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TWIWBL 30.0: Series XXIII Notes

On December 12, 2022

July 10th

Looking Back at the All Star Trades

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

Boom Shaka Laka

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

Encouraging

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

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

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

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

Meh

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

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

Disappointing

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

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

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

Performance

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

Batters

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

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

Pitchers

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

Starters

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

Relievers

20 IP minimum for rate stats.

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

Streaks

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

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

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

Series Results

Series XXIII Sweeps

Cleveland over Indianapolis

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XXIII

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

Splitting Series XXIII

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

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

By mknn

On December 10, 2022

In Featured Series, Game Recaps

Series preview here.

#Game 1: Vic Willis @ Mike Smith

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

#Game 2: Sam Streeter @ Chuck Finley

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

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

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

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

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

#Game 3: Greg Maddux @ Nolan Ryan

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

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

And … that was it.

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

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

#Game 4: Alejandro Pena @ Doc Gooden

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nieman finished with 3 hits for Birmingham.

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

#Series Review

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

TWIWBL 29.1: Series XXII Notes – Bill James Division

By mknn

On August 10, 2022

In TWIWBL

#Detroit Wolverines

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

#Los Angeles Angels

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

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

#New York Gothams

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

#Wandering House of David

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

TWIWBL 29.0 – Series XXII Notes

By mknn

On August 8, 2022

In TWIWBL

July 6th

Quick Glance at the Standings

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

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

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

Oddball Stats

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

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

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

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

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

Performance

Batters

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

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

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

Starting Pitchers

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

Relievers

25 IP for rate stats.

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

Streaks

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

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

Series Results

Series XXII Sweeps

Homestead Grays over Philadelphia Stars

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XXII

Birmingham over Memphis
Houston over Portland
San Francisco over Ottawa

Series Splits

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

TWIWBL 26.0: Series XX Notes

By mknn

On June 20, 2022

In TWIWBL

June 27th

League Norms

Now that we’re past the All-Star Break, it seems a good time to take a look at the overall context of the WBL. Given that the model year was 2000, things are tracking pretty well.

Offense

It’s a year that favors the offense, for sure. As a whole, the league is slashing 264/336/429. The 765 OPS would make it a top 10 offensive year for MLB, driven almost entirely by the .429 SLG, which would be the 6th highest in MLB history. Teams are hitting 1.16 HR/G, a total that would rank 6th as well.

There are some fun anomalies that come with an all-star league: teams are averaging roughly 1 SB/G, not an outlandish number, but one that is in the top third or so of seasons overall. But also, under .20 3B/G, easily in the bottom third of historical seasons.

Pitching

The pitching story is pretty much the inverse: the 4.56 league ERA would rank 8th highest in MLB history. Clearly all those homeruns aren’t helping, but there’s more here. The 1.42 league WHIP is actually decent–not 1968 by any means, but not too bad. So what is causing the high ERA? One issue might be strikeouts: the 6.08 K/G is clearly a modern number but it’s lagging a bit for sure.

Performance

Same as usual: the top 2 performers in most offensive categories are listed.

Batters

The length of the list is a testament to how widespread the offensive depth is in the league. San Francisco‘s Reggie Jackson–still leading in 2 of the triple crown categories–and Babe Ruth of the New York Black Yankees are the only batters leading the league in multiple categories. Four batters (Jackson, Ron Blomberg, Ruth, and Kent Hrbek) have OPS’ over 1.000.

Blomberg, often on the edges of this list, forced himself on with a 1.434 OPS since the All-Star Break.

Dick Allen (CAG). 302/365/569. 9 3B.
Ron Blomberg (CLE). 341/414/645.
Rico Carty (PHI). 296/359/479. 31 2B.
Ty Cobb (DET). 341/379/540.
Mike Epstein (HOM). 335/439/530.
Mike Fiore (CAG). 238/388/397. 57 BB.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 258/392/360. 59 BB; 55 SB.
Kent Hrbek (POR). 320/384/626. 25 HR.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 325/405/575. 63 R.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 347/461/616.
Willie Mays (NYG). 327/384/557. 101 H; 3.8 WAR.
Stan Musial (KAN). 334/395/580. 102 H; 27 2B.
Doug Rader (LAA). 320/373/535. 75 RBI.
Tim Raines (OTT). 309/384/466. 60 SB.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 304/413/644. 26 HR; 76 RBI; 4.1 WAR.
Louis Santop (CLE). 305/343/460. 8 3B.

