Tag: J.M. Ward Page 1 of 4

TWIWBL 92.2: Off Season Review – Philadelphia Stars

On April 22, 2026

87 - 75, .537 pct.
2nd in Effa Manley Division, 12 GB
Lost in NL WC to HOU, 4-1

Overall

What a surprising year in Philadelphia!

This is what decent pitching, solid defense, and some high end lineup slots can do for a club. Drafting the unique talents of Charles Rogan helped, too.

It’s built around Rogan, Scott Rolen, and the radical power of Aaron Judge on offense and Rogan, Hardie Henderson, and Steve Carlton on the mound.

It’s a blueprint, and there is reason for optimism that the Stars could repeat the formula next year.

The optimism comes from the fact that some Stars still have room to grow, especially when you look at how JM Ward and Ray Collins both were far, far better than their results on the mound and the looming presence of Harmon Killebrew at AAA.

The skepticism comes from Ward and Collins being unproven, from the struggles on the IF, and from the age of the squad, especially Rico Carty (who had a solid year) and Ted Kluszewski (who did not).

What Went Right

We’ve got to start with Charles “Bullet Joe” Rogan, a legitimate all-star level talent both on the mound and all over the field (Rogan played a lot of CF, but that had more to do with Willie Davis‘ struggles than anything else). Rogan slashed 308/362/620 in 520 PAs and went 12-9 with a 4.51 ERA on the mound over 30 starts. Just an amazing talent.

Aaron Judge exploded this year, with 63 homeruns and 133 RBIs, making the RF job his from here on out.

Scott Rolen continues to be one of the better 3B in the league, posting a .917 OPS and finishing second on the team with 42 homeruns.

At 38, Rico Carty continues to contribute offensively. He’s slowed down, and the power continues to dwindle, but a mid .800s OPS is serviceable in a reserve player.

Bill Dickey finally seemed to claim the C spot, posting an .827 OPS in 50ish games behind the plate. Hopes are high for his first full season.

At 21, there is time for Sherry Magee to continue to develop, for now, an .800 OPS plus 47 steals is a solid base to build on.

Chase Utley was … good enough … at 2B, flashing elite leather and providing OK offense.

ALL STARS

Hardie Henderson
Aaron Judge
Charles Rogan

MAJOR AWARDS

Willie Davis, NL CF Gold Glove
Aaron Judge, All NL Team; NL RF Silver Slugger
Charles Rogan, NL Rookie of the Year
Chase Utley, NL 2B Gold Glove

RECOGNITIONS

Fred Cambria, All NL 3rd Team; NL 25 & Under Team; NL 23 & Under Team
Bill Dickey, NL All Rookie Team
Hardie Henderson, All NL 3rd Team
César Hernández, NL All Rookie Team
Bob Howry, All NL 3rd Team; NL Over 30 Team
Ted Kennedy, NL 23 & Under Team
Brad Kilby, NL All Rookie 2nd Team
Sherry Magee, NL 21 & Under Team
Charles Rogan, All NL 3rd Team; NL All Rookie 2nd Team (CF & P)
Scott Rolen, All NL 3rd Team
Jimmy Rollins, NL All Rookie 2nd Team
JM Ward, 21 & Under Team

ORGANIZATIONAL AWARDS

Charles Rogan, MVP
Hardie Henderson, Pitcher of the Year
Scott Rolen, Heart & Soul
Charles Rogan, Fan Favorite

Jack Kralick, Minor League Pitcher of the Year
Jung Ho Kang, Minor League Player of the Year

What Went Wrong

Catching was a mess until Dickey was recalled–both Sherm Lollar and Mike Scioscia are fine as reserves, but seem overmatched as starters.

The middle infield was a mess all year. César Hernández looked like a solution, but faltered; and Jimmy Rollins was pretty miserable at SS. Eventually, Chase Utley took over, but SS remained a challenge all season.

Ted Kluszewski‘s bat seems to have slowed way down, managing only a 245/289/436 slash line.

Willie Davis earned the Gold Glove in CF, but struggled mightily at the plate, managing only a 233/282/391 slash line. Gold Glove defense can’t make up for that level of offensive performance.

There was a lot of mediocrity, but little that went downright wrong, on the mound. John Burkett and Bill Gatewood struggled in limited innings, but that’s about it. Mark Melancon‘s overall numbers are bad, but he performed quite well with the Stars.

Transactions

March

None.

July

P Larry Jackson to HOD for IF Luis Aparicio, IF Jung Ho Kang & 7th Round Pick.

It’s decent value, but at the same time, another SP would have been useful. Still, Aparicio may have a shot at the SS job and Kang hit very well (he may end up being the epitome of a AAAA player, but he may not).

August

P LaTroy Hawkins, P Dave Stieb, IF Pat Meares, P Jaret Wright, OF Bobby Abreu & 2nd Round Pick to POR for IF Rafael Palmiero, P Mark Melancon, IF Jim Fregosi, & OF Harry Hooper.

This was really 2 deals–the Abreu and Palmiero component is, or should be, pretty much a wash. The rest is interesting: Melancon was bad in Portland and excellent in Philadelphia, Hooper was horrible in Portland and worse in Philadelphia, and Fregosi might–might–solve the Stars’ SS challenge for a few years. They gave up a lot of talent but it’s all potential: if Stieb, Hawkins, and Wright all become rotation starters, it’s too much; if not, it’s a good trade.

OF George Hendrick to BRK for 3rd Round Pick.

Sure. Why not.

Positional Overview

C

Bill Dickey seems to finally be delivering on the promise that led to last year’s trade with the Black Yankees. With him set as the starter, Mike Scioscia is the most likely candidate for the backup role.

There’s not a lot of talent behind him, but perhaps Butch Wynegar or Jerry Grote may have WBL talent.

1B

This is a little uncertain, but the Stars would very much like Harmon Killebrew or Rafael Palmeiro to lay their claim in Spring Training.

Rogan can play here, of course, and both Rico Carty and Ted Kluszewski can be of use here as well.

2B

It feels like Chase Utley did enough to retain his starting spot here, especially considering the Gold Glove. César Hernández will start the season as the utility infielder, but may step in if Utley falters.

There are a couple other interesting options: Jung Ho Kang plays 2B badly, but it is a way to get his bat in the lineup, and both Luis Aparicio and Roger Peckinpaugh can fill in here as well.

SS

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

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

3B

No questions here: Scott Rolen all day.

Killebrew and Kang will hopefully do enough to serve as regular relief. Rogan can play here as well, as can JM Ward, although his attempts at contributing offensively have fallen short so far.

LF/RF

RF is set with Aaron Judge, and LF looks more and more like Sherry Magee, at least for now.

There’s some talent in the minors: Buck Freeman, Ed Kirkpatrick, and even the hope that Harry Hooper someday regains his form.

