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TWIWBL 20.0: Series XVII Notes

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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

TWIWBL 19.2: Series XVI Notes – Cum Posey Division

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On November 28, 2021

In TWIWBL

#Chicago American Giants

Joe Jackson‘s streak of games with an extra-base hit ended at 9, but he stole 3 bases and Eddie Collins stole 4 to lead the American Giants to a 4-3 win over Homestead. Duffy Lewis and Frank Thomas had 2 hits each, with Lewis driving in 2, Herb Pennock improved to 4-2 and A.J. Minter picked up his 9th save.

Lewis and Dick Allen went back-to-back in the 4th inning, and Allen added a solo shot in the 8th to lead Chicago to a win in game 2 of the series. Tricky Nichols pitched a strong 7 innings to move to 7-2 on the season, and Minter picked up his 10th save.

#Kansas City Monarchs

7 Monarchs had 2 hits each, and a pinch-hit homerun from Robinson Canó put the game out of reach as Kansas City topped Portland, 10-4. Lou Brock, Stan Musial, and Jack Rowe also went deep for the Monarchs.

The Monarchs lost their best starter when Andy Pettitte had to leave after only 5 pitches against Portland. Pettitte will miss one start, maybe two during his stint on the DL. Bob Gibson–7-2 since his demotion to AAA–was recalled from St. Louis to join the big league club.

#Ottawa Mounties

Roy Halladay pitched magnificently, allowing only 2 hits in 8 innings. But those led to 2 runs (1 earned), and the Mounties fell to the Gothams, 2-1. Halladay’s ERA dropped to 3.75 while his record fell to 3-5.

Larry Walker‘s return from the DL will be met with much optimism: he’s been one of their best players when healthy. Jackie Jensen heads back to AAA with Walker’s return.

TWIWBL 19.0: Series XVI Notes

By

On November 23, 2021

In TWIWBL

June 8th

Awards

Robinson Canó of the Kansas City Monarchs won the WBL Player of the Week. It’s unusual to win the award with only 7 at-bats over the week … but Canó went 6-for-7 with 3 homeruns and 6 RBIs to take the honor.

Performance

Let’s do a look at the youngest players in the WBL before the usual lists.

Only one true teenager has enough plate appearances to make the leaderboards, and that is Bryce Harper of the Baltimore Black Sox. Harper, 19, who struggled for the opening month or so, has begun to come around, now sporting an OPS just over .700.

But four players under 21 years of age are sporting OPS’ over .900, led by the Monarchs’ Stan Musial (21, 343/406/593) and the Memphis Red Sox‘s Ted Williams (20, 293/380/573).

You could actually put together a great hitting team from the qualifying youngsters, although you would need to juggle some positions:

C: Josh Gibson, 20, Homestead Grays.
1B: Frank Robinson, 20, Baltimore.
2B: Tim Raines, 21, Ottawa Mounties.
SS: Carlos Correa, 21, Houston Colt 45s.
3B: Albert Pujols, 21, Kansas City.
LF: Stan Musial, 21, Kansas City.
CF: Mickey Mantle, 20, New York Black Yankees.
RF: Ty Cobb, 20, Detroit Wolverines.
DH: Ted Williams, 20, Memphis.

On the mound, the true teenage starting pitchers are the Portland Sea Dogs‘ Walter Johnson, who is among the best in the business, and the Cleveland Spider‘s Bob Feller, who has certainly shown some flashes. Johnson (7-2, 3.61) and the Brooklyn Royal Giants‘ Don Drysedale (20, 4-3, 3.32) would lead the staff.

Two 18 year-olds are more than holding their own, albeit in limited action: Portland’s Joseito Muñoz has been essentially unhittable, posting a 0.70 ERA in 26 innings and Houston’s Leon Day has a 2.57 ERA in 10 games.

Leading Performers

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

Best Batters

It’s a wide ranging list, with–still–only Babe Ruth really appearing across the board.

Rico Carty, Philadelphia Stars. 312/378/500; 24 2B.
Eric Davis, Black Yankees. 278/330/532; 19 HR.
Bobby Grich, Los Angeles Angels. 294/366/481, 23 2B.
Rickey Henderson, San Francisco Sea Lions. 271/411/369; 51 BB; 48 SB.
Joe Jackson, Chicago American Giants. 350/437/637; 54 R.
Reggie Jackson, San Francisco. 375/475/661.
Duffy Lewis, Chicago. 318/358/632. 19 HR.
Willie Mays, New York Gothams. 350/406/577; 86 H.
Stan Musial, Kansas City. 343/406/593; 85 H.
Doug Rader, Los Angeles. 310/370/506; 60 RBI.
Babe Ruth, Black Yankees. 316/427/684; 3.8 WAR; 23 HR; 64 RBI; 55 R; 47 BB.
Louis Santop, Cleveland. 309/341/474; 8 3B.
Frank Thomas, Chicago. 356/440/590.

Best Starting Pitchers

We’re beginning to see some volume, with Cleveland’s Cy Young being the first hurler to top 100 innings and the Black Yankees’ Ron Guidry over 100 strikeouts.

