The Level Playing Field: Alternate MLB History From 1884-Onward

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Through April 1905, the top two records in Major League Baseball were both in the American League West Division. Minnesota (19-8) and Kansas City (18-9) led the way with strong starts. In the AL East, both Cleveland and Boston are tied for first at 16-11. The remaining eight AL teams posting losing records in April. In the National League, St. Louis and Cincinnati were tied for the top record and the NL West lead at 17-10. Chicago is two behind at 15-12. In the NL East, New York holds the top spot at 16-11 followed by both Pittsburgh and Brooklyn at 14-13.

AL Batter of the Month was reigning MVP Sam Crawford as the Orioles LF hit .455 with 10 home runs, 24 RBI, and 28 runs. Buffalo CF Pete Hill won the NL’s honor with a .340 average, 8 home runs, 23 RBI, ad 21 runs. Cleveland’s Harry Howell was AL Pitcher of the Month on a 5-0 record, 2.09 ERA, and 37 strikeouts over 51.2 innings. Pittsburgh’s Jerry Nops won in the NL on a 4-2 record, 2.21 ERA, and 27 Ks in 53 innings. The AL’s Rookie of the Month was Charles Hilbert, an eight-round pick from 1901. He had a 4-0 record and 1.50 ERA over 36 innings with 17 Ks. Giants #8 pick Jimmy Gygert was the NL’s best debutant with a 3.38 ERA, 4-2 record, and 43 Ks.

Entering the season, only hit king Pete Browning had scored 2000 career runs. In April 1905, home run king Mike Tiernan and 2B Reddy Mack both joined him. Both are playing for the Pirates and achieved the feat on the same day in a 23-4 massacre against the Dodgers on April 17. Both Tiernan and Mack scored thrice in the blowout. Tiernan and Browning in April both became the first players to achieve 6000+ total bases.



On April 20, Baltimore OF Bug Holliday became the eighth member of the 3000 hit club. He returned to his original club for 1905 at age 38 after spending a decade between the Phillies and Browns. New Orleans 2B Ed McKean reached 2500 hits while three joined the 2000 club; Red Sox CF Fielder Jones, Orioles 3B Oyster Burns, and Braves 1B Bill Joyce.

Buffalo suffered a tough injury with LF Fred Clarke suffering a ruptured Achilles tendon on April 27, ending his season. The 32-year old six-time all-star has been with the Bisons since 1899 and has dealt with other major injuries in his tenure, but he had managed to play most of the last two seasons. In other news, Red Sox owner Sam Corey passed away at age 86. His son Bryan, age 59, is said to be controlling in fiscal matters and demanding in personnel relationships.

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The top teams in MLB through May remained Minnesota (36-19) and defending World Series champ Kansas City (33-22) in an intense battle for the American League West Division. In the East, Boston (31-24) has the advantage over Cleveland (30-25), New York (28-27), and Baltimore (27-28).

St. Louis has the National League’s top record at 32-23. Chicago (30-25) is two back in the NL West with both New Orleans and Cincinnati three back at 29-26 and Louisville five away at 27-28. In the East, Buffalo and Brooklyn are tied for first at 31-24. Pittsburgh (28-27), Boston (27-28), and New York (26-29) are within five games. Philadelphia at 18-37 has MLB’s worst record.

AL Batter of the Month was Royals LF Mike Donlin with a .413 average, 6 home runs, 23 RBI, and 20 runs. Turkey Mike also carries a 25-game hitting streak into June. Colonels 3B Jim Delahanty was NL Batter of the Month with a .376 average, 8 home runs, 24 RBI, and 24 runs. In injury news, Bisons CF Pete Hill, who was April’s Batter of the Month, suffered a pinched nerve on May 18 with a four week recovery.

Royals lefty Brownie Foreman scored AL Pitcher of the Month with a 5-1 record, 1.33 ERA, and 44 strikeouts over 54 innings. Foreman also reached 200 career wins on May 24. Pirates rookie Big Jeff Pfeffer was Pitcher and Rookie of the Month in the NL as the #22 pick posted a 2.61 ERA, 41 Ks, and 5-0 record in 51.2 innings. The AL’s top newcomer was #1 pick LF Sherry Magee with the White Sox, hitting .355 with 10 doubles, 7 homers, 18 runs, and 21 RBI.

White Sox righty Amos Rusie became the second pitcher to 3500 career strikeouts and passed Browns veteran Bob Black as the career leader. The “Hoosier Thunderbolt” Rusie has 3528 Ks and is the all-time leader in walks at 1637. Black is still active at 3509 Ks, but has only seen six relief appearances on the season. In other pitching notables, joining the 200 win club was Baltimore’s Ed Doheny. Milwaukee’s Walter Thornton reached 2000 strikeouts.



Athletics 1B Otto Schomberg became the ninth member of the 3000 hit club on May 22. He’s the all-time walks leader at 2088 entering June. Bisons 3B Denny Lyons passed Colonels RF Jim Fogarty as the all-time stolen bases leader. They sit at 1157-1154 through May. Nationals 1B Ed Delahanty became the fourth to reach 1100 career swipes. Both Delahanty and Schomberg also reached 1500 career RBI in May. Royals 3B Jimmy Collins reached 1000 runs and Pirates 3B Billy Nash reached 1000 RBI. Tigers 1B Jake Beckley got to 700 steals.

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Minnesota entered the 1905 all-star break with the best record in baseball at 53-31. The Twins were 17-12 since the start of June and gained some ground on defending champ Kansas City. The Royals played .500 ball to drop to six back in the American League West at 47-37. St. Louis also has a winning record, but are 10.5 back at 42-41.

Boston and Baltimore had the strongest finishes in the AL East, putting them at 48-36 and 47-37 entering the break respectively. A losing record dropped Cleveland from one back entering June to six back at 42-42. New York at 41-43 sits seven back.

St. Louis holds the National League’s best record at 49-35. The Cardinals grew their NL West lead to 5.5 games over Cincinnati (43-40), 6.5 up on New Orleans (42-41) and seven ahead of Louisville (42-42). Chicago was right in the mix entering June, but had a terrible 10-19 finish to the first half to drop the Cubs to nine back and 40-44.

Defending NL champ Buffalo and Brooklyn remained tied atop the NL East standings at 47-37. Pittsburgh (44-40) and New York (43-41) both remain right in the mix behind them. A poor June dropped Boston to ten back at 37-47 after entering the month only four behind.

White Sox LF Sherry Magee was the AL Batter of the Month and Rookie of the Month. The #1 pick hit .396 with 8 home runs, 21 RBI, and 22 runs. He leads the majors at the break with 22 homers. NL Batter of the Month was Pirates RF Homer Smoot with a .404 average, 2 homers, 14 runs, and 24 RBI.

Orioles righty Con Lucid claimed AL Pitcher of the Month with a 1.55 ERA, 6-0 record, and 19 strikeouts in 52.1 innings. Clowns veteran Tom Vickery took the NL’s honor on a 1.51 ERA, 5-0 record, and 22 Ks in 53.2 innings. The NL’s Rookie of the Month was Braves 3B Mike Mowrey. A second round pick, he hit .284 with 27 hits, 2 homers, and 15 RBI.



Royals star Mike Donlin’s hitting streak made it to 34 games before getting stopped June 13 by the Athletics. This tied Bill Gray (1900) and Jimmy Williams (1901) for the second-longest streak in MLB history. The record is Jake Beckley’s 38 games in 1897. Donlin also joined the 300 home run club later that week, as did Nationals 3B Jud Smith. It was an especially impressive feat for Donlin at only age 27. In bad news for New Orleans, Williams suffered a severely strained hip muscle on June 20 with a five week recovery time.



No pitcher had struck out 15+ in a game since Christy Mathewson did it twice in 1900. That streak ended on June 14 courtesy of Mathewson against Brooklyn. The only other player with three 15+ strikeout games is Toad Ramsey, who did it nine times. Mathewson is on his way to another 300+ strikeout season as he leads the majors with 179 at the break. In other milestones, Brooklyn P Hank Gastright reached 2500 strikeouts. Pittsburgh’s Jerry Nops crossed 2000 Ks and Cincinnati’s John McCarty got win #200.

Elsewhere in the world, on June 30 Albert Einstein submitted publication for “On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies,” establishing his theory of special relativity.

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Below are the rosters for the 22nd Major League Baseball All-Star Game on Tuesday, July 4, 1905 in front of 15,000 at Robison Field in St. Louis. Louisville’s Jim Delahanty won the Home Run Challenge, narrowly besting White Sox 1B Ike Samuels 12-11 in the final round. Delahanty also joined Charlie Duffee (1899) in having won the derby and All-Star Game MVP in the same year.



