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TWIWBL 71.1: Year 2, Week 14

On January 27, 2025

July 2nd

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

#Awards

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

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

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

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

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

#Team Performance

Yawn.

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

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

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

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

#Player Performance

Batters

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

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

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

Pitchers

Starters

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

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

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

Relievers

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

18 IP minimum.

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

#Injury Report

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

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

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

#The All Star Candidates

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

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

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

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

#C

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

Name	Tm / Lg	OPS	Reg Stats	Other
Josh Gibson	HOM / NL	1.229	5.1 WAR; 67 RBI	3.1 FRM
Gary Carter	OTT /NL	1.073	28 HR	47.1 RTO%
Mike Piazza	BRK / NL	1.042	29 HR; 65 RBI	4.87 CERA
Ed Bailey	DET / AL	.972		57 G/216 PA; 43.6 RTO%
Jim Pagliaroni	BBB / NL	.925		61 G/231 PA
Mickey Cochrane	SFS / AL	.917		10 SB; 4.39 CERA
Ted Simmons	KCM / NL	.900		63 G/256 PA; 4.15 CERA
Buster Posey	NYG / NL	.870		3.8 FRM
Joe Mauer	POR / AL	.856		14 SB
Curt Blefary	BAL /AL	.826
Carlton Fisk	CAG / AL	.800		67 G/254 PA; 11 SB

FRM = Framing Runs | RTO% = Runners Thrown Out | CERA = Catcher ERA

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

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

Gibson and Cochrane should be the starters.

#1B

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

Name	Tm / Lg	OPS	Reg Stats	Other
Lou Gehrig	NYY / AL	1.057	28 HR; 21 2B; 65 RBI	.995 Fldg
Will Clark	NYG / NL	1.006
Frank Thomas	CAG / AL	1.004
Hank Greenberg	DET / AL	.991	26 HR	.998 Fldg; 3.1 ZR
Mike Epstein	HOM / NL	.965
Anthony Rizzo	HOD / NL	.964
Lance Berkman	CLE / AL	.957
Jim Thome	MCG / AL	.927	28 HR; 64 RBI
Jeff Bagwell	HOU / NL	.923	66 RBI	.995 Fldg
Boog Powell	KCM / NL	.920		.995 Fldg; 9.23 RF; 2.9 ZR

Fldg = Fielding % | RF = Range Factor | ZR = Zone Rating

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

#2B

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

Name	Tm / Lg	OPS	Reg Stats	Other
Joe Morgan	IND / NL	1.088		47 G/199 PA
Roberto Alomar	OTT/ NL	1.008	21 2B; 18 HR; 64 RBI; 31 SB; 3.5 WAR
Ryne Sandberg	HOD / NL	.995	28 HR; 60 RBI; 2.9 WAR	.997 Fldg; 5.00 RF
Jackie Robinson	BRK / NL	.938
Rogers Hornsby	POR / AL	.919		53 G/234 PA
Charlie Gehringer	DET / AL	.876		57 G/225 PA; .989 Fldg; 5.09 RF
Eddie Collins	CAG / AL	.850	36 SB
Bobby Grich	LAA / AL	.845	15 HR
Craig Biggio	HOU / NL	.841
Chase Utley	PHI / NL	.781		4.92 RF; 9.3 ZR
Cookie Rojas	MCG / AL	.766	27 2B	.987 Fldg

Fldg = Fielding % | RF = Range Factor | ZR = Zone Rating

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

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

#SS

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

Name	Tm / Lg	OPS	Reg Stats	Other
Ernie Banks	HOD/ NL	.978	30 HR; 71 RBI
Cal Ripken, Jr.	BAL / AL	.967		39 G/140 PA; .993 Fldg; 4.90 RF
Carlos Correa	HOU/ NL	.929	18 2B; 2.8 WAR
Arky Vaughan	CLE / AL	.887	19 2B; 2.4 WAR	6.3 ZR
Álex Rodríguez	OTT / NL	.885	23 HR
Robin Yount	MCG / AL	.845	15 HR	5.8 ZR
Jim Fregosi	POR / AL	.793
Dick Lundy	SFS / AL	.783	7 3B; 2.1 WAR; 33 SB
Derek Jeter	NYY / AL	.762
Dobie Moore	MEM / AL	.750	22 SB	.983 Fldg
Ozzie Smith	KCM / NL	.672	19 2B; 25 SB	.994 Fldg; 6.3 ZR

Fldg = Fielding % | RF = Range Factor | ZR = Zone Rating

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

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

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

#3B

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

Name	Tm / Lg	OPS	Reg Stats	Other
Albert Pujols	KCM / NL	1.046	32 2B; 60 RBI; 2.8 WAR
Ron Cey	BRK / NL	.967	2.4 WAR	.976 Fldg; 3.3 ZR
Gary Sheffield	MCG/ AL	.929	22 HR; 55 RBI; 15 SB
Evan Longoria	CLE / AL	.926		2.2 ZR
Mike Schmidt	NYY / AL	.926	23 HR; 55 RBI	2.59 RF
Scott Rolen	PHI / NL	.922	2.1 WAR	.974 Fldg; 2.7 ZR
Ron Santo	HOD /NL	.906		52 G/192 PA
Eddie Mathews	BBB / NL	.904	24 HR	.978 Fldg; 2.66 RF
Wade Boggs	MEM / AL	.896	26 2B

Fldg = Fielding % | RF = Range Factor | ZR = Zone Rating

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

#OF

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

#LF

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

Name	Tm / Lg	OPS	Reg Stats	Other
Babe Ruth	NYY / AL	1.201	40 HR; 90 RBI; 5.0 WAR	.988 Fldg; 5.1 ZR
Ted Williams	MEM / AL	1.063	23 2B; 65 RBI
Frank Robinson	BAL / AL	1.035	24 HR; 64 RBI; 2.3 WAR	1.000 Fldg
Adam Dunn	IND / NL	.906	24 HR	.989 Fldg; 3.41 RF
Roy White	BRK / NL	.866
Oscar Gamble	DET / AL	.852
Rickey Henderson	SFS / AL	.840	2.8 WAR; 60 SB	7.2 ZR
Tim Raines	OTT / NL	.773	7 3B; 53 SB

Fldg = Fielding % | RF = Range Factor | ZR = Zone Rating

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

#CF

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

Name	Tm / Lg	OPS	Reg Stats	Other
Rick Monday	OTT /NL	1.172		41 G/136 PA
Tris Speaker	CLE / AL	1.088	31 2B; 4.0 WAR	2.68 RF; 5.1 ZR; 6 Kills
Turkey Stearnes	SFS / AL	1.065	7 3B; 24 HR
Eric Davis	NYY / AL	1.058	26 SB	41 G/188 PA; 1.000 Fldg
Julio Rodríguez	MCG / AL	1.052		39 G/177 PA
Oscar Charleston	IND / NL	1.027	9 3B; 60 RBI; 24 SB
Willie Mays	NYG / NL	.977	31 HR; 62 RBI; 2.9 WAR	.990 Fldg; 2.70 RF; 7.7 ZR
Mike Trout	LAA / AL	.965	24 2B; 2.8 WAR; 21 SB	1.000 Fldg
Carlos Beltrán	OTT / NL	.916	63 RBI; 21 SB
Alejandro Oms	MCG / AL	.883	5 3B	6.3 ZR
Curtis Granderson	BBB / NL	.876	26 HR	3.01 RF

Fldg = Fielding % | RF = Range Factor | ZR = Zone Rating

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

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

#RF

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

Name	Tm / Lg	OPS	Reg Stats	Other
José Canseco	MCG / AL	1.109	36 HR
Larry Walker	OTT / NL	1.090	36 HR; 85 RBI; 22.4 WAR	3.89 RF
Reggie Jackson	SFS / AL	1.027	63 RBI; 2.8 WAR; 24 SB
Tony Gwynn	HOU / NL	1.026	6 3B; 24 2B; 2.8 WAR
Aaron Judge	PHI / NL	.994		.992 Fldg
Mickey Mantle	NYY / AL	.993	30 HR; 76 RBI
Joe Jackson	CAG /AL	.986	39 2B; 27 SB
Stan Musial	KCM / NL	.964	37 2B	5.5 ZR
Johnny Callison	NYG / NL	.945		.993 Fldg
Mookie Betts	MEM / AL	.865	24 2B	1.000 Fldg

Fldg = Fielding % | RF = Range Factor | ZR = Zone Rating

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

#DH

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

Name	Tm / Lg	OPS	Reg Stats	Other
Ty Cobb	DET / AL	1.350	37 2B; 8 3B; 26 HR; 73 RBI; 5.8 WAR; 31 SB
Kal Daniels	LAA / AL	1.023	21 2B; 2.3 WAR; 30 SB
Manny Ramírez	MEM / AL	.986		56 G/224 PA
Ryan Braun	MCG/ AL	.982	31 HR
Willie Stargell	HOM / NL	.980	27 HR
Gavvy Cravath	BAL / AL	.926	22 2B; 69 RBI
Benny Kauff	NYG / NL	.909

Fldg = Fielding % | RF = Range Factor | ZR = Zone Rating

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

#P

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

All pitchers are sorted by ERA.

