Out of the Shadows: The Eclipse League

[luckymann]

What a season this is shaping up to be. No great surprises now that the Monarchs have found form (19-8 for May), other than perhaps how well the LGs are doing again. There is one at the individual level, however, with Ken Singleton taking 183 ABs to register his first home run of the season, which he does on the very last day of the month.

• FC BATTER OF THE MONTH: George Hendrick (Red Sox) 376 / 2 HR / 15 RBI.
• FC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Jair Jurrjens (Monarchs) 5-1 / 1.26 / 26 K / 50 IP.
• FC ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Al Martin (Monarchs) 361 / 4 HR / 11 RBI.
• WC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Oddibe McDowell (American Giants) 386 / 4 HR / 8 RBI.
• WC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Shohei Ohtani (Buckeyes) 5-1 / 2.06 / 43 K / 52.1 IP.
• WC ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Deacon Meyers (Elite Giants) 4-2 / 1.40 / 30 K / 51.1 IP.

Good to see perennial underperformers Dayton and House of David looking strong this year. Louisville, on the other hand, continue to struggle, as do the Hornets.

• CAC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Ralph Bryant (Red Caps) 407 / 9 HR / 35 RBI.
• CAC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Albie Lopez (Marcos) 5-0 / 1.16 / 29 K / 38.2 IP.
• FRC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Carlos Garcia (Clowns) 387 / 7 HR / 22 RBI.
• FRC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Bobby Munoz (Bears) 5-1 / 2.66 / 26 K / 44 IP.

News and Leaders

[luckymann]

A big day out for the Crawfords' Rich Coggins - one of the EL's most consistent run-producers - against the CSW.

[luckymann]

At the other end of the spectrum, poor old Oil Can Boyd is having the season from hell so far. While far from good, that ERA isn't terrible (66 ERA+) - the 1.6 RSG he has received so far is more a factor.

[luckymann]

A key extension for the MoStars, with 2B Tim Anderson - the club's all-time hits leader with 1200 - re-upping for 4 more.

[luckymann]

Greg Halman from Detroit wins the HR Derby. Indy's Hubie Brooks leads the FRC to a 7-1 win in the main event.

[luckymann]

Our attention turns to one of the NeL's truly tragic figures, Porter Moss.

Cincinnati-born Porter was a submarine pitcher who, after a cuppa with the ABCs in 1932, made his debut proper with his hometown Tigers in '36. But it was with the Red Sox that he came to prominence, appearing in numerous East-West games and showing steady improvement with each season.

1944 saw him in career-best form, with an 8-6 record and fine 2.42 ERA (138 ERA+) entering July, when tragedy of the worst kind struck. An innocent bystander when a fight broke out over a dice game on a train, he was hit by a wayward bullet and, after being refused treatment by a doctor because he was black, died of his wound. He was just 34.

So many questions pose themselves in situations like this, questions with no answers about what might have been - only speculation. In the end, posterity will record him with a lifetime 20-29 / 4.09 record, while EC's MLEs allot him just 5 WAR.


The EL isn't being much kinder to poor old "Ankleball" (I need to dig deeper into the origins of this nickname, it's a beauty...). Drafted in 1972 by the MoStars with the 34th overall pick, a 6-12 rookie season was only the entree. So far in '73, he has gone a most ungainly 1-14, another victim of the dreaded combination of high ERA (66 ERA+) / low run support (1.9 RPG) that has claimed much better pitchers than him. Here's hoping both he, and his Detroit teammates, can turn things around.

[luckymann]

The LGs and Red Sox are looking strong as we near the halfway mark of the 1974 EL season, while a late stumble by the AGs has tightened the WC National up again. Although the Mons have moved into a tie for 2nd in the FC National, they'll need to put their skates on before Memphis gets too much further ahead.

• FC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Wyman Smith (Royal Giants) 430 / 4 HR / 20 RBI.
• FC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Jose Rijo (Crawfords) 4-0 / 1.02 / 31 K / 44 IP.
• FC ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Wyman Smith.
• WC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Eric Davis (Elite Giants) 337 / 8 HR / 14 RBI.
• WC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Rogelio Armenteros (Liberty Stars) 4-2 / 1.94 / 25 K / 51 IP.
• WC ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Andrew Foster (Elite Giants) 4-1 / 1.49 / 21 K / 54.1 IP.

Super tight in the Transit League as the Habaneros just regress ever so slightly.

