Quote:
Originally Posted by CatKnight
What happened to the Count? (Count Gedney of Hartford) He's slowly drifting off all the leader boards. Is he in a slump?
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He is in a slump, but he's also coming back to earth after a couple months of playing way over his head. This season Count is 27 years old. His playing record to date:
1872: Count debuts with the Troy Haymakers. He goes 33 for 103 in 25 games, for a .320 batting average. He manages 8 extra base hits - all doubles.
1873: Troy disbands, Count joins the short-lived Baltimore Marylands. He has 14 at-bats with them and gets one hit.
1874: The Marylands disband, so Count joins the Baltimore Canaries. As a starter for Baltimore, he goes 42 for 179 - a .235 average. He ends up with 11 doubles and one triple.
1875: For the third straight year, Count's team disbands. This time, he joins the Hartford Dark Blues. He steps into the starting left field job for Hartford and does pretty well - a .282 average in 80 games.
That's where things stood coming into the season. Hartford would have been thrilled with a .300 average from Gedney, let alone a .400+ season. His batting average has dropped each month, and was .300 in July, .275 in August. However, on balance it's still a very good season. He's hitting .370 and remains among the league leaders in most batting categories. He simply isn't as good as guys like Anson or O'Rourke, and he's been in a gradual process of coming back to earth.
By the way,
here is what the real Count Gedney did in his career.
September 10, 1876 - Sunday Base Ball Report
Chicago White Stockings 41-17
Philadelphia Athletics 37-18
New York Mutuals 34-17
Hartford Dark Blues 30-22
Boston Red Caps 22-33
Louisville Grays 21-36
St. Louis Brown Stockings 18-38
Cincinnati Reds 17-39
Predictably enough, Chicago's winning streak ended as soon as they had to face real powerhouses such as Philadelphia and New York. However, Philadelphia and New York both still trail significantly, and claim to have been losing money all season, especially on the western trips. For this reason, they officially announced today that they would not be making their final trip to those cities this season.
It is thought that this move, in addition to being a cost-cutting measure for the clubs, is also meant to test the authority of National League President William Hulbert. Hulbert, who had never run anything before this season, took over the NL and his White Stockings immediately shot to the top of the standings. It is whispered that there is no coincidence between these items, and Philadelphia and New York, as the established National Association powers, seem to be doing most of the whispering.
On the field, this cancellation leaves most of the teams with about ten games to play. Given Chicago's commanding lead, it appears that a National League pennant for them is a virtual certainty.
The current league leaders:
Batting Average - .391, Levi Meyerle, Chicago White Stockings
On-Base Percentage - .411, Cap Anson, Hartford Dark Blues
Slugging Percentage - .513, Levi Meyerle, Chicago White Stockings
OPS - .915, Levi Meyerle, Chicago White Stockings
Hits - 108, Tom Barlow, Chicago White Stockings
Doubles - 21, John Bass, Philadelphia Athletics
Triples - 8, Lip Pike, New York Mutuals
Home Runs - 3, Cap Anson, Hartford Dark Blues
Extra Base Hits - 25, John Bass, Philadelphia Athletics
Total Bases - 139, Levi Meyerle, Chicago White Stockings
Runs Batted In - 57, Orator Shaffer, Hartford Dark Blues
Runs Scored - 72, Tom Barlow, Chicago White Stockings
Stolen Bases - 12, George Wright, Boston Red Caps
Walks - 18, Cap Anson, Hartford Dark Blues
Strikeouts - 22, "Big Jim" Clinton, Cincinnati Reds
RC/27 - 8.70, Levi Meyerle, Chicago White Stockings
ISO - .162, Lip Pike, New York Mutuals
VORP (Batting) - 28.4, Levi Meyerle, Chicago White Stockings
Earned Run Average - 2.15, Lon Knight, Philadelphia Athletics
Wins - 34, J. O'Neill, Chicago White Stockings
Losses - 35, Tommy Bond, Louisville and Dale Williams, Cincinnati
Saves - 2, 4 players tied
Innings Pitched - 459 2/3, J. O'Neill, Chicago White Stockings
Shutouts - 4, Ed Stratton, New York Mutuals
Walks - 28, Ed Stratton, New York Mutuals
Strikeouts - 69, Foghorn Bradley, Boston Red Caps
H/9IP - 9.03, Dick McBride, Philadelphia Athletics
HR/9IP - 0.00, George Bradley, St. Louis and Ed Stratton, New York
BB/9IP - 0.28, George Zettlein, Hartford Dark Blues
K/9IP - 1.78, George Bradley, St. Louis Brown Stockings
K/BB Ratio - 4.08, George Zettlein, Hartford Dark Blues
Opp. Avg. - .249, Lon Knight, Philadelphia Athletics
WHIP - 1.07, Dick McBride, Philadelphia Athletics
VORP (Pitching) - 89.2, Tommy Bond, Louisville Grays