Tag: Carlos Delgado Page 2 of 4

TWIWBL 34.1: Series XXVII Notes – Bill James Division

On March 1, 2023

#Los Angeles Angels

The Angels have been desperate for starting pitching for a while, behind the hard-throwing duo of Gerrit Cole and Nolan Ryan. In a somewhat desperate move, they sent Chuck Finley, Tom Seaver, and Mike Smith to AAA, bringing back up Harry Howell, Sid Fernandez, and Jason Vargas.

Homeruns from Mike Trout and Carlos Delgado powered the Angels to a 12-1 victory over Kansas City in a game which, perhaps more importantly, both Doc Gooden and Fernandez pitched well.

#Memphis Red Sox

Wade Boggs hit a mammoth homerun to lead off the bottom of the 10th giving the Red Sox a 6-5 win over Portland.

#New York Gothams

The Gothams hit 5 homeruns in a 16-7 rout of San Francisco. Joe Adcock started it with a grandslam, and Jimmy Sheckard, Willie Mays, Eugenio Suárez, and Johnny Callison all going deep as well. Mays and Callison had 4 hits each; Adcock and Callions each drove in 4, and Mays scored 4 times as New York pounded out 21 hits in helping Juan Marichal improve to 9-6.

#Wandering House of David

Dan Ford had 4 hits–2 of which were homeruns–and 5 RBI, leading the House of David to a 9-5 victory over surging Birmingham. Ryne Sandberg also had 4 hits, including his 16th homerun of the year, as Bob Rush threw 7 strong innings moving to 9-5 on the year.

Series XXV Best Games

By mknn

On January 25, 2023

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

Some very nice see-saw rides in series XXV.

San Francisco Sea Lions @ Portland Sea Dogs, Game 4

The conclusion of the clash of the sea creatures did not disappoint …

The Sea Lions scored in the first in typical fashion: Rickey Henderson bunted for a base hit, stole 2nd, moved to 3rd on a single by Bobby Bonds, and scored on a sacrifice fly from Pedro Guerrero. The 1-0 lead held until the bottom of the fifth, when Rogers Hornsby scored Kent Hrbek with a double into the gap.

Guerrero scored Bonds for a 2-1 lead, but it was short-lived, as a Bobby Murcer triple scored Harry Hooper and Iván Rodríguez, putting Portland up, 3-2. Portland looked in good shape at that point, good enough that Gary Pettis replaced Murcer in CF for better defense. Well, perhaps not only defense: after a horrid start to the year, Pettis has pushed his average well over .300.

San Francisco would tie the game in the top of the 9th in a decidedly unexpected way. With one out, John Beckwith, who is barely retaining his spot on the roster, pinch hit for Jimmy Bloodworth and singled. Phil Garner pinch ran for Beckwith and, after a walk to Sal Bando, light-hitting Miguel Cairo, forced to remain in the game for defensive purposes, doubled home the tying run off Portland’s Elmer Brown.

And there it stayed, until the 15th inning. San Francisco had turned the game over to Charlie Root, Portland to José Muñoz, and each were excellent. Mickey Cochrane–much maligned and in danger of losing his job–singled to lead off the 15th. Portland had nobody on the bench to pinch-run–or catch in the bottom of the frame–so Cochrane stayed in the game, moving to 2nd on a wild pitch by Muñoz and to third on a groundout. He scored on a single from Garner, and Root closed it out.

SFS 4 (Root 5-4) @ POR 3 (Muñoz 3-5; Brown 1 BSv; Cuellar 8 H) [15 Innings]
HRs: none.
Box Score

Homestead Grays @ Memphis Red Sox, Game 1

Willie Stargell led off the top of the 2nd with a solo homerun to kick off the scoring and while a 2-RBI double from Billy Bryan put Memphis ahead briefly, Stargell would do the same in the 4th, leading off with a homerun which, combined with an RBI groundout from Arky Vaughan that scored Chief Wilson, tied the game at 3. The teams would trade runs until, in th ebottom of the 5th, Ted Williams sent one deep to put Memphis up by 2, 6-4.

And then the Grays exploded, with a bases-clearing double from Stargell and a 2-run shot from Wilson putting Homestead up, 10-6. Each team would add a run, and Homestead would head to the bottom of the 9th, up 11-7. Should be safe, right? Especially with their closer, Michael Jackson, on the mound.

Wade Boggs doubled to start the inning, Williams walked, and Bill White doubled, scoring Boggs. Josh Lindblom promptly uncorked a wild pitch, scoring Williams and, when David Justice reached on an error from Homestead’s CF, Andrew McCutcheon, scoring White, the score was 11-10 with no outs. Manny Ramírez singled, but a fantastic throw from Rick Reichardt nailed Justice at the plate. Lindblom retired Bryan and Reggie Smith on flyouts, and the Grays squeaked through with a game that looked well in hand.

Boggs, Stargell, and Wilson each had 4 hits, with Pops driving in 5 and scoring 4.

HOM 11 (Pierce 1-2; Giusti 1 H) @ MEM 10 (Gibson 0-1; Callahan 1 BSv)
HRs: HOM – Stargell 2 (18), Wilson (8); MEM – Williams (19)
Box Score

Kansas City Monarchs @ New York Black Yankees, Game 2

New York’s Ron Guidry keeps putting in good performances to little results: in this one, he went 7 innings, giving up only 1 run. He was matched by a trio of Monarchs’ arms as Smokey Joe Wood (injured in the 4th), Joe Blong, and Trevor Rosenthal combined to also allow 1 run through 7.

And then the bullpens collapsed–expected for the Black Yankees, but a surprise for Kansas City. First, New York’s Goose Gossage and Gary Lavelle combine to give up 3 runs in the top of the 8th, with the key hits being 2-out RBI’s from Stan Musial and Ducky Medwick. But Craig Kimbrel was equally weak for the Monarchs, giving up back-to-back doubles to Eric Davis and Thurman Munson to start the frame, and a 2-run homerun to Don Mattingly to give the Black Yankees a 5-4 lead.

