STANDINGS
  EAST

W

L

GB

Last

Brooklyn

54

22

--

8-5

Detroit

41

38

14.5

7-5

Cleveland

36

41

18.5

6-6

New York

36

42

19

8-6

Washington

29

47

25

5-8
  WEST

W

L

GB

Last

San Francisco

50

25

--

11-2

Louisville

39

38

12

5-9

St. Louis

38

40

13.5

3-10

Los Angeles

32

47

20

7-8

Chicago

31

46

20

6-7

INJURED LIST

BRO

MR Tom Acker (season)

CHI

SP Tom Sturdivant (2 days)

CLE

SP Carl Willey (3 days)
MR Luis Arroyo (season)

LA

CF Vada Pinson (4 days)
SP Hank Aguirre (3-4 weeks)
SP Bubba Church (5 weeks)

NYG

SP Ruben Gomez (1 day)

STL

SP Warren Hacker (4 days)

SF

SP Ron Kline (1 day)
CF Jackie Jensen (5 days)
SP Sam Jones (1-2 weeks)

United League of American Base Ball Clubs          est. 1951
 
LEAGUE FILE (3/19) · 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 (1959)
TOTAL UL  · 1951 · 1952 · 1953 · 1954 · 1955 · 1956 · 1957 · 1958 · 1959 DRAFT
 4/7 · 4/17 · 5/1 · 5/16 · 6/1 · 6/16 · 7/1


      July 1, 1959
 
 NEXT SIM
 Wed 3/23 (to July 16)
Rosters due 6pm ET

 UPCOMING SIMS
 Mon 3/28 (to July 31)
Sat 4/2 (to Aug 15)


Spinning a Web
Spiders Surge with 10-Win Streak
SAN FRANCISCO (July 1) -- The San Francisco Spiders dispelled any doubts that they were nothing more than spring pretenders, winning 14 of their last 16 games including a 10-game winning streak to double their West Division lead to 12 games.  The 14-2 run began on June 13, after the Spiders had lost 4 of 5 to Louisville and Chicago to see their lead whittled to just 5.5 games.  But on that Friday night at Seals Stadium the offense exploded for 13 runs, including three RBIs each by Killebrew and Kluszewski, to bail out a shaky Juan Pizarro with a 13-6 win.  After losing in Detroit on 6/17, the club knock out 10 wins in a row, in which their rejuvenated pitching staff held their opponents to 3 runs of less nine times.
   Though Ace Bob Porterfield has lost his untouchable form that helped spring the Spiders into the lead back in April (monthly ERAs: 1.09, 2.91, 3.67), Ewell Blackwell's numbers have gone the opposite direction.  "The Whip" was UL Pitcher of the Month in June, posting a 2.38 ERA and 7-0 record.  Ewell is 13-0 in 16 starts since Apr. 16.  A former stalwart in the Gothams' rotation (59-40 in 4 seasons) and one-time 20-game winner (20-6 in 1952), Blackwell was San Francisco's second pick in the 1955 expansion draft, and despite a rough start (10-19, 4.90 in 1955), has steadily improved his ERA each season.
   The rest of the rotation has stepped up as well.  Juan Pizarro, the #4 starter, started the month 0-3, 9.32 in his first four starts, then allowed just one run in 15.1 innings in his two starts (2-0, 0.59).  And Hal "Skinny" Brown, who authored a no-hitter in 1955 but fell out of favor after a 16-loss season in 1957, made a triumphant return to the starting rotation on 6/25 with a 13-strikeout performance in a 7-2 win at Los Angeles.  Four days later, "Skinny" solidified his claim for a starting slot by holding Cleveland to three hits in seven innings.  Yet for all the pitching exploits, the offense has done more than its share during SF's hot streak.
   Rocky Colavito was UL Player of the Month for June, batting .343-9-26 with a 1.067 OPS in 26 games.  Rocky was always a long-ball threat, averaging 28 home runs a year in his first three seasons, but this year, the 25-year-old slugger is hitting for average as well.  At .309 through July 1, Rocky is besting his career average (.255) by 50+ points.  Jim Lemon (.344-8-27) won Player of the Week 6/30 with a seven-game hitting streak and a .552 average.  Lemon, 31, drove in 93 runs two years ago but has dropped off the radar since then.  Finally, there is Harmon Killebrew.  "Killer" has struggled at the plate, striking out nearly 30% of the time, but managed to drive in 21 runs in 25 games despite a .144 average, thanks in large part to eight home runs, including two in a game against St. Louis on 6/21.

