GYBL

Alston Division

Oregon finally eased up in September, coasting to a division win with a 13-12 month. The Pioneers finished the season with a division title, five games better than Barnett Shale. The reason Oregon stumbled in the final month was that Mike Schmidt hit an anemic .143 (lower than the Pio pitchers who were .155 for the month) with only 3 homers and 29 Ks. The Drillers took advantage with a 16-10 month on the strength of a sparkling 2.73 team ERA. Alejandro Pena was 3-0 with a 1.04 mark and Tippy Martinez notched four saves. Cecil Cooper paced Barnett Shale with a .359 BA, and slugged to the tune of .692 with five homers and 17 runs. But for all that, the hottest team in the division was Wellington, which sizzled to a 19-7 final month. The Knights rang up 145 runs, the best in the BDSL by far. Dale Murphy again the usual suspect, clubbing nine homers on his way to a 1.003 OPS. That finish was good enough to take the 2nd Walter Johnson League wildcard berth despite being in 6^th place in the race heading into September. Savannah pitched well, allowing only 86 runs, and had a +18 run differential. But the Shoeless Joes struggled to a 10-14 month and fell out of contention. Savannah couldn’t beat Barnett this month, losing all six matchups. Decatur fell to a 6-17 month, with a league-worst -72 run differential. Cheer up, Diamond Dawg fans, it will be 1984 before you can say Trickle-down economics.

Anderson Division

I give up. I can’t find another way to type “Sleeptown crushes the rest of the teams in the Anderson” that I haven’t used before. The Dukes did. As usual, they used great hitting and solid pitching. Cal Ripken and Lee Mazilli each crushed the ball to the tune of .350 and the big SS launched seven homers as well. Thunder Bay finished September on a 13-11 high note. The Black Jacks got big contributions from Don Baylor and Jack Fimple (who I thought was a Don Knotts character). Philadelphia entered the month with a shot at the 2^nd wildcard, but could only manage a 11-11 record. The As got great pitching as usual, but couldn’t score runs to back it up. Cliff Johnson paced a team that had no player reach 10 RBI. Palm Beach saw its wildcard hopes slip away in a dismal 10-14 haze. The Elks got a six homer month from Pedro Guerrero and a 2.48 ERA from Bob Welch. London has a lot to look forward to in the fall. Not playoffs, but at least 1983 is finally over. The Rippers were 8-19 because George Brett hit more like Barney Fife. We predict that this Brett kid will be pretty good, though.

Weaver Division

LaGrange put the finishing touches on an amazing year. The Lone Gunmen finished 17-9 to win the division by 28 games. Larry McWilliams had a career month, going 6-0 with two shutouts in seven starts. Vegas rode a 3.34 ERA to a 13-10 mark in September. Dave Righetti 3-1 in 5 starts with a 2.66 ERA. Fuller ended the season 14-10 and could have been better, amassing a +31 run differential. But the Furies couldn’t get the runs when it counted, going 0-10 when trailing late. Milton closed a disappointing season with a 10-16 ledger. The Mavericks hit the ball solidly but gave up a grisly 5.71 ERA. Columbia can’t stop thinking about 1984. The Senators hope for a higher approval rating next year after a disappointing 10-17 September. Rickey Henderson did steal 12 bases in the month, though to bring his tally to 104 for the year.

Martin Division

New York came into September having clinched the division title with a strong summer. That was a good thing, too as the Commuters finished 14-9 while Charleston played like a team on a mission. New York was paced by Bruce Benedict’s .340 BA and Jim Rice’s five HR and 23 RBI. The Rays got big months from Gary Carter (5 HR & 20 RBI), Billy Sample (5 HR & 17 runs) and Dan Driessen (.396 BA). North Hollywood couldn’t stay in the wildcard hunt, limping to a 10-16 record. The Hornets only plated an anemic 68 runs with a .217 team BA. Toronto string of strong summer months ended with a 9-15 September. The Crown Royals could have fared better, posting a -4 run differential, but they were 0-3 when tied after seven frames and 1-4 in one run contests. San Diego didn’t catch many breaks this season and ended the year with a 9-15 month. The Aztecs were led by Darrell Evans’ .333 BA and five homers.

In a season where most individual records were broken, Wade Boggs held on to his lead and won the batting title.

Batting Leaders:

BA Boggs, NYC .347

HR Schmidt, ORP 51

RBI Schmidt, ORP 149

Runs Murphy, WLK 126

Hits Ripken, SLD 212

OB% Boggs , NYC .456

SLG Murphy, WLK .615

SB Henderson, CLS 104

Mike Boddicker took the ERA title. Clancy and Bannister each notched category wins. But none of the pitchers set major records this year except Holland’s save opus.

Pitching Leaders:

Wins Clancy, SLD 24

K’s Bannister, SLD 243

ERA Boddicker, PBE 1.86

BA Boddicker, PBE .191

CG Davis, SLD

Hoyt, NYC 11

Shutouts several 4

Saves Holland, ORP 44

Holds Scherrer, NHH 25

August

If you are looking for divisional races, just move along. There is nothing to see here. Sleepytown clinched some time in March (or to be fair to the other Anderson denizens, it was actually some time about 15 minutes after the first pitch this season). New York will clinch the Martin about the time the first bagel meets the lox tomorrow morning. LaGrange has continued its blazing run and should clinch about 10 mins after NY does (unless the taxi that Dave Stieb and Larry McWilliams take to the park is vaporized). Only in the Alston is there a semblance of a race, though Oregon has a commanding 7.5 game lead going into the final month. The Wildcard races are the only ones left with any mystery. Here is how it all happened in August.

