Alltime Baseball League

[G-Force]

ABL Championship Series
Game One

Neither ace was sharp as Memphis' Jesse Tannehill locked up with Phoenix's Stephen Strasburg. Jake Stahl hit a leadoff double, moved to third on a Rafael Furcal groundout and scored on a George Brett groundout to give Memphis a 1-0 lead. But Phoenix answered when Frank Chance doubled to lead off the bottom of the first. Tannehill retired the next two, but then walked a pair to load the bases. Ross Youngs bounced a routine shot to short but Rafael Furcal muffed it, allowing Chance to score and knot up the game.

Josh Hamilton homered for Memphis in the top of the second to reclaim and lead, and Tannheill threw a 1-2-3 bottom half, needing only seven pitches to do so. Strasburg danced out of trouble in the third, leaving the bases loaded, and then Phoenix struck.

Chance walked and Ozzie Smith singled before Western League RBI champ Sam Crawford drilled a shot into the gap in left-center, scoring both runners and landing on third himself with a triple. Frank Howard would then have an 8-pitch at bat before singling home Crawford for a 4-2 Phoenix lead.

Memphis would answer though in the top of the fourth, when Snuffy Stirnweiss doubled to open the inning and Brett singled him home two batters later. Ed Delahanty then cranked a blast to deep center that struck the top of the wall. Brett would score, Delahanty would take third and Memphis had tied the game at 4.

Leadoff runners had killed both Tannehill and Strasburg thus far and they would again in the bottom of the fourth, when Paul Blair opened things with a single and, two batters later, Chance came through again, doubling down the third base line to bring Blair home and put Memphis back on top 5-4.

Tannehill would settle in, but unfortunately for him and Memphis, so would Strasburg. No more runs would cross for either side and Strasburg would leave in the bottom of the ninth after a Furcal single. Jose Valverde came on and walked Brett to put the tying run in scoring position. But Delahanty would ground out and Hamilton would swing and miss at a 3-2 fastball to close it out and give Phoenix first blood in the series.

Phoenix 5, Memphis 4 (Phoenix leads 1-0)

[G-Force]

ABL Championship Series
Game Two

Game One had a title fight aspect to it that Memphis had lived through during its series with New York in the ELCS. And so, even though Memphis fell short in the ABLCS opener, they had every belief they could come back with a shot of their own in Game Two.

Standing in against 19-game winner Jake Miller, Memphis made it clear early that they were ready to fight again. A one-out single from Rafael Furcal was followed by Miller hitting Ed Delahanty. Josh Hamilton topped one to first to move the runners over before George Brett laced a 2-2 fastball into right. Furcal scored easily and Delahanty barely beat the throw from Ross Youngs as Memphis got out to a 2-0 lead.

Van Mungo needed five pitches to record the first two outs in the bottom half, but Sam Crawford came within inches of a homer, settling for a triple off the top of the wall in right-center. Mungo then hurt his own cause with a wild pitch that brought Crawford home, and Memphis' lead was cut in half.

Both pitchers would allow nothing for the next three innings, but in the top of the fifth it was Miller's turn to hurt his own cause. An errant pickoff throw to hold slow-footed Ed Bailey close at first sent Bailey to second. He'd move to third on a groundout and score on a Jake Stahl sac fly to put Memphis up 3-1.

Phoenix, however, didn't have baseball's best record without reason. Frank Chance, who hit .375 in the WLCS and was 2-for-3 with a walk in Game One, worked out a walk in the bottom of the fifth and was able to walk the remaining 270 feet too after WLCS MVP Ozzie Smith lined a shot just over the rightfield wall to knot the game at 3.

Gil Hodges would have his best at-bat of the postseason in the top of the 6th, fouling off six straight pitches from Miller before stroking an RBI single that once again put Memphis on top, 4-3.

Mungo took the hill in the top of the 7th, but Chance's leadoff double would end that. Rob Dibble came in, after Smith sacrificed Chance to third, walked Crawford and Frank Howard to load the bases.

