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TWIWBL 77.3: The Trade Market

By

On August 29, 2025

In TWIWBL

With the August trade deadline just around the corner, seemed to be a good time to take a look at the likely sellers and buyers, and some players that are likely to find new homes by the end of next week.

Some notes on these:

  • Needs reflect places where the minor league systems are thin on talent and the general shape of WBL level talent needed.
  • The second three bullets (Prospects, AAA Help, WBL Help) are possible players that could be available in the right context..

#BUYERS

These are teams looking to solidify their talent or make a push for the post-season. In a perfect world, they have some young talent to spare as well.

#Birmingham Black Barons

Yeah, they’re in 5th place, but they’re also only 4 games back, so there’s hope. The Black Barons have been ingenious at past deadlines, we’ll see if they can continue the trend.

Needs: IF, P, Minor League SS/3B

Prospects: OF Melky Cabrera, Curt Flood, Gary Matthews; IF Nate Colbert, Hal Trosky
AAA Help: P Tommy Bond; IF Pie Traynor
MLB Help: OF Bob Nieman

#Cleveland Spiders

Could use another SP, as well as a help in the middle infield–Chuck Knoblauch is skating along on last year’s performance, and there isn’t any depth to speak of at 2B/SS despite Steve Sax‘s excellent first 50 PA’s.

Needs: Minor League 2B/SS.

Prospects: OF Paul O’Neill, Kenny Lofton; IF Johnny Hodapp
AAA Help: P Chuck Porter, Claude Passeau; IF Bob Elliott, Brook Jacoby
MLB Help: IF Willie McCovey

#Homestead Grays

A Wild Card spot is likely for the Grays, who have a powerhouse offense and a desperate need for pitching. With some young talent blocked, they may be able to make some moves.

Needs: Bullpen is aging

Prospects: OF Max Carey, Paul Waner; IF Freddie Lindstrom
AAA Help: OF Starling Marte; IF Jeff Kent, P Brickyard Kennedy
MLB Help: OF Goose Goslin

#Houston Colt 45’s

Another team caught between a wild card chase and building for the future, the Colt 45’s would love to address their one ongoing need, which is a catcher to take over from the aging Jorge Posada, as some in the organization are not yet sold on Will Smith as the longterm solve behind the plate. There is a crunch at 1B/DH as well, as there really aren’t enough AB’s to go around for both Paul Goldschmidt and the recently demoted Andrés Galaragga.

Needs: Minor League C, SS.

Prospects: IF Bucky Dent, Travis Jackson, Wes Helms; OF César Cedeño, Hunter Pence, Shin-Soo Choo
AAA Help: P Mike Sirotka, Óscar Tuero; IF Carney Lansford, Aramis Ramírez, OF Gorman Thomas, Johnny Damon
MLB Help: Various bullpen pieces may be possible

#Indianapolis ABC’s

Another team riding the wild card roller coaster. The ABC’s are solid offensively, but struggle some behind their top end starters. There are some blocked players–perhaps most notably Jake Stenzel–so there are some pieces available.

Needs: Minor League OF

Prospects: OF Jim Eisenreich, IF Pokey Reese, Sean Casey, Hal Morris
AAA Help: P Johnny Vandeer Meer; OF Jody Gerut, Dave Henderson, Ed Swartwood; IF Dan Driessen
MLB Help: OF Jake Stenzel, Bob Bescher, IF Ed Charles

#Kansas City Monarchs

This Monarchs team will make the playoffs a year or two ahead of schedule so the choice of how much to surrender for immediate success is a bit challenging. At some point, some of the positional logjams need to be sorted out (Albert Pujols, Dale Murphy, and Ducky Medwick; Willie McGee and Cool Papa Bell), but it’s not clear that now is that time.

Needs: Minor League C; WBL Offense

Prospects: OF Wade Johnston, Earl Averill; IF Keston Hiura, Pat Burrell
AAA Help: P Adam Wainwright, Jack Quinn; IF Ken Boyer, Andre Thornton; OF Merv Rettenmund, Jim King
MLB Help: P Matt Morris, Luke Hamlin

#New York Black Yankees

Once again the Black Yankees are trying to find the right piece to extend their postseason run. At some point, they’ll need to solve their post Derek Jeter needs at SS, but this is probably not that time.

Needs: Minor League OF; P; future SS.

Prospects: OF Rob Deer, Clyde Milan
AAA Help: OF Roger Maris; IF Tom Herr, Red Rolfe; P AJ Burnett
MLB Help: P Rheal Cormier, Red Ruffing, Waite Hoyt

#MEH

A mix of teams doing well enough not need anything (San Francisco) and those not willing to give up much because they like their current talent composition moving into Year 3. Never say never, as these teams do have some pieces, but they are far less motivated to get something done at the deadline.

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

This team is just beginning to gel, but they could use some offense and they are one of the few franchises with arms to spare.

Needs: SS if unconvinced by Vern Stephens; Minor League 1B

Prospects: OF Matty Alou, Raúl Mondesi, Don Mueller; IF Sonny Jackson, Ken McMullen, Maury Wills; P Doc Newton, Zach Britton
MLB Help: IF Germany Smith, Dick Bertell
AAA Help: IF Jim Gentile, Eric Karros; C Kelly Shoppach; P Ron Perranoski

#Detroit Wolverines

They’re in an odd spot: on the one hand, they are likely to be in the wild card chase; on the other, this is a team well positioned for the future, and eager to cement that status. There are a lot of pieces that are over 30, but none–other than perhaps Oscar Gamble–are key cogs in the Wolverines’ machine.

Needs: Minor League 3B; IF, esp SS; P.

Prospects: IF Wander Franco
MLB Help: OF Oscar Gamble
AAA Help: OF Brady Clark, Wes Covington; IF Jimmy Collins; P Dennis Rasmussen

#Miami Cuban Giants

The Cuban Giants have an outside shot at a wildcard slot, but this is a team building for the future. As such, I would expect them to stand pat, or perhaps move some end of roster pieces for minor league depth.

Needs: Minor League OF, 3B, 1B; WBL P.

Prospects: OF Roy Thomas, Carlos Morán
MLB Help: P Sandy Consuegra, Kenshin Kawakami; OF Andy Pafko
AAA Help: IF Nellie Fox

#Ottawa Mounties

Even though the Mounties have a shot at the playoffs, this is a team trying to position itself for the future, which basically means begging everyone and anyone for pitching.

