Tag: Thurman Munson Page 4 of 5

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

Series XI Featured Matchup: New York Black Yankees @ Miami Cuban Giants

By mknn

On July 29, 2021

In Featured Series, Game Recaps

Preview here.

Overall, the season has gone as anticipated for these two teams. At 25-17, the Black Yankees lead their division and have a dominant offense and a top-end pitching staff. At 18-24, the Cuban Giants are … mediocre at best.

Miami welcomed Martin Dihigo back to the lineup after a long injury absence in the series opener.

#Game 1: Red Ruffing @ Tommy Bridges

Both teams had 2 hits in the first inning, but neither scored, with Red Ruffing striking out Manny Machado and Will Clark with 2 on. Ruffing fanned 6 through the first 3 innings.

A 2-run homerun from Mickey Mantle in the top of the 4th opened the scoring, putting New York on the board. Eric Davis followed with a solo shot, and the Black Yankees led, 3-0.

Miami’s Tommy Bridges was chased from the game in the top of the 7th, allowing a 2-out, opposite field, 3-run shot to Babe Ruth. Eustaquio Pedroso relieved him, but perhaps a batter too late?

Ruffing finally gave up a run in the bottom of the 7th when Robin Yount took him deep to center for a solo homerun. The Black Yankees’ righthander kept trying to get out of the inning, but errors by Willie Randolph and Derek Jeter (his first of the year) prolonged it, eventually bringing Jose Canseco to the plate with 2 outs and the bases loaded. Ruffing got the slugger to popout to Don Mattingly at first base, preserving New York’s lead at 6-1.

Each team would score once more: Davis’ second homerun of the game, and an RBI from Yount, for the final score of 7-2.

This was one of those rare games where a team makes 4 errors and wins–Mattingly had 2 miscues in addition to Randolph’s and Jeter’s, but Miami, who left 11 runners on base, were unable to capitalize.

Ruffing moved to 5-0 with his 7 innings, allowing 1 run and striking out 8.

NYY 7 (Ruffing 5-0) @ MCG 2 (Bridges 3-1)
HRs: NYY – Ruth (16), Mantle (5), Davis 2 (13); MCG – Yount (2)
Box Score

#Game 2: Dave Righetti @ Camilo Pascual

Camilo Pascual is the current ERA leader in the WBL, at 2.26 while Dave Righetti has struggled a bit, with a 2-3 record and an ERA just over 5.

Mike Schmidt led off the top of the 3rd with a double, and Thurman Munson singled him to third, extending his hitting streak to 18 games. Derek Jeter was able to drive in the first run of the game with a single, but that was all the Black Yankees could muster.

The score stayed 1-0 through 6 innings, until, in the top of the 7th, Munson singled home Albert Belle, extending the lead to 2-0 and chasing Pascual from the game. Alex Colome gave up an infield single to Don Mattingly, pinch-hitting for Willie Randolph, and a 2 run double to Jeter.

Dellin Betances relieved Righetti in the bottom of the 8th, loaded the bases (single, walk, hit batsman), and was relieved by Ralph Citarella, who walked in Miami’s first run with four straight balls to Gary Sheffield. A pinch-hit single from Jim Thome added another run, closing the gap to 4-2.

Pascal ended up being charged with 3 runs in 6.2 innings, but 2 of those were allowed in by Colome. Still, the loss drops him to 4-2 on the year. Righetti picked up the victory with 7 shutout innings.

NYY 4 (Righetti 3-3; Citarella 7 H; Lyle 5 Sv) @ MCG 2 (Pascal 4-2)
HRs: none
Box Score

#Game 3: Rube Waddell @ Waite Hoyt

Rube Waddell comes into the game with great numbers, including a 3.19 ERA, but only a 2-3 ERA. Waite Hoyt, on the other hand, is 3-1 with an ERA almost exactly a run higher than Waddell–another reminder that W-L is a team metric.

Derek Jeter led the game off for New York with a homerun to left field, but a Manny Machado sacrifice fly and a wild pitch from Hoyt put the Cuban Giants up 2-1. Alejandro Oms drove home Carlos Moran in the 2nd, extending the lead to 3-1.

