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Fritz, Frank, and Felix
Outlaws Expand Lead With 11-4 Surge
   CHICAGO (Aug. 31) --
Fritz Peterson became the league's first 20-game winner and Felix Mantilla was
3-for-4 with a home run, as Los Angeles beat Chicago 2-1 to cap an 18-11 August
and maintain a 9.5-game lead in the West Division. Peterson, 26, was 13-4
by mid-June, before going 2-4 in 8 midsummer starts, but was 5-1 in August.
The sixth overall pick in the 1966 draft has already won 51 games against just
24 losses in 97 career starts, posting a 2.73 ERA. Peterson (20-9, 2.79)
and teammate Jim McGlothlin (19-9, 3.76) are 1-2 in wins, and McGlothlin, at 23,
is on pace for 23 wins in his sophomore season.
Meanwhile, Frank Robinson led the league with 12 home
runs and 28 RBI in August, hitting .319 with a 1.035 OPS. Frank homered
twice and drove in five runs in a pair of 13-0 and 13-1 routs four days apart,
on Aug. 25 and 29th, and was 4-for-4 against Washington on Aug. 17. Some
feared the loss of Hank Aaron for two months with a dislocated shoulder would
jeopardize the Outlaw's narrow lead, but rookie callup Mike "Superjew" Epstein
has exceeded all expectations, hitting .306 with a .352 OBP in 28 games hitting
in the #2 spot between Tommie Agee and Felix Mantilla. Agee was a key man
in the three-game sweep of second place St. Louis that tacked three games onto a
5.5-game lead and put the Maroons in a deep hole with just 38 games to play.
Agee was 4-for-4 and drove in a pair against his former club in a 5-3 win on
Aug. 19. Agee's career was left for dead by the Maroons after he hit
.135-3-5 with a .490 OPS in 17 games last year. But the move to the West
Coast has given the 26-year-old centerfielder a new lease on life. He is
hitting .288-7-23 with a .812 OPS in 89 games.
The addition of righthander Ron Kline has not helped
St. Louis' pennant chances. The 36-year-old righthander gave up
back-to-back-to-back homers to Mantilla, Robinson, and Don Demeter in the first
inning of the first game of that critical series. The Outlaws won that
game 6-3 and took the finale 4-0 behind Larry Dierker anchoring a 7-hit shutout.
Mantilla also homered twice and drove in three of the Bandits' four runs.
St. Louis played Los Angeles 10 times in August, and was 4-3 in their first
seven meetings, including a four-game split at Arroyo Seco, before the Aug.
18-20 sweep.
Worst to First to Worst and Back
Again?
 A year after Atlanta Hilltoppers made UL history by becoming just the second
team to go from last place to a championship, they have a chance to repeat the
feat in minature, moving from last place to first place after the All-Star
break. Although the Toppers still sit 9.5-games behind Los Angeles, the
schedule-makers gave them seven games with the Outlaws in September and thus
they are still within striking distance.
Atlanta has surged from last place at the All-Star
break to a second place tie with a 37-17 second half record. The Toppers
are second in runs scored and fourth in runs allowed. Jim Palmer and Steve
Carlton are a combined 16-6 since July 1, and Palmer has won six in a row in his
last 10 starts. Southpaw Steve Barber is one of the league's hottest
pitchers, posting a 1.64 ERA over his last seven starts. Offensively,
Roger Maris had his best month in August (.310-9-26, .941 OPS) and is now tied
with Joe Torre with a league-high 99 RBI, and Bob Allison cranked nine homers to
bring his season total to 29.
 Behind
The Steal Curtain
by Charlie Qualls
While no one was paying attention to San Francisco Spiderball, Louis Clark
Brock became the All-Time UL leader in Stolen Bases at the tender age of 28.
Here are some headlines you may have missed along the way:
Thief Of Bag, Dad
Dick Howser On Speed
A Call To Legs
Millions Of Poaches, Poaches For Free
Does This Smell Larceny To You?
Earning His Swipes
Bag Nabbit!!
Where There's A Wheel...
