Part of Guise’s success stemmed from his unconventional pitching mechanics. Source: The State (Columbia, S.C.), February 26, 1941.
#RIPIT BASEBALL PRO#
Evidently, he was paid well enough to remain in the indie baseball ranks rather than sign with a pro team. Even if the Yankees had given up on him, one would think that there was some club in the second division of the American or National League that would take a chance on him. The confusing thing is why Guise was doing all this pitching in small-time Southern Leagues. The Weavers made it to the championship of the Carolina League in 1936, and Guise was one of the team’s leading starters. A glance through available game recaps indicates Guise won more than he lost, pitched well more often than not and maintained his ability to get out of jams when needed.
He ended up spending most of the 1930s with them. Guise pitched for the Winnsboro Royals/Royal Cords (managed briefly by Shoeless Joe Jackson) and Gainesville Hawks before he found a home with the Concord Weavers.
#RIPIT BASEBALL PROFESSIONAL#
When DeLand played an exhibition game against the professional Montreal Royals, he allowed 6 runs in a 7-3 loss. However, against tougher competition, he struggled. He struck out 15 in the contest and allowed just 4 balls into the outfield. On June 15, 1933, he threw a 17-0 no-hitter against Ocala while pitching for DeLand.
Guise made the rounds throughout the South, pitching for several teams in Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina over the next few years. However, he was no longer effective, and by the summer, Guise was out of professional baseball and pitching for DeLand of the amateur All-Central Florida League. Baseball Reference indicates that Guise’s career came to a halt almost on the spot, but some box scores and news articles from April and May of 1932 indicate that Guise rejoined Albany and appeared in at least a few games. Either way, something snapped in his arm. One version is that he had to jerk the oars back quickly, and Guise’s explanation was that he was casting. Over that offseason, Guise was fishing in a rowboat, and something went wrong. Looking at game recaps, he didn’t seem like a dominating pitcher, but he was the crafty lefty who could get his way out of jams when his control got a little too wild. Nothing came of it, but the 22-year-old Guise appeared to be marked for a trip to the majors soon. He evidently impressed enough people that he reportedly tried out with the Yankees during the season. Guise spent all of 1931 with the Albany Senators of the Eastern League and turned in a 6-12 record and 4.05 ERA in 29 games with the Senators. Again, statistics are incomplete, but it seems as if he was used out of the pen primarily. By August, he was sent to Jersey City of the Double-A International League, where he was 0-1 in 11 games with a 4.66 ERA. Other times, he was knocked out of the game early. Sometimes he pitched well, like the 8-6 complete game win he had over Scranton on May 25, in which he struck out 6 and singled twice. Baseball Reference does not have the statistics from that league, but he seemed to have a pretty uneven time of it as a new pro player. Guise reported to the Hazleton Mountaineers of the New York-Pennsylvania League. Source: The Daily Advertiser (Lafayette, La.), June 6, 1930. Witt Guise as a college pitcher at the University of Florida.
0 kommentar(er)
