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Eddie Dyer had so many pitchers he needed toes and fingers to count them. Most promising: a 30-year-old Oklahoma newcomer, chisel-chinned ex-Corporal Fred Martin, who has poise, a sizzling fastball, a good curve, a tricky sinker and, most important of all, control. Everywhere Manager Dyer looked he saw more talent than he could use. His problem: which players—especially which pitchers—to sell.
Unlike the American League, which had almost no spring rookies to rave about, the National League was full of them. One even crept into the solid Cardinal lineup: Dick Sisler, (batting .443) son of the great George Sisler, pushed Ray Sanders (batting .192) off first base. After the Cardinals, the National League lineup looked like this:
The Cubs, who hadn't fattened their 1945 roster much except for pitching. Manager Charlie Grimm would still have Batting Champion Phil Cavarretta.
The Dodgers, whose loud Lippy Leo Durocher threatened to jettison his ancient outfield—Walker, Galan and Rosen —and gamble on three rambunctious rookies named Carl Furill, Gene Hermanski and Dick Whitman. With Mickey Owen in Mexico, he would depend on Rookie Ferrell Anderson behind the plate. The Dodgers were pointing mainly for 1947.
The Giants, who were slow, but powerful at the plate. Everything depended on whether their new, $175,000 catcher, Walker Cooper, could steady a jittery pitching staff.
The Braves might make the first division if Billy Southworth's methodical magic worked and Mort Cooper's ailing arm got well. Pittsburgh and Cincinnati seemed to be heading for the lower half. The biggest little effort would come from the Phillies, managed by onetime Yankee Ben Chapman. They had corralled every available has-been from both leagues, to try to get out of the cellar.