Manager Bob Melvin had pushed the envelope a lot during the ELCS, particularly with Dibble. He would not do so again here. But after Bob Friend walked Ross Youngs to force home the tying run, Gabby Hartnett would smash a grounder to Buddy Myer, who had come on for defense. Myer would cut Crawford down at home for the second out.

But Lonny Frey hammered a 1-1 curveball into the gap in right-center, picking up a bases-clearing double and giving Phoenix a 7-4 lead they would carry into the 8th.

Miller went out to start the 8th at 110 pitches, and seven pitches later he was gone, with one out but one run on the board after a Brett double and a Chili Davis RBI single made it 7-5. Jose Valverde came on and struck out Hodges before walking Bailey.

Snuffy Stirnweiss would turn off the amp in Memphis with a double into the gap that would score Davis and Bailey and tie the game again, this time at 7.

Jose DeLeon worked a scoreless 8th and Valverde was questionably kept on for the 9th for Phoenix. The question was answered, loudly, when Josh Hamilton scalded a two-out first-pitch fastball into the rightfield seats for his fourth postseason home run, putting Memphis up 8-7.

DeLeon would be kept in to finish things off, getting Blair to pop up to Brett for the game's final out and to send the series back to Memphis tied 1-1.

Memphis 8, Phoenix 7 (series tied 1-1)

[G-Force]

ABL Championship Series
Game Three

The first two games of the ABLCS had an abundance of action. The same couldn't be said for Game Three.

Blame Mike Hampton.

The Memphis starter threw six innings of two-hit, one-run ball despite a strong wind blowing out to center, and Rob Dibble worked three scoreless as Memphis took a 2-1 series lead with a clean, crisp 4-1 win.

Ross Youngs homered for Phoenix in the top of the second, but the Scorpions would muster only three hits the rest of the way. Meanwhile, Memphis answered with an Ed Delahanty homer in the bottom of the second, keeping up Memphis' postseason run of answering their opponents' blows more often than not.

John Thomson hurt his own cause in the seventh when, with a runner on first, he muffed what should've been a double-play comebacker. The error led to two more hits, the last a two-run single from Ed Bailey that put Memphis up 4-1, which ended up the final.

Using Dibble for three innings could render him useless tomorrow, but manager Bob Melvin said after the game, "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

Memphis 4, Phoenix 1 (Memphis leads series 2-1)

[G-Force]

ABL Championship Series
Game Four

Memphis had the opportunity to bring Jesse Tannehill back on three days rest and try to step on Phoenix's throat while they were down. For Phoenix, there was no question, they were going to Stephen Strasburg on three days with the hope of leveling the series.

Tannehill would be held back for Game Five, and so it was Ryan Dempster (9-10, 4.51) who would get the call for Memphis.

Dempster through a scoreless first and was given a cushion when, three batters into Memphis' turn, the Sounds had two runs: a Jake Stahl bunt single, a Rafael Furcal triple, and a George Brett RBI groundout staking Memphis to an early lead.

Phoenix would strike back in the top of the third, with Frank Howard singling on the 10th pitch of his at bat to drive home Ozzie Smith to make it 2-1. A clearly rattled Dempster then bounced a pitch in the dirt and to the backstop against Ross Youngs, bringing Sam Crawford home to tie it at 2.

In the top of the fifth, Youngs wouldn't merely be a spectator to the run, singling home Smith to give Phoenix a 3-2 lead.

Strasburg would last until the bottom of the sixth, when a leadoff single to Chili Davis ended his night. But his book wouldn't close until Davis scored on a Jake Stahl single off reliever Carlos Martinez to even the score again at 3.

Dempster made it into the seventh, when he gave up a leadoff double to Frank Chance. Dempster again seemed to lose his emotions, balking Chance over to third. Smith then popped out and Dempster was told to intentionally walk Crawford before departing.

Bob Friend was no friend to Dempster, throwing a wild pitch to bring Chance home and give Phoenix a 4-3 lead.

