Tag: Reggie Jackson Page 5 of 8

TWIWBL 29.0 – Series XXII Notes

On August 8, 2022

July 6th

Quick Glance at the Standings

Things are tightening up around the league, with the most shocking news being that the New York Black Yankees are now in 2nd place in the Effa Manley Division, 1.5 games behind the Cleveland Spiders.

The closest race is in the Bill James Division, where the New York Gothams, Detroit Wolverines, and Los Angeles Angels are separated by only 2 games. Over in the Cum Posey Division, the Chicago American Giants remain 3 games behind the Baltimore Black Sox.

The Marvin Miller Division has the closest thing in the WBL to a runaway leader, as the Portland Sea Dogs lead the Brooklyn Royal Giants by 5.5 games, with the Birmingham Black Barons–on a surprising 9-1 hot streak–a game further behind.

Oddball Stats

Thought it might be interesting to take a look at some of the less important stats going on the WBL.

Sacrifice Hits are a big deal for some WBL teams, and 5 players are tied for the league lead with 12 each. They tend to make sense–players like Detroit’s George Davis or Baltimore’s Dan McGann. But then two names jump out: Chicago’s Duffy Lewis and the New York Black Yankees’ Lou Gehrig (Lewis has 12, Gehrig 10). What are those teams thinking? These are elite sluggers who are being told to “just move the runner over” far too often.

Wade Boggs of the Memphis Red Sox leads the WBL in GiDP, with 17, followed by Gil Hodges (Portland) and Ken Singleton (Baltimore) with 14. That all feels appropriate, although Willie Mays (New York Gothams) being next with 13 seems a little off.

Speaking of Mays, he leads all OFers with 14–FOURTEEN–OF assists. Ken Griffey, Jr–despite spending significant time in the minors for the Ottawa Mounties–is second with 12.

On the mound, let’s take a look at Meltdowns and Shutdowns, and specifically the mystery of the Kansas City Monarch‘s Trevor Rosenthal, who has 9 of the former and 10 of the latter. Roger Clemens, now of the Houston Colt 45’s, has allowed the most stolen bases in the league, as 30 players have successfully swiped bases against the Rocket.

Performance

Batters

Usual stuff: top 2 in various stats (plus all 1.000+ OPS), league leader in bold.

It’s still a widely diverse list, and it’s still dominated by Babe Ruth. The San Francisco Sea Lions‘ Reggie Jackson has fallen from leading the league in all 3 categories to “only” leading in OBP.

Dick Allen (CAG). 296/365/550. 9 3B.
Ron Blomberg (CLE). 328/403/621.
Rico Carty (PHI). 295/364/481. 31 2B.
Eddie Collins (CAG). 307/408/530. 4.0 WAR.
Ty Cobb (DET). 341/385/532.
Mike Epstein (HOM). 337/443/523.
Mike Fiore (CAG). 245/400/391. 65 BB.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 258/388/348. 63 BB, 61 SB.
Kent Hrbek (POR). 309/376/599. 26 HR.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 331/412/583. 68 R.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 338/448/618.
Stan Musial (KAN). 333/392/595. 111 H, 30 2B.
Doug Rader (LAA). 318/371/535. 85 RBI.
Tim Raines (OTT). 300/378/457. 65 SB.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 311/418/664. 29 HR, 87 RBI, 69 R, 4.9 WAR.
Louis Santop (CLE). 316/351/470. 8 3B.
Frank Thomas (CAG). 328/433/575.
Mike Trout (LAA). 322/396/466. 108 H.

Starting Pitchers

Gerrit Cole (LAA). 12-3, 3.66. 128 IP.
Ray Collins (PHI). 7-6, 3.96. 127.1 IP.
Ned Garvin (BAL). 7-3, 2.82. 1.13 WHIP.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 8-6, 3.96. 128 K.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 5-8, 4.32. 127 K.
Dennis Martínez (BAL). 8-5, 3.23.
Alejandro Peña (BBB). 8-6, 3.81. 3.4 WAR.
Red Ruffing (NYY). 10-3. 3.63.
Cy Young (CLE). 8-4, 3.48. 1.14 WHIP, 3.4 WAR.

Relievers

25 IP for rate stats.

Tommy Hanson (BRK). 0-0, 3.16. 0.86 WHIP.
Mike Henneman (DET). 1-4, 3.96. 22 Sv.
Ken Howell (SFS). 3-3, 1.23.
Chuck Porter (CLE). 4-3, 2.16. 0.84 WHIP.
Ron Reed (PHI/CLE). 0-2, 2.42. 15 H.
Ron Robinson (SFS). 4-1, 3.44. 11 H.
Johan Santana (POR). 1-1, 2.78. 23 Sv.
Brian Wilson (NYG). 1-0, 1.37.

Streaks

Hank Aaron has an 18 game hitting streak, the only active streak that makes the league leaders. Aaron has hit homeruns in his last 3 games, as has Babe Ruth, but the leader in that category, surprisingly, is the Brooklyn Royal Giant‘s Beals Becker, who has gone deep in 5 consecutive games.

That gives Becker a stunning 1.300 SLG over those 5 games. Carlos Delgado, on fire since his trade to LA, is hitting .542 over his last 6 games.

Series Results

Series XXII Sweeps

Homestead Grays over Philadelphia Stars

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XXII

Birmingham over Memphis
Houston over Portland
San Francisco over Ottawa

Series Splits

New York Gothams @ Baltimore
Brooklyn @ Cleveland
Chicago @ Miami Cuban Giants
Kansas City @ Detroit
Los Angeles @ Indianapolis ABC’s
New York Black Yankees @ Wandering House of David

TWIWBL 27.1: Series XXI Notes – Bill James Division

By mknn

On July 6, 2022

In TWIWBL

{ There is no TWIWBL 27.0–the series overview post–so we’ll just dive into the Division by Division notes. }

#Detroit Wolverines

Jimmy Collins‘ two month slump has landed him in AAA, with Bill Carrigan‘s return from the DL. This means the Wolverines are carrying 3 catchers (Carrigan, Ed Bailey, and Ernie Lombardi), which is always a bit of a challenge.

#Los Angeles Angels

Mike Trout picked up his 100th hit of the season in a 12-2 mauling of Cleveland. Kal Daniels went 4-for-5 with 5 RBI’s and Trout scored 4 times in support of Chuck Finley, who evened his record at 4-4 with the victory.

Brett Anderson will be out for over a month, causing some shuffling in the Angels’ staff and a bunch of churn elsewhere. Harry Howell, OF Kole Calhoun, and 2B Mark Ellis head to AAA, Larry Anderson is recalled from his rehab assignment and both Pud Galvin and Tom Seaver join the staff, with the 22 year old Seaver moving into the rotation. IF Steve Garvey, who has torn up AAA since being acquired from Ottawa, is recalled to Los Angeles as well.

