Donie Bush would leave the managing department mid-season, but only to take over
the Indianapolis Indians at it's highest level... buying the team with a partner
and taking Indianapolis into and through the post-war years. Steve Wentzel
(35 2B, 11 3B, 14 HR, 103 RBI, 30 SB, .321) led Indianapolis to a 2nd place
90 win finish in 1945, as Donie Bush worked in the front office on getting the
Indians a new PDC to replace the Cincinnati Reds who had left several years |
earlier. Donie was successful in landing at least one Major League franchise…
the Boston Braves, to help the Indians get back to the next level of play if
only for one seaon. Joseph Bestudik was the team's best with 25 2B, 15 HR, 109
RBI's and a .279 as he led the Indians back to 2nd place with 88 wins and a post-season
berth. The Indians were still looking for their 1st A.A. Championship
at Bush Stadium and in 1946… they weren't going to find it. The new Boston Braves'
franchise would come to lose yet again in the finals… to someone who they
would find waiting for them again and again... the Louisville Colonels. The Braves
were gone after the one season, but Bush had been working on getting a full
time franchise to call the Indians their Triple-A home, and he finally found
that team in the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates signed on for the 1947 season
becoming the team's 3rd affiliate in their history. While the 74-79 team (which
featured future MLB manager Gene Mauch who batted .300) wasn't going to set the
world on fire, the seeds had been planted for what would be, an incredible future
for the Indians within the Pittsburgh organization. Bush and the Pirates brought
in future Hall of Famer, Al Lopez to manage the 1948 franchise and Lopez
would lead perhaps the best team to ever call Indianapolis home, to the post-season. |