As we enter the month of June in the 1983 W.P. Kinsella League season, let's take a look at the current standings:
It comes as no surprise that the San Antonio Keys and El Paso Dawgs are once again at the top of the SJL West standings but it is nice to see the Chicago Fire get off to a decent start as they strive to have their first winning season in this 9th season as a team.
The Keys are again being led by the reigning SJL MVP John Mussaw, currently playing his original position of shortstop with team captain and future Hall of Fame shortstop Bud Lindsay currently on the IL with chronic back pain. 30-year old slugging left fielder John Freeman (.304/.397/.576) has hit 14 bombs as the cleanup hitter. The San Antonio pitching staff isn't great (though 25-year old control specialist Humberto Ramirez has emerged as one of the league's better pitchers) but their high-powered offense continues to keep them at or near the top of the standings. El Paso, formerly more of a pitching and defense first club, have become a better hitting team, with strong contributions from leadoff hitter (and centerfielder) Danny Hendricks (.294/.376/.438) and 26-year old rookie right fielder Josh Fitzpatrick (.312/.362/.406). On the other hand, two of their veteran starting pitchers- Shannon Petrik, who was 14-8 with a 2.86 ERA last season, and now Dan Bottom, 17-4, 3.02 in '82 and the 1974 Harris/Lee award winner in the SJL- are gone for the season due to serious arm injuries.
Chicago has received a big boost from 25-year old rookie left fielder Alex Martinez (.323/.364/.488), who was the SJL Rookie of the Month for both April and May and hits third in the batting order. Martinez hits right behind another exciting youngster, the 22-year old shortstop Pat Thompson (.351/.379/.455), who not only has Gold Glove caliber defensive skills but also looks like a future batting champ. With some good young pitchers also emerging for Chicago and the top-ranked farm system in the game, the future is starting to look bright for the Fire.
On the other hand, the Houston Cavaliers, who entered the league the same year as Chicago, in spite of seeing young likely future MVP Alex Raymos (.318/.448/.557) start to emerge as one of the best mid-lineup offensive forces in the WPK, suffered a 13-game losing streak until they finally won a pair of games to end the month of May.
Over in the SJL East, the Washington Night Train got off to a good start but recently have slumped and have relinquished first place to the Jacksonville Wolf Pack. The Columbus Whalers also are having what looks like a comeback season after falling to the basement last season. Meanwhile, Philly and especially Pittsburgh have been disappointing.
The story for Jacksonville has been a high-flying offense, led by 25-year old center fielder Tim Evans (.389/.436/.588) who is an early favorite for SJL MVP. While the team defense is excellent the Jacksonville pitching staff is not very good and might be what keeps them from getting to the post-season.
Washington is pretty well-rounded but their defense has not been great and this has likely led to the pitching staff underperforming their talent. Watch for 22-year old starter Dusty Swarthout (8-2, 3.90), who looks like a future possibly multiple-time Harris/Lee award winner. On the other end of the age spectrum, 36-year old first baseman Luis Gonzales (.383/.449/.649) just keeps rolling as he approaches 300 career homers.
Columbus continues to be a weak-hitting club with an excellent pitching staff. Mitchell Tharp, a 24-year old right-hander who was the 22nd player picked overall in the 1980 draft, is the likely future ace, even if his 2-3 record and 4.41 ERA don't seem to be evidence of that prediction. They have only the 17th ranked farm system and their top prospects are all pitchers. At some point Columbus is going to need to get some hitters.
It is probably time to mention 26-year old Pittsburgh first baseman Toby Noguchi (whose cousin Tetsuhiro Noguchi was a WPK relief pitcher for 8 plus seasons with moderate success, and retired in 1978). Noguchi has clubbed a WPK best 18 home runs this season and is on pace for a WPK record 57. Noguchi (.236/.298/.534) isn't a good player and is reportedly lacking in baseball intelligence. But there is no denying his ability to crush baseballs when he makes contact.
Over in the MGL West, in spite of a slow start, the Denver Brewers have mostly held first place, largely because the expected contenders are all off to slow starts. The St. Louis Redbirds have been the surprise club, but it should be noted that they are only 4 games over .500. So, a weak division at this point of 1983.
We'll talk more about the Brewers in the next post.
As for the Redbirds, they have been a pretty balanced club, ranking 6th in runs scored and 5th in runs against. Their offense is led by two injury prone sluggers in the middle of the lineup- third baseman Steve Whitehead (.304/.363/.490), who is a perennial MVP candidate when he can stay healthy, and left fielder J.J. Hebert (.288/.357/.536), who is a horrible fielder but a feared hitter in the clean up slot. Dan Clark (5-3, 2.36), a 24-year old left-handed pitcher has emerged as the #1 guy in the rotation and he does have great upside, with an elite level sinker and stuff but he will need to develop his other two pitches a bit more and he profiles with below average stamina (though at least durable).
The San Francisco Velocity, very possibly the most talented team in the MGL, have been hit with serious injuries thus far and are without veteran starting pitcher Dan Knauff for most of the season and currently have two of their dynamic outfielders, Matt Christensen and Brian Paul, on the IL and not expected to return until late June to early July. Staff ace Jon Harrington (8-3, 2.63) remains a bright spot.
The Portland Wild Things have generally under-performed but they are getting good production from 23-year old rookie second baseman (veteran second baseman Justin Ficklin is currently on the IL with a strained hamstring) Jon Lentz (.338/.378/.434), who was the MGL Rookie of the Month for April.
The Brooklyn Aces have gotten off to the best start in the WPK and lead the MGL East by 2 1/2 games over the recently surging Detroit Falcons. The Aces are 2nd in runs scored and 4th in runs against in the MGL but have a porous defense (-6.8 ZR). Veteran lefty Joel Travino (8-2, 3.55) is off to a great start while pitching 4th in this talented veteran rotation. Like Luis Gonzales over in the SJL, veteran first baseman Danny Salvador (.264/.378/.544) continues to roll along at age 35, leading the team in homers with 14 and just 3 shy of his 300th career dinger. But the MVP of the Aces is 28-year old center fielder Chris Caldwell (.310/.343/.537) who is one of the hardest workers in the game and an underrated star with a career slash line of .311/.357/.499 over 2,227 plate appearances.
Detroit has been on a hot streak of late and are best in the MGL in runs scored but their pitching staff is underwhelming, in spite of the presence of likely future HOF'er and 3-time Harris/Lee award winner Aaron McNally (4-6, 3.54). John Hemmah (.341/.411/.439), their 28-year old center fielder, continues to be one of the best on-base men in the league and a disruptive force once there (25 stolen bases with 6 caught stealing). They also recently added outfielder Eric Dougherty for a pair of prospects from the Denver Brewers and he is now slotted into the #3 spot in the lineup and off to a torrid start (.429/.429/.533).
A quick look at individual league leaders:
