Tag: Christy Mathewson Page 4 of 7

TWIWBL 40.1: Series XXXII Notes – Bill James Division

On June 2, 2023

#Detroit Wolverines

Bob Bailey hit the 10 Day DL with a hamstring issue, prompting the Wolverines to reach all the way down to AA to recall Olmedo Sáenz, mostly for his ability to play both infield corner spots.

#Los Angeles Angels

Wally Moon was recalled from a rehab assignment, with Spud Johnson heading back to the minors.

Harry Howell tossed a 5-hit shutout as the Angels beat Miami 5-0. After the 140 pitch, 9 strikeout performance, Howell’s record improves to 5-6 on the season. Bobby Grich was injured in the game, sending him to the DL for at least 2-3 weeks. 22 year old Wally Backman has been tearing up both AA and AAA, and now gets his chance with the big league club.

José Reyes and Steve Garvey had 3 hits each and Mike Trout drove in 4, leading the Angels to an 8-2 win over Miami. Pud Galvin improved to 5-7, allowing 4 hits and 1 earned run over 7 innings.

#New York Gothams

Johan Camargo was promoted to the WBL with Mark Loretta being sent down in an exchange of bench pieces for the Gothams.

Christy Mathewson continued his run of form, becoming the first 15 game winner in the league as he and 3 relievers combined to shutout Indianapolis despite allowing 10 hits. Pete Runnels had 3 hits and Wes Westrum hit a key homerun to give the Gothams the win.

The pitching continued to dominate as Pete Donohue improved to 6-2 with a 3-hit blanking of the ABC’s, walking 2 and fanning 8. Light-hitting Brandon Crawford had 3 hits and Will Clark, George Van Haltren, and Johnny Callison drove in 2 rusn each in the 7-0 victory.

#Wandering House of David

Jack Taylor continues to roll, allowing only 1 run and 5 hits over 7 innings en route to his 14th victory of the season. Taylor lowered his ERA to a league-leading 2.99, and Bruce Sutter picked up his 19th save with a perfect 9th. George Stone hit his 25th homerun in the 8th, giving the House of David the 2-1 victory over Portland. Sutter was hurt in his outing, but looks likely to only be out for a few days.

Pete Browning and Frank Chance had 3 hits each and Ryne Sandberg hit his 20th homerun of the year, leading the House of David to a 6-2 win over Portland. CF Jim Edmonds had 3 kills on the day, throwing out a runner at each base (other than first).

TWIWBL 40.0 – Series XXXII Notes

By mknn

On June 1, 2023

In TWIWBL

August 18th

Playoff Series of Note

From here on out, it’s pretty much all about the playoffs.

The Bill James Division has been thrown into a bit of chaos, with the Detroit Wolverines falling from first to third place over the past series. The Wolverines dropped 3 out of 4 to the New York Black Yankees, while the New York Gothams swept the Indianapolis ABC’s. That leaves the Gothams 1.5 games ahead of both Detroit and the Wandering House of David. The House of David will host the Chicago American Giants in the featured matchup of Series XXXIII, while Detroit has an easier opponent (the basement dwelling Memphis Red Sox) than the Gothams, who visit Birmingham.

Three consecutive losses leave the Cleveland Spiders clinging to a 1 game edge over the Black Yankees in the Effa Manley Division. This race is key as, right now, the Black Yankees would miss the postseason, trailing Portland for the final wild card slot by 2 games.

The Cum Posey and Marvin Miller Divisions remain unchanged, with Baltimore leading the American Giants by 4 games in the former and Birmingham clingnig to a 1/2 game lead over Portland in the latter.

Really, that’s it: Houston, Brooklyn, Los Angeles, and Indianapolis are all between 5 and 10 games out of the wild card race, so technically we’re saying there’s a chance …

Performance

Batters

The MVP race really is between Babe Ruth, Ron Blomberg, and Doug Rader with Ruth having a clear edge.

Dick Allen (CAG). 302/373/533/ 10 3B.
Ron Blomberg (CLE). 340/408/645. 158 H, 36 HR.
George Brett (HOU). 273/304/407. 10 3B.
Ty Cobb (DET). 343/389/548.
Eric Davis (NYY). 274/350/520. 5.4 WAR.
Mike Fiore (CAG). 234/400/382. 98 BB.
Bobby Grich (LAA). 292/381/483. 41 2B.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 272/402/363. 84 SB.
Kent Hrbek (POR). 309/382/602. 36 HR.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 336/422/592. 97 R.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 318/438/592.
Stan Musial (KCM). 327/392/579. 41 2B.
Alejandro Oms (MCG). 258/309/402. 10 3B.
Doug Rader (LAA). 339/398/554. 161 H, 119 RBI.
Tim Raines (OTT). 289/365/432. 81 SB.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 316/433/661. 39 HR, 11o RBI, 104 R, 94 BB, 6.7 WAR.
Louis Santop (CLE). 304/334/462. 12 3B.

Pitchers

Starters

All 4 14 game winners are included.

Don Drysedale (BRK). 7-7, 3.77. 1.20 WHIP.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 12-7, 3.61. 178 Ks.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 6-10, 4.67. 162 Ks.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 15-7, 3.61.
Dennis Martínez (BAL). 14-7, 3.64.
Tricky Nichols (CAG). 14-7, 3.68.
Alejandro Peña (BBB). 10-8, 3.71. 4.5 WAR, 3.42 FIP.
Andy Pettitte (KCM/BBB). 14-4, 3.14.
Eddie Plank (SFS). 10-5, 3.95. 1 Sv, 4.0 WAR, 3.30 FIP.
Jack Taylor (HOD). 14-8, 2.99. 1.13 WHIP.

