1941 BBW Replay Team-by-Team Recap and Notes

Notable Events in the 1941 BBW Replay:

No-Hitters:

June 25, Elmer Riddle (CIN) over Philadelphia (Perfect Game)

August 1, Thornton Lee (CWS) over Washington

August 17, Bucky Walters (CIN) over Chicago

 

Hit for the Cycle:

June 21, Wally Moses (PHA) against Chicago

June 24, Barney McCosky (DET) against Philadelphia

August 21, Roy Cullenbine (STB) against Philadelphia

 

Lefty Grove (BOS) won the 300th game of his career on August 21 against St. Louis

 

AL Replay Cy Young: Thornton Lee (CWS)

NL Replay Cy Young : Whit Wyatt (BKN)

 

AL Replay MVP: Ted Williams

NL Relay MVP: Johnny Mize

 

Notes:

 

While league replay ERA's were up slightly when compared to 1941, the number of shutouts was through the roof:

 

Shutouts	1941	Replay	Delta
AL	71	95	+24
NL	93	122	+29

 

The numbers of double plays were interesting as well:

 

Double Plays	1941	Replay	Delta
AL	942	1087	+145
NL	1152	1027	-125

 

In previous replays the number of double plays has usually come in below target, although they do remain relatively close, like in the NL. The AL's double plays was something that was palpable though. You could do what you could to try and avoid one, but they just kept coming.

 

The number of errors in a replay always falls well short of the actual. However, errors do occur at a regular interval and over the course of the season I never feel the difference in the lesser number of errors. It is only when I see the totals later that I realize how many errors I am missing. Of course, the number of errors would impact the number of earned runs and therefore ERA's, but after having done this several times now it just is what it is.

 

American League

 

New York (1941: 101-53 (.656) Replay: 100-54 (.649) -1)

 

In 1941 the Yankees got off to a slow start and around mid-May decided to bench their newly minted double play combo - shortstop Phil Rizzuto and second baseman Jerry Priddy. Around this same time several other things happened - Joe DiMaggio started his hitting streak, the Yankees set a consecutive game streak record for homeruns, and the offense overall kicked it into over drive. With their offense now fully engaged, their solid pitching rotation was able to flourish, the result being that New York was able to easily run away with the 1941 AL pennant.

 

There was no such drama in the replay. The Yankees got off to a hot start, took the early lead, held off minor challenges from Cleveland and Chicago, and ran away with the AL pennant by 15.0 games over second place Boston. DiMaggio (.362, 43 2B, 27 HR, 101 RBI's), as was fully expected, never came close to a 56-game hitting streak (nineteen was his replay max) but his presence in the middle of the Yankees lineup was a constant presence and came through with many key hits when needed.

 

The real key to the Yankees fast start was left fielder Charlie Keller (.332, 30 HR, 122 RBI's) as by the end of May Keller led the AL in both homeruns (14) and RBI's (48). New York had a 7.5 game lead at that point, and between DiMaggio and Keller plus contributions from Red Rolfe (.260 9 HR, 60 RBI's), Tommy Henrich (.263, 18 HR, 87 RBI's), Joe Gordon (.294, 18 HR, 100 RBI's), and Bill Dickey (.315, 2 HR, 59 RBI's). Rizzuto (.315, 3 HR, 66 RBI's) earned his job back at shortstop by mid-season and went on to the Hall-of-Fame like many of his teammates.

 

The often-overlooked strength of the Yankees was their pitching staff. Red Ruffing (16-4, 2.54), Spud Chandler (15-3, 2.36), and Atley Donald (12-7, 2.41) finished 2-3-4 in the ERA race and were ably abetted by fellow starters Marius Russo (13-10, 3.42), Lefty Gomez (14-7, 3.39), and Marv Breuer (10-6, 4.85). Johnny Murphy (2-4, 2.36, 13 Saves) and Norm Branch (2-2, 2.85, 6 Saves) both provided solid relief when called upon as the Yankees led the AL in team saves as well.