Bill Byrd, Baltimore. 5-2; 3.14 ERA.
Gerrit Cole, Los Angeles. 10-3; 4.20 ERA.
Lefty Grove, San Francisco. 7-2; 3.31 ERA; 89 Ks.
Ron Guidry, Black Yankees. 5-5; 3.90 ERA; 105 Ks.
Roy Halladay, Ottawa. 3-5; 3.75 ERA; 1.12 WHIP.
Walter Jonson, Portland. 7-2; 3.61 ERA; 2.9 WAR.
Dennis Martínez, Baltimore. 8-2; 3.07 ERA.
Andy Pettitte, Kansas City. 5-3; 3.12 ERA.
Red Ruffing, Black Yankees. 8-1; 3.81 ERA.
Cy Young, Cleveland. 6-2; 3.40 ERA; 1.15 ERA; 2.6 WAR.

Best Relievers

20 IP minimum for the rate stats. Notice that the list is dominated by bullpens (San Francisco, Portland, Philadelphia), not individuals.

Rod Beck, San Francisco. 0-1; 1.69 ERA; 16 Sv.
Elmer Brown, Portland. 2-3; 2.28 ERA; 3 Sv; 9 H.
Ken Howell, San Francisco. 3-2; 1.32 ERA; 0.91 WHIP; 3 Sv; 3 H.
Bob Howry, Philadelphia. 1-2; 4.15 ERA; 16 Sv.
Mark Melancon, Houston. 6-1; 2.86 ERA; 1 Sv; 5 H.
Joseito Muñoz, Portland. 2-1; 0.70 ERA; 3 Sv; 2 H.
Ron Reed, Philadelphia. 0-2; 2.83 ERA; 3 Sv; 11 H.
Ron Robinson, San Francisco. 3-1; 2.30 ERA; 9 H.
Johan Santana, Portland. 1-1; 2.95 ERA; 21 Sv.
Doc White, Indianapolis ABCs. 2-1; 2.35 ERA; 0.83 WHIP; 1 Sv; 2 H.

Streaks

We’re getting to the point where active streaks are more and more rare because, math.

Some exceptions, though: in one of the more surprising developments, the Black Yankees’ Thurman Munson has reached base in 36 straight games. The Gothams’ Willie Mays has an active streak of 25 games.

Baltimore’s Elrod Hendricks has gotten a hit in 8 consecutive at-bats, the longest streak in the league so far.

Cy Young deserves some attention: 6 consecutive wins, and undefeated over his last 11 starts. After a rocky start to the season, Chicago’s AJ Minter hasn’t been scored on in his last 15 outings.

Minter’s teammate Joe Jackson is on a tear, hitting 462/509/885 over his last 12 games. At the other end, Houston’s Jimmy Wynn is hitless in his last 25 at-bats, managing only 2 walks in that time to see his overall numbers plummet.

Series XVI Results

Series XVI Sweeps

Birmingham over Miami Cuban Giants

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XVI

Brooklyn over Black Yankees
Chicago over Homestead
Indianapolis over Houston
Portland over Kansas City
Gothams over Ottawa

Series XVI Splits

Wandering House of David @ Baltimore
Detroit @ Cleveland
Philadelphia @ Los Angeles
San Francisco @ Memphis

TWIWBL 18.4: Series XV Notes – Marvin Miller Division

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On November 10, 2021

In TWIWBL

#Birmingham Black Barons

With a pitching staff decimated by use, the Black Barons went ahead and placed Scott Baker on the 10-day DL, even as they await details on the extent of his injury. John Malarkey was recalled from AAA to help out in the meantime.

Hank Aaron went deep twice and Tom Herr and Frank Isbell hit back-to-back triples leading Birmingham to a 10-4 win over Baltimore. Dick Rudolph got the win and Vic Willis picked up his first save.

Willis has allowed only 2 hits in 11 innings, earning the 5th spot in Birmingham’s rotation from here on out. The pairing of Del Crandall and Dale Murphy behind the plate hasn’t really worked out, but it still seems like the best option. Frank McCormick‘s struggles have reduced his playing time going forward, and Pie Traynor‘s incredible start is demanding some more starts at 3B.

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

Ray Dandridge continued his torrid start in the big leagues, scoring twice and adding 3 hits and Duke Snider drove in 2 with 3 hits of his own as the Royal Giants topped Kansas City, 9-4.

The highly-touted pitching matchup between Brooklyn’s Don Drysedale and Kansas City’s Andy Petitte delivered, with both starters turning in solid performances. But the game was won in the bottom of the 9th on a walk-off homerun just over the left field wall from Raul Mondesi, his 7th blast of the season. Trevor Hildenberger moved to 2-0 with 2 innings of perfect relief.

The Royal Giants shook up their lineup a bit, sending Steve Yeager, Mike Piazza, and Mondesi to AAA–none of them with an OPS over .615. Coming the other way are C Al Lopez, and OFs Jermaine Dye and Michael Brantley. Hobe Ferris was released.

#Miami Cuban Giants

The Cuban Giants’ 2-1 win over Indianapolis was pretty costly. The win was fueled by 4 innings of one-hit relief by Marcelino Lopez after Rube Waddell had to leave the game complaining of a wrist injury. Roenis Elias got the win and Clay Condrey the save, with Alejandro Oms driving in the winning run. Waddell will miss a couple weeks; the news on Carlos Moran is worse, with the speedy outfielder out for 7 or 8 weeks with plantar fasciitis. P Dontrelle Willis and OF Sandy Amoros were recalled after the game to fill the roster spots.

