The Bucs Start Here - A Pirates Do-Over

[luckymann]

The 1902 season sees almost as much action off the field as on. Perhaps even more.

There are defections, suspensions, litigation, recrimination and much more as the two leagues behave more like warring factions than symbiotic organisations, in the process trampling all over the sacred institution of professional baseball.

The A’s are front and centre in all this, aggressively raiding the playing stocks of their crosstown rivals the Phillies to such an extent that the Phillies take them to court. And win. Ex-Phillies including Nap Lajoie, who had crossed over the season before, are ordered back to their original team. Some go quietly, others not so much. Lajoie and Elmer Flick simply move to Cleveland, where the court’s ruling has no jurisdiction, and play for the Bronchos (except when they are playing the A’s in Philly).

Despite this setback, A’s Manager Connie Mack still manages to put together a quality side. Helped greatly by the acquisition of loose cannon Rube Waddell, at one point in September the A’s win 20 of 23 games and eventually take the AL Pennant by five games from the Browns, who had moved from Milwaukee in the off-season.

At the other end of the spectrum are the Baltimore Orioles, piloted by perhaps the greatest troublemaker in the game’s history: John McGraw. When AL President Ban Johnson suspends McGraw indefinitely for repeated infringements of the league’s code of conduct, McGraw sells his stake in the O’s to Reds owner John Brush and moves to the Giants, where he would stay as manager for the next three decades. Brush then guts the O’s, moving players both to his Cincinnati club and McGraw’s Giants, doing such a thorough job that the club is forced to forfeit a game against the Browns due to having insufficient players to put on the field.

None of which helped either club in the standings, as the Pirates creamed the division, starting 30-5 and finishing the season 27½ games clear with a 103-36 record.

This tumultuous season was the beginning of the end of the internecine wars between the two leagues.

• Tommy Leach of the Pittsburgh Pirates leads the National League in home runs—with six. It is the fewest ever hit by a league leader.
• The first pinch-hit grand slam in major league history is belted on June 2 by the St. Louis Cardinals’ Mike O’Neill—a pitcher.
• In his very first major league start on April 19, Cincinnati rookie pitcher Bob Ewing walks a modern NL record seven batters in the fourth inning against the Cubs. Overall, the 29-year-old Ewing will walk 10 in the Reds’ 9-5 loss. Ewing will settle down and into an otherwise fine career, winning 20 games in 1905 and a total of 124 over an 11-year career.
• In the first inning of a game on May 16, Dummy Hoy of the Reds bats against Dummy Taylor of the Giants. It is the first time that two deaf-mutes have faced one another.
• Bill Bradley homers in four straight games for the Cleveland Blues, a feat that will not be matched until Babe Ruth does it in 1918.
• On June 2, Cleveland commits six errors in one inning, the most for the entire 20th century.
• In his first game for the A’s, after arriving to the park late Danny Murphy goes 6-for-6 with a slam.

Top Ten Lists (courtesy of thisgreatgame.com)

NL Hitters

1. HONUS WAGNER, PITTSBURGH

• Key Numbers: .330 average, 105 runs, 30 doubles, 16 triples, 91 RBIs, 14 hit-by-pitches, 42 stolen bases.
• Hitting for his worst average (.330) of the decade wasn’t enough to ground the Flying Dutchman from his customary spot as the NL’s best.

2. FRED CLARKE, PITTSBURGH

• Key Numbers: .316 average, 103 runs, 14 hit-by-pitches, 29 stolen bases.
• The Pirates’ manager-outfielder contributed quite well to his team’s best performance (103-36) under his direction.

3. GINGER BEAUMONT, PITTSBURGH

• Key Numbers: .357 average, 100 runs, 193 hits, 33 stolen bases.
• Beaumont won his lone batting title (a difficult thing to do even once in the era of Wagner) and led the NL in hits for the first of three straight seasons.

4. SAM CRAWFORD, CINCINNATI

• Key Numbers: .333 average, 92 runs, 22 triples, 3 home runs, 78 RBIs.
• In his final year at Cincinnati before bolting to the AL and a prosperous tenure with Detroit, Crawford led the NL with 22 triples—his first of six such seasons in which the eventual all-time leader in three-baggers would pace the league.

5. TOMMY LEACH, PITTSBURGH

• Key Numbers: .278 average, 97 runs, 22 triples, 6 home runs, 85 RBIs.
• Like Delahanty above, Flick also was ready to scram from the Phillies—though he made the mistake of staying within state lines (moving to the A’s) and within the jurisdiction of courts who would eventually order him back to the Phillies.

6. SAM CRAWFORD, CINCINNATI

• Key Numbers: .330 average, 16 home runs, 104 RBIs.
• Leach matched Crawford with 22 triples, but no one else in the NL could equal or top his six home runs; no player has ever led a major league circuit with so few round-trippers.

7. FRED TENNEY, BOSTON

• Key Numbers: .315 average, 88 runs, 73 walks, 29 sacrifice hits, 21 stolen bases.
• After flourishing in the 1890s and then tottering at the turn of the century, Tenney enjoyed a comeback campaign at the plate.

8. WILLIE KEELER, BROOKLYN

• Key Numbers: .333 average, 86 runs, 186 hits, 19 stolen bases.
• One of the great contact hitters of the game continued to be a nuisance, even if he didn’t reach 200 hits for the first time in eight years.

9. HEINIE PEITZ, CINCINNATI

• Key Numbers: 112 games, .315 average, 22 doubles.
• Never an everyday player, Peitz made the most of the career-high 112 games he would log.

10. DUFF COOLEY, BOSTON

• Key Numbers: .296 average, 26 doubles, 27 stolen bases.
• A once promising table-setter for the Phillies in the late 1890s, Cooley began a brief two-year renaissance with the Beaneaters.

AL Hitters

1. ED DELAHANTY, WASHINGTON

• Key Numbers: .376 average, 103 runs, 43 doubles, 10 home runs, 93 RBIs.
• The 34-year-old veteran, who batted over .400 three times in the 1890s, spent his first year in Washington wishing he was playing in New York; despite that and other personal problems, he dominated the AL.

2. CHARLIE HICKMAN, BOSTON-CLEVELAND

• Key Numbers: .361 average, 193 hits, 36 doubles, 11 home runs, 110 RBIs.
• Hickman would enjoy the first and finest of many seasons in which he would play for multiple teams, especially thriving at Cleveland—where he hit .378 in 102 games.

3. BUCK FREEMAN, BOSTON

• Key Numbers: .309 average, 38 doubles, 19 triples, 11 home runs, 121 RBIs.
• One of the few major leaguers who insisted on offseason weight training, Freeman continued to show off his muscles as one of the AL’s early sluggers.

4. BILL BRADLEY, CLEVELAND

• Key Numbers: .340 average, 104 runs, 187 hits, 39 doubles, 11 home runs, 77 RBIs.
• The Cleveland native benefitted from the midseason arrivals of Hickman (above) and Nap Lajoie (below), leading to career highs in almost every major offensive category.

