[AZTarHeel]

Originally Posted by Big Six

Wow, the Mountaineers had a tough year in '14 with all the injuries. It's easy to say "what if," but I can't help thinking that if they'd had more luck they'd have made the playoffs.

I like their talent base, though, and it looks like they have a couple of good young players on their way up. Maybe the new nickname will take the hoodoo off them.

I'll be following along...go Tourists!

The Tourists sound a lot like Bethlehem in your Keystone League -- good young talent that just needs some developing ... Hopefully, Asheville's fortunes will turn around ... the team would hate to lose its "only" fan... haha... thanks for reading...

[AZTarHeel]

1915 North Carolina State League -- June 1 Update



Charlotte Hornets work themselves into the mix


STANDINGS ON JUNE 1, 1915

Team               	W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Durham Bulls        	34	19	.642	-	35-18	-1	14-10	20-9	8-1	11-7	62	W9	9-1
Charlotte Hornets	28	25	.528	6.0	25-28	3	12-14	16-11	3-9	11-6		W2	8-2
Winston-Salem Twins	28	25	.528	6.0	27-26	1	13-14	15-11	4-1	9-9		W2	3-7
Greensboro Patriots	25	28	.472	9.0	26-27	-1	8-18	17-10	3-2	6-7		L2	4-6
Raleigh Capitals	23	30	.434	11.0	27-26	-4	9-18	14-12	2-7	5-11		L5	2-8
Asheville Tourists	21	32	.396	13.0	19-34	2	10-19	11-13	3-3	7-9		L2	4-6

Don’t look now -- here come to Charlotte Hornets! Few would have thought the Hornets capable of being in playoff contention at this point after how the team started. They got swept in their opening series and at one point held a 7-17 record. Yikes!

So what has fueled the turnaround? It’s got to be the new logo and hats right? Ha. For one thing, Charlotte has gotten over its road jitters. Interestingly the Hornets have a better away record right now (16-11) than at home (12-14). The Hornets have learned better how to win close games, going 11-6 in one-run affairs (though they are 3-9 in games that have gone to extra innings). Charlotte has the top home-run hitting team in the NCSL, belting 13 out in 53 games.

But in general Charlotte is still pretty average in a lot of categories, so they‘ll still have to step it up to make the playoffs for the first time. The Hornets did have the Rookie of the Month for May in shortstop Craig Gray (pictured at top). The recent call-up from the developmental league batted .250 during the month with eight RBIs. Left-handed pitcher Miguel Ruiz is 6-2 with a 3.02 ERA and a couple of shutouts. Rudy Young is 5-4 with three shutouts (“Rudy! Rudy!”).

The Durham Bulls are going to be tough to catch at the top. Relief pitcher Ramon Carbaja has been absolutely sick when he gets the ball. He’s pitched 54.1 innings thus far and has allowed TWO earned runs. He’s got a 7-0 record with six saves and an ERA of 0.17. Whoa! It is interesting how Durham is using him. I guess with teams going with a four-man rotation, he’s getting a lot of relief innings because of tired starters.

Durham CF Antonio Arevalo has been pounding the ball of late. He was the batter of the month for May (.345 average). He had a 5-for-6 game against Charlotte that featured two home runs. The ballpark went crazy when his second ball sailed out.

Asheville, mired in last place, fired its skipper on May 27 (Bryan Tucker). The next day, the Tourists went out and nabbed Ollie Spence, who had led Winston-Salem to the 1913 title before being fired after the ‘14 season. Spence seems like a good fit in the mountains and hopefully will lead a turnaround there.

Remember pitcher Chris Wilson, who went 15-1 for Winston’s developmental team last season? Well, the Twins unloaded him, sending him to Asheville in the preseason. He’s doing OK so far, pitching for the Tourists’ big club, sporting a 5-6 record with a 3.86 ERA. Asheville is banking on his development for its future plans.