#Memphis Red Sox

Eddie Cicotte was sent to AAA with the Red Sox in need of a starter. IF Glenn Williams was released to make room for Norwood Gibson on the 40-man roster. Gibson was excellent, allowing only 2 runs on 4 hits in over 5 innings of work, and earning himself a bit of a stay at the big leagues, especially with Turk Farrell heading to the DL, with Cicotte making a quick return.

Len Barker replaces Nixey Callahan in the rotation.

#New York Gothams

The Gothams have finally pulled the plug on Willie McCovey, waiving the 32 year-old 1B and promoting 38 year-old Joe Adcock back to the WBL.

#Wandering House of David

Ernie Banks and Pete Browning had 3 hits each, with Banks driving in 5 runs with 2 homeruns, including a grand slam, giving him 14 on the season. Wade Miley pitched well to go to 5-2, and the bullpen did enough to hold off the Sea Lions for an 8-5 victory.

CC Sabathia took a 2-hitter into the 9th inning in the series finale, but Reggie Jackson led off the frame with a homerun to make the score 4-1 in favor of the House of David. Bruce Sutter relieved Sabathia and retired the side in order for his 11th save, while Sabathia improved to 8-7 on the season.

TWIWBL 26.0: Series XX Notes

By mknn

On June 20, 2022

In TWIWBL

June 27th

League Norms

Now that we’re past the All-Star Break, it seems a good time to take a look at the overall context of the WBL. Given that the model year was 2000, things are tracking pretty well.

Offense

It’s a year that favors the offense, for sure. As a whole, the league is slashing 264/336/429. The 765 OPS would make it a top 10 offensive year for MLB, driven almost entirely by the .429 SLG, which would be the 6th highest in MLB history. Teams are hitting 1.16 HR/G, a total that would rank 6th as well.

There are some fun anomalies that come with an all-star league: teams are averaging roughly 1 SB/G, not an outlandish number, but one that is in the top third or so of seasons overall. But also, under .20 3B/G, easily in the bottom third of historical seasons.

Pitching

The pitching story is pretty much the inverse: the 4.56 league ERA would rank 8th highest in MLB history. Clearly all those homeruns aren’t helping, but there’s more here. The 1.42 league WHIP is actually decent–not 1968 by any means, but not too bad. So what is causing the high ERA? One issue might be strikeouts: the 6.08 K/G is clearly a modern number but it’s lagging a bit for sure.

Performance

Same as usual: the top 2 performers in most offensive categories are listed.

Batters

The length of the list is a testament to how widespread the offensive depth is in the league. San Francisco‘s Reggie Jackson–still leading in 2 of the triple crown categories–and Babe Ruth of the New York Black Yankees are the only batters leading the league in multiple categories. Four batters (Jackson, Ron Blomberg, Ruth, and Kent Hrbek) have OPS’ over 1.000.

Blomberg, often on the edges of this list, forced himself on with a 1.434 OPS since the All-Star Break.

Dick Allen (CAG). 302/365/569. 9 3B.
Ron Blomberg (CLE). 341/414/645.
Rico Carty (PHI). 296/359/479. 31 2B.
Ty Cobb (DET). 341/379/540.
Mike Epstein (HOM). 335/439/530.
Mike Fiore (CAG). 238/388/397. 57 BB.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 258/392/360. 59 BB; 55 SB.
Kent Hrbek (POR). 320/384/626. 25 HR.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 325/405/575. 63 R.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 347/461/616.
Willie Mays (NYG). 327/384/557. 101 H; 3.8 WAR.
Stan Musial (KAN). 334/395/580. 102 H; 27 2B.
Doug Rader (LAA). 320/373/535. 75 RBI.
Tim Raines (OTT). 309/384/466. 60 SB.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 304/413/644. 26 HR; 76 RBI; 4.1 WAR.
Louis Santop (CLE). 305/343/460. 8 3B.

Pitching

Like the batters, there are just not a lot of dominant individuals, although Baltimore’s Ned Garvin is making an argument.

20 inning minimum for the rate stats.

Gerrit Cole (LAA). 11-3, 4.03.
Ned Garvin (BAL). 7-2, 2.90. 2 H. 1.08 WHIP.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 8-5, 3.86. 121 K.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 5-8, 4.35. 120 K.
Mike Henneman (DET). 1-3, 2.49. 19 Sv.
Ken Howell (SFS). 3-3, 1.35. 3 Sv; 4 H; 0.93 WHIP.
Walter Johnson (POR). 8-3, 3.86. 2.8 WAR.
Dennis Martínez (BAL). 9-4, 2.99.
Willie Mitchell (IND). 5-2, 1.08. 1 Sv; 1 H.
Joseíto Muñoz (POR). 3-1, 1.17. 3 Sv; 2 H.
Ron Reed (PHI/CLE). 0-2, 2.47. 3 Sv; 14 H.
Red Ruffing (NYY). 10-2, 3.73.
Johan Santana (POR). 1-1, 2.45. 23 Sv; 1H.
Brian Wilson (NYG). 1-0, 1.54. 12 Sv; 0.90 WHIP.
Cy Young (CLE). 8-3, 3.36. 1.14 WHIP; 3.2 WAR.

Streaks

Larry Gardner (BAL) has an 18-game hitting streak, currently good for the 5th best in the league.

Detroit‘s Chili Davis has reached base in 8 consecutive plate appearances, with a base hit in his last 7.

The New York Gothams‘ Johnny Callison has a 1.534 OPS over his last 6 games, while Philadelphia‘s George Hendrick has the best extended streak in the league, slashing 386/435/860 over his last 22 games with 7 HR and 21 RBI. Mention should be made of Baltimore’s recent call-up Baby Doll Jacobson who, after a very slow start, has 4 homeruns in his last 20 ABs.

Series Results

This was a weird series. Homestead, Miami, and Birmingham–generally considered three of the weakest teams in the league–each won their series.

Series XX Sweeps

Cleveland over Memphis

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XX

Birmingham over San Francisco
Los Angeles over Brooklyn
Chicago over New York Gothams
Detroit over Ottawa
Homestead over Houston
Miami over Kansas City
House of David over Philadelphia

Series Splits in Series XX

Portland @ Baltimore
New York Black Yankees @ Indianapolis

TWIWBL 25.0: Series XIX Notes

By mknn

On June 6, 2022

In TWIWBL

June 22

Performance

Best Batters

Reggie Jackson of the San Francisco Sea Lions is oh-so-slowly being drawn back to the pack. He still leads the WBL in BA (by 11 points over Cleveland‘s Ron Blomberg) and in OBP (by 26 points over Homestead‘s Mike Epstein), but the New York Black Yankees‘ Babe Ruth has retaken the lead in SLG. Ruth has actually struggled recently, seeing his BA drop all the way down to .303, but over half his hits are for extra bases.