Relievers

35 IP for rate stats.

Terry Adams (CLE). 2-6, 3.12. 29 Sv, 1H.
Mike Henneman (DET). 1-5, 4.74. 33 Sv.
Ken Howell (SFS). 4-4, 2.39. 4 Sv, 4 H. 0.98 WHIP.
* Sean Marshall (BAL). 5-0, 1.79. 1 Sv, 8 H, 0.98 WHIP.
Mike Norris (NYG). 4-3, 1.40. 5 Sv, 13 H.
Ron Reed (PHI/CLE). 0-6, 4.40. 3 Sv, 16 H.
Ron Robinson (SFS). 6-4, 3.86. 1 Sv, 16 H.
Ed Walsh (CAG). 8-6, 2.82. 5 H, 2.98 FIP.
Brian Wilson (NYG). 1-0, 1.00. 24 Sv, 1 H, 2.58 FIP.

* Currently injured.

Streaks

In terms of active streaks, Bobby Bonds (San Francisco) has hit in 20 consecutive games; Homestead‘s Rick Reichardt has homered in 5 consecutive (tying him for the WBL record); and Los Angeles’ Bobby Grich has reached base in 32 straight.

Kansas City‘s Boog Powell‘s consecutive streak of reaching base ended after an impressive 52 games.

Series Results

Series Sweeps in Series XXXII

New York Gothams over Indianapolis

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XXXII

Baltimore over Cleveland
Chicago over Birmingham
Brooklyn over Homestead
New York Black Yankees over Detroit
Los Angeles over Miami Cuban Giants
House of David over Portland

Series Splits in Series XXXII

Houston @ Memphis
Ottawa Mounties @ Kansas City
Philadelphia Stars @ San Francisco

Series XXXII Best Games

By mknn

On May 22, 2023

In Featured Games

This series we have a few more well-pitched games than usual, a contest between 2 imploding bullpens, and a few walk-offs.

Indianapolis ABCs @ New York Gothams, Game 2

The ABC’s were held scoreless by the Gothams for 14 innings, with Christy Mathewson combining with 3 relievers on a 10-hit shutout in Game 1 and Gaylord Perry holding Indianapolis scoreless through 5 innings in Game 2.

The ABC’s starter, Willie Mitchell, gave up 4 runs in the 1st, including a 2 run homerun by Willie Mays, but he settled down well from there. Indianapolis finally scored in the top of the 6th on a 3 run shot from Jake Stenzel. Another New York run made it 5-3 heading into the 9th when Dave Henderson and Edd Roush delivered RBI hits to tie the game.

But Indianapolis’ Francisco Cordero couldn’t hold on, surrendering a double to the red hot Pete Runnels and a walk-off single to Buster Posey.

IND 5 (Cordero 0-2) @ NYG 6 (Nen 3-4, 2 B Sv; Gregg 1 H)
HRs: IND – Stenzel (10); NYG – Mays (21).
Box Score

Detroit Wolverines @ New York Black Yankees, Game 2

This is a key series, as the Black Yankees try to make a late season pennant charge.

New York’s bullpen collapsing is old news; Detroit’s imploding is not.

Both starters–New York’s Waite Hoyt and Detroit’s Hal Newhouser–did well enough. But the Black Yankees’ Dick Tidrow gave up RBI knocks to Hank Greenberg and Chili Davis in the 7th, putting the Wolverines up, 4-2. But Chad Bradford gave it right back as Tom Herr drove in 2 to tie the game.

The 8th inning was more of the same: Goose Gossage gave up an RBI to Ty Cobb to send Detroit in front, but Mickey Lolich and Matt Anderson gave up 2 runs in the bottom of the frame, the first on a solo shot from Mike Schmidt, the second on an RBI double from Manny Sanguillén.

And then we hit the one, and perhaps the most important, bright spot in the Black Yankees’ bullpen: recent acquisition Aroldis Chapman has been essentially lights out, and here, despite putting the tying run on base, he closed out the game for a victory for the Black Yankees.

Detroit lost Tony Phillips for a few days, and were forced to put him on the DL to keep some infield flexibility with Jimmy Collins being recalled from AAA.

DET 5 (Anderson 1-3; Bradford 1 B Sv) @ NYY 6 (Citarella 4-6; Chapman 6 Sv)
HRs: DET – none; NYY – Schmidt (19).
Box Score

Brooklyn Royal Giants @ Homestead Grays, Game 2 & 3

These two games followed similar arcs. Both featured a great 7 innings by Homestead’s starter (Francisco Liriano in the first game, Bob Friend in the second). In the first game, powered by a Josh Gibson homerun, the Grays took a 5-1 lead into the 9th inning; in the second, backed by a grand slam from Chief Wilson, the Grays led 6-1 heading into the 9th.

But, oh those 9th innings.

In game 1, Brooklyn torched Josh Lindblom for a 2-run double from Beals Becker and a 3-run homer from Matt Holliday (the first of his WBL career) to take a 6-5 lead. Homestead responded in this one, with Rick Reichardt sending a walkoff shot into the stands with Andy Van Slyke on base for the Grays to pull out a victory.

The second game was far weirder.

Carlos Zambrano got 2 quick outs to start the 9th and then … Holliday reached on an error by Homestead’s SS, Frank Taveras. Frank Isbell walked and Zambrano plunked Ray Dandridge to load the bases, bringing in Cliff Lee. Lee walked Becker to force in a run, then hit Duke Snider to force in another. Lee was replaced by Michael Jackson, who threw grease on the fire the old fashioned way, by giving up a bases-clearing double to Ron Cey. All told, and all with 2 outs, the Royal Giants scored 5 times on 1 hit, 3 walks, 2 HBPs, and an error.

