From the Digitalballparks collection |
In 1939, DeLand went co-op, shirking the Major League affiliations and changed their
name to their famed... DeLand Red Hats. They would do better on their own,
evening it up at 69-69, and making the playoffs and again promptly losing in the
1st round. Huck Geary was the hitting star batting an all time DeLand high of
.362, while Aubrey Hazel tied the record for HRs with 8 while adding 29 doubles,
10 triples and a .267 batting average. On the mound, future Senators #2 starter
Mickey Haefner was stunning going 24-9, with a 2.32 ERA taking the all time
lead in wins and ERA for DeLand. Now if you are wondering how a team could feature
a 24 win pitcher and wind up with a .500 record, realize that future Washington
Senators' pitcher Hal Toenes went 7-20. Toenes would make up for it in a
big way however the following season. Toenes pitched a tremendous load of 313 innings.
In his wake, Toenes put together a 26-13 record behind a 2.99 ERA, breaking
Haefner's win record set the year previous. Bill Davis was also strong both
on the mound (15-7, 2.48) and at the plate batting .335 wtih 28 doubles and 6
HRs. Ralph McAdams also hit .339 in 174 At Bats, while Eddie Harper returned to
go 17-15, 3.74. Toenes was off the hook twice. Not only did he garner 26 wins,
but future Washington Senators pitcher Lou Bevil pitched an all time record 21
losses, going 11-21 with a 4.62 ERA, leaving Toenes no longer holding the bag
of futiliy. Since many of the Red Hats of 1939 were members of the Senators organization,
D.C. had made the Red Hats their official affiliate for the 1940 season. . |
