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Series XXXIII Best Games

On June 13, 2023

We have more good pitching than usual in the best games of Series XXXIII.

We’ll start with the opening and closing game from a series with potentially massive playoff implications.

#Birmingham Black Barons @ New York Gothams, Games 1 and 5

Birmingham’s Greg Maddux wasn’t bad: just over 6 innings and only 2 runs allowed. The problem was the Gothams’ Christy Mathewson was stellar, picking up his league-leading 16th win of the season by throwing a 3-hit shutout over 7 innings. Maddux left the game after allowing an RBI single to Will Clark, replaced by Kent Mercker who gave up a deep flyball to the pinch-hitting Carl Furillo, scoring another run.

Hank Aaron took Robb Nen deep in the 8th to cut the lead in half, but Mike Norris (pushed into service due to Brian Wilson‘s injury) picked up his 6th save of the year, allowing only a walk in the 9th.

BBB 1 (Maddux 4-5) @ NYG 2 (Mathewson 16-7; Norris 6 Sv; Nen 11 H)
HRs: BBB – Aaron (25); NYG – none.
Box Score

The Gothams turned to Don Sutton for a spot start, and the 24 year old was simply brilliant … but it wasn’t enough. Sutton gave up 1 run–a solo shot by Aaron–through 7 innings, and while New York’s bullpen beckoned, Sutton was still well under 90 pitches. But with 2 outs in the 8th, Cupid Childs took him deep and Aaron launched his second of the game, edging Birmingham in front, 3-2.

Birmingham’s closer, Juan Rincón, allowed only 1 hit in the 9th, closing out the victory for the Black Barons.

NYG 2 (Sutton 2-4) @ BBB 3 (Whitney 1-2; Rincón 22 Sv)
HRs: NYG – Higgins (13); BBB – Aaron 2 (27), Childs (4).
Box Score

Two more good games with good pitching!

#Memphis Red Sox @ Detroit Wolverines, Game 1

Through six innings, the only score was a solo shot from Memphis’ Manny Ramírez. That was one of only 2 hits allowed by Detroit’s Gene Conley over his 7 innings, further cementing Conley’s adaptation from reliever to starter over the season. Buddy Napier gave up an unearned run in the top of the 8th, putting the Red Sox in front, 2-0.

Memphis’ Stubby Overmire was nearly as good: a shutout through 6, a single run in the 7th on an RBI single from Chili Davis, and finally being chased in the 8th after giving up 2 hits and a walk. Overmire’s relief, Tim Wakefield, gave up a sacrifice fly to Hank Greenberg tying the game at 2.

It stayed that way until the top of the 10th, when Memphis’ Claude Ritchey took John Hiller deep. Jonathan Papelbon pitched a perfect inning in the bottom of the frame, fanning Greenberg to end the game.

MEM 3 (Wakefield 6-7, 2 B Sv; Papelbon 13 Sv) @ DET 2 (Hiller 3-3) [10 Innings]
HRs: MEM – Ramírez (15), Ritchey (8); DET – none.
Box Score

Baltimore Black Sox @ Indianapolis ABC’s, Game 3

Baltimore’s pitching is just hard to gain traction against: Connie Johnson, John Wetteland, and the suddenly resurgent Buddy Groom limited Indianapolis to 5 hits, 2 of which were solo homers by the ABC’s Danny Hoffman. Indianapolis got a good start from Willie Mitchell (2 runs in 6.2 innings), but in the end superstars gonna’ superstar: Frank Robinson took Rob Dibble deep in the top of the 9th with a 2-run shot, his 33rd of the year, to provide the winning margin for Baltimore.

BBB 4 (Wetteland 3-0, 2 B Sv; Groom 5 Sv) @ IND 2 (Mullane 1-1)
HRs: Robinson (33); Hoffman 2 (15).
Box Score

And now back to our usual see-saw slugfests.

#Portland Sea Dogs @ Ottawa Mounties, Game 1

The scoring started fairly innocuously: Ottawa’s Tim Raines led off the bottom of the first with a single, was bunted to second, then scored on a Roy Sievers single (helped along by an error).

Portland took the lead in the 3rd on a 2-run shot by Gavvy Cravath, then Ottawa took it back, scoring twice on back-to-back doubles from Rusty Staub and Sievers, giving the Mounties a 3-2 edge. A George Burns double drove in 2, extending it to 5-2 in the bottom of the 4th.

But, Portland roared back: a 2 run single from Jeff Burroughs chased Ottawa’s starter, Kirk Reuter, from the game, and Jim Fregosi drove in 2 more later in the inning, putting the Sea Dogs back on top, 6-5. The lead would reach 9-5 on Cravath’s 2nd homerun of the day and RBI’s from Buddy Bell (a bases loaded walk) and Gil Hodges (a sacrifice fly).

But Ottawa had also caught on to the utility of the long ball: Larry Parrish and Roberto Alomar both went deep in the bottom of the 6th, cutting the gap to 9-8.

Portland added 2 in the following inning via 2 hits and a walk, but Ottawa was unleashed: Sievers scored on an unlikely triple by Gary Carter and a 2-run shot from Carlos Beltrán. Suddenly, we were tied at 11.

Tired of running, Carter ended the game with a walkoff homerun leading off the bottom of the 9th.

Burroughs had 4 hits and he and Cravath drove in 3 each for Portland. Burns had 4 hits for Portland, and Sievers added 3.

POR 11 (Porterfield 3-1; Hammaker 2 B Sv) @ OTT 12 (Holland 6-2)
HRs: POR – Cravath 2 (6); OTT – Parrish (6), Alomar (3), Beltrán (10), Carter (17).
Box Score

#Los Angeles Angels @ Houston Colt 45’s, Game 2

With Harry Howell sailing along on the mound, the Angels had a 3-0 lead heading into the bottom of the 6th, with the key hit being a solo homerun by Mike Trout. Houston scored 1 in the inning, but Tom Seaver and Jonny Venters were excellent in relief of Howell, allowing Los Angeles to send out their closer, Joe Nathan, for the bottom of the 9th.

Nathan was rough: Casey Stengel walked as a pinch-hitter, Tony Gwynn singled, Jim Wynn doubled in a run, and Jeff Bagwell tied the game with a sacrifice fly, sending us to extra innings.