Alston Division

Oregon kept its foot on the neck of the division with a 16-9 August. The big news for the Pios is that Mike Schmidt did NOT have a big month for a change. Instead the Oregon pitching staff was the unit to shine, led by 8 strong starts from the combo of Juan Eichelberger and Jose DeLeon, each of whom had sub 2.00 ERAs. Barnett Shale couldn’t keep pace, hobbling in at a 14-13 clip despite the best pitching in the BDSL. Fred Breining, Alejandro Pena and John Denny each turned in sparkling (1.65, 1.63 and 1.56) ERAs for the month and Tom Neidenfurer posted a miniscule 0.37 mark in a very robust 24 innings. Cecil Cooper and Graig Nettles were among the few bright spots at the plate for a team that hit only .235 in August for the Shale Drillers. Decatur bounced back for an anemic July to score more runs than anyone in the division and was rewarded with a 14-13 month. The Diamond Dawgs got most of that production from Steve Garvey (6 HR, .635 SLG) and Andre Dawson (19 runs, 13 RBI). Savannah was outscored worse than anyone in the division (-18 run differential) but managed to claw its way to a 12-13 month. The Shoeless Joes were led by Larry Herndon’s (.284, .360, .422, 20 runs) and Doug DeCinces (6 HR and a .675 slugging %). Unfortunately, DeCinces broke a bone in his hand and will be out for the rest of the season. Wellington brought some momentum into August but couldn’t sustain it, going 11-13 despite a +5 run differential. The Knights were led by Ray Burris, who finally joined the rotation and promptly won four games in his first five starts. Dale Murphy led the team with 18 runs and a .419 OBP, but his power numbers fell off, possibly hurting his MVP chances. Coming down the home stretch, Oregon has pulled ahead of Barnett by 7.5 games while Savannah has fallen 14.5 back.

Anderson Division

Ever feel like you’ve been doing the SAME thing over and over again? Like typing “Sleepytown wins 17 of 25 games this month, including 8 of 10 at home?” Yeah. Thought so. Sleepytown continues to be the deadliest place on the planet for visiting teams. The Dukes are now a remarkable 52-10 in their park and 33-33 on the road. Philadelphia went 14-12 in August, despite being outscored by 5 runs. The As team ERA was a phenomenal 2.25 and they were again paced by reliever Sammy Stewart, who followed up July’s scoreless 16.1 innings with 26.2 frames of 0.37 ERA in August. Tim Raines had 18 runs and 16 SBs for Philly. Palm Beach still has a slim chance at the 2^nd wild card, but the team didn’t exactly help themselves with a 14-14 month. The Elks were only 4-8 in one run games and 1-5 in extra inning games. Gorman Thomas led Palm Beach with 6 HR and 18 RBI while Bob Forsch and Mike Boddicker were each 3-0 with a shutout. Thunder Bay sank back to form with a 10-15 ledger in August. The Black Jacks were led by Chili Davis and Omar Moreno (.309 and .295 BA respectively) while Jesse Orosco stayed hot with 18.1 IP of 0.46 ERA and 4 saves. London is several time zones away from being a contender this year. The Rippers continued to melt in August, with a 6-18 ledger. George Brett hit .327, though I have no idea how that converts into English pounds. The Dukes clinched a playoff spot…yada yada…some of the Anderson teams might have a shot at a wildcard spot.

Weaver Division

LaGrange zipped through July at a 19-7 pace but that wasn’t nearly good enough to be the best team in the Ruth League (see NYC below). The Lone Gunmen rapped the ball at a league-best .281 pace and were led by the blistering Ron Cey (.404, .415, .674 with 9 doubles and 5 HR). Fuller hasn’t shown much interest in a wild card and yet won’t go away either. The Furies were 14-14 in August on the strength of Jack Clark’s eight homers, 21 runs and 19 RBI. Milton hit the ball pretty well (.273 team BA) but only managed to hit 13 homers. The Mavericks were 11-13 would have fallen out of contention for a playoff spot had they not won their final five games. Bill Doran carried Milton with a .436, .500, .532 month. Vegas crashed and burned with a 12-16 August after a 17-12 July. The Velvet Knights actually could have been worse had they not gone 9-6 in one run games. Dickie Thon both scored and knocked in 16 runs for Vegas. The long Senators’ nightmare is almost over in Columbia. Next year won’t be nearly as brutal as this one and July’s 4-23 month is proof positive of that. Things have gotten so bad that Rickey Henderson has stopped talking in third person. The Gunmen magic # is 7, so the real question in the division is if anyone will take a wildcard.

