Tag: Watty Clark Page 2 of 4

Season Review: Brooklyn Royal Giants

On December 22, 2023

77 - 77, .500 pct.
3rd in Marvin Miller Division, 7.5 games behind.

Overall

The penultimate team to be eliminated from the playoffs, the Royal Giants were a bit of a surprise, but still need help to move into true playoff contention. Most of that needs to come from the offense, where there is a lack of elite talent virtually across the board. But they are one of the few teams in the league stacked on the mound.

What Went Right

Not a lot of high spots offensively. CF John Briggs destroyed AA, was promoted to Brooklyn, and totally crushed WBL pitching over his first 40 games. RF Beals Becker, against all expectations, was the team MVP, combining power and speed to great effect.

Roy White was the heart of the team and Duke Snider their best source of power, but neither were true stars if we’re being honest, with OPS’ in the low .800s.

Beyond that … I dunno … they stole a lot of bases (7 players had over 15: Becker, White, Snider, Frank Isbell, Jackie Robinson, Dickie Thon, and Davey Lopes).

If that all sounds very wishy-washy, let’s move on to a more encouraging topic: the Royal Giants kicked ass on the mound, led by Don Drysedale and Frank Knauss. Sandy Koufax and Dutch Leonard were a little erratic, but very solid behind them, and the bullpen was spectacular, led by Watty Clark (likely to be converted to a starter), Eric Gagne (likely to take Clark’s place as closer), Trevor Hildenberger, and Darren Dreifort.

How good were they? Only one pitcher–Ralph Branca over 31 innings–had a negative WAR.

ALL STARS
SP Don Drysedale

What Went Wrong

The IF was a bit weak all year, with Jackie Robinson and Ray Dandridge both being decent, but not quite good enough to hold down a steady spot in the lineup. Mike Piazza was horrible at C, earning a trip to AAA and leaving duties behind the plate to Al López and Duke Farrell, who weren’t very good.

Probably the biggest mistake on the mound was not calling up Smokey Joe Williams earlier.

Transactions

March

None

June

P Don Sutton to New York Gothams for OF Don Mueller, P Ray Lamb, P Gil Heredia, P Lew Krausse Jr, 1st Round Pick {Al Simmons} & 8th Round Pick

A big win, especially for a team rich in arms.

OF Curt Flood, 2B Manny Trillo & 6th Round Pick to Birmingham for IF Frank Isbell

Isbell did well, but that’s a lot to give up for a 30 year old.

July

None

Looking Forward

SP

The Royal Giants could have as many as 7 starters under long term contracts: Don Drysedale, Smokey Joe Williams, Sandy Koufax, Watty Clark, Orel Hershiser, Dick Redding, and Nap Rucker sounds like a very intimidating staff …

RP

… especially with Darren Dreifort, Eric Gagne, and Ron Perranoski coming out of the bullpen.

C

Brooklyn is hoping this is Mike Piazza but early indications are not great.

1B

A clear void at the moment, but the Royal Giants like the potential of Dan Brouthers.

2B

Hopefully, Jackie Robinson can do a bit more offensively.

3B

At some point, the Royal Giants will need to decide between Ron Cey and Ray Dandridge.

SS

Germany Smith‘s surprising power earned him a look for next year, but if that doesn’t work out, it’s not clear what plan B is.

LF

Roy White for a while, and after that, who knows?

CF

This could be interesting. Right now, this is John Briggs‘ position to lose, but Brooklyn also has Ron Fairly and Duke Snider in the mix.

RF

Beals Becker will hold this down for a while, but the team is really hoping Raúl Mondesi can take it over at some point.

The Rookie Draft

Rounds 1-4

The Royal Giants have 2 first round picks, so they have a chance to address some of their offensive struggles. The first went to Ed Delahanty, who should actually fit in well: he plays a mixture of 2B, 1B, and the OF, allowing him to slot in around their current talent. The second was more of shock that OF Al Simmons was still available.

Brooklyn was annoyed when Los Angeles took Babe Herman just before their pick in the 2nd round, forcing them to scramble. They eventually settled on Dazzy Vance–an odd choice for a team as pitching rich as the Royal Giants, but Vance projects as a late bloomer.

In the 3rd round, the Royal Giants picked up OF George Selkirk and in the 4th C/OF prospect Elston Howard, their final franchise exemption.

Rounds 5-8

5th round pick Jimmy Johnston is an OFer now, but may end up in the IF eventually and 7th round pick Walker Buehler may actually end up being a bit of a steal.

From here on out, it’s C, pitching, and perhaps some OF depth for the Royal Giants, beginning with Ps Doc Scanlan and Vic Lombardi in the 8th round.

Rounds 9-12

P Odalis Pérez; IF Greg Pryor; P Doc Newton; and P Victor González.

Series XXXVI Featured Matchup: Brooklyn Royal Giants @ Portland Sea Dogs

By mknn

On August 3, 2023

In Featured Series, Game Recaps

Series preview here.

#Game 1: Frank Knauss @ Mike Cuellar

Ron Cey opened up the scoring int he 4th inning with his 21st homerun of the year, a moon shot to deep left. In the 6th, Matt Holliday added a 2-run shot and an RBI double from Jackie Robinson chased Portland’s starter, Mike Cuellar, from the mound. Germany Smith would drive in another, and by the time the inning ended, the Royal Giants were up, 5-0.

Frank Knauss would lose his shutout in the bottom of the inning, surrendering a 2-run homerun to Rogers Hornsby.

That was it, as Brooklyn was able to shut down the Sea Dogs, with Smokey Joe Williams pitching 2 scoreless in relief of Knauss and Trevor Hildenberger picking up his 4th save.

BRK 5 (Knauss 12-5; Hildenberger 4 Sv; Williams 3 H) @ POR 2 (Cuellar 12-8)
HRs: BRK – Cey (21), Holliday (3); POR – Hornsby (12).
Box Score

#Game 2: Sandy Koufax @ Pascual Pérez

Brooklyn took the lead in a very Brooklyn way: Frank Isbell singled to lead off the contest and stole second, moved to third on a soft hit from Duke Snider, and scored on a groundout from Roy White. And Portland tied it in a very Portland way: a solo shot from Buddy Bell in the bottom of the second.

White hit his 15th of the year in the 4th putting the Royal Giants back in front, but Bell was not to be denied: his second shot of the game tied it up at 2.

Both starters turned it over to the bullpens, which seemed to go well until Duke Snider launched a homerun off Wade Miller in the top of the 8th, his 3rd hit of the day.

The Sea Dogs got creative in the bottom of the frame: Gavvy Cravath was sent up to pinch hit and delivered a leadoff double. He was replaced at second by Gary Pettis and Adrián Beltré was inserted to hit for José González. Beltré lifted a flyball to LF just deep enough to move Pettis to third. A walk to Jim Fregosi brought Eric Gagne in to relieve Darren Dreifort, but Gagne couldn’t find the zone, walking Pudge Rodríguez to load the bases for the Sea Dogs leading slugger, Kent Hrbek. Gagne figured it out, fanning Hrbek and getting Bobby Murcer to ground out.

So that seems to have been the key opportunity.

