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!

#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.

From the AL, we have the San Francisco Sea Lions, who finished with the best record in the WBL and 103 wins. They’ll face the Brooklyn Royal Giants, who led the NL with 99 regular season wins.

We’ll do a more detailed preview here, as befits the Whirled Series.

#Starting Pitching

What a pair of staffs we have here …

Brooklyn has a legit top 5, and while Frank Knauss hasn’t seen much action in the postseason, when your #5 starter has a WAR of 3.3 and a WHIP of 1.34, you’re doing OK.

Orel Hershiser (19-5, 3.69) will lead the way, followed by Don Drysedale (11-8, 5.66), Smokey Joe Williams (12-13, 3.93), and Fernando Valenzuela (14-5, 3.69). Some things jump out: first, Drysedale’s ERA. At the end of June, Drysedale was 5-4 with a 7.00 ERA. Since then, he shaved nearly a run off his ERA and won 5 in a row before a bit of a late season slump. Second, Smokey Joe’s record, which is largely inexplicable, other than pitching is weird. His FIP, SIERA, OPS against, etc. are all pretty fantastic. 5 of the losses came in games where Williams delivered a game score over 50, so it seems fine to chalk it up to an extraordinary run of bad luck.

But San Francisco can hold their heads high in the matchup, at least in the first 3 spots, where Lefty Grove (16-6, 4.40), Eddie Plank (20-6, 4.42) and Bump Hadley (18-6, 4.10) form the best rotation in the AL. It’s not clear who starts game 4 for San Francisco, but Tim Hudson, Tommy Bridges, Jim Devlin, and Watty Clark all were quite solid during the season.

Still Brooklyn has a top 4, San Francisco has a top 3, and Brooklyn generally allowed about 1/2 a run less. So, edge Brooklyn as San Francisco faces perhaps the only team where that would be true.

#Relief Pitching

San Francisco had a great back end to their bullpen, and then they acquired Joe Nathan. Nathan had racked up 22 saves as Los Angeles’ closer, but slid easily into a setup role with the Sea Lions, combining with Ken Howell to create a bridge to Rod Beck, whose 41 saves led the WBL. The three of them combined for 69 saves and 22 holds over the season, and while each had struggled at times, Beck finished with a 1.00 WHIP and Howell with a 2.79 ERA. Nathan’s arrival moved Huston Street down a notch in the pecking order, but he’s still a reasonable option.

If Beck wasn’t the best closer in the game, Brooklyn’s Eric Gagne was. Gagne had 39 saves and better peripheral numbers than Beck, proving nearly unhittable over the season. Trevor Hildenberger and Terry Forster were fantastic getting him the ball, with solid support from Dave Von Ohlen. Those 3 combined for 34 holds, although there have been some wobbles as of late. Mention must be made as well of Sandy Koufax, who started the year in Brooklyn’s rotation, but has been even more effective since joining the pen. Koufax’s stuff is eye-popping, and he finished the season with a 1.16 WHIP while averaging nearly 10 strikeouts per 9 innings.

Too close to call imo. Call this one even.

#C

Both teams are extremely strong here. Brooklyn’s Mike Piazza might be the best hitting backstop not named Josh Gibson, finishing the year with 48 homers, 117 RBI’s, and a 297/329/614. The Sea Lions’ Mickey Cochrane gets on base more than Piazza, but his over OPS is 60 points lower. Piazza is also on fire, coming into the Whirled Series having been the MVP of both the Wild Card and Division series. So, despite Cochrane slashing 289/371/513 and being a notch above Piazza defensively, the Royal Giants have a clear edge here.

#1B/3B

Ron Cey was Brooklyn’s best offensive player throughout the season, finishing with 47 homers and a 1.038 OPS. At 1B, when healthy, Dan Brouthers has been excellent, slashing 317/363/587 and, when Brouthers was unavailable, the Royal Giants turned to a mixture of Jackie Robinson and Pedro Guerrero.

But San Francisco counters with 100 homeruns and over 200 RBIs between Jack Clark and Jimmie Foxx. Clear edge, San Francisco.

#2B/SS

This one gets complicated.

San Francisco now trots out Dick Lundy and Frank Grant, who came over in a midseason trade. Lundy and Grant have 100 steals between them, and play great defense. Lundy hit better than Grant, but both are above average for their positions. The Sea Lions have Royce Clayton and his shocking .900+ OPS on the bench, along with the very versatile Phil Garner.

2B for Brooklyn is held down by Robinson, generally considered the heart and soul of the Royal Giants while hitting 288/369/549 with 52 steals. So that’s a clear edge for Brooklyn. But SS has been a struggle for the Royal Giants all year, with a mixture of Ray Dandridge and midseason acquisition Vern Stephens. Stephens .800 OPS with Brooklyn has been great, but is also far above his lifetime performance. Dandridge, on the other hand, is hitting over .400 in the postseason, but that’s an OPS 200 points above his season performance.

So, sure, Brooklyn could have the edge here. Could, if Stephens or Dandridge continue to overperform. But you really have to assume the Sea Lions edge it in the middle infield.

#OF/DH

More separation here.

Brooklyn’s trio of John Briggs, Beals Becker, Duke Snider, and Roy White are all good, with roughly 150 homeruns between them. Becker has speed, White gold glove level defense, and their OPS’ run from .934 (Briggs) to .849 (White). So … absolutely solid.

And then there’s San Francisco. Turkey Stearnes, Reggie Jackson, Bobby Bonds, and Rickey Henderson combined for about the same number of homeruns, but Henderson’s 126 steals led the WBL, the defense is comparable, and while Henderson and White have comparable OPS’, Stearnes and Jackson are both solidly above Briggs.

