Cool Papa sent me this card back in the 1980s.
As some of you know, I’m under contract with the Strat-O-Matic Game Company, helping them prepare a Negro League All-Star simulation game based on some extensive original statistical research. Most of the stuff is proprietary to the game company and must be kept under the vest. If I leak some of the good stuff, I run the risk of winding up duct-taped, naked, and severely beaten inside the trunk of a car in New Jersey.
Fortunately, there are a couple of older studies (some of the “rough drafts” of what would eventually contribute to the SOM studies and set), which I can share.
To follow are some home/road goodies for James “Cool Papa” Bell, circa 1925 to 1930. It’s a study that has some flaws (unbalanced number of home/road games, the inclusion of a few “non-league” or post-season games, albeit against Negro League competition, etc.), but I still believe it’s of value.
As many of you know, they played in an odd little ballpark, famous for high-scoring games and home runs. Stars Park, located at the SE corner of Compton and Laclede Streets in St. Louis, featured an inviting, 269-foot fence down the left field line, just in front of a tin-covered trolley barn which became a favorite target of right-handed sluggers. Hall of Famers Willie Wells and Mule Suttles had two of the greatest home run seasons in Negro League history while playing in St. Louis.
Cool Papa, who was a switch-hitter, took advantage of the little bandbox in St.Louis just as much as anybody else. I’m not really doing any analysis here, as the numbers speak for themselves. Hopefully one of you can use this data in your studies or conversations about Hall of Famer Bell. Just make sure you give a shout-out to Scott Simkus for use of the research. You know, the guy duct-taped inside the trunk of the car in Trenton.
|
BELL |
AVG |
SLG |
G |
AB |
H |
2B |
3B |
HR |
|
HOME |
.358 |
.546 |
147 |
628 |
225 |
46 |
12 |
16 |
|
ROAD |
.299 |
.387 |
84 |
354 |
106 |
11 |
7 |
2 |
