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TWO .400 HITTERS IN 1862!
HAMALAINEN IN THE N.Y.L. & MULDER IN THE N.E.L. SHARE HONORS; THREE OTHERS CLOSE

BUFFALO, N.Y. & JERSEY CITY, N.J. (Aug. 11, 1861) – The 1862 National Base Ball Organization season came to a close yesterday afternoon, and the season ended with one player in each league hitting over .400: Niagara Club’s Arvi Hämäläinen in the New York League at .421 – a new N.B.B.O. record along with his .486 On-Base and 1.038 O.P.S. – and Port Jersey’s Boudewijn Mulder in the Northeastern League at .416.

Hämäläinen was the best hitter in the New York League for the entire season – his worst month of batsmanship coming in June when he hit “only” .378 with a .968 O.P.S. He spent much of the season as Niagara’s unconventional leadoff hitter, and the change in lineup position clearly paid off. His season totals:

• .421/.486/.552, 1.038 OPS (169 OPS+), 98 R, 122 H, 18 2B, 7 3B, 2 HR, 43 RBI, 32 BB, 16 SB, 3.5 WPA, 4.0 oWAR

Mulder was not the overall N.B.B.O. Batting Champion, but he did do something that had never been done before: he hit .400 or better in every month. Mulder hit .419 in May, .425 in June, .400 in July, and .429 over eight games in August. Whereas Hämäläinen had made great strides in his second season, Mulder was a fifth-year first baseman for Port Jersey who had slowly improved and made the All-Stars Game in 1861. His season totals:

• .416/.455/.505, .960 OPS (156 OPS+), 68 R, 116 H, 18 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 50 RBI, 8 BB, 4 SB, 3.5 WPA, 3.3 oWAR

Three players came agonizingly close to the .400 mark. In the N.Y.L, perennial star Edward Huntley of the Orange Club sat at .398 going into the final week but just could not move his average a couple of points higher, finishing at .397 while leading the league in Hits (123) and Total Bases (170). In the Northeastern League the heartbreak was much worse, as both Ilkka Kivivuori of Reading and two-time defending Batsman of the Year Willie Davis entered the final weekend over .400. Kivivuori was 1/6 over his last two games while Davis was 2/8, and the players finished at .399 and .397 respectively.