Beisbol y Cerveza, a Dominican Republic AAR

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Beisbol y Cerveza Part XIII January-June 1941

“Let us reflect of the events of the first six months of the year,” said General Rafael Trujillo to his aide Santana.
“This will be faster than it will take to smoke that Cuban cigar and finish your rum,” Santana replied.
Jan. 2-Cuba grants military access in return for franchises in La Liga Trujillo for 1941.
Jan. 6-It’s Three Kings Day, a holiday where the politicians and wealthy give out gifts. To his people, Trujillo makes the announcement contained in Chapter XII of this AAR.
Jan. 8-China, Japan and USA have Nanking Massacre.
Jan. 12-Soviets win Jaamusi from Manchukuo.
Jan. 20-Japanese now control 10 provinces in eastern China.
Jan. 22-China retakes Hangzhou.
Feb. 4-Argentina joins Axis.
Feb. 8-Brazil grants military access to Netherlands; German offense as far east as Szeged.
Feb. 22-Japan takes Hong Kong.
March 2-First TP Division ready! Hooray! Our troops can go global!
March 4-Ocha to Japan; Rear Admiral Rojas takes control of the Dominican fleet (one destroyer unit, one transport unit).
March 14-Japan takes Kotu Baharu; Yugoslavians retake Beograd from Soviets.
March 15-Australians capture Sarajevo, Podurica.
March 16-General Ironside now has nine corps in Cherbourg as Allies build up beachhead.
March 19-Australians take Tirana, Vlore is taken on the 22nd.
March 22-Australians grab Banja Luka from Yugoslavs.
March 24-Kuching to Japan
March 26-Persia enters Axis.

April 2-La Liga Trujillo starts with 40 teams in several nations. In Ciudad Trujillo (Santo Domingo), league play begins with a rematch of the 1940 championship as the Estrellas Orientales (Eastern Stars) face Escogido.
Negro Leagues great Chet Brewer toed the rubber for the Estrellas while minor league pitcher Vic Raschi got the ball for Escogido.
What followed was a pitchers’ duel for seven innings with Escogido holding a slim one-run lead thanks to the speed of young outfielder Sam Jethroe, who scored from first base on a double by Javier Rodriguez in the bottom of the fourth.
But with two runners on base in the top of the seventh, 46-year-old player-manager Babe Ruth stepped to the plate for the Estrellas. Ruth had long since stepped down from an active playing role in the outfield and occasionally played first base, or pitched but mainly was a pinch hitter.
And the Bambino came through in front of the assembled masses, blasting a home run over the right field pavillion to put Estrellas ahead to stay in a 3-1 victory. After the game, he accepted an invitation to paint the town with Trujillo.

April 3-Blagovesjtjensk to Manchukuo (say that three times fast!)
April 17-Japan takes Ambon, Banjarmasin and Makassar.
April 22-La Rochelle to Germans, Allied forces now cut off from coast in French pocket.
April 27-Score update-Axis 394, Allies 234, Comintern 225; US Lend Lease to UK and USSR.
April 30-Japan goes into Mongolia, takes Choybalsan.
May 1-Romania enters Axis.
May 4-Soviets back to even keel on Manchukuo front.
May 6-Australian amphibious assault takes Truk.
May 13-Soviets take Tabriz, Iraquis grab Qahremanhahr from Persia.
May 15-Yugoslavians retake Podorica.
May 16-Romanians grab Lwow; Split falls to Australians.
May 18-Australian division goes west, takes Venezia.
May 24-Australian division takes Milano. Greeks loan troops to Germans.
May 25-Germans reoccupy Venezia for Axis, Australian division cut off; Clermont-Ferrand falls to Germans in French pocket.
May 27-Greek troops occupy Vlore for Germany; United States has oil embargo on Japan.
May 29-Gorgan to USSR on Persian front. Birgand falls to British troops from Afghanistan.
June 6-Perigueux falls to Germans, French pocket shrinks.
June 9-Soviets retake Lwow.
June 10-Japan declares “Game Over” on Mongolia with annexation.
June 11-Iraq wins Abadan; Japan grabs Vladivostock and Spasak Dalnij; Soviets win Jixi.
June 15-Australians surrender in Milano.
June 18-Bandar Abbas falls to British in Persian theater.
June 22-Finland joins the Axis.
June 26-USSR takes Rasht in Persia.
June 29-Australians have Split, Mostar, Sarajevo and Pristina in Yugoslavia.
The Dominican Winter Baseball League is won by that small town in the mountains, El Llano Lookouts. But most were preparing for La Liga Trujillo and the first international venture of the league. Many top Negro Leagues players and high minor leaguers of the MLB teams in the United States were to be involved in the venture. During the season, some major league players actually would spend time in La Liga Trujillo to rehab from injuries.

 

[Battleline]

1940-41 Winter League Standings
Team W L GB
El Llano Lookouts 26 16 ---
San Juan Rojos 25 17 1
San Francisco dM 25 17 1
Ciudad Trujillo 23 19 3
San Pedro Brewers 21 21 5
El Higuey Cardinales 21 21 5
Azucareros del Este 17 25 9
La Vega Crawfords 10 32 16

 

[Battleline]

