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AMERICAN BASEBALL MONTHLY RECAP: JULY

NORTHEAST U.S.A. (July 31, 1880) – The end of July means there are two to three weeks left before the regular season wraps up and the playoffs, C.B.C. excluded, begin. The status of the four competitions is as follows:

AMERICAN PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL LEAGUE STANDINGS

There is more separation in the standings than there was at the end of June, but there is still a lot of parity as only one team has a Winning Pct. over .600 and only one has a Winning Pct. under .400. However, there is one team that is CLEARLY playing better than everyone else right now.

COLONIAL: St. John’s began July by losing their first three games. ST. JOHN’S FINISHED JULY BY WINNING 21 OF THEIR LAST 22 GAMES. They moved from 6th in the Colonial to 1st overall. They gained eleven games on previous Colonial leaders Pt. Jersey. They had a Run Differential of +91 over what was less than a third of the schedule.

This is the most invulnerable and unbeatable St. John’s has ever looked in their unparalleled history, which beggars belief considering where they were roughly four weeks ago. Making it all the more incredible is that they’ve done this with Konrad Jensen and Nelson Townsend finally starting to look their ages – 41 & 39 respectively – while 3B Eamonn Higgins, who would’ve made another All-Star Game had he not gone down with a muscle injury, missed fourteen games during the month.

Pt. Jersey lost their close-game magic again, which led to a poor July even though Samuel Eastman remains the B.o.t.Y. favorite. Flour City is somehow in 3rd thanks to a team that is performing well above its talent level. Niagara & Shamrock are tied for 4th with teams that have excelled in pitching & fielding but have been light in attack.

Alleghany remains the weakest offensive team in the league, and because of that their title defense is all but over. Newark fell flat on their faces during July even though John Ratican continues to have by far his best A.P.B.L. season. Mass. Bay’s league-worst fielding (E/G: 15th, Eff: 16th, ZR: 15th) means they’ve been getting clobbered by quality offensive units.

METROPOLITAN: Knick is still two games in the clear thanks to the league’s best fielding (E/G: 4th, Eff: 1st, ZR: 1st) and brilliant pitching from Goodman & Landreth. Their remaining schedule isn’t overly difficult and 9/15 games are at home, so with their slight lead they should be able to hold on and take their third consecutive pennant.

Gotham matched Knick’s 15-10 July and that means the pennant race will go to the final week. Problem: They come out of the All-Star Break with a series at St. John’s, who aside from their epic run of form is 28-11 at home. Orange is hanging in there, but poor defense (E/G: 16th, ZR: 16th) should prevent them from breaking into the top two. Kings Co. has been a little unlucky, but right around .500 is where they should be.

Tiger has an attack that hasn’t been good enough outside of Griffin Gray & Martin Prince. Excelsior had a -68 RD during July due to an offense that was nowhere to be found. Quaker St. is 16-35 since June 1st even though two teams have a worse Run Differential, and their over-500 May feels like it happened years ago.

A.P.B.L. MONTHLY AWARDS

BATSMAN OF THE MONTH
Eamonn Todd (3B, AME) – .413, 1.045 OPS, 26 R, 45 H, 11 2B, 4 3B, 20 RBI, 9 BB, 2 SB, 1.9 WPA, 2.0 WAR

PITCHER OF THE MONTH
William Hoy (StJ) – 9-2, 1.36 ERA, 112.2 IP, 11 CG, 3 SHO, 39 K, 2.1 K/BB, 1.14 WHIP, 1.6 WAR, 3.5 rWAR

GREENHORN OF THE MONTH
William Hoy (P, StJ) – A.P.B.L. Pitcher of the Month

Todd had a marvelous July, leading the league in Hits, OBP, SLG, OPS, & B-WAR, to put him on track for his best season since he made Team of the Year while the St. John’s 3B in ‘76. If anyone came close it was Mass. Bay RF Kevin Duke, who hit .440 (1.017 OPS) with 22 RBI and 1.6 B-WAR, July figures that led to him earning his first All-Star Game nomination.

There were two ten-win Pitchers in July: Howard Burns of St. John’s (10-2, 2.60, 60 K) and Bert Landreth of Knick (10-2, 1.79, 43 K). However, Hoy’s 1.36 ERA and record-setting three Shutouts in one month were too good to be cast aside by the Writers Pool. The other P.o.t.M. contender: Jimmy Everhart of American (9-4, 2.10, 43 K).

The brilliance of Hoy during July has placed him head & shoulders above the other Greenhorns who’ve pitched regularly, with Mass. Bay’s Theobold Knapp (17-18, 3.32, 90 K, 5.0 WAR) now a distant 2nd. With prominent Greenhorn Batsmen Walter Carrow (ORA) & George Oman (TIG) playing just okay over the past month, that means Hoy (17-15, 2.37, 102 K, 4.7 WAR) is now the odds-on favorite to win Greenhorn of the Year, because St. John’s just doesn’t have enough, do they?

