The Whirled League

Baseball The Way It Never Was

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TWIWBL 69.3: Bill James Division

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On December 4, 2024

In TWIWBL

TeamW/LPctGB
New York Black Yankees45-26.634—
Cleveland Spiders38-30.5595.5
Memphis Red Sox33-35.48510.5
Detroit Wolverines33-37.47111.5
Baltimore Black Sox28-44.38917.5
Bill James Division | 18 June

#Baltimore Black Sox

Time for some changes. Bobby Wallace, Sean Marshall, and John Wetteland were all recalled from rehab assignments, with Mark Baldwin, Gregg Olson, and–yes–Larry Gardner heading to AAA. This means Miller Huggins will see most of the time at 2B, and while Wallace is the starter, Cal Ripken, Jr. will rotate through SS, 3B, and occasionally 2B in a quest for playing time.

Baltimore continues with only 3 named starters (Dennis Martínez, Ned Garvin, and Mike Mussina).

#Cleveland Spiders

Bill Steen returned to the Spiders’ rotation.

Both Sammy Strang and Victor Martinez were moved to AAA as Cleveland’s patience for them to turn around horrible starts to their season ran thin. John Ellis‘ recent mini-revival means Cleveland doesn’t necessarily need to recall a C; instead they brought IFs Steve Sax and Chico Walker up from AA.

Mel Harder‘s injury status remains unknown, but needing a starter, the Spiders placed him on the DL, recalling Hank Gastright. Gastright was OK, and Ron Blomberg went deep twice, but the Spiders couldn’t keep Memphis’ bats quiet, losing 8-4 to the Cuban Giants.

Al Smith, decent in a very small sample size as a lefty in the pen, will miss about a week, earning him a trip to the DL. Joe Smith (no relation) was promoted from AAA.

The Spiders finally got a diagnosis on Harder, who will miss the rest of the season with a fractured elbow.

A strong start from Steen combined with 2 homers from Evan Longoria carried Cleveland to a 4-1 win over Memphis.

#Detroit Wolverines

Bill Carrigan was sent to AAA to see if he could break out of his season-long slump. The Wolverines recalled Jack Wilson from his rehab assignment to help out their beleaguered staff.

Charlie Gehringer continued to impress with his 9th and 10th homeruns of the year as the Wolverines topped Chicago, 5-2. Charlie Root was excellent, allowing 1 run in 7 plus innings to level his record at 6-6.

The Wolverines finally had seen enough of Gene Conley‘s struggles, sending the former pro basketball player to AAA along with Claude Passeau and activating Billy Hoeft and Pete Conway being recalled. With Hal Newhouser starting a rehab assignment, look for more changes in the Detroit mound corps in the days to come.

#Memphis Red Sox

Ted Williams reached 20 homeruns on the season, going deep twice in an 8-6 loss to Los Angeles.

#New York Black Yankees

Hank Bauer did well in his time in the WBL, with 6 homers in under 30 games. But he’s no Eric Davis, and with Davis ready to return from his rehab assignment, Bauer moves back to AAA and the Black Yankees become, if anything, more formidable.

Mickey Mantle went deep twice and Waite Hoyt improved to 5-0 as the Black Yankees beat Portland, 9-4.

Dave Righetti will miss a couple weeks with a strained shoulder, prompting the Black Yankees to recall Roy Evans from AAA Newark. Evans isn’t very heralded as a prospect, but he led AA in IP in 2000, and was 6-3 with a 3.20 ERA so far at AAA.

TWIWBL 69.2 Spotlight on the Baltimore Black Sox

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On December 3, 2024

In TWIWBL

What a collapse. From Whirled Series champions to last place in their division, Baltimore is finding out what happens when your pitching staff goes from being among the best in the league to something very far away from that.

Baltimore inherits players from the St. Louis Browns and the Baltimore Orioles, as well as NeL players closely aligned with either the Baltimore Black Sox or the Baltimore Elite Giants.

HOME PAGE | ROSTER | POSITIONAL STRENGTH | LEADERS

Baltimore is floundering in last place, 17.5 games behind the Black Yankees, with the worst record in the league. It’s just pretty miserable.

THE OFFENSE

The offense hasn’t been great, but it’s not really been the dominant issue for the Black Sox.

#What’s Going Right

Frank Robinson continues to argue for a spot among the truly elite of the league, slashing 300/389/623. But he doesn’t lead the Black Sox in HRs or RBIs: that falls to Gavvy Cravath, who is coming through as the largest free agent acquisition of the off season. Cravath has 21 homeruns and 54 RBIs, shading ahead of Robinson in both counts.

Cal Ripken, Jr. is tearing the cover off the ball in about 20 games, arguing for a lot more playing time.

Bryce Harper and Dan McGann continue to be well above-average with only a low BA for Harper and not enough power for McGann keeping them out of superstar status.

Miller Huggins has been surprisingly good, getting on base at a near .400 clip.

#What’s Not Going Right

Larry Gardner, excellent last year, has almost played himself out of a job at this point, struggling to get his OPS over .550. His lack of productivity and Bobby Wallace‘s injury are what opened the door for Ripken, Jr. and Huggins.

Baby Doll Jacobson has been quite average.

Paul Blair cannot hit, but we knew that, and he does continue to play stellar defense in CF.

THE PITCHING

The rotation is in total disarray and the bullpen isn’t much better.

#What’s Going Right

Um.

Ned Garvin is on the mound again.

Justin Hampson has been effective as an option versus lefties from the bullpen.

Mike Mussina has pitched well, far better than his 3-4, 5.11 numbers would indicate.

#What’s Not Going Right

Everything else.

Let’s start with the staff ace, Dennis Martínez, who has a decent 7-4 record, but has been hit pretty hard, with a 5.19 ERA and poor peripherals.

The rest of the starters have been so bad that the Black Sox refuse to name a #4 and #5 starter. Nobody else has an ERA under 5.00, and while Connie Johnson and Bill Byrd have decent analytics, the results have been relatively miserable.

Joe Beggs has 11 saves, but has also started 2 games, and looks betwixt and between no matter what his role.

THE FARM SYSTEM

TOP PROSPECTS | MINOR LEAGUE SYSTEM

Not great.

Ripken, Jr. started the year in the minors, and he and Eddie Murray are clearly the future of the org. But there isn’t much beyond them–Bruce Bochte and Steve Brodie have some talent in the OF; Gunnar Henderson, Mark Belanger, and Asdrúbal Cabrera could offer some help on the IF; and … who knows, maybe Joe Dobson, maybe Jack Kramer on the mound?

WHAT’S NEEDED

A miracle. I mean, just not finishing in the basement would be something at this point. My guess is this team is a seller at the deadline, which may mean McGann moves on, clearing room for Murray.

Storylines to Watch

Key Questions from Spring Training

  • Not many: the twelve arms are–pending injury or spring training collapse–pretty much set, as is most of the lineup with only a single roster spot currently available, which would be filled by a reserve 2B? Ah, such arrogance …

FEATURED SERIES

Baltimore closes the week with 3 games at Detroit, which will be our focus.

Projected Starters

Baltimore starter listed first.

Dennis Martínez (7-4, 5.19) @ Johnny Marcum (5-2, 3.78)
Ned Garvin (3-3, 5.33) @ Justin Verlander (2-8, 66.06)
Mike Mussina (4-4, 5.31) @ Charlie Root (6-6, 4.89)

Game One

Dennis Martínez‘ struggles have been a major issue for Baltimore so far this year. El Presidente won 14 games with an ERA under 4.00 in their championship run. This year, his ERA is about a run-and-a-half higher, although he does have 7 wins.

Martínez struggled here, giving up 5 runs in 5 innings on 4 homers. But Cal Ripken Jr., Curt Blefary, and Manny Machado all hit one out for Baltimore, and both starters left after 5 innings, with the Black Sox up, 6-5.

The surprising Juan Beníquez drove in the go-ahead run for Detroit in the bottom of the 7th, setting up a great situation for the Wolverines, with Chad Bradford pitching the 8th and Mike Henneman the 9th. Bradford did his job, but Henneman gave up a pinch-hit homer to Ken Singleton giving Baltimore an edge that Joe Beggs–not terribly dependable so far this season–was able to preserve.

