Overall

Quite a fall from winning the championship the previous season, with most of the fault being in (what else?) a faltering pitching staff.

Baltimore finally began to play well in August, but by then it was too late to do much other than play spoiler.

Most of the off-season focus in on the staff. There is a young core of position players, led by the emergence of Cal Ripken Jr and the continued brilliance of Frank Robinson, and with the right side of the infield being retooled, things seem OK offensively (although there is some skepticism that the turn to Eddie Murray over the aging-yet-still-productive Dan McGann may be being rushed).

But on the mound, a massive amount of improvement is needed, led by figuring out exactly who the starting pitchers are here.

What Went Right

Everything revolves around Frank Robinson, who at 22 is one of the elite talents in the game, slashing 308/394/674 and leading the team in HR, RBI, and runs scored.

Cal Ripken Jr really elevated his game, making an argument to join the elite shortstops in the WBL, showing power (32 homers) and decent bat control and defense.

Gavvy Cravath delivered, with 44 homeruns and 111 RBIs, making his free agent signing a success despite his sub .250 BA.

Bryce Harper continues to show up with an OPS just over .900 and good speed, even if his ultimate OF position seems to still be evolving.

This was supposed to be 1B Dan McGann‘s last year, but the 38 year old posted a .400 OBP with a little power to boot, complicating the Black Sox’s desire to turn the position over to Eddie Murray.

Miller Huggins took over at 2B, showing great defensive skills and an insane ability to get on base–Huggins ended up with the Gold Glove in the AL, a testament to just how good he was with the glove despite missing a fair chunk of the year in the minors.

Speaking of Gold Gloves, Paul Blair won his 2nd in CF. Still can’t hit.

Finally on the offensive side, Curt Blefary continues to be decently above average behind the plate, even with an overall slip in performance from last year’s heights.

So, that’s a decent amount, and certainly a strong enough list to warrant being in the playoff hunt. Until you get to the pitching. What went well … hmm …

Justin Hampson came out of nowhere to make the All Star team out of the pen. He got injured, so it was only 27 appearances, but they were pertty spectacular.

And … yeah … that’s about it. I mean, Buddy Groom was serviceable as a closer when called upon. Jim Palmer was never given a steady rotation spot, but was probably the best starter they had. Meh.

ALL STARS

Justin Hampson
Frank Robinson

MAJOR AWARDS

Paul Blair, AL CF Gold Glove
Miller Huggins, AL 2B Gold Glove
Cal Ripken Jr, AL SS Silver Slugger

RECOGNITIONS

Curt Blefary, All AL 3rd Team
Gavvy Cravath, AL Over 30 Team
Buddy Groom, AL Over 30 Team
Tom Haller, AL All Rookie Team
Bryce Harper, AL 21 & Under Team
Miller Huggins, All AL 3rd Team
Cal Ripken Jr, All AL 2nd Team; AL Rookie of the Year 2nd Place; AL 25 & Under Team; AL 23 & Under Team; AL All Rookie Team
Frank Robinson, All AL 3rd Team; AL 23 & Under Team

ORGANIZATIONAL AWARDS

Frank Robinson, MVP
Justin Hampson, Pitcher of the Year
Curt Blefary, Heart & Soul
Miller Huggins, Fan Favorite

Dick Ellsworth, Minor League Pitcher of the Year
Asdrúbal Cabrera, Minor League Player of the Year

What Went Wrong

Larry Gardner and Bobby Wallace–key components of the championship season–were either hurt or injured. That opened the door for Ripken Jr and Huggins, but still.

And then there’s the pitching.

Injuries and indecision kept Baltimore from, aside from Dennis Martínez, settling on a rotation. Martínez was mediocre at best (12-8, 5.12), but he did provide steady consumption of innings.

Ned Garvin was worse then El Presidente, but looked to still be suffering the effects of his long-term injury.

Beyond that … misery. Johnny Sain, Bill Byrd, and Gene Conley were downright bad as spot starters and Gregg Olson and Sean Marshall were rocked coming out of the bullpen.

Baltimore needs bounce-back seasons from nearly everyone.

Transactions

March

None, and hopes were high.

July

P John Wetteland & 4th Round Pick to POR for P Mike Cuellar.

