Casey Stengel fired, Bill Rigney takes the helm for Route 66

Young manager promises continued focus on youth and building winner for the future.

December 30, 1958 - In a surprise announcement, manager Casey Stengel was fired today as manager after just one season at the helm.  "I'll never make the mistake of being 68 again!" said Stengel.  The Hot Rods had a league worst record of (48-106) in the league in Stengel's first season and with the youth movement now in full swing, the team knew a change needed to be made.  The Hot Rods named Bill Rigney as their new skipper, "(Bill) Rigney will be able to take this young team in a new direction," said GM Frank Lane, "Casey was wonderful, but with a rebuilding club, this was not a good fit, Bill Rigney is the right man at the right time for the Route 66 Hot Rods."  The 40 year old Rigney was excited about the opportunity, "This is a young team, and I am looking forward to helping grow this young franchise into a perennial league champion"

Hot Rods will make 1B Orlando Cepeda top pick in Rookie Draft

The Route 66 Hot Rods announce that first baseman Orlando Cepeda will be top pick in the 1958 Rookie Draft

November 24, 1957 - The Hot Rods have the top pick in the 1958 Rookie Draft, and though it is a full two months before the draft, the Hot Rods today announced the signing of their top pick, Orlando Cepeda.  "Orlando has the potential to be a future Hall of Famer," said Hot Rods owner Bill Veeck, "Orlando will play 1b for us in 1958 and hopefully will stay there for the next 15 years.  "I happy to play here for Hot Rods," said an excited Cepeda, "They lose many games last year, but they have young players, and we have much better team in 1958."  The Hot Rods see Cepeda as being the cornerstone of this young franchise and a potential rookie of the year.

"Don Deal." Don Blasingame and Don Cardwell join Hot Rods

Route 66 continues their youth movement after finishing 1957 with the leagues worst record.

October 1, 1957 - After finishing the 1957 season with a league worst 48-106 mark, Hot Rods GM Frank Lane knew changes were needed.  He got right to it the day after the season, sending away some of the Hot Rod best veterans in a blockbuster.  Lane traded Early Wynn, Billy Gardner, Bill Martin, Red Wilson, Frank House, Ted Kazanski and Tom Morgan for SP Don Cardwell (pictured above), 2b Don Blasingame, SP Ron Kline, C Hal W. Smith, 2b Jerry Kindall and a 3rd Round Draft pick.  "Early and Gardner were our two best players in 1957, but as you can see from the standings, it did us little good," said Lane, "We are in rebuilding mode, and players like Cardwell and Blasingame will join Luis Aparicio, John Roseboro, Jim Landis and Wally Moon as the core of that process."  In another minor trade, the Hot Rods send Chuck Stobbs and Jim Owens away for 3b Reno Bertoia.  Bertoia will most likely platoon with Gene Freese at 3b for the 1958 season.

No Relief for Hot Rods in June, but Billy Gardner wins award

Bullpen can't spell R-O-L-A-I-D-S, but second baseman Billy Gardner is named AL Player of the Month for June .

June 30, 1957 - Casey Stengel has figured out the reason why the Hot Rods can not win games in 1957.  The bullpen can't spell relief!"  said Stengel, "I spell it R-O-L-A-I-D-S, and they spell it L-O-S-S."  The Route 66 club dropped 16 of 24 games in June, mainly due to their inept bullpen, with their record now standing at 24-50, the worst record in the league.  There was a lone bright spot to the month of June however, as second baseman Billy Gardner earned the American League Player of the Month Award for June, batting a robust .449 for the month, with 40 Hits and 9 Doubles, leading the league in those categories.  'We're not having a real good year, but I'm a ballplayer," said Gardner as he accepted his award,  "And no matter what the score is, I am playing to win.  I am honored to be presented with this award.  Now its time to win some games!"

Casey's "Mayday" brings better results in May for Hot Rods 

After shaky start, Route 66 goes 11-14 in May, shocking two of leagues top teams in the process.

