World Baseball Alliance

[Imperialism32]

The Wheelhouse is a joint production of the World Baseball Alliance and media outlets around the world. It is published every other Friday during the regular season.






Jay Givens. That's The Headline.

Jay Givens of the Boston Bombers earned the nod as the best hitter in the North American League and he's quickly gotten to work proving them right. He's single-handedly kept the Boston lineup afloat; while the pitching staff ranks 1st in their division in runs allowed, the offense is 7th in runs scored and that's *with* Givens posting an OBP over .500. The legendary Texan, arguably the country's most popular sports star, is showing that he can continue to play at a high level even at age 32. Givens will be featured in the upcoming spring issue of Relay magazine.

Silver Leaguer Does It All

He may not be playing against the best of the best, but no player is generating more buzz right now than Paul Upton. Playing for the Charlotte Cyclones of the North American Silver League, Upton has been tearing the cover off the ball so far. Maybe not too surprising, since he was good enough to make the USA team in the WBC as a reserve outfielder. But Upton has also taken to the mound twice for the Cyclones... and thrown two complete game shutouts. His peripheral numbers don't support this kind of performance continuing (7 strikeouts, 7 walks in 18 innings) and scouts universally like him more as a center fielder than a pitcher. But if he keeps up anywhere close to this pace, he'll be in a bigger spotlight soon. The Cyclones already lead their division, and the race to be promoted to the NAL, by three games.

Draft Pools Announced
The deadline has come and gone for players to submit their names into the draft pools. Players must be 20 years old as of draft day (July 2) in order to be eligible. July 2 is also when teams may begin to sign players who elect to take part in their league's regional combine. Stay tuned as we'll have plenty of amateur prospect coverage in the weeks to come.

Sebastian Cajar Bringing Down the Panama City Clubhouse

When the list of best tools was published just before Opening Day, our scout mentioned that Panama City SS Sebastian Cajar was known to not exactly give his full effort. Now the same whispers are coming from teammates, as a report surfaced from the Seabees clubhouse regarding Cajar's attitude. The team is off to a 12-6 start and leads the Caribbean League West Division, but winning apparently hasn't been the salve for Cajar's antics.

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He can thank his mother for the nickname.

"I'd come home from the sandlot and throw my clothes on my ground," Jay Givens recalled of his childhood in Fort Worth, Texas. "My mom would pick them up and ask 'Why should I wash these, you're just gonna get them dirty again!' Well, the next day'd come and I wanted to play ball, so I'd just throw the same clothes on and get back out there.

"So the captains would be picking teams and it was 'hey, I'll take the dirty kid,'" he says with a smile.

It didn't take too long for the others to realize Givens was the best player out there, and soon enough 'the dirty kid' was one of the captains.

"There was nothing, literally nothing, that he couldn't do better than the rest of us," said Matt Mangold, who is a year older than Givens but grew up playing with him in Fort Worth. Mangold is currently a first baseman for the Houston Apollos' A1 minor league team.

"It's always so natural, too, that's the thing," he said. "When Jay steps on the field you just go, 'okay, that's a ballplayer.' So to see him doing this to the best pitching in the world, honestly it's kind of a relief. Growing up I was a little bitter that I wasn't as good as Jay. Well, nobody's as good as Jay."

Through three weeks of the inuagural World Baseball Alliance, that's been true. Givens leads the entire world in on-base percentage (.524) and WAR (1.5). Earlier in the spring, he hit for a 143 OPS+ for Team USA in the World Baseball Championship, helping lead them to the round of eight teams. He was selected as the best hitter in the North American League in a pre-season survey.

This comes as little surprise to most. Givens has been one of the most popular baseball stars in the world as the game exploded in popularity through the last decade.

Jan Jankowski, the 23 year-old shortstop of the Warsaw Trappers in the European Premier League, got to meet Givens for the first time when their paths crossed in March during the WBC.

"It was incredible," he said. "I read everything I could about baseball and I learned about him early on. I didn't dream of being a shortstop, I dreamed about being Jay Givens."

Some pre-season publications - notably, those from outside the United States who may have had a vested interest in downplaying an American star - wondered if Givens, at age 32, would disappoint relative to his reputation. Even the man himself admits he's no longer at the apex.

