The Big Bang: A Larger Baseball Universe Starting From Nothing in 1857 - Page 5

tm1681 · 12-28-2023, 01:52 PM

2ND ALL-STAR GAME GOES 12 INNINGS; N.E.L. WINS
MASCHERINO NAMED ALL-STAR GAME M.V.P. AFTER FOUR-HIT DAY

PHILADELPHIA (July 30th, 1860) – The N.B.B.O. hosted its second All-Star Game on Monday afternoon. The stage was Glenwood Field, home of Philadelphia’s American Baseball Club. The roughly 12,500 who were in attendance got to see an exciting contest, one that needed three extra innings to complete:

The N.Y.L. jumped out to a big early lead thanks to half a dozen runs over their first three turns at bat, but the N.E.L. chipped away at the deficit until evening the score eighth. The score remained 6-6 until the bottom of the twelfth, when an unlikely single by Pioneer B.C. pitcher Oscar Hall brought in Anthony Mascherino for the N.E.L.’s game-winning run.

Most of the forty players nominated for the A.S.G. had a chance to play, and there was one standout performer: Green Mountain B.C. shortstop Anthony Mascherino, who was 4/5 with two runs including the game-winning score, two RBI, a walk, and a stolen base.

Rosters are below:

NEW YORK LEAGUE

P: Bernard Schmidt (NIA) – 21-8, 2.62 ERA, 2 SHO, 5.8 WAR
P: John Brinson (ATL) – 21-9, 2.85 ERA, 26 CG, 5.6 WAR
P: Grover Wright (K.C.) – 20-10, 2.70 ERA, 27 CG, 5.9 WAR
P: David Roberts (VIC) – 21-10, 2.82 ERA, 25 CG, 4.7 WAR
C: Jackson Smith (NIA) – .336, 21 XBH, 56 RBI, 2.5 WAR
C: James Hoddle (F.C.) – .370, 17 XBH, 42 RBI, 1.6 WAR
1B: John Bateman(SYR) – .365, 21 XBH, 55 RBI, 1.8 WAR
1B: Willie Love (ATL) - .366, 22 XBH, 3 HR, 37 RBI, 1.4 WAR
2B: Henry Ciccone (MET) – .387, 19 XBH, 37 RBI, 3.5 WAR
2B: Juriaan Kerstens (BED) – .349, 27 XBH, 58 RBI, 1.9 WAR
3B: Jerald Peterson (K.C.) – .357, 31 XBH, 62 RBI, 2.2 WAR
3B: Charles Schuster (MUT) – .361, 20 XBH, 56 RBI, 2.3 WAR
SS: Edwards Huntley (ORA) – .343, 25 XBH, 40 RBI, 4.1 WAR
SS: Carl Keener (MIN) – .372, 20 XBH, 40 RBI, 20 SB, 2.4 WAR
OF: Walter Driscoll (MUT) – .384, 22 XBH, 64 RBI, 2.6 WAR
OF: Walter Banks (EMP) – .388, 24 XBH, 29 RBI, 37 SB, 2.8 WAR
CF: Wilson Clark (HAR) – .341, 22 XBH, 34 RBI, 28 SB, 2.8 WAR
CF: Alistair Jones (MUT) – .353, 21 XBH, 34 RBI, 42 SB, 2.6 WAR
OF: Soren Thomsen (K.C.) – .382, 20 XBH, 61 RBI, 2.5 WAR
OF: Chatham Richter (GOT) – .340, 26 XBH, 45 RBI, 20 SB, 2.3 WAR

NORTHEASTERN LEAGUE

P: Joneshn McGowan (STJ) – 21-12, 2.98 ERA, 4 SHO, 5.4 WAR
P: Archie Green (G.M.) – 21-9, 3.65 ERA, 24 CG, 5.2 WAR
P: Arthur Edwards (S.o.t.O.) – 20-12, 3.38 ERA, 20 CG, 5.0 WAR
P: George Hopkins (SCR) – 20-9, 2.80 ERA, 2 SHO, 4.9 WAR
C: Roy Jacobson (SCR) – .392, 14 XBH, 53 RBI, 3.1 WAR
C: Dag Nielsen (REA) - .352, 19 XBH, 31 RBI, 2.7 WAR
1B: Arthur Holton (M.B.) – .359, 22 XBH, 73 RBI, 2.0 WAR
1B: Joseph Forrest (QUI) – .397, 29 XBH, 47 RBI, 2.6 WAR
2B: Anderson MacGyver (STJ) – .391, 27 XBH, 68 RBI, 27 SB, 2.8 WAR
2B: William Lydon (PIO) – .376, 21 XBH, 51 RBI, 2.6 WAR
3B: Samuel Kessler (S.o.t.O.) – .322, 26 XBH, 39 RBI, 26 SB, 2.6 WAR
3B: Hawk Peterson (M.M.) – .360, 21 XBH, 46 RBI, 1.6 WAR
SS: Anthony Mascherino (G.M.) – .345, 23 XBH, 55 RBI, 4.5 WAR
SS: Helmut Werner (L.E.) – .360, 22 XBH, 54 RBI, 2.3 WAR
OF: Samuel Crosby (AME) – .384, 19 XBH, 68 RBI, 2.7 WAR
OF: Thomas Maloney (SHA) – .379, 15 XBH, 55 RBI, 30 SB, 2.6 WAR
CF: Willie Davis (SUS) – .395, 30 XBH, 47 RBI, 39 SB, 4.2 WAR
CF: Arthur Waltrip (AME) – .352, 19 XBH, 44 RBI, 35 SB, 2.6 WAR
OF: Konrad Jensen (STJ) – .357, 22 XBH, 47 RBI, 62 SB, 2.7 WAR
OF: Andrew Bidwell (SUS) – .355, 20 XBH, 50 RBI, 26 SB, 2.3 WAR

NOTE: Underlining indicates first-year player

tm1681 · 12-28-2023, 01:53 PM

KINGS CO. TAKES BROOKLYN WITH 16 W’S TO END SEASON!
K.C. 18-2 OVER FINAL 20 GAMES; WAS EVEN WITH ATLANTIC AT START OF STREAK

BROOKLYN (August 5th, 1860) – On July 14th, the Kings County Base Ball Club lost 4-2 at Empire B.B.C. to knock their record down to 38-16 and put them back into a first-place tie with Atlantic B.B.C. atop the Brooklyn Championship. That game was the last time Kings County lost, as they ended the regular season with an extraordinary sixteen-game winning streak that saw them go from level with Atlantic to winning the Brooklyn Championship by no less than nine games.

Kings County’s result since their loss at Empire in mid-July:

• July 15: 9-6 win at Empire – P.o.t.G.: 3B Jerald Peterson (3/4, 3B, 2 R, RBI, BB, SB)
• July 18: 6-4 win vs Excelsior – P.o.t.G.: P Aldous Nelson (CG, 7 H, 4 R/2 ER, 1 K, 150 PIT)
• July 19: 13-7 win vs Excelsior – P.o.t.G.: OF John Francis (3/5, 3 R, 2 RBI)
• July 20: 8-1 win vs Excelsior – P.o.t.G.: C Brannigan Williams (3/4, 2B, R, 3 RBI)
• July 21: 9-2 win vs Excelsior – P.o.t.G.: SS Per Olaf Bakken (3/5, 3 R, RBI, SB)
• July 22: 11-3 win vs Excelsior – P.o.t.G.: OF John Francis (3/4, 3B, 4 R, 2 RBI)
• July 25: 2-1 win vs Nassau Co. – P.o.t.G.: P Grover Wright (CG, 3 H, 1 R/ER, 1 K, 120 PIT)
• July 26: 16-5 win vs Nassau Co. – P.o.t.G.: 3B Jerald Peterson (3/5, 2 2B, 3 R, 2 RBI, BB)
• July 27: 7-0 win vs Nassau Co. – P.o.t.G.: P Grover Wright (CG SHO, 5 H, 1 K, 96 PIT)
• July 28: 3-2 win vs Nassau Co. (10 Inn.) – P.o.t.G.: P Aldous Nelson (CG, 11 H, 3 R/2 ER, 1 K, 149 PIT)
• July 29: 9-5 win vs Nassau Co. – P.o.t.G.: CF Declan Brice (2/4, 2B, R, 3 RBI)
• Aug 1: 11-3 win at Continental – P.o.t.G.: 1B Jackson Buss (2/5, 2B, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI)
• Aug 2: 7-2 win at Continental – P.o.t.G.: 3B Jerald Peterson (3/5, R, RBI, SB)
• Aug 3: 7-5 win at Continental – P.o.t.G.: 3B Jerald Peterson (2/5, HR, 1 R, 2 RBI)
• Aug 4: 7-5 win at Continental – P.o.t.G.: CF Declan Brice (3/5, 2B, 2 R, RBI)
• Aug 5: 10-6 win at Continental (11 Inn.) – P.o.t.G.: 1B Jackson Buss (4/6, 2B, R, 3 RBI)
• TOTAL: 16 Wins, 136 Runs Scored (8.5/G), 58 Runs Allowed (3.6/G), Run Differential of +78 (+4.9 R/G)

Kings County does not yet have the longest winning streak in N.B.B.O. history, as that record belongs to the 1858 Nassau County team that won 17 in a row from July 3rd to July 28th. However, this is easily the most dominant three weeks of base ball a team has ever played, as over the course of these wins K.C. has been outscoring their opposition by almost five runs per game.

Thanks to their historic run of form, Kings County ends the 1860 regular season with the N.B.B.O.’s best record at 54-16 – the only team to win 50+ games this year. Of the six city & regional championship pennant winners K.C. was one of only two to better than 6-4 over their last ten games – the other being Flour City at 7-3. They enter the 1860 playoffs as the clear favorites to hoist the Tucker-Wheaton Cup.

tm1681 · 12-28-2023, 01:55 PM

THE 1860 SEASON ENDS WITH TWO .400 HITTERS!

NORTHEAST U.S.A. (August 6th, 1860) – The final games of the National Base Ball Organization season were played yesterday afternoon, and that meant the final statistics were compiled. With the season now moving on to the playoffs, there were officially two players across the 48-team competition who hit over .400 in 1860: American B.C. first baseman William Rich and Susquehanna B.C. center fielder Willie Davis – the 23-year-olds two of the N.B.B.O.’s brightest young stars.

Rich finishes the year as the N.B.B.O. Batting Champion with an average of .413, which will immediately lead one to wonder why he failed to make the All-Star Game. That is because Rich managed to raise his Batting Average precipitously at the very end of the season, hitting .460 after July 1st (46/100) and an absurd .550 during the final week (11/20) to raise his average by more than twenty points over the last five weeks of play.

Rich’s final 1860 statistics:

• 67 G, .413/.441/.515, .956 OPS, 57 R, 109 H, 17 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 44 RBI, 2 SB, 136 TB, 3.1 WPA, 2.9 WAR

Davis was more consistent throughout the season, hitting between .380 and .420 during every month, including the lone week of play in August to end the season. Since Davis, like Rich, plays in the Northeastern League he was not the Batting Champion, but he led the Northeastern League in a number of other categories and is considered the odds-on favorite to win Batsman of the Year, and possibly repeat as Most Valuable Player on top of that.

