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TIGER GOES HUNTING, TAKES PRINCE FROM NEW RIVALS
STAR SS MOVES ACROSS PHILADELPHIA TO JOIN APBL NEWCOMERS IN STUNNING DECISION

PHILADELPHIA (Feb. 4, 1878) - When the American Professional Baseball League officially expanded from twelve to sixteen member organizations at the Autumn Meetings, two things were well-known:

1. The Executive Committee would have much preferred to have invited the N.B.B.O. teams from Baltimore (Maryland B.C.) & Washington (National B.C.) due to market size, but their on-field performance since joining the N.B.B.O. in 1871 was simply too poor to be included in the expansion group.

2. Because of #1, the “big-market” club with the weakest case for a move, Tiger Social Club of Philadelphia, was given the final spot because it was figured that if the New York metropolitan area could have five A.P.B.L. teams then Philadelphia could have three.

Thus, when it was revealed that they were one of the four teams moving up it was assumed that Tiger, who had an over-500 record just once over seven N.B.B.O. seasons, would be little more than cannon fodder for the rest of the A.P.B.L. in the short term.

Since the November announcement, the Tiger front office had done admirable work to make additions that would give them some semblance of an A.P.B.L. team:

• Oct 29: Signed P prospect Otha McIntyre (19 y/o, 3.0-star potential)
• Nov 25: Signed 1B Mario Fusilli (6x All-Star, 40 y/o, 3.5 stars) from Knickerbocker
• Nov 30: Signed LF Franklin Hollingsworth (25 y/o, 2.5 stars) from indy ball
• Dec 6: Signed former Kings Co. regular P Jack Doherty (30 y/o, 2.5 stars)
• Dec 10: Signed Mass. Bay backup 3B Franklin Spaur (31 y/o, 2.5 stars)
• Dec 11: Signed Kings Co. SS Harold McMichael (31 y/o, 2.5 stars, 432 career starts)
• Dec 13: Signed 2B prospect Grifin Gray (22 y/o, 2.5/4.0 stars)
• Dec 13: Signed American C Raynard Steinbach (34 y/o, 2.5 stars, 3x champ)
• Dec 13: Signed CF William Buschmann from Utica in the NBBO (34 y/o, 2.5 stars, 9.5/10 CF rating)

The only notable star among the group was Fusilli, and he had been a backup with Knickerbocker in 1877 as a 1B/LF. However, the above had given Tiger a combination of A.P.B.L. experience and young potential.

Jump forward nearly eight weeks, and Tiger made one additional move that has stunned EVERYBODY: the signing of American SS Martin Prince to an eight-year contract that will double his annual salary and make him one of the highest-paid players in the A.P.B.L.

For Tiger, the signing isn’t just about bringing in the league’s premier Shortstop. It’s also that in taking him from their new Philadelphian rivals, 4x champions American, they’ve made a statement of intent that, just maybe, everybody should take Tiger Social Club seriously going forward.

Not much of an introduction is needed for Prince. In his five A.P.B.L. seasons, his career record:

• 3x Founders’ Cup winner (1873, 75-76)
• 4x All-Star (1873, 75-77)
• 3x Golden Glove at SS (1873, 76-77)
• 1x Team of the Year at SS (1876)
• 1873 Greenhorn of the Year (.332 AVG, .765 OPS, 67 RBI, 32 SB, +27.0 ZR, 4.2 WAR)
• Career Batting Line of .313/.339/.403, .742 OPS (118 OPS+)
• Career WAR of 18.2 over 450 games (6.5/162 G)
• Career WPA of 16.1 over 450 games (5.8/162 G)
• Career Zone Rating of +106.6 over 450 games (+38.4/162 G)

In signing Prince, Tiger S.C. gains a player who will immediately be able to produce in the middle of their lineup and supply Golden Glove defense in the middle of the infield. He might not be the league’s marquee player, but Prince is awfully close to receiving such a designation.

Prince’s new pay packet will make him the second-highest paid player in the A.P.B.L. behind only Jim Creighton, such is the belief by the Tiger front office in how Prince will shape the team’s fortunes going forward in their new league.

For American, the loss could well prove to be a crushing blow. Prince was the only one of their star batsmen below the age of 34-35, and his unexpected departure could introduce two new problems to the lineup for 1878. First, 3B William Carrigan will have to move from a position in which he excels at fielding to a new one, Shortstop, in which he is only average compared to others in the A.P.B.L. Second, American may have to start 1878 with a two-star player at 3B: Lorik van Unen. Gotham tried that last season with Enos Pfannenstiel, and the results were disastrous: -1.5 WAR over 78 games, and van Unen has since moved all the way down to the Philadelphia City League to play for Merion.

It was widely assumed that Quaker State would be the better of Philadelphia’s two new entrants into the A.P.B.L., both in 1878 and in the short term, thanks to Ross Gill and their excellent outfield. However, with a signing that has come seemingly out of nowhere Tiger Social Club has quite possibly gained the upper hand, and at the same time almost certainly put an end to the American B.C. dynasty.