Alltime Baseball League

[G-Force]

July 2023 Standings & Statistics

[G-Force]

I thought I'd lost this league, but found I had a backup of it! So it's time for the ABL to continue

I'll still be doing the Battle of the Ages project I posted about last night as time allows because I think it will be a fun one.

GH

[G-Force]

ABL Around the Horn July 2023

• The Denver Pilots are keeping their hold on the Western League's North division despite a pitching staff that has struggled in the wake of losing Chief Bender to free agency last offseason and Billy Pierce for the season due to injury back in spring training. With a team ERA a tick under 5.00 and a team ranked only 7th in the league in homers, the PIlots have had to grind out everything. But reigning MVP Ty Cobb is back atop the league in batting (.362) and Joe Medwick (.326-14-94) and Gabby Hartnett (.313-24-76) have been complemented by a balanced, unrelenting lineup that leads the league in average, OBP and steals - and as a result, leads in runs as well.
  
  
• The undefeated season wasn't going to last forever for Chicago's Nolan Ryan who, after an amazing 11-0 start, came down to earth in July, posting a 2-3 record and a 5.50 ERA. The string was broken by the St. Louis Steamers, who hung an 8-spot on Ryan on July 6 in a 9-3 Hitmen loss, the start of a stretch of three straight losses for Ryan. Rivals shouldn't get too excited by reports of his demise though, as Ryan allowed only one run apiece in his last two starts against Alabama and New York and has seemingly righted the ship for the ABL's best team.
  
  
• Phoenix has two of the game's top offensive players in breakout slugger Jim Edmonds (.266-31-99), the lockdown Rookie of the Year who is leading the ABL in homers and RBIs - and Ross Youngs (.317-24-92), who in his sixth season has made the leap from solid to star. Phoenix's issue is pitching, where they have baseball's worst ERA. Former MVP Stephen Strasburg's decline (11-9, 5.06) continues and Tom Seaver (7-9, 4.73), perhaps the biggest disappointment in ABL history to this point, continues to be maddeningly inconsistent.
  
  
• While Denver still holds a one game lead in the division, the Seattle Grinders' push to make the playoffs in only their second season in existence will be a big story over the season's final two months. The Western League's top pitching staff is led by Outstanding Pitcher candidate Schoolboy Rowe (12-6, 2.09) and a solid supporting staff of Brandon Morrow (9-7, 3.87), Tex Hughson (8-9, 3.52) and Mike Moore (7-9, 3.54) ensuring they are in every game. But that trio is a game below .500 thanks to an inconsistent offense that is going to ask veteran and five-time All-Star Roy Campanella (.286-20-53) and former champion Roberto Clemente (a down year at .280-11-40) to lead the stretch run and hopefully push rookie Mike Trout (.241-17-57) to another gear.

[G-Force]

August 2023 Standings & Statistics

[G-Force]

ABL Around the Horn August 2023

• The ABL's tightest race, the Western League North, was turned on its head on August 19th when Denver centerfielder Ty Cobb - the twice-reigning MVP in line for his third such award - broke his ankle in an eventual 11-9 loss at Sacramento. Cobb had batted an absurd .477 in August with four of his seven homers in an effort to hold off Seattle. The injury's impact was felt in the month's final week, when Seattle visited Denver and swept the Pilots to take over first place in the division!
  
  
• Seattle's Mike Trout was key to the Grinders' surge to the division lead, earning Rookie of the Month honors with five homers and 24 RBIs, including batting .500 with a homer, six RBI and five runs scored in the sweep of Denver.
  
  
• Don't look now but the St. Louis Steamers have shaved 5 1/2 games off of Alabama's lead in the Eastern League South, and now trail by 5 1/2 heading into the season's final month. The duo of Hack Wilson (1.092 OPS, 5 HR, 22 RBI) and Don Mattingly (1.089 OPS, 5 HR, 25 RBI) led the way at the plate for the month while Mike Hampton (4-0, 3.70) and the bullpen trio of Earl Moore, Jim Gott and Andy McGaffigan (a combined 2.11 ERA) were stellar on the hill.
  
