The big story this year was Billy Henry Taylor collecting the 200th win of his career on 5/4. Taylor was the first player to reach 200 wins in the league, and the first player of any kind to reach a milestone in the league.
The Brooklyn Atlantics captured their second straight World Series, and third overall. They now are tied with the Chicago White Stockings and Philadelphia Athletics with 3 total championships.
Milestone Watch
300 Wins
With 23 wins, the 26 year old Taylor moves closer to the 300 win mark, and appears likely to become the first member of the club. 22 year old Mickey Welch continues to rack up the wins, finishing with his third straight 21 game season.
Billy Henry Taylor - 220
Mickey Welch - 63
Old Hoss Radbourn - 48
Tim Keefe - 45
Pud Galvin - 1
3000 Strikeouts
No active player with 2000 or more
300 Saves
No active player with 200 or more
500 Home Runs
No active player with 400 or more
500 Stolen Bases
Harry Stovey continues to lead the group with185 stolen bases, stealing 24 this season. Arlie Latham led all players we are watching with 37, followed by Tom Brown and his 35.
Harry Stovey - 185
Monte Ward - 175
Cap Anson - 157
Arlie Latham - 69
Tom Brown - 65
Bid McPhee - 29
3000 Hits
At this point in his career Anson had already collected five 100 hit seasons, but has only accumulated one. If I had to make a prediction it would be that Anson doesn't have the longevity to reach 3000.
Cap Anson - 903
1500 Runs
23 year old Dan Brouthers led all players with 71 runs scored, and is now third on the list of players we are following.
Cap Anson - 523
Monte Ward - 285
Dan Brouthers - 274
Harry Stovey - 272
Roger Connor - 175
Jim O'Rourke - 85
Tom Brown - 88
Bid McPhee - 51
1500 RBI
No active player with 1000 or more
Notable Retirements
After 10 years of play I wanted to begin highlighting the key players that retired each year. This list will correspond to the players who are eligible for the Hall of Fame election once voting begins, although this year I'll highlight a couple of players who retired and weren't eligible. They won't be on the ballot, but I would give them a mention and if they lasted a couple more years they would be eligible.
The first is Asa Brainard, who retired in 1871. His name is familiar looking at the career leaders for the early years. Brainard went 182-167 for his career, and still sits in third place on the career win list. The stretch between 1873 and 1875 was the best where he went 26-21, 27-23, and 34-18 respectively. Brainard posted his two lowest ERA totals in 1874 and 1875, with a 1.59 and 1.61 ERA. Brainard also gets the distinction of being the #1 overall pick in the inaugural draft, was a 5 time all-star, 1 time pitcher of the year, and won one gold glove. While he doesn't qualify for the Hall, he definitely was one of the best from the early era.
The second and more impressive of those players is Dick McBride. From 1872 - 1877 McBride was perhaps the best pitcher in the league. With a 194-128 record he currently ranks second all-time on the wins list. His best season came in 1875 when he was 35-16 with a 1.38 ERA. McBride was a 5 time Pitcher of the Year, 7 time All-Star, and 3 time Gold Glove winner. With two limited years at the end of his career totaling 21 innings, and an early retirement McBride really had just 7 years under his belt. I think he would be a Hall of Famer with 3 more years in the league.
Going forward I will only highlight players when they retire when they are a player I'm watching, reaches one of the milestones, or finishes there career with a WAR greater than 30, or 20 for a reliever. This will correspond to the Hall of Fame ballot when I reach that point.
Cherokee Fisher was the only player who qualified this year, with a 82-63 record and a 2.49 ERA in 1346 2/3 IP. Fisher won the Pitcher of the Year award in 1871 when he went 18-8 with a 3.22 ERA.