Tag: Thurman Munson Page 4 of 5

Preview here.

#Game One: Dave Righetti @ Lefty Grove

Despite a few superb outings, New York‘s Dave Righetti comes into this game with a losing record (3-4) and a poor ERA (5.43). San Francisco will start one of the more dependable arms so far in the league, Lefty Grove, who sits at 5-2 with a sparkling 3.23 ERA.

Derek Jeter led off the game against Grove with a grounds-rule double, but was left stranded at 2B. San Francisco’s leadoff hitter, Rickey Henderson, walked and, as he is wont to do, stole second while Bobby Bonds and Reggie Jackson were striking out. But Pedro Guerrero singled to left, and Henderson scored easily, putting the Sea Lions up, 1-0.

It didn’t last long: Lou Gehrig took Grove deep in the top of the 2nd to tie the game. Willie Randolph–continuing to keep his average over .200–added an RBI single to give the Black Yankees the lead, but it could have been much worse for Grove, as Bonds caught a fly ball by Don Mattingly in shallow centerfield for the 2nd out and nailed Thurman Munson, trying to score from 3rd, to end the inning.

Again the lead barely lasted: Jimmy Bloodworth took Righetti deep to lead off the bottom of the 2nd. Later in the inning, a Henderson single scored Cy Perkins to edge San Francisco in front, 3-2.

It was a sloppy game through 3 innings with each team committing 2 errors (Randolph and Babe Ruth for New York, Dick Lundy and Jack Clark for the Sea Lions), Righetti walking 2 and Grove walking 3.

Mattingly would tie the game with homerun in the top of the 4th, and Jeter would drive in a run in the top of the 6th, giving the lead back to New York, 4-3. Again though: a lead with a short life. Perkins chased Righetti from the game with a 3-run shot in the bottom of the frame, with the Black Yankees bringing in Dellin Betances who got out of the inning without any further damage and a 6-4 lead for San Francisco.

The Black Yankees got one run back when Eric Davis singled, stole second and third, and scored on a base hit by Albert Belle.

San Francisco added 2 in the bottom of the 7th on Randolph’s second error of the game, an errant throw that allowed both Henderson and Bonds to score.

But this New York team is hard to put away: Davis led off the top of the 9th with a single against Ron Robinson, and after Gehrig whiffed, Belle walked and Munson doubled, scoring Davis to make it a 2-run game, 8-6. Ken Howell relieved Robinson and promptly fanned Doug DeCinces and got pinch-hitter Mike Schmidt to groundout weakly in front of the plate to end the game.

NYY 6 (Righetti 3-5) @ SFS 8 (Grove 6-2; Howell 3 Sv; Street 1 H; Devlin 2 H; Robinson 8 H)
HRs: NYY – Gehrig (14), Mattingly (10); SFS – Perkins (3), Bloodworth (10)
Box Score

#Game Two: Waite Hoyt @ Eddie Plank

This one started out as a pitching duel, with New York’s Waite Hoyt and San Francisco’s Eddie Plank each only allowing a single hit through 4 innings.

New York added 2 hits in the 5th–a double by Mike Schmidt and a single by Willie Randolph–but Plank fanned Derek Jeter and Don Mattingly to get out of the inning.

Dick Lundy opened the scoring in the bottom of the 5th when Lundy singled home Bob Cerv. Lundy would score in a hit by Rickey Henderson, and the Sea Lions took the lead, 2-0.

Plank held the shutout through the 6th, then gave up a single to Thurman Munson and a walk to Schmidt to lead off the 7th. That was it for him, as San Francisco brought in Chad Bradford from the pen with 2 on and no outs. New York would counter by bringing Lou Gehrig out to pinch-hit for Randolph. Gehrig was retired, but Bradford allowed one run before getting Babe Ruth to end the inning on a flay to deep center.

That narrowed the game to a 2-1 lead for San Francisco, which is where it stayed heading to the top of the 9th, where the Sea Lions turned to their closer Rod Beck.

The first batter was Munson, who immediately added to his incredible few weeks by taking Beck into the left field seats to tie the game. Schmidt would walk, followed by an infield single from Gehrig, and it suddenly felt like New York might blow the game open. Instead, Jeter grounded into a double play, and with the hugely ineffective Craig Counsell up, San Francisco seemed in decent shape … until Beck’s 2-2 pitch was wild, bouncing past Mickey Cochrane and allowing Schmidt to score. Counsell flew out to left, but the Black Yankees were ahead, 3-2.

They brought in their closer, Sparky Lyle, who set the side down in order, striking out Bobby Bonds to end the game.

Munson ended the day 3-for-4 with 2 runs scored as all 6 of the Black Yankees’ hits came from the bottom 3 slots in their lineup.

NYY 3 (Hoyt 5-1; Lyle 7 Sv) @ SFS 2 (Beck 0-1, 1 B Sv; Bradford 2 H)
HRs: Munson (7)
Box Score

#Game 3: Ron Guidry @ Cy Falkenberg

Rickey Henderson led off the bottom of the first with a long fly that sliced down the right field line, and barely stayed fair for a leadoff homerun off Ron Guidry and a 1-0 Sea Lions lead.

