New York Heroes (12-0, 1st place, Northern League East Division)
The Heroes couldn't have started hotter, rattling off 12 victories in a row to kick off the ABA's inaugural season. Lacking the perceived powerful lineup of many of the league's other teams, the Heroes pieced together rallies driven by singles and extra-based hits in the yard, and let their pitching carry the day. The team leads the Northern League with a .309 batting average, is 4th in OBP and slugging percentage, and third in runs despite being next to last in the league in homers with only 8.
Nobody has been more responsible for the Heroes' success, though than
Johnny Vander Meer (3-0, 0.34 ERA). In three starts Vander Meer has given up only 1 run, an RBI single from Providence's Hubie Brooks in the 9th inning of his second start. He's struck out 33 over 26 1/3, while allowing only 12 hits. In his most recent start, he went the distance, outdueling Eddie Plank in a 1-0 game. While each of his starts have come at home, he'll head onto the road this coming week in Virginia Beach.
Offensively, Hanley Ramirez leads the way, batting .408 with 14 RBI, but he's gotten support. Eddie Collins is batting .383, while catcher Steve O'Neill has gotten off quickly, batting .350.
Charlotte Cougars (5-7, 2nd place, 5 GB)
The Cougars have seen their pitching staff tattered in the first two weeks of the season, their starting rotation putting forth a 6.75 ERA. Ace Vean Gregg's ERA stands at 5.68, George McQuillan is at 6.52, Lew Burdette at 8.27, Mike Garcia at 6 and Gary Peters at 6.75. The bullpen has held up its end of the bargain with a 3.26 ERA, but the team has been behind the 8-ball to start much of the time and the offense hasn't been powerful enough to overcome it.
The rotation's problems could lead to the call-up of either Jim Merritt or Erik Hanson - or both - who are posting sub-2 ERAs in the early going at AAA. In fact, while the big club's pitching staff ranks 14th out of 16 teams in the Northern League, the AAA and AA squads each lead their respective leagues in ERA. So a movement could be coming, and coming soon.
In the midst of all of this, Ty Cobb has done what Ty Cobb was expected to do. Hitting .412 with 2 homers and a team leading 12 RBI, Cobb has also racked up 5 stolen bases in the season's first two weeks. While the Cougars offense is 4th in the league with 74 runs in its first 12 games, nearly a third of those runs came in one affair - a 23-5 drubbing of Providence in which Cobb went 4-for-4, with a double, triple, 2 homers, two walks, 6 runs scored and 7 RBI, tacking on a stolen base for good measure.
Virginia Beach Vipers (5-7, 2nd place, 5 GB)
If there's a competitive spirit among teammates Joe Dimaggio and Ted Williams, Dimaggio has won a few more steak dinners in the early going. Williams has been solid, batting .256 with 4 homers and 12 RBI. But Dimaggio has been unconscious at the start, hitting .469 while belting 7 homers and driving in 18 over the first 12 games. In addition, Dimaggio has struck out only twice in his first 53 plate appearances.
So with the offense performing adequately, the pitching staff is ranked second in the league - shocking for a team with a losing record. Eddie Plank has been stellar, posting a 1.99 ERA thus far, and Tom Seaver (2.84) and Dolf Luque (3.00) have been strong as well. But the team is 0-5 in 1-run games, including a 1-0 complete game loss by Plank his last time out when he dueled New York's Johnny Vander Meer in a losing effort.
Providence Whalers (2-10, 4th place, 10 GB)
It's hard to be double digits out of first 12 games into a season. But the Whalers have done it, posting the next to worst offense in the league and the worst pitching staff...by far. Hurt largely by the 23-run hammering by Charlotte, the Whalers' team ERA through 12 games is an unfathomable 8.19. Their opponents are hitting .342, and the team has been outscored 105 to 43. Even with the Charlotte massacre removed, they have still given up more than twice as many runs as they have scored.
Down at AAA, the Whalers have started strong (8-4), with Buck Weaver second in the league in hitting, and Keith Hernandez, Craig Biggio and Al Oliver all off to good starts. Mariano Rivera has a 1.32 ERA and has been doing multiple innings out of the bullpen, a sign he could come up in short order. But the pitching hasn't been strong, and that seems to be the greatest need.
Each of the aforementioned hitters could come up if things continue as they have. Buck Weaver could come on to take the shortstop position held precariously by Hubie Brooks, hitting a paltry .167. While 1B George Sisler has been strong, DH John Mayberry is hitting only .226, which could make room for Hernandez's callup. 2B Buddy Myer is hitting .231 and could make way for Biggio. Either Cool Papa Bell (.217) or Babe Herman (.238) could make way for Oliver - most likely Bell, who is immensely talented but only 20.