5. LAVE CROSS, PHILADELPHIA

• Key Numbers: .342 average, 191 hits, 39 doubles, 0 home runs, 108 RBIs.
• At the spry age of 36, Cross set a still-standing record by knocking in 108 runs without the benefit of a single home run.

6. SOCKS SEYBOLD, PHILADELPHIA

• Key Numbers: .316 average, 16 home runs, 97 RBIs.
• Unlike Cross, Seybold did round the bases on his own—16 times, the most homers by any AL player during the 1900s—but still knocked in 11 fewer runs.

7. NAP LAJOIE, PHILADELPHIA-CLEVELAND

• Key Numbers: 95 games, .378 average, 81 runs, 35 doubles, 7 home runs, 65 RBIs.
• Lajoie’s follow-up to his superb 1901 numbers was legally obstructed by Pennsylvania courts, but he did his best to make up for lost time once freed in Cleveland.

8. BILL KEISTER, WASHINGTON

• Key Numbers: .300 average, 33 doubles, 9 home runs, 90 RBIs.
• Playing for what would be his fifth out of six teams over a six-year period, the all-hit, no-glove Keister remained consistent in one facet, once again hitting at or over .300.

9. JIMMY WILLIAMS, BOSTON

• Key Numbers: .313 average, 27 doubles, 21 triples, 8 home runs, 83 RBIs.
• One of the few players to hang around through the Orioles’ midseason collapse, Williams collected 21 triples for the second straight year.

10. TOPSY HARTSEL, PHILADELPHIA

• Key Numbers: .283 average, 109 runs, 87 walks, 47 stolen bases.
• After establishing himself as a prime everyday presence with the Orphans (Cubs) in 1901, Hartsel took his act to the AL and proved he was no one-shot wonder.

NL Pitchers

1. JACK TAYLOR, CHICAGO

• Key Numbers: 1.29 ERA, 23 wins, 11 losses, 8 shutouts, 333.2 innings.
• Pitching well enough not to be seduced by gamblers—yet—Taylor secured his lone ERA crown and started a remarkable string of five straight seasons in which he completed every game he started.

2. NOODLES HAHN, CINCINNATI

• Key Numbers: 1.77 ERA, 23 wins, 12 losses, 321 innings.
• Hahn remained the saving grace of an ace, logging over 300 innings for the fourth straight year, producing a career-low ERA and giving an otherwise weak Reds rotation some solidity.

3. JESSE TANNEHILL, PITTSBURGH

• Key Numbers: 1.95 ERA, 20 wins, 6 losses.
• A year before bolting to the AL, Tannehill was the stingiest of three 20-game winners for the Pirates, authoring a team-best ERA.

4. JACK CHESBRO, PITTSBURGH

• Key Numbers: 2.17 ERA, 28 wins, 6 losses, 8 shutouts, .824 win percentage, 286.1 innings.
• Happy Jack surely lived up to his nickname as everything went his way on the mound—before joining Tannehill in New York with the AL’s Highlanders.

5. DEACON PHILLIPPE, PITTSBURGH

• Key Numbers: 2.05 ERA, 20 wins, 9 losses, 272 innings, 26 walks.
• Phillippe was never finer, posting a career-low ERA while allowing less than one walk per nine innings pitched.

6. VIC WILLIS, BOSTON

• Key Numbers: 2.27 ERA, 27 wins, 20 losses, 51 games, 46 starts, 45 complete games, 410 innings.
• Willis was one of two Boston pitchers to extensively labor and make up for the rest of a weak and short-handed pitching staff.

7. TOGIE PITTINGER, BOSTON

• Key Numbers: 2.52 ERA, 27 wins, 16 losses, 389.1 innings.
• The 30-year-old right-hander was Boston’s other workhorse, giving the Beaneaters a combined 800 innings, 81 starts and 54 wins between he and Willis; the rest of the staff grouped for 460, 43 and 19, respectively.

8. JOE MCGINNITY, NEW YORK

• Key Numbers: 2.06 ERA, 8 wins, 8 losses.
• Despite not showing up at the Polo Grounds until mid-July, McGinnity still was productive and efficient enough to make the list; between the Giants and Orioles, he won 21 games and tossed 351.2 innings.

9. SAM LEEVER, PITTSBURGH

• Key Numbers: 2.39 ERA, 15 wins, 7 losses.
• Leever did not join Chesbro, Tannehill and Phillippe in the land of 20 wins, but was effective nevertheless.

10. DOC NEWTON, BROOKLYN

• Key Numbers: 2.42 ERA, 15 wins, 14 losses, 264.1 innings.
• A strong showing for a pitcher who would move west and win 74 games (including the Pacific Coast League’s first no-hitter) from 1903-04 before returning to the majors and the AL in 1905.

AL Pitchers

1. CY YOUNG, BOSTON

• Key Numbers: 2.15 ERA, 32 wins, 11 losses, 45 games, 43 starts, 384.2 innings.
• In forging yet another sizzling season for Boston, Young completed 41 of his 43 starts—but he didn’t make it past the first inning in the other two.

2. RUBE WADDELL, PHILADELPHIA

• Key Numbers: 2.05 ERA, 24 wins, 7 losses, 276.1 innings, 210 strikeouts.
• What’s amazing about the late-arriving Waddell is that he didn’t even pick up his first of 24 wins until July.

3. BILL BERNHARD, PHILADELPHIA-CLEVELAND

• Key Numbers: 2.15 ERA, 18 wins, 5 losses, .783 win percentage.
• Despite the distractions of the Pennsylvania courts, Bill Bernhard’s escape from Philadelphia to Cleveland apparently had no effect on his performance.

4. RED DONAHUE, ST. LOUIS

• Key Numbers: 2.76 ERA, 22 wins, 11 losses, 316.1 innings.
• Donahue’s return to St. Louis was far more successful than his previous campaign there, in 1897—when he finished 10-35 with a 6.13 ERA for the NL Browns.

5. ED SIEVER, DETROIT

• Key Numbers: 1.91 ERA, 8 wins, 11 losses.
• On the seventh-place Tigers, not one pitcher put together a winning record—not even Siever, despite winning the AL ERA crown.

6. BILL DINNEEN, BOSTON

• Key Numbers: 2.92 ERA, 21 wins, 21 losses, 39 complete games, 371.1 innings.
• The right-hander and Cy Young’s right-handed man nearly matched the star ace in complete games and innings.

7. ADDIE JOSS, CLEVELAND

• Key Numbers: 2.77 ERA, 17 wins, 13 losses, 269.1 innings.
• The man who would ultimately furnish baseball’s second-best career ERA introduced himself to the majors by throwing a one-hitter in his first start—and nearly tossed a no-hitter in his second.

8. JACK POWELL, ST. LOUIS

• Key Numbers: 3.21 ERA, 22 wins, 17 losses, 328.1 innings.
• Powell welcomed the Browns from Milwaukee by joining them—and joined Red Donahue (above) as the first two 20-game winners in Browns history.

9. NED GARVIN, CHICAGO

• Key Numbers: 2.21 ERA, 10 wins, 10 losses.
• After going 8-20 for Milwaukee in 1901, Garvin eschewed the franchise’s move to St. Louis and joined the White Sox—with more satisfying results.

