FOOL-X 1981 Season

[Alan T]

I'll kick this off in about 15 minutes or so.

I have some conference calls this morning for work, but I should be able to continue the sim while on those, so shouldn't impact anything.

[CleBrownsfan]

Take your time - not looking forward to this season

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by CleBrownsfan

Take your time - not looking forward to this season

Should always look forward to the season!

[hyde4us11]

Terrific Thursday, I love Thursday mornings.

[hyde4us11]

Originally Posted by CleBrownsfan

Take your time - not looking forward to this season

Look forward to player development lol.

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by hyde4us11

Terrific Thursday, I love Thursday mornings.

I'm a huge fan of Sundays myself!

[spleen1015]

A few goods teams in the CL. Hopefully we're magic again this year.

[Alan T]

Getting exports now.

[Alan T]

Wednesday, April 1st, 1981

Washington Freedom: Signed free agent MR M. Porter to a 1-year contract worth a total of $9,810,000.

Virginia Beach Surf: Signed free agent MR P. Tatum to a 1-year contract worth a total of $2,615,000.

Cleveland Naps: Signed free agent MR M. Pelletier to a 2-year contract worth a total of $7,294,000.

Mexico City Aztecs: Signed free agent CL F. Bermúdez to a 1-year contract worth a total of $3,210,000.

Spring Lions: Signed 3B G. Herrera to a 3-year contract extension worth a total of $3,786,000.

Mexico City Aztecs: Signed free agent CF J. Hayes to a minor league contract.

Spring Lions: Signed 1B R. Sosa to a 5-year contract extension worth a total of $44,695,000.

[Alan T]

All finished with the preliminary pre-season checks. Time for the season to start up. Good luck to all of the teams!

[Alan T]

We left off last season with LaVergne on a hitting streak, and he continues it for a few games into this season:


Hitting Streak Stopped at 34 Games
Friday, April 3rd, 1981: Robby LaVergne's 34-game hitting streak has now come and gone. It was snapped today in the Lions 5-4 setback to the Naps. LaVergne went without a hit in 4 trips to the plate. Talking to BNN after the game he was visibly upset. But the streak had little to do with it.

"I'm disappointed we lost, I'm not one bit disappointed that the streak ended," LaVergne said. "The hitting streak was just one of those things where it was fun while it lasted, but I'm not going to lose any sleep tonight."

[Alan T]

Richardson Hurls Masterpiece
Saturday, April 4th, 1981: Merlin Richardson of the Virginia Beach Surf mixed his pitches well and fashioned a 5-0 shutout today. The 32-year-old hurler shut down the Spring offense, holding them to 3 hits. He struck out 0 while walking 3.

[Alan T]

Naps Hall Nails Down 400-th Save
Thursday, April 9th, 1981: Warren Hall has joined elite company. The Cleveland Naps reliever earned his 400th save in a 5-4 victory over the Virginia Beach Surf at Ballpark of Cleveland. The newest member of the 400 club told reporters after the game, "I get the ball and I try to win the game. When I get a save, my team wins and really that's all that matters. I'm happy to reach the milestone but it's just that. The more important part is that I've helped my club win." While picking up the save, Hall allowed no hits and no runs in 1 innings of work.

Despite the dejection of their team having lost the game, even a number of Surf fans were seen honoring Hall as they joined in the standing ovation as he recorded the final out on his historic save. "That was pretty special," he said. "Something I won't soon forget."

Hall's lifetime ledger sheet looks like this: 775 appearances, 49 victories, 57 losses, 400 saves, 811.2 IP, and 956 strikeouts. He has an ERA of 3.14 and has allowed opposing hitters a .217 average.

[Alan T]

Do the people of Cleveland still boo Hall every time he comes in to save a game?


Hall is second place in all time career saves, behind only Claudio Garza.

[CleBrownsfan]

Yes they do...

[Alan T]

11th player in FOOL-X history with 400 home runs

Boulanger Launches Number 400
Tuesday, April 14th, 1981: Spring defeated New York today 7-6 and took some of the joy out of Michel Boulanger's 400th career home run.

"I just wanted to get a good swing on the ball all day," Boulanger said. "And I did."

