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

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1870 NBBO STANDINGS





TUCKER-WHEATON CUP XIV

TEAM			W	L	 R	RA	 RD
ST. JOHN’S*		8	3	84	62	+22
KNICKERBOCKER	        7	4	74	54	+20
ATLANTIC		5	5	61	68	 -7
ALLEGHANY**		4	6	71	76	 -5
MASS. BAY		4	6	68	76	 -8
FLOUR CITY		3	7	50	72	-22
*StJ won cup via playoff vs KNI
**ALL 1-1 vs M.B., better RD

Most Valuable Player: Konrad Jensen (OF, St. John’s)

GAMEDAY ONE: Knickerbocker opens cup with walkoff win against Mass. Bay.
GAMEDAY TWO: Atlantic & Mass. Bay record their first ever wins in cup play.
GAMEDAY THREE: Mass. Bay beats reigning champions Alleghany in 10 innings.
GAMEDAY FOUR: All three away teams – FC, KNI, & STJ – are victorious.
GAMEDAY FIVE: Flour City wins 4-2 (James Goodman CG) to hand Knickerbocker their first loss.
GAMEDAY SIX: St. John’s wins 4-1 at Knickerbocker to move into a tie for 1st at 4-2.
GAMEDAY SEVEN: St. John’s goes alone in 1st w/ 5-3 win. Konrad Jensen: 3/4, 2B, R, RBI, 2 SB
GAMEDAY EIGHT: Knick wins at St. John’s & Atlantic wins at Alleghany to create a three-way tie for 1st at 5-3.
GAMEDAY NINE: Knick beats Atlantic & St. John’s beats Flour City. KNI & STJ tied for 1st at 6-3.
GAMEDAY TEN: Knick wins 11-2 v FC & St. John’s wins 14-9 v ALL. Both teams 7-3; playoff needed.
PLAYOFF: St. John’s beats Knickerbocker 7-2 at St. George Cricket Grounds to claim 5th NBBO championship.

ST. JOHN’S: Konrad Jensen (OF) .458 (22/48), 1.051 OPS, 14 R, 3 XBH, 16 RBI, 5 BB, 14 SB, 1.12 WPA, 0.9 WAR
KNICKERBOCKER: Edward Donovan (OF) .370 (17/46), .865 OPS, 10 R, 4 XBH, 15 RBI, 3 BB, 6 SB, 0.70 WPA, 0.5 WAR
ATLANTIC: Walter Williams (CF) .311 (14/45), .778 OPS, 15 R, 6 XBH, 6 RBI, 1 BB, 13 SB, 1.14 WPA, 0.4 WAR
ALLEGHANY: Royal Altman (OF) .440 (22/50), 1.100 OPS, 17 R, 8 XBH, 1 HR, 11 RBI, 10 SB, 1.90 WPA, 0.8 WAR
MASS. BAY: Thomas Maloney (OF) .279 (12/43), .832 OPS, 11 R, 6 XBH, 11 RBI, 6 BB, 3 SB, 0.52 WPA, 0.4 WAR
FLOUR CITY: James Goodman (P) 3-3, 3.45 ERA, 44.1 IP, 3 CG, 0 SHO, 5 BB, 13 K, 1.40 WHIP, 0.9 WAR

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NEW YORK LEAGUE AWARD WINNERS

BATSMAN OF THE YEAR: Reginald Roper – 24 y/o OF, Flour City (1st BotY award)

• .404/.426/.556, .982 OPS, 86 R, 131 H, 25 2B, 12 3B, 0 HR, 76 RBI, 14 BB, 6 SB, 180 TB, 3.13 WPA, 3.5 WAR
• Led NYL in SLG, Hits, RBI, & TB; 2nd in AVG; 3rd in XBH & OPS
• Walter Dudley (1B, ATL) 2nd – New York League Most Valuable Player
• Babe Johnson (2B, GOT) 3rd – .385, .994 OPS, 87 R, 111 H, 25 2B, 9 3B, 1 HR, 59 RBI, 38 BB, 28 SB, 4.13 WPA, 3.8 WAR

Roper wasn’t the Batting Champion, but he did lead the NYL in four major batting categories while finishing 2nd in average and 3rd in OPS. Simply put, he was a step above everyone else in the NYL this season. Dudley won MVP but wasn’t dominant enough to earn “The Double”. Johnson had an outstanding 2nd season as an NBBO regular for Gotham.

PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Jim Creighton – 29 y/o, Excelsior (1st PotY award)

• 27-15, 3.26, 356.0 IP, 30 CG, 3 SHO, 36 BB, 162 K, 1.18 WHIP, 4.1 K/9, 4.5 K/BB, 9.8 WAR, 8.8 rWAR
• Led NYL in K’s & K/9 for 10th straight season; 2nd in Wins; led NBBO in Pitching WAR for 6th time
• Peadar Daly (KNI) 2nd – 29-10, 3.30 ERA, 357.2 IP, 31 CG, 1 SHO, 24 K, 1.18 WHIP, 0.9 BB/K, 5.6 WAR, 11.1 rWAR
• James Goodman (FC) 3rd – 26-10, 2.57 ERA, 347.0 IP, 26 CG, 0 SHO, 97 K, 1.29 WHIP, 2.9 K/BB, 8.8 WAR, 10.9 rWAR

Creighton’s ERA was higher than last year’s, but after a 27-win season in which he led the NBBO in all K-related categories and was back on top in Pitching WAR, PotY was finally his. There was a movement to put Monroe Munson (NIA - 19-19, 2.52 ERA) in 3rd to acknowledge his record-breaking five Shutouts, but there are numerous reasons why Creighton, Daly, & Goodman have been the top three for NYL PotY both years it’s been handed out.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Walter Dudley – 29 y/o 1B, Atlantic (1st MVP award)

• .415/.440/.545, .985 OPS, 75 R, 125 H, 28 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 65 RBI, 14 BB, 4 SB, 164 TB, 3.89 WPA, 3.3 WAR
• NYL Batting Champion; 29/47 (.617) w/ 15 R, 7 2B, 2 HR, 21 RBI, 1.530 OPS over final two weeks of July
• James Goodman (P, FC) 2nd – New York League Pitcher of the Year 3rd place
• Edward Huntley (SS, KNI 3rd – .341, .856 OPS, 62 R, 105 H, 26 2B, 5 3B, 59 RBI, 37 SB, +12.6 ZR, 3.19 WPA, 3.9 WAR

There were other batsmen who had better peripheral statistics than Dudley, but he earned the MVP for those two weeks in July that clinched Atlantic’s first pennant. It was among the best high-pressure batsmanship ever seen. Goodman’s value was once again proven in cup play. As great as Huntley was, this was still his least productive season as a Knick player.

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Fred Bartholomew – 24 y/o OF, Flour City

• .374/.391/.505, .896 OPS, 83 R, 120 H, 16 2B, 10 3B, 2 HR, 68 RBI, 10 BB, 25 SB, +10.1 ZR, 4.01 WPA, 2.5 WAR
• Made All-Star Game in 1st NBBO season; Top five in NYL in five offensive categories
• Louis Dyke (KNI) 2nd – .302, .702 OPS, 81 R, 98 H, 19 2B, 4 3B, 0 HR, 50 RBI, 35 SB, +10.5 ZR, 1.39 WPA, 2.3 WAR
• Burton Ellerby (SS, GOT) 3rd – .317, .713 OPS, 61 R, 89 H, 19 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 61 RBI, 1 SB, +8.8 ZR, 1.22 WPA, 1.8 WAR

Bartholomew makes it two straight GotY winners for Flour City. He was excellent with the bat, and if he adds patience at the plate Bartholomew could become a top-ten batsman in the NBBO. Dyke’s offense started brilliantly but faded over the season, though his glovework remained excellent. Ellerby had a fine debut season with Gotham.

GOLDEN GLOVES

P: James Goodman (FC, 3rd) – 18 PO, 47 AST, 1 DP, 8 E, 1.69 RNG, +9.4 ZR, 1.159 EFF
C: Morris Jennings (KNI, 1st) – 36.7 RTO%, 2.61 C-ERA, +6.2 ZR, 1.064 EFF
1B: John Bateman (EXC, 2nd) – 617 PO, 49 AST, 24 DP, 14 E, 11.54 RNG, +4.9 ZR, 1.057 EFF
2B: Ralph Knight (FC, 1st) – 164 PO, 214 AST, 19 DP, 42 E, 6.43 RNG, +13.0 ZR, 1.129 EFF
3B: James Lindsey (SYR, 1st) – 48 PO, 182 AST, 4 DP, 29 E, 3.56 RNG, +6.8 ZR, 1.103 EFF
SS: Marcel Bresciani (ATL, 2nd) – 151 PO, 269 AST, 15 DP, 60 E, 6.11 RNG, +25.8 ZR, 1.162 EFF
OF: Edward Donovan (KNI, 1st) – 144 PO, 1 AST, 25 E, +2.1 ARM, 2.17 RNG, +5.1 ZR, 1.069 EFF
CF: William Buschmann (UTI, 1st) – 233 PO, 11 AST, 33 E, 3.62 RNG, +1.0 ARM, +9.8 ZR, 1.057 EFF
OF: Henry Card (NIA, 1st) – 161 PO, 3 AST, 39 E, +0.6 ARM, 2.39 RNG, +9.2 ZR, 1.100 EFF

TEAM OF THE YEAR

P: Peadar Daly (KNI, 1st) - 29-10, 3.30 ERA, 357.2 IP, 31 CG, 1 SHO, 28 BB, 24 K, 1.18 WHIP, 0.6 K/9, 0.9 K/BB, 5.6 WAR, 11.1 rWAR
C: Everett Schreiber (ORA, 3rd) - .399 AVG, .954 OPS, 60 R, 114 H, 25 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 54 RBI, 19 BB, 0 SB, 146 TB, 3.02 WPA, 3.7 WAR
1B: Walter Dudley (ATL, 2nd) - .415 AVG, .985 OPS, 75 R, 125 H, 28 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 65 RBI, 14 BB, 4 SB, 164 TB, 3.89 WPA, 3.3 WAR
2B: Babe Johnson (GOT, 1st) - .385 AVG, .449 OBP, .994 OPS, 87 R, 111 H, 25 2B, 9 3B, 1 HR, 59 RBI, 38 BB, 26 SB, 157 TB, 4.13 WPA, 3.6 WAR
3B: Jerald Peterson (MIN, 5th) - .355 AVG, .870 OPS, 74 R, 108 H, 23 2B, 4 3B, 2 HR, 64 RBI, 20 BB, 13 SB, 145 TB, 3.34 WPA, 2.6 WAR
SS: Anthony Mascherino (ORA, 11th) - .350 AVG, .823 OPS, 73 R, 110 H, 18 2B, 6 3B, 58 RBI, 14 BB, 31 SB, 140 TB, +18.7 ZR, 3.16 WPA, 4.2 WAR
OF: William Gentilucci (NC, 1st) - .401 AVG, .951 OPS, 63 R, 120 H, 18 2B, 7 3B, 1 HR, 46 RBI, 17 BB, 2 SB, 155 TB, 2.78 WPA, 3.3 WAR
CF: Taliesin Buckley (NIA, 5th) - .367 AVG, .892 OPS, 72 R, 114 H, 23 2B, 8 3B, 1 HR, 51 RBI, 12 BB, 64 SB, 156 TB, +10.2 ZR, 3.69 WPA, 4.4 WAR
OF: Reginald Roper (FC, 2nd) - .404 AVG, .556 SLG, .982 OPS, 86 R, 131 H, 25 2B, 12 3B, 76 RBI, 14 BB, 6 SB, 180 TB, 3.13 WPA, 3.5 WAR

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NORTHEASTERN LEAGUE AWARD WINNERS

BATSMAN OF THE YEAR: William Dickerson – 23 y/o 3B, Quaker State (1st BotY Award)

• .418/.438/.619, 1.058 OPS, 82 R, 133 H, 31 2B, 15 3B, 1 HR, 75 RBI, 16 BB, 44 SB, 197 TB, 5.22 WPA, 4.2 WAR
• Led NEL in SLG, OPS, H, 2B, 3B, XBH, & TB; Tied w/ Cormack Alexander for NEL Batting Champion
• Nelson Townsend (OF, STJ) 2nd – Northeastern League Most Valuable Player
• Cormack Alexander (1B, QS) 3rd – .418, .979 OPS, 62 R, 128 H, 20 2B, 4 3B, 1 HR, 71 RBI, 23 BB, 5 SB, 5.47 WPA, 3.7 WAR

For almost the entire season it looked like Townsend would win “The Double”, but a .150 final week opened the door for Dickerson, who had the greatest season of any 3B in NBBO history – better than anything Samuel Kessler has ever done – at the age of 23. Alexander was so good that the Writers Pool broke tradition and put a pair of teammates in the top three.

