1942 Season Concludes

I wrapped up my replay of the 1942 baseball season and, like always after I complete a full season's replay, there's almost a sense of sadness that goes with it. I began rolling the dice for the season on April 18 and ended the regular season Friday after two nights of gonzoed games. After 1,232 games, it's over. The players' cards are back in their envelopes and the 10 months I've spent on it are past.

I fell behind on my planned schedule of 4 to 5 games a night and almost hit The Wall that all replayers do with only about 15 games remaining to play. But I forged on and in two nights I knocked out the last two dozen.

It's the eighth season I've replayed and the first one in the 1940s. I liked this era because pitchers lasted longer in games and there wasn't that barrage of home runs we see now in the steroid-addled games. Also, of all the decades of baseball, I was the least knowledgable of this time. Playing the APBA game taught me quite a bit.

Here's how the season ended:

American League W L GB

New York          100  54  -

St. Louis              97  57  3

Boston                 88 66 12

Cleveland            80 74 20

Detroit                 72 82 28

Chicago               61 93 39

Philadelphia        59 95 41

Washington         59 95 41

National League W L GB

St. Louis             106 48  -

Brooklyn             103 51 3

New York             80 74 26

Chicago                75 79 31

Cincinnati             75 79 31

Pittsburgh             73 81 33

Boston                  62 92 44

Philadelphia         42 112 64

Looking at the standings, it appeared the Yankees had a close battle with the Browns for the American League crown. It wasn't that way. New York clinched the pennant on Sept. 19, eight days before the season ended. They ended the regular season 2-4. St. Louis won their last eight games and 10 of 11 to make it look a bit closer.

Denny Galehouse led the American League with 22 wins and Ernest “Tiny” Bonham won 21 for the Yankees. To show how accurate APBA is, Bonham actually did win 21 games in the real 1942 season.

Ted Williams clouted 46 home runs and Dolph Camilli of the Dodgers was a distant second with 33 round trippers. Mort Cooper would not lose for the Cardinals, winning 26 games for them.

On the inverse, the woeful Philadelphia Phillies were the worst team I've ever replayed. Two pitchers, Rube Melton and Tommy Hughes, lost 21 and 20 games respectively. Si Johnson and Johnny Podgajny each lost 15 games and Lefty Hoerst lost 13 games. The only hurler with a winning record for the team was Earl Naylor, who went 2-1.

And, for only the second time in eight replays and 15 years that I've been playing APBA baseball, my replay World Series mirrors the actual World Series for the year. The Yankees and Cardinals will face off. The Cards won the real Series; we'll see what happens in this one.