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BaseballMan · 04-14-2023, 06:24 PM

The Louisville Four

The 1877 baseball season faced a rocky start as New York and Philadelphia were expelled from the league for not completing their season schedules. Despite the loss of two teams, the league carried on with six remaining teams. However, on October 1st, reports surfaced in the Louisville papers alleging that four members of the Louisville Grays were accepting bribes to throw games. Although there was no concrete evidence to support the claim, fearing a scandal, Commissioner Hulbert banned the four players from the league for life. The banned players were George Hall, Bill Craver, Al Nichols, and Jim Devlin, of which only Nichols' stats were questionable. Ex-commissioner Henry Chadwick suggested that Nichols may have been simply a terrible ballplayer. Nevertheless, the ban on the four players stood.
The 1877 National League standings saw the Cincinnati Reds and the Chicago White Stockings finishing at the top of the league, with the Reds leading by only one game. The Hartford Dark Blues, Boston Red Caps, St. Louis Brown Stockings, and Louisville Grays rounded out the rest of the league standings. In the post-season World Championship Series, the White Stockings emerged victorious in a five-game series against the Reds.
Looking at the league batting stats, the Red Caps led the league in runs per game, with an average of 6.0, followed by the White Stockings with 5.7. The Red Caps also topped in hits, doubles, and stolen bases, while the White Stockings led in triples. The Red Caps finished the season with a .279 batting average and a .305 on-base percentage, while the White Stockings finished with a .291 batting average and a .312 on-base percentage.
On the pitching front, the Reds led the league in fewest runs allowed per game, giving up only 3.9, followed closely by the White Stockings with 4.3. The Reds boasted the lowest ERA at 2.10 and the lowest WHIP at 1.13. On the other hand, the Louisville Grays had the highest ERA at 5.09 and the highest WHIP at 1.68.
Overall, the league batting average was .270, while the league ERA was 2.85.

04-14-2023, 06:24 PM	#62
BaseballMan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 6,505	The Louisville Four The 1877 baseball season faced a rocky start as New York and Philadelphia were expelled from the league for not completing their season schedules. Despite the loss of two teams, the league carried on with six remaining teams. However, on October 1st, reports surfaced in the Louisville papers alleging that four members of the Louisville Grays were accepting bribes to throw games. Although there was no concrete evidence to support the claim, fearing a scandal, Commissioner Hulbert banned the four players from the league for life. The banned players were George Hall, Bill Craver, Al Nichols, and Jim Devlin, of which only Nichols' stats were questionable. Ex-commissioner Henry Chadwick suggested that Nichols may have been simply a terrible ballplayer. Nevertheless, the ban on the four players stood. The 1877 National League standings saw the Cincinnati Reds and the Chicago White Stockings finishing at the top of the league, with the Reds leading by only one game. The Hartford Dark Blues, Boston Red Caps, St. Louis Brown Stockings, and Louisville Grays rounded out the rest of the league standings. In the post-season World Championship Series, the White Stockings emerged victorious in a five-game series against the Reds. Looking at the league batting stats, the Red Caps led the league in runs per game, with an average of 6.0, followed by the White Stockings with 5.7. The Red Caps also topped in hits, doubles, and stolen bases, while the White Stockings led in triples. The Red Caps finished the season with a .279 batting average and a .305 on-base percentage, while the White Stockings finished with a .291 batting average and a .312 on-base percentage. On the pitching front, the Reds led the league in fewest runs allowed per game, giving up only 3.9, followed closely by the White Stockings with 4.3. The Reds boasted the lowest ERA at 2.10 and the lowest WHIP at 1.13. On the other hand, the Louisville Grays had the highest ERA at 5.09 and the highest WHIP at 1.68. Overall, the league batting average was .270, while the league ERA was 2.85.