Leading off the bottom of the 3rd, it was Henderson again, this time with a double. He scored on an RBI single from Pedro Guerrero, making it 2-0. And, while Henderson led off the bottom of the 5th with a strikeout, the Sea Lions did add to their league on singles from Guerrero, Bobby Bonds, and Jimmy Bloodworth.

Through 5 innings, Cy Falkenberg had easily outmatched Guidry, allowing only 1 hit and 2 walks while strikeout out 5. But the top of the 6th began with a leadoff walk to Mickey Mantle, followed by Babe Ruth‘s 20th homerun of the year, cutting the lead to 3-2. Falkenberg walked Lou Gehrig and Albert Belle, and Thurman Munson dinked a little looper into right to load the bases. Don Mattingly tied the game with a sacrifice fly, but Falkenberg was able to escape the inning without further damage.

So, Guidry got a reprieve, having given up 8 hits through 5 innings while striking out 6. He struck out John Beckwith and Eddie Joost to lead off the 6th, but Dick Lundy doubled to deep left-center, chasing Guidry from the game in favor of Cole Hamels, who was able to retire Henderson to maintain the tied score.

Rick Langford may have pitched himself to AAA, allowing homeruns to Mantle and Gehrig, giving the Black Yankees a 6-3 lead.

Henderson would plate 2 in the bottom of the 8th with a double, scoring Beckwith and Lundy, and pulling San Francisco to within 1 run.

Ralph Citarella relieved Hamels, and promptly surrendered a ground-rule double to Guerrero, tying the game once more. Left in to pitch the bottom of the 9th, Bloodworth took Citarella deep to win the game for San Francisco.

Guerrero had 4 hits in the victory and Henderson 3 hits, driving in 3 and scoring 3 times.

NYY 6 (Citarella 1-3, 1 B Sv) @ SFS (Howell 3-2)
HRs: NYY – Ruth (20), Mantle (8), Gehrig (15); SFS – Henderson (3), Bloodworth (11)
Box Score

#Game 4: Jack Scott @ Diego Segui

Ah, the pitching duel we all expected … Diego Segui has been one of the shocks of the season, with an ERA near 2.00 since being recalled from AAA. He delivered here, allowing only 1 hit through 5 innings while the Black Yankees’ Jack Scott did him one better, with a no-hitter through 5.

Manny Sanguillen took Segui deep for his first homerun of the year in the top of the 6th and from there the wheels sort of fell off: Mickey Mantle drove in 1 run, then Babe Ruth hit his 21st homerun of the year with a couple runners on, making it 5-0 New York.

A single by John Beckwith broke up the no-no, but Scott kept the shutout intact for another inning, until Reggie Jackson sent a line drive into the rightfield stands, cutting the lead to 5-1.

An Eddie Joost homerun closed it to 5-2, and Sparky Lyle seemed to close the door, easily retiring the first 2 Sea Lions in the bottom of the 9th. But singles by Jimmy Bloodworth and Wally Moon were followed by a pinch-hit double from Bob Cerv, bringing the winning run to the plate in the form of the conundrum that is Joost.

Lyle struck him out on a slider, preserving the win for New York and splitting the series at 2.

Derek Jeter was 3-for-4 for New York.

NYY 5 (Scott 6-3; Lyle 8 Sv; Gossage 4 H) @ SFS (Segui 2-3)
HRs: NYY – Sanguillen (1), Ruth (21); SFS – Jackson (11), Joost (6)
Box Score

#Series Notes

So, a split in a close series with some excellent baseball on both sides.

Babe Ruth hit 2 homeruns, driving in 5 for New York, but those were his only 2 hits in the series. Other than the unstoppable Thurman Munson–who went 6-for-11, lifting his average to .320 on the year– and Derek Jeter (6-for-18) the Black Yankees offense was kept largely in check.

For San Francisco, Jimmy Bloodworth went 6-for-17 with 2 homeruns and Pedro Guerrero 5-for-17. Perhaps more importantly for the Sea Lions, Rickey Henderson showed signs of breaking out of his slump, going 5-for-10 while scoring 5 runs and driving in 5.

TWIWBL Special Edition: All Star Preview II – Catchers

By mknn

On September 29, 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 Catchers: Bill James & Cum Posey Divisions

Original Selections: Buster Posey; Curt Blefary, Elrod Hendricks.

Nothings really changed here. Detroit’s Bill Carrigan is slashing 318/392/545, but he’s their reserve backstop (even though he is clearly pushing Ed Bailey for more playing time).

The Baltimore Black Sox’s Blefary and the New York Gothams’ Posey have OPS’ over 1.000, with Blefary in the top 3 in the league in homeruns. Hendricks of the House of David is the only other backstop with an OPS over .900.

Ottawa’s Emil Gross has thrown out 37% of runners attempting to steal, but its nowhere near enough to move him even to the fringes of the conversations. So, we remain committed to the same trio, as does the AI.

NL Catchers: Effa Manley & Cum Posey Divisions

Original Selections: Joe Mauer, Johnny Bench, Josh Gibson.

This gets difficult.

And it’s all Thurman Munson‘s fault. The New York Black Yankees’ catcher is now slashing 317/367/540 for an OPS just over .900.