PITCHER OF THE YEAR: John Henry – 31 y/o, Alleghany (2nd PotY award)

• 30-7, 3.05 ERA, 330.2 IP, 29 CG, 1 SHO, 28 BB, 31 K, 1.15 WHIP, 0.8 K/9, 1.1 K/BB, 6.0 WAR, 8.6 rWAR
• Won 30 games for 2nd season in a row; 1st P w/ 30 Wins in a season twice; 21-4, 2.73 ERA after June 1st
• Thomas Smith (STJ) 2nd – 30-8, 2.55 ERA, 332.1 IP, 31 CG, 1 SHO, 23 K, 1.22 WHIP, 0.6 K/BB, 5.7 WAR, 8.6 rWAR
• James Dressman (PORT) 3rd – Northeastern League Greenhorn of the Year

In the most intense award debate in NBBO history – the result was nearly a tie – what put Henry ahead of Smith was Henry’s record after the calendar turned to June and the fact that he pitched better in the cup, record aside. Smith has nothing to drown his sorrows over. Dressman was the best of a bumper crop of outstanding Greenhorn pitchers.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Nelson Townsend – 29 y/o OF, St. John’s (1st MVP award)

• .408/.460/.536, .996 OPS, 101 R, 125 H, 19 2B, 10 3B, 0 HR, 55 RBI, 26 BB, 64 SB, 164 TB, 5.55 WPA, 4.7 WAR
• Led NEL in Runs, WPA, & WAR; Hit .400 for 1st time; 19/48 (.396) w/ 16 R, 8 RBI, 1.103 OPS in cup play
• John Henry (P, ALL) 2nd – Northeastern League Pitcher of the Year
• Thomas Maloney (OF, MB) 3rd – .350, .830 OPS, 76 R, 109 H, 20 2B, 5 3B, 61 RBI, 17 BB, 23 SB, 3.67 WPA, 2.2 WAR

If not for one bad week at the end Townsend would’ve become the third player to win BotY & MVP in the same season, but he was still an extremely deserving MVP since he led NEL batsmen in both WPA & WAR. Henry was historically brilliant again for Alleghany. Maloney was the most important player on a Mass. Bay team that had no standouts.

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: James Dressman – 25 y/o P, Portland

• 24-16, 2.67 ERA, 336.2 IP, 24 CG, 2 SHO, 40 BB, 30 K, 1.24 WHIP, 0.8 K/9, 0.8 K/BB, 5.5 WAR, 7.4 rWAR
• Only NEL Greenhorn named to the All-Star Game; Had 8 Wins in May, June, & July
• Ben Gagliardi (SS, SotO) – .348, .787 OPS, 57 R, 101 H, 18 2B, 4 3B, 53 RBI, 13 SB, +11.1 ZR, 1.96 WPA, 2.4 WAR
• Ernest Duncan (P, SHA) 3rd – 21-5, 2.54 ERA, 248.0 IP, 22 CG, 10 K, 1.05 WHIP, 0.3 BB/9, 1.4 K/BB, 3.9 WAR, 7.6 rWAR

Dressman takes a deserved GotY after being named the 3rd-best pitcher in the NEL for 1870. He helped keep Portland in the top half of N. England when #2 Oliver Erickson (6-15) struggled. Gagliardi came out of nowhere during July to wind up the best SS in the NEL. Duncan was great, but 10 K’s meant much of his success was owed to the Shamrock defense.

GOLDEN GLOVES

P: Thomas Paddock (PIO, 1st) – 14 PO, 64 AST, 3 DP, 17 E, 2.04 RNG, +9.5 ZR, 1.100 EFF
C: Alvin Morse (MM, 1st) – 36.4 RTO%, 3.00 C-ERA, +7.9 ZR, 1.045 EFF
1B: Cormack Alexander (QS, 2nd) – 742 PO, 74 AST, 24 DP, 22 E, 11.92 RNG, +5.5 ZR, 1.070 EFF
2B: William Gillette (SHA, 5th) – 196 PO, 238 AST, 33 DP, 30 E, 6.62 RNG, +20.8 ZR, 1.214 EFF
3B: Herbert Ray (PJ, 2nd) – 83 PO, 173 AST, 9 DP, 27 E, 3.76 RNG, +10.2 ZR, 1.113 EFF
SS: Gerald Strong (ALL, 2nd) – 157 PO, 239 AST, 24 DP, 62 E, 5.80 RNG, +24.0 ZR, 1.188 EFF
OF: Curtis Bowman (CAN, 1st) – 158 PO, 4 AST, 23 E, +0.3 ARM, 2.46 RNG, +10.0 ZR, 1.145 EFF
CF: Lars Kelson (PORT, 1st) – 254 PO, 4 AST, 66 E, +0.6 ARM, 3.84 RNG, +11.5 ZR, 1.074 EFF
OF: Nelson Albrecht (TU, 1st) – 154 PO, 5 AST, 39 E, +0.7 ARM, 2.58 RNG, +7.2 ZR, 1.100 EFF

TEAM OF THE YEAR

P: John Henry (ALL, 2nd) - 30-7, 3.05 ERA, 330.2 IP, 29 CG, 1 SHO, 28 BB, 31 K, 1.15 WHIP, 0.8 K/9, 1.1 K/BB, 6.0 WAR, 8.6 rWAR
C: Howard LeBouf (AME, 1st) - .344 AVG, .752 OPS, 51 R, 99 H, 10 2B, 2 3B, 0 HR, 54 RBI, 10 BB, 18 SB, 113 TB, 2.50 WPA, 2.0 WAR
1B: Cormack Alexander (QS, 4th) - .418 AVG, .979 OPS, 62 R, 128 H, 20 2B, 4 3B, 1 HR, 71 RBI, 23 BB, 5 SB, 159 TB, 5.47 WPA, 3.7 WAR
2B: Leslie Arnett (MB, 6th) - .333 AVG, .814 OPS, 77 R, 104 H, 22 2B, 5 3B, 1 HR, 50 RBI, 17 BB, 11 SB, 139 TB, 2.06 WPA, 2.3 WAR
3B: William Dickerson (QS, 1st) - .418 AVG, .619 SLG, 1.058 OPS, 82 R, 133 H, 47 XBH, 31 2B, 15 3B, 1 HR, 75 RBI, 44 SB, 197 TB, 5.22 WPA, 4.2 WAR
SS: Ben Gagliardi (SotO, 1st) - .348 AVG, .787 OPS, 57 R, 101 H, 18 2B, 4 3B, 53 RBI, 1 BB, 13 SB, 127 TB, +11.1 ZR, 1.96 WPA, 2.4 WAR
OF: Konrad Jensen (STJ, 10th) - .383 AVG, .477 OBP, .950 OPS, 93 R, 110 H, 18 2B, 4 3B, 64 RBI, 50 BB, 64 SB, 136 TB, 4.6 WPA, 4.1 WAR
CF: James Burke (SHA, 2nd) - .352 AVG, .856 OPS, 88 R, 113 H, 22 2B, 9 3B, 0 HR, 59 RBI, 14 BB, 71 SB, 153 TB, 2.96 WPA, 4.3 WAR
OF: Nelson Townsend (STJ, 5th) - .408 AVG, .996 OPS, 101 R, 125 H, 19 2B, 10 3B, 0 HR, 55 RBI, 26 BB, 64 SB, 164 TB, 5.55 WPA, 4.7 WAR

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MISCELLANEOUS

SEASON RECORDS

• Tarmo Kuopio (STJ) set a new record for Runs Batted In during a season with 92.
• Manuel Romeiras (HAR) set a new record for Triples in a season with 20.
• John Henry (ALL) & Thomas Smith (STJ) tied the record for Wins in a season with 30.
• Monroe Munson (NIA) set a new record for Shutouts pitched in a season with 5.
• Edward Koch (UNI) set a new record for BB/9 with 0.22 (326.1 IP).

NEW YORK LEAGUE LEADERS

• Average: .415 by Walter Dudley (ATL)
• On-Base: .449 by Babe Johnson (GOT)
• Slugging: .556 by Reginald Roper (FC)
• OPS: .994 by Babe Johnson (ATL)
• Hits: 131 by Reginald Roper (FC)
• Extra-Base Hits: 41 by Garfield Koonce (KC)
• Doubles: 40 by Garfield Koonce (K.C.)
• Triples: 20 by Manuel Romeiras (HAR)
• Home Runs: 5 by Jackson Watts (HAR)
• Runs Batted In: 76 by Reginald Roper (FC)
• Runs: 87 by Babe Johnson (GOT)
• Stolen Bases: 72 by Walter Williams (ATL)
• Total Bases: 180 by Reginald Roper (FC)
• Bases on Balls: 52 by Walter Driscoll (MIN)
• Win Prob. Added: 4.52 by Mario Fusilli (SYR)
• Batter WAR: 4.4 by Taliesin Buckley (NIA)

• Wins: 29 by Peadar Daly (KNI)
• Losses: 28 by Albert Dyer (NC)
• Earned Run Average: 2.01 by Gus Woods (NIA) over 241.2 IP
• Innings: 357.2 by Peadar Daly (KNI)
• Complete Games: 31 by Peadar Daly (KNI)
• Shutouts: 5 by Monroe Munson (NIA)
• Walk Rate: 0.2 BB/9 by Edward Koch (UNI) over 326.1 IP
• Strikeouts: 162 by Jim Creighton (EXC)
• Strikeout Rate: 4.1 K/9 by Jim Creighton (EXC) over 356.0 IP
• K/BB Ratio: 4.5/1 by Jim Creighton (F.C.)
• WHIP: 0.99 by Sammie Cato (KNI) over 239.1 IP
• Pitching WAR: 9.8 by Jim Creighton (EXC)
• Pitching rWAR: 11.1 by Peadar Daly (KNI)

NORTHEASTERN LEAGUE LEADERS

• Average: .418 by Cormack Alexander (QS) & William Dickerson (QS)
• On-Base: .477 by Konrad Jensen (StJ)
• Slugging: .619 by William Dickerson (QS)
• OPS: 1.058 by William Dickerson (QS)
• Hits: 133 by William Dickerson (QS)
• Extra-Base Hits: 47 by William Dickerson (QS)
• Doubles: 31 by William Dickerson (QS)
• Triples: 15 by William Dickerson (QS)
• Home Runs: 4 by William Busby (AME)
• Runs Batted In: 92 by Tarmo Kuopio (StJ)
• Runs: 101 by Nelson Townsend (StJ)
• Stolen Bases: 71 by James Burke (SHA)
• Total Bases: 197 by William Dickerson (QS)
• Bases on Balls: 51 by James Heilman (PORT) & William Johnson (StJ)
• Win Prob. Added: 5.55 by Nelson Townsend (StJ)
• Batter WAR: 4.7 by Nelson Townsend (StJ)