Watty Clark threw a 1-2-3 ninth to cement the victory for the Royal Giants, whose push for the wildcard continues.

BRK 3 (Dreifort 4-3; Clark 25 Sv; Gagne 9 H) @ POR 2 (Miller 10-6)
HRs: BRK – White (15), Snider (29); POR – Bell 2 (20).
Box Score

#Game 3: Dutch Leonard @ Dizzy Trout

Brooklyn needs at least 3 wins in the series, preferably 4, so todays matchup of Dutch Leonard (11-11, 4.19) against Dizzy Trout (6-5, 4.53) looms large.

Beals Becker may be Brooklyn’s MVP this season: again he comes through, this time with a leadoff homerun. Portland’s Buddy Bell tied it up in the 3rd with his 21st round-tripper of the season. But that was it: through 5 innings, Trout had allowed 4 hits and Leonard only the single long ball.

Trout struck out the side in the 6th, and gave way to Mark Melancon in the 7th after a 1-out double from Jackie Robinson. Pinch hitter Matt Holliday singled Robinson home to give the Royal Giants a 2-1 edge.

Gavvy Cravath picked up Portland’s second hit in the bottom of the 7th and eventually came around to tie the game on an RBI single from Bell. That chased Leonard, which might have been a mistake: Orel Hershiser gave up a double to Jeff Burroughs, scoring 2 and putting the Sea Dogs on top, 4-2. Hershiser and Ralph Branca proved far too hittable, and by the time the 9th rolled around, Portland was up 7-2.

This is what Melancon did in Houston before joining Portland, earning him the nickname of The Vulture. It was his first win for the Sea Dogs, but his 10th on the season out of the bullpen. Leonard took the loss, but the blame really falls on the Royal Giants pen as Brooklyn missed a great chance to edge closer to the wildcard spots.

BRK 2 (Leonard 11-12) @ POR 7 (Melancon 1-0)
HRs: BRK – Becker (25); POR – Bell (21), Murcer (23).
Box Score

#Game 4: Tommy Hanson @ Walter Johnson

Getting a 3rd win in the series could be a challenge for Brooklyn as they’ll send Tommy Hanson up against one of the best in the league in the Sea Dogs’ Walter Johnson.

A Joe Mauer homerun in the bottom of the first put the Sea Dogs up early. In the 3rd, Brooklyn broke through against Johnson with 2 outs: 2 walks, a single, and a wild pitch tied the game, and then a single from Roy White plated 2 for a 3-1 lead for the Royal Giants. Portland responded immediately with an RBI single from Rogers Hornsby scoring Kent Hrbek and Gavvy Cravath and tying the game at 3rd.

And that was where we stayed: Hanson was laboring, throwing over 100 pitches across 4 innings, and was replaced by Smokey Joe Williams in the 5th. Jackie Robinson chased Johnson in the 7th with a double, and came around to score on a single from Al López off reliever Frank Williams. Beals Becker and John Briggs followed with singles to load the bases and bring in Ray Fontenot from the Sea Dogs bullpen. Which did not go as planned, as White drove in 2 more before Ron Cey launched his 22nd homerun deep to left. That made the score 9-3 Brooklyn.

Portland made it close with 2 homeruns in the 9th (including Mauer’s second of the game), but Brooklyn held on for the 10-8 win and their 3rd of the series.

White finished with 3 hits and 5 RBIs while both Cravath and Hornsby had 3 hits for Portland.

BRK 10 (Williams 3-1; Clark 26 Sv) @ POR 8 (Johnson 14-5)
HRs: BRK – Cey (22), White (16); POR – Mauer 2 (15), Hornsby (13).
Box Score

Series XXXVI Preview: Brooklyn Royal Giants @ Portland Sea Dogs

By mknn

On August 1, 2023

In Featured Series, Series Previews

The Brooklyn Royal Giants were the last team in the WBL to only be featured twice (Series II and XVII). They head to Portland for Series XXXVI 5 games out of the final wild card spot and on their last legs with fewer than 15 games to play. Portland should be more familiar, having been featured in Series IV, XVII, and XXXI.

Close readers will notice that this is a repeat match up: In Series XVII: Brooklyn took 3 out of 4 from the Sea Dogs. A repeat would keep their postseason hopes alive.

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

Brooklyn has an outside shot at the postseason, but it’s going to take something special for them to get there. They are 7 games back in the Marvin Miller Division, and 5 games out of the final wild card spot.

They are only 2 games over .500, so they aren’t a great team by any stretch. But, man can they pitch.

The staff is led by Frank Knauss (11-5, 3.40) and Don Drysedale, whose solid performances and 3.91 ERA deserve better than his 8-9 record. Dutch Leonard is solid in the #3 slot and the mercurial Sandy Koufax (who has a 1-hitter, but also a 4.75 ERA).

But that’s only part of the story, as Watty Clark (24 saves) has been among the most effective closers in the league, and Darren Dreifort and Trevor Hildenberger have been fantastic in getting him the ball.

So that’s the good news.

The best regular has been Beals Becker (304/373/505), with OFs Duke Snider and Roy White and 3B Ron Cey providing solid production. Snider, who leads the team with 81 RBIs, has 28 homeruns, with Becker adding 24 and Cey 20.

There are a few other stories here: 20 year old John Briggs was promoted to the WBL to much consternation after dominating the lower leagues. He’s proven himself more than capable, slashing 365/455/612 over his first 100 PAs. Germany Smith, a fantastic fielder, has also provided some surprising power from SS. And, finally, there’s Jackie Robinson, whose stat line (239/324/399) is nothing special, but seems to be in the middle of most positive offensive moments for the Royal Giants.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Portland has a 2 game edge in the Marvin Miller Division, and look like a good bet for the postseason.

They’re a solid team top to bottom, but also one that has navigated quite a few key injuries and has made some brilliant acquisitions on the trade market.

Their staff is led by Walter Johnson (14-4, 3.36) and Bert Blyleven (10-11, 4.25), but Mike Cuellar (12-7, 4.52) and Wade Miller (10-5, 4.56) both have reached double digits as well. Cuellar has 48 appearances out of the bullpen and only 4 starts, but seems for now to be entrenched in the rotation.

Johan Santana was the best closer in the league before losing the season to injury. Since then, that role has been passed between Elmer Brown and Bob Porterfield, with Porterfield currently getting most of the save opportunities. Trevor Hoffman and Mark Melancon, obtained from Houston at the All-Star break, have been solid, with Hoffman also edging into the closer conversation.

Speaking of trade acquisitions …

2B Rogers Hornsby was brought in in the first trading period and has solidified the infield for Portland. While his numbers are slightly down from his time with Kansas City, Hornsby is still slashing 285/356/469 with 80 RBIs on the year. And then there is OF Gavvy Cravath, picked up from Philadelphia at the break. Cravath is slashing 367/484/776 with 11 homeruns since arriving in Portland and 306/387/554 overall.

They join Kent Hrbek (301/370/572 with 36 homeruns and 102 RBIs), Bobby Murcer (313/390/534), and Joe Mauer (310/380/507) in a lineup that is dangerous top to bottom. No fewer than 11 players are in double digits for homeruns with 4 (Hrbek, Cravath, Murcer, and Gil Hodges) over 20. Murcer’s performance keeps Gary Pettis (351/434/485) on the bench, and while Iván Rodríguez has cooled off slightly to 299/324/459, he and Mauer form one of the most formidable catching pairs in the league.

