Al Simmons: Baseball's Graying Warrior

"[Al Simmons] had that swagger of confidence, of defiance. . . . I’ve always classed him next to Ty Cobb as the greatest player I ever saw." — Cy Perkins, Philadelphia Athletics

                                                                                                                                                    Aloysius Simmons – born Alois Szymanski – posted eye-popping statistics during his tenure in Philadelphia. Between 1925 and 1932, he hit .366 while averaging 25 home runs and 132 RBI per season. Said the venerable Connie Mack of his star outfielder: “I wish I had nine players named Al Simmons.” Beginning in 1933, "Bucketfoot Al" bounced around the American League – Chicago, Detroit, Washington – before joining the senior circuit's Boston Bees (Braves) in 1939. Though no longer a superstar, the 37-year-old was still a formidable batsman, having hit .302 with 21 homers and 95 RBI as a member of the 1938 Senators.

In March 1939, Simmons reported to Boston's spring training camp in Bradenton, Florida. "There is a lot of speculation, Al, on how you will hit," relayed one of the many sportswriters on hand. "The Boston park is fairly spacious, and they say the wind is blowing right in the hitter's faces." Unconcerned by the scribe's theoretical postulation, Simmons retorted: "Maybe so, but it can't be any harder to hit in than Washington's park. Shucks, that's the worst park I ever saw for a long hitter." After answering a few more questions, Simmons excused himself to prepare for batting practice.

With a youthful gleam in his eye, baseball's graying warrior stepped up to the plate as his fellow Bees buzzed with anticipation. "Tell him to throw me a curve," Simmons instructed the catcher. The pitcher obliged, and the venerable slugger didn't disappoint: he hit a majestic flyball that cleared the left-field fence with ease. "Now a fastball," yelled Simmons, who promptly hit another impressive blast. "I'll be a monkey's uncle," bellowed Casey Stengel, who was entering his second season as Boston's skipper. "How can the American League let a hitter like that fellow get away?" After smacking another pair of homers, Simmons stepped out of the box to have a drink of water.

During the lull following his initial power display, Simmons was asked about Boston's chances in 1939. "This club can win the National League pennant," replied an optimistic Simmons. Annoyed by the comment, a Cincinnati-based reporter vociferously boasted that the Reds would blow Boston – and all other teams – out of the water in the battle for National League supremacy. "That's what you think!" Simmons barked. "The Reds look good, all right, but they're a young club. Those kids may blow up. They are just like the Athletics were back in 1925. Everybody said we were going to win the American League pennant, and we got tight and were lucky to finish in the league. We're going to have something to say, we Bees."

Unfortunately, the 1939 season turned out to be a bust, as Boston finished the year 25 games under .500. Ironically, Simmons – who hit .282 with 29 extra-base hits during his 93 game stint with the Bees – was acquired by Cincinnati that August. Just as the native newshound had predicted in the spring, the Reds would go on to capture the National League pennant, though Simmons had little to do with their success. Relegated to a pinch-hitting role, the aging slugger posted an anemic .143 average (3-for-21) down the stretch. Simmons, who had previously hit .333 with six home runs in three World Series appearances with Philadelphia, went 1-for-4 during the 1939 Fall Classic – a laughable four-game affair versus the Yankees. — BK2 

                                                                                                                                                     "It was something to see. When Al Simmons would grab hold of a ball bat and dig in, he’d squeeze the handle of that doggone thing and throw the barrel of that bat toward the pitcher in his warm-up swings . . . he would look so bloomin’ mad, even in batting practice." — Tommy Henrich

◾Sources: https://www.baseball-reference.com + https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov + https://www.newspapers.com + https://www.ootpdevelopments.com + https://sabr.org

Ty Cobb holds court aboard 'Cooperstown Express'

On the night of June 12, 1939, a trainload of baseball legends traversed the vast virescent hills of upstate New York following a joint appearance at the newly opened National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown. "Nearly all the living Hall of Fame men were on the train—Ruth and Grover Cleveland Alexander and George Sisler," noted Francis Stann, a sportswriter with The Washington Star. "But Cobb, sitting at a table with Walter Johnson, held the center of the stage." As each man enthusiastically recalled their run-ins with "The Georgia Peach," Cobb sat back with an incredulous look on his face before chiming in.

"There are a lot of old stories," explained Cobb, "but honestly, some of those about me are exaggerated to beat the band. I hear about a time when I walked to first base, stole second while the pitcher held the ball, went to third when he threw it into center field and scored when I drop-kicked the outfielder's throw to the plate into a dugout. But doggone if I remember it."

As the chatter subsided, a reporter asked Ty if he would still play the same style of baseball under "modern" conditions. "What's the use?" Cobb groused. "What good is one run? Now there are four or five fellows in every lineup who can hit the ball over the fence and score half a dozen runs. . . . No sir! I'd just go along and take a good cut and try to knock the ball as far as I could." About this time, Walter Johnson began to laugh.

"Yes, he would—not," joked Johnson. "If he came up now, he'd play the same way. It's the only way he ever knew how to play . . . hard, rough, and better than anybody else." A huge grin enveloped Johnson's face as he collected his thoughts. "By gosh," he exclaimed, "if Cobb was a-running bases today a lot of our modern pitchers would have to learn how to hold a man on base in a hurry. He'd steal the gold out of their teeth in one trip around the circuit." — BK2 
                                                                                                                                   ◾Source: Stann, Francis. "Win, Lose or Draw." Washington Evening Star. 14 June. 1939: C1.

