June 3, 2001 - by staff@baseballhistorian.com - Internet Newspaper - Monday's News

Home runs flying, but pitching still dominates the game!

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The Arizona Diamondbacks have rung up eight straight wins to vault to a 3-game lead in the National League West. The D'backs are tied with the Giants for the most home runs in the majors with 79. Arizona has a 34-22 mark, .607 pct.

But it's still their pitchers that are providing the wins. Right hander Curt Shilling has racked up a 9-1 record and his 2.76 ERA is 5th best in the NL. Future Hall of Famer Randy Johnson is 5-4, ERA of 2.84, and is on pace to strike out a zillion batters this season... think not? He's got 123 in just 85 innings.

The heavy hitting Diamondbacks are led by outfielder Luis Gonzalez, who's batting .332, and has already hit 21 yard/shots. Batting clean-up is former Cub, Mark Grace, who has a .421 on-base-pct, with 33 RBIs. Outfielder Reggie Sanders has hit 15 homers and although only hitting .247 for the year, has driven in 38 runs.

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With Lou Piniella at the helm, the Seattle Mariners are torching the majors with a 43-12 record and have won their last 10 games.

The Mariners are second in the league in both batting and pitching.

Aaron Sele has run off an 8-0 start, his 2.65 ERA is third lowest in the AL... Jamie Moyer is 7-1, 4.71 ERA... and closer Kazuhiro Sasaki has gathered a major league leading 23 saves.

Although Seattle has hit only 46 homers, they're hitting .281 for 2001... Ichiro Suzuki, a former star of Japan, is the American League's leading vote-getter for the coming All-Star game. Susuki is batting .362, third best in the AL... veteran DH Edgar Martinez is batting .312 with 42 RBIs... John Olerud's batting .346, 40 RBIs... Brett Boone has 53 RBIs that have won quite a few games and he's hitting a compelling.316.

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Chicago Cubs - Pitching certainly has carried the Cubs atop the NL Central with a 33-20 mark, including 12 straight wins - that have put smiles on the North Siders' fans faces.

Would you believe the Cubs have posted the lowest ERA in the NL, a resounding 3.77. Kevin Tapani is 8-1, 3.41 ERA... Jon Lieber is 5-3, 2.95 ERA... flame-throwing Kerry Wood is 4-4, 4.07 ERA ad has caulked-up a stingy opponents batting average of just .192.

The Cubs' relievers are 'the talk of the town' and appear unhittable. Jeff Fassero has 10 saves and Tom Gordon 7... middle-man Kyle Farnsworth has fanned 46 batters in just 27 innings, Courtney Duncan is 3-1, 2.13 ERA in 25 innings.

Slugger Sammy Sosa has hit 12 doubles, 16 homers, scored 45 runs and has 50 RBIs. Sosa's on-base-pct is a heavy .429, and he's third highest in the league with 43 walks.

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The Minnesota Twins are still in first place in the AL Central, but the Cleveland Indians have moved to just 1/2 game behind. The Twins are 35-18, a .660 pct. The red-hot Twins are 20-8 at home, and a nice 15-10 on the road... and the Twins have won six of their last eight and are off to their best start in franchise history - Wow!

The Twins are hitting only .266 as a team but former Olympic hero Doug Mienthiewicz is batting .346. Shortstop Christian Guzman went 4-for-6 on June 4th, is hitting .296 for the year... and his 8 triples are tops in the majors.

Minnesota's pitching rates 4+-Stars. Right hander Joe Mays is 7-3, and his 2.62 ERA is second lowest in the AL behind only Pedro Martinez of Boston.... notoriously intense Brad Radke is 7-1, 3.55 ERA... closer LaTroy Hawkins has 14 saves, 3rd best in the league.

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The Philadelphia Phillies have increased their NL East Division lead by 6 full games and have complied a 35-20 mark - compared to a 65-97 finish in year 2000.

