Prescription #375 - A Pitchless Win, A One Armed Pitcher, MLB Player Dies in MGM, Biscuits Notes

Well, its been a busy a couple weeks since the last post and there are a few things on topic to cover.

OUTGOING

Several players have shuttled between Montgomery and Durham while the Bulls decide which Biscuits they want to keep.

Kyle Bird seems to have stuck there, likewise Mike Franco who has moved into the Durham rotation. Sent back was Harrison.

Also packing north is utilityman Michael Russell, though who knows how long anyone will stay anywhere considering the current state of the parent club.

#BULLPENLIFE

The Biscuit Bullpen

INCOMING
The Biscuits welcomed David Rodriguez to the squad, adding a third catcher to the mix is standard Biscuit strategy, right along with slow trains on fireworks night. Batting .317 in 28 games gets him promoted and he quickly adds a few RBI for his new club upon arrival.

The Biscuits have badly needed a power boost in the batting order and D-Rod provided it with two hits in his first look at double-A baseball.


JUST WAIT FOR IT....
But it begs the question, if batting .317 in 28 games gets D-Rod promoted, how long before we see Nate Lowe and Jesus Sanchez?

First baseman Nathaniel Lowe has been detrimental to the development of FSL pitchers at a .370 clip. Yes, thats a .370 batting average. Then add ten homers, 40+ runs batted in and then explain to me how a 22 year old has anything left to prove after almost 300 at bats for the Stone Crabs.

Over the past month, Nathaniel Lowe has been one of the top hitters in all of minor league ball and is knocking at the door. Hopefully we have cleared a locker for this guy.

Also arriving soon should be Jesus Sanchez. The 20 year old outfielder hit .305 for Bowling Green last year and has simply improved that by fifty points upon his promotion to Port Charlotte this year. His six homers are equal to the Skitz team leaders, those 31 RBI's would be very helpful for a Montgomery club lacking in power.

We should make that two lockers, ready and waiting.

ROAD WARRIORS
Perhaps the best thing for Bradys Boys would be to stay on the bus. The Skitz are one of the hottest teams in the league when they are away from Riverwalk. Their latest winning streak has them sniffing the .500 mark for the first time in a while.

However they will return next week and have to figure out how to win in front of the home fans where so far it hasn't been pretty.

The rare "Biscuit Scorpion"

BOOK SIGNING
My good friend Clarence Watkins wrote a book about Montgomery baseball with a ton of fantastic pictures. He will be at the game on June 1st signing copies of said book, which features a literary high-five to yours truly in the fine print. Grab a copy and have him sign it, maybe ask him about the Rickwood Classic too, he knows all about Bham ball as well. Or ask him about the one-armed pitcher, Wing Maddox, who played for the Black Barons and Knoxville.... see below!


CIUFFO
By the time the Biscuits get back home, Nick Ciuffo's suspension will be over and the young catcher can get back to baseball.

It will be interesting to see where he is assigned, I have thought he might be back in double-A but a well placed source indicated he would not be here. However, its worth keeping an eye on, as he could displace someone from the Durham roster.

REBEL PASSES
TOM FLETCHER

Tom Fletcher

I found out that former Rebel and Major League pitcher Tom Fletcher passed away recently.

Tom was with the Rebels in 1965 and 1966, pitching rather badly the first year and very well the second, finishing with a 12-14 record for Montgomery.

Tom had pitched in just one single major league game for the Tigers in 1962 before developing a blood clot in his arm. Fletcher was then out of baseball for two years but returned to the mound for four more minor league seasons and it was during this time that he played in Montgomery.

Tom's son Darrin Fletcher was an AllStar catcher for the Expos, Dodgers and Blue Jays.

THIS WEEK IN MONTGOMERY BASEBALL

Two HUGE events in Montgomery baseball take place on the same date, twenty three years apart. The first is the death of a major league player in Montgomery, the other a baseball event so rare, few statisticians believe it even exists!


MAJOR LEAGUER DIES IN MONTGOMERY
MAY 24, 1918

Ralph Sharman

Outfielder Ralph Sharman drowned while swimming in the Alabama River at Montgomery near Camp Sheridan.

Ralph Sharman was only 23 years old and had temporarily left a promising big league career with the Philadelphia Athletics to join the Army.

"Bally" Sharman was a rookie with the Athletics, batting .297 in just over a dozen big league games in 1917. He had spent three seasons in the minors and was among Connie Macks young prospects as the war broke out. He was quickly made captain of the Camp Sheridan baseball team.

1918 Camp Sheridan baseball team, four months after Sharmans death

Sharman

He is described as fleet footed with a high batting average and a desire to improve his game. “Better to have another year in the minors and be sure of success in the big show afterwards,” he told the Cincinnati Times-Star, “than to go into the majors too green and score a failure.”

It appears that Sharman was with Battery F in the 136th Field Artillery. On Friday, May 24, 1918, Corporal Sharman tragically drowned in the Alabama River, adjacent to Camp Sheridan during a training exercise . His body was not recovered until Sunday, May 26, and on May 28 it was placed on a caisson and brought through the streets of Montgomery followed by members of Battery F.

Ralph Sharman is one of just a handful of big leaguers to die in service during WW1 and the only to die in the USA, the others were in the European theatre.


A PITCHLESS WIN
May 24th, 1941

Hal Toenes

Selma Cloverleafs (Southeastern League)

Pitcher Hal Toenes relieves in the top of the ninth inning against the Jackson Mississipians with a runner on first base and two out (as noted by historian Bill Hickman).

Without throwing a pitch, he picks the runner off of first base.

The Selma Cloverleafs, four runs down, go on to score six runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to give Hal Toenes the pitchless win.
("baseballlibrary/chronology/1941MAY")

One of the rarest of rare baseball feats!


 MAY 26 1905 
New Orleans P Dygert shuts out Montgomery on one hit.


MAY 26 1920 
"Grey Sox Home as Second in League -
Fast Negro Baseball Team Will Meet Knoxville Here for Three Game Series.

The Montgomery Grey Sox are back at home after two weeks on the road and will play the Knoxville Giants today, Saturday and Sunday.

The one armed pitcher Mattox will pitch the game Saturday and all who have seen him play say that he is a wonder and he is the only one armed twirler that has ever appeared in this city.

On Sunday, Steel Arm Smith will pitch and will be opposed by Montgomery's south paw Streeter. Smith has not lost a game this year and Streeter is by far the strongest pitcher on the Grey Sox staff, so this game should prove very interesting to the fans."


MAY 26 1908 
Mgm Outfielder Reagan has four hits in four trips from Little Rock Pitcher Eyler.


MAY 27 1908 
After pitching 27 consecutive innings without allowing a run, Montgomery finally beats Little Rock starter Buchanan.


May 27 1911 

Frosty Thomas

CHATTANOOGA, TENN..
Two successive wild throws past first by Frosty Thomas and Gribbens led to four runs and a victory for Chattanooga over Montgomery this afternoon.

The game was long drawn out, full of hits and errors with some phenomenal fielding In between.'

After the close of the eighth Inning Gribbens and Bills had a fight on the Montgomery bench and It took team- mates, Umpire Hart and several policemen to quiet the row. 

MAY 27 1920 
"Grey Sox Defeat The Bessemer Boys -
In one of the prettiest games played here this season, the Montgomery Grey Sox team defeated the Bessemer Stars Thursday afternoon by a score of 2 to 1. Streeter and Harper engaged in a pitcher's battle, both having beautiful control and kep their hits well scattered."