Tag: A.J. Minter Page 3 of 4

TWIWBL 32.0: Series XXV Notes

On February 1, 2023

July 19th

For this TWIWBL we’re going to look at two of my favorite emerging plotlines.

Biggest Surprise

Right now, it’s got to be the Birmingham Black Barons. At the end of May, they were 10 games back, a .400 team, and battling Miami for last place in the Marvin Miller Division. Today, they are 7 games over .500, and only 2.5 games behind division-leading Portland. So, what happened?

Birmingham began to turn it around in late May, but their high level of activity at the all-star break has to be mentioned as well. Ultimately, they lost 2 SPs (Dick Rudolph to Chicago and all-star Tim Hudson to San Francisco), a key bullpen piece (Hoyt Wilhelm in the same trade as Rudolph), and two infielders (all-star 2B Tom Herr to the Black Yankees and U Frank Isbell to Brooklyn). They received 10 players and 4 draft picks in return, with only 1B Adrián González making the big leagues immediately.

González’ OPS with the Black Barons has been in the high 600’s, which isn’t great, but is almost 200 points higher than his struggles with Chicago. He is splitting time at 1B with Frank McCormick, and the combo is outperforming Isbell. Hank Aaron is playing more at 2B with Herr gone, allowing Bob Nieman and Curtis Granderson to be joined by a rotating cast of OFers, but overall strengthening the lineup (even if Aaron isn’t exactly good defensively at 2B). Additionally, Eddie Mathews and Pie Traynor are in the lineup most days, with Mathews becoming the primary DH.

It’s worked: the quartet of Granderson, McCormick, Mathews, and Aaron have all come to life, combining for 27 HRs and 103 RBIs since June 1st. All in all, a team that struggled to score at all is now slowly, very slowly, edging away from the bottom of the pack offensively.

But the real success has been on the mound where, quite surprisingly, the loss of Hudson, Rudolph, and Wilhelm hasn’t really been felt. Alejandro Peña has been solid all year, Greg Maddux is finally living up to his hype, and Vic Willis continues to impress in the rotation. Closer Juan Ríncón has 17 saves despite starting the season buried in the bullpen, and the trio of Bruce Chen, Harley Young, and Steve Bedrosian have been fantastic in getting the ball to Rincón.

Rincón got his 2nd, 3rd, and 4th save of the season in consecutive games in late May, about the same time Bedrosian and Willis joined the big league club, with Chen being recalled from AAA in late June.

Look, the Black Barons are still a longshot to make the playoffs–but just being in the conversation has been an unlikely triumph for Birmingham. And it’s not all luck: yes, they are outperforming their Pythagorean projection by 2 wins, but that would still leave them above .500 even if they weren’t.

Second Biggest Surprise

The New York Black Yankees were supposed to run away and hide atop the Effa Manley Division. But the Cleveland Spiders have other ideas, and currently sit 3.5 games above New York in the standings, with the second best record in baseball.

Cy Young and Pat Malone have led the rotation all year, with ERA’s right around 4.00 and excellent peripheral numbers, and the bullpen trio of Chuck Porter, Cory Gearrin, and Ron Reed (who has continued to excel since being acquired from Philadelphia) have been able to consistently get the ball to Terry Adams in good situations. Adams has delivered with 23 saves, despite an 0-5 record.

Offensively, Ron Blomberg is in the argument for the MVP, slashing 334/402/638 with 28 homeruns and 76 RBIs, but the key to the team may have been finding a way to get John Ellis in the lineup almost every day, as the C/1B/DH has an OPS over .900, ranking second to Blomberg in most offensive stats. Add in a great season from Louis Santop behind the plate, solid contributions from Jake Stahl, Chuck Knoblauch, and Johnny Bates and the surprising turnaround from midseason acquisition Lance Berkman (whose OPS is over 300 points above where it was for Houston), and the Spiders have a dangerous lineup, top to bottom.

Can they hold off the Black Yankees? If New York’s bullpen continues to be absolutely porous, yes, yes they can. Will they? That’s another question entirely.

Performance

Awards

I feel like I’ve missed these for a little while, so I’m going to list the last few Players of the Week as well as June’s Players of the Month.

Player of the Month

In an unusual occurence for a reliever, Willie Mitchell of the Indianapolis ABC’s was the Pitcher of the Month for June. Mitchell was 4-0 with a 0.95 ERA out of the bullpen, prompting him to be added to the ABC’s rotation.

The Los Angeles Angels‘ Mike Trout took the Batter of the Month award, by hitting .381 for June. Trout is still looking to add some power to his results, but it moved him firmly into the conversation of elite hitters in the game.

Player of the Week

Willie Stargell of the Homestead Grays was the PotW for the week ending 7/17, hitting .565 with 3 HRs and 9RBIs in the span.

Babe Ruth has recovered from a mini-slump with a vengeance, taking home the PotW award for the week ending 7/10, hitting .500 with 3 homeruns and 12 RBI’s.

Before Ruth, the award went to Brooklyn’s Beals Becker, who raised his season average to a cool .300 with a .478, 3 HR showing during the week.

Batters

Top 2 in all categories, with the WBL leader in bold.

It’s been the Babe Ruth show since Reggie Jackson‘s triple crown run fell apart, but we’re seeing some others, most notably Kansas City‘s Stan Musial, edge into the MVP discussion.

Dick Allen (CAG). 307/375/553. 10 3B.
Johnny Bench (IND). 295/411/564. 4.4 WAR.
Ron Blomberg (CLE). 334/402/638. 28 HR.
Rico Carty (PHI). 287/360/461. 34 2B.
Ty Cobb (DET). 350/392/559. 124 H.
Mike Epstein (HOM). 332/432/535.
Mike Fiore (CAG). 249/405/415. 70 BB.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 252/388/341. 74 BB; 69 SB.
Kent Hrbek (POR). 309/379/591. 28 HR.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 340/422/593. 76 R.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 327/439/587.
Stan Musial (KCM). 340/396/602. 129 H; 36 2B.
Doug Rader (LAA). 324/382/532. 94 RBI.
Tim Raines (OTT). 290/365/433. 71 SB.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 313/421/643. 30 HR; 91 RBI; 80 R; 5.3 WAR.
Louis Santop (CLE). 312/344/470. 10 3B.

Pitchers

Starters

Top 3 in each category, with the league leader in bold. No fewer than nine hurlers have 10 victories each, so only the top two in wins–Cole and Mathewson–are listed.

Bill Byrd (BAL). 10-2, 3.12. 1.18 WHIP.
Gerrit Cole (LAA). 12-4, 4.10.
Don Drysedale (BRK). 6-3, 3.49. 1 H; 1.17 WHIP.
Ned Garvin (BAL). 9-3, 2.66. 2 H; 1.15 WHIP.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 10-6, 3.72. 150 Ks.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 5-8, 3.99. 144 Ks; 3.4 WAR.
Walter Johnson (POR). 9-3, 3.54. 3.3 WAR.
Frank Knauss (BRK). 10-4, 3.19. 1 Sv.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 11-6, 3.78. 123 Ks.
Alejandro Peña (BBB). 8-6, 3.65. 3.6 WAR.

Relievers

Detroit‘s Mike Henneman has finally passed the injured Johan Santana for the league lead in saves.

22 IP for rate stats; top 2, leader in bold.

Terry Adams (CLE). 0-5, 3.48. 23 Sv; 1 H.
Watty Clark (BRK). 3-1, 1.20. 17 Sv.
Mike Henneman (DET). 1-4, 3.41. 25 Sv.
AJ Minter (CAG). 1-0, 2.22. 18 Sv, 0.86 WHIP.
Chuck Porter (CLE). 4-3, 2.04. 1 Sv; 10 H; 0.86 WHIP.
Ron Reed (PHI/CLE). 0-3, 2.59. 3 Sv; 16 H.
Ron Robinson (SFS). 4-2, 3.35. 13 H.
Johan Santana (POR). 1-1, 2.78. 23 Sv; 1 H.
Jonny Venters (LAA). 3-3, 3.35. 5 Sv; 13 H.
Brian Wilson (SFS). 1-0, 1.15. 20 Sv.

Streaks

Beals Becker‘s on-bas streak ended at 32 games, but Boog Powell‘s is still alive at 29 and counting. Other active streaks of note include Brian Wilson‘s 18 consecutive saves and Bill Byrd‘s 14 starts without a loss, as well as Harley Young‘s 12 scoreless innings in relief.

