1871 - Major League Baseball Begins

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March 15th, 1874 - SEASON PREDICTIONS

The new season is almost upon us, so let's take a look at this year's teams.

Baltimore Canaries - Lip Pike and a swarm of other players have abandoned the Canaries, leaving pretty much nothing behind. The team will be going with a 2 man rotation of Asa Brainard and Jack Manning. Brainard pitched 46 innings with a 1.93 ERA, while Manning only pitched a few innings with 12.00 ERA. Oscar Bielaski and Johnny Ryan are good hitters...after that...not much to look at here. The Canaries will struggle.

Boston Red Stockings - Boston picked up outfielders George Hall and Cal McVey from Baltimore, making their lineup the most powerful in the league. Al Spalding returns as the starting pitcher, and the Red Stockings look like they are set to win their 3rd pennant.

Brooklyn Atlantics - Rookie Pitcher Tommy Bond is the Atlantics main hurler, this season. He's a bit of a question mark, along with several other players on the team. There's some good and some bad here, overall these Atlantics look like a .500 club at best.

Chicago White Stockings - In their first year back since the great fire, Chicago looks to actually field a decent team this season. Their infield is excellent, and while the outfield is a bit more suspect, it isn't terrible either. George Zettlein had a mediocre season last year (3.71 ERA), he's going to have to pitch well for this team to compete. Still, they have a shot at finishing the season with a winning record.

Hartford Dark Blues - Lip Pike, and several other .300 plus hitters join the new Hartford Dark Blues, to make up a team that should be competitive right out of the gate. Bill Stearns pitched well last year for the Blue Legs (2.94 ERA). Hartford has a shot at a second or third place finish.

New York Mutuals - New York has a solid lineup and their pitcher is Bobby Mathews. After winning the triple crown in 1872 with a 1.69 ERA, Bobby came back to earth a bit last year as his ERA jumped to 2.92. Still, this is a very good team, and they could challenge Boston for the pennant.

Philadelphia Athletics - The defending champs still have a solid lineup, but aging Dick McBride has seen his ERA rise steadily over 3 seasons. McBride is the key to this team...he needs to find a way to get his ERA in check if the Athletics want a chance to repeat.

Philadelphia White Stockings - With several key players from Baltimore and New York jumping ship to the White Stockings, this looks like the Philly team to beat this season. Here are the new players for the Whites: Candy Cummings (2.93 - BAL), John Radcliff (.366 - BAL), Dave Eggler (.331 - NYM), Tom York (.385 - BAL), Jim Holdsworth (.317 NYM), Bill Craver (.340 - BAL), Nat Hicks (.318 - NYM). Chick Fulmer (.327) and Denny Mack (.267), are the only returning top position players. The pennant might stay in Philly this year, but if it does it will likely be on a different Philly team.

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June 1st, 1874 - Dick McBride has a 1.77 ERA thus far, and the Athletics are leading the way as we head into June. Boston is only a half game back however, and the New York Mutuals are also right in the thick of things. The White Stockings have struggled at the plate and so far several players on the team are trying to find their groove. Starting Pitcher Candy Cummings however, is not the problem as he has a 2.11 ERA.

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July 1st, 1874 - With the collapse of the New York Mutuals, the Athletics and the Red Stockings are the only teams left in the race. Philadelphia has won 13 in a row behind the strong pitching of Dick McBride (1.62 ERA) and an absolutely spectacular lineup. Boston has won 9 out of their last 10 with Al Spalding pitching at superhuman level (1.06 ERA).

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July 10th, 1874 - Jimmy Wood has been out all season, fighting an infection in his right leg that started when he tried to clean a wound with a pocket knife. The infection only worsened, and today doctors had to amputate Jimmy's leg. Though his playing career is over, Jimmy hopes to continue as a manager. He currently is the manager for the Chicago White Stockings.

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July 16th, 1874 - In the middle of their pennant race, the Boston Red Stockings and Philadelphia Athletics have announced they are heading to England to play a set of exhibition games, in order to promote the game of baseball in the UK. This comes at a time when Philly has won 18 games in a row. It remains to be seen how this will impact the rest of the season.

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August 1st, 1874 - The Chicago White Stockings are on fire (too soon?) and have won 6 games in a row. They are the only team thus far that has taken advantage of the Boston/Philadelphia hiatus to England, and they are beating up on the other teams. However, they still have a long, long road to climb to get back into the race.