In the top of the 3rd, Waddell motioned for the trainer to come out, and had to leave the game with an arm injury. This could be a challenge, as Miami is running out of bullpen arms. They brought in Clay Condrey initially.

Condrey did well until Eric Davis took him out of the yard in the 4th, tying the game at 3.

Gary Sheffield got the first hit of his WBL career with an RBI triple in the bottom of the 4th, effectively ending Hoyt’s day.

Davis brought the Black Yankees level all by himself in the 6th: a walk, a steal of second, a steal of third, and trotting home on Manny Sanguillen‘s fly to right field. That gave him 20 steals on the season: imagine what he’d do if he played fulltime!

Eustaquio Pedroso walked in a run in the top of the 8th, putting New York up again by one run, 5-4, but Miami would fight right back with Sheffield delivering his second hit, a solo homerun into the left field stands.

And so we headed to extra innings. New York has the clear edge, with Miami having to stretch each reliever to their limit.

The top of the 11th brought Thurman Munson to the plate for the first time, after Mike Schmidt pinch-hit for Sanguillen. Munson led off the inning with a double down the right field line, which both extended his hitting streak to 19 games and put the go-ahead run on second base. Miami brought in Aroldis Chapman, who promptly whiffed Jeter, Babe Ruth, and Mickey Mantle to preserve the tie.

The challenge is where the Cuban Giants go next: Chapman needed 23 pitches to get out of the inning, and clearly has at most one more inning in him. Not even: Don Newcombe relieved Chapman with 2 outs and 2 on, but he got Munson to fly out to get out of the 12th inning.

It was all that was needed. Will Clark led off the bottom of the 12th against Dellin Betances with a single. Jose Cardenal came on to pinch-run, and a walk to Machado moved him to second. He scored on a single by Jim Thome, sending Miami home with the win, 6-5.

It took 7 pitchers, with Newcombe finally earning the win–his first on the year–with 3 pitches. But it’s likely to mess up the Cuban Giants’ rotation for a few days. After the game, Waddell was put on the DL, with Miami recalling Marcelino Lopez and waiving Edwin Encarnacion.

NYY 5 (Betances 0-1) @ MCG (Newcombe 1-4; Pedroso 1 BS)
HRs: NYA – Jeter (3), Davis (14); MCG – Sheffield (1)
Box Score

#Game 4: Ron Guidry @ Marcelino Lopez

The Cuban Giants will turn to the recently recalled–like, yesterday–Marcelino Lopez, hoping to earn a series split. It’s a tall order against one of the better arms in the league, Ron Guidry, who comes into the game with a 4-3 record and a 3.41 ERA.

It did not begin well: Willie Randolph led off the game with a triple. But Lopez recovered, and got out of the inning without any damage. The game was a struggle for Lopez: he labored through five innings, giving up 7 hits and 3 runs, which was surely better than expected.

Guidry, on the other hand, was sailing through five, striking out 4 and allowing only 2 hits.

The problem was that Miami’s bullpen was totally gassed, so Lopez was left to fend for himself. Ultimately, he recovered and e did well, completing 7 innings–and 119 pitches–before giving way, still trailing by 3 runs. It got a little worse: Jose Mendez came in, and with 2 outs in the 9th, had to be replaced with elbow pain.

Machado put Miami on the board with homerun in the bottom of the 9th against Guidry, but that was all they could muster, losing both the game and the series, 3-1.

NYA 3 (Guidry 5-3) @ MCG 1 (Lopez 0-1)
HRs: NYA – None; MCG – Machado (9)
Box Score

Series Notes

Jose Mendez hit the injured list after the series, with Sandy Consuegra returning to Miami to help the beleaguered bullpen. Marcelino Lopez is likely to get more innings to see if he can help out at the big league level.

Alejandro Oms went 6-for-19 in the four games for Miami, and was really the only consistent bright spot for them offensively.

For New York, Thurman Munson extended his hitting streak to 20 games, going 6-for-13 in the series. Derek Jeter went 5-for-15 with 4 RBIs, and Eric Davis was 4-for-11 with 3 homeruns and 4 RBIs. Babe Ruth saw his average drop to a season low of .337, going hitless over the final 3 games.

