Baseball In The Tar Heel State: A Fictional Experience

[AZTarHeel]

Originally Posted by VARoadstter

Count me as another Raleigh supporter! I am as happy to root for the underdog as the next guy. Hopefully the draft shenanigans result in boosting the team's play. Eventually the stink of controversy should wear off.

Go Caps!

Things are pretty rough for Raleigh right now, but they have one of the best sluggers in the game on their team in OF Bill Robbins. More on his amazing season here in a post coming up...

[AZTarHeel]

1920 North Carolina State League — Regular Season Recap



Raging Bulls, scrappy Tourists
Durham wins regular season going away

FINAL 1920 standings


Welcome back, Durham. After several years of languishing at the back of the North Carolina State League pack, the Bulls charged to the forefront in a big way. In the first season of the 162-game, eight-team format, Durham ripped off a league record 106 victories. That was 10 better than reigning champion Asheville (who as you'll see below is a pretty good team in its own right).

The Bulls were top three in nearly every offensive and pitching category. Five starters hit better than .300, led by right fielder Garrett McDonald's .357 clip. A lot of guys are just emerging into their prime, so Durham could hang around the top for awhile. Centerfielder David Coffman, age 24, batted .320 with 71 RBIs. First baseman Raul Rivera, age 24, hit .316 with a team-best 104 RBIs and team-leading nine home runs. Left fielder Jason Wilson, age 29, batted .309, stroked 22 triples and stole 66 bases (but was caught an amazing 43 times - you've got to love his bravado).

Pitching-wise, the Bulls relied upon a wiley veteran to lead the way. Kenny Davis, who turned 40 early in the season, finished 27-10 with a 3.20 ERA. He led the Bulls with 41 starts. Curt Dunham added another 20 wins, while Kenny Craft recorded 18. Dan "Little Rat" Sutton posted 12 wins and a team best ERA of 2.51.

The Asheville Tourists managed to outduel Winston-Salem for the second playoff spot. Chris Wilson had a lot to do with that, posting a 25-8 pitching record with a sterling 2.45 ERA. Wilson and Davis should be the top contenders for Pitcher of the Year honors. Or then again, maybe Wilson's teammate Tynan Williams will take the top hurler's prize. Williams went 25-7, though his ERA was a little higher at 3.02. Good grief, if you've got two pitchers combining for 50 wins, you're doing pretty good. Throw in trusty vet Merlin "The Wizard" McNeill (20-14 record, 3.04 ERA) and you've got to think Asheville has a real shot at unseating the Bulls in the playoff series. We'll see.

Top hitters for Asheville were shortstop Jerry Johnson (.333 average, team-high 211 hits, 87 RBIs), first baseman Clint Moran (199 hits, .307 average, league best 14 homers) and centerfielder John Stewart (.313 average, 206 hits, 23 triples, 49 stolen bases). Popular third baseman Chris Hartle batted .305, though he only played in about 130 games (he platooned at third it seems). In all, seven Asheville players had between 124 and 206 hits.

Another big story in the 1920 North Carolina State League was the rise (finally) of the Greensboro Patriots to a competitive level. The Pats finished 81-81. Pretty mediocre to most franchises but when you're first seven seasons all feature losing records (and some really bad records a few times), you can appreciate the progress.

Second baseman Joe Herrera, age 26 — who has bounced around from Winston-Salem to Raleigh and then to Greensboro — led the Pats in most offensive categories. His line: .347 average, 223 hits, 39 doubles, eight homers, five triples, 92 RBIs. He only struck out 10 times and was walked 59 times. Outfielder Steve Perry didn't stop believing and posted a .310 average with 212 hits and 109 RBIs. His journey included a 5-for-7 performance against Charlotte on May 2, hitting two triples and scoring three times. Norm Ross led the Patriots from the mound, winning 16 games.

Winston-Salem fell just short of making the playoffs. Right-fielder Angel "Sweetness" Pellicer turned in another stellar season, hitting .347 with a team-best 84 RBIs. He has piled up 1,139 career hits in eight seasons with the Twins. Winston traded for pitcher Howard Miller (the No. 1 pick in 1917), and the former Greensboro hurler delivered. He was 22-11 on the season, with 17 of his wins coming in Winston-Salem. Again, what was Greensboro thinking letting him go? Miller is just 26.

The Charlotte Hornets, who won the NCSL in 1917 and 1918, fell back down to earth this season. Rudy Young had a solid season from the mound, but his 23 wins were countered by 17 losses. Nobody was really spectacular offensively either. Left-fielder Antonio Arevalo had the best batting average at .317 and led the Hornets with 104 RBIs.

The new Wilmington Pirates felt pretty good about finishing with 73 wins in their debut year — and about leaping over Raleigh by nine games in the final standings. Unfortunately all of the Pirates regular starting pitchers finished with losing records. Israel Soliz won 16 games but lost 20. Youngster John "Cats" Rocha was 11-15 after getting traded to Wilmington from Greensboro.

The Pirates played A LOT of guys during the season. First baseman Andy Gross was the most productive, batting .296 with 179 hits.


