Tag: Smokey Joe Wood Page 1 of 5

TWIWBL 102.6: Year 3, Week 5 – Marvin Miller Division

On October 18, 2026

Team	W/L	Pct	GB
Wandering House of David	18-13	.581	—
Houston Colt .45’s	17-14	.548	1
Kansas City Monarchs	16-15	.516	2
Birmingham Black Barons	10-20	.333	7.5
Indianapolis ABC’s	10-20	.333	7.5

Marvin Miller Division | 6 May

Birmingham Black Barons

Lefty Gomez had struck out 12 against Brooklyn, but left before Birmingham’s comeback that culminated in a 6-5 win over the defending champs.

Bruce Chen is back off the disabled list, with Slim Embrey optioned to make room. Embrey has the stuff to succeed in the WBL, but not the control: until that’s fixed, he’ll stick at AAA.

With Rube Melton injured, Bill Phyle has been named the 5th starter. Phyle was a perfectly serviceable back-end arm over 89 innings last year.

Melton and utility super-sub Jess Barbour have both begun rehab assignments.

Folk hero JP Arencibia — 19 homeruns in 195 trips for the Black Barons last year, on a .220 average — is back in the organization after testing the free-agent market, reporting to AAA Atlanta.

Houston Colt .45’s

Craig Biggio hit 2 solo homeruns in a 9-5 win over Homestead, one in the 6th and one in the 8th, and added a walk, a stolen base and 3 runs scored. Roger Clemens got the win and Tug McGraw his 4th save.

Jim Wynn is out 2 to 3 weeks. Harry Stovey comes up from San Antonio as Houston is forced to cover for 2 starting OFers on the DL.

Indianapolis ABC’s

Eppa Rixey moves into the rotation and Dolf Luque slides to the bullpen — the kind of shuffle Indianapolis makes without much ceremony. Rixey has walked one batter in 17.2 relief innings; Luque’s 4 starts produced 5 homeruns in 19 innings. Behind Padrón and Johnny Cueto, the ABC’s treat the rotation spots as unclaimed until somebody proves otherwise. So far this season, only Doc White has done so.

Ed Swartwood is back off the disabled list, and Pete Rose — who had been holding the corner-outfield reserve seat — accepted an assignment to Indianapolis.

Kansas City Monarchs

Smokey Joe Wood threw 8 shutout innings at Ottawa for a game score of 85, the best start in the WBL this week, and Lee Smith finished a combined 4-hitter. The only run of the game was Stan Musial‘s 2-out solo homerun in the 1st. Wood improved to 3-0 with a 0.69 WHIP.

Boog Powell hit 2 homeruns and drove in 5 in a 9-3 win at Wrigley Field against the House of David. Albert Pujols then hit 2 of his own, but Kansas City lost that one 10-8 after leading 8-4 into the 7th, when Mike Kume gave up 4 runs without recording an out. Kume, who seemed to do it with mirrors last season, was doing fine this year until this pretty disastrous outing.

A. Rube Foster lasted one inning on Saturday, giving up 7 runs on 7 hits, and came out with a hamstring injury that will cost him about a week. Sam Mongin has been recalled from St. Louis as middle-infield cover; he was hitting .296 at AAA.

Earl Hamilton, already on the disabled list, ruptured something in his elbow during a rehab outing and is out about 13 months — a 21-year-old left-hander the Monarchs think a good deal of, and now a 2003 question.

Kansas City is set to give Frankie Frisch more time at 2B, given Kolten Wong‘s struggles. Struggle might be generous: Wong is hitting around .130 on the season.

Wandering House of David

John Beckwith is back off the DL, with Dave Malarcher heading to AAA. With Mark McGwire showing signs of life at DH, look for Beckwith to see more time behind the plate, where he is no worse than others playing there for the House of David.

TWIWBL 102.1: Year 3, Week 5 – One Month In!

By mknn

On October 13, 2026

In TWIWBL

6 May, 2002

And we enter the second month of the season! Whoo Hoo!

Which means we have monthly awards for the first time, and we have our first review of the early standings.

#Awards

Miami‘s Robin Yount is the AL Player of the Week, hitting .450 with 2 homeruns, 6 runs and 5 RBI, and slugging an even 1.000. Yount is up to .283 with 6 homeruns and 12 doubles on the year.

The NL Player of the Week goes to Grant Johnson of the New York Gothams for the second week running: Johnson hit .409 with 3 homeruns, 3 doubles and 7 RBI while slugging .955. Overall, he’s hitting .379 with 9 homeruns and a league-leading 15 doubles.

In the minors: Freddie Lindstrom (Chicago American Giants) took the award at AAA Milwaukee, where the 21-year-old third baseman is hitting .306 with 7 homeruns, making his early demotion seem a bit of a mistake in judgement by the American Giants; Raúl Mondesi (Wandering House of David) won at AA Albuquerque, and Al López (Brooklyn) at A-ball Albany, where the 33-year-old catcher is hitting .426.

#April Awards

The first month is in the books, and one name on the list is no surprise at all.

Ted Williams (Memphis) is the AL Batter of the Month, having hit .437 with 14 homeruns, 30 runs and 34 RBI in April while slugging an even 1.000. Grant Johnson takes the NL award–not a surprise given the above.

Waite Hoyt (Chicago) is the AL Pitcher of the Month, going 4-1 with a 2.45 ERA and 40 strikeouts in 36.2 innings. For a team whose primary weakness was dependable starting pitching, the acquisition of Hoyt sure looks like good work for Chicago.

Over in the NL, the Pitcher of the Month goes to one of Johnson’s teammates on the Gothams, Christy Mathewson. Seemingly returning to his 2000 form, Matty has started the season perfectly, going 6-0 with a 2.27 ERA.

Whitey Ford (New York Black Yankees) went 3-2 with a 2.25 ERA in April, earning the AL Rookie of the Month Award, and in the NL, Philadelphia‘s Harmon Killebrew is the Rookie of the Month, despite only hitting .255. 9 homeruns in a calendar month will do that.

The minors have their own monthly awards too, of course.

At AAA, Roger Maris of the New York Black Yankees was the Batter of the Month, hitting .418 with 11 homeruns at Newark, and Mike Scott (Los Angeles) won the Pitcher of the Month, going 4-1 with a 1.98 ERA. Cody Bellinger (Wandering House of David) hit .404 at AA Albuquerque and Hugh Mulcahy (Homestead) went 3-0 with a 1.93 at AA Syracuse. At A-ball, John Bass (Philadelphia) hit 10 homeruns and Fred Gladding (Indianapolis) allowed only 2 earned runs in 15.1 innings, as they took home the monthly honors.

#Team Performance

I know it’s early. You know it’s early. Still, it is May. And that’s no longer April, right?

The best records in the WBL belong to two surprise teams: Memphis leads the Bill James Division and Philadelphia tops the Effa Manley, each with a 20-11 record–that’s a .645 clip.

Ottawa (a game behind Philadelphia) and Chicago (leading the Cum Posey Division) are the only other teams playing over .600 ball.

The Baltimore Black Sox sit at the other end of the scale, already 11.5 games out in the Bill James Division, sitting at 8-22. But they aren’t the only major disappointments: both Birmingham and Indianapolis are only winning at a .333 clip (10-20).

Full standings are at the top of each divisional page for the curious.

#Player Performance

Five weeks in, qualifying is 3.1 plate appearances or 1 inning per team game — about 96 PA and 31 innings.

Some early season streaks of note: The Gothams’ Grant Johnson has a 15 game hitting streak going and Memphis’ Ted Williams has reached base in 30 straight. On the mound, Chicago’s Joel Horlen hasn’t allowed a run in 23 innings and Kansas City’s Smokey Joe Wood in 14.

#Batters

Ted Williams is still the story, and it is getting harder to describe without sounding like an advertisement: he leads the WBL in batting average, on-base, slugging, homeruns, runs, RBI, walks and WAR, outright. That only leaves 2B, 3B, and SB for others.

This list should reduce a little over time, but it’s got some decent WBL storylines in it–the resurgence of a healthy Pete Browning, Rico Carty‘s deal with the devil to combat his age, Cool Papa Bell giving Rickey Henderson some competition for the SB crown, etc.

But it’s really all about The Splendid Splinter for now.

