Overall

The best record in baseball, 3 dominant rookies, the AL Brock Rutherford Award winner, the electric leader in steals, the best closer in the league … and a crushing defeat in the Whirled Series.

Welcome to San Francisco, where the question is, how to continue with the success and bring home the ultimate prize of the championship.

The Sea Lions, it must be said, are in good shape: there is so much talent here, and so much of it is young, that even some regression to the mean would leave them a very strong club.

What Went Right

Let’s start with the incandescent talent of Norman “Turkey” Stearnes, who burst onto the scene with a 1.151 OPS, 51 homeruns, and 125 RBIs while playing a very solid CF. Just exquisite.

Jack Clark is one of the more underrated players in the league, but he has a great eye (101 BB on the year) and impressive power (51 homers).

Reggie Jackson was a little better last year, but a 283/394/574 slash line is nothing to sneeze at (although you really do wish he would attempt to run a little less often: Jackson sits as the WBL career leader in caught stealing).

So, those are the big three, with each of them both scoring and driving in 100 runs and combining for 143 homers.

Jimmie Foxx‘s obvious power blossomed this season as the burly corner infielder launched 49 homeruns. He could benefit from more contact, but the walk rate is there and at 22, that may come.

Mickey Cochrane took over at catcher and, even before his electric defensive performance in the postseason, was among the better backstops in the league, slashing 289/371/513. Brian Downing hit even better in limited time as his backup, but probably will serve in that capacity next season.

Royce Clayton posted a .919 OPS filling in around the infield and Sal Bando, displaced by Foxx at 3B, performed well as a reserve.

Rickey Henderson stole 126 bases and, as importantly, filled out soem of his offensive game, posting an .839 OPS with a .385 OBP. Dick Lundy added 57 steals while showing some decent offensive skills.

And then we have the pitching, led by their own big three in Lefty Grove, Eddie Plank, and rookie Bump Hadley. Plank led the way with 20 wins, Hadley had the best ERA at 4.10, and Grove walked away with all the hardware in the postseason awards. A 1.15 WHIP and230 strikeouts in 209 innings will do that. The three combined for a 54-19 record on the season.

Watty Clark came over midseason and was excellent over 37 appearances including 17 starts.

Rod Beck led the WBL with 41 saves, despite occasionally being hit quite hard. Ken Howell was excellent setting him up, finishing with a 5-1 record, 6 saves, and 15 holds.

Tim Hudson came back very strong from a long term injury, posting an ERA just over 4 with excellent peripherals over 12 games, and earning a few postseason starts. At 38, it’s not clear how much Hudson has left in the tank, but this was a pleasant surprise for sure.

ALL STARS

Rod Beck
Mickey Cochrane
Lefty Grove
Bump Hadley
Ken Howell
Reggie Jackson
Eddie Plank
Turkey Stearnes

MAJOR AWARDS

Rod Beck All AL First Team; AL Phineas Flint Award
Lefty Grove All AL First Team; AL Brock Rutherford Award
Ken Howell All AL First Team
Turkey Stearnes All AL First Team; AL CF Silver Slugger; AL Rookie of the Year

RECOGNITIONS

Rod Beck AL 25 & Under Team
Jack Clark, All AL 3rd Team
Mickey Cochrane, All AL 2nd Team; AL 25 & Under Team
Jimmie Foxx, All AL 3rd Team; AL All Rookie 1st Team; AL 23 & Under Team
Frank Grant, AL All Rookie 2nd Team; AL 23 & Under Team
Bump Hadley, All AL 2nd Team; AL Rookie of the Year 3rd Place; AL Brock Rutherford Award 2nd Place; AL All Rookie 1st Team; AL 25 & Under Team; AL 23 & Under Team
Ken Howell, AL 25 & Under Team
Reggie Jackson, All AL 3rd Team
Dick Lundy, All AL 3rd Team
Joe Nathan, AL Phineas Flint Award 2nd Place
Eddie Plank, All AL 2nd Team
Turkey Stearnes, AL All Rookie 1st Team; AL 25 & Under Team; ; AL 23 & Under Team

ORGANIZATIONAL AWARDS

Turkey Stearnes, MVP
Eddie Plank, Pitcher of the Year
Jack Clark, Heart & Soul
Rickey Henderson, Fan Favorite

Red Ehret, Minor League Pitcher of the Year
Josh Reddick, Minor League Player of the Year

What Went Wrong

2B was a bit of a mess for most of the year: Jimmy Bloodworth was awful, Phil Garner is a decent utility player, but not much more than that, and Frank Grant struggled to adopt to life in San Francisco after his trade, although he is clearly the future here.

