Far too often overlooked in the New York Black Yankees‘ lineup, Mickey Mantle has been on fire lately, netting the WBL Player of the Week award, hitting .429 with 3 homeruns.
All of this is not for lack of trying: the Black Yankees, Detroit, Houston, and Portland all won 3 out of 4 this series. But it’s hard to make up games without series against your direct rivals: Series XXXVI will see Houston travel to Birmingham and Portland host Brooklyn in the only matchups where both teams have a legitimate playoff shot.
Performance
Batters
To keep this list a little shorter, four players are tied for 2nd with 11 triples (Houston’s George Brett, the Philadelphia Stars‘ Willie Davis, the Homestead Grays‘ Josh Gibson, and the Miami Cuban Giants‘ Alejandro Oms).
Usual pattern: league leader in bold, top 2 in each category are listed.
Ron Blomberg (CLE). 338/411/646. 40 HR, 101 R. Pete Browning (HOD). 352/389/627. Ty Cobb (DET). 345/385/550. 173 H. Eric Davis (NYY). 275/350/514. 5.8 WAR. Mike Fiore (HOM). 235/399/389. 102 BB. Hank Greenberg (DET). 314/373/584. 43 2B. Rickey Henderson (SFS). 270/398/355. 99 BB, 89 SB. Joe Jackson (CAG). 331/413/575. 101 R. Reggie Jackson (SFS). 319/432/604. Willie Mays (NYG). 330/394/532. 175 H. Stan Musial (KCM). 323/388/567. 45 2B. Doug Rader (LAA). 340/401/548. 175 H, 128 RBI. Tim Raines (OTT). 289/366/427. 90 SB. Babe Ruth (NYY). 317/434/670. 44 HR, 124 RBI, 117 R, 102 BB, 7.4 WAR. Louis Santop (CLE). 304/335/464. 14 3B.
Pitchers
Starters
Christy Mathewson lost a chance to solidify his claim as the best starter in the league (see here): now it’s a 3-man race between Matty, Andy Pettitte, and Jack Taylor.
Pettitte and Charlie Root look like (along with Portland’s RF Gavvy Cravath) look like the gems of the trade market, with each of them performing fantastically for their new clubs.
Gerrit Cole (LAA). 15-9, 4.20. Lefty Grove (SFS). 13-7, 3.68. 196 K. Ron Guidry (NYY). 7-11, 4.42. 178 K. Pat Malone (CLE). 15-8, 3.92. Christy Mathewson (NYG). 16-7, 3.46. Alejandro Peña (BBB). 12-9, 3.69. 5.0 WAR. Eddie Plank (SFS). 11-7, 4.11. 3.46 FIP. Andy Pettitte (KCM/BBB). 14-4, 3.03. 3.42 FIP. Charlie Root (SFS/DET). 8-6, 3.55. 1.09 WHIP. Jack Taylor (HOD). 15-9, 3.22. 193 IP, 1.13 WHIP. Cy Young (CLE). 11-9, 4.47. 197 IP, 4.7 WAR.
Relievers
I always liked Mike Norris irl. It’s pretty fantastic seeing him be, possibly, the best reliever in the WBL here. I know the 35 year old has a limited future so I’m just enjoying the ride for now.
35 IP for rate stats.
Terry Adams (CLE). 2-6, 2.85. 34 Sv, 1 H, 3.04 FIP. Clay Carroll (IND). 2-5, 4.29. 3 Sv, 10 H. 61 G. Mike Henneman (DET). 2-6, 4.60. 35 Sv. * Sean Marshall (BAL). 5-0, 1.79. 1 Sv, 8 H. 0.98 WHIP. Buddy Napier (DET). 1-1, 2.84. 2 Sv, 7 H. 1.00 WHIP. Mike Norris (NYG). 4-3, 1.46. 8 Sv, 13 H. Ron Reed (PHI/CLE). 0-6, 4.46. 3 Sv, 17 H, 61 G. Ron Robinson (SFS). 6-5, 4.03. 1 Sv, 17 H. Carson Smith (NYG). 2-0, 1.63. 1 Sv, 9 H. Jonny Venters (LAA). 5-3, 2.83. 5 Sv, 15 H. Brian Wilson (NYG). 1-0, 1.93. 25 Sv, 1 H. 2.56 FIP.
* On the DL, likely out for the rest of the season.
Streaks
No really interesting active streaks (perhaps understandable as the season goes on), although both Brooklyn’s John Briggs and the House of David’s George Stone have succeeded int heir last 4 pinch hit attempts.
Wait, there’s one: Bobby Grich of the Los Angeles Angels has reached base in 32 straight games, tied for 4th in the league this year.
Baltimore @ House of David Birmingham @ Miami Chicago @ Homestead Los Angeles @ Philadelphia Memphis @ San Francisco Sea Lions Gothams @ Ottawa Mounties
The more things change, the more things stay the same …
On the whole, the playoff teams took care of business, with Cleveland sweeping Houston and Baltimore, Chicago, Portland, and the New York Black Yankees all winning 3 of 4 games.
As such, Baltimore still has the best record in the lead, and still leads the Chicago American Giants by 4 games in the Cum Posey Division. Chicago leads the wild card race, and both teams seem certain to make the postseason.
Each of the other divisions are tight as tight can be. In the Bill James Division, the Detroit Wolverines and the New York Gothams are tied for first place, with the Wandering House of David 1 game back. Over in the Effa Manley Division, the Black Yankees have maintained their lead, but it’s down to 1 game over the Cleveland Spiders and in the Marvin Miller Division, the Portland Sea Dogs lead the Birmingham Black Barons by a single game, helped by Baltimore’s 3 wins coming against the Black Barons.
Right now, Cleveland and Birmingham are tied for the final wild card slot. The Houston Colt 45’s–five games back–still have an outside shot, but getting swept essentially took them out of the race. Realistically it looks like 1 of the 9 teams vying for the divisional leads won’t make the postseason.
Performance
Going into a little more depth this time, providing some insight into players who are not performing well, but have still, for a variety of reasons, amassed enough PA or IP to qualify for the leaderboards.
Batters
The list is longer, but not really. With Babe Ruth taking over the OBP lead from San Francisco‘s Reggie Jackson, if you ignore some of the outliers (the SB leaders, the 3B, etc), the offensive leaders of the WBL boil down to Ron Blomberg and Babe Ruth, with Pete Browning, Stan Musial, and Doug Rader in a second group, with apologies to Johnny Bench of the Indianapolis ABC’s, who is putting up outrageous numbers for a backstop. Bench, Musial (Kansas City) and Rader (Los Angeles) are out of the playoff picture, but the rest should be around for the postseason.
Johnny Bench (IND). 286/390/575. 5.7 WAR. Ron Blomberg (CLE). 339/410/655. 168 H, 40 HR, 101 R. Pete Browning (HOD). 353/390/629. Ty Cobb (DET). 348/391/557. 169 H. Eric Davis (NYY). 277/352/517. 5.7 WAR. Willie Davis (PHI). 301/350/498. 11 3B. Mike Fiore (CAG). 238/402/396. 100 BB. Hank Greenberg (DET). 317/376/589. 41 2B. Bobby Grich (LAA). 292/381/483. 41 2B. Rickey Henderson (SFS). 268/398/356. 86 SB. Reggie Jackson (SFS). 316/430/598. Stan Musial (KCM). 326/389/574. 44 2B. Alejandro Oms (MCG). 255/308/398. 11 3B. Doug Rader (LAA). 335/395/542. 122 RBI. Tim Raines (OTT). 288/367/426. 89 SB. Babe Ruth (NYY). 318/435/673. 43 HR, 121 RBI, 113 R, 100 BB, 7.4 WAR. Louis Santop (CLE). 304/336/464. 13 3B.