Clear edge to San Francisco.

#Overall

So, it comes down to a question of whether Brooklyn’s edge on the mound can suppress San Francisco’s superior firepower. It’s not clear they can, and while the teams should be quite close, San Francisco won more in the regular season and should prevail here.

But Brooklyn has a shot, and should certainly make it difficult.

Let’s say San Francisco in 6, with 5 of them being close games.

Cleveland’s Cy Young, who needs to improve his performance, will face off against San Francisco’s Lefty Grove, who is doing just fine.

Lance Berkman singled in Tris Speaker in the top of the 1st, and Ron Blomberg took Grove deep in the 2nd. Young gave up an RBI single to Jack Clark and an RBI double to Turkey Stearnes in the 4th to tie it up.

So far, so close, but then San Francisco took the lead on a single from Mickey Cochrane and extended it on a hit from Clark, making it 4-2 Sea Lions after 5.

A solo shot from Jimmie Foxx in the 6th chased Young, and Barry Bonds tripled, scoring on a sacrifice fly. That made it 6-2 Sea Lions, which is how it would end after 8 strong from Grove and a closing inning from Ken Howell.

Stearnes had 3 hits, all doubles, and Clark and Foxx added 2 hits each in the victory.

CLE 2 (Young 1-2) @ SFS 6 (Grove 3-0)
HRs: CLE – Blomberg (1); SFS – Foxx (2).
Box Score

Cleveland’s Firpo Marberry was injured, but it’s not clear yet to what extent.

#Game 2. Mon, Oct 15

Still no update on Marberry, leaving Cleveland an arm short in the pen. They’ll turn to Bob Feller–he of the electric, if erratic, stuff–to even the series, while San Francisco will counter with Tim Hudson, getting his 2nd start of the postseason, although he’ll be on a pretty short leash.

Jimmie Foxx opened the scoring with a solo shot in the bottom of the 2nd, but Willie McCovey tied it up in the 3rd with a longball of his own. Three hits in the game through three innings, three homeruns: Rickey Henderson goes deep in the bottom of the 3rd, giving the Sea Lions a 2-1 edge.

Hudson had been rolling, but a Larry Doby double and Evan Longoria moon shot made it 3-2 Cleveland in the 5th. A walk to Ed Bailey and a single to Chuck Knoblauch brought in Watty Clark from the San Francisco bullpen. Johnny Bates singled in a run, but that was it: 4-2 Spiders.

The Sea Lions bounced back right away: 3 walks and a single brought in a run and chased Feller, with Whit Wyatt entering the game with the bases loaded, no outs, and the top of the order due up. Wyatt fanned Henderson, but Cleveland’s shortstop, Arky Vaughan, misplayed a perfect double play ball, scoring a run on the error and leaving the bases loaded. Reggie Jackson stepped up and took advantage, lofting a pitch over the right field wall for a grand slam and an 8-4 lead for San Francisco. Foxx added his second of the game, a 2 run shot, and a walk to Bonds ended Wyatt’s somewhat disastrous showing.

But at the end of all that, 8 runs had scored and San Francisco was up by 6, 10-4. More runs were scored–McCovey went deep again, and Frank Grant hit one out for San Francisco–but the game was decided.

Vaughan’s error was the key moment, as it set the stage for Jackson’s decisive grandslam.

We head to Cleveland with San Francisco holding a 2-0 lead.

CLE 5 (Feller 1-1) @ SFS 12 (Clark 1-1)
HRs: CLE – McCovey 2 (2), Longoria 2; SFS – Foxx 2 (4), Henderson (2), Jackson (6), Grant (1).
Box Score

Marberry tore his labrum, and will be out for a few months. Cleveland brought Claude Passeau onto the playoff roster to take his place.

#Game 3, Wed Oct 17

San Francisco will look to increase their series lead to 3-0 behind Eddie Plank while Cleveland will look to defend their home turf with Bill Steen on the mound.

Bobby Bonds put San Francisco ahead 1-0 with a solo shot in the 2nd and Reggie Jackson doubled it with his 7th homer of the postseason in the 3rd. Singles from Turkey Stearnes and Jimmie Foxx chased Steen, who had whiffed 6, but also walked 4 in just over 4 innings of work. Claude Passeau came in and immediately induced a double play to end the inning.

Meanwhile Plank had a 2 hit shutout into the 6th. But Evan Longoria went deep after a Lance Berkman double, tying the game. Jack Clark answered with a solo shot in the 7th, giving the Sea Lions the lead again, 3-2.

Larry Doby singled home the tying run in the bottom of the 8th, but Cleveland’s closer, Terry Adams, gave up a 3 run shot to Foxx in the 9th. That brought in the Sea Lions closer, Rod Beck, for the bottom of the 9th with the home fans a little dejected and desperate.

Steve Sax singled, but Beck whiffed 2 and got Tris Speaker to line out softly to second to end the game, giving San Francisco a perhaps insurmountable 3-0 lead in the series.

Foxx and Lundy had 3 hits each for San Francisco.

SFS 6 (Howell 1-0, 1 B Sv; Beck 2 Sv; Nathan 1 H) @ CLE 3 (Adams 0-1)
HRs: SFS – Bonds (5), Jackson (7), Foxx (5); CLE – Longoria (3).
Box Score

#Game 4, Thu Oct 18

With everything on the line, Cleveland will turn to Yordano Ventura on a short leash, while San Francisco will ask Bump Hadley to close out the series.

