1870.12
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Chadwick Ponders Red Stockings' Decline: Lack of Onfield Harmony?
| Salience | Noteworthy |
|---|---|
| Tags | |
| Location | |
| City/State/Country: | United States |
| Modern Address | |
| Game | Base BallBase Ball |
| Immediacy of Report | Contemporary |
| Age of Players | AdultAdult |
| Holiday | |
| Notables | |
| Text | "THE REDSTOCKINGS AND THEIR RECENT DEFEATS -- Everybody in this vicinity is making the inquiry, 'What is the matter with the Reds?' Their recent defeats at Chicago and Rockford have surprised their friends here. . . [B]oth at Chicago and Rockford last week they were badly whipped. Something must be wrong. It is not the lack of skill or generalship that is the cause. We rather suspect that there is that same lack of harmony and acting in concert . . . which marked the play of the first Chicago nine. . . . In the game at Rockford on October 15, the Red Stockings received the worst defeat they have sustained since they first donned the red hose." |
| Sources | New York Sunday Mercury, October 23, 1870. |
| Warning | |
| Comment | Richard Hershberger, 150 years ago in baseball, posted October 23, 2020: "Chadwick considers the question of the Red Stockings' decline. How steep a decline this is in fact will be the topic for a post-season roundup. The season has a bit more to go yet, so this would be premature today. But it is certainly true that the Red Stockings are no longer dominant in the way they were in 1869.
"Chad, frankly, doesn't have a great answer. The "lack of harmony" stuff is boilerplate Chadwick, and he doesn't even pretend he has any factual basis for it. Beyond that he falls back on a parity argument. This isn't wrong, but doesn't explain what is different in 1870 from 1869. The rest of the baseball world was catching up, but he doesn't explain what exactly this means.
"The Red Stockings revolution was primarily about fielding. Their pitching and hitting were solid, but their fielding in 1869 was qualitatively better than anyone else's. This was about fielder positioning and where they went once the ball was in play, with an emphasis on backing up other players. And, to be blunt, it was about actually practicing. The New York/Philly baseball establishment had grown complacent. The clubs at the top saw no reason to change, since what they were doing obviously was working. That changed with the Red Stockings' June 1869 tour. That was a wake up call. By the end of the season the established teams were already better. It was June of 1870 when one finally beat the Red Stockings. Here in October, teams are beating them, well, not exactly regularly, but often enough. So it goes. Play in the field is in front of anyone who cares to look, so there aren't really any secrets in the long run."
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| Source Image | [[Image:|left|thumb]] |
| External Number | |
| Submitted by | Richard Hershberger |
| Submission Note | FB posting, 10/23/2020 |
| Has Supplemental Text |
1870.12 Chadwick Ponders Red Stockings' Decline: Lack of Onfield Harmony?"
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