Pitching

Like the batters, there are just not a lot of dominant individuals, although Baltimore’s Ned Garvin is making an argument.

20 inning minimum for the rate stats.

Gerrit Cole (LAA). 11-3, 4.03.
Ned Garvin (BAL). 7-2, 2.90. 2 H. 1.08 WHIP.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 8-5, 3.86. 121 K.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 5-8, 4.35. 120 K.
Mike Henneman (DET). 1-3, 2.49. 19 Sv.
Ken Howell (SFS). 3-3, 1.35. 3 Sv; 4 H; 0.93 WHIP.
Walter Johnson (POR). 8-3, 3.86. 2.8 WAR.
Dennis Martínez (BAL). 9-4, 2.99.
Willie Mitchell (IND). 5-2, 1.08. 1 Sv; 1 H.
Joseíto Muñoz (POR). 3-1, 1.17. 3 Sv; 2 H.
Ron Reed (PHI/CLE). 0-2, 2.47. 3 Sv; 14 H.
Red Ruffing (NYY). 10-2, 3.73.
Johan Santana (POR). 1-1, 2.45. 23 Sv; 1H.
Brian Wilson (NYG). 1-0, 1.54. 12 Sv; 0.90 WHIP.
Cy Young (CLE). 8-3, 3.36. 1.14 WHIP; 3.2 WAR.

Streaks

Larry Gardner (BAL) has an 18-game hitting streak, currently good for the 5th best in the league.

Detroit‘s Chili Davis has reached base in 8 consecutive plate appearances, with a base hit in his last 7.

The New York Gothams‘ Johnny Callison has a 1.534 OPS over his last 6 games, while Philadelphia‘s George Hendrick has the best extended streak in the league, slashing 386/435/860 over his last 22 games with 7 HR and 21 RBI. Mention should be made of Baltimore’s recent call-up Baby Doll Jacobson who, after a very slow start, has 4 homeruns in his last 20 ABs.

Series Results

This was a weird series. Homestead, Miami, and Birmingham–generally considered three of the weakest teams in the league–each won their series.

Series XX Sweeps

Cleveland over Memphis

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XX

Birmingham over San Francisco
Los Angeles over Brooklyn
Chicago over New York Gothams
Detroit over Ottawa
Homestead over Houston
Miami over Kansas City
House of David over Philadelphia

Series Splits in Series XX

Portland @ Baltimore
New York Black Yankees @ Indianapolis

TWIWBL 25.1: Series XIX Notes – Bill James Division

By mknn

On June 7, 2022

In TWIWBL

#Detroit Wolverines

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

#Los Angeles Angels

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

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

#Memphis Red Sox

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

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

#New York Gothams

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

#Wandering House of David

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

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

TWIWBL 25.0: Series XIX Notes

By mknn

On June 6, 2022

In TWIWBL

June 22

Performance

Best Batters

Reggie Jackson of the San Francisco Sea Lions is oh-so-slowly being drawn back to the pack. He still leads the WBL in BA (by 11 points over Cleveland‘s Ron Blomberg) and in OBP (by 26 points over Homestead‘s Mike Epstein), but the New York Black Yankees‘ Babe Ruth has retaken the lead in SLG. Ruth has actually struggled recently, seeing his BA drop all the way down to .303, but over half his hits are for extra bases.

Looking at the leaderboards, a few things of note:

Ruth remains the only player in the top 2 in more than a few categories.
Ottawa‘s Tim Raines has taken over the SB lead, ahead of San Francisco’s Rickey Henderson.
The Chicago American Giants offense remains formidable, with four different players listed.

As usual, bold indicates a league leader, and the top 2 in most categories are included.