Ernie Banks (HOD). .225/.299/.549. 9 HR, 27 RBI.
Cool Papa Bell (KAN). .204/.295/.280. 10 SB.
Dan Brouthers (BRK). .369/.416/.612. 11 2B.
Pete Browning (HOD). .331/.389/.508. 10 2B, 9 SB.
Rico Carty (PHI). .374/.442/.670.
Oscar Charleston (IND). .300/.341/.642. 12 HR, 29 RBI, 1.9 WAR.
Roberto Clemente (HOM). .372/.413/.698. 7 HR.
Ty Cobb (DET). .345/.390/.708. 10 HR, 2.0 WAR.
Eric Davis (NYY). .260/.353/.452. 8 SB.
Lou Gehrig (NYY). .288/.373/.635. 25 RBI.
Hank Greenberg (DET). .272/.348/.476. 4 3B.
Bobby Grich (BBB). .202/.362/.279. 22 BB.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). .229/.333/.365. 9 SB.
Grant Johnson (NYG). .379/.402/.741. 9 HR, 15 2B, 1.6 WAR.
Harmon Killebrew (PHI). .275/.325/.569. 10 HR.
Willie Mays (NYG). .289/.344/.588. 25 R.
Joe Morgan (IND). .253/.405/.374. 23 BB.
Jackie Robinson (BRK). .336/.381/.509. 14 2B.
Babe Ruth (NYY). .232/.387/.611. 11 HR, 21 BB.
Chino Smith (CAG). .292/.324/.736. 13 HR, 30 R, 32 RBI.
Mike Trout (LAA). .300/.349/.567. 12 2B.
Ted Williams (MEM). .419/.533/.914. 15 HR, 33 R, 39 RBI, 27 BB, 2.7 WAR.

#Pitchers

#Starters

There’s nowhere near the single person dominance on the mound–early days, of course, but it looks like we may have some good years on the mound coming.

Brett Anderson (HOD). 4-2, 2.84.
Steve Carlton (PHI). 4-1, 2.56. 41 K.
Don Drysdale (MEM). 2-1, 2.48. 49 K.
Bob Feller (CLE). 1-4, 4.58. 52 K.
Whitey Ford (NYY). 3-2, 3.19. 2.94 FIP.
Ned Garvin (BAL). 1-2, 4.10. 50 K, .208 BABIP.
Lefty Gomez (BBB). 2-4, 2.82. 2.30 FIP.
Dwight Gooden (LAA). 2-2, 4.30. 1.96 FIP, 1.7 WAR.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 3-1, 3.47. 62 K.
Waite Hoyt (CAG). 4-1, 2.52. 42 K, 2.60 FIP.
Walter Johnson (POR). 3-3, 2.76. 64 K, 2.66 FIP.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 6-0, 2.74. 64 K, 49.1 IP.
José Méndez (MCG). 3-2, 2.57. 0.93 WHIP.
Joseíto Muñoz (POR). 2-0, 2.55. 46 K, 2.48 FIP.
David Price (HOM). 2-1, 2.90. 0.94 WHIP.
Charles Radbourn (OTT). 3-1, 1.57. 2.28 FIP, 1.5 WAR.
Toad Ramsey (HOU). 2-3, 3.24. 50 K, 2.53 FIP, 1.5 WAR.
Tom Seaver (MEM). 2-1, 1.59.
J.M. Ward (PHI). 4-2, 3.51. .213 BABIP.
Jim Whitney (MCG). 1-1, 3.40. 54 K, 0.86 WHIP.
Smokey Joe Wood (KAN). 3-0, 2.23. 47 K, 0.69 WHIP, 2.31 FIP.

#Relievers

Rate stats still want another week or two. The saves and holds:

Rod Beck (SFS). 1-2, 4.09. 7 Sv.
Dellin Betances (HOD). 2 Sv, 4 Hld.
Jack Billingham (POR). 3.60. 7 Sv.
Chad Bradford (DET). 2-2, 3.68. 5 Hld.
Jeurys Familia (LAA). 3.21. 5 Hld.
Eric Gagné (BRK). 0.75. 8 Sv.
Andrew Miller (MEM). 1.26. 6 Sv.
Jonathan Papelbon (MCG). 3.27. 7 Sv.
Eustaquio Pedroso (MCG). 4.87. 4 Hld.
Vito Tamulis (NYG). 3.38. 6 Hld.
Kent Tekulve (NYG). 2-0, 4.76. 5 Hld.
Brian Wilson (NYG). 1.74. 9 Sv.

Note that the Gothams may be back on track in their quest to rebuild their bullpen.

Two arms have yet to allow a run at all: Birmingham’s Kerry Ligtenberg over 16.1 innings, with 21 strikeouts and 4 hits allowed, and Chicago’s Joe Horlen over 20.2.

#Hardest Shots

Birmingham’s Eddie Mathews hit the hardest ball of the season so far, a 126 mph solo homerun. Mathews doesn’t hit many balls, but at least that one was a freaking rocket. Cleveland‘s Ed Bailey and Birmingham’s Bobby Grich also hit balls over 120 mph.

The hardest out belonged to a pitcher: Jim Whitney (Miami) flew out to center at 118 mph.

#Injuries

Houston‘s outfield took another hit–with Tony Gwynn already sidelined, the eternally underappreciated Jim Wynn will miss 2-3 weeks.

Frank Grant of the San Francisco Sea Lions is out a couple weeks and some other important names (Ottawa’s Gary Peters, Cleveland’s Louis Santop, Kansas City‘s Rube Foster, and Homestead’s Ricardo Rincón) will each miss about a week.

TWIWBL 101.6: Year 3, Week 4 – Marvin Miller Division

By mknn

On September 22, 2026

In TWIWBL

Team	W/L	Pct	GB
Wandering House of David	16-10	.615	—
Houston Colt .45’s	15-11	.577	1
Kansas City Monarchs	14-12	.538	2
Birmingham Black Barons	8-17	.320	7.5
Indianapolis ABC’s	7-18	.280	8.5

Marvin Miller Division | 29 April

Birmingham Black Barons

Melky Cabrera was hit by a pitch 3 times in the same game, a 3-2 loss to Chicago, for a somewhat minor statistical oddity.

Jess Barbour is out about a week, not long after being recalled. Birmingham had already lost Asdrúbal Cabrera, the everyday shortstop, so the middle infield is down to Bobby Grich and Dick Groat with Tommy Davis as the spot cover. The once-prized Cupid Childs was recalled.

Bruce Chen has begun a rehab assignment.

Lefty Gomez struck out 12 in 6 innings at the House of David and lost 3-2. He is 2-4 with a 2.78 ERA, which is the shape of a man getting no run support.

Kerry Ligtenberg is quietly having about as good a start as any reliever in the league: 14.2 scoreless innings, 4 hits, 19 strikeouts, and a 0.61 WHIP. He came into the year with no WBL track at all, having only 24 rookie-ball innings under his belt, so this performance is quite a pleasant surprise for the Black Barons.

Eddie Mathews hit 2 homeruns the next day and Birmingham lost that one too, 9-6, with 3 errors behind a 12-hit attack. That is Mathews’ 2nd multi-homer game in a fortnight, but he still struggles in most of his at bats, with a batting average hovering around .200.

Indianapolis ABC’s

Luis Padrón struck out 11 and walked 1 against Homestead and lost anyway–marking just how much of a difference a year can make. Last year, that sentence would be followed by glory; in 2002, Padrón gives up only 6 hits, but 4 of them leave the yard, and the ABC’s lose the game, 5-4. The best pitcher in the league last year sits at 0-3 with a 6.75 ERA.

Kansas City Monarchs

Smokey Joe Wood struck out 10 and homered in the same game, a 3-2 win over Los Angeles in 10 innings — 8 innings of 4-hit ball and his 1st homerun of the year. Cool Papa Bell won the game with an RBI double in the 10th.

Bob Shawkey struck out 11 in 6 innings in another 1-run win over Los Angeles, this one 4-3.

Wandering House of David

Mark McGwire will get most of the DH role vacated by John Beckwith‘s injury. This will be the 3rd chance for McGwire to show that his legendary batting practice performances can transfer into everyday production at the WBL level. The House of David has 3 bodies for the 1B/DH group even with Beckwith out (McGwire, Anthony Rizzo, and Cap Anson), so we’ll see how long McGwire’s leash is.

He answered almost immediately: 2 homeruns and 5 RBI in a 12-3 rout of San Francisco, doubling his season total to 4. Could this be the year for Big Mac?

Beckwith has begun his rehab assignment, so the whole thing may become a roster construction question sooner than expected.

TWIWBL 101.1: Year 3, Week 4 – Easing Into the Season

By mknn

On September 17, 2026

In TWIWBL

29 April, 2002

#Awards

Al Kaline is the AL Player of the Week for Detroit, on a .400 week with 6 doubles, 2 homeruns and 10 RBI — powered by a 3-double game followed by a 2-homer, 5-RBI day. He is hitting .326 with 7 homeruns.

