Lead Story - 1/28/2021

Peters Dominates; Huck Finns Win Doda League World Series

Gary Peters continued his domination of just about everyone in the Carol Doda League playoffs with a complete game, shutout win to give the Championship to the Hannibal Huck Finns last night. Peters won two key games against the Tulsa Circuit Riders to get the Finns to the World Series and then proceeded to win two key games in the finals. The Finns offense was led by Rod Carew with three hits that plated half of the eight runs the Finns pushed across the plate against Tommy John and two relievers. John will hopefully schedule that much needed surgery before next season. After getting off on the wrong foot in Game One, the Swamp Turkeys made a game attempt to overtake the Huck Finns. But they could not solve Gary Peters. Congratulations are due the Turkeys for a fine season along with the other finalists, the Tulsa Circuit Riders, as well as the White Sox and Ramjets, whose teams played well all season long. The season had plenty of twists and turns, and did not conform always to expectations, which was a good thing for the Huck Finns who started slowly and only righted the ship in the final months of the season. Huck Finns management will celebrate by taking their wife for her Covid shot at the Giant Pharmacy in East Bumsquat, Maryland.

1/27/2021

Do-or-Die Turkeys Make It Look Easy

Game Six at Swaine Field was a tight pitchers duel heading into the seventh inning. Sonny Siebert had allowed eight base-runners until he was lifted with two outs in the sixth after he walked Art Shamsky. The Glass City manager ignored the percentages, bringing in lefty Steve Hamilton to face Gaston and Dietz, both right-handed batters. Then he brought in righty Bob Lee with two of the next three batters batting from the left side. But it worked and his use of fresh arms stood in sharp contrast to the actions by Lefty Leavengood an inning later. As the bottom of the seventh inning began, Stan Bahnsen had thrown ninety pitches and was trailing 1-0 . The first two batters he faced to reached on base hits. No response from the Finns' dugout. After Kaline popped out, Bob Robertson singled to make the score 2-0 and there were two runners on base and a single out. Bahnsen had thrown 100 pitches, but still no movement from the Finns' dugout. Johnny Edwards singled to load the bases. Bahnsen looked into the dugout expecting the hook. Many in the stands thought he looked gassed and was pleading for help. But none came. Tommy Harper singled to make the score 3-0. Still Bahnsen remained on the mound with only a single out to face Tommy Helms. Helms forced Lefty's hand with a bases-emptying triple. Behind 6-0, Lefty brought in Orlando Pena, who closed out the game without a hit. Darold Knowles and Dave "Snake Jazz" Baldwin finished the victory for the Swamp Turkeys. The convincing home field win by Glass City sets up a Game Seven Finale with Finns' ace Gary Peters likely to take the mound. It's been a roller coaster ride, but a fun Series and a helluva way to end the Carol Doda League season.

1/26/2021

Seaver Keeps Turkey Hopes Alive

Tom Seaaver did not allow a base runner until the fourth inning. Rod Carew walked and Tony Perez reached on an error, but Seaver shut the door with two key outs and it was perennial Huck Finn hero, Jim Northrup who got their first tally in the fifth, eventually bringing Cito Gaston in to score on a Ron Hansen sac fly. It was too little, too late as Hank Aaron had plated the second and winning run in the top of the fifth inning with a bloop single. It was all Seaver would need as Glass City went on to a 2-1 win to keep their playoff hopes alive and get them out of Hannibal ahead of the flood. All the Turkeys were hoping for from Game Five was a return ticket home and Seaver delivered the mail to a forwarding address at Swaine Field. "Ain't no socialist paradise at the Swamp," the crusty manager of the Turkeys opined after the win. "Them lefties got to make it on their talent," he continued. "We'll see what they're made of." The Huck Finns will take advantage of the long travel day before Game Six. They will make one last trip to the Swamp, where Hannibal will be pinning its hopes on Gary Peters for a last win and all the marbles.

