132 Random Debut League - 2024- (est 2019)

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The Jacksonville Beach Bums have improved a lot in 2024 and they triumphed over the Raleigh Spitfires today 4-0 as Eddie Plank dazzled with 16 K's in 8 2/3 innings and allowed just one hit. That hit was by Kirk Gibson. Bunny Hearn came on to get his 37th save of the year as Jacksonville stays 14 games back in the AL Atlantic. Hack Wilson helped out with 3 hits and an RBI.

Alex Johnson kept his hitting streak alive today at 34 games by getting 3 hits including his 34th homer of the year as the Kansas City Royals defeated the Albany Warcats 6-3. Dennis Burns improved to 7-3 on the season for the Royals but they still are 4 games back in the AL Midwest.

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There are about 40 games left and this week the league announced their player of the week award winners

American League - Jim Spencer (New York Yankees) - 5 homers, 16 RBI .464 average. He is more offensive than he was in real life, always had the defense

National. League - Bid McPhee (Pittsburgh Pirates) - 1 homer 6 RBI's but goes 18 for 29, probably irate that his hitting streak record was shattered.

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The Richmond Gamecocks and Lefty Grove put an end to Alex Johnson's superb 35 game hitting streak with a 3-1 win over the Kansas City Royals. Richmond was led by Paul Waner driving in 2 runs and Johnson's long streak finally comes to an end.

Al Simmons of the Honolulu Riptides did extend his streak to 25 games with an 8-1 win over the Boise Parrots.

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Chili Davis went on a rampage today going 6 for 6 and driving in 8 with 2 homers, 2 triples and a double giving him 32 homers for the year as the Seattle Mariners trounced the Tucson Tomahawks 19-7. Seattle is now 3 games back in 2nd place in the AL Pacific behind the Oakland Athletics. Willson Contreras added 3 RBI's in the onslaught.

Meanwhile Al Simmons sees his hitting streak terminate at 26 games against in a game where the Honolulu Riptides destroyed the Albuquerque Blackbirds 12-1.

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The Anchorage Bears defeated the Branson Jackals 3-2 today in a somewhat meaningless game at this time of season, however it was Stan Musial's 25th game in a row with a hit. Anchorage was propelled by 7 good innings from Omar Olivares and 2 hits and 2 RBI's from Hee-Sop Choi.

In injury news, crooner Tom Jones is now out for the year for the Mississippi Crew

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The only news of the day besides some 3 homer games was an exciting game between the Honolulu Riptides and Key West Condors in a battle between idyllic locations. Honolulu won the game 8-6 as Al Simmons goes drives in 5 runs with 2 homers and Chris Singleton went 5 for 5. Simmons now has 55 homers on the 2024 season. At the same time, Boston area actuary and meddler Gary Mendez extend his hitting streak to 25 games with 2 hits and 2 RBI's for Key West. Mendez on his hitting streak "Well you have it... you have it and right now I feel pretty damn good, too bad we lost but we are 130 games into the season and are 66-64 no one could have predicted that.

Honolulu is now just 5 games out of first in the AL Pacific behind the Sacramento Bees as they have won 5 games in a row.

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The Oklahoma City Colts got stellar pitching from Tom Seaver as he hurled a 1 hit shutout in a victory over the lowly Jones Beach Jets. Seaver fanned 12 batters in the game and is showing why he was the steal of the 2023 draft. The only hit he allowed was to Lou Klein. Oklahoma City office came from Aaron Hardin who had 2 RBI's and Nate Colbert who had 2 hits and an RBI. Seaver felt in control "One of those days when you take the mound and it just seems like you will dominate. Barely can remember the Klein hit but I will take a one hitter today, don't care if it was against Jones Beach"

In other news, Gary Mendez' 25 game hit streak for the Key West Condors was snapped by the Honolulu Riptides.

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The players of the week awards were announced

Honors in the American League went to Chili Davis of the Seattle Mariners with 4 HR 14 RBI .520 avg. Seattle has made up 4 games this week in the AL Pacific and just trail the Oakland Athletics by 2 games.

While in the National League, top honors go to George Wright of the Sacramento Bees who hit 6 homers drive in 12 runs and batted .500. Wright was a former rookie of the year and he leads Sacramento as they have opened up a 4 game lead on the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Pacific.

Pitching gem by rookie Harry Howell of the Wichita Hawkeyes as they beat the Billings Beacons 7-0. Howell just allowed a 7th inning double to Armando Rios while fanning 13 batters in the contest. Howell was taken 9th overall in this 2023 draft and has 13 wins in his first campaign. Wichita offense was generated by Carlos Perez who had 2 hits and 3 RBI's for the victorious Hawkeyes.