Martin Division

New York played practically perfectly in August, ripping off a 23-5 month. The Commuters dominated on both sides of the ball, with the best team OBP (.346) and most runs in the league coupled with the best pitching in the Ruth, too. NYC also took four of five games from LaGrange in a possible playoff preview that had Gunmen fans reaching for the antacid. Wade Boggs hit .339 while Jim Rice slugged .637 for the Commuters. Lamarr Hoyt was 4-0 with a 2.29 ERA for NYC. Toronto followed a strong July with a solid August (16-10). Greg Luzinski slugged eight homers and Jody Davis launched seven more for the Crown Royals. North Hollywood still has a shot at a wildcard but didn’t seize it, stumbling to a 12-13 August. Things could have been worse for the Hornets if Daryl Strawberry hadn’t had a superb month (.371, .445, .753). Charleston had the same trouble as North Hollywood, and couldn’t salt away a playoff spot with a 12-14 month. Dan Driessen led the team with a .392, .478, .671 August and Mike Smithson was 4-0 despite allowing a 4.50 ERA.

Wildcards

The Johnson WC race is almost half over. Barnett Shale is almost certain of a playoff spot, leading Savannah for the top spot by 7 games. Palm Beach lurks 2.5 back of Savannah. Philly is 3 back of the 2^nd WC and Thunder Bay and Wellington are 4 and 5 games respectively back. The Ruth League Wildcards seem to have BO or have stepped in doggie doo. Fuller holds a slim .5 game lead over Charleston for the top spot while North Hollywood is 1 game back, Milton is 4 off the pace and San Diego has fallen to 6 out.

Barring a collapse of apocalyptic proportions, Mike Schmidt will win several categories. Wade Boggs would need a serious slump to lose the batting title.

Batting Leaders:

BA Boggs, NYC .356

HR Schmidt, ORP 48

RBI Schmidt, ORP 137

Runs Schmidt, ORP 105

Hits Boggs , NYC

Wilson, VVK

Whitaker, ORP 180

OB% Boggs , NYC .458

SLG Murphy, WLK .614

SB Henderson, CLS 92

Mike Boddicker is trying to break the stranglehold of SLD starters. Poor Dave Stieb is virtually gone from the leaderboard despite being in the top 5 of most important categories.

Pitching Leaders:

Wins Clancy, SLD 21

K’s Bannister, SLD 197

ERA Boddicker, PBE 1.74

BA Boddicker, PBE .190

CG Davis, SLD 10

Shutouts several 4

Saves Holland, ORP 34

Holds Forster, NYC

Scherrer, NHH 22

July

Pry your baked butts off your metal bleachers seat and look back at July. It was a sweltering month in Oregon, where the sizzling Pioneers blazed a 20-7 mark for the month. It’s always hot in Vegas, and the Velvet Knights finally lived up to the preseason hype with a 17-12 month.

Alston Division

The division was up for grabs and Oregon might have the upper hand from here on out. The Pios fabulous month was keyed by another great month from Lou Whitaker, who turned in a scintillating .381 batting average and 29 runs scored. Mike Schmidt again slugged double digit homers, with 10 and 28 RBI. Jim Beattie only gave up a 0.98 ERA and went 3-0 on the hill. Barnett’s team ERA soared to 3.68 as Alejandro Pena seemed to have nothing but bad breaks, finishing 0-2 with a 6.03 ERA for the month. But Willie McGee hit .453 and Cecil Cooper chipped in 8 HR and 26 RBI for the Shale Drillers. Wellington finally showed some flashes of brilliance in July, clawing their way to a 15-12 record. The Knights rode Dale Murphy’s incredible bat (.375, .431, .738 and 41 RBI. Savannah continued its fall, sinking to 10-16 for the month. Doug DeCinces slugged 8 HR and George Hendrick helped with 13 extra base hits. That wasn’t nearly enough as the Shoeless Joes’ staff surrendered a 4.88 team ERA. Stuck in a bad neighborhood, Decatur was mauled and finished with a 7-20 July mark. Nobody scored less runs per game than the Diamond Dawgs and the pitching wasn’t stingy enough to stay in enough games. Entering August, Oregon leads Barnett by 4.5 games while Savannah has fallen 10.5 back.

Anderson Division

Stop the presses. Not only was Sleeytown good in July, but everyone else (west of London) in the Anderson was at least .500. Cal Ripken hit .333, scored 17 runs and knocked in 21 for the Dukes, who had a 19-8 month. Floyd Bannister had another unbelievable month, winning all six of his starts with a 1.32 ERA while Jim Clancy was 7-0 with a 1.72 mark. Thunder Bay boomed it’s way to an 18-11 July with superb pitching and timely hitting. The Black Jacks were 13-0 when leading after 7 frames and 5-1 when tied at that point. Jesse Orosco went 5-1 with 7 saves, twirling a 1.03 ERA in 26 innings. Palm Beach revived it’s flagging wild card hopes with a 14-12 month despite a -6 run differential. The Elks didn’t hit particularly well or pitch spectacularly. But they did get a .341 month from Ken Griffey and 3-0 month with a 1.93 ERA from Mike Boddicker. Philadelphia broke even at 13-13 in July. The As allowed the fewest runs (2.99 team ERA) and scored the fewest (.226 team BA), too. The Philly bullpen was superb, led by Sammy Stewart’s scoreless 16.1 innings and 8 saves. London was savaged by it’s division and limped to a 7-20 record. The Rippers had a month so forgettable that Lee Smith only got three save opportunities all month (cashed 2 of them, btw) and the staff turned in a pedestrian 4.31 ERA. London’s team OPS sank back to .650 for the month, reversing a nice upswing over the last two months. Sleepytown is 17 games ahead of the field entering August and should clinch the division before the ink is dry on this report.

