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TWIWBL 38.0: Series XXX Notes

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On April 20, 2023

In TWIWBL

August 9th

There was a single game on August 9th: the Indianapolis ABCs visited the House of David to makeup a game rained out earlier in the year. And what a game it was …

The ABCs Willie Mitchell has struggled a bit since joining the starting rotation, but he’s still been effective; here he would be opposed by the House of David’s Frank Sullivan.

Mitchell struggled early, giving up 4 runs in the first two innings on a 2-run single from Joe Harris and an RBI triple from Dan Ford. Both are stories of note: Harris, a 35 year old minor league veteran, has hit well over .300 since being recalled a few weeks ago and Ford, an injury fill in early in the season, has blossomed, keeping his average over .300 with some power in becoming the House of David’s starting RF.

But Mitchell settled down after that, not allowing a run through 7 innings.

In the meantime, the ABCs scratched and clawed their way back with 2 in the 6th, 1 in the 7th, and a solo homerun from Dave Henderson in the 8th to tie the game.

Anthony Rizzo singled home the go-ahead run in the bottom of the frame as the game was handed over to two expended bullpens.

Indianapolis would get a pinch-hit, 2-run shot in the top of the 9th from Bob Bescher to take the lead, but Harris would answer with a 2-out solo shot in the bottom of the frame to send us to extra innings.

The 10th was scoreless, but after Ford reached on an error, Harris doubled him home to win the game.

Harris drove in 4 on 4 hits, and Ryne Sandberg and Jim Edmonds added 3 hits apiece for the winning side. Pete Browning went 1 for 6, edging closer and closer to qualifying for the league lead in batting (he currently sits at .358).

IND 6 (Carroll 2-4, 2 B Sv) @ HOD 7 (Downs 3-2; Niedenfuer 3 H; Smith 1 B Sv) [11 Innings]
HRs: IND – Henderson (10), Bescher (14); HOD – Harris (4).
Box Score

Awards

The House of David’s Elrod Hendricks was named the WBL Player of the Week, hitting .474 with a whopping 5 homeruns during 19 at-bats over the past 7 games.

Performance

Some random statistical accomplishments …

The New York Black Yankees‘ Eric Davis leads the Power/Speed combos, with 30 homeruns and 57 steals. Five other players have at least 20 of each, with Brooklyn‘s Beals Becker (21 HRs and 42 SBs) being the next highest total.

Davis’ teammate Don Mattingly has 24 homers and only 26 strikeouts.

The New York Gothams‘ Jimmy Sheckard and Willie Davis of the Philadelphia Stars have yet to hit into a doubleplay.

The Chicago American Giants‘ Dick Allen is the only player in the league in double digits in doubles (21), triples (10), and homeruns (19).

Batters

Standard stuff: top 2 in all categories, leader in bold.

Babe Ruth of the New York Black Yankees has put some distance between the rest of the homerun hitters. He and the Los Angeles Angels‘ Doug Rader are the dominant offensive players, but Ruth is clearly the man.

Dick Allen (CAG). 303/371/538. 10 3B.
Johnny Bench (IND). 302/410/598. 5.4 WAR.
Ty Cobb (DET). 343/388/562.
Mike Fiore (HOM). 241/403/396. 89 BB.
Bobby Grich (LAA). 288/377/483. 40 2B.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 253/383/338. 80 SB.
Kent Hrbek (POR). 305/378/594. 34 HR.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 333/418/586. 92 R.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 327/444/605.
Willie Mays (NYG). 327/392/526. 147 H.
Stan Musial (KCM). 333/396/585. 40 2B.
Doug Rader (LAA). 340/393/553. 153 H, 115 RBI.
Tim Raines (OTT). 297/372/442. 78 SB.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 320/435/675. 39 HR, 108 RBI, 99 R, 87 BB, 6.7 WAR.
Louis Santop (CLE). 298/327/457. 11 3B.

Pitchers

Same as the batters: top 2 in all categories, leader in bold.

Starters

Pitchers keep passing up their opportunities to lead the league in wins: currently 3 are tied with 13 wins each. Jack Taylor of the House of David is emerging as perhaps the best starter in the league.

Bill Byrd (BAL). 12-3, 3.18.
Gerrit Cole (LAA). 13-6, 4.40.
Don Drysedale (BRK). 7-6, 3.59. 1.16 WHIP.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 11-7, 3.74. 169 Ks, 9.7 K/9.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 6-10, 4.67. 162 Ks, 9.2 K/9, 3.5 K/BB.
Luke Hamlin (KCM). 7-10, 4.99. 1.8 BB/9, 3.1 K/BB.
Pat Malone (CLE). 13-6, 3.89.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 13-7, 3.90.
Alejandro Peña (BBB). 10-7, 3.28. 4.8 WAR; 3.13 FIP.
Eddie Plank (SFS). 9-5, 4.08. 3.28 FIP.
Stephen Strasburg. 7-6, 3.26. 3.9 WAR.
Jack Taylor (HOD). 12-8, 2.98. 1.12 WHIP.
Cy Young (CLE). 9-7, 4.50. 1.8 BB/9.

Relievers

Relievers are weird, right? The Gothams’ Brian Wilson has been the most dominant. Baltimore‘s Sean Marshall will miss the rest of the season through injury, but may still end up leading the relievers in WHIP at the end of the season.

33 minimum IP for rate stats.

