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Season Review: San Francisco Sea Lions

By

On December 15, 2023

In Season Reviews, Team News

72 - 82, .467 pct.
4th in Marvin Miller Division, 12.5 games behind.

Overall

What a disappointing season. There is talent here, they were in the mix at the all-star break, and then just totally collapsed throughout all of July. Much more is expected in Year II.

What Went Right

Reggie Jackson was an elite offensive force, finishing the year with an OPS over 1.000 and while there was a gap between him and the Sea Lions’ next best hitters, Bobby Bonds, Pedro Guerrero, and Rickey Henderson all look like they are set for quite some time.

Similarly, the top end of the rotation–Eddie Plank and Lefty Grove–look quite good, and both Nick Altrock and Bump Hadley impressed in limited starts. Ken Howell, Ron Robinson, and Rod Beck were excellent at the back of the bullpen.

ALL STARS
RP Rod Beck; P Lefty Grove; OF Rickey Henderson; RP Ken Howell; OF Reggie Jackson, P Charlie Root

What Went Wrong

The MI was never really settled. Jimmy Bloodworth was fine at 2B, Dick Lundy spent as much time injured as showing flashes of potential, and the SS job was eventually claimed by Roy Hartzell.

Gene Oliver ended up the primary backstop, which speaks to just how much Mickey Cochrane and Brian Downing struggled. John Beckwith couldn’t stick with the big league club, but at 18 he can be forgiven.

Tim Hudson imploded after being acquired from Birmingham, although he recovered a bit towards the end of the season. Nobody else really stepped up on the mound, with Dennis Eckersley and Dave LaRoche being especially disappointing.

Trade Evaluations

March

OF Pete Browning, P Rollie Fingers, SS Bert Campaneris, P Eddie Rommel & IF Mark McGwire to House of David for IF Dick Lundy, OF Bobby Bonds & P Nick Altrock

A true blockbuster with impact on both sides. As San Francisco got 3 players who spent most of the year as WBL contributors, they have to be happy with the deal, even with Browning’s performance.

June

P Rube Melton, OF Derrick May & 3rd Round Pick to Birmingham for P Tim Hudson

Hudson’s struggles make this look bad, but it still feels like a worthwhile gamble to have taken.

IF Steve Hertz & 2nd Round Pick to Homestead for IF Phil Garner

They wish they had the pick now.

OF Wally Moon, OF Dwayne Murphy, 4th Round Pick & 6th Round Pick to Los Angeles for C Brian Downing, IF Kurt Stillwell & P Dave LaRoche

Downing was supposed to solve the issues at C for San Francisco. He didn’t.

P Shawn Estes, P Turk Wendell & 5th Round Pick to Miami for P Tommy Bridges

Meh. I mean at this point the Sea Lions were still in playoff contention, and Bridges looked solid. Still. Meh.

July

P Charlie Root & P Chad Bradford to Detroit for IF Charlie Gehringer, P Red Ehret, IF Bill Sweeney & 4th Round Pick {Charlie Ferguson}

Oof. Root and Bradford helped Detroit to the Whirled Series, Gehringer was eventually released. A clear loss for San Francisco in this one.

Looking Forward

SP

Grove, Plank, and Eckersley are a solid top 3. One of the few teams with a decent amount of mound talent.

RP

Set for now, and this may be where Eckersley ends up, long term.

C

Mickey Cochrane is supposed to be the answer here, but he has to hit over .200. Some good young talent (Dave Duncan, John Mizerock), so there are options.

1B

Jack Clark will play here, but he’s really just waiting on Jimmie Foxx to come into his own. John Beckwith will factor in eventually, and newcomer Sid Bream looks impressive as well.

2B

Who knows. Keith Ginter was great at AAA, Dick Green has shown some talent, and Dick Lundy can play here when healthy.

3B

For now, Pedro Guerrero will see some time here, but it really looks like Sal Bando is the answer for a while.

SS

If Lundy can stay in the lineup, he should be here.

LF

When Rickey Henderson was hitting .230 he had some value; as he raised his average to .270, he locked this position down long-term.

CF

There really aren’t any natural CF’s here, so look for Bobby Bonds to continue to cover best he can.

RF

Everyone ends up here: Reggie Jackson for now, but it’s also the more natural position for both Bonds and Guerrero.

The Rookie Draft

Rounds 1-4

The Sea Lions only have 8 picks in the draft, and in the early rounds only 3 in the first 7 rounds (a 1st, a 4th, and a 7th). So there is a ton of pressure on their initial pick.

They reached deep for it, taking unheralded CF Turkey Stearnes. The pick thrilled many experts, even if it meant bypassing more highly touted CFers (Al Simmons, Earl Averill).

And then the Sea Lions did … nothing … until the 19th pick of the 4th round, where they picked up a project in SP Charlie Ferguson.

Rounds 5-8

And then nothing until the 7th round. The Sea Lions will be focusing on 1B, OF, and pitching, pitching, pitching from here on out, beginning with Pete Harnisch. Franchise pick Jed Lowrie proved too tempting in the 8th, even though IF isn’t an area of need, strictly speaking.

Rounds 9-12

OF Jules Thomas (final exemption); P Steve Ontiveros; P Dave Lemanczyk; and IF Nick Allen.

TWIWBL 51.7: The Awards – Mel Trench Award

By

On November 3, 2023

In TWIWBL

This is far more clear cut than the Brock Rutherford Award. But we should still look at the contenders, just for the sake of completeness.

This list contains the top 5 in OPS, HR, RBI, RC/27, and WAR.

NameTmHRRBIOPSRC/27WAR
Johnny BenchIND3290.9518.06.0
Ron BlombergCLE441251.06110.25.8
Eddie CollinsCAG2070.9228.66.5
Mike EpsteinHOM2479.9488.84.7
Hank GreenbergDET31113.9698.33.9
Elrod HendricksHOD4194.9617.74.1
Kent HrbekPOR36106.9217.54.1
Joe JacksonCAG311021.0009.55.7
Reggie JacksonSFS301051.0138.44.3
Mickey MantleNYY2785.9719.15.5
Stan MusialKCM2598.9728.44.5
Doug RaderLAA18134.9207.83.7
Frank RobinsonBAL37111.9217.34.3
Babe RuthNYY481361.09110.88.1
Mike TroutLAA21100.8897.76.0

Interestingly, the batting champion, Ty Cobb of Detroit, doesn’t make that list.

Offensively, it’s clearly between Ruth and Blomberg. Doug Rader had his supporters before Ruth overtook him in the last week of the season for the RBI lead.

