The Bucs Start Here - A Pirates Do-Over

[luckymann]

After two full seasons of utter turmoil, the AL and NL finally bury the hatchet. 1903 will be the first united Major League campaign.

After a slow start as they reel from the loss of two of their best pitchers in Jack Chesbro and Jesse Tannehill – who had combined for nearly half of the Pirates’ 103 wins in ’02 – to the Highlanders, the Pirates storm back into contention, winning 15 straight including a record six shutouts in a row. Led by pitchers Sam Leever and Deacon Phillippe and with their offence powered by Honus Wagner, player-manager Fred Clarke and outfielder Ginger Beaumont, the Bucs eventually kick clear of the Giants to win another NL pennant by 6½ games.

In the AL, a 36-year-old Cy Young along with fellow pitcher Bill Dinneen and position players Buck Freeman and Patsy Daugherty lead the Boston Americans to a 91-47 year and comfortable pennant win, 14½ games clear of the defending champion A’s.

The tough campaign takes its toll on Pittsburgh, and with Wagner hobbled by a leg injury the Americans account for them in the first ever World Series by 5 games to 3. Of those eight games, Deacon Phillippe starts five for the Pirates in a superhuman, yet ultimately futile, effort.

• Twelve spectators are killed and nearly 300 injured when an overhang behind the third-base stands at Philadelphia’s Baker Bowl collapses during the first game of a doubleheader between the Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals on August 8.
• Washington’s Ed Delahanty is killed under mysterious circumstances near Niagara Falls on July 2. His body is found two days later at the bottom of the falls. His death ends a stellar career in which he batted .346 with 2,597 hits. Only four other players in the history of the game will list a higher career batting mark.
• The AL follows the lead of the NL and commences applying the foul ball rule as we now know it. As happened in the NL in 1901, the impact on the AL is telling as scoring falls by 17% and batting average drops from .275 to .255.
• The White Sox tie a major league record by committing 12 errors in one game on May 6. Detroit adds six to set an all-time mark for the most errors by both teams in one game, at 18. Still manages to beat the Tigers, 10-9.
• On August 1, Rube Waddell of the Philadelphia Athletics goes the distance and allows four hits against the New York Highlanders; all four hits are by Kid Elberfeld, setting an AL mark for most hits by one player while his teammates collect none. Elberfeld’s hits—and six walks given up by Waddell—lead to a 3-2 Highlanders victory over the A’s.
• The Boston Americans score in a major league record 17 straight innings over three games, setting the record on the day they clinch the AL pennant with a 14-3 home rout over Cleveland.
• The first known moving picture footage of a major league game is shot during a postseason series between the Cleveland Blues and the Cincinnati Reds.
• Cleveland Blues rookie Jesse Stovall tosses an 11-inning shutout against the Detroit Tigers, a feat that still remains as the longest shutout ever for a major league pitching debut.
• On October 1, Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Jimmy Sebring becomes the first player to hit a home run in the World Series when he connects for a solo shot off of Boston's Cy Young in the seventh inning. The very next day, Americans outfielder Patsy Dougherty becomes the first player to hit multiple homers in a WS game when he drills solo shots in each of the 1st and 6th inning of Game 2.

Top Ten Lists (courtesy of thisgreatgame.com)

NL Hitters

1. HONUS WAGNER, PITTSBURGH

• Key Numbers: .355 average, 19 triples, 5 home runs, 101 RBIs, 46 stolen bases.
• Wagner returned to the top podium in the NL batting race for the first time in three years—and the first of six times over the next seven seasons.

2. JIMMY SHECKARD, BROOKLYN

• Key Numbers: .332 average, 99 runs, 9 home runs, 75 RBIs, 75 walks, 67 stolen bases.
• Sheckard returned to prominence in Brooklyn following a disappointing 1902 season in which he fled to the AL’s Baltimore Orioles—and then fled from them after four games when he realized what a mistake he had made.

3. FRANK CHANCE, CHICAGO

• Key Numbers: .327 average, 83 runs, 81 RBIs, 78 walks, 67 stolen bases, .439 on-base percentage.
• The soon-to-be Cubs manager evolved from part-time catcher to everyday first baseman, allowing him the opportunity to show off his everyday penchant for reaching base.

4. MIKE DONLIN, CINCINNATI

• Key Numbers: .351 average, 110 runs, 18 triples, 7 home runs, 67 RBIs.
• A year after spending five months in jail for assaulting an actress and her boyfriend/escort, Donlin got in a rare full season—and a good one, too.

5. FRED CLARKE, PITTSBURGH

• Key Numbers: .351 average, 88 runs, 32 doubles, 15 triples, 5 home runs, 70 RBIs.
• The Pirates’ manager-outfielder continued to lead by example, hitting for his second highest average following a .390 mark during his 1897 rookie managerial effort at Louisville.

6. SAM MERTES, NEW YORK

• Key Numbers: .280 average, 100 runs, 32 doubles, 14 triples, 7 home runs, 104 RBIs, 45 stolen bases.
• One of the rare cases of an AL player being stolen away from a NL team (though the Giants had become awfully good at that), Mertes cooled off after a blazing start but still reigned as one of the NL’s top sluggers of the moment.

7. ROGER BRESNAHAN, NEW YORK

• Key Numbers: 113 games, .350 average, 87 runs, 30 doubles, 61 walks.
• Playing most of the year in the outfield before finding his calling as an inventive catcher, Bresnahan sparkled with a career-high batting average.

8. GINGER BEAUMONT, PITTSBURGH

• Key Numbers: .341 average, 137 runs, 209 hits, 7 home runs, 68 RBIs.
• The speedy redhead paced the NL in runs for the only time in his career, while notching his lone 200-hit season.

9. CY SEYMOUR, CINCINNATI

• Key Numbers: .342 average, 85 runs, 191 hits, 15 triples, 7 home runs, 72 RBIs.
• Seymour returned to the NL as a dangerous hitter after leaving it as a workhorse pitcher in 1900.

10. JAKE BECKLEY, CINCINNATI

• Key Numbers: .327 average, 29 doubles, 10 triples, 81 RBIs.
• Like fine wine, the 36-year-old Beckley continued to show how he could do it better than most others in the majors.

AL Hitters

1. NAP LAJOIE, CLEVELAND

• Key Numbers: 125 games, .344 average, 90 runs, 167 hits, 41 doubles, 7 home runs, 93 RBIs.
• Lajoie was able to fully concentrate on baseball a year after the bitter tug-of-war between the leagues got him sidelined by the courts.

2. SAM CRAWFORD, DETROIT

• Key Numbers: .335 average, 23 doubles, 25 triples, 89 RBIs.
• After being among the last of the highly disputed acquisitions between the AL and NL, Crawford came, saw and conquered the junior circuit.

3. BILL BRADLEY, CLEVELAND

• Key Numbers: .313 average, 101 runs, 36 doubles, 22 triples.
• A solid year for Bradley highlighted with single-game accomplishments; he became the first player in franchise history to hit for the cycle, while becoming the first American Leaguer to nail three triples in one game.

4. BUCK FREEMAN, BOSTON

• Key Numbers: 141 games, .287 average, 39 doubles, 20 triples, 13 home runs, 104 RBIs.
• The AL’s premier bruiser by the numbers, Freeman led the AL for the second straight year in both extra-base hits and RBIs while leading it in home runs for the only time in his career.