Baseball fans started referring to Raleigh as the "Crapitals" this season. The Craps, err, Caps struggled big time, living up to the moniker. But the light in the darkness was 35-year-old outfielder Bill Robbins. He shattered some NCSL records by recording a league-best 234 hits and building a new single-season record with a .378 average. Robbins had 47 doubles and 10 triples. Too bad he played on a terrible team. Imagine that bat in Asheville, Durham or Winston-Salem this season.

Lastly, Fayetteville brought up the rear. Left-fielder Aiden Arispe was pretty good (175 hits, .300 average) but no one batted home more than 67 runs. Domingo Lisbey had the most pitching wins with 17, but he lost 18 games. The Highlanders are the new Patriots it looks like. Could be some lean times ahead in Fayetteville, though the team will get first dibs on the new crop of players for next season.

Next up: Asheville vs. Durham for the 1920 Carolina Champions Cup...

[AZTarHeel]

1920 North Carolina State League — Carolina Champions Cup Recap



Three for three in Asheville
Tourists still perfect in NCSL playoff series after upstaging Durham


GAME SUMMARIES



Asheville got off to a great start and never looked back in claiming its second Carolina Champions Cup title in a row and third in five years. The Tourists didn't blink despite playing the first two games at Durham Athletic Park. The Bulls looked ready to make a charge, but Asheville pitcher Tynan Williams cooly put them down in Game Six, hurling a two-hit shutout gem to clinch the championship. Williams was one of two 25-game winners Asheville had this regular season.

Williams pitched two solid games for the Tourists. He allowed just two earned runs over 18 innings. First baseman Clint Moran (pictured at top) supplied a lot of the power offensively, posting a 12-for-25 showing at the plate (.480 average, with a triple, homer and six RBIs). Moran has played in the last two Carolina Champions Cup series, and he's Mr. Postseason for sure. In 10 playoff games, he's 20-for-43 (.465), with two homers and eight runs scored. (I forgot to select my custom award for 1920's Playoffs MVP, but Moran would have been it).

Jerry Johnson didn't have the greatest post-season but the Asheville shortstop didn't stop once he got on base, recording three triples out of his five hits. He scored four times. Right fielder Alfredo Perez added a little pop to the Tourists' attack, going 6-for-11 at the plate with two triples and a homer. He only drove in one score, though.

Durham's normally potent hitting attack was pretty well muzzled through much of the series. Second baseman Reginald Pine had the best showing, batting .318 (7-for-22). But he didn't have any RBIs. Asheville turned up the heat on standpoint Durham pitchers Kenny Davis and Kenny Craft. All in all, a mostly forgettable series for the Bulls, who have made the playoffs now four times but have captured just one title. 



NORTH CAROLINA STATE LEAGUE CHAMPIONS

1913 - Winston-Salem Twins (defeated Durham 2-1)

1914 - Durham Bulls (defeated Raleigh 2-1)

1915 - Winston-Salem Twins (defeated Durham 2-0)

1916 - Asheville Tourists (defeated Charlotte 3-0)

1917 - Charlotte Hornets (defeated Winston-Salem 3-0)

1918 - Charlotte Hornets (defeated Winston-Salem 3-1)

1919 - Asheville Tourists (defeated Charlotte 3-1)
1920 - Asheville Tourists (defeated Durham 4-2)

[AZTarHeel]

1920 North Carolina State League — Player Awards & Leaderboards






Most Outstanding Hitter Award

Outfielder Bill Robbins at least gave Raleigh Capitals fans one reason to come to the ballpark each night. Robbins, the Capitals' first top hitter winner, had a record-breaking season, which included a .378 average (best in the league), 234 total hits, 47 doubles (wow), 10 triples, one homer and 90 RBIs.

He broke new NCSL single-season marks in average, on-base percentage (.455), slugging percentage (.491), VORP (71.1), doubles (47) and hits (234). Nice. He's a lefty by the way, and only stands 5-foot-8. He's been with Raleigh his entire career (.327 lifetime hitter).

Robbins hit for the cycle on July 21 against Winston-Salem. He was 5-for-6 with five RBIs. He also had a 33-game hitting streak during the season and of course broke a string of four Most Outstanding Hitter awards in a row for Winston's Angel Pellicer.

Past Winners
1913 - Angel Pellicer (Winston-Salem)
1914 - Randy Downs (Greensboro)
1915 - Antonio Arevalo (Durham)
1916 - Angel Pellicer (Winston-Salem)
1917 - Angel Pellicer (Winston-Salem)
1918 - Angel Pellicer (Winston-Salem)
1919 - Angel Pellicer (Winston-Salem)
1920 - Bill Robbins (Raleigh)




Most Outstanding Pitcher Award

Asheville's Chris Wilson outdueled teammate Tynan Williams for the league's top pitcher honor. Wilson posted a 25-8 record. In 41 starts he gave up 301 base hits and struck out 125 in 326.1 innings with a 2.45 ERA.

During the season, Wilson posted three shutouts. This was by far his best season since getting drafted by the Tourists in 1915. His previous best showing for wins was a 14-9 campaign in 1917. He took advantage of having a lot more starts this season and held up well under the long season.

Wilson is Asheville's first pitching MVP.