Factor in defense and the rest of what goes into WAR and Blomberg suffers, but Ruth, basically, does not (and the trio of Collins, Bench, and Trout leap to the fore).

And, yeah, the arguments about second place could go on forever–Blomberg’s impossible offense v. Collins’ all-around excellence? Joe Jackson and Mickey Mantle’s under-appreciated contributions?

But the winner is pretty clear-cut: chalk one up for the Babe.

We’ll go with Ruth followed by Blomberg and Collins.

TWIWBL 51.4: The Awards – Silver Sticks

By

On November 1, 2023

In TWIWBL

With no regard for defense, here are the best hitters at each position.

#C

Catching is hard. Only 5 full-time catchers qualified (plus Houston’s Craig Biggio, who only played a couple hundred innings behind the plate). And while Thurman Munson and Buster Posey had fantastic seasons, with OPS’ over .850, the top three are obvious

NameTm2B3BHRRRBIBAOBPSLGSBRC/27
Johnny BenchIND31232829028738556608.0
Curt BlefaryBAL23329849028039254938.1
Elrod HendricksHOD27141799428334261917.7

Blefary is clearly third best. Imma go with Bench here as the more dangerous offensive force despite Hendricks‘ edge in homeruns.

#1B

NameTm2B3BHRRRBIBAOBPSLGSBRC/27
Mike EpsteinHOM22024807931642052808.8
Hank GreenbergDET454319311331737459518.3
Kent HrbekPOR360369110629736555607.5

You could spend a lot of time arguing about Epstein and Hrbek, but it wouldn’t change the fact that Greenberg was the best.

#2B

NameTm2B3BHRRRBIBAOBPSLGSBRC/27
Eddie CollinsCAG2842010670315409513618.6
Larry GardnerBAL265128472318393471166.8
Bobby GrichLAA425127776288378476126.7
Rogers HornsbyKCM/POR35319758829436548726.4

There is so little to separate Gardner, Grich, and Hornsby that I had to list all three of them. But they are all far, far behind the force of nature that is Eddie Collins.

#3B

NameTm2B3BHRRRBIBAOBPSLGSBWAR
Dick AllenCAG3010268610931138355957.9
Bob BaileyDET22321767027736446256.1
Doug RaderLAA437188513433039152907.8

I like RBI’s too. Really, I do. And BA. But I’ll take Dick Allen over Doug Rader every day. I hadn’t realized how thin the pickings got at 3B after those two.

#SS

NameTm2B3BHRRRBIBAOBPSLGSBRC/27
Jim FregosiPOR323177861300373472166.1
Bobby WallaceBAL40459960302396418186.1
Robin YountMCG305142468276314454165.0

The choice between Wallace and Fregosi is close, but Fregosi is slightly the better offensive player, even if Wallace is the better shortstop if you add defense into the equation.

#OF

The outfielders include all fulltime players with an OPS over .900 or with a runs created per 27 outs over 7.0.

#LF

NameTm2B3BHRRRBIBAOBPSLGSBRC/27
Rick ReichardtHOM23827839830137853117.2
Frank RobinsonBAL1723710111130238353927.3
Babe RuthNYY353481271363124276631410.8

The easiest choice of all …

#CF

NameTm2B3BHRRRBIBAOBPSLGSBRC/27
Pete BrowningHOD344268282331370591388.4
Bobby MurcerPOR298249587314388542118.2
Willie MaysNYG305249997322384516117.1
Reggie SmithMEM3952210072304381522206.8
Mike TroutLAA27621102100321390498377.7

Browning‘s year has to be discounted from the amount of time he missed, which really leaves this to Bobby Murcer.

#RF

NameTm2B3BHRRRBIBAOBPSLGSBRC/27
Ron BlombergCLE39044110127336412649010.2
Ty CobbDET414219289352391557528.7
Joe JacksonCAG33331109102330412588349.5
Reggie JacksonSFS2913075105317424589238.4
Mickey MantleNYY342271018531942055239.1
Stan MusialKCM49425949832939557768.4

The quality in RF rolls deep … Ron Blomberg takes this, with Joe Jackson very close behind. The deepest position in the league.

#DH

NameTm2B3BHRRRBIBAOBPSLGSBRC/27
Gavvy CravathPHI/POR36327868531038556057.9
Lou GehrigNYY25427747927537952637.1
Frank ThomasCAG333259310529740550537.4

Gavvy Cravath spent a lot of time in RF, both with Philadelphia and Portland, but we’re still going to count him here, where he edges out both Thomas, who slumped late in the season, and Gehrig, who got red-hot as the Black Yankees failed in their attempt to make the playoffs.

#The Silver Sticks

C: Johnny Bench (IND)
1B: Hank Greenberg (DET)
2B: Eddie Collins (CAG)
3B: Dick Allen (CAG)
SS: Jim Fregosi (POR)
LF: Babe Ruth (NYY)
CF: Bobby Murcer (POR)
RF: Ron Blomberg (CLE)
DH: Gavvy Cravath (PHI/POR)

TWIWBL 47.0: End Of Season Review

By

On September 1, 2023

In TWIWBL

September 14

Just a quick look through the performances at the end of the season. Look for both award posts and more in-depth reviews of the season over the offseason. BUT FIRST … are you ready for some playoffs?

Awards

Portland‘s Jim Fregosi won the final Player of the Week Award, hitting .588 down the final week of the season.

Performance

Batters

Babe Ruth finished the season on fire, taking over the league lead in RBIs and walks and maintaining his edge in … almost everything else. At the end of the season, it looks like he should indeed walk away with the MVP.

Ron Blomberg (CLE). 336/412/649. 44 HR, 109 R.
Eddie Collins (CAG). 315/409/513. 6.5 WAR.
Ty Cobb (DET). 352/391/557. 192 H.
Mike Fiore (CAG). 240/405/390. 109 BB.
Hank Greenberg (DET). 317/374/595. 45 2B.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 279/400/371. 99 SB.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 317/424/589.
Willie Mays (NYG). 322/384/516. 186 H.
Stan Musial (KAN). 329/395/577. 49 2B.
Alejandro Oms (MCG). 259/313/410. 13 3B.
Doug Rader (LAA). 330/391/529. 134 RBI.
Tim Raines (OTT). 282/362/414. 92 SB.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 312/427/663. 48 HR, 136 RBI, 127 R, 110 BB, 8.1 WAR.
Louis Santop (CLE). 293/322/447. 14 3B.

Pitchers

Starters

For context, included all 15 game winners, as well as the league leaders in BA against, BABIP (Batting Average on Balls in Play), HR/9, and BB/9.

