Tag: Josh Donaldson

TWIWBL 83.6: Effa Manley Division

On December 31, 2025

Team	W/L	Pct	GB
Brooklyn Royal Giants	96-59	.619	—
Philadelphia Stars	82-74	.526	14.5
Homestead Grays	74-82	.474	22.5
New York Gothams	73-83	.468	23.5
Ottawa Mounties	72-84	.462	24.5

Effa Manley Division | 23 September

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

With the division locked up, look for Dickie Thon to see time this final week as he makes his way back from injury and Dick Redding to get some ABs as well as a start or 2.

George Hendrick hit 2 out, but Brooklyn fell to Ottawa, 10-7. Hendrick has been tearing the cover off the ball since he came over from Philadelphia, and is making a very strong case for a role in the postseason for the Royal Giants.

The Royal Giants hit four consecutive homeruns, but it wasn’t enough as they fell to Birmingham, 11-9. Ray Dandridge, John Briggs, Jackie Robinson, and Beals Becker all went deep in the 7th, part of an 8 run explosion that gave Brooklyn a 9-5 lead. The usually dependable Trevor Hildenberger imploded, however, leading to the surprising defeat.

#Homestead Grays

The Grays recalled Paul Waner, Sterling Marte, Moose Haas, and Ray Brown for the final few games of the season.

Josh Gibson hit 2 out and nudged his BA back up to .396 as he chases .400 over the last few games of the season, but Homestead fell to Birmingham, 6-5. 2 more hits from Gibson nudged his average back to exactly .400 with 2 games to play as the Grays fell to Ottawa, 10-3.

#Ottawa Mounties

Chris Bosio and Mike Sharperson were sent to AAA to clear room for Dave Gregg and Mike Dorgan‘s return from their rehab assignments.

Bill Crouch will miss the last few games of the season, with Mike Minor being recalled.

Josh Donaldson hit 2 out as the Mounties rolled over the Grays, 10-3.

#Philadelphia Stars

Harmon Killebrew hit 2 homeruns, but the Stars faltered, falling 15-8 to Indianapolis.

Sherry Magee and Charles Rogan each drove in 5 (Rogan on 4 hits) and Odúbel Herrera scored 4 times as the Stars put an old fashioned whupping on the Gothams, 16-1. Rogan and Herrera doubled twice and Bill Dickey, Aaron Judge, and Killebrew each went deep in support of an excellent start from Ray Collins, who pitched 7 shutout innings allowing only 3 hits.

Both Scott Rolen and Judge hit 2 homeruns on the final day of the season, leading the Stars to an 8-4 win over the New York Gothams.

TWIWBL 81.6: Effa Manley Division

By mknn

On November 3, 2025

In TWIWBL

Team	W/L	Pct	GB
Brooklyn Royal Giants	88-55	.615	—
Philadelphia Stars	72-70	.507	15.5
Homestead Grays	69-74	.483	19
New York Gothams	68-76	.472	20.5
Ottawa Mounties	66-77	.462	22

Effa Manley Division | 9 September

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

Dickie Thon began a rehab assignment, marking a return from a long term injury.

Two relievers, Jeff Montgomery and Dick Tidrow, announced their retirement. Tidrow amassed 70 somewhat mediocre appearances over his career with the House of David, the New York Black Yankees, and Indianapolis.

Ron Cey hit 2 out, but the Royal Giants were downed by a late inning bullpen collapse, falling to Homestead, 13-4.

#Homestead Grays

Gary Lucas and Nip Winters were recalled from AA champions Syracuse.

#New York Gothams

37 year old minor league 1B Dan Johnson unsurprisingly announced his retirement.

#Ottawa Mounties

Dave Gregg and Mike Dorgan began rehab assignments as they try to make it back to Ottawa before the end of the year.

P Kirk McCaskill retired.

Emerging superstar Roberto Alomar tied a league record with 5 steals in a 9-6 win over the New York Gothams. Alomar had 2 hits and 3 RBIs, giving him 99 on the year, in a game that saw Rusty Staub, Sam Thompson, Gary Carter, and Josh Donaldson all go deep for Ottawa.

#Philadelphia Stars

Minor league pitcher Shane Greene announced his retirement.

