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TWIWBL 22.0 – Series XVIII Notes

On January 28, 2022

June 16

Here we are at the all-star break in the inaugural WBL season!

Standings

After a slight dip, the Baltimore Black Sox have regained their position atop the league with 45 wins heading into the break. The Portland Sea Dogs have 44 wins, and the Chicago American Giants and New York Black Yankees have 43 each.

At the other side of things, we have the Homestead Grays and Miami Cuban Giants. The Grays are 26-48, already 17 games behind, as is Miami, although they have won one more game.

Bill James Division

The New York Gothams and Detroit Wolverines have both won 40 games. New York leads the division, having played two fewer games than the Wolverines. The Los Angeles Angels are at .500, 37-37, and sit 4 games back.

Cum Posey Division

Baltimore is hotly pursued by the American Giants, who sit only 2 games behind. It’s a two team race, as nobody else in the division is over .500. Mention should be made of the Kansas City Monarchs, who sit in last place at 33-41, but are 7 games under their Pythagorean Projection.

Effa Manley Division

The Black Yankees leading the division is no surprise; the Cleveland Spiders hanging with them, only 1.5 games behind, is quite a surprise. The Philadelphia Stars, in third place, have outperformed their Pythagorean by five games, so simple regression to the mean looks to confirm this as a two-team race as well.

Marvin Miller Division

Portland is trying to run away with it, but shaking both the Brooklyn Royal Giants (40-33, 3.5 games back) and the San Francisco Sea Lions (38-36, 6 games back) has proven difficult.

Performance

One would hope the best performers in the league were selected to the All Star Team. So we’ll look instead at the players having good–even great–years who were not selected to the mid-season classic.

Bold here indicates they lead that category in players not participating in the All Star game, not that they lead the league. League leaders are noted with {*}.

Best Batters

Perhaps the biggest All-Star snub was Tim Raines of the Ottawa Mounties. Raines has taken over the lead SB lead from Rickey Henderson–who was selected–while hitting 303/378/462. Willie Davis, Jimmy Sheckard, and Duke Snider would probably be the next three in line.

Albert Belle, whose numbers are great, suffers from not playing fulltime. Cleveland has three players (John Ellis, Louis Santop, and Jake Stahl) splitting two positions (1B and C), resulting in neither of the three having enough appearances to make the team.

Albert Belle (NYY). 317/381/554.
Rico Carty (PHI). 282/349/463. 25 2B *
Ty Cobb (DET). 325/364/531.
Willie Davis (PHI). 297/355/530. 6 3B.
John Ellis (CLE). 305/352/647. 16 HR.
Oscar Gamble (DET). 261/381/498. 16 HR, 57 RBI.
Larry Gardner (BAL). 296/411/435.
Gil Hodges (POR). 203/266/432. 17 HR, 53 RBI.
Mickey Mantle (NYY). 294/401/459.
Willie McGee (KAN). 327/376/487.
Tim Raines (OTT). 303/378/462. 53 SB *
Louis Santop (CLE). 297/333/446. 8 3B *
Jimmy Sheckard (NYG). 293/398/470. 2.5 WAR.
Duke Snider (BRK). 322/358/540. 89 H, 2.6 WAR.
Jake Stahl (CLE). 280/339/564.

Best Starting Pitchers

Roy Halladay and Walter Johnson probably have the best arguments to be on the team.

Tommy Bridges (MCG). 4-1, 3.26.
Bob Feller (CLE). 7-4, 4.07. 97 K.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 5-6, 4.27. 109 K *.
Roy Halladay (OTT). 3-6, 3.97. 1.15 WHIP.
Walter Johnson (POR). 7-3, 3.83. 2.8 WAR.
Jon Lester (MEM). 8-5, 3.66.
Johnny Marcum (DET). 6-2, 3.32. 1 H.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 8-5, 4.48.
Alejandro Peña (BBB). 5-5, 3.83. 2.3 WAR.
Ben Sheets (CAG). 5-4, 3.87. 1.19 WHIP.

Best Relievers

Relievers are weird, right? Dave Von Ohlen and Watty Clark, both of Brooklyn, would be my next inclusions.

Elmer Brown (POR). 2-4, 2.30. 4 Sv, 9 H.
Watty Clark (BRK). 3-1, 1.66. 13 Sv.
Bob Howry (PHI). 2-3, 5.04. 16 Sv.
Willie Mitchell (IND). 2-2, 1.08. 1 Sv, 1 H.
Mike Mussina (BAL). 2-0, 2.20. 1 Sv, 1 H, 0.94 WHIP.
Dave Von Ohlen (BRK). 4-0, 1.48. 1 Sv, 3 H, 0.99 WHIP.
Vic Willis (BBB). 2-1, 0.70. 1 Sv.

Streaks

Philadelphia’s Willie Davis heads into the All-Star break with a 17 game hitting streak. More impressive is the Black Yankees’ Thurman Munson, who has reached base in 42 straight games.

Reliever AJ Minter (Chicago) hasn’t allowed a run in his last 17 appearances.

Series XVIII Results

Series XVIII Sweeps

None!

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XVIII

Baltimore over Homestead
Cleveland over San Francisco
Detroit over Birmingham Black Barons
Gothams over Kansas City
Ottawa over Miami

Series XVIII Splits

Memphis Red Sox @ Brooklyn
Portland @ Chicago
Wandering House of David @ Houston Colt 45’s
Philadelphia @ Indianapolis ABC’s
Black Yankees @ Los Angeles

TWIWBL 21.1: NL All Star Selections

By mknn

On January 26, 2022

In All Star Games, TWIWBL

AL All Stars here.

The final choice was the hardest, as the NL decided to go with only 11 pitchers, electing to select both Rickey Henderson and Josh Gibson over Joseíto Muñoz‘ arm in the bullpen.

