August 1, 1874
The Philadelphia Athletics took a slim lead after winning all six of their games in July before leaving for England (see below). Chicago and Brooklyn both had difficult months, but the three teams at the top are starting to separate themselves a little from the rest of the pack. New York is closest in 4th with Boston following closely behind.
One of the biggest individual stories is the dominance of the batting average leaderboard by Brooklyn’s Bob Polansky. The Atlantics outfielder is batting nearly 80 points higher than anyone else in the league, and has raised his career average to .417, the best in NA history.
In Other News
July 1: The Philadelphia Zoo opens its doors as the first public zoo in the United States.
July 13: Boston left fielder Joe Arthur was forced to leave a game against the Athletics after being hit in the hand with a pitch.
July 16: The Boston Red Stockings and Philadelphia Athletics depart for England for a baseball exhibition tour. The teams will resume their regular season schedule when they meet on September 10 in Philadelphia. Joe Arthur will make the trip but not play, and is expected to be able to play again upon returning to the United States.
July 25: Jack Anderson of Brooklyn shuts out the Chicago White Stockings on 7 hits. The Atlantics managed just 4 hits of their own against Mart Lemelle, but 10 errors by Chicago gives Brooklyn a 5-0 victory.
Standings
Code:
W L PCT GB
Philadelphia Athletics 22 11 .667 -
Chicago White Stockings 21 12 .636 1.0
Brooklyn Atlantics 18 11 .621 2.0
New York Mutuals 18 18 .500 5.5
Boston Red Stockings 18 20 .474 6.5
Philadelphia White Stockings 14 19 .424 8.0
Hartford Dark Blues 10 16 .385 8.5
Baltimore Canaries 7 21 .250 12.5
League Leaders
Average
.425 Bob Polansky (ATL)
.349 Tom Hedgepeth (NY)
.338 Fred Mannion (BOS)
Total Bases
89 Tom Hedgepeth (NY)
79 Fred Mannion (BOS)
79 Bob Polansky (ATL)
Stolen Bases
11 John Nero (NY)
8 Joe Bonetti (BAL)
7 Tom Gerheauser (CHW)
ERA
1.11 Al Allen (NY)
1.95 John Belcher (PHA)
2.04 Will Svoboda (BOS)
Wins
17 Mart Lemelle (CHW)
14 Jack Anderson (ATL)
13 Will Svoboda (BOS)
Strikeouts
14 Jack Anderson (ATL)
9 Will Svoboda (BOS)
7 Al Allen (NY), Denny Klusman (PWS)