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1995 WORLD SERIES PREVIEW

Both teams swept their league championship opponents 4-0 to get to the 26th MWWL World Series.

Detroit returns to the Series for the first time since 1979. The Stars won their first appearance in 1978.

This will be the first World Series appearance by the Bandits.

CATCHERS AVG OBP SLG G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB OSBP
Todd Hundley DET .278 .408 .435 80 248 35 69 9 0 10 39 1 85.7
Darrin Fletcher BDB .254 .320 .342 107 319 28 81 16 0 4 44 0 81.1
                           

Both catchers can be run on with their backups offering a little better theft protection. 
Hundley is the better offensive player while Fletcher did have the 2nd longest errorless streak in the NL. Hundley was tied for 2nd in team walks.

Advantage Detroit

 

FIRST BASEMEN AVG OBP SLG G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB  
Mo Vaughn DET .299 .401 .571 135 525 113 157 17 3 40 97 5  
Eddie Murray BDB .304 .362 .506 114 437 76 133 19 0 23 86 0  
                           

Both first baseman were key parts of their teams’ offenses during the 1995 season. 
Mo Vaughn was 9th in on base percentage, 9th in slugging, 5th in runs, 3rd in homers, 10th in RBIs, and had the AL’s 6th longest on base streak at 30 games.
On the NL side Eddie Murray was 10th in slugging and 7th in RBIs.   Defensively Vaughn had a 71 errorless streak.

Advantage Detroit

 

SECOND BASEMEN AVG OBP SLG G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB  
Jeff Kent DET .293 .355 .465 113 437 77 128 15 3 18 87 0  
Quilvio Veras BDB .266 .401 .357 111 297 63 79 11 5 2 26 22  
Lou Whitaker BDB .284 .356 .607 75 257 47 73 17 0 22 48 0  
                           

Jeff Kent is a solid player all across the board but wasn’t in the top 15 in any offensive category. Veras and Whitaker combined were a better player except for
 average. Veras was 12th in triples and 8th in stolen bases. On his team Kent was third in batting average and 3rd in total average at .777.

Advantage Blarney Drive

 

SHORTSTOPS AVG OBP SLG G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB  
Alex S. Gonzalez DET .287 .359 .512 78 258 46 74 15 5 11 37 0  
Mike Bordick BDB .257 .332 .335 100 245 27 63 10 0 3 29 1  
                           

Gonzalez was much like his second base teammate – solid but not league leading. Although he was 6th in the AL in triples.
Bordick played 100 games more for his defense than his hitting ability.

Advantage Detroit

 

THIRD BASEMEN AVG OBP SLG G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB  
Terry Pendleton DET .272 .335 .425 122 464 67 126 30 1 13 63 1  
Kevin Seitzer BDB .303 .378 .409 126 511 83 155 33 6 3 49 0  
                           

On the NL leader boards Seitzer was 10th in on base percentage, 9th in hits, and 7th in triples.
He was also in the top 15 in three other categories. Pendleton was probably the worst hitting regular in the Stars lineup.

Advantage Blarney Drive

 

OUTFIELDERS AVG OBP SLG G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB  
Marty Cordova DET .302 .365 .505 127 529 90 160 29 6 22 83 18  
Raul Mondesi DET .257 .300 .466 125 521 81 134 25 6 24 95 16  
Derek Bell DET .294 .385 .389 92 316 62 93 17 2 3 29 17  
Shawn Green BDB .353 .389 .653 112 380 62 134 38 5 22 83 0  
Mike Greenwell BDB .277 .334 .442 123 480 74 133 24 5 15 80 5  
Rickey Henderson BDB .283 .385 .397 100 290 59 82 23 2 2 22 16  
                           

Cordova was 11th in hits, 13th in runs, and 2nd in triples. Mondesi was also 2nd in triples and finished in the top 15 for homers and RBI.
Cordova also had the 5th longest errorless streak at 89 games. Mondesi wasn’t far behind as he had a 67-game streak.
For the Bandits Green was 4th in doubles. 12th in triples, had a 24 game on base streak – good for 11th in the NL. Green also had a 71 error less streak.
Greenwell was 12th in triples.
Henderson, the all-time stolen base leader in MWWL history, continued his pursuit of 1000 career stolen bases by finishing 14th in
the NL.

Advantage Blarney Drive

 

DESIGNATED HITTERS AVG OBP SLG G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB  
Mark Carreon DET .301 .338 .458 92 356 45 107 20 0 12 55 0  
Ryan Klesko BDB .297 .393 .569 90 327 67 97 32 0 19 51 1  
                           

Both DH candidates were solid performers mostly falling outside their leagues top 15. Klesko did have a 15-game hitting
streak good for 5th best in the NL and had a 26 game on base streak good for 9th.