But no lead is safe for New York: Lavelle gave up a single, a walk, and an error to tie the game, and Ralph Citarella gave up a go-ahead single to Albert Pujols. Kansas City’s Jeff Pfeffer had no such struggles, picking up his 12th save in closing the game out.

KCM 6 (Kimbrel 3-2, 2 BSv; Pfeffer 12 Sv) @ NYY 5 (Lavelle 0-3)
HRs: KCM – none; NYY – Mattingly (20).
Box Score

Ottawa Mounties @ Los Angeles Angels, Game 3

A successful suicide squeeze from Jim Stephens scored Anthony Rendon for Ottawa, tying the game at 1 in the top of the 4th. In the next inning, Rendon would single in a run before Larry Parrish went deep with a 3-run blast to put the Mounties up, 5-1. The Angels would roar back, taking a 7-5 lead behind RBI hits from Don Buford, Bobby Grich, Mike Trout, and Carlos Delgado.

But Ottawa doesn’t fold as easily as they did earlier in the season, with George Van Haltren sending Francisco Rodríguez‘ 4th pitch of the ballgame into the bleachers for a 3-run homerun, putting the Mounties back on top, 8-7. Ted Bowsfield, Steve Howe, and Ryan Dempster closed the game out with 3.1 hitless innings.

OTT 8 (Bowsfield 5-2; Dempster 4 Sv; Dubiel 2 BSv; Howe 4 H) @ LAA 7 (Rodríguez 3-2, 1 BSv)
HRs: OTT – Parrish (2), Van Haltren (2); LAA – none.
Box Score

Miami Cuban Giants @ Brooklyn Royal Giants, Game 4

Brooklyn’s Frank Knauss has been great all year. Miami’s Roenis Eliás less so. But they matched frame for frame in this one, each tossing 7.1 IP while allowing only 3 hits and 1 run. The game remained tied at 1 into the 10th, when Miami’s closer Aroldis Chapman was left in to pitch a second inning. He gave up a walk to Art Griggs, a single to Duke Farrell, and a walk to Al López. That brought José Méndez in from the pen for the Cuban Giants … who promptly gave up a walkoff, grand slam shot to Beals Becker.

MCG 1 (Chapman 4-3) @ BRG 5 (Gagne 4-4) [10 Innings]
HRs: MCG – Canseco (24); BRG – Becker (16).
Box Score

TWIWBL 30.0: Series XXIII Notes

By mknn

On December 12, 2022

In TWIWBL

July 10th

Looking Back at the All Star Trades

We’re a month(ish) on from the all-star break, seemed a good time to look back at the trades and see how they are working out in the early days.

Boom Shaka Laka

The Los Angeles Angels and the Ottawa Mounties swapped 8 players, with early returns making the Angels–by far–the winner in the exchange as veteran 1B Carlos Delgado is slashing 344/400/547 since the trade, providing what may be the final piece to the Angels’ puzzle. While Rusty Staub has done OK for Ottawa, none of the rest of the pieces have shown much at all. Wally Moon, who the Angels picked up from San Francisco, has been impressive as well, slashing 354/458/458 since the break. Two of the pieces the Angels gave up for Moon–C Brian Downing and P Dave LaRoche–have done well for San Francisco (Downing at AAA, LaRoche with the Sea Lions themselves), so this deal may work out for both sides.

Encouraging

The New York Gothams gave up a haul for Don Sutton, and so far it looks OK: Sutton looks to join the Gothams’ rotation shortly, posting a 2.70 ERA in 8 relief appearances. For Brooklyn, two of the prospects received are doing quite well: OF Don Mueller is slashing 387/395/653 and P Lew Krausse, Jr. has started his career with his new organization with some strong outings on the mound.

All-Star Ron Reed has just continued his strong year having moved from Philadelphia to Cleveland, with an ERA of 0.75 over his first half-dozen games with the Spiders. Even more importantly for Cleveland’s playoff push, OF Lance Berkman looks to have blossomed with the change in scenery, slashing 276/417/500 with 4 HRs since coming over from Houston–a jump of of over 200 points to his OPS. The Spiders gave up 7 players across those 2 deals, none of which have earned significant playing time with their new clubs, although both Jap Payne (sent to Philadelphia) and Harry Stovey (to Houston as part of the Berkman deal) have hit well in limited appearances).

The Chicago American Giants brought in 4 pitchers, with encouraging returns from Dick Rudolph (acquired from Miami) and Hoyt Wilhelm (from Birmingham). The best prospect the American Giants gave up–Minnie Miñoso to the Cuban Giants–has been injured, so the jury is still out on this deal in general, but it looks alright so far, even if Don Newcombe has struggled mightily, and may have been overvalued at the trade deadline. Perhaps as importantly, the American Giants seem to have solved their SS question, as all-star Freddy Parent has continued his strong form since joining them from Ottawa.

Birmingham’s fire sale went well. We’ll cover some of those below, but both Curt Flood and Manny Trillo–picked up in the trade of Frank Isbell (who has been alright) to Brooklyn–are both tearing up AAA.

Meh

The Baltimore Black Sox have to be pleased with Manny Machado‘s performance so far, as he’s slotted quite comfortably as their everyday 3B. But the Miami Cuban Giants can’t really complain, as they aren’t going to compete for a while and Joe Dugan is tearing up AAA while Chris Hoiles has established himself as a C at the big league level. The Black Sox also brought in Joe Beggs from Memphis to solidify the end of their bullpen. Results have been mixed so far.