 

Boston (1941: 84-70 (.545) Replay: 85-69 (.552) +1)

 

The Red Sox were a solid team top to bottom, but without Ted Williams this team was just an elephant burial ground for future Hall-of-Famers like Lefty Grove, Joe Cronin and Jimmie Foxx. Williams was the straw that stirred the drink, and he was able to carry the Red Sox on his broad shoulders as far as he could, that being second place in the AL.

 

Williams had a historic season by any measure: .470, 222 Hits, 45 2B, 47 HR, 154 Runs, 160 RBI's, 146 Walks, and all that despite missing the first week of the season due to an ankle injury incurred during spring training (meaning he also missed most of spring training as well). Williams reinjured the ankle in mid-season and missed another week of play then as well.

 

It wasn't entirely a one-man show though. First baseman Jimmie Foxx (.301, 21 HR, 108 RBI's), shortstop Joe Cronin (.311, 14 HR, 107 RBI's), and center fielder Dom DiMaggio (.313, 122 Runs), provided capable assistance, while second baseman Bobby Doerr (.247, 8 HR, 69 RBI's) and third baseman Jim Tabor (.239, 12 HR, 74 RBI's) both struggled for much of the replay.

 

Boston pitchers did finish fourth in the AL with a 4.31 ERA, so they weren't hopeless, but they clearly could not match up to either New York or Chicago in this department. Charlie Wagner (16-5, 2.72), Dick Newsome (18-8, 3.43), and Mickey Harris (12-9, 3.00) had their moments and were bailed out by the offense sometimes as needed, but things got dicey after that. Joe Dobson (11-6, 4.50) pitched as best he could, and Lefty Grove (8-7, 4.56) managed to collect enough wins so that he could retire with 300 career wins.

 

St. Louis (1941: 70-84 (.455) Replay: 83-71 (.539) +13)

 

The Browns were one of the surprising teams in this replay. At the end of Week Six they were 13-31 (.295) and sitting in sixth place. Over the next six weeks they were 22-16 (.579), which put their season record at 35-37 (.486) at the half-way point. They toyed with .500 for several weeks, but over the next six-week period they went 21-19 (.525) and at the end of Week Eighteen were at 56-56 (.500). And then they got hot - they finished the final six weeks of the season by going 27-15 (.643), giving them a final record of 83-71 (.539) and in sole possession of third place. Over the final eighteen weeks of the season the Browns went 70-50 (.583).

 

What was the secret? First of all they settled their starting lineup and batting order. Batting second was third baseman Harlond Clift (.277, 23 HR 93 RBI's, 119 Walks), followed by first baseman George McQuinn (.284, 12 HR, 86 RBI's, 91 Walks), center fielder Wally Judnich (.301, 8 HR, 87 RBI's, 93 Walks), and then left fielder Roy Cullenbine (.292, 11 HR, 87 RBI's, 136 Walks). While somewhat limited in power, there was almost always someone on base and they weren't afraid to explode for big innings when you least expected it.

 

The second reason was the acquisition of catcher Rick Ferrell (.298, 13 2B, 37 RBI's, 54 Walks). While he may not have contributed much offensively, the veteran catcher was able to settle down the pitching staff to allow Bob Muncrief (20-7, 2.74) and Denny Galehouse (14-4, 3.26). Johnny Niggeling (10-9, 4.18), Bob Harris (11-9, 5.58), and Elden Auker (10-16, 5.95) all took turns being good and then being bad but there was enough of the good in there that the Browns were able to climb up into third place in the AL standings.

 

Chicago (1941: 77-77(.500) Replay: 80-74 (.519) +3)

 

The White Sox spent most of the first two-thirds of the season fighting with Cleveland for second place, based mostly upon the strength of their starting staff. As the season wore on their pitchers started to wear down (they led the league by a wide margin with 105 complete games) and they Yankees took the lead in pitching, and the White Sox collapsed into third place behind upstart St. Louis.