Both Ripken and Detroit’s Ed Bailey had 2 homers on the day.

BAL 8 (Sain 1-2; Beggs 12 Sv; Hampson 7 H; Dickey 1 Bsv) @ DET 7 (Henneman 4-2, 3 B Sv; Bradford 6 H)
HRs: BAL – Ripken, Jr. 2 (10), Machado (24), Blefary (15), Singleton (9); DET – C. Davis (18), E. Bailey 2 (16), Gamble (11).
Box Score

Detroit got some bad news after the game, with Henneman out for just over a month. Joakim Soria was recalled from AAA.

Game Two

With Ned Garvin not yet rested, the Black Sox turned to Jim Palmer for the matchup against Detroit’s struggling Justin Verlander.

Detroit took the lead in the bottom of the first, but both Palmer and Verlander were doing well early. Verlander gave up a lot of base runners, but it took a an RBI single from Miller Huggins for Baltimore to go ahead, 2-1, in the top of the 4th.

A solo shot from Oscar Gamble tied the game, but the Black Sox greeted Verlander’s replacement, Jack Wilson, for 4 runs, led by Frank Robinson‘s bases-clearing, 2-out double.

A double from Ty Cobb in the bottom of the 8th finally chased Palmer, who made a decent argument for a return to Baltimore’s rotation. His numbers won’t reflect that, as John Wetteland came in, walked a batter, and gave up a grand slam to Gamble followed by a solo shot to Chili Davis, tying the game.

More bad news for Detroit’s staff, as Billy Hoeft will miss a couple weeks.

With Chad Bradford and Sean Marshall each doing their jobs, we head into extra innings in this one.

In the 10th, Cal Ripken Jr. singled and was replaced by Baby Doll Jacobson, who stole second. Bobby Wallace delivered an RBI single for the lead, and Baltimore turned the game over to Joe Beggs. Ty Cobb, Hank Greenberg, and Gamble? No problem, and Baltimore holds on for the victory.

Most importantly, Marshall looked like his old self with 1.2 scoreless innings.

Gamble ended with 5 RBIs and Bobby Wallace had 3 hits on the day.

BAL 8 (Marshall 1-0; Beggs 13 Sv) @ DET 7 (Bradford 2-4) [10 Innings]
HRs: BAL – none; DET – Gamble 2 (13), C. Davis (19).
Box Score

Hoeft hit the DL, and Detroit recalled Mike Griffin.

Game Three

Last year, Baltimore’s Ned Garvin and Detroit’s Charlie Root were among the best hurlers in the league. This season … not so much. But both of shown flashes of their past ability, so we’ll see if Garvin can nail down the sweep or Root can salvage a game for the Wolverines.

Gavvy Cravath put Baltimore in front 1-0 in the 2nd with his 22nd homer of the season. That wasn’t terribly surprising, but Paul Blair‘s 8th of the year, a 3 run shot, was, giving the Black Sox a 4-0 edge.

Garvin was unable to hold it, though, as a series of walks and singles brought Detroit back to within 1 at 4-3. Garvin loaded the bases in the 3rd as well, including his 6th walk of the game. For the second time on the day, George Davis came through with an RBI single, this time tying the game and chasing Garvin, who was replaced by Connie Johnson, who promptly walked in a run, putting Detroit up, 5-4.

Ty Cobb and Hank Greenberg hit back-to-back shots in the 4th, but Frank Robinson and Bryce Harper tied it up in the 5th with longballs of their own. That, and a short rain delay, chased Root.

In the top of the 7th, Cravath sent out his 2nd of the game, this one with the bases loaded. RBI’s from Blair and Miller Huggins made it 13-7. In this contest, it just might be enough …

Cravath hit his 3rd of the day and Justin Hampson and Johnny Sain were able to close it out. Cravath finished with 4 runs scored and 6 RBIs for Baltimore while Kaline was 4 for 4 for Detroit.

BAL 14 (Byrd 4-3) @ DET 7 (Bechtel 1-2)
HRs: BAL – Cravath 3 (24), Blair (8), Robinson (22), Harper (15); DET – Greenberg (26), Cobb (23).
Box Score

The game was a little rough, as Baltimore’s Bobby Wallace and Detroit’s Mike Griffin (on his WBL debut) had to leave via injury. Wallace was sent to the DL with light hitting IF Dave Anderson being recalled.

This gives Baltimore a 5 game winning streak, during which they are giving up over 7 runs a contest. So, yeah, it’s really been all about the offense. But if they can get some pitching, they can at least claw their way out of the basement. After that, who knows?

TWIWBL 69.1: Year 2, Week 12

By

On December 2, 2024

In TWIWBL

June 18th

We’re rounding the corner towards the selection of this year’s All-Star teams. Today, we’ll check in on last year’s all stars from the AL.

#Awards

Duke Snider hit .444 with 5 homeruns last week, earning the Brooklyn OFer the NL Player of the Week Award. In the other league, Detroit‘s irrepressible Ty Cobb was named AL Player of the Week. Cobb moved his average back over .400, finishing the week at .411 after hitting .579 with 5 homers.

#Team Performance

Pretty much status quo here.

The New York Black Yankees lead Cleveland in the Bill James Division by 5.5 games; San Francisco has extended their lead in the Cum Posey Division to 9.5 over Chicago; and Indianapolis and Kansas City remain tied atop the Marvin Miller Division.

And, over in the Effa Manley Division, 5.5 games separate Brooklyn in first and Ottawa at the bottom.

Memphis and Brooklyn have gone 8-2 over their last 10 games, while Miami has done the inverse, finishing 2-8 over their last week and a half.

#Player Performance

Batters

Someone poked Babe Ruth, insinuating that the Black Yankees’ OF might not be the dominant player in the league. Since then, he has been on fire, retaking the league lead in his usual categories.

Three batters sit over .400: Houston‘s Tony Gwynn at .427, Ty Cobb at .411, and Homestead‘s Josh Gibson at .402. Gwynn, predictably, is the only batter with over 100 hits so far in the season.

Oscar Charleston (IND). 328/380/626. 9 3B.
Ty Cobb (DET). 411/462/864. 97 H; 34 2B; 4.9 WAR.
Josh Gibson (HOM). 402/480/776. 4.5 WAR.
Tony Gwynn (HOU). 427/460/668. 108 H.
Joe Jackson (CHI). 368/417/611. 35 2B.
Stan Musial (KCM). 329/394/573. 35 2B.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 297/420/768. 34 HR; 81 RBI; 67 R; 55 BB.
Larry Walker (OTT). 321/390/782. 32 HR; 73 RBI.
Ted Williams (MEM). 306/425/624. 60 R; 48 BB.

San Francisco’s Rickey Henderson continues to lead the league in steals with 51, but Ottawa’s Tim Raines has recovered a bit offensively, and being on base more has allowed him to close the gap a bit, now sitting with 44 on the year.

Pitchers

Starters

Indianapolis’ Luis Padrón and San Francisco’s Bump Hadley are the only hurlers in double digits for wins. The three pitchers with 9 victories are also included below, as well as the usual statistical leaders. Of note is the appearance of Kansas City’s A. Rube Foster, who now has (barely) enough IP to qualify here.

The dominance of Kansas City and San Francisco is worth mentioning as well.

Frank Castillo (KCM). 9-1, 4.01.
A. Rube Foster (KCM). 4-0, 2.44. 0.86 WHIP.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 8-4, 3.19. 107 IP; 3.1 WAR.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 8-3, 3.68. 116 K.
Bump Hadley (SFS). 10-4, 3.81. 3.29 FIP.
Luis Padrón (IND). 10-2, 3.90.
Eddie Plank (SFS). 9-3, 3.65.
Toad Ramsey (HOU). 9-4, 3.03. 107 IP; 134 K; 0.94 WHIP; 2.72 FIP; 4.6 WAR.

Relievers

Five relievers have 9 Holds at this point, and all of them are listed, making this a bit of a larger group than usual.