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Stan the Man Musial is having a big season and got bigger today by extending his hitting streak to 30 games, which is tied for the 2nd best ever. Musial got a hit in the Anchorage Bears 3-2 victory over the Providence Chargers. Anchorage won the game behind Samuel Byrd's 2 hits and a RBI as Omar Olivares improved to 8-8

The Oakland Athletics got a much needed pitching gem from their ace, Steve Busby to gain a game on the 2nd place Seattle Mariners who they now lead by 2 games in the AL Pacific. Busby fanned 9 batters and allowed 6 hits in the complete game shutout and the offense came from Jeff McNeil who hit his 22nd homer and drove in runs.

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The Minnesota Twins are now within 2 games of the first place Des Moines Jaguars in the AL Midwest with their 9th straight win which featured a big cycle for their star player Nomar Garciaparra. Nomar drove in 4 runs and the Minnesota Twins thumped the Tucson Tomahawks 18-2. The game also featured a grand slam from Sammy Meeks

Stan Musial extended his hitting streak to 32 games, the 2nd longest in league history with 2 hits today in a 12 inning loss to the top team in the game, the Detroit Tigers. Tigers beat the Anchorage Bears as elite player Rogers Hornsby hit the walk off homer. Detroit got major offense from baller Eric Gordon who had 3 hits and 4 RBI's including his 20th homer of the season. Musial hit his 44th homer in the contest

Lastly, the Brooklyn Brawlers lost star relieve HI West for the rest of the year due to bone chips in his able suffered in a game that Brooklyn lost to the Albuquerque Blackbirds 7-6 in 10 innings. Brooklyn has a remote chance at the wild card but that window is closing up losing an all star reliever in this fashion.

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A busy day with streaks ending and extending and some developments

The Las Vegas Snake Eyes defeated the Sarasota Typhoon 20-8 today in an onslaught was forged ahead by Larry Parrish hitting for the Cycle. Parrish had 4 hits and 4 RBI's while Danny Santana had 3 hits and 4 RBI's in the rout. Nightclub dancer Tony Manero having an off year improved to 11-8 with all that run support. Las Vegas is in second place in the NL West but 7 games behind leading Colorado Rockies.

The Minnesota Twins extended their win streak today to 10 games as they trounced the Tucson Tomahawks 15-1 as Kiki Cuyler had 2 hits and 4 RBI's including a homer and Joe Hauser had 3 hits and an RBI. Twins pitching was solid from two way player Blondie Purcell as he improved to 10-7 on the season. The win keeps Minnesota two games back in the AL Midwest behind the Des Moines Jaguars.

Jaime Garcia came to the Detroit Tigers at a high price as they gave the Wizard Ozzie Smith to get him but today he kept looking good stopping the 32 game hitting streak of Stan Musial as the 108-30 Tigers defeated the Anchorage Bears 5-1 Garcia fanned 6 in 6 innings and allowed just 2 hits. Detroit's offense mostly came from a Wally Judnich 3 run shot.

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The league office determined players of the week and a suspension today

The American League player of the week was named to be Minnesota Twins shortstop Nomar Garciaparra who had 2 homers 9 RBI's and batted .567 for the red hot Twins who have won 10 games in a row.

Larry Doby took home top honor for National League player of the week, as he hit 4 homers and drove in 11 runs while batting .500 for the NL Central leading Cincinnati Reds.

Also the league determine that Patrick Laine was not in line as he argued a third strike call with umpires in a 7-0 beating by the Chicago White Sox of the Raleigh Spitfires. The White Sox are 12 games back in the AL Central however they are just 1 game behind the Seattle Mariners and Houston Astros for a sport in the wildcard in the AL Playoffs. Chicago got 2 hits and 4 RBI's from Eric Davis and 4 hits from 42 year old Wade Boggs in the win. As Tom Glavine pitched 6 shutout innings to improve to 12-6 on the season.

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Today's news was highlighted by a cycle by Omaha Eagles outfielder Sherry Magee as he went 4 for 4 but Omaha dropped the game 4-3 to the surprisingly decent second year Syracuse Maroons. Syracuse was carried by Jack Thoney who hit a homer and drove in 2 runs for this team's victory. Omaha is still in third place in the AL Midwest trailing the first place Des Moines Jaguars by 4 games.