#SP

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

Name	Tm / Lg	W-L; ERA	Reg Stats	Other
Toad Ramsey	HOU / NL	11-4, 2.77	152 K; 0.89 WHIP; 5.2 WAR; 2.80 FIP	71% QS; 5 CG; 2 SHO; 2.34 SIERA; 1.7 WPA
Doc Gooden	LAA / AL	7-5, 3.17
Hardie Henderson	PHI/ NL	9-6, 3.18
Smokey Joe Williams	BRK / NL	7-7, 3.41	3.4 WAR
Ed Walsh	CAG / AL	6-3, 3.41	1.06 WHIP
Eddie Plank	SFS / AL	11-3, 3.54
Roger Clemens	HOU / NL	9-4, 3.71		65% QS
Lefty Grove	SFS / AL	10-4, 3.71	132 K	4 CG; 3 SHO; 2.87 SIERA
Johnny Cueto	IND / NL	8-4, 3.75		67% QS
Rube Foster	IND / NL	6-4, 3.80
Ron Guidry	NYY / AL	8-4, 3.86	143 K	2.58 SIERA
Orel Hershiser	BRK / NL	10-4, 3.87
Brett Anderson	LAA / AL	7-2, 3.91	1.06 WHIP
Andy Pettitte	NYY / AL	9-5, 4.05
Bump Hadley	SFS / AL	11-4, 4.21	3.50 FIP
Luis Padrón	IND / NL	11-2, 4.21	3.3 WA; 3.57 FIP
Frank Castillo	KCM / NL	10-1, 4.22		3 CG; 2 SHO
José Méndez	MCG / AL	6-4, 4.45

FIP = Fielding Independent Pitching | QS = Quality Starts | SIERA = Skill Interactive ERA | WPA = Win Probability Added

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

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

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

#Swingmen / Long Relivers

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

Name	Tm / Lg	W-L; ERA	Reg Stats	Other
A. Rube Foster	KCM/ NL	5-1, 2.30	0.98 WHIP	7 GS; 90 IP; 86% QS; 2 SHO; 1.0 WPA
Jim Whitney	BBB / NL	4-2, 3.26	1 Sv; 2 H; 1.03 WHIP	11 GS; 94 IP; 73% QS; 1.9 WPA
Tom Brewer	SFS / AL	0-1, 2.33	1 Sv; 2 H	2 GS; 27 IP
Fernando Valenzuela	BRK / NL	5-0, 2.37	1 Sv; 4 H; 0.96 WHIP	1 GS; 60 IP; 1.0 WPA
Rheal Cormier	NYY / AL	0-2, 6.03	11 H

FIP = Fielding Independent Pitching | QS = Quality Starts | SIERA = Skill Interactive ERA | WPA = Win Probability Added

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

#Closers & Setups

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

Name	Tm / Lg	W-L; ERA	Reg Stats	Other
Brian Wilson	NYG/ NL	1-0, 1.08	11 Sv	17 IP
Craig Kimbrel	KCM / NL	2-1, 1.14	2 Sv; 11 H; 0.89 WHIP	15 SD; 5.6 IRS%; 2.90 SIERA; 2.0 WPA
Harley Young	BBB / NL	1-0, 1.23	3 Sv; 5 H
Ron Robinson	SFS / AL	1-0, 1.64	3 Sv; 3 H
Ken Howell	SFS / AL	4-1, 1.72	1 Sv; 4 H
Robb Nen	NYG / NL	3-2, 1.95	9 Sv; 6 H
Eddie Guardado	KCM / NL	2-1, 2.08	1 Sv; 5 H	2.92 SIERA
Tug McGraw	HOU / NL	3-3, 2.16	7 Sv
Ross Reynolds	LAA / AL	2-0, 2.19	1 Sv; 1 H
Goose Gossage	NYY / AL	2-3, 2.32	9 Sv; 8 H	.90 Sv%
Lee Smith	HOD / NL	4-1, 2.73	5 Sv; 6 H; 0.73 WHIP
Eric Gagne	BRK / NL	1-1, 2.92	19 Sv	17 SD
Justin Hampson	BAL / AL	0-0, 3.00	7 H; 0.95 WHIP
Terry Adams	CLE / AL	1-2, 3.18	15 Sv; 2 H	.94 Sv%
Josh Lindblom	HOM / NL	4-2, 3.45	20 Sv	.95 Sv%; 16 SD; 1.3 WPA
Rod Beck	SFS / AL	3-2, 3.47	21 Sv; 0.73 WHIP	15 SD
Rob Murphy	IND / NL	1-3, 3.75	1 Sv; 11 H
Michael Jackson	HOM / NL	1-4, 4.13	1 Sv; 10 H
BJ Ryan	OTT / NL	1-2, 4.15	1 Sv; 10 H
Brad Kilby	PHI / NL	1-2, 4.39	2 Sv; 10 H	2.73 SIERA
Rob Dibble	IND / NL	2-2, 5.25	16 Sv
Jeff Pfeffer	KCM / NL	1-3, 5.61	16 Sv

FIP = Fielding Independent Pitching | QS = Quality Starts | SIERA = Skill Interactive ERA | WPA = Win Probability Added

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

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

TWIWBL 70.1: Year 2, Week 13

By mknn

On January 2, 2025

In TWIWBL

{ Happy 2025, y’all! }

June 25th

Today, we’ll check in on last year’s all stars from the National League, and next week review the candidates for this year’s midseason classic.

#Awards

Baltimore is starting to make some noise, led by Frank Robinson, who was the AL Player of the Week after hitting .409 with 3 homeruns. Boog Powell of the Kansas City Monarchs hit .522 with 4 homers, earning honors over in the NL.

#Team Performance

Other than a bit of separation in the Effa Manley Division, not a lot has changed.

The New York Black Yankees still lead the Bill James Division, but Cleveland has closed to within 4. San Francisco, tied with the Black Yankees for the best record in the league, is beginning to run away with the Cum Posey Division, leading Chicago (the only 2nd place team under .500) by 9.5 games.

Brooklyn tops the Effa Manley Division, but it’s still tight, with Homestead 2 and the New York Gothams 3.5 games back. A 2-8 record in their last 10 games has dropped Ottawa 7.5 games behind.

Finally, the Indianapolis ABC’s and the Kansas City Monarchs are in a dead heat in the Marvin Miller Division.

The Birmingham Black Barons retain the dubious honor of having the worst record in the league at 30-46.

#Player Performance

Batters

Detroit‘s Ty Cobb had fallen under .400, but a torrid streak has him back on top of the league in batting average at .409, edging in front of Houston‘s Tony Gwynn who sits at .404.

Cobb’s performance really deserves some attention: it’s not just the .409 average, it’s the league leading .861 SLG, driven by 36 doubles and 23 homers. He’s clearly the best hitter in the league so far, although Detroit’s overall performance may reduce his standing in the MVP race.

Roberto Alomar (OTT). 324/405/617. 67 R.
José Canseco (MCG). 256/374/740. 33 HR.
Oscar Charleston (IND). 330/381/642. 9 3B.
Ty Cobb (DET). 409/460/861. 106 H, 36 2B, 5.1 WAR.
Josh Gibson (HOM). 391/471/744. 4.7 WAR.
Tony Gwynn (HOU). 404/436/632. 110 H.
Pete Hill (HOU). 280/366/477. 9 3B.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 372/416/613. 36 2B.
Stan Musial (KCM). 329/392/573. 37 2B.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 293/417/759. 36 HR, 85 RBI, 73 R.
Larry Walker (OTT). 296/369/727. 33 HR, 77 RBI.

Rickey Henderson (San Francisco) and Tim Raines (Ottawa) continue to be 1-2 in the league in steals, 55 to 46.

Two batters (Indianapolis’ Adam Dunn and the Black Yankees’ Mickey Mantle) have struck out over 100 times, but with 16 others already over 80, they won’t be alone in the century club for long.

Pitchers

Starters

Indianapolis’ Luis Padrón continues to lead the league in wins with 11. The three other starters with double-digit wins are also included below.

Two interesting newer names here: Rube Foster (Andrew Rube, not Rube) has just been impossible to hit, and now that he is safely over the IP threshold to qualify, it will be interesting to see how long he stays on the leaderboards. Brooklyn‘s Smokey Joe Williams has pitched excellently, despite a sub .500 record to show for it.

A. Rube Foster (KCM). 5-0, 2.22. 0.89 WHIP.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 8-4, 3.54. 114 IP.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 8-4, 3.77. 136 K, 3.1 WAR.
Bump Hadley (SFS). 10-4, 4.34. 3.49 FIP.
Luis Padrón (IND). 11-2, 4.22.
Eddie Plank (SFS). 10-3, 3.57.
Toad Ramsey (HOU). 10-4, 2.87. 116 IP, 145 K, 0.90 WHIP, 2.72 FIP, 5.0 WAR.
Smokey Joe Williams (BRK). 6-7, 3.29. 3.1 WAR.

Relievers

We’ve listed the top 3 relievers in saves. We’re getting some separation here, but it’s still hard to really point to anyone–other than Kansas City’s Craig Kimbrel–as being lights-out dominant.

17 IP minimum.

Rod Beck (SFS). 3-2, 3.80. 19 Sv.
Eric Gagne (BRK). 1-1, 3.18. 17 Sv.
Ken Howell (SFS). 4-1, 1.32. 1 Sv, 4 H.
Bob Howry (PHI). 3-1, 3.60. 10 Sv, 0.775 WHIP.
Michael Jackson (HOM). 1-3, 3.62. 1 Sv, 10 H.
Craig Kimbrel (KCM). 1-1, 1.31. 2 Sv, 10 H.
Josh Lindblom (HOM). 4-2, 3.45. 20 Sv.
Rob Murphy (IND). 1-1, 3.09. 1 Sv, 11 H.
Lee Smith (HOD). 4-1, 2.97. 3 Sv, 6 H, 0.73 WHIP.

#Injury Report

The biggest injury to hit in a while is Kansas City’s Stan Musial, who will miss about a week.

Homestead’s Owen Wilson, Memphis‘ Skel Roach, and Miami‘s Al Oliver are all due to start rehab assignments this week.

#Last Year’s NL All-Stars

As we ramp up to this year’s all-star game, seemed a good time to check in on last year’s designees. This week, we’ll take a look at (what was last year) the AL.

#OBV

Rod Beck (SFS). Second in the league in saves, despite some rough other numbers. Should be enough.

José Canseco (MCG). A .256 average ain’t great … but 33 homers and a nearly 1.100 OPS is.

Lou Gehrig (NYY). A borderline choice last year, Gerhig has upped the power a notch this year.