Davis’ statistics for the 1860 season:

• 70 G, .403/.428/.541, .969 OPS, 85 R, 129 H, 26 2B, 6 3B, 2 HR, 52 RBI, 42 SB, 173 TB, 4.5 WPA, 4.7 WAR

It looked like there would be a third N.E.L. member of the 400 Club, but tragically Scranton catcher Roy Jacobson’s average fell from .405 to .398 over the last two days of the season.

Empire B.B.C.’s Walter Banks was the N.Y.L. Batting Champion with an average of .392.

tm1681 · 12-28-2023, 01:56 PM

THE 1860 CUP PLAYOFFS ARE READY TO GO!
5/6 CHAMPIONSHIPS WON BY WEEK OF GAMES OR FEWER; KINGS CO. ENDED SEASON WITH 16 W’S

NORTHEAST U.S.A. (August 6th, 1860) – Season number four of the National Base Ball Organization concluded yesterday afternoon, and that means the six-team playoff field is official. For the first time none of the six city & regional championships were decided on the final day, but most were still close, with five of the six winners taking the pennant by a week’s worth of games – five – or fewer. The exception was in the Brooklyn Championship, where Kings County finished first by nine games thanks to their extraordinary winning streak to end the season.

BROOKLYN – A little over three weeks ago Atlantic & Kings County were tied for first place. Then K.C. peeled off SIXTEEN straight wins to blow Atlantic away and take the pennant by nine games.

NEW YORK CITY – Mutual B.B.C. enters the playoffs for the first time after managing to keep Gotham, Knickerbocker, & Orange at arm’s length over the last month of the season to take first place with a five-game margin.

UPSTATE – Naturally, four teams in Upstate were within three games of each other going into the final week – Flour City, Utica (1 GB), Niagara (2 GB), & Victory (3 GB). Flour City fattened up on last-place Binghamton to win Upstate by two.

COASTAL – Newark was tied for first with Shamrock three weeks ago but their form fell, and that opened the door for Shamrock to take another Coastal pennant while holding off Massachusetts Bay (2 GB) & American (3 GB).

INLAND – Scranton improved from 29-41 to 45-25 to win their first Inland pennant after finishing one game back in 1857. They were 3-5 games clear in first for the last month, and in the end won the Inland Championship by four over Pioneer & Susquehanna.

NEW ENGLAND – St. John’s won New England again, but it was not easy this time. They won seventy percent of their games (49-21) but had to spend nearly the entire season trying to keep Green Mountain (3 GB) from catching them.

Here is what the 1860 playoffs, which begin tomorrow, will look like:

NEW YORK LEAGUE

Semi-Final: #3 Mutual Base Ball Club (N.Y.C: 44-26, +62 R.D.) vs. #2 Flour City Base Ball Club (Upstate: 44-26, +89 R.D.)
Championship: Mutual or Flour City vs #1 Kings County Base Ball Club (Brooklyn: 54-16)

NEW ENGLAND

Semi-Final: #3 Shamrock Baseball Club (Coastal: 42-28) vs. #2 Scranton Baseball Club (Inland: 45-25)
Championship: Shamrock or Scranton vs #1 St. John’s Baseball Club (New England: 49-21)

TUCKER-WHEATON CUP

New York League Champions vs Northeastern League Champions

Orange Base Ball Club were last year’s champions, so that means the cup will be changing hands. Based on how each of the six teams ended their respective seasons, one simply must pencil in Kings County as the favorites to take the cup home this year. Of the six Flour City had the second-bast form over the final two weeks with seven wins & three losses, and then above them is K.C. and their sixteen straight victories going into the playoffs.

Then again, last year everyone had it figured that the multiple-record-setting St. John’s team would win the cup for the third year in a row, and they exited the playoffs after an epic series in the Northeastern League finals. Perhaps the playoffs will bring similar drama again this year.

tm1681 · 12-29-2023, 09:24 PM

THE 1860 TUCKER-WHEATON CUP
THE REGULAR SEASON #1 IN EACH LEAGUE BATTLES TO LIFT THE TROPHY

BROOKLYN & PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Late August 1860) – For the second time in three years, the team with the best record in the New York League met the team with the best record in the Northeastern League in the Tucker-Wheaton Cup series. Once again, it was as if the regular season predicted the outcome of the league playoffs.

Kings County B.B.C.’s presence in the T.W.C. final was redress for last year, in which they crashed out of the playoffs by losing the N.Y.L. Championship Series as the #1 seed. In this year’s N.Y.L.C.S. they played New York City champions Mutual B.B.C., and by played, what is really meant is “destroyed”. K.C. won the series in a sweep, winning the three games by scores of 19-4, 9-5, & 22-4 for an aggregate score of 50-13 – an absolute battering never-before seen in the playoffs. K.C. was 54-16 and ended the season with sixteen consecutive wins, but nobody was expecting that kind of brute-force dominance in a playoff series.

St. John’s B.C. made the T.W.C. series for the third time in its four editions, but their path was a little bit tougher. As the Northeastern League’s #1 seed, they had to wait for #2 seed Scranton to finish their sweep of Shamrock B.C. to take part in their first playoff game. St. John’s started the N.E.L. Championship Series with two shocking home losses, losing Game Two by allowing a pair of runs in the ninth to turn a 5-4 lead into a 6-5 loss. With a mountain to climb, they won a twelve-inning Game Three in Scranton before dominating Game Four to force a series-decider back at home. Game Five was a breeze, with St. John’s winning by ten runs to take what they felt was their rightful place in the Tucker-Wheaton Cup finals.

The N.E.L. had the home field advantage for the Tucker-Wheaton Cup but many saw Kings County as clear favorites, not just due to their humiliation of 44-26 Mutual but also because the sweep had taken their winning streak to nineteen games. Still, St. John’s already had two years of championship experience to their names, and that made them the ideal team to take down the hottest squad in N.B.B.O. history. Could they do it?

1860 TUCKER WHEATON CUP: Kings County (N.Y.L.) defeats St. John’s (N.E.L.) 3-1

• Game 1: K.C. 2-3 STJ P.o.t.G.: J. McGowan (P, STJ) – CG, 4 H, 2 R/1 ER, 1 K, 104 PIT
• Game 2: K.C. 3-1 STJ P.o.t.G.: A. Nelson (P, K.C.) – CG, 4 H, 1 R/0 ER, 3 K, 146 PIT
• Game 3: STJ 6-9 K.C. P.o.t.G.: J. Peterson (3B, K.C.) – 3/4, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI
• Game 4: STJ 7-8 K.C. P.o.t.G.: K. Jensen (RF, STJ) – 4/5, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 SB
• M.V.P.: Jerald Peterson (3B, K.C.) – 8/15 (.533), 2 2B, 2 R, 4 RBI, 2 BB
• NOTABLE: K.C. scored four times in the 9th inning of Game Four to win the series

Kings County simply proved to be too powerful. After finally losing in Game One, they won the next three games to lift the Tucker-Wheaton Cup for the first time, and in the process ran their record over the last four weeks of the season and their pair of playoff series to an unimaginable 24-3.

GAME ONE at Olneyville Field in Providence was a defensive duel. Both teams scored once in the first inning, and aside from a Kings County tally in the fourth that was it for runs until the final inning. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, William Johnson doubled in Marvin Reagan to level the score at 2-2. The next batter, Anderson MacGyver, then singled in Johnson to win the game for the hosts and bring K.C.’s weeks-long streak of victories to a halt.

GAME TWO was another tight, defensive affair that started with both sides scoring one run in the first. After that, single runs by Kings County in both the fifth & sixth innings were enough to win, thanks to fine pitching by Aldous Nelson and excellent work by the K.C. defense. St. John’s were held to four hits in the game, and brilliant baserunner Johnson was caught out attempting to steal second base in the bottom of the fifth.

GAME THREE was under the control of Kings County the entire way. K.C. scored three times in the first inning, and they were ahead 6-0 after three. St. John’s responded with three runs of their own in the fourth, but K.C. were up 9-3 by the end of the sixth. St. John’s put up a rally in the ninth, but the six-run deficit was too much to overcome and they lost by three. This game was far sloppier than the first two – both teams committed six errors, multiple Passed Balls, Wild Pitches, and had baserunners thrown out attempting to steal.

GAME FOUR was the best of the series. St. John’s were the better side over the first half of the contest, up 2-0 after five innings thanks to a pair of RBI singles by Konrad Jensen. They went up 3-0 in the sixth, but Kings County countered with a run on a Fielder’s Choice. St. John’s then plated two in the seventh, but K.C. scored three times to make the score 5-4 going into the final two innings. After a scoreless eighth, St. John’s scored twice in the ninth to go ahead 7-4 and make it look like they were headed home for Game Five. However, K.C. had other ideas. With one out in the ninth K.C. scored on a Fielder’s Choice, then scored a second run via error, and then a third run via single by Per-Olaf Bakken to tie the score. Joseph Griffin was brought in to face Jackson Buss, but Buss singled on the first pitch to drive in George Lawrence, winning the game 8-7 and giving the Tucker-Wheaton Cup to Kinge County.

The MOST VAULABLE PLAYER decision was not the formality that it was last year, as there were several quality performers for K.C.: Aldous Nelson (2-0, 2 CG, 1.50 ERA), John Francis (7/18, 3 2B, 5 R, RBI), and Jerald Peterson (8/15, 2 2B, 2 R, 4 RBI). Peterson carried the vote, making him the M.V.P. of both the New York League Championship Series and the Tucker-Wheaton Cup, the same feat Orange B.B.C.’s Edward Huntley pulled off last year.

Peterson’s batting during the playoffs:

• 7 G: 16/30 (.533), 2 2B, 8 R, 9 RBI, 3 BB, 0.9 WPA (9.0/70 G), 0.6 WAR (6.0/70 G)

It wasn’t the supernatural performance that Huntley displayed for the Orange Club last August, but it was still another case of one of the league’s brightest stars playing his best possible base ball at the most important possible time.

After one year in New York City the Tucker-Wheaton Cup would be residing in Brooklyn, and two observations immediately sprang to mind: one for now, and one for the future. First, it appears that other elite teams have figured out how to rough up St. John’s in a winner-take-all series. Second, just how frightening is Kings County going to be in 1861?

tm1681 · 12-29-2023, 09:27 PM

1860 NEW YORK LEAGUE REVIEW

NEW YORK LEAGUE SEASON SUMMARY

The 1860 New York League season was a little more top=heavy than in previous years and there one team clearly better than the rest, but at the same time there were surprises in two of the three championship subdivisions. This was especially true in the always interesting Upstate Championship.

The Brooklyn Championship looked like it was going to be an exciting race at the start of June, with three familiar powerhouses – Atlantic, Kings Co., & Nassau Co. – within a game of each other at the top of the standings. The trio were four games apart at the start of July, and on July 14th Atlantic & Kings Co. were tied for the Brooklyn lead. It was then that K.C. began a historic streak of sixteen uninterrupted wins to end the season to finish 54-16, while Atlantic went 7-9 over the same period to finish nine games back in second place.

The New York City Championship was a case of “close, but not quite there” for those behind Mutual B.B.C. in the standings. On June 1st Mutual was 14-9, a game in front of Metropolitan and 2-3 ahead of four other teams: Harlem, Hilltop, Knickerbocker, & Orange. On July 1st, the lead was 2-4 games over HAR, KNI, MET, & ORA. That was as close as anybody came, as Mutual slowly increased their lead over July and won the N.Y.C. Championship by five games over Orange.

