BASEBALL MONTHLY
April 1887
Dandy Leads Resurgent Whites
It seemed as if the start of this new season would never come for the Chicago White Stockings as they looked to rebound from what can be considered their worst season in team history. The team came out and played the way their tradition calls them by opening the season with a 13-8 record only two games behind the leading Reds.
George Dandy Wood had alot to say about the good Chicago start and surpassed all of the big expectations that followed him going into the year. From the very first game Wood came out on fire and helped Chicago score more runs then they have in anyother game in their history. Wood went 4-5 and drove in 5 runs as the Whites beat the Philadelphia Quakers 27-5 on opening day. Dandy didnt stop there however, the newly popular outfielder led the league in batting at .426 and leads the league in RBI with 26. Wood ran away with the batter of the month award in April and shows no signs of slowing down.
King Kelly
The team did suffer an injury concern when big bat King Kelly went down with a strained oblique and will likely be out until late May. With the loss of Kelly the team recieved a boost from their veteran Cap Anson who had a rare good start to the season. Anson started the year batting .345 and leads the league with 22 runs scored. Overall the bats are cooking even without King as the Whites lead the league in batting at .281.
George Derby and Fred Dunlap have also made strong returns to form. Dunlap is batting .335 and looks to be as nimble as ever as second base. On the mound Derby has the unique leadership quality back on the mound, Derby ,likes what he sees from this season's team. "Its a diffrent team from last season," says George, "we have a belief again and it shows."
With the season just started, the long summer of last season has already been forgotten.
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Legue Notes
The great Ross Barnes of the Beaneaters suffered a herniated disk and after sitting out for two weeks willed himself back in the lineup. Barnes is a .343 career hitter and has played 17 seasons in Boston.
Count Gedney has announced his retirement. Gedney played in 946 games and batted .280 with 538 runs scored. Unfortunately in his long career Gedney was never able to play for a championship team.