Memphis’ fan base was quite critical of a few of their moves, and Roger Clemens‘ short-term success in Houston has only increased their fury. But Stubby Overmire has added some depth to their staff and perhaps more importantly, 2B DJ LeMahieu and P Jim Kaat look to be strong prospects for Memphis’ future.

Disappointing

Portland hoped picking up Rogers Hornsby from Kansas City would spark their offense for a playoff push, and while he’s better than Greg Litton, his .648 OPS is actually pretty Littonish, and a far cry from his .853 mark over the first half of the season.

Tim Hudson was supposed to solidify San Francisco’s rotation, but was roughed up in his first few starts. While he’s shown signs of coming around, the 36 year old is only 1-3 with an ERA north of 5 since his move to the Left Coast. Rube Melton, one of the pieces the Sea Lions gave up for Hudson, has excelled at AAA for Birmingham, and looks to be a nice pickup for the Black Barons.

Another one who took a bit to find his footing, Tom Herr, is finally showing some life for the New York Black Yankees. Still, a 228/267/298 slash is not what the New York faithful had hoped to see from their All-Star acquisition. The Black Yankees’ other significant acquisitions–Jamie Moyer and Gary Lavelle–have struggled as well, although Lavelle has been installed as their closer, which is more a comment on the other options than a compliment to him. Several of the prospects they gave up–Bill Buckner and Charlie Keller for Birmingham and Dick Bartell and Sam Thompson for Ottawa–are performing very well for their new organizations, so these trades may come back to haunt New York.

Performance

As usual, top 2 performers in all categories, with the WBL leader in bold.

Batters

Reggie Jackson‘s triple crown hunt is back on! And Babe Ruth‘s dominance just continues unabated.

Dick Allen (CAG). 298/368/550. 9 3B.
Ron Blomberg (CLE). 335/410/646. 1.056 OPS. 26 HR.
Rico Carty (PHI). 295/362/480. 34 2B.
Ty Cobb (DET). 336/379/533.
Eric Davis (NYY). 277/337/528. 4.1 WAR.
Mike Epstein (HOM). 336/441/539.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 253/389/342. 67 BB, 64SB.
Kent Hrbek (POR). 301/370/582. 26 HR.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 337/449/610. 1.059 OPS.
Willie Mays (NYG). 316/373/523. 112 H.
Stan Musial (KCM). 331/390/585. 115 H, 31 2B.
Doug Rader (LAA). 316/373/523. 112 H, 88 RBI.
Tim Raines (OTT). 298/373/454. 66 SB.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 314/424/656. 1.080 OPS. 29 HR, 88 RBI, 73 R, 66 BB, 5.0 WAR.
Mike Trout (LAA). 318/390/455. 112 H.

Pitchers

It’s just all over the place, once you move past the dominant performances by Ned Garvin (BAL) and Gerrit Cole (LAA).

Starters

Bill Byrd (BAL). 9-2, 3.29.
Gerrit Cole (LAA). 12-3, 3.66. 128 IP.
Gene Conley (CLE). 10-2, 3.17.
Ned Garvin (BAL). 8-3, 2.64. 1.14 WHIP.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 9-6, 3.84. 135 K.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 5-8, 4.15. 135 K.
Waite Hoyt (NYY). 8-2, 3.29. 1.15 WHIP.
Walter Johnson (POR). 8-3, 3.60. 3.2 WAR.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 10-6, 3.96.
Alejandro Peña (BBB). 8-6, 3.77. 3.5 WAR.
Red Ruffing (NYY). 10-4, 3.55.
Cy Young (CLE). 8-4, 3.84. 129 IP.

Relievers

20 IP minimum for rate stats.

Watty Clark (BRK). 3-1, 1.23. 17 Sv.
Mike Henneman (DET). 1-4, 3.67. 23 Sv.
Ken Howell (SFS). 3-3, 1.14. 3 Sv, 7 H.
AJ Minter (CAG). 1-0, 2.08. 16 Sv, 0.88 WHIP.
Ron Reed (CLE). 0-2, 2.26. 3 Sv, 16 H.
Ron Robinson (SFS). 4-2, 3.58. 12 H.
Johan Santana (POR). 1-1, 2.78. 23 Sv.
Jonny Venters (LAA). 3-3, 3.24. 4 Sv, 12 H.
Billy Wagner (HOU). 0-2, 3.63. 11 Sv, 2 H, 0.90 WHIP.

Streaks

Not a lot of interesting active streaks. Brooklyn’s Beals Becker–who has the league record for consecutive games with a HR with 5–has a 25 game streak of getting on base. It’s no Thurman Munson, but it’s something. Becker is slashing 382/432/853 over his last 10 games. Gary Pettis, once considered a liability at the plate, is slashing 600/667/1050 over his last 15 games (because of Pettis’ utility as a defensive replacement, those 15 games cover only 24 ABs).

Christy Mathewson (NYG) hasn’t allowed a hit in over 8 innings.

Baltimore’s entire staff is on fire: Bill Byrd, Ned Garvin, Sean Marshall, Mike Mussina, and Jim Palmer are all on hot streaks on the mound. The most impressive is Byrd, who has a 1.07 WHIP and 2.38 ERA over his last 10 games.

Series Results

Series XXIII Sweeps

Cleveland over Indianapolis

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XXIII

Baltimore over Brooklyn
Birmingham over Los Angeles
Houston over Chicago
Detroit over Portland
Kansas City over Philadelphia
New York Black Yankees over Ottawa

Splitting Series XXIII

Homestead @ San Francisco
House of David @ Memphis
Miami @ New York Gothams

Series XXIII: Featured Matchup – Birmingham Black Barons @ Los Angeles Angels

By mknn

On December 10, 2022

In Featured Series, Game Recaps

Series preview here.

#Game 1: Vic Willis @ Mike Smith

Mike Smith was recalled from AAA to make this start for Los Angeles, and he’ll face the impressive Vic Willis, who is 1-1 with a 2.09 ERA for Birmingham early in his WBL career.

