Tag: Vern Stephens Page 1 of 4

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

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.

TWIWBL 86.2: Whirled Series Preview!

By mknn

On January 24, 2026

In 2001 Playoffs, 2001 Whirled Series, TWIWBL

And here we are for all the marbles … in the end, it’s the series most people wanted, where the 2 teams with the best records in the regular season meet to decide the champion.

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.

TWIWBL 85.4: NL Championship – Houston Colt 45’s v Brooklyn Royal Giants

By mknn

On January 18, 2026

In 2001 Playoffs, TWIWBL

#Game 1, Sat Oct 13

Both teams will go back to the same pitchers that opened the first series, Toad Ramsey for Houston and Orel Hershiser for Brooklyn.

Houston opted for Jim O’Rourke behind the plate over Jorge Posada, while Brooklyn opts to keep the hot hand in the lineup, keeping Ray Dandridge at SS over Vern Stephens. It’s a hard choice–Ron Cey could be benched, allowing both Dandridge and Stephens to play, but Cey was an offensive juggernaut during the season, so despite his struggles in the series against Indianapolis, Cey retains his cleanup position.

Jim Wynn led off the game with a homerun off Hershiser, but Cey must have heard the muttering, as he touched Ramsey with a 3 run shot in the bottom of the frame (John Briggs and Jackie Robinson had singled). As is so often the case, you anticipate a pitching duel, you get homeruns: Paul Goldschmidt hit the 3rd of the game to cut the lead to 1 and Wynn hit his 2nd of the game to tie it at 3 in the top of the 3rd. Then Piazza hit a solo shot in the bottom of the 4th and Robinson a 2 run shot in the 5th, followed by Cey’s 2nd of the game.

So, yeah, 11 hits in the game with 7 of them being homeruns.

Ramsey picked a horrible time for his worst outing of the season, as the Colt 45’s now trailed, 7-3.

Hershiser was relieved by Burleigh Grimes–solid in the postseason so far, but not today. Doubles from Goldschmidt and George Brett narrowed the score to 7-5.

Grimes was relieved by Dave Von Ohlen, who promptly loaded the bases, bringing in Sandy Koufax, who walked Goldschmidt, but got out of the inning without further damage. It was now a 1 run game, 7-6 Royal Giants, which is how it stood in the 9th, with Eric Gagne coming in to face the heart of Houston’s lineup.

Three up, three down, and Brooklyn leads the series, 1-0.

Robinson, Cey, and Piazza had 2 hits each for Brooklyn with Cey driving in 4 with his pair of homers. Wynn, Gwynn, and Goldschmidt had 2 hits for Houston. Hershiser improved to 3-0 in the postseason, but the real story was Ramsey’s ineffectiveness: always a risk for a knuckler.

HOU 6 (Ramsey 2-1) @ BRK 7 (Hershiser 3-0; Van Ohlen 1 H; Koufax 1 H; Hildenberger 3 H)
HRs: HOU – Wynn 2 (3), Goldschmidt (4); BRK – Cey 2 (3), Piazza (6), Robinson (1).
Box Score

#Game 2, Sun Oct 14

Two pitchers of similar molds will face off, Brooklyn’s Don Drysedale and Houston’s Roger Clemens, with the Colt 45’s trying to steal an away game early in the series.

At long last, Dickie Thon is available for Brooklyn, but Ray Dandridge and Vern Stephens are playing so well, he’ll start his postseason from the bench.

Drysedale walked the first 2 batters, but looked to get out of the inning after striking out Carlos Correa and retiring Jeff Bagwell on a brilliant catch by gold glove candidate Roy White in LF. But then Paul Goldschmidt launched a pitch into the LF seats. George Brett followed with a shot to right and it was 4-0 Houston aver a half inning.

John Briggs singled and stole 2nd and scored on a single from Jackie Robinson in the 4th, putting Brooklyn on the board at 4-1. White scored the following inning on a groundout, cutting the lead in half to 4-2.

Bagwell hit a solo shot in the 6th, and a Brett double chased Drysedale. Frank Knauss came in for his first action of the postseason. Pete Hill singled in Brett, and scored on a hit from Jorge Posada, making it 7-2.

Clemens gave up 2 walks in the 6th, and gave way to Jim Kern. Kern got 2 groundouts, 1 scoring a run, making it 7-3, Houston after 6. Some more runs were scored–3 for Houston and a solo shot by Mike Piazza for Brooklyn–but the outcome was never really threatened.

Goldschmidt and Brett had 2 hits each and Goldschmidt drove in 4 for Houston, but the story was really a solid start from Clemens followed by scoreless relief from Kern, Andrew Chafin, and Tug McGraw.

We are now in a best-of-5, with the action swinging back to Houston.

HOU 10 (Clemens 2-0) @ BRK 4 (Drysedale 1-1)
HRs: HOU – Goldschmidt (5), Brett (2), Bagwell (5); BRK – Piazza (7).
Box Score

#Game 3, Tue Oct 16

Game 3 will see Brooklyn’s Smokey Joe Williams face Houston’s Ice Box Chamberlain, in a matchup of pretty cool nicknames.

Gorman Thomas gets the start in CF for Houston, with Ray Dandridge playing SS for Brooklyn.

After Chamberlain struck out the side in the top of the first, Carlos Correa doubled home Tony Gwynn in the bottom of the inning for a 1-0 Houston lead.

Both pitchers ran into some trouble–Williams had runners on 2nd and 3rd with no outs and Chamberlain the bases loaded with 1–but both worked out of the jams without giving up a run. The Colt 45’s added a run in the 4th on a wild pitch, and 4 more on a 2 run homers in the 5th, 1 from Jim Wynn, the other from Correa.

That chased Williams–who honestly hadn’t pitched that badly, despite the 6 runs allowed.

Meanwhile, Chamberlain had a 4 hit shutout until Mike Piazza hit a solo homerun in the 6th. Bagwell added one of his own, and Houston’s bullpen did the rest as the Colt 45’s took a 2-1 lead in the series.

BRK 1 (Williams 0-1) @ HOU 7 (Chamberlain 1-1)
HRs: BRK – Piazza (8); HOU – Wynn (4), Correa (2), Bagwell (6).
Box Score

#Game 4, Wed Oct 17

Fernando Valenzuela will try to tie the series for Brooklyn, opposed by game 1 starter Toad Ramsey, who will try to get his postseason performance on track.

It didn’t start great for Ramsey: Ron Cey went deep after a walk to Jackie Robinson for a 2-0 Brooklyn lead that held until the 4th, when a triple from Dan Brouthers made it 3-0.

Valenzuela was dominant here early: 0 hits, 1 walk, and 5 strikeouts through 3 innings. Houston touched him for a run in the 5th on a single by George Brett, but that was it.

Duke Snider greeted Jim Kern with a solo shot in the 7th, making it 4-1. In the bottom of the frame, Valenzuela hit Jeff Bagwell and gave up a single to Paul Goldschmidt, which ended his day. Dave Von Ohlen eventually loaded the bases, but escaped the inning unscathed, preserving Brooklyn’s 3 run lead.

Trevor Hildenberger had been effective all year setting up Eric Gagne, but he’s struggled this postseason. Here, he gave up a run when Tony Gwynn doubled in Craig Biggio and allowed the tying runs to score on a 2-run double from Goldschmidt.

So we were tied at 4 heading to the 9th. Tug McGraw set Brooklyn down in the top of the frame and a 1-out double by Jim O’Rourke brought Gagne in from the pen. He did his job, and we were off to extra innings.

Beals Becker led off the 10th with a solo shot off Sparky Lyle. Gagne gave up a leadoff single to Gwynn, but induced a double play from Carlos Correa and whiffed Bagwell, ending the game and tying the series at 2.

BRK 5 (Gagne 1-0; Von Ohlen 2 H; Hildenberger 1 B Sv) @ HOU 4 (Lyle 0-1) [10 Innings]
HRs: BRK – Cey (4), Snider (2), Becker (2); HOU – none.
Box Score

#Game 5, Thu Oct 18

With the series tied at 5, we are looking at a best-of-three at this point. Orel Hershiser will get the ball for Brooklyn while Houston, needing to bridge to its primary starters, will go with Stephen Strasburg over Dock Ellis, although Ellis is at the ready should Strasburg falter.

For the first time in the postseason, Houston will start Craig Biggio behind the plate, giving Bama Rowell a chance to make a difference at 2B.