Needs: Minor League SS, 3B, C. SP.

Prospects: OF Warren Cromartie, Willie Upshaw, Willie Keeler, Leon Roberts
MLB Help: P Bryn Smith; IF Roy Sievers; OF Rick Monday
AAA Help: IF John Olerud; OF Terry Puhl, Bob Allison; C Emil Gross; P Chris Bosio

#Philadelphia Stars

The Stars are on the fringe of the playoffs, but really this is a team aiming at cementing and building around its emerging nucleus. As such, some of its useful veterans may be available; at the same time, Philadelphia would love to add some pitching and address its issues in the middle infield.

Needs: MI, P, WBL Offense.

Prospects: ???
MLB Help: OF Rico Carty; P Bob Howry, Robin Roberts, Pedro Feliciano; IF Art Fletcher, Ted Kluszewski
AAA Help: OF Bobby Abreu; IF Jung Ho Kang, Dolph Camilli, Cecil Cooper; C Sherm Lollar

#San Francisco Sea Lions

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. That said, if an easy piece comes available, it’s unlikely the Sea Lions ignore the opportunity.

Needs: Minor League 1B

Prospects: OF Jules Thomas, Matt Holliday; IF Freddie Freeman; P Jair Jurrjens
MLB Help:
AAA Help: IF Dick Green, Denny Walling; OF Josh Reddick; P Rube Walberg

#Wandering House of David

Even the House of David isn’t convinced their playoff chances are real. Still … they might be. So it’s a bit of a quandary in terms of whether they should move some of their young talent or not. The challenge is the roster really doesn’t make a ton of sense: CF is overly crowded, 1B/DH as well, and there is an abundance of talent at 2B.

Needs: P

Prospects: OF Tony Conigliaro; IF Billy Herman
MLB Help: OF Jim Edmonds, George Gore; IF Mark McGwire, Richie Hebner
AAA Help: P Joaquín Andújar; IF Tom Hutton, Mark Grace; OF Tracy Jones

#SELLERS

Teams with either an excess of talent, or who have thrown in the towel on the season and have some veteran pieces that may be attractive.

#Baltimore Black Sox

Last year’s champs, this year’s dunces. Baltimore believes in its young core, a belief that may see them retain FA acquisition Gavvy Cravath, but even he may be had for the right price.

Needs: all P, Minor League OF.

MLB Help: IF Bobby Wallace, Dan McGann; P Buddy Groom, Connie Johnson, Joe Beggs
AAA Help: P Ken Johnson, Kevin Tapani, Christhian Martínez; OF Ken Griffey, Sr; IF Brian Roberts

#Chicago American Giants

The season cannot end soon enough. Chicago has talent to be a contender, but nothing has gone right for them this season. They are willing to blow up their pitching staff, from a how much worse could it be perspective.

Needs: Minor League OF, C; prime P

Prospects: IF Jorge Orta; OF Walter Davis, Lenny Dykstra
MLB Help: P Akinori Otsuka, Joe Lake, Mark Buehrle, Hoyt Wilhelm, David Price; IF Paul Konerko, Freddy Parent; OF Vernon Wells
AAA Help: OF Rocky Colavito, Magglio Ordóñez; C Michael McKenry

#Los Angeles Angels

It hasn’t been a bad year for the Angels, but they are still a player or three away. There is a lot of mound talent in the organization, but they could use some long term solutions at SS, 3B, and C.

Needs: Minor League OF, C, 2B; WBL Offense.

Prospects: OF Norm Miller
MLB Help: IF Eddie Joost
AAA Help: OF Elmer Valo; IF Mark Ellis; P Rich Hill

#Memphis Red Sox

There is hope in Beantown. Just not for this year. There also are some pieces that may hold attraction for contenders, most notably 1B Bill White (with the Red Sox happy to turn 1B over to David Ortiz) and closer Jonathan Papelbon. There is a lot of congestion at various positions that needs to clarify over time.

Needs: Minor League C, SS; SP; 2B/SS

Prospects: IF Dustin Pedroia, OF Joe Rudi, Dwight Evans, Lefty O’Doul, Candy Jim Taylor, P Jim Kaat
MLB Help: P Tommy de la Cruz, Jonathan Papelbon; IF Bill White, DJ LeMahieu, Iván De Jesús, Nomar Garciaparra
AAA Help: IF George Scott, Dustin Pedroia

#New York Gothams

With this season pretty much scrapped, the Gothams are looking to the future. Which puts them in an interesting spot, as they have a fair number of useful parts on the wrong side of 30. But it’s not a total fire sale, as the team isn’t that far away from competing.

Needs: Minor League SS, C, 2B; SS

Prospects: OF Rick Manning
MLB Help: P Mike Norris, Juan Marichal, Troy Percival, Gaylord Perry; IF Joe Adcock, Larry Doyle, Terry Turner
AAA Help: OF Carl Furillo, Steve Kemp, Charlie Hamburg; IF George Kell; P Liván Hernández, Wei-Yin Chen, Tony Mullane, Guy Hecker

#Portland Sea Dogs

In some sense, the Sea Dogs did their selling already, both during the offseason and the all star break. But this year is still a wash for Portland, so anything they can do to help build for the future will be worthwhile.

Needs: 2B/SS, overall WBL Offense.

Prospects: ???
MLB Help: OF Kiki Cuyler, Harry Hooper; IF Gil Hodges; P Mark Melancon
AAA Help: IF Don Baylor, Rafael Palmeiro; OF Walt Bond, Jerald Clark

TWIWBL 75.5: Effa Manley Division

By

On July 7, 2025

In TWIWBL

TeamW/LPctGB
Brooklyn Royal Giants60-43.583—
Homestead Grays55-49.5295.5
Ottawa Mounties51-53.4909.5
Philadelphia Stars51-54.48610
New York Gothams51-55.48110.5
Effa Manley Division | 30 July

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

Looking to cement their bullpen for the stretch run, the Royal Giants sent the struggling Dutch Leonard to AAA in exchange for Jim Bunning.

While all three players will continue to see a lot of time there, it looks like recently acquired Vern Stephens will see the bulk of the time at SS, with Germany Smith slipping below Ray Dandridge in the pecking order.