Series Results

Series XXV Sweeps

Birmingham over Indianapolis

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XXV

Chicago over Philadelphia
House of David over Cleveland
Kansas City over New York Black Yankees
San Francisco over Portland

Series XXV Splits

Houston Colt 45’s @ Baltimore Black Sox
Miami Cuban Giants @ Brooklyn
Detroit Wolverines @ New York Gothams
Homestead @ Memphis Red Sox
Ottawa Mounties @ Los Angeles

TWIWBL 31.0: Series XXIV Notes

By mknn

On January 13, 2023

In TWIWBL

July 14th

Early Pennant Race Update

Look, it’s July. Not even late July. Mid July. It’s far too soon to talk pennant races, right?

Never.

Bill James Division

The Detroit Wolverines and the New York Gothams are neck and neck, separated by a single game. Both the Wandering House of David and the Los Angeles Angels are close enough–5 games back–to make a move, but they can’t let too much more separation occur between them and the league leaders.

Cum Posey Division

The Baltimore Black Sox–with the best record in baseball–just can’t shake the Chicago American Giants, who are 5 games back. The rest of the division would need to make a significant move to change this from a two team race, with the Houston Colt 45’s–9 games back–the closest.

Effa Manley Division

The Cleveland Spiders are writing a great story, having overtaken the dominant favorite New York Black Yankees, who they now lead by 3.5 games. Everyone expects the Black Yankees to catch up, but they also never expected Cleveland to be where they are. The Indianapolis ABC’s sit 8.5 games back.

Marvin Miller Division

The Portland Sea Dogs leads the division by 5.5 games, but the story here is really the sudden resurgence of the Birmingham Black Barons, who have ridden a great streak to pull within 5.5 games. The Brooklyn Royal Giants sit 7 games back.

Performance

As usual, top 2 performers in all categories, with the WBL leader in bold.

Batters

Everything is tightening up: 6 batters sit between .336 and .339 for the league lead in BA, but the Black Yankees’ Babe Ruth continues to be the dominant offensive force in the league. It’s still a long list, though.

Dick Allen (CAG). 307/374/557. 9 3B.
Johnny Bench (IND). 301/420/585. 4.5 WAR.
Rico Carty (PHI). 289/361/469. 34 2B.
Willie Davis (PHI). 283/336/509. 9 3B.
Mike Epstein (HOM). 336/439/544.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 257/394/351. 72 BB; 64 SB.
Kent Hrbek (POR). 308/375/593. 27 HR.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 339/422/598. 74 R.
Ron Blomberg (CLE). 339/410/646. 27 HR.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 336/447/610.
Willie Mays (NYG). 325/382/536. 119 H.
Stan Musial (KCM). 337/396/591. 121 H; 34 2B.
Doug Rader (LAA). 325/378/542. 92 RBI.
Tim Raines (OTT). 298/373/447. 69 SB.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 321/431/659. 30 HR; 91 RBI; 78 R; 69 BB; 5.3 WAR.
Louis Santop (CLE). 311/345/467. 9 3B.

Pitchers

There are 5 other pitchers tied with Bill Byrd with 10 victories; other than that the top 3 in each category are listed with the league leader in bold. No idea why Alejandro Peña is so highly rated in WAR.

Starters

Bill Byrd (BAL). 10-2, 3.20. 1.19 WHIP.
Gerrit Cole (LAA). 12-4, 4.03.
Ned Garvin (BAL). 8-3, 2.64. 1.14 WHIP.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 9-6, 3.86. 142 SO.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 5-8, 4.13. 138 SO.
Roy Halladay (OTT). 3-9, 4.13. 1.19 WAR.
Walter Johnson (POR). 8-3, 3.57. 3.4 WAR.
Johnny Marcum (DET). 9-2, 3.33.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 10-6, 3.91.
Alejandro Peña (BBB). 8-6, 3.77. 3.5 WAR.
Jack Scott (NYY). 10-4, 4.10.
Cy Young (CLE). 8-4, 3.81. 3.2 WAR.

Relievers

20 IP minimum for rate stats. Top 2, leaders in bold.

Terry Adams (CLE). 0-5, 3.60. 23 Sv.
Watty Clark (BRK). 3-1, 1.20. 17 Sv.
Mike Henneman (DET). 1-4, 3.54. 24 Sv.
Trevor Hildenberger (BRK). 3-0, 2.18. 0.92 WHIP.
AJ Minter (CAG). 1-0, 2.08. 16 Sv, 0.88 WHIP.
Ron Reed (PHI). 0-3, 2.52. 16 H.
Johan Santana (POR). 1-1, 2.78. 23 Sv.
Jonny Venters (LAA). 3-3, 3.15. 13 H.
Brian Wilson (NYG). 1-0, 1.23. 18 Sv.

Streaks

There are 4 active on-base streaks of note, led by Brooklyn’s Beals Becker (30 games). Iván Rodríguez (POR, 27 G), Don Buford (LAA, 26), and Boog Powell (KAN, 25) are also live. Not much else: George Stone of the Wandering House of David has delivered 4 straight pinch-hits.

Series Results

Series XXIV Sweeps

Kansas City Monarchs over San Francisco Sea Lions

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XXIV

Indianapolis over Brooklyn
Detroit over Chicago
Homestead Grays over New York Black Yankees
House of David over Los Angeles
Portland over Philadelphia Stars

Splitting Series XXIV

Baltimore @ Miami Cuban Giants
Cleveland @ Birmingham
New York Gothams @ Houston
Memphis Red Sox @ Ottawa Mounties

TWIWBL 30.0: Series XXIII Notes

By mknn

On December 12, 2022

In TWIWBL

July 10th

Looking Back at the All Star Trades

We’re a month(ish) on from the all-star break, seemed a good time to look back at the trades and see how they are working out in the early days.

Boom Shaka Laka

The Los Angeles Angels and the Ottawa Mounties swapped 8 players, with early returns making the Angels–by far–the winner in the exchange as veteran 1B Carlos Delgado is slashing 344/400/547 since the trade, providing what may be the final piece to the Angels’ puzzle. While Rusty Staub has done OK for Ottawa, none of the rest of the pieces have shown much at all. Wally Moon, who the Angels picked up from San Francisco, has been impressive as well, slashing 354/458/458 since the break. Two of the pieces the Angels gave up for Moon–C Brian Downing and P Dave LaRoche–have done well for San Francisco (Downing at AAA, LaRoche with the Sea Lions themselves), so this deal may work out for both sides.

Encouraging

The New York Gothams gave up a haul for Don Sutton, and so far it looks OK: Sutton looks to join the Gothams’ rotation shortly, posting a 2.70 ERA in 8 relief appearances. For Brooklyn, two of the prospects received are doing quite well: OF Don Mueller is slashing 387/395/653 and P Lew Krausse, Jr. has started his career with his new organization with some strong outings on the mound.

All-Star Ron Reed has just continued his strong year having moved from Philadelphia to Cleveland, with an ERA of 0.75 over his first half-dozen games with the Spiders. Even more importantly for Cleveland’s playoff push, OF Lance Berkman looks to have blossomed with the change in scenery, slashing 276/417/500 with 4 HRs since coming over from Houston–a jump of of over 200 points to his OPS. The Spiders gave up 7 players across those 2 deals, none of which have earned significant playing time with their new clubs, although both Jap Payne (sent to Philadelphia) and Harry Stovey (to Houston as part of the Berkman deal) have hit well in limited appearances).

The Chicago American Giants brought in 4 pitchers, with encouraging returns from Dick Rudolph (acquired from Miami) and Hoyt Wilhelm (from Birmingham). The best prospect the American Giants gave up–Minnie Miñoso to the Cuban Giants–has been injured, so the jury is still out on this deal in general, but it looks alright so far, even if Don Newcombe has struggled mightily, and may have been overvalued at the trade deadline. Perhaps as importantly, the American Giants seem to have solved their SS question, as all-star Freddy Parent has continued his strong form since joining them from Ottawa.

Birmingham’s fire sale went well. We’ll cover some of those below, but both Curt Flood and Manny Trillo–picked up in the trade of Frank Isbell (who has been alright) to Brooklyn–are both tearing up AAA.

Meh

The Baltimore Black Sox have to be pleased with Manny Machado‘s performance so far, as he’s slotted quite comfortably as their everyday 3B. But the Miami Cuban Giants can’t really complain, as they aren’t going to compete for a while and Joe Dugan is tearing up AAA while Chris Hoiles has established himself as a C at the big league level. The Black Sox also brought in Joe Beggs from Memphis to solidify the end of their bullpen. Results have been mixed so far.