A.P.B.L. STATISTICAL LEADERS

Average: .362 by Samuel Eastman (3B, Pt. Jersey)
OPS: .920 by Samuel Eastman
Home Runs: 6 by William Busby (1B, American)
Runs Batted In: 68 by Konrad Jensen (1B, St. John’s)
Runs: 87 by Rudolph Decker (CF, St. John’s)
Stolen Bases: 58 by Rudolph Decker & Konrad Jensen
Batsman WPA: 4.1 by Jesse Noss (3B, Flour City)
Batsman WAR: 4.7 by Samuel Eastman

Wins: 28 by Howard Burns (St. John’s)
ERA (150+ IP): 2.03 by Bertram Landreth (Knick)
Strikeouts: 185 by Howard Burns
Complete Games: 33 by Robert Goodman (Knick)
WHIP (150+ IP): 0.99 by Robert Goodman
Pitcher WAR: 9.2 by Howard Burns
Pitcher rWAR: 8.3 by Willie Gray (Flour City)

NATIONAL BASE BALL ORGANIZATION REGIONAL LEADERS

BROOKLYN: Atlantic at 38-21 (Empire 2 GB; Eckford 3 GB; Bedford 4 GB; Marathon 7 GB)
NEW YORK CITY: New York A.C. at 39-20 (Baltic, Hilltop, & Mercury 9 GB; Mutual & Union 10 GB)
UPSTATE N.Y.: Utica at 35-24 (Frontier 4 GB; Eagle 5 GB; Syracuse & Victory 6 GB; all others 7-8 GB)
COASTAL: Philadelphia B.C.C. at 41-18 (National 2 GB; Lord Balt. 10.5 GB)
INLAND: Pioneer & Susquehanna at 36-23 (Scranton 2 GB; Lancastra 4 GB; Reading 7 GB; Merrimack 8 GB)
NEW ENGLAND: Portland at 44-15 (Salem 10 GB)

BROOKLYN: Empire was a middling 12-11 during July to open the door for the competition, and Atlantic sprinted right through that door by going 18-5, a feat made more impressive by the fact that their 3x T.o.t.Y. SS Ben Gagliardi is batting .241. Still, this is going to be a fight to the finish as there are three teams within four games of the new, but familiar, leaders.

None of the top four teams is lucky enough to have N.B.B.O.-worst Nassau Co. (12-47) on their remaining schedule to make things easy, but Marathon does have the most difficult finish since they play at Empire and then vs Atlantic.

NEW YORK CITY: N.Y.A.C., like Atlantic, went 18-5 during July, but N.Y.A.C. used their red-hot month to put a stranglehold on the region. N.Y.A.C. ended the month by winning their last ten games, and they’re peaking at the perfect time. Meanwhile, seeing Baltic, Hilltop, & Mercury round out the N.Y.C.’s top four is definitely a strange sight.

UPSTATE N.Y.: The region beat up on itself during July, with Utica gaining two games at the top of the standings even though they were 13-10. Frontier is 2nd at just 31-28, and the rest of the pack is 5-8 games below Utica in the standings. That Eagle is still above .500 and in 3rd is rather remarkable, considering their long-term status as the N.B.B.O.’s smallest club.

Utica finishes with home series vs Frontier & Columbia. Frontier hosts Victory after playing at Utica. Eagle plays at Victory and at Binghamton. Syracuse hosts Binghamton and then plays at Minuteman. The final two weeks of the schedule are in the leaders’ favor, but with a region packed this tight anything can happen.

COASTAL: This is now a two-team race after P.B.C.C. & National ran away from the pack and Maryland had an 8-15 July. P.B.C.C.’s 17-6 July was their best month yet during their short tenure in the N.B.B.O., but National’s 15-8 mark is nothing to hand-wave away. These two teams will slug their way to the finish, and it should be very exciting.

P.B.C.C. finishes the year at Diamond St. (26-33) and vs Lord Baltimore, while National plays at Bunker Hill (22-37) and vs Maryland (29-30). The slight schedule advantage goes to National.

INLAND: Pioneer was a fine 14-10 in July but Susquehanna was 17-6, and as a result the 3x cup champs have clawed their way back to the top of the standings. Still, this is far from a two-team race as Scranton & Lancastra Brit. are within striking distance, and on top of that Scranton is 12-3 in one-run games.

The Inland Championship series of the year will take place next week, as Susquehanna visits Pioneer for five crucial games. If one side can win 4-5 then they’ll be the favorites to take the pennant. Scranton & Lancastra Brit. also play each other next week (@ LBR), but Scranton has an advantage on everyone else in that they’ll play at last-place Lake Erie (16-43) during the final week, meaning they could crash the top two if they take a decisive series victory at Lancastra.