At age 36, Raleigh pitcher Oliver “Skull” Jenkins leads the NCSL with 61 strikeouts. He’s only 4-6 however in the W-L column…The Caps are struggling overall…

[AZTarHeel]

1915 North Carolina State League -- July 10 Update

Bulls, Twins on collision course for second playoff series match-up

STANDINGS JULY 10, 1915

Team               	W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Durham Bulls        	60	30	.667	-	60-30	0	30-15	30-15	13-4	19-11	21	L2	6-4
Winston-Salem Twins	50	40	.556	10.0	47-43	3	25-20	25-20	9-3	21-16		W1	6-4
Charlotte Hornets	43	47	.478	17.0	42-48	1	20-25	23-22	4-14	17-15		L1	4-6
Asheville Tourists	39	51	.433	21.0	36-54	3	16-29	23-22	4-5	14-14		W1	5-5
Greensboro Patriots	39	51	.433	21.0	41-49	-2	16-29	23-22	7-4	13-17		L1	4-6
Raleigh Capitals	39	51	.433	21.0	44-46	-5	18-27	21-24	3-10	11-22		W2	5-5

With a month left in the regular season, the Durham Bulls appear to be leaving everyone behind. And Winston-Salem looks ready to lock up second place, which would guarantee a rematch of the 1913 championship series.

Charlotte hung with the Twins for awhile but the Hornets just don’t appear to have enough to get into the playoffs this year. Asheville, Greensboro and Raleigh are all tied for last place. Tourists fans just want to be in the upper division at the end, which is still possible…

A few summer highlights:

* Durham pitcher Juan Olivares has been the class of the NCSL. The 33-year-old from Omaha boasts a 13-5 record. He’s quietly been one of the top pitchers in the league, with a three-year mark of 40-21 and an ERA of 3.03.

* Durham CF Antonio Aravelo won Batter of the Month honors for the second time this season in June, boasting an average of .374 with two homers and 10 RBIs.

* Asheville pitcher Chris Wilson continues his improvement curve. He was Rookie of the Month in June, going 4-2. The 25-year-old is 9-8 on the season. Hang in their Tourists! He could be a league ace in the next few years

* Who says reporters are wimps? A writer with the Winston-Salem Journal, defending himself after being confronted by Twins RF Martin Hudson, ended up knocking Hudson loopy during a post-game fight on July 9. Hudson did land a punch but fractured his hand and will be out of action a few weeks. He was mad about a story in the W-S Journal that called him a “waste of space.” Hudson has been pleading for more time in the lineup after getting hits in four of six at-bats thus far this season… He’ll have to wait at least a few weeks.

[glenn]

It looks like the Hornets.....nah, I better refrain from commenting with a month left, I don't want to jinx the Hornets.

[AZTarHeel]

1915 North Carolina State League — Season Recap



Durham Bulls win second season championship

STANDINGS

Team              	W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Durham Bulls       	76	44	.633	-	76-44	0	38-22	38-22	15-7	25-17	Clinched	W1	6-4
Winston-Salem Twins	65	55	.542	11.0	63-57	2	32-28	33-27	10-6	24-21		W1	4-6
Asheville Tourists	57	63	.475	19.0	52-68	5	24-36	33-27	7-6	20-16		W3	7-3
Charlotte Hornets	55	65	.458	21.0	55-65	0	27-33	28-32	7-15	25-22		L5	4-6
Raleigh Capitals	54	66	.450	22.0	61-59	-7	26-34	28-32	4-11	15-29		L1	5-5
Greensboro Patriots	53	67	.442	23.0	53-67	0	24-36	29-31	8-6	18-22		L1	4-6

The Durham Bulls haven’t stopped since capturing the 1914 NCSL pennant, winning the 1915 regular season by 11 games over Winston-Salem. The Bulls celebrate their second regular season crown and will be in the championship series for the third year in a row.

Durham won the 1913 season but lost to Winston-Salem in the playoff series. So don’t expect the Bulls to overlook the Twins this go-around. The Bulls were second a year ago only to beat regular season champion Raleigh for the title, so the precedent of the underdog winning is definitely there.

This year’s Bulls lineup was fueled by CF Antonio Arevalo, who led the team and the league in hitting with a .322 average. Arevalo stroked eight home runs. He was Batter of the Month twice and Player of the Week three times during the season. Arevalo had no fear when it came to trying to swipe a base. He stole 56 times in 120 games -- but also got caught 45 times (!!). He’s only 26, so Arevalo appears to have a long career in front of him in the Tar Heel state.

Young left-handed slugger Garrett McDonald emerged as the Bulls’ clean-up man, batting .292. The 23-year-old was Rookie of the Month twice in 1914. Veteran IF Anthony Watson, now 37, keeps plugging away. He batted third most of the season for the Bulls, averaging .275. His RBI total of 58 was second on the team. Juan Olivares won 14 games to lead the Durham pitchers. Reliever Ramon Carbaja smoked opponents, finishing with an ERA of 0.58, with 10 wins, two losses and 11 saves. Could the Pitcher of the Year award go to a reliever this year?

