I really recommend "Playing for Keeps: A History of Early Baseball" by Warren Goldstein, published by Cornell University 1989. Covers the 1850's and the creation of the NA. Many of the early NA/NLers are there. Really shows the change from the "Gentleman's Game" to the early professionals (and the shift of power to owners not players. He was/is an adcademic, and parts read as such--but great notes lead to some other worthy sources. Sol White's "Only the Ball was White" has great sections on Pre-1900 Negro Leagues (as well as back ground on the game it self). "The National Pastime" edited by John Thorn for SABR, published in 1987 has a couple great articles abt early teams--the Cincinnati Reds first loss in 70 games to the Brooklyn Atlantics in 1870, the setting of the Color line in the International League in 1887, and Old Hoss Radbourne's 1884 season.

I'm trying to find a cataloge/website not I have abt another baseball research publisher--not just majors but real full volumes on the PCL, AA, IL and other minor leagues. As well as player/executive bios. But it's been two moves since I seen it, but we history nerds tend to keep thing like that.

Thanks. I'll have to pick up a copy of the Thorn and Goldstein books - the others too, although I was familiar with them... I've been meaning to read "If I Never Get Back."

Monday, April 15, 1871

Standings

National Association I

Fort Wayne Kekiongas 9-5
New York Mutuals 8-6
Washington Olympics 6-8
Boston Red Caps 5-9

National Association II

Philadelphia Athletics 8-6
Chicago White Stockings 7-7
Cleveland Forest Citys 7-7
Troy Haymakers 6-8

Currently, the batting races are led by Count Sensenderfer of New York (.417) and John Radcliff of Cleveland (.436). In his weekly live telegraphic chat, Josephus Morgan stated, "I knew from the beginning that Sensenderfer and Radcliff were both something special. Both of them have leadership qualities beyond their years and will likely lead their respective teams into contention for years to come."

Coming up next, the best players of the National Association will gather for an "All-Star's Game." Stay tuned!

Does the import from Lahmans (or whatever DB you used) do a good job of addressing Fielding? I cant imagine baserunning is handled well (hit and run, stealing and sacrifises being constant decisions in that era)

Actually, no. Fielding and speed ratings are a disaster and must be painstakingly edited one player at a time. At least with fielding I'm reasonably confident of the results, since Win Shares has some decent fielding information and baseballreference.com has the error percentages. Speed, on the other hand, is pretty much ad hoc. When I can find information I use it, but in many cases I just know I'm not getting it right. It's frustrating trying to find speed information from the pre-stolen base era.

And it is just the plain vanilla Lahman DB that I'm using.

The 1871 National Association I All-Stars (with commentary by Josephus Morgan)

RF Art Allison, Washington (0-6-.309) - "Tell me again how this guy slipped to the 9th round of the draft. He's a clutch player with great intangibles."

2B Ross Barnes, Washington (0-11-.407) - "No surprise that he's a superstar this year. Washington made him the first non-pitcher taken in the draft and he hasn't disappointed."

P Asa Brainard, Washington (7-8, 3.18) - "He's a solid pitcher for the Olympics, who hope to make a run in the second half behind their stars."

SS Tom Carey, Fort Wayne (0-12-.347) - "He's been one of the driving forces behind the Kekiongas' surprising run to the top of the league."

2B Bill Craver, Boston (0-10-.327) - "A bit surprising that he's having such a good year. Was not expected to be among Boston's stars."

2B Bob "Death to Flying Things" Ferguson, New York (0-11-.333) - "A great fielder and solid hitter, Ferguson has been an anchor this season for the Mutuals."

C Scott Hastings, Washington (0-9-.306) - "An excellent young catcher. It really is difficult to see why Washington isn't the class of the league with all these good players."

RF George Heubel, Fort Wayne (0-8-.321) - "Another talented young hitter with a bright future."

LF Andy Leonard, New York (1-14-.333) - "New York's first hitter taken in the draft has lived up to his reputation as a heads-up player with great clubhouse presence."

1B Denny Mack, Fort Wayne (0-9-.328) - "This tenth round pick is making good for the Kekiongas."