It got a bit worse, even: Alex Colome will miss the rest of the season with a shoulder injury, prompting Miami to recall Sandy Consuegra.

Willis was returned to AAA right after his first start, with Jose Mendez being recalled from his rehab assignment.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

Rick Langford was returned to AAA, with Bump Hadley taking his spot in the Sea Lions’ bullpen.

TWIWBL 18.0: Series XV Notes

By

On November 1, 2021

In TWIWBL

June 3

We’re roughly 60 games into the season. The Baltimore Black Sox have been caught by the Portland Sea Dogs for the best record in the league, with each team sporting a 38-24 record to lead their divisions. They’re the only two teams playing above .600, although the New York Black Yankees, at .597 (37-25) are right there, too.

You can see some of the reason for Portland’s surge in the Relievers listed below, with three members of their bullpen making the list.

Performance

We’re going to look at two things before our usual lists.

Great Performances

Series XV had two standout performances, the first occurrence of each in the league, one on the mound and one at the plate.

First, Sandy Koufax of the Brooklyn Royal Giants threw the WBL’s first one-hitter, walking 2 and striking out 8 in a 3-0 victory over the Kansas City Monarchs. Koufax started the year in AAA, was impressive in Brooklyn’s bullpen, and now has cemented a spot in their rotation, improving to 2-2 with a 3.58 ERA on the season.

Then, the Miami Cuban Giants saw the first cycle of the year, with Alejandro Oms going 4-for-5 with 3 runs scored and 4 RBIs to lead Miami to a 9-6 victory over the Indianapolis ABCs. Oms homered, tripled, and singled in his first 3 at-bats, and then was thrown out trying to stretch a double into a triple in his final time up–giving him an unusual completion of the cycle.

Improving?

Some of the storylines of the early season have, of course, focused on batters who have struggled, but for whatever the reason were kept in their lineups despite little to no offensive contribution. Let’s check in on how three of them are doing.

Baltimore’s Paul Blair bottomed out about a month ago, with an OPS under .550. But (a) the Black Sox were winning all the time and (b) he still contributed great defense. Since then, he’s added about .025 to his batting average, as well as some power. He’s reverted, going 4-for-24 in his last few games, leaving him at 214/273/358. Not good, and still in danger, but trending in the right direction.

The Cleveland Spiders hoped Larry Doby would be a key part of their offense, instead, he’s struggled all year. At one point, he had added about .100 points of OPS, peaking in the .650s. Like Blair, though, he’s faded from that, going 2-20 to currently sit at 205/304/310. Cleveland is playing well, but Doby is likely to lose some significant playing time after the lineup adjustments following this series.

If any team could carry a low producing offensive player, it is the Black Yankees, who have patiently waited for Willie Randolph to contribute at the plate. It’s starting to pay off, as Randolph is hitting as well as he has all year, improving to 205/339/282. Clearly, the OBP is the key stat here, and as long as Randolph gets on base, he will probably stay in the 9th position in their lineup.

Two teams have two players each who continue to struggle mightily. The Ottawa Mounties really needs to do something about the combination of Ken Griffey, Jr. (224/273/295 for the lowest OPS of any batting qualifier in the league) and Alex Rodriguez (206/251/333). With Freddy Parent on the edges of the all star discussions at SS, Rodriguez may be sent to AAA to try to work it out offensively.

The House of David has run out of patience with OF Sammy Sosa, who is limping along at 177/231/344.The power potential is clearly there, but the overall production is just far too weak. Mark McGwire is perhaps a more interesting case, hitting 167/314/203. A 150 point gap between BA and OBP is usually indicative in a player who will turn things around, but those are just putrid numbers for the big redhead.

Leading Performers

Note that Babe Ruth has tied teammate Eric Davis for the league lead in RBI, something Davis had a large lead in for most of the season. Ruth continues to dominate the leaderboards, topping the lead in 5 categories, and sitting 2nd in another, while San Francisco’s Reggie Jackson continues to lead in both BA and OBP.

On the mound, Baltimore’s Ned Garvin now qualifies for the rate stats, and tops the leaderboard in ERA and WHIP, and is second in BA against. Garvin is the only starting pitcher to lead the league in more than one category, although Portland’s Walter Johnson is close. The Black Yankees’ Ron Guidry still leads the league in strikeouts, but has slumped elsewhere.

Both Joseito Munoz (Portland) and Koufax are likely to join Garvin on the leaderboards as they accumulate more starts.