Weaver Division

LaGrange cooled off considerably in the July heat and Vegas took advantage with a 17-12 month. The Velvet Knights ran off seven straight victories to end the month. Terry Puhl (.347) Johnny Ray (.325) and Dickie Thon (.304) all had good months at the dish. Vegas’ starters were nice but the bullpen was rock-solid as Jeff Lahti and George Frazier combined to notch 9 saves in 10 chances. LaGrange only managed a 15-13 month despite having the 4th best run differential in the BDSL (+21 runs, Sleeptown was best at +49). The Lone Gunmen hit very well (team marks of .275, .342 and .428) but the team ERA ballooned to 3.86 as overachieving southpaw Neal Heaton crashed to earth in July. Spectacularly. In fact, his 5.58 ERA could have been much worse. Milton managed a 13-13 split in July despite being outscored by 23 runs. The Mavericks again got brutal starting pitching but Dan Quisenberry saved 5 of his 6 chances. Ken Singleton paced Milton with a .427 OBP. Fuller limped to a 12-13 month, mostly because of a gimpy bullpen. Jack Clark and Mark Brouhard both played sparingly (137 PA combined) but combined for 13 doubles, 8 HR, 22 runs and 24 RBI. Columbia was looking more at next season than at the 10-16 July it suffered through. The Senators didn’t score a lot but Rickey Henderson and Bob Dernier each stole at least 20 bases for the month. LaGrange leads Fuller by 13 games and everyone else by at least 16.

Martin Division

Only New York managed a positive run differential in the Martin in July, so it’s no surprise that the Commuters were the only team in the division with a winning record. New York turned in a 15-13 mark on the strength of a very stingy bullpen (Terry Forster 3-0, 1.29 ERA and kent Tekulve 5 saves and a 1.59 ERA). The Commuters slapped the ball to a .291 tune but managed only a BDSL-worst 12 homers as John Milner (.410 BA) and Wade Boggs (.330 BA) led the charge. North Hollwood finished the month 14-15 and right in the middle of both hitting and pitching rankings. The Hornets were led by Robin Yount’s .322, .400, .530 marks. Toronto surged to a 13-15 mark, its best showing since April. The Crown Royals were 5-2 in one run games and were led by Jody Davis (.500 slugging %) and Greg Luzinski (7 HR) in July. San Diego fell back to earth in July with a 12-15 ledger. The Aztecs got a 4-1, 1.54 month from Luis Leal but couldn’t support him at the plate (.235 team BA). Would the REAL Charleston team please step forward? Was it the one that went 18-10 in June or 11-17 in July? I genuinely don’t know. The Rays led the Martin with 133 runs but gave up a brutal 152. The starting pitching was generally good, but Charleston’s bully was generally brutal, with Steve Howe and Bob Stanley combining to blow as many saves (5) as they completed. New York leads the fading Rays by 9 games while North Hollwood sulks 10.5 back and San Diego has plunged to 11.5 games off the pace.

Wildcards

The Johnson WC race has cleared up a little. Barnett leads Savannah for the top spot by 6 games. Thunder Bay is 8 games back while Palm Beach is 9, Philly and Wellington are 10.5 games off the lead. In the Ruth League (where NOBODY seems to want the WC berths), Charleston clings to a .5 game lead over Fuller. North Hollywood is 1 game back, San Diego is 2.5 and Milton is 3.5 off the lead.

Ho hum. Mike Schmidt is STILL to running away with most of the power categories. Wade Boggs has slipped, but still leads the batting race.

Batting Leaders:

BA Boggs, CLS .359

HR Schmidt, ORP 42

RBI Schmidt, ORP 118

Runs Schmidt, ORP 87

Hits Whitaker, ORP 156

OB% Boggs , NYC .460

SLG Murphy, WLK .654

SB Henderson, CLS 76

Mike Boddicker is trying to break the stranglehold of SLD starters. Poor Dave Stieb is virtually gone from the leaderboard despite being in the top 5 of most important categories.

Pitching Leaders:

Wins Clancy, SLD 17

K’s Bannister, SLD 146

ERA Boddicker, PBE 1.67

BA Boddicker, PBE .190

CG Davis, SLD 8

Shutouts Stieb, LLG

McGregor, CHR 4

Saves Holland, ORP 27

Holds Scherrer, NHH 22

June

The first full month of interleague play has come and gone. And the Johnson teams held their own, finishing only 2 games below .500. So it shouldn’t surprise anyone that parity was the theme for the month. Every division except the Weaver saw at least three teams stay within 2 games of the division lead for the month. Division leading LaGrange had the best month, turning in a 20-6 mark while fellow Ruth denizens San Diego went 17-9 and Charleston reeled off a 18-10 month. The Martin division was the bruiser, finishing 14 games over .500.

