Category: TWIWBL Page 1 of 54

TWIWBL 98.5: Year 3, Week 1 – Marvin Miller Division

On August 20, 2026

Team	W/L	Pct	GB
Kansas City Monarchs	5-2	.714	—
Birmingham Black Barons	3-4	.429	2
Wandering House of David	3-4	.429	2
Houston Colt 45s	2-5	.286	3
Indianapolis ABCs	1-5	.167	3.5

Marvin Miller Division | 8 April

Birmingham Black Barons

The Black Barons opened the year by shutting out the defending champions. Greg Maddux started with 6 scoreless and Kerry Ligtenberg, Bruce Chen and Akinori Otsuka finished a 5-hit combined shutout, 1-0 over Brooklyn.

Otsuka was injured and will spend some time on the DL, with Steve Bedrosian activated in his place.

Indianapolis ABCs

Ed Swartwood was hit by a pitch and is on the disabled list, with Pete Rose recalled from AAA Cincinnati.

Kansas City Monarchs

Smokey Joe Wood struck out 10 over 7 innings in a 7-3 win over Houston, improving to 2-0.

Joe Thatcher was injured while pitching and is on the disabled list; Jeff Reardon was recalled.

TWIWBL 98.4: Year 3, Week 1 – Effa Manley Division

By mknn

On August 19, 2026

In TWIWBL

Team	W/L	Pct	GB
Homestead Grays	5-2	.714	—
Philadelphia Stars	5-2	.714	—
Brooklyn Royal Giants	4-3	.571	1
New York Gothams	3-3	.500	1.5
Ottawa Mounties	3-4	.429	2

Effa Manley Division | 8 April

Brooklyn Royal Giants

The defending champions won 2 games in walk-off fashion inside 3 days, but both took a while. Duke Snider ended a 12-inning affair with Ottawa with a 2-run homer, 10-8, and Ray Dandridge — last October’s Whirled Series MVP — finished a 13-inning game with a solo shot, giving the Royal Giants a 4-3 win over Ottawa.

Pedro Guerrero had 4 hits and 4 RBIs, including 2 homeruns, in a 12-5 rout of Kansas City. Jackie Robinson drove in 4 in the victory.

Homestead Grays

Josh Gibson seems poised to resist the sophomore slump. He hit a 3-run homer and drove in 5 in a 9-1 win over Indianapolis, then, in the second game of a doubleheader 2 days later, came off the bench to hit a pinch-hit 3-run homer that won it 4-3 — 444 feet, and off the bat at 115 mph, the hardest ball anyone in the division struck all week.

New York Gothams

Christy Mathewson threw the best game of the week: 8 innings, 1 hit, 1 walk, 13 strikeouts, a game score of 88, and a 4-1 win over Philadelphia. The single hit was a Rico Carty home run which travelled a monstrous 465 ft, which is one way to spoil a no-hitter.

Jim Ray Hart outdid Carty, sending a ball 475 ft off the Stars’ Charlie E Smith in a 9-6 win.

Ottawa Mounties

Carlos Beltrán hit 2 home runs, scored 3 and drove in 3 in a 9-4 win at Brooklyn with Gary Carter adding a 2-run shot of 455 feet and Roy Halladay working 7 innings for the win.

Rick Monday keeps being Rick Monday, hitting 2 out in a 12-inning loss to Brooklyn.

Philadelphia Stars

Charles Rogan continued his brilliance: first, as the DH, he went 5-for-5 — tying the NL single-game record for hits — scoring 3 and driving in 4 in a 10-2 win at the House of David. Then he pitched: 7 innings, 6 hits, no runs, 9 strikeouts, and a 4-0 win over Indianapolis. Chase Utley supplied all 4 runs with a grand slam in that one.

J.M. Ward was nearly as good — 8 innings, 2 hits, no runs, a game score of 82 in a 3-1 win over Indianapolis.

We mentioned Rico Carty’s blast above; Mike Scioscia matched his distance with his own 465 ft shot in a 3-2 win over the Gothams.

Jim Fregosi is back, his 5-game suspension — carried over from spring training for bumping an umpire — now served.

TWIWBL 98.3: Year 3, Week 1 – Cum Posey Division

By mknn

On August 18, 2026

In TWIWBL

Team	W/L	Pct	GB
Portland Sea Dogs	5-2	.714	—
Miami Cuban Giants	4-3	.571	1
Chicago American Giants	4-3	.571	1
Los Angeles Angels	3-4	.429	2
San Francisco Sea Lions	2-5	.286	3

Cum Posey Division | 8 April

Chicago American Giants

The American Giants swept San Francisco at home to close the week — 14-7, 8-5, 6-3 — and scored 50 runs in 7 games, the most in the division. An encouraging sign for a franchise at a crossroads this season.

Chino Smith did a lot of the damage: 2 homers at Detroit in an x-y win/loss, then 3 hits and a 2-run shot in the first game of the sweep.

Sam Streeter struck out 10 in 5 innings in the opening victory over the Sea Lions, and veteran soft-tosser Jamie Moyer has quietly been effective early, winning 2 out of the bullpen over the 1st week.

Miami Cuban Giants

Julio Rodríguez was injured running the bases on the 3rd and is on the disabled list — a serious blow, as the 20-year-old center fielder hit 42 homers with a 1.008 OPS last season. Mark Kotsay was recalled, and will see time in the OF with CF largely being patrolled by Yasiel Puig and Andy Pafko in JRod’s absence.