Past Winners

1913 - Kenny Davis (Durham)
1914 - Oliver “Skull” Jenkins (Raleigh)
1915 - Oliver “Skull” Jenkins (Raleigh)
1916 - Rudy Young (Charlotte)
1917 - Gary “Brick“ Lee (Winston-Salem)
1918 - Craig Clark (Charlotte)
1919 - Javier Guerra (Charlotte)
1920 - Chris Wilson (Asheville)




Newcomer Of The Year Award

Howard Miller, the number one pick from the 1917 draft, was enjoying his first season in the big leagues and then -- without warning -- got a trade notice. Greensboro shipped him off to Winston-Salem in May for right fielder Joe Ross.

Miller didn't seem to mind, enjoying being part of a solid franchise for a change. He ended up snatching the top rookie awarding, posting a combined 22-11 pitching record with his two clubs. He was 17-9 while with the Twins. His ERA was 2.54, with 93 strikeouts, in 272.1 innings.

Winston-Salem plugged him in immediately as their No. 1 starter. Twins' fans are looking forward to next year and hopefully contending against for a playoff berth.

(FYI: the last Winston pitcher to earn rookie of the year honors, Jack Fry, missed the back half of the season after tearing his rotator cuff. Fry was 13-4 with a 2.33 ERA at the time. Ouch.)

Past Winners

1913 - Angel Pellicer (Winston-Salem)
1914 - Vincente Nieves (Raleigh)
1915 - Chris Wilson (Asheville)
1916 - Jose Andres (Asheville)
1917 - Jack Fry (Winston-Salem)
1918 - Craig Clark (Charlotte)
1919 - Arturo Martinez (Raleigh)
1920 - Howard Miller (Winston-Salem)


Glove Wizard Awards

SP R. Young of the Charlotte Hornets
C V. Nieves of the Asheville Tourists
1B L. Clark of the Fayetteville Highlanders
2B J. Herrera of the Greensboro Patriots
3B K. Stephens of the Charlotte Hornets
3B D. Tovar of the Fayetteville Highlanders
LF J. Wilson of the Durham Bulls
CF R. Travis of the Winston-Salem Twins
RF G. MacDonald of the Durham Bulls

[AZTarHeel]

1920 North Carolina State League — News & Notes

Stellar pitcher retires; Offense heating up around the league


• Durham pitcher Kenny Davis decided to hang it up after his stellar 1920 season. The 40-year-old went 27-10, a huge reason why the Bulls won the regular season crown going away. Davis' 27 wins broke a new single-season record.

Davis lost his last start in the playoffs against Asheville but his next to last start of the regular season was a true gem. He threw a four-hit shutout against Winston-Salem. “That’s one I’ll remember for a long time,“ he said.

Davis, who was drafted by Durham in the fourth round in 1913, retires with a career 109-90 record. His all-time ERA was 3.01 with 610 strikeouts. His career VORP was 236.4. Davis was not so hot in the post-season, though. He pitched in four years worth of playoff games, posting a 1-2 record and 6.58 ERA.

• There were some huge hitting performances around the league in 1920. Winston-Salem’s Henry “Boom Boom” Butler went 6-for-6 in a game against Asheville in June. He scored three times and had four RBIs. Fayetteville’s David Tobar (a new name for followers of the league) also went 6-for-6, battering Raleigh in an early August contest. Butler and Tobar were the first in league history to have at least six hits in a game.

Winston’s Ryan Travis had maybe the most productive game of the season against Durham on June 19. He went 5-for-5, scoring five runs and finishing with six RBIs. His game score was 106. Joe Herrera of Greensboro had the other six RBI game of the season, hitting two out of the park as part of a 3-for-4 day.

• Charlotte’s Craig Clark turned in one of the best pitching performances of the season. He threw 11 complete innings against Fayetteville on Aug. 11, giving up only one earned run and striking out six. He allowed just three hits. Charlotte helped its starter get the "W" with five runs in the top of the 11th to win going away…

• Though Asheville won the Champions Cup, starting catcher Vincent Nieves suffered an injury during the series with Durham that will keep him sidelined up to eight months. That will hurt the Tourists at the start of the 1921 campaign for sure. Nieves, who was a Glove Wizard winner for 1920 and the 1919 playoff series MVP, batted .269 with 72 RBIs this season.

• Manager Ollie Spence, who led Winston-Salem and Asheville to championships (before getting fired from both jobs), retired after 1920 at age 63. He had been the pitching coach for Greensboro for a season or two. His final record was 347-324.

• Asheville went 8-15 against Durham during the regular season but managed to get past the Bulls in the championships series. The Tourists had a monstrous 19-4 record against Fayetteville. Durham owned Raleigh in similar fashion, winning 19 of 23 meetings. Raleigh was 5-18 against Asheville. The Crapitals indeed…

• Eight pitchers enjoyed 20-win games in 1920 (first time the league has seen a 20-game winner). Durham retiree Kenny Davis led the way with 27 victories.

• There still haven’t been any three-homer games, triple crown winners or 15-strikeout games yet …

On to the 1921 season!

[AZTarHeel]

1921 North Carolina State League — Preseason

Baseball’s expansion well received
All eight teams are back, 162-game schedule will stay

The addition of clubs in Wilmington and Fayetteville, the expanded 162-game schedule and the longer best-of-seven playoff format all were well-received in 1920. So, the North Carolina State League will stay the course for 1921. No new real changes are planned, except several teams (Raleigh, Fayetteville and Shelby of the Western Carolina League, etc.) are pledging to be a lot better this season. We’ll see how that all pans out.