Stephens has been quite strong for Brooklyn, and he helped Don Drysedale continue his recent resurgence with 2 dingers in a 10-2 victory over Kansas City. Drysedale improved to 10-4, and John Briggs, Beals Becker, Mike Piazza, and Jackie Robinson also went deep for Brooklyn.

Becker and Robinson each went deep twice as Brooklyn defeated Ottawa, 8-7.

#Homestead Grays

Brickyard Kennedy continues to ride the AAA shuttle, heading down as the Grays need a starter in the form of Bob Knepper, who will make his WBL debut. Knepper wasn’t great, but he did get the win as Willie Stargell hit 2 out and the Grays pounded the House of David, 13-4.

Stargell hit another 2, the second a walk-off job in the bottom of the 11th as the Grays again topped the House of David, 8-7.

Bartolo Colón‘s great start to his WBL career was derailed momentarily, with the young righty headed to the DL for about a week. Homestead recalled lefty Gary Lucas in the interim.

#New York Gothams

Vean Gregg was returned to AAA with Rube Waddell being recalled from a rehab assignment.

The revolving door at 3B continues, as the Gothams brought Jim Ray Hart up from AAA, giving up for the time being on Ryan Zimmerman.

Don Buford went deep twice, but the Gothams bullpen–the strength of the club–collapsed entirely in an 8-6 loss to the Stars.

Will Clark went deep twice, but the Gothams fell to Birmingham, 7-6 in a close contest. Willie Mays hit his 37th of the season as well.

#Ottawa Mounties

Bill Smith will miss about a week, earning himself a trip to the DL with the Mounties recalling Danny Cox.

Larry Walker came out of a slump in a big way, going 4-for-4 with 2 homeruns, 4 runs scored, and 3 RBI’s to give him 100 on the year. Roberto Alomar also had 4 hits and Gary Carter, Adrián Beltré, and Carlos Beltrán each went deep as well.

Clark Griffith was sent to AAA in exchange for Randy Johnson, who will get a spot start after some effective time at in the minors.

#Philadelphia Stars

Steve Carlton threw the second no-hitter in WBL history as the Stars topped the Gothams, 5-0. Carlton, who improved his record to 10-9, only walked 1 while fanning 8 in the dominant performance. Rico Carty hit a grand slam in support of Lefty.

Aaron Judge hit a walkoff grand slam, leading the Stars to an 8-6 win over the Gothams.

John Burkett was sent to AAA with young Pete Alexander recalled after a long term injury.

TWIWBL 74.5: Effa Manley Division

By

On April 2, 2025

In TWIWBL

TeamW/LPctGB
Brooklyn Royal Giants55-41.573—
Homestead Grays53-44.5462.5
New York Gothams50-50.5007
Philadelphia Stars48-51.4858.5
Ottawa Mounties47-51.4809
Effa Manley Division | 23 July

#Homestead Grays

Moose Haas was returned to AAA with Bartolo Colón being recalled to the Grays’ bullpen. Cliff Lee will miss up to a couple weeks with a stiff back, earning the lefty hurler a trip to the DL. Hal Carlson was recalled.

Josh Gibson bust out of a mini-slump in a big way, going deep twice and driving in 5, bringing him over 100 RBI’s on the season. But Pops Stargell was the star, following an RBI double from Gibson with a walkoff 3-run shot in the bottom of the 9th in an 11-9 win over Kansas City.

#New York Gothams

Johnny Callison hit 2 out, but it wasn’t enough as the Gothams fell to Houston, 8-3. Different day, same story: Buster Posey had 2 homers in a 7-4 loss to Brooklyn.

#Philadelphia Stars

Aaron Judge hit 2 out and Charles Rogan was a single short of the cycle as the Stars beat Birmingham, 9-7. Despite some struggles, Hardie Henderson improved to 12-7 on the year, with Bob Howry picking up his 14th save.

Chase Utley had himself a day: 2 homers, 4 runs, and 5 hits in a 12-5 win over Birmingham. Judge and Rico Carty also went deep as Steve Carlton evened his record at 9-9. Utley did it again later in the week with 2 more homers, but this time the Stars fell to Ottawa, 9-5.

TWIWBL 72.2 Spotlight on the Philadelphia Stars

By

On February 13, 2025

In TWIWBL

Philadelphia was bad last year. This year, they are pushing towards .500 with–maybe, just maybe–an outside shot at the playoffs. As importantly, they seem to have an identity for the first time.

HOME PAGE | ROSTER | POSITIONAL STRENGTH | LEADERS

The Stars clearly need to keep adding talent: the gap between the leaders of the team–Aaron Judge, Charles “Bullet Joe” Rogan, Hardie Henderson–and the end of the roster is just too great. But it’s a start.

THE OFFENSE

Philadelphia’s problem, simply, is its offense. They don’t hit for average, they don’t get on base, and they don’t hit for power. Not sure what else there is … they do run the bases decently.

#What’s Going Right

Aaron Judge, an extra part in the Bill Dickey/Mike Schmidt trade, has absolutely exploded on the scene, with an OPS just under 1.00 and leading the team in HR and RBI.

Charles “Bullet Joe” Rogan is far better offensively than anticipated, sporting the 2nd highest OPS on the team and leading the Stars in SLG at .615 and BA at .295. Rogan is playing all over the place, but seeing most of his time in the OF.

Scott Rolen leads the team in WAR with an OPS around .950.

At 37, Rico Carty is still useful. He can’t move, can’t field much, but he can hit, even with occasional power.

#What’s Not Going Right

Everything else?

C continues to be a black hole, with Mike Scioscia slightly more effective than Butch Wynegar and Sherm Lollar.

Willie Davis, a leader on the team last year, is slashing 233/290/373 this season, which is quite a plummet.

Ted Kluszewski has a little power, but little else: a SLG barely over .400 just won’t cut it.

But Kluszewski’s OPS is over 100 points higher than Jimmy Rollins, who has essentially lost the job to Art Fletcher.

While Rogan is doing unprecedented things as a 2-way player, JM Ward is not, to the point the team has decided they have better options at DH when he’s on the mound.

THE PITCHING

And now the good news.

#What’s Going Right

The starting pitching is strong, led by Hardie Henderson, who is 10-6 with a 3.05 ERA at the break.

