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HBWRL

Season 11: February 5 - March 19, 1999


Fri, 19 Mar 1999

Chips Shock Dawgs...AGAIN



Chips 8, Red Dawgs 3: The Chips (4-5) took sole possession of 3rd place, and ensured being just one game out of the playoffs at the All-Star break, by once again pounding the Red Dawgs (3-6), 8-3. Already leading 3-0, the Chips got a boost from Johnny Mize's 6th inning grand slam, to make it 7-0. Trailing 8-0, Carl Yastrzemski accounted for a mini-rally by the Dawgs, driving in all 3 of their runs.

Mon, 15 Mar 1999

Chips Browned Out: Mordecai Bests Marichal


Reps 7, Chips 0: The Reps (5-3) scored 6 earned runs off Chips (3-5) starter Juan Marichal, who had given up none entering the game, to coast to a 7-0 win. The Reps sent 10 men to the plate during a 4 run 4th inning and did not look back, in a game that did not have any extra-base hits. Reps starter Mordecai Brown, who has now beaten each of the league's other three teams in his three starts, got the shutout. The Powers still hold 1st place by tiebreaker, but the result sets up the Reps/Powers game to decide the 1st place team as we enter the All-Star Break. The same holds true in the battle for 3rd place: the Chips hold the tiebreaker over the Red Dawgs, but their upcoming game will determine the 3rd place team at the break. The result was also the league's 6th shutout of the season. The next one will break the HBWRL single season record.

Winning pitcher: Brown
Losing pitcher: Marichal

Error: Travis Jackson

Upcoming games: Myers Red Dawgs (3-5, Lefty Grove) at Silicon Valley Chips (3-5, Stan Coveleski)
battle for 1st place: Minneapolis Reps (5-3, Walter Johnson) at Karas Powers (5-3, Carl Hubbell)

DeMag and Dawgs Deliver in Friendly Fenway


Wed, 10 Mar 1999
Red Dawgs 3, Powers 1: Joe DiMaggio made good on his day--a day late. The Dawgs centerfielder's solo homer put his team ahead to stay, as the Red Dawgs (3-5) ran their record to 3-1 at home, snapping the Powers' (5-3) 5 game winning streak. Former Power Whitey Ford pitched 8 strong innings to beat his former mates, and record his first win ever as a starter. Pete Rose's bases loaded sac fly for the Powers prevented the shutout. Powers GM J Karas blamed the result on his good mood, saying his team plays better when he is mad. In the opinion of this writer, he has always been mad, but we'll assume he meant "angry." While the Dawgs remain in last place, they have now taken 2 of 3 from the 3-time defending champs, and they have allowed just 2 runs in those 3 games.

Winning pitcher: Ford
Losing pitcher: Addie Joss
Save: Don Sutton

Homerun: DiMaggio

Upcoming game: Silicon Valley Chips (3-4, Juan Marichal) at Minneapolis Reps (4-3, Mordecai Brown)

Reps Ruin D Day for Dawgs


Mon, 8 Mar 1999
Reps 8, Red Dawgs 5: On Joe DiMaggio day, the Reps (4-3) were disrespectful to DiMaggio and the visiting Red Dawgs (2-5), handing them their 4th straight loss, all on the road. The Dawgs rallied from a 4-0 deficit with runs in the 5th and 6th. Then, Hank Aaron's 3 run homer in the 7th made it 5-4 Dawgs at the 7th inning stretch. Luke Appling booted Barry Bonds' grounder to short in the bottom of the 7th to tie it at 5-5. That opened the door for 3 more unearned runs: Ted Williams' 3 run shot made provided the final margin. The win vaults the Reps into 2nd place, one game behind the streaking Powers. The Chips are 2 back; the Dawgs are 3 off the pace.