Cuellar was decent and Wetteland has been awful, so consider this a small win.

August

IF Bobby Wallace & P Connie Johnson to DET for P Gene Conley, P Bill Drake, P Emil Yde, OF Hub Collins, & 2nd Round Pick.

Interesting trade for sure. It all hinges on how well Drake and Yde develop, but the contours of the deal make sense for Baltimore.

P Joe Beggs & 2nd Round Pick to KCM for OF Earl Averill.

Averill looks poised to displace Blair in CF, so this one looks OK as well.

Positional Overview

C

Curt Blefary is the answer here for a while, with Tom Haller behind him.

Should Haller falter, there are some options, most notably Ramón Hernández and Billy Earle.

1B

The plan was for Eddie Murray to take over here and Dan McGann to … well, do something. But McGann continues to offer significant offensive performance, and Murray struggled a bit in adjusting to WBL pitching. But the Black Sox are likely to stick with the plan, either using McGann as a high volume backup or finding a trade partner for him.

There is some talent in the system, from veteran Jim Bottomley to youngsters Willie Montañez and Bruce Bochte.

2B

Miller Huggins has made this spot his own, but that’s what Baltimore thought about Larry Gardner last year. Still Huggins’ defense and ability to get on base seems likely to stick.

Asdrúbal Cabrera, the organizational minor league player of the year, is likely to serve as the reserve infielder next year.

SS

Cal Ripken Jr looks to have this sewn up.

There is an intriguing choice for a backup in Mark Belanger, who cannot hit, but is a defensive wizard. It’s more likely the Black Sox keep using Machado and perhaps Cabrera behind Ripken Jr.

3B

Manny Machado has his detractors, but he really is quite solid, delivering 44 homeruns and 99 RBIs.

Brooks Robinson at AAA is better defensively, and the future may belong to either Frank Ward (still only 17) or Gunnar Henderson, but for now, this is Machado’s spot.

LF/RF

If we assume better options exist in CF, this looks to be Frank Robinson and Bryce Harper, with support from Ken Singleton, Phil Bradley, and perhaps occasionally Gavvy Cravath.

Baby Doll Jacobson has been solid when given the chance, and Steve Brodie, Ron Northey, and Larry Sheets all look like they could help out if needed.

CF

It’s the offense of Earl Averill against the defense of Paul Blair here. As is often the case in these situations, look for Averill to get the nod, with Blair’s playing time expanding if he struggles at the plate.

At 18, Paul Hines is well regarded, and either Gene Clines or Homer Smoot may still grow into something useful.

DH

This should be Gavvy Cravath‘s primary position.

SP

The Black Sox seem committed to Dennis Martínez and Ned Garvin, and Jim Palmer has done enough to warrant a more extended time here. So that leaves two open slots, with the competition between Bill Byrd, Mike Mussina, Mike Cuellar and a host of new names, led by John Tudor, Emil Yde, and Dick Ellsworth.

Mark Baldwin and Bob Welch should be useful at the WBL level, while the brightest lights lower in the system are probably Bill Drake, Joe Decker, and Milt Pappas.

RP

Buddy Groom will hold onto his role as closer, but his grip on that is tentative at best.

Look for the Black Sox to give Justin Hampson more time, Sean Marshall a chance to recover his form from last year, and Gregg Olson another chance, just because. Some of the players that miss out on the rotation will be here, and the trio of DJ Carrasco, Frank Linzy, and Mike Munoz will get a peek as well.

Draft Outlook

DRAFT PICKS

1st Round: 1
2nd Round: 1
3rd Round: 1
4th Round: 0
5th Round: 1

The system needs talent, top to bottom, with only perhaps SS and the corner OF spots considered blocked.

#WBL All Rookie First Team

Rookies are interesting.

We run the full gamut here, from the MVP possibilities of Turkey Stearnes to players who ended the year in the minors, or, like César Hernández, project as fringe players at best. Tom Haller, Juan Beníquez, and Joe Harris are all on the wrong side of 30.

The spread of talent makes some comparisons misleading: you would much rather be San Francisco with Jimmie Foxx, Stearnes, and Bump Hadley than Indianapolis with Chris Sabo, Adam Dunn, and George Foster.

