With Cap Anson suffering the first major injury of his long career this month after the star broke his fibula running the bases, the Chicago Colts have given the right to a new regime to contribute. The Colts remain a distant ten games out of first place although they did manage to turn their record into a winning one after a 17-10 month.
"Its too little too late" said manager Charlie Comiskey, "but we do have some young lads on this team that we are excited about."
Harry Staley
On top of this list is young pitcher Harry Staley. Chicago needs nothing more then it needs a dependable winning pitcher and at the age of 23 Staley has shown grand improvement. The 23 year old has won 14 games this season with a 2.24 ERA, the best on the team even better then Bob Black. Staley has excited fans and coaches and was rewarded this month as the team committed their future to him with a sparkling new three year deal.
At catcher Billy Earle has taken a chunk of playing time from often injured King Kelly. Earle is putting it together this season with a .310 average and 68 big RBI. Earle also plays well defensively and with Kelly turning 33 soon, many wonder what clear direction the Colts will do with the position.
Of course everyone knows about Billy Hamilton who is still only 24 years old and his skills can not be disputed even though he has had a relative down year with his .302 average. Marty Sullivan although 27, still has alot of good years ahead of him and has shown much in his first year in Chicago (.266, 4, 61)
Finally Jocko Halligan at only 21 has had an up and down year but still will likely have a giant career. Halligan has 68 RBI this season and his .257 average should only improve in time.
So the message to Chicago fans is one of optimism, still with a number of aging faces still on the roster and the offseason quickly approaching, much drama may be at hand.
Pennant Races As Hot As Ever
The pennant races havent slowd down one bit but the biggest news in the league is the run the Brooklyn Brdegrooms have put together over the last couple of months. Who else but the Bridegrooms could do such a thing? The team has gone 37-19 in the last two months and have overtaken the Giants for a two game lead going into Septemeber. The old stars remain in Tim Keefe and Dan Brouthers but new stars like starter Jack Jones (28-17, 2.58) has been the real diffrence.
The Giants havent given up yet but the pressure may be getting to them. New York hasnt seen a pennant race before and although the Giants have been leading the division for most the season, but the pressure may be getting to them as most expect the royal Bridegrooms as they have been called to take charge.
More of the same in the Amercian Association. The Detroit Tigers have been on a surge and lead the division by a single game over the Cleveland Spiders. Starter Alex Voss along with John Murphy have combined for 47 wins between them and the teams 19-9 record in August has put them on top.
Along with the Spiders wait the Boston Americans who are only two games out and are hot in their own right. The Amercians are led by star Mike Griffin who may be slowly becoming among the best in the game. The 25 year old is pitched around constanbtly and has 82 RBI.
Mike Griffin
The finish in both leagues coming down the stretch should be absolutely fantastic which is what baseball can do in the month of September.
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League Notes