Tag: Babe Ruth Page 7 of 11

TWIWBL 24.13: Mid-Season Reviews – New York Black Yankees

On March 28, 2022

Summary

The Black Yankees are one of the dominant teams in the league, although some cracks have appeared, especially on the mound.

What’s Gone Right

Quite Offensive. The Black Yankees are top 3 in most offensive categories, and are 1st in most of those. They hit for power, they take walks, and the lineup is deep, deep, deep.

The MVP(s). Look, this Babe Ruth kid can hit, but the real MVP of the Black Yankees has been Thurman Munson, who heads into the break having reached base in over 30 straight games.

The 900 Club. Five hitters have an OPS over .890 (I rounded up). Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Munson, Albert Belle, and Eric Davis are a fearsome … dare I say it … Murderer’s Row.

What’s Gone Wrong

The Middle Infield. Derek Jeter is doing alright, but 2B has been a real struggle. Willie Randolph has been much better of late, and still has an OPS around .650, and the less said about Craig Counsell‘s performance, the better.

Back of the Bullpen. Ralph Citarella has been quite good, but both Sparky Lyle and Goose Gossage have struggled.

Guidry’s Fall. Ron Guidry looked like one of the best pitchers in the league for the first few months; while he still leads the WBL in strikeouts, his overall performance has suffered, with only a 5-6 record and an ERA over 4.00.

Key Storylines

The Black Yankees look likely to sit pat: they have the talent to compete just as they are, although pitching is always welcome.

There are some things to watch for in the second half, from whether Ruth’s slight slump is anything to worry about to whether they can continue to carry both 2B as a position and, to a lesser degree, Don Mattingly at 1B.

The most likely thing here is that some of these things break well and some don’t, and overall the team remains a powerhouse.

Trading Outlook

BUYING.

But it’s not clear what they need. Bullpen help for sure, and a solve to 2B could be useful as well.

AAA Shuttle

They haven’t used it a lot. Cole Hamels and Sam Thompson have been fine.

Midseason Changes

Cole Hamels joins the rotation.

Awards

All Stars: Eric Davis (CF); Lou Gehrig (1B); Derek Jeter (SS); Mickey Mantle (RF); Thurman Munson (C); Red Ruffing (P); Babe Ruth (LF).

Player of the Month: Babe Ruth (April)

Offensive MVP: Babe Ruth (OF)
Pitching MVP: Red Ruffing (SP)

Down on the Farm

AAA: Newark Eagles

Next to the Show: SP AJ Burnett & Jake Peavy, RP Bryan Hickerson, OF Joe Harris.

Prospects: SP Jake Peavy (23), C Smoky Burgess (22), 3B Chris Brown (22).

Projects: SP Whitey Ford (24), OF Sam Thompson (26), OF Nick Swisher (29), RP Bryan Hickerson (27), 1B Hal Chase (27), SP Jim Clinton (25).

Suspects: 1B Moose Skowron (29), OF Hank Bauer (31), IF Aaron Hill (23), OF Charlie Keller (33), RP Fritz Coumbe (24).

AA: Hudson Valley Renegades

Prospects: 2B Dick Bartell (20).

Projects: P Joba Chamberlain (25), P LaTroy Hawkins (22), P Art Ditmar (26), OF Roger Maris (26), OF Héctor López (25), Kevin Pillar (27).

Suspects: None, really.

TWIWBL 19.11: AAA Roundup

By mknn

On February 24, 2022

In TWIWBL, WBL Minor Leagues

{ It’s the first of June, so it’s time to look at the WBL Minor Leagues. Throughout, we identify both the AAA team and their WBL franchise. }

#Featured Team: The New Orleans Pelicans

The New Orleans Pelicans, AA affiliate of the Memphis Red Sox, lead their division by 4 games with a 34-20 record.

They are, simply, the best offensive team in AAA. And, as you may guess from that line, they struggle a bit on the mound. But the real challenge for the Pelicans is coping with the talent they’ve lost to Memphis.

Billy Bryan, Wayne Causey, and Fred Lynn had combined for 32 homeruns for the Pelicans, and they’ve all moved on to the Red Sox, along with infielder Iván De Jesus. The players coming back the other way–Nomar Garciaparra, Bob Brenly, and Dustin Pedroia–have done very little to help (although Brenly has shown surprising power). And Larry Hisle, signed after he was let go by Houston, has struggled as well.

But the Pelicans keep scoring runs, with a lineup anchored by OFs David Justice (295/370/625) and Tony Conigliaro (286/331/563) and IF Francisco Lindor (299/352/528). Add in Dwight Evans‘ 12 homeruns and 30 RBIs and the Pelicans still have a fair bit of firepower.

The pitching is … confusing. Norwood Gibson and Ellis Kinder are each 5-2, with ERAs over 6.00. Eddie Cicotte, sent down from Memphis a few weeks ago, has won all 4 of his starts. And their best starter has probably been Joe Kelly, who has a 3.23 ERA, but only a 3-3 record.

Luiz Gohara and Derek Lowe have been solid at the end of games, but it’s pretty clear that unless they get some better performances from Gibson and Kinder (and Jeff Locke, who also has a winning record with an ERA over 6.00), the Pelicans fortunes could change dramatically.

#Checking In On …

The Atlanta X-Giants were the subject of last month’s update. They still have the best record in the league, although like New Orleans, they have clearly lost their best players to promotions to Birmingham.

But in their case, Greg Maddux and Warren Spahn have pitched well since their demotion, joining Kent Mercker and Jim Whitney in a very strong rotation.

We mentioned Joe Rudi last time, and the 22 year-old has impressed in his first taste of AAA, slashing 281/323/537.

