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Michigan League Standings  
North  
Team                                          W  L  PCT   GB 
Mackinac Trolleys                            41 36 .532    - 
Sault Ste. Marie White Lakers                41 37 .526   .5 
Iron Mountain Miners                         39 38 .506  2.0 
Traverse City Cherries                       28 50 .359 13.5 
 
South  
Team                                          W  L  PCT   GB 
Lansing Capitals                             44 33 .571    - 
Grand Rapids Blue Lakers                     39 36 .520  4.0 
Ann Arbor Democrats                          39 39 .500  5.5 
Kalamazoo Bells                              37 39 .487  6.5 
 
Ohio League Standings  
East  
Team                                          W  L  PCT   GB 
Canton Terriers                              42 36 .538    - 
Zanesville Engineers                         33 45 .423  9.0 
Akron Red Irons                              31 46 .403 10.5
Youngstown Black Irons                       30 47 .390 11.5 
 
West  
Team                                          W  L  PCT   GB
Columbus Archers                             50 28 .641    - 
Dayton Pilots                                49 27 .645    - 
Toledo Admirals                              44 33 .571  5.5 
Chillicothe Indians                          29 46 .387 19.5

July 1, 1941
At the halfway point, we have some very tight divisional races and Canton appears to be the only team that has and will run away with their division for the second year in a row. Nowhere is it more heated than in the OL West. Last year’s OL Champs, Toledo, would be at least tied for 1st place in every other division, but in the OL West, they sit in 3rd, 5.5 games back. “That division is so tightly contested. I’m glad we aren’t in that division, that’s for sure. All three teams are excellent and good enough to win it all,” Canton RF Syman Shores said. The race for first in the OL West will be the biggest story during the second half of the season. Each game they play against each other will sure to be a hotly contested battle. Dayton may have the advantage come September though as they play both teams in 4-game series at Pilots Park, where they have a 27-10 record this year.


For the second month in a row, the Dayton Pilots played the best baseball in the entire OL and are named the Ohio League Team of the Month. CF Greg Bleasdale has played phenomenally all season long and has an outside shot at the Triple Crown in the OL if he plays in the second half as well as he did in the first half. He is hitting .338 with a .452 OBP, 17 HR and 45 RBI’s right now and is the leading candidate for OL MOB. Dayton manager Joseph Parker said “What can be said about Greg that hasn’t already been said? He’s been leading this team all year long with his work ethic, both on and off the field and all the guys in this organization, from the top on down, have a great deal of respect for him.” He’s had help though with guys like 2B Damaso Sanabnia (.286, 3 HR, 29 RBI, 27 Doubles), 1B Dookie Trout (.280, 15 HR, 58 RBI) and RF Antonio Dorado (.271, 12 HR, 37 RBI, 18 Doubles). This Pilots team has a very balanced lineup that can hurt you in so many different ways and is an excellent complement to their stellar pitching staff.

Meanwhile, the team tied for 1st place with Dayton, the Columbus Archers, has been equally strong all year long. This can be attributed mostly to their excellent pitching so far this year. Their bullpen has been dynamite, starting with amazing closer RHP John Goforth (4-1, 23 Saves, 1.09 ERA), and leads the entire OL with a 3.03 ERA. Their starters haven’t been too shabby either. The risky move of LHP Roberto Pagan to a starter’s role has paid off extremely well. He has an 8-1 record with a 3.13 ERA and 84 K’s in 92 IP. While he doesn’t last past the 6th inning often, this was a move that has worked wonders for the Archers. Meanwhile, RHP Tony ‘Wall’ Navarro has turned into one of the best looking young pitchers in the MOBL. He has led this staff with a 9-6 record and a 2.33 ERA this year. He is very much in the running for the OL MOP.


The Sault Ste. Marie White Lakers have quietly hung around in the ML North and with a very solid month of June, they have jumped into the race for the North title. Having gone 17-10 in June makes them the Michigan League Team of the Month. Their success can largely be attributed to the maturation of star CF Jesus Ortiz. Ortiz started out of the gates very slowly, but had a fantastic June (.400, 4 HR, 21 RBI, 10 Doubles) to put him on the leaderboards in a number of categories. He is currently hitting .319 with a .385 OBP, 12 HR, 54 RBI and 20 Doubles. “I’m not sure what was wrong with me at the beginning of the year, but I made some slight adjustments, thanks to Nick [MacCansh, the Lakers’ hitting coach] and I’ve just been able to not give any AB’s away,” Ortiz said recently. His outfield mates have been just as spectacular this year. LF Vernon ‘Clueless’ Wareham (.302, 16 HR, 47 RBI) and RF Isaiah Stroud (.305, 9 HR, 43 RBI) have made the middle of this lineup quite a gauntlet. When you throw in the unexpected seasons from C Ken Clark (.253, 15 HR, 35 RBI) and LHP Glenden Session (7-5, 2.59 ERA in 93.2 IP), it’s easy to see why this ballclub is in contention.


Michigan League Batter of the Month - LF Kev Taylor, Grand Rapids Blue Lakers - .289, 14 HR, 27 RBI, 23 R (3rd BOM in career)

Michigan League Pitcher of the Month - RHP Rickey 'Moby Dick' Benson, Kalamazoo Bells - 4-0, 1.36 ERA, 58 K's, 46.1 IP (4th POM in career)

Ohio League Batter of the Month - RF Bernard Darrington, Akron Red Irons - .347, 6 HR, 26 RBI, 19 R, 19 XBH

Ohio League Pitcher of the Month - LHP Pat McMurdoch, Toledo Admirals - 4-1, 1.34 ERA, 39 K's, 47 IP