In 1933 with the Bisons, Carnegie received praise from team president Frank J. Offerman. Offerman said of Carnegie that "a finer character has never donned a ball uniform". That season, Carnegie was third in the International League in home runs (36) and slugging percentage (.618). The duo of Carnegie and teammate Ollie Tucker recived the nickname the "home run twins" that season after Tucker also put up an impressive home run total, 27. Carnegie entered the 1934 season "dissatisfied" with his contract, feeling that he deserved more money because of the performance he put on the season before. Carnegie again slugged the third most home runs that season with 29 in 142 games.
Come spring training in 1935, Carnegie did not report and was dubbed a "hold out". He seemed satisfied with making the Bisons sweat while he whacked around Pittsburgh sandlot pitchers as an early-season member of the Dormont club. Finally, in May, Carnegie reported to Buffalo and picked-up where he left off, hitting 31 home runs, the third most in the league. During the off-season, local sandlot players from Pittsburgh and various other major leaguers, including brothers Dizzy Dean and Paul Dean, played on an all-star team that played the Pittsburgh Crawfords, the local Negro league team. Carnegie joined the all-star team in the widely popular game.
In 1935, Carnegie was again in the top-three in International League home run hitters, this time ranking second. He was sidelined for much of the 1936 season with an ankle injury, but still played 74 games. While he was out, the Bisons replaced Carnegie with Donny Dickshot, a player who proclaimed he was the "ugliest man in baseball". "Ugly" Donny proved quite impressive as a sub, batting .359 with 17 long balls in 130 games.
Carnegie was back in full strength for the 1937 season, batting .308 with 21 homers in 134 games. He was tied with fellow minor league journeyman Woody Abernathy for fifth in the league in home runs that season. Although Carnegie was in the top-five amongst home run hitter in the league, he had never led the league. That all changed in 1938. That season, he hit 45 out of the park after early season struggles. At the time, the home run total racked-up by Carnegie was the fourth most all-time in a single season. Due to his outstanding performance, he was award the International League Most Valuable Player Award, now being the only player to receive this honer with no major league appearances. From this point on, there was little question that the sandlot "Bambino" turned pro minor leaguers was one of the best in the history of the league.
Bibliography:
"Oliver Carnegie Minor League Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference, LLC.
Paul Kurtz (February 22, 1933). "Carnegie, Packard Return Minor League Contracts". The Pittsburgh Press. The Pittsburgh Press.
Paul Kurtz (May 10, 1934). "Carl Frey Accepts Offer From Overton Semi-Pros". The Pittsburgh Press. The Pittsburgh Press.
"Dizzy And Daffy Play Here Today". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. October 23, 1934.
"Bisons History: The 1930s". Buffalo Bisons. Minor League Baseball.
Paul Kurtz (April 9, 1938). "Sports Stew—Served Hot". The Pittsburgh Press. The Pittsburgh Press.
"Carnegie's Homerun (sic) Mark Ranked Fourth". The United Press. The Pittsburgh Press. January 19, 1939.
Paul Kurtz (January 28, 1939). "Sports Stew—Served Hot". The Pittsburgh Press. The Pittsburgh Press.
No comments:
Post a Comment