#Projected Starters

Brooklyn starter listed first.

Frank Knauss (11-5, 3.40) @ Mike Cuellar (12-7, 4.52)
Sandy Koufax (5-8, 4.75) @ Wade Miller (10-5, 4.56)
Dutch Leonard (11-11, 4.19) @ Dizzy Trout (6-5, 4.53)
Tommy Hanson (4-4, 4.22) @ Walter Johnson (14-4, 3.36)

#Prediction

I like this Portland team, but just for the way it would tighten the wild card race, I’ve got to be rooting for a Brooklyn sweep.

Series XXXV Best Games

By mknn

On July 21, 2023

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

A mixture of checking in on series that impact the playoffs, the drive towards statistical milestones, and just good old fashioned close games.

#New York Gothams @ Ottawa Mounties, Game 1

Oh what could have been … Christy Mathewson headed into the bottom of the 8th inning with 16 wins on the year, a 3-hit shutout in the works, and a 7-0 lead. The Gothams had been propelled to that lead via homeruns from Buster Posey and Will Clark and 3 hits from Wes Westrum. Matty walked Bernie Allen and gave up a single to Tim Raines, which brought in Mike Norris from New York’s bullpen.

Norris was less than his stellar self, giving up a double to Jim Stephens that scored 2 runs and allowing a 3rd to score on a wild pitch. Still, that left the Gothams with a 4-run lead, 7-3, with perhaps the most effective closer in the league, Brian Wilson, taking the mound in the bottom of the 9th.

Wilson surrendered 4 consecutive hits including a 2-run triple from Roberto Alomar, closing it to a 1-run game. Robb Nen came on in relief of Wilson and promptly gave up a double to Larry Walker and a game-ending single to Stephens, scoring Walker and Rusty Staub and giving Ottawa a highly improbably 8-7 walk off win.

Mathewson should have come out of this with 17 wins, an outside shot at 20, and a strong argument for being the best starter in the WBL. Instead, the Gothams bullpen collapsed, a clear warning sign for their postseason ambitions.

NYG 7 (Nen 3-5, 3 B Sv) @ OTT 8 (Leroux 1-1)
HRs: NYG – Posey (11), Clark (4); OTT – none.
Box Score

#Baltimore Black Sox @ Wandering House of David, Games 2 and 4

Baltimore’s series against the House of David was perhaps the best matchup of Series XXXV, with both teams seemingly safe in their postseason ambitions.

It opened with a 15 inning classic, with Baltimore’s Johnny Sain twirling a shutout over 7+ innings, allowing only 3 hits. Singles from Ken Singleton and Ramón Hernández, helped by an error by House of David RF Dan Ford, put the only run of the game on the board in the 4th. But Baltimore’s current closer, Buddy Groom, couldn’t shut the door in the 9th, allowing a solo homerun to Jim Edmonds, his 17th of the season, to send the game into extra innings.

Baltimore’s bullpen took over form there, with a dominant outing from John Wetteland, a shaky one from Gregg Olsen, and a solid one from Don Bessent combing for 6 shutout frames. Singleton, who finished the day 3-for-6, launched a 3-run shot in the top of the 15th, giving the Black Sox a 4-1 victory.

BAL 4 (Bessent 2-7) @ HOD 1 (Smith 0-1) [15 Innings]
HRs: BAL – Singleton (17); HOD – Edmonds (17).
Box Score

The House of David would win the next 2 games, setting up a confrontation in the final match between Baltimore’s Connie Johnson and the Hosue of David’s ace Jack Taylor. What looked like a great pitching matchup on paper sizzled out a bit, with each starter allowing 4 runs over the first 6 innings.

Baltimore was able to pull away, scoring in the 7th, 8th, and 9th en route to the 7-4 victory for the series split. Bryce Harper (who had 3 hits), Manny Machado, and Frank Robinson all went deep for the Black Sox. The House of David left 13 runners on base, meaning Edmonds’ 4 hits, Browning’s 3, and Elrod Hendricks‘ 35th homerun of the year were all for naught.

Baltimore’s bullpen was stellar again, as Rafael Betancourt, Lindy McDaniel, Bessent, Joe Beggs, and Groom combining for just over 4 scoreless innings in relief of Johnson.

BAL 7 (McDaniel 1-0; Bessent 2 H; Beggs 10 H) @ HOD 4 (Niedenfuer 0-2)
HRs: BAL – Robinson (35), Machado (8), Harper (12); HOD – Hendricks (35).
Box Score

#New York Black Yankees @ Brooklyn Royal Giants, Game 4

Brooklyn still has a slim chance at the postseason, so every game counts. Which is why wasting a great start from their ace, Don Drysedale, is such a shame. Drysedale had 8 shutout innings allowing only 3 hits, and the Royal Giants were riding a pinch-hit RBI from John Briggs to a 1-0 lead. And then, the 9th …

Babe Ruth singled, but Drysedale induced a horrible bunt from Tommy Herr, caught by a hard-charging Ray Dandridge at 3B. Eric Davis doubled home Ruth to tie the game and bring Brooklyn’s closer, Watty Clark, from the bullpen. Clark gave up RBI singles to Mickey Mantle, Mike Schmidt, and Don Mattingly for a 4-1 lead. Aroldis Chapman had a perfect 9th for his 12th save for the Black Yankees.

Still, Brooklyn took 3 of the 4 games in the series, keeping their postseason hopes alive.

NYY 4 (Lavelle 2-3; Chapman 12 Sv) @ BRK 1 (Drysedale 8-9)
HRs: None.
Box Score

#Memphis Red Sox @ San Francisco Sea Lions, Game 4

Just because teams are out of the playoffs doesn’t mean they can’t play good games …

Each team had their presumptive ace on the mound (Jon Lester for Memphis, Lefty Grove for San Francisco), but neither were terribly impressive. We pick up the action with Memphis leading, 4-3, heading into the bottom of the 6th, where a 2 RBI single from Pedro Guerrero and a 3 run shot from Reggie Jackson put San Francisco up, 8-4.

Bill White would double in 2 to cut the lead in half in the top of the 7th, and then Ron Robinson, usually reliable this year, gave it all back in the top of the 8th on a 3 run homer from Reggie Smith. Tim Wakefield, Heath Bell, and Jonathan Papelbon were excellent in relief, allowing only 1 hit in over 3 innings out of the pen.

Gene Oliver had 3 hits for the Sea Lions and Jackson drove in 4 while Memphis got 2 hits each from Smith, White, Mookie Betts, and Iván de Jesus.

MEM 9 (Wakefield 7-7; Papelbon 14 Sv; Bell 8 H; Cicotte 2 B Sv) @ SFS 8 (Robinson 6-5, 3 B Sv)
HRs: MEM – Smith (20); SFS – Bonds (19), Oliver (3), Jackson (30).
Box Score

TWIWBL 40.4: Series XXXII Notes – Marvin Miller Division

By mknn

On June 7, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Birmingham Black Barons

Jim Whitney replaced Sam Streeter at the back end of the Black Barons’ rotation.