AAA Leaders

Of the players profiled last time, only Joey Votto (Cincinnati/Indianapolis) remains at AAA, with Hi Myers (Brooklyn), Gary Sheffield (Miami), Fred Lynn (Memphis), and Robinson Canó (Kansas City) all now holding down a roster spot in the show.

In addition to Votto, who continues to produce, hitting at a 324/459/580 clip, the dominant players at AAA are

Baby Doll Jacobson. Leading AAA with 19 homeruns, Jacobson is slashing 343/389/725 for Washington (Baltimore) and pulling off his best Babe Ruth imitation on the leaderboards. Even with the best record in the league and Paul Blair hitting better in Baltimore, it’s not clear how long the Black Sox can keep Jacobson at AAA.
Louisville (Homestead)’s OF pair of Paul Waner (306/401/591) and Max Carey (357/441/473) are probably the best hitting tandem in the league.
Virgil Trucks has done nothing but impress since his demotion, sitting with a 6-1 record and a 1.59 ERA since being sent to Cincinnati after struggling in Indianapolis in the early going.
San Jose (San Francisco)’s Nick Altrock leads the league in wins at 7-2 with a 2.22 ERA.
In the bullpen, St. Louis (Kansas City)’s Adam Russell (16 saves, 1.71 ERA) and Queens (Brooklyn)’s Darren Dreifort (15 saves, 1.40 ERA) lead the way.

Awards

AAA Player of the Month: Baby Doll Jacobson (Washington/Baltimore)
AAA Pitcher of the Month: Nick Altrock (San Jose/San Francisco)

AAA Players of the Week: Tommie Agee (Orlando/Miami); Robin Ventura (Milwaukee/Chicago); Jackie Jensen (Montreal/Ottawa); Sam Thompson (Newark/New York Black Yankees)

Hottest Prospects (24 years and younger)

SP: Mike Griffin (23, Toronto/Detroit) 6-2, 1 Sv, 4.84 ERA; Jock Menefee (24, St. Louis/Kansas City) 4-3, 3.27 ERA [*]; George Mullin (22, Toronto/Detroit) 4-3, 3.49 ERA.
RP: Luiz Gohara (20, New Orleans/Memphis) 1-1, 8 Sv, 3 H, 3.60 ERA; George Murray (23, Atlanta/Birmingham) 1-1, 1 Sv, 1 H, 2.28 ERA.

C: Cliff W. Lee (22, Seattle/Portland). 329/374/647.
1B: Anthony Rizzo (22, Columbus/House of David). 277/395/576. [*]
2B: Roberto Alomar (23, Montreal/Ottawa). 301/338/436, 5 3B.
3B: Chris Brown (22, Newark/New York Black Yankees). 288/402/477.
SS: Francisco Lindor (24, New Orleans/Memphis). 299/352/528.
OF: Baby Doll Jacobson (24, Washington/Baltimore) 343/389/725, 71 H, 18 2B, 19 HR, 53 RBI, 42 R, 2.7 WAR; Paul Waner (23, Louisville/Homestead) 306/401/591 [*]; Minnie Miñoso (23, Milwaukee/Chicago) 272/370/589, 16 HR.

Bold indicates league leader; * indicates a player selected for April’s list as well.

Ps Hardie Henderson (Cleveland) and Matt Anderson (Detroit); C Mike Scioscia (Brooklyn); IFs Robinson Canó (Kansas City), Gary Sheffield (Miami), and Cal Ripken, Jr. (Baltimore); and OF Yasiel Puig (New York Gothams) were all listed in April and now are in the big leagues.

TWIWBL 23.2: The All-Star Game

By mknn

On February 10, 2022

In All Star Games, TWIWBL

Alright, everyone, here we go: the first annual All-Star Game in WBL history.

The game will open with Dennis Martínez (Baltimore Black Sox) on the mound and Tom Herr (Birmingham Black Barons) digging in at the plate. Herr is one of the feel-good stories of the year, starting the year at AAA and now the heart of a struggling Black Barons squad.

Herr slaps a hard ground ball towards right, but Eddie Collins (Chicago American Giants) makes a nice diving stop. A good throw and Herr is out by a step to open the game. Martínez retired Joe Mauer (Portland Sea Dogs) and Reggie Jackson (San Francisco Sea Lions) for a scoreless opening half-inning.

Red Ruffing (New York Black Yankees) got the start for the NL, facing Collins, who fouled a few pitches off before sending Ruffing’s seventh delivery into the left field stands for a 1-0 NL lead. Baltimore’s Bobby Wallace and Chicago’s Frank Thomas grounded out to Jim Fregosi (Portland) at SS, but Elrod Hendricks (House of David) drew a two-out walk before Duffy Lewis (Chicago) flew out to center to end the inning.

Martínez came back out for the second inning, but gave up an infield single to Babe Ruth (Black Yankees) and a soft liner into right to Ron Blomberg (Cleveland Spiders). With the bullpen in full swing, Kent Hrbek (Portland) flew out to right for the first out, with Ruth moving to third. Bobby Murcer (Portland) would score Ruth with a sacrifice to left, tying the game.

Ruffing walked Willie Mays (New York Gothams) to open the bottom of the second. Hank Greenberg (Detroit Wolverines) replaced Mays at first on a fielder’s choice, and scored when WBL RBI leader Doug Rader (Los Angeles) launched a homerun. A single by Joe Jackson (Chicago) chased Ruffing from the game, with Birmingham’s Tim Hudson taking his place on the mound. Hudson retired the next two batters, ending the threat with the AL up, 3-1.

