1960 PRESEASON PROGNOSIS

AMERICAN LEAGUE

West
Warwick Monarchs

The Monarchs are under new ownership in 1960 as the long
time manager has decided to retire due to health problems but this year’s
edition is top notch.  In second
sacker Nellie Fox and shortstop Ron Hansen they have a great keystone combo,
both offensively and defensively plus four full time outfielders who could each
start for almost any team in the league.
Add sluggers Joe Adcock and Harmon Killebrew at the infield corners and
you have a potent lineup.  Plus a
strong bench and a pitching staff that is the class of the division.  They have four pitchers (Drysdale, Sad
Sam Jones, Pappas & Larry Jackson) each of whom could win 15-20 games.  A top flight closer is missing but the
rest of the staff should be good enough, especially given the quality of the
starting crew.

Route 66 Hot Rods

The Rods’ manic trading is starting to pay off as they
may finally move into contention.
Frank Robinson and the Baby Bull Orlando Cepeda carry the big lumber although
one will have to play out of position as both are natural left fielders.  Norm Larker is poised for a big season
at first base and slick fielding Jim Landis holds down CF.  Luis Aparicio will play his usual
stellar SS and steal a few bases.
The pitching staff has some quality but not up to the level of the
Monarchs although Lindy McDaniel and Turk Farrell form the best one-two bullpen
punch in the league.

Rossville Hornets

The defending AL
champs could contend again this year but will need a falloff from the Monarchs.  Ernie Banks should again vie for the
home run crown and he is ably supported by outfielder Minnie Minoso, catcher
Del Crandall and first sacker Vic Wertz.
The walking man, Eddie Yost, holds down the hot corner.  The team suffers from a below average
outfield defense but the infield is decent.  On the mound veteran lefties Warren
Spahn and Billy Pierce will carry the biggest load but the rest of the starting
corps is spotty at best.  Roy Face
and Don Elston will log a lot of games out of the bullpen and help to offset
shortcomings of the starters.

Frankfort Fortress

The Forts or Farts as they are often called won 81 games in
1959 but might be hard pressed to repeat that number a year later.  The team could lead the league in homers
but an almost pathological aversion to the base on balls will mean that many
will come with the bases empty.
Sluggers Rocky Colavito and Jim Lemon could combine for 75-80 dingers
plus Gene Freese and Dick (Doctor Strangeglove)
Stuart could chip in with another 20 each.
The catching corps is represented by a cast of thousands, none of whom
can hit the ball very well.  The
team is strong on the mound with workhorses Jim Perry and Frank Lary plus
several other solid role players.
Bobby Shantz and Hank Aguirre are both port siders but they both will
contribute out of the pen.

East
Kenosa Lions

The team formerly known as the Southport Saints has adopted
a new moniker in 1960 despite a surprisingly good season in 1959 but it will be
a real accomplishment if they can duplicate last year’s 79 wins.   They start out with a very good keystone
combo in Pete Runnells and Maury Wills, who should challenge Aparicio for the
stolen base crown.  They also have a
decent outfield and a very good catching duo in veteran Smokey Burgess and
youngster Earl Battey.  However the defense is mediocre at best,
they lack home run power and the pitching staff is definitely below par.  Vern Law and Skinny Brown are two good
starters but the quality falls off fast after those two.  Way too many starts will go to the likes
of Jim Owens and Juan Pizzaro plus you have to look
long and hard for a reliable closer.

South
River Gladiators

The Glads have been a perennial contender and were in the
money last year until the Hornets caught fire in September but now it’s
1960 and their fortunes have fallen.
The outfield of Mays, Al Smith and Moon is solid and first sacker Bill
White is first rate.  Three catchers
will need to share time and might not hit a combined .200 between them.  Frank Thomas will pop a few home runs
from the hot corner but his fielding is suspect and he needs to get on base a
whole lot more.  On the mound they
lack a horse and will need to run a lot of bodies out to the hill in order to
get through the season, most of whom are far from All-Star quality.  However when they do get a late lead,
Johnny Klippstein should prove to be a capable
closer.

Goshen Aces

The Aces finished last in 1959 and look to repeat that feat
in 1960.  They have issues
offensively and the pitching staff is well below average.  On the plus side, Roy Sievers and Brooks
Robinson anchor the corners of the infield and Jerry Lumpe
is a decent second sacker but shortstop appears to be a serious problem.  They could move Lumpe
to short and play Gil McDougal most of the time at second but that is a stopgap
at best.  They do have four capable
starting pitchers but a quality bullpen is nowhere to be seen.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Los Angeles Surfers

After a disappointing 1959, the LA crew appears poised to
get back in contention although the Elephants and possibly the Bishops could
give them a run for their money.
The Mick seems to have come back in the off season from an injury
plagued 1959 and will contend once again for the home run crown.  Often times the Surfers will field an
entire lineup each capable of hitting 15-20 home runs.  Frank Malzone is a defensive wizard and
strong offensive contributor at third while Woodie Held is a power hitting
shortstop. Jim Bunning and Vinegar Bend Mizell lead
the mound staff while Robin Roberts needs to hold down his home runs allowed to
be a major contributor.  They also
have several other decent role players and Dave Sisler
should be a capable closer but the depth is thin and they can’t afford a
breakdown of any of the top pitchers.

