[Nick Soulis]

Season 2
May



French No Hits Americans
Strikes Out Four In 98 Pitch Masterclass



Awards
Batter of the month AL: Al Simmons (1925 Athletics)
Batter of the month NL - Mike Schmidt (1983 Phillies)
Pitcher of the month AL - Rube Walberg (1925 Athletics)
Pitcher of the month NL - Larry Christenson (1983 Phillies)

Injuries
Sandy Leon (2015 Red Sox) - Groin (4 weeks)
Chick Gagnon (1924 Senators) - Concussion (3 months)

Team Notes

American League East

1925 Philadelphia Athletics - We definitely heard the name of Al Simmons enough in season one. The outfielder is on fire again this year winning player of the month honors. Connie Mack's team won 20 games in May and have built a cushion in the division.

1972 Atlanta Braves - Atlanta fell to earth in May still trying to fill the hole of injured Orlando Cepeda. Henry Aaron is having fine year with 16 home runs and 46 RBI but the likes of Phil Niekro are struggling as the knuckler has lost 8 games with a 4.88 ERA.

1977 Chicago White Sox - Searching for answers in their pen, the Sox it appears have turned to Steve Stone as their closer. Brian Downing is hot hitting .409 for the month but the Sox lineup lacks muscle and the team in sixth in the league in OPS with .694.

1955 Detroit Tigers - David Wells is battling some hamstring issues as Detroit has lost its roar and sit 15 games out. Thirty eight year old Lou Whitaker has 12 home runs and a resurgent year but Tony Phillips hit .086 in his last 7 games including a 0-23 streak.

American League West

1924 Washington Senators - Walter Johnson has 9 wins in 2 months and is throwing hard again as the Senators pace in first place. Goose Goslin has 46 RBI already while Joe Judge is hitting .320 in a balanced offense. Joe Matina has 10 saves but the loss of Chick Gagnon through concussion hurts the defense.

2015 Boston Red Sox - Positioning themselves well, the Red Sox had another winning month. Travis Shaw has been muscle for them with 14 home runs and 44 driven in. Koji Uehara has 13 saves and a 2.28 ERA. Boston believes in can win this division.

1987 Philadelphia Phillies Also hanging tough are these Phillies with Mike Maddux continuing to lead the rotation with a 190 ERA+ and Todd Frohwirth taking over the closer job from Steve Bedrosian and looking good doing it. The Phils are 7-1 in extra inning games.

1929 Boston Braves - A better month for the Braves as they played .500 ball and were better offensively. The club still is last in runs in the league but Johnny Cooney and Pat Collins finished the month strong. The road will be a long one and playing .500 ball should be a realistic goal.

National League East

2002 Los Angeles Dodgers - The division is super tight with no team having a winning record. Adrian Beltre leads LA with a .323 average but the club hasn't shown much punch. The pen has been the real mess as Eric Gagne needs to step aside as the club is 2-8 in one run games.

1942 Cincinnati Reds - The Reds want to believe they can win this but can hit out of a paper bag. Their pitching has remained steady with Paul Derringer and Johnny Van Dermeer a good duo. The offense is flat out bad, last in almost every offensive catagory in the league.

2012 Toronto Blue Jays - The Jays had a losing month and are 12-17 away from home. No value really out of their starting pitching as they hold a 5.45 ERA with no ace in the rotation. Brett Laurie and Jose Bautista are among a group making a well balanced offense. In this division however, maybe there is hope.

1912 St. Louis Cardinals - Only 2 games back the Cardinals are making some noise. Ed Konetchy is hitting .381 in the las week of the season and Rube Ellis found a way to hit 11 home runs. Joe Willis is the only starter with a winning record and with all their flaws St. Louis fits right in with the division foes.

National League West

1983 Philadelphia Phillies - The best record in baseball for the Phils as Mike Schmidt won his second player of the month award. The Phillies offense leads in most all categories for the league with a .775 OPS. Larry Chistenson has been brilliant going 9-1 with a 2.72 ERA On the other hand veteran Steve Carlton is bagging a 7.84 ERA in his last 5 starts.

1968 New York Mets - The Mets are holding 10 games over .500 as the young Nolan Ryan has been added to the rotation and looks great with a 1.89 ERA. The Mets have allowed the fewest runs in the league thanks to some great defense to support a weak offense. Tommie Agee is hitting .300 with 12 HR from the leadoff spot.

1907 Boston Americans - Cy Young has a losing record but a solid 2.72 ERA and Jesse Tannehill has stepped up in relief. Jimmy Barrett is the only regular hitting over .300 while Hobe Ferris has hit nine home runs.

1931 Pittsburgh Pirates - Much more was expected from this club but they are falling like a leaf. Ray Kremer has an ERA over 7 while the pen has been short and ineffective. Five players on offense have over 25 RBI and scored over 20 runs lead by the Waner brothers. The hole in Pittsburgh however likely is too steep. Larry French did bring a thrill with a no hitter against Boston this month.