Pitching was certainly Winston-Salem’s strength. The Twins, who started three lefties, had four hurlers with at least 11 wins -- Wayne Grant (13), Caden Anderson (12), Jake Renz (12) and Chris Lloyd (11). Reliever Juan Dieguez had numbers similar to Durham’s Carbaja, earning 20 saves with an ERA of 0.57 in 47 innings pitched.

Carlos Rodriguez (.311) and Angel “Sweetness” Pellicar (.298) led the Winston-Salem hitting. Pellicar was both the 1913 Most Outstanding Batter and Rookie of the Year. He showed he's certainly not a one-hit wonder.

Asheville fans celebrated their best finish in the three-year history of the NCSL. The Tourists overtook the Charlotte Hornets for third place coming down the stretch. The Tourists were 7-3 in their last 10 games. Lead-off man John Stewart, a centerfielder, stole 59 sacks. Chris Wilson, who was obtained in trade with Winston-Salem, turned out to be a good pickup. He won 12 games as the No. 3 man in the rotation.

The Hornets beat Glenn’s projection of 50 wins by winning a whopping 55! Hey, they are getting better! That’s their best effort in three seasons. Ivan Martinez turned out to be a super slugger, hitting for the cycle against the Bulls (5-for-5 on the day) and finishing the season with a .293 average. Rudy Young was solid from the mound at 14-8.

The Raleigh Capitals certainly plunged after winning the regular season last year. It was their worst season in three years. The Capitals’ ace pitcher, Oliver “Skull” Jenkins had a pretty standout year, posting a 14-8 record with a 2.22 ERA. But his pitching comrades let the team down at times. Jerry Parker, the first pick in the first draft had a poor 8-14 mark. Andy Owens, a standout last season, went 10-14.

The Greensboro Patriots have been the league’s poorest team overall thus far. They’ve never finished higher than fourth. The Pats were last this season, winning just 53 games. Age seems to have caught up with OF Randy Downs, who was last season’s Most Outstanding Hitter. Downs hit just .233 in 1915 after batting better than .300 in 1914. He batted home just 29 runs.

Next up: the playoff series between the Bulls and Twins!!

[AZTarHeel]

1915 North Carolina State League — Playoff Recap



Take Two: Winston-Salem knocks off Durham again

Game 1: Winston-Salem 3, Durham 2 -- WP: Caden Anderson, S: Joe Holder
Game 2: Winston-Salem 6, Durham 3 -- WP: Wayne Grant

In a repeat of 1913, the second-seeded Winston-Salem Twins upended the top-seeded Durham Bulls in the playoff series. This time, the Twins only needed two games.

Durham outhit Winston 14-6 in the opener but just couldn’t push runs across. The Bulls stranded 11, leaving five men in scoring position with two outs.

The Twins broke open a scoreless game in the bottom of the fourth when 2B Howard Knapp stroked a two-run homer. Knapp had only hit three long balls in the regular season, so his round-tripper came as quite a surprise. Durham got a run back in the top of the fifth but the Twins answered with a run in the bottom of the fifth. Ken Lee scooted home with two outs on a passed ball.

Durham pulled within a run at 3-2 in the sixth, but 38-year-old Joe Holder (a great last name for a reliever by the way) pitched out the last 2.2 innings to get the save. He allowed just two hits for the first save of his NCSL career. With a runner on first in the bottom of the ninth, Holder struck out reigning batting champion Antonio Arevalo to end the game. Arevalo looked at the third strike. A nice story for the Twins‘ “old man," who hails from Phoenix. (He would be released by the club after the season, landing in Greensboro in the fall for another run in 1916).

The Winston bats came out in force in game two. OF Angel "Sweetness" Pellicar went 4-for-5 with a double and two runs. OF Will Hollis went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and a run. Pitcher Wayne Grant went the distance for the win.

The score was tied 3-3 after seven innings. Winston-Salem scored two in the eighth and one in the ninth to pull away. Grant helped his own cause with a run-scoring double.

Pellicar went 5-for-8 in the two games and was named the Championship Series MVP (my new use for the custom award). In five career post-season games, Sweetness is 9-for-19 (.474) with six runs scored. His nickname might need to be Mr. Clutch.

Durham went out with a whimper the last few innings of Game Two. That make its three years in a row that the No. 1 seed has lost to the No. 2 in the playoff series. The push to make the playoff series best-of-five or best-of-seven likely will come up for more discussion in the off-season.

