The Liberty League, Est. 1876

[Questdog]

Sunday, July 24, 1887

Grand National Association:
St. Louis (13) at Brooklyn (9): Ted Ryther (33-4.3) (18-13) over Al Green (24-3.8) (16-16). C Cy Morton (27-4.6) had 3 hits with 2 triples and 2 walks, scored 3 runs and had 3 RBIs. For the Gladiators, LF Kid Orr (28-5.6) hit his 2nd home run of the season.

[Westheim]

I've fallen a bit behind the last few days and am just catching up, but what ever happened to this fella here ...:

Originally Posted by Questdog

Wednesday, July 6, 1887
!!Rookie LF Pat Matthews (24-5.1) had a hit to extend his streak to 35 games and set the new all-time record!!

No mention of the streak after this entry.

And while there's just no hope for Pop Yurkovich and he might be served better going home and pick up knitting, at least the Detroitians beat up the Creepy Count two days in a row. Yay!

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by Questdog

Editor's Note: I am currently working on a top-secret project called "The Liberty League Encyclopedia". I can't say what it is about.....

I sure hope it has to do with bratwurst in buns being sold in the stands in Detroit! I hate having to go home hungry!

On that table thing, I'm wondering what AB-HR-SH might be. Batting stats for Old Abe? I have no clue.

I have no real complaints on the format. The awards column might get cramped occasionally, but there's no more space on the screen

[Questdog]

Originally Posted by Westheim

I sure hope it has to do with bratwurst in buns being sold in the stands in Detroit! I hate having to go home hungry!

On that table thing, I'm wondering what AB-HR-SH might be. Batting stats for Old Abe? I have no clue.

I have no real complaints on the format. The awards column might get cramped occasionally, but there's no more space on the screen

Yes, it is batting stats (At Bats, Home Runs, Sacrifice Hits (of which there is yet no such thing) followed by the Batting Average).

[Questdog]

Originally Posted by Westheim

I
No mention of the streak after this entry.

You just missed the mentions of his streak; they were there.

On July 6, he set the record. July 7, his team did not play. July 8, he got a hit to extend to 36 games. July 9, he went hitless.

[Questdog]

Monday, July 25, 1887

Detroit Wolverines (41-25 .621 1st place in the Liberty League) at
New York Gothams (29-35 .453 11 GB in 6th place)

Lou Townley, Det. (25-3.4) (R 19-8 2.78 9.4-1.4-3.6 H-BB-K/9) vs. Miah Turner, N.Y. (26-5.3) (R 14-7 3.11 8.9-1.9-3.9).

Won - 3 to 0

Townley's 3rd shutout of the season ties him with Count Childs (31-3.1) of Louisville for the League lead. Our hitting woes continue: Over our last 7 games we are scoring less than half the League average with 20 runs total (2.9 per game).

Townley allowed 4 hits, 1 walk and struck out 3. At bat, he had 2 hits with a double and scored a run.

Turner gave us 7 hits, 3 walks and struck out 6. At bat, he had a hit.

Each team made 3 errors.

LF Al Lewis (21-9.1) walked twice, stole a base and scored a run. 3B Sam Boullion (27-4.8) had 2 hits. 1B George House (28-4.3) had a hit and knocked in 2 runs. C Jimmy Babcock (30-6.9) had 2 hits. SS Tom Nelson (21-6.6) has lost his magic: he is 3 for his last 32.

Liberty League:
Boston (1) at Indianapolis (7): Jimmy Euler (26-5.5) (6-8) over William Little (26-6.0) (14-13). Euler allowed 6 hits, 5 walks and struck out 2. Rookie 3B Fred Boss (24-6.0) hit his 3rd home run of the season. For the Red Caps, CF Pat Stafford (26-5.4) went hitless, ending his streak at 20 games.

Cincinnati (7) at Cleveland (5): John Stevens (30-8.2) (17-12) over Ed Pedersen (25-5.1) (12-20). Stevens allowed 8 hits, 1 walk and struck out 2.

Louisville (3) at Pittsburgh (2): William McLeod (28-5.6) (18-10) over Tom Lilly (27-6.4) (11-12). McLeod allowed 8 hits, 3 walks and struck out 2. Lilly allowed 11 hits, 3 walks and struck out 3. LF Jack Wallace (34-7.5) hit a home run.

