AGBA Eastern League (Galaxy Season I Update)

The APBA Galaxy Baseball Association's (AGBA) Eastern League are 22 games through their 72-game season, and just finished the first four-game series of division match-ups. The E.L. is separated into two divisions, the Ruth Division and Robinson Division. 

The Ruth Division is very close with no team in clear control. The New York Pigeons (11-11-0) and Baltimore Bombers (10-10-2) are tied at the top with 22 points in the division standings. Just behind these two are the Florida Rockets (10-12-0, 20 pts), Boston Colonials (9-12-1, 19 pts), and the Pittsburgh Arsenal (9-13-0, 18 pts) and Montreal Voyageurs (9-13-0, 18 pts) tied at the bottom, but only sitting at 4 points & 2 games behind.

The Robinson Division (named after Jackie) is a bit of a different story. The division is currently a three-team race, with the Atlanta Firebirds sitting at 17-5-0 with 34 points. The Carolina Twins who are currently on a 6-game winning streak, sit in 2nd place at 15-6-1 (31 pts) and the Philadelphia Veterans (14-8-0, 28 pts, 6 PB) sit in 3rd place. The bottom three teams, Washington Maroons (11-11-0, 22 pts -- same record as Ruth Division's 1st place Pigeons), Brooklyn Mets (9-13-0, 18 pts) & New York Knights (6-16-0, 12 points) are much further back in the rearview mirror.

The best team in the entire Eastern League appears to be the Atlanta Firebirds, who also came into the season with high expectations. Despite two of the league's home runs leaders in Fred McGriff (12) and Hank Aaron (9), the Firebirds' hitters have cooled down of late, as the team's batting average has fell to .248 for the season. It should be noted that 1968 was actually a low HR year for Aaron (29 HR), as he is smacking them out at a much higher rate in the AGBA.

Atlanta gets it done with great fielding (.992 fielding, 7 errors) and their pitching, which the bullpen coming up big in clutch moments. Atlanta's bullpen are 5-0 with five relievers posting a 2.45 ERA or lower. Close Greg McMichael has been a perfect 9-for-9 in saves opportunities, as he leads all AGBA relievers (36 teams) with 9 saves. McMichael has a 0.96 ERA while opposing hitters have batted only .222 against, but has a 1.286 WHIP (8 hits, 4 walks) through those 9 innings, 9 appearances.

The Firebirds, thanks to their bullpen are 7-0 in 1-run games.

Atlanta's rotation has appeared human with Greg Maddux (4-0, 1.10 ERA) being the lone dominant starting pitcher. Maddux has pitched 2 complete games, 1 shutout, allowing 17 hits, 12 walks through 41 innings, while hitters have only batted .122 against him. John Smoltz had a good outing last time out and lowered his ERA to 3.55, while both Phil Niekro and Anibal Sanchez sit with 4.15 ERA's. Tom Glavine has been a complete mess to this point, posting a 1-3 record & 6.66 ERA through 4 starts. 

The Philadelphia Veterans have a solid lineup & rotation. The Vets are batting .265 as a team this season, led by John Kruk (.392 BA, 3 HR & 23 RBI) & Dick Allen (.318 BA, 10 HR & 30 RBI). Allen's 30 RBI is tops, while Kruk is 2nd in batting average to Carolina's Gates Brown batting .443.

Here is a look at some of the Vets' hitters:

• John Kruk: .392 BA, 3 HR, 23 RBI, 11 XBH, 17 BB, 20 R (.485 OBP/.633 SLG/1.118 OPS).
• Dick Allen: .318 BA, 10 HR, 30 RBI*, 17 XBH, 13 BB, 26 R (.404 OBP/.776 SLG/1.180 OPS).
• Lenny Dykstra: .330, 5 HR, 14 RBI, 8 doubles, 11 SB*, 20 R (.390 OBP/.582 SLG/.972 OPS).
• Kevin Stocker: .309 BA, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 3 triples, 4 HBP, 16 R (.382 OBP/.426 SLG/.808 OPS).
• Wes Chamberlain: Started off slow, now batting .320, 3 HR & 10 RBI (.560 SLG/.918 OPS).