Dan Brouthers walked and stole 2nd and 3rd before scoring on a groundout from Jackie Robinson, but Biggio did gun down Ron Cey at 2nd to end the inning. Still, it put the Royal Giants up, 1-0.

Mike Piazza and Roy White went back-to-back in the top of the 4th, increasing the lead to 3-0, and generating activity in the Houston bullpen.

The Colt 45’s generated traffic each inning, but Hershiser escaped any real danger until the bottom of the 5th, when Pete Hill singled and Rowell walked, putting runners at 1st and 2nd with no outs. Biggio grounded into a double play, but this time Houston at least got a run, as Hill scored on a passed ball, making it 3-1.

Cey took Strasburg deep, making it 4-1 and summoning Ellis from the pen. An errant throw by George Brett brought in Brooklyn’s 5th run and Robinson forced in a run by getting nicked by a Roberto Osuna pitch. So, 6-1 Brooklyn.

Houston wasn’t done, but it’s a long way back. Biggio went deep in the bottom of the 8th and Brett led off the bottom of the 9th with a solo shot of his own. A single from Hill summoned a somewhat fatigued Eric Gagne from the Royal Giants’ pen.

Gagne struck out the side, retiring Jim O’Rourke, Biggio, and Jim Wynn. No problem.

Hershiser was dominant in a crafty way, improving to 4-0 on the postseason, and Brouthers, Piazza, and Becker each had 2 hits pulling Brooklyn to within 1 win of the Whirled Series.

BRK 6 (Hershiser 4-0; Gagne 4 Sv) @ HOU 3 (Strasburg 1-1)
HRs: BRK – White (2), Piazza (9), Cey (5); HOU – Biggio (1), Brett (3).
Box Score

#Game 6, Sat Oct 20

So, will Brooklyn advance to the Whirled Series, or will Houston force a deciding game 7? It will be a rematch of the hurlers from game 2, with Houston’s Roger Clemens taking on Brooklyn’s Don Drysedale.

Houston took the lead in the top of the first, when Jeff Bagwell doubled in Jimmy Wynn, but a Duke Snider dinger in the 2nd tied the game at 1. Tony Gwynn and Carlos Correa went deep back to back in the 3rd, and George Brett scored Bagwell with a double. When Pete Hill doubled home Brett, Drysedale’s day was done, with Houston now leading 5-1 after 3 innings.

Houston added another, but Clemens was dealing until John Briggs took him deep with a runner on in the 5th, making it 6-3, Houston. Jackie Robinson singled to open up the 6th, prompting Clemens’ removal, much to his dismay. Roy Oswalt entered the game for Houston and promptly got a double play from Ron Cey to lower the threat and an inning-ending groundout from Roy White.

We were 9 outs from a Game 7.

Beals Becker got one back in the 7th with a homerun. 6-4, 6 outs to go for Houston to extend their season.

In the bottom of the 8th, Tug McGraw came on for Houston and gave up an RBI single to Cey and a 2 run homer to Piazza. Brooklyn came all the way back, and now lead 7-6.

Once again they turned to Eric Gagne, looking to close the series. With 2 outs, Goldschmidt took a pitch from Gagne and launched it to deep right … where it was caught at the base of the wall by Becker, sending Brooklyn to the Whirled Series.

As they have all year, Piazza and Robinson were the heart of Brooklyn’s offense, but the real story was on the mound, where Frank Knauss–passed over for postseason starts–gave 3 innings of 1-hit relief, earning the victory.

HOU 6 (McGraw 0-1, 1 B Sv; Oswalt 1 H) @ BRK 7 (Knauss 1-0; Gagne 5 Sv)
HRs: HOU – Gwynn (1), Correa (3); BRK – Snider (3), Briggs (1), Becker (3), Piazza (10).
Box Score

TWIWBL 84.7: NL Wild Card Round – Indianapolis ABC’s v Brooklyn Royal Giants

By mknn

On January 12, 2026

In 2001 Playoffs, TWIWBL

#Game 1, Wed Oct 3rd

Brooklyn surprised some fans by going with Orel Hershiser in the opening game of the series. Hershiser’s credentials are clear–19 wins and a sub 4.00 ERA–but Don Drysedale is (was?) the established ace of Brooklyn’s staff. We’ll see if this fires up Drysedale in Game 2, but that’s for another day.

Today, Hershiser will face the best pitcher in the league, Indianapolis’ Luis Padrón.

The game was scoreless with each hurler allowing only a single hit until Indianapolis’ Johnny Bench took Hershiser deep to lead off the top of the 5th. Hershiser drilled George Foster in the back–as you do–but escaped without allowing additional runs.

The bottom of the 6th saw the first challenge for Padrón: a walk to John Briggs was followed by a single by Jackie Robinson. Padrón whiffed Ron Cey but Mike Piazza took him deep to right, putting Brooklyn on top, 3-1. Even though he was done on the mound, Padrón wasn’t finished, though: he took Hershiser deep in the top of the 7th, once more tying the game.

Clay Carroll took over on the mound from Padrón, and was greeted quite rudely: Duke Snider and Vern Stephens singled and Beals Becker followed with a 3 run shot, doubling the Royal Giants’ advantage to 6-3. Carroll was relieved by Rube Foster, who fared little better as Piazza hit his 2nd of the day, putting Brooklyn on top, 8-3.

Stephens added a solo shot for the final tally, 9-3 in favor of Brooklyn.

Piazza drove in 5 and Stephens and Robinson chipped in with 2 hits each for Brooklyn.

IND 3 (Carroll 0-1) @ BRK 9 (Hershiser 1-0)
HRs: IND – Bench (1), Padrón (1); BRK – Piazza 2 (2), Becker (1), Stephens (1).
Box Score

#Game 2, Thu Oct 4

The key second game would fall to Johnny Cueto for Indianapolis. Brooklyn turns to Don Drysedale, and the question on everyone’s mind is how the big righthander would react to being passed over for the opening game.

Brooklyn’s Dickie Thon continues to be sidelined with an abdominal strain, but Indianapolis has regained the services of OF Emil Frisk, a useful piece off the bench, perhaps.

Drysedale struggled in the top of the first, giving up a double and a walk. But he also whiffed 2, and escaped the frame without harm. Brooklyn would take the lead on a sacrifice fly, taking advantage of an error by Indianapolis’ Barry Larkin, for an early 1-0 lead.

Oscar Charleston took Drysedale deep with a runner on, putting the ABC’s ahead, 2-1. But Indianapolis’ fielding would continue to betray them, with Jackie Robinson reaching on a miscue by Chris Sabo at 3rd and then scoring on a poor throw from Bescher in left on a Ron Cey single. Clearly frustrated, Cueto delivered a belt high fastball to Mike Piazza, who promptly hit it out. 4-2, Brooklyn.

Cueto surrendered another homerun–a solo shot to Vern Stephens–before a John Briggs single chased him from the game.

Drysedale toughed it out through 6 innings, fanning 7 and exiting with the Royal Giants up, 5-2.

Frisk would get his chance: Johnny Bench greeted Burleigh Grimes with a double, and moved to 3rd on a groundout, bringing Frisk to the plate, pinch-hitting for Tommy Helms. But Grimes prevailed, retiring Frisk and Larkin to maintain Indianapolis’ edge.

Bescher atoned for his fielding mistake with a leadoff homerun in the 8th off Terry Forster, but Rob Murphy continued to struggle on the mound, allowing a double to Dan Brouthers and a triple to Jackie Robinson. So we head to the 9th with Brooklyn ahead, 6-3 and Eric Gagne coming in from the bullpen.

Gagne was not his usual self, walking Adam Dunn and Bench to start the 9th. But he recovered, fanning 2 and getting a groundout from Larkin to end the game and put the Royal Giants up, 2 games to nothing.

Piazza’s third homerun in 2 games was key, but the errors were probably more important as only 2 of the runs were earned, leaving Indianapolis’ fans to wonder what if.

IND 3 (Cueto 0-1) @ BRK 6 (Drysedale 1-0; Gagne 1 Sv; Grimes 1 H; Forster 1 H)
HRs: IND – Charleston (1), Bescher (1); BRK – Piazza 1 (3), Stephens (2).
Box Score

#Game 3, Sat Oct 6

We head to Indianapolis for game 3, with Smokey Joe Williams getting the ball for Brooklyn and the ABC’s turning to Eppa Rixey.

