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Apr. 1, 1998 • Season Preview Edition
Apr. 1, 1998 • Season Preview Edition
On the Come?
Vladi Leads Voyageurs' Revival
Seattle, Havana Making Moves
After years of stockpiling young talent but forever mired in the second division, GM Bryan Gryka's Montreal Voyageurs are ready to make the leap back into the United League playoffs. Montreal has not played in October since 1982, the Cinderella title year when they christened a new ballpark and steamrolled to an 8-2 playoff run, culminating with the most dominant pitching performance in World Series history. This generation's Canoeists are a strong balance of power and pitching centered around the best player in the league, 23-year-old Vladimir Guerrero. Vladi won the batting (.334) and WAR (9.1) titles last year and has elicited comparisons with six-time MVP Craig Robinson.
Montreal's ascent headlines the shift of power from West to East this season, as Boston, Brooklyn, Toronto, and Manhattan all figure to be in playoff contention come the fall. The Feds added future Hall of Fame infielders Alan Trammell and Ryne Sandberg in their quest to bring the trophy back to Fenway after winning the 1996 title. And the Gray Sox hope the addition of Frank Thomas can help them defend their division pennant and win a return to the World Series.
The Havana Leones and Seattle Rainiers rank among the most improved teams heading in the league's 48th season. Havana's rotation features Cy Young candidate Sean Bergman and #1 overall pick Roy Halladay, compliments of the draft lottery. Seattle has cobbled together an impressive mix of veteran stars and homegrown talent and looks to build on last year's 19-win improvement.
End of an Era
UL Plays Final Season Before "Big Bang" Expansion
With one more year in its current format with 18 teams in two divisions, both division races seem more wide open than usual. After winning the first title in their 47-year history, the Cleveland Barons remain a top pick in the West, but the Denver 14ers are poised to make a playoff return after ending a long playoff drought of their own. The St. Louis Maroons could make a rebound, and the Seattle Rainers continue their slow climb from the basement a few years ago.
The Barons, sentimental favorites last year given their record title drought, will seek a second victory parade in GM Charlie Qualls' final year, before the longtime skipper returns home to take the reins of a new club in the Bay Area.
Ken Griffey Jr (BRO), Barry Bonds (STL), and Ivan Rodriguez (MON) have been displaced in the top five positional rankings by Chipper Jones (STL), Scott Rolen (MPS), and Ryan Klesko (DET). On the pitching side, Julian Tavarez (BOS), Matt Morris (MAN), and Kelvim Escobar (MPS) have shot up the chart into the top 10, displacing Jon Lieber (BOS) and Fernie Valenzuela (ATL).
Havana's farm system shot up 13 spots to #3, thanks in large part to winning the draft lottery and selecting SP Roy Halladay, 3B Troy Glaus, and 1B Doug Mientkiewicz. Minneapolis boasts the #1 farm, with SP Chris Carpenter, 1B Sean Casey, and SP Javier Vazquez.
Expansion Looming
Starting next season, the league will transition to a new format. Three expansion teams will bring the league to 21 teams, split into three divisions. The realignment will also introduce the first new round of the playoffs since the addition of the Hex Series in 1984. [The two best division winners will claim byes into the Semi Series, while the overall 6th and 7th place teams will face off in a three-game First Round series to determine the last qualifier for the Hex Series.
San Francisco was announced as the first of the three expansion teams, to replace the relocated San Francisco Spiders. Texas and another western state are expected to land the last two expansion teams.
Bay Area Breakers Revealed
First of Three '99 Expansion Teams Announced
It was a rare sunny day on Treasure Island. Dozens of dignitaries were assembled for the announcement of the return of United League baseball to San Francisco. Governor Pete Wilson was flanked by senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, who were in turn flanked by Spiders Hall of Famers Lou Brock and Fergie Jenkins, who were in turn flanked by former Spiders GM Jeff Tonole and civic leader Bob Saget. The mayors of San Francisco and Oakland were somewhere amidst the crowd, along with the mayors of a dozen smaller Bay Area cities, from Saratoga to El Sobrante.
The San Francisco Spiders, who played in decrepit but beloved Seals Stadium for four decades (1955-94), were stolen from the Bay Area in 1995 after a major earthquake turned the metaphorical ruin into a literal one, while literally crushing the new ownership group. Those twin calamitites forcing their relocation to Fridley, Minnesota, of all places.
The political machine shifted to high gear faster than you can say line-item veto, from city hall to the state house to the U.S. Congress. The result was an iron-clad guarantee from the league office that the very next team added to the United League would go to northern California.
Next came the coalition of deep-pocketed funders, city planners, and architects, who went to work amassing the funding—a medley of cash, bonds, tax incentives, and corporate partnerships—to pony up the expansion fee, acquire land for the new stadium, and design the infrastructure that would ensure not only smooth transit to and from the ballpark, but support from a fickle electorate.