CF

This is a pretty puzzling situation. Willie Davis hit well last year, but collapsed offensively this year. Still, he did win the Gold Glove out there.

This might be Rogan’s most natural position, and of course he had no problem hitting.

And then there’s the upcoming talent, led by Richie Ashburn, but also including Garry Maddox, Elston Howard, and Odúbel Herrera.

DH

The Stars really hope that Killebrew or Kang show up in the Spring. If that doesn’t happen, look for Rico Carty to get the bulk of the appearances.

SP

Hardie Henderson, Charles Rogan, Steve Carlton, and JM Ward are a good quartet for the front of the rotation.

The final spot is open, as are the swing starter positions, with the competition being between Ray Collins, Ted Kennedy (transitioning from the bullpen), Robin Roberts, John Clarkson, Don Newcombe, Bill Gatewood, and perhaps young prospect Pete Alexander.

Mélido Pérez looks like a good future prospect, as does Bill Stearns.

RP

Bob Howry will start as the closer, but at 34 there are some questions about his future. Behind him, though, there are a lot of odd questions: can Mark Melancon finally settled into a franchise (he performed quite well for the Stars at the end of the season)? Can Brad Kilby and Fred Cambria improve on relatively impressive initial seasons? And does Pedro Feliciano belong in the WBL at all?

That’s the group likely to start the year, but we’ll see how that goes.

Draft Outlook

DRAFT PICKS

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

The Stars could make a move for a 2B, or even a CF. But really their future is wrapped up in the continued development of their current talent.

TWIWBL 88.2: Teams of the Year By Age

By mknn

On March 1, 2026

In TWIWBL

The overall All-WBL Teams can be found here.

In this post, we’ll slowly carve people off those lists as we get younger, beginning with the under 25’s. As we get younger, future potential will begin to be more of a thing.

A full lineup, with DH, plus 3 starters and 3 relievers for each. We’ll start by relisting the overall selections, then new entries for each group will be bolded.

#WBL Teams of the Year

Pos	American League	National League
C	Ed Bailey (36, DET/CLE)	Josh Gibson (21, HOM)
1B	Jim Thome (28, MCG)	Paul Konerko (34, CAG/BBB)
2B	Eddie Collins (28, CAG)	Roberto Alomar (24, OTT)
SS	Arky Vaughan (27, CLE)	Ernie Banks (25, HOD)
3B	Evan Longoria (24, CLE)	Ron Cey (27, BRK)
LF	Babe Ruth (25, NYY)	Jim Wynn (23, HOU)
CF	Turkey Stearnes (22, SFS)	Oscar Charleston (21, IND)
RF	Mickey Mantle (22, NYY)	Aaron Judge (27, PHI)
DH	Ty Cobb (21, DET)	Willie Stargell (31, HOM)
SP	Lefty Grove (27, SFS) José Méndez (23, MCG) Jim Whitney (24, BBB/MCG)	Luis Padrón (22, IND) Toad Ramsey (23, HOU) A. Rube Foster (24, KCM)
RP	Ken Howell (24, SFS) Andrew Miller (23, MEM) Rod Beck (24, SFS)	Lee Smith (34, HOD/KCM) Eddie Guardado (26, KCM) Eric Gagne (27, BRK)

#WBL 25 & Under Teams

Pos	American League	National League
C	Mickey Cochrane (25, SFS)	Josh Gibson (21, HOM)
1B	Hank Greenberg (24, DET)	Jeff Bagwell (24, HOU)
2B	Grant Johnson (25, HOU/NYY)	Roberto Alomar (24, OTT)
SS	Cal Ripken, Jr (23, BAL)	Ernie Banks (25, HOD)
3B	Evan Longoria (24, CLE)	Albert Pujols (22, KCM)
LF	Babe Ruth (25, NYY)	Jim Wynn (23, HOU)
CF	Turkey Stearnes (22, SFS)	Oscar Charleston (21, IND)
RF	Mickey Mantle (22, NYY)	Larry Walker (23, OTT)
DH	Ty Cobb (21, DET)	Rick Monday (24, OTT)
SP	José Méndez (23, MCG) Jim Whitney (24, BBB/MCG) Bump Hadley (23, SFS)	Luis Padrón (22, IND) Toad Ramsey (23, HOU) A. Rube Foster (24, KCM)
RP	Ken Howell (24, SFS) Andrew Miller (23, MEM) Rod Beck (24, SFS)	Terry Forster (22, BRK) Andrew Chafin (25, HOU) Fred Cambria (23, PHI)

#WBL 23 & Under Teams

Pos	American League	National League
C	Iván Rodríguez (21, MCG)	Josh Gibson (21, HOM)
1B	Eddie Murray (22, BAL)	Rusty Staub (21, OTT)
2B	Frank Grant (22, HOD/SFS)	Joe Morgan (22, IND)
SS	Cal Ripken, Jr (23, BAL)	Carlos Correa (23, HOU)
3B	Jimmie Foxx (22, SFS)	Albert Pujols (22, KCM)
LF	Frank Robinson (22, BAL)	Jim Wynn (23, HOU)
CF	Turkey Stearnes (22, SFS)	Oscar Charleston (21, IND)
RF	Mickey Mantle (22, NYY)	Larry Walker (23, OTT)
DH	Ty Cobb (21, DET)	Richie Hebner (23, HOD)
SP	José Méndez (23, MCG) Bump Hadley (23, SFS) Brett Anderson (22, LAA)	Luis Padrón (22, IND) Toad Ramsey (23, HOU) Smokey Joe Wood (22, KCM)
RP	Andrew Miller (23, MEM) Goose Gossage (23, NYY) Julio Teheran (22, LAA)	Terry Forster (22, BRK) Fred Cambria (23, PHI) Ted Kennedy (22, PHI)

300 PA Minimums for batters, with 1 exception: Murray only had 145 PAs–1B in the AL just did not have a lot of youth.

#WBL 21 & Under

Pos	American League	National League
C	Iván Rodríguez (21, MCG)	Josh Gibson (21, HOM)
1B	—	Rusty Staub (21, OTT)
2B	Martín Dihigo (19, MCG)	—
SS	Dobie Moore (20, MEM)	Judy Johnson (18, HOM)
3B	Freddie Lindstrom (20, CAG)	Ron Santo (21, HOD)
LF	Alejandro Oms (21, MCG)	Sherry Magee (21, PHI)
CF	Ken Griffey Jr (20, POR)	Oscar Charleston (21, IND)
RF	Bryce Harper (20, BAL)	—
DH	Ty Cobb (21, DET)	—
SP	Walter Johnson (20, POR) Bob Feller (20, CLE) Joseíto Muñoz (20, POR)	Ice Box Chamberlain (19, HOU) JM Ward (20, PHI) Sandy Koufax (21, BRK)
RP	Pete Conway (21, DET) Tom Williams (20, CAG) Billy Hoeft (19, DET)	Pete Donohue (21, NYG) Edward Nolan (19, IND) Vida Blue (21, HOU)

All praises to Ty Cobb, Josh Gibson, and Oscar Charleston for remaining on the list this far. The relievers dip into some rarely used arms, but of the rest, only Freddie Lindstrom was a late-season callup.

