[FuzzyRussianHat]

Baltimore was 21-8 to close out the first half of the 1893 season, giving them Major League Baseball’s best record by a healthy margin at 58-27. The Orioles were 73-89 last year, but are on pace for their second-ever American League East pennant. They hold a nine game lead over defending World Series champ New York (49-36), a 12-game lead on 46-39 Philadelphia, and 13 games on 45-40 Washington. The Orioles’ 539 runs lead the majors with a current pace for a 1000+ run season.

Meanwhile, nobody can gain a foothold in the AL West. Minnesota dropped the lead after a losing June, but five teams are separated by four games. Milwaukee (44-41) has the top spot followed by Detroit (43-42), the Twins (42-43), Kansas City (42-43), and St. Louis (40-45).

Baltimore CF Tuck Turner was AL Batter of the Month and Rookie of the Month for June with a .404 average, 6 home runs, 28 RBI, and 22 runs. Turner leads the majors with 125 hits at the break. Milwaukee’s John Weyhing was Pitcher of the Month on a 1.19 ERA, 5-0 record, and 35 strikeouts in 53 innings.

Buffalo holds the National League’s best record at 52-33 atop the NL East. Philadelphia entered June four games back and stayed there at the all-star break at 48-37. New York lost ground and fell to third at 46-39. Brooklyn (45-40) and Boston (43-42) also have winning records. The Bisons have allowed the fewest runs in MLB at 318. They did get bad news though as perennial all-star catch Fred Carroll is out for the year with a severe hip strain.

The NL West is currently a fairly even fight between Cincinnati (48-36) and St. Louis (48-37). New Orleans was 9-1 in their final ten games before the break, getting above .500 at 43-42. The Reds lead the NL with 459 runs.

Defending NL MVP Jimmy Ryan was NL Batter of the Month in June for Louisville on a .385 average, 10 homers, 31 RBI, and 23 runs. Ryan is the WARlord (5.7) and has the best OPS (1.111) among MLB batters at the break. New Orleans righty Sadie McMahon was Pitcher of the Month with a 6-0 record, 1.06 ERA, and 42 Ks over 51 innings. Reds RF Kip Selbach was Rookie of the Month on a .347 average, 9 homers, and 21 RBI.



June was notable for milestones throughout the majors. On June 5, New Orleans’ Guy Hecker became the first pitcher to 200 career wins. The next night, Milwaukee’s Dave Orr became the first batter to 2000 hits. Cardinals 1B Roger Connor also joined the 1000 RBI club and Cubs CF Jim Fogarty became the second with 600 stolen bases.

1893 became the first season to feature four no-hitters with the latest on June 8 by Louisville’s Mike Morrison. Against the Cubs, he struck out seven and walked two over 97 pitches in a 9-0 win. Baltimore LF Bug Holliday had a 28-game hitting streak snapped on June 7, falling one short of Billy Taylor’s record from 1884. On June 13, Cardinals SP Duke Esper had the season’s first cycle against the Giants.