Memphis’ fan base was quite critical of a few of their moves, and Roger Clemens‘ short-term success in Houston has only increased their fury. But Stubby Overmire has added some depth to their staff and perhaps more importantly, 2B DJ LeMahieu and P Jim Kaat look to be strong prospects for Memphis’ future.

Disappointing

Portland hoped picking up Rogers Hornsby from Kansas City would spark their offense for a playoff push, and while he’s better than Greg Litton, his .648 OPS is actually pretty Littonish, and a far cry from his .853 mark over the first half of the season.

Tim Hudson was supposed to solidify San Francisco’s rotation, but was roughed up in his first few starts. While he’s shown signs of coming around, the 36 year old is only 1-3 with an ERA north of 5 since his move to the Left Coast. Rube Melton, one of the pieces the Sea Lions gave up for Hudson, has excelled at AAA for Birmingham, and looks to be a nice pickup for the Black Barons.

Another one who took a bit to find his footing, Tom Herr, is finally showing some life for the New York Black Yankees. Still, a 228/267/298 slash is not what the New York faithful had hoped to see from their All-Star acquisition. The Black Yankees’ other significant acquisitions–Jamie Moyer and Gary Lavelle–have struggled as well, although Lavelle has been installed as their closer, which is more a comment on the other options than a compliment to him. Several of the prospects they gave up–Bill Buckner and Charlie Keller for Birmingham and Dick Bartell and Sam Thompson for Ottawa–are performing very well for their new organizations, so these trades may come back to haunt New York.

Performance

As usual, top 2 performers in all categories, with the WBL leader in bold.

Batters

Reggie Jackson‘s triple crown hunt is back on! And Babe Ruth‘s dominance just continues unabated.

Dick Allen (CAG). 298/368/550. 9 3B.
Ron Blomberg (CLE). 335/410/646. 1.056 OPS. 26 HR.
Rico Carty (PHI). 295/362/480. 34 2B.
Ty Cobb (DET). 336/379/533.
Eric Davis (NYY). 277/337/528. 4.1 WAR.
Mike Epstein (HOM). 336/441/539.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 253/389/342. 67 BB, 64SB.
Kent Hrbek (POR). 301/370/582. 26 HR.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 337/449/610. 1.059 OPS.
Willie Mays (NYG). 316/373/523. 112 H.
Stan Musial (KCM). 331/390/585. 115 H, 31 2B.
Doug Rader (LAA). 316/373/523. 112 H, 88 RBI.
Tim Raines (OTT). 298/373/454. 66 SB.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 314/424/656. 1.080 OPS. 29 HR, 88 RBI, 73 R, 66 BB, 5.0 WAR.
Mike Trout (LAA). 318/390/455. 112 H.

Pitchers

It’s just all over the place, once you move past the dominant performances by Ned Garvin (BAL) and Gerrit Cole (LAA).

Starters

Bill Byrd (BAL). 9-2, 3.29.
Gerrit Cole (LAA). 12-3, 3.66. 128 IP.
Gene Conley (CLE). 10-2, 3.17.
Ned Garvin (BAL). 8-3, 2.64. 1.14 WHIP.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 9-6, 3.84. 135 K.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 5-8, 4.15. 135 K.
Waite Hoyt (NYY). 8-2, 3.29. 1.15 WHIP.
Walter Johnson (POR). 8-3, 3.60. 3.2 WAR.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 10-6, 3.96.
Alejandro Peña (BBB). 8-6, 3.77. 3.5 WAR.
Red Ruffing (NYY). 10-4, 3.55.
Cy Young (CLE). 8-4, 3.84. 129 IP.

Relievers

20 IP minimum for rate stats.

Watty Clark (BRK). 3-1, 1.23. 17 Sv.
Mike Henneman (DET). 1-4, 3.67. 23 Sv.
Ken Howell (SFS). 3-3, 1.14. 3 Sv, 7 H.
AJ Minter (CAG). 1-0, 2.08. 16 Sv, 0.88 WHIP.
Ron Reed (CLE). 0-2, 2.26. 3 Sv, 16 H.
Ron Robinson (SFS). 4-2, 3.58. 12 H.
Johan Santana (POR). 1-1, 2.78. 23 Sv.
Jonny Venters (LAA). 3-3, 3.24. 4 Sv, 12 H.
Billy Wagner (HOU). 0-2, 3.63. 11 Sv, 2 H, 0.90 WHIP.

Streaks

Not a lot of interesting active streaks. Brooklyn’s Beals Becker–who has the league record for consecutive games with a HR with 5–has a 25 game streak of getting on base. It’s no Thurman Munson, but it’s something. Becker is slashing 382/432/853 over his last 10 games. Gary Pettis, once considered a liability at the plate, is slashing 600/667/1050 over his last 15 games (because of Pettis’ utility as a defensive replacement, those 15 games cover only 24 ABs).

Christy Mathewson (NYG) hasn’t allowed a hit in over 8 innings.

Baltimore’s entire staff is on fire: Bill Byrd, Ned Garvin, Sean Marshall, Mike Mussina, and Jim Palmer are all on hot streaks on the mound. The most impressive is Byrd, who has a 1.07 WHIP and 2.38 ERA over his last 10 games.

Series Results

Series XXIII Sweeps

Cleveland over Indianapolis

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XXIII

Baltimore over Brooklyn
Birmingham over Los Angeles
Houston over Chicago
Detroit over Portland
Kansas City over Philadelphia
New York Black Yankees over Ottawa

Splitting Series XXIII

Homestead @ San Francisco
House of David @ Memphis
Miami @ New York Gothams

Series XXII Featured Matchup: Chicago American Giants @ Miami Cuban Giants

By mknn

On August 4, 2022

In Featured Series, Game Recaps

Series Preview here.

#Game 1: Mark Buehrle @ Roenis Elias

Chicago jumped on Roenis Elias in the top of the first, with Eddie Collins leading off the game with a long homerun, Carlton Fisk tripling and scoring on a sacrifice fly, and Freddy Parent drilling a solo shot to right field for an early 3-0 lead for Chicago.

But Elias settled down after that, and a solo shot by Chris Hoiles in the bottom of the 2nd put Miami on the board.

Elias kept the game 3-0 until the top of the 5th, when a single by Joe Jackson and a walk by Fisk chased him from the game. Still, not a bad effort given the start. He was relieved by Phenomenal Smith who has been, um, yeah, pretty phenomenal in his first dozen WBL innings. Today, though, not so much: Smith hit a batter, walked in a run, gave up an RBI single to José Abreu, increasing the American Giants’ lead to 5-1.

Meanwhile, Mark Buehrle continued to sail along, giving up only 3 hits and the single run through 6 innings until an RBI double from Eustaquio Pedroso chased him from the game. Ed Walsh relieved Buehrle, and induced a groundball to third from pinch-hitter Sandy Amorós, but Jack Doyle booted the ball, letting Pedroso score and closing the game to 5-3.

Miami refused to go away, though, and an RBI double from Gary Sheffield in the 8th made it a 1 run game, 5-4 despite Miami only managing 5 hits.

AJ Minter walked one in the 9th, but that was it, to preserve the victory and pick up his 16th save.

CAG 5 (Buehrle 7-7; Minter 16 Sv; Walsh 1 H; Dixon 5 H) @ MCG 4 (Elias 2-3)
HRs: CAG – Collins 14, Parent 3; MCG – Hoiles 1.
Box Score

#Game 2: Dick Rudolph @ José Méndez

José Méndez took the mound for Miami in the second game of the series, but it was Chicago’s Dick Rudolph who gave up the first run of the game on a sacrifice fly by Gary Sheffield.

Méndez couldn’t overcome an error in the top of the 2nd, allowing a 2 run double by Jack Doyle. He settled down for a few innings after that, but an RBI single from Mike Fiore and a bases-loaded walk to Dick Allen chased him from the game, trailing 4-1 in the top of the 5th. Steve Brown was summoned from the bullpen, and got the final two outs of the inning with the bases loaded to hold the score steady.

Despite giving up the run, Rudolph didn’t give up a hit until Alan Ashby doubled in the bottom of the 5th. A bases loaded walk to Sandy Amorós cut the lead in half, 4-2.

But Brown was ineffective in the 6th, giving up a 2 RBI single to Freddy Parent and another run scoring knock to Frank Thomas. That put Chicago up by 5, 7-2. Marcelino López imploded at that point, eventually giving up a 3 run homerun to Doyle (his 3rd hit of the game). That made it 11-2, and a 2 run shot from Thomas essentially ended the contest.

That did allow Cristóbal Torriente to make his first mound appearance of the year to close out the final inning of the blowout. It went pretty smoothly, with only a walk to Chris Hoiles blemishing a perfect inning.