Dick Allen (CAG). 303/367/565. 8 3B.
Rico Carty (PHI). 296/362/487. 30 2B.
Eric Davis (NYY). 278/331/556. 24 HR, 59 R.
Mike Epstein (HOM). 335/440/527.
Mike Fiore (CAG). 238/381/398. 53 BB.
Bobby Grich (LAA). 281/352/467. 25 2B.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 263/39/369. 57 BB. 53 SB.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 330/409/583. 59 R.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 353/466/634.
Willie Mays (NYG). 332/389/569. 98 H. 3.9 WAR.
Ron Blomberg (CLE). 342/411/640.
Doug Rader (LAA). 317/371/537. 74 RBI.
Tim Raines (OTT). 305/383/456. 58 SB.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 303/410/643. 25 HR, 72 RBI, 61 R. 3.8 WAR.
Louis Santop (CLE). 301/335/446. 8 3B.
Frank Thomas (CAG). 339/432/580. 96 H.
Bobby Wallace (BAL). 321/420/461. 25 2B.

Best Starting Pitchers

It’s going to be interesting seeing how this develops. There is no real front-runner for the best pitcher in the league. Cleveland’s Cy Young shows up in the most categories, and when you consider how much of a workhorse he is, perhaps that puts him in front. But Los Angeles‘ Gerrit Cole is the only hurler in double-digits in wins, and Baltimore‘s Dennis Martínez is the only one with an ERA under 3.00.

Bill Byrd (BAL). 7-2, 1.12 WHIP.
Gerrit Cole (LAA). 11-3, 3.92.
Ray Collins (PHI). 7-5, 3.62. 112 IP.
Don Drysedale (BRK). 6-3, 3.11
Bob Feller (CLE). 7-4, 5.07. 11.0 K/9.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 8-4, 3.78. 10.1 K/9. 112 K.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 5-7, 4.20. 115 K.
Walter Johnson (POR). 8-3, 3.77. 2.8 WAR.
Dennis Martínez (BAL). 9-4, 2.91.
Don Newcombe (CAG). 2-9, 6.15. 1.4 BB/9.
Red Ruffing (NYY). 9-2, 3.74.
Cy Young (CLE). 7-3, 1.12 WHIP. 1.6 BB/9. 114.2 IP. 3.1 WAR.

Best Relievers

Joseíto Muñoz has moved into Portland‘s rotation, but is a long way from having enough IP to be listed with the starters. A similar move may be looming for Indianapolis‘ Willie Mitchell. The best ERAs for pure relievers with over 20 IP belong to Ken Howell (San Francisco) and Aroldis Chapman (Miami Cuban Giants).

Terry Adams (CLE). 0-4, 4.24. 18 Sv.
Aroldis Chapman (MCG). 2-1. 1.42. 13 Sv.
Gene Conley (DET). 7-1, 3.96. 4 H.
Ken Howell (SFS). 3-3, 1.41. 3 Sv. 4 H. 0.94 WHIP.
Mark Melancon (HOU). 7-1, 3.12.
Willie Mitchell (IND). 3-2, 1.27. 1 Sv. 1 H.
Joseíto Muñoz (POR). 3-1, 1.17. 3 Sv. 2 H.
Ron Reed (CLE). 0-2, 2.72. 3 Sv. 12 H.
Johan Santana (POR). 1-1, 2.57. 22 Sv. 1 H.
Brian Wilson (SFS). 1-0, 1.61. 12 Sv. 0.90 WHIP.

Streaks

Most notably, Thurman Munson‘s remarkable streak of reaching base in 43 consecutive games ended.

George Hendrick (Philadelphia) and Doug Rader (Los Angeles) each have extra-base hits in 6 consecutive games. Rader is slashing 448/448/966 over those six games, while Hendrick is at 560/593/1.120 over his last 27 plate appearances.

Mike Norris of the New York Gothams hasn’t allowed a run in his last 14 appearances.

Lance Berkman‘s change of scenery hasn’t seemed to help, as the new Cleveland Spider is mired in a slump where, over 13 games, he’s managed only a 109/180/109 slash line.

Series XIX Results

Series XIX Sweeps

Indianapolis over San Francisco

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XIX

Baltimore over Kansas City
Philadelphia over Birmingham
Brooklyn over Chicago
Homestead over Miami
Los Angeles over Memphis
Houston over Ottawa

Series Splits

Cleveland @ New York Black Yankees
Wandering House of David @ Detroit
New York Gothams @ Portland

TWIWBL 24.10: Mid-Season Reviews – Los Angeles Angels

By mknn

On March 7, 2022

In Team News, TWIWBL

Summary

Not bad. Not great, but not bad. A .500 record and only 4 games back, the Angels have some talent, and are close enough to try to make a push this season.

