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1880 NATIONAL BASE BALL ORGANIZATION REVIEW

NATIONAL BASE BALL ORGANIZATION STANDINGS








PER-TEAM STATISTICS

1880 N.Y.L.: 6.8 R/G, .281, .686 OPS, 758 H, 135 2B, 43 3B, 9 HR, 87 SB, 3.29 ERA, 107 BB, 185 K, 5.4 E/G, .880 FLD&
1880 N.E.L.: 7.1 R/G, .283, .696 OPS, 758 H, 141 2B, 45 3B, 10 HR, 80 SB, 3.44 ERA, 113 BB, 160 K, 5.4 E/G, .880 FLD%



TUCKER-WHEATON CUP XXIV

N.Y.L. SEMIFINALS: New York A.C. defeats Utica 3-2
N.E.L. SEMIFINALS: Philadelphia B.C.C. defeats Susquehanna 3-1

N.Y.L. CHAMPIONSHIP: Atlantic defeats New York A.C. 3-2
N.E.L. CHAMPIONSHIP: Portland defeats Philadelphia B.C.C. 3-1

T.W.C. FINAL: Atlantic (1st title) defeats Portland 3-1

GAME 1: ATL 8-3 PORT – RF MacKenzie Wilson (ATL): 2/5 (2 2B), 2 R, 2 RBI, 4 TB – OF AST
GAME 2: ATL 0-8 PORT – P Robert Dressen (PORT): SHO, 4 HA, 2 BB, 2 K
GAME 3: PORT 5-6 ATL – LF Herb Verrett (ATL): 4/5 (3 2B), 2 R, 2 RBI, 7 TB
GAME 4: PORT 6-8 ATL – 2B Monroe Crawford (ATL): 3/4 (2B, HR), 2 R, 3 RBI, 7 TB

CUP M.V.P.: LF Herb Verrett (ATL) – .389 (7/18), 4 R, 3 2B, 1 3B, 4 RBI, 12 TB, 0.6 WPA, 1x P.o.t.G.

After Susquehanna went 18-6 over their last 24 games to vault from 4th to 1st in the Inland Championship the collective response to the defending champions was “uh oh…”, but it turned out that being stuck in the doldrums for too long and finishing as the N.E.L.’s #3 seed was too much to overcome, as P.B.C.C. took care of them in the N.E.L. Semifinals. Instead, it was the team that had the opposite issue, Portland, with their relatively anemic second half after opening the season 31-4, that woke up in the playoffs and took the N.E.L. banner.

The N.Y.L. was a simpler circuit. The team with the best record and best Run Differential over the second half of the season, Atlantic, were crowned league champions after their 27-8 closing half, although N.Y.A.C. pushed them to the brink in the N.Y.L.C.S. Atlantic then went on to dispatch the overall #1 in four games in the cup final to win the Tucker-Wheaton Cup for the first time in club history, also becoming the first Brooklynite cup winners in eight years.

The most exciting region to follow was Upstate New York, and no other came close. The eight teams finished nine games apart, and a 32-38 record, good for fifth in at least one other region, took last place. Making this region even stranger: the last-place team, Columbia, had a Run Differential of -1 while runners-up Frontier had a Run Differential of -21. Upstate has long been known for chaotic pennant races, but this might have been the strangest region-wide finish yet.

The most fascinating team to follow this year was Philadelphia B.C.C. Due to the signing of a certain CF, Leroy Moore hit over .400 and wasn’t even the most productive Batsman in his own team, with James Burke batting in the .380’s but leading the entire N.B.B.O. in Runs, Extra Base Hits & OPS. P.B.C.C. ended up having three regulars hit over .350 – former Knick & Shamrock regular Charles Washer hit .354 – and their #1, Charles Barrow, finished the season with 30+ Wins.

Speaking of pitching, Charles Rhodes managed to become even better in 1880, earning the first Triple Crown since 1875 and breaking multiple N.B.B.O. records while also winning 30+ games for the first time. The other dominant pitchers of note in the N.B.B.O. were Barrow, who went 32-10 with a 2.85 ERA, and Portland #1 Francis Molinari, who led the N.E.L. in numerous pitching categories.

There was an outstanding crop of Greenhorns in the N.B.B.O. this season. Thirteen first-year Batsmen, led by five-star Bedford 2B William Napier, earned at least 1.5 WAR, and eight new Pitchers won 10+ games over the course of 1880, with Hilltop’s Harry Miller looking like a potentially dominant #1.

The most surprising team of the season had to be Pioneer. Predicted by the Writers Pool to finish 7th in the Inland Championship at 28-42, instead Pioneer reversed that projection with a 42-28 season and a runner-up finish that came within one game of forcing a playoff against Susquehanna for the pennant. They achieved this with an offense that was much stronger than most had anticipated after they lost 8x All-Star Frank Thomas to regional rivals Scranton in March.

It’s now time to see what the winter has in store for the N.B.B.O. If there’s to be another shock in like the James Burke signing from last December, it boggles the mind to think who or what might be the ones to spring the surprise on everybody.