Cornucopia of Games

It was going to rain all day Thursday and Friday, knocking out any chance for cutting limbs and doing any yard work. We only had a brief Thanksgiving lunch outing planned and Holly intended to sleep in both Thursday and Friday.

Even Squeaky, our rambunctious cat, was settled down, skipping his hobby of knocking things off flat surfaces, chewing plants and using furniture as his personal scratching posts.

After spending most of my career in news, for the first time in three decades, I had two days off for the Thanksgiving holiday and there was nothing to do.

It was the perfect time to roll out the dice and make some headway in my 1947 APBA baseball replay.

I’ve been averaging about two games a day since I began the replay in August. A decent pace compared to my previous venture – the 1991 replay that took nearly four years to complete. But it was slower than my other attempts back when I had no personal life.

Like all replays I’ve done, I get into the season and live it, learning players and watching for their trends. Will Ralph Kiner hit another home run for the Pirates like he did 51 times in the actual season? Will the New York Giants clobber home runs, but also get caught on the bases because of their plethora of slow runners?  Will the hapless Washington Senators ever win a game?  Will the schizophrenic Chicago White Sox figure out if they are winners or losers?

I intended to start answering some of those questions during the two-day holiday.

I ended playing 25 games. I had five shutouts, one game that more closely resembled a football score and several double-headers that were scheduled for May 18 that included the White Sox and Yankees splitting games with scores of 5-2. And the Senators actually won.

The run of replay games actually began Wednesday night.  The Cubs opened the stretch with a quiet 2-0 victory over the Giants. Chicago pitcher Johnny Schmitz gave up only two hits and struck out six – a hefty amount considering the pitching of that year. Washington then surprised Cleveland, winning 4-3, as Early Wynn went the distance.

Then, the Giants beat the Cubs on Bobby Thomson’s seventh home run, despite Cubs’ outfielder Bill Nicholson clubbing his 10^th home run of the season.

The White Sox and Yanks split their doubleheader and then Brooklyn and Pittsburgh kicked off their contest.

Six home runs later, including two each by Kiner and Carl Furillo, the Bums pasted the Bucs, 25-17. Furillo had eight RBIs and Dixie Walker added six RBIs for the Dodgers. Even Gil Hodges, who wasn’t used much in 1947, hit a three-run home run in the second inning. Kiner drove in 5 RBIs.

Pittsburgh led, 11-10, in the fifth inning and then remembered they were Pittsburgh who, at 9-23, is the worst team in the replay. The Pirates pitchers gave up 12 runs in the sixth inning on 11 hits. Pete Reiser added a field goal of RBIs, driving in three on two singles. In the actual game played on May 17, 1947, Pittsburgh beat Brooklyn, 4-0. Hank Greenberg hit the only home run in that game for the Pirates.

Here lies the oddity of APBA and what makes the game so fun. Twelve replayed games later, Pittsburgh hosted the Giants again. Kiner hit his ninth home run, but instead of a score-fest, the Pirates won, 2-1. Same players, different outcome. The anything-can-happen aspect gives the joy to this game.

The Phillies continued their shocking start, beating the Reds, 6-2, and compiling an 18-17 record. The Cardinals still lead the National League, although the Boston Braves are playing well and are only a game behind the Birds. Red Munger beat the Phillies for his league-leading sixth win and back-up Cards’ catcher Joe Garagiola hit his second home run of the season to help Munger.

I went to my weekend job on Saturday, ending the run of games. I played nine that Wednesday night, seven on Thursday and eight on Friday. I could only muster enough awakedness to roll one game on Saturday after pulling my routine 12-hour shift at work.

The point of all this is that a replayer becomes immersed in the game. Playing a lot like I did got me into the season better. I remembered players’ outcomes the games before. I noticed Bobby Thomson was coming around for the Giants, getting key hits at important times. Kiner, like he did in the real season, was good with the bat, but, like Sammy Sosa did in 1998, hit the home runs at inopportune times for his team, padding the stats, but not helping much in the team’s win column.

Playing the series of games was like reading the sports page and checking standings daily. Most teams played each day during my three-day run, so the stats and records were constantly changing.

It was a great holiday.

My next days off are Christmas Eve and Christmas. Holly and I don’t have any travel plans for the holiday. Looks like another APBA marathon could occur while we wait for Santa to show up.