MLB Update: 6/29

History of Baseball: 1929
World Series Champions: Philadelphia Athletics (104-46, .693 WPCT).     Before the season, the New York Yankees announced that they would wear numbers on the backs of their jerseys, becoming the first team to institute full time use of uniform numbers.  The Cleveland Indians followed suit and put numbers on their jerseys for the season.  Two future Hall of Famers debuted in 1929, beginning with Earl Averill on April 16th with the Indians, and he is followed by the Browns' Rick Ferrell three days later.  On April 27th, Brooklyn reliever Clise Dudley got his first career at bat, and proceeded to hit a home run on the first pitch he saw.  It was the first time in history that a player hit a home run on his first pitch.  On May 24th, the Tigers and White Sox got locked in a 21 inning duel.  Amazingly, White Sox starting pitcher (and future Hall of Famer) Ted Lyons lasted all 21 innings, while Tigers starter George Uhle pitched 20 innings before he was relieved in the 21st after the Tigers took a 6-5 lead.  On August 11th, Babe Ruth became the first player in major league history to reach 500 home runs, doing so at the young age of 34.  After the season, Hall of Famer and 20 year veteran Max Carey announced his retirement.  He had 738 stolen bases and 1545 runs scored for his career with the Pirates (1910-1926) and Robins (1926-1929).
       There were no close division races in 1929; rather, the A's (104-46) won the American League by 18 games over the Yankees (88-66), while the Cubs (98-54) took the NL by 10.5 games over the Pirates (88-65).  Even the Kansas City Monarchs (66-14) of the Negro Leagues easily on the Negro National League title over the St. Louis Stars (60-28).  The A's and Cubs met in the World Series, which turned out to have some exciting turns of events.  The A's jumped out to a 2-1 Series lead, but went down 8-0 by the seventh inning of Game Four.  However, Philadelphia scored ten runs in the seventh to win the game 10-8.  They were then down 2-0 in the ninth inning of Game Five, but they scored three runs to win the World Series on a walk-off single by Bing Miller.  A's hitters Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons, and Mule Haas clubbed two home runs apiece, while Jimmy Dykes led the team with a .421 average and eight runs scored.
     Because of the flaws in the League Award's voting, which banned players from winning it more than once, the American League dropped the award after the 1928 season.  However, the National League handed out one more award without restrictions in 1929, giving it to the Cubs' Rogers Hornsby, who had also won it in 1925 with the Cardinals.  Hornsby had put up another incredible season, batting .380 with 39 home runs and 149 RBI as he led the Cubs to the World Series.  He also led the majors with 156 runs scored.  The Phillies' Lefty O'Doul won the batting title, hitting a clean .398 with 32 home runs, 122 RBI, and 152 runs scored.  The AL batting title went to Lew Fonseca, who batted .369 for the Indians.  Babe Ruth again led the majors in home runs, hitting 46 while driving in 154 and batting .345.  Three players put up huge breakout seasons, as Chuck Klein, Mel Ott, and rookie Earl Averill showcased their talent.  Klein, a Phillie, batted .356 with 43 home runs and 145 RBI, while 20 year old Ott, a Giant, batted .328 with 42 home runs and 151 RBI.  Averill batted .332 with 18 home runs and 13 stolen bases in his rookie season.  With the Cubs' Hack Wilson also batting .345 with 39 home runs and 159 RBI, the league was proving that Babe Ruth wasn't the only guy who could hit lots of home runs.  In a year where offense reigned supreme, not many pitchers were able to put up big seasons of their own. One exception was the A's' Lefty Grove, who went 20-6 with a league leading 2.81 ERA over 42 games (37 starts).  His teammate, George Earnshaw, led the league in wins as he went 24-8 with a 3.25 ERA.  Cincinnati's Red Lucas was the league's WHIP leader despite clocking in at 1.20 as he went 19-12 with a 3.60 ERA.  

News
Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper hit three home runs in a rehab game at AA Harrisburg.  He should be back Monday.
Everyone just take a moment to appreciate this: Kyle Schwarber, the fourth overall pick in the 2014 draft to the Cubs, is batting .520 (26-50) with eight home runs and 19 RBI in just 14 games at Rookie level Boise and Class A Kane County.  14 of his 26 hits have gone for extra bases, giving him a 1.140 slugging percentage.

Game Scores
Nationals (43-38) beat the Cubs (34-46) 3-0 and 7-2.
Red Sox (37-44) beat the Yankees (41-38) 2-1.
Braves (43-38) beat the Phillies (36-45) 10-3 and 5-1.
Rays (34-49) beat the Orioles (42-38) 5-4.
Dodgers (46-37) beat the Cardinals (44-38) 9-1.
Brewers (51-32) beat the Rockies (35-46) 7-4.
Tigers (44-33) beat the Astros (35-47) 4-3.
Top Scorer: Braves beat the Phillies 10-3.

Standings
AL East: Blue Jays (45-38, .542).  AL Central: Tigers (44-33, .571).  AL West: A's (50-30, .625).
NL East: Nationals/Braves (43-38, .531).  NL Central: Brewers (51-32, .614).  NL West: Giants (46-35, .568).
AL Wild Cards: Angels (45-34, .570) and Mariners (43-38, .531).  NL Wild Cards: Dodgers (46-37, .554) and Cardinals (44-38, .537).
Bottom Team: Rays (34-49, .410).  Longest W Streak: Brewers and Reds, 4 games.  Longest L Streak: Twins, 5 games.

League Leaders
Offensive: AVG: Troy Tulowitzki (Rockies), .348 (93-267).  Home runs: Jose Abreu (White Sox), Nelson Cruz (Orioles), and Edwin Encarnacion (Blue Jays), 25.  RBI: Nelson Cruz, 66.  Stolen bases: Dee Gordon (Dodgers), 40.
Pitching: Wins: Masahiro Tanaka (Yankees), 11.  K's: David Price (Rays), 144.  ERA: Johnny Cueto (Reds), 1.88 (124.1 IP, 26 ER).  Saves: Francisco Rodriguez (Brewers), 27.

Top Performers
Offensive: Logan Forsythe (Padres): 3-3, home run (1), 2 RBI, 2 runs, walk, AVG up .016 from .213 to .229, hitting streak to 1 game (3-3, 1.000 AVG).
Pitching: Josh Tomlin (Indians): Win (5-5), 9 shutout innings, 1 hit, no walks, 11 K's (58), ERA drop: 0.61 runs from 4.39 to 3.78.
Worst Pitching Performance: Antonio Bastardo (Phillies): No decision, 0.1 innings, 5 earned runs, 3 hits, 2 walks, 0 K's, ERA jump: 1.18 runs from 2.68 to 3.86.

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Teams followed in this update: Washington Nationals, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers
If your team is not included, please leave a comment.
HR: home runs.  RBI: runs batted in.  AVG: batting average.  SB: stolen bases.  ERA: earned run average. WHIP: walks/hits per innings pitched.  K's: strikeouts. WPCT: winning percentage
Zack Silverman