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
 

1977 EL Free-Agent Class / Rookie Draft
 

The Class of '77 will inarguably be remembered as one of the highest-grade inductions in Eclipse League history, with some huge names from both the MLB and NeL ranks joining the league. The Cat A NeLers are early Cuban pioneer Alfredo Cabrera and Barney "Big Ad" Morris, with hybrid Monte Irvin a posted FA, while the top MLB names hopping aboard includes Albert Pujols, Willie Randolph and big Cecil Fielder. Oh, and Brad K, if you're out there, your buddy Bartolo Colòn has arrived as well.

The Cuban Stars East have this year's first pick, which they deploy somewhat unexpectedly - high-quality as he is - on pitcher Al Downing. Which opens the door for the BYs to pick up Prince Albert. Pujols and Bonds in the one lineup... ouch.

Here are the first two rounds in toto.

1978 Janus Report: FC American
 

Atlantic City Bacharach Giants

Brooklyn Royal Giants

Newark Dodgers

New York Black Yankees

Pittsburgh Crawfords

1978 Janus Report: FC National
 

Birmingham Black Barons

Cuban Stars West

Kansas City Monarchs

Memphis Red Sox

St. Louis Giants

1978 Janus Report: WC American
 

Baltimore Elite Giants

Hilldale Athletic Club

Homestead Grays

New York Lincoln Giants

Philadelphia Liberty Stars

1978 Janus Report: WC National
 

Chicago American Giants

Cleveland Buckeyes

Cuban Stars East

Detroit Motown Stars

Indianapolis ABCs

EL 1978 Opening Day
 

Offseason WAR gains and losses reveal little this time around:



We have our first million-dollar player with Rod Carew's deal at Memphis. Here are the other major signings and trades.

• OF Vladimir Guerrero: West, $6.7m / 8 years
• 2B Rod Carew: Red Sox, $6.6m / 6 years
• 3B Hank Thompson: Motown Stars, $6.2m / 7 years
• OF Lloyd Moseby: Giants, $5.9m / 8 years
• 3B John Beckwith: Buckeyes, $5.8m / 8 years (extension)
• P Jair Jurrjens: Black Barons, $5.5m / 7 years
• OF Ender Inciarte: West, $4.2m / 5 years
• OF Miguel Cabrera: Grays, $3.75m / 5 years (extension)
• P Lefty Holmes: Monarchs, $3.7m, 5 years
• 3B Minnie Miñoso: Lincoln Giants, $3.5m / 5 years (extension)
• 2B Danny Tartabull: Grays, $3.45m / 4 years
• C Earl Battey: Dodgers, $3.45m / 5 years
• P Javier Vazquez: American Giants, $3.05m / 5 years
• C Cliff Johnson: Monarchs, $2.9m, 5 years
• 2B Tim Anderson: Motown Giants, $2.6m / 4 years (extension)
• OF Bill North: Bacharach Giants, $2.6m / 5 years
• P Edsall Walker: Monarchs, $2.5m, 3 years
• P Yovani Gallardo: Liberty Stars, $1.7m / 4 years
• P Fergie Jenkins: ABCs, $1.5m / 3 years

• 2B Jorge Polanco traded from Lincoln Giants to Crawfords for C Manny Sanguillen, OF Tommie Agee and 2B Ralph Milliard
• SS Gerard Williams traded from ABCs to Lincoln Giants for P Rube Curry (retaining 95%)
• 2B Rennie Stennett traded from Athletics to Giants for 3B Al Cowens and P Will Harris

The experts are tipping a strong return to form for the BYs and MeSox, with all of the drama set to be in the WC this year.



Here are the top-ranked players as they currently stand:



Newbies dominate the PP:



And last of all, here's how the clubs look financially on OD:



Another beauty in the works from the look of it, will get the Janus Report done and we'll be on our way!

Stat Check: $
 

Motown Uptown
 

No secret I am firmly of the opinion this is Detroit's year in the EL and they have opened the season in scintillating form, winning 10 of 12 so far. Just so many good players at their disposal - Mookie, Santop, Rickey, Timmy Anderson, Hank Thompson and when Joe Williams - albeit a young version thereof - is your SP4 then you know you've got a decent rotation.

Then there's this guy, who has come out firing in his second season and puts himself on the map with this outrageous game.

April 1978 Recap
 

Of the favoured clubs, the major news is how poorly the Liberty Stars and West have begun, both at 9-18. Not season-scuppering just yet but they'll both need to get their acts together pronto.



Monthly Award Winners

• FC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Jose Ramirez (Black Barons) 319 / 10 HR / 23 RBI.
• FC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Jim Jeffries (Crawfords) 5-1 / 3.06 / 21 K / 47 IP.
• FC ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Albert Pujols (Black Yankees) 283 / 4 HR / 21 RBI.
• WC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Erubiel Durazo (Motown Stars) 359 / 10 HR / 19 RBI.
• WC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Ervin Santana (Motown Stars) 6-0 / 1.90 / 41 K / 52 IP.
• WC ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Candy Maldonado (Elite Giants) 325 / 9 HR / 18 RBI.

Points of Interest

• The only late transaction of note is the MoStars adding outfielder Fred Long on a 1/306 deal.
• As far as injuries go, the Mons are yet to get Fernando Tatis jr on the field this season as he struggles to rehab a groin tear.
• Indy's Rube Curry will be out until mid-June with a biceps strain and Hal King of the Liberty Stars will miss 3 months after tearing a meniscus.

Little to report so far.



Monthly Award Winners

• CAC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Choo Choo Coleman (Black Crackers) 383 / 8 HR / 18 RBI.
• CAC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Luis Tiant (Marcos) 4-0 / 3.92 / 29 K / 39 IP.
• FRC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Ted Martinez (Grays) 403 / 3 HR / 23 RBI.
• FRC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Garnett Blair (Tigers) 3-0 / 0.00 / 4 SV / 3 K / 11.2 IP.

Out of the Shadows: Jelly Gardner
 

Time for the first of our player features for the new season, this time highlighting Floyd "Jelly" Gardner.

Born in Russellville AR at the twilight of the 19th century, there are almost as many (and perhaps even more) references to Jelly Gardner's fiery disposition, tempestuous nature and pugilistic abilities as there are about his baseball skills. Which is OK, I prefer that to nothing at all or nearabouts, as is often the case.

After a few seasons playing among the Western Independent clubs, Jelly appears on the NeL radar in 1920 as part of the American Giants under Rube Foster. As Jim Riley points out, his personal performance over his first six seasons was inverse to that of the team: he was poor the first three but the club won the Pennant each year, then he was fantastic between 1923 and 1925 and yet the club won nothing. Finally, in 1926, with Dave Malarcher at the helm, it all came together as Gardner led the team with a .376 average and hit .300 in the playoffs as the AGs won it all, defeating the Eastern Colored League champion Bacharach Giants in the World Series.

Sticking with Riley for a bit, as he offers up a very detail entry for Jelly, Jim praises his speed ("blazing"), defence ("outstanding [...] with good arm and great range"), bunting proficiency and patience at the plate. Seamheads logs his career line at 280 / 373 / 328 with 146 steals, while EC allots him a healthy 28 bWAR.

Moving across to his EL avatar now, Jelly was taken 4th overall by the Bacharach Giants - first stop for so many good players in this league - in the 1976 Draft and reached as high as #4 on the PP. He split time between the bigs and littles in '77, impressing at both, and is now firmly a fixture at the parent club. He looks to have a long and fruitful career ahead of him, and as always we'll be following along with interest.