1899
Code:
Team W L % GB
Philadelphia Phillies 92 58 .613 -
Pittsburgh Pirates 87 63 .580 5
Chicago Orphans 78 72 .520 14
Cleveland Spiders 77 73 .513 15
Baltimore Orioles 75 75 .500 17
Boston Beaneaters 72 78 .480 20
Louisville Colonels 72 78 .480 20
Cincinnati Reds 71 79 .473 21
Brooklyn Superbas 68 82 .453 24
New York Giants 58 92 .387 34
Philadelphia Phillies
The Pirates led the way for most of the season but the Phillies hung tough the whole way and pulled out the pennant. With 6 days left in the season, Philly and Pittsburgh were tied for the league lead. On Sept 7, Pittsburgh lost 7-5 to Brooklyn while the Phillies beat Boston 11-8. The Phillies finished the season on a 9-game winning streak (including two wins over Pittsburgh) while the Pirates dropped their final 5 games. This was just the Phillies 2nd pennant, and their first since 1887.
Big Ed Delahanty was named the league's Top Batter. He hit .347 with 95 RBI, both team highs. Nap Lajoie hit just .298 but drilled 11 HRs with 90 RBI. Sliding Billy Hamilton hit .328 and stole 49 bases. 1B Mike Grady hit .288 with 93 RBI. The rest of the lineup had no slackers: Cupid Childs (.309, 74 RBI), Lave Cross (.288, 61 RBI), Elmer Flick (.280, 87 RBI), Jack Clements (.317, 66 RBI).
The pitching staff was one of the league's best. Rookie Ned Garvin went 25-12 with a 2.89 ERA. He nearly won Top Rookie honors and he was even in the Top Pitcher running. Bill Vinton went 23-12, 3.25 and rookie Bill Bernhard went 15-12, 3.32.
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates were stunned by their pennant collapse after leading the league or being among the top teams all season long. They point to their pitching staff as the cause of most of their woes. Brownie Foreman went 12-4 with a 2.97 ERA, but he started just 16 games. Among the regular starters, Bill Phillips 3.59 ERA was the best, and he managed a 22-17 record. Rookie Sam Leever went 23-15 with a 3.67 ERA, and Red Ehret went 17-11, 3.72. After winning 24 games last season, Tom Colcolough went 7-14, 5.97 and was pulled out of the rotation by the beginning of July.
The offense had no concerns as every regular starter hit over .300. The team hit .301. SS Fred Shugart led the team with a .359 average. Rookie 2B Jimmy Williams hit .322 and led the league with both his 15 HRs and 107 RBI. CF Jake Stenzel hit .304 with 91 RBI. 1B Jake Beckley hit .307 with 84 RBI. Rookie Ginger Beaumont was among the league leaders all season and hit .352. Elmer Smith hit .323.
Chicago Orphans
After a .500 season in 1898, the newly named Orphans returned to their winning ways, although they were unhappy with just a 78-72 record. 1B Bill Everitt led the team with a .336 average, but LF Jimmy Ryan and his 81 RBI were right behind with a .330 average. Rookie Frank Chance hit .307 with 87 RBI. SS Bill Dahlen hit .310 with 77 RBI, and RF Sam Dungan hit .315 wth 88 RBI. 2B Pete O'Brien hit just .293 but led the team with his 8 HRs and 104 RBI. Pitching was once again this team's downfall. Jocko Flynn (22-16, 3.76) and Clark Griffith (16-10, 3.36) were dependable, but the rest of the staff provided little.
Cleveland Spiders
In contrast to the three teams ahead of them, the resurgant Spiders did not have a dominant offense. 1B Jake Virtue (.350, 10 HR, 100 RBI) was their best hitter, and catcher Dirty Jack Doyle (.305, 15 HR, 77 RBI) provided some extra power. RF Vince Dailey hit .326, but overall the team struggled to score runs consistently. Their pitching improved from recent seasons, but it was not enough to get them more than 4 games above .500. In his 3rd season, Jack Powell (22-13, 3.16) is becoming the ace of the staff. Some thought Lady Baldwin was washed up at age 40, but he went 15-13 with a 3.78 ERA. That gave him 304 career wins despite not debuting in the majors until age 26. Cy Young continues to baffle team management. He went 17-18 with a 4.42 ERA.
Baltimore Orioles
The Orioles nearly had their first winning season, but a win in their final game gave them a 75-75 record.RF Jack McGeachy was a pleasant surprise, hitting .338 with 94 RBI. 26-year-old John McGraw (.299, 54 RBI) saw his production dip slightly in his first year as a full-time shortstop. Playing regularly at 3B, Bert Myers hit .305 with 62 RBI. And rookie 2B Bill Keister hit .317 with 74 RBI. The secret to the team's season was pitching. In his 3rd season, Joe Corbett went 24-10 with a 2.69 ERA and was named Top Pitcher. He is only 23 but he looks like the cornerstone of this team for years to come. Arlie Pond had a very good season going 17-14, 2.92. Rookie Joe McGinnity (15-12, 3.99) had a respectable start to his career, but Pink Hawley (12-20, 4.43) was a big disappointment.
