Thriftlon Reports

[Syd Thrift]

National Excels
In Long Hits, Stolen Bases
American The Top In Double Plays

Calculation of the club records to date shows that the National League teams have made more long hits and stolen more bases than the American League organization, but the Americans have created more double plays and sacrificed oftener. Of those, the difference in steals and in sacrifices are the only ones that are truly large. The American League boasts the top 3 squads in sacrifices - Boston, Baltimore, and Boston - but the Beaneaters and Giants of the National League have far more steals than anyone else.

The records to August 19, inclusive:

Club		2B.H.	3B.H	H.R.	S.B.	S.H.	D.P
Boston		122	58	21	199	98	64
Cincinnati	144	74	18	95	109	74
St. Louis	156	63	16	129	110	68
Philadelphia	110	33	35	90	93	63
Pittsburg	150	65	28	71	91	66
New York	135	68	22	189	122	64
Brooklyn	130	54	12	109	117	74
Chicago		127	69	7	84	90	57
TOTAL NL	1074	484	159	974	822	530

Club		2B.H.	3B.H.	H.R.	S.B.	S.H.	D.P.
Washington	102	60	29	123	160	52
Boston		126	56	18	145	150	66
Louisville	184	57	14	97	131	76
Baltimore	123	44	11	53	151	55
Philadelphia	144	59	21	94	80	80
Chicago		142	52	21	104	114	61
Detroit		123	53	13	58	127	95
Cleveland	118	43	13	46	101	62
TOTAL AL	1062	424	140	720	1014	547

MANY TWO-BAGGERS

This is not a particularly great season for two-baggers, but there are some to be had in both leagues. Of the Johnsonites, seven men have made 23 more more doubles, while of the Leaguers four players have placed that many or more two-cushion smites to their credit. Craufurd is the leader with 30, while Cable leads the way for the National with 28. The list:

National		2B.H.
Cable, St. Louis	28
Plummer, Cincinnati	25
Smethurst, Brooklyn	25
Long, Pittsburg		24

American		2B.H
Craufurd, Baltimore	30
Trantham, Detroit	25
Eshelman, Philadelphia	24
Hoskinson, Louisville	24
Leaf, Philadelphia	24
Harrison, Louisville	23
McKnight, Louisville	23

THREE-BASE HIT SILLY

Despite ceding the local batting lead to his teammate Dowd Swanne, the records show that second sacker Drake Gates is the banner three-base hit artist. The Red has punched out 18 triples this season. In the American, Brendon Harrison holds the lead with 15. The lists of the players who have reached double figures in this respect:

American		3B.H.
Harrison, Louisville	15
McCarthy, Boston	12
Randles, Washington	12
Trantham, Detroit	12
Gillett, Chicago	11
McMartin, Washington	11
Hamilton, Philadelphia	10

National		3B.H.
Gates, Cincinnati	18
Smith, Chicago		14
Long, Pittsburg		13
Munger, Boston		12
Merwin, Boston		11
Snow, Cincinnati	11
Swanne, Cincinnati	11
Amill, Boston		10
Cable, St. Louis	10
Liotta, New York	10
William, Pittsburg	10

OVER THE FENCE DRIVER

"Bucky" Jacobsen can generally be depended on to lead an organization in which he plays in home runs, so it is no surprise to find him at the head of the over-the-fence brigade in the National. He has made 13 homers, almost double that of the American League leader - Safety Harbor, Florida native Matt Barlow. Players with 5 or more four-baggers to their credit are:

American		H.R.
Barlow, Washington	8
Hoddell, Boston		7
Harpham, Cleveland	5
Pendergest, Washington	5
Robbins, Chicago	5

National		H.R.
Jacobsen, Philadelphia	13
Cruse, Philadelphia	7
Plummer, Cincinnati	7
Amill, Boston		6
Hartigan, New York	6
Merwin, Boston		6
Swanne, Cincinnati	6
Aston, New York		5
Long, Pittsburg		5

STOLEN BASE LEADERS

The players continue to worry the backstops by swiping cushions, and the leaders in the two leagues are Will "The Hunger" Munger of Boston and Carl Hendron of Louisville. Five Americans have stolen 30 or more bases, while six National Leaguers have reached or passed that figure. Six of the eleven men with such records are outfielders. The lists, to August 19, inclusive:

American		S.B.
Hendron, Louisville	58
Vine, Boston		37
Wilson, Boston		35
Gillett, Chicago	33
D'Annunzio, Washington	31

National		S.B.
Munger, Boston		63
Bulwer, St. Louis	45
Liotta, New York	43
Amill, Boston		41
Merwin, Boston		40
Hartigan, New York	36

HIGSON'S NEW PLAY

In the more gentle art of sacrifice hitting my old friend Eddie Higson, who recently wrote a play called "Ten Nights In A Bath Tub; or, Who Stole The Soap?", which will debut next season, is the real thing. The Thespian had placed more than a score and a half of sacrifices opposite his name, eleven more than the National League leader - "Hit Doctor" Welsman. Players who have achieved at least a score of sacrifices are:

Sacrifices		S.H.
Higson, Baltimore	34
McCarthy, Boston (A)	31
Kersey, Chicago (A)	25
Harrison, Louisville	23
Welsman, New York	23
Larson, St. Louis	21
Jones, Boston (A)	20
Salters, Brooklyn	20
Swanne, Cincinnati	20

DOUBLE PLAY DOPE

In double play participation Jay Hoskinson overshadows all. The Louisville first baseman has cut into 71 dual slaughters. Fred Raber leads the National League forces with an even 66. The players of the two leagues who have taken part in 50 or more double or triple plays are:

National		D.P.
Raber, Brooklyn		66
Knight, New York	57
Lucott, Pittsburg	57
Plummer, Cincinnati	55
Larson, St. Louis	54
McNeice, Boston		54
Shaner, Brooklyn	54
Gates, Cincinnati	53
Johnson, Boston		53

American		D.P.
Hoskinson, Louisville	71
Eshelman, Philadelphia	65
McCarthy, Boston	55
McKnight, Louisville	55
Fulbrook, Detroit	53
Barlow, Washington	51
Harpham, Cleveland	50

[Syd Thrift]

Yes, You Read The Date Correctly
Somehow It's July Again
Philadelphia SS Einstein Suspected

In a turn of events that our staff psychic deems similar to a "movie" called "Groundhog Day" (yes, readers, we understand that sometimes the man makes no sense; you'll have to trust us when we say he makes a mean pot of coffee), when we awoke this morning we saw that the calendar was crossed out only to the 19th of July. Thinking this was some kind of colossal prank pulled upon us by the "interns", we strode out to the park and the ticket-taker there confirmed the date. Then we went to our favorite bar and asked the bartender there, had a Scotch, and repeated this process seven or eight times. We weren't 100% sure what week it was after this, but when we came out of our stupor - early-morning drinking has its upside! - we found that we had "rewound" an entire month.

We're still scratching our heads over this one. We asked many of the players throughout the league and suffice it to say that Philadelphia Phillies short stop Albert "The Genius" Einstein knew just a little bit too much about the phenomenon of time travel, if you understand our meaning. We're not going to come out and say that he was responsible for this, but for all of you out there who finally got that hard-earned divorce from that battle-ax of a wife of yours and who now find yourself shackled once more 'till death do you part... all we have to say is, you know who to boo.

The first thing on our mind is this: given the way that the races in both leagues ceased to be races when the Great Step Backwards occurred, will this cause teams such as the Red Stockings of Boston or the Cincinnati Reds to engage in "block buster" trades to beef up their rosters and make a better charge at their respective pennants? Certainly baseball is not served by ho-humness in early August. We can only hope that the GMs of these and other squads can remember that lost month as vividly as we can.

[Syd Thrift]

This Time Around, There's A Flurry of Trades

Both leagues appear to have realized that the best way to keep cranks rushing through the turnstiles is with exciting pennant races, and to that end there were quite a number of trades we at Thriftlon Reports don't remember having happened the first time around. The first time around... that just sounds unwieldy, doesn't it? From here on out we're just going to try and forget that that original 60 days never happened, particularly that sobriquet the Thriftlon Reports had with the vaudeville troupe and the nasty rash we had for the next two weeks. [ed: typing it out will only make it harder to forget]

In the National, the main story was that the Philadelphia ballclub, so cruelly torn of its stars by the insurgent American League squad in the same city, officially noted that it was out of this year's chase by trading off CF Fred Jacobsen, 3B Mike Altmann, 2B Jose Quenones, and OF Galimberto Eccelino to the Reds and the Cardinals in exchange for a gaggle of prospects, suspects, and draft picks. Jacobsen was the surprise inclusion, himself only 25 years of age and already a 3-time Gold Glove award winner, but it was rumored that he was unhappy with the Phillies' scientific approach to hitting the ball where the fielders are not and the statistics show that he was spending far too much time trying to hit the ball over the heads of the outfielders anyway, which is, technically speaking, not where they are, but isn't quite what the Phillies men of science had in mind. He led all batsmen with 11 circuit clouts at the time of the trade but was hitting just .246.