10. EDDIE PLANK, PHILADELPHIA

• Key Numbers: 3.30 ERA, 20 wins, 15 losses, 300 innings.
• Steady Eddie delivered the first of eight 20-win efforts as a major leaguer—his last of which would come in 1915 as a member of the Federal League’s St. Louis Terriers.

[Brad K]

Going to play for the world champions and Charlie Smith's Morale rating is Angry.

[luckymann]

Originally Posted by Brad K

Going to play for the world champions and Charlie Smith's Morale rating is Angry.

These kids...

[luckymann]

The Beaneaters lose pitcher Brickyard Kennedy for a good portion of the season to a torn labrum. He’s not expected to return until August at the earliest.

A scare for A’s superstar Nap Lajoie when he strains a back muscle. Fortunately it is only a minor injury and he should be back a game or so after Opening Day.


We go 11-7 in ST. Everyone looks in pretty good nick. Jimmy Williams gets suspended late and will miss Opening Day.

[luckymann]

Only a fool would tinker too much with a squad that’s just won you a Championship, and I ain’t that sort of fool. No real budget pressure of which to speak, so happy to keep Irwin and Schreckengost as “just-in-casers” even though they won’t see a lot of playing time if nothing out of the ordinary happens. That doesn’t mean I’ll just sit on my hands. Should our performance dip for any prolonged period I’ll have my finger hovering over the trigger.

Active Roster now 22 so we’ll carry 14 position players and 8 pitchers.

Just a quick run through of our squad and some numbers from 1901 where appropriate. Click on the player’s name for their S+ page if you want to dive deeper.

Catchers

• Billy Maloney: 311 BA / 71 RBI
• Ossee Schreckengost: 296 BA
• Charlie Luskey

Infielders

• Charlie Dexter: 308 BA / 4 HR
• Danny Murphy: 337 BA / 130 OPS+
• Jimmy Williams: 327 BA / 10 HR / 110 RBI
• Harry Steinfeldt: 303 BA / 83 RBI
• Honus Wagner: 362/438/583 slash / 173 OPS+ / 8.3 WAR / NL MVP
• Charlie Irwin

Outfielders

• Lefty Davis: 336 BA / 129 OPS+
• Matty McIntyre: 345 BA / 135 wRC+ / 3.6 WAR / NL RotY
• Socks Seybold: 337 BA / 5 HR in 255 PA
• Fred Ketcham
• Ernie Courtney

Rotation

• Jack Chesbro: 19-17 / 330.2 IP / 4.9 WAR
• Deacon Phillippe: 19-14 / 3.24 ERA / 5.5 WAR / 90 FIP-
• Frank Owen: 16-8 / 121 ERA+ / 3.0 WAR
• Mike O’Neill: 15-8 / 2.9 WAR

Bullpen

• John Malarkey: 2.39 ERA / 10 SV
• Doc McJames: 3.55 ERA / 5 SV in 45.2 IP
• Wiley Piatt: 2.33 ERA / 1.19 WHIP
• Alex Hardy

The preseason predictions have us going 74-66 and finishing in third, 6 games back from the Superbas. They are picking the White Sox to pip the Browns in the AL.

S+ HOME

REPORTS HOME

[luckymann]

A strange old month indeed. We win nine of our first ten and finish the month at 10-2. It’s a nice way to start but you can already see how unsustainable it is as we are pretty ordinary in our last three or four games. Still, we’ll take it gleefully and gratefully.

Hot

• Honus Wagner: carries over a hit streak from ’01 and makes it to 24 games before taking an ohfer. He also gets on base in 42 straight games.
• Socks Seybold: 347 BA / 16 RBI / 176 OPS+ / 168 wRC+
• Our pitching staff: Starter ERA 1.68; bullpen yet to give up an earned run.

Not

• The rest of our hitters: Seybold the only starter hitting above 300; 255 team BA is 7th in the NL.

Around the Leagues

• The Phillies are hot as well, going 9-3. The Cards lose their first eleven before beating us on the final day of the month.
• Red Donahue of the Phillies pitches the league’s first ever no-hitter in a 2-0 win over Brooklyn.
• Chicago and Baltimore have flown out of the gates in the AL, losing just a game apiece.

Awards

• 04/28 POTW: AL – Roy Patterson (Chicago) 2-0 / 0.50 / 9 K / 18 IP; NL – Socks Seybold (Pittsburgh) .500 / 1 HR / 10 RBI.

S+ HOME

REPORTS HOME

[Brad K]

10 - 2 better be sustainable in case 9 - 3 behind you is!!!

[luckymann]

Originally Posted by Brad K

10 - 2 better be sustainable in case 9 - 3 behind you is!!!

I'll take us being 1 game in front at the end of the reg season...

[luckymann]

The Reds overtake us early in the month as they sweep us with three one-run decisions (they would end up running that winning string to ten). I’m not so bothered about this development. I like the idea of us finding our groove and slowly improving over the course of the season – like we did in ’01 – more than I do having a sensational start but then drifting off into mid-standings mediocrity. Nobody remembers who led the league in May or June. Nor do they give you a ring and a trophy for doing so.

A game versus Brooklyn not long after that Reds series deserves special mention. Deacon up against Jesse Tannehill, who regularly gives us trouble. Tied at 1 after 8. Both sides score a deuce in the 9th to send it into extras, then score another one in the 11th to keep it going. We finally get the 5-4 win in the 15th on a walkoff single by Seybold. Here’s the box score and game log if you want to check it out.

When the Phillies come to town toward the end of the month, I arrange a sit down with their GM Jose Vazquez. By the end of which, I have made my first trade for the year.

TRADE 1 OF 5: (05/21): OF Lefty Davis and P Buttons Briggs to Philadelphia for OF Fred Clarke.

As I mentioned at the top, I don’t see myself doing much trading this year unless circumstances – form, injury, the exigencies of a tight race – force my hand. But I saw the opportunity to upgrade at left with a player who, all things considered, should have been a member of our squad (and would have been had the league started in 1902) all along. Lefty is a solid player and had a good ’01, but has struggled this year and I just think we’ve got enough flexibility in the group to cover Fred’s defensive one-dimensionality (he only plays LF). Buttons, too, is a good pitcher but we’ve got enough so that his absence should never even really be noticed. Again we are pivoting (slightly) older, which is something I need to keep an eye on. But at 29, “Cap” Clarke has plenty of good years left in him, all things going accordingly, and it’s not as if Lefty (27) or Buttons (26) were all that much younger.

Cap’s Pittsburgh debut turns out to be the most astounding game in our short history. At home. Deacon against the mighty Christy Mathewson, so we are expecting a tough one. What we get instead is a 21-0 rout as we chase Matty with 10 runs in less than 5 innings and just keep on scoring. Here are the boxscore and game log in all their glory, but the Cliff Notes go something like this: we have 19 hits, of which only four are for EB; Seybold has a career day with 7 RBI, tying the NL record; Clarke homers and drives in 3; Phillippe pitches a 3-hitter; Wagner and Williams each score four runs.