Alston Division

The league’s most competitive division stayed that way in June. Barnett, Decatur and Oregon each finished the month two games over .500. Oregon went 15-13, again riding the back of super-slugger Mike Schmidt, who hit another 9 homers while driving in 33 RBI. Lou Whitaker reached base at a .429 clip and scored 28 runs for the Pioneers. Barnett did it with defense. The Shale Drillers allowed only 96 runs as Alejandro Pena blew away batters with a 1.98 ERA and John Denny followed with a 2.06 month. Decatur did it with a balanced attack, scoring more runs than Barnett but allowing a lot less than Oregon. The Diamond Dawgs enjoyed Steve Sax’s .324 batting average as well as Steve Garvey’s .975 slugging percentage while Ron Guidry only surrendered a minuscule 0.55 ERA for the month. Savannah had a +4 run differential but only managed a 13-15 month, bad enough to fall out of the division lead. The Shoeless Joes got big months from Eddie Murray (.342 BA), Doug DeCinces (.592 slugging) and Dave Dravecky (4-0 record in 5 GS). Wellington had another tough month, falling to 7-19. The Knights got a great June from Keith Moreland (.351 BA and .500 slugging) but really faltered on the hill, with a 4.68 team ERA. Going into July Barnett clings to a .5 game lead on Oregon and a 1.5 edge on Savannah.

Anderson Division

The news isn’t that Sleepytown had the best month in the division…that has happened since Noah was still drying the Ark. The news is that the rest of the division had a good month, too. Ok, say it with me like we’ve practiced for 20 months straight: The Dukes were good this month (17-11) on the strength of incredible pitching and timely hitting. Philadelphia wracked up a 15-11 month that could have been a lot better (+29 run differential) had the team not been 0-3 in extra innings. Lance Parrish, Tommy Herr and Tim Raines led an attack that scored enough to take advantage of some nice pitching. Frank Tanana (1.44) and Bobby Ojeda (1.78) were the mainstays in a 2.67 team ERA for Philly. Thunder Bay also reversed its fortunes in June. The Black Jacks didn’t get a lot of hitting, but Dave Winfield and Don Baylor each had 4 GW RBI and Mike Flanagan (3-1, 2.36 ERA) and Jesse Orosco (2-0, 4 saves, 2.01 ERA) made those runs stand up. Palm Beach failed to take advantage of Sleepytown’s “stumble”, as the Elks were 13-15. Ken Griffey (.345 BA) and Pedro Guererro (10 HR, .605 slugging) spearheaded a punishing attack that couldn’t quite overcome a porous defense (4.33 ERA) and three blown saves. London didn’t win much (11-15) in the month, but it did improve again in hitting (.712 team OPS). George Brett hit .300 with a .620 slugging %. Sleepytown leads everyone by at least 13.5 games.

Weaver Division

LaGrange had a great month (20-6) as the Lone Gunmen overachieved by winning all 8 one run games and all four extra inning contests. John Wockenfuss led the team with 17 RBI, FIVE of them game winners, despite only playing about half the time. Fear the Fuss. Dave Stieb continues his Cy Young bid with a 3-0, 1.88 month that included a 3 hit SHO against mighty Sleepytown and a 2^nd impressive win to close out the month. Fuller traded away Dickie Thon early in the season, but just won’t give up the ghost, again overachieving in June with a 13-13 month. Jose Cruz paced the Furies with 21 runs and 20 RBI while supersub Roy Howell had an INSANE nine doubles in 11 games played. Chris Codiroli had a 3-1, 1.77 ledger in five GS. Milton erupted for a division-best 136 runs, largely on the strength of Bill Doran, Alan Trammell and Al Wiggins. The Mavericks only finished 11-17, though, because their pitching was putrid (four of their five starters had ERAs of 4.50 or worse). Vegas only managed to go 9-17 because its pitching was so bad (5.27 team ERA) that the Velvet Knights’ hitters were always playing from far behind. Columbia has a bright future to look forward to, but not a lot this season. The Senators trudged through a brutal 8-20 month that might have been better had not their bullpen given up runs like Congress gives out pork projects. LaGrange leads Fuller by 11.5 games and everyone else by at least 15.

Martin Division

Taking a page from the highly successful North Hollywood book, San Diego traded away a key player…and improved dramatically. The Aztecs paced the BDSL’s best division with a 17-9 mark behind John Tudor’s 4-0 month and Dave Rozema’s 3-1, 6 save effort. Julio Franco and Joel Youngblood were the top SD hitters. Charleston has finally put a disastrous April in the rear view, crushing Johnson foes with an 18-10 June. The Rays didn’t have a great month on the hill (3.69 team ERA) but they got contributions from a number of hitters to score a league-best 139 runs. Six different Charleston players had at least 10 runs scored and/or 10 driven in. New York’s 16-12 month was pretty nice, though not enough to hold its ground in the sizzling division. Wade Boggs had a phenomenal June, hitting .377 with a .492 OBP. North Hollywood finished the month with a -4 run differential, but managed to go 15-11. The Hornets were led by Daryl Strawberry (.324 BA) and Toby Harrah (.362 OBP, .500 slugging) at the plate and John Stuper (3-1, 3.14 ERA). Toronto finished June with an 8-18 mark. Lloyd Moseby (.324 BA, .485 slugging) and Oil Can Boyd (3-2, 3.94 ERA) paced the Crown Royals. New York leads the hard-charging Rays by 4 games while North Hollwood lurks 7.5 back and San Diego has closed to 8 games off the pace.