The result was a fantastic achievement, though it has yet to break ground. The Bay Area Breakers will ply their craft for a few seasons at Candlestick Park—a slightly-less-decrepit metaphorical ruin—early in the next millennium they will move into a state-of-the-art facility on Treasure Island, midway between San Francisco and Oakland in the shadows of the Bay Bridge.
Treasure Island, officially within San Francisco’s city limits, is a man-made island built for the 1939 World’s Fair and was a naval station and auxiliary air facility for airships, blimps, dirigibles, and seaplanes before being largely neglected since World War III. The stadium complex will include North America’s longest urban funicular, a cable-driven aerial gondola system that will transport fans from Emeryville to the east and the Embarcadero on the West eighty feet above the ground at the stately pace of 12mph, roughly double the average speed of a Bay Bridge rush hour.
After a performance of “Lights” by Journey and “We Built This City” by Starship, a curtain was opened and out walked Lodi native Charlie Qualls, current GM of the Cleveland Barons, flashing his UL champion ring. In brief—if overly-rehearsed—remarks, Qualls noted that after four decades in Ohio he was happy to be coming home. “The focus has always been, and will continue to be presenting a style of baseball that's fun to watch, and bringing in players that are unequivocally easy to root for. Our group will apply all we have learned from decades of ups and downs to bring exciting and winning baseball back to the Bay.”
The league is expected to announce the other two expansion teams before the end of May. It is widely expected that one club will go to Texas and the other to another Western state.
Houston Edges Ahead of Dallas, Austin Drops Out
Quest for 2nd Expansion Team Heats Up
With the announcement of the Bay Area Breakers, the focus shifted to the state of Texas, whose Congressional contingent has been pressuring the UL for a new club as part of the 1999 "Big Bang" three-team expansion. Dallas-Fort Worth was considered an early front-runner, but has fallen behing Houston in recent months, as that city stepped up its financial commitment to a new club with a new earmark to update the icon Astrodome to home the new team. Meanwhile, Austin, which positioned itself as the compromise site between the state's two largest metro areas, has officially fallen out of the race.
Houston was home to the Dallas Texan's Triple-A team from 1962-1973 and switched its affiliation to the Atlanta Hilltoppers from 1974-1981 before Atlanta GM Andy Chaney moved the team to Milwaukee. After Philadelphia was awarded an expansion team in 1990, the Boston Federals moved its farm team to Houston for 1990-92, before moving it to Hartford to save travel costs.
So Houston—the nation's 12th largest metro area—has been without a team at any level since 1993, while Dallas (the 7th largest) has had to content itself with the Double-A Fort Worth Cats since 1982. Both situations are ones Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison and Phil Gramm are hoping to correct this fall.