Friend was still in the game in the 8th when Chance's double drove in Randy Jackson to put Phoenix up 5-3.

A day after imploding, Jose Valverde was brought on again, and threw a scoreless bottom of the 8th. So when the bottom of the 9th rolled around with the score still 5-3, there wasn't much concern.

Then Stirnweiss fouled off five pitches in a nine pitch at bat, the last pitch ending up in the centerfield seats to make it a 5-4 game.

With the bullpen rested, it had to be a thought in many heads to call on Danny Darwin (4-2, 2.64)...or Steve Hamilton (7-5, 2.95)...or Ken Holtzman (1-0, 2.16).

Those thoughts got stronger when Furcal walked. And moreso when Brett singled. And even moreso when Delahanty was hit by a pitch to load the bases.

But McKechnie had used only 7 pitchers all postseason. And he wouldn't change now, even with the Western League's #2 bullpen (3.22 ERA) in his holster.

Josh Hamilton blooped a first pitch fastball near the leftfield line. Furcal scored to tie it, and when Frank Howard's throw went astray, Brett raced home with the winning run, putting Memphis up 3-1 in the series with their ace ready to take the mound for Game Five.

Valverde, who notched 29 saves during the regular season, has now blown two saves in the ABLCS. McKechnie goes to him again at his peril. As it is, his bullpen management here was a practically fireable offense.

Memphis 6, Phoenix 5 (Memphis leads 3-1)

[G-Force]

ABL Championship Series
Game Five

Memphis had the series where they wanted it. Up 3-1, their ace on the hill at home. And if you had told the Memphis faithful that Jesse Tannehill would go the distance, they would have told you Memphis won the game.

Jake Miller's job was to wreck that supposition.

The Phoenix starter won 19 games during the regular season but had a rough go in Game Two. And when Memphis plated two in the bottom of the second on an RBI single by Chili Davis and an RBI groundout by Gil Hodges, the Memphis crowd was at a fever pitch.

Tannehill picked off Frank Chance in the first and got double plays in the second and third before a 1-2-3 fourth. So he hadn't exactly been untouched.

In the fifth, those touches finally hurt.

Lonny Frey singled and Paul Blair sacrificed, a questionable strategy by Bill McKechnie but a show of confidence that Miller would continue to hold Memphis at bay. The question was erased when Randy Jackson scalded a ball into the corner, scoring Frey to make it 2-1. Chance then singled Jackson home to knot things at 2-2. Ozzie Smith flew out but Chance stole second, then scored on Sam Crawford's RBI single to put Phoenix up 3-2.

Tannehill allowed one hit the rest of the way. But it was Miller's night, as he was spotless the rest of the way, wrapping up with a 5-pitch ninth inning that left the Memphis crowd dejected that, should they win the series, they wouldn't be celebrating on their home turf.

After a day off, with four of five games being decided by one run, the series returns to Phoenix.

Phoenix 3, Memphis 2 (Memphis leads series 3-2)

[G-Force]

ABL Championship Series
Game Six

When Mike Moore took the mound for Phoenix in the WCLS, he was working with a 3-0 series lead, a comfort that surely helped him in his complete game effort in the clinching game.

His situation here was different. Moore was tasked with keeping Phoenix's season afloat, down 3-2 in the series.

He found himself in a 1-0 hole four batters in, the product of doubles by Rafael Furcal and Ed Delahanty.

Not surprisingly given how the series had progressed thus far, Phoenix answered right away, with Frank Chance keeping up his hot bat and belting a leadoff homer off Van Mungo in the bottom half.

That's how things would stay until George Brett doubled to lead off the fourth and was brought in on a Delahanty single to put Memphis up 2-1.

Moore was throwing well and keeping the Scorpions in the game, which was the task at hand. But Mungo was just a bit better. Until the sixth.

A Chance single and and a dropped fly ball by Chili Davis put two men on for RBI machine Sam Crawford.

But Crawford whiffed on a 2-2 fastball for the inning's second out.