Becker would single in the winning run in the top of the 10th.

Willie Stargell had 5 hits across the 2 games.

BRK 6 (Clark 3-4, 7 B Sv) @ HOM 7 (Jackson 3-2; Lindblom 5 B Sv)
HRs: BRK – Holliday (1); HOM – Gibson (7), Reichardt (24).
Box Score

BRK 7 (Gagne 5-5; Hildenberger 2 Sv) @ HOM 6 (Jackson 3-3, 3 B Sv) [10 Innings]
HRs: BRK – none; HOM – Wilson (9), Reichardt (25).
Box Score

Houston Colt 45’s @ Memphis Red Sox, Game 4

Memphis’ Dean Chance had a great start, allowing 1 run in just under 7 innings. But it was nothing like Toad Ramsey‘s effort for Houston. Ramsey had his knuckleball dancing, carrying a 2-hit shutout into the 9th inning, but Memphis managed to touch him for a game-tying run when Ted Williams doubled home Reggie Smith with 2 outs.

Ramsey allowed the 1 run on 3 hits through 9 innings, but wasn’t part of the decision. Four hits in the 11th gave Houston a 4-1 lead, and Tug McGraw–who is still sporting an ERA of 0.00 in his WBL career–closed it out. Craig Biggio had 3 hits and Jeff Bagwell and Tony Gwynn 2 each for Houston.

HOU 4 (Qualls 1-1) @ MEM 1 (Farrell 2-4) [11 Innings]
HRs: none.
Box Score

TWIWBL 39.1: Series XXXI Notes – Bill James Division

By mknn

On May 8, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Detroit Wolverines

The Wolverines scored 19 runs on 20 hits in a blowout of San Francisco. Bob Bailey had 4 hits and 6 RBIs, Geoff Jenkins scored 4 times, and Jenkins, Bailey, and Ernie Lombardi all went deep in support of Charlie Root‘s strong 8 innings in the rout.

Buddy Napier‘s return from the DL pushed Whitey Wilshere back to AAA.

#Memphis Red Sox

Mookie Betts had 4 hits in 4 at-bats, leading Memphis to an 8-2 victory over Miami.

Stubby Overmire had a 1-hit shutout heading into the 9th, and finished with a 3-hitter as Memphis blanked Miami 7-0. Billy Bryan had 4 hits, including his 7th homerun of the year, Manny Ramírez had 3 and Bill White drove in 3 in the victory.

#New York Gothams

Christy Mathewson became the league’s first 14 game winner, opening a doubleheader with a scoreless 7 innings against Cleveland in a 4-0 win for New York.

Closer Brian Wilson–perhaps the dominant closer in the league with 24 saves and an ERA of 1.00–will spend a stint on the 10 day DL with shoulder inflammation. Sergio Romo was recalled from AAA.

#Wandering House of David

Joe Harris was placed on the DL and is expected to miss about 2 weeks. IF Frank Grant, who started the year with the big league team, was recalled from AA.

Anthony Rizzo hit 2 homeruns, giving him 11 on the year (in under 150 ABs) to lead the House of David to an 8-3 win over Kansas City. Bob Rush turned in a solid 7 innings, improving to 12-5 on the season. In less positive news, reserve C Gabby Hartnett was injured, forcing him to the DL and opening a shot for Frank Chance‘s return to the WBL.

Chance hit his first career homerun in his first game back in support of a fine outing by Wade Miley, who improved to 7-4 on the year with over 7 innings of 1 run ball. Jim Edmonds and Rizzo went deep as well as the House of David beat Kansas City, 4-1.

TWIWBL 39.0: Series XXXI Notes

By mknn

On May 5, 2023

In TWIWBL

August 14th

There’s less than a month left in the first season of the WBL. Well, the first season on OOTP, the first season in this form. Whatever.

One month to go and we still have pennant races in each of the four divisions. The playoffs have 3 rounds, with 8 teams making the post-season (the four division winners, and 4 wild cards).

Baltimore, who has the best record in the league at 74-52, also has the biggest lead, ahead of the Chicago American Giants by 4 games in the Cum Posey Division. But Chicago leads the wild card race, so both teams look likely to mkae the playoffs.

The Cleveland Spiders are ahead of the New York Black Yankees by 3 games in the Effa Manley Division. However, the Black Yankees are currently out of the playoffs entirely, also 3 games out of the wildcard race. The two teams meet in the final 4 games of the season, so if the Black Yankees can stay close, they’ll have a chance.

The Bill James Division is the tightest, with 3 teams currently slated to make the postseason, led by the Detroit Wolverines, who are 1.5 games ahead of the New York Gothams. The Wandering House of David are currently in the final wild card spot, only 1/2 game behind the Gothams. The House of David have a series left against each of the other two, so there is still plenty of opportunity for churn here.

Finally, over in the Marvin Miller Division, the shocking Birmingham Black Barons hold a narrow 1/2 lead over the Portland Sea Dogs. The race is close, but with Portland tied with Chicago for the lead in the wild card race, both teams seem likely to make the playoffs. The challenge here is for Birmingham, who have remaining series against Chicago, the Gothams, Baltimore, and Detroit.

Performance

Batters

Top 2 for each stat, leader in bold.

A 3-way tie for second place in the league in triples puts Houston‘s George Brett and Miami‘s Alejandro Oms on this list for the first time all season. On the one hand, neat-0, on the other hand, it dilutes from the overall excellence.

You know there are some classic old-school arguments going on: Los Angeles‘ 3B Doug Rader is leading the league in hits and RBIs and, you know, is just so valuable. But the argument just pales when faced with the overall dominance of the Black Yankees’ Babe Ruth.