Anti-Batters
Looking at the pool of hitters who qualify for rate stats only. 17 of them haven’t hit a triple, so those are omitted.
Hank Aaron (BBB). 263/302/498. 21 GIDP. Ernie Banks (HOD). 262/287/459. 16 BB. Wade Boggs (MEM). 286/364/412. 25 GIDP. José Canseco (MCG). 291/352/525. 159 SO. Rico Carty (PHI). 264/340/421. 48 R. George Davis (DET). 258/334/326. 1 HR. Mike Fiore (CAG). 238/402/396. 89 H. Tom Herr (BBB/NYY). 288/357/390. 2 HR, 25 RBI. Gil Hodges (POR). 222/297/423. -0.4 WAR. Frank Isbell (BBB/BRK). 310/341/401. 2 HR, 14 BB. Derek Jeter (NYY). 262/311/369. -0.6 WAR. Ted Kluszewski (PHI). 249/327/478. 48 R. Freddy Parent (OTT/CAG). 257/305/431. 9 2B. Ozzie Smith (KCM). 221/309/292. 86 H, 2HR, 25 RBI. Pops Stargell (HOM). 243/327/427. 179 SO. George Stone (HOD). 289/380/512. 12 2B. Arky Vaughan (HOM/CLE). 235/348/335. 12 2B. George Wright (LAA). 240/296/396.
This is an interesting list. There are some players considered stars on their teams–Aaron for Birmingham and Canseco for the Miami Cuban Giants especially (although GIDP and SO aren’t such awful things to lead the league in). Others are having decent seasons overall–Boggs, Banks, Hodges, Stone.
And then there is Ozzie Smith, hands down the weakest overall offensive player in the WBL. He’s been good defensively, but that’s a lot of negative output at the plate to overcome.
Mike Fiore offers the interesting case of being the only player to make both lists, leading the league in walks and having the second fewest hits of anybody qualifying for the leaderboards (behind Smith, of course).
Pitchers
Starters
A shorter list this time: 6 players have 14 wins, but since they would be 3rd in the league behind Christy Mathewson and Jack Taylor, they aren’t listed unless they qualify under another stat.
One thing to note: the presence of two starters from the San Francisco Sea Lions underscores how disappointing the season has been for them.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 13-7, 3.55. 191 K. Ron Guidry (NYY). 7-11, 4.42. 175 K. Christy Mathewson (NYG). 16-7, 3.50. Roy Oswalt (HOU). 12-8, 3.63. 188.1 IP. Alejandro Peña (BBB). 11-9, 3.72. 4.8 WAR, 3.45 FIP. Eddie Plank (SFS). 11-6, 3.87. 3.29 FIP. Andy Pettitte (KCM/BBB). 14-4, 3.05. 1.18 WHIP. Jack Taylor (HOD). 15-9, 3.13. 1.12 WHIP. Cy Young (CLE). 10-9, 4.64. 188.1 IP, 4.4 WAR.
Anti-Starters
Bert Blyleven (POR). 10-10, 4.17. 30 HRA. Roger Clemens (MEM/HOU). 11-8, 5.31. Vean Gregg (HOM). 9-8, 4.78. 97 BB, 1.59 WHIP. Lefty Grove (SFS). 13-7, 3.55. 98 BB. Luke Hamlin (KCM). 9-12, 4.80. Jon Lester (MEM). 9-12, 4.68. Dolf Luque (IND). 8-10, 5.29. 5.67 FIP. Juan Marichal (NYG). 11-8, 5.64. 1.56 WHIP. Wade Miley (HOD). 7-5, 5.05. 5.50 WHIP. Don Newcombe (MCG/CAG). 4-13, 6.44. 34 HRA. Jack Scott (NYY). 14-5, 4.41. 30 HRA.
Lefty Grove is on both lists: if he ever masters his control, he could be the best starter in the league (and if he loses an edge to his pitches, he could quickly be out of the league).
Blyleven and Scott are front of rotation starters for playoff bound teams, and Clemens has pitched far better since arriving in Houston, but his earlier performance for the Memphis Red Sox was so, so poor.
Newcombe is an conundrum: he doesn’t give up many hits or many walks, but when he does get hit, he gets hit hard.
Relievers
The best of the lot are probably Baltimore’s Buddy Groom and a duo from the Gothams, closer Brian Wilson and do-everything Mike Norris.
35 IP for rate stats.
Terry Adams (CLE). 2-6, 2.84. 33 Sv. 1 H. Buddy Groom (BAL). 2-2, 1.93. 6 Sv, 13 H, 0.99 WHIP. Mike Henneman (DET). 1-6, 4.83. 35 Sv. * Sean Marshall (BAL). 5-0, 1.79. 1 Sv, 8 H, 0.98 WHIP. Mike Norris (NYG). 4-3, 1.34. 8 Sv, 13 H. Ron Reed (PHI/CLE). 0-6, 4.58. 3 Sv, 17 H. Ron Robinson (SFS). 6-4, 3.92. 1 Sv, 17 H. Ed Walsh (CAG). 8-6, 2.73. 5 H, 3.00 FIP. Brian Wilson (NYG). 1-0, 1.00. 24 Sv, 1 H, 2.58 FIP.
Streaks
Very little going on here.
Los Angeles’ Bobby Grich–who should come of the DL soon–has reached base in 32 consecutive games, good for the 4th best streak in the league.
Brian Wilson has converted 22 consecutive saves and Andy Pettitte, between his time with Kansas City and Baltimore, has won his last 9 decisions, and is undefeated in his last 12 appearances.
Birmingham is still tinkering with the edges of their roster; for now, Scott Baker replaces Jim Whitney as their #5 starter.
Hank Aaron had 4 hits and Frank McCormick added 3 to go with 4 RBIs as Birmingham beat the Gothams 12-8, overcoming a subpar start from Alejandro Peña who improved to 11-8 despite allowing 4 runs in 5 shaky innings. McCormick, Adrián González, Bob Nieman, and Cupid Childs each went deep for the Black Barons.
#Brooklyn Royal Giants
Frank Isbell went 4-for-4 and scored 4 runs as Brooklyn topped San Francisco 7-2. Frank Knauss had a strong start to improve to 11-4, Beals Becker hit his 24th homerun of the season and Roy White added his 12th as a pinch-hitter.
#Miami Cuban Giants
Freddie Fitzsimmons will miss about a week, prompting the Cuban Giants to put him on the DL, recalling Bob Duliba from AAA.
Eustaquio Pedroso had 3 hits and Minnie Miñoso was hit by pitches 3 times, but that was about all that went right for Miami in a 9-6 loss to Cleveland.
Alan Ashby was the star, breaking out of a funk with a 4-for-4 day that included scoring the winning run in the bottom of the 9th on, of all things, a wild pitch. Camilo Pascual was strong over 7 innings, and Duliba and Pedroso were perfect in relief, with Pedroso improving to 8-6 on the year with the victory.
Four hits from Paul Molitor helped the Cuban Giants to a come from behind 9-7 victory over Cleveland. Molitor scored 3 times and José Cardenal and Alejandro Oms (who is now tied for the league lead in triples with 11) drove in 2 for Miami.
#San Francisco Sea Lions
4 hits from Pedro Guerrero and 3 from Bob Cerv led the Sea Lions to a 5-3 win over Brooklyn. Guerrero and Reggie Jackson went deep, and 4.1 innings of near-perfect relief from Dave LaRoche, Ron Robinson, and Rod Beck closed out the contest.
