Week in Review - American League (May 6-12, 1929)

 

Miraculous, against all odds, the Senators hold on to the top spot in the American League.  I keep assuming that they are going to start to fade, but they simply haven't done so.  The Athletics got within a half game of the Senators earlier in the week but couldn't get any closer.  It feels like the Athletics and the Yankees will start to pull away from the rest of the league, which is what ultimately did happen in 1929, but at the same time the Senators blueprint keeps working - they score early and enough to hang on to leads through the end of games.  Here is the link to the Baseball-Reference page showing the standings at this point in 1929.  You will notice that the Browns are quite underperforming relative to the real-life standings.

The Yankees got hot over the last week, with the bat of Ruth finally starting to come alive.  Ruth and Gehrig have both started the season slow, but fast starts from Tony Lazzeri and Bob Meusel have kept the team going.

The Tigers, who are slightly underperforming relative to their real record, are another fun team to play with.  Charlie Gehringer is constantly getting on base and trying to steal, Harry Heilmann is a steady hitter that has a high OPS and is driving in runs, while hitting behind him is Dale Alexander to knock in anybody that Heilmann leaves on.

AL Batting Leaders

 

 

 

 

 

The offensive numbers seem a bit high, with so many guys still hitting over .400, but it is early in the season.  I haven't had the time/effort to go in and do a comparison in Baseball-Reference as far as overall offensive numbers up to this point in the season - would be interesting to do, but I'm so anxious to keep playing games right now that I don't want to get sidetracked!  It is still early in the year and I will wait and see how things start to settle as we progress.

American League - Top 10 Hitters

Al Simmons (PHA)

1. Al Simmons, Philadelphia Athletics (Prev: 2) (.377/.424/.852, OPS: 1.276; Other highlights: 8 HR, 23 RBI) - The hammer on perhaps the most potent offense in the American League, Simmons moves into the top spot this week after occupying #2 last week.  Lew Fonseca did nothing wrong to fall from the top spot, it's just that Simmons powered his way to the top.  He leads the league in HRs, RBI, slugging, and OPS and is a key reason why everyone is expecting the A's to soon charge to the top of the American League Standings.

2. Lew Fonseca, Cleveland Indians (Prev: 1) (.407/.447/.628, OPS: 1.075; Other highlights: 17 RBI, 17 runs, 35 hits, 5 SB) - Fonseca does a little bit of everything and does it all well.  He may not hit many home runs, but his slugging and run production is still near the top of the league.  He hits and gets on base, a lot, and once he's on the base he remains a threat to steal an extra bag. It will be interesting to see if he can continue to flirt with hitting .400 for the season.

Bing Miller (PHA)

3. Bing Miller, Philadelphia Athletics (Prev: 4) (.461/.488/.658, OPS: 1.146; Other highlights: 35 hits, 4 SB) - His otherwordly batting average is the main reason he ranks this high, as .461, even at this early stage of the season, is insane.  Bing doesn't drive in many runs, but that's not his fault - hitting behind the likes of Simmons, Cochrane and Foxx will do that.  The fact is that he's getting on base nearly half the time he comes to the plate, which is incredible.

4. Lu Blue, St. Louis Browns (Prev: 3) (.302/.423/.605, OPS: 1.028; Other highlights: 5 HR, 20 runs, 18 BB) - His batting average may have dipped over the last week, but he still ranks among the league leaders in OBP and OPS, so Blue's overall production has continued unabated.  Plus, from the leadoff spot, he provides quite a bit of pop, as evidenced by his 5 home runs.  The more interesting question with respect to Blue, Heinie Manush, and Ski Melillo - who all appear in this Top 10 - is why are the Browns not fighting for the league lead?  Their individual offensive players are stars, yet they currently sit 2 games under .500 and 4.5 games behind the Senators.

5. Heinie Manush, St. Louis Browns (Prev: 7) (.421/.430/.621, OPS: 1.051; Other highlights: 19 RBI, 40 hits) - A strong case can be made that Manush should be ranked higher than this, as he is slashing at higher rates than teammate Blue.  I slightly prefer the all-around game offered from Blue but it's like splitting hairs to separate them.  Manush seems poised to make his own run at hitting .400, so we will see how long he can maintain this.

6. Harry Heilmann, Detroit Tigers (Prev: 10) (.343/.422/.455, OPS: .877; Other highlights: 19 runs, 34 hits, 15 BB, 3SB) - Another "Mr. Do-It-All," Heilmann is the key to the entire Tigers offense.  Charlie Gehringer gets on wreaks havoc on the base paths, while Heilmann just keeps hit and further setting the table for Dale Alexander.  Hitting .343, while also drawing 15 walks and stealing 3 bases, illustrates this point.

Ski Melillo (SLB)

7. Ski Melillo, St. Louis Browns (Prev: 8) (.384/.418/.570, OPS: .988; Other highlights: 33 hits) - Melillo is the guy who balances out the Browns' batting order, with Lu Blue kicking things off, Manush hitting in the middle, and Melillo in the bottom half but still producing at a high rate.  Here is yet another example of a player that I knew nothing about before embarking on this project and it's been fun to see him produce like this, including two walk off hits.

8. Dale Alexander, Detroit Tigers (Prev: NR) (.317/.384/.505, OPS: .889; Other highlights: 20 RBI, 32 hits, 3 SB) - With Gehringer and Heilmann hitting in front him, Dale Alexander is the power man that cleans the table.  With these three guys on offense, the Tigers feel like a team that could make a surprise run at the pennant.

9. Tony Lazzeri, New York Yankees (Prev: 5) (.333/.432/.565, OPS: .997) - With Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig off to slow starts to the season (although the Babe has now swatted 5 home runs), it is Lazzeri who sparked the Yankees hot streak of late.

10. Buddy Myer, Washington Senators (Prev: NR) (.333/.422/.444, OPS: .866; Other highlights: 3 SB) - There are players that probably have greater statistical claims to this spot (Jimmy Dykes, for example), but it feels like the Senators deserve some representation on this list, as they continue to shock everyone and keep a firm grip on the top of the American League standings.  Having said that, Myer is still having a fantastic season, as are teammates like Joe Cronin, Goose Goslin, and Joe Judge - individually, none of them are likely to win an MVP, but collectively they are certainly getting the job done.

AL Pitching Leaders

 

 

American League - Top 5 Pitcher

 Lefty Grove (PHA)

1. Lefty Grove, Philadelphia Athletics (6 games, 6 starts, 6-0, 0.77 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 41 Ks; Other highlights: 4 CGs, 1 shutout) - Lefty Grove remains in the top pitcher in the American League, is also the best pitcher in all of baseball at the moment, and at this rate might make a strong case for AL MVP.  He has been unhittable, unbeatable, un-anything else you can think of.

2. Ted Lyons, Chicago White Sox (3 games, 3 starts, 2-0, 0.64 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 9 Ks; Other highlights: 2 CGs, 1 shutout)

Sad Sam Jones (WSH)

3. Sad Sam Jones, Washington Senators (5 games, 5 starts, 4-0, 1.62 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 12 Ks; Other highlights: 2 CGs, 2 shutouts) - With Sad Sam and Marberry both on this list, maybe it does make a bit more sense why the Senators are still riding high?

4. Ed Morris, Boston Red Sox (6 games, 5 starts, 2-2, 2.45 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 14 Ks; Other highlights: 2 CGs) - The Red Sox may stink, but Morris can't be blamed, he has been brilliant.

5. Firpo Marberry, Washington Senators (4 games, 2 starts, 3-1, 2.84 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 12 Ks)