What’s Gone Right

The Rooster. Doug Rader has been a force, leading the Angels with 12 homeruns and leading the league with 73 RBIs.

No Weak Links. Behind Rader, no fewer than seven players (eight if you count the recently recalled Ron Hassey) have OPS’ between .830 and .720. None of them are spectacular, but none of them are a weak link, either. It makes the lineup very challenging to navigate.

Front of the Rotation. Gerrit Cole has gotten the attention with his 11-3 record, but Brett Anderson has probably been more effective over the front half of the season.

What’s Gone Wrong

Moving From the Pen. Both Chuck Finley and Nolan Ryan were pretty spectacular (especially Finley) coming out of the pen. The results have been much shakier since they moved into the rotation

Backstops. Brian Downing and Jim Stephens were so bad the Angels replaced both of them. John Stearns has struggled as half their replacement (although he’s doing better than they were), and the jury is still out on Hassey.

Power. It’s a familiar story, but the Angels are 19th in the WBL in homeruns. Rader leads the way with 12, but nobody else is in double digits (Kal Daniels and George Wright have 9). The Angels have hit enough doubles to keep their SLG up decently, but still some more longballs would be a welcome sight.

Key Storylines

Can they find enough pitching, and do they have any value to offer to try to improve the team?

The commitment to the left-handed duo of Daniels and Elmer Valo seems to be working out, as the pair have hit consistently.

Mike Trout has consistently improved, but he has yet to really show the potential he has–if he does, the lineup would move from good to frightening.

Trading Outlook

BUYING?

It’s a matter of fit. Many of the current contributors are in their early 30s, making it a win now sort of moment. There is a lot of talent at AA, but it’s not clear there is enough to bring in strong enough talent.

That may result in the Angels holding pat until the later trade deadline.

AAA Shuttle

Francisco Rodríguez has played at all three levels, and looks to be a solid addition. He and Hassey have been the decent call-ups.

Midseason Changes

Pud Galvin moves to AAA for reasons of general ineffectiveness, as do Andrelton Simmons and Tim Wallach. Dave LaRoche and Anthony Young join the big league pitching staff. José Reyes is recalled to replace Simmons on the roster, and High Pockets Kelly is added to the bench to provide some power.

Awards

All Stars: Gerrit Cole (P); Doug Rader (3B).

Player of the Week: Doug Rader (6/19)

Offensive MVP: Doug Rader (3B)
Pitching MVP: Gerrit Cole (SP)

Down on the Farm

AAA: Las Vegas Aces

Next to the Show: IF José Reyes, RP Dave LaRoche

Prospects: Tom Seaver (22).

Projects: 1B Wally Joyner and High Pockets Kelly (both 29). SP Sid Fernandez and Brian Anderson (both 25). P Anthony Young (29), P Dave LaRoche (28).

Suspects: SS Kevin Elster (29), OF Kevin McReynolds (34), OF Carlos Beltrán (24), P Huck Betts (36).

AA: San Diego Padres

Prospects: 2B Tyler Pastornicky (22), OF Norm Miller (22), 3B Xander Bogaerts (22), 2B Wally Backman (22). RP Dave Bennett (18), C Mark Salas (23), P Sean O’Sullivan (28).

Projects: 2B Cookie Lavagetto (25), P/OF Mike Smith (24), OF Bill Lamar (27), Blue Moon Odom (19).

Suspects: Skip Lockwood (18), OF Billy Hamilton (23).

TWIWBL 23.2: The All-Star Game

By mknn

On February 10, 2022

In All Star Games, TWIWBL

Alright, everyone, here we go: the first annual All-Star Game in WBL history.

The game will open with Dennis Martínez (Baltimore Black Sox) on the mound and Tom Herr (Birmingham Black Barons) digging in at the plate. Herr is one of the feel-good stories of the year, starting the year at AAA and now the heart of a struggling Black Barons squad.