Predictably, the New York Black Yankees have the most players going with seven, but the Portland Sea Dogs will supply four of the starters for the NL.

The Indianapolis ABC’s and the Miami Cuban Giants will have a single representative each.

Catchers

Portland’s Joe Mauer is the starting backstop. The question here is whether Thurman Munson (Black Yankees) has done enough to overtake Indianapolis’ Johnny Bench behind him. Munson’s OPS is .001 higher, and he’s spent a little more time behind the plate. But Bench has played more overall, and leads Munson in all counting stats other than doubles. It’s a bit of a moot point, as all three make the team.

That potentially leaves two deserving players off the roster: the Homestead Grays‘ Josh Gibson is putting up incredible numbers for a teenager and Mauer’s teammate, Iván Rodríguez, would easily make the team if he had more playing time (it’s a pretty good problem for the Sea Dogs to have).

Johnny Bench (IND). 278/394/542.
Josh Gibson (HOM). 315/406/472.
Joe Mauer (POR). 317/401/545.
Thurman Munson (NYY). 330/392/544; 20 2B.
Iván Rodríguez (POR). 352/370/555.

First Base

Three players have an OPS over 1.000 but only one will make the roster as a first baseman. The Cleveland Spiders‘ Ron Blomberg will start for the NL, but at DH, while Portland’s Kent Hrbek will take the field at first. The third player, Blomberg’s teammate John Ellis, just hasn’t played enough, with under 200 plate appearances. Still, those numbers are a little hard to ignore.

New York’s Lou Gehrig deserves a selection, but like Blomberg, he’s seen the field very rarely, so he’ll also make the roster as a DH. Finally, both Homestead’s Mike Epstein and Indianapolis’ Jake Stahl deserve a very close look for a roster spot, but with both Blomberg and Gehrig ahead of them, it’s not clear they’ll make it. In the end, Epstein is the strongest candidate from the Grays, so he does make the roster.

Ron Blomberg (CLE). 335/405/618; 18 HR; 18 2B; 49 RBI; 48 R.
John Ellis (CLE). 311/351/659; 16 HR.
Mike Epstein (HOM). 336/438/521.
Lou Gehrig (NYY). 284/382/591; 16 HR.
Kent Hrbek (POR). 322/393/617; 22 HR; 54 RBI; 53 R.
Jake Stahl (IND). 277/337/564.

Second Base

Despite Tom Herr‘s recent slump, the Birmingham Black Barons‘ second baseman remains a media darling, and was anointed as the all star starter many moons ago. It’s a little unfair to Cleveland’s Chuck Knoblauch, who really has surpassed Herr by a hair. Herr has been the superior fielder by quite a bit, so perhaps that justifies his getting the starting nod.

After those two, it’s hard. Indianapolis’ Joe Morgan deserves it, but has played in barely over half the ABC’s games. The other two candidates–the San Francisco Sea Lion‘s Jimmy Bloodworth and the Brooklyn Royal Giant‘s Jackie Robinson–come with their own concerns. In Robinson’s case, he’s really played much more at 1B, where his offensive contribution is decidedly mediocre; Bloodworth’s numbers are just a tad weaker across the board than the others.

Jimmy Bloodworth (SFS). 282/320/467.
Tom Herr (BBB). 310/355/440. 16 2B.
Chuck Knoblauch (CLE). 300/353/451. 16 2B.
Joe Morgan (IND). 301/385/412.
Jackie Robinson (BRK). 273/338/485.

Third Base

The hot corner is a little weak in the NL. The Philadelphia Star‘s Scott Rolen is among the better hitters and has been–by far–the flashiest with the leather, so he gets the starting nod.

Portland’s Buddy Bell has hit better than Rolen, but is both mired in a slump and has been weaker defensively. Still, it’s enough to make the team. After those two … who knows? Brooklyn’s Ron Cey has been fine, and if there is a need for a third player, he’s likely it. San Francisco’s Pedro Guerrero has neither played enough in general, nor enough at 3B to warrant inclusion, but he has been a force offensively.

Buddy Bell (POR). 290/354/506; 44 RBI.
Ron Cey (BRK). 242/350/465.
Pedro Guerrero (SFS). 298/367/530.
Scott Rolen (PHI). 284/353/491. 19 2B.

Shortstop

Offensively, there are really only two contenders: Portland’s Jim Fregosi and New York’s Derek Jeter. Both have been below average defensively, but Fregosi has been better than Jeter: between that and his better offensive output, he gets the starting nod.

Homestead’s Arky Vaughan has been spectacular defensively, but it’s not clear it’s been enough to offset a very poor offensive showing, while San Francisco’s Dick Lundy was making a good argument before he got injured.

Jim Fregosi (POR). 286/356/435; 16 2B.
Derek Jeter (NYY). 278/325/393; 17 2B.
Dick Lundy (SFS). 278/292/421.
Arky Vaughan (HOM). 223/340/327.

Left Fielders

Even with his numbers dropping over the past few weeks, Babe Ruth of the New York Black Yankees is the dominant player here. There is a bit of a drop after Ruth, with possible arguments being made for Philadelphia’s Rico Carty and Portland’s Harry Hooper. None of those three players bring much defensively, and taking that into consideration, Brooklyn’s Roy White and Homestead’s Rick Reichardt, and perhaps San Francisco’s Rickey Henderson enter the conversation.

Finally, there is the Albert Belle conundrum: his numbers are beyond impressive, but he’s not played a lot of innings.

Albert Belle (NYY). 315/377/558; 18 2B.
Rico Carty (PHI). 287/354/470; 25 2B.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 261/398/370; 52 R; 50 SB.
Harry Hooper (POR). 297/399/418; 45 R.
Rick Reichardt (HOM). 284/372/436; 42 RBI.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 305/413/649; 24 HR; 16 2B; 67 RBI; 58 R.
Roy White (BRK). 284/352/451; 17 2B.

