Tag: Cleveland Spiders Page 1 of 11

TWIWBL 98.2: Year 3, Week 1 – Bill James Division

On August 17, 2026

Team	W/L	Pct	GB
Detroit Wolverines	6-1	.857	—
Baltimore Black Sox	3-4	.429	3
Cleveland Spiders	3-4	.429	3
Memphis Red Sox	3-4	.429	3
New York Black Yankees	2-5	.286	4

Bill James Division | 8 April

Baltimore Black Sox

Ned Garvin deserved better. Finishing the suspended opener, he gave up one hit in five innings and struck out 10 — and lost. The hit was a Carlton Fisk home run leading off the second, Chino Smith got to John Tudor for a 3-run shot in the sixth, and Chicago took it 6-2. Still, an encouraging start to the season for Garvin.

The nightcap went the other way. Gavy Cravath hit a two-run shot off Waite Hoyt, Miller Huggins drove in three, and Dennis Martínez was good enough for a 5-3 win.

Tudor was injured later in the week, with Mike Mussina recalled from AAA Washington to take over Tudor’s swing role for the short-term.

Cleveland Spiders

Cy Young opened Cleveland’s season — a day late — with 6.2 innings, three hits, no runs and ten strikeouts, and Ryan Reed and Cody Gearrin finished off a five-hit shutout, 8-0 over Los Angeles. Lance Berkman hit a two-run homer.

Despite 14 hits, Cleveland fell 5-4 to San Francisco in 11 innings. Evan Longoria struck out 5 times, tying the American League record.

Another combined shutout came later in the week against Miami, as 5 arms combined on a 4-hit shutout with 17 (!) strikeouts: Mel Harder started, Whit Wyatt took over after a rain delay, and Reed, Aroldis Chapman and Terry Adams closed it out. Longoria — a better day this time — hit a two-run homer and Tris Speaker had three hits in the 4-0 win.

Adams was hurt in the series finale, but it’s not clear what the diagnosis is yet — a potentially impactful bit of news for the Spiders, although if he does go down, the recently-acquired Chapman would, assumedly, take over at closer.

Detroit Wolverines

The Wolverines are off to a WBL best 6-1 start to the season.

J. D. Martinez continues to impress, hitting a HR and 3 doubles in a 20 hit barrage against Chicago. The last was vital, as it scored Bobby Wallace with the winning run in the 9-8 victory over the American Giants.

Oscar Gamble closed the week with two home runs in a 5-2 win that saw Hal Newhouser improve to 2-0.

Wander Franco was hurt, with Damion Easley being recalled in his place.

Memphis Red Sox

FA Herman Long has been signed, presumably to take over at SS (Xander Bogaerts stays on the roster, but glove-man Adam Everett heads to AAA). Long was a platoon option for Birmingham, with Memphis hoping he can step into a larger role for them.

Ted Williams tied the franchise single-game record for runs, scoring 4 times, adding 4 hits (including a 2-run homer) as the Red Sox put fifteen hits on Los Angeles in a 10-5 win. David Ortiz had three hits and five RBIs, and Red Ruffing got the win despite giving up 5 earned in 5 innings.

Manny Ramírez hit 2 out in a 5-4 win over Baltimore. John Briggs also went deep, and, after blowing a lead, Armando Benitez claimed the victory.

Williams also launched the longest homer of the young season, a 480 ft. shot off Los Angeles’ Pud Galvin.

New York Black Yankees

The Black Yankees exploded in a 15-3 demolition of Detroit: 19 hits, 2 grand slams — Don Mattingly in the first, Mickey Rivers in the eighth — and home runs from Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in between. Rivers finished with 3 hits, 3 runs and 5 driven in, Manny Sanguillén had 3 hits and Ed Charles 4, with promising rookie Whitey Ford getting the win.

Eric Davis hit one of the hardest balls of the opening week: a 472 ft. bomb that left the bat at 115 mph off Miami’s Phenomenal Smith.

98.1: Welcome to Week 1 & Opening Day Games

By mknn

On August 16, 2026

In TWIWBL

8 April, 2002

Welcome to Year III! Woot woot!

The Whirled Baseball League opened its third season on the first of April, 2002, but the weather proved a mightier force than the ump crying Play Ball! Four of the ten scheduled openers were impacted by the wet — Houston at Homestead, Birmingham at Brooklyn, Chicago at Baltimore and Los Angeles at Cleveland all went to the tarp, and all four were made up as day-night doubleheaders the following afternoon. Of the six games that did get played, three were interrupted by rain anyway.

After the first week, The Detroit Wolverines sit alone at 6-1. Nobody else in the league has more than five wins. But Detroit is doing it with mirrors: they have scored 43 and allowed 39, which should put them at about 4-3. So we’ll see what holds.

Awards

American League Player of the Week: Dick Allen, Chicago American Giants.

The 24-year-old third baseman opened the year 11-for-27 with three home runs, nine runs batted in and nine runs scored, a .407/.467/.963 line across thirty plate appearances.

National League Player of the Week: Roberto Alomar, Ottawa Mounties.

Fifteen hits in thirty-one at-bats, with two home runs earned Alomar the Award. In one of those early season oddities, he didn’t draw a walk or reach base any other way, so both BA and OBP sit at .484.

Opening Day Games

Kansas City 5, Ottawa 4.

Not a single home run was hit in this one, and it was still the best game of the day. It opened messily on both sides: Kansas City scored twice in the first, one of the runs on a passed ball, and Ottawa gave one straight back in the bottom half on a wild pitch. The Mounties drew level in the third, and there it sat.

Then the sky opened. A thirty-eight minute delay in the fifth ended both starters’ afternoons — Roy Halladay had kept Ottawa in it to that point — and Kansas City came out of the break with two runs in the sixth to lead 4-2.

Ottawa’s answer in the eighth was what lifted the game above the level of the mundane: Eddie Guardado came on for the Monarchs and Roberto Alomar greeted him with a line-drive double. Gary Carter followed with a double of his own — an absolute rocket that left the bat at 111 miles per hour — and Carlos Beltrán scored Carter on a single to center. Tie game, and Kansas City called on Lee Smith to stop the bleeding (which he did).

The winning hit travelled about ninety feet in the air. Doug Rader walked to open the ninth and, after Ted Simmons grounded into a force play, Kolten Wong singled Simmons to second. Frankie Frisch came on to pinch-run from there, tagged up to third on an Ozzie Smith fly ball to right, and scored when Cool Papa Bell beat out a weakly hit infield chopper that left the bat roughly 50 mph slower than Carter’s smash.

Craig Kimbrel set Ottawa down in order in the ninth for the save; the win went to Lee Smith for the eighth.

Benny Kauff finished the day with three hits for the Monarchs.

KAN 5 (Smith 1-0; Kimbrel 1 Sv; Guardado 1 BSv) @ OTT 4 (Dempster 0-1)
HRs: none.
Box Score

San Francisco 5, New York Black Yankees 2.