Herr slaps a hard ground ball towards right, but Eddie Collins (Chicago American Giants) makes a nice diving stop. A good throw and Herr is out by a step to open the game. Martínez retired Joe Mauer (Portland Sea Dogs) and Reggie Jackson (San Francisco Sea Lions) for a scoreless opening half-inning.

Red Ruffing (New York Black Yankees) got the start for the NL, facing Collins, who fouled a few pitches off before sending Ruffing’s seventh delivery into the left field stands for a 1-0 NL lead. Baltimore’s Bobby Wallace and Chicago’s Frank Thomas grounded out to Jim Fregosi (Portland) at SS, but Elrod Hendricks (House of David) drew a two-out walk before Duffy Lewis (Chicago) flew out to center to end the inning.

Martínez came back out for the second inning, but gave up an infield single to Babe Ruth (Black Yankees) and a soft liner into right to Ron Blomberg (Cleveland Spiders). With the bullpen in full swing, Kent Hrbek (Portland) flew out to right for the first out, with Ruth moving to third. Bobby Murcer (Portland) would score Ruth with a sacrifice to left, tying the game.

Ruffing walked Willie Mays (New York Gothams) to open the bottom of the second. Hank Greenberg (Detroit Wolverines) replaced Mays at first on a fielder’s choice, and scored when WBL RBI leader Doug Rader (Los Angeles) launched a homerun. A single by Joe Jackson (Chicago) chased Ruffing from the game, with Birmingham’s Tim Hudson taking his place on the mound. Hudson retired the next two batters, ending the threat with the AL up, 3-1.

The WBL leader in wins, Gerrit Cole (Los Angeles), took the mound in the top of the 3rd and delivered a scoreless inning. Little of note–other than a ton of substitutions–happened until the top of the 4th, when Lefty Grove (San Francisco) gave up hits to Greenberg (who was replaced at first by Reggie Smith of the Memphis Red Sox) and George Stone (House of David). That brought in Cleveland’s Cy Young, who retired Joe Jackson and Collins to close the inning.

The game was uneventful (again, other than the substitutions) until the bottom of the 6th, when Ted Williams (Memphis) greeted Don Drysedale (Brooklyn Royal Giants) with a leadoff homerun, making the score 4-1. Williams’ teammate, Reggie Smith, followed with a single, but was left stranded.

The AL pitchers had allowed only 2 hits until, with one out in the top of the 7th, Chuck Knoblauch doubled off of Mark Melancon (Houston Colt 45’s). After another out, Rolen walked and pinch-hitter Johnny Bench (Indianapolis) doubled to left-center, scoring two to make the score 4-3.

With 2 outs in the bottom of the inning, Curt Blefary (Baltimore) singled, with Freddy Parent (Ottawa Mounties) pinch-running for him. Dick Allen followed with a single, sending Parent to third. Ron Reed relieved Ken Howell and retired Williams to end the inning, so we went to the 8th with the AL leading, 4-3.

The AL turned to Brian Wilson in the top of the 9th to close the game. He walked Knoblauch to lead off the inning, but got a flyout from Eric Davis (Black Yankees) for the first out, bringing up his teammate, Mickey Mantle, for his first at-bat of the game. Mantle walked, and that was it for Wilson, who was replaced by Mike Henneman (Detroit).

Henneman fanned Bench and got Rickey Henderson to groundout, and the AL wins, 4-3.

The NL only managed 5 hits in the game, and only the AL’s Blefary had 2 hits, with his teammate Rader’s 2 RBI’s the most seen on the day. That earned Rader the MVP award. Cole (who earned the victory), Reed, and Craig Kimbrel were the most impressive pitchers on the day.

NL 3 (Ruffing 0-1) @ AL 4 (Cole 1-0; Henneman 1 Sv; Pettitte 1 H; Melancon 1 H; Kimbrel 1 H; Nichols 1 H; Wilson 1 H)
HRs: AL – Collins (1), Rader (1), Williams (1)
Box Score

TWIWBL 21.0: AL All Star Selections

By mknn

On January 25, 2022

In All Star Games, TWIWBL

Here we go! It is the 14th of June, time to finalize the inaugural All-Star rosters!

