1894 Season News & Notes
The two Divisions of the Baseball League diverged ever so slightly on run scoring and offence in 1894. The First Division showed a slight increase in offence, with +3.0% more runs scored (8,528 versus 8,282 last year), and showed a three-point increase in Division batting average to .282, but also a phenomenal twelve-point rise in OBP to .359. This OBP rise was driven by an astounding 15% increase in walks issued to Division hitters. Extra-base power remained stable as ISO went from .098 to .099.
The increase in offence led to three different players hitting .400 or better for the first time ever: 37-year old
Frank Woodward of Blackburn Rovers (.407);
Brandon Bradley of Aston Villa Villans (.400); and
William Shand of Small Heath Blues (also .400). We also saw records set for walks received by
Edwin Dennis of Nottingham Forest with 116; slugging and OPS by young
William Perry of Wolverhampton Wanderers (.618 and 1.109, respectively), runs scored by
Richard Jarvis of Blackburn with 90; doubles by
Charles Holt of Derby County Rams with 33; and the sabermetrtic stats of WAR (8.3) and the Danish expletive stat of VORP (53.8) by Clark. Pitching records set were of either the stamina variety (complete games by
William Turner of Sunderland Black Cats, 28; games started by
Ernest Rooney of Notts County Magpies, 31) or the dubiousness variety (hits allowed by
Percy Young of the Rams, 320; walks issued by
Fred Marshall of Small Heath Blues, 203)
The Second Division, on the other hand, saw a negligible decrease in runs, down -21 to 7,693, with a concomitant five point drops in both average (.270) and on-base (.339). However, the Division also saw a goosing in power, with SLG rising six points to .374 on the strength of an increase in doubles (+8.8%), triples (+13.4%) and homers (+10.1%). Despite these, the drop in singles (-5.6%) and walks/HBP combined (-1.9%) is what led to the lack of increase in runs scored.
Nevertheless, offensive records were set in this Division by
Frederick McFarlane of Liverpool Reds (triples, 36; total base, 204) and
Edwin Stevenson of Manchester City Citizens (hits, 131). Pitching records set, as in the First Division, were of the ignominious variety and included losses (
Wayne Stewart of Leicester Fosse Foxes, 25) and bases on balls issues (
Maurice Slater of Burton Wanderers, 178).
First Division team records of note were set by Blackburn Rovers in wins (67) and winning percentage (.744), batting average (.316), runs scored (704), hits (1,046) and, importantly, season attendance (183,442, an average of over 4,000 per game). Other offensive records were set by Bolton Wanderers (SLG, .439; triples, 95; stolen bases, 202); Derby County Rams (doubles, 194), and The Wednesday Owls (walks received, 483). No pitching records of note were set except those that were dubious and set by many.
In the Second Division, West Bromwich Albion Hawthorns also set a wins record (60), while the Newcastle Magpies set the record for losses (64). The Hawthorns also set a record for triples (110), and Manchester City set a team low for striking out (109 against 3,188 at bats). Newcastle also set several records of the worst of variety, too many to list here.
The only single game record of note set in either Division was by
William Parker of Walsall Town Swifts, who set the D2 record for most stolen bases in a game with six in a 12-3 beating administered to Preston North End.
Charley Brewer of the Newton Heath Red Devils set the mark for most consecutive games with a base hit with 32, snapped on 26 July by going 0-1 against Blackburn Rovers. This broke the hit streak record of 29 set earlier in the season by
Edward McCready of Everton.
D1 retirements of note include
William O'Doherty, 44, who retired after a terrific seven-year Baseball League career with the Wolverhampton Wanderers, garnering 415 hits with a slash line of .283/.404/.408; and
Cornelius Styles, 38, of Stoke Ramblers, author of a 49-58 record with a 3.85 ERA in 985.2 innings pitched over six years.