Doyle, Thomas, and Parent each had 3 hits and Doyle drove in 5 runs for Chicago, with Rudolph picking up his 2nd victory since joining the American Giants.

CAG 15 (Rudolph 2-0) @ MCG 3 (Méndez 2-3)
HRs: CAG – Doyle (2), Thomas (18).
Box Score

#Game 3: Don Newcombe @ Eustaquio Pedroso

Don Newcombe faces his old team trying to avoid becoming the first 11 game loser in the WBL. He’ll be opposed by Eustaquio Pedroso, desperately trying to hold onto his rotation spot.

It didn’t start well for Pedroso as a couple of hits and a couple of walks resulted in a 2-0 lead for Chicago with the runs scoring on a single from Cristóbal Torriente. Jack Doyle took Pedroso deep in the 2nd, extending the lead to 3-0.

Miami would get on the board in the bottom of the 2nd, with a double by Robin Yount plating their first tally and a sacrifice flies from Jim Thome and Sandy Amorós tying the game at 3.

It was short lived, as a homerun by Dave Nilsson gave Chicago the lead once more, but an RBI double by Will Clark tied it up again and a single from Yount put the Cuban Giants ahead once more, 5-4. A single in the bottom of the 4th from Canseco increased the lead to 6-4 and chased Newcombe from the game, replaced by Ed Walsh. Gary Sheffield greeted Walsh with a double that scored 2, making it 8-4.

Pedroso gave way to Phenomenal Smith in the 6th, who gave up 1 run in 2 innings, leaving the score 8-5.

Akinori Otsuka gave up a long homerun to Thome in the bottom of the 7th, pushing the lead to 10-5 and another 2 run homerun, this one from José Canseco off Clay Condrey made it 12-5 heading into the bottom of the 9th.

Frank Thomas greeted Aroldis Chapman with a solo shot to left, but that was it as Miami won their first game of the series, 12-6. Canseco finished with 4 hits, 3 runs scored, and 3 RBI.

CAG 6 (Newcombe 2-11) @ MCG 12 (Pedroso 5-5)
HRs: CAG – Doyle (3), Nilsson (5), Thomas (19); MCG – Thome (11), Canseco (19).
Box Score

#Game 4: Ben Sheets @ Camilo Pascual

Chicago will turn to Ben Sheets in the series finale while Miami will hope Camilo Pascual can salvage a split for the Cuban Giants.

José Cardenal led off the bottom of the first with a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly from Pete Runnels for an early 1-0 Miami lead. It lasted exactly to the start of the next inning when Joe Jackson took Pascual deep to tie the game. Which lasted until Will Clark went deep to lead off the bottom of the frame. And that lasted until Jackson lashed a 2-run single in the top of the 3rd with the bases loaded, putting the American Giants back on top, 3-2.

Miami returned the favor with RBI’s from Runnels, Gary Sheffield, and Clark–that’s right, a 3-run inning–to retake the lead, 5-3. Runnels continued his great game with a 3-run shot that chased Sheets in the 4th and a 2-run single in the 5th.

That gave Pascual–who had clearly settled down–a 10-3 lead heading into the 6th. The teams scored a few more times, but the outcome was never in doubt.

Runnels ended up with 3 hits and 7 RBIs, leading Miami to a series split.

CAG 4 (Sheets 7-6) @ MCG 13 (Pascual 5-8)
HRs: CAG – Jackson (19); MCG – Clark (15), Runnels (1).
Box Score

Series Notes

Miami’s comeback to split has to be quite a surprise, the manner they did it even moreso, outscoring Chicago in the series, 32-30.

José Canseco was 6-for-12 in the series and Will Clark and Gary Sheffield had 6 hits each.

Freddy Parent continued to endear himself to his new team, going 6-for-14 while Frank Thomas had 5 hits and 2 homeruns for Chicago

Series XXII Preview: Chicago American Giants @ Miami Cuban Giants

By mknn

On July 27, 2022

In Series Previews

{ Whoops, this should have been posted before the prior post. }

If the Chicago American Giants seem somewhat familiar, it’s because they were just featured in Series XX. We first saw them way back in Series VI.

This is only the 2nd appearance for the Miami Cuban Giants, who we first saw in Series XI. They are the last team to get their second features, perhaps appropriate for one of the weakest teams in the WBL.

#Chicago American Giants

Chicago comes into this series in 2nd place, 3 games behind Baltimore in the Cum Posey Division. They’re a good team, among the best offensively with a pitching staff that is better in the rotation than the bullpen.

The American Giants are led by a powerful quintet: OFs Joe Jackson and Duffy Lewis and IFs Frank Thomas (although he’s more a DH than a 1B), Eddie Collins, and Dick Allen. Jackson leads in BA, SLG, and OPS (328, 579, and 990, respectively); Lewis in HR (21), Thomas in OBP and RBI (429, 70), Collins in SB (38). It’s an insane lineup for opposing hurlers to get through.

Tricky Nichols leads the way on the mound at 9-3 with a 3.67 ERA while Ben Sheets is 7-5, 3.45. The key here is that none of the other starters–Mark Buehrle and newcomers Dick Rudolph and Don Newcombe–have been bad, making the staff fairly consistent.

If there is an issue for Chicago, it’s the bullpen. Closer AJ Minter (15 saves, 2.18) has been excellent, but getting to him as been a struggle at times, leading to the midseason acquisition of Hoyt Wilhelm.

#Miami Cuban Giants

The Cuban Giants are young, and bad, with what is most likely the league’s worst offense, and a pitching staff not far behind.

José Canseco (291/359/510, 18 HR) has been the one consistent bright spot, and while 1B Will Clark and the more recently promoted C Alan Ashby and Gary Sheffield have been solid, the rest have been pretty miserable.

Rube Waddell and Camilo Pascual have been solid, even occasionally excellent as starters. But after that … the less said the better. Similarly, Aroldis Chapman clearly has an elite arm at closer, but the rest of the bullpen has been quite a mess, although Phenomenal Smith has been excellent since his very recent recall from AAA.

As a point of curiosity, Eustaquio Pedroso and Martín Dihigo both look promising as 2-way players.

#Series Matchups

Chicago starter listed first.

Mark Buehrle (6-7, 4.40) @ Roenis Elías (2-2, 5.60)
Dick Rudolph (6-4, 4.20) @ José Méndez (2-2, 6.25)
Don Newcombe (2-10, 5.80) @ Eustaquio Pedroso (4-5, 5.95)
Ben Sheets (7-5, 3.45) @ Camilo Pascual (4-8, 3.67)

#Series Predictions

With Nichols missing the series, I think Miami can win 1 game. Of course, with Waddell missing it, perhaps not even that. But I’ll stick with 3-1, Chicago.

Series XX Featured Matchup: Chicago American Giants @ New York Gothams

By mknn

On June 15, 2022

In Featured Series, Game Recaps

Series preview here.

#Game One: Don Newcombe @ Christy Mathewson

Chicago‘s recent acquisition, Don Newcombe, makes his first start for the American Giants. He’ll be facing Christy Mathewson, moving up a day to take the first game of the series for the New York Gothams.

A long homerun in the top of the 2nd by Dick Allen put Chicago up, 1-0.

And that was it for a while. Mathewson struggled with his control, walking 4 through 4 innings, but only giving up the homerun to Allen. Cristóbal Torriente led off the 5th with a single, but was stranded there as, reaching back for a little extra, Mathewson whiffed Duffy Lewis with his final pitch.

Newcombe, on the other hand, was giving up a hit per inning, but nothing else. Willie Mays led off the bottom of the 7th with a double and moved to 3rd on an infield hit by Johnny Callison. Mays would score to tie the game on a sacrifice fly from Willie McCovey.

The Gothams would take their first lead in the bottom of the 8th when Buster Posey singled home Jimmy Sheckard. Mike Norris gave up a 2-out single to Eddie Collins, but struck out Joe Jackson to end the game, earning his 2nd save in the process as the Gothams took the first of the four game series.

CAG 1 (Otsuka 3-5) @ NYG 2 (Smith 1-0; Norris 2 Sv)
HRs: CAG – Allen (14)
Box Score

#Game 2: Ben Sheets @ Sad Sam Jones

Duffy Lewis opened the scoring in the top of the first with an RBI single , but despite 2 hits and 2 walks, that was all Chicago could manage off of Sad Sam Jones in the frame.

Yasiel Puig doubled off Ben Sheets in the bottom of the 2nd, moved to third on a groundout, and scored on an RBI single by Wes Westrum to tie the game. Sheets would walk Pinky Higgins and give up a single to Brandon Crawford to load the bases, but a double play ball from Cookie Rojas left the game tied at 1.

