Took a few seasons, but Early Wynn is starting to roll. Off to a great start in 1981 with a no-hitter tossed in as well.
Dazzy Vance is now 6-0 as we reach mid May.
Greg Maddux is only 3-1, but he's not giving up any runs, so once again his team isn't giving him much support. Dayton is pretty much picking up where Wisconsin left things.
Mark McGwire has 10 home runs to lead the pack so far
Reggie Jefferson just had his 34 game hitting streak snapped. Will have to check, but I think that may be the longest streak in league history.
The St. Paul Saints are in second place in the Northern Division, trailing the Great Lakes Loons. The Saints just activated their huge free agent signee Charlie Keller and he began making his presence known immediately. Keller suffered a oblique strain during Spring training. The Loons have such a potent lineup, barring injuries they will be hard to beat in the north. Home Run Baker, Mark McGwire and Roberto Clemente hitting 3, 4 and 5 in your lineups is darn right scary. Clemente is rolling at .380+ and as of late, he's found his power stroke.
San Antonio currently leads the Southern Division by a slim margin over the Arkansas Travelers. Pete Rose is once again getting a lot of hits and Rusty Staub has now joined him in that regard. The Missions aren't a power packed team by any means, as they only have 7 total home runs after a month and a half of games. In the long run, I wonder if this will hurt them. Arkansas is such a fun team to watch. Sandberg, Davis and Bonds are all rolling. Davis and Bonds could be 30/30 guys by the end of the season. Imagine having that hitting 3 and 4 in your lineup. The Travelers have Sanberg batting leadoff, so Bonds and Davis seem to always have someone on base to drive in.
Tris Speaker is looking like the Tris Speaker of his younger days, hitting .400 over his first 30+ games, His long time team the Peoria Chiefs are playing decent ball to start the season.
After losing Greg Maddux and Paul Petit, both to Dayton the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers are struggling in 81. Their record is currently below the.500 mark on the season.
Hilton Smith lacks a week or more barring any set backs before he makes his debut in the Great Lakes Loons rotation. Smith needs 6 victories to reach 300 wins.
Starting to wonder if William Bell will be the next Negro League destined for super stardom in the International League. Bell is off to an incredible start in 1981, sporting an 8-0 record. Looks like 81 will be Bell's first full season on the mound. He's pitched briefly in each of the last 2 seasons.
Of course, I really need to start posting more about Andy Cooper as well. Cooper has been a very good pitcher in this league. Extremely consistent
Probably an obvious reason for this, but why were so many of the Negro League pitchers from the state of Texas? All three that I've mentioned in this post, Andy Cooper, Hilton Smith and William Bell were from Texas. Dave Brown another pitcher from the Negro Leagues is already in my Hall of Fame and he's from Texas as well.
Guessing I could play this league for 200 years and never even come close to running out of players. I don't think I have the stamina to pull that off:
Bob Gibson remains a free agent, as no team has signed him. Heck, sign him and stick him in the bullpen.
Why do I grow to love workhorse pitchers so much? Rick Reuschel who won 250+ games, but lost almost the same amount, is still one of my favorite International League pitchers. More recently I'm starting to really like Bob Friend as well. Something about guys that just go out and take the ball and pitch to decisions earns my love. Of course, this league will never evolve into the fake nonsense we see being called baseball these days. Sure, complete games are down and will continue to decrease till 92, but I will not abide pitchers that crumble upon the 3rd trip through the lineup. That crap is as gross as Lainey Wilson's fake southern accent.