Tag: Rico Carty Page 3 of 5

TWIWBL 24.16: Mid-Season Reviews – Philadelphia Stars

On April 27, 2022

Summary

Meh. It feels like they Stars have underperformed all year, yet they set basically at .500, although with little chance to catch the Black Yankees in the Effa Manley Division.

If you believe that numbers don’t lie, the Stars should be in selling mode, as they rank in the bottom 25% in most categories.

What’s Gone Right

Setups. Ron Reed and Rheal Cormier have been spectacular out of the pen for the stars, with Reed probably the most effective reliever in the league.

The Outfield. Willie Davis has been fantastic in CF, and George Hendrick, Gavvy Cravath, and Rico Carty have been good around him. Cravath and Carty (and solid contributor Buck Freeman) are in their mid-30’s and may be attractive trade bait.

Rolen Along. The decision to trade Mike Schmidt in the preseason cleared the way for Scott Rolen, a decision that looks good right now, with Rolen posting an OPS in the mid .800s with great defense at 3B.

What’s Gone Wrong

The Final Two. The number 4 and 5 starters have been miserable all year. John Montgomery Ward has shown signs of turning it around, but Larry Jackson is really just a shot in the dark after the failures of Don Carman and, most disappointingly, Robin Roberts.

Catching. Bill Dickey was supposed to be the answer behind the plate. He’s at AAA now, and Sherm Lollar is barely acceptable as the full-time backstop.

MI, Oh My. Chase Utley at 2B has been in a mammoth slump, putting his position in doubt. Over at SS, it’s just not possible to field well enough to justify Mickey Doolin‘s offense, and Jimmy Rollins has been even worse as a potential replacement.

Key Storylines

This team is likely to look quite different after the early trades, so the storylines are likely to shift as well. But the pieces–Davis, Hendrick, Cravath, Rolen–are there.

Trading Outlook

SELLING.

This is more because the team feels like it wants a shakeup and there are enough veterans they could get some good talent in return. Just at the big league level, they could be looking to move Carty, Cravath, Cormier, Ron Reed, and Bob Howry.

AAA Shuttle

José Ramírez has done well since his callup, so that’s something. Dickey, Gene Demontreville, and Al Smith have all been sent down, with others to follow soon.

Midseason Changes

Larry Jackson moves into the rotation. OF Sherry Magee and IF Jimmy Rollins head to AAA with Roger Peckinpaugh coming all the way from AA.

Awards

All Stars: Ron Reed (P); Scott Rolen (3B).

Offensive MVP: Willie Davis (CF)
Pitching MVP: Ron Reed (RP)

Down on the Farm

AAA: Norfolk Tides

Next to the Show: RPs Claude Jonnard & Minnie Rojas, 1B Cecil Cooper, OF Aaron Judge, 3B Pinky Whitney

Prospects: OF Bobby Abreu (24)

Projects: 1B Cecil Cooper (31), OF Aaron Judge (26)

Suspects: P Tim Belcher (27), SS Johnny Mitchell (27), P Bronson Arroyo (31).

AA: Atlantic City Bacharach Giants

Prospects: P Ron Tompkins (20), P Scott Garrelts (22), 1B Prince Fielder (21), OF Richie Ashburn (21), SS Roger Peckinpaugh (22)

Projects: C Tom Egan (20).

Suspects: P Pete Mikkelsen (29), OF Earl McNeely (28)

TWIWBL 22.0 – Series XVIII Notes

By mknn

On January 28, 2022

In TWIWBL

June 16

Here we are at the all-star break in the inaugural WBL season!

Standings

After a slight dip, the Baltimore Black Sox have regained their position atop the league with 45 wins heading into the break. The Portland Sea Dogs have 44 wins, and the Chicago American Giants and New York Black Yankees have 43 each.

At the other side of things, we have the Homestead Grays and Miami Cuban Giants. The Grays are 26-48, already 17 games behind, as is Miami, although they have won one more game.

Bill James Division

The New York Gothams and Detroit Wolverines have both won 40 games. New York leads the division, having played two fewer games than the Wolverines. The Los Angeles Angels are at .500, 37-37, and sit 4 games back.

Cum Posey Division

Baltimore is hotly pursued by the American Giants, who sit only 2 games behind. It’s a two team race, as nobody else in the division is over .500. Mention should be made of the Kansas City Monarchs, who sit in last place at 33-41, but are 7 games under their Pythagorean Projection.