1/25/2021

Huck Finns Squeeze Out Game Four Win Behind Northrup's Two-Run Triple

The Huck Finns jumped on Dave Boswell early for four runs in the first five innings and rode that outburst to a tense 4-3 win. Game Four was decided by a Tony Perez solo home run in the bottom of the fifth inning, but the Finns jumped all over Boswell in the fourth putting three on the board. But for a double-play in the middle of the rally, it could have been worse. Al Downing kept the Swamp Turkeys scoreless until the top of the eighth inning. To start the eighth, Downing struck out Rico Petrocelli, but Al Kaline followed with a sharp triple into the corner. Lefty Leavengood jumped out of the dugout and called on a bullpen well rested after Gary Peters complete game win the day before. Joe Horner gave up a single to Rusty Staub to plate the Turkey's first run. Lefty brought in his bullpen ace, Diego Segui, who struck out Harper and Pavletich to get out of the inning with the score 4-1 for the Finns. But the Glass City nine were not done. In the top of the ninth, backs to the wall, Tommy Helms led off with a single to send Segui to the showers. Bobby Murcer greeted Pete Richert with a double and Ken Tatum came in to face Hammerin' Hank Aaron. Aaron hung a clothes line rope to center field for a single that plated Helms to move the Turkeys closer, but still behind by 4-2. Ken Tatum struck out Petrocelli for the first out. Then Kaline hit a grounder that brought Murcer in, but forced Aaron at second for the second out. With the Finns still ahead by a single run, 4-3, Turkey manager Lerner, brought Johnny Callison in to pinch-run for Kaline. The fans at Becky Thatcher Field had been on their feet the entire inning, but their cheers had died to nothing. They erupted in joy when Rusty Staub grounded out to end the game, giving Tatum a hard-earned save. The Turkeys will need to win all three of the remaining contests. It's a tall order, but strange things happen when the World Series is on the line.

1/24/2021

Peters Lifts Huck Finns to World Series Game Three Win

Gary Peters has pitched so many big games for Hannibal since the playoffs began. Pointing to any one and saying it was the gem of the Carol Doda League season was impossible. But last night's two-hit, complete game win against the best team in the league, in the highest stakes game of the year, that one was an absolute masterpiece. In the post-game interview, Finns owner-manager, "Lefty" Leavengood, insisted that he anticipated the Turkeys going to a southpaw at Becky Thatcher Field. Leavengood's Finns lineup pounded Tommy John for 12 hits and six runs, more than enough for Peters to prevail. "Tommy may need surgery," Lefty said after the game, dumping ash from his Cuban cigar into the reporter's shirt pocket. "We've got better left-handed pitching than he does," he continued during the lengthy interview, opining that he may have found the Achilles heel in the Turkey's armor. "Bring us another chump lefty," Leavengood bragged. "We're hungry!" Such bravado may prove short-sighted if it rouses the Turkeys from their slumber. The Swampers are still the favorites, but they need to win one at Thatcher Field to get back to home turf. Game Four should be a spirited one.

1/23/2021

Hank Aaron's Legacy

It was fitting that Hammerin' Hank delivered the game-winning run for the Swamp Turkeys in Game Two of the Carol Doda League World Series. Hank died yesterday and joined many greats who passed away this year, such as Bob Gibson, Al Kaline and others. Aaron's loss will be the greatest loss of them all. He broke Babe Ruth's home run record that many believed would never be broken. For baseball purists, the record is still his. But Aaron was so much more than a home run hitter. His lifetime batting average is .305 and he was a fine defensive outfielder. He is considered by many one of the greatest hitters in the game, alongside Ruth, Willie Mays, and Ted Williams. The racial animus he endured in the run up to his 715th home run was one of the ugliest things baseball has ever seen. He endured it, but never got over it, and yet became a civil rights spokesperson after his retirement. He will be missed, though the Swamp Turkeys will no doubt continue to play him in the three or four hole for the rest of the World Series. They tied the Series at a game apiece behind Sonny Seibert's six plus innings of shutout baseball. Game Three will be in Hannibal at Becky Thatcher Field after a travel day.

1/22/2021

Turkeys Throw Out Broom; Remain World Series Favorites

Dave McNally allowed ten base runners but only a single run. Tony Perez had three hits, one of which went out of the park. Rod Carew had two hits, one of which went out of the park. They did it against a very good pitcher and the Turkey Roster managed to dent McNally, but not overwhelm him. Taken together, Game One of the World Series looks like a microcosm of the Huck Finn's late season surge: good pitching that did not break, and just enough offense to win. One cannot help but be reminded of the Tortoise and the Hare. The Game One win by the Finns negates home field advantage for the moment and the Hare has to be looking at the tortoise askance, wondering how long can he keep this up? Game Two will tell the "tale."

