1929 Nyquist Trophy Series
Game One: Sacramento 7, Oakland 6 at Sacramento, Tue., Oct. 8, 1929
Sacramento’s Willie Foster (25-10, 2.47) squared off against Oakland’s Bill Holland (22-12, 3.00); both hurlers were coming off impressive campaigns and both were proven postseason winners, but Game One was no pitchers’ duel. The Solons grabbed the early advantage in the bottom of the opening frame when first baseman Dolph Camilli singled home center fielder Cristobal Torriente, but the lead was short-lived. The Oaks struck for two in the second and four in the third, with third baseman Johnny Vergez collecting RBI-doubles in both innings. Down 6-1, the Solons came to life in the bottom of the third, plating four runs as Camilli and catcher Frank Duncan each drove in a pair apiece. Sacramento tied it in the fifth on second baseman John Monroe’s solo shot off Holland, and the game remained knotted until the home half of the tenth, when Duncan doubled home Camilli to give Foster a shaky but satisfying complete game victory.
Game Two: Oakland 6, Sacramento 4 at Sacramento, Wed., Oct. 9, 1929
Game Two pitted the Oaks’ Andy Cooper (20-15, 3.96) against the Solons’ Ray Keating (10-9, 3.21). The Acorns got to Keating right away as right fielder Buzz Arlett singled home left fielder Tom Oliver in the first, and then added on in the following frame when Cooper singled home Vergez for a 2-0 lead. The Solons closed the gap in the third on a Monroe RBI-double but Oakland immediately answered in the fourth, with an RBI-double by center fielder Frenchy Uhalt and another run-scoring single by Cooper. Sacramento would get as close as 5-3 and 6-4, but when the dust settled Cooper was the man of the hour, with a complete game victory and a 3-for-4, 2-RBI day at the plate.
Game Three: Oakland 10, Sacramento 7 at Oakland, Thu., Oct. 10, 1929
As the series shifted to the East Bay, ex-Solon Script Lee (17-9, 3.12) took the hill for Oakland while ex-Oak Chippy Britt (13-6, 3.40) got the nod for Sacramento. Britt found his former stomping grounds inhospitable from the start, as the Oaks pounded him for five first-inning runs, highlighted by catcher Ernie Lombardi’s three-run blast; it was 8-1 when Britt was finally relieved by Ray Keating with one out in the third. Keating and Roy Joiner combined for 5 2/3 effective innings to allow the Solons to amount a modicum of a comeback and chase Lee after seven, but Pete Daglia’s shutout eighth and ninth preserved the home team’s victory and gave the Oaks a 2-1 series edge.
Game Four: Oakland 8, Sacramento 7 at Oakland, Fri., Oct. 11, 1929
Holland opposed Foster again, and again the two aces found the going tough. The Oaks took a 2-0 advantage in the first but the Solons countered with a pair in the third, then took the lead on Monroe’s run-scoring ground out in the fourth. The Oaks came back in the bottom of the frame, tying it 3-3 on second baseman Jimmie Reese’s two-out RBI-single. Holland ran into real trouble in the seventh, yielding an RBI-triple to right fielder Charlie Smith and a two-run homer to Camilli; he left trailing by three with a man on first and no outs. Daglia took the call to the bullpen and got Duncan to pop into a double play on a sacrifice attempt, killing the rally. The Acorns were able to close it to 6-5 in the seventh on a fielder’s choice and an RBI-single by Arlett, but the Solons added an insurance run in the eighth on a run-scoring single by Torriente. Foster was on the verge of getting the Solons even in the series when he retired the first two batters in the ninth, but Oliver drew a two-out base on balls, first baseman Jud Wilson doubled, and Arlett launched a three-run game-wining blast over the left field wall to put the Oaks within one win of the title.
Game Five: Sacramento 4, Oakland 2 at Oakland, Sat., Oct. 12, 1929
Two Bay Area products, the Solons’ Tony Freitas (11-7, 3.61) and the Oaks’ Monte Pearson (10-9, 3.70) shared center stage. Although both were 21-year-old-rookies, they had enough poise to lock into the only real pitchers’ duel of the series. Pearson looked a little wet behind the ears when he gave up three second inning runs on a run-scoring single by shortstop Frank Warfield, a run-scoring groundout by Monroe, and an RBI-single by Smith, but the Oaks plated runs in the third and fourth to close the gap to 3-2. Freitas at one point retired eleven in a row, and Pearson retired seven straight once and six straight another time, and the two youngsters traded scoreless frames back and forth until the Solons added an insurance run in the eighth on Warfield’s second RBI-single of the day. Freitas’ crisp nine-hit, one-walk, one-earned-run complete-game performance extended the series enough to give the Solons at least one more home game.
