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TWIWBL 62.1: Year 2, Week 5

By

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.

AwardPlayer
AL Player of the MonthTy Cobb (DET).411; 5 HR; 23 RBI; 21 R
AL Pitcher of the MonthMark Buehrle (CAG)5-0, 1.24
AL Rookie of the MonthTurkey Stearnes (SFS).352; 6 HR; 18 8RBI
NL Player of the MonthLarry Walker (OTT).395; .454 OBP; 9 HR; 23 RBI; 22 R
NL Pitcher of the MonthToad Ramsey (HOU)5-1, 0.96
NL Rookie of the MonthAdam 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 61.1: Year 2, Week 4

By

On June 10, 2024

In TWIWBL

April 23

With 3 weeks in the books, teams will have their first real overhaul this week, so expect some changes to lineups, rotations, etc. to be covered in the TWIWBL’s, making them a little longer than usual.

#NO NO and Near No No

José Rijo of the Kansas City Monarchs tossed the very first no-hitter in WBL history, blanking the House of David 7-0. Rijo didn’t walk a batter and struck out 12 in the 114 pitch masterpiece, supported by a 15 hit attack (including 9 doubles). Ozzie Smith had 4 hits, Albert Pujols drove in 2, and Boog Powell scored twice to lead the offense, but it was really all about Rijo, who improved to 2-1 on the year and dropped his ERA by roughly 2.5 points. It still stands a shade over 5 at 5.08, making the historic performance even more surprising.

Box Score

{In real life, Rijo had 2 1-hitters, but never threw a no-no.}

Christy Mathewson and John Montgomery Ward combined for one of the best pitched games in WBL history as the Matty’s New York Gothams bested the Philadelphia Stars 1-0 in 10 innings. Mathewson threw over 7 shutout innings, allowing only 2 hits and was–by far–the inferior hurler, as Ward allowed a single hit over 9 innings while striking out 12. Buster Posey took Ward’s relief–Bob Howry–deep to lead off the 10th for the only score of the day.

Box Score

#Awards

Miami‘s Gary Sheffield was the AL Player of the Week, hitting .500 with 2 homeruns. In the NL, Ottawa‘s Larry Walker took the award, hitting .444 with 4 homers and 6 RBIs.

#Team Performance

Three teams have exploded out of the gate: the Chicago American Giants and Kansas City lead the WBL in winning percentage, with both teams at .722 (13-5). The New York Black Yankees are at .700, starting the season at 14-6.

At the other end, the Detroit Wolverines have the worst record in the league at 6-14 (.300) while the Baltimore Black Sox and the Portland Sea Dogs are barely better at 6-13 (.316).

For those of you who remember Year I, the theme here is parity–or inconsistency, depending on your streetcorner. Baltimore are the defending champions, Detroit and Portland both made the playoffs, Kansas City was among the worst teams in the league last season, and the Black Yankees were a major disappointment, missing the postseason entirely.

We’re only 20 games in, so take it all with a grain of salt, but it’s fun to see.

#Player Performance

Batters

20 games seems plenty to look at some leaderboards, at least for hitters in a limited way. This list is the top 2 in most offensive categories, leaders in bold.

Ty Cobb (DET). 400/452/769. 15 2B.
Carlos Correa (HOU). 437/481/648. 31 H.
Eric Davis (NYY). 368/430/763. 9 HR, 26 R, 10 SB.
Tony Gwynn (HOU). 452/474/658. 33 H.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 306/398/597. 11 SB.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 425/462/671. 31 H, 12 2B.
Grant Johnson (HOU). 319/373/609. 23 RBI.
Dick Lundy (SFS). 384/451/685. 4 3B, 1.8 WAR.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 362/471/812. 9 HR, 27 RBI, 20 R, 1.7 WAR.
Ryne Sandberg (HOD). 383/406/900. 9 HR.
Joey Votto (IND). 360/484/500.
Larry Walker (OTT). 435/474/826.
Bobby Wallace (BAL). 22 BB. 279/476/377.

There are some surprises here for sure: Correa and Johnson in Houston finally coming good, same with San Francisco‘s Lundy. But it still looks like it’s Babe Ruth’s league, assuming Sandberg’s performance falls back to mere excellence.

Pitchers

Still not enough to really get into stats: 13 starters have 3 wins, nobody has over 30 IP, etc. But some things to note:

  • It seems like there is always a single starting pitcher head and shoulders above the rest at any given time in the WBL. Right now, it’s Portland’s Smokey Joe Wood, who is 3-0 with a 1.82 ERA.
  • Houston’s Toad Ramsey is the ERA leader at an impressive 1.57, just ahead of Wood. Chicago’s Mark Buehrle is the only other starter with an ERA beneath 2.00 at 1.86.

Relievers have yet to really separate as well, as 5 of them have 5 saves on the season so far.