Smith gave up a solo shot to Frank McCormick in the 2nd, and a 3-run blast to Eddie Mathews in the 3rd, as Birmingham moved in front, 4-0. But that was all Smith allowed through 5, which has to be considered a solid outing for the rookie.

Willis sailed along until Don Buford took him deep for a 3-run shot in the bottom of the 5th, closing the gap to 4-3. Bobby Grich tripled in Carlos Delgado in the next inning, tying the game, but Willis got 1 out, and was relieved by Warren Spahn, who got out of the inning without letting Grich in from 3rd.

After an error by José Reyes prolonged the inning, Birmingham took the lead on a bases-loaded double from Billy Southworth and an RBI dink into short right from Bob Nieman. That made the score 8-4 heading into the bottom of the 8th.

A strike-em-out-throw-em-out double-play helped Juan Ríncón earn his 14th save to preserve the victory.

Southworth had 3 hits for the Black Barons and Ron Hassey the same for Los Angeles.

BBB 8 (Spahn 4-6; Rincón 14 Sv) @ LAA 5 (Anderson 1-1)
HRs: BBB – McCormick (10), Matthews (13); LAA – Buford (8)
Box Score

#Game 2: Sam Streeter @ Chuck Finley

Chuck Finley was rested enough to start game 2 for Los Angeles, opposed by Birmingham’s Sam Streeter.

Finley might wish he waited another day: 2 walks and an infield hit setup Pie Traynor for a grandslam homerun in the top of the 1st for an early 4-0 lead for the Black Barons. Doug Rader got back 2 in the bottom of the frame with an RBI double, halving the lead to 4-2.

Traynor would double and score on a hit by Frank McCormick, who scored on an RBI single by Eddie Mathews, restoring the 4 run advantage for Birmingham. Finley wouldn’t get out of the inning, giving way to Pud Galvin before seeing the score grow to 8-2.

Streeter would go 6, giving up a couple more runs , and Birmingham would score a couple more, but the game never got closer. Traynor had 4 RBIs and McCormick 3 hits, while Rader went 3-for-3 in a losing effort.

BBB 10 (Streeter 5-4) @ LAA 4 (Finley 4-5)
HRs: BBB – Traynor (3).
Box Score

#Game 3: Greg Maddux @ Nolan Ryan

This one features two of the hottest arms in the league, as Greg Maddux has been sensational for Birmingham over his past few starts and, after a rocky start to the season, Los Angeles’ Nolan Ryan has emerged as a key member of their rotation.

LA took the early lead in the bottom of the 2nd: Doug Rader and Carlos Delgado doubled and Delgado eventually scored on a sacrifice fly from Wally Moon, making it 2-0. A solo homerun from Adrián González clawed back one run for Birmingham in the top of the 3rd, and Rader would single home Don Buford in the bottom of the frame, making it 3-1 in favor of the Angels.

And … that was it.

Ryan only allowed 3 hits in his 7 innings of work, and Jonny Venters and Joe Nathan each added a scoreless inning in relief.

BBB 1 (Maddux 2-3) @ LAA 3 (Ryan 4-3; Nathan 15 Sv; Venters 11 H)
HRs: BBB – González (4).
Box Score

#Game 4: Alejandro Pena @ Doc Gooden

LA would turn to Doc Gooden trying to even out the series while the Black Barons would ask their most dependable starter over the course of the year, Alejandro Peña to give them a series win.

Gooden allowed 3 runners on base in the top of the 1st, but a double play and a key whiff of Eddie Mathews let him get out of the inning unscathed. Peña’s first inning was similar: a walk, a hit, an error, and 2 stolen bases, but a great throw by Curtis Granderson to nail Don Buford at home kept the game scoreless.

There wouldn’t be another hit in the game until Herman Long doubled in the top of the 5th. He would try to score on a single by Earl Battey, but a strong throw by Mike Trout would cut him down at the plate, preserving the scoreless tie.

LA would score in the bottom of the 5th on a double from José Reyes, scoring George Wright. Reyes would come home on a two-bagger from Buford, doubling the lead to 2-0.

Long would double in the top of the 7th, and when Battey again singled, this time was able to beat the throw, cutting the lead to 2-1 and chasing Gooden from the game. Jonny Venters would walk Adrián González (pinch-hitting for Omar Infante), but get Billy Southworth on a weak groundout to end the inning.

Kent Mercker would give up a run in the bottom of the frame on an RBI single to Buford, once again giving LA a 2-run advantage at 3-1.

With Angels closer Joe Nathan once again in the game, Hank Aaron would deliver a 2-run double, closing the gap to 3-2. Aaron would score on a 2-out single by Troy Tulowitzki to tie the game. Birmingham brought in Pie Traynor to play 3B, surrendering the DH for the rest of the game.

Despite a couple baserunners, the Angels were unable to push the winning run across, and we were off to extra innings.

In the top of the 1oth, Kal Daniels–perhaps unused to playing RF instead of his usual LF–overthrew the cutoff man on a hit from Bob Nieman, allowing Granderson to come all the way around to score, putting Birmingham ahead, 4-3.

Granderson would end the game, gunning down Carlos Delgado at 3B, his second OF kill of the day.

Nieman finished with 3 hits for Birmingham.

BBB 4 (Rincón 1-2; Spahn 1 Sv) @ LAA 3 (Anderson 1-2; Venters 12 H; Rodríguez 8 H; Nathan 6 BSv) [10 Innings]
HRs: none.
Box Score

#Series Review

This was dominated by the pitching. For Birmingham, Bob Nieman continued his hot streak, finishing the series 7-for-14, and Hank Aaron added 5 hits. The Angels were led by Doug Rader‘s 6 hits, without much else going on offensively.

