American Baseball Congress

[spleen1015]

Red went 14-10, with a 2.83 ERA in 28 starts in 1873. He had a decent season, but it looks like he was over shadowed by other folks. He currently has 40 wins, the ABC's all time leader.

EDIT - I am considering naming the Pitcher of the Year award after him. His name is cool.

[spleen1015]

Chicago On Fire In May

June 1, 1874

The Chicago White Stockings had an amazing month of May. SP Walton Webster was 4-1 and SP Russell McDaniel was a perfect 4-0 to lead the White Stockings to an 8-1 record.


Webster and McDaniel

Standings through May 31, 1874

Team                        W     L       PCT      GB
Chicago White Stockings    11     6      .647      -
Cincinnati Reds            11     6      .647      -
Philadelphia Keystones     10     7      .588     1.0
New York Mutuals            9     8      .529     2.0
Boston Red Stockings        8     9      .471     3.0
Baltimore Canaries          7    10      .412     4.0
Washington Nationals        7    10      .412     4.0
Brooklyn Atlantics          5    12      .294     6.0

Batter of the Month
LF James Moore - Baltimore Canaries

Moore earned this honor by hitting .500 with 7 RBIs and 14 runs scored.

Rookie of the Month
RF John Rich - Chicago White Stockings

After hitting just .214 in April, Rich bounced back with an outstanding May. Hitting .406 with 5 RBIs and 9 runs scored earns him the Rookie of the Month award.

Pitcher of the Month
SP Greg Berry - Washington Nationals

Here's a surprise choice for May's Pitcher of the Month. Berry managed to win 3 of 5 decisions, but he only allowed 4 earned runs in 48.1 innings.

[spleen1015]

1874 First Year Players Draft


June 15, 1874

Today, the ABC held the annual First Year Players Draft. Here are the 1st round results.

1. SP Curt Young - Washington Nationals


2. 2B Caleb Brown - Philadelphia Keystones


3. SP Jason MacDonald - Chicago White Stockings


4. SP Ramon Olivas - Cincinnati Reds


5. MR Howard Ayers - Brooklyn Atlantics


6. 2B Steve Woods - Boston Red Stockings


7. SP Jack Adkins - Baltimore Canaries


8. SP Michael Olson - New York Mutuals

[spleen1015]

Keystones Take 1st

July 1, 1874

With a 7-2 June, the Philadelphia Keystones have climbed atop the ABC standings. This time last year, the were a game behind .500 sitting in 5th place.

Standings through June 30, 1874

Team                        W     L       PCT      GB
Philadelphia Keystones     17     9      .654      -
Chicago White Stockings    15    11      .577     2.0
New York Mutuals           15    11      .577     2.0
Washington Nationals       13    13      .500     4.0
Baltimore Canaries         12    14      .462     5.0
Cincinnati Reds            12    14      .462     5.0
Boston Red Stockings       11    15      .423     6.0
Brooklyn Atlantics          9    17      .346     8.0

Rookie of the Month & Pitcher of the Month
SP Felix Lopez - Washington Nationals

In 5 starts, Lopez compiled a 1.02 ERA in 44 innings, putting up a 4-1 record. He was chosen as both the Rookie and Pitcher of the Month.

Batter of the Month
3B Patrick Stanley - Washington Nationals

Washington's young 3B, Patrick Stanley, hit .500 in June. He also drove in 12 runs and scored 9 times earning Batter of the Month honors.

[No Pepper]

Seems there's a degree of parity in the ABC so far, unless behind-the-scenes, in-between-the-numbers there's a dynasty lurking?

[spleen1015]

Originally Posted by No Pepper

Seems there's a degree of parity in the ABC so far, unless behind-the-scenes, in-between-the-numbers there's a dynasty lurking?

There is no indication that a dynasty is on the way. I've wondered if the schedule having a low number of games at this point has played a factor in no dominant teams.

I need to finish off 1874 tonight. The winds of change, maybe small , may be on the way for 1875.

[spleen1015]

3 Teams Gain Distance From The Rest Of The League

August 1, 1874

The Philadelphia Keystones, Chicago White Stockings, and New York Mutuals look like they're the contenders for this year's championship. Philadelphia and Chicago have a 5 game lead on most of the league with New York just 1 game behind.

Standings through July 31, 1874

Team                        W     L       PCT      GB
Philadelphia Keystones     22    12      .647      -
Chicago White Stockings    22    12      .647      -
New York Mutuals           21    13      .618     1.0
Washington Nationals       17    17      .500     5.0
Cincinnati Reds            16    18      .471     6.0
Baltimore Canaries         14    20      .412     8.0
Boston Red Stockings       13    21      .382     9.0
Brooklyn Atlantics         11    23      .324    11.0

Batter of the Month
SS Michael Adams - New York Mutuals

Adams hit .429 in July with 10 RBIs to earn Batter of the Month honors.

Rookie of the Month
1B Rich Henson - Cincinnati Reds

Henson's .469 batting average was good enough to win July's Rookie of the Month award.