Aaron Judge went deep twice and the Stars topped Homestead, 8-3. Charles Rogan improved to 12-9 with 7 shutout innings.

TWIWBL 78.6: Effa Manley Division

By mknn

On September 17, 2025

In TWIWBL

Team	W/L	Pct	GB
Brooklyn Royal Giants	73-50	.593	—
Homestead Grays	64-60	.516	9.5
Philadelphia Stars	61-62	.496	12
Ottawa Mounties	59-64	.480	14
New York Gothams	59-65	.476	14.5

Effa Manley Division | 19 August

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

The Royal Giants exploded for 23 hits in a 21-4 demolishing of Homestead. Dan Brouthers had 4 hits, Beals Becker and Duke Snider drove in 4 apiece, and Mike Piazza scored 4 times for the Royal Giants. Snider hit 2 out, and Piazza, Becker, and Pedro Guerrero each had homeruns as well, backing a decent outing from Smokey Joe Williams, who improved to 11-11 on the season.

#Homestead Grays

The Grays–finally–found themselves with some hard decisions to make on the mound, as both Cliff Lee and Bartolo Colón were recalled from their rehab assignments. Bob Knepper and Russ Kemmerer were sent down, and Ricardo Rincón started a rehab assignment of his own.

The net effect of this is that the Grays move Lee back into the starting rotation, and vacate their fifth spot, allowing it to be split between Bob Friend, Colón, Hal Carlson, and the newly acquired David Price and Juan Marichal.

#New York Gothams

Aaron Loup, Santiago Casilla, and Guy Hecker were recalled from AAA to fill out the Gothams’ staff and Ben Oglivie, George Kell, Carl Furillo, and Bill Terry were added to the bench.

Benny Kauff crushed 2 homers, Buster Posey added a grandslam, and Kell hit one out in his first WBL at bat as the Gothams doubled up the Mounties, 12-6.

#Ottawa Mounties

Bill Crouch will miss about a week, earning a trip to the DL. Bob Brown was recalled from his rehab assignment in his place.

Larry Walker hit 2 out as the Mounties topped Indianapolis, 7-4. Despite earning his 3rd victory of the season, the Mounties removed Atlee Hammaker from the rotation after the game, preferring a committee approach to their 5th (and, depending on how Al Orth fares in his next outing, even the 4th) spot on their staff.

Bill Smith was recalled from his rehab assignment, along with Ps Clark Griffith and Max Scherzer and field players John Olerud, Terry Puhl, Emil Gross, and Bob Watson.

Utility man Mike Dorgan will miss about a week with a strained back, earning himself a trip to the DL with Ottawa recalling Josh Donaldson from AAA.

Rick Monday will play regularly somewhere next season. Somewhere. He had 4 hits, scored 4 times, and drove in 6 with 3 homers in a 17-3 drubbing of the Gothams. Donaldson, Walker, Rusty Staub, and Roberto Alomar also went deep and Roy Halladay improved to 14-7 on the year.

#Philadelphia Stars

Aaron Judge hit 2 out, but the Stars fell to the House of David 11-10 in 13 innings. Joe Rogan and Bob Howry were both injured on the day, with Rogan only expected to miss a few games, but Howry out for about a week. The Stars recalled Luke Weaver from AAA.

TWIWBL 56.17: Spring Training Notes – Ottawa Mounties

By mknn

On March 5, 2024

In TWIWBL

Spring Training Questions

1st and 2nd round picks Max Scherzer and Al Orth will be given the opportunity to make the opening day staff, and the bullpen behind presumed closer Ryan Dempster is wide open.

While Carlos Beltrán goes in as the presumed starter in CF, Ken Griffey Jr will again be given a long look.

First Cuts

Ottawa’s pitching staff is a bit clearer, as there have been some horrible performances. Jesse Crain, Max Scherzer, Kid Camp, Dan Haren, Mike Minor, and Al Orth have all moved to the minors. That leaves only 15 arms in camp, so look for some recalls if others in camp struggle or face injuries. Chuck Taylor, Dupee Shaw, and Dave Gregg have all been pleasant surprises so far.

The starting C job belongs to Gary Carter. But Emil Gross and Brad Ausmus are pushing Jim Stephens for the backup role, with Milt May and Einar Díaz both leaving camp.

