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AMERICAN PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL LEAGUE AWARD WINNERS
Career award totals are carried over from the NBBO

BATSMAN OF THE YEAR: Konrad Jensen – 33 y/o LF, St. John’s (3rd career BotY)
• .402/.454/.512, .966 OPS, 96 R, 154 H, 16 2B, 10 3B, 2 HR, 95 RBI, 40 BB, 62 SB, 196 TB, 6.97 WPA, 6.2 WAR
• Led APBL in nine major offensive categories; Hit .447 (80/179) with 1.071 OPS after July 1st (39 G).
• Babe Johnson (2B, GOT) 2nd – .361, .867 OPS, 96 R, 137 H, 18 2B, 8 3B, 71 RBI, 38 BB, 33 SB, 5.40 WPA, 3.8 WAR
• Nelson Townsend (RF, StJ) 3rd – 371, .882 OPS, 102 R, 150 H, 26 2B, 7 3B, 50 RBI, 23 BB, 43 SB, 3.83 WPA, 4.4 WAR

Jensen’s 1872 was nearly as good as teammate Townsend’s 1871. He had career highs in Hits, RBI, & WAR, and he hit over .400 for the third time in five seasons between both major competitions. This was his sixth major individual award between the NBBO & APBL – three BotY’s & MVP’s each. Johnson & Townsend were excellent, but nobody came close to Jensen.

PITCHER OF THE YEAR: James Goodman – 33 y/o, Flour City (2nd career PotY)
• 26-15, 2.74 ERA, 102 K, 380.1 IP, 32 CG, 3 SHO, 26 BB, 1.20 WHIP, 3.9 K/BB, 9.2 WAR, 9.6 rWAR
• Top five in nine major pitching categories; 22-8 with 2.87 ERA after June 1st.
• Thomas Smith (StJ) 2nd – 29-13, 2.41 ERA, 24 K, 381.2 IP, 35 CG, 2 SHO, 1.22 WHIP, 0.6 K/BB, 5.7 WAR, 10.1 rWAR
• Jim Creighton (EXC) 3rd – American Professional Baseball League Most Valuable Player

So, why didn’t Smith, who led the league in Wins & ERA, take PotY? It was widely believed that much of his success was due to the fact that behind him was a St. John’s defense that led the APBL in all four factors: Errors, Fielding %, Efficiency, & Zone Rating. On the other hand, Goodman pitched for a team whose defense was in the bottom half of the league, and after the calendar flipped to June he was fantastic, even if he didn’t end up leading the APBL in any major pitching categories. Creighton may have finished third, but he was given a familiar award to compensate.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Jim Creighton – 31 y/o P, Excelsior (5th career MVP)
• 24-19, 2.93 ERA, 170 K, 383.1 IP, 28 CG, 1 SHO, 34 BB, 1.19 WHIP, 4.0 K/9, 5.0 K/BB, 9.8 WAR, 7.3 rWAR
• 45 G: .366, .860 OPS, 28 R, 53 H, 6 2B, 3 3B, 15 RBI, 11 BB, 8 SB, 65 TB, 1.08 WPA, 1.5 WAR
• 11.3 total WAR between pitching & batting; led league in K’s for 12th straight year & in pitching WAR for 8th time
• Konrad Jensen (LF, StJ) 2nd – American Professional Baseball League Batsman of the Year
• Willie Davis (LF, AME) 3rd – .358, .843 OPS, 102 R, 144 H, 26 2B, 7 3B, 68 RBI, 15 BB, 39 SB, 5.36 WPA, 4.2 WAR

So, why didn’t Jensen double up and take MVP to go with BotY? When Creighton pitched in a game Excelsior was 26-19, which would be 52-38 over 90 games – one better than champions American. When Creighton didn’t pitch Excelsior was 15-30. That’s why Creighton was the APBL MVP: when he had the ball Excelsior played like Founders’ Cup contenders, and when he didn’t have the ball Excelsior played like bottom-dwelling embarrassments.

Jensen had an extraordinary season, but he also plays with another extraordinary corner outfielder in Nelson Townsend. On the other hand, there is nobody like Jim Creighton.