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

Make no mistake, Germany Smith is on a WBL roster because of his glove at SS. But once in a while, he can do somethings with the bat, like drive in 4 runs with 3 hits in a 5-3 victory over Homestead. Jackie Robinson had 3 hits as well in a game that saw Watty Clark earn his 22nd save.

Smith really is trying to prove he belongs with another 3 hits and 3 RBIs in the series finale. Duke Farrell and Beals Becker also had 3 hits, with Becker pounding out his 23rd homerun of the year in an easy 8-2 win behind a solid 7 innings from Tommy Hanson, who improved to 3-4 on the year.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Walter Johnson‘s return from the DL forced Frank Williams back to AAA. Mike Cuellar takes Atlee Hammaker‘s place in the Sea Dogs’ rotation. After a few shaky outings, Elmer Brown was replaced by Bob Porterfield as Portland’s closer.

Johnson picked right back up, allowing 1 run in 7 innings to improve to 11-4 on the year. Joe Mauer had 3 hits including his 12th homerun on the year in the 6-2 victory over the House of David.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

Dick Lundy‘s season is over, with the young infielder hitting the DL with a sprained shoulder. Glove man extraordinaire Eddie Miller was recalled from AAA to take Lundy’s spot, meaning Roy Hartzell will finish out the year as the Sea Lions’ everyday SS.

TWIWBL 38.0: Series XXX Notes

By mknn

On April 20, 2023

In TWIWBL

August 9th

There was a single game on August 9th: the Indianapolis ABCs visited the House of David to makeup a game rained out earlier in the year. And what a game it was …

The ABCs Willie Mitchell has struggled a bit since joining the starting rotation, but he’s still been effective; here he would be opposed by the House of David’s Frank Sullivan.

Mitchell struggled early, giving up 4 runs in the first two innings on a 2-run single from Joe Harris and an RBI triple from Dan Ford. Both are stories of note: Harris, a 35 year old minor league veteran, has hit well over .300 since being recalled a few weeks ago and Ford, an injury fill in early in the season, has blossomed, keeping his average over .300 with some power in becoming the House of David’s starting RF.

But Mitchell settled down after that, not allowing a run through 7 innings.

In the meantime, the ABCs scratched and clawed their way back with 2 in the 6th, 1 in the 7th, and a solo homerun from Dave Henderson in the 8th to tie the game.

Anthony Rizzo singled home the go-ahead run in the bottom of the frame as the game was handed over to two expended bullpens.

Indianapolis would get a pinch-hit, 2-run shot in the top of the 9th from Bob Bescher to take the lead, but Harris would answer with a 2-out solo shot in the bottom of the frame to send us to extra innings.

The 10th was scoreless, but after Ford reached on an error, Harris doubled him home to win the game.

Harris drove in 4 on 4 hits, and Ryne Sandberg and Jim Edmonds added 3 hits apiece for the winning side. Pete Browning went 1 for 6, edging closer and closer to qualifying for the league lead in batting (he currently sits at .358).

IND 6 (Carroll 2-4, 2 B Sv) @ HOD 7 (Downs 3-2; Niedenfuer 3 H; Smith 1 B Sv) [11 Innings]
HRs: IND – Henderson (10), Bescher (14); HOD – Harris (4).
Box Score

Awards

The House of David’s Elrod Hendricks was named the WBL Player of the Week, hitting .474 with a whopping 5 homeruns during 19 at-bats over the past 7 games.

Performance

Some random statistical accomplishments …

The New York Black Yankees‘ Eric Davis leads the Power/Speed combos, with 30 homeruns and 57 steals. Five other players have at least 20 of each, with Brooklyn‘s Beals Becker (21 HRs and 42 SBs) being the next highest total.

Davis’ teammate Don Mattingly has 24 homers and only 26 strikeouts.

The New York Gothams‘ Jimmy Sheckard and Willie Davis of the Philadelphia Stars have yet to hit into a doubleplay.

The Chicago American Giants‘ Dick Allen is the only player in the league in double digits in doubles (21), triples (10), and homeruns (19).

Batters

Standard stuff: top 2 in all categories, leader in bold.

Babe Ruth of the New York Black Yankees has put some distance between the rest of the homerun hitters. He and the Los Angeles Angels‘ Doug Rader are the dominant offensive players, but Ruth is clearly the man.

Dick Allen (CAG). 303/371/538. 10 3B.
Johnny Bench (IND). 302/410/598. 5.4 WAR.
Ty Cobb (DET). 343/388/562.
Mike Fiore (HOM). 241/403/396. 89 BB.
Bobby Grich (LAA). 288/377/483. 40 2B.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 253/383/338. 80 SB.
Kent Hrbek (POR). 305/378/594. 34 HR.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 333/418/586. 92 R.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 327/444/605.
Willie Mays (NYG). 327/392/526. 147 H.
Stan Musial (KCM). 333/396/585. 40 2B.
Doug Rader (LAA). 340/393/553. 153 H, 115 RBI.
Tim Raines (OTT). 297/372/442. 78 SB.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 320/435/675. 39 HR, 108 RBI, 99 R, 87 BB, 6.7 WAR.
Louis Santop (CLE). 298/327/457. 11 3B.

Pitchers

Same as the batters: top 2 in all categories, leader in bold.

Starters

Pitchers keep passing up their opportunities to lead the league in wins: currently 3 are tied with 13 wins each. Jack Taylor of the House of David is emerging as perhaps the best starter in the league.

Bill Byrd (BAL). 12-3, 3.18.
Gerrit Cole (LAA). 13-6, 4.40.
Don Drysedale (BRK). 7-6, 3.59. 1.16 WHIP.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 11-7, 3.74. 169 Ks, 9.7 K/9.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 6-10, 4.67. 162 Ks, 9.2 K/9, 3.5 K/BB.
Luke Hamlin (KCM). 7-10, 4.99. 1.8 BB/9, 3.1 K/BB.
Pat Malone (CLE). 13-6, 3.89.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 13-7, 3.90.
Alejandro Peña (BBB). 10-7, 3.28. 4.8 WAR; 3.13 FIP.
Eddie Plank (SFS). 9-5, 4.08. 3.28 FIP.
Stephen Strasburg. 7-6, 3.26. 3.9 WAR.
Jack Taylor (HOD). 12-8, 2.98. 1.12 WHIP.
Cy Young (CLE). 9-7, 4.50. 1.8 BB/9.

Relievers

Relievers are weird, right? The Gothams’ Brian Wilson has been the most dominant. Baltimore‘s Sean Marshall will miss the rest of the season through injury, but may still end up leading the relievers in WHIP at the end of the season.

33 minimum IP for rate stats.

Terry Adams (CLE). 2-6, 3.26. 27 Sv; 1 H.
Watty Clark (BRK). 3-2, 1.82. 21 Sv. 1.01 WHIP.
Mike Henneman (DET). 1-5, 4.50. 32 Sv.
Sean Marshall (BAL). 5-0, 1.79. 1 Sv; 8H. 0.98 WHIP.
Mike Norris (NYG). 4-3, 1.47. 4 Sv; 12 H.
Ron Reed (PHI/CLE). 0-5, 4.12. 3 Sv; 16 H.
Ron Robinson (SFS). 5-3, 3.59. 1 Sv, 16 H.
Brian Wilson (NYG). 1-0, 1.02. 24 Sv.