Grand National Association:
St. Louis (11) at Brooklyn (10): Fred Barrow (35-4.7) (14-14) over William David (24-3.6) (6-4) in relief of Ren French (26-4.9). The Terriers scored a run in the top of the 9th to break the 10-10 tie. They scored in every inning but the 4th. Rookie 3B Kid Powell (24-7.5) had a hit for the 20th straight game. Brooklyn has lost 7 in a row.

Chicago (2) at Providence (3): Ed Hodges (27-3.2) (9-19) over Pat Seguin (23-4.4) (22-14). Hodges allowed 2 hits, 5 walks and struck out 2. At bat, he had 2 hits with a triple and a walk, scored a run and had an RBI. Seguin allowed 10 hits, 4 walks and struck out 1.

Kansas City (7) at Baltimore (0): Al McClaughry (23-5.6) (22-12) over Pop Yurkovich (35-5.6) (11-20). McClaughry allowed 5 hits, 1 walk and struck out 2.

Milwaukee (7) at Omaha (8): Bill Hamilton (29-5.4) (6-2) in relief of Lee Sprague (27-3.5) over Freddy Wood (31-6.3) (16-15). Sprague had to leave in the 2nd inning with a twinge in his arm, but it proved harmless and he is fine.

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by Questdog

You just missed the mentions of his streak; they were there.

On July 6, he set the record. July 7, his team did not play. July 8, he got a hit to extend to 36 games. July 9, he went hitless.

Well, you're right and you're wrong. You're right that he gets mentioned (and I must check, but I might be eligible for benefits for the legally blind), but you have him at the wrong game on July 6 (Brk. vs. KC). I will claim that that threw me off balance and I am not at fault, for once.

[Questdog]

Originally Posted by Westheim

Well, you're right and you're wrong. You're right that he gets mentioned (and I must check, but I might be eligible for benefits for the legally blind), but you have him at the wrong game on July 6 (Brk. vs. KC). I will claim that that threw me off balance and I am not at fault, for once.

Well, not for the first time am I an idiot.....

I seem to get Kansas City and St. Louis confused more often than I should.

Fixed!

[Questdog]

Tuesday, July 26, 1887

Detroit Wolverines (42-25 .627 1st place in the Liberty League) at
New York Gothams (29-36 .446 12 GB in 6th place)

Al Rice, Det. (22-7.6) (R 5-3 2.35 8.7-0.9-2.7 H-BB-K/9) vs. Jack Roberts, N.Y. (35-6.1) (R 8-19 5.10 11.2-3.7-2.3).

We are now 1-3 against Roberts this season.

Lost - 10 to 9

We finally plated some runs and were cruising along until the Gothams scored 5 times in the 8th inning.

Rice allowed 13 hits, 2 walks and struck out 2. He has lost 4 in a row.

We had 12 hits and each team made 3 errors.

LF Al Lewis (21-9.1) hit a triple and scored a run. 3B Sam Bullion (27-4.8) hit a double, drew a walk and scored 3 times. 1B George House (28-4.3) had 2 hits with his 3rd home run of the year, walked twice and had 2 RBIs. RF Ben Smith (28-6.7) had 2 hits, stole a base, scored 2 runs and had 2 RBIs. 2B Al Hartford (22-5.0) hit a double, walked twice, stole a base, scored a run and had an RBI. CF Fred Bianco (28-6.9) hit a double and 2 triples and scored a run.

For the Gothams, C Charlie Harris (26-5.9) had 3 hits with a double, scored a run and had 4 RBIs. 2B Bill Baker (25-3.6) had 2 hits with a double, scored a run and had 3 RBIs. 3B Ed Glass (28-4.5) had 3 hits, stole a base, scored a run and had an RBI.

Liberty League:
Boston (8) at Indianapolis (9) in 10 innings: Sal DeVaux (32-3.5) (10-11) over Joe Peters (31-4.9) (0-1) in his season debut. 3B Bill Lawson (30-6.9) hit a 2-out home run to win the game. He had 3 hits with his 7th home run of the season and 4 RBIs. RF Ed Wakefield (27-5.8) had 4 hits with a double, stole a base, scored 2 runs and had 2 RBIs.

