SWC75
Bored Historian
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- Aug 26, 2011
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I like statistics, as you may have observed. I don’t’ think they are the end-all of sports debates but they put them on an objective basis and enable us, to some extent to compare players and teams of different eras. I like them to be simple: easy to compute and understandable. This isn’t “rocketship science”. I prefer gross numbers to averages and percentages. The rate at which a player produces factors out the games or minutes played but how do we know that rate would have been maintained? And no matter how excellent a player is, his impact on a game in which he doesn’t play is zero. I think we need both gross numbers and averages/percentages but I’ll deal with the gross numbers here: what a player actually did. How he would have done under other circumstances, (different teammates, ballpark, era) is too speculative and how he compares to a “replacement” player even moreso.
I’m going to look at the history of major league baseball, year by year, focusing on the batters and using two statistics. To me the most basic statistic in the game is “runs produced”: runs scored plus runs batted in minus home runs so you don’t count them twice, (a home run is both a run scored and batted in but it’s only one run). I like the idea of “OPS”, on base percentage plus slugging percentage but I don’t like the way it’s computed or the number it produces. You are adding two percentages with different dividends, (total plate appearances plus official at bats). You are also including things the batter wasn’t really attempting to do, such as getting hit by a pitch, but excluding something he was attempting to do, such as steal bases, which can turn walks or singles into doubles, doubles into triples, etc. I came up with a formula I prefer: total bases, (one for a single, two for a double three for a triple, four for a home run) plus walks plus steals. I call it “bases produced” and it’s the perfect companion to “runs produced”.
I’m going to do five years at a time, and keep cumulative standings on a simple 10 points for 1st place, 9 for second, etc. basis. The best players should be at or near the top of the league for many years, even if the quantity of runs and bases produced changes form era to era or league to league. Some early years not all elements are available: I’ll note that when it applies: I’ll just crate a standing with what is available. The leagues I’ll use are: The National Association of Baseball Players, (1871-75), the National League (1876-2013), the American Association (1882-1891), the Player’s League (1890), the American League (1901-2013), and the Federal League (1914-15). I did not include the Union Association (1884) after reading a Bill James article on how it doesn’t really qualify as a major league, despite often being listed as such. There will be a top ten for each league in each season, not a top ten from all leagues just for the year. Ties will be broken by number of plate appearances- the same production in fewer appearances will get the higher ranking. When a player played for more than one team the team listed is the one they played the most games for.
For the early years especially there will be a lot of names not recognizable to modern fans. I’ll do a little research on some of the lesser known players that keep popping up in the standings and add some tidbits about them to make it a little more interesting. Quotes are from the Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, Baseball Reference.com’s Bullpen section or Wikipedia. So as to avoid cluttering up the board too much, I’ll do it in half decades and post once a week. That will also stretch it out over the length of the baseball season: this should take about 7 months. I’ll also do monthly updates on the runs and bases produced in 2014.
1871- National Association
Runs Produced
Ross Barnes, BOS 100
Cal McVey, BOS 86
Levi Meyerle, PHI 81
Steve King, TRO 79
Lip Pike, TRO 78
Al Reach, PHI 77
Rynie Wolters, NY 77
Dave Birdsall, BOS 75
Ned Cuthbert, PHI 74
Davy Force, WAS 74
Bases Produced
Ross Barnes, BOS 115
Jimmy Wood, CHI 105