There really isn’t an all-teenager team: the only change from the teens above would be the addition of Chicago’s Cristóbal Torriente, perhaps the worst offensive player in the league this year in CF, but surprisingly effective in a few mound appearances.

One more, largely for fun

#WBL Over 30 Team

Pos	American League	National League
C	Ed Bailey (36, DET/CLE)	Jim Pagliaroni (32, MEM/BBB)
1B	Carlos Delgado (32, LAA)	Paul Konerko (34, CAG/BBB)
2B	Rogers Hornsby (34, NYY)	Ryne Sandberg (33, HOD)
SS	Bobby Wallace (34, BAL/DET)	Ozzie Smith (30, KCM)
3B	—	Jim Ray Hart (30, NYG)
LF	Oscar Gamble (32, DET)	Don Buford (32, LAA/NYG)
CF	—	Dave Henderson (33, IND)
RF	Kiki Cuyler (32, POR)	Albert Belle (32, BBB)
DH	Gavvy Cravath (36, BAL)	Joey Votto (32, IND)
SP	Andy Pettitte (33, NYY) Connie Johnson (34, BAL/DET) Charlie Root (31, DET)	Gaylord Perry (33, NYG) Eppa Rixey (31, IND) Cliff Lee (30, HOM)
RP	Jonathan Papelbon (31, MEM/MCG) Joe Nathan (31, LAA/SFS) Buddy Groom (37, BAL)	Lee Smith (34, HOD/KCM) Bob Howry (34, PHI) Josh Lindblom (31, HOM)

Only 3 names from the All-League Teams (Baily, Konerko, and Lee Smith), reflecting on just how young the league is. This is a very wide range from some very strong performers who are expected to keep it up for a while (those 3, Pettitte, Hornsby, some others) to folks like Dave Henderson and Kiki Cuyler, who are just barely hanging onto their roster spots.

TWIWBL 87.16: The Gold Gloves

By mknn

On February 24, 2026

In TWIWBL

We previewed the Gold Gloves in August, but now it’s time to do the real thing, one per position per league. We’ll go through them first, then list the award recipients at the end.

I do believe in defense mattering over time, as such, we’re using an 800 IP minimum for the GG awards. For each position, we’re listing the top 3 in each league, AL followed by NL.

We have our standard defensive stats here, with the leaders in bold and the worst performers in italics. Range Factor (RF) measures the number of plays made per game–the higher the better. Zone Rating (ZR) attempts to credit players for plays other fielders missed and ding them for plays other fielders made–the higher the better, and it has the benefit of being comparative across the position. Defensive Efficiency (dEff) measures the rate at which an individual fielder contributes to outs being made on balls put into play, with any score over 1.000 being a net positive impact. Finally, Fielding Percentage (fPct) reflects the percentage of times a chance was handled without a mistake–if someone made no errors, their fPct would be 1.000.

Of these, Range Factor is the most susceptible to the impact of the pitching staff and the ballpark, although none of these defensive ratings are perfect.

Outfielders also have Assists (A), more romantically referred to as Outfield Kills are runners eliminated on the bases and Arm Runs (AR), which measures the net runs gained on an outfielder’s throws, including runner advancements.

Finally, catchers, who are really their own thing, also have RTO% (the percentage of runners thrown out trying to steal, abbreviated as RT), PB (passed balls), Framing Runs (the number of runs gained by the catcher’s positioning), and cERx, which reflects the ERA while the catcher was behind the plate compared to the overall staff ERA. A cERx below 1 means the catcher was better than the rest of the staff, above 1, worse.

#C

Lg	Tm	Name	IP	fPct	RF	ZR	dEff	RT	PB	cERx	FR
NL	IND	Johnny Bench	1144	.995	9.3	1.3	1.19	36	11	1.03	7
	HOD	Elrod Hendricks	923	.994	8.3	3.8	1.14	40	9	1.01	5
	NYG	Buster Posey	1095	.996	8.9	0.4	1.00	35	8	0.96	10
AL	POR	Joe Mauer	1103	.996	9.5	3.5	1.04	39	6	1.01	5
	NYY	Thurman Munson	1122	.995	9.8	2.3	1.00	35	5	0.96	4
	MCG	Iván Rodríguez	1104	.998	9.8	5.7	1.05	46	17	0.98	2

So, what is a catcher’s primary duty? Helping their staff, controlling the running game, and then, a somewhat distant third, making their own defensive plays.

The choice in the AL is pretty obvious, in the NL, I think it comes down to how much do you weigh Posey’s ability to frame pitches, and his ~150 more innings played than Hendricks.

#1B

Lg	Tm	Name	IP	fPct	RF	ZR	dEff
NL	KCM	Boog Powell	1105	.996	9.1	3.4	1.02
	HOD	Anthony Rizzo	828	.995	8.7	0.8	1.02
	IND	Joey Votto	1072	1.000	8.4	5.1	1.04
AL	DET	Hank Greenberg	1159	.996	8.3	2.5	1.02
	POR	Kent Hrbek	1007	.995	8.6	1.3	1.03
	MEM	Bill White	886	.993	9.1	0.5	1.01

Again, one choice is pretty clear–the NL this time.

In the AL, it’s much closer, but Greenberg makes some plays that Hrbek just doesn’t.

#2B

Lg	Tm	Name	IP	fPct	RF	ZR	dEff
NL	KCM	Robinson Canó	1134	.990	4.6	11.0	1.06
	BBB	Cupid Childs	1022	.983	4.5	7.3	1.09
	PHI	Chase Utley	1173	.994	4.9	13.7	1.07
AL	DET	Charlie Gehringer	971	.989	4.9	-10.7	0.94
	BAL	Miller Huggins	923	.987	4.3	10.8	1.10
	MCG	Cookie Rojas	877	.993	4.4	-3.3	0.97

These are two relatively easy choices. And, there is a question of what’s going on in the AL, where almost everyone has a negative ZR.

#SS

Lg	Tm	Name	IP	fPct	RF	ZR	dEff
NL	NYG	Brandon Crawford	1046	.966	4.2	11.4	1.07
	IND	Barry Larkin	911	.975	4.7	9.0	1.07
	KCM	Ozzie Smith	1188	.992	4.7	12.2	1.06
AL	SFS	Dick Lundy	934	.987	4.5	10.8	1.06
	CAG	Freddy Parent	952	.978	5.0	13.6	1.06
	CLE	Arky Vaughan	1143	.982	4.2	13.4	1.09

In the NL, it’s another clear choice: while Smith and Crawford both make the sensational plays, Smith makes all the plays.

