[tm1681]

ST. JOHN’S BREAKS OWN RECORDS, SETS NEW ONES
STJ SCORES RECORD AMOUNT OF RUNS 2ND YEAR IN A ROW; HAS PAIR OF BATSMEN WITH 1.000 OPS

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Aug. 10, 1868) – Throughout the twelve-season history of the NBBO, one thing above all others has been certain: St. John’s BC will have a terrifying offense. They are patient at the plate, experts at safely getting on base, and once on their legendary baserunning aggression drives opponents mad. St. John’s is the only team ever to score 675 runs in a season (closest: KNI w/ 672 in 1867), the only team ever to draw 200 Bases on Balls in a season (closest: ATL w/ 169 in 1860), and the only team ever to reach 200 Stolen Bases in a season (closest: SYR w/ 172 in 1864).

Every year the St. John’s attack achieves things that none of the other 47 teams in the NBBO can even dream of, and this year was no different as the team broke its own record for runs in a season that it set just last year, and they made other offensive history as well.

In 1867 St. John’s became the first team in NBBO history to score 675+ runs in a season, finishing with 676 over their seventy games (9.65 R/G). Apparently not content with that level of offensive production, St. John’s has finished the 1868 season eight runs better than last year’s addition, totaling 684 runs over 70 games (9.77 R/G). Their .325 team average was fourth-best in NEL history. Their .369 on-base tied the 1860 Mass. Bay team for best in NEL history and 2nd-best in NBBO history. Their .444 slugging percentage set a new NBBO record, and their .813 OPS did the same. Their 205 doubles also made St. John’s the first team to hit 200+ doubles in a season.

The only area major area in which St. John’s did not display their usual historical level of output was on the basepaths, where they stole “only” 190 bases, which still led the NBBO and was 21 more than any other NEL team.

As the St. John’s team broke new ground in offensive excellence, so did some of their players in 1868.

Not surprisingly, it was Konrad Jensen who did the most to bring historical achievement to the St. John’s lineup. The one-time prodigy and now eight-time All-Star was the only player in the NEL to bat over .400 – he hit .403 – and he set new NBBO records for Runs (112) & OPS (1.088) in a season. He was also the first corner outfielder to cross the 5.0 WAR barrier in a single season (5.1 WAR in 70 games).

With the extraordinary trio of Jensen, William Johnson, & Nelson Townsend forming the foundation of the St. John’s lineup, whoever batted behind them would drive in plenty of runs. Still, the man they brought in to replace the departed Collin Henderson (Gotham) was a major surprise, as newcomer Tarmo Kuopio hit .366 while tying the single-season RBI record with 90 in his first NBBO campaign.

Jensen and Johnson became the first set of teammates to finish a season with an OPS over 1.000 – Jensen with his record-setting 1.088 and leadoff man Johnson with a career-high 1.018, 9th-best in NBBO history. They also finished the season with on-base marks #3 and #4 in NBBO history, with .480 & .479 respectively.

St. John’s also became the first team to have three members of the lineup finish the season batting over .360, with Jensen batting .403, Johnson batting .397, & Kuopio batting .366. The team very nearly made an incredible piece of history as going into the final game both Jensen & Johnson were batting over .400, but a 0-6 day by Johnson at Green Mountain brought his average back down from .405.

So, another season and another bunch of history made by the mighty men of St. John’s. The team has been doing it for so long that one could not be blamed for taking their record-breaking production for granted at this point, as there is simply no other team in the NBBO capable of doing what they do on a base ball diamond.