Nebraska Minor League Baseball
Nebraska State League
Hastings Giants 1957

The 1957 Hastings Giants were a different team as Leo Schrall was brought in as manager. After their dismal finish in 1956 they were looking to improve under their new manager.

The Giants improved and finished with a winning record in 1957. They wound up in fifth place in the league. Duncan field saw over 21,000 fans through the turnstiles to watch the Giants.

The Giants played their games at Duncan Field. The field was a pitchers dream with its long distances to the outfield fences.

 

Roster:
Humberto Sama was the Giants regular at first in 1957. The switch hitter averaged .269 in 50 games.

A number of players were tried at each of the infield positions in 1957. Barry Gang played in 15 games and averaged .276. Gary Treon split time between second and third and averaged .292. Roger Jenne played in 13 games and averaged .188. Julio Santana split his time between second and short and averaged .245. Claybon Council was tried at third base for eleven games and catcher for 26 games. He averaaged .269 for the year. Lionel Rodgers splithis time between third and short. The switch hitter batted .331 for the year.

James Pruitt put on the mask as catcher for the Giants in 28 games in 1958. He did not reach the Mendoza line, batting .186 for the season.

Outfield:
One of the regulars in the outfield for the Giants was James McClain . He played in 55 games, averaged .270 and had 16 stolen bases.

Gary Krupsky played 51 games in the garden. The port side swinger averaged .233 for the season.

Mike Levins averaged .258 in 40 games and Frank Palladino averaged .253 in 26 games.

Pitchers:
John Cregan was the only Giant pitcher in the top 10 in the league in 1957. John played his high school ball St. Ann's High School in Queens. His high school coach was Lou Carnesecca who went on to be a basketball icon at St. Johns. He participated in 13 games and had a 6-3 record. He was fifth in the league with a 2.48 ERA. In 1958 he played for Fresno in the class "C" California League and in 1959 he was with St. Cloud in the Northern League.

Robert Stricko appeared in 10 games and had a 4-1 record.

Clayton Gery pitched in 13 games and had a 3-2 record and Aubrey Grigsby was 2-1 in 6 games.

Don Percivalle was 4-5 in 16 games and Allen Phelon was 2-1 in 8 games.

Joe Schatz was on the mound for 14 games and had a 3-3 record. Don Svenson was 1-3 in eight appearances.

Nebraska State League Standings 1957

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