Mickey Cochrane launched his first homer of the postseason in the top of the first, but Cleveland is here to fight: Arky Vaughan took Hadley deep with Johnny Bates on to give the Spiders the lead, 2-1 after 1 inning. Cochrane would score the tying run in the 4th, doubling, moving to 3rd on a wild pitch, and scoring on a Reggie Jackson sacrifice fly to deep right. Jack Clark followed with a homerun, giving the Sea Lions a 3-2 edge.

Ventura lasted 5 innings, leaving trailing by a run, but not having pitched poorly. Cochrane greeted his replacement, Pat Malone, with his 3rd hit of the day and Malone then plunked Jackson. But he recovered, striking out the side to keep it a very close game.

Dick Lundy drove in a run with a single in the 7th, chasing Malone and extending the lead to 4-2. San Francisco scored twice in the 9th, on an inside the park homerun from Turkey Stearnes and a more traditional bomb from Frank Grant.

So, bottom of the 9th, closer Rod Beck in for the Sea Lions, and a 6-2 advantage. Lance Berkman walked, but Beck was effective, ending the game–and the series–on a double play ball by Larry Doby.

Cochrane and Lundy had 3 hits each for San Francisco, who after being pushed to the brink in the Wild Card Round, found their regular season form here, easily brushing Cleveland aside.

SFS 6 (Hadley 2-0; Clark 1 H; Street 1 H) @ CLE 2 (Ventura 1-1)
HRs: SFS – Cochrane (1), Clark (5), Stearnes (3), Grant (2); CLE – Vaughan (3).
Box Score

Jimmie Foxx was the easy choice for MVP, hitting .500 in the series with 5 homers and 7 RBIs.

The opening game will see Detroit’s Charlie Root taking on San Francisco’s Lefty Grove.

With Hank Greenberg out, Detroit will insert JD Martinez into the lineup, with Juan Beníquez taking over for Greenberg at 1B. They’ll also opt for more offense, with both Ray Chapman and Tony Lazzeri starting the game at SS and 2B respectively.

The game was scoreless until Reggie Jackson took Root deep in the bottom of the 2nd. Rickey Henderson added a 2-run shot in the 3rd, increasing the lead to 3-0. And then it was Bobby Bonds‘ turn, with a 2 run shot for a 5-0 lead.

Meanwhile, Grove was dealing, allowing only 2 hits through 5 innings.

Root settled down and made it through 6 innings before yielding to Justin Verlander.

Oscar Gamble broke up the shutout with a homerun in the 8th, a blow that also chased Grove from the game.

In the top of the 9th, Ken Howell gave up a pinch-hit double to Victor Martinez, who was replaced by pinch-runner Charlie Gehringer. Howell uncorked consecutive wild pitches, and Gehringer came home, closing the score to 5-2. But Howell got out of it, and San Francisco opened the series with a win.

The story of the game was really Grove, who allowed 4 hits and 1 run while fanning 5 in 7+ innings.

DET 2 (Root 0-1) @ SFS 5 (Grove 1-0)
HRs: DET – Gamble (1); SFS – Jackson (1), Henderson (1), Bonds (1).
Box Score

#Game 2, Fri Oct 5

The mercurial Hal Newhouser will take the ball for Detroit, with San Francisco looking to Eddie Plank–1 of only 2 20 game winners this year in the WBL–to extend the Sea Lions’ edge to 2 games to none.

Again, Detroit is stacking its lineup, trading extra offense for Ty Cobb‘s lack of skill patrolling CF.

It looked like they would need all of that and more as Newhouser surrendered 5 consecutive hits to start the game: a double by Rickey Henderson, singles by Dick Lundy and Reggie Jackson, a 3 run homer from Jack Clark (Lundy had already brought Henderson home), and a single by Turkey Stearnes. Royce Clayton drove in 2 more before Henderson grounded out to end the inning with San Francisco up, 6-0.

Ernie Lombardi took Plank deep in the 3rd for Cleveland’s first hit, and Ray Chapman did the same for their second, making it 6-2. But Newhouser continued to struggle, eventually walking Henderson with the bases loaded, making the score 7-2 and bringing in Johnny Marcum from the Wolverines’ bullpen. Lundy greeted Marcum with a bases clearing triple, and it just got worse from there for Detroit.

By the time it was over, San Francisco had pounded out 23 hits and 17 runs, winning easily, 17-4.

Stearnes had 4 hits, Clark drove in 5, and Henderson scored 4 times in the rout.

DET 4 (Newhouser 0-1) @ SFS 17 (Plank 1-0)
HRs: DET – Lombardi (1), Chapman (1), Martinez (1); SFS – Clark (1), Stearnes (1).
Box Score

#Game 3, Sun Oct 7

Detroit will turn to Connie Johnson, trying to win their first game of the series while San Francisco will counter with Bump Hadley. Johnson has been fine since Detroit brought him over midseason, while Hadley is the third jewel in San Francisco’s rotation, finishing the season with a record of 18-6.

Detroit took an early lead, with Ty Cobb singling, stealing 2nd, and scoring on a Hank Greenberg single, but the lead was short-lived, as Turkey Stearnes doubled home Jack Clark. Stearnes would hit one out in the top of the 4th, giving San Francisco the 2-1 edge.

But in the bottom of the frame, Al Kaline hit 1 out with Oscar Gamble on first and Ernie Lombardi scored on a Chili Davis sac fly. 4-2 Detroit. Johnson was chased in the 5th via a Dick Lundy triple, a double from Rickey Henderson, and a 2-run shot from Reggie Jackson. Jimmie Foxx added an RBI single, and the Sea Lions now had a 2 run lead, 6-4.

