Tag: Walter Johnson Page 1 of 10

TWIWBL 102.4: Year 3, Week 5 – Cum Posey Division

On October 16, 2026

Team	W/L	Pct	GB
Chicago American Giants	18-12	.600	—
Portland Sea Dogs	16-15	.516	2.5
Los Angeles Angels	15-16	.484	3.5
Miami Cuban Giants	15-16	.484	3.5
San Francisco Sea Lions	15-16	.484	3.5

Cum Posey Division | 6 May

Chicago American Giants

Chino Smith hit 2 homeruns and drove in 5 in a 6-4 win over Baltimore. The second was a 3-run walk-off. Smith has 13 homeruns on the season, and is showing why he was the most highly sought after prospect in the WBL last year.

Carlton Fisk is out about 2 weeks. Rather than recall a catcher, the American Giants plan to give Jack Doyle the bulk of the starts behind the plate with Jake Stenzel being recalled from his rehab assignment. Dave Nilsson remains the backup catcher, although he will probably see some more action in Fisk’s absence.

Waite Hoyt is also down, but out for about a week. Joe Horlen is the likeliest man to see a spot start. Hoyt has been great–he did win the AL Pitcher of the Month–but Horlen has been nearly unhittable, throwing 20.2 scoreless innings out of the bullpen to open the year. Mike Fiore was recalled: with Mickey Vernon struggling mightily, the American Giants turned to the 2000 star and 2001 bust of Fiore, hoping to get something out of 1B as they wait for encouraging news on Frank Thomas‘ return.

Miami Cuban Giants

Jim Whitney struck out 12 Wolverines without a walk over 7 innings, but each of the 4 hits he allowed left the yard. Miami won it anyway, 6-5, on Gary Sheffield‘s walk-off double in the 9th. Robin Yount hit 2 solo homeruns in the game.

Cole Hamels then struck out 10 the following afternoon, but Miami fell 3-1 to Detroit.

Whitney did it again in his next start: 6 innings, 3 hits, 10 strikeouts in a 5-1 win over Los Angeles.

Julio Rodríguez is back off the disabled list after 3 weeks, with Mark Kotsay going back to Orlando. Kotsay started hot, but ended up with an OPS barely over .500 in his initial WBL trial.

Alejandro Oms has begun a rehab assignment, meaning the Cuban Giants’ OF may soon be back to full strength.

Portland Sea Dogs

Walter Johnson struck out 10 in a 4-1 loss to Memphis. Johnson gave up 3 homeruns, and hit one himself, his 3rd of the year.

Jerry Blevins, who missed the spring with an injury, is up from Seattle, and Russ Springer heads the other way.

San Francisco Sea Lions

Frank Grant — sporting a .933 OPS at 2B — is out about 2 weeks. Phil Garner and the surprising Bill Russell should split the job in his absence, and Bill Sweeney comes up from San Jose.

Aaron Heilman is back off the DL, with Dennis Eckersley sent to AAA. That leaves Charlie Ferguson as the only long arm in the bullpen, which the Sea Lions will live with for now.

Tim Hudson and Steve Ontiveros have both begun rehab assignments (Hudson would add some bullpen length, Ontiveros would not).

TWIWBL 102.3: Year 3, Week 5 – Bill James Division

By mknn

On October 15, 2026

In TWIWBL

Team	W/L	Pct	GB
Memphis Red Sox	20-11	.645	—
New York Black Yankees	18-13	.581	2
Cleveland Spiders	11-17	.393	7.5
Detroit Wolverines	11-20	.355	9
Baltimore Black Sox	8-22	.267	11.5

Bill James Division | 6 May

Baltimore Black Sox

John Tudor is back from the disabled list, with Mike Mussina heading to AAA after an unimpressive brief return to the WBL.

Cleveland Spiders

Tris Speaker hit 2 solo homeruns in a 4-3 loss to Los Angeles.

Louis Santop is out about a week, and Tucker Barnhart has been recalled from Buffalo. With 37 year old Ed Bailey and John Ellis likely to get most of the starts behind the plate, Cleveland opted for a defensive backstop as the recall.

Willie McCovey hit 2 solo homeruns, the second a game winner, giving Stretch 6 on the year. Aroldis Chapman — who spent April turning leads into wild adventures — struck out the side in the 9th for his first save.

Detroit Wolverines

Sid Fernandez moves into the rotation, replacing the 0-5 Pete Conway, who goes to long relief (with his bat and legs likely to get some use on the side as well). Fernandez has earned the opportunity with a strong start to the season.

Connie Johnson had struck out 10, but ended up without a decision in a 3-1 win over Miami.

In his first start Fernandez struck out 16 Spiders over 6.2 innings, walking one. The 16 whiffs set a league record–which is a bit shocking if you think about it–and even though the Wolverines lost the game, they have to be pleased with what looks like a solid surprise starter.

Wander Franco‘s rehab assignment ended without a recall. Damion Easley has held the flex-infield seat since Franco went down in the first week and keeps it; Franco stays at AAA.

Memphis Red Sox

Ted Williams hit 2 solo homeruns off Walter Johnson — one in the 1st, one in the 3rd — in a 4-1 win over Portland, in support of Don Drysdale, who struck out 9 over 7 innings.

The next day, Tom Seaver, Jon Lester, Rollie Fingers and Andrew Miller combined on a 5-hit shutout in a 1-0 win over the Sea Dogs.

Rick Wilkins went 4-for-5 with a homerun and 2 doubles in a 10-6 win at Baltimore. Andrew Benintendi hit his first of the year and Williams his 15th as part of a 17-hit barrage.

New York Black Yankees

Ron Guidry struck out 12 over 7 innings against San Francisco, but it took 12 innings for the Black Yankees to win the game on a single by Thurman Munson, driving in Ed Charles.