For six innings this was the pitchers’ duel the marquee promised: Lefty Grove struck out twelve over six and a third — tying the Sea Lions’ franchise record for a single game — and Andy Pettitte matched him nearly stride for stride with six shutout innings and eight strikeouts of his own. Through four the scoreboard was blank in both directions.

Lou Gehrig broke the tie in the bottom of the fourth, taking Grove over the wall with one out for the season’s first run at Yankee Stadium. That held until the seventh, when New York summoned Hoyt Wilhelm to protect the one-run lead.

Whoops. Turkey Stearnes led off the seventh and tied the game on the spot with his opening dinger of the season, and although New York handed Wilhelm a fresh lead in the bottom half — Don Mattingly driving in the go-ahead run for 2-1 — he gave that one back too, and then some. San Francisco put up three in the eighth. Reggie Jackson added a solo shot off David Robertson in the ninth for good measure.

So: blown save, loss, and four earned runs across two innings for Wilhelm, and even on opening day the questions start being asked about the Black Yankees’ bullpen. Trevor Hoffman got the win in relief, Joe Nathan handled the 8th, and Rod Beck finished it off — the Sea Lions’ pen had no such queries asked.

SFS 5 (Hoffman 1-0; Beck 1 Sv) @ NYY 2 (Wilhelm 0-1, 1 BSv)
HRs: SFS – Stearnes (1), Jackson (1); NYY – Gehrig (1).
Box Score

New York Gothams 9, Indianapolis 6.

The week’s largest crowd — 54,814 — was treated to seven home runs (1 by a starting pitcher) and four lead changes. Don Buford led off the bottom of the first by putting a Luis Padrón offering into the seats, and Brandon Crawford did the same in the third.

Indianapolis finally solved Christy Mathewson in the fourth: Johnny Bench went deep with two out, and moments later, with a man aboard, Buddy Bell turned a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead. It lasted one inning. HR Johnson answered with a two-run homer in the fifth, and the Gothams tacked on a couple more in the sixth to lead 6-3 with nine outs to go.

Which is where it got strange. Luis Padrón, still in at the DH for the ABC’s, led off the seventh by homering off Masahiro Tanaka, and two batters later Oscar Charleston hit a two-run shot to tie it at six. Tanaka had blown the save and, in the way these things sometimes go, was about to be rewarded for it: New York retook the lead in the bottom half, and Buford’s second home run of the day, a two-run drive in the eighth, put it out of reach.

Mathewson struck out ten but walked five and got no decision. Tanaka got the win. Nobody got much peace, but the fans got a good show to start the season.

IND 6 (Mitchell 0-1) @ NYG 9 (Tanaka 1-0, 1 BSv; Wilson 1 Sv)
HRs: IND – Charleston (1), Bench (1), Bell (1); NYG – Buford (2), HR Johnson (1), Crawford (1).
Box Score

Detroit 7, Miami 5.

Charlie Root was the story at first — five and two thirds innings, no runs, no walks, and eleven strikeouts. Detroit’s lineup took its time with Miami starter José Méndez, opening with doubles from Bobby Wallace and Charlie Gehringer before Oscar Gamble finally got one out of the park in the fifth. Eustaquio Pedroso came on in relief of Méndez and it went no better — Al Kaline took him deep for two in the seventh, Gehringer in the eighth.

Miami got a two-run shot from Alejandro Oms and three hits from Gary Sheffield, but never was able to overtake the Wolverines.

MCG 5 (Méndez 0-1) @ DET 7 (Root 1-0; Henneman 1 Sv)
HRs: MCG – Oms (1); DET – Gamble (1), Kaline (1), Gehringer (1).
Box Score

Portland 7, Memphis 3.

Walter Johnson started, went three and a third (departing after a rain delay in the 4th), and hit a home run. Paul Molitor added a two-run shot of his own and Ken Griffey Jr had three hits and two runs batted in. Memphis answered through David Ortiz, who drove in three with a homer, and Johnny Briggs, who had three hits, but Portland held the lead throughout.

POR 7 (Trout 1-0) @ MEM 3 (Overmire 0-1)
HRs: POR – Molitor (1), Griffey Jr (1), Johnson (1); MEM – Ortiz (1).
Box Score

Philadelphia 9, Wandering House of David 5.

The ageless wonder that is Rico Carty opened the season by going 4-for-4 with a home run and Roger Peckinpaugh (sitting in at SS for Philadelphia for the suspended Jim Fregosi) drove in three, and Philadelphia was never really threatened once Hardie Henderson got through six. The House of David did get 2 homers from young John Beckwith and another from Anthony Rizzo. Jack Taylor gave up eleven hits in the loss.

PHI 9 (Henderson 1-0) @ HOD 5 (Taylor 0-1)
HRs: PHI – Carty (1), Peckinpaugh (1); HOD – Beckwith (2), Rizzo (1).
Box Score

Bits & Bobs

You Always Remember Your First
Houston’s Pete Hill is 0-for-17 with eight strikeouts. He posted a .800 OPS over 594 plate appearances last season, which makes him the furthest any regular has fallen from his own track. Memphis’s Herman Long is 0-for-10 since being signed to solve shortstop for the Red Sox, and Chicago’s Jay Bell and Birmingham’s Ron Fairly are also hitless.

The Root of Things
Nine and a third innings, seventeen strikeouts — the league lead — and not one walk for Detroit’s Charlie Root.

Singles? We Don’t Need No Stinking Singles.
Baltimore’s Gavy Cravath has six hits this season — three doubles and three home runs. Josh Gibson (Homestead), Manny Ramírez (Memphis), Oscar Gamble (Detroit) and Jack Clark (San Francisco) are also yet to hit a single this season.

Swing, miss, duck.
The Sea Lions’ Lefty Grove has sixteen strikeouts in eleven and a third innings — and a 6.35 earned run average and 0-1 record to show for it.

Who Needs the DH?
Five homeruns came from pitchers during the opening week. 2 came from Charles Rogan (Philadelphia), which isn’t terribly surprising, but Walter Johnson (Portland), Luis Padrón (Indianapolis), and Jim Whitney (Miami) all joined in as well.

Year III Season Preview: Cleveland Spiders

By mknn

On July 28, 2026

In 2002 Season Previews, Team News

State of the Franchise

The Spiders are the best team in the league that nobody’s quite sure how to describe. 2 straight playoff trips, 2 Octobers that ended a round or 2 early — 86 wins and a quick exit in 2000, then 89-73 and a genuine run in 2001, a Wild Card series won over the increasingly hated Black Yankees before the Sea Lions swept them out of the AL Championship. No fatal flaw, no dominant edge. What Cleveland owns instead is optionality: a dozen paths to a win, room to absorb a bet that breaks wrong, and a roster deep enough that no single injury sinks the year (a thesis proven by the absence of controversial star Tris Speaker for all but 40 games of 2000).