Bill Byrd (BAL). 14-3, 3.33.
Gerrit Cole (LAA). 16-9, 4.16.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 14-7, 3.46. 207 K.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 8-12, 4.35. 188 K.
Walter Johnson (POR). 14-5, 3.50. .211 Avg.
Pat Malone (CLE). 17-8, 3.84. 5.0 WAR.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 17-8, 3.50. 211 IP.
Tricky Nichols (CAG). 15-9, 4.14.
Roy Oswalt (HOU). 14-8, 3.70. 207 IP.
Alejandro Peña (BBB). 12-9, 3.79. 5.1 WAR, 3.52 FIP.
Andy Pettitte (KAN/BBB). 15-5, 3.20.
Eddie Plank (SFS). 12-7, 3.87. 1 Sv, 3.47 FIP, 0.5 HR/9.
Charlie Root (SFS/DET). 10-6, 3.53. 1.06 WHIP, .239 BABIP.
Jack Taylor (HOD). 15-9, 3.42. 1.14 WHIP.
Cy Young (CLE). 11-10, 4.36. 1.7 BB/IP.

Relievers

35 IP for rate stats.

Terry Adams (CLE). 2-6, 2.65. 38 Sv. 0.0 HR/9.
Rod Beck (SFS). 2-7, 5.23. 33 Sv.
Mike Henneman (DET). 2-7, 4.60. 38 Sv.
Sean Marshall (BAL). 5-0, 1.79. 1 Sv, 8 H. 0.98 WHIP, .182 Avg.
AJ Minter (CAG). 1-0, 2.61. 30 Sv. 2.88 FIP.
Buddy Napier (DET). 2-1, 2.81. 2 Sv, 9 H. 0.94 WHIP, .198 BABIP.
Don Newcombe (MCG/CAG). 4-15, 6.29. 2 H. 1.3 BB/9.
Mike Norris (NYG). 4-4, 1.47. 8 Sv, 15 H.
Ron Reed (PHI/CLE). 1-6, 4.61. 3 Sv, 17 H.
Ron Robinson (SFS). 7-5, 3.86. 1 Sv, 18 H.
Carson Smith (NYG). 3-0, 2.05. 1 Sv, 10 H. 0.0 HR/9.
Brian Wilson (NYG). 2-0, 2.13. 29 Sv, 1 H. 0.0 HR/9, 2.58 FIP.

Final Series Results

Series Sweeps

Detroit Wolverines over Wandering House of David
Memphis Red Sox over Los Angeles Angels

Taking 3 out of 4

New York Gothams over Portland Sea Dogs
Baltimore Black Sox over Kansas City Monarchs
Chicago American Giants over Brooklyn Royal Giants
Houston Colt 45’s over Ottawa Mounties
San Francisco Sea Lions over Indianapolis ABC’s
Miami Cuban Giants over Homestead Grays
Birmingham Black Barons over Philadelphia Stars

Series Splits

New York Black Yankees @ Cleveland Spiders

TWIWBL 45.0: Series XXXVII Notes

By

On August 17, 2023

In TWIWBL

September 9th

Pennant Race

And then there were two …

Only one division has been won–the surprise Cleveland Spiders win the Effa Manley Division–but only one postseason spot remains undecided.

That comes down to the Cinderella Birmingham Black Barons and the disappointing New York Black Yankees. Birmingham’s magic number is 3–meaning any combination of 3 wins by the Black Barons or losses by the Black Yankees will seal their improbable run to the playoffs.

The exact order of finish is up in the air, but here are your nine playoff contenders (numbers in bold & italics are that team’s magic number):

TeamPctDivisionNotes
Baltimore Black Sox.587Cum PoseyClinched playoff; 2
Detroit Wolverines.567Bill JamesClinched playoff; 4
Chicago American Giants.567Cum PoseyClinched playoff
Cleveland Spiders.560Effa ManleyClinched division
New York Gothams.560Bill JamesClinched playoff
Portland Sea Dogs.553Marvin MillerClinched playoff; 3
Wandering House of David.553Bill James1 to clinch playoff
Birmingham Black Barons.540Marvin Miller3 to clinch playoff
New York Black Yankees.527Effa Manley

The Black Yankees visit Cleveland to end the season. The Spiders will be focused on getting their roster ready for the post season, so that may open the door for New York. But Birmingham hosts the worst team in the WBL, the Philadelphia Stars, so it seems like that would make them the safe bet to progress.

Portland visits the New York Gothams and the House of David hosts Detroit in other playoff preview matchups.

Performance

Four more games, so these are very close to final numbers.

Batters

With the Black Yankees possibly missing the playoffs, the noise for Ron Blomberg‘s MVP campaign just gets louder.

Remember when it looked like Pete Browning would swoop in from injury and win the batting crown? Yeah, Ty Cobb had something to say about that.

Omitted below are Josh Gibson of the Homestead Grays and Alejandro Oms of the Miami Cuban Giants (tied for 2nd in the league in triples with 12) and Tim Raines of the Ottawa Mounties (2nd in steals with 91).

Ron Blomberg (CLE). 337/412/648. 43 HR, 107 R.
Ty Cobb (DET). 349/389/558. 187 H.
Eddie Collins (CAG). 312/408/512. 6.4 WAR.
Mike Fiore (CAG). 240/405/390. 109 BB.
Hank Greenberg (DET). 317/374/591. 45 2B.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 269/394/357. 95 SB.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 330/412/579. 107 R.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 319/426/591.
Willie Mays (NYG). 326/389/523. 183 H.
Stan Musial (KCM). 328/393/574. 49 2B.
Doug Rader (LAA). 336/395/539. 183 H, 133 RBI.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 312/428/658. 46 HR, 132 RBI, 122 R, 106 BB, 7.8 WAR.
Louis Santop (CLE). 299/329/457. 14 3B.

Some milestones possible in the final series:

Musial needs one double to reach 50; Elrod Hendricks (HOD) needs two homeruns to join Ruth and Blomberg in the 40+ club; Rick Reichardt and Mike Trout (Homestead and the Los Angeles Angels, respectively) sit at 98 RBIs; six players have between 96 and 99 runs scored; and Frank Thomas (CAG) needs one walk to reach triple digits.

Pitchers

Starters

It’s unclear if Cleveland’s Pat Malone or the Gothams’ Christy Mathewson will get another start in the regular season: if they do, they’ll be aiming to become the WBL’s first 18 game winners.

