The New York Giants used a 22-4 May to shake off the doldrums caused by a massive roster shakeup following their purchase by the magnates who also own the Louisville Colonels and as the calendar page turns to June the Gothamites lead the Big League by four games with a 30-10 record.
Veteran backstop Squirrel Downs is off to the best start of his career and is hitting .376 to lead the Giants (and the League) while the ever-dangerous Bruno Barbella is rounding into his usual shape and has raised his mark to .358 following a slow start. Both Bernard Berry and Aidan O'Day sport 7-2 records and all five of the team's hurlers have at least five victories.
Boston's veteran club remains very much in the hunt as well: their record is 25-13. Karl Quinlan (6 home runs), Heinie Staudenmaier (.357 average) and Mick O'Halloran (35 runs driven home) are all big factors in the Beaneaters' success thus far. On the mound, Stanley Sweetwater continues to excel and has racked up nine victories against just one defeat.
Cleveland is a surprise this season. The club struggles at the gate, leading to rumors they may be merged with another club or dropped entirely following this season, but the players on the field are excelling, especially True Fairhead who leads the League in victories with 10. At 27-16, the Spiders are very much in the hunt.
Speaking of Cleveland, the Spiders' long-time star Tom "The Erie Eel" Ewart is just ten safeties shy of eclipsing the mark of 2894 hits achieved by Hick Rogers. With the Hick now tending his vegetable garden following a long and productive career, the Eel is about to become the most successful hitter in the history of the game. At his current clip (.316), expect Ewart to become the hit king sometime in the next ten contests. Perhaps that will bring the fans out to League Park.
He's tall and has red hair, which is why the scribes have dubbed him "Big Red" in Philadelphia, but the Phillies young pitcher Lee Cardinal had come up big in his first season off the sandlots of Milwaukee. Cardinal leads the National League in earned run average at 1.70, and were the Phillies' offense more potent, would certainly have a better mark than 5 victories against 3 defeats. In three of those five victories, Big Red has shut out the opposing batsmen - in another he allowed one unearned run. Aside from a seven-run outburst by the big bats of the Giants, Cardinal has dominated opposing lineups with regularity - no mean feat for a man who had never faced top hitting before this spring.
Lee Cardinal, Phillies Pitcher