The Liberty League

[Questdog]

July 1878

On July 16, Cincinnati beat Philadelphia for the second straight time. The Reds scored twice in the 9th to win, 5 to 3. Manager/SS Dick Komp had a triple and 4 hits and scored twice.
On July 20, Philadelphia took their revenge and beat Cincinnati 16 to 0. Paul Skinner struck out 8 Reds. RF Jumbo Reeher had 5 hits, 2 RBIs and scored 3 times. Skinner's strikeout total on the season is now 158, passing Harry Mays record of 154 set last season. Harry has 172 down in the B Leagues this year so far.
On July 22, Cincinnati scored 3 times in the bottom of the 9th to beat St. Louis 12 to 11. Pitcher Tony Hughes drove in the winning run. St. Louis made 4 errors in the inning. Pitcher Miller Bullock had to leave the game for St. Louis and will miss about a week with a bruised thigh.
On July 22, 3B Joe Carter went 5 for 5 with a triple, 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored in Philadelphia's 9 to 5 win over Boston.
Also on July 22, Detroit beat Brooklyn 4 to 1. Pitcher Steve Sedam held the Atlantics to 3 hits. He had 2 hits and scored twice as a batter. RF Dan Mixon was injured in the game and will miss about 5 weeks.
Also on July 22, Abe Lowe got hurt out in San Francisco and will miss the rest of the year. He was 19-12 with a 1.84 ERA
On July 25, former MVP CF Jim Kruppa broke his knee in a 7 to 4 Philadelphia win at Boston. It was a compound fracture. He will miss the rest of the season and doctors are not sure if he will ever be able to walk without a severe limp again.
On July 27, in their first game without Kruppa, Philadelphia lost at Boston, 3 to 2 in 10 innings. Kruppa's replacement in center field, Walter Byrne, made two errors on the day, the second of which ended the game. His poor throw allowed the winning run to score.
Also on July 27, 43 year old pitcher George McCormick was in the box for Detroit as they beat Brooklyn 12 to 3. Ol' George had two hits and scored a run.
On Jul 31, Cincinnati beat Brooklyn, 7 to 0. Frank Carlucci held the Atlantics to only 3 hits. LF Chicken Evarts fractured his skull trying to make a diving catch. No one is sure what he struck his head on, but he was rushed to the hospital and a hole was drilled in his skull to alleviate the pressure from internal bleeding. Doctors say he will never play again, though he should live through the ordeal. Within 10 days, the Liberty League has lost its two best players for the year. At least one forever. 2b Joe Ricketts was also injured in this game. He separated his shoulder making a diving stop and will miss about 3 weeks.

[Questdog]

[Questdog]

August 1878

On August 3, Boston defeated Detroit, 4 to 3, in 15 innings. Pitcher Pop Coleman held the Wolverines to 6 hits.
On August 7, Detroit beat Boston, 6 to 1. Pitcher John Walker held Boston to 4 hits.
On August 10, Boston defeated St. Louis, 6 to5 in 10 innings. They scored twice in the bottom of the 9th to tie the game and won it in the 10th when 37 year old rookie 1B Hezekiah Bailey tripled home Amos Martin. LF George Stoehr had 3 hits and 4 RBIs for St. Louis, hitting his 2nd home run of the year.
On August 17, Cincinnati beat Boston, 6 to 2. Frank Carlucci held Boston to 3 hits and had 2 RBI's.
On August 31, Philadelphia shutout Cincinnati, 6 to 0. Paul Skinner allowed 8 hits and struck out 2.

[Questdog]

[Questdog]