16 IP minimum.

Rod Beck (SFS). 2-2, 3.79. 19 Sv.
Rheal Cormier (NYY). 0-1, 3.72. 9 H.
Ken Howell (SFS). 4-1, 1.46. 3 H.
Michael Jackson (HOM). 1-3, 3.55. 1 Sv; 9 H.
Craig Kimbrel (KCM). 1-0, 0.92. 2 Sv; 9 H; 0.71 WHIP; 2.07 FIP.
Josh Lindblom (HOM). 3-2, 4.01. 18 Sv.
Rob Murphy (IND). 1-1, 2.70. 1 Sv; 9 H.
Ross Reynolds (LAA). 2-0, 1.93. 1 Sv; 1 H; 2.02 FIP.
BJ Ryan (OTT). 1-2, 4.85. 1 Sv; 9 H.
Lee Smith (HOD). 4-1, 2.97. 3 Sv; 6 H; 0.73 WHIP.

#2 Way Players

It’s been a while, so figured we should check back in on these guys. Here’s the list:

NameTeamBattingPitchingTotal
WAR
Charles RoganPHI311/356/605.
1.8 WAR.		4-5, 4.55.
1.8 WAR.		3.6
Luis PadrónIND252/331/390.
0.1 WAR.		11-2, 3.90.
2.9 WAR.		3.0
Smokey Joe WoodKCM263/364/526.
0.1 WAR.		8-3, 3.41.
2.1 WAR.		2.2
JM WardPHI158/186/246.
-0.7 WAR.		3-2, 3.68.
1.8 WAR.		1.1
Jim WhitneyBBB140/178/256.
-0.4 WAR.		2-2, 4.00.
1.1 WAR.		0.7
Elmer SmithLAA323/462/387.
0.2 WAR.		0-1, 6.46.
-0.1 WAR.		0.1
Eustaquio PedrosoMIA210/312/296.
-0.3 WAR.		2-1, 6.11.
-0.2 WAR.		-0.5

Wood has received very little time in the field, so we’ll see how he does as that expands. It looks like Ward should stay on the mound, and that really, it’s only Rogan and Padrón as truly valuable 2-way talents.

#Injury Report

Cleveland’s Mel Harder, Detroit’s Hal Newhouser, Miami’s Kenshin Kawakami and perhaps most importantly, Portland’s Joséito Muñoz should all start injury rehabs later this week. Should those go well, all four teams should receive rotation boosts in the near future.

#Last Year’s All-Stars

As we ramp up to this year’s all-star game, seemed a good time to check in on last year’s designees. This week, we’ll take a look at (what was last year) the AL.

#OBV

Bob Bailey (3B, DET). Just a dependable offensive machine at the hot corner.

Rod Beck (RP, SFS). Still racking up the saves, and doing better than last season otherwise.

Hank Greenberg (1B, DET). Keeps pounding the ball.

Mike Henneman (RP, DET). Remains dominant from the bullpen.

Rogers Hornsby (2B, POR). Keeps rolling along with better numbers than last season.

Joe Jackson (OF, CAG). This year’s version is a doubles machine without nearly the homerun power, but still maintaining on OPS over 1.000.

Craig Kimbrel (RP, KCM). Dominant, and really making the argument to be moved into the closer slot for Kansas City.

Willie Mays (OF, NYG). Somehow underappreciated despite his stellar performance.

Andy Pettitte (SP, NYY). Just keeps rolling. Like the whole league, his ERA is a little higher, but his peripheral numbers are strong.

Buster Posey (C, NYG). More power than last year, a little less of everything else, but still elite.

Frank Thomas (1B, CAG). Significantly better offensively across the board, which is a truly frightening statement.

Ted Williams (OF, MEM). A borderline selection last year, he’s upped his game significantly this season, with an OPS of 1.049.

#Mebbe

Curt Blefary (C, BAL). Nowhere near as good as last season, but still a good offensive player, showing both power and control of the strike zone.

Eddie Collins (2B, CAG). Power output has fallen off, and while he’s still a top performer, is not the MVP candidate of last season.

Mike Epstein (1B, HOM). The shape of his production has changed, as his BA has dropped 80 points. But he’s slugging .570 and his OPS is virtually the same as last season.

Dan McGann (1B, BAL). At 37, he’s performing better than last season, but remains under the radar for some reason.

Stan Musial (OF, KCM). He’s hitting almost exactly the same as he did last year, but has struggled with the longball. That may be enough to nudge him off the team, unfair as that may be.

#Meh

Dick Allen (3B, CAB). Not doing badly, but clearly a long wasy from an all star at this point.

Gerrit Cole (SP, LAA). May be pitching better than last season, but without the dominant W/L record, should fall far short of the all-star game.

Mark Melancon (RP, POR). Perhaps a stretch choice last year due to a ridiculous number of wins for a reliever, is doing fine this year, but far from all-star levels.

AJ Minter (RP, CAG). Still the American Giants’ closer, but no longer among the best in the league.

Reggie Smith (OF, MEM). Other than a boost in power, struggling a bit across the board.

Bobby Wallace (SS, BAL). Injured and not performing nearly as well regardless, Wallace is still an on base machine, and clearly has value.

Brian Wilson (RP, NYG). Injured and limited to 13 games so far, but dominant in those appearances, so there’s a chance.

#What Happened?

Bill Byrd (SP, BAL). Well below average so far this season.

Elrod Hendricks (C, HOD). Last year’s magnificent performance looks more and more like a mirage. Hendricks still has power, but is no longer elite among league backstops.

Duffy Lewis (OF, CHI). Struggling, especially in the power department.

Tricky Nichols (SP, CAG). An ERA over 6.00 and a ton of HR’s allowed.

Freddy Parent (SS, CAG). Parent rode his All Star selection–deserved at the time–to a trade to a contender, and then lost the ability to hit for power at all. Without that, he’s a mediocre SS.

Doug Rader (3B, LAA). A stunningly productive 2000 has been followed with … very little.

George Stone (OF, HOD). Significantly worse across the board. Stone looked like a budding star last year, now he looks like a decent 4th OFer.

#Other

Ned Garvin (SP, BAL). Garvin was the dominant pitcher in the league last year when he got injured. He’s been fine since his return, but has yet to find the same level.

Sean Marshall (RP, BAL). Hit by a long-term injury, Marshall is due to return to Baltimore’s bullpen by the all-star game.

TWIWBL 65.3: Bill James Division

By

On August 28, 2024

In TWIWBL

TeamW/LPctGB
New York Black Yankees29-16.644—
Cleveland Spiders24-19.5584
Detroit Wolverines21-24.4678
Baltimore Black Sox18-27.40011
Memphis Red Sox16-28.36412.5
Bill James Division | 21 May

#Baltimore Black Sox

Mike Mussina started a rehab assignment with a hope of being back in the big leagues by the end of the week. Bobby Wallace will be out at least a week, prompting the Black Sox to place him on the DL, recalling Cal Ripken, Jr. from AAA.

Buddy Groom went on the 10 day DL with Mark Baldwin being recalled. John Wetteland will miss about a month with shoulder discomfort, further weakening the Black Sox bullpen, prompting Baltimore to recall Mussina from his rehab assignment a tad early.

Dan McGann hit two homeruns, but the Black Sox lost a wild 12 inning game to Miami, 12-11. Four Baltimore pitchers–Baldwin, Gregg Olson, Justin Hampson, and eventual loser John Tudor–blew saves on the night.

#Cleveland Spiders

Ron Blomberg‘s 16th homer of the year was a walkoff affair, giving the Spiders a 6-5 victory over Detroit.

That evidently inspired Boomer as he hit 3 more dingers in an 8-3 win. Blomberg isn’t having the MVP level campaign he did last year, but the power in his bat hasn’t reduced by much.

Hank Gastright headed to AAA with Stan Coveleski recalled from his rehab assignment.

#Detroit Wolverines

With an ERA over 8, Gene Conley lost his spot in the Wolverines’ rotation, leaving only Charlie Root, Justin Verlander, and Pete Conway as solid options for Detroit.

Bullpen management is so key … a strong start by Verlander was essentially wasted as a terribly fatigued bullpen was unable to hold a 9-2 lead. But, Detroit recovered: Billy Hoeft threw a solid 2 plus innings and an exhausted Mike Henneman added 2 shutout innings for the win with Oscar Gamble hitting a walkoff homerun in the bottom of the 12th. Juan Beníquez continues to demand additional playing time, finishing the game with 3 hits and 4 RBIs.