The Upstate Championship, as always, was a close one, with Flour City, Minuteman, Niagara, Utica, & Victory finishing within five games of each other at the end of the season. NIA, VIC, & UTI were co-leaders on June 1st, Utica had a one-game lead by mid-June, Flour City had a one-game lead over Niagara & Utica on July 1st, and the F.C./UTI/VIC trio were within a game of each other in mid-July. Flour City, who the Writers Pool had predicted to finish sixth, had a one-game lead going into the final week, and they took the Upstate pennant by two over Utica.

It was anyone’s guess who would take the New York League Semi-final. Mutual and Flour City had identical 44-26 records, but it was F.C. who received the #2 seed based on their superior Run Differential.

• Game One in Rochester was back and forth all the way until the end. Flour City opened scoring with two in the bottom of the first, and Mutual made it 2-2 by the end of the third. Mutual scored four times in the top of the fourth to make it 6-2, but it was 6-5 by the end of the sixth. F.C. took the lead with two runs in the seventh, but Mutual tied the game 7-7 in the eighth and scored three times in the ninth to take total control and walk out 10-8 victors after an F.C. run in the bottom half.

• Game Two was even 2-2 after three innings. Then Flour City scored four times in the bottom of the fourth, and that was more than enough as they went on to win 8-4 and even the series.

• Game Three at the Union Armory in N.Y.C. was another wild tilt. Mutual were up 8-2 after the end of the third, but Flour City came roaring back with five runs in the top of the fourth to make it 8-7. An F.C. run in the top of the eighth and three for Mutual in the bottom half made the score 11-8 going into the ninth, where F.C. scored three times to force extra frames. In the Mutual half of the tenth Charles Schuster, who was 4/6, drove in John Bogdan with a single and Mutual took the series lead with a 12-11 win.

• Game Four was where things fell apart for Rochester. With the game 1-1 heading into the bottom of the fifth Mutual scored twice, then twice more in the sixth, five times in the seventh, and three more times in the eighth as they ended the series with a 13-4 thumping of this year’s surprise team.

The New York League Championship Series was Brooklyn vs New York City once again, but this year there would be no surprise as Kings County put up a historic display in sweeping Mutual.

• Game One saw Mutual score first. After that, Kings County outscored the visitors 19-3. Mutual wasted loads of chances – they had fifteen hits and five extra baserunners via errors & walks – but even if they had converted most of them K.C.’s run total still would have been too much.

• Game Two looked like it might turn Mutual’s way late, but it was not to be. Kings County were ahead 5-2 after six, but the visitors evened the score with three runs in their half of the seventh. With the pressure now on the hosts, K.C. scored three times in the seventh and once in the eighth to win 9-5.

• Game Three was where Kings County won the N.Y.L. title in unprecedented fashion. Per Olaf Bakken led off the game with a single, and that was the start of a record-setting fourteen runs in the top of the first for K.C. Not content with that onslaught, K.C. scored eight more runs in a 22-6 victory that meant they had swept Mutual by a total score of an incredible 50-13.

Kings County were in the Tucker-Wheaton Cup finals for the first time, where the opposition was the masters of the Northeastern League: St. John’s Baseball Club. As intimidating as the two-time, record-setting cup winners from Providence were, K.C. came into the cup finals having won nineteen straight games and that kind of form proved to be overwhelming. After losing Game One in Providence in the bottom of the ninth, K.C. won the next three games, in the end winning 22 of their last 23 games of 1860 on the way to hoisting the cup.

Since they had the best record and best offense in the league, it was presumed that the Batsman of the Year would come from a member of the Kings County lineup for the second year in a row. Indeed that was the case, as N.Y.L. Home Run (4) & RBI (68) leader Jerald Peterson, who also hit .363, won the vote by a fair margin. In second place was Mutual outfielder Walter Driscoll who hit .377 and led the league in On-Base (.440) and O.P.S. (.938). Third place went to start Syracuse first baseman John Bateman, who hit .370 with 61 RBI.

There was no clear-cut favorite for Most Valuable Player, and that led to the award going to a surprising place: Bedford B.B.C. and their Dutch second baseman Juriaan Kerstens. Kerstens had 67 RBI finished in the top five in the N.Y.L. in numerous offensive categories while leading the league in W.P.A. at 4.7. K.C.’s Soren Thomsen finished in second after hitting .370 with 60+ R.B.I. and 4.0 W.P.A., and Batsman of the Year runner-up Walter Driscoll finished third.

Even though his raw talents were the subject of massive hoopla before the season, Jim Creighton did not figure in the Newcomer of the Year vote as his eighty Bases on Balls proved that the precocious teenager has not yet tamed the massive speed at which he pitches the ball. The winner was Mutual third baseman Charles Schuster, who hit .360 with nearly sixty R.B.I. and made the All-Star Game. Center fielder Wilson Clark of Harlem finished second, and outfielder Howard Sanders of Continental finished third.

After Kings County’s finish to the 1860 season, what question for 1861 becomes: what is their limit? Can they win 55 games? Sixty? If their end-of-season form carries over into next season, there may be no stopping them.

NEW YORK LEAGUE STANDINGS

NEW YORK LEAGUE PLAYOFFS

SEMI-FINALS: #3 Mutual B.B.C. defeats #2 Flour City B.B.C. 3-1

• Game 1: MUT 10-8 F.C. – P.o.t.G: W. Dykes (SS, MUT) – 3/5, 2B, 2 R, 4 RBI
• Game 2: MUT 4-8 F.C. – P.o.t.G.: C. Schuster (3B, MUT) – 3/5, 2 2B, R
• Game 3: (10 Inn.) F.C. 11-12 MUT – P.o.t.G.: J. Bogdan (CF, MUT) – 3/6, 2 2B, 3 R (scored winning run), 4 RBI
• Game 4: F.C. 4-13 MUT – P.o.t.G.: W. Dykes (SS, MUT) – 3/5, 2 R, 2 RBI
• M.V.P.: Walter Dykes (SS, MUT) – 11/19 (.579), 3 2B, 5 R, 8 RBI
• NOTABLE: Mutual scored 10+ runs in each of their three wins

LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP: #1 Kings County B.B.C. defeats #3 Mutual B.B.C. 3-0

• Game 1: MUT 4-19 K.C. – P.o.t.G.: S. Thomsen (RF, K.C.) – 5/6, 4 R, 2 RBI
• Game 2: MUT 5-9 K.C. – P.o.t.G.: J. Peterson (3B, K.C.) – 2/4, R, RBI, BB
• Game 3: K.C. 22-6 MUT – P.o.t.G.: J. Peterson (3B, K.C.) – 3/5, 4 R, 3 RBI
• M.V.P.: Jerald Peterson (3B, K.C.) – 8/15 (.533), 2B, 6 R, 5 RBI, BB
• NOTABLE: Kings County scored 14 runs (10 hits, 6 MUT errors) in the 1st inning of Game Three
• NOTABLE: Kings County outscored Mutual 50-15 in the series

TUCKER-WHEATON CUP: Kings County defeats St. John’s B.C. (N.E.L.) 3-1

• K.C. scored four times in the bottom of the 9th of Game Four to win the series

NEW YORK LEAGUE AWARD WINNERS

BATSMAN OF THE YEAR: Jerald Peterson – 26 y/o 3B, Kings County Base Ball Club

• .363/.419/.515, .934 OPS, 70 R, 107 H, 25 2B, 4 3B, 4 HR, 68 RBI, 9 SB, 152 TB, 3.4 WPA, 2.4 WAR
• Named M.V.P. of the N.Y.L. Championship Series & the Tucker-Wheaton Cup
• W. Driscoll (MUT: .377, .938 OPS, 23 XBH, 65 RBI) 2nd, J. Bateman (SYR: .370, 23 XBH, 61 RBI) 3rd

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Juriaan Kerstens – 29 y/o 2B, Bedford Base Ball Club

• .349/.386/.451, .837 OPS, 61 R, 110 H, 25 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 67 RBI, 9 SB, 142 TB, 4.7 WPA, 2.2 WAR
• Top five in N.Y.L. in Doubles, Extra-base Hits, RBI, Bases on Balls, & Total Bases
• S. Thomsen (K.C.: .372, 62 RBI, 4.0 WPA) 2nd, W. Driscoll (MUT: .377, .938 OPS, 65 RBI, 3.3 WPA) 3rd

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Chales Schuster – 26 y/o 3B, Mutual Base Ball Club

• .360/.405/.449, .854 OPS, 56 R, 105 H, 18 2B, 4 3B, 0 HR, 59 RBI, 5 SB, 131 TB, 2.4 WPA, 2.5 WAR
• Hit 14/30 (.467) in playoffs with 2 Doubles, 4 Runs, 4 RBI, & 4 Bases on Balls
• W. Clark (HAR: .341, 34 RBI, 28 SB, 2.8 WAR) 2nd, H. Sanders (CON: .339, 37 RBI, 29 SB, 2.8 WAR) 3rd

GOLDEN GLOVES

P: James Price (HILL) – 88 TC, 1 DP, 6 E, 2.5 RNG, +5.1 ZR, 1.14 EFF
C: Martin Elson (UTI) – 116 PB, 24.1 CS%, 2.92 CERA, +7.2 ZR, 1.05 EFF
1B: John Childress (BING) – 643 TC, 27 DP, 10 E, +9.4 ZR, 1.13 EFF
2B: Roy Gregg (K.C.) – 444 TC, 164 PO, 248 AST, 30 DP, 32 E, 6.1 RNG, +15.0 ZR, 1.12 EFF
3B: Hugh Stephens (ECK) – 205 TC, 40 PO, 145 AST, 6 DP, 20 E, 338 RNG, +6.6 ZR, 1.08 EFF
SS: Edward Huntley (ORA) – 408 TC, 98 PO, 269 AST, 18 DP, 41 E, 5.4 RNG, +21.1 ZR, 1.16 EFF
OF: George Anderson (BED) – 179 TC, 8 AST, 2 DP, 18 E, 2.8 RNG, +7.5 ZR, 1.10 EFF
CF: David Copeland (SYR) – 366 TC, 8 AST, 2 DP, 66 E, 4.4 RNG, +10.7 ZR, 1.06 EFF
OF: Chatham Richter (GOT) – 280 TC, 4 AST, 1 DP, 50 E, 3.6 RNG, +6.0 ZR, 1.04 EFF

TEAM OF THE YEAR

P: Grover Wright (K.C.) - 23-10, 2.74 ERA, 299.1 IP, 28 CG, 1 SHO, 28 BB, 34 K, 1.19 WHIP, 6.1 WAR, 9.3 R9-WAR
C: Jackson Smith (NIA) - .348/.399/.447, 64 R, 102 H, 18 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 61 RBI, 1 SB, 2.5 WPA, 2.5 WAR
1B: John Bateman (SYR) - .370/.380/.461, 62 R, 118 H, 19 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 61 RBI, 0 SB, 1.7 WPA, 2.1 WAR
2B: Henry Ciccone (MET) - .375/.418/.458, 63 R, 103 H, 20 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 37 RBI, 15 SB, 2.8 WPA, 3.7 WAR
3B: Jerald Peterson (K.C.) - .363/.419/.515, 70 R, 107 H, 25 2B, 4 3B, 4 HR, 68 RBI, 9 SB, 152 TB, 3.4 WPA, 2.4 WAR
SS: Edawrd Huntley (ORA) - .340/.377/.437, 73 R, 105 H, 22 2B, 4 3B, 0 HR, 44 RBI, 19 SB, 1.2 WPA, 4.2 WAR
OF: Walter Driscoll (MUT) - .377/.440/.498, 66 R, 103 H, 14 2B, 8 3B, 1 HR, 65 RBI, 14 SB, 3.3 WPA, 2.7 WAR
CF: Arthur Kiessling (CON) - .346/.362/.449, 67 R, 108 H, 20 2B, 3 3B, 2 HR, 43 RBI, 25 SB, 2.1 WPA, 2.7 WAR
OF: Soren Thomsen (K.C.) - .372/.396/.453, 76 R, 115 H, 18 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 62 RBI, 11 SB, 4.0 WPA, 2.4 WAR, T.W.C.
MGR: Ryan Medley (K.C.) - 54-16; K.C. had best record in the N.B.B.O. & won their first Tucker-Wheaton Cup

tm1681 · 12-29-2023, 09:29 PM

1860 NEW YORK LEAGUE REVIEW

NORTHEASTERN SEASON SUMMARY

The 1860 Northeastern League Season offered up no surprises in two of its three subdivisions, as the Coastal & New England championships saw the same winners and placements near the top as they did last year. The Inland was different, as Alleghany B.C. slid all the way down to sixth place and let the smaller clubs vie for the pennant. Once again, the N.E.L. was the more offensive of the two leagues, with the batters hitting .301 (.707 OPS), the teams scoring 6.8 runs per game, and the league producing the only pair of .400 hitters in the N.B.B.O.