The National League won for the fourth consecutive season over the American League, this time by an 8-4 margin. The AL still leads the all-time series 14-8. After no scoring in the first five inning, the AL took a 4-3 lead into the bottom of the eighth. The NL exploded with a five-run eighth punctuated by a three-run homer from Delahanty. It was his only hit of the game, but the 440 bomb to left was the go-ahead swing.

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The Twins strengthened their hold on the best overall record in the majors. No team had a stronger record out of the all-star break through the rest of July at 18-5. Minnesota now sits at 71-36, growing their American League West lead to 12 games over defending World Series champ Kansas City at 59-48. The Royals were 12-11 to close the month, although they did end on a seven-game winning streak to try to fix their earlier struggle.

Baltimore and Boston ended July 1905 dead even for the AL East lead at 61-46. New York had the best post-break record in the East at 16-7, getting the Yankees within four of first place at 57-50. Cleveland’s midseason woes continued as an 8-15 run dropped them to 50-57.

Pittsburgh was the National League’s best since the break at 17-6, allowing them to jump from third to first in the East. The Pirates are also now the top overall record in the NL at 61-46. Buffalo and Brooklyn, who were even in the East for first at the break, are still tied but two back at 59-48. New York sits six back at 55-52.

St. Louis lost its hold on the top overall record after an 11-12 run, but they still narrowly hold the NL West lead at 60-47. Hurting the Cardinals was defending MVP P/LF Charlie Hickman getting hurt on July 19, out five weeks with a herniated disc. A strong July has put New Orleans second at 58-48, 1.5 back despite SS Jimmy Williams needing an additional three weeks to recover from a hip strain. Chicago recovered from an abysmal June and is back above .500, sitting third five away at 55-52. Both Louisville and Cincinnati struggled and dropped below .500.

AL Batter of the Month in July was Yankees LF Larry Schlafly with a blazing .420 average, 11 home runs, 33 RBI, and 24 runs. Clowns RF Ty Cobb won in the NL on a .362 average, 7 home runs, 24 RBI, and 17 runs. Cobb has a shot at the NL’s Triple Crown with a healthy batting average lead at .373. He also had 18 home runs and 71 RBI, just behind Louisville’s Jim Delahanty (20 HR, 72 RBI) for first. Delahanty is notably second in batting average at .351.

Pitcher of the Month for the AL was Brewers righty Bobby White with a 4-1 record, 2.16 ERA, and 27 strikeouts over 50 innings. Pittsburgh veteran Arlie Pond won in the NL with a 6-0 record, 2.21 ERA, and 39 Ks in 57 innings. NL Rookie of the Month was Cubs reliever Pop Andrews with a 0.66 ERA over 13.2 innings, going 7-8 on save attempts.

AL Rookie of the Month went to Royals 1B John Kane with a .375 average, 39 hits, 15 homers, 23 runs, and 36 RBI. Kane was the Twins #12 pick in the 1904 draft, but refused to sign and ended up earning free agency; inking a seven-year, $447,000 free agent deal with Kansas City. His huge July explosion vaulted him into the top spot for homers this season with 33.



Although the Phillies have struggled all season, they finally got a positive moment on July 24. Third-year pitcher Andy Coakley tossed the season’s first no-hitter in a 3-0 win against the Giants. The 22-year old struck out six and walked five over 121 pitches. That does tie the record for most walks in a no-no.



Veteran RF Dick Johnston hit two major career milestones in July with New Orleans. The 42-year old on July 23 crossed 3500 career hits, then made it to 2000 runs scored on July 28. Johnston is only the second to 3500 hits and the fourth to 2000 runs. The all-time hit king Pete Browning currently sits at 3939 at age 44 for the Athletics and could cross that hallowed 4000 mark with a strong finish.

In other milestones, Yankees RF Jack O’Connor reached 2500 hits. Brewers 1B Tuck Turner crossed 1000 RBI. Pirates C Doggie Miller stole his 900th base and Twins 1B Fred Tenney made it to 700 steals. The trade deadline came and went on July 31 without any major deals worth noting.

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The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees were the big American League powerhouses in August with 20-9 records. Boston now leads the AL East at 81-55 with the Yankees still four back at 77-59. Baltimore, who entered the month even with the Red Sox, dropped to ten back at 71-65 after a terrible 10-19 run. Minnesota had a losing month, but still holds the AL’s top seed at 85-51 with a nine-game lead over Kansas City (76-60) in the AL West.

St. Louis rebounded from a middling July and are back atop the National League at 78-58. Their NL West lead is up to eight games over 70-66 Chicago. New Orleans had an abysmal 11-19 month to fall to nine back at 69-67. The NL East remains a very exciting fight with Buffalo and Pittsburgh tied for first at 75-61. New York (71-65) and Brooklyn (68-68) are still very much in the fight with each team still to meet one more time.

Yankees CF took AL Batter of the Month in August with a .346 average, 12 home runs, 30 RBI, and 25 runs. Giants 1B Harry Davis won in the NL on a .396 average, 9 home runs, 35 RBI, and 21 runs. In injury news, Clowns RF Ty Cobb suffered torn ankle ligaments at the start of the month that’ll keep him out most of the rest of the year. He was in the mix for the Triple Crown prior to the injury.

AL Pitcher of the Month was strikeout king Amos Rusie as the White Sox ace had a 5-1 record, 36 Ks, and a 3.12 ERA in 52 innings. Rusie also earned win #250 on August 7, the 11th pitcher to do so. Louisville’s Ed Reulbach was the NL’s top arm and best rookie with a 5-0 record, 1.25 ERA, and 37 Ks in 50.1 innings. #1 pick Sherry Magee was again the AL’s top newcomer for the White Sox with a .333 average, 6 homers, and 17 RBI. The first cycle of the season came from a rookie as Braves 3B Mike Mowrey did it 8/24 facing the Dodgers.



Bisons’ veteran RHP Silver King went 4-0 in August to become MLB’s all-time career wins leader at 323, passing Mickey Welch’s 322. In other pitching notables, strikeout king Amos Rusie reached win #250. Clowns vet Tom Vickery got to 2500 strikeouts. Earning strikeout #2000 was Pittsburgh’s Arlie Pond and Brookyn’s Frank Griffith.





In batting milestones, Giants LF Joe Kelley and Clowns C Jack Clements both got to 2500 hits. Earning 1000 runs scored were Yankees 3B Bill Dahlen and Red Sox LF Bill Gray. Reaching 1000 RBI were Pirates 1B Dan McGann, Yankees 2B Nap Lajoie and his teammate Danny Green. New Orleans RF Dick Johnston crossed 1000 stolen bases. Pirates manager Frank Heifer became the sixth skipper with 1000+ career wins.

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Minnesota’s large lead in the American League West Division held, although the defending World Series champ Kansas City made a late run with an eight-game winning streak to end the season. At 97-65, the Twins ended a six-year playoff drought and won their fourth division title (1899, 1895, 1898, 1905). They extended their record run of winning seasons to 11 years. The Royals ended up four games back at 93-69.

The Twins’ record was the best in the majors in a competitive season, as this was the lowest-ever win total by MLB’s top overall squad. The Royals had MLB’s best run differential (+182) and scored 875 runs, the only team in 1905 to top 800. However, KC notably struggled to 20-30 in one-run games. The rest of the division had losing records, most notably perhaps the Tigers at 71-91 considering they were AL champs only two years prior.

In the AL East, Boston hosted and split with New York in their final series to start September to maintain the Red Sox’ four-game division lead. Boston went 7-8 over their next four series while the Yankees went 10-4, including sweeps over the Twins and Cleveland immediately after the Boston series. On September 13, New York had its first outright division lead of the season, having only briefly been tied for the division lead in early April. With eight games remaining, they were tied at 89-65.

The Yankees hosted and split in four games against Baltimore in their penultimate series, but the Red Sox dropped three of four at Washington to surrender the lead. At Baltimore, Boston won two of three to open their final series while New York lost two of three hosting last place Philadelphia; tying the division with one game to go. The Yankees shutout the Athletics 5-0 in the finale while the Red Sox suffered an embarrassing 14-2 rout, giving NY its fifth division title in six years.

New York is the first franchise with seven playoff berths, having also advanced in 1892 and 1896. The Yankees finished 93-69 to the Red Sox’s 92-70, denying repeat berths for Boston. The Red Sox allowed MLB’s fewest runs at 633, but went 22-34 in one-run games. It was an impressive finish for New York, whose 52-26 record after the all-star break was the best in the big leagues. It was a rare rally from a losing record at the break (41-43) to earn a playoff spot. The Yankees had a 1,012,164 season attendance, behind only their own MLB-record 1,051,002 from 1901 as the all-time best.

