[spleen1015]

Boston Ace Wins Pitcher of the Year

October 22, 1871

Boston Red Stockings
SP Red Bishop

Red Stockings ace, Red Bishop capped off a great year by being selected as the ABC's first ever Pitcher of the Year. Bishop lead the Boston club to a 2nd place finish after going 15-8 with a 2.61 ERA in 25 starts. Bishop won Pitcher of the Month for the month of July and he also won Pitcher of the Week 3 times.

[spleen1015]

Batter of the Year From Baltimore, Not Who You Think!

October 23, 1871
Most people were certain the Batter of the Year award would land in Baltimore. As it turns out, it wasn't a question of where the Batter of the Year would be, but who it would be.

Baltimore Canaries
LF Bill Gibbs

With his hitting streak of 23 games, many folks thought 3B Errol Greene would claim this year's BotY award. Bill Gibbs had other ideas. Gibbs lead the ABC with a .443 BA and had 23 RBIs on his way to winning the inaugural Batter of the Year award. You can bet the BotY trophy will look good next to the BotM trophy he won in August.

[spleen1015]

Buffalo Signs First Big Name Free Agent

November 29, 1871

The Buffalo Bisons are hoping the addition of a key offensive talent will help them climb to the top of the ABC. The Bisons signed free agent 3B Maximo 'Soda' Muniz to a 5 year deal worth more than $3,000. Muniz hit .349 with 15 runs batted in last season for the New York Mutuals.

Buffalo Bisons
3B Maximo 'Soda' Muniz

[spleen1015]

Top FA Navarro Signs with Boston

December 5, 1871

After finishing in 7th place last year with the Cincinnati Reds, Pablo Navarro decided a change in scenery was in order. Navarro signed with the 2nd place Boston Red Stockings today for $4,382 over 5 years. Is Navarro what the Red Stockings need to reach the top?

Boston Red Stockings
3B Pablo Navarro

[PhillieFever]

Fantastic! Well written and well done.Congrats to Washington!!! Hopefully the Keystones can fare a bit better next season.

[spleen1015]

Originally Posted by PhillieFever

Fantastic! Well written and well done.Congrats to Washington!!! Hopefully the Keystones can fare a bit better next season.

Thanks, PhillieFever! I haven't had this much fun with OOTP since 6.5.

[spleen1015]

1872 Schedule Announced

March 15, 1872

The ABC League Office announced the 1872 schedule today. This year, the league will follow the same 28 game schedule that was successful last year.

Let's take a look at the Opening Day matchups.

For the 2nd year in a row, Baltimore and Cincinnati will open the season against each other. This time they open the season in Cincinnati.
versus


Our defending ABC Champions open the season on the road against 4th place New York.
versus


SP Walton Webster leads the White Stockings into Boston to face the Red Stockings.
versus


The last place Keystones travel to Buffalo to face Soda Muniz and the Bisons.
versus

[PhillieFever]

Originally Posted by spleen1015

Thanks, PhillieFever! I haven't had this much fun with OOTP since 6.5.

The game is great,it really is.

[spleen1015]

Baseball America Established, Reveals First Top Prospects List

April 1, 1872

Baseball America is a scouting organization that has been established to report on the great younger players of the ABC. Today, they have revealed their very first Top Prospect Report.

1. SP Willie Benton - Philadelphia Keystones
Willie Benton was the #1 overall pick in the 1871 First Year Players Draft.



2. 3B Cisco Mendoza - Philadelphia Keystones
Mendoza was the 85th overall pick taken in the ABC's Inaugural Draft last year. He played in 10 games for the Keystones last year, hitting .462 in 39 at bats. He could be Philadelphia's every day 3B this year.



3. SP Randy Miller - Buffalo Bisons
Miller was selected by the Bisons with the #2 overall pick in last year's First Year Players Draft.



4. SP Ryan Johnson - New York Mutuals
The New York Mutuals made Johnson the 134th overall pick in last year's Inaugural Draft.