We lose 5-0 the next day. Ahhh, baseball, you’re a piece of work, you are.

Right at the end of the month, we get to face the recently-traded Buttons Briggs as the Phils come to town again. Deacon makes sure I don’t look foolish for having traded him (see comments re Jiggs Donahue in the end of month recap for context) by pitching us to a 5-1 win.

The final game of the month is an unpalatable finish, as Frank Owen – the only one of our pitchers not having a banner year so far – is pummelled by the Orphans in an 11-2 loss, the first time in the season we’ve conceded 10 or more. It is confirmation of a sneaking suspicion I had that we are just dying on our run a bit.

That shocker notwithstanding, May pans out to be an OK month for us, a nice consolidation after our scorching April. Mind you, our 16-12 record for the month would look a fair bit worse if not for a few close (read: lucky) wins, with us 8-8 in one-run games and 4-0 in extras. We’re still a bit too hot-and-cold for my liking, but to be sitting just a half-game off the lead at 26-14 overall is pretty much where we want to be.

Hot

• Mike O’Neill: 10 Quality Starts on the trot before a loss to the Reds.
• Honus Wagner: a deserved Hitter of the Month, hit 390 with 11 RBI / OPS+ of 211 / 470 wOBA / 201 wRC+.
• Socks Seybold: MLB high 36 ribbies so far, 21 of which were earned in May.
• Ossee Schreckengost: had a diametric May to ’01, back as starting catcher thanks to his 328 BA.
• Jack Chesbro: unlucky not to win the monthly pitching award for his 4-2 / 1.21 effort; 81 FIP- and 1.4 WAR among the league’s best.
• Deacon Phillippe: not quite as stellar as his rotation mate, but still an excellent month; 4.3 K/BB is the best in either league and 74 FIP- shows how much of his own heavy lifting he’s been doing.

Not

• Billy Maloney: his light hitting (216 BA for May) cost him the everyday catcher role, which only improved performance will earn him back.
• Jimmy Williams: knocking enough in (14 RBI in May, 20 season-to-date), but his 243 BA needs upping or a lineup reshuffle might be on the cards.
• Frank Owen: lost his way in May, going 0-6 with a 4.36 ERA (ERA+ of just 70), and is on the cusp of being switched out of the rotation should improvement not be steep and swift.

Around the Leagues

• The Cards are having one of the most bizarre seasons imaginable. After a 1-11 April, they have completely turned things around and their 18-8 May has got them back to smack bang on 500 ball. They are currently riding a 7-game win streak and are 12 of their last 14. Another month along those lines and they’ll be well in this, even as is they only trail the Reds – who lead us by the aforementioned ½ game – by 6½.
• Both the Beaneaters (8-18) and Phillies (8-19) had shocking months, and Boston is already 14 GB.
• The AL is anyone’s as it stands, with just 7 games from first (the A’s and White Sox at 20-15) to last (the 13-22 Tigers), with the top five within two games of one another.
• Our erstwhile teammate Jiggs Donahue has certainly found a home at the Sens, as only a late quiet patch sees his BA dip under 400 and his 2.8 WAR is tied for top in the AL with the mighty Nap Lajoie.
• Cincy ace Noodles Hahn pitches a one-hitter in a 9-0 win over the Orphans. On the same day, Red Donahue of the Phillies and Tom Hughes of the Giants duke it out for 16 innings before the Phils finally get the win, 2-0.
• Chicago Legacy Player Roy Patterson also pitches a one-hitter over 10 in a 2-0 win over Cleveland.

Awards

• 05/05 POTW: AL – Nap Lajoie (Philadelphia) .481 / 1 HR / 3 RBI; NL – Red Donahue (Philadelphia) 2-0 / 0.72 / 4 K / 25 IP.
• 05/12 POTW: AL – Nap Lajoie (Philadelphia) .481 / 2 HR / 8 RBI; NL – Sam Crawford (Cincinnati) .577 / 4 RBI.
• 05/19 POTW: AL – Jiggs Donahue (Washington) .655 / 1 HR / 4 RBI; NL – Willie Keeler (Chicago) .833 / 4 RBI.
• 05/26 POTW: AL – Dan McGann (Philadelphia) .615 / 1 RBI; NL – Jack Chesbro (Pittsburgh) 2-0 / 0.00 / 6 K / 18 IP.

• AL Batter of the Month: Nap Lajoie (Philadelphia) .362 / 5 HR / 26 RBI.
• NL Batter of the Month: Honus Wagner (Pittsburgh) .390 / 0 HR / 11 RBI.
• AL Pitcher of the Month: Roy Patterson (Chicago) 7-1 / 1.71 / 20 K / 73.2 IP.
• NL Pitcher of the Month: Rube Waddell (Chicago) 6-3 / 1.91 / 63 K / 85 IP.
• AL Rookie of the Month: Addie Joss (Cleveland) 6-2 / 1.71 / 40 K / 63 IP.
• NL Rookie of the Month: Fred Glade (New York) 4-3 / 1.62 / 24 K / 61 IP.

S+ HOME

REPORTS HOME

[luckymann]

We start June in middling fashion, dropping six of our first 10 and getting shelled in a few of them as our pitchers regress to the mean. It doesn’t much harm us in the standings at first glance, as we actually pull into a ½ game lead, but what it does is let teams such as St. Louis – who go on another mini-tear at the very same time – and Chicago and Brooklyn bunch up just behind us and Cincy, who are playing even worse than we are.

This leaves us at 30-20 thru our first 50 games.

We finally win back-to-back games for the first time in the month, stringing four in a row and looking like we might make a wee run for it. But then we drop three straight to the Cards and suddenly it’s all very tight indeed.

(Pointless observation alert: we score 7 runs in each of the four games we win and 2 runs in each of the three we lose. You’re welcome...)

An excellent road sweep at the Orphans and a two-game split at Cincy puts our record for June at 13-11 and leaves us with a 39-25 record, four games to the good of the Reds with the Cards, Orphans and Superbas lined up behind them, all well within reach.

I feel the target on our back.

Hot

• Jack Chesbro: pitches 18 Quality Starts in a row before a loss near the end of the month to the Cardinals. His excellent form continues right up until his last start of the month, when he takes an 8-2 battering from the Reds.
• Fred Clarke: after a slowish start, Cap’s quality shines through as he gives us the solidity we are looking for in the 2-slot. I make a wise investment in locking him down for three more years at $3k apiece.
• Ossee Schreckengost: 400 BA / 7.8 RC27 / 157 OPS+ (second only to Steinfeldt) for the month—and to think I was going to trade him...
• Harry Steinfeldt: 319 BA / 16 RBI / 404 wOBA / 159 OPS+ - just keeps getting better.

Not

• Our rotation: while I knew their early form was unsustainable, the dropoff in performance for June is a worry, Phillippe in particular (4.76 ERA).
• Honus Wagner: same goes, as Dutchie cools off considerably with a 295 BA and just 9 ribbies.

