Introducing the Footnote League

[luckymann]

A couple of strong moves in June as each league seems to be splitting into two distinct halves: contenders and also-rans.

In the AL, the Athletics go 19-6 for the month to pull 1½ games ahead of the White Stockings, with the Blues 4 further in arrears. Led by the hot bats of Glenn Wilson and George Moriarty, the A’s have come to be known as the “Kings of Clutch”, with a remarkable 19-5 record in one-run games for the season so far. Of the other teams, the Brewers, Tigers and Senators are barely hanging on and the O’s and Americans can start looking to next year.

In the NL, the Cards continue their surge and sit atop the standings by 2 games from the Orphans, who look like running away with it early in the month before cooling off dramatically. This league is a little more bunched but teams such as the Giants and Phillies cannot afford to lose any more ground on the leaders.

Notable Performances

• 5th: Warren Hacker leads the Phillies to a 4-0 win over the Pirates with a 4-hit masterpiece, while a dramatic 9th inning home run by the Americans’ Terry Moore can’t stop them losing it in the 13th on a Don Mattingly (sneaky bugger!) walkoff single.
• 8th: A wild old afternoon in Philly sees 27 runs (including 10 in the 9th by Detroit), 36 hits and 12 errors as the A’s outlast the Tigers 14-13. Ed Head gives up 12 runs (although just 3 of them were earned) and 19 hits over 8+ to get one of the odder victories you’ll see.
• 9th: Giants 2B Steve Lombardozzi helps himself to 5 hits and 3 RBI as his side romps to a 21-4 demolition of the Reds, who don’t help things by making 8 misplays in the field.
• 17th: Chris Coghlan puts on a hitting clinic with a 5-for-5 / double / 2 triples / 4 RBI, leading his Brewers to a 12-9 victory over the Orioles.
• 26th: A Mike McCormick 4-hit shutout leads the slumping O’s to a much needed 8-0 win over the Americans.

Feats and Streaks

• 6th: Nooks Logan finally goes hitless, ending his consecutive streak at an amazing 36 games. He doesn’t seem too bothered, going 4-for-4 with 2 trips and 3 ribbies the next day.

Monthly Awards
American League

• Batter: Glenn Wilson PHA (.462 / 1 HR / 22 RBI)
• Pitcher: Steve Cooke PHA (4-0 / 2.33 / 3 K)
• Rookie: Glenn Wilson

National League

• Batter: Derek Jeter NYG (.396 / 0 HR / 22 RBI)
• Pitcher: Bubba Church NYG (6-0 / 1.72 / 1 K)
• Rookie: Bubba Church

Leaders
American League

• BA: Manny Mota CLE .441
• HR: 3 tied on 2
• RBI: Mike Benjamin CWS 56
• BWAR: Mike Benjamin CWS 3.5
• SB: Damian Jackson PHA 38

• W: 3 tied on 9
• ERA: Chris Codiroli BLA 2.40
• K: Charley Schanz MLA 12
• SV: Terry Forster MLA 8
• PWAR: Ed Head PHA 2.2

National League

• BA: Lenny Randle PHI .411
• HR: Charley James STL 3
• RBI: 2 tied on 53
• BWAR: Nook Logan BRO 3.5
• SB: Nook Logan BRO 43

• W: Ray Phelps CHC 13
• ERA: John Halama CHC 2.09
• K: James Baldwin NY1 25
• SV: Mike Marshall CIN 6
• PWAR: Ben Cantwell BRO 2.7

Transactions

• 27th: The Orphans trade SS John McDonald and LF Marty Keough to the Tigers for 34-year old SP Wilbur Wood.
• 30th: A pair of trades on the last day of the month. The Superbas send C Tom Haller to the Blues for SS Daryl Spencer, while Pittsburgh ship 3B Eddie Joost to the Phillies, getting 3B Abraham Nunez and RF Bombo Rivera in return.

