Chapter 7

THE MAY RECORD. -------------------------------------------------------- P P P e P e l r l r L a c L a c W o y e W o y e o s e n o s e n Clubs. n t d t Clubs. n t d t -------------------------------------------------------- Pittsburgh 18 5 28 .783 Brooklyn 12 11 23 .522 Cleveland 13 7 20 .684 Chicago 9 12 21 .429 Baltimore 12 6 18 .667 St. Louis 9 16 25 .360 Boston 14 8 22 .636 Cincinnati 7 13 20 .350 Philadelphia 12 7 19 .632 Louisville 6 14 20 .300 New York 13 11 24 .542 Washington 4 19 23 .174 --------------------------------------------------------

The monthly record differs in its percentage figures from the pennant race record, as the latter gives the totals of the games played from April 19th, while the former gives the totals of each month's games only. A hundred and twenty-nine games, resulting in victories, were played in May, with, of course, the same number of defeats. Seven of the twelve clubs won more games than they lost.

THE JUNE CAMPAIGN.

The June campaign opened with Cleveland in the van in pennant race percentages, the other clubs in the first division being the Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Boston and Brooklyn clubs in order; New York leading the second division, followed by St. Louis, Cincinnati, Louisville, Chicago and Washington; the leader in the race having a percentage of .690, and the tail-ender .212, a difference in percentage figures of 478 points, showing a poorly contested race thus far. Only two Western clubs by this time remained in the first division, viz., Cleveland and Pittsburgh; New York and Washington being the two Eastern clubs in the second division. Baltimore overtook and passed Cleveland in the first week of the June campaign, and closed the month in the lead. Boston, too, rallied and pulled up in the race from fifth place on June 4th to second position by June 11th, and remained there to the end of the month. Brooklyn also took a jump from sixth place on June 18th to third position on June 29th; New York not getting out of the second division until the last of the month. In the meantime the two Western teams of Cleveland and Pittsburgh began to lose ground, and by the 21st of June they occupied fifth and sixth positions in the race, Cleveland leading their rivals of Pittsburgh by 13 points. On the same date Philadelphia was in third place, but the "Phillies" fell off to fifth position by the end of the month. In victories won during June Brooklyn led with 18 games won out of 23 played, Baltimore being second with 20 victories and 6 defeats, and Boston third with 18 games won to 8 lost. On June 8th Washington had pushed Louisville into the last ditch, and also led Chicago; but the "Colts" got ahead of the "Senators" by the end of the month. On June 30th Baltimore held the lead in the pennant race with the percentage figures of .712 to Louisville's .255, a difference of 457 points, only one Western club being in the first division at the end of the month.

Here is the record of the June campaign, showing which club led in won games during the month.

THE JUNE RECORD. -------------------------------------------------------- P P P e P e l r l r L a c L a c W o y e W o y e o s e n o s e n Clubs. n t d t Clubs. n t d t -------------------------------------------------------- Brooklyn 18 5 28 .789 Philadelphia 11 12 23 .478 Baltimore 20 6 26 .769 Cleveland 9 13 22 .409 Boston 18 8 26 .692 St. Louis 10 15 25 .406 New York 15 8 23 .686 Washington 9 15 24 .375 Pittsburgh 13 13 26 .500 Chicago 8 17 25 .320 Cincinnati 12 13 25 .480 Louisville 4 22 26 .154 --------------------------------------------------------

It will be seen that out of the twelve clubs but four won more games than they lost, the Louisvilles ending the month's play with a record of but 4 games won out of 26 played, the poorest record of any single month of the season.

THE JULY CAMPAIGN.