1B Bub McAtee, Washington (0-4-.242) - "One of the less impressive All-Stars this season. He'll need to step it up in the second half for Washington."

3B Levi Meyerle, New York (1-12-.333) - "Generally considered one of the best players in the game today. Has the potential to do even better than he is this season."

C Charlie Mills, Fort Wayne (0-14-.283) - "A very solid catcher who's done a great job catching Zettlein this year."

CF Lip Pike, Washington (0-11-.443) - "Current league leader in batting. Washington has an amazing 1-2 punch with him and Ross Barnes."

RF Count Sensenderfer, New York (0-12-.391) - "As I predicted before the season began, he's been a great sleeper pick for New York."

P Al Spalding, New York (8-7, 3.90) - "A great young pitcher who really has more potential than he's shown so far."

LF Fred Treacey, Boston (0-12-.351) - "Another great tenth round pick. Why weren't these guys selected earlier?"

P Rynie Wolters, Boston (6-9, 2.30) - "A great pitcher who's trying to do it all himself this season. He needs help up in Beantown."

P George Zettlein, Fort Wayne (9-6, 3.87) - "He's been one of the keys to Fort Wayne's success this season. If he can hold up in the second half, he could bring a championship to Fort Wayne."

"And the bust of the first half has got to be young Cap Anson of Boston, who as I predicted does not have the intangibles needed to succeed at this level and therefore missed the All-Star Game. This first-round pick is batting a mere .179 for the Red Caps - one of the key reasons the team is so weak this year. Already the fans boo him every time he takes the field - if he doesn't pick it up soon, there's no telling what might happen."

1871 National Association II All-Stars

RF George Bechtel, Chicago (0-12-.328) - "This young hitter has exceeded expectations and been a real clutch player for Chicago. He's tied for second on the team in runs batted in."

3B Steve Bellan, Philadelphia (0-11-.345) - "The young Cuban sensation is the first Latin American player to have a big impact in base ball."

P Cherokee Fisher, Cleveland (6-4, 2.30) - "He's the ace of Cleveland's staff and seems to have a really bright future in the major leagues."

SS Dickie Flowers, Chicago (0-2-.333) - "This speedy leadoff hitter leads the major leagues in runs scored with 20, and really sets the table for the guys hitting behind him."

C Charlie Hodes, Troy (0-7-.182) - "His selection is probably a mistake, as he's on the team as a catcher, yet hasn't played a single game behind the plate all year. Call it a glitch of the voting system."

LF Steve King, Philadelphia (0-15-.409) - "No surprise that he's a superstar this year. The only surprise is that Philadelphia got him in the ninth round of the draft."

C Fergy Malone, Troy (0-7-.302) - "Another late draft steal. He rather surprisingly won the starting job from Doug Allison and hasn't looked back."

P Bobby Mathews, Philadelphia (6-4, 2.87) - "Some say he's playing over his head, which may be true. However, he's got Philadelphia in the driver's seat at the halfway point of the season and has definitely earned the All-Star nod."

P Dick McBride, Troy (6-9, 3.64) - "Has actually been somewhat disappointing this season."

P Joe McDermott, Philadelphia (3-2, 3.00) - "Although he's done better than expected, this isn't really much of an honor. Every major league pitcher made the All-Star game."

1B Cal McVey, Philadelphia (0-9-.394) - "A great hitter in every way. He's one of the clubhouse leaders on this team."

P Al Pratt, Chicago (7-8, 3.72) - "A solid but unspectacular pitcher."

SS John Radcliff, Cleveland (0-12-.441) - "What a season he's having so far. A legitimate MVH contender, even though before the season no one would have guessed it."

RF Al Reach, Philadelphia (0-14-.292) - "Another veteran bat helping lead the Athletics into first place."

P Bill Stearns, Cleveland (2-3, 3.98) - "See McDermott comment."

RF Gat Stires, Troy (0-4-.345) - "A solid hitter helping keep Troy in the running."

3B Ezra Sutton, Chicago (1-21-.379) - "The other teams can't believe they let this guy slip into the fourth round, while Chicago can't believe their good fortune. Sutton is a legitimate superstar in this league."