The Coastal Championship started off with Newark red-hot, in first place as the start of June with a 15-8 record. By the middle of the month defending champions Shamrock B.C. caught up, and in mid-July Newark & Shamrock were still tied for first. However, Newark were 3-12 over the final three weeks and let Shamrock take the pennant, with Massachusetts Bay finishing second for the second season in a row.

The Inland Championship saw Scranton go 16-7 in May, and even though there were constantly teams just a few games behind them the Pennsylvanians were able to use that first month to propel them to the Inland championship by four games over Pioneer & Susquehanna, and five games over Reading. Pittsburgh-based Alleghany, by far the biggest club in the Championship, stunningly fell from first place to sixth with a 32-38 season.

The New England Championship once again went to St. John’s B.C., but they had to sweat for it. They were 16-7 in May but Green Mountain were 15-8, and that set up a pennant chase that lasted the rest of the season. St. John’s won seventy percent of their games again (49-21) but they only finished three games ahead of Green Mountain and a late-surging Sons of the Ocean.

The Northeastern League Semi-Final looked like one that favored the Coastal champs even though Scranton B.C. had home field advantage, but Shamrock fell victim to late miscues that led to a sweep at the hands of Scranton.

• Game One was in Scranton, and after seven innings it appeared that the hosts had the victory almost in hand thanks to a 4-1 lead. However, Shamrock scored five times in the eighth to take a 6-4 lead. Scranton scored once in the eight and ninth to force extra innings, and in the bottom of the tenth Harrison LaCasse singled in Roy Jacobson to give Scranton a 6-5 win in the opener.

• Game Two saw Scranton jump out to another lead, and this time it was too big for Shamrock to overcome. The home team was up 6-0 after five innings, and while Shamrock scored five in the top of the sixth to pull to within a run Scranton responded with three in the bottom half to put the win away and go up 2-0.

• Game Three in South Boston was back-and-forth. Thanks to a rally in the top of the third, Scranton were up 3-1 after three innings. It was 3-2 after six, but Shamrock scored twice in the seventh to take a 4-2 lead. They were in a good spot, but the usually reliable Joe Cunningham & the defense wilted in the ninth, allowing three runs to Scranton while committing three errors. A 1-2-3 Shamrock ninth gave Scranton a 6-4 win and a sweep.

Scranton had a relatively easy time of it in the semi-final, so that aided their hopes to beat St. John’s – once again the league’s dominant team – in the Northeastern League Championship Series.

• Game One was a stunner in Providence. St. John’s scored four runs but they were held to just five hits, and the fastest team in the N.B.B.O. were unable to take any extra bases off the Scranton defense. The visitors were ahead 4-3 going into the eighth, where they scored three times to guarantee that they would win the opener.

• Game Two again saw the St. John’s offense struggle a bit, but they were able to turn eight hits and one Scranton error into five runs and they held the lead going into the ninth inning. However, R.B.I. singles by Eugene O’Neill & Roy Jacobson turned a 5-4 St. John’s lead into a 6-5 deficit. The hosts could only get a runner to second base in the bottom half, and Scranton exited Providence having incredibly won the first two games.

• Game Three saw Providence take a turn at late heroics. Periodic tallies by both teams left the game 4-4 after nine innings, and it took until the twelfth to find a winner. In the top half, St. John’s substitute Moses Tucker singled in Konrad Jensen to put St. John’s up 5-4, and a 1-2-3 bottom half meant they were still alive.

• Game Four had no such drama. With the score 1-1 after three innings, St. John’s scored three runs in the top of the fourth and that was more than satisfactory as they strolled to a 9-1 win to force a finale back in Providence. The St. John’s 3-4-5 hitters were 9/15 with five Runs and five R.B.I.

• Game Five was where St. John’s used their big-game experience to close out the series. They picked away at Scranton, scoring in the second, third, fourth, and fifth to take a 5-0 lead. After Scranton plated a lone run in the top of the sixth, the hosts scored six more times to win 11-1 and spare themselves a second straight dramatic playoff exit.

St. John’s was back where they wanted to be, but in the Tucker-Wheaton Cup they were facing a Kings County team that had, at the conclusion of their N.Y.L. Championship Series sweep, won nineteen consecutive games. They scored twice in the bottom of the ninth to take Game One, but that was all K.C. gave them as the kings of Brooklyn won the next three games – Game Four by scoring four times in the bottom of the ninth – to lift the cup.

In mid-season it looked like Anderson MacGyver was going to win his second straight Batsman of the Year award, but he faded a bit and it opened the door for the man who has become the N.B.B.O.’s most talented player: Susquehanna CF Willie Davis. Davis, last year’s M.V.P., hit .403 but was beaten by American’s William Rich (.413) for the Batting Championship. Still, Davis led the N.E.L. in Hits, Doubles, Extra-base Hits, Total Bases, Slugging, & O.P.S., placed in the top five in several other categories, and that meant he was B.o.t.Y. Scranton C Roy Jacobson, who hit .398, finished second, and MacGyver finished third.

Discussion for Most Valuable Player came down to two candidates: Davis and Green Mountain SS Anthony Mascherino. Davis had an amazing season and won a Golden Glove, but Mascherino was incredible in his own way. He hit .342 with 60 R.B.I. and a Zone Rating (+32.6) that was nearly four times that of any other N.E.L. shortstop. He lead the league in W.A.R. at 4.9, and he won the M.V.P. vote. Davis finished second, and St. John’s RF Konrad Jensen finished third.

There was no shortage of quality candidates for Newcomer of the Year, but the vote came down to a pair of Inland All-Stars: Reading C Dag Nielsen and Pioneer P Oscar Hall. Nielsen hit .350 with solid defense, while Hall won twenty games with a top-ten E.R.A. It was a close vote, but Nielsen finished first and Hall second. Heavy hitter Paul Kronenberg of Sportsman’s finished third.

Another N.E.L. season and another St. John’s pennant, but this time they couldn’t finish the job in the Tucker-Wheaton Cup.

NORTHEASTERN LEAGUE STANDINGS

NORTHEASTERN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS

SEMI-FINALS: #2 Scranton B.C. defeats #3 Shamrock B.C. 3-0

• Game 1: SHA 6-7 SCR (10 Inn.) – P.o.t.G.: R. Jacobson (C, SCR) – 5/5, 2B, 3B, 3 R (scored winning run), RBI
• Game 2: SHA 7-9 SCR – P.o.t.G.: W. McQuaid (SS, SHA) – 4/5, 2B, 2 R, RBI
• Game 3: SCR 6-4 SHA – P.o.t.G.: R. Clough (RF, SCR) – 3/4, 2B, R, RBI
• M.V.P.: Roy Jacobson (C, SCR) – 7/14 (.500), 2B, 3B, 4 R, 4 RBI
• NOTABLE: Scranton won 2/3 games with runs in the 9th inning or later

LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP: #1 St. John’s B.C. defeats #2 Scranton B.C. 3-2

• Game 1: SCR 7-4 STJ – P.o.t.G.: R. Jacobson (C, SCR) – 3/5, R, RBI
• Game 2: SCR 6-5 STJ – P.o.t.G.: R. Kenton (CF, STJ) – 2/4, 2B, 3B, R, 3 RBI
• Game 3: STJ 5-4 SCR (12 Inn.) – P.o.t.G.: J. McGowan (P, STJ) – CG, 10 H, 4 R/2 ER, 1 K, 155 PIT
• Game 4: STJ 9-1 SCR – P.o.t.G.: C. Henderson (1B, STJ) – 4/5, 2 2B, 2 R, 4 RBI
• Game 5: SCR 1-11 STJ – P.o.t.G.: W. Johnson (LF, STJ) – 4/5, 3 R, RBI
• M.V.P.: Collin Henderson (1B, STJ) – 8/20 (.400), 2 2B, 6 R, 6 RBI, 4 BB, 4 SB
• NOTABLE: St. John’s never trailed Scranton in Game Four or Game Five

TUCKER-WHEATON CUP: St. John’s B.C. defeated by Kings County B.B.C. (N.Y.L.) 3-1

• St. John’s allowed five runs over their two home games and seventeen runs over the two games at K.C.

