PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Player of the week for (June 7th - June 13th) is 1B Jimmy (Double XX) Foxx of the St. Louis Bubonic Plague. This is Jimmy's third award of the young season as he continues to put up MVP type numbers. On the week Jimmy batted .391 (9-23) with a slugging percentage of 1.174, leading the league in home runs with five and RBI with twelve. He also hit a triple and a double and scored eight runs. The Beast was walked five times and had an extra base hit in five of seven games, including three straight games with a home run. Jimmy continues to lead the charge to become the first Triple Crown winner in DBS history.Other Player of the Week Candidates:
SP - Earl Whitehill of Sahara who was 2-0 on the week with an ERA of 0.00 allowing no earned run in seventeen innings with one complete game and seven strikeouts.
SP - Firpo Marberry of Montgomery who was 2-0 with an ERA of 1.76 allowing only three earned runs in 15 1/3 innings pitched
OF - Johnny Frederick of Pawtucket who batted .536 (15-28) with four doubles eight RBI and one run scored.
OF - Paul (Big Poison) Waner of Montgomery who batted .484 (15-31) with four doubles and three triples and a slugging average of .774. He also knocked in eight runs and scored seven times.
LOOKING BACK AT THE FIRST FIVE SEASONS, PART 2
The DBS has now completed five seasons, so this series will take a look at the top 5 of certain categories and stories.Ranking the 5 Champions
1. 1929 BurnsThey won a record 104 games, behind absolutely intimidating pitching: Pat Malone (19-5), Willis Hudlin (17-4), Jake Miller (17-6), Fred Marberry (15-4). Hell, even lowly Ed Morris (6-10) threw a no-hitter in one of his rare starts. Pie Traynor and Dale Alexander both hit .303 at the corners, while Mickey Cochrane lead the way from behind the plate, hitting .341 and truly being the clubhouse leader. The team made up for its shortcomings in power by leading the league in stolen bases, with 4 players swiping at least 20 bases. The Burns then went through Pawtucket in the Series, winning in six games.
2. 1931 Harlem Knights
Angered by the prior seasons World Series loss to St Louis, Harlem jumped out of the gate in 1931 and never looked back, winning 97 games and out-distancing Sahara by 15.5. Chuck Klein enjoyed another fine season as he hit .296 with 30 home runs and 83 RBI. Babe Ruth hit 25 taters while knocking in 76, and the infield of Hurst, Myer, Cronin and Stripp was remarkably solid. However, it was the pitching staff that was dominating, with Fitzsimmons (18-10), Lefty Grove (15-9), Bill Walker (16-7) and Rookie of the Year Larry French (16-7) rolling through the DBS all summer long. Harlem met resistance from the always scrappy Montgomery Burns in the World Series, but still managed to take home the title in seven games.
3. 1928 Clippers
Almost all but forgotten, this team, with Burt Shotten at the helm, grabbed the inaugural title in 1928. They boasted two 19-game winners in Burleigh Grimes and Carmen Hill, and Freddie Lindstrom hit .375 with 97 RBI, 115 runs scored and 52 doubles on his way to the MVP. Goose Goslin, Riggs Stephenson and Hack Wilson formed one of the most potent outfields in league history as Mississippi won the SouthEast by 6 games, and beat Sahara in the World Series in six.
4. 1930 Bubonic Plague
St Louis eked out the title in an amazing pennant race that saw Montgomery finish one game back, and Mississippi only 3 back. The Plague were lead by the potent punch of Al Simmons and Jimmie Foxx, 38 and 44 home runs respectively. Earle Combs, Twitchy Porter and Johnny Hodapp all had career years. Pitching was a little light, but more than enough with the run support they received. George Pipgras won 14, Sloppy Thurston won 13, and Cuban-born Dolf Luque was 16-7. St Louis upset the heavily-favored Harlem Knights in the World Series in six games, scoring 45 runs after being shut-out by Lefty Grove in the opener.
5. 1932 Fremont Furtraders
Fremont came on at the end of the season and stole the pennat from the choking Knights, who blew a five game lead in the last two weeks. Riggs Stephenson, Earl Averill and Arky Vaughan were keys to the championship, and Dazzy Vance (16-8) and Ed Brandt (15-6) were important reasons for the title. However, the true edge was the mouthpiece of the club, the edgy and irritable Suga Cain. Cain was the spark to the fire down the stretch, and his 24 innings show little about his contribution. The under-manned and under-talented Furtraders then proceeded to wipe out Montgomery in the World Series, in true underdog fashion.
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