• CAC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Robert Hudspeth (Choo Choos) 381 / 10 HR / 28 RBI.
• CAC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Cha-seung Baek (Eagles) 5-0 / 2.56 / 27 K / 45.2 IP.
• FRC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Joe DeSa (Grays) 420 / 5 HR / 18 RBI.
• FRC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Omar Beltre (Tigers) 4-1 / 1.31 / 34 K / 41.1 IP.

Top 20s - Overall

Top 20s - NeLers

News and Leaders

[luckymann]

A quick peek at what's gone right or wrong for each club so far this season.

FC American



Brooklyn Royal Giants

Vince Coleman has added the requisite spark at the top of what is a fairly slappy, small-ball lineup.
After a solid first year at AAA, Wyman Smith has shown he belongs at the top flight in his rookie EL season: 307/363/461 slash with 8 HR / 35 RBI.
Another excellent season in progress for Robbie Alomar: 154 OPS+ / 3.2 bWAR.
Rotation has been superb - lowest Starter ERA in the FC with 3.08 - led by Jesse Houston's 13-3 / 2.17.
BP not quite so iron-clad - 3.51 ERA is 6th.
Where has Ken Singleton's power gone? 2HR in 328 PA.

New York Black Yankees

Heart of the order mashing plenty - FC-leading 77 HR.
Adrian Gonzalez a fantastic addition: 289/16/57.
Sabathia back in form and Smith proving up to the task of replacing Scantlebury.
Bottom end of the rotation and BP need to be better.

Newark Dodgers

Cliff Johnson in career best form: 12 HR / 55 RBI / 2.6 bWAR.
Solid contributions from Elvis Andrus, Quilvio Veras and Herman Dunlap.
None of the starters has an ERA+ better than 100.

Pittsburgh Crawfords

Jose Rijo giving his all: 141 ERA+ / 3.1 pWAR.
Vida Blue showing glimpses of his talent.
Not one hitting or pitching metric rated higher than 5th.
No batter with double-digit HR.

Atlantic City Bacharach Giants

Todd Cruz leading club in BA (257) and HR (9).
Todd Cruz leading club in BA (257) and HR (9).
Last in every meaningful hitting stat cat.
14-28 at home.


FC National



Memphis Red Sox

Art Pennington surprisingly leading the club with 2.4 bWAR and 9 HR (tied with Dihigo and Bonds).
Starters 1 thru 3 a combined 28-17.
CL Rafael Soriano 1.05 ERA over 34 IP.
28-11 at home.
Tony Armas a neg bWAR despite leading the club with 44 RBI.

Kansas City Monarchs

Fernando Tatis jr in MVP form with 4.1 bWAR at halfway.
He, Julio Ramirez (2.8 bWAR) and Lourdes Gurriel jr (2.2) give them the league's best IF.
Staff proving incredibly consistent across the board: both Starter and Bullpen ERA 3.66
Aside from the big three mentioned above, the bats have gone missing - Ozzie Virgil jr and Victor Diaz in particular.

Birmingham Black Barons

Pitching has been great, with Jim Jeffries (7-11, 2.49) the unluckiest pitcher in the league to this point.
After strong start, have gone 23-30 since May 1.
Hitting just 239 as a team, with 2nd-lowest runs scored in the FC (284).

Cuban Stars West

Bell-Ortiz-Soto a combined 36 HR / 125 RBI.
Rotation has struggled, with big off-season signing Don Newcombe (7-10, 4.85) a bust so far.
13-23 at home.

St. Louis Giants

Offence has been fantastic, 1st in most metrics.
Danny Tartabull (322/404/491; 11 HR and 44 RBI; 3.0 bWAR) a spoiler chance for MVP.
Pitching has been horrendous - worst in the FC for both Starter (4.74) and Bullpen (4.45) ERA.
9-16 in one-run games.


WC American



New York Lincoln Giants

A fantastic team effort so far, with rookie Minnie Miñoso the only neg WAR contributor in THE ENTIRE SQUAD.
Talisman Bernie Williams having another great year - 146 OPS+ / 3.1 bWAR - and must be in the mix for WC MVP honours if he can maintain that pace.
+18.1 ZR, 2nd in the WC.

Hilldale Athletics

Good have been very good: Charles Earle 15 HR / 131 wRC+; Chino Smith 325 BA / 135 OPS+ / 2.9 bWAR; Eric Chavez 3.3 bWAR; John Henry Lloyd 2.2 bWAR; Yordan Alvarez 136 OPS+ / 135 wRC+; Dave Brown 122 ERA+ / 3.0 pWAR.
+7 Pythag / 17-9 in one-run games.
Bad - IE virtually all those not mentioned above - have been horrid.

