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THE 1861 N.B.B.O. PREVIEW

NORTHEAST U.S.A. (May 1, 1861) – Today is May Day, and the first day of May this year also marks the opening day of season number five for the Nationial Base Ball Organization! That also means it is time for the Writers Pool to reveal their preseason prognostications.

It should surprise few to know this, but defending league champions Kings County (N.Y.L.) and St. John’s (N.E.L.) are favored to return to the playoffs this year, while three potential debutants are considered favorites to win their city/region championships.

After two years of being known as the league featuring more aggressive, attacking base ball, the Writers Pool expects offensive numbers in the New York League & Northeastern League to revert back to being roughly equal in 1861. This is in part because the N.Y.L. brought in the bulk of the new talent over the winter, most notably Gotham B.B.C. and their five talented newcomers to organized base ball.

The N.B.B.O. as a whole is expected to be a little bit more competitive in 1861. The Writers Pool expects no team to win fifty or more games in 1861, and they expect only two or three teams to win less than 25. Every team in the Upstate New York Championship is predicted to win more than 30 games. Five of the six city & regional championships are expected to be decided by five games or fewer, with Brooklyn the outlier as Kings County is favored to take first place by eleven games.

Even though there were two .400 hitters last year – both in the N.E.L. – the Writers Pool does not see anybody reaching that mark this season. The closest they see anybody getting is about .390, but of course predictions can be wrong. They also expect one pitcher to win 25 games, but once again for nobody to come close to the record of thirty that Scranton’s John Anderson set in the inaugural season.

Finally, the Writers Pool has put in writing their predictions for the league standings and individual awards, and as usual those are listed below:

PROJECTED NEW YORK LEAGUE STANDINGS

Kings County enters 1861 with a sixteen-game winning streak that carries over from last season, and they are THE favorites to take the N.Y.L. pennant again since they lost exactly one regular starter: 2B Roy Gregg to Lake Erie.

The Writers Pool has named Gotham the N.Y.C. favorites because of the quality of new talent they brought in during the offseason. If Gotham takes the N.Y.C. title, it would mark their first time as playoff participants. Should they falter, expect Orange & Knickerbocker to be right there to take advantage.

Upstate New York, as always, looks very competitive. Utica are considered the favorites, but given the past history of predictions in Upstate that means little – Flour City won it last year after being picked to finish sixth.

PROJECTED NORTHEASTERN LEAGUE STANDINGS

Shamrock is being tipped for their fourth Coastal pennant in five years, but it will be interesting to see if Mass. Bay – runners-up the last two seasons – can finally overtake their Boston rivals. Once again, they look the two Coastal favorites.

Merrimack Mills are favored by a decent amount in the Inland Championship thanks to a trio of quality newcomers. It would be their first time in the playoffs should they prove the Writers Pool’s prediction correct.

Yet again St. John’s are expected to take first place in New England, but the Writers Pool is looking for Green Mountain to give them another grueling chase for the pennant. Sons of the Ocean could sneak up to the top as well.

NEW YORK LEAGUE AWARD FAVORITES

BATSMAN OF THE YEAR

• FAVORITE: Edward Huntley (SS, ORA) – .370-.380, 25-30 XBH, 40-50 RBI, 25-30 SB
• SECOND: Carl Keener (SS, MIN) – .370-.380, 20-25 XBH, 45-55 RBI, 20-25 SB
• THIRD: Joseph Bentley (2B, NIA) – .370-.380, 15-20 XBH, 50-60 RBI, 5-10 SB
• OTHERS: John Francis (LF, K.C.), Soren Thomsen (RF, K.C.), Walter Driscoll (LF, MUT), Anthony Littleton (CF, NIA), Jerald Peterson (3B, K.C.), Alistair Jones (CF, MUT), Henry Ciccone (2B, MET)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

• FAVORITE: Jerald Peterson (3B, K.C.) – .350-.360, 30-35 XBH, 55-65 RBI, 10-15 SB
• SECOND: Edward Huntley (SS, ORA) – .370-.380, 25-30 XBH, 40-50 RBI, 25-30 SB
• THIRD: Alistair Jones (CF, MUT) – .350-.360, 20-25 XBH, 30-40 RBI, 40-45 SB
• OTHERS: Per Olaf Bakken (SS, K.C.), Juriaan Kerstens (2B, BED), Carl Keener (SS, MIN), Arthur Kiessling (CF, CON), Jackson Smith (C, NIA), Wilson Clark (CF, HAR), Albert Jones (CF, KNI)