May 31, 1957 - Casey Stengel was a frustrated manager in April.  After a 5-20 start, the "Stengelese" was flying, "The Hot Rods have shown me more ways to lose than I even knew existed," said Stengel at a press conference following the teams 20th loss, "In fact, The only thing worse than a Hot Rods game is a Hot Rods double-header!"  Stengel promised to get back to basics with the team, and promised to send out a "mayday" to his players to get them moving. Well, Casey's "mayday" worked, as the Hot Rods went 11-14 in May, including series wins over the Elephants and the Surfers, two of the best teams in the league. "I figured out why we started so slow.  We got a lot of kids now whose uniforms are so tight, especially the pants, that they cannot bend over to pick up ground balls. And they don't want to bend over in television games because in that way there is no way their face can get on the camera."

"Take your licks....On Route 66." Early Wynn can't buy a win

April 30, 1957 - Casey Stengel knew his rebuilding Hot Rods might struggle in 1957, but oh the mighty Casey and the Hot Rods struck out for the entire month of September, finishing with a league worst 5-20 mark.  After being the victim of a 5 hit shut out at the hands of the Beavers Don Larsen, Stengel quipped "Well ya know, I seen that guy throw better games than that, heck, he threw a perfect game in the World Series!  At least we got 5 hits!"  And that was pretty much how the whole month went.  The Hot Rods scored 66 runs for the month (a fitting number for Route 66), and gave up 114.  There were a few bright spots.  Wally Moon smashed 4 Home Runs, and Frank Torre batted .306, while on the mound, Early Wynn was spectacular, starting 5 games, 42 innings pitched, 30 hits, 10 walks and 30 strikeouts, which left him among the league leaders in many categories.  But the most important category was wins, and Early got none (0-2) thanks to NO run support at all.  It's gonna be a long road for Route 66 in 1957.

Hot Rods select John Roseboro and Jim Landis in Rookie Draft

Route 66 rebuilding officially begins with a shocker, when top prospect John Roseboro falls to 9th spot in draft

January 17, 1957 - The Route 66 Hot Rods "officially" began their rebuilding process at the 1957 Rookie Draft.  The Hot Rods, picking with the 9th and 10th picks, selected their catcher of the future John Roseboro and their potential 1957 center fielder Jim Landis.  "We are very pleased with our first draft," said GM Frank Lane, "Roseboro is a dynamic left handed hitting defensive catcher, with a cannon arm and a mean bat to top.  We'll let him develop this year but expect him to become our starter next season."  The Hot Rods also replaced Richie Ashburn in centerfield, but selecting speedy defensive whiz Jim Landis with the 10th pick, "Landis will get a shot at the center field job this spring," added Lane, "We don't expect that he'll hit right away, but he has more pop than Ashburn, and has the speed and defense to match."

Route 66 fills roster in the later rounds of Phase 1 & 2 Drafts

Hot Rods add quality starters and depth during latter rounds of Phase 1 and Phase 2 drafts

November 19, 1956 - Route 66 revved up their engines Saturday and look to have filled out the rest of their roster during the Phase 1 & 2 Drafts.  After Round 1 of the Phase 1 draft, the Hot Rods added some quality players like starting pitchers Danny McDevitt and Don Lee, and backup 1B Julio Becquer.  "We like Danny and Don a lot," quipped pitching coach Bob Feller, "both have live arms and are close to reaching the bigs."  The Hot Rods were also able to add some quality in the Phase 2 Draft, adding starting second baseman Billy Gardner, a solid starting pitcher in Russ Kemmerer and a solid catcher in Red Wilson (pictured above). "We are just elated to acquire Billy and Red," commented GM Frank Lane, "Adding a quality second baseman like Gardner will allow us to possibly move Billy Martin to third base, which is a weak position for us.  As Red will platoon nicely with Frank (House).  It just makes our team better."

