by Gordon Johnson for Uplantica Sport
October 2, 1932
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KOSTINSKY PARK, DEERBORN, WOODLYN — It all comes down to this. After a grueling 100-game Regular Season and a thrilling SemiFinal Series that came down to a decisive Game 5, the stage is set for The 1932 Windsor Cup Finals. We’ll see a rematch of last year’s Finals, with the Deerborn White Sox taking on the Delle Stars in a best-of-7 series. For the first time in Uplantic Association history, we will see a team take home the Windsor Cup for a second time.
The Road to the Finals
The Deerborn White Sox won the Cup in 1929 as the Wild Card. Since then, they’ve appeared in the WCF each season, losing in ’30 to the Bears and last season to these Stars. They’ll appear in their fourth straight WCF tomorrow. After two straight Finals losses, murmurs of a post-season “curse” have begun to reverberate through the White Sox fan base. Deerborn Manager Jim Holt has won UA Manager of the Year in three straight seasons. He had this to say when asked about a “curse”: “To be honest, I wish it were that easy. That would take the pressure off of me, wouldn’t it? The truth is, we didn’t finish the job these last two years, and it’s on us and on me to get it done this time around.”
The White Sox broke their own record for most wins in a season this year with a 73-27 record, capturing the Mark Davis Trophy and a bye to the WCF. Meanwhile, the Stars only finished 2 games behind Deerborn in the UA East, with 71 wins, the third best record of all time.
The Delle Stars are back in the Windsor Cup Finals after an astonishing reverse sweep against the Bears in the UA SemiFinal Series. They are riding high coming into this championship series. Stars RF Antonio Teakowa, in particular, is feeling the positive momentum, having hit 5 home runs in the last two SFS games against the Bears, including a record-setting 4-HR effort in Game 4. “We’re feeling really good. Everything’s firing away. We never got down on ourselves against Platte when we were down two games, and we’re ready to do this thing again,” said Teakowa, who earned MVP honors in the SemiFinal.
Lineups
The Deerborn White Sox hit the most home runs of any team in the UA in 1932 with 181 as a team, 27 more than the next best team, the Platte Bears. 1B Bob Hove led the team and the league as a whole with 36 dingers. LF Juan Tumaini, in his first season with the White Sox since being traded from the Trail Blazers in the offseason, hit 29. 3B Rygh Ogg hit 26, CF Jimmy Lia Morro hit 19, and three Sox players each hit 12.
Deerborn mainstays like 3B Rygh Ogg, SS Gilberto Hernankez and 1B Bob Hove teamed up for a great season with newcomers LF Juan Tumaini, traded from the Prissley Trail Blazers in the off season, and RF Ivan Tuwaa, who made the All-Stars for the first time after coming to Deerborn as a free agent this spring. Tuwaa’s presence became especially valuable to the team after the Sox lost 2-time All-Star Curt Sawyer to a ruptured Achilles tendon in early September.
The Delle Stars’ lineup had a great year and a great series against Platte, scoring 24 runs over the final three games of the series. Delle’s offense is led by 3B Mario Olivo. He won the UA MVP award in 1931 as well as this season’s batting title. He’s no stranger to the big stage, having won both the SemiFinal MVP and the Windsor Cup MVP last year. Newcomer 1B Pedro Bausi played a crucial role in the Stars’ success since coming to the team from the NPL’s Petchon Carp. Bausi hit .304 with 31 HR, tying Olivo for the team lead. Antonio and Carlos Teakowa (no relation) hit 23 and 17 HR respectively. Antonio Teakowa really turned up in the last two games of the SFS, willing the Stars to a series win with the UA’s first ever 4-HR game on his way to SFS MVP.
Like the White Sox, the Stars have also relied on the “next man up.” They lost everyday LF Norm Hester to a torn back muscle on August 19. Alex Terawaa played well in center field as Hester’s replacement in the lineup. Unfortunately, Terwaa was injured with a strained oblique in the SFS. Terawaa has been replaced by T.J. Harrison, who performed poorly this season and in the SFS.
Pitching
This series features what might be the best two pitching staffs in the UA. The Stars led the league in runs against, defensive efficiency, and bullpen ERA. They were second in starter ERA to the Bears. The White Sox were third in runs allowed, and right behind the Stars in bullpen and starter ERA. The Stars and Sox employ the talents of the league’s top two pitchers in saves, David Rogers for the Stars, and Carlos Garcika for the White Sox. Rogers has won Reliever of the Year twice, and both closers have made the All-Stars four times. Garcika shut down opponents of the White Sox with an incredible 0.19 ERA in 40 appearances.
The Stars are missing two of their top franchise pitchers in this series, after LH SP Kevin Leroux broke his elbow in Spring Training and RH SP Stanley Quinn tore his elbow ligament on September 8. A few weeks before Quinn went down, the Stars traded for RH SP Jeff Rogers from the Trail Blazers. Rogers was great in crucial games down the stretch with 6 starts and four bullpen appearances. Starters LHP Jeffrey Irvin and RHP John Munson were both phenomenal to help fill the injury gap in their first full seasons win Delle, along with ace starter Ron Rivera, who had a 12-0 season on the mound.
RH RP Jeremy Wheeler came to the team from the NPL’s Plains City Reapers, and made the All-Star team in his first year with the Stars. Veteran LH RP Fernando Varkas has shone in his first year with the Stars, having been selected to his third All-Star roster in 1932. Nearly every pitcher in the Delle bullpen is throwing at his highest level coming into the WCF. RH RP Amin Roux struck out 89 batters in 46.2 innings for 0.96 ERA.
Deerborn’s pitching staff features megastar hurlers RH SP Jorge Takato and RH SP Roberto Tokorres. Takato has won Pitcher of the Year twice, and Tokorres is a likely candidate for the award this season, having finished in the top three in wins, ERA, and strikeouts in 1932. The starting rotation in Deerborn is phenomenal, rounded out by RHP Mathew Huertata (last season’s Pitcher of the Year), RHP Isaac Lee, and RHP Arturo Kolon.
The White Sox core bullpen group remained nearly unchanged for another tremendous season. RH RP Joao Thery had a career year, with a 1.62 ERA and a 0.84 WHIP. RH RP Roy Darnell and RH RP Michael Green were brilliant as usual for the Sox, and LH RP Pedro Pultudos had another great season as well.
Here We Go
The curtain rises on the 1932 Windsor Cup Finals tomorrow in Deerborn. For the White Sox, pride and legacy are on the line, as a victory might be the tipping point between a reputation as perennial post-season bed-wetters or a legendary dynasty. For the Stars, the memory of former teammate Yassine Joseph has brought a friendly clubhouse even closer together this year. Joseph was tragically lost in a plane crash in June. With a win, Delle would not only be the first team to win the Cup twice, but they would also be the first team to win it in back-to-back seasons.
For what it’s worth, I believe the Stars take the series in 5 games. Their momentum can’t be ignored, and I think there’s some truth to the theory that waiting around during the bye is detrimental to the Davis Trophy-winning team. If the White Sox can manage to take the first two games at home, it’s anybody’s series. But if the Stars are allowed to stay hot after three straight poundings of the Bears for the reverse sweep, I think it’s a relatively easy series win for Delle.
Either way, we’ll see the Windsor Cup raised and a legacy etched in time. The series begins tomorrow with Games 1 and 2 at Kostinsky Park. Best of luck to both teams!
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