TWIWBL 12.0: Series X Notes

By mknn

On July 20, 2021

In TWIWBL

May 13th

Performance

Baltimore pulled off a very impressive sweep of the New York Black Yankees, moving into first place in the Cum Posey Division. It leaves the Black Yankees–who at one point seemed likely to run away from the league–with the 3rd best record in the league, behind both Baltimore (26-16) and Portland (27-15).

Reggie Jackson may be the most surprising offensive performer so far, leading the league in both BA and OBP. Babe Ruth is still the most impressive single performer, and his teammate Lou Gehrig is now second in the league in SLG behind Ruth.

The WBL is not a pitcher’s league at this point: the potent offenses reduce the number of decisions earned by starting pitchers (only 2 have won 6 games despite most starters having 8 or 9 starts) and an ERA below 3.50 or so is quite exceptional.

Leading SP: Walter Johnson (POR) 6-0, 3.21 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 2.0 WAR; Gerrit Cole (LAA) 6-2, 4.09 ERA; Camilo Pascual (MCG) 4-1, 2.26 ERA; Don Drysedale (BRK) 4-1, 2.41 ERA; Ron Guidry (NYY) 4-3, 3.41 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 76 K; Lefty Grove (SFS) 4-1, 3.33 ERA, 64 K; CC Sabathia 5-2, 2.73 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 1.9 WAR.

Leading RP: Johan Santana (POR) 0-1, 3.18 ERA, 14 Sv; Terry Adams (CLE) 0-1, 1.98 ERA, 10 Sv; Ron Reed (PHI) 0-2, 3.05 ERA, 2 Sv, 8 H; Craig Kimbrel (KAN) 1-1, 2.37 ERA, 7 H; Aroldis Chapman (MCG) 0-2, 0.00 ERA, 9 Sv; Joe Beggs (MEM) 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 4 Sv; Jonathan Papelbon (MEM) 0-1, 1.37 ERA, 3 Sv, 2 H, 0.76 WHIP; Brian Wilson (NYG) 0-0, 2.25 ERA, 3 Sv, 0.83 WHIP.

Leading Batters: Reggie Jackson (SFS) 387/506/664; Buster Posey (NYG) 382/452/639, 33 R, 2.5 WAR; Lou Gehrig (NYY) 358/462/692; Babe Ruth (NYY) 357/451/732, 15 HR, 43 R, 2.7 WAR; Rico Carty (PHI) 358/419/562, 16 2B; Johnny Callison (NYG) 277/331/540, 13 2B; Terry Puhl 252/324/412, 5 3B; Louis Santop (CLE) 293/337/439, 5 3B; Curt Blefary (BAL) 299/410/675, 13 HR; Eric Davis (NYY) 296/337/537, 48 RBI; Doug Rader (LAA) 313/360/506, 45 RBI; Rickey Henderson (SFS) 275/442/377, 40 BB, 36 SB.

League Standings | League Statistics

Streaks

The Black Yankees’ Thurman Munson has the longest active hitting streak at 16 games.

Getting on base is, evidently, much easier than getting a hit: there are four active on-base streaks, led by Philadelphia‘s Rico Carty (20 games), Los Angeles‘ Don Buford (19 games), Ottawa‘s Carlos Delgado (18 games), and Indianapolis‘ Oscar Charleston (17 games).

Rickey Henderson has swiped his last 25 bases. Some notable pinch-hitting streaks are alive as well: Indianapolis’ Johnny Bench has come up with a hit in his last 3 pinch-hit appearances, and both Cleveland‘s Ron Blomberg and Philadelphia’s George Hendrick have hit homeruns in their last 2 pinch-hitting appearances.

Bench has been on fire, hitting 365/468/769 over his last 16 games.

On the mound, Baltimore’s Ned Garvin‘s hitless inning streak ended at 9.1 and Camilo Pascual‘s scoreless streak at 19 innings. Whit Wyatt (CLE) hasn’t allowed a run in his last 16 innings.

At the team level, Houston is 8-2 over their last 10 games and Birmingham has managed only 3 victories in their last 10. Baltimore has won 4 straight, and both Chicago and Indianapolis have lost 3 in a row.

