#S Tier

Nobody would have predicted Roberto Alomar as the best 2B in the game before the season began, but here we are. Alomar was truly superlative, putting him in the running for the All Rounder Award, even. Alomar’s WAR of 4.9 easily outpaced the rest of the field at 2B, and perhaps the only knock on him is that he led the league with 14 errors, however he also played more innings at 2B than anybody else.

Even with all that, Joe Morgan may have edged Alomar for the top spot if he had remained healthy: he got on base more often and showed more power, and is expected to be back at full strength for Spring Training

#A Tier

Jackie Robinson spent some time elsewhere early in the season, but settled down at 2B for the champions, and won the Whirled Series with a memorable walkoff blast. While Ryne Sandberg faded a little as the season moved along (he lead the WBL in homers at one early point), this is still more than enough to cement his spot as a star in the league, especially when his defense is considered.

#B Tier

Eddie Collins was a borderline MVP candidate last year, and the first recipient of the All Rounder Award, and Bobby Grich wasn’t all that far behind him. This year, a 50 point drop in slash line across the board moves them into this space, where their starting jobs are safe, but they’re really in danger of no longer being considered elite. An argument could be made that Rogers Hornsby still belongs in the A Tier, but his age and defensive weakness moves him here.

Larry Doyle barely made the usage requirement for the list, which moves him down a tier and, at 35, it’s unclear how much he has left in the tank. Still, in hindsight, he clearly should have started at 2B for the Gothams all season.

Miller Huggins may not belong here, but we’re a sucker for players with 150 point spreads between their BA and OBP, and he’s clearly locked down the starting role in Baltimore. Add his defensive metrics, and we’re fine with him in this group.

Chase Utley‘s incredible defense moves him into this tier–his offensive performance alone would leave him in the C Tier.

#C Tier

Paul Molitor‘s future is not at 2B, but to succeed anywhere else, he’ll need to up the offensive production–indeed, he is perhaps being flattered through his inclusion here.

DJ LeMahieu and Frank Grant barely made the list’s usage requirement, leaving Charlie Gehringer as the only obvious C Tier second baseman.

And then there is the enigma that is Martín Dihigo. He played mostly at 2B, but logged a ton of innings elsewhere, at a gold glove level everywhere. Add in his age, his massive jump in offensive performance, and his speed, and you could argue he belongs a tier above.

#D Tier

Craig Biggio has more upside–and clearly had the better year–but either he or Chuck Knoblauch could, surprisingly, see the bench next year. Both were significantly better last year, with Knoblauch being an All Star, so there is some reason for optimism as well.

Ray Dandridge‘s future in Brooklyn is probably at SS, but he played most this season at 2B, so he’s listed here. Obviously, the offense needs to improve for his career to stabilize.

Tommy Helms is a utility infielder at best, forced onto this list by Morgan’s injury.

#F Tier

An interesting group, honestly. Cupid Childs has gone from being a rising star to losing his starting job with the arrival of Bobby Grich; Napoleon Lajoie‘s 55 doubles speak to his potential, and Cookie Rojas is quite versatile, although, of this group, perhaps the most expendable for his team.

Note Childs’ OBP: his speed and ability to get on base should preserve his having utility in the WBL somewhere.

And then we have the misery that is Kansas City, with both Robinson Canó and Frankie Frisch buried here (although, to be fair, Frisch is a utility infielder and has value as such). And, Tommy Herr, who was supposed to be the long-term solution at 2B for New York, but whose performance prompted the acquisition of Hornsby by the Black Yankees.

#Rookies

Charlie Gehringer (C Tier) and Frank Grant (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.

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.

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.

#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.

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.

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).

#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.

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.

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.

#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.

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.

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.

#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.

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.

#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.

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.

#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.

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.

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.

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.

One thing became quite clear through all this: the AL is far more potent at the plate than the NL. Here, the challenge is omitting some players with 30 homeruns or near 1.000 OPS.

#C

Ed Bailey (whose defensive performance has been surprisingly good) and Mickey Cochrane are clearly in, with Bailey starting. That leaves Joe Mauer in a bit of no-man’s land: if the AL goes with 3 catchers, he’d be the 3rd. With Portland needing representation in the game, and a general desire for 3 backstops, Mauer makes the cut.

Iván Rodríguez has probably been the best defensive catcher in the AL (although Mauer has been quite good), but Pudge’s 237/272/448 slash line is just too weak to merit much consideration.