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September 8th, 1874 - The Philadelphia Athletics defeated Boston as both teams returned from England, marking the Athletics league record 19th win in a row. The teams return to find that both Chicago and the Philadelphia White Stockings have climbed to within striking distance, though they are both still 10+ games behind the red hot Philadelphia Athletics. Here are the current standings.

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September 9th, 1874 - Umpire William McClean testified today that Philadelphia White Stockings right fielder John Radcliff offered him $175 to fix a game. Radcliff was immediately dismissed from the White Stockings.

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September 10, 1874 - It took extra innings and a key hit from Ross Barnes, but the Red Stockings were finally able to cool off Dick McBride and Philadelphia and end their record winning streak at 19 games. Boston is now 4 1/2 games back in the race.

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October 14th, 1874 - Philadelphia defeated Boston 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth, pushing their magic number to 2. Ezra Sutton's 2 out clutch single in the bottom of the ninth really put a damper on Boston's hopes of winning the pennant, as they are now 4 1/5 games back.

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October 17th, 1874 - The Boston Red Stockings lost 3 games in a row, and the Philadelphia Athletics have won the whip pennant. Boston lost to the Philadelphia White Stockings 9-1. "Hats off to the Athletics," said Boston manager Harry Wright, "They put the pressure on all season. When you only lose 5 games...that's hard to compete with."

It's been quite the season for Athletics pitcher Dick McBride. His 1.81 ERA is a marked improvement from last season's 3.32 ERA. Philadelphia's lineup was ferocious this season; the "weak points" in the order were Cap Anson and Wes Fisler, both with .274 batting averages.

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October 30th, 1874 - Here's a look at the 1874 National Association Champions - The Philadelphia Athletics.

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January 1st, 1875 - The National Association is changing once again as we head into the new season. The Baltimore Canaries have folded. It was only just over a year ago that the Canaries were within a few percentiles of winning the pennant...and now they have collapsed. Meanwhile, 6 new teams are joining the league. Here's the list of teams, new and old that will be playing in 1875:

-Boston Red Stockings
-Brooklyn Atlantics
-Chicago White Stockings
-Hartford Dark Blues
-Keokuk Westerns (new)
-New Haven Elm Citys (new)
-New York Mutuals
-Philadelphia Athletics
-Philadelphia Centennials (new)
-Philadelphia White Stockings
-St Louis Brown Stockings (new)
-St Louis Red Stockings (new)
-Washington Nationals (new)

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1875 SEASON PREDICTIONS

Boston Red Stockings - Boston brings practically the same team from last year to opening day. There are few weak spots on the team, however, third baseman Jack Manning batted .164 last year for the defunct Baltimore Canaries. Al Spalding returns after an incredible season last year in which he hurled to the tune of an amazing 1.18 ERA. Boston was foiled last year by the near miraculous season of the Athletics. Barring a repeat of that, the Red Stockings will be playing for the pennant.

Brooklyn Atlantics It's hard to describe just how bad these Atlantics look this season. They are near the bottom of the league at every position, with the exception of Bill Boyd at second base. Not much to look forward to here...the Atlantics are going to be fighting an uphill battle from day one. The best they can hope for is to beat out similar teams in the league and finish in the middle of the pack...and that's doubtful.

Chicago White Stockings Chicago brings a mix of new and returning players, and while they've made several transactions, none of them are that exciting. Most of the real talent on the team are the players from last year. George Zettlein returns after a season in his ERA was a respectable 2.28. The White Stockings will likely finish at or slightly above the .500 mark this year.

Hartford Dark Blues After a disappointed 16-37 season, Hartford has made some key acquisitions that should help them improve their record. Left fielder Tom York arrives from Philadelphia (Whites), and while his average dipped 100 points from the last 2 seasons, he still batted .285 and is a career .349 batter. Doug Allison (catcher) arrives from New York after a .296 campaign. Pitcher Candy Cummings (2.58 ERA) also transferred from the Whites. Hartford has lost Lip Pike to the St. Louis Brown Stockings, but anticipate a bounce back season that should at least see them finish somewhere around the .500 mark.

Keokuk Westerns This is the team that will get beat up by the Atlantics and everyone else. Wally Goldsmith (3B) and his .250 batting average is the high water mark of this Iowa team. The Westerns will be fortunate to win double digits this season.

New Haven Elm Citys Yet another expansion team with little hope of a decent season, although they do look a bit stronger than Keokuk. Jim Tipper (CF) arrives from Hartford after batting .271 last season. Several of the New Haven rookies have moderate potential, however, don't expect this team finish any better than .300.

