Tag: Turkey Stearnes Page 1 of 5

98.1: Welcome to Week 1 & Opening Day Games

On August 16, 2026

8 April, 2002

Welcome to Year III! Woot woot!

The Whirled Baseball League opened its third season on the first of April, 2002, but the weather proved a mightier force than the ump crying Play Ball! Four of the ten scheduled openers were impacted by the wet — Houston at Homestead, Birmingham at Brooklyn, Chicago at Baltimore and Los Angeles at Cleveland all went to the tarp, and all four were made up as day-night doubleheaders the following afternoon. Of the six games that did get played, three were interrupted by rain anyway.

After the first week, The Detroit Wolverines sit alone at 6-1. Nobody else in the league has more than five wins. But Detroit is doing it with mirrors: they have scored 43 and allowed 39, which should put them at about 4-3. So we’ll see what holds.

Awards

American League Player of the Week: Dick Allen, Chicago American Giants.

The 24-year-old third baseman opened the year 11-for-27 with three home runs, nine runs batted in and nine runs scored, a .407/.467/.963 line across thirty plate appearances.

National League Player of the Week: Roberto Alomar, Ottawa Mounties.

Fifteen hits in thirty-one at-bats, with two home runs earned Alomar the Award. In one of those early season oddities, he didn’t draw a walk or reach base any other way, so both BA and OBP sit at .484.

Opening Day Games

Kansas City 5, Ottawa 4.

Not a single home run was hit in this one, and it was still the best game of the day. It opened messily on both sides: Kansas City scored twice in the first, one of the runs on a passed ball, and Ottawa gave one straight back in the bottom half on a wild pitch. The Mounties drew level in the third, and there it sat.

Then the sky opened. A thirty-eight minute delay in the fifth ended both starters’ afternoons — Roy Halladay had kept Ottawa in it to that point — and Kansas City came out of the break with two runs in the sixth to lead 4-2.

Ottawa’s answer in the eighth was what lifted the game above the level of the mundane: Eddie Guardado came on for the Monarchs and Roberto Alomar greeted him with a line-drive double. Gary Carter followed with a double of his own — an absolute rocket that left the bat at 111 miles per hour — and Carlos Beltrán scored Carter on a single to center. Tie game, and Kansas City called on Lee Smith to stop the bleeding (which he did).

The winning hit travelled about ninety feet in the air. Doug Rader walked to open the ninth and, after Ted Simmons grounded into a force play, Kolten Wong singled Simmons to second. Frankie Frisch came on to pinch-run from there, tagged up to third on an Ozzie Smith fly ball to right, and scored when Cool Papa Bell beat out a weakly hit infield chopper that left the bat roughly 50 mph slower than Carter’s smash.

Craig Kimbrel set Ottawa down in order in the ninth for the save; the win went to Lee Smith for the eighth.

Benny Kauff finished the day with three hits for the Monarchs.

KAN 5 (Smith 1-0; Kimbrel 1 Sv; Guardado 1 BSv) @ OTT 4 (Dempster 0-1)
HRs: none.
Box Score

San Francisco 5, New York Black Yankees 2.

For six innings this was the pitchers’ duel the marquee promised: Lefty Grove struck out twelve over six and a third — tying the Sea Lions’ franchise record for a single game — and Andy Pettitte matched him nearly stride for stride with six shutout innings and eight strikeouts of his own. Through four the scoreboard was blank in both directions.

Lou Gehrig broke the tie in the bottom of the fourth, taking Grove over the wall with one out for the season’s first run at Yankee Stadium. That held until the seventh, when New York summoned Hoyt Wilhelm to protect the one-run lead.

Whoops. Turkey Stearnes led off the seventh and tied the game on the spot with his opening dinger of the season, and although New York handed Wilhelm a fresh lead in the bottom half — Don Mattingly driving in the go-ahead run for 2-1 — he gave that one back too, and then some. San Francisco put up three in the eighth. Reggie Jackson added a solo shot off David Robertson in the ninth for good measure.

So: blown save, loss, and four earned runs across two innings for Wilhelm, and even on opening day the questions start being asked about the Black Yankees’ bullpen. Trevor Hoffman got the win in relief, Joe Nathan handled the 8th, and Rod Beck finished it off — the Sea Lions’ pen had no such queries asked.

SFS 5 (Hoffman 1-0; Beck 1 Sv) @ NYY 2 (Wilhelm 0-1, 1 BSv)
HRs: SFS – Stearnes (1), Jackson (1); NYY – Gehrig (1).
Box Score

New York Gothams 9, Indianapolis 6.

The week’s largest crowd — 54,814 — was treated to seven home runs (1 by a starting pitcher) and four lead changes. Don Buford led off the bottom of the first by putting a Luis Padrón offering into the seats, and Brandon Crawford did the same in the third.

Indianapolis finally solved Christy Mathewson in the fourth: Johnny Bench went deep with two out, and moments later, with a man aboard, Buddy Bell turned a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead. It lasted one inning. HR Johnson answered with a two-run homer in the fifth, and the Gothams tacked on a couple more in the sixth to lead 6-3 with nine outs to go.

Which is where it got strange. Luis Padrón, still in at the DH for the ABC’s, led off the seventh by homering off Masahiro Tanaka, and two batters later Oscar Charleston hit a two-run shot to tie it at six. Tanaka had blown the save and, in the way these things sometimes go, was about to be rewarded for it: New York retook the lead in the bottom half, and Buford’s second home run of the day, a two-run drive in the eighth, put it out of reach.

Mathewson struck out ten but walked five and got no decision. Tanaka got the win. Nobody got much peace, but the fans got a good show to start the season.

IND 6 (Mitchell 0-1) @ NYG 9 (Tanaka 1-0, 1 BSv; Wilson 1 Sv)
HRs: IND – Charleston (1), Bench (1), Bell (1); NYG – Buford (2), HR Johnson (1), Crawford (1).
Box Score

Detroit 7, Miami 5.

Charlie Root was the story at first — five and two thirds innings, no runs, no walks, and eleven strikeouts. Detroit’s lineup took its time with Miami starter José Méndez, opening with doubles from Bobby Wallace and Charlie Gehringer before Oscar Gamble finally got one out of the park in the fifth. Eustaquio Pedroso came on in relief of Méndez and it went no better — Al Kaline took him deep for two in the seventh, Gehringer in the eighth.

Miami got a two-run shot from Alejandro Oms and three hits from Gary Sheffield, but never was able to overtake the Wolverines.

MCG 5 (Méndez 0-1) @ DET 7 (Root 1-0; Henneman 1 Sv)
HRs: MCG – Oms (1); DET – Gamble (1), Kaline (1), Gehringer (1).
Box Score

Portland 7, Memphis 3.

Walter Johnson started, went three and a third (departing after a rain delay in the 4th), and hit a home run. Paul Molitor added a two-run shot of his own and Ken Griffey Jr had three hits and two runs batted in. Memphis answered through David Ortiz, who drove in three with a homer, and Johnny Briggs, who had three hits, but Portland held the lead throughout.

POR 7 (Trout 1-0) @ MEM 3 (Overmire 0-1)
HRs: POR – Molitor (1), Griffey Jr (1), Johnson (1); MEM – Ortiz (1).
Box Score

Philadelphia 9, Wandering House of David 5.

The ageless wonder that is Rico Carty opened the season by going 4-for-4 with a home run and Roger Peckinpaugh (sitting in at SS for Philadelphia for the suspended Jim Fregosi) drove in three, and Philadelphia was never really threatened once Hardie Henderson got through six. The House of David did get 2 homers from young John Beckwith and another from Anthony Rizzo. Jack Taylor gave up eleven hits in the loss.

PHI 9 (Henderson 1-0) @ HOD 5 (Taylor 0-1)
HRs: PHI – Carty (1), Peckinpaugh (1); HOD – Beckwith (2), Rizzo (1).
Box Score

Bits & Bobs

You Always Remember Your First
Houston’s Pete Hill is 0-for-17 with eight strikeouts. He posted a .800 OPS over 594 plate appearances last season, which makes him the furthest any regular has fallen from his own track. Memphis’s Herman Long is 0-for-10 since being signed to solve shortstop for the Red Sox, and Chicago’s Jay Bell and Birmingham’s Ron Fairly are also hitless.

