1955 PRESEASON PROGNOSIS

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Lafayette Colts

You can flip a coin for the top three spots, maybe even the top four, but the Colts get the nod ever so slightly as it’s tough to repeat and therefore the Gladiators get picked for a very close second. The Colts, formerly known as the Chicago Whales, have what is probably the top lead off man in the league in Ritchie Ashburn and then sluggers Del Ennis and Larry Doby just waiting to drive him in. Ashburn might score 120 plus runs this season. However, the Colts are not a patient team and won’t draw a lot of walks other that Ashburn, which could be a problem. On the mound, Early Wynn and rookie Herb Score could each be 20-game winners if they can find the plate and not issue too many walks. Joe Nuxhall is a great number three and can even be used in relief to supplement a deep bullpen, anchored by lefty Don Mossi.

South River Gladiators

The Glads will try to repeat as both divisional and league champions but it will be a lot harder this year. Willie Mays and Stan Musial might be the best righty/lefty duo in the league and they’ll get a big lift from newcomer Al Smith. The South River crew should easily lead the league in homers and have few holes in the lineup. On the other hand, the pitching staff, though decent, is not up to the level of the offense. Warren Spahn is a real horse but the staff lacks any other full time starters and the manager will have to run out as many as seven or eight starters to get through the season. Hal Jeffcoat is a solid closer but most of his help will come from the starting staff who don’t happen to be starting that day.

Brooklyn Bridge

Realignment has put last year’s NL pennant winner in the same division as the Gladiators so we won’t have a repeat of last year’s World Series no matter what happens. The lineup is the most balanced in the division as they boast as many as seven regulars or semi-regulars that could approach a .300 batting average. The best of these are Duke Snider and Gus Bell who could each crack .300 with over 30 homers and 100 plus RBI’s. The team power is more concentrated than the two teams above but they will score enough runs to win most games. The pitching staff is somewhat suspect and lacks anyone capable of starting as many as 30 games so it will need to be managed creatively. A solid closer is lacking and overall the staff depth is weak.

Salzburg Bishops

The Prelates are also a refugee from the NL but this year’s version promises to be much more competitive than the crew who lost 87 games in 1954. Rumor has it that Ted Williams and Elmer Valo each had some mysterious ailments in spring training and may not play a full season but when they are both in the lineup, watch out. Dale Long and Walt Dropo are a fantastic combo at first base but it’s too bad they both can’t play at the same time. Eddie Mathews will be the big power man and could challenge for the league’s home run championship. However all this firepower may go for naught if the pitching staff doesn’t perform above expectations. They might not have a regular starter with an ERA much less than 3.80 and will have to run out some real lemons (not of the Bob variety) in order to get through the season. The have nothing approaching a full time solid closer and will probably lose more than their share of 10-9 & 7-6 games.

Los Angeles Surfers

The Surfers’ offense is well below the level of the teams above, but they have enough pitching that with a few breaks, they might be able to contend. Switch hitting Mickey Mantle is the mainstay of the attack but the quality falls off rather sharply after that and they might very well end the season with 100 less homers than the mighty Gladiators. The pitching staff is solid with two horses; Bob Turley and Robin Roberts who could each be 20-game winners with the proper amount of support although Turley must keep his walk total down to a manageable level. The Surfer bullpen is probably the best and certainly the deepest in the league.

West Warwick Monarchs

Al Kaline and Nellie Fox will lead the offense but don’t have a lot of high quality support. In fact they might end up last in the league in homers and probably won’t have a very good team on base percentage. The mound corps is decent but Sad Sam Jones, the erstwhile team leader, will give Turley a run for his money for the most bases on balls allowed and might even challenge the 200 level. The bullpen crowd is above average but everything needs to click exactly correctly for the Monarchs to have any hope of contending, let alone finishing in the first division.

