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Circuit Clouts
May 1, 1998 • Opening Day Edition
May 1, 1998 • Opening Day Edition
East W L GB R RA
Brooklyn 19 9 - 1 1
Toronto 19 9 - 3 10
Manhattan 17 11 2 9 3
Washington 16 12 3 8 7
Boston 13 15 6 14 8
Havana 11 16 7½ 15 4
Florida 10 18 9 12 11
Keystone 10 18 9 17 18
Montreal 9 19 10 13 15
West W L GB R RA
Chicago 20 8 - 2 5
St. Louis 17 11 3 4 2
Denver 17 11 3 6 6
Cleveland 16 12 4 11 14
Seattle 15 13 5 7 9
Atlanta 14 14 6 5 16
Minneapolis 13 15 7 10 13
Detroit 8 20 12 16 17
Los Angeles 7 20 12½ 18 11
tied
Maroons Off to Fast Start
Michael Tucker Erupts
After missing the playoffs for the last three years, the St. Louis Maroons are making a run for October. St. Louis opened the season 17-11 behind the league's second-best pitching staff and fourth-ranked offense.
Jim Gott (3-1, 2.23) and closer Antonio Osuna (1.46, 5 SV) led the pitching staff, while fifth-year CF Michael Tucker erupted with a .357 average, 1.095 OPS and league-leading 7.2 ZR. 3B Chipper Jones continues to grow into a top-tier slugger, leading the club with 22 RBIs with a .320 average and .917 OPS.
The Maroons' season started on the wrong foot, with a three-game home sweep at the hands of the Brooklyn Superbas, but the Dark Reds quickly rallied, rattling off 7 wins in their next 8.
The club (17-11) sits three games behind the surprising Chicago Colts, and is tied with the Denver 14ers for 2nd place in the West.
OPENING DAY 1998
Bergman Shines
Pennant Winners Barons, Sox Falter in Openers
CHI 9, DET 1
Steve Cooke stymied Griffins' bats, allowing just four hits and one run in seven innings, and added a two-run homer for the cherry on top. Six Colts had two hits, including John Olerud, who homered and drove in a pair.
BRO 4, STL 3
Brooklyn nearly blew an early 3-0 lead, but held on for a 4-3 win thanks to closer Greg McMichael. Starter Mike Timlin tossed 4.2 shutout innings and newcomer Dion James contributed a two-run homer off Bret Saberhagen to spoil the festivities for the Maroons.
ATL 6, MAN 2
Tony Gwynn's three-run blast off Roger Clemens set the tone in Atlanta, as the Red Blobs crusied to an easy win over the defending East Division champs. Jon Nunnally homered for Manhattan, but Cy Young winner Pedro Martinez held the Sox to just two hits and one run in six innings.
MPS 6, LA 5
The Foxes prevailed in a high-scoring affair in Fridley, winning the game with a four-spot in the fifth off Rolando Arroyo. Bobby Abreu and Mike Greenwell each hit RBI doubles and Ricardo Rincon locked down the win for the hosts.
DEN 4, SEA 3
Newcomer Kal Daniels drove in a pair of runs and Larry Walker hit a two-run homer, as Joe Magrane held on for a narrow win over the Rainiers. Ken Caminiti had a pair of hits for Seattle, whose starter Erik Hanson was roughed up for 11 hits and four runs in six innings.
HAV 6, MON 1
Cy Young candidate Sean Bergman got his '98 campaign off to a good start, holding the hosts Montreal to one run over six innings. Matt Lawton had three hits for the Leones and Pudge Rodriguez drove in the only run for the home side.
TOR 8, BOS 3
The visitors exploded for six runs in the last innings after Boston starter Julian Tavarez left the game. Benito Santiago celebrated his return to the lineupe after a nearly two-year absence with a three-RBI game.
WAS 4, FLO 3
Aaron Boone sent the home crowd into raptures with a game-winning double off Florida closer Steve Karsay. It was a fitting ending to an enthralling see-saw battle that saw 2-2 and 3-3 ties. The Flamingos' rookie shortstop Carlos Guillen hit 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs.
KEY 5, CLE 3
Rookie LF Kevin Millar terrorized Cleveland pitchers all day, racking up four of the Starlings' five RBIs to hand the defending champs an Opening Day defeat. Butch Henry was solid, allowing just one earned run in 6.1 innings, while Ismael Valdez struggled and was chased after five.
Portland Wins Expansion Team
On the banks of the Willamette River with snow-capped Mount Hood in the background, United League officials announced the Portland UL expansion team. The as-yet-unnamed club will play in Civic Stadium, a more than 100-year-old facility in the Goose Hollow neighborhood on the west side of town. Multnomah Field was built in 1893, originally consisted of sports fields and grandstands and was completed as a stadium in 1926. Over the years, the site was used for college football games, cricket matches, greyhound racing, and the Portland Rose Festival. Since 1971, Civic Stadium has played host to Triple-A International League teams affiliated with San Francisco, St. Louis, and since 1977, Seattle.