Around the Leagues

• The Reds go 8-15, but the rest of the NL contenders have a fairly similar month. The Cards are the best of us, going 16-11.
• The AL is slightly more strung-out than the NL, but still well and truly up for grabs. The A’s hold a 2-game advantage over the White Sox, with the Browns 2 again back of them. The last-placed Tigers are 10 off the pace.
• Cincy’s Noodles Hahn, the A’s Chick Fraser, and Jack Powell of the Cards each hurl a one-hitter over the course of the month.
• The Athletics post an 8-spot in the top 9th to pick a game right out of the O’s pocket, with the final score 14-9.

Awards

• 06/02 POTW: AL – Buck Freeman (Boston) 500 / 0 HR / 13 RBI; NL – Jesse Tannehill (Brooklyn) 2-0 / 0.00 / 11 K / 18 IP.
• 06/09 POTW: AL – Jack Harper (Baltimore) 2-0 / 0.00 / 9 K / 18 IP; NL – Elmer Flick (Philadelphia) 500 / 1 HR / 4 RBI.
• 06/16 POTW: AL – Ginger Beaumont (Philadelphia) 444 / 1 HR / 11 RBI; NL – Bobby Wallace (St. Louis) 500 / 5 RBI.
• 06/23 POTW: AL – Hugh Duffy (Chicago) 818 / 4 RBI; NL – Kitty Bransfield (Boston) 500 / 3 RBI.
• 06/30 POTW: AL – Nap Lajoie (Philadelphia) 565 / 0 HR / 12 RBI; NL – Joe Kelley (Brooklyn) 500 / 0 HR / 4 RBI.

• AL Batter of the Month: Nap Lajoie (Philadelphia) 377 / 0 HR / 24 RBI.
• NL Batter of the Month: Bobby Wallace (St. Louis) 402 / 0 HR / 11 RBI.
• AL Pitcher of the Month: Clark Griffith (Boston) 6-1 / 1.46 / 14 K / 67.2 IP.
• NL Pitcher of the Month: Jesse Tannehill (Brooklyn) 7-1 / 1.34 / 34 K / 74 IP.
• AL Rookie of the Month: George Mullin (Detroit) 3-4 / 3.43 / 20 K / 63 IP.
• NL Rookie of the Month: Fred Glade (New York) 5-2 / 3.28 / 27 K / 68.2 IP.

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[luckymann]

S+ has this great little new feature called Stat of the Day, where various stats are produced - you guessed it - each day!

So whenever I do an update (and remember), I'll put the link here.

Today's is Most IBB without a HR

[luckymann]

Just because the rotation is looking a bit wonky of late, I flip Alex Hardy to the Reserve and promote Nick Altrock. Let’s hope he barely pitches an inning—that means all is good with the starters.

After we win two of two against Cincy, the wheels completely fall off in a homestand with Brooklyn as we drop both games in back-to-back doubleheaders and play abysmally. The hits dry up, the pitching blows up, Matty McIntyre pulls up lame—it’s a complete disaster.

The mid-season blues are upon us. In earnest.

After that Brooklyn series, we lose four more of our next five. Then, just as we seem to have righted the ship somewhat with a couple good wins over the Giants, we lose Ossee Schreckengost for the year with a severe hip strain.

Rains, pours, you know the drill.

He has been superb for us, hitting 341 and rarely oscillating like some of the others have. We are fortunate to have the depth we do at the position, but Maloney will need to get it together as his buck-eighty-three to this point just won’t cut it and we need Dexter kept free up for utility duties. He’ll get the chance to re-establish himself at the position, but if he doesn’t then a trade will almost certainly be in order. And with the deadline less than three weeks away, he won’t want to spare the horses.

The Reds, smelling blood in the water, close to within a half-game.

We’ve got nothing to offer by way of resistance, losing far more games than we win including five in a row, two of which are consecutive shutouts at the hands of the Orphans in which we collect the grand total of six hits, and finally falling out of top spot for the first time in some time. Wagner goes hitless in an unheard of four games in a row during this time and is having a dirty month indeed (more below), but he isn’t alone by any means.

The only redeeming feature in all this is Cincy start going just as poorly as we are and the Cards are pretty up and down as well. Which means that, when we do finally stem the bleeding right at the end of the month and string a few wins together, we have regained the standings lead by two games.

The trade deadline comes and goes without any action on my part. I’m too tired to wheel and deal. After that (12-15) month, what I need is a long lie down.

Hot

• Jimmy Williams: almost Kiplingesque in how he kept his head while all around were losing theirs, Jimmy went 353 with a team-leading 18 ribbies, 176 OPS+ and 188 wRC+.
• Fred Clarke: Cap turned it around to hit 316 with an OPS+ of 137 and 147 wRC+.

Not

• Honus Wagner: while we were, almost to a man, incredibly poor this month, Honus was – relatively speaking – the worst, hitting just 253 in July with 6 RBI and an OPS+ of only 79, which has seen his overall mark dip precariously close to under 300. He is our talisman, and our best player, and needs to pick this side up and drag it over the line.

Around the Leagues

• If we can take heart from anything that happened in July, it is that the A’s were similarly challenged as we were but fought back to close out the month 4 ½ games ahead of the White Sox. But both divisions are still totally up for grabs.
• Brooklyn’s Joe Kelley has 6 hits and 4 RBI in a 10-2 win over the Reds.
• The updated Top 100 Prospects list is released and two of our players feature near the top, with Nick Altrock at #4 and Charlie Smith #8.

Awards

• 07/07 POTW: AL – John Farrell (Washington) 577 / 8 RBI; NL – Bill Keister (Brooklyn) 405 / 1 HR / 8 RBI.
• 07/14 POTW: AL – Chick Stahl (Baltimore) 500 / 2 RBI; NL – Doc Casey (Boston) 536 / 5 RBI.
• 07/21 POTW: AL – Buck Freeman (Boston) 476 / 1 HR / 8 RBI; NL – Sam Crawford (Cincinnati) 571 / 1 HR / 6 RBI.
• 07/28 POTW: AL – Nap Lajoie (Philadelphia) 471 / 2 HR / 8 RBI; NL – Rube Waddell (Chicago) 2-0 / 0.50 ERA / 23 K / 18 IP.

• AL Batter of the Month: Nap Lajoie (Philadelphia) 362 / 3 HR / 26 RBI.
• NL Batter of the Month: Joe Kelley (Brooklyn) 359 / 2 HR / 25 RBI.
• AL Pitcher of the Month: Eddie Plank (Philadelphia) 6-2 / 1.81 / 30 K / 74.2 IP.
• NL Pitcher of the Month: Jesse Tannehill (Brooklyn) 7-1 / 1.88 / 32 K / 72 IP.
• AL Rookie of the Month: Addie Joss (Cleveland) 3-5 / 2.42 / 21 K / 67 IP.
• NL Rookie of the Month: Fred Glade (New York) 4-2 / 3.60 / 22 K / 60 IP.

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Failing to hit his weight

[luckymann]

We get a couple close wins early, as Phillippe pitches a 10-inning shutout and knocks in two runs himself in a 3-0 win at New York and then we sneak by the following day 4-3 on a 2-run single in the top 9th by Murphy. The most positive aspect of all to be taken from this four-game swing, which we sweep, is some signs of Wagner turning things around.