5. SP Dave Lindsay - Chicago White Stockings
The White Stockings made Lindsay's dream come true when they selected him with the #8 pick in the 1871 First Year Players Draft.



6. MR Jimmy Myers - Chicago White Stockings
Myers is listed as a MR, but he is well on his way to becoming a decent SP. He was selected with the 49th pick in the Inaugural Draft last year.



7. SP Robert Dunn - Cincinnati Reds
The Reds were happy to take Dunn with the 4th pick in the 1871 First Year Players Draft.



8. SP Ken Joseph - New York Mutuals
The Mutuals selected with the 150th pick last year in the Inaugural Draft. Joseph is on his way to a fine career with New York.



9. SP Rick Sawyer - Baltimore Canaries
Sawyer is another prospect selected in last year's First Year Players Draft. The Canaries used to 3rd overall pick to add this work horse to their roster.



10. 2B Jody Lilly - Boston Red Stockings
Lilly works magic with the bat. If he continues to develop, the Red Stockings will have a star on their hands.

[William Foster]

I like this. Compactly written and gives all the necessary information and details without boring yourself and overwriting. Excellent start!

[spleen1015]

Originally Posted by William Foster

I like this. Compactly written and gives all the necessary information and details without boring yourself and overwriting. Excellent start!

Hey William! Thanks for reading. I appreciate the compliments.

[spleen1015]

Second Season Underway!

April 1, 1872

Inaugural Opening Day Recaps:

Baltimroe Canaries - 3
Cincinnati Reds - 6

LF Clarence Williams - Cincinnati Reds

Clarence Williams wins Player of the Game honors on Opening Day by going 3 for 5 and scoring 4 runs. He scored on a wild pitch in the 1st inning after reach base on an error. He scored again in the 3rd on a Chris Baker single. Then in the bottom of the 4th, Williams doubled to knock in a run then scored on a Scott Newton single. He's scored his 4th run in the 6th.


Washington Nationals - 1
New York Mutuals - 12

C Jose Ramirez - New York Mutuals

The Mutuals started out the 1872 season on the right foot with a dominating victory over the defending champions, the Washington Nationals. Jose Ramirez was a major contributor towards that victory. He went 2 for 4 with 5 RBIs.


Chicago White Stockings - 2
Boston Red Stockings - 7

SP Red Bishop

Last year's Pitcher of the Year got off to a great start here in 1872 with a complete game against the White Stockings. Holding Chicago scoreless for the first 5 innings helped Boston win 7-2.


Philadelphia Keystones - 11
Buffalo Bisons - 4

3B Cisco Mendoza

Maybe Baseball America was right about Mendoza as he starts the 1872 season going 4 for 5, knocking in 1 run while scoring twice.

[spleen1015]

April 1872 In The Books, Defending Champions Struggle

May 1, 1872

It is definitely a new season. After losing to New York on Opening Day, Washington went on to lose 3 of the next 4, finishing April with a 1-4 records. Philadelphia looks to put a last place finish in 1871 behind them, going 4-1. New York joins the Keystones at the top of the standings.

1872 Standings through April 30, 1872

Team                        W     L     PCT       GB
New York Mutuals            4     1      .800      -
Philadelphia Keystones      4     1      .800      -
Boston Red Stockings        3     2      .600     1.0
Cincinnati Reds             3     2      .600     1.0
Baltimore Canaries          2     3      .400     2.0
Buffalo Bisons              2     3      .400     2.0
Chicago White Stockings     1     4      .200     3.0
Washington Nationals        1     4      .200     3.0

Greene's Hitting Streak Threatened
Chicago White Stockings
RF Ricardo Franco

Chicago's RF Ricardo Franco carried a 16 game hitting streak into this season. Combine that with hits in the first 5 games this season and Franco is 3 games away from breaking Greene's hitting streak record. Other notable streaks are Cincinnati Reds' CF Fernando Fuentes with a 19 game streak and last year's Hitter of the Year, LF Bill Gibbs of Baltimore with a 18 game streak.