Danger! Will Rob Him Some!
Record Lost,
Milestone Gained
 Last
Hurrah for the Say Hey Kid?
WASHINGTON (Aug. 31) --
Willie Mays lost the long-standing record for most career stolen bases on Aug.
29, but rapped out career hit #2,500 the very next day. It has been a
rough year for Mays, the first player drafted into the league in 1951, a
six-time All-ULer, 1958 Most Valuable Player, member of the UL 1950's All-Decade
Team, and one of the league's highest played player since 1958. The season
began with Mays and Mickey Mantle poised to race to 500 career home runs, but
the race turned into a one-sided affair, as Mays struggled out of the gate and
Mantle eventually pulled ahead and reached 500 first, while Mays is still at 490
and is increasingly unlikely to ever reach 500.
Mays missed most of last season with a torn ACL, after his hottest start in
nearly a decade, but his return in 1968 was anything but triumphant.
Turning 36 in May, Willie has hit just .171 with a single solitary home run in
158 at-bats. The Washington Monuments "franchise man" and the very face of
the organization will not be picked up at the end of the season, and many close
to the center fielder believe that he will finally hang up his spikes.
"Tech Issue Resolved!”
Proclaims Commish
Griffins
Fans Ask: “Are You On Dope? Our Team Still Sucks.”
by Sean Holloway
VIENNA and DETROIT (Aug. 31) -- Not since the glory days of
Tony LaRussa when baseball was played right off of Rock Creek
Park by the Cleveland Park Metro has the United League seen such
operational failings. During the 1995-96 UL season, things
started off badly when the Commish was somehow allowed to draft
Biggio, Bonds, Bagwell and Sheffield - a line-up that left most
UL pitchers quaking in their boots. To this day, though, rumors
are still running rife about alleged "improprieties" during the
draft that resulted in certain players being taken out of the
pool and then surreptitiously added when the Commish’s pick came
around. That or the rest of us were smoking crack.
 Then,
just as play began and the draft controversy was dying down, the
infamous opening day “Ozzie Smith Foul Ball Behind the Plate
Game-Winning Homerun” occurred. Interestingly enough, the
Commish was on the other side for this one, losing to Bad Axe
(and boy was that team bad) in the bottom of the ninth. With
conspiracy experts in a tizzy, the atmosphere only got worse
when Jim Lindeman played. During one game, Lindeman, manning
left field, ran screaming into foul territory in pursuit of a
pop-up. As he closed in on the ball, he realized that the
entire left-field foul line fence at Fenway was teetering
precariously and close to crashing down, which would have
resulted in the deaths of millions.
Throwing caution to the wind, Lindeman kept running, ignored the
pop-up, placed his hands on the wall and began pushing with all
his might - his legs never stopping for a minute until the
grounds crew was able to throw up temporary supports. The game
had to be postponed and replayed after the ten-foot hole his
feet dug was repaired. Although Lindeman was deemed a hero and
highly feted for the remainder of the season, questions
remained. Well, none remained for Lindeman, though, as he
parlayed "Jim Lindeman Isometrics" into a lucrative exercise
program for which he still receives millions in residuals to
this day.
Finally, there is the cruel fate suffered by the Magnum P.E.I.'s
in their playoff duel with the Monterey Jax. PEI, after blazing
into the post-season season with the best record in the UL from
the All Star Break, lost a heartbreaker to the Jax after Fred
“Crime Dog” McGriff, who had not made an error all year, was
left looking like a dog for a bone after he let a pop-up bounce
off his head for a crucial late-inning error and eventual Jax
win.
Thus, it does not surprise this reporter one bit to see more
shenanigans in 2009. How can you explain Podres pitching every
game for Cleveland, the strange year the Hilltoppers have had,
Cleon Jones, and the Griffins winning the Founders’ Cup again?
Mere coincidence - I think not. The only question that remains
is which list is longer – that of the MLB players caught taking
performance-enhancing drugs, or that of Obama’s political
appointments who simply refuse to pay taxes?