We go on a decent enough run in that period, winning seven of our next ten, but Owen’s continued poor form forces my hand and I move McJames into the rotation in his place.
Our strong form continues over the next couple of weeks, allowing us to hold our destiny in our own hands. We are helped in this regard by Cincy’s seemingly uncanny ability to lose whenever we do (which I’d be quite happy for them to keep doing for the duration!) and somewhat inconsistent form by the others still within range.

We just taper off ever so slightly in the next-to-final week of August, and I decide to try and keep morale up by locking down a few players for next season and beyond. With Wagner, Phillippe and Chesbro already under lock and key via the Legacy Player rules (every Legacy is signed for 10 years at a rate based on their IRL earnings with a no-trade clause imposed; Wagner, for example, gets $61k over that period), I first sit down and talk with Steinfeldt, Williams, Murphy, Dexter, O’Neill, McIntyre and Altrock—each of whom is offered a multi-season contract ranging between three and five years. Next, Seybold, Schreckengost, Malarkey, Owen, Maloney, McJames are each offered single-year deals. By month’s end almost half have agreed to terms and hopefully there’ll be no hiccups with the rest.

It seems to have the desired effect, and two sterling performances in particular from this period deserve mentioning.

Mike O’Neill, having another excellent campaign, pitches a 10-inning three-hitter and delivers the offensive punch with a 3-run walkoff dinger to get us home 3-0 against Boston.

The very next game, Phillippe notches his 20th win for the season in fine style, shutting out the Beaneaters on 5 hits and outduelling the great Rube Waddell for a 1-0 squeaker.

And so, after a home sweep to round off an 18-8 month, we are 8½ games clear of a bunched field led by the Reds, with a 69-48 overall record.

Hot / Not

• Just a really even performance by the group so I feel it unwarranted to single any of them out.

Around the Leagues

• The White Sox sweep the A’s early in the month to close within 2½, but that’s as near as they get as Philadelphia steadies and then pushes back out with a 19-8 month to lead the Browns by 11 games and look in complete control.
• Brooklyn’s Jesse Tannehill becomes the league’s first 20-game winner this season.
• Clark Griffith pitches a 16-inning 7-hit shutout for Boston in a 1-0 win over the White Sox.
• The Cards lose Emmet Heidrick for a month to a torn quad.
• Jesse Burkett goes a perfect 6-for-6 with 2 RBI as the Browns annihilate Washington 17-1.
• Lave Cross hits in 25 straight.

Awards

• 08/04 POTW: AL – Chick Stahl (Baltimore) 565 / 3 RBI; NL – Bill Keister (Brooklyn) 391 / 2 HR / 7 RBI.
• 08/11 POTW: AL – Lave Cross (Chicago) 560 / 2 RBI; NL – Harry Davis (New York) 448 / 1 HR / 8 RBI.
• 08/18 POTW: AL – John McGraw (St. Louis) 579 / 7 RBI; NL – Noodles Hahn (Cincinnati) 2-0 / 0.50 / 8 K / 18 IP.
• 08/25 POTW: AL – Pop Foster (Detroit) 450 / 3 HR / 8 RBI; NL – Sam Crawford (Cincinnati) 455 / 1 HR / 5 RBI.

• AL Batter of the Month: John McGraw (St. Louis) 381 / 15 RBI.
• NL Batter of the Month: Jimmy Barrett (Boston) 383 / 2 HR / 19 RBI.
• AL Pitcher of the Month: Eddie Plank (Philadelphia) 4-0 / 1.48 / 42 K / 73 IP.
• NL Pitcher of the Month: Rube Waddell (Chicago) 6-1 / 1.92 / 48 K / 61 IP.
• AL Rookie of the Month: Addie Joss (Cleveland) 5-3 / 2.70 / 26 K / 73.1 IP.
• NL Rookie of the Month: Carl Lundgren (Philadelphia) 4-3 / 3.41 / 24 K / 58 IP.

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[luckymann]

Most innings without a No-Decision

[luckymann]

I won’t lie to you—the end to this season’s schedule is one of the most bizarre things I have encountered in this game. We play just 19 games in September with a five-day break right near the end. Our final five games are all in October and all against Cincinnati, a series I really do not want to be of any consequence in the standings.

But it is what it is and we just have to get out there and lock this thing down with as little bother as possible.

We start the month poorly, dropping three of our first four before Phillippe once again steps up and pitches a shutout against the Beaneaters, who are by this point our nearest competitors. The benefit of this is short-lived, however, as we continue to struggle, drop games and moonwalk back in the general direction of the pack at a quite alarming pace. Wagner hits 167 over the first ten games of the month, Steinfeldt 207, Dexter 067. Not surprising we lose seven of them.

Compounding our mini-collapse is the fact that the Superbas have caught fire just at the right time, winning nine straight and moving into second.

We escape with our lives in a game at New York, scoring 4 in the 9th to pinch it 6-5, with a bases-clearing triple by Danny Murphy the key hit. That seems to wake us up as we beat the Phillies 11-1 the next day, with O’Neill pitching a CG and driving in 3 runs, then win the next 3 as well.

I won’t bore you any further with a daily / series rundown. It never really gets that close, as we do what’s necessary and clinch it on the 20th with an 8-2 home win, most appropriately with Phillippe on the hill for us.

That said, we limp home, losing four of that five-game final swing against the Reds including a 9-0 humiliation in the very last game after Mike O’Neill had to leave the game hurt when he was hit on the foot by a pitch, and if that’s all we’ve got left in the tank we’ll be nothing more than a speed hump for the A’s on their journey to glory.

Fortunately, O’Neill’s injury is just a bad bruise and he should be right to go in a few days.

Hot

• Deacon Phillippe: a couple key wins when we absolutely needed them to cap off a superb season.
• Doc McJames: 2-2 / 1.41 in 32 IP.
• Jimmy Williams, Danny Murphy, Billy Maloney: stood tall as others struggled with consistent form.

Not

• Charlie Dexter: 185 with 0 RBI and an OPS+ of 25. Not a great year for Charlie, he needs to be better than that.

Around the Leagues

• The Athletics encounter little difficulty in clinching mid-Sep, and they end up with a record of 88-52, a healthy 15 games clear of the White Sox. Their 17-9 September vs our 12-11 Sep / Oct is a huge concern for us heading into the World Series.
• Their second-baseman Nap Lajoie wins the AL Triple Crown with a 377 BA, 12 HR and 112 RBI, the first time this feat has been achieved.
• St. Louis’s Cy Young goes 5-for-6 in a game against the Phillies but still gets saddled with the L, 6-5.