New Player Draft
The Fayetteville Highlanders earned the first pick in this year’s player allocation draft and used it on 24-year-old pitcher Matt Haynes (pictured above). The Youngwood, Pa. native is a right-hander known for putting a lot of zip on the ball. He’ll start the season in Shelby, hoping to lift the Farmers’ fortunes. Fayetteville officials don’t want to rush Haynes but believe he may be able to help them on the big club late in the year.

The Raleigh Capitals also went for pitching with their first selection. But many pundits were surprised to see the Caps take little known Jose Garcia of Leavenworth, Kan. with the second overall pick. Garcia just wasn’t on many radars as a top prospect. Raleigh officials seemed smitten with his screwball.

The Wilmington Pirates picked third and selected the first position player of the draft, centerfielder George Rhodes, 18, of Arnold, Miss. He’s long and lean, with quickness on the base paths. Rhodes has decent pop in his bat, and if pundits are right, he could be helping the Pirates pretty quickly.

Pitching was a premium early in this year‘s draft (six of the top eight), then five catchers were selected in the second round.


Top 10 Prospects
Wilmington’s new first-round pick, CF George Rhodes, tops this year’s list before even swinging a bat. Durham likes catcher Boyd Carlson and thinks he’ll have a solid future in the Bull City. He comes in at No. 2. Here is the entire list. Those not part of this most recent draft class will have 1920 stats listed in parenthesis.

1) CF George Rhodes, 18, Wilmington Pirates
2) C Boyd Carlson, 25, Durham Bulls (hit. 373 in Lexington and .306 in Durham in 1920)
3) SP José García, 19, Raleigh Capitals -- his stock soars with high pick, but ratings seem really low
4) SP Carlos Sánchez, 19, Charlotte Hornets
5) SP Junior Moore, 18, Greensboro Patriots
6) SP David Todd, 23, Wilmington Pirates (1919 draftee was 4-2 with 6 saves for Mooresville in 1920; traded in early January 1921 to Wilmington)
7) C Anthony Stephenson, 22, Raleigh Capitals (1917 draftee finally got his feet wet with big club in 1920, batting .306 in 74 games)
8) SP Matt Haynes, 23, Fayetteville Highlanders
9) SP Willard Richards, 20, Asheville Tourists (10-14, 2.03 ERA for Hickory)
10) SP Jim Hamelton, 20, Charlotte Hornets (11-12, 3.48 ERA for Mooresville)


Top 10 Position Players
Raleigh looks ready to have a big hitting year based on this list. Several familiar faces on here.

1. CF Bill Robbins, 36, Raleigh -- heavy hitter set single season average record in 1920 (.378)
2. LF Antonio Arevalo, 32, Charlotte
3. LF Angel “Sweetness” Pellicer, 32, Winston-Salem -- wants his batting championship back
4. C Boyd Carlson, 25, Durham -- also a top prospect
5. RF Arturo Martinez, 24, Raleigh -- quietly batted .355 in Robbins’ shadow last season
6. 3B Chris Hartle, 24, Asheville -- popular third-sacker hoping for another title
7. C Marvin Young, 31, Charlotte -- he was in this spot a year ago, hit .268 for season
8. 2B Joe Herrera, 27, Greensboro -- giving Patriots’ fans some hope for this season
9. CF Ryan Travis, 32, Winston-Salem
10. RF Garrett McDonald, 28, Durham


Top 10 Pitchers
A pretty balanced list among the top six teams in the league (i.e. non-expansion teams). Asheville, Durham and Winston each have two pitchers in the top six. That bodes well for this trio.

1. Dan “Little Rat” Sutton, 24, Durham -- not very likeable guy but solid hurler
2. Jack Fry, 24, Winston-Salem -- has been injury prone
3. Chris Wilson, 31, Asheville -- beloved in the NC mountains
4. Merlin “The Wizard” McNeill, 38, Asheville -- also beloved and still going strong at 38
5. Howard Miller, 26, Winston-Salem -- solid young pitcher
6. Curt Dunham, 28, Durham
7. Jose Andres, 32, Greensboro -- more hope for the Pats!
8. Rudy Young, 36, Charlotte
9. Gary “Brick” Lee, Winston-Salem
10. Kenny Craft, 28, Greensboro


AzTarHeel’s Prediction for 1921
Durham really took it to everyone last season, then Asheville took it to Durham in the playoffs. I really like Asheville’s mix of pitching and hitting. I’ll go with the Tourists to keep their mini-dynasty rolling, taking out a revived Winston-Salem team in six games in the playoff series.

[AZTarHeel]

1921 North Carolina State League — Mid-Season Report


Go Go Greensboro!
Patriots mounting their first threat at winning a pennant



Life couldn’t be better for Greensboro Patriots fans. On July 4, 1921, the Pats find themselves in the front of the pack in the North Carolina State League. It’s the first time in the nine-year history of the league that Greensboro has been in front this late in the season. The Patriots usually start fading to the back in the first weeks -- or sooner.

But the G-men look for real this season (finally!). Left fielder Steve Perry, first baseman William Sullivan and second baseman Joe Herrera have been leading the way at the plate. Perry is batting .350, while Sullivan has a .344 average. Herrera is hitting .332 average. On the pitching front, Jerome Edwards owns a 9-2 record.

