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 Pinson
Hits for Cycle
Outlaw
Rookie Goes for a Ride
CLEVELAND
(June ) -- Rookie Los Angeles outfielder Vada Pinson hit a single,
double, triple, and home run -- all off Larry Jansen -- to complete
the first cycle by a rookie in United League history.
Pinson, a 20-year-old Memphis native,
was the second overall pick in this year's Rookie draft and is the
early front-runner for Rookie of the Year. Pinson (.250-5-36)
broke out of an 0-for-13 slump with the 4-for-5 game, in which he
drove in five runs. Pinson, who attended the same high school
(McClymonds High School in Oakland) as Frank Robinson and Curt
Flood, has been the club's full-time centerfielder since opening
day. It was the ninth cycle in UL history, the second by a Los
Angeles Outlaw, the first by a rookie, and the first since June
1955, when Red Schoendienst and Connie Ryan completed cycles in the
same week.
Side note: In real life Vada Pinson had
the most career hits of any player not inducted into the Hall of
Fame (2,774) -- not counting Andre Dawson, active players and those
not eligible for induction.
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HITTING
FOR THE CYCLE |
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Apr.
9, 1951 -- Jackie Robinson, NYG
May 10, 1951 -- Gus Bell, CHI
Aug. 30, 1952 -- Gil Coan, STL
Aug. 31, 1953 -- Larry Doby, NYG
Sept. 27, 1953 -- Danny O'Connell, BRO |
June
3, 1955 -- Bobby Avila, LA
July 16, 1955 -- Red Schoendienst, CHI
July 21, 1955 -- Connie Ryan, BRO
June
8, 1959 -- Vada Pinson, LA |
Rotation
Sensation
As we
approach the midway point of the 1959 season, we look at the
starting rotations of each of the 10 UL clubs. Stats listed
below are for each pitcher who has started at least three
games. Pitchers are ranked by pitching runs, which is the
number of runs a pitcher has saved for his team based on his ERA
relative to the league ERA.
Biggest
surprises: Ewell
"The Whip" Blackwell hasn't
had a winning season since 1954 and failed to break the 4.00 ERA
barrier until last season, but in '59 the 35-year-old is a key cog
in the San Francisco Spiders hurling machine, with a 10-2 record in
16 starts and a 3.18 ERA. Tom
Gorman of
Brooklyn, at age 34, looked to be in decline after three years of
steadily increasing ERAs (5-5, 4.52) last year. But the 1955
Cy Young winner is putting up Cy numbers again since joining the
rotation in late May. In five starts, Gorman is 4-1, 1.88 with
three complete games. Washington's Ned
Garver has turned
a forgettable 1958 (12-12, 5.70) into a very strong 1959, posting a
6-5 record in 12 starts and the lowest ERA (3.93) of his nine-year
career. Maroon veteran Warren
Hacker was a fine
pitcher in 1956, but his "breakout year" turned out to be
a flash in the pan. Or did it? After spending all of
last season in Triple-A, Hacker is backer, posting a 5-2 record and
2.83 ERA in eight starts.
Biggest
disappointments: After
a phenomenal 26-3, 2.11 season last year and 27 consecutive wins,
Washington's Cy winner Carl
Erskine suffered
an inevitable letdown, losing five straight and going 2-6, 3.97 in
his last 10 starts. After Bud
Daley's solid
rookie campaign last year (10-8, 2.92), Cleveland GM Charlie Qualls
could be excused for his unbridled optimism. Unfortunately,
Bud has an unbridled fastball in '59, with a single win in 10 starts
and a 5.40 ERA. Speaking of mistakes by the lake, Roy
Face went from a
36-save 2.74 ERA last year to losing his closer role with a 2-6
record at 5.50 ERA.
Top staff: It
comes as no surprise that Brooklyn has the best starting staff in
the league. The Superbas lead the league with a 2.87 ERA, and
boast three of the league's top six pitchers in pitching runs.
The trio of Conley, Burdette, and Mossi boast a combined 30-8 record
and 2.25 ERA in 44 starts.
Needs improvement: Cleveland's
staff is the most consistently sub-par in the circuit. No
pitcher is downright awful (Bud Daley, at 1-4, is the only pitcher
more than a game under .500), yet the Barons' are the only team that
lacks a starter with an ERA under the league average (4.12).
Hard-luck guys: Washington's
Stu Miller is
the only pitcher with a sub-3.00 ERA with a losing record (4-7),
thanks to the league's fifth worst run support. Gotham Bob
Friend has a
losing record (7-9) despite the 13 quality starts and seven complete
games.
Lucky man: Detroit
reliever Gordon
Jones (3-3,
7.32) has managed a .500 record despite and ERA over 7.00 and more
than two baserunners per inning. Outlaw reliever Art Fowler
has the distinction of having the highest ERA (5.20) of any pitcher
with a winning record (4-2).
Workhorses: Bob
Friend of New
York was in the top three in innings last year and this year.
Brooklyn's Gene
Conley and L.A.'s
Bubba Church are
on pace for their third straight 300-inning seasons.
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