Baseball The Way It Never Was

Tag: Hal Chase

Year II Season Preview: New York Black Yankees

Expectations

Same as it ever was: despite not making the playoffs last year, the Black Yankees will be expected to contend for the Whirled Championship. That’s what happens when you have Babe Ruth, and, if you had him, you wouldn’t want it any other way.

Best Case

Everything that was supposed to happen last year does: Ron Guidry establishes himself as an elite ace with Waite Hoyt and Jack Scott close behind; the bullpen’s revival, led by Aroldis Chapman, proves real; Lou Gehrig and/or Mike Schmidt move from good to excellent; and Ruth keeps doing Ruth things.

Worst Case

Not only does the pitching fail to come through, but Thurman Munson, Eric Davis, and Mickey Mantle all regress and nobody else truly steps up.

Key Questions

  • It’s all about the bullpen, according to the media.
  • There will be a lot of attention on last year’s ERA champion, Andy Pettitte–with some of that focused on what the loss of Albert Belle means for what was truly a fearsome bench last year.

Trade Bait

Sure. The most useful pieces would be OF Albert Belle, SS Derek Jeter, and 2B Tom Herr, any of whom could potentially move on.

You can’t accuse New York of not making moves: Belle is gone, along with some other good talent, in exchange for Andy Pettitte, further deepening what could be–could be–a great pitching staff.

Roster Evaluation

POSEliteStrongSolidMehWeakUnknown
CMunsonSanguillén
1BGehrig
Mattingly
Etten
2BHerr
3BSchmidtLópez
Maddox
SSJeter
LF/
RF
Ruth
Mantle
CFDavis
SPPettitteScott
Guidry
Hoyt
Ruffing
EndChapmanCormierGossage
RPLavelleLyle
Righetti
Robertson
New Addition | Injured

That sure looks like a contending team, especially when you see the potential for some of the players to take steps leftward.

Talent Ratings

WBLMinors
Raw PowerOF Babe Ruth1B Fred Whitfield
Batting EyeOF Babe RuthIF Jack Crooks
ContactC Manny SanguillénOF Mickey Rivers
Running SpeedOF Eric DavisIF Hal Chase
Base StealingOF Eric DavisIF Hal Chase
IF Defense3B Mike SchmidtIF Aaron Hill
OF DefenseOF Babe RuthOF Bill Lange
StuffP Dave RighettiP Dewey Adkins
ControlP Andy PettitteP Carlos Silva
VelocityRP David RobertsonP AJ Burnett
P Mike Fetters

Best In The Minors

RankAgePOSName
1 (26)21PNoah Syndergaard
2 (37)23PJake Peavy
3 (66)25PWhitey Ford
4 (98)21PCarlos Rodón
5 (119)21PTony Brizzolara
6 (140)22OFClyde Milan
7 (168)21UElliott Maddox
Others: None.

This is an old system (there isn’t a single teenager in it), and one that is lacking in talent beyond the top 3. But those top 3 are pretty strong, so perhaps that won’t matter. Maddox breaks camp with the Black Yankees.

MostLeast
AgeOF Ollie Pickering, 381B Anthony Volpe, 20
HeightP Jeff Nelson, 6’8″C Eddie Fusselback, 5’6″
OPSOF Babe Ruth, 1.091 (WBL)OF Ron Pruitt, .487 (—)
HROF Babe Ruth, 48 (WBL)OF Wally Rehg, 2 (—)
IF Tom Herr, 2 (WBL)
IF Jerry Freeman, 2 (AAA/AA)
IF Harry Bauchman, 2 (AA)
SBOF Eric Davis, 64 (WBL)Many with 0
WAROF Babe Ruth, 8.1 (WBL)IF Devon Travis, -3.4 (—)
WAJ Burnett, 15 (WBL/AAA)
Andy Pettitte, 15 (WBL)
Sean Newcomb, 1 (—)
SVAroldis Chapman, 32 (WBL)
ERAMike Fornieles, 2.72 (—)Hooks Dauss, 6.70 (AAA/AA)
WARRon Bryant, 4.9 (—)Lady Baldwin, -0.5 (WBL/AAA)
Stats are across all levels. 200 PA / 75 IP min. Non WBL leagues indicated by —.

TWIWBL 24.13: Mid-Season Reviews – New York Black Yankees

Summary

The Black Yankees are one of the dominant teams in the league, although some cracks have appeared, especially on the mound.

What’s Gone Right

Quite Offensive. The Black Yankees are top 3 in most offensive categories, and are 1st in most of those. They hit for power, they take walks, and the lineup is deep, deep, deep.

The MVP(s). Look, this Babe Ruth kid can hit, but the real MVP of the Black Yankees has been Thurman Munson, who heads into the break having reached base in over 30 straight games.

The 900 Club. Five hitters have an OPS over .890 (I rounded up). Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Munson, Albert Belle, and Eric Davis are a fearsome … dare I say it … Murderer’s Row.

What’s Gone Wrong

The Middle Infield. Derek Jeter is doing alright, but 2B has been a real struggle. Willie Randolph has been much better of late, and still has an OPS around .650, and the less said about Craig Counsell‘s performance, the better.

Back of the Bullpen. Ralph Citarella has been quite good, but both Sparky Lyle and Goose Gossage have struggled.

Guidry’s Fall. Ron Guidry looked like one of the best pitchers in the league for the first few months; while he still leads the WBL in strikeouts, his overall performance has suffered, with only a 5-6 record and an ERA over 4.00.

Key Storylines

The Black Yankees look likely to sit pat: they have the talent to compete just as they are, although pitching is always welcome.

There are some things to watch for in the second half, from whether Ruth’s slight slump is anything to worry about to whether they can continue to carry both 2B as a position and, to a lesser degree, Don Mattingly at 1B.

The most likely thing here is that some of these things break well and some don’t, and overall the team remains a powerhouse.

Trading Outlook

BUYING.

But it’s not clear what they need. Bullpen help for sure, and a solve to 2B could be useful as well.

AAA Shuttle

They haven’t used it a lot. Cole Hamels and Sam Thompson have been fine.

Midseason Changes

Cole Hamels joins the rotation.

Awards

All Stars: Eric Davis (CF); Lou Gehrig (1B); Derek Jeter (SS); Mickey Mantle (RF); Thurman Munson (C); Red Ruffing (P); Babe Ruth (LF).

Player of the Month: Babe Ruth (April)

Offensive MVP: Babe Ruth (OF)
Pitching MVP: Red Ruffing (SP)

Down on the Farm

AAA: Newark Eagles

Next to the Show: SP AJ Burnett & Jake Peavy, RP Bryan Hickerson, OF Joe Harris.

Prospects: SP Jake Peavy (23), C Smoky Burgess (22), 3B Chris Brown (22).

Projects: SP Whitey Ford (24), OF Sam Thompson (26), OF Nick Swisher (29), RP Bryan Hickerson (27), 1B Hal Chase (27), SP Jim Clinton (25).

Suspects: 1B Moose Skowron (29), OF Hank Bauer (31), IF Aaron Hill (23), OF Charlie Keller (33), RP Fritz Coumbe (24).

AA: Hudson Valley Renegades

Prospects: 2B Dick Bartell (20).

Projects: P Joba Chamberlain (25), P LaTroy Hawkins (22), P Art Ditmar (26), OF Roger Maris (26), OF Héctor López (25), Kevin Pillar (27).

Suspects: None, really.

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