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

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One area that Bradley may have overlooked was the incredible talent on the Newark Bears, a Yankee Farm team. With up-and-coming stars like Joe Gordon, Charlie Keller, Spud Chandler, and George McQuinn, it did not take a fabulous manager to guide them into first place. Possibly Bradley thought any manager who could win a league by such a dominating margin should be able to help the troublesome Indians. With that in mind, the reins were handed to the forty-seven-year-old Oscar Vitt.

The 1938 edition of the Cleveland Indians featured a lineup of proven veterans along with several talented young players on the verge of breaking out. The only experienced addition was Rollie Hemsley, anticipated to battle Frankie Pytlak for the starting catcher’s job. The outfield seemed already set, with five-time All-Star Earl Averill in center field, Bruce Campbell still holding down the right-field job, and last year’s acquisition Moose Solters in left. All three were capable of hitting over .300 and driving in a large share of the runs.