Central casting

Unlike the previous two groups, there is no obvious winner, nor is there necessarily a sixth-place team that jumps out at you. The Central may be the most competitive group, along with the South, and therefore could be the most fun. Expect a lot of tight games featuring some of the greatest pitchers to ever toe the slab.

If you were going by baseball “population,” Missouri would be far and away No. 1. And they should at least advance to the tournament round. But it will not be easy, because as you can see, there are no days off in this group.

My guess:

1. Oklahoma. Not by size, but by peak talent. The Mick, Stargell, Bench and Joe Rogan will lead the way. Rogan’s pitching, and ability to play second base when he’s not on the mound, will be the difference.

2. Missouri. They don’t have the big bats of some of the others, including Oklahoma, but their consistent pitching led by Carl Hubbell and reasonably productive offense (Yogi, Ken Boyer) will keep them in the medal play hunt.

3. Nebraska. With Bob Gibson and Pete Alexander starting about half the games, and enough offense with Boggs, Ashburn and Crawford, I really can’t see them failing too often.

4. Kansas. Now it gets tough. Any of the other three could go here, and certainly one could knock out one of the top trio. I will pick the Kansans because of Walter Johnson.

5. Iowa. Hard to picture Bob Feller not making it to the medal round, and it certainly could work out that the Hawkeyes make it, but I don’t know if they will score enough to support their talented twirlers.

6. Arkansas. Would be a contender in most groups, and they will be a tough team here. But there’s no Gibby, King Carl or Rapid Robert on the squad.

Next: International.

Show me a winner

We’re coming close to the halfway point and, perhaps fittingly, we’re crossing the Mississippi for the first time.

Thanks largely to St. Louis, considered by many to be the Best Baseball City in America™, Missouri is up near the top in baseball population. It ranks eighth among states in MLB players produced.

There are five Hall of Famers from Missouri, not a lot considering the size of the group. The five are Jake Beckley, Yogi Berra, Pud Galvin, Carl Hubbell and Zack Wheat. Two others, Clark Griffith and Casey Stengel, are in the Hall for their non-playing contributions, though both are on this roster for their fine playing careers. Others like Ken Boyer and George Van Haltren are close but probably will remain outside the Hall.

I gotta go with Yogi. For one thing, aside from perhaps Puerto Rico, Missouri has produced the most quality catchers. You have Yogi, Elston Howard and Darrell Porter on the squad here, and Walker Cooper just missing (brother Mort, the pitcher, made it). Also there was Negro leaguer Frank Duncan, and you might remember Yogi’s boyhood pal, Joe Garagiola, who has mentioned his friend from “The Hill” in St. Louis a time or two.

But this isn’t about the quotes and the sayings. Yogi, who was there at D-Day, was a great ballplayer. Stengel managed the Yankees for 12 years, and he liked to say that he “never played a big game without my man,” meaning Berra. He won three MVP awards and no one in baseball has won more rings than Yogi, who was a part of 10 world championship teams from 1947 to 1962. He also managed a team in each league to Game 7 of the World Series before falling short.

Stengel isn’t going to manage here, so he can play. Earl Weaver will run the show, although he might be a bit frustrated because aside from Yogi and Ryan Howard, the power may be hard to come by sometimes. The mound staff is solid with Galvin, Carl Hubbell, David Cone and recent perfect game hurler Mark Buehrle. Tom Henke is a very reliable closer.

So for Earl, it’s pitching yes, three-run homers maybe. But Missouri has nice balance and should rank right up there when all is said and done.

MISSOURI TIGERS

OF Bob Allison
1B Jake Beckley
CA Yogi Berra
3B Ken Boyer
LH Mark Buehrle
RH David Cone
RH Mort Cooper
2B Lonny Frey
RH Pud Galvin
RH Clark Griffith
RH Tom Henke
SS Charlie Hollocher
CA Elston Howard
1B Ryan Howard
LH Carl Hubbell
2B Ron Hunt
3B Bill Joyce
LH Leroy Matlock
OF Bake McBride
CA Darrell Porter
RH Steve Rogers
OF Roy Sievers
OF Casey Stengel
OF George Van Haltren
OF Zack Wheat
2B Jimmy Williams
RH Joe Wood
SS Glenn Wright

Next: Arkansas.