 

Chicago could never match New York's power, but the reality is that the White Sox finished seventh in hitting, seventh in walks, and finished last in doubles, and triples, and homeruns, meaning they really couldn’t match the power of any of their opponents. Shortstop Luke Appling (.347, 31 2B, 74 RBI's, 87 Walks), first baseman Joe Kuhel (.255,15 HR, 81 RBI's, 82 Walks), and right fielder Taffy Wright (.313, 33 2B, 69 RBI's) did their best to lead the offense, but there just wasn't much help behind them. Third baseman Dario Lodigiani (.293, 57 RBI's) specialized in clutch RBI's when he was in the lineup, but injuries forced him to miss half the season.

 

AL Cy Young award winner Thornton Lee (21-12, 1.80, 29 QS, 30 CG) was outstanding in every way and he did his best to keep the White Sox above water. Eddie Smith (21-11, 3.07) made for a strong one-two punch. You may wonder how these gentlemen lost these many games with records like this - chances are they were too. Johnny Rigney (11-14, 4.82) chipped in as best he could, and Ted Lyons (9-13, 3.66), who was just beginning his "Sunday's Only" appearances, didn't have much luck either.

 

Washington (1941:70-84 (.455) Replay: 77-77 (.500) +7)

 

Similar to St. Louis, it took a few weeks at the beginning of the season for the Nationals to settle on a set lineup but when they did, they began to creep up the standings, eventually finishing in fifth place. Massive Griffith Park might have lessened their homerun totals (they finished just ahead of the last place White Sox), but they trailed only the Red Sox in doubles, and they led the AL in triples, finishing fourth in runs scored.

 

Lead-off hitter and left fielder George Case (.294, 86 Runs, 33 SB) led the league in steals and was largely responsible for Washington's mid-season surge. Case led the league in runs scored for several weeks but tailed off severely at the end. Next came center fielder Roger "Doc" Cramer (.265, 25 2B, 78 Runs) and right fielder Buddy Lewis (.326, 43 2B, 118 Runs), followed by shortstop Cecil Travis (.349, 41 2B, 17 3B, 107 Runs, 116 RBI's) ) and then first baseman Mickey Vernon (.347, 37 2B, 13 3B, 83 Runs, 85 RBI's). Catcher Jake Early (.354, 18/10/14 XBH, 72 RBI's) surprised everyone in his two-thirds of a season.

 

The Nationals finished second in hitting and fourth in runs scored, giving their pitchers a strong opportunity to succeed as well. Sid Hudson (18-10, 3.85), Steve Sundra (14-6, 4.17), and Dutch Leonard (12-15, 3.06) all benefitted from the additional offense. A young Early Wynn (2-3, 2.11) pitched well as a late season callup and the team was looking to see more of him in the future. The Nationals' story was very similar to that of the Browns - a nice if unexpected offensive surge and just enough pitching to keep them in the game and grab the wins when they were available.

 

Cleveland (1941: 75-79 (.487) Replay: 76-78 (.494) +1)

 

Cleveland spent the first half of the season dueling with Chicago for second place, but then as St. Louis and Washington got hot it seemed to come at the expense of the Indians who could never quite maintain as they finished in sixth place. Cleveland did finish third in pitching but finished sixth in hitting and fifth on runs scored.

 

Right fielder Jeff Heath (.336, 36/10/17 XBH's, 92 Runs, 106 RBI's) carried the Indians as best he could, but it often seemed like a one-man offense. Lou Boudreau (275, 35 2B, 90 Runs, 105 Walks) and Ken Keltner (.262, 15 HR, 72 RBI's) chipped in, but it wasn't enough to sustain an offense to keep up with the others.

