Category: TWIWBL Page 17 of 40

#Birmingham Black Barons

The Black Barons recalled P John Malarkey, 1B Nate Colbert, and OFs Andy Pafko and Curt Flood to help in their final playoff push.

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

Lefty Fernando Valenzuela, IF Dickie Thon, and OF Raúl Mondesi were all recalled as Brooklyn chases the final wildcard spot.

3 hits from John Briggs, including his 6th homer of the year weren’t enough as the Royal Giants fell to Memphis, 9-3. The loss officially eliminated Brooklyn from post-season contention, ending a nice late-season surge.

#Miami Cuban Giants

The Cuban Giants went back-to-back twice in a win over Ottawa. First, Yasiel Puig and José Canseco did it in the 8th inning, giving Miami a come from behind lead, then Canseco and Jim Thome did it in the 9th to put the game on ice. Dontrelle Willis, Sandy Consuegra, and Ramón Martínez didn’t allow a run in relief in the 10-4 victory.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Joseíto Muñoz was activated from the DL, with both Atlee Hammaker and Ray Fontenot being sent to AAA. Muñoz takes Mike Cuellar‘s spot in the rotation, and Jerry Blevins was recalled from AAA.

Muñoz was shut down immediately, and will miss time well into next season with elbow surgery. Hammaker was recalled to the active roster.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

With the San Jose Bees season winding down, the Sea Lions made a flurry of moves for the final week or so of the season, promoting Ps Red Ehret, Tommy Bridges and Dennis Eckersley, and IFs Don Money, Keith Ginter and Denny Hocking and activating C Mickey Cochrane from the DL.

Lefty Grove, James Shields, Ron Robinson, and Rod Beck combined on a 2-0 shutout victory for San Francisco. The victory went to Shields, with Robinson picking up his 18th hold and Beck his 31st save.

TWIWBL 45.3: Series XXXVII Notes – Effa Manley Division

By mknn

On August 22, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Cleveland Spiders

Pat Malone tied for the league lead in victories, allowing 1 run in 8 innings as the Spiders topped the Sea Lions 3-1. Malone now stands at 17-8 with Terry Adams picking up his 36th save. Trailing 1-0 in the 8th, Cleveland used Ron Blomberg‘s 43rd homerun of the year to tie the game and Hal Trosky‘s first career shot in the 9th to take the lead.

The Spiders were the first team in the WBL to clinch their division behind a sparkling complete game effort from Bill Steen, who improved to 13-3 and lowered his ERA to 2.93 in the 2-1 victory. Johnny Bates, who had 3 hits on the day, hit a solo homerun in the top of the 9th to seal the victory over San Francisco.

#Homestead Grays

Two solo shots from Andy Van Slyke weren’t enough as the Grays lost 9-6 to the Black Sox. Babe Adams talked his way into a start at DH and promptly went 3-for-4, making an argument for some more playing time when not on the mound for Homestead.

This came out of nowhere: Homestead powered out 19 hits and 15 runs in a 15-3 thrashing of Baltimore. Davey Johnson had 4 hits and little used backup catcher Rick Ferrell had 3 doubles as both he and Kevin Young drove in 3 runs. Adams, energized by his big day at the plate, threw 7 strong innings, improving to 2-3 on the year.

#Indianapolis ABC’s

Willie Mitchell, Clay Carroll, and Rob Dibble combined on a 4-hit shutout (Dibble allowed 2 in the 9th) as the ABC’s topped Philadelphia, 2-0. Mitchell improved to 9-5 and Dibble picked up his 30th save.

With Jake Stenzel sidelined for a few games, Indianapolis sent Chris Hammond to AAA and recalled Bo Diaz to help behind the plate.

#New York Black Yankees

New York got some bad news, as Red Ruffing–14-9 with a respectable 4.05 ERA on the year–will miss about 8 months with damage to his rotator cuff. Youngster Whitey Ford, who had a good year at AAA, was recalled to take Ruffing’s spot.

#Philadelphia Stars

The nightmare of Pete Alexander‘s initial season is over, as the promising-yet-underperforming pitcher will be shut down with an injured right shoulder. Brad Kilby–the closer at AAA all season–was recalled.