Gerrit Cole (LAA). 16-9, 4.33.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 13-7, 3.55. 199 K.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 8-12, 4.35. 188 K.
Pat Malone (CLE). 17-8, 3.84. 5.0 WAR.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 17-8, 3.51. 205 IP.
Stubby Overmire (HOU/MEM). 9-7, 3.31.
Alejandro Peña (BBB). 12-9, 3.86. 3.52 FIP.
Andy Pettitte (KCM/BBB). 15-5, 3.20.
Eddie Plank (SFS). 12-7, 3.87. 3.47 FIP.
Charlie Root (SFS/DET). 10-6, 3.53. 1.06 WHIP.
Jack Taylor (HOD). 15-9, 3.38. 1.14 WHIP.
Cy Young (CLE). 11-10, 4.36. 204 IP, 5.0 WAR.

Overmire needs a few more innings to finish the year qualifying for the ERA title. Cleveland’s Stan Coveleski and Detroit’s Hal Newhouser are the other starters with ERAs under 4.00 who could qualify with 1 more start, although in Newhouser’s case, it would take a complete game. Detroit’s Gene Conley (3.28) and Cleveland’s Bill Steen (a potentially league-leading 2.93) will miss the cutoff, although each are likely to see starts in the postseason.

Relievers

Check out the trio from the New York Gothams bullpen.

Terry Adams (CLE). 2-6, 2.76. 36 Sv, 1 H.
Clay Carroll (IND). 2-6, 4.14. 3 Sv, 11 H. 64 G.
Mike Henneman (DET). 2-7, 4.70. 37 Sv.
Sean Marshall (BAL). 5-0, 1.79. 2 Sv, 8 H, 0.98 WHIP.
AJ Minter (CAG). 1-0, 2.72. 29 Sv. 2.90 FIP.
Buddy Napier (DET). 101, 2.75. 2 Sv, 8 H, 0.97 WHIP.
Mike Norris (NYG). 4-4, 1.52. 8 Sv, 15 H.
Ron Reed (PHI/CLE). 0-6, 4.56. 3 Sv, 17 H. 64 G.
Carson Smith (NYG). 2-0, 1.77. 1 Sv, 10 H.
Brian Wilson (NYG). 1-0, 1.96. 29 Sv, 1 H. 2.63 FIP.

Streaks

Not a lot going on here, other than Mike Trout‘s 33 game streak of reaching base.

Series XXXVII Results

Series XXVII Sweeps

Wandering House of David over Houston Colt 45’s
Indianapolis ABC’s over Philadelphia

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XXXVII

Detroit over Birmingham
Memphis over Brooklyn
Portland over Chicago

Series Splits in Series XXXVII

Los Angeles @ New York Black Yankees
New York Gothams @ Kansas City Monarchs
Baltimore @ Homestead
Miami @ Ottawa Mounties
Cleveland @ San Francisco Sea Lions

TWIWBL 44.0: Series XXXVI Notes

By

On August 4, 2023

In TWIWBL

September 5

Awards

Gavvy Cravath won the WBL Batter of the Month for August, marking a stunning debut month for the Portland Sea Dogs after being acquired from the Philadelphia Stars. Cravath hit .370 with 11 homers and 19 RBIs during the month.

The Pitcher of the Month was Andy Pettite, 4-0 with his new club after being obtained from the Kansas City Monarchs. Pettitte put up a 2.00 ERA for the Birmingham Black Barons in August.

Baltimore’s Curt Blefary was named the WBL Player of the Week, hitting .588 with 4 homeruns and 10 RBI’s.

Playoff Picture

And then there were eight … only eight games remain in the opening season of the WBL.

And only a single playoff spot is secured, that going to the Baltimore Black Sox, who lead the Chicago American Giants by 2 games in the Cum Posey Division, but whose .589 winning percentage is the best in the league. Chicago–with the second best record in the league–is all but guaranteed a spot in the postseason as well.

And then it starts to get flaky.

In the Bill James Division, the Detroit Wolverines and the New York Gothams are tied for first, with the Wandering House of David only 3 games behind. Right now, all three teams make the postseason.

Over in the Marvin Miller Division, Portland and the Cinderalla-story Birmingham Black Barons are tied for first, with both in playoff spots now as well.

And that leaves the shocker, where in the Cum Posey Division, the Cleveland Spiders have ridden a 9-1 record in their last 10 games to extend their lead over the New York Black Yankees to 5 games … leaving the Black Yankees–and presumptive league MVP Babe Ruth–out of the postseason picture. This is of their own doing, as the Black Yankees were swept by the lowly Memphis Red Sox in Series XXXVI.

The Brooklyn Royal Giants have overtaken the Houston Colt 45’s, but the Royal Giants are 4 games out of the playoffs and essentially have to win out to have a shot. They host Memphis in Series XXXVII, so there’s hope (but see above for Memphis’ sudden discovery of how to win ball games).

The Spiders and the Black Yankees both face potentially weaker opponents in this series, with Cleveland visiting the San Francisco Sea Lions and the Los Angeles Angels making the cross-country trip to ply the Black Yankees.

Many of the rest of these teams will beat up each other: Detroit hosts Birmingham, the House of David host the Colt 45’s and Chicago will visit Portland.

Performance

Batters

Only four players have an OPS above the magic 1.000 line: Babe Ruth (1.095), Ron Blomberg (1.065), Reggie Jackson (1.022), and Joe Jackson (1.005).

Again we’re omitting the two players tied for second with 12 triples, Alejandro Oms of the Miami Cuban Giants and Josh Gibson of the Homestead Grays, but we’re also not including the Ottawa Mounties‘ Tim Raines, second in the league in SB with 91.

Ty Cobb has regained the lead in BA as Pete Browning has hit a bit of a–for him–cold streak. The batting crown should come down to those 2, with Cleveland’s Ron Blomberg having a shot as well. Ruth looks to have the other 2 legs of the Triple Crown pretty well nailed down.

Ron Blomberg (CLE). 341/416/649. 41 HR.
Pete Browning (HOD). 342/379/614.
Ty Cobb (DET). 344/384/551. 179 H.
Eddie Collins (CAG). 310/409/507. 6.2 WAR.
Mike Fiore (CAG). 235/395/385. 102 BB.
Hank Greenberg (DET). 320/378/601. 44 2B.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 272/400/357. 102 BB, 93 SB.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 335/416/588. 106 R.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 318/428/594.
Willie Mays (NYG). 330/393/534. 180 H.
Stan Musial (KCM). 325/389/573. 47 2B.
Doug Rader (LAA). 333/395/535. 128 RBI.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 317/433/663. 44 HR, 127 RBI, 119 R, 104 BB, 7.7 WAR.
Louis Santop (CLE). 306/336/468. 14 3B.

