Billy Shindle was a third baseman who made three All Star appearances and contributed 2,186 career hits over his 17 year career.


Bill Stemmeyer made it to four All Star games and had 161 victories with the Cubs over his 18 year career.


George Van Haltren made it to one All Star game. He had 2,057 hits over his 16 year career.


Rasty Wright led the league in bases on balls four times, finishing his career with 1,131 career hits over 13 years.


These players joined Ed Beatin, John Clarkson, John Coleman, Larry Corcoran, Dave Drew, Jesse Duryea, Pretzels Getzien, Fred Goldsmith, Hardie Henderson, Mickey Hughes, George Keefe, Matt Kilroy, Gus Krock, Jocko Milligan, Frank Mountain, Tony Mullane, Dave Orr, Abner Powell, Monte Ward, and Chicken Wolf on the 1907 ballot.

Charlie Buffington and Dick Burns, both in their first year of availability, both won induction in 1907. Fourteen players failed to meet the eligibility requirements to appear on the 1908 ballot. These players were Steve Brodie, Mickey Hughes, Ed Beatin, Fred Goldsmith, Frank Mountain, Monte Ward, Jesse Duryea, George Keefe, George Van Haltren, Chicken Wold, Billy Shindle, Ted Kennedy, and Rasty Wright.

Pat Whitaker was a career reliever with the Tigers who finished with 96 career saves in 360 career games.


Chicken Wolf was a four time All-Star who also won two Gold Gloves. He finished with 2,162 career hits spanning 19 seasons.


George Wood played in three All Star games and won two Silver Slugger awards before his production dropped off. He ended up with 1,510 career hits.


They were joined by the following players returning from the previous year’s ballot:

Ed Beatin
John Coleman
Larry Corcoran
Dave Drew
Jesse Duryea
PretzelsGetzien
Fred Goldsmith
Gus Krock
Frank Mountain
Tony Mullane
Dave Orr
Abner Powell
Monte Ward
Mickey Welch
Will White

Mickey Welch was the only one who won induction in 1906. Will White failed to make induction for the 10th year, so he was removed from the ballot. Pat Whitaker, Clarence Stephens, George Wood, and Lefty Mar all failed to make the 5% necessary to stay on the ballot.

Dave Orr won an MVP award in 1893. He ended with two Silver Slugger Awards en route to 2,083 career hits.


Mickey Welch was a four-time 20-game winner who finished his career with 294 career wins.


Bill Wise won the Reliever of the Year Award three times and made six all star teams on the way to 170 career wins and 105 career saves.


These 13 players were joined by the following 8 reappearing from last year’s ballot:

George Bradley
Jack Glasscock
Fred Goldsmith
Frank Mountain
Tony Mullane
Abner Powell
Monte Ward
Will White

James Burke won induction earning 97.5% of the vote. Bill Wise and Dan Brouthers all also earned induction. Mickey Welch just missed earning 72.8%. Meanwhile, George Bradley will be dropped from the ballot for failing to earn induction for the 10th straight season. Jack Glasscock and Ed Keas were both dropped from the ballot for failing to earn 5% of the vote.

Charlie Hilsey was a career reliever who spent his entire 12-year career with the Chicago White Sox. He finished with 113 career saves in 388 career games.


Tim Keefe was a former star in the pre-1884 league, but he winded up with three 20-win seasons for the Phillies post 1884. He finished with 262 career wins in 564 career starts.
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King Kelly made it to six All Star games while playing in the Louisville organization. He finished with 1,665 career hits to go with his .302 career batting average.


Abner Powell was a two-time 20-game winner along with five trips to the All-Star game while playing his 11 seasons in the Cleveland organization.


The rest of the ballot was as follows:
Charlie Sweeney
Ned Williamson
Ed Morris
Ed Dugan
Jim Whitney
Fred Goldsmith
Jack Glasscock
Roger Connor
Lady Baldwin
Tony Mullane
Will White
George Bradley

Tim Keefe, Fred Dunlap, and Pud Galvin all won induction on their first year of eligibility. Daisy Davis, King Kelly, George Gore, Roger Connor, Lady Baldwin, Ed Coughlin, Charlie Hilsey, and Ed Bagley all failed to get the required 5% of the vote to remain on the ballot in 1903.