The July campaign opened with the Baltimore and Boston clubs as apparent fixtures for the two leading positions, the "Orioles" leading the champions on July 5th by seven points only, viz., .679 to .672. On the 2d of July New York was sixth and Brooklyn third in the race. By July 5th, however, the "Giants" had jumped into third place, and Brooklyn had fallen back to sixth position. On the same date Baltimore, Boston and New York occupied the three leading positions, and though three more months of the season still remained, the other nine clubs were even then virtually out of the race, the only other point of interest left in the championship contest being that of the fight for the last three places in the first division, Pittsburgh being at that time the only Western club out of the second division. Of course, such a one-sided condition of things in the pennant race led to a falling off in the interest in the championship contests, especially out West, where the clubs of that section lost patronage greatly, four of the six Western clubs being virtually out of the race as early as May, as far as winning the pennant was concerned. During July there were only two points of interest in the race outside of the fight for first place between the three leaders, viz., the struggle between the Brooklyn and Philadelphia clubs for fourth place in the race, and that between the Cleveland and Pittsburgh clubs to retain a place in the first division. Cleveland lost its position in the first division the first week in July, Pittsburgh on July 2d being in fourth place. By the 6th of that month the "Phillies" had overtaken them, and by the 9th the Pittsburghs were down to sixth place, the Clevelands then heading the second division. The "Pirates" then rallied and got ahead of Brooklyn, the latter being driven into the second division by July 17th, Cleveland rallying and getting among the six leaders again by the 18th of July, after which date they remained in that division to the close of the season, A feature of the July campaign among the six tail-end clubs was the close fight between Washington and Louisville on the edge of the last ditch. First one club would cross the goal line and make a touch-down--as the foot ball men have it--and then the other, Louisville being in eleventh place at the end of the month, while the "Senators" rolled about in the last ditch. When the July campaign ended Boston was in the van with the percentage figures of .659, Baltimore being second with .618, and New York third with .613. It looked at that time pretty sure for Boston.

Here is the record of the month's play, showing which club won the most games during July:

THE JULY RECORD. -------------------------------------------------------- P P P e P e l r l r L a c L a c W o y e W o y e o s e n o s e n Clubs. n t d t Clubs. n t d t -------------------------------------------------------- New York 18 7 25 .720 Philadelphia 12 14 26 .462 Boston 16 9 25 .640 Baltimore 10 14 24 .417 Cleveland 18 11 29 .621 Pittsburgh 10 16 26 .385 Chicago 16 10 26 .615 St. Louis 10 17 27 .370 Cincinnati 16 11 27 .593 Brooklyn 9 16 25 .360 Louisville 13 15 28 .464 Washington 8 16 24 .331 --------------------------------------------------------

But five clubs out of the twelve won more games than they lost during the July campaign, but there was a little improvement shown in the difference of percentage points between the leader and tail-ender, the figures being .363. The Baltimores made the poorest record in July for a month's campaign of any they made during the season; while New York made the best show of any one of their four months' campaigns up to the close of July. Chicago also made their best monthly record in July, likewise Cincinnati and Louisville.

THE AUGUST CAMPAIGN.

Baltimore rallied in fine style in August, that club winning 22 out of 29 games that month, while New York won 20 out of 28; but Boston won only 15 out of 25, Philadelphia pulling up with 19 out of 29. Chicago also won a majority of their August games, these being the only clubs of the twelve which won more games during the month than they lost. When the August campaign opened the first division clubs included Boston, Baltimore, New York, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Brooklyn, the "Phillies" being in the second division; but the latter soon took Brooklyn's place and sent them to seventh place in the race. But before the first week of the month had ended, Brooklyn replaced Pittsburgh in the first division. The "Pirates," however rallied and drove their Eastern opponents back again; Brooklyn ending the month in sixth place, and after that the "Pirates" remained at the head of the second division to the finish. The 31st of August saw the first division clubs fixed for the season, as far as first and sixth places in the race were concerned, the interesting point in the month's campaign being the struggle between the New York and Boston clubs for second place and that between Brooklyn and Philadelphia for fourth position. There was but one Western club in the first division at the end of August, the other five staying in the second division to the finish, a result that was ruinous to the financial interests of the Western clubs, and to a large extent to the clubs of the East, all of which clubs played to "small houses" out West, especially at Louisville, the cranks of "Breckinridgeville" being disgusted with their local club team during the last three months of the season.

