The Big Bang: A Larger Baseball Universe Starting From Nothing in 1857

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PETTY BECOMES 2ND IN ’69 W/ 40-GAME STREAK
SUPERSTAR CF MATCHES NABORS FOR 3RD-LONGEST HIT STREAK IN NBBO HISTORY

ERIE, PENN. (July 3, 1869) – Lake Erie BC fell back to .500 (22-22) after an uncompetitive 13-5 home loss to Scranton on Saturday afternoon. However, the result was not the main takeaway for the 1,545 in attendance at the 10th Street Grounds.

Going into Saturday’s game, star Lake Erie CF Franklin Petty, the reigning NEL Most Valuable Player, had a 39-game Hitting Streak and was attempting to become the fourth player in NBBO history to take such a streak to forty games, with Victory SS Henry Nabors doing so earlier this season. That meant all eyes were on Petty.

In the end, Petty had four opportunities to take the streak to the historic milestone. In the bottom of the first Petty reached base, but that was via base on balls – no hit. In the bottom of the third Petty hit a fly ball to the Scranton SS – out. That left Petty 0/1 with a free pass to first base.

In the bottom of the fifth Petty came to bat for plate appearance number three and hit a line-drive single to the outfield, driving in a run and bringing his Hitting Streak to forty games, drawing an ovation from the Lake Erie crowd. Petty’s final plate appearance resulted in a fly ball out in the seventh inning, but with the all-important hit out of the way and the outcome no longer in question that was of little concern.

With Franklin Petty adding his name, the list of forty-game hitting streaks in NBBO history is now as follows:

• #1: Cormack Alexander (K.C. & Q.S.) – 42 games over 1867-68 (ended 5/22/68)
• #2: William McQuaid (F.C.) – 41 games over 1862-63 (ended 6/28/63)
• #3: Henry Nabors (VIC) – 40 games over 1868-69 (ended 5/22/69)
• #4: Franklin Petty (L.E.) – 40 games during 1869 (ongoing)

It should be noted that Petty is the first player ever to hit successfully in forty consecutive games in the same season.

Petty’s streak has not reached forty games with him meekly slapping the ball past the opposing infielders once per game. He is batting an absurd .446 with a .655 Slugging % and 1.133 OPS (213 OPS+) so far in 1869, and all three marks would be new NBBO records if he keeps that level of performance up over the final five weeks of the season.

Normally, one would expect the best players in the sport of base ball to play on its best & biggest teams, but it is clear that the sport’s premier batsman plies his trade for a small club, much like Willie Davis was doing early in the decade with Susquehanna. That can only be a good thing for the development of base ball.

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ST. JOHN’S GOES ON A RAMPAGE IN CAMBRIDGE
QUARTET OF ST. JOHN’S STARS SPECTACULAR AS TEAMS BEATS CANTABRIGIANS BY NINETEEN

CAMBRIDGE, MASS. (July 4, 1869) – Today is the anniversary of Declaration of Independence, and apparently St. John’s decided to celebrate the day by turning the Cantabrigians into cannon fodder:

St. John’s put up 24 runs and 27 hits, and while they typically have a couple such games each season – they beat Portland 26-8 a couple of weeks ago – it should be noted that this was against a much-improved Cantabrigians team that entered the contest with a 24-20 record. That improvement simply did not matter, as the mighty men from Providence were ahead 23-1 at the end of the sixth inning.

The entire lineup was brilliant outside of an odd 0/7 from Anderson MacGyver, and first four batsmen in particular – the outfield “Hydra” of Jenson, Johnson, & Townsend along with 1B Tarmo Kuopio – were astounding.

The afternoon of the first four in summary:

• #1 William Johnson (CF) – 3/3 (all 1B), 7 R, 0 RBI, 3 BB, SB, 88 GMSC
• #2 Nelson Townsend (RF) – 5/5, 2B, 5 R, 3 RBI, 2 BB, SB, 6 TB, 106 GMSC
• #3 Tarmo Kuopio (1B) – 6/7, 2B, 3B, 4 R, 6 RBI, 9 TB, 114 GMSC
• #4 Konrad Jensen (LF) – 4/5 (all 1B), 2 R, 5 RBI, 2 SB
• 1-4 BATTERS TOTAL: 18/20 (.900), 2 2B, 1 3B, 16 R, 14 RBI, 5 BB, 3 SB, 22 TB

William Johnson’s seven runs made for a new NBBO record, and the performances from Townsend & Kuopio were the two best by any batsmen this season when judging by Game Score. Jensen’s 4/5 with five RBI was the “worst” of the four.

In the end, it was just another twenty-run outburst by the perennial rulers of New England.

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I would have made the last four posts a few days ago, but I fell down a Balatro rabbit hole - just bought it - in my spare time.

Good lord that game is addicting :yikes:

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PETTY’S HITTING STREAK ENDS AT 41 GAMES
BOTH PLAYERS TO REACH 40 GAMES WITH HIT STREAKS THIS YEAR SEE THEM END AT 40

READING, PENN. (July 7, 1869) – Lake Erie BC suffered a big loss at Reading on Wednesday afternoon, as their 8-4 lead at the middle of the seventh inning evaporated and turned into a walkoff loss:

Hosts Reading scored seven runs over the final three innings, and they won the game with a single by Floyd Fountain with two men out in the bottom of the ninth.

That was not the only loss for Lake Erie on the day. Franklin Petty entered the contest with a 41-game Hitting Streak, and here was how his afternoon unfolded:

• T1: Fly Out to 3B
• T3: Fly Out to C
• T5: Ground Out to 1B
• T7: Reached via Base on Balls by W. Jones (R)
• T8: Reached via Error by SS T. Birdsong (SB)
• TOTAL: 0/3, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 SB

And thus, like Henry Nabors earlier this season, Franklin Petty’s efforts to break the Hitting Streak record come up just short, and Cormack Alexander’s record of 42 games remains safe.

Petty remains the NBBO leader in Batting Average, Slugging Percentage, and OPS.

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GOTHAM & KNICKERBOCKER DUKE IT OUT AT RED HOUSE
NEW YORK CITY TITANS PLAY AT GOTHAM’S GROUND WITH FIRST PLACE ON THE LINE

NEW YORK CITY (July 7-11, 1869) – The eyes of sports fans in the New York metropolitan area were focused on the St. George Cricket Grounds this week, as the top two teams in the New York City Championship – Gotham & Knickerbocker – played five games to determine whether Gotham would take a commanding lead in the NYCC, stay in first place, or give up the lead to 2x cup winners Knickerbocker.

The NYC standings ahead of the series:

• Gotham 32-13 (.711)
• Knickerbocker 31-14 (.689), 1 GB
• Mutual 24-21 (.533), 8 GB

The two teams prepared for the games at Gotham’s highly-regarded Red House facilities at the St. George Cricket Grounds knowing that this series would determine the favorite to finish the season as the New York City champion. This was a high-pressure week for both teams, and the atmosphere at St. George reflected that.

The results:

• Game 1: KNI 6-10 GOT – Babe Johnson (1B, GOT) 2/3, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 SB
• Game 2: KNI 10-1 GOT – Jerald Peterson (3B, KNI) 3/5, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI
• Game 3: KNI 6-4 GOT – Luc Billon (LF, KNI) 2/4, 2 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI
• Game 4: KNI 10-7 GOT – James Heilman (RF, KNI) 2/4, 4 R, 1 RBI, 4 SB
• Game 5: KNI 13-7 GOT – Edward Huntley (SS, KNI) 2/4, 3B, 2 R, 4 RBI, SB

Game 1 was an easy Gotham win that put them two games in front of Knickerbocker, but from there on Knickerbocker controlled the series. Gotham was actually ahead 1-0 going into the 8th inning of Game 2, but Knickerbocker scored five runs in both the 8th & 9th to flip the game upside down and win by nine. Game 3 was another comeback win for Knick – down 4-3 going into the 9th they scored three times thanks to hits by substitutes Thomas Johnson and Lorik van Unen to draw level with Gotham for the NYC lead. Easy wins in Game 4 & 5 – Knickerbocker was ahead 10-4 going into the bottom of the 9th of Game 4, gave the team a 4-1 series win and put them clear atop the New York City standings.

Here is how the New York City Championship looks after the 4-1 series win by Knickerbocker:

• Knickerbocker 35-15 (.700), +97 RD
• Gotham 33-17 (.660), 2 GB, +107 RD
• Mutual 26-24 (.520), 9 GB, +12 RD

The schedules for both Knickerbocker & Gotham are roughly equal in difficulty over the final four weeks of the season, so by virtue of their two-game lead Knickerbocker are the favorites to win the NYCC, which would be their fourth New York City pennant in five years.

Still, anything can happen and a fight to the very end of the season between the two oldest clubs in the NBBO can be expected.

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1869’S STAR PLAYERS NAMED
GAME TO BE HOSTED BY DEFENDING CHAMPIONS ORANGE; NEL LINEUP DOMINATED BY THREE TEAMS

NEW YORK CITY (July 19, 1869) - Votes are back and tallied, and the rosters for the twelfth All-Star Game have been finalized and sent out. The game will have the same look as in years part:

Rosters for the upcoming All-Star Game will be thirty men per side again this season:

• Places 1-6 in each team’s roster will go to the best pitchers in each league.
• The remaining 24 roster sports will consist of three players for every other position.