José Reyes drove in a run in the top of the 11th, but Pete Hill singled in Gwynn, who had doubled, in the bottom of the frame to keep the game going. Which it did, until the 14th, when Bagwell was hit by a pitch. HR Johnson pinch-ran, stole second, and scored on a walk-off single by George Brett.

Trout, Gwynn, and Wynn each had 3 hits in the game, which was rough for Houston’s staff, as both Bones Ely and Tug McGraw were forced to leave with injuries. McGraw’s was especially unfortunate, as the young lefthander was on the brink of being named the Colt 45’s closer for the rest of the season.

The game also saw Los Angeles’ Wally Backman get a hit in his first WBL at-bat.

LAA 4 (Vargas 1-2; Seaver 1 H; Venters 15 H; Nathan 8 B Sv; Anderson 2 B Sv) @ HOU 5 (Clemens 4-1) [14 Innings]
HRs: LAA – Trout (17); HOU – none.
Box Score

TWIWBL 40.1: Series XXXII Notes – Bill James Division

By mknn

On June 2, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Detroit Wolverines

Bob Bailey hit the 10 Day DL with a hamstring issue, prompting the Wolverines to reach all the way down to AA to recall Olmedo Sáenz, mostly for his ability to play both infield corner spots.

#Los Angeles Angels

Wally Moon was recalled from a rehab assignment, with Spud Johnson heading back to the minors.

Harry Howell tossed a 5-hit shutout as the Angels beat Miami 5-0. After the 140 pitch, 9 strikeout performance, Howell’s record improves to 5-6 on the season. Bobby Grich was injured in the game, sending him to the DL for at least 2-3 weeks. 22 year old Wally Backman has been tearing up both AA and AAA, and now gets his chance with the big league club.

José Reyes and Steve Garvey had 3 hits each and Mike Trout drove in 4, leading the Angels to an 8-2 win over Miami. Pud Galvin improved to 5-7, allowing 4 hits and 1 earned run over 7 innings.

#New York Gothams

Johan Camargo was promoted to the WBL with Mark Loretta being sent down in an exchange of bench pieces for the Gothams.

Christy Mathewson continued his run of form, becoming the first 15 game winner in the league as he and 3 relievers combined to shutout Indianapolis despite allowing 10 hits. Pete Runnels had 3 hits and Wes Westrum hit a key homerun to give the Gothams the win.

The pitching continued to dominate as Pete Donohue improved to 6-2 with a 3-hit blanking of the ABC’s, walking 2 and fanning 8. Light-hitting Brandon Crawford had 3 hits and Will Clark, George Van Haltren, and Johnny Callison drove in 2 rusn each in the 7-0 victory.

#Wandering House of David

Jack Taylor continues to roll, allowing only 1 run and 5 hits over 7 innings en route to his 14th victory of the season. Taylor lowered his ERA to a league-leading 2.99, and Bruce Sutter picked up his 19th save with a perfect 9th. George Stone hit his 25th homerun in the 8th, giving the House of David the 2-1 victory over Portland. Sutter was hurt in his outing, but looks likely to only be out for a few days.

Pete Browning and Frank Chance had 3 hits each and Ryne Sandberg hit his 20th homerun of the year, leading the House of David to a 6-2 win over Portland. CF Jim Edmonds had 3 kills on the day, throwing out a runner at each base (other than first).

TWIWBL 34.1: Series XXVII Notes – Bill James Division

By mknn

On March 1, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Los Angeles Angels

The Angels have been desperate for starting pitching for a while, behind the hard-throwing duo of Gerrit Cole and Nolan Ryan. In a somewhat desperate move, they sent Chuck Finley, Tom Seaver, and Mike Smith to AAA, bringing back up Harry Howell, Sid Fernandez, and Jason Vargas.

Homeruns from Mike Trout and Carlos Delgado powered the Angels to a 12-1 victory over Kansas City in a game which, perhaps more importantly, both Doc Gooden and Fernandez pitched well.

#Memphis Red Sox

Wade Boggs hit a mammoth homerun to lead off the bottom of the 10th giving the Red Sox a 6-5 win over Portland.

#New York Gothams

The Gothams hit 5 homeruns in a 16-7 rout of San Francisco. Joe Adcock started it with a grandslam, and Jimmy Sheckard, Willie Mays, Eugenio Suárez, and Johnny Callison all going deep as well. Mays and Callison had 4 hits each; Adcock and Callions each drove in 4, and Mays scored 4 times as New York pounded out 21 hits in helping Juan Marichal improve to 9-6.

#Wandering House of David

Dan Ford had 4 hits–2 of which were homeruns–and 5 RBI, leading the House of David to a 9-5 victory over surging Birmingham. Ryne Sandberg also had 4 hits, including his 16th homerun of the year, as Bob Rush threw 7 strong innings moving to 9-5 on the year.

TWIWBL 32.0: Series XXV Notes

By mknn

On February 1, 2023

In TWIWBL

July 19th

For this TWIWBL we’re going to look at two of my favorite emerging plotlines.

Biggest Surprise

Right now, it’s got to be the Birmingham Black Barons. At the end of May, they were 10 games back, a .400 team, and battling Miami for last place in the Marvin Miller Division. Today, they are 7 games over .500, and only 2.5 games behind division-leading Portland. So, what happened?

Birmingham began to turn it around in late May, but their high level of activity at the all-star break has to be mentioned as well. Ultimately, they lost 2 SPs (Dick Rudolph to Chicago and all-star Tim Hudson to San Francisco), a key bullpen piece (Hoyt Wilhelm in the same trade as Rudolph), and two infielders (all-star 2B Tom Herr to the Black Yankees and U Frank Isbell to Brooklyn). They received 10 players and 4 draft picks in return, with only 1B Adrián González making the big leagues immediately.

González’ OPS with the Black Barons has been in the high 600’s, which isn’t great, but is almost 200 points higher than his struggles with Chicago. He is splitting time at 1B with Frank McCormick, and the combo is outperforming Isbell. Hank Aaron is playing more at 2B with Herr gone, allowing Bob Nieman and Curtis Granderson to be joined by a rotating cast of OFers, but overall strengthening the lineup (even if Aaron isn’t exactly good defensively at 2B). Additionally, Eddie Mathews and Pie Traynor are in the lineup most days, with Mathews becoming the primary DH.