"I'm a step slower and it takes me longer to loosen up," he said. "And I've found a gray hair or two in my cap, but I don't know who's putting them there," he added dryly.

His teammates credit his continued success to his work ethic and his even keel.

"No matter what, he's out there early getting his swings in," said Bombers third baseman Vince Jones. "Whether he went 0-4 or 3-4 yesterday, he's getting his work in."

"I don't care about going 3-4 yesterday," Givens said, overhearing his teammate's quote. "I'm worried about 3-4 today.

"Yup, that sounds like Jay," said Dale Clark, the longtime Texas scout who signed Givens to his first professional contract fifteen years ago. "It's one of the reasons I knew he'd make it.

"I threw him maybe 30 pitches, he launched 'em all over the field. So I said alright, let's see how he is with the glove. I start hitting ground balls and he's going left and right, scooping 'em up. I go and take a rest under a tree and he comes over, 'hey, don't you want to see me run the bases?' I said 'son, I've seen plenty. How soon can I get you to come to Houston?' And that was that."

Givens played for the Houston team - now the Apollos - during his late teens and early 20s before getting a taste of northeast city ball. He spent a few seasons playing with the New York Empire before finding his way to Boston to be the face of the Bombers squad as they joined the WBA.

The Bombers suffered a sweep at the hands of New York and then a loss at Detroit to drop to 7-9 on the season. The next day, Givens scored three runs in a 14-2 rout of the Chargers. And the next day it was Vince Jones who had the 3-4 day, doubling twice and leading the Bombers to a win to get back to .500.

Givens went 0-4, the first time all season he failed to record at least one hit or walk in a game. But in the bottom of the 8th inning, Detroit brought the tying run to the plate. Theodore Meloche cracked a grounder up the middle. Givens dove to snare it, and flipped it from the ground to Eli Trader, who relayed it to first base for the double play.

Jay Givens pumped his fist, and then stood up and looked down. His uniform was dirty.

[Imperialism32]

May 11, 1960

Top Prospect Hits for Cycle in 5th Career Game


San Francisco Prospectors outfielder Audrey Burwell garnered some buzz but fell just short of the top 10 prospects list published before the season. One week into his career, he's making his case loud and clear.

Burwell got off a hot start against the Detroit Chargers, tallying a single, double, and triple by the 4th inning. He grounded out the 5th but came up to bat with two men on in the 8th inning and launched his first big-league home run. The cycle is the second in World Baseball Alliance history; Berlin Knights outfielder Darren David accomplished the feat on May 1st.

Burwell began the season with the Pittsburgh Punks, his organization's A1 minor league team. He got the call up after six games over which he hit .417. Since being promoted, he's hitting .520/.556/.880 while showing off tremendous range in center field.

The Prospectors dropped the contest to Detroit and currently sit at 8-16 and are in the relegation position at the moment, but with Burwell entrenched in the leadoff spot they may not stay there for long.

[Imperialism32]

The Wheelhouse is a joint production of the World Baseball Alliance and media outlets around the world. It is published every other Friday during the regular season.





Brisbane Blackbirds Win 12 Straight

15 games into the season, things did not look very promising for the Brisbane Blackbirds. They sat at 5-10 and were headed nowhere. What a difference two weeks makes! The offense came alive and led the team on a 12-game winning streak to vault them back over .500 and into the South Division race in the Australasian League. Unfortunately they followed this streak up by losing three in a row to rival Sydney, but the Blackbirds fortunes are still looking a lot better now. The offense ranks first in their division in runs scored while the pitching is last in runs allowed. It's obvious what needs to be patched for them to stay in the mix.

Miami, Santo Domingo, and Tokyo Falter
On the other side of the coin from Brisbane are three franchises who all suffered 10-game losing streaks during the month of May. In fact, on May 15th, all three teams had lost exactly ten in a row. The Miami Sun Dogs and Tokyo Tsunami managed to score a win that day, while the Santo Domingo Panthers ran their streak to 11 before finally tasting victory.

