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THE 1879 NATIONAL BASE BALL ORGANIZATION PREVIEW

NORTHEAST U.S.A. (May 14, 1879) – Another May, and another new season for the competition that started it all: the National Base Ball Organization.

Last season saw a rematch in both League Championship Series as well as the Tucker-Wheaton Cup final. However, while both L.C.S. had the same outcome as the year before the T.W.C. final didn’t, as New York Athletic Club overturned 1877’s Game Five defeat with a comeback to win Game Five at Susquehanna and lift the cup for the first time.

This season, all 48 teams return to compete for the cup as no new leagues sprouted up over the winter, and hopefully that means some change is in store for the N.B.B.O.’s six regional championships.

In New York, Continental and their five-star pitching duo are finally expected to give Atlantic a serious chase for the Brooklyn pennant. In New York City, cup champs N.Y.A.C. and Union of Morrisania are expected to go 1-2 again, but after a number of down years 1860 pennant winners Mutual has the potential to finish in the top three. Upstate, the Writers Pool seems to think that Syracuse has what it takes to rebound from a worst-ever finish of 7th to vault all the way back up to the top of the standings and make the playoffs.

In the Northeast, it appears as though Philadelphia Baseball & Cricket Club is ready to give the three established clubs – Maryland, National, & Trenton United – a battle for the Coastal Championship. Inland, the Writers Pool is of the opinion that this will be the year Lancastra Britannia passes the mighty Susquehanna and takes their first pennant. Portland is favored to finish atop New England yet again, but it’s expected to be no easy march to the playoffs as at least three other teams are projected to finish within a handful of games.

With the N.B.B.O. ready to begin its 23rd season of play, it’s time to play ball!

N.B.B.O. PROJECTED FINISH & ANALYSIS

BROOKLYN CHAMPIONSHIP

• Favorites: Atlantic at 45-25 (+180 RD)
• Continental 3 GB, Eckford 7 GB
• Empire 14 GB, Bedford 15 GB, Marathon 16 GB, Nassau Co. 17 GB, Star 20 GB

The team with the deepest pockets in Brooklyn is expected to take the pennant for the sixth time this decade thanks to excellent offense led by Ben Gagliardi & Herb Verrett. However, Continental, with their five-star pitching and 4.5* Greenhorn Michael Akhverdov at RF, appears ready to try and break Atlantic’s grip on it. Eckford, as always, will be lurking and ready to pounce if the other two slip up.

NEW YORK CITY CHAMPIONSHIP

• Favorites: New York Athletic Club at 46-24 (+145 RD)
• Union 5 GB, Mutual 9 GB
• Baltic 11 GB, Hilltop 12 GB, Mercury 15 GB, Metro 16 GB, Harlem 17 GB

No surprise – the cup champs should repeat in N.Y.C. after bringing back nearly everybody. Their only question comes at SS after they lost 2x All-Star Peter James to the P.C.B.L. Union lost 5x All-Star P Edward Koch to the C.B.C. and longtime CF Nick Hardingham to Nassau Co., and while that will hurt them they did bring in some quality Greenhorns during the winter. Mutual has some good players, most notably 3B Ellis Terrien, and could be competitive.

UPSTATE NEW YORK CHAMPIONSHIP

• Favorites: Syracuse at 47-23 (+140 RD)
• Utica 6 GB, Minuteman 7 GB
• Eagle 10 GB, Frontier 13 GB, Victory 15 GB, Columbia 20 GB, Binghamton 22 GB

Syracuse has a quality lineup with multiple All-Stars and a very good #1 – Jacob Wesolowski – and that makes them the favorites after last year’s worst-ever finish. Utica lost 3B Fox Ellis (Hilltop) & SS Ed Davis (Empire), but William Ioffe came in from the A.P.B.L. (Newark) to man 3B and Henry Smith could be an outstanding Greenhorn at SS. Defending champs Minuteman are weak at C & 1B due to departures, and thus they’re unlikely to repeat as Upstate victors.

COASTAL CHAMPIONSHIP

• • Favorites: Philadelphia Baseball & Cricket Club at 43-27 (+150 RD)
• National 2 GB, Maryland 3 GB, Bunker Hill 6 GB
• Trenton Utd. 11 GB, Lord Baltimore 12 GB, Brighton 13 GB, Diamond St. 15 GB

P.B.C.C. lost a couple of regulars over the winter, but they enter 1879 with reigning B.o.t.Y. Leroy Moore, and they rank top-ten at C, 1B, 2B, 3B, & CF while ranking worse than 20th/48 only at SS. They’re ready to do damage in the Coastal. National returns their stars, and they could easily repeat if 24 y/o 2B Chester Dudek has a breakout season. Maryland has outstanding hitting at all the corner spots – 1B, 3B, LF, & RF – and strikeout king Earl Quinn at P. Bunker Hill has the potential to be a major surprise after a number of winter signings, including 4.0* Greenhorn Oliver Johnson at 3B.

