1977 Janus Report: WC American
 

Baltimore Elite Giants

Hilldale Athletic Club

Homestead Grays

New York Lincoln Giants

Philadelphia Liberty Stars

1977 Janus Report: WC National
 

Chicago American Giants

Cleveland Buckeyes

Cuban Stars East

Detroit Motown Stars

Indianapolis ABCs

EL 1977 Opening Day
 

We'll start with the net WAR gains and losses from the offseason:


And here's a breakdown of the major signings and trades:

• P Carlos Zambrano: Grays, $5.9m / 7 years
• 3B Jose Ramirez: Black Barons, $5.8m / 8 years
• C Jose Agustin Rodriguez: Red Sox, $4.6 / 8 years
• 2B Roberto Alomar: Royal Giants, $4.4m / 5 years
• OF Herman Dunlap: Monarchs, $4.1m, 6 years
• OF Alex Johnson: Crawfords, $3.1m / 6 years
• P Gene Collins: West, $3.1m / 4 years
• P Jose Rijo: Red Sox, $2.5m / 4 years
• 2B Luis Arraez: Monarchs, $2.5m, 6 years
• P Don Newcombe: Red Sox, $2.1m / 4 years
• P Melvin Powell: Athletics, $1.9m / 5 years
• P Leon Day: Red Sox, $1.7m / 4 years
• 1B Erubiel Durazo: Motown Stars, $1.7m / 4 years
• SS Jonathan Villar: Crawfords $1.2m / 3 years
• P Andrew Foster: Elite Giants, $1.1m / 4 years
• P Johnny Markham: Liberty Stars, $1.05m / 2 years
• 1B Frank Thomas: Crawfords $0.7m / 2 years

• OF Oddibe McDowell traded from American Giants to Red Sox for P Lefty Holmes
• P Ramon Ramirez traded from Lincoln Giants to Dodgers for IF Huddy Oliver and IF Bill Kindle
• OF Vladimir Guerrero traded from Bacharach Giants to Buckeyes for 3B William Joseph and OF Hosken Powell

Odds are - with the exception of the BYs in the FC American - this year will more than compensate for the relatively uneventful 1976 pennant race.



One of the many points of interest this season is how Barry Bonds responds to missing out on another Red Sox Championship.



Detroit's Cristobal Torriente heads the prospect rankings.



Finally, the franchise finances on OD:

Stat Check: SLG
 

Once Upon a Time
 

Two things I have a soft spot for are underdogs and one-club players. So this fine effort by Ruppert Jones - who has spent his entire career to this point toiling away for the eternally-undermanned Cuban Stars East, not to mention won two of the first three Grant Medals - is, for me at least, a twofer.

Alex the Seal
 

Plenty of early action around the league, including Alex Johnson making himself welcome at his new club with this outstanding effort against the BYs.

Inmortal Indeed
 

For the most part, the scales of Marty Dihigo's two-way performance have tipped toward the pitching side, which is a fairly accurate reflection of his career, with this middle bit skewing back more towards the offence. He did have that fantastic 6 bWAR 1972 season in which he won the Grant Medal, but as it stands his career pWAR outstrips his bWAR by a rate of more than 2 to 1.

He certainly has come out swinging for the fences this season, however, and this is his first-ever 3 HR game - in a losing cause, would you believe.

April 1977 Recap
 

A fairly even start to the 1977 Eclipse League season. The A's are slow out of the blocks, while the BYs look to be recovering from a similarly sluggish beginning. Their cause isn't helped by the loss of star 3B Hank Thompson for 6 weeks with a hernia and then OF Steve Henderson for a similar period with a groin strain. Their crosstown rival Lincoln Giants also suffer a big loss with red-hot 2B Bill Kindle out for 3 months after tearing ligaments in his ankle. To that point, he had hit a phenomenal 423. The West and Grays have both begun positively and share the league's best record of 17-9, a game ahead of the ABCs and the defending champs.

A few late adds as Newark signs P Hilton Smith on a 1/304 deal and OF Richard Hidalgo for 1/280, while the MoStars ink a 1/508 deal with Closer Octavio Dotel.

