The Slippery Elm Boys

[No Pepper]

1903 World's Series Summary

Game 1 : Pittsburg 0 – Detroit 3
Wild Bill Donovan outpitches Rube Waddell, keeping the Pirates to only 5 hits in complete game shutout. Detroit, without stars Gleason and Crawford, take advantage of 2 errors by Pittsburg in the 3rd and 5th innings and never look back. Honus Wagner goes 0-3 with 2 strikeouts and catcher Jiggs Donahue leaves five men on base.

Game 2 : Pittsburg 5 – Detroit 4, 15 innings
Honus Wagner, despite striking out three times, redeems himself by scoring the winning run in the top of the 15th inning on Cy Seymour’s sacrifice fly. Wagner reached third after an errant throw by catcher Bob Wood on a steal attempt sailed into center. Loser Frank Kitson pitched all 15 innings, having endured a two-run homer by Seymour in the 4th and two errors in the 6th inning by shortstop fill-in Mike Kahoe. 20 year old Pirate Jim St. Vrain pitched 12 strong innings but it was Bucky Veil in relief that got 3 key strikeouts to secure the victory, sending the Series to Pittsburg.

Game 3 : Detroit 4 – Pittsburg 3
Cy Seymour continued his hot hitting by driving in two runs in the first frame against Detroit’s Stan Yerkes. But the Pirates booted the ball around the infield after that, this time second baseman Jack Dunn committing 3 out of 5 errors by the team. Kid Gleason returns from injury and replaces Kahoe in the lineup. It’s apparent that the top of Pittsburg’s lineup is struggling to get anything going, leaving cleanup man Ginger Beaumont in fits. Tension builds among the Pirates on the field as the underdog Tigers are now up 2 games to 1.

Game 4 : Detroit 7 – Pittsburg 6
The Pirates squander a 6-1 lead in the 6th inning and allow 6 runs in a hit-barrage led by Kid Gleason, who finished with 4 hits. The top 3 hitters for Pittsburg set the table by collecting six hits and two walks yet Beaumont continues to struggle and the hot hitting Seymour, hitting fifth, goes 0-4 with 2 strikeouts, failing to take opportunity.

Game 5 : Pittsburg 0 – Detroit 2
Donovan hands Rube Waddell his second shutout loss in the Series, putting Detroit up 4 games to 1. Donovan was masterful in his control, allowing only four hits in the game. Kid Gleason is red hot, collecting two more hits and a run driven in. He is now hitting .538 since his return. The Tigers find themselves one win away from the title, all without Sam Crawford.

Game 6 : Detroit 3 – Pittsburg 10
The Tigers got a quick 3-1 lead against pitcher Jim St. Vrain, but were silenced the rest of the way. To add injury to insult, star pitcher Frank Kitson blew out his arm in the seventh inning and is expected to miss the rest of the Series. The Tigers were forced to enter journeyman Bock Baker who promptly allowed the Pirates 6 runs in the 9th inning. Cy Seymour collected 3 hits and 2 runs batted in despite committing 2 errors in the field. Detroit still leads the Series 4 games to 2.

Game 7 : Detroit 4 – Pittsburg 2 “Deerling a Darling in Detroit”
Sam Crawford made his only appearance of the Series and made good, going 3 for 4, but his return was overshadowed by the play of an unsuspecting hero as the Detroit Tigers defeated the Pittsburg Pirates for the first ever World’s Series Championship. Detroit called upon green John Deerling to pitch the eventual final game against star hurler Harry Felix. Deerling found the control that eluded him all year in 31 innings of work (he walked 16) and allowed just one free pass against three strikeouts in the complete game win. Detroit tied the game in the 7th on a double by Kid Gleason, who quickly stole thirdbase with Deerling in the box. Deerling tapped a weak grounder to a hard-charging Honus Wagner who gloved the ball and threw home to catch Gleason, who originally hesitated, but then scored after he kicked the ball out of Donahue’s glove. All was bedlam at Bennett Park and the game had to be delayed for a half hour to restore order. Deerling worked out a jam in the 8th and after an insurance run by Harry Davis (Crawford scoring), Deerling breezed through the final frame to capture the title for Detroit, five games to two!

[No Pepper]

Thrift's Training Matrix update: Althougth The Matrix has been kind to a number of pitchers so far in terms of potential, it has returned a significant delay in that progress, often taking years to fully develop. If there's no uproar from the peanut gallery *sound of a cricket chirping* I think I'll sim faster than I have up to 1907 to resume our story.

By that year, the spitball will have pervaded throughout the league and so in the following year, I'll open up two feeder leagues, Class D level, the proving grounds for any of your fictional players you want included in my dynasty. We'll track their progress to the big leagues with the hopes they'll be grandfathered or banned in 1920 when the spitball sees its last days of unrestricted legal use. So start thinking of your characters and look for a try out in 1908!

So far, my candidates for the two feeder leagues are the Carolina and Central (Iowa) Associations. I'll begin them in 1907 to familiarize myself with the leagues before I introduce your fictional pitchers the following year.

Remember, your players will have many avenues on their way to success or failure. Will they reach the Majors? Will they labor in the minor leagues? Will they catch on with a Federal League team or enjoy sunny California?