1B Deacon White, Chicago (0-12-.368) - "Another star hitter for the White Stockings. Look for this team to make a real run in the second half."

RF Elmer White, Philadelphia (0-17-.365) - "Definitely is exceeding expectations this year, as he didn't really look to be a star hitter for Philadelphia."

2B Jimmy Wood, Chicago (0-12-.415) - "Combines with White, Sutton, Bechtel and Flowers to give Chicago the game's most potent lineup."

CF Harry Wright, Philadelphia (0-7-.273) - "The older of the Wright brothers makes the All-Star game as a solid veteran influence in center field."


Up next.... the All-Star game. Stay tuned.

All-Star Game Starting Lineups

National Association I

SS Bill Craver, Boston
LF Fred Treacey, Boston
3B Levi Meyerle, New York
CF Lip Pike, Washington
2B Ross Barnes, Washington
RF Count Sensenderfer, New York
1B Denny Mack, Fort Wayne
C Scott Hastings, Washington
P George Zettlein, Fort Wayne

National Association II

CF Harry Wright, Philadelphia
RF Al Reach, Philadelphia
1B Cal McVey, Philadelphia
2B Jimmy Wood, Chicago
3B Ezra Sutton, Chicago
C Fergy Malone, Troy
LF George Bechtel, Chicago
SS Dickie Flowers, Chicago
P Dick McBride, Troy

In the first inning, both teams went down in order, and although the NA1 threatened in the second, they didn't manage to put anything on the board. However, with one out in the bottom of the second, Ezra Sutton singled to left, then Fergy Malone reached on an error by Denny Mack. A Bechtel groundout advanced the runners, then a base hit up the middle by Dickie Flowers scored them both, making it a 2-0 game in favor of the NA2. However, the NA1 bounced right back in the top of the third. With two out and Bill Craver at first, Craver stole second - a seemingly unimportant play. However, this seemed to rattle McBride, as he proceeded to give up consecutive hits to Fred Treacey, Levi Meyerle, Lip Pike and Ross Barnes. Count Sensenderfer and Denny Mack both reached on errors before Scott Hastings, the first batter of the inning, also made the last out. When the dust settled, it was 5-2, NA1.

The NA2 managed to get a little closer in the bottom of the fourth when George Bechtel knocked an RBI single off of new pitcher Asa Brainard to make it 5-3. However, Lip Pike got his third hit of the day with an RBI single in the top of the fifth to make it a three-run game again. The NA2 scored an unearned run in the bottom half of the inning to make it 6-4, and this was the score through six when the second team started to enter the game.

The reserve players for the NA1 added two more runs to the lead in the top of the seventh, but the bench players for the NA2 did them one better, adding three in the bottom of the inning to make it 8-7. Neither team managed anything in the eighth inning, setting up a potentially exciting ninth inning. The NA1 went down in order in the top of the inning - Bob "Death to Flying Things" Ferguson flied to center, Tom Carey popped up to the catcher, and Denny Mack grounded back to the pitcher. The leadoff man in the bottom of the inning was John Radcliff of Cleveland, the NA2 batting leader who was 1 for 1 in the game. Radcliff knocked a quick base hit to right field. Next up was Cal McVey, who knocked Asa Brainard's first pitch into right-center field for a base hit, sending the tying run over to third. The following batter, Steve Bellan, knocked the 2-0 pitch into left for a base hit to tie the game at 8 and leave runners at first and second with no one out. Elmer White stepped to the plate with a chance to win the game. He hit a promising drive on the 1-0 pitch, but it hung in the air a bit too long and the center fielder was able to snag it for the out. Similarly, Fergy Malone hit a fly out to center for the second out. With the game on the line, Steve King stepped up to pinch hit. King lined the first pitch right at Bub McAtee for the third out, and the game headed into extra innings.

