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1882: Brouthers Magical, barely missed Triple Crown
A dream season came for another player -- Dan Brouthers in 1882. He demolished the single season home run (22) and RBI (96) records while also setting a new record for hits, with 135. John Montgomery Ward finished with 129 hits and won the batting title, hitting .399.
Cap Anson continued his domination, hitting 119 hits and a career-high 7 home runs. His Red Stockings defeated the Louisville Eclipse, 4 games to 1, to claim their third World Series.
Everyone expected the expansion teams to struggle -- but no one expected the Boston Americans to go a ridiculous 8-76, for a winning percentage of .095. The Boston Red Stockings changed their name to the Beaneaters.
Whatever happened to Roger Connor, the rookie who exploded in '81 to win the MVP? Injuries limited him to 50 games and a mere 69 hits, not enough to qualify for the batting title.
Two big-name players retired this season. Chief among them was Jimmy Wood. The 38-year old was limited to 9 hits in 1882, putting his career number at 676, 15th all-time. Wood was a 2nd-round pick in the inaugural draft, and went on to go to 8 All-Star games, win a gold glove, 6 player of the week awards, and 2 player of the month awards. In real life, Wood played 3 seasons and had 162 hits.
The other big-name player to hang it up was 38-year old Bill Craver. Craver collected 455 hits in real life, but collected 616 hits and finished 23rd all-time. Craver was selected to 5 All-Star games and won 3 Player of the Week Awards.
Tom Barlow makes his debut on the all-time list after a great season. Orator Shafer, Steve King, Ezra Sutton (returning), and Gat Stires rose to the Top 20.
Active Members of the 2000 hit club
Deacon White (2,066) 1,133
Jim O'Rourke (2,642) 932
Paul Hines (2,134) 843
John Montgomery Ward (2,104) 481
Jack Glasscock (2,040) 331
Dan Brouthers (2,296) 261
Roger Connor (2,467) 323
Bid McPhee (2,250) 78
Active Memebers of the 3000 hit club
Cap Anson (3297) 1,106
Players to Debut Next
Jimmy Ryan (#95 all-time, 2,502 hits) -- 1885
1881 Hits Leaders
1. Dan Brouthers -- 135
2. John Montgomery Ward -- 129
3. Cap Anson -- 119
4. King Kelly -- 118
5. Ed Swartwood -- 116
6. Tom Barlow -- 113
1881 Hits Rookie Leader
1. Chief Roseman -- 98
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Season Hits Leaders
1. Dan Brouthers (1882) -- 135
T-2. Cap Anson (1879) -- 133
T-2. Roger Connor (1881) -- 133
T-4. Jack Rowe (1881) -- 129
T-4. John Montgomery Ward (1882) -- 129
6. Cap Anson (1881) -- 126
7. Buttercup Dickerson (1879) -- 122
8. Roger Connor (1880) -- 121
9. John Montgomery Ward (1881) -- 120
10. Cap Anson (1882) -- 119
Season Hits Rookie Leaders
1. Roger Connor (1880) -- 121
T-2. George Gore (1879) -- 116
T-2. John Montgomery Ward (1879) -- 116
4. Jack Farrell (1879) -- 110
T-5. John O'Rourke (1879) -- 109
T-5. Hardy Richardson (1879) -- 109
Career Hits Leaders
1. Deacon White# - 1,113
2. Cap Anson# - 1,106
3. Cal McVey# - 961
4. Jim O'Rourke# - 932
5. George Hall# - 927
6. Joe Start# - 922
7. Tom York# - 882
8. Ross Barnes# - 874
9. Paul Hines# - 843
10. Bob Ferguson# - 774
11. Clipper Flynn# - 737
12. John McMullin# - 708
13. Tom Barlow# - 702
14. George Wright# - 694
15. Jimmy Wood# - 667
16. John Clapp# - 663
17. Orator Shafer# - 657
18. Steve King# - 651
19. Ezra Sutton# - 646
20. Gat Stires# - 634
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