Portland’s Joe Mauer is a shoo-in: his OPS sits at exactly 1.000, with a slash line of 339/433/567.

But the OPS’ behind him run .940/.908/.894/882. Indianapolis’ Johnny Bench has the .940. He also has 10 homeruns and 30 RBIs to lead this group, so let’s say he’s in. Here’s the rest:


Name	Team	OPS	BA	OPS	SLG	WAR	CS%	cERA
Thurman Munson	NYA	.908	.317	.367	.540	1.7	27	3.93
Josh Gibson	HOM	.894	.319	.409	.485	2.1	30	5.92
John Ellis	DET	.882	.280	.331	.551	0.6	16	3.83

Ellis has played much less than the others, but also has 8 homeruns to lead the trio.

Munson has been behind the plate for the most innings in the league–10 more than Gibson. Factor that into his cERA, and their nearly indistinguishable offensive numbers, and I think the third spot goes to him now.

The AI picks all four–Mauer, Bench, Munson, and Gibson. (Ellis is really just listed for context and because he does have an outside shot at making it.)

Series XV Preview: New York Black Yankees @ San Francisco Sea Lions

By mknn

On September 21, 2021

In Series Previews

It hasn’t been too long since we visited these two teams: the San Francisco Sea Lions were featured in series IX and the New York Black Yankees in Series XI.

#New York Black Yankees

Really, not a lot has changed. The Black Yankees are still in first place, they still look like a dominant team, and they still have no idea what to do at 2B.

They are, pretty clearly, the best offensive team in the WBL, and while the production of Babe Ruth (1.122 OPS, 19 homeruns, 51 runs, 54 RBIs) and Lou Gehrig (somehow, a quiet 1.033 OPS) was expected, that of Albert Belle (.981 OPS in less than a full time role) and especially Eric Davis (.928 OPS, tied with Ruth for the league lead at 19 homeruns and leading the league with 59 RBIs) was not.

Add in Thurman Munson, who has an argument to be included in the elite catchers of the league and steady production from Mickey Mantle and Don Mattingly, and you have a nightmare for opposing pitchers.

The only black mark are the continued struggles of Willie Randolph (.622 OPS) and Craig Counsell (.577 OPS) at 2B. Randolph has actually been hitting much better of late, raising his OPS about 20 points in the last month. Counsell would be demoted immediately if there were any other options–right now, the minor league system is totally barren in the middle infield.

Ron Guidry (5-5, 3.67 ERA) has struggled a little bit more of late, although he still leads the WBL in strikeouts and remains the ace of the staff. At the other end, Dave Righetti (3-4, 5.43 ERA) seems to have lost his mojo and may actually be facing demotion to the bullpen. The other starters–Red Ruffing, Waite Hoyt, and Jack Scott–have combined for a 16-5 record with solid secondary numbers.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

The Sea Lions are, perhaps, more interesting. They trail Portland by 5 games in the Marvin Miller Division, and feel like a team that is underperforming.

Part of the conundrum remains what to do with Rickey Henderson, who leads the WBL in walks (47) and stolen bases (41), but has an OPS barely over .700. He still has an OBP around .400, so he holds on to his leadoff spot, but the choice is much clearer when he’s doing something besides walking to help out at the top of the order.

San Francisco has a frightening big three behind Henderson, led by triple crown contender Reggie Jackson, who is leading the league in batting average and on base percentage with an OPS of 1.134. Bobby Bonds is slashing 331/382/577 and Pedro Guerrero–who started the year at AAA–continues to hack, posting a .933 OPS. Add in 9 homeruns from Jimmy Bloodworth at 2B and 10 homeruns from Jack Clark, as well as the emergence of Dick Lundy as a solid infield presence, and you have a very strong offensive team.

So the problem must be on the mound, right?

It’s certainly not in the bullpen. Rod Beck has 14 saves and an ERA of 0.66, and the rest of the back end–Ron Robinson, Chad Bradford, and Ken Howell–have great numbers.

Lefty Grove hovers just outside the elite starters of the league, at 5-2 with a 3.23 ERA and Diego Segui has been fantastic since he joined the rotation (2-2 with a 2.18 ERA). But beyond that … well. Cy Falkenberg, Jim Devlin, and Eddie Plank have all struggled, with Devlin replaced in the rotation by Charlie Root.

So there it is: if the starters can do their job, the Sea Lions have a shot.

#Projected Starters

Black Yankees starter listed first.

Dave Righetti (3-4, 5.43) @ Lefty Grove (5-2, 3.23)
Waite Hoyt (4-1, 3.84) @ Eddie Plank (4-3, 4.27)
Ron Guidry (5-5, 3.67) @ Cy Falkenberg (3-2, 5.11)
Jack Scott (5-3, 3.75) @ Diego Segui (2-2, 2.18)

It could be a great series, but I think it’s more likely the Black Yankees take 3 of the 4–losing to Grove and winning the rest.

TWIWBL 17.3: Series XIV Notes – Effa Manley Division

By mknn

On September 18, 2021

In TWIWBL

#Cleveland Spiders

John Ellis drove in 5 with 2 homeruns, one a grand slam, and Cy Young threw a complete game allowing only 6 hits as the Spiders beat Miami, 6-2. Young improved to 5-2 on the year.