#1B

It’s hard to imagine that 32 HR and 72 RBI at the all star game doesn’t make the roster, but that’s what Jim Thome is facing. Lou Gehrig and Frank Thomas clearly are on the roster and while Lance Berkman and Hank Greenberg have better overall numbers than Thome, his power is gaudy enough to have the 3 in a dead heat. Perhaps Greenberg’s defense edges him in front?

In the end, none of the 3 of them made it, which is remarkable.

#2B & SS

Because Dick Lundy and Bobby Grich–two strong contenders–essentially split their time between 2B and SS, we’ll consider the two positions together. First the 2Bs.

And now the SS

This is rough all around.

Arky Vaughan is just about the only clear choice here, with the best all around performance by a SS if you discount Cal Ripken, Jr., who just hasn’t played enough (likewise, a lack of playing time eliminates both Miller Huggins and, most controversially, Charlie Gehringer from consideration).

If we need 4 more middle infielders, they should come from Rogers Hornsby, Grich, Lundy, Eddie Collins, and Robin Yount.

Hornsby has been the best hitting 2B, which is no surprise, but he’s also missed some time and is somewhat of a liability defensively. Still, the best OPS of the group has to count for something, so he’s in as the starting 2B for the AL.

Eddie Collins is having a bit of an off year compared to last year season. Grich, Collins, and Yount are almost indistinguishable: as such, Grich’s versatility earns him a roster spot, and Collins edges Yount for the final spot, leaving Lundy in the cold as well.

#3B

Wade Boggs is really just there for comparison. Mike Schmidt gets the starter’s nod over Evan Longoria, as much for his team’s performance as any discernable statistical edge.

#LF/RF

We’ll treat the corner OF’s together.

Babe Ruth, José Canseco, and Ted Williams are locks. After that, it would seem criminal to omit either Frank Robinson or Mickey Mantle, although it must be noted that Uncle Robbie’s performance is ever-so-stronger than Mantle’s, earning him one of the final spots.

That would leave the electric Rickey Henderson and the extraordinary Joe Jackson on the outside looking in.

#CF

Look, I don’t like Tris Speaker either, but the man can flat out play. So, he’s in, as is Stearnes, perhaps the leading candidate for the AL Rookie of the Year. And neither Eric Davis nor the surprising Julio Rodríguez have played enough to make the cut. So that leaves Mike Trout as the open question: Trout is clearly deserving, so the question is whether the AL goes with 2 pure CF’s or 3.

Alejandro Oms misses out, despite being 3rd in the league in BA.

#DH

My lord. 31 homeruns at the all star break and a possibility of not being selected? Welcome to your life, Ryan Braun.

Obviously, Ty Cobb and Ron Blomberg are in. And it seems ridiculous to omit either Kal Daniels or Reggie Jackson.

#SP

And now we move into the AL’s weakness–there are strong top-end candidates here, but far less depth than over in the NL.

The spots fill up quickly. Eddie Plank will start the game for the AL, and his teammates Bump Hadley and Lefty Grove clearly belong. It seems silly to omit the ERA leader, Doc Gooden.

After that, it gets confusing. Ed Walsh has been almost unhittable, but is only 6-3. Andy Pettitte has 10 wins and a sub 4.00 ERA.

That would leave the overall WAR leader, Cy Young, the strikeout and SIERA leader, Ron Guidry, and the overall excellence of Brett Anderson missing out.

#RP

The AL is a little weak in bullpen depth as well. Rod Beck is easily the class of the closers, with Terry Adams close behind. The overall excellence of Ken Howell and Goose Gossage also merit a spot, leaving Ross Reynolds, Skel Roach, and Justin Hampson on the bubble.

Hampson gets the nod, both because of how surprising his season has been and as a nod to the paucity of lefties in the AL pen.

#AL All Stars

The final 2 spots came down to choices between Mike Trout, Reggie Jackson, Kal Daniels, Mickey Mantle, Eddie Collins, and Robin Yount. A fourth middle infielder seemed like a requirement, giving the nod to Collins.

So. Reggie or Kal. Kal or Reggie. I mean. Kal Daniels is having an incredible year. But there’s just no way to argue he is more deserving than Reggie.

There is an argument to be made that the AL should only take 2 3B, replacing Gary Sheffield with Daniels. But the final choice is always going to be onerous.

Some more arguments about who was wronged (these are the highest ranked layers in each stat not to make the game).

