Week 12 Summary (07/01/1957

Week 12 Summary (07/01/1957 - 07/07/1957)

Week 12 is in the book and we have reached the halfway point of the season, not only in weeks completed but most teams have reached the half-way mark (77 games played ) in games as well. Washington is at 81, and by the end of the coming week most teams will be up around the 80 games played mark. Chicago (NL) is currently behind at only 72 games played, but they will get caught up sooner or later.

Minnie Minoso

Chicago continues to lead the AL with a 5.5 game lead over New York. They had a few rough weeks recently which saw their lead shrink considerably, but they are heading into the All-Star break on a five game winning streak and having won nine of their last ten games. They have the league's best pitching and are third in runs scored but most important is that they continue to show a dogged determination to win. Minnie Minoso is second in hitting (.352), leads in hits (109), is fourth in runs (58), fifth in RBI’s (55) and leads the AL in doubles with 23, and is the White Sox MVP candidate for the first half of the season. What makes the White Sox offense so potent though is that you never know who is going to provide the crucial hit on any given day, and with their pitching, they are always in the game, so when that big hit comes it almost always makes a difference. Dick Donovan (13-1, 1.99), Billy Pierce (12-4, 2.33), and Jim Wilson (11-2, 3.06) lead the mound crew and they are ably abetted by a strong bullpen and a strong defense. Can they hold on to first in the second half of the season? Well, yes they can, but New York will still have their say in the matter.

New York recently finally climbed past both Detroit and Boston to take up residence in second place, right behind Chicago. Mickey Mantle is third in batting (.349), second in runs (66), third in RBI’s (60) and leads the AL in walks (81), but to this point he has not really caught fire offensively. Gil McDougald (321) and Hank Bauer (.297) have provided many crucial hits and even though Yogi Berra is struggling at the plate he is still second on the team with 49 RBI’s. The Yankees are second in the league in both runs scored and pitching plus they lead the league in fielding and fully expect to challenge the first place White Sox as they head into the end of the season. To that end manager Casey Stengel is not overusing his starters – Johnny Kucks leads the staff with 8 wins – in order to have his staff at full strength as they head towards the end, so let’s see if that makes a difference in an APBA replay. Whitey Ford just returned from a month-long injury absence and his presence on the mound will be needed as they Yankees make their charge.

Boston has been in third place most of the season, either behind Detroit earlier or now New York. There were a couple of forays up into second place, but they just don’t have the pitching staff to maintain that position. Of course if you are talking about the Red Sox that means one thing – Ted Williams. Williams leads in hitting (.429), is second in hits (106), leads in runs scored (69), is second in RBI’s (67) behind teammate Jackie Jensen (69), is second in homeruns (23), and is second in walks (66). Williams is also currently working on a 72 game on-base streak. Besides leading the league in RBI’s Jensen is third in homeruns (20) and Jimmy Piersall has chipped in with 16 homeruns, sixth in the league, and has 54 runs scored, ninth in the league in a very tight race. Boston leads the AL in hitting and runs scored and are currently fifth in pitching. Once you get past Frank Sullivan (11-2, 216), Tom Brewer (8-7, 3.84) and Willard Nixon (8-2, 4.22) though it gets pretty bleak for the starting staff and the bullpen is full of holes as well. Their one bullpen bright spot is that Bob Porterfield (8-1, 2.39) has somehow specialized in picking up wins in relief. Third place may be the final resting spot for the Red Sox, but they would love to play the role of a spoiler for the teams above them.