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W E S T
D I V I S I O N |
E A S T
D I V I S I O N |
|
|
|
|
L E A D E R B O
A R D S |
|
BATTING
AVERAGE |
HOME RUNS |
RBI |
VORP |
RUNS
/ GAME |
|
Joe Torre, MAN |
.375 |
|
Rod Carew, DAL |
.345 |
|
Harvey Kuenn, CLE |
.336 |
|
*Vada Pinson, MAN |
.324 |
|
Lou Brock, SF |
.322 |
|
Johnny Callison,
CLE |
.322 |
|
*Norm Siebern, ATL |
.320 |
|
Willie Stargell,
MAN |
.317 |
|
Dick McAuliffe, BRO |
.316 |
|
Rocky Colavito, BOS |
.311 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Frank Robinson, LA |
42 |
|
Orlando Cepeda, BOS |
37 |
|
Roger Maris, ATL |
36 |
|
Boog Powell, DAL |
33 |
|
Dick Allen, DET |
32 |
|
Bob Bailey, DAL |
31 |
|
*Bob Allison, ATL |
29 |
|
Felix Mantilla, LA |
28 |
|
Joe Torre, MAN |
28 |
|
Harm Killebrew, ATL |
27 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Roger Maris, ATL |
99 |
|
Joe Torre, MAN |
99 |
|
Boog Powell, DAL |
98 |
|
Mickey Mantle, BRO |
96 |
|
Orlando Cepeda, BOS |
93 |
|
*Frank Robinson, LA |
93 |
|
Harm Killebrew, ATL |
92 |
|
Willie Stargell,
MAN |
92 |
|
Johnny Romano, STL |
86 |
|
Reggie Smith, STL |
86 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Joe Torre, MAN |
75.2 |
|
Dick McAuliffe, BRO |
67.7 |
|
Frank Robinson, LA |
59.8 |
|
Mickey Mantle, BRO |
53.5 |
|
Lou Brock, SF |
53.2 |
|
Harvey Kuenn, CLE |
52.2 |
|
Rod Carew, DAL |
47.7 |
|
Joe Morgan, STL |
45.0 |
|
Vada Pinson, MAN |
44.0 |
|
*Dick Allen, DET |
43.6 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ST. LOUIS |
5.2  |
 |
ATLANTA |
5.1 |
|
|
MANHATTAN |
5.0 |
|
|
BROOKLYN |
4.9 |
|
|
LOS ANGELES |
4.8 |
|
|
DALLAS |
4.8 |
|
|
BOSTON |
4.6 |
|
|
DETROIT |
4.6 |
|
|
CLEVELAND |
4.5 |
|
|
SAN FRANCISCO |
4.4
|
|
|
CHICAGO |
4.3 |
|
|
WASHINGTON |
4.2 |
|
|
EARNED
RUN AVERAGE |
WINS |
STRIKEOUTS |
VORP |
RUNS
ALLOWED / GAME |
|
Bob Moose, SF |
1.77 |
|
Johnny Podres, CLE |
2.22 |
|
Fritz Peterson, LA |
2.79 |
|
Mike Cuellar, BOS |
2.97 |
|
Gene Conley, CLE |
2.98 |
|
Jim Merritt, DAL |
3.14 |
|
*Steve Barber, ATL |
3.31 |
|
*J. Antonelli, LA |
3.32 |
|
Joey Jay, DET |
3.36 |
|
Chris Short, BOS |
3.38 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fritz Peterson, LA |
20 |
|
Jim McGlothlin, LA |
19 |
|
Sammy Ellis, BRO |
16 |
|
Jim Palmer, ATL |
16 |
|
Don Sutton, STL |
16 |
|
Lew Burdette, STL |
15 |
|
Phil Niekro, MAN |
15 |
|
Ron Reed, CHI |
15 |
|
*J. Antonelli, LA |
14 |
|
Ron Kline, STL |
14 |
|
Bob Moose, SF |
14 |
|
Johnny Podres, CLE |
14 |
|
|