Their 3.84 ERA is fourth best in the National League. Left-hander Omar Dahl is 6-0, 3.65 ERA and Robert Person, who pitched most of last year in the minors, has posted a 4-4 record, 3.73 ERA... he's fanned 64 batters in 72 innings. Closer Jose Mesa is second in the league with 16 saves.

Outfielder Pat Burrell leads the Phils in batting with .310 and appears destined to become a future star. Third baseman Scott Rolen, who's won two Gold Gloves, has hit 5 HRs, driven in 30 runs and is considered the team's take charge man along with shortstop Jimmy Rollins, who's hitting .274.

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Last year's (2000) World Champion New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox are staging a torrid battle for first in the AL East. One day, the Yanks are in first, the next it's the BoSox in first.

Slugger Manny Ramirez is leading Boston's charge. Signed over the winter as free agent, Ramirez is leading the majors in batting with .371, has gone deep 18 times, and has 58 RBIs.

But it's still Boston's pitching that's producing points in the win column. The Red Sox are first in baseball in ERA with 3.28. Pedro Martinez has a stingy 1.44 ERA en-route to a 7-1 mark. Hideo Nomo is 5-3, 3.60 EERA... right hander Frank Castillo has collected a 5-3 record, 3.88 ERA.

The New York Yankees are relying on pitching, superior defense and clutch-hitting and, as usual, play hit-and-run with the best of them.

Scout Brosius is leading the Yankees in batting with .310. All-Star shortstop Derek Jeter and center fielder Bernie Williams are still capturing the attention of baseball fans with their outstanding fielding and 'winning brand of baseball'. Jeter's has 4 homers, and is hitting .308, while Bernie's hitting .269, 7 homers, 22 RBIs.

Pitching always brings out the best in the Yankees... Andy Pettitte is 6-3, his 3.04 ERA is 4th best in the AL. Mike Mussina is 5-3, 3.32 Era and 'the Rocket' Roger Clemens has vaulted off to a 5-1 record, 4.26 ERA, with 71 Ks in 76 innings.

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So will any of the above teams win its division or make the playoffs? We don't know... but, their fans have been hootin' and rootin.'

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The Chicago Cubs' 37-23 start is their best since they were 39-21 in 1977. The 2001 Cubs are doing it with pitching and the hot-bats of Sammy Sosa and Rondell White. Sosa is batting .389 with 16 RBIs over his last 13 games. White extended his hitting streak to 15 games, and during that streak is batting .439 with 15 RBIs.

After floundering in 6th place two years in-a-row, 1924 and 1925, the Cleveland Indians came to life in mid-season 1926 and rallied to finish in 2nd place, with a sparkling 88-66 record only 3-games out of first.

Two veterans enjoyed their finest seasons, first baseman George Burns and pitcher George Uhle.

Burns captured the attention of baseball fans by batting .358, and set a since broken major league record by blasting 64 doubles. He also won the coveted Most Valuable Player Award for the American League.

Uhle created sensational headline news by completing a major league best 32 of 36 games started, led the majors with 318 1/3 innings, led the majors by winning 27 games and led the AL in winning percentage with .711 and finished second in the league with 159 strike outs.

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1926 Cleveland Indians Batting Stats:

George Burns .358 BA, 4Hr, 114 RBIs, in 151 Games... Ike Elchrodt .313, 0Hr, 7 RBIs in 37G... Charlie Jamieson .299, 2Hr, 45 RBIs in 143G... Rube Lutzke .261, 0Hr, 59 RBIs in 142G... Ray Knode .333, 0Hr, 4 RBIs in 31G... Joe Sewell .324, 4Hr, 85 RBIs in 154G... Luke Sewell .238, 0Hr, 46 RBIs in 126G... Tris Speaker .304, 7Hr, 86 RBIs in 150G... Fred Spurgeon .295, 0Hr, 49 RBIs in 149G... Homer Summa .308, 4Hr, 76 RBIs in 154G...