• Wins: 30 by John Henry (ALL) & Thomas Smith (StJ)
• Losses: 30 by William Spears (PJ)
• Earned Run Average: 2.54 by Ernest Duncan (SHA) over 248.0 IP
• Innings: 361.1 by Fred Richards (S.o.t.O.)
• Complete Games: 31 by Thomas Smith (StJ)
• Shutouts: 3 by Daniel Flynn (MB)
• Walk Rate: 0.3 BB/9 by Ernest Duncan (SHA) over 248.0 IP
• Strikeouts: 75 by Elmer Seabold (SUS)
• Strikeout Rate: 2.0 K/9 by Elmer Seabold (SUS) over 329.2 IP
• K/BB Ratio: 1.6/1 by Bubba Mack (LE)
• WHIP: 1.05 by Ernest Duncan (SHA) over 248.0 IP
• Pitching WAR: 7.3 by Everton McLean (CAN)
• Pitching rWAR: 10.0 by Fred Richards (SotO)

ACHIEVEMENTS & NOTABLE EVENTS

• May 4: Everton McLean (CAN) becomes the first P to record a Shutout in his NBBO debut (2 HA, 1 K)
• May 18: Carl Bancroft (GOT) becomes the first pitcher with 250 career Wins.
• June 1: Jim Creighton (EXC) bats 4/5 (3 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB) while pitching a 22-0 Shutout (7 HA, 1 BB, 8 K) v Atlantic.
• June 11: Julius Bailey (FC) records five Hits on consecutive days, going 10/10 over the two games.
• June 18: Seven Gotham batsmen record 3+ Hits in their 25-3 win against Metropolitan.
• June 19: Nelson Townsend (STJ) becomes the 1st player with seven Hits in a nine-inning game.
• June 19: Townsend & Tarmo Kuopio (STJ 3-4 batsmen) combine to hit 13/14 (8 R, 9 RBI) v Portland.
• July 6: Jim Creighton (EXC) becomes the 2nd pitcher with 250 career Wins.
• July 15: Thomas Maloney (MB) becomes the 1st player with 1,500 career Hits.
• July 21: The Hitting Streak of William Gentilucci (NC) ends at a record-tying 42 games.
• Aug 1: The NYL wins the All-Star Game 9-7 at Recreation Park (ALL) in front of a crowd of more than 17,000.
• August 6: John Henry (ALL) reaches 30 Wins for 2nd straight season; also 1st P with 30 Wins in a season twice.
• August 6: Thomas Smith (STJ) becomes the 4th pitcher with 30 Wins in a season.

• A record six players hit over .400: Cormack Alexander (QS) at .4183, William Dickerson (QS) at .4182, Walter Dudley (ATL) at .415, Nelson Townsend (STJ) at .408, Reginald Roper (FC) at .404, & William Gentilucci (NC) at .401
• There were two six-hit games: Tarmo Kuopio & Nelson Townsend (STJ) on the same day at Portland.
• Jackson Watts (HAR) was the only player with 5+ HR, the 2nd straight season only one player hit that many.
• Tarmo Kuopio (STJ) & Reginald Roper (FC) were the only players with 75+ RBI in 1870.
• For the second straight season, two pitchers finished the season with 30 Wins.
• A record eight pitchers finished the season with 25+ Wins.
• Two players had 70+ Stolen Bases in the same season for the 1st time: Walter Williams (ATL) & James Burke (SHA)

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APBL RULES FLESHED OUT AT AUTUMN MEETINGS
ROSTER RULES & PLAYER REGULATIONS FINALIZED; APBL OFFICIALLY READY FOR BUSINESS

NEW YORK CITY (Nov 11-14, 1870) - The National Base Ball Organization’s Autumn Meetings took place over the previous four days at the familiar St. Nicholas Hotel, and as part of those meetings the clubs exiting for the American Professional Baseball League hammered out agreements on the rules & regulations of their new competition.

With the ever-respected author of “The Laws of Baseball”, Knickerbocker president Doc Adams, overseeing things, many of the outstanding issues facing the 1871 seasons were discussed, debated, and eventually agreed upon over the course of the four days.

First up, the makeup of the APBL. It was announced during midseason how the two groups of teams would likely be split up, but here it was made official:

• COLONIAL CONFERENCE: Alleghany, Flour City, Mass. Bay, Niagara, Shamrock, St. John’s
• METROPOLITAN CONFERENCE: American, Excelsior, Gotham, Kings Co., Knickerbocker, Orange

The second order of business came from the NBBO. With a professional league now in existence, the Executive Committee wanted to differentiate between the APBL & NBBO and came up with a classification for both competitions:

• PROFESSIONAL LEAGUE (PRO): American Professional Baseball League
• REGIONAL LEAGUE (REG): National Base Ball Organization

Now it was time for a rough outline of the schedule:

• Each team shall play every other team in its conference eighteen times, for a total of 90 games, beginning in May. Teams will play a pair of three-game series each week, totaling six games. The season will be fifteen weeks in length.

• The first-place team in each conference will contest a seven-game series for the APBL championship after the end of the season.

The winners of each conference would be playing for a new cup as well. Executives from the five founding APBL clubs signed a contract with Tiffany & Co. (NOTE: it was founded in 1837), a Connecticut luxury goods company newly established in Manhattan and noted for its excellence in Sterling silver craftsmanship, to create a trophy to be given out at the climax of the first APBL Championship Series that would henceforth be known as the “Founders Cup”.

Next on the list was the basic roster rules which, were quickly agreed upon with this decree:

• Basic roster regulations for the clubs of the APBL shall remain identical to those of the NBBO. Each club may have 18 men on its Senior Roster and 18 men on its Reserve Roster. All club members may take part in the April training exercises, and there are no restrictions on who teams can sign with respect to country of birth.

Now it was time to discuss finances. First to be decreed was what a professional team should charge its attending fans:

• While ticket prices in the NBBO were 10¢ per person, formal discussions with club patrons have found that they are more than willing to pay 25¢ per ticket to attend games between teams in a fully professional competition.

(In real life, the National Association charged 50¢ per ticket when it began play in 1871. Based on the AI financials in OOTP, I don’t know how those teams weren’t swimming in cash.)

Then came the most important part of the discussions: rules regarding how much players should be paid and when they could move clubs. In the NBBO players typically worked on agreements of one or two years with the clubs they were playing for, as it was supposed to be an amateur competition with players leaving to work their regular jobs as soon as the season ended.

In the APBL, baseball would be the player’s job. That meant much more formal governance regarding the players, and how teams dealt with them, was needed.

First came the official decree regarding pay:

• Given that the average weekly wage packet for skilled laborers is somewhere in the region of $15 per week for six days of work, players on Senior Rosters in the APBL should be considered skilled laborers and guaranteed pay of at least $15 per week. For a fifteen-week season, that would guarantee a seasonal wage of at least $225 per player. Clubs may pay their Senior Roster players whatever they wish beyond that amount.

• Players on a club’s Reserve Roster may be professional or they may be on a Reserve Roster Contract, which gives the player amateur status.

It was estimated by some executives at the meetings that an “Average Quality” Senior Roster player should expect to make at least $400 per season, with the best players in the sport making in excess of $1,500.

Now it was time for the very fine details – regulations regarding player movement:

• Greenhorns in the APBL shall be bound to their initial clubs for four years, a length of time similar to an apprenticeship, unless the club decides grant them their release. After that four-year period, the player shall be granted their “Freedom of Agency”, provided they have not already stated their desire to remain with the club.

• After their Greenhorn season, APBL players will be able to request a raise and have a New York judge act as an arbiter to decide if an increase in pay is warranted.

• Time spent in the NBBO by players who were formally paid will count toward Professional Service Time for any players who move between the two competitions.

And then came the conundrum: contracts. How long should they be? Two years? Five years? Eight years? Life? It was thought that having a maximum “Personal Services Contract” length of four years to match the Free Agency length made sense, but some club executives were worried that star players would move around too much. That led long-time Gotham president Johnny Morton to make an off-the-cuff suggestion: “Well, if you really want someone to work for you that badly why not just give him a job offer that’s good for a decade?”

There was the winner. Clubs could offer Senior Roster players professional contracts that would last for up to ten years, or most of their career. Of course, there would be an inherent risk that a player would decline and lose their place in the team over that time, but these ten-year offers would likely only go to the best of the best: the Creightons, the Jensens, etc.

Award discussion was easy. The APBL would offer the same kinds of awards the NBBO did, and with the same names.

All-Star Game discussion was similar, but with a slight twist. With only six teams per conference Adams and the executives figured that it would be for the best if there were only twenty men representing each, similar to the first few years of the NBBO All-Star Game. Also, everyone felt that all twelve teams should be represented.

And that was that. The APBL now had a format, a schedule, a structure, a rulebook, and it was open & ready for business.

[tm1681]

TWELVE NEW CLUBS BROUGHT INTO NBBO FOLD
REPLACEMENTS FOR THOSE DEPARTING FOR APBL ANNOUNCED AT AUTUMN MEETINGS

NEW YORK CITY (Nov 11-14, 1870) - The National Base Ball Organization spent part of its Fall Meetings watching the twelve runaway clubs that formed the APBL get down to the nuts & bolts of their new competition. However, the NBBO had its own business to attend to: that of just who would replace those twelve clubs.

The NBBO’s Executive Committee knew going into the selection process where the teams needed to come from. In order for any of the 36 remaining clubs to avoid having to switch regions, three incoming clubs would need to be form New York City, three more would have to reside on or very near the Atlantic Coast, two were required from Brooklyn, two more had to be picked from Upstate New York, and one each from the inland Northeast and New England was needed.

There were dozens of clubs that saw themselves as worthy of the jump to organized baseball. After all, this was a rapidly growing sport, with many cities & towns seeing clubs of their own develop as leisure time increased among the middle and upper classes.

The selection process began as soon as the Five Founders of the APBL made the announcement in June regarding the seven clubs that would be joining them in their new professional venture. After roughly five months of going over facility quality, market sizes, financial ledgers, and regional success, it was time to reveal the roster of twelve clubs selected to join the NBBO and bring it back up to 48 teams.

BALTIC BASE BALL CLUB (New York City) – Situated in the Astoria area of Queens, Baltic was a well-known local club founded in the middle of the 1850s, a couple of years before the inaugural season of the NBBO. At the time Baltic wasn’t organized enough to join the original roster of 48 teams, but over the intervening years they had developed a well-organized club structure. (NOTE: Baltic based on a real club.)

COLUMBIA BASE BALL CLUB (Buffalo, N.Y.) – Founded one year after the NBBO began play, Columbia was originally an informal baseball club but became a more serious one as Buffalo’s rapid population growth in the 1860’s (NOTE: Buffalo’s population rose from 81,129 in 1860 to 117,714 in 1870) meant that Upstate New York’s biggest city could now handle two legitimate baseball organizations. (NOTE: Columbia based on a real club.)

FRONTIER BASE BALL CLUB (Oswego, N.Y.) – Frontier was not going to be a like-for-like replacement for Flour City, as the club was based in a town that could only handle a venue with a capacity of just over 2,000, making them one of the three smallest clubs Upstate upon entry. Still, Frontier was highly regarded and their venue was on the grounds of Fort Ontario. (NOTE: Based on a real club. Date of origin was different in the now defunct MLB database.)

LANCASTRIA BRITANNIA B.C. (Lancaster, Penn.) – No big club was going to replace Alleghany, as Pittsburgh was the only big city covered by the Inland region. In came Lancastra, representing the hometown of former president James Buchanan, whose name was on the club’s home venue that held around two thousand people. (NOTE: Club name made up. The words “Lan-castra Britannia” appear on the Lancaster city flag, seal, and other Lancaster-related items. I have no idea if it’s supposed to mean anything other than a Latin Language reference to the English city it was named for.)