The Root of Things
Nine and a third innings, seventeen strikeouts — the league lead — and not one walk for Detroit’s Charlie Root.

Singles? We Don’t Need No Stinking Singles.
Baltimore’s Gavy Cravath has six hits this season — three doubles and three home runs. Josh Gibson (Homestead), Manny Ramírez (Memphis), Oscar Gamble (Detroit) and Jack Clark (San Francisco) are also yet to hit a single this season.

Swing, miss, duck.
The Sea Lions’ Lefty Grove has sixteen strikeouts in eleven and a third innings — and a 6.35 earned run average and 0-1 record to show for it.

Who Needs the DH?
Five homeruns came from pitchers during the opening week. 2 came from Charles Rogan (Philadelphia), which isn’t terribly surprising, but Walter Johnson (Portland), Luis Padrón (Indianapolis), and Jim Whitney (Miami) all joined in as well.

Year III Season Preview: San Francisco Sea Lions

By mknn

On August 13, 2026

In 2002 Season Previews, Team News

▌ State of the Franchise

San Francisco won 103 games, the best record in baseball, took the Cum Posey Division, beat Detroit in the Wild Card round, swept Cleveland in the AL Championship, and then … lost the Whirled Series to Brooklyn 4-1. All of it was a surprise — the success, the expectations the success brought, and the loss to the Royal Giants.

Two years ago they were 72-82. The 31-win leap was a combination of arrivals: Turkey Stearnes stepped from the draft into the starting lineup, hitting 357/400/751 with 51 home runs and an 8.0 WAR at 22. Jimmie Foxx, also 22, brought 49 homers, Mickey Cochrane became a 3.8-WAR catcher, and Dick Lundy went from a bench body to 617 plate appearances, 57 steals and a 4.2 WAR. All of that on top of the dependable returns from Rickey Henderson, Reggie Jackson, and Jack Clark.

All of them are back. So are Lefty Grove and Eddie Plank, 28 and 27, who threw 209 and 210 innings — a strikeout ace and a horse who never misses a turn, as well as perhaps the most effective bullpen in the league.

Which leaves San Francisco in an unusual spot for a club that just lost. Nothing is broken. There’s no hole to dig out of, no veteran to move on from, no position that needs solving. They were the best team in baseball and it wasn’t enough. The only available response is to run it back and see.

▌ 2001 Revisited

We said last spring that the pitching might prove too mediocre to depend on and that the club would spend the summer tangled in its own logjams, with everything stays really confused as the worst case. That aged badly.

Grove struck out 230 in 208 innings with a 1.15 WHIP and took the AL Brock Rutherford Award. Plank won 20. Bump Hadley, a rookie, posted the staff’s best ERA at 4.10 over 188 innings and finished 2nd for the Brock Rutherford. Those 3 went a combined 54-19. Against a league that gave up 5.38 runs a game, a rotation fronted by 4.40, 4.42 and 4.10 is not mediocre — it’s the best in the league, and the raw numbers only look ordinary if you forget what year it was.

The logjam question resolved itself by everyone hitting. Jack Clark put up 51 homers and 101 walks. Jackson hit 283/394/574. Foxx hit his 49. Royce Clayton posted a .919 OPS in 146 plate appearances filling in around the infield, and Henderson did his thing — 107 walks, 126 SB.

The one thing we asked — on a team full of logjams, who steps forward? — got an unexpected answer: Stearnes arrived, and carried the franchise forward.

▌ Key Changes

In: Trevor Hoffman (POR)
Out: Royce Clayton (POR)

Opening Day Rookies: Charlie Ferguson; Bill Russell

▌ Best Case for 2002

They finish it, starting a dynasty.

That requires health, Stearnes avoiding the sophomore slump, and 2 positional moves panning out: Frank Grant solves 2B for good, and Foxx, no longer to pretend he can serve as a 3B, hits well enough to warrant the DH spot.

That’s it.

▌ Worst Case for 2002

Not a collapse. This roster is too good and too young to collapse. The crueler shape is 90+ wins and another early flight home.

The 2001 environment was inflated — the league gave up 5.38 a game and homers came at a rate nobody had seen — and if it cools, some of the spectacle goes with it.

Then there’s the part nobody can plan around. San Francisco was the overwhelming favorite last October and lost 4 games in 5. A short series doesn’t care that you won 103. Lose another and the question stops being whether this club is good and starts being whether it’s built for the months that matter.

▌ Key Questions

Can Stearnes avoid the sophomore slump? 357/400/751, 51 homers, 8.0 WAR, AL Rookie of the Year and the AL CF Silver Slugger, at 22, in a park that suppresses left-handed power. There is no precedent here to reason from and no reason to expect a repeat except that nothing in the line looks lucky.
Where does everyone stand up? Foxx’s 3B glove has slipped past usable, which pushes him to 1B and DH, where Jack Clark already lives. Sal Bando takes 3B on a 247/355/503 line that plays fine. That leaves Bobby Bonds — 36 home runs, 47 steals, a real everyday outfielder — with nowhere to start, behind Henderson in LF and Jackson in RF. He is the most valuable spare part in the league and the obvious piece to move if this roster ever discovers it needs something.
Is Rod Beck actually the answer? He led the WBL with 41 saves and ran a 1.00 WHIP, and he also posted a 4.88 ERA, because when he gets hit he gets hit hard. Ken Howell was the better pitcher in front of him at 2.79 over 58 innings, and Joe Nathan and Trevor Hoffman are both here now on reputations their recent work hasn’t matched. For a club whose season will come down to 3 or 4 close games in October, the back of this bullpen may matter even more.

▌ 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	Cochrane B · Downing
1B	J. Clark A · Foxx A
2B	Grant C
SS	Lundy B · Russell
3B	Bando C · Garner
LF	Henderson B
CF	Stearnes S
RF	Jackson A · Bonds C
DH	Foxx A · Bonds C
SP	Grove A · Plank B · Hadley B · W. Clark D · Brewer
RP	Beck S (CL) · Howell B · Nathan D · Hoffman F · Heilman

One firm note on Jackson: he is the WBL’s career leader in times caught stealing, and he ran himself into 27 outs last year against 36 steals. That is 2 straight seasons under the break-even rate, on a club that scores plenty without him trying. Let’s pull the plug on Run, Reggie Run.

▌ Talent Ratings

	WBL	Minors
Raw Power	CF Turkey Stearnes	RF Frank Howard
Batting Eye	1B Jack Clark	3B Wayne Gross
Contact	2B Frank Grant	2B Ted Sizemore
Running Speed	LF Rickey Henderson	CF Mookie Wilson; CF Andres Torres
Base Stealing	LF Rickey Henderson; 2B Frank Grant	SP Dick McBride
IF Defense	3B Dick Lundy	2B Jack A Farrell
OF Defense	RF Bobby Bonds	CF Mookie Wilson
Stuff	SP Lefty Grove	RP Drew Steckenrider
Control	SP Bob Friend	RP Don Dennis
Velocity	RP Trevor Hoffman; RP Joe Nathan	RP Jonathan Broxton

▌ Best In The Minors

Rank	Age	Pos	Name
1 (30)	24	SS	Bill Sweeney
2 (95)	19	SP	John Smoltz

Others: IF Jack A Farrell, IF Jed Lowrie, OF Jay Kirke, P Pete Harnisch.

Graduated to the active roster since the ranked list: Charlie Ferguson (20).

This is the bill for the 103 wins. 2 ranked names, one a 24-year-old shortstop behind Lundy and the other a 19-year-old arm a long way off, on a club whose Minor League Pitcher of the Year (Red Ehret) and Minor League Player of the Year (Josh Reddick) are both fighting for WBL auditions.

