We roll into Series XXXV with its two teams barely making the playoffs. So, this could be a big one.
We saw the Cleveland Spiders–currently 1 game behind the New York Black Yankees in the Effa Manley Division–in Series VII, XIX, XXVIII, and XXX. The Detroit Wolverines, featured in Series IV, XXI, and XXVII, are tied with the New York Gothams for first place in the Bill James Division.
#Cleveland Spiders
Cleveland’s offense revolves around the odds-on favorite to finish runner-up in the MPV race, Ron Blomberg. Blomberg is slashing 339/410/655 with 36 2B, 40 HR, 111 RBI, and 101 R, all of which lead the team’s regulars (late season call-up Tris Speaker is slashing 386/426/523 in just under 50 PA’s, and is clearly arguing for more playing time–to the point where he is seeing time at the corner OF positions).
But there is more here than Blomberg. John Ellis and Jake Stahl each have over 20 HRs, over 70 RBI’s, and OPS’ in the .800’s. Add to that excellent production from 2B (Chuck Knoblauch) and C (Louis Santop) and, as importantly, no real weak links, and it’s a strong offense, top to bottom.
4 starters have double-digit wins, led by Pat Malone (14-8, 4.06). Bill Steen (10-3) has the best ERA in that group, but arguably Stan Coveleski (13-5, 3.93) has been better. The rotation is rounded out by Cy Young (10-9, 4.64), whose analytics are better than his raw numbers. Terry Adams has been excellent at closer (33 saves, 2.84), and the combination of Chuck Porter and Cory Gearrin have been great getting him the ball.
Some midseason acquisitions have been question marks: OF/1B Lance Berkman is still hitting far better with the Spiders than he did in Houston, but has hit a cold streak after an incredible start to his time in Cleveland. Reliever Ron Reed was an all-star with Philadelphia; he’s 0-4 with an ERA around 6.50 with Cleveland while SS Arky Vaughan, obtained from Homestead to cement the SS position, has hit so poorly that the team continues to experiment with other options.
#Detroit Wolverines
Detroit has two elite players on offense: Ty Cobb is slashing 348/391/557 with 20 HR and 45 SB and Hank Greenberg is at 317/376/589 with 27 HR and 102 RBI. Oscar Gamble has 26 HR and 3 other players are in double digits (Chili Davis has 18, Geoff Jenkins 13, and Ernie Lombardi 10, 4 coming since his mid-season acquisition from Indianapolis).
That’s enough for a solid offense. To become elite, Detroit needs 38 year old Tony Phillips–just back from injury–to pick up where he left off, getting on base and generally being a pest at the leadoff spot. Additionally, while both Al Kaline (302/362/667) and Olmedo Sáenz (350/395/525) are likely to revert to form at some point, the longer they can impersonate superstars, the better for the Wolverines.
After some juggling, Detroit’s rotation seems to be coming into shape at the right time. Hal Newhouser has a 3.06 ERA, and has an outside chance at accumulating enough innings to qualify for the ERA lead and Johnny Marcum is 11-3 with a sub 4.00 ERA. Add to them Gene Conley, whose first 28 appearances were from the bullpen but has been fantastic throughout (11-5, 3.63), and Charlie Root, 3-1 with a 2.29 ERA since being acquired at the all-star break.
None of the starters go very deep in games, which makes the performance of Chad Bradford, Buddy Napier, and Justin Verlander in the middle innings quite important to their success. Mike Henneman leads the league in saves with 35, but has been touched for an ERA just under 5.00.
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.
A win would pull Chicago to within a game of Baltimore, who lost in surprising fashion earlier in the day. It certainly looks like a possibility as Dick Rudolph, one of the hottest pitchers in the league, takes on Cleveland’s Cy Young, who has cooled off noticeably in recent starts.
Early, Young regained his form and Rudolph maintained his: both hurlers had shutouts through 4 innings.
That lasted until the bottom of the 6th, when a double from Joe Jackson and a triple–a TRIPLE–from Frank Thomas put Chicago up, 1-0. The American Giants bench then lost their collective mind, putting on a suicide squeeze (when Duffy Lewis missed the bunt, Thomas was, predictably, dead meat at the plate).
Rudolph lasted until one out in the 8th, when he was relieved by Hoyt Wilhelm. Tris Speaker delivered a pinch-hit single, but a wild pitch plated Chuck Knoblauch to tie the game. A third run scored on an error, putting Cleveland ahead 3-1, and making Rudolph’s fine performance all for naught.