#Featured Series

This time we’ll focus on a four game set as the Los Angeles Angels visit Chicago to take on the American Giants. The Angels come into the game at 10-9 which is essentially “as expected,” while Chicago has roared out of the gate, sitting 1t 15-6.

Scheduled Starters

Los Angeles hurler listed first.

Tom Seaver (1-0, 3.00) @ David Price (2-2, 5.40)
Dwight Gooden (1-2, 3.24) @ Ed Walsh (1-0, 3.80)
Pud Galvin (0-2, 4.85) @ Mark Buehrle (4-0, 1.32)
Brett Anderson (2-1, 4.76) @ Ben Sheets (0-1, 7.71)

Game One

It was a rough start for David Price, as he gave up 2 runs in the top of the first on an RBI single by Mike Trout and a sacrifice fly from Doug Rader. But Price settled right down, and was virtually perfect the rest of the way before being relieved by Hoyt Wilhelm in the 7th. Tom Seaver was as good, leaving in the 6th inning having given up only 1 run.

The American Giants would score again in the 7th, but that would be it until the bottom of the 10th. Mike Fiore led off being hit by a pitch from Julio Teheran, Joe Jackson doubled him to 3rd and, after Ross Reynolds took over on the mound and issued an intentional walk to Frank Thomas, Dick Allen lifted a ball deep to center, where it was caught by Don Buford, but he had no chance to catch Fiore before he crossed the plate with the winning run.

LAA 2 (Teheran 1-2; Patterson 1 H; Lowry 2 BSv) @ CAG 3 (Wilhelm 1-0) [10 Innings]
HRs: None.
Box Score

Game Two

The story for most of the game was Los Angeles’ Doc Gooden, who was spectacular through 8 innings, allowing only 3 hits while fanning 10. The only blemish on Gooden’s day was a solo shot to Duffy Lewis, which tied the game at 1 in the 8th.

We were headed to extra innings once again, but there was less drama this time as the Angels used 3 homeruns in the top of the 10th (Doug Rader, Bobby Grich, and AJ Pierzynski) to ease to the 5-1 win.

LAA 5 (Rodríguez 1-0) @ CAG 1 (Twitchell 2-1) [10 Innings]
HRs: LAA – Rader (2), Grich (6), Pierzynski (4); CAG – Lewis (1).
Box Score

Game Three

Mark Buehrle just keeps rolling along, allowing 5 hits and 1 run over 9 innings and improving to 5-0 on the year. But the Angels’ pitchers were almost as good, and the only tallies in the game came from solo shots from Chicago’s Dave Nilsson and the Angels’ Mike Trout, who seems to be waking from an early season slumber. The game came down to a walkoff single from Joe Jackson in the bottom of the 9th. Jackson, Eddie Collins, and Paul Konerko had 2 hits each for Chicago.

LAA 1 (DeSclafani 0-1) @ CAG 2 (Buehrle 5-0)
HRs: LAA – Trout (3); CAG – Nilsson (1).
Box Score

Game Four

Another great pair of efforts from the starting pitchers, as Los Angeles’ Brett Anderson and Chicago’s Ben Sheets each went 7 innings allowing only a single hit each, and no earned runs (errors had allowed runs to score for each team). A key hit from rookie Ichiro Suzuki drove in 2, providing the margin the Angels needed for a 4-1 victory, splitting the series 2 games apiece. Neither team had an extra base hit, and they combined for only 6 singles (4 for Los Angeles and 2 for the American Giants).

LAA 4 (Anderson 3-1; Reynolds 1 Sv) @ CAG 1 (Sheets 0-2; Otsuka 1 B Sv)
HRs: None.
Box Score

TWIWBL 60.4: Effa Manley Division

By

On June 3, 2024

In TWIWBL

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

Germany Smith was recalled from his injury rehab, with Maury Wills heading to AAA. For now, Smith will split time at SS with Ray Dandridge, but his power my force his name onto the lineup sheet more often.

#Homestead Grays

Willie Stargell‘s 4th homerun was a walkoff job in the bottom of the 11th, giving the Grays a 3-2 win over Brooklyn. Bob Friend–long gone when Pops struck–pitched excellently for Homestead, striking out 10 in just over 6 innings.

#New York Gothams

Will Clark went deep twice and drove in 6 runs as the Gothams built an early lead and held on, topping the Black Barons 12-8. Buster Posey had 3 hits and Juan Marichal evened up his record at 1-1 with a good outing.

Johnny Callison (3 hits and 6 RBIs) and Pete Runnels (4 hits) had great days, but a very poor outing from Christy Mathewson led to an 11-8 defeat at the hands of the Grays.

#Ottawa Mounties

Gary Carter continued his scorching start with 2 homeruns, giving him 8 on the year. Carter had 3 hits and 3 RBIs and Tim Raines, Larry Walker, and Roberto Alomar also went deep in a 9-5 win over Birmingham. After Old Hoss Radbourn struggled a bit, Bob Brown, Atlee Hammaker, the newly recalled Bill Smith, and BJ Ryan combined to allow only one hit in almost 5 innings of relief.

