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PRE-PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL (1857-70) IN REVIEW

NBBO FINALISTS & CHAMPIONS – New York League (NYL), Northeastern League (NEL), Tucker-Wheaton Cup (TWC)

1857: NYL – Orange BBC (43-27 NYC), NEL – Sons of the Ocean (46-24 NE), TWC – Sons of the Ocean 3-1
1858: NYL – Orange BBC (51-19 NYC), NEL – Granite BC (44-26 NE), TWC – Granite BC 3-0
1859: NYL – Atlantic BBC (45-25 BRK), NEL – St. John’s BC (44-26 NE), TWC – St. John’s 3-0
1860: NYL – Orange BBC (56-14 NYC), NEL – Quinnipiac BC (45-25 NE), TWC – Quinnipiac BC 3-2
1861: NYL – Orange BBC (46-24 NYC), NEL – Green Mountain BC (50-20 NE), TWC – Orange BBC 3-0
1862: NYL – Victory BBC (46-24 UNY), NEL – Quaker State BC (46-24 COA), TWC – Victory BBC 3-1
1863: NYL – Orange BBC (56-14 NYC), NEL – Green Mountain BC (47-23 NE), TWC – Green Mountain BC 3-1
1864: NYL – Orange BBC (42-29 NYC), NEL – American BC (41-29 COA), TWC – Orange BBC 3-2 (2nd title)
1865: NYL – Orange BBC (45-25 NYC), NEL – Green Mountain BC (42-29 NE), TWC – Green Mountain 3-0 (2nd title)
1866: NYL – Flour City BBC (45-25 UNY), NEL – Newark BC (41-29 COA), TWC – Flour City 3-0
1867: NYL – Excelsior BBC (51-19 BRK), NEL – Reading Athletic Club (47-23 INL), TWC – Reading Athletic Club 3-2
1868: NYL – Gotham BBC (46-24 NYC), NEL – Newark BC (47-23 COA), TWC – Newark BC 3-1
1869: NYL – Atlantic BBC (43-27 BRK), NEL – Sons of the Ocean (48-22 NE), TWC – Sons of the Ocean 3-0 (2nd title)
1870: NYL – Kings County BBC (49-21 BRK), NEL – Green Mountain BC (44-26 NE), TWC – Kings County 3-0

Orange BBC absolutely dominated the New York League during the league’s first decade of existence. However, they couldn’t translate that into championships as New England clubs kept finding ways to spoil a presumed Orange victory party at the Tucker-Wheaton Cup.

#1 TEAM OF PRE-PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL

Orange Base Ball Club (New York City Championship)



1857: 43-27, NYC & NYL champs, lost Tucker-Wheaton Cup
1858: 51-19, NYC & NYL champs, lost Tucker-Wheaton Cup
1859: 45-25, NYC champs
1860: 56-14, NYC & NYL champs, lost Tucker-Wheaton Cup
1861: 46-24, NYC & NYL champs, won Tucker-Wheaton Cup
1862: 48-22, NYC champs
1863: 56-14, NYC & NYL champs, lost Tucker-Wheaton Cup
1864: 42-29, NYC & NYL champs, won Tucker-Wheaton Cup (2nd time)
1865: 45-25, NYC & NYL champs, lost Tucker-Wheaton Cup
1866: 43-27, 2nd place in NYC Championship by 1 game
1867: 41-29, 2nd place in NYC Championship by 8 games
1868: 44-26, 2nd place in NYC Championship by 2 games
1869: 47-23, 2nd place in NYC Championship by 4 games
1870: 48-22, 2nd place in NYC Championship by 4 games

PRE-PRO: 655-326 record (.678 WIN%), 9 NYC Championships (5x runners-up), 7 New York League Championships, 2 Tucker-Wheaton Cups (5x runners-up)

Orange BBC was both the most successful and most snake-bitten team of the pre-split NBBO. They won the first nine New York City championships and then finished second in each of the next five. However, 4/5 second-place finishes were close and the team had horrible times in the Tucker-Wheaton Cup as well, winning just two out of the seven they went to. With better luck this could have been a team that won no less than 13/14 New York City championships and half (or more) of the awarded Tucker-Wheaton Cups in a 48-team league before the APBL was created. They could have been THE club in early American baseball, but it just wasn’t to be.

