Monday 7/24/1948–New York (A)’s designated hitter Aaron Robinson had some reason to celebrate, as the league named him the AL Player of the Week. In 23 at bats he hit .478 with 2 HR and 13 RBI. He got at least one hit each game this week and is on a 8 game hitting streak right now. Aaron is hitting .290 this year, with 94 hits in 324 at bats. He has driven in 59 runs, slugging .410. The NL’s best player of the week was St. Louis (N)’s Whitey Kurowski, who wins the award for the 2nd time in his career. Whitey pounded opposing pitchers, hitting .583 with 4 HR and 12 RBI while slugging 1.083. He got at least one hit each game this week and is on a 13 game hitting streak right now.

Monday 7/17/1948: The AL’s best player of the week was New York (A)’s Tommy Henrich, who wins the award for the 1st time in his career. He had an on base percentage of .519 and hit .409, while driving in 8 runs. This year Henrich drove in 57 and scored 56 runs while batting .312 with 11 bombs. He’s 7th in the AL in RBIs and 8th in homeruns! The Player of the Week award in the NL goes to New York (N)’s Walker Cooper this time, as the catcher displayed the best offensive perfomance in his league. Cooper helped his team with an average of .333 and 12 RBI in 27 at bats.

Next sim: Friday, July 18 @ 4 pm EST.

Thursday 7/13/1948: PHILADELPHIA (N) - Philadelphia (N)’s ace Virgil Trucks suffered a severe injury on Thursday and will be out for at least 6 weeks. In the 5th of the game against New York (N) he experienced pain in his throwing arm and had to leave the game. Philadelphia (N) wasted no time and rushed him to an hospital. Team officials were informed later that Trucks had suffered a Ruptured Bicep Tendon. Virgil has a record of 13-6 this season, with an ERA of 2.67. In 195.1 Innings he was able to strike out 111 batters. He has 10 complete games and one shutout. He’s 1st in the NL in ERA and 4th in wins!

Next sim: Wednesday, July 16 @ 8 AM EST.

Thursday 7/6/1948: ST. LOUIS (N) - St. Louis (N)’s leftfielder Stan Musial accomplished a difficult feat in a game against Chicago (N), hitting for the cycle to improve his career batting average to .352! His 1st hit was a RBI double off Johnny Schmitz in the 1st inning. Hit number 2 followed in the 2nd inning, a RBI triple. In the 4th inning he unloaded a solo homerun off Johnny Schmitz. A single in the 8th off Lefty Hoerst accounted for his 4th hit. That drive completed the cycle, causing a smile on his face! Stan did drive in 3 while scoring 4 runs on his own. He’s having a very good season so far, batting .371. He’s now the 3rd player in league history to hit for the cycle! Dale Mitchell was the last player to hit for the cycle, doing it 7/11/1947.

Next sim: Monday, July 14 @ 8 AM EST.

These players were selected for the AL OOTP-Allstar Team :
P Hal Newhouser from Detroit
P Dave Ferriss from Boston (A)
P Fred Hutchinson from Detroit
P Bob Feller from Cleveland
P Tex Hughson from Boston (A)
P Art Houtteman from Detroit
P Al Gettel from Cleveland
P Fred Sanford from St. Louis (A)
P Bill Zuber from Boston (A)
P Denny Galehouse from St. Louis (A)
C Ed Fitz gerald from Philadelphia (A)
C Al Evans from Washington
1B George Mcquinn from New York (A)
2B Bobby Doerr from Boston (A)
3B Bob Dillinger from St. Louis (A)
SS Johnny Pesky from Boston (A)
LF Ted Williams from Boston (A)
CF Catfish Metkovich from Cleveland
RF Sam Mele from Boston (A)
1B Eddie Robinson from Cleveland
LF Jeff Heath from St. Louis (A)
LF Dick Wakefield from Detroit
LF Dale Mitchell from Cleveland
SS Lou Boudreau from Cleveland
SS Marty Marion from Detroit
These players were selected for the NL OOTP-Allstar Team :
P Vic Lombardi from Brooklyn
P Harry Brecheen from St. Louis (N)
P Warren Spahn from Boston (N)
P Virgil Trucks from Philadelphia (N)
P Hal Gregg from Brooklyn
P Larry Jansen from New York (N)
P Dave Koslo from New York (N)
P Jim Blackburn from New York (N)
P Gerry Staley from St. Louis (N)
P Junior Thompson from Chicago (N)
C Walker Cooper from New York (N)
C Joe Garagiola from St. Louis (N)
1B Stan Musial from St. Louis (N)
2B Red Schoendienst from St. Louis (N)
3B Connie Ryan from Boston (N)
SS Pee wee Reese from Brooklyn
LF Bobby Thomson from New York (N)
CF Tommy Holmes from Boston (N)
RF Erv Dusak from St. Louis (N)
1B Jackie Robinson from Brooklyn
RF Bob Elliott from Brooklyn
LF Enos Slaughter from St. Louis (N)
RF Danny Litwhiler from Boston (N)
3B Peanuts Lowrey from Chicago (N)
SS Eddie Miller from Cincinnati