MARATHON BASE BALL CLUB (Brooklyn) – Having been around for only five years, Marathon quickly became known for their quality facilities at the club’s base in the South Williamsburg area of Brooklyn. Their practice area was easily of NBBO standard, and the Williamsburg Grounds was a fine venue that held around 4,400 people. (NOTE: Club name made up but inspired by similar-sounding names of the time.)

MARYLAND BASEBALL CLUB (Baltimore, Mary.) – With over 250,000 people (NOTE: 267,354 as of the 1870 Census), Baltimore was more than big enough to have multiple NBBO clubs, let alone one. Still, it took the sport a bit longer to take off in the state of Maryland – MBC was one of the state’s first three clubs when it was founded in 1861 – and as a result there was one big club based in Baltimore, MBC, boasting of a home venue that would immediately be one of the largest in the competition. (NOTE: Maryland BC based on a real club.)

MERCURY BASE BALL CLUB (New York City) – In existence since 1859, Mercury was a well-run outfit based in the Hunt’s Point area of The Bronx, one that liked employing players with the speed to match the namesake of their club. Mercury had big shoes to fill, as technically they were taking the place of Knickerbocker. (NOTE: Name made up. There were numerous clubs of the time named after Neptune, but creating one here would’ve looked too much like Sons of the Ocean.)

NATIONAL BASEBALL CLUB (Washington, D.C.) – The nation’s capital nearly doubled in population during the 1860’s (NOTE: 61,000 in 1860, 109,000 in 1870) and the city’s first baseball club grew similarly. Playing in a venue named after the United States’ first President, George Washington Stadium, National gained a reputation as a rapidly improving organization and the NBBO wanted a team representing D.C. (NOTE: Based on a real club.)

NEW YORK ATHETIC CLUB (New York City) – The New York Athletic Club had only been founded in 1868, but over just two short years the organization had developed a baseball club of an extremely high standard. Playing around Brooklyn & N.Y.C. in 1870, the club had two players scouts felt could be five-star talents in the NBBO: OF William Valentine & P James York. Their facilities in Manhattan were outstanding, and their venue, the N.Y.A.C. Grounds, was of the highest grade while seating around 6,400 spectators.

(NOTE: I created the NYAC team here because the real-life NYAC runs club teams in sixteen different sports – seemingly everything BUT baseball. Their real-life programs are of such a high standard that, as a look at the front page of their website will tell you, the club sent nearly 70 of its members to the 2024 Olympics & Paralympics.)

SALEM BASEBALL CLUB (Salem, Mass.) – Much to the relief of the seven remaining clubs in New England, St. John’s was replaced with a club that would be about average in market size when compared to its regional brethren and certainly not as dominant on the field. Salem had a good reputation in New England with no outstanding issues, and they were openly welcomed into the fold. There was one thing that made the club famous…

Salem had an incredibly unique home venue: The Crucible. The playing surface would immediately become the smallest in the NBBO upon the club’s entry, as it was a symmetrical field measuring 300 feet down the foul lines, 375 feet to the outfield gaps, and just 400 feet to straightaway Center Field. However, Salem made up for the distance by having the entire outfield encased in a fifty-foot fence made out of the area’s finest maple and covered with the darkest black paint that could be found. The shortness of the field was intimidating to pitchers, and the height of the fence was intimidating to batsmen.

(NOTE: Club name made up. I felt like making a team based in Salem using literary references. In real life, according to Protoball the first club to be created in Salem was…“Pigeon Base Ball Club”, which doesn’t roll off the tongue at all.)

STAR BASE BALL CLUB (Brooklyn) – Star had been around for almost as long as Baltic, and like Baltic it took a while for Star to become a seriously organized baseball club. They were Jim Creighton’s first club (NOTE: not in real life), had a quality venue on York Street, and looked like an organization that could seamlessly move up to the NBBO. (NOTE: Based on a real club. There was also an Evening Star Club, Lone Star Club, Morning Star Club, and North Star Club in Brooklyn.)

TIGER SOCIAL CLUB (Philadelphia) – Last but certainly not least, Tiger was the baseball club formed by the members of its namesake “Gentlemen’s Cigar & Leisurely Activity” club. They were happy to welcome women to the games at their venue on Broad Street, though. Cricket was still the 1A to baseball’s 1B in Philadelphia, but it was easily big enough for a second NBBO club and Tiger was the best of the independent bunch.

(NOTE: Name based on a real club found in the old MLB.com “earliest clubs” database that has since been taken down. They are referred to as “Penn Tigers Club of Philadelphia” and “Pennsylvania Tigers Social Base Ball & Quoits Club” at Protoball, and yeah I’m not going to try to put that second name in OOTP. I suppose I could’ve have put it in as PTSBBQC???)

With those twelve clubs, the National Base Ball Organization had its roster of 48 back. It was now ready to move Full Speed Ahead toward the 1871 season.

[KCRoyals15]

Originally Posted by tm1681

(In real life, the National Association charged 50¢ per ticket when it began play in 1871. Based on the AI financials in OOTP, I don’t know how those teams weren’t swimming in cash.)

One thing that I never liked with OOTP finances is that they don't take into account business expenses. Costs for facilities (including rent/debt service, facilities, and upkeep), staffing, team travel, equipment, or marketing (among other things) are not included at all.

This definitely is evident with 19th century in the game with salaries being so low and attendance figures being more evened out than real life, making it appear teams are flush with cash (and some certainly were), though the reality is much different for most clubs. Hence why the vast majority of them folded.

[tm1681]

Originally Posted by KCRoyals15

One thing that I never liked with OOTP finances is that they don't take into account business expenses. Costs for facilities (including rent/debt service, facilities, and upkeep), staffing, team travel, equipment, or marketing (among other things) are not included at all.

This definitely is evident with 19th century in the game with salaries being so low and attendance figures being more evened out than real life, making it appear teams are flush with cash (and some certainly were), though the reality is much different for most clubs. Hence why the vast majority of them folded.

Yeah, and I think it's a problem with Financial AI engines in every sports game.

As a reminder, I've been one of the Head Researchers for minor league soccer in the USA on Football Manager since 2007. The problem we used to always run into was that putting in realistic salaries for D2/D3 players based on what we knew led to clubs being flush with cash and outbidding MLS teams for US-based free agents. It's a lot better now because the financial engine can take an educated guess at some expenses, but we still have to be wary of "minor league" teams in the US having way too much money. In FM's case, it probably couldn't figure out how to estimate expenses for teams based in a country where they have to fly and stay in hotels for the majority of their games.

BTW, as I've mentioned multiple times before any feedback on what I'm writing & doing here is welcomed...

[20_range]

Hell yeah a couple new logos! And I always love your team origin explanations.

[tm1681]

Originally Posted by 20_range

Hell yeah a couple new logos! And I always love your team origin explanations.

Thanks! I'll have to resurrect my logo work thread in a day or two with the new stuff. I tweaked a few of the existing ones as well.

[tm1681]

CHAMPIONSHIPS: ARE THEY IN THE STARS?
ST. JOHN’S SHOWS UP AT AUTUMN MEETINGS WITH A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT LOOK

NEW YORK CITY (Nov 11-14, 1870) - There was an amusing aside to all the serious business that took place during the four days of the National Base Ball Organization’s Autumn Meetings, one which occurred among the clubs locking in the details to make the American Professional Baseball League a formality.

In the hours after St. Johns’ president Borland Craig showed up on the first day, a number of his colleagues noticed something different about the insignia that was present on club stationery:

Sometime between their triumph in the one-game playoff to decide the champion of Tucker-Wheaton Cup XIV on August 22nd and the start of the Autumn Meetings, St. John’s had added a series of five stars across the top of the shield to signify their five NBBO championships.

Doc Adams, president of the Knickerbocker club that St. John’s had beaten twice in winner-take-all games to decide who would lift the cup, gave Craig a look that said, “Really?” Craig responded by chuckling and pouring Adams a drink.

Officials from the other clubs present were as bemused by the change as anything else, given that they had all just moved to create a new league that had no champions and no history to its name yet.

It wasn’t long before the business of the week continued as usual. The main question regarding St. John’s and the change to their identity was this: they had been the most dominant organization over the course of the early years of baseball, but would that continue into the days of professional sport?

[tm1681]

NBBO & APBL COME TO AGREEMENT ON MOVEMENT
APBL CLUBS MAY PURCHASE CONTRACTS OF STAR NBBO PLAYERS DURING OFFSEASON

NEW YORK CITY (Nov 11-14, 1870) - The last major point of business during the Autumn Meetings was one involving both the NBBO and the APBL: the transfer and movement of players between the two competitions.

Near the end of the third day of meetings, a consensus between the now sixty clubs present was reached regarding the topic of players who wish to move back and forth between semi-pro and professional baseball.

The points of agreement:

• There shall be one calendar to keep track of the amount of time a player has spent in organized baseball: Senior Roster Service Time (SRST). The number of in-season days a player has spent on an NBBO club’s Senior Roster shall be valid if he moves to the APBL, and vice versa. The time accrued will never reset to zero.

• Players who have reached the end of their contract in both the NBBO & APBL after gaining the required SRST will be considered “Free Agents”. If signed by another club, the player’s club of origin shall be entitled to monetary compensation from the signee.

• Clubs in the NBBO may offer up any of their non-amateur players to clubs in the APBL during the winter “off-season” still under contract, if mutually agreed upon. The player shall be “posted” to the Player Transfer Market, and the APBL club that signs him shall pay his club of origin an amount of money equal to the value of his contract.

• No players may move between clubs or competitions during the season unless granted their release by their club. Players may not be directly traded for one another, and players may not be transferred during the season.

A small minority of clubs had raised the idea of being able to trade players for one another (NOTE: in real-life, the first trade happened in 1886.), but the idea was quickly tabled. Aside from that, the agreements came without much issue even if they did take a few days to iron out.

It was yet another important series of regulations to be put in place, and it was a set of regulations that could immediately prove beneficial for clubs in both competitions.

[RMc]

(In real life, the National Association charged 50¢ per ticket when it began play in 1871. Based on the AI financials in OOTP, I don’t know how those teams weren’t swimming in cash.)

Retrosheet has attendance figures for about three-quarters of NA games (774 out of 1,086), with an average of 1,564. Here are the averages by city:

Chicago 3,688
St Louis 1,807
Boston 1,561
Philadelphia 1,487
Troy 1,385
Cleveland 1,375
Washington 1,339
Hartford 1,304
Brooklyn 1,080
Rockford 1,040
Baltimore 983
New Haven 629
Fort Wayne 588
Keokuk 535

It's no mystery: the big cities stayed in big-time baseball, while the Keokuks and Fort Waynes dropped out. But when you consider (at least) 1.2 million people attended NA games, producing $600K+ in revenue...

[tm1681]

Originally Posted by RMc

(In real life, the National Association charged 50¢ per ticket when it began play in 1871. Based on the AI financials in OOTP, I don’t know how those teams weren’t swimming in cash.)

Retrosheet has attendance figures for about three-quarters of NA games (774 out of 1,086), with an average of 1,564. Here are the averages by city:

Chicago 3,688
St Louis 1,807
Boston 1,561
Philadelphia 1,487
Troy 1,385
Cleveland 1,375
Washington 1,339
Hartford 1,304
Brooklyn 1,080
Rockford 1,040
Baltimore 983
New Haven 629
Fort Wayne 588
Keokuk 535

It's no mystery: the big cities stayed in big-time baseball, while the Keokuks and Fort Waynes dropped out. But when you consider (at least) 1.2 million people attended NA games, producing $600K+ in revenue...

I have to say: credit where credit is due to Troy & Hartford. Troy only had about 45,000 in 1870, and Hartford was under 40K.

[RMc]

Troy only had about 45,000 in 1870, and Hartford was under 40K.

