The Level Playing Field: Alternate MLB History From 1884-Onward

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The American League’s best records for April 1889 were all in the West Division. Detroit has the top mark at 18-10 with both Minnesota and St. Louis at 17-11. Defending World Series champ Milwaukee is off to a sluggish 12-16 start. Five of the six AL East teams are separated by only two wins with Boston first at 15-13.

AL Batter of the Month was Baltimore LF Pete Browning with a .418 average, 7 home runs, 26 RBI, and 23 runs. The Browns’ Frank Knauss was the Pitcher and Rookie of the Month. The #2 pick went 6-0 with a 2.53 ERA over 53.1 innings with 42 strikeouts. Defending MVP George Van Haltren hit for the cycle on April 15 against Philadelphia. He joined Frank Grant as the only MLB players thus far to hit for the cycle twice. Orioles RF Bug Holliday had a 21-game hitting streak that carried from the prior year.

Chicago’s John Clarkson suffered a torn flexor tendon in his third start with an expected 13 month recovery time for the two-time Pitcher of the Year. The 27-year old has had terrible injury luck since developing shoulder inflammation in the 1886 playoffs. Clarkson had a torn UCL put him out most of 1887 and part of 1888, followed by a partially torn labrum in fall 1888. The White Sox have had buyers’ remorse thus far, as the injuries started a week after a seven-year extension was signed.

Twins pitcher Ed Beatin went down with a partially torn UCL, putting him out for the entire season. The Red Sox meanwhile lost 2B Mike Moynahan for the season to a torn ACL. The 32-year old missed most of the prior year with a hip injury. Other big injuries included Milwaukee SP Elmer Smith with a torn flexor tendon, Detroit SP Jim Handiboe with a torn flexor tendon, and Philadelphia SP Jesse Duryea with a torn rotator cuff.

Louisville leads the National League at 18-10 atop the West Division. Right behind are New Orleans (16-12), and St. Louis (15-12) while reigning NL champ Indianapolis is 14-14. Boston sits atop the East at 17-11 followed by New York (16-12) and Buffalo (15-13).

NL Batter of the Month was Giants 1B Dan Brouthers with a .394 average, 41 hits, 6 homers, 36 RBI, and 23 runs. The Clowns had Pitcher of the Month Pete Meegan with a 2.00 ERA, 6-0 record, and 45 strikeouts in 54 innings. Brooklyn SP George Davies was Rookie of the Month with a 3.48 ERA, 5-1 record, and 32 Ks.

In injuries, Buffalo SP George Haddock is out for the year with a partially torn UCL. Cincinnati SP Ice Box Chamberlain is also out five months to a torn labrum. Pittsburgh’s Mark Baldwin had the season’s first no-hitter with eight strikeouts and three walks facing Chicago. Incidentally, the last three no-nos have been thrown by Pirates. Pelicans 2B Frank Grant had a 21-game hitting streak.

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The St. Louis Browns had the American League’s worst record in 1888. However, through May 1889 they have the AL’s top mark at 38-18. The Browns were 21-7 in May, but still have tough competition in a strong AL West with Minnesota (34-22) and Detroit (32-24) lurking behind. The big shocker remains defending world champ Milwaukee at a lousy 22-34.

The AL East has seen less overall dominance thus far with Boston on top at 31-25. Both Cleveland and New York are two behind at 29-27. Baltimore, last year’s winner in the East, has seen the same struggles as the Brewers with their own lackluster 23-33 record.

Despite the Orioles woes, RF Bug Holliday was AL Batter of the Month in May with a .396 average, 7 home runs, 28 RBI, and 18 runs. The 22-year old is currently the AL leader in average (.377) and RBI (51). Helping St. Louis pull away was #2 draft pick Frank Knauss, who was Pitcher and Rookie of the Month. He was 5-0 in May with a 0.78 ERA and 26 strikeouts over 46 innings. Knauss is an unbeaten 11-0 in his 1889 starts with a 1.72 ERA and 68 Ks in 99.1 innings.