The New York League hosts the festivities this year, and since Orange BBC are the defending champions they have been chosen to host. The Upper Manhattan Grounds seat roughly 7,500 people, so there will not be as many in attendance as last year’s record-setting crowd in Pittsburgh. However, Orange are worthy hosts and the game should offer the usual excitement that occurs when the best players in the sport come together.

There are six newcomers in the game this year: four from the NEL and a pair from the NYL. Even including those players, there are a record-low eighteen first-time All-Stars this year: ten from the NYL and just eight from the NEL. That figure is down from a full 25 last year.

The NEL lineup is dominated by the teams that are running away from the competition in their regions: Alleghany, Shamrock, & St. John’s. St. John’s has three starters, while Alleghany & Shamrock have two each. Mass. Bay & Lake Erie are the other two teams represented in the NEL starters’ group. In contrast, the NYL lineup is represented by eight teams.

Not surprisingly, Flour City, who already has more wins than last year with three weeks left to play, leads the NBBO along with Shamrock with five players selected – their headliner being the historically-brilliant James Goodman.

Rosters for the 1868 All-Star Game, starters highlighted in red, are as follows:


NEW YORK LEAGUE ROSTERS


P: Carl Bancroft (GOT/5th) – 21-11, 3.50 ERA, 31 K, 1.30 WHIP, 4.4 WAR
P: Clyde Branagan (NIA/1st) – 14-7, 2.38 ERA, 27 K, 1.23 WHIP, 2.8 WAR
P: Jim Creighton (EXC/8th) – 21-11, 2.62 ERA, 112 K, 1.18 WHIP, 8.1 WAR
P: Peadar Daly (KNI/5th) – 22-8, 3.62 ERA, 36 K, 1.30 WHIP, 4.9 WAR
P: James Goodman (F.C./4th) – 25-6, 2.00 ERA, 106 K, 1.07 WHIP, 8.8 WAR
P: William Tighe (MUT/3rd) – 15-12, 3.63 ERA, 28 K, 1.46 WHIP, 5.2 WAR

C: Lorenzo Bradford (F.C./2nd) – .395, 16 XBH, 52 RBI, 1.9 WAR
C: Joseph Hines (NIA/NC) – .335, 11 XBH, 1 HR, 61 RBI, 1.3 WAR
C: Everett Schreiber (ORA/2nd) – .374, 21 XBH, 2 HR, 56 RBI, 2.9 WAR

1B: Mario Fusilli (SYR/4th) – .413, 29 XBH, 1 HR, 51 RBI, 2.3 WAR
1B: Garfield Koonce (K.C./2nd) – .390, 37 XBH, 2 HR, 68 RBI, 2.7 WAR
1B: Babe Johnson (GOT/1st) – .333, 21 XBH, 46 RBI, 23 SB, 2.0 WAR
2B: Leslie Arnett (GOT/8th) – .336, 14 XBH, 47 RBI, +11.9 ZR, 2.1 WAR
2B: Hamish Barclay (MET/3rd) – .338, 24 XBH, 29 RBI, 1.7 WAR
2B: Ralph Knight (F.C./NC) – .352, 17 XBH, 2 HR, 59 RBI, 1.9 WAR
3B: Andrew Brannon (CON/1st) – .326, 20 XBH, 43 RBI, 27 SB, 2.5 WAR
3B: Galimberto Cappelletti (EXC/2nd) – .378, 21 XBH, 1 HR, 62 RBI, 2.1 WAR
3B: Isaac Kelly (MUT/1st) – .381, 24 XBH, 58 RBI, 2.2 WAR
SS: Marcel Bresciani (ATL/1st) – .299, 17 XBH, 33 RBI, +14.0 ZR, 1.7 WAR
SS: Edward Huntley (KNI/11th) – .365, 21 XBH, 66 RBI, 20 SB, +12.0 ZR, 3.8 WAR
SS: Henry Nabors (VIC/4th) – .343, 23 XBH, 49 RBI, 1.6 WAR

OF: William Gentilucci (N.C./1st) – .359, 24 XBH, 2 HR, 48 RBI, 2.2 WAR
OF: Carlton McShane (K.C./2nd) – .341, 34 XBH, 2 HR, 63 RBI, 2.2 WAR
OF: Reginald Roper (F.C./2nd) – .397, 32 XBH, 1 HR, 30 RBU, 2.9 WAR
CF: Taliesin Buckley (NIA/6th) – .352, 24 XBH, 31 RBI, 50 SB, 2.4 WAR
CF: Manuel Romeiras (HAR/1st) – .325, 23 XBH, 21 RBI, 43 SB, 1.7 WAR
CF: Obelix Tsiaris (F.C./4th) – .344, 22 XBH, 53 RBI, 21 SB, 1.9 WAR
OF: Curtis Bowman (EMP/2nd) – .352, 30 XBH, 42 RBI, 2.0 WAR
OF: Martin Craven (ATL/1st) – .391, 25 XBH, 55 RBI, 2.5 WAR
OF: James Hoyt (K.C./4th) – .374, 22 XBH, 35 RBI, 1.9 WAR


NORTHEASTERN LEAGUE ROSTERS


P: John Brown (STJ/2nd) – 18-9, 3.65 ERA, 15 K, 1.36 WHIP, 4.2 WAR
P: Ross Gill (Q.S./NC) – 21-8, 3.53 ERA, 22 K, 1.31 WHIP, 5.7 WAR
P: John Henry (ALL/1st) – 23-8, 3.52 ERA, 33 K, 1.37 WHIP, 3.9 WAR
P: Washington Kihlstedt (SPO/NC) – 19-10, 3.69 ERA, 37 K, 1.29 WHIP, 4.6 WAR
P: Tom Ricks (SHA/4th) – 21-9, 2.57 ERA, 23 K, 1.16 WHIP, 4.2 WAR
P: Thomas Smith (SHA/2nd) – 17-5, 2.42 ERA, 18 K, 1.06 WHIP, 3.0 WAR

C: Albert Goddard (S.o.t.O./2nd) – .251, 9 XBH, 1 HR, 37 RBI, 1.2 WAR
C: James Simon (SHA/NC) – .315, 9 XBH, 42 RBI, 2.50 C-ERA, 1.4 WAR
C: Falco v.d. Vaart (M.B./2nd) – .368, 11 XBH, 1 HR, 63 RBI, 1.9 WAR

1B: Cormack Alexander (Q.S./5th) – .390, 22 XBH, 67 RBI, 2.2 WAR
1B: William Busby (AME/3rd) – .376, 24 XBH, 9 HR, 60 RBI, 2.8 WAR
1B: Collin Henderson (ALL/4th) – .407, 23 XBH, 1 HR, 52 RBI, 2.8 WAR
2B: Adam Allen (QUI/NC) – .335, 19 XBH, 39 RBI, 1.8 WAR
2B: Anderson MacGyver (STJ/7th) – .338, 23 XBH, 59 RBI, 24 SB, 1.8 WAR
2B: Mathius Wirtz (T.U./2nd) – .280, 17 XBH, 27 RBI, 40 SB, 1.7 WAR
3B: Will Dickerson (Q.S./1st) – .380, 17 XBH, 50 RBI, 20 SB, 2.2 WAR
3B: Samuel Kessler (ALL/11th) – .376, 28 XBH, 66 RBI, 3.2 WAR
3B: Werner Verstegen (AME/3rd) – .381, 27 XBH, 57 RBI, 28 SB, 2.7 WAR
SS: Anthony Mascherino (SHA/11th) – .342, 25 XBH, 68 RBI, 21 SB, 2.7 WAR
SS: Jonathan Richards (OCE/1st) – .322, 23 XBH, 56 RBI, +11.6 ZR, 2.4 WAR
SS: Bertram Zahn (M.M./1st) – .352, 15 XBH, 46 RBI, +10.8 ZR, 1.9 WAR

OF: Royal Altman (ALL/5th) – .377, 26 XBH, 56 RBI, 24 SB, 2.9 WAR
OF: James Burke (SHA/3rd) – .355, 30 XBH, 46 RB, 37 SB, 2.5 WAR
OF: Konrad Jensen (STJ/9th) – .405, 18 XBH, 66 RBI, 50 SB, 3.1 WAR
CF: Willie Davis (AME/9th) – .361, 27 XBH, 40 RBI, 35 SB, +11.3 ZR, 3.3 WAR
CF: William Johnson (STJ/5th) – .347, 25 XBH, 32 RBI, 37 SB, 2.8 WAR
CF: Franklin Petty (L.E./5th) – .410, 37 XBH, 2 HR, 67 RBI, 3.1 WAR
OF: Thomas Maloney (M.B./9th) – .342, 22 XBH, 56 RBI, 26 SB, 1.9 WAR
OF: Nelson Townsend (STJ/7th) – .356, 30 XBH, 52 RBI, 37 SB, 3.0 WAR
OF: Arthur Waltrip (SPO/6th) – .357, 20 XBH, 44 RBI, 2.5 WAR


The best team in each league – Flour City in the NYL & Shamrock in the NEL – will be sending five players to the game:

• FLOUR CITY: Bradford, Goodman, Knight, Roper, & Tsiaris
• SHAMROCK: Burke, Ricks, Mascherino, Simon, & Smith

The following players will be making their first All-Star Game appearances:

NEW YORK LEAGUE ALL-STAR DEBUTS

• P: Branagan
• C: Hines
• IF: Brannon, Bresciani, Johnson, Kelly, & Knight
• OF: Craven, Gentilucci, & Romeiras
• TOTAL: 10 All-Star Debuts

NORTHEASTERN LEAGUE ALL-STAR DEBUTS

• P: Gill, Henry, & Kihlstedt
• C: Simon
• IF: Allen, Dickerson, Richards, & Zahn
• OF: NONE
• TOTAL: 8 All-Star Debuts

There are six first-year players that have been nominated to play in the All-Star Game:

• NYL: Hines & Knight
• NEL: Allen, Gill, Kihlstedt, & Simon

Three players have been named to play in all eleven All-Star Games:

• Edward Huntley (SS, Knickerbocker)
• Samuel Kessler (3B, Alleghany)
• Anthony Mascherino (SS, Shamrock)

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DURHAM STROKES SIX HITS IN SYRACUSE VICTORY
NYC TITANS PLAY AT GOTHAM’S GROUND WITH FIRST PLACE ON THE LINE

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (July 23, 1869) – Syracuse BBC are the 3x Upstate New York champions, but the team has been playing middling base ball for the past two seasons. They needed a win over hapless Eagle to stay above .500 on Friday, and they did just that at the Salina Street Grounds:

Mario Fusilli hit 2/5 with an RBI to keep his average safely above .400 at .410, but the man of the hour for Syracuse was fourth-year 2B Anthony Durham, who collected a gaggle of base hits:

• B1: Double past 3B off R. Canfield (R)
• B2: 1-run Single to RCF off R. Canfield
• B3: 1-run Single past 2B off R. Canfield
• B5: 1-run Single to RCF off H. Allen
• B7: Leadoff Single to CF off H. Allen
• B8: Infield Single off C. Lee
• TOTAL: 6/6, 2B, 1 R, 3 RBI, 7 TB

Last year Durham was a borderline All-Star in his first season as a regular for Syracuse (.330, .789 OPS, 31 RBI, 1.8 WAR), but this year has been more of a struggle. Durham entered the game against Eagle with a .264 average, .615 OPS, and -0.3 WAR. His performance raised his average & OPS roughly 20 & 40 points respectively, to .284 & .657. Durham has driven in 23 runs over the 57 games he has played in this season.

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NABORS MAULS MINUTEMAN IN VICTORY’S VICTORY
4X ALL-STAR SCORES A HANDFUL OF HITS; JONES & PIKE EACH GO 4/6 IN FOURTEEN-RUN WIN

TROY, N.Y. (July 25, 1869) – Victory BBC took on Minuteman, who have been struggling heavily during their first season without James Goodman, at Rensselaer Park on Sunday, and they left little doubt as to which was the better team:

Victory was brilliant – they scored 17 runs on 23 hits, stole half a dozen bases, committed just two errors on defense, and pitcher William Johannessen allowed six hits in a Complete Game that saw his record go to 18-17 and his ERA fall 2.99.

The stars of the day for Victory were a trio of batsmen, led by 4x All-Star SS Henry Nabors

• B1: Infield Single off O. Sherrill (SB)
• B3: 1-run Single past SS off O. Sherrill (SB, R)
• B4: 1-run Triple to LCF off O. Sherrill (R)
• B5: Single past 3B off T. Watkins
• B6: Fly Out to LF
• B8: Single to CF off T. Watkins
• TOTAL: 5/6, 3B, 2 R, 4 RBI, 2 SB

The output raised his average to .357 (.851 OPS) with one Home Run and 55 RBI. Nabors’ game is not at the lofty heights it was last year (.399, .974 OPS, 69 RBI, +11.6 ZR, 4.4 WAR), but he clearly remains the best SS in the New York League not named Edward Huntley.

The two other key performers for Victory were leadoff man Alistair Jones (LF) & Weldon Pike:

• #1 Alistair Jones (LF): 4/6, 2-RUN HR, 4 R, 2 RBI, 2 SB
• #5 Weldon Pike (3B): 4/6 (all 1B), 3 R, 2 RBI

Jones’ homer was an inside-the-parker to left-center field that took place in the bottom of the sixth inning. It was his first of 1869 after hitting five for Newark last season. Pike, an All-Star last year, did not display such power, but his four singles raised his average above the .300 mark to .307. He has a pair of Home Runs and 47 RBI in 1869.

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BROOKLYN CHAMPIONSHIP A FIGHT TO THE BITTER END
TOP SIX TEAMS SPACED FIVE GAMES APART WITH JUST TWO WEEKS LEFT TO PLAY

BROOKLYN (July 26, 1869) – There are only ten games left in the 1869 NBBO season, but in one region there is still no clue as to who will take the pennant and advance to the Tucker-Wheaton Cup.

After Week Twelve, this is what the current standings look like in the Brooklyn Championship:

If you are counting, that is Kings County in first place followed by five different teams each one game further back of the other until the standings go down to sixth-place Nassau County at five games back. The two historical juggernauts of Brooklyn – K.C. & Excelsior – occupy the top two places, but neither is guaranteed a top-two finish.

Leader Kings County has been the steadiest team of the six. They are third in the NYL in Runs Scored, fifth in Runs Allowed, and they have four players batting above .340 – Garfield Koonce (.397), James Hoyt (.359), Carlton McShane (.348), & Henry Fitzgerald (.345). They also have a pair of fifteen-win pitchers in James Peters (15-15) & Charles Matthews (15-6).

Excelsior, of course, is second thanks to Jim Creighton (21-13, 2.69 ERA, 115 K, .281 AVG, .785 OPS, 9.7 WAR), but he does have support. 3B Gil Cappelletti (.364, 1 HR, 65 RBI) is an All-Star for the second straight year, and OF Ralph Hunt is batting .356. Their main issue has been the bottom of the lineup, where the 6-7-8 batsmen all have an OPS below .600.

Atlantic is in third because they are good but not great – seventh in the NYL in Runs and thirteenth in Runs Allowed. They have seen brilliant play from OF Martin Craven (.381, 59 RBI, 2.5 WAR), outstanding fielding from SS Marcel Bresciani (+17.3 ZR, 1.155 EFF), and a surprise newcomer at 3B J.P. in Texier who (.343, 39 RBI, 1.2 WAR).

Eckford is one of two enigmas in the group. With a 32-28 record but a -73 Run Differential, on paper this has the look of a team that should be well under .500. However, they have been led by excellent 23-year-old 3B Isaac Kelly (.379, 46 RBI, 2.5 WAR), OF George Bendel (.342, 41 RBI, 1.5 WAR), and #1 P Frank Childs (17-13, 3.32 ERA, 3.2 WAR).

Continental is the other major enigma in the group. The yin to Eckford’s yang, Continental is 31-29 with a +87 Run Differential that is second in Brooklyn behind only Kings County. On paper, this should be the team up at the top with K.C. Andrew Brannon (.330, 47 RBI, 2.7 WAR) is a debut All-Star and they have the pitching duo of Earl Quinn (85-67, 2.84 career ERA) and Grover Wright (221-155, 1x MVP, 59.4 career WAR), but it has just not added up to massive success.

Nassau County rounds out the list. They have a fine offense – 8th in the NYL in Runs & Average – but a terrible defense – 23rd in the NYL in Runs Allowed & Errors. OF William Gentilucci (.350, 50 RBI, 2.2 WAR) has earned his first All-Star nomination and they have multiple other batsmen above .300, but a critical lack of defense has led to some big losses.

The remaining schedule for each team:

• KINGS COUNTY: vs Excelsior, at Empire
• EXCELSIOR: at Kings County, vs Nassau County
• ATLANTIC: at Nassau County, vs Bedford
• ECKFORD: at Empire. vs Continental
• CONTINENTAL: vs Bedford, at Eckford
• NASSAU COUNTY: vs Atlantic, at Excelsior

All six teams have one remaining home series and one away, so nobody has a distinct home advantage. If one team could be said to have the scheduling advantage it would be Atlantic, as their remaining games are against sixth-place Nassau Co. and last-place Bedford (22-38), a team that is 14-26 (.350) since the beginning of June.

The upcoming Kings County v Excelsior battle will be the series of the year in Brooklyn, and based on past seasons it will determine who takes the pennant. However, if it is an even series that ends 3-2 either way then any of the other four teams can move to within striking distance of first place ahead of the final week with a 5-0 sweep of their own series.

Whatever the final weeks hold in store, this is certain: it will be a memorable finish to the 1869 Brooklyn Championship.