NORTH CAROLINA STATE LEAGUE CHAMPIONS
1913 - Winston-Salem Twins (defeated Durham 2-1)
1914 - Durham Bulls (defeated Raleigh 2-1)
1915 - Winston-Salem Twins (defeated Durham 2-0)

[No Pepper]

As a Raleigh backer and Skull Jenkins fan, I'm disappointed in this year's Caps. Whatever happened to third-sacker Blevins?

[AZTarHeel]

Originally Posted by No Pepper

As a Raleigh backer and Skull Jenkins fan, I'm disappointed in this year's Caps. Whatever happened to third-sacker Blevins?

Yeah, I was surprised by the Caps downfall as well. They seemed to have the pitching to dominate for awhile. But Skull still had a big year and will be rewarded for it (stay tuned for 1915 awards post).

As for Mr. Blevins, happy to report that his hand healed up well. He was pretty excited at the creation of the developmental league and went on to win two Player of the Week honors and one Batter of the Month award for the Raleigh Juniors in 1914.

He got called up to the Big Club at the end of both 1914 and '15 and played backup third base for the Caps during that time. He's in his mid-20s so maybe he'll have a chance to be an everyday guy at some point. His teammates still kid him ruthlessly about the day he picked a fight with his locker and lost...

[AZTarHeel]

1915 North Carolina State League — Player Awards


Most Outstanding Hitter Award
Durham Bulls CF Antonio Arevalo had a splendid season, winning the batting title and the Most Outstanding Hitter honor. Arevalo, who had a 5-for-6 game against Charlotte back in May (including two home runs), finished with a .322 average, 25 doubles, eight triples, eight homers and 43 RBIs in 113 games. Keep in mind, in 1915 defense and pitching pretty much rule the day.



Most Outstanding Pitcher Award
Raleigh’s Oliver “Skull” Jenkins became the first back-to-back winner of the Most Outstanding Pitcher award. This season, the now 36-year-old crafted a 14-10 record with a 2.27 ERA. He struck out a league best 122 batters. Jenkins went 17-7 in 1914 but had a lower ERA this season. In three seasons, Jenkins is 47-26 with an ERA of 2.38. Go Skull!



Rookie Of The Year Award
Things are looking up for the Asheville Tourists’ bullpen. Pitcher Chris Wilson had a stellar 1915 season to swipe top rookie honors. Wilson started 27 games for Asheville, posting a 12-10 record with an ERA of 3.14. He had 104 strikeouts. Wilson is 25-years-old and hopes to be around the league -- and Asheville -- for many years to come. Wilson was a 19th-round pick in 1913 by Winston-Salem, but was traded to the mountains after the 1914 campaign. The Tourists look like the winners of that deal so far.


Glove Wizard Awards
Pitcher: Rudy Young (Charlotte Hornets)
Catcher: Vincente Nieves (Raleigh Capitals) -- his second-straight GW honor
First Baseman: Randy Downs (Greensboro Patriots) - he was last year’s top batter and a GW winner
Second Baseman: Daniel Smith (Greensboro Patriots)
Third Baseman: Stanley Smith (Greensboro Patriots) - nice infield combo for the Pats
Shortstop: Jeff Sherman (Raleigh Capitals)
Left Fielder: Alfredo Perez (Asheville Tourists)
Center Fielder: Ryan Travis (Winston-Salem Twins)
Right Fielder: Zachary Taylor (Winston-Salem Twins)

[canadiancreed]

I`m loving the uniforms. Good luck with your league!

[AZTarHeel]

Originally Posted by canadiancreed

I`m loving the uniforms. Good luck with your league!

thanks canadiancreed - that's one of the things I love most about the latest versions of this game ... thanks for stopping by...

[AZTarHeel]

1915 North Carolina State League — News & Notes

• No pitcher has thrown a no-hitter in an NCSL game yet, but Craig Clark recorded a PERFECT GAME pitching for Charlotte’s developmental team, the Junior Hornets. His feat came June 3 against the Asheville Junior Mountaineers -- about two weeks after Clark (the No. 1 pick of the 1914 allocation draft) had recorded a two-hit shutout against Asheville’s D-League team. Nice!

Coming into the season, Clark was considered the No. 3 prospect in the North Carolina State League. He’s just 22 years old, so look out for him in a big club Hornets uniform soon! Clark finished 12-10 with a 2.21 ERA in the D-League. You can tell how defensive baseball is in North Carolina in 1915 by the fact that Clark lost 10 games with an ERA like that.