The Orioles and Spiders, both contenders earlier in the year, ended respectively at 84-78 and 82-80. Washington at 78-84 had a notably dip from their 94-win 1904. The Athletics at 64-98 had MLB’s worst record and set MLB all-time offensive worsts for runs scored (541), hits (1206), doubles (147), and stolen bases (172). Their team .228 average and .325 slugging both ranked as the second-worst in MLB history.



The final AL Batter of the Month was defending MVP Sam Crawford, as the Baltimore LF hit .378 with 12 home runs, 36 RBI, and 25 runs in September. He’s likely to three-peat as Most Valuable Player as he led the entire majors in triple slash (.386/.451/.742), OPS (1.193), WAR (12.0), hits (226), doubles (57), RBI (146), and total bases (434). Wahoo Sam earned his third batting title and was the OPS leader in the fourth consecutive campaign. His 47 homers amazingly matched a career low across a stellar six-year run to date. Crawford joined the 300 home run club in early September at only age 25.

Crawford was denied a Triple Crown by Royals 1B John Kane, who led the majors with 52 home runs in his debut. He was September’s Rookie of the Month with a .346 average, 36 hits, 11 homers, 30 RBI, and 23 runs. Kane’s effort was the 12th 50+ homer season in MLB history. Amazingly he’s not the first rookie to do it, as Mike Donlin, Bug Holliday, and Hugh Duffy each achieved that feat.

The last AL Pitcher of the Month with the Royals’ Brownie Foreman with a 5-1 record, 1.76 ERA, and 31 strikeouts in 56.1 innings. The 31-year old lefty led in wins with a 24-9 record, becoming the first in MLB history to lead in wins four times in a career. Still, Cleveland’s Addie Joss is the favorite for Pitcher of the Year having missed the Triple Crown by one win at 23-9. Joss led in ERA (2.39), WAR (8.2), innings (309), complete games (23), and strikeouts (236). It was his fourth ERA title in five years, becoming the first to earn that honor four times in a career.

In other milestones, Milwaukee RF Willie Keeler reached 2500 career hits. Royals 2B Gene DeMontreville crossed 1000 runs scored and his teammate Bill Lange got to 900 stolen bases. Athletics 3B Pete Browning fell just short of becoming the first player to 4000 career hits. The hit king finished the year at 3985 and also is MLB’s leader in games (3314), total bases (6168), singles (2668), and doubles (828). The 44-year old Browning was still a passable player and plans to return to the A’s for his 23rd season in 1906. The all-time walks leader Otto Schomberg became one of four with 3000+ career games played.

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St. Louis maintained its firm lead in the National League West Division and narrowly got the NL’s best overall record at 94-68. The Cardinals earned back-to-back division titles and their fifth overall (1886, 87, 94, 1904, 05). Chicago took second at 86-76 for their sixth straight winning season. Also just above .500 was New Orleans (83-79) and Louisville (82-80).

Led by Christy Mathewson, the Colonels actually had the division’s best run differential (+71) and the NL’s fewest runs allowed (641). Their 1082 team strikeouts was the second-best in Major League Baseball history and their 6.71 K/9 ranked third. St. Louis meanwhile became the first NL team to post a season attendance over one million at 1,012,060.

Pittsburgh and Buffalo entered September tied for the NL East, but the reigning NL champ Bisons faded with a 12-14 finish, hurt by an ankle injury to star CF Pete Hill. The Pirates to their credit were an impressive 18-8 and had the NL’s best record post all-star break at 49-29. The Pirates finished 93-69, one behind the Cardinals for the top seed. It was Pittsburgh’s fifth division title (1888, 97, 98, 1902, 05).

Buffalo finished second at 87-75, then Brooklyn (82-80) and New York (81-81) were next with the Dodgers leading the NL in scoring at 773 runs. Philadelphia at 67-95 was the NL’s bottom team and their offense was the whiffingest in MLB history with 1066 strikeouts. The Phillies had the third-lowest run tally (611) in NL history. The Dodgers offense only stole 185 bases, a NL all-time low.



Reigning MVP Charlie Hickman was the NL’s Batter of the Month for September. The Cardinals two-way star hit .407 with 35 hits, 3 home runs, 18 RBI, and 19 runs. An MVP repeat may be tough as Hickman missed a month to back trouble, but he still posted a 2.87 ERA over 200.2 innings on the mound and had .941 OPS, 159 wRC+, and 5.5 WAR offensively.

Louisville’s Jim Delahanty nearly earned a Triple Crown, leading the NL in triple slash (.339/.423/.617), OPS (1.040), WRC (10.1), and home runs (31). He had 104 RBI, second to Giants 1B Harry Davis at 108. Delahanty was helped by the injuries to Pete Hill and Ty Cobb keeping them from qualifying for the batting title, as both had averages above .370. It was a low year for NL leaders, as Delahanty’s average and Davis’s RBI were both all-time lows by a league leader. Pittsburgh’s Dan McGann was the first player to lead a league in hits (188) and fail to crack 200.

The last NL Pitcher of the Month was Cardinals righty Earl Zook with a 5-1 record, 1.41 ERA, and 18 strikeouts over 51 innings. Louisville’s Ed Reulbach was the last Rookie of the Month with a 2-2 record, 33 Ks, and 2.85 ERA over 47.1 innings. His Colonels teammate Christy Mathewson is the likely Pitcher of the Year even with a 16-11 record. He won the ERA title at 2.02 and broke his own single-season records for strikeouts (333) and pitching WAR (12.9).

Retroactively, Mathewson’s 1902 WAR was the pitching record at 12.3. That year he also had 332 Ks and he now has five of MLB’s seven seasons all-time of 300+ strikeouts. The actual overall ERA leader for 1905 was Ward Isbell, but he didn’t qualify as his season was split between leagues starting with Washington and traded to the Giants in late July. Isbell’s 1.78 ERA was the second-lowest single-season ERA by a qualifier requiring 162 innings, although he barely crossed that threshold with 177 innings. In other pitching, the second 15-strikeout game of the year came on September 7 by Indianapolis’ Red Ames against Boston.



The only six-hit game of 1905 came on the final day of the regular season, September 29. Veteran OF Jim Fogarty went 6-6 in a 22-1 Louisville blowout of St. Louis. It was a heck of a way to go out, as the 41-year old Fogarty had previously announced 1905 would be his final season. The six-time Gold Glover played with seven teams and retired as the career leader in stolen bases at 1180. Braves 1B Bill Joyce became the fifth to 1100 career stolen bases.



In other milestones, Pittsburgh’s Reddy Mack became the tenth member of the 3000 hit club. Mack also had a very strong month and became MLB’s career leader in runs scored at 2091, passing the hit king Pete Browning (2076). He also is now one of four with 3000+ career games played. Additionally, Mack is close to the 2000 walk milestone at 1994, a feat only Otto Schomberg (2113) has previously crossed.

Home run king Mike Tiernan with the Pirates became the first to 650, ending the year with exactly that. He’s 17 ahead of Hugh Duffy for the all-time spot and Tiernan is the RBI leader at 2195. Tiernan finished the year at 132.58 career WAR, behind Washington’s Ed Delahanty (135.94) for the all-time lead among position players.

Elsewhere in the world, September 5 marked the signing of the Treaty of Portsmouth to end the Russo-Japanese War after close to 20 months.

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The 1905 American League Championship Series was the first appearance since 1898 for Minnesota. The Twins also made it in 1889 and 1895 with their lone pennant in the latter. New York was making their fifth trip in six years, although their only win in the run had been 1902. The Yankees also made the 1892 and 1896 ALCS with a title in 1892. Minnesota had home field advantage with four more wins, although New York narrowly won their regular season series 5-4.

The Yankees exploded for an early 9-0 lead in game one, a big enough cushion to hold onto a 10-6 road win. CF Danny Green homered twice and walked with three runs and three RBI. SS Al Cabrera doubled twice and singled with two runs and one RBI. Twins CF Del Howard was 4-5 with two runs, two RBI, and a double in defeat.




Minnesota rallied for a walkoff 5-4 win in game two, evening the series. The first two batters of the ninth inning struck out as well, but the Twins responded with a walk and three straight singles. Two of the singles had counts with four foul balls each. Fred Tenney had the game-winning RBI to score Howard Wakefield.



New York reclaimed the series lead on a 6-3 home win in game three. In the sixth, SS Al Cabrera put the Yankees ahead with a bases-clearing double. 2B Nap Lajoie was 4-5 with a solo homer, double, and three runs scored. NY starting pitcher Johnny Lush gave up three runs (one earned) over 7.1 innings.