Looking at the leaderboards, a few things of note:

Ruth remains the only player in the top 2 in more than a few categories.
Ottawa‘s Tim Raines has taken over the SB lead, ahead of San Francisco’s Rickey Henderson.
The Chicago American Giants offense remains formidable, with four different players listed.

As usual, bold indicates a league leader, and the top 2 in most categories are included.

Dick Allen (CAG). 303/367/565. 8 3B.
Rico Carty (PHI). 296/362/487. 30 2B.
Eric Davis (NYY). 278/331/556. 24 HR, 59 R.
Mike Epstein (HOM). 335/440/527.
Mike Fiore (CAG). 238/381/398. 53 BB.
Bobby Grich (LAA). 281/352/467. 25 2B.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 263/39/369. 57 BB. 53 SB.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 330/409/583. 59 R.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 353/466/634.
Willie Mays (NYG). 332/389/569. 98 H. 3.9 WAR.
Ron Blomberg (CLE). 342/411/640.
Doug Rader (LAA). 317/371/537. 74 RBI.
Tim Raines (OTT). 305/383/456. 58 SB.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 303/410/643. 25 HR, 72 RBI, 61 R. 3.8 WAR.
Louis Santop (CLE). 301/335/446. 8 3B.
Frank Thomas (CAG). 339/432/580. 96 H.
Bobby Wallace (BAL). 321/420/461. 25 2B.

Best Starting Pitchers

It’s going to be interesting seeing how this develops. There is no real front-runner for the best pitcher in the league. Cleveland’s Cy Young shows up in the most categories, and when you consider how much of a workhorse he is, perhaps that puts him in front. But Los Angeles‘ Gerrit Cole is the only hurler in double-digits in wins, and Baltimore‘s Dennis Martínez is the only one with an ERA under 3.00.

Bill Byrd (BAL). 7-2, 1.12 WHIP.
Gerrit Cole (LAA). 11-3, 3.92.
Ray Collins (PHI). 7-5, 3.62. 112 IP.
Don Drysedale (BRK). 6-3, 3.11
Bob Feller (CLE). 7-4, 5.07. 11.0 K/9.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 8-4, 3.78. 10.1 K/9. 112 K.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 5-7, 4.20. 115 K.
Walter Johnson (POR). 8-3, 3.77. 2.8 WAR.
Dennis Martínez (BAL). 9-4, 2.91.
Don Newcombe (CAG). 2-9, 6.15. 1.4 BB/9.
Red Ruffing (NYY). 9-2, 3.74.
Cy Young (CLE). 7-3, 1.12 WHIP. 1.6 BB/9. 114.2 IP. 3.1 WAR.

Best Relievers

Joseíto Muñoz has moved into Portland‘s rotation, but is a long way from having enough IP to be listed with the starters. A similar move may be looming for Indianapolis‘ Willie Mitchell. The best ERAs for pure relievers with over 20 IP belong to Ken Howell (San Francisco) and Aroldis Chapman (Miami Cuban Giants).

Terry Adams (CLE). 0-4, 4.24. 18 Sv.
Aroldis Chapman (MCG). 2-1. 1.42. 13 Sv.
Gene Conley (DET). 7-1, 3.96. 4 H.
Ken Howell (SFS). 3-3, 1.41. 3 Sv. 4 H. 0.94 WHIP.
Mark Melancon (HOU). 7-1, 3.12.
Willie Mitchell (IND). 3-2, 1.27. 1 Sv. 1 H.
Joseíto Muñoz (POR). 3-1, 1.17. 3 Sv. 2 H.
Ron Reed (CLE). 0-2, 2.72. 3 Sv. 12 H.
Johan Santana (POR). 1-1, 2.57. 22 Sv. 1 H.
Brian Wilson (SFS). 1-0, 1.61. 12 Sv. 0.90 WHIP.

Streaks

Most notably, Thurman Munson‘s remarkable streak of reaching base in 43 consecutive games ended.

George Hendrick (Philadelphia) and Doug Rader (Los Angeles) each have extra-base hits in 6 consecutive games. Rader is slashing 448/448/966 over those six games, while Hendrick is at 560/593/1.120 over his last 27 plate appearances.

Mike Norris of the New York Gothams hasn’t allowed a run in his last 14 appearances.

Lance Berkman‘s change of scenery hasn’t seemed to help, as the new Cleveland Spider is mired in a slump where, over 13 games, he’s managed only a 109/180/109 slash line.

Series XIX Results

Series XIX Sweeps

Indianapolis over San Francisco

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XIX

Baltimore over Kansas City
Philadelphia over Birmingham
Brooklyn over Chicago
Homestead over Miami
Los Angeles over Memphis
Houston over Ottawa

Series Splits

Cleveland @ New York Black Yankees
Wandering House of David @ Detroit
New York Gothams @ Portland

TWIWBL 24.18: Mid-Season Reviews – San Francisco Sea Lions

By mknn

On May 4, 2022

In Team News, TWIWBL

Summary

The Marvin Miller is a hard division. The Sea Lions are over .500, and within striking distance of Portland, but it will take some doing.

What’s Gone Right

REG-GIE REG-GIE. Those chants may turn into MVP MVP MVP by the end of the year. Reggie Jackson is threatening the triple crown and while that feels very unlikely, well, he’s got a shot.

The Rest of the Lineup. Bobby Bonds and AAA find Pedro Guerrero have OPS’ just under .900; Jimmy Bloodworth, Rickey Henderson, Jack Clark, and Wally Moon follow them without a real weak link.

High End Arms. Lefty Grove, Rod Beck, Ken Howell, Charlie Root, and Diego Seguí have all performed excellently in their roles.

What’s Gone Wrong

The Rest of the Arms. Jim Devlin and Cy Falkenberg have pitched themselves back to AAA, but it’s not clear who is there to replace them.

Achilles’ Heels. Henderson has 52 steals and an OBP around .400 … but little else. John Beckwith hits the ball as hard as anyone in the league … but only to a .700 OPS. Clark has power … but not much else. There are significant questions about many key contributors.

Shortstop. Dick Lundy solved this … and then he got hurt, putting San Francisco back in the hands of Eddie Joost, who has a good eye, some power, but cannot put it all together in a way that lifts his OPS over .600.

Key Storylines

Can the new players–Guerrero, Lundy, Seguí–keep up their torrid pace? And can a team likely to stay pat during the trading period improve in the second half?

The continued development of Grove bears watching, and the OF has storylines at all three spots: is Jackson’s triple crown pursuit for real? Can Henderson improve offensively to complement his unworldly base-stealing? And can Bonds continue to perform at a very high level?

Trading Outlook

HOLDING.

Bob Cerv and Moon could each move on in search of more playing time, but that’s about it.