Aaron Nola paces a rotation with a 5-0 record, 2.45 ERA (1 CG SHO) & 33 K, 7 BB in 33 innings. All five rotation pitchers have a 4.04 ERA or lower (with Chris Short's 4.04 ERA being inflated by a rough outing last time out). Woodie Fryman leads the team with a 2.05 ERA, allowing more walks (14) than hits (13) through 30.2 innings. Terry Mulholland (2.67 ERA, 21 K) and Curt Schilling (3.49 ERA, 1 CG) round out the rest of the rotation.

The bullpen is a little iffy, with Jose Alvarado (3 SV, 3.00 ERA) and David West (1.42 ERA, 7 K in 6.1 innings) putting up the best numbers.

The Carolina Twins have a feisty lineup with surprising power by Tommy Pham, who has 10 HR through 22 games. Pham currently leads the E.L. with a 1.269 OPS (.485 OBP/.784 SLG), while knocking in 22 runs. Gates Brown has been a beast, batting 31-for-70 (.443 BA) with 4 HR (12 XBH/53 total bases) & 22 RBI. Curt Flood (.284 BA, 9 BB & 18 runs) and Don Buford (.293, 3 HR, 18 RBI & 11 BB) have both been major factors in the team's lineup success.

The Twins' bullpen has been a big reason for the team's 3.23 ERA -- here is the majority of their pen...

• Mike Perez (closer): 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 5 SV, 8 K & 0 BB, 0.875 WHIP (8 IP).
• Xavier Hernandez: 2-0, 1.50 ERA, 17 K & 3 BB, 0.750 WHIP (12 IP).
• Derek Lilliquist: 0.00 ERA, 4 K, 1 BB, 2 H, 0.375 WHIP (8 IP).
• Diego Castillo: 2.25 ERA, 3 K, 1 BB, 0.625 WHIP (8 IP).

These four relievers have combined for 4 ER allowed through 36 innings (1.00 ERA) with 32 K.

As I mentioned earlier, the Ruth Division is up for grabs, and it's hard to peg a favorite. The New York Pigeons have good pitching all around, plus depth, while some standout offensive weapons such as Aaron Judge, Don Mattingly, Paul O'Neill & Giancarlo Stanton, among others. The Boston Colonials started off 7-2, but then suffered a league worst 9-game losing streak immediately after. The Pittsburgh Arsenal have had the best pitching in the division all year, while their hitters are finally coming on as of late. The Baltimore Bombers have been steady as they come, but it seems as if they are just missing something. So if I was to wager on it, I would say the safe bet may be the Pigeons, but I really like the Arsenal of late.

It's a long season, we are just under a third-of-the-season done, so anything is possible from here on out, but the best teams appear to be coming out of the Robinson Division in the Eastern League.

Cubbies, Williams Take Advantage of Reds' Control Problems

 

At the end of the day, the Cincinnati Reds had almost three times the hits the Chicago Cubs did (13 to Chicago's 5), but the Cubs would go on to win the ballgame, 7-2. During the 3rd & 5th innings particularly, the Cubs had the right hit at the right time, as the Reds' Jim O'Toole allowed 5 of his 6 walks allowed during those innings (his other walk was an intentional walk to Ron Santo in the 1st). It was during the 8th inning where the Cubs put the game away.

Up 4-1, with runners on 1st & 2nd with 2 outs, Billy Williams smacked a 3-run homer off Reds' relief pitcher Jim Brosnan.

The Reds' Frank Robinson collected 4 hits in a losing effort. 

Walk-off Win for Expansion Senators in 1961 BallStat Project

  

With my new introduction to BallScore/BallStat, my first game was a memorable one, a walk-off win for the expansion Washington Senators, with a game-winning hit by pinch-hitter Harry Bright. The Senators' Dick Donovan allowed only 3 hits through 11 solid innings.

No Longer a BallStat Virgin

Hello everybody, 

I just lost my BallStat virginity, and wished that I had gone all the way much sooner!  😂

It took me a little bit, but the more I did it, the better I got, and the more I knew what I was doing....