Center Fielders

Now things get a little more interesting.

Bobby Murcer (Portland) is the clear starter, but an argument can be made for another four players behind him: San Francisco’s Bobby Bonds, Brooklyn’s Duke Snider, and the Davis twins–New York’s Eric Davis and Philadelphia’s Willie Davis–are all fairly indistinguishable. Eric was once considered the lock starter, but has slumped recently, but he is still certain to make the squad.

Eric Davis and Snider have been among the better defenders, bolstering each of their arguments as well.

Bobby Bonds (SFS). 314/364/531; 26 SB.
Eric Davis (NYY). 286/337/557; 22 HR; 66 RBI; 55 R; 35 SB.
Willie Davis (PHI). 299/358/537.
Bobby Murcer (POR). 327/402/567; 15 2B; 48 RBI; 46 R.
Duke Snider (BRK). 327/363/548; 16 HR; 44 RBI.

Right Field

The starter is the most obvious selection of all: triple-crown threat Reggie Jackson of the San Francisco Seals earns the honor. Behind Jackson, New York’s Mickey Mantle and Miami’s José Canseco are the clear choices, with Homestead’s Roberto Clemente forcing himself into the conversation over the last few weeks.

José Canseco (MCG). 295/365/502; 41 R.
Roberto Clemente (HOM). 309/336/486; 15 2B; 40 RBI.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 356/453/648; 16 2B; 16 HR; 44 R.
Mickey Mantle (NYY). 292/399/456; 48 R.

Starting Pitchers

Red Ruffing of the New York Black Yankees has come out of nowhere to be in the conversation for the starting slot for the AL with a 9-2 record. San Francisco’s Lefty Grove is close behind at 8-2, and several pitchers have 7 wins. Brooklyn’s Don Drysedale leads the AL in ERA among starters, and Cleveland’s workhorse Cy Young leads in WHIP. So those four feel pretty solid. Two more Black Yankees–Waite Hoyt and WBL strikeout leader Ron Guidry (whose last few starts have probably moved him off the roster)–are in the conversation, as is Miami’s Camilo Pascual and Portland’s Walter Johnson.

Pascual and Guidry have losing records, making their selection harder to justify, although Pascual plays for a bad team, making that less of an issue for him.

Finally, Tim Hudson of the Birmingham Black Barons has forced his way onto the roster, despite being a few inning short of qualifying as a starting pitcher. Going 5-0 with an ERA under 3.00 and a WHIP under 1.00 will do that.

Don Drysedale (BRK). 5-3; 3.23; 1.19 WHIP.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 8-2; 3.49; 1.30 WHIP.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 5-6; 4.27; 1.25 WHIP.
Waite Hoyt (NYY). 5-1; 3.51; 1.22 WHIP.
Tim Hudson (BBB). 5-0; 2.73; 0.93 WHIP.
Walter Johnson (POR). 7-3; 3.83 ERA; 1.30 WHIP.
Camilo Pascual (MCG). 4-6; 3.42; 1.27 WHIP.
Red Ruffing (NYY). 9-2; 3.79; 1.32 WHIP.
Cy Young (CLE). 6-3; 3.54; 1.17 WHIP.

Relief Pitchers

For the closers, WBL save leader Johan Santana of Portland is an automatic choice, as are Cleveland’s Terry Adams and San Francisco’s Rod Beck. And then it becomes a matter of tradeoffs: Philadelphia’s Bob Howry‘s other numbers are great, but his ERA is over 5.00 while Brooklyn’s Watty Clark and Miami’s Aroldis Chapman have a decent number of saves, but probably fall short.

Portland’s Elmer Brown and San Francisco’s Ron Robinson have 9 Holds each, trailing Philadelphia’s Ron Reed, who has 12.

Indianapolis’ Willie Mitchell has been absolutely dominant, with an ERA barely over 1.00, but it’s hard to really choose between him, San Francisco’s Ken Howell and Charlie Root, and Portland’s Joseíto Muñoz.

Terry Adams (CLE). 0-3; 17 Sv; 2.91; 1.66 WHIP.
Rod Beck (SFS). 1-1; 16 Sv; 2.65; 1 H; 0.76 WHIP.
Elmer Brown (POR). 2-4; 4 Sv; 2.35; 9 H; 1.14 WHIP.
Aroldis Chapman (MCG). 201; 12 Sv; 1.59 ERA; 2.06 WHIP.
Watty Clark (BRK). 3-1; 13 Sv; 1.66; 1.11 WHIP.
Ken Howell (SFS). 3-3; 3 Sv; 1.45; 3 H; 0.97 WHIP.
Bob Howry (PHI). 2-3; 16 Sv; 5.04; 1.66 WHIP.
Willie Mitchell (IND). 2-2; 1 Sv; 1.08; 1 H; 1.16 WHIP.
Joseíto Muñoz (POR). 3-1; 3 Sv; 1.19; 2 H; 1.02 WHIP.
Ron Reed (PHI). 0-2; 3 Sv; 2.72; 12 H; 1.13 WHIP.
Ron Robinson (SFS). 4-1; 3.45; 9 H; 1.36 WHIP.
Charlie Root (SFS). 4-1; 2.98; 0.99 WHIP.
Johan Santana (POR). 1-1; 22 Sv; 2.57; 1 H; 1.48 WHIP.

Selections by Team

Listed alphabetically, Italic indicates a starter.