AAA Shuttle

Guerrero and Seguí look to be true gems, as did Lundy before his injury, and both Cerv and Miguel Cairo have started very well. Overall, it’s been quite a success.

Midseason Changes

Falkenberg and Devlin head to AAA, with Nick Altrock coming back, as well as Dennis Eckersley, who struggled mightily to start the year with the big league club.

Awards

All Stars: Rod Beck (P); Lefty Grove (P); Rickey Henderson (LF); Ken Howell (P); Reggie Jackson (RF); Charlie Root (P).

Offensive MVP: Reggie Jackson (OF)
Pitching MVP: Lefty Grove (SP)

Down on the Farm

AAA: San Jose Bees

Next to the Show: P Nick Altrock, 2B Ron Hunt, 3B Sal Bando

Prospects: P Bump Hadley (21)

Projects: P Nick Altrock (28), 3B Sal Bando (25), Ron Hunt (29)

Suspects: P Rube Walberg (34)

AA: Atlantic City Bacharach Giants

Prospects: 1B Jimmie Foxx (20)

Projects: P Chad Gaudin (22), OF Dwayne Murphy (24), 2B Dick Green (23), SS Bill Russell (20), P Shawn Estes (35), RP Turk Wendell (28), RP Joe Klink (28), P Matt Barnes (25).

Suspects: C John Mizerock (22),

TWIWBL 23.2: The All-Star Game

By mknn

On February 10, 2022

In All Star Games, TWIWBL

Alright, everyone, here we go: the first annual All-Star Game in WBL history.

The game will open with Dennis Martínez (Baltimore Black Sox) on the mound and Tom Herr (Birmingham Black Barons) digging in at the plate. Herr is one of the feel-good stories of the year, starting the year at AAA and now the heart of a struggling Black Barons squad.

Herr slaps a hard ground ball towards right, but Eddie Collins (Chicago American Giants) makes a nice diving stop. A good throw and Herr is out by a step to open the game. Martínez retired Joe Mauer (Portland Sea Dogs) and Reggie Jackson (San Francisco Sea Lions) for a scoreless opening half-inning.

Red Ruffing (New York Black Yankees) got the start for the NL, facing Collins, who fouled a few pitches off before sending Ruffing’s seventh delivery into the left field stands for a 1-0 NL lead. Baltimore’s Bobby Wallace and Chicago’s Frank Thomas grounded out to Jim Fregosi (Portland) at SS, but Elrod Hendricks (House of David) drew a two-out walk before Duffy Lewis (Chicago) flew out to center to end the inning.

Martínez came back out for the second inning, but gave up an infield single to Babe Ruth (Black Yankees) and a soft liner into right to Ron Blomberg (Cleveland Spiders). With the bullpen in full swing, Kent Hrbek (Portland) flew out to right for the first out, with Ruth moving to third. Bobby Murcer (Portland) would score Ruth with a sacrifice to left, tying the game.

Ruffing walked Willie Mays (New York Gothams) to open the bottom of the second. Hank Greenberg (Detroit Wolverines) replaced Mays at first on a fielder’s choice, and scored when WBL RBI leader Doug Rader (Los Angeles) launched a homerun. A single by Joe Jackson (Chicago) chased Ruffing from the game, with Birmingham’s Tim Hudson taking his place on the mound. Hudson retired the next two batters, ending the threat with the AL up, 3-1.

The WBL leader in wins, Gerrit Cole (Los Angeles), took the mound in the top of the 3rd and delivered a scoreless inning. Little of note–other than a ton of substitutions–happened until the top of the 4th, when Lefty Grove (San Francisco) gave up hits to Greenberg (who was replaced at first by Reggie Smith of the Memphis Red Sox) and George Stone (House of David). That brought in Cleveland’s Cy Young, who retired Joe Jackson and Collins to close the inning.

The game was uneventful (again, other than the substitutions) until the bottom of the 6th, when Ted Williams (Memphis) greeted Don Drysedale (Brooklyn Royal Giants) with a leadoff homerun, making the score 4-1. Williams’ teammate, Reggie Smith, followed with a single, but was left stranded.

The AL pitchers had allowed only 2 hits until, with one out in the top of the 7th, Chuck Knoblauch doubled off of Mark Melancon (Houston Colt 45’s). After another out, Rolen walked and pinch-hitter Johnny Bench (Indianapolis) doubled to left-center, scoring two to make the score 4-3.

With 2 outs in the bottom of the inning, Curt Blefary (Baltimore) singled, with Freddy Parent (Ottawa Mounties) pinch-running for him. Dick Allen followed with a single, sending Parent to third. Ron Reed relieved Ken Howell and retired Williams to end the inning, so we went to the 8th with the AL leading, 4-3.

The AL turned to Brian Wilson in the top of the 9th to close the game. He walked Knoblauch to lead off the inning, but got a flyout from Eric Davis (Black Yankees) for the first out, bringing up his teammate, Mickey Mantle, for his first at-bat of the game. Mantle walked, and that was it for Wilson, who was replaced by Mike Henneman (Detroit).

Henneman fanned Bench and got Rickey Henderson to groundout, and the AL wins, 4-3.

The NL only managed 5 hits in the game, and only the AL’s Blefary had 2 hits, with his teammate Rader’s 2 RBI’s the most seen on the day. That earned Rader the MVP award. Cole (who earned the victory), Reed, and Craig Kimbrel were the most impressive pitchers on the day.

NL 3 (Ruffing 0-1) @ AL 4 (Cole 1-0; Henneman 1 Sv; Pettitte 1 H; Melancon 1 H; Kimbrel 1 H; Nichols 1 H; Wilson 1 H)
HRs: AL – Collins (1), Rader (1), Williams (1)
Box Score

TWIWBL 21.1: NL All Star Selections

By mknn

On January 26, 2022

In All Star Games, TWIWBL

AL All Stars here.

The final choice was the hardest, as the NL decided to go with only 11 pitchers, electing to select both Rickey Henderson and Josh Gibson over Joseíto Muñoz‘ arm in the bullpen.

Predictably, the New York Black Yankees have the most players going with seven, but the Portland Sea Dogs will supply four of the starters for the NL.

The Indianapolis ABC’s and the Miami Cuban Giants will have a single representative each.

Catchers

Portland’s Joe Mauer is the starting backstop. The question here is whether Thurman Munson (Black Yankees) has done enough to overtake Indianapolis’ Johnny Bench behind him. Munson’s OPS is .001 higher, and he’s spent a little more time behind the plate. But Bench has played more overall, and leads Munson in all counting stats other than doubles. It’s a bit of a moot point, as all three make the team.

That potentially leaves two deserving players off the roster: the Homestead Grays‘ Josh Gibson is putting up incredible numbers for a teenager and Mauer’s teammate, Iván Rodríguez, would easily make the team if he had more playing time (it’s a pretty good problem for the Sea Dogs to have).