New York Mutuals It is hard to believe how little support Bobby Mathews (1.96 ERA) received last year from a crew of hitters that did so well in 1873. Here are the key returning players with their 1873 and 1874 batting averages:
Dick Higham (C) .412 to .295
Joe Start (1B) .286 to .237
Candy Nelson (2B) .262 to .250
John Hatfield (LF) .382 to .228
The Mutuals have several new players on the team, but not much to get excited about. This team is perhaps the biggest wild card in the league. If they can hit the way they did in 1873, they could finish in the top 4. Otherwise, it's going to be another rough season.

Philadelphia Athletics The defending champs have all the tools to win a third straight pennant. Key additions are Davy Force (SS/.361) from Chicago, George Hall (LF/.326) from Boston, and Dave Eggler (CF/.272) from the Whites. They've lost third baseman Mike McGeary (.322), and rookie second baseman John Richmond may struggle, but overall the Athletics are solid. Once again it's all going to depend on the arm of Dick McBride. If he can repeat his 1.80 ERA performance from last season, Philadelphia will have a third straight championship parade.

Philadelphia White Stockings The Whites struggled early last season but finished strong to end up with a winning record. Expect the Whites to pick up where they left off and continue to improve this season. Tim Murname, Mike McGeary, and John McMullin arrive from the Athletics, and Levi Meyerle transfers from Chicago. The Whites could challenge the Athletics or the Red Stockings for second place.

Philadelphia Centennials Is there room for a third team in Philly? In a word, no. The lineup is poor, and outfielder George Bechtel will carry the load as the starting pitcher. Frankly, this has disaster written all over it. The Centennials may allow Keokuk to squeak out a few wins.

St. Louis Brown Stockings Lip Pike, Jack Chapman, and a promising rookie pitcher George Bradley may be the only reason for the home fans to make a trip to the ballpark, but at least that talent should set the Brown Stockings apart from several of the other new clubs joining the league this season. The Brown Stockings aren't playing for the pennant, but they could have a .400 to .500 record and be the best of the new kids this season, with the exception of the Washington Nationals.

St. Louis Red Stockings Don't confuse this team with the Boston Red Stockings. They are more like the Keokuk Westerns, and may be competing with the Westerns for last place. There is practically no talent on this team, and it's hard to see how they are going to draw in fans when the other St. Louis team has Lip Pike.

Washington Nationals The Nationals actually have a pretty good team, having collected some very good players from around the league. Herm Doscher leads the batters with his .314 average, arriving from Brooklyn, and Pitcher Bill Stearns had a 1.95 ERA in Hartford last season. Respectable batters up and down the lineup, along with a few wild card rookies could make the Nationals the third or fourth best team in the league.

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May 24th, 1875 - The Philadelphia Centennials were unable to compete with ticket sales of the other 2 Philly teams, though their 5-9 record is probably better than expected. They announced today that they will not be finishing the season. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Athletics are on cruise control with a 17-1 record, their 1 loss coming at the hands of Boston. The Athletics have a staggering run differential of +128.

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June 14th, 1875 - The Keokuk Westerns are folding today with a 6-7 record. The club was unable to get teams to come out to Iowa to play them, and they are the second team to fold this season. Ironically, Keokuk is folding with the best record of the year's new teams.

Meanwhile, the Athletics remain in first place, with Boston lurking only 3 games back. Hartford has been playing surprisingly well this season and is in 3rd place at 6 games back.

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July 4th, 1875 - The St. Louis Red Stockings defeated the Washington Nationals 3-2, but the victory was bittersweet, as both teams announced after the game that they were withdrawing from the League. Only 209 fans showed up to watch the final game for the 2 teams.

Meanwhile, only 4 teams remain as legitimate pennant winners, as Chicago has begun to fade from relevance. Boston has climbed to only a game and a half behind the resilient Athletics.

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August 1st, 1875 - Standings

The race between Philadelphia and Boston is tighter than ever, with Philadelphia having the higher winning percentage, but Boston at +1/2 games due to more games played. Dick McBride (1.44 ERA/32 Wins) and Al Spalding (1.76 ERA/36 Wins) are both having excellent seasons. Though the Whites and the Dark Blues are still in contention, both teams are looked at as after-thoughts right now, as they are 10 1/2 and 11 games back, respectively.

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September 1st, 1875 - Philadelphia and Boston remain in a dogged fight for the 1875 pennant, with Philly clinging to a slight percentage points lead, while Boston is +1/2 games ahead.