Injuries

• 2nd: A fractured finger sidelines Tigers 2B Sam Mertes for 6 weeks. A setback during his recovery extends this by 3 months.
• 6th: The Americans lose CF Cy Seymour for a month after he sprains an ankle running the bases.
• 12th: The Americans (SP Allen Watson; oblique strain) and Tigers (CF Milt Cuyler; hamstring) both lose key players for 5 weeks.
• 16th: The Phillies lose 1st-round pick SP Steve Blass for the season with a torn labrum.
• 18th: SP King Cole of the Orphans will miss up to 3 months with a hamstring injury.
• 24th: The Americans lose another member of their rotation when Stan Williams goes down with a torn labrum and will be out for 2 months.
• 27th: The Blues lose LF Mark Brouhard for the season to a broken hand suffered making a defensive play.
• 28th: Dom Dallessandro of the Reds strains an oblique chasing his dog and will be out for 6 weeks.

Life in a Minor Key (news from the lower levels)

• 5th: Gary Peters pitches 10+ innings and goes 2-4 with a 3-run HR and still his Williamsport Grays lose 4-3 to the Wilmington Pirates.
• 11th: Bob Harmon of the Houston Buffaloes pitches a 12-inning 4-hit shutout in his side’s 1-0 win over the Cedar Rapids Bunnies on a day every NPSL game is decided by one run.
• 14th: A day for the hurlers as Buck Farmer of the Hazleton Mountaineers one-hits the Bunnies in a 2-0 win (he would add to it with a 3-hitter later in the month), the Wilmington Pirates beat the Joplin Miners 2-0 behind a Pol Perritt 3-hit beauty, and a single run is enough for the Fort Worth Panthers to get past the Shreveport Gassers thanks to Jackie Brown’s 5-hit shutout.
• 17th: Jerry Augustine of the Panthers no-hits the Miners for 7+ innings before succumbing to an injury and being forced from the game.
• 19th: The Bears’ Jeremy Sowers dominates the Gassers in a one-hit master class.
• 22nd: Hitters again have few answers as Reading’s Allen Benson one-hits the Bridgeport Bees, Casey Fossum of the Harrisburg Senators keeps the Wichita Falls Spudders to just two hits and Shreveport’s Pat Rapp gives up just 3 hits over 10 shutout innings.

Standings

[Brad K]

Originally Posted by luckymann

He's another player who maybe snuck into the Footnote League when I wasn't looking. 17.9 career WAR and a lifetime .304 / .355 / .389 slash makes him a superstar in this league. It is, however, the age-33 season of him, so not sure how quickly he'll drop off the cliff.

He played until he was 40ish. Tom Lasorda said he didn't know how old Mota and Davalillo were but he had heard they had worked as waiters at the Last Supper.

I don't think he snuck in. You're picking players based on instant ratings and they can change. But your criteria at the time he surely belonged.

[luckymann]

Originally Posted by Brad K

He played until he was 40ish. Tom Lasorda said he didn't know how old Mota and Davalillo were but he had heard they had worked as waiters at the Last Supper.

I don't think he snuck in. You're picking players based on instant ratings and they can change. But your criteria at the time he surely belonged.

Hahahaha Tommy was always great with the quips. Despite this one having a slightly unsavoury racist feel to it...

Yeah I think you are right. So far I've only noticed Jetes as a definite ringer, but I'm sure there are a few others, despite how fastidious I am being at Draft time culling the pool of big names. You can only do so much going off the ratings. It's a random debut league so some of these guys are being imported in the twilight of their career and thus their ratings on import are below my threshold and if I don't see them they get in. I don't really mind it so much here and there (as long as players like the Babe or Ted Williams don't get through my eagle eyes), especially with Derek who you just can't help but like as a bloke and admire as a player, even if you hate the Yanks (which I don't; nor do I go for them - I'm an A's man!!).

[Brad K]

Originally Posted by luckymann

Well he should get plenty of game time now...

Maybe the best sub ever?

https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/...d.php?t=318642

[David Watts]

Is Gates Brown going to make the footnote league?

[luckymann]

Originally Posted by David Watts

Is Gates Brown going to make the footnote league?

He is set to join in the Draft Pool of 1902 apparently...

[eck.nicholas]

Was Tom Glavine worse than what I thought? I would've assumed the trio in Atlanta wouldn't have made this league.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[luckymann]

Originally Posted by eck.nicholas

Was Tom Glavine worse than what I thought? I would've assumed the trio in Atlanta wouldn't have made this league.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes he is another that bribed the guards to sneak across the border! I would have deleted him when I discovered his ruse but it is an age-38 season version of him that isn't ruining the fun for everyone by being at his dominant 1990s Braves best, so I'll let him see out his twilight years in relative obscurity while the other guys get their turn to tear it up!

