Out of the Shadows: The Eclipse League

[luckymann]

Hard-throwing righty Joseph Gentry Jessup was a stalwart of the American Giants' pitching staff during the late 1940s and a four-time All-Star, later barnstorming with Satchel Paige's All-Stars against Bob Feller's team. Renowned for his stamina, he once pitched from start to finish in a 20-inning game that ended in a 3-3 tie, but he could get Ricky Vaughn wild at times. He was also a better-than-average hitter.

In the EL, Jeep is a member of the Baltimore Elite Giants. After starting the year in the bullpen and pitching 15 scoreless innings, he has recently been promoted to the rotation in the 4 slot and has certainly handled the transition, currently sitting at 4-0 with an 0.26 ERA in 35 IP and a FIP- of just 68.

This was his most recent start, a real beaut.



Only early days, but Jeep looks set for a nice career in the Eclipse League. We'll keep an eye on him and report back.



EDIT Good to see the luckymann curse is alive and well. This was his first start after I posted this...

[luckymann]

... as the deadline approaches, with the two teams already looking a lock for playoff action bolstering their stocks.

[luckymann]

... that escalated quickly as the Giants give the Monarchs a serious beatdown. Hiram Bocachica has a 4-6 game with a double and 5 RBI while Orlando Arcia goes deep and knocks in 4.

[luckymann]

... who is putting together a nifty campaign, slashing 296/370/480 with 16 homers after these three and 62 RBI, good for 5 WAR.

[luckymann]

... another player whose W/L record doesn't do his rookie form justice, Ricky Bones has led the Motown Stars rotation bravely all season and should end up with somewhere between 6 and 7 WAR for his troubles.

This performance against the Liberty Stars was one of his best.

[luckymann]

Well the two National Associations look just about settled, as the Giants and East hold comfortable leads with just under 60 games to play. The Grays are trying to make a liar of me, showing great resilience and still just ahead in the WC American, while the Royal Giants appear to be making a move to break away for good.

The July Awards are as follows:

• FC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Don Baylor (Black Yankees) 333 / 3 HR / 17 RBI.
• FC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Odell Jones (West) 5-0 / 1.01 / 43 K / 53.2 IP.
• WC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Willie Stargell (Athletics) 360 / 6 HR / 19 RBI.
• WC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Chuck Smith (Buckeyes) 5-0 / 1.22 / 52 K / 51.2 IP.

Overall Top 10s:





NeL Top 10s:

[luckymann]

I doubt he'll win it but, at 15-9 / 2.32, Jae-weong Seo of the Giants should at least garner some minor votes in the Pitcher of the Year poll. This is his 7th shutout of the season, which puts him tied with Cleveland's Chuck Smith. An excellent return for the Giants from the 100th overall pick; their scouts have done a fantastic recruitment job.

[luckymann]

... goes from bad to worse as they lose their leading win-getter for the remainder.

[luckymann]

I came across John d'Acquisto for the first time in another save, having never heard of him before. After going 34-51 over 10 seasons spent almost entirely in the NL, his became one of baseball's sadder stories:

After his retirement, D'Acquisto became a registered investment adviser-banker, but had his license revoked and was sentenced to 63 months in prison over charges of misrepresentation and investment fraud. Later, it was found out through court subpoenas of documents that D'Acquisto was used in a scheme developed by V. Davide Siniscalchi and R. Jeffs Kollar of Sheraton Management, along with others, and was the victim of a set-up. All of the apparent stolen funds purported to have been stolen by D'Acquisto were found in the hands of Siniscalchi of Alliance Holdings and two others, all of whom served time in prison for fraud. D'Acquisto stated that he was not responsible for any purported fraud and his court documents spelled it out clearly. BBRef Bullpen

Interestingly, again from the same source:

He was the first major league player with a last name that started with D and an apostrophe. Despite the fact that this is common in Italian names, through the 2008 season, there had been just three more.

Having amassed almost 5 WAR, John's holding his own as a starter for the ABCs in the EL (for which his very eligibility could perhaps be brought into question). He is currently tied for 2nd in the WC for strikeouts with 187, and had a nice game today against the AGs. It was his second straight shutout, a performance that led to him winning the WC weekly award.

[luckymann]

One of the league's true surprise packages (a 10th-round pick; 181st overall), Jose has on the whole reined in his iffy control (4.8 BB9) or struck his way out of trouble (8.7 K9) to earn the distinction of becoming the EL's first-ever 20-game winner.