Advantage Blarney Drive

 

DET STARTERS W-L ERA GS CG SHO QS IP H R ER HR SO/9 BB/9
Ismael Valdes R 12-8 2.61 28 4 0 24 189.1 149 64 55 17 4.9 1.8
Pete Schourek L 17-6 1.58 28 4 2 25 199.1 130 43 35 9 6.1 2.6
Chad Oega R 11-3 2.23 19 1 0 14 121 85 37 30 10 4.2 2.7
BDB STARTERS W-L ERA GS CG SHO QS IP H R ER HR SO/9 BB/9
Randy Johnson L 22-1 1.59 26 4 1 23 204.1 107 38 36 6 9.8 3.2
Mike Birbeck R 2-1 3.14 5 5 0 2 28.2 14 10 10 3 4.4 3.8
David Wells L 16-6 3.12 28 2 1 21 187.2 172 67 65 21 5 2.3
                           

Now we come to the strength of both clubs with edge going to the Stars mainly because Birbeck just didn’t pitch as much as the other starters did.
For the AL champions Valdes was 6th in ERA, 3rd in QS, had the longest QS Streak at 17 games, and was 6th in S-OBA at .215.
Schourek was 6th in wins, 2nd in ERA, 6th in IP, 2nd in QS, had the longest shutout streak at 36.1 innings, and was 4th in S-OBA at .182.

On the NL side Randy Johnson, the probable CY young winner, was first in wins, ERA, QS, SO/9, and S-OBA at .152. He was also
2nd in IP, QS streak at 13 games, and third in SHO streak at 26 innings. Wells was 4th in wins, 7th in ERA, and 3rd in QS.

Advantage Detroit, but the Big Unit can easily start 3 games

 

DET RELIEVERS W-L-SV ERA BS HLD G GF IP H R ER HR SO/9 BB/9
Al Reyes R 4-1-12 1.99 0 1 15 4 19.1 14 7 6 0 9.3 2.8
Tom Henke R 2-3-22 3.19 7 1 47 31 59.1 31 22 21 4 5.6 5.3
Tony Fossas L 4-5-13 3.15 3 5 41 26 40 24 17 14 4 5.6 3.4
Tim Scott R 1-0-1 2.68 1 5 38 28 43.2 33 14 13 4 6.6 2.3
Brad Clontz R 2-3-3 2.47 2 8 41 12 51 33 15 14 2 5.8 3.5
BDB RELIEVERS W-L-SV ERA BS HLD G GF IP H R ER HR SO/9 BB/9
Ricky Bottalico R 5-4-22 2.60 4 8 58 38 65.2 37 22 19 5 7 4.2
Scott Service R 6-0-1 1.91 0 6 28 12 28.1 12 13 6 3 7.9 7
Matt Karchner R 2-1-5 0.61 2 7 31 12 29.1 12 5 2 0 6.1 3.4
Lee Smith R 2-2-4 2.70 3 15 48 16 50 45 15 15 4 5.2 4.5
Ed Vosberg L 2-2-1 3.12 1 8 35 6 34.2 23 16 12 4 5.7 3.9

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1995 NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

Sugar Land Skeeters @ Blarney Drive Bandits

SugarLandSkeetersBlarney Drive Bandits74-66 National League Central Division Winner Sugar Land Skeeters & Division Series winner #2 take on the National League Western Division Winner 94-46 & Division Series winner #1 Blarney Drive Bandits with a chance to advance to the 1995 Mid-West Winter League World Series.

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1995 AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

Detroit Stars @ Flossmoor Flying Squirrels

Detroit StarsFlossmoor89-51 American League Wild Card Winner & Division Series winner #2 the Detroit Stars take on the 88-52 American League East Division Winner & Division Series Winner #1 Flossmoor Flying Squirrels with a chance to advance to the 1995 Mid-West Winter League World Series.

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1995 N.L. DIVISION SERIES #1

TWinnipeg Goldeyes @ Blarney Drive Bandits

Winnipeg GoldeyesBlarney Drive Bandits84-56 National League Wild Card Winner Winnipeg Goldeyes take on the National League Western Division Winner 94-46 Blarney Drive Bandits for a chance to advance to the National League Championship Series.

Batting HRs ERA/OBA
Blarney .272/.343/.425 136 3.13/.224
Winnipeg .264/.340/.421 174 3.75/.250

Teams are fairly even batting wise. Bandits BA a bit higher but Goldeyes slugging gets the nod. Pitching is the biggest difference between the clubs.

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1995 A.L. DIVISION SERIES #2

Detroit Stars @ Fort Worth Panthers

Detroit StarsFort Worth Panthers89-51 American League Wild Card Winner the Detroit Stars take on the 91-49 Fort Worth Panthers American League Western Division Winner for a chance to advance to the American League Championship Series.

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2004
HALL OF FAME
BALLOT DUE
SUNDAY 12/13/2026

AT 8:00 AM - ET!

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