Wildcards

The Johnson WC race has cleared up a little. Oregon leads Savannah for the top spot by 1 game and Savannah has a fairly comfortable 6 game lead over Dacatur for the 2^nd wildcard spot. Palm Beach is 7, Philly 7.5, Thunder Bay 8.5 and Wellington 9 games out of a wildcard spot. In the Ruth League, Charleston has surged ahead of Fuller by 3 games for the #1 wildcard spot. Right on Fuller’s heels for the #2 spot are North Hollywood 1/2 game back, San Diego 1 game back and Milton 3.5 off the lead.

Mike Schmidt is threatening to run away with most of the power categories. Wade Boggs has slapped his way into command of the BA lead.

Batting Leaders:

BA Boggs, CLS .369

HR Schmidt, ORP 32

RBI Schmidt, ORP 89

Runs Schmidt, ORP 66

Hits Whitaker, ORP 113

OB% Boggs , NYC .468

SLG Schmidt, ORP .618

SB Henderson, CLS 55

Lee Smith is having a great year, but will be done by early August at this pace. Storm Davis is having a breakout year.

Pitching Leaders:

Wins Davis, SLD 12

K’s Morris, DDD 111

ERA Boddicker, PBE 1.58

BA Boddicker, PBE .194

CG Davis, SLD 7

Shutouts Stieb, LLG 4

Saves Tekulve, NYC 14

Holds Forster, NYC 13

May

Though we’ve got four months to go, none of the divisions is shaping up quite as expected so far, yet there haven’t been any astounding upsets, either. Sleepytown continues to grind out wins at home, but has stumbled on the road. Oregon stumbled slightly in May despite Mike Schmidt’s unbelievable SIXTEEN homers (half the teams in the league had only 17 or less homers all month) and a red-hot Savannah squad clawed into a tenuous lead in the Anderson. LaGrange put some distance on Milton but couldn’t shake a scrappy Fuller bunch. Given up for dead after a disappointing April, North Hollywood surged back to .500 in May and Charleston finally began to show signs of their expected talent, though New York will be tough to catch.

Alston Division

Savannah didn’t show a lot of offense in April, but it sure pounded the ball in May. The Shoeless Joes posted a BDSL best .462 slugging percentage en route to a 17-8 month. Carleton Fisk, Doug DeCinces and Larry Herndon led the charge. Barnett finished April sizzling hot and used great pitching to stay that way. Alejandro Pena led the Shale Drillers with a sparkling 0.56 ERA, winning all 4 games he started for the month. Barnett notched a 15-7 month on the strength of a 2.48 team ERA. Mike Schmidt crushed an incredible 16 homers to lead Oregon to a 14-10 May. If Oregon can continue to get adequate pitching, the Pioneers should stay in the thick of things all year. If the bullpen tires, it might spell doom for the Pios. Wellington had trouble defending their castle in May (5-6 at home) and only managed a 13-12 month). The Knights didn’t get much from their starting pitchers and didn’t get much offense from anyone other than Dale Murphy, who had 7 of Wellington’s 17 long balls. Decatur pitched decently (3.93 ERA) but struggled weakly at the plate (.228 team batting average and .288 OBP, both worst in the BDSL). The Diamond Dawgs went 9-14. The Alston is the most dangerous neighborhood in the BDSL. It had FOUR teams over .500 for the month and continues to feast on other divisions. Heading into the summer, Savannah leads Barnett by half a game, Oregon by a full game and Wellington by 4 games.

Anderson Division

Though the Alston is a bad place to visit, there is no more dangerous ground than the Sleeptown diamond. The Dukes were 12-2 at home in May and only 4-6 on the road. Sleepytown’s platoons are deadliest in the league, with five part-timers hitting at least .294 for May. Palm Beach bounced back from a disappointing April to notch a 12-11 mark in May. The Elks were led Willie Upshaw and Pedro Guerrero, neither of whom produced the power we thought they would. Thunder Bay struggled to a 9-14 slate this month, but it could have been much worse as their -42 run differential was the 2^nd worst in all of the BDSL. The Black Jacks hit the ball much better this month, but their pitchers couldn’t miss many bats as evidenced by the 4.78 team ERA. Philadelphia only managed a 9-18 month in May. But it would have been MUCH worse had not the other Murphy, Dwayne, turned in a .682 slugging percentage for the As. London just didn’t have much to be happy about in May. The Rippers improved their team OPS to a still-poor .679 mark (up from a dismal .573 in April) but were lit up for a BDSL-worst 5.02 team ERA and were 5-19 from the month. Sleepytown doubled its lead on the division, pulling out to a 9.5 game bulge on Palm Beach and at least 13 games on everyone else.