Birmingham Black Barons: Tom Herr (2B); Tim Hudson (P).
Brooklyn Royal Giants: Don Drysedale (P).
Cleveland Spiders: Terry Adams (P); Ron Blomberg (DH); Chuck Knoblauch (2B); Cy Young (P).
Homestead Grays: Mike Epstein (1B); Josh Gibson (C).
Indianapolis ABC’s: Johnny Bench (C)
Miami Cuban Giants: José Canseco (RF)
New York Black Yankees. Eric Davis (CF); Lou Gehrig (1B); Derek Jeter (SS); Mickey Mantle (RF); Thurman Munson (C); Red Ruffing (P); Babe Ruth (LF).
Philadelphia Stars: Ron Reed (P); Scott Rolen (3B).
Portland Sea Dogs: Buddy Bell (3B); Jim Fregosi (SS); Kent Hrbek (1B); Joe Mauer (C); Bobby Murcer (CF); Johan Santana (P).
San Francisco Sea Lions: Rod Beck (P); Lefty Grove (P); Rickey Henderson (LF); Ken Howell (P); Reggie Jackson (RF); Charlie Root (P).

Series XVII Preview: Portland Sea Dogs @ Brooklyn Royal Giants

By mknn

On December 5, 2021

In Series Previews

Series XVII allows us to check back in with two teams we haven’t touched on in quite a while: for the Portland Sea Dogs, it was way back in Series II, for the Brooklyn Royal Giants, Series IV.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Portland comes into their series with the best record in the league and a 5.5 game lead in the Marvin Miller Division. As you would expect given that, there are a lot of fine performances across the board here.

On the mound, the Sea Dogs are led by Walter Johnson, who is 7-2 with a 3.61 ERA. Since moving into the rotation to replace the injured Smokey Joe Wood, Wade Miley has been a revelation, posting a 5-0 record in 6 starts, with an ERA under 4.00. The rest of the starting rotation is solid, if unspectacular, each of them with ERA’s in the mid 4’s.

The bullpen has been strong, with the emergent Joseito Munoz making it spectacular. Since his recall, Munoz has pitched in 9 games (1 start), amassing a 2-1 record, 2 holds, and 3 saves. His ERA is a microscopic 0.70, with a WHIP under 1. Elmer Brown has been great as a setup arm, and Mike Cuellar quite good as well. And all of that leads to the WBL’s saves leader, Johan Santana, who as 21 saves on the season.

No fewer than five Sea Dogs sport OPS’ over .900. Two of those share a position, with Joe Mauer (321/404/560) getting most of the time behind the plate ahead of Ivan Rodriguez (361/372/565). The others are 1B Kent Hrbek (318/393/597), CF Bobby Murcer (330/411/573), and 3B Buddy Bell (308/371/545). Hrbek leads the team in homeruns with 18 (Gil Hodges has 16) while Harry Hooper leads in RBIs with 37.

Even Greg Litton–at one point much maligned and on the verge of being sent down–has eased his OPS over .600 which, combined with his defensive versatility, continues to earn him a roster spot.

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

Brooklyn sits second in the Marvin Miller Division, behind the Sea Dogs, but the gap between them is fairly clear: while the Royal Giants have a fantastic pitching staff (arguably the best in the league), they have struggled to score runs.

The pitching staff is led by Don Drysedale whose 3.32 ERA and 1.23 WHIP warrant more than his 4-3 record. After Drysedale, it falls off a bit. Frank Knauss and Sandy Koufax (he of the only 1-hitter in WBL history) have been solid; Dutch Leonard and Don Sutton less so.

The bullpen has been very strong, with Eric Gagne and Trevor Hildenberger quite effectively bridging the way to closer Watty Clark (12 saves).

After their last series, the Royal Giants turned over both catchers and a few outfielders and the jury is still out on whether that was a good move. In extremely limited opportunities so far, Jermaine Dye and Al Lopez have done well, while Hi Myers and Michael Brantley are still looking to find their sea legs. Recalled a few weeks ago, Ray Dandridge has had an excellent start to his WBL career, and looks poised to take over from Dickie Thon at SS.

The team is led by the trio of Duke Snider (329/366/557), Jackie Robinson (287/349/509), and Roy White (288/354/468). Snider leads the team in homeruns and RBIs with 15 and 41, respectively.

But Brooklyn needs someone else to step up–whether one of the newly promoted players, or, perhaps more likely, Beals Becker, Davey Lopes, or Dan Brouthers–in order to have a hope of catching Portland.

#Starting Pitchers

Portland starter listed first.

Walter Johnson (7-2, 3.61) @ Dutch Leonard (4-7, 4.25)
Bert Blyleven (5-3, 4.73) @ Frank Knauss (4-4, 3.10)
Jerry Koosman (4-5, 4.85) @ Sandy Koufax (3-2, 3.86)
Wade Miller (5-0, 3.76) @ Don Sutton (2-4, 4.71)

#Series Prediction

My heart wants a Brooklyn sweep to tighten up the division race.

But my head says the best the Royal Giants could hope for is a tie, with the more likely outcome being three Sea Dogs victories.

Series XVI Featured Game: Philadelphia Stars @ Los Angeles Angels

By mknn

On November 17, 2021

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

Entries for Series XVI come down to a single game and a great series. First, the game.

#Philadelphia Stars @ Los Angeles Angels, Game 3

With the series tied at 2, Philadelphia sent Jaret Wright to the mound to take on Nolan Ryan. Ryan was making his 6th start of the year, and his 3rd after returning to the rotation. It hasn’t gone great: 2 losses and 9 runs in 9 innings.

It didn’t start great for Ryan, as he gave up a leadoff single to Willie Davis and walked Rico Carty, but induced a double play from Ted Kluszewski to escape the inning.

Los Angeles scored in the bottom of the frame on a Mike Trout single after Don Buford led off with a base hit and stole second.