NEW ENGLAND: Portland is going to take the New England pennant, but they were a worrying 13-10 during July as they took a number of surprising losses in close games. A team ranked 1st in the N.B.B.O. in both pitching & fielding shouldn’t be having such issues, especially late in the season, but Portland is now just 7-5 in one-run games as their offense has been faltering late. That needs to be fixed, or else the likely overall #1 will experience bitter playoff disappointment.

N.B.B.O. MONTHLY AWARDS

BATSMEN OF THE MONTH
NYL: William Snyder (SS, MUT) – .406, .998 OPS, 24 R, 41 H, 11 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 27 RBI, 2 SB, 1.3 WPA, 1.2 WAR
NEL: James Burke (CF, PBCC) – .436, 1.160 OPS, 31 R, 44 H, 18 XBH, 2 HR, 24 RBI, 8 BB, 20 SB, 1.6 WPA, 2.1 WAR

PITCHERS OF THE MONTH
NYL: Charles Snow (BED) – 10-2, 2.45 ERA, 106.1 IP, 9 CG, 39 K, 1.5 K/BB, 1.19 WHIP, 1.6 WAR, 3.6 rWAR
NEL: William Hawk (SUS) – 8-5, 1.76 ERA, 117.1 IP, 11 CG, 1 SHO, 62 K, 12.4 K/BB, 1.07 WHIP, 3.4 WAR, 3.1 rWAR

GREENHORNS OF THE MONTH
NYL: Charlie Bracker (LF, STAR) – .402, .956 OPS, 25 R, 37 H, 5 2B, 2 3B, 8 RBI, 9 BB, 2 SB, 0.6 WPA, 1.3 WAR
NEL: Francis Edwards (LF, QUI) – .382, .930 OPS, 18 R, 39 H, 12 2B, 2 3B, 13 RBI, 2 BB, 2 SB, 1.1 WPA, 0.9 WAR

N.B.B.O. STATISTICAL LEADERS

Average: .411 by William Winship (3B, Salem)
OPS: 1.046 by James Burke (CF, Philadelphia B.C.C.)
Home Runs: 5 by Elton Heywood (C, Bunker Hill) & Elwin Zajac (LF, Scranton)
Runs Batted In: 80 by Leroy Moore (RF, Philadelphia B.C.C.)
Runs: 48 by James Burke (CF, Philadelphia B.C.C.)
Stolen Bases: 50 by Karl Ilkin (LF, Union)
Batsman WPA: 4.7 by Robert Wolf (CF, Pioneer)
Batsman WAR: 5.0 by James Burke

Wins: 26 by William Burrow (Philadelphia B.C.C.)
ERA (150+ IP): 2.15 by Eilbert Kidd (Green Mtn.)
Strikeouts: 173 by Charles Rhodes (New York A.C.)
Complete Games: 26 by Martin Hales (Columbia) & Charles Rhodes
WHIP (150+ IP): 1.05 by Charles Rhodes
Pitcher WAR: 10.9 by Charles Rhodes
Pitcher rWAR: 8.9 by Emmanuel Wyatt (Mutual)

COASTAL BASEBALL CONFERENCE LEADER

Bridgeport at 43-16 (Sportsman’s 2 GB)

It’s down to a two-team race in the C.B.C. after a roughly-500 July caused Camden & Amboy, although still 3rd, to fall eleven games behind the leaders. Even though C. & A. could still technically force a playoff they’d have to win their last eleven games, Bridgeport would have to lose their last eleven games, Sportsman’s would have to go 2-9 or worse over the rest of the season, and to make matters more difficult C. & A. finishes the season by playing a home series vs Sportsman’s and then at Bridgeport.

Bridgeport plays at seventh-place Highlander (23-36) before their home series vs C. & A., while Sportsman’s plays at last-place Lynn (18-41) after their series at C. & A. Bridgeport gets a slight edge on the schedule since 5/10 games will be at home.

C.B.C. MONTHLY AWARDS

BATSMAN OF THE MONTH
Euan Graham (1B, BRI) – .457, 1.120 OPS, 30 R, 43 H, 11 2B, 1 HR, 23 RBI, 12 BB, 2 SB, 2.0 WPA, 2.0 WAR

PITCHER OF THE MONTH
Edward Koch (BRI) – 8-1, 2.25 ERA, 100.0 IP, 7 CG, 23 K, 4.6 K/BB, 1.23 WHIP, 2.1 WAR, 1.5 rWAR

GREENHORN OF THE MONTH
George Collier (1B, HIGH) – .309, .798 OPS, 16 R, 25 H, 8 2B, 2 3B, 22 RBI, 4 BB, 1 SB, 1.1 WPA, 0.7 WAR