Third Team Up for Grabs
As of this writing, there was no clear favorite for the third expansion team. Given the pressure of the Congressional committee and its internal dynamics, the prevailing wisdom is that Texas (probably Houston or Dallas) will get one team, while another western state will get the third and final expansion club. Phoenix and Portland have put forward the most compelling expansion bids, with the former city's bid given a boost by the advocacy of Arizona Sen. John McCain.
Predicted Finish
Predicted Finish
WEST
BNN W L GB R RA
St. Louis 93 67 - 13 1
Cleveland 92 68 1 1 10
Denver 91 69 2 8 3
Seattle 87 73 6 2 5
Detroit 84 76 9 10 13
Minneapolis 80 80 13 6 14
Chicago 79 81 14 16 8
Atlanta 75 85 18 12 12
Los Angeles 49 111 44 18 17
Reed BNN Diff
2 Cleveland 2 +0
5 Atlanta 15 +10
7 Chicago 13 +0
10 St. Louis 1 -9
11 Denver 3 -8
12 Detroit 6 -6
13 Minneapolis 12 -1
15 Seattle 5 -10
18 Los Angeles 18 +0
EAST
BNN W L GB R RA
Montreal 89 71 - 3 4
Keystone 82 78 7 5 7
Toronto 82 78 7 4 15
Florida 82 78 7 15 9
Brooklyn 81 79 8 9 11
Manhattan 81 79 8 11 6
Havana 78 82 11 17 2
Washington 72 88 17 14 16
Boston 67 93 22 7 18
Reed BNN Diff
1 Brooklyn 10 +9
3 Boston 17 +14
4 Montreal 4 +0
5 Toronto 8 +3
7 Manhattan 11 +4
9 Keystone 7 -2
14 Florida 9 -5
15 Havana 14 -1
17 Washington 16 -1
Positional Rankings
underlined means different position last year; italics means tied
Positional Rankings
underlined means different position last year; italics means tied
LEFT FIELDERS
1 2 Ryan Klesko DET
2 1 Barry Bonds STL
3 3 Albert Belle BOS
4 4 Kal Daniels DEN
5 5 Manny Ramirez ATL
6 9 Cliff Floyd MON
7 8 Gregg Jefferies WAS
8 7 Ellis Burks SEA
9 - Marty Cordova BRO
SHORTSTOP
1 1 N. Garciaparra SEA
2 3 John Valentin BRO
3 6 Orlando Cabrera KEY
4 5 Jose Valentin ATL
5 4 Tony Batista STL
6 4 Barry Larkin DEN
7 2 Alan Trammell CHI
8 - Matt Williams TOR
9 - Miguel Tejada MON
THIRD BASEMEN
1 1 Gary Sheffield WAS
2 2 Chipper Jones STL
3 3 Scott Rolen MPS
4 5 Wil Cordero KEY
5 6 Alex Rodriguez CLE
6 - David Bell MAN
6 9 Wade Boggs TOR
8 7 Jeff Cirillo LA
9 - Travis Fryman DEN
---------------------
POSITION PLAYERS
01 01 Vladi Guerrero MON
02 04 Gary Sheffield WAS
03 07 Chipper Jones STL
04 06 Ryan Klesko DET
05 12 Scott Rolen MPS
06 02 Ken Griffey Jr BRO
07 15 Jim Thome BOS
08 03 Barry Bonds STL
09 11 Juan Gonzalez TOR
10 16 Darin Erstad DEN
11 09 Jim Edmonds CLE
12 05 Ivan Rodriguez MON
13 08 John Olerud CHI
14 20 Wil Cordero KEY
15 -- Brad Fullmer MON
16 13 Mark Grace DEN
17 10 Albert Belle BOS
18 -- N. Garciaparra SEA
19 -- David Ortiz SEA
20 -- Johnny Damon SEA
-- 14 Frank E. Thomas LA
-- 17 Jeff Bagwell KEY
-- 18 Bobby Abreu MPS
-- 19 Tony Gwynn ATL
CENTER FIELDERS
1 1 Vladi Guerrero MON
2 1 Ken Griffey Jr BRO
3 3 Darin Erstad DEN
4 2 Jim Edmonds CLE
5 5 Sammy Sosa BOS
5 6 Johnny Damon SEA
7 - Rondell White KEY
8 7 Andruw Jones WAS
9 4 Raul Mondesi TOR
CATCHERS
1 1 Ivan Rodriguez MON
2 4 Dave Nilsson BRO
3 5 Mike Stanley KEY
4 2 Mike Piazza BOS
5 3 Charles Johnson ATL
6 - Damian Miller MAN
7 - Mike Stanley FLO
8 7 Gregg Zaun HAV