Awards


The 1890 Draft
Brooklyn only had three picks in the 1890 draft.
1. Buck Freeman P
2. Kid Carsey P
3. Bill Clymer SS

Offseason Moves
Brooklyn wasted no time trying to shore up their pitching staff. They sent a good chunk of their roster over to Boston for a young prospect named Cy Young. In the deal, Brooklyn included Spider Clark, Will White, Bill Hallman, and two draft picks.

World Series
In 1889, the Louisville Colonels became the first American League team to win their second pennant. Their pair of 20-game winners, John Harkins and Guy Hecker, led the American League’s best pitching staff. Ed McKean, King Kelly, and Mote Ward provided some offensive pop in an otherwise lackluster offense.

The 1889 New York Giants had a very similarly built team, riding behind ace pitchers Larry McKeon and Jim Handiboe to become the National League’s number one pitching staff. Bill Wise anchored the bullpen with 32 saves in 90 appearances. A similarly lackluster offense was led by Sam Wise, Roger Connor, and Jack Clements.

As the two teams squared up for a rematch of the 1887 Fall Classic, game one promised to feature Guy Hecker against Jim Handiboe Hecker struggled a bit, scattering six hits and one run through five innings, before Louisville took the lead in the sixth that they did not relinquish.

Game two featured John Harkins against Pretzels Getzien. Louisville erupted for nine runs to score a 9-3 win. Jack Gleason and Heinie Kappel both had two RBIs while pinch hitter Arthur Irwin hit a 3-run double to seal the deal in the seventh.

Larry McKeon faced off for the Giants against Terry Mullane as the Giants tried to keep the series close. McKeon was rocked for five runs in 4 2/3 innings behind the bats of McKean and Gleason. Mullane pitched 8 innings giving up the runs and left the game with a 5-3 advantage, but the Giants tattooed the Louisville bullpen for nine runs in the top of the 9th to take a 10-5 win, closing the gap to two games to one in favor of Louisville.

Handiboe pitched against Hecker again in game four. Neither pitcher lasted past the sixth in a see saw battle that saw Dick Buckley drive in three in a winning cause for the Louisville Colonels. The Colonels took a 3-1 lead in the series with one more game to play in Louisville.

Harkins and Getzien matched up in game five with Harkins giving up only 2 hits through seven innings. Eighth inning heroics helped the Giants, though, with RBI singles from Sam Wise and Joe Hormung allowed New York to take a 3-2 lead, and that’s where the game would finish.

Mullane was slated to be the game six pitcher against McKeon. McKeon pitched five solid innings, scattering five hits and a walk, but his pitch count hit 100 in the fifth, and Sam Wise came in to complete the shut out with four solid innings of work. The Giants took a game six victory by a score of 4-0 capped off by a 3-run double by pinch hitter Bill Kienzle in the fifth.

For game seven, Guy Hecker made his way to the mound for Louisville against Jim Handiboe. Louisville got on the board scoring 2 in the third and 5 in the fourth to take a commanding lead that they would not relinquish for their first World Series title. Jack Gleason was named the World Series MVP.

Awards


First Year Player Draft
Brooklyn didn’t get to pick until the 15th pick of the first round. Brooklyn went pitcher heavy in the draft.
1. Tommy Corcoran SS
2. Alex Jones P
3. George Nicol P
4. Jack Stivetts P
5. Bill Whitrock P
6. Henry Jones P

Offseason Moves
Former Brooklyn standout Ed Cushman announced his retirement at the end of the 1889 season. Cushman’s dominant 1884 season was a big part of their World Championship. Here are his career stats:


Brooklyn ended up trading Mark Baldwin to the Philadelphia Athletics for two picks in the 1889 draft. Then they dealt Doc Oberlander to Washington for draft picks as well.

The World Series
With both leagues being decided on the last weekend of the season, the World Series promised to be an exciting one. From the American League, the Washington Nationals would become the fifth team in as many years to represent the American League. Chicago, Philadelphia, and Cleveland were the only three AL teams who had not represented in the World Series. Meanwhile, the New York teams continued a monopoly on their hold of the National League pennant races with Brooklyn winning their third pennant in five years.

Washington was led by MVP candidate Reddy Mack, left fielder Jimmy Ryan, and third baseman Billy Shindle. The Nationals were known to struggle offensively at times, as only Boston finished the year with fewer runs scored. They made up for those attributes with an excellent defense combined with the American League’s top pitching staff led by Cy Young front runner Jumbo McGinnis, who led the league with 22 victories. Harry Staley and Dave Foutz were both nothing less than dominant while Al McCauley provided 26 saves from the bullpen.

