[Nick Soulis]

Season 4
June



Awards
Batter of the month AL: Paul Goldschmidt (2013 Diamondbacks)
Batter of the month NL - Hack Wilson (1924 Giants)
Pitcher of the month AL - Bob Sebra (1985 Rangers)
Pitcher of the month NL - Virgil Barnes (1924 Giants)

Injuries
Jimmy O'Connell (1924 Giants) - Fractured Finger (2 weeks)

American League East

1969 Pittsburgh Pirates - The favored Pirates finally take over first from the White Sox but know that this race will likely last all season. Jim Bunning has turned it on for the Bucs with a 2.18 ERA over his last 12 starts while Matty Alou has paced the offense hitting .342 from the top of the order. The Pirates defense as expected has been excellent.

1999 Chicago White Sox - A losing month coming back to earth, Jerry Manuel needs to get his team focused again. Chris Singleton has helped pace a good offense supporting Frank Thomas and Mags Ordonez hitting .307 from the three slot. The Sox defense however leads the league in errors while the starting rotation has been hit hard as Mike Sirotka and James Baldwin are showing they may not be up to leading this group.

1985 Texas Rangers - Fortunate to be only four games out, the Rangers will not go away. They beat the Pirates twice and swept the 1924 Giants showing everyone they can compete. Bob Sebra stepped up and won pitcher of the month honors while Toby Harrah has hit .448 over his last 10 games. Texas has a real opportunity to push a division that is wide open.

1975 Kansas City Royals - Still a dark horse, these Royals have the talent to still make a run. A better month for the offense but statistically they are still way behind other clubs. They do have 93 steals and Dennis Leonard has pitched well with a 1.84 ERA his last two starts. The pen has also showed life as Bob McLure seems to have the closer role as KC is only 16-17 in one run games.

American League West

2013 Arizona Diamondbacks - There is no fluke in this team as they continue to roll with the best record in the league. Paul Goldschmidt won player of the month acclaim again in his terrific season already with 76 RBI. Ian Kennedy is 13-3 as a starter and Patrick Corbin is at his best with a 0.77 ERA over his last three starts. The DBacks lead the league with 88 home runs and seem to be having fun along the way. It seems to be a rare dominant team for the franchise.

1919 Chicago White Sox - Three crucial games to open July in the desert against Arizona. The Sox need to prevent falling behind farther and hurting their confidence even more. As expected, the team from this era has no pen but the starting pitching has been could but has been wasted. Joe Jackson cooled off a bit but Eddie Collins has really gotten hot hitting .522 in the last week of the month. Can the Sox make a consistent run, the month of July should tell us alot more.

2002 San Diego Padres - The Padres have fallen off likely too far as we hit midsummer, and finishing the season could be a formality. Jake Peavy has looked awesome with his 2.68 ERA and 93 strikeouts. The hitting has not showed up with a .319 team OBP and a .247 team average overwhelming no one. Trevor Hoffman remains untouchable with 23 saves but the pen behind him has not followed suit.

1985 Montreal Expos - Andre Dawson had a strong June hitting .417 while Tim Raines is hitting .311. Beyond the Expos stars however there has been little to be excited about. The pitching has allowed the most runs in the league and it has been the starters that cant seem to keep games close. The Expos are only 12-29 away from home and have the worst defensive efficiency in the league. Still be sure that Montreal will support and love their team.

National League East

2018 New York Mets - The Mets have cooled off a bit since April but with this division playing so poorly, they have the most comfortable lead of all teams. Ahmed Rosario has set the table all season while Cespedes remains hot with 21 home runs and 63 RBI. Jeff McNeil has also driven in 63 but in the end it has been the bog guns in the rotation that identify this club. jacob DeGrom has struck out 125 batters while Noah Syndegaard and Zack Wheeler have helped the Mets hold the best FIP and pitching WAR in the league. Its a fun season for Mets fans with no slowdown in sight.

1954 Detroit Tigers - Only 10 wins for this club in June as the team looks slow and old on the bases and in the field. Dick Donovan has been hammered as a potential closer with a 7.63 ERA in the month while the rotation has been erratic other then Billy Hoeft who has 125 K's and has looked very good. This Tiger team just does not have the depth of the ability really to have a winning record and to chase down the Mets.

2015 Pittsburgh Pirates - Trying to figure out what is wrong with this team is quite a task. A 98 win team can barely get 10 wins in a month. Gerrit Cole has been beat up with a 5.53 ERA and the rest of the team has followed suit only with Charlie Morton looking good of late. The Pirates run the bases worse then anyone else while they love to strand hitters on base. This team has the talent, but it is about as big a hole as you can dig for yourself heading into the Allstar break.

2008 Houston Astros - Continuing their trend as the worse offense in the entire league, the Astros do deserve credit for staying in game and fighting to avoid a last place finish. Michael Bourn has only 10 RBI on the season while Geoff Blum is hitting just .206. Jose Valverde has kept his closer job by default, but he has blown the few chances he has seen. The worse FIP in the league at 4.66 and a pitching WAR at only 5.0

National League West

1924 New York Giants - New York is playing very good baseball but they just cant seem to shake the Cubs in what is becoming a fin battle. Every Giants starter has won over 10 games and the team ERA is best in the league. The hitting has also stood tall for John McGraw with Hack Wilson staying focused and contributing a solid season in the middle of the order. The .283 team average as well as the 138 home runs makes many wonder how this team can only be a half game up. Closing close games could be a real challenge for this team. The Giants are 28-13 at the Polo Grounds.

1944 Chicago Cubs - Chicago means business and the fans at Wrigley believe this team can do it. Andy Pafko and Bill Nicholson both have over 60 RBI while Eddie Stanky and Stan Hack provide excellent defense for the club. Chicago leads the entire league in strikeouts but the starting rotation has shown some tear during the year. Almost everyone would expect this Cubs team to start to fade, but the team seems to find a way to win and produce when the game is on the line.

1914 St. Louis Cardinals - The Cards have begun to tread water and it has been tough for them to keep pace with the top two. The injury to Dots Miller really hurt the lineup as he was having an allstar season but his return in imminent. The Cards have the most steals in the league and their staff has also done a surprising job second in the league in strikeouts. They were swept by the lowly Tigers to end the month and actually lost 5 of seven to them. They also took a 12-0 drubbing from the Giants at the Polo Grounds. They do still hold a winning record and everything to still play for in July.

2021 Arizona Diamondbacks - Nothing really going good for this Arizona team although Katel Marte is playing well as he went 15 for his last 30. The pitching all around has been a mess and the pen especially has the worst ERA as a group in the league. The club has played better away from home then in the desert and they will need that trend as they play only seven home games in all of July.