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

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1874 NATIONAL BASE BALL ORGANIZATION ALL-STAR GAME
TOOK PLACE IN NATION’S CAPITAL FOR THE 1ST TIME; PORTLAND & SUSQUEHANNA LED NOMINATIONS

WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 27, 1874) – With three weeks left to play in the NBBO season, it’s time for the annual NBBO All-Star Game! Rules were the same as always:

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

This year it was the Northeastern League’s turn to host the contest, and NBBO headquarters decided it wanted to bring the game to a major city that hadn’t hosted it yet. So, even though the local team, National B.C., was 12-43, George Washington Stadium in the nation’s capital hosted the 16th NBBO All-Star Game.

The rosters were a bit different than last year’s diverse lot. There were no dominant teams once again in the NYL – five teams led with three nominees each – but with Portland & Susquehanna sitting at 42-13 they led the NEL in nominees, combining for eight All-Stars in total.

There were 31 first-time nominees (NYL: 14, NEL: 17) at the All-Star Game, down from last year’s 32, and one Greenhorn was taking part: Portland’s five-star 3B Alfred Williams. Six first-timers were starting.

The player that received the most fanfare in Washington was the sport’s Grand Old Man: Utica RF James Heilman. Heilman, in his eighteenth season as a regular batsman in the NBBO, entered the All-Star Game leading the NYL in Batting Average, OPS, Runs Batted In, Bases on Balls, & Batsman WAR playing for the team with the league’s best record.

While Washington, D.C., had what would certainly end the season as the NBBO’s worst team, at least for one day in 1874 the city’s baseball fans were able to see and play host to the league’s best players.

Rosters for the 1873 NBBO All-Star Game were as follows, with starters marked in red:

NEW YORK LEAGUE ROSTERS

P: Perry Franklin (BED/1st) – 19-11, 2.73 ERA, 22 K, 1.28 WHIP, 3.7 WAR
P: Edward Koch (UNI/2nd) – 19-12, 2.58 ERA, 20 K, 1.24 WHIP, 4.0 WAR
P: George Layman (MUT/2nd) – 20-14, 3.47 ERA, 12 K, 1.53 WHIP, 4.7 WAR
P: Jesse McDermott (UTI/1st) – 19-8, 2.35 ERA, 17 K, 1.33 WHIP, 2.7 WAR
P: Olaf Sorensen (ATL/4th) – 21-12, 2.29 ERA, 21 K, 1.13 WHIP, 4.1 WAR
P: William Tighe (MIN/4th) – 18-9, 3.48 ERA, 26 K, 1.37 WHIP, 4.4 WAR

C: William Cook (UTI/1st) – .332, 2 HR, 51 RBI, 2.42 C-ERA, 1.1 WAR
C: Edmond Price (BING/1st) – .357, 11 2B, 1 3B, 52 RBI, 1.5 WAR
C: Harold Rowsey (MET/2nd) – .328, 9 XBH, 51 RBI, 2.77 C-ERA, 1.6 WAR

1B: Thomas Johnson (ECK/2nd) – .329, 13 2B, 3 3B, 55 RBI, 1.5 WAR
1B: Paul LaGuerre (MIN/1st) – .322, 18 XBH, 2 HR, 49 RBI, 1.4 WAR
1B: Terje Olsen (EAG/1st) – .365, 15 XBH, 2 HR, 43 RBI, 1.1 WAR
2B: Chester Alexander (SYR/3rd) – .352, 16 XBH, 1 HR, 45 RBI, 1.5 WAR
2B: Henry Neal (ATL/2nd) – .349, 9 XBH, 2 HR, 51 RBI, 2.1 WAR
2B: Huibrecht v. d. Laan (ECK/2nd) – .306, 2 HR, 36 RBI, +14.4 ZR, 2.4 WAR
3B: William Denham (CON/1st) – .315, 19 XBH, 1 HR, 53 RBI, 2.2 WAR
3B: Floyd Fountain (COL/1st) – .336, 13 XBH, 1 HR, 50 RBI, 1.2 WAR
3B: Isaac Kelly (ECK/4th) – .284, 17 XBH, 1 HR, 38 RBI, 1.6 WAR
SS: William Holcomb (BED/1st) – .315, 1 HR, 43 RBI, +16.6 ZR, 2.4 WAR
SS: Hugh Mercer (MIN/1st) – .335, 1 HR, 37 RBI, +12.8 ZR, 2.3 WAR
SS: Henry Nabors (VIC/8th) – .353, 16 XBH, 2 HR, 59 RBI, 2.1 WAR

LF: William Simons (MET/1st) – .287, 20 XBH, 1 HR, 45 RBI, 2.0 WAR
LF: Henry Stoltz (MER/1st) – .355, 10 2B, 3 3B, 28 RBI, 1.9 WAR
LF: William Vickers (CON/1st) – .325, 1 HR, 53 RBI, 25 SB, 2.5 WAR
CF: Francis Smith (MET/3rd) – .315, 16 2B, 7 3B, 56 RBI, 2.3 WAR
CF: Herb Verrett (ATL/3rd) – .350, 25 XBH, 1 HR, 52 RBI, 2.6 WAR
CF: George Whaley (FRO/2nd) – .323, 19 XBH, 1 HR, 55 RBI, 2.0 WAR
RF: Farris Crowe (BAL/2nd) – .347, 26 XBH, 1 HR, 43 RBI, 2.0 WAR
RF: James Heilman (UTI/3rd) – .372, 18 XBH, 1 HR, 68 RBI, 2.7 WAR
RF: Robert Wolf (MUT/1st) – .368, 26 XBH, 1 HR, 62 RBI, 1.9 WAR

NORTHEASTERN LEAGUE ROSTERS

P: William Berg (SotO/1st) – 18-11, 2.28 ERA, 13 K, 1.13 WHIP, 2.7 WAR
P: George Burroughs (PJ/1st) – 17-14, 2.81 ERA, 29 K, 1.28 WHIP, 4.3 WAR
P: James Dressman (PORT/4th) – 25-6, 2.26 ERA, 25 K, 1.19 WHIP, 3.5 WAR
P: Ross Gill (QS/5th) – 20-12, 2.82 ERA, 21 K, 1.19 WHIP, 4.1 WAR
P: William Hawk (SUS/1st) – 24-6, 1.99 ERA, 32 K, 1.15 WHIP, 4.2 WAR
P: Thomas Koch (TU/1st) – 17-3, 2.61 ERA, 21 K, 1.14 WHIP, 2.9 WAR

C: Bertrand Bosley (GM/3rd) – .344, 15 XBH, 1 HR, 53 RBI, 2.1 WAR
C: Hal Brinks (SotO/1st) – .364, 18 XBH, 63 RBI, 2.47 C-ERA, 2.0 WAR
C: Jonathan Day (CAN/3rd) – .332, 18 2B, 9 3B, 50 RBI, 1.6 WAR

1B: Gerhardt Berg (QS/5th) – .395, 16 XBH, 1 HR, 53 RBI, 2.4 WAR
1B: Joseph Jurski (SUS/1st) – .335, 9 2B, 3 3B, 55 RBI, 1.5 WAR
1B: Enda Reed (PORT/6th) – .340, 13 XBH, 1 HR, 50 RBI, 1.5 WAR
2B: Will Strausbaugh (PJ/5th) – .348, 17 XBH, 2 HR, 36 RBI, 1.6 WAR
2B: William Sudduth (MM/1st) – .375, 14 2B, 3 3B, 47 RBI, 1.6 WAR
2B: Frank Thomas (PIO/4th) – .339, 8 2B, 3 3B, 51 RBI, 2.1 WAR
3B: Henry Dubbs (CAN/1st) – .328, 18 2B, 4 3B, 52 RBI, 1.7 WAR
3B: Bertrand Sargent (SUS/3rd) – .336, 12 2B, 6 3B, 61 RBI, 1.9 WAR
3B: Alfred Williams (PORT/GH) – .322, 11 2B, 11 3B, 47 RBI, 2.6 WAR
SS: Thomas Ashley (PJ/1st) – .271, 1 HR, 43 RBI, +18.5 ZR, 1.5 WAR
SS: Jonathan Richards (QS/3rd) – .310, 1 HR, 41 RBI, +13.7 ZR, 2.3 WAR
SS: Earl Seals (TU/4th) – .241, 15 XBH, 35 RBI, +20.1 ZR, 2.2 WAR

LF: Robert Basalyga (LB/1st) – .373, 14 2B, 7 3B, 61 RBI, 2.0 WAR
LF: George Bowman (PIO/1st) – .368, 7 2B, 10 3B, 45 RBI, 2.2 WAR
LF: Sam Brown (OCE/1st) – .340, 12 2B, 4 3B, 48 RBI, 1.9 WAR
CF: Ned Morganti (QS/6th) – .402, 22 XBH, 1 HR, 63 RBI, 3.4 WAR
CF: John Schultz (SUS/1st) – .363, 1 HR, 39 RBI, 31 SB, 3.0 WAR
CF: William White (LB/1st) – .346, 12 2B, 9 3B, 55 RBI, 2.9 WAR
RF: Luc Billon (PORT/7th) – .342, 8 2B, 1 3B, 50 RBI, 2.3 WAR
RF: Henry Card (MLD/1st) – .352, 1 HR, 45 RBI, 23 SB, 2.1 WAR
RF: Elton Matthews (OLY/1st) – .390, 15 2B, 1 3B, 36 RBI, 1.3 WAR


So, how did this year's All-Star Game turn out?