Beisbol y Cerveza Part XIV July-December 1941

Much of the world remains embroiled in war. Within the last year, the European conflict has spilled over in to Asia and the East Indies. The South Pacific has seen fighting and the Axis has spread to South America. Only Africa seems to be totally quiet.
At this point, the key players in the World Domination game are:
The Axis-Germany, Italy, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Greece, Japan, Manchukuo, Argentina, Persia, Romania and Finland;
The Allies-United Kingdom, Iraq, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, Nepal, Bhutan, Belgium and Netherlands; and
Comintern-USSR and Tannu Tuva.
Non-Aligned states fighting are:
Nationalist Spain vs. Comintern;
Nationalist China vs. Japan; and
Communist China vs. Japan.
As the curtain rises on this act, Persia is being overrun by both the Allies and Comintern. Quite a price to pay to have friends in Europe!
July 10-British troops take Kerman.
July 24-Chisinau is taken from Romania by the USSR.
July 29-German summer offense on the Eastern front yields Slavkov.
Aug. 10-UK takes Shiraz in Persian theater.
Aug. 12-Japanese swipe Surabaya, Netherlands capital moves to Palembang.
Aug. 29-The Allied build-up in Cherbourg continues. 59 Allied divisions now hold the peninsula, keeping a similar amount of Axis divisions tied up in the surrounding provinces. There also are 37 Allied divisions holding out in St. Etienne.
Aug. 30-Paint the town red! Soviets take Berlin. But the news isn’t all good for Joe’s boys. The northern front has collapsed with the Finns taking the entire peninsula, including Mermansk and Kirovsk.
Sept. 15-Allied forces surrender in St. Etienne to the Axis pressure.
Sept. 18-Mighty Tannu Tuva goes on the offense! It’s one division takes Moron to double the country’s size.
Sept. 27-The German offense grinds into the fall. The Germans are as far east as Torun. German troops are being reinforced by other Axis nations during the push as well.
Oct. 19-Germans in the process of cutting off the bulk of the Russian army with pincers from the north and south.
Nov. 3-Tehran has fallen to the Iraqi army.
Game saved and trasnferred to avoid a third recurrence of the dreaded Dec. 13, 1941 glitch. Transfer from laptop to desktop is successful through e-mailing saved game file.
Dec. 9-Yugoslavia abruptly pulls out of the Axis and joins the Allies. Ljubljana and Rijeka immediately turn green with the Italians.
Oddly, it seems that troops loaned to the Yugoslavs from Germany and Italy remain fighting for that nation. Troops under Guderian are later among the final defenders in Beograd.
Dec. 20-USSR retakes Grodno.
Dec. 23-Soviets take Jandag from Persia.
Next: The Year in La Liga Trujillo.

 

[Battleline]

1941 Baseball Season Reviews

I started working on the year in review for La Liga Trujillo for 1941 and found that it's getting rather long. So I'm going to post in six parts. The first four will be year in review broken down by division. The fifth will concern the individual league playoffs and the sixth will be on the Trujillo Cup finals.
Obviously none of these teams ever truthfully existed. In fact professional baseball in the Dominican Republic died out after Trujillo's super team of 1937. This is a "what if" version of history.
About 99 percent of the names I'm using are contemporary players, guys who were active in the Negro Leagues, or at the very end or beginning of their Major League careers. Many were in the minor leagues at the time.
I'll post the first two division reviews tonight and the next two sometime early next week.
Battleline

 

[Battleline]

Beisbol y Cerveza Part XV Ch. 1: International Western Division Review

In following years, 1941 would be looked upon as the start of the true golden age of Dominican baseball. The sport had grown beyond political boundaries and had encompassed much of the Caribbean and southern Florida. The key to the league’s success was the fact that the United States had not gone to war despite the call of 100 percent of the people to join the global conflict.
Because the Americans were still at peace (although building miltary units at an increasing rate), that meant that young men were available to play baseball. And the sport was so big that it could support Major League Baseball, many minor leagues and provide 55 percent of the players for La Liga Trujillo’s 40 teams.
Another 35 percent of the players were homegrown Dominicans. With 20 teams in the league, the Dominican game had grown good enough to produce a crop of standout players, many who would go on to play in America’s major leagues. The best Dominican players were the Mediocampistas, or shortstops. Many came from the San Pedro de Macoris area.
The final 10 percent of the players came mainly from Cuba, although players came from all over the Caribbean and even Mexico, which still hadn’t formally accepted status in the league for the upcoming season. Also targeted were franchises in Frech islands in the Caribbean, Venezuela and other nations in South America and Central America.
But that was in the future. In the present, here’s how the 1941 season went:
The regular season league rundown starts in the International League

International League
Western Division Wins Losses Games Behind
Key West Conchs 101 51 ---
Havana Sugar Kings 100 52 1
Miami Gators 97 55 4
Camaguey Verdes 87 65 14
Marathon Mariners 79 73 22
Cienfuegos Cubanos 73 79 28
Kingston Crickets 61 91 40
Port-Au-Prince Princes 53 99 47
Bimini Barracudas 46 106 55
Nassau Nemos 44 108 57