Weaver Division

At the beginning of the year, LaGrange was tabbed by many pundits as the only Weaver team with serious title hopes. But Fuller didn’t get the memo. The Furies were 16-9 in May to stay within striking distance of the Lone Gunmen. Fuller did it by winning a jaw-dropping 11 of 12 one run games. Tim Wallach paced the Furies with a healthy .362 batting average, 24 RBI and 7 HR, while Larry Sorenson stayed hot with a 3-1 month on the hill. LaGrange kept pace with a 15-8 month mostly because of a 3.16 team ERA. Dave Stieb turned in a 4-1 month highlighted by a one hitter in New York. Milton crashed back to earth in May, slumping to a 12-13 mark. Bill Doran is still sizzling (.323 BA in May) and Alan Wiggins added an astounding 23 steals in the month, but the 4.34 team ERA just wasn’t good enough. Vegas continued to struggle to score runs. Though the Velvet Knights had a respectable .269 team batting average, the team only managed six homers all month and didn’t walk much (about 2.5 BB per game. Columbia hasn’t had a lot to cheer about so far. But the Senators pitching did improve about a run and a half (from a 5.74 ERA in April to a 4.14 mark this month). LaGrange hold a 4.5 game edge on Fuller and a 5 game lead on Milton.

Martin Division

Right on schedule. Exactly a month after throwing up the white flag, North Hollywood ran off a 14-10 May record. The Hornets didn’t get a lot of hitting, but got clutch hits in tight games (five different players had at least two GW RBI for the month). NHH needed that, as its team ERA was a pedestrian 4.13 on the month. New York managed only a 13-10 mark despite a 2.91 ERA in May. The Commuters got on base well (.333 team OBP) but only managed 10 homers. Maybe the down month was due to Kent Tekulve’s 8.31 ERA in the closer’s role. Charleston thrived after the interdivisional games ended in April, turning in a 13-10 ledger this month. The Rays hit a lot closer to expected levels (right at league average) once it put the Martin hurlers in the rear view mirror. Dan Driessen led the charge with a .300, .382, .467 month. San Diego had a disappointing April turn into a mediocre (11-12) May. The Aztecs improved in close games and look to get over .500 in the early summer. That thud you heard was Toronto crashing back to earth. After a heady April start, the Crown Royals pitching served up the most runs in the BDSL and the defense was no better. Toronto apparently used up its spring quota of late inning magic, as it was 0-12 when trailing late in May and only 1-7 in one run games. Ouch. Well, it can only get better north of the border. Even after the Charleston and NHH charge, New York leads the Rays by 6 games and Hornets by 7.5 games.

Wildcards

The Johnson WC race is still a scrum, with Barnett clinging to a half game lead over Oregon for the top spot. Wellington is 3 back, Palm Beach is 6 and Decatur 7 off the mark. In the Ruth League, Fuller is half a game ahead of Milton, one game in front of Charleston and 2.5 in front of North Hollywood.

Mike Schmidt is surging to the top of the power categories. If he can maintain the pace, he would set all kinds of records

Batting Leaders:

BA Grich, CLS .366

HR Schmidt, ORP 23

RBI Schmidt, ORP 56

Runs Murphy, WLK

Leonard, ORP 43

Hits Leonard, ORP 71

OB% Boggs , NYC .454

SLG Murphy, WLK .649

SB Henderson, CLS 32

Lee Smith is having a great year, but will be done by early August at this pace. Dave Stieb is quietly building a career year.

Pitching Leaders:

Wins Stieb, LLG

Clancy, SLD

Davis, SLD

Morris, DDD 8

K’s Morris, DDD 79

ERA Smith, LDR 1.03

BA Pena, BSD .186

CG Stieb, LLG

McGregor, CHR

Clancy, SLD

Davis, SLD 5

Shutouts Stieb, LLG

McGregor, CHR 3

Saves Orosco, TBB 14

Holds James, TCR

Hernandez, FLF

Forster, NYC 7

April

More than in most retro leagues, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of difference between the top flight teams and the also-rans in the BDSL. So if your team started off slower than expected, just come in off the ledge and have a seat. There will be better days in Palm Beach…and Charleston…and Vegas. And in case your team started out playing above their heads, just remember that we’ve got 125+ games left to play. So don’t print your playoff tickets yet, Milton, Toronto and Barnett.

Alston Division

As expected, Oregon hit the ball with authority and pitched pretty well. The Pioneers rode those strengths to a 15-10 record in April. The question with Oregon is if it can maintain this pace. Key contributors Dave Engle and Dennis Leonard are slightly over usage, while bullpen ace Keith Atherton has pitched two months worth in April. Wellington won it all last season, but only managed to go 14-12 to start the season. As predicted, the Knights hammered the long ball (38), but they also gave up a lot (27). Barnett was picked to have a shot at a WC in the preseason rankings and April proved that to be true. The Shale Drillers turned in a 13-11 month after going 8-2 over the last 10 games. Savannah had the best pitching in the Alston, but didn’t hit well enough to take advantage (worst in the Alston) and ended April with a 14-12 mark. The Shoeless Joes got nice months on the hill from Matt Young and short-timer Mike Norris. Decatur knows what it’s like to in a tough neighborhood. Despite being a year or two away from having a dynamic young nucleus ready to contend, the Diamond Dawgs finished April with a respectable 14-14 mark. They did it with an opportunistic offense that scored more runs than its RC/27 rate expected. The Alston should be a tough division all year. At the moment, Oregon has a 2.5 game lead on Decatur and a 1.5 game edge on everyone else.