Here’s the rub, though, Steve Perry likely won’t play the rest of the season. He pinched a nerve in his neck and will be shelved for several months. That’s a huge blow. Greensboro has had some other ticky-tack injuries as well that have kept the team from being at full strength much of the season. Perry’s injury happened on July 1.

Greensboro may be in the lead for now, but the top of the standings are pretty crowded after roughly 84 games. Winston-Salem looms two games behind the Pats. Asheville, Wilmington (!) and Durham are in the mix as well. Just 5.5 games separates the top five, and Fayetteville is only 10 games back. What a summer and early fall it could be! Imagine a Greensboro vs. Wilmington playoff series. That would put the North Carolina State League on its head for a change.

Winston could be in a bind because starting pitcher Jack Fry (considered one of the top players in the league) will join Steve Perry on the long term DL. This is the second year in a row Fry will miss a ton of games after getting hurt. He likely won’t be back until 1922.

Raleigh is stinking it up again, but the Capitals have a hitter who may outdo Bill Robbins’ fantastic 1920 season. Arturo Martinez, who bats third in the lineup, is absolutely tearing it up in Raleigh Red. He’s got 149 hits already and boasts an average of .431. This kid is only 24 years old, hailing from Anchorage, Alaska. As for Robbins, he’s still solid but his .308 seems paltry compared to last season.

So, what’s the problem in Raleigh? The Caps are nearly dead last in about every pitching category. That negates a lot of the big hitting from Martinez and Robbins. Like we said last year, imagine these two bats in Durham or Winston or Greensboro for that matter.

Stay tuned for what promises to be an exciting stretch run in 1921. First we'll check out how the Western Carolina League turned out...

[AZTarHeel]

1921 Western Carolina League — Season Recap



Durham, Asheville feeder teams lead the way
Indians win regular season again but Rebels sweep playoff series



The Lexington Indians claimed their second straight Western Carolina League championship, but just like 1920, they didn’t win the post-season crown. The Hickory Rebels swept the Indians in three straight to claim their first championship as a franchise. Lexington feeds the Durham Bulls. Hickory feeds Asheville, which won the 1919 and 1920 NCSL championships. Good times in the mountains for sure.

Six things to know about the 1921 Western Carolina League season, aside from who earned the championship hardware:

• Lexington swept the top two player awards. Julius Martinez was the WCL’s Most Outstanding Hitter. The 25-year-old catcher batted .293 (127 hits) with 46 RBIs and 57 runs scored. He hit six homers. Alberto Vazquez won Most Outstanding Pitcher honors. He was 18-8 in 29 starts with an ERA of 2.16. He struck out 159. Nice.

• So what happened to the Indians in the playoff series? Hickory absolutely dominated them, 1-0 in Game One (a two-hitter for pitcher Willard Richards), 4-0 in Game Two and 4-0 in Game Three (a four-hitter with seven K’s for Johnny Ward, a former No. 1 pick by Greensboro). Wow, Lexington didn’t even score a run in three games. The Rebels become the WCL establishment.

• Two hitters from bottom-feeder clubs -- Vicente Bonilla of Shelby and Julio Jimenez of Mount Airy -- both had 5-for-5 games during the season. Each had six RBIs and scored two runs in their respective contests. Bonilla’s effort featured two home runs, including a grand slam.

• Help could be on the way for Raleigh’s beleaguered pitching staff. Recent draftee Robin White won a league-leading 19 games for the WCL’s Statesville Owls this season. He lost just eight and finished with a 2.12 ERA. The Caps in fact called him up when the calendar rolled into September.

• One of the WCL’s top hitters was Rick Smith, who has already been a journeyman since getting drafted in 1918. Smith was picked by Greensboro in the third round, and the Patriots (of course) traded him to Raleigh. The Capitals let Smith get away in the expansion draft to Wilmington but then traded to get him back. Well, Smith lasted less than six months in Raleigh Red and was sent to Charlotte during the off-season heading into 1921. Smith, 21, spent his entire season in Mooresville and stroked a league-best 135 hits and had a .308 average (second behind Cooleemee’s Elmer Eaton, .315).

• The Shelby Farmers finished last again but the Farm boys weren’t quite as bad this season, posting a 14-game gain in the standings. They still have a long ways to go… Shelby pitcher Travis Larkin, who was 1-18 a year ago, was moved to mop-up relief and posted a 7-13 record. His ERA dropped about 1.5 points to 3.76, which is a good sign … Don Weeks, who lost 22 games a year ago in Shelby, was traded to Wilmington and did much better in the Pirates’ farm system. Weeks was 13-10 with 2.08 ERA.

WESTERN CAROLINA LEAGUE CHAMPIONS
1914 - Winston-Salem Junior Twins*
1915 - Greensboro Junior Patriots*
1916 - Greensboro Junior Patriots*
1917 - Greensboro Junior Patriots*
1918 - Cooleemee Weavers (Greensboro Patriots) -- defeated Mooresville Moors 2-0
1919 - Cooleemee Weavers (Greensboro Patriots) -- defeated Mooresville Moors 3-1
1920 - Mooresville Moors (Charlotte Hornets) -- defeated Lexington Indians 3-2
1921 - Hickory Rebels (Asheville Tourists) -- defeated Lexington Indians 3-0
*NOTE: WCL was known as NCSL Developmental League with no playoffs prior to 1918 season; Parent club is listed in parenthesis

[NYY #23]

Great thread. I'm glad you've revived it. I spent the past couple of days catching up, and figure it is better if you root along with a team. Since I'm starting reading this late, I'm going to use the excuse that I was just waiting for expansion to come along.

