FINAL STANDINGS:
Code:
National League
Name W L PCT GB AVG ERA
Chicago 72 51 .585 -- .327 4.45
Pittsburgh 67 57 .540 5.5 .313 4.46
New York (N) 61 62 .496 11 .316 4.57
Philadelphia (N) 60 63 .488 12 .332 5.51
Washington 59 63 .484 12.5 .284 5.06
Boston 58 65 .472 14 .318 5.02
Indianapolis 59 67 .468 14.5 .312 5.08
Detroit 58 66 .468 14.5 .317 4.56
American Association
Name W L PCT GB AVG ERA
Brooklyn (A) 78 56 .582 -- .343 4.77
Cincinnati 76 58 .567 2 .348 4.90
St. Louis (A) 73 61 .545 5 .323 4.59
Baltimore 67 68 .496 11.5 .312 4.80
Philadelphia (A) 66 67 .496 11.5 .317 5.04
Cleveland 61 70 .466 15.5 .288 4.90
Louisville 57 77 .425 21 .307 5.67
New York (A) 56 77 .421 21.5 .324 5.38
RECAP:
The magnates decided to tinker with the rules in 1887 and as a result, offense shot through the roof. Needless to say, batsmen loved this, but pitchers? Not so much. For the first time in several seasons, the .400 barrier was broken, and not just by one or two players, but by multiple players in both leagues.
The pennant races weren't impacted much by the rules changes. The National League's 1886 champion Chicago club repeated while the Association's champion was the Brooklyn club, but defending-champ St. Louis wasn't far behind (five games back).
One club made history by jumping leagues as the Association's Pittsburgh club, one of the more talented in the loop, crossed over to join the National League, a somewhat mercenary move that caused some pundits to begin to refer to the Allegheny club as "Pirates." Whatever the club was called, the Pittsburghers showed they belonged in the National League, finishing second to the White Stockings.
Replacing the Alleghenies (who themselves replaced the St. Louis Maroons, thereby erasing the last vestige of the Union Association from the major league scene) in the Association was a new club in Cleveland. The Clevelanders were not much of a success on the field, finishing in sixth place.
And a somewhat shocking turn of events took place at the end of the season in New York. The once-mighty New York Metropolitans of the Association, who came from the ranks of independent teams, had been owned by promoter Henry Danson, who owned the Polo Grounds. Danson eventually purchased the National League's New York club, renamed them the Giants and shifted the best of his Metropolitans' players to the Giants, leaving a much-reduced shell of a club he then sold off and refused to allow to play in the Polo Grounds. Banished to Staten Island's St. George Cricket Grounds, and lacking talent, the Mets finished last in 1887 and folded at season's end.
AWARDS:
TOP 5 in BATTING AVG :
.428 Carpetbagger Jenkins(PHI)
.421 Two Gun Patrick(CHN)
.419 Otto Bentz(CN2)
.410 Brian Brownfield(CN2)
.410 Buster Brown(CN2)
TOP 5 in HOMERUNS :
19 Lane Parker(SL4)
19 Alexander Faulk(CHN)
15 Tom Ewart(CHN)
14 Tommy Bernard(BSN)
11 Dasher Gilliam(NY4)
TOP 5 in RBI :
150 Norm Woods(BR3)
133 Otto Bentz(CN2)
127 Brian Brownfield(CN2)
125 Clement Sant(BR3)
125 George Wade(LS2)
TOP 5 in ERA :
3.31 Harry Bogle (PH4)
4.09 Bill Silvers (CHN)
4.10 John Wiggins (BR3)
4.11 Dan Buckner (NY1)
4.15 Paul Trail (DTN)
TOP 5 in WINS :
33 Thomas Goss(CN2)
32 John Wiggins(BR3)
28 Eli Money(LS2)
27 Stretch North(BR3)
27 Bill Silvers(CHN)
CREATED PLAYER NOTES:
Note: I will no longer write-up capsules for each guy (there are just too many). Instead, I will note the player, his team, basic stats (AVG-HR-RBI for hitters and W-L, ERA for pitchers) and a link to his Catobase page.
John "The Mighty" Casey (BSN) - .278-3-64
Tommy Bernard (BSN) - .352-14-95
Black Jack McKinley (SL4) - .322-2-109
Shane Day (SL4) - .395-2-89
Wild Willy Williamson (IN3) - 23-22, 4.18
Virgil Pendergrass (PHI) - .323-2-104
Ajax McFadden (CHN) - .332-3-59
Otto Bentz (CN2) - .419-4-133
Bill Bartholomew - RETIRED
William "Meat" Poole (NY1) - .360-3-77
Marty Flika (PIT) - .358-1-104
Bob Cranberry (CL3) - .182-0-5