#Homestead Grays

Hal Carlson will miss just over a month with an elbow injury, prompting Homestead to recall Billy Pierce from AAA. More from necessity than a reward for their performance, both Carlos Zambrano and John Candelaria returned to the starting rotation for the Grays.

Francisco Liriano was recalled from his rehab assignment, with Bartolo Colon returning to AAA.

#Indianapolis ABC’s

Edd Roush went 4-for-4 and Red Faber threw a solid 6+ innings, improving his record to 4-3 as the ABC’s beat the best team in the WBL, Baltimore, 4-2. Roush hit his 2nd homerun of the season and Joe Morgan his 1st, and Rob Dibble pitched a scoreless 9th for his 7th save.

Johnny Bench hit 2 homeruns, and the ABC’s beat the Black Sox 3-1, with Dolf Luque out-dueling Dennis Martinez. Luque improved to 4-5 with 7 strong innings, and Dibble struck out the side for his 8th save of the season.

#New York Black Yankees

New York’s Waite Hoyt started off their series against Philadelphia with a 4 hit shutout, his best performance of the year. Eric Davis and Don Mattingly hit homeruns, and Thurman Munson, Babe Ruth, and Mattingly had 2 hits each as the Black Yankees won, 4-0.

3 hits from Davis, Lou Gehrig, and most surprisingly of all, Willie Randolph–who got his average up to .200 on the day–led the Black Yankees to a 10-3 win over the Stars. Jack Scott improved to 5-3 with 8 strong innings of work for New York.

#Philadelphia Stars

George Hendrick hit 2 homeruns to lead the Stars to a victory over the New York Black Yankees. Perhaps more importantly for Philadelphia, Jaret Wright only allowed 1 run in 7 innings in leveling his record at 2-2.

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

TWIWBL 16.0: Series XIII Notes

By mknn

On September 2, 2021

In TWIWBL

May 26

There were no series sweeps in Series XIII, and half the matchups resulted in 2 game splits, leading most of the divisions to drawing closer together.

The best teams in the WBL continue to surprise, with only two teams playing over .600 ball: the Baltimore Black Sox lead the way at 35-19 and the Portland Sea Dogs are at 34-20. Baltimore leads the Cumberland Posey Division by 6 games; Portland is atop the Marvin Miller Division by 5.5. The other two divisions are much closer, with the Los Angeles Angels, New York Gothams, and Detroit Wolverines all within 1 game in the Bill James Division (the Angels lead the way at 29-25) and the New York Black Yankees ahead of the Philadelphia Stars by 3 in the Effa Manley Division.

Only 1 team–the Miami Cuban Giants–is playing under .400 ball, with Florida’s team managing only 21 wins so far on the season.

After a few weeks of trying, the WBL has its first two 7 game winners, with Los Angeles’ Gerrit Cole and Baltimore’s Dennis Martinez both reaching that mark.

Martinez has probably surpassed Walter Johnson as the best pitcher in the league right now, and the Black Yankees’ Ron Guidry is the only starter ranking 1st or 2nd in four major statistical categories.

Two closers, Aroldis Chapman of Miami and Joe Beggs of the Memphis Red Sox, have yet to give up a run in roughly 13 innings each.

Reggie Jackson‘s run at the triple crown continues: he leads the league in BA and OBP and is fifth in SLG. Jackson’s performance may be the most surprising, but catcher Louis Santop leading the league in triples has to be close, as is the continued excellence from Curt Blefary.

All that said, the Black Yankees’ Babe Ruth continues to be the most valuable offensive player in the league, followed closely by the centerfielder for the cross-town Gothams, Willie Mays.

Performances

Top Starting Pitchers.

Name	Tm	W-L	ERA	Other
Dennis Martinez	BAL	7-1	3.16	1.11 WHIP
Gerrit Cole	LAA	7-3	4.04
Don Drysedale	BRK	4-2	2.71
Ron Guidry	NYY	5-4	3.23	1.13 WHIP; *86 K*
Walter Johnson	POR	6-1	3.58	*2.5 WAR*
Luke Hamlin	KAN	3-4	3.92	2.1 WAR
Lefty Grove	SFS	5-2	3.23	77 K

Top Relievers.

Name	Tm	W-L	ERA	Sv	Hld	WHIP
Johan Santana	POR	1-1	3.00	17
Bob Howry	PHI	1-2	4.58	14
Aroldis Chapman	MIA	0-2	*0.00*	9
Joe Beggs	MEM	0-0	*0.00*	8
Ron Reed	PHI	0-2	2.83	2	11
Craig Kimbrel	KAN	1-1	3.09		8
Ned Garvin	BAL	5-1	2.09		2	*0.87*

Top Batters.