Anderson Division

Sleepytown was the top team in the power rankings all year until falling in the playoffs last season. The Dukes again got off to a hot start, pacing the Walter Johnson League with a 16-8 April. Sleepytown is one of the biggest home field advantages in the league, as the Dukes are were 10-1 at Memorial Stadium, but only 6-7 on the road. Cal Ripken, Lonnie Smith and Jim Clancy should lead the Dukes to another Hunt for a Winning October. Philadelphia was picked to finish in the middle of the division this year. And the division was all bad after Sleepytown. The As stumbled to a 13-14 April despite outscoring their opponents by an impressive 24 runs. Philly had trouble holding late leads, dropping 3 games after going to the 8^th inning with a lead. Palm Beach is expected to be a playoff or wildcard contender, though the Elks only managed an 11-15 opening month. The pitching was a little better than anticipated, but the hitting was much worse. The Elks only managed a .610 team OPS, a figure that will have to rise if this team is to make a playoff run. Thunder Bay has made strides after a forgettable 82 campaign. But the Black Jacks didn’t pitch nearly well enough (4.30 ERA) to overcome the BDSL’s 3^rd worst offense in April (.620 OPS). London is hoping to make some noise after a dismal 82 season. But the Rippers didn’t rip the ball much in April en route to a Johnson-worst 8-17 record. London posted the most anemic offensive numbers in the BDSL, with a .573 team OPS. It has to get better. Shades of last season, Sleepytown looks like it might run away from the pack, already leading Philly by 4.5 games and everyone else by at least 6.

Weaver Division

LaGrange started the season winning 4 of 6 and ended April hot, winning 9 of 10. In between, the Lone Gunmen were unable to beat rebuilding Fuller or Columbia. LaGrange is led by Dave Stieb and a patchwork offense that can either explode or implode at random intervals. The pitching carried the Gunmen, as every starter on the staff except Gullickson had an ERA below 2.50 in April. Milton had a surprisingly good April at 15-10. The Mavericks, paced by Bill Doran, hit better than expected (.757 OPS) and pitched a little better (3.87 ERA) than anticipated. Fuller was expected to struggle and it did with a 12-14 month. The Furies had some high scoring games, boasting the league’s best offense (.783 OPS) and 2^nd most generous pitching (4.73 ERA). Jose Cruz is on pace for a phenomenal season. Vegas had one of the uglier opening months this year. The Velvet Knights were expected to struggle at the dish, and Dickie Thon promised to help. Thon did lead the team with 16 runs, but the bad news was that Vegas only managed a (.630 OPS). This team won’t struggle like this all season. Expect the Velvet Knights to rally soon. The forecast isn’t NEARLY so rosy in Columbia. The Senators served up a league-worst 5.74 ERA. While they probably won’t be so generous every month, Columbia doesn’t have the horses to contend this year. LaGrange leads Milton by only a game going into May. Fuller is 4.5 back

Martin Division

Nobody is surprised that New York is good this year. The Commuters have strong hitting and superb pitching. Kent Tekulve nailed down 8 saves en route to a 19-7 April. Toronto knew it would be better this season, but few pundits thought they would contend. So the Crown Royals’ 14-12 month raised quite a few eyebrows. They did it by rallying FOUR times after entering the eight inning behind and also by going 6-4 in one run games. It’s tough to tell if Charleston’s offense is THIS much worse than anticipated or if the pitching in the Martin Division is just so good that it made a strong Rays’ offense look this bad. Charleston only hit .237 as a team en route to a 12-12 month. Don’t count on the Rays stumbling like that all summer. San Diego fans didn’t expect a lot of playoff love this year. And the Aztecs proved them right so far with a 11-15 April. SD had average hitting (.708 OPS) and average pitching (3.57 ERA) but was an abysmal 3-7 in one run games. North Hollywood has a history of saying “We won’t contend” while ripping off a long string of wins. This year, there might be some truth in the “we won’t win” promise if April’s 10-14 record is any indication. The pitching (3.56 ERA) was ok, but the hitting (.669 OPS) didn’t give much cause to celebrate. It looks like New York will be in the driver’s seat for most of the summer unless Charleston can get the bats unlimbered. The Commuters lead Toronto by 5 games and the Rays by 6.

Wildcards

The Johnson WC race is a brawl, with Barnett, Savannah and Wellington each a tied for the top spot and Decatur only 1 game back while Philly is 1.5 off the pace. In the Ruth League, Milton holds a 1.5 game edge on Toronto as Charleston is 2.5 back, Fuller is 3.5 back and SD is tied with NHH at 4.5 back. Expect Vegas to make up some of the 5.5 game deficit soon.

Wade Boggs and Dale Murphy opened the season with a big bang, as each leads 3 categories.

Batting Leaders:

BA Boggs , NYC .386

HR Murphy, WLK 10

RBI Rice, NYC 25

Runs Murphy, WLK 25

Hits Boggs , NYC

Grich, CLS 39

OB% Boggs , NYC .483

SLG Murphy, WLK .723

SB Henderson, CLS 25

Pitching Leaders:

Wins Morris, DDD 26

K’s Norris, SSJ

Righetti, VVK

Morris, DDD 38

ERA Smith, LDR 0.72

BA Boddicker, PBE .165

CG Stieb, LLG

Clancy, SLD

Hoyt, NYC 3

Shutouts Stieb, LLG

Davis, SLD 2

Saves Tekulve, NYC

Moore, DDD 8

Holds Forster, NYC 7