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SNODGRASS HAS HISTORIC DAY VS GREEN MTN.
ST. JOHN’S P GOES DISTANCE WHILE ALSO DRIVING IN SIX IN HOME ROUT

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (July 29, 1869) – When one thinks of the stars of St. John’s BC, there are a number of names that come to mind: Konrad Jensen, William Johnson, Nelson Townsend, Anderson MacGyver, Tarmo Kuopio, new pitcher John Brown, and even Gold Glove 3B Leopold Pfeiffer. However, on Thursday #2 P Charles Snodgrass put in a performance that just might trump anything those players have ever done as St. John’s ran riot against Green Mountain:

The result was never a question – the score was 18-3 after the end of the fifth – and Snodgrass pitched a Complete Game while scattering a dozen hits in an easy victory. But, it was not Snodgrass’ pitching that was memorable against Green Mtn.:

• B2: Reached via Error by 3B W. Leone (R)
• B3: 2-run Double to LCF off W. Unger (R)
• B4: 1-run Single to CF off F. Freitag
• B5: 2-run Single to LF off F. Freitag (R)
• B7: Ground Out to SS
• B8: 1-run Single to RCF off E. Clark
• TOTAL: 4/5, 2B, 3 R, 6 RBI, 5 TB, 91 GMSC
• PITCHING: CG, 12 HA, 4 RA, 3 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 50 GMSC

Snodgrass’ batting output was the best by a pitcher in the NBBO this season, and his 141 total Game Score was the highest by any pitcher in NBBO history other than Jim Creighton.

Snodgrass, a 2x twenty-time winner when he pitched for Syracuse (1860-65) is 10-7 this season with a 3.80 ERA. He has always been a surprisingly good hitter – he has a career .324 average – but nothing Charles Snodgrass has done on a base ball diamond has ever suggested he would have a day like this.

The win gave St. John’s a 42-20 record and a five-game lead over Oceanic with eight games left to play.

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NATIONAL BASE BALL ORGANIZATION JULY RECAP

NORTHEAST U.S.A. (Aug. 1, 1869) – The end of July means there is exactly one week left to play in the 1869 base ball season. Here is the recounting of the month of July:

REGIONAL LEADERS (65 of 70 games played)

• BROOKLYN: Kings Co. at 38-27 (Excelsior 2 GB, Atlantic & Continental 3 GB, Eckford 4 GB, Nassau Co. 5 GB)
• NEW YORK CITY: Knickerbocker at 46-19 (Gotham 5 GB)
• UPSTATE NY: Flour City at 51-14 (Utica & Victory 17 GB)
• COASTAL: Shamrock at 47-18 (Mass. Bay 5 GB)
• INLAND: Alleghany at 47-18 (Sportsman’s 7 GB)
• NEW ENGLAND: St. John’s at 43-22 (Oceanic 5 GB)

Five of the regions are either decided or all but decided. Alleghany & Flour City have already punched their tickets to the cup, while all the trio of Knickerbocker, Shamrock, & St. John’s have left to do over their last five games is win once or see the team behind them in the standings lose once.

That leaves all eyes on Brooklyn, where five teams still have a mathematical chance to take the pennant and Nassau County still has a chance to force a playoff. It all comes down to whether or not seventh-place Empire (26-39, 12 GB) can play the spoiler at home against Kings County. As things stand, Kings County is being tipped to win three of the five games, which would eliminate all but Excelsior, who would then have to sweep Nassau County to force a one-game playoff.

BATTERS OF THE MONTH

• NYL: Carlton McShane (OF, K.C.) – .420 AVG, 1.078 OPS, 27 R, 42 H, 7 2B, 5 3B, 1 HR, 30 RBI, 4 BB, 2 SB, 1.9 WPA, 1.3 WAR
• NEL: Konrad Jensen (OF, STJ) – .453 AVG, 1.136 OPS, 32 R, 43 H, 4 2B, 5 3B, 1 HR, 26 RBI, 11 BB, 20 SB, 1.0 WPA, 1.8 WAR

McShane became the second consecutive Kings County player to take BotM after a fine July for the Brooklyn leaders that saw him collect many clutch hits. Meanwhile, Jensen took his whopping eighth BotM honor after batting .450 in July.

PITCHERS OF THE MONTH

• NYL: Peadar Daly (KNI) – 11-1, 3.61 ERA, 109.2 IP, 10 CG, 0 SHO, 13 BB, 19 K, 1.21 WHIP, 1.9 WAR, 2.6 rWAR
• NEL: Daniel Flynn (M.B.) – 9-1, 1.54 ERA, 67.0 IP, 6 CG, 0 SHO, 7 BB, 3 K, 1.04 WHIP, 1.4 WAR, 2.5 rWAR

James Goodman cooled down in July (5-4, 2.92 ERA), which opened the door for Daly to take PotM after winning eleven times for Knickerbocker. Flynn’s PotM was a rare honor for a #2 pitcher, but his July was too good to cast aside.

NEWCOMERS OF THE MONTH

• NYL: James Albertson (P, ORA) – 7-3, 3.47 ERA, 62.1 IP, 5 CG, 0 SHO, 6 BB, 7 K, 1.07 WHIP, 1.0 WAR, 1.3 rWAR
• NEL: Ross Gill (P, Q.S.) – 11-1, 3.01 ERA, 116.2 IP, 9 CG, 0 SHO, 5 BB, 10 K, 1.23 WHIP, 2.4 WAR, 3.6 rWAR

Albertson (9-4, 3.50 ERA) was given the chance to pitch for Orange due to injury to Tom Gallacher and made the most of it, while five-star talent Gill had a spectacular month for a Quaker St. team solidly in third place in the Coastal Championship.

STATISTICAL LEADERS

• Average: .410 by Collin Henderson (1B, ALL)
• OPS: 1.026 by Franklin Petty (CF, L.E.)
• Runs: 109 by William Johnson (CF, STJ)
• Home Runs: 10 by William Busby (1B, AME)
• RBI: 83 by Tarmo Kuopio (1B, STJ)
• Stolen Bases: 56 by Konrad Jensen (OF, STJ)
• Batter WPA: 5.9 by Isaac Kelly (3B, ECK)
• Batter WAR: 4.6 by Edward Huntley (SS, KNI)

• ERA: 2.08 by James Goodman (F.C.) over 324.2 IP
• Wins: 28 by James Goodman (F.C.) & John Henry (ALL)
• Complete Games: 29 by James Goodman (F.C.)
• Strikeouts: 124 by Jim Creighton (EXC)
• WHIP: 1.08 by James Goodman (F.C.) over 324.2 IP
• Pitcher WAR: 10.1 by James Goodman (F.C.)
• Pitcher rWAR: 12.9 by James Goodman (F.C.)

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EXCELSIOR & KINGS CO. BATTLE FOR BROOKLYN SUPREMACY
TOP TWO IN BROOKLYN SLUG IT OUT FOR FIRST, BUT STILL HAVE TO BE WARY OF TEAMS BELOW

BROOKLYN (July 28-Aug. 1, 1869) – The past week saw the series of the year in the Brooklyn Championship: Kings County vs Excelsior at K.C.’s home grounds of Washington Park. It was a fight between the two clubs that have won the last eleven Brooklyn titles – K.C. seven & Excelsior four – and that meant some epic base ball figured to be on display.

The Brooklyn standings ahead of the series:

• 1st: Kings Co. at 35-25 (.582), +101 RD
• 2nd: Excelsior at 34-26 (.567), 1 GB, +36 RD
• 3rd: Atlantic at 33-27 (.550), 2 GB, +44 RD
• 4th: Eckford at 32-28 (.533), 3 GB, -73 RD
• 5th: Continental at 31-29 (.517), 4 GB, +87 RD
• 6th: Nassau Co. at 30-30 (.500), 5 GB, -60 RD

If would be fair to assume that whoever exited the series with the upper hand would be the favorite to be crowned champions of Brooklyn again, but given how tight the standings were as of the last week of July a close series meant that teams like Atlantic and Eckford could go neck-and-neck with them.

The results:

• Game 1: EXC 11-10 K.C. – Excelsior scored eight times in T9 to win
• Game 2: EXC 6-9 K.C. – Henry Fitzgerald (SS, K.C.) 2/4, 2B, 1 R, 3 RBI
• Game 3: EXC 11-4 K.C. – Ben Smith (CF, EXC) 2/6, 3B, 2 R, 2 RBI, SB
• Game 4: EXC 1-3 K.C. – Theodore Kohlberg (2B, K.C.) 3/4, 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 SB
• Game 5: EXC 9-12 K.C. – Garfield Koonce (1B, K.C.) 3/5, 2B, 3B, 3 R, 1 RBI

Game 1 was incredible. With Kings County breezing along and enjoying a 10-3 lead going into the top of the ninth, Excelsior proceeded to score EIGHT times, the winning hit being a two-run single by substitute infielder Joel Roethlisberger. It was a comeback that could easily have crushed Kings County’s spirits, but the hosts would not let one game do them in.

Kings County rebounded well to win Game 2 as they had a late 9-4 lead before allowing two consolation runs. Then, Excelsior took a win back in Game 3, enjoying their own 9-4 lead before adding on two late runs, as if Jim Creighton needed them. Game 4 was the tightest game of the series: a 3-1 defensive showcase in which the teams combined to commit just three fielding errors. For perspective, an average contest typically sees the two teams’ gloveless fielders make eleven errors over the course of play.

That meant Game 5 would decide whether Kings County & Excelsior would be tied in the standings with one week to go, or if K.C. would have a two-game lead on Excelsior. It was an exciting affair – 10-9 to Kings County after six innings thanks to a two-run single by 3B Leen van Rooij. Substitute P Leonard Sbarro held Excelsior off the scoreboard for the final three innings, and Kings County added runs via errors in both the seventh & eighth to pad the lead and take the series.