J.M. Ward had easily his best day at the plate, going 4-for-4 with his first homerun, but it wasn’t enough as the Stars lost 10-6 to Indianapolis. The game also cost the Stars the services of Roger Peckinpaugh for the rest of the season: quite a shame, as Peckinpaugh was slashing 328/347/493 and making an argument for the starting position next year. Gene DeMontreville was recalled for the final few games.

TWIWBL 45.2: Series XXXVII Notes – Cum Posey Division

By mknn

On August 21, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Houston Colt 45’s

Andrés Galarraga was shut down for the rest of the season with a back injury with Jim O’Rourke rejoining Houston for their final series of the season.

#Kansas City Monarchs

Jim Bottomley, Devin Mesoraco and Merv Rettenmund were all recalled for the final week of the season.

Bob Gibson finally got his first WBL victory, and what a performance it was: a complete game, 7 strikeout shutout of the Gothams. Ted Simmons had 3 hits and scored twice in support of Gibson, whose record improved to 1-6.

#Ottawa Mounties

Rick Monday and Bob Watson were recalled from AAA.

4 hits from Carlos Beltrán and 2 from Watson–giving him 5 in his first 6 WBL at bats–led the Mounties to a 5-2 win over Miami. Bob Moose got the win and Ryan Dempster picked up his 14th save–both of them have a good shot at key roles with Ottawa next season.

Watson’s debut, during which he went 7-14, was cut short with an oblique injury, prompting Ottawa to recall Roy Halladay, ostensibly for a single start to mark his return from significant injury.

TWIWBL 45.1: Series XXXVII Notes – Bill James Division

By mknn

On August 18, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Detroit Wolverines

Gene Conley just keeps rolling: in what might be his last start before the playoffs, Conley improved to 12-6 with a complete game 4 hit shutout of Birmingham. Tony Phillips and Bob Bailey went deep back-to-back in the 6th inning to break up a shutout to fuel the victory.

#New York Gothams

IF Brian Dozier and P Sad Sam Jones were recalled from AAA.

Four hits and 3 RBIs from Pinky Higgins led the way as the Gothams triumphed over Kansas City, 8-6. Benny Kauff added 3 hits and Eugenio Suárez drove in 2 as Don Sutton improved to 4-4 and Brian Wilson picked up his 29th save. With the win, New York clinched a playoff spot, although their seeding is still up for grabs.

#Wandering House of David

2 homeruns from George Stone led the House of David over Houston, 5-2. Bob Rush threw almost 6 scoreless, improving his record to 15-6 and Bruce Sutter picked up his 25th save.

TWIWBL 45.0: Series XXXVII Notes

By mknn

On August 17, 2023

In TWIWBL

September 9th

Pennant Race

And then there were two …

Only one division has been won–the surprise Cleveland Spiders win the Effa Manley Division–but only one postseason spot remains undecided.

That comes down to the Cinderella Birmingham Black Barons and the disappointing New York Black Yankees. Birmingham’s magic number is 3–meaning any combination of 3 wins by the Black Barons or losses by the Black Yankees will seal their improbable run to the playoffs.

The exact order of finish is up in the air, but here are your nine playoff contenders (numbers in bold & italics are that team’s magic number):

Team	Pct	Division	Notes
Baltimore Black Sox	.587	Cum Posey	Clinched playoff; 2
Detroit Wolverines	.567	Bill James	Clinched playoff; 4
Chicago American Giants	.567	Cum Posey	Clinched playoff
Cleveland Spiders	.560	Effa Manley	Clinched division
New York Gothams	.560	Bill James	Clinched playoff
Portland Sea Dogs	.553	Marvin Miller	Clinched playoff; 3
Wandering House of David	.553	Bill James	1 to clinch playoff
Birmingham Black Barons	.540	Marvin Miller	3 to clinch playoff
New York Black Yankees	.527	Effa Manley

The Black Yankees visit Cleveland to end the season. The Spiders will be focused on getting their roster ready for the post season, so that may open the door for New York. But Birmingham hosts the worst team in the WBL, the Philadelphia Stars, so it seems like that would make them the safe bet to progress.

Portland visits the New York Gothams and the House of David hosts Detroit in other playoff preview matchups.

Performance

Four more games, so these are very close to final numbers.