Pedro Guerrero of the San Francisco Sea Lions was named the WBL Player of the Week, hitting .480 with 3 homeruns.
Playoff Races
The Bill James Division just gets tighter and tighter: we go into expanded rosters with the Detroit Wolverines and New York Gothams tied for first place, with the House of David only a game behind. Currently, all 3 teams would make the playoffs, but it’s very close and the only sure way to make it into the postseason is to win the division.
Well, sort of. The Chicago American Giants are tied (with the Gothams and Wolverines) for the 2nd best record in the WBL. That leaves them 4 games back in the Cum Posey Division, where the Baltimore Black Sox continue to be the league’s best team, playing at a .590 pace and leading the American Giants by 4 games. The Houston Colt 45‘s have won 6 straight, but remain 3 games out of the final Wild Card slot (and 9 behind Baltimore).
The New York Black Yankees have used an 8-2 streak (and a series sweep over the Philadelphia Stars) to–at long last–reclaim first place in the Effa Manley Division, where they now lead the Cleveland Spiders by 2 games. This race is intense, as most likely only the division winner will make the post-season. Cleveland missed a great opportunity this series, losing 3 out of 4 to the lowly Miami Cuban Giants.
Over in the Marvin Miller Division, the miracle that is the Birmingham Black Barons continues, as they lead the Portland Sea Dogs by 1 game. Both teams have a shot at the post-season, but it may be a close thing, putting pressure on the Black Barons to maintain their pace and the Sea Dogs to overtake them.
Performance
Batters
The House of David’s Pete Browning has finally cracked these lists after a long spell on the DL. Browning is one of 5 batters with an OPS over 1.000, led by Babe Ruth (who else?) at 1.102 (the others are Ron Blomberg, Reggie Jackson, and Joe Jackson).
Top 2 in each category as always, leaders in bold.
Ron Blomberg (CLE). 340/410/652. 163 H, 38 HR. Pete Browning (HOD). 352/388/632. Ty Cobb (DET). 346/390/556. Eric Davis (NYY). 278/354/521. 5.7 WAR. Mike Fiore (CAG). 232/399/378. 98 BB. Bobby Grich (LAA). 292/381/483. 41 2B. Rickey Henderson (SFS). 271/402/360. 85 SB. Joe Jackson (CAG). 336/421/587. 98 R. Reggie Jackson (SFS). 319/436/604. Stan Musial (KCM). 326/390/576. 42 2B. Alejandro Oms (MCG). 257/312/405. 11 3B. Doug Rader (LAA). 337/397/548. 164 H, 119 RBI. Tim Raines (OTT). 293/371/435. 86 SB. Babe Ruth (NYY). 319/434/668. 41 HR, 118 RBI, 108 R, 96 BB, 7.0 WAR. Louis Santop (CLE). 305/338/459. 12 3B.
Pitchers
Starters
The Gothams’ Christy Mathewson is pulling away in victories–this is the 3rd time someone has done this (Portland’s Walter Johnson at the start of the year, then Gerrit Cole of the Los Angeles Angels), so we’ll see if it sticks. It’s still between Mathewson and the House of David’s Jack Taylor as the best starter in the league, although Andy Pettitte‘s spectacular start with Birmingham has pushed him into the conversation (and the league lead in ERA).
All 4 14 game winners are included. This list has more pitcher’s who are among the leaders, but not having especially great years than the batters do: the Black Yankees’ Ron Guidry has been a hard luck starter all year, but still an ERA over 4.50 removes him from any “best in the league” list; likewise Cleveland’s Cy Young is an innings eater, but essentially a league average innings eater at this point.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 13-7, 3.50. 184 K. Ron Guidry (NYY). 7-10, 4.55. 166 K. Dennis Martínez (BAL). 14-8, 3.72. Christy Mathewson (NYG). 16-7, 3.47. Tricky Nichols (CAG). 14-8, 4.02. Alejandro Peña (BBB). 11-8, 3.82. 4.5 WAR, 3.49 FIP. Eddie Plank (SFS). 10-6, 4.08. 3.34 FIP. Roy Oswalt (HOU). 12-7, 3.55. 183 IP, 4.3 WAR. Andy Pettitte (KCM/BBB). 14-4, 3.14, 1.20 WHIP. Jack Taylor (HOD). 14-9, 3.21. 1.14 WHIP. Cy Young (CLE). 9-9, 4.67. 181 IP.
Relievers
The Gothams’ bullpen continues to be stellar, with Mike Norris perhaps the most valuable reliever in the league and Brian Wilson continuing to be totally lights out as a closer.
35 IP for rate stats.
Terry Adams (CLE). 2-6, 3.05. 30 Sv, 1 H. Mike Henneman (DET). 1-5, 4.54. 34 Sv. Ken Howell (SFS). 4-4, 2.35. 4 Sv, 9 H, 0.99 WHIP. * Sean Marshall (BAL). 0-5, 1.79. 1 Sv, 8 H, 0.98 WHIP. Mike Norris (NYG). 4-3, 1.36. 7 Sv, 13 H. Ron Reed (PHI/CLE). 0-6, 4.64. 3 Sv, 16 H. Ron Robinson (SFS). 6-4, 3.73. 1 Sv, 17 H. Ed Walsh (CAG). 6-3, 2.73. 5 H, 3.00 FIP. Brian Wilson (NYG). 1-0, 1.00. 24 Sv, 1 H, 2.58 FIP.
* Currently on the DL.
Streaks
Most impressively, Christy Mathewson hasn’t given up a run in 19 innings.
Los Angeles’ Bobby Grich has a 32 game on-base streak, but he’s still 20 shy of the league record. George Stone of the House of David has 4 consecutive pinch-hits, which has him tied for the league record.
Series Results
Series Sweeps in Series XXXIII
Houston over Los Angeles New York Black Yankees over Philadelphia
Three consecutive losses leave the Cleveland Spiders clinging to a 1 game edge over the Black Yankees in the Effa Manley Division. This race is key as, right now, the Black Yankees would miss the postseason, trailing Portland for the final wild card slot by 2 games.
The Cum Posey and Marvin Miller Divisions remain unchanged, with Baltimore leading the American Giants by 4 games in the former and Birmingham clingnig to a 1/2 game lead over Portland in the latter.
Really, that’s it: Houston, Brooklyn, Los Angeles, and Indianapolis are all between 5 and 10 games out of the wild card race, so technically we’re saying there’s a chance …
Performance
Batters
The MVP race really is between Babe Ruth, Ron Blomberg, and Doug Rader with Ruth having a clear edge.
Dick Allen (CAG). 302/373/533/ 10 3B. Ron Blomberg (CLE). 340/408/645. 158 H, 36 HR. George Brett (HOU). 273/304/407. 10 3B. Ty Cobb (DET). 343/389/548. Eric Davis (NYY). 274/350/520. 5.4 WAR. Mike Fiore (CAG). 234/400/382. 98 BB. Bobby Grich (LAA). 292/381/483. 41 2B. Rickey Henderson (SFS). 272/402/363. 84 SB. Kent Hrbek (POR). 309/382/602. 36 HR. Joe Jackson (CAG). 336/422/592. 97 R. Reggie Jackson (SFS). 318/438/592. Stan Musial (KCM). 327/392/579. 41 2B. Alejandro Oms (MCG). 258/309/402. 10 3B. Doug Rader (LAA). 339/398/554. 161 H, 119 RBI. Tim Raines (OTT). 289/365/432. 81 SB. Babe Ruth (NYY). 316/433/661. 39 HR, 11o RBI, 104 R, 94 BB, 6.7 WAR. Louis Santop (CLE). 304/334/462. 12 3B.