Josh Gibson (HOM). Gibson has blossomed this year with an OPS over 1.200. He’s probably the best backstop in the WBL at 21 years old.

Lefty Grove (SFS). Doing even better than last season.

Ken Howell (SFS). Continues to be dominant in a support role.

Joe Mauer (POR). Mauer has a 302/383/502 slash line. Nuff said.

Scott Rolen (PHI). Rolen continues to deliver for the Stars.

Babe Ruth (NYY). Still leading the league in key categories, most notably HR and RBI.

#Mebbe

Terry Adams (CLE). A decent shot, sitting 5th in the league in saves with solid peripheral numbers.

Johnny Bench (IND). Bench was probably the best C in the league last season; this year he’s picked it up as of late, but still has fallen far short of last year’s levels.

Ron Blomberg (CLE). 1B is so hard … Blomberg has 27 homers and an OPS just shy of 1.000, yet may not make the midsummer classic.

Mike Epstein (HOM). See Blomberg above. Epstein has an OBP near .400 and a SLG near .600, and may be on the fringes as well.

Jim Fregosi (POR). Is an .800 OPS enough at SS? Maybe …

Rickey Henderson (SFS). A borderline choice last year as well … but a .400 OBP and over 50 SBs at the season midpoint is compelling.

Reggie Jackson (SFS). Jackson is no longer threatening the triple crown, but he’s still sporting an OPS of about .980. So mebbe.

Mickey Mantle (NYY). Mantle has an OPS just over 1.000, but the CF contenders are pretty thick. So we’ll see if it gets him in.

#Meh

Kent Hrbek (POR). A fringe MVP candidate last year, Hrbek has fallen to the ranks of the thoroughly average this year.

Derek Jeter (NYY). Jeter has more power this year, but is hitting under .250, moving him behind other contenders.

Thurman Munson (NYY). Munson may belong in the level below, having fallen dramatically from last year’s heights.

Bobby Murcer (POR). Murcer hasn’t been bad, with a 262/327/496 slash line. But it’s not all star material.

Ron Reed (CLE). Reed is effective this year, but not all-star material.

Cy Young (CLE). Still a workhorse, but not nearly as effective as last season.

#What Happened?

Buddy Bell (POR). Bell has been on fire as of late … which has raised his OPS to a not-so-robust .669.

Don Drysedale (BRK). From one of the better aces in the league to an ERA well over 6.00.

Tom Herr (NYY). Herr rode an all-star first half of last season to a trade to a contender, but has struggled since then, including a .655 OPS this year.

Chuck Knoblauch (CLE). Another hard collapse, with Knoblauch falling to a little below Tom Herr levels.

Charlie Root (DET). Made it as a reliver last year, now a full time starter and being no more than adequate.

#Other

Eric Davis (NYY). Solid, but missed too much time through injury.

Tim Hudson (SFS). Injured, and not doing well when not.

Red Ruffing (NYY). Doing well since his return from injury, but has only gotten a handful of starts.

Johan Santana (POR). No longer in the WBL after a horrifically ineffective return from long-term injury.

TWIWBL 66.1: Year 2, Week 9

By mknn

On September 18, 2024

In TWIWBL

May 28th

We are roughly 1/4 through the season!

#Awards

Roberto Alomar hit .500 on the week with 4 homeruns, earning the Ottawa 2B the National League Player of the Week. Over in the American League, Miami‘s José Canseco had 7 homeruns to go with a .417 average, earning the American League award.

#Team Performance

The New York Black Yankees and the Indianapolis ABC‘s have each gone 8-2 over their last 10 games. For New York, this has helped them extend their lead over Cleveland in the Bill James Division to 4 games, while Indianapolis has roared int 2nd place in the Marvin Miller Division, sitting 1.5 games behind Kansas City.

Birmingham and Detroit have each gone 2-8 over their last 10, with the Black Barons now 13 games behind Kansas City and the Wolverines falling to 10 games behind the Black Yankees.

#Player Performance

Batters

The changing of the guard continues: Ty Cobb leads the league in most things, and Larry Walker is ahead of Babe Ruth (and Canseco) in homers.

A sign that it’s still early in the season: 2 batters are still hitting over .400 (Cobb and Houston‘s Tony Gwynn); 2 have OBPs over .450 (Cobb and Ruth), and 4–FOUR–are still slugging over .800 (Cobb, Walker, Ruth, and Canseco).

José Canseco (MCG). 280/392/803. 24 HR.
Oscar Charleston (IND). 314/361/581. 7 3B.
Ty Cobb (DET). 420/471/882. 71 H, 28 2B, 3.6 WAR.
Tony Gwynn (HOU). 417/447/669. 73 H.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 269/374/491. 39 SB.
Pete Hill (HOU). 272/344/503. 8 3B.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 366/411/579. 25 2B.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 339/457/814. 24 HR, 62 RBI, 52 R, 41 BB, 3.8 WAR.
Joey Votto (IND). 287/439/507. 36 BB.
Larry Walker (OTT). 339/416/819. 26 HR, 61 RBI, 45 R.

Seems like a good time to check on the underperformers as well. Clearly a player who leads the league in whiffs can certainly have more value than someone who leads the league in worst OPS while still qualifying for the leaderboards.

Cupid Childs (BBB). 241/371/350. 6 RBI, 13 CS.
Adam Dunn (IND). 242/349/571. 64 SO.
Andrés Galarraga (HOU). 190/222/393. -1.1 WAR.
Oscar Gamble (DET). 234/376/422. 10 GIDP.
Mickey Mantle (NYY). 278/385/650. 65 SO.
Tony Phillips (DET). 174/266/304. -1.2 WAR.
Doug Rader (LAA). 249/305/379. 10 GIDP.
Cristóbal Torriente (CAG). 187/228/253. 7 RBI.

It’s an interesting group, with only Galarraga, Phillips, and Torriente really in danger of losing their spots. Dunn and Mantle are clearly excellent players, they just strike out a lot. Childs’ OBP keeps him vital to the top of Birmingham’s lineup, and Gamble and Rader are clearly everyday players.

Pitchers

Starters

With a rain-shortened CG on Sunday, Houston’s Toad Ramsey became the first 8 game winner in the league. I’ve also included the four 7-game winners in the list, as well as the two other hurlers with sub 3.00 ERAs.

If you go by black ink, it remains Ramsey’s season.

Mark Buehrle (CAG). 5-3, 2.86.
Frank Castillo (KCM). 7-1, 3.62.
Roger Clemens (HOU). 6-1, 3.63. 1.01 WHIP.
Johnny Cueto (IND). 7-1, 3.73.
Doc Gooden (LAA). 4-3, 2.59.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 6-4, 3.08. 3.36 FIP, 2.5 WAR.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 7-1, 3.52. 82 K.
Hardie Henderson (PHI). 6-3, 2.78.
Luis Padrón (IND). 7-1, 3.45.
Toad Ramsey (HOU). 8-2, 2.73. 94 K; 0.97 WHIP; 2.76 FIP; 3.4 WAR.

Relievers

Homestead‘s Josh Lindblom and San Francisco‘s Rod Beck continue to lead the league in saves with a dozen each, although Brooklyn‘s Eric Gagne (11 saves) has probably been more effective overall.

12 IP minimum.

Rod Beck (SFS). 2-2, 5.40. 12 Sv.
Rheal Cormier (NYY). 0-0, 2.70. 8 H.
Trevor Hildenberger (BRK). 1-0, 1.06. 1 Sv, 5 H, 0.65 WHIP.
Eric Gagne (BRK). 1-1, 3.18. 11 Sv.
Mike Henneman (DET). 4-0, 1.02. 8 Sv.
Lefty James (IND). 1-0, 3.55. 1 Sv, 7 H.
Ted Kennedy (PHI). 2-2, 3.18. 2 Sv, 7 H.
Josh Lindblom (HOM). 3-1, 4.00. 12 Sv.
Lee Smith (HOD). 1-0, 1.80. 1 Sv, 5 H, 0.60 WHIP.

#Injury Report

Kansas City’s Bob Gibson should start a rehab assignment later this week, as should Philadelphia‘s Jack Meyer, who has missed over a year of action.

#AA Check In

This week, it’s a look at AA, looking at both the best performers and the best prospects (24 and under) roughly 1/4 of the way through the season. 100 AA PA minimum for batters.

Pos	25+	< 25
C	Kelly Shoppach (28, BRK). 305/362/537.	Bill Dickey (22, PHI). 387/416/639.
1B	Del Bissonette (27, BBB). 337/456/675.	John Mayberry (20, OTT). 349/476/771).
2B	Steve Sax (25, CLE). 398/438/508.	Dario Lodigiani (20, SFS). 363/471/516.
SS	Jhonny Peralta (26, IND). 244/338/472.	Xander Bogaerts (23, LAA). 359/432/538.
3B	Brook Jacoby (29, CLE). 319/393/553.	Ryon Healy (20, OTT). 330/365/637.
LF	Earl Webb (28, POR). 322/386/644.	Andrew Benintendi (22, MEM). 340/447/551.
CF	Keon Broxton (26, CAG). 291/413/563.	Cool Papa Bell (21, KAN). 368/429/747.
RF	Roger Maris (27, NYY). 312/425/720.	Chuck Klein (22, POR). 282/339/602.
SP	Whitey Ford (25, NYY). 5-2, 2.92. 1.6 WAR. George Winter (27, HOU). 5-0, 2.34. 1.4 WAR.	Gary Lucas (24, HOM). 3-2, 3.42. 1.6 WAR. Masahiro Tanaka (24, NYG), 6-4, 4.40. 1.4 WAR.
RP	Rob Wooten (26, MEM). 2-2, 3.00. 11 Sv.	Oad Swigert (23, IND). 0-2, 3.45. 10 Sv.

Lots and lots of talent here, as to be expected. Dickey–part of the haul Philadelphia got for Mike Schmidt–may be recalled shortly, but most of the rest of these hitters are either blocked positionally (trade bait?) or need a year or 2 more in the minors before making their case for WBL time. Dickey, Bell, Klein, and Ford are probably the best long-term prospects.

