This Month In Baseball
November 1874
Edition 4.11
McVey Decision Sends Ripples Down League
Star Player Decides To Become Pitcher
As the 1874 baseball season wrapped up and the Mutuals of New York finished their parade and brought the championship home, all were gearing for a rest in the offseason. At the awards banquet to end the season it was a shoe in that the MVP award for the National League would go to Cal McVey who hit .404 for the season and took a step towards being the best hitter in the game.
To the shock of everyone the award did not go to McVey but rather to his teammate Bill Craver. In fact McVey wasnt even on the ballot for the journalist to vote for and his name was excluded from the "Best 9" awards list that is coming out in the next month.
What gives?
To everyone surprise, only days earlier the star ball player announced that he was making a giant career change. McVey told the New York Times that he was tired of catching and only hitting and had accomplished everything he had do in those roles and that he needed a new challenge. McVey announced that he had been secretly training over the past few weeks in private and now was ready to take on a new role; starting pitcher. Word quickly came down that his manager Joe Lemmens had agreed to the move and that the change would be made to provide McVey with the majority of the starts in 1875 above World Series hero Candy Cummings.
The next few details get sketchy but the understanding is that when league president Bob Fergusen received the news he was not happy whatsoever. Fergusen asked to speak with McVey but word is he was stood up and ignored. The league president would like McVey to avoid pitching and keep his incredible popularity and status as a catcher and hitter going. As a note the McVey is currently on a 40 game hitting streak.
Ferguson sees the move as a mockery to the game.
Without a response on this issue, Ferguson announced that McVey would be removed from all eligible voting for the MVP award or any other honors at the end of the season.
Mcvey of course still expects to hit in his new position and would not be the first player to make such a switch as teammate John McMullin did exactly the same thing after the 1871 season. McVey belives from internal sources that he will quickly become the very best pitcher in the game.
In the end it appears it is really a clash of hurt feelings and egos that is keeping the dserved winner of these awards off the podium.
Expansion of Schedule
League ambitious to 96 game season
In a direct indicator of the success of the major leagues in only its 5th season, the owners overwhelmingly passed a decree to expand the league schedule from 60 games to 96 for the upcoming 1875 season.
More baseball action for everyone can only mean a good thing however travel from as far cities as Philadelphia to St. Louis will make an interesting aspect for players and their recovery time. Some teams have already announced that they will be going with three man pitching rotations.