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Baseball: The 1905 League Championship

It is the first of May, and thus the new baseball programme commences to-day. The championship begins a fortnight earlier this year due to the extension of the Baseball League’s two divisions by two clubs, to twenty total in each. Thus, 114 matches will be played by each club in 1905, or six against each of the other nineteen clubs in the division. This increase may pose a threat to the stamina of players accustomed to finishing up for the summer after match one oh two, but champions are forged in the crucible of such challenges, and it is certain a victor will emerge, albeit somewhat the worse for wear.

In the First Division, Newcastle United look to be among the class of the loop, and a good bet to secure a fourth Emperor of India Cup in six years. Their pitching is among the best in the entire League, on par with the hurlers of Burton United, although the Magpies are certain to score more runs than the Burtons. Sunderland probably have the best attack of any club, and may give Newcastle “a run for their money”. The Black Cats do not have the pitching prowess that the Magpies do, but their attack may be enough to overcome the defence deficit and lead them to Cup glory in September.

The Second Division sees five new sides up from the bushes, encompassing the Hull City, Leeds City, Rotherham County, Bradford City and Chelsea clubs. The former two are the sides to watch, especially the Tigers of Hull City, who feature probably the finest left fielder in the British game in the London Welshman Joshua Lloyd, already a fully formed specimen at the age of twenty two. The Tigers will seek to stave off Burnley as the top side of the lower level, as the Clarets try to fight their way back to the top tier after having barely missed returning each of its two years of exile.