Here they are: for the first time anywhere, comprehensive statistics for the 1922 Negro National League.
These numbers are only for games between NNL clubs; games with non-league clubs such as the Hilldales and Bacharachs are not included here (I will post a file featuring totals against all top African-American clubs within the next week or so). I’ve found box scores for 192 out of 239 known games between NNL teams (80 percent). The weakest coverage is for games played in Pittsburgh and Cleveland, as well as Detroit in May, when with one exception the Free Press published box scores only for Sunday games.
The file posted here follows on what I’ve posted for Cuban series: just one file, with tabs for batting, fielding, and pitching. The other material I’ve included for 1916 and 1921 Negro League statistics will be forthcoming soon, plus additional goodies; in the meantime you can find the 1922 NNL standings here and park factors here (though figures for both of these will be revised).
Some surprises here: John Beckwith compiled the highest batting average (.410), just ahead of Heavy Johnson (.405). Another Monarch, Hurley McNair, drew far and away the most walks with 44 (Oscar Charleston and Frank Duncan tying for second with 28). Jelly Gardner stole 24 bases, beating out his teammate Jimmie Lyons with 20. The American Giants swiped more than any other team in the league (109), averaging more than two per game (and that’s with many stolen bases certainly going uncounted).
Bullet Rogan led in home runs, edging Charleston 15-13, and came very near to matching Beckwith’s league-leading .696 slugging percentage. He also recorded the best total run average (3.82) and opponents’ on-base percentage (.280), while allowing the fewest home runs per plate appearance (.003). He outhomered the batters he faced 15 to 2, hitting .366/.442/.693.
Enjoy. As always, let me know if you find any errors, have any questions, or think you can contribute more box scores.
Leave a Reply