Miami Travis Hoop, NAL's April Player of the Month, still dominating. He leads the entire WBA in WAR at 2.2. The Sun Dogs' starting rotation has been a disaster, sporting a collective ERA above 6.00. Another POTM, Andy Packman of Tokyo, is also still hitting well despite his team's troubles. Santo Domingo, well, they don't have much going for then. Miami and Tokyo remain out of their division's cellar, but the Panthers are currently on the chopping block for relegation in the Caribbean League North.

Stefan Capidan Rolls Over The ESL

The only Silver Leaguer to make the top 10 prospects list, Stefan Capidan of the Lisbon Lions has been exactly as dominant as it seemed he'd be. Sporting a 67-15 K-BB ratio in 57.2 innings, his 2.5 WAR is the highest number in any league across the globe (Mumbai Vipers starter Taki Arakawa leads the A-leagues at 2.4 WAR). Unfortunately, Capidan hasn't gotten much support from his offense, and his Lions are just 14-16 and a long way from the promotion spot. He may be prove to be an attractive trade target for the upper leagues when trading opens up in November.

More Trouble in Panama City

The whispers regarding Panama City Seabees SS Sebastian Cajar causing problems in the clubhouse are turning into shouts. Previously, teammates had spoken anonymously to air their grievances about the mercurial star, but now teammate Marcos Esquivel has gone on the record about it. The Seabees have lost 8 of their last 10 games to drop to 15-15 after leading the Caribbean League South at one point earlier in the season.

In other malcontent news, we previously reported on SP Astor Alexander of the Nassau Nightwings in the Caribbean Silver League as one player also causing trouble. The Nightwings seem to have dealt with the issue; at least, there have been no further leaks from the organization, and the team continues to perform well. They lead their division by 3 games, and Alexander is 5-1 with a 0.82 ERA.

[Imperialism32]

May 20, 1960

WBA Hitting Leaders

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May 20, 1960

WBA Pitching Leaders

[Sizeman21]

Loving these updates. Cool teams, and good coverage. Put me down as a Berlin Knights fan!

[Imperialism32]

Originally Posted by Sizeman21

Loving these updates. Cool teams, and good coverage. Put me down as a Berlin Knights fan!

Oh no. I've got terrible news to post. Just wrote it up and then came here and saw this post.

But thank you for the very kind words!

[Imperialism32]

June 1, 1960

Knights Lose Roosmalen for the Year

The Berlin Knights confirmed today that star shortstop Olivier Roosmalen is out for the season with a broken kneecap following a collision at second base in a game on May 29th. Roosmalen was attempting to turn a double play when Copenhagen Condors left fielder Ile Marusic slid in hard to break it up. Roosmalen collapsed immediately and was taken out of the game for medical attention.

X-Rays taken confirmed the initial diagnosis, and it's expected to take at least 4-5 months until he is able to return to a baseball diamond. Considered perhaps the best contact hitter in the sport, Roosmalen was enjoying a fine season for the Knights, hitting .402/.438/.622 with nearly as many home runs (8) as strikeouts (9). The diagnosis comes on the same day that he was named European Premier League Hitter of the Month for May.

"One of my goals was to hit .400 this season," Roosmalen told reporters this morning. "I guess this is a lesson to be careful what you wish for."

The Knights sit now at 19-21 and tied for 6th place in the EPL West Division. "It's an incredibly tough pill to swallow," their manager remarked. "I hope we can show some resiliency moving forward."

Word of Roosmalen's injury spread across the baseball world, with several players going out of their way to offer support and encouragement.

"It's incredibly sad," said Sylvano Boccaccio of the Rome Regiment, the other other qualified player hitting .400 in the WBA. "I was looking forward to a summer of trying to win the batting crown against him."

[Imperialism32]

June 1, 1960

May Players of the Month

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June 1, 1960

Caracas and Toronto Sweep Player of the Month Awards

When the WBA announced the players of the month for May, you have may have noticed that two pairs of teammates managed to sweep the voting. In the Caribbean League, Salvador Acquiel and Santiago Vecchio of the Caracas Rangers took home the prizes while Toronto Giants teammates Jacob Yoachum and Bryant Achilles pulled it off in the North American League.

