Out of the Shadows: The Eclipse League

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Eddie Williams wins the HR Derby, with the FC beating the CC 3-1 and Angel Alfonso taking out the MVP.

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The midseason Prospect Pipeline shows Gonzo on top, ahead of Esteban Loaiza.

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The stars of today:




And tomorrow:

HR Derby winner

Miguel Sano (Monarchs) def Jose Abreu (American Giants)

ASG result

Weldy 5, Fleet 4

ASG MVP

Cliff Floyd (Athletics)


Prospects Game result

Weldy 5, Fleet 4

Prospects Game MVP

Luis Gonzalez (Habaneros)

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He'll have company soon, but for now David Ortiz is the foundation member of the 400 HR Club for the Eclipse League.

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The MoStars have made a complete mess of things in the WC National, with their healthy lead now a widening deficit in the wake of the surging Buckeyes. Little surprise, then, at the ferocity of this classic encounter between the two in front of nearly 40000.

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It can't be easy being the lesser-known, less-talented brother of an absolutely blinding star. Ask Tommy Aaron, Billy Ripken. Poor old Cloyd Boyer had Ken and Clete to deal with. So it was for Fred Bell, elder brother of James - the legendary HoFer more commonly known as "Cool Papa".

Fred was born in 1903, the year before CPB, in Starkville MS. The two of them came into the league almost concurrently, with the younger brother a year ahead, and actually were teammates for a couple of brief stints at the St. Louis Stars. "Lefty", as Fred was known, reputedly had a fine fastball but could never tamp down his wildness - not unlike baby brother. The big difference for them was that James could hit and, apparently, outrun the wind. (Or, as the Gospel according to St. Satchel claimed, light.) Fred was no rabbit at the plate, slashing 268/336/437 over his short career according to SH, but that led nowhere and he was out of the game by 1927, just as baby bro was getting started.

Funny how the worm turns. Up to v24, OOTP simply didn't like Cool Papa. In virtually every save I've had him a part of he has struggled to hold his ratings, as is the case here. To the extent that there is a decent enough chance that Fred will outshine him in the EL.

Drafted 7th overall in the '76 Draft by his current club, Fred has split time between the top and second tiers throughout his career, being deployed as a two-way player over that period. At the time of writing, he has just over 3 WAR combined between his hitting and pitching stats, with his work on the mound the more successful element of his game so far. As IRL, it is his control that has been problematic despite him racking up plenty of Ks - his career K/BB is just 1.5. Still, he scrubs up OK and with that hitting profile thrown in should see continual interest in his services over the seasons - unlike Cool Papa, who has seen little recent action and enjoyed only sporadic success over his EL career, with a total of 21 bWAR that doesn't look like it's going to move much for the remainder.

We'll keep tabs to see if Fred can turn the tables on his brother in this timeline.

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Eclipse League

Still just the Grays doing it easy, with plenty in store for us from the other three by the look of things.

Fascinating to see the Dodgers leading the FC American with their Pythag at +6 and their run differential marginally in the red. Does this mean they've been lucky or have some improvement in them? We shall see.

Meanwhile, by dint of a 9-14 July (that followed a 13-13 June), the MoStars now find themselves a handful of games in arrears and forced to chase the Buckeyes. This should be a fantastic battle between two quality clubs.

And finally I think it's really only a two-way go in the FC National, with the Barons soon to drop off the leaders, although they are busy in the trade market and seem ready for a fight. KC is its usual manic self, mixing brilliance with bedlam, but if they can sort themselves out they are as good as any club on their day.

Monthly Award Winners

• FC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Monte Irvin (Bacharach Giants) 275 / 8 HR / 21 RBI.
• FC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Jose Rosado (Monarchs) 5-0 / 1.99 / 24 K / 40.2 IP.
• FC ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Camilo Pascual (Bacharach Giants) 4-2 / 4.98 / 24 K / 43.1 IP.
• WC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Pedro Guerrero (Elite Giants) 400 / 4 HR / 16 RBI.
• WC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Carlos Zambrano (Grays) 4-2 / 2.29 / 46 K / 51 IP.
• WC ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Juanelo Mirabal (Athletics) 4-1 / 2.61 / 24 K / 38 IP.