The WBL leader in wins, Gerrit Cole (Los Angeles), took the mound in the top of the 3rd and delivered a scoreless inning. Little of note–other than a ton of substitutions–happened until the top of the 4th, when Lefty Grove (San Francisco) gave up hits to Greenberg (who was replaced at first by Reggie Smith of the Memphis Red Sox) and George Stone (House of David). That brought in Cleveland’s Cy Young, who retired Joe Jackson and Collins to close the inning.

The game was uneventful (again, other than the substitutions) until the bottom of the 6th, when Ted Williams (Memphis) greeted Don Drysedale (Brooklyn Royal Giants) with a leadoff homerun, making the score 4-1. Williams’ teammate, Reggie Smith, followed with a single, but was left stranded.

The AL pitchers had allowed only 2 hits until, with one out in the top of the 7th, Chuck Knoblauch doubled off of Mark Melancon (Houston Colt 45’s). After another out, Rolen walked and pinch-hitter Johnny Bench (Indianapolis) doubled to left-center, scoring two to make the score 4-3.

With 2 outs in the bottom of the inning, Curt Blefary (Baltimore) singled, with Freddy Parent (Ottawa Mounties) pinch-running for him. Dick Allen followed with a single, sending Parent to third. Ron Reed relieved Ken Howell and retired Williams to end the inning, so we went to the 8th with the AL leading, 4-3.

The AL turned to Brian Wilson in the top of the 9th to close the game. He walked Knoblauch to lead off the inning, but got a flyout from Eric Davis (Black Yankees) for the first out, bringing up his teammate, Mickey Mantle, for his first at-bat of the game. Mantle walked, and that was it for Wilson, who was replaced by Mike Henneman (Detroit).

Henneman fanned Bench and got Rickey Henderson to groundout, and the AL wins, 4-3.

The NL only managed 5 hits in the game, and only the AL’s Blefary had 2 hits, with his teammate Rader’s 2 RBI’s the most seen on the day. That earned Rader the MVP award. Cole (who earned the victory), Reed, and Craig Kimbrel were the most impressive pitchers on the day.

NL 3 (Ruffing 0-1) @ AL 4 (Cole 1-0; Henneman 1 Sv; Pettitte 1 H; Melancon 1 H; Kimbrel 1 H; Nichols 1 H; Wilson 1 H)
HRs: AL – Collins (1), Rader (1), Williams (1)
Box Score

TWIWBL 21.1: NL All Star Selections

By mknn

On January 26, 2022

In All Star Games, TWIWBL

AL All Stars here.

The final choice was the hardest, as the NL decided to go with only 11 pitchers, electing to select both Rickey Henderson and Josh Gibson over Joseíto Muñoz‘ arm in the bullpen.

Predictably, the New York Black Yankees have the most players going with seven, but the Portland Sea Dogs will supply four of the starters for the NL.

The Indianapolis ABC’s and the Miami Cuban Giants will have a single representative each.

Catchers

Portland’s Joe Mauer is the starting backstop. The question here is whether Thurman Munson (Black Yankees) has done enough to overtake Indianapolis’ Johnny Bench behind him. Munson’s OPS is .001 higher, and he’s spent a little more time behind the plate. But Bench has played more overall, and leads Munson in all counting stats other than doubles. It’s a bit of a moot point, as all three make the team.

That potentially leaves two deserving players off the roster: the Homestead Grays‘ Josh Gibson is putting up incredible numbers for a teenager and Mauer’s teammate, Iván Rodríguez, would easily make the team if he had more playing time (it’s a pretty good problem for the Sea Dogs to have).

Johnny Bench (IND). 278/394/542.
Josh Gibson (HOM). 315/406/472.
Joe Mauer (POR). 317/401/545.
Thurman Munson (NYY). 330/392/544; 20 2B.
Iván Rodríguez (POR). 352/370/555.

First Base

Three players have an OPS over 1.000 but only one will make the roster as a first baseman. The Cleveland Spiders‘ Ron Blomberg will start for the NL, but at DH, while Portland’s Kent Hrbek will take the field at first. The third player, Blomberg’s teammate John Ellis, just hasn’t played enough, with under 200 plate appearances. Still, those numbers are a little hard to ignore.

New York’s Lou Gehrig deserves a selection, but like Blomberg, he’s seen the field very rarely, so he’ll also make the roster as a DH. Finally, both Homestead’s Mike Epstein and Indianapolis’ Jake Stahl deserve a very close look for a roster spot, but with both Blomberg and Gehrig ahead of them, it’s not clear they’ll make it. In the end, Epstein is the strongest candidate from the Grays, so he does make the roster.

Ron Blomberg (CLE). 335/405/618; 18 HR; 18 2B; 49 RBI; 48 R.
John Ellis (CLE). 311/351/659; 16 HR.
Mike Epstein (HOM). 336/438/521.
Lou Gehrig (NYY). 284/382/591; 16 HR.
Kent Hrbek (POR). 322/393/617; 22 HR; 54 RBI; 53 R.
Jake Stahl (IND). 277/337/564.

Second Base

Despite Tom Herr‘s recent slump, the Birmingham Black Barons‘ second baseman remains a media darling, and was anointed as the all star starter many moons ago. It’s a little unfair to Cleveland’s Chuck Knoblauch, who really has surpassed Herr by a hair. Herr has been the superior fielder by quite a bit, so perhaps that justifies his getting the starting nod.

After those two, it’s hard. Indianapolis’ Joe Morgan deserves it, but has played in barely over half the ABC’s games. The other two candidates–the San Francisco Sea Lion‘s Jimmy Bloodworth and the Brooklyn Royal Giant‘s Jackie Robinson–come with their own concerns. In Robinson’s case, he’s really played much more at 1B, where his offensive contribution is decidedly mediocre; Bloodworth’s numbers are just a tad weaker across the board than the others.