Best Batters

Rico Carty (PHI) 316/377/505, 22 2B
Eddie Collins (CAG) 329/440/551
Eric Davis (NYY) 283/337/557, 19 HR, 59 RBI
Bobby Grich (LAA) 292/369/475, 22 2B
Rickey Henderson (SFS) 254/402/348, 50 BB, 44 SB
Joe Jackson (CAG) 352/436/648, 50 R, 3.4 WAR
Reggie Jackson (SFS) 368/469/637
Willie Mays (NYG) 351/404/569, 84 H
Babe Ruth (NYY) 318/426/682, 21 HR, 59 RBI, 53 R, 43 BB, 3.5 WAR
Louis Santop (CLE) 312/342/482, 8 3B
Frank Thomas (CAG) 352/432/591, 81 H

Best Starting Pitchers

Gerrit Cole (LAA) 9-3, 4.23 ERA
Ned Garvin (BAL) 5-2, 2H, 2.76 ERA, .201 BAa, 0.93 WHIP
Lefty Grove (SFS) 6-2, 3.45 ERA, .198 BAa
Ron Guidry (NYY) 5-5, 3.74 ERA, 97 Ks
Walter Johnson (POR) 7-2, 3.61 ERA, 83 Ks,2.8 WAR
Johnny Marcum (DET) 6-2, 1H, 2.76 ERA
Dennis Martinez (BAL) 7-2, 3.15 ERA, 1.11 WHIP
Andy Petitte (KCM) 5-3, 3.13 ERA, 2.3 WAR
Toad Ramsey (HOU) 5-5, 4.52 ERA, 91.2 IP
Red Ruffing (NYY) 7-1, 4.12 ERA
Cy Young (CLE) 5-2, 3.65 ERA, 93.2 IP, 2.3 WAR

Best Relievers

Terry Adams (CLE) 0-3, 3.20 ERA, 14 Sv
Rod Beck (SFS) 0-1, 1.84 ERA, 14 Sv, 1 H
Elmer Brown (POR) 2-3, 2.33 ERA, 3 Sv, 3 H, .160 BAa
Ken Howell (SFS) 3-2, 1.38 ERA, 3 Sv, 3 H
Bob Howry (PHI) 1-2, 4.35 ERA, 15 Sv
Sandy Koufax (BRK) 2-2, 3.58 ERA, .132 BAa
Mark Melancon (HOU) 6-1, 2.86 ERA
Joseito Munoz (POR) 2-1, 0.77 ERA, 3 Sv, 0.94 WHIP
Ron Reed (PHI) 0-2, 3.00 ERA, 2 Sv, 11 H
Johan Santana (POR) 1-1, 2.76 ERA, 19 Sv
Doc White (IND) 1-1, 1.76 ERA, 1 Sv, 2 H, 0.65 WHIP

Streaks

The Homestead Grays are winning the race to the bottom, with only 1 victory in their last 10 games, leaving them with the worst record in the WBL at 23-39.

Miami and the Philadelphia Stars have only won 3 of their last 10, while at the other end, the Memphis Red Sox, Ottawa, the San Francisco Sea Lions, and the Birmingham Black Barons have all won 7 of their last 10 games. Memphis, Ottawa, and Birmingham were all among the worst teams in the league by winning percentage, so the tables are once again tightening up.

The House of David’s Elrod Hendricks has the most prolonged hot streak in the league, slashing 390/422/976 with 6 homeruns over his last 11 games. The miracle that is Birmingham’s Tom Herr isn’t far behind, hitting 424/500/758 over his last 9 contests.

At the other end, Sammy Sosa‘s struggles were mentioned above. The House of David OF is at 098/098/220 over his last 41 at-bats. Once among the hottest in the league, Philadelphia’s Chase Utley has had a rough 10 games, managing only a 132/154/211 line in that time.

Series XV Results

By far the shock of Series XV was Birmingham taking 3-out-of-4 from Baltimore. Nobody saw that coming.

Series XV Sweeps

Brooklyn over Kansas City

Taking 3 Out of 4 in Series XV

Birmingham over Baltimore
Detroit Wolverines over Los Angeles Angels
Portland over Homestead
Memphis over Philadelphia

Series XV Splits

Chicago American Giants @ Ottawa
Cleveland @ Houston Colt 45’s
Indianapolis @ Miami
Black Yankees @ San Francisco
New York Gothams @ House of David

TWIWBL Special Edition: All Star Preview II – AL Starting Pitchers

By

On September 24, 2021

In All Star Games

{ With under three weeks until the All Star Teams are announced, we’re looking at what’s changed since our original previews. }

Initial preview here, selecting Gerrit Cole, CC Sabathia, Tricky Nichols, Ed Walsh, and Dennis Martinez.

It doesn’t look terribly different at this point. Los Angeles’ Cole (7-3) and Baltimore’s Martinez (7-1) are the only 7 game winners in the league, so you have to assume they make it, although Cole’s 4.04 ERA will lead to some arguments. There can be little disagreement about Martinez, though, as El Presidente has a 3.16 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP for the best team in baseball.

Behind them, Kansas City’s Andy Petitte (4-3, 3.31 ERA) and Sabathia (5-4, 3.65 ERA) deserve some consideration, as do the House of David’s Jack Taylor (only a 3-5 record, but a sub-4 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP) and Chicago’s Ben Sheets (5-3, 3.95 ERA, 1.21 WHIP).

Nichols has fallen out of the conversation, and Walsh is on the DL for about a month, so they’re no longer in the running.

The AI does some interesting things, selecting Baltimore’s Ned Garvin, Detroit’s Johnny Marcum and Hal Newhouser, and the House of David’s Bob Rush along with Martinez and Petitte. Garvin, Marcum, and Rush have just recently moved into their team’s starting rotations. All three are strong choices, especially Garvin, who is 5-1 with a 2.09 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP in 8 relief appearances and 4 starts, but I’m still considering them as relievers at the moment.