TWIWBL 64.1: Year 2, Week 7

By mknn

On August 2, 2024

In TWIWBL

May 14th

The season is beginning to hit its stride, very rapidly approaching the quarter-pole. Clearly, the time from now through the all-star break is vital in defining how things fall out.

#Awards

Albert Pujols of the Kansas City Monarchs hit .650 for the week, winning the NL Player of the Week Award while Babe Ruth took home the AL Player of the Week, hitting .522 with 5 homeruns.

Pujols beat out the House of David‘s Ernie Banks, who had 7 homeruns and drove in 14, and Scott Rolen of the Philadelphia Stars who posted a 1.997 OPS, hitting .474 with 6 dingers and 8 RBIs.

#Team Performance

The New York Black Yankees (Bill James Division) and the Kansas City Monarchs (Marvin Miller Division) continue to be the only teams above .600, while Birmingham (in the basement of the Marvin Miller Division) and defending champs Baltimore are both at 13-26, tied for the worst record in the league, and a 1-9 record in their last 10 games has seen the Memphis Red Sox (in the Bill James Division along with Baltimore) plummet to a .378 percentage.

The other 2 divisions are much tighter, with the San Francisco Seals leading the Chicago American Giants by .5 games in the Cum Posey Division and Brooklyn and Homestead in a dead heat for first in the Effa Manley Division, where the Ottawa Mounties, in last place, is only 3 games back.

#Player Performance

Batters

Usual stuff here–top 2 in most categories, league leaders in bold. Ruth’s performance is expected, but Detroit‘s young star, Ty Cobb, is far exceeding expectations at this point.

Lance Berkman (CLE). 326/393/803. 17 HR.
Ty Cobb (DET). 400/463/846. 22 2B; 2.8 WAR.
Tony Gwynn (HOU). 402/441/621. 53 H.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 294/386/515. 31 SB.
Pete Hill (HOU). 273/356/531. 7 3B.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 386/427/636. 54 H; 21 2B.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 308/386/664. 38 RBI; 34 R.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 326/440/770. 17 HR; 42 RBI; 37 R; 28 BB; 2.7 WAR.
Larry Walker (OTT). 357/431/754. 38 RBI.
Bobby Wallace (BAL). 233/385/341. 30 BB.

Pitchers

Starters

Just look at that Toad go! Ramsey has been magnificent for the Houston Colt 45’s, although he’s struggled a little in his most recent starts. There are a few more pitchers with 6 wins, I’ve only included the two sitting at 6-1, plus Ramsey.

Johnny Cueto (IND). 6-1, 2.85. 0.91 WHIP.
Doc Gooden (LAA). 4-2, 1.72. 2.80 FIP; 1.8 WAR.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 5-1, 3.79. 66 K.
Walter Johnson (POR). 4-3, 2.82. 60.2 IP; 1.8 WAR.
Frank Knauss (BRK). 6-1, 2.19.
Toad Ramsey (HOU). 6-2, 1.63. 60.2 IP; 74 K; 0.77 WHIP; 2.31 FIP; 2.9 WAR.

Relievers

12 IP Minimum.

None of the closers have really been dominant–Gagne had been, but his ERA has risen over the past few weeks.

Rod Beck (SFS). 1-2, 5.84. 12 Sv.
Jack Billingham (IND). 0-1, 2.25. 2 H; 0.62 WHIP.
Rheal Cormier (NYY). 0-0, 3.29. 6 H.
Eric Gagne (BRK). 0-0, 2.51. 12 Sv.
Bob Howry (PHI). 2-1, 3.29. 8 Sv; 0.51 WHIP.
Kenshin Kawakami (MCG). 2-0, 1.02.
Tim Lincecum (HOM). 0-0, 9.00. 1 H; 1.19 FIP.
Ross Reynolds (LAA). 1-0, 0.75. 1 Sv; 1 H.
Ron Robinson (SFS). 1-0, 1.38. 1 Sv; 3 H; 1.96 FIP.

2 Way Players

Not a ton of change here. Most of these guys are clearly contributing significantly more one side or the other, with only Luis Padrón of the Indianapolis ABC‘s and Philadelphia’s Joe Rogan really manifesting as 2-way contributors (indeed, those are the only players with positive WARs each way). Chicago’s Cristóbal Torriente saw his first time on the mound in a blowout, but has a ways to go before being listed here.

Player	Pitching	Batting	pWAR	bWAR	WAR
Luis Padrón (IND)	5-1, 4.04 (42 IP, 6 GS)	365/441/596 (59 PA)	1.2	0.6	1.8
Joe Rogan (PHI)	3-3, 4.50 (46 IP, 7 GS)	288/328/504 (134 PA)	0.4	0.5	0.9
J.M. Ward (PHI)	0-1, 3.43 (42 IP, 7 GS)	207/233/379 (30 PA)	0.7	-0.2	0.5
Jim Whitney (BBB)	1-0, 2.19 (37 IP, 16 G)	100/143/150 (21 PA)	0.8	-0.4	0.4
Eustaquio Pedroso (MCG)	0-0, 4.24 (23 IP, 13 G)	222/344/222 (32 PA)	0.1	-0.1	0.0

#Injury Report

Chicago’s Akinori Otsuka is out for about 2 weeks, weakening the American Giants’ bullpen significantly.

Detroit lost both Hal Newhouser and Johnny Marcum from their rotation this week.

Memphis may get some help on the mound this week, as both Shane Bieber and Skel Roach may return from injury.

Jimmy Bloodworth is out for over a month for San Francisco, which is not all bad news for the Sea Lions as it opens more playing time for the irrepressible Dick Lundy.

TWIWBL 63.1: Year 2, Week 6

By mknn

On July 10, 2024

In TWIWBL

May 7th

We’re slightly changing how TWIWBL works. Each week, we’ll focus on a new randomly chosen team in detail, and the featured series will be covered there, leaving this entry to focus on awards and individual performances.

#Awards

Houston‘s Jeff Bagwell used his 3 homerun game to take down the NL Player of the Week Award, hitting .381 with 11 RBI over the week. Over in the AL, Detroit‘s Ty Cobb, who is putting together a pretty special campaign so far, earned the AL Player of the Week with a .435 average and 6–SIX–homers and 14 RBI’s.

#Team Performance

The New York Black Yankees are clearly focused on erasing the poor memories of last season’s disappointments, leading the WBL with a .688 winning percentage and currently on a 6 game winning streak. Chicago and the surprising Kansas City Monarchs are the only other teams over .600, and each lead their divisions.

New York and the Detroit Wolverines are each 7-3 over their last 10 games.

At the other end, 3 teams are under .400, including the defending champion Baltimore Black Sox, along with Portland and the Birmingham Black Barons. Baltimore sits 11 games behind the Black Yankees, facing a significant uphill climb to get back into playoff position. It is, however, early May, so it’s certainly doable.

#Player Performance

Batters

Through the first month of the season, the WBL feels a little less like Babe Ruth‘s league offensively, as both Detroit’s Ty Cobb and Ottawa‘s Larry Walker are putting up numbers to rival the Babe, who doesn’t even lead the league in homeruns, sitting 1 behind teammate Mickey Mantle, Walker, and the House of David‘s Ryne Sandberg who all have 13. In addition to Ruth, another Black Yankee, Lou Gehrig, San Francisco‘s Jimmie Foxx, and Cleveland‘s Lance Berkman also have 12 dingers so far.

In fact, with his Player of the Week performance, it’s feeling a bit like Ty Cobb‘s world: Cobb leads the WBL in all 3 slash categories, as well as doubles and overall WAR, and is 2nd in hits and RBI.

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

Ty Cobb (DET). 398/462/858. 45 H, 19 2B, 32 RBI, 2.6 WAR.
Mickey Cochrane (SFS). 368/452/667.
Eddie Collins (CAG). 311/438/485. 23 BB.
Eric Davis (NYY). 274/358/581. 30 R.
Tony Gwynn (HOU). 393/430/598.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 295/389/562. 23 SB.
Pete Hill (HOU). 290/374/561. 5 3B.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 383/422/617. 46 H, 17 2B.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 306/374/621. 32 RBI.
Dick Lundy (SFS). 356/430/593. 2.3 WAR, 18 SB.
Mickey Mantle (NYY). 313/406/704. 13 HR.
Tim Raines (OTT). 286/385/545. 5 3B.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 286/406/661. 33 RBI, 32 RBI, 29 R, 23 BB.
Ryne Sandberg (HOD). 336/383/755. 13 HR.
Turkey Stearnes (SFS). 312/359/667. 5 3B.
Larry Walker (OTT). 374/433/776. 13 HR.
Bobby Wallace (BAL). 243/391/336. 24 BB.

One thing obvious from this list: the Black Yankees and the San Francisco Sea Lions are both on fire offensively, at least in the top halves of their lineups.

Pitchers

Year 2 is a bit more pitcher friendly than last season, to the point where I would expect to end the year with a handful of sub 3.00 ERAs (last season, there Andy Pettitte, then with Birmingham, led the league with a 3.20 mark).

Starters

Eight pitchers are tied for the league lead in wins with 5 each; we’ve only included the 4 who are undefeated in the list below.

Houston’s rubber-armed Toad Ramsey is having quite a moment, but it’s unlikely the knuckleballer can maintain this level of performance.

Mark Buehrle (CAG). 5-0, 1.49.
Frank Castillo (KCM). 5-0, 2.41.
Roger Clemens (HOU). 5-0, 3.48.
Johnny Cueto (IND). 5-1, 2.66. 0.93 WHIP.
Hardie Henderson (PHI). 5-1, 2.17. 1.6 WAR.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 1-5, 4.47. 48 IP, 47 K.
Luis Padrón (IND). 5-0, 2.35.
Toad Ramsey (HOU). 5-2, 1.53. 53 IP, 65 K, 0.75 WHIP, 2.5 WAR.