The problem is that the same depth cuts the other way. Almost nobody on this roster is fully reliable, fully trusted. So, Do we believe in this guy? is a question Cleveland re-asks on every regular, every March. There is a cliché nature to some of it as well: like so many others, the Spiders are starved for pitching — either an ace to depend on or enough depth to not care. But Cleveland keeps making deals where they move around offensive players, not really addressing the clear bar between them and the elite teams.

Still, a perennial playoff team is nothing to sneeze at, and the talent is here to put it all together. Even if nobody is quite sure exactly how.

2001 Revisited

We spent last spring worried about one position: who plays third base? It was a question of pure scarcity — nobody had stepped up. It was answered very loudly by Evan Longoria: 36 homers, 96 RBI, a Silver Slugger, an AL All-Star nod, and superlative glovework to boot.

Our other big fear was Ron Blomberg collapsing. He most certainly did not collapse, but the cracks deepened. Overall, you cannot complain about his season — 276/348/640 with 54 homers and 143 RBI. But his platoon splits are getting more troubling. Against RHP he was fantastic as ever (321/403/771); against LHP he hit 206/251/432, essentially the same as 2000, but his walks plummeted and his strikeouts took off. Around him the up-years arrived in force: Tris Speaker recovered from injury to slash 312/397/631, Lance Berkman launched 57 homers with a 1.002 OPS in his first full season with the Spiders, Larry Doby hit 41 while seizing claim to the fulltime job in right, and Ed Bailey posted a .920 OPS at C, at 36 to boot.

Still, it ended up par for the course: the arms were fine, but no more than that, and the team couldn’t cross the final hurdle. It’s not a bad place to be — most teams would be envious of the Spiders’ track record. But it’s also not a championship.

Key Changes

In: Aroldis Chapman (NYY)
Out: Joe Sewell (NYY); Joe Smith (FA)

Opening Day Rookies: Jim H Manning; Chaz Roe

Best Case for 2002

Someone anchors the staff, with the most likely candidate being Bob Feller, who went 13-3 with a 4.30 ERA in 17 starts as a 21-year-old. And some still think Cy Young will be more than an innings eater. If 1 of those happens, Cleveland will do well, and if by some miracle both happen, perhaps that will get them over the hill.

The key players bounce back (Louis Santop‘s bat returns to his glove, Chuck Knoblauch looks like himself again), and the strong 2001 performances hold — Speaker, Berkman, Longoria, Doby, Arky Vaughan, Bailey. Finally, the Spiders shelled out some value for newly acquired Aroldis Chapman to solidify the bullpen. He has to deliver.

All of that comes together, and there could be celebrations by the lake come Fall.

Worst Case for 2002

It all breaks the other way, everything altogether all at once. Knoblauch’s 2001 wasn’t a dip but the start of a decline; Santop’s bat stays gone; Willie McCovey‘s 34-year-old legs give out, making his compelling late-career debut merely a mirage; Bailey acts his age; Blomberg collapses against more than just LHP; Berkman slides; and Speaker either gets hurt or just pisses everybody off too much. Feller’s elbow breaks, the rotation is again good-not-great, and in a division stacked with the Black Yankees, Tigers, Orioles, and a suddenly-well-armed Memphis, the Spiders plummet in the standings.

Key Questions

Does Feller become the ace — and if he doesn’t, will Cleveland finally buy one? Watching Memphis wheel and deal for not 1 but 2 front line starters has to sting a bit, and raise the question of whether Cleveland’s unwillingness to do the same is warranted conviction about their internal talent or front-office timidity when it comes to betting on pitching.
Bounce or decline — which is which? Cleveland’s core competency is reading talent on a roster where almost every regular swings 2-plus WAR a year in one direction or the other. It’s a tricky see-saw, and making the wrong call has repercussions. That’s part of what makes Knoblauch (a real sub-replacement collapse in 2001, discipline intact but the power gone) and Santop (a Gold Glove-caliber 21-year-old whose bat cratered) so important: if they fail, not only are there no clear replacements, but it means the org may be fundamentally misguided in how it judges the swings.
What does this lineup do against left-handed pitching? Cleveland bats left-handed almost top to bottom — Speaker, Blomberg, Doby, Bates, and McCovey all swing from the left side, into a park built for left-handed power — which is a wonderful thing to be against right-handers and a real potential weakness against lefties. John Ellis, Longoria, and Knoblauch are the right-handed bats of consequence, with Ken Keltner behind them (Berkman and Sammy Strang switch-hit, so they step out of the tilt entirely). It’s an accident of construction more than a plan, and it hasn’t bit the team so far, but it is something to watch.

Roster Evaluation

Tier = the player’s 2001 positional grade (S best → F worst; color coded S A B C D F). Bold names carry a substantive WBL track; italic names are pure projection — a hope, not a grade — with no qualifying track to anchor them.

Pos	Players
C	Bailey A · Santop F · Ellis F
1B	Berkman A · Blomberg A · McCovey
2B	Knoblauch D · Strang
SS	Vaughan A · Manning
3B	Longoria A · Strang
LF	Bates C
CF	Speaker S · Doby B
RF	Doby B · Berkman A
DH	McCovey · Blomberg A
SP	Steen C · Young D · Feller D · Malone · Harder
RP	Adams C (CL) · Reed C · Chapman F · Gearrin C · Roe

Speaker, the best player in the org at 24, is also its most difficult presence — the kind of star a proud city hasn’t decided how to love, a target of adoration while the club wins, but if the losses start to pile up, how long will his attitude towards his teammates be tolerated? At the other end of the scale sits McCovey — the 34-year-old who turned up and mashed a 1.107 OPS, a lovable late-bloomer a fanbase can wrap its arms around unreservedly.

Talent Ratings

	WBL	Minors
Raw Power	CF Tris Speaker	3B Bob Elliott
Batting Eye	2B Sammy Strang	3B Bob Elliott
Contact	CF Tris Speaker	2B Steve Sax; CF Kenny Lofton
Running Speed	SS Jim H Manning	LF Pat Friel
Base Stealing	2B Sammy Strang; LF Johnny Bates	SS Bill Dahlen; CF Kenny Lofton
IF Defense	3B Evan Longoria	2B Sean Rodriguez
OF Defense	CF Tris Speaker	RF Alexis Rios
Stuff	RP Aroldis Chapman	SP Balor Moore
Control	SP Chuck Porter	RP Edward Mujica
Velocity	RP Chaz Roe	RP Sergio Romo; RP Andrew Bailey

Best In The Minors

Rank	Age	Pos	Name
1 (63)	24	RF	Craig Wilson
2 (75)	23	CF	Luis Olmo
3 (96)	23	CF	Randy Winn

Others: IF Todd Helton, IF Johnny Hodapp, IF Aubrey Huff, P José Lima, P Balor Moore.

