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Washington was 20-8 in May, retaining the best record in the majors at 39-17. This put them eight games ahead of New York (31-25) and ten up on Philadelphia (29-27) in the American League East Division. Boston meanwhile has been abysmal with MLB’s worst record at 16-40. In the AL West, Detroit (35-21) holds the lead with Minnesota (33-23) and Kansas City (31-25) next. St. Louis (29-27) and Milwaukee (28-28) are also still in the mix.

It is a two team battle atop the National League East Division with Boston (35-21) narrowly ahead of New York (34-22). Brooklyn is also above .500 at 30-26 with Philadelphia at 28-28. New Orleans leads the NL West at 33-23 while Chicago (30-26) and St. Louis (29-27) are trailing.

The AL’s Batter and Rookie of the Month awards went to Royals LF Mike Donlin on a .387 average, 13 home runs, 29 RBI, and 23 runs. “Turkey Mike” leads the majors with 22 homers through May. Donlin also had the season’s first six-hit game on May 17, going 6-6 with two homers and five RBI against the Twins.

Pittsburgh 1B Dan McGann was NL Batter of the month in May with a .340 average, 6 homers, 26 RBI, and 18 runs. Twins lefty Brownie Foreman was AL Pitcher of the Month with a 5-1 record, 1.04 ERA, and 34 strikeouts in 52 innings. Giants righty Vianello Drinkwater was NL POTM with a 3.20 ERA, 5-1 record, and 32 Ks in 50.2 innings. Pelicans closer Willie Sudhoff was again NL Rookie of the Month with a 3-1 record and 5 saves in 12.1 innings with a 0.73 ERA.

The first no-hitter of 1899 was a dominant showing by former #1 draft pick Joe Corbett of the Giants in a 3-0 victory over Brooklyn. He struck out 15 over 107 pitches, beating the previous record for Ks in a no-hitter (12 by Elmer Smith in 1897). The only blemishes in the game were a hit batsmen and a fielding error.



In injury news, Pittsburgh pitcher Arlie Pond suffered a severely strained hip muscle with a four month recovery time, meaning his season is likely over. Reds RF Kip Selbach is out for a month with a fractured thumb. Hits leader Dan Brouthers for New York suffered a torn meniscus that will keep him out three months. He sits at 2965 career hits and was expected to become the first to 3000 this season, but that is now in doubt with the injury.

Indianapolis’ Spider Clark had a 23-game hitting streak in May. Twins OF Hugh Duffy became the fourth in MLB history with 1500 career RBI. Washington’s Ed Delahanty and Boston’s Jumbo Davis reached 1000 runs scored. Nationals P Jack Stivetts earned his 2000th strikeout and Yankees LF Marty Sullivan snagged his 600th stolen base.