Читать книгу Bad Boys, Bad Times. The Cleveland Indians and Baseball in the Prewar Years, 1937–1941 онлайн

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The Indians were playing their best ball of the season. Bob Feller had hit his stride, while Mel Harder collected a number of wins. They had no chance to catch the Yankees, but the team proved they could play at a more than competitive level.

On September 26 Cleveland took a doubleheader from Detroit. Allen won his fourteenth without a loss, while Feller struck out ten in a trouble-free second-game victory. On the last day of the month, the two aces pitched the Indians to another doubleheader victory, this time over the White Sox. Allen faltered a bit, giving up an uncharacteristic four runs. Earlier in the season the team would have folded, but three RBIs each from Trosky and Solters led to a 6–4 win. Johnny Allen now had an unbelievable record of 15–0. He would likely get one more start in October against Detroit.

Feller had a terrific outing himself, holding Chicago to one run over nine innings. He had the fastball hopping, striking out eleven batters in the 4–1 victory. Fans all over Cleveland shook their heads and took a deep sigh at what might have been. Cleveland now had the two finest pitchers in the American League. It is not inconceivable to project that barring the injuries, Feller and Allen might have won quite a few more games between them. That conjecture puts the team squarely in the pennant race, just behind the Yankees. The outlook was bright for the 1938 season.