The Okie from Muskogee
by Glen Reed
In what has to be some sort of UL record, Flatbush wunderkind Gene Conley spun 36.1 consecutive scoreless innings in five starts spanning late May and early June, sandwiched around two rough outings against his apparent nemesis, the Los Angeles Outlaws.
   Conley is a member of the star-spangled draft class of 1952, which also featured Stu Miller, Tom Gorman, Hoyt Wilhelm, Granny Hamner, Eddie Matthews, Harvey Kuenn, and Sandy Amoros. It's hard to tally all the hardware this group has claimed. For his part, Conley's trophy case houses the 1955 Rookie of the Year, the '57 Cy Young, back-to-back All-Star selections ('57-'58), as well as the pitcher of the month and week awards around his shutout streak.
   The towering Okie from Muskogee began his streak under inauspicious circumstances. Staked to a four-nil lead on a sunny afternoon affair in the new stadium at Arroyo Seco in Los Angeles, Conley coughed up four runs on five straight hits in the sixth. Conley regained his form and began the streak with two scoreless innings in a game that Brooklyn would ultimately lose in extra innings. Next came a four-hit CG shutout in front of 40,000 at Cleveland Muni against one of the league's most potent offenses. Then a trip to the Windy City, where Mean Gene was denied another CG by a lengthy rain delay. To claim 7.1 shutout innings, he twice retired Mickey Mantle with men in scoring position in a 1-0 game. Then home to The Frank and a three-hit CG SHO of the St. Louis Bridesmaids.
   The crowning moment in Conley's run fittingly came in the nation's capital against perhaps the greatest pitcher in UL history, Stu Miller. The pitching torch arguably passed from Miller to Conley in 1955, Conley's ROY season and the year Miller suffered a season-ending back injury. Certainly it was Conley's ascension and Miller's debilitating injury that opened the door for the upstart Screaming Bats to pass the defending champion Monuments on the way to their first UL pennant. In the event, a near-capacity crowd watched Conley make a first inning Richie Ashburn double, steal, and score on a Johnny Logan groundout stand up, despite indifferent defending behind him and a hometown strike zone that contributed to three walks.
   Finally, the streak ended abruptly much the way it began--against the Outlaws, and on a Vada Pinson RBI poke. Uncharacteristic control problems put two men on in the top of the first ahead of the supremely talented Frank Robinson, who was robbed of a sure-fire run-scoring double on a great catch up the right-centerfield power alley by Sandy Amoros. For a brief moment, it seemed the break Conley might need to craft another shutout and put himself within striking distance of two great marks--Walter Johnson's 1913 ML record 56 straight scoreless innings, and 49 and two-thirds shutout innings by Carl Hubbell, the master of the screwgie and another Oklahoma transplant whose greatest baseball achievements came in the Big Apple. But Conley's reprieve was all too short-lived, as the next batter, ROY candidate Vada Pinson, hit a sharp single through the right side to plate Dale Ennis with the run that killed the streak.
   