The next afternoon Gaylord Perry and Hoyt Wilhelm combined on a 5-hit shutout, as New York topped the Sea Lions once more, this time 4-0.

Tony Brizzolara struck out 7 in 5 innings, Tony Mullane got the win in relief, Rhéal Cormier got his 2nd hold, and Goose Gossage closed it out as the 4 New York pitchers combined on a 4 hit shutout against Chicago for a 3-0 win in the first game of a doubleheader.

In the nightcap, Rogers Hornsby hit 2 homeruns, Babe Ruth and Don Mattingly added longballs of their own, Joe Sewell reached five times, and Lou Gehrig singled home the winner in the 10th in a 12-11 win for the Black Yankees.

TWIWBL 102.2: Year 3, Week 5 – Spotlight on the Portland Sea Dogs

By mknn

On October 14, 2026

In TWIWBL

{Each week, we pick one club at random and give them a bit more depth–how they thought the season would go, how it’s going, and what the future might hold.}

After making the playoffs in 2000, Portland lost 91 games last year. They are 16-15 right now, in second place, and are a little puzzled by it all.

	POR	WBL rank	2001 rank
Batting average	.241	11th	18th
On-base	.304	14th	17th
Slugging	.403	15th	20th
OPS	.708	14th	19th
Runs scored	138	11th	19th
Homeruns	36	14th	18th
ERA	3.90	6th	9th
WHIP	1.23	7th	16th
Strikeouts per 9	10.30	2nd	11th
Walks per 9	3.40	14th	17th
Homeruns per 9	1.13	8th	5th

Portland Sea Dogs | 6 May

#How We Thought it Would Go

The season preview was blunt about it: “Nobody in Portland is selling 2002 as a contention year, but getting back on track is the highest priority for the organization.” The club had sold every veteran they could, and had decided 2002 was a year to allow an extraordinary–and extraordinarily young–rotation (a 20-year-old, two 21-year-olds and a 26-year-old) to develop.

#How It’s Going

Second in the Cum Posey, 2.5 games out, 138 runs scored and 123 allowed. Not bad.

The pitching has done more than just arrive ahead of schedule — Portland strikes out more men per nine innings than every club in the WBL except one, after ranking 11th at that last season.

That needs a caveat: the league ERA has fallen from 5.38 to about 4.19, so a staff ERA of 3.90 against last year’s 5.33 is mostly the league coming back to earth. Griffith Stadium is also a harder place to score in than it was a year ago. The rank is the signal — 9th to 6th in ERA, 16th to 7th in WHIP, and 11th to 2nd in strikeouts. That last one is not a park effect.

Can this rotation stay together? So far, yes. All five starters have taken every turn. Walter Johnson is pitching like the best arm in the league: 42.1 innings, a 2.76 ERA, and 64 strikeouts to share the league lead. And his control has come around, with only 13 walks allowed. Joseíto Muñoz is 2-0 with a 2.55 ERA, and Bert Blyleven, despite an 0-3 record, is sporting a 2.70 ERA.

Not all is great on the mound (remember, the Sea Dogs are hovering around .500). Walter Ball, Portland’s Pitcher of the Year last year, is struggling with his control and has an ERA over 6.00 and Jake Peavy, given a rotation spot despite a limited resume, isn’t doing much better.

Does Griffey learn the strike zone? The early answer is a cautious yes. Ken Griffey Jr is walking in 8.3% of his trips, up from 4.5% last season, and is hitting (287/342/491) with 4 homeruns. The strikeouts haven’t moved. One month is one month, but it is the first month of his career that the walk rate has looked more acceptable than not.

Who gets the ball in the 9th? Right now, Jack Billingham does. Billingham has 7 saves. There remain calls for Johan Santana to return to his closer role, but Portland seems set on seeing if the young lefty can make the transition to a starter. Santana currently has a 1.06 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 17 innings, clearly showing a full return from last season’s injury.

#The Crystal Ball

The rotation seems to be delivering on its promise.

The more challenging question is the offense. Five men with 50 or more trips to the plate are hitting under .220, and the fixes available are all 26-to-32-year-olds at Seattle having good months — useful, but not what a rebuild is for.

Portland is 11th in average and 14th in on-base, and the lineup is carried by Bobby Murcer (297/351/446) — graded the worst regular on the roster coming in — plus Griffey and Paul Molitor (261/300/479, 6 homeruns).

#Buy or Sell?

Who knows? It’s May. The Sea Dogs did sell last year, so they don’t really have veteran talent to move this year. But by midseason some of their depth questions might have clarified to the point they can be answered.

#Stories

Shortstop

The preview called it “Hughie Jennings and Clayton and hope.” Through a month: Hughie Jennings is at (183/206/233) in 63 plate appearances and Royce Clayton at (149/184/319) in 51. 114 PA between them and 19 hits.

So I guess there’s hope.

The DH Problem

Gil Hodges hit 38 homeruns in 2001 and was worth −1.4 wins doing it; he is now at (185/228/222) in 57 plate appearances. Kent Hrbek is doing a little better than that, but at least Hrbek has some pedigree to fall back on. Still, patience with Hodges may be wearing thin, and there are some intriguing bats in the minors that may get a look sooner rather than later.

Right Field, Three Ways

Chuck Klein has 5 homeruns, but only a .192 average. Bobby Abreu has been … fine … and then there is Murcer, who seems to have recaptured his form. Klein’s power continues to intrigue, but the OF feels like it is still in its exploratory phase.

The Big Train, Both Ways

Walter Johnson is hitting (333/379/778) with 3 homeruns in 29 plate appearances, mostly from hitting when he starts. 29 PAs decide nothing, but it’s easily the most fun line on the roster.