• FC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Ender Inciarte (Giants) 381 / 4 HR / 22 RBI.
• FC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Dave Barnhill (Black Barons) 4-1 / 1.27 / 25 K / 49.2 IP.
• FC ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Agustin Acosta (Crawfords) 3-1 / 1.19 / 23 K / 37.2 IP.
• WC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Tommy Harper (ABCs) 372 / 3 HR / 22 RBI.
• WC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Jesse Houston (Grays) 5-1 / 2.42 / 22 K / 48.1 IP.
• WC ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Tommy Harper.

And here's how the TL has kicked off.

• CAC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Tommy Agee (Keystones) 357 / 5 HR / 24 RBI.
• CAC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Salvador Poree (Keystones) 4-0 / 3.24 / 19 K / 33.1 IP.
• FRC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Gerald Williams (Tigers) 386 / 6 HR / 17 RBI.
• FRC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Gerardo Ballesteros (Wolves) 3-0 / 1.16 / 28 K / 31 IP.

Out of the Shadows: Bill Kindle
 

To commiserate his unfortunate injury, I thought an OotS feature on Bill Kindle might be pertinent at this juncture.

I'm afraid that, as I am finding so often to be the case, there's not much by way of anecdotal evidence to give us a rounder picture of Tennessee-born William Horace Kindle. At least this time we do get some info from Jim Riley, who describes Bill as "quick as a cat" and lauds his defensive prowess (although this latter element doesn't really translate when you look at his raw stats, which are roughly league average). Those same raw stats tell us he was pretty handy with the stick, with SH giving him a career 305/369/383 slash line over his 7 NeL seasons in the 1910s and '20s, most of which were spent in the service of one or other of the New York clubs - above all the Royal Giants, although he did also play for the Lincoln Giants over a few seasons. Eric Chalek has apportioned him in excess of 20 WAR.

Speaking of the service, Bill's career would undoubtedly have been more substantial were it not for the effects of WW1, with his time in the Army seemingly leaving him worse off with regard to his baseball skills, and he all but left the game in 1920 while still in his 20s.

Here in the EL, Bill was taken 9th overall in the 1974 Draft by Newark and rated as high as #15 on the Prospects list in those early years. However, the Dodgers traded him at the end of last season to the Lincoln Giants having played only 60 games and hitting 264 for them in 163 AB. As I mentioned in the April summary, he took to his new club with gusto, hitting 423 in 71 AB before his unfortunate injury, and will miss at least half of the season. We wish him a speedy recover and continued success in the future.

Anything You Can Do
 

ShoTime will undoubtedly be keen to rebound from what was, for him, a fairly underwhelming 1976 campaign with a midseason injury not helping matters. His early form suggests he's back to his best, with this game a highlight.

Stat Check: $
 

Notes from the Transit Lounge: As Hot as Ice
 

Rookie Gerald Williams makes a splash with this outstanding performance in the TL for Philly against Detroit.

Stat Check: SB
 

Killer Giants
 

The Black Yankees are really struggling to get it going this year, with their pitching the main problem - their rotation in particular.

https://i.imgur.com/gFSCcmO.png


Outside of CC, those numbers are ugly, and they get hammered again in this one, with Rickie Weeks leading the way for St. Louis.



They'll obviously be happy to see Thompson back on the paddock, but that defence also looks to be causing them some real problems and needs to be addressed.

Stat Check: OBP
 

May 1977 Recap
 

While things remain tight as we head into the dog days of summer, the big story in the EL at the moment is the one big exception to this: the 19-33 Black Yankees. Their pitching continues to kill them, with CC Sabathia the only starter with a sub-4 ERA and the bottom two exceeding 7 in that category - Willie Gisentaner (7.28) and Bill Anderson (8.71). Hank Thompson's imminent return will be a boon but they'll need to get a move on before this season gets completely away from them.

Two of their chief FC rivals will also have to do without a big name for a while, with the Dodgers losing key rotation member Connie Rector for 4 months to shoulder inflammation and a broken cheekbone from an errant pitch puts a six-week hole in the fantastic season Martin Dihigo has been compiling.

