W E S T   D I V I S I O N

E A S T   D I V I S I O N

Hitter of the Month: Hank Aaron (.357-6-14, 1.062 OPS)
"Throughout his youth, Henry Aaron batted cross-handed, with his left hand on top.  He continued to do this while he was in the Negro Leagues, even when he was being scouted by the majors.  Dewey Griggs, scouting Aaron for the Braves, told him the major leaguers would look down on the cross-handed grip, and persuaded him to do it "right."  Aaron switched, but even when he was in the majors he would occasionally look down at his hands and realize that he had the wrong hand on top.
   You know what interests me about that?  Aaron was always known for his remarkable wrists.  Doesn't it seem at least possible that Aaron developed those amazing wrists because he was hitting wrong for all those years?  I always notice this:  when you have a player who is doing something different from everybody else, and that player is exceptionally successful, doesn't it seem like orthodoxy should adapt to that? . . .  Doesn't it seem like other people should have tried it, just to see if maybe it would help?  If Henry Aaron grew up doing it that way, how wrong can it be?" -- Bill James, The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract
 

Hitter of the Month: Sandy Amoros (.387-0-12, .500 OBP)
aka: Edmundo Amoros Isasi
"The Cuban native, who spoke almost no English, was never more than a semi-regular in the Dodger outfield, but he's remembered for one great play, generally listed among the most outstanding in history. In Game Seven of the 1955 WS, his sprinting catch of Yogi Berra's drive down the leftfield line was the key to Brooklyn's victory. According to winning pitcher Johnny Podres: "As great a catch as Amoros made, his relay to Pee Wee [Reese] (to double up Gil McDougald) was even better." When a reporter asked Amoros if he thought he would make the catch, he said, "I dunno. I just run like hell." -- baseballllibary.com
 

Hitter of the Month: Gene Woodling (.371, .434 OBP, 15 R)
"Woodling platooned with Hank Bauer for six years, one of the longest platoon combinations in baseball history.  The press nicknamed them "The Gold Dust Twins."  He hit over .300 five times, walked a lot, had a little power, ran okay, and was an excellent outfielder other than his just fair arm . . .  The platooning kept his numbers smaller; as a regular, he would have driven in and scored over 100 runs in his good years.  But playing for a team that had talent to burn also put him into five straight World Series.  Woodling: "We led the league in 'RAs'  We had some of the best Red Asses who ever played baseball." -- Bill James, The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract
 

Hitter of the Month: Tom Umphlett (.337-1-12, .912 OPS)
"Dom DiMaggio's career ended early in 1953, when he had an eye operation early in the season.  Red Sox manager Lou Boudreau, in the process not only of destroying the Red Sox but of rendering them unable to compete for years afterward, put Tommy Umphlett in center field.  Umphlett got hot, and when DiMaggio was ready to play Boudreau wouldn't put him back in center field.  DiMaggio wouldn't sit on the bench, so he retired." -- Bill James, The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract
 

Boston Beacons
Charlie Qualls

Pitcher of the Month: Ewell Blackwell (4-2, 2.44, 27 K)
"A 6'6" stringbean with a wicked sidearm delivery, Blackwell was virtually unhittable for righthanded batters as the ball seemed to explode at them from third base. As a Reds rookie in 1946 he had only a 9-13 record but a NL-leading six shutouts, and he started a record streak of six straight All-Star Game pitching appearances (later tied by Early Wynn). In 1947 he was dubbed The Whip, as he led the NL in wins (22-8), complete games (23), and strikeouts (193) for the fifth-place Reds. His 16 consecutive wins set a NL mark for righthanders. He came very close to tying teammate Johnny Vander Meer's 1939 feat of back-to-back no-hitters.  On the night of June 18, he no-hit the Braves; in his next outing he held the Dodgers hitless into the ninth before Eddie Stanky's one-out, broken-bat single."
-- baseballlibrary.com
 

Hitter of the Month: Roger Maris (.303-6-25)
"He had a friendly little smile, but he didn't use it much.  His face seldom showed much emotion, and he had what many writers called 'cold blue eyes.'" -- Robert Creamer in Musing on Maris, 17th Baseball Research Journal.
 

Washington Monuments
Steven Giovanelli

Pitcher of the Month: Whitey Ford (3-0, 2.25, 7.9 R/9)
"His most eye-catching statistics are his consistently low ERAs and his high winning percentage. In 11 of 16 seasons he was under a 3.00 ERA, and his worst was 3.24. His .690 winning percentage ranks third all-time and first among modern pitchers with 200 or more wins. Of course, he benefited from strong Yankee bat support, defense, and relief pitching, but his winning percentage was usually higher than the team's. He allowed an average of only 10.94 baserunners per nine innings and posted 45 career shutouts, including eight 1-0 victories.
   In the 1960, '61, and '62 Series, he pitched 33 consecutive scorelesss innings, breaking Babe Ruth's WS record of 29 2/3."
-- baseballlibrary.com
 

Hitter of the Month: Willie Mays (.386-9-22, 1.242 OPS)
"According to Sam Levy of the Milwaukee Journal (Baseball Digest, June 1955), the Braves began scouting Willie Mays when he was fifteen years old.  The Braves head of scouting, Harry Jenkins, watched Mays play many times, and raved about him often -- but lost him in a dispute over $2,500 when two of his sassistant scouts, sent to cross-check, doubted that Mays was worth $10,000.  If the Braves had signed him they would have had Mays, Aaron, Mathews, and Spahn on the team from 1954 through 1965." -- Bill James, The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract 
 

New York Gothams
Shawn Martin

Pitcher of the Month: Bob Rush (3-0, 1.83, 8.1 R/9)
"Rush, who delivered with a long, high-kicked windup, was a talented pitcher with the second-division Cubs for his first ten seasons. The 1952 team was the only .500 Cub team on which he played. He went 17-13 (2.70) in '52, including a seven-game win streak with three shutouts, and was the winning hurler in that year's All-Star Game. There were four other seasons in which he won 13 games, though his 20 losses in 1950 led the NL. Traded to the Braves in 1958, Rush helped them to the pennant with a 10-6 record." -- baseballlibrary.com
 

Hitter of the Month: Jim Busby (.344-1-8, .400 OBP)
"Busby led AL outfielders twice in putouts and once in fielding percentage. He was among the top five stolen base leaders three times, and batted a career-high .312 for Washington in 1953. A cousin of pitcher Steve Busby, Jim coached for fellow Texan Paul Richards at Baltimore, Houston, Atlanta, and Chicago." -- baseballlibrary.com