Winning pitcher: Christy Mathewson
Losing pitcher: Cy Young
Save: Rube Waddell

Homeruns: Williams, Aaron, Arky Vaughan
Error: Appling

Upcoming games: Silicon Valley Chips (3-4, Juan Marichal) at Minneapolis Reps (4-3, Mordecai Brown)
Karas Powers (5-2, Addie Joss) at Myers Red Dawgs (2-5, Whitey Ford)

Powers Electrify Chips!


Sat, 6 Mar 1999
Powers 7, Chips 3: Rogers Hornsby's 2 homer, 5 RBI day led an onslaught as the 3-time defending champion Powers (5-2) went 1.5 games up in the standings, winning their 5th straight in convincing fashion, over the Chips (3-4). As significantly, it was the 3rd win in as many games for the Powers against the Chips, meaning that the Powers need just one win in the teams' final 3 games against each other to ensure tiebreaker advantage.

Hornsby, who already led the league in doubles with 4, is now considered a rival to the Chips' Lefty O'Doul (leads league in most offensive stats), Reps' Mordecai Brown (only pitcher to win his first two starts), and Red Dawgs' Lefty Grove (no runs allowed in 19 innings pitched) for the MVP award. As all the Powers' runs were earned, the Chips' ERA of 1.73 entering the game will not be helped.

With the Powers leading 2-0, Hornsby's first homer made it 4-0. In the bottom of the 5th, Eddie Mathews' 2-run shot keyed a 3 run inning as the Chips pulled to within 4-3. But the Powers added a run to make it 5-3, and Hornsby's 2nd homer provided the final margin.

As the Chips hold tiebreaker advantage over the Reps, they can remain in 2nd place with a Dawgs win over the Reps. A Reps win would vault the defending regular season champs into 2nd place. As a sidenote, the Chips have not gone to their bullpen in any of their 7 games.

Winning pitcher: Ed Reulbach
Losing pitcher: Jack Chesbro

Homeruns: Hornsby 2, Mathews.
Doubles: Tris Speaker, Chuck Klein, Bill Dickey.

Upcoming game: Myers Red Dawgs (2-4, Cy Young) at Minneapolis Reps (3-3, Christy Mathewson)

Powers Streak at Four!


Wed, 3 Mar 1999
Powers 4, Reps 2 (10 innings): The surging Powers (4-2) won their 4th straight by victimizing Reps (3-3) reliever Eddie Plank in the top of the 10th, after almost losing the game in the bottom of the 9th. The Powers led 2-0 at the 7th inning stretch, giving them a streak of 27 consecutive shutout innings in the 2nd miniseason.

Asked during the stretch about the Powers' chances of winning while allowing no runs, Powers C Yogi Berra said that "That is a positive, because you can't score less than zero, unless your score was negative, which wouldn't be very positive. But this is positive, see, because everytime we score, that's one more run than they score, which for them is negative, even though their score isn't positive or negative."

The Reps rallied with 2 out in the bottom of the 7th, when Joe Jackson booted Barry Bonds' basehit, allowing 2 runs to score, with Bonds ending up at 3rd. But Powers starter Ed Reulbach retired Eddie Collins to end the inning, leaving the score at 2-2.

The Reps nearly won the game in the bottom of the 9th. With runners on the corners and 2 out, Edd Roush's fly ball to deep right was caught by a leaping Chuck Klein. That sent the game to extra innings, the 2nd extra innings game for the Powers in a row.

With 2 out and 1 on in the top of the 10th, Eddie Plank relieved Ed Walsh, but Reps GM Kevin C. needed the Rolaids. Plank served up 3 straight singles, 2 of them leading to runs charged to Walsh. The decisive hit was delivered by Berra. Asked to comment about that, he said, "Well we earned it at 3-0, which is really a positive, but zero as a score, that's not positive." Berra was apparently referring to the fact that both Reps runs were unearned, meaning the Powers became the first team in history to allow 0 earned runs in a mini-season.