The American League saw a number of trades that appeared to be as much about keeping defected players from jumping back to the Nationals as it was about bolstering squads. The Washington team appears to have the league all but wrapped up; their trade of starter John O'Cloonan appeared to be about two things: word on high from league president Ban Johnson to give the rest of the guys a chance, and the penuriousness of "Nationals" owner Clark Griffith. Simply put, Washington was rotating between 5 different pitchers and Griffith didn't want to have to give them all pennant-clinching bonuses at season's end.

One of the other major trades in the American saw Jesse "Rawhide" MacLagan offloaded from the White Stockings of Chicago, who are suffering through quite a disappointing season, to the Boston Red Stockings. Despite the presence of the NL-leading Beaneaters on the other side of town, the Boston AL entrants are drawing several thousand fans a game who hope against hope that they might catch the Washingtons by season's end.

Finally, Pearce Fulbrook was liberated from the Detroit Tigers, who are only out of the AL cellar because of the poorer play of the Cleveland Blues. It is our guess that the AL is hoping that Detroit cranks, who have not witnessed professional baseball at its highest level since the dissolution of the Old League, cannot tell the difference between good baseball and bad. If so, that's a poor gamble.

Colonels Suffer From Attrition
A Flurry of Injuries Have Laid the Louisville Nine Low

Prior to the season, the Colonels were predicted by many to win the American League pennant. Things have not quite gone as planned, and lately bad has turned into worse, with a series of serious injuries striking the team at critical points in their roster and causing them to drop to a .500 record and possibly the second division.

The badness started on Sunday with left fielder Garrett McPherson, who had been playing through a series of nagging injuries the entire season long before fracturing his elbow on the 20th of July. Despite playing through pain, Garrett had been contributing a workmanlike .280ish average and had already tied his total for last season in two-base hits. He is expected to be ready to play again in time for spring training, but it's unknown how effective he will be. On a team that is already rather cash-strapped due to being based in a relatively small city, paying a man to rehabilitate himself is not good news.

Then on Monday the news got a lot, lot worse. While chasing a fly ball, right fielder Billy Mitchell ran head-first into New Eclipse Park's newly installed brick outfield fence and had to be carried off the field on a stretcher. He has yet to emerge from his coma. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Mr. Mitchell and his family.

Finally, on Saturday the team lost their sergeant at arms and second baseman Fergus McKnight for the remainder of the season to a fractured eye socket on a hit by pitch. It doesn't appear to have been anything major (to the extent that a broken eye socket is "nothing major") but as a precaution the doctors have stated that they will not allow him to play baseball again until 1902.

Our feelings about the presence of the usurper league are well known, but we cannot help but to feel badly about the fate of the Colonels. Just when we thought they were finally going to be able to show their fans what winning was like, it was all taken away from them.

AL President Johnson: "Cleveland Can Support Baseball"
We Sat Down With The Junior League Boss

Since it appears that the American League isn't going anywhere, we elected to send one of our cub reporters out to AL President Ban Johnson's domain to conduct an interview with him. You will note that this reporter's name is not listed on the byline. This is partly because we do not have bylines, and partly because he got icky American League germs all over himself and has been sacked. [this is basically true, but we need to figure out a better way of saying "icky". Please revise - ed]

TR: Why do you hate America?
BJ: I don't hate America. I am simply an entrepreneur, trying to make a living in the greatest nation on the planet.
TR: You say you don't hate America, but yet... the American League. Explain.
BJ: The American League is a testament to that greatest of all American forces: capitalism. Capitalism cannot exist without competition. Surely you don't think the National League can't withstand a little friendly competition, can you?
TR: Friendly competition? The hell you say! You stripped my beloved Phillies of their finest wares!
BJ: Kevin MacKeochan and Ning Zhang are not "wares", my good man. They are people. People who wanted better wages than what the so-called "Phillies" were giving them.
TR: Wait just a minute, sir. So-called? Are you denying the Philliness of the Philadelphia Phillies? (the notes indicate here that the reporter was about to slug Mr. Johnson)
BJ: Now, now. Calm down. I'm not saying they aren't Phillies. I'm just saying, other teams may be Phillier.
TR: (notes indicate a long pause and possibly a stare-down) Because I need to feed my family by publishing this interview, I will ignore that slight and move on. What is your take on the situation in Cleveland?
BJ: That's an excellent question and one of the prime reasons we started the American League. The Spiders were horrendously mismanaged and never gave their city a chance to come out and watch good old-fashioned well-played baseball. We truly believe that, given the correct circumstances, Cleveland can support baseball. Unfortunately, bad luck and a couple star players getting prematurely old has caused the Blues to be non-competitive this year as well, but we think that will change.
TR: Do you forsee any changes on the AL horizon?
BJ: Another great question. Mark my words, there will be an American League team in New York City by next season or '03 at the latest. We think fans have grown tired of the Giants' more-heroic-than-thou attitudes and will embrace the scrappier and yet cleaner play of the Americans.
TR: Speaking of which, John McGraw of the Orioles has complained that you've instructed the umpires to discriminate against him in the name of rowdyism. He's gone so far to say that if another team states that [Orioles third baseman] Dolan Packard grabbed a player's belt as he rounded 3rd, the umpire will award him home. What do you have to say for that?
BJ: The American League will be a clean league. McGraw knew that coming in. If he doesn't like it, he can sell his shares and go back to the Nationals with his tail between his legs.
TR: By "the Nationals", do you mean the team in Washington or the National League?
BJ: You may want to use your journalistic skills of deduction on that one.
TR: I think we're done here.

Standings as of 8/1/1901

National League Standings
Team			W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Boston Beaneaters	56	30	.651	-	48-38	8	25-12	31-18	4-3	21-8	48	W2	6-4
Saint Louis Cardinals	49	37	.570	7.0	46-40	3	22-15	27-22	5-4	19-13		L1	7-3
Cincinnati Reds		48	40	.545	9.0	50-38	-2	28-21	20-19	3-1	11-10		L1	3-7
Pittsburgh Pirates	45	41	.523	11.0	43-43	2	26-11	19-30	5-7	14-12		W2	6-4
Philadelphia Phillies	44	43	.506	12.5	47-40	-3	33-17	11-26	7-4	18-19		L3	6-4
New York Giants		39	48	.448	17.5	47-40	-8	27-23	12-25	3-5	7-22		L1	5-5
Chicago Colts		34	52	.395	22.0	32-54	2	21-28	13-24	3-5	11-13		W3	6-4
Brooklyn Superbas	31	55	.360	25.0	35-51	-4	15-22	16-33	2-3	13-17		L7	2-8

American League Standings
Team			W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Washington Nationals	63	25	.716	-	62-26	1	33-13	30-12	4-4	15-10	39	W2	7-3
Boston Red Stockings	51	39	.567	13.0	53-37	-2	22-21	29-18	6-6	15-12		L2	6-4
Baltimore Orioles	49	40	.551	14.5	50-39	-1	25-18	24-22	6-4	11-10		W3	5-5
Louisville Colonels	45	44	.506	18.5	44-45	1	24-22	21-22	8-7	15-9		W2	4-6
Philadelphia Athletics	45	44	.506	18.5	45-44	0	21-22	24-22	3-3	10-11		L2	4-6
Chicago White Stockings	40	52	.435	25.0	41-51	-1	22-27	18-25	3-7	16-19		L2	4-6
Detroit Tigers		33	56	.371	30.5	32-57	1	18-27	15-29	2-3	12-18		L3	4-6
Cleveland Blues		33	59	.359	32.0	32-60	1	16-28	17-31	7-5	12-17		W2	6-4

[Syd Thrift]

Pennant Races Coming Down To The... Longish Strand of Metal Used In One of those Edison Contraptions

National League Standings
Team			W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Boston Beaneaters	69	45	.605	-	61-53	8	35-20	34-25	5-4	22-11	21	W2	5-5
Cincinnati Reds		64	51	.557	5.5	63-52	1	36-23	28-28	4-2	15-14		W1	6-4
Saint Louis Cardinals	60	54	.526	9.0	58-56	2	29-26	31-28	4-6	22-14		L1	4-6
Pittsburgh Pirates	58	55	.513	10.5	62-51	-4	35-20	23-35	5-8	16-16		L1	5-5
Philadelphia Phillies	56	58	.491	13.0	59-55	-3	35-24	21-34	7-5	20-26		L1	6-4
New York Giants		56	59	.487	13.5	65-50	-9	36-24	20-35	2-5	11-26		W6	6-4
Chicago Colts		52	61	.460	16.5	47-66	5	28-30	24-31	5-5	16-14		L1	6-4
Brooklyn Superbas	41	73	.360	28.0	43-71	-2	20-35	21-38	6-3	19-20		L6	2-8