[luckymann]

Originally Posted by luckymann

He is set to join in the Draft Pool of 1902 apparently...

Actually I've grabbed that list of best PH careers from Brad's thread re Mota and I'll import as many from it as are eligible to perhaps and hopefully get the chance to see how they would have done as everyday players.

[luckymann]

No definitively decisive moves in July. Opposing fortunes in Chicago and Philadelphia. Both leagues still up for grabs.

In the AL, the White Stockings’ 18-8 month puts them in the box seat, but the A’s are nipping at their heels just a game back and don’t look to be going down without a fight. The Brewers, who trail Chicago by 8, are the only other team with any realistic chance of making up the ground, with all other clubs double-digit games in arrears.

The NL isn’t quite so clear cut, with the Cards tightening their grip on the pennant by default as the Orphans fall away with a poor 10-16 month to trail by 6. Given both of the leading clubs middling form, this one is still wide open, with only the Reds out of the equation 17 games back.

Notable Performances

• 1st: The first day of July sees the FL’s first ever no-no, with Doug Rau of the Tigers blanking the White Stockings, walking 2 and facing just 31 batters, in a 5-0 win.
• 4th: Wally Backman of the Senators, who currently leads the AL with a .463 BA, has a field day in a double-header against the A’s, going 8-for-10 with a trip and 3 ribbies as the teams split the games one apiece. Meanwhile in Milwaukee, the Tigers break a 2-2 tie with 3 in the 9th only to give up 4 to lose it in a walkoff.
• 6th: A huge game by C Jimmy Archer, who goes 5-for-5 with 2 triples and 3 RBI, propels the A’s to an 11-1 rout of the visiting Orioles.
• 10th: The A’s are at it again with an 18-2 demolition of the slumping Americans, with second baseman Joe Gerhardt’s 5 hits and 2 ribbies leading the way.
• 13th: A huge night for the Beaneaters’ bats as they rack up 30 hits, including 6 by in-form first baseman Jesus Guzman and 5 for C Fred Payne, en route to a 24-3 annihilation of the Orphans. They would do it again two days later with a 21-7 flogging.
• 23rd: Ryan Shealy of the Cards helps his team to a 13-7 win over the Orphans with a 5-for-5 night including 4 two-baggers and 4 RBI. The following night sees the two teams play out a FL record 22-inning marathon, with the Redbirds squeaking by 11-10.
• 24th: A Glenn Wilson 5-for leads the A’s to a 19-4 shellacking of the Tigers, while in Chicago Wally Backman consolidates his position atop the BA leaderboard as he goes 5-for-6 with a double, a triple and 3 RBI to help his Senators beat the Pale Hose 11-3.
• 25th: A’s 1B Randy Milligan sets a new FL mark with 7 RBI in a 19-4 drubbing of Detroit.
• 27th: Matt Moore is majestic with a two-hitter as the Superbas see off the Phillies 2-0.

Feats and Streaks

• 6th: Doug Dascenzo of the Pirates has his 24-game hit streak snapped by the Giants.
• Some interesting hit streaks still alive at the end of the month: Derek Jeter of the Giants at 29 games and both Washington’s Wally Backman and Jeff Baker of the Brewers at 25 games.

Monthly Awards
American League

• Batter: Wally Backman WAS (.574 / 0 HR / 15 RBI)
• Pitcher: Dallas Braden PHA (4-3 / 2.08 / 4 K)
• Rookie: Wally Backman

National League

• Batter: Clete Thomas BSN (.423 / 1 HR / 29 RBI)
• Pitcher: Matt Moore BRO (6-0 / 2.96 / 2 K)
• Rookie: Clete Thomas

Leaders
American League

• BA: Wally Backman WAS .477
• HR: 2 tied with 3
• RBI: Mike Benjamin CWS 75
• BWAR: Chris Coghlan MLA 4.4
• SB: George Moriarty PHA 55

• W: Joe Kennedy CWS 13
• ERA: Chris Codiroli BLA 2.31
• K: Charley Schanz MLA 14
• SV: Terry Forster MLA 9
• PWAR: Hooks Dauss PHA 3.1

