Tag: Bob Howry Page 3 of 5

TWIWBL 21.1: NL All Star Selections

On January 26, 2022

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 Matchup: Philadelphia Stars @ Indianapolis ABC’s

By mknn

On January 21, 2022

In Featured Series, Game Recaps

Series preview here.

#Game One: Robin Roberts @ David Price

Philadelphia’s Robin Roberts is pitching for his roster spot, coming into the game at 4-5 (not bad) with a 6.69 ERA (very bad).

Indianapolis’ David Price‘s first pitch was sent into the seats by Willie Davis for his 12th homerun of the year and extending his hitting streak to 15 games. Despite loading the bases, Roberts escaped the bottom of the first, leaving the score 1-0 in favor of the Stars after 1 inning.

Sherry Magee launched a fastball from Price into the left field seats in the top of the 4th extending the lead to 3-0. Roberts allowed at least one base-runner in each inning, but had a 4-hit shutout through 5 innings.

Price was chased from the game when he gave up his third homerun of the day, another 2-run shot, this one by George Hendrick for a 5-0 lead for Philadelphia.

Roberts ran out of gas in the 6th, giving up a run on a double by Hal Morris, but got out of the inning without further damage. Larry Jackson replaced him in the bottom of the 7th, trying to preserve the 5-1 lead.

The ABC’s loaded the bases in the bottom of the 9th, but Jackson closed it out, and you have to imagine this performance keeps Roberts around a little longer.

Stars 7 (Roberts 5-5; Jackson 1 Sv) @ ABC’s 1 (Price 3-5)
HRs: PHI – Davis (12), Magee (5), Hendrick (8).
Box Score

#Game Two: Steve Carlton @ Rube Foster

Steve Carlton makes his return from the DL for the Stars in this one. He looked incredibly sharp, fanning four in 2 innings, until in the bottom of the 3rd, Edd Roush tripled home Joe Morgan to put Indianapolis up, 1-0. That was all Carlton gave up in his 5 innings of work, but Rube Foster was even better, allowing only 1 hit over that span.

Willie Davis would extend his hitting streak with a bloop double in the top of the 6th, and Sherm Lollar would plate the tying run with a single, scoring Mickey Doolin.

It stayed 1-1 from then on. With 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th, Ernie Lombardi singled, putting the winning run on first. Barry Larkin ran for the Schnozz, and Dave Henderson pinch hit for Davey Concepcíon, trying to win it for the ABC’s. Henderson delivered, with a hit through the right side moving Larkin to 3rd, bringing up the struggling Ed Charles. Dennis Menke pinch hit for Charles, but whiffed on a nice curveball from Rheal Cormier, sending us to extra innings in the rain.

The 9th was hard on Indianapolis in terms of their defense: the elected to surrender the DH, allowing Larkin to take the field.

Scott Rolen led off the top of the 12th with a double against Rob Dibble, who then walked Ted Kluszewski. Both runners advanced on a sacrifice from Buck Freeman, but Hendrick plated both runners with a base hit. Kluszewski was hurt on the slide, so the Stars went to the bottom of the 12th with Rolen in right and J.M. Ward at the hot corner.

Bob Howry gave up a hit to Bob Bescher and then a double to Morgan, putting the tying run on second with one out. Don Carman came in for Howry, and promptly balked in a run. But Carman was able to retire Edd Roush and Johnny Bench, ending a good game in the Stars’ favor.

Stars 3 (Howry 2-3; Carman 1 Sv) @ ABC’s 2 (Dibble 2-3)
HRs: None.
Box Score

#Game Three: Ray Collins @ Doc White

Indianapolis will try to get their first win of the season behind one of the hottest pitchers in the leagues, lefty Doc White. The Stars will counter with probably their most dependable arm so far this season, the 6-4 Ray Collins.

Two groundouts led to a run for Philadelphia in the top of the 2nd, with Buck Freeman scoring Scott Rolen, who had singled to leadoff the inning, giving the Stars an early 1-0 lead.