American League Standings
Team			W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Washington Nationals	76	37	.673	-	77-36	-1	37-21	39-16	4-6	14-14	19	W5	6-4
Boston Red Stockings	70	46	.603	7.5	70-46	0	32-25	38-21	6-6	19-13		W2	5-5
Louisville Colonels	63	51	.553	13.5	59-55	4	35-21	28-30	10-5	22-12		W2	8-2
Philadelphia Athletics	58	54	.518	17.5	58-54	0	29-28	29-26	4-4	10-12		W1	5-5
Baltimore Orioles	58	56	.509	18.5	62-52	-4	29-28	29-28	6-9	14-16		L2	5-5
Chicago White Stockings	51	64	.443	26.0	51-64	0	24-33	27-31	3-7	19-20		L1	4-6
Cleveland Blues		40	73	.354	36.0	41-72	-1	22-34	18-39	7-4	12-16		L3	5-5
Detroit Tigers		40	75	.348	37.0	41-74	-1	23-35	17-40	4-3	16-23		L2	2-8

The Beaneaters continue to give the rest of the National chance after chance to get back into things, but although nobody appears to want the '01 pennant all that much the Bostons want it the most. Despite a very average lineup that is just 5th in the real league in batting average and runs scored, Boston soared to the top behind a ferocious pitching staff that ranks #1 in runs per nine innings. At the very least, Erik Pritchitt (20-11, 1.90 ERA) and Scott Hight (19-11, 3.11 ERA) will end the season with 20 victories apiece and the back of the rotation stands an outside chance of achieving that as well: neither Jeremy McKinney (14-11, 3.05) nor rookie Alan O'Heron (15-13, 3.27) are mathematically eliminated from this honor.

The Americans are also demonstrating that good pitching defeats just about anything. Despite losing the heart of their batting order in 1B Matt Barlow (.336 BA, 70 R, 53 RBI) to an ankle injury, the Nationals of Washington have continued to hang on to the top spot thanks to outstanding performances by John Putnam (20-5, 1.91 ERA) Brian Pike (18-8, 1.45) and stellar mop-up duties by Marvin Jones (0.59 ERA in 30.2 relief innings).

MVP Watch

Below are some of the top contenders for the NL and AL Most Valuable Player awards:

Norm "Big Napoleon" Aston, 3B (.359. 83, 78) The Giants will never truly be a bad team so long as they have the Big Napoleon at the third sack. This man isn't just big in comparison to the former French dictator; at 6'2", he towers over everybody.

Lonzo Amill, 2B, Beaneaters (.295, 70, 51) Amill's 49 steals rate 2nd in all of baseball to teammate Will Munger's 53 and if you ask us Lonzo looks much, much better capturing them. It can now be said that Amill has as many different ways of achieving hits as he has picante sauces in his kitchen.

Dave Bulwer, 2B, Cardinals (.297, 46, 36) If this is the Year of the Rookie, this should also be the Era of the Second Sacker. Bulwer got hurt and missed about a month, which probably takes him out of MVP contention but you never know.

Drake Gates, 2B/SS, Reds (.315, 77, 75) A tough (.216) August dropped Gates into the ranks of the mortals, but don't be fooled: he's still a stud. The two-time Gold Glover switched to the other side of the diamond recently to accomodate the hot bat and hotter glove of Dan "Homestead" Wayland. He's as gracious as he is awesome.

Rick Harpham, 1B, Blues (.315, 52, 55) A rare bright spot on a subdued Blues club, Harpham is enjoying a fantastic rookie campaign. Will he still be this good when it's Cleveland's turn to contend?

Mike "Flash" Hartigan, CF, Giants (.332, 96, 44) Hartigan is so fast that he once blew out the gaslight in his room and was in his bed before it got dark. That's not as much of a feat as it sounds, as he mis-blew and had to get back up again to blow it out a second time.

Jay Hoskinson, 1B, Colonels (.300, 60, 57) This lifelong wearer of the military pinstripes is nothing if not consistent: his .301 career average and .377 on-base percentage are almost exactly in line with this year's totals. When you match 1890s numbers in a low-offense environment like 1901, that makes you an MVP candidate.

Johnston "The Kidd" Long, CF, Pirates (.322, 98, 48) Injuries to fellow Pirates youngsters Jon "Captain Two-Percent" Choate and George Theodore have caused Pittsburgh writers to focus their attention on Long, who has truly responded. Rather than wilt in the August heat, he hit .422 en route to earning Player of the Month honors.

Tommy McCarthy, SS, Red Sox (.352, 85, 53) As good as McCarthy is, he's still extremely young - he won't turn 25 until this October. He already knows the cold sting of losing from his 1900 rookie season with the Spiders and doesn't plan on going back to the cellar ever again.

Ernie Merwin, CF, Beaneaters (.312, 80, 46) When you have two hitters as fierce as Amill and Merwin on your roster, you can afford to set aside some of the other positions on your defense for pure glovemen. Merwin's 41 steals from the #3 slot are as much as anything else a sign of how much the Beaneaters like to run off the high-calorie Boston clubhouse spread.

Dolan Packard, 3B, Orioles (.350, 76. 54) Packard never stops hitting, no matter what the situation. The most amazing thing about his batting average this year might be that it's 21 points below his career mark of .371.

Best Pitcher Scoop

And here are the top guys for the Best Pitcher Award in each league:

Ed Cloutier, White Sox (17-10, 3.01) How often do you trade away the best pitcher in baseball history but still have an argument that you came out ahead? Obviously the frequency can't be higher than once due to there only being one best pitcher in baseball history, but still. It's rare.

Kenneth Cudlip, Pirates (16-10, 2.38) He gets overlooked due to the amazing rookie campaigns elsewhere in the game, but if Cudlip gets really hot this month, he could be the first ROY/POY since Joshua Williams in the league's inaugural year. On the other hand, he could be tiring out: he's been just 4-8 since July 1 after starting the year 12-2.

Keith Gages, Red Sox (20-9, 2.46) Success story or proof positive of the inferiority of the junior circuit? Gages had posted a winning record just 3 times in his 9-year career in the National before kangarooing to the Red Stockings before the season began. He's a sure bet to set career highs in strikeouts (111 so far; his record is 129) and his ERA is nearly a full run better than his previous low.

Johnny Gruelle, Cardinals (20-9, 2.21) The creator of the beloved "Raggedy Ann and Andy" dolls is also the creator of the beloved "Zoomedy Fastball and Outie" assortment of pitches. A guy with just 2 pitches in his arsenal shouldn't be this good, but should and are are two different things.

Bill "Snoopy" Haddon, Orioles (22-10, 1.89) Snoopy has been the bright spot on an Orioles team that seems equally willing to fight with the umpires as to actually try to win ballgames. Haddon simply hasn't given opposing umps any reason to issue called balls against him: he has just 37 walks in 285.2 innings pitched.

Scott "Undertall" Hight (19-11, 3.11) Hight may not have the low ERAs of some of the other guys on this list but he has learned how to win and if anything that's more important. Just two years ago Hight had spent time in the minors trying to work out the difference between his changeup and his circle change.

Jesse MacLagan, Red Sox (19-13, 2.80) Baseball's winningest pitcher has struggled a little since the trade that moved him from the Chisox to the Bosox (5-4, 4.16) but anybody who throws as fast as MacLagan throws and whose team needs him to win as badly as Boston does is a good bet to have an outstanding month of September.

Brian "Heavy" Pike, Nationals (18-8, 1.45) Pike lives up to his name as much with his pitch assortment as with his girth: he has given up exactly 1 home run in the last 2 seasons combined. His fast ball sinks so precipitously that when hitters aren't missing it entirely they're beating it right into the ground.

Erik "The Rebel" Pritchitt, Beaneaters (20-10, 1.90 ERA) The ace of the best team in baseball, Pritchitt hasn't had an ERA of over 2 in the 20th century. Okay, fine, the 20th century just started this year. But this is true even if you take the uneducated man's viewpoint that it started in 1900.

John "Losing Pitcher" Putnam, Nationals (20-5, 1.91 ERA) Putnam is nicknamed "Losing Pitcher" for being the man who ended the Nationals' 18-game winning streak earlier this year and yet he has the chance of being the 2nd player in league history to win 20+ games and lose fewer than 10 (Rawhide MacLagan accomplished the feat with an amazing 34-9 record in '97). It's like 10,000 lobster forks when all you need is a salad fork.