▌ Superlatives

	Most	Least
Age	Tommy Bridges, 38	John Smoltz, 19
Height	Frank Howard, 6’7″	Walt Williams, 5’6″
OPS	Turkey Stearnes, 1.151	Charlie Ferguson, 0.504 (A)
HR	Jack Clark, 51	Charlie Ferguson, 1 (A)
SB	Rickey Henderson, 126	–
WAR (bat)	Turkey Stearnes, 8.0	Charlie Ferguson, -1.7 (A)
W	Eddie Plank, 20	–
SV	Rod Beck, 41	–
ERA	Rick Waits, 3.36 (AA)	Bob Friend, 7.24
WAR (pit)	Lefty Grove, 4.6	Tommy Bridges, -0.7

Stats across all levels, 2001. 200 PA / 75 IP min (SV: all pitchers). Non-WBL levels tagged.

TWIWBL 90.3: Off Season Review – San Francisco Sea Lions

By mknn

On March 26, 2026

In TWIWBL

103 - 59, .636 pct.
1st in Cum Posey Division
Beat DET 4-3 in AL Wild Card Round
Beat CLE 4-0 in AL Championship
Lost to BRK 1-4 in Whirled Series

Overall

The best record in baseball, 3 dominant rookies, the AL Brock Rutherford Award winner, the electric leader in steals, the best closer in the league … and a crushing defeat in the Whirled Series.

Welcome to San Francisco, where the question is, how to continue with the success and bring home the ultimate prize of the championship.

The Sea Lions, it must be said, are in good shape: there is so much talent here, and so much of it is young, that even some regression to the mean would leave them a very strong club.

What Went Right

Let’s start with the incandescent talent of Norman “Turkey” Stearnes, who burst onto the scene with a 1.151 OPS, 51 homeruns, and 125 RBIs while playing a very solid CF. Just exquisite.

Jack Clark is one of the more underrated players in the league, but he has a great eye (101 BB on the year) and impressive power (51 homers).

Reggie Jackson was a little better last year, but a 283/394/574 slash line is nothing to sneeze at (although you really do wish he would attempt to run a little less often: Jackson sits as the WBL career leader in caught stealing).

So, those are the big three, with each of them both scoring and driving in 100 runs and combining for 143 homers.

Jimmie Foxx‘s obvious power blossomed this season as the burly corner infielder launched 49 homeruns. He could benefit from more contact, but the walk rate is there and at 22, that may come.

Mickey Cochrane took over at catcher and, even before his electric defensive performance in the postseason, was among the better backstops in the league, slashing 289/371/513. Brian Downing hit even better in limited time as his backup, but probably will serve in that capacity next season.

Royce Clayton posted a .919 OPS filling in around the infield and Sal Bando, displaced by Foxx at 3B, performed well as a reserve.

Rickey Henderson stole 126 bases and, as importantly, filled out soem of his offensive game, posting an .839 OPS with a .385 OBP. Dick Lundy added 57 steals while showing some decent offensive skills.

And then we have the pitching, led by their own big three in Lefty Grove, Eddie Plank, and rookie Bump Hadley. Plank led the way with 20 wins, Hadley had the best ERA at 4.10, and Grove walked away with all the hardware in the postseason awards. A 1.15 WHIP and230 strikeouts in 209 innings will do that. The three combined for a 54-19 record on the season.

Watty Clark came over midseason and was excellent over 37 appearances including 17 starts.

Rod Beck led the WBL with 41 saves, despite occasionally being hit quite hard. Ken Howell was excellent setting him up, finishing with a 5-1 record, 6 saves, and 15 holds.

Tim Hudson came back very strong from a long term injury, posting an ERA just over 4 with excellent peripherals over 12 games, and earning a few postseason starts. At 38, it’s not clear how much Hudson has left in the tank, but this was a pleasant surprise for sure.

ALL STARS

Rod Beck
Mickey Cochrane
Lefty Grove
Bump Hadley
Ken Howell
Reggie Jackson
Eddie Plank
Turkey Stearnes

MAJOR AWARDS

Rod Beck All AL First Team; AL Phineas Flint Award
Lefty Grove All AL First Team; AL Brock Rutherford Award
Ken Howell All AL First Team
Turkey Stearnes All AL First Team; AL CF Silver Slugger; AL Rookie of the Year

RECOGNITIONS

Rod Beck AL 25 & Under Team
Jack Clark, All AL 3rd Team
Mickey Cochrane, All AL 2nd Team; AL 25 & Under Team
Jimmie Foxx, All AL 3rd Team; AL All Rookie 1st Team; AL 23 & Under Team
Frank Grant, AL All Rookie 2nd Team; AL 23 & Under Team
Bump Hadley, All AL 2nd Team; AL Rookie of the Year 3rd Place; AL Brock Rutherford Award 2nd Place; AL All Rookie 1st Team; AL 25 & Under Team; AL 23 & Under Team
Ken Howell, AL 25 & Under Team
Reggie Jackson, All AL 3rd Team
Dick Lundy, All AL 3rd Team
Joe Nathan, AL Phineas Flint Award 2nd Place
Eddie Plank, All AL 2nd Team
Turkey Stearnes, AL All Rookie 1st Team; AL 25 & Under Team; ; AL 23 & Under Team

ORGANIZATIONAL AWARDS

Turkey Stearnes, MVP
Eddie Plank, Pitcher of the Year
Jack Clark, Heart & Soul
Rickey Henderson, Fan Favorite

Red Ehret, Minor League Pitcher of the Year
Josh Reddick, Minor League Player of the Year

What Went Wrong

2B was a bit of a mess for most of the year: Jimmy Bloodworth was awful, Phil Garner is a decent utility player, but not much more than that, and Frank Grant struggled to adopt to life in San Francisco after his trade, although he is clearly the future here.

The middle of the bullpen was a bit of a slog, with Huston Street and, especially, Dennis Eckersley struggling more than succeeding, although Street seemed to pick it up after Nathan’s arrival shifted him down the pecking order.

And … yeah … that’s about it. Best record in baseball and all that.

Transactions

March

OF Pedro Guerrero to BRK for P Watty Clark & OF Matt Holliday.

Looks good for San Francisco, as Guerrero has struggled and Clark should be with the WBL team next year.

July

IF John Beckwith to HOD for IF Frank Grant.

They may regret this one, as, at only 19, Beckwith hits the ball as hard as anyone in baseball. But Grant is only 21 and fills a clear and present need, so it seems fine.

August

IF Eddie Miller & IF Freddie Freeman to LAA for P Joe Nathan, IF Wally Joyner, & 1st Round Pick.

It seems solid enough: Nathan makes the Sea Lions’ bullpen stronger, and Freeman for the 1st rounder feels equitable enough long term. Helps both teams, for sure.

Positional Overview

C

This should be Mickey Cochrane for a while, with Brian Downing being brought in as the backup next season. There’s not a lot of talent in the system, so hopefully those two can stay healthy.

1B

At some point, this may become an issue, as Jimmie Foxx really is better suited for 1B than 3B, but for now, Jack Clark reigns, with Foxx filling in.

Wally Joyner and Sid Bream are available as needed as well.

2B

The Sea Lions gave up a lot for Frank Grant, now he needs to produce. The team is pretty confident he will, with Phil Garner on hand as a reserve infielder.

There is some talent in the system here: Jack Farrell, Ron Hunt, and Dario Lodigiani all have some talent, and last year’s incumbent, Jimmy Bloodworth, is still bouncing around.

SS

Dick Lundy has this locked down, offering a rare mixture of speed, defense, and occasional power.

Royce Clayton‘s performance has earned him a hard look, although his lack of versatility is a thing. Bill Sweeney and Jed Lowrie are options as well if needed.

3B

The Sea Lions have a lot of talent here. The starting role is obviously Foxx’s, but Sal Bando is an excellent option. Bando is expendable if the right offer came along as others, including Wayne Gross, Denny Walling, and Don Money could also serve as Foxx’s backup.

LF/RF

With CF settled, the corner spots are a bit congested between Rickey Henderson, Reggie Jackson, and Bobby Bonds. Henderson has a firm lock on LF, and Jackson and Bonds will probably share RF and DH duties, as neither of them are spectacular defensively.

