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TCBA Yearbook |
1944 |
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INDEX Seasons 1911 1912 1913 1921 1922 1923 1930 1931 1932 1940 1941 1942 1950 1951 1952 1960 1961 1962 1970 1971 1972 1980 1981 1982 1990 1991 1992 2000 2001 2002 2010 2011 2012 2020 2021 2022 Miscellaneous |
Comments – Bob Wood – And how about Player Manager Walter Mac, who
twice defeated Bradenton this week, besting Johnny Vander Meer in the opener,
then throwing a 1-hit shutout (Lou Boudreau) to win the finale? Marty Fiehl – Player
Manager Walter Mac, winning TWICE on the mound versus Bradenton this past
week can only be called one thing:
*If Walt knew he had that kind
of arm on him, he would have been starting him all year long!
Twice. In 1927 and 1970, both in the Hackbart race. There have been nine other instances in TCBA, all in the Metro Division, including the remarkable 2004 season when FIVE teams in the Metro all exceeded 100 wins.
Al Keefer – In the
Mallards final game vs Long Island in the playoffs, Joe Cronin hit a home run
in his final AB in TCBA, a great way to end his playing days in Retro. Jim McEneaney – Turn out
the lights...the Party’s over. The Iron Curtain has fallen, fifty-five
seasons of Retro action have come to a close with one final Yesterday World
Series. That horrible strike of 1995 was ironically the genesis of what
would become TCBA YESTERDAY (and later TCBA GOLD)... And last night, two of
the mangers from that inaugural YEST season met for one final TCBA retro
matchup on Team Viewer. The stadium was filled to overflowing with the
likes of “Woody” Wood, Al Keefer, and Gerry “the Natural” Hobbs as Mimosa’s
Larry Smith and Long Island’s Jim McEneaney squared off in the...... TCBA44
World Series The two evenly matched squads
had completed the regular season with identical 107-47 records, but Long
Island had drawn home field advantage based upon the narrowest of margins, a
5-4 record in FTF competition during the regular season. But the Mirth
Makers were coming into the series battered and bruised after a grueling 7
game series against Chesapeake, while the Islanders had enjoyed several days
of additional rest after their stunning 4 game sweep of the reigning champion
Mexicali Mallards. Mimosa’s pitching staff was particularly spent,
pulling out all stops to barely contain a Chesapeake squad that had stranded
an almost unbelievable 83 runners in their 7 game set. Not only that,
but Mimosa had lost their starting LF’er Jeff Heath who had batted .305
during the regular season. The Isles were missing the injured George
Staller, a key PH’er throughout the regular season, but their pitching staff
was entirely rested and the rest of their offense, led by Doc Cramer, who’d
earned MVP of the Mexicali series by slashing .625, was poised to take the
title to Long Island. But the teams still had games to
play and as the teams took the field, and the series was stilled tied at zero
apiece. GAME 1—looked to be a mismatch with LI going with staff ace
Whit Wyatt (20-2, 1.04 ERA in the regular season) against Mimosa’s Al Javery,
who despite a 22-7 record, was still just Mimosa’s 3rd
starter. So, there was little surprise when LI took the opener 6-0
behind Wyatt’s CG effort and 2 more hits by Doc Cramer. But something
just didn’t seem right. Wyatt yielded 8 hits, and would strand 11
batters, in what just didn’t seem to be his best effort. GAME 2—With Mimosa’s top two starters, Max Lanier and Jesse
Flores, still unable to go after their tough Chesapeake, the Mirth Makers had
to call upon Ray Starr against LI’s Butch Wesloff (18-9, 1.67). Once
again, the Islander pitching held up, limiting Mimosa to just 3 runs, but
again (perhaps taking a page from the Chesapeake playbook) the visitors had
their chances, stranding 11 runners in what would become a 4-3 Long Island
win. GAME 3—The series shifted to Mimosa’s home park but seemed to
provide little improvement as Long Island jumped to a 4-0 lead after just 2 ½
innings……But again, that’s why you play at least 9 innings. In the
bottom of the 3rd, this…..”WAKEFIELD facing H. BITHORN, B 3rd, 1
Out, Runner on 1st, Behind 0-4 …..BITHORN kicks and deals ... popped high to
the right side ... into foul territory….MCCORMICK moves under it ... ROSAR's
calling for it ... they collide! ... and it drops. They're both down
... it doesn't look good ... both players will leave the game. The
report from the clubhouse... ... Islanders catcher ROSAR ... injured for 9
days… firstbaseman MCCORMICK ... injured for 5 days.” Now the script
said, “5 and 9 days,” but really when you think about, these were career
ending injuries (the imagery of that kind of collision is just flat
out scary!) And the Isles still led by 4, but Rosar and McCormick are
two very tough bats to replace as the Islanders are constructed, so these
were two pretty significant injuries….and pretty quickly, the loss began to
show. Mimosa chipped away with single runs in 3 separate innings to
draw to within 4-3, but after the injuries, LI could do absolutely nothing offensively….at
least until the 9th. Doc Cramer 4th hit of the
game put runners on the corners and when Mimosa was unable to turn a 1-out DP
later that inning, LI had a BIG insurance run. But again…the game was
scheduled for 9 FULL innings. Hi Bithorn was still in for LI,
and he walked Vern Stephens to open the 9th, bringing Mickey
Vernon to the plate as the potential tying run. The assembled
managers/fans remarked, “Hey…a homerun would tie things.” And, “There
hasn’t been a HR in the series yet, has there?” {Ed. Note: No, there
HADN’T been!} And as if we’d been talking about a no hitter, “VERNON
facing H. BITHORN, B 9th, No Outs, Runner on 1st, Behind 3-5. Now BITHORN
comes home with it ... and a long drive to right ... he buried it! ... he
buried it!” Yes, I guess that was a
big insurance run! But Mimosa wasn’t done yet. A single, and a
sac bunt brought out Joe Wood to pinch hit. Now neither team has been a
fan of the intentional walk. LI had issued only 10 intentional passes
all season (Mimosa was last with only 5), but now seemed like the time.