And he did so in style.




He did, however, have to share a sliver of the spotlight with Ryan Bowen of the AGs, who matched his performance against the Cuban Stars East to move to 12-9 on the season.




Meanwhile, Birmingham and Kansas City played out one of the games of the season, a 21-inning beauty that saw the visiting Black Barons score 5 in the top 21st to finally win it 8-3. Monarchs 1B Ricky Jordan took advantage of the extra ABs to go 5-for-10 in a losing cause, whilst Birmingham's Onix Concepcion had 4 doubles and 3 RBI.

[luckymann]

The Eclipse League is celebrating its second no-hitter, by Reynaldo Lopez of the Black Yankees against the Bacharach Giants in a 3-0 win at Hinchcliffe Stadium. Lopez fans 11 while walking 2 and faces just 28 batters.

[luckymann]

Another player with whom I was totally unfamiliar (the 2000s are a bit of a BB wasteland for me), Felix Pie (pronounced p-yay) hails from the DR and was a highly-touted prospect IRL who never came close to fulfilling his potential, eventually playing just 268 games for the Cubs, O's and Pirates between 2007 and 2013.

He has kind of flipped this on its head in the EL, sneaking into the Draft in Round 16 (318th overall) and then becoming one of the key drivers in the Grays' title tilt. From the three slot he has slashed 263/323/415 with 15 HR now as well as 62 RBI and a healthy 5.3 WAR. He has also provided excellent defence in left, racking up 14 ZR. He comes into this game nicely rated across the board and can play all three OF spots, so I expect he has a successful EL career ahead of him.

I'm impressed by the Grays resilience in holding their WC American lead. While I remain unsure of their ability to hang on til the end, if they do I suspect Felix will have been one of the main factors.

This was yet another excellent performance in a season full of them for Senor Pie. Sadly, for once it wasn't enough to get the win.

[luckymann]

... but the Eagles, whose long upswing continues, manage to outscore his BGs and win 9-6.

[luckymann]

There's no doubt some of these leading teams are running out of puff, something I'll cover in more detail at month's end. In the meantime this was a gem by Rafa, whose 9 EL wins to this point are triple his career MLB total.

[luckymann]

With quality SPs at such a premium in the EL, this hurts just that bit more. It will keep him off the mound for all of 1969 as well. Ouch.

[luckymann]

One of the league's future superstars has a day out against KC.

[luckymann]

Not sure I've ever seen a player so dominate their team's offensive output as Billy Sample has for the lowly Red Sox - already eliminated from the postseason calculations - this season.

His 8.7 WAR is more than one full point better than ALL the other position players on the Memphis roster combined.

He has 42.4 wRAA. Next best is Tom Silverio's 15.5.

His OPS+ is 163, his wRC+ 177, his wOBA 401, his OPS+ 163, his WPA 4.20. Silverio is second in all of these as well, and his marks are currently 113, 129, 335, 113 and 0.82.

Simply stunning, and he was at it again today against Newark.





Their poor record means a high Draft Pick, so hopefully 1969 won't be so much of a one-man show for Billy or the Sox.

[luckymann]

Nothing is 100% settled as we enter the stretch run of the EL's inaugural season.

The Giants staggered a bit in the early part of the month but regathered themselves and ended up posting a 17-10 sectional. They lead the Fleet National by 10 with 30 to play and should encounter little resistance on their way to winning the group.

The East still holds an 8-game advantage in the Weldy National despite an ordinary 12-15 August. The ABCs are the big mover in this group, putting together a 10-win string en route to a 19-7 showing for the month. They, the Motown Stars and American Giants are within a half game of each other but may just have left their run a tad too late this time around. Still, it bodes well for '69 and beyond.

The Grays continue to confound all the doubters (IE me), but while a horror stretch of 11 losses has ended the Athletics' hopes of playoff action, the Elite Giants are still hanging in there just 4 GB in the Weldy American. So, while undoubtedly in the box seat, the Grays still have plenty of work to do.

Finally, the Fleet American, which is still the tightest of the 4 Associations. A 10-16 August has dragged the Royal Giants back into a proper dogfight, with the Black Yankees, Crawfords and Eagles all now nipping at their heels. It should be a fascinating race and I'll update how it is playing out along the way.