TWIWBL 29.1: Series XXII Notes – Bill James Division

By mknn

On August 10, 2022

In TWIWBL

#Detroit Wolverines

4 hits from Bob Bailey led the way as Detroit trounced Kansas City 10-4. Hank Greenberg drove in 3 runs and Justin Verlander earned the win with 3 innings of scoreless relief.

#Los Angeles Angels

Tom Seaver‘s WBL debut did not go as planned as the much-heralded 22 year old allowed 6 runs in just over 2 innings. But Nolan Ryan followed with near perfection, allowing only 2 hits the rest of the way and earning the win as the Angels scored 9 runs in the 6th en route to a 15-6 rout of Indianapolis. Elmer Valo had 4 hits, Carlos Delgado 3, and George Wright and Doug Rader drove in 3 each.

Gerrit Cole just keeps rolling: the WBL leader in victories improved to 12-3 on the year with a 4-hit shutout of Indianapolis (Denis Menke had 3 of the ABC’s 4 hits). Delgado–sporting an OPS well over 1.000 since he moved to Los Angeles–had 3 hits and 4 RBIs and Don Buford and Mike Trout also contributed 3 hits.

#New York Gothams

Behind a great start from Gaylord Perry (7 innings, 1 run), the Gothams topped Baltimore 4-1. Johnny Callison and Cookie Rojas combined for 5 hits and Robb Nen picked up his 7th save with 2 scoreless innings to close out the game.

#Wandering House of David

Five House of David pitchers combined on a 5-hit shutout, using a 1st inning homerun by Elrod Hendricks to beat the Black Yankees 2-0. Bob Rush allowed 3 hits in over 6 innings for the win, moving to 7-5 on the season, and Rollie Fingers, Scott Downs, Lee Smith, and Bruce Sutter combined for 2.1 innings of hitless relief with Sutter picking up his 12th save.

TWIWBL 29.0 – Series XXII Notes

By mknn

On August 8, 2022

In TWIWBL

July 6th

Quick Glance at the Standings

Things are tightening up around the league, with the most shocking news being that the New York Black Yankees are now in 2nd place in the Effa Manley Division, 1.5 games behind the Cleveland Spiders.

The closest race is in the Bill James Division, where the New York Gothams, Detroit Wolverines, and Los Angeles Angels are separated by only 2 games. Over in the Cum Posey Division, the Chicago American Giants remain 3 games behind the Baltimore Black Sox.

The Marvin Miller Division has the closest thing in the WBL to a runaway leader, as the Portland Sea Dogs lead the Brooklyn Royal Giants by 5.5 games, with the Birmingham Black Barons–on a surprising 9-1 hot streak–a game further behind.

Oddball Stats

Thought it might be interesting to take a look at some of the less important stats going on the WBL.

Sacrifice Hits are a big deal for some WBL teams, and 5 players are tied for the league lead with 12 each. They tend to make sense–players like Detroit’s George Davis or Baltimore’s Dan McGann. But then two names jump out: Chicago’s Duffy Lewis and the New York Black Yankees’ Lou Gehrig (Lewis has 12, Gehrig 10). What are those teams thinking? These are elite sluggers who are being told to “just move the runner over” far too often.

Wade Boggs of the Memphis Red Sox leads the WBL in GiDP, with 17, followed by Gil Hodges (Portland) and Ken Singleton (Baltimore) with 14. That all feels appropriate, although Willie Mays (New York Gothams) being next with 13 seems a little off.

Speaking of Mays, he leads all OFers with 14–FOURTEEN–OF assists. Ken Griffey, Jr–despite spending significant time in the minors for the Ottawa Mounties–is second with 12.

On the mound, let’s take a look at Meltdowns and Shutdowns, and specifically the mystery of the Kansas City Monarch‘s Trevor Rosenthal, who has 9 of the former and 10 of the latter. Roger Clemens, now of the Houston Colt 45’s, has allowed the most stolen bases in the league, as 30 players have successfully swiped bases against the Rocket.

Performance

Batters

Usual stuff: top 2 in various stats (plus all 1.000+ OPS), league leader in bold.

It’s still a widely diverse list, and it’s still dominated by Babe Ruth. The San Francisco Sea Lions‘ Reggie Jackson has fallen from leading the league in all 3 categories to “only” leading in OBP.

Dick Allen (CAG). 296/365/550. 9 3B.
Ron Blomberg (CLE). 328/403/621.
Rico Carty (PHI). 295/364/481. 31 2B.
Eddie Collins (CAG). 307/408/530. 4.0 WAR.
Ty Cobb (DET). 341/385/532.
Mike Epstein (HOM). 337/443/523.
Mike Fiore (CAG). 245/400/391. 65 BB.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 258/388/348. 63 BB, 61 SB.
Kent Hrbek (POR). 309/376/599. 26 HR.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 331/412/583. 68 R.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 338/448/618.
Stan Musial (KAN). 333/392/595. 111 H, 30 2B.
Doug Rader (LAA). 318/371/535. 85 RBI.
Tim Raines (OTT). 300/378/457. 65 SB.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 311/418/664. 29 HR, 87 RBI, 69 R, 4.9 WAR.
Louis Santop (CLE). 316/351/470. 8 3B.
Frank Thomas (CAG). 328/433/575.
Mike Trout (LAA). 322/396/466. 108 H.

Starting Pitchers

Gerrit Cole (LAA). 12-3, 3.66. 128 IP.
Ray Collins (PHI). 7-6, 3.96. 127.1 IP.
Ned Garvin (BAL). 7-3, 2.82. 1.13 WHIP.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 8-6, 3.96. 128 K.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 5-8, 4.32. 127 K.
Dennis Martínez (BAL). 8-5, 3.23.
Alejandro Peña (BBB). 8-6, 3.81. 3.4 WAR.
Red Ruffing (NYY). 10-3. 3.63.
Cy Young (CLE). 8-4, 3.48. 1.14 WHIP, 3.4 WAR.