Pitcher of the Month
SP Walton Webster - Chicago White Stockings

The veteran Walton Webster gets his name back in the news, winning the Pitcher of the Month award. Webster won 3 of his 4 starts compiling a 0.64 ERA.

[spleen1015]

Keystones Take 1 Game Lead

September 1, 1874

Philadelphia managed to gain a 1 game lead during the month of August by winning 5 of 8.

Standings through August 31, 1874

Team                        W     L       PCT      GB
Philadelphia Keystones     27    15      .643      -
Chicago White Stockings    26    16      .619     1.0
New York Mutuals           25    17      .595     2.0
Washington Nationals       22    20      .524     5.0
Cincinnati Reds            20    22      .476     7.0
Boston Red Stockings       18    24      .429     9.0
Baltimore Canaries         16    26      .381    11.0
Brooklyn Atlantics         14    28      .333    13.0

Batter of the Month
LF Cy Clark - New York Mutuals

New York's Clark hit .441 in August, with 5 RBIs and 10 runs scored.

Rookie of the Month
SS Artie Quackenbush - Brooklyn Atlantics

Quackenbush earns Rookie of the Month honors with a .455 batting average for the month.

Pitcher of the Month
SP Greg Berry

Berry earns his 2nd PotM award of the season with a 3-1 record and a solid 1.95 ERA.

[spleen1015]

New York and Philadelphia Tied With 5 To Play

October 1, 1874

The New York Mutuals pulled into a tie for first with the Philadelphia Keystones. The lead is 3 games on third place Chicago.

Standings through September 30, 1874

Team                        W     L       PCT      GB
Philadelphia Keystones     32    19      .627      -
New York Mutuals           32    19      .627      - 
Chicago White Stockings    29    22      .569     3.0
Cincinnati Reds            27    24      .529     5.0
Washington Nationals       25    26      .490     7.0
Brooklyn Atlantics         21    30      .412    11.0
Boston Red Stockings       20    31      .392    12.0
Baltimore Canaries         18    33      .381    14.0

Batter & and Rookie of the Month
1B Rich Henson - Cincinnati Reds

Another outstanding month from the Cincinnati youngster. Henson hit .486 with 10 RBIs and 5 runs scored. He's hitting .343 on the year. This is his 2nd Rookie award of the season.

Pitcher of the Month
SP Jose Benitez

Benitez helped the Atlantics get out of the cellar, winning 4 of 5 decisions, posting a 2.95 ERA over 40.1 innings.

[spleen1015]

New York and Philadelphia Tied With 1 To Play, Chicago Still Alive

October 14, 1874

The New York Mutuals lost to the Boston Red Stockings, 5-4. After the Philadelphia Keystones' 9-6 win over Cincinnati Reds, we have a tie at the top of the standings with 1 game to play.

To make things even more interesting, the Chicago White Stockings are 4-0 in October putting themselves only 1 game out of a 3 way tie.

The Mutuals will close out the season against the Red Stockings. New York sends SP Bryan MacKey to the mound against Boston's SP Antonio Martinez.

MacKey and Martinez


The Keystones will be on the road, finishing 1874 in Cincinnati. SP Alex Perez of the Keystones will face off against SP John McLin of the Reds.

Perez and McLin


The Chicago White Stockings are at home against the Brooklyn Atlantics. Chicago's SP Carlos Banuelos will take the mound against Brooklyn's Jim Willard.

Banuelos and Willard

[spleen1015]

Chicago Wins To Keep Championship Hopes Alive

October 16, 1874

With an 8-5 victory over the Brooklyn Atlantics, the Chicago White Stockings kept their championship dreams alive.

Brooklyn opened the game with 1 run in the top of the 1st. Chicago battled back and managed to score 3 in the bottom of the 1st. They followed that up with 4 more in the bottom of the 4th to take a 7-1 lead.

Brooklyn wouldn't give up when they scored 2 in the top of the 6th to trail 7-3. Both teams managed to put another run on the board in the 7th, taking the score to 8-4.

Brooklyn managed to score another run in the top of the 9th before they were shut down by Chicago SP Carlos Banuelos, who went the distance.

The player of the game was Chicago LF Gordon Bailey. Bailey had 2 hits in 5 at bats, knocking in 2 runs and scoring twice.

Now Chicago waits to see if both New York and Philadelphia lose to reach a 3 way tie for the championship.

Chicago White Stockings
LF Gordon Bailey

[spleen1015]

New York And Philadelphia Stay Tied

October 16, 1874

Philadelphia Keystones - 6
Cincinnati Reds - 2

Philadelphia Keystones
SP Alex Perez

Perez held the Reds to only 2 runs in his complete game victory. After the Keystones scored 4 runs in the top of the 3rd inning, Perez held Cincinnati to single runs in the 5th and 7th. With the victory, the Keystones' ball club clinched a least a tie with New York at the top of the standings.

