Coan Hits for Cycle Plus
DETROIT (Aug. 30) -- St. Louis leftfielder Gil Coan hit for the cycle today, and filled in the boxscore with 4 runs, 4 RBIs, a stolen base, and an error. Coan, 29, is batting just .272 after hitting .294 last year, but he has taken over the leadoff role from Sam "I Am" Jethroe, and is third in the league with 35 stolen bases. The Monroe, N.C. native is a favorite of manager T.J. Smith for his speed, defense, and consistency. "He's a great all-around player, does everything pretty well, and he's adaptable," Smith told reporters in the visitors' clubhouse after the 9-5 win. "Gil's a bedrock guy. There's not another guy on this ballclub, outside of Stan, who I'd consider as indispensable as Gil." Smith put his money where he mouth is, by extending the outfielder's contract through 1956, at $2.88 million per year. "I'd say he's one of the most underestimated and underappreciated guys in the league," teammate "Puddin' Head" Jones said. Jones got his own extension for 5 years at $2 million/yr.
   The win was a big one for St. Louis, who lost three straight at Briggs Stadium Aug. 27-29 to fall five games behind Detroit in the race for second place. The Sound are on pace to finish in the exact spot (2nd) with the exact record (81-73) at last year.
   The last player to hit for the cycle was Chicago's Gus Bell on May 10, 1951.

Miller Third Monument POM
Pennant Beckons, Magic Number 11
WASHINGTON (Sept. 1) -- Rookie Stu Miller (15-10, 2.56) became the third Monument hurler to take home Pitcher of the Month honors, grabbing August's trophy with a 4-1 record and 1.92 ERA. On the league's best rotation, the rookie from Northampton, Mass. leads the team in ERA, strikeouts, complete games, and shutouts. "There's no telling how good this kid can be," said one Washington reporter. Miller's loss ... broke an 8-0 stretch from July 12-Aug. 22, during which Stu allowed five or fewer hits in six of 10 starts.  Steve Gromek approached 20 wins. The 32-year old righthander was 5-1 with a 3.19 ERA in his last six starts, and chases Larry Jansen (21-7, 3.36) who notched his 20th win on Aug. 15.
   The Monuments had a mediocre fortnight, going only 6-7, but maintained a 11.5-game margin over second place Detroit and cut their magic number to 11 with 27 games remaining. At 80-47, the Monuments need to finish 20-7 to become the UL's first 100-game winners.
   Miller's teammates Larry Jansen and Steve Gromek were Pitchers of the Month in May and June, respectively, leaving only Dave Koslo honorless heading into the final month. As dominant as Washington's pitching has been, don't be surprised to see Koslo complete the POM sweep in September.

Hodges Surges Ahead in Homer Race
Brooklyn's slugging first baseman Gil Hodges (.266-34-89) hammered out nine home runs in August, his best month to date, to pull ahead of the pack in the home run race. Hodges has been battling Musial, Zernial, Snider, and Kiner for the home run lead all season. Musial suffered a season-ending broken wrist on July 30, Zernial cooled off in August with just a .207 average and 4 round-trippers, Snider likewise had only four homers in each of the last two months, while Kiner surged to second in the league with eight dingers in August. Kiner and Snider shared the title of home run king in 1951 with 37 each. Hodges hit 32 to finish fourth. 

Louisville Climbs to Sixth
A 10-3 run gave struggling Louisville a two-spot jump in the standings to sixth place. Joe Collins and Peanuts Lowrey won back to back PoWs, and Art Houtteman anchored and completed a shutout, respectively, during the hot streak, which included six straight road wins, a three-game sweep at New York, and wins in three of four games at first place Washington. Lowrey led the Colonels with 23 RBI in August, and Collins co-led in home runs (4) and paced the club with a .450 average for the month.
   Louisville has their sights set on a first division finish. The Colonels are six games back of Brooklyn for fourth place, with 27 games to play.

Snider Drives in 6 With One At-Bat
Duke Snider pulled off a UL first on Aug. 24 when he drove in six runs with a single official at-bat. The Silver Fox smashed a grand slam off Billy Loes in the first inning, then twice drove home Enos Slaughter with sacrifice flies in the second and fourth innings. He left the game for a pinch hitter in the sixth. Snider's sixth RBI was the 200th of his career.

How'd They Do That?
D.C.'s Domination Deciphered
by Charlie Qualls
With the end of the '52 season approaching, parade plans have already been finalized in our nation's Capital City.  So how did the Washington Monuments do it?  How did this team of mostly mid-20-somethings crush the rest of the United League?  It's hard to believe that a formula so crazy and out-of-the-box could ever work, but the short answer is... Pitching and Defense.

Rotation, Rotation, Rotation
Stu Miller exceeded all expectations in his rookie year in the league.  He wasted no time proving that he should be a part of this already tough rotation.  Second round (initial) draft pick Larry Jansen improved upon last year's marks, solidifying himself as one of league's best first pick aces.  Harry Perkowski was a disappointment in his sophomore effort, losing his seat at the big boys table.  Steve Gromek and Dave Koslo rounded out the bottom half of the rotation.  Gromek did about what he was supposed to do (a rare feat for starters in the UL) and 22nd round afterthought Koslo dug deep and seemed to be made better by the mere presence of the other three.

Less Ink In The Pen
The bullpen was another story. Frank Smith was as good as any other stopper, but otherwise the bullpen was a (the?) weakness.  However, this was made a non-issue as they were needed far less than anyone else's pen.  Regardless, put all the pitchers together and they combined for an ERA that was one full run less than the next best!  Simply amazing.

De-Fense Me In
The defense was only slightly worse than the league's best (DET), which always helps to make your pitching staff (and your whole team) look better.  'Nuff said!

Middle 'O' the Road
Washington's offense landed square in the middle of the pack by comparison to the rest of the league.  Stand-out Duke Snider threatens to be the league's first 30-30 man.  The UL's first pick ever, (and future 30-30 man) Willie Mays is starting to show signs of greatness, putting together a solid season despite missing over a month of action.  The outfield, led by Mays and Snider was as good as anyone's. The infielder's bats could have had more pop, but Billy Goodman was a rock stable leadoff guy.  Stud-to-Dud Hank Thompson's numbers dropped off noticeably from his '51 campaign.

Can They Do It Again?
It seems unlikely that the same rotation can repeat the same sweet feat in '53, but these four may not have to.  Workhorse “Prince Hal” Neuhauser returns from war, and will be gunning for his old job. Harry Perkowski may start living up to his potential.  There are also a few promising minor league gun slingers targeting jobs with the big club. 
Mays and Thompson will most likely pick up the pace with the lumber, just in time to see the Duke of Production take his show on the road to Korea.  Snider’s presence and stick will be sorely missed, but Enos Slaughter, Jimmy Piersall or Triple-A stud Frank Baumholtz seem up to the task of filling in.
   Stiffer competition should also be a factor as ’51 champs St. Louis look forward to a return to health.  Chicago is eager to close the cellar door for good and also looks forward to playing with a near-full deck.  If the draft lottery goes their way, CHI has a good chance of adding Ernie Banks or Whitey Ford (or both!) to its already power-packed roster.  Newcomer Glen Reed is also looking to make his mark in his first full season as skipper of the Superbas. 
Nothing is certain in this league, any team can "Pull a Washington” and turn things around from one season to the next.  But if Jay Kaplan has his way, "Pulling a Washington" may soon mean winning consecutive Championships.  One thing is certain: The rest of the league hopes they don't have to sit around "Pulling Their Washingtons" and they watch the Monuments run away with another season.

AROUND THE HORN