So I decided I will share my experience by playing with the 1961 MLB Replay.

I am in the middle of other projects, and I am pondering on some of them if I want to go back and record by using the BallStat, or do half-and-half on my AGBA Galaxy League, etc etc

But for this 1961 MLB Replay, and future projects that I start after this point, I will definitely do BallScore/BallStat.

You should all give it a try, this will save me so much trouble, and make me able to do the games without all the frustration of stat-keeping, you can print the stats, store the stats... all you do for the most part, is record the game like you would on your scorecard.

Peace and love, and plenty of sixty-sixes

Coexist,

Shawn B

My NBA2K Preview into Upcoming 2022-23 NBA Season

The NBA Free Agency period was on full display this past week, but no name was bigger than Kevin Durant (who was not a free agent) demanding a trade from the Brooklyn Nets. I will not dive fully into the Durant story (that's for another future NBA post), but I will talk about my NBA2K22 Nintendo Switch and the updated rosters on it.

I decided to download a fan's July 3rd roster update, which was great because he had all the rookies from this past June draft as well. From there I checked into some of the trade and signing rumors that are being talked about online. I also decided to kickstart some moves, making some blockbuster trades and signings, it's my alternate reality from July 3rd onward.

Here are some of the moves I made...

Starting with the biggest deal and name. Kevin Durant gets his way, and lands at one of his preferred destinations -- The Phoenix Suns. The Suns needed a quick answer to their shocking exit in the 2nd Round (to the Dallas Mavericks). It was a 4-team deal (but you can only do up to 3-team deals in NBA2K)...

• Suns acquired: PF-Kevin Durant (Nets), C-Jakob Poeltl (Spurs), SG-Josh Richardson (Spurs).

• Nets acquired: PG-Russell Westbrook (Lakers), SF-Mikal Bridges (Suns), SG-Landry Shamet (Suns), SF/PF-Cameron Johnson (Suns), SF-Doug McDermott (Spurs), plus three unprotected 1st Round draft picks (2024 & 2025 from Suns, 2026 from Lakers).

• Spurs: C-Deandre Ayton (Suns) in sign-and-trade.

In real life, the Washington Wizards made the horrible extension offer to SF-Bradley Beal, which will net him $251 million over 5 years. Beal declined his player option of $36.4 million from his prior deal. The deal reminds many Washington fans of disastrous deals like Gilbert Arenas and John Wall. With the Cavaliers possibly looking to do a sign-and-trade with SG-Collin Sexton, I made this offer for Washington...

• Wizards acquired: SG-Collin Sexton.

• Cavaliers acquired: PG-Monte Morris & SG-Corey Kispert.

I also decided to do another deal with Washington involved...

• Wizards acquired: PF-John Collins & two 2nd Rd draft picks (2025).

• Hawks acquired: SF/PF-Kyle Kuzma, SF-Deni Avdija, PF-Anthony Gill & two unprotected 1st Round draft picks.

These two deals help makeup the mess that is the Beal deal, plus adding them to a roster that includes PF/C-Kristaps Porzingis, rookie PG-Johnny Davis & C-Daniel Gafford. The Collins-Sexton-Beal trio are like a mini-big three for the Wizards.

One of the other big trade rumors are the Utah Jazz' SG-Donovan Mitchell, especially after the Jazz traded C-Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves, and let numerous players simply go... It appears the Utah may be in the middle of a full rebuild. The Jazz recently said that they shut down all offers to Mitchell, but there are some insiders such as The Ringer's Bill Simmons that don't believe that kind of talk. To be honest, I am not sure I believe he'll be on the Jazz by the time the 2022-23 NBA season starts. 

Mitchell is rumored in deals involving the Atlanta Hawks, Miami Heat, New York Knicks among others, I decided to make this 3-team deal...

• Heat acquired: SG-Donovan Mitchell.

• Jazz acquired: SG-Tyler Herro (Heat), SG/SF-Duncan Robinson (Heat), PG-Gabe Vincent (Heat), SF-Cam Reddish (Knicks), SG/SF-Evan Fournier (Knicks), plus a 2025 1st Round draft pick (Heat) & 2024 2nd Round draft pick (Knicks).