Hilldale Closer Lefty Moses, who wins this month's WC pitching award, has started the season with 29 scoreless innings pitched. This has helped the A's turn around a slow start to now be just a handful of games behind the Grays, who have done the opposite and cooled right off.

• FC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Harry Simpson (Giants) 363 / 8 HR / 22 RBI.
• FC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Jair Jurrjens (Monarchs) 5-0 / 1.64 / 37 K / 44 IP.
• FC ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Moses Yellow Horse (West) 3-1 / 2.31 / 28 K / 35 IP.
• WC BATTER OF THE MONTH: John Mayberry (East) 318 / 7 HR / 22 RBI.
• WC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Lefty Moses (Athletics) 3-0 / 0.00 / 10 SV / 16 K / 21 IP.
• WC ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Leonardo Medina (Grays) 5-3 / 1.86 / 5 SV / 16 K / 19.1 IP.

In the TL, Cleveland are trying to make a wee run for it; the other three remain close.

• CAC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Johnny Washington (Choo-Choos) 473 / 8 HR / 31 RBI.
• CAC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Henry Strickland (Choo-Choos) 4-1 / 2.44 / 22 K / 44.1 IP.
• FRC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Emil Brown (Tigers) 427 / 2 HR / 12 RBI.
• FRC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Lum Croxton (Wolves) 4-0 / 1.54 / 17 K / 35 IP.

Out of the Shadows: Harry Simpson
 

Perhaps not so much of a need to bring Harry Simpson out of obscurity, given he made it to the bigs in the wake of "integration", but even then I doubt he is anywhere near as familiar to most as his contemporaries.

Born in Atlanta, Harry Simpson's pro career commenced after he returned from serving in WW2, with him spending three seasons in the NeL with the Philly Stars. After a couple seasons in the minor league system, Harry made his MLB debut with Cleveland in 1951 but struggled in his time there and by 1954 was back in the minors with Indianapolis, with his 4-yo son tragically killed in a car accident during this period. The remainder of his MLB was a peripatetic one involving a seemingly endless number of trades (including one to the Yankees in 1957 as fallout from the infamous Copacabana nightclub incident continued) - indeed, he played for five different clubs during his eight seasons in the bigs - and somewhat disappointing performances on the field. He finished his MLB career after the 1959 season, leaving with a 269/334/403 line and 76 home runs - including grand slams for four different teams. BBRef has him earning a tad under 6 WAR for his career, while EC has his full MLE career set at around 14.

His EL career is coming along swimmingly indeed. Harry entered the league before the 1975 season as a FA and was signed by the Giants, for whom he still plays. His performances have improved with each subsequent season - he won last season's Kindling Award for the FC at LF and, as you might have noticed in the recent update, he just won his first monthly hitting award. Looking forward to seeing his blossom further from here.

Cycling into the Unknown
 

I'm always fascinated to see how the game treats active players as they pass their IRL age. With this being a dev-only league, from what (I think) I've seen the results are usually a bit kinder to the player than in recalc scenarios, when they do more often as not than not - relievers excepted - seem to fall off the cliff.

Ozzie Albies is currently in his age-28 season here, two years past where he is at in reality. His ratings are drifting, but perhaps just as much because they started off somewhat elevated - he won the Fowler (RoY) Medal in 1970 and has nearly double the WAR in this save as IRL to this point - as through these being the "wonder years". Still, he remains capable of doing the special things from time to time, as this performance attests.

While Men Make Plans, the Gods Laugh
 

Best hitter in the league? Check - Barry Bonds

Winningest pitcher in league history? Check - CC Sabathia

And yet, this is how things are going for the New York Black Yankees of late.



That - to save you counting - is what a 15-game losing streak looks like. Ouch.

Giant Killer
 

St. Louis continues to defy the odds with their strong performance so far this season, but this loss will really test their depth.


All part and parcel of the game, however - here's the full list of current injuries in the EL.

Out of the Shadows: Cory Aldridge
 

Most - almost all, in fact - of these OotS features will be about Negro League players. But - as has been the case with John D'Acquisto, Stolmy Pimentel, Felix Pie and Ruben Quevedo - by no means are MLBers excluded. Especially when I stumble across a story as fascinating as that of Cory Aldridge.