Minnesota evened the ALCS on a 5-1 road victory in game four. Twins pitcher Charles Hilbert allowed nine hits and three walks with no strikeouts, but surrendered only a single run over 7.2 innings.



Game five was a back-and-forth affair that went into extra innings at 5-5. In the 11th, New York’s Fred Ketchum got a one-out single and stole second. He was knocked in by Willie Clark’s walkoff RBI double in a 5-4 Yankees win, claiming a 3-2 series lead as play shifts back to Minnesota. Al Cabrera was 3-5 with a triple, run, and RBI.



Minnesota’s offense unloaded back at home in game six, evening the series on a 17-7 rout. SS Grant Johnson was a single short of the cycle, going 3-5 with five RBI and two runs. Both CF Del Howard and DH Joe Yeager had three hits and three runs with a homer. LF Doc Nance posted four RBI on two hits with two runs.

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Game seven of the 1905 American League Championship Series was Monday, October 9 on a clear 47 degree afternoon at Nicollet Park in Minneapolis. The game was 1-1 after four innings, then the Twins offense exploded with a four run fifth inning and seven run sixth. Minnesota posted a 14-2 blowout win to secure their second AL pennant, joining their 1895 triumph. New York has now lost the ALCS five times in the last six years.



C George Yeager had six RBI with a grand slam and single. 3B Sammy Strang was 4-4 with four RBI and two runs. Joe Yeager offensively scored thrice with a triple and walked twice while also pitching a complete game, allowing five hits, two runs, and four walks with three strikeouts. OF Del Howard earned ALCS MVP going 16-28 with nine runs, nine RBI, and a homer. The 27-year old was a first round draft pick in 1903 by the Twins.

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The 1905 National League Championship Series saw back-to-back appearances for St. Louis, who lost the prior year to Buffalo. The Cardinals’ lone pennant was 1887 with appearances in 1886 and 1894. Pittsburgh was making its fifth trip with wins in their last two appearances of 1898 and 1902. The Pirates also had defeats in 1888 and 1897. St. Louis finished one win better than the Pirates to get home field advantage, but Pittsburgh had swept their six regular season meetings.

St. Louis opened the series with a 6-2 home win. Charlie Hickman pitched 7.2 innings with four hits, two runs, and five walks allowed and two strikeouts. LF Johnny Kling had two hits, including a two RBI double to open scoring in the second inning.



The Cardinals had a 5-1 lead after the sixth inning and fended off a comeback bid, securing a 5-3 win in game two. The Pirates scored twice in the ninth and had the tying run at first. LF Johnny Kling had a three-run homer in the third inning. St. Louis righty Earl Zook tossed eight innings with five hits, three runs (two earned), one walk, and eight strikeouts.



Pittsburgh got its first win of the series at home 6-4 in game three. The Pirates needed a four-run eighth inning rally for their first lead of the game using three hits, two walks, and an error.



St. Louis earned the first road win of the series, taking a 3-1 lead with a 8-5 victory in game four. Two relievers critically pitched four scoreless innings for the Cardinals with one hit allowed. 2B Ross Thornton tied a playoff record with three doubles with two RBI. 10 of the 13 Cardinal hits in the game were doubles.



Pittsburgh kept the series alive with a 3-2, 10 inning victory in game five. In the tenth, the Pirates loaded the bases with two outs on two singles and a walk. A passed ball allowed Reddy Mack to score the game winner. Starting pitchers Charlie Hickman and Arlie Pond both allowed two runs over seven innings.



Back in St. Louis, the Cardinals clinched the series in six games with a 5-1 win in the finale. Earl Zook pitched seven innings, allowing one run, six hits, and one walk with four strikeouts. St. Louis claimed its second National League pennant and ended a 17-year drought back to the 1887 triumph.



Two-way star Charlie Hickman was series MVP, leading all players with 13 hits. He had a .520 average with three RBI and two runs. On the mound, Hickman tossed 14.2 innings with a 2.45 ERA and five strikeouts, earning a win and no decision. The Cardinals were the sixth different NL squad in as many years to claim the title. In defeat, Reddy Mack set a playoff record with a .615 OBP, the best by anyone with 20+ plate appearances.

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The 22nd World Series was the second trip for both squads. St. Louis made it back in 1887 with a 4-3 loss to the Boston Red Sox. Minnesota meanwhile had a 4-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in 1895. The Twins had three more regular season wins than the Cardinals to earn home field advantage.

St. Louis opened with a 6-2 road win, scoring on the game’s second pitch via a solo home run by 1B Regino Garcia. He also doubled and singled, scoring twice. Charlie Hickman pitched 7.2 innings and allowed only one run, one hit, and five walks with six strikeouts.



The Cardinals offense rolled to a 10-5 road win in game two, taking the 2-0 series lead before playing a game in Missouri. LF Charlie Hickman had a monster game at the plate, going 4-5 with two triples, a double, three RBI, and a run. 2B Ross Thornton was 3-4 with a solo homer and three runs.



St. Louis kept rolling with a 11-3 home win in game three, led by an explosive seven-run second inning. Both Earl Zook and Charlie Hickman had bases-clearing doubles in the second. Zook scored thrice and also pitched a complete game, allowing seven hits, two earned runs, and two walks with two strikeouts.



The Cardinals earned only the second sweep in World Series history, joining Detroit’s 1891 victory over the Boston Braves. St. Louis clinched at home with a 10-4 win in game four. Charlie Hickman homered and doubled with four RBI, three runs, and a walk. With the Cardinals first title, 16 of MLB’s 24 teams have won it all.



Hickman was World Series MVP, going 7-17 at the plate with a homer and ten RBI. He also was the winning pitcher in game one with 7.2 innings and one run allowed. Hickman joined Tony Mullane, Fred Roat, and Dick Johnston as the players to win World Series and LCS MVP in the same postseason.

In ten games, “Piano Legs” had 20 hits, 8 runs, 5 doubles, 3 homers, 1 homer, and 13 RBI. On the mound, Hickman also set playoff records (15+ innings required) for H/9 (2.82), opponents’ slugging (.103) and opponents’ OPS (.365). He had a 2.01 ERA over 22.1 innings.

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Baltimore LF Sam Crawford joined Mike Tiernan as the only players to win Most Valuable Player in three consecutive seasons. Crawford is also one of five in MLB history with 3+ MVPs and joins Willie Keeler as the only ones to do it in the American League. Wahoo Sam was the unanimous winner in 1905 and led in hits (226), doubles (57), RBI (146), total bases (434), triple slash (.386/.451/.742), OPS (1.193), wRC+ (235), and WAR (12.0). It was his fourth year in a row leading in slugging, OPS, and wRC+ and the fifth straight with the most total bases.

Crawford’s streak of leading in home runs was snapped, the first time in his six-year career despite hitting 47. He also had 128 runs scored in 1905. So far, Crawford has played 929 games for the Orioles with 803 runs, 1303 hits, 283 doubles, 307 homers, 911 RBI, .365/.425/.725 slash, 1.149 OPS, 213 wRC+, and 63.2 WAR. He’s signed through 1910 for Baltimore, but notably has yet to make his playoff debut. Crawford also won his fifth Silver Slugger in 1905 and has been an all-star all six seasons.

The one man to beat him in homers was Kansas City rookie John Kane with 52. Kane won Rookie of the Year with 15 first place votes and 102 points, besting Chicago OF Sherry Magee with nine first place votes and 90 points. They were also second and third in MVP voting, although Magee actually had the slight edge there.

For Kane, he was the 12th overall pick by Minnesota in the 1904 draft. However, he refused to sign and eventually was granted free agency. The Royals took a chance on the unknown with a big seven-year, $447,000 deal. They were rewarded as Kane also led with 130 runs scored and added 197 hits, 145 RBI, 1.042 OPS, 197 wRC+, and 9.6 WAR. Magee meanwhile was the #1 overall pick by the White Sox and debuted with 205 hits, 115 runs, 42 doubles, 42 homers, 124 RBI, 1.069 OPS, 203 wRC+, and 9.9 WAR.

Cleveland’s Addie Joss was the unanimous Pitcher of the Year with his fourth award in his five year career. He was the first four-time POTY in MLB history and the first to win four ERA titles. The 25-year old righty had a 2.39 ERA and 23-9 record, missing a Triple Crown by one win. Joss also led in strikeouts (236), innings (309), shutouts (5), WHIP (0.86), H/9 (6.2), FIP- (69), and WAR (8.2).

Through five seasons for the Spiders, Joss has a 101-56 record, 2.45 ERA, 1510 innings, 1151 Ks, 161 ERA+, 71 FIP-, and 43.1 WAR. 1905 also saw his first Gold Glove win. Joss has only one season left on his Cleveland contract and with the Spiders’ general middling performance, he may opt for free agency soon.