Carlos Beltrán went deep twice, but it wasn’t enough as the Mounties fell to Birmingham, 12-10. Dupee Shaw was pounded in his first career start, giving up 5 homeruns (4 consecutive) and while Ottawa tied the game after that, despite a strong outing from Smith, the bullpen just couldn’t hold it together.

#Philadelphia Stars

The Stars recalled Aaron Judge from his rehab assignment, sending Harmon Killebrew to AAA for regular playing time. Judge’s first at bat resulted in his 2nd homerun of the season, a welcome sight for Stars fans. Ted Kluszewski and Art Fletcher drove in 2 in the come from behind win over Houston as Larry Jackson, Ted Kennedy, and Bob Howry allowed only 1 hit in 3.2 innings of relief for an ineffective Steve Carlton. Kluszewski tied the game in the 8th and Fletcher drove in the winning run in the 9th, with Kennedy getting the win and Howry his 3rd save of the year.

TWIWBL 60.1: Year 2 – Week 3

By

On May 29, 2024

In TWIWBL

April 16

#Team News

The best record in the league falls to the Kansas City Monarchs, who have won 9 in a row and sit atop the Marvin Miller Division at 10-2. The Chicago American Giants are 9-3.

At the other end, the Portland Sea Dogs are off to a rough start at 4-10, and Birmingham and defending Whirled Champion Baltimore are barely better at 4-9. Very early days, of course.

#Player News

Kansas City’s Albert Pujols was the NL Player of the Week, hitting .500 (10 for 20) with 2 homers over the span. Miami‘s Jim Thome took home the honors in the AL, hitting .458 with 6 homeruns and 12 RBI for the week.

Some fun stat lines from the early going:

Gary Carter (OTT). 412/500/941. 5 HR.
Tony Gwynn (HOU). 510/527/804. 26 H; 1.2 WAR.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 510/547/878. 12 2B; 17 R; 1.2 WAR.
Ryne Sandberg (HOD). 465/478/1.093. 8 HR. 18 RBI.
Frank Thomas (CAG). 435/527/739.
Jim Thome (MCG). 372/500/884.

In case you missed it there, Sandberg’s SLG is over 1.000 at the moment.

On the mound, Smokey Joe Wood (KCM) hasn’t allowed an earned run and Memphis‘ Jon Lester has an ERA of 0.75. Kansas City’s Luke Hamlin, Waite Hoyt of the New York Black Yankees, and Jack Taylor of the House of David each have 3 wins, and San Francisco‘s Rod Beck and Detroit‘s Mike Henneman have 5 saves each.

#Injury Watch

A few important ones over the first couple weeks (only considering injuries that will last a couple of weeks at minimum):

  • Once more the House of David is without their offensive leader, as Pete Browning will miss about a month.
  • San Francisco’s Tim Hudson may have suffered a career-threatening shoulder injury; at a minimum he’ll miss about 4 months.
  • Miami’s Julio Rodríguez is out for 2 more weeks, as is Portland’s 2B Rogers Hornsby.
  • Joe Morgan of the Indianapolis ABC’s will miss about a month with a badly sprained ankle.

Some players are, of course, healing, with Baltimore’s Ned Garvin–the most dominant pitcher in the league when he went down last year–likely to begin a rehabilitation assignment sometime this week. Philadelphia‘s promising stud Aaron Judge should return this week, as will Portland’s young hurler, Walter Ball.

#Featured Series

This time we’re going to go with a 3 game set between the 6-5 Ottawa Mounties visiting the 10-2 Kansas City Monarchs.

We picked this series because the Monarchs have won 9 in a row and Ottawa is a shock in the young season, carrying a team OPS of 1.001–their overall slash line as a unit is 343/406/595, figures that easily lead the league (it’s not like the Monarchs are struggling at the plate, posting a 329/370/566 line as a team).

Ottawa was horrible on the mound last year, and really haven’t been much better so far, with a 6.14 team ERA while Kansas City’s hurlers have been, as you may guess from their record, excellent as a unit, one of only 2 teams with a sub-4.00 ERA at 3.83.

Probable Matchups:

Ottawa hurler listed first.

Bob Moose (1-0, 6.52) @ José Rijo (1-1, 8.68)
Randy Johnson (1-0, 7.71) @ Smokey Joe Wood (2-0, 0.00)
Old Hoss Radbourn (2-1, 2.61) @ Frank Castillo (2-0, 3.38)

Game One

The one game that seemed least likely to be a pitching duel was, in fact, a pitching duel. Both Ottawa’s Bob Moose (2 hits and 1 earned run in 6 innings) and Kansas City’s José Rijo (4 hits and 2 earned runs in 6 innings) were excellent, but Ted Simmons‘ second 500 foot plus moon shot of the year was a 2-run walkoff blast, propelling the Monarchs to victory in the opening game of the series.