Name	Tm	Slash	Other
Reggie Jackson	SFS	*376/485*/643
Willie Mays	NYG	354/408/561	*75 H*; 2.8 WAR
Mike Epstein	HOM	333/437/549
Babe Ruth	NYY	325/427/*685*	*19 HR; 48 R; 52 RBI; 3.0 WAR*
Curt Blefary	BAL	288/402/660	16 HR
Frank Thomas	CAG	353/430/607	71 H
Rico Carty	PHI	352/415/560	*20 2B*
Louis Santop	CLE	316/346/513	*8 3B*
Eric Davis	NYY	284/339/552	*54 RBI*
Jimmy Sheckard	NYG	309/418/470	41 R
Rickey Henderson	SFS	236/392/315	*45 BB; 39 SB*
Tim Raines	OTT	292/377/458	37 SB

Streaks

The Homestead Gray‘s Roberto Clemente has hit in 14 straight games, Baltimore’s Dan McGann has scored in 9 straight, and Detroit’s Oscar Gamble as hit a homerun in his last 3 games.

While there aren’t many hitting streaks of note, the Black Yankees’ Thurman Munson has reached base in 26 straight games, the Ottawa Mounties‘ Terry Puhl in 23, and the Gothams’ Jimmy Sheckard in 22.

Baltimore’s Ned Garvin hasn’t allowed a run in 15 innings, and his teammate Dennis Martinez has had 5 consecutive quality starts, as has the Kansas City Monarchs‘ Andy Pettite.

The Brooklyn Royal Giants‘ Raul Mondesi was an early season surprise, but the bloom is off the rose: he’s struggling at 115/164/135 over his last 14 games. Baltimore’s Brooks Robinson–122/170/134 over 35 games–is easily the coldest hitter in the WBL, to the point he’s no longer in the WBL, having been optioned to AAA.

Series XIII Results

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XIII

Baltimore over Cleveland Spiders
Brooklyn over Homestead
New York Gothams over Indianapolis ABCs
Los Angeles over Miami
Portland over Wandering House of David

Splitting Series XIII 2-2

Chicago @ Birmingham
New York Black Yankees @ Detroit
Kansas City @ Ottawa
Memphis @ Houston
San Francisco @ Philadelphia

Series XIII Featured Game: New York Black Yankees @ Detroit Wolverines

By mknn

On September 1, 2021

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

The final game between the New York Black Yankees and the Detroit Wolverines saw Justin Verlander make his 7th start of the year for the home team, while Dave Righetti would start for the visiting Black Yankees.

Verlander had been incredibly effective as a reliever to start the year, but less so as a starting pitcher, making this an important game for him as Detroit tries to sort out its pitching staff.

Hank Greenberg took Righetti deep in the bottom of the second for a 1-0 lead for the home team, but it was short-lived, as Thurman Munson continued his argument as the best catcher in the league with a homerun to lead off the 3rd off Verlander. Two outs later, Derek Jeter went deep as well, pushing New York out to a 2-1 lead.

But the Wolverines are a decent team, and they fought back with an RBI single from Chili Davis in the bottom of the 4th that left 2 on and 2 out. However, Righetti retired Geoff Jenkins on a flyball to right to end the threat.

The same New York duo struck in the 5th when Jeter singled home Munson to edge the Black Yankees back in front, 3-2.

That lasted until Righetti–who was perhaps left in a few batters too long–gave up a 3 run home run to Bill Carrigan, scoring Greenberg and Ty Cobb and moving Detroit into the lead, 5-3. A solo homerun by Lou Gehrig made it 5-4, with the Wolverines trying to hold on for the victory.

In the top of the 9th, Detroit had its closer–Mike Henneman–on the mound, and made three defensive substitutions, including putting Greg Brock at 1B in place of Greenberg. Remember that.

Henneman gave up a single to Albert Belle, who was replaced at first by Eric Davis. Davis promptly stole 2nd and 3rd, and scored, after a walk to Munson, on a single by Mike Schmidt. That tied the game, and when Jeter again brought Munson home with a single, the Black Yankees moved in front.

With usual closer Sparky Lyle a bit tired, New York turned to Goose Gossage to face a Detroit lineup weakened by their defensive substitutions. The first of them, Sparky Adams, led off with a walk, and was bunted to second by Jimmy Collins. Cobb singled him to third, bringing up Brock … who promptly whiffed, making the Wolverine faithful question the choice to replace Greenberg.

But, with 2 outs, Oscar Gamble took Gossage’s second pitch deep into the night for a walkoff, 3-run homerun giving Detroit the 8-6 win. This marked the second consecutive game both Greenberg and Gamble went deep for the Wolverines.

It was one of those odd nights for relievers, as Henneman picked up both a blown save and a victory, and Gossage a blown save and a loss.

NYA 6 (Gossage 3-2, 4 BSv) @ DET 8 (Henneman 1-2, 2 BSv)
HRs: NYA – Jeter (4), Munson (6), Gehrig (12); DET – Gamble (13), Carrigan (3), Greenberg (14)
Box Score

Other Games of Note

The third game between New York and Detroit–the one preceeding the above–was memorable for its shenanigans, as Whitey Wilshire plunked Albert Belle, resulting in a bases-clearing brawl. Belle was suspended for 4 games; Wilshire for 6. Additionally, New York’s David Robertson was injured while pitching, leading to the recall of OF Sam Thompson from AAA. The game itself was never really in doubt as New York led wire-to-wire in an 8-4 victory.