[No Pepper]

1903 City Series: Boston

The Pilgrims of Boston, the Americans, made a push late in the campaign to drive past Philadelphia to save the city from hosting the two worst teams among the country’s major base ball teams. A three-game sweep of the New York squad, and 2 wins each against St. Louis and the eventual World’s Champions Detroit gave the momentum the team needed heading into the lowly series against their brothers the Beaneaters. The momentum did not come until the fourth game of seven versus the National Leaguers, at which time the Americans found themselves down 3 games to none. In those games, the Pilgrims were hounded by errors and strong pitching, losing the three games by a combined four runs. But the offense exploded in Game 4 with a 12-1 win against Bob Gessler and Al Mattern, each player on the starting roster collecting a hit or driving in a run. Buck Freeman, who struggled all year, went 3 for 5, all doubles, with 3 runs driven in. Long Tom Hughes pitched a 5 hitter and knocked in two himself. The Americans never looked back and won straight games to take the series. Cy Young bounced back after his first game loss and out-dueled Vic Willis 2 to 0. Chick Stahl stroked the winning run in a nail-biting seventh game in the bottom of the 11th to seal the series win for the Boston Pilgrims.

1903 City Series: Philadelphia

After a 19-inning opening game loss, the Athletics of the American League fell rather effortlessly to their brethren the Phillies, 4 games to 1. In that initial contest, Eddie Plank outlasted Alex Pearson in 16 innings but McGeehan faltered in relief when Billy Clingman’s wormburner found the hole between first and second base, scoring Cross from second. Standout Bob Wicker had an easy time with the tired Athletics, shutting them out on 3 hits in a 7-0 win to go up 2 games to none. In the third game the Athletics held off a late rally to win 3-2 but lost the remaining two games behind the strong pitching of Dusty Rhodes and Pearson. The Phillies victory gave the Nationals its first interleague series in three tries, including the World’s Series.

1903 City Series: St. Louis

It was in St. Louis that the Nationals evened up the league city series’ matchups with a 4 games to win victory over the crosstown Brown Stockings. The Cardinals took an early 2 game lead when otherwise accurate hurler Win Kellum survived 4 walks and an error in 11 innings. In Game 3 the Browns took advantage of six Cardinal mishaps to win 5-1 but committed four of their own in Game 4 to go down 3 games to 1. The Brown’s McFarland staved off a 3 run ninth inning with a strikeout to veteran Charlie Irwin to win 5-4 but the Cardinals took their required fouth game on the back of Kellum’s 4-0 shutout.

[No Pepper]

Outlaw Pacific Coast League Finishes Marathon Season, Portland Takes Crown

In a reshuffling of league teams and its players, the new Pacific Coast League crowned the Portland club its 1903 inaugural champion. The six-team upstart league plays a daunting schedule of 200 games, most of which was dominated by two teams, Portland and second place finisher Seattle. These teams were formed to compete with the Pacific National League for dominance in the west and the league’s might surely showed in their performance, embarrassing the league’s founding Californian teams in Sacramento -last year’s California League champs – Los Angeles, San Francisco and Oakland. But stacking the teams helped the league survive in those contested regions. One sacrificial lamb may have the Sacramento club. With the team having lost the core of its near-championship team the year before, management disbanded the team and sold it to interests in Tacoma, WA for next season’s campaign. The reliance on putting major leaguers on rosters was demonstrated by defending champion’s San Francisco finishing a pathetic 81 games back of Portland. As such, pressure is mounting to join the National Association to settle disputes with organized baseball about securing or sharing local and national talent pools. However, the league still harbors a few ex-American and National League players, those who have opted to remain in the sunny confines of gamblers and loose women. Among those we suspect are pitchers Jack Taylor (35 wins, Portland), Parson Lewis (27 wins, Sacramento), and Joe McGinnity (33 wins, Portland). Among batsmen under assumed names are believed to be old Joe Quinn. Men who may look like Honest John Anderson and Patsy Donovan may have been identified in the semi-pro leagues.

Final Pacific Coast Club Standings 1903

    Club        Won   Lost   Pct   G.B.  Avg.  ERA    
Portland	146    54   .730    -   .297  2.23
Seattle		142    58   .710     4  .294  2.30
Sacramento      102    98   .510    44  .261  3.22  
Los Angeles     81    119   .405    65  .247  3.30   
San Francisco   65    135   .325    81  .275  4.14   
Oakland         64    136   .320    82   .241  3.73

[Syd Thrift]

No Pepper,

This is awesome! Also, you may be interested by the last post on the Thrift Training page:

http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...-matrix-2.html

[No Pepper]

Pretty neat Syd, but what about ratings over 200? I know it may not make sense to train for an attribute if you are already that excellent but some of your spells add points to a variety of skills. I know in my universe I've had a lot of guys with movement over 200.

One thing that had me worried last night is that I have recalc on in this historical league. I think any TT Matrix adjustments I'm making get washed away at the end of the year. If so, what an oversight on my part! Argh!!!! But thanks for the compliment

[Syd Thrift]

I don't think personality ratings go over 200.

[No Pepper]

Stupid me. Looks like I need to play the game more! Thanks again Syd, I can't wait to see how this might play out with fictional players.

[No Pepper]

The dynasty is on hold until I can figure out an illegal number of players on one of my PCL minor league rosters. The game says there are zero on active roster, but I see 25 players there and I can't finish the day. Hmmm....Seems like I renamed or deleted/added a new franchise and did not reschedule? The former team is still listed in the schedule and not the new one in its place, and now its not the preseason anymore...

Edit: thankfully I had a backup but I had to resim all of 1903.