Despite having a fondness for the Highlanders nickname, I'm going to have to root for the Wilmington Pirates. 73 wins in their first year, not bad, but George Rhodes will lead us to glory.

[AZTarHeel]

Originally Posted by NYY #23

Great thread. I'm glad you've revived it. I spent the past couple of days catching up, and figure it is better if you root along with a team. Since I'm starting reading this late, I'm going to use the excuse that I was just waiting for expansion to come along.

Despite having a fondness for the Highlanders nickname, I'm going to have to root for the Wilmington Pirates. 73 wins in their first year, not bad, but George Rhodes will lead us to glory.

Thanks for reading NYY, I'll hopefully have another update soon ... Wilmington is one of FIVE teams duking it out for a playoff spot coming down the stretch ...

[AZTarHeel]

1921 North Carolina State League — Regular Season Recap


Twins pull away from the pack
Bulls win five-team race for second place



In the end, neither Greensboro nor Wilmington could keep the Cinderella story going in the North Carolina State League. Old powers Winston-Salem and Durham finished on top of the heap, with the Twins pulling away over the last two months and the Bulls holding off a sizeable field of challengers in the final week.

Winston-Salem was an absolute hitting machine, with four players earning 200 hits over 162 games, and two more not far behind. Right fielder Angel “Sweetness” Pellicer looks ready to get his Batter of the Year award back after putting together a .387 average (a team-high 234 hits). Sweetness had 38 doubles and 16 triples. He walked more times (117) than he had RBIs (107).

It was tough pitch around Pellicer because there were so many other potent swingers around him -- 2B Colton McQueen (224 hits, .318 average), 1B Roland Brown (219 hits, .328 average), CF Junior Young (200 hits, .340 average) and CF Ryan Travis (187 hits, .346 average), just to name a few. Brown pounded out 129 RBIs. McQueen had 102. Young stole 58 bases.

Winston-Salem was first in the NCSL in every offensive category except strikeouts and home runs. The Twins had pretty good pitching, too, led by Howard Miller, last year’s Newcomer of the Year. Miller went 24-11 with a 3.68 ERA. Gary “Brick” Lee had another 19 wins. Youngster Eric Mason posted a 16-7 record. Mason stepped in when Jack Fry went down with a season-ending injury.

Things were close most of the summer. On Aug. 1, Wilmington was just two games off the Twins’ pace, with Greensboro only three games back, and Asheville and Durham five back.

On Sept. 1, Winston-Salem led the Patriots by three games. But by the middle of the month, Winston created the distance it needed to coast to the finish line in front. That created a feverish race for second place. Greensboro, Asheville and Durham each had 76 wins on Sept. 12, with Fayetteville and Wilmington at 72 wins. The Patriots, Tourists and Bulls were still tied on Sept. 26, before Durham squeaked past to earn another playoff spot.

Durham turned to 1B Raul Rivera and RF Garrett McDonald to supply offensive pop. Both had more than 200 hits. The duo batted .327 and .330 respectively. OF Jason Wilson stole 57 bases. Dan “Little Rat” Sutton led the Bulls’ bullpen with a 21-14 record. Norm Ross won 14 games.

Asheville picked the wrong time to slump, losing three of its last four games. The Tourists could have forged a tie with Durham in the standings on the last day but lost to last-place Raleigh (for the second day in a row). It’s a shame for Asheville fans, because their team had the best ERA and best overall batting average of anyone in the league. Pitching was first in several categories, led by Chris Wilson (21 wins) and Merlin “The Wizard” McNeill (18 wins). Wilson had an ERA of 3.42 and struck out 131.

[AZTarHeel]

1921 North Carolina State League — Carolina Champions Cup Recap



Offensive Showcase
Winston-Salem batters Durham into submission


GAME SUMMARIES



While the field of NCSL contenders was muddled for awhile in 1921, Winston-Salem left no doubt about who deserved to rule by season’s end. The Twins bull-whipped the Durham Bulls in four straight games to take their third league championship.

Ironically, all three of Winston’s playoff series victories have come against Durham. The Twins are 8-1 against the Bulls in playoff games.

As you can tell by looking at the box scores, Winston flat out hit the cover off the ball. The Twins averaged 16.5 hits per contest. They never trailed, getting off to a huge start in Game One with seven runs in the first four innings.

First baseman Roland Brown earned series MVP honors. He was red-hot the entire series, starting with his 4-for-5 performance (with five RBIs) in the opening game. For the series, Brown went 12-for-19 (.632 average). He ripped off four doubles and a home run, and finished with 13 RBIs.

Outfielder Angel Pellicer went 10-for-18 to add to the attack (Pellicer batted fourth and Brown fifth in the playoffs). Third baseman George Romano was 9-for-19. Platoon right fielder Hollis Bailey went 7-for-13. A monster series for the Twins indeed, who also got good pitching from Gary “Brick” Lee (no earned runs) and Eric Mason (one earned run).