Here is how the Brooklyn Championship looks after the 3-2 series win by Kings County:

• 1st: Kings County at 38-27 (.585), +101 RD
• 2nd: Excelsior at 36-29 (.554), 2 GB, +36 RD
• 3rd: Continental at 35-30 (.538), 3 GB, +94 RD
• 4th: Atlantic at 35-30 (.538), 3 GB, +51 RD
• 5th: Eckford at 34-31 (.523), 4 GB, -74 RD
• 6th: Nassau Co. at 33-32 (.508), 5 GB, -67 RD

The top five teams are still mathematically eligible to win the championship outright, while Nassau County could still conceivably force a playoff if a miracle happens.

Atlantic has the easiest schedule for the final week – home vs 23-42 Bedford. Kings County at 26-39 Empire is next. Excelsior is home against Nassau County. Finally, Continental plays at Eckford.

Kings County remains likely to stay in first and take another pennant, but with Brooklyn this close going into the final week anything remains possible.

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NYL WINS ALL-STAR GAME W/ PAIR OF RALLIES
MULTIPLE RUNS IN THE 1ST & 5TH BRING BRAGGING RIGHTS BACK TO NY; ARNETT NAMED MVP

PITTSBURGH (Aug. 3, 1868) – A pair of multiple-run rallies by the New York League put the NYL back in the All-Star Game win column on Monday afternoon at the Upper Manhattan Base Ball Grounds:

The hosts started as strong as possible: five runs in the first inning, with two-run singles by Isaac Kelly (3B, ECK) & Everett Schreiber (C, ORA) being the key hits as the entire NYL lineup had a chance to bat.

The NEL nearly evened the score in the top of the third inning with four runs, three of them coming via double by Collin Henderson (1B, ALL) with the bases loaded and nobody out. Anderon MacGyver (2B, STJ) drove in the other run with a double down the third base line.

The NYL came to bat in the bottom of the fifth and took those four runs back with a double by Reginald Roper (OF, F.C.), sacrifice by Curtis Bowman (OF, EMP), and a two-out, two-run double by William Tighe (P, MUT).

The four-run rally put away the NEL for good, as the home side added two more runs while the visitors could only muster up a consolation run in the NYL’s 11-5 victory.

If this were a close game then Tighe would likely have been named MVP, as he allowed one run while pitching three innings and provided that key hit in the fifth. As it was, Leslie Arnett (2B, GOT) took the honor with a 3/3 performance with the bat. He also scored and drove in a run.

Attendance at the game in Upper Manhattan was 7,412. Spectators ponied up a quarter each to see the sport’s best players, with all proceeds going to charity.

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So, with one game left there's a chance the ten-game Round Robin championship series will end with a four-team playoff

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ST. JOHN’S JOINS THE 700 CLUB
1869 EDITION OF ST. JOHN’S BC BECOMES FIRST TEAM TO SCORE TEN RUNS PER GAME

PORTLAND, MAINE (Aug. 8, 1869) – Over their incredible history, St. John’s has led the Northeastern League in scoring nine times over the twelve years of the National Base Ball Organization’s existence. Going into this season, the Writers Pool had them picked to display more historically great offense after they brought back Anderson MacGyver, and St. John’s spectacularly proved the writers correct.

When Nelson Townsend scored in the top of the seventh innings of the team’s final game of the season, St. John’s became the first team in NBBO history to score 700 or more runs in the seventy-game season. The final score was 15-5 to St. John’s, bringing the team’s final run tally for 1869 to 701, just a touch above 10.0 runs per game (10.01 R/G).

St. John’s did not lead the NEL in Extra-base Hits, Batting Average, Slugging, or OPS, so how did they become the first team to cross the 700-run barrier? The same way they always have: patience at the plate and reckless abandon on the basepaths.

St. John’s batsmen drew 205 Bases on Balls this season (2.9 BB/G), which was not their record (229 in 1867) but still a full sixty percent above the NEL’s second-most patient team: Sons of the Ocean (128, 1.8 BB/G). The team also stole a mind-boggling 237 bases (3.4 SB/G), again not their best (249 in 1866) but still around 25 percent more than the second-fastest team in the NEL: Shamrock (188, 2.7 SB/G).

The St. John’s batsmen also struck out just 28 times all season, fifty percent less often than any other team in the NBBO, with Gotham the next-best team at making contact (42 K’s). That made St. Johns’ patience at the plate that much deadlier. The players know what pitches they want to hit, and when they see those pitches they almost always make solid contact.

Seven members of the St. John’s lineup hit over .300, five stole twenty or more bases, five had an OPS of .800 or higher, and they had three of the top six batsmen in the NEL in Bases on Balls drawn.

At 46-24 this was far from the best St. John’s team record-wise, given that they have won 50+ games five times and reached a high of 54 twice (1859, ’66). However, it can certainly be said that this has been St. Johns’ most exciting team to date.

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PAIR OF P’S BECOME FIRST SINCE 1857 TO WIN 30
FLOUR CITY’S GOODMAN, ALLEGHANY’S HENRY TIE MARK SET IN INAUGURAL SEASON

ROCHESTER, N.Y. & PITTSBURGH (Aug.9, 1869) – Ever since the NBBO’s inaugural season in 1857, pitching has improved but the pitchers have been trying, and failing, to reach a peak set in that first season of play: that of Scranton’s John Anderson, who went 30-8 with a 2.30 ERA in 1857 and became the first pitcher to win an MVP award.

As of the start of this season Anderson remained the only pitcher in NBBO history to win thirty games in a season, and he also remained the only pitcher to win Northeastern League Most Valuable Player – Jim Creighton & Grover Wright have won New York League MVP.

It took until the last week of play in 1869, but John Anderson now has company in the Thirty-Win Club from one pitcher in each league.

First up is James Goodman of Flour City. The “Little Professor” had spent the first dozen years of his career in Albany with Minuteman BBC, first breaking into the senior squad as a precocious eighteen-year-old with a dazzling array of ways to make the ball move but little control over it. It took over half a decade, but eventually Goodman gained mastery of his craft. However, he was stuck with a team that frequently failed to take advantage of his ability to win games.

Ahead of this season, Goodman remained in Upstate New York but moved to Rochester and joined Flour City BBC, which appears to be the smartest move he has ever made. At the end of June Goodman was 22-2 with a 1.79 ERA, and while his performance over the rest of the season was not as astounding, Goodman was still historically great. A 4-1 result at Upstate doormat Eagle in the season’s penultimate game gave Goodman victory #30 on the season, tying Anderson, and he finished 30-6 with a record-setting 2.00 ERA.

Over in Pittsburgh, John Henry is a far more unlikely thirty-game winner. After a 20-11 debut season with Newark in 1864, the “Steel-Driving Man” fell to 16-16 the next year, was told to move to a new club, joined Alleghany ahead of the 1866 season, and became a substitute pitcher. After seasons of 5-4, 13-9, & 3-2, Henry was moved to the #1 role by second-year manager Burton Keith after 2x All-Star Fred Richards left for Sons of the Ocean. The rest, as they say, is history.

Henry’s season did not start well – a 6-6 May with a 4.40 ERA saw Keith question his decision to make Henry his new main pitcher. The rest of John Henry’s season? 24-4 with a 2.99 ERA over June, July, and the first week of August. Goodman started the season on a historic pace, and Henry finished it on one.

That said, Henry had to work hard to earn Win #30. On the final day of the season Henry allowed twelve hits and eight runs (5 ER) while pitching the whole game against Reading, and if not for a couple of late rallies by his teammates the game would have been much closer than the 16-8 final score. Henry’s final record: 30-10 with a 3.35 ERA.

The historic seasons by Goodman & Henry mean there are now three members of the Thirty-Win Club:

• 1857: John Anderson (SCR) – 30-8, 2.30 ERA, 309.0 IP, 28 CG, 3 SHO, 41 BB, 25 K, 1.20 WHIP, 5.0 WAR, 8.9 rWAR
• Anderson named inaugural Northeastern League MVP
• 1869: James Goodman (F.C.) – 30-6, 2.00 ERA, 342.2 IP, 31 CG, 2 SHO, 26 BB, 132 K, 1.05 WHIP, 10.7 WAR, 14.4 rWAR
• 1869: John Henry (ALL) – 30-10, 3.35 ERA, 332.2 IP, 27 CG, 1 SHO, 29 BB, 44 K, 1.32 WHIP, 5.4 WAR, 6.2 rWAR

There half a dozen men who have come up just short. The list includes Knickerbocker #1 Peadar Daly, who has won 28 games in a season three times, going 28-7 (2.31 ERA) in 1865, 28-11 (3.17 ERA) in 1867, and 28-10 (3.57 ERA) this season. Based on Daly’s career pattern, look for him to knock on the club’s door again in 1871.

It is presumed that, with their final victories, Goodman & Henry will be given the first two Pitcher of the Year awards to be handed out by the NBBO in early October. They have definitely earned any honors that come their way.