#WBL All Rookie Second Team

Note Bullet Joe Rogan‘s well warranted appearance at 2 positions.

David Ortiz, Julio Rodríguez, Rogan, and Ice Box Chamberlain were the class of this group. Those 4, Frank Grant, Dobie Moore, Freddie Lindstrom, Ichiro Suzuki, and Tom Seaver are the most likely to be future stars–that’s a lot of potential over there in the American League.

In this post, we’ll slowly carve people off those lists as we get younger, beginning with the under 25’s. As we get younger, future potential will begin to be more of a thing.

A full lineup, with DH, plus 3 starters and 3 relievers for each. We’ll start by relisting the overall selections, then new entries for each group will be bolded.

#WBL Teams of the Year

#WBL 25 & Under Teams

#WBL 23 & Under Teams

300 PA Minimums for batters, with 1 exception: Murray only had 145 PAs–1B in the AL just did not have a lot of youth.

#WBL 21 & Under

All praises to Ty Cobb, Josh Gibson, and Oscar Charleston for remaining on the list this far. The relievers dip into some rarely used arms, but of the rest, only Freddie Lindstrom was a late-season callup.

There really isn’t an all-teenager team: the only change from the teens above would be the addition of Chicago’s Cristóbal Torriente, perhaps the worst offensive player in the league this year in CF, but surprisingly effective in a few mound appearances.

One more, largely for fun

#WBL Over 30 Team

Only 3 names from the All-League Teams (Baily, Konerko, and Lee Smith), reflecting on just how young the league is. This is a very wide range from some very strong performers who are expected to keep it up for a while (those 3, Pettitte, Hornsby, some others) to folks like Dave Henderson and Kiki Cuyler, who are just barely hanging onto their roster spots.

#Silver Sticks

The guideline here is the best offensive performance at each position, with a slightly relaxed PA requirement and combining LF and RF. Players qualify for their team at season’s end, much to Paul Konerko‘s delight.

Joe Morgan was better offensively than Alomar, but Alomar had 200 more plate appearances and was no slouch himself.

#Rookie Of the Year

This was pretty easy in terms of the overall awards, but the second and third place finishers were far more heavily contested.

Al Kaline (DET), David Ortiz (MEM), and Jim Whitney (MCG) in the AL, and John Briggs (BRK), Judy Johnson (HOM), and George Foster (IND) in the NL were the next names on the lists, but these selections feel pretty solid.

#All Rounder Award

This one is given to the player whose offense was most well-rounded–walks, power, speed, all of it.

#Phineas Flint Award

This goes to the best reliever in each league–not necessarily a closer, but often.

#Brock Rutherford Award

This goes to the dominant pitcher in each league, usually a starter.

#Mel Trench Award

And, the biggie, the MVP. A slight prejudice towards batters here, but it’s possible for a pitcher to enter the building.

As has been constant in much of this Award season, the top spots are clear, and beyond that it’s a little bit of a mess.

Trout’s numbers weren’t as good as Turkey Steranes or Tris Speaker, but he carried Los Angeles all season. That said, this could have been a 3 way tie for AL CF’s. In the NL, you can argue that Ron Cey was more important to Brooklyn than Carter was to Ottawa, and certainly Brooklyn’s Whirled Championship counts for something. But Carter did all that … as a catcher (which underscores Gibson’s edge on the field).

Just a glance shows the differences in the leagues: you want offense, look at the AL, you want pitching, the NL. That’s a generality, and like all such, not fully accurate: the NL actually has more S Tier bats, but the AL is overall more top heavy offensively.

San Francisco, predictably, leads the way with 12 selections while the rivalry between the Black Yankees and Cleveland continues, with the Bill James Division heavyweights having 8 each.

#AL

I do wonder if this points to how fragile Cleveland is. The Spiders are one of only 2 teams to make the playoffs in both WBL seasons, but if you were to pick names likely to fade off this list, Arky Vaughan, Evan Longoria, Al Smith, and Firpo Marberry would jump out.