The NL Player of the Week is the New York Gothams‘ HR Johnson, who hit .400 with 4 homeruns and 9 RBI over 6 games, slugging .960. Johnson is fast becoming a fan favorite for the Gothams, for obvious reasons, but also for confirmation that perhaps they pulled a fast one on the Black Yankees in the offseason with his acquistion.

In the minors: Josh Harrison (New York Black Yankees) took the award at AAA Newark on a 14-for-28 week, and continues to make an argument for a longer trial at the WBL level; Steve Henderson (Los Angeles) took the AA Player of the Week, and Bob Cerv (Houston) won it at A-ball.

#Three Games

{A new section: when I can’t think of better topic for the front page, we’ll highlight 3 games of note from the week that was.}

Cleveland @ Ottawa, 24 April

Two pitchers with lightning in their arms and massive question marks on their futures faced off in Ottawa, with Cleveland’s Bob Feller taking the mound against the Mounties’ Big Question Mark, Randy Johnson. Both did well, allowing only a single run each. Feller’s day was better, with 11 strikeouts in over 6 innings, while Johnson did his usual thing, walking as many as he whiffed (5 of each).

Neither were around for the exciting parts of the game.

First, in the top of the 7th, RBI’s by Tris Speaker and Larry Doby gave Cleveland a 3-1 lead. Then, the Spiders turned the game over to Aroldis Chapman–their key offseason acquisition, who has been even more important with closer Terry Adams hurt for about a week. Chapman has been … awful. Which continued here.

First, he hit Gary Carter, then gave up singles to Álex Rodríguez and Adrián Beltré, loading the bases. And then Ottawa’s manager got creative, first sending pitcher Bill Smith in to pinch run for Beltré and then sending Old Hoss Radbourn, another pitcher, up to hit for the struggling John Olerud. While the fans were scratching their heads–Olerud is obviously better at the plate than Radbourn–Radbourn simply delivered, driving in 2 with a sharply hit single to left.

Chapman got to 2 outs, but no further, as a single from Roberto Alomar plated Radbourn with the winning run.

CLE 3 (Chapman 0-2, 3 BSv) @ OTT 4 (Holland 2-0)
HRs: none.
Box Score

Chicago @ San Francisco, 28 April

After a rough start, San Francisco has begun to right the ship while Chicago has been surprisingly good in the early going. This game felt like the Sea Lions continuing to reassert their dominance … until ….

Hits from Reggie Jackson and Jack Clark were the big blows, each driving in 2, and San Francisco led 5-0 behind easily the best start of the year so far from Tom Brewer. With the strength of the Sea Lions’ bullpen a well known commodity, some fans had even begun to eye the exits.

And then came the 8th.

Charlie Ferguson allowed a single to Jack Doyle before being relieved by Ken Howell. Howell got two outs–strikeouts of Chino Smith and Mickey Vernon–but allowed 2 singles and 2 doubles before giving way to Trevor Hoffman. Cristóbal Torriente doubled in 2, Kevin Mitchell and Travis Jackson had RBIs, and Eddie Collins greeted Hoffman with a double of his own and suddenly the American Giants were, somehow, ahead, 6-5.

They didn’t need it, but Chicago wasn’t done: Smith hit a 2 run shot in the 9th and Jackson drove in 2 more with a double. With Alex Reyes shutting down San Francisco in the 8th and 9th, that was it and the American Giants emerged with a 10-5 victory.

Allen, Collins, and Jackson each had 3 hits for Chicago on the day.

CAG 10 (Reyes 1-0) @ SFS 5 (Howell 1-1; Hoffman 1 BSv)
HRs: CAG – C. Smith (9); SFS – none.
Box Score

Birmingham @ the House of David, 28 April

It was the last game of the week. We were all just tired.

So nobody thought much about it when Paul Konerko blasted a solo shot off Bob Shaw to tie the game 5-5 in the top of the 8th. Given how well the offenses performed earlier, it seemed obvious that more runs were coming (Birmingham’s John Malarkey had surrendered 11 hits and 5 runs in 5 innings, including a 3 run shot by Ernie Banks; Jack Taylor was barely better for the House of David, giving up 4 runs in his 5 innings of work).

But the bullpens decided to change the script. For Birmingham, Al Javery, Akinori Otsuka, Harley Young, and Kerry Ligtenberg combined to allow 3 hits and zero runs over 9 innings of work, while for the home team, Scott Downs, Ed Bauta, Dellin Betances, Fergie Jenkins, and Karl Spooner gave up more hits (6), but were equally effective over 8 combined frames.

So, what happened?

Birmingham turned to Slim Embrey in the bottom of the 16th. And Embrey can’t really be blamed for what happened: he retired Ryne Sandberg, then saw Pete Browning and Ernie Banks reach on errors before Ron Santo singled to load the bases. Embrey then grooved one to Anthony Rizzo, who deposited in the seats for a walkoff grandslam homerun.

Cap Anson, Sandberg, and Santo had 3 hits each for the House of David, and Bobby Grich and Melky Cabrera had 3 for the Black Barons.

BBB 5 (Embrey 0-1) @ HOD 9 (Spooner 2-0; Shaw 1 BSv)
HRs: BBB – Konerko (5); HOD – Banks (6), Rizzo (4).
Box Score

#Player Performance

Four weeks in, the lists are starting to hold their shape. Qualifying is 3.1 plate appearances or 1 inning per team game — about 80 PA and 26 innings.

#Batters

The Ted Williams problem has not gone away. He leads the WBL in batting average, on-base, slugging, runs, RBI, walks and WAR outright, and shares the homerun lead with Indianapolis’ Oscar Charleston at 12. Williams is hitting .434 with a .952 slugging percentage.

As usual, top 2-3 in most all stats below.

Cool Papa Bell (KAN). .203/.292/.291. 8 SB.
John Briggs (MEM). .247/.306/.438. 12 2B.
Pete Browning (HOD). .337/.393/.525. 9 SB.
Rico Carty (PHI). .375/.446/.694.
Oscar Charleston (IND). .304/.345/.676. 12 HR, 29 RBI, 1.8 WAR.
Ty Cobb (DET). .348/.402/.685. 1.5 WAR.
Lou Gehrig (NYY). .311/.398/.711. 24 RBI.
Hank Greenberg (DET). .241/.327/.448. 3 3B.
HR Johnson (NYG). .372/.400/.691. 12 2B.
Willie Mays (NYG). .283/.343/.641. 21 R.
Joe Morgan (IND). .230/.396/.297. 20 BB.
Jackie Robinson (BRK). .323/.368/.515. 13 2B.
Bullet Joe Rogan (PHI). .344/.385/.885. 9 HR.
Babe Ruth (NYY). .228/.384/.608. 9 HR, 19 BB.
Chino Smith (CAG). .277/.307/.699. 9 HR, 22 R.
Turkey Stearnes (SFS). .259/.300/.635. 9 HR.
Roy White (BRK). .303/.402/.487.
Ted Williams (MEM). .434/.542/.952. 12 HR, 28 R, 32 RBI, 22 BB, 2.4 WAR.

At the other end, Los Angeles’s Dobie Moore has now struck out 55 times, 9 clear of anyone else. Moore has shown some signs of life lately, but it’s a deep hole to crawl out of.

#Pitchers

Christy Mathewson of the New York Gothams is the league’s only 5-game winner, sitting at 5-0.

#Starters

Steve Carlton (PHI). 4-1, 1.89.
Whitey Ford (NYY). 3-2, 2.25. .195 BABIP.
Dwight Gooden (LAA). 2-2, 4.41. 1.90 FIP, 1.5 WAR.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 3-1, 3.63. 54 K.
Waite Hoyt (CAG). 4-1, 2.45.
Walter Johnson (POR). 3-1, 2.37. 45 K, 0.82 WHIP, 1.74 FIP, 1.3 WAR.
Dennis Martínez (BAL). 3-1, 3.45. .178 BABIP.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 5-0, 2.50. 48 K.
Charles Radbourn (OTT). 2-0, 1.38.
Toad Ramsey (HOU). 2-3, 3.28. 1.4 WAR.
Tom Seaver (MEM). 1-1, 1.95.
Smokey Joe Wood (KAN). 2-0, 2.78. 0.77 WHIP.

#Relievers

One more week until we actually have some decent insight into the relievers–for now, here are the 4 closers tied atop the league with 6 saves each.