Both hurlers delivered, with the game scoreless through 3 innings, but Dan Brouthers led off the 4th with a double and moved to 3rd on a single from Jackie Robinson. Ron Cey grounded into a double-play, scoring the run for a 1-0 edge to the Royal Giants.

Williams only allowed 1 hit through 5 innings, but 5 walks were nudging his pitch count up earlier than Brooklyn would like.

Rixey gave up 2 hits to start the 6th and a sacrifice fly to Dan Brouthers, doubling Brooklyn’s lead and bringing Dolf Luque in from the ABC’s.

The ABC’s got on the board in the 6th when Joey Votto took Williams yard, but Mike Piazza got the run back with a shot to right in the top of the 7th making the score 3-1 in favor of Brooklyn.

Williams stayed in until a single by Adam Dunn in the bottom of the 7th, but the rest of the inning passed without incident. But the ABC’s wouldn’t go without a fight, using a walk and a single to put runners on 1st and 2nd with 1 out in the bottom of the 8th. That brought Sandy Koufax in from the bullpen to face Oscar Charleston and Joey Votto. The runners advanced on a double-steal and Charleston singled in 2 runs, tying the game at 3.

The pitching continued to be solid, and we had the first extra inning game of this year’s postseason.

Brooklyn was the first to threaten, with a Vern Stephens double leading off the 10th. Stephens was replaced by the speedier Ray Dandridge, but Clay Carroll got out of the inning when a hard liner from John Briggs turned into an inning ending double play.

George Foster singled to lead off the bottom of the 11th and after Dave Von Ohlen fanned Dunn, the Royal Giants summoned Eric Gagne from the pen. Gagne walked Luis Padrón and then gave up a game-winning single to Barry Larkin, giving Indianapolis a 4-3 victory that keeps the ABC’s in the series.

BRK 3 (Von Ohlen 0-1; Hildenberger 1 H; Forster 2 H; Koufax 1 BSv) @ IND 4 (Carroll 1-1) [11 Innings]
HRs: BRK – Piazza (4); IND – Votto (1).
Box Score

#Game 4, Sun 7 Oct

Pitching depth begins to matter more and more: for Brooklyn, they get to trot out Fernando Valenzuela, who would be a top of rotation starter for most teams, while Indianapolis goes with Joe Lake, brought over mid-season from Chicago to help bolster their staff.

Brooklyn will give Ray Dandridge his first start of the series while Indianapolis will turn to Ed Charles for the first time, sliding Chris Sabo to DH in an attempt to get more right handed bats against the lefty Valenzuela.

With 2 outs in the bottom of the first, Oscar Charleston and Joey Votto doubled, and Johnny Bench followed with a homerun, making it 3-0.

Dandridge rewarded the faith in him with an RBI single in the 2nd, and then scored on a base hit by John Briggs, making it a 1 run game at 3-2 in favor of the ABC’s.

Charleston took Valenzuela deep with a runner on, but the Royal Giants bounced back with a vengeance: Ron Cey and Mike Piazza went back-to-back with big flies and Dandridge tripled in a run by the time the inning ended, Lake had been replaced by Doc White and Brooklyn held a 1 run advantage, 6-5.

Brooklyn added 2 more, fueled by a 2-out double from Roy White, and Barry Larkin got 1 back for Indianapolis with a solo shot. At that point, both bullpens were fully engaged: Sandy Koufax for Brooklyn and Rube Foster in relief of White for the ABC’s. Koufax gave up a run on another Larkin RBI, so after 6 innings we had a 1 run game, 8-7 in favor of Brooklyn. Roy White took Foster deep and Brouthers added another RBI, giving the Royal Giants a 3 run cushion as they turned to the back end of their bullpen

Brouthers drove in 2 more with a double in the 9th, which became important when Charleston hit a 2 run shot in the bottom of the inning. That fetched Eric Gagne from the bullpen, who was able to close it out for a 12-9 win for Brooklyn, and the all-important 3-1 series lead.

Charleston finished with 3 hits and 4 RBIs in the losing cause; Briggs and Dandridge each had 4 hits for the victors.

BRK 12 (Koufax 1-0; Gagne 2 Sv; Forster 3 H; Hildenberger 2 H) @ IND 9 (Lake 0-1)
HRs: BRK – Piazza (5), Cey (1), White (1); IND – Bench (2), Charleston 2 (3), Larkin (1).
Box Score

#Game 5, Mon Oct 8

With Brooklyn having a chance to clinch, the 2 teams will bring out the same hurlers who faced off in Game 1–Orel Hershiser for Brooklyn and Luis Padrón for Indianapolis.

Pedro Guerrero will see his first action of the series for the Royal Giants while Ed Charles will start at 3B for Indianapolis in place of the struggling Chris Sabo.

Indianapolis would take the lead on a fairly unlikely event–a triple by Johnny Bench, which scored Joey Votto. Hershiser and Padrón were dealing, and the game remained 1-0 through 4 innings. In the top of the 5th, Guerrero came through with an RBI single, driving in 2. Ray Dandridge followed with a single, and Brooklyn had a 3-1 lead.

Padrón went 6, giving up the 3 runs. Duke Snider greeted his replacement, Jack Billingham, with a solo homerun; 2 walks and a hit later, the ABC’s brought in Willie Mitchell. It was a challenging ask: Mitchell came into the game with 1 out and the bases loaded. H walked in a run and gave a single to Mike Piazza, making it 7-1 Brooklyn, with 9 outs to go.

Hershiser got 2 of them, pitching into the 7th, but a walk to Padrón and a 2-out single from Bob Bescher brought Burleigh Grimes in from the pen. Grimes got the final out–a flyout from Charles–and we were off to the 8th.

Frank Knauss–yet to see action the series–was given the chance to close the game out for the Royal Giants. Knauss allowed 2 baserunners in the 9th but eventually got Bescher to groundout, ending the ABC’s season and joining Houston in the Division Series.

Dandridge continued to argue for more playing time, banging out 3 hits in the game, but it was really Hershiser’s performance that sealed the deal.

BRK 7 (Hershiser 2-0) @ IND 1 (Padrón 0-1)
HRs: BRK – Snider (1); IND – none.
Box Score

Mike Piazza took home the MVP Award, hitting .400 with 5 homeruns and 12 RBIs for Brooklyn.

TWIWBL 84.3: NL Playoff Previews

By mknn

On January 8, 2026

In 2001 Playoffs, TWIWBL

Again, in seeding order.

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

Sailing under the radar for most of the season, Brooklyn still managed 99 victories, led by a ridiculously strong pitching staff.

The Royal Giants are one of the a very few teams with a legitimate top 4, and it’s unclear if Don Drysedale‘s 2nd half resurgence earns him a start in the opening game, given that Orel Hershiser (19-5, 3.69), Smokey Joe Williams (12-13, 3.93), and Fernando Valenzuela (14-5, 3.69) each had better seasons than Drysedale’s 11-8, 5.66 record.

The bullpen sports 2 of the dominant relievers of the league, with closer Eric Gagne and setup man Trevor Hildenberger, and Burleigh Grimes and Sandy Koufax provide excellent middle inning help when needed.

The offense is a notch below the pitching: Ron Cey and Mike Piazza are stars, and Dan Brouthers, John Briggs, Jackie Robinson, Beals Becker, and Duke Snider are all quite good. Vern Stephens and Dickie Thon seem to be sufficient at SS, and the versatility of Ray Dandridge helps around the IF, despite his lackluster offense.

George Hendrick has been lights out since being brought over in a trade, and makes the playoff roster ahead of swing starter Jim Bunning.

#Philadelphia Stars

Quite a turnaround for Philly, who were horrible last year, mediocre much of this year, and then turned it on the final few months to finish in 2nd place in the Effa Manley Division.

It’s an odd team in many ways. Clearly, Charles Rogan and his unique combination of a 308/362/620 slash line and legitimate #2 starter mound performances count for a lot, as does Aaron Judge breaking out with an OPS over 1.000, 63 homers, 133 RBI’s, and 108 runs scored. Scott Rolen is excellent at 3B, and Rico Carty held off the demons of age for another productive season.

And then the question marks start … Bill Dickey seems to be the answer behind the plate, but is untested, Sherry Magee could be useful, and the newly acquired Jim Fregosi might finally provide some stability at SS. Seems, could be, might …

The rotation is … odd. Hardie Henderson (18-12, 3.78) is probably the #1, but Steve Carlton‘s stuff is electric, despite a 12-13 record and a 5.05 ERA. Then, Rogan. Behind those, JM Ward has been far, far, far better than his 6-10 record would indicate and lefty Ray Collins is dependable.