The AL is much, much closer and there’s really not much to choose from between Parent and Vaughan. As such, we’ll go with the player who stayed on the field more.

#3B

Lg	Tm	Name	IP	fPct	RF	ZR	dEff
NL	OTT	Adrián Beltré	1055	.974	2.6	-0.8	1.00
	BRK	Ron Cey	1138	.975	2.5	6.0	1.03
	PHI	Scott Rolen	1155	.970	2.3	5.0	1.06
AL	POR	Buddy Bell	1169	.968	2.5	8.0	1.05
	CLE	Evan Longoria	1148	.963	2.2	4.8	1.04
	NYY	Mike Schmidt	1140	.958	2.4	5.3	1.03

The hot corner is a challenge: everyone makes 2, 2 1/2 plays a game, so RF is less useful, although Beltré’s 2.6 does stand out, as does Longoria’s more limited mobility. But it means fPct–as a proxy for errors–and dEff rise in importance. In the AL, while it’s not by a mile, I think Bell is the clear choice while in the AL, it ends up being between Cey and Rolen, with the final edge going to The Penguin.

#LF

Lg	Tm	Name	IP	fPct	RF	ZR	dEff	A	AR
NL	IND	Bob Bescher	839	.989	1.9	-4.8	0.96	2	-2.8
	PHI	Sherry Magee	839	.994	1.7	4.8	1.04	1	-2.3
	BRK	Roy White	1152	.992	1.9	10.3	1.07	6	-1.0
AL	CLE	Johnny Bates	1018	.978	2.0	8.8	1.06	4	-1.3
	SFS	Rickey Henderson	1202	.982	1.6	12.2	1.18	3	-3.6
	BAL	Frank Robinson	996	.990	1.8	0.2	1.00	5	-2.2

The AR numbers reflect just how hard it is to prevent runners from advancing on flyballs, and makes Jim Wynn‘s 3.7 mark there all the more remarkable. Unfortunately, the rest of Wynn’s numbers leave him out of the finalists entirely.

The NL is an easy choice, and one that gives us a repeat winner in Roy White. Over in the Al, it’s harder, but Bates makes more plays and has a far better arm than Henderson, despite how much ground the Sea Lions’ speedster covers.

#CF

Lg	Tm	Name	IP	fPct	RF	ZR	dEff	A	AR
NL	OTT	Carlos Beltrán	1045	.982	2.9	9.5	1.06	10	-1.0
	PHI	Willie Davis	1035	.988	2.9	16.3	1.10	4	-2.8
	NYG	Willie Mays	1214	.989	2.8	14.5	1.05	4	-4.7
AL	BAL	Paul Blair	935	.986	2.7	11.8	1.09	3	-2.6
	CLE	Tris Speaker	1047	.982	2.8	10.0	1.06	9	-2.4
	SFS	Turkey Stearnes	1027	.979	2.8	7.4	1.05	5	-4.7

Assists can be misleading: Detroit’s Chili Davis gunned down 14 runners and Kansas City’s Willie McGee 11, but they, overall, just weren’t effective enough out there to warrant their inclusion. Remember, the weaker the arm, the more often it gets run on, the more chances for assists you may get.

Look, Willie Mays is a great defensive CF. But Willie Davis, simply, had a better year out there. In the AL, you can only unseat Paul Blair if you give massive weight to Speaker’s additional 3 assists. But given how close they are in AR, it’s hard to rationalize that. So Blair it is once again, our 2nd repeat winner.

#RF

Lg	Tm	Name	IP	fPct	RF	ZR	dEff	A	AR
NL	BBB	Hank Aaron	945	.979	1.7	4.4	1.06	6	0.6
	HOM	Roberto Clemente	1134	.979	2.2	7.1	1.06	11	-2.6
	KCM	Stan Musial	972	.981	2.0	8.4	1.07	2	-0.4
AL	MEM	Mookie Betts	880	1.000	1.9	7.6	1.07	2	-3.8
	DET	Al Kaline	971	.991	2.1	3.8	1.03	6	-1.8
	LAA	Ichiro Suzuki	1195	1.000	2.0	5.7	1.04	7	-3.0

The NL is insanely close. Musial makes more spectacular plays than Clemente, Clemente makes marginally more plays overall and has that cannon for an arm, although Musial limits baserunners more effectively. It’s a coin flip, but today we’ll go with Clemente’s additional 150 innings as the difference maker.

In the AL, it’s clearly one of the players who didn’t make a single miscue, and although Betts has the edge in a few metrics, Suzuki has over 300 more innings–1200 innings without an error, but with great range, is incredible.

#P

We’re using 140 innings as the cutoff for the pitchers. Additionally, we have access to number of Framing Runs the pitcher benefitted from, as well as the SB numbers against them. Errors tend to be so low from pitchers, that fPct is no longer a really useful metric.

Lg	Tm	Name	IP	RF	ZR	dEff	RT	FR
NL	HOD	Bob Rush	186	1.2	3.7	1.00	60	0
	HOD	Jack Taylor	192	0.9	5.2	1.00	57	0
	PHI	JM Ward	196	1.0	3.4	1.16	51	0.4
AL	POR	Bert Blyleven	204	0.9	5.6	1.00	59	0.3
	BAL	Bob Feller	153	1.0	3.3	0.91	68	-0.3
	POR	Walter Johnson	214	0.8	5.0	1.20	59	0

Sample size, of course, wrecks havoc with pitcher’s defensive stats. Still, we have what we have.

Not only does Bob Rush make a lot of plays, he keeps runners from stealing, and while Jack Taylor makes more spectacular plays, Rush’s ZR is more than good enough to take the award home. In the AL, Johnson and Blyleven are neck-and-neck, but we’ll go with Blyleven, who has a slight edge in most categories.

#The Gold Gloves

Pos	American League	National League
C	Iván Rodríguez (MCG)	Elrod Hendricks (HOD)
1B	Hank Greenberg (DET)	Joey Votto (IND)
2B	Miller Huggins (BAL)	Chase Utley (PHI)
SS	Arky Vaughan (CLE)	Ozzie Smith (KCM)
3B	Buddy Bell (POR)	Ron Cey (BRK)
LF	Johnny Bates (CLE)	Roy White (BRK)
CF	Paul Blair (BAL)	Willie Davis (PHI)
RF	Ichiro Suzuki (LAA)	Roberto Clemente (HOM)
P	Bert Blyleven (POR)	Bob Rush (HOD)

There are a surprising number of teams with 2 Gold Glove winners–Baltimore, Portland, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, and the House of David.