The Houston Astros gained a game in the standings on the Utah Saints in the AL West but lost Mat Latos one of their better pitchers for 6 weeks with a strained tricep. He suffered the injury in a 7-6 win over the Maine Attack. Latos got shelled early for 4 earned runs in 2 1/3 innings and Houston will have to make due without him Pete Smith will move back into the rotation with that loss

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The week ended with these players winning the awards for players of the week as well as a no hitter being tossed

Bill Dickey of the Utah Saints won the AL Player of the week award hitting 3 homers and driving in runs while batting .550. Utah Leads the Houston Astros by 4 games in the AL West. Dickey had been slumping for the second half causing some to wonder if he was washing up.

The National League Player of the Week went to Todd Helton of the Atlantic City Sharks who belted 5 homers and drive in 13 runs while batting .583 for the week. Atlantic City is mired in a third place battle with the Brooklyn Brawlers in the NL East.

Pete Conway of the Caracas Toros pitched the 13th no hitter of the 2024 season today as Caracas beat the Saskatoon Beavers 3-0. Caracas' offense came from the bat of catcher Fred Carroll who socked 2 homers and drove in all 3 runs. Carroll, the 5th overall pick in the 2023 draft in his rookie season catches the game. It was the 2nd no hitter of Pete Conway's career as he got one in 2022 pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Honolulu Riptides. Conway becomes first pitcher to toss no hitters in both the AL and NL (no interleague play) and first to pitch two no hitters with two different teams (Los Angeles Dodgers and Caracas Toros). It was the first time Saskatoon has ever been no hit and the first no hitter in Caracas history.

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The big news of the day was Mike Schmidt of the Kansas City Royals hitting his 300th homer of his career today against the Portland Lions. Schmidt smacked a 3 run bomb off of Portland pitcher Johnny Hetki to reach the milestone. Freddy Garcia is now 17-2 on the season and Dave Shean had 3 hits for the winning Royals, Both teams are a little far out now in the standings to make the postseason.

Also news out of Tucson came today that Colin Jost the Harvard comedian is going to retire after the end of this season for the Tucson Tomahawks. Jost has not had a great career playing for 6 teams in 6 years, but he was a fun clubhouse guy wherever he ended up.

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Another No Hitter has been tossed this season and it is the 14th of the season with 120 teams, no hitters are more likely to happen. Today Roscoe Miller won his 17th game of the season for the Riverhead Racers at home with a no hitter against the Winnipeg Wolf Pack. Miller fanned batters and tosses the first ever no hitter in the history of Riverhead. For Winnipeg, in their first season they have already tossed a no hitter and been no hit twice. They were no hit earlier in the season by Atlantic City Sharks and Will Sawyer. Riverhead offense was generated by Mitch Meluskey with 2 RBI's and CNN's Don Lemon with his 20th homer of the year. Riverhead is in 2nd place in the NL East 5 games behind the New York Mets as they try to repeat as National League Champions. They are in wildcard position though and would face the rival Mets if the season ended today.

Anthony Kay of the Winnipeg Wolf Pack was so excited to be pitching 20 miles from his hometown in Riverhead and did not like the outcome "This is not how I envisioned the homecoming, I had 25 relatives in the stands and they got to see our listless offense and I gave up a few hits and a run, not pleased"

In other news, the Chicago Cubs defeated the El Paso Grizzlies 3-0 today as Bob Feller fanned 13 batters in 6 innings to improve to 15-3 on the season, but there was ugliness in the game as Chicago star player Elmer Flick got ejected and suspended for bumping an umpire on a 3rd strike call, he is now out 4 games, but the Cubs are going nowhere. Bris Lord smacked his 22nd homer in the win.

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Some things to report this day in baseball.

Tom Seaver and the Oklahoma City Colts blanked the Halifax Eclipse 1-0 today behind 16 strikeouts over 8 innings. Saver continues to shine allowing just 5 hits in the 8 innings. The Oklahoma City offense came on an RBI single by Chris Richard. Ryan Secret of Halifax told the press after the game "I have not seen anyone have that type of command this season, he was mowing us down, look out for him"

While one young pitcher thrived another got bad news as Calgary Fusion starting pitcher Juan Marichal found out today he is done for the season with elbow tendinitis. He sustained that injury in a game against the Fargo Horseman which was his 16th win of the season as Calgary beat Fargo 6-1.

The Detroit Tigers were the first team to clinch their division, the AL Central with an 11-1 win over the Branson Jackals. Detroit is looking to regain their World Series winning form which they accomplished in 2022 but were knocked out surprisingly in 2023 in the playoffs by the Seattle Mariners.

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August 2024 is now in the books with just 12 games left in the season. Here are the players of the Month and current individual leaders.