It's no surprise with such strong performances that both teams find themselves atop their respective divisions. The Giants are currently 28-12 with a five-game lead, while the Rangers sit at 27-13 with a three-game lead. The award is extra special for Vecchio, who is a native of Venezuela (Acquiel is from Puerto Rico, and Yoachum and Achilles are both Americans).

"I love to pitch in front of my people," Vecchio said, and the numbers would agree. At home, he's struck out 62 and walked 14 while road starts he's struck out 49 and walked 19. "It's that little bit extra I need."

Vecchio has particular excelled at keeping the ball in the park, letting up only two home runs in 76.1 innings.

[Imperialism32]

The Wheelhouse is a joint production of the World Baseball Alliance and media outlets around the world. It is published every other Friday during the regular season.

Unlucky 13 for Seoul Wyverns

The Seoul Wyverns dropped their 13th game in a row on Wednesday, a hard-luck 6-5 defeat at the hands of the Tokyo Tsunami. The streak has dropped them like an anchor to 12-30 and into last place of the Australasian League North Division, a full five games behind the next-closest team. In fact, Seoul is now two games worse than the next closest in any division (the Vienna Wolf Pack are 14-28).

They've lost close games; four of the 13 have come by single digits. They've been blown out; Shanghai demolished them 15-1. They've lost by the exact margin of 4-1 three times during the streak. They've held a team to three runs or fewer just once, and they lost that game 3-0. Meanwhile they've been held to three runs or fewer six times. They've lost in 11 innings twice and 14 innings once. They've been walked off and they've had late-game rallies fall short.

"We've lost every which way," said starting pitcher Henry Walsh, whose 2.74 ERA is a rare bright spot. "We were pretty happy to flip the calendar, that's for sure." The Wyverns were off on Thursday and open a weekend series at home against the Busan Mocs.

Miall Fans 15 in 6.1 Innings


Sloan Continues to Dominate

Speaking of Lenny Sloan, the English lefty has hurled gem after gem for the Paris Pride, keeping them comfortably in first place in the EPL West Division. His latest effort was a complete game shutout of the Copenhagen Condors, striking out 14 while allowing just six hits and a lone walk. It was his fourth game fanning at least 10, and he's worked at least 7 innings in all but two of his EPL starts.

Kiev Comets Boast Best Record

Click the picture to embiggen

The Kiev Comets haven't shown up yet in an edition of The Wheelhouse but it's not because they haven't deserved it. They've built a 30-12 record, tops in the WBA, through a complete team effort. They're hitting above .300 as a team, led by Mel Martin, Gianfranco Cochetti, Freyr Hellmann, and Michael Thierry. Their pitching has been almost as good, led by Pitcher of the Month for May Michael Reid.

[Imperialism32]

How amazing has Taki Arakawa been?

His latest start came on Friday night in Canberra. His Mumbai Vipers, a game behind the Rattlers for 1st place, were confident they'd emerge from the snake battle with a win. After all, Arakawa was starting.

He pitched eight innings, scattering seven hits while striking out eight and walking two. Han-Soo Park, Canberra's star outfielder, tagged him for a solo home run with two out in the bottom of the 8th inning, an ultimately meaningless run as the Vipers hung on to win. It was the second run Arakawa allowed that night, and just the second home run he'd allowed all year.

None of that is the amazing part.

No, the truly amazing, astounding, astonishing part is that the 8 inning, 2 ER performance raised his season ERA to 1.02. It's the first time all season it's been above 1.00.

"I was fine tonight," he said. "Nothing special."

That's how much he's raised the bar. He's still thinking about two pitches he made to Park, both with two outs and no runners on. In the fourth, he fell behind in the count 1-0 and tried to get a fastball on the outside corner. It ran over the plate instead, and Park sent it to the right-center field fence on two hops. The next hitter, M.J. Chandra, singled him home.

Arakawa retired Park on a grounder next time up, but in the 8th the Korean slugger muscled a slider to the opposite field over the fence for Canberra's second run. It wasn't a bad pitch, and there's a good reason Park is the frontrunner for Australasian League MVP. But Arakawa is a perfectionist.

"If I make better pitches there I can get him out," he said. "And then I lost my focus for the next hitter both times [Chandra followed up Park's double and home run with singles]. Take those away and I can stay in the 9th, finish the game. It could have been 9 innings, 3 hits, no runs."