The top of the second was more of the same for Ryan: a single, a hit by pitch, and a walk, but no runs allowed. The third was not so kind: Gavvy Cravath doubled in a run, Kluszewski scored on a wild pitch, and Cravath scored on a groundout to give the Angels the lead, 3-1. Ryan wouldn’t make it through the 4th, as he hit another batter and walked Kluszewski, bringing in Pud Galvin from the bullpen, who was able to shut the door despite a walk to load the bases.

Wright was sailing along at this point, but a leadoff single in the bottom of the 4th was followed by a 2-run homerun from Trout, tying the game at 3.

Wright and Galvin traded goose eggs until the bottom of the 7th, when Wright walked Doug Rader and gave up a double to Bobby Grich.

So we went to the top of the 9th with the Angels ahead by a run. It had been an hard game on the Angels’ staff, and with their usual closer, Joe Nathan, a bit fatigued, they turned to Francisco Rodriguez. Rodriguez got Sherm Lollar to strike out swinging, but gave up a double to Carty.

That brought in Jonny Venters to face Kluszewski, who grounded out, sending John Montgomery Ward (who pinch-ran for Carty) to third. With that, the Angels turned to a tired Nathan to close the game out. Instead, he walked Cravath and gave up a game-tying single to Scott Rolen.

Larry Jackson, on for Philadelphia, kept it tied, and with nobody else to turn to, LA kept Nathan out there. It wasn’t a great move, as Davis took him deep for a 5-4 lead for the Stars.

The Stars’ Bobby Howry relieved Jackson, and retired the side on six pitches to preserve the win. Davis had three hits and Cravath two for the Stars, while Trout had 2 hits and 3 RBI for the Angels.

PHI 5 (Jackson 3-1; Howry 16 Sv) @ LAA 4 (Nathan 3-3, 3 BSv; Gooden 1 H; Rodriguez 4 H; Venters 7 H) [10 Innings]
HRs: PHI – Davis (10); LAA – Trout (6)
Box Score

#Brooklyn Royal Giants @ New York Black Yankees, Games 1, 3 & 4

Since I don’t want to write detailed summaries of each game–we do have a featured series, after all–I will instead trace some of the major throughlines.

Game one was a pitching duel between Frank Knauss and Red Ruffing. The Black Yankees scored a run in the bottom of the first two innings on a homerun from Babe Ruth and a triple from Lou Gehrig.

Ruffing–who is quickly moving into all-star contention–had a shutout through 8, but with one out in the 9th, gave up a double to Roy White and a single to Duke Snider. That brought in the Black Yankees’ closer, Sparky Lyle. Lyle struggled, giving up an RBI single to Jermaine Dye and base hit to Ron Cey to load the bases, before inducing a double play groundout from Hi Myers to preserve the victory.

Brooklyn shuffled its roster significantly prior to the series, and the game saw the WBL debuts of Dye and Michael Brantley.

BRK 1 (Knauss 4-4) @ NYY 2 (Ruffing 9-1; Lyle 9 Sv)
HRs: NYY – Ruth (22)
Box Score

Game three was somewhat similar: Waite Hoyt of the Black Yankees had a solid start going, while Brooklyn’s Don Sutton struggled a bit, leaving New York leading 5 to 4 (Brooklyn’s Al Lopez hit a homerun in his first WBL at-bat and Babe Ruth hit a 2-run shot for New York) heading into the top of the 9th.

Again, the Black Yankees turned to Sparky Lyle. And that’s where the game turned.

Lyle gave up a leadoff walk to Dickie Thon, a single to Duke Farrell, an RBI single to Beals Becker and another to Jackie Robinson. Roy White singled to load the bases, and that was it for Lyle. Ralph Citarella gave up a double to Duke Snider, and when the inning ended, Brooklyn was on top 8-5.

Despite giving up a leadoff single to Lou Gehrig, Brooklyn’s closer, Watty Clark, shut the door in the bottom of the 9th.

Becker, Robinson, Snider, and Lopez each had 2 hits for the Royal Giants while Mickey Mantle was 4-for-4 for New York.

BRK 8 (Hildenberger 3-0; Clark 11 Sv) @ NYY 5 (Lyle 0-2, 3 BSv; Betances 4 H)
HRs: BRK – Lopez (1); NYY – Ruth (23)
Box Score

The final game of the series promised to be another pitching duel between Brooklyn’s Don Drysedale and New York’s Ron Guidry. It wasn’t. Drysedale gave up 10 hits and 6 runs (5 earned) in 6 innings and while Guidry fared a little better (4 runs in 5.2 innings), it wasn’t a great performance by any means.

Guidry did become the first WBL pitcher to notch 100 strikeouts on the season.

The Black Yankees led 6 to 4 heading to the top of the 8th. But Jermaine Dye took Lady Baldwin deep for a 2-run homerun to tie the game. Then, in the top of the 9th, Goose Gossage (perhaps auditioning to become New York’s new closer) gave up another 2-run shot, this one to Roy White, to give the Royal Giants the lead.

Thurman Munson continued his torrid streak, getting his fourth hit of the day with a double to lead off the bottom of the 9th, but Watty Clark was able to get out of the inning with only 1 run scoring, giving Brooklyn the win and a 3-1 edge in the series.

BRK 8 (Gagne 2-2; Clark 12 Sv) @ BYY (Gossage 3-3; Baldwin 3 BSv)
HRs: BRK – Cey (10), Dye (1), White (8); NYY – Jeter (5), Belle (7)
Box Score

TWIWBL Special Edition: All Star Preview II – NL Relievers

By mknn

On September 28, 2021

In All Star Games

{ With under three weeks until the All Star Teams are announced, we’re looking at what’s changed since our original previews. }

Preview I here, which selected Johan Santana, Terry Adams, Aroldis Chapman, Rheal Cormier, and Rob Dibble.

Portland’s Santana continues to be a lock, leading the league with 17 saves to go along with a 3.00 ERA and a 1-1 record.