Rod Beck (SFS). 1-1, 3.00. 6 Sv.
Jack Billingham (POR). 0-1, 4.00. 6 Sv.
Jonathan Papelbon (MCG). 0-0, 3.00. 6 Sv.
Brian Wilson (NYG). 0-1, 2.35. 6 Sv.

#Hardest Shots

Josh Gibson owned the week: a 124 mph solo homerun off Indianapolis‘s Luis Padrón on Saturday was the hardest ball struck by anyone, and he also had a 120 mph double and a 119 mph homerun. Gibson’s overall stats aren’t showing it yet, but the thunder in the bat is clearly still there.

The hardest out was Ted Williams‘s — a 122 mph fly ball to right.

#Injuries

The big one is Bullet Joe Rogan, out about 2 weeks — Philadelphia loses a rotation turn and a bat with 9 homeruns in one move, and he is the fourth Stars pitcher on the disabled list in 10 days. The Gothams lose Dave Righetti for about the same stretch.

Memphis swingman Len Barker and Los Angeles OF Dwight Evans both hit the DL this week as well.

TWIWBL 98.5: Year 3, Week 1 – Marvin Miller Division

By mknn

On August 20, 2026

In TWIWBL

Team	W/L	Pct	GB
Kansas City Monarchs	5-2	.714	—
Birmingham Black Barons	3-4	.429	2
Wandering House of David	3-4	.429	2
Houston Colt 45s	2-5	.286	3
Indianapolis ABCs	1-5	.167	3.5

Marvin Miller Division | 8 April

Birmingham Black Barons

The Black Barons opened the year by shutting out the defending champions. Greg Maddux started with 6 scoreless and Kerry Ligtenberg, Bruce Chen and Akinori Otsuka finished a 5-hit combined shutout, 1-0 over Brooklyn.

Otsuka was injured and will spend some time on the DL, with Steve Bedrosian activated in his place.

Indianapolis ABCs

Ed Swartwood was hit by a pitch and is on the disabled list, with Pete Rose recalled from AAA Cincinnati.

Kansas City Monarchs

Smokey Joe Wood struck out 10 over 7 innings in a 7-3 win over Houston, improving to 2-0.

Joe Thatcher was injured while pitching and is on the disabled list; Jeff Reardon was recalled.

Year III Season Preview: Kansas City Monarchs

By mknn

On August 14, 2026

In 2002 Season Previews, Team News

▌ State of the Franchise

Kansas City has spent 2 years building a pitching staff and 2 years failing to build a lineup. Perhaps 2002 changes that.

The pitching arrived all at once last season: A. Rube Foster opened the year in the bullpen, moved into the rotation, and threw 204 innings with a 3.30 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP, coming 2nd in the Rookie of the Year voting. Smokey Joe Wood, 22, went 15-12 behind him and hit well enough to DH on his own start days. Craig Kimbrel inherited the ninth inning and kept it. That, along with the deepest bullpen in the league, makes the staff feel pretty settled.

In front of them sit Albert Pujols and Stan Musial, both 23, both already among the best bats in the league. And then … well … then there wasn’t a lot else. 37% of the Monarchs’ plate appearances went to hitters with a sub-.700 OPS, which is how a team leads the Marvin Miller Division into July and finishes 79-84 and 3rd. The response has been blunt: Robinson Canó, Willie McGee, Lou Brock and Steve Evans all open this season at Triple-A St. Louis, and the org went out and bought 2 bats.

The park is rated the most extreme pitcher’s yard in the league, and the club builds as though that’s true — chase doubles into the gaps, not homers, and let good arms play up.

This is a connoisseurs’ franchise. Its fans will take a 2-1 win and the bases-loaded walk, and they’ll tell you Foster is an ace no matter what his stuff grades say.

▌ 2001 Revisited

A year ago we wanted a .500 finish, and the worst case we could imagine was the worst pitching staff in the league with an offense that couldn’t compensate. Kansas City went 79-84 — genuine progress from 66-88 — and got the exact inverse of the nightmare.

The staff turned into a strength. Last year, we thought that might come from Bob Gibson. Not so much: the lightning-armed Gibson put up a 6.82 ERA across 11 starts. Instead, it came from Foster and Wood, and from Lee Smith‘s 0.75 WHIP across 50 appearances, from Eddie Guardado, from Mike Kume‘s 1.95 in 22 games, and from Kimbrel taking the closer’s job after Jeff Pfeffer collected 16 saves with an ERA above 6.

Pujols took the step the preview asked for and then some: 316/375/645 with 44 homers and 96 extra-base hits, and the organizational MVP. Musial had the odd year — 300/371/519 is not a bad line, and 59 doubles is a marvelous one, but 13 homers from a bat like that is a bit of a concern? Maybe?

And it collapsed anyway, because underneath the top the lineup could not hit. Ozzie Smith won a Gold Glove, stole 64 bases and posted a .660 OPS in 525 plate appearances. Canó was among the worst bats in the league. McGee, Frankie Frisch and Brock were not much better.

The pitching arrived in force. The hitting never did, but the signal for change was clear, and acted on — gone are the days of Lou Brock and Willie McGee in the OF, with the Monarchs settling on Cool Papa Bell for speed and defense. Gone as well is the experiment of Pujols at 3B, with Doug Rader being brought over from Los Angeles.

▌ Key Changes

In: Benny Kauff (NYG); Doug Rader (LAA)
Out: Dale Murphy (NYG); Jeff Pfeffer (LAA); José Rijo (LAA)

Opening Day Rookies: Cool Papa Bell; Eddie Guardado; Mike Kume; Jock Menefee; Merv Rettenmund; Joe Thatcher; Kolten Wong

▌ Best Case for 2002

The bottom of the order stops giving at-bats away. Benny Kauff — 38 homers and 39 doubles for the Gothams last year — and Doug Rader turn 2 of last season’s sinkholes into real at-bats, second base firms up into something merely ordinary, and the 23-year-olds take the step their age promises: Pujols again, Musial’s power back alongside the doubles, Ted Simmons building on 47 doubles and an .830 OPS from behind the plate.

Cool Papa Bell, the organizational Minor League Player of the Year, runs down everything hit into the biggest outfield in baseball. Foster repeats, Wood takes the next step, and the spring’s crowded rotation audition produces 3 arms that hold.

Do that, and the pen shortens every game to 7 innings, and a club that led the division in July just might lead it in September.

▌ Worst Case for 2002

The lineup stays bottom-heavy, only with new names attached. Rader drove in barrels of runs in 2000, but really hasn’t shown a lot since: the statheads are not thrilled with his arrival.

Second base never gets solved. The back of the rotation stays replacement-level and the innings behind Foster and Wood get expensive. And Lee Smith is 35 with no proven arm behind Kimbrel, so one injury turns the league’s deepest bullpen into an ordinary one.

▌ Key Questions

Can the front office make the hard decisions to raise the standard? The first answer was demotion — Canó, McGee, Brock and Evans are all at Triple-A — and the second was Kauff and Rader, which is where it gets interesting: Rader is a power-and-defense third baseman with a .297 OBP. Kauff is the cleaner fit, a left-handed masher of right-handed pitching. Sure, they need to succeed, but perhaps the more important thing here is the front office finally addressing the offense.
Who, exactly, plays second base? Demoting Canó was easy, given his 2001. But … replacing him with a Kolten Wong / Frisch timeshare seems hardly an improvement.
Is the rotation more than 2 names? Foster and Wood are a real front pair. Behind them the org has quantity and no clarity — Adam Wainwright threw 187 innings of 4.05 ball at Triple-A, Gibson still has the best stuff on the staff, and Bob Shawkey was worth −2.2 wins in 101 innings. The measure of the crowd: Frank Castillo made the NL All-Star team last year, put up a 5.21 ERA in 193 innings, and opens this season at Triple-A.

▌ Roster Evaluation

Tier = the player’s 2001 positional grade (S best → F worst; color coded S A B C D F). Bold names carry a substantive WBL track; italic names are pure projection — a hope, not a grade — with no qualifying track to anchor them.

Pos	Players
C	Simmons C · Pérez
1B	Powell C
2B	Frisch F · Wong
SS	O. Smith D
3B	Rader F
LF	Pujols S · Bell
CF	Kauff B
RF	Musial C · Rettenmund
DH	Harris C
SP	Foster S · Wood A · Wainwright · Gibson · Menefee · Shawkey
RP	Kimbrel A (CL) · L. Smith S · Guardado S · DiPino C · Kume B · Thatcher

Wood is a real bat — 287/343/504 in 140 plate appearances, taken mostly on his own start days — and the org has been open about wanting more of that. And Kume is the mirage: an amazing 2001, but nobody is quite sure how he gets anybody out, ever.