Effa Manley Division

The Black Yankees leading the division is no surprise; the Cleveland Spiders hanging with them, only 1.5 games behind, is quite a surprise. The Philadelphia Stars, in third place, have outperformed their Pythagorean by five games, so simple regression to the mean looks to confirm this as a two-team race as well.

Marvin Miller Division

Portland is trying to run away with it, but shaking both the Brooklyn Royal Giants (40-33, 3.5 games back) and the San Francisco Sea Lions (38-36, 6 games back) has proven difficult.

Performance

One would hope the best performers in the league were selected to the All Star Team. So we’ll look instead at the players having good–even great–years who were not selected to the mid-season classic.

Bold here indicates they lead that category in players not participating in the All Star game, not that they lead the league. League leaders are noted with {*}.

Best Batters

Perhaps the biggest All-Star snub was Tim Raines of the Ottawa Mounties. Raines has taken over the lead SB lead from Rickey Henderson–who was selected–while hitting 303/378/462. Willie Davis, Jimmy Sheckard, and Duke Snider would probably be the next three in line.

Albert Belle, whose numbers are great, suffers from not playing fulltime. Cleveland has three players (John Ellis, Louis Santop, and Jake Stahl) splitting two positions (1B and C), resulting in neither of the three having enough appearances to make the team.

Albert Belle (NYY). 317/381/554.
Rico Carty (PHI). 282/349/463. 25 2B *
Ty Cobb (DET). 325/364/531.
Willie Davis (PHI). 297/355/530. 6 3B.
John Ellis (CLE). 305/352/647. 16 HR.
Oscar Gamble (DET). 261/381/498. 16 HR, 57 RBI.
Larry Gardner (BAL). 296/411/435.
Gil Hodges (POR). 203/266/432. 17 HR, 53 RBI.
Mickey Mantle (NYY). 294/401/459.
Willie McGee (KAN). 327/376/487.
Tim Raines (OTT). 303/378/462. 53 SB *
Louis Santop (CLE). 297/333/446. 8 3B *
Jimmy Sheckard (NYG). 293/398/470. 2.5 WAR.
Duke Snider (BRK). 322/358/540. 89 H, 2.6 WAR.
Jake Stahl (CLE). 280/339/564.

Best Starting Pitchers

Roy Halladay and Walter Johnson probably have the best arguments to be on the team.

Tommy Bridges (MCG). 4-1, 3.26.
Bob Feller (CLE). 7-4, 4.07. 97 K.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 5-6, 4.27. 109 K *.
Roy Halladay (OTT). 3-6, 3.97. 1.15 WHIP.
Walter Johnson (POR). 7-3, 3.83. 2.8 WAR.
Jon Lester (MEM). 8-5, 3.66.
Johnny Marcum (DET). 6-2, 3.32. 1 H.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 8-5, 4.48.
Alejandro Peña (BBB). 5-5, 3.83. 2.3 WAR.
Ben Sheets (CAG). 5-4, 3.87. 1.19 WHIP.

Best Relievers

Relievers are weird, right? Dave Von Ohlen and Watty Clark, both of Brooklyn, would be my next inclusions.

Elmer Brown (POR). 2-4, 2.30. 4 Sv, 9 H.
Watty Clark (BRK). 3-1, 1.66. 13 Sv.
Bob Howry (PHI). 2-3, 5.04. 16 Sv.
Willie Mitchell (IND). 2-2, 1.08. 1 Sv, 1 H.
Mike Mussina (BAL). 2-0, 2.20. 1 Sv, 1 H, 0.94 WHIP.
Dave Von Ohlen (BRK). 4-0, 1.48. 1 Sv, 3 H, 0.99 WHIP.
Vic Willis (BBB). 2-1, 0.70. 1 Sv.

Streaks

Philadelphia’s Willie Davis heads into the All-Star break with a 17 game hitting streak. More impressive is the Black Yankees’ Thurman Munson, who has reached base in 42 straight games.

Reliever AJ Minter (Chicago) hasn’t allowed a run in his last 17 appearances.

Series XVIII Results

Series XVIII Sweeps

None!

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XVIII

Baltimore over Homestead
Cleveland over San Francisco
Detroit over Birmingham Black Barons
Gothams over Kansas City
Ottawa over Miami

Series XVIII Splits

Memphis Red Sox @ Brooklyn
Portland @ Chicago
Wandering House of David @ Houston Colt 45’s
Philadelphia @ Indianapolis ABC’s
Black Yankees @ Los Angeles

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).