  
• The trade deadline was a dud this season, with the only move by a contender being a depth move by Chicago, sending minor leaguer Todd Stottlemyre to Louisville for reliever Dick Selma and outfielder Alex Gordon.
  
  GH
  

[G-Force]

It's time for the ABL Pennant Chase! I've simmed the first 10 days of September and will recap the pennant races on a day-by-day basis for those races within 5 games. At this point, the Chicago Hitmen have already clinched the Eastern League North, while the Los Angeles Lightning hold an 8 1/2 game lead on the San Antonio Stallions.


So we'll follow two races here:

Eastern League South
Alabama Slammers (83-63) lead St. Louis Steamers (78-68) by five games

Western League North
Seattle Grinders (82-64) lead the Denver Pilots (78-68) by four games

And away we go, down the stretch of the sixth season of the Alltime Baseball League!

GH

[G-Force]

September 10, 2023

Louisville 7, Alabama 3: Jason Bay's first-inning grand slam (14) stood up as Ben Sheets won his 11th, slogging through 5 1/3 innings before Ken Chase and Francisco Cordero threw up zeros the rest of the way. Rip Collins (7-9) settled in after five-run first, but it was too little too late.

St. Louis 10, Orlando 1: The Steamers slugged four homers including the surprising 21st from Mike Scioscia and 22nd from Marquis Grissom (previous highs of 6 and 15, respectively) as they routed the Orcas in Orlando to hand Joel Pineiro his 14th loss of the season and win their seventh straight. Odalis Perez allowed one run and four hits over 8 1/3 to win his ninth as the Steamers moved within four games of the division lead.

Portland 3, Seattle 1: Bill Freehan (21) and Bill Madlock (7) homered to back Van Mungo (9-10, 3.96), who threw seven innings on one-run, three-hit ball as the Grinders couldn't get anything going, mustering only three hits. Tex Hughson (10-11, 3.22) took the loss despite allowing only two runs over 6 2/3.

Denver 9, Los Angeles 5: Pete Browning's two-out RBI single off Pascual Perez in the 8th broke a 4-4 tie and Joe Medwick followed with a two-run homer (23) for his league-leading 124th RBI as the Pilots topped the Lightning in L.A to trim Seattle's lead to 3.

[G-Force]

September 11, 2023

Alabama 4, Louisville 1: Jerry Koosman (18-6, 3.33) threw seven innings of one-run ball and Alabama used a 3-run seventh to top Juan Guzman (10-14, 5.03) and the Thoroughbreds. Greg Holland notched his 28th save of the season.

Orlando 2, St. Louis 0: Daniel Murphy's 2-run homer in the third accounted for all of the offense, but the story of the game was the brawl that followed when Satchel Paige hit the next batter, Chief Wilson, who rushed the mound leading to the ejection of both men. But despite 5 1/3 scoreless innings of relief by Earl Moore and Jim Gott, the Steamers never broke through against Kevin Appier (4-2, 4.91), who through eight shutout innings before Dennis Eckersley picked up save number 24 to halt St. Louis' 7-game winning streak.

Seattle 4, Portland 3 (17 innings): It took nearly six hours, but in the end Dan Uggla's walkoff triple off Juan Berenguer lifted Seattle to victory after Portland's Bill Madlock had tied the game with a homer in the eighth inning.

Los Angeles 3, Denver 1: Fred Snodgrass' tiebreaking two-run homer, his fifth of the season, off Vida Blue (10-13) in the fifth inning was all winning pitcher Mel Harder (13-7, 3.10) would need as the Pilots couldn't muster anything else against the presumptive South Division champs, who lead San Antonio by 8 games, while Denver slips back to four games behind Seattle.

