Replay Update: April 30, 1947

After whining here yesterday about not having any time to roll games, I went home last night, tossed two and completed the first month of the 1947 APBA baseball replay I’m doing. Actually, it’s not really a month since that season began on April 15. Make it half a month, but at least April is done and I’m getting a feel for how the season is going.

Each replay is a great learning experience. I just finished the 1991 season, a year full of home runs and high-scoring affairs. This year, it’s different. There are fewer home runs and more walks. And scores, for the most part, are lower as well, although I’ve had a few double-digit contests so far with 1947.

I’m also learning the players and their abilities. I knew most of the 1991 players from being alive during that real season. In 1947, other than a handful of stars on each team, I was relatively ignorant about the players then. That’s one of the fun parts of APBA. You see some of the tendencies of players as the season progresses.

So, with April games finished, here are the standings:

AL                  W      L   GB.
Boston            11    5    -
New York       11    5    -
Detroit           9       7    2
Cleveland      8       6    2.5
Chicago          7      9    4
St. Louis         7      9    4
Wshngton      5     10   5.5
Phil’phia         4     11   6.5

NL                   W      L    GB

St. Louis         11     3      -
Boston           12     5     0.5
New York        9     6     2.5
Brooklyn         8     7      3.5
Cincinnati       8     9      4.5
Chicago          5     10    6.5
Phil’phia         6    11     6.5
Pittsburgh      4    12     8

Ted Williams leads the American League with six home runs and is batting .414. His 16 RBIs are one behind league leader Phil Rizzuto of the Yankees.

Three New York Giants are tied with five home runs to lead the National League. They are Walker Cooper, Willard Marshall and Johnny Mize. Ralph Kiner of Pittsburgh has four home runs – the same number of wins as his hapless Pirates. I’m keeping RBI stats this year but, because I forgot who’s leading the National League and am at work now and have no access to my stats, I can’t list the NL RBI leader.

I’m also keeping detailed batting stats for the two signature players of that era: Williams and Joe DIMaggio. Williams has his above .400 average and Joltin’ Joe is hitting at a .349 clip. DiMaggio was the first player to drive in a run in my 1947 replay, but he’s been quiet since. He also has no home runs so far. In the real 1947 season, DiMaggio hit his first home run on April 20 against the Philadelphia As. He didn’t get his second homer until May 13.

Both the Yankees and Red Sox won their first four games of the replay and it looks like there’ll be a close fight the entire season between the two.  At the bottom of the American League, the Philadelphia As were shut out in three of the team's first four games, outscored 22-2.

As for team home runs, it’s a lot less than the teams that blasted away in 1991. So far, the Giants, with the trio of Mize, Marshall and Cooper, lead all teams with 22 homers. St. Louis is next with 16 and Pittsburgh has 15, anchored by Kiner and Hank Greenberg. The National League has 80 home runs total so far. 

The American League, led, surprisingly by Cleveland’s 11 home runs, has 67 total. Just as Boston and New York are tied in the American League, both teams are also knotted in total home runs with 10 each.

So, April is finished and now we head into May. It really looks like a good, fun season to replay.