The Sea Lions’ Minor League Player of the Year, Josh Reddick, could figure in here, as could Matt Holliday, Eddie Murphy, or the slugging behemoth that is Frank Howard.

CF

Assuming Turkey Stearnes doesn’t succumb to the sophomore slump, the job is his for a long time.

Lots of players can fill in here, but in terms of true CFers, only Del Unser and Mookie Wilson catch the eye in the system.

DH

A mix of Foxx, Jackson, and Bonds should be more than sufficient here.

SP

This is pretty much set, certainly with the trio of Lefty Grove, Eddie Plank, and Bump Hadley leading the way. Watty Clark showed enough to be projected as the 4th starter, leaving some competition between Tom Brewer, Tim Hudson, Tommy Bridges, and Mel Stottlemyre Sr. Veterans Nick Altrock and Cy Falkenberg and the Minor League Pitcher of the Year, Red Ehret may be given a look as well.

At lower levels, Charlie Ferguson and Jair Jurrjens have both showed some promise.

RP

The back end has the potential to be devastating, with Joe Nathan and Ken Howell setting up Rod Beck. That only gets better if Ron Robinson is able to make a clean return form injury or if Huston Street can develop a bit more consistency.

Draft Outlook

DRAFT PICKS

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

What do you get the team that has everything? That’s right, 2 first round picks. Especially with the sudden departure of Jules Thomas, the cupboard is a bit bare, so this will be a restocking exercise for the Sea Lions.

TWIWBL 88.3: Rookie Teams of the Year

By mknn

On March 2, 2026

In TWIWBL

Two teams per league, with preference given to more playing time this year over future potential. No DH.

#WBL All Rookie First Team

Pos	American League	National League
C	Tom Haller (BAL)	Bill Dickey (PHI)
1B	Jimmie Foxx (SFS)	Joe Harris (KCM)
2B	Charlie Gehringer (DET)	César Hernández (PHI)
SS	Cal Ripken Jr (BAL)	Judy Johnson (HOM)
3B	Andy Pafko (BBB/MCG)	Chris Sabo (IND)
LF	Juan Beníquez (DET)	Adam Dunn (IND)
CF	Turkey Stearnes (SFS)	John Briggs (BRK)
RF	Al Kaline (DET)	George Foster (IND)
SP	Jim Whitney (BBB/MCG) Bump Hadley (SFS) Walter Ball (POR)	A. Rube Foster (KCM) Smokey Joe Williams (BRK) Fernando Valenzuela (BRK)
RP	Andrew Miller (MEM) Ross Reynolds (LAA) Elmer Smith (LAA)	Eddie Guardado (KCM) Karl Spooner (HOD) Mike Kume (KCM)

Rookies are interesting.

We run the full gamut here, from the MVP possibilities of Turkey Stearnes to players who ended the year in the minors, or, like César Hernández, project as fringe players at best. Tom Haller, Juan Beníquez, and Joe Harris are all on the wrong side of 30.

The spread of talent makes some comparisons misleading: you would much rather be San Francisco with Jimmie Foxx, Stearnes, and Bump Hadley than Indianapolis with Chris Sabo, Adam Dunn, and George Foster.

#WBL All Rookie Second Team

Pos	American League	National League
C	AJ Pierzynski (LAA)	Dick Dietz (NYG)
1B	David Ortiz (MEM)	JP Arencibia (BBB)
2B	Frank Grant (HOD/SFS)	Craig Reynolds (HOD)
SS	Dobie Moore (MEM)	Jimmy Rollins (PHI)
3B	Freddie Lindstrom (CAG)	Josh Donaldson (OTT)
LF	Rocky Colavito (CAG)	Elliott Maddox (NYY/HOU)
CF	Julio Rodríguez (MCG)	Charles Rogan (PHI)
RF	Ichiro Suzuki (LAA)	Sam Thompson (OTT)
SP	Tony Brizzolara (NYY) Tom Seaver (LAA) Kenshin Kawakami (MCG)	Charles Rogan (PHI) Ice Box Chamberlain (HOU) Kyle Peterson (HOD)
RP	Firpo Marberry (CLE) Skel Roach (MEM) Billy Hoeft (DET)	Brad Kilby (PHI) Mike LaCoss (IND) Fred Fussell (BBB)

Note Bullet Joe Rogan‘s well warranted appearance at 2 positions.

David Ortiz, Julio Rodríguez, Rogan, and Ice Box Chamberlain were the class of this group. Those 4, Frank Grant, Dobie Moore, Freddie Lindstrom, Ichiro Suzuki, and Tom Seaver are the most likely to be future stars–that’s a lot of potential over there in the American League.

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 87.17: The Awards

By mknn

On February 25, 2026

In TWIWBL

We’ll do this Award Show style, ending with the MVP.

#Silver Sticks

The guideline here is the best offensive performance at each position, with a slightly relaxed PA requirement and combining LF and RF. Players qualify for their team at season’s end, much to Paul Konerko‘s delight.

Pos	American League	National League
C	Ed Bailey (DET/CLE)	Josh Gibson (HOM)
1B	Frank Thomas (CAG)	Paul Konerko (CAG/BBB)
2B	Rogers Hornsby (NYY)	Roberto Alomar (OTT)
3B	Evan Longoria (CLE)	Ron Cey (BRK)
SS	Cal Ripken, Jr (BAL)	Ernie Banks (HOD)
OF	Babe Ruth (NYY)	Larry Walker (OTT)
CF	Turkey Stearnes (SFS)	Oscar Charleston (IND)
OF	Kal Daniels (LAA)	Aaron Judge (PHI)
DH	Ty Cobb (DET)	Willie Stargell (HOM)

Joe Morgan was better offensively than Alomar, but Alomar had 200 more plate appearances and was no slouch himself.

#Rookie Of the Year

This was pretty easy in terms of the overall awards, but the second and third place finishers were far more heavily contested.

Rank	American League	National League
1	Turkey Stearnes (CF, SFS, 22)	Charles Rogan (P/Util, PHI, 27)
2	Cal Ripken, Jr (SS, BAL, 23)	A. Rube Foster (P, KCM, 24)
3	Bump Hadley (P, SFS, 23)	Smokey Joe Williams (P, BRK, 24)

Al Kaline (DET), David Ortiz (MEM), and Jim Whitney (MCG) in the AL, and John Briggs (BRK), Judy Johnson (HOM), and George Foster (IND) in the NL were the next names on the lists, but these selections feel pretty solid.

#All Rounder Award

This one is given to the player whose offense was most well-rounded–walks, power, speed, all of it.

Rank	American League	National League
1	Ty Cobb (DET)	Roberto Alomar (OTT)
2	Kal Daniels (LAA)	Jackie Robinson (BRK)
3	Tris Speaker (CLE)	Oscar Charleston (IND)

#Phineas Flint Award

This goes to the best reliever in each league–not necessarily a closer, but often.

Rank	American League	National League
1	Rod Beck (SFS)	Eric Gagné (BRK)
2	Joe Nathan (LAA/SFS)	Lee Smith (KCM)
3	Goose Gossage (NYY)	Craig Kimbrel (KCM)

#Brock Rutherford Award

This goes to the dominant pitcher in each league, usually a starter.

Rank	American League	National League
1	Lefty Grove (SFS)	Luis Padrón (IND)
2	Bump Hadley (SFS)	Toad Ramsey (HOU)
3	José Méndez (MCG)	A. Rube Foster (KCM)

#Mel Trench Award

And, the biggie, the MVP. A slight prejudice towards batters here, but it’s possible for a pitcher to enter the building.

Rank	American League	National League
1	Ty Cobb (DET)	Josh Gibson (HOM)
2	Babe Ruth (NYY)	Oscar Charleston (IND)
3	Mike Trout (LAA)	Gary Carter (OTT)

As has been constant in much of this Award season, the top spots are clear, and beyond that it’s a little bit of a mess.