Streaks

The king is dead! Long live the king! Boog Powell of the Kansas City Monarchs‘ has now reached base in 48 straight games, surpassing the Black Yankees’ Thurman Munson‘s mark of 43 games.

Ryne Sandberg‘s hitting streak ended at 22, tying him with Munson for 2nd place behind Ruth’s 23. During that streak, Sandberg scored in 15 straight games, setting the league record, but Ruth has scored in his last dozen contests, so we’ll see if he can reclaim that particular mark.

Baltimore’s Frank Robinson has hit a homerun in 4 consecutive games, 1 shy of the league record.

Two pitchers are threatening the Black Yankees’ Red Ruffing‘s league record of 24 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run. The House of David’s Jack Taylor has a 21 inning streak and Birmingham‘s Greg Maddux is at 20 innings.

Results

Series XXX Sweeps

Indianapolis ABCs over Portland Sea Dogs

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XXX

Baltimore over Memphis Red Sox
Detroit Wolverines over Philadelphia
Los Angeles over New York Gothams
New York Black Yankees over Miami Cuban Giants

Series Splits

Birmingham @ Kansas City
Brooklyn @ Ottawa Mounties
Cleveland Spiders @ Chicago
House of David @ Homestead Grays
Houston Colt 45s @ San Francisco Sea Lions

TWIWBL 32.0: Series XXV Notes

By mknn

On February 1, 2023

In TWIWBL

July 19th

For this TWIWBL we’re going to look at two of my favorite emerging plotlines.

Biggest Surprise

Right now, it’s got to be the Birmingham Black Barons. At the end of May, they were 10 games back, a .400 team, and battling Miami for last place in the Marvin Miller Division. Today, they are 7 games over .500, and only 2.5 games behind division-leading Portland. So, what happened?

Birmingham began to turn it around in late May, but their high level of activity at the all-star break has to be mentioned as well. Ultimately, they lost 2 SPs (Dick Rudolph to Chicago and all-star Tim Hudson to San Francisco), a key bullpen piece (Hoyt Wilhelm in the same trade as Rudolph), and two infielders (all-star 2B Tom Herr to the Black Yankees and U Frank Isbell to Brooklyn). They received 10 players and 4 draft picks in return, with only 1B Adrián González making the big leagues immediately.

González’ OPS with the Black Barons has been in the high 600’s, which isn’t great, but is almost 200 points higher than his struggles with Chicago. He is splitting time at 1B with Frank McCormick, and the combo is outperforming Isbell. Hank Aaron is playing more at 2B with Herr gone, allowing Bob Nieman and Curtis Granderson to be joined by a rotating cast of OFers, but overall strengthening the lineup (even if Aaron isn’t exactly good defensively at 2B). Additionally, Eddie Mathews and Pie Traynor are in the lineup most days, with Mathews becoming the primary DH.

It’s worked: the quartet of Granderson, McCormick, Mathews, and Aaron have all come to life, combining for 27 HRs and 103 RBIs since June 1st. All in all, a team that struggled to score at all is now slowly, very slowly, edging away from the bottom of the pack offensively.

But the real success has been on the mound where, quite surprisingly, the loss of Hudson, Rudolph, and Wilhelm hasn’t really been felt. Alejandro Peña has been solid all year, Greg Maddux is finally living up to his hype, and Vic Willis continues to impress in the rotation. Closer Juan Ríncón has 17 saves despite starting the season buried in the bullpen, and the trio of Bruce Chen, Harley Young, and Steve Bedrosian have been fantastic in getting the ball to Rincón.

Rincón got his 2nd, 3rd, and 4th save of the season in consecutive games in late May, about the same time Bedrosian and Willis joined the big league club, with Chen being recalled from AAA in late June.

Look, the Black Barons are still a longshot to make the playoffs–but just being in the conversation has been an unlikely triumph for Birmingham. And it’s not all luck: yes, they are outperforming their Pythagorean projection by 2 wins, but that would still leave them above .500 even if they weren’t.

Second Biggest Surprise

The New York Black Yankees were supposed to run away and hide atop the Effa Manley Division. But the Cleveland Spiders have other ideas, and currently sit 3.5 games above New York in the standings, with the second best record in baseball.

Cy Young and Pat Malone have led the rotation all year, with ERA’s right around 4.00 and excellent peripheral numbers, and the bullpen trio of Chuck Porter, Cory Gearrin, and Ron Reed (who has continued to excel since being acquired from Philadelphia) have been able to consistently get the ball to Terry Adams in good situations. Adams has delivered with 23 saves, despite an 0-5 record.

Offensively, Ron Blomberg is in the argument for the MVP, slashing 334/402/638 with 28 homeruns and 76 RBIs, but the key to the team may have been finding a way to get John Ellis in the lineup almost every day, as the C/1B/DH has an OPS over .900, ranking second to Blomberg in most offensive stats. Add in a great season from Louis Santop behind the plate, solid contributions from Jake Stahl, Chuck Knoblauch, and Johnny Bates and the surprising turnaround from midseason acquisition Lance Berkman (whose OPS is over 300 points above where it was for Houston), and the Spiders have a dangerous lineup, top to bottom.

Can they hold off the Black Yankees? If New York’s bullpen continues to be absolutely porous, yes, yes they can. Will they? That’s another question entirely.

Performance

Awards

I feel like I’ve missed these for a little while, so I’m going to list the last few Players of the Week as well as June’s Players of the Month.

Player of the Month

In an unusual occurence for a reliever, Willie Mitchell of the Indianapolis ABC’s was the Pitcher of the Month for June. Mitchell was 4-0 with a 0.95 ERA out of the bullpen, prompting him to be added to the ABC’s rotation.

The Los Angeles Angels‘ Mike Trout took the Batter of the Month award, by hitting .381 for June. Trout is still looking to add some power to his results, but it moved him firmly into the conversation of elite hitters in the game.

Player of the Week

Willie Stargell of the Homestead Grays was the PotW for the week ending 7/17, hitting .565 with 3 HRs and 9RBIs in the span.

Babe Ruth has recovered from a mini-slump with a vengeance, taking home the PotW award for the week ending 7/10, hitting .500 with 3 homeruns and 12 RBI’s.

Before Ruth, the award went to Brooklyn’s Beals Becker, who raised his season average to a cool .300 with a .478, 3 HR showing during the week.

Batters

Top 2 in all categories, with the WBL leader in bold.

It’s been the Babe Ruth show since Reggie Jackson‘s triple crown run fell apart, but we’re seeing some others, most notably Kansas City‘s Stan Musial, edge into the MVP discussion.