Three ranked prospects, all outfielders, none inside the top 60 — a system a year ago we called one of the worst in the league is, well, still pretty barren. Longoria, Berkman, Vaughan, and Bailey all arrived by spending prospects, and the thin system is what’s left over.

Last year’s top names have turned over completely — Joe Sewell, No. 4 a year ago, was shipped to New York this spring for Chapman. There is some hope in Helton, Hodapp, and Huff, but the position concentration is an issue. Balor Moore is the one arm worth watching — 101 innings of 3.56 ball with 86 strikeouts at Penn Yan, then a 12-inning cameo at Rochester he came through unscored upon.

Kenny Lofton, the org’s Minor League Player of the Year, is a WBL talent stuck at Triple-A.

Superlatives

	Most	Least
Age	Ed Bailey, 36	Abraham Almonte, 17
Height	Ron Reed, 6’6″	Ned Cuthbert, 5’6″
OPS	Tris Speaker, 1.028	Matt Carpenter, .458 (A)
HR	Lance Berkman, 57	Steve Sax, 1 (AA)
SB	Kenny Lofton, 85 (AAA)	–
WAR (bat)	Tris Speaker, 6.7	Louis Santop, −1.5
W	Cy Young, 15	–
SV	Terry Adams, 23	–
ERA	Balor Moore, 3.18 (A)	Yordano Ventura, 5.98
WAR (pit)	Bill Steen, 4.9	Howard Ehmke, −0.0 (A)

Stats across all levels, 2001 season. 200 PA / 75 IP minimum. Non-WBL levels tagged in parentheses.

TWIWBL 97.2: The Spring Training Trades

By mknn

On July 18, 2026

In TWIWBL

With just over a week left in Spring Training, we get to see how panicked some teams are, and how much they want to shake things up before opening day.

Unsurprisingly, we start with the Black Yankees and their perennial win-now mentality.

#The Black Yankees Add MI

NYY sends RP Aroldis Chapman, IF Mark Grudzielanek, 2nd Round Pick to CLE for IF Joe Sewell, IF Bill Phillips.

This is more fallout from the Grant Johnson trade in some ways: Sewell will have every shot at displacing Derek Jeter at SS for New York, and the team looks set to juggle their middle infield between those two, Robby Thompson, and Rogers Hornsby.

For Cleveland, they took a blocked talent–Sewell was never displacing Arky Vaughan–and converted it into a great bullpen arm and a valuable pick.

#The Red Sox Have a Rotation

Unsatisfied with just adding Don Drysdale and Red Ruffing, Memphis went shopping on the West coast.

MEM sends IF Dobie Moore, OF Dwight Evans, P Mike Witt to LAA for P Tom Seaver, IF Xander Bogaerts, IF Andrelton Simmons, C Mark Salas.

Clearly, the spine of the deal is Seaver for Moore, but this one has a lot of repercussions: Memphis continues to weed out some of its OF talent, and takes a gamble on Seaver continuing to develop at the WBL level. SS for Memphis is now a scramble between the two new bodies, Adam Everett, and Bud Harrelson; while for Los Angeles, this settles at least half of their middle infield question, and opens the door for some more arms to prove themselves in the rotation as they look to the future.

#CAG Settles at SS. Maybe.

CAG sends U Trea Turner & IF Yoán Moncada to HOU for IF Travis Jackson.

Jackson is clearly ready for WBL time–here he may actually get it; in return HOU gets a prospect in search of a position and one of the ST surprises in Moncada.

#Monarchs Make Moves

KAN sends OF Dale Murphy & IF Carlos Baerga to NYG for OF Benny Kauff.

A classic now v later move. Murphy is desperately in need of a change of scenery, and Baerga remains 4-5 years away, while Kauff should help deepen a lineup in need of power.

But Kansas City wasn’t done.

KAN sends P José Rijo, P Jeff Pfeffer & 1st Round Pick to LAA for 3B Doug Rader.

The Albert Pujols at 3B experiment looks to be officially over, with Los Angeles clearly reacting to the loss of Seaver. Expect David Wright and/or Pedro Álvarez to inherit the hot corner for the Angels.

And this led to another move for Los Angeles.

LAA sends P Brett Anderson & 3rd Round Pick to HOD for IF Richie Hebner, OF Cy Williams & 2nd Round Pick

Los Angeles has now gotten rid of their 2 best pitchers from last season: this is either great faith in their stockpiled arms or pure madness.

#Easy as A-B-C

IND sends P Tom Glavine, P George Medich, P Jack Billingham & IF Robin Ventura to POR for IF Buddy Bell.

Indianapolis gets an all star and former gold glove winner to take over at the hot corner, while Portland lands a lot of future potential, headlined by the 19 year old Glavine.

This deal set the stage for the next one.

IND sends IF Ed Charles & P Dan Plesac to NYY for P Jeff D. Robinson & P Jack Armstrong.

The Black Yankees get a decent bench piece for the price of a Rule V selection–which seems fair to all. The other two arms are essentially fliers–Armstrong back to his seed franchise, Plesac as a veteran LHP hedge.

#Memphis Not Done Yet

MEM sends IF Candy Jim Taylor, P Nathan Eovaldi & 1st Round Pick to BRK for OF John Briggs & 3rd Round Pick.

This one has some heads shaking. Memphis and Brooklyn team up again, with the Red Sox landing what they hope is the CF of the future, and Brooklyn adding some minor league talent and a coveted #1 pick.

Briggs has been doubted every step of his career–this is just another chance for him to prove the haters wrong. For Brooklyn, it clears CF for Duke Snider, and also means their OF glut can now route into the DH for the year.

#BB to BBB

BAL sends IF Asdrúbal Cabrera, P Bill Byrd, IF Roy Smalley Jr. & 3rd Round Pick to BBB for P Steve Avery, P Gio González, P Warren Spahn, OF Curt Flood & 1st Round Pick.

An interesting deal.

In 7 years, Baltimore may see this as a massive win–if Avery develops, if González becomes a rotation starter, if the 1st Round Pick pans out and, perhaps most of all, if a change of scenery reboots Spahn’s career.

That’s a lot of if’s. In the meantime, Birmingham gets a potential answer to their SS woes and a front of rotation arm that excels in limiting homeruns, the Black Barons’ current Achilles’ heel.

TWIWBL 92.3: Off Season Review – Cleveland Spiders

By mknn

On April 23, 2026

In TWIWBL

89 - 73, .549 pct.
2nd in Bill James Division, 1 GB
Won AL WC 4-1 over NYY
Lost in AL Championship 4-0 to SFS

Overall

Cleveland had made the playoffs both WBL seasons, but is still in search of that elusive championship.