▌ Talent Ratings

	WBL	Minors
Raw Power	1B Boog Powell	1B Lew Brown
Batting Eye	LF Cool Papa Bell	1B Otto Schomberg
Contact	RF Stan Musial	LF Wade Johnston
Running Speed	2B Kolten Wong	CF Jarrod Dyson; CF Alex Diaz
Base Stealing	LF Cool Papa Bell	CF Jarrod Dyson; 1B Joe Start
IF Defense	SS Ozzie Smith	SS Sam Mongin
OF Defense	LF Cool Papa Bell	RF Tommy McCarthy
Stuff	RP Craig Kimbrel	RP Matt Thornton
Control	SP Smokey Joe Wood	SP Luke Hamlin
Velocity	RP Craig Kimbrel	RP Vinnie Pestano

▌ Best In The Minors

Rank	Age	Pos	Name
1 (4)	21	SP	Bill Singer
2 (9)	23	SS	Sam Mongin
3 (45)	22	LF	Wade Johnston
4 (50)	23	3B	Bill Bradley
5 (57)	25	RP	Vinnie Pestano
6 (86)	21	1B	Otto Schomberg
7 (88)	22	2B	Keston Hiura

Others: C Johnny Bassler, P Larry French, P Matt Morris, P Hilton Smith.

The 5th-best system in the league, even with Foster (#2) and Bell (#3) now with the big league club. Wade Johnston has plummeted from being ordained the top overall prospect in the league to where he is now, but he was good enough in the Spring to keep the argument alive. Other names from last year: Heliodoro Hidalgo went to the House of David in the deal that brought Lee Smith, Earl Averill to Baltimore, and Carlos Baerga to the Gothams in the Kauff trade.

But the Monarchs just reloaded. Bill Singer is the 4th-ranked prospect in baseball, Sam Mongin has climbed to 9th, and the layer under them is more arms — French the lone left-hander with real upside, Morris and Hilton Smith behind him — plus 19-year-old catcher Johnny Bassler. And note the name at the bottom of the ranked list: Keston Hiura plays second base. So that could be useful.

▌ Superlatives

	Most	Least
Age	Joe Start, 38	Johnny Bassler, 19
Height	Adam Wainwright, 6’7″	Otto Briggs, 5’7″
OPS	Albert Pujols, 1.020	Otto Briggs, .585 (A)
HR	Albert Pujols, 44	Otto Briggs, 2 (A)
SB	Ozzie Smith, 64	–
WAR (bat)	Albert Pujols, 6.2	Otto Briggs, −0.4 (A)
W	Smokey Joe Wood, 15	–
SV	Stan Yerkes, 23 (AA)	–
ERA	A. Rube Foster, 3.30	Hilton Smith, 7.29 (A)
WAR (pit)	A. Rube Foster, 3.8	Bob Shawkey, −2.2

Stats across all levels, 2001 season. 200 PA / 75 IP minimum. Non-WBL levels tagged in parentheses.

WBL Year III Statistics

I needed a place to hold statistics that aren’t easily displayed in OOTP. Most of these are game-level performances.

For complete statistics, poke around on the WBL Stats Page.

Batting Statistics

2+ 3B Games

3+ 2B Games

3. Lou Gehrig (NYY); Grant Johnson (NYG); Al Kaline (DET); JD Martinez (DET); Jackie Robinson (BRK); Robin Yount (MCG).

3+ HBP Games

3. Melky Cabrera (BBB).

3+ HR Games

3. Gary Carter (OTT); Oscar Charleston (IND); Lou Gehrig (NYY); Rogers Hornsby (NYY).

3+ OF Assists

4+ BB Games

4+ CS Games

4+ Run Games

4. Oscar Charleston (IND); Andy Van Slyke (HOM); Roy White (BKR); Ted Williams x2 (MEM).

4+ SB Games

5+ Hit Games

6. Rogers Hornsby (NYY).
5. Dan Brouthers (BRK); Charles Rogan (PHI); Andy Van Slyke (HOM).

5+ SO Games

5. Lou Gehrig (NYY); Evan Longoria (CLE); Ron Santo (HOD).

6+ RBI Games

8. Lou Gehrig (NYY); Rogers Hornsby (NYY).
6. Gary Carter (OTT).

Cycles

Longest HRs

{ OOTP has, for a long time had a problem with surreally long HR distances. So we threw math at it–these distances are modified based on the game’s projected exit velocity, which puts a cap on how far the ball could actually travel. Far more realistic. }

510. Chuck Klein (POR).
497. Willie Mays (NYG).
495. Josh Gibson (HOM).
495. Duke Snider (BRK); Willie Stargell (HOM).
490. Rogers Hornsby (NYY).
485. Buster Posey (NYG); Anthony Rizzo (HOD); Ted Williams (MEM).
484. Don Buford (NYG).
481. Andrew Payne (PHI).
480. Johnny Callison (NYG), Roberto Clemente (HOM), Ted Williams (MEM), Smokey Joe Wood (KAN).

Pitching Statistics

80+ Game Scores

97. Jock Menefee (KAN).
90. Whitey Ford (NYY).
89. Waite Hoyt (CAG); Mickey Welch (KAN).
88. Christy Mathewson (NYG).
87. Old Hoss Radbourn (OTT).
85. Dupee Shaw (OTT); Smokey Joe Wood (KAN).
84. Steve Carlton (PHI); Hardie Henderson (PHI); José Méndez (MCG).
83. Walter Johnson (POR).
82. Walter Johnson (POR); JM Ward (PHI).
81. Bill Byrd (BBB); Smokey Joe Wood (KAN).
80. Watty Clark (SFS).

10+ Strikeout Games

16. Sid Fernandez (DET).
13. Bob Feller (CLE); Lefty Grove (SFS); Walter Johnson (POR); Christy Mathewson (NYG); Hal Newhouser (DET)..
12. Lefty Gomez (BBB); Lefty Grove (SFS); Ron Guidry (NYY); Waite Hoyt (CAG); Pat Malone (CLE); Jock Menefee (KAN); Dick Redding (BRK); Jim Whitney (MCG); Smokey Joe Williams (BRK).
11. Steve Carlton (PHI); Bob Feller (CLE); Ned Garvin (BAL); Bump Hadley (SFS); Hardie Henderson (PHI); Walter Johnson (PR); Joseíto Muñoz (POR); Luis Padrón (IND); Charlie Root (DET); Bob Shawkey (KAN); Bill Steen (CLE); Smokey Joe Williams (BRK).
10. Don Drysedale x2 (MEM); Ned Garvin (BAL); Cole Hamels (MCG); Connie Johnson (DET); Walter Johnson x2 (POR); Pat Malone (CLE); Christy Mathewson (NYG); Toad Ramsey (HOU); José Rijo (LAA); Red Ruffing (MEM); Sam Streeter x2 (CAG); Fernando Valenzuela (BRK); Justin Verlander (DET); Jim Whitney x2 (MCG); Smokey Joe Wood x2 (KAN); Cy Young x2 (CLE).

8+ Walk Games

8. Hardie Henderson (PHI).

Shutouts

1 Hit. Mark Buehrle (CAG, 6 IP); Whitey Ford (NYY); Jock Menefee (KAN).
2 Hits. Lefty Grove (SFS, 6 IP); Old Hoss Radbourn (OTT); Mickey Welch (KAN).
3 Hits. Smokey Joe Williams (BRK, 5 IP)
4 Hits. Dupee Shaw (OTT).
5 Hits. Hardie Henderson (PHI).

