Tag: Eddie Plank Page 1 of 7

103 - 59, .636 pct.
1st in Cum Posey Division
Beat DET 4-3 in AL Wild Card Round
Beat CLE 4-0 in AL Championship
Lost to BRK 1-4 in Whirled Series

Overall

The best record in baseball, 3 dominant rookies, the AL Brock Rutherford Award winner, the electric leader in steals, the best closer in the league … and a crushing defeat in the Whirled Series.

Welcome to San Francisco, where the question is, how to continue with the success and bring home the ultimate prize of the championship.

The Sea Lions, it must be said, are in good shape: there is so much talent here, and so much of it is young, that even some regression to the mean would leave them a very strong club.

What Went Right

Let’s start with the incandescent talent of Norman “Turkey” Stearnes, who burst onto the scene with a 1.151 OPS, 51 homeruns, and 125 RBIs while playing a very solid CF. Just exquisite.

Jack Clark is one of the more underrated players in the league, but he has a great eye (101 BB on the year) and impressive power (51 homers).

Reggie Jackson was a little better last year, but a 283/394/574 slash line is nothing to sneeze at (although you really do wish he would attempt to run a little less often: Jackson sits as the WBL career leader in caught stealing).

So, those are the big three, with each of them both scoring and driving in 100 runs and combining for 143 homers.

Jimmie Foxx‘s obvious power blossomed this season as the burly corner infielder launched 49 homeruns. He could benefit from more contact, but the walk rate is there and at 22, that may come.

Mickey Cochrane took over at catcher and, even before his electric defensive performance in the postseason, was among the better backstops in the league, slashing 289/371/513. Brian Downing hit even better in limited time as his backup, but probably will serve in that capacity next season.

Royce Clayton posted a .919 OPS filling in around the infield and Sal Bando, displaced by Foxx at 3B, performed well as a reserve.

Rickey Henderson stole 126 bases and, as importantly, filled out soem of his offensive game, posting an .839 OPS with a .385 OBP. Dick Lundy added 57 steals while showing some decent offensive skills.

And then we have the pitching, led by their own big three in Lefty Grove, Eddie Plank, and rookie Bump Hadley. Plank led the way with 20 wins, Hadley had the best ERA at 4.10, and Grove walked away with all the hardware in the postseason awards. A 1.15 WHIP and230 strikeouts in 209 innings will do that. The three combined for a 54-19 record on the season.

Watty Clark came over midseason and was excellent over 37 appearances including 17 starts.

Rod Beck led the WBL with 41 saves, despite occasionally being hit quite hard. Ken Howell was excellent setting him up, finishing with a 5-1 record, 6 saves, and 15 holds.

Tim Hudson came back very strong from a long term injury, posting an ERA just over 4 with excellent peripherals over 12 games, and earning a few postseason starts. At 38, it’s not clear how much Hudson has left in the tank, but this was a pleasant surprise for sure.

ALL STARS

Rod Beck
Mickey Cochrane
Lefty Grove
Bump Hadley
Ken Howell
Reggie Jackson
Eddie Plank
Turkey Stearnes

MAJOR AWARDS

Rod Beck All AL First Team; AL Phineas Flint Award
Lefty Grove All AL First Team; AL Brock Rutherford Award
Ken Howell All AL First Team
Turkey Stearnes All AL First Team; AL CF Silver Slugger; AL Rookie of the Year

RECOGNITIONS

Rod Beck AL 25 & Under Team
Jack Clark, All AL 3rd Team
Mickey Cochrane, All AL 2nd Team; AL 25 & Under Team
Jimmie Foxx, All AL 3rd Team; AL All Rookie 1st Team; AL 23 & Under Team
Frank Grant, AL All Rookie 2nd Team; AL 23 & Under Team
Bump Hadley, All AL 2nd Team; AL Rookie of the Year 3rd Place; AL Brock Rutherford Award 2nd Place; AL All Rookie 1st Team; AL 25 & Under Team; AL 23 & Under Team
Ken Howell, AL 25 & Under Team
Reggie Jackson, All AL 3rd Team
Dick Lundy, All AL 3rd Team
Joe Nathan, AL Phineas Flint Award 2nd Place
Eddie Plank, All AL 2nd Team
Turkey Stearnes, AL All Rookie 1st Team; AL 25 & Under Team; ; AL 23 & Under Team

ORGANIZATIONAL AWARDS

Turkey Stearnes, MVP
Eddie Plank, Pitcher of the Year
Jack Clark, Heart & Soul
Rickey Henderson, Fan Favorite

Red Ehret, Minor League Pitcher of the Year
Josh Reddick, Minor League Player of the Year

What Went Wrong

2B was a bit of a mess for most of the year: Jimmy Bloodworth was awful, Phil Garner is a decent utility player, but not much more than that, and Frank Grant struggled to adopt to life in San Francisco after his trade, although he is clearly the future here.

The middle of the bullpen was a bit of a slog, with Huston Street and, especially, Dennis Eckersley struggling more than succeeding, although Street seemed to pick it up after Nathan’s arrival shifted him down the pecking order.

And … yeah … that’s about it. Best record in baseball and all that.

Transactions

March

OF Pedro Guerrero to BRK for P Watty Clark & OF Matt Holliday.

Looks good for San Francisco, as Guerrero has struggled and Clark should be with the WBL team next year.

July

IF John Beckwith to HOD for IF Frank Grant.

They may regret this one, as, at only 19, Beckwith hits the ball as hard as anyone in baseball. But Grant is only 21 and fills a clear and present need, so it seems fine.

August

IF Eddie Miller & IF Freddie Freeman to LAA for P Joe Nathan, IF Wally Joyner, & 1st Round Pick.

It seems solid enough: Nathan makes the Sea Lions’ bullpen stronger, and Freeman for the 1st rounder feels equitable enough long term. Helps both teams, for sure.

Positional Overview

C

This should be Mickey Cochrane for a while, with Brian Downing being brought in as the backup next season. There’s not a lot of talent in the system, so hopefully those two can stay healthy.

1B

At some point, this may become an issue, as Jimmie Foxx really is better suited for 1B than 3B, but for now, Jack Clark reigns, with Foxx filling in.

Wally Joyner and Sid Bream are available as needed as well.

2B

The Sea Lions gave up a lot for Frank Grant, now he needs to produce. The team is pretty confident he will, with Phil Garner on hand as a reserve infielder.

There is some talent in the system here: Jack Farrell, Ron Hunt, and Dario Lodigiani all have some talent, and last year’s incumbent, Jimmy Bloodworth, is still bouncing around.

SS

Dick Lundy has this locked down, offering a rare mixture of speed, defense, and occasional power.

Royce Clayton‘s performance has earned him a hard look, although his lack of versatility is a thing. Bill Sweeney and Jed Lowrie are options as well if needed.

3B

The Sea Lions have a lot of talent here. The starting role is obviously Foxx’s, but Sal Bando is an excellent option. Bando is expendable if the right offer came along as others, including Wayne Gross, Denny Walling, and Don Money could also serve as Foxx’s backup.

LF/RF

With CF settled, the corner spots are a bit congested between Rickey Henderson, Reggie Jackson, and Bobby Bonds. Henderson has a firm lock on LF, and Jackson and Bonds will probably share RF and DH duties, as neither of them are spectacular defensively.

The Sea Lions’ Minor League Player of the Year, Josh Reddick, could figure in here, as could Matt Holliday, Eddie Murphy, or the slugging behemoth that is Frank Howard.

CF

Assuming Turkey Stearnes doesn’t succumb to the sophomore slump, the job is his for a long time.

Lots of players can fill in here, but in terms of true CFers, only Del Unser and Mookie Wilson catch the eye in the system.

DH

A mix of Foxx, Jackson, and Bonds should be more than sufficient here.

SP

This is pretty much set, certainly with the trio of Lefty Grove, Eddie Plank, and Bump Hadley leading the way. Watty Clark showed enough to be projected as the 4th starter, leaving some competition between Tom Brewer, Tim Hudson, Tommy Bridges, and Mel Stottlemyre Sr. Veterans Nick Altrock and Cy Falkenberg and the Minor League Pitcher of the Year, Red Ehret may be given a look as well.

At lower levels, Charlie Ferguson and Jair Jurrjens have both showed some promise.

RP

The back end has the potential to be devastating, with Joe Nathan and Ken Howell setting up Rod Beck. That only gets better if Ron Robinson is able to make a clean return form injury or if Huston Street can develop a bit more consistency.