Bob Howry, Ted Kennedy, Fred Cambria, and Pedro Feliciano form a solid, no-name bullpen (with trade acquisition Mark Melancon‘s selection to the postseason roster in doubt).

In the end, Melancon made it, as did the disappointing Harry Hooper, but that was more a function of a lack of relevant alternatives than anything else.

#Houston Colt 45’s

Most saw this Houston team as being a year or 2 away, but they kept winning through the Summer, and ended up topping the Marvin Miller Division by a comfortable margin.

The pitching staff is not structured as it was to start the season, as both Stephen Strasburg and Roy Oswalt have struggled mightily all season. Still, it’s a strong opening trio, led by the dominant Toad Ramsey (16-10, 3.23) and Roger Clemens (17-10, 3.71) and the now-healthy Ice Box Chamberlain (4-4, 3.56).

The bullpen has been poor all season, with Sparky Lyle (brought over to be the closer) struggling and Tug McGraw having his issues as well. Jim Kern has been a surprising bright spot, and Andrew Chafin and Roberto Osuna have been solid enough.

The offense is an intriguing mix. Carlos Correa, Jeff Bagwell, and Tony Gwynn are a solid core and Paul Goldschmidt has forced his way into the conversation in about 1/3 of a season’s work. Gentleman Jim O’Rourke has bounced back from a poor first season, and the rest of the pieces–mostly Jim Wynn and teenage phenom Pete Hill–are solid enough.

The worst news for Houston is that C Will Smith, who has absolutely destroyed WBL pitching since his recall, is not eligible for the postseason, putting the onus behind the plate on Jorge Posada, who has struggled. Given the presence of Gorman Thomas–who has also been on fire in limited action–we may see O’Rourke catching more than anticipated.

Thomas’ performance forced Casey Stengel off the playoff roster, as, especially with Dock Ellis injured for a few days, both Strasbourg and Oswalt made it.

#Indianapolis ABC’s

It came down to a playoff, but baseball fans are happy to see the ABC’s make the playoffs, as it extends the season for the best pitcher in baseball, Luis Padrón, and the emerging superstar Oscar Charleston.

The postseason likely brings an end to Indianapolis’ 6 man rotation, as the team will try to maximize the starts for Padrón (23-3, 3.22) and Johnny Cueto (12-14, 4.62). Eppa Rixey, Guy White, and Joe Lake are the most likely candidates behind those 2.

The back end of the bullpen was supposed to be a strength, but both Rob Dibble and Rob Murphy have struggle of late, leaving Jack Billingham and the surprising Mike LaCoss as the strongest performers at the moment.

Offensively, this is Charleston’s team, with the young CF slashing 337/381/619 with 38 homers, 130 RBIs, and 101 runs scored. Joey Votto and George Foster have been excellent and while Johnny Bench fell short of last year’s heights, 46 homers and 116 RBIs from behind the plate is nothing to sneeze at.

Chris Sabo has mostly displaced Ed Charles at 3B, but the biggest issue is the absence of Joe Morgan, who will miss the postseason through injury. Morgan was among the best in the game, and without him, the middle infield becomes pretty mediocre, relying on Tommy Helms and Barry Larkin.

#Predictions

Brooklyn is just that much better than Indianapolis across the board, so I think the Royal Giants take that one, 4-2.

The Houston/Philadelphia series is even harder to predict, and I think it is either very close, going the full 7 games, or Houston’s offense clicks on all cylinders and the Colt 45’s win in 5. Let’s say the former, with Houston edging it in a final contest.

TWIWBL 82.2 Spotlight on the Memphis Red Sox

By mknn

On December 13, 2025

In TWIWBL

There is a ton of offensive talent here, but it falls off drastically, and suffers from a lot of positional overlap. Add in downright poor pitching, and you have the worst team in the Bill James Division.

HOME PAGE | ROSTER | POSITIONAL STRENGTH | LEADERS

It’s not clear where Memphis goes, but it certainly looks like trading some of their positional depth for some pitching should be on the table.

THE OFFENSE

It’s a top heavy team, with some true standout talent.

#What’s Going Right

Ted Williams is an elite talent, and while his 298/412/619 slash line doesn’t move him into the absolute top tier, at 22 there is quite some room for improvement.

Manny Ramírez has stepped up dramatically from last year, leading the team with 42 HRs and 2nd behind Williams in RBI. Ramírez’ OPS has hovered around 1.000 all season, powered by a SLG in the mid .600’s.

David Ortiz has essentially displaced Bill White at 1B, slashing 286/370/680 in just over 300 PAs.

Gabby Hartnett is an excellent offensive C, posting an OPS in the mid 800’s with 37 HRs and his backup, Billy Bryan, has been even better offensively, with 14 HRs in 140 PA’s.

For a 20 year old, Dobie Moore‘s debut has to be considered a success, slashing 291/352/427 while playing across the IF.

#What’s Not Going Right

OF Mookie Betts and 3B Wade Boggs have been fine, but the Red Sox need more if they are going to compete.

Nobody getting a ton of playing time has really been awful offensively, although only Iván De Jesús‘ defensive flexibility has kept him in the league.

The positional distribution remains unsolved: Ortiz, White, and Travis Shaw all seem to be reasonable WBL alternatives at 1B, and the leading young talent (Hack Wilson and Lefty O’Doul) play the same positions as Reggie Smith, Betts, Ramírez, and Williams.

THE PITCHING

When your best pitcher is a middling middle reliever (Tommy de la Cruz, whose 6.20 ERA belies some very good supporting numbers), you’re in trouble.

#What’s Going Right

That is a little unfair to Stubby Overmire, who leads the team with 11 wins and looks like an excellent #2 or #3 rotation starter being asked to be a #1.

Andrew Miller‘s been solid out of the bullpen with a 7-8 record, 3 saves, and 11 holds while leading the WBL in appearances.

#What’s Not Going Right

Everything else.

David Bush, Len Barker, and Jon Lester have all failed to impress, with Bush (8-8, 6.82) being the best of a bad lot.

Some of the other hurlers given opportunities, especially Eddie Cicotte and Nixey Callahan, have been unbelievably bad.

THE FARM SYSTEM

TOP PROSPECTS | MINOR LEAGUE SYSTEM

There is some help, as Memphis has a middle-of-the-road farm system, with some strong talent that is blocked at the WBL level (all the more trade fodder for some pitching).

OFs Dwight Evans, Hack Wilson, Willie Crawford, Roy Thomas, Lefty O’Doul, and Carl Yastrzemski all look to have high ceilings. On the IF, it’s a bit more sparse, with Candy Jim Taylor and Joe Cunningham leading the way.

There is also some potential on the mound. Sadie McMahon remains well regarded despite his struggles, and he, Jim Kaat, Josh Beckett, and Nathan Eovaldi should all be given some long looks in the Spring.

WHAT’S NEEDED

A re-distribution of the talent, using some of the excess to bring some arms to town.

Storylines to Watch

Key Questions from Spring Training

Who is going to fill out the rotation and the bullpen? Remains totally unanswered.
Memphis’ scouts are agog over Dobie Moore, but scouts don’t play the game: is Moore the real thing and, if so, what happens to Vern Stephens? Moore looks to be the real thing, and Stephens was pretty bad, eventually moving on to Brooklyn (where, it must be said, he has flourished) for a 4th round pick.
Sosa was moved out, essentially for Gabby Hartnett, putting more pressure on the OF the step up. Hartnett is doing well, and the last thing the Red Sox need is more OF talent.

FEATURED SERIES

Since the Cuban Giants still have an outside shot at the playoffs, we’ll use the opportunity to focus on the Red Sox’s visit to Miami for a 4 game set at the start of the week.

Projected Starters

Memphis starter listed first, although I would expect at least a few of these to change.

David Bush (8-8, 6.82) @ Cole Hamels (11-10, 5.88)
Stubby Overmire (11-9, 4.81) @ Jim Whitney (8-6, 3.90)
Len Barker (10-12, 5.07) @ Phenomenal Smith (2-0, 1.93)
TBA @ Hugh McQuillan (4-3, 4.82)

Just because it will make the end of the year far more interesting, let’s go with a 3-1 series win for Miami.