Relievers

10 IP Minimum.

Rod Beck (SFS). 1-2, 7.20. 9 Sv.
Sandy Consuegra (MCG). 1-1, 0.66. 3 Sv, 1 H, 0.59 WHIP.
Mike Henneman (DET). 0-2, 0.77. 6 Sv.
Bob Howry (PHI). 2-1, 3.75. 7 Sv, 0.58 WHIP.
Eric Gagne (BRK). 0-0, 1.59. 9 Sv.
Eddie Guardado (KCM). 1-0, 0.77. 1 H.
Robb Nen (NYG). 1-0, 0.90. 8 Sv.
Jeff Pfeffer (KCM). 0-0, 3.86. 8 Sv.

2 Way Players

A new section for the opening TWIWBL is a check in on the players doing it both on the mound and at the plate led, perhaps surprisingly, by Indianapolis‘ Luis Padrón.

Player	Pitching	Batting	pWAR	bWAR	WAR
Luis Padrón (IND)	5-0, 2.35 (38 IP, 5 GS)	400/455/625 (44 PA)	1.3	0.5	1.8
Joe Rogan (PHI)	1-3, 5.81 (31 IP, 5 GS)	297/343/515 (108 PA)	0.0	0.6	0.6
J.M. Ward (PHI)	0-1, 3.00 (36 IP, 6 GS)	192/192/385 (26 PA)	0.7	-0.1	0.6
Jim Whitney (BBB)	0-1, 1.88 (24 IP, 12 G)	143/200/214 (15 PA)	0.5	-0.1	0.4
Eustaquio Pedroso (MCG)	0-0, 4.26 (19 IP, 10 G)	208/345/208 (29 PA)	0.3	-0.1	0.2

Ted Williams (Memphis), Cristóbal Torriente (CAG), Martín Dihigo (Miami Cuban Giants), and Smokey Joe Wood (KCM) (among others) have yet to really be used in a 2-way capacity.

#INJURY REPORT

Indianapolis’ Joe Morgan should start a rehab assignment mid-week, as should Miami’s José Méndez.

TWIWBL 62.1: Year 2, Week 5

By mknn

On June 20, 2024

In TWIWBL

April 30

#Awards

Willie Mays (RIP IRL) of the New York Gothams was the NL Player of the Week after hitting .417 with 3 home runs. Over in the AL, the AL Player of the Week Award went to Miami‘s Ryan Braun, who hit .471 with 5 dingers.

As the calendar flipped from April to May, we also have the first player of the month awards.

Award	Player
AL Player of the Month	Ty Cobb (DET)	.411; 5 HR; 23 RBI; 21 R
AL Pitcher of the Month	Mark Buehrle (CAG)	5-0, 1.24
AL Rookie of the Month	Turkey Stearnes (SFS)	.352; 6 HR; 18 8RBI
NL Player of the Month	Larry Walker (OTT)	.395; .454 OBP; 9 HR; 23 RBI; 22 R
NL Pitcher of the Month	Toad Ramsey (HOU)	5-1, 0.96
NL Rookie of the Month	Adam Dunn (IND)	.253; 5 HR; 13 RBI

#Team Performance

Look, it’s way too early for any of this to matter. But, currently, only 3 games separate the best team in the Effa Manley Division (the Brooklyn Royal Giants at 14-11) and the worst (the Philadelphia Stars mirroring them at 11-14). The Homestead Grays are 1/2 game behind Brooklyn, and the New York Gothams and Ottawa Mounties sit at .500.

Brooklyn, Homestead, and the San Francisco Sea Lions have all gone 7-3 over their last 10 games, while the House of David are in the roughest patch of any team in the league, at 2-8 over their last 10.

#Player Performance

Batters

Some things that jump out: the House of David’s Ryne Sandberg is having an incredible start, the first player in the league to 11 homeruns. Led by Sandberg, 5 players have SLG over .700 but “only” 2 have BA over .400.

Ty Cobb (DET). 389/451/756. 18 2B, 1.8 WAR.
Carlos Correa (HOU). 420/474/659.
Eric Davis (NYY). 306/373/612. 27 R.
Lou Gehrig (NYY). 247/358/634. 10 HR.
Josh Gibson (HOM). 379/426/793.
Curtis Granderson (BBB). 256/330/654. 10 HR.
Tony Gwynn (HOU). 416/442/629.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 396/426/635. 38 H, 15 2B.
Dick Lundy (SFS). 394/467/681. 4 3B, 15 SB, 2.3 WAR.
Mickey Mantle (NYY). 274/361/621. 10 HR.
Boog Powell (KCM). 268/344/622. 26 RBI.
Tim Raines (OTT). 293/381/576. 5 3B.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 308/430/659. 28 RBI, 24 R, 21 BB.
Ryne Sandberg (HOD). 365/409/824. 11 HR.
Bobby Wallace (BAL). 50/405/364. 22 BB.

Pitchers

Starters

Mark Buehrle (CAG). 5-0, 1.24.
Johnny Cueto (IND). 4-1, 2.38. 0.88 WHIP.
Bill Doak (MEM). 3-1, 2.76. 1.5 WAR.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 2-3, 5.03. 39.1 IP.
Frank Knauss (BRK). 5-1, 2.62.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 1-4, 4.15. 43.1 IP, 39 K.
Toad Ramsey (HOU). 4-1, 1.19. 0.74 WHIP, 45 K, 1.7 WAR.

Relivers

Rod Beck (SFS). 1-2, 6.75. 7 Sv.
Eric Gagne (BRK). 0-0, 1.74. 10 Sv.
Craig Kimbrel (KCM). 1-0, 0.00. 1 Sv, 5 H.
Troy Percival (NYG). 0-0, 5.40. 5 H.
Jeff Pfeffer (KCM). 0-0, 4.32. 7 Sv.

#Featured Series

We’ll check in on a team that looks much improved over last season, the Homestead Grays. The Grays are hitting better than expected, but more importantly, are finally hitting enough to overcome their usual rough performances on the mound. They are visiting Indianapolis for a 4-game set, and are hoping to keep a recent slide by the ABC’s going.

Scheduled Starters

Homestead’s hurler listed first.

Billy Pierce (2-1, 6.55) @ Johnny Cueto (4-1, 2.38)
Carlos Zambrano (0-4, 9.15) @ Luis Padrón (3-0, 2.38)
Ray Brown (1-2, 6.28) @ Doc White (1-3, 4.93)
Francisco Liriano (1-2, 4.36) @ Rube Foster (1-1, 3.86)

Cueto has performed fantastically so far this year, and Padrón, while no Joe Rogan, has been a decent 2-way threat all season.

Game One

With the announcement that the Grays have moved Zambrano out of the rotation, their starters for the series are all a bit up in the air. They’ll lead it off with Doug Drabek, who is taking Zambrano’s spot and will be making his first start of the year.

Drabek was fantastic, allowing 2 hits and 1 run in 7 innings, but Rick Ownbey couldn’t hold the lead, giving up Barry Larkin‘s first homer of the year, a 2 run shot to tie the game in the 8th. Luckily for the Grays, Willie Stargell‘s 2nd homerun of the game gave them the lead in the 10th, and Josh Lindblom was able to hold on for the 4-3 win in extra innings.

HOM 4 (Lindblom 3-0; Ownbey 3 B Sv) @ IND 3 (Murphy 0-1)
HRs: HOM – Stargell 2 (10); Epstein (3); IND – Larkin (1).
Box Score

Game Two

The Grays turned to Billy Pierce in game 2, putting their rotation back on its expected schedule. His mound opponent, Luis Padrón, tossed a masterful 8 innings in a 14-3 walkover, allowing 5 hits and 1 run while fanning 8. Padrón improved to 4-0 and Tommy Helms had 3 hits and 4 RBI and Helms and Jake Stenzel each scored 3 runs in the rout.

Helms, Stenzel, George Foster, Adam Dunn (fresh off being named Rookie of the Month for April), and Johnny Bench each went yard for Indianapolis as they evened the series at 1 game each.

HOM 3 (Pierce 2-2) @ IND 14 (Padrón 4-0)
HRs: HOM – Clemente (3); IND – Helms (3), Foster (2), Stenzel (3), Dunn (6), Bench (7).
Box Score

Game Three

Chris Sabo went deep twice, driving in 3, and the Grays held on to take the series lead with a 5-4 win. Ray Brown pitched very well, but the trio of Corey Kluber, Michael Jackson, and Josh Lindblom were all a bit shaky in relief. Still, they got the job done. Tommy Helms and Bob Bescher had 2 hits for the ABC’s and Joey Votto went deep in the losing effort.

Kluber–fresh off an injury–had to leave the game with an elbow issue, and headed to the DL afterwards. Cliff Lee was recalled.

HOM 5 (Brown 2-2; Lindblom 4 Sv; Jackson 2 H) @ IND 4 (White 1-4)
HRs: HOM – Sabo 2 (5), Lajoie (2); IND – Votto (3).
Box Score

Game Four

Homestead’s bullpen did the job, with Dave Giusti, Rick Ownbey, and Josh Lindblom combining for 3+ innings of 1 hit relief of an effective Francisco Liriano. Mike Epstein went deep for the Grays and Andy Van Slyke showed signs of breaking out of an early season slump with 3 hits. All the ABC’s could muster on the day was a 2 run shot from Adam Dunn to tie the game early.

Homestead takes the series, 3-1, continuing their surprising start to the season.

HOM 4 (Liriano 2-2; Lindblom 5 Sv; Giusti 3 H; Ownbey 2 H) @ IND 2 (Foster 1-2)
HRs: HOM – Epstein (4); IND – Dunn (7).
Box Score

TWIWBL 59.1: Year 2 – Week 2

By mknn

On May 15, 2024

In TWIWBL

Welcome to the first general issue of TWIWBL for Season 2!