[No Pepper]

After several seasons of treading water, the Chicago Nationals have finally gotten over the hump and currently lead the Senior Circuit standings over Pittsburg by a slim one game lead. The “Cubs” have been winning ballgames due their strength with the bat, leading the league in most offensive categories in a year where offense has been muffled around the league. Catcher Frank Chance leads his team in hitting with a .311 average while Fred Clarke continues to be the team’s best all-around batsmen, hitting .308 with 19 doubles and 37 stolen bases. 28 year-old rookie hurler Lucky Glade is the difference maker for Chicago, having won 16 games with 3 shutouts already. Pittsburg’s pitching remains superb-Waddell with 14 wins, 219 strikeouts, and a 1.83 ERA- but has slipped on the offense, perhaps due in part to the loss of Ginger Beaumont in the trade to get veteran spitballer Clark Griffith. Philadelphia is riding the shoulders of rookie Lefty Caldwell, who is showing remarkable poise and command, earning a 17-7 record with a 1.35 ERA and 7 shutouts already. Cincinnati is reeling from the loss of Sam Crawford to Detroit and Jake Beckley to New York, both American League steals. Second year pitcher Jack Harper has taken the brunt of the damage, having suffered 20 losses already. Although it’s still too early to tell which team will end up on top by the end of the year, if we must choose, Pittsburg, on the shoulder’s of its strong pitching corps, should make a return trip to the World’s Series.

National Club Standings July 31, 1904

    Club     Won   Lost   Pct   G.B. Avg.  ERA    
Chicago       57    38   .600    -   .263  2.63   
Pittsburg     55    38   .591    1   .250  2.07
Philadelphia  54    40   .574   2.5  .241  1.80   
New York      47    47   .500   9.5  .251  2.59   
Boston        46    47   .495   10   .251  2.53
St. Louis     44    53   .454   14   .248  2.40
Brooklyn      42    53   .442   15   .234  2.64
Cincinnati    33    62   .347   24   .233  2.94

Former champion Cleveland has raced back to the top of the best teams in the American League, and on all accounts have a starting rotation that matches man for man with the strong Pittsburg club. Earl Moore continues his dominant pitching, now with increased success of keeping batsmen off base – 166 hits in 219 innings is by far his best ratio of his career. He’s gone up against most of the American League aces (13-10 against them) and has not garnered the victories either Ed Killian (17-6, 1.62 ERA) or Charlie Smith (15-5, 2.02 ERA) opposing weaker teams. Six other teams vie for what amounts a 2nd place finish behind the Naps, each having lost roughly the same number of contests they’ve won. St. Louis leads that pack. Despite an extremely anemic offense, ace Red Donahue has managed a way to eek out victories, having gone 15-9 with a miniscule 1.90 ERA Ever since his disastrous 1902 winter tour, Donahue has improved every year to where he now ranks as one of the dominant hurlers of the day. The only other team of note with an outside chance is Boston, where Cy Young, Tom Hughes, and Bill Dinneen all have ERA’s within a tenth of a run of 2.00. Young, at 10-10, needs seven more wins for 350 total career victories.

American Club Standings, July 31, 1904

    Club     Won   Lost   Pct   G.B.  Avg.  ERA    
Cleveland     60    34   .638    -    .247  2.10 
St. Louis     48    46   .511   12    .230  2.30  
Chicago       47    46   .505   12.5  .249  2.60  
Detroit       47    47   .500   13    .245  2.25   
New York      45    47   .489   14    .264  2.62
Boston        44    48   .478   15    .238  2.04
Philadelphia  43    50   .462   16.5  .239  2.73
Washington    38    54   .413   21    .222  2.65

[No Pepper]

Phillies Upset Pittsburg to Earn Right to Face Naps in 1904's World's Series

The crucible of August turned too hot for the Chicago Cubs as the team never played winning ball in the remaining course of the season. Although the team nearly fielded a pitching staff of 4 20-game winners, the “just average” Cub hurlers could not support a league leading offense lead by Chance, Clarke and Tinker. Pittsburg had a cool August and it proved costly, winning only 12 of 26 contests in the critical month. The team rebounded and finished the season with a six game winning streak, including a sweep against the upstart Philadelphia squad, but it was too little too late to overtake the Phillies in that city’s first pennant victory. For Pittsburg, the offense clearly struggled to score runs without Ginger Beaumont, and for reasons unknown, the team traded league star Rube Waddell to Cincinnati for shortstop-third baseman Harry Steinfeldt. It may be speculated that Waddell, last year’s best pitcher and owner of an amazing 346 strikeouts this year, was in discontent with team officials regarding the loss of Beaumont and played aloof all year long. Steinfeldt has seen a steady decline in production since 1902, having only hit .226 this year. Philadelphia won 19 games in August and played well enough to the finish to sustain their lead. Rookie sensation Lefty Caldwell won 26 games, struck out 226 batsmen and effectively kept batters off base to push the Phillies towards the pennant. Pitchers Chappie McFarland and Frank Owen combined their own efforts to sport Philadelphia with the best pitching staff in the National League. Such mound presence was enough to hide the offensive shortcomings of the team, who were below average in most statistical categories.

Complete National Club Standings 1904

    Club     Won   Lost   Pct   G.B. Avg.  ERA    
Philadelphia  91    63   .591    -   .241  1.94   
Pittsburg     90    64   .584    1   .240  2.03
Chicago       84    70   .545    7   .262  2.52   
New York      83    71   .539    8   .258  2.32  
Boston        73    81   .474   18   .239  2.62
Cincinnati    66    88   .429   25   .239  2.64
Brooklyn      65    89   .422   26   .234  2.69
St. Louis     64    90   .416   27   .243  2.56

Cleveland regained its top position atop the American League, outlasting a hard-charging Chicago White Sox again, as they did in 1902, to win the pennant of 1904. Cleveland accomplished their feat on both sides of the diamond, leading the league in getting on base, slugging percentage and stolen bases, as well as starting pitching ERA and opponents batting average. Feerless captain Napoleon Lajoie (.308, 10 home runs and 83 runs batted in) and their starting rotation of Earl Moore with 21 wins, and Ed Killian and Charlie Smith, each with 26 wins, captivated the hometown cranks into a frenzy as they headed off to the World Series for the first time. One could say that the White Sox slipped their way into second place. The Sox had an average offensive attack, not headlined by any one star, but their pitching staff used everything under the sun to bring home victories. Spit, mud, licorice and the ever-present tobacco were choice deceivers in their arsensal. Pitchers Harry Howell and George “Sassafrass” Winter (19 wins) were inspired to take up Ed Walsh’s wet one after the rookie shutout the Senators in his major league debut in early September. The team went on to win 21 of 34 to let Cleveland know they weren’t laying down despite the Naps big lead.