It also shows just how top heavy Los Angeles is: 2 S-Tier players (plus Brett Anderson and Ross Reynolds) with nothing to show for it. At the other end, there’s Detroit–the other team to make the playoffs each year–with only a single player (the incomparable Ty Cobb) listed, further reinforcing the Wolverines as having done it with a true team effort (although this was also quite close: Terry Adams, Al Kaline, and Hank Greenberg were all in contention for 3rd Team honors).

And the less said about Memphis, the better.

#NL

Brooklyn and Kansas City’s pitching is so strong. And imagine just how bad Ottawa’s pitching had to be, given their offensive representation.

Indianapolis has 3 S Tier players, giving them perhaps the most dominant nucleus in the league to build around. Kansas City has 4 S Tier players, but 2 of them are relievers, so most GM’s would prefer the ABC’s group.

And there are some league-wide deficiencies, especially at 1B and LF. Jim Wynn is a nice player, but the best in the league?

Both of Birmingham’s entrants were brought over in trade … but they also lost Jim Whtiney in those deals.

#Team by Team

Portland had nobody–nobody–who was deemed top 3 in the AL at their position. Ouch.

Baltimore. 4: Curt Blefary, Miller Huggins, Cal Ripken, Jr, Frank Robinson.
Birmingham, 2: Ryan Braun, Paul Konerko.
Brooklyn. 7: Ron Cey, Terry Forster, Eric Gagne, Orel Hershiser, Mike Piazza, Fernando Valenzuela, Smokey Joe Williams
Chicago. 3: Eddie Collins, Joe Jackson, Ed Walsh.
Cleveland. 8: Ed Bailey, Lance Berkman, Evan Longoria, Firpo Marberry, Ron Reed, Al Smith, Tris Speaker, Arky Vaughan.
Detroit. 1: Ty Cobb.
Homestead. 5: Josh Gibson, Josh Lindblom, Robb Nen, Rick Reichardt , Willie Stargell.
Houston. 7: Jeff Bagwell, Andrew Chafin, Roger Clemens, Carlos Correa, Tony Gwynn, Toad Ramsey, Jim Wynn.
Indianapolis. 3: Oscar Charleston, Joe Morgan, Luis Padrón.
Kansas City. 5: A. Rube Foster, Eddie Guardado, Albert Pujols, Lee Smith, Smokey Joe Wood.
Los Angeles. 4: Brett Anderson, Kal Daniels, Ross Reynolds, Mike Trout.
Memphis. 1: Andrew Miller.
Miami. 5: José Méndez, Jonathan Papelbon, Yasiel Puig, Jim Thome, Jim Whitney.
New York Black Yankees. 8: Lou Gehrig, Goose Gossage, Ron Guidry, Rogers Hornsby, Mickey Mantle, Andy Pettitte, Babe Ruth, Mike Schmidt.
New York Gothams. 3: Will Clark, Benny Kauff , Willie Mays.
Ottawa. 5: Roberto Alomar , Gary Carter, Rick Monday, Alex Rodríguez, Larry Walker.
Philadelphia. 7: Fred Cambria, Hardie Henderson, Bob Howry, Aaron Judge, Charles Rogan, Scott Rolen.
Portland. 0.
San Francisco. 12: Rod Beck, Jack Clark, Mickey Cochrane, Jimmie Foxx, Lefty Grove, Bump Hadley, Ken Howell, Reggie Jackson, Dick Lundy, Eddie Plank, Turkey Stearnes.
Wandering House of David. 2: Ernie Banks, Ryne Sandberg.

Los Angeles is the only team not represented (Bobby Grich is listed with the 2B, nobody else played enough at SS for the Angels).

#S Tier

WAR would put Carlos Correa and Arky Vaughan here, perhaps even above Ernie Banks. But WAR ain’t everything, and getting the kind of power Banks provides from a SS is very special, even if his defense is not. For me, it’s Banks, and then a cluster of quality in the A Tier.

#A Tier

These are all surprises: Carlos Correa to be here at all (and only a late season slump kept him from giving Banks a run for his money), Cal Ripken, Jr to be here this quickly, and Arky Vaughan to have blossomed both with the glove and the bat.

Of the three, I would expect Ripken to have the best shot at moving up.

