As the calendar page turns to September and the final push for the pennant begins, it appears that the race may already be over in both the National and American Leagues. Both the Boston Beaneaters and Philadelphia Athletics have firm control over their respective circuits.
Boston holds a nine-game advantage over the second-place Pittsburgh club in the National while Philadelphia has a 10-game edge on Boston in the American.
Pickles Dill of the Cincinnati club has a .365 average to lead the National in batting, an identical average to that of the two men: Slim Jim Larson (Philadelphia) and the ageless Tom Ewart (Cleveland) sitting atop the American League batting charts. Ewart, the 39-year-old playing manager of Cleveland, is the all-time hit king in baseball history, having recorded 3170 safeties thus far in a career stretching back to the 1879 campaign.
On the pitcher's side of things, Beaneater Pat Daly has amassed 23 victories to lead the National while Bob Batts, The "California Cannon" has 21 wins for Philadelphia to top the American League's charts. Milwaukee's Robby Watson (formerly of Cincinnati in the National) leads the AL in ERA with a 1.83 mark while the 2.21 mark of Pittsburgh's Owen Upjohn is tops in the National.
Cincinnati's Jasper Ellis has struck out 219 men this season as he closes in on 1000 in his career (he currently has 924). Ellis throws with such speed that some wonder how long his arm will hold up. A fellow youngster who throws hard, St. Louis' Lionel Frace, has a dead arm and is currently resting up. Ellis has thus far proven extremely durable, and has also shown signs of harnessing his raw power as his number of free passes, though still somewhat alarming, is decreasing as he matures.
FLOYD "PICKLES" DILL