[tm1681]

1866 NATIONAL BASE BALL ORGANIZATION REVIEW

WRITERS POOL OBSERVATIONS

Offensive output was up slightly in the 1866 season, with average & OPS up a handful of points in both leagues and runs per game up by 0.1 in both. The N.Y.L. average was 7.1 runs per team per game with the N.E.L. averaging 7.0.

The fact that three teams won 50+ games this past season and a fourth won 49 has concerned N.B.B.O. executives. Teams winning that many games can leave the regional championships functionally decided at the midway point of the season, and it also raises concerns about clubs possibly hoarding talent and giving star players cash under the table to gain their services.

Shamrock came dangerously close to equaling Knickerbocker’s record-setting Runs Allowed total from 1865, and it happened because they had the best defense in N.B.B.O. history. Shamrock took home Golden Gloves at five positions – C, 2B, 3B, SS, & CF – while their team set records for Zone Rating, Fielding Percentage, and fewest Errors over the course of a season.

The St. John’s offense is back on top of the N.B.B.O, and as part of that Konrad Jensen may have to go from “Kid Konrad” to “King Konrad”. He led all N.B.B.O. batsmen in W.P.A. & W.A.R. this past season. He had an O.P.S. over 1.000. He led the N.E.L. in walks & on-base for the sixth time, runs for the third year in a row, and he broke his own record for steals in a season while batting .395. All of that, and he does not turn 28 until next June.

Royal Altman has given Cormack Alexander a run for his money when it comes to the best two-year start from a Newcomer. He set new records for Slugging & Total Bases in 1866, and he did so while leading the N.B.B.O. in O.P.S. & R.B.I. while being the only batsman to hit over .400. This after a debut season in which he led the N.E.L. in doubles & R.B.I. before batting .521 with a 1.281 O.P.S. in cup play. The thought of him improving again for Year Three is frightening.

Syracuse was 49-21 and competitive in the Tucker-Wheaton Cup, but if their front office was wise the team’s roster would be tweaked over the course of the winter. Their Pythagorean Record was only 40-30, with second-place Utica’s also 40-30 and third-place Niagara’s 39-31. Syracuse’s +78 Run Differential was only seven better than those two as well. The reason why Syracuse won 70% of their games was the fact that they were 14-5 (.737) in one-run contests, better than everyone except Shamrock & St. John’s, and were also 6-2 in extra innings. They were lucky this year but might not be so lucky in 1867.

Kings County’s two-year fall from their fifth pennant in six years to last place in Brooklyn has been stunning. They still have plenty of talent but there are major holes in the roster, and just a few issues can be enough to doom a team in Brooklyn. However, they have the most money of any club in Brooklyn and a president that puts the team’s resources to use, so they can bounce back quickly if they improve the left side of the infield and bring in some better pitching.

Peter Boyce followed up his fine debut season with a monstrous second season. He led all second basemen in numerous offensive categories as well as W.P.A. & W.A.R., and at the age of 23 it appears as if Boyce is possibly set to be the best 2B in the sport for the next decade. An American lineup featuring him, Willie Davis, Werner Verstegen, & William Busby has the potential to be devastating if some improvements can be made throughout the rest of the roster.

Port Jersey has had a rough two-year stretch. After winning the Coastal Championship in 1863 & ’64 they have since finished 6th & 7th, even watching Olympic crawl up from last place for the first time since 1858 to best them in the standings. P.J.’s two core stars – Walter Dudley & Edward Donovan – are still there, but the roster around them has seriously degraded.

Mutual has had a long fall from grace. In the first five seasons of the N.B.B.O. their finishes in New York City were 5th, 2nd, 3rd, 1st, & 4th. The last five seasons: 3rd, 5th, 7th, 3rd, & last, with a 20-50 record this season that was the worst in the entire N.B.B.O. They are well-run with good facilities and have one of the stars of the sport in Anderson MacGyver, but the entire organization needs a serious rethink if it wants to be competitive in the years ahead.

There was not much passionate argument about any of the major individual awards this year. It was clear that Ed Huntley was the N.Y.L.’s best batsman, and even though Konrad Jensen had the better overall season Royal Altman’s record-setting campaign for Alleghany could not be ignored when came time to hand out Batsman of the Year in the northeast. Any doubts about Jim Creighton’s value to Excelsior were put to rest with his team’s play during the Tucker-Wheaton Cup, and since Jensen did not get the B.o.t.Y. in the N.E.L. that means he was its Most Valuable Player. John Brown was the only first-year N.Y.L. pitcher to win 20 games and be an All-Star, so Newcomer of the Year was his, and in a similar vein Tom Hicks had to win the N.E.L.’s award since he led the league in wins while pitching for the N.B.B.O. champions.