Dick Allen (CAG). 308/378/538. 10 3B.
Ron Blomberg (CLE). 336/405/629. 152 H.
Ty Cobb (DET). 341/387/551.
Eric Davis (NYY). 278/353/530. 5.6 WAR.
George Brett (HOU). 278/305/411. 10 3B.
Mike Fiore (CAG). 238/404/390. 95 BB.
Bobby Grich (LAA). 292/380/483. 41 2B.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 257/391/346. 81 SB.
Kent Hrbek (POR). 311/384/605. 36 HR.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 336/421/590. 95 R.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 322/441/596.
Willie Mays (NYG). 323/388/530. 152 H.
Stan Musial (KCM). 330/391/588. 40 2B.
Alejandro Oms (MCG). 267/316/415/ 10 3B.
Doug Rader (LAA). 338/395/552. 157 H, 118 RBI.
Tim Raines (OTT). 297/373/445. 80 SB.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 317/435/669. 39 HR, 109 RBI, 103 R, 92 BB, 6.7 WAR.
Louis Santop (CLE). 299/329/459. 12 3B.

Pitching

Starters

6 pitchers have 13 wins each, but only the Gothams’ Christy Mathewson has reached 14. Mainly for depth, all six are listed. The House of David’s Jack Taylor is emerging as the best starter in the league.

Gerrit Cole (LAA). 13-7, 4.33.
Don Drysedale (BRK). 7-7, 3.74. 1.18 WHIP.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 12-7, 3.62, 174 Ks.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 6-10, 4.67. 162 Ks.
Pat Malone (CLE). 13-7, 3.99.
Dennis Martínez (BAL). 13-7, 3.65.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 14-7, 3.73.
Alejandro Peña (BBB). 10-8, 3.56, 3.31 FIP, 4.6 WAR.
Eddie Plank (SFS). 10-5, 3.95. 3.30 FIP, 4.1 WAR.
Tricky Nichols (CAG). 12-7, 3.82.
Andy Pettitte (KCM/BBB). 13-4, 3.17.
Jack Taylor (HOD). 13-8, 3.07, 1.14 WHIP.

Relievers

There is an argument that the Gothams’ Mike Norris has been the most valuable reliever in the league, filling in impeccably in any role asked while getting the ball to closer Brian Wilson, who has proven virtually unhittable.

35 IP for rate stats.

Terry Adams (CLE). 2-6, 3.12. 29 Sv.
Mike Henneman (DET). 1-5, 4.86. 32 Sv, 1 H.
Ken Howell (SFS). 4-4, 2.44. 4 Sv, 9 H, 1.03 WHIP.
Sean Marshall (BAL). 5-0, 1.79. 1 Sv, 8 H, 0.98 WHIP.
Mike Norris (NYG). 4-3, 1.43. 5 Sv, 13 H.
Ron Reed (PHI/CLE). 0-6, 4.29. 3 Sv, 16 H.
Ron Robinson (SFS). 5-3, 3.58. 1 Sv, 16 H.
Brian Wilson (NYG). 1-0, 1.00. 24 Sv, 1 H.

Streaks

Lots of streaks ended last series, but the Boog lives on! Kansas City‘s Boog Powell has reached base in 51 straight games, extending his league record.

Houston’s Andrés Galarraga has a hit in his last 7 at-bats and has reached base 8 consecutive plate appearances: both marks are 1 shy of the league record.

Results

Series Sweeps in Series XXXI

None

Taking 3 out of 5 in Series XXXI

New York Gothams over Cleveland (1 makeup game from prior rainout)

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XXXI

Baltimore over Los Angeles
House of David over Kansas City
Memphis Red Sox over Miami

Series Splits

Portland @ Birmingham
Philadelphia Stars @ Brooklyn Royal Giants
Chicago @ Indianapolis ABCs
San Francisco @ Detroit
Homestead Grays @ Ottawa Mounties
New York Black Yankees @ Houston

TWIWBL 38.0: Series XXX Notes

By mknn

On April 20, 2023

In TWIWBL

August 9th

There was a single game on August 9th: the Indianapolis ABCs visited the House of David to makeup a game rained out earlier in the year. And what a game it was …

The ABCs Willie Mitchell has struggled a bit since joining the starting rotation, but he’s still been effective; here he would be opposed by the House of David’s Frank Sullivan.

Mitchell struggled early, giving up 4 runs in the first two innings on a 2-run single from Joe Harris and an RBI triple from Dan Ford. Both are stories of note: Harris, a 35 year old minor league veteran, has hit well over .300 since being recalled a few weeks ago and Ford, an injury fill in early in the season, has blossomed, keeping his average over .300 with some power in becoming the House of David’s starting RF.

But Mitchell settled down after that, not allowing a run through 7 innings.

In the meantime, the ABCs scratched and clawed their way back with 2 in the 6th, 1 in the 7th, and a solo homerun from Dave Henderson in the 8th to tie the game.

Anthony Rizzo singled home the go-ahead run in the bottom of the frame as the game was handed over to two expended bullpens.

Indianapolis would get a pinch-hit, 2-run shot in the top of the 9th from Bob Bescher to take the lead, but Harris would answer with a 2-out solo shot in the bottom of the frame to send us to extra innings.

The 10th was scoreless, but after Ford reached on an error, Harris doubled him home to win the game.

Harris drove in 4 on 4 hits, and Ryne Sandberg and Jim Edmonds added 3 hits apiece for the winning side. Pete Browning went 1 for 6, edging closer and closer to qualifying for the league lead in batting (he currently sits at .358).