Johnny Bench (IND). 278/394/542.
Josh Gibson (HOM). 315/406/472.
Joe Mauer (POR). 317/401/545.
Thurman Munson (NYY). 330/392/544; 20 2B.
Iván Rodríguez (POR). 352/370/555.

First Base

Three players have an OPS over 1.000 but only one will make the roster as a first baseman. The Cleveland Spiders‘ Ron Blomberg will start for the NL, but at DH, while Portland’s Kent Hrbek will take the field at first. The third player, Blomberg’s teammate John Ellis, just hasn’t played enough, with under 200 plate appearances. Still, those numbers are a little hard to ignore.

New York’s Lou Gehrig deserves a selection, but like Blomberg, he’s seen the field very rarely, so he’ll also make the roster as a DH. Finally, both Homestead’s Mike Epstein and Indianapolis’ Jake Stahl deserve a very close look for a roster spot, but with both Blomberg and Gehrig ahead of them, it’s not clear they’ll make it. In the end, Epstein is the strongest candidate from the Grays, so he does make the roster.

Ron Blomberg (CLE). 335/405/618; 18 HR; 18 2B; 49 RBI; 48 R.
John Ellis (CLE). 311/351/659; 16 HR.
Mike Epstein (HOM). 336/438/521.
Lou Gehrig (NYY). 284/382/591; 16 HR.
Kent Hrbek (POR). 322/393/617; 22 HR; 54 RBI; 53 R.
Jake Stahl (IND). 277/337/564.

Second Base

Despite Tom Herr‘s recent slump, the Birmingham Black Barons‘ second baseman remains a media darling, and was anointed as the all star starter many moons ago. It’s a little unfair to Cleveland’s Chuck Knoblauch, who really has surpassed Herr by a hair. Herr has been the superior fielder by quite a bit, so perhaps that justifies his getting the starting nod.

After those two, it’s hard. Indianapolis’ Joe Morgan deserves it, but has played in barely over half the ABC’s games. The other two candidates–the San Francisco Sea Lion‘s Jimmy Bloodworth and the Brooklyn Royal Giant‘s Jackie Robinson–come with their own concerns. In Robinson’s case, he’s really played much more at 1B, where his offensive contribution is decidedly mediocre; Bloodworth’s numbers are just a tad weaker across the board than the others.

Jimmy Bloodworth (SFS). 282/320/467.
Tom Herr (BBB). 310/355/440. 16 2B.
Chuck Knoblauch (CLE). 300/353/451. 16 2B.
Joe Morgan (IND). 301/385/412.
Jackie Robinson (BRK). 273/338/485.

Third Base

The hot corner is a little weak in the NL. The Philadelphia Star‘s Scott Rolen is among the better hitters and has been–by far–the flashiest with the leather, so he gets the starting nod.

Portland’s Buddy Bell has hit better than Rolen, but is both mired in a slump and has been weaker defensively. Still, it’s enough to make the team. After those two … who knows? Brooklyn’s Ron Cey has been fine, and if there is a need for a third player, he’s likely it. San Francisco’s Pedro Guerrero has neither played enough in general, nor enough at 3B to warrant inclusion, but he has been a force offensively.

Buddy Bell (POR). 290/354/506; 44 RBI.
Ron Cey (BRK). 242/350/465.
Pedro Guerrero (SFS). 298/367/530.
Scott Rolen (PHI). 284/353/491. 19 2B.

Shortstop

Offensively, there are really only two contenders: Portland’s Jim Fregosi and New York’s Derek Jeter. Both have been below average defensively, but Fregosi has been better than Jeter: between that and his better offensive output, he gets the starting nod.

Homestead’s Arky Vaughan has been spectacular defensively, but it’s not clear it’s been enough to offset a very poor offensive showing, while San Francisco’s Dick Lundy was making a good argument before he got injured.

Jim Fregosi (POR). 286/356/435; 16 2B.
Derek Jeter (NYY). 278/325/393; 17 2B.
Dick Lundy (SFS). 278/292/421.
Arky Vaughan (HOM). 223/340/327.

Left Fielders

Even with his numbers dropping over the past few weeks, Babe Ruth of the New York Black Yankees is the dominant player here. There is a bit of a drop after Ruth, with possible arguments being made for Philadelphia’s Rico Carty and Portland’s Harry Hooper. None of those three players bring much defensively, and taking that into consideration, Brooklyn’s Roy White and Homestead’s Rick Reichardt, and perhaps San Francisco’s Rickey Henderson enter the conversation.

Finally, there is the Albert Belle conundrum: his numbers are beyond impressive, but he’s not played a lot of innings.

Albert Belle (NYY). 315/377/558; 18 2B.
Rico Carty (PHI). 287/354/470; 25 2B.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 261/398/370; 52 R; 50 SB.
Harry Hooper (POR). 297/399/418; 45 R.
Rick Reichardt (HOM). 284/372/436; 42 RBI.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 305/413/649; 24 HR; 16 2B; 67 RBI; 58 R.
Roy White (BRK). 284/352/451; 17 2B.

Center Fielders

Now things get a little more interesting.

Bobby Murcer (Portland) is the clear starter, but an argument can be made for another four players behind him: San Francisco’s Bobby Bonds, Brooklyn’s Duke Snider, and the Davis twins–New York’s Eric Davis and Philadelphia’s Willie Davis–are all fairly indistinguishable. Eric was once considered the lock starter, but has slumped recently, but he is still certain to make the squad.

Eric Davis and Snider have been among the better defenders, bolstering each of their arguments as well.

Bobby Bonds (SFS). 314/364/531; 26 SB.
Eric Davis (NYY). 286/337/557; 22 HR; 66 RBI; 55 R; 35 SB.
Willie Davis (PHI). 299/358/537.
Bobby Murcer (POR). 327/402/567; 15 2B; 48 RBI; 46 R.
Duke Snider (BRK). 327/363/548; 16 HR; 44 RBI.

Right Field

The starter is the most obvious selection of all: triple-crown threat Reggie Jackson of the San Francisco Seals earns the honor. Behind Jackson, New York’s Mickey Mantle and Miami’s José Canseco are the clear choices, with Homestead’s Roberto Clemente forcing himself into the conversation over the last few weeks.

José Canseco (MCG). 295/365/502; 41 R.
Roberto Clemente (HOM). 309/336/486; 15 2B; 40 RBI.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 356/453/648; 16 2B; 16 HR; 44 R.
Mickey Mantle (NYY). 292/399/456; 48 R.

Starting Pitchers

Red Ruffing of the New York Black Yankees has come out of nowhere to be in the conversation for the starting slot for the AL with a 9-2 record. San Francisco’s Lefty Grove is close behind at 8-2, and several pitchers have 7 wins. Brooklyn’s Don Drysedale leads the AL in ERA among starters, and Cleveland’s workhorse Cy Young leads in WHIP. So those four feel pretty solid. Two more Black Yankees–Waite Hoyt and WBL strikeout leader Ron Guidry (whose last few starts have probably moved him off the roster)–are in the conversation, as is Miami’s Camilo Pascual and Portland’s Walter Johnson.

