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THE 1868 CUP FIELD IS SET
ONLY ST. JOHN’S RETURNS FROM 1867; KINGS COUNTY IS BACK; TWO ARE IN FOR THE FIRST TIME

NORTHEAST U.S.A. (Aug. 10, 1866) – There were nearly extra games needed, but in the end all regions were decided in 70 games and the Tucker-Wheaton Cup field has been set for 1868.

There is almost total turnover from last year’s TWC field – only St. John’s, and of course it is St. John’s, returns from last year’s group of six. One familiar team is back, two teams have made the postseason for the first time in more than five years, and two teams are playing extracurricular base ball for the first time.

BROOKLYN – Kings County took the Brooklyn pennant for the first time in four years, and no doubt they feel like they are back where they belong. It was a slow march to the Brooklyn title for K.C., as they had a two-game lead over Excelsior at the midway mark, a three-game a few days into July, and a four-game lead by the beginning of August before clinching.

KEY PLAYER: James Peters (P) – 28-9, 2.52 ERA, 321.2 IP, 3 SHO, 54 BB, 36 K, 1.13 WHIP, 4.1 WAR, 10.8 rWAR

NEW YORK CITY – Orange BBC took control of the NYC Championship in July. A 17-6 month saw their two-game lead over defending NBBO champions Knickerbocker swell to seven, and from there they were able to ease on in for their first NYC pennant since 1862 by those same seven games.

KEY PLAYER: Raynard Cordell (P) – 27-8, 2.35 ERA, 337.0 IP, 1 SHO, 40 BB, 35 K, 1.08 WHIP, 5.2 WAR, 11.8 rWAR

UPSTATE N.Y. – Upstate NY was a mess at the start of July, with the top seven teams just seven games apart. Surprising Binghamton led by one game but Niagara moved to the top of the standings with a week left in the month, and from there they held off Flour City & Utica to take the pennant by two games. This is Niagara’s first postseason trip in six years.

KEY PLAYER: Taliesin Buckley (CF) – .348 AVG, .830 OPS, 81 R, 116 H, 31 XBH, 73 RBI, 65 SB, 4.8 WPA, 3.4 WAR

COASTAL – Tied for 1st place with 3x defending Coastal champs Shamrock on July 1st, American went 16-7 over the next month to take control of the Coastal Championship and end up winning it by four games. This is American’s first pennant, one earned after seven other top-four finishes. They are one of two first-timers in this year’s TWC.

KEY PLAYER: William Busby (1B) – .366 AVG, 1.019 OPS, 92 R, 105 H, 35 XBH, 13 HR, 77 RBI, 4.4 WPA, 3.7 WAR

INLAND – Alleghany & Susquehanna took part in an epic battle for Inland. They were a game apart after Week Seven, two games apart on July 1st, one game apart on July 15th, and even one week later. Over the last fourteen games Susquehanna was 9-5 while Alleghany was 8-6, and that meant Susquehanna raised the Inland pennant for the first time.

KEY PLAYER: Elmer Seabold (P) – 29-11, 2.41 ERA, 340.0 IP, 24 CG, 51 BB, 134 K, 1.24 WHIP, 8.1 WAR, 7.1 rWAR

NEW ENGLAND – St. John’s was two games in front of Sons of the Ocean on July 1st. A 20-3 July turned that into a ten-game lead and the team’s eleventh New England title over the NBBO’s twelve seasons, as their mighty offense led the Northeastern League in seemingly every notable category and set more records.

KEY PLAYER: Konrad Jensen (OF) – .403 AVG, 1.088 OPS, 112 R, 123 H, 45 XBH, 81 RBI, 64 SB, 5.7 WPA, 5.1 WAR

THE 1868 TUCKER-WHEATON CUP

FORMAT: Each team plays all others twice, once home and once away, for a total of ten games. The team with the best record wins the cup. A one-game playoff will be held at The Elysian Fields in Manhattan if there is a tie for 1st place. Head-to-Head record and Run Differential will be used as tiebreakers to determine other positions in the case of identical record.

TEAMS: The six entrants to the Tucker-Wheaton Cup, sorted by record & run differential.

• St. John’s (N. England) – 50-20 (+197 RD)
• Orange BBC (NYC) – 49-21 (+162 RD)
• Kings County (Brooklyn) – 49-21 (+121 RD)
• American (Coastal) – 48-22 (+139 RD)
• Susquehanna (Inland) – 48-22 (+84 RD)
• Niagara (Upstate NY) – 43-27 (+107 RD)

SCHEDULE: The tournament is twelve days in length, teams receiving Monday & Tuesday off as they do during the season.

• Aug. 12: Orange at Niagara, St. John’s at American, Kings Co. at Susquehanna
• Aug. 13: Niagara at Susquehanna, St. John’s at Kings Co., American at Orange
• Aug. 14: Niagara at American, St. John’s at Susquehanna, Kings Co. at Orange
• Aug. 15: Niagara at Orange, American at St. John’s, Susquehanna at Kings Co.
• Aug. 16: Niagara at Kings Co., St. John’s at Orange, Susquehanna at American
• Aug. 17: DAY OFF
• Aug. 18: DAY OFF
• Aug. 19: Niagara at St. John’s, Susquehanna at Orange, Kings Co. at American
• Aug. 20: Susquehanna at Niagara, Kings Co. at St. John’s, Orange at American
• Aug. 21: St. John’s at Niagara, Orange at Susquehanna, American at Kings Co.
• Aug. 22: American at Niagara, Susquehanna at St. John’s, Orange at Kings Co.
• Aug. 23: Kings Co. at Niagara, Orange at St. John’s, American at Susquehanna

The Writers Pool has been asked their collective opinion of what they expect from this year’s cup competition, and they have the teams in the following order:

• #1: St. John’s (54-16, 27-8 2nd half, 7-3 last 10, WWWW last 4, 4 cup wins, new NBBO record with 9.8 R/G)
• #2: Kings Co. (49-21, 23-12 2nd half, 8-2 last 10, 2 cup wins, 26-9 Away record best in NBBO)
• #3: American (48-22, 26-9 2nd half, 6-4 last 10, WWW last 3, 1st postseason, 22-13 Away record led NEL)
• #4: Orange (49-21, 25-10 2nd half, 8-2 last 10, 1 cup win, 30-5 Home record best in NBBO)
• #5: Niagara (43-27, 23-12 2nd half, 7-3 last 10, 12.9 Batting WAR & 186 SB led NYL)
• #6: Susquehanna (48-22, 23-12 2nd half, 7-3 last 10, 1st postseason, 13-4 in 1-Run G, Pyth. W-L was 41-29)