This Month In Baseball
Final 1874
Edition 4.10
Final Standings
All Eyes On The World Series
Two Major Cities Battle For The Crown
In its fourth year of existence, the league finally has the matchup that everyone has been waiting for. Hype for the 1874 World Series between the Boston Red Stockings and New York Mutuals has braced every paper in the country and has even casual fans excited about the contest.
Boston for the leagues first season were the most glamorized team in the lad and after three years of bitter disappointment, Harry Wright and his team have lifted the pennant winning 42 games and a .700 winning percentage. George Wright lead the nation in runs batted in with 58 while Jim Britt and Albert Spalding have created the best duo of arms on a single team in all the land. Boston was 23-7 away from home and as many have noted have rallied for their manager and seem to surely be a team of destiny and the favorites for the big clash.
The big shoulders of New York City and its grand shadow that falls over Boston is a natural reality. The most populous city has one of the very best clubs bringing the legendary name of the Mutuals back to baseball excellence. Much like Boston, New York have not been able to win a championship coming up short in their pennant winning year of 1871 which of course was a shortened season. The current greatest star of the game plays for this team in Cal McVey who hit .404 and is sure to win the MVP. Candy Cummings and his curveball will be on full display while Bill Boyd drove in 65 runs and is a stand up leader for the club.
Baseball is ready for its first great matchup where telgraphs and couriers will be delivering pitch by pitch actions to countless fans accross the nation.
McVey Has Legendary Season
New York Star Wins Batting Title and Sets Record
Cal McVey probably got very tired about being overlooked as one of the very best players in the world. Much likely had to do with the fact that he seemed to be changing positions for manager Joe Lemmens every season. This year McVey is back at the catcher position and the wear and tear hasnt seem to slow him down on bit. McVey has had an incredible 1874 season.
McVey wins the batting title hitting .404 in a season where hitting has been down all around. Mcvey wins his first batting championship ending with 120 hits and 23 doubles both which lead the league. Overall his 4.0 WAR is also good enough for league best and McVey now has 392 total hits, the most of any player since the league started play in 1871.
Those numbers however are only the beginning of the story. McVey broke a significant hitting record this year getting a base knock in 40 consecutive games. The record was held by both Bob Addy and Dick Higham, but McVey flew by both of them and the only thing that stopped him was the end of the season. McVey will take his record into next season and will have a chance to really set a standard that likely could never be broken.
Finally the star catcher has lead New York to the National League pennant. It would indeed be a perfect season for the 25 year old Colorado native if his club could pull the upset and defeat the Boston club for a place in history.