The (English) Baseball League (est. 1888): A History

[chucksabr]

Baseball League 1923
First Division Top 20 Batsmen and Pitchers

[chucksabr]

Baseball League 1923
First Division Top Systems

[chucksabr]

Baseball League 1923
First Division Financial Report

[dynaboyj]

Could you please post the career stats of Thompson and Arscott? It's crazy that Bobby Arscott is 42 already and retiring. It feels like he was 25 last week in this game.

[chucksabr]

Originally Posted by dynaboyj

Could you please post the career stats of Thompson and Arscott? It's crazy that Bobby Arscott is 42 already and retiring. It feels like he was 25 last week in this game.

You bet! Here they are:

[chucksabr]

Ordinary Match Turns Wild towards End.

The small crowd of a little more than two thousand who had shown up to Park Avenue grounds in Bradford on Monday were treated to a strange but wonderful game, indeed. It started out as a rather pedestrian affair, with the Sky Blues of Coventry City commanding a lead of five runs to two going into the bottom of the eighth innings when, in the words of Milton in “Paradise Lost”, all hell broke loose.

Avenue scored five in the eighth on three single, a two, a three, and a base on balls. Coventry recovered the two run deficit on a two run two base hit by Nash in the ninth, and the game proceeded into extra innings. Each scored one in the tenth for an eight-eight draw; then each scored three more in the eleventh for an eleven-eleven run draw. Suddenly, the game had a completely different texture to it.

Sky Blues came right back with three more runs in the twelfth innings when Delamare reached on a short stop error, followed by a base on balls to MacNicol. Cooke, the pitcher who had already surrender nine runs in relief but was spelling a spent bullpen, sacrificed the runner ahead one base each, and Jagger was then walked on set purpose to load the bases again. Parkinson flied out to deep left for the second out but also a run as Delamare scored. Thompson walked to reload the bases, and Hunt singled home two more runs before MacMichael grounded to first base for the third out, and three runs had crossed.

Avenue were not themselves finished, however. MacCambridge and MacNidder started off the innings with singles, and Townsend drew a walk to load the bases. Bateman hit into a fieldsman’s choice, short stop to second base, to force Townsend whilst MacCambridge scored, MacNiddetr to third base. Whittaker followed up with a single to score MacNidder, and Bateman went to second. Coventry City called in Smith to save the day, but alas it was for naught. Smith was off target with the first three pitches to Platt, who inexplicably swung on the next pitch only to miss with a foul ball straight back. Platt did not miss on the next pitch, however, as he smashed a three base hit down the left field line to score both Bateman and Whittaker, and just like that, the efforts of Sky Blues came to nought.

[Herrbear]

I am up to 1899 now.

[chucksabr]

Originally Posted by Herrbear

I am up to 1899 now.

Great. You got some good stuff coming up.

[chucksabr]

Baseball League 1923
Second Division Results

[chucksabr]

Baseball League 1923
Second Division Promoted Club

Coventry City Sky Blues

[chucksabr]

Baseball League 1923
Second Division Promoted Club

Grimsby Town Mariners

[chucksabr]

Baseball League 1923
Second Division Table

[chucksabr]

Baseball League 1923
Second Division Team Batting and Pitching

[chucksabr]

Baseball League 1923
Second Division Award Winners



Baseballer of the Year: Freddie Cracknell




Batsman of the Year: Reg Lawrence




Pitcher of the Year: Archie Todd




Newcomer of the Year: Cyril Bickers

[chucksabr]

Baseball League 1923
Second Division League Leaders

Batting Leaders

Pitching Leaders

[chucksabr]

Baseball League 1923
Second Division Top Game Performances

[chucksabr]

Baseball League 1923
Second Division Top 20 Batsmen and Pitchers

[chucksabr]

Baseball League 1923
Second Division Top Systems

[chucksabr]

Baseball League 1923
Second Division Financial Report

[chucksabr]

Greatest Batting Season Ever.

There can be few words to describe the season that young Reg Lawrence of Grimsby Town delivered for Mariners in 1923. A look at his record and one can be fairly rendered speechless by what he sees.

Lawrence closed the season with a hits average of .460, which smashed all previous records for both the Second Division (Joshua Lloyd, .411, 1907) and the entire Baseball League (Harrison Whittington, .436, 1905). To say that Lawrence found the pitching at the lower level to his liking after having joined Mariners in demotion after the 1922 season would be an understatement of gross proportions. His batting average was still at .500 as late as July 28, and he finished the season with a hit streak of 28 games which he will take into next season.

There was no question that Lawrence had become one of the best young batsmen in the League, having batsman .365 in 1921 before dropping off to .301 last season. But the spectacular performance awaiting him in the Second Division this season simply could not be foreseen. In addition to setting a new Division “record” for base hits with 229, he also had his best year in twos (22); home runs (6); runs batted in (75); runs scored (88); stolen bases (64); and strikeouts (only seven).

There are some rumblings that perhaps Lawrence benefitted from signals from the outfield of Blundell Park informing him of the nature of incoming pitches, and a look at the record might seem to indicate such: his hits average was .520 in home matches, while “only” .402 in visiting matches. If true, then he would have been the only beneficiary of such succour, as the two next best batsmen on the squad, Will Russell and Christopher Barton, both batted far better on the road than at home, so such allegations do not seem to hold water. So, hats off to Reg Lawrence for producing a season for the ages!