[tm1681]

1861 NORTHEASTERN LEAGUE REVIEW

NORTHEASTERN SEASON SUMMARY

The 1861 Northeastern League Season was another in which the teams were more aggressive and arguably more exciting than their New York counterparts. The league finished the year with the N.B.B.O. leaders in Batting Average, Slugging %, O.P.S., Runs, Hits, Extra-Base Hits, R.B.I., Stolen Bases, W.P.A., W.A.R., and Defensive Zone Rating. In similar fashion, even though two of the three regional championships were won by familiar faces the pennant races in all three were close.

The Coastal Championship was a two-team race at the halfway point, with twin surprises Port Jersey & Trenton United 24 11 and five games in the clear. The two remained tied and five games up on Shamrock going into the final two weeks, but a disastrous 2-8 finish by Port Jersey handed Trenton the pennant. The P.J. finish was so rough that they were pipped to second place by Shamrock on Run Differential.

The Inland Championship looked to be all Allegany at the halfway mark, as they sported an N.B.B.O-best 25-10 record while allowing the fewest runs and having the best defense. However, .500 baseball over the next month saw them slip back into a tie with Reading, and with two weeks left Reading was two games in front. Alleghany righted the ship just in time to win their final seven games, and that combined with Reading’s 3-7 finish saw the Pittsburgh club take Inland by three games.

The New England Championship was three-way chase involving Green Mountain, Sons of the Ocean, & St. John’s for the second year in a row. At the halfway point Green Mtn. & St. John’s were 23-12, with S.o.t.O. two games back. Once again, St. John’s cranked up the late-season form and a month later they were four games in front, eventually winning New England by five over the other two teams.

The Northeastern League Semi-Final favored Alleghany on paper, but in reality it was a five-game nailbiter in which the Inland champs could not relax for a single inning…

• GAME ONE (T.U. 11-8 in 10) – The opener was mundane over the first six innings, with Alleghany exiting ahead 4-3. In the top of the eighth Trenton scored five to go up 8-4 and become likely victors, but in the bottom of the ninth Alleghany plated four to force extra innings. Trenton came up in the tenth and scored three runs thanks to a single and a Wild Pitch, and that earned the visitors the win.

• GAME TWO (ALL 5-0) – A defensive duel in Pittsburgh, the hosts only scored twice over the first seven innings but it did not matter, as pitcher Eddie Morse and defense were cruising to an eventual shutout. Three more runs in the eighth erased all doubt as to whether Alleghany would even the series.

• GAME THREE (ALL 4-3) – Another tight contest, the hosts went ahead with two runs in the first and held the lead until Alleghany scored twice in the sixth to make it a 3-2 game. The visitors scored again in the eighth to make it 4-2, and while Trenton scored once in the eighth they failed to move anyone past second base in the ninth.

• GAME FOUR (T.U. 11-3) – The first three innings were scoreless, but six runs by Trenton United in the bottom of the fourth effectively decided the result. They piled on five more runs, while Alleghany could only manage a few consolation tallies in the late innings.

• GAME FIVE (ALL 8-7) – This was the game that took nails to the quick. With the score level 3-3 after three, Alleghany scored four times in the fourth only for Trenton United to come back with four in the fifth to even the score a 7-7. That was almost the last of the offense in the game. In the bottom of the seventh pinch hitter Chester Phillips came through with a run-scoring single, putting the hosts up 8-7 and making for an incredibly tense final two innings. Trenton put the tying run on first base in the ninth but that was it, and Alleghany was moving on.

With Alleghany having to fight to the end to advance to the N.E.L. Championship Series, many had St. John’s advancing in three or four games. That was not to happen…

• GAME ONE (ALL 8-6 in 10) – Alleghany gave the opener away, and then took it back. The visitors were ahead 5-0 after the top of the sixth, and that was when St. John’s started their comeback. After scoring once in the sixth & seventh, the five-time New England champs scored three in the ninth to force extra innings. Alleghany was able to throw off the nerves and score three in the tenth, and that was enough to take the opener.

• GAME TWO (ALL 12-0) – It has long been thought that the best way to beat St. John’s is to hit them as hard as possible early and force them to play catch-up. Would scoring seven times in the top of the first do that for Alleghany? Absolutely, as St. John’s could muster just five hits in a shocking Game Two loss that put them in the same position they were in last year. This result was Eddie Morse’s second Shutout of the playoffs.