Bob Moose, SF |
189 |
|
Johnny Podres, CLE |
177 |
|
Sammy Ellis, BRO |
173 |
|
Jim Palmer, ATL |
168 |
|
Gene Conley, CLE |
163 |
|
Johnny Kucks, BRO |
162 |
|
Johnny Antonelli,
LA |
159 |
|
*Bob Anderson, MAN |
151 |
|
Pedro Ramos, DET |
150 |
|
Luis Tiant, SF |
150 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bob Moose, SF |
87.3 |
|
Johnny Podres, CLE |
72.6 |
|
Fritz Peterson, LA |
66.0 |
|
Mike Cuellar, BOS |
53.9 |
|
Jim Palmer, ATL |
50.9 |
|
Bob Anderson, MAN |
45.4 |
|
Joey Jay, DET |
45.4 |
|
Jim Merritt, DAL |
44.5 |
|
Chris Short, BOS |
40.9 |
|
*Steve Barber, ATL |
39.5 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
LOS ANGELES |
3.8
|
|
|
CLEVELAND |
4.3
|
|
|
SAN FRANCISCO |
4.3
|
|
|
ATLANTA |
4.3
|
|
|
BOSTON |
4.5
|
|
|
ST. LOUIS |
4.7
|
|
|
BROOKLYN |
4.8
|
|
|
MANHATTAN |
4.8
|
|
|
CHICAGO |
4.9
|
|
|
DALLAS |
5.1
|
|
|
DETROIT |
5.3
|
|
|
WASHINGTON |
5.6
|
|
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A W A R
D S & M I L E S T O N E S |
|
Batter of the Month |
Pitcher of the Month |
Rookie
of the Month |
Milestones |
|
APR
|
Felix Mantilla,
LA |
|
MAY
|
Jim Fregosi, STL |
|
JUN
|
Rocky Colavito,
BOS |
|
JUL
|
Mickey Mantle,
BRO |
|
AUG
|
Dick Allen, DET |
|
SEP |
|
|
|
APR
|
Fritz Peterson,
LA |
|
MAY
|
Nolan Ryan, STL |
|
JUN
|
Bob Moose, SF |
|
JUL
|
Bob Moose, SF
(2) |
|
AUG
|
Fritz Peterson,
LA (2) |
|
SEP |
|
|
|
APR
|
Cleon Jones, WAS |
|
MAY
|
Cleon Jones, WAS |
|
JUN
|
Andy Etchebarren,
DAL |
|
JUL
|
Bob Moose, SF |
|
AUG
|
Mike Andrews, SF |
|
SEP |
|
|
|
Willie Mays, WAS
2,500
hits (Aug. 30), #3 all time
Lou Brock, SF
655 stolen bases (Aug. 29), #1 all time, surpasses Mays
Ray
Narleski, BOS
300 saves (Aug. 19), #1 all time
|
|
|
Player of the Week |
|
4/8
|
Boog Powell, DAL |
|
4/15
|
Chuck Hinton,
CLE |
|
4/22
|
Rod Carew, DAL |
|
4/29
|
Carl
Yastrzemski, DET |
|
5/6
|
Cleon Jones, WAS |
|
5/13 |
Joe Torre, MAN |
|
5/20 |
Dick Allen, DET |
|
5/27 |
Lou Brock SF |
|
|
|
|
|
6/3 |
Joe Torre, MAN
(2) |
|
6/10
|
Pete Ward,
MAN |
|
6/17
|
Joe Torre,
MAN (3) |
|
6/24
|
Rocky Colavito, BOS |
|
7/1
|
Frank
Thomas, CLE |
|
7/8
|
Willie Stargell, MAN |
|
7/15
|
Mickey
Mantle. BRO |
|
7/22 |
Frank
Robinson, LA |
|
7/29 |
Joe Torre,
MAN (4) |
|
|
8/5 |
Tony Perez, STL |
|
8/12
|
Lou Clinton, ATL |
|
8/19
|
Frank Robinson,
LA (2) |
|
8/26
|
Don Demeter, LA |
|
9/2 |
|
|
9/9 |
|
|
9/16 |
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|
9/23 |
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