5. PATSY DOUGHERTY, BOSTON

• Key Numbers: .331 average, 107 runs, 195 hits, 35 stolen bases.
• Dougherty enjoyed the salad days of his very short—yet popular—tenure at Boston.

6. JIMMY COLLINS, BOSTON

• Key Numbers: .296 average, 33 doubles, 17 triples, 5 home runs, 72 RBIs.
• Despite not hitting .300 for the first time in three years, the third baseman-manager remained a tough out while leading the Americans (Red Sox) to their first world title.

7. FREDDY PARENT, BOSTON

• Key Numbers: .304 average, 31 doubles, 17 triples, 4 home runs, 80 RBIs.
• Known more for his abilities at shortstop, Parent had one of his stronger years at the plate.

8. HARRY DAVIS, PHILADELPHIA

• Key Numbers: 106 games, .298 average, 6 home runs, 55 RBIs.
• A midseason injury kept Davis from ranking higher on the list as he warmed up for his upcoming reign as the AL’s premier bopper.

9. SOCKS SEYBOLD, PHILADELPHIA

• Key Numbers: .299 average, 45 doubles, 8 home runs, 84 RBIs.
• The veteran outfielder kept the top home run spot warm for Davis by leading the A’s with eight—while leading the AL with 45 doubles.

10. CHARLIE HICKMAN, CLEVELAND

• Key Numbers: .295 average, 12 home runs, 97 RBIs.
• In one of the few seasons he’d spend with just one team, Hickman set a career high in home runs.

NL Pitchers

1. JOE MCGINNITY, NEW YORK

• Key Numbers: 2.43 ERA, 31 wins, 20 losses, 55 games, 48 starts, 44 complete games, 434 innings.
• Firmly established in New York under manager John McGraw, McGinnity was let loose and racked up a NL modern era-record 434 innings along with his first of two straight 30-win campaigns.

2. SAM LEEVER, PITTSBURGH

• Key Numbers: 2.06 ERA, 25 wins, 7 losses, .781 win percentage, 284.1 innings.
• Though Deacon Phillippe would be remembered in this season for his workhorse performance at the World Series, Leever was his exhaustive equal during the regular season—with slightly better efficiency.

3. DEACON PHILLIPPE, PITTSBURGH

• Key Numbers: 2.43 ERA, 25 wins, 9 losses, 289.1 innings.
• Phillippe’s 25 wins would represent a personal best and cap a run of five straight years with at least 20.

4. JACK TAYLOR, CHICAGO

• Key Numbers: 2.45 ERA, 21 wins, 14 losses, 312.1 innings.
• A slight dropdown for Taylor from his stellar 1902 effort—but the Cubs still got rid of him after the season because of his attraction to being bribed. Not that Chicago risked talent loss; in trading Taylor to the Cardinals, the Cubs got Three Finger Brown in return.

5. CHRISTY MATHEWSON, NEW YORK

• Key Numbers: 2.26 ERA, 30 wins, 13 losses, 45 games, 42 starts, 366.1 innings, 267 strikeouts.
• The Giants’ saint to the sinner that was the feisty Joe McGinnity (above), the straitlaced Mathewson began his run of three straight 30-win efforts—and his strikeout total was the most by a National Leaguer until Sandy Koufax came along.

6. NOODLES HAHN, CINCINNATI

• Key Numbers: 2.52 ERA, 22 wins, 12 losses, 296 innings.
• The Reds’ workhorse ace completed every one of his 34 starts but failed to pitch over 300 innings for the first time in his career.

7. JAKE WEIMER, CHICAGO

• Key Numbers: 2.30 ERA, 20 wins, 8 losses, 282 innings.
• The rookie 20-game-winner felt close to home in Chicago; after all, he was only 250 miles from his Iowa hometown.

8. TULLY SPARKS, PHILADELPHIA

• Key Numbers: 2.72 ERA, 11 wins, 15 losses.
• After bouncing around here and there over the past six seasons with virtually no success, Sparks finally found his rhythm with the Phillies by becoming a master of mixing up the velocity of his pitches.

9. OSCAR JONES, BROOKLYN

• Key Numbers: 2.94 ERA, 19 wins, 14 losses, 324.1 innings.
• Nicknamed Flip-Flap for reasons we’re yet to uncover, Jones set a career mark for wins in his first (and arguably best) of a mere three years he’d spend in the majors.

10. VIC WILLIS, BOSTON

• Key Numbers: 2.98 ERA, 12 wins, 18 losses, 278 innings.
• A rare year in the career of Willis when he didn’t win and/or lose 20 games; still, his 12-18 mark failed to dignify a quality ERA.

AL Pitchers

1. CY YOUNG, BOSTON

• Key Numbers: 2.08 ERA, 28 wins, 9 losses, .757 win percentage, 341.2 innings, 37 walks.
• Young failed to reach 30 wins for the first time since joining the AL, but for all it was worth, he certainly could hit (a career-high .321 in 137 at-bats).

2. BILL DINNEEN, BOSTON

• Key Numbers: 2.26 ERA, 21 wins, 13 losses, 299 innings.
• The Americans’ World Series hero (two shutouts against Pittsburgh) continued to flank Young as a worthy #2 during the regular season at Boston.

3. EARL MOORE, CLEVELAND

• Key Numbers: 1.74 ERA, 20 wins, 8 losses.
• In between a rotten start and final month curtailed by injury, the sidewinding Moore put together a sterling career-year campaign.

4. ADDIE JOSS, CLEVELAND

• Key Numbers: 2.19 ERA, 18 wins, 13 losses, 283.2 innings.
• There would be no sophomore jinx for Joss, who followed up a solid rookie season with a better second one; from here, it would only get better.

5. RUBE WADDELL, PHILADELPHIA

• Key Numbers: 2.44 ERA, 21 wins, 16 losses, 324 innings.
• For the second straight season, Waddell managed to rack up 20+ wins for the A’s despite not being around from start to finish; in this case, he left in mid-August to chase a stage career.

6. EDDIE PLANK, PHILADELPHIA

• Key Numbers: 2.38 ERA, 23 wins, 16 losses, 43 games, 40 starts, 336 innings.
• The A’s gave Plank one less run of support per start than the year before, but that’s okay—he lowered his ERA by a run to compensate.

7. BILL BERNHARD, CLEVELAND

• Key Numbers: 2.12 ERA, 14 wins, 5 losses.
• Though he was limited to 20 appearances, Bernhard made the most of it and ran his two-year record to a terrific 32-10.

8. WILLIE SUDHOFF, ST. LOUIS

• Key Numbers: 2.27 ERA, 21 wins, 15 losses, 293.2 innings.
• Typically an average major league pitcher (at best) who historically lost more than he won, Sudhoff had one shining moment of a season for the Browns.

9. BILL DONOVAN, DETROIT

• Key Numbers: 2.29 ERA, 17 wins, 16 losses, 307 innings.
• The right-hander began a consistently efficient (if not injury-prone) 10-year tenure with the Tigers with his finest career ERA to date.

10. GEORGE MULLIN, DETROIT

• Key Numbers: 2.25 ERA, 19 wins, 15 losses, 320.2 innings.
• Despite his predilection for walks—he led the AL for the first of four straight years with 106—Mullin dropped his ERA from a 3.67 rookie showing the year before, and logged 300 innings for the first of five consecutive seasons.

[luckymann]

White Sox outfielder Hugh Duffy decides to retire at age 37.

A torn elbow flexor knocks Americans’ reliever Dad Hale out for the season.