Rogan and JM Ward don’t have great records (5-8 for Rogan, 4-4 for Ward), but they’ve got fantastic peripherals led by Ward’s 1.05 WHIP.

Behind them, Steve Carlton has been solid enough.

Fred Cambria, Ted Kennedy, and Brad Kilby have been fantastic getting the ball to Bob Howry. That trio has 7 saves and 21 holds, and Howry has a 0.82 WHIP and a dozen saves.

#What’s Not Going Right

The back end of the rotation is still a bit rough. Ray Collins is in the 5th spot now, but neither he nor Robin Roberts nor Larry Jackson have really seized the opportunity.

THE FARM SYSTEM

TOP PROSPECTS | MINOR LEAGUE SYSTEM

There is hope for the future here. I mean, prospects flame out and all that, but there is hope.

Bill Gatewood is the highest ranked prospect, and probably the best arm in the system, but Jack Kralick, Jack Easton, LaTroy Hawkins, and perhaps even Scott Garrelts and Luke Weaver all have some upside.

Bill Dickey is likely to be recalled at the all star break and Harmon Killebrew and Bobby Abreu will probably see time with the Stars this year as well. Behind them, it does thin out a little, but Richie Ashburn, Andrew Payne, and Prince Fielder all have significant value.

WHAT’S NEEDED

The offense to become league average or better, preferably led by some of the prospects stepping forward. And, of course, the pitching to not regress.

Storylines to Watch

Key Questions from Spring Training

  • What does the bullpen look like? Fairly well answered, as most teams would welcome the combined performance of Kennedy, Cambria, Kilby, and Howry.
  • How does the OF resolve, and most importantly how much of Aaron Judge‘s debut performance was a mirage? The latter first: very little, evidently. This remains a question, but not as anticipated–the Stars never anticipated CF being an open question, but with Willie Davis’ loss of form, it is.
  • Can the flashes of talent on the IF shown last year from Juan Samuel and Roger Peckinpaugh deliver over a full season? Yoikes. No, no they cannot; in fact, neither is in the WBL and SS continues to be a bit of a mess.

FEATURED SERIES

Philadelphia opens the second half of the season with 3 games at Ottawa.

Projected Starters

Philadelphia’s starter listed first.

Steve Carlton (7-9, 5.62) @ Old Hoss Radbourn (9-6, 6.13)
Charles Rogan (5-8, 4.46) @ Roy Halladay (8-6, 4.92)
Ray Collins (2-4, 5.08) @ Bill Smith (6-2, 3.57)

Game One

Both teams are in an odd spot where their #1 starter is not their best, with the opening game matching Steve Carlton against Old Hoss Radbourn.

The much-maligned Willie Davis led the game off with a solo shot to right, giving the Stars a 1-0 lead. Tim Raines matched him, leading off the bottom of the frame with his 12th homer of the year to tie the game. Rusty Staub took Carlton deep with a runner on in the 2nd, but Carlton induced an inning-ending double play from Roberto Alomar to limit the damage.

After Davis doubled in the 3rd, Aaron Judge went deep to tie the game, then, in the 5th Davis (who has been stung by the criticism, it must be said) homered again.

Larry Walker tied it up with a 2-out double in the bottom of the 5th, but the Stars broke the deadlock immediately, as Judge tripled and Rico Carty chased Radbourn from the game with an RBI double.

Carlton got the first out in the 7th, but his relief, Ted Kennedy, was greeted with a solo shot from Adrián Beltré to once again tie the contest. Kennedy–helped by Art Fletcher gunning down Raines at home and the just-recalled Bill Dickey throwing out Alomar on a steal attempt–got out of the inning without further damage.

George Hendrick hit a 2-run shot in the 8th: 7-5 Stars. But it was never going to be that easy: Gary Carter sent a Brad Kilby pitch over the wall in left with Walker on, tying us up once again.

It ended with a walkoff dinger, of course: Alomar taking Pedro Feliciano deep in the bottom of the 9th.

Davis and Judge had 3 hits for the Stars.

PHI 7 (Feliciano 0-1; Kennedy 6 BSv; Kilby 2 BSv) @ OTT 9 (Ryan 2-2)
HRs: PHI – Davis 2 (8), Judge (27), Hendrick (9); OTT – Raines (12), Staub (15), Carter (32), Alomar (19).
Box Score

Game Two

The Stars gave Hardie Henderson the start in game 2; he would face the Mounties’ Roy Halladay.

Gary Carter hit his 33rd of the year in the bottom of the first, putting the Mounties up, 2-0, and an RBI double from Álex Rodríguez made it 3-0 in the 2nd, and then the miracle of Rick Monday continued: his 21st homer of the year increased the lead to 4-0.

Jimmy Rollins‘ 1st homer of the year made it 4-1.

Henderson was chased from the game in the 5th by a 2-run shot from Roberto Alomar and an RBI double from Rusty Staub. He was relieved by Robin Roberts who gave up an RBI single to Monday before getting out of the inning with Ottawa ahead, 8-1.

There was some more: homers by Ted Kluszewski and Adrian Beltré, some other stuff. But the outcome was never in doubt, as the Mounties rolled, 14-3.

Monday had 4 hits and 4 RBIs.

PHI 3 (Henderson 10-7) @ OTT 14 (Halladay 9-6)
HRs: PHI – Rollins (1), Kluszewski (12); OTT – Carter (33), Monday (21), Alomar (20), Beltré (23).
Box Score

Game Three

Trying to salvage a game, the Stars would send out J.M. Ward to face Ottawa’s Bill Smith. Ward was recently removed from being used as DH when he pitched: we’ll see if being able to focus solely on his mound duties changes anything for Philadelphia.

The game was scoreless through 5, with Smith allowing 3 hits and Ward only 1. Rusty Staub broke the deadlock in the bottom of the 7th, touching Ward for a 2-run homerun.

Aaron Judge hit his 28th in the top of the 9th, ending Smith’s shutout bid, but, after a single by Ted Kluszewski, Ottawa’s closer, Tom Henke, was able to retire Rico Carty on a popout to center.

Ward was once again a hard luck loser, pitching 7 strong innings.

PHI 1 (Ward 4-5) @ OTT 3 (Smith 7-2; Henke 7 Sv)
HRs: PHI – Judge (28); PHI – Staub (16).
Box Score

Not good. Not only were the Stars swept, they were outscored 26-11. Still, for Philadelphia, it’s all about next year, so there will be bruises in the process.