Chicago would take the lead back in the top of the 4th on an RBI single by Freddy Parent. In the next inning, Dick Allen would triple in 2 more runs, extending the lead to 4-1. Allen would score on a single by Mike Fiore, chasing Jones and bringing in Don Sutton for the Gothams.

Johnny Callison made it 5-3 in the bottom of the 8th with a 2-run homerun off Herb Pennock.

Chicago would add a run in the top of the 9th, and their closer, AJ Minter, would work around an error to close it out in the bottom of the frame.

CAG 6 (Sheets 7-4; Minter 12 Sv; Condrey 1 H) @ NYG 3 (Jones 6-6)
HRs: NYG – Callison (10)
Box Score

#Game 3: Tricky Nichols @ Pete Donohue

Pete Donohue got himself into a bases loaded jam in the top of the 2nd, and got Dave Nilsson to hit a groundball. But New York only got one out, and a run crossed the plate for an early 1-0 lead for Chicago. They would double it in the 4th, taking advantage of a Carl Furillo error and a Magglio Ordóñez double to make it 2-0.

Meanwhile, Tricky Nichols was sailing along with a 3-hit shutout through five innings.

Donohue, who had only allowed 2 hits to that point, took a line drive off the leg in the top of the 5th and had to leave the game, replaced by Mike Norris.

The wheels came off for Nichols in the bottom of the 6th, when the home crowd’s fan favorite, Wes Westrum, took him deep with 2 men on, giving the Gothams a 3-2 lead.

Nichols was chased from the game by hits from John Kerins and Cookie Rojas in the bottom of the 7th, bringing Hoyt Wilhelm in from the bullpen to face the pinch-hitting Willie Mays. Mays singled, bringing in a run and extending the lead to 4-2, but Wilhelm got out of the inning without further damage.

The American Giants made a stand in the top of the 8th, first with an RBI single from Frank Thomas, and back-to-back doubles from Dick Allen and Mike Fiore and a pinch-hit single from Duffy Lewis that gave Chicago the lead again, 7-4.

Akinori Otsuka and AJ Minter would close out the game for Chicago with 2 perfect innings of relief.

CAG 7 (Wilhelm 1-0; Minter 13 Sv; Otsuka 2 H) @ NYG 4 (Nen 2-4, 1 BSv)
HRs: NYG – Westrum (5)
Box Score

#Game 4: Mark Buehrle @ Juan Marichal

Up 2 games to 1, Chicago opened game 4 of the series with a double from Eddie Collins, who scored on a single from Joe Jackson. Jackson would score on a single by Dick Allen, and Duffy Lewis would come home on a soft single from Cristóbal Torriente. Allen would score on a wild pitch as Chicago tagged Juan Marichal for 4 runs in the top of the first.

The Gothams would get one back in the bottom of the 2nd, when a Mark Buehrle wild pitch allowed Yasiel Puig to score.

Marichal would give up 2 more runs, giving Chicago the 6-1 lead heading to the bottom of the 5th. New York closed to 6-2 in the bottom of the frame, but Buehrle escaped a bases-loaded jam to maintain a 4-run cushion.

A 2-run homerun from Jackson extended Chicago’s lead to 8-3 in the top of the 7th.

The Gothams’ most pleasant surprise of the year has been Wes Westrum, who continues to just mash the ball. Westrum doubled in 2 runs in the bottom of the 7th, closing the score to 8-5.

Chicago would add one more run on a double play in the top of the 9th for the final tally.

CAG 9 (Buehrle 6-7; Dixon 1 Sv; Pennock 1H) @ NYG 5 (Marichal 7-4)
HRs: CAG – Jackson (17)
Box Score

#Series Notes

These are two excellent teams, each leaving this series in 2nd place in their divisions. But the edge shown by Chicago does reflect a true difference in the two, and the 3-1 series result is well deserved.

Dick Allen, Joe Jackson, and Eddie Collins each had 5 hits for the American Giants and Cristóbal Torriente went 7-for-16 to lead their offense. For the Gothams, Buster Posey went 6-for-15, Cookie Rojas added 5 hits, and Wes Westrum had 4 in 3 games.

Series XIX: Best Games – Chicago American Giants @ Brooklyn Royal Giants

By mknn

On May 13, 2022

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

And with all that, we are back from the first All-Star Break!

The theme in Series XIX was what came after the great starting pitching, as three of the games feature no-hitters in the early going.

#Chicago American Giants @ Brooklyn Royal Giants, Game Four

The American Giants would send Dick Rudolph to the mind, hoping to salvage a split of the series against Brooklyn, with the Royal Giants countering with young Sandy Koufax.

Frank Isbell–acquired by Brooklyn over the all-star break–singled off Rudolph in the bottom of the first and Jermaine Dye singled and scored on a double by Duke Snider in the bottom of the 4th.

And that was it.

Rudolph was good. But Koufax was masterful.

He was perfect through five innings before walking Mike Fiore and Freddy Parent to start the 6th, and didn’t allow a hit until the top of the 8th, when Dick Allen led off with a single and, after Carlton Fisk whiffed, Fiore hit a homerun. That was it for Koufax, who was clearly tiring, but what a performance!

After Koufax was replaced by Trevor Hildenberger, Freddy Parent singled and scored on a double by Magglio Ordóñez, putting Chicago in front, 3-1.

Rudolph allowed six hits, but only the single run through 7 innings. But his replacement, Sonny Dixon, wasn’t as strong, allowing a leadoff double to Beals Becker in the bottom of the 8th, and eventually seeing Becker score on a groundout from Dye.

Chicago sent their closer, A.J. Minter, to the mound in the bottom of the 9th with a 3-2 lead. Roy White doubled to lead off the inning, but Minter retired Ron Cey and Hi Myers, putting the American Giants one out away from the win … but Al López ripped a single through the infield, scoring White and sending the game to extra innings.

Fisk started the extra frame with a double off Eric Gagne. After one out, Parent–acquired as the final piece in Chicago’s postseason push–hit his second homerun as an American Giant, making the score 5-3.

Minter retired Isbell to start the bottom of the tenth, and was then replaced by Clay Condrey to close the game. But Germany Smith, in his first at-bat in the big leagues, greeted Condrey with the first hit of his WBL career, a homerun that just cleared the right field fence. Condrey retired Jackie Robinson for the second out, and walked Duke Snider. Up stepped White, who has really been the heart and soul of Brooklyn all year … and he deposited Condrey’s pitch into the right-field stands for a walk off victory for Brooklyn.

Chicago 5 (Condrey 0-1, 1 BSv; Dixon 3 H; Minter 1 BSv) @ Brooklyn 6 (Von Ohlen 5-0) [10 Innings]
HRs: CAG – Fiore (8), Parent (2); BRK – Smith (1), White (9).
Box Score

#Other Games of Note

Two games from the Los Angeles Angels‘ visit to Memphis bear mentioning. In the first, Los Angeles jumped out to 6-0 lead while Doc Gooden carried a no-hitter through 4 innings before Jim Pagliaroni singled with one out in the fifth. Two singles and a walk would chase Gooden … and then the wheels would come off for the Angels, who ended up giving up 7 runs in the inning. Mike Trout would hit one out of the park in the 8th to put them ahead, and the Angels, led by Carlos Delgado‘s 4-for-5 debut after his acquisition from Ottawa, would win, 9-7.

Another pitcher would take a no-hitter into the middle of the third game of the series, but it wasn’t the WBL leader in wins, Los Angeles’ Gerrit Cole. Instead, Memphis’ Tim Wakefield had his knuckleball dancing, not allowing a hit until Don Buford‘s solo homerun in the top of the 6th. The back end of the Angels’ bullpen wasn’t available, forcing Los Angeles to turn to Harry Howell to close out the game, which didn’t work out well, as Memphis’ David Justice took Howell deep for a walk-off homer to win the game for the Red Sox.

Los Angeles 9 (Rodríguez 2-0; Venters 9 H; Nathan 11 Sv) @ Memphis 7 (Farrell 0-3, 4 BSv)
HRs: LAA – Delgado (1), Trout (8)
Box Score

Los Angeles 3 (Howell 3-5, 1 BSv) @ Memphis 4 (Bell 5-3)
HRs: LAA – Buford (6), Delgado (2); MEM – Justice (1)
Box Score

Lefty Grove and Doc White locked horns in the second game between Indianapolis and San Francisco, which was scoreless through 6. Indianapolis scored 4 times in the top of the 7th, keyed by a 2-run double by Jake Stenzel, and held on as Lefty James retired Pedro Guerrero with the bases loaded to preserve a 4-3 victory for the ABC’s.