The Wolverines are just pushing through arms at an alarming rate, sending Wilson Álvarez and Mickey Lolich back to AAA, recalling George Bechtel and Claude Passeau for their second stints with the big league club.

#Memphis Red Sox

The Red Sox traded Claude Ritchey for DJ LeMahieu, hoping to solidify their infield with Dobie Moore moving permanently to SS. Ritchey was excellent last season, but couldn’t nudge his OPS over .560 this year.

Derek Lowe has been absolutely hammered in 7 appearances for Memphis and, needing a starter, the Red Sox sent him to AAA with Eddie Cicotte being promoted.

#New York Black Yankees

New York recalled Waite Hoyt from a rehab assignment, with AJ Burnett heading to AAA. Hoyt will step right into the 5th slot in the Black Yankees’ rotation.

TWIWBL 65.1: Year 2, Week 8

By

On August 26, 2024

In TWIWBL

May 21st

We are roughly 1/4 through the season!

#Awards

Miami Cuban Giants OF Ryan Braun, who hit 6 homeruns with a .417 average, was the AL Player of the Week and Mike Epstein of the Homestead Grays took home the NL Player of the Week. Epstein hit .556 with 5 homeruns.

#Team Performance

It’s still far too early, of course, but there is a sliver of daylight emerging in 3 of the 4 divisions.

In the Bill James Division, the New York Black Yankees lead the Cleveland Spiders by 4 games; in the Cum Posey Division, the San Francisco Sea Lions have ridden an 8-2 streak to a 3 game lead over the Chicago American Giants, and in the Marvin Miller Division, the Kansas City Monarchs have opened up a 4.5 game edge over the Indianapolis ABC’s.

So that leaves the Effa Manley Division, where all 5 teams are separated by only 5 games from the Grays on top to the Philadelphia Stars at the bottom. Here’s how it stacks up:

TeamW/LPCTGB
Homestead Grays26-19.578–
Brooklyn Royal Giants24-19.5581
New York Gothams23-22.5113
Ottawa Mounties22-22.5003.5
Philadelphia Stars21-24.4675
Marvin Miller Division Standings

#Player Performance

Batters

Returning to normalcy: all the bold next to Babe Ruth.

But there are a ton of new storylines here as well: is Ty Cobb for real? Just how many doubles can he hit? Ruth tied for the league lead in homeruns isn’t news, but being joined by Ryan Braun and Larry Walker is (similarly, Ruth leading with 50 RBI’s is familiar; Walker joining him is not).

Also, Tony Gwynn hitting .421 is fun.

League leaders in bold, top 2 for most categories listed.

Ryan Braun (MCG). 320/366/765. 20 HR.
Ty Cobb (DET). 404/462/861. 61 H; 25 2B; 3.2 WAR.
Tony Gwynn (HOU). 421/456/679. 67 H; 40 R.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 271/377/484. 34 SB.
Pete Hill (HOU). 286/356/539. 8 3B.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 365/416/591. 22 2B.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 312/398/659. 40 R.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 316/443/770. 20 HR; 50 RBI; 43 R; 37 BB; 3.2 WAR.
Joey Votto (IND). 295/442/508. 31 BB.
Larry Walker (OTT). 342/423/770. 20 HR; 50 RBI.
Bobby Wallace (BAL). 250/387/342. 31 BB.

Pitchers

Starters

6 pitchers have 6 wins, but only 2 have 7 and of those only Kansas City’s Frank Castillo is undefeated.

Houston‘s Toad Ramsey has come back to the pack some, but all that bold shows just how far ahead of them he had gone. It’s no longer clear who the best starter in the league is at the moment, although Castillo certainly has a decent argument. But Ramsey’s teammate Roger Clemens is in there, as is Indianapolis’ Johnny Cueto, and it’s hard to ignore the ERA leader, Chicago’s Mark Buehrle.

League leaders in bold, top 2 for most categories listed.

Mark Buehrle (CAG). 5-2, 2.42.
Frank Castillo (KCM). 7-0, 2.85.
Watty Clark (SFS). 2-0, 5.21. 3.24 FIP.
Roger Clemens (HOU). 6-0, 3.47. 0.98 WHIP.
Johnny Cueto (IND). 7-1, 3.51.
Doc Gooden (LAA). 4-3, 2.60.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 5-4, 3.49. 67 IP.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 6-1, 3.52. 75 K; 2.0 WAR.
Walter Johnson (POR). 4-4, 2.94. 67.1 IP; 2.0 WAR.
Toad Ramsey (HOU). 6-2, 2.60. 81 K; 2.9 WAR; 0.88 WHIP; 2.52 FIP.

Relievers

Brooklyn‘s Trevor Hildenberger is probably the hottest reliever in the league, but really nobody is truly dominant from the pen so far, other than his teammate, Fernando Valenzuela, whose future is almost certainly as a starter.

12 IP minimum; league leaders in bold, top 2 for most categories listed.

Rod Beck (SFS). 2-2, 5.40. 12 Sv.
Rheal Cormier (NYY). 0-0, 3.38. 7 H.
Trevor Hildenberger 1-0, 1.20. 1 Sv, 5 H; 0.60 WHIP.
Ted Kennedy (PHI). 2-2, 3.48. 2 Sv, 7 H.
Josh Lindblom (HOM). 3-0, 2.55. 12 Sv.
Lee Smith (HOD). 1-0, 2.04. 1 Sv; 5 H; 0.57 WHIP.
Fernando Valenzuela (BRK). 2-0, 1.16. 4 H.

#Injury Report

Brooklyn’s Jackie Robinson is expected back this week, as is Detroit‘s SS George Davis.

The New York Black Yankees hope to send Red Ruffing–out for nearly a year–on a rehab assignment later in the week.

#AAA Check In

We’ll take a little look at AAA, both in terms of the best performers and the best prospects (24 and under) roughly 1/4 of the way through the season.

Pos25+< 25
CJohn Stearns (26, LAA). 266/380/587.Darrin Fletcher (23, NYY). 383/408/742.
1BFred Luderus (32, PHI). 336/375/734.Eddie Murray (22, BAL). 321/389/629).
2BDJ LeMahieu (28, MEM). 377/417/521.Jorge Orta (23, CAG). 216/250/405.
SSBill Dahlen (34, CLE). 250/325/519.Travis Jackson (22, HOU). 331/358/559.
3BJung Ho Kang (29, HOD). 313/361/701.Chris Brown (23, HOD). 346/452/731.
LFLefty O’Doul (26, MEM). 385/416/644.Starling Marte (24, HOM). 341/410/609.
CFKenny Lofton (26, CLE). 354/424/599.Jack Gleason (23, LAA). 257/361/478.
RFElmer Valo (35, LAA). 397/484/733.Tony Conigliaro (23, HOD). 299/361/649.
SPCliff Lee (29, HOM). 3-2, 1.67. 1.8 WAR.
George Bechtel (28, DET). 402, 2.38. 2.2 WAR.		Dick Redding (21, BRK). 6-2, 2.93. 2.6 WAR.
Kyle Peterson (22, HOD). 4-3, 3.38. 1.8 WAR.
RPRoberto Osuna (22, HOU). 1-1, 3.86. 8 Sv.George Jeffcoat (26, NYG). 0-1, 2.57. 9 Sv.

For the batters, the dominance of players from Las Vegas (Los Angeles‘ AAA franchise) and Columbus (the AAA home for the House of David) is striking. Of these, Stearns may get a look soon given the Angels’ current struggles behind the plate and Valo’s performance may force himself back to the WBL. With both Kang and Brown blocked by Ron Cey–having a great season with the House of David–perhaps those 2 end up as trade bait?

Pitchers are highly unpredictable, of course. Redding and Peterson are doing excellently and seem destined for great things; at the same time, both Lee and Bechtel have struggled with their big league clubs.

TWIWBL 64.1: Year 2, Week 7

By

On August 2, 2024

In TWIWBL

May 14th

The season is beginning to hit its stride, very rapidly approaching the quarter-pole. Clearly, the time from now through the all-star break is vital in defining how things fall out.

