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chucksabr · 12-10-2013, 01:38 PM

1896 News & Notes

The performance of the divisions took some interesting and unusual divergences unique to each of them. In the First Division, where umpires where instructed to tighten up the strike zones and make hitters swing to speed up games in response to spectator complaints, walks dropped by an amazing -25.3% while strikeouts, interesting, also dropped, this by -3.0%. The effect to this was a nine point jump in league bating average, to .292, corresponding to an eleven point drop in on base percentage, to .351. Slugging remained basically the same at .391. The tightened zone, which forced pitchers to throw closer to the plate, also led to a dramatic decrease in wild pitches, down by about a full third (from 507 to 340). As a general result, run scoring dropped substantially, down -9% to 7,992 (from 8,791). Also down were triples (-12.3%), counterbalanced by an increase in doubles (+2.4%) and homers (+3.7%).

In the Second Division, where umpires were under no such edict, walks stayed basically the same, although pitchers were able to strike out more hitters (+6.0%). Doubles (+18.7%) and triples (+38.0) were way up while homers dropped (-7.4%). This caused slugging to spike by 27 points (to .398), bringing average (+10 points to .280) and on base (+7 points, to .349) along with it. In the end, this had the effect of leading the Second Division to outscore the First for the first time in history, with runs increasing +12.6% to 8,251.

Despite the drop in run scoring, numerous hitting records were set at the First Division level this year, including total bases (244) and slugging (.654) by Jay Jones of Bolton Wanderers; OPS of 1.117 by William Perry of Wolverhampton Wanderers (also the career leader and now over the millennium mark at 1.005); hits (154) by William Clark of Sunderland Black Cats; Triples (37) by Sydney Holdsworth of West Bromwich Albion, for the third time in his career; doubles (40) by William Roberts of Aston Villa Villans; RBI (95) by Frank Marshall of Sunderland; and singles (127) by Gerald Pemberton of The Wednesday Owls. Significant single games records set or tied include doubles (4, tied) by William Hills of Darwen on 11th July; and triples (3, tied) by William Stanton of Nottingham Forest on 9th June. On the pitching side of the ledger, Augustus Hunt set the record for appearing in the most games in a season this year, 45, for the Blues of Small Heath. No significant single game records were set by pitchers in 1896.

Team hitting records set by First Division teams include batting average (.321) and slugging percentage (.440) by Blackburn Rovers, total hits by Small Heath (1,066), with the old record of 1.046 also broken by Blackburn and Sunderland Black Cats (1,060 apiece); doubles (196) by Burnley Clarets; and stolen bases (234) for the second straight year by Bolton Wanderers. No team pitching records were set. There was a record set for overall attendance by Blackburn Rovers (216,770).

In the Second Division, batting records include singles (117) by Edwin Stevenson of Newcastle United; total bases (237) and slugging (.590) by Joshua Jackson of Everton Blues; hits (145) by Stevenson; and RBI (84) by Peter Howarth of Newcastle United Magpies. The hitting streak record was set by Richard Reid of Sheffield United, at 29 games, snapped on 2nd June. No individual pitching season records were set. On an individual game basis, Stevenson tied the hits record in a game with six on 29th July versus Manchester City; the runs scored record was tied, at five, by three players; the triples record of three was tied by seven players; the RBI record of seven tied by William McArthur of Woolwich Arsenal on 28th August and Cyril Wilson of Walsall on 5th August. Alfred Wood of Blackpool hit for the cycle against Woolwich Arsenal on 23rd July. No individual game pitching records of note were set or tied.

Loughborough Corinthians set the Second Division team record for losses with 65, which earned them a ticket out of the League. Newcastle United set a team record for batting average (.309), and hits (1,009), while tying the record for runs scored (625). Newly promoted Blackpool used their ballpark and roster construction to power their way to a triples record (122). No other team records of note were set.

William Gascoyne of Crewe Alexandra twirled a 3-0 no-hitter against Walsall at the Swifts home park on 22nd August, in front of 3,872. Gascoyne overcame four walks and two Railwaymen errors to complete the gem.