Game One

The Red Sox used 2 homeruns from Dustin Pedroia and just enough from their bullpen to take game 1, 8-6.

Memphis took the lead on a 2 run homer from Gabby Hartnett, but 2 wild pitches from David Bush (one in the 2nd, one in the 3rd) tied the game at 2.

Pedroia’s first homer, in the top of the 5th, put Memphis back on top. The Red Sox hit 3 out of the park in the 7th, getting homers from David Ortiz, Pedroia again, and Manny Ramírez. That gave the Red Sox an 8-2 lead, which should have been enough …

Except, Sadie McMahon, in relief of Bush, imploded, giving up 4 runs before being relieved by Andrew Miller. Miller, however, was effective, earning his 12th hold of the year, and Tommy de la Cruz closed the door for his 5th save as Memphis played spoiler to Miami’s Wild Card chase.

MEM 8 (Taylor 11-10) @ MCG 6 (Mathewson 7-15)
HRs: MEM – Hartnett (38), Pedroia 2 (4), Ortiz (32), Ramírez (43); MCG – Oliver (8).
Box Score

Game Two

Dean Chance got the start for Memphis in game 2 and was actually quite good. Unfortunately for Memphis, Miami’s Jim Whitney was better, allowing 3 hits and 1 run over 7 innings–a solo shot from Ted Williams in the top of the 1st–as the Cuban Giants edged the Red Sox, 6-1.

Miami got longballs from Julio Rodríguez, Jim Thome, and Joe Adcock in the victory.

MEM 1 (Chance 0-1) @ MCG 6 (Whitney 4-4, George 1 H)
HRs: MEM- Williams (40); MCG – J. Rodríguez (37), Thome (54), Adcock (2).
Box Score

Game Three

Bucky Walters would get the start for Memphis, with Miami countering with Phenomenal Smith, whose return from injury has come at just the right time for the Cuban Giants.

Memphis jumped on Smith in the top of the 1st with Bill White–whose playing time has declined regularly over the season–hitting a 3 run homerun. Miami tied the game in the 3rd with a 3 run homerun from Julio Rodríguez.

The Red Sox took the lead on a sacrifice fly from Wade Boggs in the top of the 5th, but 4 consecutive hits–doubles from Alejandro Oms, Rodríguez and Yasiel Puig wrapped around a single from José Canseco–chased Walters and gave the Cuban Giants a 6-4 advantage.

The Red Sox would score again, but not enough as Miami edged it, 7-6. Rodríguez continued his hot streak with 3 hits and 4 RBI’s, and the revamped Miami bullpen closed it out, this time with Ricky Nolasco getting the hold and Jonathan Papelbon his 8th save since coming over to the Cuban Giants.

MEM 6 (Walters 0-3) @ MCG 7 (Smith 3-0, Papelbon 8 Sv, Looper 10 H, Nolasco 3 H)
HRs: MEM – White (23); MCG – Rodríguez (38).
Box Score

Game 4

So this one matters as a series win would impact the post-season picture. Memphis would trot out their best starter, last year’s ERA champ, Stubby Overmire while Miami would counter with the impressive, but essentially untried, Hugh McQuillan.

Or, the once impressive, as the Red Sox jumped on him for 6 runs in 5 innings, and then pounded his relief, Don Wilson, for 4 more in an 11-3 rout.

The offensive onslaught was led by Ted Williams‘s 3 hits, but almost everyone got involved, with Williams, Lefty O’Doul, Wade Boggs, Mookie Betts, and Travis Shaw each going deep. Pair that with Overmire’s solid 7 innings, giving up 4 hits and 3 runs and–most surprisingly for Red Sox fans–2 scoreless innings in relief from Nixey Callahan–and you have an easy victory for Memphis and a vital defeat for Miami.

MEM 11 (Overmire 12-9) – MCG 3 (McQuillan 4-4)
HRs: MEM – Williams (41), O’Doul (2), Boggs (10), Betts (25), Shaw (18); MCG: Canseco (65).
Box Score

The series split is a solid result for Memphis as it continues to give some of its young players time; a far more disappointing result for Miami, who look to fall just short of the postseason.

TWIWBL 77.6: Effa Manley Division

By mknn

On September 1, 2025

In TWIWBL

Team	W/L	Pct	GB
Brooklyn Royal Giants	70-46	.603	—
Homestead Grays	60-57	.513	10.5
Ottawa Mounties	58-60	.492	13
Philadelphia Stars	57-60	.487	13.5
New York Gothams	57-62	.479	14.5

Effa Manley Division | 12 August

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

Frank Knauss fanned 12, combining with Trevor Hildenberger on a 4 hit shutout of Indianapolis, with Brooklyn winning 4-0.

The Royal Giants had a very quiet trade deadline, but they did commit to Vern Stephens at SS, sending Germany Smith to AAA to make room for OF George Hendrick, who came over from Philadelphia.

#Homestead Grays

Doug Drabek was recalled from his rehab assignment as Cliff Lee started one. Drabek regained his spot in the rotation, with Moose Haas heading back to AAA.

Andy Van Slyke homered twice in a losing cause, as the Grays fell to Birmingham, 8-5, then Nap Lajoie duplicated the feat as the Grays fell to the Black Barons again, this time 6-5.

Finally, Rick Reichardt broke the pattern, hitting his 2 homeruns in a Homestead win, 10-6 over Ottawa.

Gary Lucas, Rick Ownbey, and Ray Brown were all sent to AAA to make room for newcomers Juan Marichal, Robb Nen, and David Price.

Marichal’s first start was a disaster, but the Grays fought back, and Nen got the win with 2 scoreless innings in an 11-10 victory over Ottawa.

#New York Gothams

Pete Donohue was returned to AAA, clearing the way for Carson Smith‘s return from injury. The Gothams moved a lot of their staff at the trade deadline, replacing them with FA Kent Tekulve and promoting Donohue, Rube Waddell, and newly acquired Dellin Betances.

They were nearly as active with their field players, sending Terry Turner and J0-Jo Moore down and making room for Robby Thompson and Davey Johnson while promoting Matt Williams and George Van Haltren to the big league club.

#Ottawa Mounties

Carlos Beltrán hit 2 out, reaching 30 on the year, but Ottawa fell to the New York Gothams, 14-8. This staff is so awful in some games: Álex Rodríguez hit 2 out in another loss as the bullpen gave up a 9 run lead with the Mounties falling to Homestead 11-10 in 11 innings.

#Philadelphia Stars

Aaron Judge hit 2 out of the park, reaching 40 dingers on the season, as the Stars topped the House of David, 5-2.

Young Pete Alexander was sent to AAA to make room for newcomer Mark Melancon in the Stars’ bullpen.

Scott Rolen reached 30 dingers on the year, hitting 2 out in a 12-5 win over the New York Gothams. Bill Dickey duplicated Rolen’s feat, but this time the Stars fell to the Gothams, 5-4.

TWIWBL 77.3: The Trade Market

By mknn

On August 29, 2025

In TWIWBL

With the August trade deadline just around the corner, seemed to be a good time to take a look at the likely sellers and buyers, and some players that are likely to find new homes by the end of next week.

Some notes on these:

Needs reflect places where the minor league systems are thin on talent and the general shape of WBL level talent needed.
The second three bullets (Prospects, AAA Help, WBL Help) are possible players that could be available in the right context..

#BUYERS

These are teams looking to solidify their talent or make a push for the post-season. In a perfect world, they have some young talent to spare as well.

#Birmingham Black Barons

Yeah, they’re in 5th place, but they’re also only 4 games back, so there’s hope. The Black Barons have been ingenious at past deadlines, we’ll see if they can continue the trend.

Needs: IF, P, Minor League SS/3B

Prospects: OF Melky Cabrera, Curt Flood, Gary Matthews; IF Nate Colbert, Hal Trosky
AAA Help: P Tommy Bond; IF Pie Traynor
MLB Help: OF Bob Nieman

#Cleveland Spiders

Could use another SP, as well as a help in the middle infield–Chuck Knoblauch is skating along on last year’s performance, and there isn’t any depth to speak of at 2B/SS despite Steve Sax‘s excellent first 50 PA’s.

Needs: Minor League 2B/SS.

Prospects: OF Paul O’Neill, Kenny Lofton; IF Johnny Hodapp
AAA Help: P Chuck Porter, Claude Passeau; IF Bob Elliott, Brook Jacoby
MLB Help: IF Willie McCovey

#Homestead Grays

A Wild Card spot is likely for the Grays, who have a powerhouse offense and a desperate need for pitching. With some young talent blocked, they may be able to make some moves.