The International League Western Division didn’t have the strongest roster of teams, but did have a very interesting pennant race that produced a lot of national pride. The run to avoid the final spot was tight as well.
In the end, the Key West Conchs, who played to capacity crowds at home as people up and down the Keys would boat into games to join what was a huge party all 76 home nights, won the division pennant by a single game. The most recognized player in the Conchs’ lineup was Lefty O’Doul, who also operated one of the best bars on the island. One of his frequent customers was Ernest Hemingway, who still frequented the island on his sport fishing trips into the Caribbean. Hemingway, too, would become a fan of La Liga Trujillo in time.
Fans boated to within literally yards of the stadiums in other places as well, such as in the Bahamas.
Fierce nationalism followed Cuba’s entries, specifically the Havana Sugar Kings, which made a valient effort to catch the Conchs on the final day of the season. With Cuban flags flying from all quarters, The Sugar Kings secured a 6-2 win over visiting Camaguey to move into a tie for the division lead pending Key West’s final game in Miami.
With Al Simmons and Ferris Fain leading a supporting cast of strong Cuban baseball players, the Sugar Kings spent the entire season among the top three teams in the division.
But frustration would set in as the Conchs got their win against the Gators in the final game to secure the top spot in the division.
Miami, which finished third, four games behind the leaders, had a very talented team. A young Al Rosen patrolled third base while Dave Barnhill, late of the Miami Giants, was the team’s star hurler. He went 18-3 for the Gators.
Camaguey was home for Dale Alexander, the American League home run champion in 1929. Also playing for the Cuban side was catcher Chico Hernandez, a farm product of the Chicago Cubs.
In Marathon of the Florida Keys, former New York Giants first baseman and manager Bill Terry ran the Mariners and played first base. A very young George Kell was at the hot corner. Heine Manush showed he could still hit the ball and play a little outfield.
The remaining five teams in the division were all under .500, but that didn’t mean there weren’t some future stars on their rosters.
The Cienfuegos Cubanos featured home-grown talent such as Jorge Comellas on the mound and Tomas “Tommy” de la Cruz at first base.
Kingston was very new to the baseball game. Cricket had been played there previously, hence the team’s name, the Crickets. Future major league first baseman Lew Fonseca anchored a lineup that produced a few highlights here and there.
The fans in Port-Au-Prince finally got a home team to cheer for, but the Princes didn’t exactly do well in their inaugural season. A win over visiting Bimini on the last day of the season kept them from losing 100 games.
The Princes did have Negro Leagues slugger Willard Brown on the roster. And the Princes played in the only stadium that sold voodoo dolls, team mascot dolls of other teams. That was a big hit in merchandise sales.
Bimini and Nassau, two teams located in the Bahamas, didn’t fare so well, but had an interesting race to determine which team would finish in the cellar.
Neither team really went all out to sign established players, instead settling on the locals, immigrants from North America and some minor league players.
Bimini did have Buster Clarkson and Lefty Turner, Negro Leagues players with the Pittsburgh Crawfords.
In Nassau, the Nemos had standout pitcher Rufus Lewis and the only steel drum ballpark band in the league.

 

[Battleline]

Beisbol y Cerveza Part XV Ch. 2: International League Eastern Division Review

International League
Eastern Division Wins Losses Games Behind
San Juan (PR) Saints 106 46 ---
Ponce Padres 104 48 2
Nevis Sharks 96 56 10
St. Croix Crusaders 94 58 12
St. Thomas Tommies 83 69 23
Curacao Dutchmen 76 76 30
St. Maarten Mullets 69 83 37
Grenada Grenades 64 88 42
Port of Spain Islanders 51 101 55
Antigua Angels 32 120 74

The Eastern Division pennant race was a runaway for the two Puerto Rican teams. For years they had been sending players to America, Cuba, Mexico and La Liga Trujillo as well as other baseball outposts.
Among the better known of the Saints were Snuffy Stirnweiss, Burnis “Wild Bill” Wright and hurler Willie Foster.
Ponce countered with player-manager Willie “El Diablo” Wells, called the “Shakespeare of Shortstops,” the slugging first baseman Buck Leonard and Cuban Izzy Leon.
Nevis posted the best mark of teams in the British Commonwealth and won the King’s Trophy for that distinction.
Newt Allen and Hilton Smith of the Kansas City Monarchs paced the Nevis Sharks.
St. Croix won 94 games, but faltered late in the season when the St. Louis Cardinals called up their star outfielder Stan Musial.
St. Thomas played many relief games with funds going to help widows and orphans of British soldiers killed in fighting in Europe, Persia and the East Indies. Catcher Quincy Trouppe, a former heavyweight boxer, was the team’s best player.
Curacao’s Dutchmen finished at .500, but they provided important entertainment for a Netherlands colony which didn’t know where the capital would be from day-to-day. After the Germans over-ran the nation’s European holdings, the capital moved to Surabaya, but the expanding Japanese had taken that.
First baseman Buck O’Neil was the team’s top player.
The other four teams fell out of contention early, but had some stars as well. Alonzo Mitchell finished his playing career for the St. Maarten Mullets. Grenada featured aging catcher Biz Mackey. Carlos “Charlie” Rivera was with the Islanders at Port of Spain.
Antigua went with talent from the islands and thus didn’t have an established star. They paid for it in the standings, dearly.

 

[Battleline]

Dominican League Eastern Division Review

Dominican League
Dominican Eastern Division Wins Losses Games Behind
Estrellas Orientales 110 42 ---
Aguilas de Cibao 105 47 5
El Higuey Honchos 100 52 10
La Romana Azulejos 91 61 19
Boca Chica Beachcomers 78 74 32
San Pedro Dodgers 65 87 45
Santiago Senators 63 89 47
Nagua Navigators 55 97 55
Puerto Plata Piratos 46 106 64
El Seibo Snakes 42 110 68

