Yankees vs. Indians Game 2

Municipal Stadium in Cleveland hosted Game 2 of this semifinal matchup between the 1927 Yankees and the 1948 Indians. Both teams started a Hall of Fame pitcher who won 19 games during the regular season: Herb Pennock vs. Bob Feller.

Earle Combs opened the game with a triple and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Mark Koenig. After Babe Ruth grounded out, Lou Gehrig blasted a deep drive over the right field wall to give the visitors an early 2-0 lead. Cleveland tied it in the second with a Joe Gordon home run, a pair of singles by Larry Doby and Eddie Robinson, and a squeeze bunt from Feller. In the top of the fourth, Ruth put the Yankees ahead again with a solo shot to center.

Cleveland claimed the lead in the bottom of the fifth with two doubles and two singles that plated three runs. New York cut the lead to 5-4 in the sixth after Bob Meusel doubled home Ruth. In the bottom of that frame a walk to Robinson, a single by pinch hitter Joe Tipton, and a double by Allie Clark increased Cleveland's lead to three. Indians reliever Steve Gromek held the powerful Yankees lineup in check over the final three innings to even the series at one game apiece. Feller pitched five innings to pick up the win. The series moves back to the Bronx for the deciding third game.

Indians 7, Yankees 4

Next up, Game 2 of the Cardinals-Stars series.

Cardinals vs. Stars Game 1

The 1934 MLB champion St. Louis Cardinals hosted the 1934 NNL champion Philadelphia Stars at Sportsman's Park for Game 1 of their semifinal matchup. With the Stars dominant southpaw Slim Jones (20-4, 1.29 ERA) facing the Cards 30-game winner Dizzy Dean, a pitchers' duel seemed likely. But few could have predicted the extent of the mound excellence that was about to ensue.

Philadelphia put men at the corners with one out in the top of the fourth, but Dean escaped the jam with a strikeout and a ground out. Ernie Orsatti tripled with one out in the bottom of the fifth, but Jones extinguished the threat with a line out and a strikeout. Both aces were at the top of their game, handcuffing the batters in both lineups. With the game tied 0-0 after nine, the starters continued their duel into extras. Dean tossed 11 shutout frames before yielding the mound to Dazzy Vance. Jones did him one better, not allowing a run in 12 innings.

The scoreless tie continued into the 14th inning. St. Louis reliever Bill Walker sent the visitors down in order in the top of the frame. With one out in the home half of the inning, Frankie Frisch singled off fellow player-manager Webster McDonald. Frisch then called for a hit and run, which paid off when Ripper Collins singled to send him to third. McDonald intentionally walked Joe Medwick to set up a force at the plate. Batting with the bases loaded, Cardinals right fielder Jack Rothrock made solid contact, driving the ball to within a couple strides of the warning track in left. Deep enough for Frisch to sprint home with the winning run. And so ended this epic battle--the longest Diamond Legacies game I have ever played.

Cardinals 1, Stars 0 (14 innings)

Next up, Game 2 of the Yankees-Indians series.

Yankees vs. Indians Game 1

The 1948 Cleveland Indians battled the 1927 New York Yankees in Game 1 of the first semifinal matchup. Hoping to neutralize the powerful lefty bats in the home team's lineup, Lou Boudreau started southpaw Gene Bearden. Miller Huggins countered with Hall of Famer Waite Hoyt.

Babe Ruth gave the Yankees an early lead with a solo blast in the bottom of the first. Indians third baseman Ken Keltner evened things up when he went deep in the top of the second. Cleveland took the lead in the top of the fifth when Bearden singled to drive in Wally Judnich. An inning later, Joe Dugan delivered a two-out single to score Lou Gehrig, who slid home just ahead of Jim Hegan's tag at the plate.

The game remained tied heading into the bottom of the eighth. Ruth led off that frame by drawing a walk. Sam Zoldak, pitching in relief of Bearden, retired Gehrig and Bob Meusel without allowing the runner to advance. But Tony Lazzeri drilled a deep drive to the wall in center, allowing the Babe to come around to score the go-ahead run. Yankee reliever Wilcy Moore allowed a leadoff double to Keltner in the top of the ninth, before rebounding to retire the next three batters and preserve the narrow win for the Bombers. The teams will head to Cleveland for the second game in this series.

1927 Yankees 3, 1948 Indians 2

Next up will be Game 1 of the other semifinal: 1934 Cardinals vs. 1934 Stars.

Video Review of Book 4 and Semifinals Preview

Diamond Legacies 1948 was recently featured on Kurt Bergland's Baseball World. A big thank you to Kurt for discussing the latest volume of my game on his channel. Click the image below to watch the video.

Next item of business, the semifinals of my Tournament of Champions is set to begin. The 1927 New York Yankees will face the 1948 Cleveland Indians in one bracket. In the other bracket the 1934 St. Louis Cardinals will battle the 1934 Philadelphia Stars. This round will be best two-of three. As the higher seeded teams, the Yankees and Cardinals will host Game 1 and Game 3 if a third contest is necessary. The three-inning pitching restriction from Round 1 is no longer in effect, but the games are assumed to be played on consecutive days. So a starter who pitches deep into Game 1 could not appear again in the series without facing significant overuse modifiers.