New York Mutuals - 5
Boston Red Stockings - 1

New York Mutuals
MR Dennis Baldwin

In perhaps the biggest game of their season, the New York Mutuals stunned the world bt selecting MR Dennis Baldwin as the starting pitcher for their season ending game against the Boston Red Stockings. Prior to this start, Baldwin had only seen 6.1 innings in relief all year. The daring move worked as Baldwin was able to hold the Red Stockings to only 1 run in the bottom of the 5th ending. Winning this game, puts the Mutuals in a tie for 1st place with the Keystones.

Philadelphia will visit New York for a 1 game playoff to decide the Championship on October 20. Chicago will finish 1 game behind, in 3rd place, after both Philadelphia and New York victories.

[spleen1015]

1874 Season Goes to 1 Game Playoff

October 21, 1874

The New York Mutuals and the Philadelphia Keystones met in New York today to decide the 1874 ABC Championship. Both teams ended the regular season with 35 wins against 21 loses, forcing this one game playoff.

Taking the mound for the visiting Keystones was SP Chip McDonald. He'll duel New York's ace and last year's Pitcher of the Year, Jonathan Starr.

McDonald and Starr


Philadelphia 3B Earl Hancock got things started for the Keystones in the top of the 1st. He singled with 1 out in the first. After the next batter popped out to the catcher, CF Joshua Ferrel reached base on an error by New York 2B Michael Adams and Hancock moved over to 3rd.

Hancock would score on a passed ball with RF Enrique Gonzales at the plate to give Philadelphia a 1-0 lead. Gonzales would then hit a double that scored Ferrel to move the score to 2-0 in favor of Philadelphia after the top of the 1st.

New York's RF Will Brown started off the bottom of the 1st with a single. After Brown stole 2nd and 3rd, he would score on a Michael Adams sac fly.

In the bottom of the 2nd, New York would put another run on the board to tie the game at 2. CF Mike Elmore started off the innings with a double. He moved over to 3rd on a fielder's choice off the bat of C Joel White. Then he scored the only run of the inning on another passed ball by McDonald.

The Keystones would score 1 in the top of the 3rd, taking a 3-2 lead. Then, they followed that up with 2 more in the top of the 4th, making the score 5-2. They would go on to score 3 more in the top of the 7th to take an 8-2 lead and that was all she wrote for the Mutuals.

McDonald managed to close out the game with 7 scoreless innings leading the Keystones to the win and their first ABC Championship. He also won Player of the Game honors.

Philadelphia Keystones are the 1874 Champions!!

Final 1874 Standings

Team                        W     L       PCT      GB
Philadelphia Keystones     36    21      .632      -
New York Mutuals           35    22      .614     1.0 
Chicago White Stockings    34    22      .607     1.5
Cincinnati Reds            28    28      .500     7.5
Washington Nationals       28    28      .500     7.5
Boston Red Stockings       23    33      .411    12.5
Brooklyn Atlantics         23    33      .411    12.5
Baltimore Canaries         18    38      .321    17.5

[spleen1015]

Philadelphia Keystones
1874 ABC Champions

Did you guys notice the 2nd person from the left on the top row?

Red Bishop is a Keystone!! How did this happen?

Back on July 5, the Red Stockings traded Red Bishop to the Keystones for CF Ernesto Marrero and LF Scott O'Day. Bishop was placed immediately into one of the 2 starting spots for the Keystones. He was replaced in the Red Stockings' rotation by Antonio Martinez. Martinez has been in the top 10 of Baseball America's Top 100 Prospects List for 3 of the last 4 seasons.

CF Ernesto Marrero


LF Scott O'Day


SP Antonio Martinez

[spleen1015]

1874 Gold Glove Winners

[spleen1015]

Banuelos Named Rookie of the Year

November 3, 1874

Chicago White Stockings
SP Carlos Banuelos

Banuelos was placed into the Chicago rotation in mid-June. He was 11-4 in 15 starts, compiling a 2.31 ERA along the way.

[spleen1015]

Kirk wins 2nd Manager of the Year Award

November 4, 1874

Philadelphia Keystones
Ron Kirk

For the 2nd time in 3 years, Kirk has been awarded the Manager of the Year. He led the Philadelphia Keystones to their first ABC Championship.

[spleen1015]

McDonald Is ABC Top Pitcher

November 5, 1874

Philadelphia Keystones
SP Chip McDonald

McDonald won 17 of his 29 starts on his way to the 1874 Pitcher of the Year award. His 2.47 ERA helped lead the Keystones to this year's championship.

[spleen1015]

Canaries' Moore ABC Best Batter

November 6, 1874

Baltimore Canaries
LF James Moore

Moore led the league with his .386 batting average. He also knocked in 32 runs and scored 38 times.

[spleen1015]

No Hard Feelings?

December 8, 1874

Philadelphia Keystones
CF Ernest Marrero

After being traded to the Boston Red Stockings by the Philadelphia Keystones back in June for SP Red Bishop, Ernesto Marrero has resigned with Philadelphia, a 2 year deal worth $1,292. Maybe Marrero didn't mind being traded?