The Dominican League Eastern Division was won by the league’s defending champions, the Estrellas Orientales. Managed by the greatest player of all-time, Babe Ruth, the Eastern Stars returned the bulk of their veteran club which had gone 114-32 the season before. Jimmie Crutchfield, Chet Brewer and Leon Day, led the Estrellas to the best record in the Eastern Division. the Aguilas de Cibao (Eagles of the Cibao) kept up the pace for much of the season, but wilted in the August sun and finished five games out. Player-manager Rogers Hornsby showed he could still hit the ball, leading the Dominican League with a .430 batting average. The Radcliffe brothers, “Double Duty” Ted and Alex were among the top players for the Aguilas.
El Higuey’s work in the winter with Branch Rickey had finally paid off as the Honchos, the summer league team from the city, placed third in the division led by Dominican legends Tetelo Vargas and Horacio Martinez. A wealth of young homegrown talent added to the team’s great run.
La Romana benefitted from an association with the Boston of Major League Baseball. This sent some of the top prospects, such as Warren Spahn, Johnny Sain and Tommy Holmes to La Romana and the team came through with a 91-win season.
Ron Northey and Johnny Barrett bolstered the lineup of the Boca Chica Beachcomers who finished two games over .500.
San Pedro didn’t get much help from its parent organization in Brooklyn, but Cliff Dapper and Les Webber shored up a very young Dodger Academy squad.
Ray Scarborough came down from the Washington Senators to the Santiago Senators. Also in the lineup was Ray Dandridge, the Negro Leagues standout third baseman from Newark.
Nagua, Puerto Plata and El Seibo had few standouts. Marv Owen, late of the Boston Red Sox, played for Nagua. Puerto Plata had the recently retired Zeke Bonura. Jimmie Wilson played another season for El Seibo.

 

[Battleline]

The Year in Baseball-Dominican League Western Division

Dominican League
Dominican Western Division Wins Losses Games Behind
Ciudad Trujillo Dragones 115 37 ---
Licey Tigres 107 45 8
Escogido Leones 101 51 14
Rio Ozama Bravos 94 58 21
Nuevo Club 85 67 30
Barahona Hurricanes 76 76 39
Pedernales Border Guards 73 79 42
Monte Christi 50 102 65
Neiba Night Hawks 42 110 73
BC San Juan 26 126 89

It was a good thing that the Ciudad Trujillo Dragones, Trujillo’s team, won the Dominican League Western Division championship. It made El Jefe look a little bit better in the eyes of his countrymen. Of course the fact that the Dragones were stacked with some of the best talent in the land had something to do with it. The Dragones had the battery of Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson, who had been with the team since Trujillo’s representatives had lured them away from the Pittsburgh Crawfords before the 1937 season. Also, the fastest man in baseball, Cool Papa Bell, was roaming center field. Sam Bankhead, one of the most versatile players in the game, played a variety of positions and even pitched a bit. The Dragones also had a very good collection of the best young players in the Dominican Republic.
Licey was led by the Cuban Martin Dihigo and St. Louis farm prospect Harry “The Hat” Walker. Licey just couldn’t keep pace down the stretch.
Also fading down the stretch was last year’s division champion, Escogido. The team had some wonderful young players from America such as Sam Jethroe and Vic Raschi.
Rio Ozama, another team from the nearby suburbs of Ciudad Trujillo, posted 94 wins, but had to play behind the other teams from the capital region. Buddy Myer, late of the Washington Senators, played for Rio Ozama.
Nuevo Club, a recreation of the original Dominican Republic team, was another one of the division’s good teams. Negro Leagues veteran catcher Larry “Iron Man” Brown played for another season.
The Barahona Hurricanes had a good season at .500. Ted Strong, a former member of the Harlem Globetrotters, was on the team.
Lifted by Wally Berger, the Pedernales had their best ever season.
Monte Christi, Neiba and San Juan had some good young players, but made far too many mistakes to be competitive with the big teams in the division.

Up next, the League Championship Series (Trujillo Cup semifinals)

 

[Battleline]