In the top of the tenth, the NA1 went down without much trouble. However, in the bottom of the inning, with Joe McDermott on first and two out, John Radcliff and Cal McVey had consecutive base hits to knock home the winning run for the NA2 in a 9-8 nailbiter. Radcliff's three hits in as many at bats in a reserve role was enough to win him the inaugural All-Star game MVP. "I'm just glad I got the opportunity to play in the game," Radcliff said following his star turn. "Anything else is more than I could ask for."

Sunday, 4/21/1871

Game of the Week: Washington Olympics (8-8) at New York Mutuals (8-8)

Starting Lineups

Washington

1B Bub McAtee (0-9-.294)
LF Ned Cuthbert (0 for 9)
2B Ross Barnes (0-11-.407)
CF Lip Pike (0-15-.478)
RF Art Allison (0-10-.350)
C Scott Hastings (0-9-.306)
SS Dave Abercrombie (0-10-.194)
3B Joe Battin (0-6-.234)
P Asa Brainard (0-3-.160) (8-8, 3.30)

New York

C Dave Birdsall (0-10-.240)
2B Bob Ferguson (0-12-.324)
3B Levi Meyerle (1-12-.338)
RF Count Sensenderfer (0-12-.377)
LF Andy Leonard (1-14-.343)
1B Tom Pratt (0-14-.239)
SS Chick Fulmer (0-3-.125)
CF Tom Foley (0-3-.304)
P Al Spalding (8-8, 4.59)

The scoring started in the bottom of the first with consecutive singles by Levi Meyerle, Count Sensenderfer and Andy Leonard to give the Mutuals a 1-0 lead. However, Washington was quickly able to tie the score on a triple by Lip Pike in the second. Four more singles in the bottom of the second allowed New York to open up a 4-1 lead, capped by a 2-RBI single by Meyerle. This time, it was a third-inning double by Pike that brought the Olympics back into the game, scoring two runs to make it a 4-3 ball game.

The Mutuals added another run in the bottom of the fourth, as pitcher Al Spalding hit his first big league "home run," to make it a 5-3 game. Again, Washington was able to strike back, as consecutive two-out hits by Ross Barnes, Lip Pike and Art Allison brought the Olympics back to within one. The next inning, New York again pulled away, as a Levi Meyerle single coupled with an error led to two runs and a 7-4 lead.

Finally, Washington was unable to counter, as Al Spalding shut the Mutuals down with little fanfare in the seventh, eighth and ninth to win, 7-4.

Monday, April 22, 1871

Standings

National Association I

Fort Wayne Kekiongas 10-7
New York Mutuals 9-8
Washington Olympics 8-9
Boston Red Caps 7-10

National Association II

Philadelphia Athletics 11-6
Cleveland Forest Citys 8-9
Troy Haymakers 8-9
Chicago White Stockings 7-10

As we pass the halfway point of the opening season, it looks like the Athletics will be tough to beat this season. However, the NA1 is still a wide-open race - look for New York and Washington to make a run before the season ends.

Thursday, April 25, 1871

There is a head-to-head battle for first in the NA1, so we're bringing you special coverage, broadcast via telegraph by Josephus Morgan.

Washington Olympics (11-9) at Fort Wayne Kekiongas (11-9)

Starting Lineups

Washington

1B Wes Fisler (0-8-.387)
LF Tom York (0-14-.244)
2B Ross Barnes (0-14-.411)
CF Lip Pike (0-20-.447)
RF Art Allison (0-16-.372)
C Tommy Beals (0-1-.050)
SS Dave Abercrombie (0-12-.247)
3B Joe Battin (0-7-.230)
P Asa Brainard (0-7-.188) (11-9, 3.31)

Fort Wayne

2B Mike McGeary (0-7-.289)
3B Ed Pinkham (1-6-.188)
LF John Glenn (0-7-.250)
CF George Heubel (0-8-.250)
RF Dick Higham (0-11-.240)
1B Denny Mack (0-10-.316)
SS Tom Carey (0-15-.319)
C Charlie Mills (0-17-.286)
P George Zettlein (0-7-.277) (11-9, 3.52)