Levi Meyerle, PHI 97
Lip Pike, TRO 93
Cal McVey, BOS 92
Fred Treacy, CHI 86
Fred Waterman, WAS 86
Rynie Wolters, NY 86
Ned Cuthbert, PHI 84
Steve King, TRO 83
1872- National Association
Runs Produced
Ned Cuthbert, PHI 129
Ross Barnes, BOS 124
John Hatfield, NY 122
Lip Pike, BAL 121
George Wright, BOS 120
Dave Eggler, NY 113
John Radcliff, BAL 113
Cap Anson, PHI 108
Dick Higham, BAL 107
Mike McGeary, PHI 103
Bases Produced
Ross Barnes, BOS 155
Lip Pike, BAL 145
Dave Eggler, NY 143
George Wright, BOS 137
Cap Anson, PHI 136
John Hatfield, NY 136
Bill Boyd, NY 134
George Hall, BAL 127
Ned Cuthbert, PHI 121
Davy Force, TRO/BAL 120
1873- National Association
Runs Produced
Ross Barnes, BOS 183
Deacon White BOS 155
Al Spalding BOS 153
Andy Leonard BOS 141
George Wright BOS 139
Tom Carey BAL 130
Jim O’Rourke BOS 127
Everett Mills BAL 120
Tom York BAL 118
Lip Pike BAL 118
Bases Produced
Ross Barnes, BOS 260
George Wright BOS 183
Deacon White BOS 177
Jim O’Rourke BOS 150
Andy Leonard BOS 150
Lip Pike BAL 149
Al Spalding BOS 138
Everett Mills BAL 128
Tom Carey BAL 128
Tom York BAL 122
1874- National Association
Runs Produced
Cal McVey BOS 159
Jim O’Rourke BOS 138
Al Spalding BOS 134
Deacon White BOS 124
Bill Craver PHI 124
George Wright BOS 118
Andy Leonard BOS 118
Harry Schafer BOS 113
Ross Barnes BOS 111
Joe Start NY 111
Bases Produced
Cal McVey BOS 171
Jim O’Rourke BOS 165
George Wright BOS 156
Bill Craver PHI 147
Andy Leonard BOS 145
Deacon White BOS 140
Al Spalding BOS 139
Dave Eggler PHI 134
Levi Meyerle CHI 130
Joe Start NY 130
1875- National Association
Runs Produced
Cal McVey BOS 173
Jim O’Rourke BOS 172
Ross Barnes BOS 172
George Wright BOS 165
Andy Leonard BOS 160
Cap Anson PHIL 142
Ezra Sutton PHIL 141
Deacon White BOS 135
George Hall PHIL 129
Davy Force PHIL 129
Bases Produced
Ross Barnes BOS 210
Cal McVey BOS 209
George Wright BOS 191
Lip Pike STL 182
Jim O’Rourke BOS 177
Deacon White BOS 173
Andy Leonard BOS 172
Davy Force PHIL 165
George Hall PHIL 164
Bill Craver PHIL 163
Cumulative Top Tens (10 for #1, 9 for #2, etc.)
Runs Produced
Ross Barnes 39
Cal McVey 29
George Wright 24
Jim O’Rourke 22
Deacon White 19
Andy Leonard 17
Al Spalding 16
Lip Pike 14
Ned Cuthbert 12
John Hatfield 8
Bases Produced
Ross Barnes 40
George Wright 32
Lip Pike 28
Cal McVey 25
Jim O’Rourke 22
Deacon White 18
Andy Leonard 16
Dave Eggler 11
Levi Meyerle 10
Jimmy Wood 9
ROSS BARNES was the greatest player of the 1870’s He hit over .400 four times and won three batting titles. Bill James dismisses him, saying that he took advantage of a rule that any ball that landed fair was fair, regardless of where it rolled. He was a great bunter and had a knack for the “fair-foul bunt. But he also led his league in doubles three times and triples twice, which would be hard to do with a bunt, regardless of where the ball rolled. He also won a stolen base title and led his league in runs scored 4 times. Besides if a man took advantage of a particular skill he had and the rules as they were written, I don’t think you can deny him credit for what he accomplished. He was also considered an exceptional fielder at second base.
GEORGE WRIGHT is often described as the game’s first superstar. With his older brother Harry Wright, who was considered the greatest manage of the time, they dominated the 1860’s with the Cincinnati Red Stockings, then moved on the to Boston Red Stockings, who won the first four National Association pennants and would win the second and third national league pennants in 1877-78. Statistically, Wright was not his teammate Barnes’ equal, but he was one of the best players in the league. His best years may have in Cincinnati in the prior decade.
Even fans of baseball history may not be aware of CAL MCVEY but he was also a top player with Cincinnati, Boston and Chicago. He was the career RBI leader of the National Association with 271 in five seasons. "He is powerfully built, with broad shoulders and barrel chest...handsome though shy, and is a favorite of the ladies. He is very conscientious and a hard worker...a good fielder, but his strength is with the ash in his hands...he is a long...good thrower...and he doesn't drink." That made him a rarity among ballplayers in those days.