Pascual and Guidry have losing records, making their selection harder to justify, although Pascual plays for a bad team, making that less of an issue for him.

Finally, Tim Hudson of the Birmingham Black Barons has forced his way onto the roster, despite being a few inning short of qualifying as a starting pitcher. Going 5-0 with an ERA under 3.00 and a WHIP under 1.00 will do that.

Don Drysedale (BRK). 5-3; 3.23; 1.19 WHIP.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 8-2; 3.49; 1.30 WHIP.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 5-6; 4.27; 1.25 WHIP.
Waite Hoyt (NYY). 5-1; 3.51; 1.22 WHIP.
Tim Hudson (BBB). 5-0; 2.73; 0.93 WHIP.
Walter Johnson (POR). 7-3; 3.83 ERA; 1.30 WHIP.
Camilo Pascual (MCG). 4-6; 3.42; 1.27 WHIP.
Red Ruffing (NYY). 9-2; 3.79; 1.32 WHIP.
Cy Young (CLE). 6-3; 3.54; 1.17 WHIP.

Relief Pitchers

For the closers, WBL save leader Johan Santana of Portland is an automatic choice, as are Cleveland’s Terry Adams and San Francisco’s Rod Beck. And then it becomes a matter of tradeoffs: Philadelphia’s Bob Howry‘s other numbers are great, but his ERA is over 5.00 while Brooklyn’s Watty Clark and Miami’s Aroldis Chapman have a decent number of saves, but probably fall short.

Portland’s Elmer Brown and San Francisco’s Ron Robinson have 9 Holds each, trailing Philadelphia’s Ron Reed, who has 12.

Indianapolis’ Willie Mitchell has been absolutely dominant, with an ERA barely over 1.00, but it’s hard to really choose between him, San Francisco’s Ken Howell and Charlie Root, and Portland’s Joseíto Muñoz.

Terry Adams (CLE). 0-3; 17 Sv; 2.91; 1.66 WHIP.
Rod Beck (SFS). 1-1; 16 Sv; 2.65; 1 H; 0.76 WHIP.
Elmer Brown (POR). 2-4; 4 Sv; 2.35; 9 H; 1.14 WHIP.
Aroldis Chapman (MCG). 201; 12 Sv; 1.59 ERA; 2.06 WHIP.
Watty Clark (BRK). 3-1; 13 Sv; 1.66; 1.11 WHIP.
Ken Howell (SFS). 3-3; 3 Sv; 1.45; 3 H; 0.97 WHIP.
Bob Howry (PHI). 2-3; 16 Sv; 5.04; 1.66 WHIP.
Willie Mitchell (IND). 2-2; 1 Sv; 1.08; 1 H; 1.16 WHIP.
Joseíto Muñoz (POR). 3-1; 3 Sv; 1.19; 2 H; 1.02 WHIP.
Ron Reed (PHI). 0-2; 3 Sv; 2.72; 12 H; 1.13 WHIP.
Ron Robinson (SFS). 4-1; 3.45; 9 H; 1.36 WHIP.
Charlie Root (SFS). 4-1; 2.98; 0.99 WHIP.
Johan Santana (POR). 1-1; 22 Sv; 2.57; 1 H; 1.48 WHIP.

Selections by Team

Listed alphabetically, Italic indicates a starter.

Birmingham Black Barons: Tom Herr (2B); Tim Hudson (P).
Brooklyn Royal Giants: Don Drysedale (P).
Cleveland Spiders: Terry Adams (P); Ron Blomberg (DH); Chuck Knoblauch (2B); Cy Young (P).
Homestead Grays: Mike Epstein (1B); Josh Gibson (C).
Indianapolis ABC’s: Johnny Bench (C)
Miami Cuban Giants: José Canseco (RF)
New York Black Yankees. Eric Davis (CF); Lou Gehrig (1B); Derek Jeter (SS); Mickey Mantle (RF); Thurman Munson (C); Red Ruffing (P); Babe Ruth (LF).
Philadelphia Stars: Ron Reed (P); Scott Rolen (3B).
Portland Sea Dogs: Buddy Bell (3B); Jim Fregosi (SS); Kent Hrbek (1B); Joe Mauer (C); Bobby Murcer (CF); Johan Santana (P).
San Francisco Sea Lions: Rod Beck (P); Lefty Grove (P); Rickey Henderson (LF); Ken Howell (P); Reggie Jackson (RF); Charlie Root (P).

TWIWBL 20.4: Series XVII Notes – Marvin Miller Division

By mknn

On January 14, 2022

In TWIWBL

#Birmingham Black Barons

Del Crandall threw out 4 runners in a 13 inning loss against Houston.

A first inning grand slam from Troy Tulowitzki was all Vic Willis needed in a 6-0 victory over Houston. Willis allowed 4 hits and whiffed 8 in 8 innings, lowering his ERA to a microscopic 0.70 and picking up his first victory of the year.

#Miami Cuban Giants

Called on to make a rare start, Eustaquio Pedroso turned in 5 strong innings before a rain delay of just over an hour chased him from the game. Miami hit four homeruns, with José Canseco, Alan Ashby, Manny Machado, and Ryan Braun each going deep and Roenis Elías and Clay Condrey pitched 4 innings of 1-run ball after the rain stopped as the Cuban Giants defeated the House of David, 9-3.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

Pedro Guerrero, Reggie Jackson, and Jack Clark hit back-to-back-to-back homeruns in the 5th inning, but it wasn’t enough as the Sea Lions couldn’t stop Los Angeles’ offense in an 8-6 loss.

Despite blowing the save in the top of the inning, a walk-off double from Bob Cerv gave Rod Beck the victory in a 5-4 victory for the Sea Lions over the Angels. Miguel Cairo stole 3 bases and scored 2 runs, including the game-winner, but the real star for San Francisco was Charlie Root, who pitched a very strong 8 innings, but didn’t figure into the decision.

Jackson had 3 hits and 5 RBI’s in a 9-4 victory over Los Angeles. Bobby Bonds also had 3 hits, and Jackson and Guerrero went deep. Lefty Grove improved to 8-2 with 11 strikeouts in 6 innings.

TWIWBL 20.0: Series XVII Notes

By mknn

On January 4, 2022

In TWIWBL

June 12

Awards

C Elrod Hendricks of the House of David hit .545 (12 for 22) with 4 homeruns to earn the WBL Player of the Week Award.

Performance

At the end of Series XVII, This Week in Whirled Baseball 19.0 took a look at the best young performers in the WBL. This time, we’ll look at the over 30 players making a difference.