Evanston Elephants

The Pachyderms have a superior infield defense, an excellent
outfield, a good bench and the best pitching staff in the league but they also
have two major flaws.  The first is
a dearth of left handed hitters as only three regulars hit from the port side
and the second is a serious lack of home run power; they could easily finish
last in the league in dingers.  Hank
Aaron is a good start to any lineup and even though he will be hard pressed to
duplicate his numbers from 1959 (a .351 BA) his power number should improve
from the 32 he hit last year.
Ritchie Ashburn is a stellar lead-off man and should draw well over 100
walks.  Dick Groat (poised for a
breakout season) and Billy Gardner are a solid keystone combo and the rest of
the lineup, except catcher is first rate.
On the mound they have three great starters in McCormick, Broglio & Friend with Ernie moonlighting as a
reliever.  The draft brought
impressive rookie Art Mahaffey and a trade standout closer Gerry Staley.  The big question is how much will the
lack of lefty hitting and power hold them back?

Salzburg Bishops

The defending SPB II champions return with a fine club but
will have to modestly overachieve plus the two teams above must falter in order
for them to repeat.  The team
batting average promises to be low but they do possess good power and on
base.  One interesting wrinkle is
that the Prelates have exactly the opposite problem of the Elephants; their
lineup is overwhelmingly left handed.  Teddy Ballgame will probably retire at
the end of the season and is looking for a bang up final season.  Slugger Eddie Mathews would like to
repeat his 58 home run season of 1959 although he might fall a little short.  The infield and outfield defense is not
that strong although the pitching staff is above average.  Their best starters won’t be able
to answer the bell every fourth or fifth day but they do have decent
depth.  Mike Fornieles promises to
be a top flight closer.

Lafayette Slims

The Slims were pitiful in 1959, winning only 61 games and
might even be able to approach .500 this year but asking for a lot more will be
difficult.  The team is good defensively
but lacks a big slugger although they do have a half dozen or so who could
reach double figure homers.  The
team leader is Roberto Clemente but Storming Norman Cash and Don Hoak will contribute along with defensive wizard Bill Mazeroski.  The
outfield sans Clemente is a constantly changing cast of characters, none of
whom is particularly impressive.
The pitching staff is OK but several of the better members have problems
with control especially Bob Buhl and Jack Sanford.  Stu Miller is the closest thing to a
decent reliever but the starters will fill in when they aren’t
starting.

Hampton Road Cruisers

Hampton Road
has some good power with Roger Maris, Hondo Howard & Moose Skowron but the
overall offense is no great shakes especially considering the team on base
doesn’t appear to be that good.
It would be no great feat for them to overtake the Slims but advancing any
further will be tough.  There is
some decent talent on the roster but they can’t all play at the same time
and manipulating them in and out of the lineup will be a real challenge.  On the mound they have some real
standouts like Whitey Ford and rookie Juan Marichal plus rubber armed Pedro
Ramos but other than those hurlers and swing man Chuck Stobbs
plus ace closer Jim “Ball Four” Brosnan, the rest of the staff
depth is thin.

Portland Beavers

The Beavers got all the way to 79 wins in 1959 but duplicating
that effort this year will be a real challenge.  They can hit the ball for average but
not out of the park and lack a good team on base average.  Ken Boyer is far and away the leader of
the offense but he lacks any big time support.  The infield defense is very good
although the catching corps is weak.
Flashy fielding Vic Power has good offensive stats, for a second baseman
that it, not a first sacker.  The keystone
combo is good defensively and decent at the plate.  There isn’t much quality in the
outfield which might rank as the weakest in the league.  Youngsters Chuck Estrada & Steve
Barber are good starters but have some control problems while veteran Ray
Herbert is top notch.  Ed Roebuck
and Larry Sherry are a good one-two punch out of the pen.  Beyond that crew the depth is thin.

Wabash Rivers

The former Minneapolis Lakers are under new ownership and
had a name change but the cellar dwellers of 1959 will probably end up there
again in the new season.  The
offense is weak and the pitching staff the worst in the league by far.  The outfield defense is strong unlike
the infield.  Ancient Stan Musial is
probably the team’s best player but advancing age will reduce his
availability.  The only other power
threat is catcher Johnny Romano and they will be close to the bottom in team
homers by season’s end.
Swingman Hoyt Wilhelm and seldom used Wes Stock might be the only
hurlers to finish the season with an ERA under 4.00.  Gary Ding Dong Bell and Johnny Buzhardt would be OK fourth or fifth starters on a good
team but they are the staff leaders here.
Wilhelm will do a decent job in the pen when he isn’t starting but
Katie Bar the Door after him as the rest of
the group would qualify more as arsonists rather than firemen.