No doubt the Haymakers drew from the entire Capital District, which had about 125K at the time. And Hartford wasn't very big, but it was close to New York and Boston.

[tm1681]

1857-70: PRE-PROFESSIONAL ERA REVIEW

NORTHEASTERN U.S.A. (Dec 31, 1870) - As the calendar turns to 1871, baseball is set to begin a new era as the professional game will be introduced to the public in four months’ time.

Exactly 2,707 men have taken part in at least one contest since the National Base Ball Organization began play in May of 1857, with domestic players and immigrants from 22 different nations represented over that timeframe.

Six different clubs lifted the Tucker-Wheaton Cup during the NBBO’s first fourteen years of play, and 28 of the NBBO’s original 48 clubs have taken part in postseason baseball from 1857 to 1870.

Over the initial seasons of the NBBO, more than thirty different men have shared in the major individual awards, and dozens have earned either an All-Star, Golden Glove, or Team of the Year nomination.

There have been 31 qualifying seasons with a Batting Average of .400 or better, ranging from Lee Wood (1857) & Samuel Barkley (1858) batting exactly .4000 in the initial years of the competition to Royal Altman’s record .445 in 1867. Cormack Alexander is the only player to hit .400 three times. There have been half a dozen individual seasons in which a player has finished with an average of .399.

There have been nineteen individual seasons with an OPS of 1.000 or better. Konrad Jensen, the record holder with a 1.088 in 1868, is the only player to have done it four times.

The most successful club in the sport, St. John’s, has led or tied for the NBBO lead for best record seven times, won 50+ games in a season six times, and led the NEL in scoring ten times. Their longest-tenured player, William Johnson, is the career postseason leader in Games, At-Bats, Runs, Hits, Total Bases, Singles, Doubles, & Triples.

Before the new dawn of the sport begins in the first week of May, let us review the foundational era of baseball.

[tm1681]

CLUB OF THE PRE-PROFESSIONAL ERA

ST. JOHN'S BASEBALL CLUB (Providence, R.I.) – 670-310 (.684), 5x NBBO champs, 13x New England champs, 7x best record

YEAR	 W	 L	 PCT	PLACE	GB/A	NOTES
1857	41	29	.586	 1st	 +3		Won TWC Final 3-0 over Victory
1858	51	19	.729	 1st	 +8		Won TWC Final 3-2 over Knickerbocker
1859	54	16	.771	 1st	+15		Lost NEL Championship Series 3-2 to Shamrock
1860	49	21	.700	 1st	 +3		Lost TWC Final 3-1 to Kings County
1861	49	21	.700	 1st	 +5		Lost NEL Championship Series 3-1 to Alleghany
1862	44	26	.629	 1st	 +3		Finished 2nd in TWC with 7-3 record (1 GB)
1863	50	20	.714	 1st	 +7		Won TWC with 9-1 record
1864	46	24	.657	 1st	 +5		Won TWC in one-game playoff v K.C. (8-3 final record)
1865	36	34	.514	 4th	 -6	
1866	54	16	.771	 1st	 +9		Finished 2nd in TWC with 6-4 record (3 GB)
1867	48	22	.686	 1st	 +5		Finished 3rd in TWC with 5-5 record (4 GB)
1868	50	20	.714	 1st	+11		Finished 2nd in TWC with 7-3 record (1 GB)
1869	46	24	.657	 1st	 +4		Finished 3rd in TWC with 6-4 record (1 GB)
1870	52	18	.743	 1st	+10		Won TWC in one-game playoff v KNI (8-3 final record)
TOTAL   670     310	.684	  -       -

St. John’s was unquestionably the greatest team of the first era of the sport of baseball. Not only do they have those five cup titles to their name, but St. John’s was the Tucker-Wheaton Cup runner-up four times as well. None of the other 47 original NBBO clubs can come close to St. Johns’ CV of league-topping records, cup triumphs, offensive dominance, legendary players, and unforgettable performances. Perhaps more importantly, they proved once and for all that the baseball outside of New York was just as good as the version of the sport played in the United States’ largest metropolitan area.

BATSMAN OF THE PRE-PROFESSIONAL ERA

Konrad Jensen – 5’9”, 160 lbs. OF from Providence, R.I. – St. John’s (1857-70)

• 5x Tucker-Wheaton Cup Winner (1857-58, 63-64, 70)
• 2x NEL Batsman of the Year (1863, 68)
• 2x NEL Most Valuable Player (1864, 66)
• 2x .400 Hitter (1868-69)
• 1x NEL Batting Champion (1868)
• 10x NEL All-Star (1859-61, 63-66, 68-70)
• 10x NEL Team of the Year Nominee (1859-61, 63-66, 68-70)
• 8x NEL leader in On-base % (1860-61, 63-66, 69-70)
• 6x NEL leader in Stolen Bases (1859-60, 65-66, 68-69)
• 6x NEL leader in Bases on Balls (1860, 62-66)
• 5x NEL leader in Runs (1860, 64-66, 68)
• 5x NEL leader in Runs Created (1863-64, 66, 68-69)
• 3x NEL leader in OPS (1863-64, 68)
• 2x NEL leader in Batsman WAR (1864, 66)
• 2x NEL Golden Glove winner at OF (1864, 67)

860 G: .374 AVG, .954 OPS, 1,146 R, 1,354 H, 259 2B, 66 3B, 23 HR, 815 RBI, 520 BB, 719 SB, 53.82 WPA, 45.5 WAR
PER 70: .374/.453/.501, 93 R, 110 H, 21 2B, 5 3B, 2 HR, 66 RBI, 42 BB, 58 SB, 4.38 WPA, 3.7 WAR
TWC (100 G): .364 AVG, .920 OPS, 117 R, 156 H, 25 2B, 9 3B, 3 HR, 111 RBI, 58 BB, 86 SB, 7.69 WPA, 5.2 WAR

St. John’s knew they had something special in Jensen when the then 17-year-old hit .309 with an OPS of .712 playing twenty games in place of an injured outfielder during the NBBO’s inaugural season. He has since developed into the most technical batsman in the NBBO, and Jensen has enjoyed that honor for the more than half a decade now.

Jensen’s patience at the plate combined with his ability to make solid contact, as well as his baserunning instincts, have made him an offensive danger second to none. Over the years, if St. John’s has needed someone on base, Jensen’s reached base via balls or a hit. If St. John’s has needed a Stolen Base to put a runner in scoring position, Jensen has stolen a base. If St. John’s has needed a Run, Jensen has come around to score.

That Jensen’s batting in the Tucker-Wheaton Cup over one hundred games has been almost as good as his batsmanship during the season proves that he can do damage against any pitcher at any time, and for that Jensen takes the honor as the #1 Batsman of the inaugural era of baseball.

PITCHER OF THE PRE-PROFESSIONAL ERA

Jim Creighton – 6’2”, 195 lbs. P/1B from New York City – Excelsior (1860-70)

• 4x NYL Most Valuable Player (1863, 66-68)
• 1x NYL Pitcher of the Year (1870)
• 9x NYL All-Star (1862-70)
• 5x NYL Team of the Year (1863-64, 66-68)
• 10x NYL leader in Strikeouts (1861-70)
• 1x NYL Pitching Triple Crown winner (1863)
• 6x NYL leader in Pitching WAR (1863-66, 68, 70)
• 3x NYL leader in Wins (1863, 66, 68)
• 2x NYL leader in ERA (1863, 65)

451 GP: 257-139, 2.98 ERA, 1,228 K, 3,506.0 IP, 289 CG, 12 SHO, 1.16 WHIP, 3.2 K/9, 3.4 K/BB, 79.0 WAR, 91.7 rWAR
TWC (25 GP): 12-11, 2.61 ERA, 67 K, 182.2 IP, 17 CG, 0 SHO, 1.13 WHIP, 3.3 K/9, 5.2 K/BB, 4.8 WAR, 4.9 rWAR

The legendary John McGowan was the Pitcher of the Decade over the first ten seasons of the NBBO, but what Jim Creighton has done over the four years since McGowan’s retirement puts him over the top as the Pre-professional Era’s #1 pitcher, and that’s without even taking into account Creighton’s work with the bat.

It took Creighton a couple of seasons to find his command but by the age of 21 he was already the most intimidating pitcher in the New York League, and in 1863 he became the first, and to date the only, player to win a Triple Crown.

Creighton has become the sport’s most recognizable star, and as he transitions into professional baseball the game’s biggest draw could become even more famous.

PLAYER OF THE PRE-PROFESSIONAL ERA

Edward Huntley – 5’7”, 165 lbs. 3B/SS from Florham Park, N.J. – Orange (1857-64), Knickerbocker (1865-70)

• 3x Tucker-Wheaton Cup Winner (1859, 65, 67)
• 4x NYL Most Valuable Player (1859, 62, 65, 69)
• 3x Tucker-Wheaton Cup MVP (1859, 67, 69)
• 1x NYL Batsman of the Year (1866)
• 12x NYL All-Star Nominee (1859-70)
• 9x NYL Team of the Year Nominee (1859-60, 62-67, 69)
• 9x NYL Golden Glove winner (1857, 59-63, 65, 67, 68)
• 11x NYL leader in Batsman WAR (1857, 59-63, 65-69)

980 G: .347 AVG, .862 OPS, 1,073 R, 1,502 H, 322 2B, 90 3B, 6 HR, 763 RBI, 332 BB, 423 SB, +239.4 ZR, 45.66 WPA, 56.0 WAR
PER 70: .347/.394/.468, 76 R, 107 H, 23 2B, 6 3B, 0 HR, 55 RBI, 23 BB, 30 SB, +17.1 ZR, 3.26 WPA, 4.0 WAR
TWC (74 G): .402 AVG, 1.017 OPS, 96 R, 131 H, 30 2B, 13 3B, 0 HR, 80 RBI, 22 BB, 42 SB, 187 TB, 6.37 WPA, 4.3 WAR

Edward Huntley does not top the career leaderboard in main batting categories like Batting Average (Cormack Alexander), OPS (Konrad Jensen), Hits (Samuel Kessler), or Runs Batted In (Jerald Peterson), but he was the premier batsman of the first decade and a half of baseball.

No middle infielder aside from Anthony Mascherino could match Huntley’s overall ability from day one of the NBBO, and even then Huntley has always been the superior hitter. If one needs any more evidence of Huntley’s talents, note that he has led the New York League in Batsman WAR eleven times in its fourteen seasons of play.

Consider that the above has yet to factor in Huntley’s postseason work. Of all regulars who have appeared in the postseason three or more times Huntley is the only to bat over .375, he is the only 3x Tucker-Wheaton Cup MVP, and he is the only player to have won cup MVP with two different teams.