Game Six: Sacramento 10, Oakland 2 at Sacramento, Sun., Oct. 13, 1929
Game Two winner Cooper took the hill for the Oaks in their second attempt to close out the series as Howard Craghead (14-4. 4.19) tried to keep the Solons alive. Oakland struck first, plating a first-inning tally on back-to-back doubles by Wilson and Arlett, but the Solons took a 3-1 lead in the third on a two-run single by left fielder Myril Hoag and an RBI-single by Duncan. They added a fourth-inning run and broke the game open with three runs in an ugly fifth inning that saw Arlett commit two errors in right field. The Solons scored in five consecutive innings, the final blow being Warfield’s two-run seventh-inning triple, and the 10-2 laugher earned them a coveted Game Seven at home.
Game Seven: Oakland 10, Sacramento 1 at Oakland, Mon., Oct. 14, 1929
Oaks’ skipper Carl Zamloch chose Lee as his starter, keeping ace Holland at the ready in case relief work was required, while the Solons’ Buddy Ryan opted to ride his #1 horse, Foster. Ryan may have experienced regret immediately; shortstop Lyn Lary led off the game with a home run, and the Oaks scored again in the inning on an RBI-double by Arlett. Lary struck again in the second, driving home Uhalt on a two-out single, but the Solons showed life in the bottom of the frame as Duncan’s sacrifice fly made it 3-1. The game remained tight until the fifth. Lary drew a one-out walk, Oliver singled, and Wilson tripled them both home to make it 5-1. Arlett followed with an RBI-single and was doubled home by Lombardi, who scored on Reese’s two-out base hit. Up 8-1, the Oaks put their faith in Lee, who allowed just three more hits and no runs the rest of the way, cementing Oakland’s second title in four years.
Update: 10/7/1929
Sacramento (93-61) beat Oakland (92-62) four times in six tries to zip past the Oaks and win the regular season title by one game. The Solons will host the Oaks in Game One of the Championship Series on Tuesday.
Third-place Hollywood (88-66) lost four of six to Los Angeles (87-67) but the Stars’ two victories enabled them to finish a game ahead of the fourth-place Angels. Portland (71-83) took four of seven from Seattle (61-93) while Mission (66-88) took five of six from San Francisco (58-96). The Stars finished five games out of first, the Angels finished six games back, the Beavers 22 games back, the Bells 27 games back, the Rainiers 32 games back, and the Seals 35 games back.
Los Angeles’ Satchel Paige won the pitching Triple Crown for the second year in a row. Paige’s 2.00 ERA bested Sacramento’s Willie Foster (2.47) and Oakland’s Bill Holland (3.00). His 29 victories topped Foster (25) and Hollywood’s Nip Winters (24), while his 274 strikeouts (a new league record) easily outdistanced Foster (176) and Winters (153). Page also set a new single-season record with 8 shutouts.
Joe Cronin of Sacramento, out with an injury since mid-August, sat in street clothes while his .366 average held up to earn him his first league batting title. Just a hair behind him were his teammate Pete Scott and San Francisco’s Lefty O’Doul, who both hit .365. Wally Berger of Los Angeles led the loop in home runs with 58, a new league record. He was followed by teammate Turkey Stearnes (37) and Hollywood’s Earl Averill (32). Berger also set a new RBI record with 179, followed by Stearnes (135) and Hollywood’s John Beckwith (133). Mission’s Cool Papa Bell topped the league in stolen bases for the seventh consecutive season, swiping 87 while Lyn Lary of Oakland stole 44 and Tony Lazzeri of Hollywood pilfered 38.
Update: 9/30/1929
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Stearnes | |
With one week to play, four teams remain in contention for the two postseason berths. Oakland (90-58) leads Sacramento (89-59) by a game, while Hollywood (86-62) trails the second-place Solons by four and Los Angeles (83-65) trails Sacramento by six. The Angels need divine intervention to advance; they'll need to sweep the Stars while the Oaks sweep the Solons; even that only gets them to a tie with Sacramento. For the Stars, it’s a little more plausible, but they’ll probably need at least five wins against the Angels and five wins by either the Oaks or Solons. While Oakland and Sacramento would each like to claim first place, even a split works well for both of them.