Despite the loss, it was a good game for the 31-year-old Legends first baseman. He had 1 hit, scored 1 run and had 1 RBI.

The Lions manager said, "You could see he was aggressive up there. The worst thing we did was throw him a strike. It probably would have been better if threw the ball outside of the strike zone every time he came to the plate because he seemed like he was in a hurry to get it over with."

During his career Boulanger has compiled a .316 batting average and collected 1815 hits, 400 home runs and 1258 RBIs.

[Alan T]

April's Best Hurler in RL is Rodríguez
Friday, May 1st, 1981: Despite the number of years he's been in the league, Tony Rodríguez still gets excited when he puts together a quality stretch like he had in April. The 32-year-old starter for Ann Arbor was named Republic League Pitcher of the Month earlier today.

He collected 5 wins and no losses with 37 strikeouts in his 7 starts, putting up a fine 2.98 ERA in 48.1 innings of work.

[Alan T]

April's Best CL Hurler is Salas
Friday, May 1st, 1981: Marcos Salas was the anchor in the Boston bullpen last month and snatched up the Continental League Pitcher of the Month honors for April. The 29-year-old is in the prime of his career and pitching like he intends to stay around baseball for quite some time to come.

He threw 17 innings over 14 relief appearances and collected a 2-0 record with 14 strikeouts and 9 saves while etching his 0.53 ERA.

[Alan T]

Armstrong Wins Best Bat Trophy in April
Friday, May 1st, 1981: When Woodrow Armstrong stepped up to the plate in April, he did it with confidence and today he was honored with the Republic League Batter of the Month award.

The young Cleveland catcher posted a .365 batting average with 9 home runs, 24 RBIs and scored 20 runs. Armstrong also worked pitchers for 21 walks to post a .481 on-base percentage.

[Alan T]

Boston's Jenkins CL #1 Batter in April
Friday, May 1st, 1981: Dale Jenkins battered Continental League pitchers all April and wound up taking home the Batter of the Month Award.

"I've been around FOOL-X long enough to know you really have to work hard day in and day out to be able to put up this kind of consistency," the 31-year-old Jenkins told reporters. "I put in a lot of work, even on the days I may not take the field and it's always nice when everything comes together for me like it did this last month."

In 28 games, Jenkins hit .325 with 9 home runs, 27 RBIs and scored 25 runs.

[Alan T]

April's Best Rookie Trophy Awarded
Friday, May 1st, 1981: New York's Carlos Peña picked up the Rookie of the Month honors for April in the Republic League.

Posting a .327 average last month, he collected 32 hits, 1 home run, 14 RBIs and 11 runs scored.

Continental League Names Rookie of Month
Friday, May 1st, 1981: José Marín was toddling around on his tricycle when some of the guys he's playing against were in their prime, but the 25-year-old left fielder definitely knows how to get to first, second or beyond. Today he was chosen April's Continental League Rookie of the Month for his remarkable month of hitting.

In 28 games Marín batted .238 for Balzac, slapping 25 hits in 105 at-bats with 5 home runs, drove in 14 runs and scored 13 times.

[Alan T]

May 1st, 1981:

Continental League Standings

Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10 London Bishops 17 11 .607 - 17-11 0 9-6 8-5 2-2 6-5 133 L1 6-4 Mexico City Aztecs 15 13 .536 2.0 14-14 1 5-7 10-6 2-0 6-3 L1 5-5 Boston Resettlers 14 14 .500 3.0 14-14 0 6-7 8-7 3-1 4-4 W1 4-6 Washington Freedom 14 14 .500 3.0 15-13 -1 7-6 7-8 0-2 6-5 L3 4-6 Balzac Ticklers 12 16 .429 5.0 10-18 2 5-13 7-3 1-3 4-1 W1 6-4 Indianapolis Clowns 12 16 .429 5.0 16-12 -4 4-9 8-7 1-1 0-8 W3 5-5