Tom Willbanks, Reds (18-10, 2.45) Call it the Year of the Rookie. Willbanks appeared in a grand total of 2 major league games prior to '01 but has already supplanted Joshua Williams as the Peoples' Ace.

Jerry "Magoo" Watson, Phillies (18-12, 2.26) To win this many games for a team as offensively challenged as the Phillies, you have to be good. He's been flat-out overpowering at home in the Baker Bowl, posting an 11-4 record with an ERA of 2.00. By comparison, teammate Martin Cheney has allowed 2.87 earned runs per 9 innings on the road - but 5.22 at home.

[Syd Thrift]

Postseason Report

Pennant Races Slightly Exciting, Though Both Leagues Had One Wire-To-Wire Leader

National League Standings
Team			W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Boston Beaneaters	83	57	.593	-	75-65	8	44-26	39-31	5-4	26-18	Clinch	W3	7-3
Cincinnati Reds		80	60	.571	3.0	78-62	2	43-27	37-33	5-5	24-17		L1	7-3
Saint Louis Cardinals	73	67	.521	10.0	71-69	2	38-32	35-35	6-7	24-17		W3	6-4
New York Giants		71	69	.507	12.0	80-60	-9	44-26	27-43	3-5	15-29		L3	5-5
Philadelphia Phillies	71	69	.507	12.0	73-67	-2	42-28	29-41	7-5	26-28		W1	5-5
Pittsburgh Pirates	70	70	.500	13.0	75-65	-5	42-28	28-42	7-10	18-22		W1	4-6
Chicago Colts		64	76	.457	19.0	61-79	3	34-36	30-40	6-5	20-16		L3	3-7
Brooklyn Superbas	48	92	.343	35.0	49-91	-1	26-44	22-48	7-5	21-27		L1	3-7

American League Standings
Team			W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Washington Nationals	91	49	.650	-	91-49	0	45-25	46-24	8-7	19-18	Clinch	W4	7-3
Boston Red Stockings	83	57	.593	8.0	85-55	-2	42-28	41-29	10-7	24-19		W1	4-6
Louisville Colonels	77	63	.550	14.0	76-64	1	42-28	35-35	10-7	25-16		W1	7-3
Philadelphia Athletics	76	64	.543	15.0	73-67	3	39-31	37-33	6-5	18-14		W3	8-2
Baltimore Orioles	73	67	.521	18.0	80-60	-7	38-32	35-35	6-12	17-21		L2	3-7
Chicago White Stockings	61	79	.436	30.0	59-81	2	28-42	33-37	3-9	23-22		L2	3-7
Cleveland Blues		51	89	.364	40.0	52-88	-1	29-41	22-48	8-5	14-20		L2	4-6
Detroit Tigers		48	92	.343	43.0	48-92	0	28-42	20-50	4-3	17-27		L3	2-8

In the end, the flurry of trades around the July deadline were for naught, as the Beaneaters and the Nationals outlasted their opponents to take home their respective pennants. However, the races were at least mildly exciting for the cranks. The National race in particular came down to the final week. As of September 11, the Bostons had lost 5 out of 6, two of those to the second-place Reds, and their lead was down to a scant 3.5 games. The Reds would make it even closer, getting to just 2 games back as of the morning of the 27th. The Beaneaters, however, would then sweep the Giants in a New York series to leave the Peoples' Ballclub of Cincinnati in the dust.

The American race, though it may not look so in the standings, was also rather closely fought. The other Boston team, the Red Stockings, rode a 45-17 record from July 1 through September 12 to get to just 3 1/2 games back themselves. They finally ran out of gas because they'd simply expended too much of their grittiness in coming back. Perhaps next year they will have learned the lesson that if one is to give chase, one has to give chase from the start to the finish. Still, no ballclub besides those Nationals provided more wins for their fanatics than did the Red Stockings.

State Of The Union

National League Batting
Team			AVG	HR	R	AB	H	2B	3B	BB	K	SB
New York Giants		.277	36	744	4837	1338	180	100	430	413	213
Cincinnati Reds		.273	26	734	4975	1359	203	93	430	479	113
Chicago Colts		.271	13	677	4969	1346	192	91	317	528	105
Pittsburgh Pirates	.267	38	705	4941	1318	212	104	455	441	73
Boston Beaneaters	.266	31	627	4848	1290	189	72	321	509	226
Saint Louis Cardinals	.263	25	611	4866	1279	207	90	350	556	164
Brooklyn Superbas	.260	15	587	4902	1275	191	79	328	508	105
Philadelphia Phillies	.256	43	605	4865	1245	149	56	319	489	99

TOTALS			.267	227	5290	39203	10450	1523	685	2950	3923	1098

American League Batting
Team			AVG	HR	R	AB	H	2B	3B	BB	K	SB
Baltimore Orioles	.277	19	678	5027	1393	171	58	336	526	43
Boston Red Stockings	.272	22	692	4969	1351	183	75	347	476	157
Louisville Colonels	.272	15	636	4981	1355	232	74	311	468	90
Washington Nationals	.266	40	722	4844	1289	180	80	477	380	133
Philadelphia Athletics	.258	23	660	4888	1260	201	86	333	503	120
Chicago White Stockings	.258	25	629	4861	1253	199	77	292	502	113
Detroit Tigers		.252	21	557	4851	1221	174	71	299	547	65
Cleveland Blues		.241	20	559	4821	1163	174	57	324	568	67
TOTALS			.262	185	5133	39242	10285	1514	578	2719	3970	788

If statistics are to tell us anything, it is this: in 1901, some teams chose to run and some did not. Those that won ballgames ran aggressively on the basepaths. Although many teams scored more runs than the Beaneaters did, 226 steals allowed them to win more than their fair share of close games. The Giants, on the other hand, were not as adept in close games despite all the steals but we believe this is because their thievery turned blowouts into close games. Ideally, they'd have liked to have won those, but they stayed in the thick of things. On the opposite end of the spectrum, it's clear that a large part of why the Pirates couldn't turn what looked like an offensive juggernaut on paper into a pennant contending team was their strange placidity on the basepaths. We hope that the next Pirates skipper learns from these mistakes.

The American side of things was even more pronounced, as 4 teams finished under the century mark in stolen bases and 3 of those also finished in the second division. Only the Louisville Colonels, who had to consider 1901 a grave disappointment, finished within 15 games of the Nationals among those clubs. Speaking of ballclubs that emigrated from the old National Association, we wonder if the Baltimore Orioles took too dearly to heart the exhortations of one Percival Fauntleroy Earl of Weaver, who opined in a Baltimore newspaper back in April that "three run home runs win ballgames". While this is true in a sense, they don't win that many ballgames and standing around waiting for them to happen... well, when your lineup includes Lynch Passager, Dolan Packard, and Pearce Fulbrook and you can still only muster 73 wins in a minor league, you probably ought to change strategies.

National League Pitching
Team			ERA	IP	HA	R	ER	HRA	BB	K	OAVG	CG	SHO
Philadelphia Phillies	2.84	1247.0	1199	581	394	40	400	513	.249	110	9
Boston Beaneaters	2.92	1255.0	1290	580	407	15	289	489	.264	126	12
Saint Louis Cardinals	2.96	1250.1	1304	602	411	30	364	524	.262	124	10
Pittsburgh Pirates	3.13	1245.0	1276	648	433	26	339	574	.261	119	6
New York Giants		3.14	1233.0	1280	635	430	29	290	502	.264	118	10
Cincinnati Reds		3.32	1244.1	1277	648	459	16	475	465	.263	109	15
Chicago Colts		3.67	1236.1	1428	778	504	36	338	408	.286	114	2
Brooklyn Superbas	4.01	1237.1	1396	818	551	35	455	448	.283	88	6
TOTALS			3.25	9948.1	10450	5290	3589	227	2950	3923	.267	908	70

American League Pitching
Team			ERA	IP	HA	R	ER	HRA	BB	K	OAVG	CG	SHO
Washington Nationals	2.16	1277.2	1121	512	307	19	183	685	.227	121	12
Louisville Colonels	2.72	1270.1	1144	580	384	19	373	412	.238	120	7
Boston Red Stockings	2.89	1272.2	1267	549	408	20	358	587	.258	117	11
Baltimore Orioles	3.01	1264.1	1294	584	423	23	244	589	.263	113	11
Philadelphia Athletics	3.22	1253.0	1292	625	448	25	346	490	.264	113	9
Chicago White Stockings	3.56	1250.0	1400	742	495	26	346	442	.282	106	4
Cleveland Blues		3.72	1242.2	1401	748	514	26	390	405	.284	112	8
Detroit Tigers		4.13	1228.0	1366	793	564	27	479	360	.280	95	4
TOTALS			3.17	10058.2	10285	5133	3543	185	2719	3970	.262	897	66

The brand-new adage that good pitching stops good hitting really appears to have held true this past season, as among the contenders only the Reds had a below-league-average ERA. Earned run average does not tell the whole story, of course; although the Phillies had a slightly better mark than the Beaneaters did last year, a deeper look shows that Boston allowed nearly one walk fewer per game than did Philadelphia and also allowed less than half as many free round trips. Thus, even though Philadelphia struck out more batters and allowed a lower batting average, the Beaneaters actually gave up one fewer run over the entire season. The lesson here is that the pitching staff that makes the fewest mistakes is often more effective than the one that dazzles the most.

