[BaseballMan]

1875 season recap

SLOW CHANGE COMING

The 1875 National Association Baseball League expanded by six teams in 1875.
The expansion was not well planned. It was more of a result of inexperienced team owners. Most of the NA clubs were run by owners who had little experience in running a team. Many of them had backgrounds in a family owned business or as a saloon owner.
The majority of the owners did not see the problem of supporting 3 teams in Philadelphia and putting a team in Keokuk.
Few people had even heard of Keokuk.
But one man had heard of Keokuk.
Hulbert was astonished that the League had even taken the matter under consideration.
He argued fruitlessly that a town of 12,700 could not support a Major League team.
His argument fell on deaf ears.
By mid June, Hulbert's predictions came true and the Keokuk Westerns became a footnote in the history of baseball.

Early season predictions that the established teams would feast on the expansion teams soon came true. The Red Stockings dominated the competition once again with their best record ever at 62-20. Along with Boston at the top were the Philadelphia White Stockings, Philadelphia Athletics, St. Louis and Hartford ballclubs. Hulbert was furious watching the top clubs snatch up the best talent and dominate the expansion clubs.
The Boston Red Stockings season was one for the record books, finishing with a dominant 62-20 record and a .756 winning percentage. They were followed in the standings by the Philadelphia White Stockings, who finished 12 games back with a 44-26 record.
The St. Louis Brown Stockings and Philadelphia Athletics rounded out the top four, with records of 42-28 and 44-33, respectively.
Looking at the league batting stats, Boston was once again the cream of the crop, scoring an average of 8.5 runs per game and hitting .310 as a team. They were followed by the Hartford Dark Blues, who averaged 6.7 runs per game and hit .265. The Philadelphia Athletics, Philadelphia White Stockings, and St. Louis Brown Stockings rounded out the top five in team batting average.
Overall, it was a season dominated by the Boston Red Stockings, who showed themselves to be a force to be reckoned with in the world of professional baseball.
In the postseason, the World Championship Series was contested between the Boston Red Stockings and the Philadelphia White Stockings, with Boston ultimately coming out on top by a score of 4-2. The series was hard-fought and closely contested, with both teams putting up a strong fight.
In terms of individual performances, there were a number of standout players throughout the league. The Boston Red Stockings boasted the highest run total in the league, with an impressive 701 runs over the course of the season. Meanwhile, the Hartford Dark Blues had the highest number of stolen bases, with 86 in total.
The league's batting statistics were also impressive, with the Boston Red Stockings finishing the season with a team batting average of .310, an on-base percentage of .323, and a slugging percentage of .401. These impressive numbers helped them secure their spot as the top team in the league.
Overall, the 1875 baseball season was an exciting and memorable one, with plenty of great performances and exciting moments throughout including a record breaking 48 game hit streak for Cal McVey of the Red Stockings. Still the clouds of a uncertain future remained.
What was certain was that the League could not survive another year of rapid expansion.
Like it or not a train of change was coming.