NEW YORK LEAGUE AWARD WINNERS

BATSMAN OF THE YEAR: Willie Davis – 23 y/o CF, Susquehanna Baseball Club

• .403/.428/.541, .969 OPS, 85 R, 129 H, 26 2B, 6 3B, 2 HR, 52 RBI, 42 SB, 173 TB, 4.5 WPA, 4.7 WAR
• Led Northeastern League in SLG, OPS, H, 2B, XBH, & TB; top five in AVG, R, SB, WPA, & WAR
• R. Jacobson (SCR: .398, 18 XBH, 57 RBI, 3.4 WAR) 2nd, A. MacGyver (STJ: .387, 26 2B, 73 RBI, 3.2 WAR) 3rd

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Anthony Mascherino – 21 y/o SS, Green Mountain Baseball Club

• .342/.374/.453, 83 R, 105 H, 21 2B, 5 3B, 1 HR, 60 RBI, 19 SB, 139 TB, +32.6 ZR, 3.4 WPA, 4.9 WAR
• Zone Rating of +32.6 at SS was nearly four times that of second-best SS (D. Coates, SCR: +8.4)
• W. Davis (SUS: .403, 26 2B, 173 TB, 4.5 WPA) 2nd, K. Jensen (STJ: .367, 90 R, 66 SB, 4.4 WPA) 3rd

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Dag Nielsen – 23 y/o C, Reading Athletic Club

• .353/.393/.430, .823 OPS, 53 R, 101 H, 20 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 33 RBI, 3 SB, 123 TB, 1.0 WPA, 3.0 WAR
• Only first-year catcher to make the All-Star Game
• O. Hall (PIO.: 20-11, 3.08, 22 CG, 4.6 WAR) 2nd, P. Kronenberg (SPO: .371, 27 XBH, 49 RBI, 2.5 WAR)

GOLDEN GLOVES

P: Walter Rose (Q.S.) – 72 TC, 1 DP, 4 E, 2.2 RNG, +7.0 ZR, 1.24 EFF
C: Clayton Gibbons (ALL) – 88 PB, 32.5 CS%, 4.32 CERA, +16.2 ZR, 1.01 EFF
1B: Doc King (PIO) – 795 TC, 32 DP, 13 E, +5.1 ZR, 1.08 EFF
2B: Lonnie Lester (M.B.) – 430 TC, 159 PO, 234 AST, 22 DP, 37 E, 6.3 RNG, +12.1 ZR, 1.11 EFF
3B: Samuel Kessler (S.o.t.O.) – 282 TC, 43 PO, 210 AST, 7 DP, 29 E, 3.7 RNG, +8.9 ZR, 1.10 EFF
SS: Anthony Mascherino (G.M.) – 466 TC, 106 PO, 311 AST, 34 DP, 49 E, 6.1 RNG, +32.6 ZR, 1.25 EFF
OF: William Johnson (STJ) – 203 TC, 5 AST, 3 DP, 16 E, 2.8 RNG, +7.9 ZR, 1.08 EFF
CF: Willie Davis (SUS) – 319 TC, 12 AST, 2 DP, 46 E, 4.0 RNG, +8.7 ZR, 1.05 EFF
OF: John Terry (SPO) – 233 TC, 5 AST, 2 DP, 26 E, 3.1 RNG, +8.8 ZR, 1.10 EFF

TEAM OF THE YEAR

P: John McGowan (STJ) - 23-12, 3.01 ERA, 295.2 IP, 27 CG, 4 SHO, 33 BB, 39 K, 1.22 WHIP, 5.7 WAR, 8.9 R9-WAR
C: Roy Jacobson (SCR) - .398/.417/.478, 57 R, 119 H, 13 2B, 4 3B, 1 HR, 57 RBI, 3 SB, 4.3 WPA, 3.4 WAR
1B: William Rich (AME) - .413/.441/.515, 57 R, 109 H, 17 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 44 RBI, 2 SB, 3.1 WPA, 2.9 WAR
2B: Anderson MacGyver (STJ) - .387/.424/.492, 67 R, 118 H, 26 2B, 3 3B, 0 HR, 73 RBI, 28 SB, 4.2 WPA, 3.2 WAR
3B: Samuel Kessler (S.o.t.O.) - .336/.398/.459, 81 R, 98 H, 23 2B, 5 3B, 1 HR, 44 RBI, 28 SB, 2.9 WPA, 2.9 WAR
SS: Anthony Mascherino (G.M.) - .342/.374/.453, 83 R, 105 H, 21 2B, 5 3B, 1 HR, 60 RBI, 19 SB, 3.4 WPA, 4.9 WAR
OF: Thomas Maloney (SHA) - .373/.405/.445, 77 R, 115 H, 14 2B, 4 3B, 0 HR, 55 RBI, 32 SB, 3.5 WPA, 2.7 WAR
CF: Willie Davis (SUS) - .403/.428/.541, 85 R, 129 H, 26 2B, 6 3B, 2 HR, 52 RBI, 42 SB, 173 TB, 4.5 WPA, 4.7 WAR
OF: Konrad Jensen (STJ) - .367/.453/.473, 90 R, 104 H, 25 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 52 RBI, 66 SB, 4.4 WPA, 3.3 WAR
MGR: Michael Hackney (SCR) - 45-25; Scranton won Inland after being predicted to finish 3rd, beat Shamrock in N.E.L. Semi-Final

tm1681 · 01-03-2024, 03:30 PM

EXCELSIOR & GOTHAM THE TEAMS TO WATCH IN ‘61
PAIR OF N.Y. METRO TEAMS EXPECTED TO BE MOST IMPROVED IN N.B.B.O.

BROOKLYN & NEW YORK CITY (April 10, 1861) – During the National Base Ball Association offseason many teams stay mostly the same at the top end of their roster, but that does not mean that those who wish to bring in new players or improve at specific positions do not have ample opportunities to do so. Examples of such can be found in the two teams expected to improve more than any other as the N.B.B.O. heads into April Training: Excelsior & Gotham.

Excelsior B.B.C. was the second-worst team in the entire N.B.B.O. last season, finishing 19-51 with a Run Differential of -145 (-2.1 R/G). Thanks to additions made over the winter, the Writers Pool thinks the Brooklyn-based team could finish around the .500 mark this season, which would be a sixteen-win improvement. The Excelsior improvement is expected thanks to six new additions to their starting lineup:

• Henry Andrews: RF for Knickerbocker B.B.C. 1857-60 – 1859 N.Y.L. All-Star
• Wesley Leone: 25 y/o Scouting Discovery rated 3.5 stars as a 3B
• John Murphy: LF for Nassau Co. 1858-60 – 1858 Golden Glove (LF), expected to start at CF
• Lou Springer: 1B for Scranton B.C. 1858-60
• Ruby Watson: C for Nassau Co. 1858-60 – 1858 N.Y.L. Team of the Year
• John Williams: SS for Quaker St. 1857-60 – 1857 N.E.L. Team of the Year, 1859 N.E.L. All-Star

There is a bit of a gamble involved in the signing of most of the above players. Aside from Leone, four of the five N.B.B.O. veterans who signed with Excelsior are players who experienced a fall-off in their level of play in 1860. Andrews’ average fell from .314 to .288, and his W.A.R. from 1.3 to 0.5. Murphy’s average fell from .350 to .267 and his O.P.S. from .808 to .639 – a 169-point dive. Watson went from T.o.t.Y. form two years ago to Nassau County’s backup catcher last year. Williams’ average & O.P.S. saw decreases similar to Murphy’s: average from .339 to .276 (63 pts.) and O.P.S. from .808 to .642 (166 pts.).

Excelsior signed the players with the idea that their play in 1860 was an aberration and not representative of a permanent change to their abilities. If all four return to pre-1860 form, Excelsior could beat the Writers Pool projection of a .500 record. If the quartet struggle once again this season, then Excelsior might not see the upturn in fortunes that they are hoping for.

Gotham B.B.C. was a decent side in 1860. They were 36-34, finishing third in the New York City Championship at eight games behind Mutual. However, as base ball’s oldest existing club – they were formed in 1837 – the front office feels their finishes of 6th, 5th, 6th, & 3rd over the four years of N.B.B.O. have not been good enough. An ambitious plan was undertaken to improve the senior squad with newcomers over the winter, and based on returns everything went according to plan:

• Hamish Barclay: 28 y/o Newcomer rated 4.5 stars as 2B – 70 Contact, 65 Gap, 65 2B Fielding
• Taliesin Buckley: 24 y/o Newcomer rated 4 stars as LF – 65 Contact, 60 Gap, 80+ Baserunning, 65/75 LF Fielding
• Sullivan Jackson: 28 y/o Newcomer rated 3.5 stars as 3B – 65 Contact, 60 Gap, 60 3B Fielding
• Wilbert Schrader: 25 y/o Newcomer rated 3.5 stars as C – 65 Contact, 45 Gap, 50 C Fielding
• William Titus: 24 y/o Newcomer rated 3/3.5 stars as P – 40/50 Stuff, 75 Movement, 65 Control

Gotham is not anticipated to win sixteen more games like Excelsior, but thanks to their crop of highly regarded first-year players the Writers Pool is anticipating them to be one of the two favorites to win the always highly competitive New York City Championship this season. The main question with Gotham’s group of greenhorns is: will their fielding be up to par? Barclay & Jackson are regarded as a bit above average at their positions, while Schrader is seen as a strictly average backstop whose batting ability makes him a potential star. Buckley is the one new signing who observers think could be very good at his place in the field.

The batsmanship of the new signings is expected to significantly improve the Gotham offensive attack. The team scored 448 runs last year (6.4 R/G), and this year the Writers Pool’s preliminary report has Gotham scoring 525-550 runs, which would be an increase of at least one run per game. On top of that, new pitcher Titus is expected to be someone whose control & command will allow him to be a consistent #1 pitcher for Gotham.

Two teams & two different methods to improve their squads over the winter. Either way, Excelsior & Gotham look to be the two most improved sides in the National Base Ball Organization for 1861.

tm1681 · 01-03-2024, 03:45 PM

THE 1861 N.B.B.O. PREVIEW

NORTHEAST U.S.A. (May 1, 1861) – Today is May Day, and the first day of May this year also marks the opening day of season number five for the Nationial Base Ball Organization! That also means it is time for the Writers Pool to reveal their preseason prognostications.

It should surprise few to know this, but defending league champions Kings County (N.Y.L.) and St. John’s (N.E.L.) are favored to return to the playoffs this year, while three potential debutants are considered favorites to win their city/region championships.

After two years of being known as the league featuring more aggressive, attacking base ball, the Writers Pool expects offensive numbers in the New York League & Northeastern League to revert back to being roughly equal in 1861. This is in part because the N.Y.L. brought in the bulk of the new talent over the winter, most notably Gotham B.B.C. and their five talented newcomers to organized base ball.

The N.B.B.O. as a whole is expected to be a little bit more competitive in 1861. The Writers Pool expects no team to win fifty or more games in 1861, and they expect only two or three teams to win less than 25. Every team in the Upstate New York Championship is predicted to win more than 30 games. Five of the six city & regional championships are expected to be decided by five games or fewer, with Brooklyn the outlier as Kings County is favored to take first place by eleven games.

Even though there were two .400 hitters last year – both in the N.E.L. – the Writers Pool does not see anybody reaching that mark this season. The closest they see anybody getting is about .390, but of course predictions can be wrong. They also expect one pitcher to win 25 games, but once again for nobody to come close to the record of thirty that Scranton’s John Anderson set in the inaugural season.

Finally, the Writers Pool has put in writing their predictions for the league standings and individual awards, and as usual those are listed below:

PROJECTED NEW YORK LEAGUE STANDINGS

Kings County enters 1861 with a sixteen-game winning streak that carries over from last season, and they are THE favorites to take the N.Y.L. pennant again since they lost exactly one regular starter: 2B Roy Gregg to Lake Erie.

The Writers Pool has named Gotham the N.Y.C. favorites because of the quality of new talent they brought in during the offseason. If Gotham takes the N.Y.C. title, it would mark their first time as playoff participants. Should they falter, expect Orange & Knickerbocker to be right there to take advantage.

Upstate New York, as always, looks very competitive. Utica are considered the favorites, but given the past history of predictions in Upstate that means little – Flour City won it last year after being picked to finish sixth.

PROJECTED NORTHEASTERN LEAGUE STANDINGS

Shamrock is being tipped for their fourth Coastal pennant in five years, but it will be interesting to see if Mass. Bay – runners-up the last two seasons – can finally overtake their Boston rivals. Once again, they look the two Coastal favorites.

Merrimack Mills are favored by a decent amount in the Inland Championship thanks to a trio of quality newcomers. It would be their first time in the playoffs should they prove the Writers Pool’s prediction correct.