Terry Adams (CLE). 2-6, 3.26. 27 Sv; 1 H.
Watty Clark (BRK). 3-2, 1.82. 21 Sv. 1.01 WHIP.
Mike Henneman (DET). 1-5, 4.50. 32 Sv.
Sean Marshall (BAL). 5-0, 1.79. 1 Sv; 8H. 0.98 WHIP.
Mike Norris (NYG). 4-3, 1.47. 4 Sv; 12 H.
Ron Reed (PHI/CLE). 0-5, 4.12. 3 Sv; 16 H.
Ron Robinson (SFS). 5-3, 3.59. 1 Sv, 16 H.
Brian Wilson (NYG). 1-0, 1.02. 24 Sv.

Streaks

The king is dead! Long live the king! Boog Powell of the Kansas City Monarchs‘ has now reached base in 48 straight games, surpassing the Black Yankees’ Thurman Munson‘s mark of 43 games.

Ryne Sandberg‘s hitting streak ended at 22, tying him with Munson for 2nd place behind Ruth’s 23. During that streak, Sandberg scored in 15 straight games, setting the league record, but Ruth has scored in his last dozen contests, so we’ll see if he can reclaim that particular mark.

Baltimore’s Frank Robinson has hit a homerun in 4 consecutive games, 1 shy of the league record.

Two pitchers are threatening the Black Yankees’ Red Ruffing‘s league record of 24 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run. The House of David’s Jack Taylor has a 21 inning streak and Birmingham‘s Greg Maddux is at 20 innings.

Results

Series XXX Sweeps

Indianapolis ABCs over Portland Sea Dogs

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XXX

Baltimore over Memphis Red Sox
Detroit Wolverines over Philadelphia
Los Angeles over New York Gothams
New York Black Yankees over Miami Cuban Giants

Series Splits

Birmingham @ Kansas City
Brooklyn @ Ottawa Mounties
Cleveland Spiders @ Chicago
House of David @ Homestead Grays
Houston Colt 45s @ San Francisco Sea Lions

Series XXIX Featured Matchup: New York Black Yankees @ Baltimore Black Sox

By

On March 31, 2023

In Featured Series, Game Recaps

Series preview here.

#Game 1: Jamie Moyer @ Dennis Martínez

Dennis Martínez was solid, leading Baltimore to a 6-1 win in the opening game of the series.

Dan McGann put Baltimore on the board with a 2-run double in the bottom of the 1st. Babe Ruth went deep to cut the lead in half (and drive in his 100th run of the year), but Baltimore took hold of the game int he bottom of the 4th on a 3 run blast from the very unlikely source of Brian Roberts. Roberts would add another RBI, singling home Manny Machado in the bottom of the 6th, and that was that.

All 6 runs were charged to Jamie Moyer, who fell to 1-2.

Martínez moved to 12-7 on the season, allowing only the one run, despite giving up 6 hits and 5 walks in just short of 7 innings. But the Black Yankees couldn’t get the timely hit, and Buddy Groom and Gregg Olson were near-perfect in relief for Baltimore.

NYY 1 (Moyer 1-2) @ BBB 6 (Martínez 12-7)
HRs: NYY – Ruth (34); BBB – Roberts (1).
Box Score

Game 2: Red Ruffing @ Bill Byrd

Red Ruffing and Bill Byrd matched zeros frame for frame until, with 2 outs in the bottom of the 5th, Frank Robinson took Ruffing deep for a 3-0 Black Sox lead. Babe Ruth launched his 35th dinger of the year in the 6th, and Albert Belle sent one into the seats in the 7th, chasing Byrd and making it a 1 run game, 3-2.

Sean Marshall came in and was a little off, allowing 2 baserunners before having to leave injured. That brought in Don Bessent to face Ruth … who flew out to centerfield to end the inning.

A walk to Manny Machado and a double by Baby Doll Jacobson chased Ruffing, bringing in Dick Tidrow from the bullpen. Tidrow gave up a 2-run single to Larry Gardner, but escaped further damage leaving it 5-2 Baltimore.

Bessent gave up Lou Gehrig‘s 20th homerun of the year to lead off the 8th, followed by singles from Mickey Mantle and Mike Schmidt. Bessent retired Belle, but gave up a single to Tom Herr to load the bases. That brought in Johnny Sain from a beleaguered Black Sox bullpen.

Red Rolfe–hitting under .150 in the year–drove in 2 to tie the game and Munson singled to give New York their first lead of the game, 6-5 … and turn it over to the mightily struggling Black Yankees pen.

Gary Lavelle walked Dan McGann, but retired the side in order after that. Could the bullpen be on the verge of redemption? It seems so: Aroldis Chapman allowed a baserunner, but that was it, and New York had a come-from-behind victory.

NYY 6 (Tidrow 1-1; Chapman 2 Sv; Lavelle 1 H) @ BBB 5 (Bessent 1-5; Sain 1 BSv; Marshall 8 H)
HRs: NYY – Ruth (35), Belle (13), Gehrig (20; BBB – Robinson (26).
Box Score

#Game 3: Jack Scott @ Mike Mussina

Things were looking great for Baltimore, as an RBI single from Frank Robinson and a solo shot from Manny Machado gave them an early 2-0 lead, with Mike Mussina looking absolutely dominant through 4 innings. But then came the 5th. A walk, a HBP, and a single loaded the bases, but Mussina struck out Eric Davis for the first out. But Mussina was unable to do much else: Thurman Munson singled in 2 to tie the game, Babe Ruth singled to load the bases, Lou Gehrig walked in a run, and Mike Schmdit singled in 2 more. That was it for Mussina, and even though John Wetteland induced a double-play ball from Don Mattingly, the damage was done with New York now leading 5-2.

