The Wolverines became the first EFL team to cross the 90 win threshold this season, a remarkable feat considering our league plays with a salary cap and MLB teams do not (I know the luxury tax serves as a perfunctory salary cap, but it is unlike ours, of course). I did some quick research and realized the Wolverines are in elite company. This current pace will put them on track for somewhere around 110 wins, I believe. I do not know the EFL record for wins in a season, but this will be close, I surmise. Below is a list of teams who have had 90 wins in their first 126 games (the only list I could quickly find, though we have played 130 already).
MLB teams with 90 wins in first 126 games
| Team | Year | Wins through 126 games | Final record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yankees | 1998 | 94 | 114-48 |
| Cubs | 1906 | 94 | 116-36 |
| Pirates | 1902 | 93 | 103-36 |
| Giants | 1904 | 93 | 106-47 |
| Cardinals | 1944 | 92 | 105-49 |
| Cubs | 1907 | 91 | 107-45 |
| Dodgers | 2017 | 90 | 104-58 |
| Giants | 1905 | 90 | 105-48 |
| Pirates | 1909 | 90 | 110-42 |
| Athletics | 1931 | 90 | 107-45 |
| Indians | 1954 | 90 | 111-43 |
| Mariners | 2001 | 90 | 116-46 |
What is interesting to note, however, is that MLB teams weren’t playing 162 games until 1961, which means 9 of these 12 teams we can remove from our list. That leaves three – the 1998 Yankees, the 2001 Mariners, and the 2017 Dodgers. Their record over their remaining 36 games was as follows:
1998 Yankees: 20-16
2001 Mariners: 26-10
2017 Dodgers: 14-22
So who the Wolverines attempt to emulate? The Mariners squad who set tied the record for most wins in a season but lost in the ALCS? The 2017 Dodgers who lost to the Astros in the World Series? Or the 1998 Yankees who won the World Series? There are three distinct options available, one of them more gracious, another more recalcitrant. Which one will it be?
EFL Standings for 2021
| EFL | ||||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB | RS | RA |
| Old Detroit Wolverines | 90 | 40 | .695 | — | 749.1 | 495.8 |
| Flint Hill Tornadoes | 84 | 46 | .649 | 6 | 686.3 | 503.5 |
| D.C. Balk | 82 | 47 | .639 | 7.5 | 737.9 | 554.7 |
| Peshastin Pears | 80 | 50 | .616 | 10.4 | 649.5 | 518.0 |
| Kaline Drive | 80 | 50 | .613 | 10.7 | 695.8 | 551.8 |
| Cottage Cheese | 75 | 56 | .576 | 15.5 | 744.2 | 658.1 |
| Canberra Kangaroos | 71 | 58 | .551 | 18.8 | 669.8 | 616.6 |
| Haviland Dragons | 71 | 59 | .547 | 19.3 | 669.8 | 631.6 |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys | 72 | 60 | .544 | 19.6 | 669.1 | 611.4 |
| Bellingham Cascades | 69 | 63 | .519 | 22.9 | 564.9 | 544.3 |
| Portland Rosebuds | 60 | 70 | .465 | 30 | 684.4 | 739.5 |
Old Detroit: W, 9-4; 44PA, 2IP
| AVG: 0.233 | OBP: 0.250 | SLG: 0.744 | OPS: 0.994 |
| ERA: 9.00 | WHIP: 3.000 |
The lack of home runs on Saturday led to an overcorrection on Sunday. Old Detroit hit 7 of them! Even more amazing is that they only had 10 total hits on the day. If they are going to make 70% of their hits home runs the rest of the season, they will easily shatter any win record in the EFL or MLB. Josh Bell and Rafael Devers each hit two, and then the following all hit one: Eloy Jimenez, Austin Riley, and Tommy Edman. What an interesting day for the Wolverine hitters!
Flint Hill: L, 5-5; 49PA, 2IP
| AVG: 0.233 | OBP: 0.327 | SLG: 0.372 | OPS: 0.699 |
| ERA: 0.00 | WHIP: 0.500 |
After almost an entire month of needing replacement innings due to pitcher injuries, the past few days have seen those pitchers slowly return and, though they have not been great, throw better than replacement pitchers to chip away at the accumulated replacement innings. And now, with two games left and three starting pitchers going in these final two days of the month, the Tornadoes may be finally able to escape the 7.50 ERA of those pitchers. Will it be enough to get within 5ish games of the Wolverines? If Flint Hill ends the month 5 games out (or so), a glimmer of hope will continue to burn. That would require the Wolverines choosing to play .500 baseball in September, and the Tornadoes about .700 baseball. That’s within the realm of possibilities, to be sure. Especially if Flint Hill can go 2-0 the close out this month and Old Detroit can go 0-2. That would be fun!