OTT 2 (Hammaker 0-2) @ KCM 4 (DiPino 1-0)
HRs: OTT – Carter (6); KCM – Murphy (3), Simmons (4).
Box Score

Game Two

It didn’t take long for Ottawa to score off Smokey Joe Wood: Tim Raines doubled to lead off the game, stole third, and scored on a sac fly from Roberto Alomar, events made noteworthy as it was the first run off Wood all season. Ottawa would add 2 more in the inning, and then 3 more in the top of the 3rd behind a double from Larry Walker, a triple from Carlos Beltrán, and an inside the park homerun from Sam Thompson.

Randy Johnson was slated to start the game for the Mounties, but when he was unable to go, Ottawa turned to Clark Griffith. Griffith gave up a 3 run shot to Boog Powell in the bottom of the 3rd, halving Ottawa’s lead. Griffith didn’t pitch poorly, allowing only 5 hits in 5 innings, but the Monarchs have been masters of timely offense so far, converting those 4 hits into 5 runs.

Dupee Shaw relieved Griffith, giving up a long RBI double to Robinson Canó to tie the game.

An Adrian Beltré homerun off Bob Shawkey put Ottawa back in front, 8-6.

There was some more scoring–a solo shot from Walker in the 9th and Powell’s second of the game in the bottom of the frame–but Ottawa held on for the 10-7 win, evening the series.

Walker went 4 for 4 and scored 3 times and Thompson finished with 3 RBIs for Ottawa while Powell drove in 5 on 3 hits for the Monarchs.

OTT 10 (Shaw 1-1, 1 B Sv; Ryan 1 H; Dempster 2 Sv) – KCM 7 (Shawkey 1-1)
HRs: OTT – Thompson (3), Beltré (3), Walker (5); KCM – Powell 2 (4), Smith (1).
Box Score

Game Three

This is what Ottawa hoped for from Randy Johnson: 6 fairly dominant innings with 6 strikeouts and only 2 runs allowed. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough as some timely hitting from the Monarchs–a 2 run double from Willie McGee, a homerun from Ducky Medwick, and Lou Brock and Ozzie Smith scoring 3 runs from the bottom of the lineup as Kansas City took the rubber match, 4-2.

Frank Castillo was even better than Johnson, allowing only 3 hits in almost 7 innings, with Dustin Hermanson, Craig Kimbrel, and Jeff Pfeffer combining to allow a single hit in 2.1 innings of relief.

OTT 2 (Gregg 0-1) @ KCM 4 (Hermanson 1-0; Pfeffer 5 Sv; Kimbrel 4 H)
HRs: KCM – Medwick (1).
Box Score



TWIWBL 59.1: Year 2 – Week 2

By

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

TWIWBL 58.5: Effa Manley Division

By

On May 1, 2024

In TWIWBL

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

It was not good news for the Royal Giant as as Dave Von Ohlen, a bullpen stalwart for them last season, was diagnosed with a herniated disc and will miss about 3 months. Dutch Leonard was recalled.

In slightly better news, both Germany Smith and Trevor Hildenberger were sent to AAA on rehab assignments as they make their way back from their injuries.

Hildenberger was recalled as Terry Forster was placed on the 10 day DL.

#Homestead Grays

Chris Sabo hit a pinch-hit, walk-off 3-run homerun to lead the Grays to a wild 12-11 victory over Ottawa. Honus Wagner had 4 hits and Rick Reichardt and Andy Van Slyke 3 each in a game where the Grays pounded out 4 homeruns, with Willie Stargell, Reichardt, and Del Crandall joining Sabo.

Josh Gibson‘s first homerun of the season was a doozy: a grand slam to give the Grays another walk-off win over Ottawa, this one 8-5. Roberto Clemente had 3 hits and rookie Doug Drabek continued his strong start to the season with a couple 1-hit innings in relief.

#Ottawa Mounties

Old Hoss Radbourn started the Mounties’ season off strong, allowing only 2 hits and 1 run over 7 innings in a 10-1 drubbing of Philadelphia. Larry Walker drove in 4 and Bob Watson had 3 hits for Ottawa.

The Mounties pounded out 25 hits, scored 11 runs, and held leads in the 8th, 9th, and 10th innings. And, lost 12-11 in 10 innings to Homestead. Walker had 4 hits and Gary Carter drove in 3 in a game where Ottawa’s hurlers gave up 4 homeruns, including a walk-off shot.

Gary Peters will miss about a year with an elbow injury. Bob Brown was recalled from AAA, although for now at least it’s not clear who will take Peters’ spot in the rotation.

#Philadelphia Stars

The Stars may not win many games this year, but there is some talent on this team that should be fun to watch. To wit, OF Aaron Judge obliterated the record for the longest homerun in the history of the WBL, launching a pitch from Homestead’s Bob Friend 558 feet for his first dinger of the year.