But the overall number of finalists may be more interesting, as it should give some indications as to the higher tier defensive units in the league. Here’s how that stacks up:

6. Cleveland
5. Philadelphia
4. House of David, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Portland
3. Baltimore, Detroit, New York Gothams, San Francisco
2. Birmingham, Brooklyn, Memphis, Miami, New York Black Yankees, Ottawa
1. Chicago, Homestead, Los Angeles

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 84.4: NL Wild Card Round, Philadelphia Stars v Houston Colt 45’s

By mknn

On January 9, 2026

In 2001 Playoffs, TWIWBL

#Game 1, Wed Oct 3rd

The Stars opted to start Hardie Henderson over Steve Carlton for game 1; for the Colt 45’s there was no question they would turn to Toad Ramsey and his mighty knuckleball.

Sherry Magee continues to be effective as the Stars’ leadoff hitter: here he coaxed a walk from Ramsey, stole 2nd and 3rd, and scored on Jim Fregosi‘s grounder for an early 1-0 lead. It may have been wasted effort, as Aaron Judge hit one into the Crawford Boxes, giving Philadelphia a 2-0 advantage.

It was short-lived: Jim Wynn doubled and scored on a triple from Tony Gwynn. Henderson got 2 outs, but left a sinker up to Paul Goldschmidt, who sent it deep into the seats for a 3-2 edge to Houston after 1 inning.

Ramsey seemed to settle down, but Houston continued its onslaught against Henderson, with George Brett going deep in the 2nd and Goldschmidt, after an error by Scott Rolen put Jeff Bagwell on base, hit his 2nd of the day, making it 6-2.

A single from Pete Hill leading off the 4th chased Henderson, but Robin Roberts escaped the inning without additional damage.

The Stars put runners on 2nd and 3rd (a walk to Chase Utley and a Magee double) with 1 out in the 5th. Ramsey walked in a run, but Philadelphia would be sad not to take greater advantage of the situation. Roberts continued to be effective, and we ended 5 with Houston ahead, 6-3.

Houston got some insurance in the bottom of the 8th as Hill laced a 2 run double, scoring 2 and increasing the score to 8-3.

Philadelphia had their chances, leaving 10 runners on base in the contest, but in the end–in what can only be seen as a good sign for the Colt 45’s–Andrew Chafin, Roberto Osuna, Tug McGraw, and Sparky Lyle combined for 4 scoreless innings in relief of Ramsey.

Goldschmidt was the clear star for Houston, driving in 4, but Carlos Correa and Hill chipped in 2 hits apiece. Magee and Rogan had 2 hits for the Stars.

Houston up, 1-0.

PHI 3 (Henderson 0-1) @ HOU 8 (Ramsey 1-0; Chafin 1 H; Osuna 1 H; McGraw 1 H)
HRs: PHI – Judge (1); Goldschmidt 2 (2), Brett (1).
Box Score

#Game 2, Thu 4 Oct

Philadelphia would turn to Steve Carlton, trying to even out the series against Houston’s Roger Clemens.

Once again Aaron Judge went deep in the opening frame, this time with a solo shot. The Stars scored a second on an RBI single from Rico Carty, meaning, for the 2nd consecutive game, Philadelphia leads 2-0 before Houston comes to bat.

The script diverged there, however briefly: the Colt 45’s cut the deficit in half on a solo shot from Jeff Bagwell in the 2nd. In the 3rd, a leadoff walk to Craig Biggio was followed by a double in the right field corner by Jim Wynn. Tony Gwynn launched a ball to left, forcing a nice diving catch from Sherry Magee, but it was more than enough for Biggio to trot home. But the Colt 45’s weren’t done: Carlos Correa hit an RBI single and then Bagwell launched his 2nd of the game, giving Houston a 5-2 lead.

Carlton lasted 5, Clemens 6, with neither pitching particularly well, turning the game over to the shakiest parts of each bullpen.

Houston seemed to blink first, as John Franco gave up singles to Ted Kluszewski and Bill Dickey to start the 7th. But a pop to short center and a good throw by Jorge Posada to nail Dickey’s attempt to steal second seemed to offer an avenue out. But Franco allowed singles to Magee and Chase Utley, narrowing the lead to 5-4 and fetching Jim Kern from Houston’s bullpen. Kern induced a flyout from Charles Rogan, maintaining the single run advantage for the Colt 45’s.

And this is what Houston had envisioned: Tug McGraw shut it down before yielding to Sparky Lyle to close it out, giving the Colt 45’s a 2-0 edge in the series.

Bagwell’s 2 homeruns were key, of course, but so were Posada’s erasing 2 runners attempting to steal.

It was another game of missed opportunities for Philadelphia, who outhit Houston 11-5 in the contest. 3 of those came from Judge, who is 4-for-8 across the 2 games. The Stars’ bullpen did well, with Brad Kilby, Fred Cambria, and Ted Kennedy combining for 3 frames without giving up a hit.

PHI 4 (Carlton 0-1) @ HOU 5 (Clemens 1-0; Lyle 1 Sv; McGraw 2 H; Kern 1 H; Franco 1 H)
HRs: PHI – Judge (2); Bagwell 2 (2).
Box Score

#Game 3, Sat Oct 6

We head to Philadelphia with something of a must-win game for the Stars, who will turn to the magnificent Charles Rogan, while Houston will counter with Ice Box Chamberlain.

Rogan balked in a run in the top of the first, but escaped a flurry of baserunners without further damage.

Aaron Judge did not hit a homerun in the opening frame, but he did drive in a run with a single, and later scored on a 3-run opposite drive by Jim Fregosi, putting the Stars up 4-1 after 1.

Then both hurlers settled down, and the score was unchanged through 5 innings. Jeff Bagwell took Rogan deep in the 6th, and when that was followed by a walk to Paul Goldschmidt, JM Ward was summoned from the Philadelphia bullpen. Ward retired Pete Hill, and the Stars still led, 4-2.

Judge was not to be denied, hitting one out of the park after Rogan was hit by a pitch. Fregosi followed with his 2nd of the day, chasing Chamberlain who gave up only 4 hits, but 8 runs.

Judge would add another, and Bill Dickey would go deep as well in what turned out to be a bit of walkover, 10-2 in favor of the Stars. Judge drove in 4 and Fregosi 5 on the day as Philadelphia corrected their errors of the first 2 games scoring 10 runs on 6 hits and leaving only a single runner on base.

HOU 2 (Chamberlain 0-1) @ PHI 10 (Rogan 1-0; Ward 1 H)
HRs: HOU – Bagwell (3); PHI – Fregosi 2 (2), Judge 2 (4), Dickey (1).
Box Score

#Game 4, Sun Oct 7

Game 4 presents challenges for each team’s pitching staffs.