Dan McGann doubled in 2 runs in the bottom of the frame, making it a 5-4 game, but the Black Sox would get nothing else off the trio of Jack Scott, Gary Lavelle, and Goose Gossage. It wasn’t for lack of opportunity: New York pitchers walked 8, and the Black Sox left 11 on base.

The Black Yankees, meanwhile, would tack on via a 2-run double from Davis, Ruth’s 36th homerun of the season, and a single from Munson who, along with Tom Herr, ended the day with 3 base hits.

NYY 10 (Scott 11-5; Lavelle 2 H) @ BBB 4 (Mussina 4-3)
HRs: NYY – Ruth (36); BBB – Machado (4).
Box Score

Game 4: Waite Hoyt @ Connie Johnson

The Black Sox will turn to newcomer Connie Johnson as they try to salvage a split.

Babe Ruth, on fire this series, did it again in the top of the 3rd, sending a pitch from Johnson into the right field stands after walks to Tom Herr and Thurman Munson. That gave the Black Yankees a 4-0 lead.

Waite Hoyt needed double plays to get out of the 3rd and 4th, but he got them. Paul Blair put the Black Sox on the board in the 5th with a solo shot and, the following inning, Frank Robinson brought them to within 1 run with his 27th of the season.

A hit by Baby Doll Jacobson and a walk to Blair chased Hoyt from the game. Which means the New York bullpen had another chance to prove itself … Dick Tidrow gave up a single to tie the game.

A homerun from Ken Singleton gave Baltimore the lead in the bottom of the 8th. A perfect 9th from Don Bessent sealed the deal, earning the series split for Baltimore.

Larry Gardner had 3 hits for the Black Sox.

NYY 4 (Tidrow 1-2; 2 B Sv) @ BBB 5 (Wetteland 1-0; Bessent 17 Sv)
HRs: NYY – Ruth (37); BBB – Blair (9), Robinson (27), Singleton (16).
Box Score

Series XXIX Preview: New York Black Yankees @ Baltimore Black Sox

By

On March 28, 2023

In Featured Series, Series Previews

We’re in August, so we’re changing the rules; while we still plan to highlight as many teams in the league as we can, we’ll start to focus on matchups that have some additional interest (most likely on pennant races).

We’ve seen most teams thrice, with only Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Portland, and San Francisco featured only twice.

To kick it off, we’ll focus on the New York Black Yankees (who we saw in Series XI, XV, and XIX) visit to Baltimore to take on the Black Sox (who we featured in Series IX, XVI, and XXV).

The Black Yankees are 5.5 games behind in the Effa Manley Division, and the Black Sox have the best record in the WBL, with 66 wins, ahead of Chicago by 2 games in the Cumberland Posey Division.

#New York Black Yankees

A great offense, excellent starting pitching, and an incredibly poor bullpen. That’s the Black Yankees in a nutshell.

New York leads the WBL in runs scored, OPS, WAR, and homeruns, and it ain’t all because of Babe Ruth. Mickey Mantle leads the team with a .323 batting average, Ruth leads in virtually everything else.

Red Ruffing leads the staff in wins at 11-6 and in ERA at 3.88. But the staff is strong 1 through 4, and Jamie Moyer seems to have claimed the 5th spot. And then there’s the bullpen … the only hope for the Black Yankees is that the newcomers–Rheal Cormier, Dick Tidrow, and especially closer Aroldis Chapman–can address the team’s glaring weakness.

#Baltimore Black Sox

Baltimore’s staff is first in the league in runs against, both starting and relieving ERA, and the Black Sox lead in most fielding metrics. Dennis Martínez and Bill Byrd have 11 wins each, and both have ERAs under 3.50. There aren’t any weak spots here: reliever Sean Marshall is virtually unhittable, and Don Bessent–now the full time closer since Bob Miller‘s injury–has 16 saves. Joe Beggs has been a disappointment since his acquisition, but seems more likely to rebound than not.

It’s not like the Black Sox lack offense: Bobby Wallace and Larry Gardner are each hitting .309 with OBPs hovering around .400. Frank Robinson leads in HR (25) and RBI (79), trailing only Curt Blefary in OPS. The only offensive weak link–CF Paul Blair–provides gold glove defense and has improved from a miserable hitter to merely well below average.

#Projected Starters

New York listed first

Red Ruffing (11-6, 3.88) @ Dennis Martínez (11-7, 3.46)
Jamie Moyer (5-4, 4.06) @ Bill Byrd (11-3, 3.29)
Jack Scott (10-5, 4.38) @ Mike Mussina (4-2, 3.67)
Waite Hoyt (9-6, 4.07) @ Connie Johnson (5-5, 4.13)

#Prediction

The classic question: good hitting or good pitching? I’m going to side with the bats this time, not least of all because it would tighten up some good pennant races–Black Yankees take 3 of the 4.

TWIWBL 36.0: Series XXVIII Notes

By

On March 15, 2023

In TWIWBL

July 31

Awards Preview

We’re at the end of July, so let’s take a look at the front-runners for the major awards.

