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TWIWBL 84.6: AL Wild Card Series – Detroit Wolverines v San Francisco Sea Lions

By

On January 11, 2026

In 2001 Playoffs, TWIWBL

#Game 1 – Thu, Oct 4

The opening game will see Detroit’s Charlie Root taking on San Francisco’s Lefty Grove.

With Hank Greenberg out, Detroit will insert JD Martinez into the lineup, with Juan Beníquez taking over for Greenberg at 1B. They’ll also opt for more offense, with both Ray Chapman and Tony Lazzeri starting the game at SS and 2B respectively.

The game was scoreless until Reggie Jackson took Root deep in the bottom of the 2nd. Rickey Henderson added a 2-run shot in the 3rd, increasing the lead to 3-0. And then it was Bobby Bonds‘ turn, with a 2 run shot for a 5-0 lead.

Meanwhile, Grove was dealing, allowing only 2 hits through 5 innings.

Root settled down and made it through 6 innings before yielding to Justin Verlander.

Oscar Gamble broke up the shutout with a homerun in the 8th, a blow that also chased Grove from the game.

In the top of the 9th, Ken Howell gave up a pinch-hit double to Victor Martinez, who was replaced by pinch-runner Charlie Gehringer. Howell uncorked consecutive wild pitches, and Gehringer came home, closing the score to 5-2. But Howell got out of it, and San Francisco opened the series with a win.

The story of the game was really Grove, who allowed 4 hits and 1 run while fanning 5 in 7+ innings.

DET 2 (Root 0-1) @ SFS 5 (Grove 1-0)
HRs: DET – Gamble (1); SFS – Jackson (1), Henderson (1), Bonds (1).
Box Score

#Game 2, Fri Oct 5

The mercurial Hal Newhouser will take the ball for Detroit, with San Francisco looking to Eddie Plank–1 of only 2 20 game winners this year in the WBL–to extend the Sea Lions’ edge to 2 games to none.

Again, Detroit is stacking its lineup, trading extra offense for Ty Cobb‘s lack of skill patrolling CF.

It looked like they would need all of that and more as Newhouser surrendered 5 consecutive hits to start the game: a double by Rickey Henderson, singles by Dick Lundy and Reggie Jackson, a 3 run homer from Jack Clark (Lundy had already brought Henderson home), and a single by Turkey Stearnes. Royce Clayton drove in 2 more before Henderson grounded out to end the inning with San Francisco up, 6-0.

Ernie Lombardi took Plank deep in the 3rd for Cleveland’s first hit, and Ray Chapman did the same for their second, making it 6-2. But Newhouser continued to struggle, eventually walking Henderson with the bases loaded, making the score 7-2 and bringing in Johnny Marcum from the Wolverines’ bullpen. Lundy greeted Marcum with a bases clearing triple, and it just got worse from there for Detroit.

By the time it was over, San Francisco had pounded out 23 hits and 17 runs, winning easily, 17-4.

Stearnes had 4 hits, Clark drove in 5, and Henderson scored 4 times in the rout.

DET 4 (Newhouser 0-1) @ SFS 17 (Plank 1-0)
HRs: DET – Lombardi (1), Chapman (1), Martinez (1); SFS – Clark (1), Stearnes (1).
Box Score

#Game 3, Sun Oct 7

Detroit will turn to Connie Johnson, trying to win their first game of the series while San Francisco will counter with Bump Hadley. Johnson has been fine since Detroit brought him over midseason, while Hadley is the third jewel in San Francisco’s rotation, finishing the season with a record of 18-6.

Detroit took an early lead, with Ty Cobb singling, stealing 2nd, and scoring on a Hank Greenberg single, but the lead was short-lived, as Turkey Stearnes doubled home Jack Clark. Stearnes would hit one out in the top of the 4th, giving San Francisco the 2-1 edge.

But in the bottom of the frame, Al Kaline hit 1 out with Oscar Gamble on first and Ernie Lombardi scored on a Chili Davis sac fly. 4-2 Detroit. Johnson was chased in the 5th via a Dick Lundy triple, a double from Rickey Henderson, and a 2-run shot from Reggie Jackson. Jimmie Foxx added an RBI single, and the Sea Lions now had a 2 run lead, 6-4.

Lundy added a solo shot in the top of the 6th, but Gamble answered with a homer of his own in the bottom of the inning. JD Martinez delivered a pinch-hit single, scoring a run and chasing Hadley. Watty Clark loaded the bases, bringing up Cobb, who delivered a 2-run single, and the see-saw kept moving, with Detroit now leading, 8-7.

Detroit added runs in the 8th on consecutive doubles from Martinez and Charlie Gehringer, followed by a massive moon shot from Bob Bailey, giving them a 4 run edge heading into the top of the 9th.

Chad Bradford allowed a couple baserunners, but was able to close it out, and Detroit clawed their way back into the series with their first win.

Cobb had 3 hits on the day, but the game was really won by the effectiveness of Troy Percival, Buddy Napier, and Bradford, who combined for 3 innings of 1-hit relief to end the game.

SFS 7 (Clark 0-1, 1 B Sv) @ DET 11 (Verlander 1-0; Percival 1 H; Napier 1 H)
HRs: SFS – Stearnes (2), Jackson (2), Lundy (1); DET – Kaline (1), Gamble (2), Bailey (1).
Box Score

#Game 4, Mon Oct 8

If Detroit is to fulfill the role of underdog, this is a pretty important game. The Wolverines would turn to the relatively unheralded Pete Conway–who might be their best starter right now–while the Sea Lions would trot out veteran Tim Hudson. The 38 year old Hudson has been dominant since his return from a long-term injury, so we may see just how much he has in the tank.

With Chili Davis still looking for his first hit in the postseason, Detroit opted for its offensive lineup with Ty Cobb taking over in center, opening the DH spot for JD Martinez.

The Sea Lions started hot: a Rickey Henderson triple followed by a sacrifice fly from Mickey Cochrane and a solo homerun from Reggie Jackson gave San Francisco an early 2-0 edge. Al Kaline got 1 back with a solo shot in the second, and Bob Bailey tied the game with a homerun of his own in the 3rd.

Jimmie Foxx was tossed from the game for arguing balls and strikes, bringing Sal Bando in for San Francisco at 3B.

Then Kaline took Hudson deep for his second of the game, putting Detroit on top, 4-2. Singles from Martinez and Bailey chased Hudson, with Martinez scoring on a sacrifice fly. 5-2.

Jackson went deep for the second time, but Kaline drove in another, keeping Detroit’s 3 run cushion at 6-3 through 5. Conway was done at that point, with Detroit turning the ball over to Jack Wilson, who kept San Francisco scoreless until the 8th, when Buddy Napier took the mound.

Napier gave up a single to Cochrane and a double to Jack Clark, bringing up Turkey Stearnes, who singled home a run, but Bando bounced into a double play, leaving the score 6-4. Which is where it stood when Chad Bradford came in for the save. He surrendered a double to Dick Lundy, but that was it and, improbably, the Wolverines have made it a best of 3 series.

Kaline drove in 4 on 3 hits for Detroit, and now has 3 homers and 7 RBIs in the series.

SFS 4 (Hudson 0-1) @ DET 6 (Conway 1-0; Bradford 1 Sv; Wilson 1 H; Napier 2 H)
HRs: SFS – Jackson (2) 4; DET – Kaline 2 (3), Bailey (2).
Box Score

#Game 5, Tue Oct 9

Suddenly, there is only 1 series still in doubt, and it wasn’t the one anyone would have predicted: we’re looking at a best 2-out-of-3 to see who plays Cleveland for the AL crown.

We would see a rematch of the first game, with Lefty Grove taking on Charlie Root.

Detroit continues to juggle its lineup, once again starting Ty Cobb in CF, but benching Juan Beníquez in this game in favor of Oscar Gamble‘s hot hand.

The Sea Lions scored 2 in the top of the first on a homerun from Jack Clark, but it could have been much worse: Ernie Lombardi threw out Rickey Henderson on an attempted steal, and Al Kaline gunned down Mickey Cochrane on the basepaths.

But Detroit answered immediately: Gamble doubled and scored on a single from Cobb. Cobb was gunned down trying to steal a pitch before Hank Greenberg hit a homerun to tie the game.

This feels like a wild one: Bobby Bonds walked, stole 2nd and 3rd, and scored on a passed ball then, in the 3rd, Henderson scored on a walk, steal, sacrifice bunt, and sacrifice fly. Bonds added a more traditional run–a solo homer– in the 4th, making it 5-2, San Francisco in a game where Grove was a little rough–8 strikeouts through 4 innings, but also 7 hits allowed.

A walk to Clark to lead off the 6th chased Root. His relief, Johnny Marcum, struggled, giving up a run-scoring single to Dick Lundy, and walked Henderson with the bases loaded for another. Steve Howe came in and finished the inning, but the damage was done: San Francisco now led 7-2.

Bob Bailey went deep in the 6th, but Grove finished out the frame and, from there, the game slowly slipped further away from Detroit.

Until Lombardi launched a grand slam in the 8th. That made it 12-8, but a 4 run gap is far better than the 9 runs they entered trailing by. Bonds added his 2nd of the game in the 9th, making the score 13-8 heading to the bottom of the frame.

Kaline launched a 3 run shot with 2 outs, closing to 13-11 and forcing the Sea Lions to bring in Rod Beck … who closed it out for the key Game 5 win for San Francisco.

