Bob Levy's 1934 Replay

The Immortal Replay

Bob Levy’s 1934 Replay

When I started this Replay Reviews series, I promised a few people that I would feature more than just old APBA Journal replays.

I fully intend to comply with my promise. But I can’t let Bob Levy’s excellent work sit by the wayside.

Bob Levy published his 1934 replay in the July 1987 edition of the APBA Journal.

The entire article is a classic. Bob’s writing style is absolutely fantastic.

It’s a bit long for a blog post, so I won’t reproduce the entire thing here. I will give you a taste for it, however.

Notice the personal touch. Bob constantly makes references to how the replay intersects with his life, which makes his writing absolutely compelling.

Levy actually undersells the time and effort he put into his research. He didn’t just look at a few issues of The New York Times. I know what that paper looked like in the 1930s; he wasn’t going to find that much information without looking elsewhere.

Levy was a broadcaster by trade, but he was a researcher and writer at heart.

Of course, Bob’s profession allowed him to meet some of the great stars of the past, so I guess it wasn’t all a waste. It’s sad to hear about Hubbell’s arm diminishing like this, though.

The standings are close enough, though the Athletics sure fell down to the cellar.

The averages aren’t bad in the American League: a .277 replay batting average compared to .279 in real life, a .402 replay slugging percentage compared to .399 in real life, and a .344 on base percentage compared to .351.

The pitching was a tad hot. The 4.83 ERA is high; it was 4.50 in real life. Pitchers collected only 3,872 strikeouts in the replay, compared to 4,285 in real life — though walks were almost spot on (4,592 compared to 4,611). Levy had 555 complete games, compared to 547 in real life, which gives you an idea of how careful he was with pitchers.

The Giants won the National League pennant. The National League put up a .273 / .388 / .317 line on offense, compared to .279 / .394 / .333 in real life. On base percentage seems low.

The National League was a little bit hot - the 4.15 ERA was higher than the real life 4.06 ERA, although the Giants pitchers were on fire. Strikeouts were still low: 3,938 compared to 4,144 in real life. Walks were also low, with only 2,870 in the replay against 3,239 in real life. Complete games were really hot: 649 in the replay compared to 513 in real life. In real life, the Giants only threw 68 complete games, which makes me think that not going to the bullpen may have given them an advantage.

It’s a great replay to read, and a great one to think about. Statistical discrepancies aside, it looks like a project that was a ton of fun.