1B and 3B are wide open, with Bob Watson‘s fast start (combined with his solid debut last season) making him an early favorite at 1B and Art Devlin and Ryon Healy making arguments at the hot corner. 3B Josh Donaldson and 1Bs John Mayberry, Tino Martinez, and Nick Johnson all hit the minors.

In the middle of the infield, the Mounties have gone with a very aggressive approach, sending Julio Gotay, Everett Scott, Jose Vidro, Bernie Allen, and Dick Bartell all to the minors. That leaves them with only 6 2B/SS, making this another position where later recalls are possible. Jimmy Dykes, Henry Easterday, and Mike Dorgan have all impressed, although this moves seems to indicate more than anything else that Álex Rodríguez will be the opening day SS, even though some believe his eventual position will be at third.

Rick Monday and Sam Thompson have impressed in the OF, with Wee Willie Keeler and Jackie Jensen the only early casualties. This will be a clear focus for Ottawa, as a leading priority for them is sorting through their options in the OF and, perhaps most of all, figuring out what to do with Ken Griffey Jr, who continues to struggle mightily in CF.

Second Cuts

The Mounties had made such deep cuts earlier that only one arm was moved this time, with Rick Honeycutt heading to the minors. That’s not to say the rest have done well: Bob Brown and Bob Moose–both of whom were supposed to contend for rotation spots–have struggled, as has presumed closer Ryan Dempster.

The competition at 1B is thick, prompting Ottawa to send Roy Sievers, who spent most of last season in the WBL, to their minor league camp.

Third Cuts

With only 14 arms in camp, the pitching staff remains unchanged. There is concern over Bob Brown and Old Hoss Radbourn, two of last year’s bright spots, who are struggling mightily this Spring.

John Olerud, Henry Easterday, and Jason Heyward head to AAA. Easterday’s demotion leaves only two SS in camp: Álex Rodríguez and the surprising Mike Dorgan.

Gary Carter is the starting C for sure, but the battle to back him up is running tight between Jim Stephens, Brad Ausmus, and Emil Gross.

The OF is a total mess, with rumors emerging that the Mounties are shopping the immense talent of Ken Griffey, Jr in the hope that a change of scenery might unlock his bat. George Burns is only in camp due to a strong season last year, but he’s on the edge for sure. Rick Monday, Jesse Burkett, Terry Puhl, Sam Thompson, and Bill O’Neill are all hitting well enough to warrant consideration for 2 or 3 reserve spots.

Final Cuts

3B Ryon Healy was tearing up Spring Training for a while, but has since come back to earth. With the arrival of Adrián Beltré, Healy’s future for the start of the season is in the minors, as is CF Bill O’Neill‘s. They are joined by Tino Martinez: 1B was always pretty blocked for the Mounties and Martinez hasn’t shown enough to add his name to the list.

Pedro Ramos had a brief stint with the big league team before heading off to AAA. Dan Collins was placed on IR and Chuck Taylor (also injured) was sent to AAA, preserving the spot on the 40 man roster. That left the Mounties with 3 players to go to get to 30. One was Emil Gross, leaving 3 catchers in camp (4 if you count Mike Dorgan), the second was 2B Jimmy Dykes, who turned a lot of heads with his Spring performance, and the last was veteran OF Jesse Burkett.

Bob Moose, Bob Brown, Ryan Dempster, and Hoss Radbourn were among the few bright spots on the mound for Ottawa last season. They are among the worst performers this Spring, making all of the roster choices all that much more difficult. Brown’s wildness was inescapable, and he was moved to AAA to see if he could work it out. That left a dozen arms in camp, but with so many of them–Atlee Hammaker, Dupee Shaw, Dave Gregg, BJ Ryan–being essentially unproven, the Mounties would like to open the season with a larger staff than most teams will carry.

Gary Carter remains the starting catcher, but Brad Ausmus‘ fantastic Spring moved him ahead of Jim Stephens as Carter’s backup with Stephens heading to the minors along with OFs George Burns and Terry Puhl. The final cut was a hard one, as Art Devlin was among the most impressive Spring performers. But Devlin was likely blocked at Ottawa, so he heads down to AAA to start the season, keeping both Bob Watson and Sam Thompson on the WBL roster to open the season.