#Down on the Farm

The system is thin, but there are some names worth tracking.

Hugh Duffy (RF, 21, AAA): 373/413/508 in 63 plate appearances at Seattle, with 3 steals. The preview named him the organization’s best raw power in the minors; he is now also its best performer and, given the discussion of the OF above … may be the next man up.

Vladimir Guerrero (RF, 21, AA): 143/200/286 in 55 plate appearances at Vancouver. Stalled, but only 21.

Brant Alyea (LF, 29, AA): 333/390/710 with 8 homeruns in 77 plate appearances. Loud, but he’s 29 and at AA, which muffles quite a bit.

Not much on the mound. Shaun Marcum (P, 25, AAA): 3.70 in 41.1 innings with 32 strikeouts, the closest thing to a sixth starter. Bill Dietrich (P, 26, A): 2.18 in 33 innings. Tom Glavine (P, 20, A-ball) has thrown 13 innings.

Jack Fournier (1B, 16, A-ball): 225/262/375 in 42 plate appearances. He is sixteen, and playing. That by itself is a confirmation of potential.

#One Number

13.6. Walter Johnson’s strikeouts per nine innings, against 7.6 last season and 7.0 the year before. Whatever Portland thought it had in him, this is even better.

TWIWBL 102.1: Year 3, Week 5 – One Month In!

By mknn

On October 13, 2026

In TWIWBL

6 May, 2002

And we enter the second month of the season! Whoo Hoo!

Which means we have monthly awards for the first time, and we have our first review of the early standings.

#Awards

Miami‘s Robin Yount is the AL Player of the Week, hitting .450 with 2 homeruns, 6 runs and 5 RBI, and slugging an even 1.000. Yount is up to .283 with 6 homeruns and 12 doubles on the year.

The NL Player of the Week goes to Grant Johnson of the New York Gothams for the second week running: Johnson hit .409 with 3 homeruns, 3 doubles and 7 RBI while slugging .955. Overall, he’s hitting .379 with 9 homeruns and a league-leading 15 doubles.

In the minors: Freddie Lindstrom (Chicago American Giants) took the award at AAA Milwaukee, where the 21-year-old third baseman is hitting .306 with 7 homeruns, making his early demotion seem a bit of a mistake in judgement by the American Giants; Raúl Mondesi (Wandering House of David) won at AA Albuquerque, and Al López (Brooklyn) at A-ball Albany, where the 33-year-old catcher is hitting .426.

#April Awards

The first month is in the books, and one name on the list is no surprise at all.

Ted Williams (Memphis) is the AL Batter of the Month, having hit .437 with 14 homeruns, 30 runs and 34 RBI in April while slugging an even 1.000. Grant Johnson takes the NL award–not a surprise given the above.

Waite Hoyt (Chicago) is the AL Pitcher of the Month, going 4-1 with a 2.45 ERA and 40 strikeouts in 36.2 innings. For a team whose primary weakness was dependable starting pitching, the acquisition of Hoyt sure looks like good work for Chicago.

Over in the NL, the Pitcher of the Month goes to one of Johnson’s teammates on the Gothams, Christy Mathewson. Seemingly returning to his 2000 form, Matty has started the season perfectly, going 6-0 with a 2.27 ERA.

Whitey Ford (New York Black Yankees) went 3-2 with a 2.25 ERA in April, earning the AL Rookie of the Month Award, and in the NL, Philadelphia‘s Harmon Killebrew is the Rookie of the Month, despite only hitting .255. 9 homeruns in a calendar month will do that.

The minors have their own monthly awards too, of course.

At AAA, Roger Maris of the New York Black Yankees was the Batter of the Month, hitting .418 with 11 homeruns at Newark, and Mike Scott (Los Angeles) won the Pitcher of the Month, going 4-1 with a 1.98 ERA. Cody Bellinger (Wandering House of David) hit .404 at AA Albuquerque and Hugh Mulcahy (Homestead) went 3-0 with a 1.93 at AA Syracuse. At A-ball, John Bass (Philadelphia) hit 10 homeruns and Fred Gladding (Indianapolis) allowed only 2 earned runs in 15.1 innings, as they took home the monthly honors.

#Team Performance

I know it’s early. You know it’s early. Still, it is May. And that’s no longer April, right?

The best records in the WBL belong to two surprise teams: Memphis leads the Bill James Division and Philadelphia tops the Effa Manley, each with a 20-11 record–that’s a .645 clip.

Ottawa (a game behind Philadelphia) and Chicago (leading the Cum Posey Division) are the only other teams playing over .600 ball.

The Baltimore Black Sox sit at the other end of the scale, already 11.5 games out in the Bill James Division, sitting at 8-22. But they aren’t the only major disappointments: both Birmingham and Indianapolis are only winning at a .333 clip (10-20).

Full standings are at the top of each divisional page for the curious.

#Player Performance

Five weeks in, qualifying is 3.1 plate appearances or 1 inning per team game — about 96 PA and 31 innings.

Some early season streaks of note: The Gothams’ Grant Johnson has a 15 game hitting streak going and Memphis’ Ted Williams has reached base in 30 straight. On the mound, Chicago’s Joel Horlen hasn’t allowed a run in 23 innings and Kansas City’s Smokey Joe Wood in 14.

#Batters

Ted Williams is still the story, and it is getting harder to describe without sounding like an advertisement: he leads the WBL in batting average, on-base, slugging, homeruns, runs, RBI, walks and WAR, outright. That only leaves 2B, 3B, and SB for others.

This list should reduce a little over time, but it’s got some decent WBL storylines in it–the resurgence of a healthy Pete Browning, Rico Carty‘s deal with the devil to combat his age, Cool Papa Bell giving Rickey Henderson some competition for the SB crown, etc.

