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1878 PHILADELPHIA CITY BASEBALL LEAGUE REVIEW

1877 P.C.B.L. STANDINGS





PER-TEAM STATISTICS

1878: 8.4 R/G, .275, .643 OPS, 782 H, 104 2B, 34 3B, 7 HR, 94 SB, 3.14 ERA, 86 BB, 94 K, 8.4 E/G, .817 FLD%
1877: 7.9 R/G, .283, .660 OPS, 795 H, 90 2B, 46 3B, 6 HR, 79 SB, 3.29 ERA, 76 BB, 95 K, 7.7 E/G, .827 FLD%


LIBERTY BELL CLASSIC:

Philadelphia Baseball & Cricket Club (2nd title) defeats Queen Village 3-2

GAME 1: OVER 7-5 QV – OVER 1B James Niven: 2/5 (2B), 1 R, 2 RBI, GW HIT
GAME 2: OVER 8-4 QV – OVER RF William Hill: 3/5 (all 1B), 1 R, 2 RBI
GAME 3: QV 7-6 OVER – QV 3B James Stober: 3/4 (3B), 2 RBI, 5 TB, GW HIT
GAME 4: QV 3-2 OVER – QV P William Johannessen: CG W, 7 HA, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
GAME 5: OVER 8-2 QV – OVER P Robert Nygren: CG W, 5 HA, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K

SERIES M.V.P.: OVER 1B/CF James Niven – .318 (7/22), 5 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 7 RBI, 1 SB, 1x P.o.t.G.

It was a fine season in the P.C.B.L.

The East was a 1-2 race between Frankford & Queen Village for the second straight season, and although it looked the Arsenal were going to come out on top at the start of August Q.V.’s brilliant finish took them back to the L.B.C. With P.B.C.C. having moved up a level, West Philadelphia was wide open for the first time in four years and Overbrook was able to outlast the duo of Penn & Schuylkill to take their first pennant, and eventually their first title.

The season’s big disappointment was Minerva, who were projected to 50-20 win the East but finished 39-31 – 3rd place and 11 games back. Penn was a nice surprise, moving up from 32-38 last year to finish above .500 for the first time at 40-30, good for third in the West. The P.C.B.L.’s newest team, Bartram Village, finished where they were expected to: 24-46 and last in the West.

PHILADELPHIA CITY BASEBALL LEAGUE AWARD WINNERS

BATSMAN OF THE YEAR: James Harris (LF, age 31); Frankford Arsenal

• .350/.389/.496, .876 OPS, 104 R, 120 H, 23 2B, 9 3B, 3 HR, 71 RBI, 11 BB, 8 SB, 170 TB, 5.6 WPA, 3.9 WAR
• Led league in Slugging, Runs, Hits, Total Bases, & WAR; 2nd in Extra-base Hits & WPA
• Henry Yoder (LF, SoB) 2nd – Philadelphia City League Greenhorn of the Year
• Milton Foster (C, QV) 3rd – .36145*, .819 OPS, 91 R, 120 H, 20 2B, 1 HR, 73 RBI, 10 BB, 2 SB, 4.0 WPA, 2.9 WAR

Harris didn’t win the Batting Title but he was the league’s best batsman, leading the P.C.B.L. in five major categories and finishing runner-up in two others.


PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Oliver Greene (age 29); Frankford Arsenal

• 25-12, 2.35 ERA, 155 K, 329.1 IP, 25 CG, 2 SHO, 1 SV, 4.2 K/BB, 9.6 HA/9, 1.18 WHIP, 7.3 WAR, 5.7 rWAR
• 15 points of ERA from Triple Crown; Led league in W, K, CG, & SHO; 3rd in ERA, HA/9, & WHIP
• Robert Nygren (OVER) – Philadelphia City League Most Valuable Player
• Graham Gross (QV) 3rd – 25-7, 2.82 ERA, 64 K, 325.1 IP, 21 CG, 1.7 K/BB, 1.29 WHIP, 4.7 WAR, 8.2 rWAR

It might seem odd for the East runners-up Frankford to have players receive both B.o.t.Y. & P.o.t.Y., but Greene nearly took the Pitching Triple Crown during a brilliant 1878 campaign.


MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Robert Nygren (P, age 24); Overbrook B.C.