Indianapolis 4 (Faber 5-4; James 1 Sv; Dibble 1 H) @ San Francisco 3 (Grove 8-4)
HRs: None
Box Score

TWIWBL 22.0 – Series XVIII Notes

By mknn

On January 28, 2022

In TWIWBL

June 16

Here we are at the all-star break in the inaugural WBL season!

Standings

After a slight dip, the Baltimore Black Sox have regained their position atop the league with 45 wins heading into the break. The Portland Sea Dogs have 44 wins, and the Chicago American Giants and New York Black Yankees have 43 each.

At the other side of things, we have the Homestead Grays and Miami Cuban Giants. The Grays are 26-48, already 17 games behind, as is Miami, although they have won one more game.

Bill James Division

The New York Gothams and Detroit Wolverines have both won 40 games. New York leads the division, having played two fewer games than the Wolverines. The Los Angeles Angels are at .500, 37-37, and sit 4 games back.

Cum Posey Division

Baltimore is hotly pursued by the American Giants, who sit only 2 games behind. It’s a two team race, as nobody else in the division is over .500. Mention should be made of the Kansas City Monarchs, who sit in last place at 33-41, but are 7 games under their Pythagorean Projection.

Effa Manley Division

The Black Yankees leading the division is no surprise; the Cleveland Spiders hanging with them, only 1.5 games behind, is quite a surprise. The Philadelphia Stars, in third place, have outperformed their Pythagorean by five games, so simple regression to the mean looks to confirm this as a two-team race as well.

Marvin Miller Division

Portland is trying to run away with it, but shaking both the Brooklyn Royal Giants (40-33, 3.5 games back) and the San Francisco Sea Lions (38-36, 6 games back) has proven difficult.

Performance

One would hope the best performers in the league were selected to the All Star Team. So we’ll look instead at the players having good–even great–years who were not selected to the mid-season classic.

Bold here indicates they lead that category in players not participating in the All Star game, not that they lead the league. League leaders are noted with {*}.

Best Batters

Perhaps the biggest All-Star snub was Tim Raines of the Ottawa Mounties. Raines has taken over the lead SB lead from Rickey Henderson–who was selected–while hitting 303/378/462. Willie Davis, Jimmy Sheckard, and Duke Snider would probably be the next three in line.

Albert Belle, whose numbers are great, suffers from not playing fulltime. Cleveland has three players (John Ellis, Louis Santop, and Jake Stahl) splitting two positions (1B and C), resulting in neither of the three having enough appearances to make the team.

Albert Belle (NYY). 317/381/554.
Rico Carty (PHI). 282/349/463. 25 2B *
Ty Cobb (DET). 325/364/531.
Willie Davis (PHI). 297/355/530. 6 3B.
John Ellis (CLE). 305/352/647. 16 HR.
Oscar Gamble (DET). 261/381/498. 16 HR, 57 RBI.
Larry Gardner (BAL). 296/411/435.
Gil Hodges (POR). 203/266/432. 17 HR, 53 RBI.
Mickey Mantle (NYY). 294/401/459.
Willie McGee (KAN). 327/376/487.
Tim Raines (OTT). 303/378/462. 53 SB *
Louis Santop (CLE). 297/333/446. 8 3B *
Jimmy Sheckard (NYG). 293/398/470. 2.5 WAR.
Duke Snider (BRK). 322/358/540. 89 H, 2.6 WAR.
Jake Stahl (CLE). 280/339/564.

Best Starting Pitchers

Roy Halladay and Walter Johnson probably have the best arguments to be on the team.

Tommy Bridges (MCG). 4-1, 3.26.
Bob Feller (CLE). 7-4, 4.07. 97 K.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 5-6, 4.27. 109 K *.
Roy Halladay (OTT). 3-6, 3.97. 1.15 WHIP.
Walter Johnson (POR). 7-3, 3.83. 2.8 WAR.
Jon Lester (MEM). 8-5, 3.66.
Johnny Marcum (DET). 6-2, 3.32. 1 H.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 8-5, 4.48.
Alejandro Peña (BBB). 5-5, 3.83. 2.3 WAR.
Ben Sheets (CAG). 5-4, 3.87. 1.19 WHIP.

Best Relievers

Relievers are weird, right? Dave Von Ohlen and Watty Clark, both of Brooklyn, would be my next inclusions.

Elmer Brown (POR). 2-4, 2.30. 4 Sv, 9 H.
Watty Clark (BRK). 3-1, 1.66. 13 Sv.
Bob Howry (PHI). 2-3, 5.04. 16 Sv.
Willie Mitchell (IND). 2-2, 1.08. 1 Sv, 1 H.
Mike Mussina (BAL). 2-0, 2.20. 1 Sv, 1 H, 0.94 WHIP.
Dave Von Ohlen (BRK). 4-0, 1.48. 1 Sv, 3 H, 0.99 WHIP.
Vic Willis (BBB). 2-1, 0.70. 1 Sv.

Streaks

Philadelphia’s Willie Davis heads into the All-Star break with a 17 game hitting streak. More impressive is the Black Yankees’ Thurman Munson, who has reached base in 42 straight games.

Reliever AJ Minter (Chicago) hasn’t allowed a run in his last 17 appearances.

Series XVIII Results

Series XVIII Sweeps

None!

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XVIII

Baltimore over Homestead
Cleveland over San Francisco
Detroit over Birmingham Black Barons
Gothams over Kansas City
Ottawa over Miami

Series XVIII Splits

Memphis Red Sox @ Brooklyn
Portland @ Chicago
Wandering House of David @ Houston Colt 45’s
Philadelphia @ Indianapolis ABC’s
Black Yankees @ Los Angeles

TWIWBL 21.0: AL All Star Selections

By mknn

On January 25, 2022

In All Star Games, TWIWBL

Here we go! It is the 14th of June, time to finalize the inaugural All-Star rosters!

We’ll start with the AL.

The bottom line is that the Baltimore Black Sox and the Chicago American Giants lead the way with seven players each. Chicago has four starters, while the Black Sox have four pitchers going to the midseason classic.

Both the Ottawa Mounties and the Houston Colt 45’s are sending a lone player to the game. For Ottawa, this is no surprise, but for Houston–who have been hovering around .500 most of the season–it highlights the limits of a team of solid contributors, but no stars.

Ottawa’s Tim Raines was easily the hardest omission, and one that may, in the end, prove indefensible.

In the list in each section, players in bold are the selections.

Catchers

The top three are pretty easy here. The House of David‘s Elrod Hendricks is the clear starter, with over half his hits going for extra bases. There’s not a lot to choose from between the New York Gotham‘s Buster Posey and Baltimore’s Curt Blefary–Posey is hitting .348, but Blefary has been among the power leaders in the league all season–but they are head and shoulders above the other candidates, the best of which is probably Chicago’s Carlton Fisk.

Blefary has handled a strong pitching staff well, putting up a CERA just over 4.00 while Posey has thrown out 30% of would-be base stealers, leading this group. Ottawa’s Emil Gross has been the best defensive catcher in the AL, but has neither hit well enough nor played enough to really merit consideration.

Curt Blefary (BAL). 265/379/578; 19 HR; 47 RBI.
Carlton Fisk (CAG). 288/401/440.
Emil Gross (OTT). 218/290/370.
Elrod Hendricks (HOD). 314/363/628; 15 HR; 18 2B.
Buster Posey (NYG). 348/440/535; 16 2B.

First Base

Hank Greenberg of the Detroit Wolverines is the best of the pure first basemen, and will start at the position. But Chicago’s Frank Thomas has been the best hitter at the position, putting together a monstrous 355/445/596 slash line. Thomas will start for the AL at DH, having played roughly half the innings in the field as Greenberg.

There’s really not a lot between Baltimore’s Dan McGann and the Memphis Red Sox‘s Bill White–McGann has an OBP over .400, while White has hit for solid power for the Red Sox. McGann has been among the better defensive 1B in the league, so that may tip the scales in his favor.

Hank Greenberg (DET). 306/367/589; 15 HR; 19 2B; 56 RBI.
Dan McGann (BAL). 303/405/488.
Frank Thomas (CAG). 355/445/596; 15 HR; 17 2B; 65 RBI.
Bill White (MEM). 296/367/532.

Second Base

This gets difficult. Well, after Chicago’s Eddie Collins, the obvious starter, that is.