Points of Interest

• Chris Chambliss is a decent chance of snaring the Triple Crown this season, well ahead in BA and not far off the pace in both HR and RBI
• Key Injuries: 2B Reggie Smith (Bacharach Giants) oblique, 6 weeks - the same week as he was re-signed on a huge 4/5600 deal; SS Sam Bankhead (Dodgers) abdominal, season.
• Here are a few notable trades made ahead of the Deadline:

Transit League

The CAC American is anybody's to win, but I think the other three are run, won and done.

Monthly Award Winners

• CAC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Jemile Weeks (Keystones) 380 / 2 HR / 15 RBI.
• CAC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Bill Anderson (Red Caps) 4-0 / 1.59 / 6 SV / 10 K / 17 IP.
• FRC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Herman Andrews (Black Sox) 361 / 5 HR / 17 RBI.
• FRC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Salomon Torres (Grays) 5-0 / 1.33 / 35 K / 40.2 IP.

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While the East are having another forgetful season, the West have plenty to play for entering this years Cuban Stars matchup. And it shows, with them easily disposing of their rivals in the first two games before the East gets a consolation victory in the closer. That puts the running score for the meeting now at 10-4 in the West's favour.

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Frank Castillo of the Red Sox gives the EL its first no-hitter for 1981 with this supreme effort against their arch-rivals.

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Eclipse League

We are set for a big finish to the 1981 EL season, with three of the four races still very much in play.

Of those, the WC National continues to be the most fascinating, with the Buckeyes and MoStars hanging onto each other like a couple punch-drunk heavyweights at the end of a particularly vicious prizefight. Detroit will have to get it done without OF Henry Cruz, who is done for the year thanks to an ACL tear.

The FC National race is the closest of all as we enter September, with the West and Monarchs tied for first and the Black Barons still hanging in there. Meanwhile, the BGs have made a run for it in the FC American and now we have to see whether the RGs and Dodgers have the legs to go with them. Brooklyn, in particular, looks just about ready to crack.

Monthly Award Winners

• FC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Carlos Delgado (Crawfords) 372 / 8 HR / 26 RBI.
• FC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Martin Dihigo (West) 5-1 / 2.44 / 30 K / 51.2 IP.
• FC ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Camilo Pascual (Bacharach Giants) 4-2 / 4.53 / 35 K / 43.2 IP.
• WC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Cristobal Torriente (Motown Stars) 321 / 2 HR / 17 RBI.
• WC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Steel Arm Tyler (Elite Giants) 4-2 / 1.30 / 29 K / 48.1 IP.
• WC ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Sylvester Foreman (Athletics) 4-2 / 4.21 / 38 K / 47 IP.

Points of Interest

• Gene Collins is once again giving the Triple Crown a good run, currently leading all three stat cats.
• The Royal Giants' cause is not helped one jot when Javier Vazquez is ruled out out injured for the rest of the season with a torn labrum.
• ShoTime picks up a niggle, missing 3 weeks with elbow inflammation, but should be AOK for the playoffs.

Top 20s - overall

Transit League

Just the CAC American to be decided, with half a dozen games covering top to bottom.

Monthly Award Winners

• CAC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Bobby Marshall (Black Crackers) 338 / 10 HR / 19 RBI.
• CAC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Sergio Valdez (Choo-Choos) 4-1 / 1.18 / 30 K / 38 IP.
• FRC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Ivan de Jesus (Tigers) 396 / 0 HR / 25 RBI.
• FRC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Si Simmons (Hornets) 6-0 / 1.612 / 25 K / 50 IP.

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Harlem makes a long-awaited return to post-season action after winning it all in 1971 and going close the year after. Theirs was the closest-run of the four races, with Indy, Baltimore and Chattanooga each having a fairly cushy ride to the playoffs. It looks a very evenly-matched finale to this season.

64 is the new clubhouse lead for homers, set finally by Bobby Marshall this season - an even more amazing feat given his nearest rivals had 30! Freddie Guzman also sets a new SB mark with a whopping 112, while Pumpsie Green's 124 walks are a new high as well.