Shutouts (Combined)

1 Hit. Old Hoss Radbourn / Kevin Gross / Ryan Dempster / Billy Koch (OTT).
3 Hits. David Price / Babe Adams (HOM, 7 IP); Charlie Root / Dick Donovan / Jason Frasor / Troy Percival (DET); Dave Righetti / George Jeffcoat / Vito Tamulis / Brian Wilson (NYG); Whitey Ford / Hoyt Wilhelm / Goose Gossage (NYY); Jock Menefee / Jeff Reardon / Lee Smith (KAN); Pete Donohue / Masahiro Tanaka / Kent Tekulve / Brian Wilson (NYG; 10 IP); Bump Hadley / Charlie Ferguson (SFS); Watty Clark / Joe Nathan (SFS); Waite Hoyt / AJ Minter (CAG); Bert Bleyleven / Johan Santana / Jack Billingham (POR); Red Ruffing / Jon Lester / Bucky Walters (MEM).
4 Hits. Mel Harder / Whit Wyatt / Ron Reed / Aroldis Chapman / Terry Adams (CLE); Brett Anderson / Jimmy Key / Dellin Betances / Karl Spooner / Ed Bauta (HOD); Toad Ramsey / Jim Kern / Billy Wagner / Tug McGraw (HOU); Smokey Joe Wood / Lee Smith (KAN); Randy Johnson / Kevin Gross / BJ Ryan (OTT); Tony Brizzolara / Tony Mullane / Rheal Cormier / Goose Gossage (NYY); Roy Oswalt / Andrew Chafin / Sparky Lyle (HOU); Ray Collins / Ryan Madsen / Mark Melancon (PHI).
5 Hits. Cy Young / Ron Reed / Cory Gearrin (CLE); Greg Maddux / Kerry Ligtenberg / Bruce Chen / Akinori Otuska / Harley Young (BBB); Waite Hoyt / Wilbur Wood / Will Smith (CAG); Joseíto Muñoez / John Wetteland (POR); Gaylord Perry / Hoyt Wilhelm (NYY).

TWIWBL 89.1: Off Season Review – Kansas City Monarchs

By mknn

On March 13, 2026

In Season Reviews, TWIWBL

79 - 84, .485 pct.
3rd in Marvin Miller Division, 6 1/2 GB

Overall

Kansas City led the Marvin Miller Division for most of the first half of the season … and then pretty much collapsed.

They have a top 3 or 4 pitching staff in the league in terms of high end performance, but struggle after that talent, especially in the rotation, and ultimately have a pretty weak offense that needs multiple upgrades.

It’s an interesting conundrum. Albert Pujols, A. Rube Foster, Smokey Joe Wood, Lee Smith, Eddie Guardado, and Craig Kimbrel are as good as they come. And Stan Musial, Ted Simmons, and perhaps even Ozzie Smith are solid.

But the talent falls off the cliff after that, and it’s not really clear what the solution is: do you hope for improvement from some of the young talent? Do you move some of the high end for overall upgrades? Do you just stand pat and applaud the various accolades earned by that top group? The off season in Kansas City could range from nothing to incredibly active.

What Went Right

All the elite talent.

Albert Pujols led the team in most things, slashing 316/375/645 with 44 homers and 96 extra base hits. Pujols played mostly at 3B this season, and it’s not sure how long that can last, as LF or 1B or DH seem a more likely destination for him.

A. Rube Foster was spectacular, finishing the season with a 3.30 ERA and a miniscule 1.02 WHIP. Foster, who ended up with an 11-8 record, was in the bullpen at the start of the year, but still made 24 starts and finished with over 200 IP.

Lee Smith, brought over from the House of David was virtually unhittable, finishing with a 0.75 WHIP over 50 appearances. Smith paired with Eddie Guardado, whose numbers were actually quite similar, to setup closer Craig Kimbrel. It took a while for this back of the bullpen to emerge: the Monarchs started the season with Jeff Pfeffer as their closer (Pfeffer did amass 16 saves, but also an ERA over 6.00).

Smokey Joe Wood missed some time through injury, but was excellent otherwise, being one of the few 2 way players with a positive contribution both ways. Wood finished 15-12 with a 4.11 ERA and excellent peripherals.

After those, there is a bit of a dropoff, but some things still went well.

Stan Musial had an odd year. It’s not like 300/371/519 is bad. But it’s far below Musial’s potential, and while 59 doubles is great, Musial only hitting 13 homeruns is quite a disappointment. Still, not bad.

Ted Simmons is excellent behind the plate, and his .830 OPS is very strong for a catcher.

Boog Powell hit a severe slump towards the end of the year, but still provided some power and an ability to get on base.

Kansas City’s 3rd and 4th primary starters, Frank Castillo and José Rijo, were solid, although not much more than that.

Mike Kume was the surprise of the season, posting a 1.95 ERA in 22 games, and further solidifying their relief corps.

Adam Wainwright and Matt Morris both impressed in limited appearances late in the year.

Ozzie Smith, Willie McGee, Musial, Frankie Frisch, Lou Brock, and Cool Papa Bell combined for over 200 steals.

ALL STARS

Frank Castillo
A. Rube Foster
Craig Kimbrel
Stan Musial
Albert Pujols

MAJOR AWARDS

A. Rube Foster, NL Team of the Year; NL Brock Rutherford Award 3rd Place; NL Rookie of the Year 2nd Place
Eddie Guardado, NL Team of the Year
Craig Kimbrel, NL Phineas Flint Award 3rd Place
Lee Smith, NL Team of the Year; NL Phineas Flint Award 2nd Place
Ozzie Smith, NL Gold Glove SS

RECOGNITIONS

A. Rube Foster, NL All Rookie Team; NL 25 & Under Team of the Year
Eddie Guardado, NL All Rookie Team
Joe Harris, NL All Rookie Team
Mike Kume, NL All Rookie Team
Albert Pujols, NL 2nd Team of the Year; NL 25 & Under Team of the Year, NL 23 & Under Team of the Year
Lee Smith, NL 30 & Over Team of the Year
Ozzie Smith, NL Over 30 Team of the Year
Smokey Joe Wood, NL 2nd Team of the Year; NL 23 & Under Team of the Year

ORGANIZATIONAL AWARDS

Albert Pujols, MVP
A. Rube Foster, Pitcher of the Year
Stan Musial, Heart & Soul
Craig Kimbrel, Fan Favorite

Joe Thatcher, Minor League Pitcher of the Year
Cool Papa Bell, Minor League Player of the Year

What Went Wrong

Robinson Canó was among the league’s worst offensive performers, showing none of the power he displayed in year 1.

Ozzie Smith provided speed and defense, but virtually no offense.

Steve Evans, much hyped in Spring Training, was so poor he ended up in AAA.

Pfeffer’s struggles were mentioned above: in the long run, his demise cleared the way for Kimbrel, so perhaps this is more silver lining than something going wrong.

Bob Gibson has explosive stuff, but managed a 6.82 ERA over 11 starts. At 26, he really needs to start to produce.

Luke Hamlin–the Monarchs’ #1 last year–worked his way out of the rotation, ending the year 6-12 with a 5.55 ERA. Likewise, a key part of last year’s bullpen, Dustin Hermanson, was pretty bad this season.

Transactions

March

None.

July

IF Heliodoro Hidalgo, P Jimmy Key, & 3rd Round Pick to HOD for IF Joe Harris & P Lee Smith.

Harris is a quality bat off the bench, but at 36, that’s his best role. But, Smith is the real key to the deal, and his performance this year along may make the deal worthwhile.

August

At this point, Kansas City thought they still had a chance to make the post-season, which helps give context for this deal.

OF Earl Averill to BAL for P Joe Beggs & 2nd Round Pick.

Averill is a loss, but the Monarchs really believe CF belongs either to Cool Papa Bell or Willie McGee. Beggs was OK, and should help out next year as well.

Positional Overview

C

Ted Simmons should have this locked up for a decade.

Behind him, teenager Johnny Bassler has a lot of talent. Until he’s ready, Salvador Pérez will continue to be Simmons’ backup at the WBL level.

1B

Powell will man 1B again for Kansas City, but Andre Thornton made a good showing in a September callup, and could be turned to if Powell’s end of season struggles continue.

Joe Harris and Pujols play this as well; behind them there’s not a lot of WBL level talent in the system.

2B

If Canó cannot improve dramatically, this is an area of need for Kansas City. Frankie Frisch was better than Canó when given the chance, but that’s not saying much. Behind them, Kolten Wong and Keston Hiura look to have some talent, but don’t look really ready for the WBL.

Hiura, Wong, and perhaps veteran Rex Hudler may get opportunities in Spring Training.

Carlos Baerga may end up here, but at 19 he still has a way to go.

SS

The Monarchs are fine with what Ozzie Smith provides, so look for his backflips to remain for a few years.

Beyond Smith … there’s not a lot. Edgar Rentería has all the tools, but hasn’t shown much and Sam Mongin looks likely to be best at other positions.

3B

An interesting conundrum for the Monarchs here: on the one hand, Pujols is one of the best in the game; on the other, he’s likely to move out of this position. So, for now, Pujols. But the question of who else is available is potentially important.

Frisch can play here, but veteran Ken Boyer is a more likely interim solution while Mongin, Bret Barberie, and Bill Bradley sort out their development.

LF/RF

LF is a bit of a free for all.

While Cool Papa Bell may end up in CF, he and Ducky Medwick are the lead contenders, but the Monarchs are still trying to figure out what to do with Dale Murphy.