 

Bob Feller (20-16, 3.60) got off to a hot start and led the early season surge by the Indians, but as their offensive woes mounted Feller's record took a dive as well. Al Smith (13-11, 3.83) and Al Milnar (16-11, 5.32) both pitched well at times but were inconsistent. Joe Heving (4-3, 2.85, 5 Saves) pitched well out of the pen, but was moved to a starter’s role, came up lame, and missed the last two months of the season. Clint Brown (2-3. 2.95, 10 Saves) also pitched well out of the pen but missed the last month of the season when he got injured.

 

Philadelphia (1941: 64-90 (.416) Replay: 63-91 (.409) -1)

 

The Philadelphia A's were destined for last place in the AL but were saved from this ignominy only when Detroit collapsed right out of the chute. The A's did finish fifth in hitting but finished seventh in pitching with a 4.81 team ERA, surpassing only Detroit.

 

Center fielder Sam Chapman (.333, 22 HR, 102 RBI's) and left fielder Bob Johnson (.257, 18 HR, 89 RBI's) led the offensive charge, and right fielder Wally Moses (.318, 71 Runs) played well when he was in the lineup. First baseman Dick Siebert (.315, 5 HR, 72 RBI's) missed the last month of the season, and catcher Frankie Hayes (.305, 14 HR, 72 RBI's) played well but hit into 35 double plays, quelling many a rally.

 

The A's used a total of nineteen pitchers during the season. The ones they had didn't pitch so well, so Connie Mack kept looking for someone who could help. Phil Marchildon (15-11, 3.46) and Jack Knott (10-13, 3.46) were the two mainstays of the Philadelphia rotation, and it quickly went downhill from there.

 

Detroit (1941: 75-79 (.487) Replay: 52-102 (.338) -23)

 

The 1940 Detroit Tigers lost to Cincinnati in the World Series and the 1941 Tigers actually finished in fourth place (tied with Cleveland), but in the replay Detroit finished in last place as they finished last in hitting, pitching, and fielding, and never really stood a chance. They didn't win their tenth game until June 10 (10-41, .192). Given that they finished with a 52-102 (.338) record, which means they finished with a somewhat more respectable 42-61 record (.408) thereafter. It also didn’t help that first baseman Hank Greenberg (.286, 2 HR, 12 RBI's) went into the army in early May and missed the rest of the season.

 

As the big thumper in the middle of the Tigers' lineup, first baseman Rudy York (.219, 18 2B, 19 HR, 81 RBI's, 99 Walks, 24 DP's) was a major disappointment. He had center fielder Barney McCosky (.323, 78 Runs, 60 Walks) batting in front of him and right fielder Bruce Campbell (.281, 37/14/16 XBH's, 79 RBI's) batting behind him but just appeared to be snakebit in this replay as he squandered way too many opportunities to help his team. Charlie Gehringer (.213, 47 Runs) was obviously on his way out as the Tigers tried several replacements over the course of the season.

 

The Tigers' pitching rotation was led by Bobo Newsom (6-28, 6.86) and Hal Newhouser (6-29, 7.47). The rest of the rotation wasn't much to write home about either: Johnny Gorsica (8-12, 5.06), Dizzy Trout (2-13, 4.89), and Tommy Bridges (6-12, 4.23). Al Benton (11-6, 2.14) spent the first half of the season working out of the bullpen but was moved into the rotation half-way through the season to provide the only pitching bright spot for the Tigers.

 

Note: The thing about a replay is that pitchers like Newsom and Newhouser have a role as innings eaters. There is only a limited amount of pitching resources per team as it is, so guys like these need to get their innings in to keep from killing the rest of their bullpen. I somehow think that in a different replay these two guys would pitch much better (and York would likely do much better as well).

 

National League

 

St. Louis (1941: 97-56 (.634) Replay: 101-52 (.660) +4)

 

In 1941 the Cardinals put up a valiant fight for the NL pennant but were ultimately doomed by several late season injuries that opened the door for Brooklyn to capture the crown. The Dodgers got off to a hot start in the replay but St. Louis stayed right on their tail, and then when the Dodgers suddenly cooled off the Cardinals stayed hot and moved into first place where they stayed for the last two-thirds of the season. St. Louis led the NL in hitting and fielding and was second in pitching - this was a very good team.

