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.

1872 Preview - New York Mutuals

Mutual won the championship relatively easily in my 1871 simulation, and looks geared up for another title run this season. They signed several available top players to go along with their star-laden lineup from last season, so they'll be difficult to beat.

P - George Zettlein - Just as he was historically, Zettlein was one of the better pitchers of 1871 in the simulation. As a result, Mutual hired him to pitch for the year. Historically, Zettlein pitched for Haymaker and Eckford in 1872, while Mutual used Candy Cummings, reputedly the inventor of the curveball.
C - Dick Higham - A .299 hitter in 1871, he's back as a starter for New York this season.
1B - Cap Anson - Young Adrian Anson was signed from Rockford, which was something of a surprise since Mutual already has star first baseman Joe Start. They will probably split playing time this season.
2B - John Hatfield - A .337 hitter in 1871 who nearly won the Most Valuable Player award. IF he can continue at anywhere near that pace Mutual is in good shape.
3B - Bob Ferguson - Death To Flying Things hit a solid .300 in 1871.
SS - Dickey Pearce - A great-fielding shortstop (after all, he invented the position), but he is 36 years old, so if Mutual has a weakness on the infield it's here.
LF - Steve King - Came over from Troy in the first-ever trade of players, and was an MVP candidate in New York. Look for him to continue to be one of the NA's best hitters.
CF - Dave Eggler - A good fielder, and the first player ever to hit for the cycle in my simulation, but he hit only .183 in 1871.
RF - Charlie Mills - Hit .333 in part-time duty with Mutual last season.

This club simply does not have many (if any) weaknesses. They even have a couple outstanding players (Joe Start and Jim Foran) as utility players. It's hard to imagine any team toppling them in 1872.

1872 Preview - Middletown Mansfields

The Mansfields of Middletown, CT, were a club that was first established in 1866 following the conclusion of the Civil War. The Mansfields were named after General Joseph Mansfield, a Civil War general who lived in Middletown and was killed at the Battle of Antietam in 1862. The amateur Mansfield club improved each year until, in 1870, they were voted the top amateur base ball club in Connecticut. That year, they also got enclosed base ball grounds, which allowed them to charge for admissions.

They often scheduled games against top amateur and professional clubs, and in 1872 Harry Wright suggested they pay the $10 fee to join the National Association so they could get routine games against top competition. They did so, but while they were a very good amateur team, they had never beaten one of the top professional clubs, and Middletown was a small town, not able to support a rich professional team like the Mutuals, Athletics, or Red Stockings. Top-level professional base ball was to be a one-year experiment in Middletown.

Here is a good source for information on Middletown base ball.

P - Cy Bentley - Bentley played only one big league season, because he died of consumption a couple months before the 1873 season began, at the age of 22.
C - John Clapp - Clapp was called "Honest John," suggesting he was one of the few players of the time who did not associate with gamblers and other "low characters." His professional base ball career lasted until the early 1880s, and he was considered a good hitter.
1B - Tim Murnane - He was a solid but unspectacular big leaguer throughout the 1870s, but his real impact was as a sportswriter. He spent 30 years as a baseball writer for the Boston Globe, and did a great deal to publicize the early days of base ball. He shows up everywhere as a primary source for the goings-on of the early days of base ball. In 1872 he was a 19-year-old rookie up from having played a couple seasons with a club in Savannah, Georgia.
2B - Chick Fulmer - He had a very good season (.374) with Rockford in the 1871 simulation, and signed with little Middletown for this season. Historically, he actually ended up with the powerful Mutual club in 1872, then returned to his hometown of Philadelphia in 1873.
3B - Jim Tipper - Historically, Tipper played for most of the Connecticut-based clubs of the 1870s as a professional, but didn't distinguish himself too greatly. His obituary from the 1890s (he also died relatively young of consumption) mentioned his great fielding, but it was really mostly to remark on the fact that the players of the 1870s played without gloves.
SS - Ed Duffy - Historically, the Irishman Ed Duffy never played top-level base ball again after his turn with Chicago in 1871. In the simulation, he hit a solid .274 with Chicago and played a solid shortstop, so he was signed by the Middletown club.
LF - Ham Allen - Not much known about him, other than the fact that he was a Civil War veteran.
CF - Frank McCarton - He played one season as a big league ballplayer at the age of 17, and did very well - hitting .329 for the Mansfields historically. Then he never played professional ball again. There's a picture of him a little later in life here, that was posted by a descendant of his - evidently he went on to be a New York City police officer.
RF - Bob "Magnet" Addy - Addy hit .317 for Rockford in my simulation, good enough to get him a job with Middletown. Historically, he sat out the 1872 season, or at least did not play with any of the National Association teams.

