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1882: THREE NEW LEAGUES BRING BASEBALL TO THE MIDWEST!

With baseball spreading across the United States, whose population was rapidly spreading itself, three new leagues popped up in the Midwestern US in 1882.

First up was the Midwestern Baseball Association (MWBA):








The MWBA was to be the Midwest's answer to the American Professional Baseball League, and similarly it was made up of the best existing amateur clubs from large Midwestern metropolitan areas. Like the initial seasons of the APBL, the teams would play each other ten times for a 90-game season and the champion would be decided based on regular season record – no playoffs. Roster rules & regulations were identical to those in the APBL, but there was a difference on the financial side. The members of the league would make, on average, about 80% of those playing in the established professional league, with superstar-level pay closer to the 75% mark.

The inaugural season was a competitive affair, with three teams - St. Louis, Louisville, & Lake Michigan - in the title hunt until the final week. In the end St. Louis won the first MWBA championship with a 55-35 record. The final standings:



Offense was notable in the inaugural season of the MWBA in that it was much higher scoring than the first run of the APBL – MWBA teams scored 7.7 runs per game to 6.7 for the maiden APBL teams in 1871. There was also a larger variance in offense from top to bottom, with Louisville leading the league by scoring 8.7 runs per game and Chicago bringing up the rear with 6.5 per game.

The various teams were well-represented in the inaugural MWBA awards, with nine of the ten clubs having at least one player receiving something – only ninth-place Indianapolis missing out. The award winners:

BATSMAN OF THE YEAR

Jacob Milburn – LF, St. Louis Saints
90 G, .418/.456/.621, 1.077 OPS (201 OPS+), 173 H, 29 3B, 55 XBH, 257 TB, 99 RBI, 97 R, 26 SB, 5.46 WPA (9.82/162), 3.1 WAR (5.6/162)

HURLER OF THE YEAR

Charlie Higgins – St. Louis Saints
345.2 IP, 45 GS, 25 CG, 27-9, 3.91 ERA, 58 BB, 37 K, 1.48 WHIP, 7.5 WAR (4.9/225 IP)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

Obelix Papatamelis – LF, Louisville Sluggers
90 G, .375/.446/.552, .998 OPS (180 OPS+), 464 PA, 130 R, 50 BB, 149 H, 46 XBH, 72 RBI, 34 SB, 6.30 WPA (11.34/162), 4.0 WAR (7.2/162)

GOLDEN GLOVES

P: Lyman Benson (MIL) – 337 I, 86 TC, 51 A, 11 E, +7.8 ZR
C: Earl Shook (LM) – 711.2 I, 5 E, 62 PB, 43.4 RTO%, 3.71 CERA, +11.3 ZR, 1.146 EFF
1B: Ben Hennessy (MIL) – 629.1 I, 833 TC, 37 E, 53 A, +6.1 ZR, 1.087 EFF
2B: Joseph Spencer (DET) – 750 I, 559 TC, 273 A, 46 DP, 48 E, 6.13 RNG, +16.1 ZR, 1.147 EFF
3B: Franklin Rader (MIS) – 765.1 I, 327 TC, 214 A, 10 DP, 63 E, 3.10 RNG, +12.0 ZR, 1.126 EFF
SS: Harold Behrens (STL) – 780.1 I, 529 TC, 364 A, 43 DP, 41 E, 5.63 RNG, +37.7 ZR, 1.258 EFF
OF: Alex Hayden (CLE) – 772 I, 287 TC, 11 A, 4 DP, 27 E, 3.03 RNG, +5.8 ZR, 1.034 EFF
OF: Jonathan Campbell (CIN) – 784 I, 423 TC, 25 A, 4 DP, 25 E, 4.57 RNG, +5.6 ZR, 1.015 EFF
OF: Truman Elliott (CHI) – 730.2 I, 288 TC, 14 A, 5 DP, 19 E, 3.30 RNG, +10.3 ZR, 1.092 EFF

TEAM OF THE YEAR

P: Charlie Higgins (STL) – 345.2 IP, 27-9, 3.91 ERA, 25 CG, 58 BB, 37 K, 7.5 WAR (4.9/225 IP), champion
C: Tobias Nielsen (LOU) - .312 AVG, .769 OPS (116 OPS+), 62 RBI, 43.2% CS, 3.06 CERA, 1.7 WAR (3.5/162)
1B: Julian Gregory (CHI) - .344 AVG, .864 OPS (142 OPS+), 34 XBH, 54 RBI, 73 R, 3.17 WPA, 2.5 WAR (4.6/162)
2B: Bryan Lawson (STL) - .359 AVG, .847 OPS (138 OPS+), 28 XBH, 90 RBI, 82 R, 1.1 WAR (2.0/162), champion
3B: Franklin Rader (MIS) - .362 AVG, .849 OPS (139 OPS+), 27 XBH, 69 RBI, 74 R, 175 TB, 3.1 WAR (5.6/162), GG
SS: George Shay (CIN) - .332 AVG, .801 OPS (125 OPS+), 30 XBH, 68 RBI, 100 R, +26.2 ZR at SS, 4.4 WAR (7.9/162)
OF: Obelix Papatamelis (LOU) - .375 AVG, .998 OPS (180 OPS+), 46 XBH, 72 RBI, 130 R, 50 BB, 219 TB, 6.30 WPA, 4.0 WAR (7.2/162)
OF: Burl Chance (LM) - .329 AVG, .826 OPS (131 OPS+), 30 XBH, 70 RBI, 81 R, 3.50 WPA, 1.7 WAR (3.3/162)
OF: Jacob Milburn (STL) – .418 AVG, 1.077 OPS (201 OPS+), 173 H, 29 3B, 55 XBH, 99 RBI, 257 TB, 5.46 WPA, 3.1 WAR (5.6/162), BotY, champion

In addition to the MWBA, there were two semi-professional leagues that also began play…