The Boston Beaneaters as far out of the pennant race as they have been in the last five years as they ended the month of May ten full games behind the Chicago Colts. The five time defending pennant winners still have a roster deep in talent and experiance, but a cloud seems to be growing over the Boston dynasty of late.
Ed Delahnty likely has put together three of the best seasons of any hitter in the history of the game over the past three years. Big Ed has hit .435 over the past two seasons and is over .400 again as we get past the halfway point of the season. Delahanty has played ten years in Boston and has been part of everyone of their triumphs and remains beloved by the Boston fanbase. Still such a great player is spending most of his time in the 1896 season on the bench, rarely starting and only having 125 atbats so far for the entire season.
Many wondered if the star was injured, but no such eveidence or report of an injury exists. Still mysteriously, day after day, manager Steve Denton has the star starting on the bench and favors Vince Dailey who is batting a modest .286 this season. Neither player or manager want to comment to the media but rumour continue to grow as no logical explantation can be determined for the move, even more so as the pennant continues to slip away.
Obviously there may be a personal rift between manager and player as many are saying after so much winning; egos have taken over in Boston.
"Truly the pride of manager Denton has to be enourmous" said a source close to the team, "whatever his reasons are it takes alot to keep such a talent off the field."
Others say that Boston is so accustomed to winning that it has turned into greed, and they believe they ca win with anylineup on the field of play.
Others still are speculating that a trade of the star may be in the works, but with the trade deadline approaching quickly, something would have to be done soon.
Whatever the case the league and its pitchers in the National League could not be happier to see the star anywhere but without a bat in his hand.
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Amatuer Draft Brings New Drama; New Star In New York
The annual amatuer draft took place this month in the Grand hotel along Chicago's magnificent mile. The anticipation for this draft was high as a number of amatuer stars were part of the pool. Some cities however coudnt believe what they were seeing.
Most of the drama revolved around young super talent Honus Wagner who most experts say is far and away the best talent available. The Chicago White Sox passed on the player and took a strong arm in Harley Payne as the top pick. Everyone then expected the St. Louis Browns to choose Wagner with the second pick but instead the side chose Jimmy "Chicken" Wolf, a talented outfielder from Louisville.
Honus Wagner
Other teams stepped up but kept on passing on Wagner. The star kid actually dropped to number nine, when finally the New York Giants brought hope to New Yorkers everywhere when they chose Wagner 9th overall.
New York burst into celebrations when news spread of the pick. Still many in the media were suspicious of a conspiracy as it is obvious that the league would benefit from a strong team out of New York. Some are claiming momey under the table set this pick up for New York.
Still the excitement is real, and Wagner now goes into negotiation to sign a deal with his new club.
A lively arm by the name of Rube Waddell was also making some noise as the strikeout artist joins the Cincinnati Reds and their other ace Cy Young.
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