• Todd Chandler of Winston-Salem earned the Outstanding Hitter Award for the D-League. Chandler hit for a .300 average while collecting 80 hits, 14 doubles, 5 triples, 2 home runs, 19 RBIs and scoring 25 times. Greensboro’s Augusto Lopez was the Most Outstanding Pitcher for the D-League. The 25-year-old Junior Patriots star fashioned a 16-4 record in 1915 with a 1.10 ERA. He held opposing batters to a .193 average.

• The Greensboro Junior Patriots won the NCSLDL title this season. Here are final standings from the developmental circuit.

Team               	W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Greensboro Junior Patriots	67	23	.744	-	64-26	3	35-10	32-13	4-1	16-12	Clinched	W6	9-1
Charlotte Junior Hornets	49	41	.544	18.0	51-39	-2	22-23	27-18	3-3	22-17		W5	5-5
Raleigh Junior Capitals   	41	49	.456	26.0	43-47	-2	19-26	22-23	7-5	12-23		W3	5-5
Durham Junior Bulls       	40	50	.444	27.0	45-45	-5	18-27	22-23	2-3	15-17		L6	2-8
Winston-Salem Junior Twins	37	53	.411	30.0	30-60	7	20-25	17-28	4-4	18-13		L3	4-6
Asheville Junior Mountaineers	36	54	.400	31.0	36-54	0	17-28	19-26	0-4	12-13		L5	5-5

• When I did my Arizona League dynasty, I loved scrolling through the list of retirements to find the big stars but also to find those folks who maybe enjoyed just one or two days in the sun. I’m going to do that as well with this league. Here are a few notable "cup of coffee" players who hung it up after the 1915 season:

-- Michael Lynch from Roanoke, Virginia wanted just one shot at playing in a professional baseball game. He got it with Charlotte, retiring with one official at-bat in an NCSL contest -- 1-for-1 in 1913. His hit was a triple, and Lynch eventually came home to score. He retires with a perfect average, an on-base percentage of 1.000 and a slugging percentage of 3.000. And he’s got a nice story to tell the grandkids one day.

-- Maximo Ramos from Tacoma, Wash. pitched in just one game for Durham’s D-League team, in 1914. The 6-foot-6 left-hander went 5.1 innings, struck out six, allowed only four hits and didn‘t give up an earned run. He didn't get a decision but felt good about his showing overall. But for some reason Durham released him shortly after that game. He never got on with another franchise and retired after 1915, a bit disillusioned by how everything went down for him. (I’m tempted to un-retire him to see if he can redeem himself. And because he has a cool name).

-- Parisian-born Thibault Merle signed with Charlotte as a 20-year old but didn't last long in the Tar Heel state. He pitched in three games with a 6+ ERA and lots of walks. He was released from Charlotte, picked up by Durham, released by Durham and eventually packed up to go back to France. At age 21, he‘s hoping to make the French national soccer team since baseball didn't work out.

[canadiancreed]

Agreed there. Just wish I knew how to make them.

[AZTarHeel]

1916 North Carolina State League — Preseason


The first three years of the North Carolina State League were pretty much dominated by three teams. The Winston-Salem Twins won two post-season titles. The Durham Bulls won the regular season twice and one playoff series. The Raleigh Capitals used stellar pitching to take one regular season crown.

But the other three clubs certainly aren’t throwing in the towel. In fact the Greensboro Patriots, Charlotte Hornets and Asheville Tourists are more determined than ever to field contenders in 1916. Greensboro began building for its future by taking pitcher Johnny Ward as the No. 1 pick in the November allocation draft. Ward is a 21-year-old right-hander from Alta Siera, Calif. He can pitch all day and can hit a little too.

The Raleigh Capitals, who fell off quite a bit in 1915 after a great 1914 season, picked up popular left-hander Dan “Little Rat” Sutton to bolster their bullpen. Imagine having a pitching rotation featuring Skull (Oliver Jenkins) and Little Rat! Sutton likely will need a few years of seasoning in the Developmental League before getting the call from the Big Club. Maybe Little Rat will be Skull’s replacement when Jenkins finally hangs it up. Jenkins, at age 37, is rarin’ to go for 1916!

The top position player taken in the draft was Henry “Boom Boom” Butler, a 6-foot-4, 205-pound infielder. Winston-Salem got him in the first round, with the fifth pick. Winston has gone against the grain by not taking a pitcher in the first round for the past few years. The Twins seem to be on to something considering their two titles.