Reulbach retired in the side in order in the bottom of the 10th for the complete game victory. After a shaky start, the 3-time defending champion Powers now have sole possession of 1st place, with the Reps and Chips each 1 game back, and the Red Dawgs 2 games off the pace. The upcoming Powers/Chips game is now a battle for 1st place, with both teams riding winning streaks. Meanwhile, there is no rest for the weary, as Reulbach is slated to pitch again.

Winning pitcher: Reulbach
Losing pitcher: Walsh

Error: Jackson

*END 2ND MINI-SEASON*

Upcoming games: Myers Red Dawgs (2-4, Cy Young) at Minneapolis Reps (3-3, Christy Mathewson)
Silicon Valley Chips (3-3, Jack Chesbro) at Karas Powers (4-2, Ed Reulbach)

Chips Spank Dawgs!


Tue, 2 Mar 1999
Chips 7, Red Dawgs 5: After torching the Dawgs (2-4) 11-0 in the opener, the Chips (3-3) again dominated the Dawgs in the early innings. Already leading 4-1 in the 5th, Bill Dickey's 3 run homer gave the Chips a decisive 7-1 lead, meaning that the Chips had outscored the Dawgs, 18-1, in the first 14 innings played by the teams. Jack Chesbro went the distance for the Chips despite a late rally of 4 unanswered runs by the Dawgs. Dawgs GM Jak Myers, enthusiastic about the comeback but not the result had this to say: "I AM VERY SKEPTIBLE!" The Dawgs have now dropped 3 straight, all on the road. The Chips have now won back-to-back games, after dropping 3 straight. All eyes turn now to the final game of the mini-season, which will decide 1st place, 1/3 of the way through the season.

Winning pitcher: Chesbro
Losing pitcher: Cy Young

Homeruns: Dickey, Joe DiMaggio
Doubles: Willie McCovey, Lefty O'Doul, Jackie Robinson, Frank Robinson
Error: Chesbro

Upcoming game: Karas Powers (3-2, Ed Reulbach) at Minneapolis Reps (3-2, Ed Walsh)

Chips Slam Reps!


Fri, 26 Feb 1999
Chips 5, Reps 0: Stan Coveleski threw a 7-hit shutout and Jimmie Foxx hit a grand slam as the Chips (2-3) pulled into 3rd place (by tiebreaker) and created a situation in which the league's 4 teams are separated by 1 game, beating the 1st place Reps (3-2), 5-0. The Chips now have 3 grand slams as a team; the rest of the league has 1. In addition, it was the 6th game this season (of 10 total) to end as a shutout. The upcoming Powers/Reps game is now a battle for 1st place, while the Chips and Red Dawgs will battle for 3rd. A Powers shutout over the Reps would set a record for league shutouts in the first 11 games of a season (7). The Powers could also become the first team ever to not allow a run in a mini-season.

Winning pitcher: Coveleski
Losing pitcher: Walter Johnson

Homerun: Foxx
Double, Caught stealing: Barry Bonds

Upcoming games: Karas Powers (3-2, Ed Reulbach) at Minneapolis Reps (3-2, Ed Walsh)
Myers Red Dawgs (2-3, Cy Young) at Silicon Valley Chips (2-3, Jack Chesbro)

Powers Shoo Dawgs!


Wed, 24 Feb 1999
Powers 1, Red Dawgs 0 (11): In a classic pitchers' duel, the 3-time defending champion Powers (3-2) won their 3rd straight, when Kiki Cuyler's bases loaded single scored Yogi Berra, and won it in the bottom of the 11th off one-time Power Jim "Money Store" Palmer. It was the first extra-inning game of the year, after a record number last year. Four of the five Red Dawgs (2-3) games have been shutouts; and five of nine league games. But the story of the game was the pitching duel between the Powers' Carl Hubbell and the Red Dawgs' Lefty Grove. They combined for 19.2 shutout innings, yet neither earned a win. Combined with his shutout victory of the 1st miniseason, Grove has started the year with 19 shutout innings. A Chips victory over the Reps would now vault the once floundering Powers into a 1st place tie.