Portland Sea Dogs

Huston Street was signed as a FA and put to work immediately, working 2 scoreless innings in a 5-3 win over Baltimore. Harry Matuzak was optioned to AAA Seattle to make room for Street.

Walter Johnson struck out 10 over 6 innings in an 11-9 win at Los Angeles, with Bobby Murcer collecting 4 hits and 4 RBIs and Ken Griffey Jr hitting a 3-run homer.

San Francisco Sea Lions

Five losses in 6 games, and a sweep in Chicago to finish, leaves the Sea Lions last in the division at 2-5. Wait, what?

The bats have not been the problem. In the 14-7 loss that opened the sweep in Chicago, Jimmie Foxx hit 2 solo homers and Bobby Bonds had 3 hits and a 2-run shot. Bonds’ blast flew 459 ft, the longest home run struck in the division this week.

Aaron Heilman will miss about a week with a shoulder sprain, with the Sea Lions recalling Tim Hudson from his rehab stint to take Heilman’s place in the bullpen.

TWIWBL 98.2: Year 3, Week 1 – Bill James Division

By mknn

On August 17, 2026

In TWIWBL

Team	W/L	Pct	GB
Detroit Wolverines	6-1	.857	—
Baltimore Black Sox	3-4	.429	3
Cleveland Spiders	3-4	.429	3
Memphis Red Sox	3-4	.429	3
New York Black Yankees	2-5	.286	4

Bill James Division | 8 April

Baltimore Black Sox

Ned Garvin deserved better. Finishing the suspended opener, he gave up one hit in five innings and struck out 10 — and lost. The hit was a Carlton Fisk home run leading off the second, Chino Smith got to John Tudor for a 3-run shot in the sixth, and Chicago took it 6-2. Still, an encouraging start to the season for Garvin.

The nightcap went the other way. Gavy Cravath hit a two-run shot off Waite Hoyt, Miller Huggins drove in three, and Dennis Martínez was good enough for a 5-3 win.

Tudor was injured later in the week, with Mike Mussina recalled from AAA Washington to take over Tudor’s swing role for the short-term.

Cleveland Spiders

Cy Young opened Cleveland’s season — a day late — with 6.2 innings, three hits, no runs and ten strikeouts, and Ryan Reed and Cody Gearrin finished off a five-hit shutout, 8-0 over Los Angeles. Lance Berkman hit a two-run homer.

Despite 14 hits, Cleveland fell 5-4 to San Francisco in 11 innings. Evan Longoria struck out 5 times, tying the American League record.

Another combined shutout came later in the week against Miami, as 5 arms combined on a 4-hit shutout with 17 (!) strikeouts: Mel Harder started, Whit Wyatt took over after a rain delay, and Reed, Aroldis Chapman and Terry Adams closed it out. Longoria — a better day this time — hit a two-run homer and Tris Speaker had three hits in the 4-0 win.

Adams was hurt in the series finale, but it’s not clear what the diagnosis is yet — a potentially impactful bit of news for the Spiders, although if he does go down, the recently-acquired Chapman would, assumedly, take over at closer.

Detroit Wolverines

The Wolverines are off to a WBL best 6-1 start to the season.

J. D. Martinez continues to impress, hitting a HR and 3 doubles in a 20 hit barrage against Chicago. The last was vital, as it scored Bobby Wallace with the winning run in the 9-8 victory over the American Giants.

Oscar Gamble closed the week with two home runs in a 5-2 win that saw Hal Newhouser improve to 2-0.

Wander Franco was hurt, with Damion Easley being recalled in his place.

Memphis Red Sox

FA Herman Long has been signed, presumably to take over at SS (Xander Bogaerts stays on the roster, but glove-man Adam Everett heads to AAA). Long was a platoon option for Birmingham, with Memphis hoping he can step into a larger role for them.

Ted Williams tied the franchise single-game record for runs, scoring 4 times, adding 4 hits (including a 2-run homer) as the Red Sox put fifteen hits on Los Angeles in a 10-5 win. David Ortiz had three hits and five RBIs, and Red Ruffing got the win despite giving up 5 earned in 5 innings.

Manny Ramírez hit 2 out in a 5-4 win over Baltimore. John Briggs also went deep, and, after blowing a lead, Armando Benitez claimed the victory.

Williams also launched the longest homer of the young season, a 480 ft. shot off Los Angeles’ Pud Galvin.

New York Black Yankees

The Black Yankees exploded in a 15-3 demolition of Detroit: 19 hits, 2 grand slams — Don Mattingly in the first, Mickey Rivers in the eighth — and home runs from Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in between. Rivers finished with 3 hits, 3 runs and 5 driven in, Manny Sanguillén had 3 hits and Ed Charles 4, with promising rookie Whitey Ford getting the win.

Eric Davis hit one of the hardest balls of the opening week: a 472 ft. bomb that left the bat at 115 mph off Miami’s Phenomenal Smith.

98.1: Welcome to Week 1 & Opening Day Games

By mknn

On August 16, 2026

In TWIWBL

8 April, 2002

Welcome to Year III! Woot woot!

The Whirled Baseball League opened its third season on the first of April, 2002, but the weather proved a mightier force than the ump crying Play Ball! Four of the ten scheduled openers were impacted by the wet — Houston at Homestead, Birmingham at Brooklyn, Chicago at Baltimore and Los Angeles at Cleveland all went to the tarp, and all four were made up as day-night doubleheaders the following afternoon. Of the six games that did get played, three were interrupted by rain anyway.