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR

• FAVORITE: Hamish Barclay (2B, GOT) – 28 y/o, 4.5 STAR, 70 CON, 65 GAP, 60 SPD, 60 STL, 65 FLD
• SECOND: Taliesin Buckley (LF, GOT) – 24 y/o, 3.5 STAR, 65 CON, 60 GAP, 70 SPD, 80+ STL, 65 FLD
• THIRD: Wesley Leone (3B, EXC) – 25 y/o, 3.5 STAR, 55 CON, 70 GAP, 50 EYE, 65 STL, 70 FLD
• OTHERS: Sullivan Jackson (3B, GOT), Wilbert Schrader (C, GOT), Ashley Boyce (SS, MET), William Titus (P, GOT), William Strausbaugh (SS, N.C.), Jonathan German (RF, UNI), Arvi Hämäläinen (LF, NIA)

TEAM OF THE YEAR

• P: Aldous Nelson (K.C.), C: James Hoddle (F.C.), 1B: John Bateman (SYR), 2B: Juriaan Kerstens (BED), 3B: Jerald Peterson (K.C.), SS: Edward Huntley (ORA), OF: Walter Driscoll (MUT), CF: Anthony Littleton (NIA), OF: Soren Thomsen (K.C.)

NORTHEASTERN LEAGUE AWARD FAVORITES

BATSMAN OF THE YEAR

• FAVORITE: Anderson MacGyver (2B, STJ) – .380-.390, 30-35 XBH, 70-80 RBI, 25-30 SB
• SECOND: Willie Davis (CF, SUS) – .365-.375, 30-35 XBH, 35-45 RBI, 55-65 SB
• THIRD: Paul Kronenberg (LF, SPO) – .370-.380, 25-30 XBH, 50-60 RBI, 20-25 SB
• OTHERS: Collin Henderson (1B, STJ), Willie Smith (2B, ALL), Joseph Forrest (1B, QUI), Arthur Waltrip (CF, AME), Ernest Lewis (2B, QUI), Konrad Jensen (RF, STJ), Samuel Kessler (3B, S.o.t.O.)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

• FAVORITE: Anthony Mascherino (SS, G.M.) – .340-.350, 25-30 XBH, 55-65 RBI, 20-25 SB
• SECOND: Willie Davis (CF, SUS) – .365-.375, 30-35 XBH, 35-45 RBI, 55-65 SB
• THIRD: Konrad Jensen (RF, STJ) – .355-.365, 25-30 XBH, 55-65 RBI, 60-70 SB
• OTHERS: Samuel Kessler (3B, S.o.t.O.), Anderson MacGyver (2B, STJ), Thomas Maloney (LF, SHA), William Johnson (LF, STJ), Roy Jacobson (C, SCR), Arthur Waltrip (CF, AME), Curtis Bowman (CF, M.B.)

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR

• FAVORITE: Leslie Arnett (2B, M.M.) – 26 y/o, 4.5 STAR, 65 CON, 45 GAP, 35 SPD, 65 STL, 80 FLD
• SECOND: Henry Konrad (2B, PORT) – 26 y/o, 4.0 STAR, 60 CON, 60 GAP, 60 SPD, 80 STL, 70 FLD
• THIRD: William Booth (3B, OCE) – 26 y/o, 3.5 STAR, 65 CON, 70 GAP, 65 SPD, 65 STL, 55 FLD
• OTHERS: Albert Brock (SS, S.o.t.O.), Winford Kerry (CF, T.U.), Edward Bienstock (2B, OCE), Silvestro Masci (CF, M.M.), Bengt Laudrup (P, M.M.), Oscar Bibbs (P, M.B.), Oscar Sherrill (P, NEW)

TEAM OF THE YEAR

• P: John McGowan (STJ), C: Roy Jacobson (SCR), 1B: Joseph Forrest (QUI), 2B: Anderson MacGyver (STJ), 3B: Samuel Kessler (S.o.t.O.), SS: Anthony Mascherino (G.M.), OF: Paul Kronenberg (SPO), CF: Willie Davis (SUS), OF: Konrad Jensen (STJ)