 

First baseman Johnny Mize (.346, 35/10/20 XBH's, 122 RBI's. 93 Walks) was the NL MVP as he continuously drove in key runs that kept the Cardinals winning. Mize flirted with .400 for a few weeks at mid-season and led the NL in hitting for much of the season, but a late season slump left him in second place in hitting. Right fielder Enos Slaughter (.324, 24/16/8 XBH's, 93 RBI's), third baseman Jimmy Brown (.320, 90 runs), and outfielder / first baseman Johnny Hopp (.305, 89 runs) all helped fuel the Big Red Machine, while defensive starts such as center fielder Terry Moore (.296, 87 runs) and shortstop Marty Marion (.246, 63 runs) chipped in as well.

 

The St. Louis pitchers had five pitchers with double-figures for wins and all five had an ERA below 3.00 as well. Harry Gumbert (14-4, 1.72) (who had been picked up in a trade from New York early in the season), Max Lanier (11-4, 2.45), Ernie White (13-7, 2.60), Mort Cooper (13-8, 2.80), and Lon Warneke (18-8, 2.85). The Cardinals also had late season callups in Howie Pollet (5-3, 2.64) and Johnny Beazley (1-0, 0.00).

 

Note: With a relatively young team already and with callups like Beazley and Pollet, add in third baseman Whitey Kurowski, catcher Walker Cooper, and outfielder Stan Musial (.542, 14 RBI's in 12 games), and the Cardinals were poised to dominate the NL over the next decade.

 

Brooklyn (1941: 100-54 (.649) Replay: 91-63 (.591) -9)

 

The Dodgers got off to an extremely hot start as left fielder Joe Medwick (.338, 19 HR, 117 RBI's)) and first baseman Dolph Camilli (.304, 29 HR, 132 RBI's), but when these two leveled off there no one else stepped forward to help. The Dodgers often struggled for runs throughout the mid-season and once these two got hot towards the end of the season, it was too little too late.

 

Medwick and Camilli's efforts notwithstanding, the breakout star of the 1941 Brooklyn team was center fielder Pete Reiser (.368, 40/22/17 XBH's, 100 Runs, 86 RBI's), good enough to grab the NL hitting title. Dixie Walker (.298, 30 2B, 77 Runs, 66 RBI's) was finally allowed to take sole possession of right field and responded with a good season, while shortstop Pee Wee Reese (.247, 80 Runs) sometimes struggled in his first full season.

 

The Dodgers finished second in hitting and in defense and finished third in pitching in a tight race. Whit Wyatt (25-6, 1.93) and Kirby Higbe (21-16, 2.19) carried Brooklyn for much of the season, with Curt Davis (11-5, 3.08) eventually moved into the regular rotation around mid-season. Hugh Casey (6-12, 6.43, 10 Saves) was supposed to be their anchor out of the bullpen but he got lit up a few too many times.

 

Note: Similar to the comments made about Bob Feller, it's not easy to lose sixteen games with an ERA of 2.19, but Higbe managed to pull it off as this harkens back to the comments about the Dodgers mid-season scoring problems.

 

Reading material: http://thestacks.deadspin.com/the-slow-destruction-of-pete-reiser-the-greatest-playe-1691040888

 

Cincinnati (1941: 88-66 (.571) Replay: 87-67 (.565) -1)

 

Cincinnati won the 1940 World Series and were looking for a return to post-season baseball in 1941 and while their pitching flourished (they finished second in the NL) their offense never truly kicked in. They finished fifth in hitting and fourth inruns scored, barely edging out Pittsburgh in that last category.