Cincinnati (9) at Cleveland (11): Artie Boucher (24-6.1) (5-3) over Charlie Branham (27-4.2) (20-14). Rookie LF Hi Bowman (23-5.5) had 3 hits, stole a base, scored a run and had 4 RBIs. For the Reds, 1B Willie Burton (32-8.5) had 4 hits with a double, scored 3 runs and had an RBI. RF Fleet Wilcox (30-4.9), who is leading the League in all 3 Triple Crown categories, cracked a bone in his foot and will miss 2 to 3 weeks.

Louisville (3) at Pittsburgh (6): Whitey Mathews (24-4.1) (13-11) over Count Childs (31-3.1) (9-18). Mathews allowed 7 hits, 2 walks and struck out no one. Childs has lost 10 in a row. LF Billy Galloway (26-5.3) hit his 3rd home run of the season.

Grand National Association:
Kansas City (8) at Baltimore (3) Game 1: Lew Burnett (26-4.5) (19-15) over Frank McSherry (32-4.1) (2-1). Burnett allowed 9 hits, 1 walk and struck out 2. RF Jimmy Harrison (25-5.4) had 2 hits with a triple and a walk, stole 3 bases, scored 4 runs and had an RBI.

Kansas City (5) at Baltimore (6) Game 2: Bill McGee (29-7.9) (3-2) over Lew Burnett (26-4.5) (19-16). McGee allowed 8 hits, 4 walks and struck out no one. With 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th, LF Bill Fogle (28-5.3) singled home the winning run.

Chicago (10) at Providence (4): Pete Rinehart (28-6.2) (9-14) over Ed Wison (26-7.3) (9-17). Rinehart allowed 4 hits, 7 walks and struck out 1.

St. Louis (4) at Brooklyn (12): Ren French (26-4.9) (14-15) over Fred Barrow (35-4.7) (14-15). French allowed 7 hits, no walks and struck out 3. 3B Charlie Smith (29-5.6) hit 3 doubles and a triple, scored 2 runs and had 5 RBIs. For the Terriers, rookie 3B Kid Powell (24-7.5) went hitless, ending his streak at 20 games.

Milwaukee (14) at Omaha (9): Zachary Buchanan (26-4.0) (18-14) over Tom Lee (29-6.0) (13-9). Rookie CF Al Blanchette (22-7.7) had 4 hits with a double, scored a run and had 4 RBIs. 1B Dave Gray (26-4.9) had 3 hits with a bases-loaded triple, scored 2 runs and had 6 RBIs. For the Mutuals, CF Abe Cupp (26-4.7) had 2 hits with his 3rd home run of the season, scored 2 runs and had 5 RBIs.


Down in the International League (A), C Tom Trever (24-4.7) of the Syracuse Stars (Detroit's minor League affiliate) hit for the cycle against the Hamilton Hams. He scored 3 runs and had 2 RBIs in a 14 to 9 win.

In the most lop-sided victory in professional baseball history (I'm pretty sure), the Duluth Jayhawks of the Northwestern League (B) defeated the Peoria Reds, 29 to 1. Duluth out-hit Peoria, 26 to 4. The Reds made 17 errors and no one was playing out of position. The Jayhawks are currently in 1st place and Peoria is in 3rd. Ed Jones (22-5.0), the winning pitcher, raised his record to 24-8.

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by Questdog

I seem to get Kansas City and St. Louis confused more often than I should.

The more I read here, the more I realize I can't memorize at all

And the thing with KC and StL is probably that one tends to mix them together because they're in the same state. - Iowa.

[Questdog]

Wednesday, July 27, 1887

Lorenzo Chappell (27-5.2) of the New York Gothams, who had been feeling ill for the past week, collapsed last evening and was rushed to the hospital where he died of typhoid pneumonia. He had been the starting left fielder for most of this season. He was in his 4th year with the Gothams and was hitting a career best .238. He won the Gold Glove last season of the best fielding center fielder in the Liberty League.

2B Al Shaffer (27-5.6) is finally ready to play, so we sent IF Russell Gardner (33-6.4) back to Syracuse. I hope Shaffer hits like he was before, but I'm sure it will take him a week to get back in playing shape. It will still be another 3 weeks before we get 2b Jocko Cole (25-6.1) and CF Tom Duncan (22-6.6) back. 1B Sam Cowan (31-5.1) may be ready to play for our Christmas Tournament on ice, but it is doubtful.