It’s worked: the quartet of Granderson, McCormick, Mathews, and Aaron have all come to life, combining for 27 HRs and 103 RBIs since June 1st. All in all, a team that struggled to score at all is now slowly, very slowly, edging away from the bottom of the pack offensively.

But the real success has been on the mound where, quite surprisingly, the loss of Hudson, Rudolph, and Wilhelm hasn’t really been felt. Alejandro Peña has been solid all year, Greg Maddux is finally living up to his hype, and Vic Willis continues to impress in the rotation. Closer Juan Ríncón has 17 saves despite starting the season buried in the bullpen, and the trio of Bruce Chen, Harley Young, and Steve Bedrosian have been fantastic in getting the ball to Rincón.

Rincón got his 2nd, 3rd, and 4th save of the season in consecutive games in late May, about the same time Bedrosian and Willis joined the big league club, with Chen being recalled from AAA in late June.

Look, the Black Barons are still a longshot to make the playoffs–but just being in the conversation has been an unlikely triumph for Birmingham. And it’s not all luck: yes, they are outperforming their Pythagorean projection by 2 wins, but that would still leave them above .500 even if they weren’t.

Second Biggest Surprise

The New York Black Yankees were supposed to run away and hide atop the Effa Manley Division. But the Cleveland Spiders have other ideas, and currently sit 3.5 games above New York in the standings, with the second best record in baseball.

Cy Young and Pat Malone have led the rotation all year, with ERA’s right around 4.00 and excellent peripheral numbers, and the bullpen trio of Chuck Porter, Cory Gearrin, and Ron Reed (who has continued to excel since being acquired from Philadelphia) have been able to consistently get the ball to Terry Adams in good situations. Adams has delivered with 23 saves, despite an 0-5 record.

Offensively, Ron Blomberg is in the argument for the MVP, slashing 334/402/638 with 28 homeruns and 76 RBIs, but the key to the team may have been finding a way to get John Ellis in the lineup almost every day, as the C/1B/DH has an OPS over .900, ranking second to Blomberg in most offensive stats. Add in a great season from Louis Santop behind the plate, solid contributions from Jake Stahl, Chuck Knoblauch, and Johnny Bates and the surprising turnaround from midseason acquisition Lance Berkman (whose OPS is over 300 points above where it was for Houston), and the Spiders have a dangerous lineup, top to bottom.

Can they hold off the Black Yankees? If New York’s bullpen continues to be absolutely porous, yes, yes they can. Will they? That’s another question entirely.

Performance

Awards

I feel like I’ve missed these for a little while, so I’m going to list the last few Players of the Week as well as June’s Players of the Month.

Player of the Month

In an unusual occurence for a reliever, Willie Mitchell of the Indianapolis ABC’s was the Pitcher of the Month for June. Mitchell was 4-0 with a 0.95 ERA out of the bullpen, prompting him to be added to the ABC’s rotation.

The Los Angeles Angels‘ Mike Trout took the Batter of the Month award, by hitting .381 for June. Trout is still looking to add some power to his results, but it moved him firmly into the conversation of elite hitters in the game.

Player of the Week

Willie Stargell of the Homestead Grays was the PotW for the week ending 7/17, hitting .565 with 3 HRs and 9RBIs in the span.

Babe Ruth has recovered from a mini-slump with a vengeance, taking home the PotW award for the week ending 7/10, hitting .500 with 3 homeruns and 12 RBI’s.

Before Ruth, the award went to Brooklyn’s Beals Becker, who raised his season average to a cool .300 with a .478, 3 HR showing during the week.

Batters

Top 2 in all categories, with the WBL leader in bold.

It’s been the Babe Ruth show since Reggie Jackson‘s triple crown run fell apart, but we’re seeing some others, most notably Kansas City‘s Stan Musial, edge into the MVP discussion.

Dick Allen (CAG). 307/375/553. 10 3B.
Johnny Bench (IND). 295/411/564. 4.4 WAR.
Ron Blomberg (CLE). 334/402/638. 28 HR.
Rico Carty (PHI). 287/360/461. 34 2B.
Ty Cobb (DET). 350/392/559. 124 H.
Mike Epstein (HOM). 332/432/535.
Mike Fiore (CAG). 249/405/415. 70 BB.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 252/388/341. 74 BB; 69 SB.
Kent Hrbek (POR). 309/379/591. 28 HR.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 340/422/593. 76 R.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 327/439/587.
Stan Musial (KCM). 340/396/602. 129 H; 36 2B.
Doug Rader (LAA). 324/382/532. 94 RBI.
Tim Raines (OTT). 290/365/433. 71 SB.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 313/421/643. 30 HR; 91 RBI; 80 R; 5.3 WAR.
Louis Santop (CLE). 312/344/470. 10 3B.

Pitchers

Starters

Top 3 in each category, with the league leader in bold. No fewer than nine hurlers have 10 victories each, so only the top two in wins–Cole and Mathewson–are listed.

Bill Byrd (BAL). 10-2, 3.12. 1.18 WHIP.
Gerrit Cole (LAA). 12-4, 4.10.
Don Drysedale (BRK). 6-3, 3.49. 1 H; 1.17 WHIP.
Ned Garvin (BAL). 9-3, 2.66. 2 H; 1.15 WHIP.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 10-6, 3.72. 150 Ks.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 5-8, 3.99. 144 Ks; 3.4 WAR.
Walter Johnson (POR). 9-3, 3.54. 3.3 WAR.
Frank Knauss (BRK). 10-4, 3.19. 1 Sv.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 11-6, 3.78. 123 Ks.
Alejandro Peña (BBB). 8-6, 3.65. 3.6 WAR.

Relievers

Detroit‘s Mike Henneman has finally passed the injured Johan Santana for the league lead in saves.

22 IP for rate stats; top 2, leader in bold.

Terry Adams (CLE). 0-5, 3.48. 23 Sv; 1 H.
Watty Clark (BRK). 3-1, 1.20. 17 Sv.
Mike Henneman (DET). 1-4, 3.41. 25 Sv.
AJ Minter (CAG). 1-0, 2.22. 18 Sv, 0.86 WHIP.
Chuck Porter (CLE). 4-3, 2.04. 1 Sv; 10 H; 0.86 WHIP.
Ron Reed (PHI/CLE). 0-3, 2.59. 3 Sv; 16 H.
Ron Robinson (SFS). 4-2, 3.35. 13 H.
Johan Santana (POR). 1-1, 2.78. 23 Sv; 1 H.
Jonny Venters (LAA). 3-3, 3.35. 5 Sv; 13 H.
Brian Wilson (SFS). 1-0, 1.15. 20 Sv.