Draft Outlook

DRAFT PICKS

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

What do you get the team that has everything? That’s right, 2 first round picks. Especially with the sudden departure of Jules Thomas, the cupboard is a bit bare, so this will be a restocking exercise for the Sea Lions.

TWIWBL 87.15: Teams of the Year

By mknn

On February 23, 2026

In TWIWBL

We’re doing 3 teams for each league, with players color coded by their Tier Level (S Tier, A Tier, B Tier, C Tier), with selections for each position, 3 starters, 2 bullpen arms, and a closer.

Just a glance shows the differences in the leagues: you want offense, look at the AL, you want pitching, the NL. That’s a generality, and like all such, not fully accurate: the NL actually has more S Tier bats, but the AL is overall more top heavy offensively.

San Francisco, predictably, leads the way with 12 selections while the rivalry between the Black Yankees and Cleveland continues, with the Bill James Division heavyweights having 8 each.

#AL

Pos	First Team	Second Team	Third Team
C	Ed Bailey (DET/CLE)	Mickey Cochrane (SFS)	Curt Blefary (BAL)
1B	Jim Thome (MCG)	Lance Berkman (CLE)	Jack Clark (SFS)
2B	Eddie Collins (CAG)	Rogers Hornsby (NYY)	Miller Huggins (BAL)
SS	Arky Vaughan (CLE)	Cal Ripken, Jr. (BAL)	Dick Lundy (SFS)
3B	Evan Longoria (CLE)	Mike Schmidt (NYY)	Jimmie Foxx (SFS)
LF	Babe Ruth (NYY)	Kal Daniels (LAA)	Frank Robinson (BAL)
CF	Turkey Stearnes (SFS)	Tris Speaker (CLE)	Mike Trout (LAA)
RF	Mickey Mantle (NYY)	Joe Jackson (CAG)	Yasiel Puig (MCG)
DH	Ty Cobb (DET)	Lou Gehrig (NYY)	Reggie Jackson (SFS)
SP	Lefty Grove (SFS) José Méndez (MCG) Jim Whitney (BBB/MCG)	Bump Hadley (SFS) Andy Pettitte (NYY) Eddie Plank (SFS)	Ed Walsh (CAG) Brett Anderson (LAA) Ron Guidry (NYY)
RP	Ken Howell (SFS) Andrew Miller (MEM)	Ross Reynolds (LAA) Al Smith (CLE)	Firpo Marberry (CLE) Ron Reed (CLE)
CL	Rod Beck (SFS)	Goose Gossage (NYY)	Jonathan Papelbon (MEM/MCG)

I do wonder if this points to how fragile Cleveland is. The Spiders are one of only 2 teams to make the playoffs in both WBL seasons, but if you were to pick names likely to fade off this list, Arky Vaughan, Evan Longoria, Al Smith, and Firpo Marberry would jump out.

It also shows just how top heavy Los Angeles is: 2 S-Tier players (plus Brett Anderson and Ross Reynolds) with nothing to show for it. At the other end, there’s Detroit–the other team to make the playoffs each year–with only a single player (the incomparable Ty Cobb) listed, further reinforcing the Wolverines as having done it with a true team effort (although this was also quite close: Terry Adams, Al Kaline, and Hank Greenberg were all in contention for 3rd Team honors).

And the less said about Memphis, the better.

#NL

Pos	First Team	Second Team	Third Team
C	Josh Gibson (HOM)	Gary Carter (OTT)	Mike Piazza (BRK)
1B	Paul Konerko (CAG/BBB)	Will Clark (NYG)	Jeff Bagwell (HOU)
2B	Roberto Alomar (OTT)	Joe Morgan (IND)	Ryne Sandberg (HOD)
SS	Ernie Banks (HOD)	Carlos Correa (HOU)	Alex Rodríguez (OTT)
3B	Ron Cey (BRK)	Albert Pujols (KCM)	Scott Rolen (PHI)
LF	Jim Wynn (HOU)	Ryan Braun (BBB)	Rick Reichardt (HOM)
CF	Oscar Charleston (IND)	Willie Mays (NYG)	Charles Rogan (PHI)
RF	Aaron Judge (PHI)	Larry Walker (OTT)	Tony Gwynn (HOU)
DH	Willie Stargell (HOM)	Benny Kauff (NYG)	Rick Monday (OTT)
SP	Luis Padrón (IND) Toad Ramsey (HOU) A. Rube Foster (KCM)	Smokey Joe Williams (BRK) Smokey Joe Wood (KCM) Fernando Valenzuela (BRK)	Roger Clemens (HOU) Hardie Henderson (PHI) Orel Hershiser (BRK)
RP	Lee Smith (HOD/KCM) Eddie Guardado (KCM)	Robb Nen (NYG/HOM) Terry Forster (BRK)	Andrew Chafin (HOU) Fred Cambria (PHI)
CL	Eric Gagné (BRK)	Josh Lindblom (HOM)	Bob Howry (PHI)

Brooklyn and Kansas City’s pitching is so strong. And imagine just how bad Ottawa’s pitching had to be, given their offensive representation.

Indianapolis has 3 S Tier players, giving them perhaps the most dominant nucleus in the league to build around. Kansas City has 4 S Tier players, but 2 of them are relievers, so most GM’s would prefer the ABC’s group.

And there are some league-wide deficiencies, especially at 1B and LF. Jim Wynn is a nice player, but the best in the league?

Both of Birmingham’s entrants were brought over in trade … but they also lost Jim Whtiney in those deals.

#Team by Team

Portland had nobody–nobody–who was deemed top 3 in the AL at their position. Ouch.

Baltimore. 4: Curt Blefary, Miller Huggins, Cal Ripken, Jr, Frank Robinson.
Birmingham, 2: Ryan Braun, Paul Konerko.
Brooklyn. 7: Ron Cey, Terry Forster, Eric Gagne, Orel Hershiser, Mike Piazza, Fernando Valenzuela, Smokey Joe Williams
Chicago. 3: Eddie Collins, Joe Jackson, Ed Walsh.
Cleveland. 8: Ed Bailey, Lance Berkman, Evan Longoria, Firpo Marberry, Ron Reed, Al Smith, Tris Speaker, Arky Vaughan.
Detroit. 1: Ty Cobb.
Homestead. 5: Josh Gibson, Josh Lindblom, Robb Nen, Rick Reichardt , Willie Stargell.
Houston. 7: Jeff Bagwell, Andrew Chafin, Roger Clemens, Carlos Correa, Tony Gwynn, Toad Ramsey, Jim Wynn.
Indianapolis. 3: Oscar Charleston, Joe Morgan, Luis Padrón.
Kansas City. 5: A. Rube Foster, Eddie Guardado, Albert Pujols, Lee Smith, Smokey Joe Wood.
Los Angeles. 4: Brett Anderson, Kal Daniels, Ross Reynolds, Mike Trout.
Memphis. 1: Andrew Miller.
Miami. 5: José Méndez, Jonathan Papelbon, Yasiel Puig, Jim Thome, Jim Whitney.
New York Black Yankees. 8: Lou Gehrig, Goose Gossage, Ron Guidry, Rogers Hornsby, Mickey Mantle, Andy Pettitte, Babe Ruth, Mike Schmidt.
New York Gothams. 3: Will Clark, Benny Kauff , Willie Mays.
Ottawa. 5: Roberto Alomar , Gary Carter, Rick Monday, Alex Rodríguez, Larry Walker.
Philadelphia. 7: Fred Cambria, Hardie Henderson, Bob Howry, Aaron Judge, Charles Rogan, Scott Rolen.
Portland. 0.
San Francisco. 12: Rod Beck, Jack Clark, Mickey Cochrane, Jimmie Foxx, Lefty Grove, Bump Hadley, Ken Howell, Reggie Jackson, Dick Lundy, Eddie Plank, Turkey Stearnes.
Wandering House of David. 2: Ernie Banks, Ryne Sandberg.

TWIWBL 87.13: The Starters

By mknn

On February 10, 2026

In TWIWBL

On to the starters! Same Tier system.

This is everyone who qualified for the ERA crown, plus a heaping handful of others who made at least 10 starts during the season. If a player had less than 162 innings, they are (a) probably knocked down a tier and (b) their name is prefaced by a * and italicized.

We’ve leaned on valuing IP in these rankings, perhaps a bit too much. But these are your starters, and they need to show up, game after game. It also means the Tiers are a little different: there are D-Tier pitchers here that you would welcome at the back end of your rotation, and it’s really only some of them, and the F Tier, that are truly an issue.

Our usual practices prevail: bold for top 3 and italics for bottom 3. Pitchers with below 162 IP aren’t included in the top/bottom markers.