The middle of the bullpen was a bit of a slog, with Huston Street and, especially, Dennis Eckersley struggling more than succeeding, although Street seemed to pick it up after Nathan’s arrival shifted him down the pecking order.

And … yeah … that’s about it. Best record in baseball and all that.

Transactions

March

OF Pedro Guerrero to BRK for P Watty Clark & OF Matt Holliday.

Looks good for San Francisco, as Guerrero has struggled and Clark should be with the WBL team next year.

July

IF John Beckwith to HOD for IF Frank Grant.

They may regret this one, as, at only 19, Beckwith hits the ball as hard as anyone in baseball. But Grant is only 21 and fills a clear and present need, so it seems fine.

August

IF Eddie Miller & IF Freddie Freeman to LAA for P Joe Nathan, IF Wally Joyner, & 1st Round Pick.

It seems solid enough: Nathan makes the Sea Lions’ bullpen stronger, and Freeman for the 1st rounder feels equitable enough long term. Helps both teams, for sure.

Positional Overview

C

This should be Mickey Cochrane for a while, with Brian Downing being brought in as the backup next season. There’s not a lot of talent in the system, so hopefully those two can stay healthy.

1B

At some point, this may become an issue, as Jimmie Foxx really is better suited for 1B than 3B, but for now, Jack Clark reigns, with Foxx filling in.

Wally Joyner and Sid Bream are available as needed as well.

2B

The Sea Lions gave up a lot for Frank Grant, now he needs to produce. The team is pretty confident he will, with Phil Garner on hand as a reserve infielder.

There is some talent in the system here: Jack Farrell, Ron Hunt, and Dario Lodigiani all have some talent, and last year’s incumbent, Jimmy Bloodworth, is still bouncing around.

SS

Dick Lundy has this locked down, offering a rare mixture of speed, defense, and occasional power.

Royce Clayton‘s performance has earned him a hard look, although his lack of versatility is a thing. Bill Sweeney and Jed Lowrie are options as well if needed.

3B

The Sea Lions have a lot of talent here. The starting role is obviously Foxx’s, but Sal Bando is an excellent option. Bando is expendable if the right offer came along as others, including Wayne Gross, Denny Walling, and Don Money could also serve as Foxx’s backup.

LF/RF

With CF settled, the corner spots are a bit congested between Rickey Henderson, Reggie Jackson, and Bobby Bonds. Henderson has a firm lock on LF, and Jackson and Bonds will probably share RF and DH duties, as neither of them are spectacular defensively.

The Sea Lions’ Minor League Player of the Year, Josh Reddick, could figure in here, as could Matt Holliday, Eddie Murphy, or the slugging behemoth that is Frank Howard.

CF

Assuming Turkey Stearnes doesn’t succumb to the sophomore slump, the job is his for a long time.

Lots of players can fill in here, but in terms of true CFers, only Del Unser and Mookie Wilson catch the eye in the system.

DH

A mix of Foxx, Jackson, and Bonds should be more than sufficient here.

SP

This is pretty much set, certainly with the trio of Lefty Grove, Eddie Plank, and Bump Hadley leading the way. Watty Clark showed enough to be projected as the 4th starter, leaving some competition between Tom Brewer, Tim Hudson, Tommy Bridges, and Mel Stottlemyre Sr. Veterans Nick Altrock and Cy Falkenberg and the Minor League Pitcher of the Year, Red Ehret may be given a look as well.

At lower levels, Charlie Ferguson and Jair Jurrjens have both showed some promise.

RP

The back end has the potential to be devastating, with Joe Nathan and Ken Howell setting up Rod Beck. That only gets better if Ron Robinson is able to make a clean return form injury or if Huston Street can develop a bit more consistency.

Draft Outlook

DRAFT PICKS

1st Round: 2
2nd Round: 1
3rd Round: 0
4th Round: 1
5th Round: 1

What do you get the team that has everything? That’s right, 2 first round picks. Especially with the sudden departure of Jules Thomas, the cupboard is a bit bare, so this will be a restocking exercise for the Sea Lions.

But … San Francisco looks prime for a stumble, as the team that won the most games in the WBL in the regular season was taken to a full seven games by Detroit, who finished well behind Cleveland in their division.

The Spiders didn’t get much out of Willie McCovey, Ron Blomberg, or Tris Speaker, but still got here, largely on the backs of Larry Doby, Arky Vaughan, and Johnny Bates (and the surprising performance of Chuck Knoblauch, a disappointment for most of the regular season). Also look for John Ellis to get a few starts behind the plate, as he is the only backstop hitting in the postseason. On the mound, a strong performance from Cy Young would go a long way to giving the Spiders a chance here. Yordano Ventura and, especially, Bob Feller, showed up well in the first series, and may be moved up a slot in the rotation.