Streaks

Beals Becker‘s on-bas streak ended at 32 games, but Boog Powell‘s is still alive at 29 and counting. Other active streaks of note include Brian Wilson‘s 18 consecutive saves and Bill Byrd‘s 14 starts without a loss, as well as Harley Young‘s 12 scoreless innings in relief.

Series Results

Series XXV Sweeps

Birmingham over Indianapolis

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XXV

Chicago over Philadelphia
House of David over Cleveland
Kansas City over New York Black Yankees
San Francisco over Portland

Series XXV Splits

Houston Colt 45’s @ Baltimore Black Sox
Miami Cuban Giants @ Brooklyn
Detroit Wolverines @ New York Gothams
Homestead @ Memphis Red Sox
Ottawa Mounties @ Los Angeles

Series XXV Best Games

By mknn

On January 25, 2023

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

Some very nice see-saw rides in series XXV.

San Francisco Sea Lions @ Portland Sea Dogs, Game 4

The conclusion of the clash of the sea creatures did not disappoint …

The Sea Lions scored in the first in typical fashion: Rickey Henderson bunted for a base hit, stole 2nd, moved to 3rd on a single by Bobby Bonds, and scored on a sacrifice fly from Pedro Guerrero. The 1-0 lead held until the bottom of the fifth, when Rogers Hornsby scored Kent Hrbek with a double into the gap.

Guerrero scored Bonds for a 2-1 lead, but it was short-lived, as a Bobby Murcer triple scored Harry Hooper and Iván Rodríguez, putting Portland up, 3-2. Portland looked in good shape at that point, good enough that Gary Pettis replaced Murcer in CF for better defense. Well, perhaps not only defense: after a horrid start to the year, Pettis has pushed his average well over .300.

San Francisco would tie the game in the top of the 9th in a decidedly unexpected way. With one out, John Beckwith, who is barely retaining his spot on the roster, pinch hit for Jimmy Bloodworth and singled. Phil Garner pinch ran for Beckwith and, after a walk to Sal Bando, light-hitting Miguel Cairo, forced to remain in the game for defensive purposes, doubled home the tying run off Portland’s Elmer Brown.

And there it stayed, until the 15th inning. San Francisco had turned the game over to Charlie Root, Portland to José Muñoz, and each were excellent. Mickey Cochrane–much maligned and in danger of losing his job–singled to lead off the 15th. Portland had nobody on the bench to pinch-run–or catch in the bottom of the frame–so Cochrane stayed in the game, moving to 2nd on a wild pitch by Muñoz and to third on a groundout. He scored on a single from Garner, and Root closed it out.

SFS 4 (Root 5-4) @ POR 3 (Muñoz 3-5; Brown 1 BSv; Cuellar 8 H) [15 Innings]
HRs: none.
Box Score

Homestead Grays @ Memphis Red Sox, Game 1

Willie Stargell led off the top of the 2nd with a solo homerun to kick off the scoring and while a 2-RBI double from Billy Bryan put Memphis ahead briefly, Stargell would do the same in the 4th, leading off with a homerun which, combined with an RBI groundout from Arky Vaughan that scored Chief Wilson, tied the game at 3. The teams would trade runs until, in th ebottom of the 5th, Ted Williams sent one deep to put Memphis up by 2, 6-4.

And then the Grays exploded, with a bases-clearing double from Stargell and a 2-run shot from Wilson putting Homestead up, 10-6. Each team would add a run, and Homestead would head to the bottom of the 9th, up 11-7. Should be safe, right? Especially with their closer, Michael Jackson, on the mound.

Wade Boggs doubled to start the inning, Williams walked, and Bill White doubled, scoring Boggs. Josh Lindblom promptly uncorked a wild pitch, scoring Williams and, when David Justice reached on an error from Homestead’s CF, Andrew McCutcheon, scoring White, the score was 11-10 with no outs. Manny Ramírez singled, but a fantastic throw from Rick Reichardt nailed Justice at the plate. Lindblom retired Bryan and Reggie Smith on flyouts, and the Grays squeaked through with a game that looked well in hand.

Boggs, Stargell, and Wilson each had 4 hits, with Pops driving in 5 and scoring 4.

HOM 11 (Pierce 1-2; Giusti 1 H) @ MEM 10 (Gibson 0-1; Callahan 1 BSv)
HRs: HOM – Stargell 2 (18), Wilson (8); MEM – Williams (19)
Box Score

Kansas City Monarchs @ New York Black Yankees, Game 2

New York’s Ron Guidry keeps putting in good performances to little results: in this one, he went 7 innings, giving up only 1 run. He was matched by a trio of Monarchs’ arms as Smokey Joe Wood (injured in the 4th), Joe Blong, and Trevor Rosenthal combined to also allow 1 run through 7.

And then the bullpens collapsed–expected for the Black Yankees, but a surprise for Kansas City. First, New York’s Goose Gossage and Gary Lavelle combine to give up 3 runs in the top of the 8th, with the key hits being 2-out RBI’s from Stan Musial and Ducky Medwick. But Craig Kimbrel was equally weak for the Monarchs, giving up back-to-back doubles to Eric Davis and Thurman Munson to start the frame, and a 2-run homerun to Don Mattingly to give the Black Yankees a 5-4 lead.

But no lead is safe for New York: Lavelle gave up a single, a walk, and an error to tie the game, and Ralph Citarella gave up a go-ahead single to Albert Pujols. Kansas City’s Jeff Pfeffer had no such struggles, picking up his 12th save in closing the game out.

KCM 6 (Kimbrel 3-2, 2 BSv; Pfeffer 12 Sv) @ NYY 5 (Lavelle 0-3)
HRs: KCM – none; NYY – Mattingly (20).
Box Score

Ottawa Mounties @ Los Angeles Angels, Game 3

A successful suicide squeeze from Jim Stephens scored Anthony Rendon for Ottawa, tying the game at 1 in the top of the 4th. In the next inning, Rendon would single in a run before Larry Parrish went deep with a 3-run blast to put the Mounties up, 5-1. The Angels would roar back, taking a 7-5 lead behind RBI hits from Don Buford, Bobby Grich, Mike Trout, and Carlos Delgado.