#S Tier

Lg	Tm	Name	Age	W-L	ERA	IP	WHIP	Other
NL	KCM	A. Rube Foster	24	11-8	3.30	204	1.02	.189 BA .219 BABIP 0.7 HR/9 3.63 FIP
NL	IND	Luis Padrón	22	23-3	3.22	235	1.04	220 K .192 BA .225 BABIP
NL	HOU	Toad Ramsey	23	16-10	3.23	223	0.97	282 K .182 BA 11.4 K/9 3.8 K/BB 3.40 FIP

Just look at all that bold.

It’s been these 3 all year, and there’s a hair’s breadth between them. The analytics like Toad Ramsey, but Luis Padrón‘s record is stunning and while his ERA crown came by the absolute thinnest of margins, it did come.

Knuckleballers are always a bit unpredictable season-to-season, and it may very well be that A. Rube Foster has the best career of these three. But great things are expected of each of them.

#A Tier

Lg	Tm	Name	Age	W-L	ERA	IP	WHIP	Other
AL	SFS	Lefty Grove	27	16-6	4.40	209	1.15	230 K 2.2 BB/9 9.9 K/9 4.4 K/BB
AL	MCG	José Méndez	23	13-6	4.53	233	1.11	201 K 2.2 BB/9
NL	BRK	Fernando Valenzuela	24	14-5	3.69	163	1.08	1 Sv; 4 H
—	BBB/ MCG	Jim Whitney	24	10-7	3.83	202	1.10	1 Sv; 2 H
NL	BRK	Smokey Joe Williams	24	12-13	3.93	202	1.23	0.8 HR/9 3.55 FIP
NL	KCM	Smokey Joe Wood	22	15-12	4.11	191	1.13

Lefty Grove and Smokey Joe Williams each have an argument to move up a tier, but are held back, Grove’s instance by his ERA, in Williams’ by his record. Still, they are the class of this group.

If José Méndez hadn’t led the league in innings, he would probably drop down a level, but we’re nitpicking: these are staff aces on most teams. Note that Miami, Brooklyn, and Kansas City already have 2 pitchers each on this list.

#B Tier

Lg	Tm	Name	Age	W-L	ERA	IP	WHIP	Other
AL	LAA	Brett Anderson	22	11-6	4.34	189	1.12
NL	HOU	* Ice Box Chamberlain	19	4-4	3.56	109	1.13	1 Sv; 1 H
NL	HOU	Roger Clemens	25	17-10	3.71	211	1.13
AL	SFS	Bump Hadley	23	18-6	4.10	189	1.18	0.9 HR/9 4.2 BB/9
NL	PHI	Hardie Henderson	21	18-12	3.78	209	1.23	4.2 BB/9 1.7 KK/B
NL	BRK	Orel Hershiser	27	19-5	3.69	185	1.21
NL	HOD	* Kyle Peterson	22	8-3	3.80	107	1.16
AL	NYY	Andy Pettitte	33	18-9	4.43	201	1.21
AL	SFS	Eddie Plank	27	20-7	4.42	210	1.31
AL	CAG	Ed Walsh	25	10-11	3.94	205	1.15	1 Sv 201 K .225 BABIP

Hardie Henderson, Roger Clemens, and perhaps Eddie Plank (but that would be giving an awful lot of weight on 20 victories) could all be nudged up, but I’m comfortable with this. These are all front of rotation hurlers, with the only real surprise being Brett Anderson, who quietly excelled in a difficult year for Los Angeles. Ed Walsh, last year’s Rookie of the Year, avoided the sophomore slump entirely.

If you’re looking for skepticism, both Ice Box Chamberlain (due to age) and Kyle Peterson (due to coming out of nowhere) are decent bets to regress.

#C Tier

Lg	Tm	Name	Age	W-L	ERA	IP	WHIP	Other
AL	POR	Walter Ball	26	8-7	4.26	142	1.20
NL	PHI	Steve Carlton	25	12-13	5.05	187	1.24
NL	IND	Johnny Cueto	29	12-14	4.62	212	1.14
NL	HOM	* Doug Drabek	25	6-8	4.76	147	1.17	1 H
NL	BRK	Don Drysdale	22	11-8	5.66	186	1.28
AL	LAA	Dwight Gooden	22	11-11	4.36	194	1.29
AL	NYY	Ron Guidry	28	11-7	4.51	208	1.24	251 K 10.9 K/9
NL	OTT	Roy Halladay	29	15-9	5.17	195	1.26	2.2 BB/9
AL	POR	Walter Johnson	20	13-12	4.28	214	1.28
NL	BRK	* Sandy Koufax	21	6-3	4.93	119	1.16	2 H
AL	MEM	Stubby Overmire	25	13-10	4.72	212	1.26	6.1 K/9
NL	NYG	Gaylord Perry	22	12-15	4.34	189	1.12
NL	KCM	José Rijo	26	8-12	5.09	179	1.26
NL	PHI	Charles Rogan	27	12-9	4.51	188	1.24
AL	CLE	Bill Steen	26	13-10	4.71	193	1.33	1.9 K/BB
NL	NYG	Don Sutton	25	17-8	5.23	174	1.25
NL	PHI	JM Ward	20	6-10	5.01	196	1.16

Gaylord Perry and JM Ward were perhaps the unluckiest pitchers in the league this year: a bit of good fortune, and either could be several tiers above. If anyone is ranked too highly, it’s probably Bill Steen. There are a lot of names here that could easily take a step forward–Steve Carlton, Don Drysdale, and Walter Johnson especially.

Sandy Koufax blossomed in the bullpen after losing his rotation spot, but Brooklyn is likely to try him again as a starter next season.

Joe Rogan is just a remarkable talent. Everyone else here has great value solely from being on the mound: add Rogan’s bat and … yoikes.

#D Tier

Lg	Tm	Name	Age	W-L	ERA	IP	WHIP	Other
AL	MEM	Len Barker	25	11-12	4.99	180	1.44
AL	SFS	* Tommy Bridges	37	6-7	5.38	146	1.21
AL	POR	Bert Blyleven	21	10-11	5.03	204	1.32
NL	KCM	Frank Castillo	23	12-7	5.21	193	1.32
AL	SFS	* Watty Clark	26	6-4	4.02	134	1.30	2 H
NL	PHI	* Ray Collins	24	4-7	4.62	121	1.27	1 H
AL	CLE	* Bob Feller	20	13-3	4.30	153	1.34
NL	BBB	* Lefty Gomez	27	9-9	4.90	154	1.30	2 H
AL	NYY/ CAG	Waite Hoyt	24	11-4	4.89	169	1.44	4.1 BB/9
NL	BRK	Frank Knauss	23	12-6	4.55	180	1.34
NL	HOM	Francisco Liriano	23	10-12	5.03	181	1.38
NL	BBB	Greg Maddux	23	10-14	5.35	195	1.28	59 HRA .225 BABIP 6.50 FIP
AL	BAL	Dennis Martínez	24	12-8	5.12	202	1.42
NL	NYG	Christy Mathewson	22	7-16	5.61	210	1.40	207 K
AL	POR	* Joseíto Muñoz	20	4-4	4.56	101	1.37	1 Sv; 2 H
AL	BAL	* Jim Palmer	25	8-8	4.88	138	1.37	1 H
NL	BBB	Alejandro Peña	26	8-11	5.59	180	1.31
NL	HOM	Billy Pierce	30	10-11	5.77	173	1.36
NL	HOD	* Rick Reuschel	30	8-8	4.61	135	1.31	1 Sv; 1 H
NL	HOD	Bob Rush	24	11-9	5.28	186	1.32	2 H
NL	HOD	CC Sabathia	28	5-15	5.89	202	1.35	1 Sv; 1 H 64 HRA 3.2 HR/9 6.90 FIP
AL	CAG	Ben Sheets	27	6-12	5.88	165	1.32	1 H
NL	OTT	* Bill Smith	26	10-3	3.77	124	1.35	1 H
NL	HOU	Stephen Strasburg	25	9-10	5.87	169	1.37
NL	HOD	Jack Taylor	26	12-10	5.90	192	1.42	.291 BA 6.4 K/9
AL	CLE	Cy Young	25	15-9	5.38	199	1.39	.307 BABIP

There are some absolute conundrums here. Greg Maddux‘s issues are obvious in the final column: his BABIP is top-3 in the league, showing just how good his stuff is. But he has to keep the ball in the ballpark. At least once in a while.

Christy Mathewson and Cy Young seem like they could do more than be massive inning eaters, but they need to be harder to hit to make the jump forward. But pitching is weird: Jack Taylor and Gerrit Cole (see below) were among the best on the mound last season, and struggled mightily this.

