Yesterday was the 45th wedding anniversary for the Haviland Dragons’ owner, John Johnson, and his lovely bride, Cindy. In honor of this milestone achievement, I thought I’d share some baseball stats and facts related to either the year 1976 or having to do with the number 45:
1976
- The Cincinnati Red defeated the New York Yankees 4 games to 0 wo win the World Series
- John’s favorite team, the Royals, lost in the ALCS that year to the dreaded Yankees
- George Brett, perhaps John’s favorite player of all-time, won the AL batting title, hitting .333
- Seattle was awarded a new franchise, called the Mariners, who would begin play the following year (1977)
- Rick Monday rescues an American Flag from being burned by two fans in the outfield at Dodger Stadium
- The Houston Astros, playing in the Astrodome, have their game against the Pirates rained out due to massive flooding in Houston that kept the umpires from reaching the field
- Hank Aaron hit the last home run of his career in July, number 755, the all-time record until Barry Bonds came along
- The White Sox wore their infamous shorts uniforms for the first time, in a game against the Royals
- Minnie Minoso came out of a 12-year retirement to play for the White Sox at the age of 50
- George Brett’s batting title came at the expense of his teammate Hal McRae, who claimed the Twins deliberately let Brett’s last hit fall for a hit on due to racism
45
- Famous players to wear the number 45: Bob Gibson, Pedro Martinez, Cecil Fielder, Tug McGraw, Gerrit Cole
- In 1952, at the age of 45, Satchel Paige went 12-10 with 91 Ks and and a 3.07 ERA
August 10th Birthdays
- Best MLB players (by WAR) born on this day: Willie Wells (51.1 WAR), Rocky Colavito (44.8), Buddy Lewis (29.1), Larry Corcoran (25.3)
There is no doubt that 45 years married is full of great joys and agonies, triumphs and defeats. So we in the EFL give a hearty congratulations to you, John and Cindy! Happy anniversary!
EFL Standings for 2021
| EFL | ||||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB | RS | RA |
| Old Detroit Wolverines | 80 | 33 | .707 | — | 646.7 | 416.3 |
| Flint Hill Tornadoes | 75 | 38 | .668 | 4.4 | 591.0 | 414.6 |
| D.C. Balk | 71 | 42 | .632 | 8.5 | 641.2 | 489.9 |
| Peshastin Pears | 71 | 42 | .627 | 9 | 560.3 | 435.6 |
| Kaline Drive | 69 | 44 | .608 | 11.1 | 592.7 | 475.3 |
| Haviland Dragons | 66 | 47 | .582 | 14.1 | 589.6 | 512.6 |
| Cottage Cheese | 63 | 51 | .554 | 17.2 | 664.3 | 608.3 |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys | 62 | 52 | .543 | 18.4 | 577.5 | 528.2 |
| Canberra Kangaroos | 61 | 52 | .537 | 19.2 | 573.2 | 550.3 |
| Bellingham Cascades | 60 | 54 | .525 | 20.5 | 488.6 | 465.2 |
| Portland Rosebuds | 53 | 60 | .467 | 27.1 | 584.9 | 631.5 |
Old Detroit: W, 7-2; 46PA, 10IP
| AVG: 0.275 | OBP: 0.370 | SLG: 0.475 | OPS: 0.845 |
| ERA: 1.80 | WHIP: 1.000 |
The Wolverines cruised to the 80 win mark with alarming speed on a great day from both its pitchers and batters. Marcus Semien led the way, going 3 for 6 with two doubles, two walks and a stolen base. Will Smith added two hits of his own, and Rafael Devers and Tommy Edman both homered. On the mound, Logan Gilbert’s solid start (6 innings and 2 runs) was made even better through 4 innings of scoreless relief contributed by Andrew Kittredge and Ross Stripling (I know Stripling technically started, but just as an opener). Old Detroit now leads by a large 4.4 games over the Tornadoes, a lead that feels bigger due to the solid play of the Wolverines this month.
Flint Hill: “L,” 5-4; 56PA, 4.4IP
| AVG: 0.240 | OBP: 0.321 | SLG: 0.340 | OPS: 0.661 |
| ERA: 6.14 | WHIP: 2.045 |
The good news is all of the penalty innings have been removed from the Tornadoes stats, and though the database gave a loss to Flint Hill yesterday, it was a win in terms of score. The bad news is the Wolverines are playing so well none of this really matters. Sean Manaea was activated to 100%, and then only pitched 1.7 innings while giving up 3 runs. Tim Anderson, who two days prior while on the bench had been 6 for 8 with 2 home runs was activated and went 0 for 4. Oh well. Some things will have to change dramatically for their to be a race, and Tornado fans do not feel hopeful at the moment.