Ray Collins lasted 2 innings in his debut before having to be removed with back spasms. Collins will be out a couple of weeks, and the Stars have once again turned to veteran Robin Roberts, giving the 33 year old what may be his final chance at the WBL. The next day, Judge went down with a strained muscle, and the Stars decided to continue to try to reinforce their mounds corps, recalling hard throwing Brad Kilby.

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); Ron Cey (BRK); Cupid Childs (BBB); Ty Cobb (DET); Gavvy Cravath (BAL); Josh Gibson (HOM); Hank Greenberg (DET); Joe Jackson (CAG); Joe Morgan (IND); Frank Robinson (BAL); Pete Runnels (NYG); Reggie Smith (MEM); Mike Trout (LAA).

3+ HBP Games

3. Jack Doyle (CAG).

3+ HR Games

3. Jeff Bagwell (HOU); Ed Bailey (DET); Ernie Banks (HOD); Carlos Beltrán (OTT); Lance Berkman (CLE); Ron Blomberg (CLE); Ryan Braun (MCG); José Canseco (MCG); George Gore (HOD); Stan Musial (KCM); Manny Ramírez (MEM); Álex Rodríguez (OTT); Babe Ruth (NYY); Sammy Sosa (HOD); Mike Trout (LAA); Larry Walker (OTT).

3+ OF Assists

4+ BB Games

4. Ed Bailey (DET); Eddie Collins (CAG); Mike Epstein (HOM); Willie McGee (KCM); Andrew McCutchen (HOM), Joey Votto (IND).

4+ CS Games

4. Johnny Bench (IND); Gabby Hartnett (MEM); Jorge Posada (HOU).

4+ Run Games

5. Chuck Knoblauch (CLE); Tris Speaker (CLE).
4. Roberto Alomar x2 (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); Mike Epstein (HOM); Rickey Henderson (SFS); Benny Kauff (NYG); Willie McGee (KCM); Billy Nash (DET); Babe Ruth (NYY); Gary Sheffield (MCG); Jim Wynn (HOU).

4+ SB Games

6. Rickey Henderson (SFS).
4. Frank Chance (HOD); Rickey Henderson (SFS); Dick Lundy (SFS).

5+ Hit Games

5. Jeff Bagwell (HOU); Don Buford (LAA); Joe Jackson (CAG); Chuck Knoblauch (CLE); Mike Trout (LAA).

5+ SO Games

5. Beals Becker (BRK); Bobby Bonds (SFS); Ron Cey (BRK); Larry Doby (CLE); Héctor López (NYY); Dale Murphy (KCM).

6+ RBI Games

7. Jeff Bagwell (HOU); Ron Blomberg (CLE); Carlton Fisk (CAG); Charlie Gehringer (DET); Manny Machado (BAL); Gary Sheffield (MCG).
6. Hank Aaron (BBB); Bob Bailey (DET); Ernie Banks (HOD); Johnny Callison (NYG); Chili Davis (DET); Josh Gibson (HOM); Mickey Mantle (NYY); Mike Piazza (BRK); Manny Ramírez (MEM); Babe Ruth x3 (NYY); Ryne Sandberg (HOD); Mike Schmidt (NYY); Roy White (BRK).

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).
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).
509 ft. Johnny Callison (NYG); Jack Clark (SFS); Bryce Harper (BAL); Ted Simmons (KCM).
508 ft. Ron Blomberg (CLE); Boog Powell (KCM); Travis Shaw (MEM).
507 ft. Ted Simmons (KCM).
505 ft. Lou Gehrig (NYA).
503 ft. Larry Doyle (NYG); 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. Derek Jeter (NYA).
500 ft. Andrew McCutchen (HOM).

Pitching Statistics

80+ Game Scores

99. José Rijo (KCM).
97. JM Ward (PHI).
93. Frank Castillo (KCM); Lefty Grove (SFS); Toad Ramsey (HOU).
92. Bump Hadley (SFS).
91. Frank Knauss (BRK); Christy Mathewson (NYG); Toad Ramsey (HOU)
90. Brian Anderson (LAA); A. Rube Foster (KCM); Alejandro Peña (BBB); Toad Ramsey (HOU); Joe Rogan (PHI).
89. Smokey Joe Wood (KCM).
88. Luis Padrón (IND); Bill Steen (CLE); Justin Verlander (DET).
87. Roger Clemens (HOU); Lefty Grove (SFS); Carl Hubbell (NYG); Francisco Liriano (HOM); Dennis Martínez (BAL); Jim Whitney (BBB).
86. A. Rube Foster (KCM); Doc Gooden (LAA).
85. Roger Clemens (HOU); Gerrit Cole (LAA); Lefty Grove (SFS); Hardie Henderson (PHI); Eddie Plank (SFS); Jameson Taillon (MEM); Ed Walsh (CAG).
84. Frank Castillo (KCM); Ron Guidry (NYY); Orel Hershiser (BRK); Ed Walsh (CAG).
83. Bob Friend (HOM); Mike Mussina (BAL).
82. Mark Buehrle (CAG); Bill Doak (MEM); Toad Ramsey (HOU).
80. Walter Johnson (POR); Andy Pettitte (NYY); Toad Ramsey (HOU).