Series XVIII Featured Matchup: Philadelphia Stars @ Indianapolis ABC’s

By mknn

On January 21, 2022

In Featured Series, Game Recaps

Series preview here.

#Game One: Robin Roberts @ David Price

Philadelphia’s Robin Roberts is pitching for his roster spot, coming into the game at 4-5 (not bad) with a 6.69 ERA (very bad).

Indianapolis’ David Price‘s first pitch was sent into the seats by Willie Davis for his 12th homerun of the year and extending his hitting streak to 15 games. Despite loading the bases, Roberts escaped the bottom of the first, leaving the score 1-0 in favor of the Stars after 1 inning.

Sherry Magee launched a fastball from Price into the left field seats in the top of the 4th extending the lead to 3-0. Roberts allowed at least one base-runner in each inning, but had a 4-hit shutout through 5 innings.

Price was chased from the game when he gave up his third homerun of the day, another 2-run shot, this one by George Hendrick for a 5-0 lead for Philadelphia.

Roberts ran out of gas in the 6th, giving up a run on a double by Hal Morris, but got out of the inning without further damage. Larry Jackson replaced him in the bottom of the 7th, trying to preserve the 5-1 lead.

The ABC’s loaded the bases in the bottom of the 9th, but Jackson closed it out, and you have to imagine this performance keeps Roberts around a little longer.

Stars 7 (Roberts 5-5; Jackson 1 Sv) @ ABC’s 1 (Price 3-5)
HRs: PHI – Davis (12), Magee (5), Hendrick (8).
Box Score

#Game Two: Steve Carlton @ Rube Foster

Steve Carlton makes his return from the DL for the Stars in this one. He looked incredibly sharp, fanning four in 2 innings, until in the bottom of the 3rd, Edd Roush tripled home Joe Morgan to put Indianapolis up, 1-0. That was all Carlton gave up in his 5 innings of work, but Rube Foster was even better, allowing only 1 hit over that span.

Willie Davis would extend his hitting streak with a bloop double in the top of the 6th, and Sherm Lollar would plate the tying run with a single, scoring Mickey Doolin.

It stayed 1-1 from then on. With 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th, Ernie Lombardi singled, putting the winning run on first. Barry Larkin ran for the Schnozz, and Dave Henderson pinch hit for Davey Concepcíon, trying to win it for the ABC’s. Henderson delivered, with a hit through the right side moving Larkin to 3rd, bringing up the struggling Ed Charles. Dennis Menke pinch hit for Charles, but whiffed on a nice curveball from Rheal Cormier, sending us to extra innings in the rain.

The 9th was hard on Indianapolis in terms of their defense: the elected to surrender the DH, allowing Larkin to take the field.

Scott Rolen led off the top of the 12th with a double against Rob Dibble, who then walked Ted Kluszewski. Both runners advanced on a sacrifice from Buck Freeman, but Hendrick plated both runners with a base hit. Kluszewski was hurt on the slide, so the Stars went to the bottom of the 12th with Rolen in right and J.M. Ward at the hot corner.

Bob Howry gave up a hit to Bob Bescher and then a double to Morgan, putting the tying run on second with one out. Don Carman came in for Howry, and promptly balked in a run. But Carman was able to retire Edd Roush and Johnny Bench, ending a good game in the Stars’ favor.

Stars 3 (Howry 2-3; Carman 1 Sv) @ ABC’s 2 (Dibble 2-3)
HRs: None.
Box Score

#Game Three: Ray Collins @ Doc White

Indianapolis will try to get their first win of the season behind one of the hottest pitchers in the leagues, lefty Doc White. The Stars will counter with probably their most dependable arm so far this season, the 6-4 Ray Collins.

Two groundouts led to a run for Philadelphia in the top of the 2nd, with Buck Freeman scoring Scott Rolen, who had singled to leadoff the inning, giving the Stars an early 1-0 lead.

The ABC’s took the lead in the bottom of the frame, on RBIs from Barry Larkin (a groundout) and Bob Bescher (a single), making it 2-1 in favor of Indianapolis. The bottom of the ABC’s lineup added to the lead the next inning, with a double from Ernie Lombardi, and singles from Larkin, Bescher, and Ed Charles make it 6-1.

A leadoff single from Johnny Bench and a walk to Oscar Charleston chased Collins from the game, with the Stars bringing in Don Carman in a game that was quickly getting out of reach.

