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TWO HISTORIC PERFORMANCES ON WEDNESDAY
BATSMEN IN THE NBBO & PCBL PLACE THEIR NAMES IN THE RECORD BOOKS

BROOKLYN & PHILADELPHIA (Aug. 12, 1874) - There was history made in two of baseball’s three organized competitions on Wednesday afternoon, with batsmen in the NBBO & PCBL setting high marks for RBI in a single game.

In Brooklyn, Empire & Marathon opened their season-ending series playing for pride as they’re two of the Brooklyn Championship’s bottom three teams.

Apparently, Marathon 3B Arjen Zuiderwijk didn’t get the memo that the contest was meaningless. Entering the game with a .240 Batting Average (.584 OPS) and 30 Runs Batted In for the season, Zuiderwijk had a record-breaking afternoon:

• B2: Double to CF off R. Dozier
• B4: 2-run Single past 2B off R. Dozier
• B5: 3-run Double to RF off R. Dozier
• B7: Fly Out to SS (1 out)
• B8: GRAND SLAM (ItP) to LCF off L.B. Myhre (R)
• TOTAL: 4/5, 2 2B, HR, 1 R, 9 RBI (NBBO record), 9 TB, 103 GMSC

Zuiderwijk’s nine Runs Batted In weren’t just an NBBO record but the highest single-game total at any level, besting the eight different players in the NBBO and one in the APBL who have driven in eight runs in a single afternoon. Zuiderwijk’s nine RBI on just three of his four Hits also must be among the most efficient run production ever seen in a game, one that raised his average eighteen points (.240 to .258) and his OPS by 66 (.584 to .650).

In Philadelphia, there was another batch of RBI history made in the game between Penn & Schuylkill River Bend Park. Visiting Penn had an easy time of it in a 15-6 victory, and in the process #3 batsman Oliver Stone set a PCBL record:

• T1: Fly Out to LF (2 out)
• T3: 1-run Single past 2B off W. Winningham (R)
• T5: 1-run Single to LF off W. Winningham (R)
• T6: 1-run Single past 2B off W. Winningham (R)
• T8: 3-RUN HOME RUN (ItP) to LCF off F. Treadwell (R)
• T9: 1-run Single past SS off E. Tidwell
• TOTAL: 5/6, HR, 4 R, 7 RBI (PCBL record), 8 TB, 118 GMSC

There had been a dozen six-RBI outings in the PCBL’s short history, but Stone was the first with seven in a single game.

It was two leagues and two record-breaking performances punctuated by Home Runs on Wednesday afternoon. With four games left to play in both the NBBO & PCBL, hopefully the final week and the playoffs bring more of the same.