Detroit spent most of the first half of the season in second place as their strong pitching carried them early. That pitching has buckled a little recently, their offense was never very strong to begin with, and they have recently slipped out of second and into fourth place. The Tigers are third in the AL in pitching, but are now fifth in runs scored, trailing even Baltimore. Further, the Tigers ended the first half of the season by having allowed more runs (334) then they have scored (330), never a good position to be in. When it comes to leaders Al Kaline is fourth in hitting (.327), tied for sixth in RBI’s (50), and is fourth in doubles (20), while teammate Charlie Maxwell is tied for seventh homeruns (13) and is tied for fifth in walks (44). Paul Foytack (10-6, 3.40), Billy Hoeft (9-2, 2.51), Jim Bunning (9-4, 3.43), Duke Maas (7-7, 3.79), and Frank Lary (6-7, 3.95) all with they had some additional run support but continue to toil and keep the Tigers competitive. The Tigers have gone 9-22 versus the three teams ahead of them in the standings but have gone 36-11 versus the four team below them.

Baltimore is in an odd position. They are clearly better than the three teams beneath them, but even with Detroit’s recent woes the Orioles still languish 7.0 games out of fourth place. Bob Boyd (.232), Al Pilarcik (.321), and Bob Neiman (.320) are respectively seventh, eighth, and tenth in the league in hitting and likely team MVP Billy Gardner is seventh in runs scored (56), second in doubles (22), and third in hits (101). Connie Johnson (8-5, 2.38) leads the starters, but the strength of the Orioles staff is their bullpen with George Zuverink (2.56), Ken Lehman (1.50), and Billy O’Dell (2.54) keeping games close. Baltimore has been active in the trade market as they have looked to acquire bits and pieces to make them stronger, plus they are expecting to recall Brooks Robinson from the minors at some point shortly, but fourth place may be beyond their grasp at this point in history.

It may be some consolation to Cleveland fans that they are not as bad as Kansas City and Washington, but the Indians were not expecting to be languishing in sixth place when this season started. They had been in the World Series just three years previous and have several young stars-to-be on the roster, so while it was a rebuilding year, they had the parts to rebuild with. But then Herb Score got hurt and will miss the remainder of the season, Hank Aguirre wasn’t quite ready, and Bob Lemon, Early Wynn, Mike Garcia, and Don Mossi suddenly became aging warhorses instead of wily veterans. In the field young outfielders Rocky Colavito and Roger Maris have struggled so while key veterans like Gene Woodling and Vic Wertz have performed well, I think Cleveland was counting on the veterans to be the supporting staff for the young players, not the ones actually carrying the team. Wertz is fourth in homeruns (18) and is tied for ninth in RBI’s (48), but much of that came earlier in the season and he has slowed down since.

Kansas City is in a duel with Washington to avoid last place and they currently lead the Senators by 4.5 games. They have played five less games than Washington though, so that will likely even out a little bit yet. The A’s are currently seventh in hitting and runs scored and are seventh for pitching as well, so they are right where they should be. Similar to Baltimore they have made several trades to try and acquire key pieces for their future, although they will soon find out that being a farm team for the Yankees will be good for the Yankees and not necessarily them. Case in point: Ralph Terry is 3-0 since he came over from New York, but when the Yankees need him back in a few years he will be there for them. Catcher Hal W. Smith is tied for fifth in the league with 17 doubles and Gus Zernial in fifth place in homeruns (17), although most of these came early and Zernial is currently having trouble getting in the lineup.

Washington is not only in last place but they are last place in both hitting and pitching. To their credit they are giving several young players an opportunity to show their stuff, but so far they aren’t seeing much come of it. Roy Sievers is the Senators hitting star as he is fifth in hitting (.326), tied for third in runs (58), is fourth in RBI’s (57), is eighth in hits (81), is fourth in walks (52) and leads the AL in homeruns (24). Jim Lemon is sixth in RBI’s (50) and Eddie Yost is third in doubles (20), although Yost has missed most of the past month with injuries and is expected back soon. Chuck Stobbs (7-6, 3.80) is the best of the Washington mound staff.