Batters

With the Black Yankees possibly missing the playoffs, the noise for Ron Blomberg‘s MVP campaign just gets louder.

Remember when it looked like Pete Browning would swoop in from injury and win the batting crown? Yeah, Ty Cobb had something to say about that.

Omitted below are Josh Gibson of the Homestead Grays and Alejandro Oms of the Miami Cuban Giants (tied for 2nd in the league in triples with 12) and Tim Raines of the Ottawa Mounties (2nd in steals with 91).

Ron Blomberg (CLE). 337/412/648. 43 HR, 107 R.
Ty Cobb (DET). 349/389/558. 187 H.
Eddie Collins (CAG). 312/408/512. 6.4 WAR.
Mike Fiore (CAG). 240/405/390. 109 BB.
Hank Greenberg (DET). 317/374/591. 45 2B.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 269/394/357. 95 SB.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 330/412/579. 107 R.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 319/426/591.
Willie Mays (NYG). 326/389/523. 183 H.
Stan Musial (KCM). 328/393/574. 49 2B.
Doug Rader (LAA). 336/395/539. 183 H, 133 RBI.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 312/428/658. 46 HR, 132 RBI, 122 R, 106 BB, 7.8 WAR.
Louis Santop (CLE). 299/329/457. 14 3B.

Some milestones possible in the final series:

Musial needs one double to reach 50; Elrod Hendricks (HOD) needs two homeruns to join Ruth and Blomberg in the 40+ club; Rick Reichardt and Mike Trout (Homestead and the Los Angeles Angels, respectively) sit at 98 RBIs; six players have between 96 and 99 runs scored; and Frank Thomas (CAG) needs one walk to reach triple digits.

Pitchers

Starters

It’s unclear if Cleveland’s Pat Malone or the Gothams’ Christy Mathewson will get another start in the regular season: if they do, they’ll be aiming to become the WBL’s first 18 game winners.

Gerrit Cole (LAA). 16-9, 4.33.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 13-7, 3.55. 199 K.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 8-12, 4.35. 188 K.
Pat Malone (CLE). 17-8, 3.84. 5.0 WAR.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 17-8, 3.51. 205 IP.
Stubby Overmire (HOU/MEM). 9-7, 3.31.
Alejandro Peña (BBB). 12-9, 3.86. 3.52 FIP.
Andy Pettitte (KCM/BBB). 15-5, 3.20.
Eddie Plank (SFS). 12-7, 3.87. 3.47 FIP.
Charlie Root (SFS/DET). 10-6, 3.53. 1.06 WHIP.
Jack Taylor (HOD). 15-9, 3.38. 1.14 WHIP.
Cy Young (CLE). 11-10, 4.36. 204 IP, 5.0 WAR.

Overmire needs a few more innings to finish the year qualifying for the ERA title. Cleveland’s Stan Coveleski and Detroit’s Hal Newhouser are the other starters with ERAs under 4.00 who could qualify with 1 more start, although in Newhouser’s case, it would take a complete game. Detroit’s Gene Conley (3.28) and Cleveland’s Bill Steen (a potentially league-leading 2.93) will miss the cutoff, although each are likely to see starts in the postseason.

Relievers

Check out the trio from the New York Gothams bullpen.

Terry Adams (CLE). 2-6, 2.76. 36 Sv, 1 H.
Clay Carroll (IND). 2-6, 4.14. 3 Sv, 11 H. 64 G.
Mike Henneman (DET). 2-7, 4.70. 37 Sv.
Sean Marshall (BAL). 5-0, 1.79. 2 Sv, 8 H, 0.98 WHIP.
AJ Minter (CAG). 1-0, 2.72. 29 Sv. 2.90 FIP.
Buddy Napier (DET). 101, 2.75. 2 Sv, 8 H, 0.97 WHIP.
Mike Norris (NYG). 4-4, 1.52. 8 Sv, 15 H.
Ron Reed (PHI/CLE). 0-6, 4.56. 3 Sv, 17 H. 64 G.
Carson Smith (NYG). 2-0, 1.77. 1 Sv, 10 H.
Brian Wilson (NYG). 1-0, 1.96. 29 Sv, 1 H. 2.63 FIP.

