August 1985 Recap
 

As was the case a year ago, August has seen things tighten up somewhat, particularly in the latter part.

After running a win streak into the month that ends up at 13 games the Black Yankees look in complete control of the FC American, only to lose 7 straight at the end of the month to leave the door just a little bit ajar for the Crawfords.

The Grays have also hit a bit of a rough patch and you don't need to invite the Athletics twice to pounce when that happens, as they have done here with a strong 18-10 August to close to just 4 1/2 games.

The Red Sox and Monarchs have not let each other out of their sights with the gap never more than a game or two and they enter September locked at 68-62 with the series scheduled for October 1-3 looming as a do-or-die contest between these two fierce rivals.

Only the MoStars have maintained their strong position and they'll get to watch everything else play out from the comfortable chair with their feet up.




Monthly Award Winners

• FC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Danny Tartabull (Red Sox) 365 / 7 HR / 15 RBI.
• FC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Nip Winters (Dodgers) 6-0 / 2.38 / 25 K / 45.1 IP.
• FC ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Larry Hisle (Giants) 429 / 3 HR / 19 RBI.
• WC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Harry Williams (East) 325 / 5 HR / 20 RBI.
• WC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Juanelo Mirabal (Athletics) 6-0 / 3.00 / 26 K / 45 IP.
• WC ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Jim LaMarque (American Giants) 3-3 / 2.47 / 35 K / 51 IP.

Points of Interest

• The Royal Giants lose Nelson Dean for the season to a UCL tear.
• Jim Jeffries reaches 250 Wins for his career .

Top 20s - overall


Only the CAC National any chance of hosting late drama.




Monthly Award Winners

• CAC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Ben Johnson (Stars) 415 / 8 HR / 30 RBI.
• CAC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Earl Wilson (Stars) 5-0 / 2.00 / 15 K / 18 IP.
• FRC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Calvin Murray (Grays) 432 / 3 HR / 11 RBI.
• FRC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Albert Owens (Wolves) 3-1 / 2.20 / 8 SV / 12 K / 16.1 IP.

Notes from the Transit Lounge: end of 1985 TL regular season
 

Nothing even close to late drama this year in the TL with four very decisive division wins.

Out of the Shadows: Pete Washington
 

Certain players have stayed with me for different reasons as I have wended my way to my current level of familiarity with the Negro Leagues and their history.

Dizzy Dismukes, as I think I have previously mentioned, was the one who started it all for me (thanks Lans!).

A deeper dive into the brief but brilliant career of my favourite NeLer of all Charlie Smith made me want to spread my ken outside of the Satchels, Oscars and Joshes to the lesser-known guys.

And the subject of this feature was the first to make me suspect that players are "imprinted" upon import to at least make them vaguely resemble their historical selves under any in-game circumstances.

Born 1903 in Albany GA, Pete Washington's defensive prowess seems to have taken some of the attention away from his hitting, with Jim Riley going so far to effectively label him glove-heavy.

While he did struggle to hit consistently for average, especially toward the end of his career, Pete nevertheless managed to slash 269/340/406 over his 13 NeL seasons, hardly Rob Deer or Dave Kingman territory.

While doing so, he managed 10 homers in each of the 1927 and 1929 seasons in the early part of his long tenure with the Baltimore Black Sox, and Seamheads credits him with a total of 50. In his MLE for Pete, Eric allots him a total of 142 in just over 6000 AB but only has him pegged for a total of 5.4 WAR.

And this is the profile he invariably regresses to in OOTP from any curated state, usually within a matter of seasons - low AVG, high SLG. Which would be OK if it wasn't so pronounced.



BBRef has Luis Olmo and current Phillies 3B Alec Bohm at the top of his similarity scores but, as this great SABR Bio by Bill Johnson points out, it also has him on par with Jackie Jensen, which tells you all you need to know about how solid his defence was.

It is his high defensive ratings, along with the increased amount of lightning in his bat that should keep his EL avatar at least on the fringes of the top flight for a decent period to come.

After being taken 11th overall in the 1978 Draft by the ABCs, Pete was traded to the Lincoln Giants in 1981 and remained there until the most recent offseason when he signed a minors deal with Hilldale. I'm surprised the LGs let him walk as he is the type of mid-range cheapish player they usually rely on and, with Oscar Charleston and Tony Gwynn spearheading the Athletics' OF, Pete is being used there in a backup / defensive sub role.

His EL slash line currently sits at 243/307/386 but expect that to skew toward the power end for the rest of his career. He has 72 HR to his name, with 24 in 1983 his season high, along with just over 300 ribbies - good for a running total of nearly 10 WAR, much of which can be attributed to his career total of just on 60 ZR.



This is the final OotS feature for 1985 and, as always, here are the updated career lines for all I have covered so far that remain active. Back with more next season!