 

The Reds were led by first baseman Frank McCormick (.316, 31 2B, 22 HR, 128 RBI's), but things dropped off after that. Catcher Ernie Lombardi (.296, 15 HR, 69 RBI's) missed a third of the season due to minor injuries, Ival Goodman (.286), who was such a contributor in 1940, was lost for the season after playing only 42 games. All-star second baseman Lonny Frey (.267, 33 2B) and shortstop Eddie Joost (.239, 28 2B) both struggled, especially in the second half of the season. Outfielder Mike McCormick (.341) was not expected to play much but was given a chance and came through with a solid season.

 

It was the pitching that carried the Reds though. Bucky Walters (20-10, 2.56), Paul Derringer (12-14, 2.96), Johnny Vander Meer (15-13, 3.01), and an unexpected surprise, Elmer Riddle (15-6, 1.91) who was finally moved into the rotation a little before mid-season, carried the weight for Cincinnati as well to keep the Reds in every game.

 

New York (1941: 74-79 (.484) Replay: 83-61 (.542) +9)

 

At the end of Week Six, New York had a record of 12-20 (.375) and was buried in last place, but then they got hot and started on a roll, eventually reaching second place several times towards the end of the season and before the Dodgers started to assert themselves late in the season. The Giants finished 83-70 (.542), meaning they went 71-50 (.587) over the final three-quarters of the season.

 

What happened? New York acquired third baseman and shortstop Dick Bartell (.356, 73 Runs) to make up their weakness and the hot corner and his appearance in the lineup had the desired effect. Even though right fielder Mel Ott (.247, 16 HR, 82 RBI's) had a poor season, first baseman Babe Young (.298, 32 HR, 104 RBI's) was able to step in and provide some power as he led the NL in homeruns. Center fielder Johnny Rucker (.315, 44 2B, 82 Runs) led the NL in doubles and shortstop Billy Jurges (.317, 65 RBI's) put together a strong second half of the season.

 

New York finished third in hitting and in fielding but could only manage a sixth-place finish in pitching. Hal Schumacher (17-7, 2.83), Bill Lohrman (13-5, 2.83), Carl Hubbell (11-11, 2.92), Bob Carpenter (12-5, 2.99), and Cliff Melton (8-10, 3.02) and were members of a solid if unspectacular starting staff, although their relief corps often left much to be desired. The Giants fourth place finish may say more about the teams below them than what is says about the Giants performance.

 

Pittsburgh (1941: 81-73 (.526) Replay: 77-77 (.500) +1)

 

Pittsburgh spent much of the first half of the season tangling with Cincinnati for the number three spot in the NL standings, but then the wheels suddenly fell off and they fell to as much as much as ten games below .500 and had to spend much of the last two months of the season trying to get back to even. They did finish at 77-77, but it was a struggle every day to get it done.

 

The Pirates finished fourth in hitting, one point behind New York, and finished fifth in runs scored, which was always their bugaboo. Hall-of-Fame shortstop Arky Vaughan (.270, 12 HR, 57 Runs, 63 Walks) got hurt before mid-season (although he did play and hit two homeruns in the 1941 All-Star game) and was limited to part-time duties after that. Center fielder Vince DiMaggio (.291, 21 HR, 88 RBI's) put on a late season burst and first baseman Elbie Fletcher (.299, 90 Runs, 31 2B, 136 Walks) led the NL in Walks (The Pirates didn't want to move Fletcher up in the lineup though).

 

The Pirates finished fourth in pitching with a solid pitching rotation: Max Butcher (17-13, 2.96), Rip Sewell (17-13, 2.98), Ken Heintzelman (12-9, 3.00), and Johnny Lanning (13-7, 3.08) all pitched well, but there wasn't much help behind them.

 

Chicago (1941: 70-84 (.455) Replay: 71-83 (.461) +1)

 

It is worth a reminder that at this point in history the Chicago Cubs have been one of the more successful NL franchises with routine World Series appearances, the previous one just coming three years hence in 1938. The Cubs were in a rebuilding phase as Gabby Hartnett had been previously sent to the Giant, second baseman Billy Herman was sent to Brooklyn in an early season deal, and then outfielder Augie Galan and pitcher Larry French were also sent to Brooklyn, this time in a late season deal.