NYA 8 (Ruffing 6-1) @ DET 4 (Wilshire 6-3)
HRs: NYA – Ruth (19), Mantle (6); DET – Greenberg (13), Gamble (12)
Box Score

Indianapolis outhit the New York Gothams 16 to 9, and scored 4 runs in the final 2 innings … but it was all for naught, as the Gothams rode an early 8-1 lead to an 8-6 victory. Jimmy Sheckard had 3 hits, 3 runs, and 3 RBIs for the Gothams. Edd Roush had 4 hits for the ABCs, raising his average to .352 on the season.

NYG 8 (Perry 2-4; Norris 1 Sv) @ IND 6 (Luque 3-5)
HRs: NYG – Sheckard (5), Mays (7)
Box Score

Sandy Koufax, who had impressed mightily from the bullpen, took the mound for Brooklyn for his first start of the season against Homestead. It didn’t go great, as Koufax gave up 5 runs in 5 innings before giving way to Dick Redding. Redding and Dave Von Ohlen combined for 5 innings of 2-hit relief. Brooklyn needed all of that, as the Grays had a 5-1 lead after 5 innings behind 2 homeruns from Davey Johnson. But the Royal Giants came back to tie the game, and Mike Piazza–he of the sub .200 average–won it in the bottom of the 10th with a solo shot against Homestead’s closer, Josh Lindblom.

HOM 5 (Lindblom 0-2; Jackson 4 H; Tekulve 1 BSv) @ BRK 6 (Von Ohlen 3-0)
HRs: HOM – Johnson 2 (6), Epstein (9); BRK – Cey (9), Robinson (6), Piazza (4)
Box Score

TWIWBL 15.3: Series XII Notes – Effa Manley Division

By mknn

On August 25, 2021

In TWIWBL

#Cleveland Spiders

Ron Blomberg had 3 hits and 4 RBIs, leading the Spiders to an opening game victory over the New York Gothams, 9-4. Cleveland OF Johnny Bates had an odd day: 3 walks and 2 sacrifice bunts, meaning he walked up to the plate 5 times without an official at-bat. The win went to Cy Young, now 3-2, and Doug Corbett pitched 2 scoreless innings to close it out for his first save.

Nap Lajoie and Evan Longoria were both sent to AAA to try to get their swings on track. IF Bobby Knoop and OF Kenny Lofton were recalled to Cleveland. The challenge for the Spiders remains juggling playing time at DH/C/1B, with Blomberg, Louis Santop, John Ellis, and Jake Stahl among their better contributors.

#Homestead Grays

Earl Hamilton moved into the starting rotation, but the fifth slot remains up in the air, with Carlos Zambrano recovering a bit from his early season struggles and John Candelaria not showing enough to stake a solid claim. Cliff Lee was sent to AAA. With a slash line of 162/311/216, Peaches Graham should be joining him, but there aren’t a lot of options in the minors, and Graham’s ability to get on base has some value, especially given how limited his role is as Josh Gibson‘s backup.

#Indianapolis ABC’s

Lefty James will miss about 3 weeks with a sore elbow, which is a blow to the Indianapolis bullpen as the lefty was 3-1 with a 2.36 ERA. Octavio Dotel was promoted from AAA to take James’ place.

Clay Carroll has been struggling in his bullpen role, but not enough to warrant demotion, at least not until the ABC’s learn more about what they have in Dotel. 3B has been a problem spot for Indianapolis all season. Chase Headley‘s demotion to AAA hands the fulltime job to Ed Charles, but it’s not clear that’s a long-term solution. Barry Larkin was recalled to take Headley’s spot, but he’s more likely to pressure Davey Concepcion at SS than to challenge for the 3B job.

#New York Black Yankees

Jack Scott opened the series against Houston with a 6-hit shutout victory, 4-0. Mickey Mantle, Albert Belle, and Thurman Munson each had 2 hits, with Munson extending his hitting streak to 21 games.

In a game that saw Munson’s hitting streak end at 22 games, the Black Yankees clawed their way back to a walk-off win in 12 innings. Babe Ruth plated Derek Jeter with a hit through the drawn-in infield to give Goose Gossage his 3rd victory on the season. Gossage, Ralph Citarella, and Dellin Betances combined for 5 innings of 1-hit relief after a strong start from Waite Hoyt. Belle had 3 hits, Ruth and Jeter 2 each.

The recent dip in form by the Black Yankees has revived the question of what to do with Willie Randolph and Craig Counsell, neither of whom are hitting well enough to justify a big league roster spot. The challenge is that there really aren’t any options, especially with New York carrying 12 pitchers. Aaron Hill was promoted to AAA, and if he does well there, he may replace Counsell on the big league roster shortly.

#Philadelphia Stars

Led by Buck Freeman‘s 7th homerun of the year and Robin Roberts‘ best start, the Stars put together walk-off, 3-2 victory over Brooklyn. The win went to Bob McClure in relief of Roberts, and was sealed by an RBI single from Sherm Lollar, scoring Scott Rolen.

