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reds1 · 01-16-2018, 11:33 PM

Notes on 1947-48 All-Braeland Team

Starting Pitcher

Some outstanding performances this year by pitchers, but this was a rather easy decision, especially compared to last season. Although looking at the two Satchel Paige winners is a good place to start, the choice was actually between three Eastern League pitchers: Stratford’s Ryan Borden, Braeland City’s David Cooling and Brunswick’s Anastasio Rodríquez. Sheburn’s Jesús Chapa was also thrown into the mix, but in my estimation, Borden is the pick. It’s his second selection to the Team.

Here are some of their stats for comparison (league leading stats highlighted in bold):

• Borden – 22-7, 2.13 ERA, 35 GS, 279.1 IP, 123 K, 1.07 WHIP, 0.3 HR/9, 1.8 BB/9, 4.0 K/9, .251 BABIP, 188 ERA+, 2.70 FIP, 8.9 WAR.

• Cooling – 21-7, 2.62 ERA, 34 GS, 275.1 IP, 110 K, 1.04 WHIP, 0.6 HR/9, 1.7 BB/9, 3.6 K/9, .235 BABIP, 155 ERA+, 3.03 FIP, 7.6 WAR.

• Rodríguez – 19-10, 3.01 ERA, 35 GS, 292.2 IP, 136 K, 1.32 WHIP, 0.2 HR/9, 2.3 BB/9, 4.2 K/9, .301 BABIP, 134 ERA+, 2.63 FIP, 9.8 WAR.

• Chapa – 14-12, 3.37 ERA, 34 GS, 261.2 IP, 146 K, 1.20 WHIP, 0.6 HR/9, 1.7 BB/9, 5.0 K/9, .283 BABIP, 120 ERA+, 2.88 FIP, 7.8 WAR.

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Catcher

As he has for the previous six campaigns, 29-year old C Danny Trowbridge (.372/.463/.565, 19 HR, 75 RBI, 8.3 WAR, 1.001 EFF) makes this selection automatic. But that’s not to say there weren’t other terrific performances by catchers in the ULB:

• Stratford's Aaron Skidmore (.303/.442/.459, 17 HR, 84 RBI, 117 BB, 6.6 WAR, 1.001 EFF)

• Cambria's Heung-Su Park (.298/.356/.499, 21 HR, 87 RBI, 46 BB, 5.4 WAR, 1.043 EFF)

• Fort Richmond’s Louis Wearne (.299/.407/.477, 17 HR, 71 RBI, 78 BB, 5.5 WAR, .921 EFF)

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First Base

Defense is not his strongest suit, but his offense just could not be ignored this time. Brunswick's Stuart Bentham (.322/.418/.525, 29 HR, 107 RBI, 96 BB, 5.5 WAR, .961 EFF) enjoyed one of his best seasons at the plate and earned his second nod to the All-Braeland team. But a couple of other first basemen were also considered:

• Kingston's Dean Bishop (.268/.388/.488, 25 HR, 91 RBI, 106 BB, 5.3 WAR, 1.061 EFF)

• Embro's Jim Friend (.299/.403/.510, 22 HR, 90 RBI, 85 BB, 4.4 WAR, 1.000 EFF)

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Second Base

Here is a case where I changed my mind after generating the baseball cards for the All-Braeland Team. I had all but selected George Simpson, but in looking at his poor defensive play closer, it gave me pause. Here are the three choices I looked at:

• Cobourg’s George Simpson (.352/.386/.480, 9 HR, 76 RBI, 34 BB, 4.2 WAR, .962 EFF)

• Downie’s Robin Duerden (.292/.359/.449, 14 HR, 73 RBI, 56 BB, 3.8 WAR, 1.009 EFF)

• Wellington’s Ryley McLarnon (.311/.366/.414, 4 HR, 54 RBI, 45 BB, 3.8 WAR, .975 EFF)

McLarnon earned the selection last season, but this year, he saw significant playing time at third base as well (645.2 INN at 2B, 489.2 INN at 3B). Also, he simply wasn’t as strong a candidate as the other two. Simpson was clearly the top offensive player at second base, but Duerden wasn’t all that far behind, and I liked his defensive metrics a lot more. He was a candidate last year as well, but this year he spent nearly all his time at second base and benefited from it. As a result, Duerden is my pick this season. As such, he becomes the first Downie Chiefs player to earn a selection to the All-Braeland Team. Now all 16 teams have finally been represented at one time or another.

