Quote:
Originally Posted by CatKnight
In this universe, it's going to look very much like Hulburt maneuvered against the Mutuals and Philly just to secure Chicago dominance. As you say, there better be a really good pennant race this time around, or the NL might be in trouble.
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Yeah, I really like that it turned out that way, because I think Hulbert would have pulled just such a move if he could have gotten away with it. Although his leadership added an element of stability that was lacking in the National Association, he was so autocratic and Chicago-centric that the league likely would have had trouble surviving if he had not suddenly died prior to the 1882 season.
For this version of history I'll just use this 1876 disbanding as a good excuse for the league's early financial troubles.
June 3, 1877 - Sunday Base Ball Report
Chicago White Stockings 10-2
Cincinnati Reds 6-5
Hartford Dark Blues 5-3
Louisville Grays 5-6
Boston Red Caps 4-5
St. Louis Brown Stockings 1-10
Chicago continues to lead by a comfortable margin. With their pennant hopes growing dimmer by the day, the other five teams are also growing increasingly financially desperate. It remains to be seen whether any of them will even be able to survive the 1877 campaign.
Meanwhile, here are the top ten position players in career value who have never won a pennant going into this season, along with their current teams:
10. Count Gedney (Hartford) - All of his good seasons have come with Hartford, and Hartford has never won a pennant.
9. John Clapp (Boston) - Not a bad hitter, but he's probably best as a backup catcher/utility outfielder. Either way, he's never added enough to push his teams over the top.
8. Dickie Flowers (Hartford) - Good player, but his teams are simply never any good.
7. Tom York (Cincinnati) - He's a pretty inconsistent player who had the bad luck to join Boston just as the team was falling from the top.
6. John Glenn (Hartford) - A solid outfielder who has mostly toiled for mediocre teams.
5. Count Sensenderfer (Boston) - He was traded away from the 1873 Athletic club, which won the National Association pennant.
4. Jimmy Wood (St. Louis) - He's always been in the shadow of Ross Barnes and Lip Pike, but he's also a good second baseman - he just hasn't been with any great teams.
3. Jim Foran (Boston) - A great hitter who always seems to be the bright spot on some terrible teams.
2. Fred Waterman (Hartford) - This superstar third baseman continues to be one of the league's best hitters.
1. Cap Anson (Hartford) - Probably the best overall player so far, yet his Brooklyn NA teams always came up just short. Interestingly, he and Waterman have been teammates for five consecutive years now.
Based upon the teams of these players, this list looks to remain intact for at least another year.
The current league leaders:
Batting Average - .400, Everett Mills, Louisville Grays
On-Base Percentage - .400, Everett Mills, Louisville Grays
Slugging Percentage - .534, Levi Meyerle, Chicago White Stockings
OPS - .914, Levi Meyerle, Chicago White Stockings
Hits - 22, Levi Meyerle, Chicago White Stockings
Doubles - 6, Levi Meyerle, Chicago White Stockings
Triples - 2, Fergy Malone, Louisville Grays
Home Runs - 1, Levi Meyerle, Chicago White Stockings
Extra Base Hits - 7, Levi Meyerle, Chicago White Stockings
Total Bases - 31, Levi Meyerle, Chicago White Stockings
Runs Batted In - 20, Tom Carey, Chicago White Stockings
Runs Scored - 18, Levi Meyerle, Chicago White Stockings
Stolen Bases - 3, 3 players tied
Walks - 4, Jim O'Rourke, Chicago White Stockings
Strikeouts - 9, Steve Brady, Louisville Grays
RC/27 - 8.55, Everett Mills, Louisville Grays
ISO - .156, Bob Addy, Cincinnati Reds
VORP (Batting) - 6.9, Levi Meyerle, Chicago White Stockings
Earned Run Average - 0.79, Will White, Boston Red Caps
Wins - 9, J. O'Neill, Chicago White Stockings
Losses - 9, Pud Galvin, St. Louis Brown Stockings
Saves - 1, Pidgey Morgan, Hartford Dark Blues
Innings Pitched - 78 2/3, J. O'Neill, Chicago White Stockings
Shutouts - 1, J. O'Neill, Chicago White Stockings
Walks - 12, Harry Arundel, Louisville Grays
Strikeouts - 41, Bobby Mitchell, Cincinnati Reds
H/9IP - 7.94, Will White, Boston Red Caps
HR/9IP - 0.00, 7 players tied
BB/9IP - 0.00, Tommy Bond, Louisville and George Zettlein, Hartford
K/9IP - 4.56, Harry Arundel, Louisville Grays
K/BB Ratio - cannot be computed for players with 0 walks
Opp. Avg. - .208, Will White, Boston Red Caps
WHIP - 0.97, Will White, Boston Red Caps
VORP (Pitching) - 15.6, Harry Arundel, Louisville Grays