April 9th

#Team Starts

3 teams have a single loss–Chicago, Brooklyn, and the House of David, each at 4-1–and 3 teams have a single victory on the year (Los Angeles is 1-4 while both Philadelphia and Houston are 1-6).

#Individual Starts

Nobody comes close to matching House of David 2B Ryne Sandberg, whose slash line is a ridiculous 455/458/1.273, and he leads the league in homeruns (6) and RBIs (15). Ottawa‘s Larry Walker (11) and Birmingham‘s Albert Belle (10) are the other batters in double digits in RBI.

Houston’s Tony Gwynn is the sole player with a BA over .500, at .552. That’s only good enough to put Gwynn 3rd in the OBP rankings, behind Portland’s Harry Hooper (.577) and Indianapolis‘ Joey Votto (.571).

#Featured Series

Each week we’ll take a look at single series, preferring 4-game sets and teams we haven’t taken a close look at before.

This week, we’ll be focusing on Indianapolis’ visit to Brooklyn. The Royal Giants are 4-1, and the ABC’s started the season 5-0 before losing their last 2 contests.

For Brooklyn, Duke Snider, John Briggs, and Roy White have all started the season with OPS’ over 1.000 while offseason acquisition Pedro Guerrero is scuffling with a slash line of 143/250/214.

Bob Bescher and Joey Votto have been mashing the ball for the ABC’s while Ed Charles is still trying to get some traction going, slashing 190/308/238 over the opening half-dozen games.

Projected Starting Pitchers:

Johnny Cueto (1-0, 0.00) @ Frank Knauss (1-0, 3.38)
Luis Padrón (1-0, 0.00) @ Orel Hershiser
Sad Sam Jones (0-0, 6.75) @ Smokey Joe Williams (1-0, 1.50)
Rube Foster (1-0, 3.00) @ Sandy Koufax (0-1, 2.45)

Game One

Both Johnny Cueto and Frank Knauss had good starts, but while Cueto blinked first (Maury Wills walked, stole a base, and scored on a John Briggs double), Knauss was hit harder, giving up a 2 run shot to Oscar Charleston in the 6th before an Ed Charles double chased him in the 7th. Burleigh Grimes relieved Knauss and gave up RBI doubles to Denis Menke and Joe Morgan.

Lefty James and Rob Dibble followed Cueto with just over 2 innings of hitless relief to seal the deal for Indianapolis. Johnny Bench had 3 hits for the ABC’s.

IND 4 (Cueto 2-0; Dibble 2 Sv; James 2 H) @ BRK 1 (Knauss 1-1)
HRs: IND: Charleston (1).
Box Score

Game Two

Pedro Guerrero launched a 3 run shot in the bottom of the 1st, but the Royal Giants couldn’t hold it with RBIs from Oscar Charleston and Jake Stenzel tying the game at 4 in the top of the 5th. After a brief rain delay in the bottom of the 8th, Mike Piazza and Ray Dandridge singled runs home, allowing Brooklyn to bring in their closer, Eric Gagne, with a 6-4 lead. Gagne set the side down in order, and Brooklyn evened up the series, 1-1.

IND 4 (Tidrow 0-1) @ BRK 6 (Mateo 1-0; Gagne 2 Sv)
HRs: IND – Menke (1); BRK: Guerrero (1).
Box Score

Game Three

We had a pitchers’ duel in game 3 of the series as Luis Padrón and Smokey Joe Williams were each excellent, but a bit unlucky: despite giving up only 1 earned run in over 6 innings, Williams took the loss and Padrón did not get the win, despite 5 scoreless. Joe Morgan went deep for the ABC’s.

IND 2 (Nolan 1-0; Dibble 3 Sv; James 3 H; Billingham 2 H) @ BRK 1 (Williams 1-1)
HRs: IND – Morgan (2).
Box Score

Game Four

It sure looked like the ABC’s would take the series: after scoring 6 in the 6th, they had surged to a 8-3 lead heading to the bottom of the 7th. But Art Griggs hit a key 2-run double in that frame, and the Royal Giants were able to rough up Indianapolis’ closer, Rob Dibble, in the bottom of the ninth, scoring runs on a sacrifice fly from Jackie Robinson, an RBI single from Pedro Guerrero, and a game-winning sac fly from Duke Snider.

Robinson hit his first homerun of the year and drove in 4 on the day, and Guerrero, Mike Piazza, and Beals Becker each had 2 hits. Both Brooklyn starter Sandy Koufax and the ABC’s Doc White pitched better than their scorelines represent, but the key was Dibble’s implosion (2 walks and 3 hits in 1/3 of an inning) and Brooklyn’s Darren Dreifort chipping in with 2 scoreless innings for the win.

Of concern for the ABC’s, 2B Joe Morgan had to be lifted for a pinch runner with an apparent elbow injury, but so far no further information is available as to his status.

IND 8 (Dibble 0-1, 1 BSv; Carroll 1 H) @ BRK 9 (Dreifort 1-0; Valenzuela 1 BSv)
HRs: IND – Dunn (1); BRK – Robinson (1).
Box Score

WBL Year II Statistics

I needed a place to hold statistics that aren’t easily displayed in OOTP. Most of these are game-level performances.

For complete statistics, poke around on the WBL Stats Page.

Batting Statistics

2+ 3B Games

2. Bob Bescher (IND); Craig Biggio (HOU), Ty Cobb (DET); Willie McGee (KCM); Tim Raines (OTT).

3+ 2B Games

4. Chuck Knoblauch (CLE).
3. Craig Biggio (HOU); Curt Blefary (BAL); George Brett (HOU); Ron Cey (BRK); Cupid Childs (BBB); Ty Cobb (DET); Gavvy Cravath (BAL); Josh Gibson (HOM); Hank Greenberg (DET); Joe Jackson (CAG); Reggie Jackson (SFS); HR Johnson (NYY); Napoleon Lajoie (HOM); Herman Long (BBB); Don Mattingly (NYY); Willie McGee (KCM); Joe Morgan (IND); Frank Robinson (BAL); Jackie Robinson (BRK); Cookie Rojas (MCG); Pete Runnels (NYG); Ted Simmons (KCM); Reggie Smith (MEM); Mike Trout (LAA); Bill White (MEM).

3+ HBP Games

3. Jack Doyle (CAG).

3+ HR Games

4. Tony Conigliaro (HOD); Larry Doby (CLE).
3. Jeff Bagwell (HOU); Ed Bailey (DET); Ernie Banks (HOD); Buddy Bell (POR); Carlos Beltrán (OTT); Lance Berkman x2 (CLE); Ron Blomberg (CLE); Ryan Braun (MCG); José Canseco x2 (MCG); Larry Doby (CLE); Gavvy Cravath (BAL); Larry Doby (CLE); Josh Gibson (HOM); Paul Goldshmidt (HOU); George Gore (HOD); Mark McGwire (HOD); Kevin Mitchell (CAG); Rick Monday (OTT); Stan Musial (KCM); Jim Pagliaroni (BBB); Manny Ramírez x2 (MEM); Álex Rodríguez (OTT); Babe Ruth (NYY); Ted Simmons (KCM); Sammy Sosa x2 (HOD); Gorman Thomas (HOU); Mike Trout (LAA); Larry Walker (OTT).

3+ OF Assists

4+ BB Games

4. Ed Bailey (DET); Eddie Collins (CAG); Mike Epstein (HOM); Rickey Henderson (SFS); Willie McGee (KCM); Andrew McCutchen (HOM), Joe Morgan (IND); Gorman Thomas (HOU); Joey Votto (IND).

4+ CS Games

6. Curt Blefary (BAL); Iván Rodríguez (MCG).
4. Brad Ausmus (OTT); Johnny Bench (IND); Curt Blefary (BAL); Gabby Hartnett (MEM); Jorge Posada (HOU); Mike Scioscia (PHI); Ted Simmons (KCM).

4+ Run Games

6. Ron Blomberg (CLE).
5. Chuck Knoblauch (CLE); Tris Speaker (CLE).
4. Roberto Alomar x3 (OTT); Jeff Bagwell x2 (HOU); Bob Bailey (DET); Ed Bailey (DET); Johnny Bates x2 (CLE); Albert Belle (BBB); Curt Blefary x2 (BAL); Dan Brouthers (BRK); Ron Cey (BRK); Roberto Clemente (HOM); Eddie Collins x2 (CAG); Tony Conigliaro (HOD); Gavvy Cravath (BAL); Ray Dandridge (BRK); Larry Doby (CLE); Mike Epstein (HOM); George Grantham (CAG); Rickey Henderson x2 (SFS); Pete Hill (HOU); Benny Kauff (NYG); Paul Konerko (CAG); Evan Longoria (CLE); Willie McGee (KCM); Kevin Mitchell (CAG); Rick Monday (OTT); Eddie Murray (BAL); Billy Nash (DET); Yasiel Puig (MCG); Charles Rogan (PHI); Cookie Rojas (MCG); Babe Ruth (NYY); Gary Sheffield (MCG); Chase Utley (PHI); Arky Vaughan (CLE); Larry Walker (OTT); Jim Wynn (HOU).

4+ SB Games

6. Rickey Henderson (SFS).
5. Roberto Alomar (OTT); Bob Bescher (IND).
4. Frank Chance (HOD); Rickey Henderson (SFS); Dick Lundy (SFS).

5+ Hit Games

5. Jeff Bagwell (HOU); Don Buford (LAA); Joe Jackson (CAG); Aaron Judge (PHI); Chuck Knoblauch (CLE); Jim Pagliaroni (BBB); Ichiro Suzuki (LAA); Mike Trout (LAA); Chase Utley (PHI).

5+ SO Games

6. Dale Murphy (KCM).
5. Beals Becker (BRK); Bobby Bonds (SFS); Ron Cey (BRK); Larry Doby (CLE); Mike Epstein x2 (HOM); Bryce Harper (BAL); Héctor López (NYY); Dale Murphy (KCM).