For Houston, Stephen Strasburg‘s solid performances down the stretch earned him the start, while Philadelphia will counter with their ace, Hardie Henderson, fully rested after a very short appearance in game 1.

Henderson started well, but walked 3 batters to start the top of the 2nd. George Brett doubled home 2 runs and another scored on a groundout from Jim O’Rourke. Pete Hill tripled home another run and scored on a sacrifice fly from Paul Goldschmidt, making it 5-0.

Chase Utley took Strasburg deep with Willie Davis on 2nd in the 3rd, closing the gap to 5-2.

A leadoff single from Craig Biggio chased Henderson, bringing in Robin Roberts. Bill Dickey whipped Roberts first strike to first, catching Biggio leaning the wrong way–something that may matter, as Jim Wynn followed with a homerun. Houston now led, 6-2–we’ll see if that extra run comes back to haunt them.

Scott Rolen went deep in the bottom of the 4th. 6-3. Doubles from Dickey and Sherry Magee plated another run in the 5th. 6-4.

But Tony Gwynn singled in 2 runs in the 6th to restore the cushion, making it 8-4, Houston.

A 1 out walk to Rolen in the 6th chased Strasburg after a decent enough effort, but Andrew Chafin was able to escape unscathed. The 7th did not go as well for Chafin, who gave up opening singles to Davis and Utley. In came Jim Kern, who induced a double play from Magee and a sharp grounder to short from Charles Rogan, preserving the lead.

But in the 8th, Jim Fregosi came through with a 2-run shot, cutting the lead in half, 8-6.

Philadelphia’s bullpen sort of imploded in the 9th: Bagwell doubled and scored on a single by Hill, who scored on a double by Goldschmidt. Wynn then drew a bases loaded walk, and Gwynn singled in 2 more runs. The 5 run explosion made it 13-6, Houston.

Philadelphia had some baserunners, but it came to naught, and Houston took a commanding 3-1 lead in the series.

Brett and Gwynn had 3 hits each with Gwynn, now hitting .353 in the series, driving in 4 runs on the day.

The bottom of the Stars’ order came to play, with Dickey, Davis, and Utley each having 2 hits.

HOU 13 (Strasburg 1-0, Kern 2 H, McGraw 3 H) @ PHI 6 (Henderson 0-2)
HRs: HOU – Wynn (1); PHI – Utley (1), Rolen (1), Fregosi (3).
Box Score

#Game 5, Mon Oct 8

Perhaps surprisingly, the first team with a chance to clinch their spot in the Division Series is the Houston Colt 45’s. The stellar Toad Ramsey gets the ball for Houston, while the Stars will turn to Ray Collins.

Jeff Bagwell singled in a run in the top of the first, and then Paul Goldschmidt launched a ball deep into the OF. An odd bounce and a poor throw later, and Goldschmidt had an inside-the-park homerun and Houston had a 3-0 edge.

Ramsey started a bit rough giving up singles to Sherry Magee, Aaron Judge, and Scott Rolen to score 1 and a 2-out double to Charles Rogan, resetting the game in a tie. Houston nudged ahead again when George Brett, who had tripled, scored on an RBI groundout from Jorge Posada.

And then both pitchers remembered how to pitch: the score remained 4-3, Houston, through 6 innings, which marked the end of Collins’ day.

Bagwell greeted Brad Kilby with a solo shot in the top of the 8th, extending the lead to 5-3. Houston brought in Jim Kern for the 8th, and he struck out 2, preserving the 2 run advantage, and then they padded it, scoring 3 in the top of the 9th (2 on Carlos Correa‘s first homerun of the series).

The Colt 45’s brought in Sparky Lyle with a 5 run edge, leading 8-3. Rico Carty and Rogan whiffed, bringing Philadelphia to their last batter, catcher Bill Dickey … a hard groundball, fielded by Correa, rifled to first. And Houston is through to the Division Series!

Bagwell, Gwynn, Brett, and Posada each had 2 hits for the Colt 45’s.

HOU 8 (Ramsey 2-0) @ PHI 3 (Collins 0-1)
HRs: HOU – Goldschmidt (3), Bagwell (4), Correa (1); PHI – none.
Box Score

Bagwell, who hit .300 with 4 homeruns, was named Series MVP, but Goldschmidt and Gwynn deserved consideration as well. And, perhaps most importantly for Houston, Tug McGraw, Sparky Lyle, Jim Kern, and Andrew Chafin combined for over 10 innings of scoreless work out of the bullpen.

Aaron Judge (.421 with 4 homeruns and 6 RBIs) also deserved at least cursory MVP consideration.

TWIWBL 84.3: NL Playoff Previews

By mknn

On January 8, 2026

In 2001 Playoffs, TWIWBL

Again, in seeding order.

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

Sailing under the radar for most of the season, Brooklyn still managed 99 victories, led by a ridiculously strong pitching staff.

The Royal Giants are one of the a very few teams with a legitimate top 4, and it’s unclear if Don Drysedale‘s 2nd half resurgence earns him a start in the opening game, given that Orel Hershiser (19-5, 3.69), Smokey Joe Williams (12-13, 3.93), and Fernando Valenzuela (14-5, 3.69) each had better seasons than Drysedale’s 11-8, 5.66 record.

The bullpen sports 2 of the dominant relievers of the league, with closer Eric Gagne and setup man Trevor Hildenberger, and Burleigh Grimes and Sandy Koufax provide excellent middle inning help when needed.

The offense is a notch below the pitching: Ron Cey and Mike Piazza are stars, and Dan Brouthers, John Briggs, Jackie Robinson, Beals Becker, and Duke Snider are all quite good. Vern Stephens and Dickie Thon seem to be sufficient at SS, and the versatility of Ray Dandridge helps around the IF, despite his lackluster offense.

George Hendrick has been lights out since being brought over in a trade, and makes the playoff roster ahead of swing starter Jim Bunning.

#Philadelphia Stars

Quite a turnaround for Philly, who were horrible last year, mediocre much of this year, and then turned it on the final few months to finish in 2nd place in the Effa Manley Division.

It’s an odd team in many ways. Clearly, Charles Rogan and his unique combination of a 308/362/620 slash line and legitimate #2 starter mound performances count for a lot, as does Aaron Judge breaking out with an OPS over 1.000, 63 homers, 133 RBI’s, and 108 runs scored. Scott Rolen is excellent at 3B, and Rico Carty held off the demons of age for another productive season.