The Northeastern League began the festivities with a bang, scoring five times in the 1st inning on a pair of NYL fielding errors followed by five Singles and a Sacrifice Fly. After a pair of NYL runs during the top of the 2nd, the NEL scored twice in the 3rd on a Henry Card Triple and twice in the 4th (Single & Sac Fly) to make it a 9-2 game. The nine runs were enough for the win, and from there it was just a matter of game management until it was time to celebrate.

The All-Star Game Most Valuable Player was Merrimack Mills 2B William Sudduth:

• NYL SUB W. Sudduth (2B): 2/2, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI

There were two NEL players who finished the game with three base hits – Hal Brinks & Earl Seals – but Sudduth was the only batsman with a pair of Runs & RBI each, and for that he took home the MVP trophy.

The pitchers of record were Thomas Koch of Trenton United with the Win and Olaf Sorensen of Atlantic with the Loss.

Attendance was 10,919 at George Washington Stadium in Washington, D.C., and the sellout crowd was able to enjoy a game in partly cloudy, 73-degree weather that was excellent for a midsummer gathering of the best players in the NBBO.

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ROSTERS NAMED FOR 4TH APBL ALL-STAR GAME
AMERICAN WILL HOST; CONFERENCE LEADERS TOP NOMINATIONS WITH SIX EACH

NEW YORK CITY (July 27, 1874) – Final vote tallies taken from fans, coaches, players, and Writers Pool members have been completed, and telegrams detailing the rosters for the 4th American Professional Baseball League All-Star Game have been sent out across the Northeast.

Rosters for the APBL Midsummer Classic aren’t the same as those in its NBBO counterpart:

• Twenty players per conference
• Roster places 1-4 go to pitchers – two for each rotation place
• Roster places 5-20 go to batsmen – two for each position
• All six teams from each conference must be represented (see note below)

It’s the Metropolitan Conference’s turn to host the festivities this year, and who better to host than defending champions American, who arguably had the best season in baseball history in 1873.

While for each of the first three editions of the APBL All-Star Game every team had to have a player nominated, league executives decided that Kings County could go without one this year on account of their 17-55 record. That was good news for the corner infielders of the Metropolitan Conference, because 1B has been a particular strength of the Metro this year.

Not surprisingly, it’s the conference leaders, Alleghany & Orange, that lead the way in nominees with six each.

There are four first-time All-Stars among the nominees, as well as one Greenhorn: Massachusetts Bay C Lane Garvin. That means Mass. Bay 1B Albert Stoffers will miss the ASG for the first time, although he isn’t the most notable omission as Samuel Kessler is missing an All-Star Game for the first time in his career after fifteen straight appearances.

Here are the All-Star Game rosters, with total All-Star appearances between the NBBO & APBL noted and starters in red:

COLONIAL CONFERENCE

P: Raynard Cordell (ALL/3rd) – 20-12, 2.95 ERA, 304.2 IP, 22 CG, 0 SHO, 18 K, 0.6 K/BB, 1.25 WHIP, 1.8 WAR
P: James Goodman (FC/9th) – 17-7, 3.41 ERA, 214.0 IP, 14 CG, 0 SHO, 58 K, 2.3 K/BB, 1.33 WHIP, 4.9 WAR
P: Elmer Seabold (ALL/6th) – 22-13, 3.26 ERA, 282.0 IP, 21 CG, 1 SHO, 61 K, 1.4 K/BB, 1.40 WHIP, 3.5 WAR
P: Thomas Smith (STJ/7th) – 18-15, 2.59 ERA, 285.1 IP, 21 CG, 0 SHO, 17 K, 0.6 K/BB, 1.30 WHIP, 3.6 WAR

C: Lane Garvin (MB/GH) – .341, .747 OPS, 50 R, 92 H, 12 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 40 RBI, 1 BB, 2 SB, 2.4 WPA, 1.4 WAR
C: Harry Thompson (ALL/1st) – .357, .812 OPS, 49 R, 85 H, 14 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 47 RBI, 3 BB, 0 SB, 2.70 WPA, 1.9 WAR
1B: Frank Bulger (SHA/3rd) – .339, .783 OPS, 62 R, 98 H, 16 2B, 4 3B, 1 HR, 46 RBI, 2 BB, 35 SB, 1.5 WPA, 2.5 WAR
1B: Mario Fusilli (StJ/5th) – .383, .864 OPS, 77 R, 129 H, 18 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 75 RBI, 9 BB, 6 SB, 5.1 WPA, 2.8 WAR
2B: Burton Ellerby (ALL/2nd) – .293, .658 OPS, 49 R, 88 H, 9 2B, 5 3B, 0 HR, 52 RBI, 5 BB, 1 SB, 1.3 WPA, 1.6 WAR
2B: Harold Groves (SHA/2nd) – .278, .655 OPS, 66 R, 87 H, 13 2B, 5 3B, 1 HR, 55 RBI, 6 BB, 12 SB, 3.0 WPA, 1.5 WAR
3B: William Dickerson (SHA/5th) – .317, .741 OPS, 61 R, 101 H, 16 2B, 7 3B, 0 HR, 63 RBI, 8 BB, 37 SB, 1.9 WPA, 2.0 WAR
3B: Hugh Harris (FC/6th) – .312, .804 OPS, 84 R, 103 H, 17 2B, 10 3B, 3 HR, 66 RBI, 20 BB, 28 SB, 5.7 WPA, 2.1 WAR
SS: William Schumacher (NIA/2nd) – .305, .727 OPS, 58 R, 94 H, 14 2B, 9 3B, 1 HR, 51 RBI, 2 BB, 12 SB, 3.4 WPA, 1.7 WAR
SS: Gerald Strong (ALL/4th) – .354, .803 OPS, 80 R, 123 H, 13 2B, 5 3B, 1 HR, 46 RBI, 20 SB, +17.8 ZR, 4.8 WPA, 4.1 WAR

LF: Earl Crosby (SHA/3rd) – .293, .703 OPS, 74 R, 92 H, 9 2B, 6 3B, 1 HR, 31 RBI, 13 BB, 51 SB, 3.8 WPA, 2.3 WAR
LF: Konrad Jensen (StJ/14th) – .366, .873 OPS, 76 R, 113 H, 10 2B, 9 3B, 0 HR, 61 RBI, 29 BB, 46 SB, 4.6 WPA, 3.1 WAR
CF: Rudolph Decker (StJ/2nd) – .289, .714 OPS, 87 R, 101 H, 12 2B, 12 3B, 2 HR, 49 RBI, 7 BB, 43 SB, 3.5 WPA, 1.6 WAR
CF: Ernest Dugas (FC/2nd) – .314, .737 OPS, 65 R, 109 H, 18 2B, 9 3B, 0 HR, 63 RBI, 4 BB, 18 SB, 3.4 WPA, 1.8 WAR
RF: Ashley Hearns (ALL/2nd) – .307, .720 OPS, 58 R, 101 H, 22 2B, 5 3B, 0 HR, 74 RBI, 6 BB, 9 SB, 2.7 WPA, 1.3 WAR
RF: Nelson Townsend (StJ/12th) – .324, .765 OPS, 94 R, 110 H, 10 2B, 9 3B, 0 HR, 47 RBI, 20 BB, 52 SB, 2.7 WPA, 2.0 WAR