He's well acquainted with the feeling. In ten starts this year, he's thrown three complete game shutouts. In another start, he pitched 9 innings and allowed only an unearned run. In another start he pitched 9 innings and allowed one earned run, but the Vipers went on to lose in 14 innings.

The work ethic runs deep in his family. His older brother Yoshihiro is also a pitcher, currently with the Tampa Pirates of the North American Silver League.

"A lot of parents didn't want their kids playing baseball," the elder Arakawa said. "They thought it was a waste of time. Our parents didn't mind us playing but they made sure we understood that whatever we did they wanted us to do it right."

Yoshihiro signed the first professional contract in the family with the local club, the Fukoka Fury (the Fury are now a minor-league affiliate of the Hong Kong Claws). Yoshihiro is a decent player in his own right, to be sure, but even he realizes that he was signed in part to increase the Fury's chances with his younger brother.

Taki was quickly becoming a legend not just in their home city of Kitakyushu but in all Fukoka Prefecture [Editor's note: Kitakyushu didn't become an official city until 1963, but what can you do?]. Sure enough, two years later the Fury were able to sign him to play with his brother and the two enjoyed several successful seasons playing for their local team.

But it wasn't long before Taki's talents caught the eyes of the larger baseball clubs in Japan, and the Tokyo Tsunami won the bidding war for his services. Arakawa became a superstar in his country.

"I figured I'd be there forever," he said.

But then four years ago the idea for the World Baseball Alliance was hatched. India's representative to the council was Raj Sidhu, one of the country's wealthiest citizens. He grew up as a rabid cricket fan but, like everyone else, got caught up in the explosion of baseball's popularity in his country in the '50s. India was awarded two major-league teams, and Sidhu quickly purchased a majority stake in the Mumbai Vipers.

(Editor's note: I suggest taking 30 seconds to read the "Let's Talk Money" section of this post before continuing)

He wasted little time getting to work on putting a prospective roster together for the 1960 season. Money, it seemed, was not an object. The Vipers sport the highest payroll in the Australasian League and have seven players earning at least 15,000,000. Number one with a bullet is Arakawa, earning 37,000,000 for this season and the next before it increases to 39,500,000 through 1964. Only one player in the AL is earning more this season.

"It showed me how serious he was about putting together a team that could win," Arakawa said of Sidhu's offer. "He made it very clear that he wants the Vipers to go down in history as the first champion, and it was very appealing to me that he'd spend the money to do that.

"It was a hard decision to decision to leave Japan, to leave my home, but it's been a great experience to come to India and be one of the first to help grow the game. And the fans here have been great, too."

Mumbai has one of the largest season ticket bases in the Alliance. They have nearly 2,000 more season ticket holders than Tokyo despite tickets that are more expensive.

Arakawa has been worth the price of admission by himself. He's allowed just four earned runs in five starts at home. He isn't overpowering like rotation-mate and fellow countryman Hidenosuke Kataoka -- in fact, it was Kataoka who started on Opening Day. But he keeps hitters off-balance with his ability to throw a curveball and a screwball.

"It's so hard facing him," said Canberra shortstop Logan Cook, who went 0-4 against Arakawa. "You can have him right where you want him, you can know a breaking ball is coming... but it doesn't matter because you don't know if it's going to break down and in or out and away. And if you guess wrong you have zero chance."

Arakawa enjoys making hitters guess wrong. Even the ones who guess right haven't found much success this season. Overall, he's holding opponents to a .196 average. Lefties fare a little bit better: they're hitting .206 off him.

And as he showed on Friday night, he doesn't even have to feel like he pitched especially well to be dominant. For Taki Awakara, the amazing has become the ordinary.

[Imperialism32]

The Wheelhouse is a joint production of the World Baseball Alliance and media outlets around the world. It is published every other Friday during the regular season.

Now that we're far enough into the season for stats to have some meaning, I thought it'd fun to break from the normal news-and-notes format to take a look at the top 5 hitters and pitchers by WAR across the entire World Baseball Alliance.

