The worm was turning. As baseball was calming down from the rival leagues that both grew and almost ravaged the game in the 1880s and 1890s, the Keystones fell into a general malaise that lasted about a quarter-century. Between 1900 and 1924, there were sparks of success, but the flint was worn and the fire was non-existent.
The best seasons during this quarter-century of futility were:
- 1907 (74-74): Their first non-losing season in eight years was not exactly a winning season either. The Keystones received career years from second-sacker Charlie Ashtrup (.277/.316/.336, 70 R, 49 RBI, 7.4 WAR) and right-handed pitcher Tom “Topsy” McCarthy (27-19, 2.19 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 411 IP, 7.9 WAR – all career bests). Still, a .500 season in 1907 only garnered fifth place, as Philadelphia finished 15.5 games off the pace set by Pittsburgh.
- 1909 (85-66): This campaign represented the closest the Keystones came to a pennant, as they finished in second place, three games behind the World’s Champion Detroit Dynamos. There were a total of 587,568 fans that came through the turnstiles, which remains a Keystone record. George McDermott, the slick-fielding shortstop, had a 8.7-win season and while his slap hitting and basestealing (.272/.335/.317, 75 R, 68 RBI, 58 SB) were as valuable as his play in the field (+33.6 ZR, 1.102 EFF). Philadelphia also had a quartet of 4-WAR pitchers, three of which won 20 games and led by Pete Williams’s career season (23-16, 2.74 ERA, 2.55 FIP, 5.8 WAR).
- 1919 (65-61): In a flu-shortened season, the Keystones finished in the first division in ten years, 4.5 games in arrears of Detroit. Ed Cheetham moved across the state from the Miners to the Keystones, winning 16 games with a 2.73 ERA (4.3 WAR) in his age-25 season. The “Go-Go” 'Stones, as they were called, had four players with 25 or more stolen bases, displaying their game-breaking speed, led by Frank Wallace (38 SB), who also led the Keystones in most other offensive categories, including OPS (.766), runs (63), RBI (57).
As for the other 22 seasons, there were 13 last-place finishes and three next-to-last finishes. The won-lost record for the first 25 years of the 20th century was 1,562-2,103 (.426 winning percentage). It was, in a word, putrid. They were the baseball version of the Keystone Cops.
Players who played during the bulk of the “dark ages” of the franchise who are on all-time franchise top ten lists in WAR, games played, or innings pitched are:
- RHP Tom McCarthy (1903-16)
- C James Rice (1904-19)
- RF Dave Floyd (1904-15)
- SS George McDermott (1907-18)
- RHP Warner Knigge (1911-18)
- 1B Ed Fisher (1912-20)
- RHP Ike Campbell (1912-17)
- SS Rube Blair (1915-present)
- 3B Jim Furr (1916-present)
- RHP Pete Kerr (1916-24)
- RHP Ben Lloyd (1918-present)
- RHP Ed Cheetham (1919-present)
The bright side of all of that failure was the assignment of several high draft picks that have made or will make an impact on the Keystones going forward. The FABL Amateur Draft was established in December 1911 and the Keystones had several premium draft picks. The Keystones drafted first overall six times, including 1921-24, inclusive. They also had the #2 pick on two other occasions. Out of the first 14 years of the Draft, the Keystones had a top-five pick in 12 of those years. This allowed Philadelphia to stock their farm system, but they had to bide their time through the mid-'20s.