GREENHORN OF THE YEAR: Rudolph Decker – 27 y/o CF, St. John’s
• .337/.361/.413, .774 OPS, 106 R, 138 H, 19 2B, 6 3B, 0 HR, 36 RBI, 7 BB, 64 SB, 169 TB, 4.02 WPA, 3.8 WAR
• Top ten in five major offensive categories; Hit .432 (41/95) in May with .929 OPS.
• C. Whitehead (2B, ORA) 2nd – .343, .769 OPS, 69 R, 136 H, 21 2B, 5 3B, 72 RBI, 3 BB, 4 SB, 4.08 WPA, 2.2 WAR
• Frank Doherty (3B, ALL) 3rd – .258, .592 OPS, 39 R, 95 H, 19 2B, 1 3B, 57 RBI, 6 BB, +17.2 ZR, 0.36 WPA, 1.5 WAR

After St. John’s missed out on Franklin Petty the front office was left wondering how to replace the center of “The Hydra”, William Johnson, after ten seasons playing with Jensen & Townsend. They signed Decker figuring he’d take a year to develop, and instead he reformed The Hydra almost immediately, with the only thing Decker missing being Johnson’s patience at the plate. Whitehead was the more touted Greenhorn, but a slow start and suspect defense (-9.2 ZR), hurt him.


GOLDEN GLOVES

P: Monroe Munson (NIA/1st) – 21 PO, 55 AST, 2 DP, 13 E, 1.92 RNG, +10.5 ZR, 1.273 EFF
C: Albert Goddard (EXC/1st) – 33 PB, 34.3 RTO%, 3.48 C-ERA, +6.7 ZR, 1.062 EFF
1B: Frank Bulger (SHA/2nd) – 945 PO, 48 AST, 30 DP, 26 E, 11.40 RNG, +10.0 ZR, 1.101 EFF
2B: Ralph Knight (FC/2nd) – 326 PO, 275 AST, 19 DP, 60 E, 7.05 RNG, +14.6 ZR, 1.110 EFF
3B: Frank Doherty (ALL/GH) – 159 PO, 158 AST, 2 DP, 30 E, 3.63 RNG, +17.2 ZR, 1.156 EFF
SS: Anthony Mascherino (ORA/13th) – 292 PO, 312 AST, 24 DP, 81 E, 6.79 RNG, +22.2 ZR, 1.117 EFF
LF: Willie Davis (AME/5th) – 163 PO, 1 AST, 28 E, 1.95 RNG, +1.5 ARM, +5.9 ZR, 1.068 EFF
CF: Declan Brice (MB/5th) – 250 PO, 8 AST, 45 E, 3.00 RNG, -1.2 ARM, +8.7 ZR, 1.059 EFF
RF: Reginald Roper (NIA/1st) – 181 PO, 1 AST, 61 E, 2.11 RNG, -3.1 ARM, +7.8 ZR, 1.081 EFF


TEAM OF THE YEAR

P: Thomas Smith (STJ/1st) - 29-13, 2.41 ERA, 24 K, 381.2 IP, 35 CG, 2 SHO, 22 BB, 1.22 WHIP, 0.6 K/BB, 5.7 WAR, 10.1 rWAR
C: Harvey O'Donnell (FC/2nd) - .354, .759 OPS, 50 R, 112 H, 7 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 61 RBI, 2 BB, 0 SB, 122 TB, 4.61 WPA, 2.3 WAR
1B: William Busby (AME/4th) - .340, .838 OPS, 63 R, 120 H, 12 2B, 4 3B, 5 HR, 79 RBI, 29 BB, 1 SB, 155 TB, 4.69 WPA, 2.5 WAR
2B: Babe Johnson (GOT/3rd) - .361, .867 OPS, 96 R, 137 H, 18 2B, 8 3B, 0 HR, 71 RBI, 38 BB, 33 SB, 171 TB, 5.40 WPA, 3.8 WAR
3B: Werner Verstegen (AME/3rd) - .295, .681 OPS, 74 R, 119 H, 19 2B, 3 3B, 0 HR, 85 RBI, 17 BB, 33 SB, 144 TB, 4.67 WPA, 1.4 WAR
SS: A. Mascherino (ORA, 13th) - .302, .690 OPS, 85 R, 127 H, 18 2B, 4 3B, 1 HR, 56 RBI, 31 SB, 156 TB, +22.2 ZR, 2.81 WPA, 4.1 WAR
OF: Konrad Jensen (StJ/12th) - .402/.454/.512, .966 OPS, 96 R, 154 H, 28 XBH, 2 HR, 95 RBI, 40 BB, 62 SB, 196 TB, 6.97 WPA, 5.2 WAR
CF: Franklin Petty (AME/4th) - .343, .810 OPS, 107 R, 132 H, 22 2B, 8 3B, 0 HR, 51 RBI, 21 BB, 49 SB, 175 TB, 4.74 WPA, 4.1 WAR
OF: Nelson Townsend (StJ/7th) - .371, .882 OPS, 102 R, 150 H, 26 2B, 7 3B, 0 HR, 50 RBI, 23 BB, 43 SB, 190 TB, 3.83 WPA, 4.4 WAR