John Ellis took Wilhelm deep in the top of the 9th, putting Cleveland ahead, 2-1. Terry Adams made it interesting, walking three in the bottom of the frame, but Jack Doyle grounded into a double play with the bases loaded to end the game.
CLE 3 (Gearrin 2-8; Adams 27 Sv) @ CHA 1 (Wilhelm 3-4, 1 B Sv) HRs: CLE – Ellis (20); CHA – none. Box Score
#Game 2: Mel Harder @ Tricky Nichols
Each team had a good chance to score in the opening frame, but Joe Jackson nailed a runner at the plate for the 3rd out in the top of the frame and Mel Harder got a nice play from Arky Vaughan at SS with two on base to close out the bottom half.
Cleveland would take the lead in the top of the 4th when Tricky Nichols walked Ron Blomberg and gave up doubles to John Ellis and Jake Stahl, giving the Spiders a 2-0 lead. Johnny Bates added an RBI single in the 5th while Harder was superb, tossing a 2-hit shutout through 5 innings.
Nichols was chased in the 6th, but his replacement, Ken Sanders, plunked Sammy Strang to bring in Cleveland’s 4th run.
Harder was running on fumes, but had still only given up 2 hits through 7. With 1 out in the 9th–and having thrown 130 pitches–Harder gave up a double to Duffy Lewis and was replaced by Chuck Porter, who completed the combined 3-hit shutout.
Pat Malone–who???–tries to become the first pitcher in the league to reach 14 wins as Cleveland looks to cement a series win.
Malone will have to wait, as the game was canceled due to rain, to be made up as part of a doubleheader the following day, but the opening game featured the same matchup, with Malone taking on Chicago’s David Price.
Price struggled in the first, giving up a run on a double by Lance Berkman, but induced an inning ending double play from Louis Santop to escape with the score 1-0 Cleveland. Price settled down after that, allowing only the 1 run on 3 hits through 5; Malone was sailing along with a 2-hit shutout as well.
That lasted until the 6th, when Duffy Lewis singled in 2 with a 2 out knock. Dick Allen followed with his 19th homerun of the year, pushing the American Giants lead to 4-1. Both pitchers made it through 7 full innings, with the score unchanged.
Akinori Otsuka was greeted by a single by Jake Stahl, and another by Ron Blomberg. Chicago’s LF, Duffy Lewis, had Stahl dead for rights at 3B, but his throw was high for his first error of the year, scoring Stahl and putting Blomberg at second with no outs. Otsuka settled down, however, and the Spiders could only manage the single run, cutting the lead to 4-2.
AJ Minter pitched a perfect 9th for his 20th save, giving Chicago a chance to even the series in the second half of the doubleheader.
Chicago’s Mark Buehrle will take on the Spiders’ Bill Steen in the nightcap as the American Giants try to earn a series split by sweeping the twinbill.
Steen gave up Joe Jackson‘s 25th homerun in the bottom of the first for an early 2-0 lead for Chicago. Duffy Lewis and Mike Fiore would add RBI singles, increasing the lead to 4-0 while Buehrle was spinning a 4-hit shutout through 6 innings, despite 2 errors in the field behind him.
Buehrle was relieved by Ed Walsh with 2 outs in the 7th. Despite being greeted by a pinch-hit double by Johnny Bates, Walsh got out of the inning with the shutout preserved, and proceeded to close out the game as an 8-hit combined shutout.
Chicago added 2 more runs–the first on an error by Lance Berkman, the second on a solo shot by Carlton Fisk. Jackson ended the game with 3 hits, as did José Abreu, who had been mired in a horrible slump.
Neutral viewers will be rooting for Chicago: if they do well, they will close their gap with Baltimore in the Cum Posey Division while helping pull the Spiders back to within reach of the New York Black Yankees in the Effa Manley Division.
Cleveland Spiders
Not much has changed for Cleveland since we last saw them: the starting pitching is still excellent, if without a truly dominant front of the rotation arm. Pat Malone is 13-5, but really the quintet of Malone, Stan Coveleski, Cy Young, Bill Steen, and Mel Harder are fairly interchangeable. Strong pitching throughout the rotation is clearly an edge on other teams. Probably the most important question on the mound for Cleveland is if Ron Reed can regain the form he had with Philadelphia.
The offense continues to revolve around Ron Blomberg (335/405/636, 32 HR, 91 RBI), John Ellis (288/349/540, 19 HR) and Jake Stahl (279/340/529, 20 HR). The offensive questions remain the same: Sammy Strang gets on base, but does little else at 3B, and SS Arky Vaughan is still an unknown quantity since being acquired a few days ago.