HITTERS

1. Travis Hoop - You may recall that the Miami Sun Dogs suffered a 10-game losing streak earlier in the season and seemed to be ticketed for relegation. Well, they turned things around quickly and put together a 10-game winnng streak later in May. They currently sit at 27-27 and it's been the offense carrying the squad, led by Hoop. There were questions about his ability to hit for a decent average but so far, so good. His .381 BABIP would suggest some regression is in his future, but he hits for good power and is a top-flight center fielder, so he should continue to accrue WAR in the second half of the season even if his average dips.


2. Matsuo Nakano - The Perth Paladins are the only team to place two players on this list (pitcher Rick Everton is the other) so their 26-28 record is a relative disappointment. But they've perhaps been the unluckiest team in the sport. Their +61 run differential is tops in the Australasian League but they're currently tied with Wellington for the relegation spot. Nakano has led the offensive attack, and much like Hoop he adds a lot of value with his center field defense. He's also contributed 12 stolen bases this season, showing why they call him Legs. He has elite bat-to-ball skills, so his high batting average is less of a mirage than Hoop's and he has a serious shot at the AL batting crown.


3. Salvador Acquiel - He won Player of the Month in May to rocket him up this list, and while he hasn't been bad in June -- he's still hitting above .300 -- the power has lightened, with just one home run this month. As with the two players above, Acquiel brings a lot of value defensive in center field, and he's matched Nakano's 12 steals. The Caracas Rangers have hit a bit of a speed bump in June (6-8) after a white-hot May (19-7) but they still lead their divison by 3 games.


4. Gianfranco Cochetti - The Kiev Comets have been the best team in the World Baseball Alliance and Cochetti is just one of the many hitters getting it done. His BABIP (.402) is even more extreme than Hoop's so no, he's probably not going to flirt with a .400 average all season. But his game is so well-rounded that he should be able to avoid a prolonged slump and continue adding to his WAR total.


5. Jay Givens - He's come down a little bit since making the cover of issue #1 of Relay magazine, but he remains of the game's premier players. His team has the misfortune of sharing a division with the Toronto Giants. The Bombers are five games back of them, but their 32-22 record would lead the NAL West Division. So long as Givens keeps playing at his established high level, Boston has a great shot to make the playoffs as the wildcard even if they aren't quite able to keep pace with Toronto. There's nothing in his stats or scouting report to suggest much regression.

PITCHERS

1. Taki Arakawa - For a deeper dive on Arakawa, check out the latest edition of Relay. He's made two starts since that went to print, the latest a ho-hum 7 inning, 1 earned run performance. Mumbai has been overtaken for 1st place, but the entire AL South Division remains packed with only 7 games separated first place from last place. The Vipers could use a trade for a big bat as much as anyone, but their payroll may already be overextended.


2. Lenny Sloan - The anchor of arguably the best rotation, top-to-bottom, in the World Baseball Alliance, Sloan has set the record for most strikeouts in a game with a 16-strikeout performance against Istanbul back in May. He has one of the best fastballs in the game, consistently sitting upper-90s and touching 100. His curveball is even better than his fastball, and his changeup is even better than that. The Kiev Comets get all the press in the EPL, but Sloan and the Paris Pride are only a game worse.


3. Soo-Keun Bae - One of the stars of the World Baseball Championship, is it fair to think that Bae has been slightly dissapointing when he ranks as the 3rd-best pitcher to date? To be sure, it's almost entirely because of an inflated .370 BABIP. His peripheral stats are all solid, although he has the stuff to be punching out more than he does. While he's been extremely good, his Beijing Maulers have mainly toiled in obscurity this season, sitting at 24-30. The inpetitude of the Seoul Wyverns (six games worse) insulates them from a relegation panic, but there's not much reason to tune into a Maulers game on days Bae doesn't start.


4. Rick Everton - I discussed Perth already in Matsuo Nakano's section, so I'll just note here that Everton is a free agent at year's end and if he continues anything like his current pace he'll be in high demand even at 37 years old. His rate stats aren't anything to go wild over, and his home run rate (just one allowed) is bound to rise.