MISCELLANEOUS

APBL STATISTICAL LEADERS

• Average: .402 by Konrad Jensen (LF, St. John’s)
• On-Base: .454 by Konrad Jensen
• Slugging: .512 by Konrad Jensen
• OPS: .966 by Konrad Jensen
• Hits: 154 by Konrad Jensen
• Extra-Base Hits: 35 by Walter Dudley (1B, Orange)
• Doubles: 33 by Walter Dudley
• Triples: 15 by Clive Strachan (RF, Gotham)
• Home Runs: 5 by William Busby (1B, American)
• Runs Batted In: 95 by Konrad Jensen
• Runs: 107 by Franklin Petty (CF, American)
• Stolen Bases: 64 by Rudolph Decker (CF, St. John’s)
• Total Bases: 196 by Konrad Jensen
• Bases on Balls: 40 by Konrad Jensen
• Win Prob. Added: 6.97 by Konrad Jensen
• Batsman WAR: 5.2 by Konrad Jensen

• Wins: 29 by Thomas Smith (St. John’s)
• Losses: 31 by Daniel Flynn (Kings Co.)
• ERA (200+ IP): 2.41 by Thomas Smith
• Strikeouts: 170 by Jim Creighton (Excelsior)
• Innings: 383.1 by Jim Creighton
• Complete Games: 36 by Henry Tallman (Shamrock)
• Shutouts: 4 by Monroe Munson (Niagara)
• BB/9 (200+ IP): 0.4 by Tom Hauser (Mass. Bay)
• K/9 (200+ IP): 4.0 by Jim Creighton
• K/BB (200+ IP): 5.0 by Jim Creighton
• WHIP (200+ IP): 1.13 by Thomas Paddock (Orange)
• Pitcher WAR: 9.8 by Jim Creighton
• Pitcher rWAR: 10.5 by Henry Tallman


ACHIEVEMENTS & NOTABLE EVENTS

• May 18: Royal Altman (Gotham) bats 6/6 with three Doubles, five Runs, & three RBI against Knickerbocker
• July 17: James Goodman (Flour City) pitches a four-hit Shutout and bats 2/3 with a Double against Niagara.
• July 20: Jim Creighton (Excelsior) finishes with nine Strikeouts in a win against Kings Co.
• Aug. 5: The Metro Conf. wins the 2nd All-Star Game 9-8 (10 Inn.). William Busby (American) is named MVP.
• Aug. 24: Shamrock 16-17 Flour City is the 1st APBL game in which both teams score 15+ runs.

• One player hit .400: Konrad Jensen (St. John’s) at .402. Albert Stoffers (Mass. Bay) was 2nd at .383.
• No players had an OPS over 1.000. Only two had an OPS over .900: Jensen (.966) & Stoffers (.905)
• The only batsman to have a WAR of higher than 5.0 was Jensen (5.2).
• The only batsman to have 90+ Runs Batted In was Jensen (95).
• Four players scored 100+ Runs in 1872.
• There was one six-hit game: the 6/6 by Royal Altman on May 18th.
• William Busby (American) was the only player to hit 5+ Home Runs.
• William Busby has won six consecutive Home Run titles between the NBBO & APBL.
• After three players stole 70+ bases last year, none stole 70+ this year.
• Four pitchers earned 25+ Wins in 1872.