Now Portland will be a major league rival with its former masters, the Seattle Rainiers. Seattle civic leaders helped promote Portland’s expansion bid. As it stands, the Rainiers nearest rivals are 960 and 1,020 miles (Los Angeles and Denver, respectively) making Seattle the most isolated franchise in the league. On the heels of the announcement of the Bay Area Breakers expansion team, the number of West Coast teams has doubled in the span of a month.
The successful bid owes much to the lobbying of western senators, particularly those from states other than California and Texas, who withheld support of teams in those states unless there was a guarantee of a third team elsewhere. Portland team almost guarantees that Phoenix will again be locked out of expansion, as it was in 1984 and 1990. All eyes now turn to Texas, where either Houston or Dallas is expected to secure the third expansion team.
West Division
West Division
East Division
East Division
League Leaders
League Leaders
Batting Average
Juan Gonzalez TOR .393
Scott Rolen MPS .371
Johnny Damon SEA .366
F. Catalanotto CHI .364
Michael Tucker STL .357
Tony Phillips ATL .354
Rich Gedman CLE .354
Tony Gwynn ATL .351
Darrin Fletcher MAN .350
Jason Giambi WAS .341
RBIs
Juan Gonzalez TOR 30
Scott Rolen MPS 29
Raul Mondesi TOR 27
Eric Karros TOR 25
Ken Griffey Jr BRO 24
David Ortiz SEA 24
Carlos Delgado CLE 22
Chipper Jones STL 22
John Valentin BRO 22
Infield Zone Rating
Tony Graffanino MAN 7.0
Benji Gil SEA 5.1
Alex Rodriguez CLE 3.7
Damion Easley MAN 3.5
Jose Valentin ATL 3.3
Home Runs
Juan Gonzalez TOR 12
Raul Mondesi TOR 12
Scott Rolen MPS 10
Barry Bonds STL 9
Carlos Delgado CLE 8
Ryan Klesko DET 8
Michael Tucker STL 8
bWAR
Michael Tucker STL 2.6
Scott Rolen MPS 2.1
Juan Gonzalez TOR 2.0
Raul Mondesi TOR 1.9
Johnny Damon SEA 1.9
Ken Griffey Jr BRO 1.8
Ryan Klesko DET 1.4
Darin Erstad DEN 1.4
Tony Batista STL 1.4
John Valentin BRO 1.3
Outfield Zone Rating
Michael Tucker STL 7.2
Andruw Jones WAS 4.1
Darin Erstad DEN 3.8
Ken Griffey Jr BRO 3.6
Carlos Beltran CHI 3.5
Earned Run Average
Hideo Nomo DEN 1.19
Shane Reynolds HAV 1.43
Mike Timlin BRO 1.88
Sean Bergman HAV 2.23
Jim Gott STL 2.23
Jose DeLeon CLE 2.29
Dwight Gooden SEA 2.30
Ismael Valdez CLE 2.31
Julian Tavarez BOS 2.34
Mike Grace TOR 2.70
Strikeouts
Pedro Martinez ATL 54
Steve Cooke CHI 45
Hideo Nomo DEN 43
Greg Swindell BRO 43
Mike Mussina FLO 42
Britt Burns STL 37
F. Cordova FLO 37
Chan Ho Park MON 37
Bret Saberhagen STL 37
Justin Thompson DET 37
Wins
Britt Burns STL 4
Steve Cooke CHI 4
Tom Glavine WAS 4
Jose Lima TOR 4
Pedro Martinez ATL 4
Hideo Nomo DEN 4
Greg Swindell BRO 4
pWAR
Greg Swindell BRO 1.5
Hideo Nomo DEN 1.4
Sean Bergman HAV 1.3
Ismael Valdez CLE 1.2
Bret Saberhagen STL 1.2
Steve Cooke CHI 1.1
Mike Grace TOR 1.1
Livan Hernandez MON 1.1
Julian Tavarez BOS 1.1
Randy Tomlin BRO 1.1
Awards
Awards
Batter of the Month
APR Juan Gonzalez TOR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
Pitcher of the Month
APR Hideo Nomo DeN
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
Rookie of the Month
APR Carlos Beltran CHI
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
Player of the Week
4/6 Tony Gwynn ATL
4/13 Ken Griffey Jr BRO
4/20 Tony Batista STL
4/27 Scott Rolen MPS
5/4
5/11
5/18
5/25
6/1
6/8
6/15
6/22
6/29
7/6
7/13
7/20
7/27
8/3
8/10
8/17
8/24
8/31
9/7
9/14
9/21
9/28
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