But after him, all of the closers have some question marks. San Francisco’s Rod Beck has 11 saves in only 11 innings to go along with a microscopic 0.82 ERA and an even more impressive 0.45 WHIP. So the question there is if he can maintain that level of performance. The same question remains for Miami’s Chapman–yet to allow a run in 13 innings, with 9 saves.

Philadelphia’s Bob Howry and Cleveland’s Adams both have the saves (14 and 12, respectively), but Howry has an ERA of 4.58 and Adams a WHIP of 1.71.

Brooklyn’s Watty Clark may be the best candidate behind Santana, sitting at 3-1 with 10 saves, a 2.04 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP.

After those closers you would have to consider Philadelphia’s duo of Ron Reed, who continues to be excellent, with 11 holds and a 2.83 ERA and Cormier, 4-0 with 4 holds and a 2.64 ERA. Brooklyn’s Eric Gagne (6 holds, 2.74 ERA, 1.00 WHIP) and San Francisco’s Ken Howell (1.61 ERA and 1.03 WHIP) have forced themselves into the conversation as well.

The bullpens are deep here: Dibble is still pitching well for Indianapolis, and the New York Black Yankees’ Ralph Citarella and San Francisco’s Charlie Root have pitched themselves into the conversation as well.

The AI goes with Cormier, Reed, Howell, and Birmingham’s Hoyt Wilhelm (2.59 ERA in 18 appearances).

I would go with Santana, Chapman, Robinson, Clark, and Howell. I think.

TWIWBL 16.4: Series XIII Notes – Marvin Miller Division

By mknn

On September 7, 2021

In TWIWBL

#Birmingham Black Barons

In a blowout loss to Chicago, 3B Pie Traynor hit a homerun in his first WBL at-bat.

Tim Hudson cemented his spot in the rotation, moving to 4-0 with over 7 strong innings in a 4-3 win over Chicago. Recently moved into the closer role, Juan Rincon picked up his 2nd save and Tom Herr, Bob Nieman, and Eddie Mathews had 2 hits each.

The American Giants were sailing along until, in the bottom of the 4th, Birmingham suddenly exploded for 5 runs behind a grand slam from Troy Tulowitzki. The Black Barons kept pouring it on, ending up with a 14-3 win. Billy Southworth has 3 hits including 2 triples, Del Crandall–replacing an injured Gene Tenace–went 3-for-3 with 3 runs and 3 RBIs and Herr added 3 hits in pushing his average back towards .350. Traynor continued his torrid start, going 2-for-5 with another homerun, and is now hitting .600 in his first few games for the club.

With Tenace’s injury still being diagnosed, the Black Barons went ahead and sent him to the DL, recalling Dale Murphy–who hasn’t done any better at AAA than he did before being sent down–and reinstating Al Schweitzer from the DL (Fred Fussell was sent back to AAA).

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

Don Drysedale put in another strong start, but wasn’t around to see Ron Cey stroke a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the 10th, lifting Brooklyn to a 6-5 victory over Homestead. The win went to Watty Clark, who moved to 3-1 with 2 innings of scoreless relief. Roy White had 3 hits, and he and Dan Brouthers both went deep.

In a game that saw Dutch Leonard become the WBL’s first 7 game loser, Tommy Hanson made his WBL debut by striking out the first 4 batters he faced.

#Miami Cuban Giants

Miami destroyed Los Angeles 18-3, with Will Clark going 4-for-4 with 4 runs and 4 RBIs. Both Clark (his 11th) and Charlie Bennett (his 3rd) went deep, and Bennett drove in 5. The news wasn’t all good: Ramon Martinez was sailing along, allowing only 2 hits and no runs into the 6th inning when he had to be removed from the game with tricep pain. It was enough to get his 3rd win of the year, but he’ll miss about six weeks. Dalier Hinojosa was waived to make room for Dontrelle Willis on the roster.

Steve Brown was returned to AAA as Rube Waddell came off the DL.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Dizzy Trout allowed only 2 hits through 8 innings (1 a 2-run homerun by Ernie Banks) in an 11-3 blowout win for Portland. Five Sea Dogs hit homeruns (Jeff Burroughs, Kent Hrbek, Gil Hodges, Harry Hooper, and Adrian Beltre), and Hodges and Ivan Rodriguez had 3 RBIs each.

Bert Blyleven threw a complete game, 4 hit, 132 pitch shutout as the Sea Dogs blew out the House of David, 11-0. Buddy Bell hit a 3-run homerun, and Rodriguez and Fred Dunlap had 3 hits each. Rodriguez and Hrbek also went deep for Portland.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

Lefty Grove had a no-hitter through 6 innings as the Sea Lions defeated Philadelphia, 9-1. Jack Clark had 3 hits and 3 RBIs for San Francisco and Cy Perkins hit his first homerun of the year, a 3 run shot to seal the victory for Grove, who improved to 5-2 on the year. Rickey Henderson was caught stealing after 28 consecutive thefts when the Stars’ Sherm Lollar gunned him down.

TWIWBL Special Edition: All Star Preview – NL Relievers

By mknn

On July 17, 2021

In All Star Games, TWIWBL

{ The All-Star game is about a month away. We’ll post occasional articles about the contenders for participation in the mid-season classic. These are written “as of now,” so the final selections may vary dramatically, but hopefully these will add to the ongoing flavor of the league. The AL comprises the Effa Manley & Marvin Miller Divisions. }

There are, of course, a lot of candidates in relief. Many of these will fall off the radar, as a single bad outing is likely to take them out of all-star contention.

Johan Santana of Portland has been the leading reliever all season, with 14 saves. His ERA has taken a recent hit, but it still sits a highly respectable 3.18. Terry Adams of the Cleveland Spiders has 11 saves to go along with an 0-1 record and a 1.84 ERA, and merits strong consideration.