Joe Jackson (CAG). #2 in H (109); #1 in the league in 2B (40); #2 in BA (.354).
Mickey Mantle (NYY). #3 in HR (32); #3 in RBI (82).
Kal Daniels (LAA). #4 in OBP (.425); #11 in OPS (1.013).
Ryan Braun (MCG). #7 in SLG (.648).
Rickey Henderson (SFS). #1 in SB (62); #4 in WAR (3.0).
Dick Lundy (SFS). #3 in 3B (7).

And, on the mound

Cy Young (CLE). #5 in W (9); #2 in FIP (3.81); #1 in WAR (3.3).
Ron Guidry (NYY). #1 in K (150); #1 in SIERA (2.52).
Brett Anderson (LAA). #5 in ERA (3.93); #2 in WHIP (1.05).
Walter Johnson (POR). #2 in IP (125).
4 Players have 14 saves, tied for #3. Of those, Only Ricky Nolasco (MCG) has an ERA below 4.00.
Rheal Cormier (NYY). #1 in H (11).

Starters in bold.

C: Ed Bailey (DET); Mickey Cochrane (SFS); Joe Mauer (POR).
1B: Lou Gehrig (NYY); Frank Thomas (CAG).
2B: Eddie Collins (CAG); Bobby Grich (LAA); Rogers Hornsby (POR).
SS: Arky Vaughan (CLE).
3B: Evan Longoria (CLE); Mike Schmidt (NYY); Gary Sheffield (MCG).
LF: Frank Robinson (BAL); Ted Williams (MEM).
CF: Tris Speaker (CLE), Turkey Stearnes (SFS).
RF: José Canseco (MCG), Babe Ruth (NYY).
DH: Ron Blomberg (CLE); Reggie Jackson (SFS), Ty Cobb (DET).
SP: Doc Gooden (LAA), Lefty Grove (SFS), Bump Hadley (SFS), Andy Pettitte (NYY); Eddie Plank (SFS), Ed Walsh (CAG).
RP: Terry Adams (CLE); Rod Beck (SFS); Goose Gossage (NYY); Justin Hampson (BAL); Ken Howell (SFS).

And, by team. Unsurprisingly, the 3 American League teams with records over .500 (San Francisco, the Black Yankees, and Cleveland) are supplying 18 of the 32 players.

San Francisco Sea Lions (.625). Rod Beck (P), Mickey Cochrane (C), Lefty Grove (P), Bump Hadley (P), Ken Howell (P) Reggie Jackson (DH), Eddie Plank (P), Turkey Stearnes (OF).
New York Black Yankees (.618). Lou Gehrig (1B), Goose Gossage (P), Andy Pettitte (P), Babe Ruth (OF), Mike Schmidt (3B).
Cleveland Spiders (.558). Terry Adams (P), Ron Blomberg (DH), Evan Longoria (3B), Tris Speaker (OF), Arky Vaughan (SS).
Chicago American Giants (.466). Eddie Collins (2B), Frank Thomas (1B), Ed Walsh (P).
Miami Cuban Giants (.483). José Canseco (OF), Gary Sheffield (3B).
Detroit Wolverines (.453). Ed Bailey (C), Ty Cobb (DH).
Los Angeles Angels (.448). Doc Gooden (P), Bobby Grich (2B).
Portland Sea Dogs (.438). Rogers Hornsby (2B), Joe Mauer (C).
Baltimore Black Sox (.416). Justin Hampson (P), Frank Robinson (OF).
Memphis Red Sox (.494). Ted Williams (OF).

A whopping 15 players are repeat all-stars from last season: Terry Adams, Rod Beck, Ron Blomberg, José Canseco, Eddie Collins, Lou Gehrig, Lefty Grove, Rogers Hornsby, Ken Howell, Reggie Jackson, Joe Mauer, Babe Ruth, Frank Thomas, and Ted Williams.

We’ll preview the All Star selections, so this will be a bit of a longer entry.

#Awards

Lots of awards, as we moved into a new month!

First, the smaller ones. Houston‘s Jeff Bagwell was the National League Player of the Week, hitting .409 with 5 homeruns while Eric Davis of the juggernaut New York Black Yankees was the American League Player of the Week, hitting .481 with 5 homers in the same span.

In the monthly awards, the American League Rookie of the Month for June was San Francisco‘s Turkey Stearnes, who hit .378 with 11 homeruns in the month.

Kansas City‘s A. Rube Foster was both the National League Rookie of the Month and the NL Pitcher of the Month, going 3-1 with a 1.65 ERA, as the young hurler announced himself as, at least so far, a premier WBL starter. The American League Pitcher of the Month was Bump Hadley, Stearnes’ teammate in San Francisco. Hadley was 5-0 in June with a 2.66 ERA.

