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SONS OF THE OCEAN BACK ON TOP WITH HISTORIC PITCHING
PITCHERS LED NEBA IN NEARLY EVERY MAJOR CATEGORY; DEFENSE BEST IN LEAGUE

The famous Sons of the Ocean were the only team in the NBBO’s single competition format to win the Tucker-Wheaton Cup four times, but thanks in large part to the dominance of the Vermont Green Stockings they’d been unable to lift the New England Baseball Association’s Ben Franklin Cup before the 1903 season.

No more. SotO were 50-62 in 1902 but erupted to a league-best 77-35 record this season before sweeping six-time defending league champions Vermont in the Ben Franklin Cup series by an aggregate score of 22-14 over the three games.

How did the Sons of the Ocean make an incredible 27-game turnaround in one season? With what was be best, though not most talented, pitching staff in the nearly five-decade history of the NBBO. What did the SotO pitchers do? Everything:

• Runs Allowed: 316 (2.82/G) – 1st by 87
• Earned Run Average: 2.19 – 1st by 69 points
• Complete Games: 94 – 1st by 1
• Shutouts: 17 – 1st by 2
• Hits Allowed: 903 (8.06 HA/G) – 1st by 47
• Opponents’ AVG: .238 – 1st by 13 points
• Opponents’ OBP: .300 – 1st by 19 points
• Opponents’ SLG: .301 – 1st by 25 points
• Opponents’ OPS: .601 – 1st by 51 points
• Opponents’ BABIP: .270 – 1st by 10 points
• Bases on Balls: 309 (2.7 BB/9) – 1st by 3
• Walks + Hits / IP: 1.18 - 1st by 9 points
• Win Probability Added: 17.9 – 1st by 9.8 points
• Wins Above Replacement: 22.7 – 1st by 1.4 points
• Runs Allowed per 9 WAR: 33.8 – 1st by 12.6 points

The SotO’s offense was closer to the middle of the NEBA pack, but the pitching staff was so dominant that they finished the season with the league’s best Run Differential: +183 (+1.63 R/G).

The six SotO pitchers who contributed to such an extraordinary season were:

• #1 Starter: George Bryan – 24-6, 2.06 ERA, 167 K, 279.2 IP, 27 CG, 4 SHO, 64 BB, 1.14 WHIP, 6.9 WPA, 8.1 WAR, 10.7 R9-WAR
• #2 Starter: Eli Morehead – 16-8, 2.45 ERA, 89 K, 228 IP, 20 CG, 4 SHO, 86 BB, 1.31 WHIP, 4.2 WPA, 4.1 WAR, 6.5 R9-WAR
• #3 Starter: Adrian O’Hara – 12-5, 2.33 ERA, 75 K, 150.1 IP, 15 CG, 3 SHO, 44 BB, 1.13 WHIP, 2.5 WPA, 3.0 WAR, 4.9 R9-WAR
• #4 Starter: Charles Denny – 13-7, 1.85 ERA/178 ERA+, 87 K, 194.1 IP, 18 CG, 3 SHO, 44 BB, 1.09 WHIP, 2.8 WPA, 4.4 WAR, 6.6 R9-WAR
• #1 Reliever: Henry Weeks – 9-5, 2.19 ERA, 57 K, 119.1 IP, 11 CG, 2 SHO, 40 BB, 1.16 WHIP, .228 oAVG, 2.1 WPA, 1.9 WAR, 3.4 R9-WAR
• #2 Reliever: Francis McDowell – 2-3, 2.01 ERA, 10 K, 40.1 IP, 2 CG, 12 BB, 1.26 WHIP, -0.8 WPA, 0.6 WAR, 0.7 R9-WAR

Staff ace Bryan became the first pitcher to win the NEBA’s Most Valuable Player, and he took home Hurler of the Year and a Golden Glove to go with it, making him the first NEBA pitcher to win three awards in the same season.

On top of the pitching staff’s achievements, Sons of the Ocean’s defense was easily the best in the New England Baseball Association:

• Errors: 164 – 1st by 4
• Zone Rating: +49.2 – 1st by 2.8 points
• Defensive Efficiency: .702 – 1st by four points
• Golden Gloves: 4 (P George Bryan, C Harvey Costello, 2B Kenneth Lowe, LF Rex Waltz)

The front office deserves plenty of credit for the team’s success as well. Sons of the Ocean plays in New Bedford (MA) Commons, which is famous for its size. Center field is 503 feet from home, while the power alleys are 494 feet (LCF) and 479 feet (RCF) and distances down the lines are longer than average. A stadium in New England with such a large field is a very tough place to hit, and to give an idea of just how tough the SotO batters were 13th in the NEBA in Batting Average and 8th in OPS, but 3rd in Batting WAR. General Manager Emil Hoffman and Chief Scout Charles Thompson dedicated themselves to building a roster focused on pitching and defense to maximize the venue’s inherent advantages, and their plans paid off.