DC: W, 7-(-7); 32PA, 12.7IP
| AVG: 0.321 | OBP: 0.387 | SLG: 0.357 | OPS: 0.744 |
| ERA: 0.71 | WHIP: 0.945 |
What a great day for the Balk! They were lead by their pitching staff, who gave up 1 earned run in almost 13 innings pitched. Ian Anderson returned to go 5.7 scoreless innings, and Dylan Cease tossed another 6 innings allowing only one run. Drew Steckenrider continued his great month with a scoreless inning in relief. The Balk chose the opposite offense of the Wolverines, collecting 9 hits but none of them home runs. They did get one double from Bryce Harper, though. Pete Alonso added 3 singles in 4 at bats.
Peshastin: W, 10-8; 31PA, no pitching
| AVG: 0.333 | OBP: 0.419 | SLG: 0.704 | OPS: 1.123 |
We complained about the Tornado pitching woes this month, but the Pears have been long-suffering this season when it comes to pitcher injuries. Yesterday they got no pitching, partly because of not having healthy pitchers who can throw. But it didn’t matter! The hitters came through in a big way. Name, Ryan Mountcastle treated the Rays pitching staff as though they were a fortified palace in need of being overtaken (get it?). He went 4 for 5 with a home run. Ozzie Albies and Juan Soto, the young core of the Pears for a few more years, each added a home run, and Soto added two more walks.
Kaline: L, (-3)-5; 41PA, 5IP
| AVG: 0.054 | OBP: 0.146 | SLG: 0.054 | OPS: 0.200 |
| ERA: 3.60 | WHIP: 1.000 |
Yikes! Look away, Tom. The Drive got 2 hits in 37 at bats yesterday. In addition to 3 walks and one HBP, they had 11 strikeouts. But on the positive side, the starting pitching was good. Kwang Hyun Kim tossed 4 innings and gave up 1 run. The Drive fell back behind the Pears, though will have to have a rougher September in order to fall into their preferred spot of right in the middle of the pack.
Cottage: W, 8-(-1); 36PA, 5IP
| AVG: 0.286 | OBP: 0.444 | SLG: 0.429 | OPS: 0.873 |
| ERA: 3.60 | WHIP: 1.200 |
Pop quiz! Who has the best record in August? The Cheese do! They are 19-7 due almost entirely to a great month of pitching, something for which they pined for in their annual lament, and not they are getting. Next year you should lament in May, Dave – it seemed to really motivate your players! Chris Archer returned from injury to throw 4 innings, giving up 2 runs, and Collin McHugh, Archer’s real life teammate, tossed 1 inning of scoreless relief. Adolis Garcia helped the Rangers by hitting a grand slam – the Rangers were the only MLB team without a grand slam this year, a stat which they can longer claim.
Canberra: W, 10-8; 35PA, 2IP
| AVG: 0.323 | OBP: 0.400 | SLG: 0.613 | OPS: 1.013 |
| ERA: 4.50 | WHIP: 1.500 |
The Roos’ bats were hot yesterday – no mock hitting was done in the EFL on Sunday – all of it was real. The younger Mock’s team was lead by four guys who got two hite apiece – Kyle Tucker, Wander Franco, and the two Juniors (Vlad an Jackie). Austin Meadows and Javy Baez each added a home run. Only two relievers appeared, which was a little problematic, but not as much as it could have been, since they team scored so many runs.
Haviland: L, 2-6; 30PA, 9.3IP
| AVG: 0.179 | OBP: 0.233 | SLG: 0.250 | OPS: 0.483 |
| ERA: 5.81 | WHIP: 1.290 |
The Dragon pitchers answered the call sent out by Ron yesterday, showing up to pitch 9 total innings – and though they weren’t necessarily good, they were better than replacement. The best was Jesus Luzardo’s 6 innings and no earned runs allowed. Brendan Rodgers and Brandon Lowe both hit doubles, but not much else happened at the plate.
Pittsburgh: W, 10-3; 26PA, 14IP
| AVG: 0.333 | OBP: 0.462 | SLG: 0.810 | OPS: 1.271 |
| ERA: 3.21 | WHIP: 1.214 |
Pittsburgh’s day was an all-around good day. The hitters were lead by Luis Robert’s two home runs (can you imagine him being healthy all year? Yikes!), and another from Bobby Dalbec. The team earned as many walks as strikeouts (4), and in tandem with some decent pitching, sailed off to a convincing win.
Bellingham: W, 3-1; 25PA, 11.7IP
| AVG: 0.182 | OBP: 0.280 | SLG: 0.455 | OPS: 0.735 |
| ERA: 1.54 | WHIP: 0.684 |
The Cascades have been challenging the Cheese this month for the title of best ERA. A little familial rivalry, as Ron suggested, is good for the relationship. However, you don’t want to do too much, Andre. Dave is a congenial man, but I imagine he wants to hold on pretty tightly to this month’s ERA crown after the way his pitchers have performed the other months. You might consider letting him have this one. Yesterday’s star was Tyler Mahle, going 7 innings and giving up 2 runs. Austin Hedges made news two days ago by hitting the batter with a thrown ball back to the pitcher, but yesterday he made the headline of pinch hit home run, which is undoubtedly more newsworthy.