San Francisco may get even stronger, as Frank Grant is back from a short-term injury. This may have happened at the perfect time, as Royce Clayton–superlative over the regular season as a substitute for Grant–struggled in the first series. That left the Sea Lions with a challenging decision, between replacing Wayne Gross or Phil Garner on the playoff roster. They opted to keep Garner, mostly due to defensive flexibility. The Sea Lions also brought Tommy Bridges onto the roster, replacing Mel Stottlemyre Sr.

Other than that, it’s just more of the same for San Francisco: the big 3 of Lefty Grove, Eddie Plank, and Bump Hadley will continue to drive the rotation, and Rod Beck will continue to close the games out. And the offense is clicking on all cylinders right now, hitting 17 homers and stealing 11 bases in the 7 game series.

It’s hard to make any prediction other than San Francisco. And, honestly, it’s hard to see Cleveland putting up much resistance, Sea Lions in 5. But note, we had the same opinion of the matchup with Detroit. So.

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

#San Francisco Sea Lions

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

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

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

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

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

#New York Black Yankees

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

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

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

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

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

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

#Cleveland Spiders

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

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

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

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

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

#Detroit Wolverines

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

#Predictions

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

San Francisco in 5.

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

That feels right for the playoffs as well.

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

#Chicago American Giants

More due to a lack of decent options, David Price was named as the American Giants’ fifth starter.

In what is most likely his final game with Chicago, trade target Paul Konerko hit 2 out as the American Giants came from behind to top Miami, 13-7.

Dick Allen hit 2 homers and the American Giants withstood a fierce comeback to edge Miami, 9-8.

#Los Angeles Angels

Doug Rader went deep twice, giving him 21 for the season, but the Angels fell to Baltimore, 6-5.

It looks like the Angels will close by committee for the rest of the season as they don’t really make a move to replace the departed Joe Nathan. They do bring newly obtained Vic Willis directly into the WBL bulllpen. Brian Giles and Freddie Patek were recalled from the minors, and John Lackey, AJ Pierzynski, Derrek Lee, and Jack Gleason were all demoted to AAA.

#Miami Cuban Giants

Eustaquio Pedroso heads to the DL for a couple of weeks with Ray Lamb being recalled from AAA to take his place, at least on the mound. Hugh McQuillan replaced Ramón Martínez in the rotation as the Cuban Giants try to find some solutions to their ongoing struggles at the back of their rotation.

Gary Sheffield and Jim Thome each hit 2 out of the park, and the Cuban Giants survived a horrible day from their bullpen to beat Detroit, 16-11. Cole Hamels, who improved to 10-9 on the year, left the game in the 7th with a 13-3 lead, and Miami held on for dear life from there.

Yasiel Puig and Andy Pafko repeated the feat, each going deep twice, but this time it wasn’t enough as Miami fell to Detroit, 11-5. Puig did it again the next day, reaching 20 on the season, as Miami felled the Wolverines, 10-1 behind an excellent start from José Méndez.

Thome did it again, going deep twice in a loss, as the Cuban Giants fell to Detroit, 8-6.

More of the same: 2 more for José Canseco, giving him 55 for the year, but another loss as Miami’s bullpen fell apart in a 13-7 loss to Chicago.

Dale Murray and Lamb were sent to AAA, clearing the way for newly acquired Jonathan Papelbon and Joe Adcock.

Another 2 for Canseco, another loss to Chicago, this one 9-8. With 57 on the year, Canseco temporarily took over the league lead in homers.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Kent Hrbek hit 2 out, but the Sea Dogs fell to the Spiders, 13-4. Paul Molitor repeated the dubious feat, hitting his 7th and 8th homeruns of the year as the Sea Dogs fell, 8-3 to Cleveland.

As the Sea Dogs try to figure out their future, they recalled Jim Golden and Dick Jones onto their pitching staff, and Hughie Jennings to share time at SS with Molitor. Jerry Koosman was named to the rotation staff, and the various trades Portland made will lead to significantly more playing time for Willie Randolph and perhaps Eddie Yost.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

Dennis Eckersley was sent to AAA with the arrival of Joe Nathan in the Sea Lions’ bullpen.

Frank Grant will spend a couple weeks on the DL, with the Sea Lions recalling IF Wayne Gross from AAA.

While Turkey Stearnes will receive a lot of attention during the spring, how roles fall out between Sal Bando, Pedro Guerrero, Dick Lundy, and Roy Hartzell will see some focus as well–someone in that group is likely to end up at SS, and none of them are really naturals at that position.