1941 Liga Trujillo Playoffs

The four division champions started playoff action one week after the conclusion of the regular season. The International League series started with the San Juan Saints of Puerto Rico hosting the Key West Conchs. Meanwhile, the league’s two most successful teams started their LCS series in Ciudad Trujillo, as General Rafael Trujillo had renamed the capital with the Estrellas Orientales of San Pedro de Macoris playing the Ciudad Trujillo Dragones.
San Juan opened by throwing hurler Willie Foster against Alpha “Al” Brazle. The game came down to the final at-bat for the Saints, when Snuffy Stirnweiss doubled home Burnis “Wild Bill” Wright with the winning run, 5-4. In the second game, The Conchs came back with Tommy Byrne, who spun a two-hit shutout against the Saints, 3-0, to even the series heading back to the Keys.
Mickey Haefner got the call for the Saints in the third game against local legend “Sloppy” Joe Jones. The visitors took advantage of sloppy pitching, drawing nine walks on the way to a 10-2 victory. With the travel day, both Game 1 starters came back in the fourth game with Brazle getting the decision this time, 7-4. Lefty O’Doul hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth to break the tie. In the third game at Key West, Byrne threw another gem, 5-1, to lift Key West to within a game of the Trujillo Cup Series heading back to San Juan.
The flotilla of Key West fans who made the trip was not let down in the sixth game. Jones came back from his pasting in the third game and pitched well enough to come out on top of a 7-6 decision. Catfish Metkovich scored from second base on a single by Vern Benson in the top of the eighth to give the Conchs the winning run.
Meanwhile, a classic series was taking place in the Dominican Republic for the other spot in the Trujillo Cup Series.
Opening in Ciudad Trujillo, the Dragones sent Satchel Paige out against Chet Brewer of Estrellas. The two great pitchers matched each other out for out. Paige struck out 14 Estrellas, but Brewer struck out 17 Dragones and came out on top of a 2-1 victory. Ruth, the master showman, came through with a single in the top of the ninth to plate to drive home the winning run with a single into right field. The second game featured Sam Bankhead on the mound for the Dragones against Leon Day of Estrellas. This time, the home team left little doubt they could win, taking a 15-3 victory. Josh Gibson hit three homers for the Dragones.
With the first two games over, players and fans headed east along the southern coast of the Dominican Republic to San Pedro. Fans went by road (automobile, truck or bus), by rail or by boat from Ciudad Trujillo for the next three games of the series.
In the third game, it was Cool Papa Bell getting the call for the Dragones on the hill, vacating his normal center field position. Bankhead instead played there. The Estrellas went with former local sugarcane field worker Pedro Perez. Again, this was a close game coming down to the final outs before Estrellas rallied to tie the contest. In the 12th inning, Ruth sent the home crowd out happy with a pinch-hit home run over the left field bleachers, 4-3. The fourth game was a rematch of the first game, but this time Paige outdueled Brewer by a 2-1 final.
The fifth game was the final one to be played in San Pedro and the Estrellas grabbed a 3-2 series lead thanks to a 6-3 victory. Jimmie Crutchfield had three doubles in the victory.
Heading back to Ciudad Trujillo, the Dragones were just one loss away from elimination, something that didn’t sit well with the ruling party.
In the sixth game, the Dragones came out with a surprise and started Tex Carleton, a pitcher who won 100 games in the Major Leagues before retiring from American baseball after the 1940 season. Carleton had been coaching and was a mopup pitcher out of the bullpen. The move stunned Estrellas as Carleton baffled them over nine innings in a three-hit shutout, 5-0.
That set up a seventh game with the winner moving to the Trujillo Cup finals. And it was Paige against Brewer once again. Ruth put Estrellas on top in the second inning on a two-run blast over the center field boards. Gibson’s solo shot in the fourth brought the Dragones back to within a run. Bell, reputed to be the fastest man in baseball, stole home plate in the sixth to knot it up again.
The game stayed tied until the ninth. Bell singled to start the bottom of the frame. With Gibson on deck, Bankhead lined to right-center field. The Estrellas had trouble coming up with the ball, which reached the gap and rolled all the way to the warning track.
With Bell flying around the bases, the third-base coach waved him home. At the same time, the relay throw was coming back into the infield. The throw to the plate was close, but when the dust cleared, Bell was called safe and the Dragones were going to the Trujillo Cup Series.
The series kicked off in Ciudad Trujillo with the Dragones breezing in the first two games by scores of 14-5 and 8-3. Going back to Key West, the Conchs finally got a win when Sloppy Joe Jones scattered 12 hits in a 4-1 victory. In the fourth game, the Dragones put on a display, winning by a 17-2 score. Key West kept hope alive with a 3-1 win in the fifth game, but needed to win both in Ciudad Trujillo to take the championship. That wasn’t going to happen.
The Dragones had saved Paige so they could win the title in front of their home fans. Paige delivered one of his gems, tossing a two-hit shutout against the Conchs in a 4-0 victory. And thus in the first year of the new and expanded Liga Trujillo the championship trophy came back to Ciudad Trujillo. Paige was named the series MVP for his efforts.

 

[Battleline]

Beisbol y Cerveza Part XVI January-June 1942

“You know, this year wasn’t ‘the’ big year of the war, ’41. I think the really big year is going to be 1942,” Sergeant Frank Tree (Dan Ackroyd) 1941.

Would 1942 be the “big” year of the war? Presidente Rafael Trujillo didn’t. The “big” year of the war wasn’t going to happen until the Americans finally committed to one side or the other. They ranked near the top of the world powers in army, navy and air force units and had a heavily mechanized and motorized army. No, it is far better that they don’t go to war and mess up our wonderful baseball league.
The Americans weren’t totally neutral, shipping supplies to both England and the USSR through the “Lend Lease” act. But then again the Dominican Republic wasn’t totally neutral either. After all, Trujillo was very active on the world markets. The frenzy started when it was discovered that there wasn’t enough rubber to make the core of all of the baseballs needed for La Liga Trujillo. Thus, on the world market, unknown traders supplied the nation with the needed rubber while receiving fine Dominican coal and steel. The deals expanded to include oil coming in for steel and coal going out. Who was getting our natural resources? Nobody knew for sure, but figured it had to either be the English or Japanese.
As the year started there was major crisis for the forces of the USSR. A German offensive threatened to bag most of the Russian army in Germany, Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. A total of 99 divisions were cut off in a pocket of Landsberg, Dresden, Breslau, Troppau, Praha and Plzen. There were 21 more stuck in a picket of Czestochowa, Radom, Krakow and Cieszyn. Success against the Axis was taking place in the middle east, where Persia was under attack from three sides.
Jan. 11-USSR annexes Persia, knocking them out of the war. Iraq and British commonwealth troops from India and Afghanistan gobble up a sizeable portion of territory as well.
Also, Italy takes over Rijeka from Yugoslavia as Greece secures Pristina for the Axis.
Jan. 15-South African troops invade Napoli. The invasion lasts one week. One wonders if they just didn’t take vacation there and go back home.
Jan. 24-Japanese troops take Kolwoon as they expand their beachhead into mainland China.
Jan. 25-USSR troops take Hovd.
Jan. 27-The San Pedro Brewers win the Winter League title with a 27-15 record.
Feb. 10-The pocket is down to six provinces from Cieszyn to Plzen and 85 Soviet divisions are left.
Feb. 22-Italians spread their empire east with the taking of Banja Luka.
Feb. 27-Japanese victory in Liuzhou.
March 14-French refuse our request for military access. Guess they don’t want to be in this year’s Liga Trujillo.
April 3-With victory in Datong and now have opened a front against Communist China.
May 5-The bag is 106 Soviet Divisions in a pocket from Dresden to Plzen.
May 21-With the Japanese threatening possessions in the East Indies, the Netherlands receive a needed loan of Australian troops.
June 25-The Soviet pocket is split into two. There are 42 divisions in Dresden and Breslau and another 47 in Praha and Plzen. Fortunately for the USSR, Axis troops aren’t pushing very hard to the East and the Soviets have esbablished a new defensive line well to the west of their vital territories. Pinsk and Minsk are near the front lines.
Also, Beograd falls to the Axis and Yugoslavia is divided between the conquerers with the Italians taking the bulk of the territory. Italy now runs from the Atlantic to the Danube and the trains all run on time!