Major retirements of note include Alfred Armstrong of Blackburn, starting pitchers who’d been fighting injuries throughout 1894 and 1895, not pitching at all in 1896. He leaves with a 93-48/3.29 record. Alfred Anderson leaves Burnley after eight years and an injury-plagued 1896 with a 77-53 record and a 4.15 ERA. Most notable retirement in the Second Division was of Roland McCann of the Manchester City (ne Ardwick) Citizens. McCann leaves with an 83-62 won-loss and a terrific 2.93 ERA,

12-10-2013, 01:38 PM	#212
chucksabr Hall Of Famer Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: In the canyons of your mind Posts: 3,190	1896 News & Notes The performance of the divisions took some interesting and unusual divergences unique to each of them. In the First Division, where umpires where instructed to tighten up the strike zones and make hitters swing to speed up games in response to spectator complaints, walks dropped by an amazing -25.3% while strikeouts, interesting, also dropped, this by -3.0%. The effect to this was a nine point jump in league bating average, to .292, corresponding to an eleven point drop in on base percentage, to .351. Slugging remained basically the same at .391. The tightened zone, which forced pitchers to throw closer to the plate, also led to a dramatic decrease in wild pitches, down by about a full third (from 507 to 340). As a general result, run scoring dropped substantially, down -9% to 7,992 (from 8,791). Also down were triples (-12.3%), counterbalanced by an increase in doubles (+2.4%) and homers (+3.7%). In the Second Division, where umpires were under no such edict, walks stayed basically the same, although pitchers were able to strike out more hitters (+6.0%). Doubles (+18.7%) and triples (+38.0) were way up while homers dropped (-7.4%). This caused slugging to spike by 27 points (to .398), bringing average (+10 points to .280) and on base (+7 points, to .349) along with it. In the end, this had the effect of leading the Second Division to outscore the First for the first time in history, with runs increasing +12.6% to 8,251. Despite the drop in run scoring, numerous hitting records were set at the First Division level this year, including total bases (244) and slugging (.654) by Jay Jones of Bolton Wanderers; OPS of 1.117 by William Perry of Wolverhampton Wanderers (also the career leader and now over the millennium mark at 1.005); hits (154) by William Clark of Sunderland Black Cats; Triples (37) by Sydney Holdsworth of West Bromwich Albion, for the third time in his career; doubles (40) by William Roberts of Aston Villa Villans; RBI (95) by Frank Marshall of Sunderland; and singles (127) by Gerald Pemberton of The Wednesday Owls. Significant single games records set or tied include doubles (4, tied) by William Hills of Darwen on 11th July; and triples (3, tied) by William Stanton of Nottingham Forest on 9th June. On the pitching side of the ledger, Augustus Hunt set the record for appearing in the most games in a season this year, 45, for the Blues of Small Heath. No significant single game records were set by pitchers in 1896. Team hitting records set by First Division teams include batting average (.321) and slugging percentage (.440) by Blackburn Rovers, total hits by Small Heath (1,066), with the old record of 1.046 also broken by Blackburn and Sunderland Black Cats (1,060 apiece); doubles (196) by Burnley Clarets; and stolen bases (234) for the second straight year by Bolton Wanderers. No team pitching records were set. There was a record set for overall attendance by Blackburn Rovers (216,770). In the Second Division, batting records include singles (117) by Edwin Stevenson of Newcastle United; total bases (237) and slugging (.590) by Joshua Jackson of Everton Blues; hits (145) by Stevenson; and RBI (84) by Peter Howarth of Newcastle United Magpies. The hitting streak record was set by Richard Reid of Sheffield United, at 29 games, snapped on 2nd June. No individual pitching season records were set. On an individual game basis, Stevenson tied the hits record in a game with six on 29th July versus Manchester City; the runs scored record was tied, at five, by three players; the triples record of three was tied by seven players; the RBI record of seven tied by William McArthur of Woolwich Arsenal on 28th August and Cyril Wilson of Walsall on 5th August. Alfred Wood of Blackpool hit for the cycle against Woolwich Arsenal on 23rd July. No individual game pitching records of note were set or tied. Loughborough Corinthians set the Second Division team record for losses with 65, which earned them a ticket out of the League. Newcastle United set a team record for batting average (.309), and hits (1,009), while tying the record for runs scored (625). Newly promoted Blackpool used their ballpark and roster construction to power their way to a triples record (122). No other team records of note were set. William Gascoyne of Crewe Alexandra twirled a 3-0 no-hitter against Walsall at the Swifts home park on 22nd August, in front of 3,872. Gascoyne overcame four walks and two Railwaymen errors to complete the gem. Major retirements of note include Alfred Armstrong of Blackburn, starting pitchers who’d been fighting injuries throughout 1894 and 1895, not pitching at all in 1896. He leaves with a 93-48/3.29 record. Alfred Anderson leaves Burnley after eight years and an injury-plagued 1896 with a 77-53 record and a 4.15 ERA. Most notable retirement in the Second Division was of Roland McCann of the Manchester City (ne Ardwick) Citizens. McCann leaves with an 83-62 won-loss and a terrific 2.93 ERA, __________________ The (English) Baseball League (est. 1888): A History The 1932 Season is Underway Dynasty Mission \| Creation Story \| Subscribe 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 (Great War Hiatus) 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 The OOTP Interview about the Baseball League Last edited by chucksabr; 12-10-2013 at 01:40 PM.