But it’s really all about The Splendid Splinter for now.

Ernie Banks (HOD). .225/.299/.549. 9 HR, 27 RBI.
Cool Papa Bell (KAN). .204/.295/.280. 10 SB.
Dan Brouthers (BRK). .369/.416/.612. 11 2B.
Pete Browning (HOD). .331/.389/.508. 10 2B, 9 SB.
Rico Carty (PHI). .374/.442/.670.
Oscar Charleston (IND). .300/.341/.642. 12 HR, 29 RBI, 1.9 WAR.
Roberto Clemente (HOM). .372/.413/.698. 7 HR.
Ty Cobb (DET). .345/.390/.708. 10 HR, 2.0 WAR.
Eric Davis (NYY). .260/.353/.452. 8 SB.
Lou Gehrig (NYY). .288/.373/.635. 25 RBI.
Hank Greenberg (DET). .272/.348/.476. 4 3B.
Bobby Grich (BBB). .202/.362/.279. 22 BB.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). .229/.333/.365. 9 SB.
Grant Johnson (NYG). .379/.402/.741. 9 HR, 15 2B, 1.6 WAR.
Harmon Killebrew (PHI). .275/.325/.569. 10 HR.
Willie Mays (NYG). .289/.344/.588. 25 R.
Joe Morgan (IND). .253/.405/.374. 23 BB.
Jackie Robinson (BRK). .336/.381/.509. 14 2B.
Babe Ruth (NYY). .232/.387/.611. 11 HR, 21 BB.
Chino Smith (CAG). .292/.324/.736. 13 HR, 30 R, 32 RBI.
Mike Trout (LAA). .300/.349/.567. 12 2B.
Ted Williams (MEM). .419/.533/.914. 15 HR, 33 R, 39 RBI, 27 BB, 2.7 WAR.

#Pitchers

#Starters

There’s nowhere near the single person dominance on the mound–early days, of course, but it looks like we may have some good years on the mound coming.

Brett Anderson (HOD). 4-2, 2.84.
Steve Carlton (PHI). 4-1, 2.56. 41 K.
Don Drysdale (MEM). 2-1, 2.48. 49 K.
Bob Feller (CLE). 1-4, 4.58. 52 K.
Whitey Ford (NYY). 3-2, 3.19. 2.94 FIP.
Ned Garvin (BAL). 1-2, 4.10. 50 K, .208 BABIP.
Lefty Gomez (BBB). 2-4, 2.82. 2.30 FIP.
Dwight Gooden (LAA). 2-2, 4.30. 1.96 FIP, 1.7 WAR.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 3-1, 3.47. 62 K.
Waite Hoyt (CAG). 4-1, 2.52. 42 K, 2.60 FIP.
Walter Johnson (POR). 3-3, 2.76. 64 K, 2.66 FIP.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 6-0, 2.74. 64 K, 49.1 IP.
José Méndez (MCG). 3-2, 2.57. 0.93 WHIP.
Joseíto Muñoz (POR). 2-0, 2.55. 46 K, 2.48 FIP.
David Price (HOM). 2-1, 2.90. 0.94 WHIP.
Charles Radbourn (OTT). 3-1, 1.57. 2.28 FIP, 1.5 WAR.
Toad Ramsey (HOU). 2-3, 3.24. 50 K, 2.53 FIP, 1.5 WAR.
Tom Seaver (MEM). 2-1, 1.59.
J.M. Ward (PHI). 4-2, 3.51. .213 BABIP.
Jim Whitney (MCG). 1-1, 3.40. 54 K, 0.86 WHIP.
Smokey Joe Wood (KAN). 3-0, 2.23. 47 K, 0.69 WHIP, 2.31 FIP.

#Relievers

Rate stats still want another week or two. The saves and holds:

Rod Beck (SFS). 1-2, 4.09. 7 Sv.
Dellin Betances (HOD). 2 Sv, 4 Hld.
Jack Billingham (POR). 3.60. 7 Sv.
Chad Bradford (DET). 2-2, 3.68. 5 Hld.
Jeurys Familia (LAA). 3.21. 5 Hld.
Eric Gagné (BRK). 0.75. 8 Sv.
Andrew Miller (MEM). 1.26. 6 Sv.
Jonathan Papelbon (MCG). 3.27. 7 Sv.
Eustaquio Pedroso (MCG). 4.87. 4 Hld.
Vito Tamulis (NYG). 3.38. 6 Hld.
Kent Tekulve (NYG). 2-0, 4.76. 5 Hld.
Brian Wilson (NYG). 1.74. 9 Sv.

Note that the Gothams may be back on track in their quest to rebuild their bullpen.

Two arms have yet to allow a run at all: Birmingham’s Kerry Ligtenberg over 16.1 innings, with 21 strikeouts and 4 hits allowed, and Chicago’s Joe Horlen over 20.2.

#Hardest Shots

Birmingham’s Eddie Mathews hit the hardest ball of the season so far, a 126 mph solo homerun. Mathews doesn’t hit many balls, but at least that one was a freaking rocket. Cleveland‘s Ed Bailey and Birmingham’s Bobby Grich also hit balls over 120 mph.

The hardest out belonged to a pitcher: Jim Whitney (Miami) flew out to center at 118 mph.

#Injuries

Houston‘s outfield took another hit–with Tony Gwynn already sidelined, the eternally underappreciated Jim Wynn will miss 2-3 weeks.

Frank Grant of the San Francisco Sea Lions is out a couple weeks and some other important names (Ottawa’s Gary Peters, Cleveland’s Louis Santop, Kansas City‘s Rube Foster, and Homestead’s Ricardo Rincón) will each miss about a week.