Little to report from ST as all goes well and we fashion a 14-4 record. The Reds are tipped to win the NL this year, 3 games ahead of us with an 84-56 record. The Browns are expected to kind of romp it in in the AL, winning it by 9 from the Highlanders (a new franchise in New York, moved from Baltimore) in a blanket finish.

FULL PRESEASON PREDICTIONS

[luckymann]

Our attempt at a three-peat has been made immeasurably more difficult by the addition of some quality players to some of our rivals’ ranks. Still, I feel no compulsion to change our squad at the outset.

Here’s an update on how that squad looks at Opening Day and their 1902 highlights:

Catchers

• Billy Maloney: 307 wOBA / 1.7 WAR did enough after Ossee went down to regain the everyday role to start the season
• Ossee Schreckengost: 341 BA / 1.5 WAR in just 58 games before being injured
• Charlie Dexter can also fill in at backstop but will continue to be our #1 utility around the horn

Infielders

• Danny Murphy: 273 BA / 108 OPS+ will be our everyday 1B despite a drop in production in ’02 and his defensive liabilities at the slot
• Jimmy Williams: 19 3B and 154 ISO led the league, ended up with 4.7 WAR after a slow start
• Harry Steinfeldt: 74 RBI / 361 wOBA / 137 OPS+ rock solid all year
• Honus Wagner: 6.1 RC27 / 149 OPS+ / 6.6 WAR / NL MVP again despite a slightly down year
• Charlie Irwin
• Charles Moran

Outfielders

• Fred Clarke 301/348/433 slash, 5 HR / 132 ISO / 4.6 WAR combined for us and the Phillies
• Matty McIntyre: 4.6 RC27 but undoubtedly suffered a sophomore slump and needs to get back to his best with Hoffman in the wings
• Socks Seybold: 312 BA and with 5.1 WAR a solid contribution despite his power numbers being down
• Danny Hoffman
• Ernie Courtney

Rotation

• Deacon Phillippe: 25-11 / 2.63 ERA / 6.9 WAR / 85 FIP- our rock in ’02 and promoted to SP1
• Jack Chesbro: 18-18 / 2.62 ERA / 343.2 IP / 7.4 WAR a true workhorse but consistency issues are a concern and we need him to sort them out
• Mike O’Neill: 15-12 / 2.50 ERA / 87 FIP- more improvement from Mike in ’02 in a really solid year and looking for the same again here
• Doc McJames: 1.44 ERA / 84 FIP- in 68.2 IP did enough after his promotion into the rotation to hold his spot

Bullpen

• Frank Owen: 10-13 / 3.84 ERA needs to bounce back from a poor year
• John Malarkey: 7-3 / 2.37 ERA / 11 SV another reliable campaign, but I’m going with Altrock in the stopper role to begin the year; I just like the LHP there
• Wiley Piatt: just 13 IP but 1.35 ERA shows he did what was asked of him
• Nick Altrock called up late but looked great and gets a promotion as reward

The preseason predictions have us going 74-66 and finishing in third, 6 games back from the Superbas. They are picking the White Sox to pip the Browns in the AL.

I say: BRING IT!!

PITTSBURGH HOME PAGE

[luckymann]

An anything-but-convincing start to our 1903 campaign indeed, but the fact that we’ve come out of it with a winning record is heartening because I am not sure we can play much worse than we have to this point.

We end the month at 7-6, 2½ games behind Boston. Surprisingly, the Giants – whom, with Ames now joining Mathewson to give them the best 1-2 pitching punch in the league, I believe to be the favourites this season – are a game behind us. Still, only early doors and I am sure they are panicking as little as we are.

Hot - April

• Danny Hoffmann: has impressed mightily in limited opportunities and is pushing for everyday selection.
• Danny Murphy: stood tall while others went missing to finish with a 367 BA.
• Jack Chesbro: undoubtedly the only reason we are above 500, took his relegation from the #1 spot with typical good grace and then went out and won Pitcher of the Month with a 4-0 / 0.71 stanza.

Not - April

• The rest of our pitchers: team ERA of 3.27 would be a fair whack higher without Chesbro’s contribution.
• Socks Seybold / Jimmy Williams / Harry Steinfeldt / Matty McIntyre: all hitting sub-225 with OPS at or below 600.

Around the Leagues

• No clear leader in the AL, who again started their season some time after us. Cleveland nominally leads from the A’s and Highlanders.
• The Beaneaters have set the pace in the NL, and lead Cincy by 1½ with a 10-4 record.

Awards

• 04/20 POTW: AL – N/A; NL – Bobby Wallace (St. Louis) .450 / 5 RBI.
• 04/27 POTW: AL – Nap Lajoie (Philadelphia) .500 / 5 RBI; NL – Ed Delahanty (Boston) .444 / 6 RBI.

• AL Batter of the Month: Nap Lajoie (Philadelphia) .436 / 1 HR / 11 RBI.
• NL Batter of the Month: Ed Delahanty (Boston) .421 / 0 HR / 11 RBI.
• AL Pitcher of the Month: Earl Moore (Cleveland) 2-0 / 1.50 / 10 K / 18 IP.
• NL Pitcher of the Month: Jack Chesbro (Pittsburgh) 4-0 / 0.71 / 15 K / 38 IP.
• AL Rookie of the Month: Jake Weimer (Boston) 2-1 / 1.67 / 15 K / 27 IP.
• NL Rookie of the Month: Oscar Jones (Cincinnati) 3-0 / 2.33 / 10 K / 27 IP.

S+ HOME

REPORTS HOME

[luckymann]

Most PA with 0 Career HR

[luckymann]

After an off-day we have fifteen straight games, which should hopefully shake off the cobwebs.

It doesn’t, at least not to begin with as we trade wins and losses with apparent equanimity over the first week and show signs of both improvement (O’Neill, Steinfeldt) and regression (Chesbro in a big way—his ERA balloons to 2.58 within two May starts). We’re not alone; the league looks very evenly-matched this season, and only five games separate top from bottom in both circuits entering mid-month. Still, it’s disconcerting this middling form nearly a month into the season, and I have to remind myself that this is the group that has won us two rings and they can’t have collectively dropped off a cliff.

One thing that certainly hasn’t changed is our abject inability to beat the Reds. They beat us 12 of 20 last season and take seven of our first nine this time around.

And it only gets harder to keep the faith as things progressively worsen over the remainder of the month, with few aspects of our game working at all. Even our defence, which had been much tighter in the early going, reverts to type and we post consecutive five-error games, giving up five unearned runs in each, both losses of course. (Although saying that, we commit seven in a later game against the Giants and still win.)

This coincides with the Beaneaters putting together a nice run as we fall well off the pace, at one point 7 ½ games back before we rally just a smidge to finish at 20-21, five games adrift. That means we have gone 13-15 for May.

Hot

• Honus Wagner: strings together a hitting streak of 34 consecutive games before an ohfer late in the month strands him just 2 shy of Zaza Harvey’s record 36. This is perhaps Honus’s finest month in this league. He slashes 413/471/624 with 3 HR and 17 RBI, has a wOBA of 493, 223 wRC+ and 2.5 WAR, and as we enter June sits in the top five for all three Triple Crown categories.
• Fred Clarke: no second-banana to Dutchie by any means, Cap hits 321 and bests Honus with 18 RBI.
• Danny Murphy: without these top three, we’d be twice as far back as we are. Murph is third in the league with 27 runs, and continued his fine year with a 300/320/370 slash line for May.
• Doc McJames: continues to impress, going 3-2 with a 1.60 for the month and winning a couple of tough and crucial matchups for us.