The Mel Trench Award (MVP)

I mean … look, Cleveland‘s Ron Blomberg (341/410/649; 32 HR) is a great story and the key to the Spiders’ offense. And Chicago‘s Eddie Collins (311/402/513; 43 SB) may be the best all-around player in the game–it’s him or his teammate Joe Jackson (337/423/585). And some of you will create convoluted definitions of “valuable” in support of Los Angeles‘ Doug Rader, the league RBI leader and (as of right now) the only player in triple digits or Portland‘s Kent Hrbek, who is now tied for the league league in HR with 33.

But it’s really all about the guy he’s tied with. Barring something quite surprising, the New York Black Yankees‘ Babe Ruth should take the inaugural Mel Trench Award. Ruth has led the league in HRs all season, in OPS most of the year, and is in the top few in almost every offensive category. He is, simply, the most devastating offensive force in the league.

The Brock Rutherford Award (Pitcher of the Year)

Portland’s Walter Johnson began the year as the favorite here, and was then overtaken by Los Angeles’ Gerrit Cole. But Cole has stalled a bit after rattling off 5 straight victories to improve his record to 11-3, going 1-3 over his last 9 starts, allowing the rest of the league to catch up.

And then there’s Baltimore‘s Ned Garvin, who looked to be the front-runner, posting a 9-4 record and an ERA well under 3. But Garvin is out for the rest of the season.

Cleveland’s Pat Malone and the New York Gotham‘s Christy Mathewson join Cole with 12 wins, and 7 pitchers have 11. So if one of those go on a streak, they have to be considered favorites. But I would put forth three other names: Birmingham‘s Alejandro Peña has been the statistical front-runner, with an over 1 point of WAR edge on Johnson and leads the league in FIP. Peña was considered a bit of a joke when the Black Barons were buried in the standings; now that they are challenging for a playoff spot, he merits serious consideration. Jack Taylor of the House of David is posting an actual ERA at about the same level as Peña’s FIP, leading the league in both that and WHIP.

And if I had to vote, I would vote for Baltimore’s Bill Byrd, who has sat on the leaderboards all season, quietly and consistently anchoring the best staff in the league. Byrd is 11-3, with a 3.29 ERA, not league-leading, but among the leaders.

The Phineas Flint Award (Reliver of the Year)

Another award that has been greatly impacted by injury, as Portland’s Johan Santana was the clear leader here. But he’s been surpassed, and the award probably has to go to Detroit’s Mike Henneman, the league leader in saves with 30, 5 more than Cleveland’s Terry Adams.

The only other argument right now is, I think, the Gothams’ Brian Wilson, who has 22 saves and a microscopic 1.08 ERA.

Ron Reed was making a case as an all-purpose reliever, but while he still leads the league in holds, he has struggled enough since his trade to Cleveland to fall out of contention. If anyone in that category should be in the conversation at this point, it’s the Gothams’ Mike Norris.

Silver Sticks

C: Johnny Bench (IND). 308/414/602.
1B: Kent Hrbek (POR). 304/378/598.
2B: Eddie Collins (CAG). 311/402/513.
3B: Dick Allen (CAG). 315/381/548.
SS: Bobby Wallace (BAL). 309/408/441.
OF: Babe Ruth (NYY). 315/433/645.
OF: Eric Davis (NYY). 277/354/539.
OF: Willie Mays (NYG). 324/387526.

Predictably, the OF spots are the most contentious, with Joe Jackson, Reggie Jackson, and a half-dozen others not sharing the same last name all making arguments as well.

Performance

Batters

Usual stuff: top 2 in each category, leaders in bold.

Dick Allen (CAG). 315/381/548. 10 3B.
Ron Blomberg (CLE). 341/410/649. 138 H.
Rico Carty (PHI). 289/359/469. 37 2B.
Ty Cobb (DET). 345/390/562.
Eric Davis (NYY). 277/354/539. 5.3 WAR.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 257/390/338. 81 BB, 77 SB.
Kent Hrbek (POR). 304/378/598. 33 HR.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 337/423/585. 85 R.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 331/445/610.
Stan Musial (KCM). 333/395/595. 39 2B.
Doug Rader (LAA). 333/387/544. 139 H, 104 RBI.
Tim Raines (OTT). 299/373/451. 72 SB.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 315/433/645. 33 HR, 99 RBI, 90 R, 83 BB, 5.8 WAR.
Louis Santop (CLE). 305/337/473. 11 3B.

Pitchers

Starters

Top 2 in each category, leaders in bold.

Bill Byrd (BAL). 11-3, 3.29.
Gerrit Cole (LAA). 12-6, 4.39.
Don Drysedale (BRK). 7-5, 3.48. 1.16 WHIP.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 11-7, 3.84. 162 K.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 6-9, 4.56. 159 K.
Walter Johnson (POR). 10-4, 3.79. 3.4 WAR.
Pat Malone (CLE). 12-5, 3.84.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 12-6, 3.70.
Alejandro Peña (BBB). 9-7, 3.44. 4.5 WAR, 3.17 FIP.
Eddie Plank (SFS). 8-5, 4.06. 3.41 FIP.
Jack Taylor (HOD). 11-8, 3.15, 1.15 WHIP.

Relievers

30 IP for rate stats.

Terry Adams (CLE). 2-6, 3.44. 25 Sv, 1H.
Mike Henneman (DET). 1-4, 3.71. 30 Sv.
Ken Howell (SFS). 3-4, 2.15. 4 Sv, 8 H. 0.99 WHIP.
Sean Marshall (BAL). 5-0, 1.81. 1 Sv, 7 H. 0.95 WHIP.
Mike Norris (NYG). 4-3, 1.57. 4 Sv, 10 H.
Ron Reed (PHI/CLE). 0-5, 3.82. 3 Sv, 16 H.
Ron Robinson (SFS). 4-3, 3.54. 1 Sv, 15 H.
Brian Wilson (NYG). 1-0, 1.08. 22 Sv.

