1874 Preview
Baltimore Canaries
Last Season: 23-34 (8th)
Best Finish: 1873 (8th)
Key Players:
SP John Waitt, 0-0, 1.93 ERA (w/ ATL) in 1873
RF Joe Bonetti, .485 avg, 6 gms (w/ MAR)
1B Billy Horace, .330/.347/.420 (w/ RES)
Outlook: Given how poorly the Canaries finished last year, Baltimore fans should be happy to see some new faces come to town to try to help the team improve. There’s some concern, though. Waitt has never been a regular starter for any team, although he did post some promising numbers with the Atlantics the past two seasons. Bonetti has been tremendous in the past, but played only a handful of NA games with the Marylands last year. He’ll need to show that he can hold up that pace over the course of a full season. Horace is the only other real offensive threat, which should worry fans.
Projected Finish: 7th
Boston Red Stockings
Last Season: 36-24 (1st)
Championships: 1873
Key Players:
SP Will Svoboda, 20-15, 2.80 ERA, NA POY
CF Fred Mannion, .326/.347/.378, 11 BB
LF Joe Arthur, .295/.314/.366, 3 HR
2B Jim Gray, .324/.327/.395
Outlook:
Boston returns many of the key players from last season’s title team and will almost certainly contend again this year. Svoboda’s POY performance gives the team confidence against anyone. The offense has a number of strong players. Mannion is the biggest star on the team but has yet to establish himself as one of the league’s superstars.
Projected Finish: 2nd
Brooklyn Atlantics
Last Season: 33-22 (2nd)
Best Finish: 1873 (2nd)
Key Players
SP Charlie Champ, 7-9, 3.89 ERA
CF Bob Polansky, .395/.411/.493, 2 HR
LF Bob Brose, .385/.401/.528, 4 HR
RF John Arend, .356/.374/.429, 20 SB
Outlook:
Charlie Champ was a bit of a disappointment last season, but if he pitches as well as he did in 1872, the Atlantics will be very hard to beat. They came within a hair’s breadth of the title last season in large part due to the tremendous offense. Polansky and Brose are two of the best hitters in the league. Arend headlines a very strong supporting cast that should see the Atlantics among the league leaders in runs scored once again.
Projected Finish: 1st
Chicago White Stockings
Key Players
SP Josh Yewcic, 0-1, 2.08 ERA (w/ CFC in 1872)
CF Tom Gerheauser, .318/.346/.375 (w/ WBL)
LF Charlie Sandin, .305/.314/.439 (w/ RES)
Outlook:
Chicago’s return to the NA is going to be a bigger story in the city than what they do on the field. Yewcic didn’t play in the NA last season, despite being on the roster of the weak Marylands. Gerheauser and Sandin are solid offensively, but not great. There’s also very little depth to the team, so it should be a long year.
Projected Finish: 8th
Hartford Dark Blues
Key Players
SP Harry Hulsey, 8-7, 3.35 ERA (w/ RES)
1B George Gower, .434/.431/.602, 2 HR (w/ RES)
LF Frank Mitchell, .342/.361/.472 (w/ WBL)
RF Jim Linhart, .281/.281/.344 (w/ MAR)
Outlook:
Hulsey’s a solid starting pitcher, but hasn’t shown he’s among the best in the league. Gower had a great, albeit shortened, season for Elizabeth last year and will be relied on to provide offensive leadership. Linhart is expected to perform much better than he did in his 6 games with the Marylands last year. In all, Hartford has put together a team that probably won’t embarrass itself, but also isn’t likely to contend.
Projected Finish: 5th
New York Mutuals
Last Season: 29-24 (3rd)
Best Finish: 1871, 1873 (3rd)
Key Players
SP Art Alvord, 3-3, 4.38 ERA (w/ WBL)
RF John Nero, .409/.437/.595, 32 EBH, 21 SB, NA BOY
LF Sam Shokes, .368/.397/.467
3B Ed Briggs, .338/.333/.396
Outlook:
The Mutuals continue to rotate their carousel of starting pitching, this season electing to start the year with newcomer Art Alvord. Alvord isn’t someone to get excited about, so it wouldn’t surprise anyone to see other pitchers get a chance throughout the year. Offensively, John Nero emerged as a superstar last season after a couple of very good seasons the two prior years. Sam Shokes is an excellent hitter, too, but beyond them there probably isn’t enough to bring a title home. Briggs is solid but no one is quite sure whether last season was an indication of future success or a merely a fluke.
Projected Finish: 6th
Philadelphia Athletics
Last Season: 25-27 (7th)
Championships: 1871, 1872
Key Players
SP John Belcher, 4-5, 2.18 ERA
2B George Barkley, .338/.352/.369
RF Jim Shemo, .351/.372/.420
C Charlie Harvard, .353/.369/.435
Outlook:
Last season, the Athletics looked nothing like the team that won the first two NA championships. Joe Dimond’s struggles on the mound left the team shaken, unable to find a solid replacement for him. This year, they turn to Belcher who pitched well after being handed the ball later in the season. The offense also seemed to have been affected by the mound struggles. Their lineup is deep, but they’ve lost the element of fear they once instilled in opposing pitchers.
Projected Finish: 3rd
Philadelphia White Stockings
Last Season: 17-36 (9th)
Key Players
SP Al Newbold, 1-6, 3.82 ERA
1B Steve Tucker, .356/.367/.458, 2 HR
CF Ed Buteau, .314/.329/.424, 15 SB
C Josh Croyle, .306/.301/.374
Outlook:
The White Stockings have nowhere to go but up. Newbold pitched reasonably well, but didn’t get the results that he needed to see it in the W/L column. The offense wasn’t all that bad last season. Tucker, Buteau, and Croyle are all decent hitters, and there’s reasonable depth that could allow the team to surprise a lot of people if they get the pitching they need.
Projected Finish: 4th
1874 Projected Standings
1. Brooklyn Atlantics
2. Boston Red Stockings
3. Philadelphia Athletics
4. Philadelphia White Stockings
5. Hartford Dark Blues
6. New York Mutuals
7. Baltimore Canaries
8. Chicago White Stockings