#Awards

Albert Pujols of the Kansas City Monarchs hit .650 for the week, winning the NL Player of the Week Award while Babe Ruth took home the AL Player of the Week, hitting .522 with 5 homeruns.

Pujols beat out the House of David‘s Ernie Banks, who had 7 homeruns and drove in 14, and Scott Rolen of the Philadelphia Stars who posted a 1.997 OPS, hitting .474 with 6 dingers and 8 RBIs.

#Team Performance

The New York Black Yankees (Bill James Division) and the Kansas City Monarchs (Marvin Miller Division) continue to be the only teams above .600, while Birmingham (in the basement of the Marvin Miller Division) and defending champs Baltimore are both at 13-26, tied for the worst record in the league, and a 1-9 record in their last 10 games has seen the Memphis Red Sox (in the Bill James Division along with Baltimore) plummet to a .378 percentage.

The other 2 divisions are much tighter, with the San Francisco Seals leading the Chicago American Giants by .5 games in the Cum Posey Division and Brooklyn and Homestead in a dead heat for first in the Effa Manley Division, where the Ottawa Mounties, in last place, is only 3 games back.

#Player Performance

Batters

Usual stuff here–top 2 in most categories, league leaders in bold. Ruth’s performance is expected, but Detroit‘s young star, Ty Cobb, is far exceeding expectations at this point.

Lance Berkman (CLE). 326/393/803. 17 HR.
Ty Cobb (DET). 400/463/846. 22 2B; 2.8 WAR.
Tony Gwynn (HOU). 402/441/621. 53 H.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 294/386/515. 31 SB.
Pete Hill (HOU). 273/356/531. 7 3B.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 386/427/636. 54 H; 21 2B.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 308/386/664. 38 RBI; 34 R.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 326/440/770. 17 HR; 42 RBI; 37 R; 28 BB; 2.7 WAR.
Larry Walker (OTT). 357/431/754. 38 RBI.
Bobby Wallace (BAL). 233/385/341. 30 BB.

Pitchers

Starters

Just look at that Toad go! Ramsey has been magnificent for the Houston Colt 45’s, although he’s struggled a little in his most recent starts. There are a few more pitchers with 6 wins, I’ve only included the two sitting at 6-1, plus Ramsey.

Johnny Cueto (IND). 6-1, 2.85. 0.91 WHIP.
Doc Gooden (LAA). 4-2, 1.72. 2.80 FIP; 1.8 WAR.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 5-1, 3.79. 66 K.
Walter Johnson (POR). 4-3, 2.82. 60.2 IP; 1.8 WAR.
Frank Knauss (BRK). 6-1, 2.19.
Toad Ramsey (HOU). 6-2, 1.63. 60.2 IP; 74 K; 0.77 WHIP; 2.31 FIP; 2.9 WAR.

Relievers

12 IP Minimum.

None of the closers have really been dominant–Gagne had been, but his ERA has risen over the past few weeks.

Rod Beck (SFS). 1-2, 5.84. 12 Sv.
Jack Billingham (IND). 0-1, 2.25. 2 H; 0.62 WHIP.
Rheal Cormier (NYY). 0-0, 3.29. 6 H.
Eric Gagne (BRK). 0-0, 2.51. 12 Sv.
Bob Howry (PHI). 2-1, 3.29. 8 Sv; 0.51 WHIP.
Kenshin Kawakami (MCG). 2-0, 1.02.
Tim Lincecum (HOM). 0-0, 9.00. 1 H; 1.19 FIP.
Ross Reynolds (LAA). 1-0, 0.75. 1 Sv; 1 H.
Ron Robinson (SFS). 1-0, 1.38. 1 Sv; 3 H; 1.96 FIP.

2 Way Players

Not a ton of change here. Most of these guys are clearly contributing significantly more one side or the other, with only Luis Padrón of the Indianapolis ABC‘s and Philadelphia’s Joe Rogan really manifesting as 2-way contributors (indeed, those are the only players with positive WARs each way). Chicago’s Cristóbal Torriente saw his first time on the mound in a blowout, but has a ways to go before being listed here.

PlayerPitchingBattingpWARbWARWAR
Luis Padrón
(IND)		5-1, 4.04
(42 IP, 6 GS)		365/441/596
(59 PA)		1.20.61.8
Joe Rogan
(PHI)		3-3, 4.50
(46 IP, 7 GS)		288/328/504
(134 PA)		0.40.50.9
J.M. Ward
(PHI)		0-1, 3.43
(42 IP, 7 GS)		207/233/379
(30 PA)		0.7-0.20.5
Jim Whitney
(BBB)		1-0, 2.19
(37 IP, 16 G)		100/143/150
(21 PA)		0.8-0.40.4
Eustaquio Pedroso
(MCG)		0-0, 4.24
(23 IP, 13 G)		222/344/222
(32 PA)		0.1-0.10.0

#Injury Report

Chicago’s Akinori Otsuka is out for about 2 weeks, weakening the American Giants’ bullpen significantly.

Detroit lost both Hal Newhouser and Johnny Marcum from their rotation this week.

Memphis may get some help on the mound this week, as both Shane Bieber and Skel Roach may return from injury.

Jimmy Bloodworth is out for over a month for San Francisco, which is not all bad news for the Sea Lions as it opens more playing time for the irrepressible Dick Lundy.

TWIWBL 63.1: Year 2, Week 6

By

On July 10, 2024

In TWIWBL

May 7th

We’re slightly changing how TWIWBL works. Each week, we’ll focus on a new randomly chosen team in detail, and the featured series will be covered there, leaving this entry to focus on awards and individual performances.

#Awards

Houston‘s Jeff Bagwell used his 3 homerun game to take down the NL Player of the Week Award, hitting .381 with 11 RBI over the week. Over in the AL, Detroit‘s Ty Cobb, who is putting together a pretty special campaign so far, earned the AL Player of the Week with a .435 average and 6–SIX–homers and 14 RBI’s.

#Team Performance

The New York Black Yankees are clearly focused on erasing the poor memories of last season’s disappointments, leading the WBL with a .688 winning percentage and currently on a 6 game winning streak. Chicago and the surprising Kansas City Monarchs are the only other teams over .600, and each lead their divisions.

New York and the Detroit Wolverines are each 7-3 over their last 10 games.

At the other end, 3 teams are under .400, including the defending champion Baltimore Black Sox, along with Portland and the Birmingham Black Barons. Baltimore sits 11 games behind the Black Yankees, facing a significant uphill climb to get back into playoff position. It is, however, early May, so it’s certainly doable.

#Player Performance

Batters

Through the first month of the season, the WBL feels a little less like Babe Ruth‘s league offensively, as both Detroit’s Ty Cobb and Ottawa‘s Larry Walker are putting up numbers to rival the Babe, who doesn’t even lead the league in homeruns, sitting 1 behind teammate Mickey Mantle, Walker, and the House of David‘s Ryne Sandberg who all have 13. In addition to Ruth, another Black Yankee, Lou Gehrig, San Francisco‘s Jimmie Foxx, and Cleveland‘s Lance Berkman also have 12 dingers so far.

In fact, with his Player of the Week performance, it’s feeling a bit like Ty Cobb‘s world: Cobb leads the WBL in all 3 slash categories, as well as doubles and overall WAR, and is 2nd in hits and RBI.

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

Ty Cobb (DET). 398/462/858. 45 H, 19 2B, 32 RBI, 2.6 WAR.
Mickey Cochrane (SFS). 368/452/667.
Eddie Collins (CAG). 311/438/485. 23 BB.
Eric Davis (NYY). 274/358/581. 30 R.
Tony Gwynn (HOU). 393/430/598.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 295/389/562. 23 SB.
Pete Hill (HOU). 290/374/561. 5 3B.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 383/422/617. 46 H, 17 2B.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 306/374/621. 32 RBI.
Dick Lundy (SFS). 356/430/593. 2.3 WAR, 18 SB.
Mickey Mantle (NYY). 313/406/704. 13 HR.
Tim Raines (OTT). 286/385/545. 5 3B.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 286/406/661. 33 RBI, 32 RBI, 29 R, 23 BB.
Ryne Sandberg (HOD). 336/383/755. 13 HR.
Turkey Stearnes (SFS). 312/359/667. 5 3B.
Larry Walker (OTT). 374/433/776. 13 HR.
Bobby Wallace (BAL). 243/391/336. 24 BB.