Awards

The Gothams’ Joe Adcock showed that 38 year olds can still hit, winning the Batsman of the Week Award by going 12-for-27 with 4 homeruns.

Streaks

Ryne Sandberg of the House of David has an 18 game hitting streak, and has scored in 10 straight games (1 off the league record).

Kansas City‘s Boog Powell is now only 2 games behind Thurman Munson‘s record 43 game on-base streak.

Series Results

Series XXVIII Sweeps

Baltimore over San Francisco

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XXVIII

Birmingham over Ottawa
House of David over Brooklyn
Cleveland over Kansas City
Detroit over Houston
Homestead over Indianapolis

Series XXVIII Splits

New York Gothams @ New York Black Yankees
Chicago @ Memphis
Los Angeles @ Portland
Miami @ Philadelphia

TWIWBL 34.0: Series XXVII Notes

By

On February 27, 2023

In TWIWBL

July 27th

Let’s Talk About D, Baby

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.

IPTCERTO%cERAFRM
C. Blefary (BAL)5994011129.44.08-1.2
J. Gibson (HOM)7185591427.25.771.5
T. Munson (NYY)765719533.04.72-1.3
L. Santop (CLE)624542232.64.202.7
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.

IPTCEPCTRNGZR
Will Clark (MCG)7918185.9949.253.3
Ted Kluszewski (PHI)6767113.9969.431.0
Dan McGann (BAL)7498545.99410.202.5
Bill White (MEM)7888144.9959.251.8
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.

IPTCEPCTRNGZR
Jimmy Bloodworth (SFS)7534233.9935.023.7
Eddie Collins (CAG)7153905.9874.855.5
Chuck Knoblauch (CLE)8014263.9934.75-1.8
Cookie Rojas (NYG)7033693.9924.686.5
Ryne Sandberg (HOD)8505247.9875.480.8
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.

IPTCEPCTRNGZR
Ron Cey (BRK)8082216.9732.395.4
Anthony Rendon (OTT)8532667.9742.731.8
Scott Rolen (PHI)8132405.9792.608.5
Mike Schmidt (NYY)6771933.9842.536.3
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.

IPTCEPCTRNGZR
George Davis (DET)85547912.9754.9113.0
Mickey Doolin (PHI)5973435.9855.108.0
Ozzie Smith (KCM)8684675.9894.7912.5
Arky Vaughan (HOM)8845205.9905.2410.1
George Wright (LAA)7544112.9954.889.8
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.

IPTCAEPCTRNGZR
Phil Bradley (OTT)552121601.0001.97-1.9
Don Buford (LAA)62914463.9792.021.0
Oscar Gamble (DET)535118201.0001.991.5
Rickey Henderson (SFS)68917353.9832.222.7
Rick Reichardt (HOM)799211102.9912.35-1.2
Jimmy Sheckard (NYG)86520754.9812.112.6
Roy White (BRK)865204201.0002.126.7
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.

IPTCAEPCTRNGZR
Paul Blair (BAL)801303801.0003.409.0
Willie Davis (PHI)78132372.9943.705.2
Curtis Granderson (BBB)631247103.9883.486.4
Willie Mays (NYG)899381152.9953.797.7
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.

IPTCAEPCTRNGZR
Johnny Callison (NYG)67118181.9942.416.2
Roberto Clemente (HOM)74719442.9902.316.2
Dan Ford (HOD)54216054.9752.591.2
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.

IPTCRNGZRRTO%
Jerry Koosman (POR)119120.832.246
Dutch Leonard (BRK)139181.172.467
Gaylord Perry (NYG)117271.92-0.521
Eddie Plank (SFS)116130.931.864
Jack Taylor (HOD)142211.262.556
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 GloveSilver Glove
CLouis Santop (CLE)Thurman Munson (NYY)
1BWill Clark (MCG)Dan McGann (BAL)
2BCookie Rojas (NYG)Ryne Sandberg (HOD)
3BScott Rolen (PHI)Mike Schmidt (NYY)
SSGeorge Wright (LAA)Ozzie Smith (KCM)
LFRoy White (BRK)Rick Reichardt (HOM)
CFWillie Mays (NYG)Paul Blair (BAL)
RFJohnny Callison (NYG)Roberto Clemente (HOM)
SPJack 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

TWIWBL 33.0: Series XXVI Notes

By

On February 14, 2023

In TWIWBL

July 22

We are one series away from the trading deadline, so it seemed a good moment to check in on what teams may be doing what on the 27th.

Sellers

You never know what deals may emerge, but here are some veterans and/or players not looking to resign with their current teams that may be on the move. Probably the biggest change here are the Philadelphia Stars and the Kansas City Monarchs both seeming now to fall firmly in this category.

  • IF: Jose Reyes (LAA), Claude Ritchey (MEM)
  • OF: Rico Carty (PHI), Gavvy Cravath (PHI), Buck Freeman (PHI), Dave Henderson (IND)
  • SP: Luke Hamlin (KCM), Connie Johnson (KCM), Andy Pettitte (KCM).
  • RP: Rheal Cormier (PHI), Bob Howry (PHI), Michael Jackson (HOM), Josh Lindblom (HOM), Mike Norris (SFS), Jonathan Papelbon (MEM)

Buyers

Each of the four divisions can be seen as a two-team race at this point, so we’ll look at each in turn, looking at both the teams we’re assuming are selling and those that are looking to offload some talent.

