...and then it all came tumbling down.
1875 was the last year for the NA, crashing to Earth after the promise of stability in 1874. Seven teams played at least 60 games each, but the tail-end of the league was coming and going like through a revolving door. New Haven managed 47 games, but went just 7-40. Brooklyn was 2-42. A second team in St. Louis, plus Washington and Keokuk, as well as a third Philadelphia team, all lasted for a few weeks. Boston trashed the league with a 71-8 season. After this fiasco, the financial backers banded together and created a National League of Base Ball Clubs, rather than an Association of Players.
Deacon White edged Ross Barnes in batting average .367 to .364, with Cal McVey making it a Boston threesome at the top by batting .355. Lipman "Lip" Pike was next at .346, then another Bostonian in George Wright at .333, with Paul Hines at .328, Cap Anson at .325, and Ezra Sutton .324. The top five in runs scored were all from Boston. Al Spalding won 54 games, Dick McBride 44, Candy Cummings 35, George Bradley 33. Pud Galvin had a 1.16 ERA and Tommy Bond was at 1.41.
Ross Barnes was healthy again, but did not dominate the league in 1875. Here are the WARP3 scores of top players: Ross Barnes (Boston) 10.3, Deacon White (Boston) 10.0, Lip Pike (St. Louis) 9.8, Cal McVey (Boston) 8.9, George Wright (Boston) 7.3, Davy Force (Philadelphia Athletics) 6.0, "Orator" Jim O'Rourke (Boston) and Cap Anson (Philadelphia Athletics) 5.4, John Clapp (Philadelphia Athletics) 5.2, Andy Leonard (Boston) and John Burdock (Hartford) 5.0.
Pitchers, in WARP3: Al Spalding (Boston) 8.4, Tommy Bond (Hartford) 7.1, Cherokee Fisher (Philadelphia Whites) 7.0, George Zettlein (Chicago/Philadelphia Whites) 5.9.
WAR leaders for non-pitchers: Barnes 5.5, McVey 4.7, Wright 4.4, White 4.2, Pike 4.1.
Top player: Lip Pike. It's Lipman and the three Boston guys, all about even. I came down to Pike or McVey, and chose Pike based on a defensive advantage. McVey's defensive numbers were not impressive. #2 Ross Barnes, #3 Cal McVey, #4 Deacon White, #5 George Wright.
Top pitcher: Albert Spalding, based on his quantity over Tommy Bond's superior quality but in only 60% of the innings. #2 Tommy Bond, #3 Candy Cummings, #4 George Zettlein, #5 Cherokee Fisher.
Top rookie: George Bradley, looking good while breaking in for St. Louis. That's a lot of long train rides to play ball.
Top manager: Harry Wright, still building that Boston juggernaut. He played only one game himself in this year (in league play), going 1-for-4.
Showing posts with label National Association. Show all posts
Showing posts with label National Association. Show all posts
14 March 2007
13 March 2007
1874 National Association
News flash: Ross Barnes was not the dominant player in 1874 NA play. After two years as unquestionably the MVP of the league, Barnes was merely one of the best in this year, finishing 9th in OPS+. Barnes played in only 51 of the team's 71 games, so he was likely hurting during the season.
A more solid league this year, with Boston playing the most games at 71, but the least was a still-solid 47 by last-place Baltimore, which finished at 9-38. Boston checked in at 52-18, with one tie.
Levi Meyerle batted .394, Cal McVey .359, Lip Pike .351. The top six in runs scored all played for Boston, led by McVey at 91. Al Spalding had 52 wins, Bobby Mathews 42, Dick McBride 33, Candy Cummings 28, George Zettlein 27, Tommy Bond 22. McBride had a 1.64 ERA, Mathews 1.90.
WARP3 numbers of the top guys: Cal McVey (Boston) 7.7, George Wright (Boston) and Mike McGeary (Philadelphia Athletics) 4.9, Deacon White (Boston) 4.7, Ross Barnes (Boston) 4.6, Jim O'Rourke (Boston) 4.5, Bill Craver (Philadelphia Whites) 4.4, John McMullin (Philadelphia Athletics) 4.3, Lip Pike (Hartford) and Joe Start (New York) 4.2.
WARP3 of top pitchers: Jack Manning (Baltimore/Hartford) 8.9, Cherokee Fisher (Hartford) 5.7, Al Spalding (Boston) 5.4, Bobby Mathews (New York) 4.8, Candy Cummings (Phil. Whites) 3.9, Dick McBride (Phil. Athletics) 3.6, George Zettlein (Chicago) 2.2.