METROPOLITAN CONFERENCE

P: Paul Caldwell (ORA/2nd) – 21-9, 2.92 ERA, 243.2 IP, 18 CG, 2 SHO, 18 K, 1.1 K/BB, 1.29 WHIP, 2.6 WAR
P: Jim Creighton (EXC/13th) – 25-15, 2.60 ERA, 318.2 IP, 22 CG, 1 SHO, 113 K, 4.2 K/BB, 1.20 WHIP, 6.7 WAR
P: John Henry (AME/5th) – 18-12, 3.38 ERA, 266.1 IP, 15 CG, 0 SHO, 17 K, 0.8 K/BB, 1.34 WHIP, 2.5 WAR
P: Everton McLean (KNI/1st) – 20-12, 2.96 ERA, 292.1 IP, 20 CG, 0 SHO, 15 K, 0.5 K/BB, 1.28 WHIP, 2.5 WAR

C: Albert Goddard (EXC/3rd) – .298, .667 OPS, 41 R, 72 H, 10 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 36 RBI, 8 BB, 0 SB, 0.6 WPA, 1.2 WAR
C: Everett Schreiber (ORA/7th) – .368, .819 OPS, 56 R, 103 H, 17 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 65 RBI, 7 BB, 1 SB, 4.6 WPA, 3.0 WAR
1B: Cormack Alexander (KNI/8th) – .348, .831 OPS, 68 R, 109 H, 15 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 48 RBI, 28 BB, 10 SB, 4.2 WPA, 3.4 WAR
1B: William Busby (AME/6th) – .386, .868 OPS, 75 R, 119 H, 15 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 86 RBI, 14 BB, 1 SB, 4.0 WPA, 2.7 WAR
2B: Babe Johnson (GOT/6th) – .338, .805 OPS, 71 R, 111 H, 17 2B, 5 3B, 0 HR, 87 RBI, 27 BB, 35 SB, 5.5 WPA, 2.5 WAR
2B: Charles Whitehead (ORA/1st) – .329, .747 OPS, 67 R, 107 H, 13 2B, 6 3B, 0 HR, 46 RBI, 4 BB, 1 SB, 1.2 WPA, 2.4 WAR
3B: Will Chaffin (ORA/4th) – .320, .739 OPS, 72 R, 98 H, 19 2B, 5 3B, 0 HR, 60 RBI, 3 BB, 16 SB, 1.9 WPA, 2.3 WAR
3B: Elijah Hill (EXC/3rd) – .354, 807 OPS, 70 R, 120 H, 19 2B, 4 3B, 1 HR, 70 RBI, 4 BB, 6 SB, 5.6 WPA, 2.7 WAR
SS: Edward Huntley (KNI/16th) – .329, .743 OPS, 63 R, 109 H, 10 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 62 RBI, 11 BB, 18 SB, 3.7 WPA, 1.9 WAR
SS: Anthony Mascherino (ORA/15th) – .318, .704 OPS, 83 R, 113 H, 14 2B, 3 3B, 42 RBI, 6 BB, 29 SB, +15.0 ZR, 4.4 WPA, 3.3 WAR

LF: Willie Davis (AME/13th) – .339, .802 OPS, 85 R, 116 H, 15 2B, 6 3B, 2 HR, 61 RBI, 13 BB, 29 SB, 3.5 WPA, 2.0 WAR
LF: Troy Oberst (EXC/4th) – .325, .754 OPS, 78 R, 113 H, 22 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 60 RBI, 7 BB, 3 SB, 2.9 WPA, 2.2 WAR
CF: Taliesin Buckley (ORA/9th) – .297, .707 OPS, 51 R, 88 H, 9 2B, 10 3B, 1 HR, 69 RBI, 4 BB, 17 SB, 3.3 WPA, 1.5 WAR
CF: James Burke (AME/8th) – .340, .801 OPS, 87 R, 115 H, 12 2B, 6 3B, 2 HR, 63 RBI, 16 BB, 66 SB, 4.7 WPA, 2.9 WAR
RF: Franklin Petty (AME/9th) – .341, .794 OPS, 62 R, 85 H, 12 2B, 4 3B, 0 HR, 45 RBI, 11 BB, 33 SB, 2.2 WPA, 1.5 WAR
RF: Clive Strachan (GOT/6th) – .344, .798 OPS, 97 R, 118 H, 10 2B, 8 3B, 2 HR, 41 RBI, 6 BB, 61 SB, 5.0 WPA, 3.1 WAR



The leaders in each conference also lead the way in All-Star nominations:

• ALLEGHANY (6): Cordell, Ellerby, Hearns, Seabold, Strong, & Thompson
• ORANGE (6): Buckley, Caldwell, Chaffin, Mascherino, Schreiber, & Whitehead

Both teams lead their conference in All-Star nominations.

There are seven first-time All-Stars, and there will be two Greenhorns playing:

• COLONIAL: Garvin (GH) & Thompson
• METROPOLITAN: Hearns & McLean

The 4th APBL All-Star Game takes place next Monday afternoon at Glenwood Field in Philadelphia. First Pitch is scheduled for just after 1:00 PM.

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SCROVEGNI’S STREAK GOES TO 45 GAMES
GREENHORN’S HITTING RUN NOW SECOND-LONGEST IN NBBO HISTORY

OSWEGO, N.Y. (July 29, 1874) - Earlier this season, when Quaker State star Ned Morganti saw his Hitting Streak reach forty games in length it stopped there the next day. Not so with the streak of Frontier’s greenhorn 3B Remi Scrovegni.

In the bottom of the 6th of Frontier’s 12-9 home win over Eagle on Wednesday, Scrovegni hit a Single past Eagle SS Jim Fears to start the six-run rally that ultimately won the game for Frontier, and in the process brought Scrovegni’s historic Hitting Streak to 45 games in length.

Scrovegni’s streak is now the second longest in NBBO history, placing him behind only the seemingly mythical 67-game streak pulled off by Union outfielder Peter Huff from the second day to the second-to-last day of the 1871 season.

Scrovegni and Frontier have four more games against Eagle this week, an opposition that has one of the five worst pitching records in the New York League so far this season.

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SUMPTER CLUBS TWO HOMERS AT SPORTSMAN’S
YOUNG PIONEER SS FINISHES WITH EIGHT RBI ON THREE HITS DURING MEMORABLE AFTERNOON

FALL RIVER, MASS. (July 29, 1874) - Pioneer B.C. needed a win at Sportsman’s in the opening game of their series to stay above the .500 mark, and thanks to a bunch of late-inning scoring they achieved the objective:

Young players were the stars of the day for Pioneer. 22-year-old #2 pitcher Jimmy Everhart worked the whole game while allowing just four base hits and no Earned Runs, and he was 2/4 batting with an RBI. However, Everhart’s performance had nothing on that of 21-year-old teammate John Sumpter.

Sumpter, a SS who is one of just a few 21-year-old lineup members across the 48-team NBBO, had one of the most power-packed days in NBBO history during the 14-3 win:

• T2: Fly Out to RF (2 out)
• T4: 2-RUN ITP HOME RUN to RCF off R. Sutherland (R)
• T6: Reached via Error by 3B A. Cardarelli (R)
• T7: 3-RUN HOME RUN to RF off R. Sutherland (R)
• T8: 3-run Double to LCF off H. Hartmann (R)
• TOTAL: 3/5, 2B, 2 HR, 4 R, 8 RBI, 10 TB, 110 GMSC

Sumpter tied the NBBO record with eight RBI during a nine-inning game, which has now been done eight times. He was also the first batsman with a two-HR game in the NEL this season, with Eagle 1B Terje Olsen the only batsman in the NYL with a two-home game so far in 1874.

Incredibly, going into the game Sumpter’s batting line on the season looked like this:

• 55 G, .236 AVG, .532 OPS (64 OPS+), 31 R, 53 H, 5 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 34 RBI, 5 BB, 1 SB

So not only was Sumpter’s two-HR, eight-RBI game one of the more memorable power displays in recent memory, but it was possibly the most anomalous batting display since American C Friedrich Becker’s historic three Inside-the-Park Home Run afternoon on June 6th of 1860 – he only had one other Extra-base Hit that season – that still stands as the only three-HR game in NBBO history.

The win improved Pioneer’s record to a respectable 29-27, putting them in a tie for 2nd place in the Inland Championship with Merrimack Mills. However, with Susquehanna at 43-13 it is almost certain that Pioneer won’t repeat as Inland champs.