T
E
A
M

C
A
P
S
U
L
E
S

MIDSEASON REPORT CARD

OVERALL (Winning Percentage)
   For the second year, overall parity seems to be increasing, as the strong teams get weak while the minnows improve.  The most dramatic turnaround in '59 is the Washington-San Francisco story.  The most successful franchise in UL history--with a run of seven straight 90-win seasons--has crashed to 29-47, the worst record in baseball.  Meanwhile, the San Francisco Spiders are attempting the first worst-to-first turnaround in league history.
   Detroit, New York, and St. Louis are also in the category of 'improving losers', while Louisville and Cleveland join the Mons in the category of 'declining winners'.  Last year's four winning teams (Brooklyn, Washington, Boston, and Louisville) were a combined .584 last year, but played just .516 ball in the first half.  Conversely, the six worse teams improved from .444 to .489.
   Teams that buck the overall trends are Brooklyn -- who are on pace to surpass last year's 99 wins by 10 -- and Los Angeles, who were the 2nd worst team last year, and are the 2nd worst team this year.

Wins

1958

1959

Change
San Francisco   

 .409

.667

 +258
Brooklyn

 .643

.711

 +68
Detroit

 .461

.519

 +58
New York

 .416

.462

 +46
St. Louis

 .481

.487

 +6
Los Angeles

 .416

.405

 -11
Louisville

 .532

 .506

 -26
Cleveland

 .545

.468

 -77
Chicago

 .481

.403

 -78
Washington

.617

.382

 -235
League Total  .500 .500   --
 
 NOTE: All comparisons relate 1958 
full season to 1959 first half statistics. 
 

BATTING (On Base Plus Slugging)
   Offense in general is out of vogue this year, as league OPS is down to .734, a 10 point decline.  Every team save two saw their production decline, but the two outliers saw huge improvements: the New York Gothams and San Francisco Spiders both jumped from the bottom three to the top three in OPS.
  The most dramatic reversal was that of the once mighty Washington Monuments, who went from 1st to worst in the span of a few brief months.  Outside the Beltway however, the most shrinkage has occurred out west, where three of the four biggest decliners call home. 

OPS

1958

1959

Change
New York

718

799

 +81
San Francisco   

709

771

 +62
Chicago

734

729

 -5
Cleveland

748

742

 -6
Detroit

706

699

 -7
Brooklyn

794

784

 -10 
St. Louis

739

719

 -20
Los Angeles

727

693

 -34
Louisville 767

727

 -40
Washington

799

671

 -128
League Total 744 734 -10
       

Doby, NYG

 +329

Kell, LOU

-241

Lemon, SF

 +284

Groat, STL

-240

Sievers, NYG

 +242

Kiner, BRO     

-194

Berra, CLE

 +207

Kuenn, CLE

-159

Hamner, BRO

 +176

Michaels, LA

-145

Siebern, LA

 +172 

Roseboro, CHI

-138

Lopez, NYG

 +139

Bailey, LOU

-129

Colavito, SF     

 +100

Mays, WAS  

-126

Carrasquel, SF

 +94

Simpson, BRO      

-122

Maris, CLE

 +93

Adams, NYG  

-120

Ashburn, BRO     

 +93

 

 

PITCHING (Earned Run Average)
   The addition of pitcher-friendly ballparks in Los Angeles and Cleveland (where Muni replaces Boston's Fenway), is having an effect.  The league's ERA of 4.12 in the first half would be the lowest in league history were it maintained.  Three clubs have improved their pitching head and shoulders over the rest of the league: last year's pennant winners Brooklyn and Louisville, and the feel-good team of the summer, San Francisco.
   Brooklyn, which already had the league's best staff in '58 (3.78) has somehow shaved another run off its ERA (2.90), a comparable improvement to that of Louisville, which improved from 7th to 3rd in pitching, despite barely cracking .500 (39-38).  The Spiders owe there buck-and-a-quarter improvement to Porterfield and Blackwell -- the league's top tandem.
   At the south end of the table, an injury-riddled and underperforming Chicago staff is threatening the first 5+ ERA since 1956, and Cleveland's breakthrough year last year (in which they finished 2nd in pitching), is beginning to look like a fluke, as the Barons are back to 8th again.

