|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
OPENING DAY PROBABLES |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
TRANSACTIONS |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
INJURED LIST |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
HIGHEST PAID PLAYERS |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
United
League of
American Base Ball Clubs
est.
1951
LEAGUE
FILE (5/15) ·
HEADLINES
· NEWS
LOG · TRANSACTIONS ·
INJURIES ·
FINANCES
STANDINGS ·
BOX
SCORES · SCHEDULE ·
BATTING ·
PITCHING ·
FIELDING · LEADERS
LEAGUE
RULES · TEAM INFO ·
ROSTERS ·
FREE
AGENTS · TOP
PROSPECTS · TOP
FARMS
TOP
PERFORMANCES ·
RECORD
BOOK · PAST
LEADERS · CAREER
LEADERS
BEGINNINGS ·
CITIES ·
BALLPARKS ·
PLAYER PHOTOS (1957)
·
OOTP 6.1 PATCH
TOTAL UL
· 1951 ·
1952 · 1953 ·
1954 ·
1955 ·
1956
·
1957 DRAFTS
4/7 (Season Preview)
|
|
Fuzzy
Dice
Draft Lottery
Abolished After Uproar
NEW YORK (Apr. 1)
-- During an active off season of rules changes, United League owners
abolished the controversial draft lottery, endorsed a payroll cap, and
resurrected the World Series by introducing divisional play. The
hottest issue was the draft lottery, which has existed in various forms
from the inception of the UL in 1951. The most recent system, an
eight-team weighted lottery for the rookie draft only, went into effect
for the 1954 rookie draft. Before that, both drafts were subject to
a three-team mini-lottery. Owners were up in arms after Boston was
shafted, dropping three spots from a projected #1 pick to #4. "I
was pee'd for about 20 minutes. But hey, rules are rules,"
Qualls lamented, after hearing the news on vacation in San Leandro,
California. It was a happy ending for Boston, who still managed to
pick up slugging phenom Roger Maris with the fourth pick. In the
end, Qualls was the only owner in favor of keeping the draft lottery,
though he favored limiting the field. The other side of the draft
lottery controversy was the story of Los Angeles, which won the lottery a
year ago with a 6% chance, and moved up two spots this year thanks to a
lucky roll. Detroit, who was shafted by Los Angeles' lucky roll last
year, was the beneficiary of Boston's shafting this year. The Sound
missed out on Frank Robinson last year, but selected Sandy Koufax with
this year's #1.
The next item on the league's agenda was the question of
divisional play. League president Timothy J. Smith initially
eliminated the possibility of divisional play for at least several
seasons, until the West Coast expansion teams went through their growing
pains. Assuming geographic divisions, switching to divisional play
sooner would give other Western teams like St. Louis and Chicago an unfair
advantage, with two weak expansion teams in their division. But Los
Angeles around .500 for the second year running and San Francisco was the
league's most improved team in 1956 (+14 games). In fact, the
league's two weakest clubs were both established Eastern teams: Boston and
Detroit. The unexpectedly early balance between West and East
allowed Smith to put early divisional play on the ballot at the winter
meetings. The owners voted unanimously (8-0) to switch to divisional
play. "It will increase competition and make the season more
interesting," San Francisco GM John Nellis said, echoing the
sentiment of most owners. The switch was originally slated for 1958,
allowing one final season under the present configuration, but as Brooklyn
GM Glen Reed put it, "I see no reason to wait." So an
immediate move to divisional play was put to a vote, and passed by a 6-1
margin.
The final rule change, which won't go into effect until next
season, will set individual payroll cap's for each club to prevent teams
from going deep into debt. The formula is last year's revenues plus
cash plus $5 million. Payroll caps are listed on the Contracts
page for
reference only, and will be enforced beginning with the end-of-1957
contract extensions. The league introduced payroll caps to preclude
the UL suffering the same fate as the AL and NL, which both went bankrupt
in 1950. The United League lost $82 million in 1956, slicing its
cash reserves in half about $9.6 million per team. "The caps
are intended to enforce fiscal discipline while rewarding fiscal
prudence," Smith said, while sipping a mango lassi in Falls Church,
Virginia.
Open
Up and Say "El”!
After months of
delays, Ted Wilks Stop opens
by Lance Mueller
CHICAGO (Apr. 1) -- He may no longer be playing ball, but Ted Wilks
will be making “stops” at Wrigley Field for decades to come. Nearly a
year after its proposed opening, the el train station named after the one
time Colts closer finally opened yesterday. What had been envisioned
as a glorious new way to get to the ballpark had turned into as big a
frustration as, well, waiting for the Colts to win a pennant. Labor
disputes and bad weather made the construction of the train station a
nightmare for all, but now the dark night has passed and a new day is
dawning. Major Richard Daley, Colts GM Lance Mueller, and a near
herd of Colts players – including veterans Yogi Berra, Bobby Thomson and
Whitey Ford, youngsters Don Drysdale and Earl Averill, and “Mr. Colt”
himself, All-Star Ernie Banks – were the first to ride to the new stop
across from Wrigley. Asked what he thought of the Ted Wilks Stop, the
always affable Banks was heard to say, “Gosh, it’s so nice they
shoulda built two.” On a slightly less altruistic note, Colts GM Lance
Mueller was head to pipe in, “Easier access to Wrigley means more folks
will come to the games. More fans in the stands mean more cash in the
coffers for other possible Colts related projects.” No one is
quite sure what other possible “projects” Mueller may have up his
sleeve, but for now, the turnstiles at the Ted Wilks Stop are spinning and
that can only mean one thing…time to play ball!
MMM...Fop!
by Charlie Qualls
BOSTON (Apr. 1) -- In an attempt to ramp up fan interest in Boston,
"M & M" sluggers Mickey Mantle and Eddie Mathews welcomed
rookie masher Roger Maris with a press conference in front of Fenway
Park. The three donned powdered wigs and employed really bad
approximations of British accents, announcing their utter disdain for
baseballs everywhere. Next, in a show of solidarity, they all signed
a mock restraining order, stating that all baseballs must remain at least
450 feet away from them at all times. The entire ceremony was rather
awkward. Maris in particular seemed quite uncomfortable, quipping,
"Heh heh, no pressure, eh fellas?" Then some hair fell out
of his periwig.
Another Crack at a
Mascot
Excitement had been
brewing about the trotting out of a new Beacon mascot. Furor had
long since tapered off after last season's "feces fiasco"
involving once beloved "Bright Eye the Lighthouse."
However, thanks to another back office snafu, the newest/latest attempt at
a spirit leader backfired. "Kreemy the Pie" was unloaded
on fans at a charity soft-toss game and was met with ... pies. Cow
pies. GM Charlie Qualls grunted, "What is it with this team's
constant movement toward shit?" He took a breath, then added,
"Don't answer that." Despite the Beacons keeping a tight
plug on the outpouring of information, in the end there was a leak.
When fans got wind of the new mascot, word spread. The moment "Kreemy"
was plopped in front of the fans, he was pelted with cow chips and had to
be flushed out of the stadium by security. So another character
fails to leave his mark, and the Beeks begin another season with a big
hole in the mascot department. In a completely related story, the
entire PR team has been shown the back door.