The son of NFL / USFL player Jerry Aldridge, Cory was born in 1979 down in San Angelo, TX. Between his debut for the Gulf Coast League Braves in 1997 and his final appearance for the 2015 Sultanes de Monterrey in the AAA Mexican League, Cory played a whopping 2068 games of pro baseball.

Just 13 of these were in the MLB.

He got his first cup of coffee going 0-for-5 with a run scored and 4 strikeouts while appearing in 8 games for the 2001 Atlanta Braves.


Then, after the better part of nine years kicking around the minors, he got his second chance for the 2010 LA Angels. Things weren't going much better this time around for poor old Cory. Entering the Angels' July 10 game at Oakland, he was still looking for his first big-league hit.

That game turned out to be a 15-1 laugher in favour of the home side. Nevertheless, one thinks it might just have been the greatest day in Cory's life.

With the score already an embarrassing 13-0 in the top 8th, LA skipper Mike Scioscia sent Cory in to PH against Ross Wolf. Down to his last strike with a 1-2 count on him, Cory laced a long flyball to deep LF, earning him not just his first MLB hit - a triple - but RBI as well.

The next day's game, another loss to the A's in which Cory went 0-for-3 with 2 Ks, would be his final one in the bigs.



Archie Graham would be so jealous. But also, you'd have to think, just a little bit proud as well.

The EL version of Cory has so far had a similarly interesting career since entering the league as a Free Agent in 1975. He signed a minor league contract with the ABCs and spent the early part of that season at the Clowns, impressing enough to be named to the Futures game in midseason. All the same, he was traded not long after that to the AGs for a certain pitcher by the name of Mariano Rivera.

Like a bent penny, Cory was traded back to Indy the next year and then, with Bernardo Baro, was traded again a few months later to the Red Sox, his current organisation.

After performing solidly without exactly setting the world alight over his first two seasons in the AAA Transit League, Cory has been nothing short of a revelation so far in 1977 for another set of ABCs - the Atlanta Black Crackers. With 63 of the 144-game TL schedule having been completed, Cory has already amassed 4.1 bWAR and is on target for 58 home runs, which would smash the current TL record of 51.

He is yet to see one pitch in the bigs.

We'll keep a close eye on his progress and see how things play out.

Notes from the Transit Lounge
 

Gary Redus is another one of those fringy guys who will no doubt get a handful of big-league post-roster-expansion ABs over his career but is unlikely to ever hold down a regular spot.



Meanwhile, at the AAA level he is a standout, and he is putting together a season for the ages at the moment.



His good TL form continues with this outstanding performance against Newark.

June 1977 Recap
 

What an odd and yet still fascinating 1977 season is unfolding in the EL. All four races remain super tight, with the Grays' 4-game lead the widest of all.

The FC American is perhaps the most bizarre of all. I have mentioned the BYs' travails a couple times already and they continue. And yet, because their rivals are also going so poorly, you'd have to think they have a much better chance of hauling them in than, say, the BBs in the FC National, despite the fact that each sits a dozen games from the lead.

The WC American is Homestead's to lose from here, while in the WC National, the bunched field means that all five teams are still well in it.



Monthly Award Winners

• FC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Harry Simpson (Giants) 330 / 10 HR / 21 RBI.
• FC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Mate Moreland (West) 6-0 / 3.14 / 44 K / 51.2 IP.
• FC ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Agustin Acosto (Crawfords) 4-0 / 3.02 / 21 K / 41.2 IP.
• WC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Ken Singleton (American Giants) 329 / 9 HR / 22 RBI.
• WC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Edsall Walker (Liberty Stars) 4-1 / 1.99 / 32 K / 49.2 IP.
• WC ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Robert Poindexter (East) 3-2 / 2.66 / 40 K / 50.2 IP.

Points of Interest

• Hilldale, who sit not far behind Homestead, make the following trade to beef up their OF.

• Martin Dihigo suffers a setback with his recovery from a cheek fracture that pushes his return to action back a month.