A trio of closers sit immediately behind Santana: San Francisco‘s Rod Beck (10 saves and a 0.00 ERA, but only 9 innings pitched), Miami‘s Aroldis Chapman (2-0, 9 saves, also yet to be scored upon), and Brooklyn‘s Watty Clark (2-1, 2.51 ERA). Clearly, if Beck or Chapman continue to not allow a run, they’re in.

Philadelphia‘s Bob Howry is more problematic: his 10 saves look strong, but his 0-2 record and, even more, 6.59 ERA probably rule him out of the game. Howry’s teammate, Ron Reed, may have a stronger case: 0-2, 2 saves, 8 holds, and a 3.13 ERA.

The Black Yankees‘ David Robertson (2-1, 2 holds, 2.28 ERA) and Ralph Citarella (1-2, 1 save, 7 holds, 3.71 ERA) and Cleveland’s Chuck Porter (3-2, 2 holds) have all been impressive in setup roles. Add Portland’s Elmer Brown (2-2, 2 saves, 5 holds, 2.37 ERA) and Brooklyn’s Erig Gagne (0-1, 1 save, 5 holds, 2.45 ERA) into the mix, as well as San Francisco’s Ken Howell, who is 1-1 with a save and 2 holds and a sparkling 1.47 ERA.

For higher usage relievers, another Philadelphia Star, Rheal Cormier should get some attention, as he has put up a 4-0 record with 1 save and 4 holds, a 2.33 ERA and a stellar 1.14 WHIP. San Francisco’s Charlie Root is also 3-0, with a 3.33 ERA and an even better 1.07 WHIP.

Indianapolis‘ Rob Dibble just needs more innings: he has been virtually unhittable so far, sitting at 2-1 with 6 saves and a 1.55 ERA along with a 1.08 WHIP. But that’s only across 12 innings of work.

The AI likes Cormier, Stan Coveleski (Cleveland; 3-0, 2 holds, 2.81 ERA), Lefty James (Indianapolis; 3-1, 2.52 ERA), and Robertson.

Right now, my five would be Santana, Adams, Chapman, Cormier, and … Dibble.

Series VIII Featured Game: Brooklyn Royal Giants @ Houston Colt 45’s, Game 4

By mknn

On June 29, 2021

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

These are, simply, fair-to-middling teams with more promise than performance so far on the season. Houston has won the first three games of the series, raising their record to 15-18 while lowering Brooklyn‘s to 18-14.

The final game would see Brooklyn’s Don Sutton face the Colt 45’s Roy Oswalt, a well anticipated matchup as both hurlers have shown flashes of strong performances.

In the top of the first, Oswalt gave up a 1-out double to Beals Becker, but he struck out Duke Snider and seemed to be out of danger when Roy White lashed the first pitch he saw into right field for an RBI single, giving the Royal Giants an early 1-0 lead.

Houston would tie it up in the bottom of the frame when Casey Stengel sent a pitch from Sutton deep into the night for a solo homerun.

Oswalt struggled all day, never really finding his rhythm, giving up 2 more runs in the top of the second on RBI hits from Jackie Robinson and Becker, and then another in the top of the third on a double from Robinson. He would get through 5 innings, leaving the game with Houston down 4-2 (they scored their second run in the bottom of the 5th on an RBI groundout from DJ LeMahieu, scoring Carlos Correa who had led off the inning with a double down the left field line).

Houston would tie it up in the bottom of the 6th on doubles from Jimmie Wynn, Jeff Bagwell, and Lance Berkman. Despite the 4 runs, Sutton was actually in control for most of the game, and lasted 8 innings, allowing only 6 hits and 1 walk.

Houston’s Leon Day followed Oswalt with 2 scoreless innings, and he was followed by Trevor Hoffman, who pitched a scoreless 8th.

That brought us to the top of the 9th, with Hoffman still on the mound. Dickie Thon led it off with a single, then stole second and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt from Robinson. Becker hit a ball deep enough to centerfield to score Thon, and Brooklyn had a 5-4 lead. Hoffman served a gopher ball into the short left field seats to Snider, giving the Royal Giants a 2-run cushion.

Brooklyn’s closer, Watty Clark, relieved Sutton in the bottom of the 9th. His first 16 pitches included 11 balls and a wild pitch, with George Brett and Correa starting the inning with walks before Jorge Posada doubled them both home to tie the game at 6. That was enough for Clark, who was relieved by Terry Forster … who had similar problems, walking pinch-hitter Paul Goldschmidt on five pitches (HR Johnson replaced Posada as a pinch-runner) and Tony Gwynn on four to load the bases. Forster got Wynn to ground weakly to Robinson at second, who threw to Mike Piazza to force Johnson at the plate, and when Stengel flew out in shallow right field, it looked like extra innings were likely.

Bagwell worked Forster from a 1-2 count to 3-2 … and looked on as his next pitch was low and outside, forcing in the winning run.

Bagwell finished the game 2-for-4 with a run and 2 RBIs, Correa scored twice and Posada drove in 2 as well as the Colt 45’s left only 3 runners on base all day.

Brooklyn outhit Houston 11 to 7, with Robinson, Becker, White, and Thon each having 2. Thon scored three times and Robinson and Becker drove in 2 each.

Clark suffered both his 2nd blown save of the year and his first loss, giving up 3 runs on a hit and 2 walks without recording an out. Mark Melancon picked up the win for one-third of an inning in relief of Hoffman.

BRK 6 (Clark 2-1, 2 BS) @ HOU 7 (Melancon 2-1)
HRs: BRK – Snider (8); HOU – Stengel (4)
Box Score

TWIWBL 3.0: Series II – Brooklyn Royal Giants @ New York Gothams

By mknn

On September 11, 2020

In TWIWBL

This time up, we’re heading for a Subway Series between the Brooklyn Royal Giants (4-1) and the New York Gothams (3-2).