Of the four finalists, only the Black Sox - WS losers in both 1971 (to the Stars) and 1976 (to the Choo-Choos) - are looking for their first title.

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Fairly straightforward and comprehensive wins for the Clowns and Choo-Choos.

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The thrilling battle between the Buckeyes and MoStars for the WC National still has plenty a ways to go, but this astonishing series between the two shows just how ferocious good baseball can get as Detroit gets three walkoff wins in a row.

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The Choo-Choos easily dispose of the Clowns in five games to register the club's second TL title to go with the one it won in '76.

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The screenshots above are the results you get from BBRef and Seamheads, respectively, for FRANK DU... Yep, as anyone even vaguely familiar with Negro League baseball knows, there are Frank Duncans just running amok in the historical database.

So when a twist of fate brought two of them into the Eclipse League universe at the same time, I thought the final OotS feature this year should try to unravel this mess for once and for all.

I say this very tongue-in-cheek, of course. it's not all that difficult to follow.


Frank Duncan A (let's steer clear of those pesky numbers and "Juniors" here, shall we...)

Known as "Pete" or "Rebel", this Frank Duncan shares only a name and no DNA with the other two. He had a long and fairly successful playing career starting in 1907 before a brief stint as a Manager before retiring from both in 1928.


Frank Duncan B

As per his birth certificate - and this is where a lot of the confusion stems from - his full name is Frank Lee Duncan jr, although his father was not a pro ballplayer. Like his namesake A, B also had a strong and long playing career from 1920 onwards, with the last decade or so spent as a Player-Manager, again with some decent success. He retired in 1946 as a player and '47 as a Manager.


Frank Duncan C

The son of B and, therefore, officially Frank Lee Duncan III. A pitcher who barely left a mark on the game in the post WW2 years.


OK, so as I said, quite a bit more straightforward than it seems on first glance.

So let's now put this in an EL context, which means we are only concerned with Frank Duncans A and B, both of who come into the league via the 1980 Draft as curated MLE versions.


Frank Duncan A (duncan0003fra) - a corner OF whose pop comes on a bit later in his career - was taken in the 3rd Round (45th overall) by the Bacharach Giants and has been as high as #25 on the Prospects list. He is yet to make the bigs, biding his time at Columbus in the TL, where he put together a fine rookie season, hitting 301 with 6 HR and 47 RBI, and was named to the Futures Game. Given the BGs' small-market status, one would presume that Frank A will see action at the parent club sooner rather than later.

Frank Duncan B (dunca02fra) - a glove-heavy Catcher / first-baseman who imports as "Frank Duncan jr" - signed as a minor league FA in 1980 with the Buckeyes franchise. His prospect peak was #75 and he has split his debut season between the big and little Cleveland clubs, currently holding down the everyday job at the parent club where he has done perhaps better than expected with the bat (228 / 1 / 47 in 419 PAs) and provided solid defence behind the dish. He may well find himself in the playoffs this year if his lads can get past the MoStars, a battle that has raged all season and seems set to go to the wire.

We'll check back in with both along the way, and keep an eye out for Frank C as well. In the meantime, with this being the final one of these this season, here as usual are the career stats of all those covered in this series and still active.

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Three of the four races remain on the line and a full and final update will be forthcoming in a week or so at the end of the regular season.

Until then, here are the EL's September award-winners.

• FC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Tony Brewer (Crawfords) 353 / 9 HR / 27 RBI.
• FC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Edwin Jackson (Dodgers) 5-1 / 2.12 / 55 K / 51 IP.
• FC ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Ted Shaw (Black Barons) 3-2 / 1.81 / 37 K / 49.2 IP.
• WC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Kevin Mitchell (American Giants) 316 / 8 HR / 18 RBI.
• WC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: George Walker (American Giants) 5-1 / 1.61 / 26 K / 50.1 IP.
• WC ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Satchel Paige (Athletics) 4-1 / 3.56 / 32 K / 48 IP.

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MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

PITCHER OF THE YEAR

RELIEVER OF THE YEAR