• GAME THREE (STJ 9-2) – Like last year, St. John's came up big after two stunning home losses to start the N.E.L.C.S.. With the scored tied 2-2 heading into the eighth innings, St. John’s scored four runs to take the lead and then added three more in the ninth to keep their season going for another day.

• GAME FOUR (ALL 12-11 in 11) – This game had drama, and plenty of it. St. John’s scored twice in the first & third, but a six-run rally for the hosts in the second followed up by two in the third meant the score was 8-4 to Alleghany after the early innings. St. John’s then scored six times in the middle innings versus just one for Alleghany, and the score was 10-9 going into the high stakes frames. Alleghany scored twice in the eighth to go up 11-10, but a St. John’s double in the top of the ninth evened the score and left the home fans fearful that the men from Providence would find a way to force another Game Five. After two innings of scoreless baseball, Willie Smith came up in the bottom of the eleventh, singled in Charles Smalley, and won the series for Alleghany.

Alleghany was going to the Tucker-Wheaton Cup for the first time, where they would take on the defending cup champions: Kings County. The New York League’s finest had advantages in they played cup baseball last year and it was the N.Y.L. team’s turn to host three of five games, but Alleghany gave K.C. a five-game series in which only one game was a rout. Three of the first four games were decided by one run – Alleghany won Game Two 11-4 – and with Game Five in Brooklyn the Alleghany team was not quite good enough as they lost 5-3 and say K.C. lift the cup for the second year in a row.

Halfway through the season Batsman of the Year was a wide-open race. However, Susquehanna superstar Willie Davis hit .417 after July 1st, leaving him with not only the third-best average in the N.E.L. at .393 but he led the league in Slugging %, O.P.S., Runs, Hits, Doubles, Extra-base Hits, Stolen Bases, and Total Bases. There was no question who the B.o.t.Y. was: it was Davis for the second year in a row. Konrad Jenson of St. John’s, who hit .393 and stole 50 bases, finished second. N.E.L. Batting Champion Lester Chadwick of Mass. Bay, who hit .404, finished third.

The Most Valuable Player vote was between three stars. First was Davis, clearly the best player in the sport now. Second was Green Mountain infield wizard Anthony Mascherino – last year’s M.V.P. who improved his batting, had a Zone Rating over +30 once again, and set a record with 5.8 W.A.R. The other main candidate was Sons of the Ocean third baseman, who easily led the league with a 5.3 W.P.A. while finishing in the top five in Average, On-Base %, Slugging %, O.P.S., Triples, Total Bases, and W.A.R. Who would win? The best player, the best defender, or the star who was also the biggest contributor to victories?

It was an incredibly close vote, but Kessler took home the M.V.P. award, with Mascherino finishing second and Davis third. There were very passionate arguments on all sides, and any one of the three could have justifiably taken home the trophy. Mascherino will likely feel the most aggrieved as he had his best season yet, but one has the feeling that the 22-year-old will become even better in upcoming seasons.

When it came time to decide Newcomer of the Year there were plenty of quality batsman candidates (1+ WAR): Golden Glove defender Leslie Arnett (2B, M.M.), Silvestro Masci (CF, M.M.), Henry Konrad (2B, PORT), Fredo Eccelino (LF, NEW), William Booth (3B, OCE), Ed Bienstock (2B, OCE), Cesar Thyregood (SS, Q.S.), Albert Brock (SS, S.o.t.O.), & Damiano Pierotti (CF, P.J).

However, it was a pair of pitchers that was the center of discussion. One was Bengt Laudrup of Merrimack Mills, who won his last eight starts to finish 21-12 with a 2.84 E.R.A. and 5.2 W.A.R. The other was Trenton United’s Alistair Richardson, who was 21-12 with a 3.32 E.R.A. and 4.0 W.A.R. Laudrup had the better numbers, but Richardson was the only one to be named to the All-Star Game and the only one to pitch in the playoffs. That earned him N.o.t.Y., with Laudrup and Merrimack teammate Arnett taking the other two finalist places.