[G-Force]

September 13, 2023

New York 9, Alabama 8: The Slammers got home runs from Albert Pujols (22) and Bobby Murcer (26) but Larry Walker's RBI single in the eighth broke an 8-8 tie as the Heroes got four innings of strong relief from James Paxton (9-3, 3.11) in relief of a horrible Francisco Liriano outing.



Columbus 5, St. Louis 3: Melido Perez's awful season found a bright spot at a bad time for St. Louis, as the Columbus hurler improved to 3-14 with six strong innings as Devon Travis' tiebreaking two-run single in the fifth lifted the Crushers.

Las Vegas 6, Seattle 0: ERA leader Schoolboy Rowe (16-8, 2.54) didn't have it, allowing six runs over 7 1/3, but Joe Nuxhall (7-5, 4.13) did, throwing 6 1/3 shutout innings backed by homers from George Foster (17), Jeff Heath (27) and Baby Doll Jacobson (15).

Denver 5, Phoenix 4: ABL all-time home run leader Willie McCovey hit his 32nd homer (159 for his career) and Whitey Kurowski his 15th off Stephen Strasburg, whose solid start fell apart with a 3-run seventh as the Pilots picked up Steve Carlton, who got the no decision, allowing four runs over 6 1/3.

[G-Force]

September 14, 2023

New York vs Alabama: Rained out

Columbus 6, St. Louis 3: Jake Westbrook (10-11, 4.05) allowed three runs over seven innings and Tim Burke earned his 12th save as the Steamers dropped their second straight to the ABL's worst team. Morgan Ensberg's sixth inning RBI single off Gary Lavelle broke a 2-2 tie.

Seattle 10, Las Vegas 0: Reliever turned starter Brandon Morrow (11-8, 4.07) threw 7 2/3 shutout innings and was backed by a 20-hit attack that handed Jack Quinn his 20th loss of the season. Judy Johnson had four hits, Mike Trout had three and Kenny Lofton hit a three-run shot, his fourth of the season.

Phoenix 9, Denver 5 (11 innings): Jim Edmonds' tiebreaking two-run single in the 11th broke a 5-5 tie, countering Joe Medwick's three RBI for Denver, including the game-tying hit in the bottom of the eighth, as the pair are tied for the ABL lead in RBIs with 128.

[G-Force]

September 15, 2023

Alabama 12, New York 1: Noodles Hahn (17-5, 3.17) threw seven innings of one-run ball and was backed by a 19-hit attack led by four hits and three RBI from Terry Pendleton and Albert Pujols' 24th homer of the season in the opener of a doubleheader brought about by yesterday's rainout.

Alabama 11, New York 2: Dave Goltz (7-5, 4.33) overcame six walks to make it through seven innings, allowing two runs, while the Slammers bats kept up their great day in the twinbill nightcap, racking up 18 more hits led by Earl Battey, who hit his 10th homer of the season and drove in four. Tom Glavine (13-12, 4.13) took the loss for the Heroes.

St. Louis 10, Columbus 2: Mike Hampton (14-11, 3.78) battled through 6 1/3 while the Steamers bats poured it on to take the finale against lowly Columbus and avoid the sweep. Lonnie Smith had three hits including his 11th homer of the season and Hack Wilson (32) and Marquis Grissom (23) went deep as well.

Seattle 7, Las Vegas 4: Kenny Lofton had two hits and 3 RBI off the bench and Judy Johnson had four hits to keep up his hot September (.333 avg) in support of Mike Moore (9-11, 3.78). Vern Olsen suffered his 17th loss despite grinding through six innings before Mike Jackson and Dennis Lamp were tagged hard over the final two innings.

Phoenix 23, Denver 14: That's not a typo, or a football score. The highest scoring game in ABL history saw lockdown Rookie of the Year Jim Edmonds tally six hits in the same game teammate Vada Pinson set the ABL record with seven hits - a 7-for-7 performance that culminated with Pinson leaving the game with an injury after legging out an infield single for his final hit. The teams combined for 46 hits in an affair the Scorpions led 20-6 before the Pilots put together an 8-run eighth inning. Joe Medwick (25, 26) and Willie McCovey (34, 35) each hit a pair of homers and combined for 10 RBIs - yet lost by nine, in an almost unfathomable result.