30 year old Albert Belle of the New York Black Yankees has probably been the best of them, slashing 312/377/551, but he just misses out on the qualification requirements for batters. So we turn instead to 31 year old Jake Stahl of the Cleveland Spiders, who leads the pack with an OPS of just under .900. Portland‘s Gil Hodges (30) has 16 homeruns and Oscar Gamble of the Detroit Wolverines leads with 52 RBIs.

Here’s what the old guys team might look like:

C: Jim Pagliaroni (31, Memphis Red Sox). 272/366/447.
1B: Jake Stahl (31, Cleveland). 277/336/559.
2B: Rogers Hornsby (33, Kansas City Monarchs). 300/384/469.
SS: Bobby Wallace (33, Baltimore Black Sox). 314/410/455.
3B: Jimmy Collins (34, Detroit). 232/280/382.
LF: Oscar Gamble (31, Detroit). 267/383/504.
CF: Don Buford (31, Los Angeles Angels). 296/389/428.
RF: Gavvy Cravath (35, Philadelphia Stars). 322/360/507.
DH: Carlos Delgado (30, Ottawa Mounties). 282/401/482.

Honorable mention to 36 year old Dan McGann of Baltimore, slashing along at 307/407/483. McGann joins Cravath and his Philadelphia teammate Rico Carty (36, 296/360/483) and Detroit’s Tony Phillips (38, 238/374/389) in the over-35 club, holding down a contributing role.

If you’re paying close attention, you’ll see that Detroit has three players mentioned so far: the Wolverines may be in win-now mode as the trading deadline approaches.

On the mound, the New York Gotham‘s Juan Marichal (32, 7-2, 4.55) and the Black Yankees’ Jack Scott (33, 7-3, 3.50) lead the way, although a special tip of the hat goes to 30 year old Mark Melancon, who is 7-1 out of the bullpen for the Houston Colt 45‘s. But the best of them all has probably been Kansas City’s Andy Pettitte, who sports a 3.12 ERA to go along with a less sparkling 5-3 record.

Leading Performers

The top 2 (ish) performers in each category are included, league leaders in bold.

Best Batters

A few things to note. First, the Chicago American Giants big three–Dick Allen, Joe Jackson, and Frank Thomas–is very impressive; second, Reggie Jackson of the San Francisco Sea Lions now leads in all three slash categories; and third, Babe Ruth is in a bit of a slump (I mean all things are relative), and while he is still listed in 5 categories, he only leads in 2 (homeruns and runs scored).

Dick Allen (Chicago). 298/357/579; 8 3B.
Rico Carty (Philadelphia). 296/360/483; 24 2B.
Mike Epstein (Homestead). 338/443/532.
Bobby Grich (Los Angeles). 293/369/479; 24 2B.
Rickey Henderson (San Francisco). 263/407/357; 55 BB; 50 SB.
Kent Hrbek (Portland). 317/388/623; 22 HR.
Joe Jackson (Chicago). 350/434/634; 56 R.
Reggie Jackson (San Francisco). 371/470/668.
Willie Mays (Gothams). 355/412/595; 93 H; 3.9 WAR.
Doug Rader (Los Angeles). 308/367/502; 66 RBI.
Tim Raines (Ottawa). 300/376/466; 48 SB.
Babe Ruth (Black Yankees). 313/422/663; 23 HR; 65 RBI; 56 R; 48 BB; 3.8 WAR.
Louis Santop (Cleveland). 303/337/461; 8 3B.
Frank Thomas (Chicago). 355/439/605; 91 H.

Best Starting Pitchers

Baltimore’s Ned Garvin continues to make a strong argument to be the best starting pitcher in the league.

Bill Byrd (Baltimore). 5-2; 3.09 ERA; 1.11 WHIP.
Gerrit Cole (Los Angeles). 10-3; 4.20 ERA.
Ned Garvin (Baltimore). 5-2; 2.78 ERA; 2 H; 0.98 WHIP.
Lefty Grove (San Francisco). 8-2; 3.49 ERA; 100 Ks.
Ron Guidry (Black Yankees). 5-5; 3.90 ERA ; 105 Ks.
Walter Johnson (Portland). 7-3; 3.88 ERA; 2.8 WAR.
Johnny Marcum (Detroit). 6-2; 2.92 ERA; 1 H.
Red Ruffing (Black Yankees). 9-1; 3.62 ERA.
Cy Young (Cleveland). 6-2; 3.40 ERA; 2.6 WAR.

Best Relievers

20 IP minimum for rate stats.

Terry Adams (Cleveland). 0-3; 2.91 ERA ; 17 Sv.
Elmer Brown (Portland). 2-4; 2.37 ERA ; 3 Sv; 9 H.
Turk Farrell (Memphis). 0-2; 2.95 ERA ; 1 Sv; 2 H; 28 G.
Bob Howry (Philadelphia). 1-3; 5.01 ERA; 16 Sv; 1.03 WHIP.
Ken Howell (San Francisco). 3-2; 1.20 ERA; 3 Sv; 3 H; 0.90 WHIP.
Mark Melancon (Houston). 7-1; 3.00 ERA ; 1 Sv; 5 H.
Willie Mitchell (Indianapolis). 2-2; 1.19 ERA; 1 H.
Ron Reed (Philadelphia). 0-2; 2.87 ERA ; 3 Sv; 12 H; 35 G.
Ron Robinson (San Francisco). 4-1; 3.45 ERA ; 9 H.
Johan Santana (Portland). 1-1; 2.79 ERA ; 22 Sv.

Streaks

The unstoppable force that is Thurman Munson just keeps on going: the Black Yankees’ backstop has now reached base in 39 consecutive games. The Gothams’ Willie Mays has reached base in 29 straight.

Brooklyn‘s Duke Snider and Chicago’s Joe Jackson are edging up the list of hitting streaks, with active 17 and 16 game runs, respectively (Jackson is slashing 438/486/828 over his last 15 games, easily the most extended hot streak in the league). Two slightly more oddball streaks: Homestead’s Mike Epstein has reached base in 8 consecutive plate appearances and Philadelphia’s George Hendrick has 4 consecutive pinch-hits.

On the mound, the Black Yankee’s Red Ruffing hasn’t allowed a run in 20 innings, setting a new league record and Chicago’s AJ Minter has now gone 16 straight appearances without allowing a run, extending his league record.

Two of the longest exercises in patience may be running out. Baltimore’s Paul Blair resurgence was clearly a mirage, and the center fielders has managed only 7 hits in his last 43 at-bats. The House of David’s Mark McGwire draws his share of walks, but little else, managing only 7 hits in his last 80 at-bats for a 087/253/125 slash line over that time.