There were two N.E.L. batsmen who had six hits in a game this season: Oceanic’s William Booth (July 25th vs St. John’s) and Willie Davis (August 3rd vs Sportsman’s). However, the Performance of the Season goes to Newark newcomer Fredo Eccelino, who was 4/5 with a double, home run, five runs, five R.B.I., and a stolen base in Newark’s 25-6 win at Quaker State on May 17th. His 108 Game Score was the highest for any performance in an N.B.B.O. game this season.

Looking ahead, St. John’s has now lost twice in the N.E.L. Championship Series. However, this year’s loss to Alleghany did not feel like a massive upset. If the rest of the N.E.L. has finally figured out how to deal with St. John’s in a playoff situation, then the Northeastern League will be a wide-open competition going forward.

NORTHEASTERN LEAGUE STANDINGS





NORTHEASTERN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS

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

• Game 1: 11-8 ALL (10 Inn.) – P.o.t.G: Edward Naughton (LF, T.U.); 3/5, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB
• Game 2: T.U. 0-5 ALL – P.o.t.G: Eddie Morse (P, ALL); CG, 5 H, 1 BB, 1 K; 4/4, 1 RBI
• Game 3: ALL 4-3 T.U. – P.o.t.G: Milton Eckhart (LF, ALL); 3/4, 1 R, 1 RBI
• Game 3: ALL 2-11 T.U. – P.o.t.G: Edward Naughton (LF, T.U.); 3/3, 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 BB
• Game 3: T.U. 7-8 ALL – P.o.t.G: Henry Fowler (1B, ALL); 4/4, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI
• M.V.P.: Henry Fowler (1B, ALL) – 11/22 (.500), 2 2B, 7 R, 4 RBI, 3 BB, 1 SB
• NOTABLE: Alleghany took Game Five lead via Chester Phillips single in the bottom of the 7th

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

• Game 1: ALL 8-6 STJ (10 Inn.) – P.o.t.G: Milton Eckhart (LF, ALL); 4/5, 2B, 2 R, 1 RBI
• Game 2: ALL 12-0 STJ – P.o.t.G: Eddie Morse (P, ALL); CG, 5 H, 1 BB; 1/5, 2B, 1 RBI, 1 SB
• Game 3: STJ 9-2 ALL – P.o.t.G: Collin Henderson (1B, STJ); 3/5, 2 R, 4 RBI
• Game 4: STJ 11-12 ALL (11 Inn.) – P.o.t.G: Willie Smith (2B, ALL); 3/7, 2B, 1 R, 4 RBI
• M.V.P.: Milton Eckhart (LF, ALL) – 8/19 (.421), 1 2B, 5 R, 3 RBI, 1 SB
• NOTABLE: Alleghany won series via Willie Smith single in the bottom of the 11th of Game Four

TUCKER-WHEATON CUP: Alleghany B.C. defeated by Kings County B.B.C. (N.Y.L.) 3-2

• Three of first four games decided by one run, Game Five decided by two
• Henry Skolnik (10/17, .588) had the highest Batting Average of any T.W.C. player
• Joe Blake (10/21, 1 HR, 6 RBI) hit the T.W.C’s only Home Run and led all players in R.B.I.

NEW YORK LEAGUE AWARD WINNERS

BATSMAN OF THE YEAR: Willie Davis – 24 y/o CF, Susquehanna Baseball Club

• .393/.432/.537, .969 OPS, 96 R, 129 H, 29 2B, 6 3B, 2 HR, 42 RBI, 63 SB, 176 TB, 4.9 WPA, 4.5 WAR
• Led Northeastern League in SLG, OPS, R, H, 2B, XBH, SB, & TB; #3 in AVG
• Won Batsman of the Year for the second consecutive season
• Konrad Jensen (STJ: .394, 63 RBI, 50 SB, 4.0 WAR) 2nd, Lester Chadwick (M.B: .404, 21 XBH, 40 RBI, 2.3 WAR) 3rd

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Samuel Kessler – 25 y/o 3B, Sons of the Ocean

• .389/.438/.518, .956 OPS, 85 R, 117 H, 19 2B, 10 3B, 0 HR, 48 RBI, 19 SB, 156 TB, 5.3 WPA, 3.7 WAR
• Top five in AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS, 3B, TB, WPA, & WAR
• Anthony Mascherino (G.M.: .383, 31 SB, +33.6 ZR, 5.8 WAR) 2nd, Willie Davis (SUS: .393, 42 RBI, 63 SB, 4.9 WPA) 3rd