• 23-11, 2.54 ERA, 92 K, 333.2 IP, 21 CG, 1 SHO, 4.8 K/BB, 11.0 HA/9, 1.27 WHIP, 7.4 WAR, 10.0 rWAR
• #1 in WAR & rWAR; Top five in W, ERA, IP, QS, CG, K/BB, & BB/9; P.o.t.G. in Game 5 of Liberty Bell Classic
• James Harris (LF, FRA) 2nd – Philadelphia City League Batsman of the Year
• Jonathan Bagswell (1B, GER) 3rd – .351, .780 OPS, 68 R, 110 H, 12 2B, 1 3B, 57 RBI, 14 BB, 1 SB, 6.5 WPA, 2.6 WAR

Nygren, the league’s most talented #1, was the main reason why Overbrook made it to the Liberty Bell Classic, and his Player of the Game effort in Game Five earned Overbrook their first Philadelphia title.


GREENHORN OF THE YEAR: Henry Yoder (LF, age 24); Sons of Ben

• .36137*/.403/.492, .895 OPS, 88 R, 116 H, 18 2B, 12 3B, 0 HR, 60 RBI, 21 BB, 56 SB, 158 TB, 5.0 WPA, 3.3 WAR
• G.o.t.M. in May & June; Led league in OBP, OPS, & 3B; Top three in AVG, SLG, BB, SB, & TB
• Magnus Demandt (C, FRA) 2nd – .352, .768 OPS, 67 R, 95 H, 11 2B, 1 3B, 46 RBI, 7 BB, 2.65 C-ERA, 2.9 WPA, 2.5 WAR
• James Lynch (CF, MIN) 3rd – .333, .808 OPS, 73 R, 99 H, 21 2B, 5 3B, 52 RBI, 13 BB, 9 SB, 2.7 WPA, 2.5 WAR

There were a number of outstanding Greenhorn batsmen, but Yoder was easily the best of the bunch.


P.C.B.L. GOLDEN GLOVES

• P: Thomas Bath (PENN) – 6.9 ZR, 1.298 EFF
• C: Leonard Sanders (MIN) – 4.3 ZR, 1.233 EFF, 2.64 C-ERA, 28.6 CS%
• 1B: Benjamin Warnock (MERC) – 8.8 ZR, 1.122 EFF
• 2B: Jonathan Auriemma (MIN) – 23.2 ZR, 1.201 EFF
• 3B: Finlay Mackay (PENN) – 26.7 ZR, 1.207 EFF
• SS: Archie Bell (MIN) – 17.9 ZR, 1.149 EFF
• LF: Harrison Comstock (SCH) – 2.9 ZR, 1.032 EFF
• CF: Arthur Morris (SPA) – 7.7 ZR, 1.104 EFF
• RF: Charles Taylor (PENN) – 4.9 ZR, 1.109 EFF

P.C.B.L. TEAM OF THE YEAR





MISCELLANEOUS

PHILADELPHIA CITY BASEBALL LEAGUE STATISTICAL LEADERS

• Average: .36145 by Milton Foster (C, Queen Vill.)
• Henry Yoder (LF, Sons of Ben) 2nd with .36137
• On-Base: .403 by Henry Yoder
• Slugging: .496 by James Harris (CF, Frankford)
• OPS: .895 by Henry Yoder
• Home Runs: 5 by Peter Miller (2B, Germantown)
• Runs Batted In: 86 by George Oman (RF, Schuylkill)
• Runs: 104 by James Harris
• Hits: 120 by Milton Foster
• Doubles: 32 by George Oman
• Triples: 12 by Henry Yoder
• Extra-Base Hits: 40 by George Oman
• Stolen Bases: 57 by Jonathan Auriemma (2B, Minerva)
• Total Bases: 170 by James Harris
• Bases on Balls: 29 by Neal Roberts (3B, Bartram Vill.)
• Zone Rating: +23.1 by Jonathan Auriemma
• Win Prob. Added: 6.5 by Jonatham Bagwell (1B, Germantown)
• Batsman WAR: 4.0 by James Harris

• Wins: 25 by Oliver Greene (Frankford) & Graham Gross (Queen Vill.)
• Losses: 27 by James Pennington (Yorktown)
• ERA (175+ IP): 2.21 by Albert Smiley (Schuylkill)
• Strikeouts: 155 by Oliver Greene
• Innings: 339.2 by John McNally (Mercantile)
• Complete Games: 25 by Bud Forster (Minerva) & Oliver Greene
• Shutouts: 2 by Oliver Greene
• BB/9 (175+ IP): 0.4 by Biagio Casagrande
• K/9 (175+ IP): 5.6 by William Smythe (Merion)
• K/BB (175+ IP): 11.6 by Biagio Casagrande
• WHIP (175+ IP): 1.10 by Jasper Austin (Schuylkill)
• Pitcher WAR: 7.4 by Robert Nygren (Overbrook)
• Pitcher rWAR: 10.0 by Robert Nygren