Yankees CF Danny Green won his sixth Silver Slugger while Browns 3B Bill Bradley became a five-time winner. Earning their fourth Sluggers was Red Sox RF Elmer Flick and his teammate DH Moose McCormick. White Sox C Joe Sugden became a three-time winner. Twins 1B Fred Tenney won his seventh Gold Glove and is a free agent for the winter. Yankees SS Al Cabrera and Orioles RF Jimmy Barrett became five-time Gold Glovers and Royals 2B Gene DeMontreville got his fourth.

Many were skeptical when Minnesota fired long-time manager Hugh Daily last year, who had delivered ten straight winning seasons and a World Series ring in 1895. The Twins hadn’t been in the playoffs in six years, thus Daily’s sacking. More controversial was signing Frank McIntyre, an unknown name with no coaching experience and barely any big league time as a pitcher previously. The move paid off as the 46-year old McIntyre brought Minnesota to the AL pennant and won Manager of the Year in his debut.

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Fresh off an incredible playoff run as World Series and NLCS MVP, Cardinals RF/P Charlie Hickman won his third National League Most Valuable Player award. “Piano Legs” pulled it off despite missing a month to back issues in the summer. Hickman had 22 first place votes while Louisville 3B Jim Delahanty had two. Delahanty notably led in home runs (31), triples (12), total bases (337), triple slash (.339/.423/.617), OPS (1.040), wRC+ (195), and WAR (10.1).

At the plate, Hickman had 127 games with 163 hits, 89 runs, 47 doubles, 9 triples, 18 home runs, 92 RBI, .333/.365/.577 slash, 159 wRC+, and 5.5 WAR. Pitching, the 29-year old righty had a 16-7 record, 2.87 ERA, 200.2 innings, 85 strikeouts, 132 ERA+, 103 FIP-, and 2.3 WAR. Hickman became an eight-time Silver Slugger winner with six as a pitcher and two in the outfield. He remains signed through 1901 for St. Louis. Hickman previously won MVP in 1904 and 1902 and is one of five players to win the award thrice or more.

Louisville righty Christy Mathewson was the unanimous Pitcher of the Year. It was his third win, having also won in 1901 and 1902. He led in strikeouts for the fifth straight season and again broke his single-season record, this time by one. His 333 Ks and 12.9 WAR both were MLB records. Mathewson has five of MLB’s seven 300+ K seasons and has the top four by pitching WAR.

For 1905, he also won his third ERA title (2.02) and led in WHIP (0.91), K/9 (10.3), and FIP- (48). Mathewson had a 16-11 record over 289.2 innings and 188 ERA+. He remains locked up with the Colonels through 1909. In six seasons, the 25-year old has a 99-69 record, 2.34 ERA, 1688.2 innings, 1867 Ks, 382 walks, 169 ERA+, 58 FIP-, and 64.9 WAR.

Another Louisville pitcher took Rookie of the Year in Ed Reulbach, getting 20/24 first place votes. The other four were split evenly between Braves 3B Mike Mowrey and Cubs 1B John Hummel. The #13 pick in the latest draft, Reulbach had a 15-13 record, 2.42 ERA, 264 innings, 190 strikeouts, 103 walks, 157 ERA+, 87 FIP-, and 5.3 WAR.

Pirates 2B Reddy Mack won his sixth Silver Slugger. New Orleans 1B Frank Chance and Colonels 3B Jim Delahanty both became four-time winners and Cardinals C Regino Garcia got his third. Pittsburgh 1B Dan McGann won his fourth Gold Glove.

Thanks to his World Series win, Joseph Keenan earned back-to-back Manager of the Year honors with St. Louis. In six seasons with the Cardinals, the 45-year old Keenan has a 503-469 record and .517 win percentage. St. Louis was middle-tier in his first four seasons at the helm but has earned repeat playoff trips. His current contract is in its final year.

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Among the retirements after the 1905 season was stolen bases king CF Jim Fogarty, who was also a six-time Gold Glove winner. He played 2962 games between seven teams with 2934 hits, 1847 runs, 544 doubles, 205 homers, 1129 RBI, 1387 walks, 1180 steals, .265/.350/.385 slash, 110 wRC+, and 89.9 WAR.

Another well-traveled player was SS Frank Fennelly, who won seven Silver Sluggers and two Gold Gloves in a 22-year career. He played 2796 games with 2587 hits, 1632 runs, 429 doubles, 328 home runs, 1367 RBI, .268/.365/.431 slash, 126 wRC+, and 88.5 WAR.

Two-way player Jack Stivetts will be an interesting one on the eventual Hall of Fame ballot. He was the 1898 World Series MVP with Washington and had a 179-135 record, 3.50 ERA, 2857 innings, 2274 strikeouts, 115 ERA+, 94 FIP- and 46.9 WAR. Playing LF, Stivetts also had 1206 games, 1279 hits, 679 runs, 181 doubles, 230 home runs, 805 RBI, .281/.318/.492 slash, 125 wRC+, and 28.7 WAR. His longest run was nine years with the Philadelphia Athletics, who retired his #79 uniform.

Another intriguing figure is Bob Black, who pitched 22 seasons with the St. Louis Browns and retired the all-time leader in pitching WAR at 103.1. He also is second in strikeouts (3526), but is the leader in losses with a 276-303 record. Black pitched 5158 innings with a 4.02 ERA, 1410 walks, 103 ERA+, and 87 FIP-. He was only an all-star once and his candidacy will certainly fuel the debate between longevity versus accolades and dominance.

Buffalo retired SP Jack Sharrott’s #75 uniform for his eight year tenure across three stints. For the Bisons, he had a 127-60 record, 2.86 ERA, 1751.2 innings, 1161 Ks, 148 ERA+, 95 FIP-, and 27.0 WAR. He was a one-time Pitcher of the Year with a 208-111 record, 3.19 ERA, 3047.2 innings, 1920 Ks, 1164 walks, 128 ERA+, 102 FIP-, and 35.9 WAR. Below are the notable retirements following the 1905 season:



The Philadelphia Phillies fired manager Charlie Comiskey after four lousy seasons at the helm. He took the job after five years as a pitching coach in AAA Scranton. Comiskey had a 277-371 record with the Phillies with three straight last place finishes. Philadelphia continued the general trend of hiring new faces with Billy Bottenus replacing him in his first coaching job.

Spud Johnson was fired by the Boston Braves after a decade-long run as their manager. They had been above .500 from 1898-1903, but only made the playoffs once with four second place finishes. After a rough 69-93 run in 1905, the Braves canned him with a career 840-780 record. They also opted for a first-time coach in 47-year old Henry Myers, who had been a bit-player during their 1880s dynasty run.

Cal McVey’s contract expired after an excellent 13-year tenure with Kansas City and he surprisingly wasn’t re-signed. He turned the small-market Royals into a two-time World Series champ with a 1110-996 record and .527 win percentage. The temperamental McVey is only 56 and says he isn’t retired, although he’ll be on the sidelines for 1906. Below are the managers in the majors entering the 1906 season.

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Professional baseball continued to grow with the 1905 First-Year Player Draft having enough guys to justify 39 rounds worth of picks. With that, there was a minor league expansion creating a fourth level of affiliates. This would be called Class B and would employ a short season relative to the other minors.

The Athletics had the #1 draft pick and took 17-year old CF Tris Speaker, who scouts rate as a 35 overall currently but give the max potential of 80. Another 80 potential guy, SS Eddie Collins, went to Milwaukee at age 18. The Phillies grabbed 2B Larry Doyle third. Both Collins and Doyle though refused to sign and will return in a later draft. The Brewers and Phillies both receive compensation picks for 1906.

3B Red Murray, the most “ready” possible star with a 75/75 rating went #4 to the Boston Braves. Another 70 potential guy, 2B Heinie Zimmerman, was picked by Indianapolis. Below are the top 50 picks from the draft. Two “sleepers” who went later than expected despite having 60/60 grades was SS John Henry Lloyd (#34 to the Yankees) and CF Ashby Dunbar (#60 to the Royals).



In free agency, a huge deal with to a somewhat unassuming 2B in Bill Monroe, who had quietly put up 39.3 WAR with a .777 OPS and 123 wRC+ in seven years with the Braves. He had only been an all-star one, but the White Sox in particular saw Monroe as a possible franchise talent. They gave him a mammoth eight-year, $842,000 deal; the largest total contract in baseball history. Monroe gets a yearly bump up to $110,000 from the fourth year onward. At only age 27, Chicago hopes for an impressive result from Monroe.