IND 6 (Carroll 2-4, 2 B Sv) @ HOD 7 (Downs 3-2; Niedenfuer 3 H; Smith 1 B Sv) [11 Innings]
HRs: IND – Henderson (10), Bescher (14); HOD – Harris (4).
Box Score

Awards

The House of David’s Elrod Hendricks was named the WBL Player of the Week, hitting .474 with a whopping 5 homeruns during 19 at-bats over the past 7 games.

Performance

Some random statistical accomplishments …

The New York Black Yankees‘ Eric Davis leads the Power/Speed combos, with 30 homeruns and 57 steals. Five other players have at least 20 of each, with Brooklyn‘s Beals Becker (21 HRs and 42 SBs) being the next highest total.

Davis’ teammate Don Mattingly has 24 homers and only 26 strikeouts.

The New York Gothams‘ Jimmy Sheckard and Willie Davis of the Philadelphia Stars have yet to hit into a doubleplay.

The Chicago American Giants‘ Dick Allen is the only player in the league in double digits in doubles (21), triples (10), and homeruns (19).

Batters

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

Babe Ruth of the New York Black Yankees has put some distance between the rest of the homerun hitters. He and the Los Angeles Angels‘ Doug Rader are the dominant offensive players, but Ruth is clearly the man.

Dick Allen (CAG). 303/371/538. 10 3B.
Johnny Bench (IND). 302/410/598. 5.4 WAR.
Ty Cobb (DET). 343/388/562.
Mike Fiore (HOM). 241/403/396. 89 BB.
Bobby Grich (LAA). 288/377/483. 40 2B.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 253/383/338. 80 SB.
Kent Hrbek (POR). 305/378/594. 34 HR.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 333/418/586. 92 R.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 327/444/605.
Willie Mays (NYG). 327/392/526. 147 H.
Stan Musial (KCM). 333/396/585. 40 2B.
Doug Rader (LAA). 340/393/553. 153 H, 115 RBI.
Tim Raines (OTT). 297/372/442. 78 SB.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 320/435/675. 39 HR, 108 RBI, 99 R, 87 BB, 6.7 WAR.
Louis Santop (CLE). 298/327/457. 11 3B.

Pitchers

Same as the batters: top 2 in all categories, leader in bold.

Starters

Pitchers keep passing up their opportunities to lead the league in wins: currently 3 are tied with 13 wins each. Jack Taylor of the House of David is emerging as perhaps the best starter in the league.

Bill Byrd (BAL). 12-3, 3.18.
Gerrit Cole (LAA). 13-6, 4.40.
Don Drysedale (BRK). 7-6, 3.59. 1.16 WHIP.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 11-7, 3.74. 169 Ks, 9.7 K/9.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 6-10, 4.67. 162 Ks, 9.2 K/9, 3.5 K/BB.
Luke Hamlin (KCM). 7-10, 4.99. 1.8 BB/9, 3.1 K/BB.
Pat Malone (CLE). 13-6, 3.89.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 13-7, 3.90.
Alejandro Peña (BBB). 10-7, 3.28. 4.8 WAR; 3.13 FIP.
Eddie Plank (SFS). 9-5, 4.08. 3.28 FIP.
Stephen Strasburg. 7-6, 3.26. 3.9 WAR.
Jack Taylor (HOD). 12-8, 2.98. 1.12 WHIP.
Cy Young (CLE). 9-7, 4.50. 1.8 BB/9.

Relievers

Relievers are weird, right? The Gothams’ Brian Wilson has been the most dominant. Baltimore‘s Sean Marshall will miss the rest of the season through injury, but may still end up leading the relievers in WHIP at the end of the season.

33 minimum IP for rate stats.

Terry Adams (CLE). 2-6, 3.26. 27 Sv; 1 H.
Watty Clark (BRK). 3-2, 1.82. 21 Sv. 1.01 WHIP.
Mike Henneman (DET). 1-5, 4.50. 32 Sv.
Sean Marshall (BAL). 5-0, 1.79. 1 Sv; 8H. 0.98 WHIP.
Mike Norris (NYG). 4-3, 1.47. 4 Sv; 12 H.
Ron Reed (PHI/CLE). 0-5, 4.12. 3 Sv; 16 H.
Ron Robinson (SFS). 5-3, 3.59. 1 Sv, 16 H.
Brian Wilson (NYG). 1-0, 1.02. 24 Sv.

Streaks

The king is dead! Long live the king! Boog Powell of the Kansas City Monarchs‘ has now reached base in 48 straight games, surpassing the Black Yankees’ Thurman Munson‘s mark of 43 games.

Ryne Sandberg‘s hitting streak ended at 22, tying him with Munson for 2nd place behind Ruth’s 23. During that streak, Sandberg scored in 15 straight games, setting the league record, but Ruth has scored in his last dozen contests, so we’ll see if he can reclaim that particular mark.

Baltimore’s Frank Robinson has hit a homerun in 4 consecutive games, 1 shy of the league record.

Two pitchers are threatening the Black Yankees’ Red Ruffing‘s league record of 24 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run. The House of David’s Jack Taylor has a 21 inning streak and Birmingham‘s Greg Maddux is at 20 innings.

Results

Series XXX Sweeps

Indianapolis ABCs over Portland Sea Dogs

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XXX

Baltimore over Memphis Red Sox
Detroit Wolverines over Philadelphia
Los Angeles over New York Gothams
New York Black Yankees over Miami Cuban Giants

Series Splits

Birmingham @ Kansas City
Brooklyn @ Ottawa Mounties
Cleveland Spiders @ Chicago
House of David @ Homestead Grays
Houston Colt 45s @ San Francisco Sea Lions

TWIWBL 37.1: Series XXIX Notes – Bill James Division

By mknn

On April 4, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Detroit Wolverines

Kevin Hart will be out about 4 weeks, meaning a trip to the DL is in order. Mickey Lolich was recalled–again.