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VAN DER HOUT FIRST NBBO PITCHER TO 300 WINS
CANTABRIGIANS PITCHER IS 4TH OVERALL TO LANDMARK VICTORY NUMBER

PORTLAND, ME. (July 29, 1874) - It has been a rough season for Cantabrigians #1 Rainer van der Hout. The eighteen-year veteran entered Wednesday’s game at New England leaders Portland with a 9-22 record in spite of a 3.54 ERA, easily the worst Won-Loss figure of his lengthy career.

However, the game in Portland game proved to be a surprise as 18-37 Cantabrigians won 2-1 at William King Field to take a highly unlikely victory to drop their hosts to “just” 42-14 and a nine-game lead atop the New England standings. Cantabrigians’ pitcher of record was Rainer van der Hout, who was brilliant:

• CAN P Rainer v. .d Hout: CG, 2 HA, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

The win wasn’t an ordinary one for van der Hout. It was the 300th victory of his long career, making van der Hout the first pitcher with 300 Wins in the NBBO and the fourth overall with 300+ Wins in organized baseball.

The four members of the 300 Win Club:

• Jim Creighton: 257-139 in NBBO, 99-77 in APBL, 356-216 overall (1860-present for Excelsior)
• Carl Bancroft: 298-222 in NBBO, 36-31 in APBL, 334-253 overall (1857-present for six teams)
• James Goodman: 227-207 in NBBO, 97-54 in APBL, 324-261 overall (1857-present for MIN & FC)
• Rainer v. d. Hout: 300-255 in NBBO, 0-0 in APBL, 300-255 overall (1857-present for ten teams)

The only other active pitcher remotely close to 300 Wins is Grover Wright, who has a 294-201 record in the NBBO during a career that spans 1858 to the present with Kings County, Niagara, Continental, & Portland.

Rainer van der Hout doesn’t have the accolades that the three other members of the 300 Win Club do (1x All-Star, 1x Champion, 4x 20-game Winner), but nonetheless he has earned each and every one of his 300 career victories.

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GOTHAM SCORES CRUSHING WIN AT KNICKERBOCKER
HOSTS WIN BY 22 IN MOST LOPSIDED CONTEST EVER BETWEEN SPORT’S TWO OLDEST CLUBS

MANHATTAN (July 30, 1874) - Gotham & Knickerbocker, baseball’s two oldest clubs, have been competing against each other formally since 1857 and informally since 1845, and never has a game between the two finished with as lopsided an outcome as what the fans at the Elysian Fields saw on Thursday afternoon:

It was a reasonably close game after four innings, with Gotham up 3-0. Then came the top of the 5th, which served as the start to two dozen Gotham runs over the next four innings as they blew Knickerbocker to smithereens.

It was death by a thousand cuts for Knickerbocker in the top of the 5th. Following a leadoff Double by Babe Johnson, Gotham proceeded to score eleven runs on a series of Wild Pitches, Errors, Sacrifices, and Singles to leave the score 14-0 at the halfway mark. After Knick scored three times in the bottom of the 5th, Gotham scored five times in the 6th & 7th and three more times in the 8th just to make sure there would be no comeback by their longtime foes.

Four Gotham batsmen had three or four Hits during the game:

• GOT #3 Babe Johnson (2B): 3/7, 2B, 3B, 6 R, 2 RBI, 6 TB
• GOT #5 Jonathan Quarles (SS): 4/7, 2B, 4 R, 3 RBI, SB, 5 TB
• GOT #7 Edward Johnson (CF): 3/7, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, 6 TB
• GOT #8 Nicky Smith (3B): 3/7 (all 1B), 1 R, 3 RBI

However, all four were outdone by 1B William Theriault:

• T1: Fly Out to CF (3 out)
• T3: 1-run Single to CF off P. Daly (R)
• T5: 1-run Single to LF off P. Daly (R)
• T5: Reached via Error by SS E. Huntley (R)
• T6: 1-run Single past SS off A. Bird
• T7: 2-run Single past 2B off M. Munson (R)
• T8: 2-run Double to RF off M. Munson
• TOTAL: 5/7, 2B, 5 R, 7 RBI, 6 TB, 116 GMSC

Theriault’s afternoon represented the best performance by a batsman in the APBL this season. It raised his average to .366 (.817 OPS) with 68 Runs Batted in Through 75 games, and he is on pace to finish the season with higher marks in Average, On-Base, Slugging, OPS, RBI, & WAR than he did in 1873.

The win moved Gotham into a tie for 2nd place in the Colonial Conference with American. Both teams are three games behind leaders Orange.

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AMERICAN BASEBALL JULY RECAP

NORTHEAST U.S.A. (Aug. 1, 1874) – The busiest month of the baseball calendar has finished. With APBL teams having played 26-27 games in July and NBBO/PCBL teams 23 each, the season is now in its closing stages. Here are how things stand with just a few weeks left to play.

APBL STANDINGS (75 of 90 games played)

COLONIAL – Alleghany treaded water during July, and that will probably be good enough to prevent the rising St. John’s team from catching them unless the Pittsburgh men really collapse hard during the last 2.5 weeks of play. James Goodman is back after a three-week injury layoff, so it’s possible Flour City could put a scare into Alleghany as well. Niagara & Shamrock have fallen off the pace and are no longer a worry. Massachusetts Bay had a decent July, but it’s still very likely that they’ll finish in last place.

METROPOLITAN – Orange & American were only around .500 during July, so that meant good months from the old hands, Gotham & Knickerbocker, have turned the Metropolitan into a four-way race for the stretch run. At this point, any of the top four teams could take the pennant. Excelsior was just okay again in July, the same as in May & June, with their main goal from here to see if Jim Creighton can make it to 30 Wins for the first time. There are no words for Kings County.

APBL MONTHLY AWARDS

BATSMAN OF THE MONTH
Elijah Hill (3B, EXC) – .384, .867 OPS, 32 R, 48 H, 6 2B, 2 3B, 28 RBI, 3 BB, 3 SB, 1.8 WPA, 1.4 WAR

PITCHER OF THE MONTH
Blake Lively (GOT) – 10-3, 2.54 ERA, 102.2 IP, 8 CG, 0 SHO, 2 K, 0.3 K/BB, 1.28 WHIP, 1.7 WAR, 1.9 rWAR

GREENHORN OF THE MONTH
I.A. Butler (P, MB) – 7-5, 3.57 ERA, 103.1 IP, 6 CG, 0 SHO, 5 K, 0.6 K/BB, 1.45 WHIP, 1.7 WAR, 0.7 rWAR

Hill didn’t lead the APBL in Average (James Burke at .407), OPS (Declan Brice at .977), RBI (Edward Huntley with 33), or WAR (Royal Altman with 1.5) in July, but the first-year APBL man had the best overall month by any batsman. He is actually on pace to best his final NBBO season in AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS, H, HR, RBI, WPA, & WAR. Between Hill and Troy Oberst, Excelsior was two-for-two with two homers on their NBBO imports this year.

Lively had a 4.34 ERA in May and was 5-5 with a 4.92 ERA in June, so naturally he had a ten-Win July while cutting the previous month’s ERA in half. After nearly two seasons in the APBL, it looks as if Lively is finally living up to the billing he was given when Gotham signed him from independent ball. Howard Burns (StJ) also won ten games during July, but he had an extra loss (10-4) and a much higher ERA (4.61).

Butler overcame a 3-15 record with an ERA well over 4.00 during the first two months to have a pretty good July and show off the talent that led Mass. Bay to sign him from independent ball to be part of their revamped pitching duo with Washington Kihlstedt. May GotM Tomoharu Mukai (NIA) was 3-9 with a 3.52 ERA, and June winner Eamonn Todd (StJ) hit .309 (.681 OPS) with 21 Runs & 26 RBI.