Jimmy Bloodworth (SFS). 282/320/467.
Tom Herr (BBB). 310/355/440. 16 2B.
Chuck Knoblauch (CLE). 300/353/451. 16 2B.
Joe Morgan (IND). 301/385/412.
Jackie Robinson (BRK). 273/338/485.

Third Base

The hot corner is a little weak in the NL. The Philadelphia Star‘s Scott Rolen is among the better hitters and has been–by far–the flashiest with the leather, so he gets the starting nod.

Portland’s Buddy Bell has hit better than Rolen, but is both mired in a slump and has been weaker defensively. Still, it’s enough to make the team. After those two … who knows? Brooklyn’s Ron Cey has been fine, and if there is a need for a third player, he’s likely it. San Francisco’s Pedro Guerrero has neither played enough in general, nor enough at 3B to warrant inclusion, but he has been a force offensively.

Buddy Bell (POR). 290/354/506; 44 RBI.
Ron Cey (BRK). 242/350/465.
Pedro Guerrero (SFS). 298/367/530.
Scott Rolen (PHI). 284/353/491. 19 2B.

Shortstop

Offensively, there are really only two contenders: Portland’s Jim Fregosi and New York’s Derek Jeter. Both have been below average defensively, but Fregosi has been better than Jeter: between that and his better offensive output, he gets the starting nod.

Homestead’s Arky Vaughan has been spectacular defensively, but it’s not clear it’s been enough to offset a very poor offensive showing, while San Francisco’s Dick Lundy was making a good argument before he got injured.

Jim Fregosi (POR). 286/356/435; 16 2B.
Derek Jeter (NYY). 278/325/393; 17 2B.
Dick Lundy (SFS). 278/292/421.
Arky Vaughan (HOM). 223/340/327.

Left Fielders

Even with his numbers dropping over the past few weeks, Babe Ruth of the New York Black Yankees is the dominant player here. There is a bit of a drop after Ruth, with possible arguments being made for Philadelphia’s Rico Carty and Portland’s Harry Hooper. None of those three players bring much defensively, and taking that into consideration, Brooklyn’s Roy White and Homestead’s Rick Reichardt, and perhaps San Francisco’s Rickey Henderson enter the conversation.

Finally, there is the Albert Belle conundrum: his numbers are beyond impressive, but he’s not played a lot of innings.

Albert Belle (NYY). 315/377/558; 18 2B.
Rico Carty (PHI). 287/354/470; 25 2B.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 261/398/370; 52 R; 50 SB.
Harry Hooper (POR). 297/399/418; 45 R.
Rick Reichardt (HOM). 284/372/436; 42 RBI.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 305/413/649; 24 HR; 16 2B; 67 RBI; 58 R.
Roy White (BRK). 284/352/451; 17 2B.

Center Fielders

Now things get a little more interesting.

Bobby Murcer (Portland) is the clear starter, but an argument can be made for another four players behind him: San Francisco’s Bobby Bonds, Brooklyn’s Duke Snider, and the Davis twins–New York’s Eric Davis and Philadelphia’s Willie Davis–are all fairly indistinguishable. Eric was once considered the lock starter, but has slumped recently, but he is still certain to make the squad.

Eric Davis and Snider have been among the better defenders, bolstering each of their arguments as well.

Bobby Bonds (SFS). 314/364/531; 26 SB.
Eric Davis (NYY). 286/337/557; 22 HR; 66 RBI; 55 R; 35 SB.
Willie Davis (PHI). 299/358/537.
Bobby Murcer (POR). 327/402/567; 15 2B; 48 RBI; 46 R.
Duke Snider (BRK). 327/363/548; 16 HR; 44 RBI.

Right Field

The starter is the most obvious selection of all: triple-crown threat Reggie Jackson of the San Francisco Seals earns the honor. Behind Jackson, New York’s Mickey Mantle and Miami’s José Canseco are the clear choices, with Homestead’s Roberto Clemente forcing himself into the conversation over the last few weeks.

José Canseco (MCG). 295/365/502; 41 R.
Roberto Clemente (HOM). 309/336/486; 15 2B; 40 RBI.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 356/453/648; 16 2B; 16 HR; 44 R.
Mickey Mantle (NYY). 292/399/456; 48 R.

Starting Pitchers

Red Ruffing of the New York Black Yankees has come out of nowhere to be in the conversation for the starting slot for the AL with a 9-2 record. San Francisco’s Lefty Grove is close behind at 8-2, and several pitchers have 7 wins. Brooklyn’s Don Drysedale leads the AL in ERA among starters, and Cleveland’s workhorse Cy Young leads in WHIP. So those four feel pretty solid. Two more Black Yankees–Waite Hoyt and WBL strikeout leader Ron Guidry (whose last few starts have probably moved him off the roster)–are in the conversation, as is Miami’s Camilo Pascual and Portland’s Walter Johnson.

Pascual and Guidry have losing records, making their selection harder to justify, although Pascual plays for a bad team, making that less of an issue for him.

Finally, Tim Hudson of the Birmingham Black Barons has forced his way onto the roster, despite being a few inning short of qualifying as a starting pitcher. Going 5-0 with an ERA under 3.00 and a WHIP under 1.00 will do that.

Don Drysedale (BRK). 5-3; 3.23; 1.19 WHIP.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 8-2; 3.49; 1.30 WHIP.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 5-6; 4.27; 1.25 WHIP.
Waite Hoyt (NYY). 5-1; 3.51; 1.22 WHIP.
Tim Hudson (BBB). 5-0; 2.73; 0.93 WHIP.
Walter Johnson (POR). 7-3; 3.83 ERA; 1.30 WHIP.
Camilo Pascual (MCG). 4-6; 3.42; 1.27 WHIP.
Red Ruffing (NYY). 9-2; 3.79; 1.32 WHIP.
Cy Young (CLE). 6-3; 3.54; 1.17 WHIP.