Awards

• 09/01 POTW: AL – Charlie Hickman (Baltimore) 483 / 1 HR / 11 RBI; NL – Jimmy Barrett (Boston) 588 / 2 HR / 7 RBI.
• 09/08 POTW: AL – Erve Beck (Chicago) 484 / 1 HR / 12 RBI; NL – Deacon Phillippe (Pittsburgh) 2-0 / 0.00 / 5 K / 18 IP.
• 09/15 POTW: AL – John Anderson (St. Louis) 462 / 8 RBI; NL – Jake Beckley (Philadelphia) 500 / 0 RBI.
• 09/22 POTW: AL – Willie Sudhoff (Philadelphia) 2-0 / 0.50 / 5 K / 18 IP; NL – George Davis (New York) 688 / 8 RBI.
• 09/29 POTW: AL – Bill Reidy (St. Louis) 2-0 / 0.00 / 5 K / 18 IP; NL – Dave Brain (Philadelphia) 478 / 1 HR / 7 RBI.

• AL Batter of the Month: Nap Lajoie (Philadelphia) 390 / 2 HR / 24 RBI.
• NL Batter of the Month: Elmer Flick (Philadelphia) 398 / 18 RBI.
• AL Pitcher of the Month: Addie Joss (Cleveland) 7-0 / 1.34 / 37 K / 67 IP.
• NL Pitcher of the Month: Rube Waddell (Chicago) 5-1 / 1.67 / 42 K / 54 IP.
• AL Rookie of the Month: Addie Joss (Cleveland).
• NL Rookie of the Month: Fred Glade (New York) 4-3 / 3.18 / 35 K / 62.1 IP.

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Most unearned runs allowed

[luckymann]

Philadelphia Athletics (88-52) v Pittsburgh Pirates (81-59)

You know there’s not a lot of difference between the 1902 A’s and the 1901 O’s. They are a classy unit who can beat you in any number of ways. Perhaps the main point of differential is the fact that they have clearly the best player in the AL, and arguably all of MLB, in Nap Lajoie. Only truly special players win Triple Crowns, as he has just done, and if he stays hot in this series we are going to be in all sorts of trouble.

Still, we have our own weapons led by our own true superstar in Dutchie Wagner. He had an underwhelming World Series last year and never really hit the heights we expect of him through the 1902 regular season. Now would be the ideal time for him to do so.

And in fact, even beyond the Wagner-Lajoie correlation, these two sides match up fairly even on paper, both statistically as well as personnel-wise: Plank-Phillippe; Chesbro-Sudhoff; Clarke-Beaumont; Dolan- Seybold; Steinfeldt-McGann. As is usually the case, it will come down to whichever side takes their chances and does the little things as well as the big.

I’m going to risk O’Neill, even though he suffered that foot contusion. The medical staff and Mike himself all seem to think there’s no damage there, so that’s how we’ll roll – at least to begin with. Phillippe to start Game 1. Apart from that, no other changes.

Game 1 in Pittsburgh
Deacon Phillippe (25-11) v Eddie Plank (28-7)

Not the start we were looking for as Phillippe surrenders a run before even getting an out with Lajoie singling it in.

Our bats stay quiet and when they double their lead in the 4th our plight worsens. But we cop a break when Lajoie proves he is human after all and muffs a grounder with two out to extend the inning and Seybold makes them pay with a run-scoring triple, just our second hit of the game.

We tie it at 2 in the next on a sac fly by Murphy and then Cap Clarke comes through with a two-out single to score another run and give us the lead for the first time in the game. A HBP to Wagner and another single by Williams makes it 4-2.

We extend our lead again in the 7th on three straight hits, with Wagner singling it in, then Steinfeldt all but puts them away with a two-out two-run two-bagger to make it 7-2. That ends Plank’s game.

Light rain had made the field slippery, but still, Steinfeldt’s two errors in the 8th are hard to take, and we are lucky to only concede the one run.

With Phillippe at 120 pitches and due up to bat, I decide to hit for him and let the pen close it out. Altrock lets two get aboard, but Malarkey comes in and gets Lajoie to ground out to end it. A positive beginning but there’s a long way to go.

Pittsburgh 7, Philadelphia 3.

BOX SCORE


Game 2 in Pittsburgh
Jack Chesbro (18-18) v Willie Sudhoff (16-15)

Pittsburgh leads series 1-0

Jack has been good and bad throughout the regular season. Let’s hope the good Jack comes out to play tonight and for the remainder of the Series.

He gets a scoreless 1st and we go ahead on an inside-the-park home run by Wagner, who seems much more focused than in recent times. But then they respond with a run in the 2nd to tie it back up again, and I’m not liking what I’m seeing when Chesbro gives up a hit to their pitcher, even though it leads to nothing.

The next inning doesn’t change my opinion as he gives up three straight hits and the go-ahead run but he recovers to keep it at that. By this point they have outhit us seven to two, and when we give up a totally pointless run on a double to their pitcher followed by an idiotic throwing error by Maloney, we are further in the hole at 3-1.

Wagner again sparks us to life, tripling and scoring on a Williams single, and another trip with two out by Steinfeldt gets us back square with them. But they are just pounding Chesbro, and go straight back ahead with a run on two hits, and again we dodge a major bullet when they leave the bags full.

Sudhoff gets his third hit, another double, and I have seen all I want to see when Chesbro then gives up a single to score him and make it 5-3. I bring Owen on in relief.

Wagner and Williams get aboard with none out in the home 6th. A Seybold groundout scores one and then Sudhoff is forced from the game with an injury. When play resumes, Steinfeldt knots it up once again with a single.

After both sides threaten without scoring in the 7th, we fall behind yet again in the next as their relentless offence just keeps churning out hits. This time, however, we have no response and they take the game by a run to tie the series at one.

Philadelphia 6, Pittsburgh 5.

BOX SCORE


Game 3 in Philadelphia
Chick Fraser (18-17) v Mike O’Neill (15-12)

Series tied 1-1

They have lost Sudhoff for the rest of the Series and most, if not all, of next season as well with a UCL tear. Tough break. It was only knowing we had the travel day coming up that allowed me the luxury of deploying the pen so early in Game 2. With a three-game run ahead of us, I certainly don’t want to have to do so tonight. But if O’Neill shows any signs of not being right my hand may well be forced in that regard.

We fall behind early again, as they post a run on two hits in the second and then another in the third.

Then the heavens open and the game is delayed for more than an hour.

When play resumes, so does their unstoppable hit machine, as they go three up in the 4th. Our bats, on the other hand, are ominously quiet, with just 3 hits thru 5, and when Lajoie homers to add another run to their lead we just look beat.

We finally get a run in the 8th on a Murphy single and then get a rally going in the 9th. With Wagner and Williams aboard and none out, Dexter – hitting for a dreadful Seybold who is 1-for-10 to this point – doubles one in, and he represents the tying run. Then McIntyre, also hitting 100 in the Series, triples them both in and we’ve somehow drawn level with the go-ahead run now at third with one out. But Maloney and Courtney fail to bring him in and we waste a golden chance to nick it.

They get a man on in the home half but don’t capitalise and it goes into extra innings. But not for long, as Owen gives up a leadoff trip in the 10th and a passed ball walks it off for them. We were messy and ill-disciplined tonight and paid the price.