After the first week, The Detroit Wolverines sit alone at 6-1. Nobody else in the league has more than five wins. But Detroit is doing it with mirrors: they have scored 43 and allowed 39, which should put them at about 4-3. So we’ll see what holds.

Awards

American League Player of the Week: Dick Allen, Chicago American Giants.

The 24-year-old third baseman opened the year 11-for-27 with three home runs, nine runs batted in and nine runs scored, a .407/.467/.963 line across thirty plate appearances.

National League Player of the Week: Roberto Alomar, Ottawa Mounties.

Fifteen hits in thirty-one at-bats, with two home runs earned Alomar the Award. In one of those early season oddities, he didn’t draw a walk or reach base any other way, so both BA and OBP sit at .484.

Opening Day Games

Kansas City 5, Ottawa 4.

Not a single home run was hit in this one, and it was still the best game of the day. It opened messily on both sides: Kansas City scored twice in the first, one of the runs on a passed ball, and Ottawa gave one straight back in the bottom half on a wild pitch. The Mounties drew level in the third, and there it sat.

Then the sky opened. A thirty-eight minute delay in the fifth ended both starters’ afternoons — Roy Halladay had kept Ottawa in it to that point — and Kansas City came out of the break with two runs in the sixth to lead 4-2.

Ottawa’s answer in the eighth was what lifted the game above the level of the mundane: Eddie Guardado came on for the Monarchs and Roberto Alomar greeted him with a line-drive double. Gary Carter followed with a double of his own — an absolute rocket that left the bat at 111 miles per hour — and Carlos Beltrán scored Carter on a single to center. Tie game, and Kansas City called on Lee Smith to stop the bleeding (which he did).

The winning hit travelled about ninety feet in the air. Doug Rader walked to open the ninth and, after Ted Simmons grounded into a force play, Kolten Wong singled Simmons to second. Frankie Frisch came on to pinch-run from there, tagged up to third on an Ozzie Smith fly ball to right, and scored when Cool Papa Bell beat out a weakly hit infield chopper that left the bat roughly 50 mph slower than Carter’s smash.

Craig Kimbrel set Ottawa down in order in the ninth for the save; the win went to Lee Smith for the eighth.

Benny Kauff finished the day with three hits for the Monarchs.

KAN 5 (Smith 1-0; Kimbrel 1 Sv; Guardado 1 BSv) @ OTT 4 (Dempster 0-1)
HRs: none.
Box Score

San Francisco 5, New York Black Yankees 2.

For six innings this was the pitchers’ duel the marquee promised: Lefty Grove struck out twelve over six and a third — tying the Sea Lions’ franchise record for a single game — and Andy Pettitte matched him nearly stride for stride with six shutout innings and eight strikeouts of his own. Through four the scoreboard was blank in both directions.

Lou Gehrig broke the tie in the bottom of the fourth, taking Grove over the wall with one out for the season’s first run at Yankee Stadium. That held until the seventh, when New York summoned Hoyt Wilhelm to protect the one-run lead.

Whoops. Turkey Stearnes led off the seventh and tied the game on the spot with his opening dinger of the season, and although New York handed Wilhelm a fresh lead in the bottom half — Don Mattingly driving in the go-ahead run for 2-1 — he gave that one back too, and then some. San Francisco put up three in the eighth. Reggie Jackson added a solo shot off David Robertson in the ninth for good measure.

So: blown save, loss, and four earned runs across two innings for Wilhelm, and even on opening day the questions start being asked about the Black Yankees’ bullpen. Trevor Hoffman got the win in relief, Joe Nathan handled the 8th, and Rod Beck finished it off — the Sea Lions’ pen had no such queries asked.

SFS 5 (Hoffman 1-0; Beck 1 Sv) @ NYY 2 (Wilhelm 0-1, 1 BSv)
HRs: SFS – Stearnes (1), Jackson (1); NYY – Gehrig (1).
Box Score

New York Gothams 9, Indianapolis 6.

The week’s largest crowd — 54,814 — was treated to seven home runs (1 by a starting pitcher) and four lead changes. Don Buford led off the bottom of the first by putting a Luis Padrón offering into the seats, and Brandon Crawford did the same in the third.

Indianapolis finally solved Christy Mathewson in the fourth: Johnny Bench went deep with two out, and moments later, with a man aboard, Buddy Bell turned a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead. It lasted one inning. HR Johnson answered with a two-run homer in the fifth, and the Gothams tacked on a couple more in the sixth to lead 6-3 with nine outs to go.

Which is where it got strange. Luis Padrón, still in at the DH for the ABC’s, led off the seventh by homering off Masahiro Tanaka, and two batters later Oscar Charleston hit a two-run shot to tie it at six. Tanaka had blown the save and, in the way these things sometimes go, was about to be rewarded for it: New York retook the lead in the bottom half, and Buford’s second home run of the day, a two-run drive in the eighth, put it out of reach.

Mathewson struck out ten but walked five and got no decision. Tanaka got the win. Nobody got much peace, but the fans got a good show to start the season.

IND 6 (Mitchell 0-1) @ NYG 9 (Tanaka 1-0, 1 BSv; Wilson 1 Sv)
HRs: IND – Charleston (1), Bench (1), Bell (1); NYG – Buford (2), HR Johnson (1), Crawford (1).
Box Score

Detroit 7, Miami 5.

Charlie Root was the story at first — five and two thirds innings, no runs, no walks, and eleven strikeouts. Detroit’s lineup took its time with Miami starter José Méndez, opening with doubles from Bobby Wallace and Charlie Gehringer before Oscar Gamble finally got one out of the park in the fifth. Eustaquio Pedroso came on in relief of Méndez and it went no better — Al Kaline took him deep for two in the seventh, Gehringer in the eighth.