Yet again St. John’s are expected to take first place in New England, but the Writers Pool is looking for Green Mountain to give them another grueling chase for the pennant. Sons of the Ocean could sneak up to the top as well.

NEW YORK LEAGUE AWARD FAVORITES

BATSMAN OF THE YEAR

• FAVORITE: Edward Huntley (SS, ORA) – .370-.380, 25-30 XBH, 40-50 RBI, 25-30 SB
• SECOND: Carl Keener (SS, MIN) – .370-.380, 20-25 XBH, 45-55 RBI, 20-25 SB
• THIRD: Joseph Bentley (2B, NIA) – .370-.380, 15-20 XBH, 50-60 RBI, 5-10 SB
• OTHERS: John Francis (LF, K.C.), Soren Thomsen (RF, K.C.), Walter Driscoll (LF, MUT), Anthony Littleton (CF, NIA), Jerald Peterson (3B, K.C.), Alistair Jones (CF, MUT), Henry Ciccone (2B, MET)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

• FAVORITE: Jerald Peterson (3B, K.C.) – .350-.360, 30-35 XBH, 55-65 RBI, 10-15 SB
• SECOND: Edward Huntley (SS, ORA) – .370-.380, 25-30 XBH, 40-50 RBI, 25-30 SB
• THIRD: Alistair Jones (CF, MUT) – .350-.360, 20-25 XBH, 30-40 RBI, 40-45 SB
• OTHERS: Per Olaf Bakken (SS, K.C.), Juriaan Kerstens (2B, BED), Carl Keener (SS, MIN), Arthur Kiessling (CF, CON), Jackson Smith (C, NIA), Wilson Clark (CF, HAR), Albert Jones (CF, KNI)

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR

• FAVORITE: Hamish Barclay (2B, GOT) – 28 y/o, 4.5 STAR, 70 CON, 65 GAP, 60 SPD, 60 STL, 65 FLD
• SECOND: Taliesin Buckley (LF, GOT) – 24 y/o, 3.5 STAR, 65 CON, 60 GAP, 70 SPD, 80+ STL, 65 FLD
• THIRD: Wesley Leone (3B, EXC) – 25 y/o, 3.5 STAR, 55 CON, 70 GAP, 50 EYE, 65 STL, 70 FLD
• OTHERS: Sullivan Jackson (3B, GOT), Wilbert Schrader (C, GOT), Ashley Boyce (SS, MET), William Titus (P, GOT), William Strausbaugh (SS, N.C.), Jonathan German (RF, UNI), Arvi Hämäläinen (LF, NIA)

TEAM OF THE YEAR

• P: Aldous Nelson (K.C.), C: James Hoddle (F.C.), 1B: John Bateman (SYR), 2B: Juriaan Kerstens (BED), 3B: Jerald Peterson (K.C.), SS: Edward Huntley (ORA), OF: Walter Driscoll (MUT), CF: Anthony Littleton (NIA), OF: Soren Thomsen (K.C.)

NORTHEASTERN LEAGUE AWARD FAVORITES

BATSMAN OF THE YEAR

• FAVORITE: Anderson MacGyver (2B, STJ) – .380-.390, 30-35 XBH, 70-80 RBI, 25-30 SB
• SECOND: Willie Davis (CF, SUS) – .365-.375, 30-35 XBH, 35-45 RBI, 55-65 SB
• THIRD: Paul Kronenberg (LF, SPO) – .370-.380, 25-30 XBH, 50-60 RBI, 20-25 SB
• OTHERS: Collin Henderson (1B, STJ), Willie Smith (2B, ALL), Joseph Forrest (1B, QUI), Arthur Waltrip (CF, AME), Ernest Lewis (2B, QUI), Konrad Jensen (RF, STJ), Samuel Kessler (3B, S.o.t.O.)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

• FAVORITE: Anthony Mascherino (SS, G.M.) – .340-.350, 25-30 XBH, 55-65 RBI, 20-25 SB
• SECOND: Willie Davis (CF, SUS) – .365-.375, 30-35 XBH, 35-45 RBI, 55-65 SB
• THIRD: Konrad Jensen (RF, STJ) – .355-.365, 25-30 XBH, 55-65 RBI, 60-70 SB
• OTHERS: Samuel Kessler (3B, S.o.t.O.), Anderson MacGyver (2B, STJ), Thomas Maloney (LF, SHA), William Johnson (LF, STJ), Roy Jacobson (C, SCR), Arthur Waltrip (CF, AME), Curtis Bowman (CF, M.B.)

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR

• FAVORITE: Leslie Arnett (2B, M.M.) – 26 y/o, 4.5 STAR, 65 CON, 45 GAP, 35 SPD, 65 STL, 80 FLD
• SECOND: Henry Konrad (2B, PORT) – 26 y/o, 4.0 STAR, 60 CON, 60 GAP, 60 SPD, 80 STL, 70 FLD
• THIRD: William Booth (3B, OCE) – 26 y/o, 3.5 STAR, 65 CON, 70 GAP, 65 SPD, 65 STL, 55 FLD
• OTHERS: Albert Brock (SS, S.o.t.O.), Winford Kerry (CF, T.U.), Edward Bienstock (2B, OCE), Silvestro Masci (CF, M.M.), Bengt Laudrup (P, M.M.), Oscar Bibbs (P, M.B.), Oscar Sherrill (P, NEW)

TEAM OF THE YEAR

• P: John McGowan (STJ), C: Roy Jacobson (SCR), 1B: Joseph Forrest (QUI), 2B: Anderson MacGyver (STJ), 3B: Samuel Kessler (S.o.t.O.), SS: Anthony Mascherino (G.M.), OF: Paul Kronenberg (SPO), CF: Willie Davis (SUS), OF: Konrad Jensen (STJ)

tm1681 · 01-04-2024, 12:08 AM

WHO HAS THE BEST BATSMAN PROSPECT? NATURALLY, ST. JOHN'S!
STJ AGAIN HAS BEST RAW BATSMAN, WHILE FLOUR CITY HAS INCREDIBLY PROMISING TEENAGE PITCHER

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (May 1, 1861) – As the first pitches of the base ball season are thrown today, much has already been made of the kind of first-year talent that will be regularly taking to fields in the Northeastern United States this summer, especially the quintet of untested talents that Gotham B.B.C. brought in over the offseason. There are plenty of other newcomers expected to play big roles for their teams this year, and once again most of those men will be participating for clubs in the Northeastern League.

That having been said, those are older men – ages 24-30 – who are fully-formed ball players, already at the peak of their skills after having been scouted playing for informal clubs in the region or perhaps showing up for a try-out and impressing the coaching staff. What of the younger ones who have a way to go to reach the best of their abilities? The lumps of coal that have yet to turn into diamond?

Going into the new season there is one young batsman who appears to have far more talent than any other, and it should surprise nobody who he plays for: the St. John’s Baseball Club. The player in question is 20-year-old outfielder Nelson Townsend, who has been lauded as a five-star talent by observers & scouts who watched him train with the team and take part in the April Training games.

Townsend is from Fair Lawn, N.J., centered roughly 3.3 miles from Paterson, home of Olympic B.C. in the N.E.L.’s Coastal Championship. However, it was obvious St. John’s had their eyes on him for some time as the then nineteen-year-old joined STJ just three days after the end of last year’s Tucker-Wheaton Cup. He hit 10/28 (.357) with a double during the April Training schedule and showed flashes of considerable potential. Here is what was written about him by those who observed:

NELSON TOWNSEND – OF, St. John’s – 20 y/o, 5’10”, 145 lbs. from Fair Lawn N.J. – 2.0/5.0 stars

• BATTING: Contact 50/80+, Gap 60/75, Eye 40/65, Avoid Ks 35/75
• DEFENSE (OF): Range 65, Error 55, Arm 70
• POSITIONS: LF 55/75, CF 40/55, RF 45/70
• OTHER: Speed 70, Stealing 70, Baserunning 70, Bunt (Sac.) 75, Bunt (Hit) 65

Townsend was playing center field for a small club in Paterson when he was signed, but since throwing ability is his main asset in the field St. John’s sees right field as his best position. However, once Townsend receives the same two years of Reserve Team development time that Konrad Jensen did he will likely go into the St. John’s lineup at left field since Jensen is their right fielder.

To give one an idea of how much more potential observers & scouts believe he has than other youngsters, the second-highest rated younger batsman is Nassau County’s William Strausbaugh (22 y/o SS), rated at a 3.5-star potential. Tied for third are William Gillette (20 y/o SS) of Shamrock & Alfred Span (21 y/o LF) of Reading, who are both rated at 3-star potential.

Townsend was not the only player with massive potential signed during the offseason, as the same day he joined St. John’s the Flour City B.B.C. brought on a teenage pitcher named Preston Lilly. This was another case of a club having had eyes on a player for some time, as Lilly was pitching for an informal club in Galway, N.Y. (pop. 2,427), around thirty miles northwest of Albany.

Pitching prospects are much harder to figure than young batsmen, and Lilly did not have the ball much during the April Training schedule. The word on him comes from those who watched him in Galway and have seen him work with the Flour City Reserve Team.

PRESTON LILLY – P, Flour City – 19 y/o, 6’0”, 175 lbs. from Galway, N.Y. – 0.5/5.0 stars

• PITCHING: Stuff 30/60, Movement 40/80, Control 35/80
• DEFENSE (INF): Range 40, Error 35, Arm 50, D.P. 25
• POSITIONS: P 60/60
• OTHER: Tendency: Ground Balls, Velocity: Avg., Stamina: 80+, Hold Runners: 35

It is said that his underarm delivery is “free & easy & repeatable as a metronome. Every time he pitches it looks identical.” The belief is that as he matures and gains more control of the ball his delivery has the potential to make him unmatched in pitch placement, and it will allow him to pitch the entirety of games almost at will.

Those are the two new young players to watch in upcoming years: one a bright young outfielder in a place well-suited to coach him to his potential, and the other a pitcher from a small town who may develop into a premier talent.

tm1681 · 01-04-2024, 01:34 PM

PORTLAND B.C. IN RECORD-SETTING SHUTOUT WIN
CANTABRIGIANS CRUSHED AS HOSTS win 19-0, SLAP 26 HITS

PORTLAND, ME (May 9, 1861) – The first truly lopsided contest of the early portion of the National Base Ball Organization season took place in Maine on Thursday afternoon, as Portland B.C. walloped the hapless Cantabrigians with a winning margin of nineteen runs:

The victory was easily the biggest in Portland history, both in terms of margin of victory and largest shutout victory. Conversely, the loss dropped The Cantabrigians to 1-6, already placing them well on their way to finish last in the New England Championship for the fourth time in the N.B.B.O.’s five-year history.

Wille Hall was the pitcher of record in the shutout, allowing eight hits and seeing two batters strike out while the defense behind him committed two errors.

Portland’s batting attack had no shortage of heroes, with everyone bar the pitcher scoring two or more runs, an N.B.B.O. record. An N.B.B.O. record seven players – Alva Friedman, Lorenzo Bradford, Henry Konrad, George McCoy, Arthur Milan, Joe Feuerstein, & Hank Serpico – recorded three or more hits, while the lineup set a team record with 26 hits for the afternoon. Six players – Konrad, McCoy, Milan, Feuerstein, Serpico, & pitcher Hall – also drove in two or more runs, tying another N.B.B.O. record.