TWIWBL 101.1: Year 3, Week 4 – Easing Into the Season

By mknn

On September 17, 2026

In TWIWBL

29 April, 2002

#Awards

Al Kaline is the AL Player of the Week for Detroit, on a .400 week with 6 doubles, 2 homeruns and 10 RBI — powered by a 3-double game followed by a 2-homer, 5-RBI day. He is hitting .326 with 7 homeruns.

The NL Player of the Week is the New York Gothams‘ HR Johnson, who hit .400 with 4 homeruns and 9 RBI over 6 games, slugging .960. Johnson is fast becoming a fan favorite for the Gothams, for obvious reasons, but also for confirmation that perhaps they pulled a fast one on the Black Yankees in the offseason with his acquistion.

In the minors: Josh Harrison (New York Black Yankees) took the award at AAA Newark on a 14-for-28 week, and continues to make an argument for a longer trial at the WBL level; Steve Henderson (Los Angeles) took the AA Player of the Week, and Bob Cerv (Houston) won it at A-ball.

#Three Games

{A new section: when I can’t think of better topic for the front page, we’ll highlight 3 games of note from the week that was.}

Cleveland @ Ottawa, 24 April

Two pitchers with lightning in their arms and massive question marks on their futures faced off in Ottawa, with Cleveland’s Bob Feller taking the mound against the Mounties’ Big Question Mark, Randy Johnson. Both did well, allowing only a single run each. Feller’s day was better, with 11 strikeouts in over 6 innings, while Johnson did his usual thing, walking as many as he whiffed (5 of each).

Neither were around for the exciting parts of the game.

First, in the top of the 7th, RBI’s by Tris Speaker and Larry Doby gave Cleveland a 3-1 lead. Then, the Spiders turned the game over to Aroldis Chapman–their key offseason acquisition, who has been even more important with closer Terry Adams hurt for about a week. Chapman has been … awful. Which continued here.

First, he hit Gary Carter, then gave up singles to Álex Rodríguez and Adrián Beltré, loading the bases. And then Ottawa’s manager got creative, first sending pitcher Bill Smith in to pinch run for Beltré and then sending Old Hoss Radbourn, another pitcher, up to hit for the struggling John Olerud. While the fans were scratching their heads–Olerud is obviously better at the plate than Radbourn–Radbourn simply delivered, driving in 2 with a sharply hit single to left.

Chapman got to 2 outs, but no further, as a single from Roberto Alomar plated Radbourn with the winning run.

CLE 3 (Chapman 0-2, 3 BSv) @ OTT 4 (Holland 2-0)
HRs: none.
Box Score

Chicago @ San Francisco, 28 April

After a rough start, San Francisco has begun to right the ship while Chicago has been surprisingly good in the early going. This game felt like the Sea Lions continuing to reassert their dominance … until ….

Hits from Reggie Jackson and Jack Clark were the big blows, each driving in 2, and San Francisco led 5-0 behind easily the best start of the year so far from Tom Brewer. With the strength of the Sea Lions’ bullpen a well known commodity, some fans had even begun to eye the exits.

And then came the 8th.

Charlie Ferguson allowed a single to Jack Doyle before being relieved by Ken Howell. Howell got two outs–strikeouts of Chino Smith and Mickey Vernon–but allowed 2 singles and 2 doubles before giving way to Trevor Hoffman. Cristóbal Torriente doubled in 2, Kevin Mitchell and Travis Jackson had RBIs, and Eddie Collins greeted Hoffman with a double of his own and suddenly the American Giants were, somehow, ahead, 6-5.

They didn’t need it, but Chicago wasn’t done: Smith hit a 2 run shot in the 9th and Jackson drove in 2 more with a double. With Alex Reyes shutting down San Francisco in the 8th and 9th, that was it and the American Giants emerged with a 10-5 victory.

Allen, Collins, and Jackson each had 3 hits for Chicago on the day.

CAG 10 (Reyes 1-0) @ SFS 5 (Howell 1-1; Hoffman 1 BSv)
HRs: CAG – C. Smith (9); SFS – none.
Box Score

Birmingham @ the House of David, 28 April

It was the last game of the week. We were all just tired.

So nobody thought much about it when Paul Konerko blasted a solo shot off Bob Shaw to tie the game 5-5 in the top of the 8th. Given how well the offenses performed earlier, it seemed obvious that more runs were coming (Birmingham’s John Malarkey had surrendered 11 hits and 5 runs in 5 innings, including a 3 run shot by Ernie Banks; Jack Taylor was barely better for the House of David, giving up 4 runs in his 5 innings of work).

But the bullpens decided to change the script. For Birmingham, Al Javery, Akinori Otsuka, Harley Young, and Kerry Ligtenberg combined to allow 3 hits and zero runs over 9 innings of work, while for the home team, Scott Downs, Ed Bauta, Dellin Betances, Fergie Jenkins, and Karl Spooner gave up more hits (6), but were equally effective over 8 combined frames.

So, what happened?

Birmingham turned to Slim Embrey in the bottom of the 16th. And Embrey can’t really be blamed for what happened: he retired Ryne Sandberg, then saw Pete Browning and Ernie Banks reach on errors before Ron Santo singled to load the bases. Embrey then grooved one to Anthony Rizzo, who deposited in the seats for a walkoff grandslam homerun.

Cap Anson, Sandberg, and Santo had 3 hits each for the House of David, and Bobby Grich and Melky Cabrera had 3 for the Black Barons.

BBB 5 (Embrey 0-1) @ HOD 9 (Spooner 2-0; Shaw 1 BSv)
HRs: BBB – Konerko (5); HOD – Banks (6), Rizzo (4).
Box Score

#Player Performance

Four weeks in, the lists are starting to hold their shape. Qualifying is 3.1 plate appearances or 1 inning per team game — about 80 PA and 26 innings.