We’ll start with the AL.

The bottom line is that the Baltimore Black Sox and the Chicago American Giants lead the way with seven players each. Chicago has four starters, while the Black Sox have four pitchers going to the midseason classic.

Both the Ottawa Mounties and the Houston Colt 45’s are sending a lone player to the game. For Ottawa, this is no surprise, but for Houston–who have been hovering around .500 most of the season–it highlights the limits of a team of solid contributors, but no stars.

Ottawa’s Tim Raines was easily the hardest omission, and one that may, in the end, prove indefensible.

In the list in each section, players in bold are the selections.

Catchers

The top three are pretty easy here. The House of David‘s Elrod Hendricks is the clear starter, with over half his hits going for extra bases. There’s not a lot to choose from between the New York Gotham‘s Buster Posey and Baltimore’s Curt Blefary–Posey is hitting .348, but Blefary has been among the power leaders in the league all season–but they are head and shoulders above the other candidates, the best of which is probably Chicago’s Carlton Fisk.

Blefary has handled a strong pitching staff well, putting up a CERA just over 4.00 while Posey has thrown out 30% of would-be base stealers, leading this group. Ottawa’s Emil Gross has been the best defensive catcher in the AL, but has neither hit well enough nor played enough to really merit consideration.

Curt Blefary (BAL). 265/379/578; 19 HR; 47 RBI.
Carlton Fisk (CAG). 288/401/440.
Emil Gross (OTT). 218/290/370.
Elrod Hendricks (HOD). 314/363/628; 15 HR; 18 2B.
Buster Posey (NYG). 348/440/535; 16 2B.

First Base

Hank Greenberg of the Detroit Wolverines is the best of the pure first basemen, and will start at the position. But Chicago’s Frank Thomas has been the best hitter at the position, putting together a monstrous 355/445/596 slash line. Thomas will start for the AL at DH, having played roughly half the innings in the field as Greenberg.

There’s really not a lot between Baltimore’s Dan McGann and the Memphis Red Sox‘s Bill White–McGann has an OBP over .400, while White has hit for solid power for the Red Sox. McGann has been among the better defensive 1B in the league, so that may tip the scales in his favor.

Hank Greenberg (DET). 306/367/589; 15 HR; 19 2B; 56 RBI.
Dan McGann (BAL). 303/405/488.
Frank Thomas (CAG). 355/445/596; 15 HR; 17 2B; 65 RBI.
Bill White (MEM). 296/367/532.

Second Base

This gets difficult. Well, after Chicago’s Eddie Collins, the obvious starter, that is.

The Kansas City Monarch‘s Rogers Hornsby, Baltimore’s Larry Gardner, and Ottawa’s Tim Raines all deserve consideration. Hornsby is the best hitter of the trio, but Raines has probably been the Mounties best player all season, while his offensive numbers are really indistinguishable from Gardner’s (Gardner gets on base more, Raines has 50 SBs already).

Mention should be made of Bobby Grich (Los Angeles) and HR Johnson (Houston), who are making strong offensive contributions from the middle infield. Defensively, Johnson has been the best of this group overall, although the House of David’s Ryne Sandberg has probably been the best defensive second baseman overall.

Eddie Collins (CAG). 309/422/549; 51 R; 34 SB.
Larry Gardner (BAL). 293/405/435.
Bobby Grich (LAA). 277/351/453; 24 2B.
Rogers Hornsby (KAN). 311/390/477; 15 2B.
HR Johnson (HOU). 308/366/425.
Tim Raines (OTT). 301/377/462; 16 2B; 52 R; 50 SB.
Ryne Sandberg (HOD). 274/355/437; 16 2B.

Third Base

Chicago’s Dick Allen has been critiqued throughout the season, but his OPS is virtually identical to Doug Rader‘s, who has received acclaim for his clutch hitting all season. Both make the team, but Rader’s 73 RBI do warrant some attention for sure.

Note that if Detroit’s Bob Bailey had played more in the field, there’d be little discussion here, as he has hit better than either Allen or Rader. He’ll make the team as a DH.

The odd man out is likely Kansas City’s Albert Pujols.

