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.