6+ RBI Games

8. Jeff Bagwell (HOU); Paul Konerko (CAG); Will Smith (HOU).
7. Jeff Bagwell (HOU); Ron Blomberg (CLE); Larry Doby (CLE); Carlton Fisk (CAG); Charlie Gehringer (DET); Hank Greenberg (DET); Evan Longoria (CLE); Manny Machado (BAL); Yasiel Puig (MCG); Manny Ramírez (MEM); Gary Sheffield (MCG).
6. Hank Aaron (BBB); Bob Bailey (DET); Ernie Banks (HOD); Albert Belle (BBB); Lance Berkman (CLE); Ron Blomberg (CLE); Johnny Callison (NYG); Carlos Correa (HOU); Gavvy Cravath (BAL); Kal Daniels (LAA); Chili Davis (DET); George Foster (IND); Josh Gibson (HOM); Kent Hrbek (POR); Joe Jackson (CAG); Aaron Judge (PHI); Tony Lazzeri (DET); Mickey Mantle (NYY); Kevin Mitchell (CAG); Rick Monday (OTT); Jim O’Rourke (HOU); Mike Piazza (BRK); Manny Ramírez (MEM); Babe Ruth x3 (NYY); Ryne Sandberg (HOD); Mike Schmidt (NYY); Ted Simmons (KCM); Roy White (BRK).

Cycles

Roberto Clemente (HOM; 4-5, 4 R, 3 RBI).
Ty Cobb (DET; 4-5, 3R, 2 RBI).
Goose Goslin (HOM; 4-5, 2 R, 2 RBI).

Longest HRs

{Note: OOTP clearly has something weird happening with overpowered HRs. It’s getting better, and, at some point, I’m going to reduce these by roughly 10%, which would leave the list at only 3 at 500 ft+ for the season so far, which seems much more realistic to me, but am waiting to see if I get any additional info/guidance from the game dev’s.}

595 ft. Dale Murphy (KCM).
558 ft. Aaron Judge (PHA).
555 ft. Albert Pujols (KCM).
551 ft. Eddie Mathews (BBB).
550 ft. Lance Berkman (CLE).
544 ft. Eddie Mathews (BBB).
542 ft. Ron Blomberg (CLE); Evan Longoria (CLE).
539 ft. Johnny Bates (CLE); Craig Biggio (HOU).
538 ft. Josh Gibson (HOM), Pete Hill (HOU); Buster Posey (NYG).
535 ft. Buster Posey (NYG).
534 ft. Robinson Canó (KCM).
533 ft. Oscar Charleston (IND).
530 ft. Dale Murphy (KCM).
528 ft. Johnny Callison (NYG); Willie Mays (NYG).
527 ft. Joe Adcock (NYG).
525 ft. Bullet Joe Rogan (PHI).
522 ft. Ron Blomberg (CLE).
519 ft. Babe Ruth (NYY).
518 ft. Willie Mays (NYG).
516 ft. Hank Aaron (BBB); Bob Nieman (BBB).
514 ft. Ron Cey (BRK); Oscar Gamble (DET).
512 ft. Tony Gwynn (HOU).
511 ft. Lance Berkman (CLE); Dan Brouthers (BRK).
510 ft. Ron Blomberg (CLE); Joe Harris (KCM).
509 ft. Johnny Callison (NYG); Jack Clark (SFS); Bryce Harper (BAL); Ted Simmons (KCM).
508 ft. Jeff Bagwell x2 (HOU); Ron Blomberg (CLE); Boog Powell (KCM); Travis Shaw (MEM).
507 ft. Bobby Grich (BBB); Ducky Medwick (KCM); Ted Simmons (KCM).
505 ft. Lou Gehrig (NYA).
503 ft. Larry Doyle (NYG); Joe Rogan (PHI); Ryne Sandberg (HOD); Oscar Gamble (DET).
502 ft. Ernie Banks (HOD); Albert Belle (BBB); Robinson Canó (KCM); Ray Dandridge (BRK); Mike Epstein (HOM).
501 ft. Gary Carter (OTT); Derek Jeter (NYA).
500 ft. Andrew McCutchen (HOM).

Pitching Statistics

80+ Game Scores

99. José Rijo (KCM).
97. JM Ward (PHI).
94. Steve Carlton (PHI).
93. Frank Castillo (KCM); Lefty Grove (SFS); Toad Ramsey (HOU); Jim Whitney (MCG).
92. Bump Hadley (SFS); Bullet Joe Rogan (PHI).
91. Frank Knauss (BRK); Christy Mathewson (NYG); Toad Ramsey (HOU)
90. Brett Anderson (LAA); A. Rube Foster (KCM); Bump Hadley (SFS); Alejandro Peña (BBB); Toad Ramsey (HOU); Joe Rogan (PHI).
89. Bump Hadley (SFS); Dennis Martínez (BAL); Gaylord Perry (NYG); Fernando Valenzuela (BRG); Smokey Joe Wood (KCM).
88. Don Newcombe (PHI); Stubby Overmire (MEM); Luis Padrón x2 (IND); Bill Steen (CLE); Justin Verlander (DET).
87. Ice Box Chamberlain (HOU); Roger Clemens (HOU); Lefty Grove (SFS); Carl Hubbell (NYG); Francisco Liriano (HOM); Dennis Martínez (BAL); José Méndez (MCG); Joseíto Muñoz (MCG); Old Hoss Radbourn (OTT); José Rijo (KCM); Jim Whitney (BBB).
86. Bartolo Colón (HOM); A. Rube Foster (KCM); Doc Gooden (LAA); Frank Knauss (BRK).
85. Roger Clemens (HOU); Gerrit Cole (LAA); Lefty Grove (SFS); Luke Hamlin (KCM); Hardie Henderson x2 (PHI); Luis Padrón (IND); Roy Patterson (LAA); Eddie Plank (SFS); Jameson Taillon (MEM); Ed Walsh (CAG); Cy Young (CLE).
84. Frank Castillo (KCM); Johnny Cueto (IND); Ron Guidry (NYY); Orel Hershiser (BRK); Ed Walsh (CAG); Smokey Joe Wood (KCM).
83. Bob Friend (HOM); Mike Mussina (BAL); Luis Padrón x2 (IND).
82. Mark Buehrle (CAG); Bill Doak (MEM); Connie Johnson (BAL); Frank Knauss (BRK); Toad Ramsey (HOU).
81. Bert Blyleven (POR); Ferguson Jenkins (HOD); Andy Pettitte (NYY); Stephen Strasbourg (HOU); Cy Young (CLE).
80. Frank Castillo (KCM); A. Rube Foster (KCM); Walter Johnson (POR); The Only Nolan (IND); Andy Pettitte (NYY); Toad Ramsey (HOU); José Rijo (KCM); Fernando Valenzuela (BRK).

10+ Strikeout Games

15. Joseíto Muñoz (MCG).
14. Frank Castillo (KCM); Roy Oswalt (HOU); Toad Ramsey (HOU).
13. Brett Anderson (LAA); Bob Feller (CLE); Ron Guidry (NYY); Toad Ramsey (HOU); Charlie Root (DET); Smokey Joe Wood (KCM).
12. Ice Box Chamberlain (HOU); Johnny Cueto (IND); Bob Feller (CLE); Doc Gooden (LAA); Lefty Grove (SFS); Bump Hadley (SFS); Frank Knauss (BRG); Mike Mussina (BAL); Toad Ramsey x2 (HOU); José Rijo (KCM); Bill Steen (CLE); JM Ward (PHI); Jim Whitney (MCG).
11. Len Barker (MEM); Johnny Cueto (IND); Paul Derringer (IND); Ned Garvin (BAL); Ron Guidry x2 (NYY); Ferguson Jenkins (HOD); Connie Johnson (BAL); Walter Johnson x2 (POR); Frank Knauss (BRG); Christy Mathewson (NYG); Joseíto Muñoz (MCG); The Only Nolan (IND); Luis Padrón (IND); Old Hoss Radbourn (OTT); Toad Ramsey x4 (HOU); José Rijo (KCM); Sam Streeter (CAG); Don Sutton (NYG); Justin Verlander (DET); Smokey Joe Williams (BRK); Cy Young (CLE).
10. Tony Brizzolara (NYY); Steve Carlton (PHI); Frank Castillo x2 (KCM); Watty Clark (SFS); Roger Clemens (HOU); Don Drysedale (BRK); Bob Feller (CLE); A. Rube Foster (KCM); Bob Friend (HOM); Ned Garvin x3 (BAL); Lefty Gomez (BBB); Doc Gooden (LAA); Lefty Grove x3 (SFS); Ron Guidry x3 (NYY); Bump Hadley (SFS); Hardie Henderson (PHI); Orel Hershiser (BRK); Connie Johnson (DET); Frank Knauss x2 (BRK); Dennis Martínez (BAL); Ramón Martínez (MCG); Hal Newhouser (DET); Luis Padrón x2 (IND); Alejandro Peña (BBB); Gaylord Perry x2 (NYG); Andy Pettitte (NYY); Billy Pierce (HOM); Toad Ramsey x5 (HOU); José Rijo (KCM); Charlie Root (DET); Bob Rush (HOD); Tom Seaver (LAA); Bill Steen (CLE); Stephen Strasbourg (HOU); Don Sutton (NYG); Fernando Valenzuela x2 (BRK); Jim Whitney (MCG); Smokey Joe Williams (BRK); Smokey Joe Wood (KCM).

