In 1888, 21-year-old Ed Seward was the ace of the Philadelphia Athletics of the American Association with a 35-19 record, a league-leading 272 strikeouts and a 2.01 ERA (146 ERA+) and the distinction of having hurled a no-hitter against the Reds. The next year, he developed a sore arm in April. Despite his stated intention of not using Seward in spring training games, Manager Bill Sharsig let him pitch a full game against Boston when his arm not in shape. Seward started the regular season 2-9. Sharsig was criticized a couple of times during the season for overworking his ace while his staff was hurt. Seward came to Bill’s defense at one point, saying he volunteered to pitch two straight games in Columbus because Phenomenal Smith had a sore arm. Ed and the other pitchers weren’t helped any by two new rules passed over the winter. One gave the batter a base on four balls, in place of the previous five, and the other declared the batter would no longer be out when the catcher caught a foul tip. These changes were the main reasons the league ERA rose from 3.06 in 1888 to 3.85 in 1889. In 1890, the A's were awful and Seward's sore arm persisted. A year later he was out of the game.
Redid the facegen as I couldn't abide my Random Debut pitching staff continuing with that old one
