Like many other years before, the offseason was a busy one for Ephraim. Work was busy, with the addition of new teams and speaking to other schools about their interest in having their baseball program join the CBA. The Association had grown from 14 original teams to 22. Ephraim had planned trips to Wofford College and Nebraska later in the season. Four more were joining after this season, with more and more planning on joining in the not too distant future. Home life was busy as well for Ephraim, as he and Irene tried to corral six children. The twins were getting ready to turn a year old in a couple of months and were getting mobile. Ephraim liked to describe his home life as "organized chaos."
With thoughts of family on his mind, Ephraim started going through the statistics of he and his brothers' performance in the CBA. At this past year's Christmas dinner, young Stephen started bragging about how he was going to be the best player of them all. Stephen had chosen to go to play for Nebraska as a relief pitcher. As he looked through the stats, Ephraim reflected on his playing years at Rutgers. He was a late bloomer, and struggled to get playing time until he started at second base in his senior year. But he made the most of it, finishing second in the All-CBA voting for his position after hitting .314. James Jr. was the most gifted of all the Herring brothers. He was a relief pitcher for Harvard from 1877-1880. He only appeared in 21 games over his four years, but he made the most of them. James only allowed three earned runs in his career, and all of them were in his freshman year. James finished his collegiate career with a 5-4 record, with a 0.68 ERA, and four saves. Thomas played center field for Cornell from 1879-1882. He was used sparingly and struggled to get playing time. Thomas finished his career with a batting average of .197. And finally, there was John, who played as a starting pitcher for Villanova from 1886-1889. John had winning records in his last two years, but finished with a career mark of 27-29, with a 3.71 ERA in 61 games.
The sportswriters had made their picks for the upcoming season, picking Harvard, Princeton, Bucknell, Mississippi State, and Michigan State to win their respective regions.
The first month of the season was pitcher dominated, as hurlers pitched shutout after shutout. By the end of the month, it appeared as though the sportswriters were right, as all of the favorites played like it. Freshman center fielder George Davis of Cornell was named Rookie of the Month. Davis hit .351, with three home runs and 12 RBI. Pitcher of the Month honors were given to Michigan State junior Scott Stratton, who put together a record of 7-0 in seven starts. Stratton's ERA for March was 1.86. Batter of the Month was given to Harvard senior right fielder Mike Tiernan, who hit .359 in March. Tiernan also hit a home run and had 16 RBI.
