A few days past the mid-way point of June, let's take a look at the current standings in the WPK.
We'll start with the SJL:
For the past week or two the mighty Columbus Whalers and the former doormat of the SJL, the El Paso Dawgs, have been battling it out for first place and at this moment they are tied. The two teams are just coming off a competitive 3-game series in which the Whalers drew first blood with a 4-0 shutout courtesy of their often over-looked number 3 starter, Cody Barnhart. El Paso then won game 2, 2-1, with a strong performance by second-year starting pitcher Kyle Newsome (the 1st overall pick in the 1972 draft). Columbus took the series, at home, just barely with a 3-1 win the rubber match, Luis Ramirez, who looks like the early favorite for SJL Pitcher of the Year, improving to 8-2 with a 1.67 ERA.
The Philadelphia Mud Hens, with their Captain and #3 starter in the rotation Bobby Martinez off to a strong (7-3, 2.35) start and 28-year old center fielder Ryan Showalter on pace for a 9 WAR season and 3rd in the league in batting average at .350, are hanging in there right behind the leaders in 3rd place.
And the early season surprises, the Seattle Alligators, after a period of heading in the wrong direction, have stabilized in 4th place and remain very much in contention.
Probably unsurprising is that the two expansion clubs (who entered the league in 1975)- the Chicago Fire and the Houston Cavaliers-are battling it out for last place. though the fact that the very talented Pittsburgh Roadrunners are right there with them, having lost 8 in a row, is surprising.
In the MGL:
Your Denver Brewers remain the best team in the WPK, by both winning percentage and run differential. The Brooklyn Aces have climbed up into a tie now with Oklahoma City for 2nd place in the MGL, 6 games behind the Brewers. While the Los Angeles Spinners are holding on to 4th place, they are at .500 and 12 games off the pace and the loss of veteran third baseman Jesus Hernandez, who continues to lead the MGL in home runs at 14, to an oblique strain suffered on the 7th of June hasn't helped. Hernandez is expected to be back in about a week.
The Baltimore Lords, who remain a dangerous hitting club but have the MGL's worst pitching (yes, even worse than Phoenix this year) are languishing at the bottom of the pile.