#Batters

The Ted Williams problem has not gone away. He leads the WBL in batting average, on-base, slugging, runs, RBI, walks and WAR outright, and shares the homerun lead with Indianapolis’ Oscar Charleston at 12. Williams is hitting .434 with a .952 slugging percentage.

As usual, top 2-3 in most all stats below.

Cool Papa Bell (KAN). .203/.292/.291. 8 SB.
John Briggs (MEM). .247/.306/.438. 12 2B.
Pete Browning (HOD). .337/.393/.525. 9 SB.
Rico Carty (PHI). .375/.446/.694.
Oscar Charleston (IND). .304/.345/.676. 12 HR, 29 RBI, 1.8 WAR.
Ty Cobb (DET). .348/.402/.685. 1.5 WAR.
Lou Gehrig (NYY). .311/.398/.711. 24 RBI.
Hank Greenberg (DET). .241/.327/.448. 3 3B.
HR Johnson (NYG). .372/.400/.691. 12 2B.
Willie Mays (NYG). .283/.343/.641. 21 R.
Joe Morgan (IND). .230/.396/.297. 20 BB.
Jackie Robinson (BRK). .323/.368/.515. 13 2B.
Bullet Joe Rogan (PHI). .344/.385/.885. 9 HR.
Babe Ruth (NYY). .228/.384/.608. 9 HR, 19 BB.
Chino Smith (CAG). .277/.307/.699. 9 HR, 22 R.
Turkey Stearnes (SFS). .259/.300/.635. 9 HR.
Roy White (BRK). .303/.402/.487.
Ted Williams (MEM). .434/.542/.952. 12 HR, 28 R, 32 RBI, 22 BB, 2.4 WAR.

At the other end, Los Angeles’s Dobie Moore has now struck out 55 times, 9 clear of anyone else. Moore has shown some signs of life lately, but it’s a deep hole to crawl out of.

#Pitchers

Christy Mathewson of the New York Gothams is the league’s only 5-game winner, sitting at 5-0.

#Starters

Steve Carlton (PHI). 4-1, 1.89.
Whitey Ford (NYY). 3-2, 2.25. .195 BABIP.
Dwight Gooden (LAA). 2-2, 4.41. 1.90 FIP, 1.5 WAR.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 3-1, 3.63. 54 K.
Waite Hoyt (CAG). 4-1, 2.45.
Walter Johnson (POR). 3-1, 2.37. 45 K, 0.82 WHIP, 1.74 FIP, 1.3 WAR.
Dennis Martínez (BAL). 3-1, 3.45. .178 BABIP.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 5-0, 2.50. 48 K.
Charles Radbourn (OTT). 2-0, 1.38.
Toad Ramsey (HOU). 2-3, 3.28. 1.4 WAR.
Tom Seaver (MEM). 1-1, 1.95.
Smokey Joe Wood (KAN). 2-0, 2.78. 0.77 WHIP.

#Relievers

One more week until we actually have some decent insight into the relievers–for now, here are the 4 closers tied atop the league with 6 saves each.

Rod Beck (SFS). 1-1, 3.00. 6 Sv.
Jack Billingham (POR). 0-1, 4.00. 6 Sv.
Jonathan Papelbon (MCG). 0-0, 3.00. 6 Sv.
Brian Wilson (NYG). 0-1, 2.35. 6 Sv.

#Hardest Shots

Josh Gibson owned the week: a 124 mph solo homerun off Indianapolis‘s Luis Padrón on Saturday was the hardest ball struck by anyone, and he also had a 120 mph double and a 119 mph homerun. Gibson’s overall stats aren’t showing it yet, but the thunder in the bat is clearly still there.

The hardest out was Ted Williams‘s — a 122 mph fly ball to right.

#Injuries

The big one is Bullet Joe Rogan, out about 2 weeks — Philadelphia loses a rotation turn and a bat with 9 homeruns in one move, and he is the fourth Stars pitcher on the disabled list in 10 days. The Gothams lose Dave Righetti for about the same stretch.

Memphis swingman Len Barker and Los Angeles OF Dwight Evans both hit the DL this week as well.

TWIWBL 100.3: Year 3, Week 3 – Cum Posey Division

By mknn

On September 4, 2026

In TWIWBL

Team	W/L	Pct	GB
San Francisco Sea Lions	12-7	.632	—
Los Angeles Angels	11-8	.579	1
Portland Sea Dogs	11-8	.579	1
Chicago American Giants	10-8	.556	1.5
Miami Cuban Giants	9-10	.474	3

Cum Posey Division | 22 April

Chicago American Giants

Sam Streeter struck out 10 for the second time this year, but you wouldn’t know it from his ERA, which tops 7.00.

Los Angeles Angels

Richie Hebner hit 2 homeruns and drove in 4 in a 10-7 win at Portland.

Miami Cuban Giants

Robin Yount hit 2 out of the park in an 8-3 win over Los Angeles. It was a costly win for Miami, as Iván Rodríguez was hurt running the bases and will miss 5-6 weeks. Smoky Burgess was recalled from AAA to back up Chris Hoiles behind the plate.

A few days later Alejandro Oms joined the Cuban Giants on the DL, with Miami recalling reliver Aaron Barrett in hopes of lengthening their bullpen.

Portland Sea Dogs

Sure, Walter Johnson is the best SP in the league right now, but he’s hitting this year, too, sporting a .368 average on the young season.

Joseíto Muñoz struck out 11 in a 7-1 win over Los Angeles, with the Sea Dogs leaving the youngster in there for 142 pitches. That can’t be a great long term plan.

Chuck Klein had a hand in all 4 runs of a 4-3, 11-inning win over Baltimore: 2 solo homeruns, a 2-out single to tie it in the 8th, and scoring the winning run in the 11th. Klein is slugging over .500 as he adjusts to life in the WBL.

