[Nick Soulis]

Season 5
May



Awards
Batter of the month AL: Al Kaline (1966 Tigers)
Batter of the month NL - Eddie Mathews (1960 Braves)
Pitcher of the month AL - Dutch Leonard (1916 Red Sox)
Pitcher of the month NL - Steve Carlton (1977 Phillies)

Injuries
Bart Johnson (1970 White Sox) - Forearm (6 weeks)
Daniel Lynch (2022 Royals) - Elbow (Tommy John)

American League East

1998 Cleveland Indians - The Indians were on fire in May winning 20 games and it isnt as easy to see how they are doing it. Their offense has cooled off with Kenny Lofton hitting only .225 and Jim Thome at just 5 home runs. The starting pitching and defense has remain solid as Bartolo Colon continues his strong season and Charles Nagy was pitched better winning his sixth game this month. Cleveland is in a good spot up 6.5 games without playing their best baseball.

1916 Boston Red Sox - Dutch Leonard won the pitcher of the month award really pinning down hitters while Babe Ruth is also very much on point now with 7 wins and a 2.83 ERA. The Red Sox are still looking for offense as they remain last in runs scored. Del Gainer leads them in most offensive categories but there is a real lack of slugg and big innings in this group. Boston will need to keep pace the hard way and may want to think about putting Ruth in the lineup everyday.

2022 Kansas City Royals - Salvador Perez hit .435 for the month and Zack Grienke is still pitching very well despite his age. Daniel Lynch was lost for the season straining the Royals pitching as finding a 4th and 5th starter has been a chore. KC is last in regards to getting on base and are leaning on Bobby Witt Jr who is too young and hitting just .241 at the top of the order. It will be difficult to see any consistency from this team going forward.

1906 Detroit Tigers - Detroit pitching has fallen way off the deep end and now is the worst in the league. Bill Donovan is in for a long season now sitting at 1-10 as a starter while the team ERA is still a high 5.88. The club is 7-23 on the road and are plying worse ball then anyone really could have expected. Lead by Ty Cobb, the club is fun on the bases leading the league with 88 steals and countless extra bases.

American League West

1964 Minnesota Twins - Still a winning month even as the Twins cool off a bit. Harmon Killebrew has not cooled off with 18 home runs and 55 RBI heading in June. Bob Allison also has driven in over 50 runs as the Twinkies lead in most offensive categories, not something we generally expected from them. Three starters have seven wins already and Camilo Pascual is stepping forward in a big way at the top. Its still a real race in the West but the Twins are surely the most talented bunch, and with the Killer hitting everything, they look good going into the summer.

1966 Detroit Tigers - Al Kaline was player of the month in the AL and when Kaline is playing well, you know things are going pretty good for Detroit. The club won 18 games in the month to get back into the race as the entire offense has come to life. Mickey Lolich is having a banner year now 6-0 with a 2.45 ERA but the job of relief has been a nightmare for this team with no real closer and a 5.38 bullpen ERA. The Tigers can fine tune some things and give the Twins everything they asked for in what should be a fun summer in the midwest.

1927 New York Giants - A winning month for the Giants but still a big climb for them to get back in the thick of things. The club is first in home runs with 101. Bill Terry has 16 home runs and George Harper 17 while a mature Rogers Hornsby is hitting "just" .289. Burleigh Grimes has struggled with a 5.77 ERA Virgil Barnes has 7 wins and Freddie Fitzsimmons has a nice 3.38 ERA giving this staff some hope. The Giants will have to play much better against the teams in front of them, they are showing signs as they remain over the .500 mark.

1970 Chicago White Sox - These Sox are exactly who we thought they would be as they struggle at the bottom of the division. The club lacks power with only 32 home runs and cant make the most of their .281 team average. Bart Johnson was hurt and the rotation is really keeping this team back. The staff as a whole does lead the league in strikeouts with 283. There really just isnt enough to work with on this roster, but a hot summer at Comiskey should be all fun just the same.

National League East

1918 New York Giants - A 19 win month with Larry Doyle hitting .500 in his last 10 games has the Giants ready for a fight in the east. Heinie Zimmerman has driven in 46 and Ross Youngs has set the table well hitting .319 from the top. Jesse Barnes has struck out 84 men while Slim Sallee has his win total up to nine games; 20 looks like a real possibility. Still the Giants are making too many errors and most feel the Phillies will be too much for them in the end.

1977 Philadelphia Phillies - Steve Carlton won pitcher of the month acclaim for the second month in a row and with a 10-2 record and 94 K, he is the front runner for the Cy Young, Greg Luzinski continues his hot hitting and finally some life from Mike Schmidt who now has 15 home runs and 42 RBI. The club is tops in OPS as well as baserunning and Tug McGraw had a better month as they will need him to win the close ones in what has become a very good early race in the East with the Giants.

1988 Chicago Cubs - The Cubs are doing their best to be relevant but sweeps in Detroit and Atlanta really hurt them this month. Don Zimmer has the club playing hard and Greg Maddux has teamed well with Mike Bielecki in the rotation even if both have losing records. The Cubs are second in stolen bases but they dont have much power as slugger Andre Dawson has played in only 45 games with 5 HR. Rafael Palmeiro has really heated up hitting .524 in his last 7 games.

1949 Chicago White Sox - The worst record in the league with only 15 wins this team can brace itself for 100 losses. Bob Cain has a 3.25 ERA but cant win to save his life with a record of 1-9 because the Sox really can not get on base and score runs. The club has also hit only 27 home runs in two months and the likes of 42 year old Luke Appling hitting .333 to lead the team. The Sox have only one 8 times at home and teams are looking forward to playing them on the schedule. Forty losses on June 1st is not where anyone wants to be.

National League West

1960 Milwaukee Braves - Another winning month and playing especially well at home the Braves are looking to race to a pennant. Henry Aaron is in his prime here hitting .335 with 17 home runs with Eddie Mathews right behind him adding to pitcher heartache. The team is first in batting WAR as well as home runs and young Joe Torre hit .400 to end the month at 19 years of age. The pitching needs to do a little more to really differentiate this team and the pen especially has had its share of rough ones thus far. Still the Braves can be content where they are heading into the summer months.

1912 New York Highlanders - Sitting at .500 the New York club can be quite proud of itself as they came in with no real aspirations to compete. They have played hard and Hilltop Park is a tough place to navigate for opposing teams. The pitching has stood up well with Ray Keating and Ray Caldwell making parents rethink naming their children. The club has 109 steals to pace the entire league and the forementioned pitchers lead in strikeouts. No one is going crazy thinking all this can last, but the story out of New York is a good one for this team, competing well despite the odds.

1960 St. Louis Cardinals - Stan Musial and Ken Boyer look like what you would expect from this team but the club overall has been average and is at risk of losing sight of the Braves. The team is first in batting average but has not pitched well and the defense other then Curt Flood in center has been quite poor. Bob Gibson is 2-2 with a 3.49 which isnt great but is better then anyone else on the staff but he has only made 6 starts all year. Many feel this St. Louis team will eventually make a run, but there are few signs of that happening on the field at the moment.

1957 New York Giants - A division with Mayes, Aaron, and Musial has lived up to the hype as all three men are playing well. Mays is at .335 and as always is showcasing himself in center. Gail Harris is benefiting from Mays and has driven in 35 runs behind him but the Giants are slow and do not hit for enough power. Marv Grissom has been good as a closer and the pitching has been decent all the way around. The Giants record should be better then what it shows as their PYTHAG has them at .500. The season is not lost yet, but this New York team will need to get hot quickly to save their season.