TWIWBL 71.5: Effa Manley Division

By

On January 31, 2025

In TWIWBL

TeamW/LPctGB
Brooklyn Royal Giants47-34.580—
Homestead Grays43-38.5314
New York Gothams43-41.5125.5
Philadelphia Stars39-44.4709
Ottawa Mounties38-44.4639.5
Effa Manley Division | 2 July

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

The much maligned Pedro Guerrero had himself a day, hitting 3 homeruns and delivering the walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the 11th as Brooklyn topped Birmingham, 8-7.

Beals Becker went deep twice and Fernando Valenzuela was fantastic as the Royal Giants beat the House of David, 4-1. Valenzuela improved to 6-1 with the complete game effort, allowing only 2 hits while whiffing 10.

Mike Piazza hit 2 out, giving him 33 on the year, and, in fantastically welcome news for Brooklyn, Don Drysedale put in his best start of the season as the Royal Giants topped the House of David, 9-1.

#Homestead Grays

Reliever Dave Giusti was sent to AAA, with Russ Kemmerer recalled to take his place in the bullpen.

Rick Reichardt hit two homeruns, including a grand slam, and Josh Gibson had 4 hits, raising his average to .399 as we hit the all star break. All in all, the Grays pounded out 23 hits in a 12-4 thumping of Ottawa.

#New York Gothams

Vean Gregg–called into emergency duty as a starter–turned in a great effort, combining with Mike Norris and Brian Wilson on 3-hit shutout of Ottawa. Pinky Higgins delivered all of the runs with a 3-run shot, his 9th of the year and Gregg fanned 9 in his 6+ innings of work. Norris picked up his 7th hold and Wilson his 12th save of the season.

Buster Posey hit 2 homeruns, but the Gothams fell to Ottawa, 7-5. This unfortunate pattern repeated as Larry Doyle hit his 10th and 11th of the year in an 11-9 loss to the Stars.

#Ottawa Mounties

Ottawa firmly believes in the talent of Randy Johnson. But there’s just so many unsuccessful attempts to move his ERA under 9.00 they can stomach. So they’re sending The Big Unit to AAA in hopes he can harness his immense talent. Clark Griffith–not exactly successful historically with the Mounties–was recalled. Bob Watson also headed to AAA after a mostly unsuccessful few months with Roy Sievers returning to WBL action.

The Rick Monday parade continues, with the shocking performance of the rookie continuing with 2 homeruns in a 4-1 win over the Gothams, giving him 18 on the year. As importantly for Mounties’ fans, Roy Halladay turned in a good performance, improving to 8-6, and Tom Henke picked up his 5th save of the season.

Monday did it again, hitting out 2 for 20 on the year and Gary Carter also went yard twice (giving him 30) as the Mounties beat the Gothams, 7-5.

Tim Raines–of all people–went deep twice, but it wasn’t enough as Ottawa fell to Homestead, 8-5.

#Philadelphia Stars

Bullet Joe Rogan was masterful, hitting his 16th homerun and tossing a 1 hitter as the Stars beat the Gothams, 3-0. Rogan walked 1 and whiffed 8 in the complete game effort, improving his record to 5-8 on the year.

Chase Utley hit a 2-run walkoff homer in the bottom of the 10th, giving the Stars an 11-9 win over the Gothams. Scott Rolen went deep twice, and Aaron Judge, Rico Carty, Ted Kluszewski, and Mike Sciosia also sent balls over the fence.

TWIWBL 71.2 Spotlight on the Indianapolis ABC’s

By

On January 28, 2025

In TWIWBL

Indianapolis missed the playoffs last year. This season, they are neck-and-neck with Kansas City to lead the Marvin Miller Division, sitting currently at 5 games over .500. So something’s gotten better.

The ABC’s inherit players from a franchise with a long history, but surprisingly little actual success, the Cincinnati Reds.

HOME PAGE | ROSTER | POSITIONAL STRENGTH | LEADERS

This is a pitching-and-defense kind of team, but honestly it feels like they are sort of doing it with mirrors right now.

THE OFFENSE

The ABC’s are fast, but really aren’t a terribly imposing offense. It’s a reasonably standard problem: there is a handful of excellence surrounded by a lot of mediocrity.

Overall, the ABC’s–other than Oscar Charleston and Joe Morgan–just don’t hit very well, with only those two, Bob Bescher and Tommy Helms sporting batting averages over .260.

There is some power, with 6 batters in double-digits for HR, led by Adam Dunn‘s 24, but the offense is just shut down far too often.

#What’s Going Right

Oscar Charleston has blossomed, with the 20 year old OFer slashing 336/386/642 and leading the team in 2B, 3B, RBI, and R.

When healthy, Joe Morgan looks to have an argument to be the best 2B in the WBL, hitting over .300, drawing a ton of walks, and even flashing some power. But Little Joe has only played in roughly half Indianapolis’ games so far this season. So, we’ll see.

Adam Dunn and Joey Votto are eerie clones of each other, and they’re doing very well in terms of drawing walks and hitting for power (Dunn leads the ABC’s with 24 homers; Votto has added 16).

George Foster has hit for impressive power as a rookie, although the rest of his game needs some seasoning.

Barry Larkin, who was essentially awful last year, has slowly extended his claim on the starting SS spot.

Bob Bescher gets on base a lot and is very, very fast–a .359 OBP and 38 steals, with only 7 times being caught.

Luis Padrón has been something slightly above mediocre as a position player, allowing some roster flexibility.

#What’s Not Going Right

The biggest issue is Johnny Bench who, despite 21 dingers, is only slashing 2228/290/510. Now, he did hit 267/371/720 in June, so perhaps he is reverting to his form of last year, but overall it’s been a struggle, with Bench dropping down significantly in the lineup.

The rest of the roster–3B and all the reserves–have been quite poor with Robin Ventura being particularly disappointing to date.

THE PITCHING

The ABC’s are the only team in the WBL committed to a 6-man rotation, and while the top 3 or 4 slots tend to stay somewhat stable, the rest is in somewhat constant flux.

This year, it’s working more often than not, and the bullpen has been solid.

Still, there are causes for concern all over the place, as most everyone’s secondary numbers are a little weak.