Brooklyn entered the post season with all of the momentum. Their rise to the top of the National League had already entered legendary status, and they sported the league’s top offense in terms of batting average and runs scored. The offense was led by MVP candidate Lou Bierbauer, rookie sensation Jake Beckley, and infielding stalwart Dave Drew. The real story of this team was the pitching, though, with a pitching staff rounded out by Cy Young candidate Charlie Buffington, Nat Hudson, and Ed Beatin.

The first game featured a pitching matchup for the ages with Charlie Buffington facing off against Jumbo McGinnis. The game was almost over before it started, as Brooklyn put up 15 runs to blow the Nationals out. Lou Bierbauer and Jake Beckly both had 4 RBIs while Billy Hamilton scored 4 times setting the Major League playoff record. Meanwhile, Charlie Buffington gave up just 4 hits in 7 innings of work to earn the victory.

Washington was hoping for better fortunes pairing up veteran Dave Foutz against rookie Ed Beatin in game two. The Brooklyn defense let them down, as the Bridegrooms allowed 8 unearned runs in the first six innings to fall behind by a tally of 9-3. Their offense put up three in the 8th to make it a ballgame, but they couldn’t overcome the deficit. Foutz went the distance giving up 3 earned runs on 10 hits to earn the win.

The series headed to Brooklyn tied up a game apiece. Brooklyn sent 19 year old Nat Hudson to the mound to oppose Washington rookie Harry Staley. Brooklyn struck first, putting up two runs in the second off of errors by Reddy Mack and Jimmy Ryan. Brooklyn got one back with an RBI single by Jimmy Ryan in the third to make the score 2-1. Brooklyn made the score 3-1 with a solo home run by Jake Beckley in the fifth. Washington got one run in the top of the sixth when Lave Cross threw the ball away trying to catch Reddy Mack stealing at third base. Then, Washington took a 4-3 with a two run home run by John Reilly in the seventh. Pinch hitter Thomas Gorman drove in Joseph Herr to tie the score 4-4 in the bottom of the seventh, and it would remain that way until the bottom of the 10th when Dave Drew hit an RBI single to drive in Lou Bierbauer and give the Bridegrooms the win.

Game three featured a much heralded rematch between pitching aces Jumbo McGinnis and Charlie Buffington. Neither pitcher would make it through the fifth. Brooklyn put up four in the bottom of the second capped off by an RBI double by Joseph Herr and a 2-run home run by Jake Beckley. Washington evened it up in the top of the third with an RBI single by Tom Brown followed by back-to-back errors by Lou Bierbauer and Dave Drew. With the score tied 4-4, Brooklyn tacked on two more in the bottom of the third when Dave Drew led off with a triple and was driven in by a double by pitcher Charlie Buffington. Buffington would go on to score via an error by usually stellar Reddy Mack, who was proving to have a terrible series in the field. Washington tied the score at 6 with an RBI triple by Wilbert Robinson followed by an RBI single by Billy Shindle in the top of the fourth. Washington scored two more to take an 8-6 lead in the top of the fifth when Bill Gleason drove in a run on a fielder’s choice, and then Wilbert Robinson added another RBI-single. Brooklyn got one back to make the score 8-7 off of a sacrifice fly by Joseph Herr. In the bottom of the ninth, Brooklyn came to bad down a run. Jake Beckley led off with a strike out, and Lou Bierbauer followed that with a base on balls. Chippy McGarr lined out to put up the second out. Duke Farrell followed that up with a line shot that was knocked down by Reddy Mack, but he couldn’t recover in time to make any plays. Bierbauer ended up advancing to third. Then, Tommy McCarthy hit a lazy fly ball to right field that Tom Brown had to run a long ways to field. Bierbauer had to tag from third, and when Brown couldn’t make the catch, Bierbauer headed full bore for the plate trying to tie the game. Brown’s throw in was close, but they couldn’t catch Bierbauer. Duke Farrell advanced to third. Now, with the score tied 8-8 and a man on third, Dave Drew came to the plate for the second consecutive day with a chance to put the game away. Drew proceeded to hit a lazy fly ball into right-center field that seemed like an identical replay of the batter before. Paul Radford could not catch it after a long run, and with Farrell tagging at third, Radford’s throw to the plate was not in time. Brooklyn ended up with a 9-8 victory going ahead in the series 3 games to 1, and Dave Drew won two consecutive games with walk off base hits in the home half of the last inning.

