The Big Bang: A Larger Baseball Universe Starting From Nothing in 1857

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NATIONAL & PBCC SLUG IT OUT AT WILLOW GROVE
COASTAL CONTENDERS TOTAL 30 RUNS & 41 HITS DURING ACTION-PACKED CONTEST

PHILADELPHIA, PENN. (July 8, 1880) - The top two teams in the Coastal Conference, Philadelphia B.C.C. & National, are playing each other this week in Philadelphia. The opener ended with a 6-3 P.B.C.C. win, but the second game was a slugfest at the Willow Grove Cricket Grounds:

The game got off to a fast start. National scored twice in T1 on a run-scoring Ground Out and a Single by RF Walter Little, and P.B.C.C. matched that in B1 with Runs on Singles by CF James Burke and 1B John Morgan. After a scoreless second stanza, the hosts hammered National with eight Runs in B3 on a Double by Burke, Single by RF Leroy Moore, Single by Morgan, Single by substitute SS Lawrence Howard, Single by P Wendell Levesque, Single by 2B Frederick Pike, another Double by Burke, and another Single by Moore. Add in a basic Single by LF Charles Washer, and P.B.C.C. racked up nine Hits during their turn to the plate while taking a 10-2 lead.

National got to work in T5, scoring four times to cut P.B.C.C.’s lead to four (6-10), the key hit being a three-run Triple by CF Francis Brown. National then tied the game (10-10) in T6 with another four-run rally, this one fueled by a Passed Ball, run-scoring Ground Out, Single, and Double from Little.

P.B.C.C. responded with the death blow: a six-run rally in B6 to take a 16-10 lead. The first two Runs scored on back-to-back Doubles by C Gilbert Ingels & 3B Albert Hogan. The third Run scored via Wild Pitch before another Double, this one by Pike, plated Run #4. Then, Washer took his bat and hit P.B.C.C.’s fourth Double of the inning to drive in the fifth Run, and the final Run scored via Passed Ball. National was able to score three times over the remaining three innings, but that wasn’t enough and P.B.C.C. had taken in the win in a 1v2 barnburner.

There were numerous excellent performances by Batsmen at Willow Grove:

• NAT 2B Chester Dudek: 3/6 (all 1B), 2 R, 1 RBI – 2 DEF DP
• NAT SS James Gentile: 3/6 (2B), 3 R, 1 RBI, 4 TB – 2 DEF DP
• NAT RF William Little: 3/6 (2B), 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 4 TB

• PBCC 3B Albert Hogan: 3/5 (2 2B), 2 R, 1 RBI, 5 TB
• PBCC LF Charles Washer: 3/6 (2 2B), 3 R, 1 RBI, 5 TB, SB
• PBCC CF James Burke: 4/6 (2 2B), 3 R, 3 RBI, 6 TB, SB – OF AST
• PBCC RF Leroy Moore: 3/6 (all 1B), 1 R, 2 RBI
• PBCC SUB Lawrence Howard: 4/4 (2B), 2 R, 3 RBI, 5 TB – PotG

Of the hosts’ 23 Hits over the course of the game, a whopping eight went for extra bases, all Doubles. In comparison, three of National’s eighteen Hits were of the extra-base variety: two Doubles and a Triple.

Howard’s performance looks peculiar given that he was 4/4 as a sub, but he entered for injured SS Gerrie Bos at the start of the third inning and P.B.C.C. scored fifteen of their seventeen Runs after he joined the fray.

The home team's victory broke the tie atop the Coastal Championship standings. Philadelphia B.C.C. is now alone in first place at 29-13, while National is 2nd at 28-14 (1 GB), Maryland is 3rd at 24-18 (5 GB), and Trenton Utd. is 4th at 22-20 (7 GB).

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KNICK MAULS MASS BAY BY BAKER’S DOZEN
METRO LEADERS’ BIG FIFTH SEALS WIN; MASCHERINO HAS SIX RBI; LANDRETH PITCHES SHUTOUT

BOSTON, MASS. (July 9, 1880) - Massachusetts Bay & Knickerbocker opened their series at Oceanside Park in Boston on Friday afternoon, and Knick showed why they are in position to take their third consecutive Metropolitan Conference pennant:

The decisive inning in Boston was the fifth. After 2B Anthony Mascherino hit a two-run Double in T4 to give Knick a 4-0 lead, the visitors put up a six-run rally in T5, with the Runs coming in on a Single by LF Clive Strachan, a two-run Double by Mascherino, another two-run Double by 3B Albert Stoffers, and finally a Double by 1B Gerald Burns. That gave Knick a double-digit lead (10-0), and it made the second half of the game a carefree affair for the visitors.

The pair of two-run Doubles were part of an outstanding day for living legend Mascherino…

• KNI 2B Anthony Mascherino: 3/4 (3 2B), 1 R, 6 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, SAC BUNT – PotG, 74 GMSC (BAT: 14th)

…thirteen-year veteran LF Clive Strachan also had an excellent afternoon…

• KNI LF Clive Strachan: 3/4 (2 2B), 4 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 1 K, 2 SB – 72 GMSC (BAT: 17th)

…and the author of the Shutout was the 1878 Pitcher of the Year, Bertram Landreth.

• KNI P Bertram Landreth: SHO (12-6), 9.0 IP, 7 HA, 0 BB, 2 K – 1/4, 2 R

The smashing win moved Knickerbocker back to ten games over .500 at 34-24, keeping them three games ahead of Gotham & Orange at the top of the Metropolitan Conference standings. Meanwhile, Massachusetts Bay is tied for last in the Colonial Conference at 26-32 (8 GB).

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NASH THE KEY AS KEYSTONE BEATS SPARTAN
LEADOFF MAN HAS FIVE HITS & FIVE RBI IN SURPRISING WIN AT DEFENDING EAST CHAMPS

PHILADELPHIA, PENN. (July 11, 1880) - Spartan, defending East Philadelphia champions, and Keystone played the final game of their series at the Ninth Street Grounds today, and it was Keystone who got in the last word to avoid a sweep:

The final score of 11-9 makes the game appear closer than it was in actuality. With Spartan ahead 4-3 after the fourth inning, Keystone came to bat for T5 and scored four times to take the lead (7-4), with the key hit a two-run Triple by LF Dennis Nash. Keystone then scored twice in the 6th and twice in the 8th to take a commanding 11-4 lead, one that was able to withstand a five-run rally by Spartan in the bottom of the ninth.

Keystone had a pair of three-hit Batsmen at Spartan…

• KEY 1B Bruce Smith: 3/6 (all 1B), 1 R, 1 RBI
• KEY RF Jeffrey Unger: 3/6 (2B), 3 R, 1 TBI

…but Nash was the obvious Player of the Game with his effort.

• T1: Single past 2B off J. Kilgore (R)
• T2: Reached via Error by SS
• T4: Leadoff Single to LF off J. Kilgore
• T5: Two-run Triple to CF off J. Kilgore (R)
• T6: 1-run Single to RF off J. Kilgore
• T8: Two-run Double to CF off W. Neal
• TOTAL: 5/6 (2B, 3B), 2 R, 5 RBI, 8 TB – 85 GMSC (BAT: 2nd)

Nash’s performance was the second-best by a P.C.B.L. Batsman this season, one that raised his Average to .326 (.835 OPS) with 40 Runs, 21 Extra-Base Hits (13 2B, 7 3B, 1 HR), 34 RBI, and 1.1 WAR through nine weeks of play.

The win moved Keystone into a tie for 6th in East Philadelphia with Queen Village at 19-26 (9 GB), while the loss kept Spartan alone in 3rd at 25-20 (3 GB). Frankford Arsenal are the current East leaders at 28-17.