The ABC’s took the lead in the bottom of the frame, on RBIs from Barry Larkin (a groundout) and Bob Bescher (a single), making it 2-1 in favor of Indianapolis. The bottom of the ABC’s lineup added to the lead the next inning, with a double from Ernie Lombardi, and singles from Larkin, Bescher, and Ed Charles make it 6-1.

A leadoff single from Johnny Bench and a walk to Oscar Charleston chased Collins from the game, with the Stars bringing in Don Carman in a game that was quickly getting out of reach.

Meanwhile, White continued to pitch brilliantly, giving up only the 2 hits and 1 run through 5 innings. Sherry Magee would lead off the 6th with a homerun, but any immediate hopes of a Stars’ comeback were put to rest with a 2 run shot from Lombardi in the bottom of the frame.

White would leave the game after walking in a run in the 7th, but Willie Mitchell got Rico Carty to fly out to end the inning, leaving the score at 8-3, Indianapolis, which is how the contest would end.

Lombardi had 3 hits, 3 RBIs, and scored 3 times for the ABC’s, as they closed within a win of a series split.

PHI 3 (Collins 6-5) @ IND 8 (White 3-1; Mitchell 1 Sv)
HRs: PHI – Magee (6); IND – Lombardi (6)
Box Score

Game #4: John Montgomery Ward @ Dolf Luque

The ABC’s will look to Dolf Luque to manage a series split, while the Stars will counter with J.M. Ward. Both hurlers have been throwing excellently of late, so the potential for a well thrown game is there.

Indianapolis would score first, with Johnny Bench driving in Bob Bescher with a double in the bottom of the first. Meanwhile, Luque didn’t allow his first hit until José Ramírez singled to lead off the top of the fourth. In the bottom of that inning, Hal Morris blasted a 3-run homerun to increase the lead to 4-0.

With two outs in the 5th, Luque walked Mike Scioscia and gave up a double to Chase Utley, but Mickey Doolin struck out to end the inning and preserve the shutout.

Ward would escape a bases-loaded jam in the 5th, surrendering only 1 run to make it 5-0.

Bill Laskey relieved Ward, and promptly let the game get further out of hand, giving up Morris’ second longball of the game, another flurry of hits, and a homerun to Bench, making it 11-0.

That left the only suspense as whether Luque could complete the shutout. He had a 4-hitter through 8, but had thrown 124 pitches when he took the mound for the 9th. Doubles by Buck Freeman and pinch-hitter George Hendrick would end the shutout and Luque’s day.

Morris, Bench, and Oscar Charleston each had 3 hits for Indianpolis, combining for 8 runs scored, 10 RBIs, and 3 homeruns.

PHI 1 (Ward 3-4) @ IND 16 (Luque 6-5)
HRs: IND – Morris 2 (9), Bench (15), Charles (3)
Box Score

Series Stats

The blowout at the end skews a lot of the offensive numbers for Indianapolis, who were led by Hal Morris, who went 7-for-16 and Bob Bescher’s 6 hits.

For Philadelphia, George Hendrick was 5-for-14 and Willie Davis 6-for-18 to lead the offense.

Series XVIII Preview: Philadelphia Stars @ Indianapolis ABC’s

By mknn

On January 18, 2022

In Featured Series, Series Previews

We first met the Philadelphia Stars in Series VI and the Indianapolis ABC’s in Series X. Each team is struggling a bit, but each has the potential to make a move in the second half of the season.

#Philadelphia Stars

The Stars are 2 games under .500, sitting at 34-36, 7 games behind the New York Black Yankees in the Effa Manley Division.

They’ve actually played worse than that, and are outperforming their projections by four games–the most in the league. This is borne out in their stats: this is a below average team in everything except fielding and, perhaps, homerun power.

The real problem is that the Stars lack stars. To wit: no Star batter has an OPS over .900, but 6 of them are contributing solidly in the .800’s. This wasn’t always the case, but Rico Carty has hit a cold spot, with only 1 hit in his last 20 at-bats, dropping his slash line to 296/360/483. Not bad, but not where he was.

