[tm1681]

1862 NEW YORK LEAGUE REVIEW

NEW YORK LEAGUE SEASON SUMMARY

The 1862 New York League season was supposed to be dominated by upstart clubs, at least if the Writers Pool was to be believed. Excelsior, Orange, and Niagara were the three favorites to advance to the revamped Tucker-Wheaton Cup, and between the three they had made one playoff appearance over the five-year history of the N.B.B.O. Unfortunately for the favored trio, this was not to be.

The Brooklyn Championship was believed to be completely up for grabs after Grover Wright left Kings County to join Niagara. Excelsior was picked to finish 1st with a 42-28 record, while Bedford was the expected caboose at 29-41. That projected difference was the smallest since the N.B.B.O.’s inaugural season.

After a month, those projections mostly held true. Excelsior was at the top with a 13-7 record and four teams were within two games. The only real surprise was the unexpectedly poor Nassau County at 5-15. Halfway through the season Excelsior was in control with a league-best 26-9 record and a five-game lead, but in short order Excelsior’s season would suffer a total collapse. Over the second set of seven weeks, the Excelsior Club would go 15-20 while Kings County, solidly in third, would go 24-11 to shock everyone and win the Brooklyn Championship for the fifth consecutive year.

In contrast, the New York City Championship went exactly as predicted. Orange B.B.C. finished first, with Gotham, Mutual, and Knickerbocker the other three teams in the top half of the standings. That said, it was an exciting end to the season in N.Y.C. as Orange and Mutual were tied at 38-22 with two weeks left to play. Orange was able to break open a one-game lead heading into the final week, and from there won their final five games to take the pennant.

The Upstate Championship was supposed to be Niagara’s after they added Grover Wright and the N.B.B.O.’s most talented newcomer: Luther Tatum. Snakebitten Niagara, yet to make the postseason, was never in the lead. On June 1st they were a game behind Syracuse at 12-8, at the halfway mark they were actually in 4th at two games behind Syracuse, and with two weeks left they were in 3rd and still a couple of games behind first place. Niagara could never close the gap.

Instead, it would be Utica’s year. They spent much of the season hovering near first place before tying for the lead with three weeks to play. From that point on they were the best team in Upstate, won the championship by two games, and Utica would be making their first appearance in the postseason.

Of course, there were no league playoffs this year, with the three regional champions advancing directly to the Tucker-Wheaton Cup. Unfortunately, the three New York League teams did not fare well, with the three teams placing third, fourth, and fifth.

Utica’s Tucker-Wheaton Cup started off poorly, with an away loss against Alleghany and a home loss against Shamrock. They were able to turn things around quickly, winning their next three games to become one of four 3-2 teams halfway through the competition. They then beat Orange to go 4-2, but from there the Upstate Champions lost three of their last four games, closing out their cup run with a 12-3 loss at St. John’s.

Kings County had a forgettable Tucker-Wheaton Cup. Rooted at the bottom of the standings nearly the entire way, K.C. lost four of their first five games. Even though they were two games out at the halfway mark of the competition, the team looked completely out of contention. K.C. then lost two of their next three to fall to 2-6 and become the first team eliminated. K.C. was able to salvage something from the T.W.C., as they won the last two games in extra innings: a 10-9 win vs Utica in 11 innings and a 5-4 win at Orange in ten.

Orange had arguably the unluckiest Tucker-Wheaton Cup. They were 3-7 but finished 5th thanks to a positive Run Differential of +4. Their wins were all big: a 14-5 win vs Alleghany, an 11-6 win vs St. John’s, and a 10-4 at Kings County. The cumulative score in those three games was 35-15. Five of Orange’s seven losses were by 1-2 runs, with only their 10-6 loss at St. John’s on Gameday one being truly lopsided. Orange lost twice in Extra Innings, and with more luck they would have finished in the top two.

After its teams had taken home the Tucker-Wheaton Cup in each of the previous three seasons, this was not the New York League’s year. The Northeastern League had the two most talented teams in the sport, and they came out on top.

When it came time to give out the annual awards for excellence, there was one clear candidate for N.Y.L. Batsman of the Year: Niagara B.B.C’s Arvi Hämäläinen. The Finnish first baseman had a solid first season in 1861, batting .362 with six Home Runs (led N.Y.L.) and 59 R.B.I. For year two, Niagara manager Ray McNew decided to make Hämäläinen an unorthodox leadoff hitter. Hämäläinen is not quick and does not have a lot of gap power, but what he can do is be patient at the plate and frequently make solid contact with the ball. The results: Hämäläinen set N.B.B.O. records for Average (.421), On-Base (.552), and O.P.S. (1.038) while also leading the N.Y.L. in Walks (32) & Runs (98). He was B.o.t.Y. with more than two-thirds of the vote.

