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EL 1980 Opening Day
The thirteenth Eclipse League season is about to get underway and boy oh boy does this league keep going from strength to strength.
Here are the nett WAR moves over the break: And what a frantic offseason it has been with a bunch of big names back into general circulation and looking for a home. Here's where the most noteworthy among them landed, and how. MAJOR FA SIGNINGS https://i.imgur.com/QG1exq4.png https://i.imgur.com/fA9TgPq.png MAJOR TRADES https://i.imgur.com/B9FvQAJ.png https://i.imgur.com/WbvcfMf.png https://i.imgur.com/ekpFBat.png https://i.imgur.com/1ihRcR7.png https://i.imgur.com/aOh79yn.png https://i.imgur.com/X27bFgY.png https://i.imgur.com/glpGHZW.png https://i.imgur.com/1WlPV6u.png https://i.imgur.com/h8PxmD7.png The FCA looks the tightest-run contest according to BNN, with Leon Durham set for another big year. Barry slips to 4th among position players. The PP is stacked right now. Club finances and current injuries: Memphis in the red comes as little surprise - they don't seem to be interested in messing about and have pushed all their chips to the centre of the table. Welcome to the Eighties! |
1980 Janus Report: FC American
Atlantic City Bacharach Giants Brooklyn Royal Giants Newark Dodgers New York Black Yankees Pittsburgh Crawfords |
1980 Janus Report: FC National
Birmingham Black Barons Cuban Stars West Kansas City Monarchs Memphis Red Sox St. Louis Giants |
1980 Janus Report: WC American
Baltimore Elite Giants Hilldale Athletic Club Homestead Grays New York Lincoln Giants Philadelphia Liberty Stars |
1980 Janus Report: WC National
Chicago American Giants Cleveland Buckeyes Cuban Stars East Detroit Motown Stars Indianapolis ABCs |
And We're Off!
The 1980 Eclipse League season is officially underway. To get to the games, some walked, some ran, one industrious type even even rode a bike.
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Too Cool for School
Cool Papa Bell's OOTP life is a source of constant frustration for me. In every save, he seems to always have a ceaseless downward pressure placed upon his ratings. I have recalibrated him twice already in this universe and his OVR has again lost roughly a third, falling from 75 to 50 in just two seasons. This is all to do with the initial imprint a player is given upon import, of this I am convinced, and in a dev only save like this recalc plays no part.
All of which means his performance here brings me greater joy than it usually might. |
NoTime
The great man isn't getting any younger, so let's hope this is his one injury for the year.
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April 1980 Recap
Eclipse League Upward and downward surprises aplenty in the early part of the 1980 EL season. Whereas some of the favoured sides such as the Crawfords - who start the season red-hot with an 11-game win string - and Dodgers, Grays and Motown Stars are all travelling well, others are anything but. Both the Mons and Red Sox, expected to vie for the FC National title, instead find themselves battling for last place. Lord knows where KC would be if not for Fernando Tatis jr, and they'll need to get things headed in the right direction pronto if they want to figure at the pointy end of things. Same goes for the ABCs, who look shaky yet again. Monthly Award Winners
Points of Interest
Transit League Nice to see Dayton in the midst of it - they haven't seen playoff action since the TL's first season back in 1971. The Eagles are also looking strong. Monthly Award Winners
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Out of the Shadows: Hulon Stamps
Given Hulon Stamps is another one of those "ghost" players, about whom little is known other than their NeL stats, this will be another OotS feature that focuses more on how the game can sometimes treat players upon import, particularly when that import is done manually.
First, the facts. We know from Seamheads that Hulon - born just before the turn of the 19th century into the 20th in rural Tennessee - played briefly in the mid-1920s NNL, almost exclusively for the Red Sox. We can deduce from those stats, his 71 career ERA+ above all, that his was not an overly memorable career. He appears only cursorily in Jim Riley's book and in none other among my numerous sources. He is not included in EC's MLEs. And yet, in the face of all this, he has come into the EL as a herculean hurler. For once, I cannot blame an fictitious HS or COL stat line created by the game to flesh out his history for the Draft - which I remain convinced is the number one reason for whatever hinky rookie years you see in OOTP - nor erroneous historical stats. Well... If I am being pedantic, the ERA+ for these NeL guys doesn't come in correctly, it is simply set to 100 for every season. This has the ripple effect of giving them inflated pWAR totals - SH has Hulon's career total at -2.1; OOTP has it at 4.5, with rWAR at a more accurate -4.6 - and that might explain how this extreme talent upgrade can happen. I don't particularly mind it for the odd player like Hulon, as I feel it adds some colour to the game. But I am sure those who are super fastidious about historical accuracy would not share my view. Whatever the case, Hulon's EL avatar has certainly made the most of its good fortune. Entering the league in 1975 as a Free-Agent, he was snapped up on a big 5-year deal by the ABCs, and proceeded to carve the league up. In his four completed seasons to date he is yet to tally less than 5 WAR, going 73-52 over that period. In the most recent offseason, ahead of his walk year, Indy traded him to Detroit and he's so far won all 3 of his decisions for the MoStars. On a club that is on the up, he may well have some jewellery to show off at the end of the season. As always, we'll keep regular tabs on him from this point forward. |
Four to the Floor for Floyd
A year almost to the day since Harry Simpson achieved the same feat, KC's Cliff Floyd becomes the fourth EL player to go yard four times in a game, also driving in 7 to lead the Mons past archrivals Memphis.
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Floating and Stinging
It is all happening in the EL at the moment, as Homestead's Al Bumbry hits for the cycle against Philly. Despite his efforts, the Grays drop this one 8-7.
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Bullet the Blue Sky
The BYs seem in no rush to set Bullet Rogan free into the EL wilds. They gave him a couple cups of Joe last season but he is back in the TL again for 1980 and, from the looks of this effort, carving things up down there.
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May 1980 Recap
Eclipse League The apparent imbalance in the FC National has been at least partway redressed as the MeSox catch fire, riding a 2--6 May all the way to the top of the table. They are currently in the midst of a 9-game win streak. The Mons also started showing some improved form and sit a half-dozen games back. The 33-17 Crawfords continue to street the FCA field, while the WC is looker super competitive in both groups. Monthly Award Winners
Points of Interest
Transit League Dayton still looking good with a TL-best 30-20 mark to this point and a handy break on their rivals. The other three groups remain tight. Monthly Award Winners
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Notes from the Transit Lounge: Figaro, Figaro, Fi-Ga-Ro!
Offence has somewhat dominated things in the early going of both the Eclipse and Transit Leagues - will this exemplary effort from Akron's Alfredo Figaro down at AAA usher in a swing back toward the mound?
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Stat Check: AB
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Rijo a No-No
This save never disappoints, it has been a pure joy from the get-go and this season is again shaping to raise the EL's bar once more.
We get our first no-hitter for the year in the top flight as Jose Rijo is lights out against Philly in a classic pitching duel against Andy Porter. |
Out of the Shadows: Sol White
As I suspect might be the case for the majority of you following along, I first became aware of Sol White through in his role as the pre-Buck O’Neil Buck O’Neil - IE the spruiker- and chronicler-in-chief of the pre-1920s Negro Leagues. I have both his Official Base Ball Guide and History of Colored Base Ball among my NeL reference library and find each of them a fascinating study both in the art of preserving history and twisting that history to suits one's own personal narrative. Buck O'Neil would perfect this skill a few decades later and - fifteen years after Sol was himself enshrined as a pioneer / executive - parlay it into a plaque at Cooperstown.
As a player, Sol began while still a student at Wilberforce, holding down second base for the Philadelphia Keystones in the short-lived NCL in 1887. After a few seasons playing in various white leagues, he spent the 1890s at various iterations of the Cuban Giants. But it was in the first decade of the 20th century that Sol really made his mark both on and off the field, as a playing member and part-owner of the Philadelphia Giants, one of the first true powerhouses in black baseball that won numerous Championships in this period. Nearing his retirement as an active player, Sol chronicled the 1906 season in his History, and took his leave of the game the following year. he would later return in the 1920s to manage various NNL clubs before retiring for good from the field in 1926. He lived a long and full life, dying in 1955 at the age of 87. Seamheads has his career slash at 294/332/419 with a healthy OPS+ of 114, while EC has deemed there to be insufficient data for him to formulate an MLE. Unlike most from this era with no MLE info on hand for me to be able to use and edit the player's data, Sol actually imported OK into the EL. More in the high yellow range than green or blue, but pretty good all the same. And he seems to be turning this into a nice little understated EL career. It didn't start out that way. Entering the league as a FA in 1974, Sol bounced around through a few clubs in 1975 and played the entire season in the TL. His fortunes changed a little in 1976, when he was signed by the Monarchs, only to find the big league a bit beyond him at that point and hit a meagre 151 on the year. After being traded to the Buckeyes, 1977 saw Sol split time between the EL and TL once again, although he was starting to handle major league pitching again. He spent the next couple years with the LGs before again being traded, this time to the Crawfords. He re-upped on a one-year deal at the start of the current season and remains at the club at the time of writing, holding down their starting 3B role and - batting 9th - slashing 306/371/462 with a couple dingers and 27 RBI, good so far for 1.5 bWAR. That might well earn him some jewellery, the way the Crawfs are playing this year. We'll check back in and see at the end of the year. |
June 1980 Recap
Eclipse League Most unusually, it seems for once the EL is set to be devoid of drama with all four races looking fairly clear-cut at this point. Still plenty of time for that to change of course, especially in the WC where the gaps are narrower. Monthly Award Winners
Points of Interest
Top 20s - overall Top 20s - NeLers While the Marcos continue to lead their division, their fellow perennial malingerer House of David has returned to form and sunk to the wrong end of the table. Still up for grabs across the board. Monthly Award Winners
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Transit League All-Stars, 1980
Bill Harvey wins the Derby, with MVP Tex Burnett leading the Catto Conference to a 4-3 ASG victory. |
EL Top 100 Prospects
An update to the Prospect Pipeline sees NeLer Harry Williams head a sterling list from Tony Phillips.
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1980 EL All-Star / Prospects Squads and Games
The stars of today: https://i.imgur.com/0RwrrQY.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/DfeQ1r6.png And tomorrow: HR Derby winner Carlos Delgado (Crawfords) def John Mayberry (Royal Giants) ASG result Weldy 8, Fleet 3 ASG MVP John Beckwith (Buckeyes) Prospects Game result Fleet 5, Weldy 3 Prospects Game MVP Tony Abreu (Hornets) |
Stat Check: XBH; R
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Out of the Shadows: Robert Poindexter
Robert "Roy" Poindexter pretty much epitomises the purpose of this series - to shine a light on clearly talented guys kept somewhat in the dark due to the vagaries of circumstance and fate.
Born in Virginia just before the turn of the century (the fact that nothing more specific than this has ever been unearthed kind of foregrounds the rest of his life), Roy came late to pro ball and left early, with his rookie year at the Birmingham Black Barons in the 1924 Negro National League being his age-27 season. It was with the BBs that he would play the vast majority of his NeL career, with four of his six seasons spent there. Over that span, Roy fashioned a 35-52 career with Seamheads allocating him an ERA+ of 99, while he doesn't feature among Eric Chalek's MLEs for some reason (I will have to follow it up with the man himself). Jim Riley calls him a "fairly effective" pitcher; hardly effusive praise but then again he was no world-beater. He also describes a guy who had his fair share of off-field problems, once shooting a teammate and eventually causing the premature end of his own career when he tried to end his life by taking poison. The attempt failed to kill him, but he never appeared in the NeL after that time. Happy to report that his EL avatar is having a better time of it. Entering the league via the 1976 Draft, in which he was the second overall pick, he has been toiling away manfully for the poor old Cuban Stars East, the most thankless of tasks for a pitcher. It redounds to how good he has been that he is barely sub-500 to this point, going 52-56 (on a club that has on average lost a smidge under 100 games in his three seasons to date and look like doing so again this year) with an ERA+ of 112 and almost 20 rWAR. He was just a few weeks back named to his first All-Star team as well. He has one more year of arb left with an expected payout for 1981 in excess of $1m, and with the small-budget East already having Deacon Meyers locked down on a long and lucrative contract, you'd have to think a move is imminent. We will, as always, keep tabs on him over the remainder of his EL career. |
July 1980 Recap
Eclipse League We may just get a bit of stretch run drama, with the WC American race tightening right up after Philly posts a middling 11-13. And Memphis just leaves the door ajar a bit in the FCN - that 7 1/2 game split between them and KC wouldn't be looking wide enough just yet. Monthly Award Winners
Points of Interest
https://i.imgur.com/asQZNpR.png https://i.imgur.com/JedniyY.png https://i.imgur.com/gvFgGV3.png https://i.imgur.com/d8o6r0H.png https://i.imgur.com/ZuaPgtL.png Transit League Everything still to play for in the TL, with Detroit's 5-game lead in the FCN the widest of any. Monthly Award Winners
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Toe to Toe
Undoubtedly one of the games of the year and a major boost for the Red Sox as they win an 11-10 thriller late against the BYs with Eric Davis starring and the aforementioned El Tiant getting the W. I see NY has finally deployed Bullet Rogan - can't wait to see how he fares in the Show.
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Notes from the Transit Lounge: The Big Bang
I've not seen this before, even if this is only in AAA it is still a fantastic achievement as Eddie Williams of Louisville - a rookie, no less - does this in back-to-back games:
https://i.imgur.com/NUNNwUN.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/tqRkqPJ.png With the Mons hunting the MeSox up in the big league, he may not be with the White Sox much longer. |
El Clásico, 1980
Back to there being little more than pride to play for in this year's Cuban Stars match-up, with both clubs well out of contention again. The West hosts this year's series and comes away from it with a 2-1 win after dropping the opener. That extends their series lead to 9-4.
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The Curse Strikes
Recent OotS subject Robert Poindexter is knocked out of action for the remainder by shoulder inflammation - let's hope this isn't a pattern forming a la the SI cover...
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Of the Cincinnati Van Burens
Not gonna lie to you, had never heard of Jermaine Van Buren until this very moment. Well, he's an Eclipse League immortal now - not bad for someone in their rookie season making the 15th start of his career, even with those 7 walks issued.
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August 1980 Recap
Eclipse League Things remain tight in the WC National, with Hilldale and Philly flip-flopping top spot on almost a daily basis and look set to continue doing so for the duration. While not stone dead, the other three races are close to being so, with the Crawfords, Red Sox and MoStars holding firm for the time being - although the Royal Giants are having a nice run to keep Pittsburgh honest and make them earn it. The imminent return of Edgar Wesley will help the Crawfs no end. Monthly Award Winners
Points of Interest
Top 20s - overall Detroit and Brooklyn enter September with single-digit magic numbers, while the other two divisions remain up for grabs. Monthly Award Winners
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Out of the Shadows: Bob and Bill Harvey
Something a bit different for what will be our final OotS for 1980: a Double Out of the Shadows Feature!
Bob Harvey and Bill Harvey were not related, but their NeL careers did overlap in the mid-1940s and they are being reunited in the simulated world of the 1980s Eclipse League. So I felt they both deserved their moment in the spotlight, and that this moment should be shared. David William "Bill" Harvey was born 1908 in Clarksdale MS and entered the pro ranks, and then the NeL major league ranks, as a member of the 1932 Red Sox. He was a bit of a wanderer during his time in the league, playing for no less than 9 clubs in his 14 NeL seasons. He was primarily a pitcher, but his handiness with the bat (Jim Riley has him hitting 3 homers in a game at Yankee Stadium and Seamheads gives him a career 241/330/379 slash line) also saw him put in a good number of games either at 1B or as a pinch-hitter. His pitching stats aren't overly impressive, with SH putting his career record at 32-53 with a poor ERA+ of just 81. Still, he must have been doing something right to last so long at the top level of the game, and his stint in organised baseball ended all the way out in 1950 (four years after his final season in the NeL) with a relatively unsuccessful year at Youngstown of the Mid-Atlantic League. Robert Alexander "Bob" Harvey was a decade younger than his namesake and enjoyed a much shorter time at the top echelon of the game. His NeL career - which began in 1943 and ended in 1948 - was spent almost exclusively as a member of the good Newark Eagles sides of that era, whose charge to the 1946 Championship broke the Homestead Grays' run of 9 straight Negro National League pennants along the way. Bob played in the outfield, with RF his preferred spot, and was a more than capable contact hitter who Seamheads has down for a 311/376/418 line with just 9 home runs. He was also a football star in his college days at Bowie State in Baltimore, and he died in 1992 at the age of 74. And so onto their EL avatars, with both entering the league in the most recent Draft. Bob was taken 5th overall by the Royal Giants and sent immediately to the big club. He has so far acquitted himself very well indeed, with a 21-game hitting streak and Rookie of the Month award to his credit already. At the time of writing, his rookie season sits with him comfortably leading the FC with a 347 batting average - seemingly set to deny David Ortiz his Triple Crown - and he has belted 9 HR and driven in 66 runs, good enough for nearly 3 bWAR. This should put him in the top part of the RoY ballot come season's end. Bill's EL career has started off in slightly more circuitous fashion. The ABCs took him 28th overall and he has spent 1980 dominating the Transit League. Only with the bat, however - with his BA sitting at 341, and his 39 HR and 119 RBI at or near the top of the TL class with only a handful of games to go. He has struggled on the mound, going 6-12 / 7.01 ERA with the wildness he struggled with IRL making itself manifest here as well. Still, he is only young and profiles to see a strong improvement in this element of his game. He looks likely to be a major factor in the EL once he gets up there. Looking forward to seeing what he can do when he makes it. As I said, this will be the last of these features for 1980 and so, as always, here are the career stats for all those still active and featured so far. More to come in '81!! |
Notes from the Transit Lounge: end of 1980 regular season
An unusually low-key finish to the TL this season, with the CAC National the only race that looked in doubt til the end.
Here are the final leaders and Top20s, with both Curtis Granderson and Bill Harvey just missing out on a Triple Crown by a few BA points: https://i.imgur.com/IhJLrkd.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/hYPVJXC.png https://i.imgur.com/tNQ1SFZ.png https://i.imgur.com/ItGfAH6.png And so a long-awaited first playoff appearance for the New York Cubans, among some other more familiar clubs at this stage of the season. |
Stat Check: BB
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Notes from the Transit Lounge - 1980 Conference Championship Series
While the Black Crackers sweep aside Brooklyn, the Cubans keep their dream season alive by fighting back from 0-2 down to knock out 3-time Champs Detroit in five games.
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Notes from the Transit Lounge: Safe Crackers
In an epic seven-game series, the Cubans take a 3-2 lead back to NYC but can't close it out as Atlanta wins two from two to take their third TL title. Curtis Granderson is named series MVP.
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Brewer Droops
Some guys have all the luck. Not so Chet Brewer in this unusual game that sees him allow no hits over 9 but walk 5 and give up an earned run all the same, then watch his Dodgers lose to the EGs 2-1 in 13.
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EL September 1980 Awards
Happiness for some but heartbreak for others, some amazing individual performances and even a touch of late-season drama. All will be revealed from another fascinating Eclipse League season in the upcoming 1980 recap.
For now, here are the award winners for September.
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Stat Check: pWAR
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1980 Transit League Major Awards
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER PITCHER OF THE YEAR RELIEVER OF THE YEAR https://i.imgur.com/VEK04Kp.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/yeqD84j.png |
1980 EL Regular Season Summary
OK, so I may have spoken prematurely a couple posts back about there being late drama. Or just flat out lied - hard to tell, really.
Whatever the case, there wasn't any. Hilldale put paid to that hope with a withering 24-13 finishing run to blow past the fading Liberty Stars and win their 4th WCA title going away. That 103-win effort by the Crawfs ties the 1970 Black Yankees for most ever in the FC (the '75 Buckeyes have the most of all with 106). The two main individual achievements in the 1980 EL season belong to Cristobal Torriente and David Ortiz. Cristo recorded the EL's first ever Triple Crown by hitting 325, belting 34 HR (including one on the final day to break a tie with Minnie Minoso) and driving in 122, tied for the most in either league with Leon Durham. Meanwhile, Big Papi - who is also the all-time career leader in the category with 384 - set a new single-season HR record with 46, eclipsing the 44 of Hank Thompson ('71) and Barry Bonds ('79). 337 earned Bob Harvey the other batting title, while Delino DeShields swiped the most bases of all with 75. In the pitching arena, Gene Collins' 23 wins were the most, just pipping Hulon Stamps' 22 and the little lefty also led both leagues with 278 strikeouts. Robert Poindexter had the low ERA with 2.64, Lefty Moses the most saves with 43. Final Top 20s Hitters - Overall Hitters - NeLers Pitchers - Overall Pitchers - NeLers Final Leaders https://i.imgur.com/grsuvLo.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/B84qsR5.png |
1980 EL Conference Championship Series
Fleet Conference Pittsburgh Crawfords (103-59) v Memphis Red Sox (91-71) Best of seven, Crawfords with home-field advantage. Injuries to key pitchers for both of these clubs with the MeSox losing gun rookie Bob Gibson and Closer Willie Williams, while the Crawfs will be chasing that elusive first EL title without the help of 20-game winner Vida Blue, Ricky Nolasco and Jose de Jesus. In the end, Pittsburgh barely raises a sweat in disposing of their opponents with four straightforward wins. Edgar Wesley wins the series MVP award. https://i.imgur.com/yJYdD0v.png Weldy Conference Detroit Motown Stars (93-69) v Hilldale Athletics (92-70) Best of seven, Motown Stars with home-field advantage. Of all the teams, Hilldale is arguably the best-placed to get in the way of Detroit's maiden title quest. They are just one of those clubs who somehow always manages to turn up for the big occasions and this postseason should be no different. While they don't disgrace themselves, it doesn't quite pan out that way as the MoStars do it pretty easy in five. Cristobal Torriente's dream season continues with the MVP for this series. https://i.imgur.com/24O486q.png |
1980 Eclipse League World Series
Pittsburgh Crawfords v Detroit Motown Stars Best of seven, Crawfords with home-field advantage. Inarguably the matchup any neutral would want as it not only pits the two best clubs this season but also guarantees us a new first-time EL Champion. The Crawfords have been truly all-conquering this season but those injuries to Blue and Nolasco I mentioned in the previous round put this match-up on a much more even footing than if they were taking part. On the other side of the equation, you have by far the best player this season in Cristobal Torriente with an ensemble cast of superstars such as Rickey Henderson, Louis Santop, Joe Williams and others in a MoStars unit that, on its day, is the equal of any side currently in the EL. So, honestly, this could go either way and I expect it will be a deep series. Crawfords with the home field advantage to just get home in seven, for mine. https://i.imgur.com/izeDQ9v.png https://i.imgur.com/LEA85NV.png In the end it only goes five, but they are five of the craziest, most enthralling baseball games you could wish for as the Motown Stars lock down their maiden EL title in fine style. Games 2 and 4 both go 12 innings and the first of these in particular (box score below) is the likes of which I doubt we've seen before. It is the Crawfords' bullpen that proves the difference in all the wrong ways, giving leads in three of the four losses. Could the MVP possibly be anyone other than Cristo? No it would not. What a year. Game 1 https://i.imgur.com/opP7wj0.png https://i.imgur.com/ksHt15l.png Game 2 https://i.imgur.com/yeiLvma.png https://i.imgur.com/hRVGhhA.png Game 3 https://i.imgur.com/dz0D45T.png https://i.imgur.com/qJ9qn7Y.png Game 4 https://i.imgur.com/jreD7pK.png https://i.imgur.com/CKw6cBz.png Game 5 https://i.imgur.com/QkWJSrv.png https://i.imgur.com/ffSOTBb.png https://i.imgur.com/ora1C9s.png https://i.imgur.com/FtHoIO8.png https://i.imgur.com/eCY1q5w.png https://i.imgur.com/wOPIfT7.png |
1980 Housekeeping
Managerial Culls Not a one, but Bacharach Giants' skipper Perry Rusher doesn't have his contract renewed. The Philadelphia franchise changes hands, with Matt Erkhart the new owner. Roster News Key Extensions: P George Walker (American Giants) 5/2904; 3B Albert Pujols (Black Yankees) 5/5308; OF Cristobal Torriente (Motown Stars) 8/13580; SS Starlin Castro (West) 3/2904; P Juan Pizarro (Crawfords) 3/1782; OF Tommy Harper (ABCs) 3/1618; P Barney Morris (Buckeyes) 4/2434; SS Al Smith (Buckeyes) 5/5448; P Dizzy Dismukes (Red Sox) 4/2810; 2B Juan Santaella (Royal Giants) 3/1390. Opt-Outs: 2B Roberto Alomar (Crawfords); OF Rickey Henderson (Motown Stars); 3B Art Pennington (East); C Bob Watson (Grays). Voided Contracts: OF Tony Armas (East); OF Oddibe McDowell (Giants); C Fred Rico (Royal Giants). OF Al Bumbry and 2B Guillermo Garcia are shipped from the Grays to the Black Barons for 2B Benji Gil and 3B Recurvon Teran. Prospect Pipeline https://i.imgur.com/tSyPQ4w.png |
1980 Retirees
Once again, I don't really see any HoFers among this year's retirees, although three of the bigger NeL names are among them.