Non-pitching WAR: McVey 3.1, Wright 2.9, Barnes 2.7, O'Rourke 2.4, Pike 2.3.
Top player: Cal McVey, stepping up with Barnes hurting. One of the deep stable of stars collected by Boston mastermind Harry Wright. #2 George Wright, #3 Lip Pike, #4 Levi Meyerle, #5 Jim O'Rourke.
Top pitcher: Al Spalding again, with an honorable mention to Mathews. #3 Dick McBride, #4 Candy Cummings, #5 Tommy Bond.
Top rookie: Tommy Bond, although he didn't have a real good season. He would have several good ones soon, though.
Top manager: Harry Wright, holding his team together in spite of the star's injury. Of course, you could argue that brother George was the biggest star....
A more solid league this year, with Boston playing the most games at 71, but the least was a still-solid 47 by last-place Baltimore, which finished at 9-38. Boston checked in at 52-18, with one tie.
Levi Meyerle batted .394, Cal McVey .359, Lip Pike .351. The top six in runs scored all played for Boston, led by McVey at 91. Al Spalding had 52 wins, Bobby Mathews 42, Dick McBride 33, Candy Cummings 28, George Zettlein 27, Tommy Bond 22. McBride had a 1.64 ERA, Mathews 1.90.
WARP3 numbers of the top guys: Cal McVey (Boston) 7.7, George Wright (Boston) and Mike McGeary (Philadelphia Athletics) 4.9, Deacon White (Boston) 4.7, Ross Barnes (Boston) 4.6, Jim O'Rourke (Boston) 4.5, Bill Craver (Philadelphia Whites) 4.4, John McMullin (Philadelphia Athletics) 4.3, Lip Pike (Hartford) and Joe Start (New York) 4.2.
WARP3 of top pitchers: Jack Manning (Baltimore/Hartford) 8.9, Cherokee Fisher (Hartford) 5.7, Al Spalding (Boston) 5.4, Bobby Mathews (New York) 4.8, Candy Cummings (Phil. Whites) 3.9, Dick McBride (Phil. Athletics) 3.6, George Zettlein (Chicago) 2.2.
Non-pitching WAR: McVey 3.1, Wright 2.9, Barnes 2.7, O'Rourke 2.4, Pike 2.3.
Top player: Cal McVey, stepping up with Barnes hurting. One of the deep stable of stars collected by Boston mastermind Harry Wright. #2 George Wright, #3 Lip Pike, #4 Levi Meyerle, #5 Jim O'Rourke.
Top pitcher: Al Spalding again, with an honorable mention to Mathews. #3 Dick McBride, #4 Candy Cummings, #5 Tommy Bond.
Top rookie: Tommy Bond, although he didn't have a real good season. He would have several good ones soon, though.
Top manager: Harry Wright, holding his team together in spite of the star's injury. Of course, you could argue that brother George was the biggest star....
11 March 2007
1873 National Association
The third year of the professional league was a little steadier, with Boston winning again. Called the Red Stockings, they went 43-16 and the 59 league games was the high figure. One Baltimore team finished third, but another went 0-6 and dropped out.
WARP3 numbers for top players: Ross Barnes (Boston) 8.9, George Wright (Boston) 7.3, Deacon White (Boston) 6.3, Davy Force (Baltimore) 4.9, Dave Eggler (New York) 4.6, Cherokee Fisher (Philadelphia) 4.0, Jim O'Rourke (Boston) and Tom York (Baltimore) 3.9, Count Gedney and Jim Holdsworth (New York) and Cap Anson (Philadelphia Athletics) 3.7, Ezra Sutton (Philadelphia) 3.6.
WARP3 for pitchers: Bobby Mathews (New York) 8.2, Albert Spalding (Boston) 8.0, Candy Cummings (Baltimore) 5.7, George Zettlein (Philadelphia Whites) 5.0, Dick McBride (Philadelphia) 4.2.
WAR for players only: Barnes 4.7 and Wright 4.0, Force and White 2.3, O'Rourke 2.0.
Barnes hit .431, with Cap Anson at .398, Deacon White .392, George Wright .387, Cal McVey .380. Barnes scored 125 runs, Wright 99.
Spalding had 41 wins, Zettlein 36, Mathews 29, Cummings 28. Cherokee Fisher led in ERA with a 1.81 figure in a small sample, with Mathews at 2.58 and Cummings 2.80.
Best player: Ross Barnes again, the league leader in batting, on-base, slugging, runs, doubles, hits, total bases, times on base. The complete package. #2 George Wright, #3 Deacon White, #4 Davy Force, #5 Cap Anson.