On the American side of thing, the Washington Nationals overcame an offense that was only a little above average with an otherworldly defense. Their ERA didn't climb above 2.00 until late July. Some of this, it should be noted, was because many of their team runs were unearned: the Nats had a .941 fielding average, worst in the AL, and in spite of a 56-point lead in ERA over the 2nd place club, they only allowed 37 fewer runs than the Boston Red Stockings. You have to wonder how incredible that pitching staff could have been with even a league average D behind it: this team walked 50 fewer batters than the #2, struck out 90 more, and tied for the fewest home runs allowed.

Milestone Watch
A Look At The Marks Surpassed By Players This Fine Season

Now that the league is 10 seasons old, players are beginning to set benchmarks that we never thought anybody could possibly set. A look around the league:

250 Wins
----------
Jesse MacLagan, CHW (now BOA) 5/24
Joshua Williams, CIN 8/1
Nathan Woombill, NYG 9/13

1,000 Runs
-------------
Mike Hartigan, NYG 6/17
Dolan Packard, BAL 6/17
Ron Eshelman, PHA 7/9
Norm Aston, NYG 7/22
Jon Knight, NYG 9/11
Pearce Fulbrook, BAL 9/21

1,000 RBI
-------------
Jon Knight, NYG 8/1

The most remarkable aspect of these milestones is how many Giants made the list. The New York powerhouse of the 1890s shall surely be remembered as one of the greatest of all time.

[Syd Thrift]

Both teams trotted out 25-game winners for the opening match, which was hosted at the American League Park in Washington, D.C. Boston used Erik "The Rebel" Pritchitt (25-13, 1.97 ERA), who went the entire season without giving up a single home run. He was opposed by John "Losing Pitcher" Putnam (26-7, 1.89 ERA), a wily 33-year old veteran and Original National who had finally gotten the opportunity to pitch for a team as talented as he was. Although he'd won 216 games in the bigs to this point, this would be his first postseason appearance.

Lineups

Boston
------------
Will "The Hunger" Munger, RF (.265 BA, 78 R, 61 SB)
Roderick Glass, 3B (.302, 71 R, 56 RBI, 20 SH)
Ernie Merwin, CF (.304, 92 R, 7 HR, 46 SB)
Lonzo Amill, 2B (.284, 89 R, 54 SB)
Eric "Mayor McCheese" McNeice (.305, 78 G, 44 R, 41 RBI)
Dennis Dean, LF (.325, 71 G, 43 RBI)
Nelson Johnson, SS (.240, 17/19 SB)
Bradley Patterson, C (.278, 39 XBH)
Erik Pritchitt, LHP

Washington
------------
Brian Pendergest, RF (.246, 73 R, 36 SB)
Raphael "The Vowel" Pollaioulo, C (.315, 71 G, 32 R, 32 RBI)
Woody Randles, 2B (.301, 115 R, 11 HR, 111 BB)
Kayne McMartin, 3B (.360, 107 G, 78 R, 46 XBH)
Bill Young, 1B (.264, 44 G, 32 RBI)
Jim "The Ceylon Cyclone" Trafford, SS (.259, 78 RBI, 34 XBH)
Ben Hollar, LF (.245, 95 G, 55 R)
Illari D'Annunzio, CF (.212, 37 SB)
John "Losing Pitcher" Putnam, LHP

The Nationals were playing with a couple men down. First and foremost, first baseman and team captain Matt Barlow had been lost during the season when he felt something tear in his ankle. Although he was slated to come back the following spring, for this series he'd be watching entirely from the sidelines. His replacement was Bill Young, the team's former starter from 1893 through 1897 who'd stayed on after he'd lost his job to Barlow for loyalty's sake. He was somewhat effective with 11 extra-base hits in 159 at-bats, but nobody could truly replace Barlow and it was no coincidence that the Red Stockings made their move right after he went out.

They were also to be without their dependable 4th outfielder Donoghue Boffin for the beginning of the series. The Beaneaters, on the other hand, were just getting healthy again, having gotten their own 1st baseman Eric "Mayor McCheese" McNeice back from the disabled list only the week before. He'd been lost for nearly half the season and was still working out the kinks in his swing: he had just 2 hits in 10 regular season at-bats coming back. The National League club reported no serious or minor injuries.

Washington struck first in the bottom of the second when Bill Young singled, took second on a passed ball, and then scored on a Ben Hollar base hit into left. Beaneaters catcher Bradley Patterson had surrendered just 4 passed balls in the regular season but his hands were sloppy at precisely the wrong time.

In the 4th inning, disaster struck. Kayne McMartin led off the bottom of the frame and on a 1-1 pitch was hit in the head by an errant breaking ball. It was a good thing it wasn't a fast pitch, but nonetheless he had to leave the game with an eye problem that is expected to keep him out the rest of the series. Don Croom came in to hit for him and would later take the field (at second base; Woody Randles would move over to McMartin's hot corner slot). He went from first to third on a single by Ceylon's own Jim Trafford (for those readers not "in the know", Ceylon is a small island off the coast of India whose chief exports are tungsten and clutch-hitting shortstops) and later scored on another base hit by John Putnam.

That would turn out to be the first of 3 runs scored in the inning for Washington. The question was, had the lost the war in winning the battle?

John Putnam continued to slice through the Boston lineup as though it were a giant stick of butter. Through 5 innings, he had yielded but 2 hits. Though he'd yet to strike out a batter, the sometimes-shaky defense behind him had not allowed an error yet. In the bottom of the inning, Randle doubled and Trafford drove him home as he'd done so many times in the year to extend the Nationals lead to 5-0.

The Beaneaters closed the gap in the 6th off of a Lonzo Amill homerun. Since there was a runner on base (Roderick Glass, who had led off with a walk), this counted for 2 runs and Boston was now within striking distance, at least temporarily. Sadly for them, the Nationals answered in the bottom of the 6th with 2 runs of their own off of a Nelson Johnson throwing error (allowing Illari D'Annunzio to take second), a Brian Pendergest triple (his third base hit of the night), and a Raphael Pollaioulo single. Heading into the 7th, the Nationals held a 7-2 lead.

In the 7th the Beaneaters got 2 more runs only to see Erik Pritchitt give up 2 more and leave the bases loaded as manager Jeff Neary called for a reliever. The Nats had tattooed Pritchitt for 14 base hits in 6.1 innings, and they hoped that rookie Alan O'Heron (17-17 on the season, 3.36 ERA) could stop the bleeding long enough to get them back in the game. Sadly, the first man he faced - Woody Randles - hit a belt-high fastball off the left field wall and although he got the next guy, it was now an 11-4 blowout.

From there, it was only a question of whether or not John Putnam would finish the game he started, and he did. What was supposed to be a pitcher's duel instead became a hitting exhibition, but the Washington fans were still happy as they left with their team leading the series 1 game to 0.