There were two other outstanding batsmen in the N.Y.L. who stood above the rest, but just not as tall as Hämäläinen. Orange superstar Edward Huntley hit .390, led the league in Hits (123) & Total Bases (170), and easily led all batsmen in W.A.R. (4.6). He finished second. Hämäläinen’s teammate Joseph Bentley, the first N.Y.L. Batsman of the Year, finished in third thanks to a .390 average, an O.P.S. well over .900 (.927), and 63 R.B.I.

While Huntley was the runner-up for B.o.t.Y, he ran away with the N.Y.L. Most Valuable Player award. In addition to his prodigious hitting – his O.P.S. of .984 also broke the previous record of .977 by Joseph Forrest – he played Golden Glove defense at shortstop (+17.6 ZR) for the New York City champions. Nobody could hold a candle to that level of achievement.

The aforementioned Bentley of Niagara finished second thanks to a W.P.A. of 3.9 in addition to his excellent batsmanship in the middle of the Niagara lineup. Second-year Gotham center fielder Taliesin Buckley finished third. Buckley led the league in Triples (15) and Stolen Bases (47) while hitting .353 and finishing second to Huntley in W.A.R. (3.4).

While there were numerous quality newcomers in the New York League in 1862, contention for Newcomer of the Year came down to two batsmen and a pitcher:

• Niagara’s Luther Tatum was the most highly-regarded incoming signing of the winter: a four-star talent that a number of N.Y.L. clubs wanted and many figured would flourish in Niagara’s unique venue. He hit .366 with two Home Runs, sixty R.B.I., 47 Stolen Bases, and a W.A.R. of 2.3.

• Binghamton center fielder Wagner Morris was an unheralded local signing from an independent club, one who was presumed to be their opening day CF because the team was 24-46 last year. Instead, he hit .371 with 119 Hits, 53 R.B.I., 3.2 W.P.A. and a W.A.R. of 3.1.

• Harry Nettles was viewed as a decent addition to the Empire pitching rotation when the Philadelphian joined the club last October. In his first season Nettles was 18-15 with a 3.58 E.R.A, and more importantly he authored the third No-Hitter in N.B.B.O. history on August 3rd.

In the end, the voters gave the N.o.t.Y. award to Morris because he was a big surprise and his production came from perhaps the most important non-pitching position: center field. Nettles finished second – his No-Hitter was factored in – and Tatum finished third.

The two most memorable individual performances in the N.Y.L. in 1862 had to be the two No-Hitters pitched at opposite ends of the season. Not even a week into the season, Atlantic’s Arthur Smith completed the second No-Hitter in N.B.B.O. history when he completed the trick in an 8-1 win over Nassau County. On August 3rd, Harry Nettles pitched the N.B.B.O’s third No-Hitter in a 7-0 win over Bedford.

The best performance by a New York League batsman this season goes to Minuteman’s Samuel Pezzi. During his team’s July 5th home game against Binghamton, Pezzi hit 4/6 with a three-run double, a two-run double, and a three-run homer to tie the N.B.B.O. record for R.B.I. in a game with eight.

The most surprising team of the season was certainly Kings County. While Utica’s first-place finish in the Upstate Championship was its own surprise, they had been runners-up in each of the previous three seasons. It was widely assumed that Kings County would drop two or three places in the Brooklyn Championship standings after losing Grover Wright, and after finishing the first half of the season in third place their second half surge saw K.C. atop Brooklyn for the fifth season in a row. They also had the N.Y.L’s best Run Differential at +163.

With all entrants now having an equal chance to compete and win the Tucker-Wheaton Cup, it was clear that the New York League’s best were not the equal of their Northeastern League brethren. There are only so many things the clubs can do to make that change – especially given the highly competitive nature of all three championships – but hopefully the N.Y.L. can make a better showing of itself next year and back up the common opinion that it is home to the best base ball.


NEW YORK LEAGUE STANDINGS

BROOKLYN		 W	 L	 PCT	GB	 R	 RA	  RD
Kings Co.		44	16	.629	--	558	395	+163
Empire (1)		41	29	.586	3	466	467	  -1
Excelsior		41	29	.586	3	455	430	 +25
Atlantic		38	32	.543	6	500	466	 +34
Eckford			34	36	.486	10	460	490	 -30
Continental		31	39	.443	13	428	451	 .23
Bedford			26	44	.371	18	422	489	 -67
Nassau Co.		25	45	.357	19	431	532	-101
 
N. Y. C.		 W	 L	 PCT	GB	 R	 RA	  RD
Orange			44	26	.629	--	575	459	+116
Gotham			43	27	.614	1	555	447	+108
Mutual			42	28	.600	2	540	498	 +42
Knickerbocker	        36	34	.514	8	414	468	 -54
Harlem			34	36	.486	10	479	463	 +16
Union			32	38	.457	12	494	564	 -70
Metropolitan	        27	43	.386	17	448	517	 -69
Hilltop			22	48	.314	22	386	475	 -89