Chick Autry .143 in 3G... Guy Lacy .167, 1Hr, 2 RBIs in 13G... Pat McNulty .250, 0Hr, 6 RBIs in 48G... Johnny Hodapp .200 in 3G... Cliff Lee .175, 1Hr, 2 RBIs in 21G... Glenn Myatt .248, 0Hr, 13 RBIs in 56G... Ernie Padgett .210, 0Hr, 6 RBIs in 36G... George Uhle .227, 1Hr, 11 RBIs in 50G

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Player Bios:

Complied by staff@baseballhistorian.com from old newspaper clippings and record books:

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Homer Summa, Outfielder - an accomplished fielder with a strong throwing arm he joined Cleveland in 1922. A fine slashing hitter, Summa hit ..328, .290, .330, .308, .286 and .284 from 1923 through 1928.

Summa's best season was 1923 when he batted .328, scored 92 runs, hit 27 doubles, 6 triples, 3 home runs, 69 RBIs and struck out only 20 times in 525 at bats.

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Joe Sewell, Shortstop, Bats Left T RH - a smooth gliding fielder and a lifetime .312 hitter during an outstanding major league career spanning from 1920 thru 1933.

Joe Sewell batted at least .315 each year from 1923 thru 1929 and played 460 consecutive games before missing one game because of a spike wound, and then proceeded to played 1,103 straight games. 'I must have played a month with my shoe cut open before I was back to normal. But I played.'

Joe Sewell, a Hall of Fame member, was and still holds the record of the hardest man in baseball history to strike out. He fanned just once in every 62.6 at bats. Second on the list is Lloyd Waner at a 44.9 ratio.

Joe Sewell, 5'4.5" - 155 pos. career: .312 BA, 2,226 hits, 436 doubles, 1141 Runs, 1055 RBIs, 114 Ks in 7,132 at bats.

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Luke Sewell, Catcher, Right-handed - younger brother of Joe... A top-of-the line defensive backstop, Luke had a long major league career from 1921-1942... and played in more than 100 games in nine different years and was a popular fan's favorite in Cleveland.

The 5'9", 160-pos, Luke Sewell best offensive season was 1927 when he batted .294, lined 27 doubles, 6 triples, drove in 53 runs and struck out only 23 times in 470 trips to the plate.

Just like his brother, Joe, Luke was a tough man to strike out. A .259 lifetime hitter, he fanned 317 times in 1630 games, on average of once every 17.5 at bats.

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Freddy Spurgeon, Second Baseman - played just two full years in the majors... in 1925 he hit .287, 12 extra base hits, stole eight bases in 107 games.

In 1926, Fred Spurgeon batted .295, lined 181 hits, belted 31 doubles, scored 101 runs, and struck out only 36 times in 614 at bats.

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Charles Jamieson, Outfielder - broke into the majors with Washington in 1915 and traded to Cleveland in 1919, where he played until he retired in 1932.

A career .303 batter, and one of the baseball's top leadoff hitters, Charlie Jamieson stole 132 bases in his long successful career in Cleveland and hit starting in 1920, his first full season - .319, .310, .323, .345, .359, .296, .299, .309, .307, .291, .301 and .302.

Jamieson's career: .303 BA, 1,990 hits, 322 Ds, in 6,560 at bats, scored 1,062 Runs, and had a nice .378 on-base-pct.

What is being claimed as the largest crowd ever to witness a major league baseball game turned out today for the Cleveland Indians' debut in the Municipal Stadium and saw the Tribe lose a thrilling 1-to-0 battle to the Philadelphia Athletics.

The official attendance was announced as 80,284.

Lefty Grove Wins 16th Game of the Year!

Robert Moses Grove, the Athletics' ace southpaw, was in rare form and held the Indians to four scattered hits to win his sixteenth game of the season. Mel Harder, the Indians' young right-hander, was almost equally stingy with hits and kept the A's harmless except in the eight inning.

Second baseman Max Bishop drew one of Harder's two passes to start the eight, went to second on Mule Haas' sacrifice, and scored the lone run of the game on Mickey Cochrane's single.

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