Pitchers
Starters
All 4 14 game winners are included.
Don Drysedale (BRK). 7-7, 3.77. 1.20 WHIP. Lefty Grove (SFS). 12-7, 3.61. 178 Ks. Ron Guidry (NYY). 6-10, 4.67. 162 Ks. Christy Mathewson (NYG). 15-7, 3.61. Dennis Martínez (BAL). 14-7, 3.64. Tricky Nichols (CAG). 14-7, 3.68. Alejandro Peña (BBB). 10-8, 3.71. 4.5 WAR, 3.42 FIP. Andy Pettitte (KCM/BBB). 14-4, 3.14. Eddie Plank (SFS). 10-5, 3.95. 1 Sv, 4.0 WAR, 3.30 FIP. Jack Taylor (HOD). 14-8, 2.99. 1.13 WHIP.
Relievers
35 IP for rate stats.
Terry Adams (CLE). 2-6, 3.12. 29 Sv, 1H. Mike Henneman (DET). 1-5, 4.74. 33 Sv. Ken Howell (SFS). 4-4, 2.39. 4 Sv, 4 H. 0.98 WHIP. * Sean Marshall (BAL). 5-0, 1.79. 1 Sv, 8 H, 0.98 WHIP. Mike Norris (NYG). 4-3, 1.40. 5 Sv, 13 H. Ron Reed (PHI/CLE). 0-6, 4.40. 3 Sv, 16 H. Ron Robinson (SFS). 6-4, 3.86. 1 Sv, 16 H. Ed Walsh (CAG). 8-6, 2.82. 5 H, 2.98 FIP. Brian Wilson (NYG). 1-0, 1.00. 24 Sv, 1 H, 2.58 FIP.
* Currently injured.
Streaks
In terms of active streaks, Bobby Bonds (San Francisco) has hit in 20 consecutive games; Homestead‘s Rick Reichardt has homered in 5 consecutive (tying him for the WBL record); and Los Angeles’ Bobby Grich has reached base in 32 straight.
Kansas City‘s Boog Powell‘s consecutive streak of reaching base ended after an impressive 52 games.
Series Results
Series Sweeps in Series XXXII
New York Gothams over Indianapolis
Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XXXII
Baltimore over Cleveland Chicago over Birmingham Brooklyn over Homestead New York Black Yankees over Detroit Los Angeles over Miami Cuban Giants House of David over Portland
There’s less than a month left in the first season of the WBL. Well, the first season on OOTP, the first season in this form. Whatever.
One month to go and we still have pennant races in each of the four divisions. The playoffs have 3 rounds, with 8 teams making the post-season (the four division winners, and 4 wild cards).
Baltimore, who has the best record in the league at 74-52, also has the biggest lead, ahead of the Chicago American Giants by 4 games in the Cum Posey Division. But Chicago leads the wild card race, so both teams look likely to mkae the playoffs.
The Cleveland Spiders are ahead of the New York Black Yankees by 3 games in the Effa Manley Division. However, the Black Yankees are currently out of the playoffs entirely, also 3 games out of the wildcard race. The two teams meet in the final 4 games of the season, so if the Black Yankees can stay close, they’ll have a chance.
The Bill James Division is the tightest, with 3 teams currently slated to make the postseason, led by the Detroit Wolverines, who are 1.5 games ahead of the New York Gothams. The Wandering House of David are currently in the final wild card spot, only 1/2 game behind the Gothams. The House of David have a series left against each of the other two, so there is still plenty of opportunity for churn here.
Finally, over in the Marvin Miller Division, the shocking Birmingham Black Barons hold a narrow 1/2 lead over the Portland Sea Dogs. The race is close, but with Portland tied with Chicago for the lead in the wild card race, both teams seem likely to make the playoffs. The challenge here is for Birmingham, who have remaining series against Chicago, the Gothams, Baltimore, and Detroit.
Performance
Batters
Top 2 for each stat, leader in bold.
A 3-way tie for second place in the league in triples puts Houston‘s George Brett and Miami‘s Alejandro Oms on this list for the first time all season. On the one hand, neat-0, on the other hand, it dilutes from the overall excellence.
You know there are some classic old-school arguments going on: Los Angeles‘ 3B Doug Rader is leading the league in hits and RBIs and, you know, is just so valuable. But the argument just pales when faced with the overall dominance of the Black Yankees’ Babe Ruth.
Dick Allen (CAG). 308/378/538. 10 3B. Ron Blomberg (CLE). 336/405/629. 152 H. Ty Cobb (DET). 341/387/551. Eric Davis (NYY). 278/353/530. 5.6 WAR. George Brett (HOU). 278/305/411. 10 3B. Mike Fiore (CAG). 238/404/390. 95 BB. Bobby Grich (LAA). 292/380/483. 41 2B. Rickey Henderson (SFS). 257/391/346. 81 SB. Kent Hrbek (POR). 311/384/605. 36 HR. Joe Jackson (CAG). 336/421/590. 95 R. Reggie Jackson (SFS). 322/441/596. Willie Mays (NYG). 323/388/530. 152 H. Stan Musial (KCM). 330/391/588. 40 2B. Alejandro Oms (MCG). 267/316/415/ 10 3B. Doug Rader (LAA). 338/395/552. 157 H, 118 RBI. Tim Raines (OTT). 297/373/445. 80 SB. Babe Ruth (NYY). 317/435/669. 39 HR, 109 RBI, 103 R, 92 BB, 6.7 WAR. Louis Santop (CLE). 299/329/459. 12 3B.
Pitching
Starters
6 pitchers have 13 wins each, but only the Gothams’ Christy Mathewson has reached 14. Mainly for depth, all six are listed. The House of David’s Jack Taylor is emerging as the best starter in the league.
Gerrit Cole (LAA). 13-7, 4.33. Don Drysedale (BRK). 7-7, 3.74. 1.18 WHIP. Lefty Grove (SFS). 12-7, 3.62, 174 Ks. Ron Guidry (NYY). 6-10, 4.67. 162 Ks. Pat Malone (CLE). 13-7, 3.99. Dennis Martínez (BAL). 13-7, 3.65. Christy Mathewson (NYG). 14-7, 3.73. Alejandro Peña (BBB). 10-8, 3.56, 3.31 FIP, 4.6 WAR. Eddie Plank (SFS). 10-5, 3.95. 3.30 FIP, 4.1 WAR. Tricky Nichols (CAG). 12-7, 3.82. Andy Pettitte (KCM/BBB). 13-4, 3.17. Jack Taylor (HOD). 13-8, 3.07, 1.14 WHIP.
Relievers
There is an argument that the Gothams’ Mike Norris has been the most valuable reliever in the league, filling in impeccably in any role asked while getting the ball to closer Brian Wilson, who has proven virtually unhittable.
35 IP for rate stats.
Terry Adams (CLE). 2-6, 3.12. 29 Sv. Mike Henneman (DET). 1-5, 4.86. 32 Sv, 1 H. Ken Howell (SFS). 4-4, 2.44. 4 Sv, 9 H, 1.03 WHIP. Sean Marshall (BAL). 5-0, 1.79. 1 Sv, 8 H, 0.98 WHIP. Mike Norris (NYG). 4-3, 1.43. 5 Sv, 13 H. Ron Reed (PHI/CLE). 0-6, 4.29. 3 Sv, 16 H. Ron Robinson (SFS). 5-3, 3.58. 1 Sv, 16 H. Brian Wilson (NYG). 1-0, 1.00. 24 Sv, 1 H.