Injuries

Carl Erskine was a long shot to make the roster; a shoulder injury costing him most of spring training confirmed he will start the season in the minors.

First Cuts

A host of arms were sent down: Red Ehret, Diego Seguí, Frank Barberich, James Shields, Charlie Ferguson and Rube Walberg all hit the minors, clearing quite a bit of space as the Sea Lions try to work out their staff.

Behind the plate, Mickey Cochrane has moved into the lead for the starting spot, with only Jack Warner being sent to the minors. That leaves only 3 full-time backstops in camp, which may mean that San Francisco continues to want to give John Beckwith a longer look. IF Bobby Bragan can also fill in at C if necessary.

With the Sea Lions committed to both John Beckwith and Jimmie Foxx, Don Money, Sid Bream, Bill Sweeney, and Wayne Gross found themselves with tickets to minor league camp, despite performances no worse than Beckwith’s or Foxx’s.

Denny Hocking and Ted Sizemore head to the minors, but that’s not really enough to sort out the middle infield, where Dick Lundy, Ron Hunt, and Roy Hartzell have been quite strong.

The OF is a little clearer as Turkey Stearnes has absolutely blown the cover off the ball, justifying his draft position. Eddie Murphy, Mookie Wilson, Del Unser, Jules Thomas, Darrell Brown, and Patsy Donovan were all sent to the minors while Bob Cerv remains, despite early struggles.

Second Cuts

Dave LaRoche is in danger of being sent to the minors, but for now the Sea Lions staff stays stable.

Just about the only clear message from camp so far is that Turkey Stearnes is for real and, at this point, the 22 year old rookie looks likely to start the season in CF for the Sea Lions. Aside from that … it’s all muddled. Reggie Jackson, Bobby Bonds, and Pedro Guerrero can’t hit a lick; neither Bobby Bragan nor Royce Clayton deserve to stay in camp, but with the team very thin in the MI, both do; Mickey Cochrane is making a play for the starting C spot, but both Brian Downing and Gene Oliver are refusing to claim the backup slot. So it goes.

Teenager John Beckwith heads to AAA for a bit more seasoning, and IF Jack Farrell heads down as well.

Third Cuts

Mickey Cochrane has edged ahead of the struggling Gene Oliver and even more struggling Brian Downing as the likely opening day C for the Sea Lions.

IFs Bobby Bragan and Royce Clayton were sent to AAA, but San Francisco still has some issues to sort out on the infield: too many 1B are mashing the ball (Jimmie Foxx, Jack Clark, Jason Giambi), Roy Hartzell, who finished last season as the presumptive starter at SS, has struggled, and both Phil Garner and Dick Lundy are playing well enough to demand more time.

Walt Williams has hit well, but the Sea Lions OF is pretty crowded and the trio of Frank Howard, Bob Cerv, and Josh Reddick have all hit better, so Williams is off to AAA.

It’s not clear what San Francisco does here: rookie phenom Turkey Stearnes has exceeded all expectations and looks set to play CF, leaving Rickey Henderson, Pedro Guerrero, Bobby Bonds, and Reggie Jackson competing for the corner OF and DH spots.

Final Cuts

Jair Jurrjens had raised some eyebrows in an attempt to make the roster as a swing starter, but it was always unlikely, and a couple late rough outings sealed his fate as Jurrjens heads to AAA. Josh Reddick was sent down along with slick fielding SS Eddie Miller. Miller’s demotion answers several other questions: Dick Lundy looks to be the everyday SS, with Roy Hartzell his backup, clearing the way for Sal Bando at 3B.

RP Dave LaRoche was sent to AAA along with Carl Erskine, which may virtually solidify the pitching staff for the Sea Lions, leaving only 13 arms in camp. Brian Downing continues to look good enough for the WBL until he’s actually given a chance: he’ll head to AAA, with catching duties for San Francisco falling to Mickey Cochrane and Gene Oliver in a likely platoon. Ron Hunt does have a knack for getting clipped by pitches, but that’s just not enough to justify a roster spot: he’ll start the year in AAA as well.

Jim Devlin was the final arm moved out of camp.

Jason Giambi was sent down despite his obvious power, as were Bob Cerv and Matt Holliday. Cerv refused his demotion, and was made a free agent.

That made the final cut a choice between OF Frank Howard, incumbent 2B Jimmy Bloodworth (who has struggled all Spring), and light hitting IF Roy Hartzell (which would leave the Sea Lions without a real reserve at SS). Given the OF depth on the roster, it wasn’t terribly surprising that Howard was the final cut from camp.