Dick Allen (CAG). 307/375/553. 10 3B.
Johnny Bench (IND). 295/411/564. 4.4 WAR.
Ron Blomberg (CLE). 334/402/638. 28 HR.
Rico Carty (PHI). 287/360/461. 34 2B.
Ty Cobb (DET). 350/392/559. 124 H.
Mike Epstein (HOM). 332/432/535.
Mike Fiore (CAG). 249/405/415. 70 BB.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 252/388/341. 74 BB; 69 SB.
Kent Hrbek (POR). 309/379/591. 28 HR.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 340/422/593. 76 R.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 327/439/587.
Stan Musial (KCM). 340/396/602. 129 H; 36 2B.
Doug Rader (LAA). 324/382/532. 94 RBI.
Tim Raines (OTT). 290/365/433. 71 SB.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 313/421/643. 30 HR; 91 RBI; 80 R; 5.3 WAR.
Louis Santop (CLE). 312/344/470. 10 3B.

Pitchers

Starters

Top 3 in each category, with the league leader in bold. No fewer than nine hurlers have 10 victories each, so only the top two in wins–Cole and Mathewson–are listed.

Bill Byrd (BAL). 10-2, 3.12. 1.18 WHIP.
Gerrit Cole (LAA). 12-4, 4.10.
Don Drysedale (BRK). 6-3, 3.49. 1 H; 1.17 WHIP.
Ned Garvin (BAL). 9-3, 2.66. 2 H; 1.15 WHIP.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 10-6, 3.72. 150 Ks.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 5-8, 3.99. 144 Ks; 3.4 WAR.
Walter Johnson (POR). 9-3, 3.54. 3.3 WAR.
Frank Knauss (BRK). 10-4, 3.19. 1 Sv.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 11-6, 3.78. 123 Ks.
Alejandro Peña (BBB). 8-6, 3.65. 3.6 WAR.

Relievers

Detroit‘s Mike Henneman has finally passed the injured Johan Santana for the league lead in saves.

22 IP for rate stats; top 2, leader in bold.

Terry Adams (CLE). 0-5, 3.48. 23 Sv; 1 H.
Watty Clark (BRK). 3-1, 1.20. 17 Sv.
Mike Henneman (DET). 1-4, 3.41. 25 Sv.
AJ Minter (CAG). 1-0, 2.22. 18 Sv, 0.86 WHIP.
Chuck Porter (CLE). 4-3, 2.04. 1 Sv; 10 H; 0.86 WHIP.
Ron Reed (PHI/CLE). 0-3, 2.59. 3 Sv; 16 H.
Ron Robinson (SFS). 4-2, 3.35. 13 H.
Johan Santana (POR). 1-1, 2.78. 23 Sv; 1 H.
Jonny Venters (LAA). 3-3, 3.35. 5 Sv; 13 H.
Brian Wilson (SFS). 1-0, 1.15. 20 Sv.

Streaks

Beals Becker‘s on-bas streak ended at 32 games, but Boog Powell‘s is still alive at 29 and counting. Other active streaks of note include Brian Wilson‘s 18 consecutive saves and Bill Byrd‘s 14 starts without a loss, as well as Harley Young‘s 12 scoreless innings in relief.

Series Results

Series XXV Sweeps

Birmingham over Indianapolis

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XXV

Chicago over Philadelphia
House of David over Cleveland
Kansas City over New York Black Yankees
San Francisco over Portland

Series XXV Splits

Houston Colt 45’s @ Baltimore Black Sox
Miami Cuban Giants @ Brooklyn
Detroit Wolverines @ New York Gothams
Homestead @ Memphis Red Sox
Ottawa Mounties @ Los Angeles

TWIWBL 31.0: Series XXIV Notes

By mknn

On January 13, 2023

In TWIWBL

July 14th

Early Pennant Race Update

Look, it’s July. Not even late July. Mid July. It’s far too soon to talk pennant races, right?

Never.

Bill James Division

The Detroit Wolverines and the New York Gothams are neck and neck, separated by a single game. Both the Wandering House of David and the Los Angeles Angels are close enough–5 games back–to make a move, but they can’t let too much more separation occur between them and the league leaders.

Cum Posey Division

The Baltimore Black Sox–with the best record in baseball–just can’t shake the Chicago American Giants, who are 5 games back. The rest of the division would need to make a significant move to change this from a two team race, with the Houston Colt 45’s–9 games back–the closest.

Effa Manley Division

The Cleveland Spiders are writing a great story, having overtaken the dominant favorite New York Black Yankees, who they now lead by 3.5 games. Everyone expects the Black Yankees to catch up, but they also never expected Cleveland to be where they are. The Indianapolis ABC’s sit 8.5 games back.

Marvin Miller Division

The Portland Sea Dogs leads the division by 5.5 games, but the story here is really the sudden resurgence of the Birmingham Black Barons, who have ridden a great streak to pull within 5.5 games. The Brooklyn Royal Giants sit 7 games back.

Performance

As usual, top 2 performers in all categories, with the WBL leader in bold.

Batters

Everything is tightening up: 6 batters sit between .336 and .339 for the league lead in BA, but the Black Yankees’ Babe Ruth continues to be the dominant offensive force in the league. It’s still a long list, though.

Dick Allen (CAG). 307/374/557. 9 3B.
Johnny Bench (IND). 301/420/585. 4.5 WAR.
Rico Carty (PHI). 289/361/469. 34 2B.
Willie Davis (PHI). 283/336/509. 9 3B.
Mike Epstein (HOM). 336/439/544.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 257/394/351. 72 BB; 64 SB.
Kent Hrbek (POR). 308/375/593. 27 HR.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 339/422/598. 74 R.
Ron Blomberg (CLE). 339/410/646. 27 HR.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 336/447/610.
Willie Mays (NYG). 325/382/536. 119 H.
Stan Musial (KCM). 337/396/591. 121 H; 34 2B.
Doug Rader (LAA). 325/378/542. 92 RBI.
Tim Raines (OTT). 298/373/447. 69 SB.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 321/431/659. 30 HR; 91 RBI; 78 R; 69 BB; 5.3 WAR.
Louis Santop (CLE). 311/345/467. 9 3B.

Pitchers

There are 5 other pitchers tied with Bill Byrd with 10 victories; other than that the top 3 in each category are listed with the league leader in bold. No idea why Alejandro Peña is so highly rated in WAR.

Starters

Bill Byrd (BAL). 10-2, 3.20. 1.19 WHIP.
Gerrit Cole (LAA). 12-4, 4.03.
Ned Garvin (BAL). 8-3, 2.64. 1.14 WHIP.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 9-6, 3.86. 142 SO.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 5-8, 4.13. 138 SO.
Roy Halladay (OTT). 3-9, 4.13. 1.19 WAR.
Walter Johnson (POR). 8-3, 3.57. 3.4 WAR.
Johnny Marcum (DET). 9-2, 3.33.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 10-6, 3.91.
Alejandro Peña (BBB). 8-6, 3.77. 3.5 WAR.
Jack Scott (NYY). 10-4, 4.10.
Cy Young (CLE). 8-4, 3.81. 3.2 WAR.

Relievers

20 IP minimum for rate stats. Top 2, leaders in bold.

Terry Adams (CLE). 0-5, 3.60. 23 Sv.
Watty Clark (BRK). 3-1, 1.20. 17 Sv.
Mike Henneman (DET). 1-4, 3.54. 24 Sv.
Trevor Hildenberger (BRK). 3-0, 2.18. 0.92 WHIP.
AJ Minter (CAG). 1-0, 2.08. 16 Sv, 0.88 WHIP.
Ron Reed (PHI). 0-3, 2.52. 16 H.
Johan Santana (POR). 1-1, 2.78. 23 Sv.
Jonny Venters (LAA). 3-3, 3.15. 13 H.
Brian Wilson (NYG). 1-0, 1.23. 18 Sv.