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HOY SETS RECORD WITH FIFTH SHUTOUT OF SEASON
ST. JOHN’S GREENHORN CONTINUES MEMORABLE START TO CAREER WITH SHUTOUT OF SHAMROCK

BOSTON, MASS. (July 13, 1880) - Surging St. John’s is visiting Shamrock to start Week Eleven of the A.P.B.L. season, and they opened the series by winning their eighth straight game thanks to a history-making Shutout in Boston:

There wasn’t an enormous amount of offensive highlights in this one. St. John’s scored once in the 1st, 2nd, 5th, 6th, & 8th to complete their 5-0 victory, and it was Shamrock LF John Bosarge who led both sides in Hits with his 3/4 performance. There was only one Extra-Base Hit at the South End Grounds: a Double by St. John’s LF Joseph Evans to lead off T5. However, St. John’s, in true St. John’s fashion, did finish with six Stolen Bases spread out among five different Batsmen.

The above meant the clear star of the afternoon was St. John’s P William Hoy:

• StJ P William Hoy: SHO (12-14), 9 IP, 9 HA, 0 BB, 3 K – 72 GMSC

In blanking Shamrock, Hoy became the first Pitcher in A.P.B.L. history with 5+ Shutouts in a season, breaking the record of four that was originally set by Niagara’s Monroe Munson in 1872 and tied by Jim Creighton in 1876. Gotham #1 Alex Ward has also pitched four Shutouts this season.

It has been a memorable but strange Greenhorn season for William Hoy. Even though Hoy has set a new record with five Shutouts his record is 12-14, meaning nearly half his Wins have happened because he kept the opponents off the scoresheet. Not only that, but Hoy is 12-14 with a 2.38 ERA while having the league’s #1 offense supporting him. In contrast, pitching partner Howard Burns has a 21-7 record with a slightly higher ERA of 2.54. Hoy also has 82 Strikeouts, a 1.19 WHIP, and 3.9 Pitching WAR through 256.2 Inning Pitched for St. John’s in 1880. Hoy has been unlucky results-wise, but realistically he couldn’t be pitching any better.

As mentioned, the win was the eighth consecutive positive result for St. John’s, and it has brought them to within one game of first-place Pt. Jersey in the Colonial Conference at 34-27. Shamrock remains alone in third place, but they are now two games behind St. John’s and three games behind Pt. Jersey at 32-29.

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HEARNS BECOMES THE HITMAN VS MASS. BAY
FLOUR CITY OUTFIELDER HAS THIRD CAREER FIVE-HIT GAME IN DOUBLE-DIGIT HOME WIN

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (July 14, 1880) - Flour City & Massachusetts Bay played the middle game of their series at Riverside Park this afternoon, and the hosts followed up their 9-4 win in the opener with a huge win in front of the home fans on Wednesday:

This was a close contest at the in the start before Flour City cracked it open during the middle innings.

Mass. Bay & Flour City traded runs in the 1st & 3rd, leaving the scored tied 2-2 after four innings. After Mass. Bay scored again in T5, the hosts responded with a seven-run rally, the runs scoring on an odd collection of Singles, Errors, & a Hit by Pitch, to take a 9-3 lead. Flour City then scored four more times in B6 on another odd collection of Singles, Errors, & a Hit by Pitch, to increase their lead to ten (13-3). The hosts finished their scoring with two Runs in B8, the final Run of the game coming in via Single by RF Ashley Hearns that gave Flour City a 15-4 lead that stood as the final score.

For Hearns, his final Hit capped an excellent afternoon with the bat:

• B1: Leadoff Triple to RF off E. Arrington (R)
• B3: Leadoff Single to SS off E. Arrington (SB, R)
• B5: Leadoff Triple to RCF off E. Arrington (R)
• B5: 2-run Single past 2B off E. Arrington
• B6: Reached via Error by SS
• B8: 1-run Single to CF off P. Dittmer
• TOTAL: 5/6 (2 3B), 3 R, 3 RBI, 9 TB, SB – 82 GMSC (BAT: 4th)

Hearns led off three innings with Hits, and it was his Triple to begin B5 that sparked the seven-run rally that permanently shifted the game in Flour City’s favor. Hearns is batting .285 (.704 OPS) with 54 Runs, 24 Extra-Base Hits (15 2B, 7 3B, 1 HR), 29 RBI, and 1.5 Batsman WAR through 62 games for Flour City this season.

The five-hit game was the third of Hearns’ career and his second in a Flour City uniform, with the other occurring on August 14th of last year in a 16-9 win vs Newark. His performance in that game (5/6, HR, 4 R, 4 RBI, SB) was the performance of the season by a Batsman with a 97 Game Score, and overall was only bettered by Knick P William Avery’s historic Cycle that he hit while pitching a Complete Game Win at Kings Co.

The victory moved the relatively surprising Flour City team back up to an even .500 (31-31) on the season, which has them alone in fourth place in the Colonial Conference at four games back of co-leaders Pt. Jersey & St. John’s. The loss put Mass. Bay alone in last place in the Colonial at 27-35 (8 GB).

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DARLING RACKS UP SIX HITS AT HIGHLANDER
OLYMPIC CF BATS A PERFECT SIX FOR SIX AS TEAM SCORES LATE RUNS TO WIN BY SEVEN

WORCESTER, MASS. (July 15, 1880) - C.B.C. strugglers Highlander & Olympic contested the second game of their Week Ten series at the Worcester Fairgrounds on Thursday, with visiting Olympic using a late attacking surge to ensure victory:

There was loads of action early, as five Olympic Runs over the first two innings, with CF Charles Darling collecting run-scoring Hits in both, was responded to with a seven-run rally by Highlander in B2 during which the Runs were scored on a mix of Singles, Errors, & a Passed Ball. Olympic then hit back with a four-run rally in T3 featuring four run-scoring Hits – Single from Darling, Doubles from P Ray Christianson & LF Leland Lewis, & Triple from 2B Noah Skiles – to make it a 9-7 game in favor of visiting Olympic by the end of the opening three innings.

The middle innings were filled with goose eggs, but the scoring picked back up in T7 when a Passed Ball and a Triple by Paul Robertson plated two Runs to give Olympic an 11-7 lead. The visitors then responded to a Highlander tally in B7 with a Run during T8 and three more in T9, with the key Hit a run-scoring Single by Darling, to take a 15-8 lead and guarantee the win.

The ninth-inning RBI Single marked the end of a fantastic afternoon for Olympic CF Charles Darling:

• T1: 1-run Double to CF off W. McClure
• T2: 1-run Single past 3B off W. McClure
• T3: 1-run Single to RCF off W. McClure
• T6: Single to CF off R. Cook
• T8: Single to LF off R. Cook (R)
• T9: 1-run Single to CF off F. Brown
• TOTAL: 6/6 (2B), 1 R, 4 RBI, 7 TB – 81 GMSC (BAT: 5th)

Darling’s first career six-hit game raised his Average to an excellent .359 (.883 OPS), with 50 Runs, 41 RBI, and a sterling 2.6 Batsman WAR through 47 games. So far this season, Darling has been Olympic’s best player and one of the top Batsmen in the C.B.C.

Both teams remain in the lower half of the C.B.C. standings after the result in Worcester. Olympic is 7th at 17-30 (18 GB), while Highlander is in 6th at 19-28 (16 GB).