Streaks

Not a lot going on here, other than Mike Trout‘s 33 game streak of reaching base.

Series XXXVII Results

Series XXVII Sweeps

Wandering House of David over Houston Colt 45’s
Indianapolis ABC’s over Philadelphia

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XXXVII

Detroit over Birmingham
Memphis over Brooklyn
Portland over Chicago

Series Splits in Series XXXVII

Los Angeles @ New York Black Yankees
New York Gothams @ Kansas City Monarchs
Baltimore @ Homestead
Miami @ Ottawa Mounties
Cleveland @ San Francisco Sea Lions

TWIWBL 44.4: Series XXXVI Notes – Marvin Miller Division

By mknn

On August 11, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Birmingham Black Barons

4 hits from Curtis Granderson and Eddie Mathews‘ 24th homer of the year weren’t enough as the Black Barons fell to Houston, 4-3.

In the series finale, Bob Nieman, Hank Aaron, and Jim Pagliaroni had 3 hits and Nieman, Pagliaroni, and Adrián González all went deep as the Black Barons beat Houston, 10-6.

OF Ray Powell retired from AA.

#Miami Cuban Giants

Trying to pick which arm to demote to make room for Freddie Fitzsimmons‘ return from the DL is a bit rough for Miami: virtually everyone is struggling. But the final choice was Braden Looper–declared closer only a few weeks ago, but sporting a 7.31 ERA since then.

The challenge for the Cuban Giants as the season winds down is to spread around enough innings and plate appearances to get some more information on the quality of talent on their roster. It may be bleak.

Fitzsimmons, however: not bleak. The recent acquisition made his first start for Miami and turned in a complete game, 3 hit shutout of the House of David. The Cuban Giants pounded out 5 homeruns, with Smoky Burgess launching the first 2 of his career and Ryan Braun, Robin Yount, and also launching longballs.

Yasiel Puig is hitting over .500 with Miami. 3 more hits, including his first 2 homeruns for the Cuban Giants weren’t enough in an 8-6 loss to the House of David.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Pascual Pérez has returned to the rotation, meaning both Wade Miller and Jerry Koosman look to finish the year out of the bullpen for the Sea Dogs.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

As the AA season closed, 3B Ken Caminiti and OF Coco Crisp announced their retirement.

TWIWBL 44.3: Series XXXVI Notes – Effa Manley Division

By mknn

On August 10, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Cleveland Spiders

It was a series of great starting pitching for the Spiders as they cruise towards the postseason.

Bill Steen was fantastic, twirling a 4-hit shutout (with 2 of those coming in the 9th) in a 6-0 win over Philadelphia. Steen struck out 9 and improved his record to 12-3 while lowering his ERA to 3.06. Steen doesn’t qualify for the ERA title, but may get enough innings over the final weeks of the season to sneak into the running despite his time on the DL earlier in the season. Sammy Strang, Jake Stahl, and Louis Santop had 2 hits each for Cleveland, with Strang driving in 2.

Pat Malone wasn’t great, but he was good enough to earn his 16th victory in a 7-4 victory. Ron Blomberg had 4 hits, including his 41st homerun, and Tris Speaker and Jake Stahl also went deep, with Terry Adams picking up his 35th save.

Mel Harder was magnificent, tossing a complete game 3-hit shutout to improve his record to 6-2 on the season in a 6-0 win over the Stars. Speaker had 3 hits and John Ellis drove in 2.

#Homestead Grays

With the AA season winding down, Ps Rip Sewell and Roy Face and OF Ducky Holmes all announced their retirement.

#New York Black Yankees

40 year old P Elon Hogsett announced his retirement from AA.

#Philadelphia Stars

36 year old C Kelly Stinnett retired from AA.

TWIWBL 44.2: Series XXXVI Notes – Cum Posey Division

By mknn

On August 9, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Baltimore Black Sox

Baltimore wanted to add another lefty to the pen, bringing up Scott McGregor and sending Lindy McDaniel down to AAA.

Curt Blefary‘s second homerun of the game (his 26th of the season) was a walk-off affair as the Black Sox edged Ottawa 7-5. Blefary had 4 hits and 4 RBIs in a game that saw Johnny Sain take back the #5 spot in the rotation from Jim Palmer.