Jerry Blevins–hurt since well into last season–has begun a rehab assignment.

San Francisco Sea Lions

Some good pitching has brought San Francisco’s overall performance back towards expectations. Bump Hadley allowed 1 hit in 6 innings with 11 strikeouts, and then Lefty Grove struck out 13 in a 4-1 win over the Black Yankees.

Veteran Tim Hudson was injured while pitching and will miss about 2 weeks. The timing sped up Ron Robinson‘s return, with the reliever being welcomed back after an absence of close to a year.

TWIWBL 100.1: Year 3, Week 3 – Early Days Yet

By mknn

On September 2, 2026

In TWIWBL

Sort of fun to have made it to a century of TWIWBL’s.

22 April, 2002

There’s just not a lot to write about yet–we have some injuries, we have some potentially impactful rehab assignments, and we have some early performances to track, but it’s all only 3 weeks old.

Probably the most striking thing is the lack of separation–other the abysmal start by the Indianapolis ABCs, who are 4-14, almost all of the league is held in pretty tight clusters around .500.

#Awards

Memphis‘ Ted Williams was named the AL Player of the Week, hitting .400 for the week with 6 homeruns, 13 RBI and 9 runs scored. Four of his homeruns came on a single Wednesday — 2 in a suspended game finished that afternoon, 2 more in the nightcap. Williams’ name will recur a lot this week, as the Red Sox OF is basically tearing the cover off the ball.

The NL Player of the Week is a far less well-known name: Kansas City‘s Mickey Welch threw 18 innings across 2 starts and allowed 1 earned run, giving him a 0.50 ERA with 11 strikeouts and 2 walks, including a complete-game 2-hit shutout of Brooklyn with a game score of 89, the best single start in the WBL this season.

#In The Minors

Elmer Smith (Los Angeles) took AAA Player of the Week honours at Las Vegas, Marquis Grissom (Miami) at AA Havana, and Pat Meares (Portland) in A-ball at St. Paul.

#Player Performance

In general, we list the top 2-3 in all categories, and we’ve usually seen the lists stabilize over the course of a season. It’s very early days, but a lot of the names here are quite familiar.

#Batters

The batting leaders have a Ted Williams problem, as The Splendid Splinter leads the WBL in batting average, on-base, slugging, runs, RBI and walks, and shares the homerun lead — 6 of the 9 categories outright, and a share of a 7th.

Williams shares the homerun lead with Philadelphia‘s Bullet Joe Rogan. Rogan, of course, is doing it while maintaining his spot in the Stars’ rotation. He doesn’t even qualify for the batting rate stats, making his 9 dingers even more impressive.

In addition to Gehrig below, HOM’s Judy Johnson, NYG’s Willie Mays, and CLE’s Arky Vaughan are tied with 2 triples each. KAN’s Cool Papa Bell and SFS’s Frank Grant lead the WBL with 5 SB each.

Roberto Alomar (OTT). 379/425/682. 1.3 WAR.
Pete Browning (HOD). 368/429/632.
Rico Carty (PHI). 389/424/759.
Ty Cobb (DET). 391/427/754. 27 H.
Carlos Delgado (LAA). 261/433/457.
Lou Gehrig (NYY). 318/416/758. 21 RBI.
Grant Johnson (NYG). 362/392/594. 10 2B.
Jackie Robinson (BRK). 301/338/521. 10 2B.
Charles Rogan (PHI). 327/375/904. 9 HR, 17 R.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 232/419/500. 17 BB.
Turkey Stearnes (SFS). 286/318/714. 8 HR.
Ted Williams (MEM). 443/568/967. 27 H, 9 HR, 19 R, 24 RBI, 19 BB, 1.7 WAR.

At the less glorious end, Los Angeles’s Dobie Moore has struck out 40 times in 48 games’ worth of at-bats and is hitting .100. Which is not a lot of return for Tom Seaver, who is pitching like an ace for Memphis.

#Pitchers

Ten hurlers have 3 wins. One of them, Portland’s Walter Johnson has been the best pitcher in the league by a distance, going 3-0 with a 1.65 ERA and a 0.73 WHIP. Johnson has done this before–he was the best pitcher over the first half of 2000 before fading a bit down the stretch.

San Francisco‘s Lefty Grove leads the league with 49 strikeouts and struck out 13 in a single start himself, the highest total of the young season.

#Starters

A very early list for sure.

Bob Feller (CLE). 1-4, 5.96. 32 K.
Dwight Gooden (LAA). 2-2, 3.86. 1.89 FIP, 1.0 WAR.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 3-1, 3.78. 49 K. 33 IP.
Walter Johnson (POR). 3-0, 1.65. 41 K. 27 IP. 0.73 WHIP, 1.94 FIP, 1.2 WAR.
Dennis Martínez (BAL). 3-0, 2.49. .178 BABIP.
Camilo Pascual (MCG). 3-0, 4.03.
Toad Ramsey (HOU). 2-2, 3.57. 0.9 WAR.
Charlie Root (DET). 1-1, 2.11.
Tom Seaver (MEM). 1-1, 2.01.
J.M. Ward (PHI). 2-1, 2.35. .158 BABIP.
Mickey Welch (KAN). 2-1, 3.62. 27 IP.
Vic Willis (LAA). 2-0, 2.37. 0.74 WHIP.

#Relievers

Too early for rate stats, so we’re looking at the leaders in saves and holds only for now.

Rod Beck (SFS). 1-0, 0.00. 6 Sv.
Dellin Betances (HOD). 0-1, 5.40. 3 H.
Chad Bradford (DET). 2-1, 5.00. 3 H.
Roberto Osuna (HOU). 0-1, 1.12. 3 H.
Jonathan Papelbon (MCG). 0-0, 3.86. 5 Sv.
Harley Young (BBB). 0-1, 2.16. 5 Sv.

