1st January 1887
Another solid season for the Alleghenys sees the fans looking for the team to try and find the big time player that can take them to the top of the table. The owner has decided that he is very happy with what he sees on the field and has given GM Juan Matos a 5 year contract extension.
The team had only minor representation at the NL Awards dinner this year as Al Atkinson went to pick up his Platinum Stick award.
Instead of finding the big name player the fans were sad to see likeable left fielder Dick Higham decide that he was going to move on from professional baseball. Higham spent 16 years in professional baseball with the Brooklyn Grays and Pittsburgh Alleghenys. And while he was sometimes moved back to the minor leagues during this time he still managed to pick up 2 All Star Appearances and 1 Golden Glove along with an MLB Championship Medal from the Brooklyn Grays 1871 campaign. He played in 435 games over his 16 years with 451 hits from 1533 at bats. He scored 238 runs with 186 RBI's for an average of .294(real life stats 372 games, 384 runs, 549 hits, 204 RBI's and an average of .307)
Another player who's career has come to an end this year is 36 year old Eddie Booth. Right Fielder Booth spent 15 years in the Major Leagues with the Baltimore, St Louis and Pittsburgh teams. These years bought him 2 Golden Gloves and 2 All Star appearances along with an MLB Championship Medal from the 1874 campaign with Baltimore. He played in a total of 327 games and picked up 268 hits from 964 at bats. He scored 172 runs with 86 RBI's for an average of .278 (real life stats 242 games, 129 runs, 244 hits, 73 RBI's and an average of .241)
The third player with major league experience to retire from the side was Right Fielder Frank Buttery. Buttery was only a bit part player during his 14 years in the league with Cleveland and Pittsburgh. He played in 22 games and claimed 2 hits from 8 at bats. He scored 1 run with 1 RBI and an average of .250. (real life stats 18 games, 19 runs, 24 hits, 8 RBI's and an average of .258)
The final 2 players to retire never made it to the big time and played only minor league baseball. The first is Ed Atkinson (real life stats 2 games, 2 runs, 0 hits and an average of 0). The second is Frank Decker (real life stats 5 games, 0 runs, 3 hits, 1 RBI and an average of .167)
The team had 6 selections for the first year player draft this year. They used their first round pick to claim Left Fielder George Tebeau. The full draft log is given below.
The team failed to sign the 4th round draft pick Bill Swarback.