Not

• Jimmy Williams: OPS+ of 58 is the most damning stat for a hugely talented guy who often doesn’t seem like his heart’s in it and who appears on this side of the ledger far too regularly.
• Socks Seybold: a month of two halves, with the first fortnight just dire. Has woken up a bit in recent games and hopefully this is a sign of him returning to his swashbuckling best.
• Jack Chesbro: his greatness will always be tarnished by his inconsistency. After that stupendous April he goes a decidedly pedestrian 0-5 / 4.28. Simply must control the whiplash.

Around the Leagues

• The Beaneaters have pinched a tiny break in the NL to lead by 3 from a pack of five teams within two games of each other (in which we are the back-marker).
• The AL is tighter at the top – with the new Highlanders franchise starting well to lead by a game and a half from the White Sox – but a bit more strung out as you move downward. Still, far too early to be drawing too much from it.
• Andy Coakley pitches a 13-inning two-hitter with 9 strikeouts (and 7 walks!) for the White Sox in a 1-0 win over Boston.

Awards

• 05/04 POTW: AL – Bill Bradley (Cleveland) .520 / 4 RBI; NL – Bobby Wallace (St. Louis) .423 / 2 HR / 9 RBI.
• 05/11 POTW: AL – Charlie Hickman (New York) .444 / 6 RBI; NL – Duff Cooley (Chicago) .433 / 3 RBI.
• 05/18 POTW: AL – Patsy Dougherty (New York) .400 / 10 RBI; NL – Harry Bemis (New York) .667 / 2 RBI.
• 05/25 POTW: AL – Earl Moore (Cleveland) 2-0 / 0.00 / 11 K / 18 IP; NL – George Browne (St. Louis) .458 / 1 HR / 7 RBI.

• AL Batter of the Month: Charlie Hickman (New York) .382 / 2 HR / 20 RBI.
  
• NL Batter of the Month: Honus Wagner (Pittsburgh) .413 / 3 HR / 17 RBI.
• AL Pitcher of the Month: Otto Hess (Washington) 7-0 / 1.22 / 30 K / 73.2 IP.
• NL Pitcher of the Month: Christy Mathewson (New York) 6-1 / 1.34 / 45 K / 67 IP.
• AL Rookie of the Month: Norwood Gibson (Washington) 4-3 / 2.43 / 38 K / 59.1 IP.
• NL Rookie of the Month: Barney Wolfe (Boston) 5-3 / 2.07 / 24 K / 74 IP.

S+ HOME

REPORTS HOME

PIRATES HOME

[luckymann]

Most innings with a 0.00 ERA

[Brad K]

Getting Clarke was a good move. The team can't be all Wagner.

[luckymann]

Originally Posted by Brad K

Getting Clarke was a good move. The team can't be all Wagner.

He's been huge for us since coming over.

[luckymann]

Early in the month, I pull the trigger on my first trade of the season.

TRADE 1 OF 5: (06/03): 2B Jimmy Williams and RP Lave Winham to New York for IF Charlie Hickman.

I just felt this was a bit of a twofer, not just swapping out a patchy hitter whose numbers have dropped each season for a more consistent one, but also one that helps us defensively, allowing Murphy to move to his more familiar 2B and Charlie to man first. He can also play the other three IF slots with varying degrees of skill as well as OF. I certainly feel it makes us a better club moving forward, especially given the attitudinal issues of Jimmy’s I have spoken about.

It certainly has the desired effect, as we put together a pair of good wins not long after, beating the Beaneaters 8-3 and 12-1 in successive games to stick our noses above 500. In the second of those games, Wagner has five hits and Hickman goes deep for the first time this year.

We slowly drag ourselves up the standings with a 7-3 run in mid-month and some good signs are definitely creeping into our play. One of these is a 13-0 hammering of Brooklyn in which Chesbro pitches a five-hitter and Wagner goes yard twice to continue his outstanding year. Seybold, who also homers in this one, is working so hard to turn it around and I feel confident a breakthrough in that regard is imminent. But we are still way too inconsistent, as our 3-0 shutout loss the day after that blowout is testament to, as we collect just three hits and look as impotent as impotent can be.

The pack bunches right up over this period as the Beaneaters lose six on the trot and the peloton reels them in. We go into a four-game swing against them just two back and therefore within reach. Instead, we drop three from four and head back into mid-standings no man’s land.

The last of these games, a poor 8-1 loss, finally forces my hand as O’Neill is banished to the pen, with McJames moved up to SP3 and Owen in as the spot starter.

We continue our spotty form right thru the end of the month and finish – almost as if in a deliberate effort to highlight our middle-of-the-road status – at 33-33, six games off the pace.

Hot

• Jack Chesbro: continues his rollercoaster ride with a 5-1 / 0.75 month.
• Deacon Phillippe: 5-2 with a 1.60 ERA and has improved with each month after an iffy start to the season.
• Honus Wagner: cools off just a bit, but still well within range of a Triple Crown. 347/402/592 slash with 190 OPS+, 454 wOBA and 2.1 WAR for the month.
• Danny Murphy: continues to be our driving force at the top of the lineup. Fourth in the NL with 45 runs scored and his 12 ribbies for the month from the leadoff spot are our third highest.

Not

• We are not doing anything dreadfully, but rather down across the board from previous campaigns.
• Charlie Hickman: some adjustment issues no doubt, as he hits just 250 for June. Still contributes 3 homers and an equal-high 15 RBI, so no buyer’s remorse just yet.

Around the Leagues

• I accept now that I have been guilty of taking the Beaneaters too lightly, as it becomes clear over the course of the month that they are indeed the real deal. They convince me of this when they rebound from a six-game losing streak in the first half to go 10-4 in the second. With this run, they stretch their lead at the top of the NL to 3½ games, a margin that would be wider were it not for the Superbas stringing together eight on the trot, a streak they’ll carry into the new month. Ed Delahanty is having an unbelievable season for Boston, with his BA currently sitting at 418 after a POTM-winning June in which he hits 469, and their rotation looks solid as a rock. They’ll take some catching from the look of it.
• The AL remains incredibly tight, with the top three teams – Chicago, Cleveland and New York – within two games of each other and just nine games separating penthouse from cellar.

Awards

• 06/01 POTW: AL – Nap Lajoie (Philadelphia) 458 / 1 HR / 6 RBI; NL – Steve Brodie (Brooklyn) 632 / 1 HR / 6 RBI.
• 06/08 POTW: AL – Buck Freeman (Boston) 435 / 4 HR / 10 RBI; NL – Ed Delahanty (Boston) 600 / 2 RBI.
• 06/15 POTW: AL – Mike Donlin (New York) 609 / 3 RBI; NL – Dummy Taylor (Chicago) 2-0 / 0.00 / 9 K / 22 IP.
• 06/22 POTW: AL – Ed Abbaticchio (Cleveland) 486 / 4 RBI; NL – Bill Keister (Boston) 423 / 1 HR / 8 RBI.
• 06/29 POTW: AL – Mike Donlin (New York) 464 / 6 RBI; NL – Jimmy Sheckhard (Brooklyn) 500 / 1 HR / 7 RBI.

