Moments and Milestones in Baseball History Part 2 (Real)

[NYY #23]

I started part one here - and this is where I'll be doing the same thing with real players.

But I'll be doing two things a little bit differently - 1) playing with recalc off, and 2) removing Hall of Famers when they make their debut. That should shake things up, and allow for opportunities for players to step up and become the all-time greats.

[NYY #23]

As we head into the inaugural season of Major League Baseball we'll begin by looking at who we'll move forward without. Hall of Famers Cap Anson, Al Spalding, Deacon White, George Wright, and Harry Wright have been deleted. That should open up some opportunities as Anson was the top prospect in baseball.



That means Ross Barnes moves to the top of the prospect list, and will get a chance to shine for the St. Louis Brown Stockings.

[NYY #23]

On the mound Asa Brainard has gotten off to a fast start for the St Louis Brown Stockings, going 4-0 with a 2.43 ERA, striking out 4 batters in 11 innings.

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At the plate no player has been more impressive than Cal McVey, who started off the year with a .547 batting average while driving in 13 runs and scoring 19 runs.



Asa Brainard is continuing to excel, winning both the Pitcher of the Month and Rookie of the Month after going 4-1 with an 0.99 ERA while striking out 4 batters in 45 1/3 innings.

[NYY #23]

Ezra Sutton of the St Louis Browns was named Batter of the Month after hitting .688 with 4 RBI and 9 runs scored. Sutton marks the third member of the Browns to be profiled, joining Pitcher of the Month Asa Brainard (4-0, 1.25 ERA) and Ross Barnes who is hitting .426. Not coincidentally the Browns are off to a hot 12-1 start.

[NYY #23]

George Zettlein of the Brooklyn Atlantics went 4-0 with a 1.75 ERA to win the Pitcher of the Month Award in the National League, and improved his record to 10-8 with a 2.45 ERA on the season.



In the American League it was Asa Brainard of the Browns who won Pitcher of the Year after going 4-2 with a 2.83 ERA to improve to 16-3 with a 1.79 ERA on the season.

[NYY #23]

20 year old Chick Fulmer makes his debut as a player to watch after winning the Batter of the Month in the AL after hitting .762 with a home run, 10 RBI, and 12 runs scored.



George Zettlein won his second straight Pitcher of the Year Award after going 4-1 with a 2.05 ERA.

[NYY #23]

Dick McBride of the Philadelphia Athletics was named Pitcher of the Month in the AL after going 3-2 with a 0.98 ERA, striking out 3 batters in 48 innings.



In the National League it was George Zettlein who won his second straight Pitcher of the Month after going 5-0 with a 1.60 ERA.

Zettlein also made history with his bat picking up 6 hits on September 9th with teammate Tom Patterson also picking up 6 hits. The 8th and 9th hitters combined to go 12-16 with 10 RBI and 11 runs scored in the Atlantics 41-7 win over the White Stockings, handing Joe McDermott his 18th loss of the season and raising his ERA from 7.94 to 9.05 after allowing 28 earned runs in 6 1/3 innings. This is the second time this season that McDermott allowed 20 runs or more in a start, and sixth time he's allowed more than 10 runs.

Chick Fulmer (twice) and Ed Pinkham were the only other players to pick up 6 hits in a game this season.

[NYY #23]

Wes Fisler of the Cincinnati Reds was one of two players to hit .400 this season, finishing with a .405 batting average. His .405 batting average was over 100 points higher than his real life batting average in 1871 (.279). Of course with just 119 plate appearances the sample size is small.



Cal McVey was the other player to hit .400 this season, finishing with a .477 batting average.



In the American League George Bechtel of the Philadelphia Athletics won the batting title hitting .397, finishing just 3 points off of .400.



On the mound George Zettlein won the Pitching Triple Crown after going 20-9 with a 2.22 ERA and 23 strikeouts.

[NYY #23]

Both Ross Barnes and Dick McBride won Gold Gloves in the American League, while George Zettlein and Cal McVey won Gold Gloves in the National League among players being followed.

AL Silver Slugger Awards went to:
P - Dick McBride - .194/.215/.274, 124 AB, 1 SB, 50 wRC+, 0.5 WAR
2B - Ross Barnes - .352/.382/.486, 142 AB, 13 SB, 130 wRC+, 1.5 WAR

In the NL the following players we're following won Silver Slugger Awards:
P - George Zettlein - .295/.294/.364, 129 AB, 1 SB, 75 wRC+, 0.9 WAR
C - Cal McVey - .477/.487/.664, 149 AB, 7 SB, 187 wRC+, 1.8 WAR



Asa Brainard won the AL Pitcher of the Year Award after going 20-10 with a 2.43 ERA in 30 starts, striking out 21 in 270 innings.



George Zettlein won the NL Pitcher of the Year Award after going 20-9 with a 2.22 ERA in 30 starts, striking out 23 in 263 1/3 innings.



Cal McVey was named NL MVP and Rookie of the Year. McVey hit .477 with 12 doubles, 8 triples, 38 RBI, and 46 runs scored.



John Bass is a new name, but won both MVP and Rookie of the Year in the American League. He hit .364 with 3 doubles, 14 triples, 5 home runs, 46 RBI, and 37 runs scored.

[NYY #23]

The casualties of the 1872 season will by Candy Cummings and Jim O'Rourke, who will not appear in the league.

The 1872 season will also see the increase to 50 games per season.

[NYY #23]

We haven't looked at one of the top hitters in the league yet, 22 year old Levi Meyerle. Meyerle hit .348 last year with a league leading 5 home runs, 30 RBI, and 32 runs scored, and should continue to be one of the top players in the league.