Notes from the Transit Lounge - 1985 AAA Conference Championship Series
 

Entirely different routes to the final stage as the Stars sweep the Red Caps and the Clowns hang on for a tight 2-1 win in their deciding 5th game against the Cubans. That means the first two winners of the TL - Harlem in '71, Indy the following season - meet up with each looking for a second title.

Notes from the Transit Lounge: Seeing Stars
 

Harlem maintains the rage all the way to the end to grab its second TL title and first since 1971, the league's inaugural season.

Daddy of them All
 

Not sure how many more that big bat of his has left in it but, for now and perhaps forever, he is king of them all.

Tip o' the cap to Big Papi. He's got a little more in the tank, my friend. :)

I hope so, would love him to set as big a target as possible for Josh Gibson to try and run down when he joins the league. Were this a recalc league rather than dev only then I'd be more confident. That said, ShoTime is still mashing them at 41 (but no longer pitching), so maybe...

EL September 1985 Awards
 

Three divisions locked down with the fourth set for a big finish.

Here are the award-winners for September.

• FC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Jai Miller (Dodgers) 308 / 8 HR / 21 RBI.
• FC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Jose Fernandez (West) 5-0 / 1.63 / 33 K / 38.2 IP.
• FC ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Mitchell Page (Black Yankees) 268 / 5 HR / 19 RBI.
• WC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Pedro Guerrero (Elite Giants) 376 / 6 HR / 20 RBI.
• WC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Roosevelt Davis (Athletics) 5-0 / 1.40 / 20 K / 38.2 IP.
• WC ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Tom Richardson (Buckeyes) 2-1 / 2.40 / 8 SV / 15 K / 15 IP.

1985 EL Regular Season Summary
 

The Red Sox-Monarchs battle for the FC National ends up being one of the best we've seen. They go into their penultimate series of the regular season - three games head-to-head in KC - still tied and then play out three scintillating contests:


Still, that only leaves the Red Sox 1 up with 3 to play but it ends up being enough as they hold on to win it by 3.

The fact that it doesn't finish even remotely close doesn't mean the WC American race isn't just as fascinating in its own way. Homestead leads Hilldale by 5 at the ASB and don't totally tank in the second half, although their 37-40 record is disappointing. It's more a result of the Athletics catching fire that decides things, with their 52-24 run eventually leaving them 10 games clear.



Matty Alou repeats as FC batting champ, with Baltimore's Gerardo Parra winning the WC title. Leon Wagner leads all hitters with 33 HR. Ken Griffey jr and Kal Daniels tie for the most RBI with 117. Jose Reyes' 54 swipes are the most this year.

Pedro Martinez wins two legs of the TC with his 21 Wins and 286 strikeouts both league highs. Rosey Davis posts the low ERA of 2.57, while Leonardo Medina's 46 Saves just come up short of a new record, currently held by Ramon Ramirez with 48 in 1973.

Joe Morgan sets a new season record with 147 walks.




Adam Jones re-ups with the Grays for 8 years at an AAV of a little over $3m.

Kenley Jansen is released by the AGs and subsequently picked up by the Buckeyes.

Bill Lindsay gets his 250th career Win.

Whatever Hilldale does from here it will be without Juanelo Mirabal, who has his season ended early by a bout of forearm inflammation. The ledger is squared somewhat, however, with Detroit’s Robert Evans also done for the year.

1985 EL Conference Championship Series
 

1985 Eclipse League World Series
 

1985 Housekeeping
 

1985 Retirees
 

361 homers and nearly 80 WAR should get Judgey into Walker House in 5 years' time and, even though he burned bright for a bit then burned out quickly, Bonds isn't that far behind him and has 4 Grant Medals to boot. Ken Singleton is another who I think will eventually get in after a few near-misses.

Cesar probably just comes up short but will go close.

1985 Awards
 

1985 EL Free-Agent Class / Rookie Draft
 

Here come the next bunch of EL legends-to-be!

Category A NeLers for this year's Draft are Ray Brown, Mule Suttles, Ray Dandridge and hybrid Larry Doby, while other well-known names entering the league this way include Jules Thomas, Doc Gooden, Cheo Cruz, Maury Wills, Rico Carty, Vada Pinson and Dave Hendu.

The FA class is headed by John Preston Hill, better known as "Pete".


It's the Giants' turn to have first crack at them this year and they opt for the beeg bat of Rico Carty. Mule Suttles goes to the Cuban Stars East, Xander Bogaerts to Cleveland, Doc Gooden to the BBs and rounding out the top 5 is Ralph Garr, who ends up at Baltimore.

Here are Rounds 1 and 2 in full:

Walker House, the EL's Hall of Fame
 

No inductions yet, with Pops Stargell again lead vote-getter on this year's ballot but well off the mark.

EL 1986 Opening Day
 

EL 1986 Janus Report
 

Putting His Stamp on the Game