 

[Battleline]

Update in next few days

Faithful readers,
Expect an update in the next few days. I'm actually at the point to where I have to, gasp, PLAY THE GAME AGAIN!!!! I can't guarantee tomorrow (Monday) because it's going to be an extra-long day. Anyway, I've finally gotten a day where I won't be going anywhere (thanks to that lovely freezing rain storm outside) and will be able to play through at least through 1943. I can tell you that the situation doesn't look good for the nations opposed to the Axis right now. To give you a taste of what's happening, I can tell you that the Japanese keep pushing into China and have annexed Communist China by the end of 1942. The Russians have lost grievously as much of the army was surrounded in Germany-Poland-Czechlosvakia. The Allies seem content holding Cherbourg and doing little else in Europe. And the Americans have the largest professional army (no militia) with the most armor divisions and most mech divisions, the largest navy and the largest air force. War entry is 100 percent and they ship supplies to USSR and UK, but haven't decided to join the war yet.
And I'll have to come up with another installment of La Liga Trujillo. That last one took quite a while to research!
Again thanks for your patience!
Battleline

 

[Battleline]

Beisbol y Cerveza Part XVII July-December 1942

“We are so very lucky that the Americans haven’t gone to war yet,” commented General Rafael Trujillo while taking a closer look at his cigar.
Sitting across the room was Jacinto Peynado, the “caretaker” of the Dominican civil government. Everyone knew that was just a figurehead position and that Peynado was just a puppet for Trujillo. But nobody really cared. Peynado loved it. He got to throw out the first pitch at ballgames and have a good seat “in the front row.” Baseball was the Dominican national sport and the Trujillo League was becoming bigger all the time.
Yes, Peynado knew that Trujillo loved the fact that the Americans hadn’t gone to war yet. That meant there were more ballplayers for the summer and winter Dominican leagues.
Col. Luis Fernandez, Trujillo’s senior aide, knew that the Americans weren’t the only ones sitting like bumps on logs as the world disintegrated into the flames of war. Europe, Asia and the South Pacific were alight with conflict. Fortunately for everyone involved, the Allied nations at the northern end of the South American continent were not doing anything to attack Argentina, the Axis nation at the southern end of the continent. Neither was Argentina doing anything to help its Axis brothers in Europe or Asia.
Sitting in Northern Africa was a mix of British Commonwealth military strength, doing nothing. The war there had been won long ago. All Italy had left was four provinces of Sahara desert in Libya that nobody wanted to liberate.
Indeed, the Commonwealth troops were doing little in Europe. An attack in force into Greece, Crete or Yugoslavia would relieve some needed pressure from the Russians. But since Russia wasn’t a member of the Allies, they could care less as Eastern Europe slowly turned gray and yellow as the Germans and Romanians attacked into Soviet territory.
The most fluid front was in Asia. The Japanese were continuing to push east into China while the Russians were doing what they could to regain Mongolian provinces. The East Indies front seemed to stagnate as well following a push by Allied forces from Iraq.
Here’s what happened in the final six months of 1942:
July 6-Germany annexes Yugoslavia, or rather what’s left of Yugoslavia after Mussolini’s Italians ate their fill of the country. Most of the provinces now show as green.
July 18-Soviet forces in Dresden, cut off, surrender to a force of 90 German divisions.
Sept. 15-Soviet force of 46 divisions cut off in Plzen. Only a matter of time until they give up as well.
Sept. 17-Japanese forces grab Xianyang from Communist China, cutting Mao’s paradise in half.
Sept. 23-The Dominicans reach “Basic Infantry Weapons and Battlefield C3I” after about six years of research. Hooray! Research had been cut while we were developing our navy (two units) and our air force (one unit).
Sept. 28-Iraqi troops kick the last Japanese units off the Malay peninsula. Rubber to all the nations of the free world!
Sept. 28-Italian Emperor Benito Mussolini (he created the title) takes a tour of new Italian lands which takes him from Bayonne on the Bay of Biscay to Nis in the former Yugoslavia.
Oct. 14-The Romanians knife into the Soviet Union, taking Odessa by the land route. The German offense has moved to Vinnysta.
Oct. 14-Before being led off to prison camp, Chairman Mao signs papers as Japan formally annexes Communist China. The surrender leaves Nationalist China with just Lanzhou separating the Japanese from Tibet.
Oct. 29-Why don’t they learn? The Soviets are in another salient consisting of Rowne, Pinsk, Mozyr and Bobrujsk. Far to the west, Plzen remains red.
Nov. 3-Japanese troops take Manlay.
Nov. 7-Surrounded and far from home, Soviet troops in Plzen surrender. The Soviet army has been gutted. Officers Stalin did not purge are now in POW camps.
Nov. 10-Himmler’s two German corps are cut off in Wilno.
Nov. 11-The German offense has moved into Kirovograd.
Nov. 23-The German fall offensive takes over Donetsk.
Nov. 30-Romanians take over Stalino. Why don’t the Soviets see the Axis Right Hook?
Dec. 4-Germans drive into Kiev, celebrate with Chicken Kiev.
Dec. 16-The Finns are at the gates of Leningrad! Up north, the Finnish have moved into Segezja and Petrozavodsk. Soviets starting to look stupid for not Finn-ishing up Winter War with some sort of peace.
Dec. 19-Kharkov falls to the Germans.
Dec. 25-Merry Christmas! The Japanese have pushed as far east as Hengyang in southern China.
Dec. 27-Although Vladivostok remains in Japanese hands, the Soviets have made gains against both Japan and Manchukuo on the Mongolian-Manchurian front.
As the year draws to a close, here are the top military forces.
Armies
1. Germany-440 divisions (219 militia, 182 infantry)
2. USA-182 divisions (24 motorized, 15 mech, 27 armor)
3. USSR-162 divisions (15 militia)
4. Italy-127 divisions (75 militia)
5. France-105 divisions
Navies
1. USA-170 units (15 BB, 30 CA, 50 DD, 17 CV, 21 SS, 37 transports)
2. UK-130 units (75 transports)
3. Japan-107 units (33 CA)
4. Italy-28 units (21 transports)
5. Germany-25 units (15 transports, 7 SS)
Air Forces
1. USA-111 units (34 fighters, 14 str. bombers, 24 tac bombers, 14 Naval bombers, 15 dive bombers, 10 troop transports)
2. USSR-55 units
3. UK-38 units
4. Japan-35 units
5. Brazil-19 units
Note-Germany does not rank in the top five! Guess Goering has been demoted!