Trout’s numbers weren’t as good as Turkey Steranes or Tris Speaker, but he carried Los Angeles all season. That said, this could have been a 3 way tie for AL CF’s. In the NL, you can argue that Ron Cey was more important to Brooklyn than Carter was to Ottawa, and certainly Brooklyn’s Whirled Championship counts for something. But Carter did all that … as a catcher (which underscores Gibson’s edge on the field).

TWIWBL 87.16: The Gold Gloves

By mknn

On February 24, 2026

In TWIWBL

We previewed the Gold Gloves in August, but now it’s time to do the real thing, one per position per league. We’ll go through them first, then list the award recipients at the end.

I do believe in defense mattering over time, as such, we’re using an 800 IP minimum for the GG awards. For each position, we’re listing the top 3 in each league, AL followed by NL.

We have our standard defensive stats here, with the leaders in bold and the worst performers in italics. Range Factor (RF) measures the number of plays made per game–the higher the better. Zone Rating (ZR) attempts to credit players for plays other fielders missed and ding them for plays other fielders made–the higher the better, and it has the benefit of being comparative across the position. Defensive Efficiency (dEff) measures the rate at which an individual fielder contributes to outs being made on balls put into play, with any score over 1.000 being a net positive impact. Finally, Fielding Percentage (fPct) reflects the percentage of times a chance was handled without a mistake–if someone made no errors, their fPct would be 1.000.

Of these, Range Factor is the most susceptible to the impact of the pitching staff and the ballpark, although none of these defensive ratings are perfect.

Outfielders also have Assists (A), more romantically referred to as Outfield Kills are runners eliminated on the bases and Arm Runs (AR), which measures the net runs gained on an outfielder’s throws, including runner advancements.

Finally, catchers, who are really their own thing, also have RTO% (the percentage of runners thrown out trying to steal, abbreviated as RT), PB (passed balls), Framing Runs (the number of runs gained by the catcher’s positioning), and cERx, which reflects the ERA while the catcher was behind the plate compared to the overall staff ERA. A cERx below 1 means the catcher was better than the rest of the staff, above 1, worse.

#C

Lg	Tm	Name	IP	fPct	RF	ZR	dEff	RT	PB	cERx	FR
NL	IND	Johnny Bench	1144	.995	9.3	1.3	1.19	36	11	1.03	7
	HOD	Elrod Hendricks	923	.994	8.3	3.8	1.14	40	9	1.01	5
	NYG	Buster Posey	1095	.996	8.9	0.4	1.00	35	8	0.96	10
AL	POR	Joe Mauer	1103	.996	9.5	3.5	1.04	39	6	1.01	5
	NYY	Thurman Munson	1122	.995	9.8	2.3	1.00	35	5	0.96	4
	MCG	Iván Rodríguez	1104	.998	9.8	5.7	1.05	46	17	0.98	2

So, what is a catcher’s primary duty? Helping their staff, controlling the running game, and then, a somewhat distant third, making their own defensive plays.

The choice in the AL is pretty obvious, in the NL, I think it comes down to how much do you weigh Posey’s ability to frame pitches, and his ~150 more innings played than Hendricks.

#1B

Lg	Tm	Name	IP	fPct	RF	ZR	dEff
NL	KCM	Boog Powell	1105	.996	9.1	3.4	1.02
	HOD	Anthony Rizzo	828	.995	8.7	0.8	1.02
	IND	Joey Votto	1072	1.000	8.4	5.1	1.04
AL	DET	Hank Greenberg	1159	.996	8.3	2.5	1.02
	POR	Kent Hrbek	1007	.995	8.6	1.3	1.03
	MEM	Bill White	886	.993	9.1	0.5	1.01

Again, one choice is pretty clear–the NL this time.

In the AL, it’s much closer, but Greenberg makes some plays that Hrbek just doesn’t.

#2B

Lg	Tm	Name	IP	fPct	RF	ZR	dEff
NL	KCM	Robinson Canó	1134	.990	4.6	11.0	1.06
	BBB	Cupid Childs	1022	.983	4.5	7.3	1.09
	PHI	Chase Utley	1173	.994	4.9	13.7	1.07
AL	DET	Charlie Gehringer	971	.989	4.9	-10.7	0.94
	BAL	Miller Huggins	923	.987	4.3	10.8	1.10
	MCG	Cookie Rojas	877	.993	4.4	-3.3	0.97

These are two relatively easy choices. And, there is a question of what’s going on in the AL, where almost everyone has a negative ZR.

#SS

Lg	Tm	Name	IP	fPct	RF	ZR	dEff
NL	NYG	Brandon Crawford	1046	.966	4.2	11.4	1.07
	IND	Barry Larkin	911	.975	4.7	9.0	1.07
	KCM	Ozzie Smith	1188	.992	4.7	12.2	1.06
AL	SFS	Dick Lundy	934	.987	4.5	10.8	1.06
	CAG	Freddy Parent	952	.978	5.0	13.6	1.06
	CLE	Arky Vaughan	1143	.982	4.2	13.4	1.09

In the NL, it’s another clear choice: while Smith and Crawford both make the sensational plays, Smith makes all the plays.

The AL is much, much closer and there’s really not much to choose from between Parent and Vaughan. As such, we’ll go with the player who stayed on the field more.

#3B

Lg	Tm	Name	IP	fPct	RF	ZR	dEff
NL	OTT	Adrián Beltré	1055	.974	2.6	-0.8	1.00
	BRK	Ron Cey	1138	.975	2.5	6.0	1.03
	PHI	Scott Rolen	1155	.970	2.3	5.0	1.06
AL	POR	Buddy Bell	1169	.968	2.5	8.0	1.05
	CLE	Evan Longoria	1148	.963	2.2	4.8	1.04
	NYY	Mike Schmidt	1140	.958	2.4	5.3	1.03

The hot corner is a challenge: everyone makes 2, 2 1/2 plays a game, so RF is less useful, although Beltré’s 2.6 does stand out, as does Longoria’s more limited mobility. But it means fPct–as a proxy for errors–and dEff rise in importance. In the AL, while it’s not by a mile, I think Bell is the clear choice while in the AL, it ends up being between Cey and Rolen, with the final edge going to The Penguin.

#LF

Lg	Tm	Name	IP	fPct	RF	ZR	dEff	A	AR
NL	IND	Bob Bescher	839	.989	1.9	-4.8	0.96	2	-2.8
	PHI	Sherry Magee	839	.994	1.7	4.8	1.04	1	-2.3
	BRK	Roy White	1152	.992	1.9	10.3	1.07	6	-1.0
AL	CLE	Johnny Bates	1018	.978	2.0	8.8	1.06	4	-1.3
	SFS	Rickey Henderson	1202	.982	1.6	12.2	1.18	3	-3.6
	BAL	Frank Robinson	996	.990	1.8	0.2	1.00	5	-2.2

The AR numbers reflect just how hard it is to prevent runners from advancing on flyballs, and makes Jim Wynn‘s 3.7 mark there all the more remarkable. Unfortunately, the rest of Wynn’s numbers leave him out of the finalists entirely.

The NL is an easy choice, and one that gives us a repeat winner in Roy White. Over in the Al, it’s harder, but Bates makes more plays and has a far better arm than Henderson, despite how much ground the Sea Lions’ speedster covers.

#CF

Lg	Tm	Name	IP	fPct	RF	ZR	dEff	A	AR
NL	OTT	Carlos Beltrán	1045	.982	2.9	9.5	1.06	10	-1.0
	PHI	Willie Davis	1035	.988	2.9	16.3	1.10	4	-2.8
	NYG	Willie Mays	1214	.989	2.8	14.5	1.05	4	-4.7
AL	BAL	Paul Blair	935	.986	2.7	11.8	1.09	3	-2.6
	CLE	Tris Speaker	1047	.982	2.8	10.0	1.06	9	-2.4
	SFS	Turkey Stearnes	1027	.979	2.8	7.4	1.05	5	-4.7

Assists can be misleading: Detroit’s Chili Davis gunned down 14 runners and Kansas City’s Willie McGee 11, but they, overall, just weren’t effective enough out there to warrant their inclusion. Remember, the weaker the arm, the more often it gets run on, the more chances for assists you may get.