FC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Chito Martinez (Bacharach Giants) 322 / 10 HR / 22 RBI.
FC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Pedro Dibut (Crawfords) 5-0 / 1.91 / 10 K / 61.1 IP.
WC BATTER OF THE MONTH: Andre Thornton (Motown Stars) 391 / 4 HR / 15 RBI.
WC PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Jeff Marquez (Motown Stars) 6-1 / 1.16 / 17 K / 62 IP.

[luckymann]

Tuesday September 3rd, 1968 - Cuban Stars West @ Cuban Stars East
7.05PM, Griffith Stadium, Washington DC

Ben Rivera




Sergio Valdez





The EL might be in its debut season, but there are already plenty of fierce rivalries fomenting - the Royal Giants and Black Yankees and Lincoln Giants; Eagles and Bacharach Giants; Giants and Monarchs; Grays and Athletics. And while we've already featured one of tonight's combatants, I simply couldn't pass up the opportunity to witness at close quarters arguably the fiercest rivalry of them all: El Clásico, as the interleague series between the two Cuban Stars clubs has been tagged.

Tonight, the East hosts the West in the nation's capital and it should be a beauty, with plenty more than just pride on the line for both sides as we get into the pointy end of the season.

The home side has led from the barriers but undoubtedly started to flag, which has seen their lead in the Weldy National narrow to just 6 1/2 games from the Motown Stars and red-hot ABCs. Meanwhile, the guests have found themselves forced to chase the Giants from the get-go and still trail them by 9 1/2 games and cannot afford to lose further ground on them. Entering this game, the East has the better record of the two by just one game.

Ben Rivera is the undisputed ace of the East and has pitched accordingly all season. He has his chance to rack up win number 20 tonight. Meanwhile, Sergio Valdez has also put together a most impressive rookie campaign and will feel good about his chances in this one.

We're in for a big one tonight, with elite talent everywhere you look.




Enough with the jibber-jabber, let's get into it.

Both pitchers start well, with no hits thru 2, but as is so often the case an error changes things as Hanley Ramirez boots what should have been an inning-ending DP and the West cashes in on a 2-out single by Papi Ortiz that scores one with another thrown out at home.

The East finally get their first hit in the 4th, a single by Rod Allen, but a handy GIDP douses the threat. Instead it is the West who scores next, doubling their advantage on an infield hit by Eduardo Perez after Todd Cruz had led off with a double. Charlie Neal singles and then a long double by Juan Soto makes it 3-0, with an Ortiz sac fly adding a fourth.

Rivera is certainly off his game tonight and the West extend their lead again in the next after Valdez singles to keep the inning going and Eduardo Perez knocks one in with a double.



Rivera then walks Neal to load them up for Juan Soto, who promptly dispatches one into the RF bleachers for a slam to make it an ugly 9-0 and end Rivera's poor game. It is Soto's 19th round-tripper of the season.

The East finally gets on the board in the home half via a 2-run homer by Rod Allen - just their second hit of the night - but that's it, as Valdez goes the distance for the win, the West's 4th on the trot.

Plenty of worries for the East right now and, while they may have left their run a bit late, the West will take plenty of heart from an excellent win to lock up the inaugural El Clásico and give them bragging rights until it next rolls around.

[luckymann]

Well the EL is abuzz with today's announcement of the player pool for the end-of-season Rookie Draft.

100 new players in all, 5 per club, and some fantastic talent up for grabs.

The 8 MLB A-Listers are as follows:

• P Oil Can Boyd
• OF Rickey Henderson
• OF Carlos Lee
• OF Gary Matthews jr
• OF Bake McBride
• P Jose Rijo (let's see if he ends up along side his IRL father-in-law...)
• P Mariano Rivera
• P Elias Sosa

The 2 A-List NeL players are actually better-known from their MLB careers:

• P Don Newcombe
• 2B Jim Gilliam

While Army Cooper, Bob Thurman and Estevan Montalvo are interesting NeLers who look likely candidates for Out of the Shadows monitoring.

But, in perhaps the biggest news of all...

IT'S SHO-TIME!!!

Because of his short IRL career to date, Shohei Ohtani is actually designated in the C grouping for imports into this league, but he is juiced up ratings-wise and sure to go high, if not indeed first overall and I can't wait to see what he does during his Eclipse League career.