Detroit Wolverines (42-26 .618 1st place in the Liberty League) at
New York Gothams (30-36 .455 11 GB in 6th place)

Dave Frazier, Det. (27-5.7) (L 5-4 2.26 8.0-2.4-2.8 H-BB-K/9) vs. Jack Roberts, N.Y. (35-6.1) (R 9-19 5.19 11.3-3.8-2.3).

We are now 1-4 against Roberts this season. This is embarrassing.

Won - 9 to 3

Frazier shut them out until there were 2 outs in the 8th inning. Then LF Sy Geller (28-5.7) dropped a fly ball.

Frazier allowed 9 hits, 3 walks and struck out 2. At bat, he had a hit and an RBI.

Roberts gave us 13 hits, no walks and struck out 3.

We made 2 errors and New York made 5.

3B John Powers (34-6.2) hit a triple, stole a base, scored 2 runs and had an RBI. 1B Zenas Woodard (27-4.6) had 3 hits, was beaned by a pitch, stole 2 bases, scored 3 runs and had an RBI. RF Ben Smith (28-6.7) had 3 hits with a double, scored a run and had 2 RBIs. 2B Al Shaffer (27-5.6), in his triumphal return, had 3 hits with a double, scored a run and had 3 RBIs.

For the Gothams, rookie CF Cinders Bradley (24-7.1) had 3 hits with a triple and a walk, but no runs or RBIs. 3B Ed Glass (28-4.5) had 2 hits with his 4th home run of the year, an inside-the-park one good for 2 runs.

Liberty League:
Cincinnati (10) at Cleveland (5): Charlie Branham (27-4.2) (21-14) over Artie Boucher (24-6.1) (5-4). 1B Willie Burton (32-8.5) hit his 6th home run of the year, drew a walk and had 4 RBIs.

Grand National Association:
Chicago (2) at Brooklyn (5): Al Green (24-3.8) (17-16) over Pat Seguin (23-4.4) (22-15). Green allowed 4 hits, 2 walks and struck out 10.

Milwaukee (12) at Providence (3): Freddy Wood (31-6.3) (17-15) over Ed Hodges (27-3.2) (9-20). Wood allowed 7 hits, 3 walks and struck out 2.

St. Louis (2) at Baltimore (4): Frank McSherry (32-4.1) (3-1) over Ted Ryther (33-4.3) (18-14). McSherry allowed 4 hits, 2 walks and struck out 2. Ryther allowed 7 hits, 1 walk and struck out 2.

Kansas City (12) at Omaha (5): Lew Burnett (26-4.5) (20-16) over Lee Sprague (27-3.5) (14-20). 2B Fred Umbaugh (26-5.4) and rookie 3B Bev Bradley (22-6.2) each hit a home run. For the Mutuals, rookie C Henry Pitts (29-6.7) had 4 hits and an RBI.

[Questdog]

Thursday, July 28, 1887

We are back in Detroit to start a 3 week home-stand. We begin with a 3 game series against manager Jesse Courtney (38-5.1) and his Puddlers. We are 5-2 against them so far and beat them 2 of 3 in Pittsburgh 3 weeks ago, the last time we met. They are 5th in the League in scoring with 6.2 runs per game (Detroit is still last with 5.9). They are 2nd in runs allowed with 5.5 per game (Detroit is still 1st with 4.9).

Pittsburgh Puddlers (30-33 .476 10 GB in 5th place in the Liberty League) at
Detroit Wolverines (43-26 .623 1st place)

Tom Lilly, Pitt. (27-6.4) (L 11-13 3.55 9.5-1.8-3.1 H-BB-K/9) vs. Lou Townley, Det. (25-3.4) (R 20-8 2.68 9.2-1.4-3.6).

Won - 8 to 1

Lilly had to leave in the 5th inning with a broken elbow. He will be out for the rest of the season and then some.

Townley allowed 5 hits, 1 walk and struck out 5. At bat, he had a hit and scored a run. This was his 4th straight exceptional outing.

We had 8 hits and made 1 error. Pittsburgh made 7.

2B Al Shaffer (27-5.6) had a hit and a walk, scored 3 runs and had an RBI. 1B George House (28-4.3) had a hit, scored 2 runs and had 2 RBIs. C Jimmy Babcock (30-6.9) had 2 hits with a double, scored a run and had 3 RBIs. CF Fred Bianco (28-6.9) had 2 hits and an RBI.