Relievers

25 IP for rate stats.

Tommy Hanson (BRK). 0-0, 3.16. 0.86 WHIP.
Mike Henneman (DET). 1-4, 3.96. 22 Sv.
Ken Howell (SFS). 3-3, 1.23.
Chuck Porter (CLE). 4-3, 2.16. 0.84 WHIP.
Ron Reed (PHI/CLE). 0-2, 2.42. 15 H.
Ron Robinson (SFS). 4-1, 3.44. 11 H.
Johan Santana (POR). 1-1, 2.78. 23 Sv.
Brian Wilson (NYG). 1-0, 1.37.

Streaks

Hank Aaron has an 18 game hitting streak, the only active streak that makes the league leaders. Aaron has hit homeruns in his last 3 games, as has Babe Ruth, but the leader in that category, surprisingly, is the Brooklyn Royal Giant‘s Beals Becker, who has gone deep in 5 consecutive games.

That gives Becker a stunning 1.300 SLG over those 5 games. Carlos Delgado, on fire since his trade to LA, is hitting .542 over his last 6 games.

Series Results

Series XXII Sweeps

Homestead Grays over Philadelphia Stars

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XXII

Birmingham over Memphis
Houston over Portland
San Francisco over Ottawa

Series Splits

New York Gothams @ Baltimore
Brooklyn @ Cleveland
Chicago @ Miami Cuban Giants
Kansas City @ Detroit
Los Angeles @ Indianapolis ABC’s
New York Black Yankees @ Wandering House of David

Series XXII Best Games

By mknn

On July 22, 2022

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

New York Black Yankees @ House of David, Game 3

This was just your classic see-saw slugfest. Looking only at the score at the end of half-innings, the lead changed hands 8 times in the game–2-0; 3-2; 7-2; 8-7; 10-8; 12-8; 13-12; and finally 15-13 (and it was tied at 7, 8, and 12).

Things started well for New York, as Eric Davis singled, stole 2 bases, and scored on a sac fly before a solo shot from Lou Gehrig made it 2-0 in their favor. Cole Hamels took the mound for the Black Yankees, trying to earn his spot in the starting rotation. Didn’t go so well: Hamels didn’t get out of the 4th inning, leaving the game with the House of David leading, 7-2. He gave up homeruns to Pete Browning and Gabby Hartnett, and two to Anthony Rizzo.

The House of David’s Frank Sullivan was sailing at that point, but the top of the 5th would be his undoing as New York put together 3 hits and 2 walks to start the inning, then greeted Sullivan’s replacement, Phil Regan, with RBI doubles from Mickey Mantle and Derek Jeter. By the end of the frame, New York was ahead, 8-7.

Browning’s second homerun of the game tied it up in the 5th, with the Black Yankees’ taking the lead back on a solo shot from Babe Ruth and an RBI single from Jeter. At this point, it looked like New York’s game, especially once they doubled their lead on a 2-run double from Ruth in the top of the 7th. It was now 12-8 in favor of the Black Yankees.

But the New York bullpen has been their Achilles’ heel all year, and today proved no exception. Ralph Citarella came in and loaded the bases twice (a great throw by Ruth nailed Browning at the plate, preventing a run from scoring) before giving up a grand slam to Hartnett, tying the game at 12.

Thurman Munson immediately restored New York’s lead with his 10th homerun of the season. Sparky Lyle had a rare effective outing, and gave way in the bottom of the 9th to Gary Lavelle, newly appointed as the Black Yankees’ closer. Singles by Dan Ford and Hartnett brought up George Stone with 2 outs … and Stone neatly deposited Lavelle’s first pitch into the leftfield stands, for a walk-off 3 run homer.

Jack Taylor, forced into the game as a reliever, got the victory. Rizzo and Hartnett combined for 6 hits in 6 at bats with 9 RBIs and 6 runs scored, and Ford had 4 hits and 4 runs scored for the House of David. Ruth drove in 5 for New York.

NYY 13 (Lavelle 0-2, 2 B SV) @ HOD 15 (Taylor 7-8)
HRs: NYY – Gehrig (17), Ruth (28), Munson (10); Browning 2 (13), Rizzo 2 (5), Hartnett 2 (4), Stone (21).
Box Score

Other Games of Note

In pretty much the exact opposite game, Houston’s Stephen Strasburg and Portland’s Joseito Muñoz faced off in one of the best-pitched games of the year. Muñoz gave up only 3 hits over 8 innings, with a Jorge Posada double accounting for Houston’s only run. But Strasburg was even better, taking a 1-hitter into the 9th inning. He needed help at the end from Billy Wagner, but the two Colt 45 pitchers combined for a 3-hit shutout in the 1-0 win.

POR 0 (Muñoz 3-3) 0 @ HOU 1 (Strasburg 5-5; Wagner 9 Sv) 1
HRs: None.
Box Score

This was a fun one that went down to the wire. If you look at the box score, you might think that LA’s Doc Gooden and Indianapolis’ Willie Mitchell (making his first start of the year after spectacular performances in relief) were hit hard, but the real story was the inability of either Pud Galvin or Clay Carroll to help them get out of a jam. LA took an early lead on an RBI double from Derrek Lee, but the real drama was in the late innings as the lead changed hands 3 times. An RBI single from Jake Stenzel off the Angels’ closer, Joe Nathan, tied the game, and Ed Charles‘ fly deep to CF was snagged by a great catch from Mike Trout, but allowed Danny Hoffman to stroll home from third with the winning run. Carlos Delgado (slashing 375/423/562 since arriving in LA) had 2 hits, and Stenzel and Dave Henderson had 4 each for Indianapolis, with Henderson driving in 4.