National League

• BA: Clete Thomas BSN .425
• HR: Charlie James STL 4
• RBI: Jesus Guzman BSN 73
• BWAR: Nook Logan BRO 4.4
• SB: Nook Logan BRO 60

• W: Ray Phelps CHC 15
• ERA: Jimmy Jones STL 2.60 (for which he gets sent down to Houston…)
• K: 2 tied with 27
• SV: 2 tied with 6
• PWAR: Ben Cantwell BRO 3.5

Transactions

• 4th: The Beaneaters send 3B Jimmy Outlaw to Pittsburgh in exchange for reliever Guillermo Mota.
• 7th: The Pirates trade relievers Tom Hume and Tim Stoddard to the Orphans for shortstop Mike Phillips.
• 10th: The Superbas and Reds pull the trigger on a deal that sees 2B Sparky Adams and C Bob Oldis head to Cinci in exchange for C Sam Agnew and 2B Jim Gantner.
• 21st: After reportedly difficult and protracted negotiations, the Beaneaters and Giants finally consummate a deal sending star 1B Jim Hickman to New York for relievers Erskine Mayer and Luke Prokopec.
• 26th: In a blockbuster trade the Tigers swap RF Les Fleming for Senators outfielders Henry Rodriguez and Nick Esasky. Washington also moves OF Joe Carter to Pittsburgh, getting reliever Rosman Garcia in return.

Injuries

• 4th: A couple of big names in Philadelphia are hurt on the same day, with A’s 2B Damian Jackson (abdominal tear) and Phillies SP Drew Hutchinson (elbow inflammation) both set to miss at least a month.
• 5th: SS Charlie Gelbert of the Orphans goes down with a hand injury and is expected to be out of action for two months.
• 15th: A massive setback for the Beaneaters when SP Ron Schueler suffers a season-ending injury, while the O’s will have to do without left fielder Dick Harley after he strains a hamstring.
• 19th: Phenom Milt Cuyler of Detroit tears a hamstring and will be out for at least 6 weeks.
• 20th: The White Stockings’ title hopes are dealt two huge blows in three days as they lose 2B Terry Harmon for 6 weeks with a fractured hand and then rotation leader Hank Borowy to a sprained ankle for 2 months.
• 22nd: White Stockings reliever Chris Reitsma blows out an elbow, forcing him into retirement at just 25.
• 23rd: Brewers’ red-hot RF Paul Dade will be out for 5 weeks with a fractured thumb.
• 25th: Boom Cincinnati starter Luis Castillo is hurt in a baserunning collision that will force him to sit out the next month and then they lose closer Mike Marshall later in the same game to elbow inflammation.
• 26th: A torn labrum sees Detroit SP Doug Rau’s season end prematurely.
• 27th: Americans LF Bunk Congalton suffers an intercostal strain and will miss a month.
• 28th: Disappointment for A’s closer Troy Percival as a damaged elbow ligament shuts him down for the season.

Life in a Minor Key (news from the lower levels)

• 1st: The quality pitching in the PSL continues, with Reading’s Bill Parsons one-hitting the Mountaineers and Bridgeport’s Moose Haas dominating the Spudders in a two-hit shutout win.
• 6th: A Dana Fillingim two-hit special spurs the Miners to a 2-0 triumph over the Gassers.
• 7th: CF Bama Rowell goes yard twice to lead his Lookouts to a 7-1 victory over the Waterloo Hawks.
• 10th: A solo HR in the 4th is the only hit Newark’s Ben McDonald allows in a 3-1 win over the Miners.
• 18th: Teddy Higuera pitches a one-hit beauty as the Senators beat the Bunnies 1-0. In his three starts for Harrisburg since being sent down from Boston, Higuera has gone 3-0 with an ERA of 0.65 and just 13 hits allowed over 27 innings.
• 23rd: The American PSL earns bragging rights over their National colleagues with a 2-1 win in the Inaugural Postscript League All-Star Game at Riverfront Stadium. The Buffaloes’ Jimmy Brown, who leads the PSLN in WAR, wins MVP honours.

Standings

[luckymann]

Once again this spotlight is basically a cribbed version of THIS article on SABR Bio written by Gary Hess.