Miami got a two-run shot from Alejandro Oms and three hits from Gary Sheffield, but never was able to overtake the Wolverines.

MCG 5 (Méndez 0-1) @ DET 7 (Root 1-0; Henneman 1 Sv)
HRs: MCG – Oms (1); DET – Gamble (1), Kaline (1), Gehringer (1).
Box Score

Portland 7, Memphis 3.

Walter Johnson started, went three and a third (departing after a rain delay in the 4th), and hit a home run. Paul Molitor added a two-run shot of his own and Ken Griffey Jr had three hits and two runs batted in. Memphis answered through David Ortiz, who drove in three with a homer, and Johnny Briggs, who had three hits, but Portland held the lead throughout.

POR 7 (Trout 1-0) @ MEM 3 (Overmire 0-1)
HRs: POR – Molitor (1), Griffey Jr (1), Johnson (1); MEM – Ortiz (1).
Box Score

Philadelphia 9, Wandering House of David 5.

The ageless wonder that is Rico Carty opened the season by going 4-for-4 with a home run and Roger Peckinpaugh (sitting in at SS for Philadelphia for the suspended Jim Fregosi) drove in three, and Philadelphia was never really threatened once Hardie Henderson got through six. The House of David did get 2 homers from young John Beckwith and another from Anthony Rizzo. Jack Taylor gave up eleven hits in the loss.

PHI 9 (Henderson 1-0) @ HOD 5 (Taylor 0-1)
HRs: PHI – Carty (1), Peckinpaugh (1); HOD – Beckwith (2), Rizzo (1).
Box Score

Bits & Bobs

You Always Remember Your First
Houston’s Pete Hill is 0-for-17 with eight strikeouts. He posted a .800 OPS over 594 plate appearances last season, which makes him the furthest any regular has fallen from his own track. Memphis’s Herman Long is 0-for-10 since being signed to solve shortstop for the Red Sox, and Chicago’s Jay Bell and Birmingham’s Ron Fairly are also hitless.

The Root of Things
Nine and a third innings, seventeen strikeouts — the league lead — and not one walk for Detroit’s Charlie Root.

Singles? We Don’t Need No Stinking Singles.
Baltimore’s Gavy Cravath has six hits this season — three doubles and three home runs. Josh Gibson (Homestead), Manny Ramírez (Memphis), Oscar Gamble (Detroit) and Jack Clark (San Francisco) are also yet to hit a single this season.

Swing, miss, duck.
The Sea Lions’ Lefty Grove has sixteen strikeouts in eleven and a third innings — and a 6.35 earned run average and 0-1 record to show for it.

Who Needs the DH?
Five homeruns came from pitchers during the opening week. 2 came from Charles Rogan (Philadelphia), which isn’t terribly surprising, but Walter Johnson (Portland), Luis Padrón (Indianapolis), and Jim Whitney (Miami) all joined in as well.

TWIWBL 97.2: The Spring Training Trades

By mknn

On July 18, 2026

In TWIWBL

With just over a week left in Spring Training, we get to see how panicked some teams are, and how much they want to shake things up before opening day.

Unsurprisingly, we start with the Black Yankees and their perennial win-now mentality.

#The Black Yankees Add MI

NYY sends RP Aroldis Chapman, IF Mark Grudzielanek, 2nd Round Pick to CLE for IF Joe Sewell, IF Bill Phillips.

This is more fallout from the Grant Johnson trade in some ways: Sewell will have every shot at displacing Derek Jeter at SS for New York, and the team looks set to juggle their middle infield between those two, Robby Thompson, and Rogers Hornsby.

For Cleveland, they took a blocked talent–Sewell was never displacing Arky Vaughan–and converted it into a great bullpen arm and a valuable pick.

#The Red Sox Have a Rotation

Unsatisfied with just adding Don Drysdale and Red Ruffing, Memphis went shopping on the West coast.

MEM sends IF Dobie Moore, OF Dwight Evans, P Mike Witt to LAA for P Tom Seaver, IF Xander Bogaerts, IF Andrelton Simmons, C Mark Salas.

Clearly, the spine of the deal is Seaver for Moore, but this one has a lot of repercussions: Memphis continues to weed out some of its OF talent, and takes a gamble on Seaver continuing to develop at the WBL level. SS for Memphis is now a scramble between the two new bodies, Adam Everett, and Bud Harrelson; while for Los Angeles, this settles at least half of their middle infield question, and opens the door for some more arms to prove themselves in the rotation as they look to the future.

#CAG Settles at SS. Maybe.

CAG sends U Trea Turner & IF Yoán Moncada to HOU for IF Travis Jackson.

Jackson is clearly ready for WBL time–here he may actually get it; in return HOU gets a prospect in search of a position and one of the ST surprises in Moncada.

#Monarchs Make Moves

KAN sends OF Dale Murphy & IF Carlos Baerga to NYG for OF Benny Kauff.

A classic now v later move. Murphy is desperately in need of a change of scenery, and Baerga remains 4-5 years away, while Kauff should help deepen a lineup in need of power.

But Kansas City wasn’t done.

KAN sends P José Rijo, P Jeff Pfeffer & 1st Round Pick to LAA for 3B Doug Rader.