TEAM OF THE PRE-PROFESSIONAL ERA

C: Joe Feuerstein – 1/1/1832 from Tewksbury, Mass. – Portland (1857-69)
• 829 G: .288/.329/.378, 543 R, 941 H, 218 2B, 18 3B, 13 HR, 540 RBI, 180 BB, 42 SB, +67.7 ZR, 11.55 WPA, 17.0 WAR
• 8x All-Star, 4x Team of the Year

1B: Cormack Alexander – 5/2/1840 from Skerries, Ireland – Kings County (1864-67), Quaker State (1868-70)
• 489 G: .391/.421/.505, 505 R, 844 H, 172 2B, 20 3B, 11 HR, 461 RBI, 96 BB, 35 SB, +20.0 ZR, 27.92 WPA, 18.4 WAR
• 2x Batsman of the Year, 6x All-Star, 4x Team of the Year, 2x Golden Glove, 3x .400 Hitter, 1864 NEL GotY

2B: Anderson MacGyver – 6/27/1834 from New York City – St. John’s (1858-64, 69-70), Mutual (1865-68)
• 869 G: .345/.384/.452, 973 R, 1,298 H, 265 2B, 45 3B, 16 HR, 737 RBI, 235 BB, 418 SB, -2.8 ZR, 45.32 WPA, 28.8 WAR
• 4x TWC winner, 2x Batsman of the Year, 7x All-Star, 4x Team of the Year, 1858 NEL GotY

3B: Samuel Kessler – 5/6/1836 from Merrimack, N.H. – Sons of the Ocean (1857-64), Alleghany (1865-70)
• 974 G: .360/.414/.490, 1,053 R, 1,527 H, 311 2B, 108 3B, 8 HR, 809 RBI, 326 BB, 290 SB, +52.4 ZR, 51.01 WPA, 42.6 WAR
• 1x TWC winner, 1x Batsman of the Year, 1x MVP, 12x All-Star, 10x Team of the Year, 2x Golden Glove

SS: Edward Huntley – 1/5/1836 from Florham Park, N.J. – Orange (1857-64), Knickerbocker (1865-70)
• 980 G: .347/.394/.468, 1,073 R, 1,502 H, 322 2B, 90 3B, 6 HR, 763 RBI, 332 BB, 423 SB, +239.4 ZR, 45.66 WPA, 56.0 WAR
• 3x TWC winner; 4x MVP, 1x Batsman of the Year, 12x All-Star, 9x Team of the Year, 9x Golden Glove

OF: Konrad Jensen – 6/4/1839 from Providence, R.I. – St. John’s (1857-70)
• 860 G: .473/.453/.501, 1,146 R, 1,354 H, 259 2B, 66 3B, 23 HR, 815 RBI, 520 BB, 719 SB, +34.3 ZR, 53.82 WPA, 45.5 WAR
• 5x TWC winner; 2x Batsman of the Year, 2x MVP, 10x All-Star, 10x Team of the Year, 2x Golden Glove, 2x .400 Hitter

CF: Willie Davis – 10/29/36 from Philadelphia – Susquehanna (1858-64), American (1865-70)
• 909 G: .363/.395/.500, 1,041 R, 1,506 H, 325 2B, 95 3B, 17 HR, 719 RBI, 210 BB, 533 SB, +90.7 ZR, 50.45 WPA, 43.5 WAR
• 2x Batsman of the Year, 2x Most Valuable Player, 10x All-Star, 5x Team of the Year, 4x Golden Glove, 1x .400 Hitter

OF: Thomas Maloney – 7/12/1835 from Boston – Shamrock (1857-64), Reading (1865-66), Massachusetts Bay (1867-70)
• 980 G: .357/.394/.470, 1,011 R, 1,524 H, 289 2B, 83 3B, 10 HR, 768 RBI, 255 BB, 393 SB, +37.3 ZR, 47.01 WPA, 32.5 WAR
• 1x TWC winner, 1x Batsman of the Year, 10x All-Star, 4x Team of the Year, 1x .400 Hitter

P1: Jim Creighton – 4/15/1841 from New York City – Excelsior (1860-70)
• 451 GP: 257-139, 2.98 ERA, 1,228 K, 3,506.0 IP, 289 CG, 12 SHO, 1.16 WHIP, 3.4 K/BB, 79.0 WAR, 91.7 rWAR
• 4x MVP, 1x Pitcher of the Year, 9x All-Star, 5x Team of the Year, 1x .400 Hitter

P2: John McGowan – 7/10/1830 from Milford, Conn. – St. John’s (1857-63), Knickerbocker (1864-66)
• 345 GP: 215-88, 3.05 ERA, 305 K, 2,680.2 IP, 218 CG, 12 SHO, 1.25 WHIP, 1.0 K/BB, 46.3 WAR, 67.8 rWAR
• TWC (41 GP): 27-6, 2.72 ERA, 32 K, 324.2 IP, 27 CG, 2 SHO, 1.21 WHIP, 0.9 K/BB, 5.5 WAR, 11.1 rWAR
• 4x TWC winner, 6x All-Star, 5x Team of the Year

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YEARLY BEST RECORD & CUP WINNER

1857: Alleghany 52-18; St. John’s beat Victory 3-0 in TWC I Final
1858: KNI & StJ 51-19; St. John’s (2nd cup) beat Knickerbocker 3-2 in TWC II Final
1859: St. John’s 54-16; Orange beat Shamrock 3-1 in TWC III Final
1860: Kings Co. 54-16; Kings County beat St. John’s 3-1 in TWC IV Final
1861: St. John’s 49-21; Kings County (2nd cup) beat Alleghany 3-2 in TWC V Final
1862: Shamrock 45-25; Shamrock won TWC VI with 8-2 record
1863: St. John’s 50-20; St. John’s (3rd cup) won TWC VII with 9-1 record
1864: Port Jersey 48-22; St. John’s (4th cup) won TWC VIII with 8-3 record (one-game playoff v K.C.)
1865: Knickerbocker 57-13; Knickerbocker won TWC IX with 7-3 record
1866: St. John’s 54-16; Shamrock (2nd cup) won TWC X with 9-1 record
1867: Knickerbocker 54-16; Knickerbocker (2nd cup) won TWC XI with 9-1 record
1868: St. John’s 50-20; Orange (2nd cup) won TWC XII with 8-2 record
1869: Flour City 55-15; Alleghany won TWC XIII with 7-3 record
1870: St. John’s 52-18; St. John’s (5th cup) won TWC XIV with 8-3 record (one-game playoff v KNI)

AWARD WINNERS

BATSMAN OF THE YEAR

1857 NYL: Joseph Bentley (NIA) – .416, .450 OBP, .923 OPS, 80 R, 131 H, 15 XBH, 42 RBI, 7 SB, 2.43 WPA, 2.5 WAR
1857 NEL: William Johnson (StJ) – .370, .894 OPS, 83 R, 115 H, 31 XBH, 61 RBI, 22 BB, 42 SB, 3.05 WPA, 2.7 WAR
1858 NYL: Albert Jones (KNI) – .393, .971 OPS, 70 R, 127 H, 43 XBH, 65 RBI, 28 SB, 184 TB, 4.41 WPA, 3.7 WAR
1858 NEL: Joseph Forrest (QUI) – .417/.460/.517, .977 OPS, 68 R, 120 H, 23 XBH, 64 RBI, 2 SB, 3.49 WPA, 2.7 WAR
1859 NYL: John Francis (KC) – .371, .895 OPS, 77 R, 122 H, 11 3B, 65 RBI, 22 SB, 166 TB, 3.74 WPA, 2.8 WAR
1859 NEL: Anderson MacGyver (StJ) – .395/.439/.529, .968 OPS, 106 R, 130 H, 31 2B, 73 RBI, 33 SB, 5.58 WPA, 4.0 WAR
1860 NYL: Jerald Peterson (KC) – .363, .515 SLG, .934 OPS, 70 R, 107 H, 4 HR, 68 RBI, 152 TB, 3.41 WPA, 2.4 WAR
1860 NEL: Willie Davis (SUS) – .403, .541 SLG, .969 OPS, 85 R, 129 H, 26 2B, 52 RBI, 173 TB, 4.46 WPA, 4.4 WAR
1861 NYL: James Hoddle (FC) – .402, .909 OPS, 53 R, 109 H, 18 XBH, 58 RBI, 13 BB, 1 SB, 3.15 WPA, 2.7 WAR
1861 NEL: Willie Davis (SUS) – .393, .537 SLG, .969 OPS, 96 R, 129 H, 29 2B, 42 RBI, 63 SB, 176 TB, 4.94 WPA, 4.2 WAR
1862 NYL: Arvi Hämäläinen (NIA) – .421/.486/.552, 1.038 OPS, 98 R, 122 H, 43 RBI, 32 BB, 16 SB, 3.50 WPA, 2.7 WAR
1862 NEL: Samuel Kessler (SotO) – .389, .535 SLG, .973 OPS, 69 R, 117 H, 33 XBH, 59 RBI, 2.78 WPA, 3.4 WAR
1863 NYL: James Hoyt (FC) – .395, .979 OPS, 91 R, 131 H, 14 3B, 61 RBI, 19 SB, 184 TB, 6.01 WPA, 3.0 WAR
1863 NEL: Konrad Jensen (StJ) – .379, .450 OBP, .975 OPS, 88 R, 114 H, 6 HR, 68 RBI, 37 BB, 3.86 WPA, 3.5 WAR
1864 NYL: Cormack Alexander (KC) – .430, .453 OBP, .976 OPS, 92 R, 138 H, 28 XBH, 62 RBI, 6 SB, 3.82 WPA, 3.2 WAR
1864 NEL: Walter Dudley (PJ) – .412, .957 OPS, 80 R, 134 H, 30 XBH, 60 RBI, 170 TB, 6.08 WPA, 2.9 WAR
1865 NYL: Anderson MacGyver (MUT) – .326, .839 OPS, 84 R, 103 H, 33 XBH, 65 RBI, 26 BB, 40 SB, 5.49 WPA, 2.7 WAR
1865 NEL: Thomas Maloney (REA) – .388, .938 OPS, 68 R, 114 H, 26 XBH, 63 RBI, 30 SB, 3.94 WPA, 3.6 WAR
1866 NYL: Edward Huntley (KNI) – .358/.407/.532, .939 OPS, 107 H, 40 XBH, 56 RBI, 25 BB, 37 SB, 5.26 WPA, 4.4 WAR
1866 NEL: Royal Altman (ALL) – .405, .595 SLG, 1.033 OPS, 88 R, 126 H, 45 XBH, 86 RBI, 185 TB, 4.68 WPA, 4.1 WAR
1867 NYL: Cormack Alexander (KC) – .414, .577 SLG, 90 R, 138 H, 34 2B, 82 RBI, 1 SB, 192 TB, 4.47 WPA, 3.3 WAR
1867 NEL: Royal Altman (ALL) – .445/.474/.606, 1.079 OPS, 93 R, 141 H, 36 XBH, 83 RBI, 38 SB, 6.75 WPA, 4.6 WAR
1868 NYL: Mario Fusilli (SYR) – .413, .958 OPS, 65 R, 126 H, 26 XBH, 64 RBI, 21 BB, 2 SB, 6.12 WPA, 3.1 WAR
1868 NEL: Konrad Jensen (StJ) – .403, 1.088 OPS, 112 R, 123 H, 45 XBH, 81 RBI, 64 SB, 5.70 WPA, 5.1 WAR
1869 NYL: Garfield Koonce (KC) – .386, .973 OPS, 93 R, 124 H, 40 2B, 47 XBH, 84 RBI, 1 SB, 5.01 WPA, 3.5 WAR
1869 NEL: Franklin Petty (LE) – .394, 1.019 OPS, 80 R, 126 H, 14 3B, 83 RBI, 22 SB, 189 TB, 4.35 WPA, 3.5 WAR
1870 NYL: Reginald Roper (FC) – .404, .566 SLG, .982 OPS, 86 R, 131 H, 37 XBH, 76 RBI, 180 TB, 3.13 WPA, 3.5 WAR
1870 NEL: William Dickerson (QS) – .418/.438/.619, 1.058 OPS, 82 R, 133 H, 47 XBH, 75 RBI, 197 TB, 5.22 WPA, 4.2 WAR


MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

1857 NYL: Lee Wood (MUT) – .400, .941 OPS, 78 R, 118 H, 27 XBH, 43 RBI, 25 SB, 4.87 WPA, 3.2 WAR
1857 NEL: John Anderson (SCR) – 30-6, 2.30 ERA, 309.0 IP, 28 CG, 3 SHO, 25 K, 1.20 WHIP, 0.6 K/BB, 5.0 WAR
1858 NYL: Albert Jones (KNI) – 1858 NYL Batsman of the Year
1858 NEL: Fred Fowler (MB) – .391, .906 OPS, 85 R, 118 H, 21 XBH, 51 RBI, 16 SB, 4.46 WPA, 2.9 WAR
1859 NYL: Edward Huntley (ORA) – .362, .843 OPS, 77 R, 113 H, 41 RBI, 31 SB, +18.5 ZR, 3.14 WPA, 4.2 WAR
1859 NEL: Willie Davis (SUS) – .394, .956 OPS, 83 R, 124 H, 33 XBH, 57 RBI, 43 SB, 5.70 WPA, 3.7 WAR
1860 NYL: Juriaan Kerstens (BED) – .349, .837 OPS, 61 R, 110 H, 28 XBH, 67 RBI, 1 SB, 4.73 WPA, 2.2 WAR
1860 NEL: Anthony Mascherino (GM) – .342, .827 OPS, 83 R, 105 H, 60 RBI, 19 SB, +33.4 ZR, 3.38 WPA, 4.7 WAR
1861 NYL: Grover Wright (CON) – 29-6, 2.46 ERA, 329.1 IP, 30 CG, 3 SHO, 48 K, 1.12 WHIP, 1.3 K/BB, 6.6 WAR
1861 NEL: Samuel Kessler (SotO) – .389, .956 OPS, 85 R, 117 H, 10 3B, 48 RBI, 19 SB, 5.33 WPA, 3.4 WAR
1862 NYL: Edward Huntley (ORA) – .397, .984 OPS, 75 R, 123 H, 60 RBI, 170 TB, +17.9 ZR, 3.00 WPA, 4.5 WAR
1862 NEL: Arthur Waltrip (AME) – .389, .914 OPS, 84 R, 126 H, 30 XBH, 63 RBI, 165 TB, 4.81 WPA, 3.3 WAR
1863 NYL: Jim Creighton (EXC) – 26-4, 2.29 ERA, 302.0 IP, 27 CG, 2 SHO, 69 K, 1.02 WHIP, 2.5 K/BB, 6.7 WAR
1863 NEL: Anthony Mascherino (GM) – .365, .874 OPS, 74 R, 109 H, 56 RBI, 29 SB, +34.0 ZR, 3.86 WPA, 5.3 WAR
1864 NYL: Walter Driscoll (SYR) – .380, .940 OPS, 94 R, 120 H, 5 HR, 73 RBI, 35 SB, 4.80 WPA, 3.3 WAR
1864 NEL: Konrad Jensen (StJ) – .377/.482/.534, 1.016 OPS, 101 R, 101 H, 70 RBI, 55 BB, 56 SB, 5.46 WPA, 4.3 WAR
1865 NYL: Edward Huntley (KNI) – .311, .766 OPS, 75 R, 92 H, 24 XBH, 61 RBI, 33 SB, +27.3 ZR, 4.40 WPA, 3.9 WAR
1865 NEL: Willie Davis (AME) – .357, .896 OPS, 81 R, 112 H, 12 3B, 62 RBI, 28 SB, +10.2 ZR, 5.00 WPA, 3.9 WAR
1866 NYL: Jim Creighton (EXC) – 25-8, 2.85 ERA, 296.2 IP, 24 CG, 2 SHO, 146 K, 1.03 WHIP, 6.3 K/BB, 8.8 WAR
1866 NEL: Konrad Jensen (StJ) – .395, .480 OBP, 95 R, 115 H, 64 RBI, 49 BB, 76 SB, 5.97 WPA, 4.8 WAR
1867 NYL: Jim Creighton (EXC) – 27-15, 2.46 ERA, 361.2 IP, 30 CG, 117 K, .416 AVG, 1.030 OPS, 11.1 WAR
1867 NEL: Royal Altman (ALL) – 1867 NEL Batsman of the Year
1868 NYL: Jim Creighton (EXC) – 29-11, 2.70 ERA, 362.2 IP, 35 CG, 197 K, 5.6 K/BB, .977 OPS, 13.6 WAR
1868 NEL: Franklin Petty (LE) – .394, .622 SLG, 86 R, 124 H, 37 2B, 79 RBI, 30 SB, 196 TB, 3.85 WPA, 5.4 WAR
1869 NYL: Edward Huntley (KNI) – .352, .903 OPS, 90 R, 107 H, 73 RBI, 32 SB, +17.5 ZR, 3.97 WPA, 4.6 WAR
1869 NEL: Collin Henderson (ALL) – .407, .969 OPS, 93 R, 143 H, 33 XBH, 66 RBI, 7 SB, 4.38 WPA, 3.5 WAR
1870 NYL: Walter Dudley (ATL) – .415, .985 OPS, 75 R, 125 H, 32 XBH, 65 RBI, 4 SB, 3.89 WPA, 3.3 WAR
1870 NEL: Nelson Townsend (StJ) – .408, .996 OPS, 101 R, 125 H, 29 XBH, 55 RBI, 64 SB, 5.55 WPA, 4.7 WAR


PITCHER OF THE YEAR

1869 NYL: James Goodman (FC) – 30-6, 2.00 ERA, 132 K, 342.2 IP, 31 CG, 2 SHO, 1.05 WHIP, 5.1 K/BB, 10.6 WAR
1869 NEL: John Henry (ALL) – 30-10, 3.35 ERA, 44 K, 332.2 IP, 27 CG, 1 SHO, 1.32 WHIP, 1.5 K/BB, 5.5 WAR
1870 NYL: Jim Creighton (EXC) – 27-15, 3.26 ERA, 162 K, 356.0 IP, 30 CG, 3 SHO, 1.18 WHIP, 4.5 K/BB, 9.8 WAR
1870 NEL: John Henry (ALL) – 30-7, 3.05 ERA, 31 K, 330.2 IP, 29 CG, 1 SHO, 1.15 WHIP, 1.1 K/BB, 6.0 WAR


NEWCOMER/GREENHORN OF THE YEAR

1858: NYL – James Kyle (P, KNI), NEL – Anderson MacGyver (2B, StJ)
1859: NYL – Anthony Littleton (CF, NIA), NEL – Hawk Peterson (3B, MM)
1860: NYL – Charles Schuster (3B, MUT), NEL – Dag Nielsen (C, REA)
1861: NYL – Thomas Branagh (OF, FC), NEL – Alistair Richardson (P, TU)
1862: NYL – Wagner Morris (OF, BING), NEL – Ilkka Kivivuori (OF, REA)
1863: NYL – Jackson Butler (SS, HAR), NEL – Edward Donovan (OF, PJ)
1864: NYL – Cormack Alexander (1B, KC), NEL – Walter Dudley (3B, PJ)
1865: NYL – Peadar Daly (P, KNI), NEL – Royal Altman (OF, ALL)
1866: NYL – John Brown (P, UTI), NEL – Tom Ricks (P, SHA)
1867: NYL – Francis Smith (OF, MET), NEL – James Burke (OF, SHA)
1868: NYL – Garfield Koonce (1B, KC), NEL – Tom Hauser (P, AME)
1869: NYL – Ralph Knight (2B, FC), NEL – Ross Gill (P, QS)
1870: NYL – Fred Bartholomew (OF, FC), NEL – James Dressman (P, PORT)

NBBO RECORDS (SEASON & CAREER

Batting Average: Royal Altman with .445 (1867) & Cormack Alexander with .391 (career; leads by .008)
On-Base Pct.: Arvi Hämäläinen with .486 (1862) & Konrad Jensen with .453 (career; leads by .032)
Slugging Pct.: Franklin Petty with .622 (1868) & Royal Altman with .528 (career; leads by .002)
On-Base + Slugging: Konrad Jensen with 1.088 (1868) & Konrad Jensen with .954 (career; leads by .010)
Games: 72 by Declan Brice (1867) & 980 by Edward Huntley, William Johnson, & Thomas Maloney (career; lead by 1)
At-Bats: 352 by Jonathan Narcisse (1869) & 4,417 by Arthur Waltrip (career; leads by 33)
Runs: 115 by William Johnson (1869) & 1,243 by William Johnson (career; leads by 97)
Hits: 143 by Collin Henderson (1869) & 1,527 by Samuel Kessler (career; leads by 3)
Total Bases: 199 by Samuel Kessler (1867) & 2,078 by Samuel Kessler (career; leads by 6)
Singles: 116 by Joseph Bentley (1857) & 1,181 by Arthur Waltrip (career; leads by 39)
Doubles: 40 by Garfield Koonce (1869) & 325 by Willie Davis (career; leads by 2)
Triples: 20 by Manuel Romeiras (1870) & 108 by Samuel Kessler (career; leads by 13)
Home Runs: 13 by William Busby (1868) & 36 by William Busby (career; leads by 9)
Runs Batted In: 92 by Tarmo Kuopio (1870) & 831 by Jerald Peterson (career; leads by 16)
Stolen Bases: 76 by Konrad Jensen (1866) & 735 by Walter Williams (career; leads by 16)
Bases on Balls: 60 by William Johnson (1869) & 520 by Konrad Jensen (career; leads by 108)
Batsman WPA: 7.31 by Edward Donovan (1868) & 53.82 by Konrad Jensen (career; leads by 0.17)
Batsman WAR: 5.8 by Anthony Mascherino (1861) & 56.8 by Anthony Mascherino (career; leads by 0.8)

Earned Run Average: James Goodman with 2.00 (1869) & Earl Quinn with 2.70 (career; leads by 0.08)
Wins: 30 by four pitchers (1857, 69-70) & Carl Bancroft with 263 (career; leads by 6)
Win Pct.: 1.000 by two pitchers (1860, 63) & Peadar Daly with .719 (career; leads by .009)
Games Pitched: 55 by Martin Stillwell (1869) & 542 by Carl Bancroft (career; leads by 8)
Games Started: 45 by three pitchers (1868-70) & 511 by Carl Bancroft (career; leads by 51)
Complete Games: 35 by Jim Creighton (1868) & 290 by Carl Bancroft (career; leads by 1)
Shutouts: 5 by Monroe Munson (1870) & 12 by Jim Creighton & John McGowan (career; lead by 1)
Innings Pitched: 362.0 by Jim Creighton (1868) & 4,116.0 by Carl Bancroft (career; leads by 308.1)
Strikeouts: 197 by Jim Creighton (1868) & 1,228 by Jim Creighton (career; leads by 217)
BB/9: 0.22 by Peadar Daly (1867) & 0.54 by Peadar Daly (career; lads by 0.27)
K/9: 4.89 by Jim Creighton (1868) & 3.15 by Jim Creighton (career; leads by 0.42)
Pitching WAR: 11.3 by Jim Creighton (1868) & 79.0 by Jim Creighton (career; leads by 8.3)
Pitching rWAR: 14.3 by James Goodman (1869) & 91.7 by Jim Creighton (career; leads by 13.2)

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DRESSED TO THE NINES: THE FASHIONS OF BASE BALL
TEAMS ARE SPORTING ALL MANNER OF DIFFERENT LOOKS GOING INTO THE 1871 SEASON

[NOTE: I made all uniforms shown below in a two-step process. I create most of the jersey in a Photoshop template whose author I can no longer remember thanks to it having been moved across multiple laptops. From there, I use EriqJaffe’s excellent Uniform Maker app – the thread for which is here and can be downloaded from here – to import & finish off the jersey before working on other elements of the uniform. The stripes for the Tiger Social Club jersey are something I custom-made myself because I wanted something more than pinstripes to represent “Tiger”, so if you download the Uniform Maker those won’t be in there. I imported a number of local fonts form my laptop to create team fonts – a function available in Uniform Maker – should I wish to use them in the future.

Everything shown is part of a total overhaul I did of team uniforms to finally get them into the new format, and I’ve uploaded them into my public OneDrive folder, which should be available without password here.]

NORTHEASTERN U.S.A. (Mar. 13, 1871) - Now that the formation of the American Professional Baseball League has increased the roster of organized baseball clubs to an even sixty, the teams that take to the field of play are going out to compete in an ever-increasing range of sporting uniforms.