The Black Sox pounded out 15 hits in a 14-1 pounding of the Mounties, getting 4 RBI’s from Blefary who, along with Frank Robinson, had 3 hits. Bill Byrd threw a strong 7 innings, improving to 14-3 on the year.

#Chicago American Giants

Perhaps in a preview of what the post-season holds, Chicago has moved Ed Walsh into the 4th spot of their rotation, and have not named a number five starter, although it is assumed that either Mark Buehrle or Ben Sheets will hold down the back of the staff.

Eddie Collins scored 3 times without an official AB (he walked 4 times), and Shoeless Joe Jackson had 3 hits and 6 RBIs (3 coming on his 29th homerun) to lead Chicago to a back and forth 8-7 win over Kansas City. Cristóbal Torriente had 3 hits as well with the victory going to Buehrle in his first relief appearance.

Duffy Lewis had 4 hits in an 8-5 victory over Kansas City, but the story of the game for the postseason might be the growing success of the American Giants bullpen. Here, Don Newcombe, Fernando Rodney, Ken Sanders, and A.J. Minter combined with over 4 innings of near-perfect relief, with Rodney getting the win and Minter his 28th save.

David Price has been magnificent since joining Chicago, but he saved his best performance for the series finale against Kansas City, spinning a complete game, 2-hit shutout. Price carried a no-hitter into the 8th, improving his record with the American Giants to 4-0. Dick Allen drove in all 4 runs on 2 hits, one his 25th homerun of the season.

#Houston Colt 45’s

Bones Ely‘s return from the DL meant Tom Sturdivant was returned to AAA.

Casey Stengel ripped his second pinch hit homerun of the year, this one a grand slam, but it wasn’t enough as the Colt 45’s fell to Birmingham, 10-6.

#Kansas City Monarchs

OF Max Flack retired at the end of the AA season.

The Monarchs needed a starter and recalled Joe Blong.

#Ottawa Mounties

Clayton Richard returned to the rotation for Ottawa, taking Johnny Podgajny‘s place.

RP Steve Reed announced his retirement from AA.

Randy Johnson left with an elbow injury after only an inning of work, but will likely only miss a few days. Podgajny did a good job in relief, perhaps earning another shot at starting before season’s end. Roberto Alomar tied the game with a homerun and Carlos Beltrán added 2 hits, but it wasn’t enough as Baltimore won the game in the bottom of the 9th, 7-5.

A potential bright spot for Ottawa: Roy Halladay joined AAA to get an outing or 2 after his long DL stint, with an outside shot at seeing action in the WBL before the end of the year.

TWIWBL 44.1: Series XXVI Notes – Bill James Division

By mknn

On August 7, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Detroit Wolverines

Hank Aguirre, Jason Schmidt, and Whitey Wilshire combined to allow only 2 hits in an 8-1 victory over Indianapolis (the run scored on 2 walks, a sac fly, and an RBI groundout). Hank Greenberg had 4 hits, including his 28th homerun, and Ty Cobb added 3 in the victory.

Greenberg continued his hot streak, with 3 more hits and his 29th homerun in a 3-2 win in 10 innings. Chad Bradford got the win over Indianapolis, improving his record to 4-0, and Mike Henneman maintained his league lead in saves, picking up his 36th of the year.

Detroit just continues to look strong as they push for the playoffs: homeruns from Cobb and Greenberg carried them to their 3rd win of the series. There was some concerning news, as reliever-turned-starter extraordinaire Gene Conley was forced out of the game with back stiffness, but it looks like he’ll only miss a few days of action.

#Los Angeles Angels

Jason Vargas has done enough to warrant getting a few starts as the Angel’s season winds down.

P Huck Betts retired from AA.

#Memphis Red Sox

Nixey Callahan was demoted, with Derek Lowe being brought up to Memphis.

After he was released by Ottawa, Memphis took a flyer on 42 year old Terry Mulholland, but it didn’t work out, and Mulholland announced his retirement after the AA season concluded.

This is what the Red Sox thought would happen all year: Memphis suddenly rallied, embracing their role as playoff spoiler in their series against the Black Yankees.

Mookie Betts had 2 homeruns and Ted Williams hit his 27th of the year in a 7-3 victory.

