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June 1, 1877 Report
Louisville Grays 8-2
St. Louis Brown Stockings 7-3
Hartford Dark Blues 3-4
Boston Red Caps 3-5
Chicago White Stockings 4-7
Cincinnati Reds 3-7
League Leaders:
Batting - Orator Shaffer, Hartford Dark Blues, .419
Home Runs - Deacon White, St. Louis Brown Stockings, 1
Runs Batted In - Paul Hines, Louisville Grays, 13
Runs Scored - George Wright, Cincinnati Reds, 13
Hits - Mike McGeary, Louisville Grays, 20
Doubles - Pop Snyder, Louisville Grays, 6
Triples - 3 tied with 3 each
Stolen Bases - John Radcliff, Louisville Grays, 5
Wins - J. O'Neill, Louisville Grays, 5
ERA - Len Lovett, St. Louis Brown Stockings, 1.59
Strikeouts - Lon Knight, Cincinnati Reds, 12
Opponent Average - Len Lovett, St. Louis Brown Stockings, .221
Well, the standings at this point are a bit of a shock. The three teams expected to contend are in the bottom three spots, while expected doormats St. Louis and Louisville battle for the top spots. Each of the two surprise contenders is doing it differently - Louisville has given up nearly six runs per game, but because they're scoring 7.7 per, it's hardly mattered. Mike McGeary (.417) has led the way so far, but Paul Hines (.405), Pop Snyder (.395), Jim Foran (.341) and Ezra Sutton (.314) have also made significant contributions. Meanwhile, St. Louis, with Dick McBride, Tricky Nichols and Len Lovett, have the league's best pitching staff by a wide margin. As both strikeouts and walks are up modestly this season, the pitchers are beginning to matter more and St. Louis is poised to take advantage of this trend. It remains to be seen whether any of the expected powers can rise to compete with these Cinderellas.
In recognition of Louisville's hot start, Mike McGeary will be the new avatar. McGeary, always one of the league's best third baseman, agreed to switch to second base this offseason when the team acquired star third sacker Ezra Sutton. Obviously, the move hasn't hurt him any, as he's gone 20 for 48 as the leadoff man and second baseman and has 12 runs scored on the season.
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