If the Footnote League was ever looking for a poster boy they would be hard-pressed to look past Otto Hess, to date the only Swiss-born MLB player.

Apart from the fact that he came to the US with his family in 1888 at age 10, enlisted with the army at the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, and was stationed in the Philippines for a couple of years at the turn of the century, very little is known about Otto’s early life, even less about his baseball career before he signed with Cleveland in 1902.

He made his major league debut on August 3rd of that year, and his first big league start (a 10-inning CG victory in which the opposition laid down a whopping 14 bunts!!) two days later, finishing that season with a 2-4 record and an ERA of just under 6.

After spending the 1903 season at Kansas City of the Western League under the tutelage of future HOFer Kid Nichols, Otto returned to the bigs in 1904 seen as something of a prospect. He fashioned an 8-7 record that year with an ERA of just 1.67, finishing 15 of his 16 starts including 4 shutouts. But he was also prone to suddenly losing his way, including giving up 10 runs in an inning in one game against the New York Highlanders. An experiment playing him in the outfield failed miserably with him hitting just .120 in 12 games.

He went 10-15 the following season with an ERA of 3.16, including a two-hitter against Detroit, and fared much better with the bat, hitting .251 in 27 games at RF including 2 HR, just 2 less than the team leaders in that category, Elmer Flick and Terry Turner.

1906 should have been a breakout year for Otto, a 20-17 campaign with a 1.97 ERA and a league-leading 3 saves. He also pitched a one-hitter in September against the A’s. But with ace Addie Joss going down midseason, he was overworked to the extreme, pitching 333 innings, and was never the same again. In fact, in his two remaining years with Cleveland, injuries meant he pitched just 100 innings all up.

Hess spent the next three seasons bouncing around the minors, eventually ending up in 1911 at the Boston Rustlers, who changed their name to the Braves at the start of the following season. Otto’s second coming had begun.

1912 did not begin well, and by August his record was 4-17. In one start that encapsulates this period, Otto went the distance in a 19-inning 7-6 home loss to the Bucs, losing it on an RBI single by a 38-year-old Honus Wagner. But then, something strange happened. Otto suddenly recaptured his early career form, rattling off 8 straight wins to finish the season.

After a 52-101 last place finish in 1912, the Braves got rid of manager Johnny Kling and replaced him with George Stallings. The effect was immediate, with Boston improving by 18 games in 1913 to finish 5th. However, acquisitions, roster moves and Otto’s up-and-down form (7-17 / ERA+ of 85 in 1913) meant that his role became more marginal in the team, mainly involving mop-up duties.

Of course, history shows that 1914 was the year of the “Miracle Braves”, in which – after being in last place at midseason – they romped to a 10½ game NL Pennant and swept the A’s in the World Series. Posterity has afforded most of the credit to Lefty Tyler (who is also in the FL as a member of the Chicago White Stockings), Dick Rudolph and Bill James, but it takes a team to win a championship, and Otto played his part. By now a veteran at 35, he appeared in 14 games, starting 11 of them for a 5-6 record and a 3.03 ERA.

That was pretty much it for Otto in the majors, and his life after that was brief. He pitched just 14 innings in 1915 before being released, finishing his career with a 70-90 record and an ERA just under 3, and after a couple of twilight years in the minors, Otto again enlisted in the Army and entered WW1. Sadly, he contracted TB while serving in France and died of it in 1926 at just 47 years of age.

It the Footnote League there are no wars and no disease, so let’s hope Otto gets to play many seasons in the sun.

BASEBALL REFERENCE PAGE

[luckymann]

Ed Head is going great guns with the Philadelphia Athletics and seems destined for playoff action.

Unfortunately, Curt Roberts' FL career is to this point paralleling his MLB one: a brief time in the bigs, poor form, sent down to the majors.

The same could be said for Otto. In 21 starts so far as a member of the Boston Americans, he has gone 6-15 with a 5.17 ERA.

More updates to follow as (simulated) time progresses.

[luckymann]

... can't cop a break...

[luckymann]

... can help a brother out...

[luckymann]

Brewers, Superbas, Senators make a charge. AL set for a grandstand finish. Redbirds looking good but by no means home.