American League - Batter of the Month - Zack Wheat (Houston Astros) - 13 HR 33 RBI .402 avg. Houston is in 2nd place behind the Utah Saints in the AL West by 6 games but lead the wildcard by 2 games over Chicago White Sox and Seattle Mariners and 3 games over Indianapolis Bulldogs. Wheat continues to lead the AL in batting, trying to win another batting title.

National League - Batter of the Month - Larry Doby (Cincinnati Reds) - 12 HR 34 RBI's .394. The Reds magic number in the NL Central is 2 games on the Milwaukee Brewers and they are the easy favorite to win the NL this year. Doby is not putting up the unreal numbers of 2023 but he is a dangerous bat regardless

American League - Pitcher of the Month - Chief Bender (San Juan Storm) - 5-1 1.33 ERA. San Juan has a 6 game lead in the AL Atlantic over the Baltimore Orioles as they try to win the division again this year. Bender has emerged in 2024 as the ace of this staff. They are looking to have a better postseason than 2023.

National League - Pitcher of the Month - Weldon Henley (Riverhead Racers) - 6-0 1.17 ERA. Riverhead has been rolling in the NL East and are 4 games back of the New York Mets for first place. They lead the Milwaukee Brewers by 3 games for top wild card sport out of the 2 spots. They are trying to return to the World Series as they were the unlikely 2023 NL Champions. Henley has been a solid rock over the past 4 seasons for Riverhead.

American League - Rookie of the Month - Dick Gernert (Texas Rangers) - 14 HR 30 RBI .309. The Rangers disappointed in 2024 and are almost mathematically eliminated due to a bad first half. Gernert has come on to be a solid addition the highly potent office for this team and gives fans hope for 2025.

National League - Rookie of the Month - Jorge Soler (Cincinnati Reds) - 15 HR 39 RBI .333. Soler was always putting up monster numbers in the minors but the Reds had no room for him, they let Stan Javier walk in the offseason which gave Soler a job. It seems he is not having a hard time adapting to big league pitching


League Leaders

American League

Batting Average
1. Zack Wheat (Houston Astros) .374
2. Francisco Lindor (Portland Lions) .346
3. Stan Musial (Anchorage Bears) - .345

Homers
1. Adam LaRoche (San Antonio River Kings) 71
2. Jimmie Hall (Texas Rangers) 61
2. Sherry Magee (Omaha Eagles) 61

RBI's
1. Adam LaRoche (San Antonio Rivers Kings) 174
2. Casey Stengel (Buffalo Bisons) 155
3. Francisco Cabrera (Buffalo Bisons) 153

Stolen Bases
1. Mike Lanning (Indianapolis Bulldogs) 75
2. Farmer Weaver (Charlotte Spiders) 56
3. Mallex Smith (Buffalo Bisons) 55

WAR
1. Francisco Lindor (Portland Lions) 11.5
2. Rogers Hornsby (Detroit Tigers) 9.8
3. Pete Hotaling (Buffalo Bisons) 9.3

Wins
1. Christy Mathewson (Toronto Blue Jays) 21
1. Carl Weilman (Richmond Gamecocks) 21
3. Steve Trout (Detroit Tigers) 20

Strikeouts
1. Christy Mathewson (Toronto Blue Jays) 338
2. Lefty Grove (Richmond Gamecocks) 305
3. Chief Bender (San Juan Storm) 287

ERA
1. Dean Chance (Spokane Gangsters) 1.77
2. Walter Johnson (Fresno Bashers) 1.88
3. Bill George (Cabo San Lucas Black Gold) 1.95

Saves
1. Alex Malloy (Detroit Tigers) 46
2. Fernando Cabrera (Spokane Gangsters) 41
2. Bunny Hearn (Jacksonville Beach Bums) 41


National League

Batting Average
1. Fred Dunlap (Newark Thieves) .377
2. Todd Helton (Atlantic City Sharks) .361
3. Bernie Williams (Riverhead Racers) .354

Homers
1. Al Simmons (Honolulu Riptides) 64
2. Lee Walls (Honolulu Riptides) 60
3. Cy Williams (Sacramento Bees) 58

RBI's
1. Jack Smith (Tulsa Rattlers) 162
2. Cy Williams (Sacramento Bees) 158
3. Danny Santana (Las Vegas Snake Eyes) 136

Stolen Bases
1. Billy Hamilton (Vancouver Men-O-War) 68
2. Jimmy Rollins (Sarasota Typhoon) 54
3. Lenny Dykstra (Boise Parrots) - 51

WAR
1. Fred Dunlap (Newark Thieves) 10.9
2. Todd Helton (Atlantic City Sharks) 9.7
3. Jack Smith (Tulsa Rattlers) 9.3