Still, the top four of the Stars’ lineup–Carty, Willie Davis, Gavvy Cravath, and Scott Rolen–are certainly good enough to play on a contender. Davis is tied with Ted Kluszewski for the team homerun lead with 11, Cravath leads the team in RBI with 38. The middle infield remains a bit of a mess for Philadelphia, with Mickey Doolin‘s sub .600 OPS causing him to lose playing time to José Ramírez at SS and 2B Chase Utley continuing to struggle after a hot start to the season.

The only regular member of the rotation with a winning record is Ray Collins, who has been pretty spectacular with a 3.44 ERA but only a 6-4 record. Jaret Wright has been surprisingly good (3-3, 3.83 ERA), and Larry Jackson (3-2, 4.06 ERA) has shown some promise. But Robin Roberts is on the verge of being sent to AAA, as is Don Carman, and Steve Carlton has just returned from injury. All that mediocrity is offset by the back end of the bullpen, which has been among the league’s best, with Ron Reed serving as a fantastic setup man for Bob Howry, who has 16 saves despite an ERA just over 5.00.

#Indianapolis ABC’s

The ABC’s are 1.5 games behind Philadelphia, but are roughly the same offensively, and a notch better on the mound … go figure.

C Johnny Bench is clearly their best player, slashing 289/399/569 while leading the team in homeruns (14) and RBIs (38). But CF Edd Roush–who moved into the starting lineup a few weeks ago–has an OPS pushing .900 and both IF Dennis Menke and young OF Oscar Charleston are solid contributors.

The challenge is at the other end. SS Davey Concepción has barely nudged his OPS over .600, 3B Ed Charles is on a cold streak that has seen his productivity plummet, and while Bob Bescher has stolen 23 bases, he offers little else.

Joe Morgan‘s return from injury offers some help, but it feels like the ABC’s really need to turn over more of their lineup to make a move.

The ABC’s’ pitching has been solid across the board, but one of the established starters (Johnny Cueto, Dolf Luque, and Rube Foster) really need to step up. Cueto is the only one of those three with a winning record at 6-4, but Luque and Foster have probably pitched better. If that happens–and if either Doc White (having just moved into the rotation with a 2.79 ERA) or Willie Mitchell (1.19 ERA in mostly relief work) can successfully step into the rotation–the ABC’s have a shot. The back end of the bullpen has been solid, with Rob Dibble leading the way with 12 saves.

#Series Matchups

Philadelphia starter listed first.

Robin Roberts (4-5, 6.69) @ David Price (3-4, 4.10)
Ray Collins (6-4, 3.44) @ Rube Foster (4-4, 4.11)
J.M. Ward (3-4, 5.02) @ Doc White (2-1, 2.79)
Jaret Wright (3-3, 3.83) @ Dolf Luque (5-5, 4.10)

#Series Prediction

Lessee … I think Roberts struggles again, earning a ticket to AAA, and the Stars win the other 3 games, taking the series, 3-1.

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

TWIWBL Special Edition: All Star Preview II – NL Relievers

By mknn

On September 28, 2021

In All Star Games

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

Preview I here, which selected Johan Santana, Terry Adams, Aroldis Chapman, Rheal Cormier, and Rob Dibble.

Portland’s Santana continues to be a lock, leading the league with 17 saves to go along with a 3.00 ERA and a 1-1 record.

But after him, all of the closers have some question marks. San Francisco’s Rod Beck has 11 saves in only 11 innings to go along with a microscopic 0.82 ERA and an even more impressive 0.45 WHIP. So the question there is if he can maintain that level of performance. The same question remains for Miami’s Chapman–yet to allow a run in 13 innings, with 9 saves.

Philadelphia’s Bob Howry and Cleveland’s Adams both have the saves (14 and 12, respectively), but Howry has an ERA of 4.58 and Adams a WHIP of 1.71.

Brooklyn’s Watty Clark may be the best candidate behind Santana, sitting at 3-1 with 10 saves, a 2.04 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP.