The Kansas City Monarch‘s Rogers Hornsby, Baltimore’s Larry Gardner, and Ottawa’s Tim Raines all deserve consideration. Hornsby is the best hitter of the trio, but Raines has probably been the Mounties best player all season, while his offensive numbers are really indistinguishable from Gardner’s (Gardner gets on base more, Raines has 50 SBs already).

Mention should be made of Bobby Grich (Los Angeles) and HR Johnson (Houston), who are making strong offensive contributions from the middle infield. Defensively, Johnson has been the best of this group overall, although the House of David’s Ryne Sandberg has probably been the best defensive second baseman overall.

Eddie Collins (CAG). 309/422/549; 51 R; 34 SB.
Larry Gardner (BAL). 293/405/435.
Bobby Grich (LAA). 277/351/453; 24 2B.
Rogers Hornsby (KAN). 311/390/477; 15 2B.
HR Johnson (HOU). 308/366/425.
Tim Raines (OTT). 301/377/462; 16 2B; 52 R; 50 SB.
Ryne Sandberg (HOD). 274/355/437; 16 2B.

Third Base

Chicago’s Dick Allen has been critiqued throughout the season, but his OPS is virtually identical to Doug Rader‘s, who has received acclaim for his clutch hitting all season. Both make the team, but Rader’s 73 RBI do warrant some attention for sure.

Note that if Detroit’s Bob Bailey had played more in the field, there’d be little discussion here, as he has hit better than either Allen or Rader. He’ll make the team as a DH.

The odd man out is likely Kansas City’s Albert Pujols.

None of these have fielded very well, but the best with the leather–Baltimore’s Harlond Clift–just hasn’t hit a lick.

Dick Allen (CAG). 287/348/555; 52 RBI.
Bob Bailey (DET). 309/394/533.
Harlond Clift (BAL). 202/303/369.
Albert Pujols (KAN). 291/349/486; 17 2B; 51 RBI.
Doug Rader (LAA). 317/372/532; 16 2B; 73 RBI.

Shortstop

While the starter is pretty clear, it gets difficult after that.

Baltimore’s Bobby Wallace has been pounding the ball, and has been the best shortstop of the group all season.

After Wallace, Ottawa’s Freddy Parent has been excellent since being given the starting position, and deserves a spot from his offensive contributions even with a little less playing time than the others.

After Parent, the trio of George Wright (Los Angeles), Ernie Banks (House of David), and Vern Stephens (Memphis) are pretty indistinguishable, and while they have been solid, it’s not clear that any of them are really deserving of being all-stars. That trio is very similar defensively, something neither Wallace nor Parent have shown much skill at.

Ernie Banks (HOD). 265/285/423; 46 RBI.
Freddy Parent (OTT). 278/327/493.
Vern Stephens (MEM). 254/311/388.
Bobby Wallace (BAL). 328/423/472; 24 2B; 45 R.
George Wright (LAA). 250/299/426.

Left Fielders

Chicago’s Duffy Lewis will start, as his consistency has nudged him ahead of Baltimore’s Frank Robinson and the House of David’s George Stone. Jimmy Sheckard has been key to the New York Gothams’ attack all season, but may fall just beneath the level of an all star, and a similar argument can be made against Oscar Gamble, despite his 57 RBIs for Detroit.

Oscar Gamble (DET). 260/380/500; 16 HR; 57 RBI; 40 R.
Duffy Lewis (CAG). 306/351/603; 19 HR; 15 2B; 47 RBI.
Frank Robinson (BAL). 302/383/521; 16 HR; 47 RBI; 44 R.
Jimmy Sheckard (NYG). 295/401/475; 16 2B; 50 R; 25 SB.
George Stone (HOD). 298/382/545; 15 HR; 45 R.

Center Fielders

New York’s Willie Mays is the clear starter in center. Not only has he been best with the bat, he also has 13 assists and has been among the better defensive centerfielders.

Reggie Smith of the Memphis Red Sox and Kansas City’s Willie McGee have been solid all season with Smith providing more power and McGee a bit more speed. An argument can be made against McGee as he has played in fewer games, but if Parent makes it at shortstop, you really can’t argue against McGee.

But that leaves the Pete Browning question unanswered. The House of David’s star has played in only 39 games, having been injured for almost half of the season to date. But when he’s played, Browning has hit an MVP level.

Only a late collapse by Houston’s Jimmy Wynn has kept him out of the discussion, but the Toy Cannon has dropped well behind McGee at this point.

Pete Browning (HOD). 359/389/614; 20 SB.
Willie Mays (NYG). 345/401/585; 18 2B; 54 RBI; 53 R.
Willie McGee (KAN). 329/378/486.
Reggie Smith (MEM). 297/366/506; 18 2B; 50 R.
Jim Wynn (HOU). 259/376/438; 50 R; 28 SB.

Right Field

Shoeless Joe Jackson of the Chicago American Giants is in the MVP conversation at this point, and will start in RF. He’s closely trailed by Kansas City’s Stan Musial.

Memphis’ Ted Williams has trailed off significantly over the past few weeks, but he is still in the conversation; as is Detroit’s Ty Cobb.

Ty Cobb (DET). 324/364/534; 18 2B; 42 RBI; 21 SB.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 333/416/602; 16 HR; 20 2B; 53 RBI; 57 R; 21 SB.
Stan Musial (KAN). 336/399/568; 21 2B; 50 RBI; 46 R.
Ted Williams (MEM). 283/374/543; 16 HR; 15 2B; 53 RBI; 47 R.

Starting Pitchers

Two members of Baltimore’s rotation make the team, with Dennis Martínez getting the honor of the start over teammate Ned Garvin due to Garvin only recently being added to the Black Sox rotation. Gerrit Cole may not have the supporting numbers, but an 11-3 record is enough to make the team (no other pitcher in the AL has more than 8 wins).

After those three, it all gets difficult. Andy Pettitte of Kansas City probably has the best argument, but only sports a 5-3 record while Chicago’s Tricky Nichols sits at 8-2, but with worse numbers across the board than Pettitte. A stronger argument could probably be made for a third Black Sox, as Bill Byrd has better numbers than Pettitte, and his 6-2 record matches Garvin’s.

Bill Byrd (BAL). 6-2; 3.09; 1.11 WHIP.
Gerrit Cole (LAA). 11-3; 4.02; 1.33 WHIP.
Ned Garvin (BAL). 6-2; 2.90; 2 H; 1.04 WHIP.
Dennis Martínez (BAL). 8-4; 3.04; 1.19 WHIP.
Tricky Nichols (CAG). 8-2; 3.38; 1.31 WHIP.
Andy Pettitte (KAN). 5-3; 3.12; 1.19 WHIP.

Relief Pitchers

Detroit’s Mike Henneman has been the best closer in the AL, with 15 saves. New York’s Brian Wilson and Memphis’ Joe Beggs have been virtually unhittable, but Beggs just hasn’t put in enough innings to warrant inclusion. Chicago’s AJ Minter has a stronger case, while Los Angeles’ Joe Nathan‘s ERA (over 5.00) keeps him off the roster.

John Hiller (Detroit), Jonny Venters (LA), and Craig Kimbrel are tied for the league lead in Holds with 8 each, but only Kimbrel has better overall numbers.

Mark Melancon (Houston) and Gene Conley (Detroit) are each 7-1 out of their bullpens, while Sean Marshall and Mike Mussina (both with Baltimore) have both been virtually unhittable in a decent number of innings.

Joe Beggs (MEM). 1-0; 9 Sv; 1.06; 1.06 WHIP.
Gene Conley (DET). 7-1; 3.96; 4 H; 1.22 WHIP.
Mike Henneman (DET). 1-3; 15 Sv; 3.06; 1.36 WHIP.
John Hiller (DET). 0-1; 1 Sv; 4.66; 8 H; 1.31 WHIP.
Craig Kimbrel (MEM). 2-2; 3.34; 8 H; 1.21 WHIP.
Sean Marshall (BAL). 3-0; 2.10; 4 H; 1.03 WHIP.
Mark Melancon (HOU). 7-1; 1 Sv; 3.20; 7 H; 1.42 WHIP.
AJ Minter (CAG). 1-0; 11 Sv; 2.35; 0.98 WHIP.
Mike Mussina (BAL). 2-0; 1 Sv; 2.20; 1 H; 0.94 WHIP.
Joe Nathan (LAA). 3-4; 10 Sv; 1 H; 5.23; 1.35 WHIP.
Jonny Venters (LAA). 2-2; 3 Sv; 4.30; 1.43 WHIP.
Brian Wilson (NYG). 1-0; 10 Sv; 1.77; 0.89 WHIP.

Selections by Team

Listed alphabetically, Italic indicates a starter.