Perhaps the biggest challenge is how to get Tris Speaker (385/467/846 in only 15 PAs) some more plate appearances. Kenny Lofton (296/379/391) has done well in CF, meaning Speaker is blocked at his primary position, but the team does need to know if Speaker can maintain anything close to that level of performance.
Before the series, the commissioner’s office finally approved the inclusion of Stan Bahnsen in the Spiders’ trade with Homestead. Bahnsen was sent to AAA for the meantime.
Chicago American Giants
While not yet following Indianapolis into the uncharted waters of a 6-man rotation, Chicago does need to do something to get Ed Walsh more innings. Tricky Nichols leads the staff with a 12-6 record, but there’s really not a lot between Nichols, Dick Rudolph, Mark Buehrle, Ben Sheets, and the newly-acquired David Price.
But they’re all a clear notch below Cleveland’s starters.
Closer AJ Minter is–finally–back from his stint on the DL. OF Magglio Ordoñez was the odd man out, with the American Giants preferring a deeper staff to Ordoñez’ glove in RF.
Chicago has 4 batters with an OPS over 900–RF Joe Jackson (333/420/584), 1B/DH Frank Thomas (312/425/535), 2B Eddie Collins (313/405/531), and 3B Dick Allen (309/378/543). The rest of the lineup is above-average as well–LF Duffy Lewis has 23 HRs, SS Freddy Parent continues to produce at an all-star level since being acquired from Ottawa, CF Mike Fiore has an OBP of .400 and C Carlton Fisk‘s .800 OPS is excellent for a backstop.
Mel Harder moves into the rotation, replacing the injured Whit Wyatt, a move which is sure to disappoint the fan base that was hoping for a major pitching acquisition at the deadline. They’ll have to be satisfied with the recall of Bob Feller, who is far, far too good for AAA, with Ken Schrom being returned.
The fan base may be appeased by the arrival of SS Arky Vaughan from Homestead, who may give the Spiders the best top-to-bottom lineup in the league. Vaughan’s arrival sent Bill Knickerbocker to AAA and moved Bill Dahlen to the role of defensive replacement.
Sudden Sam McDowell was returned to AAA as Yordano Ventura was recalled from a rehab assignment after missing a couple months through injury.
#Homestead Grays
John Candelaria and Ray Brown were recalled from AAA, with Candelaria sliding into the rotation. More dramatically, Arky Vaughan‘s departure means the team is committing to the idea that Honus Wagner can make the transition to SS, which also opens the door for Andy Van Slyke and Chief Wilson to see more time, given how well they have hit over recent weeks (Van Slyke is currently slashing 404/436/649, Wilson 392/395/747–clearly neither is sustainable).
Tom Brown was sent to AAA, as the Grays needed another SS (Jack Wilson).
Rick Reichardt had 2 homeruns and 5 RBIs in a topsy-turvey, 8-6 win over Indianapolis. Mike Epstein and Wagner also went deep in the contest.
#Indianapolis ABC’s
Doc Hoblitzell was returned to AAA with Virgil Trucks, Francisco Cordero, and Octavio Dotel heading up to AAA. The ABC’s have quite a few pitchers who have struggled in Indianapolis and dominated in Cincinnati, so we’ll see how that goes.
Oscar Charleston had 3 hits, 2 of which were triples, but the ABC’s were unable to hold on to several leads, losing 8-6 to Homestead.
#New York Black Yankees
Well, we’ll see. They certainly added some bullpen arms, whether it’s enough quality is yet to be determined. Lady Baldwin and Dave Righetti were returned to AAA, clearing the room for Aroldis Chapman (who slides directly into the closer slot), Dick Tidrow, and Rheal Cormier. Jamie Moyer slides into the back of the rotation.
Waite Hoyt broke out of a slump in a big way, with a complete game victory over the Gothams, allowing 4 hits and 1 run while striking out 3 and not walking a batter. Mickey Mantle and Eric Davis went deep for the Black Yankees as Hoyt improved to 9-6.
#Philadelphia Stars
As important as any trade, the Stars will get Pete Alexander back from injury at some point in the next week after a quick rehab assignment. In the meantime, Hardie Henderson was brought up to deepen the bullpen and Tim Belcher may get another start or two until Alexander returns.
Slugging OF Aaron Judge was recalled from AAA. Wayne Gomes was sent to AAA, with Alexander making his long awaited return.