Streaks
Lots of streaks ended last series, but the Boog lives on! Kansas City‘s Boog Powell has reached base in 51 straight games, extending his league record.
Houston’s Andrés Galarraga has a hit in his last 7 at-bats and has reached base 8 consecutive plate appearances: both marks are 1 shy of the league record.
Results
Series Sweeps in Series XXXI
None
Taking 3 out of 5 in Series XXXI
New York Gothams over Cleveland (1 makeup game from prior rainout)
Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XXXI
Baltimore over Los Angeles House of David over Kansas City Memphis Red Sox over Miami
While the rest of the league is buzzing with trade talk, let’s take a look at what the game tells us about flashing the leather. We’ll go by position, trying to get a sense of the best fielders in the league so far.
C (500 IP min)
Thurman Munson of the New York Black Yankees has over 150 more total chances than Homestead‘s Josh Gibson, having started 86 games behind the plate. That has to count for something. Of starting catchers, Baltimore‘s Curt Blefary leads in cERA with 4.08, and Cleveland‘s Louis Santop–yet to turn 20–leads the league in framing runs–1.2 ahead of Gibson. In terms of gunning down base runners, everyone is clustered around 33% or so–Emil Gross (Ottawa) was way up at 46%, but couldn’t hit enough to stay in the league and Alan Ashby (Miami) has been excellent at 36% since taking over for Miami. Looking at all of that, it’s got to be Munson, Gibson, Blefary, or Santop, with apologies to Indianapolis‘ Johnny Bench and the House of David‘s Elrod Hendricks.
IP
TC
E
RTO%
cERA
FRM
C. Blefary (BAL)
599
401
11
29.4
4.08
-1.2
J. Gibson (HOM)
718
559
14
27.2
5.77
1.5
T. Munson (NYY)
765
719
5
33.0
4.72
-1.3
L. Santop (CLE)
624
542
2
32.6
4.20
2.7
IP = Innings Played; TC = Total Chances; E = Errors; RTO% = Runners Thrown Out %; cERA = Catching ERA; FRM = Framing Runs Saved
I think Santop takes it, but I would be OK if Munson’s higher usage swung it to him.
1B (600 IP min)
Philadelphia‘s Ted Kluszewski has the best fielding percentage (.996), having committed only 3 errors, but trails well behind Dan McGann (BAL)’s league leading 10.20 Range Factor. Will Clark of the Miami Cuban Giants leads in Zone Rating at 3.3. So McGann makes the most plays overall, but Clark makes the most plays that other 1B miss.
IP
TC
E
PCT
RNG
ZR
Will Clark (MCG)
791
818
5
.994
9.25
3.3
Ted Kluszewski (PHI)
676
711
3
.996
9.43
1.0
Dan McGann (BAL)
749
854
5
.994
10.20
2.5
Bill White (MEM)
788
814
4
.995
9.25
1.8
IP = Innings Played; TC = Total Chances; E = Errors; PCT = Fielding %; RNG = Range Factor; ZR = Zone Rating
It comes down to whether you think McGann’s RNG is more a product of his glovework or the superior Black Sox pitching staff. For me, Clark making plays nobody else in the league makes takes it.
2B (600 IP min)
Cleveland‘s Chuck Knoblauch and San Francisco‘s Jimmy Bloodworth each sport a .993 Fielding Percentage with only 3 errors each. The House of David’s Ryne Sandberg has, by a fair bit, played the most at 2B, making his leading the league in Range Factor more impressive. The New York Gotham‘s Cookie Rojas leads in ZR, trailed by Chicago‘s Eddie Collins. Those are the contenders.
IP
TC
E
PCT
RNG
ZR
Jimmy Bloodworth (SFS)
753
423
3
.993
5.02
3.7
Eddie Collins (CAG)
715
390
5
.987
4.85
5.5
Chuck Knoblauch (CLE)
801
426
3
.993
4.75
-1.8
Cookie Rojas (NYG)
703
369
3
.992
4.68
6.5
Ryne Sandberg (HOD)
850
524
7
.987
5.48
0.8
IP = Innings Played; TC = Total Chances; E = Errors; PCT = Fielding %; RNG = Range Factor; ZR = Zone Rating
I can’t get away from Rojas. Behind him it’s rough: Collins makes some great plays, but Sandberg’s greater usage may give him the edge.
3B (600 IP min)
Mike Schmidt of the Black Yankees has the highest fielding percentage, Ottawa’s Anthony Rendon leads in Range Factor, and Philadelphia’s Scott Rolen has a massive edge in Zone Rating. It’s hard to put together.
IP
TC
E
PCT
RNG
ZR
Ron Cey (BRK)
808
221
6
.973
2.39
5.4
Anthony Rendon (OTT)
853
266
7
.974
2.73
1.8
Scott Rolen (PHI)
813
240
5
.979
2.60
8.5
Mike Schmidt (NYY)
677
193
3
.984
2.53
6.3
IP = Innings Played; TC = Total Chances; E = Errors; PCT = Fielding %; RNG = Range Factor; ZR = Zone Rating
Rendon’s ZR confirms that his other stats are really a product of being on the field a lot. I think that leaves Rolen and Schmidt pretty much neck and neck.
SS (550 IP min)
The lower requirement is basically to allow Philadelphia’s Mickey Doolin to be listed. Homstead’s Arky Vaughan has played the most at SS, giving him roughly 20% more chances than the next few shortstops. Couple that with only 5 errors for a .990 PCT and Vaughan has to be in the argument. George Wright (Los Angeles) has a .995 PCT with only 2 errors, which is remarkable. Vaughan also leads in RNG, and is one of 3 SS with a ZR over 10, along with Detroit‘s George Davis and Kansas City‘s Ozzie Smith.
IP
TC
E
PCT
RNG
ZR
George Davis (DET)
855
479
12
.975
4.91
13.0
Mickey Doolin (PHI)
597
343
5
.985
5.10
8.0
Ozzie Smith (KCM)
868
467
5
.989
4.79
12.5
Arky Vaughan (HOM)
884
520
5
.990
5.24
10.1
George Wright (LAA)
754
411
2
.995
4.88
9.8
IP = Innings Played; TC = Total Chances; E = Errors; PCT = Fielding %; RNG = Range Factor; ZR = Zone Rating
You gotta’ give it to Wright, right? But after that, how do you figure out the difference between Smith and Vaughan? Smith is more spectacular, Vaughan more steady … I’ve always been a sucker for the spectacular.
LF (500 IP min)
Homestead’s Rick Reichardt has spent the most time out there, has the best RNG among qualifiers, and leads LFers with 10 OF Kills. Los Angeles’ Don Buford and Ottawa’s Phil Bradley are second with 6, so that’s quite a gap. There are six–SIX–LFers who qualify who are yet to make an error. Of those, only Brooklyn‘s Roy White and Detroit’s Oscar Gamble have positive supporting metrics as well. White has routinely pulled of the spectacular, making roughly 4 additional plays in LF than the Gotham’s Jimmy Sheckard and San Francisco’s Rickey Henderson.
IP
TC
A
E
PCT
RNG
ZR
Phil Bradley (OTT)
552
121
6
0
1.000
1.97
-1.9
Don Buford (LAA)
629
144
6
3
.979
2.02
1.0
Oscar Gamble (DET)
535
118
2
0
1.000
1.99
1.5
Rickey Henderson (SFS)
689
173
5
3
.983
2.22
2.7
Rick Reichardt (HOM)
799
211
10
2
.991
2.35
-1.2
Jimmy Sheckard (NYG)
865
207
5
4
.981
2.11
2.6
Roy White (BRK)
865
204
2
0
1.000
2.12
6.7
IP = Innings Played; TC = Total Chances; A = Assists; E = Errors; PCT = Fielding %; RNG = Range Factor; ZR = Zone Rating
I think White has to get the nod here, and behind him it’s a bit f a jumble. Reichardt is far from spectacular, but he’s added twice as many cold, hard outs than the next contenders without many miscues, so he gets a nod despite the negative ZR.