The top of Philadelphia’s lineup–Chase Utley and Gavvy Cravath–went 5-for-9 with 3 runs scored and 5 RBIs, leading the Stars over Brooklyn, 11-3. Utley, Sherry Magee, and Rico Carty all homered, and Ray Collins improved to 5-2 on the season with John Montgomery Ward throwing 3+ scoreless innings for his second save of the season.

Philadelphia is in a hard situation with Bill Dickey at C and Mickey Doolin at SS, both of whom are stretching credulity on how much defensive value a player can add. Both Dickey and Doolin carry OPS’ below .500, but for now both retain their jobs. The Stars would love recently recalled Jimmy Rollins to show more offensively to push Doolin, but so far, no luck.

TWIWBL 15.0: Series XII Notes

By mknn

On August 20, 2021

In TWIWBL

May 21

We’re 50 games into the season, and the standings are beginning to matter a little. And, they’re tightening up.

Los Angeles and Detroit are tied at 26-24 in the Bill James Division, with the New York Gothams 1/2 game back and the House of David only 2 behind. And, the New York Black Yankees have been reeled back in over in the Effa Manley Division, with both Cleveland and Philadelphia within 3 games.

In the other 2 divisions, the leads are slightly larger. The surprising Baltimore Black Sox, with a league leading 32-18 record, are 5 games up on the Chicago American Giants in the Cum Posey Division and Portland leads Brooklyn by 5.5 in the Marvin Miller Division.

Most believe Baltimore is overperforming meaning only Portland–maybe–is building a dependable lead.

The league’s emerging parity is underscored by the longest winning and losing streak being 3 games right now (Portland having won 3 in a row, Birmingham having lost).

Baltimore and the Homestead Grays are 8-2 over their last 10 games (Homestead’s streak leaves them only at 21-29, but still is encouraging) while the House of David, Chicago, Brooklyn, and Miami have all only won 3 of their last 10 games).

#Awards

Baltimore’s 36-year old 1B, Dan McGann, took home the Player of the Week award, hitting .588 with 2 homeruns, 4 RBIs, and 9 runs scored, lifting his overall batting average to .314.

#Performance

The batter leading the league in 2 of the 3 slash categories? Not Babe Ruth, but San Francisco‘s Reggie Jackson (who is second to Ruth in SLG as well).

Top Batters: Reggie Jackson (SFS) 378/489/649; Stan Musial (KAN) 360/425/602, 67 H; Babe Ruth (NYY) 339/445/699, 17 HR, 45 R, 3.0 WAR; Willie Mays (NYG) 352/405/531, 69 H; Rico Carty (PHI) 347/410/569, 19 2B; Louis Santop (CLE) 314/348/495, 7 3B; Terry Puhl (OTT) 255/318/422, 5 3B; Eric Davis (NYY) 284/333/553, 15 HR, 53 RBI; Doug Rader (LAA) 314/364/503, 49 RBI; Rickey Henderson (SFS) 240/399/323, 43 BB, 37 SB.

Top Starters: Walter Johnson (POR) 6-1, 3.65, 2.3 WAR; Dennis Martinez (BAL) 6-1, 3.07, 1.08 WHIP; Ron Guidry (NYY) 5-3, 3.10, 83 K, 1,06 WHIP; Lefty Grove (SFS) 4-3, 3.45, 71 K; Don Drysedale (BRK) 4-2, 2.60; Camilo Pascual (MIA) 4-3, 2.90; CC Sabathia (HOD) 5-3, 3.01, 1.9 WAR.

Top Relievers: Johan Santana 1-1, 3.00, 17 Sv; Terry Adams (CLE) 0-1, 1.69, 12 Sv; Bob Howry (PHI) 1-2, 5.09, 12 Sv; Ron Reed (PHI) 0-2, 2.96, 2 Sv, 9 H; Aroldis Chapman (MIA) 0-2, 0.00, 9 Sv; Joe Beggs (MEM) 0-0, 0.00, 7 Sv; Brian Wilson (NYG) 0-0, 1.93, 5 Sv, 0.79 WHIP; Jonathan Papelbon (MEM) 0-2, 2.01, 3 Sv, 3 H, 0.90 WHIP.

#Streaks

With Thurman Munson‘s hitting streak being stopped at 22 games (1 behind Ruth’s 23 earlier this year), there are no active hitting streaks above 13 games. However, Indianapolis‘ Oscar Charleston has reached base in 24 straight games (a league high), Munson in 23, and Terry Puhl in 19.

In oddities, Rickey Henderson has stolen 26 straight bases and Johnny Bench of the ABC’s has 3 consecutive pinch hits.

On the mound, Baltimore’s Bill Byrd hasn’t given up a run in 14 innings and Cleveland’s Terry Adams and San Francisco’s Rod Beck have each converted their last 11 save opportunities.

Not coincidental to Baltimore’s rise in the standings, Frank Robinson has been on a 14 game tear where he’s hitting 453/525/755. Damian Jackson remains probably the coldest hitter in the WBL, managing only 068/212/068 over 20 games.

On the mound, CC Sabathia is 4-1 with a 2.47 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP over his last 7 starts (51 innings) and the Gothams’ Sad Sam Jones has a 2.57 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP over his last 42 innings. At the other end, Miami’s Ramon Martinez is 0-3 with a 9.45 ERA over his last 4 starts and San Francisco’s Dennis Eckersley truly earned his demotion to AAA, going 1-3 with a 9.74 ERA over 5 starts.

