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1858 NORTHEASTERN LEAGUE REVIEW

NORTHEASTERN LEAGUE SUMMARY

The 1859 Northeastern League Season was heavy on talent thanks to offseason signings, but aside from the Inland Championship it was a little short on drama. In the end, the biggest club in each regional championship finished first and advanced to the playoffs. However, there was a mighty shock in store...

The Coastal Championship was a race confined to Boston, as Massachusetts Bay & Shamrock were clearly the two best teams in the subdivision this season. Shamrock had a one-game lead over their intra-city rivals Mass. Bay at the start of June, and they were able to keep them just far enough away over the rest of the season. June 15th: ahead by one game. June 30th: ahead by two. July 15th: ahead by three. July 30th: ahead by four. That left Shamrock able to withstand a 9-1 Mass. Bay finish and win the Coastal by two games.

The Inland Championship pennant race was incredible. At the start of July there were five teams – Alleghany, Merrimack Mills, Pioneer, Sportsman’s & Susquehanna – within two games of each other & fighting for top spot in the standings. By the middle of the month Sportsman’s opened a four-game lead, and going into the final week their lead was two over Alleghany/Reading & three over Pioneer/Susquehanna. Sportsman’s’ final series was against Alleghany, and they proceeded to lose 4/5 games AT HOME to give Alleghany the Inland Championship on the final day via a one-run loss. Merrimack, Pioneer, Reading Athletic, Sportsman’s, & Susquehanna all finished within four games of first place.

The New England Championship was simple. St. John’s sat alongside Granite at 14-7 to start June and from there they tore New England apart, going 40-9. They won the N.E.C. by fifteen games and set N.B.B.O. records for wins, runs, and run differential.

The Northeastern League Semi-Final between big clubs Alleghany & Shamrock felt like a toss-up, and indeed played out like one.

• GAME ONE was an even battle until late. Shamrock entered their half of the sixth inning with the game tied 2-2 and proceeded to score ten unanswered runs – two in the sixth, four in the seventh, and four in the eighth. Shamrock .400 hitter Thomas Maloney was 4/5 with three runs scored and two driven in.

• GAME TWO was effectively over after two innings. After the teams traded runs in the first Shamrock scored four times in the home half of the second to make it 5-1, and that was the final tally of the contest thanks to solid pitching by Orran McLoughlin and good defensive work behind him.

• GAME THREE was decided in the bottom of the eighth. With Shamrock up 6-4, Joe Blake hit a two-run double to tie the game and Henry Fowler then hit a run-scoring single to give the hosts a 7-6 lead that stood thanks to two weak ground outs and a strikeout in the top of the ninth.

• GAME FOUR was dominated by hosts Alleghany. After scoring thrice in the bottom of the first, they kept periodically tallying runs until it was 8-0 by the end of the seventh inning. Shamrock rallied in the eighth & ninth but it was too late, and Alleghany won 8-4 to force Game Five.

• GAME FIVE was a thriller. Shamrock was up 6-2 halfway through but allowed five runs over the sixth & seventh before clawing back a run to make it 7-7. They allowed another run in the eighth before coming back with two to make in 9-8, but allowed a tying run to Alleghany in the to of the 9th. In the bottom half, Thomas Silke hit a single to center field deep enough to drive in James Keane from second base, and Shamrock won the series with a 10-9 Game Five victory.

The energy Shamrock had to expend led just about everyone to presume that the Bostonians would be ripped to shreds by St. John’s in the N.E.L.C.S., but the actual series proved to be precisely the opposite.

• GAME ONE went extra innings – 4-4 going into the ninth before both teams traded runs to make it 5-5. In the bottom of the eleventh Collin Henderson singled and a poor throw from center field allowed William Johnson to score, giving St. John’s the win. Johnson was 4/4 with three runs and two steals on the afternoon.