Bill James Division

The Detroit Wolverines and the New York Gothams are neck and neck. Detroit could use help in the bullpen, while New York is (like many teams) looking for rotation help, and perhaps an infield upgrade.

Cum Posey Division

The Baltimore Black Sox retain the best record in the league, but it’s getting closer. The Chicago American Giants are only 2 games back, and with Baltimore’s Brock Rutherford Award favorite Ned Garvin out for the year, there does seem to be an opportunity to reel the Black Sox back to the pack. In addition to a replacement for Garvin, Baltimore could use a little more depth, especially on the IF. Chicago’s offense is pretty much set but could also be in the market for rotation help.

Effa Manley Divison

The surprise continues: the Cleveland Spiders are starting to show some distance between them and the second place New York Black Yankees. The Spiders could use an upgrade on the left side of the infield while the Black Yankees are clearly in desperate need of bullpen help–to the point where they are almost certain to be willing to overpay.

Marvin Miller Division

The shocking rise of the Birmingham Black Barons continue, with the Portland Sea Dogs only 3.5 games ahead at this point. Birmingham needs to be careful: they were never supposed to be here and need to be aware of disturbing their current balance. Still, they could use offensive help, especially at C and SS. Portland would love to improve its bench.

Performance

Some things of note:

  • Los Angeles‘ Doug Rader is the first to triple digits, surpassing 100 RBI’s on the year this series.
  • Stan Musial (Kansas City) and Babe Ruth (NYY) remain the only batters leading the league in more than a single category.

Batters

Top 2, league leaders bold as usual.

Dick Allen (CAG). 308/374/547. 10 3B.
Rico Carty (PHI). 285/356/453. 34 2B.
Ty Cobb (DET). 351/393/572.
Eric Davis (NYY). 278/348/542. 4.7 WAR.
Mike Epstein (HOM). 330/4334/532.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 251/386/338. 75 BB, 70 SB.
Kent Hrbek (POR). 311/380/609. 31 HR.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 337/419/587. 78 R.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 331/445/610.
Stan Musial (KCM). 338/394/601. 132 H, 37 2B.
Doug Rader (LAA). 332/389/545. 130 H, 100 RBI.
Tim Raines (OTT). 293/365/440. 71 SB.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 314/428/643. 31 HR, 93 RBI, 83 R, 75 BB, 5.5 WAR.
Louis Santop (CLE). 306/337/466. 10 3B.

Some of the less positive leaders:

SO: Willie Stargell (HOM), 146.
GIDP: Wade Boggs (MEM), 20.
CS: Reggie Jackson (SFS), 23.

Pitchers

Top 2 in each category, other than wins. There are 5 pitchers with 11 wins behind Gerrit Cole (LAA), but only Bill Byrd (BAL) is listed here, due to his WHIP.

Garvin does not have enough IP to hold onto the ERA crown as the season progresses.

Starters

Bill Byrd (BAL). 11-2, 3.09. 1.17 WHIP.
Gerrit Cole (LAA). 12-4, 4.24.
Don Drysedale (7-3), 1.15 WHIP.
Ned Garvin (BAL). 9-4, 2.80.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 10-7, 3.83, 158 K.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 5-9, 4.38. 149 K.
Walter Johnson (POR). 10-3, 3.65. 3.3 WAR.
Frank Knauss (BRK). 10-4, 3.07.
Alejandro Peña (BBB). 9-6, 3.45. 3.9 WAR.

Relievers

25 IP minimum for rate stats.

Terry Adams (CLE). 1-5, 3.24. 23 Sv, 1 H.
Mike Henneman (DET). 1-4, 3.48. 27 Sv.
Ken Howell (SFS). 3-4, 2.06. 4 Sv, 7 H, 0.98 WHIP.
AJ Minter (CAG). 1-0, 2.13. 19 Sv, 0.83 WHIP.
Mike Norris (SFS). 3-3, 1.71. 3 Sv, 10 H.
Ron Reed (PHI/CLE). 0-4, 2.90. 3 Sv, 16 H.
Ron Robinson (SFS). 4-3, 3.86. 13 H.
Jonny Venters (LAA). 3-3, 3.32. 5 Sv, 13 H.
Brian Wilson (SFS). 1-0, 1.11. 21 Sv.

Series Results

Series XXVI Sweeps

Homestead Grays over Los Angeles

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XXVI

Detroit over Baltimore
Chicago over San Francisco Sea Lions
Kansas City over Memphis
Portland over New York Black Yankees

Splitting Series XXVI

Brooklyn Royal Giants @ Birmingham
Cleveland @ Ottawa Mounties
Miami Cuban Giants @ Houston Colt 45’s

Incomplete Series

Indianapolis ABC’s took 2 of 3 from the Wandering House of David
New York Gothams took 2 of 3 from the Philadelphia Stars

In both cases, the final game was rescheduled due to rainouts for 7/27.

