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APBL & NBBO MAY RECAP

NORTHEAST U.S.A. (June 1, 1872) – The first month of May, with the APBL starting play six days later than the NBBO, has been completed. Here are how things stand:

APBL STANDINGS (22 of 90 games played)

COLONIAL CONFERENCE

		 W	 L	GB	  RD
St. John’s	14	 8	--	 +19
Alleghany	13	 9	 1	 +12
Shamrock	11	11	 3	 +13
Flour City	10	12	 4	   0
Mass. Bay	10	12	 4	  -8
Niagara		 8	14	 6	 -36

METROPOLITAN CONFERENCE

		 W	 L	GB	  RD
Gotham		14	 8	--	 +11
Knick		13	 9	 1	 +10
Orange		12	10	 2	 +27
American	 9	13	 5	 +28
Kings Co.	 9	13	 5	 -29
Excelsior	 9	13	 5	 -47

Last year by the end of the opening month a pair of teams in each conference had pulled 4-5 games in front of everyone else – a sign of things to come. The standings are a little tighter after one month this season.

St. John’s is in 1st with a much different look this year, as they are 6th in Runs Scored, Average, & OPS but lead the APBL in all notable Defensive Metrics. This is a St. John’s team playing unlike any other we’ve seen.

Gotham’s addition of Royal Altman (.460, 1.076 OPS, 15 RBI, 1.3 WAR) has given them the most dangerous lineup in the league, and as a result they’ve been the best team in the Metropolitan Conference over the first month.

Niagara had a truly putrid start to the season – 3-13 over their opening sixteen games. However, they are 5-1 since and the season no longer looks like it’s over barely after it started.

American has indeed been “boom or bust” as projected – no other way to explain a 9-13 record with an APBL-best +28 Run Differential. Each of American’s last six wins has been by 6+ runs, and they have reached double figures in Runs in all six.

APBL MONTHLY AWARDS

BotM: Leslie Arnett (2B, KNI) – .480, 1.097 OPS, 22 R, 47 H, 8 XBH, 0 HR, 17 RBI, 2 BB, 2 SB, 2.47 WPA, 1.7 WAR
PotM: Thomas Smith (StJ) – 8-1, 2.53 ERA, 4 K, 92.2 IP, 9 CG, 1 SHO, 1.21 WHIP, 0.4 K/BB, 1.4 WAR
GotM: Rudolph Decker (CF, StJ) – .432, .929 OPS, 27 R, 41 H, 4 XBH, 0 HR, 8 RBI, 2 BB, 11 SB, 1.19 WPA, 1.3 WAR

Arnett adjusted to his move to Knickerbocker by having the single best month of his twelve-year career, topping all batsmen in the APBL in AVG, OBP, OPS, & WAR. Only Royal Altman came close, but Arnett was the clearly deserved winner since he put up those numbers as a Second Baseman.

Howard Burns is still figuring out his considerable talent as a 22-year-old, and Smith helped him out by having an outstanding opening month for St. John’s. Elmer Seabold (ALL) & Gus Woods (GOT) had as many Wins but weren’t quite as good. James Goodman (FC) had a better ERA (2.34) but was only 4-7.

Decker lived up to every bit of his billing over his first month with St. John’s and was far & away the best Greenhorn batsman in the APBL, besting all others by roughly 70 points of Average & 130 points of OPS.

