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GAYNOR W/ 6 RUNS, BANKS W/ 6 R.B.I. AT CANTABRIGIANS
BANKS ALSO HAD FIVE HITS & three X.B.H; CANTABRIGIANS DEFENSIVE WOES CONTINUE

CAMBRIDGE, MASS. (June 15, 1866) – Oceanic B.C. outfielder Walter Banks has been one of the better batsmen in the Northeastern League so far in 1866, and on Friday afternoon he and teammate John Gaynor decided to heap more misery on an already miserable Cantabrigians team in a dominant Oceanic victory:

Cantabrigians actually had the score tied at 5-5 after four innings but after that it was all Oceanic, who outscored their Massachusetts-based hosts 12-3 over the rest of the contest thanks to a bevy of Cantabrigians mistakes. The stars of the day for Oceanic were their corner outfielders: LF John Gaynor & RF Walter Banks:

GAYNOR

• T1: Reached via Error by P H. Whiteside (scored)
• T3: 1-run Single to CF off H. Whiteside (scored)
• T5: Reached via Error by 1B M. Thyne (stole 2B, scored)
• T6: 1-run Single to CF off H. Whiteside (scored)
• T7: 1-run Single to RF off R. Hahn (scored)
• T9: Reached via Error by SS L. Craig (scored)
• TOTAL: 3/6, 6 R, 3 RBI, SB, 3 TB

BANKS

• T1: Single b/w 1B & 2B off H. Whiteside
• T3: 1-run Triple to LCF off H. Whiteside (scored)
• T5: 1-run Sac Fly to LF off H. Whiteside
• T6: 2-run Triple to RCF off H. Whiteside
• T7: 2-run Double to RCF off R. Hahn
• T9: Infield Single off R. Hahn
• TOTAL: 5/6, 2B, 2 3B, 1 R, 6 RBI, 10 TB

Gaynor & Banks worked brilliantly in tandem in Cambridge. Four of the six times Gaynor reached base Banks was the batsman who drove him in. Banks’ day placed him among the N.B.B.O. leaders in R.B.I. at 35, and it has put him at a pace for 4.0 W.A.R. or better over the entire season. Gaynor has had more of a struggle so far in 1866, but his performance raised his average to .289 with 38 runs scored after 32 games.

Gaynor reached three times via Cantabrigians errors, and indeed it was the Cantabrigians defense that was their undoing here. As a team they committed thirteen fielding mistakes – SS Lawrence Craig leading the way with three, five other fielders with two each, and 3B Hoyt Woodford with one.

That level of “defense” has been a theme for the 7-26 Cantabrigians, a team that has never been a solid contender for the New England Championship but has never been this miserable. They are currently on a pace to finish the season with the worst defense in N.B.B.O. history in each the four main defensive metrics: Errors, Fielding %, Efficiency, and Zone Rating. In particular, their current zone rating of -45.4 after 32 games is nearly THREE TIMES WORSE than any of the other 47 other teams in the N.B.B.O. (Oceanic: -15.4). They have two fielders who grade as high as a 60/80 at their positions: SS Lawrence Craig & C Richard Norlander. Everyone else is average or worse. CF Henry Goodale is a 40/80 and has easily been the worst as his position in the N.E.L. 2B Theodore Albrecht has a Zone Rating of -15.4 in just 32 games, and their outfield collectively has a Zone Rating of roughly -11.0.

Such putrid defense has left Cantabrigians’ two main pitchers, Hugh Whiteside & Lemuel Zimmerman, with no chance to succeed, and that in turn has left the team with the worst record in the entire N.B.B.O. even though their pitchers currently sit at ninth out of 24 teams in the N.E.L. in Pitching W.A.R (4.6).

On one hand, it was a day to remember for Oceanic and two of their players in particular. On the other hand, it was another day to forget in what is almost certain to be a season everyone at Cantabrigians will want to forget .