Lundy added a solo shot in the top of the 6th, but Gamble answered with a homer of his own in the bottom of the inning. JD Martinez delivered a pinch-hit single, scoring a run and chasing Hadley. Watty Clark loaded the bases, bringing up Cobb, who delivered a 2-run single, and the see-saw kept moving, with Detroit now leading, 8-7.

Detroit added runs in the 8th on consecutive doubles from Martinez and Charlie Gehringer, followed by a massive moon shot from Bob Bailey, giving them a 4 run edge heading into the top of the 9th.

Chad Bradford allowed a couple baserunners, but was able to close it out, and Detroit clawed their way back into the series with their first win.

Cobb had 3 hits on the day, but the game was really won by the effectiveness of Troy Percival, Buddy Napier, and Bradford, who combined for 3 innings of 1-hit relief to end the game.

SFS 7 (Clark 0-1, 1 B Sv) @ DET 11 (Verlander 1-0; Percival 1 H; Napier 1 H)
HRs: SFS – Stearnes (2), Jackson (2), Lundy (1); DET – Kaline (1), Gamble (2), Bailey (1).
Box Score

#Game 4, Mon Oct 8

If Detroit is to fulfill the role of underdog, this is a pretty important game. The Wolverines would turn to the relatively unheralded Pete Conway–who might be their best starter right now–while the Sea Lions would trot out veteran Tim Hudson. The 38 year old Hudson has been dominant since his return from a long-term injury, so we may see just how much he has in the tank.

With Chili Davis still looking for his first hit in the postseason, Detroit opted for its offensive lineup with Ty Cobb taking over in center, opening the DH spot for JD Martinez.

The Sea Lions started hot: a Rickey Henderson triple followed by a sacrifice fly from Mickey Cochrane and a solo homerun from Reggie Jackson gave San Francisco an early 2-0 edge. Al Kaline got 1 back with a solo shot in the second, and Bob Bailey tied the game with a homerun of his own in the 3rd.

Jimmie Foxx was tossed from the game for arguing balls and strikes, bringing Sal Bando in for San Francisco at 3B.

Then Kaline took Hudson deep for his second of the game, putting Detroit on top, 4-2. Singles from Martinez and Bailey chased Hudson, with Martinez scoring on a sacrifice fly. 5-2.

Jackson went deep for the second time, but Kaline drove in another, keeping Detroit’s 3 run cushion at 6-3 through 5. Conway was done at that point, with Detroit turning the ball over to Jack Wilson, who kept San Francisco scoreless until the 8th, when Buddy Napier took the mound.

Napier gave up a single to Cochrane and a double to Jack Clark, bringing up Turkey Stearnes, who singled home a run, but Bando bounced into a double play, leaving the score 6-4. Which is where it stood when Chad Bradford came in for the save. He surrendered a double to Dick Lundy, but that was it and, improbably, the Wolverines have made it a best of 3 series.

Kaline drove in 4 on 3 hits for Detroit, and now has 3 homers and 7 RBIs in the series.

SFS 4 (Hudson 0-1) @ DET 6 (Conway 1-0; Bradford 1 Sv; Wilson 1 H; Napier 2 H)
HRs: SFS – Jackson (2) 4; DET – Kaline 2 (3), Bailey (2).
Box Score

#Game 5, Tue Oct 9

Suddenly, there is only 1 series still in doubt, and it wasn’t the one anyone would have predicted: we’re looking at a best 2-out-of-3 to see who plays Cleveland for the AL crown.

We would see a rematch of the first game, with Lefty Grove taking on Charlie Root.

Detroit continues to juggle its lineup, once again starting Ty Cobb in CF, but benching Juan Beníquez in this game in favor of Oscar Gamble‘s hot hand.

The Sea Lions scored 2 in the top of the first on a homerun from Jack Clark, but it could have been much worse: Ernie Lombardi threw out Rickey Henderson on an attempted steal, and Al Kaline gunned down Mickey Cochrane on the basepaths.

But Detroit answered immediately: Gamble doubled and scored on a single from Cobb. Cobb was gunned down trying to steal a pitch before Hank Greenberg hit a homerun to tie the game.

This feels like a wild one: Bobby Bonds walked, stole 2nd and 3rd, and scored on a passed ball then, in the 3rd, Henderson scored on a walk, steal, sacrifice bunt, and sacrifice fly. Bonds added a more traditional run–a solo homer– in the 4th, making it 5-2, San Francisco in a game where Grove was a little rough–8 strikeouts through 4 innings, but also 7 hits allowed.

A walk to Clark to lead off the 6th chased Root. His relief, Johnny Marcum, struggled, giving up a run-scoring single to Dick Lundy, and walked Henderson with the bases loaded for another. Steve Howe came in and finished the inning, but the damage was done: San Francisco now led 7-2.

Bob Bailey went deep in the 6th, but Grove finished out the frame and, from there, the game slowly slipped further away from Detroit.

Until Lombardi launched a grand slam in the 8th. That made it 12-8, but a 4 run gap is far better than the 9 runs they entered trailing by. Bonds added his 2nd of the game in the 9th, making the score 13-8 heading to the bottom of the frame.

Kaline launched a 3 run shot with 2 outs, closing to 13-11 and forcing the Sea Lions to bring in Rod Beck … who closed it out for the key Game 5 win for San Francisco.