1 out when winning run scored. Game Winning RBI: Cuyler.

Winning pitcher: Chief Bender
Losing pitcher: Palmer

Doubles: Rogers Hornsby 2, Honus Wagner.
Stolen base: Tris Speaker.
Error: Speaker.

Upcoming game: Minneapolis Reps (3-1, Walter Johnson) at Silicon Valley Chips (1-3, Stan Coveleski)

Reps Bite Dawgs!


Tue, 23 Feb 1999
Reps 5, Red Dawgs 3: The Reps (3-1) regained sole possession of 1st place in an evenly played game with a playoff atmosphere. The Red Dawgs (2-2) hold 2nd place by tiebreaker. The Reps led from wire to wire, but the game was always close. Willie McCovey's homer cut a Reps lead to 3-2 in the 7th, but Luke Appling's error led to a costly unearned run and a 5-3 Reps win. Mordecai Brown got his 2nd win in as many games for the Reps, going the distance and allowing no extra base hits (except the McCovey homer). Whitey Ford was solid in his HBWRL debut as a starter, but was tagged with the loss for the Dawgs. It was the first Dawgs game of the year not to end in a shutout. And it sets up the upcoming Dawgs/Powers game as the battle for 2nd place.

Winning pitcher: Brown
Losing pitcher: Ford

Homerun: McCovey
Double: Eddie Collins
Error: Appling

Upcoming games: Minneapolis Reps (3-1, Walter Johnson) at Silicon Valley Chips (1-3, Stan Coveleski)
Myers Red Dawgs (2-2, Lefty Grove) at Karas Powers (2-2, Carl Hubbell)

Chips Short Circuited...Again


Mon, 22 Feb 1999
Powers 6, Chips 0: Joe Jackson's grand slam capped a 6-run 4th inning, with all runs unearned on a Travis Jackson error, as the Powers (2-2) handled the slumping Chips (1-3) their 3rd straight loss. J. Jackson's slam sailed over the head of Chips RF Lefty O'Doul, the only other player to hit a grand slam this year, and Jackson was a charter member of the Chips. So the irony (not Socratic) of the game was not lost on the author. The loss sets the Chips back to an even .500 (92-92) in 184 regular season games since the HBWRL's inception. It also marks the first time that a majority of the games have been shutouts (4 of 7) this late in the season. Addie Joss and Cheif Bender combined on the shutout for the Powers. The pair did not allow an extra-base hit, and no Chips runner made it as far as third base. They didn't do that well during the game either.

Winning pitcher: Joss
Losing pitcher: Marichal

Homerun: J. Jackson
Error: T. Jackson

Upcoming game: Myers Red Dawgs (2-1, Whitey Ford) at Minneapolis Reps (2-1, Mordecai Brown)

Dawgs Rip Reps


Mon, 15 Feb 1999
Red Dawgs 5, Reps 0: The Red Dawgs (2-1) vaulted to 1st place (by tiebreaker) with back-to-back shutouts, as Lefty Grove blanked the Reps(2-1), 5-0. The league's 4 teams are now separated by 1 game, with the Dawgs and Powers holding tiebreaker edges for 1st and 3rd, respectively. Those facts are hard to believe, after the Chips' 11-0 thrashing of the Dawgs on opening day. Frank Robinson's 3 hit, 1 run, 1 RBI day was all the offense the Dawgs needed. For the Reps, rookie Edd Roush tripled, making this the 1st HBWRL season every with multiple triples. They both occurred at Fenway.

