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1857 NEW YORK LEAGUE REVIEW

NEW YORK LEAGUE STANDINGS

 

NEW YORK LEAGUE AWARD WINNERS

BATSMAN OF THE YEAR

JOSEPH BENTLEY – 30 y/o Second Baseman, Niagara B.B.C.

• .416/.450/.473, .923 OPS, 80 R, 131 H, 13 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 42 RBI, 7 SB, 2.4 WPA, 2.7 WAR
• Hit .423 (61/144) over the last thirty games of the season
• J. Paige (VIC – .325, 6 HR, 69 RBI) 2nd, L. Wood (MUT OF – .400, 27 XBH, 43 RBI) 3rd

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

LEE WOOD – 26 y/o Corner Outfielder, Mutual B.B.C.

• .400/.436/.505, .941 OPS, 78 R, 118 H, 23 2B, 4 3B, 0 HR, 43 RBI, 25 SB, 4.9 WPA, 3.4 WAR
• Raised Batting Average from .399 to .400 on final day of the season (2/4 @ KNI)
• C. Richter (GOT – .336, 57 RBI, 4.6 WPA) 2nd, J. Mattingly (MIN – .334, 53 RBI, 4.1 WPA) 3rd

GOLDEN GLOVES

P: James Raisbeck (CON), C: Ulysses Gallagher (VIC), 1B: Roland Powell (HAR), 2B: Henry Ciccone (MET), 3B: Edward Huntley (ORA), SS: William Reasner (SYR), OF: Millard Root (HAR), CF: William Casilli (NC), OF: William Bennett (EAG)

TEAM OF THE YEAR

P: David Roberts (VIC) – 24-10, 2.63 ERA, 28 CG, 2 SHO, 301.2 IP, 31 BB, 25 K, 1.25 WHIP, 5.5 WAR/8.2 R9WAR
C: Matthew Hample (CON) – .328/.381/.402, 50 R, 97 H, 14 2B, 4 3B, 0 HR, 51 RBI, 2 SB, 2.9 WPA, 1.7 WAR
1B: Garrett Turner (MET) – .347/.384/.430, 59 R, 104 H, 19 2B, 3 3B, 0 HR, 56 RBI, 2 SB, 3.0 WPA, 1.6 WAR
2B: Joseph Bentley (NIA) – .416/.450/.472, 80 R, 131 H, 13 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 42 RBI, 7 SB, 2.4 WPA, 2.7 WAR
3B: Joe Paige (VIC) – .325/.348/.438, 79 R, 103 H, 14 2B, 2 3B, 6 HR, 69 RBI, 14 SB, 2.5 WPA, 1.6 WAR
SS: Carl Keener (MIN) – .315/.332/.357, 68 R, 98 H, 11 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 27 RBI, 15 SB, 2.0 WPA, 2.3 WAR
OF: Chester Ellis (ATL) – .362/.398/.440, 81 R, 115 H, 19 2B, 3 3B, 0 HR, 54 RBI, 20 SB, 3.5 WPA, 2.5 WAR
CF: Charlie Rumbaugh (GOT) – .315/.378/.404, 71 R, 99 H, 22 2B, 3 3B, 0 HR, 55 RBI, 33 SB, 2.2 WPA, 3.0 WAR
OF: Lee Wood (MUT) – .400/.436/.505, .941 OPS, 78 R, 118 H, 23 2B, 4 3B, 0 HR, 43 RBI, 25 SB, 4.9 WPA, 3.4 WAR
MGR: David Durhan (VIC) – 44-26; Victory N.Y.L. Champions; were projected to finish 6th in Upstate Championship

NEW YORK LEAGUE SEASON SUMMARY

The inaugural season of the New York League began on May 6th with much fanfare and excitement, and it remained exciting the whole way. In the end, only 4/24 teams won more than sixty percent of their games while only 2/24 lost more than sixty percent of them.

The Brooklyn Championship was very tight for the entire season, but Nassau County was able to stay on top the entire way thanks to a 7-3 start over the first two weeks combined with the ability to fend off Atlantic and Bedford through multiple ties for first place. With two weeks left Nassau Co. had a five-game lead over the pair, and they were able to coast on in from there.

The race for the New York City Championship was fantastic. Four weeks into the season Knickerbocker, Metropolitan, & Orange were all tied for the lead (12-8) with Hilltop one game behind, while Gotham, Harlem, & Mutual were three games back. The top four teams were four games apart by the middle of June, and by the start of July Metropolitan had opened up a five-game lead on Orange. However, with a week of play left the lead was down to a single game and Knickerbocker was three back, and with two games left Metro was just a single game up over Knickerbocker & Orange. From there, Metropolitan held onto the lead and took the New York City pennant.

The Upstate Championship was Utica’s for the first five to six weeks, but by the middle of June they’d fallen into a three-way tie with Niagara and Victory at 18-12 while Minuteman was a game back. By the end of the month Victory had taken a one-game lead, and they never relinquished it. They had a five-game lead over Minuteman & Niagara by the middle of July, and from there eased on in to finish in first place. Meanwhile, thanks to a 17-3 finish over the last twenty Syracuse shot up from sixth place to second over the season’s last four weeks.

Nassau County were the favorites for the N.Y.L. Semi-Finals, and they acted accordingly in beating Metropolitan in four games. The two teams alternated wins over the first three games – scores being a 10-9 Nassau Co. win in Game One, a 4-2 Metropolitan win in Game Two, and a 3-1 Nassau Co. win in Game Three. Game Four went to extra innings level at 5-5 before Nassau Co. scored four runs to win 9-5 to advance to the N.Y.L. Championship Series.

In the N.Y.L. Championship Series, Nassau County had the 3-1 series result turned on them by #1 seed Victory. Again, the teams alternated wins over the first three games – Victory winning Game One 13-7, Nassau Co. winning Game Two 8-4, and Victory winning Game Three 4-3 with a run in the top of the ninth. Victory jumped out to a 5-0 lead in Game Four and were able to withstand four runs by Nassau Co. over the last three innings to win 5-4 and walk out of the Long Island Base Ball Grounds as the New York League Champions. Victory pitcher David Roberts was named MVP of the N.Y.L.C.S., going 2-0 while allowing just one Earned Run over eighteen innings.

From there Victory’s clutch pitching unfortunately ran out of good fortune, and they were swept in the Tucker-Wheaton Cup. Still, it was an outstanding season for a team originally projected to finish sixth in the Upstate Championship.

In terms of individual achievement, three performances stand out:

On June 18th, Metropolitan outfielder Walt Kirby went 5/6 with a double, home run, five runs scored, and half a dozen RBI during the team’s 19-9 win over Hilltop. (Game Score: 118)

On July 2nd, Victory third baseman Joe Paige became the only player with more than six RBI in a game all season – which stayed that way – when he drove in eight on 3/6 from the plate with a double and a home run in Victory’s 18-0 win against Binghamton. (Game Score: 94)

Finally, on August 5th Syracuse outfielder James Robertson became one of three players all season to score five runs in a game thanks to a 5/6 performance that also featured a double, stolen base, and pair of RBI. (Game Score: 88).