Welcome to the wild final day of trading for the season! We’re going to present these from the point of view of the contenders, with teams examined in order of their winning percentage so far this season.
Look for roster moves and implications in the next installments of TWIWBL. With 3/4 of the league making at least one deal, the impacts should be felt for a while …
Baltimore Black Sox
Baltimore got their hands on one of the best arms available, bringing in Connie Johnson from Kansas City. The Monarchs added a 5th round pick, receiving 2 prospects (OF Merv Rettenmund and RP Gene Garber) and a 2nd round pick for the 33 year-old hurler.
Grade: A. Johnson looks to be the real deal and should help the Black Sox withstand the recent rash of injuries.
Portland Sea Dogs
The Sea Dogs keep tweaking, sending 3 prospects–CF Kirby Puckett, RP Jim Kern, and SP Rick Wise–to Houston, with Trevor Hoffman and Mark Melancon coming back. Hoffman may compete with Elmer Brown for the closer role for Portland. The teams also traded some draft picks, with Houston sending a 4th to Portland in exchange for a 3rd and a 5th.
They also picked up perhaps the best OF available, as highly touted prospect Harmon Killebrew and a 1st round pick netted Gavvy Cravath and a 2nd round pick from Philadelphia, with the Stars also picking up most of Cravath’s salary for the rest of the season.
Grade: B. If they make the playoffs, sure, it makes sense. But Cravath is old, and Killebrew and Puckett are a lot of talent to give up (although both are pretty blocked by existing WBL talent).
New York Gothams
The Gothams were clearly trying to bolster their pitching, and pulled off a minor deal, sending prospects Travis Bowyer and Mike Shannon along with a 4th round pick to Homestead for Vean Gregg and a 5th rounder. They also added Steve Howe to their bullpen, sending the disgruntled Jeremy Affeldt and prospect Bob Moose to Ottawa.
And then they pulled off a bit of a blockbuster, as discussions with Miami surrounding Rube Waddell quickly spiraled out of control, with heavy drink most likely being involved. The Gothams sent Freddie Fitzsimmons, Cookie Rojas, Yasiel Puig, and a 2nd round pick to the Cuban Giants, receiving Waddell, Pete Runnels, and Will Clark in return.
Finally, as they now needed more depth they hit redial on their rotary phone and got in touch with Ottawa again, sending prospects George Burns and Art Devlin along with a 3rd round pick to the Mounties for George Van Haltren and two mid round picks (a 5th and a 6th).
Grade: C. It just seems like a lot of wheel-spinning. Is having Waddell and Gregg in the rotation really all that different than Moose and Fitzsimmons? Clark has been mediocre at best with Miami, and Rojas is a real loss.
Chicago American Giants
Chicago bolstered their pitching, picking up David Price from Indianapolis. Jorge Orta also goes to Chicago, with the American Giants sending prize prospect Robin Ventura, RP Tyler Clippard, and 2 draft picks (a 4th and a 5th) to the ABC’s.
Grade: A. Price may help compensate for the deeply flawed acquisition of Don Newcombe earlier in the summer.
Cleveland Spiders
The Spiders paid pretty dearly to upgrade the one slot in their lineup crying out for it, sending prized prospect Nap Lajoie, RP Arodys Vizcaíno, and a 1st round pick to Homestead for SS Arky Vaughan, SP Stan Bahnsen, and a 3rd rounder.
Grade: B. It all makes sense: Vaughan fills a need, Bahnsen has been solid at the WBL level and while Lajoie clearly is talented, for a team that has a shot at a championship this year, it works.
Detroit Wolverines
Especially with the loss of Whit Wyatt to injury, if Detroit is to make a move this year, they need pitching. So they sent quite a package of potential–2B Charlie Gehringer, 3B Bill Sweeney, SP Red Ehret, and a 4th Round Pick–to San Francisco for Charlie Root and Chad Bradford. It’s a lot, and the loss of Gehringer may hurt, but Detroit is really in win-now mode.
Grade: B. Root is excellent, and while they paid a little dearly, this year really looks to be the Wolverines’ best chance.
Birmingham Black Barons
Birmingham is unsure if its streak can continue, but an upgrade at C can’t hurt, so the Black Barons sent 2 IF prospects (SS Woody English and 3B Candy Jim Taylor) to Memphis for Jim Pagliaroni and a 4th round pick.