TWIWBL 15.2: Series XII Notes – Cum Posey Division

By mknn

On August 24, 2021

In TWIWBL

#Baltimore Black Sox

Ned Garvin kept Los Angeles’ Gerrit Cole from becoming the first 7 game winner in the WBL, spinning a brilliant 8 innings, allowing only 2 runs in a 4-2 Black Sox victory. Garvin moved to 4-1 on the year, and Bob Miller picked up his 4th save. Curt Blefary hit his 14th and Harlond Clift his 8th homerun of the year.

In the next game, Dennis Martinez moved to 6-1 on the year, allowing only 3 hits and 1 run in 7.2 innings. Bryce Harper drove in 2, and Harper, Ken Singleton, and Dan McGann all chipped in with 2 hits.

Bill Byrd pitched 8.1 innings of shutout ball before being relieved by Don Bessent, who finished the job in a 5-0 win for the Black Sox. Byrd brought his ERA under 4.00 and improved his record to 4-2, helped by 3 hits from Bobby Wallace and the suddenly resurgent Paul Blair, who even hit his 4th homerun of the year in the game.

Clearly not a fan of the if it ain’t broke school of thought, the team with the best record in the WBL shook its roster up some on the day off, demoting P Mark Baldwin, 3B Brooks Robinson, and SS Mark Belanger to AAA. Baldwin and Robinson had done very little in their opportunities, and Belanger had only played in 7 games all season. P Bob Welch, and IFs Cal Ripken, Jr. and Brian Roberts were recalled to the big league club.

#Chicago American Giants

Frank Thomas went 3-for-4 and Dick Allen had 3 RBI’s to lead Chicago to a 5-4 victory over Indianapolis. Herb Pennock survived 6 rocky innings to pick up his 2nd win, with AJ Minter pitching a perfect 9th for his 6th save.

Adrian Gonzalez was sent to AAA, ending his nightmare of a year so far in the majors; with Joe Horlen being promoted to fill out the bullpen and C Pop Snyder being waived.

All of that will result in Cristobal Torriente and Avisail Garcia seeing more time in the American Giants’ OF.

#Houston Colt 45s

Behind 3 hits and 3 RBIs from George Brett, including his 5th homerun of the year, the Colt 45s put away the Black Yankees, 9-4. It could be a difficult game for Houston, as Bret Saberhagen and Casey Stengel (who also hit his 5th homerun) both had to leave with injuries.

Bones Ely was recalled, and if you ignore a 499 foot homerun to Babe Ruth and one nearly as long to Lou Gehrig, he did alright, earning the save with 3 innings of work in a 13-5 blowout win. Craig Biggio drove in 4 and HR Johnson and Lance Berkman 3 each in support of Roy Oswalt, who moved to 5-2 on the year.

Brad Lidge was replaced by Billy Wagner as Houston’s closer, with Mike Hartley being sent to AAA. Carney Lansford was recalled from the minors to add another bat off the bench.

#Kansas City Monarchs

2 homeruns from Stan Musial helped the Monarchs overcome a 90 minute rain delay in an 11-5 win over the House of David. Musial drove in 4, and the win went to Connie Johnson, who pitched 3 scoreless innings after the rains came down.

Who knows what to make of Luke Hamlin? He seems to mix mediocre starts with absolute gems. This was one of the latter, as Hamlin had a no-hitter into the 7th and ended up with a 2-hit, complete game shutout to level his record at 3-3. 5 pitchers had thrown 3-hit shutouts, but this was the first game to go below that, and it was the 3rd best game score of the season at 86.

Willie McGee was 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs in the 6-0 victory. Hamlin’s performance was especially welcome, as the Monarchs’ bullpen was fairly decimated.

Jose Rijo lost his spot in the starting rotation in favor of Adam Wainwright, and McGee–who had been in a platoon with Fielder Jones–has become the everyday CF for the Monarchs.

#Ottawa Mounties

Greg Holland was sent to AAA with Ryan Dempster coming back the other way. Josh Donaldson–0-for-15 in his time in the big leagues–was returned to AAA as well, with Steve Garvey coming off the DL to return to Ottawa. The Mounties would like to promote Larry Parrish, who is playing very well at 3B, but haven’t found a corresponding move to free up room on the 40-man roster.