 

[Battleline]

Beisbol y Cerveza Part XVIII The Year 1942 in Baseball

With the United States staying out of war another season, La Liga Trujillo was able to stay at 40 teams for the 1942 season. The favorite to win the league title obviously was the Ciudad Trujillo Dragones, the defending league champion.
To remind people, Ciudad Trujillo was what General Rafael Trujillo “El Jefe” had renamed Santo Domingo during the early part of his reign. At the current time, Trujillo had decided that giving the people the entertainment to forget their economic plight, much like the Roman caesers but without the blood and death. What he didn’t know was that the sport of baseball would uplift the nation’s economy as well.
In 1942, this would be seen around the Caribbean in many ports of call.

International League
Western Division Wins Losses Games Behind
Havana Sugar Kings 112 40 ---
Camaguey Verdes 101 51 11
Port-Au-Prince Princes 95 57 17
Key West Conchs 91 61 21
Miami Gators 80 72 32
Marathon Mariners 63 89 49
Cienfuegos Cubanos 58 94 54
Kingston Crickets 43 109 69
Bimini Barracudas 36 116 76
Nassau Nemos 28 124 84

The runner-up from 1941, the Havana Sugar Kings, dominated the Western Division of the International League. Cuban leadership actually had a bigger goal than to play second fiddle to Trujillo in baseball. Rich Cubans were looking to have a team added to the American baseball major league in Havana. They made a good case with their support of the Sugar Kings.
This year, the race for the division title came down to a pair of Cuban teams with the Sugar Kings beating the Camaguey Verdes for the title. American players Al Simmons and Ferris Fain returned to help Havana in 1942.
The second year of the Haitian baseball experience was a good one as the Princes finished third in the division.
It wasn’t a great season for the Florida teams, who vowed to improve if there would be a 1943 season.

International League
Eastern Division Wins Losses Games Behind
San Juan (PR) Saints 110 42 ---
Ponce Padres 106 46 4
Curacao Dutchmen 98 54 12
Grenada Grenades 87 65 23
Nevis Sharks 76 76 34
St. Croix Crusaders 65 87 45
St. Thomas Tommies 62 90 48
St. Maarten Mullets 59 93 51
Port of Spain Islanders 55 97 55
Antigua Angels 40 112 70

The International League Eastern Division once again came down to the two Puerto Rican teams once again with the San Juan Saints defending their title over the final two weeks of the season. Many of the same players were back with both teams.
Curacao finished third in the division, a helpful diversion for the citizens who received dispatches daily about Japanese advances into Dutch possessions in the East Indies. Grenada was the other good team in the division with an odd assortment of Cubans picking the team up.

Dominican League
Dominican Eastern Division Wins Losses Games Behind
Estrellas Orientales 112 40 ---
Puerto Plata Piratos 107 45 5
Santiago Senators 92 60 20
San Pedro Dodgers 90 62 22
Aguilas de Cibao 85 67 27
El Seibo Snakes 64 88 48
El Higuey Honchos 55 97 57
La Romana Azulejos 52 100 60
Nagua Navigators 46 106 66
Boca Chica Beachcomers 42 110 70

Break up Las Estrellas! The San Pedro team once again cruised to the title in the Domincan League Eastern Division. Babe Ruth scaled back his duties to managing and occasional pinch hitting. The Bambino was getting a little too old to play on a daily basis, even in the tropical climate.
Puerto Plata raided the roster of the Aquilas and picked up Rogers Hornsby and the Radcliffe brothers. That moved the Piratos up to second in the final standings.
Santiago had another solid season with 92 wins and finished two games above the second San Pedro team. The Aguilas de Cibao struggled and was the final team in the division to finish above .500.

Dominican League
Dominican Western Division Wins Losses Games Behind
Ciudad Trujillo Dragones 115 37 ---
Licey Tigres 115 37 ---
Pedernales Border Guards 100 52 15
Escogido Leones 95 57 20
Nuevo Club 85 67 30
Barahona Hurricanes 76 76 39
Rio Ozama Bravos 65 87 50
Neiba Night Hawks 61 91 54
Monte Christi 60 92 55
BC San Juan 58 94 57

Better play throughout the Western Division marked the 1942 season. The division had the best pennant race in the league as the Dragones and Licey traded wins throughout the season. No other team held the top spot in the division. As the two teams finished tied for the division lead, there had to be a one-game playoff in Estadio Trujillo, the new specially-built baseball stadium in Ciudad Trujillo.
In the one-game playoff, the Dragones used their veterans to pull out a 1-0 victory by scoring in the bottom of the ninth. Satchel Paige picked up the victory with Cool Papa Bell scoring the winning run.
The pennant race between the Dragones and Tigres masked several other good stories. Winning 100 games was Pedernales. Somehow, many good young Dominican ballplayers somehow joined the service and were assigned to the Border Guards. Pedernales officials actually discussed renaming the team late in the season when a survey discovered 40 percent of the fans were Haitians.
Beisbol Club San Juan still finished last in the division, but more than doubled its 1941 win total.
Up next—Playoffs.