10+ Strikeout Games

14. Frank Castillo (KCM); Toad Ramsey (HOU).
13. Brian Anderson (LAA); Ron Guidry (NYY); Charlie Root (DET).
12. Johnny Cueto (IND); Doc Gooden (LAA); Lefty Grove (SFS); Bump Hadley (SFS); Mike Mussina (BAL); Toad Ramsey x2 (HOU); José Rijo (KCM); Bill Steen (CLE); JM Ward (PHI).
11. Johnny Cueto (IND); Ron Guidry (NYY); Connie Johnson (BAL); Walter Johnson (POR); Frank Knauss (BRG); Christy Mathewson (NYG); Old Hoss Radbourn (OTT); Toad Ramsey x2 (HOU); Don Sutton (NYG); Justin Verlander (DET); Smokey Joe Williams (BRK).
10. Steve Carlton (PHI); Frank Castillo (KCM); Watty Clark (SFS); Bob Friend (HOM); Doc Gooden (LAA); Lefty Grove (SFS); Ron Guidry x2 (NYY); Hardie Henderson (PHI); Orel Hershiser (BRK); Frank Knauss (BRK); Ramón Martínez (MCG); Billy Pierce (HOM); Don Sutton (NYG).

8+ Walk Games

8. Ed Brandt (MCG); Hardie Henderson (PHI).
9. Randy Johnson (OTT).

Shutouts

NO HITS. José Rijo (IND).
1 Hit. A. Rube Foster (KCM); Luis Padrón (IND); Toad Ramsey (HOU).
2 Hits. A. Rube Foster (KCM); Lefty Grove (SFS); Bump Hadley (SFS); Frank Knauss (BRK); Francisco Liriano (HOM); Dennis Martínez (BAL); Joe Rogan (PHI).
3 Hits. Frank Castillo (KCM); Roger Clemens (HOU); Lefty Grove (SFS); Carl Hubbell (NYG); Christy Mathewson (NYG); Eddie Plank (SFS); Toad Ramsey (HOU).
4 Hits. Frank Castillo (KCM); Gerrit Cole (LAA); Doc Gooden (LAA); Lefty Grove (SFS); Jim Whitney (BBB).

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).
3 Hits. Hardie Henderson / Robin Roberts (PHI); Orel Hershiser / Eric Gagne (BRK).
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).
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).

Season Review: Ottawa Mounties

By

On December 11, 2023

In Season Reviews, Team News

69 - 85, .448 pct.
4th in Cum Posey Division, 22 games behind.

Overall

With low expectations come limited success, or some such.

Ottawa has some interesting pieces, a ton of raw talent, and very little to show for it all. Future success hinges on the development of that talent–Ken Griffey, Jr, Álex Rodríguez, and Randy Johnson, I’m looking at you.

As is often the case with teams that struggle, there were some decent high spots on offense but a bit of a mess on the mound.

What Went Right

Not a lot.

Larry Walker, Tim Raines, and Gary Carter each established themselves as legitimate WBL players, although each of them are just outside the upper tier at their position in the league (Walker only through seemingly being injury prone).

Carlos Beltrán did enough to put himself on the roster next year, and Rusty Staub hit well for Ottawa after being acquired in trade.

Old Hoss Radbourn and, before getting injured, Roy Halladay both look like front of rotation arms for Ottawa. Ryan Dempster stepped into the absence created by Tom Henke‘s injury quite well. Some other starters–Bob Moose, Bob Brown, and Clayton Richard especially–flashed some potential in limited innings, going 14-6 over a combined 30 starts.

The Mounties are an incredibly young organization: in one sense, merely surviving went right if 7 of your starters are 23 or under.

ALL STARS
SS Freddy Parent

What Went Wrong

Roberto Alomar faded and neither Álex Rodríguez nor Ken Griffey, Jr. did anything to live up to their massive potential. Across the board, it seemed like the best players could do was meh offensively.

Most of the pitching was horrible, and when not poor, greatly inconsistent (with Randy Johnson being the best example). Jim Clancy–whose 0.0 WAR was an accurate representation of his quality–was the only pitcher other than Radbourn and Halladay with over 100 IP.

Overall, there was just an absence of quality for the Mounties.

Trade Evaluations

March

None

June

IF Steve Garvey, OF Spud Johnson, 1B Carlos Delgado to Los Angeles for OF Rusty Staub, P Dave Bennett, OF Carlos Beltrán, C Jim Stephens & P Sean O'Sullivan

Seems fine–Delgado’s loss this year hurt, but Staub (a franchise player) and Beltrán offer a lot of future value.