Baltimore Elite Giants

Eric Davis back at it again and will be in the MVP mix: 302 / 15 HR / 42 RBI / 21 SB / 3.2 bWAR.
Hurley McNair (137 OPS+), Ji-man Choi (2.0 bWAR) and Willie Greene (2.7 bWAR) also contributing on offence.
Rookie Andrew Foster (8-4 / 2.17) looks the real deal.
Big signing Pat Scantlebury (5-8 / 4.49) has struggled.
Too many passengers: Luis Arraez, Gaby Sanchez, Sam Bankhead, Enoli Paredes - I'm looking at y'all.

Philadelphia Liberty Stars

Judge doing all he can: 291 / 12 / 38; 3.5 bWAR.
Rookie Ryan Howard showing some pop with 11 HR / 40 RBI.
Pitching serviceable - Starter ERA 3.49 (4th) / Bullpen ERA 3.38 (7th).
89 errors is worst in WC.

Homestead Grays

Al Bumbry (148 OPS+ / 3.1 bWAR) about the only shining light; perhaps Jhonny Peralta (2.1 bWAR) as well.
Rotation is a horror show: 4.36 is worst ERA in the WC.
Oil Can Boyd: 0-13 / 63 ERA+.
-15.6 ZR is is worst in WC.

WC National



Chicago American Giants

Oddibe McDowell a key add, powering the bats with 312/394/507; 12 HR / 34 RBI; 2.6 bWAR.
Ed Charles (2.1 bWAR), Albert Almora (2.1), Jackie Bradley (1.8) all solid contributors.
Rotation the WC's best with nearly 12 pWAR and lowest ERA of 3.04.
BP has been a bit leaky: 3.64 ERA, 8th.

Cleveland Buckeyes

So many offensive weapons giving them plenty: Willie Upshaw (331 / 11 HR / 44 RBI; 3.0 bWAR); Ketel Marte (2.7 bWAR); Bob Watson (2.2).
ShoTime, if anything, not having his usual impact with the bat while once again dominating with the ball.
Rest of the staff performing well enough, with the BP anchored by Carlos Castillo (14 SV, 177 ERA+ in 35 IP).

Indianapolis ABCs

Another stellar campaign in progress for Ozzie Albies, who'll be up-ballot in the MVP for sure: 302 BA / 153 OPS+ / 10 HR / 42 RBI / 3.2 bWAR.
Jim Rice giving great support: 320 BA / 129 OPS+ / 2.6 bWAR.
Barely a weak arm in the entire staff and all are, for the most part, performing as they should.
Need more HR (7th) and less errors (9th).

Cuban Stars East

Lloyd Moseby another who'll be at the pointy end of MVP calculations: 329/406/537; 13 HR / 56 RBI; 175 OPS+ / 2.9 bWAR.
1st overall pick John Mayberry shaping up nicely.
Chet Brewer and Closer Ewing Waddy aside, the staff needs police tape around it.

Detroit Motown Stars

After a slow start to his career, third-year player Mookie Betts is having a breakout season: 293 BA / 133 OPS+ / 3.1 bWAR.
Tim Anderson (2.1 bWAR) and Louis Santop (1.8) both solid contributors.
Top 2 starters - Gene Collins and Masahiro Tanaka doing OK, but after that it's a minefield: Porter Moss 3-14 / 5.06.
Power vacuum is killing them - fewest runs scored despite 4th-best BA, with just 33 HR (9th) and no player with more than 5.
18-26 at home; 10-16 in one-run games.

[luckymann]

Here's the midseason update of the Pipeline, with Detroit's Tony Batista rated #1:

[luckymann]

The stars of today:

And tomorrow:

Big Papi comes up just short again in the HR Derby, losing in this year's final to Charles Earle.

And this year's ASG sees the Fleet Conference win again, with their 6-3 victory extending their series lead to 5-2. Monarchs young gun Fernando Tatis jr is named MVP.

[luckymann]

[luckymann]

A couple nice performances I thought worth sharing from AAA.

[luckymann]

The 1974 EL season is shaping up as an affair to remember with only the WC American seemingly a foregone conclusion.

The FC American looks the tightest race, with the BYs, Royal Giants, Dodgers and Crawfords within just a handful of games. Pittsburgh obviously thinks it has a chance, trading away a couple young guys for rental pitcher Jim Jeffries, a FA at season's end.