DC: W, 7-0; 46PA, 10.3IP
| AVG: 0.310 | OBP: 0.370 | SLG: 0.500 | OPS: 0.870 |
| ERA: 2.62 | WHIP: 1.456 |
The Balk played an excellent game yesterday, shutting out their opponent and slugging their way to the top of the offensive leaderboard in the EFL. Averaging over 7 runs a game, the Balk were yesterday led by the likes of Myles Straw (2 for 5 with a double), Asdrubal Cabrera (2 for 4 with a home run), Jorge Alfaro (2 for 4 with a double) – three guys who are not typically the offensive stars on their team. Tristan Mackenzie and Chris Rodriguez tossed a combined 10 innings, giving up a total of 3 runs. The Balk were the only team to gain ground on the Wolverines yesterday, climbing .1 games closer to the top.
Peshastin: W, 7-6; 28PA, 19.6IP
| AVG: 0.296 | OBP: 0.321 | SLG: 0.704 | OPS: 1.025 |
| ERA: 5.51 | WHIP: 1.224 |
Baseball Reference apparently included the stats from the suspended game yesterday, because Juan Soto hit a three run homerun in the first inning that I thought the Pears would not see until tomorrow’s stats, but it showed up today (we might want to make sure it doesn’t get double counted). But Soto wasn’t the only good hitter. He was joined by Mitch Haniger (2 for 4 with a homerun) and Willi Castro (2 for 4 with a double and a triple). While Pear pitchers surrendered 12 runs in 19 innings, it didn’t do too much to damage their chance at a win, and win they did!
Kaline: W, 8-7; 47PA, 9.7IP
| AVG: 0.310 | OBP: 0.383 | SLG: 0.548 | OPS: 0.931 |
| ERA: 6.49 | WHIP: 1.649 |
Attempting to mimic the Pears, the Drive had excellent hitting on the day coupled with pitching that was not great, but good enough to earn the win. Willy Adames went 3 for 6 with a home run and 2 walks, Hunter Renfroe went 2 for 4 with a double and a home run (though he committed an egregious error that cost the Red Sox the win), and Jonathan Schoop, with a new contract in hand from the Tigers, went 2 for 5 with a double. The pitchers gave up 7 runs in 9.7 innings, which again, wasn’t great, but was still good enough to get the win!
Haviland: W, 8-5; 37PA, 3IP
| AVG: 0.294 | OBP: 0.351 | SLG: 0.559 | OPS: 0.910 |
| ERA: 0.00 | WHIP: 0.333 |
Dragon players celebrated their owner’s momentous day by earning a solid win. Brandon Lowe torched the Red Sox, going 3 for 4 with a double and a long home run, and the prodigal son, Aristides Aquino, returned to the Dragons and hit a home run. Three relievers appeared, and none of them gave up any earned runs. Haviland certainly was dancing in the streets to see such a fine game on such a fine day. Rumor even had it that Dragon owner John Johnson was doing the electric slide.
Cottage: W(0), L(2), 10-17; 44PA, 5.3IP
| AVG: 0.225 | OBP: 0.295 | SLG: 0.400 | OPS: 0.695 |
| ERA: 3.16 | WHIP: 1.930 |
Getting only 5 innings pitched on a day with two games was detrimental to the Cheese record. It didn’t help that there wasn’t much hitting either. The pitchers who did pitch pitched well, led by Steven Matz giving up 2 runs in nearly 5 total innings. Ono the hitting side, Trea Turner and Randy Arozarena both collected two hits, and one of them a double. Shohei Ohtani only got one hit in 7 at bats, though it was a triple. The Cheese dropped both games, sadly, and an entire game in the standings.
Pittsburgh: L, 4-7; 29PA, 9.3IP
| AVG: 0.240 | OBP: 0.345 | SLG: 0.400 | OPS: 0.745 |
| ERA: 6.77 | WHIP: 1.720 |
Another team with decent hitting but rather poor pitching. The EFL either had convincing wins or convincing losses yesterday, it seems. For the Alleghenys, Sony Gray continued to rebound from his awful start to the season, tossing 5 innings while giving up 2 runs. But Braxton Garrett gave up 5 runs in 3.3 innings to ruin the hopes of Pittsburgh fabs everywhere. Six different batters got one hit apiece, with Max Muncy launching his one hit further than any others did on the team. Dansby Swanson contributed two walks in addition to his hit, but it wasn’t enough to get a win.