• AL Batter of the Month: Buck Freeman (Boston) 358 / 7 HR / 23 RBI.
• NL Batter of the Month: Ed Delahanty (Boston) 469 / 2 HR / 16 RBI.
• AL Pitcher of the Month: Otto Hess (Washington) 5-2 / 1.41 / 36 K / 70 IP.
• NL Pitcher of the Month: Bill Donovan (Brooklyn) 6-2 / 1.35 / 32 K / 66.2 IP.
• AL Rookie of the Month: Charles Bender (Philadelphia) 4-3 / 2.91 / 21 K / 58.2 IP.
• NL Rookie of the Month: Weldon Henley (St. Louis) 6-1 / 2.55 / 29 K / 60 IP.

S+ HOME

REPORTS HOME

PIRATES HOME

[luckymann]

Most Hits without 2B / 3B / HR

[Brad K]

Six games out July 1 is usually manageable. Its not the games out that's the hard part here. The hard part is having 3 teams between you and first place.

Good trade. Strengthening the regular lineup is the way to go in this situation.

[luckymann]

Originally Posted by Brad K

Six games out July 1 is usually manageable. Its not the games out that's the hard part here. The hard part is having 3 teams between you and first place.

Good trade. Strengthening the regular lineup is the way to go in this situation.

It's a tough one, we've just never really got a run on so far and Boston - Delahanty, especially, in the season in which he died IRL - are on fire. We just can't afford to fall any further back.

[luckymann]

As we reach the halfway point of the season and are still a half-dozen games in arrears, one damning stat sticks out like the proverbials: we haven’t won consecutive games since mid-June. So am I to take it as a good omen or just coincidence when we do so with games 69 and 70 for the year? At this point I’ll take pretty much anything.

Seybold drifts back into sheer unproductivity (071 with 2 RBI thru the first ten games of the month), and my patience is up. First step is to flip Hoffman into the everyday RF slot, with Socks only starting v LHP. But as an age-32 defensively one-dimensional player on a decent wage, his time with us is limited and I begin actively looking for a longer-term solution. Just not sure what that is yet.

Of course, the very next game he hits a pinch 2-run homer.

We do lift our game in this first half of July, winning seven of our first ten to get four games above 500 for the first time all year. In the tenth of these, Hickman comes alive with a pair of two-run homers, the second of which walks it off for a dramatic 6-4 win. (He has a 4 hit / 5 RBI game a few days later as well in a nice little stretch.)

Meanwhile the Beaneaters have cooled off again and the field squeezes up once more to leave just 3½ games between first and sixth as we host Boston for three with them on a losing streak of five at the series’ outset. We take two of three as the Cards slip into first.

This could take a while.

I find my guy to replace Seybold, but the price needs a fair bit of haggling – both in my own mind and with my counterpart on the other side – before we finally nut it out.

TRADE 2 OF 5: (07/17): RF Socks Seybold, OF Ernie Courtney, and RP John Malarkey and Wiley Piatt to Washington for OF Kid Nance.

Kid profiles as a younger version of Socks, with perhaps just the gentlest upgrade in quality on offence (along with a fair step down on defence in RF). Yes, it costs us three more players for that putative increment, but none of them really had much of a future at the club anyway. Yes, we’ll take a bit of a turnstile-hit because of Socks’ personality, but the club is still too young for budgetary constraints to really have any overt influence. So I am happy with the deal in every regard.

Kid will now be our everyday RF, with Danny back to backup duties, which is what he is best suited for at this early stage of his career.

While I’m in the mood for wheeling and dealing, I lock Hickman down for three years @ $2400 per.

All of which is mere prelude for the key stretch that takes us to the end of July, in which we play both the Reds and Cards four times each. We enter it in third place at 46-40, 4½ back of leaders St. Louis and 1½ to the good of Cincy, with Brooklyn, Boston and Chicago all thereabouts.

We win the first three of these to make it five straight, the first time all season we’ve won more than four in a row, then drop two to our bogeymen the Reds, then finish the month off on a positive tip with three straight Ws.

We are tied for first.

A stunning performance by the group to get back into contention, as we put together a 19-9 month. We’ve gone from being unable to string wins together to only losing back-to-back games twice.

That said, there is still so much work to do in what is turning out to be the tightest NL race yet.

This promises to be one hot August.

Hot

• Our starters: very few dips in production all month and some truly outstanding performances among them. Wagner gets the league’s PotM award, but Clarke and McIntyre would have been equally deserving recipients.
• Our SP1 thru 3: Phillippe and Chesbro have been monumental almost all year and Owen has worked super hard for us in the three-spot.

Not

• Our bench: there will come a time before this season is out that our bench will be crucial to our success, and guys like Schreckengost, Hoffman and Irwin simply must start contributing when called upon.
• SP4: The McJames Experiment, as I am calling it, is only a couple poor starts away from being ditched. Altrock looks likeliest to be given the next shot, but hopefully Doc can turn things around and we don’t have to go there.

Around the Leagues

• Just unbelievably tight in the NL, with the top six still all well and truly up to their necks in it.
• As much because of a dropoff in form by the Naps as their own strong performance, the White Sox take a stranglehold on the AL race, leading the league by seven games.
• A strained medial ligament ends Americans 3B Tommy Leach’s season. A broken elbow bone from being HBP does likewise for his teammate Heinie Wagner right at the end of the month.

• The updated Top 100 Prospects list is released. Charlie Smith is at #4. He gets called up after the Nance trade and acquits himself well in (very) limited opportunities. It has also accelerated his dev, which is great.

Awards

• 07/06 POTW: AL – Kid Nance (Washington) 500 / 6 RBI; NL – Ed Delahanty (Brooklyn) 500 / 1 HR / 8 RBI.
• 07/13 POTW: AL – Doc Gessler (New York) 593 / 2 RBI; NL – Bob Rhoads (St. Louis) 2-0 / 0.45 ERA / 6 K / 20 IP.
• 07/20 POTW: AL – Wid Conroy (Detroit) 524 / 4 RBI; NL – Weldon Henley (St. Louis) 2-0 / 0.00 ERA / 11 K / 17 IP.
• 07/27 POTW: AL – Bill Bradley (Cleveland) 500 / 4 RBI; NL – Honus Wagner (Pittsburgh) 474 / 5 RBI.

• AL Batter of the Month: Doc Gessler (New York) 466 / 0 HR / 12 RBI.
• NL Batter of the Month: Honus Wagner (Pittsburgh) 379 / 1 HR / 23 RBI.
• AL Pitcher of the Month: Charles Bender (Philadelphia) 6-2 / 1.61 / 48 K / 72.2 IP.
• NL Pitcher of the Month: Deacon Phillippe (Pittsburgh) 7-1 / 2.29 / 25 K / 70.2 IP.
• AL Rookie of the Month: Charles Bender (Philadelphia).
• NL Rookie of the Month: Weldon Henley (St. Louis) 6-0 / 1.15 / 26 K / 55 IP.

S+ HOME

REPORTS HOME

PIRATES HOME

[luckymann]

Most wins in debut season

[luckymann]

Another quirky August schedule that sees us play just 18 games. This time, however, it proves undoubtedly to be a good thing as Deacon Phillippe is granted two weeks’ personal leave to attend to a family matter. I use this as an opportunity to see where Charlie Smith is at. It is a risk but I think he’s the better option than Mike O’Neill, who will be waiting in the wings should things go poorly enough. The regular days off will limit his usage anyway. Win Kellum gets called up off the RR.