And, it’s not clear what’s next: unlike Detroit or the Black Yankees, they lack a young superstar to build around; unlike Brooklyn, they lack the pitching to nonchalantly ignore other concerns. They have talent, for sure, but they also seem at risk of imminent collapse.

So some tinkering is in order, or, at least, some good luck to ensure that some of the young talent continues to develop.

What Went Right

Tris Speaker recovered from injury in a major way, emerging as an elite force at CF, slashing 312/397/631 and scoring 124 runs. Nobody likes him, but he doesn’t care.

Lance Berkman is comfortably home in Cleveland, leading the team with 57 homeruns and finishing with a 1.002 OPS in his first full season with the Spiders. I mean, maybe Berkman and Speaker get along.

Ron Blomberg continues to frustrate his critics, slashing 276/348/640 despite a growing platoon split. Blomberg and Berkman tied for the team lead with 143 RBIs.

At 36, Ed Bailey performed as hoped for after coming over from Detroit. It’s unknown how long that lasts, but a .950 OPS from a catcher is a rare thing.

Larry Doby arrived at last, hitting 41 homeruns and providing a solid presence in RF.

Evan Longoria seized the 3B job, settling an open question for the Spiders with 36 homeruns and 96 RBIs.

Arky Vaughan proved the Spiders were right to trade for him last season, providing an .873 OPS and superlative defense at SS.

And then there’s Willie McCovey. Abandoned by most critics to being a AAA veteran, McCovey seized his WBL chance by the scruff, belting 17 homeruns in 140 PAs and refusing to be kept out of the lineup. How that plays out next season is unknown, and at 33 it’s not clear if this is a single season’s good story or the start of a late career blossoming.

The staff is far less comprehensible.

Bill Steen led the way in WAR, with a 13-10 record and a 4.71 ERA. So perhaps he should be considered the staff ace?

Cy Young led the way in wins with a 15-9 record, but a disappointing 5.38 ERA. So perhaps he should be considered the staff ace?

Bob Feller has the best stuff of the trio, leading to a 13-3 record with a 4.30 ERA in 17 starts, to go along with some impressive bullpen appearances. So perhaps he should be considered the staff ace?

Whomever claims that role, they’ll have decent support form the bullpen, with Terry Adams (23 saves), Cory Gearrin, the impressive debut of Al Smith, Firpo Marberry, and the predicted return of Ron Reed from injury.

Mention should be made of Mel Harder, who posted a 10-4 record and a 4.12 ERA in 10 starts before being injured. Harder should be fully recovered for Spring Training.

ALL STARS

Terry Adams
Ron Blomberg
Evan Longoria
Tris Speaker
Arky Vaughan

MAJOR AWARDS

Ed Bailey, All AL Team
Johnny Bates, AL LF Gold Glove
Evan Longoria, All AL Team
Arky Vaughan, All AL Team; AL SS Gold Glove

RECOGNITIONS

Ed Bailey, AL Over 30 Team
Lance Berkman, All AL 2nd Team
Bob Feller, AL 21 & Under Team
Evan Longoria, AL 25 & Under Team
Firpo Marberry, All AL 3rd Team; AL All Rookie 2nd Team
Ron Reed, All AL 3rd Team
Al Smith, All AL 2nd Team
Tris Speaker, All AL 2nd Team; AL All Rounder 3rd Place

ORGANIZATIONAL AWARDS

Tris Speaker, MVP
Bill Steen, Pitcher of the Year
Lance Berkman, Heart & Soul
Evan Longoria, Fan Favorite

Balor Moore, Minor League Pitcher of the Year
Kenny Lofton, Minor League Player of the Year

What Went Wrong

Probably the biggest disappointment on the offensive end was Louis Santop. Santop is only 20, so he has time to recover from his sophomore slump, but what a slump it is: slashing 195/238/348 will never cut it. Still, Santop’s slump is what prompted the acquisition of Ed Bailey, so that worked out.

Chuck Knoblauch had a hard year, managing only a .700 OPS with very, very little power.

About 200 PAs were wasted on Jake Stahl and Sammy Strang, neither of which could even hit as poorly as Santop.

Pat Malone was thoroughly mediocre on the mound, and while his 28 starts were somewhat useful, his 5.81 ERA was not.

Really, that’s about it–there were other mediocrities on the roster, and some of the usual poor performances across a few dozen innings, but it was a good year by the Lake.

Transactions

March

None.

July

C Victor Martínez, P Bill Drake & 3rd Round Pick to DET for C Ed Bailey & P Claude Passeau.

It was a lot to give up, especially if Drake develops as expected, but Bailey was great and Passeau has some talent, so it probably works out for both teams.

August

None.

Positional Overview

C

Next season will open with the same arrangement as this one closed: Ed Bailey as the regular, with Louis Santop coming in for defense and for his own development. John Ellis can also play here occasionally.

Tucker Barnhart and Andy Etchebarren offer attractive defensive-minded alternatives in the minors.

1B

Willie McCovey has forced himself into this conversation, which has some domino effects, as it moves Lance Berkman from an everyday 1B, to someone splitting their time between 1B, LF, and DH. Ron Blomberg will be here some times, and young Paul O’Neill could be here as well if he makes the roster.

Further down in the system, Bill Phillips and Earl Torgeson have some talent, and Jake Stahl is still at AAA if needed.

2B

The Spring may determine this: Chuck Knoblauch is still the favorite, but both Steve Sax and Sammy Strang will get at least brief looks.

Brandon Drury may be the best in the system.

SS

This is Jim Fregosi‘s job given his arrival via trade.

There were high hopes for Jimmy Rollins, but it feels like both he and Peckinpaugh have been supplanted by Aparicio in the pecking order. Much is open to be determined this Spring.

3B

This was a mess last year, but Evan Longoria has claimed it as his own. This is really useful, as other than Bob Elliott, the talent that is here (Johnny Hodapp, Aubrey Huff, Justin Turner) is all pretty young.

LF/RF

Johnny Bates won the Gold Glove in LF, and probably hits well enough to stay there, but Berkman will eat into some of his time. Larry Doby seems to have the RF spot locked up.

Paul O’Neill will get a long look in the Spring, and both Alexis Rios and Craig Wilson have some talent as well.

CF

An interesting position: Tris Speaker is the CF, no questions there, but Kenny Lofton may be the best trading chip the Spiders have. Doby and Bates can play here as well, and Gus Bell and Jackie Bradley have some talent behind them.

Lower in the system, both Luis Olmo and Randy Winn may have WBL potential as well.

DH

Berkman and Ron Blomberg, with some help from Willie McCovey.

SP

If everything went well, Cy Young, Bill Steen, and Bob Feller would make a strong front 3, with Firpo Marberry, Mel Harder, and Pat Malone providing whatever support is necessary, along with contributions from Stan Coveleski and Yordano Ventura.

But that all feels very, very optimistic: Young and Feller have the talent to take those roles, the rest are a little more suspect.