With Brooklyn up 3 games to 1, they were hoping for an elimination game at home in game 5. They took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third off of an RBI double by Joseph Herr followed by an RBI single by Jake Beckley. Beatin pitched into the 7th before allowing his first run, a solo home run by Reddy Mack that made the game 2-1. Beatin got into trouble in the 8th when he was replaced by Bill Stellberger who could not keep the Nationals under control. Jimmy Ryan hit an infield single with the bases loaded to tie the game 2-2, and then Stellberger walked in a run to give Washington a 3-2 lead. Al McCauley came in to shut the Bridegrooms in the 9th to give Dave Foutz his second victory of the series.
Washington sent Harry Staley to the mound in game six against Brooklyn’s Nat Hudson. Brooklyn got on the board first again with an RBI single by Duke Farrel in the first and a 2-RBI double by Jake Beckley in the second. In the bottom of the second, down 4-0, Washington chipped away one run with an RBI single by Jack Farrell. Tom Brown would score later in the inning to make the score 4-2. Bill Gleason added on an RBI single in the third to make it 4-3, and Washington tied it up with another RBI single by Bill Gleason in the fifth. Billy Shindle scored on a passed ball in the sixth, and Washington would not look back eventually going on to win by a count of 7-5.

Game seven of the World Series is what it’s all about. Both of these teams played 160 games to get to this one, single, deciding game. It promised to be a good one, too, with Charlie Buffington matching up against Jumbo McGinnis. Buffington threw an absolute gem in this all-important game seven throwing a 4-hit shutout. Joseph Herr scored twice and Jake Beckley had two hits as Brooklyn clinched their second Major League Championship in five years. Jake Beckley was named the series MVP, but many fans feel that overlooking Dave Drew and his late inning heroics in games 3 and 4 was a huge oversight.

Awards


First Year Player Draft
Brooklyn seemed intent on moving up in the draft. They eventually dealt Chippy McGarr to the White Sox along with a third round and a sixth round pick in exchange for the fifth overall pick in the draft. This left Brooklyn with two picks in the first round, two picks in the second, and a pick in the third.

The 1888 draft class was not expected to be nearly as prolific as the 1888 class. Bug Holliday, Herman Long, and Dusty Miller headlined a relatively lackluster roster.

Brooklyn’s picks:
1. Amos Rusie P
2. Spider Clark RF
3. Jim Gill CF
4. John Riddle C
5. Will Holland SS

Offseason Moves

Brooklyn went directly after Jim Conway from the Philadelphia Athletics in the offseason to hopefully help provide some strength in the bullpen. They sent Bill Stellberger, Ice Box Chamberlin, and Thomas Gorman over to Philadelphia in order to get him. Meanwhile, Baltimore came knocking on Brooklyn’s door, trying to obtain utility infielder Gus Alberts. Brooklyn ended up sending Alberts over to Baltimore along with a couple of late round picks for a third round pick in the 1889 draft.

A couple of the past Brooklyn trades have come back to haunt the team. Most notably are Billy Nash becoming a perennial all-star and Oyster Burns winning the 1888 AL MVP. On January 18, 1889, The Only Nolan announced his retirement due to continual nagging injuries. Nolan was an integral part of the 1885 pennant winning Brooklyn pitching staff. One wonders what potential he may have realized had he not spent the majority of his career on the disabled list.

The Only Nolan's Career Stats

The World Series
The 1887 World Series featured the fourth different contestant from the American League in as many years as the Louisville Colonels won the American League pennant by 5 games. The potent offense was led by MVP candidate shortstop Ed McKean along with center fielder Monte Ward who hit .335 and .322 on the year respectively. Catcher King Kelly was also an integral part of the offense, but he would end up missing the World Series contest due to recurring back spasms. The pitching staff was led by 22 game winner Guy Hecker.

Meanwhile, the National League pennant was won by the New York Giants, making it so that only two different teams had won the NL crown in that four year span. Roger Connor, Jack Clements, and Sam Wise anchored the lineup while the pitching staff was led by a quartet of superb starters including Pretzels Getzein, Al Atkinson, Jim Handiboe, and Larry McKeon.