Boston Beaneaters 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	2 	2 	1 	0 	5	10	3
Washington Nationals 	0 	1 	0 	3 	1 	2 	4 	0 	X 	11	16	0
	

Boston		AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K	LOB	AVG	HR	RBI
W. Munger RF		4	0	0	0	0	1	1	.000	0	0
R. Glass 3B		4	1	3	1	1	0	1	.750	0	1
E. Merwin CF		4	0	1	0	1	0	3	.250	0	0
L. Amill 2B		5	1	1	2	0	0	4	.200	1	2
E. McNeice 1B		4	1	1	0	0	0	2	.250	0	0
D. Dean LF		4	0	1	0	0	1	1	.250	0	0
N. Johnson SS		4	1	2	1	0	0	1	.500	0	1
B. Patterson C		4	1	1	0	0	1	1	.250	0	0
E. Pritchitt P		3	0	0	1	0	0	1	.000	0	1
   A. O'Heron P		1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	0	0
Totals			37	5	10	5	2	3	15			

BATTING
Doubles: B. Patterson (1, 7th Inning off J. Putman, 1 on, 0 outs) N. Johnson (1, 8th Inning off J. Putman, 1 on, 2 outs)
Home Runs: L. Amill (1, 6th Inning off J. Putman, 1 on, 1 out)
Total Bases: R. Glass 3, L. Amill 4, B. Patterson 2, N. Johnson 3, D. Dean, E. McNeice, E. Merwin
2-out RBI: R. Glass, N. Johnson
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: L. Amill, B. Patterson, E. McNeice, E. Merwin
Team LOB: 8

BASERUNNING
SB: W. Munger (1)

FIELDING
Errors: N. Johnson 3
PB: B. Patterson

	
Washington		AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K	LOB	AVG	HR	RBI
B. Pendergest RF		5	1	3	1	0	1	2	.600	0	1
R. Pollaiuolo C		5	1	2	2	0	0	5	.400	0	2
W. Randles 2B, 3B	5	1	2	2	0	0	3	.400	0	2
K. McMartin 3B		1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	0	0
   a-D. Croom PH, 2B	2	1	0	0	1	2	2	.000	0	0
B. Young 1B		5	1	1	0	0	0	4	.200	0	0
J. Trafford SS		5	1	3	1	0	1	1	.600	0	1
B. Hollar LF		5	2	3	1	0	0	1	.600	0	1
I. D'Annunzio CF	5	3	1	0	0	0	3	.200	0	0
J. Putman P		3	0	1	2	0	1	3	.333	0	2
Totals			41	11	16	9	1	5	24			

a - D. Croom pinch hit for K. McMartin in the 4th

BATTING
Doubles: W. Randles 2 (2, 5th Inning off E. Pritchitt, 0 on, 0 outs; 7th Inning off A. O'Heron, 2 on, 2 outs)
Triples: B. Pendergest (1, 6th Inning off E. Pritchitt, 1 on, 1 out)
Total Bases: J. Putman, B. Young, J. Trafford 3, B. Pendergest 5, I. D'Annunzio, W. Randles 4, B. Hollar 3, R. Pollaiuolo 2
2-out RBI: J. Putman, J. Trafford, W. Randles, B. Hollar
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: B. Young, I. D'Annunzio, R. Pollaiuolo, D. Croom
Sac Bunt: J. Putman
Team LOB: 9

BASERUNNING
CS: W. Randles (1)

FIELDING
PB: R. Pollaiuolo

Boston			IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	PI	PS	ERA
E. Pritchitt L (0-1)	6.2	14	11	3	1	4	0	132	83	4.05
A. O'Heron 		1.1	2	0	0	0	1	0	29	19	0.00

PITCHING
Game Score: E. Pritchitt 21
Batters Faced: E. Pritchitt 38, A. O'Heron 6
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: E. Pritchitt 13-2, A. O'Heron 2-1
Pitches - Strikes: E. Pritchitt 132-83, A. O'Heron 29-19
Inherited Runners - Scored: A. O'Heron 2-2
HB: E. Pritchitt

	
Washington		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	PI	PS	ERA
J. Putman W (1-0)	9.0	10	5	5	2	3	1	131	80	5.00

PITCHING
Game Score: J. Putman 48
Batters Faced: J. Putman 40
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: J. Putman 17-7
Pitches - Strikes: J. Putman 131-80
HB: J. Putman

GAME NOTES
Player of the Game: B. Hollar
Ballpark: American League Park
Weather: Clear skies (51 degrees), wind blowing out to center at 9 mph
Start Time: 7:05 pm
Time: 3:00
Attendance: 9986
Special Notes: K. McMartin was injured being hit by a pitch.

[Syd Thrift]

World's Series Game 2

This was supposed to be a sweep. Following the surprising upset, we heard all kinds of things from the Boston Beaneaters ownership. The players were rusty after taking a week and a half off and waiting for the Americans to finish their season. The Washington brass had gotten to the umpires in their own stadium. The Nationals just got lucky. We have to be honest: we didn't see too much rust, bad calls, or luck in Game 1. We just saw one team wipe the floor with another.

Whatever led to the outcome of the first game, the Beaneaters sent portly right-hander Scott "Undertall" Hight (23-14, 3.28) to the mound for the second game. Hight lacked a great fastball but got hitters out by changing speeds and moving the ball around the plate. This year, he'd developed an out pitch in the nickel curve. It could not be said that he was a small man. His opponent was Brian "Heavy" Pike (20-11, 1.76), who, ironically enough, was the lighter of the combatants. Actually, his nickname had more to do with his fastball than his girth - on the season, he gave up just 1 home run and yielded a .254 opponents' slugging average.

Lineups

Boston
-----------
Munger, RF
Glass, 3B
Merwin, CF
Amill, 2B
McNeice, 1B
Dean, LF
Johnson, SS
Patterson, C
Hight, RHP

Washington
------------
Pendergest, RF
Pollaiuolo, C
Randles, 3B
Young, 1B
Don Croom, 2B (.264, 43 G, 9 XBH)
Trafford, SS
Hollar, LF
D'Annunzio, CF
Pike, RHP

One change to the Nationals' lineup: with McMartin not able to see straight, Don Croom took over at second base with, like the game before, Woody Randles sliding over to the hot corner. McMartin had missed about a month during the season and this was how the Nationals worked around it then as well.

Brian Pike labored early, giving up 3 hits and 2 bases on balls in the first 2 innings. In the second, all those runners ended up hurting him, as with the bases loaded and a man out the pitcher Scott Hight hit a lazy grounder towards second that Don Croom was just barely able to turn into an out. On the play, Eric McNeice scored. 1-0 Boston.

Boston added 3 more runs in the 6th off of a throwing error by Don Croom, base hits by Nelson Johnson and Eric McNeice, and a bases-clearing double by Bradley Patterson. In the meantime, Scott Hight was absolutely shutting down the home team. Through 5 innings, he had yet to yield a hit, and only a Raphael Pollaiulolo single with 2 outs in the 6th kept his streak from going any further.

Ben Hollar broke up the shutout as well in the 7th by driving home Bill Young on a base hit. Still, it was clear that the Nationals were going to have a lot of problems scoring runs off of Scott Hight and perhaps the Beaneaters in general now that they were without their cleanup hitter. The 8th and 9th innings went by uneventfully and suddenly the tables had been turned: Boston had won 1 of 2 in the nation's capital and could end the series without having to return there with 3 wins in Beantown.

Wednesday, October 9th, 1901
  			1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	6 	7 	8 	9 	R	H	E
Boston Beaneaters 	0 	1 	0 	0 	0 	3 	0 	0 	0 	4	8	2
Washington Nationals 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	1 	0 	0 	1	4	2
	

Boston		AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K	LOB	AVG	HR	RBI
W. Munger RF	5	0	0	0	0	1	3	.000	0	0
R. Glass 3B	4	0	2	0	0	0	1	.625	0	1
E. Merwin CF	3	0	0	0	1	0	1	.143	0	0
L. Amill 2B	4	0	0	0	0	1	3	.111	1	2
E. McNeice 1B	4	2	1	0	0	0	0	.250	0	0
D. Dean LF	3	1	2	1	1	1	0	.429	0	1
N. Johnson SS	4	1	2	0	0	0	0	.500	0	1
B. Patterson C	4	0	1	2	0	1	3	.250	0	2
S. Hight P	4	0	0	1	0	0	3	.000	0	1
Totals		35	4	8	4	2	4	14			

BATTING
Doubles: B. Patterson (2, 6th Inning off B. Pike, 2 on, 2 outs)
Total Bases: R. Glass 2, B. Patterson 2, N. Johnson 2, D. Dean 2, E. McNeice
2-out RBI: B. Patterson, D. Dean
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: W. Munger, L. Amill, S. Hight
GIDP: L. Amill
Team LOB: 7

BASERUNNING
CS: D. Dean (1)

FIELDING
Errors: L. Amill 2
Double Plays: 1 (McNeice-Johnson)

	
Washington	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K	LOB	AVG	HR	RBI
B. Pendergst RF	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	.333	0	1
R. Pollaiuolo C	4	0	1	0	0	1	0	.333	0	2
W. Randles 3B	4	0	1	0	0	0	1	.333	0	2
B. Young 1B	4	1	1	0	0	0	1	.222	0	0
D. Croom 2B	4	0	0	0	0	1	3	.000	0	0
J. Trafford SS	3	0	0	0	1	0	1	.375	0	1
B. Hollar LF	3	0	1	1	0	0	3	.500	0	2
I. D'Annnzio CF	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	.125	0	0
B. Pike P	3	0	0	0	0	1	0	.000	0	0
Totals		32	1	4	1	1	3	13			

BATTING
Total Bases: B. Young, W. Randles, B. Hollar, R. Pollaiuolo
2-out RBI: B. Hollar
GIDP: B. Hollar
Team LOB: 7

FIELDING
Errors: J. Trafford , D. Croom
Double Plays: 1 (Trafford-Young)

Boston			IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	PI	PS	ERA
S. Hight W (1-0)	9.0	4	1	1	1	3	0	111	76	1.00

PITCHING
Game Score: S. Hight 77
Batters Faced: S. Hight 34
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: S. Hight 7-16
Pitches - Strikes: S. Hight 111-76
HB: S. Hight

	
Washington		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	PI	PS	ERA
B. Pike L (0-1)		9.0	8	4	1	2	4	0	150	91	1.00

PITCHING
Game Score: B. Pike 63
Batters Faced: B. Pike 37
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: B. Pike 17-4
Pitches - Strikes: B. Pike 150-91

[Syd Thrift]

Now on the road, Washington sent out their #3 man Bob Cummins (18-11, 2.66), a 27-year old righty who relied on pinpoint control and an assortment of 5 different pitches to win ballgames. He may have been a #3 starter for the Nats, but his teammates believed he could be a #1 on 5 American League teams (only the Red Stockings and Orioles boasted better front-line starters). Boston had a tough decision to make: go with the rookie with the good stuff in Alan O'Heron or send out the pitch-to-contact veteran Jeremy McKinney. The Beaneaters went with the latter choice (16-13, 3.05) and hoped it was the correct one.