There is depth in the system, but little high end talent other than perhaps newcomer Claude Passeau. But the group of Wilbur Cooper, Howard Ehmke, Sudden Sam McDowell, Balor Moore, and Whit Wyatt should offer some support at some point.

RP

Terry Adams is a solid closer, and the trio of Ron Reed, Corey Gearrin, and Al Smith look great (there are questions: Reed is recovering from injury and Smith has to avoid that famed sophomore slump). Beyond that, Billy Muffett may get a look in the Spring.

Toby Borland and Andrew Bailey may be needed here at some point.

Draft Outlook

DRAFT PICKS

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

So that’s not great. Especially for a thoroughly mediocre system.

TWIWBL 85.5: AL Championship – Cleveland Spiders v San Francisco Sea Lions

By mknn

On January 19, 2026

In 2001 Playoffs, TWIWBL

#Game 1, Sun Oct 14

Cleveland’s Cy Young, who needs to improve his performance, will face off against San Francisco’s Lefty Grove, who is doing just fine.

Lance Berkman singled in Tris Speaker in the top of the 1st, and Ron Blomberg took Grove deep in the 2nd. Young gave up an RBI single to Jack Clark and an RBI double to Turkey Stearnes in the 4th to tie it up.

So far, so close, but then San Francisco took the lead on a single from Mickey Cochrane and extended it on a hit from Clark, making it 4-2 Sea Lions after 5.

A solo shot from Jimmie Foxx in the 6th chased Young, and Barry Bonds tripled, scoring on a sacrifice fly. That made it 6-2 Sea Lions, which is how it would end after 8 strong from Grove and a closing inning from Ken Howell.

Stearnes had 3 hits, all doubles, and Clark and Foxx added 2 hits each in the victory.

CLE 2 (Young 1-2) @ SFS 6 (Grove 3-0)
HRs: CLE – Blomberg (1); SFS – Foxx (2).
Box Score

Cleveland’s Firpo Marberry was injured, but it’s not clear yet to what extent.

#Game 2. Mon, Oct 15

Still no update on Marberry, leaving Cleveland an arm short in the pen. They’ll turn to Bob Feller–he of the electric, if erratic, stuff–to even the series, while San Francisco will counter with Tim Hudson, getting his 2nd start of the postseason, although he’ll be on a pretty short leash.

Jimmie Foxx opened the scoring with a solo shot in the bottom of the 2nd, but Willie McCovey tied it up in the 3rd with a longball of his own. Three hits in the game through three innings, three homeruns: Rickey Henderson goes deep in the bottom of the 3rd, giving the Sea Lions a 2-1 edge.

Hudson had been rolling, but a Larry Doby double and Evan Longoria moon shot made it 3-2 Cleveland in the 5th. A walk to Ed Bailey and a single to Chuck Knoblauch brought in Watty Clark from the San Francisco bullpen. Johnny Bates singled in a run, but that was it: 4-2 Spiders.

The Sea Lions bounced back right away: 3 walks and a single brought in a run and chased Feller, with Whit Wyatt entering the game with the bases loaded, no outs, and the top of the order due up. Wyatt fanned Henderson, but Cleveland’s shortstop, Arky Vaughan, misplayed a perfect double play ball, scoring a run on the error and leaving the bases loaded. Reggie Jackson stepped up and took advantage, lofting a pitch over the right field wall for a grand slam and an 8-4 lead for San Francisco. Foxx added his second of the game, a 2 run shot, and a walk to Bonds ended Wyatt’s somewhat disastrous showing.

But at the end of all that, 8 runs had scored and San Francisco was up by 6, 10-4. More runs were scored–McCovey went deep again, and Frank Grant hit one out for San Francisco–but the game was decided.

Vaughan’s error was the key moment, as it set the stage for Jackson’s decisive grandslam.

We head to Cleveland with San Francisco holding a 2-0 lead.

CLE 5 (Feller 1-1) @ SFS 12 (Clark 1-1)
HRs: CLE – McCovey 2 (2), Longoria 2; SFS – Foxx 2 (4), Henderson (2), Jackson (6), Grant (1).
Box Score

Marberry tore his labrum, and will be out for a few months. Cleveland brought Claude Passeau onto the playoff roster to take his place.

#Game 3, Wed Oct 17

San Francisco will look to increase their series lead to 3-0 behind Eddie Plank while Cleveland will look to defend their home turf with Bill Steen on the mound.

Bobby Bonds put San Francisco ahead 1-0 with a solo shot in the 2nd and Reggie Jackson doubled it with his 7th homer of the postseason in the 3rd. Singles from Turkey Stearnes and Jimmie Foxx chased Steen, who had whiffed 6, but also walked 4 in just over 4 innings of work. Claude Passeau came in and immediately induced a double play to end the inning.

Meanwhile Plank had a 2 hit shutout into the 6th. But Evan Longoria went deep after a Lance Berkman double, tying the game. Jack Clark answered with a solo shot in the 7th, giving the Sea Lions the lead again, 3-2.

Larry Doby singled home the tying run in the bottom of the 8th, but Cleveland’s closer, Terry Adams, gave up a 3 run shot to Foxx in the 9th. That brought in the Sea Lions closer, Rod Beck, for the bottom of the 9th with the home fans a little dejected and desperate.

Steve Sax singled, but Beck whiffed 2 and got Tris Speaker to line out softly to second to end the game, giving San Francisco a perhaps insurmountable 3-0 lead in the series.

Foxx and Lundy had 3 hits each for San Francisco.

SFS 6 (Howell 1-0, 1 B Sv; Beck 2 Sv; Nathan 1 H) @ CLE 3 (Adams 0-1)
HRs: SFS – Bonds (5), Jackson (7), Foxx (5); CLE – Longoria (3).
Box Score

#Game 4, Thu Oct 18

With everything on the line, Cleveland will turn to Yordano Ventura on a short leash, while San Francisco will ask Bump Hadley to close out the series.

Mickey Cochrane launched his first homer of the postseason in the top of the first, but Cleveland is here to fight: Arky Vaughan took Hadley deep with Johnny Bates on to give the Spiders the lead, 2-1 after 1 inning. Cochrane would score the tying run in the 4th, doubling, moving to 3rd on a wild pitch, and scoring on a Reggie Jackson sacrifice fly to deep right. Jack Clark followed with a homerun, giving the Sea Lions a 3-2 edge.

Ventura lasted 5 innings, leaving trailing by a run, but not having pitched poorly. Cochrane greeted his replacement, Pat Malone, with his 3rd hit of the day and Malone then plunked Jackson. But he recovered, striking out the side to keep it a very close game.

Dick Lundy drove in a run with a single in the 7th, chasing Malone and extending the lead to 4-2. San Francisco scored twice in the 9th, on an inside the park homerun from Turkey Stearnes and a more traditional bomb from Frank Grant.