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HERE COMES ST. JOHN’S…TEN STRAIGHT WINS
7x CHAMPIONS OF BASEBALL HAD BEEN PLAYING BETTER THAN RECORD INDICATED; NOW ON A TEAR

BOSTON, MASS. (July 15, 1880) - Shamrock played hosts to St. John’s for the final game of their series at the South End Grounds in Boston on Thursday, and a late run gave the visitors a series sweep:

This was a continuously close game that was decided in the final inning. With the score even (3-3) after the end of the eighth, St. John’s RF Nelson Townsend led off T9 with a Triple and immediately afterward PH John Kelly cracked a Double past the First Baseman to drive in Townsend and put St. John’s ahead 4-3. St. John’s had other opportunities to score, but they stranded men on 2nd & 3rd and scored just the lone run. That ended up being no issue, however, as P William Hoy sent the Shamrock Batsmen back to the dugout in 1-2-3 order during B9 to preserve the 4-3 lead and guarantee the victory.

In finishing up the sweep in Boston, St. John’s won their tenth consecutive game:

• July 4: StJ 12-0 KNI – 2B Cletus Cannon: 3/4 (HR) 3 R, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 7 TB, SB – DEF DP
• July 6: NEW 4-7 StJ – 2B Cletus Cannon: 2/4 (3B), 1 R, 2 RBI, 4 TB, SB – DEF DP
• July 7: NEW 3-11 StJ – CF Rudolph Decker: 4/4 (2B), 3 R, 0 RBI, 5 TB, 3 SB
• July 8: NEW 0-5 StJ – P William Hoy: SHO (11-14), 9.0 IP, 2 HA, 0 BB, 4 K
• July 9: EXC 3-10 StJ – 1B Konrad Jensen: 2/5, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 SB
• July 10: EXC 13-14 StJ – LF Joseph Evans: 4/4 (all 1B), 4 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 3 SB – OF AST
• July 11: EXC 7-8 StJ – 3B Eamonn Higgins: 2/4 (2 2B), 1 R, 2 RBI, BB, 4 TB – GW HIT
• July 13: StJ 5-0 SHA – P William Hoy: SHO (12-14), 9.0 IP, 9 HA, 0 BB, 3 K
• July 14: StJ 8-5 SHA – 2B Cletus Cannon: 4/5 (3B), 2 R, 2 RBI, 6 TB, 3 SB
• July 15: StJ 4-3 SHA – LF Joseph Evans: 3/4 (3B), 1 R, 1 RBI, 5 TB, SB

On top of that, in winning their tenth consecutive game St. John’s ran their record to 36-27 and took over the lead in the Colonial Conference by one game over Pt. Jersey.

For the entire season, the St. John’s Run Differential has suggested they should have a better record than they showed in the standings. Before the streak, St. John’s was 26-27 with an RD indicating they should be 31-22. The issue: they were struggling in close games, with a record of 7-12 in one-run games while losing their only extra-inning contest. If they could fix that, a rampant run of results was going to come. It shouldn’t be to anyone’s surprise, then, that during St. John’s ten-game streak they’ve won three one-run games, including two home games that featured walkoff Hits in the bottom of the ninth inning: the last two games vs Excelsior.

What should be to everybody’s surprise, however, is that St. John’s has won ten consecutive games while their two most long-tenured and respected players, Konrad Jensen & Nelson Townsend, are batting .302 and .286 respectively. Jensen’s .302 would be a career low by 37 points if his current Average holds up, and for Townsend it would only be the second time batting under .300 in his twenty-year career, with the other being his .278 Average in 1876.

Nonetheless, St. John’s still has the league’s #1 offense, a Greenhorn P in William Hoy who just set a new record for Shutouts in a season, a #1 in Howard Burns who might cross the 30-Win barrier, and a team full of confidence that is peaking at the right time. That is terrible news for the rest of the A.P.B.L.

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WERRA DRIVES IN HALF A DOZEN VS OVERBROOK
PENN OUTFIELDER PUNISHES WAYWARD PITCHING, OTHERS CHIP IN DURING TWELVE-RUN HOME WIN

PHILADELPHIA, PENN. (July 17, 1880) - Defending P.C.B.L. champions Penn B.C. are hosting Overbrook this week. After losing the first two games they won a 13-12 thriller in ten innings on Friday, and they were looking to even the series on Saturday. Penn got the result they wanted, and it was a much easier victory than yesterday’s squeaker:

Overbrook started the game off right, with three Runs in T1 coming home via two Singles and an Error. Penn responded with four Runs in B1 via four different run-scoring Singles, and it was 4-3 with the advantage to Penn at the end of the first inning.

After that, it was just about all Penn at University City Park, as the hosts scored fifteen of the game’s last nineteen Runs. The big inning was the third, during which Penn responded to an Overbrook score in T3 with a six-run rally, one that featured four more run-scoring Singles, to take an 11-4 lead. Penn had an easy time of it from there, with the last of their nineteen Runs scoring during the bottom of the seventh on a Single by C Damian McLaughlin. In the end, Penn finished off Overbrook with a winning margin of an even dozen (7-19).

Penn finished the game with 23 Hits as a team, and four of their Batsmen had three each.

• PENN C Damian McLaughlin: 3/6 (all 1B), 2 R, 1 RBI – 1/3 CS
• PENN 3B Finlay MacKay: 3/6 (all 1B), 1 R, 2 RBI – DEF DP
• PENN CF Francis Byrd: 3/5 (2 2B), 3 R, 1 RBI, 5 TB – OF AST
• PRNN RF Charles Taylor: 3/6 (2 2B), 3 R, 3 RBI, BB, 5 TB

However, it was LF John Werra who earned Player of the Game honors with his display of batsmanship:

• B1: 1-run Single to RF off W. Marrs (SB, R)
• B2: 1-run Infield Single to SS off W. Marrs
• B3: 1-run Single past SS off W. Marrs (R)
• B4: 1-run Base on Balls by T. Nesbitt
• B6: 2-run Triple to RCF off T. Nesbitt (R)
• B7: Single to RCF off J. Smith
• TOTAL: 5/5 (3B), 3 R, 6 RBI, BB, 7 TB, SB – 108 GMSC (BAT: 1st)

Werra’s performance marked the first by anybody in the P.C.B.L. this season with a 100+ Game Score. It raised his Batting Average to a splendid .356 (.878) with 39 Runs, 35 RBI, 2.7 WPA, and 1.6 WAR through 49 games. Werra is currently on track to easily have the best season of his five-year career.

Overbrook remains alone in second place in West Philadelphia in spite of the loss. They are currently one game over .500 at 25-24, five games behind leaders Schuylkill (30-19). Penn is stuck in a three-way tie for last with Germantown & Merion, but at 23-26 they’re only seven games out of first place.

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TWO OF THE BEST PERFORAMNCES OF ’80 ON WED.
EDWARDS HAS SIX HITS; WOLFF FUELS BIG MERRIMACK VICTORY; SYRACUSE WINS WILD GAME

NORTHEAST U.S.A. (July 21, 1880) - There were three games & performances of note across the N.B.B.O. on Wednesday afternoon, as Week Eleven of the 1880 season got underway.

First, Granite & Quinnipiac opened their series at the Kalivas Union Grounds in Manchester, New Hampshire, and the visitors exited with a nine-run win thanks to a barrage of early scoring:

Quinnipiac took control of the contest straight away, scoring four times in T1 on Singles by LF Francis Edwards, CF Charles Thomas, & 3B Columbus Young, with the fourth Run coming in via the rare but most exciting of happenings: a successful Squeeze Play by SS Moody Steiger, who laid down a perfect bunt with Claude Owens flying in from Third Base.