Josephus Morgan: "Leading things off in the top of the first is Wes Fisler. They call this guy the Icicle, and he's a cool veteran presence at the top of the order for Washington. And here's the opening pitch of the game.... Fisler knocks a looping shot to right-center field. George Heubel is charging it, but he's not going to get there in time. It's a base hit. Oh oh! Heubel stumbles as he tries to pick it up and Fisler is going to take second on the play. Next up is the left fielder, Tom York. York went 2 for 5 yesterday for Washington. He's worked it to a full count, and the 3-2 pitch is hit hard, but right at Ed Pinkham. Pinkham looks Fisler back to second and throws over to Denny Mack for the first out of the inning. That'll bring up the young superstar second baseman, Ross Barnes. You know, Barnes reminds me of myself as a player... and he takes a big cut at the first pitch, but doesn't get all of it. It's a bouncer right back at Zettlein. Zettlein scoops it up and throws to first for the second out. And now it's up to the NA1's leading hitter, Lip Pike. And Pike swings at the 1-0 pitch... but he pops it up. Mike McGeary settles under it, and makes the play. That's it for Washington in the first. No runs, one hit and an error. No score in the middle of the first."

"And it's McGeary to start things off for Fort Wayne here in the bottom of the first. McGeary takes a big swing at the 1-1 pitch and hits a can of corn out to right field. Art Allison settles under it, and he's got it for the out. Next up is the light-hitting third baseman Ed Pinkham. Pinkham takes a cut at the first pitch, and hits a grounder to short. Abercrombie's got it, and throws him out easily for out number two. That brings up John Glenn. The 0-1 pitch.... and Glenn smacks a shot into the hole on the left side that rolls into left field. Base hit. Now George Heubel steps to the plate. Heubel with a swing at the 1-2 pitch.... and he knocks an easy fly ball to left field. York makes the play for the final out of the inning. No runs, one hit and no errors for Fort Wayne. At the end of one inning of play, there's no score."

"It's Art Allison to lead off the second for Washington. Art comes into the game with an amazing 18-game hitting streak. And the 0-1 pitch to Allison... swung on and grounded to second. McGeary picks it up, and throws to first for the out. One away. That brings up Tommy Beals, who's starting today because the regular catcher, Scott Hastings, has the day off. And Beals swings at the first pitch, and it's a looping pop-up to left field. No problem at all for John Glenn, who catches it for the second out. And now it's shortstop Dave Abercrombie coming up with two out and no one on. Abercrombie takes a swing at the 0-1 pitch, and he hits a blooper that looks like it's going to fall.... Heubel is running for it... he dives, and makes the play! Very nice play by George Heubel to get the final out of the inning. And Washington goes down in order in the second. After one and a half innings, there's no score."

"Right fielder Dick Higham starts things off for the Kekiongas. First pitch, and Higham hits one high and deep to right center field. Art Allison goes back... he's near the edge of the field, and he makes the catch. One down. Denny Mack, one of the surprise stars of this Fort Wayne team, comes up next. And the 1-0 pitch... Mack swings and hits a fly ball to left. It looks playable, and Tom York settles under it for the out. That brings up Tom Carey. Two balls and no strikes to Carey. He swings, and knocks a liner that goes just over the head of Dave Abercrombie for the base hit. That puts Charlie Mills at the plate with a dangerous runner on first. And there goes Carey on the first pitch! Beals fires it down to second, Ross Barnes puts on the tag, but too late! Carey is safe with his fifth stolen base on the season! And it's now a 2-2 count to Mills. Mills swings, and hits a fly ball to center field. That shouldn't be a problem for Lip Pike, and indeed it isn't. Pike makes the play for the third out. Fort Wayne gets no runs on one hit, and after two full innings, we're still scoreless."


okay, I'm too tired to finish this game. The rest will be completed tomorrow..... zzzzz.......