APBL STATISTICAL LEADERS

Average: .368 by William Busby (1B, American)
OPS: .864 by William Busby
Runs: 100 by Clive Strachan (RF, Gotham)
Home Runs: 3 by four different batsmen
Runs Batted In: 89 by Babe Johnson (2B, Gotham)
Stolen Bases: 68 by James Burke (CF, American)
Batsman WPA: 5.97 by Elijah Hill (3B, Excelsior)
Batsman WAR: 4.3 by Gerald Strong (SS, Alleghany)

ERA (150+ IP): 2.52 by Tom Ricks (Shamrock)
Wins: 26 by Jim Creighton (Excelsior)
Complete Games: 23 by Raynard Cordell (Alleghany) & Jim Creighton
Strikeouts: 116 by Jim Creighton (Excelsior)
WHIP (150+ IP): 1.21 by Jim Creighton
Pitcher WAR: 6.9 by Jim Creighton
Pitcher rWAR: 8.0 by Raynard Cordell

NBBO REGIONAL LEADERS (58 of 70 games played)

BROOKLYN: Atlantic & Eckford at 37-21 (Star 5 GB, Bedford & Continental 6 GB)
NEW YORK CITY: Mercury, Metropolitan, & Union at 33-25 (Harlem & Mutual 3 GB)
UPSTATE NY: Utica at 40-18 (Syracuse 5.5 GB, Minuteman 6 GB, Frontier 7 GB)
COASTAL: Trenton Utd. at 40-18 (Quaker St. 2 GB, Maryland 5 GB, Pt. Jersey 9 GB)
INLAND: Susquehanna at 44-14 (clinched championship)
NEW ENGLAND: Portland at 43-15 (S.o.t.O. 9 GB)

BROOKLYN – The two powerhouses, Atlantic & Eckford, have separated themselves at the top, but there are still teams lurking. Eckford has the schedule advantage in that their final series is at home against last-place Nassau Co. (19-39).

NEW YORK CITY – Of course New York City is in a three-way tie with just over two weeks to play. On top of that, Baltic & N.Y.A.C. are sitting six games behind in addition to the Harlem & Mutual pair that are three games back. This is the most exciting region in the NBBO year in and year out.

UPSTATE – It looks as if Utica has a pretty firm grip on their second straight pennant thanks to a strong June. After Syracuse, their final two series are at Eagle (23-35) and vs Binghamton (25-33), so a collapse looks unlikely.

COASTAL – Trenton Utd. & Quaker St. remain the clear top two, although Maryland remains just within arm’s length at five games back. Trenton Utd. has the tougher remaining schedule after this week: vs Pt. Jersey and at Maryland.

INLAND – It’s hard to believe that a team based in a town of around 15,000 people, Wilkes-Barre (Penn.), has put such a stranglehold on the region, but here Susquehanna is with the NBBO’s best record and their third pennant in four years.

NEW ENGLAND – A 14-9 month by Sons of the Ocean means that Portland still has to work a bit to take their fourth straight New England pennant, but their next seven games are against teams currently under .500 so Portland's lead looks quite safe.

NBBO MONTHLY AWARDS

BATSMEN OF THE MONTH
NYL: Robert Wolf (RF, MUT) – .398, .949 OPS, 28 R, 47 H, 13 XBH, 1 HR, 34 RBI, 2 BB, 3 SB, 1.4 WPA, 1.0 WAR
NEL: Gerhardt Berg (1B, QS) – .430, 1.007 OPS, 29 R, 46 H, 5 2B, 3 3B, 29 RBI, 7 BB, 0 SB, 1.4 WPA, 1.4 WAR

PITCHERS OF THE MONTH
NYL: Edward Koch (UNI) – 10-4, 2.38 ERA, 117.1 IP, 9 CG, 1 SV, 9 K, 1.8 K/BB, 1.15 WHIP, 2.2 WAR, 3.3 rWAR
NEL: Ross Gill (QS) – 10-4, 2.68 ERA, 121.0 IP, 6 CG, 0 SHO, 8 K, 1.3 K/BB, 1.19 WHIP, 2.0 WAR, 4.2 rWAR

GREENHORNS OF THE MONTH
NYL: Fritz Schuster (P, VIC) – 7-7, 2.26 ERA, 111.2 IP, 8 CG, 0 SHO, 9 K, 2.2 K/BB, 1.13 WHIP, 1.8 WAR, 2.2 rWAR
NEL: Alfred Williams (3B, PORT) – .339, .880 OPS, 27 R, 37 H, 7 2B, 7 3B, 26 RBI, 2 BB, 6 SB, 1.8 WPA, 1.0 WAR

NBBO STATISTICAL LEADERS

Average: .401 by Gerhardt Berg (1B, Quaker St.)
OPS: .922 by Ned Morganti (CF, Quaker St.)
Runs: 83 by John Schultz (CF, Susquehanna)
Home Runs: 4 by Alexander Grimes (3B, Nassau Co.)
Runs Batted In: 72 by William Winters (3B, Empire)
Stolen Bases: 49 by Manuel Romeiras (CF, Trenton Utd.)
Batsman WPA: 5.5 by Robert Basalyga (LF, Lancastra)
Batsman WAR: 3.4 by Ned Morganti

ERA (150+ IP): 1.93 by William Hawk (Susquehanna)
Wins: 26 by William Hawk
Complete Games: 26 by James Dressman (Portland) & Olaf Sorensen (Atlantic)
Strikeouts: 40 by Earl Quinn (Maryland)
WHIP (150+ IP): 1.11 by William Hawk
Pitcher WAR: 5.1 by Charles Rhodes (N.Y.A.C.)
Pitcher rWAR: 9.2 by William Hawk

PCBL LEADERS (58 of 70 games played)

EAST: Port Richmond at 34-24 (Keystone 1 GB, Frankford 2 GB, Spartan 4 GB)
WEST: Merion at 35-23 (Schuylkill 2 GB, P.B.C.C. 3 GB, Mercantile 4 GB)

EAST PHILADELPHIA: This is still a very tight race with a bit more than two weeks left, with any of the top four teams still having a good chance to take the pennant. In addition, Queen Village (28-30) is six games back so a red-hot finish by the neighborhood team will see them right in the mix.

WEST PHILADELPHIA: Almost a carbon copy of the East: the top four teams separated by four games, with a fifth team, Overbook (29-29), lurking six games behind the leaders. However, 6th-place Independence (28-20; 7 GB) finishes with series against the bottom two teams, Penn (22-36) & Germantown (22-36), so there’s a chance they could climb the standings.

PCBL MONTHLY AWARDS

BATSMAN OF THE MONTH
Joseph Evans (LF, FA) – .369, 1.010 OPS, 34 R, 41 H, 12 2B, 7 3B, 30 RBI, 6 BB, 4 SB, 2.8 WPA, 1.5 WAR

PITCHER OF THE MONTH
Casper Shultis (MERC) – 8-4, 1.59 ERA, 118.2 IP, 10 CG, 0 SHO, 10 K, 2.0 K/BB, 1.21 WHIP, 2.4 WAR, 3.3 rWAR

GREENHORN OF THE MONTH
Franklin Decker (LF, YORK) – .390, .966 OPS, 23 R, 41 H, 6 2B, 6 3B, 31 RBI, 2 BB, 4 SB, 2.6 WPA, 1.4 WAR

PCBL STATISTICAL LEADERS

Average: .355 by Albert Taylor (RF, Pt. Richmond)
OPS: .881 by Joseph Evans (LF, Frankford)
Runs: 75 by Arlington Guest (2B, Yorktown)
Home Runs: 3 by four different batsmen
Runs Batted In: 68 by Franklin Decker (LF, Yorktown)
Stolen Bases: 37 by Joseph King (CF, Independence)
Batsman WPA: 4.3 by Franklin Decker
Batsman WAR: 2.9 by Franklin Decker

ERA (150+ IP): 1.66 by John Shaw (Queen Village)
Wins: 22 by Acie Collins (Pt. Richmond)
Complete Games: 24 by Casper Shultis
Strikeouts: 34 by Charlie Greiner (Frankford) & John Shaw
WHIP (150+ IP): 1.11 by Albert Cave (Merion)
Pitcher WAR: 6.0 by John Shaw
Pitcher rWAR: 7.3 by Casper Shultis

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METROPOLITAN WINS ALL-STAR GAME IN WALKOFF
METRO TAKES A.S.G. FOR THIRD CONSECUTIVE YEAR; FUSILLI MVP IN LOSING EFFORT

PHILADELPHIA (Aug. 3, 1874) - The 4th APBL All-Star Game took place at Glenwood Field in Philadelphia on Monday, with the forty best players in the sport of baseball taking to the field in front of a sellout crowd. It was a thrilling game featuring an early Metropolitan rally, a late Colonial comeback, and a walkoff victory for the home team:

Runs in the 2nd & 3rd gave the Colonial Conference an early 2-0 lead, but in the bottom of the 3rd the Metropolitan Conference found their groove, with a two-run Double by James Burke (CF, American), a one-run Error, and a three-run Double by Everett Schreiber (C, Orange) the key moments of a six-run rally that put the Metropolitan ahead 6-2.

There was no scoring during the next three innings, and then in the top of the 7th the Colonial began their comeback. William Dickerson (3B, Shamrock) hit a run-scoring Triple to make the score 6-3 after seven, a Sac Fly and a Single by Burton Ellerby (2B, Alleghany) left the score 6-5 after eight, and a Mario Fusilli Single tied the score in the top of the 9th.