But Ottawa doesn’t fold as easily as they did earlier in the season, with George Van Haltren sending Francisco Rodríguez‘ 4th pitch of the ballgame into the bleachers for a 3-run homerun, putting the Mounties back on top, 8-7. Ted Bowsfield, Steve Howe, and Ryan Dempster closed the game out with 3.1 hitless innings.

OTT 8 (Bowsfield 5-2; Dempster 4 Sv; Dubiel 2 BSv; Howe 4 H) @ LAA 7 (Rodríguez 3-2, 1 BSv)
HRs: OTT – Parrish (2), Van Haltren (2); LAA – none.
Box Score

Miami Cuban Giants @ Brooklyn Royal Giants, Game 4

Brooklyn’s Frank Knauss has been great all year. Miami’s Roenis Eliás less so. But they matched frame for frame in this one, each tossing 7.1 IP while allowing only 3 hits and 1 run. The game remained tied at 1 into the 10th, when Miami’s closer Aroldis Chapman was left in to pitch a second inning. He gave up a walk to Art Griggs, a single to Duke Farrell, and a walk to Al López. That brought José Méndez in from the pen for the Cuban Giants … who promptly gave up a walkoff, grand slam shot to Beals Becker.

MCG 1 (Chapman 4-3) @ BRG 5 (Gagne 4-4) [10 Innings]
HRs: MCG – Canseco (24); BRG – Becker (16).
Box Score

Series XXIV Best Games

By mknn

On January 11, 2023

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

The theme this time out is surprising bullpen collapses, as a range of usually dependable closers struggled to hold on to victories.

New York Black Yankees @ Homestead Grays, Game 2.

As the game began, the Black Yankees were encouraged by Ron Guidry‘s return to form, allowing only 3 hits–although 2 runs–in 5 innings of work. But Homestead‘s Stan Bahnsen was almost as good, settling down after giving up Mickey Mantle‘s 16th homerun of the year in the first inning. Bahnsen was chased from the game in the 6th, as consecutive singles from Mantle, Lou Gehrig, and Eric Davis put the Black Yankees up by 1. An inning later, a sacrifice fly by Don Mattingly made it 4-2, with the Black Yankees looking safe to take their expected victory … but then New York’s weakness showed up big time, as Sparky Lyle imploded in the 8th, giving up 2 run single to Pops Stargell (his 3rd hit of the day) to tie the game. Ralph Citarella pitched OK, but was saddled with the loss when midseason acquisition Gary Lavelle–sporting a gaudy 9.39 ERA since joining New York–gave up the game-winning single to Mike Epstein for a 5-4 win for the Grays.

NYY 4 (Citarella 2-5; Moyer 2 H; Lyle 4 B Sv) @ HOM 5 (Lindblom 2-4) [10 Innings]
HRs: NYY – Mantle (16).
Box Score

Los Angeles Angels @ Wandering House of David, Game 3

Tom Seaver had been rocked in his first few appearances, but here the 22 year old showed some of his promise, allowing 2 runs in the first and nothing thereafter over 5-plus innings. Doug Rader drove in 2 with a homerun in the 3rd and another with a single in the 5th as the Angels held a 4-2 lead. Solid relief work from Jonny Venters and Pud Galvin took the game to Los Angeles’ closer, Joe Nathan, who got 2 quick outs before a single from Richie Hebner setup a 2 run, game-tying homerun from Jim Edmonds. Hebner would win the game for the House of David in the bottom of the 11th with a solo shot, his 9th of the season. Mike Trout had 3 hits in the Angels’ losing effort.

LAA 4 (Rodríguez 3-1; Nathan 7 B Sv; Galvin 2 H; Venters 13 H) @ HOD 5 (Rommel 2-0) [11 Innings]
HRs: LAA – Rader (14); HOD – Edmonds (3), Hebner (9).
Box Score

New York Gothams @ Houston Colt 45’s, Game 4

This one was a great pitching duel with the Gotham‘s Christy Mathewson and Houston‘s Stephen Strasburg matching arms through 6 innings. Before leaving with an injury, Strasburg’s only blemish was a solo homerun by Willie Mays in the 1st inning while Matty sailed along until the bottom of the 5th when Houston picked up 2 runs, one on a Craig Biggio double, the other an RBI groundout from HR Johnson. The Colt 45’s 2-1 lead held until the top of the 9th, when their closer, Billy Wagner, came in the game. Wagner gave up a 2-out double to Eugenio Suárez, scoring Yasiel Puig and tying the game. New York’s Mike Norris–fantastic all season–was asked to stretch beyond his usual single inning, allowing a leadoff triple to Johnson in the bottom of the 10th. After 2 intentional walks to load the bases, Norris gave up a single to George Brett (his 3rd hit of the day), winning the game for Houston. Jimmy Sheckard had 4 hits for New York in the contest.

NYG 2 (Norris 3-2) @ HOU 3 (Ely 1-0; Wagner 5 B Sv; Hoffman 5 H) [10 Innings]
HRs: NYG – Mays (16).
Box Score

Chicago American Giants @ Detroit Wolverines, Game 3

Eddie Collins and Shoeless Joe Jackson each had 3 hits for Chicago, with Jackson hitting his 21st long ball of the year, but it wasn’t enough as Detroit used Oscar Gamble‘s 21st dinger to stay in the game, winning it in the bottom of the 9th on a wild pitch from the usually reliable Hoyt Wilhelm.

CAG 4 (Wilhelm 2-2) @ DET 5 (Hart 3-3; Hiller 1 B Sv)
HRs: CAG – Jackson (21); DET – Gamble (21).
Box Score

TWIWBL 30.1: Series XXIII Notes – Bill James Division

By mknn

On December 13, 2022

In TWIWBL

#Detroit Wolverines

3 hits from Ty Cobb, including his 11th homerun of the year, led Detroit to a 4-0 win over Portland. Johnny Marcum and Mike Henneman combined on the 6-hit shutout, with Marcum moving to 8-2 on the year.

