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as5680 · 11-22-2021, 05:05 PM

1874 SEASON

Another new season of baseball is almost ready to begin and once again there are a number of changes this year. Three leagues grow in size, while three more new competitions begin play after the East Midlands-based Derby and Nottingham League was recently confirmed to be joining the county leagues in Lancashire and Surrey. There is one visual change as well, with the Manchester and District League joining the Metropolitan League in making white jerseys for the visiting team compulsory in all games. White has been worn away from home by Miles Platting and Moss Grove for the past two years in all their meetings, due to a colour clash, and the rest of the teams will now be joining them in having a white jersey for away games.

The expansion of the Metropolitan League to twelve teams means that its season will begin one week earlier than last year, which has had an effect on the County Championship. That competition must also begin one week earlier, meaning that it will be played entirely in February for the first time. Some players are reportedly concerned about starting the new season so early in the year, but was believed to be no viable alternative to doing this.

That situation may resolve itself before too long however, as there is an increasing movement for clubs to be allowed to pay their players, which would mean the possibility of games on days other than Saturdays and potentially allow for competitions to be concluded in a shorter time. This push is coming about partly due to concern over the length of the season but also at rumoured illegal payments to players, especially among new clubs who have been trying to entice former university players to join them. There will be no payments allowed this year but several of the competitions in the north of England have committed to discussing the issue at their annual meetings at the end of the upcoming season.

NEW TEAMS: METROPOLITAN LEAGUE

The new teams in the Metropolitan League this year are the Commercial Dock Workers and Putney Tideway. The Dockers are, as their name indicates, a works team based in the Surrey Commercial Docks in Rotherhithe. They play in blue-grey jerseys and their home field is located at the southern end of Southwark Park. The Putney club was founded by members of the London and Leander rowing clubs, which are based on the stretch of the River Thames known as the Tideway. An opportunity for club members to play a different sport, the baseball club plays on a field close to the boathouses of both clubs and wears a jersey split in half between the blue of the London Club and pink of Leander.

The expanded league now has a schedule of thirty-eight games, rather than thirty-six, and for the first time teams will not play every other club on the same number of occasions. Instead, each club will play four games against five of their rivals and only three against the other six. As there are now six teams on each side of the River Thames, this has been chosen as the boundary and so clubs on the same side of the river will meet four times, while clubs on opposite sides will meet three times.

LOGOS AND UNIFORMS:
L-R: Commercial Dock Workers, Putney Tideway

MAP OF TEAM LOCATIONS:

11-22-2021, 05:05 PM	#142
as5680 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Didcot, England Posts: 1,426	1874 SEASON Another new season of baseball is almost ready to begin and once again there are a number of changes this year. Three leagues grow in size, while three more new competitions begin play after the East Midlands-based Derby and Nottingham League was recently confirmed to be joining the county leagues in Lancashire and Surrey. There is one visual change as well, with the Manchester and District League joining the Metropolitan League in making white jerseys for the visiting team compulsory in all games. White has been worn away from home by Miles Platting and Moss Grove for the past two years in all their meetings, due to a colour clash, and the rest of the teams will now be joining them in having a white jersey for away games. The expansion of the Metropolitan League to twelve teams means that its season will begin one week earlier than last year, which has had an effect on the County Championship. That competition must also begin one week earlier, meaning that it will be played entirely in February for the first time. Some players are reportedly concerned about starting the new season so early in the year, but was believed to be no viable alternative to doing this. That situation may resolve itself before too long however, as there is an increasing movement for clubs to be allowed to pay their players, which would mean the possibility of games on days other than Saturdays and potentially allow for competitions to be concluded in a shorter time. This push is coming about partly due to concern over the length of the season but also at rumoured illegal payments to players, especially among new clubs who have been trying to entice former university players to join them. There will be no payments allowed this year but several of the competitions in the north of England have committed to discussing the issue at their annual meetings at the end of the upcoming season. NEW TEAMS: METROPOLITAN LEAGUE The new teams in the Metropolitan League this year are the Commercial Dock Workers and Putney Tideway. The Dockers are, as their name indicates, a works team based in the Surrey Commercial Docks in Rotherhithe. They play in blue-grey jerseys and their home field is located at the southern end of Southwark Park. The Putney club was founded by members of the London and Leander rowing clubs, which are based on the stretch of the River Thames known as the Tideway. An opportunity for club members to play a different sport, the baseball club plays on a field close to the boathouses of both clubs and wears a jersey split in half between the blue of the London Club and pink of Leander. The expanded league now has a schedule of thirty-eight games, rather than thirty-six, and for the first time teams will not play every other club on the same number of occasions. Instead, each club will play four games against five of their rivals and only three against the other six. As there are now six teams on each side of the River Thames, this has been chosen as the boundary and so clubs on the same side of the river will meet four times, while clubs on opposite sides will meet three times. LOGOS AND UNIFORMS: L-R: Commercial Dock Workers, Putney Tideway MAP OF TEAM LOCATIONS: Last edited by as5680; 11-23-2021 at 05:24 AM.