The lads are absolutely magnificent in response. Some highlights:

• Danny Murphy has a 5-ribbie game to help get us a rare win over Jesse Tannehill.
• When it looks like Phillippe will be back before Smith has even had a start, I put him in for a game against Brooklyn. The bats stake him to an 8-0 early lead and, while he struggles, we still get the 12-7 victory. He does end up getting a second start, pitching well against the Giants for a no-decision in a 10-inning, 5-4 win that extends our win streak to 9 games, our longest for the season.

All up, Deacon misses 13 games, in which we go 11 and 2—a supreme effort by the group that has procured us a mini-break of 4½ games with 30 to play. His first game back he outpitches Christy Mathewson in a 5-2 win. In the end we win 11 straight. The loss that breaks this streak is a shocker, as Mike O’Neill’s dire season continues when he blows a 6-1 lead by giving up 7 in the 9th. We lose the next day as well.
Sometimes that sort of loss is all it takes to upset the old apple cart.

Not with this bunch, it seems, as they recover quickly and take four of five against the Redbirds to cap off an unbelievable month, undoubtedly the finest in this franchise’s short MLB history. Not just because of the 18-6 record, but the circumstances under which it was achieved.

Hot

• The entire group: stood tall under fierce pressure and now once again has control of its destiny entering the final month.
• Matty McIntyre: especially early in the month when we really needed it, Matty was our rock, hitting 452 with a 231 OPS+ and 526 wOBA in the first half of the stanza.
• Frank Owen: 5-0 / 1.32 / 77 FIP- and a key to us holding fast in Phillippe’s absence.

Not
Not a one.

Around the Leagues

• Still plenty of chances for both ourselves and the White Sox, who lead the AL by 6, to slip up. These races aren't done yet.
• Andy Coakley of the White Sox becomes the first pitcher this season to reach the 20-win mark.
• A’s gun rookie Charles Bender pitches all 16 innings in a 7-2 win over the Highlanders, allowing just 8 hits and fanning 11.
• After their game at St. Louis is tied going into extra innings, the Highlanders score an amazing 11 runs in the 13th and eventually win it 15-6.
• Cards outfielder Charlie Hemphill hits for the cycle in a 12-10 win over the Phils.
• The Phillies are the first (and, as at the end of the month, only) team officially eliminated.

Awards

• 08/03 POTW: AL – Freddy Parent (Boston) 591 / 4 RBI; NL – Matty McIntyre (Pittsburgh) 522 / 8 RBI.
• 08/10 POTW: AL – John Anderson (St. Louis) 462 / 1 HR / 5 RBI; NL – Ed Delahanty (Boston) 483 / 5 RBI.
• 08/17 POTW: AL – Nap Lajoie (Philadelphia) 400 / 3 RBI; NL – Kitty Bransfield (Boston) 480 / 1 HR / 8 RBI.
• 08/24 POTW: AL – Andy Coakley (Chicago) 2-0 / 0.93 / 10 K / 19.1 IP; NL – Emmet Heidrick (St. Louis) 519 / 1 HR / 6 RBI.
• 08/31 POTW: AL – Nap Lajoie (Philadelphia) 500 / 6 RBI; NL – Emmet Heidrick (St. Louis) 385 / 6 RBI.

• AL Batter of the Month: John Anderson (St. Louis) 360 / 1 HR / 16 RBI.
• NL Batter of the Month: Emmet Heidrick (St. Louis) 400 / 1 HR / 20 RBI.
• AL Pitcher of the Month: Ned Garvin (St. Louis) 9-0 / 1.73 / 25 K / 73 IP.
• NL Pitcher of the Month: Noodles Hahn (Cincinnati) 6-2 / 0.32 / 21 K / 56 IP.
• AL Rookie of the Month: Charles Bender (Philadelphia) 4-4 / 2.63 / 39 K / 65 IP.
• NL Rookie of the Month: Mordecai Brown (Chicago) 4-3 / 2.01 / 20 K / 62.2 IP.

S+ HOME

REPORTS HOME

PIRATES HOME

[luckymann]

Most Plate Appearances without Starting a Game

[luckymann]

Aside from one at Chicago, the scheduling gods have bestowed upon us the gift of all games from here on in being home games.

For mine, our entire season rests upon the four-game homestand against the Reds with which we begin September. Even a split probably keeps us far enough in front with few enough games, and I’d willingly take it. But I’d love a 3-1 or 4-0.

After Deacon pitches us to a 4-1 win in the opener, the bats explode in the next one as we thrash them 15-1 with Steinfeldt going off: 4-for-5 with two doubles, a triple and six ribbies. Hahn gets us again the next day, 5-2 in 10 over Chesbro, and then McJames once again imperils his spot in the rotation with another shocker as they earn the split with a 13-9 win.

We lose again at the Cubs the next game, marking the first time we’ve dropped three on the bounce since the first day of June, as the Reds win both of a double-header against the Cards to close the gap to five games. Another defeat in 10 the next day amps up the pressure even further before a messy 8-7 win stops the rot, and the gods smile upon us as both the Reds and Beaneaters drop both games of their respective DHs, pushing us back out to a six-game cushion and reducing our magic number to 10. Another nail-biter the next day goes our way 3-2 in 11 as Charlie Moran walks it off with a single, just his sixth hit for the season, but then yet another poor showing by McJames consigns us to an 8-4 loss to round out the series.

After a 2-1 series win against the Phillies that includes a wild 18-10 victory in which Danny Murphy goes 5-for-6 and Billy Maloney homers and knocks in 6, the Beaneaters come to town for four. Some added flavour for this series with Delahanty and Wagner battling it out for the batting title, although I’m sure this is the furthest things from their minds. Our lead over the Reds has by this time shrunk to 4½ games. Our magic number sits at the biggest six I have ever seen.

We escape with a walkoff 4-3 win in the opener as Nance singles in the winner and Chesbro gets his 20th for the year. Phillippe pitches us to a tight 5-3 win the next day and, on a hunch, I throw the ball to Smith instead of McJames for the final game. He doesn’t let me down, keeping them to one run over six as we win it 7-1, and then Owen pitches a beauty in a 3-1 win that gets us the sweep.

As we enter our penultimate series against the Superbas, only ourselves and Cincy – still 4½ behind – remain alive and our magic number is a much more appealing 2. An emphatic 12-0 win behind a Chesbro 5-hitter halves that and we finally purchase our ticket to the dance with a 9-2 win a couple days later.

I fully exhale for the first time in a long time. Not sure why, given the numbers were always in our favour, but this one felt tighter the whole way through than those that preceded it. I have to take my hat off to the Reds. They finished their season with a 10-0 run and pushed us all the way. They’ll be sick of the sight of us by now, but their turn will come soon.

We sweep the Giants to finish with a record of 85-55.

Hot

• Honus Wagner: misses out on the NL Triple Crown by one home run and one RBI, taking out the batting title with a 366 average. He also finishes runner up in stolen bases by one with 37 and becomes the first MLB position player to record 10 WAR.
• Charlie Hickman: wins the NL home run title with 9. He also had 4 for Washington in the AL before coming across.
• Frank Owen: wins the NL ERA title with 2.13 over 156 innings.
• Nick Altrock: breaks John Malarkey’s single-season save record with 12.

Not

• Charlie Dexter: hit 167 with an OPS+ of 15. Was similarly poor over this period last season and then was magnificent in the playoffs. Let’s hope things follow a similar trajectory this time around.
• Doc McJames: 1-2 with a 5.59 ERA to cap off a year in which it is fair to say Doc regressed somewhat.