St. Louis took over first place in the NL in Week 7 and have stayed there ever since. The offense has always been there for the Cardinals and they had led the NL in offense for most of the season and currently have a .293 team batting average. The difference has been the elevation of Lindy McDaniel (13-1, 1.61) and Larry Jackson (7-2, 1.51) to full time starters plus Von McDaniel (4-1, 2.31) has joined the staff. The team is third in pitching in the NL, but includes several pitchers that are no longer regular starters. Stan Musial is all over the leader boards – first in average (.371), first in hits (116), first in runs scored (69), third in RBI’s (67), tied for fourth in doubles (17), is second in homeruns (27), and is eighth in walks (35). Al Dark is eighth in hitting (.322), third in hits (101), ninth in runs (48) and is tied for sixth in doubles (16). Wally Moon is seventh in hitting (.326), is sixth in runs (49), sixth in RBI’s (54), and is seventh in homeruns (17), all while having missed considerable playing time over the past several weeks. Can they hold on to first in the second half of the season? Well, yes they can, but Milwaukee will still have their say in the matter

Hank Aaron

Milwaukee struggled through much of the first half of the season and has only recently righted their ship and taken over second place. Their hold on second may be tenuous for now, but Pittsburgh is (finally) starting to fade and the Braves are starting to come on strong. Hank Aaron carried Milwaukee offense for most of the first two months of the season and Warren Spahn (10-4, 3.12) and Bob Buhl (10-4, 1.42) did what they could from the mound, but Lew Burdette (7-7, 3.70) struggled and the Braves bullpen has not been strong to this point. The past month has not only seen the resurgence of Burdette, but Eddie Mathews and Bill Bruton have stepped up to lead the offense now that Aaron has cooled off. The Braves may be second in hitting, but they have outscored the Cardinals (413-393) and outhomered St. Louis (106 – 88). Mathews is fifth in hitting (.336), Aaron is second in runs scored (68) and Mathews third (62), Aaron leads in RBI’s (83) and Mathews is second (70), Aaron leads in homeruns (33) and Mathews is third (23). Bruton has also lead in the Braves move up the standings as he is tenth in hits (90), tied for second in doubles (19), and leads by a wide margin in triples (15).

Pittsburgh is definitely the surprise team of the season. They should be fighting with Chicago to avoid the cellar but instead have spent several weeks in first place and are currently fighting with Milwaukee for second place. They actually had 30 wins in 1957 at this point, but currently have 44 for me. I am not sure how much longer they can keep this up (they are last in homeruns with 55), but then I have been stating that since week four. They are fourth in runs scored in the NL, but are second in pitching, and it has been that way most of the season so far. Bob Friend (16-3, 2.11) is everybody’s Cy Young candidate so far, Vern Law (8-5, 8-5, 2.58) is right behind him, and Roy Face and Bob G. Smith have provided solid bullpen support. It gets pretty bleak after that though, and if Friend should ever cool off the collapse shouldn’t be far behind. The other aspect of the Pirates success is that they have gone 11-2 versus Brooklyn so far. There is no real reason for that to be true, but the Pirates just get up for those games and have kept the Dodgers buried farther down the standings while reaping the benefit for themselves. Among the leaders Dee Fondy is ninth in hitting (.315), Frank Thomas is fourth in RBI’s (58), and Bill Virdon is tied for first in doubles (19). As the Pirates were struggling in 1957 the daily lineups reflects a manager that is searching for a winning lineup combination, but for replay purposes what it means is that every day there is a different hero every day.

Philadelphia spent some time in first place very early in the season, but have been struggling to stay above .500 for the past few weeks. They are last in the NL in hitting and are in sixth place in runs scored (296), one ahead of Chicago (295) and five ahead of New York (291). They are fifth in pitching in the NL, but it’s that offense that has become the anchor around their neck. They have 55 homeruns as a team, only two more than Pittsburgh. The Phillies pitching is fifth in the NL and they can stay competitive in games, but that is a hard way to live. Richie Ashburn is second in hitting (.341), is tied for fifth in hits (100), is tied for fourth in doubles (17), is tied for second in triples (7), and leads the NL in walks (57) – but no, he isn’t in the top ten in runs scored (tenth place is 47 runs scored, and Ashburn has 46). Rookie Jack Sanford (8-4, 2.75) leads the hurlers, and Curt Simmons (7-8, 3.14) and Robin Roberts (7-8, 4.96) have had their moments as well.