September 1878

On September 11, Cincinnati shutout St. Louis, 2 to 0. Frank Carlucci held St. Louis to 7 hits.
On September 14, Brooklyn beat Detroit, 6 to 2. Paul Pratt held Detroit to 4 hits and set the new all-time record for wins in a season with 32.
Also on September 14, Miller Bullock held Cincinnati to 4 hits as St. Louis won, 6 to 1. Bullock also had 2 hits with his bat.
On September 18, Philadelphia defeated St. Louis, 6 to 4. Paul Skinner won his 32nd game of the year to tie Pratt for the lead and record.
On September 21, Detroit beat Boston, 2 to 1, by scoring twice in the top of the 9th. John Walker held Boston to 3 hits.
Also on September 21, Paul Pratt won his 33rd game as Brooklyn beat Cincinnati, 5 to 4 in 12 innings.
On September 35, Cincinnati beat Brooklyn, 10 to 4, and Philadelphia beat St. Louis, 9-7. The Centennials clinched their second straight Liberty League Championship. Paul Skinner won hie 33rd game.
On September 28, Philadelphia defeated Brooklyn, 6 to 5, in 10 innings. Paul Skinner won his 34th game.
On September 29, Jim Kruppa passed away from complications due to an infection in his broken knee. So now the two best players in the Liberty League are gone from the playing field forever.

October 1878

On October 2, Philadelphia beat Brooklyn again, 4 to 1, as Paul Skinner won his 35th game and guaranteed that the record would be his at least until next season.

[Questdog]

[Questdog]

[Questdog]

[OmahaReynolds]

Wow, what a rookie season from Paul Pratt. I think I'm going to latch on to Brooklyn at least while they are still a team

Haven't been able to read every post but this is good stuff, Quest.

[Westheim]

I find it so far hard to become a really annoying fanboy of anything or anybody, because my players always die or go to the B leagues (where's Monk Cunningham ...!? ) and teams are dissolving so rapidly, too.

[Questdog]

Originally Posted by Westheim

I find it so far hard to become a really annoying fanboy of anything or anybody, because my players always die or go to the B leagues (where's Monk Cunningham ...!? ) and teams are dissolving so rapidly, too.

In about 15 seasons, we will get some stability in our franchises.

Monk Cunningham, age 36, made the poor choice to sign with a B team in Minneapolis for 1878. The team had also signed Dan Melvin, our old Haymaker buddy, and Dan got the bulk of the box work. Monk pitched well when given the chance, going 2-1 with an ERA of 0.32. In 28.1 innings, he walked 1 and struck out 19.

Not sure yet where he'll be for 1879, but he did not retire.

[Lafayette53]

St. Louis looks like it was pretty much entirely smoked by bad defense.. someone tell them wearing a glove doesn't make you a sissy.

[Questdog]

Winter 1878 - Spring 1879

Jim Kruppa is dead. Chicken Evarts has a hole in his head. Top prospect Jack Hale was murdered. 1878 was a tough year to be young and athletic.....

Shortly after the season concluded, both the St. Louis Brown Stockings and the Detroit Wolverines announced that they were closing up shop. St. Louis never could figure out that getting the other guys out was as important as getting your guys safe. Detroit could never figure out how to get anyone to come watch their games.

That leaves the two-time defending Champion Philadelphia Centennials as the only original franchise left in the league after only three seasons.

Two new clubs were recruited to replace the fallen teams and two more were recruited for good measure to bring the League back up to an 8 team circuit. The new clubs are the Chicago Colts owned by John Phillips, 58, the Providence Grays owned by Lou Paul, 53, the Louisville Eclipse owned by Pete Thomason, 48, and the New Haven Nutmegs owned by Shad Clark, 60.

Dave Watford of Philadelphia was the only manager to keep his job for 1879.

Here is the results of the first round of the B Leagues Draft:

The League voted to expand the schedule to 84 games, so a team's second pitcher will become a more important part of the team in 1879.

A few new rules for the coming season:

The umpire shall fine any pitcher who intentionally hits a batter with a pitch. Some advocated allowing the batter to take first base, but President Glazer felt the fines should be enough to curb the problem.

A foul ball must be caught on the fly to be an out. Previously, it was also an out if caught after the first bounce.

The visiting team must pay the umpire.

Every pitch will be called either a ball‚ a strike‚ or a foul and 9 balls will be required for a walk. Previously, every 3rd bad pitch was a called ball and 3 called balls gave the batter his base. 3 strikes will be an out.

Pitchers must face the batter during their windups and cannot turn their back to the batter.

The International Association changed its name to the National Association, since London, Ontario left the circuit and all teams are in the United States for this season. No teams from last year returned.

There will be no named B Leagues again this season.

[Questdog]

[Questdog]

[Questdog]

[Questdog]

[Questdog]

[Questdog]

[Questdog]