They don't look like the worst of the new teams by any stretch - in fact, they probably have the talent to be fairly decent in my simulated 1872. Of course, the finances are another matter, which is why we won't be seeing this team around following this year.

1872 Preview - Cleveland Forest Citys

The Forest City club of Cleveland was not destined to survive the 1872 season, but they begin the campaign with the same club they used with some success in 1871:

P - Al Pratt - 16 wins, 13 losses in 1871.
C - Deacon White - Batted only .226 in 1871, in contrast to his .322 average in real life.
1B - Jim Carleton - A .299 hitter in 1871.
2B - Gene Kimball - Hit .267 in 1871.
3B - Ezra Sutton - A .383 hitter who was the star of the National Association in 1871.
SS - John Bass - Just a .227 hitter last season.
LF - Charlie Pabor - Batted a mere .201 in 1871.
CF - Art Allison - A solid .285 hitter last season, but has trouble fielding in center.
RF - Caleb Johnson - A .273 hitter last season.

Look for them to struggle to maintain their 1871 level of play.

1872 Preview - Brooklyn Eckfords

The Eckford club was formed in 1855 and was one of the earliest top-level base ball teams. They were named after Henry Eckford, a renowned New York shipbuilder of the late 18th and early 19th century, probably because most of their early players were shipbuilders by trade. Eckford was one of the top clubs in Brooklyn throughout the 1860s, and were constantly vying with Atlantic for dominance. In the end, Eckford failed to survive the switch to professionalism, as the club did not field a National Association team for 1871, and their 1872 club was not successful at all historically.

P - Martin Malone - Historically, he played only in 1872, and his ability level suggests he won't last much longer in the simulation.
C - William Bestick - Nothing at all known about him, other than the fact that he played for the Eckfords in 1872. A man by that name died in New York in 1911, so he's believed to be the ballplayer.
1B - Andy Allison - Another guy about whom little is known. His brother also played for Eckford in 1872, and he died in Brooklyn at the age of 49.
2B - Dick Hunt - Although he sounds like the punchline to a dirty joke, he's actually just another anonymous Brooklyner who played for the Eckfords in 1872.
3B - Ralph Ham - Historically, this Troy native did not play top-level professional base ball after 1871, but in the simulation, he caught on with the Eckfords. He hit .231 in 1871 for Rockford, and expects to be at about the same level this season.
SS - Jim Snyder - Another one-season player whose history isn't well known.
LF - Harry Deane - He played for the Kekionga club and the 1874 Baltimore Canaries historically, but his biggest claim to fame was being the substitute on the mighty 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings. In the simulation, Kekionga never even used him, and he's caught on with a starting job for lowly Eckford.
CF - Marty Swandell - Only played one season of top-level base ball. The only thing known about him is that he was born in Germany. It's not even certain whether he came to America as a child or an adult.
RF - Jimmy Hallinan - He had a terrible season with Kekionga in 1871, and he moved here along with Harry Deane. Historically, he only really got regular playing time in the mid-1870s, and it is alleged that he was a heavy drinker. It is definitely known that he left base ball due to illness after the 1878 season, and within a year he died of "inflammation of the bowels" at the age of 30.

This is going to be another weak, weak team for 1872, just as they were historically.

1872 Preview - Brooklyn Atlantics

The Atlantic club was one of the oldest top-level base ball teams, dating back to 1855. They finished as the first-place club of the National Association of Base Ball Players in 1857, 1858 and 1859. (At the time all of the teams in the Association were located in the New York area.) They finished as the champions several times in the 1860s, and were ultimately the club that defeated Harry Wright's mighty Cincinnati Red Stockings in 1870. So this is a club with a long base ball pedigree.