And then the question marks start … Bill Dickey seems to be the answer behind the plate, but is untested, Sherry Magee could be useful, and the newly acquired Jim Fregosi might finally provide some stability at SS. Seems, could be, might …

The rotation is … odd. Hardie Henderson (18-12, 3.78) is probably the #1, but Steve Carlton‘s stuff is electric, despite a 12-13 record and a 5.05 ERA. Then, Rogan. Behind those, JM Ward has been far, far, far better than his 6-10 record would indicate and lefty Ray Collins is dependable.

Bob Howry, Ted Kennedy, Fred Cambria, and Pedro Feliciano form a solid, no-name bullpen (with trade acquisition Mark Melancon‘s selection to the postseason roster in doubt).

In the end, Melancon made it, as did the disappointing Harry Hooper, but that was more a function of a lack of relevant alternatives than anything else.

#Houston Colt 45’s

Most saw this Houston team as being a year or 2 away, but they kept winning through the Summer, and ended up topping the Marvin Miller Division by a comfortable margin.

The pitching staff is not structured as it was to start the season, as both Stephen Strasburg and Roy Oswalt have struggled mightily all season. Still, it’s a strong opening trio, led by the dominant Toad Ramsey (16-10, 3.23) and Roger Clemens (17-10, 3.71) and the now-healthy Ice Box Chamberlain (4-4, 3.56).

The bullpen has been poor all season, with Sparky Lyle (brought over to be the closer) struggling and Tug McGraw having his issues as well. Jim Kern has been a surprising bright spot, and Andrew Chafin and Roberto Osuna have been solid enough.

The offense is an intriguing mix. Carlos Correa, Jeff Bagwell, and Tony Gwynn are a solid core and Paul Goldschmidt has forced his way into the conversation in about 1/3 of a season’s work. Gentleman Jim O’Rourke has bounced back from a poor first season, and the rest of the pieces–mostly Jim Wynn and teenage phenom Pete Hill–are solid enough.

The worst news for Houston is that C Will Smith, who has absolutely destroyed WBL pitching since his recall, is not eligible for the postseason, putting the onus behind the plate on Jorge Posada, who has struggled. Given the presence of Gorman Thomas–who has also been on fire in limited action–we may see O’Rourke catching more than anticipated.

Thomas’ performance forced Casey Stengel off the playoff roster, as, especially with Dock Ellis injured for a few days, both Strasbourg and Oswalt made it.

#Indianapolis ABC’s

It came down to a playoff, but baseball fans are happy to see the ABC’s make the playoffs, as it extends the season for the best pitcher in baseball, Luis Padrón, and the emerging superstar Oscar Charleston.

The postseason likely brings an end to Indianapolis’ 6 man rotation, as the team will try to maximize the starts for Padrón (23-3, 3.22) and Johnny Cueto (12-14, 4.62). Eppa Rixey, Guy White, and Joe Lake are the most likely candidates behind those 2.

The back end of the bullpen was supposed to be a strength, but both Rob Dibble and Rob Murphy have struggle of late, leaving Jack Billingham and the surprising Mike LaCoss as the strongest performers at the moment.

Offensively, this is Charleston’s team, with the young CF slashing 337/381/619 with 38 homers, 130 RBIs, and 101 runs scored. Joey Votto and George Foster have been excellent and while Johnny Bench fell short of last year’s heights, 46 homers and 116 RBIs from behind the plate is nothing to sneeze at.

Chris Sabo has mostly displaced Ed Charles at 3B, but the biggest issue is the absence of Joe Morgan, who will miss the postseason through injury. Morgan was among the best in the game, and without him, the middle infield becomes pretty mediocre, relying on Tommy Helms and Barry Larkin.

#Predictions

Brooklyn is just that much better than Indianapolis across the board, so I think the Royal Giants take that one, 4-2.

The Houston/Philadelphia series is even harder to predict, and I think it is either very close, going the full 7 games, or Houston’s offense clicks on all cylinders and the Colt 45’s win in 5. Let’s say the former, with Houston edging it in a final contest.

TWIWBL 72.2 Spotlight on the Philadelphia Stars

By mknn

On February 13, 2025

In TWIWBL

Philadelphia was bad last year. This year, they are pushing towards .500 with–maybe, just maybe–an outside shot at the playoffs. As importantly, they seem to have an identity for the first time.

HOME PAGE | ROSTER | POSITIONAL STRENGTH | LEADERS

The Stars clearly need to keep adding talent: the gap between the leaders of the team–Aaron Judge, Charles “Bullet Joe” Rogan, Hardie Henderson–and the end of the roster is just too great. But it’s a start.

THE OFFENSE

Philadelphia’s problem, simply, is its offense. They don’t hit for average, they don’t get on base, and they don’t hit for power. Not sure what else there is … they do run the bases decently.

#What’s Going Right

Aaron Judge, an extra part in the Bill Dickey/Mike Schmidt trade, has absolutely exploded on the scene, with an OPS just under 1.00 and leading the team in HR and RBI.

Charles “Bullet Joe” Rogan is far better offensively than anticipated, sporting the 2nd highest OPS on the team and leading the Stars in SLG at .615 and BA at .295. Rogan is playing all over the place, but seeing most of his time in the OF.

Scott Rolen leads the team in WAR with an OPS around .950.

At 37, Rico Carty is still useful. He can’t move, can’t field much, but he can hit, even with occasional power.

#What’s Not Going Right

Everything else?

C continues to be a black hole, with Mike Scioscia slightly more effective than Butch Wynegar and Sherm Lollar.

Willie Davis, a leader on the team last year, is slashing 233/290/373 this season, which is quite a plummet.

Ted Kluszewski has a little power, but little else: a SLG barely over .400 just won’t cut it.

But Kluszewski’s OPS is over 100 points higher than Jimmy Rollins, who has essentially lost the job to Art Fletcher.

While Rogan is doing unprecedented things as a 2-way player, JM Ward is not, to the point the team has decided they have better options at DH when he’s on the mound.

THE PITCHING

And now the good news.

#What’s Going Right

The starting pitching is strong, led by Hardie Henderson, who is 10-6 with a 3.05 ERA at the break.

Rogan and JM Ward don’t have great records (5-8 for Rogan, 4-4 for Ward), but they’ve got fantastic peripherals led by Ward’s 1.05 WHIP.

Behind them, Steve Carlton has been solid enough.

Fred Cambria, Ted Kennedy, and Brad Kilby have been fantastic getting the ball to Bob Howry. That trio has 7 saves and 21 holds, and Howry has a 0.82 WHIP and a dozen saves.

#What’s Not Going Right

The back end of the rotation is still a bit rough. Ray Collins is in the 5th spot now, but neither he nor Robin Roberts nor Larry Jackson have really seized the opportunity.

THE FARM SYSTEM

TOP PROSPECTS | MINOR LEAGUE SYSTEM

There is hope for the future here. I mean, prospects flame out and all that, but there is hope.

