TWISP Notes
April 24, 2026

• With a 3-2 loss to the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on September 1st, the Mets became the first SP78 team to be mathematically eliminated from post-season contention. The loss was their tenth in a row, tying the SP78 record, and put them 30 games behind the division-leading Phillies in the NL East.

• Also eliminated on September 1st were the White Sox, whose 3-1 loss to the Orioles knocked them out of the AL West pennant race, 30 games behind the front-running Rangers. The Chisox currently possess SP78’s worst record, at 49-86.

• Houston fireballer J.R. Richard, who will start against the Cubs in the first game of a doubleheader at Wrigley Field on September 3rd, needs just one strikeout to reach 200 for the year. Richard, who had 303 during the actual 1978 campaign, will likely be the only SP78 pitcher in the NL to reach the 200-K milestone this season.

•  Leon Roberts of the Mariners became the second player in the AL to reach the 30-HR mark, doing so in a losing cause against the Yankees on September 2nd. It’s the first time in his five years in the majors that he’s collected 30 home runs; he had only 22 during the actual 1978 season. He joins Don Baylor of the Angels, who has 37, in reaching that milestone; close behind are Rico Carty of the A’s and Andre Thornton of the Indians, both with 28.

• Slugging rookie Dave Stegman of the Tigers extended his hitting streak to 13 games on Saturday, when he doubled off Royals reliever Steve Mingori in the sixth in Detroit’s 9-6 win.

• For the first time in SP78 history, two players opened a game with consecutive home runs, as Bump Wills and Al Oliver of the Rangers accomplished the feat September 2nd at County Stadium in Milwaukee, with back-to-back home runs off Brewers starter Andy Replogle. The 2-0 lead was short-lived, however, as the Brewers then scored eleven times off three Texas pitchers and cruised to an 11-3 win.

• In the same game, when Paul Molitor hit his first career grand slam, off Doc Medich in Milwaukee’s big 6-run fifth, the Brewers became the SP78 leader in team slams for the season, with seven, followed by the Rangers, Orioles, and Reds, all with six.

• With a start in center field for the Reds-Cardinals match-up on September 2nd, Ray Knight has now played in seven of nine defensive positions for the team, with pitcher and catcher the only two remaining from that list.

• Current site AZ18 in Peoria, Arizona became SP78’s all-time games hosted leader, with 219, when the Padres and Expos squared off at San Diego Stadium on September 2nd. The landmark total eclipsed the old mark of 218, held by site AZ8 – also in Peoria – since 2014.

• To celebrate my birthday this year, and to allow my friend Steve P to continue his streak of managing at least one game in California during every month of the SP78 schedule, the two of us traveled to El Centro in January, an hour past the Arizona-California border, to play a pair of September 2nd games at site CA16, the Townplace Suites by Marriott. I managed the Yankees to a 5-3 win over the Mariners in the first game, while Steve improved his record against me to 49-44 by leading the Blue Jays over the Angels 5-3 in the second game.

Get your tickets now for the
15,000th game in Cubs history,
September 3rd at Wrigley Field!