Republic League Standings

Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10 Maricopa Rattlers 20 8 .714 - 18-10 2 13-5 7-3 2-1 4-4 132 W3 6-4 Cleveland Naps 17 11 .607 3.0 17-11 0 8-5 9-6 0-0 2-3 L1 7-3 Ann Arbor Wolverines 14 14 .500 6.0 14-14 0 7-6 7-8 1-0 3-2 W1 5-5 New York Legends 13 15 .464 7.0 12-16 1 5-10 8-5 0-1 4-2 L2 4-6 Spring Lions 13 15 .464 7.0 15-13 -2 5-8 8-7 1-0 3-5 W1 4-6 Virginia Beach Surf 7 21 .250 13.0 9-19 -2 3-9 4-12 0-2 3-3 L1 4-6

[Alan T]

League Leaders AVG B. Alderdice - WAS .386 2 G. López NY .374 3 W. Armstrong CLE .365 4 R. Ramos LON .354 5 A. Rosário MAR .353	League Leaders HR I. Guerrero - NY 12 2 W. Armstrong CLE 9 2 C. Hammerich CLE 9 2 J. Hernández MAR 9 2 D. Jenkins BOS 9	League Leaders RBI 4 tied with 28 1 B. Fields ANN 28 1 I. Guerrero NY 28 1 J. Guevara IND 28 1 K. Yamasaki MAR 28
League Leaders W 3 tied with 5 1 T. Rodríguez ANN 5 1 M. Salas MAR 5 1 G. Suárez IND 5 4 3 tied with 4	League Leaders ERA T. White - LON 2.34 2 H. Ngui LON 2.38 3 C. Bardino WAS 2.74 4 M. Salas MAR 2.84 5 E. González CLE 2.90	League Leaders K B. Kuhn - MEX 52 2 T. White LON 50 3 G. Suárez IND 47 4 M. Duval LON 37 4 T. Rodríguez ANN 37

[spleen1015]

I love having a Pyt. Rec. in the negative. Bloody hell. Come on boys.

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by spleen1015

I love having a Pyt. Rec. in the negative. Bloody hell. Come on boys.

Yeah, 0-8 in 1 run games will do that!

[Alan T]

Salas Whips Ann Arbor
Friday, May 8th, 1981: "Sometimes I was smart... and sometimes just a little lucky." That's how Manny Salas of the Maricopa Rattlers described his shutout victory over the Ann Arbor Wolverines. Salas blanked them 5-0 on 2 hits while striking out 4 and walking 1.

This year Salas has compiled a 6-1 record with a 3.22 ERA.

[Alan T]

3-HR Dream Game for Movilha
Monday, May 11th, 1981: Aldo Movilha of the Cleveland Naps had a lot to celebrate in today's 11-10 win over the Virginia Beach Surf. Three times he celebrated by pounding the ball out of Ballpark of Cleveland.

He kiddingly told reporters after the game, "Hopefully, I can continue to close my eyes and swing as hard as I can. It worked well today."

The powerful Cleveland first baseman tagged 3 hits in 6 at-bats, drove in 5 runs and scored 3 times in his three-home-run outburst.

Movilha added, "Seriously, I just try to swing early and often to give myself a chance. I let the pitcher supply all the power, I just try to figure out how to get the bat on the ball."

"We talked about changing our strategy for the third one... and then he hit another homer," the Virginia Beach manager said. "We just couldn't get him out."

A. Movilha hit a two-run home run off L. Harrison in the 2nd, grounded out in the 3rd, hit a solo-shot off P. Tatum in the 5th, grounded out in the 7th, flied out in the 9th and hit a two-run home run off S. Aguilar in the 11th.

Currently Movilha has 8 home runs and a .210 batting average.

[Alan T]

Bailey Makes 300 HR Mark
Tuesday, May 12th, 1981: It was a great day for Ken Bailey, but not a good one for his Maricopa Rattlers. The 34-year-old second baseman reached a personal milestone with his 300th career homer, but it wasn't enough to beat the New York Legends, who came away with a 8-6 victory. Bailey finished the day with 1 hit, 1 run batted in and 1 run scored.

"Well, I've conceded the fact that you can't will yourself to hit a home run," he said. "I tried hard for the last few days. It was getting to be embarrassing with the crowd standing up every time I came to the plate."

His lifetime stats show Bailey has batted .286 and collected 2259 hits, 300 home runs and 1290 RBIs.