The Albert Pujols at 3B experiment looks to be officially over, with Los Angeles clearly reacting to the loss of Seaver. Expect David Wright and/or Pedro Álvarez to inherit the hot corner for the Angels.

And this led to another move for Los Angeles.

LAA sends P Brett Anderson & 3rd Round Pick to HOD for IF Richie Hebner, OF Cy Williams & 2nd Round Pick

Los Angeles has now gotten rid of their 2 best pitchers from last season: this is either great faith in their stockpiled arms or pure madness.

#Easy as A-B-C

IND sends P Tom Glavine, P George Medich, P Jack Billingham & IF Robin Ventura to POR for IF Buddy Bell.

Indianapolis gets an all star and former gold glove winner to take over at the hot corner, while Portland lands a lot of future potential, headlined by the 19 year old Glavine.

This deal set the stage for the next one.

IND sends IF Ed Charles & P Dan Plesac to NYY for P Jeff D. Robinson & P Jack Armstrong.

The Black Yankees get a decent bench piece for the price of a Rule V selection–which seems fair to all. The other two arms are essentially fliers–Armstrong back to his seed franchise, Plesac as a veteran LHP hedge.

#Memphis Not Done Yet

MEM sends IF Candy Jim Taylor, P Nathan Eovaldi & 1st Round Pick to BRK for OF John Briggs & 3rd Round Pick.

This one has some heads shaking. Memphis and Brooklyn team up again, with the Red Sox landing what they hope is the CF of the future, and Brooklyn adding some minor league talent and a coveted #1 pick.

Briggs has been doubted every step of his career–this is just another chance for him to prove the haters wrong. For Brooklyn, it clears CF for Duke Snider, and also means their OF glut can now route into the DH for the year.

#BB to BBB

BAL sends IF Asdrúbal Cabrera, P Bill Byrd, IF Roy Smalley Jr. & 3rd Round Pick to BBB for P Steve Avery, P Gio González, P Warren Spahn, OF Curt Flood & 1st Round Pick.

An interesting deal.

In 7 years, Baltimore may see this as a massive win–if Avery develops, if González becomes a rotation starter, if the 1st Round Pick pans out and, perhaps most of all, if a change of scenery reboots Spahn’s career.

That’s a lot of if’s. In the meantime, Birmingham gets a potential answer to their SS woes and a front of rotation arm that excels in limiting homeruns, the Black Barons’ current Achilles’ heel.

TWIWBL 97.1: Early Spring Training

By mknn

On July 17, 2026

In TWIWBL, Uncategorized

We’ll have a team by team season preview as Spring Training runs down, but here are some newsworthy tidbits from the early days.

#Homestead Grays

The Grays have lost their staff ace–or what has passed for a staff ace–as Francisco Liriano suffered a torn labrum, and will miss 5-6 months, putting him on the shelf for effectively the whole season.

#Memphis Red Sox

The Red Sox execute the very first waiver claim in WBL history (this is part of what Claude’s involvement enables), grabbing veteran P Paul Derringer from Indianapolis.

TWIWBL 96.1 – January’s Activity

By mknn

On July 16, 2026

In TWIWBL

31 December through mid January

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

#Chicago American Giants

Looking to bolster their competition at SS, Chicago signed Jay Bell to a one year deal.

More importantly, in late February, the American Giants got some good news on Frank Thomas, with the medical staff now saying he could be looking at a May return.

#Kansas City Monarchs

Signed Jeff Reardon to help in their bullpen.

Draft pick Chris Carpenter refused to sign with the Monarchs, so back into the draft pool he goes, and Kansas City will get a compensation pick.

#New York Black Yankees

Giancarlo Stanton refused to sign, so the Yankees will get a compensation pick. More importantly, this potentially scuttles a deal with the Gothams to obtain Gaylord Perry. We’ll see what the two sides can work out.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Added FA IF Lonny Frey to the MI mix–at $550k for 1 year, this is a low-risk move to try to find some stability at 2B.

Trades

These are all fallout from the Rookie Draft that were contingent on draft picks signing. The blockbuster here is how NYY’s win-now posture led to what could be a major reshaping of their roster.

The Big One

NYG sends P Gaylord Perry, IF Robbie Thompson to NYY for P Dave Righetti, IF Grant Johnson, 1st Round Pick, and 3rd Round Pick.

It’s a lot to give up. But the Black Yankees get a solid #3 starter, clear room for Hardy Richardson to play, and, as they are wont to do, further mortgage their future.

A Three Way

This was really just to resolve some errors in the draft itself. All low level noise.

KAN sends P Tex Pruitt, P Fred Holdsworth to DET for P Jakie May.
DET sends P Tex Pruitt, P Fred Holdsworth to MEM for C Billy Sullivan, P John Healy.

Gant Comes Home

BBB sends OF Yoenis Céspedes, P Ed Hanyzewski to HOD for SS Ron Gant.

Interesting deal. Gant, of course, doesn’t stay at SS, and Céspedes may impact HOD immediately.

More Noise

MCG sends P Jing Johnson to SFS for 2B Joe Dunand, P Kevin Kobel.

Housekeeping.

TWIWBL 95.4: The Rule V Draft

By mknn

On June 13, 2026

In TWIWBL

There was some very interesting talent available through the Rule V Draft, and some teams decided to use it quite aggressively. Remember, these players need to stay on their new team’s WBL roster all year, or they revert to their original team.

It should be interesting …

Note that gaps in the picks indicate teams skipped their turn.