Then, late in the day, the pulled the trigger on a bit of a blockbuster, adding Andy Pettitte from Kansas City to their rotation. It cost quite a bit: C Dale Murphy (still a prospect despite his miserable WBL debut earlier in the season), P A. Rube Foster, a 2nd round pick and a 4th round pick. It was quite a declaration of intent by the Black Barons, we’ll see if it pans out.
Grade: A. Suddenly, Birmingham has a shot at the playoffs. Pettitte immediately becomes their #2 starter, and while they gave up some good talent, neither Murphy nor Foster look like world-burners at this point.
Wandering House of David
The House of David can still get lucky this year, so it moved to shore up a weak spot, sending prospects Bert Campaneris and Jeff Heathcock and a 3rd round pick to Miami for Ed Bauta and 2 later round picks (a 6th and a 7th).
Grade: C. Meh.
New York Black Yankees
The Black Yankees are desperate for bullpen help. They started to address the need picking up Aroldis Chapman from Miami, sending back Cole Hamels and Smoky Burgess, with Miami adding a 3rd round pick. With Bauta and Hoffman off the market, New York was forced to look at names further down their list.
They brought in Dick Tidrow from the House of David (who also threw in a 7th round pick), giving up a 2nd rounder and 2 prospects: SP Jim Clinton and 3B Chris Brown and then sent a similar package (LaTroy Hawkins, Fritz Coumbe, Mike Bordick, and a 3rd round pick) to Philadelphia for Rheal Cormier and a 4th rounder.
Grade: C. Overpaid on all fronts. Understandable, given the totally shambolic nature of the Black Yankees’ bullpen, but the loss of Hamels may hurt for many years, and Tidrow is little more than a fill-in.
The Spiders have a 4.5 game lead heading into August, and have gone from “a decent enough team” to a favorite to make the post-season. They’ve retooled their infield, bringing in Arky Vaughan, but will continue to depend on excellent starting pitching and a balanced offense to carry them through.
On the mound, they’ve lost Whit Wyatt, which will hurt, but the trio of Cy Young (8-7, 4.68), Pat Malone (11-5, 3.84), and Stan Coveleski (10-2, 3.55) has been excellent (if, in Young’s case, a bit erratic), and the back of the bullpen–closer Terry Adams (24 saves) and the duo of Cory Gearrin and Chuck Porter–is as good as there is. Ron Reed has struggled some since being brought in at the all-star break, which is something to watch, as is the progress of Bob Feller, recently recalled from AAA.
Offensively, it’s all about Ron Blomberg, who leads the team across the board with a 338/407/649 slash line, 31 homeruns, 80 runs scored, and 87 RBIs. Jake Stahl and John Ellis have been spectacular, and Johnny Bates, Chuck Knoblauch, Louis Santop, and Lance Berkman (slashing 287/439/500 since arriving in Cleveland) excellent. If Vaughan can have a similar impact to Berkman, the Spiders may be spinning a web towards a championship.
Kansas City Monarchs
The Monarchs may have a huge impact on the postseason through the talent they’ve let go: Rogers Hornsby (Portland), Andy Pettitte (Birmingham), and Connie Johnson (Baltimore) all have shot at dramatically impacting their new homes fortune in the postseason.
The team that remains is still solid. The occasionally-brilliant Luke Hamlin leads the starters with 7 wins, and there is literally no ceiling on what Bob Gibson may do now that he’s part of the rotation. Jeff Pfeffer has 15 saves, and the bullpen has been strong getting him the ball.
Stan Musial leads the offense, slashing 332/391/594 with 21 homeruns. Albert Pujols is tied with Musial in RBIs with 77, and second in homeruns with 17. Boog Powell has been quietly spectacular, with an OBP over 400. Throw in Ducky Medwick, Robinson Canó, and Willie McGee, and this offense will continue to score runs.
Projected Starters
Cleveland’s starter listed first.
Pat Malone (11-5, 3.84) @ Bob Gibson (0-1, 3.68) Bill Steen (8-2, 3.83) @ Luke Hamlin (7-9, 5.04) Mel Harder (3-1, 3.95) @ Rube Marquard (4-9, 6.12) Stan Coveleski (10-2, 3.55) @ Adam Wainwright (1-4, 5.70)
Prediction
The strengths of each team collide head-on: Cleveland’s starting pitching against the Monarchs’ bats. But Cleveland can hit a bit, too, so I think they take 3 out of 4.
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
San Francisco Sea Lions @ Portland Sea Dogs, Game 4
The conclusion of the clash of the sea creatures did not disappoint …
The Sea Lions scored in the first in typical fashion: Rickey Henderson bunted for a base hit, stole 2nd, moved to 3rd on a single by Bobby Bonds, and scored on a sacrifice fly from Pedro Guerrero. The 1-0 lead held until the bottom of the fifth, when Rogers Hornsby scored Kent Hrbek with a double into the gap.