#What’s Going Right

Johnny Cueto, Rube Foster, and Luis Padrón look set at the front of the rotation. Padrón has the best record in the league at 11-2, and Cueto and Foster both have sub-4.00 ERA’s. All three have decent peripherals, but Cueto and Padrón especially seem strong enough to carry a staff.

Rob Dibble has 16 saves despite being torched occasionally.

Jack Billingham has been excellent late in games, contributing across the board with a 4-1 record, 22 saves and 6 holds.

Rob Murphy is tied for the WBL lead with 11 holds.

#What’s Not Going Right

Last year’s darlings, Doc White and Willie Mitchell, are a combined 5-11 with ERA’s around 6.00.

The Only Nolan has hit a rough patch, putting what looked like a promising debut season in doubt.

Dick Tidrow has been atrocious, and is most likely not long for the WBL roster.

THE FARM SYSTEM

TOP PROSPECTS | MINOR LEAGUE SYSTEM

There is roster filler here, but little high end talent. 3B/SS Oliver Marcell is the highest rated prospect, but 19 year old Tom Glavine may have a higher ceiling. On the IF, Donie Bush and Matt Chapman have some promise, but other than that … Bob Ewing? Jim Maloney? Chris Hammond? Yeah, roster filler.

WHAT’S NEEDED

The top-end performers to keep doing their thing while everyone else takes small steps forward. That would be enough to at least keep Indianapolis in contention for the post-season, which would be a successful season.

Storylines to Watch

Key Questions from Spring Training

  • Who starts, and does the team retain its experimentation with a 6-man rotation? The answer to the second question is yes, yes they do and the answer to the first seems fine: Cueto, Padron, and Foster, and then a makeshift group as things unfold.
  • How do the uncertainties at SS/3B resolve? Still an issue. Larkin looks to have claimed SS, but 3B remains fairly open.

FEATURED SERIES

July starts with a four game series at Philadelphia, so that’s what we’ll focus on.

Projected Starters

Indianapolis starter listed first.

Luis Padrón (11-2, 4.21) @ Charles Rogan (4-7, 4.68)
Rube Foster (6-4, 3.80) @ J.M. Ward (3-4, 4.11)
Edward Nolan (3-4, 5.32) @ Steve Carlton (7-8, 5.47)
Willie Mitchell (1-5, 5.89) @ Ray Collins (1-4, 5.40)

Game One

Luis Padrón has struggled at the plate, so the ABC’s decided he would just concentrate in his pitching in this one; the Stars had no such concerns, and Bullet Joe Rogan would take the mound and serve as DH.

Through 4 innings, Rogan had allowed only 2 hits, but they were both solo homeruns (1 to Emil Frisk, the other to Joey Votto) while Padrón had kept the Stars hitless. So, 2-0 Indianapolis.

Frisk went deep again in the 5th, and Oscar Charleston drove in a run to extend the lead to 5-0.

Chase Utley broke up the no-hitter in the bottom of the frame, but that was really it: the Stars bullpen held until the 9th, but Padrón was just too good, dominating Philadelphia in a 2-hit shutout. He improved to 12-2 on the year, dropped his ERA below 4.00, and most likely cemented his position as the starting pitcher in the all-star game for the NL.

IND 6 (Padrón 12-2) @ PHI 0 (Rogan 4-8)
HRs: IND – Votto (17), Frisk 2 (3); PHI – none.
Box Score

Game Two

The ABC’s would face John M0ntgomery Ward in the middle game, which is sort of a mixed bag: Ward’s peripheral numbers are great, but his record is only 3-4 and he’s struggled to get his ERA below the magical 4.00 mark. Indianapolis would counter with Rube Foster, whose 3.80 ERA makes an argument for his inclusion in the all-star game.

And then game the first inning: Philadelphia batted around, scored 6 runs, and Foster’s ERA ballooned to 4.35. He settled down after that and–surprisingly–made it through 5 innings, bringing his ERA back down to 4.17. Still.

Ward was dealing, making much of the rest of the game moot. He was finally chased by a moonshot from Joe Morgan, which closed the score to 8-2. He was relieved by Brad Kilby, who promptly gave up a homerun to Emil Frisk.

But the game was over, ending up 9-3 behind Ward’s fine outing. Willie Davis and Chase Utley had 3 hits each for the Stars.

IND 3 (Foster 6-5) @ PHI 9 (Ward 4-4)
HRs: IND – Morgan (15), Frisk (4); PHI – none.
Box Score

Game Three

With the series tied at 1 each, game 3 would see The Only Nolan take the mound for Indianapolis, opposed by Philadelphia’s Steve Carlton.

The ABC’s took the early lead on a 2-run shot by Joey Votto in the top of the first, but RBI singles from Butch Wynegar and Jimmy Rollins tied it up in the bottom of the 2nd. Philadelphia then took the lead on Aaron Judge‘s 25th homer of the year in the following inning, making it 3-2 in favor of the Stars.

Indianapolis rebounded on George Foster‘s 15 homer of the year, a 2-run shot making it 4-3.

Nolan couldn’t get an out in the 6th, allowing a double to Rico Carty and a walk to to Ted Kluszewski before being replaced by Willie Mitchell. Mitchell got 2 outs, but then surrendered a game-tying single to Rollins.

Carlton lasted a little longer, but departed in the top of the 8th after surrendering a single to Luis Padrón and hitting Joe Morgan with a pitch. After a walk, Oscar Charleston and Joey Votto singled and eventually Ed Charles doubled, making the score 10-4 in favor of the ABC’s.

That’s how it would end, with Votto finishing the game with 4 RBI’s as Indianapolis took a 2-1 lead in the series.

IND 10 (Mitchell 2-5, 1 BSv) @ PHI 4 (Carlton 7-9)
HRs: IND – Votto (18), Foster (15); PHI – Judge (25).
Box Score

Game Four

The series would end with Indianapolis’ Doc White taking on Ray Collins.

George Foster opened the scoring in the 2nd with a solo shot, but Joe Rogan put Philadelphia on top an inning later, launching his 15th of the year with 2 runners on base. White would give up 2 more in the 4th on RBI hits from Chase Utley and Sherry Magee. Singles to open up the 6th by Ted Kluszewski and Mike Scioscia finally chased White and brought Mike LaCoss in for his WBL debut.