Bill Gatewood is the highest ranked prospect, and probably the best arm in the system, but Jack Kralick, Jack Easton, LaTroy Hawkins, and perhaps even Scott Garrelts and Luke Weaver all have some upside.

Bill Dickey is likely to be recalled at the all star break and Harmon Killebrew and Bobby Abreu will probably see time with the Stars this year as well. Behind them, it does thin out a little, but Richie Ashburn, Andrew Payne, and Prince Fielder all have significant value.

WHAT’S NEEDED

The offense to become league average or better, preferably led by some of the prospects stepping forward. And, of course, the pitching to not regress.

Storylines to Watch

Key Questions from Spring Training

What does the bullpen look like? Fairly well answered, as most teams would welcome the combined performance of Kennedy, Cambria, Kilby, and Howry.
How does the OF resolve, and most importantly how much of Aaron Judge‘s debut performance was a mirage? The latter first: very little, evidently. This remains a question, but not as anticipated–the Stars never anticipated CF being an open question, but with Willie Davis’ loss of form, it is.
Can the flashes of talent on the IF shown last year from Juan Samuel and Roger Peckinpaugh deliver over a full season? Yoikes. No, no they cannot; in fact, neither is in the WBL and SS continues to be a bit of a mess.

FEATURED SERIES

Philadelphia opens the second half of the season with 3 games at Ottawa.

Projected Starters

Philadelphia’s starter listed first.

Steve Carlton (7-9, 5.62) @ Old Hoss Radbourn (9-6, 6.13)
Charles Rogan (5-8, 4.46) @ Roy Halladay (8-6, 4.92)
Ray Collins (2-4, 5.08) @ Bill Smith (6-2, 3.57)

Game One

Both teams are in an odd spot where their #1 starter is not their best, with the opening game matching Steve Carlton against Old Hoss Radbourn.

The much-maligned Willie Davis led the game off with a solo shot to right, giving the Stars a 1-0 lead. Tim Raines matched him, leading off the bottom of the frame with his 12th homer of the year to tie the game. Rusty Staub took Carlton deep with a runner on in the 2nd, but Carlton induced an inning-ending double play from Roberto Alomar to limit the damage.

After Davis doubled in the 3rd, Aaron Judge went deep to tie the game, then, in the 5th Davis (who has been stung by the criticism, it must be said) homered again.

Larry Walker tied it up with a 2-out double in the bottom of the 5th, but the Stars broke the deadlock immediately, as Judge tripled and Rico Carty chased Radbourn from the game with an RBI double.

Carlton got the first out in the 7th, but his relief, Ted Kennedy, was greeted with a solo shot from Adrián Beltré to once again tie the contest. Kennedy–helped by Art Fletcher gunning down Raines at home and the just-recalled Bill Dickey throwing out Alomar on a steal attempt–got out of the inning without further damage.

George Hendrick hit a 2-run shot in the 8th: 7-5 Stars. But it was never going to be that easy: Gary Carter sent a Brad Kilby pitch over the wall in left with Walker on, tying us up once again.

It ended with a walkoff dinger, of course: Alomar taking Pedro Feliciano deep in the bottom of the 9th.

Davis and Judge had 3 hits for the Stars.

PHI 7 (Feliciano 0-1; Kennedy 6 BSv; Kilby 2 BSv) @ OTT 9 (Ryan 2-2)
HRs: PHI – Davis 2 (8), Judge (27), Hendrick (9); OTT – Raines (12), Staub (15), Carter (32), Alomar (19).
Box Score

Game Two

The Stars gave Hardie Henderson the start in game 2; he would face the Mounties’ Roy Halladay.

Gary Carter hit his 33rd of the year in the bottom of the first, putting the Mounties up, 2-0, and an RBI double from Álex Rodríguez made it 3-0 in the 2nd, and then the miracle of Rick Monday continued: his 21st homer of the year increased the lead to 4-0.

Jimmy Rollins‘ 1st homer of the year made it 4-1.

Henderson was chased from the game in the 5th by a 2-run shot from Roberto Alomar and an RBI double from Rusty Staub. He was relieved by Robin Roberts who gave up an RBI single to Monday before getting out of the inning with Ottawa ahead, 8-1.

There was some more: homers by Ted Kluszewski and Adrian Beltré, some other stuff. But the outcome was never in doubt, as the Mounties rolled, 14-3.

Monday had 4 hits and 4 RBIs.

PHI 3 (Henderson 10-7) @ OTT 14 (Halladay 9-6)
HRs: PHI – Rollins (1), Kluszewski (12); OTT – Carter (33), Monday (21), Alomar (20), Beltré (23).
Box Score

Game Three

Trying to salvage a game, the Stars would send out J.M. Ward to face Ottawa’s Bill Smith. Ward was recently removed from being used as DH when he pitched: we’ll see if being able to focus solely on his mound duties changes anything for Philadelphia.

The game was scoreless through 5, with Smith allowing 3 hits and Ward only 1. Rusty Staub broke the deadlock in the bottom of the 7th, touching Ward for a 2-run homerun.

Aaron Judge hit his 28th in the top of the 9th, ending Smith’s shutout bid, but, after a single by Ted Kluszewski, Ottawa’s closer, Tom Henke, was able to retire Rico Carty on a popout to center.

Ward was once again a hard luck loser, pitching 7 strong innings.

PHI 1 (Ward 4-5) @ OTT 3 (Smith 7-2; Henke 7 Sv)
HRs: PHI – Judge (28); PHI – Staub (16).
Box Score

Not good. Not only were the Stars swept, they were outscored 26-11. Still, for Philadelphia, it’s all about next year, so there will be bruises in the process.

TWIWBL 71.8: The NL All Stars

By mknn

On February 5, 2025

In All Star Games, TWIWBL

For each section, if a player doesn’t qualify for batting stats (roughly 270 PA), their G and PA are listed. Bold indicates a leader at that position for the stat; top 3 listed for most stats.

If you compare this with the prior post discussing the AL, the gap in offensive talent and pitching depth becomes apparent.

#C

Name	OPS	Slash	Reg Stats	Other
Josh Gibson (HOM)	1.234	390/481/754	27 2B; 23 HR; 79 RBI; 5.3 WAR	3.4 FRM
Gary Carter (OTT)	1.102	324/387/715	31 HR; 663 RBI; 3.9 WAR	48% RTO
Mike Piazza (BRK)	1.027	311/348/679	31 HR; 70 RBI; 2.9 WAR
Jim Pagliaroni (BBB)	.898	248/355/543
Buster Posey (NYG)	.894	291/344/550
Ted Simmons (KCM)	.880	285/314/565	25 2B	4.08 CERA

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

The only question here is whether the NL dips below the big 3. 21 Year old Josh Gibson will start, of course, with Gary Carter and Mike Piazza in reserve.