Needs: Bullpen is aging

Prospects: OF Max Carey, Paul Waner; IF Freddie Lindstrom
AAA Help: OF Starling Marte; IF Jeff Kent, P Brickyard Kennedy
MLB Help: OF Goose Goslin

#Houston Colt 45’s

Another team caught between a wild card chase and building for the future, the Colt 45’s would love to address their one ongoing need, which is a catcher to take over from the aging Jorge Posada, as some in the organization are not yet sold on Will Smith as the longterm solve behind the plate. There is a crunch at 1B/DH as well, as there really aren’t enough AB’s to go around for both Paul Goldschmidt and the recently demoted Andrés Galaragga.

Needs: Minor League C, SS.

Prospects: IF Bucky Dent, Travis Jackson, Wes Helms; OF César Cedeño, Hunter Pence, Shin-Soo Choo
AAA Help: P Mike Sirotka, Óscar Tuero; IF Carney Lansford, Aramis Ramírez, OF Gorman Thomas, Johnny Damon
MLB Help: Various bullpen pieces may be possible

#Indianapolis ABC’s

Another team riding the wild card roller coaster. The ABC’s are solid offensively, but struggle some behind their top end starters. There are some blocked players–perhaps most notably Jake Stenzel–so there are some pieces available.

Needs: Minor League OF

Prospects: OF Jim Eisenreich, IF Pokey Reese, Sean Casey, Hal Morris
AAA Help: P Johnny Vandeer Meer; OF Jody Gerut, Dave Henderson, Ed Swartwood; IF Dan Driessen
MLB Help: OF Jake Stenzel, Bob Bescher, IF Ed Charles

#Kansas City Monarchs

This Monarchs team will make the playoffs a year or two ahead of schedule so the choice of how much to surrender for immediate success is a bit challenging. At some point, some of the positional logjams need to be sorted out (Albert Pujols, Dale Murphy, and Ducky Medwick; Willie McGee and Cool Papa Bell), but it’s not clear that now is that time.

Needs: Minor League C; WBL Offense

Prospects: OF Wade Johnston, Earl Averill; IF Keston Hiura, Pat Burrell
AAA Help: P Adam Wainwright, Jack Quinn; IF Ken Boyer, Andre Thornton; OF Merv Rettenmund, Jim King
MLB Help: P Matt Morris, Luke Hamlin

#New York Black Yankees

Once again the Black Yankees are trying to find the right piece to extend their postseason run. At some point, they’ll need to solve their post Derek Jeter needs at SS, but this is probably not that time.

Needs: Minor League OF; P; future SS.

Prospects: OF Rob Deer, Clyde Milan
AAA Help: OF Roger Maris; IF Tom Herr, Red Rolfe; P AJ Burnett
MLB Help: P Rheal Cormier, Red Ruffing, Waite Hoyt

#MEH

A mix of teams doing well enough not need anything (San Francisco) and those not willing to give up much because they like their current talent composition moving into Year 3. Never say never, as these teams do have some pieces, but they are far less motivated to get something done at the deadline.

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

This team is just beginning to gel, but they could use some offense and they are one of the few franchises with arms to spare.

Needs: SS if unconvinced by Vern Stephens; Minor League 1B

Prospects: OF Matty Alou, Raúl Mondesi, Don Mueller; IF Sonny Jackson, Ken McMullen, Maury Wills; P Doc Newton, Zach Britton
MLB Help: IF Germany Smith, Dick Bertell
AAA Help: IF Jim Gentile, Eric Karros; C Kelly Shoppach; P Ron Perranoski

#Detroit Wolverines

They’re in an odd spot: on the one hand, they are likely to be in the wild card chase; on the other, this is a team well positioned for the future, and eager to cement that status. There are a lot of pieces that are over 30, but none–other than perhaps Oscar Gamble–are key cogs in the Wolverines’ machine.

Needs: Minor League 3B; IF, esp SS; P.

Prospects: IF Wander Franco
MLB Help: OF Oscar Gamble
AAA Help: OF Brady Clark, Wes Covington; IF Jimmy Collins; P Dennis Rasmussen

#Miami Cuban Giants

The Cuban Giants have an outside shot at a wildcard slot, but this is a team building for the future. As such, I would expect them to stand pat, or perhaps move some end of roster pieces for minor league depth.

Needs: Minor League OF, 3B, 1B; WBL P.

Prospects: OF Roy Thomas, Carlos Morán
MLB Help: P Sandy Consuegra, Kenshin Kawakami; OF Andy Pafko
AAA Help: IF Nellie Fox

#Ottawa Mounties

Even though the Mounties have a shot at the playoffs, this is a team trying to position itself for the future, which basically means begging everyone and anyone for pitching.

Needs: Minor League SS, 3B, C. SP.

Prospects: OF Warren Cromartie, Willie Upshaw, Willie Keeler, Leon Roberts
MLB Help: P Bryn Smith; IF Roy Sievers; OF Rick Monday
AAA Help: IF John Olerud; OF Terry Puhl, Bob Allison; C Emil Gross; P Chris Bosio

#Philadelphia Stars

The Stars are on the fringe of the playoffs, but really this is a team aiming at cementing and building around its emerging nucleus. As such, some of its useful veterans may be available; at the same time, Philadelphia would love to add some pitching and address its issues in the middle infield.

Needs: MI, P, WBL Offense.

Prospects: ???
MLB Help: OF Rico Carty; P Bob Howry, Robin Roberts, Pedro Feliciano; IF Art Fletcher, Ted Kluszewski
AAA Help: OF Bobby Abreu; IF Jung Ho Kang, Dolph Camilli, Cecil Cooper; C Sherm Lollar

#San Francisco Sea Lions

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. That said, if an easy piece comes available, it’s unlikely the Sea Lions ignore the opportunity.

Needs: Minor League 1B

Prospects: OF Jules Thomas, Matt Holliday; IF Freddie Freeman; P Jair Jurrjens
MLB Help:
AAA Help: IF Dick Green, Denny Walling; OF Josh Reddick; P Rube Walberg

#Wandering House of David

Even the House of David isn’t convinced their playoff chances are real. Still … they might be. So it’s a bit of a quandary in terms of whether they should move some of their young talent or not. The challenge is the roster really doesn’t make a ton of sense: CF is overly crowded, 1B/DH as well, and there is an abundance of talent at 2B.

Needs: P

Prospects: OF Tony Conigliaro; IF Billy Herman
MLB Help: OF Jim Edmonds, George Gore; IF Mark McGwire, Richie Hebner
AAA Help: P Joaquín Andújar; IF Tom Hutton, Mark Grace; OF Tracy Jones

#SELLERS

Teams with either an excess of talent, or who have thrown in the towel on the season and have some veteran pieces that may be attractive.

#Baltimore Black Sox

Last year’s champs, this year’s dunces. Baltimore believes in its young core, a belief that may see them retain FA acquisition Gavvy Cravath, but even he may be had for the right price.

Needs: all P, Minor League OF.

MLB Help: IF Bobby Wallace, Dan McGann; P Buddy Groom, Connie Johnson, Joe Beggs
AAA Help: P Ken Johnson, Kevin Tapani, Christhian Martínez; OF Ken Griffey, Sr; IF Brian Roberts

#Chicago American Giants

The season cannot end soon enough. Chicago has talent to be a contender, but nothing has gone right for them this season. They are willing to blow up their pitching staff, from a how much worse could it be perspective.

Needs: Minor League OF, C; prime P

Prospects: IF Jorge Orta; OF Walter Davis, Lenny Dykstra
MLB Help: P Akinori Otsuka, Joe Lake, Mark Buehrle, Hoyt Wilhelm, David Price; IF Paul Konerko, Freddy Parent; OF Vernon Wells
AAA Help: OF Rocky Colavito, Magglio Ordóñez; C Michael McKenry

#Los Angeles Angels

It hasn’t been a bad year for the Angels, but they are still a player or three away. There is a lot of mound talent in the organization, but they could use some long term solutions at SS, 3B, and C.

Needs: Minor League OF, C, 2B; WBL Offense.