IF Freddy Parent to Chicago for IF Sibby Sisti, OF Bob Watson, and IF Rickie Weeks

Parent was Ottawa’s only all star, so the drop in quality hurt. But it does clear the way for Á-Rod (which may or may not be a good thing if his performance doesn’t pick up), and Watson looks promising.

RP Gary Lavelle & P Jamie Moyer to Black Yankees for IF Dick Bartell, OF Sam Thompson & 4th Round Pick {Mark Eichhorn}

Seems fine, maybe a little light if neither Bartell nor Thompson see WBL time.

July

P Steve Howe, OF George Van Haltren, 5th Round Pick & 6th Round Pick to New York Gothams for P Jeremy Affeldt, P Bob Moose, OF George Burns, IF Art Devlin & 3rd Round Pick

All reasonable, as both Moose and Burns have some promise.

Looking Forward

SP

Radbourn and Halladay should be solid for years to come, and there is great excitement over the potential of Randy Johnson. Beyond that, it’s a lot of question marks.

RP

If Henke can bounce back from injury, he and Dempster should be solid here, and there are some decent arms behind them.

C

Carter should have this locked up for quite a while.

1B

Long term, a mixture of John Olerud and John Mayberry should handle this, but there are no great immediate options, unless Staub and Bob Watson can handle it.

2B

Even with his late season fade, this should be Roberto Alomar‘s position, especially as Raines shifts permanently to the outfield.

3B

An area of need, as neither Anthony Rendon nor Larry Parrish impressed.

SS

It’s assumed that Rodríguez will hold this down.

LF

Raines should play here more and more.

CF

This gets more interesting, as either Betrán or Griffey, Jr. could be here long term, with the other moving to a corner OF position.

RF

Walker as long as he’s healthy, with others, including Staub, filling in.

The Rookie Draft

Rounds 1-4

There are some tempting choices out there, but Max Scherzer being a franchise selection who looks almost ready for the majors makes him the choice. The 2nd round was a much harder selection, but the Mounties eventually settled on Al Orth, partially because he should be able to help out at the major league level somewhat immediately.

1B is a bit unsettled for the franchise, so Elbie Fletcher made sense in the 3rd round. Fletcher is a ways away from helping at the WBL level, but he could be in the mix eventually. In the last part of that round, they took another arm: 22 year old Dan Haren.

In the 4th round, the Mounties took 2B Jimmy Dykes with their final franchise exemption and rubber armed reliever Mark Eichhorn with their other pick that round.

Rounds 5-8

Ottawa needs quality across the board, but being limited to franchise selections may make that challenging. They start in the 7th round with OF Warren Cromartie and follow that in the 8th with SP Dupee Shaw.

Rounds 9-12

IF Joey Cora; OF Leon Roberts; P Billy Koch; and P Chuck Taylor.

TWIWBL 51.5: The Awards – Rookie of the Year Award

By

On November 1, 2023

In TWIWBL

So this is a strange one … according to OOTP, everyone (well, virtually everyone) in the league is a rookie. So we’re instead giving it out to the best performing players who did not qualify for the league leaderboards–essentially mid or late season call ups.

Here are the position players under consideration

NameTmPosGBAOPSSLGWAR
John BriggsBRKOF393224155290.9
Jim EdmondsHODOF712933485762.0
Al KalineDETOF343013745730.9
Andy Van SlykeHOMU693213735582.5
Larry WalkerOTTOF792823755892.9

And, the pitchers

NameTmRecordGGSSvHWAR
Bob FellerCLE8-4, 3.892411001.8
Greg MadduxBBB6-7, 3.532718021.8
Joseíto MuñozPOR5-5, 2.57249321.8
Mike MussinaBAL16-7, 4.082916111.9
Bret SaberhagenHOU4-7, 4.021717001.8
Ed WalshCAG8-3, 3.263511053.2

I’m going to push Walker out of the running, as his limited time was almost exclusively through injury.

Muñoz is probably the most impressive performer over the small sample size. But it is a small sample size. We’ll go with Walsh, Van Slyke, and Muñoz.

TWIWBL 51.1: The Awards – Gold Gloves

By

On October 27, 2023

In TWIWBL

In addition to the winners, wanted to track the 2 next runner ups, for posterity and what-not.

We’ll go in order of how the awards are announced, beginning with the Gold Gloves. I’ve used 600 innings as a rough qualification minimum.

One thing that jumps out at me here is just how phenomenal the New York Gothams were defensively: two Gold Glove winners, 3 others mentioned.

#P

It’s a challenge because pitchers overall get so few chances. At the end of the day, you have to go with who makes the most plays.

NameTmInnZRTCEA
Jack TaylorHOD2052.932115
Ray CollinsPHI1940.739221
Old Hoss RadbournOTT1983.927021
Inn = Innings Played at Position / ZR = Zone Rating / TC = Total Chances / E = Errors / A = Assists

#C

Catchers are so hard … do you value cERA, which gives an unfair advantage to backstops blessed with better staffs? What about throwing out runners, where virtually everyone is within a few percentage points of each other? Are errors worse than passed balls or vice-versa?