Newhouser is a decent possibility. He’s made 7 starts, so it could all fall apart, but so far he looks like a potential ace, with only a 2-1 record, but a microscopic 1.93 ERA. Clearly, if he keeps that up over his next 3 or 4 starts, he’ll warrant very strong consideration.

So at this point I would go with Martinez as the starter, with Cole, Sabathia, Pettite and … let’s say the Gothams’ Juan Marichal, who is 6-1, with a high ERA that is likely to drop (I have a fear that Newhouser will implode, or be injured over the next few weeks).

TWIWBL 17.2: Series XIV Notes – Cum Posey Division

By

On September 17, 2021

In TWIWBL

#Chicago American Giants

Despite committing 4 errors, Chicago blew out the House of David 14-5 behind 4 hits from Dick Allen and 3 hits and 5 RBIs from Mike Fiore. The win went to Tricky Nichols, who improves to 5-2 in an outing that should also help rest the tired American Giants’ bullpen.

Dave Nilsson hit 2 homeruns and the Chicago bullpen survived some shaky moments–most notably a 3-run homerun by Dan Ford in the top of the 9th–as the American Giants beat the House of David 8-7. Shoeless Joe Jackson had 3 hits, and Frank Smith won his 2nd game of the year with a decent start.

Eddie Collins went 4-for-4 with 2 homeruns and Carlton Fisk and Fiore drove in 3 each as the American Giants put up 15 hits and 12 runs. The bad news was their pitchers gave up 18 hits–but only 9 runs, so Chicago beat the House of David once again, this time 12-9.

#Houston Colt 45’s

Stubby Overmire finally got his first victory of the year with another strong performance, delivering 8 innings of 5-hit, 2-run ball against Los Angeles. Gentleman Jim O’Rourke had 3 hits including his 3rd homerun of the year and 5 RBIs for Houston and Carlos Correa drove in 3 runs as well.

With Leon Day on the DL for 10 days with a shoulder injury, Houston brought Bones Ely back from AAA. The Colt 45’s also activated Casey Stengel from the DL, sending DJ LeMahieu to AAA.

#Kansas City Monarchs

Andy Pettite allowed 2 hits in 6 innings and Connie Johnson followed it with 3 perfect innings of relief as the Monarchs beat the Grays, 9-1. Rogers Hornsby and Gene Freese had 2 hits each and Hornsby hit a 3-run homerun (his 6th) and Albert Pujols a solo shot (his 9th). Pettite improved to 5-3 and Johnson picked up his first save.

Lou Brock had 3 hits and 4 stolen bases, scoring twice and helping the Monarchs ease to a 7-3 win over the Grays. Frank Castillo evened his record at 4-4 with 6 solid innings and Jose Rijo gave up 1 hit in 3 innings for his first save, although it may not be enough to keep Rijo in the WBL.

Robinson Cano led the way in a 15-5 demolition of Homestead, going 5-for-5 with 4 runs scored, 4 RBIs, and 2 homeruns. Ted Simmons and Boog Powell added 3 hits each with Powell and Brock driving in 3 each.

#Ottawa Mounties

Over 13 innings, the difference between Ottawa and Portland was … a wild pitch. In the top of the 13th, Anthony Rendon, who hit his 3rd homerun in the first inning to give the Mounties an early lead, singled off Elmer Brown. He moved to second on a walk to Carlos Delgado and to third when Brown induced a double play from Freddy Parent. Then Brown uncorked a wild pitch, giving the Mounties the 3-2 lead, which Johnny Podgajny was able to preserve in the bottom of the frame. Rendon went 3-for-6 in the game, with 2 runs and 2 RBIs. The victory went to Gary Lavelle, who moved to 3-1.

The injury news on Tom Henke was not good: he tore a ligament in his elbow, and will miss close to a year. Jimmy Key was recalled from AAA, with Lavelle the logical candidate to move into the closer role for the Mounties.

TWIWBL 16.2: Series XIII Notes – Cum Posey Division

By

On September 5, 2021

In TWIWBL

#Baltimore Black Sox

Ned Garvin blanked the Cleveland Spiders on 4 hits as Baltimore rolled to an 8-0 win behind 3 hits from Bobby Wallace and Ramon Hernandez‘ first homerun of the year. Garvin walked none and struck out 3, improving his record to 5-1 and lowering his ERA to 2.09.

Despite a subpar outing, Dennis Martinez joined the list of 7 game winners, moving to 7-1 as the Black Sox came from behind to blow out Cleveland, 10-4. Ken Singleton went 5-for-5, Dan McGann added 3 hits, and Paul Blair–yes, Paul Blair–added 2 homeruns as every Baltimore starter got at least 1 hit.

The Black Sox just find a way to win … down 4-0 after 6, and 5-4 heading into the 9th, Larry Gardner sent the fans home happy with a 2-run walkoff single. Curt Blefary hit 2 homeruns to give him 16 on the year. The win went to Buddy Groom, his first of the year.