Prospects: OF Norm Miller
MLB Help: IF Eddie Joost
AAA Help: OF Elmer Valo; IF Mark Ellis; P Rich Hill

#Memphis Red Sox

There is hope in Beantown. Just not for this year. There also are some pieces that may hold attraction for contenders, most notably 1B Bill White (with the Red Sox happy to turn 1B over to David Ortiz) and closer Jonathan Papelbon. There is a lot of congestion at various positions that needs to clarify over time.

Needs: Minor League C, SS; SP; 2B/SS

Prospects: IF Dustin Pedroia, OF Joe Rudi, Dwight Evans, Lefty O’Doul, Candy Jim Taylor, P Jim Kaat
MLB Help: P Tommy de la Cruz, Jonathan Papelbon; IF Bill White, DJ LeMahieu, Iván De Jesús, Nomar Garciaparra
AAA Help: IF George Scott, Dustin Pedroia

#New York Gothams

With this season pretty much scrapped, the Gothams are looking to the future. Which puts them in an interesting spot, as they have a fair number of useful parts on the wrong side of 30. But it’s not a total fire sale, as the team isn’t that far away from competing.

Needs: Minor League SS, C, 2B; SS

Prospects: OF Rick Manning
MLB Help: P Mike Norris, Juan Marichal, Troy Percival, Gaylord Perry; IF Joe Adcock, Larry Doyle, Terry Turner
AAA Help: OF Carl Furillo, Steve Kemp, Charlie Hamburg; IF George Kell; P Liván Hernández, Wei-Yin Chen, Tony Mullane, Guy Hecker

#Portland Sea Dogs

In some sense, the Sea Dogs did their selling already, both during the offseason and the all star break. But this year is still a wash for Portland, so anything they can do to help build for the future will be worthwhile.

Needs: 2B/SS, overall WBL Offense.

Prospects: ???
MLB Help: OF Kiki Cuyler, Harry Hooper; IF Gil Hodges; P Mark Melancon
AAA Help: IF Don Baylor, Rafael Palmeiro; OF Walt Bond, Jerald Clark

TWIWBL 77.2 Spotlight on the Brooklyn Royal Giants

By mknn

On August 28, 2025

In TWIWBL

Nobody, and I mean nobody, would have predicted a double digit lead in the Effa Manley Division for Brooklyn this season. But here we are.

HOME PAGE | ROSTER | POSITIONAL STRENGTH | LEADERS

The Royal Giants’ success is a product of a great pitching staff and just enough offense, anchored by a few breakout performances. And there is room for improvement: not only can they hold onto their division, this is a team that could impress in the postseason.

THE OFFENSE

It’s not a great offense, but it has some true high points, and seems to have just enough to keep the runs coming.

#What’s Going Right

First, the breakout: Mike Piazza has exploded, leading the team in almost all offensive categories, with a 307/338/677 slash line, 42 homeruns and 98 RBIs. For a catcher not named Gibson, that’s great output, and it’s a fantastic return after Piazza’s struggle last season.

Almost as surprising has been the excellence of Ron Cey at the hot corner, whose 963 OPS is third on the team, behind Piazza and the true heartbeat of the Royal Giants, Jackie Robinson. Robinson leads the team in OBP, has 32 steals, and is involved in almost every key rally for the team while moving between 1B and 2B. Robinson and Beals Becker provide a good bit of speed, with each having over 30 steals at decent success rates.

John Briggs faced a lot of doubters heading into this season, but he’s performed excellently in CF.

Dan Brouthers has an OPS of .960 in part-time duty at 1B and, honestly, keeps wondering why the Royal Giants won’t just commit to him long term.

8 players have at least 20 homeruns (Piazza, Duke Snider, Becker, Cey, Robinson, Pedro Guerrero, Briggs, and Roy White).

#What’s Not Going Right

Pedro Guerrero was brought in to add punch to the offense, and while he’s picked it up of late (one of the points of possible improvement mentioned above), his 784 OPS still leaves a lot to be desired.

Duke Snider is doing Duke Snider things, which means a lot of power–his 30 homers are second on the team–but not a lot else.

SS has been a challenge all year, with neither Dick Bertell nor Germany Smith proving a solution. Vern Stephens‘ overall numbers aren’t great, but he’s slashing 317/328/633 since coming to Brooklyn over the all-star break.

Ray Dandridge remains a 21 year old who struggles with WBL pitching, but his future remains bright in spite of his current sub .700 OPS.

Overall, the team needs to get on base a bit more: only Cey, Robinson, Briggs, and Brouthers have OBPs over .350.

THE PITCHING

This is easily the strength of the team, and it’s only gotten better for Brooklyn over the season, as Fernando Valenzuela‘s emergence has given them an excellent rotation, front to back, complemented by a very strong bullpen.

#What’s Going Right

The Big Three for Brooklyn are as impressive as nearly any in the league, led by the brilliant Smokey Joe Williams and the surprising Orel Hershiser. Williams’ record isn’t great at 10-9, but he and Hershiser both sport sub 4.00 ERA’s with excellent secondary numbers.

The third of the group is Don Drysedale, who was struggling mightily over most of the first half of the season, but has shaved 1.5 runs off his ERA since the start of July. Five consecutive wins in there have improved his record to 10-5.

Valenzuela’s emergence has been quite spectacular, and the lefty is now firmly entrenched in the rotation.

Eric Gagne could be the best closer in the WBL, with 25 saves and a 2.52 ERA, and Trevor Hildenberger has been fantastic as his setup.

#What’s Not Going Right

Sandy Koufax keeps lingering on the edge of brilliance, but he lost his place in the rotation to Valenzuela and while he’s been solid out of the bullpen, it still feels like his eventual role is as a starter.

That’s about it: Burleigh Grimes, Terry Forster, and Dave Von Ohlen have all been mediocre, but that’s certainly better than not going right.

THE FARM SYSTEM

TOP PROSPECTS | MINOR LEAGUE SYSTEM

It’s a decent farm system, but a lot of the talent is already in Brooklyn (White, Briggs, Snider, Becker, Dandridge, Cey, Guerrero, Robinson, Piazza, Brouthers, Williams, Drysdale, Koufax, Gagne, and Forster are all under 25).

But there’s still some surplus talent: Ed Delahanty and Al Simmons have WBL quality bats and Doc Newton, Dick Redding, Dazzy Vance, and Walker Buehler all should have some upside on the mound.

It doesn’t necessarily mean much, but all three of Brooklyn’s minor league affiliates–AAA Queens, AA Jersey City, and A Albany–are in first place in their leagues.

WHAT’S NEEDED

These opportunities don’t come around very often, so we would expect the Royal Giants to make some moves at the trading deadline, hoping to power their playoff run.

Most of all, Brooklyn needs to stay healthy.

Storylines to Watch

Key Questions from Spring Training

In addition to the pitching staff changes mentioned above, the rest of the roster is very much in flux. This all seemed to settle down without a problem, especially if Stephens solves the SS issue.
Can John Briggs continue to set the world on fire? Smoldering, if not on fire.
Will Mike Piazza finally take hold of the starting C role? Yes, yes he will.

FEATURED SERIES

The Royal Giants host Houston for 4 games to close out the week.

Projected Starters

Houston’s starter listed first.

Toad Ramsey (13-8, 3.13) @ Orel Hershiser (15-5, 3.79)
Roger Clemens (13-7, 3.50) @ Fernando Valenzuela (9-4, 3.73)
Roy Oswalt (5-8, 6.41) @ Smokey Joe Williams (10-10, 3.68)
Stephen Strasburg (4-8, 6.19) @ Don Drysedale (10-5, 5.67)

Brooklyn’s starters are just so, so, so good. That of course means the games will be slugfests, but I see the Royal Giants taking 3 out of 4 here, solidifying their division lead.

Game One

Roy White had the first hit of the game, a solo shot to right in the second inning, giving Brooklyn a 1-0 lead. A Jackie Robinson triple scored John Briggs in the 3rd, doubling it to 2-0.

Orel Hershiser held the Colt 45’s hitless into the 5th when, with 2 outs, Pete Hill lined a double. Jorge Posada brought him home with single, halving the lead to 2-1. In the 6th, with 2 on and 2 out, George Brett sent a ball screaming into CF, ending up with a triple, bringing both runners home and giving Houston the lead, 3-2.

Dan Brouthers got a knuckler that didn’t from Toad Ramsey, and sent it deep into LF with a runner on: 4-3 Brooklyn.

And that was it: the Royal Giants bullpen is excellent, and in this one, Dave Von Ohlen and Trevor Hildenberger passed the ball to Eric Gagne, who pitched a perfect 9th for his 26th save.