Game one pitted aces Guy Hecker against Pretzel Getzien. Neither pitcher made it into the sixth inning, but that was more due to the horrible defense on both sides of the ball. Louisville got on the board first when Heinie Kappel singled in the first and was driven in by a Monte Ward single. New York countered with three in the second off of back-to-back errors by Heinie Kappel and Arthur Irwin. Louisville countered with another run in the sixth when Heinie Kappel drove in John Morrill to make the score 3-2. The game started to get out of hand after a two-run home run by Jack Clements in the sixth put new York up 5-2. New York added another in the seventh when Ezra Sutton doubled home Billy Sunday to make the score 6-2. The New York defense turned into a circus in the top of the 8th. Louisville scored three runs off of three New York errors. One of those runs was walked in by pinch hitter Paul Hines who would go on to score on a two-run single by pinch hitter Lou Sylvester. The Giants were still up 6-5 going to the ninth, but they couldn’t close the game down. A three run ninth capped off by a two-run Ed McKean single gave Louisville an 8-6 lead. That’s when Louisville’s defense fell apart. Louisville committed three errors in the bottom of the ninth to allow three runs and lose the game by a 9-6 clip. After the game, The Sporting News called it “The most disastrous championship sporting event in history”. It was sure exciting for the fans, though.

Game two featured Larry McKeon against Tony Mullane. The Giants got on the board first with a one run double by Roger Connor in the first followed by an RBI single by Joe Sommer. They scored two more in the second with RB singles by Ezra Sutton and Sam Wise. Louisville got one in the fourth from an RBI single by Pat Dealy. New York scored one more in the 8th off of an RBI single by Ezra Sutton. The end result was that New York won the game 5-1 with Larry McKeon giving up no earned runs in six innings of work.

With the Giants up 2-0, they took the show on the road to Louisville where Jim Handiboe was set to face off against Stump Wiedman. The Giants got on the board first with a sacrifice fly by Sam Wise, but Louisville evened the score when Jack Gleason doubled and eventually scored on an RBI single by John Morrill. Jack Clements doubled in Joe Sommer to give the Giants a 2-1 lead in the top of the third, but Louisville again struck back with an RBI triple by John Morrill in the fourth. In the fifth, the Giants were able to put up two with RBI singles by Jack Clements and Dennis Casey. That would prove to be all they would need. Pinch hitter Jack O’Brien tacked on two more in the top of the 8th, and the Giants would go on to take a 3-0 lead in the series with a 6-3 win.

Facing elimination in game four, Louisville didn’t even put up a fight. Pretzels Getzien went the distance only allowing one unearned run while Joe Hormung went 2 for 4 with 3 RBIs in a 9-1 route. With the Giants winning the World Series, 37-year old Ezra Sutton won the series MVP award by going 9 for 19 with 5 RBIs.

Awards


First Year Player Draft
The media has repeatedly reported that Brooklyn will have four first round picks in the 1887 draft. They will have the first overall, which is their own pick. They will also get to pick fourth in a pick that they received in the deal that sent The Only Nolan to Baltimore. According to the Brooklyn general manager, “there are 8 or 9 players we really like in this draft, and we stand a good chance to get four or five of them based on where we get to pick.”

This is who Brooklyn ended up taking with their seven picks, all in the first two rounds:
1. Billy Hamilton RF
2. Jake Beckley 1B
3. Duke Farrell C
4. Ed Beatin SP
5. Bill Hallman SS
6. Mike Kilroy RP
7. Doc Oberlander RP

From the Brooklyn GM: “We had our eye on Billy Hamilton all season long. We want to make him our center fielder. With his speed, he’ll be able to cover a lot of ground. The other three guys we were really high on were Ed Delahanty, Hugh Duffy, Jake Beckley, and Cupid Childs. We were kind of hoping that Beckley would fall to us at the number four pick, and we even considered trading up to make sure we got him. Mr. Robinson seems to have a fixation on improving at first base even though Thomas Gorman has done very well for us. I think there may be a personal vendetta there. Duke Farrell and Bill Hallman can both play behind the plate, and it’s important to have depth back there. Ed Beatin is probably not ready for the rotation, but his stamina will hopefully help him compete for a spot later in the year. Mike Kilroy is a very well rounded player who tends to keep the ball down. Doc Oberlander might be the biggest gamble of the draft. He throws the ball so hard, we needed to take him when he was still available with our last pick.”

Offseason Moves
Brooklyn’s owner Mike Robinson vented his frustration with the team’s performance in the press, saying that he’s “very angry with the team’s inability to meet any of the goals he set forth”. Though he did stop to praise the general manager for working with what he had along with what he viewed to be a very successful draft, it sounds like there is a short leash in Brooklyn.