Series XII Results

Taking 3 of 4 in Series XII

Baltimore over Los Angeles
Portland over Birmingham
Philadelphia over Brooklyn
Chicago over Indianapolis
Detroit over San Francisco
Homestead over Ottawa
Memphis over Miami

Taking 2 out of 3

New York Gothams over Cleveland (one rainout)

Series Splits

Houston @ New York Black Yankees
House of David @ Kansas City

TWIWBL 13.0: Series XI Notes

By mknn

On August 4, 2021

In TWIWBL

May 17th

Performance

The best team in the WBL is … the Baltimore Black Sox? Surprising, but with 29 wins, they have one more than either the New York Black Yankees or the Portland Sea Dogs. Baltimore is led by C Curt Blefary and OF Frank Robinson offensively, with Dennis Martinez and Johnny Sain each having 5 wins on the year. Key to their recent performance has been a bit of resurgence by OF Bryce Harper, who has pushed his OPS up over .700 (a jump of about 100 points in just over a week).

The league is pretty well clustered, with only four teams (Memphis, Homestead, Miami, and Birmingham) yet to reach 20 wins.

Individual performances are still pretty spread out, as the lists below demonstrate. Babe Ruth leads in 4 categories, but he’s really the only player dominating across the board that way.

Leading SP: Walter Johnson (POR) 6-0, 3.21 ERA, 2.1 WAR; Gerrit Cole (LAA) 6-2, 4.09 ERA; Ron Guidry (NYY) 5-3, 3.10 ERA, 83 Ks, 1.06 WHIP; Lefty Grove (SFS) 4-1, 3.14 ERA; Camilo Pascual (MCG) 4-2, 2.45 ERA; Don Drysedale (BRK) 4-2, 2.60 ERA; Whit Wyatt (CLE) 3-1, 2.66 ERA, 1.12 WHIP; CC Sabathia 5-3, 3.01 ERA, 2.0 WAR.

Leading RP: Johan Santana (POR) 0-1, 3.65 ERA, 15 Sv; Terry Adams (CLE) 0-1, 1.69 ERA, 12 Sv; Bob Howry (PHI) 0-2, 5.74 ERA, 12 Sv; Ron Reed (PHI) 0-2, 2.92 ERA, 2 Sv, 9 H; Ralph Citarella (NYY) 1-2, 3.71 ERA, 1 Sv, 7 H; Craig Kimbrel (KAN) 1-1, 2.75 ERA, 7 H; Aroldis Chapman (MCG) 0-2, 0.00 ERA, 9 Sv; Joe Beggs (MEM) 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 5 Sv; Brian Wilson (NYG) 0-0, 2.08 ERA, 4 Sv, 0.77 WHIP; Bob Rush (HOD) 3-1, 1.50 ERA, 0.92 WHIP.

Leading Batters: Buster Posey (NYG) 377/451/623, 35 R, 2.6 WAR; Reggie Jackson (SFS) 370/488/637; Babe Ruth (NYY) 337/441/703, 16 HR, 44 R, 2.8 WAR; Lou Gehrig (NYY) 338/440/654; Willie Mays (NYG) 353/403/538, 65 H; Stan Musial (KAN) 354/417/566, 62 H; Rico Carty (PHI) 353/416/569, 18 2B; Terry Puhl (OTT) 248/313/409, 5 3B; Eric Davis (NYY) 301/349/578, 14 HR, 52 RBI; Doug Rader (LAA) 322/367/519, 49 RBI; Rickey Henderson (SFS) 244/402/333, 40 BB, 36 SB.

League Standings | League Statistics

Streaks

Cleveland‘s Jake Stahl is hitting 353/450/912 over his last 10 games, with 5 homeruns. At the other end, Philadelphia‘s Gene Demontreville is challenging the value of the good field/no hit shortstop, managing only a 128/128/154 line over his las 23 games (Demontreville was actually demoted to AAA this week, understandably). Damian Jackson has been even worse for Chicago: 075/213/075 over 18 games, but with more at-bats than Demontreville.

Sad Sam Jones is 2-1 with a 2.04 ERA over his last 5 starts while CC Sabathia is 4-1, 2.47 over his last 7.

Thurman Munson of the Black Yankees has the only active hitting streak of length, at 20 games and counting. Don Buford has reached base in 23 straight games, with Carlos Delgado, Oscar Charleston, and Munson each also having streaks of 20 games or more.

Hal Carlson hasn’t allowed a run in 14 innings.

The House of David is 1-9 over their last 10 games while Baltimore and Cleveland have one 8 of their last 10. Chicago has lost their last 7 games in a row.

Series Results

Series Sweeps

Cleveland over Chicago
Homestead over House of David

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XI

Baltimore over Memphis
Kansas City over Birmingham
Brooklyn over Ottawa
Philadelphia over Detroit
San Francisco over Houston
Portland over Indianapolis
New York Black Yankees over Miami

Series Splits

Los Angeles @ New York Gothams