The Corning Independents were gone and the Corning Red Sox would take their place. The difference was staggering. The Red Sox had a very fertile farm system and the 1954 Corning lineup was terrific. James Hirsch would break all records in all departments in hitting as he batted .365 with a whopping 31 2Bs, 12 3Bs and 16 HRs. All 4 stats would be better than anything any of the previous 3 Corning teams would produce… except for the doubles mark as Harold Gruner (32 2B, 6 3B, 6 HR, .345) bested James in that category hitting his 32nd 2B in the last week of the season. The lineup also featured a few future Major Leaguers such as future Red Sox’ Marlan Coughtry (22 2B, 9 3B, 13 HR, .333), future Minnesota Twins’ Jerry Zimmerman (22 2B, 7 HR, .302) and California Angels’ Eli Grba (14-10, 3.36/7 2B, .379). Joining Eli Grba in the rotation was Robert Adubato (16-4, 3.45) and Edward Stone (13-2, 3.63). The difference in hitting and pitching was like night and day. Corning went from worst to 1st in a single year.