Wins
1. Bill Sowders (Philadelphia Phillies) 22
2. Brownie Foreman (Tulsa Rattlers) 21
3. Jack Harshman (Los Angeles Dodgers) 20

Strikeouts
1. Bobby Mitchell (Atlanta Braves) 324
2. Noodles Hahn (Colorado Rockies) 317
3. Brownie Foreman (Tulsa Rattlers) 314

ERA
1. Bobby Mitchell (Atlanta Braves) 1.34
2. Bob Feller (Chicago Cubs) 1.60
3. Noodles Hahn (Colorado Rockies) 1.82

Saves
1. Ralph Comstock (Arizona Diamondbacks) 43
2. Andrew Bailey (New Orleans Zebras) 41
2. Paul Masterson (Tulsa Rattlers) 41

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Here are the standings and teams that are still alive with 12 games left in the 2024 season

AL East
1. Toronto Blue Jays - 95-55
2. Buffalo Bisons - 94-56
2. New York Yankees - 94-56
4. Boston Red Sox - 86-64

AL Atlantic
1. San Juan Storm - 104-46
2. Baltimore Orioles - 98-52
3. Richmond Gamecocks - 95-55
4. Tampa Bay Rays - 94-56

AL Central
1. Detroit Tigers - 117-33
2. Chicago White Sox - 103-47
3. Indianapolis Bulldogs - 102-48

AL Midwest
1. Des Moines Jaguars - 96-54
2. Minnesota Twins - 92-58
3. Omaha Eagles - 90-60
4. Kansas City Royals - 88-62

AL West
1. Utah Saints - 111-39
2. Houston Astros - 105-45
3. Texas Rangers - 91-59

AL Pacific
1. Oakland Athletics - 106-44
2. Seattle Mariners - 103-47
3. Los Angeles Angels - 97-53
4. Portland Lions - 96-54

NL East
1. New York Mets - 108-42
2. Riverhead Racers - 104-46
3. Brooklyn Brawlers - 91-59
3. Atlantic City Sharks - 91-59

NL Atlantic
1. Atlanta Braves - 99-51
1. Philadelphia Phillies - 99-51
3. Washington Nationals - 92-58
4. Miami Marlins - 91-59
5. Orlando Alliance - 88-62

NL Central
1. Cincinnati Reds - 112-38
2. Milwaukee Brewers - 101-49
3. Chicago Cubs - 92-58

NL Midwest
1. Tulsa Rattlers - 105-45
2. New Orleans Zebras - 100-50
3. Memphis Cougars -98-52
4. St Louis Cardinals - 97.;53

NL West
1. Colorado Rockies - 103-47
2. Arizona Diamondbacks - 99-51
3. Las Vegas Snake Eyes - 98-52
4. Boise Parrots - 89-61

NL Pacific
1. Sacramento Bees - 100-50
2. Los Angeles Dodgers - 96-54
3. Honolulu Riptides - 94-56
4. San Diego Padres - 89-61.

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The 15th no hitter of the 2024 season was hurled today by the New York Yankees Jon Gray as he fanned 15 batters in his perfection against the Fargo Horsemen. It was the 4th perfect game of the year. As the Yankees got a lot of offense from Buddy Bell's grand slam and 2 homers by Carl Yazstremski. It was the first no hitter ever for the New York Yankees and the first time the Fargo Horsemen have been no hit. Yankees remain in a crazy race in the AL East tied atop with the Toronto Blue Jays and leading the 3rd place Buffalo Bisons by one game.

AL Player of the Week honors went to Pat Kelly of the Seattle Mariners who hit 3 homers, drove in runs and clipped a .565 average. Seattle remains 3 games behind the Oakland Athletics in 2nd place in the AL Pacific but have a one game lead over wild card contenders Chicago White Sox and Indianapolis Bulldogs for final wildcard spot.

Walker Cooper, the catcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks was the NL player of the week . He drilled 6 homers and drove in 12 runs while batting .500 this week. Arizona is 4 games behind the Colorado Rockies in 2nd place in the AL West and trail the Milwaukee Brewers by one game for the final wildcard spot.

The Cincinnati Reds became the 2nd team to punch their ticket into the postseason. They beat the Halifax Eclipse 8-0 to secure the NL Central title. Jake Stahl had the big game offensively with 3 homers and scored 4 runs Stahl now has 42 homers on the year. And big news for Jose Fernandez, the Reds rookie ace won his 20th game today pitching 7 plus scoreless innings. The Reds who have been the best team in the NL for the past 6 years always choke in the postseason getting ousted in 2023 by Riverhead Racers in the NLDS and in 2022 by Miami Marlins also in NLDS.