ERA

1958

1959

Change
San Francisco   

4.72

3.36

 -136
Brooklyn

3.78

2.90

 -88
Louisville

4.47

3.67

 -80
Los Angeles

4.72

4.56

 -16
Detroit

4.22

4.13

 -9
St. Louis

4.26

4.22

 -4
New York

4.46

4.44

 -2
Washington

4.22

4.36

 +14
Cleveland

4.05

4.56

 +51
Chicago

4.48

5.03

 +55
League Total 4.34

4.12

 -22
       

Gross, DET

-2.80

McDermott, WAS

+3.08

Gorman, BRO

-2.22

Schultz, CHI

+3.07

Larsen, WAS

-2.08

Erskine, WAS

+2.55

Ditmar, CHI

-1.99

Law, WAS

+2.34

Hoeft, STL

-1.78

Face, CLE

+2.31

Garver, WAS

-1.67

Sanford, STL

+1.50

Conley, BRO

-1.60

Kucks, CHI

+1.43

Burdette, BRO

-1.30

Daley, CLE

+1.32

Porterfield, SF     

-1.08

Koufax, DET

+1.24

Wehmeier, LOU

-1.04

Kemmerer, CLE

+1.20
       

W E S T   D I V I S I O N

E A S T   D I V I S I O N

SAN FRANCISCO SPIDERS
 John Nellis

BROOKLYN SUPERBAS
 Glen Reed

BATTING (+62, 2nd): 
Better: Jim Lemon (+284), Rocky Colavito (+100), Chico Carrasquel (+94), Wes Covington (+89), Ted Kluszewski (+82), Ed Fitz Gerald (+78)
Worse: Eddie Bressoud (-105)
PITCHING (-1.36, 1st):
 Better: Bob Porterfield (-1.08), Ewell Blackwell (-0.68)
Worse: --
 

BATTING (-10, 6th): 
Better: Granny Hamner (+176), Richie Ashburn (+93)
Worse: Ralph Kiner (-194), Suitcase Simpson (-122), Bobby Brown (-71)
PITCHING (-0.88, 2nd):
 Better: Tom Gorman (-2.22), Gene Conley (-1.60), Lew Burdette (-1.30)
Worse: Dick Donovan (+0.79)
 

LOUISVILLE COLONELS
 Mark Allen

DETROIT GRIFFINS
 Sean Holloway

BATTING (-40, 9th): 
Better: --
Worse: George Kell (-241), Ed Bailey (-129), Hank Aaron (-54)
PITCHING (-0.80, 3rd):
 Better: Herm Wehmeier (-1.04)
Worse: --
 

BATTING (-7, 5th): 
Better: Jim Cunningham (+80)
Worse: Bobby Richardson (-54)
PITCHING (-0.09, 5th):
 Better: Don Gross (-2.80), Johnny Podres (-0.85)
Worse: Sandy Koufax (+1.24)
  

 

ST LOUIS MAROONS
 Tim Smith

   

CLEVELAND BARONS
 Charlie Qualls

BATTING (-20, 7th): 
Better: --
Worse: Dick Groat (-240), Gene Woodling (-111), Stan Musial (-98), Joe Garagiola (-60)
PITCHING (-0.04, 6th):
 Better: Billy Hoeft (-1.78), Billy Pierce (-0.94)
Worse: Jack Sanford (+1.50)
 
 

BATTING (-6, 4th): 
Better: Yogi Berra (+207), Roger Maris (+93)
Worse: Harvey Kuenn (-159), Gil Coan (-82)
PITCHING (+0.51, 9th):
 Better: Billy O'Dell (-0.72)
Worse: Roy Face (+2.31), Bud Daley (+1.32), Russ Kemmerer (+1.20), Larry Jansen (+0.51)
 
 

 

LOS ANGELES OUTLAWS
 Chris McCreight

NEW YORK GOTHAMS
Shawn Martin

BATTING (-34, 8th): 
Better: Norm Siebern (+172)
Worse: Cass Michaels (-145)
PITCHING (-0.16, 4th):
 Better: Hank Aguirre (-0.92)
Worse: Art Fowler (+1.03)
 