Reggie Smith had 4 hits and Claude Ritchey had 2 homeruns (!), leading Memphis to a 6-5 victory, sealed with Len Barker being called in to face Babe Ruth with the tying run on first in the top of the 9th. Barker got his first save as Stubby Overmire improved to 6-5 in his tenure in Memphis.

Two OF kills, one by Smith and one by Sammy Sosa, were crucial as Memphis held off the Black Yankees in the series finale, 4-3. Williams reached the century mark in RBIs, as he, Boogs, and Smith each had 2 hits in support of Dean Chance, who improved to 11-9 with 6 innings of 1-run ball.

#New York Gothams

Johnny Callison injured his elbow, with only an outside shot at returning before the end of the season. Callison hit the DL. This put the organization in a hard spot, as their AAA affiliate, Hartford, was in the playoffs. But the Gothams are in the mix for a wild card spot, so they recalled Benny Kauff, probably Hartford’s MVP with 39 HR and a 303/370/600 slash line at AAA.

The news on SP Pete Donohoe was not good, as a bum elbow will keep him out for the rest of the season. Edwin Jackson was recalled to take Donohoe’s place.

OF Dode Paskert retired from AA at the age of 40.

TWIWBL 44.0: Series XXXVI Notes

By mknn

On August 4, 2023

In TWIWBL

September 5

Awards

Gavvy Cravath won the WBL Batter of the Month for August, marking a stunning debut month for the Portland Sea Dogs after being acquired from the Philadelphia Stars. Cravath hit .370 with 11 homers and 19 RBIs during the month.

The Pitcher of the Month was Andy Pettite, 4-0 with his new club after being obtained from the Kansas City Monarchs. Pettitte put up a 2.00 ERA for the Birmingham Black Barons in August.

Baltimore’s Curt Blefary was named the WBL Player of the Week, hitting .588 with 4 homeruns and 10 RBI’s.

Playoff Picture

And then there were eight … only eight games remain in the opening season of the WBL.

And only a single playoff spot is secured, that going to the Baltimore Black Sox, who lead the Chicago American Giants by 2 games in the Cum Posey Division, but whose .589 winning percentage is the best in the league. Chicago–with the second best record in the league–is all but guaranteed a spot in the postseason as well.

And then it starts to get flaky.

In the Bill James Division, the Detroit Wolverines and the New York Gothams are tied for first, with the Wandering House of David only 3 games behind. Right now, all three teams make the postseason.

Over in the Marvin Miller Division, Portland and the Cinderalla-story Birmingham Black Barons are tied for first, with both in playoff spots now as well.

And that leaves the shocker, where in the Cum Posey Division, the Cleveland Spiders have ridden a 9-1 record in their last 10 games to extend their lead over the New York Black Yankees to 5 games … leaving the Black Yankees–and presumptive league MVP Babe Ruth–out of the postseason picture. This is of their own doing, as the Black Yankees were swept by the lowly Memphis Red Sox in Series XXXVI.

The Brooklyn Royal Giants have overtaken the Houston Colt 45’s, but the Royal Giants are 4 games out of the playoffs and essentially have to win out to have a shot. They host Memphis in Series XXXVII, so there’s hope (but see above for Memphis’ sudden discovery of how to win ball games).

The Spiders and the Black Yankees both face potentially weaker opponents in this series, with Cleveland visiting the San Francisco Sea Lions and the Los Angeles Angels making the cross-country trip to ply the Black Yankees.

Many of the rest of these teams will beat up each other: Detroit hosts Birmingham, the House of David host the Colt 45’s and Chicago will visit Portland.

Performance

Batters

Only four players have an OPS above the magic 1.000 line: Babe Ruth (1.095), Ron Blomberg (1.065), Reggie Jackson (1.022), and Joe Jackson (1.005).

Again we’re omitting the two players tied for second with 12 triples, Alejandro Oms of the Miami Cuban Giants and Josh Gibson of the Homestead Grays, but we’re also not including the Ottawa Mounties‘ Tim Raines, second in the league in SB with 91.