Pick	Team	Claims	From	Notes
1	POR	CF Paul Hines	BAL	OF depth. Unlikely to stick.
2	MEM	RP Ed Seward	MCG	Sure, could make it. Good MiL stats.
3	CAG	1B Mickey Vernon	POR	The search for a replacement for the injured Frank Thomas continues.
4	LAA	2B Billy Herman	HOD	A dark horse to be the steal of the draft. Should claim starting role in ST.
5	BBB	SS Dick Groat	HOM	Smart pick for a team starved for MI talent.
6	NYG	SS Billy Nash	DET	Nash did fine for DET, but was blocked there. Could have a legit shot to stick with the Gothams.
7	OTT	P Nip Winters	HOM	This one could hurt–both teams are desperate for SP.
8	HOM	RP Logan Hensley	DET	Shrug.
11	KAN	P Earl Hamilton	HOM	Combine this with Winters, and the Grays could rue this day.
12	MCG	P Sam McDowell	CLE	A smart pick, McDowell could easily last the season in Miami
16	PHI	3B Buddy Myer	IND	Decent utility IF, could work.
18	NYY	P Jeff Robinson	IND	Unlikely to survive in NY.
21	POR	SS Leo Cardenas	BBB	Given how weak POR’s MI is, this could work.
23	CAG	1B Tino Martinez	OTT	More 1B hedging–clearly CAG thinks it is cheaper to throw a lot of options out in ST than acquire after opening day.
26	NYG	OF Tip O’Neill	HOD	Nice pick, should be able to hang around given the weakness of the Gothams’ OF.

TWIWBL 95.3: The Rookie Draft

By mknn

On June 12, 2026

In TWIWBL

One of my favorite things each year. The WBL Rookie Draft is always a bit “juiced,” with both some high end talent and some historical “decent” players, but there is plenty of dross here as well in the later rounds.

We’ll cover the first 3 rounds pick-by-pick here, then rounds 4-10 team by team.

A reminder: each team can make 2 picks outside of players historically associated with their seed franchises; the rest (until the tail end of the draft) must come from players that spent a significant period of their career with them.

OOTP does its usual fun on whether these picks actually sign, so news on that will hit future TWIWBL’s.

We are moving towards the 2002 season, for reference. Debut is, of course, an estimate.

#Round 1

Note that Round 1 contained 2 compensation picks for picks from last year’s draft that refused to sign.

Pick	Team	Player & Age	Pos	Debut	Note
1.1	MCG	Pedro Martínez (19)	P	2004	Currently a reliever, his live arm warrants a move to the rotation at some point.
1.2	MEM	Jim Rice (18)	OF	2005	Joins a system stocked with young OF, so some trades loom at some point. But, saves an exception pick, which has some value.
1.3	CAG	Zack Greinke (20)	P	2004	Perhaps solves a need for arms; refused to sign last year.
1.4	LAA	Rod Carew (19)	2B	2005	Incredibly weak IF system gets a significant boost. At some point, 1B gets crowded, but that’s a problem many years down the road.
1.5	SFS	John Smoltz (19)	P	2005	The rich get richer.
1.6	NYG	Amos Rusie (18)	P	2002	The best pitcher who looks WBL ready right now. Also a franchise pick.
1.7	OTT	Jim McCormick (21)	P	2003	A gamble, but OTT is desperate for SP.
1.8	HOM	David Cone (19)	P	2004	Another franchise that needs rotation help.
1.9	BAL	Jose Altuve (17)	2B	2006	One for the future, but potentially solves the position.
1.10	HOD	Juan Soto (18)	OF	2004	Honestly surprised he fell this far, Soto will cause some issues on the roster, but they’ll be well worth solving.
1.11	KCM	Chris Carpenter (19)	P	2005	More pitching needed, as always.
1.12	MCG	Jack Glasscock (20)	SS	2004	An interesting pick. First potential flop of the draft, but his arrival should coincide well with MCG’s needs as Robin Yount moves out of the middle infield.
1.13	NYY	Giancarlo Stanton (18)	OF	2005	Not likely to stay with NYY due to a draft-day deal with NYG for Gaylord Perry. That’s dependent on Stanton signing, though.
1.14	HOD	Bingo DeMoss (21)	2B	2004	A worthy successor to Ryne Sandberg.
1.15	IND	Dave Winfield (21)	OF	2003	A bit of a steal for the ABC’s.
1.16	HOD	George Zettlein (27)	P	2002	Having used their exceptions, the HOD’s choices were quite limited. Here, they opted for some immediate help, hopefully.
1.17	HOU	Ed Morris (20)	P	2003	Houston will soon have an embarrassment of rotation riches–which should serve them quite well.
1.18	PHI	Darryl Strawberry (18)	OF	2003	Another pick that will lead to a crowded roster, but Strawberry’s peak is too attractive to ignore.
1.19	CLE	Todd Helton (22)	1B	2003	A long-term solution to an aging position for the Spiders.
1.20	POR	Jack Fournier (16)	1B	2006	A big bat, but a long ways away.
1.21	BRK	Brett Butler (22)	OF	2004	A safe pick, and perhaps overvalued here.
1.22	SFS	Dick McBride (24)	P	2003	More help on the mound for the Sea Lions.