Oscar Gamble went deep twice, giving him 25 on the season, and drove in 4, leading Detroit to a 6-4 win over Brooklyn. Ty Cobb added 3 hits, including his 18th dinger of the season, and 7 decent innings from Hank Aguirre (now 5-9) set the stage for Mike Henneman‘s league-leading 32nd save of the season.

#Los Angeles Angels

2 homeruns and 5 RBIs from Don Buford led Los Angeles to an 11-4 thrashing of Chicago. Doug Rader had 3 hits and upped his league leading RBI total to 109 with 4. Jason Vargas–knocked around in his first few appearances–picked up the win with 4.1 innings of 2-hit ball.

Gerrit Cole finally got his 13th win of the year as the Angels shellacked the American Giants, 12-3. Carlos Delgado had a grand slam and a ground rule double for 6 RBIs and Ron Hassey added 3 hits as Cole improved to 13-6.

#Memphis Red Sox

Norwood Gibson, ineffective all year, was sent to AAA with Nixey Callahan (also, you know, ineffective all year) brought back up for the start.

Sammy Sosa‘s talent has been undeniable–the ball just explodes off the 24 year old’s bat. But he hasn’t put much together, and while he’s hitting more with Memphis than he did with the House of David, he’s still not doing much. So perhaps his 3 hit game with a double and a homerun in an 8-6 win over the Gothams is the start of something for Sosa.

#New York Gothams

Christy Mathewson became the WBL’s first 13 game winner, allowing 1 unearned run over 6+ innings in a 10-1 victory over Memphis.

#Wandering House of David

Bob Rush was masterful, tossing a complete game, 3-hit shutout in a 9-0 win over Ottawa. Pete Browning had 4 hits including 3 doubles, and Dan Ford and Richie Hebner added 3 hits each.

Elrod Hendricks went deep twice, giving him 31 on the year, but it wasn’t enough as the House of David lost 8-5 to Ottawa.

TWIWBL 37.0: Series XXIX Notes

By mknn

On April 3, 2023

In TWIWBL

August 5th

Awards

Jack Taylor of the House of David was the WBL Pitcher of the Month for July, going 5-0 with a 1.51 ERA.

The WBL Batter of the Month award went to the New York Black Yankees‘ Babe Ruth, who hit .363 for the month with 7 HRs.

The Dog Days

Not much has changed, but in the most wonderful of ways: all four divisions are tight, with multiple teams in the hunt for playoff spots.

In the Bill James Division, the New York Gothams and the Detroit Wolverines are tied for first place, with the Wandering House of David (a scalding 29-14 since the all-star break) only 2.5 games back. All 3 teams are outperforming their Pythagorean projections by 2-3 games.

Baltimore continues to have the best record in the league (technically, tied with Portland), but also continue to be unable to shake Chicago in the Cum Posey Division, 2 games back in second place. Chicago is +3 against their Pythagorean, while Baltimore is dead even with it, so the numbers at least would indicate that the Black Sox are safe with their lead.

In the Effa Manley Division, Cleveland has the largest lead in the league, at 4.5 games ahead of the New York Black Yankees. But the underlying numbers pull them even closer–the Spiders have the edge in run differential, but at only 10 runs, it’s pretty close to even. And if you trust the Pythagorean, their records should be identical. Especially with the Black Yankees (Seemingly? Perhaps? Maybe?) addressing their bullpen weakness, there is still a lot of baseball to be played here.

As mentioned, in the Marvin Miller Division, being tied with Baltimore for the best record in the league keeps Portland in first place. But Birmingham, who are 31-13 since the all star break, seems unstoppable, having pulled to within 2.5 games of the Sea Dogs.

All races to watch!

Performance

Batters

Just last series, Ruth was in danger of leading his league lead in HRs. He’s gone deep in 4 straight games, creating some distance between himself and the rest of the crowd.

I keep waiting for this list to condense, but it keeps not cooperating.

Top 2 in all categories, league leader in bold.

Dick Allen (CAG). 309/378/543. 10 3B.
Ty Cobb (DET). 346/391/569.
Johnny Bench (IND). 306/414/602. 5.3 WAR.
Mike Fiore (CAG). 240/400/400. 84 BB.
Bobby Grich (LAA). 285/375/484. 38 2B.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 252/385/339. 84 BB, 78 SB.
Elrod Hendricks (HOD). 300/360/648.
Kent Hrbek (POR). 303/379/592. 33 HR.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 333/420/584. 89 R.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 332/446/610.
Stan Musial (KCM). 337/398/597. 144 H, 40 2B.
Doug Rader (LAA). 339/392/553. 147 H, 109 RBI.
Tim Raines (OTT). 295/370/442. 74 SB.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 317/432/663. 37 HR, 105 RBI, 95 R, 84 BB, 6.3 WAR.
Louis Santop (CLE). 303/332/466. 11 3B.

Pitchers

Same as with the batters, top 2 in all categories, league leaders in bold.

Starters

For now the logjam of wins has begun to break a little as the league has its first 3 13-game winners, with 2 others at 12. I’ve included all 5 in the listings, making it a little longer than before. That said, Guidry is really the only one not having an excellent season–he’s striking a lot of batters out, but that’s about it.

Gerrit Cole (LAA). 13-6, 4.40.
Don Drysdale (BRK). 7-5, 3.48. 1.16 WHIP.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 11-7, 3.84. 162 K.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 6-9, 4.56. 159 K.
Pat Malone (CLE). 13-5, 3.83.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 13-6, 3.55.
Alejandro Peña (BBB). 10-7, 3.28. 3.14 FIP, 4.9 WAR.
Eddie Plank (SFS). 9-5, 3.90. 1 Sv, 3.31 FIP.
Stephen Strasburg (HOU). 7-6, 3.21. 3.8 WAR.
Jack Taylor (HOD). 11-8, 3.15, 1.15 WHIP.