One thing obvious from this list: the Black Yankees and the San Francisco Sea Lions are both on fire offensively, at least in the top halves of their lineups.

Pitchers

Year 2 is a bit more pitcher friendly than last season, to the point where I would expect to end the year with a handful of sub 3.00 ERAs (last season, there Andy Pettitte, then with Birmingham, led the league with a 3.20 mark).

Starters

Eight pitchers are tied for the league lead in wins with 5 each; we’ve only included the 4 who are undefeated in the list below.

Houston’s rubber-armed Toad Ramsey is having quite a moment, but it’s unlikely the knuckleballer can maintain this level of performance.

Mark Buehrle (CAG). 5-0, 1.49.
Frank Castillo (KCM). 5-0, 2.41.
Roger Clemens (HOU). 5-0, 3.48.
Johnny Cueto (IND). 5-1, 2.66. 0.93 WHIP.
Hardie Henderson (PHI). 5-1, 2.17. 1.6 WAR.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 1-5, 4.47. 48 IP, 47 K.
Luis Padrón (IND). 5-0, 2.35.
Toad Ramsey (HOU). 5-2, 1.53. 53 IP, 65 K, 0.75 WHIP, 2.5 WAR.

Relievers

10 IP Minimum.

Rod Beck (SFS). 1-2, 7.20. 9 Sv.
Sandy Consuegra (MCG). 1-1, 0.66. 3 Sv, 1 H, 0.59 WHIP.
Mike Henneman (DET). 0-2, 0.77. 6 Sv.
Bob Howry (PHI). 2-1, 3.75. 7 Sv, 0.58 WHIP.
Eric Gagne (BRK). 0-0, 1.59. 9 Sv.
Eddie Guardado (KCM). 1-0, 0.77. 1 H.
Robb Nen (NYG). 1-0, 0.90. 8 Sv.
Jeff Pfeffer (KCM). 0-0, 3.86. 8 Sv.

2 Way Players

A new section for the opening TWIWBL is a check in on the players doing it both on the mound and at the plate led, perhaps surprisingly, by Indianapolis‘ Luis Padrón.

PlayerPitchingBattingpWARbWARWAR
Luis Padrón
(IND)		5-0, 2.35
(38 IP, 5 GS)		400/455/625
(44 PA)		1.30.51.8
Joe Rogan
(PHI)		1-3, 5.81
(31 IP, 5 GS)		297/343/515
(108 PA)		0.00.60.6
J.M. Ward
(PHI)		0-1, 3.00
(36 IP, 6 GS)		192/192/385
(26 PA)		0.7-0.10.6
Jim Whitney
(BBB)		0-1, 1.88
(24 IP, 12 G)		143/200/214
(15 PA)		0.5-0.10.4
Eustaquio Pedroso
(MCG)		0-0, 4.26
(19 IP, 10 G)		208/345/208
(29 PA)		0.3-0.10.2

Ted Williams (Memphis), Cristóbal Torriente (CAG), Martín Dihigo (Miami Cuban Giants), and Smokey Joe Wood (KCM) (among others) have yet to really be used in a 2-way capacity.

#INJURY REPORT

Indianapolis’ Joe Morgan should start a rehab assignment mid-week, as should Miami’s José Méndez.

TWIWBL 62.1: Year 2, Week 5

By

On June 20, 2024

In TWIWBL

April 30

#Awards

Willie Mays (RIP IRL) of the New York Gothams was the NL Player of the Week after hitting .417 with 3 home runs. Over in the AL, the AL Player of the Week Award went to Miami‘s Ryan Braun, who hit .471 with 5 dingers.

As the calendar flipped from April to May, we also have the first player of the month awards.

AwardPlayer
AL Player of the MonthTy Cobb (DET).411; 5 HR; 23 RBI; 21 R
AL Pitcher of the MonthMark Buehrle (CAG)5-0, 1.24
AL Rookie of the MonthTurkey Stearnes (SFS).352; 6 HR; 18 8RBI
NL Player of the MonthLarry Walker (OTT).395; .454 OBP; 9 HR; 23 RBI; 22 R
NL Pitcher of the MonthToad Ramsey (HOU)5-1, 0.96
NL Rookie of the MonthAdam Dunn (IND).253; 5 HR; 13 RBI

#Team Performance

Look, it’s way too early for any of this to matter. But, currently, only 3 games separate the best team in the Effa Manley Division (the Brooklyn Royal Giants at 14-11) and the worst (the Philadelphia Stars mirroring them at 11-14). The Homestead Grays are 1/2 game behind Brooklyn, and the New York Gothams and Ottawa Mounties sit at .500.

Brooklyn, Homestead, and the San Francisco Sea Lions have all gone 7-3 over their last 10 games, while the House of David are in the roughest patch of any team in the league, at 2-8 over their last 10.

#Player Performance

Batters

Some things that jump out: the House of David’s Ryne Sandberg is having an incredible start, the first player in the league to 11 homeruns. Led by Sandberg, 5 players have SLG over .700 but “only” 2 have BA over .400.

Ty Cobb (DET). 389/451/756. 18 2B, 1.8 WAR.
Carlos Correa (HOU). 420/474/659.
Eric Davis (NYY). 306/373/612. 27 R.
Lou Gehrig (NYY). 247/358/634. 10 HR.
Josh Gibson (HOM). 379/426/793.
Curtis Granderson (BBB). 256/330/654. 10 HR.
Tony Gwynn (HOU). 416/442/629.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 396/426/635. 38 H, 15 2B.
Dick Lundy (SFS). 394/467/681. 4 3B, 15 SB, 2.3 WAR.
Mickey Mantle (NYY). 274/361/621. 10 HR.
Boog Powell (KCM). 268/344/622. 26 RBI.
Tim Raines (OTT). 293/381/576. 5 3B.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 308/430/659. 28 RBI, 24 R, 21 BB.
Ryne Sandberg (HOD). 365/409/824. 11 HR.
Bobby Wallace (BAL). 50/405/364. 22 BB.

Pitchers

Starters

Mark Buehrle (CAG). 5-0, 1.24.
Johnny Cueto (IND). 4-1, 2.38. 0.88 WHIP.
Bill Doak (MEM). 3-1, 2.76. 1.5 WAR.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 2-3, 5.03. 39.1 IP.
Frank Knauss (BRK). 5-1, 2.62.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 1-4, 4.15. 43.1 IP, 39 K.
Toad Ramsey (HOU). 4-1, 1.19. 0.74 WHIP, 45 K, 1.7 WAR.

Relivers

Rod Beck (SFS). 1-2, 6.75. 7 Sv.
Eric Gagne (BRK). 0-0, 1.74. 10 Sv.
Craig Kimbrel (KCM). 1-0, 0.00. 1 Sv, 5 H.
Troy Percival (NYG). 0-0, 5.40. 5 H.
Jeff Pfeffer (KCM). 0-0, 4.32. 7 Sv.

#Featured Series

We’ll check in on a team that looks much improved over last season, the Homestead Grays. The Grays are hitting better than expected, but more importantly, are finally hitting enough to overcome their usual rough performances on the mound. They are visiting Indianapolis for a 4-game set, and are hoping to keep a recent slide by the ABC’s going.

Scheduled Starters

Homestead’s hurler listed first.

Billy Pierce (2-1, 6.55) @ Johnny Cueto (4-1, 2.38)
Carlos Zambrano (0-4, 9.15) @ Luis Padrón (3-0, 2.38)
Ray Brown (1-2, 6.28) @ Doc White (1-3, 4.93)
Francisco Liriano (1-2, 4.36) @ Rube Foster (1-1, 3.86)

Cueto has performed fantastically so far this year, and Padrón, while no Joe Rogan, has been a decent 2-way threat all season.

Game One

With the announcement that the Grays have moved Zambrano out of the rotation, their starters for the series are all a bit up in the air. They’ll lead it off with Doug Drabek, who is taking Zambrano’s spot and will be making his first start of the year.

