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1872 AMERICAN PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL LEAGUE REVIEW

WRITERS POOL OBSERVATIONS

As in the NBBO, the major change to the pitching regulations had a noticeable impact on offensive output. Scoring was down 12.9% (7.0 R/G to 6.1), Extra-Base Hits decreased by 25.1% even though Batting Average only dropped from .286 to .284, and Bases on Balls were cut by 28.6%. The increased control and spin on the ball that was granted to pitchers when they were allowed to snap their wrists while delivering to the batsman made it more difficult to draw Bases on Balls and more difficult to make solid contact.

ALLEGHANY: They need a bat. John Sampson wasn’t close to an equal replacement for Royal Altman, and while Samuel Kessler hit .345 (.814 OPS) he turns 37 at the start of next season. Kessler’s replacement at 3B, Frank Doherty, was a worthy All-Star due to his amazing defense, but he had a light bat that delivered a sub-600 OPS (.592).

AMERICAN: An incredible season. They matched St. John’s with a 29-16 record over the 2nd half and snatched the Metropolitan pennant from Gotham in the last week of the season before stunning St. John’s in the cup by winning games 6 & 7 on their turf. William Busby keeps hitting Home Runs, Willie Davis looks ageless, Franklin Petty was as good as expected, and Charles Sturch – a #1 prospect for about four years – finally put together an All-Star campaign.

EXCELSIOR: Anything to decrease their reliance on Jim Creighton. They had a better Win% than the champions when he pitched and had the worst Win% in the league when he didn’t. Their defense, ranked 10th, remains a major issue, and attempts to fortify the lineup didn’t work out. However, #2 P Nicholas Banfield had an outstanding 2nd half.

FLOUR CITY: After finishing in 2nd by eight games in the inaugural season they cut the deficit in half this season. F.C. will probably continue on their current path, as they have a top-three offense and extremely talented pitching. The lingering issue is defense, which didn’t perform as well as their regulars are capable of.

GOTHAM: Heartbreak. From a nearly wire-to-wire lead and six All-Stars to a late-season crash and a runner-up finish. Maybe the best thing they can do this winter is simply try to put that 1-5 final week behind them.

KINGS CO: Everyone except Theodore Kohlberg & Garfield Koonce is expendable. They finished 38-52, but their -152 Run Differential suggests a 35-55 finish was more appropriate. This team needs numerous upgrades in order to compete.

KNICKERBOCKER: Their defense fell to #6 and their bats couldn’t make up for it, as Edward Huntley had what was easily the worst offensive season of his career. It also might be time to let rotating #2 P’s Bancroft & Cato go, as #1 prospect Brett Landreth is now rated 3.5 stars, which suggests he’s good enough to start at P for nearly every APBL team. Shamrock did the same with Henry Tallman this year and was rewarded with an All-Star season.

MASS. BAY: Their offense fell to #9, having difficulty adjusting to 37 y/o Thomas Maloney becoming a backup. Albert Stoffers was outstanding, but aside from that they likely need to look at upgrading a few positions.

NIAGARA: They had an awful start, then played outstanding baseball for about a month, and then had an awful finish. They gave former #1 overall prospect Jack Smith a chance at P – a major mistake as he went 6-14 with a 5.57 ERA. They also had the worst offense in the league, with only one player batting over .300. Niagara needs an overhaul.

ORANGE: The loss of Petty didn’t really hurt them, as the production of former Niagara CF Taliesin Buckley nearly made up for it. A couple of their batsmen didn’t hit as well as last year and they were a bit unlucky, given they finished five games out of first place with a Run Differential almost as good as American's.

SHAMROCK: The three-week injury absence of James Burke certainly didn’t help, but All-Stars Frank Bulger & Henry Gaul along with William McCrory all hit notably worse in 1872. Henry Tallman (25-21, 2.65 ERA, 4.7 WAR) was great in his first season as a full-time starter, and it looks like they may be moving on from Tom Ricks.

ST. JOHN’S: They played like two teams within a team, and that killed them in the Founders’ Cup. They have the best-hitting outfielders in the APBL and a .340 hitter at First Base, but their other infielders sacrifice offense – all three had an OPS under .600 – for Golden Glove level defense. They could fix this issue a bit by upgrading the bat at C, where Peter Caliguri is neither a solid hitter nor a great defender.