In the bottom of the 9th, Charles Whitehead (2B, Orange) led off with a Double and was followed with a Base on Balls to Cormack Alexander (1B, Knick). After a Sacrifice Bunt, Albert Goddard (C, Excelsior) came to bat and hit a Single that brought in Whitehead and won the game for the Metropolitan Conference, their third straight All-Star Game victory.

While Goddard took credit for the game-winning hit, the MVP trophy went to a player on the losing team:

• CC #4 Mario Fusilli (1B, St. John's): 2/4, 3B, SAC FLY, 1 R, 3 RBI, 4 TB

Because fellow 1B Frank Bulger was used as a Pinch Hitter for P Thomas Smith, Fusilli was called upon to play the entire game, the only Colonial Conference All-Star to do so. He rewarded Colonial manager Todd Rogers with a stellar performance and the game-tying base hit in the top of the 9th.

Goddard, who placed the game-winning hit, had the biggest impact for the Metropolitan Conference. He was 2/3 with that game-winning RBI after entering for Schreiber, and no other Metropolitan player had multiple base hits.

Paul Caldwell (Orange) was the winning pitcher, while Raynard Cordell (Alleghany) was the losing pitcher. Attendance for the game was 12,422 at Glenwood Field. The weather was 78 degrees and clear – a perfect day for baseball.

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PHILADELPHIA B.C.C. MURDERS MERCANTILE
VISITORS OPEN WITH FIVE RUNS & CLOSE WITH NINE TO HAND HOSTS A 22-RUN LOSS

PHILADELPHIA (Aug. 5, 1874) - Philadelphia B.C.C. & Mercantile entered Wednesday’s series opener tied for 3rd place in West Philadelphia before P.B.C.C. entered the Market Street Grounds and took sole possession of 3rd in spectacular fashion:

Incredibly, P.B.C.C. put up this result even though Casper Shultis, who entered the game with a 21-14 record and 2.12 ERA, was the Mercantile pitcher.

What undid Mercantile was a host of Errors – five in the top of the 1st helped the visitors plenty as they scored five runs – and as a result 0/11 tallies against Shultis were Earned Runs. He had to exit in the 5th, the Mercantile defensive woes continued, and the P.B.C.C. onslaught continued against substitute pitchers Christopher Bailey & Joseph Hansel, with P.B.C.C. scoring nine times during their last trip to bat on eight base hits and three more Mercantile fielding mistakes.

Even though Mercantile’s sixteen errors were a large part of the reason why P.B.C.C. was able to score 25 times the visitors did collect 27 base hits, and a PCBL record five of their batsmen had 4+ Hits:

• PBCC #2 Henry Griffin (RF): 4/8 (all 1B), 4 R, 1 RBI
• PBCC #4 Walter Kirby (LF): 5/8, 3B, 5 R, 2 RBI, 2 SB, 7 TB
• PBCC #5 Charles Hunt (3B): 4/8 (all 1B), 4 R, 5 RBI
• PBCC #6 Harrison Hearts (C): 4/6, 2B, 3 R, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 5 TB
• PBCC #7 Jerald Schneider (1B): 4/7 (all 1B), 1 R, 5 RBI

The thunderous win left Philadelphia B.C.C. alone in 3rd place in West Philadelphia, one game behind 2nd-place Schuylkill and two games behind leaders Merion. Mercantile is three games behind the leaders.

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SCROVEGNI’S HIT STREAK ENDS AT 49 GAMES
GREENHORN’S STREAK OFFICIALLY 2ND-LONGEST IN NBBO HISTORY BY SEVEN GAMES

OSWEGO, N.Y. (Aug. 5, 1874) - Frontier B.B.C. 3B Remi Scrovegni, the greenhorn who has authored the second-longest Hitting Streak in baseball history, has seen his streak come to an end at 49 games.

Frontier enjoyed a comfortable 10-4 home win against Binghamton on Wednesday. With five runs in the bottom of the 3rd proving to be enough for the win the focus during the second half of the game was on whether Scrovegni could stretch his Hitting Streak to an even 50 games. Although Scrovegni reached on an Error in the bottom of the 1st a base hit proved elusive, with a flyball out to end the bottom of the 7th proving to be the last of his five appearances at the plate.

After the end of the game the 1,860 or so in attendance at Fort Ontario Park gave Scrovegni an ovation, and he was given a watch and a bottle of champagne by local retailers.

With Scrovegni’s Hitting Streak over, here is the up-to-date list of every 40-game Hitting Streak in NBBO history:

• #1: Peter Huff (Union) at 67 games during 1871 (ended 8/5)
• #2: Remi Scrovegni (Frontier) at 49 games during 1874 (ended 8/5)
• #3: William Gentilucci (Nassau Co.) at 42 games during 1870 (ended 7/20)
• #4: Cormack Alexander (K.C. & Q.S.) at 42 games during 1867-68 (ended 5/22/68)
• #5: Franklin Petty (Lake Erie) at 41 games during 1869 (ended 7/7)
• #6: William McQuaid (Flour City) at 41 games during 1862-63 (ended 6/28/63)
• #7: Henry Nabors (Victory) at 40 games during 1868-69 (ended 5/22/69)
• #8: Ned Morganti (Quaker St.) at 40 games during 1873-74 (ended 6/17/74)

With nine games left in the season, Scrovegni is batting .306 (.697 OPS) with one Home Run and 52 Runs Batted In during his first season of organized baseball.

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Well the last week of the season went nuts again...

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TWO HISTORIC PERFORMANCES ON WEDNESDAY
BATSMEN IN THE NBBO & PCBL PLACE THEIR NAMES IN THE RECORD BOOKS

BROOKLYN & PHILADELPHIA (Aug. 12, 1874) - There was history made in two of baseball’s three organized competitions on Wednesday afternoon, with batsmen in the NBBO & PCBL setting high marks for RBI in a single game.

In Brooklyn, Empire & Marathon opened their season-ending series playing for pride as they’re two of the Brooklyn Championship’s bottom three teams.

Apparently, Marathon 3B Arjen Zuiderwijk didn’t get the memo that the contest was meaningless. Entering the game with a .240 Batting Average (.584 OPS) and 30 Runs Batted In for the season, Zuiderwijk had a record-breaking afternoon:

• B2: Double to CF off R. Dozier
• B4: 2-run Single past 2B off R. Dozier
• B5: 3-run Double to RF off R. Dozier
• B7: Fly Out to SS (1 out)
• B8: GRAND SLAM (ItP) to LCF off L.B. Myhre (R)
• TOTAL: 4/5, 2 2B, HR, 1 R, 9 RBI (NBBO record), 9 TB, 103 GMSC

Zuiderwijk’s nine Runs Batted In weren’t just an NBBO record but the highest single-game total at any level, besting the eight different players in the NBBO and one in the APBL who have driven in eight runs in a single afternoon. Zuiderwijk’s nine RBI on just three of his four Hits also must be among the most efficient run production ever seen in a game, one that raised his average eighteen points (.240 to .258) and his OPS by 66 (.584 to .650).

In Philadelphia, there was another batch of RBI history made in the game between Penn & Schuylkill River Bend Park. Visiting Penn had an easy time of it in a 15-6 victory, and in the process #3 batsman Oliver Stone set a PCBL record:

• T1: Fly Out to LF (2 out)
• T3: 1-run Single past 2B off W. Winningham (R)
• T5: 1-run Single to LF off W. Winningham (R)
• T6: 1-run Single past 2B off W. Winningham (R)
• T8: 3-RUN HOME RUN (ItP) to LCF off F. Treadwell (R)
• T9: 1-run Single past SS off E. Tidwell
• TOTAL: 5/6, HR, 4 R, 7 RBI (PCBL record), 8 TB, 118 GMSC

There had been a dozen six-RBI outings in the PCBL’s short history, but Stone was the first with seven in a single game.

It was two leagues and two record-breaking performances punctuated by Home Runs on Wednesday afternoon. With four games left to play in both the NBBO & PCBL, hopefully the final week and the playoffs bring more of the same.

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BANCROFT SECOND TO 300 NBBO WINS
FRONTIER PITCHER MAKES HISTORY TWO WEEKS AFTER RAINER VAN DER HOUT

ALBANY, N.Y. (Aug. 13, 1874) - Two weeks ago Rainer van der Hout became the first pitcher with 300 Wins in the NBBO. This afternoon he was joined by Frontier’s Carl Bancroft thanks to a 10-4 victory at Minuteman.