Best pitcher: Albert Spalding, leading in wins and 2nd in ERA. #2 Bobby Mathews, #3 Candy Cummings, #4 George Zettlein, #5 Dick McBride.
Best manager: Harry Wright again.
No good candidates for top rookie.
WARP3 numbers for top players: Ross Barnes (Boston) 8.9, George Wright (Boston) 7.3, Deacon White (Boston) 6.3, Davy Force (Baltimore) 4.9, Dave Eggler (New York) 4.6, Cherokee Fisher (Philadelphia) 4.0, Jim O'Rourke (Boston) and Tom York (Baltimore) 3.9, Count Gedney and Jim Holdsworth (New York) and Cap Anson (Philadelphia Athletics) 3.7, Ezra Sutton (Philadelphia) 3.6.
WARP3 for pitchers: Bobby Mathews (New York) 8.2, Albert Spalding (Boston) 8.0, Candy Cummings (Baltimore) 5.7, George Zettlein (Philadelphia Whites) 5.0, Dick McBride (Philadelphia) 4.2.
WAR for players only: Barnes 4.7 and Wright 4.0, Force and White 2.3, O'Rourke 2.0.
Barnes hit .431, with Cap Anson at .398, Deacon White .392, George Wright .387, Cal McVey .380. Barnes scored 125 runs, Wright 99.
Spalding had 41 wins, Zettlein 36, Mathews 29, Cummings 28. Cherokee Fisher led in ERA with a 1.81 figure in a small sample, with Mathews at 2.58 and Cummings 2.80.
Best player: Ross Barnes again, the league leader in batting, on-base, slugging, runs, doubles, hits, total bases, times on base. The complete package. #2 George Wright, #3 Deacon White, #4 Davy Force, #5 Cap Anson.
Best pitcher: Albert Spalding, leading in wins and 2nd in ERA. #2 Bobby Mathews, #3 Candy Cummings, #4 George Zettlein, #5 Dick McBride.
Best manager: Harry Wright again.
No good candidates for top rookie.
10 March 2007
1872 National Association
The 1872 NA was a real mish-mash, with teams coming and going all season. Baltimore and New York played 54 league games each, Washington only 9, while a different (we think) Washington team played 11 and lost them all. But that winless Washington Nationals team included a young Paul Hines, who would become one of the great 19th century players. Boston won the league title with a 39-8 record. There were five good teams in the league, and several poor ones, who mostly lasted just a few weeks each.
The WARP3 scores: Ross Barnes (Boston) 9.2, Davy Force (Troy/Baltimore) 7.2, Dave Eggler (New York) and George Wright (Boston) 7.0, Wes Fisler (Philadelphia) 4.9, John Hatfield (New York) 4.8, Cap Anson (Philadelphia) 4.5, Nat Hicks (New York) 4.1, Mike McGeary (Philadelphia) and Tom York (Baltimore) 3.7, George Hall and John Radcliff (Baltimore) and Andy Leonard (Boston) 3.6, Cal McVey (Boston) 3.3.
Pitchers WARP3: George Zettlein (Troy/Brooklyn) 18.7, Albert Spalding (Boston) 12.8, Cherokee Fisher (Baltimore) 5.6, Candy Cummings (New York) 4.8, Dick McBride (Philadelphia) 4.4.
WAR for position players, from Fangraphs: Barnes 5.0, Wright 3.5, Force 2.8, Eggler 2.7, Fisler 2.4, Hatfield 1.9, Anson and Bob Ferguson (Brooklyn) 1.8.
Barnes won the batting title at .430, Force followed at .418, and Cap Anson hit .415. Meanwhile, Spalding won 38 games, Cummings 33, and McBride 30, while Fisher posted a 1.80 ERA, Spalding 1.85, Zettlein 2.55 and McBride 2.87.
Top player: Ross Barnes, the master of the fair/foul bunt. Barnes would bunt the ball into fair territory with spin so that it would roll foul, and under the rules of the time it was a fair ball. It was a few years before they got around to calling that a foul ball and shortening Barnes' career, but he led the NA in OPS and OPS+ that way, even in slugging. #2 Force, #3 Wright, #4 Eggler, #5 Fisler.
Top pitcher: Albert Spalding, the Boston ace. Between Spalding, Barnes, and Wright, Boston was almost impossible to beat. Spalding led the league in wins and ERA and posted a 38-8 record as Boston's sole pitcher. #2 Zettlein, #3 McBride, #4 Cummings, #5 Mathews.
Top rookie: Candy Cummings, the league's busiest pitcher, and reputedly the inventor of the curve ball.
Top manager: Harry Wright, architect of that Boston powerhouse.