BATTING (+81, 1st): 
Better: Larry Doby (+329), Roy Sievers (+242), Hector Lopez (+139), Orlando Cepeda (+67)
Worse: Bobby Adams (-120), Joe Ginsberg (-58)
PITCHING (-0.02, 7th):
 Better: Bob Friend (-0.61), Ruben Gomez (-0.51)
Worse: Bob Hooper (+1.14)
 

 

   

CHICAGO COLTS
Lance Mueller

WASHINGTON MONUMENTS
 Steven Giovanelli

BATTING (-5, 3rd): 
Better: Ernie Banks (+54)
Worse: Johnny Roseboro (-138)
PITCHING (+0.55, 10th):
 Better: Art Ditmar (-1.99), Robin Roberts (-0.81)
Worse: Barney Schultz (+3.07), Johnny Kucks (+1.43)
 

BATTING (-128, 10th): 
Better: --
Worse: Willie Mays (-126), Hank Thompson (-81), Gil McDougald (-54)
PITCHING (+0.14, 8th):
 Better: Don Larsen (-2.08), Ned Garver (-1.67)
Worse: Mickey McDermott (+3.08), Carl Erskine (+2.55), Vern Law (+2.34)
 

  

L
E
A
G
U
E

L
E
A
D
E
R
S

 

BATTING AVERAGE

HOME RUNS

RBI

OPS

RUNS SCORED

Granny Hamner, BRO

.396

Dusty Rhodes, DET

.347

Hector Lopez, NYG

.344

Sandy Amoros, BRO

.343

Richie Ashburn, BRO

.340

*Chico Carrasquel, SF

.335

Bill Skowron, LOU

.325

Ernie Banks, CHI

.325

*Roberto Clemente, NYG

.324

*Nellie Fox, LOU

.322

 

 

Ernie Banks, CHI

18

Mickey Mantle, CHI

18

Gus Zernial, CHI

18

Wally Post, LOU

17

*Harmon Killebrew, SF

14

Eddie Mathews, CLE

14

Willie Mays, WAS

14

*Suitcase Simpson, BRO

14

*Yogi Berra, CLE

13

Larry Doby, NYG

13

Roger Maris, CLE

13

Ernie Banks, CHI

56

Larry Doby, NYG

55

Granny Hamner, BRO

54

Hobie Landrith, BRO

52

Gus Zernial, CHI

50

Willie Jones, STL

48

*Yogi Berra, CLE

47

*Roy Campanella, LA

46

*Mickey Mantle, CHI

46

   3 tied with

45

 

 

Granny Hamner, BRO

1.067

Ernie Banks, CHI

.962

Larry Doby, NYG

.948

Hector Lopez, NYG

.943

Eddie Mathews, CLE

.934

*Rocky Colavito, SF

.914

*Mickey Mantle, CHI

.911

Willie Mays, WAS

.909

*Richie Ashburn, BRO

.895

*Frank Robinson, LA

.884

 

 

NEW YORK

430

BROOKLYN

414

CLEVELAND

391

SAN FRANCISCO

388

ST. LOUIS

361

CHICAGO

359

DETROIT

353

LOS ANGELES

335

LOUISVILLE

323

WASHINGTON

287

 

 

EARNED RUN AVERAGE

WINS

STRIKEOUTS

RATIO

 RUNS ALLOWED

Gene Conley, BRO

1.64

*Tom Gorman, BRO

2.30

Johnny Antonelli, LOU

2.43

Lew Burdette, BRO

2.47

Billy Pierce, STL

2.60

Bob Porterfield, SF

2.64

Herm Wehmeier,LOU

3.03

Ewell Blackwell, SF

3.09

Don Mossi, BRO

3.12

Lou Brissie, LOU

3.33

 

 

Bob Porterfield, SF

15

Gene Conley, BRO

14

Ewell Blackwell, SF

13

Lew Burdette, BRO

13

Johnny Antonelli, LOU

10

Billy Pierce, STL

10

Pedro Ramos, DET

10

Herm Wehmeier, LOU 

10

Lou Brissie, LOU

9

   3 tied with

8

 