Collins was finally touched for another run in the 7th, but Fred Cambria was able to work out of a jam, preserving the Stars’ 5-2 lead.

Joey Votto launched his 19th of the year in the top of the 9th off Stars’ closer Bob Howry to close it to 5-4, but that was all the ABC’s could muster.

Joe Morgan had 3 hits for Indianapolis, but it wasn’t enough, and the series ends in an even split.

IND 4 (White 4-7) @ PHI 5 (Collins 2-4; Howry 12 Sv; Cambria 1 H; Kennedy 9 H)
HRs: IND – Foster (16), Votto (19); PHI – Rogan (15).
Box Score

It’s not bad, but if the ABC’s are going to solidify their position, they need to beat up on the weaker teams, like the Stars. But 3 homeruns for Votto and 2 for Frisk and Foster are decent signs, for sure.

TWIWBL 59.4: Effa Manley Division

By

On May 20, 2024

In TWIWBL

#Homestead Grays

Josh Gibson launched a 538 ft. moon shot and Andrew McCutchen drove in 4 as the Grays topped Philadelphia 7-3. When Bob Friend had to leave with an apparent foot injury, the impressive rookie Doug Drabek threw 3 effective innings in relief to gain his first WBL victory.

#New York Gothams

The Gothams rode a strong start from Christy Mathewson and a long, long, long, long moonshot from Buster Posey to a 5-2 victory over the Stars. Posey’s 3rd homerun of the year was measured at 538 ft. Benny Kauff hit his 4th homer of the year, and Robb Nen picked up his 4th save.

George Van Haltren will miss about a month with a back issue, with the Gothams electing to summon veteran arm Guy Hecker from AAA.

#Ottawa Mounties

With Johnny Podgajny not looking to recover any time soon, the Mounties have placed the righthander on the DL. Bill Smith was recalled from AAA.

#Philadelphia Stars

This is what the Stars were hoping for: Bullet Joe Rogan allowed 2 runs in 7 innings of work and had 3 hits including his first homerun of the year, leading the Stars to a 5-3 win over Homestead.

After 130 pitches, Hardie Henderson needed some help to finish out a 3 hit shutout of the Grays. Henderson struck out 10 and Robin Roberts got the last out in a 9-0 win, supported by 3 hits from Rico Carty and homeruns from Scott Rolen and Harmon Killebrew.

Year II Season Preview: Philadelphia Stars

By

On April 6, 2024

In Team News

Expectations

For all the noise around Miami and Ottawa, it was Philadelphia who ended up with the worst record in the league. Anything approaching .500 would be a significant step forward.

Best Case

Overall number 1 pick Bullet Joe Rogan pairs with Steve Carlton to anchor the rotation and the offense improves overall, with both Bobby Abreu and Aaron Judge taking significant steps forward (and the Stars figuring out how to get both of them in the lineup at the same time).

Worst Case

Rogan struggles, as do Hardie Henderson and Ray Collins, leaving the staff as poor as last season and the aging bats–Rico Carty, Ted Kluszewski, Buck Freeman–lose more productivity than is gained elsewhere.

Key Questions

  • What does the bullpen look like?
  • How does the OF resolve, and most importantly how much of Aaron Judge‘s debut performance was a mirage?
  • Can the flashes of talent on the IF shown last year from Juan Samuel and Roger Peckinpaugh deliver over a full season?

Trade Bait

All of the older talent, including the puzzling FA signee John Titus, could be moved on, with Buck Freeman perhaps being especially attractive.

Roster Evaluation

POSEliteStrongSolidMehWeakUnknown
CLollarScioscia
1BKluszewskiKillebrew
2BUtley
3BRamírez
Rolen		Ward
SSFletcher
Rollins
LF/
RF		JudgeCarty
Hendrick		Magee
CFDavis
SPCarltonCollinsAlexander
Jackson
Ward		Henderson
Stieb
EndHowryKennedy
RPBelcherGatewood
Katoll
Meyer
Peterson
Rogan
New Addition | Injured

Pretty miserable. Judge is demoted due to playing time. I mean, the good news would be that there is, um, lots of room for improvement?

Talent Ratings

WBLMinors
Raw Power1B Ted Kleszewski
U Harmon Killebrew		U Dolph Camilli
Batting EyeU Harmon KillebrewU Dolph Camilli
Contact1B Ted Kluszewski1B Cecil Cooper
Running SpeedP/OF Charles RoganIF Roger Peckinpaugh
IF Juan Samuel
Base StealingOF Sherry MageeOF Garry Maddox
IF Defense3B Scott RolenIF Pinky May
OF DefenseP/OF Charles RoganSS Wally Gerber
StuffP/OF Charles RoganP Hardie Henderson
ControlRP Bob HowryP Robin Roberts
P Bill Stearns
VelocityRP Bob HowryRP Luke Weaver

Best In The Minors

RankAgePOSName
1 (38)23PBill Gatewood
2 (74)18PChris Archer
3 (76)23UHarmon Killebrew
4 (81)22CBill Dickey
5 (114)22OFRichie Ashburn
6 (122)211BPrince Fielder
7 (127)26PJack Easton
8 (128)19PBruce Hurst
9 (150)23SSRoger Peckinpaugh
10 (167)23PLaTroy Hawkins
Others: P Jack Kralick.

It’s not totally dire, as there is some good mid level talent, and the trio of Killebrew, Dickey, and Ashburn should all come good. Gatewood and Killebrew start the season in the WBL.

MostLeast
AgeU Rico Carty, 37P Chris Archer, 18
HeightP Bill Gatewood, 6’7″
OF Aaron Judge, 6’7″
P Steve Hamilton, 6’7″		P/OF Charles Rogan, 5’7″
C John Clapp, 5’7″
OPSIF Michael Cuddyer, 1.048 (—)IF Johnny Mitchell, .505 (AAA/AA)
HRIF Michael Cuddyer, 46 (—)IF Johnny Mitchell, .1 (AAA/AA)
IF Pinky May, 1 (—)
SBIF Juan Samuel, 36 (WBL/AAA)Many with 0
WAROF Aaron Judge, 4.0 (WBL/AAA)C Tom Egan, -1.4 (AA)
WHardie Henderson, 10 (WBL/AAA)
Larry Jackson, 10 (WBL/AAA)
Robin Roberts, 10 (WBL/AAA)		Scott Mathieson, 1 (—)
Kevin Hagen, 1 (—)
Jerry Casale, 1 (—)
SVBob Howry, 25 (WBL)
ERAAdalberto Mejía, 3.70 (—)Kevin Hagen, 8.57 (—)
WARRay Collins, 2.9 (WBL)Bronson Arroyo, -1.5 (WBL/AAA/AA)
Stats are across all levels. 200 PA / 75 IP min. Non WBL leagues indicated by —.