Within a week of the end of the World Series, Brooklyn fired pitching coach Chaz Bulson and replaced him with a solid veteran, Omari Sockwell. They also went after a young Washington pitcher, Charlie Hallstrom, sending John Henry and Dan Bickham over to Washington for him. Then they went to Pittsburgh, sending a whole heap of players in exchange for veteran pitcher Will White. Brooklyn sent over Charlie Cady, George McVey, Edgar Smith, and Dave Oldfield. Finally, Brooklyn went after Baltimore pitcher Ed Coughlin in exchange for Bones Ely, Frank Foreman, Phenomenal Smith, and Ed Greer.

Fans have seemed a bit concerned about Brooklyn’s pitching depth after sending seven pitchers to other teams in exchange for three pitchers. Brooklyn’s general manager didn’t seem to be concerned. “Look, these are three guys we went after because of their ability to keep the ball in the strike zone and their ability to keep hit balls in the infield. We need pitchers who pitch to our strengths on defense, and hopefully Sockwell's coaching style can help them hone their mechanics to the point where we can return to the form we had in 1884 and 1885. The guys we traded away were guys who have talent, but their tendencies just don’t play to our strengths. Sure, we’ve had a great bullpen the last few years due to our depth, but something had to change with the overall structure of the staff. We ranked last in the league overall. That has to change.”

Later, he added, “Keep in mind that we have a ton of depth with the rest of our roster. I expect at least four positions to have serious competitions for who is going to be the long term starter. That means if we need any pitching depth down the line, we’ll have some assets we can work to make a deal with.”

Fans seem to disagree. The Sporting News reports “In a long baseball season, you have to expect to have injuries along the way. Brooklyn isn’t going to have trade bait later in the summer. They’re going to have rookies trying to fill roster spots.”

Brooklyn did immediately put Billy Hamilton and Jake Beckley on the 40-man roster.

AL Individual Batting Leaders


NL Individual Batting Leaders


AL Individual Pitching Leaders


NL Individual Pitching Leaders

Team Batting Stats


Team Pitching Stats

The World Series

The American League was represented in the 1886 Fall Classic by the Boston Americans who featured a dominant pitching staff. Their rotation was anchored by Bill Sweeney, Matt Kilroy, Bob Caruthers, and Old Hoss Radbourn. Meanwhile, Bob Emslie was a 20 game winner in 73 games of relief. Charley Jones and Harley Richardson led a somewhat lackluster offense that finished sixth in the American League.

The National League champion New York Giants dominated the National League thanks to strong pitching and strong hitting. Offensively, Sam Wise and Roger Connor both scored more than 100 runs with Dennis Casey turning in a .303 batting average in limited playing time. The New York pitching staff was anchored by Jim Handiboe, Al Atkinson, and Larry McKeon with reliever Bill Wise turning in a 1.32 ERA in 73 games.

Game one featured a pitching matchup between Jim Handiboe and Matt Kilroy. The Giants got off to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first off of a Joe Visner triple and a sacrifice fly by Ed Swartwood. The Americans countered with 3 in the first and 3 more in the second. The Giants went down without much of a fight after that with the final score 13-2 in favor of Boston.

In an interesting decision, New York opted to send Pretzels Getzien to the mound for game two opposing Bob Caruthers. Boston got off to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first thanks to an RBI triple by Charley Jones. Ed Swartwood tied the game with an RBI single in the third, and Jack O’Brien game New York the lead with an RBI single in the 4th. New York tacked on four insurance runs in the top of the sixth in an inning that featured 4 singles, two errors, and a sacrifice fly, and they would not look back. The final score was New York 8, Boston 6.

In game three, Al Atkinson gave up no earned runs in six innings for the Giants. Old Hoss Radbourn went the distance for Boston, but the difference was a single pitch in the bottom of the third that Sam Wise hit out of the park for a three run home run. The Giants went on to win 4-1.

Game four featured a rematch between Jim Handiboe and Matt Killroy without much difference from the first game. Handiboe was knocked off of the mound in a 4-run fifth inning that gave Boston a 7-1 lead that they would not relinquish. New York made a game of it by knocking in 4 runs including a two run shot by pinch hitter Jack Clements, Boston would ultimately cruise to an 8-5 victory tying the series at two games apiece.