That brought Billy Herman to the plate…he grounded out; runners now on 2nd
& 3rd with 2 out. Wakefield (.316) due up, Camelli
(.000) to follow. Time for another IBB, bringing PH’er Frank DeMaree to
the plate… “runners take their lead ... now the pitch ... DEMAREE slaps it on
the ground to right… this one has eyes ... it slides right between MURTAUGH and GALAN. He couldn't have thrown it in a better spot ... it's all over!” Mimosa wins 6-5
and its 2 games to 1 instead of 3-0. Quite a difference! GAME 4—Lanier still isn’t ready for the Mirth Makers, but it
doesn’t matter. A Javery comes back from a game 1 loss to toss a CG
6-hitter (all singles) and allows just 2 unearned runs. Mimosa evens
the series against an LI offense that just can’t hit. Mimosa evens the
series with a 5-2 win, and has Lanier lined up for a game 5 start.
Confidence on Long Island is at a low point. GAME 5—Mimosa may have their ace going, but LI has a pretty
decent arm in Butch Wensloff. The problem is that they still don’t have
any offense, and the game remains scoreless through 6. But then in the
home 7th, Mimosa’s Mickey Vernon strikes again…this time with a
1-out triple. Estel Crabtree follows with a single, making it 1-0, and
it’s looking like the Isles will head back home trailing in the series.
But in the 8th, Lou Klein leads off by lacing a double to
right. Cramer bunts him over to 3rd and one of LI’s few
potent bats, Luis Olmo, steps to the plate. Lanier’s pitch, however,
rides inside and drills Olmo in the elbow. The report from the
clubhouse swill not be good… like McCormick and Rosar, Olmo’s career is
over. Worse yet, the Isles fail to capitalize and still trail 1-0 as
the game moves into the 9th. Two batters face Lanier, and 2
batters strike out. The Isles are down to their final batter, the light
hitting John Sullivan who keeps hopes alive with a double. Player
manager Jimmy Mac is due up (I told you there wasn’t much offense left on the
team), but Ival Goodman, a solid (albeit left handed) bat is sent up to bat
for Mac. Mirth Maker skipper Smith agonizes over this one…like the LI
skipper, he dislikes the IBB as well (especially when it involves putting the
go ahead run onboard), but he does just that with the pitcher due to
follow. Long Island has one legitimate hitter left alive on the
bench—Danny Murtaugh, and he steps to the plate. Mimosa goes to the pen
to get righty Joe Heving (14* plus 5 plus Murtaugh’s SA1)…. Murtaugh swings,
and laces a single to left. Pinch runner Gorsica scores, Goodman and
Murtaugh advancing on the throw. Lou Klein draws a walk to load the
bases, bringing Doc Cramer to bat. Cramer’s storybook postseason
continues with yet another base hit and LI leads 3-1! Then with runners
on the corners, this: “BARNA facing HEVING, 2 Outs, 1st and 3rd, Ahead 3-1.
HEVING looks KLEIN back to third ... the pitch ... taken on the corner ...
...and the steal is on! CRAMER is going for second. The throw
goes to second ... KLEIN's headed home… here's the play at second ...
STEPHENS puts the tag down ... CRAMER pulls up….and he's tagged out ...
that's three away ... but the run counts ... he scored before the out.”
The double steal didn’t work, but LI had unbelievably scored 4 runs with 2
out and the bases empty. Harry Brecheen came on to retire three in a
row, and LI had the absolutely unbelievable 4-1 come from behind win. GAME 6—If the previous game contained an historic, almost
mythical come from behind win, this game would be simply anticlimactic.
LI scored early, though not through any real Islander offense; four of their
5 runs were unearned, thanks to 3 Mimosa errors. Whit Wyatt would pitch
shutout ball until Brecheen came on to record the final out and put YESTERDAY
into the history books with a 5-0 Islander win. Congratulations to gracious
Mimosa skipper, Larry Smith, on an outstanding season that basically turned
on just a single, incomprehensible inning. And thanks to the fans and fellow
managers who crowded into that very tight Team Viewer room for one final
series, as well as all the other managers, no—make that “friends” who have
made this TCBA Retro experience such an absolute joy. Now, I guess it’s
time once again to go back into the future to explore some of our league’s
Origins. All the best to you all. Marty Fiehl -
Congrats Jim! On the final Yesterday
Championship! Great writeup, it was a
humdinger! Mimosa came sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo close to
taking a 3/2 game lead in game 5. He had LI down to their last
out! And two key Islanders injured! Momentum had definitely swung
in Mimosa’s direction. But it wasn’t to be. After that back breaker… Game 6
went relatively easy for Long Island. But damn, a TERRIFIC ‘never say
die’ effort from the Mirthmaker Machine as they came into the series
outmanned and outgunned! Yesterday was a wonderful idea,
a wonderful ride…………………..but the curtain finally fell after all this time! Thanks for the good times
everyone!
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