The Boston Braves made MLB history in May with an active 19-game winning streak entering June. This gave them MLB’s top record at 41-15 and a healthy seven game lead over 34-22 New York in the National League East. Last year’s division champ Pittsburgh has struggled to 23-33.

Louisville had the NL’s best record through April, but an 11-17 May has dropped them to fourth in the NL West at 29-27. It is still a competitive field with New Orleans first (33-23), followed by defending champ Indianapolis (31-25) and St. Louis (29-26). Chicago at 16-40 has the worst record in the majors.

Braves LF Mike Tiernan was NL Batter of the Month with a .374 average, 9 home runs, 31 RBI, and 29 runs. He leads the NL in homers (16) and RBI (63). His Boston teammate Pete Conway was Pitcher of the Month on a 2.59 ERA, 6-0 record, and 26 Ks in 55.2 innings. The 22-year old Conway joined the Braves in an offseason trade from Buffalo. Rookie of the Month was New Orleans RF Jocko Halligan, as the #3 draft pick hit .373 with 6 homers, 20 RBI, and 21 runs. In other notes, Baltimore’s Bid McPhee and Pittsburgh’s King Kelly both had hitting streak end at 20 games in May.



Tragedy hit on the final day of May when New Orleans ace Charlie Geggus suffered his second torn rotator cuff. The two-time Pitcher of the Year winner had the first tear in August 1888, but made it back for April 1889. The second tear was bad enough that doctors told the 27-year old that he had to retire. Geggus won ERA titles in his first two seasons with the Pelicans and led in strikeouts thrice. His 10.11 WAR and 311 Ks from 1884 both stand as current MLB records.

Elsewhere in the world, May marked the start of the 1889 World’s Fair (Exposition Universelle) in Paris, France. The big icon built specifically for this event was the Effiel Tower, which would be the world’s tallest building until 1930.

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St. Louis’s hold on the American League’s top record evaporated after going a terrible 9-16 in June. Minnesota went from four behind to three ahead of the Browns in the AL West standings at the all-star break. The Twins are 50-33 with Kansas City second at 49-34, then St. Louis at 49-34. The Royals went on a 19-8 tear in June to move to the #2 spot. Detroit meanwhile dropped to 41-42 after a 9-18 month. Defending World Series champ Milwaukee made some gains, but is still well away from contention at 38-45. Making things worse is former MVP 3B Denny Lyons suffering a strained oblique, putting him out 6-7 weeks.

Boston was able to grow their lead slightly in the AL East. The Red Sox are 49-34, five games ahead of New York (44-39) and seven better than Cleveland (42-41). The Red Sox have the AL’s best run differential at +124 and lead in scoring with 509 runs. Last year’s division champ Baltimore is 40-43. Philadelphia now has the AL’s worst record at 30-52 after a putrid 5-22 record in June. The Yankees took a blow as their first round pick SP Tom Vickery suffered bone chips in his elbow, ending his season.

Kansas City 1B Otto Schomberg took AL Batter of the Month in June with a .352 average, 7 home runs, 22 RBI, and 28 runs. Minnesota’s Bill Blair was the top pitcher with a 5-1 record, 2.65 ERA, and 37 strikeouts over 54.1 innings. Browns pitcher Frank Knauss was Rookie of the Month again with a 4-1 record in 34.2 innings, 3.12 ERA, and 24 Ks. Knauss leads the entire majors in ERA (2.08) and wins (15-1) at the all-star break.

Boston’s historic win streak continued until finally falling on June 7 at Louisville 4-2; a remarkable 24-game run for the Braves. They have the best record in the majors at 60-23, 12 games ahead of New York despite a solid 48-35 season for the Giants. Boston’s +204 run differential, 526 runs scored, and 322 runs allowed are all the best in MLB. It wasn’t all good news though for the Braves, as ace Gus Krock ruptured his UCL on June 8 and is out for the year.