Lundy had 4 hits and Bonds 3 while scoring 4 times. Jackson and Clark each drove in 3 with 2 homers each. For Detroit, Lombardi had 4 RBIs with the grandslam, and Kaline drove in 3 in the losing effort.

On the mound, Grove was just good enough, and Marcum, Howe, and Justin Verlander were all far too poor for the Wolverines.

SFS 13 (Grove 2-0; Beck 1 Sv) @ DET 11 (Root 0-2)
HRs: SFS – Clark 2 (3), Bonds 2 (3), Jackson (5); DET – Greenberg (1), Bailey (3), Lombardi (2), Kaline (4).
Box Score

#Game 6, Thu Oct 11

We’re back in San Francisco for the final 2 games of the series, with Detroit in a must-win situation. We’ll get the rematch from Game 2–Detroit’s Hal Newhouser, who was roughed up, against San Francisco’s 20 game winner, Eddie Plank.

Ray Chapman led off the game with a dinger, but Turkey Stearnes evened it up with an RBI single in the bottom of the 1st. Newhouser continued to struggle, giving up a 3 run shot to Jimmie Foxx in the bottom of the 3rd, which gives San Francisco a 4-1 lead.

Meanwhile, Plank was near-perfect into the 5th, when he gave his 2nd hit, another solo homer, this one to Oscar Gamble. A walk to Bob Bailey and a deep shot from JD Martinez later, and we were all tied at 4.

Newhouser made it into the 5th, making it a much better performance than his first start of the series, but still not up to par. Plank looked better, but the results spoke loudly: with 2 outs in the 7th, Martinez launched his 2nd of the day, putting the Wolverines up, 5-4.

Buddy Napier came in for Detroit in the bottom of the 8th, and a walk to Bobby Bonds and a hit from Cochrane created a difficult situation, but Napier got Henderson to bounce into a double play, ending the inning.

Nursing the 1 run lead, Chad Bradford gave up a 2 out single to Jack Clark, bringing up Stearnes, who was 3-for-4 on the day and hitting .520 for the series. But Bradford got the groundout, and we were heading to a Game 7!

This has to be thought of as a game that got away: San Francisco outhit Detroit 11-4, but the Sea Lions left 10 runners on base and could not deliver what was needed to clinch.

DET 5 (Marcum 1-0; Bradford 2 Sv; Howe 1 H; Napier 3 H) @ SFS 4 (Plank 1-1)
HRs: DET – Chapman 2, Martinez 2 (3); SFS – Foxx (1).
Box Score

#Game 7, Fri Oct 12

So, here we are: game seven for all the marbles with Detroit’s Connie Johnson taking on San Francisco’s Bump Hadley. As has been true the entire series, the matchup favors the Sea Lions, but the Wolverines don’t really care.

San Francisco struck first, with Jack Clark singling home Rickey Henderson, who had doubled and stole 3rd. That gave Clark 9 RBIs in the 7 games, certainly putting him in the MVP conversation. In the bottom of the 3rd, Dick Lundy singled, stole 2nd, moved to 3rd on a groundout, and scored on a sacrifice fly from Mickey Cochrane. That made it 2-0 San Francisco, with Hadley looking good.

In the top of the 5th, a walk and steal by Bob Bailey and an error at 3B by Jimmie Foxx put runners on the corners with 2 outs, but Hadley got Ray Chapman to fly out weakly to RF to end the inning.

Reggie Jackson–likely ahead of Clark in the MVP discussion–tripled home a run in the 5th, increasing the lead to 3-0 and Bobby Bonds made it 4-0 with a solo homer in the 6th, chasing Johnson. This is a must-win, so starter Pete Conway was called in from the pen.

Hadley had a 2 hit shutout through 8 innings, but he was also at 105 pitches in a Game 7, and the Sea Lions decided to take no chances, calling on closer Rod Beck. Back gave up a single to Oscar Gamble, but whiffed Ty Cobb, retired Gamble on a fielder’s choice, and retired Kaline on a fly to left.

So the Sea Lions do progress, but you have to tip your hat to Detroit, taking the best team in the league to a full 7 games.

Gamble had 2 of Detroit’s 3 hits, capping an excellent series (he, along with Kaline and Martinez were the best hitters for the Wolverines). Bonds and Royce Clayton had 2 hits each in the game, but this was really Hadley’s game, and arguably the finest starting performance of the postseason.

DET 0 (Johnson 0-1) @ SFS 4 (Hadley 1-0)
HRs: DET – none; SFS – Bonds (4).
Box Score

There were a lot of choices for MVP, prompted by the Sea Lions 3 games with double-digit runs. The award went to Dick Lundy, who hit .538 with 7 RBI’s in the series. But an argument could be made for Reggie Jackson, who had 5 homers and 11 RBI’s, or for Lefty Grove, who was 2-0 with an ERA under 3.00.

TWIWBL 84.2: AL Playoff Previews

By

On January 7, 2026

In 2001 Playoffs, TWIWBL

The Wild Card Round in the AL will see the #1 seed, San Francisco, take on Detroit while Cleveland and the New York Black Yankees resume their season-long rivalry.

Previews are in order of seeding, starting with the Sea Lions

#San Francisco Sea Lions

San Francisco won 103 games this year and was the dominant team for almost all of the season. As such, postseason expectations are high, and warrantably so.

The front of their rotation can match up against anyone, with Lefty Grove (16-6, 4.40), Eddie Plank (20-7, 4.42), and the impressive rookie, Bump Hadley (18-6, 4.10) as dominant as they come. The back end of the bullpen is equally strong: Rod Beck led the league in saves with 41, Ken Howell was his usual spectacular self, and Joe Nathan was obtained via trade for the 7th.

Offensively, the Sea Lions are led by the presumptive AL Rookie of the Year, Turkey Stearnes, but he’s far from the only force: Rickey Henderson led the league in steals, Reggie Jackson and Jack Clark each had over 100 RBIs, and Clark, Stearnes, Jackson, and Jimmie Foxx each hit over 40 homeruns.

Even an injury that will prevent Frank Grant from seeing action for a week or 2 has an upside, as it clears playing time for Royce Clayton, who has an OPS over .900 as a reserve IF.

With Grant unavailable, the final spot on the playoff roster came down to a choice between Tommy Bridges and Wayne Gross, with the Sea Lions deciding to go with the the extra bat off the bench.

#New York Black Yankees

90 wins and a Bill James Division Title earned the Black Yankees the 2nd seed in the AL.

The story of the Black Yankees has remained the same over 2 seasons and numerous roster moves: can the bullpen do enough to support good starting pitching and an excellent offense?

Goose Gossage was given closer duties midway through the season and has been excellent overall, but getting to him as been challenging to say the least, prompting New York to overpay for Hoyt Wilhelm as a bridge between the starters, the erratic Aroldis Chapman, and Gossage.

Andy Pettitte has taken over the #1 slot from Ron Guidry, and after those 2 it’s a bit of a tossup between Dave Righetti, Pascual Pérez, and the surprising Tony Brizzolara.

Offensively, the team is a beast, with Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Mickey Mantle combining for over 200 HRs with star level support from Mike Schmidt, Eric Davis, and Rogers Hornsby.

Had he been recalled earlier, the surprising Josh Harrison would have made the playoff roster, but instead Jeff Nelson comes along as an extra bullpen arm.

#Cleveland Spiders

Cleveland faded down the stretch, finishing a game behind the Black Yankees. Still, a solid season for the Spiders, who relied on an impressive offense and a pitching staff that, while lacking star power, remained dependable top to bottom.

Cy Young led the way with 15 wins, but Bob Feller and Bill Steen were probably better as starters. Yordana Ventura started well this season, but faded and may be relegated to bullpen duty. Al Smith has locked down a spot in the pen, teaming with Cory Gearrin to get the ball to closer Terry Adams.

7 everyday starters sport OPS’ over .900, including the 33 year-old, late season callup, Willie McCovey. McCovey’s performance makes the roster a little heavy in 1B/DH/Corner OF types, with Lance Berkman, Ron Blomberg, and John Ellis all fitting that role, but 17 HRs in under 40 games can’t be ignored.

The key to the offense remains evil CF Tris Speaker, but Berkman, who led the Spiders in HR and RBI, isn’t far behind. A late season surge–including 4 homers on the final day of the season–has moved Larry Doby into that conversation, and Evan Longoria and Arky Vaughan have laid full claim to the 3B and SS roles, which were question marks for Cleveland earlier in the season.

Everyone makes the postseason roster, even the disappointing Louis Santop who, after starring last season, forgot how to hit and lost most of his playing time to mid-season acquisition Ed Bailey. Bailey has a bruised thigh, and will be unavailable for the first few games of the opening series, meaning Santop or Ellis will likely start behind the plate.

#Detroit Wolverines

A tailspin at the end of the year forced Detroit into a 1 game playoff for the final Wild Card spot, which they won handily. For that effort, they receive a matchup with San Francisco, in which they will be a significant underdog.

Still, it’s hard to count a team with Ty Cobb, he of the 386/440/841 slash line, out.

Cobb, however, didn’t lead the Wolverines in OPS–that honor fell to JD Martinez who just kept demanding more playing time as the season wore on. It’s only 125 PAs, but still. Hank Greenberg and Al Kaline provide significant support, and behind them, well, nobody is a star but nobody is bad. Oscar Gamble, Juan Beníquez, Ernie Lombardi, and Bob Bailey all have OPS’ over .850. Greenberg is out for the first game or 1, which is a significant blow for Detroit.