All in all, it was a wonderful afternoon for the Portland team and roughly 1,300 fans who attended the game, and a miserable one for the perennially hopeless Cantabrigians.

tm1681 · 01-04-2024, 01:36 PM

BINGHAMTON BESTS VICTORY IN EARLY G.O.T.Y. CONTENDER
10-INNING CONTEST ENDS WITH 29 RUNS, 38 HITS, & HOSTS WINNING VIA WALK-OFF SINGLE

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. (May 10, 1861) – The N.B.B.O. season is less than two weeks old, but it has already seen a Game of the Season contender thanks to the contest that unfolded between a pair of struggling teams in Upstate New York on Friday afternoon.

Nobody was expecting a classic when 2-5 Victory B.B.C. played at 1-6 Binghamton B.B.C. on Friday, as the first two games of their five-game series featured rather ordinary base ball. However, Friday’s game was anything but, as every inning except the sixth saw one or both teams score runs.

Victory scored runs in the first and second but were rebuked both times with a pair of runs by Binghamton before scoring another run to make the score 4-3 after three innings. The visitors then scored six times in the top of the fourth to take a healthy 9-4 lead. Binghamton answered with five runs over the fourth & fifth to leave the score tied 9-9 after six, but five runs by Victory over the seventh & eight made them look good for the win thanks to a 14-9 lead. However, the hosts scored twice in the eighth and three more times in the ninth, sending the game to extra innings thanks to a two-run double by Archie Weiss. Binghamton then sealed the big comeback win in the tenth on a two-out single by substitute Tiernan Howard.

Binghamton’s Julius Cable took Player of the Game honors, hitting 5/6 with four runs, a pair of RBI, and a stolen base.

tm1681 · 01-04-2024, 01:38 PM

SIX FOR SIX FOR JAMES HOYT!
FLOUR CITY RF WITH NINE TOTAL BASES, THREE RBI VS BINGHAMTON

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (June 8, 1861) – It took seven runs after entering the bottom of the eighth in a deficit, but Flour City exited Saturday’s game against Binghamton winners by the score of 15-9 thanks to that massive rally. The star of the show was F.C. right fielder James Hoyt, who started the key inning with a single and drove in the final runs with a triple – two of his six hits on the afternoon.

There were other good performances by the hosts – notably James Hoddle’s 3/5 with a run & RBI each – but nobody came close to Hoyt’s output:

• BOT 1: Single to RF off S. Battistoni
• BOT 3: Leadoff Single to CF off S. Battistoni (scored)
• BOT 5: 1-run Single to RCF off S. Battistoni (scored)
• BOT 6: Double to RCF off S. Battistoni (scored)
• BOT 8: Leadoff Infield Single off M. Anderson (scored)
• BOT 8: 2-run Triple to RCF off M. Anderson
• TOTAL: 6/6, 2B, 3B, 4 R, 3 RBI, 2 SB, 9 TB

The performance left Hoyt a .341 hitter through 29 games, and the win left Flour City tied for third place in the Upstate New York Championship with a 16-13 record.

tm1681 · 01-04-2024, 01:39 PM

LAVALLIERE & SWEET COMBINE FOR 11 HITS IN BIG WIN
15-3 WIN AT FLOUR CITY KEEPS UTICA AT TOP SPOT IN UPSTATE

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (June 12, 1861) – Utica B.B.C. battered Flour City by the score of 15-3 in Rochester on Wednesday afternoon, with the victory keeping Utica first in the Upstate New York Championship with a 19-12 record.

Two players combined to put up the bulk of Utica’s offensive output: #2 & 3 batters Peter Sweet & William LaValliere.

Sweet had five hits and five runs on the afternoon:

• TOP 1: Double to CF off H. Oliver (scored)
• TOP 2: 1-run Double to RCF off H. Oliver (scored)
• TOP 4: Leadoff Single between 3B & SS off H. Oliver (scored)
• TOP 5: 1-run Single between 1B & 2B off J. Jefferson (scored)
• TOP 6: Single past 2B off J. Jefferson (scored)
• TOP 8: Ground-ball Out to 2B
• TOTAL: 5/6, 2 2B, 5 R, 2 RBI, 7 TB

LaValliere followed him in the lineup with six hits:

• TOP 1: 1-run Single past 1B off H. Oliver (scored)
• TOP 2: 1-run Double to RCF off H. Oliver
• TOP 4: Single to RF off H. Oliver (scored)
• TOP 5: Single past SS off J. Jefferson
• TOP 6: Single past 2B off J. Jefferson
• TOP 8: 1-run Double to RF off J. Jefferson
• TOTAL: 6/6, 2 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI, 9 TB

Sweet is hitting .378 on the season with a dozen extra-base hits and 25 RBI, while LaValliere sits at .336 with another dozen extra-base hits and twenty RBI.

tm1681 · 01-04-2024, 01:41 PM

CHAMPIONSHIPS VERY CLOSE AT HALFWAY MARK
FIVE OF SIX CITY & REGIONAL LEADERS TIED OR AHEAD BY 1-2 GAMES

NORTHEASTERN U.S.A. (June 15, 1861) – The 48 member clubs of National Base Ball Organization have finished seven weeks of play, and that means the 1861 season is half-finished. Even though teams have played 35 games, most of the league’s six city & regional championships could not be much closer:

In Brooklyn Kings County is expectedly in first place with a 22-13 record, but once again they are looking at a stiff challenge from Atlantic B.B.C., who are just one game back. Four more teams – Bedford, Continental, Eckford, & Excelsior – are within a week’s worth of games.

In New York City the standings are almost as tight. Metropolitan are currently the surprise leaders at 22-13, but Gotham B.B.C. & Orange B.B.C. are two games back with Knickerbocker three behind. The surprisingly competent Hilltop of Yonkers, who have finished 7th, 7th, 7th, & last over the N.B.B.O.’s four seasons, are only four games behind Metro. Defending champions Mutual are six games out.

Upstate New York is surprisingly top-heavy. Typically a verifiable Conga Line in the standings, Syracuse B.B.C. & Utica B.B.C. are tied at the top at 23-12 but the only other team over .500 or within five games of the pair is mighty mites Eagle B.B.C. at four games back. Flour City, the defending Upstate champs, are seven games behind.

In the Coastal Championship there are two teams tied and in the clear at the top of the standings – not a surprise. What is a surprise: they are not Shamrock & Massachusetts Bay. Instead, it is Port Jersey & Trenton United who are 24-11 and five games ahead of third place. T.U. have finished in the top half of the Coastal three times, but Port Jersey have failed to do it since the inaugural season. Mass. Bay is the third-place team, while defending champions Shamrock are eight games back.

The Inland Championship is currently under control of Alleghany B.C., who are making up for last year with a 25-10 record - best in the N.B.B.O. - and a four-game lead over Susquehanna. Tied for third are Writers Pool favorite Merrimack Mills & Reading, both five games back. 1860 champions Scranton are just 14-21, eleven games out of first place and with one eye on next season.

It should surprise nobody that St. John’s B.C. are in first place in the New England Championship. However, they are currently tied for first with Green Mountain – both have 23-12 records. Sons of the Ocean are just two games back, and Oceanic B.C. – 7th, last, 6th, & 7th over league history – are an extremely surprising 19-16, placing them four games behind G.M. & STJ. It appears that this will be St. John’s’ toughest road to the New England Championship since the N.B.B.O.’s first season.

There are seven weeks left in the 1861 season, and it is still anyone’s guess as to who will be the six teams still standing to compete in the playoffs.

tm1681 · 01-06-2024, 08:22 PM

VAN DER HOUT BLANKS OPPONENTS TWICE IN A WEEK!
ORANGE PITCHER BECOMES FIRST TO PULL OFF THE FEAT

NEW YORK CITY (June 28, 1861) – Shutouts are a rare thing in the National Base Ball Organization. As of the last week of June only 21 of 48 teams have held their opponents without a run in a game this season, and no team has done it more than three times. Therefore, it was quite a sight when Orange Club’s Rainer van der Hout went to the Elysian Fields on Friday afternoon and pitched his second shutout in a week, making him the first to manage the feat.

On the 22nd van der Hout and his Orange team won 7-0 at Hilltop of Yonkers, with van der Hout holding Yonkers to seven hits while he walked one batter and the Orange defense committed just one error.

This afternoon at the Knickerbocker Club, Orange won 5-0 with van der Hout holding the hosts to five hits while walking one batter and seeing one strike out.

The pair of shutouts were not just history makers, but they were very important for Orange’s place in the standings as well. The shutout at Knickerbocker moved Orange’s record to 26-17, keeping them atop the New York City standings with a pair of teams – Gotham & Metropolitan – one game behind. They will have also been a huge boost to van der Hout’s confidence. Going into the 22nd his E.R.A. was 4.83 – his career worst being 3.81 in the inaugural season. This week lowered his E.R.A. to 4.24 and raised van der Hout’s record to 13-8.

If van der Hout can hold this level of form going forward, then Orange’s chance of making the playoffs look very good.

tm1681 · 01-06-2024, 08:23 PM

F.C. VS NIAGARA HAS 18 RUNS IN 8TH INNING!
NEW RECORD FOR COMBINED RUNS IN AN INNING; GAME ENDS 17-14

BUFFALO, N.Y. (July 10, 1861) – Many of the National Base Ball Organization’s wildest games this season have taken place in the Upstate New York Championship, and the contest between Flour City and Niagara B.B.C. in the Greater New York Sporting Grounds on Wednesday afternoon was no different:

The first three innings of the contest certainly did not indicate that anything extraordinary would occur, as Niagara exited with a 3-1 lead thanks to single runs in each inning. The action heated up in the middle innings, with the hosts scoring seven times between the fifth & sixth to take a 10-3 lead going into the latter stages of the game. That was when the proceedings really went off the rails.

After a scoreless seventh inning, Flour City stepped to the plate for the top of the eighth and saw each of their first seven batsmen reach base safely – six via hits and one via error. Before their turn at bat was finished F.C. had scored eleven times on ten hits, turning a 10-3 deficit into a 14-11 lead. Niagara came up to bat under an unexpected load of pressure and proceeded to put their first six batsmen on base before an out. Before their half of the eighth was done they scored seven times on six hits and three F.C. errors, taking a 17-14 lead before holding F.C. to a 1-2-3 ninth and taking a memorable win.

The eighteen runs scored in the eighth marked a new N.B.B.O. for combined runs in an inning, and unsurprisingly there were a number of star batsmen. F.C. left fielder Frederick Skinner was 4/5 with a double & three RBI, while first baseman Thomas Branagh was 3/4 with four runs scored and right fielder James Hoyt scored three times. For the home side, Niagara outfielder Arvi Hämäläinen was 5/5 with a pair of doubles, three runs, & three RBI while first baseman Karol de Bruijn was 3/4 and scored four runs.

It has been quite a year in the Upstate Championship, and today’s game was yet more evidence of it.

tm1681 · 01-06-2024, 08:24 PM

K.C.’S WRIGHT 1ST WITH CONSECUTIVE SHUTOUTS!
OUTDOES ORANGE CLUB’S VAN DER HOUT’S TWO IN A WEEK IN LATE JUNE

BROOKLYN (July 18, 1861) – Three weeks ago Orange Club’s Rainer van der Hout became the first pitcher to be credited with two shutouts in the space of a week when he shutout Hilltop of Yonkers 7-0 on the 22nd and Knickerbocker Club 5-0 on the 28th. Kings County star Grover Wright, the pitcher in the N.Y.L. Team of the Year last year, one-upped van der Hout this afternoon by becoming the first pitcher ever to record consecutive shutouts thanks to an 8-0 win at Empire Club on Wednesday afternoon.