So, bottom of the 9th, closer Rod Beck in for the Sea Lions, and a 6-2 advantage. Lance Berkman walked, but Beck was effective, ending the game–and the series–on a double play ball by Larry Doby.

Cochrane and Lundy had 3 hits each for San Francisco, who after being pushed to the brink in the Wild Card Round, found their regular season form here, easily brushing Cleveland aside.

SFS 6 (Hadley 2-0; Clark 1 H; Street 1 H) @ CLE 2 (Ventura 1-1)
HRs: SFS – Cochrane (1), Clark (5), Stearnes (3), Grant (2); CLE – Vaughan (3).
Box Score

Jimmie Foxx was the easy choice for MVP, hitting .500 in the series with 5 homers and 7 RBIs.

TWIWBL 85.2: AL Championship Preview

By mknn

On January 16, 2026

In 2001 Playoffs, TWIWBL

The question is, are the Cleveland Spiders satisfied? They dispatched their Bill James Division rival, the New York Black Yankees, with surprising ease in a year that saw the 2 teams battel for supremacy all season. So there may be a bit of a letdown coming into the AL Championship series against San Francisco.

But … San Francisco looks prime for a stumble, as the team that won the most games in the WBL in the regular season was taken to a full seven games by Detroit, who finished well behind Cleveland in their division.

The Spiders didn’t get much out of Willie McCovey, Ron Blomberg, or Tris Speaker, but still got here, largely on the backs of Larry Doby, Arky Vaughan, and Johnny Bates (and the surprising performance of Chuck Knoblauch, a disappointment for most of the regular season). Also look for John Ellis to get a few starts behind the plate, as he is the only backstop hitting in the postseason. On the mound, a strong performance from Cy Young would go a long way to giving the Spiders a chance here. Yordano Ventura and, especially, Bob Feller, showed up well in the first series, and may be moved up a slot in the rotation.

San Francisco may get even stronger, as Frank Grant is back from a short-term injury. This may have happened at the perfect time, as Royce Clayton–superlative over the regular season as a substitute for Grant–struggled in the first series. That left the Sea Lions with a challenging decision, between replacing Wayne Gross or Phil Garner on the playoff roster. They opted to keep Garner, mostly due to defensive flexibility. The Sea Lions also brought Tommy Bridges onto the roster, replacing Mel Stottlemyre Sr.

Other than that, it’s just more of the same for San Francisco: the big 3 of Lefty Grove, Eddie Plank, and Bump Hadley will continue to drive the rotation, and Rod Beck will continue to close the games out. And the offense is clicking on all cylinders right now, hitting 17 homers and stealing 11 bases in the 7 game series.

It’s hard to make any prediction other than San Francisco. And, honestly, it’s hard to see Cleveland putting up much resistance, Sea Lions in 5. But note, we had the same opinion of the matchup with Detroit. So.

TWIWBL 84.5: AL Wild Card Series – Cleveland Spiders v New York Black Yankees

By mknn

On January 10, 2026

In 2001 Playoffs, TWIWBL

#Game 1, Thu Oct 4

Cy Young of the Spiders will take on Andy Pettitte of the Black Yankees in the opening game of the series.

Johnny Bates greeted Pettitte’s 2nd pitch with a drive into the left field bleachers for a 1-0 lead for Cleveland. An RBI double from John Ellis in the 2nd doubled the lead, and a sacrifice fly from Chuck Knoblauch made it 3-0.

But it’s hard to get separation from New York: a homerun from Lou Gehrig put the Black Yankees on the board, and then Mike Schmidt doubled, Rogers Hornsby singled, and Thurman Munson walked to load the bases. Singles from Don Mattingly, HR Johnson, and Eric Davis put New York on top, 4-3, with the bases still loaded and nobody out. Young proceeded to walk Mickey Mantle and Babe Ruth before being lifted from the game with the score 6-3. Whit Wyatt allowed a 2 run single to Schmidt, and by the time the inning was over, the Black Yankees led 8-3.

Ruth hit a 3 run shot in the 6th, making it 11-3.

Having the lead seemed to settle Pettitte down, with the lefty twirling 4 scoreless before Evan Longoria took him out of the park in the 7th. Larry Doby followed with a longball of his own, chasing Pettitte. Cleveland roughed up Herm Wehmeier and Rheal Cormier and by the time the inning was over, they had batted around, scoring 4 times and closing the gap to 11-7. Bates and Lance Berkman drove in runs and Ron Blomberg was walked with the bases loaded for the final tally.

Johnson reinstated New York’s cushion with a 2 run shot in the 7th, and the Black Yankees took the 13-7 lead into the top of the 9th.

Arky Vaughn walked and Tris Speaker singled, which brought Goose Gossage in from New York’s bullpen. The Goose was good, and New York rode that big inning early in the game to a victory and a 1-0 series lead.

Schmidt and Johnson had 3 hits each for New York; Doby had 3 for Cleveland.

CLE 7 (Young 0-1) @ NYY 13 (Pettitte 1-0)
HRs: CLE – Bates (1), Longoria (1), Doby (1); NYY – Gehrig (1), Ruth (1), Johnson (1).
Box Score

#Game 2, Fri Oct 5

Cleveland will turn to young Bob Feller, coming off a 13-3 season, to try to even the series. Feller will be opposed by the Black Yankees’ stalwart, Ron Guidry.

Cleveland’s John Ellis has had a bit of a disappointing season, but he can atone for that with a strong postseason performance. Today, that meant a 2 run shot off Guidry in the 2nd. Lance Berkman added an RBI single in the 3rd, but in the bottom of the frame, Eric Davis took Feller deep, making the score 3-1. Chuck Knoblauch would regain the 3 run advantage for Cleveland in the 4th with a shot to right that barely cleared the wall, but they all count the same. 4-1, Spiders.

Guidry fanned 10 in 6 innings of work, but the 4 runs loomed larger. The Black Yankees turned to Red Ruffing–an all-star last year, but pretty rough this–and it did not go well: Ruffing walked the first 2 batters he faced, and then gave up a 2-run double to Arky Vaughan. Dave Righetti relieved Ruffing, and got out of the inning without further damage, leaving the score 6-1 in favor of Cleveland.

Feller was gassed at this point, but he was also overpowering the impressive Black Yankees lineup. He was left in the game until Grant Johnson‘s 2 out single in the bottom of the 7th. Feller left with 11 strikeouts, having allowed only 5 hits and the single run. His relief, Yordano Ventura, walked Eric Davis and gave up an RBI single to Mickey Mantle.

That brought in Al Smith to face Babe Ruth, lefty on lefty. Smith got the Babe to pop out to left, leaving the score 6-2.

Terry Adams came in to close it out for Cleveland, but gave up Davis’ 2nd homer of the game, a 2 run shot to left. Then, with 2 outs, Ruth singled, bringing up Gehrig as the tying run. But Adams induced a weak groundout to second, ending the game and tying up the series.