Brooklyn Manager
Walter Alston

Brooklyn has been a mystery team all season. They spent much of the early part of the season mired towards the bottom of the standings, even having reached seventh place for a few days. Then they experienced several good weeks and reach as high as second place, but cooled off since and currently reside in fifth place, one game under .500. The Dodgers have led the league in pitching for almost the entire season and their offense is currently in fifth place, but what the Dodgers have lacked is hitting in crucial situations (or allowing the opponent to get hits in crucial situations). Bad luck? Maybe, maybe not, but the dice rolls have certainly not gone their way as often as they would have liked. Duke Snider is ninth RBI's (49), tied for fourth in triples (7), is in fourth place in homeruns (20), and is fifth in walks (38). For having a lineup filled with all-stars, the offensive shelves are pretty bare. Don Drysdale (8-6, 1.90), Sal Maglie (4-3, 1.99) returned just returned from injury and threw two shutouts, Don Newcombe (7-7, 3.15), and Johnny Podres (7-5, 3.47) also just returned from an injury stint. Brooklyn has a strong bullpen and now that they have their starting rotation healthy maybe that can make a another charge up the standings.

Cincinnati is another team that spent some time in first place early in the season, and while their hitting is very strong, once you get past Brooks Lawrence (10-4, 3.10), well, you have found their Achilles heel. The Reds are third in runs scored but are seventh in pitching but curiously enough, have thrown eleven shutouts this season, the same as St. Louis. Ted Kluszewski got off to a strong start but aggravated a back injury and has seen only limited duty since, but this has allowed George Crowe to get in the lineup and he has responded with 14 homeruns and 54 RBI’s (tied for fifth in the NL). Frank Robinson is tied for fourth in hitting (.340), second in hits (103), and is third in doubles (18). Gus Bell is tenth in runs scored (47), and Roy McMillan is sixth in walks (36). McMillan spent much for the first six weeks of the season flirting with a .400 average but is currently down to .327 and heading south. The Reds may be a team on the come but all they can hope for this year is to maybe be a spoiler to a team at the top.

The Cubs are a mess. Their roster consists of 24 guys and Ernie Banks, and Banks is only hitting .239. Banks has just been moved back to shortstop after playing most of the season at third as the Jack Littrell at shortstop experiment is over. Jerry Kindall is the current third baseman, and he did hit three homeruns this past week, but he was just signed out of college a few months ago.. The traded for Dale Long to anchor first base and Long has had trouble getting on the field for most of the time he has been here. Bobby Morgan plays every day at second, but he is only hitting .243. The Cubs rotate through six different bodes in the outfield, but to no affect. Chicago is seventh in the NL in hitting and seventh in pitching, although Moe Drabowsky (7-2, 3.41) threw a no-hitter, and Bob Rush (5-6, 3.69) and Dick Drott (3-9, 3.86) have proven to be solid if unlucky.

The Giants are a mess too, although they don’t know they will be in San Francisco next season and find their fortunes suddenly changed for the better. Right now they are Willie Mays and a bunch of old, slow guys. They do have Stu Miller and Mike McCormick as pitching prospects, but for now they are last in the NL in runs scored and in pitching. Mays is tied for third in hitting (.340), is fourth in runs (53), is tied for seventh in RBI’s (51), is eighth in hits (96), tied for sixth in doubles (16), is tied for fifth in homeruns (19), and is fourth in triples (6). Ruben Gomez (8-9, 3.88) and Johnny Antonelli (4-9, 5.72) are the Giants best starters, with not much going on after that.

What's next? After all this it is now time for the All-Star break, and then it is time to pick up and start the second half of the season. Both leagues have a lot of questions yet to be answered and we are halfway there, so let's get started.