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1878 American League Preview
Boston Red Caps
Record Last season: 50-46 (3rd)
Manager: Harry Wright
Ball Park: South End Grounds
Predicted Finish: 1st
Since winning it all in 1875, the Red Caps just cant compete with Washington and last year were also surpassed by Hartford. It is hard to see anything changing this season but many forecasters think that Boston could indeed put things all together. John Peters and Jim Foran are the new stars in Beantown with Ezra Sutton coming back at short, the 28 year old has played every single game in franchise history. And the biggest news for the club, throughout the winter, is Albert Spalding will start games again after appearing in only 14 games last season solely in relief.
Milwaukee Grays
Record Last Season: 54-42 (2nd)
Manager: Al Barker
Ball Park: Milwaukee Baseball Grounds
Predicted Finish: 2nd
Moving out of Hartford, Wisconsin now has its first professional club and the anticipation couldn't be greater. Joe Blong brings his 22 win season to the table and all Grays pitchers will be confident as this team has some of the best defense in the league. Some say Levi Meyerle has slowed down a tad and his manager seems to want to hit him at the bottom of the order, but as always at only 28 years of age, talent seems to have the final word in this sport. Manager Al Barker really seems to be heading this roster in the right direction.
Philadelphia Athletics
Last Season Record; 33-63 (5th)
Manager: Dick McBride
Ball Park: Jefferson Street Grounds
Predicted Finish: 3rd
What a disaster of a season for the Athletics as they lost 63 games and Dick McBride somehow kept his job as manager. Scotland native Jim McCormick has come on to save the day as the top draft pick and immediately the ace of the pitching staff. Joe McDermott is the best hitter on the club and George Hall is still a fine talent but the A's have very little depth and even more so seem to lack confidence as they now are clearly the step child of the champion club from across town. Many expect an improvement and surely things can get much worse, but is it really all wishful thinking for this once very proud franchise?
Washington Nationals
Last Season Record: 55-41 (1st)
Manager: Nick Young
Ball Park: Olympic Grounds
Predicted Finish: 4th
Very little seems to change in Washington. The Nationals won another pennant and the club made close to no changes in hopes of doing the very same for the 1878 season. Ross Barnes has clearly been impacted by the new foul ball rules and many feel he will never put up the same numbers he used to. No real worry however as Deacon White more then picked up the slack with an incredible season and an MVP award. Bobby Matthews failed to lead the league in wins for the first time but still won 24 times, even as his World Series performance was scrutinized. Can the Nats really win their third pennant in a row? Or is the competition finally to the point where they can enter this year with confidence of a different AL outcome?
Keokuk Westerns
Last season record: 48-48 (4th)
Manager: Nate Berkenstock
Ball Park: Perry Park
Predicted Finish: 6th
The Westerns found a gem last season in Laurie Reis who had an ERA under 1.00 and had it all working at only 19 years old. There are some rumors of arm trouble however and the scouts have been keen on them. New catcher King Kelly was surprised to drop in the amatuer draft and the young talent is being touted as much for his talent as he is for his personality. In the meantime other big cities are sniffing around this ballclub, hoping to lure them out of the modest surroundings of Keokuk. In the opinion of this publication, there is an important place from small town baseball in the nation.
St. Louis Brown Stockings
Last season record: 19-77 (6th)
Manager: Jamari Arms
Ball Park: Sportsmans Park
Predicted Finish: 5th
Losing 77 games and failing to win 20 would seem to make an franchise worry if they would even be around for another year. This is not the case at all with the Brown Stockings. Their enigmatic owner won over local officials and has built the best stadium for baseball that anyone has imagined in the new multifacility Sportsmans Park. The new park even forced the Red Stockings out of town and established this Browns team as the representative of the gateway to the West. The newest star is of course John Ward, who was the top pick in the draft and surely will attract crowds from miles away. Vast improvement is expected from this team, and times are not so bad at all for this team.
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