Frank Howard wouldn't make the same mistake, smashing an 0-2 fastball 457 feet into the left field seats for a three-run bomb that put Phoenix up 4-2.

Answering the call is what Memphis had done all postseason, and this would prove no exception. Davis atoned for his error with a one-out double and scored on an Ed Bailey single to make it 4-3. Bailey advanced to third on Snuffy Stirnweiss' bloop single. Then, with Jake Stahl at the plate, Memphis benefited from defensive miscue as Phoenix had the inning before when Randy Jackson kicked a grounder in the hole that allowed Bailey to score and tie the game at 4.

Mungo would leave with two outs in the 7th, giving way to Rob Dibble, whose seeming overuse during the postseason had drawn a great deal of media scrutiny. But Dibble struck out Chance, then struck out Crawford and Howard in a 1-2-3 eighth, and made it through the ninth as well.

Unfortunately for Dibble and Memphis, Moore was equally stingy, and as the 10th inning began, the score was still locked at 4.

Despite 131 pitches, Moore was allowed to start the 10th. After 135 pitches he was done, having walked Stahl on four.

Manager Bill McKechnie went to Jose Valverde and Twitter went abuzz. That didn't lessen after Valverde threw a wild pitch, then gave up an infield hit to Furcal. But he got Brett to ground out and struck out Delahanty. But after getting ahead of Josh Hamilton 0-2, Valverde threw four straight balls to load the bases.

Valverde would blow a high 2-2 fastball past Davis to end the threat and get Phoenix to the bottom of the 10th still tied.

Incredibly, Bob Melvin stayed with Dibble for the 10th, but looked wise when Dibble retired the side in order.

Valverde struck out a pair in the tpo of the 11th, but allowed a single to Bailey and gave way to Danny Darwin, who got Stahl to fly out to center.

Dibble came out yet again to start the 11th against Crawford, and struck him out after falling behind 1-0. Melvin decided against pressing his luck further, having gotten 3 2/3 out of Dibble, who struck out 6 on 53 pitches, all but rendering him useless for Game Seven should it be needed.

Bob Friend came in for Memphis and promptly allowed a single toHoward. With plodding catcher Wellington Castillo the only player left on the bench, McKechnie kept the practically sessile Howard on the bases.

When Youngs roped an 0-1 slider into the gap in right center, Howard took off like a man intent on scoring. Hamilton hit Stirnweiss with the relay throw a pulling Stirnweiss a bit against his body to field it. His relay home was on target but not in time as Howard slid home safely with the winning run that - after the fifth one-run game out of six in the series - sent the first ABL Championship Series to a fitting, thrilling, Game Seven.

Phoenix 5, Memphis 4 (11 innings, Series tied 3-3)

[G-Force]

ABL Championship Series
Game Seven

The brass of the Alltime Baseball League couldn't have been more thrilled with the first ABL Championship Series. Thriller after thriller, comeback after comeback, clutch performance after clutch performance.

The Eastern League North's division race had captivated fans throughout the league, and the ELCS furthered that excitement.

And so, after six riveting games, five decided by a single run, the 8-month journey from spring training to championship arrived before 40,000 fans in Phoenix, Arizona, where the league's best team in the regular season sent its ace to battle a man who started the season on Memphis' reserve squad and wasn't even called up until July.

For the Scorpions, Stephen Strasburg was asked to go on three days rest for a second straight time. When he went in Game Four, it wasn't that he tired early. Rather, it seemed he struggled to get loose, giving up two runs in the first before throwing four shutout innings and pitching into the sixth.

Four batters into Game Seven, Strasburg was in the same boat. Rafael Furcal and George Brett hit back-to-back singles and Ed Delahanty - 7-for-25 to that point and seemingly every hit a big one - doubled both men home to put Memphis up 2-0.

When Mike Hampton took the mound, he had margin for error, an envious situation for any pitcher. When Bob Melvin elected not to start ace Jesse Tannehill in Game Four, up 2-1 in the series, he knew that meant Tannehill would only get to the slab twice. That was a chance he was willing to take, and before Game Seven, Melvin was undeterred.