New Orleans saw a strong 19-8 record in June, pulling out to a solid eight-game lead in the NL West at 52-31. Indianapolis and Louisville are both 44-39 with the Colonels making slight gains and the Clowns playing .500. St. Louis saw a collapse with an 8-18 record in June, falling to fifth place at 37-46. Despite ending the month on a six-game winning streak, Chicago still has MLB’s worst record at 26-57.

NL Batter of the Month was Boston LF Mike Tiernan with a .458 average, 13 homers, 27 RBI, and 35 runs. He also had a 21-game hitting streak during June. He has dominated the hitting leaderboards, holding the top mark for all of MLB in homers (29), RBI (90), OPS (1.237), WAR (6.6), hits (119), and runs (90). Tiernan would lead in the Triple Crown (.388 average) if not for New Orleans 2B Frank Grant at .392. Grant is also the only person keeping up with Tiernan in WAR at 6.5; no other batters or pitchers are above 5.

The Pelicans had the Pitcher of the Month Ben Sanders with a 2.49 ERA, 6-1 record, and 39 strikeouts over 47 innings. New Orleans also had Rookie of the Month Jocko Halligan as the RF posted a .310 average, 31 hits, 9 homers, and 30 RBI in June.

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Below are the rosters for the 1889 MLB All-Star Game at Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis. The Home Run Challenge went to Cleveland’s Bob Petitt, who won the final round 12-11 over 1887 winner Jimmy Ryan of Louisville.



Amazingly, the American League has now gone a perfect 6-6 against the National League so far in All-Star Game history. 1889 was an even match with a 3-2 final score. Detroit’s Duke Farrell was the game’s MVP, as he had the go-ahead solo homer to lead off the ninth for the AL. The 1888 Home Run Derby winner Farrell also had a solo homer in the fourth inning.

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The American League West Division saw a lead change in July with Kansas City taking the throne at 63-45. They were 14-11 for the month, while Minnesota was the inverse to fall to second at 61-47. St. Louis (58-50) and Detroit (56-52) are still in the hunt.

Boston’s AL East lead grew to nine games with the Red Sox at 63-45. Their top competitors New York and Cleveland both were 10-15 for the month. The Yankees and Baltimore are tied for second at 54-54 with Washington at 53-55 and the Spiders at 52-56. The Nationals had the best July of any AL team at 18-7.

Fresh off his All-Star Game MVP, Detroit 1B Duke Farrell was AL Batter of the Month for July with a .278 average, 8 homers, 26 RBI, and 22 runs. Washington’s Peek-A-Boo Veach was Pitcher of the Month going 6-0 with a 0.98 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 55 innings. The Twins had Rookie of the Month Herb Goodall with a 3.19 ERA over 36.2 innings.

Boston’s National League dominance continued with an 18-7 record in July, putting them at 78-30 atop the East Division. New York kept a similar pace, but the 65-43 Giants have the misfortune of sharing a division with the Braves. The three contenders in the NL West each had the same 13-12 record in July. This put New Orleans at 65-43, maintaining their eight game lead over both Louisville and Indianapolis at 57-51.

Braves LF Mike Tiernan was NL Batter of the Month with a .411 average, 11 homers, 27 RBI, and 25 runs in July. He currently has a Triple Crown for the entire majors with a .393 average, 40 homers, 117 RBI, and 8.8 WAR. The Giants had Pitcher of the Month Jocko Flynn with a 6-0 record, 2.28 ERA, and 37 Ks in 51.1 innings. The Colonels’ Bill Daley was Rookie of the Month on a 4-2 record, 2.59 ERA, and 33 Ks in 48.2 innings.