Complete American Club Standings 1904

    Club     Won   Lost   Pct   G.B.  Avg.  ERA    
Cleveland     97    57   .630    -    .252  2.21 
Chicago       85    69   .552   12    .247  2.41  
St. Louis     77    77   .500   20    .240  2.20  
Boston        76    78   .494   21    .237  2.21  
Detroit       73    81   .474   24    .240  2.43
Washington    73    81   .474   24    .233  2.63
New York      72    82   .468   25    .261  2.81
Philadelphia  63    91   .409   34    .236  2.78

[No Pepper]

Final Statistical Leaders 1904

  National League          

Batting Average          
W. Keeler     BOS  .320          
M. Donlin     CIN  .313          
H. Smoot      STL  .311        

Runs Batted In              
J. Titus      PHI   84             
P. Foster     PIT   81		    
A. Devlin     NYG   73		    

Stolen Bases		   
F. Chance     CHI   80		   
J. Tinker     CHI   64		   
F. Clarke     CHI   60               

Wins			   
R. Ames      NYG   26	   
R. Caldwell  PHI   26		   
W. Lee       STL   26		   

[B]Earned Runs Average		  
R. Caldwell   PHI   1.57	  
C. McFarland  PHI   1.77		   
R. Waddell    PIT   1.92	   

Strikeouts		   
R. Waddell    PIT    346		   
R. Ames       NYG    269
C. Mathewson  NYG    232	   

  American League

Batting Average
J. Beckley    NYH   .323
G. Beaumont   NYH   .321
S. Crawford   DET   .321

Runs Batted In
J. Beckley    NYH   90
N. Lajoie     CLE   87
S. Crawford   DET   83

Stolen Bases
E. Flick      CLE   66
D. Holmes     BOS   51
G. Beaumont   NYH   49

Wins
E. Killian    CLE   26	
C. Smith      CLE   26
R. Donahue    STL   25

Earned Runs Average
C. Young     BOS   1.80
R. Donahue   STL   1.84
C. Morgan    CLE   1.95

Strikeouts
C. Bender    PHI   250
E. Moore     CLE   240
E. Plank     PHI   235

[No Pepper]

1904 World Series Recap: Philadelphia Phillies versus Cleveland Naps

Game 1: Philadelphia 2 – Cleveland 6
This is the first World’s Series start by a Slippery Elm Boy, as Pomeroy, Ohio native Cy Morgan took the mound for the Cleveland club against veteran Bob Wicker. Captain Lajoie doubled home two runs in the first against Wicker but Morgan overcame some wildness to go on to strike out six Phillie batsmen in a 6-2 opening series victory at home. Naps outfielder Jim Jackson stole 3 bases and scored 3 runs.

Game 2: Philadelphia 4 – Cleveland 5
Young Phillie Johnny Lush, a late season call-up, laced a 9th inning pinch hit triple to tie the game 4-4. Chappie McFarland gave up a double to Jim Jackson in the bottom of the tenth but managed to strikeout Lajoie for the second out. But Elmer Flick wasn’t fooled by an offspeed offering and cracked a game winning triple to deep centerfield to give the Naps an early two game lead over Philadelphia.

Game 3: Cleveland 1 – Philadelphia 4
With the series heading to Philadelphia, the Phillies sent star phenom Lefty Caldwell to the mound and he did not disappoint, allowing six scattered hits and striking out six. Earl Moore was visibly nervous and lacked command, walking four. Two came in the first, with light-hitting Roy Thomas doubling home one and Joe Kelley singling home another. That was all Philadelphia needed as Cleveland failed to mount any significant threat.

Game 4: Cleveland 3 – Philadelphia 2
Philadelphia squandered eleven hits and committed four errors allowing Cleveland to stay in the game until the twelfth inning when Jim Jackson continued his torrid hitting with a double. Elmer Flick followed a Lajoie pop-out with a single to left to score Jackson with the go ahead run. Relief specialist Bill Pounds secured the win in the bottom frame to give the Naps a 3 games to 1 series lead.

Game 5: Cleveland 6 – Philadelphia 0 Cleveland wins Series 4 games to 1
In a rematch of Game 1, Cy Morgan again dominated Bob Wicker and the Phillies with a seven-hit shutout to win the World’s Series for the Naps. Morgan displayed masterful control of his spitball, allowing no walks and striking out five Phillies. Cleveland added 3 runs in the seventh on Phillie miscues to expand on a 2-0 lead and never looked back.