#Chicago American Giants

Behind a strong start from Ben Sheets and 3 homeruns from Duffy Lewis, Chicago took apart Birmingham, 12-3. Allowing only 1 run on 3 hits over 7 innings, Sheets improved his record to 5-3. Lewis drove in 4 and Eddie Collins went 3-for-4 with 3 RBIs.

Ed Walsh lasted 8 pitches before having to leave the game with an apparent hamstring injury. The American Giants recalled Fernando Rodney from AAA to take Walsh’s place, and his starts should go to Joe Horlen or Frank Smith.

#Houston Colt 45’s

Trevor Hoffman‘s return from the DL moved Bones Ely back to AAA.

#Kansas City Monarchs

Robinson Cano hit 2 homeruns and drove in 4, leading the Monarchs to a 7-3 victory over Ottawa. Andy Pettite got his 4th victory of the year with 7 scoreless innings and Craig Kimbrel picked up his 8th hold. Ted Simmons also had 2 hits in a game that was a pitcher’s duel until the Monarchs exploded for 4 runs in the top of the 7th.

Willie McGee hit 2 homeruns and Frank Castillo allowed only 1 hit before running out of steam in the 8th inning as the Monarchs won the second game of the series, 9-2. McGee drove in 4, and Albert Pujols went 3-for-5 with 3 RBIs as Castillo moved to 3-4 on the year.

#Ottawa Mounties

The news was not good on Bob Brown: the Mountie’s best starter all season will miss 4-5 months with a shoulder injury. Clayton Richard, 6-1 with a 3.65 at AAA Montreal, was recalled.

Ted Bowsfield threw 1 pitch in the 9-2 loss to Kansas City before having to leave the game. He was placed on the DL with the Mounties recalling Clark Griffith.

Ottawa’s 4-1 victory over the Monarchs to close out their series was costly, as Tom Henke had to leave with an apparent arm injury. A strong start from Old Hoss Radbourn improved his record to 4-3 and Johnny Podgajny made his WBL debut to relieve Henke and pickup the save. Tim Raines had 2 hits and Anthony Rendon 2 RBIs for the Mounties.

TWIWBL 16.0: Series XIII Notes

By

On September 2, 2021

In TWIWBL

May 26

There were no series sweeps in Series XIII, and half the matchups resulted in 2 game splits, leading most of the divisions to drawing closer together.

The best teams in the WBL continue to surprise, with only two teams playing over .600 ball: the Baltimore Black Sox lead the way at 35-19 and the Portland Sea Dogs are at 34-20. Baltimore leads the Cumberland Posey Division by 6 games; Portland is atop the Marvin Miller Division by 5.5. The other two divisions are much closer, with the Los Angeles Angels, New York Gothams, and Detroit Wolverines all within 1 game in the Bill James Division (the Angels lead the way at 29-25) and the New York Black Yankees ahead of the Philadelphia Stars by 3 in the Effa Manley Division.

Only 1 team–the Miami Cuban Giants–is playing under .400 ball, with Florida’s team managing only 21 wins so far on the season.

After a few weeks of trying, the WBL has its first two 7 game winners, with Los Angeles’ Gerrit Cole and Baltimore’s Dennis Martinez both reaching that mark.

Martinez has probably surpassed Walter Johnson as the best pitcher in the league right now, and the Black Yankees’ Ron Guidry is the only starter ranking 1st or 2nd in four major statistical categories.

Two closers, Aroldis Chapman of Miami and Joe Beggs of the Memphis Red Sox, have yet to give up a run in roughly 13 innings each.

Reggie Jackson‘s run at the triple crown continues: he leads the league in BA and OBP and is fifth in SLG. Jackson’s performance may be the most surprising, but catcher Louis Santop leading the league in triples has to be close, as is the continued excellence from Curt Blefary.

All that said, the Black Yankees’ Babe Ruth continues to be the most valuable offensive player in the league, followed closely by the centerfielder for the cross-town Gothams, Willie Mays.

Performances

Top Starting Pitchers.

NameTmW-LERAOther
Dennis MartinezBAL7-13.161.11 WHIP
Gerrit ColeLAA7-34.04
Don DrysedaleBRK4-22.71
Ron GuidryNYY5-43.231.13 WHIP; 86 K
Walter JohnsonPOR6-13.582.5 WAR
Luke HamlinKAN3-43.922.1 WAR
Lefty GroveSFS5-23.2377 K

Top Relievers.

NameTmW-LERASvHldWHIP
Johan SantanaPOR1-13.0017
Bob HowryPHI1-24.5814
Aroldis ChapmanMIA0-20.009
Joe BeggsMEM0-00.008
Ron ReedPHI0-22.83211
Craig KimbrelKAN1-13.098
Ned GarvinBAL5-12.0920.87

Top Batters.

NameTmSlashOther
Reggie JacksonSFS376/485/643
Willie MaysNYG354/408/56175 H; 2.8 WAR
Mike EpsteinHOM333/437/549
Babe RuthNYY325/427/68519 HR; 48 R;
52 RBI; 3.0 WAR
Curt BlefaryBAL288/402/66016 HR
Frank ThomasCAG353/430/60771 H
Rico CartyPHI352/415/56020 2B
Louis SantopCLE316/346/5138 3B
Eric DavisNYY284/339/55254 RBI
Jimmy SheckardNYG309/418/47041 R
Rickey HendersonSFS236/392/31545 BB; 39 SB
Tim RainesOTT292/377/45837 SB

Streaks

The Homestead Gray‘s Roberto Clemente has hit in 14 straight games, Baltimore’s Dan McGann has scored in 9 straight, and Detroit’s Oscar Gamble as hit a homerun in his last 3 games.