Veteran 1B Fred Tenney was a much decorated option at age 34 with seven Silver Sluggers and seven Gold Gloves over 14 years with Minnesota. He opted out of his last Twins deal and signed a five-year, $376,000 contract with Baltimore. Former Detroit/Baltimore CF Emmet Heidrick also got a sizeable deal at age 29 worth $439,000 over six seasons for the Cubs.

The top pitcher on the market was Bob Wicker, a three-time all-star and two-time strikeout leader over six seasons with the Red Sox. The soon-to-be 29-year old righty stayed in the division at six years and $509,000 with the Athletics. Wicker will be the second-highest paid pitcher in the majors in 1906 behind Washington’s Rube Waddell.

Most of the other famous names in the pool were guys well on the back-end of their careers. Home run king Mike Tiernan signed with Brooklyn, former MVP Jimmy Ryan went to the Braves, and former Pitchers of the Year Adonis Terry and Hank Gastright both joined the Yankees. Below are the top free agent signings of the 1905-06 offseason.



Below is the offseason summary for each team. Based on the prior season’s WAR, the Athletics made the biggest gain at +16.2 and Cleveland had the biggest loss at -15.4.

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Last year, the seal was broken with the first two Hall of Fame inductees in Guy Hecker and Charlie Ferguson. That seemed to be the cue for voters to go wild for 1906 with five inductees making the cut on their debut. SP Lady Baldwin had the highest percentage at 95.6% and was joined by C Jocko Milligan (93.4%), RF/DH Sam Thompson (90.8%), 1B Dave Orr (86.8%), and SP Ed Morris (81.7%).

Several other players debuted on the ballot as well, although no one else was above 1/3 of the vote. The closest was 1B Cap Anson at 33.0% on his fourth try. Several players fell below the 5% threshold and were dropped. P Billy O’Brien and P/LF Tony Mullane were the first to make it seven ballots before falling off while SP Pud Galvin made it six.

O’Brien won Reliever of the Year six times before most other teams starting using closers. Mullane was the AL’s inaugural Pitcher of the Year and World Series MVP with the White Sox in 1884, but he fell off hard into his 30s. Galvin had the misfortune of MLB starting when he was already 27 and a fairly quick decline in his early 30s. Galvin was a notable real-life Hall of Famer that underperformed relative to reality, but still had a solid fictional effort.

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Charles “Lady” Baldwin – Starting Pitcher – Milwaukee Brewers – 95.6% First Ballot

Charles Baldwin was a 5’11’’, 175 pound left-handed pitcher from Oramel, New York; a hamlet in Allegany County. Little is known about his early life. The nickname “Lady” came because he did not smoke, drink, or curse; extremely rare traits especially from the men of that era. In his prime, Baldwin had excellent stuff with solid movement and average control. He had 92-94 mph peak velocity with an arsenal of fastball, curveball, forkball, and cutter.

Simply being a lefty made Baldwin stand out among the pitchers of his time. He had respectable stamina and held up relatively well across an official 17-year career. Baldwin also had strong grades for defense and holding runners. He was known for an excellent eye at the plate, although his contact and power were both subpar. Baldwin was a decent enough batter though to see some brief two-way use mostly as a designated hitter and occasionally in the outfield. He was humble and quiet, making him a reliable teammate and contributor.

When Major League Baseball officially formed for the 1884 season, Baldwin was already a few years into his semi-pro career and set to turn 25. He stood out enough among the pitchers on offer that he went in the second round of the inaugural draft. Baldwin was the #35 overall pick by Milwaukee and had a strong debut with a 2.14 ERA and 4.0 WAR over 126.1 innings. However, he suffered a torn flexor tendon in his elbow in late June, which already put his career prospects in doubt. Baldwin missed most of 1885 and dealt with elbow inflammation once he returned that fall.

In 1886, Baldwin stayed healthy and put up his career bests for WAR (7.0) and strikeouts (228) while leading the American League with a 28-4 record. This set the record for wins and remains second, passed by Hank Gastright’s 31 in 1891. Baldwin was third in Pitcher of the Year and an all-star for the first time. Milwaukee had struggled in its first two seasons, but posted an impressive 97-65 record in 1886, although they fell short by two in the AL West to Chicago.

Baldwin was an all-star again in 1887 and signed a five-year, $72,800 extension in late May. He had the AL’s best H/9 (6.5) and BABIP (.217). The Brewers earned their first division title at 91-71, but lost the ALCS to Boston. Baldwin was 1-1 in his two starts with a 3.18 ERA over 17 innings. The next year, Baldwin won his lone ERA title at 2.24 while also leading the league in WHIP (0.96), and shutouts (4). He was second in POTY voting, the closest he came to the top honor and the last time he was a finalist.

More importantly, Milwaukee repeated as AL East champ and won their first pennant 4-1 over Baltimore. The Brewers went onto outlast Indianapolis 4-3 to win the fifth World Series. Baldwin had a surprisingly weak postseason, going 1-2 with a 6.86 ERA over 21 innings, 9 Ks, and -0.2 WAR. Still, he helped deliver a ring, which played a big role in getting his #32 uniform eventually retired in Milwaukee. The Brewers peaked here and were around .500 the next two seasons.

Baldwin pitched two more solid years and was an all-star again in 1889. In 1890, Milwaukee used him as a two-way player with 18 starts in the outfield and several as a DH. He was below average though with 70 wRC+, .577 OPS, and -0.3 WAR over 102 games. Baldwin played 74 games in the field next year with a .627 OPS, 85 wRC+, and 0.4 WAR; ending his brief two-way experiment. For his career at the plate, Baldwin had a .229/.313/.289 slash, 75 wRC+, and 1.4 WAR.

The wheels fell off in 1891 for Milwaukee at 64-98, but Baldwin led the league in quality starts at 28 and had a 19-17 record, 2.72 ERA, and 5.1 WAR. With a rebuild on, the Brewers were sellers in the offseason Baldwin had one year left on his deal. They traded Baldwin to New Orleans for two prospects. For Milwaukee, Baldwin had a 138-69 record, 2.77 ERA, 1852.2 innings, 1201 strikeouts, 503 walks, 150 ERA+, 87 FIP-, and 36.8 WAR.

Baldwin’s Pelicans debut was his weakest full season to date, although he was still useable with a 3.95 ERA, 248.2 innings, 124 Ks, and 3.2 WAR. New Orleans finished 88-74, one game out of the National League West behind Chicago. Baldwin became a free agent for the first time at age 33. After a month on the market, the Pelicans brought him back on a three-year, $28,800 deal.

In 1893, New Orleans used Baldwin as a closer and he won Reliever of the Year with 23 saves and a 3.70 ERA over 97.1 innings. He was back to starting the next year with respectable results. The Pelicans just missed the playoffs in 1893, but posted a losing record in 1894. In three seasons, Baldwin had a 43-27 record, 23 saves, 3.64 ERA, 539 innings, 273 Ks, 112 ERA+, 98 FIP-, and 6.6 WAR. He stayed in the NL West as one of six players in an offseason trade with Indianapolis.

Baldwin was an all-star in his Clowns debut with a 2.67 ERA and stayed two more years via arbitration. He was more around league average in those two seasons, but got to be part of a dynasty run. Indianapolis repeated as World Series champion, defeating Milwaukee 4-2 in 1896 and Philadelphia 4-3 in 1897. In seven playoff starts, Baldwin had a 4-2 record, 3.67 ERA, 4 quality starts, 49 innings, 20 strikeouts, 114 ERA+, 90 FIP-, and 0.9 WAR. With Indy, he also became the seventh pitcher to 200 career wins.

Overall for the Clowns, Baldwin had a 47-21 record, 3.45 ERA, 712 innings, 379 strikeouts, 210 walks, 122 ERA+, 99 FIP-, and 9.9 WAR. Coming up on age 39, he signed for 1898 with Cincinnati. Baldwin still was a respectable option with a 13-7 record, 4.03 ERA, 230 innings, and 3.6 WAR for the Reds. They traded him in January 1899 to Baltimore with prospect RF Harry Buckner for prospect P Dan Kerwin.

Baldwin was sub-par for the Orioles with a 4.65 ERA, 11-11 record, 201.1 innings, and 0.7 WAR. Still, he became the third pitcher to 250 career wins and the 21st to 2000 strikeouts. Baldwin went to Kansas City in 1900 but had a terrible 6.41 ERA over 73 innings. He retired that winter at age 41.

In total, Baldwin had a 257-141 record, 33 saves, 3.30 ERA, 269/452 quality starts, 3608 innings, 2086 strikeouts, 1000 walks, 232 complete games, 30 shutouts, 126 ERA+, 94 FIP-, and 58.5 WAR. At induction, Baldwin ranks 37th in ERA, 9th in wins, 22nd in innings, 14th in complete games, 18th in shutouts, 35th in strikeouts, and 32nd in pitching WAR. His .647 opponents’ OPS ranks 46th among qualifiers.