TWIWBL 32.0: Series XXV Notes

By

On February 1, 2023

In TWIWBL

July 19th

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

Biggest Surprise

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Second Biggest Surprise

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

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

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

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

Performance

Awards

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

Player of the Month

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

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

Player of the Week

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

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

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

Batters

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

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

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

Pitchers

Starters

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

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

Relievers

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

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

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

Streaks

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

Series Results

Series XXV Sweeps

Birmingham over Indianapolis

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XXV

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

Series XXV Splits

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

Series XXV Featured Matchup: Houston Colt 45s @ Baltimore Black Sox

By

On January 31, 2023

In Featured Series, Series Previews

Series preview here.

#Game 1: Roger Clemens @ Ned Garvin

Ned Garvin–probably the best hurler in the league so far–opens the series for Baltimore, with Houston countering with All Star break acquisition Roger Clemens.

Ken Singleton would take Clemens deep for a 2-run shot in the bottom of the 2nd for an early Black Sox lead, but Houston got one back on an RBI double from Jim Wynn, scoring Lance Blankenship, in the top of the 3rd.

Singleton and Bryce Harper would add RBI singles, but again Wynn would get something back for the Colt 45s with another double. An error by Bobby Wallace allowed Wynn to score, leaving Baltimore with a 1 run lead, 4-3.

Clemens wouldn’t make it out of the 5th as a double by Larry Gardner was followed by a balk and walks to Curt Blefary and Dan McGann, bringing Mark Melancon into the game with the bases loaded and 1 out. Manny Machado would deliver a double, extending the lead to 7-3 before Melancon could get out of the inning.

Frank Robinson would add 2 homeruns and, although Wynn would tie the league record with 3 doubles, Houston would never really threaten.

HOU 5 (Clemens 2-8) @ BAL 10 (Garvin 9-3; Beggs 11 Sv)
HRs: BAL – Singleton (11), Robinson 2 (22).
Box Score

Game #2: Roy Oswalt @ Dennis Martínez

Houston would score first, as an RBI groundout by Tony Gwynn scored Andrés Galarraga in the top of the 2nd. Dennis Martínez would load the bases (with one coming on a strikeout victim reaching on a passed ball) and give up a sacrifice fly, but that was it as the Colt 45s moved ahead, 2-0.

An RBI groundout by Carlos Correa would up it to 3-0. Meanwhile, Houston’s ace, Roy Oswalt, was sailing along with a 1-hit shutout through 5 innings. The shutout would be broken up by an RBI single from Curt Blefary in the 6th, but young phenom Pete Hill made a magnificent catch in deep CF to end the threat, leaving the score 3-1.

A double by Baby Doll Jacobson chased Oswalt from the mound in the bottom of the 6th. Luke Gregerson walked 2 and let a run score on a wild pitch, but still left with the lead, 3-2 in favor of Houston.

Correa took Jim Palmer deep with a 3 run shot in the top of the 8th, giving Houston a little additional cushion at 6-2. Jacobson would drive in a run int he 8th, but Houston’s closer, Billy Wagner, would come on to shut the door in the 9th.

HOU 6 (Oswalt 8-6; Wagner 13 Sv; Gregerson 3 H) @ BAL 3 (Martínez 10-6)
HRs: HOU – Correa (7).
Box Score

#Game 3: Toad Ramsey @ Bill Byrd

This one was a pitchers’ duel early, with Toad Ramsey and Bill Byrd essentially matching each other frame for frame. Baltimore scored twice in the bottom of the 4th on two walks, a wild pitch by Ramsey, and a 2-run single from Manny Machado, but that was it for either team until the top of the 7th.

Byrd entered the inning having allowed no runs and only 2 hits, but surrendered a leadoff single to Jeff Bagwell. George Brett reached on an error, and Andrés Galarraga scored Houston’s first run with a double. Byrd walked Carlos Correa, and the Black Sox went to their bullpen for Sean Marshall who promptly struck out Gentleman Jim O’Rourke and Craig Biggio. But Jim Wynn was able to–just barely–beat out an infield single, scoring Brett and tying the game at 2.

A leadoff single by Bobby Wallace in the bottom of the 8th chased Ramsey from the game. Trevor Hoffman was unable to preserve his good work, surrendering a 2-run shot to Ken Singleton, giving Baltimore the lead, 4-2, heading to the top of the 9th.

Bob Miller of the Black Sox pitched a perfect 9th for the save, with Marshall getting the win. Ramsey was the hard luck loser, despite only allowing 3 hits in 7 innings.

After the game, Houston placed Andrew Chafin on the 60-Day DL with a torn labrum, recalling Brad Lidge, who was strong at AAA after a horrible start in the WBL earlier in the season.

HOU 2 (Ramsey 8-10) @ BAL 4 (Marshall 4-0, 2 BSv; Miller 7 Sv)
HRs: BAL – Singleton (12).
Box Score

#Game 4: Bones Ely @ Johnny Sain

Houston will try to escape with a split by sending Bones Ely–a new addition to their staff–up against the weakest arm in Baltimore’s impressive rotation, Johnny Sain. Sain is pitching for his rotation spot, as Jim Palmer is making a strong argument to replace him.

Pete Hill put the Colt 45’s in front 1-0 in the top of the 5th with his 3rd homerun of the year. Jorge Posada added a 2-run shot, making it 3-0 in favor of Houston. Baltimore would finally get on the board in the bottom of the 6th when Larry Gardner–who tripled to lead off the inning–scored on a groundout by Baby Doll Jacobson.

A triple by Bryce Harper and a walk to Frank Robinson chased Ely from the game, bringing in Mark Melancon, who promptly surrendered an RBI single to Curt Blefary. Posada let a ball skip through his legs, scoring Robinson and tying the game at 4.