Look, Willie Mays is a great defensive CF. But Willie Davis, simply, had a better year out there. In the AL, you can only unseat Paul Blair if you give massive weight to Speaker’s additional 3 assists. But given how close they are in AR, it’s hard to rationalize that. So Blair it is once again, our 2nd repeat winner.

#RF

Lg	Tm	Name	IP	fPct	RF	ZR	dEff	A	AR
NL	BBB	Hank Aaron	945	.979	1.7	4.4	1.06	6	0.6
	HOM	Roberto Clemente	1134	.979	2.2	7.1	1.06	11	-2.6
	KCM	Stan Musial	972	.981	2.0	8.4	1.07	2	-0.4
AL	MEM	Mookie Betts	880	1.000	1.9	7.6	1.07	2	-3.8
	DET	Al Kaline	971	.991	2.1	3.8	1.03	6	-1.8
	LAA	Ichiro Suzuki	1195	1.000	2.0	5.7	1.04	7	-3.0

The NL is insanely close. Musial makes more spectacular plays than Clemente, Clemente makes marginally more plays overall and has that cannon for an arm, although Musial limits baserunners more effectively. It’s a coin flip, but today we’ll go with Clemente’s additional 150 innings as the difference maker.

In the AL, it’s clearly one of the players who didn’t make a single miscue, and although Betts has the edge in a few metrics, Suzuki has over 300 more innings–1200 innings without an error, but with great range, is incredible.

#P

We’re using 140 innings as the cutoff for the pitchers. Additionally, we have access to number of Framing Runs the pitcher benefitted from, as well as the SB numbers against them. Errors tend to be so low from pitchers, that fPct is no longer a really useful metric.

Lg	Tm	Name	IP	RF	ZR	dEff	RT	FR
NL	HOD	Bob Rush	186	1.2	3.7	1.00	60	0
	HOD	Jack Taylor	192	0.9	5.2	1.00	57	0
	PHI	JM Ward	196	1.0	3.4	1.16	51	0.4
AL	POR	Bert Blyleven	204	0.9	5.6	1.00	59	0.3
	BAL	Bob Feller	153	1.0	3.3	0.91	68	-0.3
	POR	Walter Johnson	214	0.8	5.0	1.20	59	0

Sample size, of course, wrecks havoc with pitcher’s defensive stats. Still, we have what we have.

Not only does Bob Rush make a lot of plays, he keeps runners from stealing, and while Jack Taylor makes more spectacular plays, Rush’s ZR is more than good enough to take the award home. In the AL, Johnson and Blyleven are neck-and-neck, but we’ll go with Blyleven, who has a slight edge in most categories.

#The Gold Gloves

Pos	American League	National League
C	Iván Rodríguez (MCG)	Elrod Hendricks (HOD)
1B	Hank Greenberg (DET)	Joey Votto (IND)
2B	Miller Huggins (BAL)	Chase Utley (PHI)
SS	Arky Vaughan (CLE)	Ozzie Smith (KCM)
3B	Buddy Bell (POR)	Ron Cey (BRK)
LF	Johnny Bates (CLE)	Roy White (BRK)
CF	Paul Blair (BAL)	Willie Davis (PHI)
RF	Ichiro Suzuki (LAA)	Roberto Clemente (HOM)
P	Bert Blyleven (POR)	Bob Rush (HOD)

There are a surprising number of teams with 2 Gold Glove winners–Baltimore, Portland, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, and the House of David.

But the overall number of finalists may be more interesting, as it should give some indications as to the higher tier defensive units in the league. Here’s how that stacks up:

6. Cleveland
5. Philadelphia
4. House of David, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Portland
3. Baltimore, Detroit, New York Gothams, San Francisco
2. Birmingham, Brooklyn, Memphis, Miami, New York Black Yankees, Ottawa
1. Chicago, Homestead, Los Angeles

TWIWBL 87.9: The Center Fielders

By mknn

On February 6, 2026

In TWIWBL

Fitting for this league, there is a ton of talent here, which makes some of the Tier sorting challenging.

We have a new defensive metric for outfielders: ARM, which is an estimate of the number of runs saved (or allowed) from their throwing arms.

#S Tier

Lg	Tm	Name	Age	Slash	Other	Def
NL	IND	Oscar Charleston	21	337/381/619	38 HR 130 RBI 101 R 46 SB
AL	CLE	Tris Speaker	23	312/397/631	35 HR 124 R 46 SB
AL	SFS	Turkey Stearnes	22	357/400/751	51 HR 125 RBI 108 R	-4.7 ARM
AL	LAA	Mike Trout	22	306/392/617	40 HR 107 RBI 106 R 45 SB	.994 fPct

The top of this list is easy: welcome to the WBL, Turkey Stearnes!

After that, it’s unclear. In one sense, maybe it’s just Stearnes? But Tris Speaker–as disliked as he is–had a great season. So, maybe it’s just the two of them? But it feels like Mike Trout and Oscar Charleston are certainly in a different class than the bulk of the A Tier.

I think this is a reflection of how great of a year Sternes had: consider him in an S+ tier by himself.

#A Tier

Lg	Tm	Name	Age	Slash	Other	Def
NL	BRK	John Briggs	21	276/377/557	32 HR
NL	NYG	Willie Mays	24	261/337/600	49 HR 112 RBI 107 R 24 SB	14.5 ZR -4.7 ARM
AL	MCG	Julio Rodríguez	20	315/347/661	42 HR	2.30 RF -10.1 ZR
NL	PHI	Charles Rogan	27	308/362/620	21 SB	3.45 RF

Joe Rogan played more CF than anything else (other than pitcher), so he’s listed here.

Willie Mays is Willie Mays, and is expected to spend most of his career here and above. The rest can be considered surprises: John Briggs was seen by many as a AAA player who would fail in his rookie season; Julio Rodríguez was an afterthought invite to Spring Training who seized the opportunity; and while it was expected that Rogan would be solid as a 2-way player, nobody foresaw this.

#B Tier

Lg	Tm	Name	Age	Slash	Other	Def
NL	OTT	Carlos Beltrán	25	258/332/533	35 HR 42 SB	10 A
AL	NYY	Eric Davis	25	263/344/538	34 HR 61 SB
AL	POR	Ken Griffey, Jr	20	292/326/568	33 HR	-7.8 ZR

Sure. Eric Davis continues to struggle with injuries, Carlos Beltrán needs to put the ball in play a little more, and Ken Griffey, Jr. is only 20. This also reinforces the trade between Portland and Ottawa–Beltrán deserves his starting spot in the WBL, and Griffey, Jr. needed a fresh start.

Any of these three could move up, while Davis seems the most likely to crash out as his injuries continue to mount.

#C Tier

Lg	Tm	Name	Age	Slash	Other	Def
AL	DET	Chili Davis	25	243/318/481		14 A -15.5 ZR .930 dEff 0.5 ARM
NL	HOD	George Gore	26	254/389/440
NL	HOU	Pete Hill	20	274/347/453		2.38 RF
AL	MEM	Reggie Smith	24	270/333/545	34 HR	-5.0 ARM

Here we get to set of CF that are always being questioned–they are good enough, but there’s always a lingering question about whether they’re actually the solution. This impacted George Gore the most, who was essentially a half-time player this year, and is least an issue for Pete Hill, given his age.

Chili Davis is solid, but his defense is far from solid, and Reggie Smith–like some others in the Memphis clubhouse–is under threat from a wave of emerging talent.

#D Tier

Lg	Tm	Name	Age	Slash	Other	Def
AL	BAL	Paul Blair	25	262/296/448		11.8 ZR 1.086 dEff
NL	BBB	Curtis Granderson	27	206/293/495	41 HR 21 SB	2.97 RF -5.2 ARM
NL	HOM	Andrew McCutchen	24	238/325/446	52 SB	.963 fPct
—	IND/ CAG	Jake Stenzel	26	244/293/465	22 SB	2.36 RF .917 dEff

Curtis Granderson and Andrew McCutchen had their names penciled in almost every day … which leads to a question of why they escaped the criticism seen by the tier above? For Granderson, it is answered by his defense, power, and the fact that his deficiency–putting the ball safely in play–was a team-wide issue for Birmingham.