The biggest trade of the deadline saw former Pitcher of the Year Charley Radbourn on the move. St. Louis traded Old Hoss to Minnesota for veteran LF Jake Evans and prospect pitcher Mike Kilroy. The 34-year old Radbourn had a lackluster 4.58 ERA in 1889 for the Cardinals, Another notable trade at the deadline saw Pittsburgh move two-time all-star SP Jim McCormick to Baltimore for minor league pitcher George Sharrott.

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It is a tight three-team battle for the American League West Division with little shifting in August. Kansas City holds the top spot at 78-58 with Minnesota one back at 77-59 and St. Louis four away at 74-62. The Royals and Browns open September with a four-game series in St. Louis. KC hosts Minnesota for four from Sept. 9-12 while the Browns host the Twins in their penultimate series. Meanwhile, Boston’s lead in the AL East remains firm. The Red Sox are 78-57, 9.5 ahead of both 69-67 Baltimore and Washington and 10.5 up on 68-68 New York.

Boston RF Sam Thompson took AL Batter of the Month in August with a .382 average, 5 home runs, 33 RBI, and 27 runs. Milwaukee’s Lady Baldwin was Pitcher of the Month on a 2.22 ERA, 5-1 record, and 32 strikeouts over 52.2 innings. Frank Knauss was again Rookie of the Month as the Browns ace went 3-1 with 37 strikeouts in 43.1 innings. Knauss is the leader in wins (20-4) and ERA (1.96).

The Braves are well on their way to surpass the MLB single-season wins record of 102 games, sitting at 95-41 with a month to go atop the National League East Division. New York’s fine 78-58 sits 17 games back. The Giants did get terrible news with SP Jocko Flynn suffering a torn UCL with an expected 12 month recovery time. The 25-year old Flynn had a 2.37 ERA and 15-1 record, which is the second-best ERA in the NL entering September. He will fall just short of the innings requirement (162) for the ERA title race.

New Orleans maintains their own healthy lead in the NL West at 81-55. Louisville (74-62) and Indianapolis (73-63) aren’t dead yet, but need big runs and a Pelicans collapse to make the playoffs.

Boston LF Mike Tiernan continued his all-time great season and again was NL Batter of the Month. In August, the 22-year old had a .351 average, 9 home runs, 28 RBI, and 26 runs. Tiernan leads the majors in triple slash (.385/.452/.775), OPS (1.228), WAR (10.8), home runs (49), runs (141), and RBI (145). He has a shot at numerous single-season records; most notably Hugh Duffy’s home run mark of 52. Tiernan also has realistic chances at the runs, RBI, slugging, OPS, and WAR records.

NL Pitcher and Rookie of the Month was Brooklyn’s George Davies with a 6-0 record, 0.19 ERA, and 41 strikeouts over 48 innings. He rides a remarkable streak of 46 consecutive scoreless innings entering his next start. Kansas City’s Podge Weihe and Washington’s Joe Sommer both hit for the cycle in August.

In other notables, St. Louis’s Con Daily had the first six-hit game of the year on August 1 facing Cleveland. This was only the tenth six-hit game in MLB history, but notably the first to require ten at-bats. His sixth hit was the RBI game winner in an obscene 23-inning, 6-5 win against Cleveland.

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Boston went on a tear in September including a 15-game winning streak, taking the American League’s top seed at 100-62. The Red Sox have been the East Division champ five times in MLB’s first six seasons. It was the third 100+ win season in AL history, joining the 1885 Red Sox and 1884 White Sox. This was the third time Boston has posted a run differential above 200, finishing at +219. Their 954 runs scored led the AL and their team .295 batting average was a new MLB single-season record. The Red Sox also had a 502,264 season attendance; a new AL best.

The rest of the East was middling with Washington (83-79) and Cleveland (82-80) the teams above .500. Last year’s winner Baltimore was 80-82. Philadelphia at 62-100 tied for MLB’s worst record. The Nationals incidentally allowed the fewest runs in the AL (707), but also scored the fewest (699).