9 9 Rich Gedman CLE
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STARTING PITCHERS
01 01 Pedro Martinez ATL
02 02 Sean Bergman HAV
03 04 Ismael Valdez CLE
04 15 Julian Tavarez BOS
05 03 Greg Swindell BRO
06 -- Matt Morris MAN
07 09 J. Isringhausen MPS
08 -- Kelvim Escobar MPS
09 08 Francis Cordova FLO
10 07 Bret Saberhagen STL
11 14 Dwight Gooden SEA
12 10 Steve Cooke CHI
13 -- Derek Lowe TOR
14 06 Fern Valenzuela ATL
15 11 Mike Timlin BRO
16 12 Erik Hanson MAN
17 -- Chad Ogea TOR
18 -- Butch Henry KEY
19 17 Mike Mason WAS
20 13 Rheal Cormier LA
-- 05 Jon Lieber BOS
-- 16 Kevin Brown BRO
-- 18 Scott Sanderson CLE
-- 19 Jim Gott STL
-- 20 Shane Reynolds HAV
RIGHT FIELDERS
1 2 Juan Gonzalez TOR
2 - Jermaine Dye MON
3 3 Bobby Abreu MPS
4 5 Bernie Williams FLO
5 4 Tony Gwynn ATL
6 8 Joe Nunnally MAN
7 - Larry Walker DEN
8 6 Tim Salmon CHI
9 - Matt Lawton HAV
SECOND BASEMEN
1 1 Roberto Alomar CLE
2 2 Geronimo Pena BRO
3 3 Fernando Vina DET
4 7 Bret Boone ATL
5 - Edgardo Alfonzo MON
6 6 Ryne Sandberg WAS
7 - Chuck Knoblauch CHI
8 - Jay Bell DEN
9 8 Carlos Baerga KEY
FIRST BASEMEN
1 4 Jim Thome BOS
2 1 John Olerud CHI
3 - Brad Fullmer MON
4 2 Mark Grace DEN
5 - David Ortiz SEA
6 - Derrek Lee ATL
7 4 Jeff Bagwell KEY
8 3 Frank E Thomas MAN
9 5 Carlos Delgado CLE
---------------------
TOP RELIEVERS (tiers)
+ * Terry Adams DET
A A Greg McMichael BRO
A * Steve Karsay FLO
B B Cory Bailey CHI
B A Mariano Rivera SEA
B - Billy Wagner DET
- B Mike Grace TOR
- B Ricardo Rincon MPS
- B Jose Mesa TOR
- B Heath Slocumb MAN
+ - 5.0
* - 4.5
A - 4.0
B - 3.5
Prospects
Prospects
TOP 20 PROSPECTS
1 CF Carlos Beltran CHI
2 SP Roy Halladay HAV
3 C Mitch Meluskey BOS
4 RF J.D. Drew DET
5 3B Mike Lowell MON
6 SS Carlos Guillen FLO
7 SP Ryan Dempster SEA
8 SP Chris Carpenter MPS
9 3B Adrian Beltre LA
10 LF Geoff Jenkins KEY
11 SP Carl Pavano CHI
12 3B Corey Koskie BOS
13 3B Eric Chavez TOR
14 2B Jose Vidro TOR
15 1B Sean Casey MPS
16 SP Chad Bradford KEY
17 3B Aramis Ramirez ATL
18 SP Matt Clement DET
19 2B Ronnie Belliard FLO
20 SP Kerry Wood KEY
FARM SYSTEM RANKINGS
# LY Pts Team
1 4 154 Minneapolis
2 1 154 Seattle
3 16 144 Havana
4 9 143 Detroit
5 6 140 Toronto
6 10 135 Los Angeles
7 7 128 Florida
8 8 127 Keystone
9 17 121 Boston
10 3 118 Manhattan
11 12 103 Chicago
12 2 98 Montreal
13 5 42 Washington
14 13 32 Atlanta
15 14 17 Brooklyn
16 11 16 Denver
17 18 8 Cleveland
18 15 0 St. Louis
West Division
West Division
East Division
East Division
ATLANTA HILLTOPPERS
W L Pl R RA Rank
1995 82 80 9-t 4.9 4.6 13 5
1996 94 66 2nd 5.4 4.5 3 1
1997 84 76 7th 4.1 3.7 8 4
Avg HR RBI WAR
CF R Eric Davis .253 25 74 3.3
RF L Tony Gwynn .319 7 59 2.9
1B R Derrek Lee .248 21 66 2.3
2B R Bret Boone .256 27 78 3.9
SS R Jose Valentin .276 20 59 5.7
LF R Manny Ramirez .230 33 94 1.8
3B S Tony Phillips .243 13 53 2.9
C R Charles Johnson .208 7 42 1.0
W L ERA WAR
SP L Pedro Martinez 18 2 2.05 8.1
SP L Fernie Valenzuela 15 12 3.06 3.9
SP R John Smoltz 3 10 3.99 0.1
SP R Dave Schmidt 5 8 3.09 1.7
SP R Jeff M. Robinson 11 9 3.44 2.6
CL R Bobby Thigpen 38 SV 2.82 0.6