Baldwin wasn’t overwhelmingly dominant and was only briefly considered a Pitcher of the Year candidate. But he was remarkably steady and played in role in three World Series wins between Milwaukee and Indianapolis. As Hall of Fame voters were trying to figure out criteria, they decided that Baldwin’s 250+ wins, 2000+ Ks, and three rings made him a no-doubter. Sabermetrics are less impressed based on his WAR total and 3.88 FIP, so Baldwin won’t likely rank at the tip-top in later lists of legendary pitchers. But he did enough over a 17-year run to earn a 95.6% first ballot nod as part of the five-man class in 1906.

The Real Guy - Baseball-Reference Page - Wikipedia

Lady Baldwin did lead the National League in wins (42-13), WAR (10.8) and strikeouts (323) over 487 innings in 1886 for Detroit. He also won a proto-World Series title in 1887 for the Wolverines, but his six-year run was largely forgettable apart from the 1886 season. Some sources suggest arm injuries led to his abrupt decline.

Baldwin went onto own a farm and real estate business and died at age 77 in 1937. The real Lady Baldwin was fairly unremarkable apart from an excellent 1800s mustache, but he was steady enough in the Level Playing Field to end up as one of the enshrined greats.

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John “Jocko” Milligan – Catcher – Chicago White Sox – 93.4% First Ballot

John Milligan was a 6’0’’, 200 pound right-handed catcher from Philadelphia. Known as Jocko, he had a rough upbringing with both of his parents dying before he turned eight. Milligan attended Girard College, a school for orphans, where he was able to hone his baseball craft as a youth. His undeniable talent got him noticed and eventually into the professional ranks.

Milligan had a reliably respectable pop in his bat with 33 doubles, 6 triples, and 21 home runs per his 162 game average. He graded as an above average contact hitter, but his eye for walks and avoiding strikeouts were both below average. Unlike most catchers, Milligan had rock solid speed and baserunning chops. His ironman durability at such a demanding position made him one of the more reliable players of his era.

Behind the plate, Milligan was highly skilled defensively. His blocking and framing were especially impressive along with a respectable arm. Milligan also showed great leadership ability, a very important trait especially for a catcher. When the inaugural MLB draft came along for 1884, Milligan was 22-years old and had already shown tremendous potential in his limited semi-pro endeavors. He was the final pick of the first round, #24, by the Chicago White Sox.

Milligan was a full-time starter immediately and held that role 12 seasons with Chicago, becoming a very popular player. He was an all-star in 1884 with a 5.0 WAR season as the White Sox debuted with the best record in the majors at 102-60. They defeated the Red Sox 4-2 to earn the first American League pennant, then defeated the crosstown rival Cubs 4-3 in the first World Series. Milligan had 0.2 WAR, .760 OPS, and 113 wRC+ in 13 playoff games.

1885 saw his career-best hitting metrics for hits (170), doubles (37), average (.341), and wRC+ (165) along with 8.9 WAR. Milligan was an all-star, Silver Slugger, and Gold Glove winner. Chicago won the AL West at 88-74 and upset the 101-win Red Sox 4-1 to repeat in the ALCS. However, the White Sox were denied the first World Series repeat, losing a 4-3 classic to Indianapolis. Milligan did struggle in the playoff run with -0.4 WAR.

In 1886, Milligan again was excellent with his career bests for runs (98), home runs (29), RBI (112), OBP (.393), slugging (.592), OPS (.985), and WAR (9.2). He was an all-star once more and was third in MVP voting. The White Sox won a third straight AL West crown at 99-63, but this time was denied in a 4-3 ALCS classic against Boston. Across 32 career playoff games in Chicago, Milligan had 26 hits, 14 runs, 8 doubles, 4 homers, 18 RBI, .208/.277/.384 slash, 86 wRC+, and 0.2 WAR.

His role in the early White Sox dynasty made him a star and Chicago gave Milligan an eight-year, $149,600 extension in June 1887. Despite his efforts, the White Sox soon became a bottom-feeder. They finished second in 1887 at 86-76, five behind Milwaukee. Chicago then posted six straight losing seasons, bottoming out at 59-103 in 1891.

Milligan won additional Silver Sluggers in 1887, 88, and 90 while grabbing Gold Glove wins in 1890 and 92 for Chicago. He was also a regular all-star, making the game nine times. Milligan actually led the AL in WAR with 7.7 in 1888, his only time as a league-leader. Although notably, it is hard for even exceptional catchers to lead the league considering the fewer games that come with the position.

After 1888, Milligan’s hitting value declined closer to average production. His power dip was most notable as he didn’t hit more than 15 homers in a season after that. Still, his reliability and great defense meant he was worth 3-5 WAR each year through the White Sox run. Chicago finally snapped the losing streak at 87-75 in 1894, but they dropped back to the bottom at 68-94 in 1895.

Milligan’s contract expired after the 1895 season and Chicago let him leave for free agency at age 34. For the White Sox, Milligan played 1504 games with 1622 hits, 893 runs, 332 doubles, 54 triples, 218 home runs, 907 RBI, .280/.327/.469 slash, 120 wRC+, and 63.9 WAR. Chicago retired his #71 uniform at the end of his career. At induction, Milligan is the White Sox career leader for hits, runs, doubles, RBI, and WAR.

The St. Louis Browns signed Milligan to a four-year, $44,800 deal. He struggled in his 1896 debut with -0.1 WAR, .624 OPS, and 71 wRC+. He rebounded in 1897-98 by getting his bat back to near league average, giving him 3 WAR seasons thanks to his defense. The Browns were a lower-mid level team in his three seasons. Milligan did notably win his fourth Gold Glove in 1898 and breached the 1000 run and 1000 RBI milestones. With St. Louis, he played 367 games with 334 hits, 134 runs, 62 doubles, 13 triples, 29 homers, 161 RBI, .252/.239/.383 slash, 88 wRC+, and 6.2 WAR.

Milligan didn’t meet the vesting criteria for the fourth season for the Browns, returning to free agency in 1899. He signed with the Twins and was a part-time starter with 53 games, 0.2 WAR, but .527 OPS. Milligan went to Milwaukee in 1900 and picked up his 2000th career hit. His bat was well below league average at this point and the Brewers traded him in July to the New York Giants. He made four playoff starts with decent results, although the Giants lost the NLCS to the Cubs. Milligan announced his retirement that winter at age 39.

In total, Milligan played 2003 games with 2046 hits, 1057 runs, 406 doubles, 69 triples, 254 home runs, 1107 RBI, 483 walks, 1263 strikeouts, 548 stolen bases, .271/.317/.444 slash, 111 wRC+, and 70.3 WAR. At induction, Milligan ranks 96th in runs, 82nd in hits, 64th in total bases (3352), 62nd in doubles, 53rd in homers, 67th in RBI, 38th in strikeouts, and 41st in WAR for position players. His totals aren’t overwhelming, but a level of grace is deserved for catchers considering the physical demands of the position.

Among catchers, Milligan is 5th in WAR, 8th in games, 7th in runs, 6th in hits, 4th in homers, and 7th in RBI. He also ranks 6th in zone rating and 16th in defensive efficiency. Milligan’s Hall of Fame case though really came down more to the intangibles and leadership. He was a key man behind the dish as the White Sox won the first World Series and became very popular with fans. With that, Milligan earned a rock solid 93.4% for a first ballot induction in the five-man 1906 class; the first catcher to be enshrined.

The Real Guy: Baseball-Reference - SABR BioProject- Wikipedia

Jocko Milligan played ten seasons between the American Association, National League, and Players League between ten teams. His best season was with the Philadelphia A’s in 1891 where he led in doubles with 35. The real Milligan had a very respectable but relatively unremarkable career. In the Level Playing Field, he took a more prominent role and emerged as a franchise icon for the White Sox and a key figure for the first-ever World Series champion.

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Sam “Big Sam” Thompson - Right Field/Designated Hitter – Boston Red Sox – 90.8% First Ballot

Sam Thompson was a 6’2’’, 215 pound left-handed right fielder. Although listed in game from Danville, Virginia; he was actually born in Danville, Indiana. The town had just fewer than 1000 people when he was born in 1860 and is about 30 miles west of Indianapolis. Thompson was called “Big Sam” as men of his build were much rarer in the 1800s than now. His size and power earned helped get him from small-town Indiana to the big leagues.