[G-Force]

[

September 16, 2023

With Alabama having opened up its lead over St. Louis to six games, we'll drop coverage of that unless St. Louis gets back within five. So, for today at least, it's just the Western League North.

San Antonio 2, Seattle 1: Tex Hugshon (10-12, 3.20) was terrific for Seattle, allowing only two runs over seven innings, allowing an RBI double to Chet Lemon and a followup RBI single to Ed Delahanty in the top of the third and nothing else. Unfortunately for him, the Grinders could muster only four hits and one unearned run against Roy Oswalt (17-7, 3.67) over 8 1/3 before Aaron Cook retired the final two outs for his fifth save.

Denver 4, Sacramento 3: Joe Medwick's RBI single in the bottom of the eighth off Todd Worrell tied it and Tim Raines walked it off against Worrell in the ninth with an RBI base hit in the kind of win that Denver's previous division champs made a habit of toughing out. The blown save was Worrell's fourth of the season. J.J. Putz won his seventh in relief for the Pilots.

[G-Force]

September 17, 2023

Well, that didn't take long. Turned away from the Alabama/St. Louis race only to have Alabama lose on the 16th and St. Louis win to bring it back within five. So...

Memphis 4, Alabama 3. Jerry Koosman (18-6, 3.35) allowed one hit through the first five before Memphis got to him for three runs in the sixth to tie the game at three. Danny Litwhiler's RBI double off Rob Dibble in the bottom of the 8th gave Memphis the lead to make a winner out of Jose Valverde, who put up 2 1/3 of perfect relief.

St. Louis 18, Charlotte 7: Two four-run innings and two five-run innings gave the Steamers enough cushion to withstand Vinegar Bend Mizell's poor outing for their side, as a 20-hit attack that saw Nap Rucker take his 15th loss of the season while surrendering nine runs over three innings brought the Steamers back within four of Alabama in the division race. Don Mattingly went 5-for-5 to raise his average to .341 in pursuit of Honus Wagner (.346) for the Eastern League batting crown. Hack Wilson drove in five, including his 33rd homer of the season.

San Antonio 13, Seattle 4: Seattle's Jose Rosado (13-10, 4.82) had nothing, allowing nine runs over 5 2/3 as six San Antonio batters had multi-hit games, led by Ed Delahanty, who drove in five on the day as he now sits third in the league in average (.355) and RBI (126).

Denver 7, Sacramento 6: Willie McCovey's two-run walkoff bomb in the bottom of the 11th off of Larry Christensen brought bedlam to Denver, which also got a five-hit effort from Joe Medwick, as the new M&M boys continue their desperate fight to bring Denver back to the postseason.

[G-Force]

Before we get to the final week's worth of games, a few items other than the two pennant races that are worth watching:

• Don Mattingly has a shot at the Triple Crown. He's batting .342, a point behind 2021 batting champ and ABL alltime hits leader Honus Wagner, and a point ahead of Shoeless Joe Jackson. Mattingly also has 38 homers, one behind Mickey Mantle; and 112 RBI, tied for the league lead with Elmer Smith and one ahead of Lou Gehrig.
  
  
• Mickey Mantle is trying to win back-to-back home run crowns, with Mattingly one behind and Bobby Bonds three back. His 39 tie the record set by Willie Mays in 2020, but that has been broken this season by...
  
  
• Jim Edmonds, has all but locked up Western League Rookie of the Year honors with his ABL record 43 home runs (and counting) and 136 RBI.
  
  
• In the first five years of the ABL, nobody struck out 15 batters in a game. It's happened four times this season: Twice by Nolan Ryan and once each by Steve Carlton and Tom Seaver.
  