Tuesday 6/20/1948: Ellis Kinder Blanks White Sox with a 2-hitter
CHICAGO (A) - Chicago (A)’s offense is struggling, and St. Louis (A)’s Ellis Kinder didn’t help them. The right-hander fired his 1st shutout of the season, a 2-hitter. Kinder (7-7) struck out 2 and issued 2 BB, throwing 49 of 94 pitches for strikes. ‘I’ll have to give a lot of credit to my catcher. He put all the right fingers down today.’ St. Louis (A)’s centerfielder Glenn Mcquillen got 1 hit in 4 AB, and driving in 2 runs. That was enough to support the brilliant performance of Kinder. The final score of the game was 4-0.

Monday 6/19/1948: Player of the Week Honors go to Evers and Nicholson
The Player of the Week award in the AL goes to Detroit’s Hoot Evers this time, as the centerfielder displayed the best offensive perfomance in his league. Hoot went 11 for 24 (.458), while hitting 3 HR and collecting 9 RBI. The NL Player of the Week award goes to Bill Nicholson, Chicago (N)’s starting rightfielder. Bill went 10 for 21 (.476), while hitting 5 HR and collecting 8 RBI. Bill managed to drive in at least one run in every game he played this week.

 Next sim: Thursday. July 10 @ 8 AM EST.

Wednesday 6/14/1948: NEW YORK (A) - New York (A)’s ace Joe Page suffered a severe injury on Wednesday and will be out for at least 5 weeks. In the 5th of the game against Chicago (A) he experienced pain in his throwing arm and had to leave the game. After x-rays were taken the diagnosis did not surprise many: Torn Bicep Muscle. Surgery will be performed next week. Opposing players hit .224 against Joe this season. While posting an ERA of 2.88 he went 10-4 in 19 starts, fanning 97 and walking 69 hitters. Joe has pitched one shutout and 7 complete games. He’s 4th in the AL in ERA and 5th in wins!

Next sim: Wednesday, July 9 @ 8 AM EST.

Thursday 6/8/1948: PHILADELPHIA (A) - Age doesn’t matter. At least Philadelphia (A)’s right-hander Claude Passeau shares this opinion. The 39 year old pitched a 1-hit shutout against Chicago (A), recording his 2nd shutout of the season. ‘Well, the ball went where I wanted it. I was able to hit the corners with all of my pitches.’ Passeau (5-5) struck out 4 and walked 1, throwing 57 of 93 pitches for strikes. The hitting star for Philadelphia (A) was centerfielder Sam Chapman, he went 2 for 2, and collecting 2 RBI. The final score of the game was 3-0.

Next sim: Tuesday, July 8 @ 8 AM EST.

Thursday 6/1/1948: The best month of May in the AL certainly had Detroit’s right-hander Fred Hutchinson, earning him the Pitcher of the Month award. His ERA of just 2.41 helped him to a 7-1 record in May. He worked 71 innings, striking out 32 hitters while walking 16. Fred also fired a shutout. His ERA of 3.45 helped him to a 9-5 record this year. He struck out 55 and walked 29 in 120 innings. He has 10 complete games and 2 shutouts. He’s 4th in the AL in wins! Winner of this months NL Pitcher of the Month award is Philadelphia (N)’s Virgil Trucks. His ERA of just 1.97 helped him to a 7-0 record in May. He worked 59.1 innings, striking out 33 hitters while walking 12. His ERA of 2.56 helped him to a 10-3 record this year. He struck out 63 and walked 36 in 116 innings. Virgil has pitched one shutout and 7 complete games. He’s 1st in the NL in ERA and 1st in wins!
Next sim: Monday, July 7 @ 8 AM EST

Monday 5/22/1948: The AL’s best player of the week was Detroit’s Art Houtteman, who wins the award for the 1st time in his career. Houtteman was overpowering all week long, going 2-0 with an ERA of 0.53. Along the way he struck out 8 in 17 innings. He hurled a shutout as well. His ERA of 2.94 helped him to a 5-5 record this year. He struck out 49 and walked 22 in 95 innings. Art has pitched one shutout and 7 complete games. The Player of the Week award in the NL goes to St. Louis (N)’s Stan Musial this time, as the first baseman displayed the best offensive perfomance in his league. He hit .474 with 4 RBI and slugged 1.105 in 19 at bats. His season numbers are: .367 AVG, 62 hits, 13 doubles, 4 triples and 13 longballs, along with 43 RBI and 42 runs scored. He’s 1st in the NL in batting, 1st in homeruns and 1st in RBI!

Next sim: Thursday, July 3 @ 8 AM EST.