While there aren’t many hitting streaks of note, the Black Yankees’ Thurman Munson has reached base in 26 straight games, the Ottawa Mounties‘ Terry Puhl in 23, and the Gothams’ Jimmy Sheckard in 22.

Baltimore’s Ned Garvin hasn’t allowed a run in 15 innings, and his teammate Dennis Martinez has had 5 consecutive quality starts, as has the Kansas City Monarchs‘ Andy Pettite.

The Brooklyn Royal Giants‘ Raul Mondesi was an early season surprise, but the bloom is off the rose: he’s struggling at 115/164/135 over his last 14 games. Baltimore’s Brooks Robinson–122/170/134 over 35 games–is easily the coldest hitter in the WBL, to the point he’s no longer in the WBL, having been optioned to AAA.

Series XIII Results

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XIII

Baltimore over Cleveland Spiders
Brooklyn over Homestead
New York Gothams over Indianapolis ABCs
Los Angeles over Miami
Portland over Wandering House of David

Splitting Series XIII 2-2

Chicago @ Birmingham
New York Black Yankees @ Detroit
Kansas City @ Ottawa
Memphis @ Houston
San Francisco @ Philadelphia

Series X Featured Matchup: Indianapolis ABC’s @ Kansas City Monarchs

By

On July 15, 2021

In Featured Series, Game Recaps

Series preview here.

This was a very close series, with each game decided by a single run.

Game One: Johnny Cueto @ Luke Hamlin

A matchup of similar hurlers, each of which have turned in some strong starts and each of which have turned in some duds. Johnny Cueto comes in at 4-2 with a 4.60 ERA and Luke Hamlin 2-3 and 4.24.

A 2-run homerun by Stan Musial put the Monarchs up in the bottom of the first, but in the top of the 4th, Oscar Charleston both extended his hitting streak to fourteen games and cut the lead in half with a shot into the left field seats. Johnny Bench and Hal Morris followed with consecutive singles, and the game was tied when Edd Roush lined a pitch into centerfield, scoring Bench. Roush was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a double, and a strikeout of Chase Headley got Hamlin out of the inning.

Cueto would give up one more run in the bottom of the sixth: Rogers Hornsby singled, moved to second on a passed ball, tagged up to take third on a fly to deep CF by Ducky Medwick, and scored on a single by Ted Simmons. The bottom of the seventh was more traditional: an infield single by Ozzie Smith and a smash into the left field stands by Boog Powell put Kansas City up 5-2 and chased Cueto from the mound, to be relieved by Lefty James.

Indianapolis scored once in the 8th on a triple by Joe Morgan (in his first game back from the DL) and a sac fly from Charleston, closing the score to 5-3.

That only served to setup the top of the 9th. Frank DiPino came in for Kansas City, and gave up a double to Roush. He was relieved by Craig Kimbrel, who induced a groundout from Ernie Lombardi before giving way to the Monarchs’ closer, Jeff Pfeffer. Pfeffer walked Bob Bescher, but got a flyout from Danny Hoffman for the second out, bring up Morgan once again.

Little Joe came through with a single, scoring Roush, and Charleston doubled down the right field line, scoring 2 and putting the ABC’s on top, 6-5.

It was enough as Doc White pitched a perfect 9th for his first save.

Morgan had 3 hits and Charleston 4 RBIs for Indianapolis; Hornsby, Simmons, and Lou Brock had 2 hits each for Kansas City.

IND 6 (James 2-0; White 1 Sv) @ KAN 5 (Pfeffer 3-1, 2 BS; Wainwright 1 H; Kimbrel 7 H)
HRs: IND – Charleston (2); KAN – Powell (5), Musial (6)
Box Score

Game 2: David Price @ Jose Rijo

Jose Rijo has struggled this year, with an ERA approaching 7 while David Price–despite only two decisions on the year–is dragging his down towards a sub-4.00 level.

Once more the Monarchs took the early lead: a double from Stan Musial and an RBI single from Albert Pujols made it 1-0 Kansas City after 1 inning. The ABC’s tied it up in the top of the second, but then both pitchers settled down, until, with 2 outs in the bottom of the fifth, Lou Brock and Ozzie Smith delivered back-to-back doubles against Price, putting Kansas City ahead, 2-1.

Rijo got out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the 6th by striking out Ed Charles for the final out. That was it for the Kansas City hurler–6 innings, 5 hits, 1 run was a very good day for him, and the somewhat shaky Connie Johnson took over in the top of the 7th.

The score remained 2-1, and again the Monarchs turned to Jeff Pfeffer in the 9th. The big right-hander walked Edd Roush, got two batters to fly out to Willie McGee in center, and then walked Danny Hoffman. So, two on and two out, and once again Joe Morgan at the plate in a key situation. This time, a lazy fly ball to left ended the game, evening the series at one with the Kansas City victory.

Both starters were excellent: Price gave up 7 hits and 2 runs in 7 innings, but still took the loss.