Bancroft, a 6x All-Star (1859, 60, 62, 67, 69, 73) and 9x 20-game winner, has been one of the most dependable pitchers in the sport going all the way back to when he was Utica’s #1 as a 22-year-old during the NBBO’s inaugural season. Over eighteen seasons Bancroft has finished with a Won-Loss mark under .500 just three times even though he’s pitched for six different teams between the NBBO & APBL.

Bancroft’s career record:

• 1857 (Utica, NBBO): 17-14, 3.41 ERA, 31 K, 3.1 WAR
• 1858 (Utica, NBBO): 13-19, 4.24 ERA, 27 K, 1.3 WAR
• 1859 (Utica, NBBO): 21-10, 3.14 ERA, 37 K, 5.2 WAR
• 1860 (Utica, NBBO): 20-11, 2.54 ERA, 37 K, 6.0 WAR
• 1861 (Utica, NBBO): 22-12, 2.78 ERA, 46 K, 5.8 WAR
• 1862 (Utica, NBBO): 20-13, 3.06 ERA, 43 K, 4.8 WAR
• 1863 (Empire, NBBO): 14-19, 3.88 ERA, 38 K, 4.7 WAR
• 1864 (Empire, NBBO): 17-16, 3.43 ERA, 28 K, 3.2 WAR
• 1865 (Empire, NBBO): 21-11, 3.29 ERA, 40 K, 3.7 WAR
• 1866 (Empire, NBBO): 12-20, 4.52 ERA, 32 K, 3.2 WAR
• 1867 (Syracuse, NBBO): 21-13, 3.15 ERA, 55 K, 5.8 WAR
• 1868 (Gotham, NBBO): 24-14, 4.21 ERA, 44 K, 4.2 WAR
• 1869 (Gotham, NBBO): 24-13, 3.55 ERA, 39 K, 4.5 WAR
• 1870 (Gotham, NBBO): 17-15, 3.67 ERA, 31 K, 4.2 WAR
• 1871 (Gotham, APBL): 19-18, 4.20 ERA, 29 K, 4.3 WAR
• 1872 (Knick, APBL): 17-13, 3.74 ERA, 17 K, 2.5 WAR
• 1873 (Frontier, NBBO): 21-17, 2.96 ERA, 30 K, 4.9 WAR
• 1874 (Frontier, NBBO): 16-9, 3.03 ERA, 21 K, 2.5 WAR
• NBBO TOTAL: 300-224, 3.48 ERA, 579 K, 67.1 WAR
• APBL TOTAL: 36-31, 3.99 ERA, 46 K, 6.9 WAR
• CAREER TOTAL: 336-255, 3.49 ERA, 625 K, 74.0 WAR

If this ends up being the final season of Bancroft’s career, he can retire knowing that he has been one of the greatest pitchers in the young history of the sport of baseball.

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RHODES ENDS ’74 IN STYLE; PITCHES NO-HITTER
N.Y.A.C.’S “COLOSSUS” COMPLETES SEVENTH NO-HIT GAME IN NBBO HISTORY

OSWEGO, N.Y. (Aug. 5, 1874) - NEW YORK CITY (Aug. 16, 1874) – New York Athletic Club & Baltic had one more game to play to fill out the schedule on Sunday, but visiting N.Y.A.C. decided that the final day of the season would be one for celebration:

In victory, N.Y.A.C. placed Baltic on the end of the seventh No-Hitter in the history of the NBBO and of the sport itself, as both the APBL & PCBL are yet to see one.

The man who authored the season-ending No-Hitter was N.Y.A.C. #1 Charles “The Colossus” Rhodes:

• NYAC P Charles Rhodes: NO-HITTER, 0 BB, 3 K

On his way to the historic no-no Rhodes was also 2/4 batting with a Double in the top of the 9th.

While he hasn’t had a great Won-Loss record, the 25-year-old Rhodes has arguably shown himself to be the most talented pitcher in the NBBO since his 1871 arrival with Frontier B.B.C. Even though his career record is just 75-77, Rhodes has a career 2.75 ERA, has finished the last three seasons with an ERA under 3.00, and has led the New York League in Pitching WAR during each of his four seasons in the NBBO. If the teams around Rhodes were just a bit better he could possibly be the most dominant pitcher outside of the APBL.

Here is the list of the seven No-Hitters in NBBO, and baseball, history:

• #1: Henry Gibson (Eckford) on May 23rd, 1858 vs Empire
• #2: Arthur Smith (Atlantic) on May 10th, 1862 vs Nassau Co.
• #3: Harry Nettles (Empire) on August 3rd, 1862 vs Bedford
• #4: Herry Nettles (S.o.t.O.) on June 22nd, 1867 vs Quinnipiac
• #5: Joseph Gant (Susquehanna) on July 11th, 1872 vs Merrimack
• #6: Augustus Cook (Eckford) on June 27th, 1873 vs Bedford
• #7: Charles Rhodes (N.Y.A.C.) on August 12th, 1874 vs Baltic

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WEST PHILADELPHIA ENDS IN THREE-WAY TIE
MERCANTILE, MERION, & SCHUYLKILL ALL FINISH THE SEASON 39-31; PLAYOFF TO DECIDE PENNANT

PHILADELPHIA (Aug. 17, 1874) - It will take two extra games to decide who will represent West Philadelphia in the second edition of the Liberty Bell Classic thanks to a Schuylkill home loss to Penn and a Mercantile win at Merion on the final day of the season.

The final West Philadelphia Standings:

Incredibly, if Philadelphia B.C.C. hadn’t lost in ten innings at Overbrook on Sunday there would have been a FOUR-WAY TIE atop West Philadelphia and thus a mini-tournament would have decided who took the West Philadelphia pennant.

As it stands, the three teams tied for 1st place have been sorted by head-to-head record and this is what the West Philadelphia playoff will look like:

• GAME ONE (Aug. 17): Merion at Mercantile (1:05 PM)
• GAME TWO (Aug. 18): MBCC/MERC at Schuylkill (1:05 PM)

Whoever wins on Monday will have a strange advantage on Tuesday. For unexplainable reasons, Schuylkill had a 24-11 away record while going just 15-20 in games at their home of River Bend Park. Also, Schuylkill’s #1 pitcher, William Winningham, was 18-21 for the season while their #2, Harvey Bowman, was 20-8, and it’s Winningham who will likely pitch on Tuesday.

In the PCBL’s inaugural season West Philadelphia went down to the final day, and for an encore West Philadelphia had the closest top four that any of the three competitions has ever seen. What could the western clubs have in store for next year?

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UH OH! HERE COMES ST. JOHN’S!
COLONIAL BECOMES COMPETITIVE AS ALLEGHANY PLAYS IT WORST BALL OF THE SEASON

PITTSBURGH & PROVIDENCE (Aug. 17, 1874) - In the July recap it was said that Alleghany had built enough of a 1st-place cushion that they should be able to withstand anything thrown at them, barring a major collapse. Well, Alleghany has collapsed.

Over the last ten games the season-long conference leaders have gone 2-8 while the seemingly indomitable St. John’s have won seven of ten, and as a result St. John’s has made up five games on the leaders and turned what was a nine-game deficit into a four-game deficit with six games left in the APBL season.

The above means that both conferences will be decided in the season’s final week., with five teams still alive for two spots in the fourth edition of the Founders’ Cup.

Here is the remaining schedule for Alleghany & St. John’s:

• ALLEGHANY: vs Flour City, at Niagara
• ST. JOHN’S: vs Mass. Bay, at Flour City

Neither team has a major advantage in their remaining schedule. Alleghany is 9-6 vs Flour City and 10-5 vs Niagara but their recent form makes those marks worth little, and 41-43 Niagara is 7-3 over their last ten games. St. John’s is at home against last-place Mass. Bay, but the Bostonians are 7-3 over their last ten games and they just won 5/6 games last week at Alleghany and Flour City, with the latter St. John’s going into the season-ending series with a 6-9 record against in 1874.

Against all odds, the Colonial Conference pennant will be decided during the final week of play. Then again, this isn’t the first time St. John’s has faced overwhelming odds and come out on top.

[tm1681]

St. John's: the team that just won't go away.

