Quote:
Originally Posted by Dagrims
You're one of a handful of posters I can think of who can make 1800s baseball seem interesting.
One thing I'm wondering: when you list player statistic lines, you're putting in the common line from today's game (i.e., homers, RBI, AVG, SB). In the 1800s what would you think would be a more appropriate line? AVG and then what - RBI and Runs? Were homeruns even mentioned as something special?
|
How could 1800s baseball not be interesting? All those bizarre Gilded Age personalities and issues, parks being destroyed by fires on a regular basis, the evolution of the rules we use today... it's all great stuff.
I've actually thought a lot about the stat lines, and your question caused me to bust out my copy of
The Numbers Game (which I highly recommend if you haven't read it) to think about era-appropriate stats. Oddly enough, the only era with weirder stats than baseball of 1860-70 is the modern era. By the mid-1870s, though, things had mostly settled down. Probably the right thing to do would be to show batting average (which was not created until 1872, but took off quickly), runs, maybe hits, and a fielding statistic or two like putouts and errors. RBI came into regular use around 1880, and stolen bases a decade or so later.
Home runs were definitely something special, but I think they were regarded somewhat like triples are now - a big play that changes the game, but rare enough so that they only get occasional mention as a statistic, such as when Curtis Granderson gets a ton of them, or if someone gets two in one game.
Anyway...
August 20, 1876 - Sunday Base Ball Report
Chicago White Stockings 36-14
Philadelphia Athletics 32-17
New York Mutuals 30-15
Hartford Dark Blues 27-19
Boston Red Caps 18-28
Louisville Grays 18-33
St. Louis Brown Stockings 17-31
Cincinnati Reds 14-35
Chicago has now won a staggering 16 consecutive games to take a solid lead in the National League pennant race. Led by star hitters Levi Meyerle (.387) and Tom Barlow (.380), the team seems certain to win the first-ever National League crown. Upset over Chicago's manipulating of the league contract rules to get their star players and concerned over some rather unsavory allegations surrounding the team, New York and Philadelphia are considering canceling their final trip to the west for the season. A showdown over the league's continuing power structure seems imminent.
The current league leaders:
Batting Average - .392, "Orator Jim" O'Rourke, New York Mutuals
On-Base Percentage - .413, Cap Anson, Hartford Dark Blues
Slugging Percentage - .517, Count Gedney, Hartford Dark Blues
OPS - .912, Levi Meyerle, Chicago White Stockings
Hits - 93, Tom Barlow, Chicago White Stockings
Doubles - 20, John Bass, Philadelphia Athletics
Triples - 7, Lip Pike, New York Mutuals
Home Runs - 3, Cap Anson, Hartford Dark Blues
Extra Base Hits - 23, John Bass, Philadelphia Athletics
Total Bases - 120, Levi Meyerle, Chicago White Stockings
Runs Batted In - 49, Paul Hines, Chicago and Orator Shaffer, Hartford
Runs Scored - 66, Tom Barlow, Chicago White Stockings
Stolen Bases - 10, George Wright, Boston Red Caps
Walks - 16, Cap Anson, Hartford Dark Blues
Strikeouts - 18, "Big Jim" Clinton, Cincinnati Reds
RC/27 - 8.66, Levi Meyerle, Chicago White Stockings
ISO - .162, Lip Pike, New York Mutuals
VORP (Batting) - 25.9, "Orator Jim" O'Rourke, New York Mutuals
Earned Run Average - 2.35, Lon Knight, Philadelphia Athletics
Wins - 30, J. O'Neill, Chicago White Stockings
Losses - 32, Tommy Bond, Louisville Grays
Saves - 2, Cherokee Fisher, Philadelphia Athletics
Innings Pitched - 412, Tommy Bond, Louisville Grays
Shutouts - 4, Ed Stratton, New York Mutuals
Walks - 23, J. O'Neill, Chicago and Ed Stratton, New York
Strikeouts - 60, Tommy Bond, Louisville and Foghorn Bradley, Boston
H/9IP - 9.12, Dick McBride, Philadelphia Athletics
HR/9IP - 0.00, George Bradley, St. Louis and Ed Stratton, New York
BB/9IP - 0.26, George Zettlein, Hartford Dark Blues
K/9IP - 1.82, George Bradley, St. Louis Brown Stockings
K/BB Ratio - 4.09, George Zettlein, Hartford Dark Blues
Opp. Avg. - .253, Dick McBride, Philadelphia Athletics
WHIP - 1.08, Dick McBride, Philadelphia Athletics
VORP (Pitching) - 83.7, Tommy Bond, Louisville Grays