TWIWBL 11.2: Notes from Series IX – Cum Posey Division

By mknn

On July 11, 2021

In TWIWBL

#Baltimore Black Sox

Mark Baldwin has lost his spot in the starting rotation, with Ned Garvin taking his place.

#Chicago American Giants

Tricky Nichols is emerging as the ace of Chicago’s staff. He threw his second shutout of the season against Memphis, allowing only 4 hits in a 134 pitch effort. Frank Thomas went deep twice, and Mike Fiore and Duffy Lewis also homered, leading Chicago to a 5-0 victory. Nichols is now 4-0 on the season.

Two homeruns by Lewis were almost not enough, as Chicago gave up an early 5-0 lead to fall behind Memphis 6-5. But 4 runs in the bottom of the eighth, keyed by a pinch-hit double from Thomas, keyed a 9-5 American Giants victory. Sonny Dixon threw 2.1 scoreless innings of relief for the win, and AJ Minter picked up his 5th save with a perfect 9th inning.

Robin Ventura–whose OPS was under .400–was demoted to AAA, with Jim Davenport being promoted as Dick Allen‘s backup, and Kevin Mitchell went to the minors as Cristobal Torriente returned from injury.

#Houston Colt 45’s

Houston has been getting solid starts from surprising sources, the most recent being a 7 inning effort from Stubby Overmire where he only allowed 6 hits and 2 runs. Unfortunately, the Colt 45’s offense was totally shutdown, as they lost the game 3-0.

The performance moved Overmire into the rotation, despite Leon Day also making a case for regular starts. With Jeff Bagwell‘s production sky rocketing (he now leads the team in OPS), Paul Goldschmidt was demoted in hopes the big first baseman could find his stroke at AAA.

C Jason Castro has been the best player at AAA San Antonio, but the Colt 45’s already have three catchers on the roster, if you count Craig Biggio. As such, OF Felipe Alou was recalled to the big league club.

#Ottawa Mounties

With Steve Garvey out for at least a week with the flu, the Mounties recalled Josh Donaldson from AAA, a move designed both to add some depth at 3B behind Anthony Rendon and clear room for the impressive Larry Parrish to get more playing time with AAA Montreal.

Roy Halladay got his first win of the year with 8 strong innings, allowing 1 earned run. The Mounties hit 6 homeruns in a 14-2 rout of Birmingham, with Emil Gross hitting 2 and Tim Raines, Roy Sievers, Carlos Delgado, and Rendon all going deep as well.

The Mounties may have found something in thirty-five year old Jamie Moyer. Helped by three hits from Alex Rodriguez, Moyer allowed only 1 run in 8 innings for his first victory of the year, lowering his ERA to 2.08 as Ottawa won 5-1.

Season Preview: Ottawa Mounties

By mknn

On August 18, 2020

In Team News

The bullpen looks absolutely excellent, which is good given some open questions in the starting rotation. There is some good top end talent here, but the OF is a little suspect. This is a very young team, with 7 players under 22 to start the season. The team has 2 young players at SS who look WBL ready in Alex Rodriguez and Freddy Parent.

Final Roster

SP: Gary Peters, Clark Griffith, Roy Halladay, Bob Brown, Larry Johnson.
RP: Old Hoss Radbourn; Steve Howe; Ted Bowsfield; Greg Holland & Gary Lavelle; Tom Henke.

C: Emil Gross; Gary Carter.
1B: Carlos Delgado; John Olerud
2B: Tim Raines; Bernie Allen
3B: Anthony Rendon
SS: Alex Rodriguez; Freddy Parent
LF: Phil Bradley
CF: Ken Griffey, Jr.; Rick Monday
RF: Terry Puhl
DH: Steve Garvey

Notes

The power of Randy Johnson‘s left arm prevailed, and he edged out Old Hoss Radbourn for the final rotation slot. Bob Brown struggled, so Hoss may see some starts yet … in a surprise announcement, Tom Henke surged past Ted Bowsfield (who was anointed only after Karl Spooner struggled) to open the season as the closer … Henke and Greg Holland combined to toss 23 scoreless innings in the Spring … The Mounties have decided to go with 11 pitchers (at least until Larry Walker comes of the DL in about a week)–we’ll see if that works, with Ryan Dempster being sent to AAA despite a decent Spring … C Kirt Manwaring beat out an infield hit in his final at-bat of the Spring to avoid pulling a collar for the duration (it was not enough to save him from being sent to AAA) … Emil Gross beat out Gary Carter for the starting C spot … Carlos Delgado will start at 1B … Steve Garvey doesn’t really have a position, but hit enough to open the season at DH.