Another combined shutout would close out the series as Gene Conley continued his dominance, moving to 10-2 on the year with 7 strong innings. Buddy Napier and John Hiller helped to close out the 7-0 victory. Bill Carrigan had 3 hits and drove in 3 for the Wolverines and Robby Thompson added his 2nd homerun of the year.

#Los Angeles Angels

Anthony Young was sent to AAA, with Mike Smith being recalled for a start.

The Angels trailed 2-0 late, but a Mike Trout homerun in the 8th and George Wright‘s 12th of the year in the top of the 9th sent LA past the House of David 3-2. Pud Galvin got the win in a game that saw another impressive start–6 shutout innings–from Nolan Ryan.

#Memphis Red Sox

Francisco Lindor‘s first career homerun was one to remember: a walkoff blast in the bottom of the 11th, giving Memphis a 6-5 victory over the House of David. Wade Boggs had 3 hits for the Red Sox, including the game-tying single in the bottom of the 9th. Norwood Gibson and Heath Bell combined for 5 innings of scoreless relief, with Bell improving to 7-3 on the year.

#New York Gothams

Pete Donohue moved to 4-0 on the year with just over 7 scoreless innings in a 3-1 win over Houston. Mike Norris picked up his 10th hold and Brian Wilson closed with his 17th save despite giving up a run in the 9th. Buster Posey and Eugenio Suárez had 3 hits each for New York.

#Wandering House of David

The House of David has finally given up on Rollie Fingers for a while, sending the reliever to AAA and recalling Kerry Wood to the WBL for a debut start. In a somewhat surprising move, 27 year old Mark Grace was waived to make room for Wood. Grace, essentially the starting 1B for most of the season, managed only a 236/312/339 slash line. Fred Lynn was sent to AAA, with Jim Edmonds returning to the House of David, presumably because of his ability to also fill in at 1B behind the new starter, Anthony Rizzo.

Early returns were positive: Wood threw a strong 6 innings, with the starter he replaced–Bob Rush–adding a scoreless final 3 for his first save of the year and Rizzo hit his 6th homerun (in 32 ABs) of the season in a 7-2 win for the House of David.

Phil Regan was waived, with Eddie Rommel being recalled for an emergency start, which went fantastically: Rommel allowed 4 hits and no earned runs in 6 innings in a 12 to 2 drubbing of Memphis. Dan Ford and Ron Santo each had 3 hits including a homerun with Santo driving in 4 on the day.

TWIWBL 30.0: Series XXIII Notes

By mknn

On December 12, 2022

In TWIWBL

July 10th

Looking Back at the All Star Trades

We’re a month(ish) on from the all-star break, seemed a good time to look back at the trades and see how they are working out in the early days.

Boom Shaka Laka

The Los Angeles Angels and the Ottawa Mounties swapped 8 players, with early returns making the Angels–by far–the winner in the exchange as veteran 1B Carlos Delgado is slashing 344/400/547 since the trade, providing what may be the final piece to the Angels’ puzzle. While Rusty Staub has done OK for Ottawa, none of the rest of the pieces have shown much at all. Wally Moon, who the Angels picked up from San Francisco, has been impressive as well, slashing 354/458/458 since the break. Two of the pieces the Angels gave up for Moon–C Brian Downing and P Dave LaRoche–have done well for San Francisco (Downing at AAA, LaRoche with the Sea Lions themselves), so this deal may work out for both sides.

Encouraging

The New York Gothams gave up a haul for Don Sutton, and so far it looks OK: Sutton looks to join the Gothams’ rotation shortly, posting a 2.70 ERA in 8 relief appearances. For Brooklyn, two of the prospects received are doing quite well: OF Don Mueller is slashing 387/395/653 and P Lew Krausse, Jr. has started his career with his new organization with some strong outings on the mound.

All-Star Ron Reed has just continued his strong year having moved from Philadelphia to Cleveland, with an ERA of 0.75 over his first half-dozen games with the Spiders. Even more importantly for Cleveland’s playoff push, OF Lance Berkman looks to have blossomed with the change in scenery, slashing 276/417/500 with 4 HRs since coming over from Houston–a jump of of over 200 points to his OPS. The Spiders gave up 7 players across those 2 deals, none of which have earned significant playing time with their new clubs, although both Jap Payne (sent to Philadelphia) and Harry Stovey (to Houston as part of the Berkman deal) have hit well in limited appearances).

The Chicago American Giants brought in 4 pitchers, with encouraging returns from Dick Rudolph (acquired from Miami) and Hoyt Wilhelm (from Birmingham). The best prospect the American Giants gave up–Minnie Miñoso to the Cuban Giants–has been injured, so the jury is still out on this deal in general, but it looks alright so far, even if Don Newcombe has struggled mightily, and may have been overvalued at the trade deadline. Perhaps as importantly, the American Giants seem to have solved their SS question, as all-star Freddy Parent has continued his strong form since joining them from Ottawa.

Birmingham’s fire sale went well. We’ll cover some of those below, but both Curt Flood and Manny Trillo–picked up in the trade of Frank Isbell (who has been alright) to Brooklyn–are both tearing up AAA.

Meh

The Baltimore Black Sox have to be pleased with Manny Machado‘s performance so far, as he’s slotted quite comfortably as their everyday 3B. But the Miami Cuban Giants can’t really complain, as they aren’t going to compete for a while and Joe Dugan is tearing up AAA while Chris Hoiles has established himself as a C at the big league level. The Black Sox also brought in Joe Beggs from Memphis to solidify the end of their bullpen. Results have been mixed so far.

Memphis’ fan base was quite critical of a few of their moves, and Roger Clemens‘ short-term success in Houston has only increased their fury. But Stubby Overmire has added some depth to their staff and perhaps more importantly, 2B DJ LeMahieu and P Jim Kaat look to be strong prospects for Memphis’ future.

Disappointing

Portland hoped picking up Rogers Hornsby from Kansas City would spark their offense for a playoff push, and while he’s better than Greg Litton, his .648 OPS is actually pretty Littonish, and a far cry from his .853 mark over the first half of the season.

Tim Hudson was supposed to solidify San Francisco’s rotation, but was roughed up in his first few starts. While he’s shown signs of coming around, the 36 year old is only 1-3 with an ERA north of 5 since his move to the Left Coast. Rube Melton, one of the pieces the Sea Lions gave up for Hudson, has excelled at AAA for Birmingham, and looks to be a nice pickup for the Black Barons.