Top 20s - overall



Top 20s - NeLers



Transit League

Again, the TL remains tight although with fewer clubs still realistically in the hunt.

• CAC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Cory Aldridge (Black Crackers) 451 / 13 HR / 31 RBI.
• CAC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Felipe Paulino (Black Crackers) 5-0 / 2.95 / 44 K / 42.2 IP.
• FRC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Gerald Williams (Tigers) 426 / 4 HR / 20 RBI.
• FRC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Nardi Contreras (Tigers) 5-0 / 2.56 / 22 K / 38.2 IP.

Stat Check: 3B
 

EL Top 100 Prospects
 

The midseason rerating of prospects is in, with Hilldale's Dusty Baker finally making it to #1 and Detroit's Henry "Cream" McHenry at #2 and the top-ranked pitcher.



A real concern for the two New York clubs - both are travelling terribly but have little by way of future recourse to arrest their slides.

Transit League All-Stars, 1977
 

Our new friend Cory Aldridge wins the HR Derby, while Milwaukee's Mel Almada wins the ASG MVP in a 6-4 victory to the Francis Conference.

1977 EL All-Star / Prospects Squads and Games
 

The stars of today:



And tomorrow:


HR Derby winner

Ken Singleton (American Giants) def Leon Durham (American Giants)

ASG result

Weldy 6, Fleet 4

ASG MVP

Mike Easler (Black Barons)


Prospects Game result

Fleet 8, Weldy 3

Prospects Game MVP

Mooney Ellis (Tigers)

Stat Check: XBH; RBI
 

https://i.imgur.com/1KfiBxZ.png

https://i.imgur.com/xkwo5mL.png

El Clásico, 1977
 

This year's Cuban Stars matchup is earlier on the schedule than usual and proves to be one of the most competitive we've seen, with the two sides throwing everything at each other before the West squeezes out another series win to further extend their cumulative lead over their archrivals to 7-3.



That decider comes in the face of a supreme effort by the East's Amos Otis.

DownTime
 

Sadly it seems all his years of two-way service are starting to have a detrimental effect on Shohei Ohtani's ability to stay on the paddock, with this the second straight season he's gone down with a major injury. This one means he won't be back until next year and leaves Cleveland with quite a mountain to climb if they want to make the playoffs.

CC for C.C.
 

A rare highlight in a most difficult year for the BYs, as CC Sabathia notches his 200th EL win, the first player to do so.



The chasing pack.

July 1977 Recap
 

So many permutations still at play as we enter the latter part of the season, including a non-too-far-fetched fairytale finish for two of the league's smallest clubs.

With just on 60 games left, both the Giants and Bacharach Giants sit just a game off the lead in their respective FC group. Of the 10 teams on this side of the draw, only Birmingham looks without a chance, so we appear set for yet another grandstand finish.

Same goes across in the WC, with Hilldale and Detroit currently holding narrow leads ahead of bunched fields including the top three in each being within a couple games.



Monthly Award Winners

• FC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Willson Contreras (Red Sox) 372 / 12 HR / 25 RBI.
• FC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Juan Eckelson (Monarchs) 3-0 / 2.60 / 7 SV / 6 K / 17.1 IP.
• FC ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Leroy Sutton (Black Barons) 2-2 / 3.00 / 5 SV / 13 K / 18 IP.
• WC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Eric Davis (Grays) 277 / 12 HR / 24 RBI.
• WC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Dave Brown (ABCs) 4-1 / 2.09 / 21 K / 38.2 IP.
• WC ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Jerome Williams (East) 3-2 / 2.37 / 19 K / 38 IP.

Points of Interest

• The West trade away some decent future value for rental Fred Long, who responds with a hit streak that ends up running to 22 games.

• A couple other trades of note.

• The RGs make a big investment in the future by signing catcher Fred Rico on a 4/936 deal.
• Harry Simpson's quest for a Triple Crown continues in earnest.

Transit League

Still a bunch of teams who'd be liking their chances here.