Top 10 Prospects
Pitchers dominate the list, published in early April by Baseball Carolina. Last year’s stats follow in parenthesis if the player is not a recent draftee. BC still believes in Jack Fry? He had a rough debut for Winston’s D-League team.

1. SP Jack Fry, 19, Winston-Salem Twins (3-15, 5.54 ERA in 1915 D-League)
2. SP Dan Sutton, 19, Raleigh Capitals
3. SP Tim Johnston, 20, Charlotte Hornets (10-11, 2.45 ERA in 1915 D-League)
4. SP Johnny Ward, 22, Greensboro Patriots
5. SP Craig Clark, 23, Charlotte Hornets (12-10, 2.21 ERA in 1915 D-League)
6. SP Eric Mason, 18, Greensboro Patriots
7. CF Junior Young, 19, Asheville Tourists
8. SP Kenny Craft, 23, Charlotte Hornets
9. SP Jon Benjamin, 21, Asheville Tourists
10. 2B Henry Butler, 22, Winston-Salem Twins


Top 10 Position Players
Winston-Salem and Durham have the top players going into 1916. The Bulls look loaded again.

1. SS Carlos Rodriguez, 37, Winston-Salem Twins
2. LF Angel Pellicer, 27, Winston-Salem Twins
3. CF Antonio Arevalo, 27, Durham Bulls
4. 2B Anthony Watson, 37, Durham Bulls
5. C Marvin Young, 26, Charlotte Hornets
6. RF Bill Robbins, 31, Raleigh Capitals
7. SS Arnie Montgomery, 33, Durham Bulls
8. RF Garrett McDonald, 23, Durham Bulls
9. SS Jerry Johnson, 30, Asheville Tourists
10. LF Eugene Conner, 30 Greensboro Patriots


Top 10 Pitchers
Pretty balanced across five of the six league teams. Oliver “Skull” Jenkins is becoming legendary in the NCSL.

1. SP Merlin McNeill, 33, Asheville Tourists
2. SP Oliver Jenkins, 37, Raleigh Capitals
3. SP Rudy Young, 31, Charlotte Hornets
4. SP Bill Bergeron, 29, Durham Bulls
5. SP Jerry Parker, 29, Raleigh Capitals
6. Andy Owens, 29, Raleigh Capitals
7. SP Kenny Davis, 36, Durham Bulls
8. SP Caden Anderson, 28, Winston-Salem Twins
9. SP Chris Wilson, 26, Asheville Tourists
10. SP Chris Lloyd, 30, Winston-Salem Twins


AzTarHeel’s Prediction for 1916
Look for Charlotte, Asheville and Greensboro to be more competitive, with maybe one of them getting into the playoffs. But Durham looks too loaded to give up its title. This time the Bulls will win both the regular season and playoff crowns.


Other Preseason Notes
The playoff series now will be best-of-five, and will be known as the Carolina Champions Cup … The decision to go from best-of-three to best-of-five was put forward by the Durham Bulls and was agreed upon by everyone but Winston-Salem, which won a pair of playoff titles over the Bulls as the No. 2 seed in the old best-of-three format.

[AZTarHeel]

1916 North Carolina State League — May 1 Season Update

Tide looks to be turning in NCSL

STANDINGS ON MAY 1, 1916

Team               	W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Asheville Tourists	18	8	.692	-	18-8	0	10-2	8-6	5-1	5-2	92	L1	5-5
Charlotte Hornets	15	11	.577	3.0	13-13	2	12-3	3-8	2-1	5-3		W2	5-5
Greensboro Patriots	13	13	.500	5.0	11-15	2	5-7	8-6	1-0	5-2		W3	6-4
Raleigh Capitals    	13	13	.500	5.0	14-12	-1	9-5	4-8	0-2	3-3		W1	7-3
Durham Bulls        	10	16	.385	8.0	10-16	0	5-9	5-7	2-2	3-5		L2	5-5
Winston-Salem Twins	9	17	.346	9.0	12-14	-3	4-7	5-10	1-5	1-7		L4	2-8

So much for last year’s top teams. Durham and Winston-Salem have stumbled out of the gates and are on the bottom of the North Carolina State League, even in danger of dropping out of contention after just one month.