1/21/2021

Finns Advance to World Series With Game Seven Win

In between Gary Peters winning efforts in Game Three for the Huck Finns in Hannibal, and the final win in Game Seven in Tulsa, the Circuit Riders had won three straight and choke was the word of the day as the game began. But Peters beat Andy Messersmith just as he had in Game Three, behind a ten-hit attack that included a go-ahead home run from Art Shamsky in the top of the fifth inning. Peters went eight innings in picking up the win, allowing only two earned runs. Rod Carew and Tony Perez each had two hits for Hannibal, with Perez knocking in two. The win puts the Huck Finnns into the World Series, where the upstarts from Hannibal will go up against the regular season champions, the Glass City Swamp Turkeys. The Turkeys will be heavily favored and well rested. But the Finns have battled adversity and long odds all season long, so it should be an interesting battle for Carol Doda League bragging rights.

1/19/2021

Take Me Back to Tulsa

The Circuit Riders weren't singing hymns in the clubhouse last night, no, it was countless refrains of Bob Wills' "Take Me Back to Tulsa." And that is where the Sixth Game of the semi-final series will be played after a a less than biblical "day of rest." The Huck Finns had nine base runners, but only a single run to show for it and lost by a score of 2-1.. Circuit Rider ace, Don Wilson was the winner with help from Ken Sanders and Dick Hall. Freddy Patek's bases-loaded double in the top of the second inning was all Wilson needed as Tulsa cruised to the win. Momentum is shifting in the series after the Finns rushed out to a three games to naught lead with two to play in the home confines of Hannibal. But they can say goodbye to the advantages of Becky Thatcher field. The series remains a must win situation for Riders, but so far they have found a way.

1/18/2021

Swamp Turkeys Continue to Forage on Doda League Foes

Look at the picture. It's a swamp turkey. If you see it as one of nature's great predators, there is a hotline from which you obtain mental health services. Similarly, if you examine the Swamp Turkeys roster and then look at their record in the Carol Doda League, you may want to call that number again. How the hell do they do it? After several electro shock sessions, I began to make sense of the ink blots. Hank Aaron, Al Kaline, Tom Seaver, all first ballot Hall of Famers. Other teams have some of that, but not quite as much. They have a strong supporting cast--Rico Petrocelli's 37 long balls earned him All Star honors, but it is the pitching that has made the Swamp Turkeys into the best team in the League heading into the World Series. After Tom Seaver, Sonny Siebert and Dave Boswell have been among the better pitchers in the league. Boswell is perhaps best known for beating Billy Martin's fists with his face until Boswell was hospitalized. Martin won by a knockout, but it is Boswell punching above his weight that has helped put the Turkeys over the top with thirteen wins and a 3.03 ERA for the Turkeys. The bullpen is probably the best in the league. All in all, there just aren't many weak spots to go after. Whether it is the Circuit Riders or the Huck Finns that nab the other slot in the World Series, they have their work cut out. Will they win a game is the operative question. Only the CPU knows for sure.

1/12/2021

Never Count the Bus Babes Out

Tony Cloninger and Jim Lonborg were the starting pitchers in the deciding game of the first round contest between the Wilmington Bus Babes and the Hawaiian Eruptions yesterday. Both pitchers left it all on the diamond and exited for the showers with the score knotted at two runs apiece as the score board moved to the ninth inning. Bus Babes manager Ken Voytek summoned reliever Minne Rojas into the ninth inning and the hard luck pitcher reached down into his bag of tricks to put up a goose egg. As Rojas came down the dugout steps, his team mates yelled with delight and pounded him on the back, knowing that his story has been so much the story of the Bus Babes team itself. Rojas languished in the Mexican League for much of the decade after he fled army service in Cuba. He never thought he would get a chance, but owner/manager Voytek, on a scouting trip to Quauhnahuac--looking for the prefect Mescal--saw Rojas pitching in a drug-induced haze. Voytek claimed after the game that he saw yesterday's playoff win in a vision he had a year earlier, when he and Hall of Fame broadcaster Jim Brockmire, were in Mexico on a "scouting trip." Unable to remember the particulars of the vision, Voytek called the broadcast booth to get advice from Brockmire. Brockmire said one word, "Clendenon," Voytek called the right-handed part of his first base platoon off the bench to pinch hit for Willie Davis. There was one out in the bottom of the ninth, when Clendenon milked a walk, and then stole second to get into scoring position for the last arrow in Voytek's quiver, pinch-hitter Johnny Bateman, a backup catcher hitting a lusty .230. But like every other move Voytek made, this one was magic. Bateman brought Clendenon in to score the winning run in one of the most improbable wins of the Carol Doda League season. Asked about the wild win after the game, Voytek said, "Brockmire and I were under the volcano in Mexico. We thought we were done for but we had a vision and we have been following it." How long can it last? Stay tuned for the second round when the Bus Babes take on the highly touted White Sox in Commiskey Park, where visions go to die.