Turkey Stearnes of Los Angeles is the Player of the Week. The right fielder hit .565 with three home runs, six runs batted in, and six runs scored. Stearnes is hitting .343 for the season with 32 home runs (good for second in the league) and 122 RBI (good for third).
Update: 9/23/1929
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Mackey | |
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Neither Oakland (88-54) nor Sacramento (85-57) have clinched anything yet, but with the games left to be played dwindling and their respective leads over their closest pursuer increasing, the Oaks and Solons are looking increasingly likely to square off against one another in this year’s Championship Series. both teams merely played break-even ball this week, but with Hollywood (82-60) dropping four of six, the Stars’ chances are looking dim at this point. Hollywood trails Oakland by six and Sacramento by three. Los Angeles (80-62) is hanging by a thread, eight behind the Oaks and five behind the Solons. All four first-division teams have twelve games left on the schedule.
The Player of the Week was Seattle catcher Biz Mackey, who hit .536 with a home run, eight runs batted in, and nine runs scored. Mackey is hitting .336.
Los Angeles’ Wally Berger has broken the league’s single-season RBI record; his 160 is one more than Tony Lazzeri’s 159 in 1925. Berger needs one home run to tie Lazzeri’s 1923 record of 53.
Update: 9/16/1929
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Rose | |
Oakland (85-51) looks like a team on a mission, winning five this week and losing just one. The Oaks increased their lead over every other team in the league; they now lead Sacramento (82-54) by three, Hollywood (80-56) by five, and Los Angeles (76-60) by nine.
Portland (61-74) has been out of the race for months, but it hasn’t been a bad campaign for some of the Beavers, like center fielder Oscar Charleston, who’s third in the league in hitting at .362, or pitcher Larry French, who has come into his own as a reliable rotation starter, posting a 15-11 record and a 3.70 ERA. Outfielder Eddie Rose, acquired during the off-season from Mission, is getting a chance to play more than he ever has in his four-year career, and he’s making the most of the opportunity. With a .524 average, three home runs, and six runs batted in, Rose earned the Player of the Week award. In 85 games he’s hit .346, making a strong case to become a full-time starter.
Update: 9/9/1929
Wally Berger of Los Angeles (73-56) hit eight home runs this week, raising his season’s total to 48, just five shy of Tony Lazzeri’s league record of 53, set in 1923 when he was a member of the Salt Lake City Bees. With a .423 average and 14 runs batted in, Berger was an easy choice for Player of the Week. His 150 RBI is also approaching a league record, also held by Lazzeri, who drove in 159 for the Bees in 1925.
Unfortunately for the Angels, Berger’s phenomenal performance didn’t help them make much headway in the pennant race; winning four and losing three this week they’re still four games out of second and six-and-a-half games out of first. Hollywood and Sacramento (both 77-52) also won four and lost three this week, so Oakland (80-50), who split eight games, lost a half-game in the standings to all three of the teams chasing them.
The Oaks finish up against Seattle today and tomorrow, then travel to Portland. Hollywood is at Sacramento for three more games, then the Stars go home to host Mission while the Solons host Seattle. The Angels will play three more at home against the Bells, then travel to San Francisco to face the Seals.
Update: 9/2/1929
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Boone | |
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Oakland (76-46) is rolling; winners of eight straight, the Oaks have opened up a three-game lead over Hollywood and Sacramento (both 73-49). Los Angeles (69-53) had a seven-game winning streak of their own before bowing to the Solons on Sunday; the Angels’ recent warm spell put them within four games of second place, making it more or less a four-team race now with a little over a month to play.
The curious phenomenon of a team failing to win a game all week while producing the week’s standout performer has occurred for the second time this season. This time around it was Mission’s Ike Boone who starred in spite of his teammates’ struggles. Boone hit .542 with four home runs, eleven runs batted in, and nine runs scored while the Bells lost four games to Los Angeles and two to Hollywood. The slugging left fielder is hitting .322 for the year, with 15 home runs and 76 RBI.