 

[Battleline]

Beisbol y Cerveza Part XVIII B The 1942 Playoffs

Havana, San Juan, San Pedro de Macoris and Ciudad Trujillo all prepared for the 1942 Liga Trujillo playoffs.
The International League playoffs started in Havana as the Sugar Kings hosted the San Juan Saints. A great deal of Cuban flags were waving as the series started in Havana with the Sugar Kings sweeping the first two games. Back in San Juan, the same type of national passion supported the Saints, who won all three home games.
But back in Havana, the Sugar Kings used the home field advantage to take the International League title.
The Dominican League playoffs started in Estadio Trujillo with the host Dragones winning the opener, 6-3. The second game was won by Estrellas, which gave the teams a split in Ciudad Trujillo. Playing in San Pedro de Macoris in the Estadio Babe Ruth, the Estrellas won two of the three games there to put the Dragones on the brink of elimination.
But playing under pressure was when the Dragones came through all season long. After all, they had eliminated Licey, which also won 115 games in the regular season, in the playoff game. The Dragones swept in Ciudad Trujillo to set up a final series between teams based in capital cities.
As expected, the Dragones took the first two games of the championship series. Back in Havana, the Sugar Kings rolled to a 9-2 victory in the third game and then evened the series up in the fourth game.
A long clubhouse meeting woke up the Dragones, who responded with a 3-1 win in the fifth game. Back in Ciudad Trujillo, the Dragones finished the series in six games with a 5-3 win. Paige pitched on two days rest as the Dragones looked to keep the series from going the limit.
With the world political situation looking bleak, it was hoped that the league could continue in 1943 without interruption.

 

[unmerged(15561)]

Well, youve finally lost me?! :confused Anychance of some points of reference of the game? What about some stadium pictures?

 

[Battleline]

2 Coats-How general or specific would you like me to be? What do you know about the sport and I'll try to fill you in from there. The same goes for anyone else who would like to learn about the game of baseball.
I realize there is a wide range of people who play the game and write or read AARs. I could talk baseball, American football or even stock car racing all day but would struggle to even figure out the rules of something like cricket or jai alai.
I tried to be pretty specific with some name-dropping of historic players who have plausibility of actually being in my fictional Liga Trujillo.
As for stadium pics, I wish I could include some, but since I made the stadiums up, that would be very hard to do!
My angle is that with stability in the economy, the "missing years" of Dominican baseball would not be missing. Historically, there was no professional baseball in the DR from 1938-51 after Trujillo "bought" the 1937 Caribbean championship by giving big money to players such as Satchel Paige, Cool Papa Bell, etc. and thus ruining the economy. There was amateur baseball, but no professional leagues.
My real-life job is in the media-sports industry and I felt I could convey an AAR from a different angle than the others by using a fictional sports angle with it.
Thanks,
Battleline

 

[unmerged(15561)]

Its not the baseball thats the problem, I get most of that, but the use of those terms with regards your HoI game! Or arent you playing one?

Do you use the baseball references seperately from the game, i.e Am I to take the times you talk about baseball NOT to be part of HoI game?

 

[Battleline]

2 Coats-Thanks for your continued feedback to this AAR.
I started this game on an underpowered laptop as an introduction to the game and to see what the AI does. To use a term, I was getting my feet wet. To play the Dominican Republic and do a vanilla AAR post would have been the shortest, most boring AAR in the history of this board. Therefore, I worked up the companion story about baseball and its importance in the Domincan domestic scene. The baseball part of the story comes from my imagination with historic basis. I just added to what could have happened had the 1937 experiment of signing some of the top baseball players from the United States worked and the DR regime continued to support the sport rather than let it die professionally until 1951.
I try to keep the two threads separated whenever I can so that those who don't want to read the side fiction don't have to and can just read the short run of events from around the world. I actually do have to play some more of the game. I'm early in 1943 right now and need to run the game a bit more. That's on the docket for Sunday!
Again, thanks for your interest in my AAR. And if you have suggestions, I would welcome them! This is my first foray in AAR writing. If this one works out, I've got a few ideas for additional AARs (without a side story because they are with nations that are a little bigger than the Dominican Republic!)
Battleline

 

[unmerged(15561)]

No Problem BL. I only recommenced viewing Baseball in the UK a couple of years ago, thx to the UKs late night coverage of US sports on Channel 5.

As for your AAR it makes sense now! I should have realised there wasnt a link between the two. I thought you were using the baseball commentrary as symbolisim,were you were not. My only suggestion is that you use a carriage return after each paragraph and make the intro into each post-type a little more distinguished!

Other than that carry on as you are, I find it very entertaining but am surprised that no many others comment on this smashing AAR!

 

[Battleline]

Thanks!

2Coats-Thanks for the advice. Will try to implement your suggestions.
One of the potential problems is that I write the text in another program and then copy and paste it into the body box. (I'm sure you have NEVER had the experience of typing up something inside one of these reply boxes or something similar on the Internet and then have a computer problem "eat" it up thus forcing it to be retyped. Trust me, it's no fun!)

I'll try to do a better job of indenting at the front of paragraphs and making sure carriage return is hit at the end. I'm still getting the handle on all of these "bells and whistles" in formats and smileys within this message board.

Again, thank you for your feedback.

Battleline