Another one who took a bit to find his footing, Tom Herr, is finally showing some life for the New York Black Yankees. Still, a 228/267/298 slash is not what the New York faithful had hoped to see from their All-Star acquisition. The Black Yankees’ other significant acquisitions–Jamie Moyer and Gary Lavelle–have struggled as well, although Lavelle has been installed as their closer, which is more a comment on the other options than a compliment to him. Several of the prospects they gave up–Bill Buckner and Charlie Keller for Birmingham and Dick Bartell and Sam Thompson for Ottawa–are performing very well for their new organizations, so these trades may come back to haunt New York.

Performance

As usual, top 2 performers in all categories, with the WBL leader in bold.

Batters

Reggie Jackson‘s triple crown hunt is back on! And Babe Ruth‘s dominance just continues unabated.

Dick Allen (CAG). 298/368/550. 9 3B.
Ron Blomberg (CLE). 335/410/646. 1.056 OPS. 26 HR.
Rico Carty (PHI). 295/362/480. 34 2B.
Ty Cobb (DET). 336/379/533.
Eric Davis (NYY). 277/337/528. 4.1 WAR.
Mike Epstein (HOM). 336/441/539.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 253/389/342. 67 BB, 64SB.
Kent Hrbek (POR). 301/370/582. 26 HR.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 337/449/610. 1.059 OPS.
Willie Mays (NYG). 316/373/523. 112 H.
Stan Musial (KCM). 331/390/585. 115 H, 31 2B.
Doug Rader (LAA). 316/373/523. 112 H, 88 RBI.
Tim Raines (OTT). 298/373/454. 66 SB.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 314/424/656. 1.080 OPS. 29 HR, 88 RBI, 73 R, 66 BB, 5.0 WAR.
Mike Trout (LAA). 318/390/455. 112 H.

Pitchers

It’s just all over the place, once you move past the dominant performances by Ned Garvin (BAL) and Gerrit Cole (LAA).

Starters

Bill Byrd (BAL). 9-2, 3.29.
Gerrit Cole (LAA). 12-3, 3.66. 128 IP.
Gene Conley (CLE). 10-2, 3.17.
Ned Garvin (BAL). 8-3, 2.64. 1.14 WHIP.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 9-6, 3.84. 135 K.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 5-8, 4.15. 135 K.
Waite Hoyt (NYY). 8-2, 3.29. 1.15 WHIP.
Walter Johnson (POR). 8-3, 3.60. 3.2 WAR.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 10-6, 3.96.
Alejandro Peña (BBB). 8-6, 3.77. 3.5 WAR.
Red Ruffing (NYY). 10-4, 3.55.
Cy Young (CLE). 8-4, 3.84. 129 IP.

Relievers

20 IP minimum for rate stats.

Watty Clark (BRK). 3-1, 1.23. 17 Sv.
Mike Henneman (DET). 1-4, 3.67. 23 Sv.
Ken Howell (SFS). 3-3, 1.14. 3 Sv, 7 H.
AJ Minter (CAG). 1-0, 2.08. 16 Sv, 0.88 WHIP.
Ron Reed (CLE). 0-2, 2.26. 3 Sv, 16 H.
Ron Robinson (SFS). 4-2, 3.58. 12 H.
Johan Santana (POR). 1-1, 2.78. 23 Sv.
Jonny Venters (LAA). 3-3, 3.24. 4 Sv, 12 H.
Billy Wagner (HOU). 0-2, 3.63. 11 Sv, 2 H, 0.90 WHIP.

Streaks

Not a lot of interesting active streaks. Brooklyn’s Beals Becker–who has the league record for consecutive games with a HR with 5–has a 25 game streak of getting on base. It’s no Thurman Munson, but it’s something. Becker is slashing 382/432/853 over his last 10 games. Gary Pettis, once considered a liability at the plate, is slashing 600/667/1050 over his last 15 games (because of Pettis’ utility as a defensive replacement, those 15 games cover only 24 ABs).

Christy Mathewson (NYG) hasn’t allowed a hit in over 8 innings.

Baltimore’s entire staff is on fire: Bill Byrd, Ned Garvin, Sean Marshall, Mike Mussina, and Jim Palmer are all on hot streaks on the mound. The most impressive is Byrd, who has a 1.07 WHIP and 2.38 ERA over his last 10 games.

Series Results

Series XXIII Sweeps

Cleveland over Indianapolis

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XXIII

Baltimore over Brooklyn
Birmingham over Los Angeles
Houston over Chicago
Detroit over Portland
Kansas City over Philadelphia
New York Black Yankees over Ottawa

Splitting Series XXIII

Homestead @ San Francisco
House of David @ Memphis
Miami @ New York Gothams

Series XXIII: Featured Matchup – Birmingham Black Barons @ Los Angeles Angels

By mknn

On December 10, 2022

In Featured Series, Game Recaps

Series preview here.

#Game 1: Vic Willis @ Mike Smith

Mike Smith was recalled from AAA to make this start for Los Angeles, and he’ll face the impressive Vic Willis, who is 1-1 with a 2.09 ERA for Birmingham early in his WBL career.

Smith gave up a solo shot to Frank McCormick in the 2nd, and a 3-run blast to Eddie Mathews in the 3rd, as Birmingham moved in front, 4-0. But that was all Smith allowed through 5, which has to be considered a solid outing for the rookie.

Willis sailed along until Don Buford took him deep for a 3-run shot in the bottom of the 5th, closing the gap to 4-3. Bobby Grich tripled in Carlos Delgado in the next inning, tying the game, but Willis got 1 out, and was relieved by Warren Spahn, who got out of the inning without letting Grich in from 3rd.

After an error by José Reyes prolonged the inning, Birmingham took the lead on a bases-loaded double from Billy Southworth and an RBI dink into short right from Bob Nieman. That made the score 8-4 heading into the bottom of the 8th.

A strike-em-out-throw-em-out double-play helped Juan Ríncón earn his 14th save to preserve the victory.

Southworth had 3 hits for the Black Barons and Ron Hassey the same for Los Angeles.

BBB 8 (Spahn 4-6; Rincón 14 Sv) @ LAA 5 (Anderson 1-1)
HRs: BBB – McCormick (10), Matthews (13); LAA – Buford (8)
Box Score

#Game 2: Sam Streeter @ Chuck Finley

Chuck Finley was rested enough to start game 2 for Los Angeles, opposed by Birmingham’s Sam Streeter.

