1st April 1881
The Red Stockings went close again last year for the pennant. The fans hope this year the team can go one better and win the pennant for only the second time. The independent league assessors feel, that while the Red Stockings are a strong side, they do not have quite enough to take the pennant. They see them finishing in 2nd place in the NL 5 games behind the winners.
The MLB has left the schedule alone at 84 games again this season. One interesting piece of news is that the head office of the MLB has released a discussion paper asking for views from all interested parties on a possible expansion of the league to 16 teams.
The players turned up to pre-season training eager to get down to work. The Gm and Manager put them through a tough schedule to get them fit and ready. This led them to select the following 25 players for the opening day roster.
Pitching
Batting