• GAME TWO was a Shamrock smash-&-grab. They scored eight times over the first two innings, and that was more than enough in a 12-6 victory. Three walks and half a dozen errors by St. John’s helped the visitors.

• It was back to tightly-played base ball in GAME THREE. The score was 5-4 to Shamrock after three innings. After scoreless middle innings Shamrock answered a St. John’s run in the seventh with two of their own, and the extra run was needed as St. John’s scored one in the ninth and left a runner on third as Shamrock escaped with a 7-6 win.

• GAME FOUR was another nailbiter. St. John’s came to the plate in the sixth down 3-1 and scored four times to make it 5-3 to their favor. Shamrock scored in the eighth to pull to within a run, but St. John’s scored in the ninth to move back up by two. Once again, the insurance run was needed as Shamrock scored in the ninth and had the tying run on when they were put out – St. John’s won 6-5.

• GAME FIVE was incredible straight from the first pitch. St. John’s led 6-5 after the first two innings, and from there the teams sporadically traded runs until it was 8-7 going into the ninth. Shamrock came up to bat, and against the mightiest team in the early history of the N.B.B.O. they plated three runs thanks to a pair of run-scoring singles and a passed ball to take a 10-8 lead. Konrad Jensen tripled & scored in the bottom half, but then Gus Staley grounded out, the game ended 10-9, and incredibly Shamrock was moving on to the Tucker-Wheaton Cup series.

The drama of going through two five-game series for Shamrock – six games decided by one run, multiple games decided in the ninth inning or later – proved to be too much as Shamrock fell flat after winning Game One of the Tucker-Wheaton Cup. They were outscored 32-11 over the final three games and they had to settle for being unlikely N.E.L. champions.

The debate for Batsman of the Year was over two men: Batting Champion Thomas Maloney of Shamrock and all-around wizard Anderson MacGyver of St. John’s. Maloney was the only man in the 48-team N.B.B.O. to hit over .400 in 1859 – .401 – but MacGyver led the N.E.L. in eight offensive categories and WAR in addition to finishing third in average, and MacGyver was named B.o.t.Y.

Most Valuable Player made for an interesting discussion. Would MacGyver pull off a “double” like Albert Jones in the N.Y.L. last year? Or would it go to another St. John’s star, such as 20-year-old wonderkid Konrad Jensen? What about 25-game winner John McGowan? With writers unsure which of St. Johns’ many stars to give the award to, that left an opening for Susquehanna’s 22-year-old star center fielder Willie Davis, who finished top-five in nine offensive categories and first in WPA. Davis snuck through and won the M.V.P. award.

There was zero debate over who should win Newcomer of the Year. There was one first-year across the whole N.B.B.O. who made the All-Star Game and earned a spot in his league’s Team of the Year. That man was Merrimack Mills third baseman Hawk Peterson, who hit just four points shy of .400 in his first season and was among the league leaders in OPS & RBI.

St. John’s may have been the victim of an incredible upset in the Northeastern League Championship Series, but they were still rewarded with roughly half of the Team of the Year nominations – pitcher John McGowan, first baseman Collin Henderson, second baseman Anderson MacGyver, and 20-year-old right field whiz kid Konrad Jensen. No other team had more than one.

The Northeastern League season was one of contrasts. The big clubs started to really pull away from their smaller brethren, but the most powerful of them fell in the playoffs. A St. John’s star took B.o.t.Y., but small-club players from Merrimack Mills & Susquehanna took home the other two individual awards. It will be interesting to see if there is a pull-back to more parity next season, or if the big clubs pull further away.

NORTHEASTERN LEAGUE STANDINGS





NEW YORK LEAGUE PLAYOFFS

SEMI-FINALS: #2 Shamrock B.C. defeats #3 Alleghany B.C. 3-2

• GAME 1: ALL 2-12 SHA – P.o.t.G.: T. Maloney (OF, SHA) – 4/5, 2B, 3 R, 2 RBI, SB
• GAME 2: ALL 1-5 SHA – P.o.t.G.: O. McLoughlin (P, SHA) – CG, 6 H, 1 R/ER, 2 K, 110 PIT
• GAME 3: SHA 6-7 ALL – P.o.t.G.: G. Blair (OF, ALL) – 3/5, 2 R
• GAME 4: SHA 4-8 ALL – P.o.t.G.: H. Fowler (1B, ALL) – 3/4, 2B, 4 RBI
• GAME 5: ALL 9-10 SHA – P.o.t.G.: M. Eckhart (OF, ALL) – 5/5, 2B, 2 R, RBI, SB
• M.V.P.: Thomas Maloney (OF, SHA) – 11/21 (.524), 3 2B, 4 R, 6 RBI, 1 SB
• NOTABLE: Shamrock won the series with a walk-off single by Thomas Silke (C) in Game 5

LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP: #2 Shamrock B.C. defeats #1 St. John’s B.C. 3-2

• GAME 1: SHA 5-6 STJ (11 inn.) – P.o.t.G.: W. Johnson (OF, STJ) – 4/4, 3 R, BB, 2 SB
• GAME 2: SHA 12-6 STJ – P.o.t.G.: M. McMahon (1B, SHA) – 2/4, 2 R, RBI, BB
• GAME 3: STJ 6-7 SHA – P.o.t.G.: A. MacGyver (2B, STJ) – 3/4, 3 R, BB, SB
• GAME 4: STJ 6-5 SHA – P.o.t.G.: K. Jensen (OF, STJ) – 2/4, R, RBI, 2 SB, OF AST
• GAME 5: SHA 10-9 STJ – P.o.t.G.: W. Johnson (OF, STJ) – 3/5, 3 R, 3 RBI, SB
• M.V.P.: Angus O’Connor (OF, SHA) – 10/23 (.435), 2 2B, 5 R, 4 RBI, 2 SB
• NOTABLE: 4/5 games decided by one run; 3/5 games decided in 9th inning or later
• NOTABLE: Shamrock won series with three runs in the top of the ninth of Game Five

TUCKER-WHEATON CUP: Shamrock B.C. defeated by Orange B.B.C. (N.Y.L.) 3-1

• Shamrock outscored 32-11 after winning Game One

NORTHEASTERN LEAGUE AWARD WINNERS

BATSMAN OF THE YEAR: Anderson MacGyver – 25 y/o Second Baseman, St. John’s Baseball Club

• .395/.439/.529, .968 OPS, 106 R, 130 H, 31 2B, 5 3B, 1 HR, 73 RBI, 33 SB, 174 TB, 5.6 WPA, 4.3 WAR
• Led Northeastern League in OBP, SLG, OPS, R, H, 2B, XBH, TB, & WAR; 3rd in AVG
• Thomas Maloney (SHA: .401, 21 XBH, 66 RBI, 37 SB) 2nd, Hawk Peterson (M.M.: .396, 29 XBH, 63 EBI, 23 SB) 3rd

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Willie Davis – 22 y/o Center Fielder, Susquehanna Baseball Club

• .394/.435/.521, .956 OPS, 83 R, 124 H, 27 2B, 5 3B, 1 HR, 57 RBI, 43 SB, 164 TB, 5.7 WPA, 3.9 WAR
• Top-five in Northeastern League in AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS, H, 2B, XBH, SB, WPA, & WAR
• Thomas Maloney (SHA: .401, 66 RBI, 5.5 WPA, 3.0 WAR) 2nd, Anderson MacGyver (STJ: .395, 73 RBI, 5.6 WPA, 4.3 WAR) 3rd

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Hawk Peterson – 23 y/o 3B, Merrimack Mills Baseball Club