Series Results

Series Sweeps

Baltimore over New York Black Yankees

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series X

Detroit over Brooklyn
Los Angeles over Chicago
Houston over Philadelphia
Kansas City over Indianapolis
New York Gothams over Memphis
House of David over Ottawa

Series Splits

Birmingham v Homestead
Cleveland v Portland
Miami v San Francisco

TWIWBL Special Edition: All Star Preview – Catchers

By mknn

On July 19, 2021

In All Star Games, TWIWBL

{ The All-Star game is about a month away. We’ll post occasional articles about the contenders for participation in the mid-season classic. These are written “as of now,” so the final selections may vary dramatically, but hopefully these will add to the ongoing flavor of the league. }

#AL Catchers: Bill James & Cum Posey Divisions

The New York Gothams‘ Buster Posey is the clear class of this group, hitting 377/451/623, scoring 35 runs, and already accumulating a 2.6 WAR on the season. That’s easy. So is Baltimore‘s Curt Blefary, second in the league in HR with 13 while hitting 280/392/632 with 34 RBI.

Behind him, it gets a little tougher. The House of David‘s Elrod Hendricks deserves consideration at 263/323/483. Kansas City‘s Ted Simmons (296/330/444) and Houston‘s Jim O’Rourke (254/342/433) have been solid offensively, but neither have really played enough and O’Rourke spends a lot of his time at other positions.

Hendricks has a CERA of 4.06, which helps his case, but has only thrown out 6 of 42 base-stealers, which doesn’t. But nothing else really stands out defensively: Ottawa‘s Emil Gross has thrown out 37.5% of opposing runners, but hasn’t hit enough to merit consideration.

Both I and the AI make the fairly easy choices: Posey, Blefary, and Hendricks.

#NL Catchers: Effa Manley & Marvin Miller Divisions

The choices get harder in the NL.

Johnny Bench of Indianapolis has seen a recent hot streak take him to 289/394/578 with 9 homeruns. And that might not be enough to start, as Portland‘s Joe Mauer is hitting 356/456/625. But the two of them have to be selected.

That leaves one slot with several worthy candidates. Even if you eliminate Cleveland‘s John Ellis (299/352/608) and Philadelphia‘s Sherm Lollar (263/374/513) for not having played quite enough, you have to pick between Homestead‘s Josh Gibson (321/410/473) and the Black Yankees‘ Thurman Munson (303/345/508). WAR favors Gibson by quite a bit, 1.6 to 1.1.

Turning to the defensive statistics, Mauer has thrown out 35.5% of would-be base stealers, but he’s already in. Defensively, Munson has an edge, helped by Gibson’s 9 errors, but it’s not as big of an edge as you may think. Cleveland’s Louis Santop may be the best defensive catcher in the league, but his offense–which is quite respectable with a 314/354/488 slash line–is a notch behind these others, and splitting time with Ellis has kept him off the field a bit too much.

So, once again, we’re in agreement with the AI: Mauer, Bench, and Gibson.

Series IX Featured Game: New York Black Yankees @ New York Gothams

By mknn

On July 11, 2021

In Featured Games

The first subway series had seen the Gothams take 2 of the first 3 games. They would send an early season workhorse, Christy Mathewson, to the mound against the Black Yankees‘ Red Ruffing. Mathewson entered the game at 4-4 with a 4.69 ERA while Ruffing brought an undefeated record, at 4-0 with an ERA of 3.43.

The Gothams took the lead in the bottom of the 2nd, when Cookie Rojas delivered a bases loaded single, scoring Willie Mays. But a strong throw from Mickey Mantle in right field beat Yasiel Puig to the plate, keeping the lead 1-0.

Babe Ruth led off the top of the 4th with a line-drive double to left and Mantle walked. Both scored on a double by Albert Belle, putting the Black Yankees up by 2 runs, 3-1. The Gothams would tie it up in the bottom of the frame: Johnny Callison doubled and moved to 3rd on a sacrifice fly from Willie McCovey. Puig–who has hit very well since a recent promotion from AAA–was hit by a pitch from Ruffing. Brandon Crawford plated Callison with a sacrifice fly, and Puig scored on a wild pitch.