Ottawa‘s star backstop, Gary Carter, was the National League Batter of the Month, hitting .397 with 14 homeruns in June while in the American League, unsurprisingly, the award went to the stellar Ty Cobb. The Detroit OF hit .408 with 11 homers in June, which actually brought his overall average down in that span (Cobb is leading the WBL in BA at .418).

#Team Performance

Yawn.

The Black Yankees and the Sea Lions continue to be the 2 best teams in the league, leading their divisions by 5 and 11 games respectively.

The Effa Manley Division might offer some excitement in the second half, as Brooklyn still leads Homestead by 4 and the New York Gothams by 5.5. But the only true race is in the Marvin Miller Division, where Kansas City has overtaken Indianapolis, now leading the ABC’s by 2.5 games.

The Houston Colt 45’s are 8-2 over their last 10 games, but still sit 5 games under .500. Detroit and Philadelphia are moving in the other direction, with each team managing only 2 wins in their last 10 contests.

Birmingham still has the worst record in the league, but they have moved over .400, sitting at .410 (34-49).

#Player Performance

Batters

It’s still Ty Cobb’s world, although Babe Ruth is doing Babe Ruth things, and reached the 40 homerun plateau during the last week.

José Canseco (MCG). 254/375/734. 36 HR.
Oscar Charleston (IND). 336/386/642. 103 H, 9 3B.
Ty Cobb (DET). 416/464/885. 116 H, 37 2B, 8 3B, 5.8 WAR.
Josh Gibson (HOM). 392/481/748. 5.1 WAR.
Tony Gwynn (HOU). 389/425/601. 116 H.
Pete Hill (HOU). 291/371/487. 10 3B.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 356/398/588. 103 H, 39 2B.
Stan Musial (KCM). 329/392/573. 37 2B.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 292/426/775. 40 HR, 90 RBI, 82 R, 68 BB, 5.0 WAR.
Larry Walker (OTT). 293/369/721. 36 HR, 85 RBI.

Rickey Henderson (San Francisco) and Tim Raines (Ottawa) continue to be 1-2 in the league in steals, but it’s getting closer, with Henderson’s edge now 60 to 53.

Pitchers

Starters

While his performance has been somewhat below par, the New York Gothams’ Christy Mathewson continues to be definition of workhorse, leading the WBL with 20 starts, 2 ahead of a bevy of hurlers with 18.

7 pitchers have reached double-digits in wins, with Luis Padrón (Indianapolis) leading the way at 11-2. All 7 are included below. Houston’s Toad Ramsey was so dominant for so long, he is still the top starter in the league despite a recent dip in form, but I would probably choose Lefty Grove of San Francisco or the emergent A. Rube Foster.

Frank Castillo (KCM). 10-1, 4.22.
A. Rube Foster (KCM). 5-1, 2.30. .203 BABIP, 0.98 WHIP, 3.70 FIP.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 10-4, 3.71. 126 IP, 132 K, 3.1 WAR.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 8-4, 3.86. 143 K, 3.80 FIP, 3.2 WAR.
Bump Hadley (SFS). 11-4, 4.21, 3.50 FIP, 3.0 WAR.
Orel Hershiser (BRK). 10-4, 3.87.
Luis Padrón (IND). 11-2, 4.21. 3.57 FIP, 3.3 WAR.
Eddie Plank (SFS). 11-3, 3.54.
Toad Ramsey (HOU). 11-4, 2.77. 124 IP, 152 K, 0.89 WHIP, 2.80 FIP, 5.2 WAR.
Ed Walsh (CAG). 6-3, 3.41. 1 Sv, .201 BABIP.
Smokey Joe Williams (BRK). 7-7, 3.41. 3.66 FIP, 3.4 WAR.

Relievers

We’ve listed the top 3 leaders in saves, all 5 of the relievers who have reached double digits in Holds, as well as all 5 with an ERA below 2.00.

18 IP minimum.

Rod Beck (SFS). 3-2, 3.47. 21 Sv.
Rheal Cormier (NYY). 0-2, 6.03. 11 H.
Eric Gagne (BRK). 1-1, 2.92. 19 Sv.
Ken Howell (SFS). 4-1, 1.72. 1 Sv, 4 H.
Michael Jackson (HOM). 1-4, 4.13. 1 Sv, 10 H.
Brad Kilby (PHI). 1-2, 4.39. 2 Sv, 10 H.
Craig Kimbrel (KCM). 2-1, 1.14. 2 Sv, 11 H.
Josh Lindblom (HOM). 4-2, 3.45. 20 Sv.
Rob Murphy (IND). 1-3, 3.75. 1 Sv, 11 H.
Robb Nen (NYG). 3-2, 1.95. 9 Sv, 6 H.
Ron Robinson (SFS). 1-0, 1.64. 3 Sv, 3 H.
BJ Ryan (OTT). 1-2, 4.15. 1 Sv, 10 H.
Harley Young (BBB). 1-0, 1.23. 3 Sv, 5 H.

