James pulled into the train station in Syracuse and met with Syracuse University President Jeremy Kehoe. Syracuse was a fairly good sized city, with the population at 43,051. The main industry for the region were salt mines, which were primary south of town. As the two men traveled to the campus, Kehoe told James about the history of the university.
"We initially tried to get Ezra Cornell to build a university here in Syracuse back in 1865, but he'd have nothing to do with it," Kehoe said. "So he built Cornell over in Ithaca. Come to find out, he did work in Syracuse years ago as a carpenter and was robbed of his wages....twice!!" Kehoe exclaimed.
"You're kidding me," James replied.
"No. And I can't say I blame the man for resenting this city. I'd probably have felt the same way if it had happened to me," Kehoe proclaimed. "So, Mr. Herring, we just built Syracuse University last year, in 1870. This is our first year and we're proud to be a part of this association, especially as a new school."
The two men arrived at Orange Ballpark, which held 1700 people. The field was fairly large, with center being 434 feet from home plate and 413 and 411 feet deep in the left and right power alleys. Down the lines, the field was closer to average, measuring 336 feet to left and 328 feet to right. James met with Athletic Director Corey Williams. Williams told James that the team was averaging just over 1100 people per game, but near capacity crowds were coming in as of late. The team was currently 25-21 and 1 1/2 games back of Princeton in the Northeast Region. Syracuse was also 1 1/2 games out of the wild card.
"We're playing Columbia University today, Mr. Herring. Got a double header, since we have to make up a game from earlier in the year." Williams stated. "We're 3-1 against your home town team." Williams joked, hoping to provoke a reaction from James.
"They've definitely had a tough season." James replied, smiling. Columbia was currently 17-29 and in last place in the region.
James also met with Manager John Flick, who told James about his young third baseman, John Baker. "John is hitting .353 this season. He's a solid young player and I think we'll see some great things from him over the next couple of years."
The first game of the day was in the early afternoon. The weather was beautiful, with the temperature at 66 degrees. The wind was blowing pretty well out to right, though. James wondered if it would have an impact on the game. 1663 people came to see the game, much to James' delight. He was happy to see the attendance at the games continue to be at near capacity. It would keep the university and college presidents off of his case, at least for the time being. Syracuse started the game out with a bang. The first batter, senior shortstop Mike "Big Kahuna" Cunning, hit the ball over the fence in left to lead off the game. By the end of the 1st inning, Syracuse led 4-0 and never looked back. The Orange ended up winning the game by a final of 13-3.
By the time the second game of the double header started, the temperatures had begun to drop. When the game started, it was 48 degrees and the wind had died down a bit, now blowing gently from left to right. 1669 people were on had to watch the game. Some had stayed from the first game, while others were new in the crowd. Columbia came out swinging to start the game and led 4-0 after the top of the 1st. The Lions still held the lead, 5-4, after three innings. But Syracuse plated five runs in the bottom of the 4th inning to take a 9-5 lead they would not relinquish, eventually winning the game 10-7.
James left the following day, eager to return home to his wife and kids. His next, and last, trip through the association wasn't for another week and a half. James had learned that Princeton had lost their game, meaning Syracuse was now tied with them for the lead in the Northeast Region. With 48 of 60 games played, the finish to the regular season was shaping up to be an exciting one.