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TOWNSEND HIRED AS TIGER FIELD MANAGER
LEGENDARY OUTFIELDER HAD RETIRED JUST WEEKS AGO; QUICKLY BECOMES MGR. AT HIGHEST LEVEL

PHILADELPHIA, PENN. (Oct. 4, 1880) - When legendary former St. John’s outfielder Nelson Townsend retired during the middle of September, it was presumed that he would go into coaching or management somewhere in New England after spending his entire playing career in Rhode Island. That will not be the case.

In a bit of a shock announcement, Tiger Social Club sent around telegrams this morning stating that Townsend will go directly from playing to managing at the highest level, for after a surprise offer Tiger has hired Townsend to be their new Field Manager on a four-year contract.

Tiger’s previous Field Manager was Arthur Waltrip, himself a 6x All-Star and 1x M.V.P. during his playing days, who was fired after the end of the regular season because of the team’s regression from 1879 to 1880. Waltrip was a conventional Field Manager whose in-game strategies stuck directly to the current norms of baseball, and he favored pitching & defense over speed & run production. In hiring Townsend it would appear that Tiger is going in a vastly different direction, because Townsend himself has stated that he wants to manage on the field like the man who guided his career: Todd Rogers.

What the above would mean is that Tiger can expect Townsend to be a tactically-minded field general who will demand that his players be patient at the plate, aggressive on the basepaths, and look for any opportunity to move players around the bases via Bunts, Sacrifices, or Hit & Run plays. It would also mean that Townsend will look for Offense, Speed, and the ability to get on base to be the team’s strengths going forward.

It will be interesting to see what kind of success another A.P.B.L. team has playing with the St. John’s philosophy on the field. In nothing else, there won’t be any dull games at the Broad Street Diamond next year.