Not easy but you could see it coming (1879)

You are the younger brother. Your older brother is very talented but so are you. You don't want to be in his shadow. Pretty natural. So that was the case with George Wright. Very talented. No doubt about it. But it was hard for him. His older brother was in the lime light. 12 years his senior. He was the "Father of Professional Baseball". What do you do?

Well, in 1879, after working side by side for a decade, you part ways and leave the team (the Boston Red Caps, now the Atlanta Braves) that you both play for. And it has some very far reaching and perhaps unexepected consequences. you leave Boston and head not to far away to Providence. Not easy but you could see it coming.

The Decline (1879)

Harry Wright, the Braves manager (then known as the Red Stockings) had a stunning run of success. Four straight National Association pennants from 1872-75. Then the National League formed and he won the first 2 out of 3 championships. Quite a run for sure.

Then in 1879 things began to go south for him. But it didn't only affect him. It affected major league baseball for a long time to come. It was the year the "reserve clause" was created due to problems created by Harry and his brother's George problems.

And so, in 1879 the Braves, under Harry Wright, ended up 54-30 in second place, 5 games behind the champions.