North Michigan Comets

The Comets won 85 games in the old National League last year but could easily reverse that record in 1955. The offense is way below average and they will struggle to score runs as only the woeful Cruisers in the NL should have a worse team BA or OBA. They probably won’t have a 20-homer or 90-RBI man on the team and George Kell is the only regular who has the potential to hit anywhere near .300. The pitching staff has some quality, especially southpaw Billy Hoeft but not much depth. Once the starters are out of the game and before closer Connie Johnson is called upon, the bullpen will be hard pressed to prevent a flood of additional runs.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Evanston Elephants

My extremely complex rating system, based on advanced trigonometry, shows my team with the largest spread among contenders which of course means that I’ll be lucky to finish .500. Seriously the off season trade for slugger Ted Kluszewski finally gave the Pachyderms a left handed slugger and MVP candidate. Along with Roy Campanella and sensational soph Hank Aaron, the Evanston lineup is loaded. The bench is not that strong and third sacker Al Rosen will probably fall off from his great last couple of years but overall the attack is solid. Don Newcombe leads the mound corps and has a lot of support from a lengthy cast of characters. Harry Dorish and Ray Narleski are the mainstays of the bullpen and will get solid support from the likes of Bob Friend and Bob Feller when they are not starting.

Rossville Hornets

The race for second place could be a real dog fight between the Hornets and Fortress with both having a chance if the Elephants falter, as the have so often in the past! The Rossville crowd has an attack which ripples with power, including shortstop Ernie Banks who has the potential for 40 plus homers. Gil Hodges is the main support for Banks in a lineup which unfortunately is overloaded with right handed hitters. Billy Pierce and rookie Frank Lary are a sensational lefty/righty duo and the rest of the staff is solid. Tom Morgan is a very adequate closer and he has significant help from a host of other hurlers.

Frankfort Fortress

The Fortress possess a more diversified attack than the Hornets but no one to compete with Banks or even Hodges for that matter. They are also not averse to the base on balls and with the “Walking Man” Eddie Yost leading off could lead the league in walks. The also possess the best running game in the league by far and could “steal” more than their share of games. On the mound, Johnny Antonelli is a solid number one starter and his mound helpers are more than adequate but not quite up to the level of the Elephants and Hornets. However the canny Frankfort manager always finds a way to win and 1955 may be another example.

Portland Beavers

A big falloff between the Beavers and the three teams above as the Portland franchise enters the season with a solid offense and a pitiful pitching staff, probably the worst in the league. Wally Post is a standout slugger and the lineup is loaded with power, including one named Vic who should hit the ball this year in additional to his usual wizardry at first base. Rookie third sacker Ken Boyer is another solid addition to the club. However someone still has to take the mound everyday and that is where the Beavers will meet their Waterloo. It’s more than possible that they’ll fail to have any pitcher with more than 150 innings and an ERA less than 4.00 at the end of the season. The bullpen has some ability, especially with Jim Konstanty but its likely most games will be out of reach before the manager can hand the ball to big Jim.

Dayton Flyers

The Flyers could easily overtake Portland and maybe even finish in the first division but any more than that will be asking a lot. In a sense they are the antithesis of the Beavers with a below average attack but a decent pitching staff although the extremes aren’t quite as great. Yogi Berra is back and should be a major contributor along with Rip Repulski and arguably the best double play combo in the league with Billy Goodman and Johnny Logan. Mike the Bear Garcia may well fall off from his 1954 achievements but Bob Buhl should pick up a good deal of the slack. The bullpen is below average and could cost them a lot of late inning leads.

Goshen Aces

The Aces are a notch below the Flyers in almost all categories but not that much. Gus Zernial and Carl (the Polish Rifle) Furillo are the big power contributors but big Gus doesn’t believe in taking a pitch and could easily have 100 strikeouts but fewer walks than home runs when the season is over. Enos Country Slaughter will be a welcome part time addition to the lineup. The Aces lack a real number one starter and will have to scramble with various pitchers to get through the season. The bullpen is OK but nothing special.

Hampton Road Cruisers

The Cruisers finished dead last in all three of the offensive categories in my “complex” formula and close to the bottom in pitching as well. Not a recipe for success but stranger things have happened. Roy Seivers will probably be the only 20-homer man on the club if he isn’t intentionally walked too many times. Youngsters Moose Skowron and Elston Howard will be good players at some point in the future but relegated to part time play in 1955. Very little else of note exists in the lineup. Whitey Ford could easily win 20 games for a better team but might well lose that many for the Cruisers. Behind him they have rookie swingman Pedro Ramos and not much else. The bullpen is just about non-existent.