None of these have fielded very well, but the best with the leather–Baltimore’s Harlond Clift–just hasn’t hit a lick.

Dick Allen (CAG). 287/348/555; 52 RBI.
Bob Bailey (DET). 309/394/533.
Harlond Clift (BAL). 202/303/369.
Albert Pujols (KAN). 291/349/486; 17 2B; 51 RBI.
Doug Rader (LAA). 317/372/532; 16 2B; 73 RBI.

Shortstop

While the starter is pretty clear, it gets difficult after that.

Baltimore’s Bobby Wallace has been pounding the ball, and has been the best shortstop of the group all season.

After Wallace, Ottawa’s Freddy Parent has been excellent since being given the starting position, and deserves a spot from his offensive contributions even with a little less playing time than the others.

After Parent, the trio of George Wright (Los Angeles), Ernie Banks (House of David), and Vern Stephens (Memphis) are pretty indistinguishable, and while they have been solid, it’s not clear that any of them are really deserving of being all-stars. That trio is very similar defensively, something neither Wallace nor Parent have shown much skill at.

Ernie Banks (HOD). 265/285/423; 46 RBI.
Freddy Parent (OTT). 278/327/493.
Vern Stephens (MEM). 254/311/388.
Bobby Wallace (BAL). 328/423/472; 24 2B; 45 R.
George Wright (LAA). 250/299/426.

Left Fielders

Chicago’s Duffy Lewis will start, as his consistency has nudged him ahead of Baltimore’s Frank Robinson and the House of David’s George Stone. Jimmy Sheckard has been key to the New York Gothams’ attack all season, but may fall just beneath the level of an all star, and a similar argument can be made against Oscar Gamble, despite his 57 RBIs for Detroit.

Oscar Gamble (DET). 260/380/500; 16 HR; 57 RBI; 40 R.
Duffy Lewis (CAG). 306/351/603; 19 HR; 15 2B; 47 RBI.
Frank Robinson (BAL). 302/383/521; 16 HR; 47 RBI; 44 R.
Jimmy Sheckard (NYG). 295/401/475; 16 2B; 50 R; 25 SB.
George Stone (HOD). 298/382/545; 15 HR; 45 R.

Center Fielders

New York’s Willie Mays is the clear starter in center. Not only has he been best with the bat, he also has 13 assists and has been among the better defensive centerfielders.

Reggie Smith of the Memphis Red Sox and Kansas City’s Willie McGee have been solid all season with Smith providing more power and McGee a bit more speed. An argument can be made against McGee as he has played in fewer games, but if Parent makes it at shortstop, you really can’t argue against McGee.

But that leaves the Pete Browning question unanswered. The House of David’s star has played in only 39 games, having been injured for almost half of the season to date. But when he’s played, Browning has hit an MVP level.

Only a late collapse by Houston’s Jimmy Wynn has kept him out of the discussion, but the Toy Cannon has dropped well behind McGee at this point.

Pete Browning (HOD). 359/389/614; 20 SB.
Willie Mays (NYG). 345/401/585; 18 2B; 54 RBI; 53 R.
Willie McGee (KAN). 329/378/486.
Reggie Smith (MEM). 297/366/506; 18 2B; 50 R.
Jim Wynn (HOU). 259/376/438; 50 R; 28 SB.

Right Field

Shoeless Joe Jackson of the Chicago American Giants is in the MVP conversation at this point, and will start in RF. He’s closely trailed by Kansas City’s Stan Musial.

Memphis’ Ted Williams has trailed off significantly over the past few weeks, but he is still in the conversation; as is Detroit’s Ty Cobb.

Ty Cobb (DET). 324/364/534; 18 2B; 42 RBI; 21 SB.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 333/416/602; 16 HR; 20 2B; 53 RBI; 57 R; 21 SB.
Stan Musial (KAN). 336/399/568; 21 2B; 50 RBI; 46 R.
Ted Williams (MEM). 283/374/543; 16 HR; 15 2B; 53 RBI; 47 R.

Starting Pitchers

Two members of Baltimore’s rotation make the team, with Dennis Martínez getting the honor of the start over teammate Ned Garvin due to Garvin only recently being added to the Black Sox rotation. Gerrit Cole may not have the supporting numbers, but an 11-3 record is enough to make the team (no other pitcher in the AL has more than 8 wins).