Guerrero scored Bonds for a 2-1 lead, but it was short-lived, as a Bobby Murcer triple scored Harry Hooper and Iván Rodríguez, putting Portland up, 3-2. Portland looked in good shape at that point, good enough that Gary Pettis replaced Murcer in CF for better defense. Well, perhaps not only defense: after a horrid start to the year, Pettis has pushed his average well over .300.
San Francisco would tie the game in the top of the 9th in a decidedly unexpected way. With one out, John Beckwith, who is barely retaining his spot on the roster, pinch hit for Jimmy Bloodworth and singled. Phil Garner pinch ran for Beckwith and, after a walk to Sal Bando, light-hitting Miguel Cairo, forced to remain in the game for defensive purposes, doubled home the tying run off Portland’s Elmer Brown.
And there it stayed, until the 15th inning. San Francisco had turned the game over to Charlie Root, Portland to José Muñoz, and each were excellent. Mickey Cochrane–much maligned and in danger of losing his job–singled to lead off the 15th. Portland had nobody on the bench to pinch-run–or catch in the bottom of the frame–so Cochrane stayed in the game, moving to 2nd on a wild pitch by Muñoz and to third on a groundout. He scored on a single from Garner, and Root closed it out.
Willie Stargell led off the top of the 2nd with a solo homerun to kick off the scoring and while a 2-RBI double from Billy Bryan put Memphis ahead briefly, Stargell would do the same in the 4th, leading off with a homerun which, combined with an RBI groundout from Arky Vaughan that scored Chief Wilson, tied the game at 3. The teams would trade runs until, in th ebottom of the 5th, Ted Williams sent one deep to put Memphis up by 2, 6-4.
And then the Grays exploded, with a bases-clearing double from Stargell and a 2-run shot from Wilson putting Homestead up, 10-6. Each team would add a run, and Homestead would head to the bottom of the 9th, up 11-7. Should be safe, right? Especially with their closer, Michael Jackson, on the mound.
Wade Boggs doubled to start the inning, Williams walked, and Bill White doubled, scoring Boggs. Josh Lindblom promptly uncorked a wild pitch, scoring Williams and, when David Justice reached on an error from Homestead’s CF, Andrew McCutcheon, scoring White, the score was 11-10 with no outs. Manny Ramírez singled, but a fantastic throw from Rick Reichardt nailed Justice at the plate. Lindblom retired Bryan and Reggie Smith on flyouts, and the Grays squeaked through with a game that looked well in hand.
Boggs, Stargell, and Wilson each had 4 hits, with Pops driving in 5 and scoring 4.
HOM 11 (Pierce 1-2; Giusti 1 H) @ MEM 10 (Gibson 0-1; Callahan 1 BSv) HRs: HOM – Stargell 2 (18), Wilson (8); MEM – Williams (19) Box Score
Kansas City Monarchs @ New York Black Yankees, Game 2
New York’s Ron Guidry keeps putting in good performances to little results: in this one, he went 7 innings, giving up only 1 run. He was matched by a trio of Monarchs’ arms as Smokey Joe Wood (injured in the 4th), Joe Blong, and Trevor Rosenthal combined to also allow 1 run through 7.
And then the bullpens collapsed–expected for the Black Yankees, but a surprise for Kansas City. First, New York’s Goose Gossage and Gary Lavelle combine to give up 3 runs in the top of the 8th, with the key hits being 2-out RBI’s from Stan Musial and Ducky Medwick. But Craig Kimbrel was equally weak for the Monarchs, giving up back-to-back doubles to Eric Davis and Thurman Munson to start the frame, and a 2-run homerun to Don Mattingly to give the Black Yankees a 5-4 lead.
But no lead is safe for New York: Lavelle gave up a single, a walk, and an error to tie the game, and Ralph Citarella gave up a go-ahead single to Albert Pujols. Kansas City’s Jeff Pfeffer had no such struggles, picking up his 12th save in closing the game out.
A successful suicide squeeze from Jim Stephens scored Anthony Rendon for Ottawa, tying the game at 1 in the top of the 4th. In the next inning, Rendon would single in a run before Larry Parrish went deep with a 3-run blast to put the Mounties up, 5-1. The Angels would roar back, taking a 7-5 lead behind RBI hits from Don Buford, Bobby Grich, Mike Trout, and Carlos Delgado.
