The Grand Ole Game

[Buster Cherry]

The Troy Haymakers were located in Troy NY not Michigan in case you'd like to be more exact.

[Nick Soulis]

Originally Posted by Buster Cherry

The Troy Haymakers were located in Troy NY not Michigan in case you'd like to be more exact.

Thats what happens when you dont do your research!

Thanks

[Syd Thrift]

Heh, I wonder.... *does* McVey’s swing result in a lot of line drives? Because I know Meyerle was one of those guys who excelled at the fair-foul hit, where you hit a little nubber down one of the lines so that it initially lands in fair territory but then bounds away into foul territory. Before I think 1876 these were legal plays - undoubtedly boring to watch, but legal.

[Nick Soulis]

Originally Posted by Syd Thrift

Heh, I wonder.... *does* McVey’s swing result in a lot of line drives? Because I know Meyerle was one of those guys who excelled at the fair-foul hit, where you hit a little nubber down one of the lines so that it initially lands in fair territory but then bounds away into foul territory. Before I think 1876 these were legal plays - undoubtedly boring to watch, but legal.

Good observation. I did not know about Meyerle's abvility to hit the "fair foul" play as it was called. I know Ross Barnes was a master of it, here is an excert from the Barnes player Bio:


As a scientific hitter, Barnes mastered the art of hitting “fair-fouls,” a legal hit during all five years of the NA and the first year of the NL. According to Peter Morris in his ground-breaking study A Game of Inches, Dickey Pearce is credited for having developed the practice in the 1860s."17 Fred Cone, a native Rockford resident who played with Barnes on the Forest Citys, and with the Boston Red Stockings in 1871, provided an excellent description of the fair-foul hit in Baseball Magazine in 1899. “The trick was to cricket the ball with a hard swing so that it would strike fair and bound off into foul territory,” said Cone. “If the ball could be cut hard down near the base line, it would get away from the fielder and roll on for two or three bases.”18 Some researchers have dismissed Barnes’s batting accomplishments, suggesting that he took advantage of a loop-hole. Bill James, for example, argued in theHistorical Baseball Abstract that Barnes is not among the 125 best second basemen in the history of the sport because he was primarily a fair-foul hitter."19

[Nick Soulis]

Baseball Monthly

October 1872

Troy To Face Off Against Washington

For the second consecutive season, the Troy Haymakers have won the National League pennant and unlike last season, will look to complete their efforts with a championships. The Haymakers held off the Brooklyn Atlantic baseball club in what was an all New York state finish; they took the flag by only one single game.

Troy lost to Brooklyn 11-5 on October 15th that left a tie in the standings but the club then won 4 out of 5 games and got some much needed help. The Atlantics actually dropped a game to their Brooklyn rivals the Eckfords on October 25th winning it 17-16. The Eckfords had the worst record in baseball and their win sent shockwaves through the race. With the edge, Troy made no such mistake and closed out the title by defeating the Eckfords 8-7 on October 31.

In the American League, the Washington Olympics ended with the best record in all of baseball with 44 wins and outlasted a surging Philadelphia club for the flag by two games. The side was only 8-7 in October, but had lost only 4 games in a three month span to build a secure enough lead.

Battle Ready To Commence

So the battle for the World Series is ready to commence. It will be a best of seven series with Troy playing the majority of the games at their home field including the opener that is set to be played into November. The big matchup will be on the mound where Al Spalding of Washington who won 28 games will take on Asa Brainard who won 27. Both pitchers have faced eachother already this summer and Washington won 4 of 6 games between them.



They Haymakers however have the post season experience having lost to Boston last year. Troy lost in four games and will be keen not to embarrass themselves of their league when they battle things out this time around.

Other talent to watch will be John Bass of Troy who lead the league with 5 home runs this season and Lip Pike who hit .380 with 57 RBI. For the Olympics Steve King drove in 66 runs while Paul Hines and Davy Force make an excellent infield combination. The series of course is highly anticipated now, as we are guaranteed a new champion in all of the baseball for the grueling season that has come to a close.

Meyerle Wins Batting Title

The coveted batting title and new wrist watch go to Levi Meyerle of the Baltimroe Canaries. Meyerle hit .436 with 122 hits in 60 games while leading the league in OBP, SLG, and OPS. The 23 year old had 70 total RBI in only 60 games.

Ross Barnes lead the league in WAR with 4.4 coming out of Cleveland while finally, after all was said and done, Cal McVey missed his mark to hitting in 50 straight games when he failed to get a hit on the second leg of a double header against Cleveland.

It was 49 straight games for McVey in what is a record and a run that will be remembered as legend for many many seasons to come.