August 1, 1872 - Mutual and Athletic Locked In Battle For First

With slightly more than half the 1872 season's games played, there is a pitched battle for National Association supremacy between the finest clubs of New York and Philadelphia:

Mutual - 20 wins, 7 losses
Athletic - 16 wins, 4 losses
Forest City - 11 wins, 9 losses
Boston Red Stockings - 10 wins, 16 losses
Mansfield - 8 wins, 10 losses
Atlantic - 6 wins, 7 losses
Eckford - 5 wins, 6 losses
Lord Baltimore - 5 wins, 21 losses

Defunct teams:

Haymaker - 13 wins, 12 losses
Olympic - 5 wins, 4 losses
National - 4 wins, 7 losses

The Haymaker club of Troy recently announced that they will no longer continue as a member of the Association, so there will be many players from their club as well as the two Washington clubs available for the clubs of 1873 to select from. Meanwhile, both Mutual and Athletic have many Association games this month (although only one game against one another), so we shall see whether this battle can remain a season-long struggle for the pennant.

The individual leaders:

Batting

Buttery, Mansfield - .483
King, Mutual - .469
Sager, National - .467
Foley, Lord Baltimore - .463
Pinkham, Athletic - .444
Barnes, Boston - .438
Cone, Boston - .437
Treacey, Olympic - .429
Mincher, National - .423
Murnane, Mansfield - .395

Hits

King, Mutual - 60
Barnes, Boston - 57
Foley, Lord Baltimore - 56
McVey, Boston - 51
Geo. Wright, Boston - 47
Eggler, Mutual - 43
Mack, Lord Baltimore - 43
Pike, Haymaker - 43
Gould, Boston - 42

Runs

Barnes, Boston - 41
Eggler, Mutual - 34
King, Mutual - 34
Foley, Lord Baltimore - 33
Higham, Mutual - 33
McVey, Boston - 32
Geo. Wright, Boston - 32
Pike, Haymaker - 30
Hatfield, Mutual - 29
Selman, Athletic - 29

Total Bases

Foley, Lord Baltimore - 73
King, Mutual - 73
Barnes, Boston - 67
Pike, Haymaker - 64
Geo. Wright, Boston - 59
McVey, Boston - 57
Eggler, Mutual - 56
Pinkham, Athletic - 54
York, Haymaker - 54
Higham, Mutual - 50

July 1, 1872 Update - Athletic Closes Gap With Mutual

I've reached July 1 in my simulated version of the 1872 season, and here's what the standings currently show:

Mutual 17 wins, 4 losses
Athletic 13 wins, 2 losses
Haymaker 12 wins, 9 losses
Forest City 8 wins, 5 losses
Boston Red Stockings 6 wins, 13 losses
Olympic 5 wins, 4 losses
Mansfields 5 wins, 9 losses
Eckford 4 wins, 4 losses
Atlantic 4 wins, 5 losses
National 4 wins, 7 losses
Lord Baltimore 4 wins, 20 losses

Athletic was able to win both their games against Mutual this past month, giving them an outside shot at catching the powerful New York club. Meanwhile, both Olympic and National have suspended operations and will not be continuing in the Association. That leaves nine teams, and of course only five of those teams will still be around for the start of 1873.

Here are the individual leaders:

Batting

King, Mutual - .505
Sager, National - .467
Cone, Boston - .465
Foley, Baltimore - .459
Pinkham, Athletic - .450
Treacey, Olympic - .429
Mincher, National - .423
Barnes, Boston - .423
McVey, Boston - .418
Nelson, Troy - .403

Hits

King, Mutual - 51
Foley, Baltimore - 50
Barnes, Boston - 41
McVey, Boston - 41
Mack, Baltimore - 38
Eggler, Mutual - 37
Pike, Haymaker - 37
Wright, Boston - 37
Higham, Mutual - 34
York, Haymaker - 34

Runs

Barnes, Boston - 32
Eggler, Mutual - 28
Foley, Baltimore - 28
King, Mutual - 28
Pike, Haymaker - 28
McVey, Boston - 26
McAtee, Baltimore - 25
G. Wright, Boston - 25
Higham, Mutual - 24
King, Baltimore - 24
Radcliffe, Athletic - 24