After those closers you would have to consider Philadelphia’s duo of Ron Reed, who continues to be excellent, with 11 holds and a 2.83 ERA and Cormier, 4-0 with 4 holds and a 2.64 ERA. Brooklyn’s Eric Gagne (6 holds, 2.74 ERA, 1.00 WHIP) and San Francisco’s Ken Howell (1.61 ERA and 1.03 WHIP) have forced themselves into the conversation as well.

The bullpens are deep here: Dibble is still pitching well for Indianapolis, and the New York Black Yankees’ Ralph Citarella and San Francisco’s Charlie Root have pitched themselves into the conversation as well.

The AI goes with Cormier, Reed, Howell, and Birmingham’s Hoyt Wilhelm (2.59 ERA in 18 appearances).

I would go with Santana, Chapman, Robinson, Clark, and Howell. I think.

TWIWBL 17.0: Series XIV Notes

By mknn

On September 14, 2021

In TWIWBL

May 30

As May comes to a close, the Los Angeles Angels, Baltimore Black Sox, New York Black Yankees, and Portland Sea Dogs sit atop their respective divisions. Only LA is below .600, with Baltimore–yes, Baltimore–continuing to be the best team in the WBL at 37-21.

That said, the divisions continue to tighten: the four division leaders went 8-8 for the series.

Awards

The Houston Colt 45’s Tony Gwynn was selected as the Player of the Week, going 14-for-25 (.560), raising his average over .300.

Performances

Dennis Martinez remains, probably, the best starting pitcher in the league, but his teammate Ned Garvin is quietly having a spectacular year, as is the unheralded Johnny Marcum of the Detroit Wolverines.

The San Francisco Sea Lions‘ Reggie Jackson has surpassed the Black Yankees’ Babe Ruth as the best hitter in the league, leading in batting average, on base percentage, and OPS. Ruth’s teammate, Eric Davis, has led the league in RBI since week one, and has now tied Ruth for the homerun crown. But the New York Gothams‘ Willie Mays may be the league MVP: spectacular offense and a league-leading 10 assists from the outfield (he’s actually tied in that category with Ken Griffey, Jr. of the Ottawa Mounties).

Best Starting Pitchers.

Gerrit Cole (LAA): 8 – 3; 4.20 ERA; 2.0 WAR
Dennis Martinez (BAL): 7-2; 3.15 ERA; 1.11 WHIP
Red Ruffing (NYY): 7-1; 4.12 ERA
Johnny Marcum (DET): 6-1; 2.41 ERA; 1.09 WHIP
Ned Garvin (BAL): 5-2; 2.47 ERA; 0.93 WHIP
Ron Guidry (NYY): 5-5; 3.67 ERA; 89 Ks
Lefty Grove (SFS): 5-2; 3.23 ERA; 77 Ks
Walter Johnson (POR): 6-2; 3.75 ERA; 2.6 WAR
Cy Young (CLE): 5-2; 3.63 ERA; 2.1 WAR
Luke Hamlin (KCM): 3-4; 3.92 ERA; 2.1 WAR

Best Relievers.

Johan Santana (POR): 1-1; 18 Sv; 2.93 ERA
Rod Beck (SFS): 0-0; 14 Sv; 1 H; 0.66 ERA; 0.51 WHIP
Bob Howry (PHI): 1-2; 14 Sv; 4.58 ERA
Ron Reed (PHI): 0-2; 2 Sv; 11 H; 2.50 ERA
Craig Kimbrel (KCM): 2-1; 8 H; 2.88 ERA
Joe Beggs (MEM): 1-0; 8 Sv; 0.00 ERA
Aroldis Chapman (MCG): 2-0; 10 Sv; 0.63 ERA
Doc White (IND): 1-1; 1 Sv; 2 H; 1.76 ERA; 0.65 WHIP

Best Batters.

