The Base Ball Intelligencer, Troy, New York - September 15, 1869:
SEASON RECAP!
The Standings of the Clubs:
Code:
Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10
Cincinnati Red Stockings 17 5 .773 - 16-6 1 9-2 8-3 2-1 2-1 0 W1 7-3
Brooklyn Atlantics 15 7 .682 2.0 17-5 -2 8-3 7-4 0-2 3-3 L2 7-3
Troy Unions 14 8 .636 3.0 12-10 2 7-4 7-4 1-2 5-2 W1 6-4
Washington Olympics 13 9 .591 4.0 14-8 -1 8-3 5-6 1-0 2-2 W4 7-3
Brooklyn Eckfords 12 10 .545 5.0 10-12 2 5-6 7-4 1-1 6-2 W2 5-5
Baltimore Marylands 11 11 .500 6.0 15-7 -4 7-4 4-7 1-0 3-4 L1 6-4
Irvington Club 10 12 .455 7.0 13-9 -3 4-7 6-5 0-0 4-6 L2 3-7
New York Mutuals 10 12 .455 7.0 13-9 -3 4-7 6-5 4-1 4-5 W3 7-3
Philadelphia Athetlics 9 12 .429 7.5 8-13 1 5-6 4-6 2-0 4-2 W1 6-4
Washington Nationals 9 13 .409 8.0 8-14 1 5-6 4-7 0-4 1-5 L1 1-9
Cleveland Forest Citys 8 14 .364 9.0 6-16 2 4-7 4-7 2-2 2-3 L1 4-6
Philadelphia Keystones 4 19 .174 13.5 3-20 1 2-9 2-10 0-1 1-2 L6 1-9
CHAMPIONS: Cincinnati Red Stockings
As expected, the Red Stocking Club was the class of the Association. Some players from other Clubs, baiting the bull, were heard to proclaim that the Red Stocking Club was "over-paid and over-rated." In the end, only half of that statement is even debatable. Over-paid they may be, but the Red Stocking Club is certainly not over-rated, posting the league's best mark with a record of 17-5. Two of their losses came to the team placing second in the rankings, the Atlantic Club of Brooklyn. This led to some discussion among the fashionable followers of the game as to whether the Atlantic Club might be more deserving of the claim as the "champions."
TOP BATSMAN: At the ripe old age of 36 Troy's Ernie Beall had a mammoth season for the Union Club. Beall's batting average of .464 was easily the best in all of Association play, bettering Red Stocking Rit Withers' .375 by nearly 90 percentage points. In the suddenly mercenary world of base ball, Beall - who toiled for the princely sum of 228 dollars this season - should find himself a wealthier man by the time the 1870 season arrives.
TOP CHUCKER: It should come as no surprise that the best hurler in all of the game should come from the club with the strongest record in the game. Robby Buse of the Red Stocking Club of Cincinnati won 17 of his 22 games and allowed the opposition a mere 68 runs, with just 35 of those "earned." Like Beall, Buse is in line for a significant increase in financial compensation. Unlike Beall, Buse had serious competition for his title, as Bunker Theobald of the Maryland Club (1.44 "Earned" Run Average) and T.E. Kane of the Atlantic Club (1.42 ERA) had very strong seasons.
BOTTOM OF THE BARREL: The dubious distinction (accent on the "stink") of finishing at the bottom of the Association belongs to the Keystone Club of Philadelphia. Keystone collectively managed just a .219 batting average. Surprisingly that was not at the bottom of the league as the Forest City, Irvington and National Clubs all had lower marks. The real blame for the shoddy performance can be laid at the feet of hurler Thad Schneck, who made fifteen appearances and posted an incredible average of more than six runs - "earned" - allowed per game. Had Jon Cochran (a mere 2.00 ERA) been able to stay healthy, wealthy & wise, the Keystone club would not have sunk so low.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: For those of a mathematical bent, the Intelligencer is pleased to provide some numbers to chew on. In Association play, the teams collectively batted .234, fifty four basers were tallied and 936 runs were scored. On the pitchers' side, the "earned" run average was a mere 2.29 (considerably ballooned by the putrid 4.25 mark of the Keystone club) with 608 (about two-thirds of the total) runs being "earned" by the pitchers.
"FERROTYPES"
This edition of "Ferrotype" introduces the reader to Aleck "Pep" Mason of Athletic. Pep plays that pivotal defensive position - rover (or shortstop, if you prefer) - with aplomb and ease, and was noted as the top defender at that position for the 1869 campaign. At 31 years of age, Mason is a bit long in the tooth - base ball is after all a young man's game. A native of the Dakota Territory, Mason picked up the game during the late war in the camps of George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac. Quickly mastering the finer points of base ball, Mason remained in the civilized east and joined the Athletic Club of Philadelphia in time for the 1866 campaign. A blacksmith by trade, Mason's strong grip on the bat is no doubt attributable to the years spent wielding the hammer and tongs in his father's forge. For the 1869 campaign, Mason finished second (to Molly Gendron) on the Athletic Club in batting, with a tidy .330 average, proving that he is (nearly) as adept with the club as he is in the field.
ALECK "PEP" MASON