Update: 8/26/1929
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Jolley | |
Hollywood (70-46) entered the week in third place, a game behind Oakland and two games behind Sacramento. With their next ten games coming against those two clubs, the opportunity to take command of the race was theirs for the taking. So far, so good; the Stars took three of five against the Oaks and beat the Solons in the first game of their five-game set. That, coupled with Sacramento’s (69-47) four losses in five games to Los Angeles (64-52), has the Stars in a first-place tie with Oakland (70-46), one game ahead of the Solons. The Angels are six back.
San Francisco (44-72) remains in the cellar, but they’re working on getting out. They swept Seattle (44-71) before bowing to Portland (52-63) on Sunday, and now trail the Rainiers by just a half-game. The Seals were led by Player of the Week Smead Jolley, who hit .667 with three home runs and nine runs batted in. This has not been one of Jolley’s better campaigns, but the hot streak put his average over .300 (.302) for the year, and he’s now just one home run shy of hitting at least 20 for the third time in four years.
Update: 8/19/1929
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Bell | |
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Nothing has changed since last week for the top three teams in the league, as Sacramento (68-42), Oakland (67-43), and Hollywood (66-44) all won four and lost two, so the Solons still lead the Oaks by a game and the Stars by two. Fourth-place Los Angeles (59-51), however, has fallen deeper into the hole, and now trails the Solons by nine.
Mission (47-63) is 21 games out and clearly not going anywhere this year, but the Bells put together a winning 4-2 week at the expense of seventh-place Seattle (44-65), led by their star center fielder, Cool Papa Bell. Bell hit .533 to raise his season’s average to .325. As usual, he’s tops in the loop in stolen bases, with 51, 20 more than anyone else in the league.
The race for the batting title is as close as the race for first place. Sacramento’s Joe Cronin and San Francisco’s Lefty O’Doul are neck-and-neck at .366 (technically Cronin has the edge at .36635 to O’Doul’s .36631) while Portland’s Oscar Charleston is a hair behind them at .365. The other triple crown categories seem uncontested right now, with Los Angeles’ Wally Berger leading in home runs (37) and runs batted in (116) by comfortable margins. Berger has out-homered his closest competition by 11 while driving in 13 more runs than anyone else.
Update: 8/12/1929
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O’Doul | |
It’s been an extremely disappointing season for San Francisco (37-67). After making a Championship Series appearance last year, the club is now mired in the cellar, and even seventh place is looking like a difficult reach, with the Seals now five-and-a-half games behind Seattle. And things aren’t exactly looking up: they’ve lost six seven straight. Amid all this futility, left fielder Lefty O’Doul is nevertheless enjoying a fine campaign. His .364 batting average is good enough for third in the league and just a hair behind Portland’s Oscar Charleston (.368) and Sacramento’s Joe Cronin (.366). Although the Seals didn’t win a game all week, O’Doul was the Player of the Week, hitting .480 with a pair of home runs and six runs batted in.
On the other side of fortune, the team that just swept the Seals, Sacramento (64-40), is rolling. It was in fact the Solons’ second sweep in a row, and their 11-game winning streak has catapulted them into first place, a game ahead of Oakland (63-41) and two games ahead of Hollywood (62-42). Los Angeles (57-47) has fallen to seven games off the pace, so for now the battle for two postseason berths seems to be between three teams. With about fifty games left, the final third of the campaign has begun.
Update: 8/5/1929
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Scott | |
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Hollywood (60-38) and Oakland (60-38) each won five of six to stay knotted at the top of the standings, while third-place Sacramento (58-40) kept pace to stay within two games. Los Angeles (54-44) managed a winning week but it wasn't enough to avoid losing ground to the leaders. The Angels won one fewer game than the top three teams and are now six games out.
Sacramento's Pete Scott, acquired from Hollywood a little over two months ago, is doing everything he can to make the Stars regret the trade. Scott has hit .360 as a Solon and took Player of the Week honors this week with a sizzling .478, 2-home run, 9-RBI performance. He’s at .368 for the season.
The Angels’ Satchel Paige won his 20th game, a 7-hit shutout over Portland. It was his 6th shutout of the year. Paige, the winner of the pitching Triple Crown last season as a rookie, is leading in all three categories again this year with 20 victories, a 1.93 ERA, and 195 strikeouts.
Update: 7/29/1929
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Baker | |
Oakland (55-37) has caught Hollywood (55-37) for the top spot. The Oaks won five of six this week and 17 of 25 this month. Not that the Stars have been lollygagging—they’ve posted a 16-9 record this month—but they played .500 ball this week and that wasn’t enough to fend off the surging Acorns.