[No Pepper]

Slippery Elm Boy Update 1904:

Two of our wet wily whippers again sat out of organized baseball in 1904. Bill Hart, now 38 who last played for Chicago two years ago, is probably done for his career while Chick Fraser, formerly of Philadelphia, is still young enough (31) but perhaps still too stubborn to end his “holdout.” In Boston, the Pilgrims returned to respectability, perhaps in part due to the strong pitching of Bill Dineen, who nearly claimed one-third of the team’s victories. He had a six-game winning streak at the beginning of June and perhaps pitched his finest game against on Independence Day in the nation’s capital with a 3-0 shutout and 7 strikeouts. Teammate Long Tom Hughes was an average pitcher at best this year, but with a little less control and less run support, he nearly matched his career-high in losses. Norwood Gibson was having a fine second season, allowing a .195 opponents batting average. He beat fellow Elm Boy Earl Moore and eventual American League Champion Cleveland 2 to 1 in a 12 inning marathon. However, the team traded Gibson to Seattle of the Pacific Coast League (now aligned with the National Commission) for the versatile slugger Paul Stroh. Stroh hit as poorly as the rest of the Bostons while Gibson was nearly unhittable in California.

Norwood Gibson

Jack Chesbro again had a poor year, this time without the guidance of veteran Clark Griffith, our mercurial hurler, now with Chesbro’s former team Pittsburg. One must believe that Chesbro was plagued by the Old Fox's double-cross, and labored to a 24-loss record. He was even pulled for a start on May 20 but still suffered the loss in relief. He started the next game however and lost 8-2 against Chicago, but came back and won his most impressive start of the year against St. Louis with a 4-hit shutout.

The accolades of Crossfire Earl Moore continued in 1904, enjoying his third straight 20 win season for Cleveland. He also finished second in the league in striking out batsmen. Moore’s success rubbed off on two other teammates who enjoyed breakout seasons. Cy Morgan began the year with the St. Louis Browns who at the time were in second place behind the Naps. He was the best newcomer in the league in June where he won 5 games and whipped a 1.89 ERA but then was inexplicably traded to Cleveland in July for rookie third baseman George Stovall. Morgan proceeded to go 12-4 the rest of the season and won two masterful games against Philadelphia in the World’s Series.

Cy Morgan

Elmer Stricklett signed on with the White Sox but it was two of his pupils that earned great success with the parent club as Elmer toiled in the minors all year. After a short stint at Minneapolis, where he met Stricklett, George “Sassafrass” Winter regained his starting position with the White Sox and found his groove with the saliva shoot in the summer months, where at one point he won 11 of 12 contests in the push to catch Cleveland. Another fellow minor leaguer, Big Ed Walsh, 23 years old, took to Stricklett’s new fangled pitch and put his own bent on it. He simply dominated in his third year with the Millers, earning his third-straight 20-win season with a 26-5 record and a fantastic 0.83 ERA. Batsmen only hit .159 against the big hurler from Plains, Texas, and he carried a heavy fastball too, striking out 230 men in 282 innings. That performance earned him a call up to Chicago where he continued his absolute dominance, winning 7 against 2 losses, a 1.26 ERA and a 4:1 strikeout to walk ratio. Look for Walsh to be the craze of 1905!

George Winter Ed Walsh

Clark Griffith enjoyed a fine season in pitching friendly Pittsburg, where he reclaimed his first 20-win season since 1899. He didn’t falter down the stretch but it wasn’t enough to catch pennant winner Philadelphia, where our old friend Frank Corridon failed to crack the big league team all year. Despite pitching effectively, he suffered an elbow injury and was out 2 months. Suddenly with the National League’s best pitching, it looks unlikely that he or Fred Mitchell will escape the minor leagues.

Player       Team   W   L  SV  ERA   G   GS   IP    HA    BB   K   CG  SHO
B. Hart                      - no team this year -
C. Fraser                    - no team this year -
B. Dineen     BOS   23  15  0  2.27  40  40  373.0  330   84  165  35   3
T. Hughes     BOS   12  24  0  2.41  38  38  336.0  312  104  179  30   3 
N. Gibson     BOS    7   7  0  1.73  14  14  120.0   85   48   50  10   1
J. Chesbro    NYH   15  24  0  3.13  40  39  344.2  349   91  186  34   3
E. Moore      CLE   21  17  0  1.95  39  39  354.2  269   91  240  37   4
C. Morgan     CLE   23  14  0  1.95  37  37  337.1  248   94  192  34   4
E. Stricklett CHA              - minor leagues -
G. Winter     CHA   19  11  0  2.32  31  31  275.1  231   57  105  29   4	
E. Walsh      CHA    7   2  0  1.26   9   9   86.0   60   12   45   8   1 
C. Griffith   PIT   24  12  0  1.98  37  37  326.2  287   55  111  33   4
F. Corridon   PHN              - minor leagues -

[No Pepper]

Pittsburg reclaims NL Pennant, New York City Alive in '05

The Pittsburg Pirates reclaimed the National League pennant with a very strong finish, winning 7 out of 10 games in every month except the two inaugural months of the campaign. The acquisitions of pitchers Tully Sparks from Brooklyn and Wiley Piatt from Boston proved that pitchers thrive in Pittsburg, as both old NL hurlers pitched as well as they had in years. Jim St. Vrain and Clark Griffith continued their success from the mound as well, each winning over 22 games. The league’s best pitching was supported by the league’s best hitting yet again, an attack led by Cy Seymour (.311 average, 12 homeruns) and shortstop Honus Wagner (43 doubles and 75 thefts). Pittsburg’s push was enough to demoralize the Cincinnati Redlegs, who had grabbed ex-Pirate Rube Waddell in a bizarre trade last year. The easily distracted but tremendously talented Waddell pitched to form but several injuries dampened his impact chasing his former team. Philadelphia standout pitcher Chappie McFarland did not make the squad this year and star Bob Wicker suffered with a weakened offense and 24 losses. Chicago fell to 93 losses and eventually traded dependable Ham Iburg to the Pacific Coast League after losing a spot in the rotation due to “uninspired” play. Rookie Ed Reulbach shouldered the load but Long Bob Ewing, from the lowly Athletics, fooled no one and lost nearly 30 games. World’s Series hero Cy Morgan was traded back to St. Louis in December and was relegated to relief work as the Cards’ management got stupidly drunk on Doc Reisling and sported no regular batsman who hit above .270. The only thing to write about in Boston is middle-aged rookie Irv Young (1.76 ERA, 16-20) who some cranks have dubbed “the Young Cy”.