Meanwhile, White continued to pitch brilliantly, giving up only the 2 hits and 1 run through 5 innings. Sherry Magee would lead off the 6th with a homerun, but any immediate hopes of a Stars’ comeback were put to rest with a 2 run shot from Lombardi in the bottom of the frame.

White would leave the game after walking in a run in the 7th, but Willie Mitchell got Rico Carty to fly out to end the inning, leaving the score at 8-3, Indianapolis, which is how the contest would end.

Lombardi had 3 hits, 3 RBIs, and scored 3 times for the ABC’s, as they closed within a win of a series split.

PHI 3 (Collins 6-5) @ IND 8 (White 3-1; Mitchell 1 Sv)
HRs: PHI – Magee (6); IND – Lombardi (6)
Box Score

Game #4: John Montgomery Ward @ Dolf Luque

The ABC’s will look to Dolf Luque to manage a series split, while the Stars will counter with J.M. Ward. Both hurlers have been throwing excellently of late, so the potential for a well thrown game is there.

Indianapolis would score first, with Johnny Bench driving in Bob Bescher with a double in the bottom of the first. Meanwhile, Luque didn’t allow his first hit until José Ramírez singled to lead off the top of the fourth. In the bottom of that inning, Hal Morris blasted a 3-run homerun to increase the lead to 4-0.

With two outs in the 5th, Luque walked Mike Scioscia and gave up a double to Chase Utley, but Mickey Doolin struck out to end the inning and preserve the shutout.

Ward would escape a bases-loaded jam in the 5th, surrendering only 1 run to make it 5-0.

Bill Laskey relieved Ward, and promptly let the game get further out of hand, giving up Morris’ second longball of the game, another flurry of hits, and a homerun to Bench, making it 11-0.

That left the only suspense as whether Luque could complete the shutout. He had a 4-hitter through 8, but had thrown 124 pitches when he took the mound for the 9th. Doubles by Buck Freeman and pinch-hitter George Hendrick would end the shutout and Luque’s day.

Morris, Bench, and Oscar Charleston each had 3 hits for Indianpolis, combining for 8 runs scored, 10 RBIs, and 3 homeruns.

PHI 1 (Ward 3-4) @ IND 16 (Luque 6-5)
HRs: IND – Morris 2 (9), Bench (15), Charles (3)
Box Score

Series Stats

The blowout at the end skews a lot of the offensive numbers for Indianapolis, who were led by Hal Morris, who went 7-for-16 and Bob Bescher’s 6 hits.

For Philadelphia, George Hendrick was 5-for-14 and Willie Davis 6-for-18 to lead the offense.

Series XVIII Preview: Philadelphia Stars @ Indianapolis ABC’s

By mknn

On January 18, 2022

In Featured Series, Series Previews

We first met the Philadelphia Stars in Series VI and the Indianapolis ABC’s in Series X. Each team is struggling a bit, but each has the potential to make a move in the second half of the season.

#Philadelphia Stars

The Stars are 2 games under .500, sitting at 34-36, 7 games behind the New York Black Yankees in the Effa Manley Division.

They’ve actually played worse than that, and are outperforming their projections by four games–the most in the league. This is borne out in their stats: this is a below average team in everything except fielding and, perhaps, homerun power.

The real problem is that the Stars lack stars. To wit: no Star batter has an OPS over .900, but 6 of them are contributing solidly in the .800’s. This wasn’t always the case, but Rico Carty has hit a cold spot, with only 1 hit in his last 20 at-bats, dropping his slash line to 296/360/483. Not bad, but not where he was.

Still, the top four of the Stars’ lineup–Carty, Willie Davis, Gavvy Cravath, and Scott Rolen–are certainly good enough to play on a contender. Davis is tied with Ted Kluszewski for the team homerun lead with 11, Cravath leads the team in RBI with 38. The middle infield remains a bit of a mess for Philadelphia, with Mickey Doolin‘s sub .600 OPS causing him to lose playing time to José Ramírez at SS and 2B Chase Utley continuing to struggle after a hot start to the season.

The only regular member of the rotation with a winning record is Ray Collins, who has been pretty spectacular with a 3.44 ERA but only a 6-4 record. Jaret Wright has been surprisingly good (3-3, 3.83 ERA), and Larry Jackson (3-2, 4.06 ERA) has shown some promise. But Robin Roberts is on the verge of being sent to AAA, as is Don Carman, and Steve Carlton has just returned from injury. All that mediocrity is offset by the back end of the bullpen, which has been among the league’s best, with Ron Reed serving as a fantastic setup man for Bob Howry, who has 16 saves despite an ERA just over 5.00.