  
• After declining two consecutive seasons, two-time MVP Willie Mays is a front-runner for Western League MVP this season after the injury to Denver's Ty Cobb, who has won the award the past two seasons.
  
  
• Currently playing .641 baseball, the Chicago Hitmen are seeking the best record in Eastern League history, set by Louisville (.619) in 2021. The alltime ABL mark is held by Denver, which put up a .681 mark that same season.

[G-Force]

September 18, 2023

Memphis 7, Alabama 4: Les Nunamker's 3-run double with the bases juiced in the fifth against Jaime Garcia (9-14, 5.37) broke open what was a 2-1 game and set Memphis in cruise control despite Albert Pujols' 26th homer of the season. David Palmer (8-6, 3.85) allowed four runs over 7 1/3 for the win before Rob Nen picked up the five-out save, his fourth.


St. Louis 2, Charlotte 1: Herb Score (7-13, 5.35) struck out 11 over six innings of two-run ball and, uncharacteristically, walked only one. But Charlotte mustered only six hits against four St. Louis pitchers to waste his effort, as the Steamers got a game-tying homer from Marquis Grissom (25) in the fifth and a pinch-hit RBI double from Carlos Gonzalez in the 7th to close their deficit to three games with six to play.

Seattle 1, San Antonio 0: Schoolboy Rowe (17-8, 2.45) staked his claim to the Western League Outstanding Pitcher award with a clutch performance, hurling a complete-game four-hit shutout to make Mike Trout's second-inning homer (23) stand up. Doc Ayers (8-10, 3.72) was the tough-luck loser for San Antonio, which saw its faint playoff hopes end with the loss as Los Angeles was victorious to clinch the South division.


Sacramento 5, Denver 3: Barry Larkin went 4-for-5 with 3 doubles, two runs and two RBIs as the Stingers put a dagger in Denver's postseason hopes. Sacramento's Hal Newhouser and Denver's Steve Carlton left with the score 3-3 to earn matching no-decisions in a battle of former Outstanding Pitcher award winners.

[G-Force]

September 19, 2023

Alabama 7, Chicago 6 (10 innings): In the likely Eastern League Championship Series preview, the Slammers blew a 6-2 lead, allowing a pair of runs in both the 8th and 9th innings as Rob Dibble and Greg Holland failed in relief. But a Bill Dahlen sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10th off Mike Timlin plated Ian Kinsler, who had three hits, to give Alabama the walk-off win at home. Shoeless Joe Jackson notched his 50th double of the season and had two hits to improve to .342, a point off the lead in the batting race.

St. Louis 11, Boston 2: Hack Wilson hit two more homers (34, 35) and drove in four to get past the 100 RBI mark, backing Mike Hampton (15-11, 3.77) as the Steamers keep hope alive. Don Mattingly went 2-for-4 to take over the Eastern League batting lead at .343.

Los Angeles 7, Seattle 6 (11 innings): Charlie Hollocher, who had the longest hitting streak in the league this season at 29 games, walked it off with an RBI single in the bottom of the 11th off loser Jason Frasor in the likely Western League Championship Series preview. Seattle got homers from Mike Trout (24), Roberto Clemente (16), and Jason Bates (9), while Mike Schmidt (37) hit the only long ball for the Lightning.

Denver 6, New Orleans 2: Earl Whitehill won his 12th with seven innings of two-run ball and Jimmy Williams took Adonis Terry (7-14) for his 12th homer as part of a four-run third. Tim Raines added three hits for Denver, which clings to hope.

[G-Force]

September 20, 2023

Chicago 4, Alabama 3 (10 innings): Earl Averill's ninth inning homer off Greg Holland tied the game at 3 and Mark Grace's RBI single off Jesse Orosco in the 10th won it for the Hitmen, who picked up their 99th win of the season. Lou Gehrig hit his 29th homer of the season for Chicago, getting to Noodles Hahn, who threw 6 1/3 of two-run ball in taking the no decision.