Ruffing and Mathewson found some consistency after that, until Ruffing was chased from the game in the bottom of the 7th, relieved by Dellin Betances. who promptly gave up 2 hits and a walk, with a single from McCovey plating Pinky Higgins and Buster Posey.

Mathewson was chased from the game in the top of the 8th by a long solo homerun by Belle, with Mike Norris coming in for the Gothams. Mike Schmidt greeted him with a single, and Thurman Munson followed with a deep shot to the upper deck in right field to put the Black Yankees up by a run, 6-5.

Goose Gossage took over for the Black Yankees in the bottom of the ninth with the 1 run lead, and induced flyball outs from Higgins and Posey. But Mays shot a ball just inside the RF foul pole to tie the game at 6. So … EXTRA INNINGS!

The deadlock lasted until the top of the 12th, when Ruth led off against Robb Nen by blasting a ball deep into the night. David Robertson closed it out in the bottom of the inning to preserve the victory–and the series split–for the Black Yankees.

Ruffing had a hard time with the strike zone, walking 6 in 6 innings, as did Mathewson, who walked 5 in 7.2 innings. Overall, the Black Yankees’ bullpen was just slightly more effective (3 hits and 2 runs in just under 6 innings), which–along with some timely longballs–was the difference maker.

Rojas and Higgins had 2 hits for the Gothams. For the Black Yankees, Derek Jeter went 3-for-6 and five players (Ruth, Davis, Belle, Schmidt, and Munson) had 2 hits each. Belle drove in 3, and Munson’s 2 homeruns gave him 5 on the year.

NYY 7 (Robertson 2-1; Citarella 6 H; Gossage 3 BS) @ NYG 6 (Nen 2-3; Norris 2 BS) [12 Innings]
HR: NYY – Belle (5), Munson 2 (5), Ruth (13); NYG – Mays (4)
Box Score

TWIWBL 10.3: Notes from Series VIII – Effa Manley Division

By mknn

On July 6, 2021

In TWIWBL

With two rainouts, the Spiders and the Grays ended up playing two doubleheaders. The losing team scored 1 run … combined. Three shutouts, and a 3-1 victory, as each twin bill was split.

#Cleveland Spiders

Cy Young delivered a complete game, 4-hit shutout to take the second half of the first doubleheader against Homestead, striking out 5 and evening his record at 2-2. Cleveland’s offense was led by John Ellis, who had 3 hits and a homerun, with Ron Blomberg and Bill Knickerbocker adding 2 hits apiece in the 8-0 victory.

Whit Wyatt opened the second doubleheader by combining with Chuck Porter and Terry Adams on a 6-hit shutout. Wyatt improved to 2-1 and brought his ERA under 3, but he also walked 7 in 7.2 innings, making the performance a little less impressive than it may seem.

#Homestead Grays

Vean Gregg and Stan Bahnsen combined on a 5-hit shutout in the first game of the series against Cleveland. Gregg pitched 7.1 innings, improving his record to 2-3, and Bahnsen followed with a perfect 1.2 for his first save. Davey Johnson had 3 hits and drove in 2, and Pops Stargell had 2 hits for the Grays.

Corey Kluber continues to improve his performances, but not his results: Kluber went 6.2 innings, giving up 3 runs in the opening game of the second doubleheader, but fell to 0-6 on the season.

#Indianapolis ABC’s

Danny Hoffman delivered a 3-run homerun in the top of the 9th against Ottawa’s closer Tom Henke, giving the ABC’s a 5-2 comeback win. Hal Morris added 2 hits, and Red Faber, despite not being involved in the decision, had a strong start. The win went to Lefty James, his first of the year, and Rob Dibble picked up his 5th save.

The last game of the series was almost a contender for the featured game. Indianapolis blew the game open in the fifth inning, scoring 5 runs, keyed by a 2-run double from Oscar Charleston and a 2-run single from Edd Roush (Roush had replaced Jake Stenzel, who was tossed for arguing ball and strikes in the first inning). Johnny Cueto was sailing along with one of the better games we’ve seen all year: a 2-hit shutout through 8 innings.

… and then came the 9th, with the ABC’s up, 9-0, thanks to 2 homeruns by Morris.

