1875 Preview
Boston Red Stockings
Last Season: 34-37 (5th)
Championships: 1873
Key Players:
SP Will Svoboda, 22-20, 2.26 ERA
CF Fred Mannion, .348/.354/.419, 3 HR
LF Joe Arthur, .326/.334/.366
2B Jim Gray, .304/.310/.352
Comings and Goings
Traded for C Josh Croyle from the Philadelphia White Stockings
Outlook:
Will Svoboda continued to pitch well in 1874, although it wasn’t quite as dominating as his 1873 performance. At 37 years old, there’s a lot of talk around Beantown over whether or not he’ll continue as the team’s regular starter. 26 year old Fred Ross is a likely candidate to replace him. Ross started 7 of his 16 appearances last season, going 3-4 with a 0.94 ERA. Mannion is one of the most consistent hitters in the league, leading all hitters with 124 hits. He, Arthur, and Gray have gotten some additional help in the lineup with the acquisition of catcher Josh Croyle from the Philadelphia White Stockings.
Projected Finish: 3rd
Brooklyn Atlantics
Last Season: 37-19 (2nd)
Best Finish: 1873, 1874 (2nd)
Key Players
SP Jack Anderson, 29-11, 2.08 ERA, NA POY
CF Bob Polansky, .404/.411/.493, NA BOY
C Mike Stanley, .333/.339/.393
LF Bob Brose, .319/.335/.429, 2 HR
RF John Arend, .318/.343/.372, 12 SB
Comings and Goings
Signed free agent pitcher Jack Due, formerly of the Baltimore Canaries.
Outlook:
Stater Jack Anderson and outfielder Bob Polansky were honored as the league’s best pitcher and hitter respectively. Surrounding them, the Atlantics return all their key players from last season. In addition, 3B Harry Ream, who missed most of last season due to injury, returns to the lineup ready to play. The Atlantics have finished 2nd each of the past two seasons, and are certainly among the favorites to win it all this year.
Projected Finish: 1st
Chicago White Stockings
Last Season: 39-20 (1st)
Championships: 1874
Key Players
SP Mart Lemelle, 28-18, 2.30 ERA
RF John Pinard, .276/.283/.362, 3 HR
LF Charlie Sandin, .273/.289/.317
Comings and Goings
None of significance.
Outlook:
The White Stockings shocked everyone by winning the championship in 1874, and it would likely be an even greater shock if they repeat. The offense didn’t see a single batter hit over Pinard’s .276. Last year’s hero, starter Mart Lemelle, is 37 years old and many don’t feel he’ll be able to pitch at that level again. They’ll be hard pressed to come close to repeating.
Projected Finish: 7th
Hartford Dark Blues
Last Season: 19-34 (7th)
Best Finish: 1874 (7th)
Key Players
SP Doc Taylor, 4-2, 2.80 ERA
1B George Gower, .351/.355/.433, 2 HR
3B Tom Louque, .308/.331/.353
Comings and Goings
None of significance.
Outlook:
A number of different pitchers started games for the Dark Blues in 1874, which was just as well considering none of them had any sort of consistent success. Taylor will get some starts, but expect the team to experiment with various pitchers until they find someone who can win consistently. Of course, given the offense, that may take all season. Gower and Louque are decent hitters, and there’s some depth to the offense, but none of that depth has proven it with results that look good enough to consider them a real threat as a team.
Projected Finish: 6th
Keokuk Westerns
Key Players
SP John Zackery, 0-1, 4.91 ERA (w/ BAL in 1873)
3B Frank Stuart, .293/.312/.311 (w/ BAL in 1873)
RF John McGovern
Outlook:
The Westerns have filled their roster with retreads and amateurs that will leave them on the wrong end of a lot of lopsided scores. There really isn’t much positive to say about a team that only has 3 players on the active roster with experience in the NA in the past two seasons, and none of that experience came last season.
Projected Finish: 9th
New Haven Elm Citys
Key Players
SP Tim Colegrove
1B Tom Arsenault
RF Frank Monzon
Outlook:
The Elm Citys are in even worse shape than Keokuk in terms of experience. The team hasn’t had the money to bring in any free agents, and is throwing out their amateur team at the professional level. Expect a long season.