Bob Feller would warrant a bump as well with a few more solid starts.

#F Tier

Lg	Tm	Name	Age	W-L	ERA	IP	WHIP	Other
AL	CAG	Mark Buehrle	31	8-12	5.11	185	1.38	6.3 K/9
AL	MEM	* David Bush	26	9-9	6.58	149	1.32
AL	LAA	Gerrit Cole	26	7-15	6.36	166	1.43	2.9 HR/9 6.52 FIP
AL	MCG	Cole Hamels	25	11-12	6.18	178	1.42	63 HRA .293 BA 3.2 HR/9 3.7 K/BB
NL	NYG	* Carl Hubbell	26	6-10	5.75	160	1.29	1 H
NL	HOM	* Cliff Lee	30	8-4	5.30	114	1.32	3 H
NL	HOU	Roy Oswalt	28	7-11	6.53	181	1.49	.295 BA .305 BABIP
NL	OTT	Charles Radbourn	27	12-13	5.89	202	1.35
AL	DET	Charlie Root	31	11-10	6.15	199	1.42	59 HRA
AL	LAA	Tom Seaver	23	7-8	5.81	164	1.44
—	BBB/ CAG	* Sam Streeter	25	3-11	5.63	123	1.34
AL	POR	Dizzy Trout	29	5-12	5.93	162	1.50	4.1 BB/9 1.8 K/BB
AL	DET	Justin Verlander	25	5-12	6.48	169	1.52	.310 BABIP
NL	IND	* Doc White	27	5-12	6.55	143	1.34	1 Sv; 3 H

Most of these issues are clear: too many homeruns, too many walks, way too many runners on the basepaths. Maybe Old Hoss Radbourn could argue to be one tier up. Maybe.

Other than that, it must be said there is a ton of talent here: Roy Oswalt, Tom Seaver, and Justin Verlander jump out as most likely to bounce back next year.

It must be said there are probably 2 dozen more names that could be listed in the F Tier. Check out the individual team maps as they are published for those, but suffice to say that, when a pitcher goes down in flames in the WBL, they burn awfully bright.

TWIWBL 86.3: Year 2 Whirled Series, Games 1 & 2

By mknn

On January 25, 2026

In 2001 Playoffs, 2001 Whirled Series, TWIWBL

We start with 2 games in San Francisco to open the Whirled Series.

#Game 1. Mon, Oct 22

We’re a little awkward in the rotations, with Brooklyn turning to Smokey Joe Williams to open up the Whirled Series while San Francisco is well positioned, leading off with Lefty Grove. Grove is 3-0 with a 2.53 in the postseason, so call that an edge to the Sea Lions.

Brooklyn opened the scoring with 2 outs in the 3rd as Mike Piazza continued a postseason for the ages, launching his 10th homerun, this one with a runner on. Dan Brouthers doubled home Roy White, making it 3-0. Meanwhile, the Sea Lions were still searching for their first hit off Williams, which finally came in the bottom of the 5th when Reggie Jackson led off the inning with a base hit, but was stranded at 3rd.

Brooklyn chased Grove with hits leading off the 6th, the second a Duke Snider double that scored Brouthers. Tommy Bridges shut them down, keeping the lead at 4-0.

But the story was really Williams: 7 innings, 2 hits, 9 strikeouts. Then, 8 innings, 11 strikeouts. At 103 pitches, that was it for Smokey Joe, with Eric Gagne coming in.

Three up, three down, and the Royal Giants steal a game on the road to open the series, with all credit to Smokey Joe Williams’ magnificent performance.

BRK 4 (Williams 1-1) @ SFS 0 (Grove 3-1)
HRs: BRK Piazza (11)- ; SFS – none.
Box Score

#Game 2, Tue Oct 23

Orel Hershiser (4-0, 2.52 in the postseason) takes the ball for Brooklyn in game 2 to face San Francisco’s Eddie Plank as San Francisco looks to even the series at home against one of the hottest pitchers around.

The Sea Lions’ offense revolve around the fear Rickey Henderson generates: in the top of the first, an error by Ray Dandridge, given the start at SS over Vern Stephens, put the WBL’s stolen base leader at second with no outs. Henderson stole 3rd and scored on a sacrifice fly from Frank Grant.

With one out in the 3rd, San Francisco loaded the bases on a single by Mickey Cochrane and consecutive HBP’s to Henderson and Grant. Reggie Jackson lined a hard shot down the first line, but it was speared by Dan Brouthers, who stepped on first to double up Grant and end the inning.

Brooklyn mounted their first threat in the top of the 4th, on a double by John Briggs. Briggs moved to 3rd on an error by Dick Lundy. Plank whiffed Ron Cey, but Piazza–there’s that man again–drove in 2 with a single, putting the Royal Giants up, 2-1. Beals Becker extended the lead to 3-1 with a solo shot leading off the 6th.

Plank lasted until Roy White led off the 7th with a triple. Tim Hudson fanned 2 and ended the inning on a flyout to right.

Jack Clark and Turkey Stearnes started the 7th with singles for San Francisco. Jimmie Foxx followed with a single, loading the bases and chasing Hershiser, with Brooklyn calling Sandy Koufax in from the bullpen. Koufax induced a grounder back to the mound and fired to Piazza, who stepped on the plate for the first out. Koufax walked Cochrane, forcing in a run and making it a 1 run game at 3-2, but Lundy bounced into a double play, ending the inning.

White extended the lead to 4-2 in the top of the 9th with an RBI single. So we head to the bottom of the 9th with the Royal Giants 3 outs away from a shocking 2-0 lead in the Series.

Once again, it was up to Eric Gagne. A one out walk to Stearnes brought up Foxx as the tying run. And Foxx delivered, sending a ball into the water behind the right field wall. A single from Bonds chased Gagne and a walk to Mickey Cochrane brought up Lundy with 1 out, but Dave Von Ohlen closed it out, sending us to extra innings.

Von Ohlen had to leave the game in the 10th, grabbing at his back after throwing ball 4 to Grant, but Terry Forster shut them down, sending us to the 11th.

White has been the heart and soul of Brooklyn for 2 years: here he went deep in the top of the 11th, putting the Royal Giants back on top, 5-4.

Foxx led off the home 11th with a double. After an intentional walk to Bobby Bonds, Forster got Cochrane to ground into a fielder’s choice. Lundy was walked, and Burleigh Grimes came in to face Henderson. Grimes immediately uncorked a wild pitch, and we were tied once more. Grimes got Grant to bounce back to the mound, and the runner was cut down at the plate. Two outs, bases loaded, and Reggie Jackson at the plate. Jackson whiffed, and off we go to the 12th.

With 2 outs in the 12th, consecutive singles from Jackie Robinson and Dickie Thon put Brooklyn up 8-5. And a strikeout by Foxx ended the game: the Royal Giants win, having swept San Francisco at home and shocking the world with victories in the first 2 games.

White and Foxx were the stars of their respective teams, each with 3 hits and 2 RBIs.

BRK 8 (Grimes 1-0, 1 B Sv; Koufax 2 H; Hildenberger H 4; Gagne 1 B Sv) @ SFS 5 (Beck 0-1)
HRs: BRK – Becker (4), White (3); SFS – Foxx (6).
Box Score

Von Ohlen has a busted disc, with Brooklyn recalling the immensely impressive Dick Redding.

TWIWBL 86.2: Whirled Series Preview!

By mknn

On January 24, 2026

In 2001 Playoffs, 2001 Whirled Series, TWIWBL

And here we are for all the marbles … in the end, it’s the series most people wanted, where the 2 teams with the best records in the regular season meet to decide the champion.

From the AL, we have the San Francisco Sea Lions, who finished with the best record in the WBL and 103 wins. They’ll face the Brooklyn Royal Giants, who led the NL with 99 regular season wins.

We’ll do a more detailed preview here, as befits the Whirled Series.

#Starting Pitching

What a pair of staffs we have here …

Brooklyn has a legit top 5, and while Frank Knauss hasn’t seen much action in the postseason, when your #5 starter has a WAR of 3.3 and a WHIP of 1.34, you’re doing OK.

Orel Hershiser (19-5, 3.69) will lead the way, followed by Don Drysedale (11-8, 5.66), Smokey Joe Williams (12-13, 3.93), and Fernando Valenzuela (14-5, 3.69). Some things jump out: first, Drysedale’s ERA. At the end of June, Drysedale was 5-4 with a 7.00 ERA. Since then, he shaved nearly a run off his ERA and won 5 in a row before a bit of a late season slump. Second, Smokey Joe’s record, which is largely inexplicable, other than pitching is weird. His FIP, SIERA, OPS against, etc. are all pretty fantastic. 5 of the losses came in games where Williams delivered a game score over 50, so it seems fine to chalk it up to an extraordinary run of bad luck.