#Round 2

Pick	Team	Player & Age	Pos	Debut	Note
2.1	OTT	Robbie Ray (20)	P	2004	The peak is attractive.
2.2	BBB	Yoenis Céspedes (27)	OF	2002	Some immediate help for a somewhat crowded OF.
2.3	CAG	José Quintana (20)	P	2005	More long term rotation help.
2.4	LAA	Charlie Leibrandt (21)	2B	2005	More pitching depth. Spot a pattern?
2.5	HOD	Pat Luby (20)	P	2004	With their exceptions used up, the pool thins out quickly.
2.6	LAA	Garry Templeton (19)	SS	2005	Templeton didn’t sign with HOU last year, he find himself in an organization more desperate for MI help this year.
2.7	OTT	Billy Jurges (21)	SS	2003	Maybe a hedge against Álex Rodríguez’ eventual shift to 3B?
2.8	CAG	Josh Hader (19)	P	2005	Eventual closer possibility for a team that should need it.
2.9	KCM	Bill Sherdel (20)	P	2005	A surprise pick. We’ll see.
2.10	BBB	Ron Gant (18)	SS	2007	BBB traded up to get Gant who, while a few years away, does project as a decent corner OF.
2.11	KCM	Allen Sothoron (20)	P	2005	More pitching, constrained by franchise history.
2.12	POR	Josh Johnson (18)	P	2006	Development needed, but decent upside.
2.13	IND	Johnny Allen (24)	P	2002	A potential steal, as Allen could help this season.
2.14	BAL	Jouett Meekin (22)	P	2003	Another intriguing selection–immediate help, if not a lot of extended value.
2.15	HOU	Paul Splittorf (22)	P	2004	Decent mid-rotation talent.
2.16	POR	Bob Groom (23)	P	2003	More medium talent with potential near-term impact.
2.17	CLE	Tommy Corcoran (17)	SS	2006	A pick for the future, but not a bad bet.
2.18	HOU	Tommy Harper (20)	OF	2005	HOU has an affection for these multi-position, roster extended options.
2.19	BRK	Zane Smith (21)	P	2005	Brooklyn believes deeply in stockpiling arms and letting them develop, Smith fits that profile.
2.20	SFS	Jimmie Lyons (20)	OF	2003	No room for him in SFS, but his talent is undeniable.

We’re quickly moving to less immediately impactful names, so we’ll do the rest of the draft as team summaries.