Quinnipiac added two Runs in the 2nd on an Error and a Triple by Thomas, and another Run in T3 on a Single by Owens made it 7-0 to the visitors. That was easily enough for the Win since Quinnipiac #1 Vilhelm Adriansen was in fine form…

• QUI P Vilhelm Adriansen: CG W (17-13), 9.0 IP, 10 HA, 2 ER/1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K

…but they added four more scores over the course of the remaining six innings to exit with an 11-2 victory.

The visitors actually should have scored more during the game because they finished with an even twenty Hits on the afternoon. However, they stranded a dozen men on the basepaths. Still, a nine-run away win is nothing to complain about, and one player in particular, LF Francis Edwards, had a spectacular day in New Hampshire:

• T1: 1-run Single to RCF off C. Dempsey (R)
• T2: Single to LCF off C. Dempsey (R)
• T4: Double past 1B off C. Dempsey
• T6: Leadoff Double to RCF off C. Dempsey (R)
• T7: 1-run Triple to LCF off J. Schlitz
• T9: 1-run Single past 2B off J. Schlitz
• TOTAL: 6/6 (2 2B, 3B), 3 R, 3 RBI, 10 TB – 90 GMSC (BAT: 5th)

Wednesday’s game at Granite may well have been the coming out party for the 22-year-old Greenhorn. Having entered 1880 as one of the top Batsman prospects in the N.B.B.O., Edwards has quietly spent nearly the entire campaign batting well over .300. Through 51 games of his debut season, Edwards is batting .368 (.860 OPS) with 46 Runs, 17 Extra-Base Hits (14 2B, 3 3B), 24 RBI, and 1.9 WAR. While he’s been light on run production, the lineup around Edwards hasn’t provided much help as Quinnipiac ranks 44th in the N.B.B.O. in Runs per Game. Still, Edwards should make it to the All-Star Game as a Greenhorn.

The result left Quinnipiac 5th in New England at 24-27 and Granite tied for last at 20-31. Not that either team’s record matters much, as Portland is currently an unbelievable 42-9 and clear atop the New England standings by no less than 14.5 games.

The next contest of interest took place in Lowell, Massachusetts, where Merrimack Mills hosted Inland leaders Scranton. The result of that game was something few, if any, expected: an eighteen-run Merrimack victory:

This was no contest. Merrimack scored twice in B1, and that ended up being the start of an absolute annihilation as Merrimack would go on to score the game’s first nineteen Runs before Scranton scratched a meaningless tally mark on the board in T9.

The hosts finished with nineteen Hits, and while three of their Batsmen had three each it was their leadoff man, RF Michael Wolff, who had by far the biggest impact on the proceedings:

• MM RF Michael Wolff: 3/6 (all 1B), 5 R, 6 RBI, 1 BB – 94 GMSC (BAT: 2nd)

One might be wondering how Wolff managed to score five times and drive in six on just three Hits. First, Wolff scored after all three of his Hits, the Base on Balls he drew, and the time he reached base via Error. Also, Wolff ended the game with six Runs Batted In because each of his three Hits was a two-run Single.

Wednesday’s brilliant performance left Wolff a .309 hitter (.800 OPS) on the season, with 49 Runs, 31 RBI, and 1.6 WAR while having played in 46 of Merrimack’s 51 games. So far, the second-year Outfielder is having a better season than his Greenhorn campaign of last year.

Merrimack’s win knocked Scranton out of the top spot in the Inland Standings due to Pioneer’s 5-4 win vs Lake Erie. Pioneer is currently 30-20 vs Scranton’s 30-21, with Pioneer having played one fewer game due to a scheduled contest between Merrimack & Pioneer on June 13th being rained out. That game will be made up next week. The result also pulled Merrimack back to .500 at 25-25, which sees them 6th in Inland but only five games out of first.

Finally, in Upstate New York leaders Utica hosted Syracuse at Conkling Field, and the result was a wild 19-15 Syracuse victory in which the teams combined to pound out 45 Hits (SYR: 24, UTI: 21).

The final score was a bit of a stunner, as both teams had their highly talented #1’s working with the ball. Still, it was a bloodbath for the starting Pitchers:

• SYR P Jacob Wesolowski: W (18-13), 6.0 IP, 14 HA, 9 RA/2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
• UTI P Alexander Verde: L (17-12), 2.1 IP, 11 HA, 12 RA/2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Given the amount of Hits, it should come as no surprise that here were a number of outstanding performances by the Batsmen:

• SYR 1B Howard Newton: 5/6 (all 1B), 3 R, 1 RBI, 2 SB – PotG
• SYR 3B Arvid Walters: 4/6 (2B), 2 R, 1 RBI, 5 TB
• SYR RF Lon Duffy: 3/4 (2B), 2 R, 1 RBI, 4 TB, SAC FLY
• UTI C William Shallit: 4/6 (2B), 1 R, 4 RBI, 5 TB
• UTI 3B William Ioffe: 3/6 (2B), 2 R, 4 RBI, 2 K, 4 TB
• UTI SS John Stupar: 3/5 (all 1B), 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 K
• UTI RF John Norris: 3/6 (all 1B), 4 R, 1 RBI

Utica, now 29-22, remained two games in front of the Upstate pack in spite of the loss, as second-place Eagle lost at Frontier. Meanwhile, the win moved Syracuse into a tie for fourth with Victory at 26-25 (3 GB). Currently, the whole of Upstate is separated by just seven games from top to bottom.

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PITCHER HITS HOMER AS PORTLAND ROUTS GREEN MTN.
DRESSEN SMACKS TEAM’S 9th HR OF SEASON, RUPPEL ADDS FIVE HITS AS PORT. NOW 43-9

BURLINGTON, VER. (July 22, 1880) - One of the four series in the New England Championship this week involves defending champions Green Mountain hosting presumptive champions Portland, and after a 10-2 win in the opener the visitors took another dominant victory in a season full of them on Thursday:

Green Mtn. started the game off right. They scored twice in B1 via Error and Triple by CF Franklin Painter, and after Portland plated a pair with two Singles in T2 the hosts responded with three more Runs, the key Hit being a run-scoring Double by LF Joseph Walters, to take a 5-2 lead.

Unfortunately for Green Mtn., Portland woke up after that and dominated the rest of the contest at Chittenden Field, scoring thirteen of the game’s last sixteen Runs. They scored four times in T3 to take the lead (6-5), with the big moment an Inside the Park Home Run by LF Albert Noyes. After a Run in T4 to go ahead by two (7-5), they plated a pair in T5 to go up 9-5, with the key Hit, of all things, an Inside the Park Home Run from P Robert Dressen that gave Portland their ninth round-tripper of 1880 (N.B.B.O. team avg: 6).

Portland ended the contest in T6 with a five-run rally that made it a 15-5 game. The runs in that inning were scored on a Single by Dressen, a run-scoring Ground Out, a Single by 3B Earl Ludgate, a Single by Noyes, and finally a Double by CF John Ruppel. The hosts responded with three Runs in B6, but that wasn’t going to trouble Portland and the visitors added a final tally in T9 to give the game its final score of 15-8.

For unlikely Home Run hitter Dressen, it was an odd afternoon in that the 2x All-Star struggled with the ball but easily made up for it with the bat:

• PORT P Robert Dressen: W (15-4), 8.0 IP, 13 HA, 8 RA/6 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
• PORT P Robert Dressen: 3/4 (HR), 2 R, 2 RBI, 6 TB, SAC BUNT

While the Home Run was the second of Dressen’s nine-year career across nearly 1,200 Plate Appearances, the Win gave him a 15-4 record and 2.69 ERA, with 35 Strikeouts and 3.5 Pitching WAR over 177.1 innings on the season. Dressen’s work, combined with that of #1 Francis Molinari (25-4, 2.21 ERA, 152 K, 7.8 WAR), means Portland has the distinct chance that they’ll have two Pitchers in the All-Star Game.