Complete National Club Standing 1905

    Club     Won   Lost   Pct   G.B. Avg.  ERA    
Pittsburg    100    54   .649    -   .255  2.19   
New York      91    63   .591    9   .240  2.25
Cincinnati    83    71   .539   17   .250  2.36   
Brooklyn      78    76   .506   22   .253  2.56  
Philadelphia  78    76   .506   22   .244  2.45
Chicago       63    91   .409   37   .255  2.93
St. Louis     63    91   .409   37   .230  3.01
Boston        60    94   .390   40   .232  2.60

The New York Highlanders in their third season were enjoying their best season to date playing ten games over .500 ball at the end of July. The team managed to sign Cy Young away from Boston and it turned out to be a bonanza in what would become the great pitcher’s swan song. The New York club caught fire and went 44-16 the rest of the season to capture their first American League pennant. Young finished the year with a 20 wins, his first such season in five years. Spitballers Jack Chesbro and Buffalo Bill Hogg, along with Ambrose Puttmann shored up the team’s league leading pitching staff. Defending champion Cleveland made a push early but couldn’t sustain a winning percentage equal to that of New York. A dislocated shoulder sidelined batting champ Napoleon Lajoie in the season’s final weeks, hurting the effort. Boston’s only hope without Cy Young was Tom Hughes but the rest of the staff equaled the offense in futility, but still managed to far-surpass the ugly play in Philadelphia. Pitcher Andy Coakley took 30 losses and Chief Bender, who had a fantastic rookie campaign in 1903 (26-8), lost 29, his second-consecutive 20-loss season.

Complete American Club Standing 1905

    Club     Won   Lost   Pct   G.B.  Avg.  ERA    
New York      93    61   .604    -    .256  1.96 
Cleveland     88    66   .571    5    .262  2.35  
Chicago       81    73   .526   12    .253  2.68  
Washington    80    74   .519   13    .241  2.56  
Detroit       79    75   .513   14    .246  2.68
St. Louis     74    80   .481   19    .244  2.67
Boston        71    83   .461   22    .233  2.72
Philadelphia  50   104   .325   43    .236  3.26

[No Pepper]

1905 World’s Series Recap

Game 1: New York 1 – Pittsburg 8

New Slippery Elm Boy and American League star Bill Hogg fidgeted all day long as he couldn’t wet his spitter enough to keep the hot hitting Pittsburg club off the bases. He surrendered 8 walks, 6 being in the deciding 5th inning alone. Effective spot-starter Gus Thompson got the nod and pitched a fine five-hitter for the opening win.

Game 2: New York 3– Pittsburg 1

It was all Ambrose Puttmann in the box for New York, as he held the better offense to just six hits and contributed 3 hits of his own to even the series. Puttmann scored the go-ahead run in the third off on rookie Hal Chase’s sacrifice to leftfield.

Game 3: Pittsburg 3 – New York 2

Honus Wagner and Jimmy Sebring connected for 2 hits apiece against New York’s Cy Young in a 3-2 victory in front of a boisterous crowd. 3 errors set up the runs for Pittsburg and Jim St. Vrain and Harry Felix combined to 3-hit the Highlanders.

Game 4: Pittsburg 0 – New York 1

In a matchup of bitter rivals, pupil Jack Chesbro got the best of former mentor Clark Griffith in a heated contest that New York won in the ninth to even up the series 2 games apiece. The two spitballers doused each other’s clubs pitch for pitch until the final frame when firstsacker replacement George Magoon’s throw to first sailed wide of Griffith, allowing New York’s Jimmy Mathison to score the winning run.

Game 5: Pittsburg 4 – New York 2

Gus Thompson pitched another beauty to win his second game of the series against New York’s Bill Hogg. Buffalo Bill again choked, this time in the 10th inning when a walk, an error and a wild pitch set up a Jimmy Sebring single to score two Pirates. Pittsburg’s second-baseman Del Howard’s 3 hits bumped his Series’ leading average to .421.

Game 6: New York 5 – Pittsburg 3

With New York facing elimination and the Series back in Pittsburg, New York called on Puttmann to silence the Pirate attack. It turned into a battle of attrition between him and Wiley Piatt of the Pirates, as both men surrendered 11 hits over 9 innings. It was New York’s thirdbaseman Wid Conroy’s bat that finally woke up with two run-scoring triples that ignited the New Yorkers past Pittsburg in the sixth, when all scoring ceased. The Series now tied 3-3.

Game 7: New York 4 – Pittsburg 0 "Forever Young"

In a game for the ages, all-star great Denton “Cy” Young pitched a gem in what eventually became his last game on the world’s stage. A six-hit shutout by the all-time wins leader stunned the home crowd at Exposition Park. To cap off the scoring and long wonderful career, Young belted a home run to left over the heads of the overflow crowd. After his final pitch, the Pittsburg cranks bestowed great honor upon the 38 year old pitcher as his teammates carried him off the field in victory.