LIP PIKE was not particularly noted for arguing with umpires. His first name was “Lipman”. He was the first famous Jewish player and had many fans of that faith, especially in New York, where he played for the New York Mutuals and the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National Association. He was noted for both his power and speed. He could run 100 yards in 10 seconds challenged anyone to beat him in a sprint and even beat a racehorse, (I assume with a bit of head start). He won 4 home run titles and hit a famous one in 1877, “which apparently went 360 far and 40 feet high, and hit a metal bar at that point which it still had enough force to bend. “
ORATOR JIM O’ROURKE was my favorite player of the time. He was given to reciting passages from Shakespeare, even during games. He played from 1872-1893 and then made a one-game appearance in 1904, at the age of 54. He had a law degree and “He attributed his long career to clean living, and he attributed his financial success to saving his money instead of spending it.” Bill James has a wonderful story of an amazingly long-winded letter sent by Orator Jim in his updated “Historical Baseball Abstract”. A lion had escaped from a zoo and found his way to a barn where a Mrs. Gilligan drove it off with a pitchfork. O’Rourke was moved to tell her “The unparalleled bravery shown by you and the unwavering fidelity extended by you to your calf during your precarious environment in the cowshed when a ferocious, carnivorous beast threatened your total destruction has suddenly exalted your fair name to an altitude much higher than the Egyptian pyramids, where hieroglyphics and other undecipherable mementos of the past are now lying in a state of innocuous desuetude, with no enlightened modern scholar able to exemplify their disentangled pronunciation”. James said that orator Jim was “just getting started”. He recited Hamlet’s soliloquy to his teammates before every game. One wonders how that inspired them to play baseball well.
DEACON WHITE was the game’s first great catcher, playing for five pennant winners. He was an early labor organizer in the game, saying “No man is going to sell my carcass unless I get half.” After finding out his contract had been sold to another team without his being informed. He helped to found the Player’s League. He also had some other ideas of his own. “White was one of the last people to believe that the earth is flat. He tried and failed to convince his teammates that they were living on a flat plane and not a globe; they ridiculed him.” But James listed him as “The Most Admirable Superstar of the 1870’s” based on the many recorded tributes to his integrity from that era.
AL SPALDING is better known as a pitcher: He won 252 games and lost 65. But he was also a lifetime .313 hitter. He may have been the first player to wear a glove to protect his catching hand. This led him to open a sporting goods store and thus found the A. G. Spalding sporting goods empire. He eventually became owner of what became the Chicago Cubs and headed the committee that, in 1905, determined , (erroneously) that the game had been invented by Abner Doubleday in1839. Everybody really knew it’s origins were in English cricket but there a popular desire to find an American “inventor” of the game and Al made sure they found one. He was also the long-time publisher of the Baseball Guide, a major reference source for the era. Another Al, Al Reach, who also owned a sporting goods company, published a rival guide, the Reach Guide and Bill James refers to both many times in his writing. Eventually that Al sold out to this one.
I’m going to look at the history of major league baseball, year by year, focusing on the batters and using two statistics. To me the most basic statistic in the game is “runs produced”: runs scored plus runs batted in minus home runs so you don’t count them twice, (a home run is both a run scored and batted in but it’s only one run). I like the idea of “OPS”, on base percentage plus slugging percentage but I don’t like the way it’s computed or the number it produces. You are adding two percentages with different dividends, (total plate appearances plus official at bats). You are also including things the batter wasn’t really attempting to do, such as getting hit by a pitch, but excluding something he was attempting to do, such as steal bases, which can turn walks or singles into doubles, doubles into triples, etc. I came up with a formula I prefer: total bases, (one for a single, two for a double three for a triple, four for a home run) plus walks plus steals. I call it “bases produced” and it’s the perfect companion to “runs produced”.
I’m going to do five years at a time, and keep cumulative standings on a simple 10 points for 1st place, 9 for second, etc. basis. The best players should be at or near the top of the league for many years, even if the quantity of runs and bases produced changes form era to era or league to league. Some early years not all elements are available: I’ll note that when it applies: I’ll just crate a standing with what is available. The leagues I’ll use are: The National Association of Baseball Players, (1871-75), the National League (1876-2013), the American Association (1882-1891), the Player’s League (1890), the American League (1901-2013), and the Federal League (1914-15). I did not include the Union Association (1884) after reading a Bill James article on how it doesn’t really qualify as a major league, despite often being listed as such. There will be a top ten for each league in each season, not a top ten from all leagues just for the year. Ties will be broken by number of plate appearances- the same production in fewer appearances will get the higher ranking. When a player played for more than one team the team listed is the one they played the most games for.