Team	Rounds 1-2	Rounds 3-12	Grade	Grade/ Notes
BAL	Jose Altuve (2B), Jouett Meekin (P)	Billy Lush (OF), Terry Crowley (1B), Herm Starrette (P), Levin Jones (OF), Eddy Rodríguez (P), Gosuke Katoh (1B), Earl Cook (P), Jerry Hinsley (P), Candy Sierra (P)	C	Altuve is great, but very young. Not a lot from the rest, although Crowley has some pop in his bat.
BBB	Yoenis Céspedes (OF)	Steve Cishek (P), Ricardo Hernández (3B), Ed Hanyzewski (P), Grant Dayton (P), Lefty Wallace (P), Harry Hulihan (P), Zach Vincej (SS), Jake Smith (P), Dale Roberts (P), Kid Baldwin (C), Brandon Larson (3B)	C	Hernández has some potential, but this is not a great draft, even if Céspedes comes good somewhat immediately.
BRK	Brett Butler (OF), Zane Smith (P)	Jerry Garvin (P), Lew McCarty (C), Mickey Hughes (P), Davis Daniel (P), Joe Evers (1B), Marvell Wynne (OF), Ed Albosta (P), Shaun Anderson (P)	B	A good job. Butler will have a WBL career, and both Smith and Garvin have live arms. Wynne may be a steal as well.
CAG	Zack Greinke (P), José Quintana (P), Josh Hader (P)	Bob Priddy (P), Dominic Fletcher (OF), Mike Caruso (SS), Harry Clark (3B), Ross Gload (OF), Mem Lovett (1B), Rómulo Sánchez (P), Al Kellett (P), Hugh Canavan (P), Vaughn Eshelman (P)	A-	The first 3 picks are all excellent additions to a system starved for pitching. Not a lot else, although Caruso and Gload may have some potential.
CLE	Todd Helton (1B), Tommy Corcoran (SS)	Julián Tavárez (P), Emil Levsen (P), Abraham Almonte (2B), Chauncey Fisher (P), Jerry Fahr (P), Cotton Knaupp (SS), Dalton Jones (2B), Juan Castillo (2B), Rabbit Benton (2B)	B+	Helton solves a long-term issue, the rest seems fine, with Tavárez being a decent pickup.
DET		Riley Greene (OF), Kid Madden (P), Jakie May (P), Howie Krist (P), Nate Cornejo (P), Bill Barrett (C), Jess Pike (P), Ambrose McGann (2B), Bud Smith (P), Otto Jacobs (C), Jeter Downs (2B)	C	No picks in the first 2 rounds hurts a lot, but Greene could be a steal for the Wolverines.
HOD	Juan Soto (OF), Bingo DeMoss (2B), George Zettlein (P), Pat Luby (P), Ron Gant (SS)	Terry Larkin (P), Vern Olsen (P), Billy Holland (SS/P), Elmer Yoter (3B), Steven Hill (C), Harry East (3B), Lev Shreve (P), Phonney Martin (OF)	A	Could be transformational. Soto is a generational talent, DeMoss a clear succession plan for Ryne Sandberg, and even Holland has some intriguing potential as a 2-way player.
HOM	David Cone (P)	Cliff Chambers (P), Bob Walk (P), Jimmy Ripple (OF), Red Witt (P), Jeff Wallace (P), Harry Jordan (P), Bill Hallman (OF), Larry Ciaffone (OF), Jaycob Brugman (OF), Jeff Doyle (2B)	B	Cone is a great pick, but there’s not a lot else here.
HOU	Ed Morris (P), Paul Splittorff (P), Tommy Harper (2B)	Lou Piniella (OF), Ken Suarez (C), Jim Wohlford (SS), José Cisnero (P), Mike Hedlund (P), Clint Hurdle (C), Danny Bautista (OF), Rance Pless (1B), Bob Friedrichs (P), Ricky Gutiérrez (SS), Mauro Zárate (P), Rod Gilbreath (3B), Gene Moriarity (OF)	B+	Could be higher, depending on how Morris develops. Lots of potentially useful marginal pieces in later rounds–Piniella, Hurdle, Gutiérrez.
IND	Dave Winfield (OF), Johnny Allen (P)	Gary Redus (OF), Tex McDonald (SS), Dusty Miller (OF), Billy McCool (P), Chub Sullivan (1B), Tom Wiedenbauer (OF), Jackson Tetreault (P), Logan Allen (P), Mike Champion (2B)	A	Winfield being available was shocking. Allen and Redus being added makes the draft a surprising success.
KCM	Chris Carpenter (P), Bill Sherdel (P), Allen Sothoron (P)	Casey Kotchman (1B), Tex Pruiett (P), Fred Holdsworth (P), Gerónimo Peña (2B), Otto Schomberg (1B), Wish Egan (P), Pete Naton (C), Tom Donohue (C), Harley Dillinger (P)	C	Weird. Lots of franchise picks, but not a ton of actual value behind Carpenter.
LAA	Rod Carew (2B), Charlie Leibrandt (P), Garry Templeton (SS)	Steve Henderson (OF), Jack DiLauro (P), Mike Trost (C), Dennis Ribant (P), Lou Pote (P), Zach Lutz (3B), Dave Pierson (C), Doc Land (OF), Rubén Quevedo (P), Francisco Peña (c)	B+	Sure. Carew fills an obvious need, as does Templeton.
MEM	Jim Rice (OF)	Sam Jethroe (OF), Joe Hornung (OF), John Healy (P), Hal Rhyne (SS), Joe Ellick (3B), Joe Cicero (OF), Jerry Mallett (OF), Iván Cruz (1B), Sam Childs (1B), Tony Balsamo (P), Harry Smith (2B)	B–	Another young OF? Really, Memphis? And after that, adding Jethroe to Rice? There better be some trades a-coming.
MCG	Pedro Martínez (P), Jack Glasscock (SS)	Jesús Lazardo (P), Bobby Vaughn (2B), Erasmo Ramírez (P), Jing Johnson (P), Billy Redmon (SS), Scott Olsen (P), Steven Ames (P), Mario Ramírez (SS), Francis Martes (P), George Milstead (P)	A	Any draft that gets you Martínez is an A. But … Glasscock may be an overreach.
NYG	Amos Rusie (P)	Red Murray (OF), Dave Veres (P), Harry McCormick (P), Alvin Davis (1B), Kiko Calero (P), Frank West (P), Luis Castillo (P), Héctor Sánchez (C), Andy Rincon (P), Ed Wilkinson (OF), William Coon (OF), Kevin Collins (3B)	C	Love me some Rusie, and he’ll help right away … but the rest … Veres and Calero fit with the Gothams’ bullpen obsession.
NYY	Giancarlo Stanton (OF)	John Kruk (1B), Rich Coggins (OF), John Shaffer (P), Frank Gilhooley (OF), John Ryan Murphy (C), Dutch Rudolph (OF), Marcus Wilson (OF), Darrell Johnson (C), Roy Witherup (P), Mike Shea (P)	D	Stanton is headed out of town, making this a much weaker draft, even if Kruk looks like a solid bat. Still, the Black Yankees never have cared about the draft, so perhaps that’s unfair: if Perry brings them a championship, they’ll see this as a great draft, no matter what Stanton does.
OTT	Jim McCormick (P), Robbie Ray (P), Billy Jurges (SS)	Al Woods (OF), Jesse Carlson (P), Wilton Guerrero (2B), Ed Atkinson (OF), Dane Myers (OF), Bill Collver (OF), Orlando Mercado (C), Emanuel Snyder (OF)	C	Maybe? They need arms, so maybe?
PHI	Darryl Strawberry (OF)	Harry Eisenstat (P), Andy Hansen (P), Ben Tincup (P), Jack Scheible(P), Pat Bohen (P), Doc Amole (P), Ben Froehlich (C), John Peters (OF), Fred Buckingham (P), Andy Sommerville (P), Joe Schultz (C), Travis Swaggerty (OF)	C-	The Strawberry pick makes total sense. The rest … not so much.
POR	Jack Fournier (1B), Josh Johnson (P), Bob Groom (P)	Steve Brye (OF), Rich Reese (1B), David Hulse (OF), Joe Gedeon (OF), Kyle Garlick (OF), Carlos Pascual (P), Moe Berg (SS), Bill Sarni (C), Terry Humphrey (C), Jesús Montero (C), Babe Ellison (1B)	C	Talk about looking to the future … Fournier has a future, but he’s 16. And the run on catchers at the end is just downright odd.
SFS	John Smoltz (P), Dick McBride (P), Jimmie Lyons (OF)	Joe Dunand (2B), Kevin Kobel (P), Nate Mondou (2B), Hank Hulvey (P), Bert Kuczynski (P), Jerar Encarnación (OF), Greg Aquino (P), Dorn Taylor (P), Art Smith (P)	A	I mean … how did they do this? Smoltz is a rotation arm, Lyons has immense talent.