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Third Base

A new face makes it onto the Team, as Cobourg’s Alexander Tolmie (.305/.373/.473, 19 HR, 99 RBI, 63 BB, 5.9 WAR, 1.024 EFF) made the grade. A couple of other players were considered as well:

• Braeland City's Adam Ashley (.303/.384/.400, 2 HR, 45 RBI, 69 BB, 4.0 WAR, 1.017 EFF)

• Balmoral's Allen Cattanach (.280/.359/.389, 4 HR, 76 RBI, 69 BB, 3.7 WAR, 1.015 EFF)

Ashley’s overall production was down from the past few seasons; as a result, he could not snag a fourth consecutive selection. Cattanach previously made the All-Braeland Team in 1944-45 as a second baseman. But Tolmie was the straightforward choice.

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Shortstop

A lot of good candidates as usual for shortstop. For me, this came down to four choices:

• Cobourg's John Medley (.363/.416/.522, 9 HR, 81 RBI, 57 BB, 44 SB, 6.5 WAR, .935 EFF)

• Stratford's Jake Walker (.319/.413/.444, 8 HR, 66 RBI, 88 BB, 6.1 WAR, .986 EFF)

• Sherburn's Otton Overbeek (.299/.350/.477, 13 HR, 91 RBI, 48 BB, 5.8 WAR, 1.019 EFF)

• Pulberry's Roland Binns (.312/.381/.501, 22 HR, 81 RBI, 55 BB, 5.8 WAR, 1.023 EFF)

Medley is rated as the No. 1 shortstop in the ULB, while Walker is No. 2 and Binns No. 3. If I were only looking through an offensive lens, Medley would win this. But his defense was just atrocious. If it was closer to league average, it wouldn’t be an issue, but for someone to have played their position like they were lost all season just can’t be ignored. Medley may never become a Top Fielder candidate at shortstop, but he is capable of much better play (in previous seasons, he was league average to just above league average). Thus, I’m going with Roland Binns, for his really nice balance of solid offense and defense. (In a way it’s a shame, since Medley was named after a childhood friend).

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Leftfield

Overall, the candidates for top leftfielder were somewhat underwhelming. These were the three it came down to:

• Wolseley’s Carlton Hawking (.320/.444/.523, 24 HR, 90 RBI, 124 BB, 4.7 WAR, .929 EFF)

• Kingston's Ricardo Ruíz (.280/.341/.462, 7 HR, 60 RBI, 46 BB, 3.5 WAR, 1.062 EFF)

• Brunswick's Ron Westmacott (.285/.390/.506, 15 HR, 59 RBI, 52 BB, 3.1 WAR, .973 EFF)

Hawkings’ defense was quite underwhelming, but this time, there really wasn’t a strong enough alternative to overtake him. That said, one of my personal highlights of this past season was seeing Ron Westmacott return to relevance. Here’s hoping the 31-year old veteran has many more productive seasons to come.

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Centerfield

This one was a doozy. No less than five terrific candidates to choose from:

• Stratford’s Roberto Ríos (.288/.428/.514, 24 HR, 121 RBI, 137 BB, 8.2 WAR, 1.016 EFF)

• Fort Richmond's Dylan Moyne (.312/.371/.508, 20 HR, 83 RBI, 59 BB, 7.4 WAR, 1.044 EFF)

• Downie's Alfonso León (.300/.357/.505, 22 HR, 86 RBI, 54 BB, 7.1 WAR, 1.050 EFF)

• Wellington's Edgardo Barrón (.301/.342/.455, 13 HR, 71 RBI, 40 BB, 5.4 WAR, 1.033 EFF)

• Cobourg’s Raymond Williams (.300/.342/.502, 18 HR, 100 RBI, 41 BB, 5.1 WAR, 1.026 EFF)

Ríos, Moyne and León are the heavyweights among this group and are arguably the best position players on their respective club. But I went with Ríos, as his offensive output could not be ignored. And he was no embarrassment in the field either.

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Rightfield

OK, time to wrap this up with a fairly easy one. The same three candidates from last season are under consideration again:

• Brunswick’s Marcus Peyto (.309/.401/.568, 33 HR, 129 RBI, 90 BB, 6.1 WAR, .975 EFF)

• Queensland's Jilenko Vergara (.295/.377/.482, 18 HR, 72 RBI, 68 BB, 3.9 WAR, .991 EFF)

• Pulberry's Jarod Dwyer (.251/.355/.456, 16 HR, 83 RBI, 79 BB, 3.5 WAR, 1.019 EFF)

Vergara and Dwyer had down years compared to the season before. But Peyto was sensational in his first year with the Legends. He is the top-rated rightfielder in the United Leagues, and he played like it. He richly deserved his first selection to the All-Braeland team.