Another fascinating month that asks as many questions as it answers in the Footnote League. What an amazing start to the league.

Things are anything but decided in the AL. Both the A’s (13-13) and White Stockings (10-16) struggle while the Brewers (16-10) roar into contention and now sit just 4 games off the lead. The Senators also stake their claim by going 18-9, but fade a bit in the final week of the month and at 6½ back will need a miracle to catch them.

The Cardinals neither put their rivals away nor let them get into the race, and finish the month 5 in front of the Orphans. The Superbas are the big movers, with their 19-7 August putting them 6½ games out of first, but as with the Sens time may just beat them.

Notable Performances

• 3rd: RF Del Howard’s 5 hits, including a double, a triple and 3 RBI, inspires the Tigers to a 12-1 rout of the White Stockings.
• 6th: It was a day of fives for the Phillies: five hits to both 2B Akinori Iwamura and CF Lenny Randle, and five runs in the top of the 9th to pinch one from the Beaneaters 12-8.
• 7th: Glenn Wilson belts out 5 hits in a losing cause as the A’s fall 7-5 to the Senators.
• 8th: A Spot of daylight robbery as the Orphans rally from 11-1 down with 11 runs of their own in innings 7 thru 9 to beat the Pirates 12-11.
• 10th: Despite catcher Frank Snyder setting a new FL mark with 7 hits, along with 5 RBI, the Orphans drop an 11-inning thriller 16-15 to Pittsburgh, with Pirates 1B Pete Runnels’ 5th hit of the game scoring the winning run and C Mike Brumley delivering a rare grand slam.
• 11th: The White Stockings pinch one from the Blues with 3 in the 9th for a walkoff win that may well define their season.
• 15th: A top of the table nailbiter in the NL as the Orphans score 6 late to sneak past the Cardinals 8-5.
• 20th: Beaneaters first baseman Garrett Jones goes 5-for-5 with a double and 4 RBI in a 17-2 flogging of the Giants.
• 24th: In what could prove a very costly slip-up the A’s concede 6 in the 9th to drop one to the Tigers 8-5.
• 26th: In one of the most amazing games so far in the FL, the Athletics and White Stockings – just a game apart at the top of the AL – play out a 12-11 thriller, as the Pale Hose almost nab it with 7 late runs only to fall short. A’s cornerman George Moriarty has 5 hits and 2 RBI.
• 27th: The Cardinals sets a new record for runs scored in a single game as they wallop the Pirates 26-5, including 13 in the 5th. Catcher Verne Clemons has 6 ribbies while RF Xavier Nady drives in 5, while winning pitcher Harry Gumbert chimes in with 5 hits and 2 RBI.

Feats and Streaks

• 5th: Both Derek Jeter and Wally Backman have their hitting streaks snapped, Jeter just 5 shy of Nook Logan’s FL record 36 games, and Backman at 28. Jeff Baker hits in his 29th straight to set a new American League mark, only to go ohfer the next day.
• 13th: Everth Cabrera, shortstop with the Senators, breaks Jeff Baker’s previous mark when he hits safely in his 30th consecutive game. The streak ends at that number the next day.
• 19th: Brooklyn 2B Bill Rogers overtakes teammate Nook Logan’s NL hitting streak record when he makes it 37 in a row with a single against the Phillies. He would eventually set the new mark at 41 before being stopped by the Beaneaters.

Monthly Awards
American League

• Batter: Wally Backman WAS (.448 / 0 HR / 24 RBI)
• Pitcher: Don Schulze DET (5-2 / 2.65 ERA / 4 K)
• Rookie: Wally Backman

National League

• Batter: Gus Suhr BRO (.406 / 0 HR / 29 RBI)
• Pitcher: Red Lucas BRO (5-1 / 3.60 ERA / 2 K)
• Rookie: Bubba Church NYG (5-2 / 3.84 ERA / 2 K)

Leaders
American League

• BA: Wally Backman WAS .469
• HR: 2 tied with 3
• RBI: Mike Benjamin CWS 86
• BWAR: Wally Backman WAS 5.4
• SB: George Moriarty PHA 68

• W: Don Schulze DET 16
• ERA: Chris Codiroli BLA 2.40
• K: Allan Anderson CLE 20
• SV: Terry Forster MLA 11
• PWAR: Ed Head PHA 3.9