CF (600 IP min)
The Gothams’ Willie Mays has 15 OF kills to lead the way, but of note is Ottawa’s Ken Griffey, Jr., who has 13 in half the games. Griffey, currently at AAA, doesn’t qualify here, but what an arm! Baltimore’s Paul Blair has yet to make an error. Mays and Philadelphia’s Willie Davis make the most plays, with Blair, Mays, and Birmingham‘s Curtis Granderson leading in ZR.
There are others having strong years–Kansas City’s Willie McGee, Memphis’ Reggie Smith, and Detroit’s Chili Davis spring to mind–but it’s really between those initial four names.
IP
TC
A
E
PCT
RNG
ZR
Paul Blair (BAL)
801
303
8
0
1.000
3.40
9.0
Willie Davis (PHI)
781
323
7
2
.994
3.70
5.2
Curtis Granderson (BBB)
631
247
10
3
.988
3.48
6.4
Willie Mays (NYG)
899
381
15
2
.995
3.79
7.7
IP = Innings Played; TC = Total Chances; A = Assists; E = Errors; PCT = Fielding %; RNG = Range Factor; ZR = Zone Rating
Mays and Blair seem the easy choices here.
RF (500 IP min)
RF is probably the most difficult of the OF spots to evaluate. The Gothams’ Johnny Callison leads in OF Kills, but with only 8. Callison is tied with Homestead’s Roberto Clemente in ZR, far, far ahead of the next cluster. Jeff Burroughs (POR) has yet to make an error, but the rest of his numbers aren’t terribly impressive. The House of David’s Dan Ford leads in RNG and is solid enough elsewhere.
The challenge is that several of the best in RF–Miami’s Alejandro Oms, Indianapolis’ Oscar Charleston, and Ottawa’s Larry Walker–don’t qualify here. Walker especially draws the eye, with 7 Kills and great peripheral numbers. But all of them are under 400 innings.
IP
TC
A
E
PCT
RNG
ZR
Johnny Callison (NYG)
671
181
8
1
.994
2.41
6.2
Roberto Clemente (HOM)
747
194
4
2
.990
2.31
6.2
Dan Ford (HOD)
542
160
5
4
.975
2.59
1.2
IP = Innings Played; TC = Total Chances; A = Assists; E = Errors; PCT = Fielding %; RNG = Range Factor; ZR = Zone Rating
I think it’s pretty clear that Ford is in third place here and I think it’s hard to push Clemente above Callison.
SP (100 IP min)
Sample size is clearly an issue here, but the Gothams’ Gaylord Perry had handled the most chances and leads in RNG. Jack Taylor (HOD) and Dutch Leonard (BRK) lead in ZR. Unwinding a pitcher’s responsibility for controlling stolen bases is hard, but since we know that, on the whole, the league runs about 33% in terms of cutting them down, we can look for who is far above that: Leonard shows up, but if we look at those with at least 10 attempts against them, we are looking at San Francisco’s Eddie Plank, Taylor, and Portland‘s Jerry Koosman.
IP
TC
RNG
ZR
RTO%
Jerry Koosman (POR)
119
12
0.83
2.2
46
Dutch Leonard (BRK)
139
18
1.17
2.4
67
Gaylord Perry (NYG)
117
27
1.92
-0.5
21
Eddie Plank (SFS)
116
13
0.93
1.8
64
Jack Taylor (HOD)
142
21
1.26
2.5
56
IP = Innings Played; TC = Total Chances; RNG = Range Factor; ZR = Zone Rating; RTO% = Runners Thrown Out %
I think this ends up going to Taylor and Leonard, but there will probably be more churn here than in other fielding evaluations between now and the end of the season.
Final Analysis
Gold Glove
Silver Glove
C
Louis Santop (CLE)
Thurman Munson (NYY)
1B
Will Clark (MCG)
Dan McGann (BAL)
2B
Cookie Rojas (NYG)
Ryne Sandberg (HOD)
3B
Scott Rolen (PHI)
Mike Schmidt (NYY)
SS
George Wright (LAA)
Ozzie Smith (KCM)
LF
Roy White (BRK)
Rick Reichardt (HOM)
CF
Willie Mays (NYG)
Paul Blair (BAL)
RF
Johnny Callison (NYG)
Roberto Clemente (HOM)
SP
Jack Taylor (HOD)
Dutch Leonard (BRK)
Defense is so hard to evaluate, right? Despite being the only team with 3 players listed here, the Gothams aren’t at the top of any of the team fielding ratings.
Looking at overall mentions may be more interesting–here is the list of players considered above, by team.
5 – New York Gothams 4 – Homestead; Philadelphia 3 – Baltimore; Brooklyn; House of David; San Francisco 2 – Cleveland; Detroit; Los Angeles; New York Black Yankees; Ottawa 1 – Birmingham; Chicago; Kansas City; Memphis; Miami; Portland 0 – Houston
Yeah, not any better actually. The Gothams are among the best teams in the league, but both Homestead and Philadelphia are most decidedly not.
Defense. Shrug.
Performance
Batters
Top 2 in each stat, leader in bold.
Dick Allen (CAG). 310/380/544. 10 3B. Johnny Bench (IND). 314/421/608. 5.2 WAR. Ron Blomberg (CLE). 338/407/649. 31 HR. Rico Carty (PHI). 285/356/460. 35 2B. Ty Cobb (DET). 350/390/572. 134 H. Eric Davis (NYY). 278/353/539. 81 R. Bobby Grich (LAA). 284/370/474. 35 2B. Rickey Henderson (SFS). 252/383/335. 76 BB, 72 SB. Kent Hrbek (POR). 303/376/591. 31 HR. Joe Jackson (CAG). 334/419/592. 81 R. Reggie Jackson (SFS). 331/445/610. Stan Musial (KCM). 332/391/594. 37 2B. Doug Rader (LAA). 335/391/546. 135 H, 100 RBI. Tim Raines (OTT). 299/371/449. 72 SB. Babe Ruth (NYY). 312/429/643. 32 HR, 96 RBI, 85 R, 79 BB, 5.6 WAR. Louis Santop (CLE). 304/336/468. 10 3B.
Pitchers
Starters
Top 2 in each stat (top 4 in ERA and WHIP), leader in bold.
17 pitchers have at least 10 wins, accounting for why we went deeper in ERA and WHIP this time. Have also included FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) for the first time, helping to unravel some of the mystery of Alejandro Peña.
Bill Byrd (BAL). 11-2, 3.09. 1.17 WHIP. Gerrit Cole (LAA). 12-5, 4.07. Don Drysedale (BRK). 7-4, 3.37. 1.15 WHIP. Ned Garvin (BAL). 9-4, 2.80. 1.18 WHIP. Lefty Grove (SFS). 11-7, 3.75. 160 K. Ron Guidry (NYY). 6-9, 4.41. 155 K, 3.5 WAR. Frank Knauss (BRK). 10-4, 3.07. Alejandro Peña (BBB). 9-7, 3.54. 3.24 FIP, 4.2 WAR. Gaylord Perry (NYG). 8-7, 3.92. 3.54 FIP. Stephen Strasburg (HOU). 6-6, 3.27. Jack Taylor (HOD). 10-8, 3.35. 1.18 WHIP.