The middle infield is an open question, but Charlie Gheringer seems to have locked down 2B and a mixture of Tony Lazzeri and Ray Chapman are producing surprising offense from SS. There is an outside chance Bobby Wallace–obtained to be the solution at SS–is back during the postseason. We’ll see.

The weakness of this team is the starting pitching: Charlie Root was the only constant, and he was pretty mediocre. Hal Newhouser has an explosive arm, but an erratic track record, and after him, we’re looking at trade acquisition Connie Johnson and the surprising Pete Conway.

Closer Mike Henneman is still trying to recover from a back issue, meaning the bullpen will revolve around Chad Bradford, Steve Howe, Troy Percival, and Buddy Napier. Howe and Percival were obtained via trade and have been fairly inconsistent.

The final roster spot came down to a choice between George Bechtel and Johnny Marcum, with Detroit opting for Marcum’s experience, but neither have been very good this year.

#Predictions

San Francisco is just too good. Detroit can take some hope from having split the season series with the Sea Lions at 7 games each. But it just feels like too big of an ask.

San Francisco in 5.

The other series is just a continuation of a back-and-forth battle all season. The teams are completely familiar to each other, having met 23 times in the regular season, with Cleveland taking 12 wins against New York’s 11.

That feels right for the playoffs as well.

My head says New York in 7, but my heart says Cleveland takes advantage of yet another bullpen implosion to take the final game. We’ll see.

TWIWBL 83.5: Cum Posey Division

By

On December 30, 2025

In TWIWBL

TeamW/LPctGB
San Francisco Sea Lions99-57.635—
Miami Cuban Giants76-79.49022.5
Los Angeles Angels71-85.45528
Portland Sea Dogs70-86.44929
Chicago American Giants69-87.44230
Cum Posey Division | 23 September

#Chicago American Giants

With the American Giants still looking for some help at 1B going into next year, they recalled the newly signed Dick Wakefield. Michael McKenry was sent down to make room.

In their final game, Freddie Lindstrom went 4 for 4, driving in 4 with 2 homeruns leading the American Giants to a 10-5 victory over Portland. Joe Jackson, Dick Allen, and Kevin Mitchell each went deep for Chicago as well.

#Los Angeles Angels

The Angels will turn over starting duties to a bevy of new names this week, with Luke Walker, Julio Teheran (who has been impressive in a few starts after 56 bullpen appearances), Vic Willis, Harry Howell, and Nolan Ryan all expected to get a chance starting games.

Carlos Delgado hit 2 homers in a 5-3 loss to San Francsico.

#Miami Cuban Giants

Gary Sheffield‘s return from injury means less time for Andy Pafko, despite Pafko’s solid performance. Bert Campaneris was recalled for the final week of the season, although his appearances may be limited as the Cuban Giants push for a surprise Wild Card spot.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Bobby Murcer closed out his season strong, belting 2 homeruns as the Sea Dogs fell to Chicago, 10-5.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

Bump Hadley improved to 18-6 on the year, twirling a 1-hit shutout of New York. Jack Clark went deep twice, and Reggie Jackson, Bobby Bonds, and Rickey Henderson also homered in the 9-0 walkover.

Henderson hit 2 more out as the Sea Lions topped Los Angeles in their penultimate contest of the regular season, 5-3, with Rod Beck earning his league leading 41st save.

TWIWBL 83.3: The Final Week!

By

On December 28, 2025

In TWIWBL

Some notes as we move through the final week of the season.

#Monday

Miami moved in front of Detroit by a half game in the AL Wild Card race behind a great start from Phenomenal Smith, whose return may be a difference maker for the Cuban Giants. Smith gave up 1 run in 7 innings, moving to 4-0. Hal Newhouser was good for Detroit, but an early homer from Gary Sheffield and a late one from Joe Adcock sealed the game for Miami.


Miami Cuban Giants		77-79—
Detroit Wolverines77-800.5
AL Wild Card

Cleveland was supposed to have an easy time of it, hosting the lowly Memphis Red Sox. But the Spiders’ bullpen collapsed, and they dropped a 9-8 decision to the visitors, who were powered by homers from Lefty O’Doul, Hack Wilson, and David Ortiz.

New York Black Yankees89-67—
Cleveland Spiders87-692
Bill James Division

In a series that means more for Indianapolis than Philadelphia, the ABC’s opened with a decisive win, 15-8 over the Stars. Johnny Bench hit 2 out, and the game wasn’t as close as the score (Philadelphia tallied 5 in the 9th to make it more respectable).


Houston Colt 45s		81-75—
Indianapolis ABC’s78-793.5
Kansas City Monarchs77-804.5
Marvin Miller Division
Indianapolis ABC’s78-79—
Kansas City Monarchs77-801
Wandering House of David76-812
NL Wild Card

#Tuesday

Detroit pulled back into a dead heat with Miami, pounding out 6 homeruns (2 from JD Martinez) in an 11-5 win. Ernie Lombardi, Tony Lazzeri, Oscar Gamble, and Ty Cobb also went deep for the Wolverines in an easy win for the visitors.


Detroit Wolverines		78-80—
Miami Cuban Giants77-800.5
AL Wild Card

Memphis did it again, beating Cleveland 4-2, and dropping the Spiders 2.5 games behind the Black Yankees. Homers from Reggie Smith and Wade Boggs backed a strong showing from Stubby Overmire, who moved to 13-9 on the year. The Spiders, however, remained only 2 games behind the Black Yankees as New York fell to San Francisco, 9-0, as Bump Hadley improved to 18-6 with a masterful 1-hitter.

New York Black Yankees89-68—
Cleveland Spiders87-702
Bill James Division

Philadelphia stormed back from a 7-1 deficit, beating the ABC’s 8-7 on a pinch-hit walkoff shot from Aaron Judge–his 60th of the year–in a game that saw 2 grandslams, one from Indianapolis’ Ed Swartwood, the other from the Stars’ Charles Rogan. This was good news for Houston, who dropped a 9-8 decision to the New York Gothams, who were powered by 2 homeruns from Willie Mays. Houston remains 3.5 games ahead in the Marvin Miller Division.

Riding an excellent start from Rick Reuschel, the House of David pulled into a tie with Kansas City by defeating the Monarchs 3-1. Reuschel was supported by Ryne Sandberg‘s 40th homer of the year, and the win leaves both teams 1 game behind Indianapolis in the Wild Card race.


Houston Colt 45s		81-75—
Indianapolis ABC’s78-793.5
Kansas City Monarchs77-804.5
Marvin Miller Division
Indianapolis ABC’s78-80—
Kansas City Monarchs77-811
Wandering House of David77-811
NL Wild Card

#Wednesday

What you see depends on where you stand: Miami fans will be miserable at their bullpen’s performance, as the Cuban Giants’ relievers surrendered 11 runs over the final 4 innings n an 11-8 loss to Detroit. Wolverines fans, of course, will be applauding the clutch performance of their team, led by Juan Beníquez‘ 4 hits and 3 RBI’s from Charlie Gehringer and Bob Bailey. The win moves Detroit 1.5 games up in the Wild Card chase.

Detroit Wolverines79-80—
Miami Cuban Giants77-811.5
AL Wild Card

The Spiders are struggling, but they refuse to give up: a Larry Doby homerun and walkoff RBI single from John Ellis gave Cleveland a 9-8 win over Memphis, keeping them at least within touch of the Black Yankees for the Bill James Division crown. Willie McCovey hit his 15th homerun in 35 games, and Paul O’Neill (the first of his WBL career) and Ron Blomberg also went deep.

The Black Yankees fell to San Francisco, as Eddie Plank earned his 20th win of the season with 6 strong innings for the Sea Lions. San Francisco’s bullpen–Ken Howell, Joe Nathan, and closer Rod Beck–fanned 7 of the 9 batters they retired, with Beck earning his 40th save of the season.

New York Black Yankees89-69—
Cleveland Spiders88-701
Bill James Division

Houston bounced back in a big way, using a phenomenal start from Ice Box Chamberlain and 7 homeruns to beat the Gothams, 9-2. Chamberlain allowed 1 hit in just under 8 innings, fanning 12 and 2 of the important cogs in the Colt 45’s late season surge–OF Gorman Thomas and C Will Smith–carried the team, twice launching back-to-back homeruns. Jim Wynn led off the game with a dinger, and Paul Goldschmidt and Jim O’Rourke also went deep.

The victory sealed the pennant for Houston, setting off raucous celebrations in the home dugout. It also meant all of the attention in the NL is now focused on the final Wild Card Spot, currently owned by Indianapolis, but with Kansas City and the House of David hot on their heels (and Homestead still hanging around with at least a mathematical chance).

After fighting back from a 6-1 deficit, Indianapolis suffered a gut-wrenching loss, falling to Philadelphia, 12-8. The Stars were led by homeruns from Sherm Lollar, Harmon Killebrew, Jung Ho Kang, and Sherry Magee.

Ryne Sandberg had 4 hits including a go-ahead solo homer in the bottom of the 8th as the House of David topped Kansas City, 6-5. Jack Taylor continued a late-season rebound with a solid start, but both bullpens struggled in this one. The victory moves the House of David into a dead heat with Indianapolis in the Wild Card chase, with Kansas City 1 game back.