5. Victor Sanchez - The Sebastian Cajar soap opera has sucked up most of the oxygen surrounding the Panama City Seabees, but Sanchez's season shouldn't be an afterthought. He's used his pinpoint command to dominate including 8 scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts his last start. The Seabees started hot at 12-6 but are just 16-20 since. They're in the middle zone of not really challenging for a playoff spot but also not really worrying about being relegated.

[Imperialism32]

June 19, 1960

Thierry, Juday Extend Record Hitting Streaks

Michaël Thierry of the Kiev Comets came to the plate in the bottom of the 7th. The Comets were up 6-2 and cruising on their way to another victory, their 40th of the season. But the home crowd grew tense, shifting to the edge of their seats.

Thierry lined a shot over the third baseman's head and into left field, and the stands erupted. It was the 30th straight game in which Thierry has recorded a hit, and it's become standard fare for the Kiev faithful. Come to the ballpark, root for the Comets, eat a hot dog, and see Michael Thierry get a hit.

The streak began with an unassuming 1-5 day against Istanbul on May 13th. Thierry had hit decently well over the first month with a .306/.330/.435 line. But in the five weeks since, he's raised that up to .340/.385/.506, quickly turning into a sensation as reporters rush to interview him after each game.

Meanwhile in the North American League, Gene Juday of the New York Empire has hit safely in 27 straight games, raising his batting average from .274 to .336. His streak hasn't caught the attention of the baseball world quite like Thierry's, though. While the Comets are becoming known as perhaps the favorite to win the World Baseball Alliance championship, the Empire are just 25-31 and currently tied for last place in their division.

[Imperialism32]

June 23, 1960

Thierry Hitless; Streak Ends At 32

Kiev Comets shortstop Michaël Thierry went more than a month without a hitless game, but that streak came to an end on Wednesday. He flew out in his first three at-bats before working the count full in his final time up.

"It was probably ball four, I should have taken it," he admitted. "But I figured, why not, I'll try to shoot it between first and second base." Instead it was a slow roller, easily handled by the defender to retire Thierry. The Comets won the game, their 14th win in 18 games during the month of June. They retain the Alliance's best record.

New York Empire right fielder Gene Juday, meanwhile, continued his streak yesterday. He's now hit successfully in 30 straight games.

---

UPDATE: Gene Juday's streak has come to an end today at 30 games.

[Imperialism32]

The Wheelhouse is a joint production of the World Baseball Alliance and media outlets around the world. It is published every other Friday during the regular season.




Comets Lead at Halfway Point

The Kiev Comets pulled into the halfway season -- 66 of the league's 132 games -- with the best record, three games clear of the Toronto Giants of the North American League. The Comets have outscored their opponents by 127 runs, also a league-best. It's been a complete team effort with hardly a weakness to be found. They currently enjoy a 12-game lead in their division and seem destined to cruise to the EPL Playoffs.

Amateur Draft and Signing Period Begins Tomorrow

July 2 has been circled on the calendar's of general managers across the World Baseball Alliance, and the big day arrives tomorrow. The amateur free agency signing period opens for those players who chose to take part in their region's combine. This crop of players are 16 and 17 years old. Also, there will be a draft for players who opted to play collegiately or semi-professionally and have reached the minimum age of 20 to be drafted. One of the top availably players in the Australasian League draft will be Archer Carveth, whose birthday falls on exactly July 2nd. There will be much wider coverage about all things amateur baseball tomorrow.

[Imperialism32]

July 1, 1960

June Players of the Month

[Imperialism32]

July 2, 1960

Amateur Prospect Preview

Amateur Signing Rules: Players who attended their region's combine are now eligible to sign with any team in the region. Each league has their own pool of players, and teams may not sign players from another region, and A-level teams may not sign players from their region's Silver League pool (and vice versa). Players must be at least 16 years old in order to be signed.

Amateur Draft Rules: The same regionality rules apply. This year's draft orders are determined by random draw; future years will be decided by previous year records. Players must be at least 20 years old in order to be drafted.

Top Combine Prospects

Breaking the fourth wall: The "international free agents" I use here weight heavily toward hitters. In my test sims, this hasn't proven to be too big a deal, but I may try to adjust it down the line. But for now you'll see mostly hitters here.