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THE 1869 CUP FIELD IS SET
FLOUR CITY IN WITH BEST RECORD; BROOKLYN CHAMPIONSHIP DECIDED ON FINAL DAY

NORTHEAST U.S.A. (Aug. 9, 1866) – The 1869 Tucker-Wheaton Cup field is in place. Five regions more or less knew who would be representing them with a week or more left to play, but Brooklyn was decided on the final Sunday. Five teams are very familiar faces, while the team with the best record in the NBBO is in the cup for the first time in five years.

BROOKLYN – Kings County repeated as Brooklyn champions, but as noted elsewhere it was one of the tightest regional races ever. K.C. started their final series at Empire with two bad losses before winning the final three games, which they absolutely had to do because Continental won in each of their final nine outings to end up just one game back of first place.

The team is led by star second-year 1B Garfield Koonce, who is part of a quartet of .350 hitters in the lineup along with Henry Fitzgerald (.354), James Hoyt (.350), & Carlton McShane (.353). Excellent newcomer Ed Johnson hit .339.

KEY PLAYER: Garfield Koonce (1B) – .386 AVG, .973 OPS, 93 R, 124 H, 47 XBH, 2 HR, 84 RBI, 5.0 WPA, 3.4 WAR

NEW YORK CITY – Knickerbocker is back on top after seeing off a difficult challenge from Gotham to win NYC by five games. They come into the cup in good form after having won each of their final four contests by multiple runs, and it appears that both 1B Paul LaGuerre & 3B Jerald Peterson have broken out of season-long slumps at the perfect time.

KEY PLAYER: Edward Huntley (SS) – .352 AVG, .903 OPS, 90 R, 107 H, 33 XBH, 73 RBI, 32 SB, +17.5 ZR, 4.0 WPA, 4.5 WAR

UPSTATE N.Y. – Flour City had Upstate wrapped up by July 21st, a whopping fourteen games clear in first with fourteen to play. F.C.’s 55-15 record is the second-best in NBBO history, and they were #1 in the NYL in both Runs & Runs Allowed. They have been led by historic pitching from James Goodman and six .300 hitters. This is their first postseason in five years.

KEY PLAYER: James Goodman (P) – 30-6, 2.00 ERA, 342.2 IP, 31 CG, 2 SHO, 26 BB, 132 K, 5.1 K/BB, 1.05 WHIP, 10.7 WAR, 14.4 rWAR

COASTAL – Shamrock was never in any danger, leading nearly wire to wire and having a lead of 5-7 games continuously after Week Seven. As has happened a number of times, Shamrock had the NBBO’s best defense this season and they will bring a pair of 20-game winners with ERA’s below 2.50 to the cup: Tom Ricks (26-13, 2.48) & Thomas Smith (21-7, 2.46).

KEY PLAYER: Tom Ricks (P) – 26-13, 2.48 ERA, 337.1 IP, 27 CG, 2 SHO, 32 BB, 32 K, 1.11 WHIP, 5.5 WAR, 10.6 rWAR

INLAND – Alleghany faced a stiff challenge from Sportsman’s for much of the season before pulling away in July thanks to a lineup that plated more than nine runs per game. They have a thirty-game winner in John Henry, a .400 hitter in Collin Henderson, a 12x All-Star in Samuel Kessler, a 2x Batsman of the Year in Royal Altman, and loads of confidence.

KEY PLAYER: Collin Henderson (1B) – .407 AVG, .969 OPS, 93 R, 143 H, 33 XBH, 3 HR, 66 RBI, 4.4 WPA, 3.8 WAR

NEW ENGLAND – St. John’s enters as the first team to score ten runs per game. Their lineup is legendary – 2x Batsman of the Year & .400 hitter Konrad Jensen, 2x BotY Anderson MacGyver, 7x All-Star Nelson Townsend, 5x All-Star & inaugural BotY William Johnson, and 2x RBI champ Tarmo Kuopio. However, defense (15th in NEL) was an issue for them.

KEY PLAYER: Konrad Jensen (OF) – .405 AVG, .474 OBP, 1.001 OPS, 98 R, 120 H, 26 XBH, 75 RBI, 59 SB, 5.0 WPA, 4.0 WAR

THE 1868 TUCKER-WHEATON CUP

FORMAT: Each team plays all others twice, once home and once away, for a total of ten games. The team with the best record wins the cup. A one-game playoff will be held at the St. George Cricket Grounds (Gotham BBC) if there is a tie for 1st place. Head-to-Head record and Run Differential will be used as tiebreakers to determine other positions in the case of identical record.

TEAMS: The six entrants to the Tucker-Wheaton Cup, sorted by record & run differential.

• Flour City (Upstate NY) – 55-15 (+256 RD)
• Alleghany (Inland) – 51-19 (+210)
• Shamrock (Coastal) – 50-20 (+182 RD)
• Knickerbocker (NYC) – 50-20 (+156 RD)
• St. John’s (N. England) – 46-24 (+203 RD)
• Kings County (Brooklyn) – 41-29 (+103 RD)

SCHEDULE: The tournament is twelve days in length, teams receiving Monday & Tuesday off as they do during the season.

• Aug. 11: Alleghany at Knickerbocker, Flour City at St. John’s, Shamrock at Kings Co.
• Aug. 12: Knickerbocker at Shamrock, St. John’s at Kings Co., Alleghany at Flour City
• Aug. 13: Flour City at Knickerbocker, St. John’s at Shamrock, Kings Co. at Alleghany
• Aug. 14: Knickerbocker at Alleghany, St. John’s at Flour City, Kings Co. at Shamrock
• Aug. 15: Knickerbocker at Kings Co., Alleghany at St. John’s, Shamrock at Flour City
• Aug. 16: DAY OFF
• Aug. 17: DAY OFF
• Aug. 18: Knickerbocker at Flour City, Shamrock at St. John’s, Alleghany at Kings Co.
• Aug. 19: Kings Co. at Knickerbocker, St. John’s at Alleghany, Flour City at Shamrock
• Aug. 20: Knickerbocker at St. John’s, Kings Co. at Flour City, Shamrock at Alleghany
• Aug. 21: Shamrock at Knickerbocker, Flour City at Alleghany, Kings Co. at St. John’s
• Aug. 22: St. John’s at Knickerbocker, Alleghany at Shamrock, Flour City at Kings County

The Writers Pool has been asked their collective opinion of what they expect from this year’s cup competition, and they have the teams in the following order:

• #1: Flour City (55-15, 27-8 2nd half, 8-2 last 10, #1 in NYL in R & RA, #2 record in NBBO history, 1st cup since ‘64)
• #2: Alleghany (51-19, 26-9 2nd half, 9-1 last 10, WWWW last 4, 39-11 after June 1st)
• #3: St. John’s (46-24, 25-10 2nd half, 7-3 last 10, 4x cup winner, set NBBO record w/ 701 runs)
• #4: Knickerbocker (50-20, 25-10 2nd half, 7-3 last 10, WWWW last 4, 2x cup winner)
• #5: Shamrock (50-20, 22-13 2nd half, 6-4 last 10, 2x cup winner, #1 ERA & Defense in NBBO)
• #6: Kings Co. (41-29, 19-16 2nd half, 6-4 last 10, WWW last 3, 2x cup winner, lowest Run Diff. in field by 53 runs)

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TWC XIII: THE GANG GETS BACK TOGETHER

NORTHEAST U.S.A. (Aug. 11-22, 1869) – The 1868 Tucker-Wheaton Cup was a welcome change of pace. Of the six entrants, two teams were in the postseason for the first time, one was in the cup field for the second time, and eventual winners Orange BBC were playing extra baseball for the third time over the NBBO’s dozen years. The usual band of dominant clubs were not present, and Orange’s win at St. John’s on the final day to win the cup was a memorable affair.

The 1869 edition was back to the usual format. The teams involved:

• St. John’s BBC: 12x New England champions (1857-64, 66-69) & 4x cup winners (1857-58, 63-64)
• Shamrock BC: 8x Coastal champions (1857, 59-60, 62, 65-67, 69) & 2x cup winners (1862, 66)
• Kings County BBC: 8x Brooklyn champions (1858-62, 64, 68-69) & 2x cup winners (1860-61)
• Knickerbocker BBC: 5x New York City champions (1858, 65-67, 69) & 2x cup winners (1865, 67)
• Alleghany BC: 8x Inland champions (1857, 59, 61-62, 65-67, 69)
• Flour City BBC: 3x Upstate champions (1860, 64, 69)

The gang was together again. The sport’s five most dominant clubs were back in the Tucker-Wheaton Cup, along with the Upstate champion, who has never had much postseason experience because six different teams – Flour City, Minuteman, Niagara, Syracuse, Victory, & Utica – have taken the pennant in Upstate New York over the history of the NBBO.

However, there was one notable difference this time around: it was the Upstate New York champions who were the favorites to win the cup. Flour City entered the competition fresh off the second-best season in NBBO history: a 55-15 record, the best offense, best pitching, and third-best defense in the New York League, and a historic Run Differential of +256 that carried them to first place by a jaw-dropping seventeen games. They had the sport’s second thirty-win pitcher in James Goodman (30-6, 2.00, 10.7 WAR), a #2 in Preston Lilly who went 12-1 (3.88 ERA), a catcher who hit .398 in Lorenzo Bradford, and four other men in the lineup who hit the ball at better than a .340 clip.