For the early years especially there will be a lot of names not recognizable to modern fans. I’ll do a little research on some of the lesser known players that keep popping up in the standings and add some tidbits about them to make it a little more interesting. Quotes are from the Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, Baseball Reference.com’s Bullpen section or Wikipedia. So as to avoid cluttering up the board too much, I’ll do it in half decades and post once a week. That will also stretch it out over the length of the baseball season: this should take about 7 months. I’ll also do monthly updates on the runs and bases produced in 2014.
1871- National Association
Runs Produced
Ross Barnes, BOS 100
Cal McVey, BOS 86
Levi Meyerle, PHI 81
Steve King, TRO 79
Lip Pike, TRO 78
Al Reach, PHI 77
Rynie Wolters, NY 77
Dave Birdsall, BOS 75
Ned Cuthbert, PHI 74
Davy Force, WAS 74
Bases Produced
Ross Barnes, BOS 115
Jimmy Wood, CHI 105
Levi Meyerle, PHI 97
Lip Pike, TRO 93
Cal McVey, BOS 92
Fred Treacy, CHI 86
Fred Waterman, WAS 86
Rynie Wolters, NY 86
Ned Cuthbert, PHI 84
Steve King, TRO 83
1872- National Association
Runs Produced
Ned Cuthbert, PHI 129
Ross Barnes, BOS 124
John Hatfield, NY 122
Lip Pike, BAL 121
George Wright, BOS 120
Dave Eggler, NY 113
John Radcliff, BAL 113
Cap Anson, PHI 108
Dick Higham, BAL 107
Mike McGeary, PHI 103
Bases Produced
Ross Barnes, BOS 155
Lip Pike, BAL 145
Dave Eggler, NY 143
George Wright, BOS 137
Cap Anson, PHI 136
John Hatfield, NY 136
Bill Boyd, NY 134
George Hall, BAL 127
Ned Cuthbert, PHI 121
Davy Force, TRO/BAL 120
1873- National Association
Runs Produced
Ross Barnes, BOS 183
Deacon White BOS 155
Al Spalding BOS 153
Andy Leonard BOS 141
George Wright BOS 139
Tom Carey BAL 130
Jim O’Rourke BOS 127
Everett Mills BAL 120
Tom York BAL 118
Lip Pike BAL 118
Bases Produced
Ross Barnes, BOS 260
George Wright BOS 183
Deacon White BOS 177
Jim O’Rourke BOS 150
Andy Leonard BOS 150
Lip Pike BAL 149
Al Spalding BOS 138
Everett Mills BAL 128
Tom Carey BAL 128
Tom York BAL 122
1874- National Association
Runs Produced
Cal McVey BOS 159
Jim O’Rourke BOS 138
Al Spalding BOS 134
Deacon White BOS 124
Bill Craver PHI 124
George Wright BOS 118
Andy Leonard BOS 118
Harry Schafer BOS 113
Ross Barnes BOS 111
Joe Start NY 111
Bases Produced
Cal McVey BOS 171
Jim O’Rourke BOS 165
George Wright BOS 156
Bill Craver PHI 147
Andy Leonard BOS 145
Deacon White BOS 140
Al Spalding BOS 139
Dave Eggler PHI 134
Levi Meyerle CHI 130
Joe Start NY 130
1875- National Association
Runs Produced
Cal McVey BOS 173
Jim O’Rourke BOS 172
Ross Barnes BOS 172
George Wright BOS 165
Andy Leonard BOS 160
Cap Anson PHIL 142
Ezra Sutton PHIL 141
Deacon White BOS 135
George Hall PHIL 129
Davy Force PHIL 129
Bases Produced
Ross Barnes BOS 210
Cal McVey BOS 209
George Wright BOS 191
Lip Pike STL 182
Jim O’Rourke BOS 177
Deacon White BOS 173
Andy Leonard BOS 172
Davy Force PHIL 165
George Hall PHIL 164
Bill Craver PHIL 163
Cumulative Top Tens (10 for #1, 9 for #2, etc.)
Runs Produced
Ross Barnes 39
Cal McVey 29
George Wright 24
Jim O’Rourke 22
Deacon White 19
Andy Leonard 17
Al Spalding 16
Lip Pike 14
Ned Cuthbert 12
John Hatfield 8
Bases Produced
Ross Barnes 40
George Wright 32
Lip Pike 28
Cal McVey 25
Jim O’Rourke 22
Deacon White 18
Andy Leonard 16
Dave Eggler 11
Levi Meyerle 10
Jimmy Wood 9
ROSS BARNES was the greatest player of the 1870’s He hit over .400 four times and won three batting titles. Bill James dismisses him, saying that he took advantage of a rule that any ball that landed fair was fair, regardless of where it rolled. He was a great bunter and had a knack for the “fair-foul bunt. But he also led his league in doubles three times and triples twice, which would be hard to do with a bunt, regardless of where the ball rolled. He also won a stolen base title and led his league in runs scored 4 times. Besides if a man took advantage of a particular skill he had and the rules as they were written, I don’t think you can deny him credit for what he accomplished. He was also considered an exceptional fielder at second base.