It's funny how pitcher's duels sometimes come when you least expect them to, and this game was one of them. Through 6, the only difference on the ledger was that Cummins himself had committed a throwing error following a Will Munger double. Although the side was then retired in short order, that costly miscue made the game 1-0 and the way the Nationals were hitting that might be all the scoring Beaneaters would need.

And that proved to be the case. Although the Nats got runners over to third base in the eighth and ninth innings they could not bring those men in to score and Beaneaters took the series lead.

 			1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	6 	7 	8 	9 	R	H	E
Washington Nationals 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0	4	3
Boston Beaneaters 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	1 	0 	0 	X 	1	7	1
	

Washington		AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K	LOB	AVG	HR	RBI
B. Pendergest RF	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	.231	0	1
R. Pollaiuolo C		4	0	1	0	0	0	0	.308	0	2
W. Randles 3B		3	0	1	0	1	0	0	.333	0	2
B. Young 1B		4	0	0	0	0	0	3	.154	0	0
D. Croom 2B		4	0	1	0	0	0	1	.100	0	0
J. Trafford SS		3	0	1	0	0	1	2	.364	0	1
B. Hollar LF		3	0	0	0	0	0	1	.364	0	2
I. D'Annunzio CF	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	.100	0	0
B. Cummins P		2	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	0	0
Totals			29	0	4	0	1	1	7			

BATTING
Total Bases: J. Trafford, D. Croom, W. Randles, R. Pollaiuolo
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: J. Trafford, B. Pendergest, D. Croom
GIDP: B. Young
Sac Bunt: I. D'Annunzio, B. Cummins
Team LOB: 4

FIELDING
Errors: J. Trafford 2 , B. Cummins
Double Plays: 2 (Cummins-Randles, Trafford-Croom-Young)
PB: R. Pollaiuolo

	
Boston			AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K	LOB	AVG	HR	RBI
W. Munger RF		4	1	2	0	0	0	0	.154	0	0
R. Glass 3B		4	0	0	0	0	0	1	.417	0	1
E. Merwin CF		4	0	2	0	0	0	2	.273	0	0
L. Amill 2B		4	0	2	0	0	0	2	.231	1	2
E. McNeice 1B		3	0	0	0	0	1	4	.182	0	0
D. Dean LF		3	0	1	0	0	0	2	.400	0	1
N. Johnson SS		3	0	0	0	0	1	1	.364	0	1
B. Patterson C		3	0	0	0	0	0	1	.182	0	2
J. McKinney P		3	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	0	0
Totals			31	1	7	0	0	2	13			

BATTING
Doubles: W. Munger (1, 6th Inning off B. Cummins, 0 on, 0 outs)
Total Bases: W. Munger 3, L. Amill 2, D. Dean, E. Merwin 2
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: D. Dean, E. McNeice 2
GIDP: J. McKinney, E. Merwin
Team LOB: 6

BASERUNNING
CS: E. Merwin (1)

FIELDING
Errors: L. Amill
Double Plays: 1 (Johnson-McNeice)

Washington		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	PI	PS	ERA
B. Cummins L (0-1)	8.0	7	1	0	0	2	0	110	81	0.00

PITCHING
Game Score: B. Cummins 68
Batters Faced: B. Cummins 32
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: B. Cummins 17-2
Pitches - Strikes: B. Cummins 110-81
HB: B. Cummins

	
Boston			IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	PI	PS	ERA
J. McKinney W (1-0)	9.0	4	0	0	1	1	0	115	78	0.00

PITCHING
Game Score: J. McKinney 79
Batters Faced: J. McKinney 32
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: J. McKinney 19-6
Pitches - Strikes: J. McKinney 115-78

GAME NOTES
Player of the Game: J. McKinney
Ballpark: South End Grounds
Weather: Clear skies (56 degrees), wind blowing in from left at 12 mph
Start Time: 7:05 pm
Time: 2:10
Attendance: 19911

[Syd Thrift]

Putnam and Pritchitt squared off for a second time in Game Four. For the Nationals, they received the good news that Donoghue Boffin was back. Although he would not make up for the loss of Kayne McMartin, Boffin, who was as well known for the "talk show" he ran on the vaudeville circuit as his batting prowess, would surely help a little.

Boston took an early lead thanks to an Ernie Merwin triple and a subsequent error. Merwin was, like most players on these two teams, playing his first playoff series, but this writer could see no signs of nervousness from the man in this series. Perhaps all of that competitive eating and corporate fat-cattery that the Beaneaters engage in during the regular season and in the off-months prepared him for the spectacle of the postseason. We can't say for sure.

That run appeared for a while to be all that Boston would need. Erik Pritchitt had calmed down much from Game 1, scattering 3 hits and striking out four batters in the first 6 innings. In the 7th, Woody Randles took matters into his own hands, singling to lead off the innings, advancing on a pair of groundouts, and running home on a very clutch Don Croom single. Croom to that point had just 2 hits in 12 World's Series at-bats but the Nationals knew they could count on him in the pinch.

And in the 9th, it was more clutch hitting that got the Nationals the win. This time around, Don Croom was intentionally walked to load the bases (prior to him, Bill Young and Raphael Pollaiuolo had reached 3rd and 2nd, respectively), which was a surprising move considering the way Trafford had been hitting with runners in scoring position in this Series. Predictably, Trafford drove in the winning run.

And so, despite scoring just 3 runs in the 3 games since their big first game victory, the Nats evened the series up.

  			1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	6 	7 	8 	9 	R	H	E
Washington Nationals 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	1 	0 	1 	2	9	1
Boston Beaneaters 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	1	5	0
	

Washington		AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K	LOB	AVG	HR	RBI
B. Pendergest RF	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	.235	0	1
D. Boffin LF		4	0	1	0	0	1	1	.250	0	0
W. Randles 3B		4	1	2	0	0	0	1	.375	0	2
B. Young 1B		4	1	1	0	0	1	2	.176	0	0
R. Pollaiuolo C		4	0	1	0	0	0	1	.294	0	2
D. Croom 2B		3	0	2	1	1	0	0	.231	0	1
J. Trafford SS		2	0	1	1	0	0	0	.385	0	2
I. D'Annunzio CF	4	0	0	0	0	2	6	.071	0	0
J. Putman P		4	0	0	0	0	1	3	.143	0	2
Totals			33	2	9	2	1	5	14			

BATTING
Doubles: R. Pollaiuolo (1, 9th Inning off E. Pritchitt, 1 on, 0 outs)
Total Bases: B. Young, J. Trafford, B. Pendergest, D. Boffin, D. Croom 2, W. Randles 2, R. Pollaiuolo 2
2-out RBI: D. Croom
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: , I. D'Annunzio 2
GIDP: J. Putman, D. Boffin
Sac Bunt: J. Trafford
Team LOB: 9

FIELDING
Errors: J. Trafford

	
Boston			AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K	LOB	AVG	HR	RBI
W. Munger RF		4	0	1	0	0	0	0	.176	0	0
R. Glass 3B		4	0	1	0	0	1	0	.375	0	1
E. Merwin CF		4	1	2	0	0	0	0	.333	0	0
L. Amill 2B		3	0	0	0	1	0	3	.188	1	2
E. McNeice 1B		4	0	0	0	0	0	2	.133	0	0
D. Dean LF		4	0	1	0	0	0	1	.357	0	1
N. Johnson SS		4	0	0	0	0	1	2	.267	0	1
B. Patterson C		3	0	0	0	0	0	1	.143	0	2
E. Pritchitt P		3	0	0	0	0	1	1	.000	0	1
Totals			33	1	5	0	1	3	10			