8+ Walk Games

8. Ed Brandt (MCG); Hardie Henderson (PHI); Smokey Joe Williams (BRK).
9. Randy Johnson (OTT).

Shutouts

NO HITS. Steve Carlton (PHI); José Rijo (IND).
1 Hit. A. Rube Foster (KCM); Bump Hadley (SFS); Stubby Overmire (MEM) [5 inn]; Luis Padrón (IND); Toad Ramsey (HOU); Bullet Joe Rogan (PHI).
2 Hits. A. Rube Foster (KCM); Lefty Grove (SFS); Bump Hadley (SFS); Frank Knauss (BRK); Francisco Liriano (HOM); Dennis Martínez (BAL); José Méndez (MCG); Stubby Overmire (MEM); Luis Padrón (IND); Old Hoss Radbourn (OTT); José Rijo (KCM); Joe Rogan (PHI); Jim Whitney (MCG).
3 Hits. Frank Castillo (KCM); Roger Clemens (HOU); Bartolo Colón (HOM); Lefty Grove (SFS); Hardie Henderson (PHI); Carl Hubbell (NYG); Christy Mathewson (NYG); Don Newcombe (PHI); Luis Padrón (IND); Gaylord Perry (NYG); Eddie Plank (SFS); Toad Ramsey (HOU).
4 Hits. Bert Blyleven (POR); Frank Castillo (KCM); Gerrit Cole (LAA); Johnny Cueto (IND); Doc Gooden (LAA); Lefty Grove (SFS); Bump Hadley (SFS); Dennis Martínez (BAL); Luis Padrón (IND); Jim Whitney (BBB); Cy Young (CLE).

Shutouts (Combined)

1 Hit. Justin Verlander / Mike Henneman (DET); Bill Steen / Terry Adams (CLE).
2 Hits. Jameson Taillon / Skel Roach / Andrew Miller (MEM); Ed Walsh / Tom Williams (CAG); Pud Galvin / Francisco Rodríguez / Joe Nathan (LAA); Brett Anderson / Ross Reynolds (LAA); Connie Johnson / Justin Hampson (BAL); Bob Feller / Ron Reed (CLE); Luke Hamlin / Craig Kimbrel (KCM).
3 Hits. Hardie Henderson / Robin Roberts (PHI); Orel Hershiser / Eric Gagne (BRK); Stephen Strasbourg / John Franco / Tug McGraw (HOU); Vean Gregg / Mike Norris / Brian Wilson (NYG); Justin Verlander / Billy Hoeft / Chad Bradford (DET); Stubby Overmire / Heath Bell / Jonathan Papelbon (MEM); Brett Anderson / Ross Reynolds / Joe Nathan (LAA).
4 Hits. Toad Ramsey / Bones Ely (HOU); Hardie Henderson / Brad Kilby / Tim Belcher / Ted Kennedy (PHI); Dwight Gooden / Francisco Rodríguez (LAA); Bump Hadley / Jim Devlin / Ken Howell / Rod Beck (SFS); Greg Maddux / John Malarkey / Bruce Chen / Juan Rincón (BBB); Johnny Podgajny / Tom Henke (OTT); Herm Wehmeier / Goose Gossage (NYY); José Rijo / Jeff Pfeffer (KCM); Smokey Joe Williams / Trevor Hildenberger (BRK); Kyle Peterson / Karl Spooner / Ed Bauta (HOD); Frank Knauss / Trevor Hildenberger (BRG); Ice Box Chamberlain / Andrew Chafin (HOU); Walter Ball / Johan Santana / Dick Jones (POR).
5 Hits. Kenshin Kawakami / Barry Latman / Ed Brandt / Sandy Consuegra (MCG); Len Barker / David Bush / Andrew Miller (MEM); Johnny Cueto / Sad Sam Jones / Rob Murphy / Rob Dibble (IND); Smoky Joe Wood / Mike Kume (KCM); Waite Hoyt / Herb Pennock / AJ Minter (CAG); Bob Feller / Whit Wyatt / Al Smith / Ron Reed (CLE).

Year II Season Preview: Brooklyn Royal Giants

By mknn

On April 6, 2024

In Team News

Expectations

Improvement, meaning again being in the playoff hunt at the end, but perhaps it being far less of a longshot/surprise.

Best Case

The juggling of the pitching staff works perfectly, with Smokey Joe Williams and ~~Watty Clark~~ Orel Hershiser joining Don Drysedale and Frank Knauss to provide a dependable, top of the league rotation helped by a continually improving Sandy Koufax. This implies that Eric Gagne‘s conversion to closer goes well.

The offense finds its soul, helped by the acquisition of Pedro Guerrero.

Worst Case

Knauss, ~~Clark~~, and Koufax regress and Williams doesn’t step up, leaving only Drysedale as a dependable starter and the offense continues to just meander along without any real oomph. The acquisition of Guerrero fails to deliver.

Key Questions

In addition to the pitching staff changes mentioned above, the rest of the roster is very much in flux.
Can John Briggs continue to set the world on fire?
Will Mike Piazza finally take hold of the starting C role?

Trade Bait

Unsure? There is a bit of a logjam in the OF right now, maybe that could be solved.

Instead, the Royal Giants doubled down on the logjam, adding Guerrero to the mix. It’s unlikely Clark’s value is ever higher than it is right now, so it’s not a bad moment to make the move.

Roster Evaluation

POS	Elite	Strong	Solid	Meh	Weak	Unknown
C				Piazza		Bertell
1B			Robinson
2B			Isbell
3B			Cey
SS			~~Smith~~	Dandridge		Wills
LF/ RF		Becker Guerrero
CF			Briggs Snider White	Griggs
SP	Drysedale	Knauss		Hershiser Koufax		Williams
End		Gagne ~~Hildenberger~~	Dreifort Von Ohlen
RP						Forster Grimes Mateo Valenzuela

New Addition | ~~Injured~~

Very middle of the road imo. There is a lot of uncertainty on the mound, with a bunch of new faces and others whose ability to replicate their success from last season remains firmly in doubt.

Talent Ratings

	WBL	Minors
Raw Power	OF Duke Snider	1B Jim Gentile
Batting Eye	OF John Briggs	C Jim French
Contact	OF Pedro Guerrero	1B Dan Brouthers
Running Speed	SS Maury Wills	SS Sonny Jackson
Base Stealing	2B Frank Isbell	2B Davey Lopes
IF Defense	IF Jackie Robinson	1B Eric Karros
OF Defense	OF Roy White	OF Chicken Wolf
Stuff	SP Sandy Koufax	RP Lefty Thomas
Control	CL Eric Gagne	RP Trevor Hildenberger
Velocity	CL Eric Gagne	SP Walker Buehler

Best In The Minors

Rank	Age	POS	Name
1 (3)	20	2B	Ed Delahanty
2 (5)	23	P	Smokey Joe Williams
3 (15)	21	P	Doc Newton
4 (51)	22	P	Walker Buehler
5 (84)	21	OF	John Briggs
6 (108)	22	P	Dazzy Vance
7 (125)	24	OF	Terry Moore
8 (147)	24	P	Fernando Valenzuela
9 (162)	24	P	Dustin McGowan
10 (165)	20	OF	Al Simmons

Others: RP Jesús Colome, P Chris Short.

Williams, Briggs, and Valenzuela all break camp with the WBL team. Given the scarcity of offense in the system, both Delahanty and Simmons may see time this season.

	Most	Least
Age	2B Julio Franco, 39	P Odalis Pérez, 19 P Hilly Flitcroft
Height	P Don Drysedale, 6’6″ P Tommy Hanson, 6’6″	P Bobby Shantz, 5’6″
OPS	1B Justin Smoak, 1.101 (—)	SS César Izturis, .527 (AAA/AA)
HR	1B Justin Smoak, 64 (—)	SS César Izturis, 0 (AAA/AA) OF Art Griggs, 0 (WBL/AAA)
SB	OF Beals Becker, 49 (WBL)
WAR	1B Jim Gentile, 5.0 (—)	SS Germany Smith, -1.0 (WBL/AAA)
W	Josh Outman, 14 (—) Jordan Zimmerman, 14 (AAA)	Tom Phoebus, 2 (—) Dick Redding, 2 (WBL/AAA)
SV	Red Evans, 23 (—)
ERA	Darren Dreifort, 2.03 (WBL/AAA)	Tom Sullivan, 8.09 (—)
WAR	Bobby Shantz, 5.9 (—)	Tom Sullivan, -2.0 (—)

Stats are across all levels. 200 PA / 75 IP min. Non WBL leagues indicated by —.

TWIWBL 55.4: Offseason Notes – Marvin Miller Division

By mknn

On January 11, 2024

In TWIWBL

#Birmingham Black Barons

IF Rabbit Maranville decided to hang up his cleats after a year that saw him play in only 9 games as a 39 year old.

34 year old Charlie Keller decided to retire, despite a solid showing for Atlanta (after a horrible start to the season with Newark).

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

Reliever Eric Gagne will be back for at least one more year, signing a $890k contract. There are rumors that this may mean Gagne moves into the closer’s role with Watty Clark becoming a starter. The challenge here is that Clark was very effective as a closer.

The Royal Giants released C Steve Yeager and OF Michael Brantley.

#Miami Cuban Giants

32 year old 1B Carlos Peña decided to hang up his cleats, despite slugging over .700 at AAA. But with only 10 WBL at-bats and a bit of a logjam at 1B in front of him, he decided his best choice was to move on from his playing days.

The Cuban Giants avoided arbitration with Gary Sheffield, signing him to a $1.2M, one year deal. Clearly, the amount is based on Sheffield’s potential, not his somewhat underwhelming numbers from last year.

#Portland Sea Dogs

A trio of 35 year old hurlers retired from Portland’s AA club: Jim Perry, Will Harris, and Tippy Martinez. Perry was hit hard and Harris rarely used, but Martinez had a decent year, so his announcement at least was a bit of a surprise.

40 year old knuckleballer Charlie Hough decided enough was enough, deciding to retire at the end of the AAA season.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

40 year old Chipper Jones had wanted to go out with a little more fanfare. Instead, a 131/233/263 start over roughly 100 AB’s with Birmingham led to him being cut, picked up by San Francisco, but hitting even worse for the Sea Lions at AAA. Jones and fellow 3B Lave Cross both announced their retirement from the game.

Minor league OF Tony Armas lost his arbitration case, but will still earn $310k next season.

San Francisco released 2B Keith Ginter and P Carlos Carrasco, with neither move being particularly surprising.