APBL STATISTICAL LEADERS

Average: .480 by Leslie Arnett (2B, KNI)
OPS: 1.097 by Leslie Arnett (2B, KNI)
Runs: 31 by Edward Donovan (OF, KNI)
Home Runs: 1 by seven different players
RBI: 24 by Callum Craig (OF, KC)
Stolen Bases: 21 by James Burke (CF, SHA)
Batsman WPA: 2.47 by Leslie Arnett (2B, KNI)
Batsman WAR: 1.7 by Leslie Arnett (2B, KNI)

ERA: 2.34 by James Goodman (FC) over 92.1 IP
Wins: 8 by three different pitchers
Complete Games: 9 by three different pitchers
Strikeouts: 31 by Jim Creighton (EXC)
WHIP: 1.21 by Thomas Smith (StJ) over 92.2 IP
Pitcher WAR: 2.1 by James Goodman (FC)
Pitcher rWAR: 3.0 by James Goodman (FC)

NBBO REGIONAL LEADERS (23 of 70 games played)

BROOKLYN: Marathon & Star at 14-9 (Bedford 1 GB, Eckford 2 GB, Atlantic 3 GB)
NEW YORK CITY: Union at 14-9 (Mercury & Mutual 1 GB, Metropolitan 2 GB)
UPSTATE NY: Minuteman at 15-7 (one rain-out; Syracuse 2.5 GB, Frontier & Utica 3.5 GB)
COASTAL: Quaker St. at 18-5 (Maryland, Tiger, & Trenton 5 GB)
INLAND: Reading at 15-8 (Lake Erie, Pioneer, & Susquehanna 2 GB)
NEW ENGLAND: Oceanic & Portland at 14-9 (Salem 1 GB, Granite & S.o.t.O. 2 GB)

No surprise – Quaker State was the best team over the opening month of the season, with an NBBO-best +49 Run Differential to go with it. That two of the second-year teams in Coastal are giving chase is promising.

Surprises everywhere else – none of the projected favorites are in first place in any of the other five regions. However, each of those five teams are currently at or above the .500 mark.

NBBO BATSMEN OF THE MONTH

NYL: Henry Nabors (SS, VIC) – .459, .982 OPS, 25 R, 50 H, 4 2B, 0 3B, 14 RBI, 6 BB, 5 SB, 1.59 WPA, 1.6 WAR
NEL: Elijah Hill (1B, GM) – .491, 1.098 OPS, 30 R, 52 H, 8 2B, 1 3B, 22 RBI, 3 BB, 0 SB, 1.67 WPA, 1.6 WAR

NBBO PITCHERS OF THE MONTH

NYL: George Hunter (STAR) – 9-3, 2.14 ERA, 13 K, 118.0 IP, 10 CG, 1 SHO, 1.08 WHIP, 1.4 K/BB, 1.5 WAR
NEL: Earl Henry (SUS) – 10-4, 1.62 ERA, 17 K, 122.0 IP, 12 CG, 0 SHO, 1.13 WHIP, 2.1 K/BB, 2.6 WAR

NBBO GREENHORNS OF THE MONTH

NYL: Moriarty Murray (2B, BED) – .361, .975 OPS, 28 R, 39 H, 5 2B, 5 3B, 15 RBI, 2 BB, 1 SB, 0.80 WPA, 1.0 WAR
NEL: Elijah Hill (1B, GM) – NEL Batsman of the Month

NBBO STATISTICAL LEADERS

Average: .491 by Elijah Hill (1B, GM)
OPS: 1.114 by Herb Verrett (CF, MLD)
Runs: 32 by Alfred Span (CF, MUT)
Home Runs: 2 by four different players
RBI: 29 by Dallas Campanelli (3B, PORT)
Stolen Bases: 20 by Manuel Romeiras (CF, HAR) & Walter Williams (CF, NAT)
Batsman WPA: 3.02 by Herb Verrett (CF, MLD)
Batsman WAR: 1.6 by three different players

ERA: 1.42 by Francis Molinari (TU) over 82.1 IP
Wins: 10 by four different pitchers
Complete Games: 12 by Earl Henry (SUS) & George Layman (MER)
Strikeouts: 22 by Charles Rhodes (FRO)
WHIP: 0.92 by Francis Molinari (TU) over 82.1 IP
Pitcher WAR: 2.6 by Earl Henry (SUS)
Pitcher rWAR: 4.7 by Earl Henry (SUS)