This is all waiting for the arrival of the highly regarded Wade Johnston, but that’s still a year or two away.

RF, on the other hand, is set with Musial: if this year’s version of Musial is the Musial we get, he’s still an all-star caliber player. And that is seen pretty much universally as his floor.

There is some talent behind Musial as well: Steve Evans, Merv Rettenmund, Jim King, and Tommy McCarthy could all be decent WBL 4th outfielders.

CF

Bell and Murphy can play here, and the Monarchs believe Willie McGee can bounce back from a disappointing season.

One of those need to step up, as only veteran Fielder Jones looks to have legitimate WBL talent in the minors.

DH

This is set as some mixture of Pujols, Harris, and Murphy.

SP

So few teams have the challenge of having too many options on the mound, but welcome to Kansas City.

A. Rube Foster and Smokey Joe Wood will anchor the staff, with José Rijo‘s spot also assured.

Behind them, however, there will be some competition during the Spring between Jock Menefee, Bob Gibson, Frank Castillo, Joe Beggs, Matt Morris, Adam Wainwright, and Bob Shawkey. And while veterans Luke Hamlin and Jeff Pfeffer will get a chance, most assume their days in the rotation are done.

Bill Singer and Hilton Smith are probably the highest ceiling arms in the minors, although both Larry French and Marcus Stroman have some potential as well.

RP

The WBL bullpen should be among the best in the league, with Lee Smith, Eddie Guardado, and Frank DiPino getting the ball to Craig Kimbrel.

Mike Kume was excellent, but there are hints it may have been a bit of a fluke. Veteran Matt Thornton will compete with Dustin Hermanson, Joe Thatcher, and Trevor Rosenthal for the final spots.

Draft Outlook

DRAFT PICKS

1st Round: 1
2nd Round: 2
3rd Round: 0
4th Round: 1
5th Round: 1

It’s really a best player available situation, perhaps with a prejudice away from C and RF.

TWIWBL 88.2: Teams of the Year By Age

By mknn

On March 1, 2026

In TWIWBL

The overall All-WBL Teams can be found here.

In this post, we’ll slowly carve people off those lists as we get younger, beginning with the under 25’s. As we get younger, future potential will begin to be more of a thing.

A full lineup, with DH, plus 3 starters and 3 relievers for each. We’ll start by relisting the overall selections, then new entries for each group will be bolded.

#WBL Teams of the Year

Pos	American League	National League
C	Ed Bailey (36, DET/CLE)	Josh Gibson (21, HOM)
1B	Jim Thome (28, MCG)	Paul Konerko (34, CAG/BBB)
2B	Eddie Collins (28, CAG)	Roberto Alomar (24, OTT)
SS	Arky Vaughan (27, CLE)	Ernie Banks (25, HOD)
3B	Evan Longoria (24, CLE)	Ron Cey (27, BRK)
LF	Babe Ruth (25, NYY)	Jim Wynn (23, HOU)
CF	Turkey Stearnes (22, SFS)	Oscar Charleston (21, IND)
RF	Mickey Mantle (22, NYY)	Aaron Judge (27, PHI)
DH	Ty Cobb (21, DET)	Willie Stargell (31, HOM)
SP	Lefty Grove (27, SFS) José Méndez (23, MCG) Jim Whitney (24, BBB/MCG)	Luis Padrón (22, IND) Toad Ramsey (23, HOU) A. Rube Foster (24, KCM)
RP	Ken Howell (24, SFS) Andrew Miller (23, MEM) Rod Beck (24, SFS)	Lee Smith (34, HOD/KCM) Eddie Guardado (26, KCM) Eric Gagne (27, BRK)

#WBL 25 & Under Teams

Pos	American League	National League
C	Mickey Cochrane (25, SFS)	Josh Gibson (21, HOM)
1B	Hank Greenberg (24, DET)	Jeff Bagwell (24, HOU)
2B	Grant Johnson (25, HOU/NYY)	Roberto Alomar (24, OTT)
SS	Cal Ripken, Jr (23, BAL)	Ernie Banks (25, HOD)
3B	Evan Longoria (24, CLE)	Albert Pujols (22, KCM)
LF	Babe Ruth (25, NYY)	Jim Wynn (23, HOU)
CF	Turkey Stearnes (22, SFS)	Oscar Charleston (21, IND)
RF	Mickey Mantle (22, NYY)	Larry Walker (23, OTT)
DH	Ty Cobb (21, DET)	Rick Monday (24, OTT)
SP	José Méndez (23, MCG) Jim Whitney (24, BBB/MCG) Bump Hadley (23, SFS)	Luis Padrón (22, IND) Toad Ramsey (23, HOU) A. Rube Foster (24, KCM)
RP	Ken Howell (24, SFS) Andrew Miller (23, MEM) Rod Beck (24, SFS)	Terry Forster (22, BRK) Andrew Chafin (25, HOU) Fred Cambria (23, PHI)

#WBL 23 & Under Teams

Pos	American League	National League
C	Iván Rodríguez (21, MCG)	Josh Gibson (21, HOM)
1B	Eddie Murray (22, BAL)	Rusty Staub (21, OTT)
2B	Frank Grant (22, HOD/SFS)	Joe Morgan (22, IND)
SS	Cal Ripken, Jr (23, BAL)	Carlos Correa (23, HOU)
3B	Jimmie Foxx (22, SFS)	Albert Pujols (22, KCM)
LF	Frank Robinson (22, BAL)	Jim Wynn (23, HOU)
CF	Turkey Stearnes (22, SFS)	Oscar Charleston (21, IND)
RF	Mickey Mantle (22, NYY)	Larry Walker (23, OTT)
DH	Ty Cobb (21, DET)	Richie Hebner (23, HOD)
SP	José Méndez (23, MCG) Bump Hadley (23, SFS) Brett Anderson (22, LAA)	Luis Padrón (22, IND) Toad Ramsey (23, HOU) Smokey Joe Wood (22, KCM)
RP	Andrew Miller (23, MEM) Goose Gossage (23, NYY) Julio Teheran (22, LAA)	Terry Forster (22, BRK) Fred Cambria (23, PHI) Ted Kennedy (22, PHI)

300 PA Minimums for batters, with 1 exception: Murray only had 145 PAs–1B in the AL just did not have a lot of youth.

#WBL 21 & Under

Pos	American League	National League
C	Iván Rodríguez (21, MCG)	Josh Gibson (21, HOM)
1B	—	Rusty Staub (21, OTT)
2B	Martín Dihigo (19, MCG)	—
SS	Dobie Moore (20, MEM)	Judy Johnson (18, HOM)
3B	Freddie Lindstrom (20, CAG)	Ron Santo (21, HOD)
LF	Alejandro Oms (21, MCG)	Sherry Magee (21, PHI)
CF	Ken Griffey Jr (20, POR)	Oscar Charleston (21, IND)
RF	Bryce Harper (20, BAL)	—
DH	Ty Cobb (21, DET)	—
SP	Walter Johnson (20, POR) Bob Feller (20, CLE) Joseíto Muñoz (20, POR)	Ice Box Chamberlain (19, HOU) JM Ward (20, PHI) Sandy Koufax (21, BRK)
RP	Pete Conway (21, DET) Tom Williams (20, CAG) Billy Hoeft (19, DET)	Pete Donohue (21, NYG) Edward Nolan (19, IND) Vida Blue (21, HOU)

All praises to Ty Cobb, Josh Gibson, and Oscar Charleston for remaining on the list this far. The relievers dip into some rarely used arms, but of the rest, only Freddie Lindstrom was a late-season callup.

There really isn’t an all-teenager team: the only change from the teens above would be the addition of Chicago’s Cristóbal Torriente, perhaps the worst offensive player in the league this year in CF, but surprisingly effective in a few mound appearances.