Pitchers

Starters

We’re looking at, in all likelihood, a maximum of 2 starts left for the starters, so it feels like 17 or 18 wins will lead the league this year.

Andy Pettitte‘s second half of the season has been stunning. Not only does he look to have the ERA crown wrapped up, his ERA is now sub-3.00, an incredible accomplishment in this league. Only five starters have ERA’s below 3.50: in addition to Jack Taylor, whose stats are below, Baltimore’s Bill Byrd (3.33), Brooklyn’s Frank Knauss (3.39), and Portland’s Walter Johnson (3.44).

Gerrit Cole (LAA). 15-9, 4.30.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 13-7, 3.68. 196 K.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 7-12, 4.51. 182 K.
Pat Malone (CLE). 16-8, 3.96.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 16-8, 3.54. 198 IP.
Alejandro Peña (BBB). 12-9, 3.69. 5.0 WAR, 3.41 FIP.
Andy Pettitte (KAN/BBB). 15-4, 2.95.
Eddie Plank (SFS). 12-7, 3.96. 3.45 FIP.
Charlie Root (SFS/DET). 9-6, 3.57. 1.08 WHIP.
Jack Taylor (HOD). 15-9, 3.22. 1.13 WHIP.
Cy Young (CLE). 11-9, 4.47. 197 IP, 4.7 WAR.

Relievers

35 IP for rate stats.

Terry Adams (CLE). 2-6, 2.81. 35 Sv.
Mike Henneman (DET). 2-6, 4.40. 37 Sv.
* Sean Marshall (BAL). 5-0, 1.79. 1 Sv, 8 H.
AJ Minter (CAG). 1-0, 2.75. 28 Sv. 0.97 WHIP, 2.90 FIP.
Buddy Napier (DET). 1-1, 2.75. 2 Sv, 8 H. 0.97 WHIP.
Mike Norris (NYG). 4-3, 1.44. 8 Sv, 14 H.
Ron Reed (PHI/CLE). 0-6, 4.50. 3 Sv, 17 H.
Ron Robinson (SFS). 6-5, 4.03. 1 Sv, 17 H.
Brian Wilson (NYG). 1-0, 1.83. 27 S, 1 H. 2.53 FIP.

* On Disabled List.

Streaks

Baltimore’s Larry Gardner heads into the final 8 games with a 19 game hitting streak (the league record is Babe Ruth’s 23). His teammate, Baby Doll Jacobson, has driven in a run in 7 straight games. While Mike Trout‘s teammate, Bobby Grich, had his consecutive games on base streak ended at 32, Trout has a 29 game run of his own.

Brian Wilson of the New York Gothams has 27 saves on the season, having converted 25 straight. More impressively to me, Cleveland’s Bill Steen hasn’t allowed a run in 19 innings, putting him only 5 behind the league record.

Series XXVI Results

Series XXVI Sweeps

Chicago over Kansas City
Cleveland over Philadelphia
Detroit over Indianapolis
Memphis over New York Black Yankees

Taking Three Out of Four in Series XXVI

Birmingham over Houston
Brooklyn over Portland
New York Gothams over Homestead
Miami over House of David

Series Splits in Series XXVI

Ottawa @ Baltimore
San Francisco @ Los Angeles

TWIWBL 43.0: Series XXXV Notes

By

On July 25, 2023

In TWIWBL

August 31

Awards

Far too often overlooked in the New York Black Yankees‘ lineup, Mickey Mantle has been on fire lately, netting the WBL Player of the Week award, hitting .429 with 3 homeruns.

Playoff Races

Other than the Birmingham Black Barons beginning to fade somewhat, nothing has really changed: The New York Gothams, Baltimore Black Sox, Cleveland Spiders, and Portland Sea Dogs all lead their divisions, but none by more than 4 games. The teams in close pursuit–the Wandering House of David and Detroit Wolverines in the Bill James Division, the Chicago American Giants in the Cum Posey Division, The New York Black Yankees in the Effa Manley Division, and Birmingham in the Marvin Miller Division–are all firmly in the hunt for the postseason.

If the season ended today–the first use of those words, but not the last–Birmingham and the Black Yankees would be tied for the final wildcard spot.

Both the Houston Colt 45’s (4 games back) and the Brooklyn Royal Giants (5 games) have a shot.

All of this is not for lack of trying: the Black Yankees, Detroit, Houston, and Portland all won 3 out of 4 this series. But it’s hard to make up games without series against your direct rivals: Series XXXVI will see Houston travel to Birmingham and Portland host Brooklyn in the only matchups where both teams have a legitimate playoff shot.

Performance

Batters

To keep this list a little shorter, four players are tied for 2nd with 11 triples (Houston’s George Brett, the Philadelphia Stars‘ Willie Davis, the Homestead Grays‘ Josh Gibson, and the Miami Cuban Giants‘ Alejandro Oms).

Usual pattern: league leader in bold, top 2 in each category are listed.

Ron Blomberg (CLE). 338/411/646. 40 HR, 101 R.
Pete Browning (HOD). 352/389/627.
Ty Cobb (DET). 345/385/550. 173 H.
Eric Davis (NYY). 275/350/514. 5.8 WAR.
Mike Fiore (HOM). 235/399/389. 102 BB.
Hank Greenberg (DET). 314/373/584. 43 2B.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 270/398/355. 99 BB, 89 SB.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 331/413/575. 101 R.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 319/432/604.
Willie Mays (NYG). 330/394/532. 175 H.
Stan Musial (KCM). 323/388/567. 45 2B.
Doug Rader (LAA). 340/401/548. 175 H, 128 RBI.
Tim Raines (OTT). 289/366/427. 90 SB.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 317/434/670. 44 HR, 124 RBI, 117 R, 102 BB, 7.4 WAR.
Louis Santop (CLE). 304/335/464. 14 3B.

Pitchers

Starters

Christy Mathewson lost a chance to solidify his claim as the best starter in the league (see here): now it’s a 3-man race between Matty, Andy Pettitte, and Jack Taylor.

Pettitte and Charlie Root look like (along with Portland’s RF Gavvy Cravath) look like the gems of the trade market, with each of them performing fantastically for their new clubs.

Gerrit Cole (LAA). 15-9, 4.20.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 13-7, 3.68. 196 K.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 7-11, 4.42. 178 K.
Pat Malone (CLE). 15-8, 3.92.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 16-7, 3.46.
Alejandro Peña (BBB). 12-9, 3.69. 5.0 WAR.
Eddie Plank (SFS). 11-7, 4.11. 3.46 FIP.
Andy Pettitte (KCM/BBB). 14-4, 3.03. 3.42 FIP.
Charlie Root (SFS/DET). 8-6, 3.55. 1.09 WHIP.
Jack Taylor (HOD). 15-9, 3.22. 193 IP, 1.13 WHIP.
Cy Young (CLE). 11-9, 4.47. 197 IP, 4.7 WAR.