Drabek was fantastic, allowing 2 hits and 1 run in 7 innings, but Rick Ownbey couldn’t hold the lead, giving up Barry Larkin‘s first homer of the year, a 2 run shot to tie the game in the 8th. Luckily for the Grays, Willie Stargell‘s 2nd homerun of the game gave them the lead in the 10th, and Josh Lindblom was able to hold on for the 4-3 win in extra innings.

HOM 4 (Lindblom 3-0; Ownbey 3 B Sv) @ IND 3 (Murphy 0-1)
HRs: HOM – Stargell 2 (10); Epstein (3); IND – Larkin (1).
Box Score

Game Two

The Grays turned to Billy Pierce in game 2, putting their rotation back on its expected schedule. His mound opponent, Luis Padrón, tossed a masterful 8 innings in a 14-3 walkover, allowing 5 hits and 1 run while fanning 8. Padrón improved to 4-0 and Tommy Helms had 3 hits and 4 RBI and Helms and Jake Stenzel each scored 3 runs in the rout.

Helms, Stenzel, George Foster, Adam Dunn (fresh off being named Rookie of the Month for April), and Johnny Bench each went yard for Indianapolis as they evened the series at 1 game each.

HOM 3 (Pierce 2-2) @ IND 14 (Padrón 4-0)
HRs: HOM – Clemente (3); IND – Helms (3), Foster (2), Stenzel (3), Dunn (6), Bench (7).
Box Score

Game Three

Chris Sabo went deep twice, driving in 3, and the Grays held on to take the series lead with a 5-4 win. Ray Brown pitched very well, but the trio of Corey Kluber, Michael Jackson, and Josh Lindblom were all a bit shaky in relief. Still, they got the job done. Tommy Helms and Bob Bescher had 2 hits for the ABC’s and Joey Votto went deep in the losing effort.

Kluber–fresh off an injury–had to leave the game with an elbow issue, and headed to the DL afterwards. Cliff Lee was recalled.

HOM 5 (Brown 2-2; Lindblom 4 Sv; Jackson 2 H) @ IND 4 (White 1-4)
HRs: HOM – Sabo 2 (5), Lajoie (2); IND – Votto (3).
Box Score

Game Four

Homestead’s bullpen did the job, with Dave Giusti, Rick Ownbey, and Josh Lindblom combining for 3+ innings of 1 hit relief of an effective Francisco Liriano. Mike Epstein went deep for the Grays and Andy Van Slyke showed signs of breaking out of an early season slump with 3 hits. All the ABC’s could muster on the day was a 2 run shot from Adam Dunn to tie the game early.

Homestead takes the series, 3-1, continuing their surprising start to the season.

HOM 4 (Liriano 2-2; Lindblom 5 Sv; Giusti 3 H; Ownbey 2 H) @ IND 2 (Foster 1-2)
HRs: HOM – Epstein (4); IND – Dunn (7).
Box Score

TWIWBL 61.1: Year 2, Week 4

By

On June 10, 2024

In TWIWBL

April 23

With 3 weeks in the books, teams will have their first real overhaul this week, so expect some changes to lineups, rotations, etc. to be covered in the TWIWBL’s, making them a little longer than usual.

#NO NO and Near No No

José Rijo of the Kansas City Monarchs tossed the very first no-hitter in WBL history, blanking the House of David 7-0. Rijo didn’t walk a batter and struck out 12 in the 114 pitch masterpiece, supported by a 15 hit attack (including 9 doubles). Ozzie Smith had 4 hits, Albert Pujols drove in 2, and Boog Powell scored twice to lead the offense, but it was really all about Rijo, who improved to 2-1 on the year and dropped his ERA by roughly 2.5 points. It still stands a shade over 5 at 5.08, making the historic performance even more surprising.

Box Score

{In real life, Rijo had 2 1-hitters, but never threw a no-no.}

Christy Mathewson and John Montgomery Ward combined for one of the best pitched games in WBL history as the Matty’s New York Gothams bested the Philadelphia Stars 1-0 in 10 innings. Mathewson threw over 7 shutout innings, allowing only 2 hits and was–by far–the inferior hurler, as Ward allowed a single hit over 9 innings while striking out 12. Buster Posey took Ward’s relief–Bob Howry–deep to lead off the 10th for the only score of the day.

Box Score

#Awards

Miami‘s Gary Sheffield was the AL Player of the Week, hitting .500 with 2 homeruns. In the NL, Ottawa‘s Larry Walker took the award, hitting .444 with 4 homers and 6 RBIs.

#Team Performance

Three teams have exploded out of the gate: the Chicago American Giants and Kansas City lead the WBL in winning percentage, with both teams at .722 (13-5). The New York Black Yankees are at .700, starting the season at 14-6.

At the other end, the Detroit Wolverines have the worst record in the league at 6-14 (.300) while the Baltimore Black Sox and the Portland Sea Dogs are barely better at 6-13 (.316).

For those of you who remember Year I, the theme here is parity–or inconsistency, depending on your streetcorner. Baltimore are the defending champions, Detroit and Portland both made the playoffs, Kansas City was among the worst teams in the league last season, and the Black Yankees were a major disappointment, missing the postseason entirely.

We’re only 20 games in, so take it all with a grain of salt, but it’s fun to see.

#Player Performance

Batters

20 games seems plenty to look at some leaderboards, at least for hitters in a limited way. This list is the top 2 in most offensive categories, leaders in bold.

Ty Cobb (DET). 400/452/769. 15 2B.
Carlos Correa (HOU). 437/481/648. 31 H.
Eric Davis (NYY). 368/430/763. 9 HR, 26 R, 10 SB.
Tony Gwynn (HOU). 452/474/658. 33 H.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 306/398/597. 11 SB.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 425/462/671. 31 H, 12 2B.
Grant Johnson (HOU). 319/373/609. 23 RBI.
Dick Lundy (SFS). 384/451/685. 4 3B, 1.8 WAR.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 362/471/812. 9 HR, 27 RBI, 20 R, 1.7 WAR.
Ryne Sandberg (HOD). 383/406/900. 9 HR.
Joey Votto (IND). 360/484/500.
Larry Walker (OTT). 435/474/826.
Bobby Wallace (BAL). 22 BB. 279/476/377.

There are some surprises here for sure: Correa and Johnson in Houston finally coming good, same with San Francisco‘s Lundy. But it still looks like it’s Babe Ruth’s league, assuming Sandberg’s performance falls back to mere excellence.

Pitchers

Still not enough to really get into stats: 13 starters have 3 wins, nobody has over 30 IP, etc. But some things to note:

  • It seems like there is always a single starting pitcher head and shoulders above the rest at any given time in the WBL. Right now, it’s Portland’s Smokey Joe Wood, who is 3-0 with a 1.82 ERA.
  • Houston’s Toad Ramsey is the ERA leader at an impressive 1.57, just ahead of Wood. Chicago’s Mark Buehrle is the only other starter with an ERA beneath 2.00 at 1.86.

Relievers have yet to really separate as well, as 5 of them have 5 saves on the season so far.

#Featured Series

This time we’ll focus on a four game set as the Los Angeles Angels visit Chicago to take on the American Giants. The Angels come into the game at 10-9 which is essentially “as expected,” while Chicago has roared out of the gate, sitting 1t 15-6.

Scheduled Starters

Los Angeles hurler listed first.

Tom Seaver (1-0, 3.00) @ David Price (2-2, 5.40)
Dwight Gooden (1-2, 3.24) @ Ed Walsh (1-0, 3.80)
Pud Galvin (0-2, 4.85) @ Mark Buehrle (4-0, 1.32)
Brett Anderson (2-1, 4.76) @ Ben Sheets (0-1, 7.71)

Game One

It was a rough start for David Price, as he gave up 2 runs in the top of the first on an RBI single by Mike Trout and a sacrifice fly from Doug Rader. But Price settled right down, and was virtually perfect the rest of the way before being relieved by Hoyt Wilhelm in the 7th. Tom Seaver was as good, leaving in the 6th inning having given up only 1 run.