Fuentes and Gibbs



Pitcher of the Month
SP Bernardo Sandoval - Cincinnati Reds

Sandoval is 3-2 with a 1.47 ERA and 6 Ks this month.

Batter of the Month & Rookie of the Month
3B Cisco Mendoza - Philadelphia Keystones

Mendoza is off to a great start this season. He's posted a BA of .500, knocked in 6 runs and scored 6 times on his way to being rewarded with both April's Batter of the Month and Rookie of the Month awards.

[spleen1015]

Franco Ties Hitting Streak Mark

May 13, 1872

Tonight, RF Ricardo Franco joined Baltimore's Errol Greene in the record books while sharing the diamond with him. With his single in the Top of the 6th inning against Baltimore, Franco extended his hitting streak to 23 games. He'll attempt to set the record next week when he plays Boston.

The Gibbs streak ended at 20 and the Fuentes streak ended at 19.


Chicago White Stockings
RF Ricardo Franco

[NYY #23]

Nice job so far! I'll be following along.

[spleen1015]

Originally Posted by NYY #23

Nice job so far! I'll be following along.

Thanks for reading!

[spleen1015]

Franco Claims Hitting Streak Record

May 20, 1872

Chicago White Stockings
RF Ricardo Franco


The first big record in the ABC has fallen! It took Ricardo Franco until his last at bat of the ball game, but he surpassed Errol Greene, taking sole possession of the record. He has set the mark at 24 games.

[spleen1015]

3 Teams Tied at the Top After May

June 1, 1872

The Boston Red Stockings managed to gain a game on New York and Philadelphia. All 3 teams are tied at the top of the standings with 6-3 records. The defending champions in Washington went 0-4 in the month and they are all alone in the basement with a 1-8 record.

1872 Standings through May 31, 1872

Team                        W     L     PCT       GB
Boston Red Stockings        6     3      .667      -
New York Mutuals            6     3      .667      -
Philadelphia Keystones      6     3      .667      -
Baltimore Canaries          5     4      .556     1.0
Cincinnati Reds             5     4      .556     1.0
Buffalo Bisons              4     5      .444     2.0
Chicago White Stockings     3     6      .333     3.0
Washington Nationals        1     8      .111     5.0

Pitcher of the Month
SP Arlen Robinson - Baltimore Canaries

Robinson went 3-1 in May along with a 2.10 ERA in 34.1 IP.

Batter of the Month
1B Rodrigo Luna - Baltimore Canaries

Luna secured Baltimore's second award of the month with a .526 BA. Luna collected 10 hits along with 6 RBIs and 3 runs scored.

Rookie of the Month
3B Cisco Mendoza - Philadelphia Keystones

For the second consecutive month, Mendoza wins the Rookie of the Month award. Mendoza is 2nd in the league in BA, hitting .467.

[spleen1015]

1872 First Year Players Draft - 1st Round Results

June 15, 1872

The executives of the 8 teams in the ABC met today to hold this year's First Year Players Draft. Pitching was the theme of the day as every pick in the round was a pitcher! With the 7th pick, the Boston Red Stockings selected SP Ishmael Sandoval, the younger brother of SP Bernardo Sandoval of the Cincinnati Reds.

1. SP Mark Pittman - Philadelphia Keystones


2. SP Carlos Banuelos - Chicago White Stockings


3. SP Chris Woods - Cincinnati Reds


4. SP James Martin - Buffalo Bisons


5. CL William Chatman - New York Mutuals


6. SP Jesus Herrera - Baltimore Canaries


7. SP Ishmael Sandoval - Boston Red Stockings


8. SP Felix Lopez - Washington Nationals

[spleen1015]

Buffalo Bisons For Sale

June 19, 1872



The Buffalo Bisons' ownership announced today that the team is up for sale. While baseball has been a good business for the ABC, the leaders in Buffalo are ready to invest else where.

The league office confirms that they have been in discussions with potential buyers. They also confirmed that the sale of the team could result in the relocation of the team.