#Indianapolis ABC’s

The ABC’s are 1.5 games behind Philadelphia, but are roughly the same offensively, and a notch better on the mound … go figure.

C Johnny Bench is clearly their best player, slashing 289/399/569 while leading the team in homeruns (14) and RBIs (38). But CF Edd Roush–who moved into the starting lineup a few weeks ago–has an OPS pushing .900 and both IF Dennis Menke and young OF Oscar Charleston are solid contributors.

The challenge is at the other end. SS Davey Concepción has barely nudged his OPS over .600, 3B Ed Charles is on a cold streak that has seen his productivity plummet, and while Bob Bescher has stolen 23 bases, he offers little else.

Joe Morgan‘s return from injury offers some help, but it feels like the ABC’s really need to turn over more of their lineup to make a move.

The ABC’s’ pitching has been solid across the board, but one of the established starters (Johnny Cueto, Dolf Luque, and Rube Foster) really need to step up. Cueto is the only one of those three with a winning record at 6-4, but Luque and Foster have probably pitched better. If that happens–and if either Doc White (having just moved into the rotation with a 2.79 ERA) or Willie Mitchell (1.19 ERA in mostly relief work) can successfully step into the rotation–the ABC’s have a shot. The back end of the bullpen has been solid, with Rob Dibble leading the way with 12 saves.

#Series Matchups

Philadelphia starter listed first.

Robin Roberts (4-5, 6.69) @ David Price (3-4, 4.10)
Ray Collins (6-4, 3.44) @ Rube Foster (4-4, 4.11)
J.M. Ward (3-4, 5.02) @ Doc White (2-1, 2.79)
Jaret Wright (3-3, 3.83) @ Dolf Luque (5-5, 4.10)

#Series Prediction

Lessee … I think Roberts struggles again, earning a ticket to AAA, and the Stars win the other 3 games, taking the series, 3-1.

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

TWIWBL 18.0: Series XV Notes

By mknn

On November 1, 2021

In TWIWBL

June 3

We’re roughly 60 games into the season. The Baltimore Black Sox have been caught by the Portland Sea Dogs for the best record in the league, with each team sporting a 38-24 record to lead their divisions. They’re the only two teams playing above .600, although the New York Black Yankees, at .597 (37-25) are right there, too.

You can see some of the reason for Portland’s surge in the Relievers listed below, with three members of their bullpen making the list.

Performance

We’re going to look at two things before our usual lists.

Great Performances

Series XV had two standout performances, the first occurrence of each in the league, one on the mound and one at the plate.

First, Sandy Koufax of the Brooklyn Royal Giants threw the WBL’s first one-hitter, walking 2 and striking out 8 in a 3-0 victory over the Kansas City Monarchs. Koufax started the year in AAA, was impressive in Brooklyn’s bullpen, and now has cemented a spot in their rotation, improving to 2-2 with a 3.58 ERA on the season.

Then, the Miami Cuban Giants saw the first cycle of the year, with Alejandro Oms going 4-for-5 with 3 runs scored and 4 RBIs to lead Miami to a 9-6 victory over the Indianapolis ABCs. Oms homered, tripled, and singled in his first 3 at-bats, and then was thrown out trying to stretch a double into a triple in his final time up–giving him an unusual completion of the cycle.

Improving?

Some of the storylines of the early season have, of course, focused on batters who have struggled, but for whatever the reason were kept in their lineups despite little to no offensive contribution. Let’s check in on how three of them are doing.

Baltimore’s Paul Blair bottomed out about a month ago, with an OPS under .550. But (a) the Black Sox were winning all the time and (b) he still contributed great defense. Since then, he’s added about .025 to his batting average, as well as some power. He’s reverted, going 4-for-24 in his last few games, leaving him at 214/273/358. Not good, and still in danger, but trending in the right direction.

The Cleveland Spiders hoped Larry Doby would be a key part of their offense, instead, he’s struggled all year. At one point, he had added about .100 points of OPS, peaking in the .650s. Like Blair, though, he’s faded from that, going 2-20 to currently sit at 205/304/310. Cleveland is playing well, but Doby is likely to lose some significant playing time after the lineup adjustments following this series.

If any team could carry a low producing offensive player, it is the Black Yankees, who have patiently waited for Willie Randolph to contribute at the plate. It’s starting to pay off, as Randolph is hitting as well as he has all year, improving to 205/339/282. Clearly, the OBP is the key stat here, and as long as Randolph gets on base, he will probably stay in the 9th position in their lineup.