Winning pitcher: Grove
Losing pitcher: Walter Johnson

Triple: Roush
Double: Luke Appling
Stolen base: Eddie Collins
Error: Babe Ruth
END 1ST MINI-SEASON

Upcoming games: Silicon Valley Chips (1-2, Juan Marichal) at Karas Powers (1-2, Addie Joss)
Myers Red Dawgs (2-1, Warren Spahn) at Minneapolis Reps (2-1, Mordecai Brown)

Powers Short Circuit Chips


Mon, 15 Feb 1999
Powers 3, Chips 1: Down 1-0 at the 7th inning stretch and staring 0-3 in the face, J. Karas implored his team that if they didn't win, they would lose the family name and simply be known as "Powers." The Karas Powers(1-2) responded with a run in the 8th and 2 in the 9th, for a 3-1 comeback win over the Chips (1-2). It was the 2nd blown lead for the Chips, who could easily be 3-0, in as many games, though in the opinion of this author, the 2-run margin didn't warrant the term "St. Valentine's Day Massacre," used by Karas. All 5 Powers runs this season have come in the 8th or 9th inning. They have no runs in the 1st 7 innings of any game, and no homers. The Chips now sit in last place, despite having the best RS-RA difference in the league (+8). Finally, the result primes the Reps /Red Dawgs game as the battle for 1st place, at the end of the 1st mini-season.

Winning pitcher: Grover Cleveland "Pete" Alexander
Losing pitcher: Stan Coveleski

Doubles: Chuck Klein, Harmon Killebrew, Rogers Hornsby
Stolen base: Kiki Cuyler

Upcoming game: Minneapolis Reps (2-0, Walter Johnson) at Myers Red Dawgs (1-1, Lefty Grove)

Reps Rally Nips Chips


Mon, 8 Feb 1999
Reps 3, Chips 2: Barry Bonds' 2 out, bases loaded single off Jack Chesbro broke a 2-2 tie and capped a 3 run 8th inning as the Reps (2-0) edged the Chips (1-1), 3-2. Chesbro and the Chips seemed on the verge of back-to-back shutout wins after Jimmie Foxx's 2 run homer. But the Reps rally gave them the league's first comeback win of the year, and sole possession of 1st place. Rookie phenom Lefty O'Doul went just 1-5 in the game; he is still a decent 7-11 with 2 homers and 8 RBI on the season. Reps starter Ed Walsh struck out Eddie Mathews with the bases loaded in the top of the 9th to end it.

Winning pitcher: Walsh
Losing pitcher: Chesbro

Homerun: Foxx

Upcoming games: Minneapolis Reps (2-0, Walter Johnson) at Myers Red Dawgs (1-1, Lefty Grove)
Karas Powers (0-2, Carl Hubbell) at Silicon Valley Chips (1-1, Stan Coveleski)

Dawgs Lick Powers to the Bone


Mon, 8 Feb 1999
Red Dawgs 4, Powers 0: In a game that the Powers (0-2) dominated for 5 innings, but couldn't score in, the Red Dawgs (1-1) pulled of a 4-0 upset. The 3-time defending champs left the bases loaded in each of the 1st 2 innings, and had runners on the corners in the 4th, but failed to score. Later, Dawgs starter Cy Young settled down, and ultimately threw a shutout, despite allowing 14 hits (all singles). The Powers, who outhit the Red Dawgs 14-9, saw the momentum shift in the bottom of the 7th, when Luke Appling attoned for an error with an RBI single. Nap Lajoie's 3 run blast came on the next pitch, and those at bats accounted for all of the game's runs. Taking note of the fact that no team had ever started 0-3 and made the playoffs, Dawgs GM Jak Myers said, "It's all up to the Chips now. And were not the Maids, damn it!" Powers GM J Karas was not reached for comment, but a Powers front office man, familiar with what Karas would have said, issued the following statement: "We suck."

Winning pitcher: Young
Losing pitcher: Ed Reulbach

Homerun: Lajoie
Error: Appling

Upcoming game: Silicon Valley Chips (1-0, Jack Chesbro) at Minneapolis Reps (1-0, Ed Walsh)

The Reps Pull the Plug on the Powers!