Lundy had 4 hits and Bonds 3 while scoring 4 times. Jackson and Clark each drove in 3 with 2 homers each. For Detroit, Lombardi had 4 RBIs with the grandslam, and Kaline drove in 3 in the losing effort.

On the mound, Grove was just good enough, and Marcum, Howe, and Justin Verlander were all far too poor for the Wolverines.

SFS 13 (Grove 2-0; Beck 1 Sv) @ DET 11 (Root 0-2)
HRs: SFS – Clark 2 (3), Bonds 2 (3), Jackson (5); DET – Greenberg (1), Bailey (3), Lombardi (2), Kaline (4).
Box Score

#Game 6, Thu Oct 11

We’re back in San Francisco for the final 2 games of the series, with Detroit in a must-win situation. We’ll get the rematch from Game 2–Detroit’s Hal Newhouser, who was roughed up, against San Francisco’s 20 game winner, Eddie Plank.

Ray Chapman led off the game with a dinger, but Turkey Stearnes evened it up with an RBI single in the bottom of the 1st. Newhouser continued to struggle, giving up a 3 run shot to Jimmie Foxx in the bottom of the 3rd, which gives San Francisco a 4-1 lead.

Meanwhile, Plank was near-perfect into the 5th, when he gave his 2nd hit, another solo homer, this one to Oscar Gamble. A walk to Bob Bailey and a deep shot from JD Martinez later, and we were all tied at 4.

Newhouser made it into the 5th, making it a much better performance than his first start of the series, but still not up to par. Plank looked better, but the results spoke loudly: with 2 outs in the 7th, Martinez launched his 2nd of the day, putting the Wolverines up, 5-4.

Buddy Napier came in for Detroit in the bottom of the 8th, and a walk to Bobby Bonds and a hit from Cochrane created a difficult situation, but Napier got Henderson to bounce into a double play, ending the inning.

Nursing the 1 run lead, Chad Bradford gave up a 2 out single to Jack Clark, bringing up Stearnes, who was 3-for-4 on the day and hitting .520 for the series. But Bradford got the groundout, and we were heading to a Game 7!

This has to be thought of as a game that got away: San Francisco outhit Detroit 11-4, but the Sea Lions left 10 runners on base and could not deliver what was needed to clinch.

DET 5 (Marcum 1-0; Bradford 2 Sv; Howe 1 H; Napier 3 H) @ SFS 4 (Plank 1-1)
HRs: DET – Chapman 2, Martinez 2 (3); SFS – Foxx (1).
Box Score

#Game 7, Fri Oct 12

So, here we are: game seven for all the marbles with Detroit’s Connie Johnson taking on San Francisco’s Bump Hadley. As has been true the entire series, the matchup favors the Sea Lions, but the Wolverines don’t really care.

San Francisco struck first, with Jack Clark singling home Rickey Henderson, who had doubled and stole 3rd. That gave Clark 9 RBIs in the 7 games, certainly putting him in the MVP conversation. In the bottom of the 3rd, Dick Lundy singled, stole 2nd, moved to 3rd on a groundout, and scored on a sacrifice fly from Mickey Cochrane. That made it 2-0 San Francisco, with Hadley looking good.

In the top of the 5th, a walk and steal by Bob Bailey and an error at 3B by Jimmie Foxx put runners on the corners with 2 outs, but Hadley got Ray Chapman to fly out weakly to RF to end the inning.

Reggie Jackson–likely ahead of Clark in the MVP discussion–tripled home a run in the 5th, increasing the lead to 3-0 and Bobby Bonds made it 4-0 with a solo homer in the 6th, chasing Johnson. This is a must-win, so starter Pete Conway was called in from the pen.

Hadley had a 2 hit shutout through 8 innings, but he was also at 105 pitches in a Game 7, and the Sea Lions decided to take no chances, calling on closer Rod Beck. Back gave up a single to Oscar Gamble, but whiffed Ty Cobb, retired Gamble on a fielder’s choice, and retired Kaline on a fly to left.

So the Sea Lions do progress, but you have to tip your hat to Detroit, taking the best team in the league to a full 7 games.

Gamble had 2 of Detroit’s 3 hits, capping an excellent series (he, along with Kaline and Martinez were the best hitters for the Wolverines). Bonds and Royce Clayton had 2 hits each in the game, but this was really Hadley’s game, and arguably the finest starting performance of the postseason.

DET 0 (Johnson 0-1) @ SFS 4 (Hadley 1-0)
HRs: DET – none; SFS – Bonds (4).
Box Score

There were a lot of choices for MVP, prompted by the Sea Lions 3 games with double-digit runs. The award went to Dick Lundy, who hit .538 with 7 RBI’s in the series. But an argument could be made for Reggie Jackson, who had 5 homers and 11 RBI’s, or for Lefty Grove, who was 2-0 with an ERA under 3.00.

Previews are in order of seeding, starting with the Sea Lions

#San Francisco Sea Lions

San Francisco won 103 games this year and was the dominant team for almost all of the season. As such, postseason expectations are high, and warrantably so.

The front of their rotation can match up against anyone, with Lefty Grove (16-6, 4.40), Eddie Plank (20-7, 4.42), and the impressive rookie, Bump Hadley (18-6, 4.10) as dominant as they come. The back end of the bullpen is equally strong: Rod Beck led the league in saves with 41, Ken Howell was his usual spectacular self, and Joe Nathan was obtained via trade for the 7th.

Offensively, the Sea Lions are led by the presumptive AL Rookie of the Year, Turkey Stearnes, but he’s far from the only force: Rickey Henderson led the league in steals, Reggie Jackson and Jack Clark each had over 100 RBIs, and Clark, Stearnes, Jackson, and Jimmie Foxx each hit over 40 homeruns.