The league’s hottest team at the present, though, is third-place Sacramento (53-39), who fashioned a perfect 6-0 week to close the gap to two games. Not so successful was fourth-place Los Angeles, who won only twice in six games against second-division clubs and fell five games off the pace.
Portland infielder Lonny Baker is the Player of the Week. Baker hit a blistering .647 with two home runs and seven runs batted in. The 24-year-old Roseburg, Oregon native is hitting .287 for the year.
Update: 7/22/1929
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Smith | |
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Charles “Chino” Smith of Sacramento tore up opposing pitchers this week, going 11-for-22 (.500) with two home runs and 12 runs batted in. Smith missed all of May and June with a broken wrist but he’s hitting .384 in July and .366 overall.
Smith’s heroics weren’t enough to propel the Solons (47-39) to a winning week, however; the club won three and lost three and fell further behind second-place Oakland (50-36). The Oaks continued their winning ways, with four victories in six games, and in so doing gained a game on Hollywood (52-34), Los Angeles (48-38), and Sacramento. The Stars lead the Oaks by two games, the Angels by four, and the Solons by five. With fifth-place Mission (39-47) a distant 11 games behind the Oaks, it’s looking very much like a four-team race.
Update: 7/15/1929
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Wingo | |
San Francisco’s Al Wingo hasn’t logged a whole lot of playing time this season, but that may be about to change. Wingo, who was acquired by the Seals from the Boston Braves this off-season, suffered a back injury during opening week, and has had to pick his spots since returning to duty. This week he played about as well as anybody possibly can, hitting safely in 13 of his 15 at-bats for an astounding .867 average, adding four home runs, 10 runs scored, and 15 runs batted in to his ledger. He’s played four games in a row without being retired. Wingo is hitting .330 for the season.
Hollywood (49-31) has taken over first place, and by defeating Los Angeles (45-35) five times in a row (and seven times in eight meetings), the Stars have dropped the Angels into third place. Oakland (46-34) took advantage of the Halos’ slide and surged into second place, downing Sacramento (44-36) six times in their last eight games. The Stars lead the Oaks by three, the Angels by four, and the Solons by five.
Update: 7/8/1929
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Cronin | |
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We’re just shy of the halfway point, and three teams are within a game of the top spot, with a third team just three games out. Hollywood and Los Angeles (both 44-30) remain tied for first, with Sacramento (43-31) trailing by a game.
The Stars began the week with three wins over Mission (34-40), but a doubleheader loss to the Bells on Thursday dropped them two games behind the Angels, who completed a six-game sweep of San Francisco (29-45) the same day. Undaunted, the Stars erased the deficit by beating the Angels in the first two games of the rivals’ annual mid-season clash. They’ll play each other eight more times over the next nine days.
Meanwhile the third-place Solons kept the pressure on, winning four in a row over Seattle before dropping the second game of a Thursday doubleheader. The Solons then split their first two meetings with Oakland (41-33), who played .500 ball this week, thus falling into fourth place. The Oaks will have a chance to turn the tables on the Solons over the next week-and-a-half.
To do so they’ll probably have to cool down shortstop Joe Cronin, whose .438 average and ten runs batted in earned him Player of the Week accolades. Cronin’s .363 average places him fourth in the league, while his 66 RBI are good enough for third-best.
Update: 7/1/1929
It’s a tight four-team race as we enter July. Hollywood (39-28) and Los Angeles (39-28) are tied for first, with Oakland (38-29) and Sacramento (38-29) hot on their heels, a game back. The Solons deserve much of the credit for creating the logjam at the top, as they defeated the Stars four times in the clubs’ five meeting before capping off the week with a win over Seattle (29-38). Meanwhile the Oaks were taking five of six from Portland (26-41) and Seattle while the Angels were taking four of six from San Francisco (29-39) and Mission (31-36). A lot could change with a little over half a season to play, but right now it’s looking very much like a tale of first division clubs and second division clubs.
Wally Berger of the Angels had a week to remember, hitting .591 with five home runs and 13 runs batted in. Berger has taken over the league lead in both categories, with 21 home runs and 69 RBI.
Update: 6/24/1929
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Averill | |
Hollywood (37-24) started the week by beating San Francisco (27-34) for the fifth time in a row and then traveled across the Bay to meet the league’s other red-hot team, Oakland (33-28). The Oaks got the better of the front-running Stars, beating them three out of five. Both teams are 14-6 in June. The Stars remain in first place, two games ahead of Los Angeles (35-26), while the Oaks are now tied for third place with Sacramento (33-28), four games out of first.