Boston Beaneaters
Boston did not have a truly dominant pitcher, but all four of their starters had ERA's of 3.62 or better. Kid Nichols (18-16, 3.07), Bill Daley (20-18, 3.62), Vic Willis (17-19, 3.22) and Bill Stemmeyer (10-12, 3.46) kept this team afloat. The offense complimented the pitching and many are unsure why this team did not win more games. 3B Billy Nash hit .324. RF Chick Stahl hit .336. 1B Fred Tenney hit .332. CF Joe Kelley hit .308 with 10 HR and 69 RBI. 2B Jimmy Collins hit just .266 but drove in 84 RBI.
Louisville Colonels
This team's offense is not great, but they do have some star players. Honus Wagner was stunning in his first full season. He ht .350 with 11 HR and 93 RBI. Forced to move to an unfamiliar second base, Hughie Jennings still hit .329. RF Tom McCreery hit .346 with 84 RBI.LF Fred Clarke hit .294 with 78 RBI. Phil Knell (20-17, 2.89) had a great season on the mound, but the rest of the staff posted ERA's between 4.12 and 4.60.
Cincinnati Reds
This season was highlighted by the debut of Noodles Hahn. The 20-year-old Tennessean went 23-16 with a 2.62 league-leading ERA and was named Top Rookie. Amos Rusie (15-17, 3.64) had a solid season, but Elton Chamberlain (17-20, 4.16) and Jesse Tannehill (10-17, 4.90) were big disappointments. LF Willie Murphy led the team with a .325 average. 1B Otto Schomberg hit .300 and led the Reds with 84 RBI. Catcher Jocko Halligan hit .311 with 73 RBI, and RF Dusty Miller hit .322.
Brooklyn Superbas
After winning the 1898 pennant, Brooklyn and their new name, the Superbas, fell flat. Last season's Top Batter Michael Griffin saw his production plummet from .366, 96 RBI, .934 OPS to .294, 72 RBI, .799 OPS this season. Fielder Jones hit .339 and LF Jimmy Sheckard hit .333 and led the team with 79 RBI in his first season as a regular starter. 1B John Anderson hit .299 with 77 RBI. Rookie Harry Howell went 20-14 with a 2.93 ERA and could be a star in the making. The rest of the rotation is looking old however.
New York Giants
3B John Rainey, at age 35, led the batting race for most of the season. He was hitting over .400 until the last day of July. He wound up with a .380 average which was still good enough for a batting title. CF Mike Tiernan hit .314 with 12 HRs and 88 RBI. RF Willie Keeler hit .349 with 102 RBI. And LF Jesse Burkett wrapped up the monster outfield with a .332 average and 71 RBI. Ed Doheny managed 18 wins with his 4.08 ERA. The top ERA on the team belonged to Bill George (12-21, 3.98) but he still lost 21 games. That was not the worst though as John Ewing went 10-24 with a 4.93 ERA, likely signaling the end of his career at age 36. After winning pennants in 1890 and 1895, this team has quickly become a laughing stock.
Batting AVG
.380 John Rainey, NYG
.359 Fred Shugart, PIT
.352 Ginger Beaumont, PIT
.350 Jake Virtue, CLS
.350 Honus Wagner, LVC
.349 Willie Keeler, NYG
.347 Ed Delahanty, PHI
HOMERUNS
15 Jimmy Williams, PIT
15 Jack Doyle, CLS
12 Mike Tiernan, NYG
11 Honus Wagner, LVC
11 Nap Lajoie, PHI
RBI
107 Jimmy Williams, PIT
104 Peter O'Brien, CHC
102 Willie Keeler, NYG
100 Jake Virtue, CLS
95 Ed Delahanty, PHI
OPS
.917 Ed Delahanty, PHI
.905 Honus Wagner, LVC
.884 John Rainey, NYG
.873 Jimmy Sheckard, BRO
.867 Jake Virtue, CLS
STEALS
65 John McGraw, BLO (65-33, 66.33%)
64 Hughie Jennings, LVC (64-23, 73.26%)
64 Vince Dailey, CLS (64-15, 81.01%)
62 Bill Lange, CHC (62-21, 74.70%)
59 Honus Wagner, LVC (59-19, 75.64%)
ERA
2.62 Noodles Hahn, CIN (23-16)
2.69 Joe Corbett, BLO (24-10)
2.89 Ned Garvin, PHI (25-12)
2.89 Phil Knell, LVC (20-17)
2.92 Arlie Pond, BLO (17-14)
WINS
25 Ned Garvin, PHI
24 Joe Corbett, BLO
23 Noodles Hahn, CIN
23 Sam Leever, PIT (3.67, 23.15)
23 Bill Vinton, PHI (23-12, 3.25)
STRIKEOUTS
289 Bill Daley, BSN (20-18, 3.62)
264 Joe Corbett, BLO
255 Doc McJames, LVC (19-18, 4.12)
236 Willard Mains, CHC (16-20, 4.58)
233 George Keefe, BRO (16-19, 3.71)
218 Noodles Hahn, CIN
POY: Joe Corbett, BLO, 24-10, 2.69 ERA, 62 BB, 264 K, .242 OAVG, 1.10 WHIP
BOY: CF Ed Delahanty, PHI, .347, 95 RBI, 40 SB, .917 OPS
ROY: Noodles Hahn, CIN, 23-16, 2.62 ERA, 56 BB, 218 K, .239 OAVG, 1.07 WHIP