However, by the early 1870s there were trouble signs. The relative ease of travel by railroad and growing popularity of base ball meant that other, smaller cities were luring New York's best players away. It's not so much that Atlantic couldn't compete as that there were so many more clubs with which to compete. When Atlantic declined to join the new National Association in 1871, many top players - Zettlein, Ferguson, Start, and Pike among them - jumped to other teams. This 1872 club was an attempt to reestablish Atlantic as a leading club. This attempt would fail historically, because most of the star players were already gone.

P - Joe McDermott - He played a couple games for the Kekionga club in 1871, and historically he came to Brooklyn to pitch a handful of games for Eckford. The only difference in the simulation is which Brooklyn team he went to.
C - Tom Barlow - A promising young hitter. Historically, Barlow is known for being the first known base ball player to have a career-ending drug problem. His story, which was told in Ken Burns' documentary Baseball, was summarized in his letter to the Hartford papers:

"It was on the 10th of August, 1874, that there was a match game of baseball in Chicago between the White Stockings of that city and the Hartfords of Hartford, now of Brooklyn. I was catcher for the Hartfords, and [Cherokee] Fisher was pitching. He is a lightning pitcher, and very few could catch for him. On that occasion he delivered as wicked a ball as ever left his hands, and it went through my grasp like an express train, striking me with full force in the side. I fell insensible to the ground, but was quickly picked up, placed in a carriage, and driven to my hotel. The doctor who attended me gave a hypodermic injection of morphine, but I had rather died behind the bat [than] have had that first dose. My injury was only temporary, but from taking prescriptions of morphine during my illness, the habit grew on me, and I am now powerless in its grasp. My morphine pleasure has cost me eight dollars a day, at least. I was once catcher for the Mutuals, also for the Atlantics, but no one would think it to look at me now."

1B - Herman Dehlman - Dehlman, whose first top-level professional season was in 1872, was a light-hitting first baseman from Brooklyn for played for Atlantic and then for the St. Louis Brown Stockings through 1877. There's not a ton out there about his base ball career, which was relatively undistinguished. In the 1880s, he became the team manager for local teams in Allentown and Wilkes-Barre, PA, but contracted typhoid fever in 1885 and died at the age of 33.
2B - Jimmy Wood - He was a star (.346) for Chicago in 1871 in my simulation. Historically, he did indeed move back east after the Chicago Fire, but he played for Troy and Eckford rather than Atlantic. His joining of Atlantic would have been a major controversy since he was a star for their arch-rivals Eckford throughout the 1860s.
3B - Pete Donnelly - After being a pretty worthless player in 1871 with Kekionga (.171), he caught on with Atlantic and appears to have won the starting third base job. Historically, he was also pretty bad for Kekionga, and played for NA teams in Washington and Philadelphia in 1873-74.
SS - Tom Carey - He's the Don Draper of the National Association, as he was born J.J. Norton. He was a solid infielder throughout the 1870s. Historically, he played for Baltimore in 1872, but he didn't tend to stay in one city for more than a season or two, so this isn't totally out of character.
LF - Al Thake - Not much known about his life, but he became the first professional player to die of mid-season misadventure, as he was out fishing on September 1, 1872, when he fell into the water and drowned. New York accounts of the tragedy mention that it occurred near Fort Hamilton, which is close to the present-day Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. These accounts also mention he was fishing in "the stream," but that seems to have been the Hudson River, as Fort Hamilton is on the Brooklyn side of the river, and his body washed up a few days later on Staten Island. Perhaps it would be possible to do some Jimmy McNulty-style calculations to determine exactly where he died, but I'll leave that for someone else. In any event, I won't be killing him (or any other players) off in my simulation, so let's see what he can accomplish if he's given a real career.
CF - George Bird - He didn't do too much for Rockford in 1871, and historically he stopped playing professional ball when Illinois lost its teams in 1872. However, in this alternate-universe simulation, he did well enough to get picked up by Atlantic, and moved back east to the big city for the first time.
RF - Bill Barrett - Played a few games for Kekionga in 1871, but didn't do much. Historically, he was from Baltimore and returned to that area in 1872.

On the whole, Atlantic should be much as they were in reality: a team past its prime, just trying to maintain some semblance of top-level competition. They'll go as far as Wood, Carey and Barlow can take them.