Hollywood’s Earl Averill is the Player of the Week after hitting .480 over the last seven days. Averill is fifth in the league at .354. The batting lead has changed frequently of late. Turkey Stearnes of the Angels led three weeks ago, but he’s now in third place at .364. Two weeks ago the Seals’ Dick Lundy was on top; now he’s second best at .373. This week the leader is Mission’s Martín Dihigo, who’s hitting .379.
Update: 6/17/1929
Hollywood (34-21) dropped their first two games this week but roared back to take the next four, and that was enough to lift the Stars into sole possession of first place. It was another week of mostly splitting for the rest of the league, as second-place Los Angeles (33-22), third-place Sacramento (30-25), fifth-place Mission (27-28), sixth-place Seattle (24-31), and eight-place Portland (19-36) all won three and lost three. Fourth-place Oakland (29-26) kept pace with the Stars, while San Francisco (24-31) suffered a 1-5 showing to drop into a sixth-place tie with the Rainiers.
Mission’s Martín Dihigo has been named Player of the Week for the second time this season. Now concentrating entirely on playing the infield (mostly third base, but some second and first as well), the 24-year-old Cuban hit a crisp .560 this week with three home runs, ten runs scored, and eleven runs batted in. He’s third in the league in batting at .376 and fourth in homers with 10.
Update: 6/10/1929
John Beckwith is the Player of the Week for the second week in a row, and his Hollywood Stars (30-19) have caught and tied city rival Los Angeles (30-19) for first place. Beckwith hit .577 with four home runs, 12 runs scored and 11 runs batted, a performance that puts him in the league lead in homers (16), runs (50), hits (75), total bases (141), and slugging percentage (684). He’s second (one off the lead) in RBI with 49. Obviously Beckwith was a major contributor to the Stars’ 5-1 record this week.
The Angels were perhaps due for a bad stretch and last-place
Portland (16-33) was certainly due for a good one, so the Beavers’
victories in the first three games of their series may not have
raised too many eyebrows. The Halos won the next two and can earn
a split in today’s finale. Third-place Sacramento (27-22) split
six games, while Oakland (25-24) won four and lost two to take
over fourth place, five games behind the leaders. Mission (24-25)
is in fifth, San Francisco (23-26) is in sixth and Seattle (21-28)
is in seventh.
Update: 6/3/1929
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Beckwith | |
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Los Angeles (27-16) has looked every bit the champion the past four weeks; the Angels, 11-10 on the morning of May 8, have gone 16-6 since and now hold a two-game lead over the two second place clubs, Hollywood and Sacramento (both 25-18). The Stars were perfect this week, beating Seattle (20-23) last Monday and following up with five straight victories over Portland (13-30), allowing them to catch up to the Solons, who began the week with three consecutive losses and finished it with four consecutive wins.
The Stars’ John Beckwith is the Player of the Week. The slugging first baseman hit for the cycle against the Beavers on Thursday, and finished the week with a .583 average, four home runs, and 13 runs batted in. “Beck” is now tied for the league lead in round-trippers with 12 and is second in RBI with 38. He’s hitting .333.
Mission and Oakland are tied for fourth place with identical 21-22 records, six games out of first. San Francisco and Seattle are a game worse, and Portland, already 14 games out of first and losers of eight straight, may already be looking towards next season.
Update: 5/27/1929
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Dihigo | |
Martín Dihigo of Mission is the Player of the Week. Dihigo, a dual-threat who’s been pitching in addition to playing third base this year, is making a greater contribution on the offensive side, and it is for his hitting prowess that he earns this week’s top honor. He hit .542 with two home runs and five runs batted in, raising his season mark to .355. He also has seven home runs, 32 runs scored, and 25 RBI. On the mound, Dihigo is 0-4 with a 4.96 ERA.
Los Angeles (22-15) sneaked by Sacramento (21-15) into first place, as the Angels won four times in six tries this week while the Solons were only able to split. The Solons weren’t alone, as every team in the league won three and lost three except the Angels and Portland (13-24), who dropped four to fall deeper into the cellar. Hollywood and Seattle are three games back at 19-18, just a hair ahead of Mission and San Francisco, who are both 18-18.