But San Francisco can hold their heads high in the matchup, at least in the first 3 spots, where Lefty Grove (16-6, 4.40), Eddie Plank (20-6, 4.42) and Bump Hadley (18-6, 4.10) form the best rotation in the AL. It’s not clear who starts game 4 for San Francisco, but Tim Hudson, Tommy Bridges, Jim Devlin, and Watty Clark all were quite solid during the season.

Still Brooklyn has a top 4, San Francisco has a top 3, and Brooklyn generally allowed about 1/2 a run less. So, edge Brooklyn as San Francisco faces perhaps the only team where that would be true.

#Relief Pitching

San Francisco had a great back end to their bullpen, and then they acquired Joe Nathan. Nathan had racked up 22 saves as Los Angeles’ closer, but slid easily into a setup role with the Sea Lions, combining with Ken Howell to create a bridge to Rod Beck, whose 41 saves led the WBL. The three of them combined for 69 saves and 22 holds over the season, and while each had struggled at times, Beck finished with a 1.00 WHIP and Howell with a 2.79 ERA. Nathan’s arrival moved Huston Street down a notch in the pecking order, but he’s still a reasonable option.

If Beck wasn’t the best closer in the game, Brooklyn’s Eric Gagne was. Gagne had 39 saves and better peripheral numbers than Beck, proving nearly unhittable over the season. Trevor Hildenberger and Terry Forster were fantastic getting him the ball, with solid support from Dave Von Ohlen. Those 3 combined for 34 holds, although there have been some wobbles as of late. Mention must be made as well of Sandy Koufax, who started the year in Brooklyn’s rotation, but has been even more effective since joining the pen. Koufax’s stuff is eye-popping, and he finished the season with a 1.16 WHIP while averaging nearly 10 strikeouts per 9 innings.

Too close to call imo. Call this one even.

#C

Both teams are extremely strong here. Brooklyn’s Mike Piazza might be the best hitting backstop not named Josh Gibson, finishing the year with 48 homers, 117 RBI’s, and a 297/329/614. The Sea Lions’ Mickey Cochrane gets on base more than Piazza, but his over OPS is 60 points lower. Piazza is also on fire, coming into the Whirled Series having been the MVP of both the Wild Card and Division series. So, despite Cochrane slashing 289/371/513 and being a notch above Piazza defensively, the Royal Giants have a clear edge here.

#1B/3B

Ron Cey was Brooklyn’s best offensive player throughout the season, finishing with 47 homers and a 1.038 OPS. At 1B, when healthy, Dan Brouthers has been excellent, slashing 317/363/587 and, when Brouthers was unavailable, the Royal Giants turned to a mixture of Jackie Robinson and Pedro Guerrero.

But San Francisco counters with 100 homeruns and over 200 RBIs between Jack Clark and Jimmie Foxx. Clear edge, San Francisco.

#2B/SS

This one gets complicated.

San Francisco now trots out Dick Lundy and Frank Grant, who came over in a midseason trade. Lundy and Grant have 100 steals between them, and play great defense. Lundy hit better than Grant, but both are above average for their positions. The Sea Lions have Royce Clayton and his shocking .900+ OPS on the bench, along with the very versatile Phil Garner.

2B for Brooklyn is held down by Robinson, generally considered the heart and soul of the Royal Giants while hitting 288/369/549 with 52 steals. So that’s a clear edge for Brooklyn. But SS has been a struggle for the Royal Giants all year, with a mixture of Ray Dandridge and midseason acquisition Vern Stephens. Stephens .800 OPS with Brooklyn has been great, but is also far above his lifetime performance. Dandridge, on the other hand, is hitting over .400 in the postseason, but that’s an OPS 200 points above his season performance.

So, sure, Brooklyn could have the edge here. Could, if Stephens or Dandridge continue to overperform. But you really have to assume the Sea Lions edge it in the middle infield.

#OF/DH

More separation here.

Brooklyn’s trio of John Briggs, Beals Becker, Duke Snider, and Roy White are all good, with roughly 150 homeruns between them. Becker has speed, White gold glove level defense, and their OPS’ run from .934 (Briggs) to .849 (White). So … absolutely solid.

And then there’s San Francisco. Turkey Stearnes, Reggie Jackson, Bobby Bonds, and Rickey Henderson combined for about the same number of homeruns, but Henderson’s 126 steals led the WBL, the defense is comparable, and while Henderson and White have comparable OPS’, Stearnes and Jackson are both solidly above Briggs.

Clear edge to San Francisco.

#Overall

So, it comes down to a question of whether Brooklyn’s edge on the mound can suppress San Francisco’s superior firepower. It’s not clear they can, and while the teams should be quite close, San Francisco won more in the regular season and should prevail here.

But Brooklyn has a shot, and should certainly make it difficult.

Let’s say San Francisco in 6, with 5 of them being close games.

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 84.6: AL Wild Card Series – Detroit Wolverines v San Francisco Sea Lions

By mknn

On January 11, 2026

In 2001 Playoffs, TWIWBL

#Game 1 – Thu, Oct 4

The opening game will see Detroit’s Charlie Root taking on San Francisco’s Lefty Grove.

With Hank Greenberg out, Detroit will insert JD Martinez into the lineup, with Juan Beníquez taking over for Greenberg at 1B. They’ll also opt for more offense, with both Ray Chapman and Tony Lazzeri starting the game at SS and 2B respectively.

The game was scoreless until Reggie Jackson took Root deep in the bottom of the 2nd. Rickey Henderson added a 2-run shot in the 3rd, increasing the lead to 3-0. And then it was Bobby Bonds‘ turn, with a 2 run shot for a 5-0 lead.

Meanwhile, Grove was dealing, allowing only 2 hits through 5 innings.

Root settled down and made it through 6 innings before yielding to Justin Verlander.

Oscar Gamble broke up the shutout with a homerun in the 8th, a blow that also chased Grove from the game.

In the top of the 9th, Ken Howell gave up a pinch-hit double to Victor Martinez, who was replaced by pinch-runner Charlie Gehringer. Howell uncorked consecutive wild pitches, and Gehringer came home, closing the score to 5-2. But Howell got out of it, and San Francisco opened the series with a win.

The story of the game was really Grove, who allowed 4 hits and 1 run while fanning 5 in 7+ innings.

DET 2 (Root 0-1) @ SFS 5 (Grove 1-0)
HRs: DET – Gamble (1); SFS – Jackson (1), Henderson (1), Bonds (1).
Box Score

#Game 2, Fri Oct 5

The mercurial Hal Newhouser will take the ball for Detroit, with San Francisco looking to Eddie Plank–1 of only 2 20 game winners this year in the WBL–to extend the Sea Lions’ edge to 2 games to none.

Again, Detroit is stacking its lineup, trading extra offense for Ty Cobb‘s lack of skill patrolling CF.

It looked like they would need all of that and more as Newhouser surrendered 5 consecutive hits to start the game: a double by Rickey Henderson, singles by Dick Lundy and Reggie Jackson, a 3 run homer from Jack Clark (Lundy had already brought Henderson home), and a single by Turkey Stearnes. Royce Clayton drove in 2 more before Henderson grounded out to end the inning with San Francisco up, 6-0.

Ernie Lombardi took Plank deep in the 3rd for Cleveland’s first hit, and Ray Chapman did the same for their second, making it 6-2. But Newhouser continued to struggle, eventually walking Henderson with the bases loaded, making the score 7-2 and bringing in Johnny Marcum from the Wolverines’ bullpen. Lundy greeted Marcum with a bases clearing triple, and it just got worse from there for Detroit.

By the time it was over, San Francisco had pounded out 23 hits and 17 runs, winning easily, 17-4.

Stearnes had 4 hits, Clark drove in 5, and Henderson scored 4 times in the rout.

DET 4 (Newhouser 0-1) @ SFS 17 (Plank 1-0)
HRs: DET – Lombardi (1), Chapman (1), Martinez (1); SFS – Clark (1), Stearnes (1).
Box Score

#Game 3, Sun Oct 7

Detroit will turn to Connie Johnson, trying to win their first game of the series while San Francisco will counter with Bump Hadley. Johnson has been fine since Detroit brought him over midseason, while Hadley is the third jewel in San Francisco’s rotation, finishing the season with a record of 18-6.