Relievers

I always liked Mike Norris irl. It’s pretty fantastic seeing him be, possibly, the best reliever in the WBL here. I know the 35 year old has a limited future so I’m just enjoying the ride for now.

35 IP for rate stats.

Terry Adams (CLE). 2-6, 2.85. 34 Sv, 1 H, 3.04 FIP.
Clay Carroll (IND). 2-5, 4.29. 3 Sv, 10 H. 61 G.
Mike Henneman (DET). 2-6, 4.60. 35 Sv.
* Sean Marshall (BAL). 5-0, 1.79. 1 Sv, 8 H. 0.98 WHIP.
Buddy Napier (DET). 1-1, 2.84. 2 Sv, 7 H. 1.00 WHIP.
Mike Norris (NYG). 4-3, 1.46. 8 Sv, 13 H.
Ron Reed (PHI/CLE). 0-6, 4.46. 3 Sv, 17 H, 61 G.
Ron Robinson (SFS). 6-5, 4.03. 1 Sv, 17 H.
Carson Smith (NYG). 2-0, 1.63. 1 Sv, 9 H.
Jonny Venters (LAA). 5-3, 2.83. 5 Sv, 15 H.
Brian Wilson (NYG). 1-0, 1.93. 25 Sv, 1 H. 2.56 FIP.

* On the DL, likely out for the rest of the season.

Streaks

No really interesting active streaks (perhaps understandable as the season goes on), although both Brooklyn’s John Briggs and the House of David’s George Stone have succeeded int heir last 4 pinch hit attempts.

Wait, there’s one: Bobby Grich of the Los Angeles Angels has reached base in 32 straight games, tied for 4th in the league this year.

Series Results

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XXXV

Black Yankees over Brooklyn
Detroit over Cleveland
Houston over Indianapolis ABC’s
Portland over Kansas City Monarchs

Series XXXV Splits

Baltimore @ House of David
Birmingham @ Miami
Chicago @ Homestead
Los Angeles @ Philadelphia
Memphis @ San Francisco Sea Lions
Gothams @ Ottawa Mounties

Series XXXV Best Games

By

On July 21, 2023

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

A mixture of checking in on series that impact the playoffs, the drive towards statistical milestones, and just good old fashioned close games.

#New York Gothams @ Ottawa Mounties, Game 1

Oh what could have been … Christy Mathewson headed into the bottom of the 8th inning with 16 wins on the year, a 3-hit shutout in the works, and a 7-0 lead. The Gothams had been propelled to that lead via homeruns from Buster Posey and Will Clark and 3 hits from Wes Westrum. Matty walked Bernie Allen and gave up a single to Tim Raines, which brought in Mike Norris from New York’s bullpen.

Norris was less than his stellar self, giving up a double to Jim Stephens that scored 2 runs and allowing a 3rd to score on a wild pitch. Still, that left the Gothams with a 4-run lead, 7-3, with perhaps the most effective closer in the league, Brian Wilson, taking the mound in the bottom of the 9th.

Wilson surrendered 4 consecutive hits including a 2-run triple from Roberto Alomar, closing it to a 1-run game. Robb Nen came on in relief of Wilson and promptly gave up a double to Larry Walker and a game-ending single to Stephens, scoring Walker and Rusty Staub and giving Ottawa a highly improbably 8-7 walk off win.

Mathewson should have come out of this with 17 wins, an outside shot at 20, and a strong argument for being the best starter in the WBL. Instead, the Gothams bullpen collapsed, a clear warning sign for their postseason ambitions.

NYG 7 (Nen 3-5, 3 B Sv) @ OTT 8 (Leroux 1-1)
HRs: NYG – Posey (11), Clark (4); OTT – none.
Box Score

#Baltimore Black Sox @ Wandering House of David, Games 2 and 4

Baltimore’s series against the House of David was perhaps the best matchup of Series XXXV, with both teams seemingly safe in their postseason ambitions.

It opened with a 15 inning classic, with Baltimore’s Johnny Sain twirling a shutout over 7+ innings, allowing only 3 hits. Singles from Ken Singleton and Ramón Hernández, helped by an error by House of David RF Dan Ford, put the only run of the game on the board in the 4th. But Baltimore’s current closer, Buddy Groom, couldn’t shut the door in the 9th, allowing a solo homerun to Jim Edmonds, his 17th of the season, to send the game into extra innings.

Baltimore’s bullpen took over form there, with a dominant outing from John Wetteland, a shaky one from Gregg Olsen, and a solid one from Don Bessent combing for 6 shutout frames. Singleton, who finished the day 3-for-6, launched a 3-run shot in the top of the 15th, giving the Black Sox a 4-1 victory.

BAL 4 (Bessent 2-7) @ HOD 1 (Smith 0-1) [15 Innings]
HRs: BAL – Singleton (17); HOD – Edmonds (17).
Box Score

The House of David would win the next 2 games, setting up a confrontation in the final match between Baltimore’s Connie Johnson and the Hosue of David’s ace Jack Taylor. What looked like a great pitching matchup on paper sizzled out a bit, with each starter allowing 4 runs over the first 6 innings.

Baltimore was able to pull away, scoring in the 7th, 8th, and 9th en route to the 7-4 victory for the series split. Bryce Harper (who had 3 hits), Manny Machado, and Frank Robinson all went deep for the Black Sox. The House of David left 13 runners on base, meaning Edmonds’ 4 hits, Browning’s 3, and Elrod Hendricks‘ 35th homerun of the year were all for naught.

Baltimore’s bullpen was stellar again, as Rafael Betancourt, Lindy McDaniel, Bessent, Joe Beggs, and Groom combining for just over 4 scoreless innings in relief of Johnson.

BAL 7 (McDaniel 1-0; Bessent 2 H; Beggs 10 H) @ HOD 4 (Niedenfuer 0-2)
HRs: BAL – Robinson (35), Machado (8), Harper (12); HOD – Hendricks (35).
Box Score

#New York Black Yankees @ Brooklyn Royal Giants, Game 4

Brooklyn still has a slim chance at the postseason, so every game counts. Which is why wasting a great start from their ace, Don Drysedale, is such a shame. Drysedale had 8 shutout innings allowing only 3 hits, and the Royal Giants were riding a pinch-hit RBI from John Briggs to a 1-0 lead. And then, the 9th …

Babe Ruth singled, but Drysedale induced a horrible bunt from Tommy Herr, caught by a hard-charging Ray Dandridge at 3B. Eric Davis doubled home Ruth to tie the game and bring Brooklyn’s closer, Watty Clark, from the bullpen. Clark gave up RBI singles to Mickey Mantle, Mike Schmidt, and Don Mattingly for a 4-1 lead. Aroldis Chapman had a perfect 9th for his 12th save for the Black Yankees.