"Top of the third now, with Joe Battin leading off for the Olympics. Battin swings at the first pitch, and hits a grounder right to Mike McGeary, which he takes care of for the first out. That brings up the pitcher, Asa Brainard. Brainard also swings at the first pitch, and hits a slow grounder to the right side. This time McGeary has to charge it, he scoops it up - it'll be close - and gets him at first by half a step. Very nice play by Mike McGeary! Now we're back to Wes Fisler, the only Olympic player with a hit this game. Fisler works the count to full, and the pitch.... Fisler hits a hard grounder to the left side, and that's going to make it through for a base hit. Now up is Tom York, who grounded to third his first time up. And he swings at the 2-1 pitch, but grounds it right to shortstop Tom Carey, who scoops it up and throws out Fisler at second. No runs on one hit for Washington in the third. Through two and a half, there's still no score."

"Pitcher George Zettlein will start things off for Fort Wayne. Zettlein enters the game batting .277. And he swings - and hits a lazy fly to left. Tom York is right there, and makes the play for the first out of the inning. That brings up Mike McGeary, who's 0 for 1 - he flied to right his first time up. The 0-1 pitch, and he swings... and hits a grounder to Battin over at third, who throws him out for out number two. Next up is Ed Pinkham, who grounded out his first time up. The 2-2 pitch to Pinkham.... he drives a hard grounder down the third-base line. It gets by Battin, and York has to chase it down in the corner of the field. Pinkham cruises into second with a standup double. That brings up John Glenn, who singled his first time up. And Glenn swings hard at the first pitch.... it's lined hard, but right at Dave Abercrombie, who makes the play for the third out of the inning. No runs on one hit for Fort Wayne in the third. We've played three, and it's 0-0."

"Ross Barnes, 0 for 1 on the day, will start things off in the fourth inning. And Barnes takes a big cut at the first pitch.... he hits a liner to left, and that's going to fall in for a hit. That brings up Lip Pike, who popped up his first time up. And Barnes is running on the first pitch! Charlie Mills throws to second, but the throw goes wild! Barnes goes over to third on the error on catcher Charlie Mills. And the 2-1 pitch to Pike... Pike pulls the pitch into right field for a base hit. That will score Barnes, and make it a 1-0 game. Next up is Art Allison, who grounded to second his first time up. And this time it's Pike running on the first pitch! Mills again throws it away, and Pike too ends up on third. Not a great inning so far for Charlie Mills. And the 1-2 pitch to Allison - he hits a grounder right to Ed Pinkham, which freezes Pike on third, and Pinkham easily throws Allison out at first. One away. That brings up Tommy Beals, who's 0 for 1 on the day. The 0-1 pitch to Beals.... he knocks a shot into the left-center field gap. That's going to go for extra bases, as Beals slides into second with a double and Pike walks home to give the Olympics a 2-0 lead. Now it's Dave Abercrombie at the plate. Abercrombie was robbed of a hit by George Heubel last time up. The 0-1 pitch to Abercrombie... it's lined up the middle for a hit... NO! WAIT! An amazing diving catch by Tom Carey! Beals is already halfway to third, and Carey tosses it to McGeary for the third out of the inning. What a play by Tom Carey to get the Kekiongas out of trouble. For the inning, it's two runs on three hits, with two errors. At the end of three and a half, it's 2-0, Washington."

"George Heubel, who's 0 for 1 on the day, will start things out for Fort Wayne. The 0-1 pitch to Heubel, and he hits a routine grounder to Ross Barnes. Barnes throws over to first.... and the throw is in the dirt! Fisler is able to corral it but the throw pulled him off the bag and Heubel is safe at first. They're going to charge Ross Barnes with an error on that play. Next up is Dick Higham, who hit a long fly out his first time up. The 2-0 pitch, and it's another routine grounder to Barnes. This time, Barnes throws to Abercrombie at second for one.... but Abercrombie can't turn the double play in time. Fielder's choice. That brings up Denny Mack, who's 0 for 1 with a fly out. The 1-1 pitch to Mack... it's a double play ball right at Battin, who throws to second - and the throws sails into right field. Everybody's safe, and Battin is charged with the error. Now it's Tom Carey coming up, who made a fantastic defensive play to get the Kekiongas out of the last inning. The 1-0 pitch... and he hits an easy grounder back to the mound. Brainard turns and makes the quick throw to second, then it goes over to first for the inning-ending double play! Nice! That's no runs on no hits for Fort Wayne, with two errors and one left on base. After four, it's 2-0 Washington."