Jake Stenzel stopped hitting for power when he arrived in Chicago, cementing his place in this group, while Paul Blair is only here due to his exceptional defense.

#F Tier

Lg	Tm	Name	Age	Slash	Other	Def
NL	PHI	Willie Davis	22	233/282/391	21 SB	16.3 ZR 1.095 dEff
NL	HOD	Jim Edmonds	26	218/280/467		.996 fPct 2.95 RF
NL	KCM	Willie McGee	26	246/279/418	40 SB	11 A .969 fPct
NL	KCM	Dale Murphy	23	193/274/456		.971 fPct .936 dEff
AL	CAG	Cristóbal Torriente	18	186/237/247	24 SB	.993 fPct 1.069 dEff 0.4 ARM

Willie Davis and Jim Edmonds do enough with their gloves to stick around somewhere, and Davis is certainly young enough to improve more offensively. The rest are a challenge: Willie McGee is in danger of losing his job, Dale Murphy has obvious power, but is clearly not best suited for CF, and then there’s Cristóbal Torriente, whose defensive impact is unmistakable, but is clearly overwhelmed at the plate at this point.

#Rookies

This is in incredible rookie class, with Stearnes (S Tier), and Rodríguez, Rogan, and Briggs (all A Tier). And, oh yeah, Dale Murphy way down in the F Tier Tier.

#Fielding Notes

We have our standard defensive stats here, with the leaders in bold and the worst performers in italics. Assists (A), more romantically referred to as Outfield Kills are runners eliminated on the bases. Range Factor (RF) measures the number of plays made per game–the higher the better. Zone Rating (ZR) attempts to credit players for plays other fielders missed and ding them for plays other fielders made–the higher the better, and it has the benefit of being comparative across the position. Defensive Efficiency (dEff) measures the rate at which an individual fielder contributes to outs being made on balls put into play, with any score over 1.000 being a net positive impact. Finally, Fielding Percentage (fPct) reflects the percentage of times a chance was handled without a mistake–if someone made no errors, their fPct would be 1.000.

Of these, Range Factor is the most susceptible to the impact of the pitching staff and the ballpark, although none of these defensive ratings are perfect.

TWIWBL 86.4: Year 2 Whirled Series, Games 3, 4 & 5

By mknn

On January 26, 2026

In 2001 Playoffs, 2001 Whirled Series, TWIWBL

Well that was quite a surprise … Brooklyn heads to San Francisco, and wins 2 games against the best team in baseball. Now they have a chance to shock the world and clinch the Whirled Series on their home turf.

They’ve had a day off, but we’ll see how the 12 inning affair in game 2 affects both of these staffs.

#Game 3, Tue Oct 25.

18 game winner Bump Hadley will take the mound for San Francisco, while Don Drysedale will get the start in front of the home team.

Jimmie Foxx continued a solid postseason with a solo shot in the 2nd inning, which was all the scoring through 3. If anyone had dominated the game, it was San Francisco’s Mickey Cochrane, who had gunned down 3 runners on the basepaths, keeping Brooklyn from mounting a threat.

Two walks, 2 steals, and a single loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the 4th, but Drysedale essentially escaped: one run scored on a sacrifice fly from Turkey Stearnes, but Foxx grounded into a hard double play, leaving the score 2-0, Sea Lions.

Hadley ran into a similar situation in the bottom of the 5th: 2 walks and a hit batsmen loaded the bases with no outs for Duke Snider. Brooklyn took advantage, however: a sacrifice fly scored the first run, a bases loaded walk to John Briggs the second, and then a Dan Brouthers double scored 3 more, sending the home crowd into a frenzy: the Royal Giants led 5-2 at the end of 5.

A solo shot from Reggie Jackson chased Drysedale and narrowed the gap to 2 runs at 5-3. Brooklyn restored the 3 run edge on a solo shot from Roy White in the 6th.

Cochrane continued to put on a clinic, erasing six–SIX–runners on the basepaths and even inspiring Mike Piazza to throw someone out.

Frank Knauss has taken being pulled out of the rotation in the offseason as a challenge: here, he struck out the first 5 batters he faced in relief of Drysedale before giving up a single to Dick Lundy leading off the 8th. That summoned Trevor Hildenberger from the pen, who was brilliant during the season, but had been battered in the postseason so far. But here, he was effective, keeping San Francisco off the board, and reducing the Royal Giants’ focus to 3 remaining outs.

Brooklyn extended their lead, flexing their longball muscles: Piazza and White went deep back-to-back in the bottom of the 8th. So the Royal Giants took a 9-3 edge to the top of the 9th. The extra runs had an added importance, as they may allow Brooklyn to rest Eric Gagne, with Terry Forster being brought in for the top of the frame.

And Forster closed it out, putting San Francisco in the hardest of spots, down 3-0.

Brouthers had 3 hits, driving in 3, and both Piazza and White 2 hits and 2 RBIs each. But the real story was a solid start from Drysedale and superlative work from the bullpen: Knauss recorded 5 outs, all strikeouts, and Hildenberger and Forster closed it out allowing only a walk between them.

And, without Cochrane’s heroics, it would have been worse: he finished the game with a WBL record 8 assists.

SFS 3 (Hadley 2-1) @ BRK 9 (Drysdale 201; Knauss 1 H; Hildenberger 5 H)
HRs: SFS – Foxx (7), Jackson (8); BRK – White 2 (5), Piazza (12).
Box Score

#Game 4, Fri Oct 26

This is just so shocking … Brooklyn, at home, with a 3-0 lead in the Whirled Series. Here we go.

The Royal Giants would turn to Fernando Valenzuela, holding to their 4 man rotation, while the Sea Lions would start Tommy Bridges, with everyone available in their bullpen.

Once again the Sea Lions struck first, when doubles from Turkey Stearnes and Jimmie Foxx were followed by a homerun from Bobby Bonds. When the dust settled, San Francisco held a 4-0 early lead. Jack Clark would double home another in the 3rd, and the Sea Lions would plate their 6th run on a sac fly.

A solo shot from Reggie Jackson in the 5th would chase Valenzuela, and the Sea Lions would add 2 more in the 6th against recently recalled Dick Redding.

Meanwhile, Bridges was rolling, only losing the shutout in the bottom of the 6th on solo homers from John Briggs and Ron Cey. A single by Mike Piazza chased Bridges with a 9-2 lead.

Each team scored some more, but the game was settled. So San Francisco only needs to do this 3 more times.

Bonds, Foxx, Clark, and Rickey Henderson all had 2 hits in a balanced attack for the Sea Lions. As importantly, none of their main starters had to work out of the bullpen, setting them up decently for the next (and hopefully later) games.

SFS 13 (Bridges 1-0) @ BRK 4 (Valenzuela 0-1)
HRs: SFS – Bonds (6), Jackson (9); BRK – Briggs (2), Cey (6).
Box Score

#Game 5, Sat Oct 27

Smokey Joe Williams, so impressive in game one, will take the hill for Brooklyn, with San Francisco’s ace, Lefty Grove, trying to keep the series alive.

Pedro Guerrero will get a rare start for the game for Brooklyn, adding another right handed bat to their mix as they try to clinch the title.

Jackie Robinson took Grove deep in the bottom of the first for a 1-0 lead for the home team. San Francisco would tie it in the 3rd on a single by Bobby Bonds, who then stole 2nd and 3rd before scoring on a sac fly from Dick Lundy, but the Royal Giants regained the lead immediately on a solo shot from Beals Becker. Another sacrifice fly, this one from Turkey Stearnes, would tie the game in the 4th, 2-2.

Guerrero came through in the bottom of the frame with a 2 out single, scoring Piazza. Another run scored on a wild pitch, and another on a single by Ray Dandridge, taking Grove out of the game. After 4 innings, Brooklyn was up, 5-2.

Reggie Jackson drove in 1 in the top of the 5th.