UPSTATE			 W	 L	 PCT	GB	 R	 RA	  RD
Utica			41	29	.586	--	517	439	 +78
Niagara (1)		39	31	.557	2	597	507	 +90
Syracuse		39	31	.557	2	469	453	 +16
Eagle			36	34	.514	5	431	421	 +10
Victory			35	35	.500	6	497	454	 +43
Binghamton		32	38	.457	9	507	580	 -73
Flour City (1)	        29	41	.414	12	499	551	 -52
Minuteman		29	41	.414	12	433	545	-112

(1) = Won Head-to-Head Results tiebreaker

TUCKER-WHEATON CUP

UTICA BASE BALL CLUB: 3rd Place – 5-5 (61 R, 66 RA)

Game 1: UTI 2-4 ALL
Game 2: SHA 8-7 UTI
Game 3: UTI 6-3 SHA (10 Inn.)
Game 4: ALL 4-6 UTI
Game 5: ORA 4-6 UTI
Game 6: UTI 8-5 ORA
Game 7: STJ 10-7 UTI
Game 8: K.C. 6-7 UTI
Game 9: UTI 9-10 K.C. (11 Inn.)
Game 10: UTI 3-12 STJ

BEST PLAYER: Carl Bancroft – 4-2, 2.82 ERA, 51.0 IP, 5 CG, 0 SHO, 11 BB, 4 K, 1.14 WHIP, 0.6 WAR

KINGS COUNTY BASE BALL CLUB: 4th Place – 4-6 (68 R, 71 RA)

Game 1: SHA 1-4 K.C.
Game 2: K.C. 13-3 STJ
Game 3: STJ 9-6 K.C.
Game 4: K.C. 10-11 SHA (10 Inn.)
Game 5: K.C. 4-6 ALL
Game 6: ALL 8-9 K.C.
Game 7: ORA 10-4 K.C.
Game 8: K.C. 6-7 UTI
Game 9: UTI 9-10 K.C. (11 Inn.)
Game 10: K.C. 5-4 ORA (10 Inn.)

BEST PLAYER: John Francis – .404 (19/47), .949 OPS, 12 R, 6 2B, 0 3B, 9 RBI, 3 SB, 0.98 WPA, 0.6 WAR

ORANGE BASE BALL CLUB: 5th Place – 3-7 (69 R, 65 RA)

Game 1: ORA 6-10 STJ
Game 2: ORA 4-5 ALL
Game 3: ALL 5-14 ORA
Game 4: STJ 6-11 ORA
Game 5: ORA 4-6 UTA
Game 6: UTI 8-5 ORA
Game 7: ORA 10-4 K.C.
Game 8: SHA 10-8 ORA (10)
Game 9: ORA 3-6 SHA
Game 10: K.C. 5-4 ORA (10)

BEST PLAYER: Edward Lindsey – 2-2, 2.91 ERA, 34.0 IP, 4 CG, 0 SHO, 4 BB, 5 K, 1.26 WHIP, 0.7 WAR


NEW YORK LEAGUE AWARD WINNERS

BATSMAN OF THE YEAR: Arvi Hämäläinen – 28 y/o 1B, Niagara B.B.C.

• .421/.486/.552, 1.038 OPS, 98 R, 122 H, 18 2B, 7 3B, 2 HR, 43 RBI, 32 BB, 16 SB, 3.5 WPA, 3.3 WAR
• Set N.B.B.O. records for Average, On-Base, & O.P.S.
• Edward Huntley (SS, ORA) 2nd – .397/.436/.548, 75 R, 123 H, 0 HR, 60 RBI, 24 BB, 29 SB, 3.0 WPA, 4.6 WAR
• Joseph Bentley (2B, NIA) 3rd – .390/.448/.479, 65 R, 114 H, 1 HR, 63 RBI, 30 BB, 9 SB, 3.9 WPA, 2.8 WAR

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Edward Huntley – 26 y/o SS, Orange B.B.C. (2nd M.V.P. award)

• .397/.436/.548, 75 R, 123 H, 23 2B, 12 3B, 0 HR, 60 RBI, 24 2B, 29 SB, 170 TB, +17.6 ZR, 3.0 WPA, 4.6 WAR
• Led N.Y.L. in Batter WAR for the fifth time; won fifth consecutive Golden Glove at SS
• Joseph Bentley (2B, NIA) 2nd – .390/.448/.479, 65 R, 114 H, 1 HR, 63 RBI, 30 BB, 9 SB, 3.9 WPA, 2.8 WAR
• Taliesin Buckley (CF, GOT) 3rd – .353/.381/.521, 85 R, 112 H, 15 3B, 56 RBI, 12 BB, 47 SB, 2.7 WPA, 3.4 WAR

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Wagner Morris – 24 y/o OF, Binghamton B.B.C.