• .396/.435/.505, .940 OPS, 63 R, 124 H, 25 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 63 RBI, 23 SB, 158 TB, 3.1 WPA, 3.2 WAR
• Only newcomer in the Northeastern League to make the All-Star Game or Team of the Year
• William Jones (M.M.: 21-11, 3.26, 290 IP, 5.0 WAR) 2nd, Matteus Svensson (REA: 20-10, 3.41, 282.1, 3.2 WAR) 3rd

GOLDEN GLOVES

P: Joseph Jefferson (L.E.) – 58 TC, 2 E, 2.0 RNG, +5.0 ZR, 1.087 EFF
C: Jimmy Rearson (T.U.) – 80 PB, 14.2 CS%, 3.12 CERA, +15.3 ZR, 1.093 EFF
1B: Frank Krillenberger (T.U.) – 836 TC, 17 E, +4.5 ZR, 1.059 EFF
2B: Willard Krone (P.J.) – 456 TC, 179 PO, 255 AST, 26 DP, 22 E, 6.4 RNG, +20.2 ZR, 1.187 EFF
3B: Birk Jorgensen (SUS) – 253 TC, 41 PO, 189 AST, 9 DP, 23 E, 3.4 RNG, +10.1 ZR, 1.119 EFF
SS: Anthony Mascherino (G.M.) – 491 TC, 101 PO, 324 AST, 36 DP, 66 E, 6.1 RNG, +24.8 ZR, 1.178 EFF
OF: William Johnson (STJ) – 204 TC, 7 AST, 3 DP, 14 E, 2.9 RNG, +5.3 ZR, 1.047 EFF
CF: Raleigh Altstadt (SPO) – 306 TC, 8 AST, 1 DP, 43 E, 3.8 RNG, +7.2 ZR, 1.042 EFF
OF: Leslie Wolf (REA) – 225 TC, 4 AST, 0 DP, 34 E, 2.8 RNG, +7.3 ZR, 1.074 EFF

TEAM OF THE YEAR

P: John McGowan (STJ) - 25-8, 2.78, 297.1 IP, 27 CG, 0 SHO, 38 BB, 36 K, 1.29 WHIP, 5.7 WAR/6.9 R9-WAR
C: Roy Jacobson (SCR) - .366/.396/.446, 46 R, 109 H, 16 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 57 RBI, 3 SB, 3.5 WPA, 2.2 WAR
1B: Collin Henderson (STJ) - .360/.407/.439, 78 R, 113 H, 13 2B, 6 3B, 0 HR, 63 RBI, 22 SB, 3.0 WPA, 2.4 WAR
2B: Anderson MacGyver (STJ) - .395/.439/.529, .968 OPS, 106 R, 130 H, 31 2B, 5 3B, 1 HR, 73 RBI, 33 SB, 174 TB, 5.6 WPA, 4.3 WAR, B.o.t.Y.
3B: Hawk Peterson (M.M.) - .396/.435/.505, 63 R, 124 H, 25 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 63 RBI, 23 SB, 3.1 WPA, 3.2 WAR
SS: Anthony Mascherino (G.M.) - .337/.362/.774, 61 R, 106 H, 24 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 49 RBI, 23 SB, 2.9 WPA, 3.8 WAR, G.G.
OF: Thomas Maloney (SHA) - .401/.430/.476, 71 R, 124 H, 19 2B, 2 3B, 0 HR, 66 RBI, 37 SB, 5.5 WPA, 2.9 WAR
CF: Willie Davis (SUS) - .394/.435/.521, 83 R, 124 H, 27 2B, 5 3B, 1 HR, 57 RBI, 43 SB, 5.7 WPA, 3.9 WAR, M.V.P.
OF: Konrad Jensen (STJ) - .359/.407/.436, 90 R, 117 H, 15 2B, 5 3B, 0 HR, 74 RBI, 62 SB, 4.9 WPA, 3.3 WAR
MGR: Jimmy Longstreet (SHA) - 46-24; Shamrock seven wins above predictions; upset St. John’s in N.E.L.C.S.