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THE 1869 SEASON: THE HALFWAY POINT
TWO REGIONS VERY CLOSE; LEADERS ENJOYING BIG LEADS ELSEWHERE

NORTHEAST U.S.A. (June 23, 1869) – Seven weeks of play have been completed in the 1869 NBBO season, meaning that half of the schedule is finished.

Here are how the six regions look at the halfway point:

• BROOKLYN: Atlantic in 1st at 22-13 (Continental, Eckford, Kings Co., & Nassau Co. 3 GB; Excelsior 4 GB)
• NEW YORK CITY: Gotham in 1st at 25-10 (Knickerbocker 2 GB)
• UPSTATE N.Y.: Flour City in 1st at 28-7 (Utica 8 GB)
• COASTAL: Shamrock in 1st at 28-7 (Mass. Bay 7 GB)
• INLAND: Alleghany in 1st at 25-10 (Sportsman’s 1 GB)
• NEW ENGLAND: St. John’s in 1st at 21-14 (Portland & S.o.t.O. 2 GB; Oceanic 3 GB, Granite & Cantabrigians 4 GB)

The two areas of focus after Week Seven are Brooklyn & New England.

It is anybody’s guess who will take the Brooklyn pennant, given how tightly packed the top six teams are in the standings. Atlantic has never won the Brooklyn Championship, and they have to be very wary of Excelsior & Kings County since both teams have significant pennant chase and postseason experience. Continental is also a significant danger, as their Run Differential of +95 does not square up with their 19-16 record. They are 1-7 in one-run games, so with more luck Continental would be in top spot. Eckford & Nassau Co. have been outscored by 15-20 runs each, so their records are due to a bit of luck.

In New England just seven wins separate top from bottom in the regional standings. However, nearly everybody is running under the assumption that St. John’s will do the usual and pull away from the competition over the second half of the season. Still, nothing is guaranteed.

The closest region is technically Inland, but it is essentially a two-team race between Alleghany & Sportsman’s since the two teams tied for third are eight games back. Alleghany has to be seen as the favorite for the second half – they are 19-6 since their 6-4 start, and they are currently on pace to become the first team ever to score 10.0 runs per game for a full season.

New York City is more of the same – Gotham is just ahead of Knickerbocker, and the teams tied for third place are eight games back. It really looks like NYC could go either way.

Upstate & Coastal have clearly dominant teams. Flour City has won ten straight games and James Goodman (18-1, 1.95 ERA, 61 K, 5.7 WAR) is looking an easy bet to break the single-season Wins record. Shamrock is in control of Coastal with the best collective pitching & defense in the NBBO.