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Buffalo was fortunate to have a six-game National League East Division lead entering September. Philadelphia made a charge going 17-8 in the month, but the Bisons held onto first place at 94-68 ahead of the 92-70 Phillies. The repeat made Buffalo four-time division champs (1884, 87, 92, 93). They were tied for MLB’s best run differential at +162 and allowed the fewest runs at 635.

Philadelphia’s 92 wins was a franchise best, as was New York’s 90-72, but both are still yet to win a division title. Boston was also respectable at 88-74, the eighth straight winning season for the Braves. The Giants led the NL in scoring with 889 runs. The Dodgers were in that mix at the all-star break, but finished 77-85 after a lackluster second half.

St. Louis swept Cincinnati in mid-September, getting the Cardinals within a game of the Reds in the NL West. With six games left, they were tied at 87-69. The Reds split their final two games with New Orleans, then won three of four hosting Chicago. The Cardinals meanwhile split their last two with Louisville and last four at Indianapolis, including a ten-inning, 2-1 loss in the finale. Thus, Cincy held on at 91-71 while St. Louis was 90-72.

This was the first division title for the Reds and tied their franchise record. They hadn’t won more than 70 games in the past five seasons, so it was an impressive turnaround in Cincinnati. The Pelicans ended up third at 86-76, unable to overcome their near .500 start.

The NL West became the first division in MLB where each team in the division has won the title at least once. The Cubs, the two-time defending champs, struggled to 71-91. Chicago notably was an abysmal 29-55 at the all-star break and played winning baseball after that. Louisville at 60-102 had the worst record in MLB and in franchise history.



Braves LF Mike Tiernan was NL Batter of the Month in September with a .409 average, .485 OBP, 9 home runs, 21 RBI, and 23 runs. He’s an MVP candidate as always in a crowded field. Reigning MVP Jimmy Ryan led in homers (46), RBI (136), runs (138), and WAR (10.8), but his Colonels had the worst record in MLB. Batting champ Bill Lange with the struggling clowns, plus Giants 3B Charlie Irwin and Dodgers C Jack Clements are also in the conversation. One other statistical notable, the only six-hit game in the 1893 season came from Giants CF Frank Shugart, going 6-6 against the Cardinals on September 7.

Pitcher of the Month was the Cubs’ Ballplayer Rogers, who was 5-0 over 39.2 innings with a 1.59 ERA and 23 Ks. Chicago also had Rookie of the Month RF Jack McCarthy, who hit .368 with 5 doubles, 16 runs, and 20 RBI. Philadelphia’s Silver King is the Pitcher of the Year favorite as the leader in ERA (2.25) and wins (23-7). The Reds’ Amos Rusie led in Ks (257) for the second time and the Dodgers’ George Davies was the WARlord for the third time (8.6).

In team records, New Orleans’ pitchers allowed 375 walks with a 2.33 BB/9; both NL bests. Buffalo’s 1241 hits allowed and 1.153 WHIP were the third-best in NL history and their 7.64 H/9 second best. Indianapolis’s 526 stolen bases were second best in the NL. In bad pitching, Louisville’s 5.33 ERA, 1015 runs allowed, and 859 earned runs were each second-worst in the NL. The Clowns had a 5.15 ERA, 960 runs, and 822 earned runs allowed; each third-worst. Indy’s 1.589 team WHIP was a new NL worst.