[abell1198]

The American League 1900's Division is living up to preseason (lack of) expectations, as all teams are under .500. The division lead has two teams at the top at 26-31. The 1908 Detroit Tigers improved their position by five games while having a winning May. The Tigers are 15th in the AL with a team batting average of .278 and are 7th in the AL in stolen bases with 79. LF Matty McIntyre (.327 avg) leads the Tigers, who have three others hitting .300 or better. SP George Mullin (5-3, 3.43 ERA) leads a below average pitching staff. RF Ty Cobb made news on May 7 when he went 5-7 in a 9-7 win over the 1917 Chicago White Sox, who the Tigers ended up sweeping. The 1906 Chicago White Sox share the lead with the Tigers, who they swept in May. Unfortunately, they had trouble beating other teams, ending May with a 10-19 record and losing the three game lead they had at the end of April. The White Sox were swept by the 1973 Oakland A's, 2006 Detroit Tigers and 1929 Philadelphia Athletics. The White Sox ended the month on a four game losing streak and have lost 8 of their last 9. SS George Davis still leads the team in hitting, raising his average 15 points to .345. Davis is the only .300 hitter on a team with below average hitting. Davis is also tied for 2nd in the AL with 26 doubles. Davis also made news on May 5 when he went 5-7 in an 11-8, 13 inning loss to the 1990 Oakland A's.

In third place are the 1909 Detroit Tigers at 23-34, who have maintained staying at 3 GB. The Tigers lead the AL in stolen bases with 112, with RF Ty Cobb (.342 avg) tied for the Major League lead with 32. Cobb is one of two .300 hitters on the team. The Tiger's starting pitching has been terrible, ranking 107th in ERA at 5.71. The Tigers are currently on an eight game losing streak, highlighted by sweeps at the hands of the 1957 New York Yankees and 1969 Baltimore Orioles.

The 1907 Detroit Tigers find themselves in fourth place at 22-35, 4 GB. The Tigers have actually gained two games on the division leaders this month. RF Ty Cobb (.316 avg) is one of two .300 hitters. SP Bill Donovan leads the pitching staff at 5-5, 2.17 ERA.

In fifth place, the 1905 Philadelphia Athletics remain 7 GB of the division lead with a record of 19-38. The team has no .300 hitters in the lineup. SP Andy Coakley (7-1, 2.73 ERA) is the only winning pitcher, although SP Rube Waddell (3-6, 3.40 ERA) leads the AL in strikeouts with 139.

In last place are the 1903 Boston Americans at 18-39. Good news for them is they are still 8 GB in a weak division. DH Chick Stahl is the team's only .300 hitter at .305, while three players in the lineup are hitting under .200. SS Freddy Parent (.284, 2 HR, 20 RBI) is tied for 2nd in the AL with seven triples. SP Cy Young is 4-7, with a 3.63 ERA. The Americans only won two series in May and were swept by the 1913 Philadelphia Athletics and 1961 New York Yankees.

The National League 1900's Division is led by the 1906 Chicago Cubs at 36-21. The Cubs took over first place in May and have built a four game lead. The Cubs are ranked #1 in defense and are 6th in stolen bases with 81. 3B Harry Steinfeldt still leads the team in hitting with his .359 average and SP Fred Beebe (7-2, 2.51 ERA) is still the best pitcher on the staff. The starters all have ERA under 4.00 and are ranked 8th overall with a 2.94 ERA. But the bullpen is still this team's weakness. The Cubs did manage to sweep both the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates and 2006 St. Louis Cardinals this month, but lost their last three series of May.

In second place are the former first place team, the 1903 Pittsburgh Pirates, at 32-25. The Pirates had a two game lead at the end of April, but a 12-17 May has them four games out. The Pirates were swept by the 1949 Brooklyn Dodgers this month and also suffered sweeps by the 1954 New York Giants and 1911 New York Giants during a seven game skid. The Pirates look to be turning things around, finishing May with a four game winning streak in which they swept the 1926 St. Louis Cardinals. LF Fred Clarke (.316, 6 HR, 34 RBI) and CF Ginger Beaumont (.314, 6 HR, 38 RBI) lead the Pirate hitters, while SP Deacon Phillippe (6-3, 2.74 ERA) and SP Sam Leever (8-2, 3.10) lead the way for the pitching staff. CL Brickyard Kennedy (2-2, 2.20 ERA, 19 SV) continues his good performance and is tied for 1st in the NL in saves.

The 1909 Pittsburgh Pirates (31-26) find themselves in third place and are still 5 GB. C George Gibson (.315 avg) and SS Honus Wagner (.308 avg) lead all hitters. SP Nick Maddox (7-3, 2.95 ERA) made news on May 17 when he pitched a four hit shutout over the 1961 Cincinnati Reds. The Pirates won 9-0, as Maddox struck out three and walked none. Notable wins for the Pirates included sweeps of the 1984 San Diego Padres and 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers.

In fourth place are the 1908 Chicago Cubs at 28-29, which keeps them 8 GB of the division lead. The Cubs have no .300 hitters in the lineup. SP Orval Overall (6-4, 2.87 ERA) and SP Jack Pfiester (6-4, 2.95 ERA) are doing what they can to win games. The Cubs were 16-13 in May after a 12-16 record in April. The Cubs managed to sweep the 2005 Houston Astros and 1982 St. Louis Cardinals.

The 1905 New York Giants are in fifth place at 26-31. The Giants fell another game back of the lead and are currently 10 GB. The Giants were 15-14 in May after their initial 11-17 mark in April. The Giants hitters are performing well, as the team is 1st in the NL in OBP (.365), 1st in walks (267), 4th in stolen bases (89) and 6th in runs scored (299). CF Mike Donlin is hitting .379, which is 6th in the NL. Donlin is also tied for 5th in the NL in hits with 85. Donlin had a 36 game hit streak, which ended on May 23. LF Sam Mertes is hitting .355 and is tied for 5th in the NL in stolen bases with 23. SP Christy Mathewson leads the pitching staff at 7-2, 3.36 ERA.

The 1907 Chicago Cubs find themselves in last place after a truly disastrous month. The Cubs are 22-35 after starting out 14-14. They dropped 8 GB of the division lead and now find themselves 14 GB. The Cubs have no .300 hitters and are 96th in batting average at .243. RF Frank Schulte had his 27 game hit streak end on the first day of May. SP Orval Overall leads the pitchers at 6-2, 2.23 ERA. The Cubs managed losing streaks of 3,4,5 & 6 games this month and were swept by the 1965 Los Angeles Dodgers and 1921 New York Giants.