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1873 AMERICAN PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL LEAGUE REVIEW

WRITERS POOL OBSERVATIONS

It took an extraordinary finish, but this was American’s season. They had the best batsman, the best pitcher, the best greenhorn, and star power unmatched in the history of the sport. The frightening thing is that almost all of their stars are under contract for next year and beyond.

ALLEGHANY: They looked good for a month but ultimately finished 5th in the Colonial due to an offense that was in the bottom three in every major category. The team probably needs upgrades at 1B, 2B, LF, & CF. The good news: their pitching duo of Raynard Cordell & Elmer Seabold is very good.

AMERICAN: Not much to say for the team that has it all now that they’ll enter 1874 as the 2x defending APBL champions. If they can bring John Henry back and upgrade the #2 P spot then there’s simply no beating American next year.

EXCELSIOR: The good news was that they weren’t as utterly reliant on Jim Creighton as they were in seasons past. The bad news was that they had the APBL’s worst offense, as veteran star CF Obelix Tsiaris had a major drop in production and their defensive aces had light bats. Another winter of retooling is in order.

FLOUR CITY: Three APBL seasons and three 2nd-place finishes in the Colonial, although they’ve cut the final margin from eight games to four to two. Their pitching duo of James 1&2 – Goodman & York – is the best in the APBL. However, 3B Hugh Harris & 1B Hawk Peterson had career-worst seasons so offensive upgrades are needed.

GOTHAM: They struggled as much as projected this season. Down years from Royal Altman & Babe Johnson combined with the worst pitching in the league, with Charles Sturch a surprising disappointment, spelled Gotham’s doom. If they upgrade 3B & CF and their talented pitchers come around, next year could be much better.

KINGS CO: This was going to be a developmental year, and not surprisingly they had the worst record in the league. The good news: Garfield Koonce continues to be an outstanding player, and their trio of greenhorn batsmen didn’t look out of place. The bad news: their pitching continues to be a major issue.

KNICKERBOCKER: They expended so much energy trying to keep up with American that it resulted in a 4-11 August collapse. Almost every regular except LF Edward Donovan is due back and they have talented 23-year-old OF Henry Jost, so it’s possible that the team stands pat over the winter and hopes that American comes back to the pack in 1874.

MASS. BAY: Last place in the Colonial, and it’s because of the fact that, while this team can seriously club the ball, their defense is second, possibly third, rate and their pitchers are just okay. They could use upgrades everywhere but C & 1B, and they’ll need a new LF if veteran star Thomas Maloney retires after the most difficult season of his career.

NIAGARA: They were mostly okay. Niagara’s offense ranked 6th out of twelve and their pitching was in the middle of the pack, but their work in the field saw them commit the third most Errors in the league. If they let John Gaynor go and move Henry Card to LF, a better defensive CF could help this team out a lot.

ORANGE: Their offense was great, but their pitching outside of #1 Paul Caldwell really struggled. The team may also be best served by letting Walter Dudley go and moving Samuel Kessler back to 1B so a better defender with an okay bat can take over the LF spot. In addition, they’ll be hoping for a return to form out of Taliesin Buckley.

SHAMROCK: That they improved by six games (42-48 to 48-42) despite losing James Burke is to their credit. Newcomers Earl Crosby & Arthur Fisher did well, and centerpiece signee William Dickerson was magnificent. Unfortunately, Henry Tallman had a major fall in form that saw him removed from regular duty, so Shamrock may need a new #2 pitcher.

ST. JOHN’S: Heartbreak for the second consecutive season. Their offense was excellent as always, their defense was good, and while their pitching struggled at times they were still #3 in Runs Allowed. St. John’s just weren’t as good as American, but the rest of Colonial is creeping up on them. St. John’s may need to make a splash this winter and sign a star.