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WHAT IS THE SECRET TO CORMACK’S SUCCESS?
KINGS COUNTY STAR ON HIS WAY TO 3RD BATTING TITLE IN THREE YEARS OF ORGANIZED BASE BALL

BROOKLYN (May 28, 1866) – The 1866 base ball season is nearing the end of its first month, and already a familiar theme is emerging: the most technically gifted batsman in the New York League, and the N.Y.L. leader in Batting Average so far, has been 26-year-old Kings County first baseman Cormack Alexander, the two-time defending N.Y.L. Batting Champion.

Alexander’s first two-plus seasons in organized base ball have been a case study in technical excellence. He set National Base Ball Organization records for Batting Average (.430) and Hits (138) in his first season. He followed that up with an 1865 season that was not as spectacular, but one in which he led the New York League in average and hits once again. After Week Four of the 1866 N.B.B.O. season, Alexander is – surprise, surprise – at the top of the N.Y.L. in average & hits.

Alexander’s batting statistics so far in 1866:

• 20 G, .450 AVG (36/80), 1.153 OPS (219 OPS+), 16 R, 11 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 22 RBI, 1.7 WPA, 1.3 WAR

How did Alexander become such a seamless fit into the Kings County lineup, and how did he immediately become such a dominant batsman? First, a look at how he came to Kings County in the first place.

Cormack Alexander is an Irish immigrant from Skerries who came to New York City with his family during the Great Famine that started in Ireland roughly twenty years ago and ended in 1852. As a teenager he picked up the nascent game of base ball and began playing it with informal clubs around New York & Brooklyn, quickly gaining a reputation as technician with the bat. By the summer of 1863 he was known to every club in the Brooklyn & New York City championships, and it became a matter of which metropolitan area club would gain his services.

Just three days into 1864, Kings County rang in the new year by landing the coveted services of Alexander. The club seemed well-suited to Cormack’s technical batting skills since their home of Washington Park was known to be very friendly to left-handed batsmen like him, and their team had long been an offensive powerhouse. Alexander went straight into the Kings Co. lineup at first base to start the season, and the rest was N.B.B.O. history.

What makes Cormack Alexander such a highly technical batsman? For starters, his ability to make contact with the ball:

Alexander’s career in contact, with the first four weeks of the 1866 season included:

• 160 G, 769 PA, 710 AB, .408 AVG, .401 BABIP, 290 H, 29 BB, 8 K

Alexander simply does not miss. When he gets a pitch that he wants to swing at he makes contact, and it is consistently solid contact. Even as the Kings Co. team has, unfortunately, weakened around him Alexander’s batting approach has remained the same as it was when he debuted for the 1864 K.C. team that broke the N.B.B.O. record for runs in a season.

Cormack Alexander is more than just a naturally gifted batsman. He is known to work tirelessly on his technique, to adapt quickly to the circumstances at hand, and to be an excellent squad member to be around. His personality complements his talents, and the talents that are in the possession of Cormack Alexander have made him one of the most feared & respected batsmen in the sport.

Cormack Alexander is not the most talented player in the sport of base ball - names like Edward Huntley, Willie Davis, and Konrad Jensen come to mind - but when it comes to the most important skill of all – hitting the ball – there are but a few who can measure up to his level of brilliance.