01-16-2018, 11:33 PM	#408
reds1 Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2002 Location: Winnipeg Posts: 3,948	Notes on 1947-48 All-Braeland Team Starting Pitcher Some outstanding performances this year by pitchers, but this was a rather easy decision, especially compared to last season. Although looking at the two Satchel Paige winners is a good place to start, the choice was actually between three Eastern League pitchers: Stratford’s Ryan Borden, Braeland City’s David Cooling and Brunswick’s Anastasio Rodríquez. Sheburn’s Jesús Chapa was also thrown into the mix, but in my estimation, Borden is the pick. It’s his second selection to the Team. Here are some of their stats for comparison (league leading stats highlighted in bold): • Borden – 22-7, 2.13 ERA, 35 GS, 279.1 IP, 123 K, 1.07 WHIP, 0.3 HR/9, 1.8 BB/9, 4.0 K/9, .251 BABIP, 188 ERA+, 2.70 FIP, 8.9 WAR. • Cooling – 21-7, 2.62 ERA, 34 GS, 275.1 IP, 110 K, 1.04 WHIP, 0.6 HR/9, 1.7 BB/9, 3.6 K/9, .235 BABIP, 155 ERA+, 3.03 FIP, 7.6 WAR. • Rodríguez – 19-10, 3.01 ERA, 35 GS, 292.2 IP, 136 K, 1.32 WHIP, 0.2 HR/9, 2.3 BB/9, 4.2 K/9, .301 BABIP, 134 ERA+, 2.63 FIP, 9.8 WAR. • Chapa – 14-12, 3.37 ERA, 34 GS, 261.2 IP, 146 K, 1.20 WHIP, 0.6 HR/9, 1.7 BB/9, 5.0 K/9, .283 BABIP, 120 ERA+, 2.88 FIP, 7.8 WAR. -------- Catcher As he has for the previous six campaigns, 29-year old C Danny Trowbridge (.372/.463/.565, 19 HR, 75 RBI, 8.3 WAR, 1.001 EFF) makes this selection automatic. But that’s not to say there weren’t other terrific performances by catchers in the ULB: • Stratford's Aaron Skidmore (.303/.442/.459, 17 HR, 84 RBI, 117 BB, 6.6 WAR, 1.001 EFF) • Cambria's Heung-Su Park (.298/.356/.499, 21 HR, 87 RBI, 46 BB, 5.4 WAR, 1.043 EFF) • Fort Richmond’s Louis Wearne (.299/.407/.477, 17 HR, 71 RBI, 78 BB, 5.5 WAR, .921 EFF) -------- First Base Defense is not his strongest suit, but his offense just could not be ignored this time. Brunswick's Stuart Bentham (.322/.418/.525, 29 HR, 107 RBI, 96 BB, 5.5 WAR, .961 EFF) enjoyed one of his best seasons at the plate and earned his second nod to the All-Braeland team. But a couple of other first basemen were also considered: • Kingston's Dean Bishop (.268/.388/.488, 25 HR, 91 RBI, 106 BB, 5.3 WAR, 1.061 EFF) • Embro's Jim Friend (.299/.403/.510, 22 HR, 90 RBI, 85 BB, 4.4 WAR, 1.000 EFF) -------- Second Base Here is a case where I changed my mind after generating the baseball cards for the All-Braeland Team. I had all but selected George Simpson, but in looking at his poor defensive play closer, it gave me pause. Here are the three choices I looked at: • Cobourg’s George Simpson (.352/.386/.480, 9 HR, 76 RBI, 34 BB, 4.2 WAR, .962 EFF) • Downie’s Robin Duerden (.292/.359/.449, 14 HR, 73 RBI, 56 BB, 3.8 WAR, 1.009 EFF) • Wellington’s Ryley McLarnon (.311/.366/.414, 4 HR, 54 RBI, 45 BB, 3.8 WAR, .975 EFF) McLarnon earned the selection last season, but this year, he saw significant playing time at third base as well (645.2 INN at 2B, 489.2 INN at 3B). Also, he simply wasn’t as strong a candidate as the other two. Simpson was clearly the top offensive player at second base, but Duerden wasn’t all that far behind, and I liked his defensive metrics a lot more. He was a candidate last year as well, but this year he spent nearly all his time at second base and benefited from it. As a result, Duerden is my pick this season. As such, he becomes the first Downie Chiefs player to earn a selection to the All-Braeland Team. Now all 16 teams have finally been represented at one time or another. -------- Third Base A new face makes it onto the Team, as Cobourg’s Alexander Tolmie (.305/.373/.473, 19 HR, 99 RBI, 63 BB, 5.9 WAR, 1.024 EFF) made the grade. A couple of other players were considered as well: • Braeland