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AMERICAN BASEBALL JUNE RECAP

NORTHEAST U.S.A. (July 1, 1873) – The calendar has hit the end of June. With the new starting dates of the non-professional competitions in place, that means all leagues are at or just past the halfway mark. Here are how matters stand:

APBL STANDINGS (48 of 90 games played)

Niagara’s 16-7 May turned into an 8-17 June, and as a result they’ve fallen two spots in the Colonial standings. That left an opening for St. John’s and of course the 6x champions of baseball sprinted straight through it, taking over 1st place thanks to an 18-7 month. Flour City remains where they seemingly always are: 2nd place. Alleghany followed up their 8-15 May with a 14-11 June, so they might break into the top three before long.

American & Knick were both 16-7 at the end of May. During the month of June Knickerbocker was a respectable 14-11 but American was 20-5, and as a result the defending APBL champions look like the unstoppable half of a two-team race in the Metropolitan Conference. American is scoring 9.7 runs per game – nearly a run per game more than any other team – and they are allowing 6.3 runs per game – nearly a run per game fewer than any other team. If this form continues American could end 1873 as the best single-season team ever, considering the level of competition.

APBL MONTHLY AWARDS

BATSMAN OF THE MONTH
Konrad Jensen (RF, STJ) – .412, 1.012 OPS, 35 R, 49 H, 9 XBH, 1 HR, 23 RBI, 24 SB, 10 BB, 2.3 WPA, 1.9 WAR

PITCHER OF THE MONTH
Elmer Seabold (ALL) – 8-4, 1.85 ERA, 27 K, 102.1 IP, 9 CG, 1 SHO, 1.18 WHIP, 2.5 K/BB, 1.3 WAR, 2.6 rWAR

GREENHORN OF THE MONTH
Martin Prince (SS, AME) – .327, .773 OPS, 19 R, 35 H, 7 XBH, 1 HR, 22 RBI, 7 SB, 0 BB, 0.9 WPA, 1.2 WAR

Jensen had a classic stretch of Jensen production, and as a result won BotM for the eleventh time between the NBBO & APBL as St. John’s climbed the standings. James Burke, who had 36 Runs, 30 RBI, and 33 Stolen Bases while batting .378 (.912 OPS) for American, will likely feel robbed of the honor.

Seabold had by far the best ERA among a group of four eight-win pitchers in June, so PotM is his. He was a major factor in Alleghany’s significant improvement during the month, and his work won out over the more support-backed win totals by American’s John Henry and the St. John’s duo of Harper Cundiff & Thomas Smith.

GotM was the award where American had a clear winner, as Martin Prince’s work with both bat and glove proved why he was the highest-rated Greenhorn signing of the winter. As he continues to settle into life as a professional player, Prince’s glove work should go from outstanding to unparalleled.

APBL STATISTICAL LEADERS

Average: .382 by James Simon (C, Shamrock)
OPS: .886 by Konrad Jensen (RF, St. John’s)
Runs: 71 by Franklin Petty (RF, American)
Home Runs: 2 by six different batsmen
Runs Batted In: 56 by Royal Altman (LF, Gotham) & James Burke (CF, American)
Stolen Bases: 53 by James Burke
Batsman WPA: 4.03 by Clive Strachan (RF, Gotham)
Batsman WAR: 2.4 by James Burke & Konrad Jensen

ERA (100+ IP): 2.42 by Elmer Seabold (Susquehanna)
Wins: 18 by John Henry (American)
Complete Games: 17 by Elmer Seabold
Strikeouts: 78 by Jim Creighton (Excelsior)
WHIP (100+ IP): 1.25 by Jim Creighton & James Goodman (Flour City)
Pitcher WAR: 4.9 by James Goodman
Pitcher rWAR: 5.3 by John Henry

NBBO REGIONAL LEADERS (35 of 70 games played)

BROOKLYN: Atlantic at 23-12 (Empire 2 GB, Continental & Marathon 4 GB, Eckford 5 GB)
NEW YORK CITY: New York Athletic Club at 22-13 (Harlem 2 GB, Baltic & Union 3 GB)
UPSTATE NY: Frontier & Victory at 22-13 (Minuteman & Utica 2 GB)
COASTAL: Trenton United at 25-10 (Quaker St. 1 GB, Maryland 5 GB, Tiger 7 GB)
INLAND: Susquehanna at 24-11 (Pioneer 2 GB, Lancastra & Merrimack 6 GB)
EW ENGLAND: Oceanic at 22-13 (Portland 1 GB, Green Mtn. 2 GB, S.o.t.O. 4 GB)

A 6-15 June has pulled Star down from joint-1st to 7th, with Atlantic taking the reigns in Brooklyn after a 15-6 month. Empire remains steady after a roughly .500 June, while the combination of Continental & Marathon are close behind the top two. Defending NBBO champions Eckford are five games back after improving their May form to 12-9 during the month.

Like Star, May NYC leaders Mercury went 6-15 in June and are now in 6th place as a result. N.Y.A.C.’s 16-5 June saw them vault five spots up the standings and alone into 1st place, while Harlem remains in 2nd and the Baltic/Union pair ends the month three games back for the second time in a row.

Minuteman cooled off in June (9-12), but they are still close behind Upstate joint-leaders Frontier & Victory, the latter of which rose from 6th to a tie for 1st after a 16-5 run. Like Minuteman, Utica is close behind, and 2x defending champions Syracuse are four games back at 18-17. Of note: Frontier has played only 10/35 games at home.

The five-way deadlock atop Coastal at the end of May has separated. Unsurprisingly, Quaker St. & Trenton Utd. have surged past the rest of the group, with end of May joint-leaders Maryland & Tiger now in 3rd & 4th place. Newark was a shocking 4-17 in June and have fallen to 7th place.