[Alan T]

On a Roll: Vélez Hits for Cycle
Thursday, May 14th, 1981: Getting 4 hits in a game is no easy feat, but hitting for the cycle is much more rare. Mario Vélez was on fire today, going 4 for 4 and hitting for the cycle against New York at Field of the Surf. His batting escapade sparked the Virginia Beach Surf to a 16-4 victory over the Legends. For the day the Surf catcher scored 3 runs and drove in 4.

The feat is rare in baseball as it requires a game of no fewer than four hits and the unusual combination of a home run, which requires a batter to hit for some power, and a triple, which requires a batter to have both speed on the basepaths and a well-placed drive deep into the outfield.

He told reporters after the game, "It just happened. Must have been fate or something... you can't plan this. I was more concerned with winning the game."

M. Vélez singled in the 3rd, walked in the 4th, hit a solo-shot off C. García in the 6th, hit an RBI triple in the 7th and hit a two-run double in the 8th.

This season Vélez has hit at a .279 clip with 15 RBIs, 3 home runs and 27 runs scored.

[Alan T]

Kim Bashes 3 HR for Balzac
Wednesday, May 27th, 1981: Suk-min Kim of the Ticklers won the battle against Boston pitching, but lost the war. He hit three out of the park at The Tickle Trunk, got his name in the league record book, but Balzac came up short in the win column, losing to the Resettlers 15-8. The Balzac left fielder was red-hot, the ball just exploded off his bat all day long.

"I don't try to hit homers," he said. "I try to go out there and have good at-bats. If I put a good swing on the ball, then it is going to go out of the park. I didn't try to hit the first one or the second one or the third one. I just try to have good at-bats."

For the game he went 3 for 4 with 6 RBIs and 3 runs scored.

Where does he rank this day in his career? "It's up there," Kim said. "I'll put it up there in the upper echelon, despite the loss."

S. Kim grounded out in the 1st, hit a two-run home run off G. Lacoste in the 3rd, hit a two-run home run off G. Lacoste in the 5th, hit a two-run home run off R. Purchase in the 7th and walked in the 9th.

On the year Kim has hit .311 with 13 home runs, 49 RBIs and scored 42 runs.

[Alan T]

RL's Top Starter is Bernard
Monday, June 1st, 1981: Jack Bernard took a much-deserved turn in the spotlight earlier today as he accepted the Republic League Pitcher of the Month award for May.

The 25-year-old Rattlers starter is a relative newcomer to the league, but nonetheless racked up an impressive 5-0 won-lost record in 6 starts. This month he fanned 28 batters in 41 innings and compiled a 2.41 ERA.

Checking out his stats for the season, Bernard has registered 8 wins and 1 loss in 12 starts, 3.47 ERA and struck out 51 batters in 72.2 innings.

[Alan T]

CL Selects White May's #1 Pitcher
Monday, June 1st, 1981: Veteran Taylor White put together quite a successful stretch in May for the London Bishops, earning himself the Continental League Pitcher of the Month award.

White racked up a 5-1 record in 8 starts, posting a 2.50 ERA over 54 innings and striking out 41.

This year White has posted a record of 9 wins and 1 loss with a 2.42 ERA. He has appeared in 15 games and struck out 91 in 104 innings.

[Alan T]

Gamblin May's Best Bat Choice
Monday, June 1st, 1981: In May, Duncan Gamblin beat the baseball like a drum the entire month and netted the Republic League Batter of the Month award.

In 29 games the Spring right fielder hit .378 with 10 home runs, 26 RBIs and 25 runs scored.

To date this season Gamblin is hitting .345 with 18 home runs.

[Alan T]

Continental League Picks May's Best Batter
Monday, June 1st, 1981: Seasoned by several years of professional experience, 32-year-old Domingo Ortíz put together a solid offensive month for Washington and was crowned May's top batter in the Continental League.

He batted .307 with 11 home runs, 39 RBIs and 24 runs scored.



In his season totals, Ortíz has 16 home runs, .300 BA, .366 OBP, 57 RBIs and 43 runs scored. He has played in 57 games.