The Bulls were held to only five extra base hits in the four games. Durham’s top hitter was Raul Rivera (.353). No one else batted better than .300. Back to the drawing board for the Bulls, who have played in five championship series but have only won one.

Winston-Salem and Asheville are now tied for most championships in the nine-year history of the North Carolina State League (three each). Charlotte has a pair of rings, while Durham has one. Greensboro and Raleigh are still looking for their first. So, too, are newcomers Wilmington and Fayetteville.

NORTH CAROLINA STATE LEAGUE CHAMPIONS
1913 - Winston-Salem Twins (defeated Durham 2-1)
1914 - Durham Bulls (defeated Raleigh 2-1)
1915 - Winston-Salem Twins (defeated Durham 2-0)
1916 - Asheville Tourists (defeated Charlotte 3-0)
1917 - Charlotte Hornets (defeated Winston-Salem 3-0)
1918 - Charlotte Hornets (defeated Winston-Salem 3-1)
1919 - Asheville Tourists (defeated Charlotte 3-1)
1920 - Asheville Tourists (defeated Durham 4-2)
1921 - Winston-Salem Twins (defeated Durham 4-0)

[AZTarHeel]

1921 North Carolina State League — Player Awards


Most Outstanding Hitter Award
Everything is complete. Winston-Salem outfielder Angel Pellicer has his name back on the top hitter award. Pellicer won it for the sixth time. Not bad for a nine-year run. Of course, he’ll take the championship over individual awards, but having both is even better.

He scorched the opposition with a .387 average, picking up 234 hits, 38 doubles, 16 triples, 4 home runs and 107 RBIs, while scoring 121 runs, in what many would say has been one of the better seasons of the veteran's career.

Past Winners
1913 - Angel Pellicer (Winston-Salem)
1914 - Randy Downs (Greensboro)
1915 - Antonio Arevalo (Durham)
1916 - Angel Pellicer (Winston-Salem)
1917 - Angel Pellicer (Winston-Salem)
1918 - Angel Pellicer (Winston-Salem)
1919 - Angel Pellicer (Winston-Salem)
1920 - Bill Robbins (Raleigh)
1921 - Angel Pellicer (Winston-Salem)



Most Outstanding Pitcher Award

The 1920 top rookie became the 1921 top pitcher. Howard Miller of Winston-Salem had a stellar season, which of course was capped with a championship.

Miller excelled with an impressive 24-11 record in 41 starts. In 288.1 innings he yielded 335 hits and 68 walks, while striking out 122 and compiling a fine 3.68 ERA. He was 22-11 last year as a rookie, so look out for this kid in the years to come. He’s only 27. “My goal is to win as many top pitcher awards as Angel has won top hitter honors,” Miller said.

Counting Gary “Brick” Lee, Winston currently has two MVP pitchers on its staff.

Past Winners
1913 - Kenny Davis (Durham)
1914 - Oliver “Skull” Jenkins (Raleigh)
1915 - Oliver “Skull” Jenkins (Raleigh)
1916 - Rudy Young (Charlotte)
1917 - Gary “Brick“ Lee (Winston-Salem)
1918 - Craig Clark (Charlotte)
1919 - Javier Guerra (Charlotte)
1920 - Chris Wilson (Asheville)
1921 - Howard Miller (Winston-Salem)




Newcomer Of The Year Award
Mike Zimmer of the Greensboro Patriots (one of the few top picks not traded away) made quite a splash on the North Carolina State League scene in 1921 by nabbing the Newcomer of the Year Award.

The standout Patriots shortstop took the honor by hitting .337 in 156 games this season and finishing with 223 hits, no home runs, 68 RBIs and 112 runs scored. Zimmer is hoping to be a mainstay in the heart of the Greensboro lineup for many years to come -- and hopes to bring the Pats to the level where the Twins are now.

Zimmer becomes Greensboro’s first major award winner since Randy Downs was voted top hitter in 1914.

Past Winners
1913 - Angel Pellicer (Winston-Salem)
1914 - Vincente Nieves (Raleigh)
1915 - Chris Wilson (Asheville)
1916 - Jose Andres (Asheville)
1917 - Jack Fry (Winston-Salem)
1918 - Craig Clark (Charlotte)
1919 - Arturo Martinez (Raleigh)
1920 - Howard Miller (Winston-Salem)
1921 - Mike Zimmer (Greensboro)


Glove Wizard Awards

SP Carroll Lauton of the Raleigh Capitals
C Boyd Carlson of the Durham Bulls
1B Andy Gross of the Wilmington Pirates (some love for the new teams on the block)
2B Joe Herrera of the Greensboro Patriots
3B Marcos Roland of the Fayetteville Highlanders
SS Craig Gray of the Charlotte Hornets honored
LF John O'Reilly of the Asheville Tourists
CF John Stewart of the Asheville Tourists
RF Blair Beach of the Asheville Tourists (a nice steady outfield in the mountains)

[Big Six]

It's good to see this one back, and it's good to see the Tourists playing so well!

The Asheville outfield looks like it's the place where fly balls go to die. No wonder their pitching staff is usually good; they can put the ball over the plate and hope the batters hit fly balls.