Streaks

There are 4 active on-base streaks of note, led by Brooklyn’s Beals Becker (30 games). Iván Rodríguez (POR, 27 G), Don Buford (LAA, 26), and Boog Powell (KAN, 25) are also live. Not much else: George Stone of the Wandering House of David has delivered 4 straight pinch-hits.

Series Results

Series XXIV Sweeps

Kansas City Monarchs over San Francisco Sea Lions

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XXIV

Indianapolis over Brooklyn
Detroit over Chicago
Homestead Grays over New York Black Yankees
House of David over Los Angeles
Portland over Philadelphia Stars

Splitting Series XXIV

Baltimore @ Miami Cuban Giants
Cleveland @ Birmingham
New York Gothams @ Houston
Memphis Red Sox @ Ottawa Mounties

TWIWBL 30.0: Series XXIII Notes

By mknn

On December 12, 2022

In TWIWBL

July 10th

Looking Back at the All Star Trades

We’re a month(ish) on from the all-star break, seemed a good time to look back at the trades and see how they are working out in the early days.

Boom Shaka Laka

The Los Angeles Angels and the Ottawa Mounties swapped 8 players, with early returns making the Angels–by far–the winner in the exchange as veteran 1B Carlos Delgado is slashing 344/400/547 since the trade, providing what may be the final piece to the Angels’ puzzle. While Rusty Staub has done OK for Ottawa, none of the rest of the pieces have shown much at all. Wally Moon, who the Angels picked up from San Francisco, has been impressive as well, slashing 354/458/458 since the break. Two of the pieces the Angels gave up for Moon–C Brian Downing and P Dave LaRoche–have done well for San Francisco (Downing at AAA, LaRoche with the Sea Lions themselves), so this deal may work out for both sides.

Encouraging

The New York Gothams gave up a haul for Don Sutton, and so far it looks OK: Sutton looks to join the Gothams’ rotation shortly, posting a 2.70 ERA in 8 relief appearances. For Brooklyn, two of the prospects received are doing quite well: OF Don Mueller is slashing 387/395/653 and P Lew Krausse, Jr. has started his career with his new organization with some strong outings on the mound.

All-Star Ron Reed has just continued his strong year having moved from Philadelphia to Cleveland, with an ERA of 0.75 over his first half-dozen games with the Spiders. Even more importantly for Cleveland’s playoff push, OF Lance Berkman looks to have blossomed with the change in scenery, slashing 276/417/500 with 4 HRs since coming over from Houston–a jump of of over 200 points to his OPS. The Spiders gave up 7 players across those 2 deals, none of which have earned significant playing time with their new clubs, although both Jap Payne (sent to Philadelphia) and Harry Stovey (to Houston as part of the Berkman deal) have hit well in limited appearances).

The Chicago American Giants brought in 4 pitchers, with encouraging returns from Dick Rudolph (acquired from Miami) and Hoyt Wilhelm (from Birmingham). The best prospect the American Giants gave up–Minnie Miñoso to the Cuban Giants–has been injured, so the jury is still out on this deal in general, but it looks alright so far, even if Don Newcombe has struggled mightily, and may have been overvalued at the trade deadline. Perhaps as importantly, the American Giants seem to have solved their SS question, as all-star Freddy Parent has continued his strong form since joining them from Ottawa.

Birmingham’s fire sale went well. We’ll cover some of those below, but both Curt Flood and Manny Trillo–picked up in the trade of Frank Isbell (who has been alright) to Brooklyn–are both tearing up AAA.

Meh

The Baltimore Black Sox have to be pleased with Manny Machado‘s performance so far, as he’s slotted quite comfortably as their everyday 3B. But the Miami Cuban Giants can’t really complain, as they aren’t going to compete for a while and Joe Dugan is tearing up AAA while Chris Hoiles has established himself as a C at the big league level. The Black Sox also brought in Joe Beggs from Memphis to solidify the end of their bullpen. Results have been mixed so far.

Memphis’ fan base was quite critical of a few of their moves, and Roger Clemens‘ short-term success in Houston has only increased their fury. But Stubby Overmire has added some depth to their staff and perhaps more importantly, 2B DJ LeMahieu and P Jim Kaat look to be strong prospects for Memphis’ future.

Disappointing

Portland hoped picking up Rogers Hornsby from Kansas City would spark their offense for a playoff push, and while he’s better than Greg Litton, his .648 OPS is actually pretty Littonish, and a far cry from his .853 mark over the first half of the season.

Tim Hudson was supposed to solidify San Francisco’s rotation, but was roughed up in his first few starts. While he’s shown signs of coming around, the 36 year old is only 1-3 with an ERA north of 5 since his move to the Left Coast. Rube Melton, one of the pieces the Sea Lions gave up for Hudson, has excelled at AAA for Birmingham, and looks to be a nice pickup for the Black Barons.

Another one who took a bit to find his footing, Tom Herr, is finally showing some life for the New York Black Yankees. Still, a 228/267/298 slash is not what the New York faithful had hoped to see from their All-Star acquisition. The Black Yankees’ other significant acquisitions–Jamie Moyer and Gary Lavelle–have struggled as well, although Lavelle has been installed as their closer, which is more a comment on the other options than a compliment to him. Several of the prospects they gave up–Bill Buckner and Charlie Keller for Birmingham and Dick Bartell and Sam Thompson for Ottawa–are performing very well for their new organizations, so these trades may come back to haunt New York.

Performance

As usual, top 2 performers in all categories, with the WBL leader in bold.

Batters

Reggie Jackson‘s triple crown hunt is back on! And Babe Ruth‘s dominance just continues unabated.

Dick Allen (CAG). 298/368/550. 9 3B.
Ron Blomberg (CLE). 335/410/646. 1.056 OPS. 26 HR.
Rico Carty (PHI). 295/362/480. 34 2B.
Ty Cobb (DET). 336/379/533.
Eric Davis (NYY). 277/337/528. 4.1 WAR.
Mike Epstein (HOM). 336/441/539.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 253/389/342. 67 BB, 64SB.
Kent Hrbek (POR). 301/370/582. 26 HR.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 337/449/610. 1.059 OPS.
Willie Mays (NYG). 316/373/523. 112 H.
Stan Musial (KCM). 331/390/585. 115 H, 31 2B.
Doug Rader (LAA). 316/373/523. 112 H, 88 RBI.
Tim Raines (OTT). 298/373/454. 66 SB.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 314/424/656. 1.080 OPS. 29 HR, 88 RBI, 73 R, 66 BB, 5.0 WAR.
Mike Trout (LAA). 318/390/455. 112 H.

Pitchers

It’s just all over the place, once you move past the dominant performances by Ned Garvin (BAL) and Gerrit Cole (LAA).