• Knicks acquired: PF-Bojan Bogdanovic (Jazz), plus 2023 1st Round (Lottery Protected) draft pick (Knicks).

Evan Fournier wasn't able to pack his bags, as he was then dealt to the Dallas Mavericks...

• Mavericks acquired: SG/SF-Evan Fournier along with a 2025 2nd Round draft pick swap (worst).

• Jazz acquired: SF-Josh Green, a 2025 2nd Round draft pick swap (best), plus an additional 2nd Round draft pick from 2026.

The rest of the day were signings for the most part...

• Lakers sign SF-T.J. Warren.
• Celtics sign C-Thomas Bryant.
• Bulls sign PG-Goran Dragic.
• Clippers sign PG-John Wall.
• Suns sign G-Damion Lee.
• Nuggets sign G-Bruce Brown.

From Under the Nasty Boys' Shadows

 I was doing a separate project recently where I was looking at some of my APBA World Series teams, I came across the 1990 Oakland Athletics. While I was logging their stats, which also included WAR and ERA+, I really sat back and marveled at Oakland's bullpen.

While typing in Oakland's bullpen stats and the Cincinnati Reds' bullpen, it was then that I realized how underappreciated, unsung that Oakland bullpen truly was, while there has been numerous baseball documentaries about the Reds' 'Nasty Boys'.

More than a few years ago, I had a friendly baseball debate with Pastor Rich, he favored Oakland's bullpen, and I felt the Reds' Nasty Boys were better. Looking back, and doing these stats now, I realized I was definitely wrong. That Oakland bullpen was truly amazing, and literally carried the pitching staff and possibly the entire team to be honest.

The bullpen contributed 7.8 WAR of the team's 14.6 pitching WAR, which was pretty much only Dave Stewart (5.2 WAR) and Bob Welch (2.9 WAR) from the starting staff. The other three starters were Scott Sanderson, Mike Moore & Curt Young. While we are on the subject of Stewart and Welch, take the overrated statistic of Wins, and Stewart has Welch beat... it's a damn shame Stewart didn't win a Cy Young during that amazing stretch between 1987-1990.

I mentioned the bullpen carrying the team in its entirety because their lineup actually only batted .254, which ranked 12th out of 14 American League teams... this weakness literally contributed to their series loss to Cincinnati. When people think of Oakland's lineup, they think of Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco, plus dangerous threats like Dave Henderson, or good solid vets like Carney Lansford, Harold Baines, or Willie Randolph. Most people probably would have thought that Oakland probably topped all the power categories, but they actually finished 4th in OPS (.726) and 3rd in Home Runs (164), which are still good, but that lineup gets more credit than it should... Sure, the lineup had Godzilla and King Kong, but once pass them, the lineup was streaky at times.

But let's get back on track and talk about the good stuff, the bullpen...

Let's start with the closer, Dennis Eckersley. 

Eckersley nearly logged 50 saves (48) while only allowing 5 earned runs (9 total runs) and 4 walks through 73.1 innings. 

Between 1988-1992, Eckersley would record 24 wins, 220 saves & 378 strikeouts and only 38 walks. During that period he also had a combined WAR of 12.4

His yearly average during that five-year stretch was 44 saves, 5 wins, 1.90 ERA, 76 K & 8 walks. Also while owning a 0.792 WHIP & 198 ERA+.

Not sure what is more amazing, the 0.61 ERA or the 4 walks that he allowed out of the 262 batters he faced during the 1990 season? One thing is for sure, his APBA card -- Grade (28*) A&B*-XZZ is truly amazing.

Eckersley's supporting cast (plus Eckersley) in the bullpen featured...