The American Giants would score again in the 7th, but that would be it until the bottom of the 10th. Mike Fiore led off being hit by a pitch from Julio Teheran, Joe Jackson doubled him to 3rd and, after Ross Reynolds took over on the mound and issued an intentional walk to Frank Thomas, Dick Allen lifted a ball deep to center, where it was caught by Don Buford, but he had no chance to catch Fiore before he crossed the plate with the winning run.

LAA 2 (Teheran 1-2; Patterson 1 H; Lowry 2 BSv) @ CAG 3 (Wilhelm 1-0) [10 Innings]
HRs: None.
Box Score

Game Two

The story for most of the game was Los Angeles’ Doc Gooden, who was spectacular through 8 innings, allowing only 3 hits while fanning 10. The only blemish on Gooden’s day was a solo shot to Duffy Lewis, which tied the game at 1 in the 8th.

We were headed to extra innings once again, but there was less drama this time as the Angels used 3 homeruns in the top of the 10th (Doug Rader, Bobby Grich, and AJ Pierzynski) to ease to the 5-1 win.

LAA 5 (Rodríguez 1-0) @ CAG 1 (Twitchell 2-1) [10 Innings]
HRs: LAA – Rader (2), Grich (6), Pierzynski (4); CAG – Lewis (1).
Box Score

Game Three

Mark Buehrle just keeps rolling along, allowing 5 hits and 1 run over 9 innings and improving to 5-0 on the year. But the Angels’ pitchers were almost as good, and the only tallies in the game came from solo shots from Chicago’s Dave Nilsson and the Angels’ Mike Trout, who seems to be waking from an early season slumber. The game came down to a walkoff single from Joe Jackson in the bottom of the 9th. Jackson, Eddie Collins, and Paul Konerko had 2 hits each for Chicago.

LAA 1 (DeSclafani 0-1) @ CAG 2 (Buehrle 5-0)
HRs: LAA – Trout (3); CAG – Nilsson (1).
Box Score

Game Four

Another great pair of efforts from the starting pitchers, as Los Angeles’ Brett Anderson and Chicago’s Ben Sheets each went 7 innings allowing only a single hit each, and no earned runs (errors had allowed runs to score for each team). A key hit from rookie Ichiro Suzuki drove in 2, providing the margin the Angels needed for a 4-1 victory, splitting the series 2 games apiece. Neither team had an extra base hit, and they combined for only 6 singles (4 for Los Angeles and 2 for the American Giants).

LAA 4 (Anderson 3-1; Reynolds 1 Sv) @ CAG 1 (Sheets 0-2; Otsuka 1 B Sv)
HRs: None.
Box Score

TWIWBL 56.3: Spring Training Notes – Baltimore Black Sox

By

On February 20, 2024

In TWIWBL

Spring Training Questions

Not many: the twelve arms are–pending injury or spring training collapse–pretty much set, as is most of the lineup with only a single roster spot currently available, which would be filled by a reserve 2B.

First Cuts

This is hard. Other than Dick Ellsworth, all of the competitors for the final rosters spots impressed–even Frank Fancisco, who joined Ellsworth in being sent down, didn’t pitch badly.

The same can’t be said for the mainstays: Bob Miller and Buddy Groom both struggled, and pricey FA pickup Aaron Heilman was hit very hard. Baltimore’s assumption is that their core rotation–Bill Byrd, Dennis Martínez, Connie Johnson, and Mike Mussina–will all come around.

Offensively, some moves were more clear.

Nobody other than Curt Blefary has done anything behind the plate, leading to Brook Fordyce and Joe Holden being returned to the minors, as were Bruce Bochte, Paul Hines, Roy Smalley Jr., and Julian Javier. Both Billy Hulen and Paul Blair are hitless so far, but Blair is an established starter and a gold glove winner, so it’s Hulen who is sent to the minors, along with Ron Northey.

Neither Jim Bottomley nor Dave Altizer have shown much, but they were kept in camp for the time being.

It was assumed that 16 year old Piggy Ward was only in camp as a publicity stunt, but the young man has shown great control of the strike zone and enough defensive skill to stick around a bit longer.

Ramón Hernández, Manny Machado, Blair, and Larry Gardner have all struggled mightily, but aren’t yet in danger of any change to their status. Miller Huggins has also been poor, but retains his spot in camp due to the uncertainty at the reserve 2B position.

The focus for Baltimore will be on sorting out the pitching question: look for extended innings to be given to those guys over the next week. There are some questions to settle in the OF as well, as Steve Brodie‘s impressive start, combined with the struggles of Chick Stahl, Altizer, and Phil Bradley are muddying the waters for what may be the final roster spot.

Second Cuts

In the bullpen, Bob Miller–who started last year as the co-closer for the Black Sox but struggled since around the all-star break, and has been absolutely hammered in Spring Training–will start this season in the minors. Rafael Betancourt was also sent down, but other than that the pitching remains muddled: the starting quartet continues to struggle and the pretenders–Blake Hawksworth, Jack Kramer, Milt Pappas, and John Tudor–have combined to allow 1 run in in just over 26 innings.

Ramón Hernández and Phil Masi have each managed only a single hit, but Hernández’ WBL track record keeps him in camp. George Gibson was recalled to get some fill in at bats.

Jim Bottomley and Dave Altizer were sent down, loosening some of the crowd at 1B. Bottomley was given his release, allowing the veteran to try to catch on elsewhere. Teenage phenom Piggy Ward headed to minor league camp as well.

In the OF, veteran Chick Stahl‘s miserable spring earned him a ticket to AAA, while Steve Brodie and Phil Bradley continued to argue for a roster spot.

Third Cuts

C George Gibson, SS Mark Belanger, and Ps Jack Kramer and Mark Baldwin were the easy demotions. They were joined by Blake Hawksworth, whose wildness raised too many questions.

FA signing Aaron Heilman had been assumed to be a lock for the roster, but instead pitched poorly enough to be released, despite the economic commitment of his contract.

OF Steve Brodie was making a decent case to stick around, but a strained oblique will keep him out for about a month, sending him to AAA. He’s joined there by Brian Roberts, meaning Miller Huggins has beat out Roberts for the reserve 2B slot.

Joe Dobson and Milt Pappas have both pitched well in camp, but move to AAA for more development given their youth. Both Eddie Murray and Willie Montañez have hit well enough to stay in camp, and there is a bit of a logjam at SS and 3B: Bobby Wallace and Manny Machado are the presumed starters, leaving Brooks Robinson likely as the odd man out despite a strong Spring.

Phil Bradley finds himself in a similar position, likely the victim of a numbers game by the end of camp.

Last Cuts

Teenage phenom Willie Montañez‘ time in camp came to an end. OF Phil Bradley was going to need a stunning Spring to break camp with the Black Sox, and while he certainly tried, there was just no way he was breaking through the established OFers–plus Gavvy Cravath.

In a bit of a surprise, Tom Haller beat out incumbent Ramón Hernández to backup Curt Blefary with Hernández heading to AAA. That makes the Black Sox one of the first teams to reduce to only 2 Cs, partially out of a desire to get Blefary as much work behind the plate as possible before opening day.

Brooks Robinson had a nice Spring, but there just wasn’t any room for him on the left side of the infield behind incumbents Bobby Wallace and Larry Gardner, World Series hero Manny Machado, and the emerging talents of Cal Ripken, Jr. Robinson is off to AAA, with hopes that a good showing may make him desirable for a contender come the next trading period.

Being Whirled Champions should mean your roster is strong. It should also mean your choices the next Spring are rough, and here we are. Scott Williamson, Armando Benitez, John Tudor, and Kevin Tapani all pitched well this Spring. Tapani and Benitez were slightly worse, so they are the first two heading to AAA.

Benitez refused to be demoted, so he was waived, which puts a decent arm on the free market.

Eddie Murray was fantastic all Spring. But the Black Sox are going to continue with 37 year old Dan McGann for one more year, sending Murray to AAA to get regular AB.

The Cravath acquisition makes things complicated as the Black Sox have 6 quality bats in the OF (or 5 quality bats plus Paul Blair‘s glove). They also have a glut on the left side of the IF, where Cal Ripken, Jr is pushing both Bobby Wallace and Manny Machado at SS and 3B.

In the end, the hard decision came down to Ripken and Williamson being sent down, with Tudor being the surprise arm making the roster out of Spring Training.

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