Relief Pitchers

For the closers, WBL save leader Johan Santana of Portland is an automatic choice, as are Cleveland’s Terry Adams and San Francisco’s Rod Beck. And then it becomes a matter of tradeoffs: Philadelphia’s Bob Howry‘s other numbers are great, but his ERA is over 5.00 while Brooklyn’s Watty Clark and Miami’s Aroldis Chapman have a decent number of saves, but probably fall short.

Portland’s Elmer Brown and San Francisco’s Ron Robinson have 9 Holds each, trailing Philadelphia’s Ron Reed, who has 12.

Indianapolis’ Willie Mitchell has been absolutely dominant, with an ERA barely over 1.00, but it’s hard to really choose between him, San Francisco’s Ken Howell and Charlie Root, and Portland’s Joseíto Muñoz.

Terry Adams (CLE). 0-3; 17 Sv; 2.91; 1.66 WHIP.
Rod Beck (SFS). 1-1; 16 Sv; 2.65; 1 H; 0.76 WHIP.
Elmer Brown (POR). 2-4; 4 Sv; 2.35; 9 H; 1.14 WHIP.
Aroldis Chapman (MCG). 201; 12 Sv; 1.59 ERA; 2.06 WHIP.
Watty Clark (BRK). 3-1; 13 Sv; 1.66; 1.11 WHIP.
Ken Howell (SFS). 3-3; 3 Sv; 1.45; 3 H; 0.97 WHIP.
Bob Howry (PHI). 2-3; 16 Sv; 5.04; 1.66 WHIP.
Willie Mitchell (IND). 2-2; 1 Sv; 1.08; 1 H; 1.16 WHIP.
Joseíto Muñoz (POR). 3-1; 3 Sv; 1.19; 2 H; 1.02 WHIP.
Ron Reed (PHI). 0-2; 3 Sv; 2.72; 12 H; 1.13 WHIP.
Ron Robinson (SFS). 4-1; 3.45; 9 H; 1.36 WHIP.
Charlie Root (SFS). 4-1; 2.98; 0.99 WHIP.
Johan Santana (POR). 1-1; 22 Sv; 2.57; 1 H; 1.48 WHIP.

Selections by Team

Listed alphabetically, Italic indicates a starter.

Birmingham Black Barons: Tom Herr (2B); Tim Hudson (P).
Brooklyn Royal Giants: Don Drysedale (P).
Cleveland Spiders: Terry Adams (P); Ron Blomberg (DH); Chuck Knoblauch (2B); Cy Young (P).
Homestead Grays: Mike Epstein (1B); Josh Gibson (C).
Indianapolis ABC’s: Johnny Bench (C)
Miami Cuban Giants: José Canseco (RF)
New York Black Yankees. Eric Davis (CF); Lou Gehrig (1B); Derek Jeter (SS); Mickey Mantle (RF); Thurman Munson (C); Red Ruffing (P); Babe Ruth (LF).
Philadelphia Stars: Ron Reed (P); Scott Rolen (3B).
Portland Sea Dogs: Buddy Bell (3B); Jim Fregosi (SS); Kent Hrbek (1B); Joe Mauer (C); Bobby Murcer (CF); Johan Santana (P).
San Francisco Sea Lions: Rod Beck (P); Lefty Grove (P); Rickey Henderson (LF); Ken Howell (P); Reggie Jackson (RF); Charlie Root (P).

Series XVIII: Featured Game – New York Black Yankees @ Los Angeles Angels

By mknn

On January 20, 2022

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

Series XVIII was a little light on compelling games. The best of the series was the second game of the New York Black Yankees visit to the Los Angeles Angels.

The Yankees’ Jack Scott would get the start with Ron Romanick making his WBL debut for the Angels. Not a lot is expected of Romanick–Los Angeles would be thrilled to get 5 decent innings from him before he heads back to AAA.

Romanick got through the top of the first without incident, and when Doug Rader took Scott deep with Don Buford and Mike Trout on base for a 3-0 lead, the Angels could begin to feel a little optimistic. Romanick got the first two batters in the second, but RBIs from Doug DeCinces and Willie Randolph made it 3-2, and then homeruns by Don Mattingly and Eric Davis in the 3rd but New York ahead, 5-3.

It turns out Scott was the first starter to leave, as 6 hits and a walk in the bottom of the 3rd chased him from the mound. The innings started with doubles by Buford and Kal Daniels. Rader, Elmer Valo, and Ron Hassey singled in runs, bringing in Cole Hamels from the Yankees’ bullpen.

Hamels gave up hits to Tim Wallach and Buford, and the inning ended with Los Angeles putting up 6, and now leading 9-5.

Babe Ruth would take Romanick deep in the 4th for a 2-run shot, and Romanick would finally leave the game in the top of the 5th after giving up a leadoff single to Davis. He stole second and third, and scored on a wild pitch by Romanick’s replacement, Doc Gooden. That reduce the league to a single run, 9-8.

Davis would tie it in the top of the 7th with his second homerun of the game.

And we would stay that way until the top of the 12th inning, when Mike Schmidt would take Pud Galvin deep for an 11-9 lead for the Black Yankees.

Note that we haven’t mentioned any offense for Los Angeles after their 6 run burst. That’s because New York’s bullpen provided over 9 innings of scoreless relief, with Hamels, Dellin Betances, Ralph Citarella, and Goose Gossage combining to allow only 4 hits for the rest of the game.

It’s not like the Angels’ pen was bad: Gooden, Francisco Rodríguez, and Joe Nathan allowed one run in 7 innings before handing it over to Galvin in the 12th.