[tm1681]

THE TUCKER-WHEATON CUP PLAYOFFS ARE SET
FIVE OF SIX FROM ’73 ARE BACK; SUSQUEHANNA TAKES BEST RECORD VIA RUN DIFFERENTIAL

NORTHEAST U.S.A. (Aug 17, 1874) – It will take another two days for the PCBL to decide which teams are playing in the Liberty Bell Classic, but the six-team field has been set for the Tucker-Wheaton Cup XVIII playoffs, which begin tomorrow.

Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on who you cheer for, even though there were three extremely close regional pennant races five of the six teams from last year’s playoffs are back at it this year. That hints at a lack of parity, but there was still plenty of pennant chase excitement this year.

NEW YORK LEAGUE

BROOKLYN – Atlantic & Eckford, who had combined to take the last four Brooklyn pennants, were tied for 1st to start August. Over the final dozen games Eckford went 9-3 to Atlantic’s 6-6, which gave Eckford their third consecutive Brooklyn title by three games, yet another stretch of late-season brilliance from the 1872 champions.

KEY PLAYER: Huibrecht v.d. Laan (2B) – .339, .839 OPS, 68 R, 95 R, 25 XBH, 2 HR, 57 RBI, 18 SB, +19.1 ZR, 3.8 WPA, 4.0 WAR

NEW YORK CITY – It was a four-way race after 60 games, with Harlem, Mercury, Metropolitan, & Union two games apart. However, Metropolitan won their final ten games to go from two games behind Union to N.Y.C. champs by a single game, this time without a playoff – an incredible to the season.

KEY PLAYER: Francis Smith (CF) – .328, .774 OPS, 75 R, 116 H, 21 2B, 8 3B, 71 RBI, 8 BB, 11 SB, 3.0 WPA, 3.0 WAR

UPSTATE N.Y. – Utica gradually pulled away from the competition over the last six weeks of the season, going from 3.5 games in front of Syracuse at the end of June to seven games ahead when all was said and done. The defending cup champions do have one notable problem: possible NYL Batsman of the Year James Heilman is dealing with back spasms.

KEY PLAYER: James Heilman (RF) – .357, .884 OPS, 71 R, 105 H, 22 XBH, 1 HR, 79 RBI, 39 BB, 18 SB, 4.1 WPA, 3.2 WAR

NORTHEASTERN LEAGUE

COASTAL – Heartbreak for Trenton Utd. Ahead of Quaker St. by one game with ten left they finished the season 4-6 while Quaker St. was 8-2, and in the end the Trentonians essentially gifted Quaker St. their fourth consecutive Coastal pennant. To their credit Quaker St. was excellent when it mattered most, scoring 103 Runs over those final ten games.

KEY PLAYER: Ned Morganti (CF) – .389, .917 OPS, 75 R, 129 H, 28 XBH, 1 HR, 79 RBI, 22 SB, +10.0 ZR, 3.1 WPA, 3.9 WAR

INLAND – Susquehanna is back in the postseason for the third time in four years after clobbering the Inland competition. To wit, 2nd-place Reading finished seventeen games behind the Inland champs, who were alone in 1st by two games at the end of May, nine games at the end of June, and never looked back, taking best overall record via Run Differential.

KEY PLAYER: William Hawk (P) – 32-6, 2.00 ERA, 355.0 IP, 31 CG, 0 SHO, 39 K, 2.8 K/BB, 1.11 WHIP, 5.4 WAR, 11.3 rWAR

NEW ENGLAND – At the end of May it looked like Portland would have a fight for the New England pennant on their hands, but by the end of June they were seven games clear atop the standings and from then on it was just a matter of how much they would win New England by. The answer: fifteen games, with Oceanic & Sons of the Ocean tying for 2nd.

KEY PLAYER: James Dressman (P) – 30-9, 2.38 ERA, 351.0 IP, 31 CG, 2 SV, 29 K, 1.1 K/BB, 1.19 WHIP, 4.7 WAR, 9.4 rWAR

THE 1874 TUCKER-WHEATON CUP

SEEDS

• NYL #1: Utica – 50-20; +165 RD
• NYL #2: Eckford – 46-24; +120 RD
• NYL #3: Metropolitan – 43-27; +121 RD

• NEL #1: Susquehanna – 53-17; +245 RD
• NEL #2: Portland – 53-17; +182 RD
• NEL #3: Quaker State – 48-22; +200 RD

PLAYOFF SERIES FORMAT & MATCHUPS:

• LSF, LCS, & TWC all Best of five games
• All series follow 2-2-1 schedule
• Higher seed has Home Field Advantage in league playoffs

• NYL SEMIFINALS: Metropolitan v Eckford
• NEL SEMIFINALS: Quaker State v Portland

• NYL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: MET/ECK v Utica
• NEL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: QS/PORT v Susquehanna

• TUCKER-WHEATON CUP: NYL Champion v NEL Champion (NEL has HFA)

WRITERS POOL PREDICTIONS

• NYL SEMIFINALS: Metropolitan (won final ten games) over Eckford
• NEL SEMIFINALS: Portland (16-4 in 1-run games) over Quaker State

• NYL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: Utica (27-8 at home) over Metropolitan
• NEL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: Portland (28-7 away) over Susquehanna

• TUCKER-WHEATON CUP: Portland over Utica

[david limbaugh]

Awesome thread! Sorry to hear you lost your league once.. I always start at 1871 using baseball reference.

Backup? I started playing this with OOTP2 - I hate when I make a mistake or game goes bump.

I have developed a routine. Each major event of a season, I stop and make a backup to 3 places. My PC Hard drive and two external drives. When last out is made in final game, I save, make the almanac, get out of the game, and under my OOTP26 (whever ever version) I have a backup folder. Under there I make a folder 1888_Ends I PKZIP my mlb.lg to that folder and then I copy that folder to my other 2 drives. I then advance to next pre-season and make a folder 1889_Pre-Pre-Season before I make changes like schedule, rules, or Baseball Reference/ChatGPT transactions. I finish that and make another folder - 1889_Pre-Opening-Day and repeat the process. I advance to Opening Day - shenagins happen between pre-season and opening day (I play by Cubs - all other teams AI controlled. I play as GM - commissioner mode - can't be fired), I make another backup - 1889_Opening_Day - I then play out the season until last out of last game and do it all again... :-) One thing I do is on opening day I do the MLB-All-Players report and balance out SP, RP and C - AI isn't very good at that - I make trades between a team needing a SP,RP or C with a team that has more. Does that make sense. I play month to month and first of each month make roster moves and look for free agents.

[tm1681]

Originally Posted by david limbaugh

Awesome thread! Sorry to hear you lost your league once.. I always start at 1871 using baseball reference.

Backup? I started playing this with OOTP2 - I hate when I make a mistake or game goes bump.

I have developed a routine. Each major event of a season, I stop and make a backup to 3 places. My PC Hard drive and two external drives. When last out is made in final game, I save, make the almanac, get out of the game, and under my OOTP26 (whever ever version) I have a backup folder. Under there I make a folder 1888_Ends I PKZIP my mlb.lg to that folder and then I copy that folder to my other 2 drives. I then advance to next pre-season and make a folder 1889_Pre-Pre-Season before I make changes like schedule, rules, or Baseball Reference/ChatGPT transactions. I finish that and make another folder - 1889_Pre-Opening-Day and repeat the process. I advance to Opening Day - shenagins happen between pre-season and opening day (I play by Cubs - all other teams AI controlled. I play as GM - commissioner mode - can't be fired), I make another backup - 1889_Opening_Day - I then play out the season until last out of last game and do it all again... :-) One thing I do is on opening day I do the MLB-All-Players report and balance out SP, RP and C - AI isn't very good at that - I make trades between a team needing a SP,RP or C with a team that has more. Does that make sense. I play month to month and first of each month make roster moves and look for free agents.

Hey...thanks for the feedback.

I play in Commissioner Mode because I just like seeing the in-game universe unfold as it does without my input on a particular team. I save every couple of weeks as I play or before each major event that takes place (start of season, All-Star Game, etc). I work from home, so I have a 1 TB Office 365 account that I can easily store backups on to make sure I don't lose either my game or the custom graphic I've made for it.

In the previous version of this in-game universe I had to go to a backup, but for some reason when the backup loaded it erased all of the highlighting in career stats for statistical leaders, as well as tracking of "Black Ink" and "Gray Ink". I went with it for a while, but then thought that there was a better way I could build the in-game universe and started it over. I've been pretty happy with the results so far.

Oh...I should also note that while I haven't been playing as long as you I've been playing since either OOTP4 or OOTP5, before their brief deal with Sports Interactive.