Two teams have two players each who continue to struggle mightily. The Ottawa Mounties really needs to do something about the combination of Ken Griffey, Jr. (224/273/295 for the lowest OPS of any batting qualifier in the league) and Alex Rodriguez (206/251/333). With Freddy Parent on the edges of the all star discussions at SS, Rodriguez may be sent to AAA to try to work it out offensively.

The House of David has run out of patience with OF Sammy Sosa, who is limping along at 177/231/344.The power potential is clearly there, but the overall production is just far too weak. Mark McGwire is perhaps a more interesting case, hitting 167/314/203. A 150 point gap between BA and OBP is usually indicative in a player who will turn things around, but those are just putrid numbers for the big redhead.

Leading Performers

Note that Babe Ruth has tied teammate Eric Davis for the league lead in RBI, something Davis had a large lead in for most of the season. Ruth continues to dominate the leaderboards, topping the lead in 5 categories, and sitting 2nd in another, while San Francisco’s Reggie Jackson continues to lead in both BA and OBP.

On the mound, Baltimore’s Ned Garvin now qualifies for the rate stats, and tops the leaderboard in ERA and WHIP, and is second in BA against. Garvin is the only starting pitcher to lead the league in more than one category, although Portland’s Walter Johnson is close. The Black Yankees’ Ron Guidry still leads the league in strikeouts, but has slumped elsewhere.

Both Joseito Munoz (Portland) and Koufax are likely to join Garvin on the leaderboards as they accumulate more starts.

Best Batters

Rico Carty (PHI) 316/377/505, 22 2B
Eddie Collins (CAG) 329/440/551
Eric Davis (NYY) 283/337/557, 19 HR, 59 RBI
Bobby Grich (LAA) 292/369/475, 22 2B
Rickey Henderson (SFS) 254/402/348, 50 BB, 44 SB
Joe Jackson (CAG) 352/436/648, 50 R, 3.4 WAR
Reggie Jackson (SFS) 368/469/637
Willie Mays (NYG) 351/404/569, 84 H
Babe Ruth (NYY) 318/426/682, 21 HR, 59 RBI, 53 R, 43 BB, 3.5 WAR
Louis Santop (CLE) 312/342/482, 8 3B
Frank Thomas (CAG) 352/432/591, 81 H

Best Starting Pitchers

Gerrit Cole (LAA) 9-3, 4.23 ERA
Ned Garvin (BAL) 5-2, 2H, 2.76 ERA, .201 BAa, 0.93 WHIP
Lefty Grove (SFS) 6-2, 3.45 ERA, .198 BAa
Ron Guidry (NYY) 5-5, 3.74 ERA, 97 Ks
Walter Johnson (POR) 7-2, 3.61 ERA, 83 Ks,2.8 WAR
Johnny Marcum (DET) 6-2, 1H, 2.76 ERA
Dennis Martinez (BAL) 7-2, 3.15 ERA, 1.11 WHIP
Andy Petitte (KCM) 5-3, 3.13 ERA, 2.3 WAR
Toad Ramsey (HOU) 5-5, 4.52 ERA, 91.2 IP
Red Ruffing (NYY) 7-1, 4.12 ERA
Cy Young (CLE) 5-2, 3.65 ERA, 93.2 IP, 2.3 WAR

Best Relievers

Terry Adams (CLE) 0-3, 3.20 ERA, 14 Sv
Rod Beck (SFS) 0-1, 1.84 ERA, 14 Sv, 1 H
Elmer Brown (POR) 2-3, 2.33 ERA, 3 Sv, 3 H, .160 BAa
Ken Howell (SFS) 3-2, 1.38 ERA, 3 Sv, 3 H
Bob Howry (PHI) 1-2, 4.35 ERA, 15 Sv
Sandy Koufax (BRK) 2-2, 3.58 ERA, .132 BAa
Mark Melancon (HOU) 6-1, 2.86 ERA
Joseito Munoz (POR) 2-1, 0.77 ERA, 3 Sv, 0.94 WHIP
Ron Reed (PHI) 0-2, 3.00 ERA, 2 Sv, 11 H
Johan Santana (POR) 1-1, 2.76 ERA, 19 Sv
Doc White (IND) 1-1, 1.76 ERA, 1 Sv, 2 H, 0.65 WHIP

Streaks

The Homestead Grays are winning the race to the bottom, with only 1 victory in their last 10 games, leaving them with the worst record in the WBL at 23-39.