Relievers
Top 2 in each stat (top 4 in ERA and WHIP), leader in bold. 25 IP for rate stats.
Terry Adams (CLE). 2-5, 3.09. 24 Sv. Elmer Brown (POR). 3-4, 1.65. 7 Sv, 9 H. Mike Henneman (DET). 1-4, 3.94. 28 Sv. Trevor Hildenberger (BRK). 3-0, 2.45. 1 Sv, 3 H, 0.94 WHIP. Ken Howell (SFS). 3-4, 2.17. 4 Sv, 7 H, 1.01 WHIP. AJ Minter (CAG). 1-0, 2.81. 19 Sv, 0.97 WHIP. Mike Norris (NYG). 4-3, 1.62. 3 Sv, 10 H. Ron Reed (PHI/CLE). 0-5, 3.73. 16 H. Ron Robinson (SFS). 4-3, 3.80. 14 H. Carson Smith (NYG). 2-0, 1.80. 1 Sv, 8 H. Brian Wilson (NYG). 1-0, 1.11. 21 Sv, 1.02 WHIP.
Series Results
Series XXVII Sweeps
Baltimore over Philadelphia
Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XXVII
Detroit over Miami Kansas City over Los Angeles Portland over Memphis New York Gothams over San Francisco
Series XXVII Splits
House of David @ Birmingham Houston @ Brooklyn New York Black Yankees @ Chicago Homestead @ Cleveland Ottawa @ Indianapolis
In Series XXVI, we’re going to look at a game that allowed some individual storylines to play out and then two series that featured a couple of great contests each.
Portland Sea Dogs @ New York Black Yankees, Game 2
The game itself isn’t so interesting: Portland exploded for 8 runs in the top of the 5th inning, blowing it open en route to an 11-5 victory. But some of the details may have some impact on the rest of the season:
Portland’s Hal Griggs, recalled for the start, was battered, giving up all 5 runs in 3 innings of work and seeing his MLB ERA balloon over 10. The challenge is that injuries are beginning to take their toll on the Sea Dogs’ staff, and with Pascual Pérez injured later in the game, maybe Griggs sticks around? Atlee Hammaker‘s scoreless 3 plus innings of relief put him in a position to get a look as a spot starter from here on out.
Kent Hrbek had 2 hits and drove in 3, and tied New York’s Babe Ruth for the WBL homerun lead with 30. Could Ruth be surpassed?
Rogers Hornsby has, despite hitting for good power, struggled since being acquired from Kansas City. But he’s turning it around, scoring twice and driving in 2 in this game, and edging his numbers up. New York’s Tommy Herr is in a similar position, but his 3-for-4 performance here is also part of a resurgence, having found some footing with his new team.
New York’s bullpen just continues to struggle, but today actually had some decent innings, especially 2 hitless frames from Goose Gossage.
Baltimore Black Sox @ Detroit Wolverines, Games 1 and 3
This series was a matchup of league heavyweights and 2 of the games lived up to the billing.
In the series opener, Mike Mussina was dominant for Baltimore … until he wasn’t, and then the Black Sox’ bullpen just collapsed, with Joe Beggs, Bob Miller, and Don Bessent combining to give up 5 runs in 1.1 innings, with Miller forced onto the DL with injury (a move that effectively ends the closer-by-committee for a while).
Detroit’s pitching wasn’t much better, but Si Johnson held it together for 5 plus, and Mike Henneman is quite a weapon in the bullpen, as the WBL leader in saves picked up his 26th of the season.
Detroit hit four homeruns in the game, with Bob Bailey‘s 3 run shot in the bottom of the 8th off Bessent being the deciding moment.
BAL 6 (Miller 3-2; Bessent 3 B Sv; Beggs 5 H) @ DET 8 (Lolich 1-1; Henneman 26 Sv) HRs: BAL – Jacobson (6), Machado (3); DET – Greenberg (20), Jenkins (8), C. Davis (17), B. Bailey (16). Box Score
Hal Newhouser would dominate in the 2nd game, leading Detroit to a 6-1 win. The most important note from that contest was Ned Garvin‘s injury, which turned out to be disastrous, sidelining the Brock Rutherford Award favorite for close to a year. But we’re here to talk about Game 3, which pitted each team’s current ace against each other–Baltimore’s Dennis Martínez and Detroit’s Johnny Marcum.
Both were excellent through 4, but Martínez lost the game in the 5th to the most unlikely of foes: Detroit’s light hitting utility infielder, Sparky Adams, took him deep for his first longball of the year, giving the Wolverines a 3-2 lead. Each team would add one more, but again it was Henneman closing the door, despite surrendering a run on an RBI double from Bobby Wallace.
A nice, taut game.
BAL 3 (Martínez 10-7) @ DET 4 (Marcum 10-2; Henneman 27 Sv; Hiller 11 H) HRs: BAL – none; DET – Adams (1). Box Score
FWIW, Baltimore did win the final game to avoid the sweep.
Miami Cuban Giants @ Houston Colt 45’s, Games 1 and 4
These teams split the series, but the more interesting games were the 2 victories by the Cuban Giants.
The story of game 1, at least early on, was missed opportunities. Miami’s 2-way OF/P Eustaquio Pedroso, gave up 9 baserunners in the first 4 innings, but the Colt 45’s managed only 1 run. Pedroso was tagged with a 3-run HR from Tony Gwynn in the 5th, but the score should have been much worse than 4-0.
Meanwhile, Houston’s Stephen Strasburg was magnificent, twirling a 3 hit shutout through 7. In the 8th, Robin Yount led off with a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly from Alan Ashby, chasing Strasburg from the game with a still comfortable 4-1 lead.
You can tell what’s coming.
Houston’s closer, Billy Wagner came in and gave up a game-tying 3-run moon shot to José Canseco. Miami’s bullpen was excellent, with José Méndez, Ed Bauta, and Aroldis Chapman combining for 5.2 innings of 1-hit relief. Chapman was already gassed, so after he retired a batter, the Cuban Giants turned to Braden Looper as we headed to the 12th.
In the top of the frame, Houston’s Scott Erickson could not get the final out, giving up a walk and 2 hits, the last being a 2-run single from Chris Hoiles to give Miami a 2 run lead. Looper gave up 4 hits in the bottom of the 12th, all singles, but escaped with the victory when José Cardenal gunned down George Brett at the plate to end the game.
Houston ended the game with 13 runners left on base, to Miami’s 4. Offensive efficiency matters.
Thrilling.
MCG 6 (Looper 1-0) @ HOU 5 (Gregerson 0-1; Hoffman 6 H; Wagner 6 B Sv) [12 Innings] HRS: MCG – Canseco (25); HOU – Gwynn (6). Box Score
The series finale was somewhat similar. Here, though, both starters had excellent outings, with Miami’s Ramón Martinez and Houston’s Toad Ramsey essentially matching efforts, each surrendering only 2 runs.
When Jim Wynn took Braden Looper deep in the 8th for a 3-2 lead for Houston, the script seemed written: Mark Melancon has been a victory vulture all year, with a 9-2 record out of the bullpen. Again, though, Trevor Hoffman and Billy Wagner were unable to hold it–this time with more dire consequences, as both pitchers left with injuries (Wagner will only miss a few days, Hoffman is looking at a trip to the DL).
The late innings were highly tactical: Miami tied it because Carlos Morán, pinch hitting for Pete Runnels, scored from 1st on a José Canseco double.