Philadelphia 5, Pittsburgh 4 (10 innings)

BOX SCORE


Game 4 in Philadelphia
Eddie Plank (0-1) v Deacon Phillippe (1-0)

Philadelphia leads series 2-1

After a tentative first couple, we take the lead in the 3rd on a two-out Murphy single. Lajoie triples and scores on a Beaumont single in the 4th to tie it at 1 and they start up again, adding another on two hits. Then Wagner boots one and only a turned DP gets us out of the inning just the one behind.

No change until the top 7th when we get the bases full with no outs and tie the game when McGann makes an error at 1B. We look to have wasted another chance when a runner is doubled up at home, but Clarke saves our bacon with a 2-run single. Then Phillippe comes through in the next with a two-out RBI single to make it 5-2.

Clarke makes a dreadful misplay in the home 8th but then redeems himself with an outstanding throw to mow down Lajoie trying to score. Then we make three more errors in the 9th to put our game total at a disgraceful 7 and, more importantly, bring up Lajoie as the winning run with one out. After deliberating as long as I can I stick with Deacon. He gets Nap but then they tie it with a hit and I’m about to self-destruct.

In the top 10th we make two outs quickly, but then McIntyre walks and Dexter delivers one of the biggest hits of his career, a double that scores the run all the way from first.

Malarkey comes in to pitch and gives up a leadoff single. He gets one out but a single moves the tying run to third with one out. But we escape somehow a game we deserved to neither win nor lose, as he gets a GIDP to end it.

Pittsburgh 6, Baltimore 5 (10 innings)

BOX SCORE


Game 5 in Pittsburgh
Jack Chesbro (0-0) v Snake Wiltse (0-0)

Series tied 2-2

My heart rate is still elevated from that 9th inning last night when the first pitch is thrown, not the ideal frame of mind with Jack Chesbro on the mound. Even though he’s now 1-for-15, with the lefty on the mound I have little choice but to keep Seybold in the lineup and hope he comes good. Come Draft time I shall be looking to improve our bench options, that’s for sure.

Dexter is having some series, and he triples and scores the game’s first run on a single by Chesbro, who is no slouch with the bat (he hit 239 with 19 RBI in the regular season). A Murphy double scores him but Wagner and Williams fail to bring Danny in. Those are the ones that’ll kill you in this type of contest and sure enough they get on the board with a run in the 4th.

Seybold, who had singled earlier, finally finds his swing, homering to lead off the 6th and restore our 2-run lead. But then Chesbro loses his shape in the 7th and they tag him for 2 runs on 4 hits to tie the game at 3.

For the third game in a row, we sort it out in extra innings.
In the top 10th, we load the bases with one out. I hit Maloney for McIntyre, who is struggling with form, but he strikes out and Dexter grounds out and we miss our chance.

Chesbro, fantastic in this one, comes out after 10.

Murphy doubles and Clarke triples to get us the go-ahead run in the 11th. A passed ball gets us a buffer run.

McJames comes in for his first appearance of the Series, pitches a scoreless inning for the save to send us home needing one more win to get the bikkies.

Pittsburgh 5, Baltimore 3 (11 innings)

BOX SCORE


Game 6 in Pittsburgh
Mike O’Neill (0-0) v Chick Fraser (1-0)

Pittsburgh leads series 3-2

It goes without saying we don’t want to face Plank in a Game 7. So it’s up to Mike to wrap it up in six. I decide to play Maloney in CF in place of McIntyre, with Dexter behind the plate.

That all changes when Cap is hit by a pitch and has to leave the game. We regather and Wagner puts us ahead with a groundout and another one by Williams makes it 2-0. O’Neill starts strongly, but then our defence lets him, and us, down in the 4th with Wagner throwing one into the dugout to gift them a run.

They return the favour and we bring one in on a Maloney groundout in the home half. O’Neill walks to keep the inning alive and another error loads them up, but McIntyre can only ground out weakly to strand them all.

We stretch our lead to 3 in the bottom 5th on a run-scoring double by Seybold and then that man Dexter comes up trumps again with a two-out single to plate one and make it 5-1. Singles to Maloney and then O’Neill bring yet another one in for us. Then Murphy, such a champion, blows it even wider open with a two-out two-run two-bagger. 8-1, but still lots of time for them to come back, especially with their lineup.

O’Neill gets into trouble when he gives up a triple to Lajoie, but fortune favours us as Maloney throws an absolute bullet to double him up at home.

We load them up with one out in the 6th but for once Dexter can’t get it done, GIDP to douse the threat. But it matters little when Wagner bombs out a 3-run dinger in the next.

O’Neill has been just superb and with a 10-run advantage I would love to let him finish it. But at 130+ pitches and with everything to lose from the idea, I go to the pen instead. Mr Conservative wins out. At least Irwin makes it worthwhile with a single, and then an error by their CF gets us yet another run. A McIntyre single loads the bases and Wagner puts an exclamation point on a truly magical day for the club with a 3-run double. They don’t stop there, however, as Seybold singes one in, our 20th hit of the game, that makes it 16-1.

I give Deacon Phillippe the honour of finishing the game, which he does to give us our second World Championship.

Amazing!

Pittsburgh 16, Philadelphia 1

PITTSBURGH WINS SERIES 4-2.

SERIES MVP: Honus Wagner (Pittsburgh)

BOX SCORE

[luckymann]

1902 AL HISTORY INDEX

1902 NL HISTORY INDEX

[luckymann]

Held on 12/20/02.

There are eight new Legacies entering the League:

• Brooklyn Superbas: Doc Scanlan (12.2; 176 (conceded-97% of games))
• Chicago Cubs: Mordecai Brown (58.4 WAR; 386 games pitched)
• Chicago White Sox: Lee Tannehill 20.9 WAR; 1090 games played)
• Detroit Tigers: Ed Killian (26.0 WAR; 214 games pitched)
• New York Giants: Red Ames (24.7 WAR; 282 games pitched)
• Philadelphia Athletics: Charles Bender (47.9 WAR; 385 games pitched)
• Philadelphia Phillies: John Titus (30.0 WAR; 1402 games played)
• St. Louis Browns: George Stone (26.0 WAR; 846 games played (conceded; all but 2 career games played for SLA))

NB Barney Pelty (19.2 WAR; 266 games pitched) was also eligible for the Browns, but Stone’s higher WAR makes him the selection.

Not a deep pool again this year and we attack it with the single purpose of shoring up our position player section of the bench, with RHB the priority.

We end up taking the following players:

1. OF Danny Hoffman
It came down to Danny and Jake Stahl, with the latter being a RHB in his favour. But in the end, Danny was just too good a player to turn down. He has a big bat and plays all three OF positions well.

2. SS Charles Moran
Had my eye on both Charles and Rabbit Robinson, who went a few picks before ours, rendering the decision moot. Charles fits the bill under the circumstances, offering solid defence at 2B / SS / 3B with only an average bat.

3. SS Lee DeMontreville
The best of the bunch left by this point, but will see little if any action.

4. LHRP Jack Doscher
By this time the only players worth taking were relievers, so we opted for a southpaw in Jack.

5. RHRP Tad Quinn
A surprisingly good player for so far down in the Draft, a handy relief backup or trade bait.

FULL DRAFT LOG