Ty Cobb has regained the lead in BA as Pete Browning has hit a bit of a–for him–cold streak. The batting crown should come down to those 2, with Cleveland’s Ron Blomberg having a shot as well. Ruth looks to have the other 2 legs of the Triple Crown pretty well nailed down.

Ron Blomberg (CLE). 341/416/649. 41 HR.
Pete Browning (HOD). 342/379/614.
Ty Cobb (DET). 344/384/551. 179 H.
Eddie Collins (CAG). 310/409/507. 6.2 WAR.
Mike Fiore (CAG). 235/395/385. 102 BB.
Hank Greenberg (DET). 320/378/601. 44 2B.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 272/400/357. 102 BB, 93 SB.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 335/416/588. 106 R.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 318/428/594.
Willie Mays (NYG). 330/393/534. 180 H.
Stan Musial (KCM). 325/389/573. 47 2B.
Doug Rader (LAA). 333/395/535. 128 RBI.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 317/433/663. 44 HR, 127 RBI, 119 R, 104 BB, 7.7 WAR.
Louis Santop (CLE). 306/336/468. 14 3B.

Pitchers

Starters

We’re looking at, in all likelihood, a maximum of 2 starts left for the starters, so it feels like 17 or 18 wins will lead the league this year.

Andy Pettitte‘s second half of the season has been stunning. Not only does he look to have the ERA crown wrapped up, his ERA is now sub-3.00, an incredible accomplishment in this league. Only five starters have ERA’s below 3.50: in addition to Jack Taylor, whose stats are below, Baltimore’s Bill Byrd (3.33), Brooklyn’s Frank Knauss (3.39), and Portland’s Walter Johnson (3.44).

Gerrit Cole (LAA). 15-9, 4.30.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 13-7, 3.68. 196 K.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 7-12, 4.51. 182 K.
Pat Malone (CLE). 16-8, 3.96.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 16-8, 3.54. 198 IP.
Alejandro Peña (BBB). 12-9, 3.69. 5.0 WAR, 3.41 FIP.
Andy Pettitte (KAN/BBB). 15-4, 2.95.
Eddie Plank (SFS). 12-7, 3.96. 3.45 FIP.
Charlie Root (SFS/DET). 9-6, 3.57. 1.08 WHIP.
Jack Taylor (HOD). 15-9, 3.22. 1.13 WHIP.
Cy Young (CLE). 11-9, 4.47. 197 IP, 4.7 WAR.

Relievers

35 IP for rate stats.

Terry Adams (CLE). 2-6, 2.81. 35 Sv.
Mike Henneman (DET). 2-6, 4.40. 37 Sv.
* Sean Marshall (BAL). 5-0, 1.79. 1 Sv, 8 H.
AJ Minter (CAG). 1-0, 2.75. 28 Sv. 0.97 WHIP, 2.90 FIP.
Buddy Napier (DET). 1-1, 2.75. 2 Sv, 8 H. 0.97 WHIP.
Mike Norris (NYG). 4-3, 1.44. 8 Sv, 14 H.
Ron Reed (PHI/CLE). 0-6, 4.50. 3 Sv, 17 H.
Ron Robinson (SFS). 6-5, 4.03. 1 Sv, 17 H.
Brian Wilson (NYG). 1-0, 1.83. 27 S, 1 H. 2.53 FIP.

* On Disabled List.

Streaks

Baltimore’s Larry Gardner heads into the final 8 games with a 19 game hitting streak (the league record is Babe Ruth’s 23). His teammate, Baby Doll Jacobson, has driven in a run in 7 straight games. While Mike Trout‘s teammate, Bobby Grich, had his consecutive games on base streak ended at 32, Trout has a 29 game run of his own.

Brian Wilson of the New York Gothams has 27 saves on the season, having converted 25 straight. More impressively to me, Cleveland’s Bill Steen hasn’t allowed a run in 19 innings, putting him only 5 behind the league record.

Series XXVI Results

Series XXVI Sweeps

Chicago over Kansas City
Cleveland over Philadelphia
Detroit over Indianapolis
Memphis over New York Black Yankees

Taking Three Out of Four in Series XXVI

Birmingham over Houston
Brooklyn over Portland
New York Gothams over Homestead
Miami over House of David

Series Splits in Series XXVI

Ottawa @ Baltimore
San Francisco @ Los Angeles