Still, Brooklyn took 3 of the 4 games in the series, keeping their postseason hopes alive.

NYY 4 (Lavelle 2-3; Chapman 12 Sv) @ BRK 1 (Drysedale 8-9)
HRs: None.
Box Score

#Memphis Red Sox @ San Francisco Sea Lions, Game 4

Just because teams are out of the playoffs doesn’t mean they can’t play good games …

Each team had their presumptive ace on the mound (Jon Lester for Memphis, Lefty Grove for San Francisco), but neither were terribly impressive. We pick up the action with Memphis leading, 4-3, heading into the bottom of the 6th, where a 2 RBI single from Pedro Guerrero and a 3 run shot from Reggie Jackson put San Francisco up, 8-4.

Bill White would double in 2 to cut the lead in half in the top of the 7th, and then Ron Robinson, usually reliable this year, gave it all back in the top of the 8th on a 3 run homer from Reggie Smith. Tim Wakefield, Heath Bell, and Jonathan Papelbon were excellent in relief, allowing only 1 hit in over 3 innings out of the pen.

Gene Oliver had 3 hits for the Sea Lions and Jackson drove in 4 while Memphis got 2 hits each from Smith, White, Mookie Betts, and Iván de Jesus.

MEM 9 (Wakefield 7-7; Papelbon 14 Sv; Bell 8 H; Cicotte 2 B Sv) @ SFS 8 (Robinson 6-5, 3 B Sv)
HRs: MEM – Smith (20); SFS – Bonds (19), Oliver (3), Jackson (30).
Box Score

TWIWBL 42.0: Series XXXIV Notes

By

On July 7, 2023

In TWIWBL

August 27th

Playoffs

The more things change, the more things stay the same …

On the whole, the playoff teams took care of business, with Cleveland sweeping Houston and Baltimore, Chicago, Portland, and the New York Black Yankees all winning 3 of 4 games.

As such, Baltimore still has the best record in the lead, and still leads the Chicago American Giants by 4 games in the Cum Posey Division. Chicago leads the wild card race, and both teams seem certain to make the postseason.

Each of the other divisions are tight as tight can be. In the Bill James Division, the Detroit Wolverines and the New York Gothams are tied for first place, with the Wandering House of David 1 game back. Over in the Effa Manley Division, the Black Yankees have maintained their lead, but it’s down to 1 game over the Cleveland Spiders and in the Marvin Miller Division, the Portland Sea Dogs lead the Birmingham Black Barons by a single game, helped by Baltimore’s 3 wins coming against the Black Barons.

Right now, Cleveland and Birmingham are tied for the final wild card slot. The Houston Colt 45’s–five games back–still have an outside shot, but getting swept essentially took them out of the race. Realistically it looks like 1 of the 9 teams vying for the divisional leads won’t make the postseason.

Performance

Going into a little more depth this time, providing some insight into players who are not performing well, but have still, for a variety of reasons, amassed enough PA or IP to qualify for the leaderboards.

Batters

The list is longer, but not really. With Babe Ruth taking over the OBP lead from San Francisco‘s Reggie Jackson, if you ignore some of the outliers (the SB leaders, the 3B, etc), the offensive leaders of the WBL boil down to Ron Blomberg and Babe Ruth, with Pete Browning, Stan Musial, and Doug Rader in a second group, with apologies to Johnny Bench of the Indianapolis ABC’s, who is putting up outrageous numbers for a backstop. Bench, Musial (Kansas City) and Rader (Los Angeles) are out of the playoff picture, but the rest should be around for the postseason.

Johnny Bench (IND). 286/390/575. 5.7 WAR.
Ron Blomberg (CLE). 339/410/655. 168 H, 40 HR, 101 R.
Pete Browning (HOD). 353/390/629.
Ty Cobb (DET). 348/391/557. 169 H.
Eric Davis (NYY). 277/352/517. 5.7 WAR.
Willie Davis (PHI). 301/350/498. 11 3B.
Mike Fiore (CAG). 238/402/396. 100 BB.
Hank Greenberg (DET). 317/376/589. 41 2B.
Bobby Grich (LAA). 292/381/483. 41 2B.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 268/398/356. 86 SB.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 316/430/598.
Stan Musial (KCM). 326/389/574. 44 2B.
Alejandro Oms (MCG). 255/308/398. 11 3B.
Doug Rader (LAA). 335/395/542. 122 RBI.
Tim Raines (OTT). 288/367/426. 89 SB.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 318/435/673. 43 HR, 121 RBI, 113 R, 100 BB, 7.4 WAR.
Louis Santop (CLE). 304/336/464. 13 3B.

Anti-Batters

Looking at the pool of hitters who qualify for rate stats only. 17 of them haven’t hit a triple, so those are omitted.

Hank Aaron (BBB). 263/302/498. 21 GIDP.
Ernie Banks (HOD). 262/287/459. 16 BB.
Wade Boggs (MEM). 286/364/412. 25 GIDP.
José Canseco (MCG). 291/352/525. 159 SO.
Rico Carty (PHI). 264/340/421. 48 R.
George Davis (DET). 258/334/326. 1 HR.
Mike Fiore (CAG). 238/402/396. 89 H.
Tom Herr (BBB/NYY). 288/357/390. 2 HR, 25 RBI.
Gil Hodges (POR). 222/297/423. -0.4 WAR.
Frank Isbell (BBB/BRK). 310/341/401. 2 HR, 14 BB.
Derek Jeter (NYY). 262/311/369. -0.6 WAR.
Ted Kluszewski (PHI). 249/327/478. 48 R.
Freddy Parent (OTT/CAG). 257/305/431. 9 2B.
Ozzie Smith (KCM). 221/309/292. 86 H, 2HR, 25 RBI.
Pops Stargell (HOM). 243/327/427. 179 SO.
George Stone (HOD). 289/380/512. 12 2B.
Arky Vaughan (HOM/CLE). 235/348/335. 12 2B.
George Wright (LAA). 240/296/396.