• CAC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Melvin Upton (White Sox) 420 / 3 HR / 21 RBI.
• CAC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Nerio Rodriguez (Marcos) 3-2 / 1.70 / 30 K / 37 IP.
• FRC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Anthony Gose (Cubans) 367 / 5 HR / 15 RBI.
• FRC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Esmil Rogers (Black Senators) 5-0 / 2.43 / 21 K / 37 IP.

Stat Check: pWAR
 

Duking it Out
 

With both sides well and truly in the mix and everything still so close this year, it's no surprise to see the Giants and ABCs engaged in a wild one - one of the best of the season for the offensively-inclined and in front of a nice crowd, to boot.

Out of the Shadows: Louis Santop
 

Ahhh how refreshing after quite a few of these features in a row being unable to shine much light on their subjects to be able to cover a player who is quite a bit better-known and therefore better-covered by my various sources. He's also among my favourites of all NeL players.

Louis "Top" Santop Loftin was born early 1889 in Fort Worth, Texas, and it is in that city the first record of his professional playing career appears about two decades later as a member of the local Wonders and 1910 Oklahoma Monarchs - one of the Western Independent group of clubs from that era.

Almost from the moment he broke into the NeL with the 1911 Giants of first Philly and New York (the Lincolns), "Top" was highly regarded both for his prodigious hitting and solid defensive skills (he would put on pregame shows displaying the latter). After a brief hiatus where he served in WW1, Top - who had by now collected the nickname "Big Bertha" because of the tape-measure home runs he hit with great regularity but dropped his birth surname - became a fixture at Hilldale, where he played with great albeit diminishing success from 1921 until 1926. At this point, Biz Mackey was on the scene and eventually usurped Top at Hilldale - continuing the catching chain that would extend to Roy Campanella a decade and a half later - with a key error he made in the 1924 World Series perhaps accelerating his decline in stature at the club. After a few years playing semipro, Top retired in 1931. Seamheads gives him a career line of 328/391/464 with 24 HR and an OPS+ of 148, while EC's MLEs allocate him a healthy 53.2 WAR.

Top died in 1942 after a fall, aged just 53, and in 2006 was elected to the HoF beside the man who replaced him at the Athletic Club, Raleigh "Biz" Mackey.

For more info, check out his BBRef Bullpen entry, which is most informative and will fill in a lot of the blanks omitted by this brief piece.

Top joined the AtHoL ranks via the 1972 Rookie Draft, with the Motown Stars picking him 2nd overall. In his five seasons to date, he has justified that lofty selection with a career 261/318/409 slash with 62 HR and over 12 bWAR. He recently signed an extension that will keep him at Mack Park thru 1980, and his club is on track for its first playoff appearance. We'll keep close tabs on him from this point on.

August 1977 Recap
 

Still far from settled in all four races as we enter the stretch. Remarkably, more through the incompetent play of the entire division than anything else, even the Black Yankees aren't out of it just yet. Can they fashion what would be one of the most remarkable comebacks in the league's history?

Hilldale has overtaken Homestead in the WCA and is now in possession of the biggest lead of any, albeit only 4.5 games. The Giants and MoStars are both hanging tough but under enormous pressure to continue doing so for the duration. Leading from the front, while tautological, is also incredibly difficult to do.



Monthly Award Winners

• FC BATTER OF THE MONTH: David Ortiz (West) 368 / 8 HR / 22 RBI.
• FC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Juan Eckelson (Monarchs) 4-0 / 1.20 / 6 SV / 14 K / 15 IP.
• FC ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Leroy Sutton (Black Barons) 3-1 / 2.65 / 5 SV / 5 K / 17 IP.
• WC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Miguel Sano (ABCs) 337 / 7 HR / 21 RBI.
• WC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Juan Marichal (Buckeyes) 4-1 / 1.57 / 34 K / 51.2 IP.
• WC ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Tommy Harper (ABCs) 317 / 2 HR / 16 RBI.

Points of Interest

• If the BYs do manage their miracle, a lot of the credit will have to go to Barry Bonds, who is some chance of locking down the Triple Crown.

Top 20s - overall



Transit League

Atlanta looks home and hosed in the CCN, the rest are still anyone's to win.

