Standings as of June 1st, 1871
As we move into summer, Metropolis and Washington have emerged as the early leaders. Metropolis has been paced by the strong pitching of
Asa Brainard (10-5, 3.89) and opportunistic hitting by the trio of
Levi Meyerle (.408),
Davy Force (.353), and
Al Reach (.333). Washington is paced by young hurler
Bobby Mathews (8-5, 3.63) and power hitting by
Lip Pike (.333, 1 HR) and
Dan "Mighty" Casey (.258, 1 HR).
The majority of the league's other teams are treading water around the .500 mark, with only Central City and Chicago finding wins hard to come by. Philadelphia has the league's most explosive offense and boasts three batters posting averages over .400 --
Bob "Death to Flying Things" Ferguson (.441),
Bill Lennon (.407) and
Cal McVey (.406). Gotham City's
Tom "School Days" Brown (7-5) has the league's lowest ERA (2.74) but stretches of poor fielding and hitting by the Eagles have relegated the club to mediocrity (7-7) in the early going.
The New York club roared out of the gate red-hot, reeling off four straight victories. Owner Charles Kane covered the baseball exploits of his Knights on the front page of the Inquisitor newspaper. However, as the weather has warmed, the Knights have cooled, and as summer begins they find themselves in the second division. Likewise, Kane has now found other items to occupy the front page of the Inquisitor.