Boston 6, St. Louis 4: The Steamers couldn't capitalize on Alabama's loss, finding themselves burned by homers from Sherry Magee (9) and Tim Teufel (3) off Odalis Perez (10-11, 4.84) and unable to turn any rallies against winner Al Downing (11-9, 3.41) into a big inning.





Seattle 3, Los Angeles 1: Mike Moore (10-11, 3.66) went the distance for Seattle, scattering six hits and allowing one run, losing the shutout on a two-out homer from Andy Pafko (8) in the ninth. Jamie Moyer (4-1, 3.72) went the distance for Los Angeles, but surrendered a two-run single to Roy Campanella in the 8th that gave the Grinders some insurance runs.

New Orleans 7, Denver 2: Webster McDonald suffered his 10th loss of the season, getting battered for 7 runs over 5 1/3 as the Knights put a dagger into Denver's postseason hopes. Gary Sheffield and Larry Doby each drove in a pair to back Luis Tiant (7-4, 3.03), who fanned nine over 7 1/3 innings of two-run ball.

[G-Force]

September 21, 2023

Alabama 5, Chicago 3: Bobby Murcer's 2-run homer off Sam McDowell in the bottom of the 8th broke a 3-3 tie to make a winner out of Mark Melancon, his 7th in three innings of scoreless relief of starter Jerry Koosman. Sad Sam Jones (4-2, 4.21) took the loss for the Hitmen, who stay stuck at 99 wins.

St, Louis 10, Boston 9: The Steamers overcame a pair of Al Rosen homers (11, 12) and a shoddy outing from Satchel Paige (6 IP, 7 R, 5 ER) to cling to life with a literal walk-off win, as Al Worthington walked Charlie Hayes with the bases loaded to force home the game-winner. Hack Wilson had four more hits for St. Louis to raise his September average to .373. The Steamers now host Alabama for a three-game set to close out the season, needing a sweep to force a one-game playoff for the division title.





Los Angeles 9, Seattle 2: Bill Terry (31) and Sherm Lollar (23) hit two- and three-run homers, respectively, off Tex Hughson in the fifth inning and the Lightning got a complete game out of Mel Harder (14-8, 3.21) to prevent Seattle from clinching the North.

Denver 7, New Orleans 6 (11 innings): Willie McCovey had three hits and Joe Medwick broke a 6-6 tie in the 11th with an RBI double off Orlando Pena as the Pilots live to fight another day, keeping their tragic number at 1.

[G-Force]

September 22, 2023

Alabama vs St. Louis: Rained out. Doubleheader tomorrow.




Phoenix 9, Seattle 7: Jim Edmonds' record-setting 44th homer and 144th RBI were part of his four-hit effort as the Scorpions knocked Jose Rosado (13-11, 5.09) around for 13 hits and 9 runs over 4 2/3 to keep the Grinders from celebrating on the mound at Phoenix's house.


Omaha 6, Denver 1: It was a meek ending to a valiant pursuit, as the Pilots faithful watched Omaha's Brad Radke (10-14, 4.47) hurl a complete game, allowing one run and striking out five as Denver could never get it going. Pending free agent Vida Blue's final start in Denver didn't go as planned and he took his 14th loss of the season in the game that eliminated the Pilots and earned the Seattle Grinders a division title in only their second season of existence.

[G-Force]

September 23, 2023

Alabama 8, St. Louis 6. Home runs from Don Mattingly (39) and Mike Scioscia (22) and a pair of Alabama errors leading to three unearned runs weren't enough to salvage the season for St. Louis, whose faint playoff hopes were dashed in the opener of a doubleheader. Vinegar Bend Mizell (13-9, 5.25) allowed seven runs over 4 2/3 and the Slammers got three hits from Albert Pujols and three RBI from Bob Bescher to clinch Alabama's first division crown since 2020.


As they did then, they will face Chicago, who topped Alabama in five games before going on to win the ABL Championship.

The second game of the doubleheader was rained out, forcing a now-meaningless season-ending doubleheader tomorrow.