For the Puddlers, C Bumpus Dowdy (37-7.2) hit his 3rd home run of the year.

Liberty League:
Indianapolis (6) at Cleveland (5): Jimmy Euler (26-5.5) (7-8) over Ed Pedersen (25-5.1) (12-21). Euler allowed 7 hits, 5 walks and struck out 2. Pedersen allowed 7 hits, 1 walk and struck out 3. Cleveland made 6 errors. 1B Lew Bell (30-4.2) hit his 2nd home run of the season. For the Spiders, rookie 2B Ed Engelhardt (22-5.0) messed up his knee and will miss about 5 weeks.

Louisville (2) at New York (9): Miah Turner (26-5.3) (15-8) over William McLeod (28-5.6) (18-11). Turner allowed 7 hits, no walks and struck out 5. 1B John Hilliard (27-7.2) had 2 hits with his 12th home run of the year, a bases-loaded blast. He walked twice and had 6 RBIs.

Boston (7) at Cincinnati (2): William Little (26-6.0) (15-13) over John Stevens (30-8.2) (17-13). Little allowed 7 hits, 2 walks and struck out 1. RF Dan Abrams (28-5.1) had 3 hits with 2 triples, scored a run and had 4 RBIs.

Grand National Association:
Chicago (18) at Brooklyn (10): Pete Rinehart (28-6.2) (10-14) over William David (24-3.6) (6-5). Chicago scored 10 runs in the 2nd inning. For the Gladiators, LF Kid Orr (28-5.6) had 3 hits with a triple and a walk, scored 2 runs and had 5 RBIs.

Milwaukee (3) at Providence (9): Ed Wison (26-7.3) (10-17) over Wiley Steel (25-5.6) (7-8) in relief of Zachary Buchanan (26-4.0). Wison allowed 5 hits, 5 walks and struck out 4. Buchanan had to leave in the 3rd inning with a sore shoulder but should be okay in 4 or 5 days.

St. Louis (9) at Baltimore (2): Con Arnold (23-6.3) (6-6) over Pop Yurkovich (35-5.6) (11-21). Arnold allowed 5 hits, 1 walk and struck out 3.

Kansas City (3) at Omaha (7): Tom Lee (29-6.0) (14-9) over Al McClaughry (23-5.6) (22-13). Lee allowed 4 hits, 5 walks and struck out 7. Rookie CF Dave Todd (22-5.5) hit his 4th home run of the season.

[Questdog]

Friday, July 29, 1887

Pittsburgh Puddlers (30-34 .469 11 GB in 5th place in the Liberty League) at
Detroit Wolverines (44-26 .629 1st place)

Whitey Mathews, Pitt. (24-4.1) (L 13-11 3.14 9.7-2.3-2.2 H-BB-K/9) vs. Al Rice, Det. (22-7.6) (R 5-4 3.04 9.4-1.1-2.7).

Won - 9 to 8

Rice allowed 12 hits, 3 walks and struck out 9. At bat, he had a hit and 2 RBIs.

Mathews gave us 9 hits, 2 walks and struck out 2.

Each team made 4 errors.

RF Ben Smith (28-6.7) hit a double, scored 2 runs and had an RBI. 1B George House (28-4.3) had 2 hits with a double, scored a run and had 2 RBIs. C Jimmy Babcock (30-6.9) hit a triple, scored 2 runs and had an RBI. SS Tom Nelson (20-6.6) had 2 hits, stole a base, scored 2 runs and had an RBI and made 3 errors. CF Fred Bianco (28-6.9) hit a triple, drew a walk, scored a run and had an RBI.

For the Puddlers, C Wilson Wendling (26-4.1) and RF Ace Trimmell (29-5.0) hit back-to-back home runs. It was Wendling's 5th and Trimmell's 3rd of the year. 1B Tom Coponen (31-7.0) hit 2 doubles, drew a walk, stole a base and scored 2 runs.

Liberty League:
Indianapolis (8) at Cleveland (2): Sal DeVaux (32-3.5) (11-11) over Henry Rawls (33-4.3) (10-13). DeVaux allowed 7 hits, 4 walks and struck out 1. He has won 5 in a row. The Hoosiers were in last place with a record of 22-37 (.373) when Bill Shell (43-6.3) took over as manager. Since then they have gone 10-3 and have climbed out of the basement.