Relievers

Walsh is the outlier here and is next in line to be moved into the starting lineup for Chicago.

33 IP for rate stats.

Terry Adams (CLE). 2-6, 3.35. 26 Sv., 1 H.
Mike Henneman (DET). 1-5, 4.50. 32 Sv.
Ken Howell (SFS). 4-4, 2.10. 4 Sv, 8 H. 0.99 WHIP.
Sean Marshall (BAL). 5-0, 1.79. 1 Sv, 8 H, 0.98 WHIP.
Mike Norris (NYG). 4-3, 1.50. 4 Sv, 11 H.
Ron Reed (PHI/CLE). 0-5, 4.18. 3 Sv, 16 H.
Ron Robinson (SFS). 4-3, 3.40. 1 Sv, 16 H.
Ed Walsh (CAG). 6-3, 3.05. 4 H, 3.01 FIP.
Brian Wilson (NYG). 1-0, 1.05. 23 Sv, 2.59 FIP.

Streaks

The House of David’s Ryne Sandberg kept his hitting streak alive, extending it to 22 games–only 1 behind Ruth’s league record. He’s also scored in 14 straight games, setting a new record in the process.

Results

Series XXIX Sweeps

Indianapolis ABC’s over Kansas City Monarchs
Birmingham over Homestead Grays

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XXIX

House of David over Ottawa Mounties
Houston Colt 45’s over Philadelphia Stars
Portland over Cleveland
San Francisco Sea Lions over Miami Cuban Giants

Series XXIX Splits

Memphis Red Sox @ New York Gothams
Detroit @ Brooklyn Royal Giants
Chicago @ Los Angeles Angels
New York Black Yankees @ Baltimore

TWIWBL 36.1: Series XXVIII Notes – Bill James Division

By mknn

On March 16, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Detroit Wolverines

The Wolverines welcome Charlie Root and Chad Bradford to their staff, but perhaps the return of Tony Phillips is even more important for Detroit’s push down the stretch. Mickey Lolich and Si Johnson were sent to AAA, although both pitched decently. Robby Thompson was sent down on Phillips’ return.

Mike Henneman was the first in the league to notch 30 saves, reaching the milestone in a 7-6 victory over Houston. Sparky Adams and Ed Bailey each had 2 doubles in the contest.

An injury to Buddy Napier forced Detroit to put the effective reliever on the DL for 10 days, recalling Jason Schmidt.

#Los Angeles Angels

Pud Galvin and Harry Howell moved into the Angels’ rotation.

#Memphis Red Sox

Jim Paglioroni‘s departure cleared the way for young Kurt Suzuki‘s promotion to Memphis, where he’ll platoon with Billy Bryan behind the plate. Nixey Callahan was returned to AAA to make room for Turk Farrell‘s return from a rehab assignment.

#New York Gothams

Vean Gregg and Steve Howe lengthen the Gothams’ bullpen, and Rube Waddell replaces Don Sutton in the rotation. But the real changes have occurred offensively. 38 year old Joe Adcock is pounding the ball, and will become the full-time DH. Pete Runnels and Will Clark step right into the lineup. Overall, New York is worse off defensively, but may generate more consistent offense. A lot depends on whether Adcock and fan favorite Wes Westrum can continue their levels of production. George Van Haltren will lose playing time coming to the Gothams to serve as a reserve OFer, but he is now in the midst of a pennant race instead of languishing in Ottawa, so there’s that.

Christy Mathewson, helped by a perfect 1.2 IP of relief from Mike Norris, improved to 12-6 on the season in an 8-4 victory over their crosstown rivals. Norris picked up his 4th save, and Jimmy Sheckard, Johnny Callison, and Willie Mays each went deep for the Gothams.

#Wandering House of David

Tweak, tweak, tweak.

Bunny Downs can’t hit any worse than Craig Reynolds and Jung Ho Kang have, and by adding him to the roster, the House of David could also promote veteran Joe Harris as a bat off the bench.

Jack Taylor twirled a 3-hit, complete game shutout as the House of David beat Brooklyn 6-0. Elrod Hendricks went deep twice and drove in 5 in support of Taylor, who improved to 11-8 on the season while lowering his ERA to 3.15, good for tops in the WBL.

TWIWBL 36.0: Series XXVIII Notes

By mknn

On March 15, 2023

In TWIWBL

July 31

Awards Preview

We’re at the end of July, so let’s take a look at the front-runners for the major awards.

The Mel Trench Award (MVP)

I mean … look, Cleveland‘s Ron Blomberg (341/410/649; 32 HR) is a great story and the key to the Spiders’ offense. And Chicago‘s Eddie Collins (311/402/513; 43 SB) may be the best all-around player in the game–it’s him or his teammate Joe Jackson (337/423/585). And some of you will create convoluted definitions of “valuable” in support of Los Angeles‘ Doug Rader, the league RBI leader and (as of right now) the only player in triple digits or Portland‘s Kent Hrbek, who is now tied for the league league in HR with 33.

But it’s really all about the guy he’s tied with. Barring something quite surprising, the New York Black Yankees‘ Babe Ruth should take the inaugural Mel Trench Award. Ruth has led the league in HRs all season, in OPS most of the year, and is in the top few in almost every offensive category. He is, simply, the most devastating offensive force in the league.

The Brock Rutherford Award (Pitcher of the Year)

Portland’s Walter Johnson began the year as the favorite here, and was then overtaken by Los Angeles’ Gerrit Cole. But Cole has stalled a bit after rattling off 5 straight victories to improve his record to 11-3, going 1-3 over his last 9 starts, allowing the rest of the league to catch up.

