1st January 1889
The off season has confused the fans of the Alleghenys a little this year. They were hoping to see the owner make changes to refresh the team but instead he decided to give the Manager Nolan Patton a 4 year contract extension while not changing any front office staff.
The NL Awards dinner saw Jack Clements and Jim Fogarty pick up Golden Glove awards for their fielding this year.
The announcement of the retirees this year didn't see any major stars leave the game of baseball from the Pittsburgh ranks. The biggest name to go was First Baseman Trick McSorley. McSorley spent 13 years playing professional ball and claimed 1 All Star appearance in the 6 years he made appearances in the Major League. He played 189 games and hit the ball 68 times. He scored 52 runs with 24 RBI's for an average of .239 (Real life stats 43 games, 34 hits, 19 runs, 3 RBI's for an average of .233)
The next 2 players to leave were, at best, bit part players for their major league teams. Third Baseman Albert Metcalfe managed 22 games, 3 hits, 7 runs with 3 RBI's and an average of .273 During his 14 year career (Real life stats 8 games, 7 hits, 2 runs, 1 RBI for an average of .219). While Catcher John Lowry managed 19 games, 2 hits, 10 runs with 3 RBI's and an average of .667 during his 13 year career (Real life stats 6 games, 3 hits, 2 runs, .136 Average).
The final player to retire is Pitcher John Greenig who failed to make the big time and played 0 MLB Games. (Real life stats 1 game, 11 innings, 17 hits and 11 earned runs against for an ERA of 11.00)
It was a poor year for the Alleghenys front office on the draft front. They only had 4 selections in the First Year Player Draft and then struggled to sign them all. The first round draft pick was Pitcher Hank Gastright. The Full draft log is below.
The team failed to sign the second round draft pick. All others signed by the deadline.