Flour City was one of the most dominant teams in the history of the sport from the beginning of May to the end of July. Could they continue that form for two more weeks and take Upstate’s first cup, or would one of the usual suspects win it all?

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GAMEDAY ONE (Wed. August 11th)

ALL 7-5 KNI – OF Royal Altman (ALL): 4/5, 3B, 2 R, 2 SB
F.C. 6-4 STJ – CF Obelix Tsiaris (F.C.): 4/5, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 SB
SHA 12-11 K.C. – OF James Burke (SHA): 4/5, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 SB

The cup started with an excellent comeback win by Alleghany in Manhattan. Behind 5-1 after six innings, the team scored four times in the 7th – the key hit a three-run double by CF Joe Thatcher – to tie the game and then twice more in the 8th to go ahead. Thirty-game winner John Henry had trouble in the 9th but held Knickerbocker scoreless to preserve the win.

A four-run 6th inning aided by a two-run Tsiaris single – part of a four-hit afternoon – propelled Flour City to victory in their first cup game in five years. Thirty-game winner James Goodman was steady, allowing nine hits and three Earned Runs while sitting down four St. John’s batsmen via strikes as he earned his first career TWC victory after six losses.

What looked like an easy Shamrock victory in Brooklyn became anything but, thanks to Kings Co.’s flurry of eight runs over the final two innings before Bengt Laudrup came in to save Shamrock’s hides by getting the final two outs. Burke, William Gillette, James Johnson, William McCrory, & James Simon all had multiple hits for the winners.

GAMEDAY TWO (Thu. August 12th)

KNI 7-8 SHA – OF William McCrory (SHA): 2/5, 2B, 3B, 1 R, 1 RBI
STJ 14-10 K.C. – OF Konrad Jensen (STJ): 2/5, HR, 2 R, 5 RBI, 2 SB
ALL 10-2 F.C. – SS Gerald Strong (ALL): 2/5, 3B, 3 R, SB

McCrory was the PotG but 1B James Johnson was the “Hero of the Game” for Shamrock, as it was his single with one out in the bottom of the 8th that drove in McCrory for the winning run. The late run spoiled a fine team effort by Knickerbocker in which five players had multiple hits and they hung seven Earned Runs on Thomas Smith (21-7, 2.46 ERA).

As expected, hard-hitting offense was the theme for Kings Co. v St. John’s and Jensen started it almost immediately with a two-run homer in the top of the 1st, his 3rd career TWC round-tripper. The score 6-5 after the 5th, St. John’s would put the game away by scoring twice in each of their final four trips to bat, which was too much for Kings Co. to overcome.

Alleghany pounded Flour City #2 Preston Lilly to the tune of nine runs over three innings before Mgr. Arvin Ridley decided he needed help. Sub P Walter LaFuze was excellent, allowing just a run on two hits over six innings, but the damage had already been done and the visitors were able to coast to an easy victory to move to 2-0.

GAMEDAY THREE (Fri. August 13th)

F.C. 1-3 KNI – SS Edward Huntley (KNI): 2/4, 2B, 3B, 1 R, 2 RBI
STJ 9-10 SHA (11 Inn.) – OF James Burke (SHA): 2/4, 2B, 3B, 3 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB
K.C. 10-9 ALL – OF James Hoyt (K.C.): 2/2, 3 SAC’s, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI

James Goodman was great at Knickerbocker – 8 IP, 9 HA, 1 ER, 3 K – but Peadar Daly was even better, allowing just five hits – all singles – against the NYL’s best offense in a tense & tight contest at the Elysian Fields. Huntley, a career .405 hitter over 56 postseason games, drove in Knickerbocker’s insurance run with a double in the bottom of the 7th.

The defense that troubled St. John’s all season – NEL: 12th in E’s, 15th in ZR, 15th in dEFF – reared its ugly head late at Shamrock. With two outs in the bottom of the 9th a Passed Ball allowed James Burke to score, tying the game 9-9. Two innings later, an error by 3B Leopold Pfeiffer let James Johnson in for the winning run in the extra-inning contest.

One 10-9 game deserved another, but the visiting team won this one in Pittsburgh to give Kings Co. their 1st win and Alleghany their 1st loss. Hoyt was a brilliant team player here, as in addition to his two hits he laid down a pair of Sacrifice Bunts and hit a Sacrifice Fly. The result spoiled a three-RBI afternoon by Collin Henderson.

By the end of Gameday Three Shamrock was the only 3-0 team, and nobody was without a victory.

GAMEDAY FOUR (Sat. August 14th)

K.C. 8-11 SHA – SS Anthony Mascherino (SHA): 2/4, 2B, 2 R, 4 RBI, 3 SB
STJ 10-8 F.C. (11 Inn.) – CF William Johnson (STJ): 3/6, 2 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI, SB
KNI 17-5 ALL – C Morris Jennings (KNI): 3/5, 3 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB

Late runs – half a dozen over the 7th & 8th – kept Shamrock undefeated, as clutch batting by the middle of their lineup overcame more struggles by Thomas Smith. Mascherino was PotG, but James Burke put in another great performance: 2/5, three runs, one driven in, and a trio of stolen bases to put him at seven after just four cup games.

Preston Lilly fared better in his second TWC outing, but a two-run double by SS John Baddley in extra innings after Lilly had left the game gave St. John’s the win in Rochester. St. John’s was an absolute terror on the basepaths, with seven different players combining to steal a cup record ten bases. Flour City C Lorenzo Bradford will probably have nightmares.

It was a classic Knickerbocker performance in Pittsburgh, as they hammered Alleghany #2 Robert Dozier and substitute Robert Franklin to even their record. Jennings was given the PotG honor, but he, Charlie Greaves, Edward Huntley, Paul LaGuerre, & Jerald Peterson all had 3+ hits in what was a truly dominant team outing.

Shamrock remained the only undefeated team after Gameday Four, while a pair of teams were 1-3.

GAMEDAY FIVE (Sun. August 15th)

SHA 7-9 F.C. – OF James Burke (SHA) – 3/5, 2B, 3B, 3 R, 3 RBI, SB
ALL 7-4 STJ – P John Brown (ALL): CG, 10 HA, 4 R/ER, 1 BB, 3 K
KNI 10-9 K.C. – SS Edward Huntley (KNI): 5/5, 2 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 SB

The NBBO’s best team desperately needed a win to close out the first half of the competition, and James Goodman grabbed one for Flour City to hand Shamrock their first loss. Shamrock mounted a 9th-inning rally, but the five-run deficit was too much to erase. The loss overshadowed another mesmerizing performance by Burke – his 3rd PotG honor in five games.

Aside from allowing four runs in the 8th John Brown was outstanding at St. John’s, as the NBBO’s first 700-run team was held scoreless with just five hits over the other eight frames. By the time St. John’s was able to get on the scoreboard it was too late, as Alleghany had a 7-0 lead and was in complete control.

Huntley put in a marvelous performance for victorious Knickerbocker, but he needed assistance. With one out in the top of the 9th C Morris Jennings hit a Sacrifice Fly to bring home CF Charlie Greaves, and that was the game-winner as Tim McNaughton put K.C. down 1-2-3 in the bottom half. K.C. now has a mountain to climb to contend for the cup.

The standings after Gameday Five of the Tucker-Wheaton Cup were as follows:

TEAM			W	L	 R	RA	 RD
SHAMROCK		4	1	48	44	 +4
KNICKERBOCKER	        3	2	42	30	+12
ALLEGHANY		3	2	38	38	  0
ST. JOHN’S		2	3	41	41	  0
FLOUR CITY		2	3	26	34	 -8
KINGS COUNTY	        1	4	48	56	 -8

The standings display a leader in Shamrock and a loser in Kings County, but looks can be deceiving as the Run Differential table shows there was no dominant or meek team over the first five days. Indeed, two of K.C.’s losses were by a single run and two of Shamrock’s wins were by a lone run. The one team that had not been in a one-run game was Flour City.

The only real surprise over the first five days was that, by and large, the Flour City offense that hit .319 and scored an NYL-best 622 runs (8.9 R/G) during the season had failed to show up, as they posted a cup-high nine runs and fourteen hits in the much-needed win over Shamrock on Gameday Five. Obelix Tsiaris was their only player batting .300.

The best player of the first half of the competition? A 1A/1B between James Burke & Edward Huntley. Burke was 13/23 with thirteen runs and eight stolen bases for the leaders as he ran riot in the basepaths. Meanwhile, Huntley was batting like a man possessed: 15/23 (.652) with five doubles, a pair of triples, and an absurd OPS of 1.723. He was somehow one-upping the performance from his previous cup appearance in 1867 (10 G: 20/45, 1.245 OPS, 9 XBH, 14 R, 13 RBI).

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GAMEDAY SIX (Wed. August 18th)

KNI 6-7 F.C. – James Goodman: CG, 9 HA, 6 R/4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 2/4, 2 RBI
ALL 11-5 K.C. – OF Royal Altman (ALL): 2/5, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI
SHA 8-9 STJ (10 Inn.) – OF Nelson Townsend (STJ): 3/6, 4 R, 1 RBI, 2 SB

For the second game in a row Flour City’s offense produced when needed, and the result was a walkoff victory. In the bottom of the 7th a double by Lorenzo Bradford drove in a run to tie the game 6-6 and two innings later a sac fly by Ralph Knight won the game, meaning that a fine effort by James Goodman did not go to waste.