One more, largely for fun

#WBL Over 30 Team

Pos	American League	National League
C	Ed Bailey (36, DET/CLE)	Jim Pagliaroni (32, MEM/BBB)
1B	Carlos Delgado (32, LAA)	Paul Konerko (34, CAG/BBB)
2B	Rogers Hornsby (34, NYY)	Ryne Sandberg (33, HOD)
SS	Bobby Wallace (34, BAL/DET)	Ozzie Smith (30, KCM)
3B	—	Jim Ray Hart (30, NYG)
LF	Oscar Gamble (32, DET)	Don Buford (32, LAA/NYG)
CF	—	Dave Henderson (33, IND)
RF	Kiki Cuyler (32, POR)	Albert Belle (32, BBB)
DH	Gavvy Cravath (36, BAL)	Joey Votto (32, IND)
SP	Andy Pettitte (33, NYY) Connie Johnson (34, BAL/DET) Charlie Root (31, DET)	Gaylord Perry (33, NYG) Eppa Rixey (31, IND) Cliff Lee (30, HOM)
RP	Jonathan Papelbon (31, MEM/MCG) Joe Nathan (31, LAA/SFS) Buddy Groom (37, BAL)	Lee Smith (34, HOD/KCM) Bob Howry (34, PHI) Josh Lindblom (31, HOM)

Only 3 names from the All-League Teams (Baily, Konerko, and Lee Smith), reflecting on just how young the league is. This is a very wide range from some very strong performers who are expected to keep it up for a while (those 3, Pettitte, Hornsby, some others) to folks like Dave Henderson and Kiki Cuyler, who are just barely hanging onto their roster spots.

TWIWBL 87.15: Teams of the Year

By mknn

On February 23, 2026

In TWIWBL

We’re doing 3 teams for each league, with players color coded by their Tier Level (S Tier, A Tier, B Tier, C Tier), with selections for each position, 3 starters, 2 bullpen arms, and a closer.

Just a glance shows the differences in the leagues: you want offense, look at the AL, you want pitching, the NL. That’s a generality, and like all such, not fully accurate: the NL actually has more S Tier bats, but the AL is overall more top heavy offensively.

San Francisco, predictably, leads the way with 12 selections while the rivalry between the Black Yankees and Cleveland continues, with the Bill James Division heavyweights having 8 each.

#AL

Pos	First Team	Second Team	Third Team
C	Ed Bailey (DET/CLE)	Mickey Cochrane (SFS)	Curt Blefary (BAL)
1B	Jim Thome (MCG)	Lance Berkman (CLE)	Jack Clark (SFS)
2B	Eddie Collins (CAG)	Rogers Hornsby (NYY)	Miller Huggins (BAL)
SS	Arky Vaughan (CLE)	Cal Ripken, Jr. (BAL)	Dick Lundy (SFS)
3B	Evan Longoria (CLE)	Mike Schmidt (NYY)	Jimmie Foxx (SFS)
LF	Babe Ruth (NYY)	Kal Daniels (LAA)	Frank Robinson (BAL)
CF	Turkey Stearnes (SFS)	Tris Speaker (CLE)	Mike Trout (LAA)
RF	Mickey Mantle (NYY)	Joe Jackson (CAG)	Yasiel Puig (MCG)
DH	Ty Cobb (DET)	Lou Gehrig (NYY)	Reggie Jackson (SFS)
SP	Lefty Grove (SFS) José Méndez (MCG) Jim Whitney (BBB/MCG)	Bump Hadley (SFS) Andy Pettitte (NYY) Eddie Plank (SFS)	Ed Walsh (CAG) Brett Anderson (LAA) Ron Guidry (NYY)
RP	Ken Howell (SFS) Andrew Miller (MEM)	Ross Reynolds (LAA) Al Smith (CLE)	Firpo Marberry (CLE) Ron Reed (CLE)
CL	Rod Beck (SFS)	Goose Gossage (NYY)	Jonathan Papelbon (MEM/MCG)

I do wonder if this points to how fragile Cleveland is. The Spiders are one of only 2 teams to make the playoffs in both WBL seasons, but if you were to pick names likely to fade off this list, Arky Vaughan, Evan Longoria, Al Smith, and Firpo Marberry would jump out.

It also shows just how top heavy Los Angeles is: 2 S-Tier players (plus Brett Anderson and Ross Reynolds) with nothing to show for it. At the other end, there’s Detroit–the other team to make the playoffs each year–with only a single player (the incomparable Ty Cobb) listed, further reinforcing the Wolverines as having done it with a true team effort (although this was also quite close: Terry Adams, Al Kaline, and Hank Greenberg were all in contention for 3rd Team honors).

And the less said about Memphis, the better.

#NL

Pos	First Team	Second Team	Third Team
C	Josh Gibson (HOM)	Gary Carter (OTT)	Mike Piazza (BRK)
1B	Paul Konerko (CAG/BBB)	Will Clark (NYG)	Jeff Bagwell (HOU)
2B	Roberto Alomar (OTT)	Joe Morgan (IND)	Ryne Sandberg (HOD)
SS	Ernie Banks (HOD)	Carlos Correa (HOU)	Alex Rodríguez (OTT)
3B	Ron Cey (BRK)	Albert Pujols (KCM)	Scott Rolen (PHI)
LF	Jim Wynn (HOU)	Ryan Braun (BBB)	Rick Reichardt (HOM)
CF	Oscar Charleston (IND)	Willie Mays (NYG)	Charles Rogan (PHI)
RF	Aaron Judge (PHI)	Larry Walker (OTT)	Tony Gwynn (HOU)
DH	Willie Stargell (HOM)	Benny Kauff (NYG)	Rick Monday (OTT)
SP	Luis Padrón (IND) Toad Ramsey (HOU) A. Rube Foster (KCM)	Smokey Joe Williams (BRK) Smokey Joe Wood (KCM) Fernando Valenzuela (BRK)	Roger Clemens (HOU) Hardie Henderson (PHI) Orel Hershiser (BRK)
RP	Lee Smith (HOD/KCM) Eddie Guardado (KCM)	Robb Nen (NYG/HOM) Terry Forster (BRK)	Andrew Chafin (HOU) Fred Cambria (PHI)
CL	Eric Gagné (BRK)	Josh Lindblom (HOM)	Bob Howry (PHI)

Brooklyn and Kansas City’s pitching is so strong. And imagine just how bad Ottawa’s pitching had to be, given their offensive representation.

Indianapolis has 3 S Tier players, giving them perhaps the most dominant nucleus in the league to build around. Kansas City has 4 S Tier players, but 2 of them are relievers, so most GM’s would prefer the ABC’s group.

And there are some league-wide deficiencies, especially at 1B and LF. Jim Wynn is a nice player, but the best in the league?

Both of Birmingham’s entrants were brought over in trade … but they also lost Jim Whtiney in those deals.

#Team by Team

Portland had nobody–nobody–who was deemed top 3 in the AL at their position. Ouch.

Baltimore. 4: Curt Blefary, Miller Huggins, Cal Ripken, Jr, Frank Robinson.
Birmingham, 2: Ryan Braun, Paul Konerko.
Brooklyn. 7: Ron Cey, Terry Forster, Eric Gagne, Orel Hershiser, Mike Piazza, Fernando Valenzuela, Smokey Joe Williams
Chicago. 3: Eddie Collins, Joe Jackson, Ed Walsh.
Cleveland. 8: Ed Bailey, Lance Berkman, Evan Longoria, Firpo Marberry, Ron Reed, Al Smith, Tris Speaker, Arky Vaughan.
Detroit. 1: Ty Cobb.
Homestead. 5: Josh Gibson, Josh Lindblom, Robb Nen, Rick Reichardt , Willie Stargell.
Houston. 7: Jeff Bagwell, Andrew Chafin, Roger Clemens, Carlos Correa, Tony Gwynn, Toad Ramsey, Jim Wynn.
Indianapolis. 3: Oscar Charleston, Joe Morgan, Luis Padrón.
Kansas City. 5: A. Rube Foster, Eddie Guardado, Albert Pujols, Lee Smith, Smokey Joe Wood.
Los Angeles. 4: Brett Anderson, Kal Daniels, Ross Reynolds, Mike Trout.
Memphis. 1: Andrew Miller.
Miami. 5: José Méndez, Jonathan Papelbon, Yasiel Puig, Jim Thome, Jim Whitney.
New York Black Yankees. 8: Lou Gehrig, Goose Gossage, Ron Guidry, Rogers Hornsby, Mickey Mantle, Andy Pettitte, Babe Ruth, Mike Schmidt.
New York Gothams. 3: Will Clark, Benny Kauff , Willie Mays.
Ottawa. 5: Roberto Alomar , Gary Carter, Rick Monday, Alex Rodríguez, Larry Walker.
Philadelphia. 7: Fred Cambria, Hardie Henderson, Bob Howry, Aaron Judge, Charles Rogan, Scott Rolen.
Portland. 0.
San Francisco. 12: Rod Beck, Jack Clark, Mickey Cochrane, Jimmie Foxx, Lefty Grove, Bump Hadley, Ken Howell, Reggie Jackson, Dick Lundy, Eddie Plank, Turkey Stearnes.
Wandering House of David. 2: Ernie Banks, Ryne Sandberg.