Indianapolis ABC’s78-81—
Wandering House of David78-81—
Kansas City Monarchs77-821
Homestead Grays76-832
NL Wild Card

#Thursday

Miami just refuses to lose: Cleveland had taken the lead, 5-4 in the 6th inning, but the Cuban Giants scored 8 runs in their final 2 frames in a 12-6 victory. Miami pounded out 17 hits, led by 3 each from Jim Thome and Martín Dihigo. The game was never sure: Cuban Giants pitchers gave up 8 walks, so the Spiders had constant traffic on the basepaths. But they did just enough, with homeruns from Julio Rodríguez, Dihigo, Alejandro Oms, and Thome.

With the result, the Spiders drop to 1.5 games behind the Black Yankees and the Cuban Giants move to 1 game behind Detroit in the Wild Card race.

Detroit Wolverines79-80—
Miami Cuban Giants78-811
AL Wild Card

Speaking of the Black Yankees … their bullpen continues to be their Achilles’ heel, with 4 relievers giving up 9 runs in 2.1 innings. Ouch. The big blows were homeruns from Jimmie Foxx and Bobby Bonds as San Francisco defeated New York, 13-10.

New York Black Yankees89-70—
Cleveland Spiders88-711
Bill James Division

#Friday

The Black Yankees continue not to grab the Bill James Division by the throat, falling to lowly Baltimore 5-4 in the opening game of the final series of the season. Homers from Eddie Murray, Manny Machado, and a final go-ahead blast from Earl Averill gave the Black Sox the edge in another game that saw less than stellar performances from New York’s bullpen.

Two homers from Gary Sheffield carried Miami to a 5-4 win over Cleveland, preserving New York’s 1 game advantage, and keeping the pressure on Detroit. The Cuban Giants got another strong outing from Jim Whitney, and were able to fade a 9th inning comeback from the Spiders for the victory.

So what will Detroit do with their opportunity?

Play a game for the ages where they held leads of 3-1, 4-2, 9-5, and 10-6. And it was never enough as, after closer Mike Henneman was forced from the game with a back injury, Troy Percival came in and gave up a grand slam to Manny Ramírez and a walkoff shot to Gabby Hartnett. Both Ramírez and Hartnett had 2 homers in the game, while Al Kaline had 2 for Detroit. Kaline had 3 hits and 7 RBIs while Hartnett had 4 hits for Memphis. A true thriller of a game that leaves everything pretty much undecided.

New York Black Yankees89-71—
Cleveland Spiders88-721
Bill James Division
Detroit Wolverines79-81—
Miami Cuban Giants79-81—
AL Wild Card

The House of David fell to Houston 8-2, as all eyes turned to the 4 game series between Indianapolis and Kansas City.

Kansas City’s Smokey Joe Wood and the ABC’s’ Luis Padrón squared off in the series opener and while each pitched well, neither were involved in the decision. Instead, after a 2 run shot from Ducky Medwick tied the game, Kansas City won it on a sacrifice fly from Dale Murphy in the bottom of the 9th. So Padrón fails in his attempt to win his 24th game of the year and, more importantly, Kansas City forces a 3 way dead heat for the final Wild Card spot.

Indianapolis ABC’s78-82—
Wandering House of David78-82—
Kansas City Monarchs77-82—
Homestead Grays76-842
NL Wild Card

#Saturday

Memphis keeps embracing their role as spoiler while relying on a handful of late season call ups. In this case, Bucky Walters gave a good starting performance, Lefty O’Doul had 3 hits, and Wayne Causey drove in 2 with an 8th inning single for a 5-3 victory over Detroit.

It sure looks like Miami has found a key part of their rotation: Phenomenal Smith improved to 5-0, combining with Ricky Nolasco on a 3 hit shutout of Cleveland. Smith struck out 10 before yielding to Nolasco, for the last 2 outs. Martín Dihigo drove in 2 runs, continuing his second half surge.

Miami moves a full game ahead of Detroit for the Wild Card slot, and Cleveland falls 1.5 games behind the Black Yankees for the Bill James Division title, with New York’s magic number reduce to 1.

And then it was none. New York topped Baltimore 11-7 behind homers from Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, and Roger Maris, giving the Black Yankees their first Bill James Division title.

Miami Cuban Giants80-81—
Detroit Wolverines79-821
AL Wild Card

Oh boy … Indianapolis has nobody to blame but themselves.

Behind a great start from Johnny Cueto and 3 RBI’s from Oscar Charleston, the ABC’s took a 6-2 lead into the bottom of the 9th, with their closer, Rob Dibble, on the mound. Dibble got one out, and then 16 of his next 20 pitches missed the strike zone, resulting in 4 consecutive walks, scoring a run. Rob Murphy relieved Dibble, and an RBI groundout and 2 wild pitches later, the game was tied at 6.

Cool Papa Bell walked in the bottom of the 10th, stole second, and scored on a hit from Ozzie Smith, moving Kansas City a game ahead in the Wild Card race.

#Sunday

The final day of the season leaves both final Wild Card spots up for grabs: in the AL, Miami has a 1 game lead over Detroit and in the NL, Kansas City has the edge over both Indianapolis and the House of David.

Miami was unable to clinch it: Larry Doby became the 2nd player in WBL history (and the first in the AL) to hit 4 homeruns in a game, driving in 7 as Cleveland topped the Cuban Giants, 13-7. That leaves Miami’s fate in the hands of Detroit later in the day.

Detroit used a mix of the old reliable–2 homeruns from Al Kaline and 1 from Ty Cobb–and the newly acquired (a strong start from Connie Johnson and key innings from Steve Howe and Troy Percival) to beat Memphis, 8-4.

And so, we finish in a dead heat.

Miami Cuban Giants80-82—
Detroit Wolverines80-82—
AL Wild Card

Eppa Rixey combined with 4 relievers (including an important 1.2 innings from Doc Mitchell), leading the ABC’s to a 7-3 win over Kansas City, meaning Indianapolis and the Monarchs finish with identical 79-83 records. The only question is if the House of David will join them in a 3-way tie for the final playoff spot.

Nope.

The House of David tried valiantly, and even outhit Houston, 10-8, but they fell to the Colt 45’s, 10-9 in a game that saw Tony Gwynn rap out 3 hits, reaching 200 on the season. Richie Hebner, Ryne Sandberg, and Anthony Rizzo each had 2 hits, but they didn’t get enough support as the House of David season ends, falling just short of the postseason.

#Monday

So, two playoff games, winner makes the postseason.

#AL

First up, we have Miami visiting Detroit.

The Cuban Giants will turn to Hugh McQuillan who, despite being roughed up in his last start, has been solid for Miami. If he struggles early, look for Jim Whitney to try to give the team some innings on short rest. For Detroit, Pete Conway will take the mound, also on a pretty short leash.

Ty Cobb may be almost universally disliked, but his baseball talent cannot be denied: he launched a 3 run homer in the top of the first and a grand slam in the 2nd, helping Detroit to a 9-0 lead after 2 innings.

Conway, meanwhile, had allowed a single run on 3 hits through 5, and left after 6 with the score 13-2.

Miami scored 3 in the 9th, but fell well short, 14-5. In the end, a just result, as Detroit really feels like the better team. Still, the Cuban Giants went from being the worst team in the league to being this close to the playoffs: a good year for them.

Cobb finished with 2 homers and 7 RBIs, and Al Kaline, Charlie Gehringer, Ernie Lombardi, and Hank Greenberg each also went deep. There was some bad news on Greenberg, who will be out of action for a few days with a leg injury.

#NL

Indianapolis would turn to Doc White while Kansas City gave the start to young Matt Morris.

Kansas City took an early lead on Albert Pujols‘ second homerun of the game, pulling ahead 6-3 after 3 innings, with the ABC’s runs coming on longballs from George Foster and Chris Sabo.

Morris was OK–not great, but not bad–until Tommy Helms singled and scored on a double from Barry Larkin in the top of the 4th. A Bob Bescher walk put runners on the corner, and fetched Frank Castillo from the bullpen. The move backfired as Sabo and Oscar Charleston singled and, after a couple of outs, Johnny Bench brought home 2 with a single of his own, giving Indianapolis an 8-7 lead. Foster followed with his 2nd dinger of the game, extending the lead to 10-7 and chasing Castillo. His successor, Bob Shawkey, gave upa solo shot to Helms and when all of the dust settled, the ABC’s had scored 8 and were up 11-7.

The ABC’s coasted from there, riding additional homeruns by Ed Charles and Sabo to a 15-8 win, powering Indianapolis into the postseason. Sabo drove in 5 and Foster 4, with each of them notching 3 hits on the day.

Kansas City had ridden its pitching staff all year; here their arms betrayed them, surrendering 14 hits and 15 runs.

TWIWBL 82.4: Cum Posey Division

By

On December 15, 2025

In TWIWBL

TeamW/LPctGB
San Francisco Sea Lions95-54.638—
Miami Cuban Giants73-75.49321.5
Los Angeles Angels68-81.45627
Portland Sea Dogs67-83.44728.5
Chicago American Giants66-83.44329
Cum Posey Division | 17 September

#Chicago American Giants

George Grantham hit 2 homeruns and scored 4 times as the American Giants topped Cleveland 8-7 in 15 innings, as Chicago continued to play spoiler to the teams vying for postseason spots.

#Los Angeles Angels

Scott Rice, who has been useful as a lefty from the pen, is done for the season, heading to the DL with a strained shoulder. Ross Reynolds was recalled from a rehab assignment to take his place.

Eddie Joost hit a walkoff homerun as the Angels edged Baltimore, 4-3. But the real story was Julio Teheran who allowed only 3 hits over 7 innings in his first career start.