#Hardest Shots

Five balls tied at 119 mph this week, from homeruns to singles to a groundout to short: Ted Williams‘s 3-run blast (there’s that man again), Jim Wynn‘s solo shot, Frank Grant‘s double, and Mark McGwire‘s groundball single all at least had positive outcomes. Not so much for Mickey Mantle, who laced a ball on the ground at the same velocity, only to be thrown out 6-3.

#Injuries

Three notable losses this week.

Brooklyn will be without Pedro Guerrero for about 6 weeks, which would usually elicit a yawn, but Guerrero had started the season strong, and leaves a hole in the Royal Giants lineup. Two other high profile names hit the DL as well: Miami’s Iván Rodríguez is out for for 5-6 weeks, and Houston will be without Tony Gwynn for 3 weeks or so.

TWIWBL 99.3: Year 3, Week 2 – Cum Posey Division

By mknn

On August 26, 2026

In TWIWBL

Team	W/L	Pct	GB
Chicago American Giants	7-6	.538	—
Los Angeles Angels	7-6	.538	—
Miami Cuban Giants	7-6	.538	—
Portland Sea Dogs	7-6	.538	—
San Francisco Sea Lions	7-6	.538	—

Cum Posey Division | 15 April

Chicago American Giants

Mark Buehrle threw a 1-hitter! But … rain ended the game after 6 innings. So, yay him, but not quite the usual celebration. Travis Jackson carried the offense with 2 homeruns.

The American Giants got a combined shutout, also weather shortened, as Waite Hoyt, Wilbur Wood, and Will Smith held Los Angeles to 5 hits in just under 8 innings, with Chicago winning 2-0.

Miami Cuban Giants

Some meh news from the medical staff: there is still no clear date for Julio Rodríguez‘ return from injury.

Jim Whitney, still really trying to find his groove, whiffed 10 in a no decision against San Francisco.

San Francisco Sea Lions

Bump Hadley and Charlie Ferguson split each side of a rain delay, combining on a 3 hit, 11-0 romp over Miami. Ferguson’s 4 hitless innings gave him that odd statistical achievement of a save in a blowout.

Portland Sea Dogs

Walter Johnson (2-0) delivered one of the finest starts of the year in a 2-1 victory over Detroit. Johnson whiffed 13 in 8 innings, allowing only 4 hits and 1 run (a solo shot to Ty Cobb), for a game score of 83 on the day. The Big Train DHs when he pitches (and is hitting .385 with a dinger), and he was key here, doubling in the 8th with 1 out to move the winning run to 3rd.

TWIWBL 98.3: Year 3, Week 1 – Cum Posey Division

By mknn

On August 18, 2026

In TWIWBL

Team	W/L	Pct	GB
Portland Sea Dogs	5-2	.714	—
Miami Cuban Giants	4-3	.571	1
Chicago American Giants	4-3	.571	1
Los Angeles Angels	3-4	.429	2
San Francisco Sea Lions	2-5	.286	3

Cum Posey Division | 8 April

Chicago American Giants

The American Giants swept San Francisco at home to close the week — 14-7, 8-5, 6-3 — and scored 50 runs in 7 games, the most in the division. An encouraging sign for a franchise at a crossroads this season.

Chino Smith did a lot of the damage: 2 homers at Detroit in an x-y win/loss, then 3 hits and a 2-run shot in the first game of the sweep.

Sam Streeter struck out 10 in 5 innings in the opening victory over the Sea Lions, and veteran soft-tosser Jamie Moyer has quietly been effective early, winning 2 out of the bullpen over the 1st week.

Miami Cuban Giants

Julio Rodríguez was injured running the bases on the 3rd and is on the disabled list — a serious blow, as the 20-year-old center fielder hit 42 homers with a 1.008 OPS last season. Mark Kotsay was recalled, and will see time in the OF with CF largely being patrolled by Yasiel Puig and Andy Pafko in JRod’s absence.

Portland Sea Dogs

Huston Street was signed as a FA and put to work immediately, working 2 scoreless innings in a 5-3 win over Baltimore. Harry Matuzak was optioned to AAA Seattle to make room for Street.

Walter Johnson struck out 10 over 6 innings in an 11-9 win at Los Angeles, with Bobby Murcer collecting 4 hits and 4 RBIs and Ken Griffey Jr hitting a 3-run homer.

San Francisco Sea Lions

Five losses in 6 games, and a sweep in Chicago to finish, leaves the Sea Lions last in the division at 2-5. Wait, what?

The bats have not been the problem. In the 14-7 loss that opened the sweep in Chicago, Jimmie Foxx hit 2 solo homers and Bobby Bonds had 3 hits and a 2-run shot. Bonds’ blast flew 459 ft, the longest home run struck in the division this week.

Aaron Heilman will miss about a week with a shoulder sprain, with the Sea Lions recalling Tim Hudson from his rehab stint to take Heilman’s place in the bullpen.

98.1: Welcome to Week 1 & Opening Day Games

By mknn

On August 16, 2026

In TWIWBL

8 April, 2002

Welcome to Year III! Woot woot!

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

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

Awards

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

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

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

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

Opening Day Games

Kansas City 5, Ottawa 4.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

San Francisco 5, New York Black Yankees 2.

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

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

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

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

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

New York Gothams 9, Indianapolis 6.

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

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

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

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

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

Detroit 7, Miami 5.

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

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

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

Portland 7, Memphis 3.

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

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

Philadelphia 9, Wandering House of David 5.

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

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

Bits & Bobs

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

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

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

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

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