BASEBALL MONTHLY
May 1897
Colts Holding Off Pirates; Rusie May Lose Spot
The Pittsburgh Pirates have had a frustrating existance as a baseball team since they became profesional in 1882. The Pirates in fact have had only three winning seasons and no pennants to speak of. The current Pirates team has however emerged as the best contender against the first place Colts from Chicago as they sit only three games back.
The Pirates resurgance happened in the offseason when the team cleared their roster and fired influencial manager Charlie Comiskey. The Pirates brought in the legendary bat of Dan Brouthers and along with star hitter Dusty Miller have a team that can win. Miller especially has come on the scene as a major talent batting a league leading .466 so far with 34 RBI.
The Colts however have continued to win and try to stay in the lead in the National League while star Sam Thompson prepares his return from a broken leg. The Colts lost 13 games in the month but had enough to hold their lead. Manager Al Spalding however has been looking for ways to keep his starting rotation strong, the addition of Nig Cuppy from the bullpen has proven to be a good move, Cuppy has a 6-4 record and a 2.52 ERA. Less to his liking has been starter Amos Rusie who has an ERA near 4 and has struggled at times.
As of this printing Cuppy was still the 4th starter for the team but rumors swirl that Harry Staley may be due to take up his former place in the Chicago rotation. Staley of course was the ace of the staff a few years ago including winning 26 games in 1892.
The pennant races in both leagues look to be as tight as ever going into June. In the Western League the top four teams are seperated by six games and the last place Orioles are only 11 games back.
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| Catchers | | # | B | Player | Pos | G | AB | H | HR | RBI | R | BB | K | .AVG | OBP | SLG | | 96 | R | Billy Earle | C | 45 | 185 | 54 | 4 | 27 | 32 | 12 | 15 | .292 | .348 | .395 | | 28 | S | Tub Welch | C | 15 | 46 | 12 | 0 | 7 | 5 | 11 | 2 | .261 | .404 | .326 |
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Standings
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Bill Sweeney Has Most Wins
With the recent offseason retirement of ace pitcher Tim Keefe, it was only a matter of time before his alltime win record for a pitcher fell by the wayside.
The first man to do it was none other then the consistent arm of Boston's Bill Sweeney. Sweeey has pitched his 16 year career with the Beaneaters and has won just about every award including three World Championships. On the 25th of May against the Reds Sweeney recieved the appreciation from the fans at South End Grounds as he completed the 367th win of his career to become the alltime leader.
The 37 year old hurler may not have a ton of wins left in him, but the appreciation across the league was unanamous. His record in truth likely wont last long as pitchers like Bob Black (328) are making a run at the alltime total.
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League Notes Lousiville and Detroit made a deal this month. First baseman Jack Doyle goes to the Tigers while the well travelled Denny Lyons heads to Kentucky. Lyons is a career .302 hitter with 830 RBI for his career.
The 1897 amatuer draft is set for this June. The top prospects include catcher Frank Chance from Fresno California and right fielder Elmer Flick from Texas. The top arm in the pool is Bill Carrick from Erie Pennsyvania.
Cy Young of the Detroit Tigers finally won a game after losing 13 straigh decisions. The bad luck right hander still has a depressing record of 1-12.