• CAC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Jesus de la Rosa (Keystones) 532 / 3 HR / 15 RBI.
• CAC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Shairon Martis (White Sox) 4-1 / 2.21 / 23 K / 40.2 IP.
• FRC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Willie Harris (Habañeros) 372 / 3 HR / 21 RBI.
• FRC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Alfredo Figaro (Grays) 4-0 / 2.97 / 27 K / 36.1 IP.

Points of Interest

• Still some work to do and he might not end up with enough PAs to qualify, but Keystones SS Jesus de la Rosa is having a mighty run at hitting 400 for the season, knocking up a cool 542 mark for the month just past to leave him at 391 on the year.

Field of Dreams
 

If there's such a thing as the game that perfectly encapsulates why I set up this save, then this one goes pretty darn close: Smokey Joe Williams v Rube Foster, with Hurley McNair, Alex Radcliff, Louis Santop, Mookie Betts, Pop Lloyd, Rickey Henderson, Cristobal Torriente and Tim Anderson on show. For any of you feeling frustrated by what's gone on recently in the OOTP universe, some unsolicited advice: put it behind you and just go play. Before you know it, you won't hurt anymore.

Alas, Smith
 

It is absolutely red-hot as we enter the final few weeks of the regular season, with all four races still on a knife-edge. Sadly for the Athletics, the remainder of their 1977 campaign will be done in talisman Charlie Smith's absence after he suffers ligament damage in his thumb.

A Moving Feast for the Eyes
 

It is almost impossible to know where to look at the moment with so much going on and so many permutations at play. Still, this one between two FC National rivals fairly jumped off the screen - it had just about everything, including a rain delay.

Stat Check: WHIP
 

Notes from the Transit Lounge: end of 1977 regular season
 

Late drama aplenty on the Francis Conference side more than makes up for the prosaic Catto wins to Brooklyn - who win their last 12 games - and Atlanta.

In the FRC American, Akron and Philadelphia enter the final day tied but both lose to necessitate a tiebreaker game, while in the National, Milwaukee's 10-7 victory over Detroit means Charlotte has to win to avoid the same fate. They do so by beating Akron 7-2.

Akron recovers from this setback to win the tiebreak game the next day by a score of 5 to 1 behind a fine outing by Hubert Lockhart.

That leaves the final standings as follows:



Jesus de la Rosa does indeed get sufficient PAs to qualify but falls agonisingly short with a 395 BA on the year. Here are the Leaders and Top 20s.



And finally, here's how the playoffs are shaping up, with us guaranteed a first-time winner. Will this year be the one in which the Eagles finally break their hoodoo after four failed attempts?

Notes from the Transit Lounge - 1977 Conference Championship Series
 

More disappointment for Eagles fans as their side is bounced in four by Atlanta, who will meet Cleveland in the WS after they dispose of Akron in the same number of games.

Notes from the Transit Lounge: Black Don't Crack
 

An unfortunately messy dismount for the Hornets, who go relatively quietly after imploding in Game 1 to lose a heartbreaker. It is, as previously noted, Atlanta's maiden TL Championship. Chito Martinez is magnificent in a losing cause, belting 4 homers in the 5 games and taking the Series MVP Award.

Out of the Shadows: Lefty Moses
 

For all the progress v23 has made in the realm of creating realistic avatars of Negro League players, there is still plenty of work to be done. In the meantime, as long as you don't mind it too much, the game will throw out various oddities to keep you on your toes.

Enter, Lefty Moses - Monel to his Ma and Pa.

As is to be expected of a guy whose time among the professional ranks was so fleeting, there's not much to go by here. Jim Riley pays him scant attention, playing down his abilities in a somewhat desultory one-paragraph entry, while none of my other sources mention him even in passing.

Seamheads records him with a skinny 4-3 career mark over his three seasons for the KC Monarchs at the end of the 1930s in which he totalled just 56 IP. Needless to say, he doesn't make it into EC's MLE calculations.

For the EL however, the game has imported him thus...


... not sure I've ever seen ratings quite so OP as these. Like I said, however, as long as you've some tolerance for the wild and the wacky in a save then instances like this are a bit of harmless fun that can throw out some of the more amazing in-game performances you'll ever see.