C.B.C. STATISTICAL LEADERS

Average: .359 by Charles Neville (LF, Sportsman’s)
OPS: .888 by Charles Nevills
Home Runs: 3 by William Fair (RF, Lynn) & Butler Stout (SS, Sportsman’s)
Runs Batted In: 65 by Louis Beane (SS, Bridgeport)
Runs: 82 by Jacob Overfield (3B, Bridgeport)
Stolen Bases: 22 by Robert Werstler (CF, Bridgeport)
Batsman WPA: 4.2 by Jacob Overfield
Batsman WAR: 3.1 by Louis Beane & Charles Darling (CF, Olympic)

Wins: 22 by Tom Hauser (Bridgeport)
ERA (150+ IP): 2.44 by Edward Koch (Bridgeport)
Strikeouts: 145 by Stephen Willis (Sportsman’s)
Complete Games: 24 by Tom Hauser
WHIP (150+ IP): 1.09 by Tom Hauser
Pitcher WAR: 5.6 by Tom Hauser
Pitcher rWAR: 6.3 by Tom Hauser

PHILADELPHIA CITY BASEBALL LEAGUE LEADERS

EAST: Minerva at 35-24 (Frankford 1 GB; Sons of Ben 3 GB; Spartan 4 GB; all other teams 7-10 GB)
WEST: Schuylkill at 34-25 (Mercantile, Merion, & Overbrook 4 GB; all other teams 5-7 GB)

EAST: Minerva’s 15-8 July that ended with a five-game Winning Streak flipped the status of the top two, with Frankford now one game behind the new leaders instead of one game in front of them. Still, this is far from a two-team race as all eight are still mathematically in the pennant chase with eleven games remaining in the season – an East Phila. first.

To end the season, Minerva plays at Pt. Richmond (28-31) and vs Yorktown (25-34), Frankford plays at Spartan and at Pt. Richmond, Sons of Ben plays vs Queen Village (26-33) and vs Spartan, and Spartan plays vs Frankford and at S.o.B. Spartan has the hardest remaining schedule of the top four, while Minerva has the easiest road because they finish the season against two teams that are under .500.

WEST: Another fine West mess to end the season, with all eight teams spaced just seven games apart. That said, Schuylkill remains the odds-on favorite to take the pennant due to their four-game cushion at the top of the standings. Schuylkill ends the season playing at home vs Mercantile and then at Overbrook, so if they can hold the line in those two series even a 5-5 finish after their series finale vs Penn should be good enough to win the East title unless Merion goes nuts over their last ten.

Defending L.B.C. champions Penn are 5th at 29-30 (5 GB). They end the season with series vs Merion and at Independence.

P.C.B.L. MONTHLY AWARDS

BATSMAN OF THE MONTH
John Smith (RF, IND) – .447, 1.142 OPS, 26 R, 46 H, 7 2B, 8 3B, 22 RBI, 4 BB, 8 SB, 2.3 WPA, 1.8 WAR

PITCHER OF THE MONTH
Ralph Brown (SCH) – 8-5, 2.36 ERA, 106.2 IP, 10 CG, 2 SHO, 51 K, 3.9 K/BB, 1.11 WHIP, 2.0 WAR, 3.8 rWAR

GREENHORN OF THE MONTH
John Smith (RF, IND)* – P.C.B.L. Batsman of the Month
*Smith was also G.o.t.M. for May & June

John Smith took G.o.t.M. all three times it was awarded, ending July leading the P.C.B.L. in AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS, TB, WPA, & B-WAR. Not only is the 24-year-old a lock to win Greenhorn of the Year, but he’s also the heavy favorite to win Batsman of the Year.

P.C.B.L. STATISTICAL LEADERS

Average: .388 by John Smith (RF, Independence)
OPS: .995 by John Smith
Home Runs: 4 by George Alberta (C, Yorktown) & Jonathan Bagwell (1B, Germantown)
Runs Batted In: 71 by Jonathan Toppin (2B, Frankford)
Runs: 71 by James Harris (LF, Frankford)
Stolen Bases: 31 by George Estes (CF, Frankford) & Arthur Hall (RF, Sons of Ben)
Batsman WPA: 4.3 by John Smith
Batsman WAR: 3.8 by John Smith

Wins: 20 by three different Pitchers
ERA (150+ IP): 2.25 by James Thorp (Minerva)
Strikeouts: 131 by Ralph Brown (Schuylkill)
Complete Games: 25 by Thomas Bath (Penn) & Robert Nygren (Overbrook)
WHIP (150+ IP): 1.07 by James Thorp
Pitcher WAR: 6.7 by Thomas Bath & Oliver Greene (Frankford)
Pitcher rWAR: 7.3 by Robert Nygren