IN: CF Eric Davis, 2B Tony Phillips, SP Jeff M. Robinson, RP Bobby Thigpen, 3B Kevin Seitzer, SS Robin Yount
OUT: 3B Wade Boggs
BOSTON FEDERALS
W L Pl R RA Rank
1995 78 84 12th 5.1 5.3 8 14
1996 86 74 7th 5.3 5.1 6 12
1997 85 75 6th 4.8 4.3 2 13
Avg HR RBI WAR
2B R Ryne Sandberg .256 17 54 2.6
LF R Albert Belle .310 21 92 6.9
CF R Sammy Sosa .305 32 88 6.0
3B L Jim Thome .294 35 104 8.0
C R Mike Piazza .240 22 78 2.8
3B L Corey Koskie rookie
SS R Alan Trammell .267 12 60 1.3
RF L Al Martin .249 15 56 1.4
W L ERA WAR
SP R Julian Tavarez 21 5 2.11 4.7
SP R Jon Lieber 12 9 3.72 5.1
SP L Andy Pettitte 9 11 3.94 3.7
SP R Miguel Batista 13 10 4.33 1.5
SP R Osvaldo Fernandez rookie
CL R Billy Taylor 35 SV 3.18 0.3
IN: 2B Ryne Sandberg,*3B Corey Koskie, *SP Osvaldo Fernandez, RP Jesse Orosco
OUT: 2B Chuck Knoblauch, SP Kenny Rogers, RP Norm Charlton, CF Otis Nixon
CHICAGO COLTS
W L Pl R RA Rank
1995 92 70 4th 5.3 4.4 3 3
1996 93 67 3rd 5.6 5.0 1 10
1997 83 77 8-t 4.3 3.8 4 5
Avg HR RBI WAR
2B R Chuck Knoblauch .274 8 73 2.8
1B L John Olerud .318 25 93 6.7
CF S Carlos Beltran rookie
RF R Tim Salmon .252 30 94 4.8
C R Jason Kendall .265 9 60 3.8
LF L Frank Catalanotto .274 8 47 1.1
3B R Jeff Cirillo .220 8 46 0.5
SS R Deivi Cruz rookie
W L ERA WAR
SP L Steve Cooke 13 11 3.20 3.0
SP L Rheal Cormier 12 8 2.76 3.3
SP R Scott Sanderson 16 15 4.14 4.1
SP R Don Robinson 11 12 4.01 2.4
SP R John Mitchell 11 8 3.32 3.0
CL R Cory Bailey 30 SV 2.02 3.0
IN: *CF Carlos Beltran, SP Scott Sanderson, 2B Chuck Knoblauch
OUT: RF Luis Gonzalez
BROOKLYN SUPERBAS
W L Pl R RA Rank
1995 86 76 7th 5.2 4.9 4 8
1996 89 71 4-t 5.4 4.8 4 7
1997 87 73 4th 4.9 4.4 1 14
Avg HR RBI WAR
2B S Geronimo Pena .266 7 51 3.4
1B L Alvin Davis .285 7 42 2.2
LF L Dion James .303 10 49 3.2
CF L Ken Griffey Jr .262 24 83 6.4
C L Dave Nilsson .310 23 78 4.9
RF S Ruben Sierra .284 4 13 0.9
SS R John Valentin .283 19 80 5.2
3B S Scott Spiezio .289 16 84 4.0
W L ERA WAR
SP R Mike Timlin 16 12 3.38 5.9
SP L Greg Swindell 10 8 3.23 4.5
SP R Michael Jackson minors
SP R Rusty Meacham 8 16 5.47 0.5
SP L Randy Tomlin 12 15 4.05 2.5
CL R Greg McMichael 28 SV 2.06 1.2
IN: SP Greg Swindell, LF Dion James, RF Ruben Sierra, SP Rusty Meacham, 2B Delino DeShields, SP Michael Jackson, RP Norm Charlton, CF Otis Nixon
OUT: SP Scott Sanderson, LF Ivan Calderon, SP Kevin Brown, 3B Steve Buechele
CLEVELAND BARONS
W L Pl R RA Rank
1995 97 65 2nd 5.1 4.0 9 2
1996 95 65 1st 5.4 4.9 5 9
1997 94 66 1st 4.1 3.5 9 2
Avg HR RBI WAR
LF L Luis Polonia .270 7 38 0.8
2B S Roberto Alomar .322 13 66 6.6
CF L Jim Edmonds .288 22 88 5.9
3B R Alex Rodriguez .265 30 108 5.4
1B L Carlos Delgado .262 31 97 2.5
RF S Orlando Merced .279 16 65 3.7
C L Rich Gedman .270 12 65 3.7
SS R Craig Grebeck .194 3 24 1.2
W L ERA WAR
SP R Ismael Valdez 11 7 2.61 5.5
SP L Bruce Hurst 7 9 3.57 2.1
SP R Jose DeLeon 12 7 2.79 3.1
SP R Alex Fernandez 14 13 3.26 3.7
SP R Salomon Torres 7 10 3.54 1.7
CL R Toby Borland 34 SV 1.88 2.0
IN: LF Ivan Calderon
OUT: SP Greg Swindell
FLORIDA FLAMINGOS
W L Pl R RA Rank
1995 79 83 11th 4.1 4.7 17 6
1996 65 95 15th 4.2 4.8 18 8
1997 68 92 17th 3.6 4.0 16 8
Avg HR RBI WAR