Dressen was also far from the only three-hit Portland player, as the team’s total of 21 Hits at Green Mtn. meant four players aside from Dressen finished with 3+:

• PORT 1B Ed Donovan: 3/6 (3B), 1 R, 2 RBI, 5 TB
• PORT LF Albert Noyes: 3/6 (2B, HR), 3 R, 2 RBI, 7 TB
• PORT CF John Ruppel: 5/6 (2 2B), 1 R, 2 RBI, 7 TB
• PORT RF Cody Harris: 3/5 (2 2B), 2 R, 1 RBI, 5 TB

The win improved Portland’s record to a simply absurd 43-9 (+177 RD), which currently has placed them as the #1 overall team in the N.B.B.O. by no less than seven games over Coastal Championship co-leaders National & Philadelphia B.C.C. Their lead over second-place Salem in New England is a staggering fifteen games, meaning there’s a chance Portland could clinch their spot in the playoffs this week, with 15+ games remaining.

As for defending New England Champions Green Mtn., they’re tied for 3rd in New England with Sons of the Ocean at 25-27.

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KNICK V QUAKER ST. ENDS IN 14-INNING PITCHER’S DUEL
KNICK #1 GOODMAN & Q.S. #2 GIFFORD GO THE DISTANCE EVEN THOUGH FIVE EXTRA FRAMES NEEDED

MANHATTAN, N.Y. (July 22, 1880) - Knickerbocker & Quaker State played the final contest of their three-game set at the Elysian Fields on Thursday, and while Knick got the sweep they wanted it took a bunch of extra baseball to earn it:

Quaker St. opened the scoring in T3, when P Walter Gifford crossed Home Plate on a Ground Out by CF Ned Morganti. Knick took the lead in T4 (1-2) on a Sacrifice Fly from 3B Albert Stoffers and a Single by CF Louis Dyke. The visitors then evened the score in T5 (2-2) when an Error allowed RF Charles Aplin to cross the plate.

After the above Runs came through…nothing. Both teams’ pitching & fielding was in fine form, and the Quaker St. tally in T5 was the last Run scored during the regulation nine innings. Then, the tenth went by scoreless…and the eleventh…and the twelfth…and the thirteenth.

Having entered rarely seen territory in baseball, Quaker St. took their bats for the top of the fourteenth inning and went down in 1-2-3 order via two Strikeouts and a Ground Out. Knick came up for their turn at bat, and after 1B Gerald Burns led off the inning with a Single he was moved to 2nd with a Sacrifice Bunt by substitute Hiram Britton and then stole Third Base. With Burns ninety feet from home, Dyke hit a ball into the Left-Center Field gap that drove in Burns and gave Knick a hard-earned and hard-fought 3-2 home win.

The big story from this game was the pitching, as the only men to deliver the ball were the two who started the game:

• QS P Walter Gifford: L (1-6), 13.1 IP, 8 HA, 3 R/1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K – 83 GMSC (P: 18th)
• KNI P Robert Goodman: CG W (19-15), 14.0 IP, 7 HA, 2 R/0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K – 100 GMSC (P: 1st)

In victory, Gifford became the first Pitcher in A.P.B.L. history to reach a triple-digit Game Score solely through his efforts with the ball. Teammate William Avery achieved a combined total of 127 in a win at Kings Co. on July 9th last year, but that was the game in which he became the first P ever to hit for the Cycle, and most of his Game Score was earned via bat.

Goodman entered the game on a run of terrible luck, having lost nine of his last twelve decisions in spite of a 2.23 ERA. The marathon victory improved his record to 19-15 on the season, with a 2.13 ERA, 131 Strikeouts, and 5.6 WAR over 308 innings with the ball for Knick.

The win kept Knick in a tie atop the Metropolitan Conference standings with bitter rivals Gotham at 40-29, as Gotham completed a sweep at Kings Co. with a 9-8 victory. Meanwhile, the loss kept Quaker St. in last place in the Metro with the A.P.B.L.’s worst record: 28-42.

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KINGS CO. CLOBBERS NEWARK BY TWENTY-SIX
K.C. SCORES IN each INNING, PLATES MULTIPLE RUNS SEVEN TIMES DURING MAULING OF VISITORS

BROOKLYN, N.Y. (July 23, 1880) - Kings County & Newark began their series at Washington Park in Brooklyn on Friday, and one could argue that it was quite a pleasant stroll in Washington Park for the hosts:

Newark was absolutely hammered by Kings Co. The hosts put two Runs on the board in B1 on a Double by 2B Herman Stanley and a Single by RF Sig Siemens, and that was the start of an avalanche of scoring. Kings Co. proceeded to score multiple times during each trip to bat with the exception of the fifth inning, in which they scored once on a Sacrifice Fly. When the damage was totaled up, Kings Co. had scored 27 Runs on 25 Hits, and they’d crushed Newark by a final margin of 26.

The beneficiary of the Kings Co. offensive eruption was #2 P Paul Caldwell.

• KC P Paul Caldwell: CG W (11-12), 9.0 IP, 10 HA, 1 R/1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K – 3 SAC BUNT

Meanwhile, the Kings Co. lineup featured a pair of Batsmen with three Hits…

• KC 2B Herman Stanley: 3/5 (2 2B), 3 R, 4 RBI, 5 TB
• KC SS Clarence Anderson: 3/7 (2B), 3 R, 3 RBI, 4 TB

…and another pair of Batsman with five Hits each. The first was C Carl Nevers…

• B2: Single to LF off A. Lowden (R)
• B3: Reached via Error by 3B (R)
• B3: Reached via Error by SS
• B5: Leadoff Single past 2B off T. Stewart (R)
• B6: 1-run Single past 2B off J. Clegg (R)
• B7: 1-run Single past 1B off J. Clegg
• B8: Single to RF off T. Beane
• TOTAL: 5/7 (all 1B), 4 R, 2 RBI – 1/1 CS, 74 GMSC (BAT: 21st)

…and the second five-hit Batsman was 5x All-Star LF Fred Bartholomew.

• B1: Leadoff double to RF off A. Lowden (R)
• B2: 1-run Fielder’s Choice (R)
• B3: 2-run Double to LF off A. Lowden (R)
• B4: Leadoff Single to LF off T. Stewart (R)
• B5: Reached via Error by 2B
• B6: 1-run Double to CF off J. Clegg
• B8: Leadoff Single past 2B off J. Clegg (R)
• TOTAL: 5/7 (3 2B), 5 R, 4 RBI, 8 TB – 95 GMSC (BAT: 2nd)

Nevers is having a fine season behind the plate for Kings Co. through seventy games (59 GP) he’s batting .312 (.705) with 35 RBI and 1.9 WAR while being one of the better defensive Catchers in the A.P.B.L. Bartholomew’s afternoon brought his Average back up above .300, which is where it’s been for every season of his ten-year career. Bartholomew is batting .305 (.753 OPS) with 66 Runs, 27 Extra-Base Hits, 34 RBI, 23 Stolen Bases, and 2.3 WAR so far in 1880.

The win brought Kings Co., who had just been swept by Gotham, back to .500 at 35-35. They are currently 4th in the Metropolitan Conference and six games behind leaders Knickerbocker. The loss dropped Newark to last place in the Colonial Conference at 31-39, with the New Jersey outfit eleven games behind leaders St. John’s.