LAA 6 (Nathan 3-5, 5 B Sv; Venters 10 H) @ IND 7 (Faber 6-5, 2 B Sv; Carroll 1 B Sv)
HRs: LA – Grich (7).
Box Score

When Álex Rodríguez took San Francisco closer Rod Beck deep in the bottom of the 9th for a walkoff homerun, it consigned the Sea Lions to their 7th straight loss. Ottawa’s Rusty Staub, hitting .346 since coming to the Mounties in a trade, had 2 hits, as did Anthony Rendon, helping the team overcome 3 errors in the victory. In perhaps his best outing of the year, Randy Johnson gave Ottawa 3+ innings of hitless relief, fanning 6.

SFS 4 (Beck 1-3, 4 B Sv; Howell 5 H; Robinson 10 H) @ OTT 5 (Holland 3-1)
HRs: Ott – Walker (9), Alomar (1), Rodríguez (8).
Box Score

TWIWBL 25.1: Series XIX Notes – Bill James Division

By mknn

On June 7, 2022

In TWIWBL

#Detroit Wolverines

Detroit loses a key contributor to their bullpen, as Matt Anderson will miss about a month. Doyle Alexander was recalled from AAA.

#Los Angeles Angels

The Angels are hoping some small tweaks bring big impacts: Carlos Delgado joins, initially in a platoon at 1B with Derrek Lee, and Wally Moon adds some OF flexibility. Kole Calhoun was also recalled to the WBL.

Kal Daniels drove in 5 runs to lead the Angels in a 16-2 route of Memphis, a game that got so out of hand the Red Sox sent Ted Williams to the mound. Daniels and Doug Rader had 2 hits each and Elmer Valo scored 3 times to support 6 strong innings from Chuck Finley.

#Memphis Red Sox

Memphis actually has a pretty complicated roster situation, as they have more than 40 players who need to be on the secondary roster. As such, some more small trades may emerge.

While that works out, Stubby Overmire joins their rotation and Sammy Sosa hops into the OF mix.

#New York Gothams

Don Sutton stays with the WBL club, with Mat Latos heading to AAA.

#Wandering House of David

Newcomer Fred Lynn joins the big league club, and will see some time at RF and DH.

Elrod Hendricks had 3 hits and drove in 4 runs to lead the House of David in a 16-3 drubbing of the Detroit Wolverines. Dan Ford, Ernie Banks, and Mark Grace drove in 3, and CC Sabathia pitched a strong 8 innings for his 6th win.

Series XIX: Best Games – Chicago American Giants @ Brooklyn Royal Giants

By mknn

On May 13, 2022

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

And with all that, we are back from the first All-Star Break!

The theme in Series XIX was what came after the great starting pitching, as three of the games feature no-hitters in the early going.

#Chicago American Giants @ Brooklyn Royal Giants, Game Four

The American Giants would send Dick Rudolph to the mind, hoping to salvage a split of the series against Brooklyn, with the Royal Giants countering with young Sandy Koufax.

Frank Isbell–acquired by Brooklyn over the all-star break–singled off Rudolph in the bottom of the first and Jermaine Dye singled and scored on a double by Duke Snider in the bottom of the 4th.

And that was it.

Rudolph was good. But Koufax was masterful.

He was perfect through five innings before walking Mike Fiore and Freddy Parent to start the 6th, and didn’t allow a hit until the top of the 8th, when Dick Allen led off with a single and, after Carlton Fisk whiffed, Fiore hit a homerun. That was it for Koufax, who was clearly tiring, but what a performance!

After Koufax was replaced by Trevor Hildenberger, Freddy Parent singled and scored on a double by Magglio Ordóñez, putting Chicago in front, 3-1.

Rudolph allowed six hits, but only the single run through 7 innings. But his replacement, Sonny Dixon, wasn’t as strong, allowing a leadoff double to Beals Becker in the bottom of the 8th, and eventually seeing Becker score on a groundout from Dye.

Chicago sent their closer, A.J. Minter, to the mound in the bottom of the 9th with a 3-2 lead. Roy White doubled to lead off the inning, but Minter retired Ron Cey and Hi Myers, putting the American Giants one out away from the win … but Al López ripped a single through the infield, scoring White and sending the game to extra innings.

Fisk started the extra frame with a double off Eric Gagne. After one out, Parent–acquired as the final piece in Chicago’s postseason push–hit his second homerun as an American Giant, making the score 5-3.

Minter retired Isbell to start the bottom of the tenth, and was then replaced by Clay Condrey to close the game. But Germany Smith, in his first at-bat in the big leagues, greeted Condrey with the first hit of his WBL career, a homerun that just cleared the right field fence. Condrey retired Jackie Robinson for the second out, and walked Duke Snider. Up stepped White, who has really been the heart and soul of Brooklyn all year … and he deposited Condrey’s pitch into the right-field stands for a walk off victory for Brooklyn.

Chicago 5 (Condrey 0-1, 1 BSv; Dixon 3 H; Minter 1 BSv) @ Brooklyn 6 (Von Ohlen 5-0) [10 Innings]
HRs: CAG – Fiore (8), Parent (2); BRK – Smith (1), White (9).
Box Score

#Other Games of Note

Two games from the Los Angeles Angels‘ visit to Memphis bear mentioning. In the first, Los Angeles jumped out to 6-0 lead while Doc Gooden carried a no-hitter through 4 innings before Jim Pagliaroni singled with one out in the fifth. Two singles and a walk would chase Gooden … and then the wheels would come off for the Angels, who ended up giving up 7 runs in the inning. Mike Trout would hit one out of the park in the 8th to put them ahead, and the Angels, led by Carlos Delgado‘s 4-for-5 debut after his acquisition from Ottawa, would win, 9-7.