 

Johnny Antonelli, LOU

134

Bob Porterfield, SF

114

Billy Pierce, STL

113

Billy Loes, NYG

109

Gene Conley, BRO

107

Bob Friend, NYG 

106

Bob Purkey, NYG

92

Ewell Blackwell, SF

90

Pedro Ramos, DET

89

Hank Aguirre, LA

87

 

 

Gene Conley, BRO

8.0

Bob Porterfield, SF

9.4

Johnny Antonelli, LOU

9.6

Billy Pierce, STL

10.2

Lew Burdette, BRO

10.3

*Tom Gorman, BRO

10.3

Stu Miller, WAS

 10.4

Herm Wehmeier, LOU

10.5

Pedro Ramos, DET

10.6

Bob Friend, NYG

10.8

 

 

BROOKLYN

276

SAN FRANCISCO

295

LOUISVILLE

307

DETROIT

356

ST. LOUIS

368

WASHINGTON

373

CLEVELAND

404

LOS ANGELES

413

NEW YORK

414

CHICAGO

435

  

  

  

H
O
N
O
R

R
O
L
L

BATTER OF THE MONTH

 

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

MILESTONES

APR

Roger Maris, CLE

4/14

Roger Maris, CLE

7/7

   

Lew Burdette, BRO
100th win (6/27), #12T all-time
Bob Porterfield, SF
2,000 innings pitched (6/15), #4 all-time
Ernie Banks, CHI
3 HR in a game (6/19)
Rocky Colavito, SF
3 HR in a game (6/24)
Sandy Amoros, BRO
.326 career average, #2 all-time (debut)

MAY

Eddie Mathews, CLE

4/21

Gus Zernial, CHI

7/14

 

JUN

Rocky Colavito, SF

4/28

Roy Sievers, NYG

7/21

 

JUL

 

5/5

Richie Ashburn, BRO

7/28

 

AUG

   

5/12

Lou Brissie, LOU

8/4

 

SEP

   

5/19

Warren Hacker, STL

8/11

 

PITCHER OF THE MONTH

5/26

Ernie Banks, CHI

8/18

  

APR

Bob Porterfield, SF

6/2

Joe Cunningham, DET

8/25

   

MAY

Gene Conley, BRO

6/9

Gene Conley, BRO

9/1

  

JUN

Ewell Blackwell, SF

6/16

Dick Kokos, STL

9/8

  

JUL

   

6/23

Bob Purkey, NYG

9/15

  

AUG

  

6/30

Jim Lemon, SF

9/22

   

SEP

  

 

 

9/29

  
  
              UNITED LEAGUE CHAMPIONS  

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

CY YOUNG AWARD

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

1951

 ST. LOUIS MAROONS

  

1951

Ralph Kiner, DET

Sam Zoldak, STL

Jackie Jensen, LOU

1952

 WASHINGTON MONUMENTS

1952

Jackie Robinson, NYG

Larry Jansen, WAS

Stu Miller, WAS

1953

 WASHINGTON MONUMENTS

1953

Mickey Mantle, BOS

Stu Miller, WAS

Smoky Burgess, BRO

1954

 WASHINGTON MONUMENTS

1954

Stan Musial, STL

Billy Pierce, STL

Ed Bailey, LOU

1955

 BROOKLYN SUPERBAS

1955

Roy Campanella, LA

Tom Gorman, BRO

Gene Conley, BRO

1956

 WASHINGTON MONUMENTS

1956

Ralph Kiner, DET

Johnny Antonelli, LOU

Frank Robinson, LA

1957

 BROOKLYN SUPERBAS

1957

Granny Hamner, BRO

Gene Conley, BRO

Roger Maris, BOS

1958

 LOUISVILLE COLONELS

1958

Willie Mays, WAS

Carl Erskine, WAS

Orlando Cepeda, NYG