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It shaping up to be another season of ultra-parity, just like that time a few years back when six  or seven teams were tied for first in mid-August, or something like that (the UL Research Department/unpaid intern is out of the office this week).

Four West teams and two teams in the East could claim first place after the first half of the UL's Ruby Anniversary season. The defending champion St. Louis Maroons were the West's best team in June, going 16-11 to climb from fourth to a share of first, while the Chicago Colts sputtered to a 12-15 month to fall from their perch, despite the Rookie of the Month performance by Albert Belle (.356-4-20).

Meanwhile out East, the Toronto Polar Bears were the hottest team in the league, using an 18-9 surge to climb into a first place tie with the Boston Federals. Toronto's Roberto Alomar captured his second Batter of the Month of the year, batting .427 with 18 RBIs and 28 runs, making him an early MVP candidate.

San Francisco also surged in the West, climbing to fifth—aka, the best of the rest or the next best team that isn't tied for first. The Arachnids were led by Pitcher of the Month Jose DeLeon (4-1, 2.00).

Elsewhere around the league, Brooklyn's Ken Griffey Jr hit for the cycle on June 23, Atlanta's Tony Gwynn and Havana's Matt Nokes, and Keystone's Jerome Walton had five-hit games, and Denver shortstop Ozzie Smith suffered a hamstring injury that will sideline him six weeks.

L.A.'s Eddie Murray collected his 2500th hit and Manhattan's Gary Carter celebrated hitting his 300th home run by being place on the trading block by GM Eric Holthaus.

The UL’s third decade (1971-80) was a story of two halves. Five different teams lifted the UL trophy in the first half. Then in 1976, Craig Robinson began his epic run of six straight MVP seasons, leading  the Manhattan Gray Sox to four straight UL World Series, staking an undisputed claim to team of the decade. In addition to its four rings, Manhattan also made it to the 1975 World Series and won the President's Trophy (for best regular season record) in 1977 and 1979.

The next most successful team was the Chicago Colts, who won three President’s Trophies in the decade, and made back-to–back World Series in 1972 and 1973, winning the latter. They also finished second overall in 1979. The Colts thus secure the honor of being the first team to land in the top-3 in two different decades.

The Boston Federals were one of three teams with no points in the index through the 1976 season. The next year they ended the longest playoff drought in UL history and finished the decade with three straight World Series appearances, culminating with a President’s Trophy/World Series double in 1980 that landed them as the third best team of the decade. The Feds narrowly edged out the San Francisco Spiders, who won the World Series in 1974, the President’s Trophy in 1976 and made the World Series again in 1980.

Two more expansion teams were added in 1974, and the Montréal Voyageuers had an immediate impact, winning the President’s Trophy in their second season and finishing third overall in 1977.

[Waffle House: Dallas Texans/Seattle Rainiers. The franchise that began the decade as the Dallas Texans had eight losing seasons, including six finishes in 10th or lower, and moved to the Pacific Northwest in 1976, where they had brief success as the Seattle Texans for one season before rebranding and falling back into their losing ways the following year.]


TEAMS OF THE DECADE, 1971-1980
22.3 - Manhattan Gray Sox
12.4 - Chicago Colts
11.4 - Boston Federals