"Mike's a pro," Melvin said. "He will put us in position to win this game."

Hampton threw a scoreless first, and in the second the Memphis bats helped put him in position to win the game, scoring another on an Ed Bailey single that drove in Buddy Myer.

Hampton stranded two runners in the second and in the third led cheers in the Memphis dugout when Brett doubled home Furcal to put Memphis up 4-0 and bring 40,000 mutes to Phoenix.

Melvin's faith that Hampton would keep Memphis in the game was matched by Bill McKechnie's faith Phoenix's lineup would never keep them out of one. And so, in the bottom of the third, Frank Chance (9-for-22 coming in) singled, but watched the next two batters fly out meekly to left.

But Frank Howard, Ross Youngs and Gabby Hartnett knocked three straight singles, yielding two runs and gave the Scorpions and their fans some much-needed life.

That life felt like life support with each passing inning, as Strasburg found his groove but Phoenix couldn't again get Hampton out of his.

At the end of seven, the score remained 4-2.

Then, shortly after McKechnie pulled the plug on Strasburg following a leadoff single in the 8th, Memphis pulled the plug on Phoenix's season.

After retiring Delahanty, Danny Darwin gave up a double to Josh Hamilton, a two-run double to Chili Davis and, two batters later, a two-run shot to Bailey to give Memphis an 8-2 lead.

Hampton would allow a harmless two-out single to Lonny Frey in the eighth and throw a perfect ninth, the final out an Ozzie Smith groundout to Furcal whose throw across the diamond sent a faint puff of dirt from Gil Hodges' glove and with it, dashed the faint hope of Phoenix fans of a miracle comeback.

The Memphis Sounds are the Alltime Baseball League's first-ever champions!

Memphis 8, Phoenix 2 (Memphis wins series 4-3)

ABLCS MVP: George Brett, Memphis (14-for-30 (.467), 7 runs, 6 RBIs)

ABLCS MVP George Brett revels in the champagne celebration

[JaBurns]

Very good first season looking forward to the draft, all other off seasons moves and manoeuvres by the the teams in the league.

[G-Force]

Originally Posted by JaBurns

Very good first season looking forward to the draft, all other off seasons moves and manoeuvres by the the teams in the league.

Thanks! Appreciate your following along!

GH

[Eugene Church]

Congrats to the Memphis Sounds, the inaugural champion of the Alltime Baseball League.

I may not make any predictions next year.

Sadly, I picked the Sounds to finish third in the regular season.

And I did even worse in picking the Scorpions to wind up last.

Despite my ineptness as a prognosticator, I thoroughly enjoyed following the ABL.

Good job, G-Force !!

[G-Force]

Originally Posted by Eugene Church

Congrats to the Memphis Sounds, the inaugural champion of the Alltime Baseball League.

I may not make any predictions next year.

Sadly, I picked the Sounds to finish third in the regular season.

And I did even worse in picking the Scorpions to wind up last.

Despite my ineptness as a prognosticator, I thoroughly enjoyed following the ABL.

Good job, G-Force !!

Thank you, sir! Glad to have you following!

BTW...my postseason predictions were 0-3.

GH

[G-Force]

ABL 2018 Golden Glove Winners


P: Howie Pollet (New York)
C: Yan Gomes (Charlotte)
1B: Todd Helton (Boston)
2B: Snuffy Stirnweiss (Memphis)
3B: Hank Thompson (Alabama)
SS: Mark Belanger (Charlotte)
LF: Augie Galan (Boston)
CF: Dwayne Murphy (New York)
RF: Elmer Flick (Charlotte)



P: Mike Moore (Phoenix)
C: Gary Carter (Denver)
1B: Mark Teixeira (Los Angeles)
2B: George Cutshaw (Sacramento)
3B: Art Devlin (Portland)
SS: Rick Burleson (Los Angeles)
LF: Jose Cruz (Portland)
CF: Willie Mays (Los Angeles)
RF: George Springer (San Antonio)

[G-Force]

Stallions Fire Howser
After posting league's worst record, change in San Antonio

SAN ANTONIO -- It was inevitable.