National League

• BA: Verne Clemons STL .442
• HR: Charlie James STL 4
• RBI: Jesus Guzman BSN 91
• BWAR: Verne Clemons STL 4.8
• SB: Nook Logan BRO 60

• W: Ray Phelps CHC 17
• ERA: Jimmy Jones STL 2.60 (still down at Houston and has sufficient IP to qualify at season end)
• K: James Baldwin NYG 30
• SV: 2 tied with 6
• PWAR: Ben Cantwell BRO 4.5

Transactions

• 2nd: In a cruel twist of fate, the Giants release minor league outfielder Moonlight Graham without him having got that elusive big-league at bat. It happens twice more throughout the month but the Senators decide to give him a go at Chattanooga. The dream lives on!

Injuries

• 1st: The month starts poorly for Brooklyn when they lose superstar Nook Logan for 5 weeks with a herniated disc.
• 9th: Another big name goes down as the Beaneaters’ Clete Thomas strains an oblique trying to throw out a runner and will miss at least a month.
• 11th: Recurring back spasms mean Giants promising outfielder Rusney Cisello will be out for most of what’s left of the season. A subsequent setback ensures he won’t see action until 1902.
• 13th: The White Stocking lose starting pitcher Joe Kennedy for 6 weeks to a sore shoulder.
• 17th: Senators catcher Heinie Peitz does a hamstring running the bases and will have to sit out the next 5 weeks or so.
• 18th: An odd one indeed when Pittsburgh outfielder fractures a hand in a domestic dispute. He’ll miss a fortnight.
• 19th: A torn rotator cuff spells the end of the season for Phillies gun SP Dave Fleming.
• 22nd: Mired in the NL cellar with a 42-65 record, Cincinnati’s fortunes go from bad to worse when they lose rotation ace Jim Barr (elbow chips) for the season and outfielder Dom Dallessandro (plantar fasciitis) for the best part of it.
• 25th: A torn labrum brings O’s pitcher Mike McMormick’s season to an early close and will see him out of action for a good portion of 1902 as well.

Life in a Minor Key (news from the lower levels)

• 3rd: Albert Williams pitches a two-hit shutout to help the Gassers get past the Fort Worth Panthers 5-0 for their tenth straight win.
• 5th: SS Dale Sveum’s big day with 2 doubles, 2 triples and 4 ribbies, and catcher Bill Rariden’s 5 hits can’t stop the struggling Reds from dropping a 13-11 heartbreaker to the Orphans.
• 7th: Two outstanding pitching performances, with Hazleton’s Ken Schrom one-hitting the Buffaloes and Cedar Rapids starter Bill Magee magnificent in an 11-inning two-hitter as the Bunnies pip the Bees 1-0.
• 12th: The second no-no in PSL history comes when Mark Hendricksen of Reading blanks the Buffaloes in a 2-0 win.
• 13th: Moose Haas of the Bridgeport Bees pitches 9+ innings of one-hit ball only for his side to lose 1-0 in the 10th on a throwing error.
• 16th: A free-for-all results in 5-game suspensions being handed out to Gassers RF Reed Johnson and Lookouts SP Orlando Pena.
• 17th: A Shawn Chacon one-hitter powers the Spudders to a 5-0 whitewash of the Keystones. He would follow it up in his next outing with a three-hit shutout win over Cedar Rapids, lowering his ERA to a league-leading 0.89.
• 30th: Joplin’s George Chalmers allows just one hit and fans 8 in a 6-1 CG win over the freefalling Bears.

Standings

[luckymann]

Grandstand finishes in both leagues. A’s, Brewers, White Stockings fight out AL pennant. Cardinals leave door slightly ajar for Orphans.

At times it has seemed as if nobody wanted to win the AL pennant, with the teams in contention making runs for the lead, getting in front and then falling in a heap numerous times throughout the month. For the neutrals at least, it has made for fascinating viewing. After a poor start spotting the A’s and Sox a decent margin, Milwaukee has just kept coming all season, and when they hit the lead last week it looked like they’d run away with it. But, like Philadelphia and Chicago had both done, they got the gasps alone in front and wobbled back to the peloton.

