With the addition of more leagues, I thought it would be fun to go month-by-month and observe the races "in real time". So here's the report after
April 1890:
England - The Baseball League
With a month and a half to go,
Everton lead the league but are being chased by Preston, reigning champions Burnley and newcomers Sunderland. The Toffees are the best team on both sides of the ball and we can probably expect them to come out on top at the end of the season. Preston's defense is carrying an average squad into a title race, improvements are needed it they are to close the gap. The reigning champions' offensive woes might have finally caught up to them as being one of the worst offenses in the league is seriously dragging their pitching back. Finally, Sunderland are the surprise team. The newcomers are relying on decent batting to lift up some pretty bad pitching. I don't expect them to mount a serious challenge, but it's fun having the new team involved at the top of the table.
Hitting Leaders
CF Ross Matheson - Accrington - .310/.406/.563, 8 2B, 7 3B, 13 RBI, 3 SB
1B Oliver Creamer - Derby - .367/.462/.456, 5 2B, 1 3B, 12 RBI
LF Douggie Davies - Bolton - .315/.396/.528, 3 2B, 8 3B, 10 RBI, 30 SB
3B Liam Mack - Aston Villa - .330/.396/.462, 6 2B, 2 HR, 16 RBI, 2 SB
SS Anthony Dean - Notts County - .354/.394/.469, 7 2B, 2 3B, 11 RBI, 1 SB
Pitching Leaders
LHP Edward Middleton - Accrington - 2-1, 28.1 IP, 1.27 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 13.8 K%, 8.1 BB%
LHP Keith Coleman - Burnley - 4-3, 71.0 IP, 1.65 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 10.6 K%, 2.9 BB%
LHP Everton Hanson - Burnley - 7-1, 71.1 IP, 2.02 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 11.1 K%, 4.0 BB%
RHP Everton Taylor - Everton - 5-2, 70.1 IP, 2.05 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 11.6 K%, 9.9 BB%
LHP Gary Johns - Aston Villa - 2-5, 56.0 IP, 2.09 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 10.1 K%, 8.5 BB%
Scotland - Scottish Baseball League
With just over a month to go, the race for the title is most definitely on! Abercorn's offense has got them in 1st place for now, with Cambusland and Rangers in hot pursuit. Hearts, Dumbarton, Celtic, 3rd Lanark and Cowlairs might have what it takes to make it a very, very exciting finish. Particularly Dumbarton, Rangers and Celtic who have the three best players in the league, with quality to become stars in any league. At just 12 games shorter than the Baseball League, we'll know who the champions are earlier than in England.
Hitting Leaders
RF Douglas Gilbert - Rangers - .333/.434/.567, 6 2B, 6 3B, 1 HR, 14 RBI, 38 SB
LF John Urquhart - Dumbarton - .277/.415/.508, 6 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 9 SB
C Callum McLennan - Vale of Leven - .361/.391/.494, 2 2B, 3 HR, 7 RBI
RF Scannell Plunkett - 3rd LRV - .379/.440/.425, 4 2B, 17 RBI, 1 SB
RF Blair Anderson - Rangers - .300/.411/.467, 2 2B, 4 3B, 6 RBI
Pitching Leaders
LHP Charlie Marshall - Hearts - 6-1, 71.0 IP, 1.52 ERA, 0.72 WHIP, 12.9 K%, 3.0 BB%
LHP Matthew Gordon - Celtic - 4-3, 69.0 IP, 1.83 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 7.2 K%, 7.8 BB%
LHP Aiden Kennedy - St. Mirren - 4-2, 57.1 IP, 2.04 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 10.6 K%, 6.5 BB%
RHP Connor Millar - 3rd LRV - 5-3, 67.0 IP, 2.15 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 9.8 K%, 8.1 BB%
LHP Connor Mackenzie - Celtic - 3-3, 51.0 IP, 2.29 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 9.8 K%, 11.6 BB%
Ireland - Irish League
The shortest league has just about 3 weeks left, with Linfield leading by a game and a half. They're offensive and defensive leaders, and it will be hard for any team to make it any closer. However, Clarence and their league best rotation will most certainly try and perhaps they might take it all the way to the last series when they visit Linfield's Ulsterville stadium.
Hitting Leaders
1B Keane Hobbs - Distillery - .369/.460/.512, 3 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 12 RBI, 12 SB
3B Finney Martin - Linfield - .357/.443/.452, 4 2B, 2 3B, 13 RBI, 4 SB
CF Scanlon Graham - Glentoran - .326/.418/.463, 7 2B, 3 3B, 13 RBI, 12 SB
3B Kathel Taylor - Ulster - .304/.440/.418, 6 2B, 1 HR, 11 RBI, 4 SB
LF Bowie Jackson - Oldpark - .305/.371/.516, 6 2B, 4 3B, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 7 SB
Pitching Leaders
LHP Brock Adams - Linfield - 7-1, 78.1 IP, 1.49 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 7.7 K%, 4.2 BB%
RHP Bob Montgomery - Clarence - 4-4, 68.2 IP, 2.23 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 10.5 K%, 7.9 BB%
RHP Brandon Collins - Glentoran - 3-1, 42.1 IP, 2.34 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 6.5 K%, 8.2 BB%
LHP Elton Berry - Cliftonville - 2-1, 45.0 IP, 2.40 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 6.2 K%, 7.8 BB%
LHP Quirke O'Callaghan - Clarence - 5-2, 70.2 IP, 2.55 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 10.0 K%, 10.0 BB%
England - The Baseball Alliance
Of course, the only club with top quality players is dominating the league, losing only once to Walsall. It's just a matter of time before Stoke are crowned champions in this independent league.
Top Hitters
1B Riley Creamer - Stoke - .393/.500/.843, 13 2B, 3 3B, 7 HR, 26 RBI, 11 SB
LF Cedric Pearson - Stoke - .416/.485/.809, 6 2B, 1 3B, 9 HR, 37 RBI, 6 SB
SS Harry Howarth - Stoke - .380/.477/.620, 5 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, 28 RBI
RF Douglas Cooney - Stoke - .392/.472/.608, 7 2B, 3 HR, 23 RBI, 1 SB
2B Kyle Garrett - Stoke - .319/.430/.628, 8 2B, 7 HR, 20 RBI, 6 SB
Top Pitchers
RHP Jayden Lucas - Stoke - 5-0, 43.1 IP, 0.83 ERA, 0.69 WHIP, 30.8 K%, 1.9 BB%
RHP Kai Morris - Stoke - 8-0, 71.0 IP, 1.14 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, 36.2 K%, 7.5 BB%
RHP Spencer Charlesworth - Stoke - 8-0, 71.0 IP, 1.27 ERA, 0.68 WHIP, 31.0 K%, 2.7 BB%
RHP Daniel Scott - Grimsby - 6-2, 61.2 IP, 1.75 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 17.0 K%, 8.9 BB%
LHP Douglas Cleghorn - Birmingham SG - 6-3, 72.0 IP, 1.88 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 18.8 K%, 5.6 BB%
Find out how the season ended in the next post! Thanks for reading!