 

The Cubs finished seventh in hitting and sixth in runs scored, led by outfielder Dom Dalessandro (.284, 38 2B, 57 RBI's) and third baseman Stan Hack (.287, 29 2B, 75 Runs). First baseman Babe Dahlgren (.276, 18 HR, 63 RBI's) was picked up from Boston early in the season to provide some pop and he did, finishing the season with 25 homeruns between the two teams, while right fielder Bill Nicholson (.230, 16 HR, 71 RBI's), who also supposed to provide some pop, did not.

 

Clause Passeau (15-14, 2.85) led the Chicago pitchers, but it got pretty bleak after that, with Jake Mooty (8-5, 3.16), Vern Olsen (7-17, 3.68), Bill Lee (7-13, 3.73, 6 HR), and Larry French (9-9, 4.64) to round out the rotation. Charlie Root (6-9, 4.42) decided to hang it up after the 1941 season.

 

Boston (1941: 62-92 (.403) Replay: 57-97 (.370) -5)

 

Boston spent most of the season in last place in the NL, but fortunately for them the Phillies totally collapsed in the last few weeks of the season to move down into eighth place, letting the Braves take home in seventh place. The Braves finished sixth in hitting, seventh in pitching and sixth in fielding, most often competing with Chicago and Philadelphia for those final three spots.

 

40-year-old Johnny Cooney (.335, 32 2B, 53 Runs) led the team in hitting, with first baseman Buddy Hassett (.322, 46 runs) right behind him (although Hassett would lose his job as he only had eleven extra-base hits in his 400+ plate appearances). Max West (.299, 36 2B, 80 RBI's) had a good year while third baseman Sibby Sisti (.238, 56 Runs) and all-star shortstop Eddie Miller (.228, 53 RBI's) struggled almost all season.

 

Jim Tobin (14-11, 2.54) and Al Javery (12-9, 3.80) led the pitchers, but with a lack of serious run support and quality pitchers after that, the Braves were pretty much doomed to finish where they did.

 

Philadelphia (1941: 43-111 (.279) Replay: 48-106 (.312) +5)

 

The Phillies had spent most of the season in seventh place but at the end of Week Twenty the Braves had moved into a tie with Philadelphia, and actually led the Phillies by a few percentage points. At that point the bottom fell out on the Phillies as they finished with a 7-22 (.241) record as teams routinely used them as a punching bag in an attempt to improve their position in the standings.

 

First baseman Nick Etten (.327, 92 Runs) batted fourth and left fielder Danny Litwhiler (.302, 20 HR, 89 RBI's) batted fifth, but that was pretty much the extent of the Phillies attack. Second baseman Danny Murtaugh (.259, 39 Runs) was a mid-season call up but still led the NL in steals (19).

 

Veteran hurler Si Johnson (10-11, 4.00) was originally supposed to work out of the bullpen but was forced into starter duties out of necessity. Tommy Hughes (7-18, 4.62), Johnny Podgajny (6-15, 5.22), Lee Grissom (2-12, 5.40) was an early season acquisition from Brooklyn, and Cy Blanton (4-16, 5.69) all took regular turns on the mound.

 

Addendum:

 

Just like any other season there were always a lot of late season callups, players hungry to make their mark at the major league level, and just like any other year some of these players will truly shine in the future, some will manage to somehow stick around for a long time, and some will never be heard from again. This is true for 1941 as well.

 

What is different here is that many of these young men will end up in the military at some point over the next four years, and just as in other season, some will return to stardom, some will come back to play for a few more years, and some will never be heard from again. Luckily, the number of deaths to major league players was minimal (link), but not all players were allowed to play baseball in the military - many saw actual combat that resulted in scars, both physical and mental.

 

Of course, this impacted teams as well as they often never knew exactly who would be the next to go. Regardless, the president agreed that baseball should keep playing during the war years to provide some level of normalcy to the fans at home (link), but those seasons are a story for another day.