Here is the record of the August campaign, showing each club's victories and defeats for August;

THE AUGUST RECORD. ----------------------------------------------------------- P P P e P e l r l r L a c L a c W o y e W o y e o s e n o s e n Clubs. n t d t Clubs. n t d t ----------------------------------------------------------- Baltimore 22 7 29 .759 Washington 13 14 27 .481 New York 20 8 28 .714 St. Louis 9 13 22 .409 Philadelphia 19 10 29 .655 Cleveland 9 15 24 .375 Boston 15 10 25 .600 Pittsburgh 8 16 24 .333 Chicago 15 12 27 .556 Cincinnati 7 19 26 .269 Brooklyn 14 14 28 .500 Louisville 5 18 23 .217 -----------------------------------------------------------

It will be seen that August was a bad month for the Boston champions, while it was the very reverse for the Chicago "Colts," the latter making their best monthly record in August. The difference in percentage points between the leader and the tail-ender at the close of the August campaign was 355 points, the best of the season to that date. Still the figures showed a comparatively poor race, several of the minor league races being more evenly contested. Cleveland and Pittsburgh were behind Washington in percentage of victories during the August campaign, the latter making their best monthly record in August, thereby escaping their old place in the last ditch.

THE SEPTEMBER CAMPAIGN.

Baltimore virtually had the pennant in their hands the first week of the September campaign, the only point of interest in the race left at that time being the struggle for second place between New York and Boston; all of the other clubs had long been practically out of the race, a result which involved considerable loss for the majority of the twelve League clubs. This state of things in the major league pennant race is the result of the selfish policy of a minority in trying to monopolize the cream of the playing element in the League ranks without regard to the saving clause of the League organization, the principle of "_One for all and all for one_," the very essence of the plan of running the League on true business principles.

During September the Brooklyn club tried their best to oust the "Phillies" out of fourth place, while the Clevelands worked hard to take Brooklyn's position in fifth place, but both clubs failed in their projects. Up to September 6th the "Giants" tried in vain to send the Bostons down to third place, but it was not until the 7th of September that they were able to oust the champions out of second place in the race, and when they did so they kept them out to the finish, the champions failing to rally after they had lost the position. It was a close fight, however, as on September 10th New York led Boston in percentage of victories by only 3 points, viz., .655 to .652, Baltimore leading at that date with .684. By September 19th, however, the Bostons had got down to .631, and New York's figures were .667, with "the country safe." Boston's lowest score in percentage figures for the month was reached on September 25th, when they touched .623. By that time the places in the first division were all settled, and all of those in the second division also, except Cincinnati and St. Louis. On September 29th Cincinnati led St. Louis by the percentage figures of .424 to .415, but two victories by St. Louis over Washington, against a drawn game by Cincinnati with Cleveland on the 30th, gave St. Louis the lead by .424 to .419, and Comiskey's "Reds" had to finish in tenth position, beaten in the race by Von der Abe's "Browns," a galling fact for the Cincinnati cranks.

Here is the month's record of victories and defeats in September:

THE SEPTEMBER RECORD. -------------------------------------------------------- P P P e P e l r l r L a c L a c W o y e W o y e o s e n o s e n Clubs. n t d t Clubs. n t d t -------------------------------------------------------- Baltimore 20 3 23 .870 Philadelphia 13 12 25 .520 New York 20 6 26 .769 St. Louis 11 13 24 .458 Boston 14 11 25 .560 Cincinnati 10 16 26 .385 Cleveland 13 11 24 .542 Chicago 9 17 26 .346 Brooklyn 14 12 26 .538 Washington 8 16 24 .333 Pittsburgh 12 11 23 .522 Louisville 5 21 26 .192 --------------------------------------------------------

The appended summary shows the progress of each club from the opening to the close of the season, as also in what month each club made its best and worst record during the championship campaign:

SUMMARY OF VICTORIES AND DEFEATS. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- T S h e e p A t F A u e i p J J g m n r M u u u b i i a n l s e s l y e y t r h Clubs. W. L. W. L. W. L. W. L. W. L. W. L. W. L. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Baltimore 5 3 12 6 20 6 10 14 22 7 20 3 89 39 New York 3 5 13 11 15 8 18 7 20 8 20 6 88 44 Boston 6 2 14 8 18 8 16 9 15 10 14 11 83 49 Philadelphia 6 3 12 7 11 12 12 14 19 10 13 12 71 56 Brooklyn 3 5 12 11 18 5 9 16 14 14 14 12 70 61 Cleveland 6 2 13 7 9 13 18 11 9 15 13 11 68 61 Pittsburgh 4 4 18 5 13 13 10 16 8 16 12 11 65 65 Chicago 1 8 9 12 8 17 16 10 15 12 9 17 57 75 St. Louis 6 2 9 16 10 15 10 17 9 13 11 13 56 76 Cincinnati 4 4 7 13 12 13 16 11 7 19 10 16 54 75 Washington 2 7 4 19 9 15 8 16 13 14 8 16 45 87 Louisville 4 5 6 14 4 22 13 15 5 18 5 21 36 94 Totals 50 50 129 129 147 147 156 156 156 156 149 149 782 782 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

MONTHLY RECORD OF PERCENTAGE.

The following table shows the monthly record of percentage of victories in the campaign from April to September.

1894. S e p A t A u e p J J g m r M u u u b i a n l s e Clubs. l y e y t r --------------------------------------------- Baltimore .625 .654 .712 .618 .657 .695 New York .375 .500 .564 .613 .639 .667 Boston .750 .645 .667 .659 .645 .629 Philadelphia .667 .643 .569 .526 .562 .559 Brooklyn .375 .500 .623 .545 .533 .534 Cleveland .750 .679 .549 .575 .529 .527 Pittsburgh .500 .710 .614 .531 .491 .500 Chicago .111 .333 .327 .430 .458 .432 St. Louis .750 .455 .431 .412 .411 .421 Cincinnati .500 .393 .434 .488 .434 .419 Washington .222 .188 .281 .296 .343 .341 Louisville .444 .345 .255 .325 .302 .277 ---------------------------------------------

It will be seen that in percentage figures of each month's play, Boston, Cleveland and St. Louis were tied in April. In May, Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Baltimore led. In June, Baltimore, Boston and Brooklyn were in the van. In July, the three leaders were Boston, Baltimore and New York. In August, also, the same three were nearest the goal, and September saw Baltimore carrying off the pennant, followed by New York and Boston.

THE CAMPAIGN RECORD OF 1894.

We introduce in the GUIDE for 1895 a new and important record, which shows, at a glance almost, the total score of each championship game _won_, _lost_ and _drawn_ from April 19th to September 30th, inclusive, and also gives the names of the pitchers who were credited with pitching in a victory, or charged with pitching in a defeat. The record of each month's campaign, too, is given, with the position in the pennant race each of the twelve clubs occupied at the close of each month's campaign of the six comprising the championship season. This record in full will be found to be the most complete table of the statistics of the League season yet published in the GUIDE series, and especially valuable as a reference record.

THE APRIL RECORD.

The League championship season of 1894 began on April 19th and ended on September 30th, the April campaign opening at Boston, Baltimore, Washington and St. Louis on the 19th, at Cincinnati and Louisville on the 20th, and at Philadelphia and Brooklyn on the 21st, while the opening games at New York, Pittsburgh and Chicago were not played until the 24th, 25th and 28th of April respectively, and not at Cleveland until May 3d. Fifty games were played in April, the twelve clubs of the two divisions of the League being engaged in playing their respective home-and-home series. Here is the complete record of the April campaign, showing the pitchers of each side and the total score of each contest of the month: