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Out of the Shadows: Gene Collins
As those of you who follow along with my various OOTP enterprises may have gathered by now from their tone and premise, I am eternally fascinated by baseball's lesser lights. It all started with the Footnote League, and is central to this league as well. I love highlighting the unheralded, the underappreciated, the underdog - something OOTP gives me endless opportunities to do. It's all well and good being a highly-paid superstar, but for whatever reason the way in which the journeyman guys from the majors right down to the nether regions of the minors to go out there day after day and give baseball their all for little by way of reward resounds with me in a most visceral way.
(Kind of perverse, then, that the only two modern players I have any interest whatsoever in are Aaron Judge and Juan Soto. Go figure...) Someone posted on the boards a while back canvassing people's thoughts on the best size for a league. I guess it all comes down to what you want from it. My AtHoL save, for example, with 36 teams and - eventually - four levels is all-encompassing, which allows a greater coverage of the number of players involved at the expense of being able to see them quite so well on an individual basis, or at least requires more time for you to do so. This save, with just 20 teams and two levels, affords me the ability to gain a more intimate knowledge of the players participating. Less of them, as a result, slip through the cracks. The hand-curation involved takes this to the next level again. The improvements to the treatment of the NeLers in v23 has allowed me to relax my process somewhat for handling these players. I still use my own stats for the players included in Eric Chalek's MLE analysis, but now I just edit them on import and then let the imprint do its thing. For those I call the "lesser" NeL players - in other words, those for whom no MLEs are available - I give them free rein. It's kind of like a de facto TCR, the way I see it. Were I playing a truly historical save, this would be unacceptable to me. But the EL isn't that sort of save - it is a celebration of the great history of black baseball and nothing more. So if some of these guys import with off the charts ratings, so be it. Godspeed and good luck to them. Which brings me to the subject of this feature, southpaw pitcher Gene Collins. For a guy who was a true footnote in the NeL annals, playing just two seasons in the murky environment of the Jackie Robinson era before heading to Mexico via a quick stint in the minors, Jim Riley gives Gene a nice chunk of column inches. From this we learn he was originally a pitcher who later moved into the outfield as an everyday position player. Seamheads - which covers only his 1947-48 seasons - gives him a lifetime 5-5 record and 81 ERA+ over 84 IP for the Monarchs, and if those stats are anything to go by it is clear he had some fantastic stuff but was as wild as Mitch Williams (91 K v 95 BB). As you can see from the screenshot below, those figures are well-replicated by the OOTP engine and, after being drafted in 1971 by the Motown Stars (Round 3, 44th overall), his rookie season last year was true to type: 8.1 K/9 offset by 5.4 BB/9. That said, he did OK for a pretty poor MoStars outfit, going 11-19 with an ERA of 3.83 and picking up 2.6 pWAR. 1973 has been a different story entirely, as he currently sits at a staggering 12-1 with an ERA of 2.02 or 188 adjusted. He's been a bit lucky, as his 217 BABIP clearly shows, but a reduction in the number of free passes to a more tolerable 4 per 9 while still fanning a bunch has also had plenty to do with it, as has the drop in his FIP- from 106 to 77. The improved performance of his team has also undoubtedly played a part. We'll keep an eye on Gene's performance from here to see if he can keep up with his development and perhaps even become a force in this league. |
June 1973 Recap
This season is really shaping up nicely, with three of the conferences super tight and the A's just regressing enough to keep it interesting in the WC American. After a slow start, the BYs are looking ominous, while the Monarchs' 17-9 June has them just two in arrears of the BBs.
If anything, the TL remains even more closely-run across the board, with the FRC National and CAC American both total lotteries.
Top 20s - Overall Top 20s - NeLers News and Leaders https://i.imgur.com/zxORORn.png https://i.imgur.com/lGTVz4h.png https://i.imgur.com/JYHTxH0.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/vMPvcRD.png SIDEBAR: No midpoint review this year after the detailed Janus report on OD, trying to keep this moving along. |
Out of the Shadows: Willie Gisentaner
Known as "Three-Finger" in that cutely cruel style of the early-20th century due to a mangled pitching hand a la Mr Brown of the Mordecai version, southpaw Wille Gisentaner had a long if relatively undistinguished NeL career from the early 1920s to mid 1930s. Almost as if operating off a checklist, Willie bounced from team to team on a seemingly annual basis, before settling down to finish his career with three seasons with the Homestead Grays. Seamheads has his career record at 44-55 with an ERA on 5 on the dot, which equates to an ERA+ of 95, while EC's MLEs allocate him 13.4 WAR - so perhaps undistinguished is the wrong word. Let's go with journeyman instead.
Willie joined the EL as the 8th overall pick in the 1970 Draft, selected by the Black Yankees in the 4th Round. After spending almost the entire 1971 season at AAA Harlem, where he put together a splendid 18-win / 6.7 pWAR campaign in the Stars' Championship run, Willie got the call-up to the parent club for the following Opening Day and has been there ever since, fashioning a 17-12 record. He was used in a swingman role last season, but this year has seen him promoted full-time to the rotation behind legends in the making CC Sabathia and Pat Scantlebury. Like good players usually do, he has handled each step up without problem, and was the most recent recipient of the FC Pitcher of the Month Award, going 5-0 / 1.16 for June as his New York club finally got itself going and moved into contention. Handy with bat in hand, Willie has also spent some time in RF, hitting 264 with 2 HR last year but struggling a bit in that role so far in 1973. As always, we'll keep tabs on Willie as his EL career unfolds. |
Stat Check: W
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EL Top 100 Prospects
The list has been updated, with Sam Bankhead of the Elite Giants organisation AT #1, part of the top-ranked Baltimore farm system.
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Tennessee Thriller
A fantastic contest between the Giants and Cuban Stars West in front of a big turnout at First Tennesse Park, with plenty of late action and a walkoff win for Los Cubanos thanks to recent acquisition Buck Leonard.
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1973 EL All-Star / Prospects Squads and Games
Those at the top of their game:
And those who, if they play their cards right, are on the way there: Hank Thompson just pips Big Papi in the HR Derby. While in the big game, Tony Armas wins the MVP in a losing cause as the Fleet Conference wins 4-2. The overall games score sits at exactly the same line. |
Stat Check: FIP
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Big Day for A. J.
A season to forget for the poor old CSE, who look like they'll lose 90+ and finish in the cellar by some margin. So highlights like this must be savoured.
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Makin' Moves
A couple big names find themselves at a new club as the BYs and ABCs recalibrate ahead of what is shaping up as a torrid stretch run for both clubs.
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July 1973 Recap
A bit more tightening up in all four races as the stretch looms, although a couple of the leaders finished the month strongly to just push away again.
In the TL, the White Sox remain comfortably ahead in the CAC National, while the Black Senators have also made their move in the FRC American. The CAC American, with three teams within a game, looks set to be a beauty, while only four games separate the FRC National from top to bottom.
News and Leaders |
Just Dandy
Disaster for the Monarchs just as they have moved themselves within a couple games of the BBs in the FC National, with their undisputed ace gone for the season.
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DownTime
Not as bad as it could have been, I guess, but the Buckeyes haven't quite shaken off the ABCs just yet and this will test their depth and resolve, with it touch-and-go if he'll reappear this season.
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Stat Check: HR
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August 1973 Recap
Grandstand finishes loom across the board as the jockeying for position intensifies and the various key injuries take their toll.
In the TL, the White Sox have clinched easily, while the Eagles and Black Senators have timed their runs nicely to both have their MN down to just 3. The FRC National race looks set to go down to the final day.
Top 20s News & Leaders |
El Clįsico, 1973
An 11-4 romp in the decider gives the Cuban Stars West a 2-1 win against their East rivals in this year's matchup, tying the running series score at 3 in the process.
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News from the Transit Lounge: end of 1973 regular season
Nice and clean in the end here.
Louisville has looked the pick of the bunch all year - can they finish it off for their first TL title? |
News from the Transit Lounge
As is so often the case, the White Sox cannot convert a fine regular season into anything more, losing in 5 after taking a 2-0 series lead. The Wolves also fight back from the brink, winning three straight to eliminate the Black Senators.
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News From the Transit Lounge
After an unbelievable TL World Series in which five of the seven games are decided by one run, the Detroit Wolves lock down their first Championship.
https://i.imgur.com/lAvNN2t.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/XaeIrCP.png https://i.imgur.com/g7yIQBm.png |
September 1973 Recap
We are headed for a frantic final week of the 1973 EL regular season, with three of the four races going down to the wire.
In the one Group that does look settled, the Mons had moved within touching distance of the BBs and looked like they were going to roll on by them, but six straight losses have put paid to that concept for another year. The imminent Buckeyes / ABCs series will almost certainly define this season for both clubs. Here are the awards for September:
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