[No Pepper]

Slippery Elm Boy Update 1905

Frank Corridon and Elmer Stricklett, our minor league but very important early spitball brothers are no longer in organized baseball, having been dropped from their respective teams to find work elsewhere. Both exhibited erratic control and could never establish consistency required for the majors. It is irony that the fellows they passed their knowledge to have fared much better and have done so on the big stage. Bill Dineen and Tom Hughes had to make up for the loss of star Cy Young in Boston in 1905. Despite being the workhorse of the two, Dineen suffered his worst season since 1902, which was a hitter’s year, and with 1905 having lower offensive numbers and Dineen approaching 30, we may have seen his peak. Hughes repeated a solid performance from a year ago and got more support, winning 18. Ex-Pilgrim Norwood Gibson was traded to the PCL.

In Chicago, Harry Howell flipped his record from a year ago (22-16) after consulting with Ed Walsh about his grip and choice of expectorant. Finding licorice to be his ticket, Howell kept batters to a .235 average and struck out twice more than he walked in his second straight year. Big Ed Walsh used a heavy shine ball in his first full season, enjoying a similar record with Howell but struck out seventy more batters (231) and had five shutouts. The rookie already commands the strike zone at 24 years of age and should be one of the best practitioners of the shine ball for years to come.

Big Ed Walsh, Chicago

In St. Louis, former American Leaguers George Winter and 1904 World’s Series star Cy Morgan had forgettable seasons in 1905. Winter lost 24 games and command of his emery ball after leaving Walsh and Chicago. Morgan was inexplicably relegated to relief work. New to the shine ball, the Cubs’ Bob Ewing failed miserably in trying to work his new pitch into his repertoire, suffering through 28 losses. Noodles Hahn in Cincinnati continues to pitch strong, enjoying his fifth 20-win season in his 7-year career. On September 26, Hahn demonstrated the virtues of the spitball on a pitcher’s arm, logging an amazing 18 innings against Boston in a 2-1 victory. In Cleveland, Earl Moore continues to be as solid as they come while ex-Pirate/minor leaguer Cy Falkenberg surprised everyone with a tremendous season, winning 26 contests and striking out 240 batsmen. Falkenberg nearly took home the pitching triple crown by tying in wins, coming third in ERA (1.98) and one strikeout behind leader Chief Bender of Philadelphia.

Noodles Hahn, Cincinnati Cy Falkenberg, Cleveland

Jack Chesbro may have finally found his rhythm this year, having won 20 games for the champion New York club. His 2.21 ERA was nearly a run better than last year and kept batters noticeably more uncomfortable at the plate. He claims a switch to a different brand of tobacco and the presence of Cy Young, who some claim he tried to convert, as reasons for his success. But yet again, a teammate managed to have an even better year, perhaps beginners’ luck. Bill Hogg went 26-11 with a 1.74 ERA to lead the league. Although he kept hits to a minimum, his spitball often strayed from its intended target, leading to a league-leading 149 walks. His control hurt him in the playoffs versus Pittsburg, losing both games he pitched in and made some wonder how much of a big game pitcher the young right-hander is.

Bill Hogg, New York

Across town, Hooks Wiltse took the National League by storm for the resurgent Giants much like Hogg had done for the Highlanders yet displayed better control and struck out 226 batsmen. Wiltse tied with Ambrose Puttmann with 8 shutouts and pitched a one-hitter versus the Reds. Clark Griffith had another amazing year at his advanced age (35), recording his eighth 20-win season, second consecutive in Pittsburgh. He pitches to contact but is losing endurance, having only gone the distance 10 times in 39 starts.

Hooks Wiltse, New York

Author's Note: I've decided against importing the spitballers during the year of their professional debut. While not too much work by itself, I've overlooked a few duplicates when they import automatically. I'm not reporting minor league statistics (league totals are way off) and importing early reduces ratings compared to the auto-import ratings, even with recalc on. And, with recalc on, any ratings edits I do according to the Matrix, will be "erased". I'll zip through 1906, set up my feeder leagues for '07 and begin taking on your fictional characters for "Crazy '08".

[No Pepper]

Pennsylvania Proud and Cleveland Bats Buzz in 1906

The Philadelphia Phillies did their part in keeping the National League pennant in Pennsylvania, by outlasting perennial contenders and cross-state rivals the Pittsburg Pirates in the 1906 campaign. In fact, the two quaker teams have swapped pennants every year since 1901. The acquisition of ex-Pirate hurler Deacon Phillippe, who had enjoyed a couple of seasons in California, provided the Phillies already strong pitching corps with another durable arm. Phillippe finished with 23 wins and 14 losses. Converted first baseman and only 20 years old, pitcher Johnny Lush played above his years in leading the Phillies to 26 wins and an amazing 10 shutouts. He was nearly unhittable too, giving up 100 hits less than innings pitched (374). 22-year old Lefty Caldwell lead the team in ERA and enjoyed his third consecutive 20-win season. Leading the offense singlehandedly was leftfielder Sherry Magee who lead the team in all offensive categories. The Pirates fell down the stretch after losing 1905 World’s Series star pitcher Gus Thompson to an serious arm injury and starters Steinfeldt and Seymour to significant back injuries. They still sported the league’s top offense, led by newcomer Jim Nealon’s .332 average (leading the NL) and the always dependable Honus Wagner.

Complete National Club Standings 1906

    Club     Won   Lost   Pct   G.B. Avg.  ERA    
Philadelphia  97    57   .630    -   .246  2.12 
Pittsburg     90    64   .584    7   .258  2.38   
New York      82    72   .532   15   .251  2.44
Brooklyn      81    73   .526   16   .242  2.34   
Chicago       80    74   .519   17   .246  2.59  
Cincinnati    70    84   .455   27   .240  2.62
St. Louis     64    90   .416   33   .233  2.72
Boston        52   102   .338   45   .232  2.97

Despite releasing Crossfire Earl Moore before the season and trading Cy Falkenberg in June, the Cleveland Naps nipped the American League pennant in 1906 for the franchise’s second flag in three years. With the loss of two key pitchers, the Naps offense charged ahead. Obtained in a trade with St. Louis for Elmer Flick late last year, leftfielder George Stone made the most of his first starting opportunity and led all AL hitters in batting average, with a .343 mark, doubles with 36 and 18 triples. The White Sox made it close with a completely opposite approach of strong pitching. Ed Walsh and Roy Patterson pitched in over 20 wins apiece and ERAs under 2.00 but it was perhaps the down year handed in by Addie Joss, who was recovering from a serious arm injury that kept him out of the rotation last year.