Davis scored 3 times and drove in 3 to lead New York. Trout and Buford had 3 hits each and Rader had 4 RBIs for Los Angeles.

NYY 11 (Gossage 4-3) @ LAA 9 (Galvin 2-5) [12 innings]
HRs: NYY – Mattingly (12), Davis 2 (22), Ruth (24); LAA – Rader (11)
Box Score

Other Games of Note

Both Diego Seguí of the San Francisco Sea Lions and the Cleveland Spiders‘ Pat Malone came into the game pitching well. Instead, the offenses dominated with the Spiders’ Johnny Bates driving in the winning run–his 3rd RBI on the day–in the bottom of the 9th for an 8-7 victory for Cleveland. The Sea Lions’ John Beckwith went 3-for-3 with a homerun in the losing cause.

SFS 7 (Bradford 1-5, 4 BSv; Devlin 1 BSv) @ CLE 8 (Gearrin 1-4)
HRs: SFS – Beckwith (5); CLE – Knoblauch (4)
Box Score

TWIWBL 20.0: Series XVII Notes

By mknn

On January 4, 2022

In TWIWBL

June 12

Awards

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

Performance

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Leading Performers

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

Best Batters

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

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

Best Starting Pitchers

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

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

Best Relievers

20 IP minimum for rate stats.

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

Streaks

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

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

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

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

Series XVII Results

Series XVII Sweeps

Chicago over Kansas City

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XVII

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

Series XVII Splits

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

TWIWBL 19.0: Series XVI Notes

By mknn

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

Series XVI Featured Game: Philadelphia Stars @ Los Angeles Angels

By mknn

On November 17, 2021

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

Entries for Series XVI come down to a single game and a great series. First, the game.

#Philadelphia Stars @ Los Angeles Angels, Game 3

With the series tied at 2, Philadelphia sent Jaret Wright to the mound to take on Nolan Ryan. Ryan was making his 6th start of the year, and his 3rd after returning to the rotation. It hasn’t gone great: 2 losses and 9 runs in 9 innings.

It didn’t start great for Ryan, as he gave up a leadoff single to Willie Davis and walked Rico Carty, but induced a double play from Ted Kluszewski to escape the inning.

Los Angeles scored in the bottom of the frame on a Mike Trout single after Don Buford led off with a base hit and stole second.

The top of the second was more of the same for Ryan: a single, a hit by pitch, and a walk, but no runs allowed. The third was not so kind: Gavvy Cravath doubled in a run, Kluszewski scored on a wild pitch, and Cravath scored on a groundout to give the Angels the lead, 3-1. Ryan wouldn’t make it through the 4th, as he hit another batter and walked Kluszewski, bringing in Pud Galvin from the bullpen, who was able to shut the door despite a walk to load the bases.

Wright was sailing along at this point, but a leadoff single in the bottom of the 4th was followed by a 2-run homerun from Trout, tying the game at 3.

Wright and Galvin traded goose eggs until the bottom of the 7th, when Wright walked Doug Rader and gave up a double to Bobby Grich.

So we went to the top of the 9th with the Angels ahead by a run. It had been an hard game on the Angels’ staff, and with their usual closer, Joe Nathan, a bit fatigued, they turned to Francisco Rodriguez. Rodriguez got Sherm Lollar to strike out swinging, but gave up a double to Carty.

That brought in Jonny Venters to face Kluszewski, who grounded out, sending John Montgomery Ward (who pinch-ran for Carty) to third. With that, the Angels turned to a tired Nathan to close the game out. Instead, he walked Cravath and gave up a game-tying single to Scott Rolen.

Larry Jackson, on for Philadelphia, kept it tied, and with nobody else to turn to, LA kept Nathan out there. It wasn’t a great move, as Davis took him deep for a 5-4 lead for the Stars.

The Stars’ Bobby Howry relieved Jackson, and retired the side on six pitches to preserve the win. Davis had three hits and Cravath two for the Stars, while Trout had 2 hits and 3 RBI for the Angels.

PHI 5 (Jackson 3-1; Howry 16 Sv) @ LAA 4 (Nathan 3-3, 3 BSv; Gooden 1 H; Rodriguez 4 H; Venters 7 H) [10 Innings]
HRs: PHI – Davis (10); LAA – Trout (6)
Box Score

#Brooklyn Royal Giants @ New York Black Yankees, Games 1, 3 & 4

Since I don’t want to write detailed summaries of each game–we do have a featured series, after all–I will instead trace some of the major throughlines.

Game one was a pitching duel between Frank Knauss and Red Ruffing. The Black Yankees scored a run in the bottom of the first two innings on a homerun from Babe Ruth and a triple from Lou Gehrig.

Ruffing–who is quickly moving into all-star contention–had a shutout through 8, but with one out in the 9th, gave up a double to Roy White and a single to Duke Snider. That brought in the Black Yankees’ closer, Sparky Lyle. Lyle struggled, giving up an RBI single to Jermaine Dye and base hit to Ron Cey to load the bases, before inducing a double play groundout from Hi Myers to preserve the victory.

Brooklyn shuffled its roster significantly prior to the series, and the game saw the WBL debuts of Dye and Michael Brantley.

BRK 1 (Knauss 4-4) @ NYY 2 (Ruffing 9-1; Lyle 9 Sv)
HRs: NYY – Ruth (22)
Box Score

Game three was somewhat similar: Waite Hoyt of the Black Yankees had a solid start going, while Brooklyn’s Don Sutton struggled a bit, leaving New York leading 5 to 4 (Brooklyn’s Al Lopez hit a homerun in his first WBL at-bat and Babe Ruth hit a 2-run shot for New York) heading into the top of the 9th.

Again, the Black Yankees turned to Sparky Lyle. And that’s where the game turned.