TOP BATSMAN OF PRE-PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL

Samuel Kessler – Sons of the Ocean (57-66), Newark (67-69), Niagara (70)

980 G, 1,114 H, .353 AVG, .894 OPS, 169 OPS+, 240 2B, 239 3B, 2,362 TB, 867 RBI, 48.87 WPA (8.07 per 162), 40.2 WAR (6.6 per 162)

2x Tucker-Wheaton Cup winner (1857, 68)
3x Northeastern League Batsman of the Year (1859, 64, 68)
1x Northeastern League Most Valuable Player (1864)
1x Northeastern League Batting Champion (1864: .418)
13x National Base Ball Organization All-Star (1857-61, 63-70)
7x Northeastern League Team of the Year (57-59, 63-65, 68)
6x Northeastern League leader in total bases (1858, 59, 63, 64, 68, 69)
6x Northeastern League leader in triples (1858, 62-65, 68)
5x Northeastern League leader in extra-base hits (1858, 63, 64, 68, 69)
3x Northeastern League leader in OPS (1859, 63, 64)
1x Northeastern League leader in RBIs (1866: 71)
1x Northeastern League leader in runs (1864: 102)

1864: 70 G, .418 AVG (220 OPS+), 102 R, 138 H, 41 XBH, 70 RBI, 206 TB, 29 SB, 4.85 WPA (11.22 per 162), 4.2 WAR (9.7 per 162)

Kessler barely got the nod over Konrad Jensen. Why? Because Jensen was mostly a good-to-very-good hitter until he absolutely took off from 1867-70. Kessler’s consistency, 13 All-Star nods, and pair of Tucker-Wheaton Cups put him over the top. He was one of the driving forces – along with Anthony Mascherino – that put New England baseball on the map when everyone in New York just assumed that the best baseball was played there.

Thomas Maloney of Orange won a pair of MVPs and three Batsman of the Year awards before Kessler had won his second or Jensen his first, but his production in the middle of the 1860s dipped until his OPS was below .800 for a whole season. He still ended up on 10 All-Star teams and 6 editions of the NYL Team of the Year, but his overall numbers ultimately didn’t stack up with the other two.

TOP HURLER OF PRE-PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL

Carl Bancroft – Orange BBC (1857-70)

280-130 record, 3.44 ERA (103 ERA+), 3,649.2 IP, 274 CG, 134 BB, 464 K, 57.5 WAR (3.5 per 225 IP)

2x Tucker-Wheaton Cup winner (1861, 64)
3x New York League Hurler of the Year (1858, 60, 62)
10x 20-game winner (1858-63, 65, 66, 69, 70)
9x National Base Ball Organization All-Star (1859-61, 64-66, 67, 69)
4x New York League leader in pitcher WAR (1858, 62, 63, 64)
3x New York League leader in shutouts (1859, 66, 69)
2x New York League leader in strikeouts (1858, 1863)
2x New York League leader in complete games (1858, 60)
1x New York League leader in innings (1862)

1862: 26-6, 3.56 ERA (98 ERA+), 291.0 IP, 23 CG, 14 BB, 38 K, 1.28 WHIP, 4.8 WAR (3.7 per 225 IP)

There’s really no debate: Carl Bancroft was the best pitcher in pre-professional baseball. He went on to win another Hurler of the Year award in the initial seasons in the APBL and retired as the first pitcher ever to win 300+ games (332). Nobody came remotely close to his win total of 280 in the 1857-70 timespan – Josiah Rayburn and Teddy Brinkley are next up at 209 and 208 respectively. If Orange BBC had thought him an ace right from the start of his career, Bancroft could have conceivably won 300+ in the pre-pro days as he didn’t start a single game as a 22-year-old in the NBBO’s inaugural season of 1857.

TOP PLAYER OF PRE-PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL

Edward Huntley – Orange BBC (1858-69) & Kings County (1870)

903 G, 1,480 H, 401 XBH, 1,064 R, .353 AVG, .855 OPS, 152 OPS+, 840 RBI, 543 SB, +238.4 ZR (3B/SS), 50.44 WPA (9.04 per 162), 49.7 WAR (8.9 per 162)

2x Tucker-Wheaton Cup winner (1861, 64)
3x New York League Most Valuable Player (1860, 63, 65)
2x New York League Batsman of the Year (1863, 66)
13x National Base Ball Organization All-Star (1858-70)
9x New York League Team of the Year at 3B or SS (1859-63, 66, 67, 69, 70)
6x New York League Golden Glove at 3B (1858-62, 64)
1x New York League Batting Champion (1865: .392)
7x New York League leader in non-pitcher WAR (1860-63, 65, 66, 69)
3x New York League leader in runs (1863, 65, 66)

1860 (Orange): 70 G, .381 AVG, .895 OPS (166 OPS+), 88 R, 123 H, 75 RBI, 164 TB, 57 SB (5 CS), +30.0 ZR at 3B, 4.74 WPA (10.96 per 162), 4.8 WAR (11.1 per 162)

Huntley was the most well-rounded player in the league, and its most popular given that he was the face of Orange BBC. He played gold-glove third base perennially and switched seamlessly over to shortstop in 1867 after Orange’s starter at the position was signed away. He could do anything and do it well: hit, run, field, steal, move runners, find the gap, cover in the field. He was one of two players to be named league MVP three times (Konrad Jensen) and he’s also notable because he was part of Kings County’s haul of All-Stars before the 1870 season that got a group of clubs to think that maybe it was time for an above-board professional league.