1B Yingjie Liu, Australasian League - Older than most other prospects this year, Liu is just a pure hitter. He can hit for average, hit for power, and draw walks. He doesn't run well, is limited to 1B or DH duty in the field, but the bat... the bat has a chance to be extremely special.

3B Vincent Russell, Australasian League - He's advanced defensively at 3B with a terrific arm, and shows enough ability with the bat to warrant a lot of attention from clubs.

CF Dae-Hwan Woo, Australasian League - Woo is listed as a CF but he also wowed scouts as an infielder and his future might be as an uber-utility man whose bat is worth finding a spot for in the lineup each day. There are some concerns about him hitting for enough average, though.

CF Oriol Nuñez, Caribbean League - A natural, smooth center fielder, Nuñez has a well-rounded skillset at the plate. He doesn't have one carrying tool, but his mix of contact and power potential make him a priority target.

LF Armand Camargo, Caribbean League - Much like Liu, Camargo is an older player with a very strong bat. He's going to be limited to corner-outfield duty and may not even rate average there, but if his bat comes close to hitting its ceiling then Camargo will be a sought-after piece for any team.

2B Domingo Bernal, Caribbean League - An absolute scorcher, Bernal blew away the competition in the speed and baserunning drills at the combine. He showed off enough contact skills to keep his stock high.

3B Theodor Friedrich, European Premier League - He aced his team interviews, demonstrating his knowledge of the game, and impressed scouts by spraying the ball all over the field with excellent gap power. Friedrich has a rocket of an arm that makes up for his fringe-y athleticism and range at third base.

CF Costa Panico, European Premier League - Extremely raw with top-flight speed and bat skills, the 5'11" 145 Panico needs to add strength to tap into those hitting skills and catch up with higher velocities. Only an average arm but should be able to stick in center field.

CF Julian Valberg, European Premier League - A great athlete with speed and elite contact skills, Valberg doesn't have a high power ceiling but he could be a batting-title contender while playing center.

3B Adam Cooper, North American League - He showed excellent contact skills and at 6'3" 185 there's a lot of power potential too, though he may need to alter his approach to tap into it.

SP Connor Newsom, North American League - Newsom throws five pitches -- including a forkball -- but it's his changeup that shows the most potential. Thanks to his obsessive studious habits he always seems to be a step ahead of any hitter he faces.

CF Joshua Brannock, North American League - A very similar type of player to Oriol Nuñez in the Caribbean League, Brannock is a jack-of-all-trades type but perhaps with slightly more power.

CF Korbin Moore, North American League - An outstanding defender, Moore also has plus skills in terms of contact, gap, and power.

Top Draft Prospects

SP Archer Carveth, Australasian League - The top available amateur pitcher at any level in any league, the Aussie jusssst made the cut by turning 20 years old on July 2nd. He already has some playable pro pitches, but he'll need time to refine his control in the minors.

SP Anatoly Fernández, Caribbean League - He doesn't have the ceiling of an ace, but he can do most everything well enough.

OF Robert Hedner, European Premier League - He's not quite as good as fellow Swede Julian Valberg in the combine prospects pool, but Hedner can play both infield and outfield.

OF Ron Reddig, North American League - The Portugese-American is a great athlete, but has some questions to answer about whether his bat can truly play in the majors.

[Imperialism32]

July 5, 1960

Star Hitter & Closer Suspended for Brawl

Amsterdam Valley Foxes Quentin Balk entered in the 9th inning of yesterday's game with a 4-1 lead on the Stockholm Bears. The Valley Foxes' closer allowed a home run to the first batter he faced, Cedric Ben. The Bears' shortstop seemed to stare down Balk as he rounded the bases and got tempers going on both sides.

The next batter was Stockholm star Noam Abdelouahed, fresh off winning Player of the Month for June. Balk drilled him in the ribs, and Abdelouahed sprinted toward the mound, chucking his helmet at Balk. Benches on both sides cleared and a few punches were thrown, though none landed cleanly. Eventually, cooler heads prevailed.

The Alliance office handed out suspensions today: Balk will be out for nine games and Abdelouahed will miss three. The two teams continue their three-game series today, and umpires have been advised to take a zero-tolerance approach for the remainder of the series.