Susquehanna had a decent June (12-9) and thus remains Inland leaders by two games. However, a 17-4 June by Pioneer means the 2x defending Inland champs should have stiff competition during the second half of the season. Lancastra & Merrimack are within arm’s reach but both have major flaws, Lancastra’s in attack and Merrimack’s in the field.

Oceanic remains #1 in New England thanks to the best pitching in the NEL. Portland & Green Mtn. remain close behind and giving steady chase, while Sons of the Ocean recovered from their 5-9 May to go above .500 and move to within four games.

NBBO MONTHLY AWARDS

BATSMEN OF THE MONTH
NYL: Henry Nabors (SS, VIC) – .378, .857 OPS, 30 R, 42 H, 8 2B, 3 3B, 37 RBI, 4 SB, 0 BB, 1.6 WPA, 1.1 WAR
NEL: William Gentilucci (LF, QS) – .427, 1.094 OPS, 26 R, 38 H, 13 XBH, 1 HR, 28 RBI, 4 BB, 1.9 WPA, 1.3 WAR

PITCHERS OF THE MONTH
NYL: Charles Rhodes (NYAC) – 10-1, 1.63 ERA, 8 K, 110.1 IP, 7 CG, 2 SHO, 1.02 WHIP, 0.8 K/BB, 1.6 WAR, 3.9 rWAR
NEL: Ross Gill (QS) – 11-0, 2.68 ERA, 16 K, 117.1 IP, 9 CG, 1 SHO, 1.14 WHIP, 8.0 K/BB, 2.4 WAR, 3.5 rWAR

GREENHORNS OF THE MONTH
NYL: Edward Davis (SS, UTI) – .313, .775 OPS, 25 R, 31 H, 9 XBH, 2 HR, 31 RBI, 6 SB, 2 BB, 1.2 WPA, 0.6 WAR
NEL: Gus Carlson (CF, NEW) – .404, .958 OPS, 20 R, 40 H, 7 XBH, 1 HR, 22 RBI, 10 SB, 2 BB, 2.4 WPA, 1.0 WAR

NBBO STATISTICAL LEADERS

Average: .430 by John Burnett (1B, Victory)
OPS: .986 by Enda Reed (1B, Portland)
Runs: 56 by Charles Lamb (CF, Victory)
Home Runs: 3 by Joseph Kryszak (C, Mercury) & Frank Rose (RF, Maryland)
Runs Batted In: 58 by Henry Nabors (SS, Victory)
Stolen Bases: 44 by Manuel Romeiras (CF, Trenton Utd.)
Batsman WPA: 3.78 by Jaake Verhaaren (2B, Salem)
Batsman WAR: 2.5 by Isaac Kelly (3B, Eckford)

ERA (100+ IP): 1.67 by Charles Rhodes (NYAC)
Wins: 16 by Ross Gill (Quaker St.)
Complete Games: 16 by Ross Gill
Strikeouts: 25 by Earl Quinn (Maryland)
WHIP (100+ IP): 1.06 by Charles Rhodes
Pitcher WAR: 3.5 by Ross Gill
Pitcher rWAR: 5.5 by Ross Gill

PCBL REGIONAL LEADERS (35 of 70 games played)

EAST: Frankford Arsenal at 23-12 (Sons of Ben 2 GB, Keystone & Spartan 3 GB)
WEST: Merion at 23-12 (Mercantile 2 GB, Overbrook 4 GB, Schuylkill 5 GB)

East Philadelphia remains the same as it was at the end of May: Frankford on top, with the trio of Keystone, Sons of Ben, & Spartan close behind. Frankford does have one big advantage over the other three in that 25 of their remaining 35 games are at home in Frankford Park.

Overbrook was 7-14 in June, Merion went 15-6, and as a result a B.C.C. team is finally at the top of West Philadelphia. It’s still baffling that the other two B.C.C. teams – Germantown & Philadelphia B.C.C. – are in the bottom half of the standings, but at least one of the anticipated powerhouses has found their way to the front of the pack.

PCBL MONTHLY AWARDS

BATSMAN OF THE MONTH
Julian Fleury (CF, MIN) – .409, .930 OPS, 37 R, 45 H, 8 2B, 1 3B, 13 RBI, 15 SB, 3 BB, 2.0 WPA, 1.4 WAR

PITCHER OF THE MONTH
Joseph Hansel (MER) – 7-3, 1.56 ERA, 11 K, 86.2 IP, 7 CG, 0 SHO, 1.04 WHIP, 5.5 K/BB, 1.6 WAR, 3.1 rWAR

PCBL STATISTICAL LEADERS

Average: .411 by Robert Karnes (CF, Queen Village)
OPS: .938 by James Cray (LF, Merion)
Runs: 55 by William Engholm (LF, Penn)
Home Runs: 2 by four different batsmen
Runs Batted In: 46 by Charlie Kleinman (LF, Mercantile)
Stolen Bases: 37 by Joseph King (CF, Independence)
Batsman WPA: 3.36 by Robert Karnes
Batsman WAR: 2.5 by Joseph Evans (CF, Frankford)

ERA (100+ IP): 1.83 by Joseph Hansel (Mercantile)
Wins: 13 Charlie Greiner (Frankford Arsenal)
Complete Games: 12 by Charlie Greiner
Strikeouts: 22 by Jarvis Whitney (Yorktown)
WHIP (100+ IP): 1.13 by Joseph Hansel (Mercantile) & Arthur Lipscomb (P.B.C.C.)
Pitcher WAR: 2.8 by Richard Johnson (Penn) & William Winningham (Schuylkill)
Pitcher rWAR: 3.6 by Arthur Lipscomb (P.B.C.C.)