Game five would prove to be a nailbiter with Bob Caruthers and Pretzels Getzien both getting another call to start. New York struck first in the first thanks to a throwing error by Sid Farrar, and Boston tied it up on the top of the second with a solo home run by Hardy Richardson. New York got another run off of a Cub Strikler sacrifice fly in the bottom of the second. Boston evened the score again in the top of the fourth off of a Hardy Richardson sacrifice fly, and New York scraped out another run off of a Jack O’Brien double in the bottom half. New York tacked on three more in the bottom of the sixth with an RBI single by Joe Hormung followed by a Cub Strickler triple that drove in two. In the top of the 8th, Corey Jones tacked on a three run home run for Boston to chip New York’s lead down a single run. Boston would go on to leave the bases loaded in the 8th before Cyclone Miller returned the side in order in the 9th to secure the Giants victory.

The series heated up in game 6 as Boston, facing elimination, sent Old Hoss Radbourn to the mound for his second start of the series against New York’s Al Atkinson. New York took a 2-0 lead in the top of the fifth when Ezra Sutton scored on a throwing error by Arlie Latham, then Cub Strikler drove in Hick Carpenter with a double. Boston got one back in the bottom of the seventh from a sacrifice fly by Buttercup Dickerson, and they got one more in the 8th from an RBI double by Martin Powell. Tied 2-2 in the bottom of the ninth, Jack O’Brien threw the ball away trying to catch Terry Larkin from stealing third, and Larkin would walk in to score the winning run to force a game seven.

Game seven featured Jim Handiboe and Matt Kilroy both making their third starts of the series. Handiboe came into the series with a post season ERA over 10, but he did okay in this one giving up only two earned runs in seven innings pitched. Boston got on the board first with two in the bottom of the second, but Ezra Sutton drove in a run with a triple in the fourth, and then Jack O’Brien knocked him in. Ezra Sutton added on an RBI single in the sixth to give the Giants a 3-2 lead. In the bottom of the 8th, Boston rallied for five singles and an error to drive home four runs and take a 6-3 lead. New York did not score in the top of the 9th, and the Boston Americans went on to become the 1886 World Series Champions. The series MVP was Charley Jones, who hit .355 for the series with a home run and 5 RBIs.

Awards


First Year Player Draft

Going into the 1886 draft, Brooklyn had their eyes on four specific players. Catcher Lave Cross and left fielder George van Haltren were both making their draft debut, and Broklyn was hoping that one of those two players would fall to them at number four. Center fielder Mike Griffin and first baseman Darby O’Brien were also potential first rounders that Brooklyn was hoping would drop to the number 12 spot. Overall, Brooklyn went into the draft with two first rounders and three second rounders.

Brooklyn decided to gamble by electing to not trade up in the draft, and all four of these players proved to be taken by the seventh pick.

Brooklyn ended up taking two pitchers, a catcher, a shortstop, and an outfielder.

1. Lave Cross C
2. Joseph Herr SS
3. Mark Baldwin P
4. Mike Goodfellow RF
5. Nat Hudson P

Offseason Moves
Brooklyn wasted no time firing team trainer Jalen Carter, replacing him with Darrell Saxer. Meanwhile, they figured that the acquisition of Lave Cross via the draft made Barney Gilligan’s roster spot redundant. Brooklyn decided to use those factors combined with their extreme depth in the pitching staff to trade up in the 1887 draft while providing a first baseman to compete with Thomas Gorman for that job. Brooklyn ended up trading Ed Cushman, Hugh Daily, Gilligan, and Charlie Daniels to the St. Louis Browns for Charlie Comiskey and two high level draft picks. St. Louis was hoping that the deal would immediately turn their bullpen into an asset rather than the liability it had been the previous two seasons. For Brooklyn, it marked a departure from their past as three core roster players from their back-to-back pennant winning rosters of 1884 and 1885 were departing.

American League Individual Batting Leaders


National League Individual Batting Leaders


American League Individual Pitching Leaders


National League Individual Pitching Leaders

American League Team Batting Leaders


National League Team Batting Leaders


American League Team Pitching Leaders


National League Team Pitching Leaders

Final Standings

American League Individual Batting Leaders


National League Individual Batting Leaders


American League Individual Pitching Leaders


National League Individual Pitching Leaders

American League Team Batting Leaders


National League Team Batting Leaders


American League Team Pitching Leaders


National League Team Pitching Leaders

American League Standings


National League Standings