is Brooklyn still in the league? 1934 the year the Dodgers broke the giants hearts

The year was 1934. Bill Terry, the manager of the New York Giants was speaking to some reporters in New York prior to the Giants leaving for spring training on January 24th. He was speaking casually and said that the Giants should be one of the top three teams in the NL.

When asked which teams he considered the ones to be aware of, he said the Pirates, Cardinals and Cubs were the teams the Giants would need to beat. He also said he did not think the Braves could match their 1933 performance when they finished 4th with an 81-73 record.

The next question was "do you fear the Dodgers?" I was wondering, "he replied," are they still in the league? Another reporter quoted it this way: " Will they give you trouble? Terry grinned and said, " I haven't heard much about that bunch in a while, and I was wondering if they were still in the league."

Bob Quinn, who was Brooklyn's business manager, jumped all over the story, and according to the New York Evening Post, he rebuked Terry for his slap at the Dodgers. Quote from the Post " Colonel William Terry, the young manager of the Champion New York Giants, seems to have awakened the Dodgers, club and fans alike, from their long winter hibernation. And the Dodgers have awakened like a hungry bear, demanding to know what Memphis Bill meant by his uncomplimentary remark about the Dodgers still being in the league."

The 1934 Dodgers were managed by Casey Stengel. Long before he became the beloved "Ol Perfessor", Stengel's managerial expertise was not all that great. He had taken over the team from Max Carey who was fired prior to the 34 season. Casey would manage the team until he was fired, and Burleigh Grimes took over in 1938.

One thing the 1934 Dodgers could do was hit. The team batting average was .281. In an era when power hitters were king, they had little. They hit just 79 homers. The position players had a .289 average; the team's overall average was pulled down by the pitchers, who hit just .204. Pitching, on the other hand, was not so good. Only two of the fourteen pitchers they used posted ERAs below 4. Mungo was at 3.37, and Dutch Leonard was at 3.28. Mungo would win 18, Ray Benge and Leonard 14 each. Leonard started and relieved and also saved 5 games; Mungo saved 3.

For the year, the Dodgers finished 6th in the NL West with a 71-81 record. The Phillies won 56 games and the Reds just 52. Terry was only partially right in his prediction about who he would have to beat. It turned into a two-team race between the Giants and the 34 Gas House Gang Cardinals. On June 6th, after beating the Boston Braves, the Giants took over first place.

On August 31st, the Giants were 5.5 games ahead of the Cardinals. By September 4th, the lead was 7. On September 13th, the Cardinals were in New York for a 4-game series. NY was up by 5.5 games. St. Louis took 3 of the 4 games and was 3.5 games back when they left. Two of the losses were to the Dean brothers, Dizzy and Daffy. They had 12 games left in the season.

After losing the opening game of a series against the Reds, they won their next 4 games, but the Cardinals kept winning too, so when they started their final 7-game stretch, the lead was at 3. The final seven games were 3 with Boston, 2 with the Phillies, and 2 with the Dodgers; those last 4 games at the Polo Grounds. If this looks eerily similar to the Dodgers' 1962 collapse, it is. LA was up by 2 with 4 games to play.

They lost 2 of the last 3 games in Boston and headed home to play the lowly Phillies with 4 games left and a 2.5-game lead. They lost game one 4-0. They lost game two 5-4. With two games to play, they had a one-game lead. On the 27th and 28th, the Giants had no games scheduled, but over those two days the Cardinals beat the Reds twice, the second a 4-0 shutout by Dean for his 29th win.

When the Dodgers arrived on September 29th, the Cards and Giants were dead even at 93-58. Van Lingle Mungo started for Brooklyn. Roy Parmalee, a 10-game winner, started for the Giants. The game was scoreless through four innings. The Dodgers scored 1 in the 5th, 6th, and 7th innings to take a 3-0 lead. Parmalee would pitch 8 innings. Mungo, meanwhile, held the Giants down until George Watkins hit a homer in the 7th. Brooklyn scored 2 more in the 9th for a 5-1 final. Terry went 2-3, but his Giants teammates had just 3 hits. Mungo pitched a complete game for his 18th win. The Cardinals won, and the Giants were 1 game back. The Dodgers had 12 hits, all of them singles.

40,000 fans showed up for the final game of the season at the Polo Grounds. Hoping for a Giant win and a Cardinal loss. Freddie Fitzsimmons, who would later pitch for the Dodgers, started for New York. Ray Benge started for the Dodgers. Freddie got Brooklyn out in the first. Benge did not last the inning. He gave up 4 hits, 2 walks, and 4 runs. Dutch Leonard relieved him and would pitch the next 6.2 innings, allowing just 1 run on a homer to the opposing pitcher in the 4th inning. It was Fitzsimmons 2nd of the year.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers started chipping away at the Giants' 4-run lead. 1 in the 2nd, 1 in the 4th, and 1 in the 6th. Finally, they scored 2 in the 8th off of Fitzsimmons and knocked him out of the game. Hal Schumaker came in to relieve, and the game was tied through 9. Tom Zackry, who had given up Babe Ruth's 60th homer in 1927, got the last two outs in the bottom of the 8th. Johnny Babich pitched the 9th and 10th innings for Brooklyn.

in the top of the 10th, the Dodgers would score 3 runs, 2 of them unearned off of Schumaker and Carl Hubbell. With the score now 8-5, Babich pitched a scoreless 10th and Brooklyn won the game. Would not have mattered if they had won, Dean won his 30th game of the year shutting out the Reds 9-0. The Giants finished 2 games back, and the Cardinals went on to win the World Series over the Tigers. Brooklyn indeed was still in the league, and they helped ruin the Giants pennant hopes.

The Dodgers had four players who hit over .300 that year. I would bet none of you have ever heard of any of them. Sam Leslie, the first baseman, hit .332 and had 102 RBIs on just 6 homers. Lon Koenecke, an outfielder, hit .320. Joe Stripp, the 3rd baseman, hit .315. Buzzy Boyle, the CF, hit .305. The Giants would do the same to the Dodgers in 1951, but that Giant club was a much better team than the 34 Brooklyn team that sank the Giants.

Rants & Raves by Mark Timmons

• I was looking forward to going to Cincy for a couple of games this week, but our Penguin Water University Dealer Training started yesterday through Wednesday, and I have to make appearances at it. On Thursday, they play an early game, and I hope to go to that one. My wife's restaurant is closed tonight, so we rented the venue and chartered a couple of buses to "wine and dine" everyone. It's a big deal for the dealers.

• The Dodgers' bullpen is a mess, but it will work out one way or another. Henriquez cannot be back until the playoffs. I smell Evan Phillips closing in on the closer spot.

• 7 innings of shutout ball with 9 K's is excellent in and of itself, but in Great American Ballpark it's freaking impossible. That's why AF got the guy.

• That blast by De La Cruz should count as two home runs!

• Tucker and Teoscar look locked and loaded.

• Boys (and girls), I think they have "flipped the switch." It is a new season come the playoffs. They are limping now, but the adrenaline of the playoffs is part of it!

• Josue DePaula may be forcing his way onto the team. Look at his OPS (1.167), not his BA (.222). This kid is special. I knew he was good - I have watched him a lot- but when he plays against MLB players, he is now awed. He has a slow heartbeat. A star is taking root.

• Speaking of stars, Miggy Vargas has 30 doubles, 31 HR, 89 BB, and 19 SB. His progress was not linear, but he made it!

• 14 straight years to the playoffs. Tied with the Braves for most ever. One more WS Championship would be sweet. The Dodgers are still the favorites. Who will step and be the Hero?