The 1902 season began with a shocker, as A's star "Big Ed" Delahanty jumped the team...literally.
During a pre-season trip to Buffalo, Delahanty got into a drunken argument with the conductor, who proceeded to tell Big Ed to get the hell off his train. And he did. Only one problem: the train was still moving, and Ed tumbled down a hill into the Niagara River.
After searching the river for two days, there was no sign of Ed...until he suddenly turned up at the home "Slidin' Billy" Hamilton in Minnesota, with the surprising news he had just joined the defending champion St. Paul Saints! With the slugging left fielder in the lineup, the Minnesotans found themselves on top of the table:
Over in the senior circuit, an exciting three-team race for the pennant broke out between the Cubs, Reds and Colonels, with several more clubs fighting for the #4 spot and a shot at the Temple Cup:
And, yep, the Spiders were still getting stomped on:
Even with a mostly new lineup and "Wee Willie" having another fine season in the leadoff spot, Cleveland found the cellar door firmly locked for the fourth straight season. And when rumours of the peace deal began to waft its way towards northern Ohio, Spiders fans -- those that were left, anyway -- would begin to wonder if their club would be staying in the National League at all...