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Alistair Richardson – 28 y/o P, Trenton United

• 21-12, 3.32 ERA, 281.2 IP, 35 GS, 22 CG, 4 SHO, 45 BB, 28 K, 1.32 WHIP, 4.0 WAR, 6.1 R9-WAR
• Only first-year pitcher in the N.E.L. to play in both the All-Star Game & the playoffs
• Leslie Arnett (M.M: .333, 42 RBI, +21.6 ZR, 3.3 WAR) 2nd, Bengt Laudrup (M.M: 21-12, 2.84, 1.26 WHIP, 5.2 WAR) 3rd

GOLDEN GLOVES

P: Walter Rose (Q.S.) – 72 TC, 1 DP, 4 E, 2.2 RNG, +7.0 ZR, 1.24 EFF
C: Dag Nielsen (REA) – 116 PB, 31.8 CS%, 3.02 CERA, +10.3 ZR, 1.05 EFF
1B: Milton Stewart (S.o.t.O.) – 580 TC, 47 AST, 20 DP, 15 E, +3.5 ZR, 1.09 EFF
2B: Leslie Arnett (M.M.) – 479 TC, 171 PO, 275 AST, 34 DP, 33 E, 6.7 RNG, +21.6 ZR, 1.19 EFF
3B: Fred Whatley (G.M.) – 276 TC, 47 PO, 213 AST, 14 DP, 16 E, 3.8 RNG, +14.0 ZR, 1.14 EFF
SS: Anthony Mascherino (G.M.) – 466 TC, 120 PO, 298 AST, 26 DP, 48 E, 6.0 RNG, +33.6 ZR, 1.26 EFF
OF: William Johnson (STJ) – 194 TC, 173 PO, 5 AST, 0 DP, 21 E, 2.6 RNG, +7.4 ZR, 1.07 EFF
CF: Willie Davis (SUS) – 336 TC, 296 PO, 8 AST, 4 DP, 32 E, 4.3 RNG, +10.3 ZR, 1.06 EFF
OF: Leslie Wolf (REA) – 235 TC, 201 PO, 8 AST, 1 DP, 26 E, 3.1 RNG, +7.1 ZR, 1.05 EFF

TEAM OF THE YEAR

P: John McGowan (STJ) - 25-10, 2.74 ERA, 305.1 IP, 23 CG, 0 SHO, 49 BB, 38 K, 1.33 WHIP, 5.2 WAR, 6.6 R9-WAR
C: Alistair Hewitt (G.M.) - .382/.403/.474, 59 R, 117 H, 19 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 71 RBI, 5 SB, 4.4 WPA, 2.7 WAR
1B: Frank Krillenberger (T.U.) - .380/.410/.463, 44 R, 109 H, 19 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 64 RBI, 2 SB, 3.7 WPA, 2.3 WAR
2B: Willie Smith (ALL) - .345/.395/.409, 66 R, 102 H, 13 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 53 RBI, 12 SB, 2.3 WPA, 2.1 WAR
3B: Samuel Kessler (S.o.t.O.) - .389/.438/.518, 85 R, 117 H, 19 2B, 10 3B, 0 HR, 48 RBI, 19 SB, 5.3 WPA, 3.7 WAR
SS: Anthony Mascherino (G.M.) - .383/.422/.466, 91 R, 119 H, 21 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 37 RBI, 31 SB, 3.8 WPA, 5.8 WAR
OF: Lester Chadwick (M.B.) - .404/.430/.508, 54 R, 101 H, 17 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 40 RBI, 6 SB, 1.8 WPA, 2.3 WAR
CF: Willie Davis (SUS) - .393/.432/.537, .969 OPS, 96 R, 129 H, 29 2B, 6 3B, 2 HR, 42 RBI, 63 SB, 176 TB, 4.9 WPA, 4.5 WAR
OF: Konrad Jensen (STJ) - .394/.443/.519, 94 R, 123 H, 25 2B, 4 3B, 2 HR, 63 RBI, 50 SB, 3.2 WPA, 4.0 WAR
MGR: Ryan Glover (ALL) - 46-24; Alleghany won 14 more games, went from 6th to 1st in Inland, & won N.E.L. Championship Series