CF L Mark Kotsay .239 1 17 0.0
1B S Junior Felix .264 17 57 3.2
CF S Bernie Williams .260 11 54 3.2
1B S Dmitri Young .253 7 45 1.5
2B R Ronnie Belliard rookie
3B S Greg Norton .293 15 68 3.7
C R Mike Stanley .245 26 81 3.2
SS S Carlos Guillen rookie
W L ERA WAR
SP R Francisco Cordova 9 13 3.91 2.7
SP R Mike Mussina 11 11 2.88 3.4
SP L Greg Hibbard 6 10 3.89 0.5
SP R Bartolo Colon 11 12 3.61 1.8
SP L Scott Karl rookie
CL R Steve Karsay 18 SV 2.66 1.2
IN: C Mike Stanley, *SS Carlos Guillen, *2B Ronnie Belliard, *SP Scott Karl
OUT: RF Ruben Sierra
DENVER 14ers
W L Pl R RA Rank
1995 69 93 15th 5.0 5.4 11 16
1996 83 77 10th 5.1 4.7 10 4
1997 86 74 5th 4.1 3.9 10 6
Avg HR RBI WAR
SS R Barry Larkin .275 11 61 2.3
1B L Mark Grace .313 21 91 5.2
LF S Kal Daniels .281 21 70 4.2
RF L Larry Walker .292 16 61 4.4
CF L Darin Erstad .280 13 77 6.0
2B R Jay Bell .250 18 72 4.3
C R Brad Ausmus .214 9 42 2.7
3B S Ozzie Smith minors
W L ERA WAR
SP L Joe Magrane 14 9 3.48 3.7
SP L Greg Mathews 17 12 3.26 5.4
SP R Hideo Nomo 13 6 3.66 0.7
SP L David West 11 10 3.46 3.0
SP R Brian Holman 5 3 2.98 0.1
CL R Todd Frohwirth 24 SV 1.84 1.7
IN: LF Kal Daniels, RF Luis Gonzalez, SP Kenny Rogers, SP Brian Holman
OUT: SP Andy Benes, 2B Delino DeShields
HAVANA LEONES
W L Pl R RA Rank
1995 77 85 13th 5.1 4.8 6 7
1996 84 76 9th 5.2 4.8 8 6
1997 71 89 15th 3.4 4.1 18 10
Avg HR RBI WAR
2B S Ray Durham .255 4 21 0.2
CF L Ricky Ledee rookie
CF R Shane Mack .260 17 68 2.0
RF L Matt Lawton .244 13 57 3.2
3B R Kurt Abbott .253 10 33 0.5
1B L Doug Mientkiewicz rookie
SS L Ozzie Guillen .270 2 48 3.2
C S Ben Davis rookie
W L ERA WAR
SP R Sean Bergman 13 8 2.61 8.0
SP L Chris Nabholz 15 13 3.46 2.5
SP R Roy Halladay rookie
SP R Shane Reynolds 9 14 3.71 3.2
SP R Jose Paniagua rookie
CL R Tim Scott 39 SV 2.66 0.0
IN: *SP Roy Halladay, *CF Ricky Ledee, 2B Ray Durham, *1B Doug Mientkiewicz, *C Ben Davis, 1B Greg Colbrunn
OUT: LF Dion James
DETROIT GRIFFINS
W L Pl R RA Rank
1995 94 68 3rd 5.5 4.9 2 8
1996 62 98 17th 4.9 5.8 15 17
1997 70 90 16th 3.7 4.4 14 15
Avg HR RBI WAR
2B L Fernando Vina .242 1 27 2.1
RF L J.D. Drew rookie
1B L Todd Helton .289 18 97 2.6
LF L Ryan Klesko .311 44 95 6.8
C R Eli Marrero .220 10 50 1.5
3B S Bill Mueller .288 4 41 1.1
CF S Randy Winn rookie
SS S Neifi Perez .240 8 46 0.7
W L ERA WAR
SP R Terry Adams 7 11 3.86 4.8
SP L Justin Thompson 10 11 3.49 3.5
SP R Andy Benes 8 11 3.62 3.4
SP L Pete Schourek 8 12 4.59 1.8
SP L Denny Neagle 12 9 3.39 2.3
SP L Billy Wagner 20 SV 2.02 2.0
IN: *RF J.D. Drew, *CF Randy Winn, SP Andy Benes
OUT: SS Matt Williams
KEYSTONE STARLINGS
W L Pl R RA Rank
1995 89 73 5th 6.0 5.5 1 17
1996 77 83 12th 5.3 5.5 7 14
1997 75 85 13th 4.3 4.2 7 11
Avg HR RBI WAR
SS R Orlando Cabrera .288 3 47 2.7
2B S Carlos Baerga .265 15 67 2.4
1B R Jeff Bagwell .256 24 84 3.0
3B R Wil Cordero .305 37 109 6.4
LF R Kevin Millar rookie
CF R Rondell White .291 29 105 8.8
C S Gregg Zaun .261 4 37 3.0
CF L Rich Becker .267 3 33 1.2
W L ERA WAR
SP L Butch Henry 15 11 3.30 4.8
SP R Dave Beard 9 10 3.83 2.6
SP R B. VanLandingham 12 13 3.58 3.3
SP R Masato Yoshii rookie
SP R Kelly Downs 11 10 3.29 3.1