The WARP3 scores: Ross Barnes (Boston) 9.2, Davy Force (Troy/Baltimore) 7.2, Dave Eggler (New York) and George Wright (Boston) 7.0, Wes Fisler (Philadelphia) 4.9, John Hatfield (New York) 4.8, Cap Anson (Philadelphia) 4.5, Nat Hicks (New York) 4.1, Mike McGeary (Philadelphia) and Tom York (Baltimore) 3.7, George Hall and John Radcliff (Baltimore) and Andy Leonard (Boston) 3.6, Cal McVey (Boston) 3.3.
Pitchers WARP3: George Zettlein (Troy/Brooklyn) 18.7, Albert Spalding (Boston) 12.8, Cherokee Fisher (Baltimore) 5.6, Candy Cummings (New York) 4.8, Dick McBride (Philadelphia) 4.4.
WAR for position players, from Fangraphs: Barnes 5.0, Wright 3.5, Force 2.8, Eggler 2.7, Fisler 2.4, Hatfield 1.9, Anson and Bob Ferguson (Brooklyn) 1.8.
Barnes won the batting title at .430, Force followed at .418, and Cap Anson hit .415. Meanwhile, Spalding won 38 games, Cummings 33, and McBride 30, while Fisher posted a 1.80 ERA, Spalding 1.85, Zettlein 2.55 and McBride 2.87.
Top player: Ross Barnes, the master of the fair/foul bunt. Barnes would bunt the ball into fair territory with spin so that it would roll foul, and under the rules of the time it was a fair ball. It was a few years before they got around to calling that a foul ball and shortening Barnes' career, but he led the NA in OPS and OPS+ that way, even in slugging. #2 Force, #3 Wright, #4 Eggler, #5 Fisler.
Top pitcher: Albert Spalding, the Boston ace. Between Spalding, Barnes, and Wright, Boston was almost impossible to beat. Spalding led the league in wins and ERA and posted a 38-8 record as Boston's sole pitcher. #2 Zettlein, #3 McBride, #4 Cummings, #5 Mathews.
Top rookie: Candy Cummings, the league's busiest pitcher, and reputedly the inventor of the curve ball.
Top manager: Harry Wright, architect of that Boston powerhouse.
1871 National Association
We will begin our historical look with the first organized professional league. For those of you who have not studied 19th century baseball, conditions were rather different at the time. This was sort of primeval baseball, with a lot of rule differences. There had been a number of clubs playing, especially since the end of the Civil War, and the practice developed of paying the best players to help your club win. This was not usually admitted publicly, in the same way that Olympic athletes were considered "amateurs" until a few years ago. The 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings were the first team to admit to paying their players, and they went 69-0-1 before being beaten. So, just a couple of years later, a league was organized.
Now, this was not a league the way we think of it today. It was more like a contemporary semipro league, where teams would drop out or join the league at various times, depending on finances, and not all teams played the same number of league games. Teams in the 1871 NA played from 19 (Fort Wayne) to 33 (New York) league games, and the Philadelphia team won the league with a record of 21-7.
At this time, pitchers were typically the most valuable men on a team, as they usually pitched every game, and were often as good at hitting as anyone else. Since there are no Win Shares available, we will go straight to WARP3, or normalized Wins Against Replacement Player, calculated by Clay Davenport and available at baseballprospectus.com. These stats are somewhat unreliable for such primitive conditions, but we will do our best. We can also look at WAR, or Wins Above Replacement, from the invaluable website at Baseball-Reference.
WARP3 leaders, pitchers: Rynie Wolters (New York) 7.6, George Zettlein (Chicago) 4.6, Albert Spalding (Boston) 4.5, Dick McBride (Philadelphia) 2.4, Cherokee Fisher (Rockford) 1.1.
WARP3 leaders, position players: Ross Barnes (Boston) 4.3, Fergy Malone (Philadelphia) 4.1, Ed Pinkham (Chicago) 3.9, Jimmy Wood (Chicago) and Davy Force (Washington) 3.5, Fred Treacy (Chicago) and George Hall (Washington) 3.4, Dave Eggler (New York) 3.0, Ezra Sutton (Cleveland) 2.7, George Wright (Boston) 2.4, Deacon White (Cleveland) 1.7.
WAR, players: Ross Barnes 2.9, Jimmy Wood 2.2, Davy Force and Cal McVey 2.0, Levi Meyerle 1.7. WAR for pitchers is not available.
Al Spalding led the loop with 19 wins, George Zettlein and Dick McBride 18 each, Rynie Wolters 16. Zettlein had a 2.73 ERA, Spalding 3.36, Wolters 3.43, Al Pratt 3.77. Meyerle batted .492, McVey .431, Barnes .401.
