7th October 1881
The fans of the Red Stockings have had another season of near misses again this year as they failed to gain the pennant. The fans are starting to ask questions of the management to find out if they have what it takes to find the winning formula. The team's record for the year was 49-35 which in most seasons would have seen them much closer to the pennant but they are in the NL with the all powerful White Stockings and they need to find a way to stop them. The reason they missed out this year was the slow start in April where they allowed the White Stockings to take a 9 game lead that they just couldn't claw back.
The team finished the season on a high as they won their final 4 games with a 5-2 home win over the Brooklyn Atlantics followed by a 3-0 series sweep on the road to the Boston Red Caps 3-1, 4-2 and 4-1
The stars of the show this year were Second Baseman Fred Dunlap and Pitcher Monte Ward.
While the batting did have its struggles this year, Dunlap was the star of the show. He managed to collect an average of .307 during the season with 107 hits from 348 at bats in 84 game starts. He also collected 54 runs and 38 RBI's in a very productive season.
Monte Ward was once again the pitcher who could be relied upon to perform on the mound. He started 42 games and got through 358.1 innings worth of work. This work saw him pick up 25 wins while giving up 358 hits and 87 earned runs for an ERA of 2.19. The fans are hoping to see his name in big print when the NL end of season awards are announced.
Full season pitching stats
Full season batting stats
After the announcement by the MLB that they are extending the league to 16 teams, we will bring you a special report on the expansion draft once it has been completed.