Even an injury that will prevent Frank Grant from seeing action for a week or 2 has an upside, as it clears playing time for Royce Clayton, who has an OPS over .900 as a reserve IF.

With Grant unavailable, the final spot on the playoff roster came down to a choice between Tommy Bridges and Wayne Gross, with the Sea Lions deciding to go with the the extra bat off the bench.

#New York Black Yankees

90 wins and a Bill James Division Title earned the Black Yankees the 2nd seed in the AL.

The story of the Black Yankees has remained the same over 2 seasons and numerous roster moves: can the bullpen do enough to support good starting pitching and an excellent offense?

Goose Gossage was given closer duties midway through the season and has been excellent overall, but getting to him as been challenging to say the least, prompting New York to overpay for Hoyt Wilhelm as a bridge between the starters, the erratic Aroldis Chapman, and Gossage.

Andy Pettitte has taken over the #1 slot from Ron Guidry, and after those 2 it’s a bit of a tossup between Dave Righetti, Pascual Pérez, and the surprising Tony Brizzolara.

Offensively, the team is a beast, with Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Mickey Mantle combining for over 200 HRs with star level support from Mike Schmidt, Eric Davis, and Rogers Hornsby.

Had he been recalled earlier, the surprising Josh Harrison would have made the playoff roster, but instead Jeff Nelson comes along as an extra bullpen arm.

#Cleveland Spiders

Cleveland faded down the stretch, finishing a game behind the Black Yankees. Still, a solid season for the Spiders, who relied on an impressive offense and a pitching staff that, while lacking star power, remained dependable top to bottom.

Cy Young led the way with 15 wins, but Bob Feller and Bill Steen were probably better as starters. Yordana Ventura started well this season, but faded and may be relegated to bullpen duty. Al Smith has locked down a spot in the pen, teaming with Cory Gearrin to get the ball to closer Terry Adams.

7 everyday starters sport OPS’ over .900, including the 33 year-old, late season callup, Willie McCovey. McCovey’s performance makes the roster a little heavy in 1B/DH/Corner OF types, with Lance Berkman, Ron Blomberg, and John Ellis all fitting that role, but 17 HRs in under 40 games can’t be ignored.

The key to the offense remains evil CF Tris Speaker, but Berkman, who led the Spiders in HR and RBI, isn’t far behind. A late season surge–including 4 homers on the final day of the season–has moved Larry Doby into that conversation, and Evan Longoria and Arky Vaughan have laid full claim to the 3B and SS roles, which were question marks for Cleveland earlier in the season.

Everyone makes the postseason roster, even the disappointing Louis Santop who, after starring last season, forgot how to hit and lost most of his playing time to mid-season acquisition Ed Bailey. Bailey has a bruised thigh, and will be unavailable for the first few games of the opening series, meaning Santop or Ellis will likely start behind the plate.

#Detroit Wolverines

A tailspin at the end of the year forced Detroit into a 1 game playoff for the final Wild Card spot, which they won handily. For that effort, they receive a matchup with San Francisco, in which they will be a significant underdog.

Still, it’s hard to count a team with Ty Cobb, he of the 386/440/841 slash line, out.

Cobb, however, didn’t lead the Wolverines in OPS–that honor fell to JD Martinez who just kept demanding more playing time as the season wore on. It’s only 125 PAs, but still. Hank Greenberg and Al Kaline provide significant support, and behind them, well, nobody is a star but nobody is bad. Oscar Gamble, Juan Beníquez, Ernie Lombardi, and Bob Bailey all have OPS’ over .850. Greenberg is out for the first game or 1, which is a significant blow for Detroit.

The middle infield is an open question, but Charlie Gheringer seems to have locked down 2B and a mixture of Tony Lazzeri and Ray Chapman are producing surprising offense from SS. There is an outside chance Bobby Wallace–obtained to be the solution at SS–is back during the postseason. We’ll see.

The weakness of this team is the starting pitching: Charlie Root was the only constant, and he was pretty mediocre. Hal Newhouser has an explosive arm, but an erratic track record, and after him, we’re looking at trade acquisition Connie Johnson and the surprising Pete Conway.

Closer Mike Henneman is still trying to recover from a back issue, meaning the bullpen will revolve around Chad Bradford, Steve Howe, Troy Percival, and Buddy Napier. Howe and Percival were obtained via trade and have been fairly inconsistent.

The final roster spot came down to a choice between George Bechtel and Johnny Marcum, with Detroit opting for Marcum’s experience, but neither have been very good this year.

#Predictions

San Francisco is just too good. Detroit can take some hope from having split the season series with the Sea Lions at 7 games each. But it just feels like too big of an ask.

San Francisco in 5.

The other series is just a continuation of a back-and-forth battle all season. The teams are completely familiar to each other, having met 23 times in the regular season, with Cleveland taking 12 wins against New York’s 11.

That feels right for the playoffs as well.

My head says New York in 7, but my heart says Cleveland takes advantage of yet another bullpen implosion to take the final game. We’ll see.

And that is that, the regular season for Year 2 is in the books!

We’ll focus on the playoff series this week, so this overall TWIWBL will be a bit brief–but we do have end of month awards!

This TWIWBL will actually be more than 1 week, as we’re going to cover the entirety of the first round playoff series.