And so, after being taken in Round 2 (32nd overall) of the 1975 Draft by Hilldale, Lefty got to work. His 4.1 pWAR rookie season, while excellent indeed, seems to have been mere prelude for something that can only be described as special.

Entering the final week of the 1977 season, Lefty has given up just 3 ER in 77 IP for an ERA of 0.35, while converting 37 of 38 save opportunities and amassing more than 5 pWAR.


His steadying presence at the end of games has undoubtedly played a huge part in Hilldale's resurgence this season, and he would have to be a lock for the White Plate come Award time.

As I usually do at this time after the final one of these for the year, here are the latest career stats for all of the still-active players hitherto accorded an OotS feature.

Mel O'Drama, of the Cork O'Dramas
 

Well another massive finish is playing out in the EL. While the Giants and ABCs have booked their playoff spots, the two American Associations are going down to the wire.

Here's how they stand entering the final series.



So let's follow this to its conclusion on a daily basis.




Which necessitates the following playoff:



And the Grays get there.

1977 EL Regular Season Summary
 

And so, after all that, the final standings for the 1977 Eclipse League season end up looking like this:



Another batting title to Rod Carew, his fourth, while Bob Oliver wins his second. Barry Bonds wins a closely-contested HR crown with 37, and he and Harry Simpson tie for the. EL's most RBI with 122. Juan Samuel does top the steals this time around with 73.

Gene Collins re-ups his single-season strikeout record of a year earlier with 330 for the year, while a bunch of players tie for the lead with 20 wins. Edsall Walker's 3.09 ERA is the low marker while the closing colossus Lefty Moses leads the EL with 39 saves and a remarkable 0.44 ERA over 81 IP.

Award-winners for September:

• FC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Wyman Smith (Royal Giants) 368 / 6 HR / 18 RBI.
• FC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Dave Barnhill (Black Barons) 5-0 / 2.42 / 22 K / 44.2 IP.
• FC ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Moses Yellow Horse (West) 4-1 / 2.78 / 37 K / 45.1 IP.
• WC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Minnie Miñoso (Lincoln Giants) 409 / 4 HR / 22 RBI.
• WC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Juan Marichal (Buckeyes) 5-0 / 2.73 / 42 K / 52.2 IP.
• WC ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Leonardo Medina (Grays) 3-1 / 4.61 / 6 SV / 16 K / 13.2 IP.

Final Top 20s

Hitters - Overall



Hitters - NeLers



Pitchers - Overall



Pitchers - NeLers



Final Leaders

1977 Transit League Major Awards
 

1977 EL Conference Championship Series
 

• The Giants prevail, but not as easily as that 15-game regular season win differential might have hinted at, taking it in six to make it back to the World Series for the first time since their sole appearance and Championship in the EL's inaugural 1968 season.
• Game 4 sees an extraordinary pitching performance by Pittsburgh's Juan Pizarro, who pitches six hitless innings after starter Guillermo Moscoso leaves the game injured without retiring a batter.
• St. Louis 3B Tony Brewer is named series MVP.

• A series that one suspected was going to be extremely close lives up to its billing, with the Grays finally seeing off the ABCs in six mainly tight games.
• Coincidentally, it was the Grays the Giants beat in '68 and this will be their first trip back as well.
• MVP honours go to Homestead's Eric Davis.

1977 Eclipse League World Series
 

• As mentioned in the previous post, this is just the second WS appearance for both clubs and first since 1968, when the Giants won the very first EL title.
• These two groups are really well-matched on both the hitting and pitching fronts, so I am expecting this to be a deep and twisting series.
• Despite being in awe of what the Giants have achieved on a relatively small budget ($5m vs Homestead's $7.2m), it's the Grays in seven for mine.

• For a while there it looks like I've got this totally wrong yet again as the Giants roar out to a 3-0 lead. But then the Grays stage a most amazing comeback to force a decider, which they then take out 3-1 behind a superlative start by Jesse Houston for their maiden EL Championship.
  
• Grays shortstop Damion Easly is named series MVP, although any number of players from either team would have been an equally worthy winner.

1977 Awards