Brad Lidge, who started the year as Houston’s closer and was just recently recalled from AAA, matched Miami’s Phenomenal Smith with great relief efforts (Lidge pitched 2 perfect frames, Smith allowed a single hit in 3.1 innings), but Houston turned to Dock Ellis, highly mediocre all year, in the 12th.
It didn’t work well: Gary Sheffield doubled and, after Ellis was able to get 2 outs, Alan Ashby singled him home for the lead. Alejandro Oms pinch ran for Ashby, and scored on a single from Ryan Braun for a 5-3 lead for the Cuban Giants.
Aroldis Chapman shut the door, cementing the series split for Miami.
Hoffman’s injury opened the door for Tug McGraw to be recalled from AAA for Houston.
MCG 5 (Smith 1-1; Chapman 18 Sv) @ HOU 3 (Ellis 0-5; Hoffman 1 B Sv) HRs: MCG – Yount (8); HOU – Wynn (14) Box Score
Bob Nieman and Pie Traynor combined to go 6-for-9, driving in 5 runs and scoring the same as the Black Barons beat Indianapolis 9-1.
Billy Southworth led off the final game of their series with a double, but twisted his knee going into second base, and had to be removed from the game. Birmingham won the game despite 3 errors from Herman Long at SS, with Hank Aaron driving in 2 and Greg Maddux, Kent Mercker, Harley Young, and Bruce Chen combining to only allow 2 unearned runs over 8 innings.
After the game, Southworth–who will miss 2 weeks–was put on the DL with young phenom Nate Colbert being recalled for his first taste of big league action.
#Miami Cuban Giants
Heralded prospect Minnie Miñoso made his long-anticipated debut in the opening game of a doubleheader … and promptly got hit by a pitch, being forced out of the game. It looks like Miñoso will only miss a few days, luckily. The Cuban Giants came back to beat Brooklyn 3-2 behind a 2-RBI single from Alejandro Oms and strong pitching from Camilo Pascual, Phenomenal Smith, and Aroldis Chapman, who picked up his 17th save.
Alexei Ramírez was moved to AAA and Carlos Peña was waived as Miami activated both Paul Molitor and Carlos Morán from the DL.
#Portland Sea Dogs
Walter Johnson took a no-hitter into the 9th inning against San Francisco, but Bobby Bonds led off the frame with a pinch-hit homerun, and Pedro Guerrero added another, chasing the Big Train from the game. Still, the Sea Dogs cruised to a 10-3 victory, led by 4 hits from Gil Hodges, 3 from Rogers Hornsby, and 4 RBI’s from Jeff Burroughs. Burroughs, Hornsby, and Kent Hrbek all went deep for Portland.
The miracle of Wade Miller finally came to a close, as he lost his first game of the year, falling to 9-1 despite a decent outing on the mound. Iván Rodríguez had 4 hits and went deep twice in the 10-5 loss to San Francisco.
Hal Griggs was returned to AAA as Bob Porterfield came off the DL.
For Series XXIII, we’re going to look at 3 series, each of which had 2 compelling games to visit more closely.
#Baltimore Black Sox @ Brooklyn Royal Giants, Games 1 and 3
The opening game of the series between Baltimore and Brooklyn was a bit of a surprise as the pitching matchup–Dennis Martínez and Don Drysedale–hinted at a pitcher’s duel. Instead, it was a see-saw affair, with the Black Sox taking an early lead, and then surrendering 6 runs in the bottom of the 6th. The key hit was Germany Smith‘s 2nd homerun of the year which, along with another run the following inning, gave the Royal Giants a 7-4 lead. Baltimore came back with a run in the 7th and 4 more in the 8th behind Larry Gardner‘s second homerun of the day en route to a 9-7 victory. Gardner finished with 3 hits and 5 RBIs for the Black Sox, whose bullpen delivered 5 innings of 1-hit relief.
BAL 9 (Palmer 7-7; Bessent 12 Sv; Beggs 3 H) @ BRK 7 (Dreifort 0-2, 1 B Sv; Hanson 4 H) HRs: BAL – Gardner 2 (8), Robinson (19); BRK – Smith (2), Snider (20). Box Score
The 3rd game of the series went to extra innings, but we should start with the great starts put in by Baltimore’s Mike Mussina (4 IP, 1 run) and Brooklyn’s Sandy Koufax (5 shutout innings allowing only 2 hits). Both of their days were cut short by a long rain delay, turning the game over to a pair of already thin bullpens. They got by–at the end of the 6th, the game was tied at 2, and it stayed that way into the 11th.
In the top of the frame, Baltimore’s Baby Doll Jacobson put down a great bunt to score Brian Roberts from 3B, and later came around on a single from Bobby Wallace to give the Black Sox a 4-2 lead.
The Royal Giants wouldn’t go down without a fight, however: Ron Cey doubled home Jackie Robinson to cut the lead to 1 run, and a 2-out single from Dickie Thon loaded the bases … but Don Bessent got the Royal Giants’ John Briggs to popout to 3B to end the game.
#Miami Cuban Giants @ New York Gothams, Games 2 and 3
Miami‘s pitching–and especially their bullpen–has been pretty woeful all year, so when the Gothams scored 4 in the bottom of the 2nd to take a 4-3 lead, you could be excused for thinking the game was over. But the Cuban Giants fought back behind 2 homeruns from José Canseco and effective innings from Ed Bauta and Aroldis Chapman, not to mention a key OF kill from Alejandro Oms, who gunned down Willie Mays trying to score in the bottom of the 8th.
José Méndez turned in one of his better performances of the year for Miami in game 3: 5 innings, 2 earned runs. A quality start. And nobody was talking about it, as New York’s Christy Mathewson won his 10th game of the year with a masterful 1-hit complete game shutout, striking out 7 and walking only one. Indeed, it was one of the best starts in the WBL all season, and Mark Loretta‘s 2 hits and 3 RBIs were more than enough for the Gothams.
#Houston Colt 45s @ Chicago American Giants, Games 2 & 4
Finally, we have two games from the Houston Colt 45s visit to Chicago. Game 2 was a pitcher’s duel between Houston’s Bones Ely and Chicago’s Mark Buehrle. Ely was better, allowing 1 run in over 7 innings of 3-hit ball, but Buehrle was quite good, allowing only an unearned run on an error by Dick Allen over 6 innings of work.
Chicago would score its first run in the bottom of the 8th on a wild pitch by Andrew Chafin, and win the game on a walkoff homerun from Allen, atoning for his earlier miscue. Mid-season acquisition Hoyt Wilhelm got the win with 3innings of 1-hit relief.
HOU 1 (Melancon 8-2; Chafin 2 B Sv) @ CAG 2 (Wilhelm 2-0) HRs: CAG – Allen (15). Box Score
The series finale was a fun one.
Houston jumped out to a 6-0 lead behind homeruns from Jimmy Wynn and Jeff Bagwell, but also left nine batters on base through the first 4 innings, which is actually hard to do. But with Roger Clemens giving his best work since joining the Colt 45’s, it seemed OK. Clemens reached 100 pitches after 6 innings of work, and left with leading, 6-3.
But Chicago rocked Luke Gregerson and Scott Erickson, torching Houston’s relievers for 5 runs in the bottom of the 7th to take the lead, 8-6. Recently recalled Andrés Galarraga sent a moon shot into the RF stands in the top of the 8th to swing the lead back to Houston, 9-8, and with Houston’s closer, Billy Wagner, taking the mound in the bottom of the 9th, all looked safe.
But Carlton Fisk reached on an error by SS Carlos Correa and José Abreu walked, setting the stage for a double from Magglio Ordóñez to tie the game and a single from Eddie Collins (who finished the day with 3 hits and 5 RBIs) to win it.