Reggie Jackson (SFS): 379/483/651
Willie Mays (NYG): 359/412/578; 80 H; 3.1 WAR
Eddie Collins (CAG): 327/446/569
Babe Ruth (NYY): 330/433/689; 19 HR; 51 R; 54 RBI; 3,3 WAR
Frank Thomas (CAG): 355/433/593; 76 H
Rico Carty (PHI): 328/392/520; 20 2B
Bobby Grich (LAA): 299/372/485; 20 2B
Louis Santop (CLE): 315/343/500; 8 3B
Eric Davis (NYY): 290/347/581; 19 HR; 59 RBI
Joe Jackson (CAG): 345/433/621; 46 R
Doug Rader (LAA): 309/364/505; 54 RBI
Rickey Henderson (SFS): 241/391/314; 47 BB; 41SB
Bryce Harper (BAL): 219/355/339; 40 BB
Tim Raines (OTT): 283/365/442; 39 SB

Streaks

The Chicago American Giants‘ Duffy Lewis has 6 homeruns in his last 8 games and his teammate, Joe Jackson, is slashing an insane 542/560/1042 over his last 25 at-bats. The House of David‘s Elrod Hendricks has 14 RBIs in his last 8 games, over which he’s hitting 448/469/1172.

Baltimore’s Ned Garvin is 5-1 with a 1.71 ERA over his last 11 games, including 5 starts: his time in the bullpen is clearly over.

Roberto Clemente of the Homestead Grays has a 16 game hitting streak while both Thurman Munson of the Black Yankees and Buster Posey of the Gothams have maintained their consecutive games reaching base (29 games for Munson, 23 for Posey).

San Francisco have won five in a row while the Grays have lost 6 straight, and have won only 2 of their last 10.

Series XIV Results

Series Sweeps

San Francisco over Brooklyn Royal Giants
Kansas City Monarchs over Homestead

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XIV

Chicago over the House of David
Ottawa over Portland
Black Yankees over Philadelphia Stars
Cleveland Spiders over Miami Cuban Giants

Taking 2 out of 3 in Series XIV

Birmingham Black Barons over Gothams (1 game rained out)

Series Splits

Detroit @ Memphis Red Sox
Houston Colt 45’s @ Los Angeles
Indianapolis ABC’s @ Baltimore

Series XII Featured Game: Cleveland Spiders @ New York Gothams

By mknn

On September 9, 2021

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

{ Whoops. This never got published from about 10 game days ago. }

The second game between the Cleveland Spiders and the New York Gothams saw the Spiders’ Bob Feller (4-4, 5.09 ERA) facing off against the Gothams’ Sad Sam Jones (3-3, 3.28). Feller’s peripheral numbers aren’t great, although his strikeout rate is impressive, while Jones has been one of the hottest starting pitchers in the league.

Feller struggled more, but neither pitcher did very well.

Cleveland opened the scoring in the top of the first, with Johnny Bates (who reached to lead off the game on an error by New York’s Pinky Higgins at 3B) coming home on an RBI double from John Ellis.

But the bottom of the first saw New York provide a strong response. Feller sandwiched strikeouts of Jimmy Sheckard and Buster Posey around a double by Higgins, but, after Willie Mays walked, Johnny Callison ripped a double scoring two and–after another walk–RBI singles by Joe Adcock and Brandon Crawford gave the Gothams a 4-1 advantage.

Cleveland would claw one back in the top of the 4th, when Jake Stahl led off the inning with a solo homerun. But again Feller would struggle in the bottom of an inning where his team scored in the top of the frame, and New York would add 2 more runs on two hits and two walks, with RBIs from Higgins and Mays extending the lead to 6-2.

That would be it for Feller, as Mel Harder replaced him in the bottom of the 5th. It wasn’t much better, as Adcock, Cookie Rojas, and Sheckard each hit doubles, making the score 8-2 and seeming to send the Gothams on their way to a comfortable victory.

The Spiders finally got to Jones again in the top of the 7th, with an RBI from Louis Santop and Stahl’s second homerun of the game (moving him into double digits on the year) chasing him from the game in favor of Al Mays. That made the score 8-5, and New York added another run in the bottom of the frame, extending it to a four run lead heading to the 8th inning.