35 year old RP Gary Lavelle is the oldest player on the opening day roster, with 19 year old CF Ken Griffey, Jr. the youngest (Carter, Garvey, and Alex Rodriguez are all 20).

19 year old 1B John Mayberry and 3B Josh Donaldson (one of the final Spring cuts) are the most likely to receive a call from AAA. At AA, Spooner is expected to recover, and 22 year old Wee Willie Keeler should contribute down the road.

Spring Training Preview: Ottawa

By mknn

On June 20, 2020

In Team News

The starting rotation is set, but the bullpen is still up in the air. Questions abound about Karl Spooner as a closer, and the group of Greg Holland, Ryan Dempster, and Chris Leroux needs to sort itself out.
- Old Hoss Radbourn and Roy Halladay have struggled, opening some room in the rotation behind Gary Peters, Clark Griffith, and Bob Brown. Randy Johnson looks the most likely to take advantage.
  - Peters, Griffith, and Brown seem set, but the Mounties still need to sort out the final 3 slots. Johnson’s talent is undeniable, but he and Felix Hernandez have been hit quite hard, leaving Halladay, Dempster, and Radbourn in the lead.
- Spooner, Leroux, and Scott Diamond have struggled mightily, throwing the bullpen into a bit of chaos. Holland and Ted Bowsfield have been excellent.
  - It just got worse, to the point where Diamond, Leroux, and Spooner were all sent down to AAA. Monk Dubiel and Tom Henke were recalled.
  - Bowsfield is the closer, with Gary Lavelle and Steve Howe in front of him.
1B is a bit of a logjam, with John Olerud leading the way, but being pushed by John Mayberry, Carlos Delgado, and Roy Sievers.
- The best performer at 1B has been Steve Garvey, who is really more of a 3B at this point in his career. Beyond that, the logjam remains even more closely packed as Olerud and Sievers have both had problems.
  - Garvey and Delgado are doing well, with Mayberry and Sievers heading to AAA.
Tim Raines may be the best option at 2B, but he’s not long for the infield, and Roberto Alomar, Bernie Allen, and George Cutshaw aren’t far behind Raines.
At 3B, Josh Donaldson and Anthony Rendon are clearly both on the roster, but the starer is yet to be determined. Same thing at SS with Freddy Parent and Alex Rodriguez.
- Parent is ahead of A-Rod at the moment. Henry Easterday has been added to the roster for some flexibility, but has little chance of making the final roster.
The OF is totally open: Brant Alyea and Jackie Jensen look solid, but behind them George Van Haltren, Larry Walker, Phil Bradley, Rick Monday, and Terry Puhl haven’t really separated themselves from each other, and Ken Griffey, Jr. has a shot as well.
- Ah, Spring. Alyea and Jensen have been the worst of the lot, with Puhl, Bradley, and Monday leading the way.
  - Alyea, Van Haltren, and Jensen would all start at AAA if the season started now.
Kirt Manwaring is great defensively, but given he has yet to get a single hit, he’s not likely to make the opening day roster.

	Near Definite	Likely	Possible	Long Shot
Starting Pitchers		Clark Griffith Gary Peters Bob Brown	Old Hoss Radbourn Roy Halladay Ryan Dempster	Randy Johnson Feliz Hernandez
Middle Relievers		Greg Holland Reggie Cleveland		Tom Henke Monk Dubiel
Setup		Gary Lavelle Steve Howe
Closer		Ted Bowsfield
C		Gary Carter	Emil Gross	Kirt Manwaring
1B		Carlos Delgado John Olerud
2B		Tim Raines George Cutshaw	Bernie Allen Roberto Alomar
3B		Josh Donaldson Anthony Rendon	Steve Garvey
SS		Freddy Parent Alex Rodriguez		Henry Easterday
OF	Phil Bradley Terry Puhl	Ken Griffey, Jr. Larry Walker Rick Monday		Brant Alyea Jackie Jensen George Van Haltren