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DAVISON THE STAR IN DRUBBING OF YORKTOWN
QUEEN VILL. CF HAS FIVE HITS & SIX RBI IN HOME WIN; FOSTER ADDS FOUR HITS & FIVE RBI

PHILADELPHIA, PENN. (July 24, 1880) - Queen Village & Yorktown played the fourth game of their East Philadelphia series on Saturday afternoon, and the hosts took both their third straight victory and a series triumph with a seven-run win:

Yorktown opened the scoring straight away with a pair of run-scoring Ground Outs in T1, but Queen Vill. responded with a five-run rally during which the Runs scored on a Double by RF Ben Roberts, Single by CF Stuart Davison, two-run Single by C Milton Foster, and Single by SS William Bolerjack. The hosts added a pair in B2 on a Single by Davison and a Double by Foster to take a 7-2 lead, and then made it 8-2 on a Roberts Single in B3.

Yorktown’s response was to tie the game over the next two innings, first cutting the deficit to four (8-4) with two Runs in T4 and then scoring Runs via Single, Double, Error, & Single in T5 to make to even the score 8-8 and make it a new contest.

Having lost a six-run lead in short order, Queen Vill. came back with the knockout blow in B5: an eight-run rally featuring run-scoring Hits by Roberts (two-run Double), Davison (two-run Single), Foster (Single), and substitute SS William Doolittle (Single). Now enjoying a 16-8 lead, the hosts found themselves in little trouble over the final four innings before exiting with a seven-run victory.

The RBI Singles for Davison were part of a truly outstanding afternoon:

• B1: 1-run Single to LF off P. Burns (R)
• B2: 1-run Single to CF off P. Burns (R)
• B4: Fly Out to CF (2 out)
• B5: 2-run Single past SS off J. Lawrence (R)
• B6: Single past 2B off J. Lawrence
• B8: 2-run Triple to RF off J. Lawrence (R)
• TOTAL: 5/6 (3B), 4 R, 6 RBI, 7 TB – OF AST, 106 GMSC (BAT: 2nd)

Davison’s performance was the second-best by a Batsman in the P.C.B.L. this season when judging by Game Score, ranking behind only John Werra’s effort for Penn B.C. vs Overbrook exactly one week ago (5/5, 3B, 3 R, 6 RBI, BB, SB), which earned Werra a Game Score of 108. Second-year CF Davison is batting .330 (.841 OPS) with 57 Runs, 16 Extra-Base Hits, 41 RBI, and 1.2 Batsman WAR.

Davison wasn’t the only Queen Vill. player with a great afternoon, as 1878 Batting Champion Milton Foster also excelled:

• QV C Milton Foster: 4/6 (2 2B), 2 R, 5 RBI, 6 TB – 1/4 CS

The victory moved Queen Village into a tie with Pt. Richmond for 5th in East Philadelphia at 25-29, while Yorktown remains in last at 23-31. The current East leaders are Frankford Arsenal, who are three games clear atop the standings at 33-21.

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GOTHAM’S WARD IS SECOND TO FIVE SHUTOUTS
GOTHAM #1 JOINS FIVE SHUTOUT CLUB NEARLY TWO WEEKS AFTER ST. JOHN’S GREENHORN HOY

BOSTON, MASS. (July 25, 1880) - Metropolitan Conference contenders Gotham entered the final game of their series at Shamrock needing a victory to avoid a sweep in Boston, and Gotham achieved the objective with a three-hit Shutout:

The innings that won the game for the visitors were the 3rd & 4th. With two out in T3, a Single by LF William Tillman sent 7x All-Star 2B Babe Johnson across the plate to open the scoring. C Howard LeBouf followed with a run-scoring Double, and then a Wild Pitch gave Gotham a 3-0 lead. The visitors added two more Runs T4 to go ahead 5-0, with the Runs coming in thanks to a Home Run over the Left Field fence by CF Alexander Hammond.

Gotham didn’t put any more Runs on the scoreboard after that, but they didn’t need to because Pitching Duo #1 Alex Ward was in fine form:

• GOT P Alex Ward: SHO (20-12), 9.0 IP, 3 HA, 2 BB, 2 K – 79 GMSC

The blanking in Boston made Ward the second Pitcher in baseball history with five Shutouts in a season, joining St. John’s surprising Greenhorn William Hoy, who earned his fifth Shutout of 1880 earlier this month – July 13th – in the same venue (South End Grounds), against the same team (Shamrock), and by the same score (StJ 5-0 SHA).

The Shutout also earned Ward his 20th Win of 1880. He is now 20-12 with a 2.94 ERA, 65 Strikeouts, 1.26 WHIP, and 3.4 WAR over 278.1 Innings Pitched, with all of his statistical markers except K/BB Ratio on pace to end up as significant improvement from his debut season last year (14-25, 4.30 ERA, 65 K, 1.47 WHIP, 4.3 WAR).

The victory in Boston kept Gotham one game behind Metropolitan Conference leaders Knickerbocker. Gotham is currently 41-31, and they play at American to start next week before the All-Star Break begins. Shamrock is 38-34, 3rd in the Colonial Conference and six games behind leaders St. John’s. Their last series before the All-Star Break is at Flour City.

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1880 NATIONAL BASE BALL ORGANIZATION ALL-STAR GAME
PUTNAM GROUNDS HOSTS; PBCC TIES RECORD WITH SIX NOMINEES; WILL NEL WIN AGAIN?

BROOKLYN, N.Y. (July 26, 1880) – With three weeks left to play in the season, it’s time for the twentieth edition of the annual N.B.B.O. All-Star Game! Rules were the same as always:

• Places 1-6 in each team’s roster will go to the best pitchers in each league.
• The remaining 24 roster spots will consist of three players for every other position.

Hosting duties went back to the New York League this year, and with a number of the larger New York grounds having already hosted the event it was decided that a well-liked venue that had yet to experience it, Empire B.B.C.’s Putnam Grounds and its capacity of 6,514, was going to be where this year’s All-Star Game would take place.

The N.Y.L. roster went back to the realm of parity this year, with no teams matching Eckford’s All-Star haul of five from 1879. Surging Atlantic, 15-4 this month, led the league with four All-Stars, and incredibly no other team had more than two. With 19 of 24 teams represented, this was the most competitively diverse N.Y.L. roster in All-Star Game history.

For the N.E.L., the surprise was that N.B.B.O. #1 Portland didn’t lead in nominations. However, with their team’s success coming via dominant pitching and excellent fielding it meant their Pitching Duo was the focus of the All-Star accolades. Instead, Philadelphia B.C.C. and it’s #1 overall attack earned a record-tying six nominations, led, of course, by James Burke. They provided the entire starting Outfield for the N.E.L., while six other teams were represented at the other six positions.

There were 26 first-time nominees in this year’s All-Star Game (NYL: 14, NEL: 12), and while there were some first-year regulars only two Greenhorns were called this time, instead of last year’s six. The pair: Bedford 2B William Napier & Quinnipiac OF Francis Edwards. The elder stateman at this year’s All-Star Game was Burke, who some still couldn’t believe was playing in the N.B.B.O. Including his legendary A.P.B.L. success, he was playing in his fourteenth All-Star Game.

Rosters for the 1880 N.B.B.O. All-Star Game were as follows, with starters marked in red:

With the N.E.L. having dominated in recent years, how did this year’s All-Star Game turn out?

Shockingly, the Northeastern League won it for the sixth consecutive year thanks to two late scores.