This was a bit of a hard luck loss for Houston, with Ramsey surrendering only 3 hits in his 8 innings while fanning 10.

HOU 3 (Ramsey 13-9) @ BRK 4 (Hershiser 16-5, Von Ohlen 3 H; Hildenberger 8 H; Gagne 26 Sv)
HRs: HOU – none; DET – White (22), Brouthers (15).
Box Score

Game Two

Another stellar pitching matchup, as Houston’s Roger Clemens will face off against the home side’s Fernando Valenzuela.

Mike Piazza took Clemens deep in the 2nd for his 43rd homerun of the year. Roy White and Pedro Guerrero followed with longballs of their own, and the Royal Giants were up 3-0 on the back to back to back shots. Brooklyn added to their lead in a more traditional way: a single from Dan Brouthers who eventually scored on a sac fly from Ron Cey.

Meanwhile Valenzuela was magnificent, allowing 2 hits over 5 innings while fanning 8.

Houston got on the board in the 5th when Carlos Correa brought home Tony Gwynn. Correa eventually scored on a wild pitch, but Brooklyn still held the 4-2 edge.

Recently recalled Gorman Thomas launched his 2nd homerun int he 7th, chasing Valenzuela and turning the game over to the Royal Giants’ exceptional bullpen, beginning with Burleigh Grimes, who ended the inning with Brooklyn up, 4-3.

Homeruns from Vern Stephens and Cey gave them some buffer, and Duke Snider’s 34th of the season gave Brooklyn an 8-3 lead heading into the top of the 9th.

The Colt 45’s added a run, but the outcome was never really threatened.

If you hit 6 homeruns, you’re supposed to win …

HOU 4 (Clemens 13-8) @ BRK 8 (Valenzuela 10-4; Grimes 3 H; Forster 2 Sv)
HRs: HOU – Thomas (2); BRK – White (23), Piazza (43), Guerrero (23), Stephens (8), Cey (29), Snider (34).
Box Score

Game Three

Houston came through the trade deadline much changed, Brooklyn less so, but the game–and the series between the two clubs–goes on. The starters for this game remain unchanged, with Houston’s Roy Oswalt taking on Brooklyn’s Smokey Joe Williams in a matchup that significantly favors the Royal Giants.

Mike Piazza drove in 1 with a single and Beals Becker followed with a 2 run double, giving Brooklyn a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first. John Briggs hit his 22nd homer of the year in the 2nd, increasing the lead to 4-0.

Williams has struggled at times with wildness, and back to back walks to open the 3rd came back to bite him, as Tony Gwynn followed with a 2 run double to halve the lead. Gwynn scored on an RBI groundout from Jeff Bagwell, and Houston kept piling it on with deep shots from Jim Wynn and Pete Hill. When the inning ended, the Colt 45’s had seized the lead, 6-4.

Williams gave up a double to Bagwell to open the 5th, then walked 2 more: that was enough and Brooklyn summoned Sandy Koufax from the bullpen to face the bases loaded jam. Koufax struck out 2, but walked in a run, giving Houston a 7-4 advantage.

Jim O’Rourke added a solo shot and Houston’s bullpen–their Achilles heel all year–suddenly found itself with Vida Blue, Jim Kern, John Franco, Roberto Osuna, and Andrew Chafin combining for 4 innings of hitless relief of Oswalt.

HOU 8 (Oswalt 6-8; Blue 1 H; Kern 1 H) @ BRK 4 (Williams 10-11)
HRs: HOU – Wynn (27), Hill (7), O’Rourke (9); BRK – Briggs (22).
Box Score

Game Four

The Royal Giants will look to take the series behind the rejuvenated Don Drysedale, who after a horrific start to the season, now sits at 10-5 with an ERA south of 6.00 and dropping. The struggling Stephen Strasbourg will oppose him for Houston.

Drysedale had to leave the game in the 2nd, but is not expected to miss his next start, certainly good news for Brooklyn. But it may stress the Royal Giants’ bullpen today.

Gorman Thomas touched Burleigh Grimes for his 3rd homer in 4 career ballgames to give the Colt 45’s a 1-0 lead in the 3rd. Ron Cey tied it up in the bottom of the frame with his 30th longball of the year.

Houston put up a crooked number in the 6th, as Grimes walked in a run, hit a batter for another, and then gave up a grand slam to Jim O’Rourke to make it 7-1.

Ray Dandridge got a couple back with a 2-run homer, but Houston continued to pile it on, capped by George Brett‘s 13th of the season, launched off Jim Bunning with a runner on. So, after 5 innings, Houston was ahead, 10-3.

There were some more runs–most notably O’Rourke’s second dinger of the game–but the outcome was never threatened.

Gentleman Jim finished with 6 RBIs for Houston, who evened up the series.

HOU 14 (Strasburg 5-8) @ BRK 4 (Grimes 0-4)
HRs: HOU – Thomas (3), O’Rourke 2 (11), Brett (13); BRK – Cey (30), Dandridge (12).
Box Score

Brooklyn really had a shot at taking the series, even with Drysedale’s exit, but Grimes–usually reliable this year–had a horrible outing. For Houston, the 2 wins after juggling their roster somewhat significantly are certainly an encouraging sign.

TWIWBL 75.5: Effa Manley Division

By mknn

On July 7, 2025

In TWIWBL

Team	W/L	Pct	GB
Brooklyn Royal Giants	60-43	.583	—
Homestead Grays	55-49	.529	5.5
Ottawa Mounties	51-53	.490	9.5
Philadelphia Stars	51-54	.486	10
New York Gothams	51-55	.481	10.5

Effa Manley Division | 30 July

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

Looking to cement their bullpen for the stretch run, the Royal Giants sent the struggling Dutch Leonard to AAA in exchange for Jim Bunning.

While all three players will continue to see a lot of time there, it looks like recently acquired Vern Stephens will see the bulk of the time at SS, with Germany Smith slipping below Ray Dandridge in the pecking order.

Stephens has been quite strong for Brooklyn, and he helped Don Drysedale continue his recent resurgence with 2 dingers in a 10-2 victory over Kansas City. Drysedale improved to 10-4, and John Briggs, Beals Becker, Mike Piazza, and Jackie Robinson also went deep for Brooklyn.

Becker and Robinson each went deep twice as Brooklyn defeated Ottawa, 8-7.

#Homestead Grays

Brickyard Kennedy continues to ride the AAA shuttle, heading down as the Grays need a starter in the form of Bob Knepper, who will make his WBL debut. Knepper wasn’t great, but he did get the win as Willie Stargell hit 2 out and the Grays pounded the House of David, 13-4.

Stargell hit another 2, the second a walk-off job in the bottom of the 11th as the Grays again topped the House of David, 8-7.

Bartolo Colón‘s great start to his WBL career was derailed momentarily, with the young righty headed to the DL for about a week. Homestead recalled lefty Gary Lucas in the interim.

#New York Gothams

Vean Gregg was returned to AAA with Rube Waddell being recalled from a rehab assignment.

The revolving door at 3B continues, as the Gothams brought Jim Ray Hart up from AAA, giving up for the time being on Ryan Zimmerman.

Don Buford went deep twice, but the Gothams bullpen–the strength of the club–collapsed entirely in an 8-6 loss to the Stars.

Will Clark went deep twice, but the Gothams fell to Birmingham, 7-6 in a close contest. Willie Mays hit his 37th of the season as well.

#Ottawa Mounties

Bill Smith will miss about a week, earning himself a trip to the DL with the Mounties recalling Danny Cox.

Larry Walker came out of a slump in a big way, going 4-for-4 with 2 homeruns, 4 runs scored, and 3 RBI’s to give him 100 on the year. Roberto Alomar also had 4 hits and Gary Carter, Adrián Beltré, and Carlos Beltrán each went deep as well.

Clark Griffith was sent to AAA in exchange for Randy Johnson, who will get a spot start after some effective time at in the minors.

#Philadelphia Stars

Steve Carlton threw the second no-hitter in WBL history as the Stars topped the Gothams, 5-0. Carlton, who improved his record to 10-9, only walked 1 while fanning 8 in the dominant performance. Rico Carty hit a grand slam in support of Lefty.

Aaron Judge hit a walkoff grand slam, leading the Stars to an 8-6 win over the Gothams.

John Burkett was sent to AAA with young Pete Alexander recalled after a long term injury.