Brooklyn may be better built for the future than this year. A lot of their success will depend on how a pair of youngsters, 21 year old Dutch Leonard and 20 year old Don Drysedale, do in the starting rotation. Roy White and Duke Snider look solid offensively, but any team with 2 Spring Training insertions in the regular lineup (2B Davey Lopes and RF Raul Mondesi) is taking a lot of risk.

The Gothams, on the other hand, could be contenders this year. Christy Mathewson anchors what should be a deep pitching staff, and especially if Buster Posey continues to produce at an all-league level, a lineup with the 2 Willie‘s–Mays and McCovey–should score some runs.

The first game matched up the aces, as Leonard faced off against Mathewson. Leonard was fantastic in his first start; in this one, not so much as New York rocked him for 9 runs in 5.2 IP. Mays paced a 17 hit attack for the Gothams, going 4 for 5. Most of the damage was in the 3rd, when the Gothams scored 5 runs with Art Fletcher driving in 2 runs with a 1-out double. Newly acquired 2B Cookie Rojas chipped in with 3 hits, 2 runs, and 2 RBI’s, allowing New York to overcome a mediocre start by Mathewson that saw him surrender 4 runs in 6 IP. Still, it was enough: New York got the win 12-5 and both pitchers leveled their records at 1-1.

New York was on the verge of taking a 2-0 lead in the series, taking a 5-3 lead in the bottom of the 8th on 4 consecutive singles from Rojas, Eugenio Suarez, Mark Loretta, and Posey. Ron Cey singled to lead off the 9th for Brooklyn, bringing in Gotham’s closer, Brian Wilson. After a walk to Jim Delahanty, Wilson gave up a 2 run double to White, sending us into extra innings. It remained scoreless until the 15th inning, when Cey and Dickie Thon managed to drive in runs. Brooklyn closer Watty Clark pitched the final 4 innings, giving up only 1 hit and earning the victory, 7-5. The loss went to New York’s Mike Norris, who was tagged for those final 2 runs in 3.2 IP of relief.

With the series tied 1-1, game 3 saw Brooklyn’s Don Sutton taking the mound against New York’s Sad Sam Jones. A solo HR in the top of the 5th by Brooklyn’s Beals Becker increased the Royal Giants’ lead to 3-1, but the Gothams would tie the game in the bottom of the 6th and put it away in the bottom of the 8th behind a 3-run HR from Wally Berger. Robb Nen got the 7-3 win with Marcel Lachemann picking up the save and Smokey Joe Williams was tagged with the loss.

Brooklyn rode a great start from Drysedale to even the series at 2-2. He gave up 8 hits and only 1 run in 8 IP, which was plenty as the Brooklyn offense tallied 9 runs against losing pitcher Juan Marichal and reliever Gaylord Perry. Drysdale moved to 2-0 on the year with the 9-1 victory, and White led the way for Brooklyn, with 4 hits in 5 at-bats, totaling 3 2Bs, 2 runs, and 2 RBIs. Dan Brouthers added his 2nd HR of the year, and Becker continued his hot streak with 3 hits.

So, a split series, which has to be more encouraging for Brooklyn than the Gothams. White was the key for the Royal Giants, amassing 12 hits–8 of which were doubles–in the series and raising his BA to .425 on the young season.

Season Preview: Brooklyn Royal Giants

By mknn

On August 21, 2020

In Team News

It could be a really long year in Brooklyn. There is talent here, but most of it is aimed at the future. It is possible the starting rotation is better than anticipated, and closer Watty Clark was dominant during the Spring. But the offense … there just isn’t a lot here unless a couple players join Duke Snider in creating runs at a high level.

Final Roster

SP: Dutch Leonard, Orel Hershiser, Don Sutton, Don Drysedale, Brickyard Kennedy.
RP: Dick Redding & Smokey Joe Williams; Dave Van Ohlen & Terry Forster; Trevor Hildenberger & Eric Gagne; Watty Clark.

C: Mike Piazza; Steve Yeager
1B: Dan Brouthers & Jackie Robinson
2B: Davey Lopes
3B: Ron Cey; Jim Delahanty
SS: Tommy Corcoran & Pee Wee Reese
LF: Roy White
CF: Duke Snider
RF: Raul Mondesi
DH: Beals Becker

Notes

Sandy Koufax was a long shot to make the roster after missing most of the Spring through injury, but he didn’t last an inning in a final start, making the choice pretty easy … Frank Knauss joins Koufax at AAA, meaning Dick Redding earns the final bullpen slot … opening day starter Dutch Leonard was the worst of the Royal Giants’ Spring starters, which could be a good witch or a bad witch … none of the rest of the cuts were particularly dramatic, which is a problem for Brooklyn: when 5 players finish the Spring with OPS under .700 and none of them have their roster spots threatened, there are warning flags flying … 2 of those are Tommy Corcoran and Pee Wee Reese, making Brooklyn another team in search of a better SS, and 2 others are Ron Cey and Jim Delahanty, making them also desperate for a 3B upgrade … 2 bright spots from the Spring: neither Raul Mondesi nor Davey Lopes were scheduled to make the roster, both hit well enough to force themselves into the starting lineup.

SS Pee Wee Reese is the veteran leader at 35, followed by 34 year old SP Brickyard Kennedy. Dick Redding is the only teen on the roster at 19.

There is talent at AAA, with 24 year old SS Dickie Thon the most likely to get a chance, given the poor performance of the current crop at SS. On the mound, the final 2 cuts–Frank Knauss and Sandy Koufax–are likely to get a chance. AA is a bit bare, although the 3 teenagers–3B Tim Foli, SS Sonny Jackson, and P Hilly Flitcroft all have time to develop.