CL L Arthur Rhodes 11 SV 3.44 0.5
IN: *SP Masato Yoshii, *LF Kevin Millar, SP Brad Radke, *C Michael Barrett
OUT: SP Rusty Meacham, 1B Greg Colbrunn
LOS ANGELES OUTLAWS
W L Pl R RA Rank
1995 101 61 1st 5.1 4.0 6 1
1996 82 78 11th 5.0 4.6 11 2
1997 64 96 18th 3.5 4.8 17 18
Avg HR RBI WAR
CF S Stan Javier .222 3 39 -1.6
3B R Adrian Beltre rookie
LF L Andy Van Slyke .278 19 56 3.1
SS R Alex Gonzalez rookie
LF R Shannon Stewart .269 1 14 0.8
C R Paul LoDoca rookie
2B R Shane Andrews minors
RF R Danny Bautista minors
W L ERA WAR
SP R Rolando Arrojo rookie
SP R Tommy Greene 5 7 4.01 1.5
SP L Chris Haney 8 12 4.14 1.3
SP R John Thomson 2 7 5.95 0.2
SP R Eric King minors
CL R Ramon Garcia 1 SV 3.44 -0.4
IN: *3B Adrian Beltre, *SP Rolando Arrojo, *SS Alex Gonzalez, *C Paul LoDuca
OUT: 1B Frank E. Thomas, CF Eric Davis, 2B Tony Phillips, 3B Kevin Seitzer, SS Robin Yount, 2B Ray Durham, RP Derek Lilliquist, RP Jesse Orosco, CF Kenny Lofton
MANHATTAN GRAY SOX
W L Pl R RA Rank
1995 82 80 9-t 4.8 5.2 14 12
1996 89 71 4-t 5.2 4.7 9 5
1997 92 68 2nd 4.0 3.4 11 1
Avg HR RBI WAR
RF L Jon Nunnally .277 21 68 4.8
2B L Mickey Morandini .275 3 25 1.3
CF R Richard Hidalgo .291 12 38 1.7
1B R Frank E. Thomas .257 11 49 1.0
LF S Jose Cruz Jr rookie
3B R David Bell .262 10 47 2.7
SS R Tony Graffanino .229 15 65 4.6
C L Darrin Fletcher .292 12 36 2.8
W L ERA WAR
SP R Roger Clemens 11 9 3.45 3.8
SP R Matt Morris 16 11 2.52 5.3
SP R Pat Hentgen 15 10 2.92 3.1
SP L Terry Mulholland 14 11 3.08 2.9
SP R Bobby Munoz 12 7 2.61 3.4
CL R Heathy Slocumb 21 SV 2.40 1.8
IN: 1B Frank E. Thomas
OUT: none
MINNEAPOLIS FOXES
W L Pl R RA Rank
1995 73 89 14th 5.0 5.5 10 18
1996 63 97 16th 5.0 5.9 12 18
1997 88 72 3rd 4.3 4.1 6 9
Avg HR RBI WAR
2B S Quivio Veras minors
RF L Bobby Abreu .291 8 54 3.6
3B R Scott Rolen .304 32 108 8.5
CF L Garret Anderson .302 18 80 3.0
1B L Sean Casey rookie
C R Mike Sweeney rookie
LF L Mike Greenwell .303 13 71 2.7
SS R Rich Aurilia .252 13 45 1.9
W L ERA WAR
SP R J. Isringhausen 13 10 3.23 4.0
SP R Floyd Youmans 9 10 3.74 3.2
SP L Jose Rosado 12 11 3.38 3.1
SP R Kelvin Escobar 2 4 4.67 1.0
SP R Chris Carpenter 2 2 3.30 0.6
CL L Ricardo Rincon 42 SV 3.08 0.3
IN: *1B Sean Casey, *C Mike Sweeney
OUT: LF Kal Daniels, SP Jeff M. Robinson, SP Brad Radke
MONTREAL VOYAGEUERS
W L Pl R RA Rank
1995 65 97 17th 4.5 5.3 15 13
1996 74 86 13th 4.9 5.7 14 16
1997 78 82 12th 4.3 4.7 5 17
Avg HR RBI WAR
LF L Cliff Floyd .280 25 82 6.3
3B R Edgardo Alfonzo .240 14 70 2.1
RF R Vladimir Guerrero .334 29 88 9.1
1B L Brad Fullmer .319 20 86 4.8
RF R Jermaine Dye .298 11 41 3.5
C R Ivan Rodriguez .278 17 58 5.7
SS R Miguel Tejada .233 15 63 1.7
3B R Steve Buechele .278 13 46 2.0
W L ERA WAR
SP L Mike Mason 16 11 3.28 5.2
SP R Chan Ho Park 9 7 3.66 1.1
SP R Livan Hernandez 8 14 5.38 2.1
SP R Alejandro Pena 7 4 2.17 1.0
SP L Steve Avery 13 14 4.44 2.5
CL R Jerry DiPoto 33 SV 2.23 1.2
IN: SP Alejandro Pena, 3B Steve Buechele
OUT: none
ST. LOUIS MAROONS
W L Pl R RA Rank
1995 87 75 6th 4.9 4.6 12 4
1996 89 71 4-t 4.9 4.6 13 3
1997 83 77 8-t 3.7 3.5 13 3
Avg HR RBI WAR
RF R Benny Agbayani .
