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1878 AMERICAN PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL LEAGUE REVIEW

1878 A.P.B.L. STANDINGS





PER-TEAM STATISTICS

1878: 7.4 R/G, .278, .656 OPS, 985 H, 152 2B, 40 3B, 11 HR, 148 SB, 3.40 ERA, 104 BB, 201 K, 6.8 E/G, .849 FLD%
1877: 7.4 R/G, .290, .681 OPS, 1,020 H, 132 2B, 62 3B, 7 HR, 154 SB, 3.55 ERA, 91 BB, 134 K, 6.3 E/G, .854 FLD%


FOUNDERS' CUP VIII

Knickerbocker (3rd title; 1st in A.P.B.L.) defeats St. John’s 4-2.

GAME 1: EXC 5-7 StJ 3-8 KNI – KNI 3B Arthur Groff: 2/4 (3B), 2 R, 2 RBI, 4 TB
GAME 2: StJ 8-15 KNI – KNI CF Louis Dyke: 2/4 (2B), 3 R, 3 RBI, 1 SB, SAC BUNT
GAME 3: KNI 10-1 StJ – KNI P Bertram Landreth: CG WIN, 7 HA, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, SAC BUNT, SAC FLY
GAME 4: KNI 4-7 StJ – StJ 1B Konrad Jensen: 3/5 (2B), 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 SB, 4 TB
GAME 5: KNI 1-4 StJ – StJ P Thomas Smith: CG W, 7 HA, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
GAME 6: StJ 1-9 KNI – KNI P Bertram Landreth: CG W, 5 HA, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, SAC BUNT

SERIES M.V.P.: C Cale Jones (KNI) – .462 (12/26), 9 R, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 SB, 9/18 CS (50%)

WRITERS POOL OBSERVATIONS

ALLEGHANY: An even .500 for the second straight year. Defense, once again, was second to none, as evidenced by P Harper Cundiff, a 2.0* talent, going 23-11 with a record 2.34 ERA. However, their offense ranked just #13/16, and that lack of production, especially from the lower half of the order, did them in. Could use a new C & RF.

M.V.P: SS Gerald Strong – .310, .725 OPS, 93 R, 129 H, 27 XBH, 1 HR, 51 RBI, 41 SB, +23.4 ZR, 3.2 WPA, 4.3 WAR

AMERICAN: Spent much of the season in 3rd (Metro) before Gotham passed them on the final day. Clearly hurt by the departure of Martin Prince to Tiger. Burke was extraordinary once again and LF Kassabian has become an excellent run producer, but Boyce (2B) & Petty (RF) are showing their age and they need an upgrade at 3B (Lorik van Unen: -0.7 WAR).

M.V.P: CF James Burke – .382, .888 OPS, 116 R, 164 H, 34 XBH, 1 HR, 96 RBI, 16 BB, 95 SB, 7.5 WPA, 5.2 WAR

EXCELSIOR: Couldn’t recapture last year’s magic and spent almost the entire year around .500. Offense fell to #7/16 and Fielding fell to 14th, which led Creighton to open the season with his worth month since he was 20-21. In the end, they fell nine wins and two places short of projections. Not sure what to fix, as they look fine on paper.

M.V.P: P Jim Creighton – 21-19, 3.31 ERA, 168 K, 350.2 IP, 27 CG, 5.4 K/BB, 4.3 K/9, 1.29 WHIP, 8.2 WAR, 2.2 rWAR

FLOUR CITY: Started the season with a 6-16 May and played .500 baseball the rest of the way. 3x All-Star Dugas (CF) hit 50 points below his norm, as he did in ’77, aging Verstegen no longer has the arm for 3B, legend Samuel Kessler (1B), at age 42, was under 1.0 WAR again, and their other legend, P James Goodman, is about to turn 40. Lone bright spot: Knight.

M.V.P: 2B Ralph Knight – .314, .743 OPS, 73 R, 126 H, 31 XBH, 4 HR, 69 RBI, 11 SB, +24.6 ZR, 2.3 WPA, 3.0 WAR

GOTHAM: Spent almost the whole season mid-standings but won their last four to finish 3rd in the Metro. P.C.B.L. star Paul Krueger proved to be a capable #1. Their Greenhorn trio of Crisp (3B), Hammond (CF), & Tillman (LF) all played well – Hammond had 2.8 WAR. Royal Altman was back over .300 as a full-time 1B. Johnson had his best season in a few years.

M.V.P: 2B Babe Johnson – .344, .857 OPS, 104 R, 130 H, 25 2B, 8 3B, 77 RBI, 39 BB, 29 SB, 5.2 WPA, 3.5 WAR

KINGS CO: Finally broke through and finished 2nd in the Metro – a fine season. LF Fred Bartholomew & Koonce were outstanding as always. P.C.B.L. import Sig Siemens (RF) looked good after a rough May. New SS Clarence Anderson was okay. The pitching duo of Nicholas Banfield & Willie Gray did well. May need an upgrade at CF.

M.V.P: 1B Garfield Koonce – .375, .872 OPS, 92 R, 157 H, 37 2B, 1 3B, 81 RBI, 17 BB, 1 SB, 4.2 WPA, 4.4 WAR

KNICKERBOCKER: Finally, they won the title. Robert Goodman & Landreth were the best pitching duo in the league. Mascherino looks ageless at 2B. The Dyke/Jost/Strachan Outfield was outstanding defensively and good with the bat. Jones was a great pickup at C. They could stand to upgrade at SS (Louis Johnson: 0.4 WAR).