#B Tier

This gets a little more complicated. Does Álex Rodríguez‘ offense warrant a nudge up? How about Dick Lundy‘s combination of speed and defense? In the end, they stay here with Robin Yount, who is just as solid as they come across the board. All three of these could move up merely by adding 25 walks a season, but they’re all pretty free swingers.

#C Tier

There is an argument that Dobie Moore and/or Judy Johnson should move up a level, given their offensive output and their age. At the same time, neither played a full season, so it seems prudent to leave them here.

Had Bobby Wallace been healthy all season, he certainly would have warranted a spot in the B Tier for his mix of OBP and defense, while Jim Fregosi seems to barely warrant a slot here, especially considering his shaky defense. But these are all legit starting SS’s in the league, so the C Tier seems about right (although Homestead’s decision about how to structure their infield may move Johnson away from SS).

#D Tier

Speaking of Homestead, Honus Wagner may in fact deserve to be knocked down. But he has power, a fair bit of speed, and just so much athleticism. But whether he ends up at 2B, SS, or 3B is yet to be seen.

Ozzie Smith is a hard one to evaluate, as it’s not clear if his defense and speed should move him here, or all the way up to C Tier. In the end, we decided to be conservative in our evaluation of defensive contributions.

#F Tier

Derek Jeter‘s offense is probably D Tier, but those defensive numbers are quite bad, nudging him down a category. Brandon Crawford may be done entirely, and Freddy Parent, even considering his glovework, is just a massive bust since being obtained by Chicago.

#Rookies

Cal Ripken, Jr. (A Tier), Judy Johnson (C Tier), and Dobie Moore (C Tier).

#Fielding Notes

We have our standard defensive stats here, with the leaders in bold and the worst performers in italics. Range Factor (RF) measures the number of plays made per game–the higher the better. Zone Rating (ZR) 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 (dEff) 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. Finally, Fielding Percentage (fPct) reflects the percentage of times a chance was handled without a mistake–if someone made no errors, their fPct would be 1.000.

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.

#Baltimore Black Sox

Look for the Black Sox to give Phil Bradley and Asdrúbal Cabrera a few starts over the final week of the season, with Dick Ellsworth and Kevin Tapani continuing to get extended looks on the mound.

Bradley and Cal Ripken, Jr. each hit 2 out, leading the Black Sox to a 10-6, come from behind victory over Portland.

#Cleveland Spiders

Joe Smith was sent down with Bob Tewksbury being recalled as the Spiders try to overtake the Black Yankees for the division title.

#Detroit Wolverines

JD Martinez has forced the Wolverines to give him more playing time with an OPS nearing 1.300 in 35 games. That means his OPS is–in limited appearances–higher than Ty Cobb‘s. I don’t care if you do that in 5 games or 35, that’s impressive.

#Baltimore Black Sox

Manny Machado and Cal Ripken, Jr. each hit 2 out and the Black Sox held on for dear life in a 16-13 win over Detroit.

In the minor leagues, P George Blaeholder and OF Mike Devereaux retired, as did major league arm RA Dickey. Dickey’s time in Baltimore wasn’t great–to date it encompasses 33 innings, a 1-2 record, and an ERA approaching 9.00. Even for a knuckleballer, though, 42 is a ripe old age in the grand old game.

#Cleveland Spiders

Closer Terry Adams began a rehab stint and should rejoin the Spiders by the end of the week. Claude Passeau was returned to AAA in exchange for Chuck Porter, who seems to have successfully transitioned to a long relief/starting role.

A key arm in the Spiders’ bullpen, Cory Gearrin, will miss about a week, prompting Adams’ recall. Another arm hit the DL, but Willis Hudlin–who tore his rotator cuff–is less likely to be missed, having pitched only a handful of innings after a solid season at AAA. Passeau was called back up to take Hudlin’s spot.

Joe Sewell continues to make a name for himself, as the young backup had 5 hits in a 10-4 victory over Chicago. With the win, Cleveland pulls into a tie with the New York Black Yankees for first place in the Bill James Division.

The dead heat with New York continued as Larry Doby hit 3 homeruns leading the Spiders to an 8-5 come from behind victory over Detroit.

Lance Berkman drove in 6 with 2 homeruns as the Spiders beat Detroit, 13-2. Bob Feller improved to 12-3 with a strong 6 innings, and Arky Vaughan had 4 hits, scored 4 times, and drove in 3.