Detroit took an early lead, with Ty Cobb singling, stealing 2nd, and scoring on a Hank Greenberg single, but the lead was short-lived, as Turkey Stearnes doubled home Jack Clark. Stearnes would hit one out in the top of the 4th, giving San Francisco the 2-1 edge.

But in the bottom of the frame, Al Kaline hit 1 out with Oscar Gamble on first and Ernie Lombardi scored on a Chili Davis sac fly. 4-2 Detroit. Johnson was chased in the 5th via a Dick Lundy triple, a double from Rickey Henderson, and a 2-run shot from Reggie Jackson. Jimmie Foxx added an RBI single, and the Sea Lions now had a 2 run lead, 6-4.

Lundy added a solo shot in the top of the 6th, but Gamble answered with a homer of his own in the bottom of the inning. JD Martinez delivered a pinch-hit single, scoring a run and chasing Hadley. Watty Clark loaded the bases, bringing up Cobb, who delivered a 2-run single, and the see-saw kept moving, with Detroit now leading, 8-7.

Detroit added runs in the 8th on consecutive doubles from Martinez and Charlie Gehringer, followed by a massive moon shot from Bob Bailey, giving them a 4 run edge heading into the top of the 9th.

Chad Bradford allowed a couple baserunners, but was able to close it out, and Detroit clawed their way back into the series with their first win.

Cobb had 3 hits on the day, but the game was really won by the effectiveness of Troy Percival, Buddy Napier, and Bradford, who combined for 3 innings of 1-hit relief to end the game.

SFS 7 (Clark 0-1, 1 B Sv) @ DET 11 (Verlander 1-0; Percival 1 H; Napier 1 H)
HRs: SFS – Stearnes (2), Jackson (2), Lundy (1); DET – Kaline (1), Gamble (2), Bailey (1).
Box Score

#Game 4, Mon Oct 8

If Detroit is to fulfill the role of underdog, this is a pretty important game. The Wolverines would turn to the relatively unheralded Pete Conway–who might be their best starter right now–while the Sea Lions would trot out veteran Tim Hudson. The 38 year old Hudson has been dominant since his return from a long-term injury, so we may see just how much he has in the tank.

With Chili Davis still looking for his first hit in the postseason, Detroit opted for its offensive lineup with Ty Cobb taking over in center, opening the DH spot for JD Martinez.

The Sea Lions started hot: a Rickey Henderson triple followed by a sacrifice fly from Mickey Cochrane and a solo homerun from Reggie Jackson gave San Francisco an early 2-0 edge. Al Kaline got 1 back with a solo shot in the second, and Bob Bailey tied the game with a homerun of his own in the 3rd.

Jimmie Foxx was tossed from the game for arguing balls and strikes, bringing Sal Bando in for San Francisco at 3B.

Then Kaline took Hudson deep for his second of the game, putting Detroit on top, 4-2. Singles from Martinez and Bailey chased Hudson, with Martinez scoring on a sacrifice fly. 5-2.

Jackson went deep for the second time, but Kaline drove in another, keeping Detroit’s 3 run cushion at 6-3 through 5. Conway was done at that point, with Detroit turning the ball over to Jack Wilson, who kept San Francisco scoreless until the 8th, when Buddy Napier took the mound.

Napier gave up a single to Cochrane and a double to Jack Clark, bringing up Turkey Stearnes, who singled home a run, but Bando bounced into a double play, leaving the score 6-4. Which is where it stood when Chad Bradford came in for the save. He surrendered a double to Dick Lundy, but that was it and, improbably, the Wolverines have made it a best of 3 series.

Kaline drove in 4 on 3 hits for Detroit, and now has 3 homers and 7 RBIs in the series.

SFS 4 (Hudson 0-1) @ DET 6 (Conway 1-0; Bradford 1 Sv; Wilson 1 H; Napier 2 H)
HRs: SFS – Jackson (2) 4; DET – Kaline 2 (3), Bailey (2).
Box Score

#Game 5, Tue Oct 9

Suddenly, there is only 1 series still in doubt, and it wasn’t the one anyone would have predicted: we’re looking at a best 2-out-of-3 to see who plays Cleveland for the AL crown.

We would see a rematch of the first game, with Lefty Grove taking on Charlie Root.

Detroit continues to juggle its lineup, once again starting Ty Cobb in CF, but benching Juan Beníquez in this game in favor of Oscar Gamble‘s hot hand.

The Sea Lions scored 2 in the top of the first on a homerun from Jack Clark, but it could have been much worse: Ernie Lombardi threw out Rickey Henderson on an attempted steal, and Al Kaline gunned down Mickey Cochrane on the basepaths.

But Detroit answered immediately: Gamble doubled and scored on a single from Cobb. Cobb was gunned down trying to steal a pitch before Hank Greenberg hit a homerun to tie the game.

This feels like a wild one: Bobby Bonds walked, stole 2nd and 3rd, and scored on a passed ball then, in the 3rd, Henderson scored on a walk, steal, sacrifice bunt, and sacrifice fly. Bonds added a more traditional run–a solo homer– in the 4th, making it 5-2, San Francisco in a game where Grove was a little rough–8 strikeouts through 4 innings, but also 7 hits allowed.

A walk to Clark to lead off the 6th chased Root. His relief, Johnny Marcum, struggled, giving up a run-scoring single to Dick Lundy, and walked Henderson with the bases loaded for another. Steve Howe came in and finished the inning, but the damage was done: San Francisco now led 7-2.

Bob Bailey went deep in the 6th, but Grove finished out the frame and, from there, the game slowly slipped further away from Detroit.

Until Lombardi launched a grand slam in the 8th. That made it 12-8, but a 4 run gap is far better than the 9 runs they entered trailing by. Bonds added his 2nd of the game in the 9th, making the score 13-8 heading to the bottom of the frame.

Kaline launched a 3 run shot with 2 outs, closing to 13-11 and forcing the Sea Lions to bring in Rod Beck … who closed it out for the key Game 5 win for San Francisco.

Lundy had 4 hits and Bonds 3 while scoring 4 times. Jackson and Clark each drove in 3 with 2 homers each. For Detroit, Lombardi had 4 RBIs with the grandslam, and Kaline drove in 3 in the losing effort.

On the mound, Grove was just good enough, and Marcum, Howe, and Justin Verlander were all far too poor for the Wolverines.

SFS 13 (Grove 2-0; Beck 1 Sv) @ DET 11 (Root 0-2)
HRs: SFS – Clark 2 (3), Bonds 2 (3), Jackson (5); DET – Greenberg (1), Bailey (3), Lombardi (2), Kaline (4).
Box Score

#Game 6, Thu Oct 11

We’re back in San Francisco for the final 2 games of the series, with Detroit in a must-win situation. We’ll get the rematch from Game 2–Detroit’s Hal Newhouser, who was roughed up, against San Francisco’s 20 game winner, Eddie Plank.

Ray Chapman led off the game with a dinger, but Turkey Stearnes evened it up with an RBI single in the bottom of the 1st. Newhouser continued to struggle, giving up a 3 run shot to Jimmie Foxx in the bottom of the 3rd, which gives San Francisco a 4-1 lead.

Meanwhile, Plank was near-perfect into the 5th, when he gave his 2nd hit, another solo homer, this one to Oscar Gamble. A walk to Bob Bailey and a deep shot from JD Martinez later, and we were all tied at 4.

Newhouser made it into the 5th, making it a much better performance than his first start of the series, but still not up to par. Plank looked better, but the results spoke loudly: with 2 outs in the 7th, Martinez launched his 2nd of the day, putting the Wolverines up, 5-4.

Buddy Napier came in for Detroit in the bottom of the 8th, and a walk to Bobby Bonds and a hit from Cochrane created a difficult situation, but Napier got Henderson to bounce into a double play, ending the inning.

Nursing the 1 run lead, Chad Bradford gave up a 2 out single to Jack Clark, bringing up Stearnes, who was 3-for-4 on the day and hitting .520 for the series. But Bradford got the groundout, and we were heading to a Game 7!

This has to be thought of as a game that got away: San Francisco outhit Detroit 11-4, but the Sea Lions left 10 runners on base and could not deliver what was needed to clinch.

DET 5 (Marcum 1-0; Bradford 2 Sv; Howe 1 H; Napier 3 H) @ SFS 4 (Plank 1-1)
HRs: DET – Chapman 2, Martinez 2 (3); SFS – Foxx (1).
Box Score

#Game 7, Fri Oct 12

So, here we are: game seven for all the marbles with Detroit’s Connie Johnson taking on San Francisco’s Bump Hadley. As has been true the entire series, the matchup favors the Sea Lions, but the Wolverines don’t really care.