Luis Aparicio and Early Wynn to power overhauled Hot Rods

Two of the few holdovers, Luis Aparicio and Early Wynn will lead the rebuilding Hot Rods in 1957

November 1, 1956 - After trading 16 players from their original roster, "Trader" Lane and the Hot Rods appear to be fully "overhauled."  Leading this new team will be three holdovers, young shortstop Luis Aparicio, ace starting pitcher Early Wynn, and ace reliever Don Mossi.  "These three are the anchors of this team, said owner Bill Veeck, "We wanted to revamp the old roster we inherited when we acquired this franchise, but tradition is important as well and Louie, Early and Sphinx are the cornerstones to building this franchise back into a perennial powerhouse."  The four other holdovers include catcher Frank House, first baseman Frank Torre, third baseman Gene Freese, and starting pitcher Herb Score, who has been battling a sore shoulder this spring, "We were counting on Herb to team with Early for one of the best 1-2 punches in SPB, but it looks like he may be out a while," added Veeck.

Hot Rods get a tune up, acquire outfielders Moon and Cimoli

Outfielders Wally Moon and Gino Cimoli bring some much needed power to the Hot Rods outfield

October 28, 1956 - Looking to solidify there non-existent outfield, the Hot Rods made a bold move today, dealing two of their best starting pitchers, Frank Sullivan and Joe Nuxhall, along with a couple of the teams aging veterans, Del Ennis, Danny O'Connell and Harry Simpson, and a 5th RDP for your outfielders Wally Moon, Gino Cimoli, second sacker Billy Martin, and pitchers Chuck Stobbs, Tom Morgan and Seth Morehead.  "Clearly our outfield after trading Richie was a bit depleted," said GM Frank Lane, "Trading Nuxhall and Sullivan hurts our rotation for this season, though we believe that Stobbs and Morgan will fill in admirably.  Getting two great young outfielders and a 2B like Billy Martin is a definite upgrade for us, and the three pitchers (Morgan, Stobbs and Morehead, who could serve as the teams closer) are all very good and figure very prominently in the Hot Rods plans for 1957."

Hot Rods deal for top prospect Brandt, 1st Round Draft Pick

Hot Rods begin rebuilding process by sending veteran outfielder Ashburn away in a  deal for 2 young players

October 27, 1956 - After making several minor deals, the Hot Rods made their biggest one yet today, trading future Hall of Fame outfielder Richie Ashburn to the Evanston Elephants for a 1st Round Draft Pick (10) and top outfield prospect Jackie Brandt.  "Richie has been amazing for this franchise," said manager Casey Stengel, "But we ain't gonna be too good this year, and Richie would be standing out at 1st a lot after all of those walks with know one to knock him in."  GM Frank "Trader" Lane added that he expects Brandt to be a very good outfielder, and is very confident that the Hot Rods will be able to get a very good player with that 10th pick in the draft.

Flurry of minor trades reshapes roster of the Hot Rods

Series of minor trades begin the renovation of the Hot Rods.  "Trader" Lane is focused on youth movement.

October 25, 1956 - There weren't big names being thrown around the first couple of trades that new Hot Rods GM Frank "Trader" Lane made upon taking over the team, but it was clear that the goal was to get younger players, as the Hot Rods were dealing veterans left and right.   "Most of these guys were closing out there careers, and we need and infusion of youth," said Lane.  Joining the Hot Rods were pitchers Dave Sisler, Taylor Phillips, Raul Sanchez and Jim Owens, catcher Jay Porter, infielders Wayne Causey and Ted Kazanski, along with outfielders Bob Speake and Gene Stephens.  "These players will help us get through this rebuilding period," added Lane, "The key to building a strong foundation for our franchise is to develop through youth, and that's what we are doing."

"Get your hits...on Route 66"

New manager Casey Stengel and the Hot Rods hit the road in SPB-II.  Frank "Trader" Lane named new GM.

October 24, 1956 -  From Chicago to Los Angeles, the Hot Rods will be burning up Route 66 in 1957 as the new Route 66 Hot Rods join Seasons Past Baseball 2.  The Hot Rods have some rebuilding to do, so who better than the old professor Casey Stengel to lead this new franchise.  "The new owners here wanted someone with experience.  Well, I got a lot of experience with winners, and a lot of experience with losers," said Stengel, "My experience is that when you lose, it ain't much fun, and when ya win, it's only fun until you lose, and I expect we'll do a little bit of both."  Words of Wisdom from the old professor for sure.  The Hot Rods expect to revamp this roster, and with the hiring of new GM Frank "Trader" Lane, look for lots of trades and a whole new look for this team in 1957.