Who knows. It’s clear that Cleveland’s Louis Santop dominates the numbers here (even if his FRM is some lucky fluke), and that Indianapolis’ Johnny Bench is damn good. Also, Brooklyn’s Duke Farrell, Portland’s Iván Rodríguez, and Miami’s Alan Ashby all look like real contenders if they were to ever earn enough playing time.

NameTmInnZRERTO%PBcERAFRM
Louis SantopCLE9213.4332.634.235.4
Johnny BenchIND9713.4834.654.491.8
Thurman MunsonNYY10712.4532.054.711.2
Inn = Innings Played at Position / ZR = Zone Rating / E = Errors / RTO% = Runners Thrown Out % / PB = Passed Balls / cERA = Catchers’ ERA / FRM = Runs Gained through Pitch Framing

#1B

While the Gothams’ Will Clark and Baltimore’s Dan McGann are pretty indistinguishable, Clark covered more ground. Note that for 1B we’ve listed assists over double plays, as they are a more reliable indicator for the position.

NameTmInnZRTCEA
Will ClarkMCG/NYG10713.81082678
Dan McGannBAL10511.61160666
Mike EpsteinHOM10101.610881177
Inn = Innings Played at Position / ZR = Zone Rating / TC = Total Chances / E = Errors / A = Assists

#2B

This is incredibly close, and in addition to these three, San Francisco’s Jimmy Bloodworth and Los Angeles’ Bobby Grich could be listed quite easily.

NameTmInnZRTCEDP
Eddie CollinsCAG10496.657310106
Cookie RojasNYG/MCG9287.1477571
Rogers HornsbyKCM/POR11564.86241092
Inn = Innings Played at Position / ZR = Zone Rating / TC = Total Chances / E = Errors / DP = Double Plays

#3B

It’s a bit of a toss up in a traditional defensive choice between the top 2: Philadelphia’s Scott Rolen covered more ground, but Ottawa’s Anthony Rendon made more plays. At the end of the day, it’s the plays that count.

NameTmInnZRTCEDP
Anthony RendonOTT11515.3366736
Scott RolenPHI11168.03291032
Mike SchmidtNYY9847.7264419
Inn = Innings Played at Position / ZR = Zone Rating / TC = Total Chances / E = Errors / DP = Double Plays

#SS

Detroit’s George Davis was absolutely dominant here, despite registering 13 errors. He got to more balls, turned more double plays, and was simply the best defensive SS in the league.

NameTmInnZRTCEDP
George DavisDET119921.96771397
George WrightLAA106714.5562287
Ozzie SmithKCM115915.0586588
Inn = Innings Played at Position / ZR = Zone Rating / TC = Total Chances / E = Errors / DP = Double Plays

#LF

In LF, we have a victory for slow and steady: Brooklyn’s Roy White is far from flashy, and his arm is fair-to-middling at best. But he covers ground, and over nearly 300 chances and 1200 innings, made zero errors.

NameTmInnZRKEDP
Roy WhiteBRK11637.4300
Jimmy SheckardNYG11664.1744
Rickey HendersonSFS9463.4941
Inn = Innings Played at Position / ZR = Zone Rating / K = Kills (Assists) / E = Errors / DP = Double Plays

#CF

The choice between the New York Gothams’ Willie Mays and the Baltimore Black Sox’ Paul Blair is very, very rough. Their ZR’s are essentially identical, Mays has both 2 more kills and 2 more errors over about 200 more innings, as well as a slightly better range rating. Blair’s arm has actually been more effective overall. In the end, it’s Blair by a hair.

NameTmInnZRKEDP
Paul BlairBAL10449.61522
Willie MaysNYG12599.61752
Curtis GrandersonBBB9827.91433
Inn = Innings Played at Position / ZR = Zone Rating / K = Kills (Assists) / E = Errors / DP = Double Plays

Mention should be made of Ottawa’s Ken Griffey, Jr., who registered 16 kills in 649 innings, a pretty stunning rate of eliminating baserunners.

#RF

The New York Gothams’ Johnny Callison has, in slightly less than a full-time role, put up spectacular defensive numbers. Perhaps most impressive are the 4 double-plays. Here are the top three:

NameTmInnZRKEDP
Johnny CallisonNYG9108.71124
Roberto ClementeHOM10348.2661
Larry WalkerOTT6413.51131
Inn = Innings Played at Position / ZR = Zone Rating / K = Kills (Assists) / E = Errors / DP = Double Plays

Your Gold Glovers for year 2000 of the WBL:

P: Jack Taylor (HOD)
C: Louis Santop (CLE)
1B: Will Clark (MCG/NYG)
2B: Eddie Collins (CAG)
3B: Anthony Rendon (OTT)
SS: George Davis (DET)
LF: Roy White (BRK)
CF: Paul Blair (BAL)
RF: Johnny Callison (NYG)

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