San Francisco struck first, with Jack Clark singling home Rickey Henderson, who had doubled and stole 3rd. That gave Clark 9 RBIs in the 7 games, certainly putting him in the MVP conversation. In the bottom of the 3rd, Dick Lundy singled, stole 2nd, moved to 3rd on a groundout, and scored on a sacrifice fly from Mickey Cochrane. That made it 2-0 San Francisco, with Hadley looking good.

In the top of the 5th, a walk and steal by Bob Bailey and an error at 3B by Jimmie Foxx put runners on the corners with 2 outs, but Hadley got Ray Chapman to fly out weakly to RF to end the inning.

Reggie Jackson–likely ahead of Clark in the MVP discussion–tripled home a run in the 5th, increasing the lead to 3-0 and Bobby Bonds made it 4-0 with a solo homer in the 6th, chasing Johnson. This is a must-win, so starter Pete Conway was called in from the pen.

Hadley had a 2 hit shutout through 8 innings, but he was also at 105 pitches in a Game 7, and the Sea Lions decided to take no chances, calling on closer Rod Beck. Back gave up a single to Oscar Gamble, but whiffed Ty Cobb, retired Gamble on a fielder’s choice, and retired Kaline on a fly to left.

So the Sea Lions do progress, but you have to tip your hat to Detroit, taking the best team in the league to a full 7 games.

Gamble had 2 of Detroit’s 3 hits, capping an excellent series (he, along with Kaline and Martinez were the best hitters for the Wolverines). Bonds and Royce Clayton had 2 hits each in the game, but this was really Hadley’s game, and arguably the finest starting performance of the postseason.

DET 0 (Johnson 0-1) @ SFS 4 (Hadley 1-0)
HRs: DET – none; SFS – Bonds (4).
Box Score

There were a lot of choices for MVP, prompted by the Sea Lions 3 games with double-digit runs. The award went to Dick Lundy, who hit .538 with 7 RBI’s in the series. But an argument could be made for Reggie Jackson, who had 5 homers and 11 RBI’s, or for Lefty Grove, who was 2-0 with an ERA under 3.00.

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 83.3: The Final Week!

By mknn

On December 28, 2025

In TWIWBL

Some notes as we move through the final week of the season.

#Monday

Miami moved in front of Detroit by a half game in the AL Wild Card race behind a great start from Phenomenal Smith, whose return may be a difference maker for the Cuban Giants. Smith gave up 1 run in 7 innings, moving to 4-0. Hal Newhouser was good for Detroit, but an early homer from Gary Sheffield and a late one from Joe Adcock sealed the game for Miami.

Miami Cuban Giants	77-79	—
Detroit Wolverines	77-80	0.5

AL Wild Card

Cleveland was supposed to have an easy time of it, hosting the lowly Memphis Red Sox. But the Spiders’ bullpen collapsed, and they dropped a 9-8 decision to the visitors, who were powered by homers from Lefty O’Doul, Hack Wilson, and David Ortiz.

New York Black Yankees	89-67	—
Cleveland Spiders	87-69	2

Bill James Division

In a series that means more for Indianapolis than Philadelphia, the ABC’s opened with a decisive win, 15-8 over the Stars. Johnny Bench hit 2 out, and the game wasn’t as close as the score (Philadelphia tallied 5 in the 9th to make it more respectable).

Houston Colt 45s	81-75	—
Indianapolis ABC’s	78-79	3.5
Kansas City Monarchs	77-80	4.5

Marvin Miller Division

Indianapolis ABC’s	78-79	—
Kansas City Monarchs	77-80	1
Wandering House of David	76-81	2

NL Wild Card

#Tuesday

Detroit pulled back into a dead heat with Miami, pounding out 6 homeruns (2 from JD Martinez) in an 11-5 win. Ernie Lombardi, Tony Lazzeri, Oscar Gamble, and Ty Cobb also went deep for the Wolverines in an easy win for the visitors.

Detroit Wolverines	78-80	—
Miami Cuban Giants	77-80	0.5

AL Wild Card

Memphis did it again, beating Cleveland 4-2, and dropping the Spiders 2.5 games behind the Black Yankees. Homers from Reggie Smith and Wade Boggs backed a strong showing from Stubby Overmire, who moved to 13-9 on the year. The Spiders, however, remained only 2 games behind the Black Yankees as New York fell to San Francisco, 9-0, as Bump Hadley improved to 18-6 with a masterful 1-hitter.

New York Black Yankees	89-68	—
Cleveland Spiders	87-70	2

Bill James Division

Philadelphia stormed back from a 7-1 deficit, beating the ABC’s 8-7 on a pinch-hit walkoff shot from Aaron Judge–his 60th of the year–in a game that saw 2 grandslams, one from Indianapolis’ Ed Swartwood, the other from the Stars’ Charles Rogan. This was good news for Houston, who dropped a 9-8 decision to the New York Gothams, who were powered by 2 homeruns from Willie Mays. Houston remains 3.5 games ahead in the Marvin Miller Division.

Riding an excellent start from Rick Reuschel, the House of David pulled into a tie with Kansas City by defeating the Monarchs 3-1. Reuschel was supported by Ryne Sandberg‘s 40th homer of the year, and the win leaves both teams 1 game behind Indianapolis in the Wild Card race.

Houston Colt 45s	81-75	—
Indianapolis ABC’s	78-79	3.5
Kansas City Monarchs	77-80	4.5

Marvin Miller Division

Indianapolis ABC’s	78-80	—
Kansas City Monarchs	77-81	1
Wandering House of David	77-81	1

NL Wild Card

#Wednesday

What you see depends on where you stand: Miami fans will be miserable at their bullpen’s performance, as the Cuban Giants’ relievers surrendered 11 runs over the final 4 innings n an 11-8 loss to Detroit. Wolverines fans, of course, will be applauding the clutch performance of their team, led by Juan Beníquez‘ 4 hits and 3 RBI’s from Charlie Gehringer and Bob Bailey. The win moves Detroit 1.5 games up in the Wild Card chase.

Detroit Wolverines	79-80	—
Miami Cuban Giants	77-81	1.5

AL Wild Card

The Spiders are struggling, but they refuse to give up: a Larry Doby homerun and walkoff RBI single from John Ellis gave Cleveland a 9-8 win over Memphis, keeping them at least within touch of the Black Yankees for the Bill James Division crown. Willie McCovey hit his 15th homerun in 35 games, and Paul O’Neill (the first of his WBL career) and Ron Blomberg also went deep.

The Black Yankees fell to San Francisco, as Eddie Plank earned his 20th win of the season with 6 strong innings for the Sea Lions. San Francisco’s bullpen–Ken Howell, Joe Nathan, and closer Rod Beck–fanned 7 of the 9 batters they retired, with Beck earning his 40th save of the season.

New York Black Yankees	89-69	—
Cleveland Spiders	88-70	1

Bill James Division

Houston bounced back in a big way, using a phenomenal start from Ice Box Chamberlain and 7 homeruns to beat the Gothams, 9-2. Chamberlain allowed 1 hit in just under 8 innings, fanning 12 and 2 of the important cogs in the Colt 45’s late season surge–OF Gorman Thomas and C Will Smith–carried the team, twice launching back-to-back homeruns. Jim Wynn led off the game with a dinger, and Paul Goldschmidt and Jim O’Rourke also went deep.

The victory sealed the pennant for Houston, setting off raucous celebrations in the home dugout. It also meant all of the attention in the NL is now focused on the final Wild Card Spot, currently owned by Indianapolis, but with Kansas City and the House of David hot on their heels (and Homestead still hanging around with at least a mathematical chance).

After fighting back from a 6-1 deficit, Indianapolis suffered a gut-wrenching loss, falling to Philadelphia, 12-8. The Stars were led by homeruns from Sherm Lollar, Harmon Killebrew, Jung Ho Kang, and Sherry Magee.

Ryne Sandberg had 4 hits including a go-ahead solo homer in the bottom of the 8th as the House of David topped Kansas City, 6-5. Jack Taylor continued a late-season rebound with a solid start, but both bullpens struggled in this one. The victory moves the House of David into a dead heat with Indianapolis in the Wild Card chase, with Kansas City 1 game back.