The Red Sox looked to have kicked away in the FC National, only to slump badly in the second half of the month and give the Monarchs a sniff at just 4 1/2 back entering August.

In the WC National, the ABCs make their charge with a 16-7 July that includes an 11-game win string. They look set for a titanic tussle with the defending Champs, but the AGs can't be ruled out just yet.

• FC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Vladimir Guerrero (Bacharach Giants) 330 / 6 HR / 24 RBI.
• FC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Gready McKinnis (Crawfords) 6-0 / 2.79 / 22 K / 48.1 IP.
• FC ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Jose Agustin Rodriguez (Red Sox) 350 / 0 HR / 17 RBI.
• WC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Jorge Polanco (Lincoln Giants) 341 / 5 HR / 19 RBI.
• WC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Leon Day (Grays) 4-1 / 1.67 / 21 K / 43 IP.
• WC ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Jack Marshall (ABCs) 4-1 / 1.49 / 21 K / 54.1 IP.

With the Habañeros having come right back to the pack now, all four TL races are in play heading into the final stretch run.

• CAC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Ralph Bryant (Red Caps) 483 / 8 HR / 27 RBI.
• CAC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Amos Watson (White Sox) 3-1 / 2.21 / 20 K / 40.2 IP.
• FRC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Cheslor Cuthbert (Hornets) 296 / 6 HR / 18 RBI.
• FRC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Tyson Ross (Black Sox) 5-1 / 3.21 / 34 K / 42 IP.

[luckymann]

With the MeSox seemingly unwilling to take control of the FC National, the div remains wide open and up for grabs. The Mons just can't seem to get a proper roll on, but this never-say-die walkoff win will simultaneously put the wind in their sails and flatten one of their rivals for a bit.

[luckymann]

The West claim bragging rights for another year with a 2-1 win that also gives them the series edge, 4 to 3.

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Jose Abreu just edges out Chito Martinez to become the first EL player with 200 career homers.

EDIT: When I say "just", I mean it - Chito belts #200 the very next day.

[luckymann]

What a way to end the month as Pat Scantlebury - admittedly not enjoying the best of debut seasons for his new club - no-hits the A's in front of his home fans, a surefire way to win them over if there ever was one!

[luckymann]

We are witnessing one of the truly monumental meltdowns here, as the MeSox post a 10-17 month - making them a turgid 20-30 since July 1 and 15-29 since the ASB - to fall out of first place in the FCN. Only a couple late wins, after losing ten straight, get them back into a tie entering September.

Elsewhere, the ABCs have made their move, and the AGs with them - relegating the Bucks to third for now, although it is still nice and tight.

Not as tight, however, as the FC American, in which the top four sides continue to duck and weave, entering the stretch bunched within three games.

I'm sure the LGs are watching all this from the comfort of their dozen-game lead and enjoying the show. They may even have nuked up some popcorn. That said, they'll be sweating on the injured Bernie Williams making it back in time for the playoffs.

• FC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Roberto Alomar (Royal Giants) 320 / 4 HR / 15 RBI.
• FC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Roberto Vargas (Bacharach Giants) 5-1 / 1.65 / 27 K / 49 IP.
• FC ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Maceo Broadnax (Black Yankees) 1-3 / 2.70 / 8 SV / 11 K / 13.1 IP.
• WC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Rod Allen (Lincoln Giants) 369 / 4 HR / 17 RBI.
• WC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Carlos Zambrano (ABCs) 5-0 / 2.70 / 40 K / 53.1 IP.
• WC ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Pepe Mangual (Buckeyes) 326 / 4 HR / 17 RBI.

The Habañeros have also managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, with their second half fade seeing them eliminated as Detroit zoom past them to clinch handily. Brooklyn has also booked its spot in the playoffs, while the other two races are going all the way, Mae.

• CAC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Jacque Jones (Choo Choos) 394 / 10 HR / 27 RBI.
• CAC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Jaime Cocanower (Eagles) 5-1 / 2.59 / 25 K / 48.2 IP.
• FRC BATTER OF THE MONTH: LeRoy Taylor (Black Senators) 448 / 1 HR / 13 RBI.
• FRC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Yohan Flande (Tigers) 4-0 / 1.37 / 30 K / 52.2 IP.

Top 20s

News & Leaders

[luckymann]

Two repeat appearances and two first-time this year, with no late drama after each clinches with a few days to spare.

Can the Wolves claim B2B titles or will a new Champion be crowned?

[luckymann]

Still a ways to go, I know, but this race is out of control.