Week 20 Recap

Week 20 is completed, meaning we are (20/24) 83.3% complete. Date-wise we have reached the end of August and all the remaining games are September games. One small technical glitch this week - upon completing one game BBW began clocking and then popped a message that Statmaster couldn't be found. Uh-oh, that can't be good. After another minute or so the end-of-game dialogue box came up, I selected "Save Stats", and everything seemed to work. BBW did detect that a game needed to be rescheduled though (like a rainout had occurred), but further investigation showed the game really was accounted for and I was able to cancel the reschedule. I do a backup after the completion of every week … I might start doing it more often, especially as the end draws nigh.

The big story is the race in the NL. Brooklyn, Chicago, and St. Louis all took turns being in first place this past week. The Cardinals ended the week by taking 3-of-4 from the Cubs, while the Robins took the first two in their series against the Giants, only to see the Giants come back and take the final two. The result of all this is that St. Louis is in first place by the slimmest of margins. Pittsburgh had five games against Cincinnati and was hoping to move up the standings in their efforts to catch the Reds, but could only take 3-of-5 as Cincinnati played tough every game. The Braves took 3-of-4 from the Phillies to climb out of the cellar, and then they swept a doubleheader against the Giants to end the week.

Not anywhere near as much excitement in the AL. The A's took 2-of-3 from the Nationals to slowly expand their lead. The Yankees are still playing so-so ball but are remaining solid in third, holding off the Tigers by six games. The Tigers have a 2.5 game lead over the Browns, who lead the Indians by 2.5 games, and that five-game difference between those three teams is going to be fun to watch. Will one of these three teams get hot and make a move up? The Red Sox are only .5 games behind the Indians, but I am thinking the bloom is off that rose. The White Sox seem quite comfortable in auditioning players for next year.

In the AL, Lou Gehrig (.421) has taken the lead in batting average, just ahead of Mickey Cochrane (.416) and Al Simmons (.410), while in hits it is Gehrig (205), Simmons (195), Charlie Gehringer (190) and Joe Cronin (190). Gehrig also leads in RBIs (150), Babe Ruth (141), and Simmons (134), but Ruth maintains his lead in runs (139) over Gehrig (125) and Cochrane (121). Red Kress (48) still leads in doubles, just ahead of Gehrig (47), Cochrane (46), and Gehringer (46). Sam Rice and Goose Goslin both have 16 triples, and Gehringer is right behind with 15. Ruth (42) maintains his lead in homeruns, leading Gehrig (37) and Ed Morgan (32). Lefty Grove (27-2, 1.55) and Lefty Stewart (22-6, 2.20) still dominate the pitching leaders, but Wes Ferrell (19-10, 2.69) is making a late charge.

In the NL, Chuck Klein (.413) leads in batting average over Lefty O'Doul (.408) and Bill Terry (.405), and Klein leads in hits (215) over Babe Herman (196), Terry (193), O'Doul (192) and Johnny Frederick (190). In runs, it is O'Doul (123), Kiki Cuyler (122), Klein (119), and Herman (118), while Hack Wilson maintains his lead in RBI's (141) over Klein (133), Del Bissonette (114) and Herman (114). Harry Heilmann claims the lead in doubles (45), followed by Klein, Herman, and Frederick, all with 44. Adam Comorosky has 21 triples, ahead of Cuyler (18) and Paul Waner (15). Wilson has 39 homeruns, with a big lead over Herman (32), Klein (30), Wally Berger (30), and George Watkins (29). Neither Charlie Root (19-6) or Pat Malone (19-7) could crack the twenty win barrier this past week, but will likely do so this coming week.

George Earnshaw

Both leagues still have three players batting over .400, and none of them show any sign of slowing down. If you just go by the leaderboards, Gehrig and Klein are the front-runners for MVP in their respective leagues. Grove is obviously the best pitcher in the AL (and the league), but a choice for the NL is much tougher. Root and Malone went on a streak that got the Cubs back into first, but Jesse Haines and Burleigh Grimes are leading the St. Louis charge, While Dazzy Vance and Jumbo Elliott are doing their best to keep Brooklyn in the chase as well.

There is a lot to be decided yet, and these last four weeks are shaping up to be quite exciting. And what better way to begin this stretch run with everybody starting Week 21 with a Labor Day doubleheader. I poked around a little and couldn’t determine if it was actually called "Labor Day" in 1930, but we are getting eight doubleheaders regardless. Let's play some baseball!