Series XVII Results

Series XVII Sweeps

Chicago over Kansas City

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XVII

Brooklyn over Portland
Cleveland over Philadelphia
Gothams over Homestead
San Francisco over Los Angeles
Black Yankees over Memphis

Series XVII Splits

Baltimore @ Ottawa
Birmingham Black Barons @ Houston
Indianapolis @ Detroit
Miami Cuban Giants @ House of David

TWIWBL 19.0: Series XVI Notes

By mknn

On November 23, 2021

In TWIWBL

June 8th

Awards

Robinson Canó of the Kansas City Monarchs won the WBL Player of the Week. It’s unusual to win the award with only 7 at-bats over the week … but Canó went 6-for-7 with 3 homeruns and 6 RBIs to take the honor.

Performance

Let’s do a look at the youngest players in the WBL before the usual lists.

Only one true teenager has enough plate appearances to make the leaderboards, and that is Bryce Harper of the Baltimore Black Sox. Harper, 19, who struggled for the opening month or so, has begun to come around, now sporting an OPS just over .700.

But four players under 21 years of age are sporting OPS’ over .900, led by the Monarchs’ Stan Musial (21, 343/406/593) and the Memphis Red Sox‘s Ted Williams (20, 293/380/573).

You could actually put together a great hitting team from the qualifying youngsters, although you would need to juggle some positions:

C: Josh Gibson, 20, Homestead Grays.
1B: Frank Robinson, 20, Baltimore.
2B: Tim Raines, 21, Ottawa Mounties.
SS: Carlos Correa, 21, Houston Colt 45s.
3B: Albert Pujols, 21, Kansas City.
LF: Stan Musial, 21, Kansas City.
CF: Mickey Mantle, 20, New York Black Yankees.
RF: Ty Cobb, 20, Detroit Wolverines.
DH: Ted Williams, 20, Memphis.

On the mound, the true teenage starting pitchers are the Portland Sea Dogs‘ Walter Johnson, who is among the best in the business, and the Cleveland Spider‘s Bob Feller, who has certainly shown some flashes. Johnson (7-2, 3.61) and the Brooklyn Royal Giants‘ Don Drysedale (20, 4-3, 3.32) would lead the staff.

Two 18 year-olds are more than holding their own, albeit in limited action: Portland’s Joseito Muñoz has been essentially unhittable, posting a 0.70 ERA in 26 innings and Houston’s Leon Day has a 2.57 ERA in 10 games.

Leading Performers

The top 2 (ish) performers in each category are included, league leaders in bold.

Best Batters

It’s a wide ranging list, with–still–only Babe Ruth really appearing across the board.

Rico Carty, Philadelphia Stars. 312/378/500; 24 2B.
Eric Davis, Black Yankees. 278/330/532; 19 HR.
Bobby Grich, Los Angeles Angels. 294/366/481, 23 2B.
Rickey Henderson, San Francisco Sea Lions. 271/411/369; 51 BB; 48 SB.
Joe Jackson, Chicago American Giants. 350/437/637; 54 R.
Reggie Jackson, San Francisco. 375/475/661.
Duffy Lewis, Chicago. 318/358/632. 19 HR.
Willie Mays, New York Gothams. 350/406/577; 86 H.
Stan Musial, Kansas City. 343/406/593; 85 H.
Doug Rader, Los Angeles. 310/370/506; 60 RBI.
Babe Ruth, Black Yankees. 316/427/684; 3.8 WAR; 23 HR; 64 RBI; 55 R; 47 BB.
Louis Santop, Cleveland. 309/341/474; 8 3B.
Frank Thomas, Chicago. 356/440/590.

Best Starting Pitchers

We’re beginning to see some volume, with Cleveland’s Cy Young being the first hurler to top 100 innings and the Black Yankees’ Ron Guidry over 100 strikeouts.

Bill Byrd, Baltimore. 5-2; 3.14 ERA.
Gerrit Cole, Los Angeles. 10-3; 4.20 ERA.
Lefty Grove, San Francisco. 7-2; 3.31 ERA; 89 Ks.
Ron Guidry, Black Yankees. 5-5; 3.90 ERA; 105 Ks.
Roy Halladay, Ottawa. 3-5; 3.75 ERA; 1.12 WHIP.
Walter Jonson, Portland. 7-2; 3.61 ERA; 2.9 WAR.
Dennis Martínez, Baltimore. 8-2; 3.07 ERA.
Andy Pettitte, Kansas City. 5-3; 3.12 ERA.
Red Ruffing, Black Yankees. 8-1; 3.81 ERA.
Cy Young, Cleveland. 6-2; 3.40 ERA; 1.15 ERA; 2.6 WAR.

Best Relievers

20 IP minimum for the rate stats. Notice that the list is dominated by bullpens (San Francisco, Portland, Philadelphia), not individuals.

Rod Beck, San Francisco. 0-1; 1.69 ERA; 16 Sv.
Elmer Brown, Portland. 2-3; 2.28 ERA; 3 Sv; 9 H.
Ken Howell, San Francisco. 3-2; 1.32 ERA; 0.91 WHIP; 3 Sv; 3 H.
Bob Howry, Philadelphia. 1-2; 4.15 ERA; 16 Sv.
Mark Melancon, Houston. 6-1; 2.86 ERA; 1 Sv; 5 H.
Joseito Muñoz, Portland. 2-1; 0.70 ERA; 3 Sv; 2 H.
Ron Reed, Philadelphia. 0-2; 2.83 ERA; 3 Sv; 11 H.
Ron Robinson, San Francisco. 3-1; 2.30 ERA; 9 H.
Johan Santana, Portland. 1-1; 2.95 ERA; 21 Sv.
Doc White, Indianapolis ABCs. 2-1; 2.35 ERA; 0.83 WHIP; 1 Sv; 2 H.

Streaks

We’re getting to the point where active streaks are more and more rare because, math.

Some exceptions, though: in one of the more surprising developments, the Black Yankees’ Thurman Munson has reached base in 36 straight games. The Gothams’ Willie Mays has an active streak of 25 games.

Baltimore’s Elrod Hendricks has gotten a hit in 8 consecutive at-bats, the longest streak in the league so far.

Cy Young deserves some attention: 6 consecutive wins, and undefeated over his last 11 starts. After a rocky start to the season, Chicago’s AJ Minter hasn’t been scored on in his last 15 outings.

Minter’s teammate Joe Jackson is on a tear, hitting 462/509/885 over his last 12 games. At the other end, Houston’s Jimmy Wynn is hitless in his last 25 at-bats, managing only 2 walks in that time to see his overall numbers plummet.

Series XVI Results

Series XVI Sweeps

Birmingham over Miami Cuban Giants

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XVI

Brooklyn over Black Yankees
Chicago over Homestead
Indianapolis over Houston
Portland over Kansas City
Gothams over Ottawa

Series XVI Splits

Wandering House of David @ Baltimore
Detroit @ Cleveland
Philadelphia @ Los Angeles
San Francisco @ Memphis