Total Bases

Foley, Baltimore - 63
King, Mutual - 63
Pike, Haymaker - 55
Barnes, Boston - 49
York, Haymaker - 48
McVey, Boston - 47
Eggler, Mutual - 46
Pinkham, Athletic - 45
G. Wright, Boston - 45
Higham, Mutual - 42
Mack, Baltimore - 42

June 1, 1872 Update - Mutual Running Away With Race

It's now June 1, 1872 in my simulation, and we've got what looks like an early blowout:

Mutual 11 wins, 0 losses
Haymaker 9 wins, 6 losses
Forest City 6 wins, 4 losses
Athletic 5 wins, 1 loss
Olympic 5 wins, 4 losses
Mansfield 3 wins, 6 losses
National 3 wins, 6 losses
Boston Red Stockings 3 wins, 7 losses
Lord Baltimore 3 wins, 11 losses
Atlantic 2 wins, 3 losses
Eckford 1 win, 3 losses

Thus far Mutual has had only two remotely close games: a 5-2 win over Olympic on April 23 and an 8-5 victory over Boston on May 8. The team is averaging over 11 runs per game and has surrendered less than 4. Only Athletic seems remotely close to their skill level, and the two teams will meet for the first time in early June for two games against one another.

The league leaders thus far:

Batting

King, Mutual - .519
Barnes, Boston - .500
Gould, Boston - .490
Sager, National - .458
Selman, Athletic - .452
Pinkham, Athletic - .440
Treacey, Olympic - .429
Cone, Boston - .419
Pike, Haymaker - .419
Foley, Baltimores - .417

Runs

Pike, Haymaker - 22
Barnes, Boston - 20
King, Mutual - 17
Eggler, Mutual - 16
Flynn, Haymaker - 16
Higham, Mutual - 15
Sager, National - 15
Treacey, Olympic - 15
Waterman, Olympic - 15
Foley, Baltimores - 14
Hatfield, Mutual - 14

Hits

Pike, Haymaker - 31
King, Mutual - 28
Barnes, Boston - 26
Foley, Baltimores - 25
Gould, Boston - 24
Sager, National - 22
York, Haymaker - 22

Total Bases

Pike, Haymaker - 48
Barnes, Boston - 34
King, Mutual - 33
Foley, Baltimores - 31
York, Haymaker - 31
Flynn, Haymaker - 27
Gould, Boston - 27
Eggler, Mutual - 26
Sager, National - 26
Craver, Haymaker - 25
Mills, Mutual - 25

1872 Preview - Washington Nationals

The first professional club designated as the Nationals lasted a mere 11 games and didn't win a single one of them. However, there was a winning amateur tradition with the National club, which was formed in 1859 and was originally mainly comprised of government employees. They were also the first amateur club to do an extensive organized tour of the United States, in 1867. However, by 1872, the leading teams in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia had passed the National club by. They joined the NA but quickly found themselves utterly outclassed.

P - Bill Stearns - Pitched a few games for Olympic in 1871.
C - Charlie Hodes - .316 hitter for Chicago in 1871. Historically, played for Troy in 1872.
1B - Dennis Coughlin - Historically he played in less than 10 games overall.
2B - Jacob Doyle - Another guy who played in just a handful of games.
3B - Mike Brannock - Played in a handful of games for Chicago in 1871.
SS - Pony Sager - A .271 hitter for Rockford. Historically he did not play pro ball beyond 1871.
LF - Ed Mincher - Did nothing for the Kekionga club in 1871. He actually did historically go from Kekionga to National in the 1871-72 offseason.
CF - Bill Kelly - Another mediocre Kekionga player. Historically he did not play beyond 1871.
RF - Gat Stires - Mediocre hitter for Rockford.

This collection of castoffs might win a game or two, but certainly will not be at all competitive against the more skilled nines.

1872 Preview - Washington Olympics

Another holdover team from 1871 that isn't expected to be all that good, and in any event won't survive the 1871 campaign. Olympic and National are the beginning of a long, long tradition of baseball teams from Washington not being any good. It's even true when you include Washington State in the calculation. (Hi Johnny Slick!)