The game at Empire was an easy one. K.C. scored all of their eight runs over the first four innings, while Wright allowed six hits, walked two, & struck out two while sending in 127 pitches. The defense pitched in by committing a below-average total of two errors.

Four days earlier Wright had a similarly easy time of it in his game at the Bedford Club, winning 7-0 while allowing six hits and needing just ninety pitches to complete his shutout. Again, K.C. scored their runs early – 6/7 over the first three innings – and Wright had stress-free pitching from then on.

The shutout at Empire takes Wright’s record on the season to an outstanding 24-4 with a 2.56 E.R.A., and he will almost certainly be the pitcher in the N.Y.L. Team of the Year for the second season in a row.

tm1681 · 01-06-2024, 08:26 PM

1861 ALL-STAR GAME ROSTERS ANNOUNCED!
KINGS COUNTY & ST. JOHN’S LEAD THE PACK AGAIN

NEW YORK CITY (July 22, 1861) – With the third National Base Ball Organization All-Star Game taking place one week from today, telegrams were sent around from N.B.B.O. offices in New York City announcing the rosters for the game. Once again, there are twenty men per league – four pitchers and two for every other position on the field.

NEW YORK LEAGUE ALL-STARS

P: Grover Wright (K.C.) – 25-4, 2.54 ERA, 283.1 IP, 26 CG, 3 SHO, 29 BB, 44 K, 1.11 WHIP, 5.9 WAR, 9.8 R9-WAR
P: William Heitema (SYR) – 23-9, 2.28 ERA, 268.1 IP, 24 CG, 1 SHO, 34 BB, 25 H, 1.19 WHIP, 4.7 WAR, 7.8 R9-WAR
P: William Titus (GOT) – 21-6, 2.73 ERA, 264.0 IP, 20 CG, 0 SHO, 35 BB, 33 K, 1.27 WHIP, 5.3 WAR, 8.1 R9-WAR
P: Henry Gibson (ECK) – 18-12, 2.51 ERA, 254.1 IP, 19 CG, 0 SHO, 51 BB, 33 K, 1.32 WHIP, 4.5 WAR, 5.3 R9-WAR

C: James Hoddle (F.C.) – .401/.426/.471, 50 R, 103 H, 14 2B, 2 3B, 0 HR, 56 RBI, 0 SB, 3.1 WPA, 2.4 WAR
C: Wilbert Schrader (GOT) – .358/.399/.397, 55 R, 92 H, 7 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 53 RBI, 4 SB, 2.1 WPA, 1.7 WAR
1B: John Bateman (SYR) – .374/.385/.500, 54 R, 95 H, 14 2B, 3 3B, 4 HR, 48 RBI, 1 SB, 1.6 WPA, 2.1 WAR
1B: Thomas Branagh (F.C.) – .398/.459/.509, 61 R, 86 H, 17 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 49 RBI, 6 SB, 3.5 WPA, 2.6 WAR
2B: Juriaan Kerstens (BED) – .356/.398/.444, 46 R, 93 H, 16 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 42 RBI, 0 SB, 2.8 WPA, 1.8 WAR
2B: Henry Ciccone (MET) – .338/.352/.381, 42 R, 78 H, 8 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 32 RBI, 12 SB, 1.6 WPA, 2.2 WAR
3B: Jerald Peterson (K.C.) – .359/.397/.451, 65 R, 98 H, 15 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 36 RBI, 8 SB, 1.2 WPA, 2.0 WAR
3B: Alistair White (VIC) – .335/.374/.423, 40 R, 80 H, 19 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 46 RBI, 3 SB, 1.5 WPA, 1.5 WAR
SS: Edward Huntley (ORA) – .326/.364/.394, 71 R, 91 H, 15 2B, 2 3B, 0 HR, 36 RBI, 20 SB, 3.4 WPA, 3.4 WAR
SS: Carl Keener (MIN) – .374/.392/.457, 72 R, 104 H, 13 2B, 5 3B, 0 HR, 37 RBI, 16 SB, 4.2 WPA, 2.3 WAR
OF: Zarek Polakowski (KNI) – .364/.491/.474, 54 R, 92 H, 22 2B, 3 3B, 0 HR, 40 RBI, 17 SB, 3.5 WPA, 2.7 WAR
OF: Oliver Stein (BING) – .399/.430/.502, 46 R, 101 H, 16 2B, 5 3B, 0 HR, 45 RBI, 4 SB, 3.0 WPA, 2.5 WAR
CF: Alistair Jones (MUT) – .342/.379/.465, 65 R, 94 H, 13 2B, 9 3B, 1 HR, 29 RBI, 29 SB, 1.9 WPA, 2.5 WAR
CF: Declan Brice (K.C.) – .340/.376/.423, 47 R, 88 H, 17 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 55 RBI, 29 SB, 2.3 WPA, 2.2 WAR
OF: Edward Neyland (SYR) – .368/.384/.460, 63 R, 96 H, 12 2B, 3 3B, 2 HR, 53 RBI, 7 SB, 3.0 WPA, 2.2 WAR
OF: Dennis Pruitt (EMP) – .335/.378/.435, 50 R, 87 H, 10 2B, 5 3B, 2 HR, 56 RBI, 10 SB, 2.3 WPA, 1.6 WAR

NORTHEASTERN LEAGUE ALL-STARS

P: John McGowan (STJ) – 22-9, 2.70 ERA, 263.1 IP, 20 CG, 0 SHO, 43 BB, 35 K, 1.31 WHIP, 4.4 WAR, 6.0 R9-WAR
P: James Lott (ALL) – 21-8, 3.05 ERA, 256.1 IP, 24 CG, 1 SHO, 47 BB, 23 K, 1.36 WHIP, 4.0 WAR, 7.6 R9-WAR
P: Alistair Richardson (T.U.) – 18-10, 3.18 ERA, 246.0 IP, 19 CG, 4 SHO, 38 BB, 25 K, 1.30 WHIP, 3.7 WAR, 5.8 R9-WAR
P: James Helsey (P.J.) – 16-9, 3.72 ERA, 239.2 IP, 17 CG, 0 SHO, 32 BB, 24 K, 1.42 WHIP, 4.4 WAR, 4.4 R9-WAR

C: Alastair Hewitt (G.M.) – .396/.416/.489, 57 R, 107 H, 16 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 63 RBI, 5 SB, 4.2 WPA, 2.6 WAR
C: Joe Feuerstein (PORT) – .285/.333/.425, 42 R, 63 H, 23 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 44 RBI, 1 SB, 2.0 WPA, 1.8 WAR
1B: Frank Krillenberger (T.U.) – .363/.398/.444, 37 R, 90 H, 17 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 51 RBI, 2 SB, 3.0 WPA, 1.8 WAR
1B: Boudewijn Mulder (P.J.) – .346/.392/.443, 41 R, 64 H, 8 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 44 RBI, 2 SB, 3.3 WPA, 1.4 WAR
2B: Anderson MacGyver (STJ) – .359/.413/.462, 73 R, 94 H, 20 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 54 RBI, 21 SB, 2.8 WPA, 2.7 WAR
2B: Leslie Arnett (M.M.) – .340/.365/.391, 45 R, 86 H, 6 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 38 RBI, 5 SB, 0.8 WPA, 3.1 WAR
3B: Samuel Kessler (S.o.t.O.) – .387/.436/.515, 77 R, 103 H, 16 2B, 9 3B, 0 HR, 42 RBI, 18 SB, 5.1 WPA, 3.0 WAR
3B: Stanford Topps (REA) – .354/.366/.451, 55 R, 91 H, 18 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 43 RBI, 27 SB, 1.3 WPA, 2.3 WAR
SS: Anthony Mascherino (G.M.) – .367/.403/.433, 73 R, 99 H, 16 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 30 RBI, 27 SB, 3.1 WPA, 4.4 WAR
SS: Joe Blake (ALL) – .349/.381/.447, 55 R, 89 H, 14 2B, 4 3B, 1 HR, 36 RBI, 15 SB, 1.5 WPA, 2.8 WAR
OF: William Johnson (STJ) – .339/.384/.439, 66 R, 95 H, 22 2B, 3 3B, 0 HR, 32 RBI, 44 SB, 3.0 WPA, 2.3 WAR
OF: Fredo Eccelino (NEW) – .363/.409/.473, 50 R, 93 H, 20 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 45 RBI, 6 SB, 3.2 WPA, 2.4 WAR
CF: Willie Davis (SUS) – .385/.421/.530, 82 R, 109 H, 25 2B, 5 3B, 2 HR, 41 RBI, 55 SB, 4.5 WPA, 3.9 WAR
CF: Arthur Waltrip (AME) – .354/.375/.418, 59 R, 99 H, 14 2B, 2 3B, 0 HR, 50 RBI, 20 SB, 2.0 WPA, 2.0 WAR
OF: Konrad Jensen (STJ) – .400/.440/.537, 85 R, 108 H, 23 2B, 4 3B, 2 HR, 57 RBI, 44 SB, 3.1 WPA, 3.7 WAR
OF: Lester Chadwick (M.B.) – .406/.430/.516, 49 R, 88 H, 17 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 37 RBI, 5 SB, 1.6 WPA, 2.1 WAR

NOTE: Those underlined are first-year players

Once again, Kings County and St. John's were the only clubs in each league to see three or more players nominated to the All-Star Game.

The N.B.B.O. All-Star Game will take place next Monday at The Elysian Fields in Manhattan, home to Knickerbocker Base Ball Club.

tm1681 · 01-07-2024, 07:02 PM

CLYDESDALE JACKSON GETS 1861’S 1ST TWO-HIT SHUTOUT
HARLEM’S #1 BREEZES THROUGH YONKERS, THROWS FEWEST PITCHES OF ANY C.G. THIS YEAR

NEW YORK CITY (July 24, 1861) – The second half of the 1861 season has seen some notable pitching excellence, and there was more of it on display in the New York City Championship on Wednesday afternoon.

At Nodine Hill Park the Harlem Club (25-35) was visiting Hilltop of Yonkers (29-31), and Harlem exited the victors thanks to the first two-hit shutout of 1861 being pitched by their #1: Clydesdale Jackson. The durable starter – hence the name “Clydesdale” – had plenty of help, as the Harlem batsmen scored twelve runs on fourteen hits.

Jackson was able to relax, focusing on using his two grips that cause the ball to dip and swerve slightly to goad the Hilltoppers into weak contact, and the results speak for themselves. Aside from allowing just two hits, Jackson was not called for a Base on Balls and he completed the shutout on just 78 pitches – a season low for a Complete Game.

Jackson’s biggest helper in the 12-0 win, aside from the ten Hilltop errors, was part-time starter Silas Peters, who hit 4/5 with two runs and an RBI while filling in at shortstop. Two other Harlem batsmen – Gavin Blair & Albert Glickman – had multiple hits during the game, and John Plotts drove in three runs.

The win still leaves Harlem seventh out of eight in the N.Y.C. Championship, but Wednesday’s performance was a nice bright spot in what has been a tough season.