Keep up the good work, AZ.

[AZTarHeel]

Originally Posted by Big Six

It's good to see this one back, and it's good to see the Tourists playing so well!

The Asheville outfield looks like it's the place where fly balls go to die. No wonder their pitching staff is usually good; they can put the ball over the plate and hope the batters hit fly balls.

Keep up the good work, AZ.

Thanks for stopping by, Big Six ... You'll want to hang around for the 1922 season because Asheville is right there in the mix again ... I'm going to do a 10-year retrospective after posting 1922 stuff, and I'd say Asheville and Winston-Salem can both make claims to being the best overall franchises during the first decade of the league ... Both have done a great job of evaluating talent and hanging on to the right guys...

[AZTarHeel]

1921 North Carolina State League — News & Notes

Greensboro finally experiences pennant fever; Special hitter beats .400 in Raleigh


Here are some of the other big storylines from 1921:

Genuine excitement in Greensboro:
The Patriots finally seem to have their act together. The G-Men enjoyed their first winning season as a franchise, posting an 82-80 record. The previous best came last year, 81-81.

There is some good young talent on this team, especially 24-year-old shortstop Mike Zimmer (223 hits, .337 average), 1B William Sullivan (.343 average, 83 RBIs) and 2B Joe Herrera (.320 average). Had Herrera not missed two months because of a fractured arm, and had OF Steve Perry (who was leading the team in average) not been knocked out for the season back in July, Greensboro might have made the playoffs. Hope is high for next season indeed. Jerome Edwards (16-9) was the top pitcher.


Super sluggers (but not much else) in Raleigh:
Bill Robbins lit the North Carolina State League up last season. This year, teammate Arturo Martinez from Alaska had the honors. Martinez managed to stay above .400 for the season, finishing at .405. He had an amazing (and record-breaking) 274 hits on the year. The problem was he only drove in 85 runs. What a waste…

Watch out for this kid, though. In just three and a half seasons with Raleigh’s Big Club, Martinez already has 646 hits, including 407 the last two years alone. Get some pitching Capitals and help this guy out! By the way, Robbins batted a tamer .328. Sean Silver, a first baseman, also was solid with 211 hits. The Caps were dead last in all but three pitching categories -- hence why Raleigh fell away off the pace.

Just looking deeper, and Martinez had a league-record 42-game hitting streak!! He had plenty of chances to keep it going against Wilmington on July 23 but went 0-for-7. Martinez started another one right after that game and it lasted 35 games. Wow, this is a special player blooming before our eyes.


Good times for expansion cities.
Both Wilmington and Fayetteville were factors in 1921, only their second year of existence. It’s hard to argue with 83-79 for the Pirates and 80-82 for the Highlanders.

Top players for Wilmington included 2B Andy Smith (191 hits, 18 triples, 91 RBIs), 1B Andy Gross (182 hits, 32 doubles, 20 triples) and pitcher John “Cats” Rocha (16-11 record, 3.43 ERA). Cats was certainly a nice pick-up in year one of the team’s existence.

Fayetteville got solid performances from LF Aiden Arispe (222 hits, .339 average) and pitcher Domingo Lisbey (19 wins, though he had 19 losses too). Arispe has been a true journeyman, playing in Raleigh, Durham, Greensboro and now Fayetteville.


What has happened to Charlotte?
The Hornets scuffled a lot this season. They were near the bottom in most offensive and defensive categories. Their top hitter was Antonio Arevalo (.312 average). Charlotte has become a pretty old team, with all but a handful of starting position players 30 or older.


• There were no no-hitters again this season. Offense seemed to be up, with a lot of guys earning five hits in a game. Charlotte outfielder Anthony Jones had a seven-RBI game against Raleigh, but did it without hitting a home run. He had two bases-clearing triples and a double with a man on. He was 4-for-4 for the game.

Asheville LF John O’Reilly had the best game score among offensive players (91). He was 5-for-6 with five RBIs and four runs scored (one homer) against Raleigh on Aug. 1. The poor, poor Capitals.

• The 1919 Most Outstanding Pitcher, Javier Guerra, retired. He played his entire career in Charlotte, except for part of his first season (Raleigh). His final record was 84-86 with seven saves. He was a 32nd-round draft pick so no one thought too highly of him initially.

Guerra was 4-12, 4-13 and 7-11 before getting his act together and winning 15, 15, 16 and then 14 games the next four years. He was part of both of the Hornets’ championship teams. He retired after going 1-5 this past season and getting demoted to Mooresville. He’s 36 years old.

• Leon Hoffman may have retired from baseball because of age. He’s 43. But he also may have retired because he’s tired of changing addresses. During his career, which started in 1913, Hoffman was moved from Asheville to Greensboro, Greensboro to Durham, Durham to Raleigh, Raleigh back to Asheville and then Asheville back to Raleigh. Good grief, and trading is set on low with this league!

All that baseball only netted Hoffman 353 hits, though he did win one title with Asheville in 1920.

• Interestingly, Greensboro had a winning record (by a few games) against champion Winston-Salem. And Raleigh had a winning record (by a few games) against Durham… Go figure...

OK, on to 1922 -- the 10th year of the North Carolina State League… my how times flies …