Complete American Club Standings 1906

    Club     Won   Lost   Pct   G.B.  Avg.  ERA    
Cleveland     91    63   .591    -    .269  2.41 
Chicago       89    65   .578    2    .235  2.10  
New York      84    70   .545    7    .259  2.30  
Detroit       77    77   .500   14    .251  2.84  
Philadelphia  72    82   .468   19    .235  2.43
Boston        70    84   .455   21    .241  2.45
St. Louis     69    85   .448   22    .239  2.32
Washington    64    90   .416   27    .237  2.89

[No Pepper]

Final Statistical Leaders 1906

  National League          

Batting Average          
J. Nealon     PIT  .332          
H. Wagner     PIT  .319        
M. Donlin     CIN  .303        

Runs Batted In              
G. Magee      PHI   90             
H. Wagner     PIT   75		    
J. Williams   BRO   74		    

Stolen Bases		   
O. Clymer     PIT   57		   
F. Chance     CHI   53		   
S. Magee      PHI   50               

Wins			   
W. Piatt     PIT   27	   
J. Lush      PHI   26		   
E. Karger    PIT   24		   

[B]Earned Runs Average		  
M. Brown      STL   1.82	  
R. Caldwell   PHI   1.91		   
E. Siever     BRO   1.94	   

Strikeouts		   
R. Waddell    CIN    269		   
R. Ames       NYG    238
J. Lush       PHI    209	   

  American League

Batting Average
G. Stone      CLE   .343
S. Crawford   DET   .317
M. Grady      CHI   .315

Runs Batted In
G. Stone      CLE   83
N. Lajoie     CLE   74
B. Musser     CHI   73

Stolen Bases
E. Heidrick     STL   68
T. Jordan       CHI   62
N. Callahan     CHI   53

Wins
R. Patterson   CHI   27	
J. Buchanan    STL   25
G. Liebhardt   CLE   25

Earned Runs Average
R. Patterson   CHI   1.78
R. Glaze       BOS   1.86
E. Walsh       CHI   1.91

Strikeouts
E. Walsh    CHI   218
E. Plank    PHI   215
S. Doyle    NYH   196

[No Pepper]

1906 World’s Series Recap

Game 1: Cleveland 2 – Philadelphia 4
Three straight scoring frames at the start of the game in Philadelphia was all that Lefty Caldwell and the Phillies needed to stave off Cleveland in the opening game of the series. Caldwell batted in a run in the second and Cleveland starter Ed Killian walked in Sherry Magee after loading the bases with walks in the third. Charles Hemphill drove home two on a single in the fifth for Cleveland’s only scores.

Game 2: Cleveland 6 – Philadelphia 5
Three straight singles and an error gave Cleveland three runs and a 6-1 lead in the fifth until the Phillies responded with four consecutive hits to score three. A balk by Cleveland’s Red Fisher allowed a run to score in the ninth but the otherwise clutch Sherry Magee flew out to right with a man on third to end the game.

Game 3: Philadelphia 8 – Cleveland 0
Despite matching the Phillies in hits with 10, Cleveland could not muster a run across home plate against young starter Johnny Lush. Five errors contributed to the scoring for Philadelphia, capitalizing against otherwise stellar second baseman Sam Robins’ two miscues. Lush picked up two hits and scored twice to help his own cause.

Game 4: Philadelphia 7 – Cleveland 5
The Phillies made it two in a row in Cleveland behind the timely two-run single by John Titus to even the score at 3-3 in the third, after which Philadelphia never looked back. Titus is hitting .467 for the series with six runs batted in to lead the Phillies. Sam Robins came back with a strong game and went 3 for 3 but only scored once with Nig Clarke and Ollie Pickering hitting 4 for 7 behind him.

Game 5: Philadelphia 4 – Cleveland 8
The Naps slammed Lefty Caldwell for 5 runs in the seventh, highlighted by three straight hits: Sam Robins run-scoring triple, Nig Clarke’s double and Pickering’s single up the middle. The series has put emphasis on the more potent offense as pitchers have been unable to settle in and get a handle on opposing batters. The series is 3-2 in favor of the Phillies heading back to Philadelphia.

Game 6: Cleveland 6 – Philadelphia 1
The Phillies squander another chance to win the Series with a loss to the impressive Red Fisher, who wins his second playoff game against Burchell. Charlie Hemphill, the man Cleveland got in return from the Cubs for spitballer Cy Falkenberg proved his worth by going 3 for 5 atop the Naps’ lineup. The Phillies top five go 1 for 17 in front of infielders Childs and Elberfeld who managed two hits a piece.

Game 7: Cleveland 1 – Philadelphia 4
The top five in Philadelphia’s lineup, silenced in Game 6, erupt for 3 runs on 8 hits against Cleveland son Charlie Smith. A double-steal caught Naps’ catcher Nig Clarke by surprise and his throw sailed wide of third base allowing Dolan to score. A ground out by Titus scored Magee later in the inning and that’s all that Johnny Lush needed to win his second Series win to give Philadelphia its first World Series win!