Miami and the Philadelphia Stars have only won 3 of their last 10, while at the other end, the Memphis Red Sox, Ottawa, the San Francisco Sea Lions, and the Birmingham Black Barons have all won 7 of their last 10 games. Memphis, Ottawa, and Birmingham were all among the worst teams in the league by winning percentage, so the tables are once again tightening up.

The House of David’s Elrod Hendricks has the most prolonged hot streak in the league, slashing 390/422/976 with 6 homeruns over his last 11 games. The miracle that is Birmingham’s Tom Herr isn’t far behind, hitting 424/500/758 over his last 9 contests.

At the other end, Sammy Sosa‘s struggles were mentioned above. The House of David OF is at 098/098/220 over his last 41 at-bats. Once among the hottest in the league, Philadelphia’s Chase Utley has had a rough 10 games, managing only a 132/154/211 line in that time.

Series XV Results

By far the shock of Series XV was Birmingham taking 3-out-of-4 from Baltimore. Nobody saw that coming.

Series XV Sweeps

Brooklyn over Kansas City

Taking 3 Out of 4 in Series XV

Birmingham over Baltimore
Detroit Wolverines over Los Angeles Angels
Portland over Homestead
Memphis over Philadelphia

Series XV Splits

Chicago American Giants @ Ottawa
Cleveland @ Houston Colt 45’s
Indianapolis @ Miami
Black Yankees @ San Francisco
New York Gothams @ House of David

TWIWBL Special Edition: All Star Previews II – Left Fielders

By mknn

On October 5, 2021

In All Star Games

{ With under three weeks until the All Star Teams are announced, we’re looking at what’s changed since our original previews. }

Preview I here.

#AL – Bill James & Cum Posey Divisions

Original Selections: Duffy Lewis, Frank Robinson, Don Buford.

With Los Angeles’ Buford sliding slightly, this is really down to a pool of four: Baltimore’s Robinson and Chicago’s Lewis along with the House of David’s George Stone and Detroit’s Oscar Gamble. Here’s how they compare:

Gamble: 268/388/536; 14 HR; 43 RBI
Lewis: 310/354/619; 17 HR
Robinson: 319/397/529; 12 HR
Stone: 322/413/539; 10 HR

Lewis is on a tear and currently the dominant choice to start. The other three are virtually indistinguishable and perhaps Baltimore’s overall performance combined with Stone’s very poor defense provides the difference, making the final selections Lewis, Robinson, and Gamble.

The AI selects all four and adds Jimmy Sheckard of the New York Gothams. Sheckard has a good argument: 306/412/477 with 42 runs scored.

#NL – Effa Manley & Marvin Miller Divisions

Original Selections: Babe Ruth, Rico Carty, Roy White.

The New York Black Yankees’ Ruth is the clear starter. Beyond that, though, it’s gotten a little muddy. Brooklyn’s White has slumped, and even his great defense can’t make up that ground.

That leaves Philadelphia’s Carty, who has been rock-solid all year with an OPS over .900 and tied for the league lead in doubles. So he’s in.

The third spot probably goes, right now, to Homestead’s Rick Reichardt, who is hitting 302/391/450, and is the only other LF with an OPS in the .800’s.

The challenge here is really San Francisco’s Pedro Guerrero and the Black Yankees’ Albert Belle. Both of them have hit well enough to warrant selection, but neither have played enough for me. Belle has been seeing more time in the field lately, so there is a chance he slides in, either directly or as a “utility” choice.

The AI selects Ruth, Carty, and Belle.

TWIWBL 17.0: Series XIV Notes

By mknn

On September 14, 2021

In TWIWBL

May 30

As May comes to a close, the Los Angeles Angels, Baltimore Black Sox, New York Black Yankees, and Portland Sea Dogs sit atop their respective divisions. Only LA is below .600, with Baltimore–yes, Baltimore–continuing to be the best team in the WBL at 37-21.

That said, the divisions continue to tighten: the four division leaders went 8-8 for the series.

Awards

The Houston Colt 45’s Tony Gwynn was selected as the Player of the Week, going 14-for-25 (.560), raising his average over .300.

Performances

Dennis Martinez remains, probably, the best starting pitcher in the league, but his teammate Ned Garvin is quietly having a spectacular year, as is the unheralded Johnny Marcum of the Detroit Wolverines.