Thompson’s overall power profile saw a 162 game career average of 34 doubles, 6 triples, and 25 home runs. He would twice hit 40+ homers with the Red Sox despite the cavernous center field dimensions at the Huntington Avenue Grounds. Thompson was an excellent contact hitter overall and decent at avoiding walks. Despite his big frame, Thompson was a skilled and crafty baserunner with deceptive speed.

That speed didn’t translate when playing defense though. Thompson made about 2/3 of his career starts in right field with abysmal results. Most of his remaining starts and his best years were as a designated hitter. Thompson’s durability was great in his 20s, but he did run into sporadic issues later on. He was set to turn 24 just before the start of the inaugural 1884 MLB season and was already considered one of the top power bats in the country. In the inaugural draft, Thompson was the #10 pick by the Red Sox.

Thompson was immediately a strong force in the middle of the lineup, winning a Silver Slugger in 1884 at DH. Boston was the first American League East Division champ at 92-70, but dropped the inaugural ALCS 4-2 to Chicago. The next year, Thompson took second in MVP voting while winning another Slugger and making the all-star team. He led the AL in runs (131), homers (45), RBI (137), total bases (378), slugging (.660), OPS (1.081), and wRC+ (188). This would be his career best triple slash (.354/.421/.660), OPS, wRC+, and WAR (8.5).

The Red Sox went 101-61 and got home field advantage for an ALCS rematch with the White Sox, but lost 4-1. Thompson was unremarkable in his first two playoff chances, but he would soon be critical in starting up a dynasty run in Boston. In 1886, Thompson won his third straight Silver Slugger at DH and was an all-star again. He took second in MVP voting and led with career bests for RBI (161) and total bases (382). The RBI mark was a single-season record at the time and still ranks as the sixth-best as of 1906.

Boston won the division again at 99-63 and finally got one over on Chicago in a seven-game ALCS classic. Thompson was the ALCS MVP, going 10-29 with four homers and nine RBI. He was the hero in the 5-4 Red Sox win in game three, going 4-5 with three home runs and five RBI. To date, Thompson is the only player with a three-homer playoff game. This set up a meeting with the crosstown Braves in the third World Series.

In another seven-game war, the Red Sox prevailed over the Braves for their first-ever title. Thompson was 11-27 in the series with a homer and five RBI, including a 3-4 effort with a run in game seven. For the postseason run, Thompson had 21 hits, 11 runs, 5 doubles, 5 homers, 14 RBI, 1.168 OPS, 207 wRC+, and 1.2 WAR. Both the runs and hits remain a top-five playoff run in MLB history.

Thompson notably had a 27-game hitting streak in 1887 and again was an all-star and Silver Slugger winner. He led the AL in hits (206), RBI (146), and total bases (351). Boston went 99-63 and defeated Milwaukee 4-1 in the ALCS to repeat as AL champs. In the World Series against St. Louis, the Red Sox outlasted the Cardinals in seven games to become the first-ever repeat world champ. In 12 playoff starts, Thompson had 16 hits, 10 runs, 7 doubles, 2 homers, 11 RBI, 1.024 OPS, 179 wRC+, and 0.6 WAR.

Now 28, Boston signed Big Sam to a five-year, $102,400 extension in April 1889. He was still an all-star, although his power was noticeably down with a slugging percentage below .500. The Red Sox three-peat bid was thwarted with a second place 89-73 finish. Thompson rebounded in 1889 with his fifth Silver Slugger win, matching his career high 161 RBI while also posting league/career bests for runs (140) and triples (10). This is one of only ten seasons in MLB history so far of 140+ runs.

The Red Sox returned to the American League throne at 100-62. They held on 4-3 over Minnesota in the ALCS, then met the Braves again in the World Series. With a 4-2 victory, the Red Sox became the first (and so far, the only) franchise to win three rings in a four-year run. Thompson in 13 playoff starts had 14 hits, 13 runs, 3 doubles, 4 homers, 11 RBI, .997 OPS, 169 wRC+, and 2.2 WAR.

For his playoff career, Thompson had 50 games, 58 hits, 36 runs, 17 doubles, 11 home runs, 38 RBI, .309/.388/.574 slash, 159 wRC+, and 2.2 WAR. At induction, he ranks 1st in doubles, 5th in playoff runs, 9th in hits, 3rd in total bases (108), 3rd in homers, and 4th in RBI. Thompson was certainly a big-game hitter and played a huge role in establishing the first major dynasty. With that, Boston eventually retired his #41 uniform.

While still a capable starter, Thompson’s bat dropped off noticeably in the next two years with OPS around .800 and wRC+ around 122. He missed part of 1891 with a sprained thumb as well. The Red Sox remained competitive at 84-78 and 89-73, but had second and third place finishes in the standings. In September 1891, Thompson became only the second player to reach 1000 career RBI.

To the surprise of many, Thompson exercised a contract opt-out after the 1891 season, heading into free agency for his age 32 season. In eight seasons with the Red Sox, he played 1196 games with 1451 hits, 876 runs, 258 doubles, 56 triples, 232 home runs, 1005 RBI, 488 walks, 479 strikeouts, 242 stolen bases, .314/.380/.544 slash, 149 wRC+, and 45.2 WAR. Thompson is the career leader in homers and RBI for Boston at induction.

Thompson signed a five-year, $123,800 deal with Kansas City. He ended up playing four years with the Royals, who mostly hovered around .500. Thompson wasn’t elite at this point, but was still a starter-quality player when healthy. He did run into some notable injuries, including a broken bone in his elbow in July 1894 and a knee sprain in June 1895. The career highlight in KC was his 2000th career hit on September 11, 1895. He declined the contract-option fifth year of the deal.

For the Royals, Thompson played 493 games with 567 hits, 297 runs, 102 doubles, 12 triples, 56 home runs, 269 RBI, .305/.366/.464 slash, 131 wRC+, and 12.8 WAR. Coming up on age 36, he signed a three-year, $80,600 deal with Brooklyn. Thompson earned his 300th career home run in September 1896. That year saw 5.1 WAR and 149 wRC+, his best since his Red Sox days. Thompson was closer to his Royals production the next year.

Brooklyn couldn’t get over the hump with 80 and 84 win seasons with Thompson. In 277 games, he had 292 hits, 145 runs, 51 doubles, 11 triples, 32 homers, 158 RBI, .292/.349/.461 slash, 131 wRC+, and 7.7 WAR. In January 1898, the Dodgers traded Thompson to Cleveland for two pitching prospects. In his one Spiders season, he played 124 games with .742 OPS, 114 wRC+, and 2.8 WAR.

Thompson returned to Boston in 1899 but went across town to the Braves. He was a part-time starter with .741 OPS, 111 wRC+, and 1.6 WAR over 113 games and 64 starts. While there, he did cross the 2500 hits and 1500 RBI career milestones. Thompson joined the Philadelphia Athletics in 1900, but only played 12 games before suffering a torn labrum in April. Although he was likely on his way out from a skill standpoint, doctors told him he was done at age 40.

In total, Thompson played 2215 games with 2529 hits, 1432 runs, 466 doubles, 85 triples, 339 home runs, 1552 RBI, 804 walks, 880 strikeouts, 453 stolen bases, .305/.367/.504 slash, 139 wRC+, and 69.9 WAR. At induction, Thompson ranks 32nd in runs, 37th in hits, 27th in total bases (4182), 36th in doubles, 19th in home runs, 14th in RBI, 63rd in walks, and 42nd in WAR for position players. Among batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Thompson’ s triple slash ranks 33rd/55th/28th and his .872 OPS is 28th.

In his prime, Thompson was a top-tier power hitter and a key piece of the Red Sox 1880s dynasty. His clutch playoff efforts remained in voters memories more so than his relatively unremarkable second half of his career. Big Sam received 90.8% for the first ballot induction as part of the five-man 1906 Hall of Fame class.

The Real Guy: - Baseball-Reference - SABR BioProject - Wikipedia

Sam Thompson is the first inductee in the Level Playing Field who also has a real life plaque in Cooperstown. He had a 15-year career initially in Detroit, leading the Wolverines to the 1887 World Series crown. His longest tenure was a decade in Philadelphia. Thompson led the National League thrice in hits, twice in doubles, twice in homers, thrice in RBI, and once in batting average. His 166 RBI in 1887 was the single-season record until Babe Ruth came around.

While the fictional Thompson ended up as a terrible defender, the real guy was noted as having a cannon arm. He holds the MLB record still for RBI to games played at .923 (1305 RBI in 1410 games). Both versions of Thompson were impressive power bats and stars of the 1800s. At his death at age 62 in 1922, Thompson was also noted as being generally well-liked and considered a good guy; perhaps his biggest accomplishment considering the temperament of many of his contemporaries.