[Nick Soulis]

Season 2
April



Earl Williams Four Home Runs
Historic Day In Chicago For Braves Rookie





Awards
Batter of the month AL: Mookie Betts (2015 Red Sox)
Batter of the month NL - Mike Schmidt (1983 Phillies)
Pitcher of the month AL - Mike Maddux (1987 Phillies)
Pitcher of the month NL - Bucky Walters (1942 Reds)

Injuries
Orlando Cepeda (1972 Braves) - Fractured ankle (3-4 months)
Buck Freeman (1907 Americans) - Fractured ankle (4 months)
David Wells (1995 Tigers) - Hamstring strain (5-6 weeks)
Andy Bednar (1931 Pirates) - Finger (2-3 months)

Team Notes

American League East

1. 1972 Atlanta Braves - Steady start for Atlanta but the long term loss of veteran leader Cepeda for most of the season will hurt them. Earl Williams made history with 4 home runs in one game and Dusty Baker is hitting .356 with 6 homers to start the season. Henry Aaron has 7 early home runs.

2. 1925 Philadelphia Athletics - Just as he did in season 1, Al Simmons is off to a hot start with 6 home runs and 4 steals as the A's sit around .500. Starting pitching needs work with an early 4.77 ERA.

3. 1977 Chicago White Sox - Not the best April for the Sox, especially with their bats. A .691 OPS with only 22 home runs will have to improve. Dave Frost off to a hot start already 4-1 with a 1.93 ERA. On the other hand, pen has not looked good.

4. 1995 Detroit Tigers - Losing your ace in April with a bad finger injury will really hamper the Tigers chances as David Wells is on the shelf. Mike Henneman leads a capable pen while on offense Bobby Higginson drove in an impressive 26 runs in the month.

American League West

1. 1987 Philadelphia Phillies - The Phillies look like they mean business in the division. Mike Schmidt has been electric as player of the month while a Maddux, Mike not Greg, pitched lights out with a 1.17 ERA in 4 starts. Von Hayes has 9 home runs and a new confidence, are the 87 Phillies for real?

2. 2015 Boston Red Sox - The top batting average in the league at .288 with 22 year old Mookie Betts hitting .410 in April. Koji Uhera has 6 saves without giving up a run but it is the Boston starters that will tell the tale of this team, Clay Buchholz has struggled out of the gate.

3. 1924 Washington Senators - Walter Johnson has a 4.75 ERA but still holds legends status as the Senators started well. They have the most runs in the league as Goose Goslin and Joe Judge have combined for 43 RBI and are tough in the middle of the order. Team defense could surely improve.

4. 1929 Boston Braves - Only 86 runs in April and 8 wins in a division that is running away, the Braves may be poised for a long season. Ed Brandt pitched well as the ace for the most part but the lack of any offense has this team searching.

National League East

1. 2012 Toronto Blue Jays - First in home runs the Jays are holding on to first in the division. The starting pitching has been poor but a good pen has picked them up in what will likely be a tight race. Jose Bautista has smacked 8 home runs.

2. 1912 St. Louis Cardinals A .750 OPS and the most runs in the league the Cards are winning in unexpected ways. Starter Slim Sallee has had a poor start but Pol Perritt has stepped up with a 152 ERA+ to start the year.

3. 1942 Cincinnati Reds - Finishing at .500 for the month the Reds are only a game out. Bucky Walters won pitcher of the month with some excellent control but the team has only 11 home runs. Lonney Frey is quite the talent at the top of the order hitting .343 with 20 runs.

4. 2002 Los Angeles Dodgers - Kevin Brown and Hideo Nomo have been hammered early as the Dodgers are off to a sketchy start. Adrian Beltre is doing with the glove and the bat with 15 RBI. Still Eric Gagne has blown some leads and there are more questions early then answers.

National League West

1. 1983 Philadelphia Phillies - The best record in the league as April ends their seems to be real intrigue for this club. Mike Schmidt is the power bat everyone expects with 11 HR but Von Hayes looks like he is from another planet and Steve Carlton has started off strong at 38 years old.

2. 1968 New York Mets - The Mets won 5 of 6 to start the season and Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman have combined for 7 wins. Tommie Agee is hitting .348 while Art Shamsky has 6 HR. Gil Hodges might create a miracle this season in this division.

3. 1931 Pittsburgh Pirates - The Bucs pitching has been murdered to start the year with a team ERA near 6. The team isnt hitting either with a .231 mark but the likes of Pie Traynor and Paul Waner surely will get hot at some point.

4. 1907 Boston Americans - Another deadball era team struggling with only 8 wins in the month. The club has hit leading the league with a .274 average but the Americans are 1-9 away from home and 1-11 in one run games.