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THE 1880 SEASON BEGINS
For the first time, the National League has a measure of season-to-season stability. Only the Syracuse Stars are gone from last season, replaced by the Ruby Legs from Worcester, Mass., who filled out their roster primarily by taking the former Syracuse players.
On the field, Boston's Big Three finally won a pennant together, and they enter 1880 looking like the league's strongest team again. Chicago looks like the biggest challenger for this season, but the team seems to be aging and may have passed their window of opportunity.
Meanwhile, the Cincinnati Reds are hurting for revenue and have decided to rent out their ballpark to some local semipro teams that play on Sundays and sell beer at their games. These are two of National League founder William Hulbert's strictest prohibitions, so it will be interesting to see how this power struggle ultimately plays out.
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