M.V.P: P Bert Landreth – 31-11, 2.41 ERA, 134 K, 374.0 IP, 32 CG, 1 SHO, 6.7 K/BB, 1.16 WHIP, 7.0 WAR, 8.7 rWAR

MASS. BAY: 43-47 was actually a bit better than their projected finish (38-52). Good offense (Runs: #2, Home Runs: #1), decent pitching (WAR: #8), and terrible fielding (ZR: #15, E/G: last). 5x All-Star 3B Stoffers had a big recovery from ’77. 1B Berg was outstanding again. C Garvin’s batting has dropped off a cliff, and they could also use upgrades at SS & CF.

M.V.P: 1B Gerhardt Berg – .371, .860 OPS, 97 R, 159 H, 28 XBH, 3 HR, 94 RBI, 15 BB, 5 SB, 4.5 WPA, 3.3 WAR

NEWARK: Looked competitive on paper. However, while Orange import Valentine was fantastic every one of their N.B.B.O. holdovers struggled, including superstar #1 John Ratican. That meant a team projected to finish roughly 40-50 had the league’s worst record at 27-63. At the very least, they desperately need upgrades at 2B, SS, & #2 P.

M.V.P: RF Will Valentine – .345, .817 OPS, 84 R, 142 H, 35 XBH, 1 HR, 75 RBI, 11 BB, 13 SB, 4.2 WPA, 3.0 WAR

NIAGARA: Projected 2nd. Finished 2nd, but in most disappointing fashion. Mukai went from dependable P to star #1. “Boss” Barrett (RF) hit an obscene 39/75 (.520) in August. P.C.B.L. superstar William Norman (1B) adjusted well in his debut season. Hudspeth remains the best-fielding 2B in the league. They may need upgrades at C & SS.

M.V.P: P Tomoharu Mukai – 28-15, 2.89 ERA, 99 K, 374.0 IP, 32 CG, 1 SV, 2.1 K/BB, 1.16 WHIP, 5.0 WAR, 8.6 rWAR

ORANGE: Once again, everything that could go wrong did. 10x All-Star C Schreiber hit .265. Veteran 3B Wil Chaffin hit a career-low .231. 3x All-Star LF Earl Crosby hit .223. Charles Whitehead (2B) missed 15+ games. #1 Andrew Miller tore something in his shoulder during July while having a much better second A.P.B.L. season. This team might be cursed.

M.V.P: 2B Charles Whitehead – .293, .655 OPS, 52 R, 94 H, 12 2B, 1 3B, 43 RBI, 13 BB, 2 SB, 1.5 WPA, 1.6 WAR

PT. JERSEY: The league’s biggest surprise – newcomers took a roster with some quality young talent and were over .500 for much of the season. The most impressive part: they were 16-10 in one-run games and 8-4 in extras, meaning they didn’t look like a team that was trying to figure out how to win against top-tier opposition. Martin Elson is the Manager of the year.

M.V.P: P Charles King – 25-16, 3.02 ERA, 99 K, 363.0 IP, 29 CG, 1 SHO, 4.0 K/BB, 1.21 WHIP, 7.0 WAR, 9.3 rWAR

QUAKER ST: Projected to be the best of the four newcomers but struggled all season. N.B.B.O. legends Ross Gill (P) & Ned Morganti (CF) did well, and N.B.B.O. holdover Matt Williams (C) actually had the best season of his career after moving up. Gotham import Theriault aided them at 1B. Aplin was an excellent Greenhorn RF. Their main issues are at 2B & SS.

M.V.P: RF Charles Aplin - .341, .815 OPS, 81 R, 121 H, 24 2B, 6 3B, 43 RBI, 11 BB, 6 SB, 3.3 WPA, 3.0 WAR

SHAMROCK: Projected 3rd. Finished 3rd, but after leading the Colonial until the final week. George Burroughs & Donal Hagan both had 20+ Wins and ERA’s under 3.00. Their infield of Bulger, Groves, Jessup, & Dickerson were collectively excellent. If they can get over the late collapse and upgrade at C & CF, they’ll be in next year’s Founders’ Cup.

M.V.P: 3B William Dickerson – .320, .763 OPS, 102 R, 130 H, 26 2B, 6 3B, 70 RBI, 16 BB, 59 SB, 4.8 WPA, 3.9 WAR

ST. JOHN’S: Did everything right but came up against an amazing Knick team in the Founders’ Cup. Burns & Smith were dependable as ever. The timeless Jensen (1B) was outstanding. Townsend had his best season since ’72. Evans (LF) regressed a bit but was still great. They have a brilliant C prospect in Joe Nalley. They may need to move on from Todd at 3B.

M.V.P: RF Nelson Townsend – .363, .896 OPS, 136 R, 145 H, 32 XBH, 1 HR, 50 RBI, 46 BB, 72 SB, 8.2 WPA, 4.8 WAR

TIGER S.C.: Newcomers were 4-18 in May and slightly under. 500 after. Season went according to plan: build a lineup around fantastic SS Martin Prince and figure out what needs upgrading after the year is over. Greenhorns Gray (2B) & Hollingsworth (LF) looked very promising. Main issues for them to look at: #2 P, C, & 1B.

M.V.P: SS Martin Prince – .349, .818 OPS, 99 R, 141 H, 30 XBH, 1 HR, 73 RBI, 25 SB, +24.6 ZR, 5.1 WPA, 5.0 WAR