The N.E.L. started brilliantly: a five-run rally in T1 that featured a two-run Home Run by Chester Dudek and a two-run Triple by Charles Washer. Dudek drove in another run with a Single in T2 to put the visitors ahead 6-0, but the N.Y.L. responded with their own five-run rally in B2, the key hit a two-run Double by Herb Verrett, to slash the deficit to one (6-5). The teams traded Runs in the third, and it was a 7-6 game after the opening innings.

The middle innings only saw notable action during the bottom of the sixth, when the N.Y.L. scored three times. First, Andrew Cohen hit an RBI Single to tie the game (7-7), then Harvey McKie hit a run-scoring Triple to put the hosts in the lead (7-8), and then a Run came through on a Passed Ball to put the N.Y.L. up by two (7-9).

Unfortunately for the N.Y.L., that Run via Passed Ball was the last they would score, and the N.E.L. machine excelled late. The visitors made it a 9-8 game via Ground Out in T7 and tied the game (9-9) in T8 on a Passed Ball. Then, in the top of the ninth Franklin Grigsby hit a run-scoring Double to give the N.E.L. a 10-9 lead and Frank Thomas followed him with an RBI Single to put them ahead 11-9. All the N.Y.L. could do in B9 was be sent down 1-2-3, and the N.E.L. had yet another All-Star Game triumph and another year of bragging rights added to their résumé.

With a pair of big Hits early, including the All-Star Game’s only Home Run, first-time All-Star Chester Dudek earned Most Valuable Player honors:

• NEL 2B Chester Dudek: 2/3 (HR), 1 R, 3 RBI, 5 TB

Dudek was one of five players in the game with multiple base hits. The others were all starters: N.E.L. LF Charles Washer (2/2, 2 R, 2 RBI), N.Y.L. 3B Isaac Kelly (2/2, 2B, 2 R), N.Y.L. SS Jules Thomas (2/2, 1 R, 1 RBI), & N.Y.L. LF Herb Verrett (2/3, 2B, 2 RBI).

The pitchers of record were Vilhelm Adriansen with the Win and George Layman with the Loss.

Attendance at the Putnam Grounds was 6,514, and weather was 72 degrees with sparse clouds and a light breeze blowing in from Center Field – a perfect afternoon for baseball’s cavalcade of stars.

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ST. JOHN’S HAS WON 19 OF LAST 20 GAMES
WHITE-HOT STREAK CONTINUES WITH A MEMORABLE COMEBACK AT HOME vs ALLEGHANY

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (July 27, 1880) - On Tuesday, Colonial Conference leaders St. John’s hosted defending Founders Cup champions Alleghany to begin their final series before the All-Star Break, and after spending most of the afternoon looking like they were going to lose the men from Providence pulled a result out of their hats:

For seven innings the visitors were in control, with Alleghany exiting the seventh ahead 6-1 after 3B Frank Doherty hit an RBI Double in T7. However, after a scoreless T8 the hosts came up to bat and plated four to cut Alleghany’s lead to one (6-5), with the Runs coming in on a Single by RF Nelson Townsend and a massive three-run Triple by 1B Konrad Jensen. Then, after Alleghany went down scoreless again in T9 St. John’s CF Rudolph Decker took his bat with men on 2nd & 3rd and two out in B9 and proceeded to hit a Single that drove in C Joseph Nalley & 3B John Kelly to give St. John’s a 7-6 home win that had looked very unlikely thirty minutes earlier.

Since St. John’s thirteen-game Winning Streak ended on July 20th – a 4-3 home loss to Pt. Jersey in which they allowed three Runs in T9 – they have won their last six games, meaning that St. John’s has won in nineteen of their last twenty outings and a ninth-inning Pt. Jersey rally is the only that has kept them from a twenty-game unbeaten run.

When St. John’s had won ten consecutive games, those ten contests were detailed. Here are how their last ten have played out:

• July 16: StJ 6-5 AME – C Joseph Nalley: 3/4 (2 2B), 1 R, 1 RBI, 5 TB – 1/2 CS
• July 17: StJ 6-1 AME – 1B Konrad Jensen: 3/4 (2B, 3B), 2 R, 2 RBI, 6 TB
• July 18: StJ 11-1 AME – CF Rudolph Decker: 4/6 (2 2B), 2 R, 2 RBI, 6 TB, SB
• July 20: PtJ 4-3 StJ – St. John’s allowed three Runs in T9 (were ahead 1-3)
• July 21: PtJ 3-4 StJ (10) – 1B Konrad Jensen: 3/5 (all 1B), 1 R, 1 RBI, GW HIT
• July 22: PtJ 7-16 StJ – 2B Cletus Cannon: 3/4 (2B), 1 R, 4 RBI, BB, 4 TB, SB
• July 23: TIG 1-5 StJ – P Howard Burns: CG W (26-7), 9.0 IP, 6 HA, 1 R/1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
• July 24: TIG 4-11 StJ – RF Nelson Townsend: 3/3 (3B), 2 R, 3 RBI, BB, 5 TB, 2 SB, SAC FLY
• July 25: TIG 5-9 StJ – 2B Cletus Cannon: 3/4 (3B), 2 R, 2 RBI, 5 TB – DEF DP
• July 27: ALL 6-7 StJ – 1B Konrad Jensen: 2/4 (3B), 1 R, 3 RBI, 4 TB – GW HIT

After a 4-3 loss at Knickerbocker on July 3rd, St. John’s found themselves under .500 at 26-27, 6th in the Colonial Conference, and six games behind conference leaders Port Jersey. Since that fateful loss at the Elysian Fields, St. John’s is 19-1 over their last twenty games, has run their record to 46-28, has gained a whopping dozen games on Pt. Jersey, and has not only taken over top spot in the Colonial Conference but gone six games clear AND they’ve also passed Knick for best record in the A.P.B.L. It’s the best 3+ weeks of baseball by any team in A.P.B.L. history.

St. John’s has two more games vs Alleghany before the week-long All-Star Break, and given both St. John’s home record (26-11) and Alleghany’s away record (13-24) they are two very winnable games. Take positive results from those, and St. John’s will be on a 21-1 run heading into the layoff, which will make them the prohibitive favorites to win this year’s Founders Cup.

What a difference a few weeks makes!

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COLUMBIA HAS QUARTET OF STARS AT FRONTIER
FOUR BATSMEN FINISH WITH 3+ HITS AS VISITORS TAKE SURPRISING FOURTEEN-RUN WIN

OSWEGO, N.Y. (July 30, 1880) - Frontier & Columbia entered the third game of their N.B.B.O. Week Twelve series even at a game apiece. On Friday afternoon, visiting Columbia followed up their 12-5 win from the day before with a thorough trouncing of the defending Upstate champions:

This was truly a shocker for the hosts, as 2x All-Star Edward Pelham, who entered the game with an 18-13 record and 3.43 ERA, had the ball. That didn’t bother Columbia, as they began the game with a five-run rally in T1, with the key Hit a two-run Double by 2B Henry Worrell. They followed that up with a pair of Runs in T2, and after a scoreless T3 they plated one in T4 and then ended the contest mercilessly.

Already ahead 8-0, Columbia took their bats for T5 and put eight Runs on the board with an extremely rare multiple Home Run inning. Martin Hales, known to be good with the bat for a Pitcher, led off the inning with a shot over the short fence in Left Field, his third career Home Run in a little over 1,300 Plate Appearances. After LF William Vickers followed with a Triple, All-Star 3B Colin McLean stepped up and hit a two-run Home Run over the same fence. A series of Singles & Errors allowed five more Runs to score, and by the middle of the fifth inning it was 16-0 to Columbia. The rest of the game played out quickly, and Columbia exited Fort Ontario with a crushing 17-3 victory in which they collected 23 Hits.