Lyle gave up a leadoff walk to Dickie Thon, a single to Duke Farrell, an RBI single to Beals Becker and another to Jackie Robinson. Roy White singled to load the bases, and that was it for Lyle. Ralph Citarella gave up a double to Duke Snider, and when the inning ended, Brooklyn was on top 8-5.

Despite giving up a leadoff single to Lou Gehrig, Brooklyn’s closer, Watty Clark, shut the door in the bottom of the 9th.

Becker, Robinson, Snider, and Lopez each had 2 hits for the Royal Giants while Mickey Mantle was 4-for-4 for New York.

BRK 8 (Hildenberger 3-0; Clark 11 Sv) @ NYY 5 (Lyle 0-2, 3 BSv; Betances 4 H)
HRs: BRK – Lopez (1); NYY – Ruth (23)
Box Score

The final game of the series promised to be another pitching duel between Brooklyn’s Don Drysedale and New York’s Ron Guidry. It wasn’t. Drysedale gave up 10 hits and 6 runs (5 earned) in 6 innings and while Guidry fared a little better (4 runs in 5.2 innings), it wasn’t a great performance by any means.

Guidry did become the first WBL pitcher to notch 100 strikeouts on the season.

The Black Yankees led 6 to 4 heading to the top of the 8th. But Jermaine Dye took Lady Baldwin deep for a 2-run homerun to tie the game. Then, in the top of the 9th, Goose Gossage (perhaps auditioning to become New York’s new closer) gave up another 2-run shot, this one to Roy White, to give the Royal Giants the lead.

Thurman Munson continued his torrid streak, getting his fourth hit of the day with a double to lead off the bottom of the 9th, but Watty Clark was able to get out of the inning with only 1 run scoring, giving Brooklyn the win and a 3-1 edge in the series.

BRK 8 (Gagne 2-2; Clark 12 Sv) @ BYY (Gossage 3-3; Baldwin 3 BSv)
HRs: BRK – Cey (10), Dye (1), White (8); NYY – Jeter (5), Belle (7)
Box Score

TWIWBL 18.0: Series XV Notes

By mknn

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

Series XV Featured Matchup: New York Black Yankees @ San Francisco Sea Lions

By mknn

On October 12, 2021

In Featured Series, Game Recaps

Preview here.

#Game One: Dave Righetti @ Lefty Grove

Despite a few superb outings, New York‘s Dave Righetti comes into this game with a losing record (3-4) and a poor ERA (5.43). San Francisco will start one of the more dependable arms so far in the league, Lefty Grove, who sits at 5-2 with a sparkling 3.23 ERA.

Derek Jeter led off the game against Grove with a grounds-rule double, but was left stranded at 2B. San Francisco’s leadoff hitter, Rickey Henderson, walked and, as he is wont to do, stole second while Bobby Bonds and Reggie Jackson were striking out. But Pedro Guerrero singled to left, and Henderson scored easily, putting the Sea Lions up, 1-0.

It didn’t last long: Lou Gehrig took Grove deep in the top of the 2nd to tie the game. Willie Randolph–continuing to keep his average over .200–added an RBI single to give the Black Yankees the lead, but it could have been much worse for Grove, as Bonds caught a fly ball by Don Mattingly in shallow centerfield for the 2nd out and nailed Thurman Munson, trying to score from 3rd, to end the inning.

Again the lead barely lasted: Jimmy Bloodworth took Righetti deep to lead off the bottom of the 2nd. Later in the inning, a Henderson single scored Cy Perkins to edge San Francisco in front, 3-2.

It was a sloppy game through 3 innings with each team committing 2 errors (Randolph and Babe Ruth for New York, Dick Lundy and Jack Clark for the Sea Lions), Righetti walking 2 and Grove walking 3.

Mattingly would tie the game with homerun in the top of the 4th, and Jeter would drive in a run in the top of the 6th, giving the lead back to New York, 4-3. Again though: a lead with a short life. Perkins chased Righetti from the game with a 3-run shot in the bottom of the frame, with the Black Yankees bringing in Dellin Betances who got out of the inning without any further damage and a 6-4 lead for San Francisco.

The Black Yankees got one run back when Eric Davis singled, stole second and third, and scored on a base hit by Albert Belle.

San Francisco added 2 in the bottom of the 7th on Randolph’s second error of the game, an errant throw that allowed both Henderson and Bonds to score.

But this New York team is hard to put away: Davis led off the top of the 9th with a single against Ron Robinson, and after Gehrig whiffed, Belle walked and Munson doubled, scoring Davis to make it a 2-run game, 8-6. Ken Howell relieved Robinson and promptly fanned Doug DeCinces and got pinch-hitter Mike Schmidt to groundout weakly in front of the plate to end the game.

NYY 6 (Righetti 3-5) @ SFS 8 (Grove 6-2; Howell 3 Sv; Street 1 H; Devlin 2 H; Robinson 8 H)
HRs: NYY – Gehrig (14), Mattingly (10); SFS – Perkins (3), Bloodworth (10)
Box Score

#Game Two: Waite Hoyt @ Eddie Plank

This one started out as a pitching duel, with New York’s Waite Hoyt and San Francisco’s Eddie Plank each only allowing a single hit through 4 innings.

New York added 2 hits in the 5th–a double by Mike Schmidt and a single by Willie Randolph–but Plank fanned Derek Jeter and Don Mattingly to get out of the inning.

Dick Lundy opened the scoring in the bottom of the 5th when Lundy singled home Bob Cerv. Lundy would score in a hit by Rickey Henderson, and the Sea Lions took the lead, 2-0.