[Alan T]

Best RL Rookie Named, Nod to Adjo
Monday, June 1st, 1981: Youngster Ichchaam Adjo emerged as the latest Republic League Rookie of the Month today. The young man from Virginia Beach deserved the honor, batting .292 with 9 home runs and 28 RBI. Is the month of May a harbinger of things to come or just a fluke? We'll find out someday, but for now, we'll just let Adjo enjoy the limelight.

So far this season Adjo is batting .276 with 16 home runs.


CL Selects Rookie Star of the Month
Monday, June 1st, 1981: José Marín earned May's Rookie of the Month honors in the Continental League for last month's performance. The boyish Balzac left fielder might be wet behind the ears, but he's proving that he has what it takes to play at this level.

Marín hit .228 with 2 home runs, 9 RBIs and 8 runs scored this past month on his way to winning the award.

In 57 games Marín is hitting .233 this season with 48 hits, 7 home runs, 23 RBIs, 24 walks, .313 OBP and has scored 21 runs.

[hyde4us11]

Originally Posted by Alan T

Continental League Picks May's Best Batter
Monday, June 1st, 1981: Seasoned by several years of professional experience, 32-year-old Domingo Ortíz put together a solid offensive month for Washington and was crowned May's top batter in the Continental League.

He batted .307 with 11 home runs, 39 RBIs and 24 runs scored.



In his season totals, Ortíz has 16 home runs, .300 BA, .366 OBP, 57 RBIs and 43 runs scored. He has played in 57 games.

An RBI a game nice.

[Alan T]

June 1st, 1981:

Continental League Standings

Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10 Washington Freedom 35 22 .614 - 34-23 1 18-9 17-13 1-2 10-6 101 L2 6-4 London Bishops 30 27 .526 5.0 30-27 0 16-14 14-13 2-4 9-8 W2 5-5 Mexico City Aztecs 30 27 .526 5.0 29-28 1 11-16 19-11 3-1 12-5 L1 5-5 Boston Resettlers 29 28 .509 6.0 30-27 -1 13-14 16-14 4-1 8-9 W2 7-3 Indianapolis Clowns 25 32 .439 10.0 29-28 -4 12-15 13-17 2-2 3-13 L2 4-6 Balzac Ticklers 22 35 .386 13.0 21-36 1 11-22 11-13 1-3 5-6 W1 3-7

Republic League Standings

Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10 Maricopa Rattlers 37 20 .649 - 32-25 5 24-9 13-11 5-1 7-5 100 W1 5-5 Cleveland Naps 31 26 .544 6.0 30-27 1 15-12 16-14 1-3 5-9 L1 7-3 New York Legends 31 26 .544 6.0 28-29 3 15-15 16-11 1-1 11-5 W1 5-5 Spring Lions 29 28 .509 8.0 30-27 -1 11-16 18-12 3-1 9-7 L1 7-3 Ann Arbor Wolverines 25 32 .439 12.0 29-28 -4 14-13 11-19 2-0 6-9 W1 4-6 Virginia Beach Surf 18 39 .316 19.0 22-35 -4 9-18 9-21 0-6 5-8 L1 2-8

[Alan T]

League Leaders AVG B. Fields - ANN .359 2 G. Harris NY .356 3 G. López NY .355 4 D. Gamblin SPG .345 5 R. LaVergne SPG .340	League Leaders HR I. Guerrero - NY 24 2 D. Gamblin SPG 18 2 J. Hernández MAR 18 4 J. Garza BAL 17 5 2 tied with 16	League Leaders RBI I. Guerrero - NY 65 2 D. Ortíz WAS 57 3 J. Guevara IND 54 4 D. Gamblin SPG 51 4 R. Stariczack CLE 51
League Leaders W 4 tied with 9 1 H. Arai MEX 9 1 T. Rodríguez ANN 9 1 G. Suárez IND 9 1 T. White LON 9	League Leaders ERA T. White - LON 2.42 2 H. Ngui LON 2.56 3 H. Arai MEX 2.84 4 M. Jenkins MAR 3.29 5 G. Suárez IND 3.30	League Leaders K 2 tied with 91 1 B. Kuhn MEX 91 1 T. White LON 91 3 G. Suárez IND 80 4 M. Duval LON 75

[spleen1015]

:hangs head in disappointment:

/sigh

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by spleen1015

:hangs head in disappointment:

/sigh

Having a closer with a WHIP of 2.03 does things like that I fear to the Pythagorean Record

[spleen1015]

Originally Posted by Alan T

Having a closer with a WHIP of 2.03 does things like that I fear to the Pythagorean Record

That's what I get for using a rookie as a closer, I guess.

