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THE INAUGURAL SEASON

The first season of the NBBO was an exciting one, but the style of baseball played would have looked alien to those who watch it in the 21st Century. Fields were enormous, there were no called balls and strikes, fielders had no gloves, home runs were almost always inside-the-parkers, pitchers could only deliver the ball underhanded, and baserunners could be ruled out by being hit with a throw from a fielder. This meant that the game was all action – stolen bases were high, errors were astronomical, and batting averages more than made up for any lack of power or walks. In the end, this meant that the weakest offensive teams in the NBBO scored 6+ runs per game, with the best hovering around ten.

Having offensive output that high could lead one to conclude that the competition was heavily lopsided in 1857, but that was not the case. Nearly every one of the NBBO’s six city and regional championships were decided in the final week of the 70-game season, and first six teams to make it to the NBBO playoffs were:

NEW YORK LEAGUE





NORTHEASTERN LEAGUE





With the regular season having close competitions, many close to the new sport presumed that the inaugural NBBO playoffs would feature similarly close best-of-five series. However, that did not happen. While Eckford of Greenpoint and Sportsman’s waited to see who they would play, the Orange Club beat Utica in four games in the NYL semi-final while Sons of the Ocean swept Port Jersey in the NEL semi-final. After that, both League Championship Series featured upsets, with Orange beating Eckford in five games to win the NYL championship and Sons of the Ocean taking down Sportsman’s in four to win the NEL half of the bracket.

If nothing else, the first Tucker Wheaton Cup figured to have plenty of excitement as Orange and Sons of the Ocean were two of the top three scorers in the 48-team NBBO. However, the anticipated high-drama affair never came to fruition as Massachusetts-based SotO were dominant and won the cup in four games:

Game One: Sons of the Ocean 10-7 @ Orange – Samuel Kessler (SotO) PotG (3/5, 3 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI)
Game Two: Sons of the Ocean 6-2 @ Orange – Adolphus Cole (SotO) PotG (CG, 5 H, 2 RA, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 109 pitches)
Game Three: Orange 13-5 @ Sons of the Ocean – Lester Simon (ORA) PotG (3/5, 3 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 1 SB, 1 BB)
Game Four: Sons of the Ocean 16-13 vs. Orange – Ralph Wingate (SotO) PotG (3/6, 2 R, 1 2B, 4 RBI)

NBBO Playoffs MVP: Samuel Kessler (SotO) – 11 G, .473 AVG (26/55), 1.155 OPS (260 OPS+), 14 R, 5 2B, 3 3B, 12 RBI, 5 SB

Awards were given to the best players in both NBBO leagues after the end of the season, and the inaugural NBBO award winners were:

BATSMEN OF THE YEAR

NYL: Lake Heilman (Continental) – 70 G, .372 AVG, .839 OPS (152 OPS+), 123 H, 24 2B, 76 RBI, 4.50 WPA, 2.3 WAR
NEL: Alexander Etheridge (Green Mountain) – 70 G, .408 AVG, .988 OPS (210 OPS+), 81 R, 133 H, 14 3B, 58 RBI, 34 SB, 3.32 WPA, 3.6 WAR

HURLERS OF THE YEAR

NYL: Clyde Chappelle (Victory) – 287 IP, 23-8, 3.38 ERA (101 ERA+), 34 BB, 29 K, 1.37 WHIP, 3.8 WAR
NEL: Frederick Hadden (Massachusetts Bay) – 287 IP, 22-11, 2.35 ERA (132 ERA+), 9 BB, 21 K, 1.07 WHIP, 4.3 WAR

NEW YORK LEAGUE TEAM OF THE YEAR

P: Clyde Chappelle (Victory) – 287 IP, 23-8, 3.38 ERA (101 ERA+), 34 BB, 29 K, 1.37 WHIP, 3.8 WAR
C: Tiberius Voit (Minuteman) – 67 G, .312 AVG, .800 OPS (138 OPS+), 14 3B, 54 RBI, 2.28 WPA, 1.7 WAR
1B: Lake Heilman (Continental) – 70 G, .372 AVG, .839 OPS (152 OPS+), 123 H, 24 2B, 76 RBI, 4.50 WPA, 2.3 WAR, Batsman of the Year
2B: George Van Meter (Utica) – 70 G, .329 AVG, .823 OPS (146 OPS+), 70 R, 108 H, 14 3B, 55 RBI, 2.69 WPA, 2.3 WAR
3B: Lars Hartmann (Eckford) – 70 G, .296 AVG, .704 OPS (111 OPS+), 80 R, 10 3B, 64 RBI, 2.59 WPA, 1.7 WAR
SS: Maxwell Brock (Flour City) – 70 G, .329 AVG, .777 OPS (133 OPS+), 106 H, 20 2B, 69 RBI, 3.20 WPA, 1.8 WAR
LF: Robert Kelsey (Nassau County) – 67 G, .379 AVG, .852 OPS (156 OPS+), 75 R, 121 H, 55 RBI, 22 SB, 4.39 WPA, 2.7 WAR
CF: Anastagio Torriano (Eckford) – 70 G, .342 AVG, .820 OPS (145 OPS+), 95 R, 117 H, 20 2B, 12 3B, 71 RBI, 57 SB, 4.46 WPA, 3.0 WAR
RF: Ollie Asplund (Atlantic) – 70 G, .334 AVG, 829 OPS (148 OPS+), 71 R, 112 H, 26 2B, 11 3B, 70 RBI, 24 SB, 3.67 WPA, 2.8 WAR

NORTHEASTERN LEAGUE TEAM OF THE YEAR

P: Frederick Hadden (Massachusetts Bay) – 287 IP, 22-11, 2.35 ERA (132 ERA+), 9 BB, 21 K, 1.07 WHIP, 4.3 WAR
C: Guy Dixon (Alleghany) – 66 G, .209 AVG, .715 OPS (124 OPS+), 43 RBI, 1.55 WPA, 2.4 WAR, Gold Glove
1B: Truman Paganini (Sons of the Ocean) – 69 G, .340 AVG, .827 OPS (159 OPS+), 102 H, 25 2B, 71 RBI, 1.92 WPA, 2.0 WAR
2B: Benjamin Chin (Granite) – 68 G, .314 AVG, .763 OPS (139 OPS+), 77 R, 51 SB, 5.08 WPA, 2.2 WAR
3B: Samuel Kessler (Sons of the Ocean) – 70 G, .353 AVG, .870 OPS (172 OPS+), 79 R, 116 H, 15 3B, 60 RBI, 3.40 WPA, 3.0 WAR
SS: Curtis Watt (Quinnipiac) – 70 G, .318 AVG, .753 OPS (136 OPS+), 84 R, 110 H, 45 RBI, 57 SB, 3.55 WPA, 3.6 WAR
LF: Tristan Pedersen (Shamrock) – 70 G, .358 AVG, .850 OPS (166 OPS+), 118 H, 22 2B, 68 RBI, 3.76 WPA, 2.4 WAR
CF: Edward Newkirk (Oceanic) – 70 G, .332 AVG, .845 OPS (163 OPS+), 86 R, 111 H, 22 2B, 16 3B, 60 RBI, 30 SB, 2.62 WPA, 3.0 WAR
RF: Alexander Etheridge (Green Mountain) – 70 G, .408 AVG, .988 OPS (210 OPS+), 81 R, 133 H, 14 3B, 58 RBI, 34 SB, 3.32 WPA, 3.6 WAR, Batsman of the Year

The first season of organized, competitive baseball was a successful experiment, and it was hoped that there would be many more to come.