#Detroit Wolverines

Tony Lazzeri hit the rehab circuit as he tries to make it back to Detroit in time for the playoffs.

Pete Conway was named to the Wolverines’ rotation.

Hank Greenberg had 2 homeruns, but despite that and 4 hits and 4 RBIs from Bob Bailey, the Wolverines fell to Baltimore, 16-13.

OFs Wally Moses and Bill Bruton announced their retirement.

Joe Wood has done fine as a utility player for Detroit, but as they push towards the postseason, Ray Chapman‘s incandescent start to his WBL career has led to the Wolverines sending Wood to AAA as they recall Lazzeri.

#Memphis Red Sox

Gabby Hartnett hit 2 homeruns and the Red Sox topped San Francisco, 8-7.

#New York Black Yankees

Roy Evans was returned to AAA, with Art Ditmar being recalled from AA as the Black Yankees continue to try to tweak their staff.

Three decent bats retired from the Black Yankees’ minor league system, with Red Rolfe, Hal Chase, and Sam Rice all hanging up the cleats, with Rolfe and Chase planning to throw their hats into the ring as coaches.

Babe Ruth hit 2 out, but the Black Yankees’ bullpen couldn’t hold onto a lead late, despite another solid outing from Tony Brizzolara, as they fell to Los Angeles, 11-6. Ruth did it again, taking back the WBL homerun lead, but once more the bullpen collapsed and the Black Yankees fell to Memphis, 7-6.

Mike Schmidt launched 2 deep shots of his own and Eric Davis, Thurman Munson, and Mickey Mantle joined him with homeruns as the Black Yankees beat Memphis in the series finale, 11-7.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

#Baltimore Black Sox

Cal Ripken Jr went deep twice and drove in 5 in a 14-11 win over Chicago. Moody slugger Gavvy Cravath will miss about 3 weeks with a quadriceps injury, with the Black Sox recalling OF Ken Griffey Sr, a stalwart AAA performer, for a complimentary cup of WBL coffee.

Curt Blefary had quite an unexpected day. His 9th inning homer to break up a shutout wasn’t so surprising, but his throwing out six runners trying to steal was quite a shock for a catcher not exactly known for his defensive prowess. Baltimore wasted a fine outing from Dennis Martínez in a 2-1 loss to Chicago.

Bryce Harper hit 2 homeruns and he and Asdrúbal Cabrera each had 4 hits as Baltimore topped Chicago, 9-1.

#Cleveland Spiders

Ron Blomberg was recalled from his rehab assignment which leaves the Spiders in the envious position of having to find at bats for the shockingly good Willie McCovey, who was recalled when Blomberg went down. McCovey has a .952 SLG over a tiny 50 AB sample, but still. .952 SLG.

The Spiders recalled Joe Smith to take the place of the injured Terry Adams and then, as part of roster expansion, recalled Ps Claude Passeau, Willis Hudlin, and Sergio Romo and position players Bob Elliott, Kenny Lofton, and Paul O’Neil.

Johnny Bates went deep twice, but that was about all the Spiders could manage in a 13-4 loss to Memphis.

Evan Longoria and Lance Berkman each went deep twice and the Spiders bullpen held on for dear life as Cleveland topped Memphis, 11-10.

#Detroit Wolverines

Johnny Marcum and George Bechtel started rehab assignments. Logan Hensley was promoted from AA for the stretch run.

Juan Beníquez scored 4 times and hit his 17th homerun in a taut, 8-7 win over Baltimore. The victory went to Jack Wilson, who improved to 6-0 on the season.

#Memphis Red Sox

Skel Roach will miss about a month with an elbow issue, meaning his season is most likely over. Nixey Callahan was recalled.

Not a great day for the Red Sox: they fell 8-6 to Miami, and lost Dobie Moore for 2-3 weeks. They recalled Wayne Causey to help out at SS.

Ted Williams and David Ortiz went back-to-back twice as the Red Sox dominated Cleveland, 13-4 behind a decent effort from Len Barker, who evened his record at 10-10.

#New York Black Yankees

Pascual Pérez started a rehab assignment.