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THE INAUGURAL SEASON OF PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL

On the first Friday of May in 1871, the first games of professional baseball in the United States were played – the start of a new era for the sport. In the meantime, the ten clubs that formed the American Professional Baseball League were hoping that the first season of their new product would prove popular with the fans. Indeed, the first year of pro ball was a success. Attendance for nearly every club was even or higher even though ticket prices had doubled, and top-to-bottom the league was very competitive. In the end, it took until the final day of the season to decide a champion, with the Pennsylvania Quakers walking away crowned the first kings of the APBL.

The final standings:

Pennsylvania Quakers 55-35
Manhattan Orangemen 54-36 (1 GB)
Boston Shamrocks 47-43 (8 GB)
Brooklyn Kings 47-43 (8 GB)
N.Y. Knickerbockers 46-44 (9 GB)
N.J. Clippers 44-46 (11 GB)
Buffalo Blues 42-48 (13 GB)
Rochester Millers 40-50 (15 GB)
Pittsburgh Industrials 38-52 (17 GB)
Philadelphia Patriots 37-53 (18 GB)

The ten teams were quite close in standard. Pennsylvania’s win percentage was .611 and cross-city rivals Philadelphia sat exactly 20% lower (.411), with such win-loss spreads usually larger in the eight-team NBBO divisions. The best offense in the APBL (PENN) scored 7.3 runs per game while the weakest offense (PHI) was only about a run per game worse at 6.1. Similarly, the Quakers’ league-best batting average was .304 and the Patriots’ league-worst average was .275. Advanced metrics, such as Pythagorean Wins showed the league even tighter – just 13 Expected Wins between Pennsylvania and Philadelphia. This was a highly balanced league at the start of its lifespan.

As with the inaugural season of the NBBO, the inaugural season of the APBL ended with a set of inaugural award winners. Here they were:

BATSMAN OF THE YEAR

Edward Huntley – SS, Brooklyn Kings
90 G, .391 AVG, .959/176 OPS/OPS+, 88 R, 156 H, 21 2B, 19 3B, 58 RBI, 26 SB, 4.58 WPA (8.2/162), 5.2 WAR (9.4/162)

HURLER OF THE YEAR

Clarence Bowden – Manhattan Orangemen
359.1 IP, 45 GS, 27 CG, 27-17, 3.18 ERA, 23 BB, 70 K, 1.31 WHIP, 3.0 K/BB, 8.3 WAR (5.2/225 IP)

MOST VAULABLE PLAYER

Robert Loomis – OF, Buffalo Blues
90 G, .364 AVG, .854/146 OPS/OPS+, 66 R, 141 H, 71 RBI, 186 TB, 37 SB, 4.69 WPA (8.4/162)

GOLDEN GLOVES

P: Delbert Hodges (Brooklyn) – 350.2 I, 82 TC, 3 E, +8.7 ZR, 1.266 EFF
C: Silvio de Graaf (Manhattan) – 792.2 I, 267 TC, 103 PB, 22 E, +11.5 ZR, 1.023 EFF, 43.1 RTO%, 3.27 CERA
1B: Darragh Kelly (Buffalo) – 769.1 I, 957 TC, 25 E, 16 DP, + 5.1 ZR, 1.054 EFF
2B: Luhan McReady (Boston) – 794.2 I, 557 TC, 20 E, 322 A, 22 DP, 6.08 RNG, +16.9 ZR, 1.116 EFF
3B: James Harrington (Knick’s) – 774 I, 326 TC, 47 E, 226 A, 3.24 ENG, +16.4 ZR, 1.144 EFF
SS: Anthony Mascherino (Penn.) – 804.2 I, 559 TC, 56 E, 348 A, 22 DP, 5.63 RNG, +25.2 ZR, 1.143 EFF
OF: Thomas Maloney (Manhattan) – 784.1 I, 261 TC, 18 E, 8 A, 2.79, 1 DP, 2.79 RNG, +5.7 ZR, 1.059 EFF
OF: George Reese (Boston) – 792.2 I, 389 TC, 38 E, 12 A, 2 DP, 3.99 RNG, +12.8 ZR, 1.071 EFF
OF: Roger Sotheby (Rochester) – 772.1 I, 278 TC, 11 E, 17 A, 3.13 RNG, +4.7 ZR, 1.051 EFF

TEAM OF THE YEAR

P: Clarence Bowden (Manhattan) - 359.1 IP, 27-17, 3.18 ERA, 23 BB, 70 K, 1.31 WHIP, 3.0 K/BB, 8.3 WAR (5.2/225 IP), HotY
C: George Bell (Penns.) – .359 AVG, .828/139 OPS/OPS+, 71 R, 134 H, 32 XBH, 79 RBI, 172 TB, 3.27 CERA, 2.16 WPA, 2.1 WAR (3.9/162)
1B: Jens Kristensen (Boston) – .286 AVG, .725/108 OPS/OPS+, 69 R, 117 H, 31 XBH, 52 RBI, 169 TB, +6.5 ZR, 2.76 WPA, 0.9 WAR (1.6/162)
2B: James McDonald (Pitt.) – .314 AVG, .775/122 OPS/OPS+, 78 R, 130 H, 36 XBH, 61 RBI, 187 TB, 2.49 WPA, 0.6 WAR (1.1/162)
3B: James Findley (Boston) – .338 AVG, .896/150 OPS/OPS+, 87 R, 133 H, 49 XBH, 85 RBI, 22 SB, 3.50 WPA, 3.7 WAR (6.7/162)
SS: Edward Huntley (Brooklyn) – .391 AVG, .959/176 OPS/OPS+, 88 R, 156 H, 41 XBH, 58 RBI, 218 TB, 26 SB, 4.58 WPA, 5.2 WAR (9.4/162)
OF: Robert Loomis (Buffalo) – .364 AVG, .854/146 OPS/OPS+, 66 R, 141 H, 32 XBH, 71 RBI, 37 SB, 4.69 WPA, 1.7 WAR (3.1/162)
OF: Thomas Thompson (Penn.) – .336 AVG, .824/137 OPS/OPS+, 86 R, 131 H, 35 XBH, 73 RBI, 43 SB, 2.47 WPA, 3.0 WAR (5.4/162)
OF: Konrad Jensen (Manhattan) - .388 AVG, .905/162 OPS/OPS+, 83 R, 151 H, 29 XBH, 60 RBI, 33 SB, 3.65 WPA, 3.2 WAR (5.8/162)