But Ottawa doesn’t fold as easily as they did earlier in the season, with George Van Haltren sending Francisco Rodríguez‘ 4th pitch of the ballgame into the bleachers for a 3-run homerun, putting the Mounties back on top, 8-7. Ted Bowsfield, Steve Howe, and Ryan Dempster closed the game out with 3.1 hitless innings.
Miami Cuban Giants @ Brooklyn Royal Giants, Game 4
Brooklyn’s Frank Knauss has been great all year. Miami’s Roenis Eliás less so. But they matched frame for frame in this one, each tossing 7.1 IP while allowing only 3 hits and 1 run. The game remained tied at 1 into the 10th, when Miami’s closer Aroldis Chapman was left in to pitch a second inning. He gave up a walk to Art Griggs, a single to Duke Farrell, and a walk to Al López. That brought José Méndez in from the pen for the Cuban Giants … who promptly gave up a walkoff, grand slam shot to Beals Becker.
A sacrifice fly by Jimmy Collins in the top of the 2nd opened the scoring, and a 2-run HR from Tony Phillips in the top of the 5th made it 3-0.
But Detroit’s Si Johnson didn’t make it out of the bottom of the frame, giving way to Justin Verlander with the bases loaded and no outs. Verlander fanned 2, escaping the danger with no runs scoring, on his way to delivering 3 innings of 1-hit relief, fanning 3.
An Arky Vaughan error plated the 4th run, followed by an RBI single from George Davis, putting the Wolverines up 5-0 heading to the bottom of the 8th.
A Chief Wilson homerun ended the shutout, but Detroit would add one more run on a Ty Cobb triple and Hank Greenberg double in the top of the 9th, making it 6-1.
The Grays would not go without at least a semblance of a fight, with a Roberto Clemente pinch-hit homerun closing the gap to 6-3 and forcing Detroit to turn to its closer, Mike Henneman. Henneman would hit Andrew McCutcheon and give up a triple to Andy Van Slyke and an RBI single to Rick Reichardt (who finished with 3 hits), but would preserve the victory, 6-5.
DET 6 (Verlander 5-2; Henneman 20 Sv) @ HOM 5 (Hamilton 1-3) HRs: DET – Phillips (6); HOM – Wilson (3), Clemente (10) Box Score
#Game Two: Gene Conley @ Francisco Liriano
This one was a pitcher’s duel early, with Gene Conley showing why Detroit moved him from the bullpen into the rotation, fanning 5 of the first 6 batters he faced. Francisco Liriano matched him frame for frame, and the game was scoreless going into the bottom of the 6th. Roberto Clemente led off the inning with a triple and scored on Mike Epstein‘s single to right to give Homestead a 1-0 lead.
Detroit would tie it up in the top of the 7th when Ernie Lombardi singled home Ty Cobb, who had doubled with 1 out.
Conley was sent back out for the bottom of the 7th, and Honus Wagner greeted him with a long shot to left-center field for his 8th homerun of the year and a 2-1 Grays lead.
Josh Lindblom relieved Liriano and retired the side in order, including pinch-hitters Oscar Gamble and Hank Greenberg. Those moves led to Detroit forfeiting the DH for the rest of the game.
Homestead added to their lead with RBI’s from Andy Van Slyke and Wagner, and then tried to seal the game with a 2-run shot from Arky Vaughan which sent them to the bottom of the inning leading 6-1.
Bob Bailey walked and Cobb followed with an infield single, bringing in Michael Jackson, who was greeted by Chili Davis‘ 13th homerun of the year to make it a 2-run game, 6-4. Jackson hit Lombardi, but whiffed George Davis before Geoff Jenkins doubled, putting runners at 2nd and 3rd. Greg Brock–pinch-hitting for the pitcher’s spot–struck out, bringing up Greenberg as the winning run.
The ball was sent deep to left, but not deep enough, and Homestead evened the series at 1 game apiece.
DET 4 (Conley 8-2) @ HOM 6 (Liriano 4-3; Lindblom 6 H) HRs: DET – C. Davis (13); HOM – Wagner (8), Johnson (8). Box Score
#Game 3: Hal Newhouser @ Vean Gregg
This one could be the best pitching matchup of the series, with Detroit’s Hal Newhouser facing Homestead’s Vean Gregg.
Detroit would strike first on a 2-run homerun by Geoff Jenkins in the top of the 2nd. But Newhouser wasn’t especially sharp, and Homestead scored once in the 2nd and once in the 3rd to tie it up. The first run was driven in by Pops Stargell, the second by Rick Reichardt.
