office.

Running to Stand Still
CHICAGO (Sept. 1) --

Another Colt Hits for Cycle
Jerry Lynch Rides a Bike

HEAD-TO-HEAD KEY FOR ST. LOUIS
The West Division pennant will largely be determined by the seven remaining games between Chicago and St. Louis. If the Maroons are to erase a 5.5 game lead in 28 games, they will have to dominate Chicago head-to-head. The clubs meet Sept. 4-6 at Comiskey and again Sept. 21-24 at Sportsmans's Park. Chicago leads the season series 8-5 thus far, but the Maroons took two of three in Chicago in their last meeting in late July.

Torre 25-Game Hitting Streak Sox Catcher Falls One Shy of UL Record	Kuenn Joins 2,000-Hit Club

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