[tm1681]

FUSILLI & KUPIO GRADUALLY SWAP TEAMS
FORMER JOINS ST. JOHN’S & LATTER JOINS EXCELSIOR; KOHLBERG ALSO JOINS ST. JOHN’S

BROOKLYN & PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Dec. 5-7, 1872) – The announcement of a signing on Thursday completed a roundabout swap of First Basemen, as St. John’s sent out word that they’d signed Excelsior 1B Mario Fusilli a month after letting 1B Tarmo Kuopio leave for Excelsior.

Kuopio left after five seasons in Providence with a reputation as someone who could move runners around the basepaths. In his three NBBO seasons Kuopio had two of the three RBI totals in competition history, and in the inaugural APBL season Kuopio had 83 RBI in 87 games. However, even though he hit .341 this past season Kuopio’s power output was cut nearly in half and he finished 1872 with only 56 RBI, nearly thirty less than in any of his four previous seasons. After losing the Founders’ Cup St. John’s decided to make a changes at a few positions, and First Base was one of them.

Enter Fusilli. After eight NBBO seasons and a .413 Average for Syracuse that saw him earn Batsman of the Year honors in 1868, he joined Excelsior ahead of the inaugural APBL season. However, his Average was only .315-325 over two seasons in Brooklyn with a WAR of 0.0-1.0 in 1871 & ‘72, so he was let go after another season at the bottom of the standings. Excelsior signed Kuopio on November 8th, and St. John’s signed Fusilli on Thursday with the belief that batting in their lineup behind the reformed Outfield Hydra of Decker, Jensen, & Townsend will get him back on track.


Second Base is another position at which St. John’s decided to make a change.

Their regular 2B for both seasons of APBL play has been John Baddley, known for a light bat but excellent defense at the position. Indeed, that was how he played in 1872, batting .244 (.596 OPS; 72 OPS+) with 44 RBI but a +10.0 Zone Rating at Second Base that made up for his lack of batting prowess and earned him 1.5 total WAR on the season.

Having three of the best defensive infielders in the APBL – Baddley along with SS George Pugatch & 3B Ben Gagliardi – was a blessing for St. John’s in the regular season but doomed them in the Founders’ Cup. They let Baddley leave for Utica in the NBBO, and they signed thirteen-year veteran 2B Theodore Kohlberg, who has been an All-Star in both APBL seasons, on Saturday.

Kohlberg is an offensive upgrade at 2B who also fits with what St. John’s likes in their batsmen: he’s patient at the plate (EYE: 80/80) and excellent on the basepaths (Stealing Agg. 75/80, Stealing Abl. 80/80, Baserunning 80/80) while also being at least a decent defender at his position.


Will these changes work out for St. John’s? If nothing else, don’t bet against them.