After posting a 67-93 mark that was worst in the Alltime Baseball League, manager Dick Howser has been let go by the San Antonio Stallions.

Howser didn’t return calls for comment, but those close to him say he was disappointed but not surprised by the decision.

“Dick is going to get another job and be terrific,” said San Antonio general manager Jason Rhodes. “We just felt that with all that happened this season, a change was needed.”

Howser was criticized when rumors of off-field problems crept in with certain players, most notably rumors of Wally Berger’s late-night indiscretions. He stuck up for Berger, but San Antonio never got things together and many feel the Berger situation never was forgotten.

Rhodes wouldn’t discuss candidates to replace Howser and provided no timetable for choosing a replacement.

[G-Force]

No Minor Change
ABL adds minor league for 2019 season

NEW YORK -- The Alltime Baseball League offices announced today that the ABL will introduce a minor league for the 2019 season.

In a press release, the organization said "the success of the ABL during the 2018 campaign and the quality of the players on teams' reserve rosters, combined with an impressive incoming draft class, make it imperative that as many players as possible get game action for the 2019 season.

"We strongly believe the quality of play in the ABL minors will be a high-quality in its own right, and will bring the ABL experience to some smaller cities throughout the country."

When asked about potential expansion for the ABL, Commissioner Zach Matthews said "expansion is likely but the timetable has not yet been determined. I believe after the addition of the minor-league for 2019, we will probably not change anything for 2020."

Pressed if 2021 is a possibility, Matthews laughed and replied "properly executed growth will always be considered."

[G-Force]

ABL Silver Slugger Awards



C: Roy Campanella (Louisville)
1B: Will Clark (New York)
2B: Charlie Gehringer (Chicago)
3B: Chipper Jones (Orlando)
SS: Honus Wagner (Louisville)
LF: Ed Delahanty (Memphis)
CF: Mickey Mantle (Chicago)
RF: Elmer Flick (Charlotte)
DH: Tim Salmon (New York)



C: Gary Carter (Denver)
1B: Jimmie Foxx (Portland)
2B: Craig Biggio (San Antonio)
3B: David Wright (Omaha)
SS: Lou Boudreau (Sacramento)
LF: Frank Howard (Phoenix)
CF: Willie Mays (Los Angeles)
RF: Harry Heilmann (New Orleans)
DH: Sam Crawford (Phoenix)

[G-Force]

Outstanding Hitter Awards



Will Clark (New York Heroes)

	Age	G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	R	BB	HP	SF	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+	wRC+	WAR
2018 New York - ABL	22	158	612	203	28	5	25	104	109	71	12	9	95	9	3	.332	.406	.516	.923	146	143	5.1

Frank Chance (Phoenix Scorpions)

Age	Age	G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	R	BB	HP	SF	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+	WRC WAR
2018 Phoenix - ABL	21	127	478	158	30	10	6	50	96	60	31	3	54	37	5	.331	.435	.473	.908	147	149	5.6

[G-Force]

Outstanding Pitcher Awards



Brad Radke (Boston Riders)

Year/Team/League	Age	G	GS	W	L	SV	ERA	IP	HA	R	ER	HR	BB	K	CG	SHO	WHIP	BABIP	FIP	WAR	ERA+
2018 Boston - ABL	22	32	32	16	11	0	3.13	253.0	247	98	88	16	44	104	13	1	1.15	.270	3.46	5.7	133

CC Sabathia (Los Angeles Lightning)

Year/Team/League	Age	G	GS	W	L	SV	ERA	IP	HA	R	ER	HR	BB	K	CG	SHO	WHIP	BABIP	FIP	WAR	ERA+
2018 Los Angeles - ABL	20	32	32	20	8	0	3.04	275.1	237	96	93	19	63	162	21	3	1.09	.257	3.43	6.8	142

[G-Force]

Most Valuable Player Awards

[G-Force]

Robinson Rides Into San Antonio
Stallions make athletic second baseman top draft pick

SAN ANTONIO (November 5, 2018) -- Not much went right for the San Antonio Stallions in the ABL's first season. As such, nobody needed a strong draft more than the Stallions.

