[NOTE]Please check out the
roster thread--that is were I'm doing as close to team by team previews as I plan on doing.[/NOTE]
Announcer: Hello everyone and welcome to the Red Barber Baseball Show, sponsored by Winston Cigarettes. Winston tastes good, like a cigarette should. The Red Barber Baseball Show can be heard every week at this time on the NBC Blue Network. The famous broadcaster Red Barber will share his opinions, thoughts and stories from the world of baseball. I’m your announcer, Paddy Paulsen, and here is Red Barber.
RB: Hello everyone, this is Red Barber, coming to you from NBC tower in New York City. Well, isn’t it great to be talking baseball again, Paddy?
PP: It sure is Red. You know, baseball is a lot like Winston Cigarettes.
RB: How’s that Paddy?
PP: Well, baseball is the great American game which everyone loves. And Winstons are the best tasting American cigarette, and who doesn’t love a great tasting smoke? Why, Winstons and Baseball go together like bread and butter. The seventh inning stretch is perfect time for a Winston break—or how about a Winston to calm your nerves during those late inning rallies. Yes, baseball and Winston—a perfect double play.
RB: You’ve got that right. Now, the fans know a lot of things have changed in baseball since we last took the field; but that is true every year whether you have to wait a winter or four.
PP: So true, Red.
RB: Now while it is understandable that all the changes may have the average fan throwing his hands in the air saying “too much has changed, there is no hope of following everything that has gone on.” Well, I’m here to tell you, despite the changes in leagues and teams, it is still the same game. We, as fans, may have to learn some new names—or get used to old ones in new places. But baseball did this renewal on a yearly basis; we unfortunately have several years of changes to put into one winter. By mid-season, a team in Columbus or a Yankee/Dodger pennant fight will seem as normal as the old setup used to be.
PP: Wow, Dodgers and Yankees fighting for a pennant. That could be a lot of fun, right Red?
RB: Indeed. That is just one of the many new things for the fan to pay attention too this coming year.
PP: New leagues, new teams and new players. So, Red, how do you think the upcoming season is going to play out?
RB: Well the Continental League could be a barn burner. The Yankees, adding Greenberg and Feller, should be one of the top teams—despite losing Joe DiMaggio. The only real weakness I can see in the Yankees, assuming they play up to form, would be third base. Red Rolfe will probably start the year there, but like all of us, is 4 years older than when he last took the field. Players of his tenure do not seem to age gracefully.
The Brooklyn Dodgers, the club I broadcast for, also has a very fine team. It is a veteran club, and is the most complete team they have had in my tenure with the team. I would be very surprised if one of these teams did not win the title.
After those teams, it gets a little cloudier.
PP: Not as easy to pick the best of the rest.
RB: Most people have picked Kansas City, the former Browns, as a team that could challenge the Yankees and Dodgers. True they have added several of the top Negro players, but we still do not know if these are major league ballplayers. If they are as good as we have been lead to believe, then yes, the Blues will contend all season long. However, looking back to the days of the Federal League, the stars of that loop did not shine as brightly when they joined the American and National Leagues. I would peg Kansas City as the third best team, if and only if, the Negroes do turn out to be quality ballplayers.
Quietly though, I think the A's have the makings of a fine club. Babe Ruth may not have experience managing, but I can't imagine a player not taking the lessons Ruth can teach to heart. The new owners, not constrained by the budget as Mr. Mack was, should also be able to add quality ballplayers during the dog days of the season.
PP: Well, that's the first division Red. I suppose it gets harder to pick as you go further down the line.
RB: This year I think it does. Columbus, Minneapolis and Buffalo--all fine minor league towns--now get the chance to show the world how much baseball means to them. Buffalo and Minneapolis have both gotten considerable coverage for their spring results. I don't think we can put too much stock into those wins and losses, but it indicates these teams may be closer to contending than one would suppose. But for now, these teams, along with the Cincinnati Reds, should stay at the bottom of the league. Anyone of the four could be the last place team.
PP: So an established club like the Reds could end up behind the three new clubs, eh?
RB: I think it could be so. Now, a trade or some youngster coming up could spark them
PP: The Reds?
RB: Yes, the Reds, to higher in the standings. But the best the Reds can do this year would be breaking into the first division.
PP: Well Red, hearing all of this baseball talk is giving me a reason to reach for a Winston . . .