Louisville (11) at New York (3): Count Childs (31-3.1) (10-18) over Jack Roberts (35-6.1) (9-21). Childs allowed 5 hits, 3 walks and struck out 3. 1B John Hilliard (27-7.2) had 2 hits with his 12th home run of the year, a bases-loaded blast. He walked twice and had 6 RBIs.

Boston (7) at Cincinnati (6) in 10 innings: Charlie Morlock (38-6.7) (10-15) in relief of Joe Peters (31-4.9) over Charlie Branham (27-4.2) (21-15). Win #295 for Morlock.

Grand National Association:
Chicago (10) at Brooklyn (1): Pat Seguin (23-4.4) (23-15) over Ren French (26-4.9) (14-16). Seguin allowed 6 hits, no walks and struck out 1. SS Bob Robertson (24-4.1) had 4 hits, stole 2 bases, scored 2 runs and had an RBI. LF Candy Simpson (28-6.8) broke his thumb and will miss 3 to 4 weeks.

Milwaukee (8) at Providence (9): Bill Henson (30-6.5) (5-14) over Wiley Steel (25-5.6) (7-9). Henson had to leave after giving up a 2-out single int he bottom of the 9th with a sore wrist. Egyptian Hooker (39-3.9) came on and retired the final batter to preserve the win. Henson will be be sore for 4 or 5 days, but can possibly pitch in the meantime. CF Al Young (23-4.8) had 4 hits with a double and a triple, stole a base, scored 2 runs and had 2 RBIs.

St. Louis (7) at Baltimore (2): Fred Barrow (35-4.7) (15-15) over Ed Price (23-5.7) (1-3). Barrow allowed 6 hits, no walks and struck out 1.

Kansas City (5) at Omaha (6) in 10 innings: Bill Hamilton (29-5.4) (7-2) in relief of Lee Sprague (27-3.5) over Dave Hendrich (24-6.0) (2-1). The winning run scored on an error. LF Dave Cunningham (32-5.4) walked 4 times and scored 2 runs. For the Cowboys, SS Al Sarbacker (26-4.8) had 4 hits and scored a run.

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by Questdog

Friday, July 29, 1887

Louisville (11) at New York (3): Count Childs (31-3.1) (10-18) over Jack Roberts (35-6.1) (9-21). Childs allowed 5 hits, 3 walks and struck out 3. 1B John Hilliard (27-7.2) had 2 hits with his 12th home run of the year, a bases-loaded blast. He walked twice and had 6 RBIs.

First win for the Creepy Count since June 25 ... in Detroit.

Booo.

[Questdog]

Saturday, July 30, 1887

Owner Ad Mendenhall (67-5.6) of the Reds died of a heart attack last night at his home in Cincinnati. As per League rules, the club will be overseen by the League until a suitable buyer can be located. Manager Silver Borresen (33-6.9) will be allowed to make any player moves he deems necessary, but they must be approved by the League. As long as he does nothing radical, this should not be an issue. Mendenhall bought the 5th place Reds before the 1880 season and won the Liberty League championship in his 1st season. They have never finished lower than 3rd place during his tenure.

Pittsburgh Puddlers (30-35 .469 12 GB in 5th place in the Liberty League) at
Detroit Wolverines (45-26 .634 1st place)

Fred Horner, Pitt. (26-3.8) (L 17-9 4.62 10.8-3.6-2.3 in A Ball H-BB-K/9) vs. Dave Frazier, Det. (27-5.7) (L 6-4 2.01 8.1-2.5-2.7).

Pittsburgh has almost cornered the market on left-handed pitching. Horner makes his major league debut today.

Won - 9 to 4

Frazier allowed 7 hits, no walks and struck out 2. At bat, he drew a walk and scored a run.

Horner gave us 11 hits, 3 walks and struck out 2. At bat, he had a hit.

We made 3 errors and Pittsburgh made 1.