After those three, it all gets difficult. Andy Pettitte of Kansas City probably has the best argument, but only sports a 5-3 record while Chicago’s Tricky Nichols sits at 8-2, but with worse numbers across the board than Pettitte. A stronger argument could probably be made for a third Black Sox, as Bill Byrd has better numbers than Pettitte, and his 6-2 record matches Garvin’s.

Bill Byrd (BAL). 6-2; 3.09; 1.11 WHIP.
Gerrit Cole (LAA). 11-3; 4.02; 1.33 WHIP.
Ned Garvin (BAL). 6-2; 2.90; 2 H; 1.04 WHIP.
Dennis Martínez (BAL). 8-4; 3.04; 1.19 WHIP.
Tricky Nichols (CAG). 8-2; 3.38; 1.31 WHIP.
Andy Pettitte (KAN). 5-3; 3.12; 1.19 WHIP.

Relief Pitchers

Detroit’s Mike Henneman has been the best closer in the AL, with 15 saves. New York’s Brian Wilson and Memphis’ Joe Beggs have been virtually unhittable, but Beggs just hasn’t put in enough innings to warrant inclusion. Chicago’s AJ Minter has a stronger case, while Los Angeles’ Joe Nathan‘s ERA (over 5.00) keeps him off the roster.

John Hiller (Detroit), Jonny Venters (LA), and Craig Kimbrel are tied for the league lead in Holds with 8 each, but only Kimbrel has better overall numbers.

Mark Melancon (Houston) and Gene Conley (Detroit) are each 7-1 out of their bullpens, while Sean Marshall and Mike Mussina (both with Baltimore) have both been virtually unhittable in a decent number of innings.

Joe Beggs (MEM). 1-0; 9 Sv; 1.06; 1.06 WHIP.
Gene Conley (DET). 7-1; 3.96; 4 H; 1.22 WHIP.
Mike Henneman (DET). 1-3; 15 Sv; 3.06; 1.36 WHIP.
John Hiller (DET). 0-1; 1 Sv; 4.66; 8 H; 1.31 WHIP.
Craig Kimbrel (MEM). 2-2; 3.34; 8 H; 1.21 WHIP.
Sean Marshall (BAL). 3-0; 2.10; 4 H; 1.03 WHIP.
Mark Melancon (HOU). 7-1; 1 Sv; 3.20; 7 H; 1.42 WHIP.
AJ Minter (CAG). 1-0; 11 Sv; 2.35; 0.98 WHIP.
Mike Mussina (BAL). 2-0; 1 Sv; 2.20; 1 H; 0.94 WHIP.
Joe Nathan (LAA). 3-4; 10 Sv; 1 H; 5.23; 1.35 WHIP.
Jonny Venters (LAA). 2-2; 3 Sv; 4.30; 1.43 WHIP.
Brian Wilson (NYG). 1-0; 10 Sv; 1.77; 0.89 WHIP.

Selections by Team

Listed alphabetically, Italic indicates a starter.

Baltimore Black Sox: Bill Byrd (P); Curt Blefary (C); Ned Garvin (P); Sean Marshall (P); Dennis Martínez (P); Dan McGann (1B); Bobby Wallace (SS)
Chicago American Giants: Dick Allen (3B); Eddie Collins (2B); Joe Jackson (RF); Duffy Lewis (LF); AJ Minter (P); Tricky Nichols (P); Frank Thomas (DH)
Detroit Wolverines: Bob Bailey (DH); Hank Greenberg (1B); Mike Henneman (P).
Houston Colt 45’s: Mark Melancon (P)
Kansas City Monarchs: Rogers Hornsby (2B); Stan Musial (RF); Andy Pettitte (P)
Los Angeles Angels: Gerrit Cole (P); Doug Rader (3B)
Memphis Red Sox: Craig Kimbrel (P); Reggie Smith (CF); Ted Williams (RF)
New York Gothams: Willie Mays (CF); Buster Posey (C); Brian Wilson (P)
Ottawa Mounties: Freddy Parent (SS)
Wandering House of David: Elrod Hendricks (C); George Stone (LF)