Mays retired Rowland Office to start the inning, but then gave up 3 walks and 2 singles, exiting with the bases loaded and the score 9-7. New York turned to Mike Norris, one of their more reliable bullpen arms so far this season. Norris had one of his worst outings of the year, giving up an RBI single to Ellis, walking Stahl to drive in another run, and hitting Evan Longoria to give Cleveland a 10-9 lead in an inning where the Spiders sent 10 batters to the plate.

We weren’t done, though: Cleveland turned to Cory Gearrin in relief of Stan Coveleski with Gearrin entering the contest with one out and a runner on first. He struck out McCovey for the second out, but then walked two batters to load the bases. Rojas sent a ball to center that Office seemed to lose sight of, turning to see it sail over his head for a bases-clearing double. Higgins would add an RBI single, and we headed to the 9th with the Gothams back in front, 13-10.

Despite surrendering a double to Santop, New York’s closer, Brian Wilson, was able to slam the door, earning his fifth save of the year. Norris picked up both his third blown save and his second win and Mays–despite giving up 5 runs, 3 walks, and 2 hits in under an inning–picked up a hold.

Gearrin took the loss, but in the end, the poor outings from Feller and Harder just dug too deep of a hole.

Santop went 3-for-6 with 2 RBI’s, and Stahl had 3 hits and 4 RBIs for Cleveland. If there was any offensive blame for the Spiders, it went to shortstop Bill Dahlen, who stranded seven runners.

For New York, the offensive star was Rojas, who scored 3 times and drove in 4 with his 3 hits. Higgins also had 3 hits and 3 RBIs. Perhaps most surprisingly, the Gothams’ best player, Buster Posey, went 0-for-5 on the day.

The pitching staffs combined to allow 28 hits and 17 walks. Ouch.

CLE 10 (Gearrin 0-4, 3 BSv) @ NYG 13 (Norris 2-1, 3 BSv; Wilson 5 Sv; Mays 1 H)
HRs: CLE – Stahl 2 (10)
Box Score

#Other Games of Note

Birmingham and Portland combined for 7 homeruns in an 8-7 victory for the Black Barons. For Birmingham, Eddie Mathews, Curtis Granderson, and Frank McCormick all went deep; for the Sea Dogs, Bobby Murcer, Buddy Bell, Fred Dunlap, and Ivan Rodriguez all found the seats.

BBB 7 (Spahn 2-5) @ POR 8 (Munoz 2-1, 1 BSv; Myers 1 H; Santana 16 Sv)
HRs: BBB – Mathews (9), McCormick (5), Granderson (4); POR – Murcer (8), Bell (9), Dunlap (2), Rodriguez (2)
Box Score

Philadelphia edged Brooklyn with a walk-off single by Gavvy Cravath scoring Chase Utley in the bottom of the 11th inning. The game was notable for the very strong starts by both the Stars’ Steve Carlton (6.1 IP, 1 run) and the Royal Giants’ Don Sutton (8 IP, 2 runs). Brooklyn’s Dick Redding took the loss, despite pitching well enough in relief while Bob Howry–Philadelphia’s usual closer–got the win with 2 scoreless innings to close out the game.

BRK 2 (Redding 0-1) @ PHI 3 (Howry 1-2; Reed 4 BSv) [11 Innings]
HRs: none
Box Score

Indianapolis carried a 4-1 lead into the 9th, with closer Rob Dibble on the mound against Chicago. They got there largely on a key double by Davey Concepcion and 6 stolen bases in support of just shy of 8 innings of 1-run pitching from a commanding David Price. But Dibble imploded after Luke Appling reach on an error by Ed Charles (who was in the game as a defensive replacement) to start the inning. After getting an out, Dibble hit a batter and gave up 2 hits, including an RBI single by Eddie Collins that left the bases loaded. Joe Jackson walked, forcing in another run, Frank Thomas hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game, and Duffy Lewis singled to right, scoring Collins for the Chicago win.

IND 4 (Dibble 2-2, 3 BSv; Carroll 2 H) @ CHI 5 (Dixon 2-1)
HRs: none
Box Score