Davis had 3 hits for New York, but didn’t get enough support, with Ruth and Thurman Munson leaving 4 on base each. Vaughan and Knoblauch each had 2 hits for the Spiders, but this was really Feller’s game.

CLE 6 (Feller 1-0; Smith 1 H) @ NYY 4 (Guidry 0-1)
HRs: CLE – Ellis (1), Knoblauch (1); NYY – Davis 2 (2).
Box Score

#Game 3, Sun Oct 7

With the series tied at 1, the Black Yankees would call on the unproven Tony Brizzolara, certainly impressive, but only over 50 innings of work. Detroit would counter with Bill Steen, 13-10 on the year with solid supporting numbers to go along with a 4.71 ERA.

Both teams generated some traffic, but nobody could push a run across the plate. In the bottom of the third, Johnny Bates led off with a triple, and then the skies opened up, creating a rain delay of over an hour. That would mark the end of the day for both starters, with Pascual Pérez coming in for New York. Pérez stranded Bates at third, keeping the game scoreless.

Cleveland turned it over to Pat Malone to start the 4th.

Both Pérez and Malone were fantastic, and we remained scoreless into the 7th, when a single by Evan Longoria chased Pérez. Larry Doby greeted Rheal Cormier with a homerun to right, putting the Spders on top, 2-0.

And that’s how it ended, with 4 Spiders hurlers combining on the 4-hit shutout. Malone got the deserved win, but Al Smith and Terry Adams deserve credit for a hitless inning each. You can’t really fault Pérez: he only gave up 1 hit in his four plus innings.

The Black Yankees now trail in the series, 2-1, and desperately need Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig to wake up (Ruth is hitting .167 in the series so far, Gehrig .083).

NYY 0 (Pérez 0-1) @ CLE 2 (Malone 1-0; Adams 1 Sv; Smith 2 H)
HRs: NYY – none; CLE – Doby (2).
Box Score

#Game 3, Mon Oct 8

This may not technically be a must win for New York, but, you know, it’s a must win for New York, who really need their superstars to step up. More importantly, the prior games dug into the Black Yankees bullpen, leaving them with a choice of Herm Wehmeier–decent this year, but having faded a bit down the stretch–or Red Ruffing, who was stellar last season and horrid this one.

They opted for Ruffing, with Cleveland bringing back Cy Young after his ugly Game 1 start. The Spiders will also give Willie McCovey the start at DH in place of the struggling Ron Blomberg.

Ruffing gave up a homerun to Arky Vaughan in the first and third and Larry Doby in the second, making it 3-0 after 3 innings. Not insurmountable, but not what the Black Yankees needed. A single by Johnny Bates chased Ruffing in the bottom of the 5th, bringing in Hoyt Wilhelm, who gave up a 3-run shot to Lance Berkman in the 5th and an RBI single to Bates in the 7th, increasing the lead to 7-1.

Lou Gehrig had gotten one back in the top of the 4th, but Young was (finally, from the Spiders’ perspective) pitching well, lasting 6 innings and even getting Gehrig ejected for arguing a strike call. Hank Gastright and Firpo Marberry finished it off for Cleveland, giving the Spiders a commanding 3-1 lead in the series.

Offensively, Vaughan had 3 hits and Bates and Berkman added 2 each for Cleveland.

Yeah, their pitching could have been better, but only Eric Davis, Mike Schmidt, and Grant Johnson have batting averages above .200 so far in the series for New York.

NYY 1 (Ruffing 0-1) @ CLE 8 (Young 1-1)
HRs: NYY – Gehrig (2); CLE – Vaughan 2 (2), Doby (3), Berkman (1).
Box Score

#Game 5, Tue Oct 9

The Black Yankees find themselves needing to reel off 3 consecutive wins, so everyone in the bullpen is available today. And tomorrow. And the next day. Andy Pettitte who struggled a bit in the opening game, will take the ball for New York, opposed by Cleveland’s Yordano Ventura.

Pettitte continued to struggle: 3 hits and a walk led to 2 runs for Cleveland in the bottom of the first, with RBIs from Lance Berkman and Evan Longoria. Don Mattingly got 1 back with a solo shot in the top of the 3rd. Pettitte gave up 3 more hits and another walk in the bottom of the frame, this time only surrendering a single run. A 2 out double by Johnny Bates marked the end of Pettitte’s day, with the Black Yankees turning to Dave Righetti.

Meanwhile, Ventura was in total control through 5, keeping the Yankees to the lone run, preserving the 3-1 edge for the Spiders.

Eric Davis took Ventura deep in the 6th, cutting the deficit to 3-2 and chasing Ventura. Whit Wyatt entered and walked Mickey Mantle, but fanned Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

Chuck Knoblauch tripled in a run in the bottom of the 6th; an important moment as, in the top of the 8th, Mantle doubled home Davis. That once again gave Ruth–hitting .211 in the series–a chance to deliver for the Black Yankees, facing Al Smith. Smith induced a groundout to 2B, ending the threat, and continuing Ruth’s struggles.

That brought us to the top of the 9th, with Cleveland’s closer, Terry Adams, in to try to win the series. Gehrig whiffed and Mike Schmidt grounded out, but Rogers Hornsby lined a double into left, bringing up Mattingly … who grounded out to short, ending the Black Yankees’ season.

The star of the series was the Spiders’ pitching–the question mark coming in, who held the vaunted Black Yankees offense firmly in check.

NYY 3 (Pettitte 1-1) @ CLE 4 (Ventura 1-0; Adams 2 Sv; Smith 3 H; Gearrin 1 H; Wyatt 1 H)
HRs: NYY – Mattingly (1), Davis (3); CLE – none.
Box Score

Arky Vaughan (.400 average, 2 homers, 5 RBIs) took home the MVP award, with consideration being given to both Larry Doby‘s 3 homeruns and Al Smith‘s impressive 3 appearances.

TWIWBL 84.2: AL Playoff Previews

By mknn

On January 7, 2026

In 2001 Playoffs, TWIWBL

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

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

#San Francisco Sea Lions

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

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

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

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

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

#New York Black Yankees

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

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

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

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

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

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

#Cleveland Spiders

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

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

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

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

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

#Detroit Wolverines

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

#Predictions

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

San Francisco in 5.

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

That feels right for the playoffs as well.

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

TWIWBL 83.4: Bill James Division

By mknn

On December 29, 2025

In TWIWBL

Team	W/L	Pct	GB
New York Black Yankees	89-67	.571	—
Cleveland Spiders	87-68	.561	1.5
Detroit Wolverines	77-79	.494	12
Baltimore Black Sox	72-84	.462	17
Memphis Red Sox	69-87	.442	20

Bill James Division | 23 September

#Baltimore Black Sox

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

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

#Cleveland Spiders

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

#Detroit Wolverines

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