Hales’ Home Run was his only Hit of the day in six trips to the plate, but he’s a Pitcher. Some of his teammates, on the other hand, gave him plenty of support.

• COL 1B Harold Cotner: 4/7 (all 1B), 4 R, 2 RBI – DEF DP
• COL 3B Colin McLean: 3/7 (HR), 2 R, 4 RBI, 6 TB
• COL CF William Vickers: 5/6 (2B, 3B), 3 R, 0 RBI, 8 TB, 2 SB
• COL RF James Cramer: 4/6 (2 3B), 2 R, 1 RBI, 8 TB

Three other Columbia batsmen – C Allen Tocher, 2B Henry Worrell, & LF Jessup Miller – had two Hits each.

The loss dropped Frontier into a tie for second place in Upstate New York with Eagle, the N.B.B.O.’s surprise team of the year, at 30-28. Meanwhile, the victory moved Columbia, last place each of the past four seasons, alone into sixth at 28-30. Utica is currently the Upstate leader at 34-24.

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MINERVA EVEN WITH FRANKFORD AFTER HUGE WIN
HOSTS NOW TIED FOR 1ST AFTER FIVE HITS FROM BELL & THREE FROM AURIEMMA IN 13-RUN WIN

PHILADELPHIA, PENN. (July 30, 1880) - It’s the series of the season in East Philadelphia this week, as Minerva hosts Frankford Arsenal in a top-two showdown. Minerva won the first two games by scores of 13-2 & 5-1, and on Friday they returned to Wednesday’s form in another drubbing of the visitors:

Minerva slammed Frankford to the ground early and never let them get up. The hosts scored five times in B1 on three Singles and a two-run Triple by CF James Lynch, and then followed that with four Runs in B2 on a pair of Singles and a two-run Error. Not content with a 9-0 lead, Minerva added another pair of Runs in B3 on a two-run Home Run by 3B Martin Horst to take an 11-0 lead. Frankford managed to get a Run on the board in T4, but Minerva eventually responded to that with a second four-run rally in B6, the key Hit in this one a two-run Single by P Bud Forster, to take a 15-1 lead and put Frankford out of their misery.

2B Jonathan Auriemma, who had been out of the lineup for ten days, had a nice game from the leadoff spot.

• MIN 2B Jonathan Auriemma: 3/6 (2B), 1 R, 1 RBI, 4 TB, SB

However, the work of SS Archie Bell earned Player of the Game honors.

• MIN SS Archie Bell: 5/6 (all 1B), 3 R, 2 RBI, SB

Auriemma, who has been a Golden Hands winner four times and a finalist for league M.V.P. twice, has endured a massive struggle this year. Having missed 25-30 games, Auriemma is batting just .248 (.587 OPS), which would be a career low by 54 points if that holds through the last 2+ weeks of play. His 0.6 Batsman WAR would also be a career low by far, with his previous worst being a total of 2.7 in 1877.

On the other hand, Bell is enjoying another excellent season. His efforts at the plate and in the field vs Frankford left him with a Batting Average of .333 (.792 OPS) and 63 Runs, 22 Extra-Base Hits, 34 RBI, a +14.7 Zone Rating, and 3.4 Batsman WAR.

The thirteen-run win moved Minerva into a tie with Frankford atop the East Philadelphia standings at 34-24. There are two teams with five games of the duo: Sons of Ben at 31-27 (3 GB) and Spartan at 30-28 (4 GB). If either side can win the last two games of this series, they will become the favorites to take the East Philadelphia pennant.

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TWO BIG PERFORMANCES IN NBBO ON FRIDAY
UNION’S COOK & LANCASTRA’S LITTLE RUN RAMPANT IN HIGH-SCORING GAMES

NEW YORK CITY & LANCASTER, PENN. (July 30, 1880) - On Friday there was a pair of games in the N.B.B.O. that featured abundant scoring, and in both of those games there were superlative performances by Batsmen from the winning teams.

The first game of interest took place in New York City, where Union was hosting Mercury at the Morrisania Grounds. Although it was a tight and exciting contest for the first six innings, Union pulled away late to win by eight:

Three Union batsmen had 4+ Hits during the game, and one of the three put in one of the performances of the season:

• UNI C William Cook: 4/5 (all 1B), 3 R, 6 RBI, SAC FLY – 1/1 CS, 91 GMSC (BAT: 5th)
• UNI SS Sondre Johansen: 5/6 (2B), 1 R, 3 RBI, 6 TB
• UNI CF Karl Ilkin: 4/4 (2B), 4 R, 4 RBI, 5 TB, 3 SB

Cook’s four-hit, six-RBI afternoon was the fifth-best performance by a Batsman in the N.B.B.O. this season, one which raised his Average to .321 (.728 OPS) with 41 Runs, 39 RBI, 2.7 WPA, and 0.9 WAR. The other two men are having decent seasons, with Ilkin’s trio of Stolen Bases giving him the overall N.B.B.O. lead with 49.

The result gave the two teams opposing records. Victorious Union improved to 28-30 and is now part of a three-way tie for 5th in New York City with Metropolitan & Mutual, while Mercury is 30-28 and tied for 2nd with Baltic. New York A.C. is currently 1st at 38-20, eight games clear and looking extremely like to take the pennant for the fourth consecutive year.

The other game of interest was over in the Inland Championship, where Lancastra Britannia hosted Reading Athletic Club. With the series even 1-1, Lancastra was able to take the series lead by putting twenty Runs on the board and then withstanding a massive Reading rally in the ninth inning:

Both teams tallied up 23 Hits each for a grand total of 46 on the afternoon, and that meant there was no shortage of players who excelled with the bat.

• RAC C Henry Christman: 3/5 (2B), 1 R, 2 RBI, 4 TB, SAC FLY – 0/2 CS
• RAC 2B Carl Hall: 3/7 (2 3B), 3 R, 1 RBI, 7 TB, SB
• RAC CF Alexander Engels: 3/5 (2B), 2 R, 3 RBI, BB, K, 4 TB, SB – OF AST

• LBR C Walter Zimmerman: 4/6 (2 2B), 2 R, 4 RBI, 6 TB – 1/6 CS
• LBR CF William White: 4/7 (all 1B), 2 R, 1 RBI – OF AST

However, one Batsman was clearly Player of the Game, and that was Lancastra 3B Phillip Little:

• B1: 1-run Single past SS off T. Memminger (SB, R)
• B1: 1-run Single past 2B off T. Memminger
• B3: Leadoff single to LF off L. Allen (R)
• B4: Leadoff single to LCF off L. Allen (R)
• B5: 1-run Single past 2B off E. Martin
• B6: Single past 2B off E. Martin (R)
• TOTAL: 6/6 (all 1B), 4 R, 3 RBI, SB – 97 GMSC (BAT: 2nd)

Little’s performance was the second-best by an N.B.B.O. Batsman this season, and it was a continuation of his career year. Little, who first became a regular for Lancastra at age 19 in 1875 and made his first All-Star Game this year, is batting .338 (.891 OPS) with 52 Runs, 35 Extra-Base Hits (23 2B, 11 3B, 1 HR), 64 RBI, 2.7 WPA, & 3.1 WAR through 58 games.

The victory gave Lancastra a 32-26 record, placing them 4th in Inland and three games behind co-leaders Pioneer & Susquehanna (who else???), who are both 35-23. The loss dropped Reading A.C. into a tie with Merrimack Mills for 5th at 28-30 (7 GB).

[tm1681]

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