Season 6
April
Awards
Batter of the month AL: Dave Kingman (1979 Cubs)
Batter of the month NL - Whitey Kurowski (1946 Cardinals)
Pitcher of the month AL - Alex Wood (2016 Dodgers)
Pitcher of the month NL - Deacon Phillipe (1906 Pirates)
Injuries
Cliff Chambers (1948 Cubs) - Quad (3 weeks)
Charlie Case (1906 Pirates) - Groin (4-5 weeks)
American League East
1985 St. Louis Cardinals - Whitey Herzog and the Cardinals have started their position well enough at the top of the division. Jack Clark is the power in the lineup having driven in 28 runs while the club of course leads the league in steals. Joaquin Andujar ended the month well with three straight wins and his performances bode very well for St. Louis.
1930 Pittsburgh Pirates - The Bucs have made the fewest errors in the league to help their pitching. They have real belief they can win this division and ace Larry French adds to that belief with a 5-1 record and 2.41 ERA in April. Paul Waner is mashing at .373.
1960 Chicago Cubs - Ron Santo and Billy Williams have proved vital as the two young sluggers have allowed the Cubs to stay close. Cub pitching however has been ugly, the biggest evidence being the 0-6 record Bob Anderson has with an ERA over 6. Why is he still in the rotation? Ernie Banks has 9 home runs.
1974 Boston Red Sox - A difficult start for Boston who only won 9 games. Fred Lynn has been hot but the Sox batters have struggled with Carlton Fisk hitting .202 and the team last in runs. The 5.48 ERA for Boston starters has also been hard to watch, the Sox better have a good May planned or it will be a long hard season.
American League West
2016 Los Angeles Dodgers - Tops in OPS and not lacking in confidence, the Dodgers are playing well to start. In a suprise, Clayton Kershaw has been roughed up a bit but Alex Wood has been brilliant going 5-0 and winning pitcher of the month. Yasiel Puig is hitting .350 and is now performing as a lead off man.
1979 Chicago Cubs - Dave Kingman won batter of the month honors with 13 home runs and some of the tape measure variety. Bill Buckner is hitting .343 but beyond the two starts Chicago cant do much as a team .244 average shows. Bruce Sutter has also been a bit erratic as closer with a 5.00 ERA. Chicago will need to be better.
1994 San Diego Padres - Can Tony Gwynn hit .400? Well he ends April at .387 so stay tuned. The Padres have been running alot and manufacturing runs while Joey Hamilton has been their best starter winning 4 games despite an abdominal injury. Trevor Hoffman has a 4.75 ERA in another example of a good closer struggling.
1988 Detroit Tigers - The Tigers are expected to compete in this division but havent showed it yet. Alan Trammell hitting .320 and fielding like gold has been dependable. The Tiger pitching however has been in the dumps as Jack Morris has a 6.81 ERA in 6 starts and Doyle Alexander has been just as bad with a 10 ERA in his last two starts.
National League East
1910 Boston Red Sox - An impressive start in Boston. Tris Speaker and Smoky Joe Wood have had very good opening months as the Sox won 8 of 11 at home. Team FIP leads the league and Boston has stole 58 bases already and are on a manic pace. Boston has played the perfect dead ball style and could really be poised for a big season.
1946 St. Louis Cardinals - Whitey Kurowski won batter of the month honors and leads in almost all offensive categories The clun is first in runs and the offense is scary as Stan Musial is hitting .379. The pitching needs to be better as it appears the Red Sox arnt going anywhere in this division. Its tough to be favorties.
2002 Chicago Cubs - The duo of Kerry Wood and Mark Prior have not lived up to their potential in the first month as Cubs pitching in general has been poor. The offense however has hit with everyone in the first month, Moises Alou leads with a .423 average and Sammy Sosa has a .983 OPS. Can the Cubs hang in the division?
1909 Philadelphia Phillies - It appears the Phils will have an uphill battle but the team did sweep the 1960 Cubs to end the month and provide some optimism. The team does not get on base but Earl Moore and George McQuillan have pitched well. Of course there is no bullpen to speak and many fear they are one of those clubs that could be overmatched.
National League West
1906 Pittsburgh Pirates - The Pirates lead the NL in most all offensive categories and are doing quite well to set the tone of thee type of baseball this season will showcase. Deacon Phillipe is 5-1 and was dominant winning pitcher of the month honors while the great Honus Wagner has 15 RBI and hit .364 in what appears to be his prime. The team did lose outfielder Charlie Case for a couple of months but the feeling is by manager Fred Clarke that this team will stay the course.
1985 Detroit Tigers - Lou Whitaker finished the month on fire with 4 HR and 11 RBI in his last 10 games; seems the second baseman has alot to prove. Kirk Gibson has drove in 19 and is hitting .382 and remains the heart of the club. The pitching seems to be up and down as Juan Berenguer has struggled but Jack Morris has been good. Sparky Anderson is still looking for a dependable closer and Willie Hernandez has not had a defined role.
1948 Chicago Cubs - Chicago tries to do all the little things to win but the lack of offense and power makes it tough to win at Wrigley Field. Andy Pafko is making a name for himself in the middle of the order and is a fan favorite but Bill Nicholson is past his prime and Phil Cavaretta has been forced to be a leadoff man. Hank Borowy has been killed as the team closer and the starting rotation is being pushed to close out games as much as possible.
1921 Cincinnati Reds - Only 95 runs for the Reds and 8 home runs has made scoring runs a chore. The Reds are lead by Ed Roush who hit .354 in April but it is becoming apparent that this team will need exceptional pitching to compete. Dolph Luque and Eppa Rixey have been good as the top two but the remainder of the rotation has been bad. The Reds may find themselves in a fight with the Cubs for last place in the division as winning it likely is out of the cards.