BATTING
Triples: E. Merwin (1, 1st Inning off J. Putman, 0 on, 2 outs)
Total Bases: W. Munger, R. Glass, D. Dean, E. Merwin 4
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: , L. Amill 2, E. McNeice
Team LOB: 6

FIELDING
Double Plays: 2 (Pritchitt-Johnson-McNeice, Glass-Amill-McNeice)

Washington		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	PI	PS	ERA
J. Putman W (2-0)	9.0	5	1	0	1	3	0	112	67	2.50

PITCHING
Game Score: J. Putman 77
Batters Faced: J. Putman 34
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: J. Putman 13-11
Pitches - Strikes: J. Putman 112-67

	
Boston			IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	PI	PS	ERA
E. Pritchitt L (0-2)	9.0	9	2	2	1	5	0	120	82	2.87

PITCHING
Game Score: E. Pritchitt 65
Batters Faced: E. Pritchitt 36
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: E. Pritchitt 17-3
Pitches - Strikes: E. Pritchitt 120-82
HB: E. Pritchitt

GAME NOTES
Player of the Game: J. Putman
Ballpark: South End Grounds
Weather: Clear skies (55 degrees), wind blowing in from left at 18 mph
Start Time: 7:05 pm
Time: 2:15
Attendance: 19786

[Syd Thrift]

Game 5 would see another Brian Pike/Scott Hight matchup. It had worked out pretty well for both teams in the first game, so why not? Washington, looking for a few more runs, replaced center fielder Illari D'Annunzio with rookie Yoshihito Taisho. Taisho was the first-born son of the Emperor of Japan and like many other members of the Japanese royal family, "Ichiro" spent hours upon hours having apples and other small fruits thrown to him and slicing them in twain with his samurai sword. This gave Taisho a quick chopping motion that, in theory, would lead to a lot of solid base hits. This year, however, he'd hit just .216. That was still slightly better than Illari D'Annunzio's .211 for the season.

Taisho would be tested early and found wanting, but not at the plate. He was still relatively unlearned as a center fielder, and some wags opine that the poor route he took to the Eric McNeice long hit turned a short double into a 2-RBI triple. Boston had runs on the board - perhaps enough to win the game - almost before Washington had a chance to get started. The Nats would have to hope that Taisho could get one or both of those runs back with his bat.

Poor fielding would be the story of the day, as the Beaneaters struck again for 2 runs in the 7th thanks to errors by Don Croom and John Putnam. In the regular season Croom had the reputation for being a dependable if not flashy second sacker. Were the bright lights of Boston getting to him?

4 runs was 3 more than Boston needed and the teams headed back to Washington with the Beaneaters needing just 1 win to clinch their first World Championship ever.

Washington Nationals 	0 	0 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	1	6	5
Boston Beaneaters 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	2 	0 	X 	4	8	2
	

Washington		AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K	LOB	AVG	HR	RBI
B. Pendergest RF	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	.238	0	1
D. Boffin LF		4	0	1	0	0	1	2	.250	0	0
W. Randles 3B		4	0	1	1	0	0	1	.350	0	3
B. Young 1B		4	0	1	0	0	0	3	.190	0	0
R. Pollaiuolo C		4	0	0	0	0	1	1	.238	0	2
D. Croom 2B		4	0	1	0	0	0	1	.235	0	1
J. Trafford SS		3	0	0	0	0	1	2	.313	0	2
Y. Taisho CF		3	0	1	0	0	1	1	.333	0	0
B. Pike P		3	1	0	0	0	0	0	.000	0	0
Totals			33	1	6	1	0	4	11			

BATTING
Total Bases: B. Young, Y. Taisho, B. Pendergest, D. Boffin, D. Croom, W. Randles
2-out RBI: W. Randles
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: B. Young, Y. Taisho
GIDP: J. Trafford
Team LOB: 6

BASERUNNING
CS: B. Pendergest (1)

FIELDING
Errors: B. Pike , D. Croom , W. Randles 2 , R. Pollaiuolo
Double Plays: 1 (Trafford-Croom-Young)

	
Boston			AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K	LOB	AVG	HR	RBI
W. Munger RF		4	2	2	0	0	1	2	.238	0	0
R. Glass 3B		4	0	0	0	0	0	4	.300	0	1
E. Merwin CF		3	1	0	0	1	0	4	.278	0	0
L. Amill 2B		3	0	1	1	0	0	6	.211	1	3
E. McNeice 1B		4	0	1	2	0	0	2	.158	0	2
D. Dean LF		4	0	0	0	0	0	1	.278	0	1
N. Johnson SS		4	0	1	0	0	0	0	.263	0	1
B. Patterson C		4	1	1	0	0	2	1	.167	0	2
S. Hight P		2	0	2	0	0	0	0	.333	0	1
Totals			32	4	8	3	1	3	20			

BATTING
Triples: E. McNeice (1, 1st Inning off B. Pike, 2 on, 2 outs)
Total Bases: W. Munger 2, L. Amill, B. Patterson, N. Johnson, S. Hight 2, E. McNeice 3
2-out RBI: E. McNeice
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: R. Glass, L. Amill, D. Dean, E. McNeice, E. Merwin
GIDP: B. Patterson
Sac Bunt: R. Glass, S. Hight
Sac Fly: L. Amill
Team LOB: 8

BASERUNNING
CS: L. Amill (1)

FIELDING
Errors: N. Johnson 2
Double Plays: 1 (Glass-Amill-McNeice)

Washington		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	PI	PS	ERA
B. Pike L (0-2)		8.0	8	4	0	1	3	0	134	88	0.53

PITCHING
Game Score: B. Pike 60
Batters Faced: B. Pike 36
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: B. Pike 14-6
Pitches - Strikes: B. Pike 134-88

	
Boston			IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	PI	PS	ERA
S. Hight W (2-0)	9.0	6	1	1	0	4	0	116	75	1.00

PITCHING
Game Score: S. Hight 75
Batters Faced: S. Hight 33
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: S. Hight 8-13
Pitches - Strikes: S. Hight 116-75

GAME NOTES
Player of the Game: S. Hight
Ballpark: South End Grounds
Weather: Partly Cloudy (46 degrees), wind blowing right to left at 12 mph
Start Time: 7:05 pm
Time: 2:26
Attendance: 19899

[Syd Thrift]

Fearing that they wouldn't get to a 7th game to pitch him anyway, the Nationals introduced John Putnam, the decision-maker in the team's 2 World's Series victories, as their starter for this game. The Beaneaters countered with Jeremy McKinney, the lone member of either postseason rotation with playoff experience. Back in 1893 and 1894 he'd pitched, albeit not very effectively, for the Louisville Colonels and the Cincinnati Reds in the fall classic. This experience had made a big difference in Game 3 and, so hoped Boston, would help them clinch.

With neither pitching allowing much in the way of base hits, the Nationals had to make their way in the 4th by capitalizing on a Lonzo Amill error. The next batter was Raphael Polliauolo, who proved that he is as good at creating timely hits as his name is impossible to spell, and Washington surged ahead 1-0.

In the 5th, Yoshihito Taisho proved the Nationals' skipper Roger O'Merry a genius as he led off the inning with a single and then scored on a Brian Pendergest double. Suddenly Washington was up by 2 runs and it would take a bonafide rally by the Beaneaters to get back into a tie. Extra-base hits by Donoghue Boffin and Woody Randles put the game into that precarious area that is not quite out of reach but not close enough that a couple of bloopers or Texas Leaguers could bring the other guys back into it.

The bottom of the 7th came around and proved to be the inning the Nationals broke the doors open. With John Putnam hurling the way he was, 4 runs was probably going to be enough anyway, and when Jeremy McKinney surrendered two more runs and loaded the bases with one out the Beaneaters made the decision to give the ball to Alan O'Heron for the second time in the series. By the time the frame ended, the score stood at Washington 7, Boston 0, and the ticket booths began to sell markers for a seventh game.

 			1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	6 	7 	8 	9 	R	H	E
Boston Beaneaters 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0	3	3
Washington Nationals 	0 	0 	0 	1 	3 	0 	3 	0 	X 	7	12	2
	

Boston			AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K	LOB	AVG	HR	RBI
W. Munger RF		4	0	1	0	0	0	0	.240	0	0
R. Glass 3B		4	0	1	0	0	0	1	.292	0	1
E. Merwin CF		4	0	0	0	0	0	2	.227	0	0
L. Amill 2B		4	0	0	0	0	0	2	.174	1	3
E. McNeice 1B		4	0	0	0	0	0	2	.130	0	2
D. Dean LF		3	0	0	0	0	0	0	.238	0	1
N. John