#Injury Report

Portland lost half of their backstop platoon as AJ Pierzynski will be out for close to a month. News was worse for Ottawa, as SP Bob Moose is out for close to a year.

Houston’s Casey Stengel and Kansas City’s Lou Brock are awaiting diagnosis on their current injuries.

Baltimore’s Bobby Wallace, Detroit’s Billy Hoeft, and the Black Yankees’ Dave Righetti should all begin rehab assignments this week.

#The All Star Candidates

We’ll look at these by position, mixing the two leagues for the time being.

For each position, we’ve included as many players as it takes to have at least 3-4 candidates from each league, highlighting some pretty severe disparities in talent between the AL and the NL.

If players don’t qualify for the batting stats, their playing time is noted, as are some other potentially influencing factors. This indicates a leader at that position among the players listed (but not necessarily overall).

Each league can only select 32 players for the All Star Game itself (usually 20 or 21 position players and 11 or 12 pitchers), so quite a few of the players listed here will be left on the outside looking in.

#C

The NL dominates here, with 3 catchers with an OPS over 1.000. That means some worthy candidates–most notably NYG’s Buster Posey –are likely to miss out.

The other stalwart defensive catchers–Miami‘s Iván Rodríguez and Indianapolis’ Johnny Bench–just haven’t hit enough, although a late surge by Bench has moved him up these lists.

I don’t think there is any question in the NL, where it’s Gibson, Carter, and Piazza. Cochrane and Mauer should be in for the AL, with a question of whether you go with Bailey’s bat in more limited appearances or Blefary. Should the NL decide to carry 4 backstops, the choice between Pagliaroni and Simmons (and, perhaps, Posey) is close.

Gibson and Cochrane should be the starters.

#1B

The AL has a slight edge here, but there’s a lot of talent throughout.

Gehrig and Clark are almost certainly the starters, and the AL will likely take Thomas and Greenberg as well. In the NL, it gets a little trickier, as Powell (along with Greenberg) is one of the better 1B defensively. Epstein’s offense will carry him, but after that my guess is Rizzo gets the selection (but cannot participate via injury), and is replaced by Powell, with Bagwell having a legitimate complaint.

#2B

The NL is ridiculously stacked in terms of offensive-minded 2B.

Joe Morgan is included just for interest–he missed too much time to injury to warrant serious consideration. Detroit’s Charlie Gehringer, on the other hand, probably makes the cut, despite starting the season in the minors.

In the NL, it’s pretty clear: Alomar, Sandberg, and Robinson, with the starter being decided between Sandberg and Alomar over the next week. The AL is trickier, but I think it ends up going according to form: Eddie Collins to start, with Gehringer and Hornsby behind him.

#SS

It’s pretty impressive there are this many shortstops that can hit, and Ernie Banks‘ production is incredible.

Ripken, Jr. is really not a serious contender, but he has been impressive in the 40 G’s he’s played. That gives us Banks, Correa, and Rodríguez in the NL and Vaughan, Yount, and either Fregosi or Lundy in the AL.

Smith is included because of his superlative defense, but doesn’t probably make the cut.

This is an interesting position: Vaughan and Rodríguez changed teams in the off season, and Correa’s performance has been a bit of a shock.

#3B

The top 5 are locks, beyond that, it gets much trickier, especially in the NL.

After Pujols and Cey, it’s hard in the NL. Matthews and Rolen edge ahead of Santo due to defense and Santo’s relative low usage, but picking between the two of them is very challenging, to the point the NL may go with 4 players at the hot corner.

#OF

All of the OF spots are a bit combined in the end, but we’re keeping them separate for the sake of comparison.

#LF

When Detroit’s Ty Cobb plays the OF, he plays here as well, making the AL selections pretty simple.

So, Ruth, Williams, and Robinson are in, and perhaps Henderson’s 60+ SB warrant a spot. In the NL, it’s more challenging. Dunn seems to be a lock, and White is a bit of a sentimental choice. It may be just those 2 from this group.