And then there’s Baltimore‘s Ned Garvin, who looked to be the front-runner, posting a 9-4 record and an ERA well under 3. But Garvin is out for the rest of the season.

Cleveland’s Pat Malone and the New York Gotham‘s Christy Mathewson join Cole with 12 wins, and 7 pitchers have 11. So if one of those go on a streak, they have to be considered favorites. But I would put forth three other names: Birmingham‘s Alejandro Peña has been the statistical front-runner, with an over 1 point of WAR edge on Johnson and leads the league in FIP. Peña was considered a bit of a joke when the Black Barons were buried in the standings; now that they are challenging for a playoff spot, he merits serious consideration. Jack Taylor of the House of David is posting an actual ERA at about the same level as Peña’s FIP, leading the league in both that and WHIP.

And if I had to vote, I would vote for Baltimore’s Bill Byrd, who has sat on the leaderboards all season, quietly and consistently anchoring the best staff in the league. Byrd is 11-3, with a 3.29 ERA, not league-leading, but among the leaders.

The Phineas Flint Award (Reliver of the Year)

Another award that has been greatly impacted by injury, as Portland’s Johan Santana was the clear leader here. But he’s been surpassed, and the award probably has to go to Detroit’s Mike Henneman, the league leader in saves with 30, 5 more than Cleveland’s Terry Adams.

The only other argument right now is, I think, the Gothams’ Brian Wilson, who has 22 saves and a microscopic 1.08 ERA.

Ron Reed was making a case as an all-purpose reliever, but while he still leads the league in holds, he has struggled enough since his trade to Cleveland to fall out of contention. If anyone in that category should be in the conversation at this point, it’s the Gothams’ Mike Norris.

Silver Sticks

C: Johnny Bench (IND). 308/414/602.
1B: Kent Hrbek (POR). 304/378/598.
2B: Eddie Collins (CAG). 311/402/513.
3B: Dick Allen (CAG). 315/381/548.
SS: Bobby Wallace (BAL). 309/408/441.
OF: Babe Ruth (NYY). 315/433/645.
OF: Eric Davis (NYY). 277/354/539.
OF: Willie Mays (NYG). 324/387526.

Predictably, the OF spots are the most contentious, with Joe Jackson, Reggie Jackson, and a half-dozen others not sharing the same last name all making arguments as well.

Performance

Batters

Usual stuff: top 2 in each category, leaders in bold.

Dick Allen (CAG). 315/381/548. 10 3B.
Ron Blomberg (CLE). 341/410/649. 138 H.
Rico Carty (PHI). 289/359/469. 37 2B.
Ty Cobb (DET). 345/390/562.
Eric Davis (NYY). 277/354/539. 5.3 WAR.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 257/390/338. 81 BB, 77 SB.
Kent Hrbek (POR). 304/378/598. 33 HR.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 337/423/585. 85 R.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 331/445/610.
Stan Musial (KCM). 333/395/595. 39 2B.
Doug Rader (LAA). 333/387/544. 139 H, 104 RBI.
Tim Raines (OTT). 299/373/451. 72 SB.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 315/433/645. 33 HR, 99 RBI, 90 R, 83 BB, 5.8 WAR.
Louis Santop (CLE). 305/337/473. 11 3B.

Pitchers

Starters

Top 2 in each category, leaders in bold.

Bill Byrd (BAL). 11-3, 3.29.
Gerrit Cole (LAA). 12-6, 4.39.
Don Drysedale (BRK). 7-5, 3.48. 1.16 WHIP.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 11-7, 3.84. 162 K.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 6-9, 4.56. 159 K.
Walter Johnson (POR). 10-4, 3.79. 3.4 WAR.
Pat Malone (CLE). 12-5, 3.84.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 12-6, 3.70.
Alejandro Peña (BBB). 9-7, 3.44. 4.5 WAR, 3.17 FIP.
Eddie Plank (SFS). 8-5, 4.06. 3.41 FIP.
Jack Taylor (HOD). 11-8, 3.15, 1.15 WHIP.

Relievers

30 IP for rate stats.

Terry Adams (CLE). 2-6, 3.44. 25 Sv, 1H.
Mike Henneman (DET). 1-4, 3.71. 30 Sv.
Ken Howell (SFS). 3-4, 2.15. 4 Sv, 8 H. 0.99 WHIP.
Sean Marshall (BAL). 5-0, 1.81. 1 Sv, 7 H. 0.95 WHIP.
Mike Norris (NYG). 4-3, 1.57. 4 Sv, 10 H.
Ron Reed (PHI/CLE). 0-5, 3.82. 3 Sv, 16 H.
Ron Robinson (SFS). 4-3, 3.54. 1 Sv, 15 H.
Brian Wilson (NYG). 1-0, 1.08. 22 Sv.

Awards

The Gothams’ Joe Adcock showed that 38 year olds can still hit, winning the Batsman of the Week Award by going 12-for-27 with 4 homeruns.

Streaks

Ryne Sandberg of the House of David has an 18 game hitting streak, and has scored in 10 straight games (1 off the league record).

Kansas City‘s Boog Powell is now only 2 games behind Thurman Munson‘s record 43 game on-base streak.

Series Results

Series XXVIII Sweeps

Baltimore over San Francisco

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XXVIII

Birmingham over Ottawa
House of David over Brooklyn
Cleveland over Kansas City
Detroit over Houston
Homestead over Indianapolis

Series XXVIII Splits

New York Gothams @ New York Black Yankees
Chicago @ Memphis
Los Angeles @ Portland
Miami @ Philadelphia