Johnny Bench and Hal Morris had 2 hits each for Indianapolis and Oscar Charleston was hitless, ending his streak at 14 games. McGee and Musial had 2 hits apiece for Kansas City.

IND 1 (Price 1-2) @ KAN 2 (Rijo 3-2; Johnson 1 H; Pfeffer 6 Sv)
HRs: none
Box Score

Game 3: Rube Foster @ Andy Petite

An interesting game where Indianapolis took the lead without a hit (Bob Bescher walked, stole second, and scored on an error Kansas City’s Gene Freese at 3B). They doubled the lead when a Joe Morgan double scored a laboring Ernie Lombardi all the way from first in the top of the 4th.

But the Monarchs answered immediately, with a leadoff homerun from Albert Pujols and then, after two quick outs, five consecutive hits: a double from Freese and singles from Fielder Jones, Lou Brock, Ozzie Smith, and Ted Simmons. Those hits scored 2, with the inning ending when Bescher gunned down Brock at the plate. The Monarchs were now ahead, 3-2.

Rube Foster gave up 10 hits in 6 innings, but only 3 runs while Andy Petite was spectacular, allowing 4 hits and only 2 earned runs in just over 7 innings.

Careful readers would know, then, that Indianapolis would score again: after Dave Henderson walked with 2 outs in the top of the 7th, Johnny Bench was sent to the plate to pinch-hit for Davey Concepcion. Bench sliced a triple down the right-field line, scoring Henderson and tying the game at 3.

It stayed that way to the bottom of the 9th, when Kansas City scored a run in what has become a bit of a trademark style: Brock reached on a walk (OK, that’s not so common), stole second, moved to third on a soft single to CF by Smith, and scored on a fly ball to right by Simmons, ending the game.

Willie Mitchell pitched well, but took the loss, with Craig Kimbrel earning the victory with 1.2 innings of hitless relief.

IND 3 (Mitchell 1-1) @ KAN 4 (Kimbrel 1-1)
HRs: KAN – Pujols (6)
Box Score

Game 4: Red Faber @ Frank Castillo

Attempting to gain a series split, Indianapolis jumped on Frank Castillo quickly, with consecutive doubles by Oscar Charleston and Johnny Bench and a single from Joe Morgan leading to an early 3-0 lead. After a Boog Powell RBI put Kansas City on the board, the ABC’s used an unexpected source to re-establish their 3-run lead when light-hitting Chase Headley doubled home Jake Stenzel.

Red Faber sailed along until the fifth, when another RBI from Powell–this one a double that scored Ozzie Smith–opened the floodgates. Albert Pujols singled home Powell, and then Rogers Hornsby hit a long homerun to right-center, putting the Monarchs in front, 5-4. That meant that, despite a subpar performance, Castillo turned the game over to Trevor Rosenthal with the lead and a chance for a victory.

Rosenthal allowed a run on a wild pitch, tying the game at 5, and putting the match in the hands of the two bullpens. Kansas City would strike first, with a 2-run homerun from Willie McGee putting them up, 7-5. But Rosenthal would be unable to hold it, allowing consecutive doubles to Bob Bescher and Hal Morris before giving way to Adam Wainwright. Wainwright would allow one more run on a sacrifice fly, so once again we were tied, this time 7-7.

Once again the ABC’s found success from an unlikely source, as Dennis Menke–called on to pinch hit for Bescher–delivered a single to center to score the go-ahead run. The ABC’s Rob Murphy, who has struggled most of the year, retired Kansas City in order in the bottom of the 8th. That setup Indianapolis’ closer, Rob Dibble, to face the heart of Kansas City’s lineup in the bottom of the 9th.

Stan Musial walked, and was replaced at first by pinch-runner Fielder Jones. Pujols whiffed, but Hornsby lifted a ball to shallow center. It fell for a single, putting runners on 1st and 2nd with one out. Dibble induced a groundball to second base by Lou Brock, but Headley–called into emergency service at shortstop–couldn’t handle the throw, loading the bases for Ducky Medwick, hitting .359 since being recalled from AAA a few weeks back.

Medwick lifted it deep enough into the OF for Jones to score easily, tying the game. Dibble struck out Salvador Perez, sending us into extra innings.

It was the bottom of the 11th, and Medwick once again: he delivered a single, scoring Jones to win the game–and the series–for Kansas City. Hornsby had 3 hits for the Monarchs.

The win went to Jeff Pfeffer, who moved to 4-1 on the year, with Lefty James suffering the loss.

IND 8 (James 2-1; Murphy 3 H; Dibble 1 BS) @ KAN 9 (Pfeffer 4-1; Rosenthal 4 BS; Wainwright 1 BS)
HRs: KAN – McGee (3), Hornsby (4)
Box Score

Series Notes

Joe Morgan returned from the DL in strong form, going 5-for-18 and Hal Morris went 6-for-17. But the offensive leader for Indianapolis was Johnny Bench, who had 6 hits in 13 at-bats.

Ted Simmons led the way for the Monarchs, with 6 hits in 11 at-bats. Ozzie Smith went 6-for-17 and Rogers Hornsby 5-for-14. Jeff Pfeffer was involved in the decision in all four games, going 2-0 with 1 save and 1 blown save.

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