#Miami Cuban Giants

Gary Sheffield was activated from the DL as Miami makes an improbable push for the final AL Wild Card spot.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Walter Ball looks to be fully recovered, combining with Johan Santana and Dick Jones on a 4-hit shutout of San Francisco. The Sea Dogs were led by 3 hits and 3 RBI’s from Ken Griffey, Jr. in the 7-0 win.

Elvis Andrus‘ time in the WBL came to an end with Hughie Jennings‘ return from the DL.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

With San Jose knocked out of the playoffs at AAA, the Sea Lions were able to fully expand their roster, recalling P Red Ehret, OF Josh Reddick, 1B Wally Joyner, and C Gene Oliver.

With expectations high for the postseason, look for the Sea Lions to limit the remaining starts of their big 3 of Lefty Grove, Eddie Plank, and Bump Hadley.

Oliver hit 2 out, helping Plank win his 19th game of the season as San Francisco topped Detroit, 9-5.

Turkey Stearnes went deep twice, but the Sea Lions fell to Detroit, 5-4. The loss left San Francisco sitting on 99 victories on the year, with a week left to see how far over a century they can go.

TWIWBL 81.3: A Preliminary Look at the Rookies

By

On October 31, 2025

In TWIWBL

We’re going to do this by position group, ignoring league differences (although we will have a Rookie Team for each league in the offseason).

Only 6 players are officially full time (that is, they qualify for the batting stats): IF Jimmie Foxx, OFs Turkey Stearnes, John Briggs, Adam Dunn, and Ichiro Suzuki, and everywhere playing Charles Rogan. That group probably forms the core of the shortlist for the final Rookie of the Year Award: if you’re able to hold down a fulltime starting spot as a rookie in the WBL …

#C

Perhaps unsurprisingly, there are no fulltime rookie catchers, although 2–Philadelphia’s Bill Dickey and the House of David’s Frank Chance–have seen more and more time as the season has worn on.

NameAgeTmLgOPS / WAROther
JP Arencibia30BBBNL.769 / -0.3166 PA, 15 HR, 29 RBI
Frank Chance24HODNL.658 / -0.2250 PA
Bill Dickey23PHINL.772 / 0.4159 PA, 23 RBI
Dick Dietz29NYGNL.937 / 0.794 PA
Tom Haller33BALAL.839 / 0.7127 PA
AJ Pierzynski28LAAAL.630 / -0.4191 PA, 9 HR

Really, that’s it. Chance has played about 3/4 of the time behind the plate, so the playing time is pretty consistent. So … Tom Haller (who is likely to not have a very long career, although he’ll be retained as the backup in Baltimore next season for sure) in the AL and Dickey in the NL.

#1B/3B

The corner IF spots are a bit rough, given the high end talent in the AL and the lack of presence in the NL.

NamePosAgeTmLgOPS / WAROther
Jimmie Foxx1B/3B21SFSAL.924 / 2.3510 PA, 44 HR, 82 RBI
Joe Harris1B36HOD/
KCM		NL.899 / 1.1429 PA
Eddie Murray1B22BALAL.857 / 0.279 PA
David Ortiz1B27MEMAL1.039 / 2.0293 PA, 30 HR, 62 RBI
Andy Pafko3B29BBB/
MCG		NL/
AL		.851 / 0.6260 PA
Chris Sabo3B29INDNL.780 / 0.2297 PA

Foxx’s being the only rookie infielder to qualify for the batting championship gives him the lead, despite Ortiz’ remarkable production. Foxx played a little more at 1B than 3B, but given the paucity of hot corner candidates, may get the recognition there, clearing the way for Ortiz.

Pafko played as much in RF as 3B, but we needed more 3B here. Harris is a nice feel-good story–nothing like a 36 year old rookie come good.

#2B/SS

2 of the best here–Cal Ripken, Jr. and Judy Johnson–played regularly elsewhere (including 3B), but logged the majority of their innings in the middle infield.

NamePosAgeTmLgOPS / WAROther
Royce ClaytonSS22SFSAL1.020 / 0/7100 PA
Charlie Gehringer2B25DETAL.798 / 0.3418 PA, 14 HR, 48 RBI
Frank Grant2B/SS22HOD/
SFS		NL/
AL		.754 / 1.1283 PA
Judy JohnsonSS18HOMNL.809 / 1.2240 PA
Dobie MooreSS20MEMAL.779 / 1.1378 PA
Cal Ripken, Jr.SS23BALAL.876 / 2.3370 PA, 22 HR, 62 RBI
Joe SewellSS23CLEAL.852 / 0.9133 PA

Interesting list, with Gehringer being the only truly full time player for the entire season, although both Moore and Ripken are close enough to count. The lack of talent at 2B and in the NL is striking.

#OF

Here we have the clear overall RoY from the field players, but there’s more to chew on here than Turkey. Sorry.

NamePosAgeTmLgOPS / WAROther
Juan BeníquezLF35DETAL.916 / 1.9400 PA
John BriggsCF21BRKNL.930 / 2.7448 PA
Kiki CuylerLF32PORAL.675 / -0.5305 PA
Adam DunnLF22INDNL.831 / 0.5502 PA
George FosterRF22INDNL.841 / 1.5432 PA
Al KalineRF21DETAL.919 / 2.1422 PA, 75 RBI
Elliott MaddoxOF21NYY/
HOU		AL/
NL		.766 / 0.2406 PA
Rick MondayCF24OTTNL1.019 / 1.6307 PA
Julio RodríguezCF20MCGAL1.024 / 1.8355 PA, 35 HR
Charles RoganCF27PHINL.964 / 3.0466 PA
Turkey StearnesCF22SFSAL1.134 / 6.0512 PA, 47 HR, 115 RBI
Ichiro SuzukiRF28LAAAL.698 / -0.5513 PA
Sam ThompsonRF27OTTNL.820 / -0.2362 PA

We’re not going to be too picky about positions here, going with Stearnes, Kaline, and J-Rod in the AL and Briggs, Rogan, and Foster in the NL; or perhaps Monday, if you want to recognize Rogan on the mound.

The surprises here are probably Briggs (who had an army of doubters, but is 2nd here in WAR) and Monday, whose offense just kept demanding more and more playing time. And mention has to be made of Beníquez–35 years old and a dominant year. He played 1B and 3B as well, so may see recognition there.

#SP

A dozen rookies made 10 or more starts; of those, a half-dozen are worth taking a closer look at.

NameAgeTmLgW-LERAIPWHIPFIPWAR
A. Rube Foster23KCMNL10-63.211850.993.725.1
Bump Hadley23SFSAL16-54.151691.224.074.3
Charles Rogan27PHINL11-94.411691.234.813.1
Fernando Valenzuela24BRKNL13-53.601481.024.323.1
Jim Whitney24BBB/
MCG		NL/
AL		8-63.791761.084.394.2
Joe Williams24BRKNL12-113.871881.243.696.0

Foster is the clear class of this group, but Smokey Joe is a very close 2nd. I would add Whitney and Valenzuela to the award list, giving Brooklyn 2 of the 4 slots.

#RP

There aren’t a ton of relievers who are impactful enough to really warrant discussion here, but there are some.

NameAgeTmLgW-LERASvHWHIP
Terry Forster22BRKNL1-23.562141.12
Eddie Guardado25KCMNL2-22.20191.00
Billy Hoeft19DETAL2-36.102101.50
Brad Kilby27PHINL3-36.202141.24
Firpo Marberry28CLEAL7-04.723111.34
Tug McGraw27HOUNL5-42.951251.20
Andrew Miller23MEMAL6-84.413111.33
Skel Roach28MEMAL2-14.313121.49

Marberry, McGraw, Forster, and Guardado look pretty solid.

TWIWBL 81.1: Year 2, Week 24

By

On October 29, 2025

In TWIWBL

September 9th

This week we have more playoff updates, and a look at the best rookies so far this year.

#Awards

Freddie Freeman is immediately showing he belongs at this level for Los Angeles, with the recent acquisition earning the AL Player of the Week Award, hitting .579 for the week with 4 homeruns. Over in the NL, Brooklyn‘s Duke Snider took home the Player of the Week with a .600 (!) average and 5 homers.

#Team Performance

#AL

The San Francisco Sea Lions have clinched the Cum Posey Division.

The New York Black Yankees have taken a 1 game lead over the Cleveland Spiders in the Bill James Division. Both of these teams will make the postseason, with the 3rd place team in the Bill James, the Detroit Wolverines, leading the Miami Cuban Giants by 4.5 games for the final AL playoff spot.

So, barring some real drama, the only race here is between the Spiders and the Black Yankees for playoff seeding.

#NL

The Effa Manley is a bit of a mirror of the Cum Posey, with the Brooklyn Royal Giants playing out the string, riding a 15.5 game lead over second place Philadelphia, with the Stars currently the highest ranked Wild Card team as well.

And then it gets messy.

Houston has surged in front of the Kansas City Monarchs, with the Colt 45’s leading the Marvin Miller Division by 2.5 games now. However, 3 more teams (Indianapolis, Homestead, and the House of David) are within 2.5 games of the final Wild Card spot, with Birmingham and the New York Gothams only 4 games back. All of that means that only the Ottawa Mounties (5.5 games off the Wild Card, but having 5 teams in the way) have really given up on the season.

#Player Performance

#Batters

It’s late in the year, so there is less churn in these lists. Let’s focus on the races that are still up for grabs.

Ty Cobb‘s lead in most categories is significant, but his 15 triples is only ahead of Houston’s Pete Hill by 1, with Bullet Joe Rogan and Turkey Stearns staying close with 13 each.

