1883 FINAL
The Sheffield Steelers caught fire in the second half of the Dominion Association season. Led by freshman Joel Inglis (.363, 0 HR, 53 RBI) and veteran Logan Teal (.350, 3 HR, 75 RBI), the Steelers had a formidable offense, while the pitching tandem of Aaron Trethewey (31-20, 2.18 ERA) and Euan Kernuish (29-20, 2.27 ERA) kept opposing hitters off-balance. Sheffield won thirteen of their first nineteen after the midsummer hiatus, and then fought off challenges from Manchester and Islington for the top spot. Islington featured lefty George Carruders (37-16, 1.48 ERA), who put on one of the greatest performances by any pitcher and captured the Association's triple crown. The Owl attack, however, fell off in the second half, with Tobias Purcell (.319, 0 HR, 75 RBI) dropping 38 points off his batting average after the all-star break. Brad Mayne (.326, 2 HR, 68 RBI) and Harry Kerry (.313, 3 HR, 58 RBI) led the overpowering Manchester attack, and the Millers made a serious attempt at toppling Sheffield in August, going 13-3 at one point and passing Islington into second place. The Steelers, however, were up for the challenge, and compiled a 10-5 record in the final month, despite playing on the road the whole time, while Manchester could only manage a 7-8 mark as they watched Islington vault past them into second place in the last week. An 11-7 victory over Belfast with three games remaining clinched it for the Sheffields, and they hoisted their first Association pennant.
Birmingham, looking for its third-straight League flag, solidified their hold on first place after the all-star break. The Blue Stockings' offense could only be described as adequate, but their pitching staff, helmed by Moise Tran (22-27, 2.45 ERA) and Liam Daly (18-12, 1.50 ERA) was the best in the circuit, and the acquisition of Pete Lambert (18-7, 2.07 ERA) from Newcastle at the start of the second half proved to be an inspired move, as Lambert helped to hold things together when Tran faltered late in the season, losing six straight decisions. Liverpool, tied with London for second at the midsummer point, fell apart in the second half, going 14-32 and dropping all the way to last place. The Bulldogs weren't much better, winning only eleven of their last twenty-six and falling to seventh. Taking advantage of their difficulties were Westminster, who hit the jackpot with rookie hurler Charlie Newson (36-19, 2.01 ERA). A series of injuries to key players, including team hitting leader Jonathan Hanke (.312, 1 HR, 57 RBI) and Matthew Megson (.284, 2 HR, 60 RBI) thwarted the team as they sought to challenge Birmingham's grip on first place. The Peers made their move in late August, carrying a 13-2 mark into the middle of September and climbing to within three games of the Blue Stockings, but it proved to be too steep a climb for the Peers, and they had to settle for second place, four games behind Birmingham.
1883 CUP FINALS SERIES: BIRMINGHAM v SHEFFIELD
Game one at Sheffield's Hart's Head Field saw a pitching duel between Tran and Trethewey. It was tied 1-1 in the top of the tenth when Birmingham's bats finally awakened. With the three men on and one run already in, second baseman Keril Rivington (.260, 1 HR, 51 RBI) hit a two-out double that cleared the bases. Tran held the home team scoreless in the bottom of the inning to complete a 5-1 victory. Each team collected ten hits the next day, but Sheffield made them count, and Kernuish held on for a complete game 3-2 win. Murray Paisley (.313, 1 HR, 40 RBI) had two hits and scored twice for the winners. It was another showdown between Tran and Trethewey in game three. Tran had allowed only one hit through eight innings, but the visiting Steelers broke open a 1-1 tie in the top of the ninth when Teal hit a towering home run with two runners on base, and that spelled the difference in the 4-1 Sheffield victory. Kernuish had far less luck the next day, as he was chased from the box by twelve Blue Stocking hits and nine runs, as Birmingham prevailed by a final score of 14-2. Vince Jackson (.231, 1 HR, 26 RBI) went five-for-five, Daniel Nancekevell (.251, 3 HR, 46 RBI) had three RBI, and Rivington had solo homer for the winning side. Tran pitched masterfully again in game five, allowing only two hits and needing only 105 pitches to dispatch the Steelers by a final tally of 7-0. Rivington continued his hot hitting with four singles in five at-bats, and Jackson contributed with three hits and three RBI. Trethewey got the call in game six, and the Sheffield ace didn't disappoint the home town crowd, as he scattered six Birmingham hits en route to a 4-2 win. The Blue Stockings contributed to the Sheffield win with nine errors. In the seventh and deciding game, Birmingham carried a 1-0 lead into the final frame behind Tran's three-hit pitching. In the ninth, two errors and a walk loaded the bases with one out. Tony Tofield (.291, 0 HR, 30 RBI) lifted a 1-1 pitch to left field that was just deep enough to score Teal from third and tie the game. The next man up, pinch-hitter Duane Nelson (.240, 1 HR, 15 RBI), dumped a single into shallow right-center field, and Robin Basham (.227, 2 HR, 32 RBI), running with the pitch, scampered all the way home from second base as the Sheffield crowd went mad. Euan Kernuish, with a 2-1 record, including the clincher in game seven, and a 2.45 ERA, was named the series MVP.
THE MINORS
The Northern Conference continued its dominance in the Second Tier as the Bolton Rovers, Belfast's affiliate, defeated the Nottingham Foresters, the top team in the Leeds system, in a five-game championship series.
The Derby Lancers repeated as champions of the Third Tier's Albion Conference, but they fell to the Britannia Conference champion Cardiff Giants of the Leeds organization in five games.
ALLIANCE LEADERS
Empire League
Hitting
BA: .339 Vic Canning, London
HR: 6 John Mytton, Bradford
RBI: 80 Johnny Creswell, London
R: 86 Johnny Creswell, London
SB: 53 Daniel Eridge, Dublin; Simon Goacher, Bradford
Pitching
W: 36 Charlie Newson, Westminster
L: 32 Boland Sullivan, Dublin
K: 215 Ivan Laverock, Dublin
ERA: 1.50 Lewis Daly, Birmingham
SV: 6 Bert Barthorpe, Birmingham
Eridge and Goacher set the BA record for most stolen bases in a season.
Dominion Association
Hitting
BA: .363 Joel Inglis, Sheffield
HR: 4 three players
RBI: 84 Ron Collins, Islington
R: 95 Tobias Purcell, Islington
SB: 33 William Blye, Sheffield
Pitching
W: 37 George Carruders, Islington
L: 27 Bob Hollett, Bristol
K: 273 George Carruders, Islington
ERA: 1.48 George Carruders, Islington
SV: 6 Charles Opie, Manchester
Joel Inglis, boosted by his record-setting 24 triples, set the BA mark for slugging percentage with a .552 average.