Perry Werden: The Story of Baseball's Forgotten Home Run King

"The Bambino again shoved the ball into the right-field bleachers," reported The Washington Times on September 5, 1920, "bringing his total for the year up to forty-six for a new world's record. Perry Werden's total of forty-five had been passed." You may be asking yourself, "Who is Perry Werden?" Described by The Kansas City Times as "the rooters' friend, the delight of the bleachers, [and] the idol of small boys," the 6-foot-2 inch, 220-pound behemoth was among the most popular and feared sluggers of the nineteenth-century.

In 1894, the 32-year-old—who two seasons earlier hit 29 triples (the fourth-best total in MLB history) as a member of the St. Louis Browns—joined the Western League's Minneapolis Millers and promptly put on a show never before seen in pro baseball. That year, the big righty hit .417 with a record 43 home runs, throwing in 33 stolen bases for good measure. Amazingly, Werden was even better in 1895. Playing his home games in Athletic Park, noted for its short foul lines, "Moose" hit .428 with 45 long balls, including a two-game stretch that saw him go 9-for-9 with six big flies.

In July 1895, Werden—who claimed he once "hit the ball so hard that it broke in two"—became the eighth pro baseballer to slug four homers in a single game. In its coverage of the contest, The Saint Paul Daily Globe wrote that Werden sent "severe shocks to the soughing curves of the Detroit twirlers. . . . Four times did the young Scandinavian deliver to the sailing leather an impetus which carried it . . . out of the grounds." Though his 1894-95 stats are inflated due to the bandbox in which he played, make no mistake about it: Big Perry Werden could hit the ball a "country mile." Hardly an obscure record, following Ruth's 29 home run performance in 1919 (Babe surpassed Ned Williamson who hit 27 HRs in 1884), article after article pointed out that the all-time professional mark still belonged to Werden.

When his record finally fell in 1920, Werden expressed admiration for the new home run king. "There is no doubt that Babe has it on all of them—modern and ancient," said Werden. "There wasn't much talk about my 45 home runs [at the time]. The truth is, some fans panned me because I swung too hard." Home runs aside, Werden had much in common with Ruth. Both men stood 6-foot-2 and weighed well over 200 pounds; like the Babe, "Peach Pie Perry" was famous for his voracious appetite. Both began their careers as top-notch hurlers and possessed speed and athleticism that belied their pudgy physiques. Each had larger than life personalities and were noted for their fun-loving, jovial nature. And, according to an Associated Press article from 1921, "Werden stood at the plate with his feet close together [and] his grip was like Babe's clear down to the handle."

A Missouri native, Werden began his big league career as a pitcher with the Union Association's St. Louis Maroons in 1884. That year, the multi-talented phenom posted a 12-1 record with a 1.97 ERA over 141 innings pitched. Following an arm injury, Werden was sent packing to the minors. Undeterred, the youngster reinvented himself, becoming a capable first baseman and feared batsman in short order. In 1887, he set the Western League ablaze, finishing the season with 34 doubles, 12 home runs, and a .384 batting average.

Following an 1889 campaign that saw him hit .394, Werden was given another shot in the majors, this time with the American Association's Toledo Maumees. The 28-year-old went on to slash .295/.404/.456 with 59 steals, 72 RBI, and a league-best 20 triples in 1890. Werden followed that by hitting .290 with 18 triples and 104 RBI with the 1891 Orioles; in the field, he paced the circuit's first sackers with 1,422 putouts while finishing second in fielding percentage. Werden joined the National League St. Louis Browns the following year; he posted a paltry .258 average but nevertheless drove in 84 runs. The 1893 season would be among Werden's finest in the majors: he hit .276 with an astounding 29 triples, two shy of the existing record set by Dave Orr in 1886. (Owen "Chief" Wilson slugged an all-time record 36 three-baggers in 1912.)

Following his epic three-year run (1894-96) in the Western League, Werden played one last big-league season with the 1897 Louisville Colonels, finishing the year with 14 triples, 83 RBI, and a career-high .301 batting average. All told, Werden hit .282 with 109 doubles, 87 triples, 26 home runs, and 151 stolen bases over parts of seven major league seasons. Werden would go on to play nine more years in the minors, though he never approached his earlier production, finally hanging up his spikes at age 46. Combined with his major league stats, "Moose" finished his 23-year pro career with 2,294 hits—including 384 doubles, 143 triples, and 155 home runs—357 stolen bases, and 1,120 runs scored.

Shortly before Werden's death in 1934, The North American Newspaper Alliance interviewed the former home run king. When asked to name the most powerful batsmen of all-time, the 70-year-old opined: "Big Ed Delahanty would have equaled or bettered the home run record of Babe Ruth if the lively ball had been in use. . . . I have watched them all—Delahanty, Pop Anson, Dan Brouthers, King Kelly, Larry Lajoie, Hans Wagner, Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker, Sam Crawford, Bill Lange, and George Van Haltren of the past, and Ruth, Rogers Hornsby, Joe Jackson, Jimmy Foxx, Al Simmons and Chuck Klein of the present—but of all these mighty sluggers I rank Delahanty and Ruth as the greatest." – BK2

👑Sources: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ + https://www.baseball-reference.com/ + https://baseballhistorydaily.com/ + sabr.org