City's Adam Ashley (.303/.384/.400, 2 HR, 45 RBI, 69 BB, 4.0 WAR, 1.017 EFF) • Balmoral's Allen Cattanach (.280/.359/.389, 4 HR, 76 RBI, 69 BB, 3.7 WAR, 1.015 EFF) Ashley’s overall production was down from the past few seasons; as a result, he could not snag a fourth consecutive selection. Cattanach previously made the All-Braeland Team in 1944-45 as a second baseman. But Tolmie was the straightforward choice. -------- Shortstop A lot of good candidates as usual for shortstop. For me, this came down to four choices: • Cobourg's John Medley (.363/.416/.522, 9 HR, 81 RBI, 57 BB, 44 SB, 6.5 WAR, .935 EFF) • Stratford's Jake Walker (.319/.413/.444, 8 HR, 66 RBI, 88 BB, 6.1 WAR, .986 EFF) • Sherburn's Otton Overbeek (.299/.350/.477, 13 HR, 91 RBI, 48 BB, 5.8 WAR, 1.019 EFF) • Pulberry's Roland Binns (.312/.381/.501, 22 HR, 81 RBI, 55 BB, 5.8 WAR, 1.023 EFF) Medley is rated as the No. 1 shortstop in the ULB, while Walker is No. 2 and Binns No. 3. If I were only looking through an offensive lens, Medley would win this. But his defense was just atrocious. If it was closer to league average, it wouldn’t be an issue, but for someone to have played their position like they were lost all season just can’t be ignored. Medley may never become a Top Fielder candidate at shortstop, but he is capable of much better play (in previous seasons, he was league average to just above league average). Thus, I’m going with Roland Binns, for his really nice balance of solid offense and defense. (In a way it’s a shame, since Medley was named after a childhood friend). -------- Leftfield Overall, the candidates for top leftfielder were somewhat underwhelming. These were the three it came down to: • Wolseley’s Carlton Hawking (.320/.444/.523, 24 HR, 90 RBI, 124 BB, 4.7 WAR, .929 EFF) • Kingston's Ricardo Ruíz (.280/.341/.462, 7 HR, 60 RBI, 46 BB, 3.5 WAR, 1.062 EFF) • Brunswick's Ron Westmacott (.285/.390/.506, 15 HR, 59 RBI, 52 BB, 3.1 WAR, .973 EFF) Hawkings’ defense was quite underwhelming, but this time, there really wasn’t a strong enough alternative to overtake him. That said, one of my personal highlights of this past season was seeing Ron Westmacott return to relevance. Here’s hoping the 31-year old veteran has many more productive seasons to come. -------- Centerfield This one was a doozy. No less than five terrific candidates to choose from: • Stratford’s Roberto Ríos (.288/.428/.514, 24 HR, 121 RBI, 137 BB, 8.2 WAR, 1.016 EFF) • Fort Richmond's Dylan Moyne (.312/.371/.508, 20 HR, 83 RBI, 59 BB, 7.4 WAR, 1.044 EFF) • Downie's Alfonso León (.300/.357/.505, 22 HR, 86 RBI, 54 BB, 7.1 WAR, 1.050 EFF) • Wellington's Edgardo Barrón (.301/.342/.455, 13 HR, 71 RBI, 40 BB, 5.4 WAR, 1.033 EFF) • Cobourg’s Raymond Williams (.300/.342/.502, 18 HR, 100 RBI, 41 BB, 5.1 WAR, 1.026 EFF) Ríos, Moyne and León are the heavyweights among this group and are arguably the best position players on their respective club. But I went with Ríos, as his offensive output could not be ignored. And he was no embarrassment in the field either. -------- Rightfield OK, time to wrap this up with a fairly easy one. The same three candidates from last season are under consideration again: • Brunswick’s Marcus Peyto (.309/.401/.568, 33 HR, 129 RBI, 90 BB, 6.1 WAR, .975 EFF) • Queensland's Jilenko Vergara (.295/.377/.482, 18 HR, 72 RBI, 68 BB, 3.9 WAR, .991 EFF) • Pulberry's Jarod Dwyer (.251/.355/.456, 16 HR, 83 RBI, 79 BB, 3.5 WAR, 1.019 EFF) Vergara and Dwyer had down years compared to the season before. But Peyto was sensational in his first year with the Legends. He is the top-rated rightfielder in the United Leagues, and he played like it. He richly deserved his first selection to the All-Braeland team. __________________ United Leagues of Braeland