Sun, 07 Feb 1999
Reps 4, Powers 2: Former Power Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown, after some early jitters, settled down to best his former teammates, 4-2. The win snapped a 3 game Powers (0-1) winning streak over the Reps (1-0), dating back to last year's World Series. Brown allowed a single to Honus Wagner and a double to Joe Jackson in the bottom of the 1st inning, and didn't allow another hit until the 6th. Christy Mathewson pitched the final inning to record the save for the Reps, who benefited from a bases loaded, 3 run double by Ted Williams. Mathewson stopped a late Powers rally that saw them cut a 4-0 deficit in half, by scoring runs in each of the 8th and 9th innings.

Winning pitcher: Brown
Losing pitcher: Addie Joss
Save: Mathewson

Doubles: Williams, Jackson, Babe Ruth, Harmon Killebrew, Rogers Hornsby.

Upcoming games: Karas Powers (0-1, Ed Reulbach) at Myers Red Dawgs (0-1, Cy Young); Silicon Valley Chips (1-0, Jack Chesbro) at Minneapolis Reps (1-0, Ed Walsh)

HBWRL OPENING DAY RESULT


Fri, 5 Feb 1999
Silicon Valley Chips 11, Myers Red Dawgs 0: In the biggest blowout ever on opening day, the veteran Chips (1-0) spanked the newcomer Red Dawgs (0-1), 11-0. Chips rookie Lefty O'Doul, making his HBWRL debut, went an incredible 6-6, with 2 grand slams and 8 RBI. He sets records for hits in a game by a rookie, hits in a game without recording an out, grand slams in a game, and RBIs in a game. Hitting right behind him, Stan Musial also had a big day, going 5-6, and hitting only the 4th triple in HBWRL history. The two combined to go 11-12 with 2 homers, 1 triple, and 10 RBI. Meanwhile, Juan Marichal pitched the shutout for Silicon Valley, retiring the 1st 10 hitters he faced, until Nap Lajoie singled with 1 out in the bottom of the 4th. "Heads will roll," vowed Red Dawgs GM Jak Myers, as the Fenway crowd simply lamented, as they watched O'Doul's second grand slam sail over the wall after Warren Spahn hung one over the center of the plate: "Mistakes were made..."

Winning pitcher: Marichal
Losing pitcher: Spahn

Homeruns: O'Doul 2
Triple: Musial
Double: Travis Jackson
Error: Willie McCovey

Upcoming game: Minneapolis Reps (Mordecai Brown) at Karas Powers (Addie Joss)
Click here to view results of Season 12 Games:
July 13 - August 2,1999 (~) August 6 - August 27,1999
August 30 - September 21,1999 (~) September 23,1999 - October 6, 1999

Click here to view results of Season 11 Games:
February 5 - March 19,1999 (~) March 20 - April 13,1999 (~) April 13 - May 25,1999

HBWRL SEASON 11 SCHEDULE

MINI-SEASONS 1-2

Reps at Powers
Chips at Red Dawgs

Powers at Red Dawgs
Chips at Reps

Reps at Red Dawgs
Powers at Chips

Chips at Powers
Red Dawgs at Reps

Reps at Chips
Red Dawgs at Powers

Red Dawgs at Chips
Powers at Reps


MINI-SEASONS 3-4

Red Dawgs at Reps
Chips at Powers

Chips at Reps
Powers at Red Dawgs

Red Dawgs at Chips
Reps at Powers

Chips at Red Dawgs
Powers at Reps

Reps at Red Dawgs
Powers at Chips

Reps at Chips
Red Dawgs at Powers


MINI-SEASONS 5-6

Red Dawgs at Chips
Reps at Powers

Red Dawgs at Reps
Chips at Powers

Chips at Reps
Powers at Red Dawgs

Red Dawgs at Powers
Reps at Chips

Reps at Red Dawgs
Powers at Chips

Chips at Red Dawgs
Powers at Reps