[Alan T]

Charles MacIlleriach Blanks Balzac
Wednesday, June 3rd, 1981: The Washington Freedom posted a 12-0 shutout over Balzac today on the strength of a strong performance by Charles MacIlleriach. The Freedom pitcher held the Ticklers to 1 hit while walking 0 and fanning 4 in the route-going win.

This year MacIlleriach has a 5-3 record and a 5.02 ERA.

[Alan T]

Ortíz Touches All the Bases, Hits for Cycle
Friday, June 5th, 1981: Hitting for the cycle is defined as hitting a single, double, triple and home run in the same game. How often does that happen? Not very often, especially considering that a cycle is a microcosm of what makes a complete hitter -- he must possess power (homer), speed (triple) and make regular contact (four hits).

Well, Domingo Ortíz is a complete hitter -- at least for one ballgame. Today at Clown Car he hit for the cycle to lead Washington Freedom to a 15-3 win over the Indianapolis Clowns. All told in the game Ortíz delivered 4 hits in 6 at-bats with 5 runs batted in and 3 runs scored.

He admitted to the press in the postgame interview, "Lotta luck in hitting for the cycle. Several unique things have to come together... all in the same game."

D. Ortíz hit an RBI single in the 1st, hit a solo-shot off G. Suárez in the 3rd, hit an RBI triple in the 4th, hit a two-run double in the 5th, struck out in the 7th and struck out in the 9th.

This year Ortíz has hit at a .309 clip with 70 RBIs, 19 home runs and 48 runs scored.

[Alan T]

Legends Whitewashed by De Jesús
Saturday, June 6th, 1981: The New York Legends met their match today in Ann Arbor hurler António De Jesús. He kept them guessing the whole game and spun a 1-hit shutout.

"He just worked us over," the New York skipper said. "He probably didn't even take a shower after the game. I don't think he even worked up a sweat. They could probably pitch him again tomorrow."

In the 15-0 victory De Jesús whiffed 2 and gave up 5 walks.

To date this season, De Jesús has a record of 7 wins and 7 losses and a 4.13 ERA. He has appeared in 16 games and struck out 56 in 100.1 innings.

[Alan T]

Earlier this season, Jose Sosa became the all time FOOL-X Hits leader as he passed Don Jones for the most hits in a career. He now becomes the first FOOL-X player with 3000 hits in his career. Watch out, he is only 12 home runs behind Estaban Franco for the all time Home Run title as well!




Hit #3000 for Bishops Sosa
Tuesday, June 9th, 1981: José Sosa started out as a baby-faced rookie many seasons ago. Yesterday at Estadio Azteca the London veteran joined the league's 3000-hit club. Sosa achieved that milestone with a 1-for-5 day in the Bishops 6-0 win over the Mexico City Aztecs.

He spoke to reporters in the clubhouse after the game and said, "Looking at the list of all the great players who have done this is humbling. It is a great honor to be among them."

In 2335 career games Sosa has hit .327 with 3000 hits, 555 home runs, 1829 RBIs and scored 1818 runs.

[Alan T]

Shelton Smacks 3 Out of the Park
Thursday, June 18th, 1981: Keith Shelton was sending souvenirs to the sun gods all game long in the Washington 9-2 triumph over Balzac, launching not one, not two, but three home runs into the stands. Nobody who was at The Tickle Trunk will forget this home run outburst anytime soon.

The Washington first baseman went 4-5, rung up 6 RBIs and scored 3 runs on his record-setting day.

He told the press corps after his three home run binge, "One homer's good, two's great, three's out of sight. I can't wait until tomorrow's game. I really feel good at the plate."

K. Shelton hit a solo-shot off P. Hernández in the 1st, hit an RBI triple in the 2nd, grounded out in the 5th, hit a two-run home run off B. Miller in the 7th and hit a two-run home run off A. Morales in the 9th.