Starters

Bill Byrd (BAL). 9-2, 3.29.
Gerrit Cole (LAA). 12-3, 3.66. 128 IP.
Gene Conley (CLE). 10-2, 3.17.
Ned Garvin (BAL). 8-3, 2.64. 1.14 WHIP.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 9-6, 3.84. 135 K.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 5-8, 4.15. 135 K.
Waite Hoyt (NYY). 8-2, 3.29. 1.15 WHIP.
Walter Johnson (POR). 8-3, 3.60. 3.2 WAR.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 10-6, 3.96.
Alejandro Peña (BBB). 8-6, 3.77. 3.5 WAR.
Red Ruffing (NYY). 10-4, 3.55.
Cy Young (CLE). 8-4, 3.84. 129 IP.

Relievers

20 IP minimum for rate stats.

Watty Clark (BRK). 3-1, 1.23. 17 Sv.
Mike Henneman (DET). 1-4, 3.67. 23 Sv.
Ken Howell (SFS). 3-3, 1.14. 3 Sv, 7 H.
AJ Minter (CAG). 1-0, 2.08. 16 Sv, 0.88 WHIP.
Ron Reed (CLE). 0-2, 2.26. 3 Sv, 16 H.
Ron Robinson (SFS). 4-2, 3.58. 12 H.
Johan Santana (POR). 1-1, 2.78. 23 Sv.
Jonny Venters (LAA). 3-3, 3.24. 4 Sv, 12 H.
Billy Wagner (HOU). 0-2, 3.63. 11 Sv, 2 H, 0.90 WHIP.

Streaks

Not a lot of interesting active streaks. Brooklyn’s Beals Becker–who has the league record for consecutive games with a HR with 5–has a 25 game streak of getting on base. It’s no Thurman Munson, but it’s something. Becker is slashing 382/432/853 over his last 10 games. Gary Pettis, once considered a liability at the plate, is slashing 600/667/1050 over his last 15 games (because of Pettis’ utility as a defensive replacement, those 15 games cover only 24 ABs).

Christy Mathewson (NYG) hasn’t allowed a hit in over 8 innings.

Baltimore’s entire staff is on fire: Bill Byrd, Ned Garvin, Sean Marshall, Mike Mussina, and Jim Palmer are all on hot streaks on the mound. The most impressive is Byrd, who has a 1.07 WHIP and 2.38 ERA over his last 10 games.

Series Results

Series XXIII Sweeps

Cleveland over Indianapolis

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XXIII

Baltimore over Brooklyn
Birmingham over Los Angeles
Houston over Chicago
Detroit over Portland
Kansas City over Philadelphia
New York Black Yankees over Ottawa

Splitting Series XXIII

Homestead @ San Francisco
House of David @ Memphis
Miami @ New York Gothams

TWIWBL 24.2: Mid-Season Reviews – Brooklyn Royal Giants

By mknn

On February 17, 2022

In Team News, TWIWBL

Summary

Brooklyn sits in 2nd place in the Marvin Miller Division, only 3.5 games behind Portland, despite a general sense they’ve underperformed on the season. So, I guess that’s good?

What’s Gone Right

The pitching. Don Drysedale has been among the better starters in the league, and Frank Knauss has emerged as a quality #2 starter. Don Sutton, Dutch Leonard, and Sandy Koufax have been solid behind them with Koufax occasionally spectacular (including the only 1-hitter in the league). Add to that a back-end trio in the bullpen of Dave Von Ohlen and Trevor Hildenberger setting up Watty Clark, and the Royal Giants have everything they need on the mound.

The AAA Shuttle. The Royal Giants have been quite successful in their call-ups.

Orel Hershiser and Smokey Joe Williams started the year in the WBL, but struggled. Their replacements–Tommy Hanson, Knauss, and Von Ohlen–have been excellent.
The original duo behind the plate–Mike Piazza and Steve Yeager–were horrible. Their replacements, Al López and Duke Farrell, look OK so far.
Raúl Mondesí, who earned a spot on the roster out of spring training, struggled, but Jermaine Dye looks to be the real deal as his replacement.

The Running Game. Five players (Duke Snider, Beals Becker, Jackie Robinson, Davey Lopes, and Dickie Thon) have more than 10 steals each.

What’s Gone Wrong

Power. Only Snider and Ron Cey have more than 10 homeruns (although, to be fair, both Becker and Robinson have 9). Still, some more pop would be a welcome addition.

Catching. As referenced above, Piazza was especially a disappointment, as he was expected to add some power to a lineup that really needs it.

The Infield. Cey is set at 3B, and Robinson clearly has a role. But the rest has been … unsettled at best. Dan Brouthers has been miserable at 1B, and may be on his way out of town, and neither Lopes (2B) nor Thon (SS) have really convinced. Ray Dandridge has been excellent in a limited opportunity, and should be an everyday starter from here on out.

Key Storylines

The Royal Giants have managed their AAA movement very well, as detailed above. Probably the key storyline here is their ability to remain competitive while still searching for their identity.

Koufax is a bit of an enigma, and his continued development bears watching–and the thought of what he and Smokey Joe Williams could be is quite enticing.

What to do with Robinson remains a challenge: he doesn’t field well enough to play 2B a ton, and doesn’t hit well enough to play 1B.

Trading Outlook

BUYING.

OFs Dye, Hi Myers, and Matt Holliday have some value. If the right opportunity came along, some of their SP surplus could be on the trading block: Hershiser, Leonard, Knauss.

AAA Shuttle

Piazza and Yeager have both done well at AAA, and may be due for a recall if López or Farrell falter. Likewise, Hershiser has been dominant in the minors and he, along with Darren Dreifort, are ready should they be needed.

Midseason Changes

Infield changes a-plenty. Robinson becomes the everyday 1B, with Brouthers being sent to AAA (Eric Karros was recalled to backup Robinson). 2B/SS is trickier: Dandridge becomes the starter at one of those, but there’s just nobody in the system arguing for playing time. So Dandridge will start, with a bit of rotation between Thon and Lopes, if no other moves are made.

Hildenberger moves into the setup role, demoting Eric Gagne.

Awards

All Stars: Don Drysedale (P).

Pitcher of the Month: Don Drysedale (April)

Offensive MVP: Duke Snider (CF)
Pitching MVP: Don Drysedale (SP)

Down on the Farm

AAA: Queens Kings

Next to the Show: OFs Matt Holliday & Curt Flood, RP Darren Dreifort.

Prospects: P Ralph Branca (22), P Tim Stauffer (26).

Projects: There are a ton, but let’s just focus on the 24 year-olds: P Smokey Joe Williams, C Mike Piazza, OF Raúl Mondesí, OF Curt Flood, and 1B Dan Brouthers.

Suspects: Ron Perranoski (25), Jordan Zimmerman (26), IFs Todd Walker and Manny Trillo (both 33), SS Germany Smith (28).

AA: Jersey City Skeeters

Prospects: CF John Briggs (20), P Lou Marone (23), 3B Hank Majeski (23).

Projects: P Chris Short (21), P Fernando Valenzuela (23), P Dustin McGowan (23), OF Morrie Arnovich (25), C Phil Lombardi (23), SS Sonny Jackson (19).

Suspects: P Ben Hendrickson (23), 1B Kevin Maas (30), IFs Don Heffner (33) and César Izturis (27). P Johnny Ryan (22).