Catcher Ken Sears

Ken Sears had two stints in the major leagues in the forties as a catcher, his Baseball-Reference page lists him as hitting .278 in 60 games for the 1943 Yankees, and .333 in  7 games for the Browns in 1946.

The page doesn't list any transactions for Sears, but we found a couple in searching the net:

First, how did Sears get from the Yankees organization to the Browns? This article from the April 5, 1946 Reading Eagle tells all:

“Catcher Ken Sears, obtained from the Yankees in a trade for Milt Byrnes, joined the Browns…”

Byrnes' Baseball-Reference page doesn't mention this either, but he went straight from the Browns to the Yankees' farm system that year.

Sears would move on one more time, from the Browns' minors to the Dodgers' system. From the St. Petersburg Times of May 7, 1947:

"Catcher Ken Sears, once with the Yankees in spring training here, has been sold by the San Antonio Missions to Bill Dickey’s Little Rock team in the Southern association.”

Odd that Sears didn't get more major league time with the batting average he was able to put up. Byrnes had a few extra moves too, we will see if we can uncover those transactions.

Sears pic from  pinstripebirthdays.mlblogs.com

Byrnes from ebay

 

   

Loren Babe Was a Toronto Mainstay

Loren Babe was primarily a third baseman during his short major league career in the early fifties with the Yankees and A's, but like many players, had a long career in the AAA ranks.

After playing 103 games for Philadelphia in 1953, he was a part of a large deal between the A's and Yankees that sent him back to New York's system. He didn't play for the Yankees OR their minor leagues, as he was sent straight to independent Toronto.

The Lethbridge (Alberta) Herald of Jan. 5, 1954 explains...

"TORONTO (CP) Toronto Maple Leafs of the International League Monday night, announced the purchase for $15,000 of infielder Loren Babe from New York Yankees of the American League. Babe will be used at second base. He played third base for Syracuse Chiefs of the International League in 1951 and 1952. In those seasons he hit .272 and .305 playing under manager Bruno Betzel. He was purchased by the Leafs on the. recommendation of Betzel, signed recently as Toronto coach, , Babe, sold to Philadelphia Athletics last, season for $25,000 after playing in five games for the Yankees, batted .230 in 103 games for the A's. The Yankees bought him back at their original selling price to complete the recent. 11-player deal they made with the A's."

Babe stayed with the independent Maple Leafs until 1958, when he went to Seattle in the PCL.

From the Spokane Daily Chronicle of Apr. 8, 1958...

“Former New York Yankee infielder Loren Babe was purchased yesterday from Toronto by the Seattle Rainiers of the Pacific Coast Baseball league, Dewey Soriano, the club’s general manager, announced.”

His stay in Seattle was a short, injury-plagued one, and he was soon in a Rochester uniform.

From the Terre Haute Star of May 21, 1958...

"ROCHESTER, N. Y., May 20.— (5)—Infielder Loren Babe today was signed by the Rochester Red Wings in a move to add batting power to the club. Babe, who played with Seattle earlier this year, had been a free agent after suffering an ankle injury. Red Wing General Manager George Sisler said Babe's contract was conditioned on his ability to play and to produce. Babe, a left-handed hitter, batted .262 last year with Toronto. He hit five homers and drove in 54 runs. He was sold to Seattle at the end of the season. He injured his ankle in Spring training and was batting .220 when he left the club."

The wonderful collection of work at "On A Silver Diamond"  mentions that it was a free agent signing.

Other than one at-bat in 1961, Babe finished his career in Rochester.

Babe from 1952toppsbaseballcards.com

 

Los Angeles Gives Denver Flowers for Fridley

Big Jim Fridley was an outfielder for the Indians, Orioles and Reds and several minor league teams in the fifties. Ben Flowers pitched for quite a few teams in the early fifties.

Between stints with Baltimore in 1954 and the Reds in 1958, Fridley was involved in a few transactions, as noted on his Baseball Reference major league page.

• May 30, 1957: Purchased by the Brooklyn Dodgers from the New York Yankees. (Date given is approximate. Exact date is uncertain.)
• April 10, 1958: Purchased by the Detroit Tigers from the Los Angeles Dodgers. (Date given is approximate. Exact date is uncertain.)
• April 11, 1958: Purchased by the Cincinnati Redlegs from the Detroit Tigers. (Date given is approximate. Exact date is uncertain.)  

That certainly looks funny and very uncharted. But thanks to the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner of May 24, 1957,  we can unravel one of these transactions:

"Los Angeles announced the acquisition of outfielder Jim Fridley from Denver of the American Assn., in exchange for pitcher Ben Flowers, who was 1-4 with the Angels this year. Fridley has lit .313 for Denver this season."

Los Angeles was a Dodgers AAA team, and Denver a Yankees AAA team. Flowers' Baseball Reference major league page has no mention of the deal at all.

Haven't cracked the other two Fridley deals yet!

Next time, a debt gets paid in a previously Unknown Transaction!

Flowers from Wikipedia, Fridley from COMC.COM

 

Frank Leja and the 1961 Shuffle

Frank Leja was a bonus baby slugger for the Yankees in the fifties who made a couple appearances for them in 1954 and 1955, and another short stop with the LA Angels in 1961.

His documented transaction list has him staying in the Yankees system until late 1961, where he is traded to the Cardinals system, then to the Angels before the 1962 season. He was traded to the Braves later.

That doesn't explain a side trip to Syracuse in 1961. The Chiefs that year were a TWINS affiliate. Turns out that Leja was purchased to add some power to the lineup....

The Spokesman-Review for May 12, 1961

The deal on May 11, 1961 was a cash purchase of Leja by Syracuse from Richmond.

Another website has Oct. 1, 1961 as a tentative date for Leja returning to the Yankees in anothe cash deal, before his trade to the Cardinals.

Yet another article has Leja being recalled by the Cardinals later from the Charleston farm club, mentioning he had just been traded there in 1961.

There is also a matter of a couple teams Leja played for out of the Yankees organization in 1960...we will keep looking!

(pic from myyesnetwork.com )