• .371/.401/.477, .877 OPS, 84 R, 119 H, 18 2B, 8 3B, 0 HR, 53 RBI, 15 BB, 18 SB, 3.2 WPA, 3.1 WAR
• Led all N.Y.L. newcomers in Hits, Slugging, Total Bases, O.P.S, & W.A.R.
• Harry Nettles (P, EMP) 2nd – 18-15, 3.58, 284.1 IP, 2 SHO, 49 BB, 42 K, 1.43 WHIP, 4.5 WAR, NO-HITTER (Aug. 3)
• Luther Tatum (OF, NIA) 3rd – .366/.395/.476, 68 R, 116 H, 2 HR, 60 RBI, 14 BB, 45 SB, 2.7 WPA, 2.3 WAR

GOLDEN GLOVES

P: Clifford Holmes (CON, 1st) – 87 TC, 4 DP, 6 E, 2.5 RNG, +6.2 ZR, 1.15 EFF
C: John Plotts (HAR, 1st) – 129 PB, 30.3 CS%, 3.42 C-ERA, +8.5 ZR, 1.14 EFF
1B: John Bateman (SYR, 1st) – 739 TC, 57 AST, 26 DP, 13 E, +6.3 ZR, 1.10 EFF
2B: James Lovett (N.C, 1st) – 467 TC, 190 PO, 231 AST, 29 DP, 46 E, 6.3 RNG, +13.0 ZR, 1.09 EFF
3B: Fred Whaley (ECK, 4th) – 272 TC, 57 PO, 193 AST, 12 DP, 22 E, 3.6 RNG, +12.3 ZR, 1.12 EFF
SS: Edward Huntley (ORA, 5th) – 445 TC, 121 PO, 282 AST, 35 DP, 42 E, 5.8 RNG, +17.6 ZR, 1.15 EFF
OF: John Murphy (EXC, 2nd) – 216 TC, 199 PO, 1 AST, 0 DP, 16 E, 3.0 RNG, +9.1 ZR, 1.08 EFF
CF: Declan Brice (K.C, 2nd) – 310 TC, 278 PO, 14 AST, 1 DP, 18 E, 4.2 RNG, +8.6 ZR, 1.05 EFF
OF: Hiram Majors (ATL, 1st) – 248 TC, 221 PO, 3 AST, 0 DP, 24 E, 3.3 RNG, +8.0 ZR, 1.06 EFF

TEAM OF THE YEAR

P: Harry Nilsson (GOT, 1st) - 23-8, 3.59 ERA, 310.2 IP, 24 CG, 0 SHO, 58 BB, 38 K, 1.45 WHIP, 4.6 WAR, 7.8 R9-WAR
C: James Hoddle (F.C, 2nd) - .367/.385/.436, 55 R, 106 H, 18 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 49 RBI, 8 BB, 1 SB, 2.3 WPA, 1.6 WAR
1B: Arvi Hämäläinen (NIA, 1st) - .421/.486/.552, 1.038 OPS, 98 R, 122 H, 18 2B, 7 3B, 2 HR, 43 RBI, 32 BB, 16 SB, 3.5 WPA, 3.3 WAR, B.o.t.Y.
2B: Joseph Bentley (NIA, 4th) - .390/.448/.479, 65 R, 114 H, 15 2B, 4 3B, 1 HR, 63 RBI, 30 BB, 9 SB, 3.9 WPA, 2.8 WAR
3B: Kieran Bulock (UNI, 1st) - .364/.376/.435, 51 R, 103 H, 15 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 57 RBI, 7 BB, 3 SB, 2.3 WPA, 1.5 WAR
SS: Edward Huntley (ORA, 3rd) - .397/.436/.548, 75 R, 123 H, 23 2B, 12 3B, 60 RBI, 24 BB, 29 SB, 170 TB, 3.0 WPA, 4.6 WAR, M.V.P./G.G.
OF: William LaValliere (MUT, 2nd) - .364/.403/.504, 68 R, 102 H, 24 2B, 6 3B, 1 HR, 51 RBI, 11 BB, 8 SB, 2.8 WPA, 2.4 WAR
CF: Taliesin Buckley (GOT, 1st) - .353/.381/.521, 85 R, 112 H, 23 2B, 15 3B, 0 HR, 56 RBI, 12 BB, 47 SB, 2.7 WPA, 3.4 WAR
OF: Hiram Majors (ATL, 1st) - .332/.347/.463, 72 R, 102 H, 25 2B, 6 3B, 1 HR, 56 RBI, 7 BB, 24 SB, 3.4 WPA, 2.7 WAR, G.G.
MGR: Mason Ashworth (UTA) - 41-29 – Utica won their 1st Upstate championship; had finished 2nd previous three seasons