Around the Leagues

• The White Sox falter just as the A’s charge and, when they meet in Philly for the regular season’s next-to-last series the two sides are dead level. The A’s win the first game 4-2 to take sole possession of the lead for the first time since early in the year, but the Sox bounce back to pinch the next game with 3 in the top 9th to take it 7-5. A comfortable 10-4 win puts the A’s back on top with three to play, although it costs them plenty with pitcher Snake Wiltse ruled out for the year with a torn labrum.
• The A’s pull off their miracle comeback with a pair of wins over the Naps to break just about every beating heart on the South Side of the Windy City and set up a rematch with us.
• Mordecai Brown one-hits the Cards in a 6-0 Cubs win.
• Elmer Flick goes 6-for-6 against St. Louis in the Phillies’ second-last game, which they win 7-5.

Awards

• 09/07 POTW: AL – Ernie Courtney (Washington) 438 / 2 HR / 6 RBI; NL – Noodles Hahn (Cincinnati) 3-0 / 1.29 / 8 K / 28 IP.
• 09/14 POTW: AL – Freddy Parent (Boston) 481 / 4 RBI; NL – Sam Crawford (Cincinnati) 515 / 7 RBI.
• 09/21 POTW: AL – Nap Lajoie (Philadelphia) 458 / 6 RBI; NL – Oscar Jones (Cincinnati) 2-0 / 0.00 / 1 K / 18 IP.
• 09/28 POTW: AL – Rabbit Robinson (Cleveland) 667 / 1 RBI; NL – Elmer Flick (Philadelphia) 706 / 1 HR / 3 RBI.

• AL Batter of the Month: Nap Lajoie (Philadelphia) 390 / 1 HR / 23 RBI.
• NL Batter of the Month: Sam Crawford (Cincinnati) 439 / 29 RBI.
• AL Pitcher of the Month: Harry Howell (New York) 6-1 / 2.47 / 43 K / 62 IP.
• NL Pitcher of the Month: Rube Waddell (Chicago) 6-0 / 1.42 / 46 K / 57 IP.
• AL Rookie of the Month: Jake Weimer (Boston) 4-3 / 2.39 / 36 K / 60.1 IP.
• NL Rookie of the Month: Oscar Jones (Cincinnati) 5-1 / 1.38 / 10 K / 52 IP.

S+ HOME

REPORTS HOME

PIRATES HOME

[luckymann]

Most Hits over a Three-Year Span

[luckymann]

Philadelphia Athletics (78-62) v Pittsburgh Pirates (85-55)

And so in the end, the product of two incredibly tight pennant races is a rematch of last year’s series.

The addition of Charles Bender undoubtedly makes the A’s a tougher proposition, because after him there’s Gettysburg Eddie Plank and before you know it, The Chief is back up for them. But I feel – and I think our performance this year shows – that we are a better side as well this time around, with so many weapons at our disposal on offence that we usually score the runs we need to win.

Which is why I think the winner of this series will be decided from the other sides of each team’s ledger. If Lajoie, Beaumont, McGann and company can get at our pitchers then we are vulnerable. And our defence is once again key. We made 295 errors during the regular season (second-highest in the NL), meaning more outs were needed to be got and more runs chased down. If we repeat that during these games then that vulnerability I mentioned increases exponentially.

Best-of-nine this time around, which makes this series as much a test of endurance as anything else. First three at their home ground means we must take at least one or be behind the eight-ball from the get-go.

Game 1 in Philadelphia, October 2nd 1903
Charles Bender (22-16, 2.97) v Deacon Phillippe (22-14, 2.42)

We go ahead in the 1st after Wagner singles and Hickman brings him in with a triple and Phillippe then doubles our lead in the 4th with a two-out RBI single.

The bats certainly seem up for it as we add 2 more in the 5th on a Steinfeldt double after both Clarke and Wagner had singled, and another on a two-out Nance single.

Deacon gives up just one hit over the first 3, but gets into strife in the home 4th and does well to limit the damage to a run after they’d loaded the bases with one out. And then Cap Clarke cancels that run out with interest by adding a pair with a longball to make it 7-1. The scoreboard pressure tells as they make their fourth error of the game, adding 2 more and all but ending this one. It also ends Bender’s day.

They add a run in the 7th and with this potentially being such a long series I decide that’s enough for Deacon. Murphy adds a solo shot in the 9th to cap off a clinical display by the lads.

Pittsburgh 10, Philadelphia 2.

BOX SCORE

Game 2 in Philadelphia, October 3rd 1903
Eddie Plank (20-18, 3.10) v Jack Chesbro (22-10, 2.51)
Pittsburgh leads series 1-0

We score first again in this one, and again it’s our pitcher coming through for us as back-to-back two-out doubles in the 2nd by Schreckengost and Chesbro make it 1-0.

That run holds until Lajoie ties it with a solo big fly in the 4th, his first hit of the series but certainly not his last. Sure enough, when he next comes up in the 5th with bases loaded and two out, and he gives them the lead with a 2-run single. Another RBI single by Beaumont makes it 4-1.

Our poor fielding returns as Hickman makes our third error and they extend their lead with another run. The noisy bats from Game One have gone very quiet indeed with just 4 hits to this point, but we get a rally going in the 6th and score 2 on an error by Plank.

Steinfeldt gets us within a run of them with a dinger to lead off the 8th but then Plank triples and scores on a McGann single to cancel it out and they close it out with a scoreless 9th to even the series.

Philadelphia 6, Pittsburgh 4.

BOX SCORE

Game 3 in Philadelphia, October 4th 1903
Willie Sudhoff (2-3, 2.72) v Frank Owen (12-4, 2.13)
Series tied 1-1

The game begins ominously as Murphy flubs a grounder from their leadoff hitter in the bottom 1st, and it costs us an unearned run. Things stay quiet until they come unstuck for us in the 4th, as Owen surrenders 3 more runs on 3 hits and we find ourselves deep in the hole at 4-0.

Our bats have gone almost completely AWOL since that blowout in Game 1, but we finally get on the board in the 6th via a run-scoring trip by Hickman, only to leave him stranded there. That hurts even more when Selbach triples and scores as Murphy, having an extremely dirty series in every facet, drops a sitter. Then he does it again to gift them yet another run with our fourth misplay in six ugly innings. He might be our Captain, but I show the group this nonsense won’t be tolerated by going out and benching him mid-inning. This one is lost, anyway. Even more so when a hit and another error give them 2 more to make it 8-1.

No point in further taxing Owen, so I put O’Neill in to mop the slop. A late flurry of 3 runs on 4 hits saves us the embarrassment of finishing the game with less hits than errors but this was a dark day indeed.

Philadelphia 8, Pittsburgh 4

BOX SCORE

Game 4 in Pittsburgh, October 6th 1903
Deacon Phillippe (1-0) v Charles Bender (0-1)
Philadelphia leads series 2-1

Certainly not panic-stations by any means, but I’m going with Dexter in place of Murphy at 2B in this one. Hopefully Danny can ease his way into the series with a couple late ABs.

They get straight onto Phillippe with a run on two hits in the top 1st and we narrowly escape falling further behind when Clarke nabs one at home trying to score. Still our hitting remains non-existent, just the solitary single thru 5.