During the early days of organized games around the New York metropolitan area during the 1840’s & early 1850’s, it was standard for a team’s players to don a white shirt with a full collar, woolen trousers with leather belts, shoes with plated cleats attached to the soles, and straw hats to block out the sun.

The most distinctive feature of a club team’s uniform during this time was the “Shield-front Jersey”, a shirt that had a shield featuring the club’s emblem fastened to it via buttons and stitching. The inspiration for the Shield-front was the standard-issue uniform of metropolitan fire brigades, as many of the original members of Knickerbocker at its founding in 1845 were volunteer firemen themselves. It remains unknown why, then, the Knickerbocker men of 1849 chose navy blue and not bright red as their main color.

The Shield-front soon became the dominant shirt among organized clubs, and at the founding of the NBBO in 1857 nearly every one of the sixteen metropolitan clubs wore one as did many of the other clubs in the competition. However, the look of the average baseball man is no longer limited to a shirt, a shield, pants, and a large hat. Teams now wear multiple different styles of shirt, caps have replaced hats as the preferred headgear of players, and full-length pants have given way to less restrictive knickers, which, in turn, has led to the introduction of distinctive stockings as a baseball uniform accessory.

And with that, a look into the different fashions that will be worn by teams in the upcoming 1871 season.

First up: the classics. Many teams still employ the Shield-front jersey, and among those shirts there are three common types of shield used. Who better to display those than three of the oldest clubs in the sport: Gotham, Knickerbocker, and Mutual?

While the above represents the types of shields used by most of the shield-bearing teams, some have developed their own distinctive shield styles that involve the use of their own club's insignia. Below, the shirts of Empire, Lancastra Britannia, & Mercury demonstrate a unique way to affix a club’s identity to the front of their shirt:

While the white Shield-front remains extremely popular, there are plenty of teams that see fit to take to the field in a different fashion. The most common way teams do this is with a solid-color shirt, shown here by players from Flour City, Green Mountain, Lake Erie, & Sons of the Ocean.

Other teams have decided to start using their shirts as reminders of who & where they represent. A number of the clubs of Upstate New York, as well as clubs elsewhere in the Northeast, have the place they’re named after stitched across the front of their shirts. The teams showing off their distinctive looks here are Maryland, Portland, Syracuse, & Utica.

Shirts aren’t the only way teams differentiate themselves on the field of battle. Since the cap began to replace the straw hat in the middle of the 1850s, teams have created multiple variations to their headgear in an effort to stand out. Nearly every cap in existence has a striping pattern of some sort, and among those the three most common variations are the “Single Band Box”, the “Double Band Box” and the “Soutache”, which are demonstrated below by American, Kings County, & Marathon.

However, it is the clubs of Boston and nearby Cambridge in Massachusetts who have developed the most unique-looking caps, thanks to the “Boston Stripe” pattern shown off here by Cantabrigians, Massachusetts Bay, & Shamrock.

Although the full-length baseball pants have given way to shorter knickers, nearly every team still dons the color white below their shirt, so that means that stockings are the other main area in which a team may stand out from its rivals. Unlike other parts of the uniform, there are no styles of stocking that are popular above all others, and that means a spectator may see all different manner of looks below the knee. Here, Alleghany, Excelsior, Niagara, & Orange show off four of the many different variations of stocking worn on the field.

Still, one style of stocking reigns unique above all others. Continental is one of the only clubs whose identity makes use of four different colors – black, gold, green, & white – and because of that they decided the only way to incorporate those colors below the knickers was in a way completely different from everyone else: Argyle socks!

And yet, it is not Continental who will be sporting the most unique look of all for 1871. One of the new members of the NBBO, Tiger Social Club, decided that not only did their club name need to be reflected in what they wear but as part of that the traditional white knickers & pants had to go. This makes for a uniform that no other team will be able to compete with in terms of sheer uniqueness.

One further development on the uniform front: during the Spring Rules & Regulations Meetings, Knickerbocker president Doc Adams proposed the idea of using the currently blank back of the shirt as a way to identify players. His argument was that large numbers on the back of each jersey could be used to mark individual players, and then those numbers and players could be listed in game programs so spectators would know for sure who each player was out in the field. Adams believed adopting the practice would increase fan knowledge and program sales in the concourses.

How Adams’ prototype numbered jersey looked:

The proposal was given some consideration, but in the end was soundly defeated as other clubs’ executives didn’t see the need for a method by which players could be identified from afar. One could argue it was a crazy idea, but one could also argue that perhaps Adams was thinking well into the future.

As the players of baseball take to the field this spring & summer, there will be no shortage of unique fashions on display for the spectators. Even those watching from beyond the fences of the deepest outfields will be able to tell one team from the other!

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THE 1871 BASEBALL PREVIEW

NORTHEAST U.S.A. (May 2, 1870) – The fifteenth season of organized baseball, and the first of the professional version of the sport, begins this afternoon with St. John’s playing at Niagara in Buffalo, New York.

The sport has officially entered a brave new world now that the American Professional Baseball League is ready for its inaugural season. There are now two competitions to preview, and both offer plenty of uncertainty.

Defending cup champions St. John’s are projected to lead the Colonial Conference with Knickerbocker atop the Metropolitan in the first season of APBL play, but overall the twelve teams are expected to be very competitive, with 11/12 projected to finish somewhere between 41-49 & 52-38. Now that the premier teams in the sport have gathered under one umbrella they have entered into a yearly competition where they won’t be looked upon to dominate their opposition.

In the NBBO, it should come as little surprise that the “Odd Team Out” at the APBL’s announcement of its initial roster of twelve last year, Quaker State, is the unanimous favorite to lift the Tucker-Wheaton Cup, with an offense projected to become the second ever to score ten runs per game. If is in the cards for another team to stop Quaker St. this season it will likely be last year’s darlings Atlantic, who are projected to be the best team in the New York League.

Thanks to the defections to the APBL, this year’s TWC is projected to have five new entrants, with only Atlantic returning from last year’s stunning cup run that made them the favorites of every neutral fan in the Northeast.

Of the twelve new entrants to the NBBO, Columbia is expected to be the best of the bunch. New York Athletic Club may have the most talent, but they also play in the toughest region. Marathon has a similar issue in Brooklyn, and the big-city trio of Maryland, National, & Tiger is expected to finish in the bottom half of the always difficult Coastal Championship.

It is now time to begin the most mysterious and uncertain season of baseball since the inaugural year of the NBBO in 1857. The projections have been made, but given the changes to the ecosystem of the sport anything is possible in 1871.

AMERICAN PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL LEAGUE PROJECTED STANDINGS

COLONIAL CONFERENCE

		 W	 L	 PCT	GB	 R	 RA	  RD
St. John’s	51	39	.567	--	656	600	 +56
Mass. Bay	48	42	.533	 3	619	570	 +49
Flour City	46	44	.511	 5	567	588	 -21
Alleghany	43	47	.478	 8	612	619	  +7	
Niagara		42	48	.467	 9	555	621	 -66		
Shamrock	41	49	.456	10	548	559	 -11

METROPOLITAN CONFERENCE

		 W	 L	 PCT	GB	 R	 RA	   RD
Knick		52	38	.578	--	607	541	  +66
Orange		52	38	.578	--	620	562	  +58
Gotham		48	42	.533	 4	598	576	  +22
Excelsior	43	47	.478	 9	588	599	  -11
American	42	48	.467	10	638	669	  -31
Kings Co.	35	55	.389	17	528	632	 -104

There is no clear favorite to take the Founders’ Cup, as every team bar Kings Co. is expected to be fiercely competitive.

APBL AWARD FAVORITES

Batsman of the Year: Nelson Townsend (30 y/o OF, St. John’s)
Pitcher of the Year: Jim Creighton (30 y/o P/1B, Excelsior)
Most Valuable Player: James Burke (30 y/o CF, Shamrock)
Greenhorn of the Year: Albert Stoffers (28 y/o 1B, Mass. Bay)

APBEL TEAM OF THE YEAR FAVORITES

P: Jim Creighton (EXC), C: Everett Schreiber (ORA), 1B: William Busby (AME), 2B: Babe Johnson (GOT), 3B: Samuel Kessler (ALL), SS: Edward Huntley (KNI), OF: Konrad Jensen (StJ), CF: James Burke (SHA), OF: Nelson Townsend (StJ)

TOP TEN APBL PROSPECTS

#1: Howard Burns (21 y/o P, StJ), #2: Jack Doherty (23 y/o P, KC), #3: Ernest Dugas (23 y/o CF, FC), #4: Leonard Noble (23 y/o OF, KNI), #5: William Theriault (24 y/o 1B, GOT), #6: Brett Landreth (21 y/o P, KNI), #7: Harold Long (21 y/o P, EXC), #8: Arthur Bliss (22 y/o SS, NIA), #9: Robert Golden (22 y/o OF, ALL), #10: Jonathan Weeks (23 y/o P, SHA)

NATIONAL BASE BALL ORGANIZATION PROJECTED FINISH

Brooklyn Championship
• Favorites: Atlantic (47-23, +135 RD)
• Continental 8 GB, Eckford 10 GB, Marathon 12 GB

New York City Championship
• Favorites: Metropolitan (44-26, +105 RD)
• Harlem 3 GB, Union 5 GB, Mutual 10 GB

Upstate New York Championship
• Favorites: Syracuse (42-28, +100 RD)
• Columbia 3 GB, Minuteman 3 GB, Utica 7 GB

Coastal Championship
• Favorites: Quaker State (56-14, +315 RD)
• Trenton Utd. 13 GB, Newark 16 GB, Port Jersey 21 GB

Inland Championship
• Favorites: Sportsman’s (41-29, +55 RD)
• Susquehanna 1 GB, Scranton 4 GB, Lancastra 6 GB

New England Championship
• Favorites: Portland (44-26, +105 RD)
• S.o.t.O. 1 GB, Oceanic 7 GB, Granite 8 GB

Tucker-Wheaton Cup favorites: Quaker State BC

If Quaker St. makes good on the Writers Pool’s predictions they’ll end up with 55+ wins while scoring nearly 10.5 runs per game, which would easily set a new record. The only hope to stop them in the end may be last year’s surprise cup entrants Atlantic, who return the most talented squad in the New York League.

NBBO AWARD FAVORITES

• NYL Batsman of the Year: Walter Dudley (30 y/o 1B, Atlantic)
• NEL Batsman of the Year: Cormack Alexander (31 y/o 1B, Quaker St.)
• NYL Pitcher of the Year: Earl Quinn (30 y/o, Continental)
• NEL Pitcher of the Year: Ross Gill (30 y/o, Quaker St.)
• NYL Most Valuable Player: Troy Oberst (24 y/o OF, Metropolitan)
• NEL Most Valuable Player: William Dickerson (24 y/o 3B, Quaker St.)
• NYL Greenhorn of the Year: Oscar Dickey (26 y/o C, Mutual)
• NEL Greenhorn of the Year: William Lathan (25 y/o P, Newark)

NBBO TEAM OF THE YEAR FAVORITES

NEW YORK LEAGUE – P: Earl Quinn (CON), C: Raynard Steinbach (BING), 1B: Walter Dudley (ATL), 2B: Arthur Fisher (NC), 3B: Isaac Kelly (ECK), SS: Henry Nabors (VIC), OF: Troy Oberst (MET), CF: Manuel Romeiras (HAR), OF: William Valentine (NYAC)

NORTHEASTERN LEAGUE – P: Ross Gill (QS), C: Harvey O’Donnell (CAN), 1B: Cormack Alexander (QS), 2B: Adam Allen (QUI), 3B: William Dickerson (QS), SS: Jonathan Richards (OCE), OF: Ralph Fowler (NEW), CF: Herb Verrett (MLD), OF: James Heilman (PORT)