#CF

Tris Speaker, as despicable of a human being as he is, is the best in the AL right now, especially considering the defensive contribution. Over in the NL, Willie Mays probably edges Oscar Charleston as the starter.

Monday, Davis, and Rodríguez aren’t really in contention, but their performances in limited action have been pretty spectacular.

Speaker, Stearnes, and Trout are pretty much locks in the AL, with Oms being a hard luck case. Beltrán deserves the spot behind Mays and Charleston.

#RF

A deep, deep group, probably 4 deep in each league.

Canseco, Mantle, and the 2 Jacksons seem locks in the AL, with Walker, Gwynn, and Judge in the NL. It’s possible Musial misses the cut, as ridiculous as that sounds.

#DH

The pressure here is immense, given the competition for the other OF spots.

Cobb is, of course, a lock, and it would be hard to keep Daniels off the roster. Beyond that, though, it gets difficult to justify a pure DH, although Braun, Stargell, and Cravath all have decent arguments.

#P

Pitching is, of course, a constant crapshoot, and a lot could change in the outings this week.

All pitchers are sorted by ERA.

#SP

This list has everyone with an ERA under 4.00 or 10 or more wins.

Right now, I would guess the starting matchup is Toad Ramsey for the NL and Eddie Plank for the AL.

Beyond that, in the AL, I see Gooden, Walsh, and Grove as easy picks. Guidry is likely in as well, leaving Anderson and Hadley on the bubble.

The NL is much harder to figure out. Henderson, Hershiser, Padrón, and Castillo feel like they deserve selections, with Williams having a very strong case as well. That would leave some excellent performances–Clemens and Cueto especially–on the outside looking in.

#Swingmen / Long Relivers

These are players who are either swing starters or have seen more innings than the finishers below. As is often the case, there are a few folks here who, for whatever the reason, took a while to be inserted into the rotation.

Foster and Valenzuela seem clear selections, with Brewer and Cormier missing the cut and Whitney being on the bubble.

#Closers & Setups

20 IP Minimum, with a possible exception for Brian Wilson of the New York Gothams.

A difficult set of choices for sure. Of the true closers, Gagne, Lindblom, and Beck seem locks, with Kimbrel, Young, Howell, Nen, McGraw, Gossage, and Smith deserving nods as well.

That would give the NL 7 selections, likely keeping Wilson from making the team. It would also give the AL only 3, opening the door for Adams and even Reynolds or Hampson.

#Baltimore Black Sox

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

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

#Cleveland Spiders

Bill Steen returned to the Spiders’ rotation.

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

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

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

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

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

#Detroit Wolverines

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

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

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

#Memphis Red Sox

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

#New York Black Yankees

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

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

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

#Baltimore Black Sox

Mike Mussina returns to the Black Sox rotation, but the severe underperformance of its back end has left Baltimore in a quandary. For now, they are going with Dennis Martínez, Ned Garvin, and Mussina as regular options, with the final spots pretty much up for grabs, with even current closer Joe Beggs in the mix.

Baltimore hit 7 homeruns, including 2 from Bryce Harper, as the Black Sox ran rampant over Chicago, 12-3.

#Cleveland Spiders

Tris Speaker went deep twice, leading the Spiders to a 10-6 win over Los Angeles.

#Detroit Wolverines

With George Davis ready to return from injury, the Wolverines pulled a surprise move, sending veteran Tony Phillips–a key sparkplug for last year’s success–to AAA. This move frees up room for more time for Juan Beníquez in LF and cements the platoon between Charlie Gehringer and Joe Wood at 2B. It also leaves the Wolverines without a true backup CF behind Chili Davis, so we’ll see how that works out.

Needing a starter, the Wolverines exchanged Claude Passeau for Si Johnson. Johnson’s stay was short, as Johnny Marcum was recalled from his rehab assignment after Johnson put in a mediocre start where Hank Greenberg went deep twice, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Wolverines from dropping their 6th straight, 7-5 to the Black Yankees.

Bob Bailey went deep twice and Pete Conway pitched a complete game in an 11-4 win over Portland. Bailey drove in 6 and Greenberg went deep as well for the Wolverines.

Billy Hoeft will miss the better part of a week, earning himself a trip to the DL with Felipe Vázquez being recalled to maintain a left-handed weapon in the pen. George Bechtel was returned to AAA with Si Johnson being recalled once more for a spot start. The hits kept coming for the Wolverines: Johnson’s performance was fine, but with Jack Wilson heading to the DL, not only does Johnson retain his spot, but Bechtel was recalled immediately to Detroit.