The lead was short-lived: Andrés Galarraga greeted Joe Beggs with a moonshot into the left field seats and a 5-4 edge for Houston. Houston would score another run on a Tony Gwynn sacrifice fly, giving the Colt 45s a 6-4 edge heading to the bottom of the 8th.

Houston brought in Brad Lidge, who delivered a scoreless inning, something he was unable to do when he started the year as Houston’s closer. His replacement in that role, Billy Wagner, pitched a perfect ninth, giving us a series split. Melancon continued his life as a vulture, improving to 9-2 out of the pen on the season.

HOU 4 (Melancon 9-2, 2 BSv; Wagner 14 Sv; Lidge 1 H) @ BAL 2 (Beggs 1-3)
HRs: HOU – Hill (3), Posada (5), Galarraga (3).
Box Score

Series XXV Preview: Houston Colt 45’s @ Baltimore Black Sox

By

On January 24, 2023

In Featured Series, Series Previews

Two teams in the same division make for an intriguing mid-season matchup.

The Baltimore Black Sox, who we saw in Series IX and XVI, have the best record in the league, led by a stellar pitching staff and a solid top-to-bottom offense, and lead the Cum Posey Division by 5 games. The Houston Colt’45‘s sit in 3rd place, 9 games back and 2 games over .500. We kicked the season off with Houston in Series I and saw them again in Series XIII.

#Baltimore Black Sox

The dominant story for the Black Sox is on the mound, where Ned Garvin (8-3 with a league leading 2.64 ERA), Bill Byrd (10-2, 3.20), and Dennis Martínez (10-5, 3.52) form the best trio in the league. Add in the emergence of Mike Mussina (3-1, 2.97) and the Black Sox starting rotation is unrivaled int he WBL. The Don Bessent / Bob Miller closer duo remains in place, with the 2 combining for 20 saves, but the key is the trio of Sean Marshall, all-star acquisition Joe Beggs, and Buddy Groom getting them the ball.

Offensively, the team is just solid top to bottom. Curt Blefary (265/383/541) leads the team with 21 HR and a 925 OPS, but the offense really revolves around Frank Robinson (298/367/501) who trails Blefary by 1 HR and whose 67 RBIs leads him by 7. Larry Gardner and Bobby Wallace both sport OBPs over .400, and Dan McGann, Ken Singleton, and Manny Machado (picked up via a midseason trade) each are in double digits in HRs.

#Houston Colt 45’s

The Colt 45’s are intriguing. They have a lot of talent, are the most flexible team in the league (in terms of players able to handle multiple defensive positions), and can’t hit homeruns to save their life.

Their starting pitching has been good, if a bit uneven, a situation exacerbated with Bret Saberhagen out for the rest of the year and Stephen Strasburg unavailable for at least a start. The back of the rotation is improving, as mid-season acquisition Roger Clemens has pitched better for Houston than he did for Memphis, and Bones Ely looks to have staked claim to the final rotation spot.

Offensively there are a lot of nice pieces, but, across the board, not enough power. Jim Wynn leads the team in HR and SLG (13 and .453) and Jeff Bagwell (272/364/418) is the only other regular in double digit homeruns with 10. Andrés Galarraga and teen phenom Pete Hill have shown more pop in limited appearances.

#Predictions

I have a soft spot for this Houston team, but facts is facts: Baltimore is better. I’d love to see a Colt 45’s sweep to tighten up the playoff race, but I think the Black Sox take 3 out of 4.

TWIWBL 31.2: Series XXIV Notes – Cum Posey Division

By

On January 17, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Baltimore Black Sox

Bill Byrd improved to 10-2 on the year, allowing 1 run in 6 innings in a 6-5 win over Miami. Bryce Harper had 3 hits for Baltimore, and the bullpen did barely enough to hold onto the victory.

Dennis Martínez joined Byrd as a 10 game winner, carrying a no-hitter through 6 innings in an 8-2 victory. Bobby Wallace had 3 hits and Frank Robinson drove in 3 runs for the Black Sox.

Looking to strengthen their bench, the Black Sox recalled Brooks Robinson from AAA, where he seems to have found his stroke, sending Cal Ripken, Jr. down.

#Chicago American Giants

Chicago pounded out 20 hits and 15 runs in demolishing Detroit, 15-1. Dick Allen, Duffy Lewis, Magglio Ordóñez, and Cristóbal Torriente each had 3 hits, with Ordóñez scoring 3 times and Allen driving in 5 (4 coming on a grandslam). Mike Fiore had 2 homeruns, and Jack Doyle went deep as well. Dick Rudolph went to 3-1 on the year with a strong 6 innings before exiting the game after a short rain delay.

Hoyt Wilhelm hurt his thumb and will be out for at least 10 days, with Scott Radinsky recalled to take his place.

#Houston Colt 45’s

With Bret Saberhagen out for the year, Bones Ely moves into the starting rotation for Houston.

#Kansas City Monarchs

With their season plummeting, the Monarchs sent Rube Marquard to AAA. Bob Gibson–11 years Marquard’s junior–comes up from St. Louis and replaces him in the rotation.

#Ottawa Mounties

The struggle continues … Greg Holland and Clark Griffith head to AAA, with Clayton Richard coming back from a rehab assignment and Steve Howe returning from Montréal. Richard rejoins the rotation, which remains a bit of a mess overall. Ryan Dempster has been officially named the Mounties’ closer.

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