#Awards

The Batter of the Month awards went to two sluggers completing historically outstanding years. In the AL, it went to the New York Black Yankees‘ Babe Ruth, who finished strong with 16 homers and 33 RBI and a .337 average in September. In the NL, it was Philadelphia‘s superstar, Aaron Judge, who had an even better month, with 17 homeruns and 35 RBIs.

The NL Pitcher of the Month was a bit of a yawner with Indianapolis‘ Luis Padrón capping a magical season by going 4-0 with a 2.05 ERA in September, resulting in his claiming the overall ERA crown by .01. More on that later.

Over in the AL, it was Miami‘s Phenomenal Smith, who returned from a long-term injury without missing a beat, going 5-0 with a 1.98 ERA as the Cuban Giants pushed (ultimately unsuccessfully) for a postseason spot.

The likely overall AL Rookie of the Year was also the Rookie of the Month in September: San Francisco‘s Turkey Stearnes hit .425 with 8 homers in the month. Over in the NL, one of the better stories of the year, Houston‘s Gorman Thomas, took home the honor. Thomas is a 31 year-old rookie, making the most of his opportunity with 12 homeruns in the month as he carried the Colt 45’s to their first pennant.

#Chicago American Giants

George Grantham hit 2 homeruns and scored 4 times as the American Giants topped Cleveland 8-7 in 15 innings, as Chicago continued to play spoiler to the teams vying for postseason spots.

#Los Angeles Angels

Scott Rice, who has been useful as a lefty from the pen, is done for the season, heading to the DL with a strained shoulder. Ross Reynolds was recalled from a rehab assignment to take his place.

Eddie Joost hit a walkoff homerun as the Angels edged Baltimore, 4-3. But the real story was Julio Teheran who allowed only 3 hits over 7 innings in his first career start.

#Miami Cuban Giants

Gary Sheffield was activated from the DL as Miami makes an improbable push for the final AL Wild Card spot.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Walter Ball looks to be fully recovered, combining with Johan Santana and Dick Jones on a 4-hit shutout of San Francisco. The Sea Dogs were led by 3 hits and 3 RBI’s from Ken Griffey, Jr. in the 7-0 win.

Elvis Andrus‘ time in the WBL came to an end with Hughie Jennings‘ return from the DL.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

With San Jose knocked out of the playoffs at AAA, the Sea Lions were able to fully expand their roster, recalling P Red Ehret, OF Josh Reddick, 1B Wally Joyner, and C Gene Oliver.

With expectations high for the postseason, look for the Sea Lions to limit the remaining starts of their big 3 of Lefty Grove, Eddie Plank, and Bump Hadley.

Oliver hit 2 out, helping Plank win his 19th game of the season as San Francisco topped Detroit, 9-5.

Turkey Stearnes went deep twice, but the Sea Lions fell to Detroit, 5-4. The loss left San Francisco sitting on 99 victories on the year, with a week left to see how far over a century they can go.

Only 6 players are officially full time (that is, they qualify for the batting stats): IF Jimmie Foxx, OFs Turkey Stearnes, John Briggs, Adam Dunn, and Ichiro Suzuki, and everywhere playing Charles Rogan. That group probably forms the core of the shortlist for the final Rookie of the Year Award: if you’re able to hold down a fulltime starting spot as a rookie in the WBL …

#C

Perhaps unsurprisingly, there are no fulltime rookie catchers, although 2–Philadelphia’s Bill Dickey and the House of David’s Frank Chance–have seen more and more time as the season has worn on.

Really, that’s it. Chance has played about 3/4 of the time behind the plate, so the playing time is pretty consistent. So … Tom Haller (who is likely to not have a very long career, although he’ll be retained as the backup in Baltimore next season for sure) in the AL and Dickey in the NL.

#1B/3B

The corner IF spots are a bit rough, given the high end talent in the AL and the lack of presence in the NL.

Foxx’s being the only rookie infielder to qualify for the batting championship gives him the lead, despite Ortiz’ remarkable production. Foxx played a little more at 1B than 3B, but given the paucity of hot corner candidates, may get the recognition there, clearing the way for Ortiz.

Pafko played as much in RF as 3B, but we needed more 3B here. Harris is a nice feel-good story–nothing like a 36 year old rookie come good.

#2B/SS

2 of the best here–Cal Ripken, Jr. and Judy Johnson–played regularly elsewhere (including 3B), but logged the majority of their innings in the middle infield.

Interesting list, with Gehringer being the only truly full time player for the entire season, although both Moore and Ripken are close enough to count. The lack of talent at 2B and in the NL is striking.

#OF

Here we have the clear overall RoY from the field players, but there’s more to chew on here than Turkey. Sorry.

We’re not going to be too picky about positions here, going with Stearnes, Kaline, and J-Rod in the AL and Briggs, Rogan, and Foster in the NL; or perhaps Monday, if you want to recognize Rogan on the mound.

The surprises here are probably Briggs (who had an army of doubters, but is 2nd here in WAR) and Monday, whose offense just kept demanding more and more playing time. And mention has to be made of Beníquez–35 years old and a dominant year. He played 1B and 3B as well, so may see recognition there.

#SP

A dozen rookies made 10 or more starts; of those, a half-dozen are worth taking a closer look at.

Foster is the clear class of this group, but Smokey Joe is a very close 2nd. I would add Whitney and Valenzuela to the award list, giving Brooklyn 2 of the 4 slots.

#RP

There aren’t a ton of relievers who are impactful enough to really warrant discussion here, but there are some.

Marberry, McGraw, Forster, and Guardado look pretty solid.

This week we have more playoff updates, and a look at the best rookies so far this year.