#Memphis Red Sox

The merry-go-round continues: Nixey Callahan and Eddie Cicotte head to AAA with Skel Roach and Shane Bieber being recalled from their rehab assignments. Joe Rudi was sent down as well, with OF Jack McAleese being recalled.

Travis Shaw went deep twice, driving the Red Sox to a 10-7 win over Miami. Later in the week, Reggie Smith did the same, homering twice in an 11-3 win over Baltimore.

#New York Black Yankees

The Black Yankees recalled Red Ruffing from a rehab assignment, with Noah Syndergaard heading to AAA.

Ruffing had a scoreless debut in relief of a dominant Ron Guidry as the Black Yankees beat Detroit, 11-1. Guidry improved to 8-1 on the year and Hank Bauer went deep twice for New York.

Mickey Mantle went deep twice and the Black Yankees beat Detroit 7-5 behind an excellent 8 innings from Andy Pettitte, who improved to 6-2.

HOME PAGE | ROSTER | POSITIONAL STRENGTH | LEADERS

Last year, the Wolverines won their division with the 2nd best record in baseball and lost to Baltimore in the Whirled Series in 7 games, so there are some expectations at play here.

So far, they’re underperforming, sitting 1 game under .500 at 16-17, 6.5 games behind the surging New York Black Yankees in the Bill James Division. At the most zoomed out, their pitching staff has been average, and while the offense has some significant bright spots, there are some issues to address.

THE OFFENSE

It’s a decent offense overall, with some power (but nobody in double figures in HR yet) and overall excellent OBP numbers (Detroit is 3rd in the league in walks). There is not much speed, outside of Ty Cobb, who has 13 steals.

#What’s Going Right

Ty Cobb. Remember, he’s still only 21 years old. And he’s slashing 398/462/858, leading the league in all 3 categories, and tied for the team league in HR with 9. 3B Bob Bailey also has 9 and has been the Wolverines’ 2nd best hitter amongst their starters.

Hank Greenberg and Al Kaline have been solid, if not spectacular, and Charlie Gehringer and Joe Wood have done better than expected in carrying large loads in the IF as rookies.

Professional hitter Juan Beníquez has professionally hit, slashing 395/511/526 in limited appearances as the club tries to open up more playing time for him. The challenge is that he plays the same positions as Cobb, Greenberg, and Bailey. But there are some ways to juggle the pieces to get his bat in the lineup a bit more often.

#What’s Not Going Right

The Wolverines are on the verge of abandoning their 3 catcher strategy. Ed Bailey and Ernie Lombardi are doing fine–not much more than that, but fine–but Bill Carrigan, who hit over .300 last year, is wallowing away with a .087/125/130 slash line. Mix that with the clear needs for more depth at either SS or CF or both, and Carrigan’s time with the big league club may be limited.

Tony Phillips may be showing his age, with the 39 year old–last year’s sparkplug–managing only a 168/267/287 slash line. Another key to last year’s team, Oscar Gamble, is doing only slightly better at 207/349/276. Gamble is still looking for his first homerun of the year, and while that OBP is nice, it’s not what the Wolverines really need from him.

THE PITCHING

#What’s Going Right

The bullpen has been excellent, with Mike Henneman producing saves at the same rate as last year, but this time being dominating as he’s done so, with an ERA and WHIP both under 1.00. Henneman has 9 saves, tied for the league lead, and both Chad Bradford and the surprising Billy Hoeft have been excellent getting to him.

Pete Conway has been a pleasant surprise since being called up, and there is talk of him moving into the rotation as, across 16 appearances, he’s arguably been the Wolverines’ best pitcher.

#What’s Not Going Right

The rotation is a hot mess. Nobody has more than 2 wins and only Charlie Root (2-3, 3.96) is really pitching well. Hal Newhouser has been OK, but Justin Verlander, Johnny Marcum, and especially Gene Conley have all struggled mightily. And it’s not an illusion: the more advanced stats (FIP, SIERA) tell the same story of Root being alright and the rest being pretty poor.

THE FARM SYSTEM

TOP PROSPECTS | MINOR LEAGUE SYSTEM

There’s not a lot of immediate help at AAA on the mound. George Bechtel is off to a decent start, and is probably next in line to get a look.

Wally Moses, Brady Clark, Wes Covington, and Tony Lazzeri have all been looked at as options, depending on what happens with Phillips. And, veteran gloveman George Davis should be back from injury this month.

