[mpejkrm]

Deacon white had never experienced struggle in his career, so it's understandable that he was upset after a sub-par year in 1878. His 96 hits and all three of his triple slash stats were career lows, and he lost his spotlight to a new rising star.

Abner Dalrymple, the #1 overall pick in the 1877 amateur draft, set not only the single-season rookie hits record, but he tied the highest single-season total of any player as he collected 105 hits. Throughout the year, he won all 6 NL Rookie of the Month awards, 2 NL Player of the Week awards, and three NL Player of the Month awards, along with an All-Star selection. In real life, he collected 1,202 career hits.

John Montgomery Ward, the next member of the 2,000 hit club to debut, was a fifth-round pick by the Baltimore Orioles, but did not sign.

The Brooklyn Atlantics won their fifth straight NL title, but lost to the Baltimore Orioles, 4 games to 2. The O's won their fourth World Series.

Active Members of the 2000 hit club
Deacon White (2,066) 716
Jim O'Rourke (2,642) 519
Paul Hines (2,134) 475

Active Memebers of the 3000 hit club
Cap Anson (3297) 624

Players to Debut Next

John Montgomery Ward (#217 all-time, 2,104 hits) -- 1878. (Did not sign, will debut in '79)
Dan Brouthers (#146 all-time, 2,296 hits) -- 1879
Jack Glasscock (#240 all-time, 2,040 hits) -- 1879

1878 Hits Leaders
1. Abner Dalrymple -- 105
2. Orator Shafer -- 93
3. Charley Jones -- 88
T-4. Bob Ferguson -- 87
T-4. Cal McVey -- 87
T-4. Joe Start -- 87

1878 Hits Rookie Leaders
1. Abner Dalrymple -- 105
2. Buttercup Dickerson -- 64
3. Charlie Bennet -- 49
4. Russ McKelvy -- 38
5. Frank Hankinson -- 35
6. Bill McClellan -- 34
------------------------------------
Season Hits Leaders
T-1. Abner Dalrymple (1878) 105
T-1. Ross Barnes (1874) 105
3. Dick Higham (1874) 102
4. Deacon White (1877) 100
5. George Wright (1874) 99
T-6. Joe Start (1874) 98
T-6. Deacon White (1873) 98
T-8. Deacon White (1875) 97
T-8. Deacon White (1876) 97
T-8. Ross Barnes (1872) 97
T-11. Ross Barnes (1876) 96
T-11. John McMullin (1877) 96

Season Hits Rookie Leaders
1. Abner Dalrymple (1878) 105
2. Ross Barnes (1872) 97
3. Lip Pike (1872) 81
4. Candy Nelson (1872) 78
5. Orator Schafer (1874) 77
6. Jack Burdock (1872) 76

Career Hits Leaders
1. Deacon White# - 716
2. Joe Start# - 657
3. Ross Barnes# - 632
4. Cap Anson# - 624
5. Cal McVey# - 602
6. Levi Meyerle# - 598
7. Lip Pike# - 591
8. George Wright# - 588
9. Davy Force# - 563
10. George Hall# - 554
11. Andy Leonard# - 553
12. Jimmy Wood# - 522
13. Tom York# - 520
T-14. Dick Higham# - 519
T-14. Jim O'Rourke# - 519
16. Mike McGeary# - 511
17. Everett Mills# - 504
18. Bob Ferguson# - 494
19. John McMullin# - 481
20. Paul Hines# - 475