Welcome to the World Baseball League

[matttb324]

1920 continues to be the Reb Russell show. Instead of Babe Ruth continuing on the pace he set in 1919, it is New York's Russell who has 24 home runs on July 3 while Ruth has just 12. He also has an incredible 99 RBI.
Only 2 players have hit .400 in WBL history. Joe Jackson in 1911 and Nap Lajoie in 1901. Harry Heilmann hopes to be the third, as he stands at .411 currently.



From SABR: "Heilmann came from a baseball family. His older brother Walter was perhaps the best up-and-coming pitcher in San Francisco because of his devastating curveball. But his career, and life, were cut short when he drowned attempting to swim to shore after his boat capsized."

[matttb324]

The Jazzcats have been one of the WBL's worst franchises having never won a pennant and finishing last 7 times in 20 seasons. They have had the #1 pick a number of times but have never made much with it. This year they drafted Lou Gehrig but failed to sign him.

One of the guys they drafted #1, Reb Russell, continues his monster season but not for New Orleans, but New York. Reb is now at .378, 31 HR and 132 RBI. He has already broken Babe Ruth's home run record of 27 from last year and is only 9 short of Tris Speaker's 1911 record of 140 RBI.

[matttb324]

It appears that San Francisco's run of 4 straight Western League championships is going to come to an end. The team that is up 10 games on them is the Cincinnati Moonshots. Cincy never seems to win 2 pennants in a row but have popped up in 1902, 1913 and this year to field very strong teams. This year's crew is balanced from top to bottom. Dutch Leonard, 3-time Ace Award winner with Cambridge, has 20 wins but overall, it is a balanced club. 24 year-old Austin McHenry is having a great season - he met an early demise in his real life.



"By the time he was 25 years old, St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Austin McHenry was considered one of baseball’s best outfielders and hitters, especially after enjoying a 1921 season that saw him finish with a .350 batting average, second only to teammate and future Hall of Famer Rogers Hornsby. His performance tailed off in 1922 as he battled inconsistency at the plate and in the field, caused mostly by problems with his vision that had McHenry fearing he was going blind. Concerned about his health, Cardinals manager Branch Rickey sent McHenry to his Ohio home to rest, where it was discovered the star outfielder had a brain tumor. He died four months later."

[matttb324]

An historic year for Reb Russell as he hits 40 home runs and knocks in 181 runs, easily all-time highs in both categories. Babe Ruth finishes with 26 round trippers. Rogers Hornsby flirted with .400 but dropped just below in the final days.
Cincinnati wins the Western League crown while New York takes the EL. It should be an easily matched World Series.

[matttb324]

The New York Highrisers beat the Cincinnati Moonshots 4-0 in a clean sweep. Joe Jackson hit .471 and Reb Russell hit .667 (10 for 15) as the Highrisers dominated. For New York it is their 4th World Series crown after a three year run from 1914-1916.

[matttb324]

A big offseason trade as Babe Ruth is traded by San Francisco to the worst franchise in WBL history, the New Orleans Jazzcats. The Aftershocks get Curt Walker in the deal. Meanwhile, Reb Russell continues to be the WBL's own "Babe Ruth" as he follows up a 40 HR campaign with 13 homers in April.



According to SABR, Walker had a connection to Ruth: "Prior to the 1920 season, Walker was considered a good enough prospect to be invited to spring training with the Yankees – perhaps even a candidate to play right field. There had been no full-time regular at the position in 1919, and the man who played most there, Sammy Vick, had posted so-so numbers.

Any such speculation changed dramatically on January 3, 1920, when the Yankees obtained Babe Ruth from the Boston Red Sox. The well-known story of Ruth’s acquisition does not need to be recounted except for its impact on Curt Walker’s career. Years later Walker jokingly reflected on the Yankees’ dilemma since he had been invited to camp. “They couldn’t keep us both on the same club and they had a heck of a time deciding whether to keep me or the Babe,” Walker recounted in a newspaper interview. “Hug (Miller Huggins) flipped a coin. I lost and went back to Augusta.”

[matttb324]

The Buffalo Blizzards won the first WBL championship in 1901 over Cleveland but have not been back to the World Series in the 20 years since. This could be their year as the team has Harry Heilmann, Bob Meusel, Bob Shawkey, Ray Collins, Ray Schalk and Del Prattt among others. They are currently tied with Washington for first but the Potomacs have a very weak pitching staff.



More on Meusel: "His value as a fielder was outstanding, too. Languid Bob (as writers sometimes called him) had one of the best outfield arms ever—in the same class as Roberto Clemente, Carl Furillo, Willie Mays, and Ichiro Suzuki. He could whip the ball with lightning-fast speed and laser-beam accuracy, to any base or home plate. Meusel’s throws were usually caught on the fly, rather than on a bounce or two. He developed his arm strength as a kid by constantly throwing stones for long distances."

[matttb324]

As we head into July, a couple of WBL players are flirting with .400 again. Only two players, Shoeless Joe and Nap Lajoie, have ever hitting .400 in a season but Harry Heilmann is at .420 while Jim Bottomley of New Orleans is at .408. The Jazzcats are in last place yet again despite the season from Bottomley and the trade that brought Babe Ruth to town. The Bambino is at .279/19 HR/ 60 RBI but New Orleans is 32-52.


"On a mid-September afternoon in Brooklyn in 1924, Cardinals third–year first baseman Jim Bottomley came to bat six times and delivered six hits, including two home runs, a double, and three singles off the Robins’ pitchers. Bottomley drove in 12 runs that day, and set a major league record for most Runs Batted In (RBIs) in a single game that still stands (shared with the Cardinals’ Mark Whiten in 1993). The previous record of 11 had stood since 1892 and, ironically, had belonged to Brooklyn’s manager, Wilbert Robinson. Uncle Robbie’s record stood for 32 years. Bottomley’s record stands to this day, and his performance was a milestone on his road to Cooperstown."

[Makonnen]

Was the Ruth trade solely from the AI or was it something you did to help NOLA turn it around?

[Makonnen]

{ nothing to see here, sorry about that. }

[matttb324]

No, it made that trade itself, which definitely surprised me. I have not interfered in the play so far other than to move franchise cities around and adjust the finance pages a bit like make markets bigger or smaller and fan bases more or less loyal.

Originally Posted by Makonnen

#Indianapolis ABC's

Both Tommy Helms and Oscar Charleston were activated from the DL.
2 homeruns from Johnny Bench--his 29th and 30th of the year--led the ABC's to a 5-4 victory over Miami.

#New York Black Yankees

The Black Yankees used 5 homeruns (Eric Davis, Mike Schmidt, Albert Belle, and 2 from Mickey Mantle) to power over San Francisco 11-7. Belle had 4 hits and AJ Burnett improved to 5-2 with 3 perfect innings in relief of an ineffective Red Ruffing.

[Makonnen]

Originally Posted by matttb324

No, it made that trade itself, which definitely surprised me. I have not interfered in the play so far other than to move franchise cities around and adjust the finance pages a bit like make markets bigger or smaller and fan bases more or less loyal.

First, sorry for the cross-post!

Second, interesting. In the other threads I follow, it seems like the AI does a lot of minor trades, couldn't recall it really doing something for a dominant player still at their prime. I'll be rooting for NOLA ...