There have been ten different clubs to try to make a go of professional baseball in Washington, DC. These ten teams played a total of 95 seasons in Washington. Three times a Washington team has finished first in its league or division - all Washington Senators teams of the 1920s and 1930s. 25 times a Washington team has finished last. The Washington Nationals are currently keeping the tradition alive, with four last-place finishes in their five years in Washington.

Anyway, here's what the Olympic club will trot out there for 1872:

P - Asa Brainard - Was just fine for them in 1871; probably will be again. Historically, he played here in 1872 before ending his career in Baltimore in 1873-74.
C - Fred Waterman - A solid .304 average as backstop in 1871.
1B - Everett Mills - A .290 hitter in 1871 for Washington.
2B - Harry Berthrong - Batted .330 for Olympic in 1871.
3B - Henry Burroughs - Played center field for the club in 1871 and hit .326.
SS - Andy Leonard - Played both middle infield positions last year and hit .250.
LF - George Hall - He was the star of this club in 1871, and probably will be again.
CF - Fred Treacey - Was a .299 hitter as Chicago's left fielder last season. Historically, he played for Athletic in 1872.
RF - Doug Allison - .312 hitter in 1871.

They shouldn't be a terrible team, but they also won't play very many games before folding in midseason.

1872 Preview - Troy Haymakers

After an 8-20 season in 1871, Troy is back with a very similar squad in 1872. The Albany area had several high-level amateur clubs in the 1860s, and they would be back again to try professional base ball in Troy in a few years, but this club would be the first professional base ball club to learn that the area was simply not large enough to support a professional squad.

P - Bobby Mathews - Signed from the Kekionga club, where he had some moderate success. Historically, he played for the Baltimore club in 1872.
C - Bill Craver - A .292 hitter for Troy in 1872, and a fairly good defender at catcher.
1B - Clipper Flynn - A solid .286 hitter and decent first baseman. Historically, this was his last season and he played it with the Olympic club.
2B - Candy Nelson - This was his first year in the big leagues, and he would last until 1890 as a professional player. Surprisingly, there's not much written about him that I can find. He may be the most accomplished anonymous player of the era I've been able to find.
3B - Charlie Smith - He came over in the Steve King player trade in 1871, and while there was a certain logic to the trade - Troy had four good outfielders and not enough infielders - he's a far inferior talent to King and hit just .200 after the deal. He's hoping to justify the swap this season.
SS - Dickie Flowers - A .306 hitter whose historical career ended with three games in 1872. He could end up playing much longer in this version of history, although he is a pretty weak fielder at short.
LF - Tom York - A very solid big leaguer through the mid-1880s, York took over the left field job after the Steve King trade and batted .337.
CF - Count Gedney - A pretty mediocre player who played for the Morrisania Unions in 1870, then caught on with Troy and bounced around several NA teams from 1872-75.
RF - Lip Pike - Pike was the star right fielder of the NA last season, hitting .321 for Troy. Historically he played for Baltimore in 1872-73.

This is a team on the way out, yet they still should be better than most of the new clubs.

1872 Preview - Philadelphia Athletics

Athletic, the second-best club in simulated 1871 (and the pennant winner in historical 1871), is maintaining a pretty similar roster for 1872. Since they are already a strong team, they look like the team most likely to challenge Mutual for supremacy in 1872.

P - Dick McBride - He won the 1871 Cartwright Award as the league's best pitcher, and should contend for it again this season.
C - Frank Selman - Picked up from Kekionga, where he hit .298 in 1871. Historically, he played with the Washington Olympics in 1872.
1B - Wes "Icicle" Fisler - Batted a mere .203 in 1871, so they are looking for him to improve. A good fielder at first.
2B - Al Reach - Veteran player who has been playing top-level base ball since before the Civil War. Hit .286 in 1871.
3B - Ed Pinkham - Historically, he never returned to professional base ball after his stint with the Chicago club of 1871. However, with a simulated .295 average, he caught the attention of Athletic and signed with them for 1872.
SS - John Radcliffe - A solid .292 hitter for Athletic in 1871.
LF - Ned Cuthbert - A relatively weak .231 hitter last season.
CF - Count Sensenderfer - Hit .320 and had the best name in the big leagues last season.
RF - Levi Meyerle - A .321 hitter who played primarily at third base last season but has moved to the outfield to make room for Pinkham.

On the whole, this looks like a very good team. Both the additions should help, and they were already among the best NA squads.