We still have just two hits to our name when they add a couple insurance runs in the top 8th. I hit for Phillippe in our half of that one and we get the bags full but Wagner grounds out to end the inning. We get a run with one out in the 9th on a Hoffman triple, which means the man at the plate represents the tying run. A Dexter groundout makes it 3-2 and then two-out singles to Maloney raise the home fans’ hopes of a miracle escape. But when McIntyre singles, Maloney is thrown out at home trying to tie it up and we fall behind 3-1.

Philadelphia 4, Pittsburgh 3

BOX SCORE

Game 5 in Pittsburgh, October 7th 1903
Jack Chesbro (0-1) v Eddie Plank (1-0)
Philadelphia leads series 3-1

I’m suddenly feeling an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the extended format this year...

Obviously this is a pivotal match. I don’t see us coming back from 4-1 down with two games at their park, so this is a must-win for our boys. Kid Nance without a hit, and plenty others who need to lift here.

A two-out trip by Hickman gets us the first run of the game in the home 1st, but then Chesbro makes the cardinal mistake of walking Plank with two out and a double by McGann ties it at 1 and another Murphy misplay gives them the lead. Two more errors by Wagner and Hickman in the 6th present them with yet another unearned run as this series goes from bad to worse.

With us running out of time, I am forced to hit for Chesbro in the 7th but, while we are getting plenty on base, we just can’t get the key hits as our big names continue to prove impotent with bat in hand.

Nance all but seals our fate with yet another error on a routine flyball, but then we once again make a two-out charge in the 9th, scoring one and loading the bases for Wagner. But he is just having a horrid series and grounds out to first to end the game.

Philadelphia 4, Pittsburgh 2

BOX SCORE

Game 6 in Pittsburgh, October 8th 1903
Frank Owen (0-1) v Willie Sudhoff (1-0)
Philadelphia leads series 4-1

It’s never a good sign when you have the words of your concession speech bouncing around your head at the start of an elimination game. This group has constantly amazed me with their powers of perseverance. Maybe they can do the impossible. Maybe the threat of extinction will awaken them. I maintain the faith. Hoffman in for Nance at RF.

The nightmare continues as Owen hits the leadoff man, walks the second and an error loads them up with none out in the top 1st. Especially as we make a second error, Owen does remarkably well to only let one run score.

Murphy, moved down the order today, ties it at 1 in the 2nd with an RBI double and we go ahead in the next on a Hickman sac fly. An error by their shortstop and then a McIntyre hit makes it 3-1.

Little action on the paths until the 6th, when we load the bases but Wagner’s woeful run continues as he grounds into a forceout at home and we end up leaving the three on the deck. Of course, they then score a run in the next just to rub it in. 3-2.

Still 3-2 at the top 9th, Altrock comes in for Owen. He walks the leadoff man, then gives up a double for them to tie it, which leaves the go-ahead runner at third with one out. He manages to strike out Beaumont and I bring O’Neill in. He gets us out of it still tied.

Wagner leads off the home half with a single but is erased on a fielder’s choice. With two out, McIntyre singles to move the winning run to second and another infield hit to Murphy loads them up as O’Neill comes to the plate. Not quite... I put Nance in, still looking for his first hit in the series.

He works a walk to win it. The good old walkoff walk gets us home.

Still alive. Just.

Pittsburgh 4, Philadelphia 3.

BOX SCORE

Game 7 in Pittsburgh, October 9th 1903
Deacon Phillippe (1-1) v Chick Fraser (0-0)
Philadelphia leads series 4-2

Without getting too philosophical or anything, I offer this thought: Where there is light there is hope.

While we are running a three-man rotation, they are going with four – which is why it is Fraser on for them and not Bender. McJames will be at the ready should this move backfire for us. Dexter in at catcher for a very cold Maloney, Hoffman stays in RF.

It is, to say the least, a very edgy beginning by both teams. They score first, thanks to an error by Steinfeldt, in the 4th. We return serve with a run in the bottom half as Wagner triples and comes in on a Steinfeldt sac fly.

A dreadful miscue by Hoffman leads them to load the bases with none down in the 6th. McIntyre saves our hides with a superb double up on a flyball and we escape still square.

They break the tie with a double and a triple in the 7th. We square the game again on an RBI single by Phillippe.

We load the bases with none out in the 9th. Hoffman singles. Ballgame. 4-3. Light. Hope.

Pittsburgh 3, Philadelphia 2.

BOX SCORE

Game 8 in Philadelphia, October 11th 1903
Charles Bender (1-1) v Jack Chesbro (0-2)
Philadelphia leads series 4-3

Having been where Philadelphia is right now, I know they are feeling more pressure than we are. Maloney back at catcher, Hoffman keeps his spot in right.

We strike first with a run in the 3rd on a Hickman groundout and another on a two-out hit by Steinfeldt.

Harry comes through again for us in the 5th with a 2-run single after we’d filled the bags.

Then he triples to lead off the 8th and scores on a Hoffman single to make it 5-0.

A Hoffman error in the 8th opens the door for them to get off the shutout with a run, and then Chesbro – superb in this one – flags, allowing a run and then the tying man to come to the plate, so I go to the bullpen to get this done. Altrock allows a single that makes it 5-3 but O’Neill gets Krug to fly out to right and unbelievably this thing is tied at four.

Pittsburgh 5, Philadelphia 3.

BOX SCORE

Game 9 in Philadelphia, October 11th 1903
Eddie Plank (2-0) v Frank Owen (0-1)
Series tied 4-4

Deacon could perhaps have started tonight, and will most certainly be on call if needed, but in the end I decide to go with Owen. Nance back in right against the southpaw.

We get the ideal start, scoring before making an out as Murphy leads off with a double and Clarke singles him in. Steinfeldt then keeps his hot hand going with a 2-run double and Schreckengost makes it 4-0 with a two-out hit.

We do our usual trick in the 2nd and just gift them the golden ticket back into the game when Wagner throws a two-out groundball into the stands and they get an unearned run.

As is so often the case, that early cloudburst of runs is as much curse as blessing, as the hits dry up completely. They, on the other hand, are coming fast and score 3 in the 4th to make it all square. What’s worse, the fumbles are upon us and we make three errors to this point.

Owen gets into bases-loaded trouble in the 5th. We look to have got out of it when we turn a DP but then he gives up a 2-run single to Plank and I’ve seen enough. In comes Kellum, who retires the lefty to end it.

Enter the Deacon. Only for an inning as it turns out, as we have two in scoring position with two out in the 7th and I have no choice but to hit for him. Their second error of the frame lets one in but that’s it.

O’Neill in to pitch. Poor choice. He gives up a run as Plank continues to feast on our pitching. I go to Altrock, then McJames but they have their wind up now and we barely escape conceding more.

We are pretty much dead on our feet but somehow manage one final two-out rally in the 9th to put the tying runs on. A passed ball puts them at second and third with Hoffman hitting.

He whiffs.

Darkness. Hopelessness.

Nah, it’s not that bad. We were terrible and brave in equal measures and I couldn’t be prouder of these guys for what they’ve done these past three seasons.

Nothing gold can stay. Congrats to the A’s for a deserved win.

Philadelphia 7, Pittsburgh 5.
PHILADELPHIA WINS SERIES 5-4.
SERIES MVP: Nap Lajoie (Philadelphia)

BOX SCORE


PS Sorry, forgot to screenshot the playoff stats. Fun factoid in lieu thereof: for all my moaning, we actually only committed six more errors (26-20) and allowed four more unearned runs (15-11) in the series than they did.


S+ HOME

REPORTS HOME

PIRATES HOME