A single and a walk in the top of the 6th led to Williams’ departure, with Frank Knauss coming in for the final out of the inning, preserving Brooklyn’s 2 run edge, 5-3. Knauss was touched for a solo shot by Rickey Henderson in the 7th, but that was it: we had a 1 run game with Brooklyn needing 6 more outs.

Terry Forster retired 3 straight in the top of the 8th. 3 outs.

And in comes Eric Gagne. Frank Grant lined to first, but a Dick Lundy single put the tying run on base with the top of the order coming up for San Francisco in the form of Henderson. Lundy swiped second, but Rickey struck out. So here we are, the Sea Lions’ catcher, Mickey Cochrane, defensively dominant all series, against Gagne.

It’s a hard ball to the right side that slides under Robinson’s glove, with Lundy coming home to tie the game! Gagne would whiff Jackson, but the damage had been done, and we were, for the second time this series, headed to extra innings.

Trevor Hildenberger took over for Brooklyn in the top of the 10th and walked Jack Clark. Jim Devlin replaced Clark at first, but was cut down trying to steal with 2 outs.

John Briggs led off the bottom of the 10th with a double, and was replaced by the speedier George Hendrick. Cochrane would do it again, however, nailing Hendrick as he tried to swipe 3rd.

It didn’t matter: Jackie Robinson would take Rod Beck deep for his 2nd homerun of the day, and a walkoff, Whirled Series clinching shot over the right-centerfield wall!

And the Royal Giants have shocked the baseball world, taking the Whirled Series from the heavily favored San Francisco Sea Lions, 6-5 in 10 innings!

Robinson had 2 hits–the 2 homers–and Guerrero paid back the trust shown him with 2 hits as well but again this was mostly a story of the Royal Giants’ bullpen as, despite the run allowed by Gagne, they brought the series home.

SFS 5 (Beck 0-2) @ BRK 6 (Hildenberger 1-0; Gagne 2 B Sv; Forster 4 H; Knauss 2 H) [10 Innings]
HRs: SFS – Henderson (3); BRK – Robinson 2 (3), Becker (5).
Box Score

Roy White‘s 3 homeruns and sentimental value earned him the series MVP, over Smokey Joe Williams (1-0, 1.98 and 17 strikeouts in just under 14 innings) and Mike Piazza, who was bidding to win the MVP for the 3rd consecutive postseason series. Piazza hit well–2 homeruns and 6 RBI’s, but ultimately White’s 1.476 OPS and 3 homeruns took home the honors.

For the Sea Lions, it was more about who didn’t show up than who did: Bobby Bonds, Dick Lundy, Turkey Stearnes, Rickey Henderson, and Frank Grant all finished with OPS’ below–and in some cases well below–.700 for the series, with only Jimmie Foxx and Reggie Jackson really putting in decent showings offensively.

Whirled Series II is in the books!

TWIWBL 86.3: Year 2 Whirled Series, Games 1 & 2

By mknn

On January 25, 2026

In 2001 Playoffs, 2001 Whirled Series, TWIWBL

We start with 2 games in San Francisco to open the Whirled Series.

#Game 1. Mon, Oct 22

We’re a little awkward in the rotations, with Brooklyn turning to Smokey Joe Williams to open up the Whirled Series while San Francisco is well positioned, leading off with Lefty Grove. Grove is 3-0 with a 2.53 in the postseason, so call that an edge to the Sea Lions.

Brooklyn opened the scoring with 2 outs in the 3rd as Mike Piazza continued a postseason for the ages, launching his 10th homerun, this one with a runner on. Dan Brouthers doubled home Roy White, making it 3-0. Meanwhile, the Sea Lions were still searching for their first hit off Williams, which finally came in the bottom of the 5th when Reggie Jackson led off the inning with a base hit, but was stranded at 3rd.

Brooklyn chased Grove with hits leading off the 6th, the second a Duke Snider double that scored Brouthers. Tommy Bridges shut them down, keeping the lead at 4-0.

But the story was really Williams: 7 innings, 2 hits, 9 strikeouts. Then, 8 innings, 11 strikeouts. At 103 pitches, that was it for Smokey Joe, with Eric Gagne coming in.

Three up, three down, and the Royal Giants steal a game on the road to open the series, with all credit to Smokey Joe Williams’ magnificent performance.

BRK 4 (Williams 1-1) @ SFS 0 (Grove 3-1)
HRs: BRK Piazza (11)- ; SFS – none.
Box Score

#Game 2, Tue Oct 23

Orel Hershiser (4-0, 2.52 in the postseason) takes the ball for Brooklyn in game 2 to face San Francisco’s Eddie Plank as San Francisco looks to even the series at home against one of the hottest pitchers around.

The Sea Lions’ offense revolve around the fear Rickey Henderson generates: in the top of the first, an error by Ray Dandridge, given the start at SS over Vern Stephens, put the WBL’s stolen base leader at second with no outs. Henderson stole 3rd and scored on a sacrifice fly from Frank Grant.

With one out in the 3rd, San Francisco loaded the bases on a single by Mickey Cochrane and consecutive HBP’s to Henderson and Grant. Reggie Jackson lined a hard shot down the first line, but it was speared by Dan Brouthers, who stepped on first to double up Grant and end the inning.

Brooklyn mounted their first threat in the top of the 4th, on a double by John Briggs. Briggs moved to 3rd on an error by Dick Lundy. Plank whiffed Ron Cey, but Piazza–there’s that man again–drove in 2 with a single, putting the Royal Giants up, 2-1. Beals Becker extended the lead to 3-1 with a solo shot leading off the 6th.

Plank lasted until Roy White led off the 7th with a triple. Tim Hudson fanned 2 and ended the inning on a flyout to right.

Jack Clark and Turkey Stearnes started the 7th with singles for San Francisco. Jimmie Foxx followed with a single, loading the bases and chasing Hershiser, with Brooklyn calling Sandy Koufax in from the bullpen. Koufax induced a grounder back to the mound and fired to Piazza, who stepped on the plate for the first out. Koufax walked Cochrane, forcing in a run and making it a 1 run game at 3-2, but Lundy bounced into a double play, ending the inning.

White extended the lead to 4-2 in the top of the 9th with an RBI single. So we head to the bottom of the 9th with the Royal Giants 3 outs away from a shocking 2-0 lead in the Series.

Once again, it was up to Eric Gagne. A one out walk to Stearnes brought up Foxx as the tying run. And Foxx delivered, sending a ball into the water behind the right field wall. A single from Bonds chased Gagne and a walk to Mickey Cochrane brought up Lundy with 1 out, but Dave Von Ohlen closed it out, sending us to extra innings.

Von Ohlen had to leave the game in the 10th, grabbing at his back after throwing ball 4 to Grant, but Terry Forster shut them down, sending us to the 11th.

White has been the heart and soul of Brooklyn for 2 years: here he went deep in the top of the 11th, putting the Royal Giants back on top, 5-4.

Foxx led off the home 11th with a double. After an intentional walk to Bobby Bonds, Forster got Cochrane to ground into a fielder’s choice. Lundy was walked, and Burleigh Grimes came in to face Henderson. Grimes immediately uncorked a wild pitch, and we were tied once more. Grimes got Grant to bounce back to the mound, and the runner was cut down at the plate. Two outs, bases loaded, and Reggie Jackson at the plate. Jackson whiffed, and off we go to the 12th.

With 2 outs in the 12th, consecutive singles from Jackie Robinson and Dickie Thon put Brooklyn up 8-5. And a strikeout by Foxx ended the game: the Royal Giants win, having swept San Francisco at home and shocking the world with victories in the first 2 games.

White and Foxx were the stars of their respective teams, each with 3 hits and 2 RBIs.

BRK 8 (Grimes 1-0, 1 B Sv; Koufax 2 H; Hildenberger H 4; Gagne 1 B Sv) @ SFS 5 (Beck 0-1)
HRs: BRK – Becker (4), White (3); SFS – Foxx (6).
Box Score

Von Ohlen has a busted disc, with Brooklyn recalling the immensely impressive Dick Redding.