2B Al Shaffer (27-5.6) had a hit, was beaned twice and scored 3 runs. In the 4 games since he's been back from injury, we have scored at least 8 runs every time. RF Ben Smith (28-6.7) had 3 hits with a triple, scored 3 runs and had 2 RBIs. 1B George House (28-4.3) had 2 hits and a walk, scored a run and had 2 RBIs. Those 3, our 3-4-5 hitters, have gone 22 for 46 (.478) with 21 runs scored and 20 RBIs in each of their last 4 games (which covers the last 5 games of the Wolverines, who have scored 9 runs 4 times and 8 once in that stretch). SS Tom Nelson (21-6.6) had 2 hits, stole a base and had 2 RBIs. CF Fred Bianco (28-6.9) had 2 hits and an RBI.

For the Puddlers, LF Billy Galloway (26-5.3) hit his 4th home run of the season, a no-doubter to left field where it is not easy to get them over the fence.

Liberty League:
Indianapolis (11) at Cleveland (3): Dad Marshall (28-4.4) (7-8) over Artie Boucher (24-6.1) (5-5). Marshall allowed 10 hits, 2 walks and struck out 1. Rookie LF Dick Thacker (26-7.6) hurt his thumb and will miss 2 to 3 weeks. The Hoosiers have won 5 in a row and have moved up into 6th place.

Louisville (7) at New York (6): Sammy Berry (27-5.5) (6-5) over Tom McDowell (23-8.0) (5-6). For the Gothams, SS Dave Hay (25-5.7) had 4 hits with a double and a triple, stole a base, scored a run and had an RBI. 1B John Hilliard (27-7.2) hit hit his 3th home run of the season to tie for the League lead with the injured Fleet Wilcox (30-4.9).

Boston (9) at Cincinnati (2): Joe Peters (31-4.9) (1-1) over Dan Burton (32-4.9) (2-1). Peters allowed 5 hits, 3 walks and struck out 4. 2B Mike Stables (31-7.1) hit his 5th home run of the year. C Hub West (33-6.7) hit his 3rd and RF Dan Abrams (28-5.1) hit his 1st.

Grand National Association:
Kansas City (3) at Brooklyn (4): William David (24-3.6) (7-5) in relief of Al Green (24-3.8) over Lew Burnett (24-4.5) (20-17). Green had to leave in the 3rd inning with a sore thumb, but they think he'll be fine in a day or two.

St. Louis (7) at Providence (6): Ted Ryther (33-4.3) (19-14) over Ed Hodges (27-3.2) (9-21). Hodges left in the 8th inning with a swollen elbow. The are prescribing a week of rest. Ryther is 14-4 in his last 18 decisions. For the Grays, 3B Ed Knight (24-5.1) hit his 2nd home run of the season.

Milwaukee (7) at Baltimore (9): Frank McSherry (32-4.1) (4-1) over Freddy Wood (31-6.3) (17-16). Milwaukee scored 3 runs in the 9th to make it look close, anyway.

Chicago (12) at Omaha (7): Pony Stanley (24-6.2) (11-8) over Lou Ellard (29-6.3) (4-4). Lee allowed 4 hits, 5 walks and struck out 7. Rookie CF Dave Todd (22-5.5) hit his 4th home run of the season.

[Questdog]

Sunday, July 31, 1887

I have sent C Adam White (27-6.3) to Syracuse and have had C Tom Trever (24-4.7) issued a ticket bound for Detroit. Trever will get a trial as our #2 catcher. White is not the answer (he cannot out-run my pet box turtle) and C Evan Eckberg (31-3.5) is just getting worse and worse behind the plate. He will be limited to pinch-hit duties from here on out and then sent packing this Winter.

Grand National Association:
Omaha (8) at Brooklyn (9): John Ritch (32-7.8) (1-0) over Tom Lee (29-6.0) (14-10). Brooklyn scored all of their runs in the 1st 4 innings. C Jim Granier (32-5.7) hit his 4th home run of the season.

[Questdog]

Editor's Note: Do you remember those "Where's Waldo?" books? I used to love them when my kids were little, so I have made one for you.

See if you can spot the Detroit Wolverine among the Liberty League batting leaders. Hint: I may have cheated and not put one in there, though there is one ex-Wolverine listed that I, in my infinite wisdom, traded away this past Winter.

I am listing the top 25 hitters in batting average plus any others who lead in some category. With 8 teams, that leaves room for an average of 3+ batters per team, yet there is no room for a Wolverine....

