[Eckstein 4 Prez]

July 24, 1881 - Sunday Base Ball Report

Cleveland Blues 31-16
Boston Red Caps 28-18
Troy Trojans 25-20
Detroit Wolverines 25-22
Buffalo Bisons 21-25
Chicago White Stockings 20-27
Providence Grays 18-27
Worcester Ruby Legs 16-29

Cleveland continues to pace the field on the strength of their pitching and defense. While Boston and even Troy and Detroit remain in striking distance, the Blues have been remarkably consistent in recent weeks, winning despite injuries and some of their hitters having slumped. Now that Dalrymple has hit his stride (batting .473 for July after a .247 May and a .325 June) they look tough to beat.

As the trade deadline approaches, here is a list of the best upcoming free agents for each team:

Boston - SP Foghorn Bradley (9-2, 1.67; lifetime 120-90) - With so much of their money committed to the "Big Three," Harry Wright may not be able to afford this fine pitcher.

Buffalo - 2B Lip Pike (2-26-.339-2) - His contract has been killing the team for years, and now that it's finally up he's having his best season since the early 1870s. He is 36 years old, though, so teams may be wary of signing him to another big deal.

Chicago - OF Paul Hines (5-24-.264-1) - This aging team is in financial trouble and may lose this popular slugger as a result. He is something of an enigma: a 26-year-old ten-year veteran whose numbers never seem as good as his reputation would suggest.

Cleveland - SP George Bradley (20-5, 2.04) - Detractors suggest the team's fine defense deserves the credit for his lofty numbers. However, are they willing to risk that when most of their best position players are cost-controlled for several more years?

Detroit - No significant free agents this year.

Providence - CF Frank McCarton (0-13-.244-0) - He came to Providence a star, and has been shuffled around and generally ill-treated by management. He will almost certainly be leaving this year, but is he still the consistent .350 hitter he was in the mid-1870s?

Troy - SP Pud Galvin (18-12, 2.67) - He is young, popular and important to Troy's success. Many observers expect that he will sign an extension before the season ends. However, Troy could be in some trouble if he does not.

Worcester - No significant free agents this year.

The current league leaders:

Batting Average - .365, Ross Barnes, Boston Red Caps
On-Base Percentage - .412, Cap Anson, Boston Red Caps
Slugging Percentage - .503, Lip Pike, Buffalo Bisons
OPS - .894, Cap Anson, Boston Red Caps
Hits - 72, Cap Anson, Boston Red Caps
Doubles - 15, "Orator Jim" O'Rourke, Chicago and Lip Pike, Buffalo
Triples - 7, Jack Glasscock, Cleveland Blues
Home Runs - 5, Paul Hines, Chicago White Stockings
Extra Base Hits - 21, Jack Glasscock, Cleveland and Lip Pike, Buffalo
Total Bases - 99, Jack Glasscock, Cleveland Blues
Runs Batted In - 39, Ross Barnes, Boston Red Caps
Runs Scored - 45, Cap Anson, Boston Red Caps
Stolen Bases - 11, Hugh Nicol, Chicago White Stockings
Walks - 20, Roger Connor, Troy Trojans
Strikeouts - 32, John Morrill, Boston and Orator Shaffer, Detroit
RC/27 - 8.21, Ross Barnes, Boston Red Caps
ISO - .164, Lip Pike, Buffalo Bisons
VORP (Batting) - 23.4, Ross Barnes, Boston Red Caps

Earned Run Average - 1.51, Tommy Bond, Detroit Wolverines
Wins - 20, George Bradley, Cleveland Blues
Losses - 18, Bobby Mitchell, Worcester Ruby Legs
Saves - 2, John "Lefty" McMullin, Chicago White Stockings
Innings Pitched - 273, Pud Galvin, Troy Trojans
Shutouts - 2, Foghorn Bradley, Boston and George Bradley, Cleveland
Walks - 55, Larry Corcoran, Chicago White Stockings
Strikeouts - 146, Larry Corcoran, Chicago White Stockings
H/9IP - 7.34, George Bradley, Cleveland Blues
HR/9IP - 0.00, 3 players tied
BB/9IP - 0.74, Foghorn Bradley, Boston Red Caps
K/9IP - 4.85, Larry Corcoran, Chicago White Stockings
K/BB Ratio - 4.33, Bobby Mitchell, Worcester Ruby Legs
Opp. Avg. - .216, George Bradley, Cleveland Blues
WHIP - 1.02, George Bradley, Cleveland Blues
VORP (Pitching) - 41.4, George Bradley, Cleveland Blues