Miami’s José Canseco is holding onto the homerun lead with 62. He’s trailed by 2 Black Yankees: Babe Ruth with 59 and Lou Gehrig with 56.

Rickey Henderson is ahead of Ottawa’s Tim Raines by 3 in the stolen base race, 108 to 105.

Top 2 in most categories.

Ron Blomberg (CLE). 279/346/639. 129 RBI.
José Canseco (MCG). 251/357/717. 62 HR.
Ty Cobb (DET). 382/436/827. 195 H, 59 2B, 15 3B, 135 R, 8.6 WAR.
Josh Gibson (HOM). 395/493/791. 9.7 WAR.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 248/376/431. 95 BB, 108 SB.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 354/407/611. 64 2B.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 269/402/694. 59 HR, 139 RBI, 125 R, 104 BB.

In the less glorious stats, sitting on 197, the Black Yankees’ Mickey Mantle is guaranteed to top 200 strikeouts on the season.

#Pitchers

Luis Padrón continues to totally dominate, winning his 20th and 21st game over the past week. Sitting at 21-3, Padrón has been the best starter in the league for most of the season. With only a few weeks left, it’s possible nobody else reaches 20 victories, but we’ve listed all 5 of the other hurlers with at least 16 wins.

A couple active streaks of note: José Rijo, Padrón’s teammate on the Indianapolis ABC’s, hasn’t allowed a run in 21 innings, and Brooklyn’s Sandy Koufax is riding a streak of 10 innings without giving up a hit.

#Starters

On the one hand, this list could be 3 names long: A. Rube Foster, Padrón, and Toad Ramsey.

Top 2 in most categories.

Roger Clemens (HOU). 16-9, 3.61.
A. Rube Foster (KCM). 10-6, 3.21. .187 BA, .211 BABIP, 0.99 WHIP.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 9-7, 4.29. 232 K.
Bump Hadley (SFS). 16-5, 4.15.
Orel Hershiser (BRK). 17-5, 3.87.
José Méndez (MCG). 12-5, 4.37. 206 IP.
Luis Padrón (IND). 21-3, 3.34. 205 IP, 6.2 WAR.
Andy Pettitte (NYY). 17-8, 4.19.
Eddie Plank (SFS). 17-7, 4.55.
Toad Ramsey (HOU). 15-9, 3.18. 248 K, .181 BA, 0.97 WHIP, 3.33 FIP, 7.4 WAR.
Fernando Valenzuela (BRK). 13-5, 3.60. 1 Sv, 4 H, .220 BABIP.
Smokey Joe Williams (BRK). 12-11, 3.87. 3.69 FIP.

#Relievers

Top 2 in most stats, top 3 in saves and holds. 30 Min IP for rate stats, which allows the debut of the amazing start to Bartolo Colón‘s career for Homestead.

Rod Beck (SFS). 4-4, 4.93. 36 Sv, 1 H.
Bartolo Colón (HOM). 1-0, 0.87. 1 H, 0.84 WHIP.
Rheal Cormier (NYY). 0-3, 5.40. 16 H.
Eric Gagne (BRK). 2-3, 2.60. 33 Sv.
Eddie Guardado (KCM). 2-2, 2.20. 1 Sv, 9 H.
Michael Jackson (HOM). 1-7, 5.14. 1 Sv, 20 H.
Josh Lindblom (HOM). 8-4, 3.48. 32 Sv.
BJ Ryan (OTT). 2-3, 4.64. 1 Sv, 16 H.
Lee Smith (KCM). 4-2, 2.79. 6 Sv, 12 H, 0.77 WHIP.

#Injuries

A huge one: Chicago‘s Frank Thomas is out for 8-9 months with a knee injury. The Big Hurt is expected to make a full recovery, but this really will impact the American Giants’ offseason plans, as they will need a 1B for the first half of next season.

TWIWBL 80.3: A Preliminary Look at the Gold Gloves

By

On October 12, 2025

In TWIWBL

{Every year towards the end of the season, I do some legwork so when the awards roll around, it’s not as burdensome. This week, the fielders, next week, the rookies.}

We’re going to do this position by position, mixing the leagues, with the candidates listed alphabetically. 600 IP minimum, unless otherwise noted.

Last year, only 1 set of awards were given; this year, with the creation of the NL, there will be 2 at each position.

Some of the positions have their own things, but a note about some of the standard fielding statistics. Range Factor measures the number of plays made per game–the higher the better. Zone Rating attempts to credit players for plays other fielders missed and ding them for plays other fielders made–the higher the better, and it has the benefit of being comparative across the position. Defensive Efficiency measures the rate at which an individual fielder contributes to outs being made on balls put into play, with any score over 1.000 being a net positive impact.

Of these, Range Factor is the most susceptible to the impact of the pitching staff and the ballpark, although none of these defensive ratings are perfect.

#C

NameTmLgIPAEPBZRRTO%cERAFRM
Johnny BenchINDNL9671124103.540%5.267.6
Curt BlefaryBALAL937103242.038%5.681.6
Gary CarterOTTNL900114594.342%6.154.9
Josh GibsonHOMNL97310236-1.530%5.987.7
Elrod HendricksHODNL825104474.641%5.473.9
Joe MauerPORAL974129562.737%5.364.9
Thurman MunsonNYYAL95791623.036%5.293.0
Mike PiazzaBRKNL96688212-2.831%4.624.5
Buster PoseyNYGNL933100492.639%5.438.0
Iván RodríguezMCGAL9171162145.347%5.611.8
Ted SimmonsKCMNL907108552.437%4.31-2.3
IP = Innings Played; A = Assists; E = Errors; PB = Passed Balls; ZR = Zone Rating; RTO% = Runners Thrown Out%; cERA = Catcher’s ERA; FRM = Framing Runs Saved

Catcher’s stats are just all over the place.

It’s hard to take cERA and FRM all that seriously when they fall so far outside the bounds of the rest of the information at our disposal–although, to be fair, cERA is clearly tied to the quality of the staff and, as such, perhaps is best viewed as a net difference from the overall team ERA. Perhaps I’ll look at that for the actual awards.

Regardless, it feels like, if you look at a catcher’s primary job of making plays and keeping the opposition running game under control, Carter in the NL and Pudge in the AL are the frontrunners. The argument against each, if there is one, would have to focus on their league-leading (in the wrong way) PB numbers.

But this one doesn’t really feel close at this point.

Last year’s winner, Cleveland’s Louis Santop, has struggled so much offensively this year that his playing time has really dropped him out of contention, although his defensive performance remains top-notch.

#1B

NameTmLgIPTCADPERNGZREff
Mike EpsteinHOMNL957952568048.933.01.016
Hank GreenbergDETAL973891587448.202.71.022
Kent HrbekPORAL884846457958.571.81.028
Don MattinglyNYYAL710642405458.071.81.031
Dan McGannBALAL879887666969.02-1.9.978
Boog PowellKCMNL978998568049.153.01.016
Joey VottoINDNL942863627608.254.51.040
Bill WhiteMEMAL793812356669.150.41.007
IP = Innings Played; TC = Total Chances; A = Assists; DP = Double Plays; E = Errors; RNG = Range Factor; ZR = Zone Rating; Eff = Defensive Efficiency

The 2 best defensive 1Bs in the league–Kansas City’s Boog Powell and Indianapolis’ Joey Votto–are both in the NL. So the competition there is clear, as is, ultimately, the current frontrunner in Powell. Votto’s edge in the digital measures–ZR and Efficiency–may make this a more challenging choice at the end of the year.

In the AL, it’s far more confusing, but it feels like the discussion is between Detroit’s Hank Greenberg and the Black Yankees’ Don Mattingly. Mattingly hasn’t played a ton, so perhaps Greenberg edges him? Portland’s Kent Hrbek could probably edge into the discussion as well.

Will Clark of the New York Gothams, who won it last year, has been fine, but falls just short of contention.

#2B

Five 2B had only 3 errors, but 2 of them–Brooklyn’s Jackie Robinson and Boston’s DJ LeMahieu–have under 700 innings at the position. LeMahieu is the leader in Defensive Efficiency, so he made the list, but Robinson did not.

NameTmLgIPTCDPERNGZREff
Roberto AlomarOTTNL103551162104.36-3.1.978
Robinson CanóKCMNL9945247654.709.71.060
Eddie CollinsCAGAL99552877114.67-7.6.943
Miller HugginsBALAL7963835054.279.11.097
Chuck KnoblauchCLEAL9514436434.16-9.6.926
Nap LajoieHOMNL8764856644.947.31.049
DJ LeMahieuMEMAL6443455334.787.71.110
Cookie RojasMCGAL7383636234.39-3.6.965
Ryne SandbergHODNL8634896035.075.41.035
Chase UtleyPHINL9885386124.8813.81.081
IP = Innings Played; TC = Total Chances; A = Assists; DP = Double Plays; E = Errors; RNG = Range Factor; ZR = Zone Rating; Eff = Defensive Efficiency

Ryne Sandberg and Napoleon Lajoie have had fine years at 2B, but Philadelphia’s Chase Utley has been fairly spectacular, leading the world in Zone Rating with excellent numbers across the board.

The AL is more confusing, as the best fielders–Miller Huggins and DJ LeMahieu–have yet to hit 800 innings in the field. But there really aren’t a lot of other contenders: Eddie Collins, who won it last year, has amassed a ton of time at 2B, and hence is among the leaders in the counting stats, but his other numbers are surprisingly bad.