• Dennis Eckersley (28*/A&B*-XZZ): 0.61 ERA, 48 SV, 73 K & 4 BB (73.1 IP), 603 ERA+
• Gene Nelson (22*/A&C*-Z): 1.57 ERA, 5 SV, 38 K & 17 BB (74.2 IP), 236 ERA+
• Rick Honeycutt (14*/B*-YZ): 2.70 ERA, 7 SV, 38 K & 22 BB (63.1 IP), 137 ERA+
• Todd Burns (8/14* / C(B*): 2.97 ERA, 3 SV, 43 K & 32 BB (78.2 IP), 124 ERA+
• Joe Klink (18*/A*): 2.04 ERA, 1 SV, 19 K & 18 BB (39.2 IP), 182 ERA+

Now let's see the APBA card grades & numbers of the 1990 Cincinnati Reds...

• Randy Myers (18*/A*-XY): 2.08 ERA, 31 SV, 98 K & 38 BB (86.2 IP), 193 ERA+
• Rob Dibble (20*/A*-XY): 1.74 ERA, 11 SV, 136 K & 34 BB (98 IP), 229 ERA+
• Norm Charlton (10/15* / C(B*)-Y): 2.74 ERA, 2 SV, 117 K & 70 BB (154.1 IP), 146 ERA+
• Tim Layana (12*/B*-YW): 3.49 ERA, 2 SV, 53 K & 44 BB (80 IP), 115 ERA+

It should be noted, although Charlton's APBA grade is stronger in a relief role, he was actually more effective as a starting pitcher for the Reds (2.60 ERA, 1.264 WHIP, 103.2 IP) compared to that of the bullpen (3.02 ERA & relatively-high bullpen WHIP of 1.382 in 50.2 IP).

Over time the Reds' Nasty Boys may have got the documentaries and the glamor, but it was the underappreciated grind of Oakland's bullpen that wins out this argument.

Now is Oakland the best bullpen ever? Or APBA bullpen ever? 

That may be another debate.

All-Star Break in Alternate 1998

From the Boys of Summer drafts vault, more unpublished stuff about the No Expansion 1990's Braves project from Out of the Park Baseball, with the All-Star update for alternate 1998.

The Atlanta Braves who were favored to win the division entering this season, found themselves starting off slow out of the gate. Their starting pitching was off, with both Greg Maddux and John Smoltz with ERA's above 4.00 (Smoltz was at 6.26 in April!).

Newcomer rotation hand Steve Trachsel (who signed a lengthy 6-year deal worth $11.3 million) started off slow as expected, but has now settled down (8-5, 3.40 ERA), starting with 10 K, 1 BB performance against his former team the Cubs, allowing only 6 hits & 2 runs.

The lineup has been doing great as expected, except for Bret Boone who is batting just above the Mendoza line, but he will only improve in time. Shortstop Mike Bordick (above) is currently playing above par, batting .311 with 32 RBI & 16 doubles through 70 games -- which is great, since I primarily got him for his great, dependable glove.

The Braves (52-34) have gained some ground on the Los Angeles Dodgers, closing in within 3.5 games. With the lineup delivering, the rotation starting to balance out (except for Darryl Kile and his 5.25 ERA), and the bullpen doing its thing... I really don't feel the need to make any major moves since the team I built in the off-season took every penny to make it a contender. I feel if I tinker too much at this point, the team will falter. I have, believe it or not, have stayed pat before, and feel this is the best decision for the this season's situation.

I noticed Oakland (41-45, 15 games out) has been shopping around Roberto Alomar, but I have Bret Boone at second for far cheaper at the moment, and although Alomar would look great with a Tomahawk across his chest, I'm better to stay put. Interesting side note, I had Alomar on my high school APBA league team, also named the Atlanta Braves.

So, what's going on around the rest of the league? You may have asked.

Well let's head off to the American League East, where the emerging Detroit Tigers are in 1st place, with a 4-game lead over the Toronto Blue Jays. Prospect Carlos Beltran recently made his MLB debut with the Tigers, while the team's superstar is Alex Rodriguez (.308, 22 HR, 79 RBI & 18 SB).

The Tigers made their turnaround last season, finishing with a 80-82 record, after 4 consecutive seasons of 100+ losses. The lineup also includes Bobby Higginson, Tony Clark, Paul Lo Duca, and Wade Boggs (who signed a two-year deal in January).