Indianapolis ABC’s	78-81	—
Wandering House of David	78-81	—
Kansas City Monarchs	77-82	1
Homestead Grays	76-83	2

NL Wild Card

#Thursday

Miami just refuses to lose: Cleveland had taken the lead, 5-4 in the 6th inning, but the Cuban Giants scored 8 runs in their final 2 frames in a 12-6 victory. Miami pounded out 17 hits, led by 3 each from Jim Thome and Martín Dihigo. The game was never sure: Cuban Giants pitchers gave up 8 walks, so the Spiders had constant traffic on the basepaths. But they did just enough, with homeruns from Julio Rodríguez, Dihigo, Alejandro Oms, and Thome.

With the result, the Spiders drop to 1.5 games behind the Black Yankees and the Cuban Giants move to 1 game behind Detroit in the Wild Card race.

Detroit Wolverines	79-80	—
Miami Cuban Giants	78-81	1

AL Wild Card

Speaking of the Black Yankees … their bullpen continues to be their Achilles’ heel, with 4 relievers giving up 9 runs in 2.1 innings. Ouch. The big blows were homeruns from Jimmie Foxx and Bobby Bonds as San Francisco defeated New York, 13-10.

New York Black Yankees	89-70	—
Cleveland Spiders	88-71	1

Bill James Division

#Friday

The Black Yankees continue not to grab the Bill James Division by the throat, falling to lowly Baltimore 5-4 in the opening game of the final series of the season. Homers from Eddie Murray, Manny Machado, and a final go-ahead blast from Earl Averill gave the Black Sox the edge in another game that saw less than stellar performances from New York’s bullpen.

Two homers from Gary Sheffield carried Miami to a 5-4 win over Cleveland, preserving New York’s 1 game advantage, and keeping the pressure on Detroit. The Cuban Giants got another strong outing from Jim Whitney, and were able to fade a 9th inning comeback from the Spiders for the victory.

So what will Detroit do with their opportunity?

Play a game for the ages where they held leads of 3-1, 4-2, 9-5, and 10-6. And it was never enough as, after closer Mike Henneman was forced from the game with a back injury, Troy Percival came in and gave up a grand slam to Manny Ramírez and a walkoff shot to Gabby Hartnett. Both Ramírez and Hartnett had 2 homers in the game, while Al Kaline had 2 for Detroit. Kaline had 3 hits and 7 RBIs while Hartnett had 4 hits for Memphis. A true thriller of a game that leaves everything pretty much undecided.

New York Black Yankees	89-71	—
Cleveland Spiders	88-72	1

Bill James Division

Detroit Wolverines	79-81	—
Miami Cuban Giants	79-81	—

AL Wild Card

The House of David fell to Houston 8-2, as all eyes turned to the 4 game series between Indianapolis and Kansas City.

Kansas City’s Smokey Joe Wood and the ABC’s’ Luis Padrón squared off in the series opener and while each pitched well, neither were involved in the decision. Instead, after a 2 run shot from Ducky Medwick tied the game, Kansas City won it on a sacrifice fly from Dale Murphy in the bottom of the 9th. So Padrón fails in his attempt to win his 24th game of the year and, more importantly, Kansas City forces a 3 way dead heat for the final Wild Card spot.

Indianapolis ABC’s	78-82	—
Wandering House of David	78-82	—
Kansas City Monarchs	77-82	—
Homestead Grays	76-84	2

NL Wild Card

#Saturday

Memphis keeps embracing their role as spoiler while relying on a handful of late season call ups. In this case, Bucky Walters gave a good starting performance, Lefty O’Doul had 3 hits, and Wayne Causey drove in 2 with an 8th inning single for a 5-3 victory over Detroit.

It sure looks like Miami has found a key part of their rotation: Phenomenal Smith improved to 5-0, combining with Ricky Nolasco on a 3 hit shutout of Cleveland. Smith struck out 10 before yielding to Nolasco, for the last 2 outs. Martín Dihigo drove in 2 runs, continuing his second half surge.

Miami moves a full game ahead of Detroit for the Wild Card slot, and Cleveland falls 1.5 games behind the Black Yankees for the Bill James Division title, with New York’s magic number reduce to 1.

And then it was none. New York topped Baltimore 11-7 behind homers from Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, and Roger Maris, giving the Black Yankees their first Bill James Division title.

Miami Cuban Giants	80-81	—
Detroit Wolverines	79-82	1

AL Wild Card

Oh boy … Indianapolis has nobody to blame but themselves.

Behind a great start from Johnny Cueto and 3 RBI’s from Oscar Charleston, the ABC’s took a 6-2 lead into the bottom of the 9th, with their closer, Rob Dibble, on the mound. Dibble got one out, and then 16 of his next 20 pitches missed the strike zone, resulting in 4 consecutive walks, scoring a run. Rob Murphy relieved Dibble, and an RBI groundout and 2 wild pitches later, the game was tied at 6.

Cool Papa Bell walked in the bottom of the 10th, stole second, and scored on a hit from Ozzie Smith, moving Kansas City a game ahead in the Wild Card race.

#Sunday

The final day of the season leaves both final Wild Card spots up for grabs: in the AL, Miami has a 1 game lead over Detroit and in the NL, Kansas City has the edge over both Indianapolis and the House of David.

Miami was unable to clinch it: Larry Doby became the 2nd player in WBL history (and the first in the AL) to hit 4 homeruns in a game, driving in 7 as Cleveland topped the Cuban Giants, 13-7. That leaves Miami’s fate in the hands of Detroit later in the day.

Detroit used a mix of the old reliable–2 homeruns from Al Kaline and 1 from Ty Cobb–and the newly acquired (a strong start from Connie Johnson and key innings from Steve Howe and Troy Percival) to beat Memphis, 8-4.

And so, we finish in a dead heat.

Miami Cuban Giants	80-82	—
Detroit Wolverines	80-82	—

AL Wild Card

Eppa Rixey combined with 4 relievers (including an important 1.2 innings from Doc Mitchell), leading the ABC’s to a 7-3 win over Kansas City, meaning Indianapolis and the Monarchs finish with identical 79-83 records. The only question is if the House of David will join them in a 3-way tie for the final playoff spot.

Nope.

The House of David tried valiantly, and even outhit Houston, 10-8, but they fell to the Colt 45’s, 10-9 in a game that saw Tony Gwynn rap out 3 hits, reaching 200 on the season. Richie Hebner, Ryne Sandberg, and Anthony Rizzo each had 2 hits, but they didn’t get enough support as the House of David season ends, falling just short of the postseason.

#Monday

So, two playoff games, winner makes the postseason.

#AL

First up, we have Miami visiting Detroit.

The Cuban Giants will turn to Hugh McQuillan who, despite being roughed up in his last start, has been solid for Miami. If he struggles early, look for Jim Whitney to try to give the team some innings on short rest. For Detroit, Pete Conway will take the mound, also on a pretty short leash.

Ty Cobb may be almost universally disliked, but his baseball talent cannot be denied: he launched a 3 run homer in the top of the first and a grand slam in the 2nd, helping Detroit to a 9-0 lead after 2 innings.

Conway, meanwhile, had allowed a single run on 3 hits through 5, and left after 6 with the score 13-2.

Miami scored 3 in the 9th, but fell well short, 14-5. In the end, a just result, as Detroit really feels like the better team. Still, the Cuban Giants went from being the worst team in the league to being this close to the playoffs: a good year for them.

Cobb finished with 2 homers and 7 RBIs, and Al Kaline, Charlie Gehringer, Ernie Lombardi, and Hank Greenberg each also went deep. There was some bad news on Greenberg, who will be out of action for a few days with a leg injury.

#NL

Indianapolis would turn to Doc White while Kansas City gave the start to young Matt Morris.

Kansas City took an early lead on Albert Pujols‘ second homerun of the game, pulling ahead 6-3 after 3 innings, with the ABC’s runs coming on longballs from George Foster and Chris Sabo.

Morris was OK–not great, but not bad–until Tommy Helms singled and scored on a double from Barry Larkin in the top of the 4th. A Bob Bescher walk put runners on the corner, and fetched Frank Castillo from the bullpen. The move backfired as Sabo and Oscar Charleston singled and, after a couple of outs, Johnny Bench brought home 2 with a single of his own, giving Indianapolis an 8-7 lead. Foster followed with his 2nd dinger of the game, extending the lead to 10-7 and chasing Castillo. His successor, Bob Shawkey, gave upa solo shot to Helms and when all of the dust settled, the ABC’s had scored 8 and were up 11-7.

The ABC’s coasted from there, riding additional homeruns by Ed Charles and Sabo to a 15-8 win, powering Indianapolis into the postseason. Sabo drove in 5 and Foster 4, with each of them notching 3 hits on the day.

Kansas City had ridden its pitching staff all year; here their arms betrayed them, surrendering 14 hits and 15 runs.