Another pitcher would take a no-hitter into the middle of the third game of the series, but it wasn’t the WBL leader in wins, Los Angeles’ Gerrit Cole. Instead, Memphis’ Tim Wakefield had his knuckleball dancing, not allowing a hit until Don Buford‘s solo homerun in the top of the 6th. The back end of the Angels’ bullpen wasn’t available, forcing Los Angeles to turn to Harry Howell to close out the game, which didn’t work out well, as Memphis’ David Justice took Howell deep for a walk-off homer to win the game for the Red Sox.

Los Angeles 9 (Rodríguez 2-0; Venters 9 H; Nathan 11 Sv) @ Memphis 7 (Farrell 0-3, 4 BSv)
HRs: LAA – Delgado (1), Trout (8)
Box Score

Los Angeles 3 (Howell 3-5, 1 BSv) @ Memphis 4 (Bell 5-3)
HRs: LAA – Buford (6), Delgado (2); MEM – Justice (1)
Box Score

Lefty Grove and Doc White locked horns in the second game between Indianapolis and San Francisco, which was scoreless through 6. Indianapolis scored 4 times in the top of the 7th, keyed by a 2-run double by Jake Stenzel, and held on as Lefty James retired Pedro Guerrero with the bases loaded to preserve a 4-3 victory for the ABC’s.

Indianapolis 4 (Faber 5-4; James 1 Sv; Dibble 1 H) @ San Francisco 3 (Grove 8-4)
HRs: None
Box Score

TWIWBL 24.20: The All Star Trades

By mknn

On May 10, 2022

In TWIWBL

{The day after the All Star break is the first major trading period of the season, followed by the day before the trade deadline. Trades are somewhat randomized and limited in a variety of ways, basically an effort to ensure that, over time, they are at least approximately even in value.}

Portland signaled their commitment to this year, sending prized P prospect Smokey Joe Wood and Devin Mesoraco to Kansas City for all-star 2B Rogers Hornsby, OF Vince Coleman, and a 4th round draft pick.

Perhaps the prize pitching performer on the market, Birmingham‘s Tim Hudson, went to San Francisco in exchange for Rube Melton, Derrick May, and a 3rd round pick.

Brooklyn sends P Don Sutton to the New York Gothams for Ps Ray Lamb, Gil Heredia, and Lew Krausse, Jr., OF Don Mueller, and both a 1st and 8th round draft pick.

Cleveland made a clear sign of intent to compete this year, sending four players (P Hardie Henderson and OFs Jap Payne, Darrell Miller, and Gibby Brack) to Philadelphia for all-star reliever Ron Reed.

The Spiders also picked up Houston‘s struggling OF Lance Berkman to add more pop to their lineup, sending OF Harry Stovey, IF Charlie Grimm, P Chad Qualls, and a 3rd round pick to the Colt 45’s.

Media darling Tom Herr has a shot at a championship after Birmingham shipped the all-star 2B to the New York Black Yankees in exchange for a haul of talent, including IFs Moose Skowron and Reddy Mack, OFs Bill Buckner and Charlie Keller, P Heathcliff Slocumb, and a 10th round draft pick.

The Black Yankees also picked up some help on the mound, sending IF Dick Bartell, OF Sam Thompson, and a 4th round pick to Ottawa for Gary Lavelle and Jamie Moyer.

Addressing an area of clear need, Baltimore traded for Miami‘s everyday 3B, Manny Machado. The Black Sox sent a package of P Mike Morgan, 1B Richie Sexson, 3B Joe Dugan, and C Chris Hoiles to the Cuban Giants.

The Black Sox also shored up their bullpen, bringing in Memphis‘ closer, Joe Beggs, in exchange for P Willie Sudhoff, OF Alex Johnson, and a 4th round pick.

Ottawa and Los Angeles pulled off a complicated deal, with the Angels receiving 1B Carlos Delgado, IF Steve Garvey and OF Spud Johnson, sending OF Rusty Staub and Carlos Beltrán, C Jim Stephens, and Ps Dave Bennett and Sean O’Sullivan to the Mounties.

The Chicago American Giants added two of the better starting pitchers on the market, acquiring Don Newcombe from Miami and Dick Rudolph from Birmingham. The American Giants also received RP Clay Condrey and a 4th round draft pick for Minnie Miñoso from Miami, and sent Melky Cabrera, A. Rube Foster, Adrián González, and a 2nd round pick to Birmingham for Rudolph and Hoyt Wilhelm.

The American Giants also brought in SS Freddy Parent, who is expected to step right into the starting lineup. To do so, they sent IFs Sibby Sisti and Rickie Weeks and OF Bob Watson to Ottawa.

Miami’s other significant trade piece, Tommy Bridges, heads to San Francisco for two minor league pitchers, Shawn Estes and Turk Wendell, and a 5th round draft pick.

Los Angeles picked up some outfield help in the form of San Francisco’s Wally Moon. Moon heads south along with OF Dwayne Murphy and 2 draft picks (one 4th round, one 6th) in exchange for C Brian Downing, IF Kurt Stillwell, and P Dave LaRoche.

Detroit looked to improve their position behind the plate, obtaining Ernie Lombardi from Indianapolis for IFs Donie Bush and Jorge Orta, OF Gene Martin, P Brandon League, and a 2nd round pick.

Brooklyn added another versatile piece, sending OF Curt Flood, IF Manny Trillo, and a 6th round pick to Birmingham for IF Frank Isbell.

Two clubs looking towards the future made a big move, with Houston sending a 5th round pick, P Stubby Overmire, 2B DJ LeMahieu, P Jim Kaat, and OF Hack Wilson to Memphis for P Roger Clemens.

Sammy Sosa struggled so much for the House of David, it was decided the young OF could do with a change of scenery, going (along with a 5th round draft pick) to Memphis in exchange for OFs Fred Lynn and Tony Conigliaro and a 2nd round pick.

Finally, in easily the most minor deal of the day, Homestead picked up a 2nd round pick and IF Steve Hertz from San Francisco in exchange for Phil Garner.