Alleghany was ahead 9-1 by the end of the 4th – the key hit being a three-run homer by Altman in the top of the 3rd – and it was a case of overkill given that John Henry was pitching. SS Gerald Strong was 3/6, 2B Carl Ippolito was 2/4 with a pair of runs & RBI each, and Kings County was left in the ditch.

St. John’s moved up to an even 3-3 with a thrilling comeback win over Shamrock in Providence. Down 8-5 in the 9th, a Passed Ball, Konrad Jensen sacrifice, and a Wild Pitch saw St. John’s tie the score and force extras. In the 10th, Anderson MacGyver walked with the bases loaded to win it. If Shamrock does not win the cup, they will look straight at this game.

The results of Gameday six meant Alleghany & Shamrock were tied for the lead at 4-2.

GAMEDAY SEVEN (Thu. August 19th)

K.C. 3-10 KNI – CF Charlie Greaves (KNI): 3/5, 2 2B, 1 R, 2 RBI
STJ 8-4 ALL – OF William Johnson (STJ): 2/4, 2B, 3B, 2 R, 2 SB
F.C. 0-5 SHA – P Thomas Smith (SHA): CG SHO, 4 HA, 0 BB, 2 K

Knickerbocker piled the misery on Kings County – ahead 10-1 after the 7th before allowing a couple of consolation runs to K.C. in the 9th. Greaves & OF William Gehringer, in for the injured Luc Billon, had three hits for Knickerbocker, while Knicker #2 Herman Easley did not allow an Earned Run in an easy victory for the home side.

St. John’s scored all eight of their runs over the first four innings and had a simple task from there, as #2 P Frank Keeler did well against the NBBO’s second-best offense. Four members of the St. John’s lineup had multiple hits – Johnson, John Baddley, Konrad Jensen, & Leopold Peiffer – and they stole five bases.

Thomas Smith fixed whatever had caused him to allow 23 hits & ten runs over his first fifteen innings of work in the TWC to pitch a gem of a game against Flour City. That said, it was still a close contest as the score was 2-0 before Shamrock broke it open with three runs in the 8th on a pair of singles and a sac fly.

The results of Gameday Seven left the competition very close, with five teams separated by two games:

TEAM			W	L	 R	RA	 RD
SHAMROCK		5	2	61	53	 +8
KNICKERBOCKER	        4	3	58	40	+18
ST. JOHN’S		4	3	58	53	 +5
ALLEGHANY		4	3	53	51	 +2
FLOUR CITY		3	4	33	45	-12

Kings County’s home loss to Knickerbocker left them 1-6, eliminating them from cup contention.

GAMEDAY EIGHT (Fri. August 20th)

SHA 5-9 ALL – 1B Collin Henderson (ALL): 3/4, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SB
KNI 8-9 STJ – 2B Anderson MacGyver (STJ): 2/4, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB
K.C. 7-9 F.C. – 1B Julius Bailey (F.C.) – 2/3, 2B, 2 R, 1 RBI, 2 BB

John Henry put in another fine performance and moved to 4-1 in the TWC, as Alleghany scored nine times over the middle innings to beat Shamrock and their star #1 Tom Ricks, whose ERA flew up to 5.94 over 36.1 innings during the cup. Henderson was the key man in the Alleghany lineup, but SS Gerald Strong & CF Joe Thatcher also had multiple hits.

It was an absolute classic in Providence. St. John’s was up 6-1 before Knickerbocker plated seven in the 8th thanks to a series of singles, but the hosts got up and fought back. In the bottom of the 9th, after sub Cathan Morgan hit a sac fly to bring the score to 8-7 fellow sub Peter Caliguri singled in MacGyver & Leopold Peiffer to win a thriller for St. John’s.

Flour City did what was needed and beat hopeless Kings County to move to 4-4, although they did have late difficulty. Ahead 9-3 going into the 9th, James Goodman let the K.C. batsmen take four runs off him before he was able to get 3B Leen van Rooij to ground out and allow everyone to let out a large sigh of relief.

The results of Gameday Eight meant the five teams were even closer than they were the previous day:

TEAM			W	L	 R	RA	 RD
ST. JOHN’S		5	3	67	61	 +6
ALLEGHANY		5	3	62	56	 +6
SHAMROCK		5	3	66	62	 +4
KNICKERBOCKER	        4	4	66	49	+17
FLOUR CITY		4	4	42	52	-10

This was the closest the TWC had been so late in the competition since the famed 1865 edition, in which each of the top five teams was still in contention to win outright or force a playoff on Gameday Ten.

GAMEDAY NINE (Sat. August 21st)

F.C. 6-7 ALL – OF Royal Altman (ALL) – 2/5, 3 RBI, SB
K.C. 2-13 STJ – CF William Johnson (STJ) – 3/4, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB, SB
SHA 5-9 KNI – 1B Paul LaGuerre (KNI) – 3/5, 2B, 2 R, 1 RBI

It was agony for Flour City and ecstasy for Alleghany, as the hosts turned a 6-5 deficit into a 7-6 win over the final two innings in Pittsburgh. With two out in the bottom of the 8th Altman singled in Walt Anderson to level the score 6-6, and in the next inning little-used sub OF William Grider singled in Joe Thatcher to win it and put Alleghany at 6-3.

St. John’s knew this game would be their best shot at a win in the cup, and their aim was true as they easily dispatched Kings County. Johnson and five other members of the St. John’s lineup had multiple hits, he and four others scored multiple runs, and Johnson along with three other St. John’s players had multiple RBI.

Knickerbocker was well-aware that a home win over Shamrock was needed to keep up with the leaders, as they could not at all count on losses by Alleghany or St. John’s. They beat Shamrock thanks to seven runs over the 5th, 6th, & 7th innings. LaGuerre was PotG, but he, Edward Huntley, and four other Knick players had multiple hits in the big victory.

The standings after Gameday Nine:

TEAM			W	L	 R	RA	 RD
ST. JOHN’S		6	3	80	63	+17
ALLEGHANY		6	3	69	62	 +7
KNICKERBOCKER	        5	4	75	54	+21
SHAMROCK		5	4	71	71	--
FLOUR CITY		4	5	48	59	-11

The heartbreaking loss at Alleghany eliminated Flour City, which meant the season of the second-best team in NBBO history had effectively come to a close. Four teams could still either win the cup outright – Alleghany & Shamrock – or force a playoff – Knickerbocker & Shamrock – on the final day.

With everyone playing at the same time on Gameday Ten, anything could happen. Alleghany would be playing at Shamrock, while St. John’s would spend the day at the Elysian Fields battling Knickerbocker. Two combinations of results meant someone won the cup outright, one set of results meant there would be a one-game playoff at Red House, and if both home teams won there would have to be a four-team playoff to decide who would lift the cup in 1869.

GAMEDAY TEN (Sun. August 22nd)

F.C. 12-5 K.C. – OF Burkhard Winter (F.C.): 5/6, 2B, 3 R, 1 RBI, SB
ALL 9-4 SHA – P John Henry (ALL): CG, 9 HA, 4 R/2 ER, 0 BB/2 K, 2 RBI
STJ 4-5 KNI – P Peadar Daly (KNI): CG, 8 HA, 4 R/2 ER, 1 BB/1 K, 1/3

Flour City ended the cup on a high note in the game that had no bearing on who would be the champion. Winter was excellent, Obelix Tsiaris was 4/5 while scoring three runs, and James Goodman pitched the whole game while striking out three to finish the cup a fine 5-2 with a 3.76 ERA. For Kings County, the end could not come quickly enough.

In the first of the two games to determine whether a playoff would be needed, Alleghany beat Shamrock in Boston thanks to a seven-run rally in the 8th inning. Two-run singles by CF Joe Thatcher & P John Henry were the key hits there, with the result making Henry 5-1 for the cup while Alleghany was 7-3 and waiting to hear about the outcome of the other game.

At the same time Alleghany was winning in Boston, St. John’s was playing at Knickerbocker. If St. John’s won there would be a one-game playoff on Monday. If Knickerbocker won then Alleghany would bring the cup to Pittsburgh for the first time. What would happen?

The game at the Elysian Fields was surprisingly heavy on pitching – St. John’s had eight hits and Knickerbocker just five as John Brown was excellent. However, with the score 4-3 to St. John’s in the bottom of the 7th their season-long bugbear of defense showed itself again. With two out and men on base, consecutive errors by St. John’s fielders allowed Daly to score and tie the game 4-4. Then, a Passed Ball sent Edward Huntley speeding home to put Knickerbocker ahead. From there Daly, who was excellent, held St. John’s scoreless even though there were men on 2nd & 3rd in the top of the 9th.

When the telegrams came through to Boston, the celebrations began. Alleghany had won the Tucker-Wheaton Cup, their first in eight attempts at postseason glory. Alleghany had officially joined the Cup Winners Club that included Kings County, Knickerbocker, Shamrock, St. John’s, & Orange BBC.

It was now Pittsburgh’s turn to celebrate as the newest city to host the champions of base ball.