2B R Tony Batista .228 20 54 3.5
3B S Chipper Jones .299 29 78 6.7
LF L Barry Bonds .279 31 87 6.6
1B R Reggie Jefferson .260 12 43 0.2
C R Terry Steinbach .214 3 26 -0.1
CF L Michael Tucker .244 6 45 3.2
SS R Rey Sanchez .264 7 46 4.9
W L ERA WAR
SP R Bret Saberhagen 19 11 2.48 7.9
SP R Jim Gott 13 8 3.07 4.0
SP L Britt Burns 10 14 3.16 3.6
SP L Frank Viola 12 18 3.78 3.5
SP R Roger Salkeld 4 3 3.89 0.4
CL R Antonio Osuna 1 SV 4.50 0.6
IN: CF Kenny Lofton
OUT: SP Alejandro Pena
TORONTO POLAR BEARS
W L Pl R RA Rank
1995 84 78 8th 5.1 5.1 5 11
1996 85 75 8th 5.5 5.1 2 11
1997 79 81 10-t 4.5 4.5 3 16
Avg HR RBI WAR
3B L Wade Boggs .286 11 45 2.9
SS R Jeff Blauser .253 11 50 0.0
CF R Raul Mondesi .253 27 75 2.9
RF R Juan Gonzalez .319 36 124 6.1
1B R Eric Karros .267 38 80 4.0
SS R Matt Williams .265 11 34 1.8
LF L Daryle Ward rookie
C R Benito Santiago injured
W L ERA WAR
SP R Chad Ogea 8 11 3.92 1.3
SP R Derek Lowe 14 10 3.51 2.9
SP R Kevin Millwood 8 12 4.05 2.8
SP R Mike Grace 7 9 5.91 1.1
SP R Jose Lima 4 4 4.75 0.5
CL R Jose Mesa 25 SV 2.54 1.8
IN: 3B Wade Boggs, SS Matt Williams, *LF Daryle Ward
OUT: C Mike Stanley, SP Brian Holman, SP Michael Jackson, RP Gene Nelson
SEATTLE RAINIERS
W L Pl R RA Rank
1995 57 105 18th 3.8 5.1 18 10
1996 60 100 18th 4.3 5.6 17 15
1997 79 81 10-t 4.0 4.0 7 10
Avg HR RBI WAR
CF L Johnny Damon .317 14 51 4.7
LF R Ellis Burks .255 24 91 3.8
SS R Nomar Garciaparra .308 18 65 4.4
1B L David Ortiz .284 8 50 1.2
RF R Jose Guillen .259 11 72 -0.2
C S Jason Varitek .230 9 61 1.4
2B R Benji Gil .261 18 58 3.6
3B S Ken Caminiti .278 18 73 3.6
W L ERA WAR
SP R Erik Hanson 13 8 3.10 3.4
SP R Dwight Gooden 13 9 2.57 5.1
SP L John Smiley 9 14 4.42 2.8
SP R Joey Hamilton 7 13 3.74 1.4
SP R Jack Armstrong 7 11 4.35 2.2
CL R Mariano Rivera 11 SV 2.45 1.6
IN: *RP Matt Mantei
OUT: none
WASHINGTON MONUMENTS
W L Pl R RA Rank
1995 66 96 16th 4.3 5.4 16 15
1996 70 90 14th 4.8 5.3 16 13
1997 74 86 14th 3.6 4.3 15 12
Avg HR RBI WAR
LF S Gregg Jefferies .281 11 56 2.8
CF R Andruw Jones .210 26 85 4.7
3B R Gary Sheffield .284 31 79 6.7
RF L Shawn Green .219 19 59 0.8
C S Jorge Posada .220 7 43 1.0
1B L Jason Giambi .249 16 61 1.2
2B R Mariano Duncan .271 8 47 1.6
SS R Mark DeRosa rookie
W L ERA WAR
SP R Julio Valera 11 7 2.40 4.1
SP R Kevin Brown 14 12 3.71 3.3
SP L Tom Glavine 9 15 3.71 1.6
SP R Doug Drabek 1 2 6.34 -0.8
SP R Jamey Wright rookie
CL L Derek Lilliquist 27 SV 3.42 0.8
IN: SP Kevin Brown, RP Derek Lilliquist, RP Gene Nelson, *SSMark DeRosa
OUT: 2B Ryne Sandberg,RP Bobby Thigpen
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