Cueto walked Tim Raines and Anthony Rendon, but got Freddy Parent to fly out to center for the first out. And then the wheels fell off: Carlos Delgado and Phil Bradly sandwiched RBI singles around a bases-loaded walk to Terry Puhl, and Cueto left the mound, still up 9-3.

Indianapolis called on the controversial Bronson Arroyo, who made waves by refusing to be sent to AAA despite a horrific season to date. Arroyo was as inefficient as ever this year: a wild pitch, a sacrifice fly, an RBI single to Ken Griffey, Jr. and a pinch hit homerun to Gary Carter made the score 9-7 … but Arroyo finally ended the game with a groundout from Raines.

Arroyo was waived after the game, with Doc White–who had dominated AAA–being recalled.

#New York Black Yankees

New York salvaged a split in their series with Chicago thanks to 3 RBIs each from Don Mattingly and Thurman Munson, and 3 hits from Mike Schmidt. Each of them–as well as Lou Gehrig–went deep in the 12-6 win, which went to Lady Baldwin for 3.1 innings of 1-run relief of a hugely ineffective Dave Righetti.

#Philadelphia Stars

Jaret Wright had been hit hard in his first 5 WBL appearances, so there wasn’t much optimism when he was pressed into an emergency start in the Stars’ final game against Baltimore. Wright responded with 6.1 innings of 1-run ball, surrendering only 1 run to the Black Sox. Philadelphia made it stand up, winning the game 6-4 behind key 5th inning RBIs from Gavvy Cravath and Ted Kluszewski. Bob Howry picked up the save, his 9th, while Pedro Feliciano continued to collapse out of the bullpen. Feliciano gave up 3 runs in less than an inning, and is likely to lose his setup role as his ERA balloons close to 12.

TWIWBL 8.4: Series VII Notes – Marvin Miller Division

By mknn

On June 22, 2021

In TWIWBL

#Birmingham Black Barons

OF Billy Southworth hit 2 HRs, but it wasn’t enough as Brooklyn beat the Black Barons, 7-4.

Birmingham OF Curtis Granderson had 3 assists, throwing out both Davey Lopes and Raul Mondesi at home in the bottom of the 1st inning, and then nailing Beals Becker trying to score in the bottom of the 5th.

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

OF Beals Becker hit 2 HRs, leading the Royal Giants past Birmingham, 7-4. In the series finale, it was Duke Snider‘s turn, as he hit 2 HRs in a game Brooklyn won 5-2.

#Miami Cuban Giants

Camilo Pascual‘s scoreless streak ended at 19 innings, but leaving with a 6-1 lead over Houston, he looked destined for his 4th win of the year. But a disastrous debut from Jose Mendez let the Colt 45’s tie the game in the 9th. Miami did come away with the win on a walk-off RBI single from Alejandro Oms in the bottom of the 10th, with Aroldis Chapman moving to 2-0 on the year.

#Portland Sea Dogs

The four game series against the Black Yankees ended in the most improbable of fashion. Bert Blyleven delivered a quality start, but left the game trailing 3-2, a score that maintained until the bottom of the 9th. Goose Gossage was pitching for New York, and when Gil Hodges walked with 1 out, the Sea Dogs sent Gary Pettis to first as a pinch-runner. Up came Kiki Cuyler, struggling to get his batting average over .200. Cuyler delivered with a rope to right-center field, with Pettis scoring and Kiki taking 3rd on the throw. New York called in their closer, Sparky Lyle, to face the left-handed Harry Hooper … who pulled off a successful squeeze but, with Cuyler sliding outside of Thurman Munson‘s desperate, lunging tag for the 4-3 Portland victory!

The win gave Portland the series against the best team in baseball, 3 games to 1, and made them the second team in the league to reach 20 wins.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

Dennis Eckersley‘s return from the DL did not go well: two-thirds of an inning, 3 hits, 5 walks, and 6 runs allowed, setting the stage for a shellacking for the Sea Lions at the hands of the Chicago American Giants with a final score of 12-5. The only bright spot is the performance of newly-promoted OF Pedro Guerrero, who went 3-for-5 including his first big league HR.