In the NL the Cards looked to have it all sewn up when they led by 7 in mid-month. But then they lost their nerve and let the Orphans back in with 3 losses in 4 games. Still, it will take a major collapse for them not to hold out from here.

What a fantastically dramatic start to the Footnote League. I’ll recount the final week on a day-by-day to heighten the suspense for those following.

Notable Performances

• 2nd: Both Leon Culberson of the Blues and St Louis RF go 8-for-10 in doubleheader sweeps of the Americans and Superbas.
• 7th: Willie Wilson helps the Blues keep their slim pennant chances alive, as hit 5 hit performance powers them past the fading Athletics 9-7. The loss sees the A’s fall out of the outright lead in the AL for the first time in a long time, allowing the Brewers to draw level at 69-51. With a win the following day and the A’s not playing, the Brew Crew took the top spot for the first time all season.
• 9th: In a potential blow to their playoff hopes the Brewers concede 4 in the 9th to lose 7-6 to the Senators. A similar collapse by the Beaneaters against the Reds is of less importance, with both already eliminated from the NL pennant race. Wins to both the A’s and White Stockings mean just 1½ games separates the three with less than 20 to play. They atone for it somewhat the following day by rallying with 5 in the 8th and 9th to pip Chicago 8-7.
• 15th: In a top of the standings thriller, the Orphans pulled within 2 games of the Cards with a 12-11 win that saw them come back from 7 runs down in the middle 8th to eventually walk it off in the 9th on a Jay Johnstone single.
• 18th: Del Howard’s 5 hits and 2 ribbies aren’t enough to get the cookies in an 8-7 loss to the A’s.

Feats and Streaks

• 1st: 36-year-old Milwaukee catcher Boileryard Clarke goes 14-for-28 with 10 RBI to win the Player of the Week award in the AL.
• 4th: The bats run hot with a total of 225 base hits in the eight games played.
• 22nd: The 26-game hit streak of St Louis catcher Verne Clemons comes to an end as he is held hitless by Brooklyn.

Transactions
None of note.

Injuries

• 4th: Milwaukee’s charge up the standings suffers a major setback when they lose SP Pete Schourek for the season with a torn elbow ligament.
• 7th: Bad news for Heinie Peitz and the Senators as a setback in his rehabilitation rules him out for the rest of the year.
• 8th: Tragedy for young Reds reliever Joe Moeller, when he suffers an elbow injury that is likely to keep him out of the game until the 1903 season.
• 14th: A key out with potentially huge ramifications as the Brewers lose SP Ralph Birkofer (bone chips in his elbow) for the year.
• 16th: The Tigers lose two key pitchers to injury in as many days, with starter Don Schulze (shoulder) and reliever Dick Selma (rotator cuff) both out for the season.
• 23rd: The Phillies will be without SP Drew Hutchison for what’s left of this season and a good portion of the next as the injury du jour, the torn labrum, claims another victim.

Life in a Minor Key (news from the lower levels)

• 2nd: Cedar Rapids starter Izzy Goldstein’s two-hit shutout helps his side to a 4-0 win over Reading.
• 8th: Red Oldham pitches a 14 innings of 5-hit shutout ball as the Spudders sneak past Hazleton 1-0 in 16, while Newark’s Bill Hubble one-hits the Miners in a 3-0 victory.
• 9th: An Alex Ferguson one-hitter pushes the Panthers to a 3-0 win over the freefalling Pirates.
• 11th: It takes them 17 innings but Hazleton finally gets past Houston 5-3, thanks mainly to LF Josh Anderson’s 5-for-7 game.
• 16th: The Mountaineers didn’t have to lift a finger to clinch the PSLN pennant as Reading drops one at home to Houston and is eliminated.
• 17th: A good day for the moundsmen with Hazleton’s Bill Magee going an amazing 15 innings without conceding a run, Williamsport’s Daniel Schlereth one-hitting Fort Worth, and Bill Hubbell of Newark two-hitting the Hawks, all resulting in wins. Hubbell would repeat the feat against the same side two days later.

Standings

[luckymann]

Recaps and pennant race update.

[luckymann]

Recaps and pennant race update.

[luckymann]

Recaps and pennant race update.

[luckymann]

Recaps and pennant race update.