Baltimore Black Sox: Bill Byrd (P); Curt Blefary (C); Ned Garvin (P); Sean Marshall (P); Dennis Martínez (P); Dan McGann (1B); Bobby Wallace (SS)
Chicago American Giants: Dick Allen (3B); Eddie Collins (2B); Joe Jackson (RF); Duffy Lewis (LF); AJ Minter (P); Tricky Nichols (P); Frank Thomas (DH)
Detroit Wolverines: Bob Bailey (DH); Hank Greenberg (1B); Mike Henneman (P).
Houston Colt 45’s: Mark Melancon (P)
Kansas City Monarchs: Rogers Hornsby (2B); Stan Musial (RF); Andy Pettitte (P)
Los Angeles Angels: Gerrit Cole (P); Doug Rader (3B)
Memphis Red Sox: Craig Kimbrel (P); Reggie Smith (CF); Ted Williams (RF)
New York Gothams: Willie Mays (CF); Buster Posey (C); Brian Wilson (P)
Ottawa Mounties: Freddy Parent (SS)
Wandering House of David: Elrod Hendricks (C); George Stone (LF)

TWIWBL 20.0: Series XVII Notes

By mknn

On January 4, 2022

In TWIWBL

June 12

Awards

C Elrod Hendricks of the House of David hit .545 (12 for 22) with 4 homeruns to earn the WBL Player of the Week Award.

Performance

At the end of Series XVII, This Week in Whirled Baseball 19.0 took a look at the best young performers in the WBL. This time, we’ll look at the over 30 players making a difference.

30 year old Albert Belle of the New York Black Yankees has probably been the best of them, slashing 312/377/551, but he just misses out on the qualification requirements for batters. So we turn instead to 31 year old Jake Stahl of the Cleveland Spiders, who leads the pack with an OPS of just under .900. Portland‘s Gil Hodges (30) has 16 homeruns and Oscar Gamble of the Detroit Wolverines leads with 52 RBIs.

Here’s what the old guys team might look like:

C: Jim Pagliaroni (31, Memphis Red Sox). 272/366/447.
1B: Jake Stahl (31, Cleveland). 277/336/559.
2B: Rogers Hornsby (33, Kansas City Monarchs). 300/384/469.
SS: Bobby Wallace (33, Baltimore Black Sox). 314/410/455.
3B: Jimmy Collins (34, Detroit). 232/280/382.
LF: Oscar Gamble (31, Detroit). 267/383/504.
CF: Don Buford (31, Los Angeles Angels). 296/389/428.
RF: Gavvy Cravath (35, Philadelphia Stars). 322/360/507.
DH: Carlos Delgado (30, Ottawa Mounties). 282/401/482.

Honorable mention to 36 year old Dan McGann of Baltimore, slashing along at 307/407/483. McGann joins Cravath and his Philadelphia teammate Rico Carty (36, 296/360/483) and Detroit’s Tony Phillips (38, 238/374/389) in the over-35 club, holding down a contributing role.

If you’re paying close attention, you’ll see that Detroit has three players mentioned so far: the Wolverines may be in win-now mode as the trading deadline approaches.

On the mound, the New York Gotham‘s Juan Marichal (32, 7-2, 4.55) and the Black Yankees’ Jack Scott (33, 7-3, 3.50) lead the way, although a special tip of the hat goes to 30 year old Mark Melancon, who is 7-1 out of the bullpen for the Houston Colt 45‘s. But the best of them all has probably been Kansas City’s Andy Pettitte, who sports a 3.12 ERA to go along with a less sparkling 5-3 record.

Leading Performers

The top 2 (ish) performers in each category are included, league leaders in bold.

Best Batters

A few things to note. First, the Chicago American Giants big three–Dick Allen, Joe Jackson, and Frank Thomas–is very impressive; second, Reggie Jackson of the San Francisco Sea Lions now leads in all three slash categories; and third, Babe Ruth is in a bit of a slump (I mean all things are relative), and while he is still listed in 5 categories, he only leads in 2 (homeruns and runs scored).

Dick Allen (Chicago). 298/357/579; 8 3B.
Rico Carty (Philadelphia). 296/360/483; 24 2B.
Mike Epstein (Homestead). 338/443/532.
Bobby Grich (Los Angeles). 293/369/479; 24 2B.
Rickey Henderson (San Francisco). 263/407/357; 55 BB; 50 SB.
Kent Hrbek (Portland). 317/388/623; 22 HR.
Joe Jackson (Chicago). 350/434/634; 56 R.
Reggie Jackson (San Francisco). 371/470/668.
Willie Mays (Gothams). 355/412/595; 93 H; 3.9 WAR.
Doug Rader (Los Angeles). 308/367/502; 66 RBI.
Tim Raines (Ottawa). 300/376/466; 48 SB.
Babe Ruth (Black Yankees). 313/422/663; 23 HR; 65 RBI; 56 R; 48 BB; 3.8 WAR.
Louis Santop (Cleveland). 303/337/461; 8 3B.
Frank Thomas (Chicago). 355/439/605; 91 H.

Best Starting Pitchers

Baltimore’s Ned Garvin continues to make a strong argument to be the best starting pitcher in the league.

Bill Byrd (Baltimore). 5-2; 3.09 ERA; 1.11 WHIP.
Gerrit Cole (Los Angeles). 10-3; 4.20 ERA.
Ned Garvin (Baltimore). 5-2; 2.78 ERA; 2 H; 0.98 WHIP.
Lefty Grove (San Francisco). 8-2; 3.49 ERA; 100 Ks.
Ron Guidry (Black Yankees). 5-5; 3.90 ERA ; 105 Ks.
Walter Johnson (Portland). 7-3; 3.88 ERA; 2.8 WAR.
Johnny Marcum (Detroit). 6-2; 2.92 ERA; 1 H.
Red Ruffing (Black Yankees). 9-1; 3.62 ERA.
Cy Young (Cleveland). 6-2; 3.40 ERA; 2.6 WAR.

Best Relievers

20 IP minimum for rate stats.

Terry Adams (Cleveland). 0-3; 2.91 ERA ; 17 Sv.
Elmer Brown (Portland). 2-4; 2.37 ERA ; 3 Sv; 9 H.
Turk Farrell (Memphis). 0-2; 2.95 ERA ; 1 Sv; 2 H; 28 G.
Bob Howry (Philadelphia). 1-3; 5.01 ERA; 16 Sv; 1.03 WHIP.
Ken Howell (San Francisco). 3-2; 1.20 ERA; 3 Sv; 3 H; 0.90 WHIP.
Mark Melancon (Houston). 7-1; 3.00 ERA ; 1 Sv; 5 H.
Willie Mitchell (Indianapolis). 2-2; 1.19 ERA; 1 H.
Ron Reed (Philadelphia). 0-2; 2.87 ERA ; 3 Sv; 12 H; 35 G.
Ron Robinson (San Francisco). 4-1; 3.45 ERA ; 9 H.
Johan Santana (Portland). 1-1; 2.79 ERA ; 22 Sv.

Streaks

The unstoppable force that is Thurman Munson just keeps on going: the Black Yankees’ backstop has now reached base in 39 consecutive games. The Gothams’ Willie Mays has reached base in 29 straight.

Brooklyn‘s Duke Snider and Chicago’s Joe Jackson are edging up the list of hitting streaks, with active 17 and 16 game runs, respectively (Jackson is slashing 438/486/828 over his last 15 games, easily the most extended hot streak in the league). Two slightly more oddball streaks: Homestead’s Mike Epstein has reached base in 8 consecutive plate appearances and Philadelphia’s George Hendrick has 4 consecutive pinch-hits.

On the mound, the Black Yankee’s Red Ruffing hasn’t allowed a run in 20 innings, setting a new league record and Chicago’s AJ Minter has now gone 16 straight appearances without allowing a run, extending his league record.

Two of the longest exercises in patience may be running out. Baltimore’s Paul Blair resurgence was clearly a mirage, and the center fielders has managed only 7 hits in his last 43 at-bats. The House of David’s Mark McGwire draws his share of walks, but little else, managing only 7 hits in his last 80 at-bats for a 087/253/125 slash line over that time.

Series XVII Results

Series XVII Sweeps

Chicago over Kansas City

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XVII

Brooklyn over Portland
Cleveland over Philadelphia
Gothams over Homestead
San Francisco over Los Angeles
Black Yankees over Memphis

Series XVII Splits

Baltimore @ Ottawa
Birmingham Black Barons @ Houston
Indianapolis @ Detroit
Miami Cuban Giants @ House of David