The biggest surprise with the Tigers is not their hitting, but their pitching, as they are getting good outings from Justin Thompson (8-7, 3.10 ERA), Dustin Hermanson (8-5, 3.38 ERA), Esteban Loaiza (11-3, 3.49 ERA) & Jose Lima (9-4, 2.79 ERA). The Tigers did an excellent job at signing closer John Franco (one-year, $1.1. million), who has a 2.15 ERA and 19 saves.

The Blue Jays who trail Detroit, are solely getting by with their lineup again, with Larry Walker, Carlos Delgado and Greg Vaughn all on pace for 40 home runs this season. I think the Tigers will have to worry more about the New York Yankees who have a better balance in hitting and pitching, trailing Detroit by 4.5 games. The Yankees are led by Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams & Fred McGriff at the plate, while their two starters Andy Pettitte (11-4, 2.91 ERA) & Scott Karl (9-5, 2.77 ERA) are pacing the rotation.

The A.L. West is currently between two teams, the Texas Rangers (56-30) and the Kansas City Royals (54-33). One of the biggest under-the-radar signings this past off-season may be the Rangers' one-year ($1.44 million) to Eric Davis, who may be having his best season since being a Cincinnati Red in 1991. Davis is currently batting .268 with 11 HR & 35 RBI with a .773 OPS for the Rangers.
The top 4 of the Rangers' rotation has also been pretty good in Todd Stottlemyre, Matt Morris, Darren Dreifort & Livan Hernandez. The Royals, meanwhile, are led by Scott Rolen, who is having a monster year, batting .306 with 21 dingers & 74 RBI -- while he is getting support in the lineup by Wally Joyner and Carl Everett.

The Royals, winners of three straight, could use David Justice's power bat to return back to norm, as he is experiencing a down year (.259, 8, 52) after hitting 61 HR & 227 RBI over the last two seasons in a Royals uniform.

The only team in the N.L. East that is not competing are the Philadelphia Phillies (28-58), who have the 2nd worst record in all of baseball behind the A.L. Milwaukee Brewers (25-65). The Pittsburgh Pirates currently lead the division with a 48-39 record, while Montreal Expos trails them only by a game, and the Chicago Cubs (3 GB), St. Louis Cardinals (4.5) & New York Mets (5 GB) are not far behind.

I got a kick out of looking at the Pirates' lineup when I read that Cal Ripken Jr. is their third baseman, batting 7th. Ripken briefly played for the Giants in 1997, where he experienced his worst season since 1981, by batting only .255 with 10 HR, with a sub-.700 OPS. Ripken came to Pittsburgh on a (don't laugh) minor league contract, and has done better by batting .287, with a .744 OPS.

By the way, Cal didn't leave Baltimore on his free will, you can blame their owner who traded him to San Francisco in exchange for RP-Jay Tessmer and RF-Roberto Mendez.

Ripken is in a stacked lineup that features Ken Griffey Jr, Albert Belle, Mo Vaughn, with Jay Bell and Jason Kendall emerging. Their rotation just acquired starter Tom Candiotti (9-4, 3.75 ERA) from the Anaheim Angels in exchange for two minor leaguers.

Verlander Takes New York

 

Justin Verlander has simply made it look easy since coming back to the majors after missing nearly all of the last two seasons.

As of July 1st, Verlander leads the majors with 10 wins (10-3), while posting a 2.03 ERA, 90 strikeouts & 17 walks through 97.1 innings of work. If he keeps his 2022 ERA+ clip of 186, it will have the makings of topping his prior two best seasons of 2011 & 2019, both in which he won the Cy Young Award (not to mention MVP Award in 11'). For those that don't understand ERA+, 100 is the league average, and he would be 86+ of that. 

In fact, since becoming part of the Houston Astros in late 2017, Verlander has posted a 53-18 record, 2.38 ERA & 736 strikeouts in 574.1 innings, with a 179 ERA+ & 18.1 WAR.

This past week, he owned both New York teams, lineups that included the talent of Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Anthony Rizzo, Starling Marte & others. 

Here are the superb numbers against both the Yankees & Mets, presented by USA Today baseball writer Bob Nightengale in this tweet below...