Finley might wish he waited another day: 2 walks and an infield hit setup Pie Traynor for a grandslam homerun in the top of the 1st for an early 4-0 lead for the Black Barons. Doug Rader got back 2 in the bottom of the frame with an RBI double, halving the lead to 4-2.

Traynor would double and score on a hit by Frank McCormick, who scored on an RBI single by Eddie Mathews, restoring the 4 run advantage for Birmingham. Finley wouldn’t get out of the inning, giving way to Pud Galvin before seeing the score grow to 8-2.

Streeter would go 6, giving up a couple more runs , and Birmingham would score a couple more, but the game never got closer. Traynor had 4 RBIs and McCormick 3 hits, while Rader went 3-for-3 in a losing effort.

BBB 10 (Streeter 5-4) @ LAA 4 (Finley 4-5)
HRs: BBB – Traynor (3).
Box Score

#Game 3: Greg Maddux @ Nolan Ryan

This one features two of the hottest arms in the league, as Greg Maddux has been sensational for Birmingham over his past few starts and, after a rocky start to the season, Los Angeles’ Nolan Ryan has emerged as a key member of their rotation.

LA took the early lead in the bottom of the 2nd: Doug Rader and Carlos Delgado doubled and Delgado eventually scored on a sacrifice fly from Wally Moon, making it 2-0. A solo homerun from Adrián González clawed back one run for Birmingham in the top of the 3rd, and Rader would single home Don Buford in the bottom of the frame, making it 3-1 in favor of the Angels.

And … that was it.

Ryan only allowed 3 hits in his 7 innings of work, and Jonny Venters and Joe Nathan each added a scoreless inning in relief.

BBB 1 (Maddux 2-3) @ LAA 3 (Ryan 4-3; Nathan 15 Sv; Venters 11 H)
HRs: BBB – González (4).
Box Score

#Game 4: Alejandro Pena @ Doc Gooden

LA would turn to Doc Gooden trying to even out the series while the Black Barons would ask their most dependable starter over the course of the year, Alejandro Peña to give them a series win.

Gooden allowed 3 runners on base in the top of the 1st, but a double play and a key whiff of Eddie Mathews let him get out of the inning unscathed. Peña’s first inning was similar: a walk, a hit, an error, and 2 stolen bases, but a great throw by Curtis Granderson to nail Don Buford at home kept the game scoreless.

There wouldn’t be another hit in the game until Herman Long doubled in the top of the 5th. He would try to score on a single by Earl Battey, but a strong throw by Mike Trout would cut him down at the plate, preserving the scoreless tie.

LA would score in the bottom of the 5th on a double from José Reyes, scoring George Wright. Reyes would come home on a two-bagger from Buford, doubling the lead to 2-0.

Long would double in the top of the 7th, and when Battey again singled, this time was able to beat the throw, cutting the lead to 2-1 and chasing Gooden from the game. Jonny Venters would walk Adrián González (pinch-hitting for Omar Infante), but get Billy Southworth on a weak groundout to end the inning.

Kent Mercker would give up a run in the bottom of the frame on an RBI single to Buford, once again giving LA a 2-run advantage at 3-1.

With Angels closer Joe Nathan once again in the game, Hank Aaron would deliver a 2-run double, closing the gap to 3-2. Aaron would score on a 2-out single by Troy Tulowitzki to tie the game. Birmingham brought in Pie Traynor to play 3B, surrendering the DH for the rest of the game.

Despite a couple baserunners, the Angels were unable to push the winning run across, and we were off to extra innings.

In the top of the 1oth, Kal Daniels–perhaps unused to playing RF instead of his usual LF–overthrew the cutoff man on a hit from Bob Nieman, allowing Granderson to come all the way around to score, putting Birmingham ahead, 4-3.

Granderson would end the game, gunning down Carlos Delgado at 3B, his second OF kill of the day.

Nieman finished with 3 hits for Birmingham.

BBB 4 (Rincón 1-2; Spahn 1 Sv) @ LAA 3 (Anderson 1-2; Venters 12 H; Rodríguez 8 H; Nathan 6 BSv) [10 Innings]
HRs: none.
Box Score

#Series Review

This was dominated by the pitching. For Birmingham, Bob Nieman continued his hot streak, finishing the series 7-for-14, and Hank Aaron added 5 hits. The Angels were led by Doug Rader‘s 6 hits, without much else going on offensively.

TWIWBL 29.1: Series XXII Notes – Bill James Division

By mknn

On August 10, 2022

In TWIWBL

#Detroit Wolverines

4 hits from Bob Bailey led the way as Detroit trounced Kansas City 10-4. Hank Greenberg drove in 3 runs and Justin Verlander earned the win with 3 innings of scoreless relief.

#Los Angeles Angels

Tom Seaver‘s WBL debut did not go as planned as the much-heralded 22 year old allowed 6 runs in just over 2 innings. But Nolan Ryan followed with near perfection, allowing only 2 hits the rest of the way and earning the win as the Angels scored 9 runs in the 6th en route to a 15-6 rout of Indianapolis. Elmer Valo had 4 hits, Carlos Delgado 3, and George Wright and Doug Rader drove in 3 each.

Gerrit Cole just keeps rolling: the WBL leader in victories improved to 12-3 on the year with a 4-hit shutout of Indianapolis (Denis Menke had 3 of the ABC’s 4 hits). Delgado–sporting an OPS well over 1.000 since he moved to Los Angeles–had 3 hits and 4 RBIs and Don Buford and Mike Trout also contributed 3 hits.

#New York Gothams

Behind a great start from Gaylord Perry (7 innings, 1 run), the Gothams topped Baltimore 4-1. Johnny Callison and Cookie Rojas combined for 5 hits and Robb Nen picked up his 7th save with 2 scoreless innings to close out the game.

#Wandering House of David

Five House of David pitchers combined on a 5-hit shutout, using a 1st inning homerun by Elrod Hendricks to beat the Black Yankees 2-0. Bob Rush allowed 3 hits in over 6 innings for the win, moving to 7-5 on the season, and Rollie Fingers, Scott Downs, Lee Smith, and Bruce Sutter combined for 2.1 innings of hitless relief with Sutter picking up his 12th save.