Projected Finish: 10th
New York Mutuals
Last Season: 32-33 (4th)
Best Finish: 1871, 1873 (3rd)
Key Players
SP Frank Reimann, 0-1, 2.79
RF John Nero, .352/.377/.472, 3 HR, 22 SB
2B Tom Childers, .351/.357/.456
LF Sam Shokes, .298/.332/.351, 11 SB
CF Tom Hedgepeth, .318/.334/.427
Comings and Goings
Traded SS Dan Norman to the St. Louis Red Stockings
Outlook:
Last year’s regular starter, Al Allen, doesn’t appear to have his stuff anymore at age 35, so the team will once again turn to a new starting pitcher. This year it’ll start out with promising youngster Frank Reimann, who was solid in his few outings at the end of last season. Offensively, the Mutuals still look strong. Nero’s a superstar, and Shokes and Hedgepeth are both superb supporting staff. Childers is one of the most promising young players in the league. One are that may come back to hurt the team is the trading of SS Dan Norman in order to get Tim Balke’s bat in the lineup. Balke’s nowhere near as accomplished with the glove as Norman was, and that will bode poorly for whatever pitchers are on the mound for New York.
Projected Finish: 5th
Philadelphia Athletics
Last Season: 33-22 (3rd)
Championships: 1871, 1872
Key Players
SP Joe Gotcher, 11-8, 2.27 ERA
2B George Barkley, .307/.313/.344
RF Jim Shemo, .326/.351/.398
1B Will Melnick, .319/.322/.389
Comings and Goings
None of significance.
Outlook:
Gotcher started a number of games over the last half of the season in 1874 and turned out to be the most successful Athletic in that role, so he’ll get the first look this year. If he falters, the team has a number of other pitchers they’ve used in the past, including Charlie Calmus, John Belcher, and Pat Hathaway. Barkley’s an excellent hitter and Shemo is every bit his equal. The rest of the lineup is incredibly deep, with Melnick, C Charlie Harvard, and LF Joe Holleran all having the potential to post big numbers.
Projected Finish: 2nd
Philadelphia White Stockings
Last Season: 26-32 (6th)
Best Finish: 1874 (6th)
Key Players
SP John Fortenberry, 2-3, 2.24 ERA (w/ BAL)
1B Steve Tucker, .278/.279/.351
RF Jack Lowry, .266/.274/.332, 3 HR
SS Pat Denton, .278/.282/.310
Comings and Goings
Signed P John Fortenberry and OF John Gano as free agents.
Traded C Josh Croyle to the Boston Red Stockings
Outlook:
Fortenberry will hopefully give the team a dependable starter, but considering that he comes from a team that was even worse than Philadelphia last year, there has to be some question about whether or not he is really the guy to rely on. The offense has some decent hitters but no superstars, and nowhere near the depth that the top teams in the league all boast.
Projected Finish: 4th
Philadelphia Centennials
Key Players
SP Lew Thomas
LF Joe Macklin
RF Al Sanders
Outlook:
The Centennials bring their formerly amateur team into the professional NA, and look like they’ll not be able to compete. The pitching staff has no one to rely on, but the offense is even worse. Most of the hitters have no experience that suggests they’ll be able to compete against the quality of pitching they’ll face in the NA.
Projected Finish: 13th
St. Louis Red Stockings
Key Players
SP Bobby Daw
SS Dan Norman, .300/.296/.387 (w/ NY)
LF Harry Rivard
Outlook:
The Red Stockings acquired Norman as a guy with NA experience to give the rest of the team someone to look to when facing off against the league’s experienced teams. They’re not going to win many games, and could really use an upgrade at starting pitcher. The offense will struggle as well.
Projected Finish: 11th
St. Louis Brown Stockings
Key Players
SP Pete Cannon, 2-7, 4.17 (w/ BAL in 1873)
CF Joe Towry
3B John Jones
Outlook:
The Brown Stockings are likely going to be one of the better new additions to the league, if for no other reason than they’ve got some experience. Cannon and Towry both played with Baltimore in the past, although for Towry it was last in 1872. There are some other guys on the roster who were in the league last year, and while they weren’t very good, at least they have the experience that so many other teams coming into the league this season don’t have.
Projected Finish: 12th
Washington Nationals
Key Players
SP John Waitt, 2-10, 3.56 ERA (w/ BAL)
1B Billy Horace, .285/.291/.360 (w/ BAL)
LF Jim Smith, .247/..256/.336 (w/ BAL)
Outlook:
The latest incarnation of the Nationals has a handful of players that will give the team some hope. Many of the players from the Baltimore Canaries jumped to nearby Washington to join the team, and that means the Nationals can rely on some level of experience. Of course, those Canaries have never been any good, so this Nationals team doesn’t figure to beat many of the incumbants, but if they’re able to beat up on some of the other new teams in the league, these players may finally find some respectability.
Projected Finish: 8th
1875 Projected Standings
1. Brooklyn Atlantics
2. Philadelphia Athletics
3. Boston Red Stockings
4. Philadelphia White Stockings
5. New York Mutuals
6. Hartford Dark Blues
7. Chicago White Stockings
8. Washington Nationals
9. Keokuk Westerns
10. New Haven Elm Citys
11. St. Louis Red Stockings
12. St. Louis Brown Stockings
13. Philadelphia Centennials