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1980 Awards
GRANT MEDAL (MOST VALUABLE PLAYER) STOVEY MEDAL (PITCHER OF THE YEAR) WHITE PLATE (RELIEVER OF THE YEAR) https://i.imgur.com/8sstDkJ.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/9hZJDR4.png FOWLER MEDAL (ROOKIE OF THE YEAR) https://i.imgur.com/n3AtdT5.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/EDjWBKi.png GARRETT BUTTON (MANAGER OF THE YEAR) FC: Aaron Baker, Crawfords WC: AJ Schaffer, Motown Stars KINDLING AWARD (SILVER SLUGGER) FC / WC https://i.imgur.com/bkppaWi.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/vJXPVaM.png SLICK AWARD (GOLD GLOVE) FC / WC https://i.imgur.com/wSqxHVI.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/X1aOSik.png |
1980 EL Free-Agent Class / Rookie Draft
Another high-quality intake of players for the EL this year.
The Cat A NeL Draftees for 1980 are Bill Holland and Walter Ball, while the mighty Satchel Paige enters the league as a Free-Agent. Among the MLB ranks, some of the bigger Draftee names include Frank Robinson, Camilo Pascual, Bert Campaneris and Hideki Matsui, with Esteban Loaiza and Billy Beane favourite Ricardo Rincon among the FAs. Once again it is the Giants with the first pick, which they wisely use on Frank Robinson. Rounds 1 and 2 in full: |
EL 1981 Opening Day
EL Season 1981 is upon us and looks set to be just one more fascinating iteration of this amazing league.
Here are the nett WAR moves over the break: A somewhat more subdued trade / FA market over the recent break, but still a number of key adds and moves to announce: MAJOR FA SIGNINGS https://i.imgur.com/j4bv9Yl.png MAJOR TRADES https://i.imgur.com/pN6GMjv.png https://i.imgur.com/HziJKuG.png https://i.imgur.com/gKy56z9.png https://i.imgur.com/T2GpwhG.png https://i.imgur.com/7GTUs9Q.png https://i.imgur.com/bFF8lsM.png https://i.imgur.com/4fA3VJ2.png https://i.imgur.com/7CwWZjz.png https://i.imgur.com/4WDVJt8.png Four tight races on the cards if the BNN mob is to be believed. One of the biggest points of note is Barry Bonds' continued slide. The former top-ranked player has fallen all the way out of the Top 20 and his ratings have tanked as well, despite him being in just his age-33 season. 1980 was one of his worst campaigns, with him hitting just 254 with a career-low 18 HR. Will be very interested to see if this avatar of him enjoys the "second wind" of its IRL counterpart. Frank Robinson sits atop the PP - somewhat surprised to see Satch down at 5. Club finances and current injuries: Disaster for the Dodgers with key offseason signing Dave Brown lost for the season to a labrum tear. Let's get it on! |
1981 Janus Report: FC American
Atlantic City Bacharach Giants Brooklyn Royal Giants Newark Dodgers New York Black Yankees Pittsburgh Crawfords |
1981 Janus Report: FC National
Birmingham Black Barons Cuban Stars West Kansas City Monarchs Memphis Red Sox St. Louis Giants |
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