[NYY #23]

George Hall is another young player who had a good debut season. The 22 year old hit .371 with 4 doubles, 5 triples, 20 RBI, and 21 runs scored last season, and is currently ranked as the fourth best hitter in the league.

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Candy Nelson of the Chicago Cubs was named the top prospect in baseball for the 1872 season. The 23 year old is expected to man centerfield for the Cubs this year.

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Dick Higham gets added to the shortlist this month after winning Batter of the Month in the American League after hitting .432 with 10 RBI and 6 runs scored.



Dick McBride of the Athletics was 7-1 with a 2.41 ERA to win Pitcher of the Month in the American League.

Asa Brainard pitched a six hit shutout this month, and took home a Player of the Week Award. He's started off the season with a disappointing 2-6 record though, despite a 2.38 ERA. After playing well last year both John Bass (.182) and Ezra Sutton (.212) are struggling for the Browns.

George Hall picked up 5 hits in a game on April 3rd, and won Player of the Week on April 8th after hitting .889 (8-9) with 4 RBI and 5 runs scored. He joins Cal McVey as Player of the Week winners with McVey hitting .667 (6-9) with 2 RBI to win his Player of the Week Award.

[NYY #23]

John Clapp had a breakout month for the Braves hitting .561 with 13 RBI and 17 runs scored to win the NL Batter of the Month, while the 20 year old also won the Rookie of the Month.



In the American League it was Ross Barnes who won Batter of the Month after hitting .564 with 11 RBI and 12 runs scored.



On the mound Asa Brainard of the Browns won Pitcher of the Month after going 5-3 with a 1.90 ERA.



Cal McVey picked up 3 hits in the final game of the month to increase his hitting streak to 20 games.

[NYY #23]

John Hatfield got my attention after hitting safely in 25 straight games in a still active hitting streak. Hatfield is hitting .385 this year with 23 RBI. His 25 game hitting streak is the second longest in the league, trailing only Cal McVey who finished the month with a 28 game hitting streak.



John Clapp of the Boston Braves won his second straight Batter of the Month Award, hitting .526 with 9 RBI and 8 runs scored to bring his totals for the year to .513 with 31 RBI and 32 runs.



Dick McBride of the Athletics won the AL Pitcher of the Month after going 5-3 with a 2.13 ERA and improved to 15-9 with a 2.73 ERA on the season. McBride has 33 career wins, trailing only George Zettlein on the career wins list:

1) George Zettlein - 35
2) Dick McBride - 33
3) Rynie Wolters - 32
4) Asa Brainard - 30
5) Cherokee Fisher - 22
6) Bill Steans - 21
7) Bobby Mathews - 19

[NYY #23]

Cal McVey finished the month with a 36 game hitting streak, the longest streak in the brief history of the league. McVey isn't the only player with a long hitting streak though.



Joe Start ended the month with a 33 game hitting streak. Start is hitting .404 on the year with 28 RBI and 30 runs scored. It wasn't as good of news for hitting streak though, as John Hatfield of the Cubs who say his hitting streak end at 29 games after going 0-3 in a 27-10 loss, and John Clapp of the Braves went 0-5 to end his hitting streak at 24 games.



Levi Meyerle of the Indians won the Batter of the Month Award after hitting .475 with 7 RBI and 8 runs scored.



Rynie Wolters set the record for most strikeouts in a season, and currently has 24 strikeouts this year to go along with a 18-12 record and 2.53 ERA.

[NYY #23]

Jimmy Wood of the Philadelphia Athletics ended the month with a 25 game hitting streak. The 28 year old is hitting .310 on the year with 32 RBI and 39 runs scored.



George Hall of the Highlanders joins Wood as players finishing the month with 25 game hitting streaks. The 23 year old Hall is hitting .348 with 33 RBI on the season.

All of the hitting streak news wasn't as good around the league as Dick Higham had a 24 game hitting streak end, Joe Start had a 33 game hitting streak end, and Cal McVey having his 36 game hitting streak come to an end. The 36 game hitting streak is the record for longest hitting streak.



It was a big month for John Clapp of the Braves after setting the record for most hits in a season and winning Batter of the Month after hitting .417 with 1 home run, 7 RBI, and 12 runs scored. Despite the hot month Clapp saw his batting average drop to .455 on the year.



Asa Brainard won Pitcher of the Month in the AL after going 6-3 with a 2.00 ERA.



In the National League it was George Zettlein who won Pitcher of the Month after going 4-2 with a 2.33 ERA.

[NYY #23]

26 year old Charlie Pabor of the Philadelphia Athletics is having a strong second season, hitting .346 with 42 RBI and 51 runs scored. Pabor became the latest player to hit safely in 20 games, and ended the month with a 25 game hitting streak.



His hitting streak is the second longest in baseball, trailing only George Hall, who extended his hitting streak to 34 games during the month, and now has the second longest hitting streak in history, behind only Cal McVey's 36 game hitting streak. Hall is hitting .357 this season with 39 RBI and 54 runs scored, and won Rookie of the Month this month in the AL after hitting .395 with 6 RBI.

Jimmy Wood of the Athletics saw his hitting streak come to an end at 30 games this month.



Ezra Sutton won Batter of the Month in the AL after hitting .424 with 2 home runs, 7 RBI, and 12 runs scored. Sutton is now hitting .330 on the season with 34 RBI.



Rynie Wolters was 4-4 this month with a 4.33 ERA while striking out 6 batters in 68 2/3 innings to win Pitcher of the Month in the National League.