Canberra: W, 2-0; 43PA, 12.3IP
| AVG: 0.189 | OBP: 0.302 | SLG: 0.243 | OPS: 0.546 |
| ERA: 3.66 | WHIP: 1.301 |
Does 2-0 count as a convincing win? Certainly a shutout is convincing, as was done by their pitchers. Jake Odorizzi, with his tinkered delivery, was awesome, giving up 0 runs in 5 innings. But scoring only two runs is not convincing. Austin Nola went 2 for 4 with a double, and Manny Margot collected two walks.
Bellingham: W, 4-3; 34PA, 5IP
| AVG: 0.241 | OBP: 0.281 | SLG: 0.276 | OPS: 0.557 |
| ERA: 3.60 | WHIP: 1.600 |
A win is a win, even if not convincing. The Cascades managed to eke one out yesterday to keep pace with Canberra. They were led by 4 relievers who were awesome (0 runs in 2.3 innings) and one batter – Rafael Ortega, who went 4 for 7 with a stolen base (who is this Ortega guy?!?!). Sometimes it only takes a couple guys to win a game, and that is exactly the approach the Cascades took last night.
Portland: W, 10-7; 30PA, 7IP
| AVG: 0.357 | OBP: 0.400 | SLG: 0.643 | OPS: 1.043 |
| ERA: 6.43 | WHIP: 1.571 |
Portland leads the EFL in wins this month with 7, though it just behind the Wolverines in terms of winning percentage. I have to believe the Rosebuds are pleased with their team effort especially given that there is nothing much for them to play for in these final two months. Luis Urias (3 for 6 with a double), Corey Seager (3 for 5 with a double and a home run)and Dylan Carlson (3 for 4) led the way on offense. The pitching was not great, but it didn’t matter!
Combined MLB + EFL Standings for 2021
| AL East | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Old Detroit Wolverines | 80 | 33 | .707 | — |
| Flint Hill Tornadoes | 75 | 38 | .668 | 4.4 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 69 | 44 | .611 | 10.9 |
| Boston Red Sox | 65 | 50 | .565 | 15.9 |
| New York Yankees | 62 | 51 | .549 | 17.9 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 61 | 51 | .545 | 18.4 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 38 | 73 | .342 | 40.9 |
| NL East | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| D.C. Balk | 71 | 42 | .632 | — |
| Canberra Kangaroos | 61 | 52 | .537 | 10.7 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 59 | 54 | .522 | 12.4 |
| Atlanta Braves | 58 | 55 | .513 | 13.4 |
| New York Mets | 56 | 55 | .505 | 14.4 |
| Washington Nationals | 50 | 62 | .446 | 20.9 |
| Miami Marlins | 47 | 67 | .412 | 24.9 |
| AL Central | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Chicago White Sox | 67 | 47 | .588 | — |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys | 62 | 52 | .543 | 5.1 |
| Bellingham Cascades | 60 | 54 | .525 | 7.1 |
| Cleveland Indians | 55 | 56 | .495 | 10.5 |
| Detroit Tigers | 55 | 60 | .478 | 12.5 |
| Kansas City Royals | 49 | 63 | .438 | 17 |
| Minnesota Twins | 49 | 65 | .430 | 18 |
| NL Central | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 68 | 46 | .596 | — |
| Cottage Cheese | 63 | 51 | .554 | 4.8 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 61 | 53 | .535 | 7 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 56 | 56 | .500 | 11 |
| Chicago Cubs | 52 | 63 | .452 | 16.5 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 41 | 72 | .363 | 26.5 |
| AL West | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Kaline Drive | 69 | 44 | .608 | — |
| Houston Astros | 67 | 46 | .593 | 1.7 |
| Haviland Dragons | 66 | 47 | .582 | 2.9 |
| Oakland A’s | 65 | 48 | .575 | 3.7 |
| Seattle Mariners | 59 | 55 | .518 | 10.2 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 57 | 57 | .500 | 12.2 |
| Texas Rangers | 40 | 73 | .354 | 28.7 |
| NL West | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| San Francisco Giants | 72 | 41 | .637 | — |
| Peshastin Pears | 71 | 42 | .627 | 1.1 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 68 | 45 | .602 | 4 |
| San Diego Padres | 66 | 49 | .574 | 7 |
| Portland Rosebuds | 53 | 60 | .467 | 19.3 |
| Colorado Rockies | 51 | 62 | .451 | 21 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 35 | 79 | .307 | 37.5 |
Thanks, Jamie. I loved the tribute to John’s anniversary and the interesting information about 1976. It so happens that today is the 43rd anniversary of the owner of the Alleghenys’ owner and his lovely bride Betty. They are mostly happily celebrating in the moderate climes of Pacific City.
Mark — why only “mostly happily”? Is Betty upset about the Alleghenys?
Hmm, good question. I don’t why I said “mostly.” So far it’s been “happily” all the way.