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THE 1876 PHILADELPHIA CITY BASEBALL LEAGUE PREVIEW

PHILADELPHIA (May 10, 1876) – Season #4 of the P.C.B.L. begins this afternoon.

Last year was Philadelphia B.C.C.’s year. After an incredible 26-9 first half the team took some criticism as they eased their way into the Liberty Bell Classic, but once in the playoff they were back in form and won the city championship in five games over the now 3x runners-up Frankford Arsenal.

This year, P.B.C.C. is expected to be similarly dominant after they strengthened their already league-best pitching, and their anticipated opponent in the Liberty Bell Classic is Frankford Arsenal, who will make a fourth attempt at becoming the best team in Philadelphia.

The two major individual awards are expected to be repeats. Joesph Evans returns from his best season yet and looking better than ever as the Writers Pool believes he could become the P.C.B.L.’s first Triple Crown winner. Meanwhile, Arthur Lipscomb is projected to lead the league in Wins again while sporting a low E.R.A. while having the league’s best group of fielders behind him.

If there is any player that could knock Joseph Evans off his Batsman of the Year perch for the first time, the likeliest candidate is Queen Village 2B Herman Stanley, The 24-year-old has improved in each of the P.C.B.L.’s three seasons, and last year he hit .344 with an .820 OPS, 20 Stolen Bases, and 3.8 WAR. Another candidate is Mercantile Benjamin Warnock, was last year’s runner-up in both Batting Average & OPS while finishing a handful away from the RBI lead.

As for the other two awards…Even though Most Valuable Player could go to anybody who puts forth a great season, Merion’s William Norman is considered a likely candidate to repeat as M.V.P. after his absurd 7.7 WPA in 1875. That, combined with his consistent batting and his high Baseball I.Q., makes him likely to be extremely valuable once again. Greenhorn of the Year will likely be another P.B.C.C. pickup, with 22-year-old RF Leroy Moore, who is incredibly talented with the bat and will be deadly once he’s a bit better at finding the gaps in the outfield.

And with that, it’s time to play ball!

PHILADELPHIA CITY BASEBALL LEAGUE PROJECTED FINISH

East Philadelphia
• Favorites: Frankford Arsenal at 42-28 (+95 RD)
• Minerva 1 GB, Keystone 6 GB, Port Richmond & Sons of Ben 7 GB, Spartan 8 GB

West Philadelphia
• Favorites: Philadelphia B.C.C. at 48-22 (+170 RD)
• Merion 8 GB, Germantown 9 GB, no other teams within 10 GB

Liberty Bell Classic favorites: Philadelphia Baseball & Cricket Club

EAST PHILDELPHIA – Once again Frankford is expected to take the pennant for the eastern half of the city, and once again it’s expected to be a close race. Of course the favorites have the league’s best player – LF Joseph Evans – but they also rank #1-2 at three other positions: 2B (James Toppin), CF (Francis Brown), & RF (James Howard). Minerva has a powerful offense whose best bat may be that of a Greenhorn: 2B Jonathan Auriemma. Keystone will be led by excellent P Moses Smith. Pt. Richmond has a hit-or-miss lineup led by CF William Detmer. Sons of Ben will again be anchored by P Paul Krueger. Spartan has RF Joseph Sizemore, but unfortunately not a whole lot else to support him.

WEST PHILADELPHIA – P.B.C.C. has such a talented roster that they are expected to easily make it to the Liberty Bell Classic even though Merion has top-three players at four positions – 1B (William Norman), 3B (Ben Roberts), CF (Wallace Wagner), & RF (Clifford Martin) – and Germantown ranks #1 at three – C (Thomas Kirkpatrick), CF (Edward Smith), & RF (Sig Siemens). There isn’t a single hole in their lineup, their defense is outstanding, and their pitching is excellent. What’s even scarier is that P.B.C.C. has four of the top ten young prospects in the P.C.B.L., and one is already a starter in 22-year-old RF Leroy Moore.

PCBL AWARD FAVORITES

Batsman of the Year: Joseph Evans (LF, Frankford) – projected .359/.404/.548, 5 HR, 77 RBI, 16 SB
Pitcher of the Year: Arthur Lipscomb (P.B.C.C.) – projected 27-12, 2.44 ERA, 56 K over 335.2 IP
Most Valuable Player: Benjamin Warnock (1B, Merion) – projected .348/.376/.465, 2 HR, 60 RBI, 18 SB
Greenhorn of the Year: Leroy Moore (RF, P.B.C.C.) – projected .331/.351/.458, 1 HR, 56 RBI, 5 SB

PCBL TEAM OF THE YEAR FAVORITES

P: Arthur Lipscomb (P.B.C.C.), C: Harrison Hearst (P.B.C.C.), 1B: William Norman (Merion), 2B: Herman Stanley (Queen Village), 3B: Charles Hunt (P.B.C.C.), SS: Moody Steiger (P.B.C.C.), OF: Joseph Evans (Frankford), OF: Francis Brown (Frankford), OF: Sigmund Siemens (Germantown)