Update: 5/20/1929
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Statz | |
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On the heels of a .500 week Sacramento (18-12) is holding onto first place, but the Solons’ lead has shrunk to a half a game. Los Angeles (18-13) went 5-2 and took sole possession of second place—for now. The Angels rode the hot hitting of leadoff man Jigger Statz, who was named Player of the Week after hitting .429 with a home run, seven runs scored, and seven runs batted in. Statz is hitting .348 this season in addition to playing his usual stellar defense in center field.
The Solons and Angels haven’t distanced themselves too much from the rest of the field, however, as Hollywood and Seattle, both at 16-15, are just two-and-a-half games out of first, and Mission and San Francisco, at 15-15, trail by three. Further back are seventh-place Oakland (13-17) and eighth-place Portland (11-20).
Update: 5/13/1929
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Freitas | |
The Sacramento Solons, who slumped to a second-division finish last season after winning the league title in ’27, seem determined to show that 1928 was a fluke. The club soared into sole possession of first place this week by winning six of seven games. At 16-9 they hold a two-and-a-half-game lead over the three second place teams—Los Angeles, Mission, and Seattle—who are all 13-11.
Not surprisingly after such a dominant week, the Player of the Week is a Solon. What is a bit surprising is that player is a pitcher who didn’t even start a game all week. 21-year-old rookie Tony Freitas, a Bay Area (Mill Valley) product, appeared in relief in three games and wound up getting the victory in all three. Often a relief pitcher will pick up a win as much by luck as by deed, but Freitas’ performance was truly outstanding: 12 2/3 IP, 7 H, 1 ER. With a 1.35 ERA in 10 appearances this season, Freitas appears unlikely to remain in the bullpen long.
Rounding out the standings, Hollywood is in fifth place at 13-12, three games out of first; Oakland and San Francisco are 10-14, five-and-a-half games out, and Portland, after a dismal 1-4 week, are in the cellar at 9-15, six-and-a-half games behind Sacramento.
Update: 5/6/1929
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Camilli | |
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It’s a four-way tie atop the standings board after Hollywood, Los Angeles, Mission, and Sacramento all finished the week with identical 11-8 records. Not far behind is Seattle, just a game back at 10-9. San Francisco and Portland are three games back at 8-11, while Oakland trails by five at 6-13.
The Bells began the week with a three game lead but managed only two wins in seven tries, and thus fell back to the pack. They'll get no sympathy from the Oaks, who were a .500 team going in and lost all seven of their contests to drop to the cellar.
Sacramento’s Dolph Camilli is the Player of the Week. The 22-year-old first-sacker is already in his fourth year in the league, and it’s off to a rollicking start. This week he hit a sizzling .607 and drove in 13 runs to lift the Solons into first place. The San Francisco native leads the league with a .437 average.
Update: 4/29/1929
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Charleston | |
Oscar Charleston, the Portland Beavers’ star center fielder, has set a standard for excellence since his 1921 P.C.L. debut that few if any can match. The league’s all-time leader in hits with 1681, Charleston boasts a lifetime batting average of .355. No stranger to accolades, he has just won the Player of the Week award for the 14th time in his career, more than any other player. Charleston hit .467 this week and is the current league batting leader for the season at at .444.
Unfortunately, even Charleston’s inspiring play couldn’t shake the Beavers (4-8) out of their poor start to the ’29 campaign, as they lost two of six for the second week in a row. This time the beneficiary of their struggles was the Mission Bells (9-3), who are as hot as the Beavers are cold. The Bells lead five 6-6 teams (Hollywood, Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento, and Seattle) by three games. San Francisco (5-7) trails the .500 quintet by a game.
Opening Week
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Berger | |
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Mission is the team off to the hottest start after downing San Francisco five times in six tries in their opening series. As is usually the case for the Bells, it was their offense carrying most of the load, torching the Seals for 49 runs in the six games. The Bells scored 10 runs three times and never scored fewer than six in the series.
While last year’s runner-ups were having their struggles, the league champs weren't faring much better, as Los Angeles dropped four of six to Hollywood, despite the heroics of Player of the Week Wally Berger. Berger ripped Stars pitching to the tune of .455 while homering four times and driving in 12 runs. He leads the league in all three categories a week into the season.
Sacramento and Seattle are also off to 4-2 starts, as Oakland and Portland, at 2-4, look to improve their records in Week Two.