Season Review: Philadelphia Stars

By

On December 5, 2023

In Season Reviews, Team News

56 - 98, .363 pct.
5th in Effa Manley Division, 30 games behind.

What Went Right

Not a helluva lot.

CF Willie Davis, 1B Ted Kluszewski, OF George Hendrick, and 3B Scott Rolen were all solid, with Hendrick pushing into a consistent starting role by mid-season. Davis and Rolen were the only players with decent WAR (3.0 for Davis, 2.9 for Rolen). Only Kluszewski (25) and Buck Freeman (21) had more than 20 homeruns, and Klu led the team in RBI’s with 63 and Freeman in R with 71: scoring runs was just a struggle for the Stars all season long.

Three players made strong impressions late in the season led by a fair distance by OF Aaron Judge who managed a .900 OPS in 130 PA. IFs Juan Samuel and Roger Peckinpaugh impressed as well.

Rico Carty started strong, leading the lead in doubles the first few months of the season, but collapsed towards the end–that, combined with his age, puts Carty’s starting position (but not his roster spot) in question.

Ray Collins and Steve Carlton were decent enough in the rotation and the only pitchers with over 2 WAR (Collins 2.9, Carlton 2.3). They were the only pitchers with 30 starts and, even more depressingly, the only pitchers with more than 10 innings and ERA’s under 5.00.

ALL STAR SELECTIONS
P Ron Reed; 3B Scott Rolen

What Went Wrong

Everything else? The middle infield was pretty horrible all year, and nobody really could break out of thoroughly mediocre performances.

Carty ended weak, falling off a cliff on the final months of the season.

And the pitching was thoroughly horrid, from only Robin Roberts having a .500 record (5-5) among the starters to closer Bob Howry having 25 saves, but also getting rocked with an ERA over 6. Injuries didn’t help: Jaret Wright (probably the 3rd most effective starter), Roberts, and Pete Alexander (who was clearly overmatched by the WBL level at age 21, but also has a ton of promise) all missed significant time on the mound.

Trade Evaluations

March

3B Mike Schmidt, SP Cole Hamels to New York Black Yankees for C Bill Dickey, OF Aaron Judge, 1B Prince Fielder

Not bad. Moving Schmidt opened up room for Rolen and Judge looks like the real deal. Dickey was horrible, but at 22 is still a great prospect. Certainly, the loss of Hamels hurt, but he didn’t last with New York, being shipped to Miami in a separate deal.

June

RP Ron Reed to Cleveland for OF Andrew Payne, P Hardie Henderson, OF Darrell Miller, OF Gibby Brack

Reed was an all star for Philadelphia, but fell apart for the Spiders. Henderson looks good, and both Payne and Brack may see WBL time at some point.

July

OF Gavvy Cravath & 2nd Round Pick to Portland for 1B/3B Harmon Killebrew & 1st Round Pick {Dave Stieb}
P Rheal Cormier & 4th Round Pick to New York Black Yankees for P LaTroy Hawkins, P Fritz Coumbe, IF Mike Bordick & 3rd Round Pick {Bill Gatewood}

The Cravath deal was excellent: he was leaving after the season, and Killebrew is a great prospect and the pick turned into one of the better pitching prospects in the draft in Stieb. The other one is a little meh: Coumbe made the WBL by the end of the season, but was unimpressive, although Hawkins has a very live arm.

Looking Forward

SP

Carlton, JM Ward, and Alexander should eventually be a good top 3. They need more depth, both at WBL and throughout the organization.

RP

Howry’s job is in danger, but there are no obvious options. Brad Kilby was good at AAA and Scott Garrelts shows some promise.

C

The job is, once again, Dickey’s to lose, but perhaps another year in the minors is in store for him. If so, this is likely Mike Scoscia and Sherm Lollar splitting time once again.

1B

This is Klu’s until age catches up with him. Cecil Cooper dominated at AAA, and should see some time, especially if Carty’s decline continues.

2B

The Stars would love to see Chase Utley own this, but he’s struggled mightily so far. Juan Samuel‘s end of season heroics have earned him a close look in spring training.

3B

Rolen has this locked down, but the team will need to do something once Killebrew is ready, although Killer is probably more suited to 1B/DH in any case.

SS

Peckinpaugh will get a chance here, but again it’s a spot where the Stars need some more talent, especially if Jimmy Rollins doesn’t show more.

LF

Sherry Magee looks solid here.

CF

This may be the most interesting choice in the organization. Davis was their best player, and 21 year old Richie Ashburn was probably their best prospect. Both are excellent defensively, so the odds are a trade is the most likely solution.

RF

Judge seems to have this locked down, but Bobby Abreu will see some time here as well.

The Rookie Draft

Rounds 1-4

Philadelphia led off the draft by selecting SP Bullet Joe Rogan, probably the single most WBL-ready prospect available. Rogan should step into the rotation right away. Their 2nd pick in the 1st round was harder, coming down to the future possibilities of IF Trea Turner and more help on the mound. They went with the latter, opting for young RHP Dave Stieb. They continued stockpiling arms, picking up teenager Bruce Hurst and 21 year old Bill Gatewood in the 3rd round.

With Gatewood, the Stars have made four selections, using all four of their franchise exemptions, meaning the rest of their picks for this draft will be players with some historical connection to their franchise.

Rounds 5-8

The Stars will be focusing on adding arms, although IF depth would be fine as well. Since they are out of exceptions, these will all be franchise selections, limiting some of the options. Their picks included OF Milt Thompson (5th), P Odúbel Herrera (6th), OF Rhys Hoskins (7th), and IF Nux James (8th).

Rounds 9-12

At the tail end of the draft, the Stars picked up a reserve C (Todd Pratt), P Chris Archer; P Mélido Pérez; and P Jim McElroy.

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

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