There’s not a lot here, honestly. Logan Hensley is the highest rated arm in the system, and he’s not great and teenage phenom Wander Franco is still a few years away, especially if Gehringer continues to develop.

WHAT’S NEEDED

The pitching to right itself and either Greenberg or Kaline to up their game, giving the team another top tier offensive threat to complement Cobb.

Storylines To Watch

Certainly Cobb and his assault on the triple crown. It’s doubtful he can maintain the SLG that is required, but if you hit .400, all things are possible.

Key Questions from Spring Training

In their Season Preview, there were 3 Key Questions for Detroit. Here’s an update on each.

• Who is the 5th Starter? Unfortunately, with the current spate of injuries, this is now who are the 4th and 5th starters, and the answers seem to be Pete Conway and unknown, which is not a great answer.
• Can they continue to carry 3 catchers? Not if Bill Carrigan continues to hit under .100.
• The MI is a concern. Yeah, it is, but Billy Nash and Joe Wood have done well, although the team is looking forward to the return of George Davis’ glove later this month.

FEATURED SERIES

We’re looking at 3 game set at the end of the week against the Baltimore Black Sox where the Wolverines will welcome the (now struggling) defending champs to Tiger Stadium for a 3 game set.

Game One

Johnny Marcum left the game with a back injury in the 3rd inning, allowing only a single hit. The bullpen struggled, with Ray Sadecki, George Bechtel, Pete Conway, and Billy Hoeft giving up 7 runs in just over 5 innings.

Luckily, the Wolverines’ offense pounded out 17 hits and 12 runs, including 7 tallies in the bottom of the 7th en route to a 12-7 victory. Ty Cobb and Ernie Lombardi had 3 hits each and Charlie Gehringer 4 RBIs.

Chalk one up for the offense. This is sort of the peak of how Detroit can perform with the bat: a lot of hits spread up and down the lineup, a consistent ability to turn over multiple innings. It’s also an example of how fragile their staff is. Sadecki debuted well, but neither he nor Bechtel look likely to stick around, and Buddy Napier–expected to be key in late innings–only lowered his ERA to 7.00 with his scoreless inning at the end.

Marcum hit the DL after the game, with Conway likely to take his next start.

BAL 7 (Wetteland 0-5, 2 B Sv; Hampson 1 H) @ DET 12 (Hoeft 1-0)
HRs: BAL – Jacobson (1), Machado (9), Harper (5), Wallace (2); DET – Gehringer (6).
Box Score

Game Two

Justin Verlander turned in the best start of his career, allowing only 1 hit over 8 innings while striking out 11 and walking 3, but the victory went to Mike Henneman as a sacrifice fly from Charlie Gehringer in the bottom of the 9th gave the Wolverines a 1-0 win over Baltimore. Henneman showed flashes of his old self, walking 2 in the 9th before getting out of a jam of his own creation.

For the Black Sox, the game was worth more than the loss as Ned Garvin seemed to return to form with 6 shutout innings.

This game was needed after the bullpen was stretched thin yesterday. Most of all, though, Verlander has always showed this talent, but never really put it together. He still needs to show he can do it consistently (his ERA fell to 4.64 with his 8 shutout innings here, which is fine, but not great), but it’s a start.

BAL 0 (Olson 0-1) @ DET 1 (Henneman 3-0)
HRs: None.
Box Score

Game Three

The Wolverines went for the sweep with Charlie Root facing off against Baltimore’s Dennis Martínez. Neither ace was very good, with Detroit eventually building a 13-6 lead before the bullpen struggled to an eventual 13-10 win (and the series sweep).

Al Kaline had 3 hits and Hank Greenberg, Oscar Gamble, Tony Phillips, and both Ed and Bob Bailey went deep for Detroit who overcame 3 hits from Frank Robinson and 5 RBI’s from Dan McGann in the victory.

See the comments from the first game: another excellent day offensively, with contributions up and down the lineup and 5 SB’s to boot (from Joe Wood, Billy Nash, and Juan Beníquez, along with 2 from Ty Cobb). But Root’s problems continue, and George Bechtel had another bad outing, giving up a bases loaded triple to McGann and creating the save situation for Chad Bradford.

Still, a sweep is a sweep.

BAL 10 (Martínez 3-2) @ DET 13 (Wilson 1-0; Bradford 1 Sv)
HRs: BAL – McGann (4), Robinson (10), Cravath (11); DET – Gamble (3), Greenberg (10), Phillips (3), E. Bailey (3), B. Bailey (10).
Box Score