Shelton is currently hitting at a .337 pace with 20 home runs and 69 RBIs.

[Alan T]

FOOLX News: The All-Star Game Rosters Have Been Announced
Saturday, June 20th, 1981: Showcase for the Stars -- The FOOL-X All-Star Game. It's a great game for the fans. The All-Star Classic comes around each year at this time to the delight of every baseball fan. All of gifted and talented players from the Continental League and Republic League come together and show their wares on the baseball diamond. The top players go toe-to-toe with one another to get the bragging rights for their league.

Selected to play for the Continental League All-Stars are:


SP H. Arai (MEX)
SP G. Suárez (IND)
SP J. Tanguay (WAS)
SP W. Ceriani (BOS)
SP A. Tarungo (WAS)
SP E. Miller (WAS)
CL J. LaRochelle (WAS)
CL M. Salas (BOS)
CL I. Sosa (MEX)
SP R. Salas (LON)
SP L. Hernández (BAL)
MR R. Rosado (BOS)
1B K. Shelton (WAS)
CF A. Méndez (IND)
3B E. Hinton (MEX)
SS D. Ortíz (WAS)
LF S. Kim (BAL)
2B J. López (BAL)
RF J. Helms (BOS)
C T. Morgan (WAS)
C D. Anderson (LON)
3B V. González (IND)
LF J. Sosa (LON)
LF D. Jenkins (BOS)
1B B. Didkowsky (IND)
SS J. Salas (LON)
CF L. Arroyo (BAL)
2B A. Gutiérrez (BOS)


The Republic League All-Stars will have these players on their roster:


SP T. Rodríguez (ANN)
SP J. Bernard (MAR)
SP Y. Park (NY)
SP M. Jenkins (MAR)
SP M. Salas (MAR)
SP E. González (CLE)
CL G. Pajetta (NY)
MR A. Gilbert (SPG)
MR W. Hall (CLE)
MR N. Yamaguchi (VIR)
MR V. Ruíz (SPG)
MR L. Sánchez (CLE)
3B B. Fields (ANN)
RF D. Gamblin (SPG)
1B R. Sosa (SPG)
SS R. LaVergne (SPG)
C W. Armstrong (CLE)
LF R. Elliott (MAR)
CF J. Hernández (MAR)
C K. Yamasaki (MAR)
2B K. Bailey (MAR)
RF G. López (NY)
RF A. Rosário (MAR)
LF G. Harris (NY)
CF C. McNeely (ANN)
3B T. Yamashita (ANN)
SS R. Guzmán (ANN)
SS A. Morales (MAR)

[Alan T]

12th player in FOOL-X history with 400 home runs!


#400 for Guerrero
Monday, June 29th, 1981: Wolverines left fielder Máximo Guerrero reached a career milestone yesterday, blasting home run number 400.

He took the achievement in stride. "It's always good to get another home run and even better to get another win," Guerrero told reporters in the postgame interview.

He went 3-4 during the Ann Arbor 5-1 triumph over the Maricopa Rattlers and scored 2 runs with 2 runs batted in.

In his career Guerrero has hit .256 with 1650 hits, 400 home runs, 1313 RBIs and scored 1190 runs.

[Alan T]

RL Pitcher of the Month Goes to Morrow
Wednesday, July 1st, 1981: Joe Morrow's been around the league long enough to appreciate the honor he received today. After going 4-1 in June, the 26-year-old New York hurler has been named Republic League Pitcher of the Month.

He fanned 26 in 35.1 innings, logged an ERA of 2.80 and allowed opponents to hit .205 against him.

His record this year is 7-5 in 17 starts and Morrow has a 4.98 ERA.

[Alan T]

CL Starter of the Month Goes to Ngui
Wednesday, July 1st, 1981: Hui-ying Ngui had an outstanding June -- so good that the Continental League presented him with the Pitcher of the Month Award earlier today.

"There's no way to know where the Bishops would be without Ngui," one fan is quoted as saying.

In June Ngui dominated the competition, running up a 6-0 record, a 3.06 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 50 innings.

His record for the year is 10-5 in 21 starts and Ngui has a 2.75 ERA.