SEASON RECORDS

• Yorktown set a new record for worst Winning % with .229 (16-54)
• Yorktown set a new record for worst Run Differential with -270 (-3.8 R/G).
• Yorktown set new records for worst Batting Average (.227), On-Base (.249), Slugging % (.279), & OPS (.528).
• Queen Village set a new record for Runs per Game with 10.7 (752 R in 70 G)
• Queen Village set a new record for Hits with 938 (13.4 H/G)
• Queen Village set new records for Batting Average (.311) & On-Base % (.336).
• Sons of Ben set a new record for Stolen Bases with 173 (2.5 SB/G)
• Frankford Arsenal set a new record for Strikeouts (P) with 264 (3.8 K/G)

• James Harris (CF, Frankford) set a new record for Runs with 104.
• George Oman (RF, Schuylkill) set a new record for Doubles with 32.
• Jonathan Auriemma (2B, Minerva) set a new record for Caught Stealing with 25.
• Oliver Greene (P, Frankford) set a new record for Strikeouts (P) with 155.
• Moses Smith (P, Keystone) set a new record for Games Started (P) with 46.
• Moses Smith (P, Keystone) set a new record for Hits Allowed with 486 (13.8 HA/9).
• William Smythe (P, Merion) set a new record for K/9 (175+ IP) with 5.6.
• Jasper Austin (P, Schuylkill) set a new record for Opponents’ OPS (175+ IP) with .540.


ACHIEVEMENTS & NOTABLE EVENTS

• May 8: Walter Heisenberg (RF, Germantown) has a record 6 Stolen Bases in an 11-8 win at Merion.
• June 2: Peter Hildebrand (RF, Keystone) bats 6/7 in a 20-4 win at Queen Vill.
• June 5: Merion defeats Independence in a 23-0 Shutout at home.
• June 5: Clifford Martin (5/6, 2B) & Wallace Wagner (5/6, 3B, HR) have 5 Hits for Merion.
• June 14: Jonathan Toppin (2B, Frankford) bats 6/7 (2B) in a 21-7 win at Keystone.
• June 30: Sam Brown (LF, Mercantile) has his season-long Hitting Streak end at 37 games.
• July 7: James Harris (LF, Frankford) hits 3 Triples in a 14-2 win at Sons of Ben.
• July 21: Oliver Greene (P, Frankford) has a record 12 Strikeouts in a 10-1 win vs Yorktown.
• Aug 2: Wallace Liston (C, Pt. Richmond) has a record 8 RBI in a 15-6 win at Spartan.
• Aug 10: Wallace Wagner (CF, Merion) bats 6/7 (3B) in a 21-5 win at Overbrook.
• Aug 11: James Corcoran (CF, Penn) scores 7 Runs in a 26-3 win at Bartram Vill.
• Aug 17: Overbrook B.C. (1st title) wins the Liberty Bell Classic against Queen Vill.


PERFORMANCES OF THE SEASON BY GAME SCORE

• #1: 107 by Peter Hildebrand (RF, Keystone) on June 2 at Queen Vill. (6/7, 4 R, 5 RBI)
• #2: 106 by Magnus Demandt (C, Frankford) on June 12 at Keystone (5/6, 2 2B, 5 R, 5 RBI)
• #3: 102 by Ross Kinsella (SS, Penn) on Aug. 11 at Bartram Vill. (5/7, 3 R, 7 RBI)
• #4: 97 by Peter Hildebrand (RF, Keystone) on May 12 at Sons of Ben (5/6, 3 2B, 3 R, 5 RBI, 1 BB)
• #5: 95 by Leonard Sanders (C, Minerva) on Aug. 8 at Keystone (5/7, 2B, 3 R, 6 RBI)
• #6: 94 by James Hurt (2B, Mercantile) on July 5 at Independence (4/6, 2 3B, 3 R, 7 RBI)
• #7: 94 by Wallace Liston (C, Pt. Richmond) on Aug. 2 at Spartan (4/6, 2 2B, 2 R, 8 RBI)
• #8: 91 by James Traywick (3B, Pt. Richmond) on May 17 vs Keystone (3/5, 3B, GS, 3 R, 7 RBI)
• #9: 90 by James Niven (1B, Overbrook) on June 16 at Independence (4/7, 2B, 2 3B, 6 R, 4 RBI)
• #10: 89 by Nelson Shaw (RF, Bartram Vill.) on May 10 vs independence (4/5, 2 2B, HR, 3 R, 5 RBI)