Lastly, work has begun on Book 5 in the Diamond Legacies series. Your clue for the year featured in this volume is this: near the end of the book there will be a picture of a man who was the Supreme Commander of Allied Forces. That wasn't his job when the picture was taken, but it was a position he had held earlier. If you know who that man is, you can narrow down the range of years for Volume 5.

Cardinals vs. Red Sox

The 1975 AL champion Boston Red Sox travelled to Sportsman's Park to take on the 1934 MLB champion St. Louis Cardinals in the final first-round game of the Tournament of Champions. Combining for six innings, Luis Tiant and Rick Wise allowed only one hit and three walks while keeping the home team off the scoreboard. Redbird hurlers Dizzy Dean and his brother Paul similarly held Boston in check during their five frames. Jesse Haines followed by tossing three more scoreless innings for the Cards.

The game remained 0-0 into the eighth. In the bottom of that frame, with Jim Willoughby on the hill for Boston, Ripper Collins batted with two men on and one out. The Cardinal first baseman drilled a shot off the centerfield wall to plate two runs. Following a Medwick fly out, Jack Rothrock doubled home another run. Ernie Orsatti followed with a single to tally the fourth run of the inning for the Redbirds.

Veteran Dazzy Vance came on to close out the game, but ran into trouble. A Dwight Evans double and a Cecil Cooper single gave the Red Sox two baserunners with two outs. Fred Lynn and Denny Doyle followed with RBI-singles to bring Carl Yastrzemski to the plate representing the go-ahead run. Yaz lined a screamer back through the box that Vance somehow speared to end the game.

The Gas House Gang advances to the semifinals where they will face the Philadelphia Stars. Though he had only one hit in four at-bats, Ripper Collins is the player of the game for his two-run double that put St. Louis ahead in the eighth.

1934 Cardinals 4, 1975 Red Sox 2

Next up is the first game of the Semifinals: 1927 Yankees vs. 1948 Indians. 

Reds vs. Stars

The 1934 NNL champion Philadelphia Stars battled the 1975 MLB champion Cincinnati Reds in our next first round matchup. Though the Big Red Machine boasted a stronger offense, the Stars deployed an elite pitching staff led by their ace Slim Jones. The dominant southpaw displayed his excellence by striking out six straight Reds. But with one out in the bottom of the third, Cesar Geronimo broke that string of Ks with a solo homer to right.

Gary Nolan, Pedro Bourbon, and Clay Carroll kept the Philadelphia offense in check, preserving the 1-0 Cincinnati lead into the ninth. Though the Reds offense generated only two hits the entire game, that did not seem to be a problem as fireballing closer Rawley Eastwick came in to finish off the win for the Big Red Machine. But the Stars Hall-of-Fame catcher Biz Mackey singled to right with one out. After Jake Dunn grounded out, the light-hitting Pete Washington was due up next. Pitcher-manager Webster McDonald called on Phil Cockrell to pinch hit as his team's last hope. Though a pitcher, Cockrell was a good hitter who had batted over .300 on the year. Connecting on an Eastwick fastball over the outer edge of the plate, he drove the ball over the right field wall to give the Stars the lead. McDonald retired the Reds in order in the ninth to close out the stunning victory for the visitors. One out away from elimination, Philadelphia advances to the semifinals with a dramatic ninth-inning rally. Though his only appearance in this contest came in one pinch hit at-bat, the Player of the Game is Phil Cockrell.

Philadelphia Stars 2, Cincinnati Reds 1

Next up is the final first round game, the 1934 St. Louis Cardinals vs. the 1975 Boston Red Sox.

American Giants vs. Indians

Schorling Park in Chicago was the venue for the first-round game between the 1927 Chicago American Giants and the 1948 Cleveland Indians. The dominant southpaw Bill Foster took the hill for the home team, while the visitors opened with Bob Lemon on the mound.

In the bottom of the second, Chicago put men on second and third with nobody out. Sensing that runs would not be easy to come by against the elite American Giants staff, Lou Boudreau pulled his infield in. The move succeeded with third baseman Ken Keltner throwing out Steel Arm Davis at the plate. Cleveland threatened in the top of the third after Eddie Robinson doubled and advanced to third on a sacrifice fly by Jim Hegan. One of the top hitting pitchers of his day, Bob Lemon then lined a single into left to give the Indians the lead.

In the fourth, Chicago catcher James Bray doubled and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt. Cleveland pitcher Bob Feller then fired a heater past John Hines to record a key strikeout. Rapid Robert did not allow another hit during his three-inning stint. The game remained 1-0 into the bottom of the eighth when Jim Brown and Pythias Russ reached to put two men on with one out for the home team. But Steel Arm Davis lined into a double play to end the threat. Cleveland's rookie southpaw sensation Gene Bearden retired the side in order in the ninth to save the victory.

For pitching three scoreless innings and driving in the game's only run, Bob Lemon is the Player of the Game. Cleveland advances to the semifinals, where they will face the 1927 Yankees.

Cleveland Indians 1, Chicago American Giants 0

Next up is our third first-round matchup, the 1975 Cincinnati Reds vs. the 1934 Philadelphia Stars.