Best player: Levi Meyerle, the slugger of the 1871 National Association. Meyerle was a big guy for the time, at 6'1" and 177 reported pounds, and led the league in batting average, on-base, slugging, OPS, total bases, and Runs Created. He didn't play a very good third base, which is why he had a 0.9 WARP3 and didn't make the leaderboard, but I am unsure of the validity of the WARP numbers at this distance and want to pick the best guy on the best team. That looks like Meyerle.
#1 Levi Meyerle, #2 Ross Barnes, #3 Fergy Malone, #4 Jimmy Wood, #5 Lip Pike.
Best pitcher: George Zettlein, Chicago White Stockings ace. Pitchers were just supposed to start the action in this prehistoric version of baseball, but Zettlein did it better than anyone at the time, with the lowest ERA in the league.
Best all-around: Rynie Wolters wins this "Heisman trophy"-like award, since many pitchers were two-way players in this day and age. Wolters was both one of the top pitchers and among the top hitters in the league, finishing 3rd in ERA and 5th in OPS+.
Best rookie: Well, technically, all of them were rookies, so I'll wait on this. Cap Anson, playing well at age 19, could be a choice.
Best manager: Dick McBride, I suppose, captain and pitcher for the pennant-winning Athletics of Philadelphia.
Now, this was not a league the way we think of it today. It was more like a contemporary semipro league, where teams would drop out or join the league at various times, depending on finances, and not all teams played the same number of league games. Teams in the 1871 NA played from 19 (Fort Wayne) to 33 (New York) league games, and the Philadelphia team won the league with a record of 21-7.
At this time, pitchers were typically the most valuable men on a team, as they usually pitched every game, and were often as good at hitting as anyone else. Since there are no Win Shares available, we will go straight to WARP3, or normalized Wins Against Replacement Player, calculated by Clay Davenport and available at baseballprospectus.com. These stats are somewhat unreliable for such primitive conditions, but we will do our best. We can also look at WAR, or Wins Above Replacement, from the invaluable website at Baseball-Reference.
WARP3 leaders, pitchers: Rynie Wolters (New York) 7.6, George Zettlein (Chicago) 4.6, Albert Spalding (Boston) 4.5, Dick McBride (Philadelphia) 2.4, Cherokee Fisher (Rockford) 1.1.
WARP3 leaders, position players: Ross Barnes (Boston) 4.3, Fergy Malone (Philadelphia) 4.1, Ed Pinkham (Chicago) 3.9, Jimmy Wood (Chicago) and Davy Force (Washington) 3.5, Fred Treacy (Chicago) and George Hall (Washington) 3.4, Dave Eggler (New York) 3.0, Ezra Sutton (Cleveland) 2.7, George Wright (Boston) 2.4, Deacon White (Cleveland) 1.7.
WAR, players: Ross Barnes 2.9, Jimmy Wood 2.2, Davy Force and Cal McVey 2.0, Levi Meyerle 1.7. WAR for pitchers is not available.
Al Spalding led the loop with 19 wins, George Zettlein and Dick McBride 18 each, Rynie Wolters 16. Zettlein had a 2.73 ERA, Spalding 3.36, Wolters 3.43, Al Pratt 3.77. Meyerle batted .492, McVey .431, Barnes .401.
Best player: Levi Meyerle, the slugger of the 1871 National Association. Meyerle was a big guy for the time, at 6'1" and 177 reported pounds, and led the league in batting average, on-base, slugging, OPS, total bases, and Runs Created. He didn't play a very good third base, which is why he had a 0.9 WARP3 and didn't make the leaderboard, but I am unsure of the validity of the WARP numbers at this distance and want to pick the best guy on the best team. That looks like Meyerle.
#1 Levi Meyerle, #2 Ross Barnes, #3 Fergy Malone, #4 Jimmy Wood, #5 Lip Pike.
Best pitcher: George Zettlein, Chicago White Stockings ace. Pitchers were just supposed to start the action in this prehistoric version of baseball, but Zettlein did it better than anyone at the time, with the lowest ERA in the league.
Best all-around: Rynie Wolters wins this "Heisman trophy"-like award, since many pitchers were two-way players in this day and age. Wolters was both one of the top pitchers and among the top hitters in the league, finishing 3rd in ERA and 5th in OPS+.
Best rookie: Well, technically, all of them were rookies, so I'll wait on this. Cap Anson, playing well at age 19, could be a choice.
Best manager: Dick McBride, I suppose, captain and pitcher for the pennant-winning Athletics of Philadelphia.
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