The reason for this is 1) our team hitting stinks and 2) we only have one player who has played enough to qualify for the the list. Injuries have been pretty devastating this season to our offense.

[Questdog]

[Questdog]

[Questdog]

Monday, August 1, 1887

Manager/1B Pete Bucolo (39-4.1) has brought his Red Caps to town to begin a 3 game series today. We are 5-4 against them this season and they beat us 2 times in Boston 2 weeks ago, the last time we met. They are 2nd in the League in scoring with 6.7 runs per game (Detroit is 7th, yes 7th!! with 6.0). They are tied for 4th in runs allowed with 6.6 per game (Detroit is still #1 with 4.9).

Boston Red Caps (36-34 .514 9 GB in 3rd place in the Liberty League) at
Detroit Wolverines (46-26 .639 1st place)

William Little, Bos. (26-6.0) (R 15-13 4.08 10.2-2.6-3.7 H-BB-K/9) vs. Lou Townley, Det. (25-3.4) (R 21-8 2.62 9.1-1.3-3.7).

Joe Peters (31-4.9) and Charlie Morlock (38-6.7) have been relegated to the #3 and #4 pitchers, respectively. Morlock needs 5 wins to reach 300 and unless there is an injury to one of the 3 pitchers ahead of him, he might not make it.

Won - 4 to 1

Townley with his 5th straight exceptional outing.

Townley allowed 5 hits, 1 walk and struck out 5. At bat, he had a hit and a walk and scored 2 runs.

Little gave us 9 hits, 2 walks and struck out 3.

Each team made 2 errors.

2B Al Shaffer (27-5.6) had 3 hits, scored a run and had 3 RBIs. He is now batting .481 with runners in scoring position (25 for 52).

Liberty League:
Louisville (5) at Cleveland (8): Ed Pedersen (25-5.1) (13-21) over William McLeod (28-5.6) (18-12). Pedersen allowed 8 hits, 1 walk and struck out 1. CF Jake Howard (28-4.6) had 2 hits with his 3rd home run of the season, drew a walk, stole a base, scored 2 runs and had 4 RBIs. For the Bourbons, rookie RF Dave Odekirk (22-6.5) hit his 3rd home run of the season.

Indianapolis (10) at New York (4): Jimmy Euler (26-5.5) (8-8) over Miah Turner (26-5.3) (15-9). Euler allowed 10 hits, 1 walk and struck out 2. He is 6-2 in his last 8 starts.

Pittsburgh (11) at Cincinnati (9): Whitey Mathews (24-4.1) (14-12) over John Stevens (30-8.2) (17-14). 19 total errors in this game. 1B Tom Coponen (31-7.0) hit his 5th home run of the year. 3B Al Oglesby (23-7.6) made his major league debut and hit a double and a triple, stole 2 bases, scored 3 runs and had 2 RBIs, but also made 2 errors.

Grand National Association:
Kansas City (10) at Brooklyn (8): Al McClaughry (23-5.6) (23-13) over Al Green (24-3.8) (17-17). For the Gladiators, RF Tom Campbell (29-3.6) hit 2 home runs, drew a walk and had 3 RBIs. He now has 5 home runs on the season.

St. Louis (5) at Providence (2): Fred Barrow (35-4.7) (16-15) over Ed Wison (26-7.3) (10-18). Barrow allowed 8 hits, 4 walks and struck out 2. Wison allowed 8 hits, no walks and struck out 2.

Milwaukee (1) at Baltimore (3): Pop Yurkovich (35-5.6) (12-21) over Wiley Steel (25-5.6) (7-10). Yurkovich allowed 7 hits, 7 walks and struck out 4. At bat, he had 2 hits and scored a run. Steel allowed 5 hits, 1 walk and struck out 2. For the Brewers, rookie CF Al Blanchette (22-7.7) had 4 hits and a walk, stole a base and scored their only run.

Chicago (8) at Omaha (6): Pat Seguin (23-4.4) (24-15) over Lee Sprague (27-3.5) (14-21). Seguin allowed 9 hits, no walks and struck out 3. At bat, he had 2 hits and scored 2 runs. CF Tommy Casale (27-3.7) is going to miss the next 2 weeks with a sore ankle.


Down in Syracuse, RF Joe Kraus (30-7.9), who I was considering to come back to Detroit, got a bone bruise and will miss at least 2 weeks.