#SS

NameTmLgIPTCDPERNGZREff
Jim FregosiPOR/PHIAL/NL10774976084.09-10.6.940
Derek JeterNYYAL106150467164.14-19.0.911
Barry LarkinINDNL7053804994.748.31.085
Dick LundySFSAL8384114664.358.21.057
Freddy ParentCAGAL88850856115.0413.21.058
Ozzie SmithKCMNL10195436754.7511.01.068
Arky VaughanCLEAL9404445384.1710.41.085
Robin YountMCGAL9524735964.418.31.052
IP = Innings Played; TC = Total Chances; A = Assists; DP = Double Plays; E = Errors; RNG = Range Factor; ZR = Zone Rating; Eff = Defensive Efficiency

It feels like the choices here are pretty clear: Ozzie Smith in the NL and Freddy Parent in the AL. Smith should be uncontroversial, but Parent is subject to some discussion, as he is getting less and less playing time for the American Giants. If it’s not Parent, it is probably Arky Vaughan or Robin Yount, with the question being whether Yount’s surer hands outweigh Vaughan’s greater range.

George Davis, who won it last year, logged just under 50 games with Detroit before being sent to AAA and suffering a significant injury.

#3B

NameTmLgIPTCDPERNGZREff
Dick AllenCAGAL104626024152.110.51.010
Buddy BellPORAL10452962382.487.91.054
Adrián BeltréOTTNL936272672.550.31.007
Ron CeyBRKNL9562782472.554.71.035
Manny MachadoBALAL85725914102.610.91.013
Eddie MathewsBBBNL10142912982.51-2.6.986
Doug RaderLAAAL104728726132.350.91.021
Scott RolenPHINL9732651672.394.01.050
IP = Innings Played; TC = Total Chances; A = Assists; DP = Double Plays; E = Errors; RNG = Range Factor; ZR = Zone Rating; Eff = Defensive Efficiency

Portland’s Buddy Bell has probably been the best 3B in the WBL this season, so he should take the award in the AL. In the NL, it currently comes down to Scott Rolen and Ron Cey, whose numbers are pretty indistinguishable at this point, perhaps with a slight edge to Cey.

#LF

For the OF, DP is replaced by Outfield Kills, and we introduce ARM, a measurement of how many runs have resulted from runners taking extra bases on balls hit to the that fielder. Note that positive ARM ratings are relatively rare: runners do tag up.

NameTmLgIPTCKERNGZREffARM
Johnny BatesCLEAL1006205422.097.01.053-1.0
Bob BescherINDNL681149121.94-4.3.950-2.1
Don BufordLAA/NYGAL/NL705127011.61-2.8.957-0.6
Rickey HendersonSFSAL1040199341.6910.01.104-2.8
Sherry MageePHINL658127101.743.71.046-1.9
Bob NiemanBBBNL720145421.79-1.0.961-1.6
Frank RobinsonBALAL897184421.830.3.998-1.8
Babe RuthNYYAL627128121.815.71.084-1.3
Roy WhiteBRKNL1006213521.899.31.075-1.2
Jim WynnHOUNL755140021.64-4.4.9553.3
IP = Innings Played; TC = Total Chances; A = Assists; K = Outfield Kills; E = Errors; RNG = Range Factor; ZR = Zone Rating; Eff = Defensive Efficiency

It feels like Roy White has a shot at being the first repeat winner as he has once again proven incredibly dependable in LF for Brooklyn, while adding more Kills and excellent supporting numbers.

In the AL, It feels like it’s the range of Rickey Henderson against the overall dependability of Johnny Bates–who actually makes more plays the Rickey, but some of that is down to staff effects.

Have to call out the nutty ARM rating for Jim Wynn, which is as flukish as fluke can be.

#CF

NameTmLgIPTCKERNGZREffARM
Paul BlairBALAL838251322.7310.41.084-2.3
Chili DavisDETAL9792831382.53-12.5.9281.5
Willie DavisPHINL898287432.8515.21.109-2.0
Curtis GrandersonBBBNL974317152.884.81.030-4.6
Pete HillHOUNL800222222.470.7.997-2.8
Willie MaysNYGNL1065327342.7311.31.046-4.2
Willie McGeeKCMNL8452611072.71-5.9.963-1.4
Mike TroutLAAAL940282212.69-0.21.006-3.3
Vernon WellsCAGAL624209232.97-5.2.968-2.6
IP = Innings Played; TC = Total Chances; A = Assists; K = Outfield Kills; E = Errors; RNG = Range Factor; ZR = Zone Rating; Eff = Defensive Efficiency

Not a lot to pick from in the AL, which increases Paul Blair‘s chance at a repeat selection. It probably comes down to Blair’s overall excellence against the spectacular highlight reel nature of Chili Davis‘ year: Davis hasn’t made all the plays, but has thrown out 13 runners. Mike Trout is in the conversation, but Blair edges him across the board, and is the likely frontrunner.

In the NL, things are much deeper, and we run into the question of how to weigh playing time. Willie Mays has similar numbers to Willie Davis, but over 200 more innings in the field, which I think is enough to give him the edge. Some mention should be made of the steady Curtis Granderson and the surprising 10 kills from Kansas City’s Willie McGee.

#RF

NameTmLgIPTCKERNGZREffARM
Beals BeckerBRKNL1022233732.033.01.0070.7
Mookie BettsMEMAL775166101.936.81.076-3.7
Roberto ClementeHOMNL973243862.195.61.050-3.1
Larry DobyCLEAL768186172.105.01.064-4.2
Stan MusialKCMNL801157241.727.01.0720.8
Ichiro SuzukiLAAAL1035227501.975.41.036-2.4
IP = Innings Played; TC = Total Chances; A = Assists; K = Outfield Kills; E = Errors; RNG = Range Factor; ZR = Zone Rating; Eff = Defensive Efficiency

This is very close in both leagues.

In the NL, you could make an argument for all 3 of the contenders: Brooklyn’s Beals Becker has been steady across the board; Stan Musial covers a huge amount of ground for Kansas City and has a higher ARM than Becker; and Roberto Clemente makes the most plays and has the most Kills. I think it’s Clemente or Musial, with Musial slightly in front, maybe?

Over in the AL, it’s between Mookie Betts and Ichiro Suzuki, neither of whom have made an error in RF this season. Betts has been slightly better with the glove, Suzuki slightly better with the arm. Perhaps Suzuki, partially because he has played more innings in RF than anyone.

Last year’s winner, Johnny Callison, has done well this season, but is just out of the conversation. Mention should be made of Ottawa’s Larry Walker as well: Walker doesn’t cover a ton of ground, but has only made a single error in RF this season.

#P

125 IP minimum.

A few additional stat for hurlers, including the number of steal attempts and the % thrown out as well as the number of runs gained through their catcher’s ability to frame strikes. Obviously, both of these are highly dependent on the quality of backstop, but they also do impact the evaluation of the pitcher.

We’ve also taking out E and DP as stats, as odd as that may seem, as there is just not enough variance to really make much of them.

NameTmLgIPTCRNGZREffSBARTO%FRM
Roger ClemensHOUNL183130.64-3.01.6596125-0.4
Gerrit ColeLAAAL155211.220.51.43844320.4
Pud GalvinLAAAL130241.661.31.1493139-0.7
Bump HadleySFSAL164301.65-0.3.99662340.5
Walter JohnsonPORAL189190.914.81.21728610.3
José MéndezMCGAL200200.904.41.0864356-0.7
Stubby OvermireMEMAL175211.082.2.8531663-0.0
Gaylord PerryNYGNL185311.51-0.3.99635290.7
Toad RamseyHOUNL196180.781.0.9134241-0.5
Bob RushHODNL156261.443.3.99619630.0
Jack TaylorHODNL163191.055.6.99641630.0
Doc WhiteINDNL13080.551.8.99618501.9
IP = Innings Played; TC = Total Chances; A = Assists; DP = Double Plays; E = Errors; RNG = Range Factor; ZR = Zone Rating; Eff = Defensive Efficiency; SBA = Stolen Bases Attempted; RTO% = Runners Thrown Out%; FRM = Framing Runs

Who knows? Small sample sizes are rough, although it is nice to see last year’s winner, Jack Taylor, make a return appearance.

Taylor makes a lot of plays, and is very hard to run on, both of which count for quite a bit. I think an argument could be made for Pud Galvin, as well as for Taylor’s teammate, Bob Rush, but I would expect a fair bit of this to change over the final month of the season.

TWIWBL 80.1: Year 2, Week 23

By

On October 10, 2025

In TWIWBL

September 2nd

Pennant race intrigue galore as we enter the final month of the season!

#Awards

#August Awards

Brooklyn‘s emerging stud Fernando Valenzuela went 5- 1 in August, earning the NL Rookie of the Month for August; in the AL, San Francsico‘s rookie superstar Turkey Stearnes hit .389 with 10 homers and 24 RBI’s during the month, taking home the AL Award.

Valenzuela was eclipsed by Indianapolis‘ Luis Padrón for the overall monthly award. Padrón went 5-0 in the month with a 3.09 ERA as he solidified his status as the best hurler in the WBL this season, winning the NL Pitcher of the Month for August. The AL Pitcher of the Month went to Andy Pettitte of the New York Black Yankees, who rode a 5-1 record to the Award.