There’s a persuasive argument to be made for Anthony Mascherino, who had more Golden Gloves (8), as many Tucker-Wheaton Cups, (2), and higher overall WAR (51.6) than Huntley, but he did that specializing in one position (SS) while playing for a team that wasn’t as prominent, and his fame was mostly linked to his extraordinary defense (30+ ZR at SS five times in seasons of 70 games, won 6 more Gold Gloves in the APBL for a career total of 14).

BEST INDIVIDUAL SEASON OF PRE-PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL

Konrad Jensen (RF) of Excelsior BBC in 1867

70 G, .451 AVG, 1.127 OPS (222 OPS+), 109 R, 152 H, 49 XBH, 90 RBI, 218 TB, 40 SB (8 CS), 8.05 WPA (18.63 per 162), 4.9 WAR (11.3 per 162)

NBBO All-Star
NYL Batsman of the Year
NYL Most Valuable Player
NYL Team of the Year
NYL Batting Champion
3x NYL Batter of the Month
Led NYL in PA, AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS, H, TB, 2B, RBI, R, BB, and non-pitcher WAR

This was the season where Jensen went from consistent young star to legend. Average: up 119 (.332 to .451) points from the year before. OPS: up 278 (.849 to 1.127). RBI: up 33 (58 to 90). Stolen bases: up by about half (26 to 40). This would be the first of four straight seasons in which he led the New York League in AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS, and WPA. He hit over .400 in three of those four seasons, and in the other one he hit .395 with an OPS over 1.000 and more than 6.1 WPA in 70 games.

ALL PRE-PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL TEAM

C: James Starrett – four clubs (1857-70) – 8x All-Star, 4x Team of the Year, 21.9 WAR (4.0/162)

1B: DeVos Springer – Reading AC (60-68), Atlantic (69-70) – 7x Team of the Year, 6x All-Star, 1x Batsman of the Year, 21.6 WAR (4.6/162)

2B: Benjamin Chin – five clubs (1857-70) – 4x All-Star, 4x Team of the Year, 26.2 WAR (4.4/162)

3B: Samuel Kessler – SotO (57-66), Newark (67-69), Niagara (70) – 13x All-Star, 7x Team of the Year, 3x Batsman of the Year, 1x MVP, 40.2 WAR (6.6/162)

SS: Anthony Mascherino – Green Mountain (57-68), Minuteman (69-70) – 11x All-Star, 8x Golden Glove, 5x Team of the Year, 1x Batsman of the Year, 1x MVP, 51.6 WAR (9.4/162)

LF: Thomas Maloney – Orange (57-70) – 10x All-Star, 6x Team of the Year, 3x Batsman of the Year, 2x MVP, 2x Golden Glove, 34.4 WAR (5.8/162)

CF: Herman Ferris – St. Johns (60-65), Mutual (66-69), Kings County (70) – 8x All-Star, 5x Team of the Year, 1x MVP, 1x Golden Glove 31.3 WAR (6.6/162)

RF: Konrad Jensen – Excelsior (57-70) – 9x All-Star, 7x Team of the Year, 4x Batsman of the Year, 3x MVP, 3x Golden Glove, 37.0 WAR (7.1/162)

UT: Edward Huntley – Orange (57-69) & Brooklyn (70) – 3B/SS – 13x All-Star 9x Team of the Year, 6x Golden Glove, 3x MVP, 2x Batsman of the Year (all NYL), 49.7 WAR (8.9/162)

SP: Carl Bancroft – Orange (57-69) – 280-130, 3.44 ERA (103 ERA+), 9x All-Star, 3x Hurler of the Year, 57.5 WAR (3.5/225 IP)

SP: Theodore Brinkley – Niagara (57-63, 68-70), Minuteman (64-65), American (66-67) – 208-176, 3.00 ERA (115 ERA+), 3x All-Star, 1x Hurler of the Year, 52.2 WAR (3.4/225 IP)

SP: Jonathan Ramsey – Minuteman (60-63), Mutual (64-67), Knickerbocker (68-70) – 198-135, 3.17 ERA (112 ERA+), 5x All-Star, 40.1 WAR (3.1/225 IP)