#Awards

Freddie Freeman is immediately showing he belongs at this level for Los Angeles, with the recent acquisition earning the AL Player of the Week Award, hitting .579 for the week with 4 homeruns. Over in the NL, Brooklyn‘s Duke Snider took home the Player of the Week with a .600 (!) average and 5 homers.

#Team Performance

#AL

The San Francisco Sea Lions have clinched the Cum Posey Division.

The New York Black Yankees have taken a 1 game lead over the Cleveland Spiders in the Bill James Division. Both of these teams will make the postseason, with the 3rd place team in the Bill James, the Detroit Wolverines, leading the Miami Cuban Giants by 4.5 games for the final AL playoff spot.

So, barring some real drama, the only race here is between the Spiders and the Black Yankees for playoff seeding.

#NL

The Effa Manley is a bit of a mirror of the Cum Posey, with the Brooklyn Royal Giants playing out the string, riding a 15.5 game lead over second place Philadelphia, with the Stars currently the highest ranked Wild Card team as well.

And then it gets messy.

Houston has surged in front of the Kansas City Monarchs, with the Colt 45’s leading the Marvin Miller Division by 2.5 games now. However, 3 more teams (Indianapolis, Homestead, and the House of David) are within 2.5 games of the final Wild Card spot, with Birmingham and the New York Gothams only 4 games back. All of that means that only the Ottawa Mounties (5.5 games off the Wild Card, but having 5 teams in the way) have really given up on the season.

#Player Performance

#Batters

It’s late in the year, so there is less churn in these lists. Let’s focus on the races that are still up for grabs.

Ty Cobb‘s lead in most categories is significant, but his 15 triples is only ahead of Houston’s Pete Hill by 1, with Bullet Joe Rogan and Turkey Stearns staying close with 13 each.

Miami’s José Canseco is holding onto the homerun lead with 62. He’s trailed by 2 Black Yankees: Babe Ruth with 59 and Lou Gehrig with 56.

Rickey Henderson is ahead of Ottawa’s Tim Raines by 3 in the stolen base race, 108 to 105.

Top 2 in most categories.

Ron Blomberg (CLE). 279/346/639. 129 RBI.
José Canseco (MCG). 251/357/717. 62 HR.
Ty Cobb (DET). 382/436/827. 195 H, 59 2B, 15 3B, 135 R, 8.6 WAR.
Josh Gibson (HOM). 395/493/791. 9.7 WAR.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 248/376/431. 95 BB, 108 SB.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 354/407/611. 64 2B.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 269/402/694. 59 HR, 139 RBI, 125 R, 104 BB.

In the less glorious stats, sitting on 197, the Black Yankees’ Mickey Mantle is guaranteed to top 200 strikeouts on the season.

#Pitchers

Luis Padrón continues to totally dominate, winning his 20th and 21st game over the past week. Sitting at 21-3, Padrón has been the best starter in the league for most of the season. With only a few weeks left, it’s possible nobody else reaches 20 victories, but we’ve listed all 5 of the other hurlers with at least 16 wins.

A couple active streaks of note: José Rijo, Padrón’s teammate on the Indianapolis ABC’s, hasn’t allowed a run in 21 innings, and Brooklyn’s Sandy Koufax is riding a streak of 10 innings without giving up a hit.

#Starters

On the one hand, this list could be 3 names long: A. Rube Foster, Padrón, and Toad Ramsey.

Top 2 in most categories.

Roger Clemens (HOU). 16-9, 3.61.
A. Rube Foster (KCM). 10-6, 3.21. .187 BA, .211 BABIP, 0.99 WHIP.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 9-7, 4.29. 232 K.
Bump Hadley (SFS). 16-5, 4.15.
Orel Hershiser (BRK). 17-5, 3.87.
José Méndez (MCG). 12-5, 4.37. 206 IP.
Luis Padrón (IND). 21-3, 3.34. 205 IP, 6.2 WAR.
Andy Pettitte (NYY). 17-8, 4.19.
Eddie Plank (SFS). 17-7, 4.55.
Toad Ramsey (HOU). 15-9, 3.18. 248 K, .181 BA, 0.97 WHIP, 3.33 FIP, 7.4 WAR.
Fernando Valenzuela (BRK). 13-5, 3.60. 1 Sv, 4 H, .220 BABIP.
Smokey Joe Williams (BRK). 12-11, 3.87. 3.69 FIP.

#Relievers

Top 2 in most stats, top 3 in saves and holds. 30 Min IP for rate stats, which allows the debut of the amazing start to Bartolo Colón‘s career for Homestead.

Rod Beck (SFS). 4-4, 4.93. 36 Sv, 1 H.
Bartolo Colón (HOM). 1-0, 0.87. 1 H, 0.84 WHIP.
Rheal Cormier (NYY). 0-3, 5.40. 16 H.
Eric Gagne (BRK). 2-3, 2.60. 33 Sv.
Eddie Guardado (KCM). 2-2, 2.20. 1 Sv, 9 H.
Michael Jackson (HOM). 1-7, 5.14. 1 Sv, 20 H.
Josh Lindblom (HOM). 8-4, 3.48. 32 Sv.
BJ Ryan (OTT). 2-3, 4.64. 1 Sv, 16 H.
Lee Smith (KCM). 4-2, 2.79. 6 Sv, 12 H, 0.77 WHIP.

#Injuries

A huge one: Chicago‘s Frank Thomas is out for 8-9 months with a knee injury. The Big Hurt is expected to make a full recovery, but this really will impact the American Giants’ offseason plans, as they will need a 1B for the first half of next season.