[FuzzyRussianHat]

Through July 1897, Milwaukee still has the best record in the American League at 65-43. However, their AL West Division lead shrank to two games with Minnesota at 63-45. The Twins went 9-1 to finish the month with a six-game winning streak. Kansas City has fallen to a distant third place at 54-54. Boston remains atop the AL East at 60-48 with Philadelphia second at 57-51. Both had losing records in July, while New York went on a 19-8 tear. The Yankees are now six games back at 54-54. Cleveland is eight away at 52-56.

New York 2B Nap Lajoie was AL Batter of the Month for July with a .451 average, 9 home runs, 23 RBI, and 26 runs. Minnesota lefty Brownie Foreman was Pitcher of the Month with a 2.01 ERA over 49.1 innings, 5-1 record, and 37 strikeouts. Yankees RF Danny Green was yet again Rookie of the Month with a .354 average, 10 homers, and 31 RBI.

Cincinnati has the top record in the majors at 67-41 through July. However, they dropped three of four to Indianapolis to end the month. The Clowns were 18-9 in July and gained two games on the Reds, sitting seven back in the NL West at 60-48.

The NL East remains wide open with Philadelphia (17-10) and Pittsburgh (16-11) having the best month, although the Phillies went 3-7 in their last ten. Boston, who led at the break, fell to last place after an 8-19 month. The Braves are still only seven games out of first place despite their 52-56 record. Philadelphia leads (59-49) with the Pirates two back, Brooklyn and Buffalo four back, and New York five away.

NL Batter of the Month for July was Clowns LF Fred Clarke with a .422 average, 38 hits, 4 homers, 28 RBI, and 16 runs. Indy also had Pitcher of the Month Tom Vickery with a 0.68 ERA, 5-1 record, and 33 Ks in 53 innings. Cincinnati’s Cowboy Jones was Rookie of the Month with a 2.56 ERA, 5-1 record, and 31 Ks in 52.2 innings.

The Braves lost last year’s Rookie of the Year Cy Seymour to a ruptured UCL. To fill his void in the rotation, they acquired veteran RHP Charley “Old Hoss” Radbourn in a trade with Buffalo for RF Chicken Wolf. The deadline was relatively uneventful for big names.

In pitching milestones, the Browns’ Bob Black reached 200 career wins and the Braves’ Bill Stemmyer reached 2000 strikeouts. In batting milestones, Cardinals 1B Roger Connor reached 2500 hits. Athletics CF Jim McTamany got to 2000 hits. Reaching 1000 RBI were Reds 2B Frank Fennelly and RF Dennis Casey, plus Browns C Jocko Milligan. Detroit 3B Ed Williamson and Kansas City C Podge Weihe got to 1000 runs scored. Yankees CF Marty Sullivan reached 300 homers and teammate Bill Joyce reached 600 stolen bases.