Question: is this kind of play-by-play for the occasional important game (first-place showdowns, postseason) worthwhile, or too tedious to be worth reading? I don't mind doing it if it's going to get read, but if not I'll abbreviate things a bit more.

You know, I see nothing wrong with this in a dynasty thread. Obviously, pick your moments and games wisely, but I'm all for it. But then again, I use to record play by play of my APBA games for replay back at later times. Man I was/am such a geek.

Ah, well - I didn't have time to write the rest of it as I simmed, so I had to hurry through the rest of the game.... ultimately, Fort Wayne came back to win 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth and Allison's hitting streak was snapped at 18 games. Fort Wayne now leads by a game and Philadelphia is ahead of Troy by two in the NA2 with nine to play.

Great stuff up in here Eck :)

Monday 4/29/1871

Standings Report

National Association I

Fort Wayne Kekiongas 14-9
Washington Olympics 12-11
Boston Red Caps 10-13
New York Mutuals 10-13

National Association II

Philadelphia Athletics 13-10
Troy Haymakers 13-10
Chicago White Stockings 10-13
Cleveland Forest Citys 10-13

With a week to go in the season, both of the pennant races are still wide open. The prediction here is that Philadelphia will hold off Troy and Washington will make a charge at the end to beat out Fort Wayne.

Thanks. Sometimes it's hard to know if these dynasty threads ever get read..... of course, then again, my first experience with these boards was lurking and reading Tiger Fan's HOB and HOB2 stuff.

Yeah, I know. I am having the same sort of existential crisis with my own dynasty thread :)

Anyway, I read your old one and have been following this one as well and will continue to do so.

Excellent. I'll try to make sure not to flake then... or to let my damn hard drive crap out again.

Monday 4/29/1871 games

Philadelphia 7, Troy 4

Frank Fleet went 3 for 4, scoring two runs and driving in two to lead the Athletics into first place with the win.

Fort Wayne 7, Washington 4

The Kekiongas overcame three-hit performances by Ross Barnes, Lip Pike and Dave Abercrombie to win at home against Washington and close in on the pennant.

Boston 6, New York 4

Chicago 11, Cleveland 4

Updated Standings

Fort Wayne 15-9
Washington 12-12
Boston 11-13
New York 10-14

Philadelphia 14-10
Troy 13-11
Chicago 11-13
Cleveland 10-14

Fort Wayne magic number: 4
Philadelphia magic number: 6

Tuesday 4/30/1871 Games

Fort Wayne 7, Washington 6

This game, which saw Fort Wayne come from behind in the bottom of the eighth on the strength of Denny Mack and Tom Carey doubles, pretty much dashed Washington's postseason hopes.

Philadelphia 10, Troy 6

Al Reach went 3 for 4 to lead the Athletics to victory in this crucial game.

Boston 6, New York 5

Chicago 14, Cleveland 2

Updated Standings

Fort Wayne 16-9
Boston 12-13
Washington 12-13
New York 10-15

Philadelphia 15-10
Troy 13-12
Chicago 12-13
Cleveland 10-15

Wednesday 5/1/1871 Games

Philadelphia 15, Chicago 14 (12 innings)

This game was a crazy one. Chicago entered the eighth inning up 11-3 and surrendered four runs in both the eighth and ninth to send the game into extra frames. Both teams scored two in the tenth and one in the eleventh before Philadelphia got an unanswered run in the bottom of the twelfth. Chicago's George Bechtel also became the first player ever to get six hits in a game, as he went 6 for 6 before being removed for a pinch-runner in the tenth.

Fort Wayne 5, New York 4

The Kekiongas are now guaranteed at least a tie for first in the NA1.

Washington 7, Boston 3

Troy 14, Cleveland 6

The standings:

Fort Wayne 17-9
Washington 13-13
Boston 12-14
New York 10-16

Philadelphia 16-10
Troy 14-12
Chicago 12-14
Cleveland 10-16

Four games left to play now.... Fort Wayne can clinch the pennant today.