This is an interesting list. There are some players considered stars on their teams–Aaron for Birmingham and Canseco for the Miami Cuban Giants especially (although GIDP and SO aren’t such awful things to lead the league in). Others are having decent seasons overall–Boggs, Banks, Hodges, Stone.

And then there is Ozzie Smith, hands down the weakest overall offensive player in the WBL. He’s been good defensively, but that’s a lot of negative output at the plate to overcome.

Mike Fiore offers the interesting case of being the only player to make both lists, leading the league in walks and having the second fewest hits of anybody qualifying for the leaderboards (behind Smith, of course).

Pitchers

Starters

A shorter list this time: 6 players have 14 wins, but since they would be 3rd in the league behind Christy Mathewson and Jack Taylor, they aren’t listed unless they qualify under another stat.

One thing to note: the presence of two starters from the San Francisco Sea Lions underscores how disappointing the season has been for them.

Lefty Grove (SFS). 13-7, 3.55. 191 K.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 7-11, 4.42. 175 K.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 16-7, 3.50.
Roy Oswalt (HOU). 12-8, 3.63. 188.1 IP.
Alejandro Peña (BBB). 11-9, 3.72. 4.8 WAR, 3.45 FIP.
Eddie Plank (SFS). 11-6, 3.87. 3.29 FIP.
Andy Pettitte (KCM/BBB). 14-4, 3.05. 1.18 WHIP.
Jack Taylor (HOD). 15-9, 3.13. 1.12 WHIP.
Cy Young (CLE). 10-9, 4.64. 188.1 IP, 4.4 WAR.

Anti-Starters

Bert Blyleven (POR). 10-10, 4.17. 30 HRA.
Roger Clemens (MEM/HOU). 11-8, 5.31.
Vean Gregg (HOM). 9-8, 4.78. 97 BB, 1.59 WHIP.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 13-7, 3.55. 98 BB.
Luke Hamlin (KCM). 9-12, 4.80.
Jon Lester (MEM). 9-12, 4.68.
Dolf Luque (IND). 8-10, 5.29. 5.67 FIP.
Juan Marichal (NYG). 11-8, 5.64. 1.56 WHIP.
Wade Miley (HOD). 7-5, 5.05. 5.50 WHIP.
Don Newcombe (MCG/CAG). 4-13, 6.44. 34 HRA.
Jack Scott (NYY). 14-5, 4.41. 30 HRA.

Lefty Grove is on both lists: if he ever masters his control, he could be the best starter in the league (and if he loses an edge to his pitches, he could quickly be out of the league).

Blyleven and Scott are front of rotation starters for playoff bound teams, and Clemens has pitched far better since arriving in Houston, but his earlier performance for the Memphis Red Sox was so, so poor.

Newcombe is an conundrum: he doesn’t give up many hits or many walks, but when he does get hit, he gets hit hard.

Relievers

The best of the lot are probably Baltimore’s Buddy Groom and a duo from the Gothams, closer Brian Wilson and do-everything Mike Norris.

35 IP for rate stats.

Terry Adams (CLE). 2-6, 2.84. 33 Sv. 1 H.
Buddy Groom (BAL). 2-2, 1.93. 6 Sv, 13 H, 0.99 WHIP.
Mike Henneman (DET). 1-6, 4.83. 35 Sv.
* Sean Marshall (BAL). 5-0, 1.79. 1 Sv, 8 H, 0.98 WHIP.
Mike Norris (NYG). 4-3, 1.34. 8 Sv, 13 H.
Ron Reed (PHI/CLE). 0-6, 4.58. 3 Sv, 17 H.
Ron Robinson (SFS). 6-4, 3.92. 1 Sv, 17 H.
Ed Walsh (CAG). 8-6, 2.73. 5 H, 3.00 FIP.
Brian Wilson (NYG). 1-0, 1.00. 24 Sv, 1 H, 2.58 FIP.

Streaks

Very little going on here.

Los Angeles’ Bobby Grich–who should come of the DL soon–has reached base in 32 consecutive games, good for the 4th best streak in the league.

Brian Wilson has converted 22 consecutive saves and Andy Pettitte, between his time with Kansas City and Baltimore, has won his last 9 decisions, and is undefeated in his last 12 appearances.

Series Results

Series XXXV Sweeps

Cleveland over Houston
Memphis over Philadelphia Stars

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XXXV

Baltimore over Birmingham
Chicago over Ottawa Mounties
Portland over Homestead Grays
Indianapolis over Miami
New York Black Yankees over San Francisco

Series Splits in Series XXXV

Brooklyn Royal Giants @ Kansas City
Detroit @ Los Angeles
House of David @ New York Gothams

TWIWBL 41.4: Series XXXIII Notes – Marvin Miller Division

By

On June 26, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Birmingham Black Barons

Birmingham is still tinkering with the edges of their roster; for now, Scott Baker replaces Jim Whitney as their #5 starter.

Hank Aaron had 4 hits and Frank McCormick added 3 to go with 4 RBIs as Birmingham beat the Gothams 12-8, overcoming a subpar start from Alejandro Peña who improved to 11-8 despite allowing 4 runs in 5 shaky innings. McCormick, Adrián González, Bob Nieman, and Cupid Childs each went deep for the Black Barons.

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

Frank Isbell went 4-for-4 and scored 4 runs as Brooklyn topped San Francisco 7-2. Frank Knauss had a strong start to improve to 11-4, Beals Becker hit his 24th homerun of the season and Roy White added his 12th as a pinch-hitter.

#Miami Cuban Giants

Freddie Fitzsimmons will miss about a week, prompting the Cuban Giants to put him on the DL, recalling Bob Duliba from AAA.

Eustaquio Pedroso had 3 hits and Minnie Miñoso was hit by pitches 3 times, but that was about all that went right for Miami in a 9-6 loss to Cleveland.

Alan Ashby was the star, breaking out of a funk with a 4-for-4 day that included scoring the winning run in the bottom of the 9th on, of all things, a wild pitch. Camilo Pascual was strong over 7 innings, and Duliba and Pedroso were perfect in relief, with Pedroso improving to 8-6 on the year with the victory.

Four hits from Paul Molitor helped the Cuban Giants to a come from behind 9-7 victory over Cleveland. Molitor scored 3 times and José Cardenal and Alejandro Oms (who is now tied for the league lead in triples with 11) drove in 2 for Miami.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

4 hits from Pedro Guerrero and 3 from Bob Cerv led the Sea Lions to a 5-3 win over Brooklyn. Guerrero and Reggie Jackson went deep, and 4.1 innings of near-perfect relief from Dave LaRoche, Ron Robinson, and Rod Beck closed out the contest.

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