The heroes for now reside in Asheville and Charlotte. The Hornets jumped out to a 6-0 start, while the Tourists began 5-1. Both teams are getting it done at home (see standings above). Charlotte is going to have to pick up it on the road if it wants to stay in contention, though

Asheville pitcher Merlin McNeill is living up to his billing as the league’s top pitcher. He went 5-1 in April. Charlotte catcher Marvin Young is hitting .385 after a month of play.

Remember Craig Clark? He pitched a perfect game for Charlotte’s D-League team in 1915. Well, on April 21, Clark tossed a NO-HITTER against Durham’s D-League team. Why is he still in the D-League? Good grief, Charlotte, call him up already! In six starts with the Junior Hornets, Clark has an ERA of 0.84 (though he’s only 3-3 in the W-L column)…

EDIT: Looking back through April D-League notes, I see that the Durham Junior Bulls were no-hit THREE times in a one week span. Luis Romero of Greensboro got it started on April 18 with 10 strikeouts. Then Clark threw up zeroes three days later, fanning 13. The third no-no came the day after that, from Charlotte's Tim "T-Rex" Johnston, who also struck out 13. Good grief, what is going on with the Junior Bulls?!? Durham's D-League team was 7-15 in April. Yikes. Not promising for the Bulls' future.

[Big Six]

It's still early, but it's great to see the Tourists on top! Hopefully Merlin can continue to work his wizardry all year long and lead the Tourists to their destination.

Great stuff, as always.

[PhillieFever]

Count me in as a Greensboro backer! I love that their stacking their team with live young arms.In a few years,look out: The Patriots Are Coming...

[AZTarHeel]

Great to hear that just about every team has a following of some sort. Thanks for stopping by PhillieFever and Big Six. More posts coming soon. Got some free time this weekend to play my favorite game...

[AZTarHeel]

1916 North Carolina State League — Mid-June Update

Teams gaining on Hornets, Tourists; Beware the Bulls

STANDINGS ON JUNE 19

Team                	W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Charlotte Hornets	39	33	.542	-	40-32	-1	23-16	16-17	6-3	12-14	48	W1	4-6
Asheville Tourists	38	34	.528	1.0	39-33	-1	23-13	15-21	8-4	14-7		W1	3-7
Durham Bulls        	37	35	.514	2.0	36-36	1	15-18	22-17	4-4	15-15		L1	6-4
Raleigh Capitals	35	37	.486	4.0	34-38	1	17-19	18-18	3-2	10-12		L1	5-5
Greensboro Patriots	34	38	.472	5.0	33-39	1	17-19	17-19	3-3	15-14		L1	6-4
Winston-Salem Twins	33	39	.458	6.0	34-38	-1	19-17	14-22	2-10	9-13		W1	6-4

Charlotte and Asheville have traded the top spot back and forth all season, but the Hornets and Tourists had better watch their backs. Here come the Durham Bulls, who have trucked back into contention.

Actually, with nearly two months to play, every team is still very much alive.

Asheville hurler Merlin McNeill is still plugging along, with a 12-3 record (currently in the midst of a seven-game winning streak). His ERA of 1.89 is tops in the NCSL. Fred McClure has nine wins as Asheville’s No. 4 starter.

Guess who’s keeping the Durham Bulls in the conversation? Anthony Watson, the Bulls’ 37-year-old second baseman, who won a couple of MVP awards in 1913 and '14. He leads the NCSL in batting average (.309), on-base percentage (.392), runs created/27 outs (6.34) and doubles (16).

Winston-Salem LF Angel Pellicer was the Batter of the Month for May. He’s got a .303 season average. Raleigh’s Andy Owens twirled himself a Pitcher of the Month award by going 7-1 for the Caps. (Skull Jenkins is 8-8 so far by the way. He's lost a little bit on his fastball but is still effective as Raleigh's No. 2 guy).

Looks like a dandy summer in store for the NCSL since all six teams have plenty to play for.

Probably the most notable trade to go down so far saw Durham sending pitcher Gary "Brick" Lee (career 44-35, including a playoff win) to rival Winston-Salem for LF Will Hollis (.257 this season, .242 career). Hollis went 3-for-5 for Winston in Game Two of last year's playoff series, the clincher that gave the Twins the title. Interesting. Guess that's who Winston obtains pitching, since it usually bypasses starting pitchers in the draft.

One other note: Pitcher Craig Clark, who has recorded a perfect game AND another no-hitter for Charlotte’s D-League team, tore his rotator cuff in early May and will be sidelined about two months. Maybe that's why Charlotte has hesitated to bring him up...