The San Francisco Sea Lions‘ Reggie Jackson has surpassed the Black Yankees’ Babe Ruth as the best hitter in the league, leading in batting average, on base percentage, and OPS. Ruth’s teammate, Eric Davis, has led the league in RBI since week one, and has now tied Ruth for the homerun crown. But the New York Gothams‘ Willie Mays may be the league MVP: spectacular offense and a league-leading 10 assists from the outfield (he’s actually tied in that category with Ken Griffey, Jr. of the Ottawa Mounties).

Best Starting Pitchers.

Gerrit Cole (LAA): 8 – 3; 4.20 ERA; 2.0 WAR
Dennis Martinez (BAL): 7-2; 3.15 ERA; 1.11 WHIP
Red Ruffing (NYY): 7-1; 4.12 ERA
Johnny Marcum (DET): 6-1; 2.41 ERA; 1.09 WHIP
Ned Garvin (BAL): 5-2; 2.47 ERA; 0.93 WHIP
Ron Guidry (NYY): 5-5; 3.67 ERA; 89 Ks
Lefty Grove (SFS): 5-2; 3.23 ERA; 77 Ks
Walter Johnson (POR): 6-2; 3.75 ERA; 2.6 WAR
Cy Young (CLE): 5-2; 3.63 ERA; 2.1 WAR
Luke Hamlin (KCM): 3-4; 3.92 ERA; 2.1 WAR

Best Relievers.

Johan Santana (POR): 1-1; 18 Sv; 2.93 ERA
Rod Beck (SFS): 0-0; 14 Sv; 1 H; 0.66 ERA; 0.51 WHIP
Bob Howry (PHI): 1-2; 14 Sv; 4.58 ERA
Ron Reed (PHI): 0-2; 2 Sv; 11 H; 2.50 ERA
Craig Kimbrel (KCM): 2-1; 8 H; 2.88 ERA
Joe Beggs (MEM): 1-0; 8 Sv; 0.00 ERA
Aroldis Chapman (MCG): 2-0; 10 Sv; 0.63 ERA
Doc White (IND): 1-1; 1 Sv; 2 H; 1.76 ERA; 0.65 WHIP

Best Batters.

Reggie Jackson (SFS): 379/483/651
Willie Mays (NYG): 359/412/578; 80 H; 3.1 WAR
Eddie Collins (CAG): 327/446/569
Babe Ruth (NYY): 330/433/689; 19 HR; 51 R; 54 RBI; 3,3 WAR
Frank Thomas (CAG): 355/433/593; 76 H
Rico Carty (PHI): 328/392/520; 20 2B
Bobby Grich (LAA): 299/372/485; 20 2B
Louis Santop (CLE): 315/343/500; 8 3B
Eric Davis (NYY): 290/347/581; 19 HR; 59 RBI
Joe Jackson (CAG): 345/433/621; 46 R
Doug Rader (LAA): 309/364/505; 54 RBI
Rickey Henderson (SFS): 241/391/314; 47 BB; 41SB
Bryce Harper (BAL): 219/355/339; 40 BB
Tim Raines (OTT): 283/365/442; 39 SB

Streaks

The Chicago American Giants‘ Duffy Lewis has 6 homeruns in his last 8 games and his teammate, Joe Jackson, is slashing an insane 542/560/1042 over his last 25 at-bats. The House of David‘s Elrod Hendricks has 14 RBIs in his last 8 games, over which he’s hitting 448/469/1172.

Baltimore’s Ned Garvin is 5-1 with a 1.71 ERA over his last 11 games, including 5 starts: his time in the bullpen is clearly over.

Roberto Clemente of the Homestead Grays has a 16 game hitting streak while both Thurman Munson of the Black Yankees and Buster Posey of the Gothams have maintained their consecutive games reaching base (29 games for Munson, 23 for Posey).

San Francisco have won five in a row while the Grays have lost 6 straight, and have won only 2 of their last 10.

Series XIV Results

Series Sweeps

San Francisco over Brooklyn Royal Giants
Kansas City Monarchs over Homestead

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XIV

Chicago over the House of David
Ottawa over Portland
Black Yankees over Philadelphia Stars
Cleveland Spiders over Miami Cuban Giants

Taking 2 out of 3 in Series XIV

Birmingham Black Barons over Gothams (1 game rained out)

Series Splits

Detroit @ Memphis Red Sox
Houston Colt 45’s @ Los Angeles
Indianapolis ABC’s @ Baltimore