INLAND CHAMPIONSHIP

• Favorites: Lancastra Britannia at 53-17 (+215 RD)
• Susquehanna 4 GB
• Squirrel Hill 16 GB, Pioneer 19 GB, Reading A.C. 20 GB, Merrimack M. 22 GB, Scranton 30 GB, Lake Erie 31 GB

The Writers Pool thinks this is the year Lancastra snatches the pennant from Susquehanna. They have the N.E.L.’s reigning M.V.P. in Lennon Haley, two outstanding Outfielders, Robert Basalyga & William White, and steady pitching. HOWEVER, Susquehanna still has the league’s most balanced lineup – top ten at SS, LF, CF, & P and no worse than 15th/48 at any position except RF. For Lancastra to finish 1st it will likely take another M.V.P. effort from Haley and 3-4 other All-Star seasons.

NEW ENGLAND CHAMPIONSHIP

• Favorites: Portland at 42-28 (+105 RD)
• S.o.t.O. 1 GB, Quinnipiac 2 GB, Green Mtn. 6 GB, Salem 8 GB
• Granite 11 GB, Cantabrigians 13 GB, Oceanic 14 GB

Portland is expected to win yet another pennant, but anticipation is that they’ll need to fight hard to take it as they have major weaknesses at C & CF. S.o.t.O. is light on bats outside of the trio of Hal Brinks, Jesse Craig, & Peter Huff, but they prefer to rely on defense in the extremely spacious New Bedford Commons. Quinnipiac has a decent lineup but more importantly two very good Pitchers in Vilhelm Adriansen & Tom Hauser. Green Mtn. will be led, as always, by 6x All-Star C Bertrand Bosley. Salem has 4-5 quality batsmen, but weaknesses at 3B, CF, & RF will drag them down.

PLAYOFFS

• New York League champions: New York Athletic Club
• Northeastern League champions: Lancastra Britannia
• Tucker-Wheaton Cup champions: New York Athletic Club

It’s extremely hard to argue against N.Y.A.C. and its pitching, given that over the past two seasons they’ve played ten games against Susquehanna, the N.B.B.O.’s team of the decade so far, in the Tucker-Wheaton Cup final.

N.B.B.O. AWARD FAVORITES

N.Y.L. Batsman of the Year: Chester Alexander (1B, Syracuse)
N.E.L. Batsman of the Year: Leroy Moore (CF, P.B.C.C.)
N.Y.L. Pitcher of the Year: Charles Rhodes (N.Y.A.C.)
N.E.L. Pitcher of the Year: Earl Quinn (Maryland)
N.Y.L. Most Valuable Player: Ben Gagliardi (SS, Atlantic)
N.E.L. Most Valuable Player: Lennon Haley (2B, Lancastra)
N.Y.L. Greenhorn of the Year: Michael Akhverdov (RF, Continental)
N.E.L. Greenhorn of the Year: V.O. Papenfuss (2B, Squirrel Hill)

N.B.B.O. TEAM OF THE YEAR FAVORITES

NEW YORK LEAGUE – P: Charles Rhodes (N.Y.A.C.), C: Robert Borut (Eckford), 1B: Chester Alexander (Syracuse), 2B: Jemke v. Zutphen (Star), 3B: William Rockford (Frontier), SS: Jules Thomas (Minuteman), OF: Francis Smith (Metro), OF: Manuel Romeiras (N.Y.A.C.), OF: Herb Verrett (Atlantic)

NORTHEASTERN LEAGUE – P: John Faulkner (Lancastra), C: Bertrand Bosley (Green Mtn.), 1B: Jesse Craig (S.o.t.O.), 2B: Lennon Haley (Lancastra), 3B: James Kinney (National), SS: Earl Seals (Trenton Utd.), OF: Walter Little (National), OF: Leroy Moore (P.B.C.C.), OF: John Schultz (Susquehanna)

MOST TALENTED GREENHORNS (by position)

P1: William Burrow (PBCC, age 24, 5.0/5.0*), P2: Harmon Dunlap (MARA, age 24, 4.5/5.0*) C: Joseph Sullivan (BRI, age 23, 4.5/5.0*), 1B: Elias Martin (SQH, age 24, 2.5/2.5*), 2B: V.O. Papenfuss (SQH, age 24, 4.0/4.0*), 3B: Oliver Johnson (BH, age 24, 4.0/4.0*), SS: Henry Smith (UTI, age 27, 4.0/4.0*), OF: Michael Akhverdov (CON, age 28, 4.5/4.5*), OF: James Bartell (LBA, age 23, 3.0/4.5*), OF: Franklin Painter (GM, age 25, 3.0/3.0*)

MOST TALENTED RESERVE PROSPECTS (by position)

P1: Hamilton Wiggins (MLD, age 21, 2.0/5.0*), P2: Edward King (BH, age 21, 2.5/5.0*), C: George Wittrock (MIN, age 21, 2.0/5.0*), 1B: Anthony Johnson (EAG, age 19, 2.0/4.5*), 2B: Daniel Buchanan (SAL, age 22, 2.5/3.5*), 3B: William Winship (SAL, age 22, 2.5/4.0*), SS: James Lamb (SCR, age 21, 2.0/3.0*), OF: Francis Edwards (QUI, age 21, 2.5/5.0*), OF: John Hassell (HILL, age 21, 2.0/5.0*), OF: John Robbins (GM, age 21, 2.0/4.0*)