[AZTarHeel]

1916 North Carolina State League — Regular Season Recap



Upstart Hornets, Tourists rule Tar Heel baseball in ’16

STANDINGS

Team                	W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Charlotte Hornets	68	52	.567	-	69-51	-1	33-27	35-25	11-3	21-20	Clinched	W2	8-2
Asheville Tourists	63	57	.525	5.0	65-55	-2	35-25	28-32	11-7	22-17		L2	4-6
Raleigh Capitals	61	59	.508	7.0	61-59	0	28-32	33-27	5-5	16-25		L2	5-5
Durham Bulls        	60	60	.500	8.0	54-66	6	27-33	33-27	6-7	26-23		W2	5-5
Winston-Salem Twins	57	63	.475	11.0	58-62	-1	32-28	25-35	4-15	23-22		W2	4-6
Greensboro Patriots	51	69	.425	17.0	52-68	-1	25-35	26-34	5-5	22-23		L2	4-6

There is going to be a new champion in the North Carolina State League this season! The Charlotte Hornets and Asheville Tourists, who led the league wire-to-wire, earned the right to play one another in the 1916 Carolina Champions Cup playoff series. Neither team has been in the playoff series before.

Charlotte closed strong, winning eight of its last 10 games, while Asheville managed to hold off Raleigh and Durham over the last few weeks.

Charlotte pitcher Rudy Young, who was 7-17 in his inaugural season in 1913, turned the tables and posted an 18-7 record to lead the Hornets this year. Interesting to note, that he was only 2-4 against Asheville during the season.

LF Will Simpson was a do-everything player for Charlotte, posting some MVP numbers. He batted .284 (second best on the team) and swiped a league-best 76 bases (wow!). He scored 83 runs (the most by far in the league). First baseman Ivan Martinez led the league with 63 RBIs and paced the Hornets with a .287 average. An exciting combo for sure.

It will be interesting to see how these two and the rest of Charlotte’s lineup fares against Asheville pitching, which leads the league overall in every pitching category except a couple. Three Tourist hurlers -- MR Karl Graves (1.41, 7-3 with 2 saves), SP Jose Andres (1.75, 10-5) and SP Merlin McNeill (2.26, 16-7) -- have the best three ERAs in all the NCSL. Andres, who grew up in Hickory, N.C. -- which isn’t too far from Asheville -- really burst on the scene late in the season. The first-year Asheville player was Pitcher of the Month for July as well as Rookie of the Month. Maybe he’ll be Rookie of the Year as well? And maybe a champion to boot.

For the record, Asheville went 14-10 against Charlotte during the regular season.

Raleigh Capitals fans felt better about their team this season, despite missing out on the playoffs again. The Caps were led by pitchers Oliver “Skull” Jenkins and Andy Owens, who were both 15-12. They both had ERAs in the 2.75 range. The Caps had the second-best batting average in the league, led by 1B Sean Silver (.285). Raleigh just struggled to score and keep others from pushing runs across overall.

Durham did well to get back into contention but the Bulls lacked firepower at the plate. Durham was dead last in most offensive categories. Starters’ ERA also was fifth in the league. Not a championship combination. Beloved IF Anthony Watson, a two-time MVP, suffered a torn back muscle in June and missed the rest of the season. You have to wonder if this will be it for the 37-year-old. Watson had a .306 average when he went down, so that pretty much killed the Bulls’ chances at getting back into the playoffs. Doctors say he’ll be fortunate to be ready to go at the start of the 1917 season.


The Winston-Salem Twins could hit the heck out of the ball in 1916, leading the NCSL in many categories. Ryan Travis, a centerfielder (pictured above), was the league’s Batting Champ with a .308 average in 112 games. The 27-year-old had 152 hits, including 12 doubles, 18 triples and 4 home runs. He also tallied 66 runs and drove in 49 runs. The Twins just struggled from the mound and had more errors than anyone else, hence the losing record.

You have to wonder when Greensboro will pull the trigger on some of its young guys. Three of the Pats’ starting pitchers are aging vets -- Joe Holder (age 38), Alejandro Rodriguez (36) and Juan Olivares (34). Holder did win 15 games this past season. Greensboro is pretty, um, experienced overall, with nearly all of its position players 30 or older. Daniel Smith, a 1B, was the best hitter for the G-men this season with a .271 average. Eugene Connor hit 6 homers, best in the non-power packed NCSL.

Overall, a pretty good year in the North Carolina State League, maybe the most competitive and balanced so far ...