Plank held the shutout through the 6th, then gave up a single to Thurman Munson and a walk to Schmidt to lead off the 7th. That was it for him, as San Francisco brought in Chad Bradford from the pen with 2 on and no outs. New York would counter by bringing Lou Gehrig out to pinch-hit for Randolph. Gehrig was retired, but Bradford allowed one run before getting Babe Ruth to end the inning on a flay to deep center.

That narrowed the game to a 2-1 lead for San Francisco, which is where it stayed heading to the top of the 9th, where the Sea Lions turned to their closer Rod Beck.

The first batter was Munson, who immediately added to his incredible few weeks by taking Beck into the left field seats to tie the game. Schmidt would walk, followed by an infield single from Gehrig, and it suddenly felt like New York might blow the game open. Instead, Jeter grounded into a double play, and with the hugely ineffective Craig Counsell up, San Francisco seemed in decent shape … until Beck’s 2-2 pitch was wild, bouncing past Mickey Cochrane and allowing Schmidt to score. Counsell flew out to left, but the Black Yankees were ahead, 3-2.

They brought in their closer, Sparky Lyle, who set the side down in order, striking out Bobby Bonds to end the game.

Munson ended the day 3-for-4 with 2 runs scored as all 6 of the Black Yankees’ hits came from the bottom 3 slots in their lineup.

NYY 3 (Hoyt 5-1; Lyle 7 Sv) @ SFS 2 (Beck 0-1, 1 B Sv; Bradford 2 H)
HRs: Munson (7)
Box Score

#Game 3: Ron Guidry @ Cy Falkenberg

Rickey Henderson led off the bottom of the first with a long fly that sliced down the right field line, and barely stayed fair for a leadoff homerun off Ron Guidry and a 1-0 Sea Lions lead.

Leading off the bottom of the 3rd, it was Henderson again, this time with a double. He scored on an RBI single from Pedro Guerrero, making it 2-0. And, while Henderson led off the bottom of the 5th with a strikeout, the Sea Lions did add to their league on singles from Guerrero, Bobby Bonds, and Jimmy Bloodworth.

Through 5 innings, Cy Falkenberg had easily outmatched Guidry, allowing only 1 hit and 2 walks while strikeout out 5. But the top of the 6th began with a leadoff walk to Mickey Mantle, followed by Babe Ruth‘s 20th homerun of the year, cutting the lead to 3-2. Falkenberg walked Lou Gehrig and Albert Belle, and Thurman Munson dinked a little looper into right to load the bases. Don Mattingly tied the game with a sacrifice fly, but Falkenberg was able to escape the inning without further damage.

So, Guidry got a reprieve, having given up 8 hits through 5 innings while striking out 6. He struck out John Beckwith and Eddie Joost to lead off the 6th, but Dick Lundy doubled to deep left-center, chasing Guidry from the game in favor of Cole Hamels, who was able to retire Henderson to maintain the tied score.

Rick Langford may have pitched himself to AAA, allowing homeruns to Mantle and Gehrig, giving the Black Yankees a 6-3 lead.

Henderson would plate 2 in the bottom of the 8th with a double, scoring Beckwith and Lundy, and pulling San Francisco to within 1 run.

Ralph Citarella relieved Hamels, and promptly surrendered a ground-rule double to Guerrero, tying the game once more. Left in to pitch the bottom of the 9th, Bloodworth took Citarella deep to win the game for San Francisco.

Guerrero had 4 hits in the victory and Henderson 3 hits, driving in 3 and scoring 3 times.

NYY 6 (Citarella 1-3, 1 B Sv) @ SFS (Howell 3-2)
HRs: NYY – Ruth (20), Mantle (8), Gehrig (15); SFS – Henderson (3), Bloodworth (11)
Box Score

#Game 4: Jack Scott @ Diego Segui

Ah, the pitching duel we all expected … Diego Segui has been one of the shocks of the season, with an ERA near 2.00 since being recalled from AAA. He delivered here, allowing only 1 hit through 5 innings while the Black Yankees’ Jack Scott did him one better, with a no-hitter through 5.

Manny Sanguillen took Segui deep for his first homerun of the year in the top of the 6th and from there the wheels sort of fell off: Mickey Mantle drove in 1 run, then Babe Ruth hit his 21st homerun of the year with a couple runners on, making it 5-0 New York.

A single by John Beckwith broke up the no-no, but Scott kept the shutout intact for another inning, until Reggie Jackson sent a line drive into the rightfield stands, cutting the lead to 5-1.

An Eddie Joost homerun closed it to 5-2, and Sparky Lyle seemed to close the door, easily retiring the first 2 Sea Lions in the bottom of the 9th. But singles by Jimmy Bloodworth and Wally Moon were followed by a pinch-hit double from Bob Cerv, bringing the winning run to the plate in the form of the conundrum that is Joost.

Lyle struck him out on a slider, preserving the win for New York and splitting the series at 2.

Derek Jeter was 3-for-4 for New York.

NYY 5 (Scott 6-3; Lyle 8 Sv; Gossage 4 H) @ SFS (Segui 2-3)
HRs: NYY – Sanguillen (1), Ruth (21); SFS – Jackson (11), Joost (6)
Box Score

#Series Notes

So, a split in a close series with some excellent baseball on both sides.

Babe Ruth hit 2 homeruns, driving in 5 for New York, but those were his only 2 hits in the series. Other than the unstoppable Thurman Munson–who went 6-for-11, lifting his average to .320 on the year– and Derek Jeter (6-for-18) the Black Yankees offense was kept largely in check.

For San Francisco, Jimmy Bloodworth went 6-for-17 with 2 homeruns and Pedro Guerrero 5-for-17. Perhaps more importantly for the Sea Lions, Rickey Henderson showed signs of breaking out of his slump, going 5-for-10 while scoring 5 runs and driving in 5.