Ernie Banks of the House of David had a torrid August, slugging 14–FOURTEEN–homeruns and hitting .370 as he was named the Batter of the Month in the AL. Over in the NL, the Batter of the Month Award went to Detroit‘s Ty Cobb, who hit .452 in August, reclaiming a shot at a .400 average for the season.

#Weekly Awards

Stearnes hit .435 with 4 homers over the final week of August, earning the rookie CF the AL Player of the Week while Brooklyn’s 3B Ron Cey hit .455 with 5 homers, earning him the NL Player of the Week Award.

#Team Performance

Here is where we are.

In the American League, The San Francisco Sea Lions are going to win the Cum Posey Division, and either the Cleveland Spiders or New York Black Yankees are going to win the Bill James Division (right now, the Spiders hold a 1.5 game edge). Whoever loses the Bill James will take one Wild Card spot, and either Detroit (8 gams back in the Bill James) or Miami (1.5 games behind Detroit) will take the other.

Over in the National League, it’s a lot more complicated. Brooklyn is running away with the Effa Manley Division, and right now Philadelphia–13 games behind the Royal Giants–is leading the Wild Card chase. The Marvin Miller Division is still tightly packed, with the Houston Colt 45’s holding a 2 game edge over Kansas City. However, 7 teams are within 5 games of the final Wild Card slot, so essentially, other than the Effa Manley crown, everything is left to play for in the NL.

#Player Performance

#Batters

This week, we have the story of 2 slumps. Josh Gibson has dipped below .400 for the first time in months and Babe Ruth has gone 10 games without a homerun (and only has 2 in his last 17 games). While Gibson has retained the BA lead, Ruth has surrendered the HR edge and is in fact closer, with 57, to Ernie Banks in 3rd place with 54 than José Canseco in 1st with 62.

Top 2 in most categories.

Ron Blomberg (CLE). 283/347/657. 126 RBI.
José Canseco (MCG). 261/367/749. 62 HR.
Oscar Charleston (IND). 338/382/619. 174 H.
Ty Cobb (DET). 388/443/846. 189 H, 58 2B, 15 3B, 130 R, 8.6 WAR.
Josh Gibson (HOM). 396/497/775. 9.1 WAR.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 251/382/439. 93 BB, 103 SB.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 363/415/623. 64 2B.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 266/400/689. 57 HR, 134 RBI, 121 R, 101 BB.

#Pitchers

#Starters

All 5 players with at least 16 wins are listed, as well as the top 2 in other categories.

A. Rube Foster (KCM). 10-6, 3.09. .205 BABIP, 0.98 WHIP.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 8-7, 4.40. 222 K.
Bump Hadley (SFS). 16-5, 4.06.
Orel Hershiser (BRK). 17-5, 3.94.
Luis Padrón (IND). 19-3, 3.49. 5.9 WAR.
Eddie Plank (SFS). 16-7, 4.68.
Andy Pettitte (NYY). 16-8, 4.28.
Toad Ramsey (HOU). 15-9, 3.25. 240 K, 0.98 WHIP, 3.34 FIP, 7.1 WAR.
Fernando Valenzuela (BRK). 12-5, 3.56. 1 Sv, 4 H, .218 BABIP.
Smokey Joe Williams (BRK). 11-11, 3.93. 3.70 FIP.

#Relievers

Top 2 in most stats, top 3 in saves and holds.

28 Min IP.

Rod Beck (SFS). 4-4, 5.22. 33 Sv, 1 H.
Rheal Cormier (NYY). 0-3, 5.34. 15 H.
Eric Gagne (BRK). 2-3, 2.68. 31 Sv.
Eddie Guardado (KCM). 2-1, 1.99. 1 Sv, 9 H.
Bob Howry (PHI). 4-1, 3.27. 21 Sv. 0.85 WHIP.
Michael Jackson (HOM). 1-7, 5.05. 1 Sv, 20 H.
Josh Lindblom (HOM). 7-4, 3.62. 32 Sv.
BJ Ryan (OTT). 2-3, 4.80. 1 Sv, 16 H.
Lee Smith (KCM). 4-2, 2.81. 6 Sv, 12 H. 0.77 WHIP.
Brian Wilson (NYG). 2-2, 2.51. 17 Sv.

#Streaks

Been a while since I checked in on these … and there is very little going on in terms of active streaks. George Gore of the House of David has reached base in his last 8 consecutive at bats, but that’s about it.

Houston’s Carlos Correa had a 29 game hitting streak earlier this season, and San Francisco’s Lefty Grove went 34 innings without allowing a run.

TWIWBL 79.1: Year 2, Week 22

By

On September 25, 2025

In TWIWBL

August 27th

As August closes down, we have roster expansion and a bevy of trades.

#Awards

The House of David‘s Ernie Banks hit .483 with a half-dozen homeruns, taking home the NL Player of the Week Award. Another stellar week from Detroit‘s Ty Cobb netted him another AL Player of the Week Award, his 4th of the season. Cobb hit .500 with 6 homeruns over the week.

#Team Performance

Same old: San Francisco (despite going 3-7 over their last 10 games) has the Cum Posey Division sewn up, and Brooklyn has the Effa Manley Division all but so–the Sea Lions have a 17 game edge, and the Royal Giants are up by 11.

The Bill James Division is a 2 horse race, as the Cleveland Spiders now lead the New York Black Yankees by only 2.5 games.

And then we have the Marvin Miller Division, where the Houston Colt 45’s have surged ahead of Kansas City by 1/2 game, but Indianapolis is only 2.5 back, with the House of David 3 and the Black Barons 4.

The Wildcards are all up for grabs, as 8 teams in the NL are within 4 games of making the postseason that way. It’s more settled in the AL, with Miami leading Los Angeles for the 2nd wildcard spot by 4 games.

#Player Performance

#Batters

As usual, top 2 in most categories are listed, with Detroit’s Turkey Stearnes and Los Angeles’ Kal Daniels listed so we have all 6 batters with OPS’ over 1.100.

Ron Blomberg (CLE). 295/361/688. 125 RBI.
José Canseco (MCG). 264/373/759. 60 HR.
Oscar Charleston (IND). 342/384/624. 170 H.
Ty Cobb (DET). 388/443/844. 181 H, 54 2B, 15 3B, 125 R, 8.3 WAR.
Kal Daniels (LAA). 357/444/670.
Josh Gibson (HOM). 406/501/798. 9.0 WAR.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 361/414/621. 60 2B.
Joe Rogan (PHI). 288/343/605. 13 3B.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 273/405/713. 57 HR, 133 RBI, 117 R.
Turkey Stearnes (DET). 340/381/722.

#Pitchers

#Starters

All 7 players with at least 15 wins are listed, as well as the top 2 in other categories.

A. Rube Foster (KCM). 10-5, 2.79. .200 BABIP, 0.95 WHIP, 3.60 FIP.
Roger Clemens (HOU). 13-9, 3.60. .218 BABIP.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 15-5, 4.37.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 8-7, 4.41. 211 K.
Bump Hadley (SFS). 16-5, 4.09
Orel Hershiser (BRK). 16-5, 4.04.
José Méndez (MCG). 11-5, 4.29. 195 IP.
Luis Padrón (IND). 18-3, 3.55. 5.5 WAR.
Andy Pettitte (NYY). 15-8, 4.32.
Eddie Plank (SFS). 15-7, 4.73.
Toad Ramsey (HOU). 15-9, 3.13. 190 IP, 230 K, 0.96 WHIP, 3.26 FIP, 7.1 WAR.

#Relievers

The top 3 in the league remain Josh Lindblom, Rod Beck, and Eric Gagne, who have 30, 29, and 26 saves respectively. Of those, Gagne has been the most dominant, and is probably only challenged by Kansas City’s Craig Kimbrel, who had 11 holds before being named their closer, and has posted 9 saves since. The other 3 relievers with 20-plus saves are listed as well.

26 Min IP.

Terry Adams (CLE), 1-6, 4.93. 21 Sv, 2H.
Rod Beck (SFS). 4-4, 5.65. 30 Sv, 1H.
Eric Gagne (BRK). 2-3, 2.88. 28 Sv.
Eddie Guardado (KCM). 2-1, 2.01. 1 Sv, 8 H.
Bob Howry (PHI). 4-1, 3.27. 21 Sv. 0.85 WHIP.
Michael Jackson (HOM). 1-7, 5.09. 1 Sv, 20 H.
Craig Kimbrel (KCM). 3-4, 1.95. 12 Sv, 11 H.
Josh Lindblom (HOM). 7-4, 3.70. 31 Sv.
Joe Nathan (LAA/SFS). 5-5, 4.64. 20 Sv, 2 H.
Jonathan Papelbon (MEM/MCG). 3-5, 4.80. 20 Sv.
BJ Ryan (OTT). 2-3, 5.03. 1 Sv, 15 H.
Lee Smith (KCM/HOD). 4-2, 2.78. 6 Sv, 10 H. 0.77 WHIP.

#Debuts

Tony Conigliaro isn’t a bad prospect. But he had one of the best days, let alone debuts, in WBL history, going 4 for 4 with a record 4 homeruns in an 11-9 win. The 22 year old was obtained at the all star break last season in the deal that initially sent Sammy Sosa to Memphis (Sosa would return after flopping for the Red Sox).

At least Jorge Orta is listed among the top 100 WBL prospects, coming in 87th. Orta had a great debut for his new club, the New York Black Yankees, going 4 for 5 with 4 doubles.

Memphis’ Dustin Pedroia and the New York Gothams‘ Bill Terry have also turned heads, each with 2 homers in their first few games at the WBL level.

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