Portland: W(-1), L(2), 10-21; 38PA, 8.4IP
| AVG: 0.323 | OBP: 0.447 | SLG: 0.581 | OPS: 1.028 |
| ERA: 17.14 | WHIP: 2.381 |
One would think that a pitching line of 4.7 innings and 6 runs is about as bad as it gets for one team on one day. But that would be wrong thinking, because even though Samy Long did that yesterday, Bryan Abreu gave up 7 runs in 2/3 of an inning. But, look! The hitting was good enough to score 10 runs, which helps to calm the sadness a little. CJ Cron and Luis Urias hit home runs, and Tyler O’Neill hit a triple.
Combined MLB + EFL Standings for 2021
| AL East | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Old Detroit Wolverines | 90 | 40 | .695 | — |
| Flint Hill Tornadoes | 84 | 46 | .649 | 6 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 82 | 48 | .631 | 8.4 |
| New York Yankees | 76 | 54 | .585 | 14.4 |
| Boston Red Sox | 75 | 57 | .568 | 16.4 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 68 | 61 | .527 | 21.9 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 40 | 89 | .310 | 49.9 |
| NL East | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| D.C. Balk | 82 | 47 | .639 | — |
| Canberra Kangaroos | 71 | 58 | .551 | 11.4 |
| Atlanta Braves | 70 | 59 | .543 | 12.4 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 66 | 64 | .508 | 16.9 |
| New York Mets | 63 | 67 | .485 | 19.9 |
| Washington Nationals | 55 | 74 | .426 | 27.4 |
| Miami Marlins | 55 | 76 | .420 | 28.4 |
| AL Central | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Chicago White Sox | 76 | 56 | .576 | — |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys | 72 | 60 | .544 | 4.2 |
| Bellingham Cascades | 69 | 63 | .519 | 7.5 |
| Cleveland Indians | 64 | 64 | .500 | 10 |
| Detroit Tigers | 62 | 69 | .473 | 13.5 |
| Kansas City Royals | 59 | 71 | .454 | 16 |
| Minnesota Twins | 57 | 73 | .438 | 18 |
| NL Central | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 79 | 52 | .603 | — |
| Cottage Cheese | 75 | 56 | .576 | 3.6 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 71 | 61 | .538 | 8.5 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 66 | 63 | .512 | 12 |
| Chicago Cubs | 57 | 75 | .432 | 22.5 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 48 | 83 | .366 | 31 |
| AL West | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Kaline Drive | 80 | 50 | .613 | — |
| Houston Astros | 77 | 53 | .592 | 2.7 |
| Oakland A’s | 72 | 59 | .550 | 8.2 |
| Haviland Dragons | 71 | 59 | .547 | 8.6 |
| Seattle Mariners | 70 | 61 | .534 | 10.2 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 64 | 67 | .489 | 16.2 |
| Texas Rangers | 45 | 85 | .346 | 34.7 |
| NL West | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| San Francisco Giants | 84 | 46 | .646 | — |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 82 | 49 | .626 | 2.5 |
| Peshastin Pears | 80 | 50 | .616 | 4 |
| San Diego Padres | 69 | 62 | .527 | 15.5 |
| Portland Rosebuds | 60 | 70 | .465 | 23.6 |
| Colorado Rockies | 60 | 70 | .462 | 24 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 44 | 88 | .333 | 41 |
Here are the final standings from 2017, when Pittsburgh set the all-time EFL wins record:
EFL FINAL Standings for 2017
TEAM WINS LOSSES PCT. GB RS RA
Pittsburgh Alleghenys 115 47 0.708 — 946.8 600.6
Flint Hill Tornadoes 104 58 0.642 10.7 821.6 611.8
Haviland Dragons 103 59 0.633 12.2 925.7 700.6
Cottage Cheese 99 63 0.609 16.1 857.8 681.6
Portland Rosebuds 96 66 0.595 18.4 924.6 752.6
Kaline Drive 94 68 0.580 20.8 831.5 704.8
Peshastin Pears 90 72 0.553 25.2 803.7 730.4
Old Detroit Wolverines 84 78 0.518 30.8 798.1 756
Canberra Kangaroos 79 83 0.491 35.2 779.9 796
D.C. Balk 62 100 0.386 52.2 769.5 972.5
I don’t think the Wolverines are likely to go 25 – 7 the rest of the season. Well, maaaaybe, if Buxton starts hitting again and stays healthy. So… no, it isn’t going to happen.
Also here are the final standings from 2007, when the Alleghenys set the EFL record for largest margin of victory:
2007 EFL STANDINGS Pct R RA GB
Pittsburgh Alleghenys 101 61 0.625 950 737
Old Detroit Wolverines 82 80 0.507 876 861 19.1
Haviland Dragons 79 83 0.491 790 807 21.8
Canberra Kangaroos 73 89 0.450 731 821 28.4
Kaline Drive 59 103 0.366 706 961 42.1
Peshastin Pears 49 113 0.302 679 1055 52.3
Newberg Samoahs 49 113 0.301 731 1124 52.6
As I remember it, the W’s were over 20 games out on the next-to-last day of the season, then got a big win to get back within 20 games of first.
I don’t think this record will be broken this year, either.