GEORGE WRIGHT is often described as the game’s first superstar. With his older brother Harry Wright, who was considered the greatest manage of the time, they dominated the 1860’s with the Cincinnati Red Stockings, then moved on the to Boston Red Stockings, who won the first four National Association pennants and would win the second and third national league pennants in 1877-78. Statistically, Wright was not his teammate Barnes’ equal, but he was one of the best players in the league. His best years may have in Cincinnati in the prior decade.
Even fans of baseball history may not be aware of CAL MCVEY but he was also a top player with Cincinnati, Boston and Chicago. He was the career RBI leader of the National Association with 271 in five seasons. "He is powerfully built, with broad shoulders and barrel chest...handsome though shy, and is a favorite of the ladies. He is very conscientious and a hard worker...a good fielder, but his strength is with the ash in his hands...he is a long...good thrower...and he doesn't drink." That made him a rarity among ballplayers in those days.
LIP PIKE was not particularly noted for arguing with umpires. His first name was “Lipman”. He was the first famous Jewish player and had many fans of that faith, especially in New York, where he played for the New York Mutuals and the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National Association. He was noted for both his power and speed. He could run 100 yards in 10 seconds challenged anyone to beat him in a sprint and even beat a racehorse, (I assume with a bit of head start). He won 4 home run titles and hit a famous one in 1877, “which apparently went 360 far and 40 feet high, and hit a metal bar at that point which it still had enough force to bend. “
ORATOR JIM O’ROURKE was my favorite player of the time. He was given to reciting passages from Shakespeare, even during games. He played from 1872-1893 and then made a one-game appearance in 1904, at the age of 54. He had a law degree and “He attributed his long career to clean living, and he attributed his financial success to saving his money instead of spending it.” Bill James has a wonderful story of an amazingly long-winded letter sent by Orator Jim in his updated “Historical Baseball Abstract”. A lion had escaped from a zoo and found his way to a barn where a Mrs. Gilligan drove it off with a pitchfork. O’Rourke was moved to tell her “The unparalleled bravery shown by you and the unwavering fidelity extended by you to your calf during your precarious environment in the cowshed when a ferocious, carnivorous beast threatened your total destruction has suddenly exalted your fair name to an altitude much higher than the Egyptian pyramids, where hieroglyphics and other undecipherable mementos of the past are now lying in a state of innocuous desuetude, with no enlightened modern scholar able to exemplify their disentangled pronunciation”. James said that orator Jim was “just getting started”. He recited Hamlet’s soliloquy to his teammates before every game. One wonders how that inspired them to play baseball well.
DEACON WHITE was the game’s first great catcher, playing for five pennant winners. He was an early labor organizer in the game, saying “No man is going to sell my carcass unless I get half.” After finding out his contract had been sold to another team without his being informed. He helped to found the Player’s League. He also had some other ideas of his own. “White was one of the last people to believe that the earth is flat. He tried and failed to convince his teammates that they were living on a flat plane and not a globe; they ridiculed him.” But James listed him as “The Most Admirable Superstar of the 1870’s” based on the many recorded tributes to his integrity from that era.
AL SPALDING is better known as a pitcher: He won 252 games and lost 65. But he was also a lifetime .313 hitter. He may have been the first player to wear a glove to protect his catching hand. This led him to open a sporting goods store and thus found the A. G. Spalding sporting goods empire. He eventually became owner of what became the Chicago Cubs and headed the committee that, in 1905, determined , (erroneously) that the game had been invented by Abner Doubleday in1839. Everybody really knew it’s origins were in English cricket but there a popular desire to find an American “inventor” of the game and Al made sure they found one. He was also the long-time publisher of the Baseball Guide, a major reference source for the era. Another Al, Al Reach, who also owned a sporting goods company, published a rival guide, the Reach Guide and Bill James refers to both many times in his writing. Eventually that Al sold out to this one.
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