But it’s not like Gregg was was shutting them down, and Detroit started off the 4th with a single by Oscar Gamble and consecutive doubles from Jenkins and Ed Baily, giving the Wolverines a 4-2 lead. Sparky Adams would add an RBI single, and a walk to Tony Phillips and double from Ty Cobb would chase Gregg from the game with Detroit up, 6-2.
Bob Friend relieved Gregg, fanning Hank Greenberg and Chili Davis to get out of the inning without any further damage being done.
Honus Wagner doubled to right in the bottom of the frame, scoring Stargell from 1st–which is quite a sight as Pops rounded third, huffing and puffing. But Newhouser settled a little, allowing only the single run, keeping the lead at 6-3.
Newhouser wouldn’t get through the 5th, as Reichardt and Josh Gibson opened the inning with singles. Doyle Alexander relieved Prince Hal, and induced a double play, but then gave up a 2-run shot into the left field bleachers from Davey Johnson, making it a 1-run game at 6-5. In the next inning, Alexander would balk home the tying run.
Wagner would give the Grays the lead in the bottom of the 7th, doubling in a run with a shot down the left field line off Kevin Hart.
Detroit would empty the bench in an attempt to tie it in the top of the 8th. Jenkins led off with a single, and George Davis pinch-ran for him. Ernie Lombardi and Bob Bailey–both pinch-hitting–delivered singles, loading the bases with no outs and chasing Billy Pierce from the game.
Adams greeted Frank Linzy with a sacrifice fly to LF to tie the game, and Phillips followed with a double, scoring Lombardi and Bailey. Phillips was injured on the play and will miss a few weeks. That brought Detroit’s final bench player, Greg Brock, to the field, which will make their defensive arrangement interesting, to say the least.
Greenberg ended up at 3B for the final 2 innings, and Mike Henneman was able to shut the door, earning the save in a hard-fought win for Detroit.
Phillips was put on the Disabled List following the game, with Robby Thompson being recalled to the WBL.
DET 9 (Hart 2-3; Henneman 21 Sv) @ HOM 7 (Pierce 0-2; Linzy 1 BSv) HRs: DET – Jenkins (6); HOM – Johnson (9). Box Score
#Game 4: Johnny Marcum @ Stan Bahnsen
Detroit took the lead in the 3rd when Bob Bailey took Stan Bahnsen deep after a George Davis single for an early 2-0 lead.
Bill Mazeroski would hit the first homerun of his WBL career in the bottom of the frame off Johnny Marcum, cutting the lead in half.
Another 2-run shot, this one off the bat of Chili Davis, extended the Wolverine’s advantage to 4-1. And that seemed likely to be plenty, as Marcum was throwing well.
The Grays would cut the lead in half in the bottom of the 6th with a solo shot form Rick Reichardt. Josh Gibson and Arky Vaughan singled, chasing Marcum from the game, but Whitey Wilshere would escape without further damage.
Mike Henneman came in to close the game in the bottom of the 9th, but surrendered back-to-back doubles to pinch-hitter Chief Wilson and Andrew McCutcheon, pulling the Grays within 1 run. A deep fly to center moved McCutcheon to third, and Henneman plunked Reichardt to put the winning run on first. Tom Brown ran for Reichardt, giving Homestead some speed on the basepaths. Josh Gibson doubled, tying the game, and bringing Vaughan up with the winning run 90 feet away.
Vaughan walked, loading the bases somewhat inconsequentially, and bringing up Pops Stargell. Henneman tried to work the veteran inside, and got too far inside, plunking Stargell to drive in the winning run.
DET 4 (Henneman 1-4, 3 BSv; Wilshire 1 H; Verlander 3 H) @ HOM 5 (Zambrano 2-5) HRs: DET – Bailey (15), Davis (14); HOM – Mazeroski (1), Reichardt (12). Box Score
Series Review
A surprising split–certainly encouraging for Homestead, but a missed opportunity for Detroit, locked in a dogfight with the Gothams for the lead in the Bill James Division.
For Detroit, Ty Cobb was 7-for-19, but did most of his damage in the first 2 games. Oscar Gamble had 6 hits and Geoff Jenkins and Ernie Lombardi each went 4-for-9 in the 3 games they played.
Homestead was led by Rick Reichardt, who went 7-for-13. Andrew McCutcheon, Honus Wagner, Arky Vaughan, and Davey Johnson each had 5 hits.