Enter Jackie Robinson.

The Stallions made the highly touted second baseman their number one pick in the 2018 amateur draft, and in so doing are hoping to kick off a rapid turnaround.

San Antonio hit .246 last season and a quick fix seems unlikely. The choice of Robinson presents an interesting side story as well...what becomes of Craig Biggio.

The incumbent second baseman, Biggio led the team in average (.277). Where will he end up? Centerfield and catcher are two possibilities. The third is designated hitter, replacing Wally Berger who was at the heart of controversy last season.

Regardless, the story is Robinson, a borderline five-tool player, though his power is not considered top flight. But the multisport collegiate star is solid both offensively and defensively and figured to improve the Stallions from the get-go.

The remainder of the first round picks are below:

Round 1, Pick 1 - San Antonio Stallions: 2B Jackie Robinson, age 22

Round 1, Pick 2 - Omaha Pioneers: LF Stan Musial, age 21

Round 1, Pick 3 - Alabama Slammers: 1B Albert Pujols, age 21

Round 1, Pick 4 - Boston Riders: SP Satchel Paige, age 22

Round 1, Pick 5 - Portland Robins: LF Bill Lange, age 22

Round 1, Pick 6 - Charlotte Cougars: LF Fred Clarke, age 22

Round 1, Pick 7 - New Orleans Knights: 2B Marcus Giles, age 23

Round 1, Pick 8 - Orlando Orcas: RF Mike Tiernan, age 20

Round 1, Pick 9 - Sacramento Stingers: CF Fred Lynn, age 23

Round 1, Pick 10 - Chicago Hitmen: 2B Aaron Hill, age 23

Round 1, Pick 11 - Louisville Thorougbreds: LF Ken Williams, age 25

Round 1, Pick 12 - New York Heroes: SP Nolan Ryan, age 21

Round 1, Pick 13 - Los Angeles Lightning: SP Ron Guidry, age 27

Round 1, Pick 14 - Memphis Sounds: SP Tim Wakefield, age 26

Round 1, Pick 15 - Denver Pilots: SP Charles Bender, age 20

Round 1, Pick 16 - Phoenix Scorpions: LF George Foster, age 22

[G-Force]

Winter Meetings Wrapup

ORLANDO (December 10, 2018) -- When the Alltime Baseball League trade deadline came during the 2018 season, the lack of deals caught most off guard.

The ABL's first Winter Meetings saw more activity, though there were no major trades made.

"The fact that everyone is very affordable right now because of the infancy of the league is the biggest reason deals aren't being made," one general manager said. "Everyone trusts their initial draft and believes those players will evolve and develop to expectations. I suspect you won't see big names traded with any frequency for another couple of years when arbitration hits."

Here's a look a the winter meetings activity:

San Antonio traded RF Mike Mitchell (.231-9-46) to Omaha for pitcher Ken Heintzelman (5-13, 5.05).

Louisville traded catcher Charles Johnson (.210-2-14) and relievers Steve Farr (3-6, 7.07) and Scott Bankhead (5-3, 2 SV, 4.14) to Sacramento for first baseman Norm Siebern (.275-12-57) pitcher Jake Westbrook, who spent all of 2018 on the reserve squad.

Portland traded shortstop Jonathan Villar, who was on their reserve squad throughout 2018, to Omaha for reliever Doug Fister (0-1, 3.56).

Orlando dealt second baseman Tim Teufel (.220-1-9) to Boston for relievers Ray Scarborough (0-0, 4.00 ERA) and newly drafted Jeff Samardzjia.

And in what was probably the biggest deal of the meeting, Chicago sent third baseman Morgan Ensberg (.245-21-62) to San Antonio for newly-drafted reliever Dan Plesac, their second-round pick.