[Eckstein 4 Prez]

FINAL 1881 STANDINGS AND LEADERS

Cleveland Blues 51-33
Boston Red Caps 49-34
Troy Trojans 47-37
Detroit Wolverines 41-43
Chicago White Stockings 39-45
Providence Grays 38-46
Buffalo Bisons 37-46
Worcester Ruby Legs 32-50

In a year which saw a great deal of parity in the National League, the Cleveland Blues used defense and timely hitting to overcome the powerful attack of the Boston Red Caps and the outstanding pitching of Troy's Pud Galvin. Next season should see a similar battle, as each of these three teams will be mostly intact.

The big news for 1882 is that a new league, the American Association, will begin play with teams in six cities - Baltimore, MD; Cincinnati, OH; Louisville, KY; Philadelphia, PA; Pittsburgh, PA; and St. Louis, MO. The league will have a distinctly western flavor, and has been referred to disparagingly by the National League as the "Beer and Whiskey League," because they will sell alcohol at the park and even play games on Sundays where permitted by law. It will be interesting to see how Hulbert's National League will deal with this new competition.

The final league leaders:

Batting Average - .368, Ross Barnes, Boston Red Caps
On-Base Percentage - .415, Ross Barnes, Boston Red Caps
Slugging Percentage - .492, Ross Barnes, Boston Red Caps
OPS - .907, Ross Barnes, Boston Red Caps
Hits - 128, Cap Anson, Boston and Cal McVey, Boston
Doubles - 32, "Orator Jim" O'Rourke, Chicago White Stockings (new record)
Triples - 10, Cap Anson, Boston and Harry Stovey, Worcester
Home Runs - 8, Paul Hines, Chicago White Stockings (new record)
Extra Base Hits - 36, "Orator Jim" O'Rourke, Chicago White Stockings
Total Bases - 170, Cap Anson, Boston Red Caps
Runs Batted In - 64, Cap Anson, Boston Red Caps
Runs Scored - 80, Cap Anson, Boston Red Caps
Stolen Bases - 17, Hugh Nicol, Chicago White Stockings
Walks - 33, Roger Connor, Troy and "Orator Jim" O'Rourke, Chicago
Strikeouts - 55, John Morrill, Boston Red Caps
RC/27 - 8.10, Ross Barnes, Boston Red Caps
ISO - .161, Harry Stovey, Worcester Ruby Legs
VORP (Batting) - 35.7, Cap Anson, Boston Red Caps

Earned Run Average - 1.91, Tommy Bond, Detroit Wolverines
Wins - 37, Pud Galvin, Troy Trojans
Losses - 29, Bobby Mitchell, Worcester Ruby Legs
Saves - 2, 4 players tied
Innings Pitched - 502 2/3, Larry Corcoran, Chicago White Stockings
Shutouts - 4, George Bradley, Cleveland Blues
Walks - 109, Larry Corcoran, Chicago White Stockings (new record)
Strikeouts - 285, Larry Corcoran, Chicago White Stockings
H/9IP - 7.77, George Bradley, Cleveland Blues
HR/9IP - 0.03, Tommy Bond, Detroit Wolverines
BB/9IP - 0.99, Foghorn Bradley, Boston Red Caps
K/9IP - 5.09, Larry Corcoran, Chicago White Stockings
K/BB Ratio - 4.25, Bobby Mitchell, Worcester Ruby Legs
Opp. Avg. - .223, Harry Wheeler, Providence Grays
WHIP - 1.05, Foghorn Bradley, Boston Red Caps
VORP (Pitching) - 72.7, Pud Galvin, Troy Trojans

League Champions, History

National Association

1871 - Boston Red Stockings
1872 - Boston Red Stockings
1873 - Philadelphia Athletics
1874 - New York Mutuals
1875 - Philadelphia Athletics

National League

1876 - Chicago White Stockings
1877 - Chicago White Stockings
1878 - Chicago White Stockings
1879 - Boston Red Caps
1880 - Boston Red Caps
1881 - Cleveland Blues

Individual Awards coming soon....