The focus was on the AL West Division race. Midway through September, Minnesota and Kansas City were tied at 84-66 with St. Louis at 81-69. The Royals took three of four over the Twins, but then lost six of their next seven facing Boston and Milwaukee. Minnesota was 5-2 in that same stretch and the Browns went 3-4. With eight games to go, the Twins were two ahead of the Royals and three ahead of St. Louis.

In the penultimate series, Minnesota took three of four at St. Louis, effectively knocking the Browns out of the fight. KC meanwhile took three of four against Chicago. The Royals were still down two games with four to go, but they would take the division if tied as they won the season series. The Twins did enough, splitting four games at Milwaukee while Kansas City split with Detroit.

Minnesota earned its first-ever division title at 91-71, followed by the Royals at 89-73 and Browns at 85-77. Detroit was next at 82-80 while reigning World Series champ Milwaukee struggled to 77-85. For both the Tigers and Browns, this was their first winning season. The Twins pitching staff had a 5.97 K/9; a new AL team record.



Red Sox DH Sam Thompson was AL Batter of the Month in September with a .387 average, 41 hits, 5 home runs, 26 RBI, and 27 runs. Thompson finished with 161 RBI, matching his career best from 1886 and leading for the fourth time. He also was the runs leader at 140, which ranks as the fourth-best single season in AL history. Baltimore’s Bug Holliday was the AL leader in OPS for the third straight season (1.062) and won his first batting title at .356. Detroit’s Duke Farrell repeated as the home run leader with 48. Milwaukee CF Jim Fogarty was the WARlord at 8.6.

Detroit’s Lee Viau was AL Pitcher of the Month with a 5-1 record, 41 strikeouts, and 2.53 ERA over 57 innings. The 22-year old Tigers righty finished as the leader in wins (24-10) and WAR (8.3). Twins ace Toad Ramsey was just behind him in WAR (8.2) and was the strikeouts leader for the third time at 274.

Meanwhile Frank Knauss was Rookie of the Month again as the Browns lefty had a 2.86 ERA, 3-1 record, and 34 strikeouts in 34.2 innings. Knauss set a new single-season ERA record among qualifiers (162+ innings) at 2.08 over 251 innings. He also set new MLB records for H/9 (5.74) and opponent’s batting average (.182). In other records, Royals closer Gene Moriarity set a new single-season record with 37 saves.

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Boston’s historic dominance continued through September as the Braves shattered some Major League Baseball team records. Their 114-48 record and +379 run differential obliterated previous high marks en route to the franchise’s second division title (1886). Boston set the new MLB attendance record (507,981) and set National League records for team slugging (.444), runs scored (983), team earned run average (3.18), earned runs allowed (516), BB/9 (2.37), and team WHIP (1.139). Their 604 runs allowed were second-fewest in NL history.

New York set a franchise best at 90-72, but they were a distant second in the NL East behind the Braves. Last year’s division winner Pittsburgh was third at 79-83, although they did set an MLB team record with 379 doubles. Philadelphia at 62-100 had the NL’s worst record and their team .232 batting average was an NL single-season worst.

The NL West race finished closer than most expected considering New Orleans entered September with a seven game lead. Indianapolis swept the Pelicans to start the month and both the Clowns and Louisville made a strong charge. On September 21, New Orleans and the Colonels were tied with Indy only one game back.

The Pelicans split their penultimate series hosting Cincinnati, while Indianapolis lost three of four at Chicago and Louisville dropped three of four at St. Louis. New Orleans entered the final series up two on the Colonels and three on the Clowns. Indy lost three of four in their final series with the Cardinals, ultimately knocking the defending NL champs to third at 87-75.

New Orleans hosted Louisville in the final four game series of the year and took the first two games to clinch their first division title. The Pelicans finished 91-71, while the Colonels won the final two games to finish two back at 89-73. Both teams set franchise bests and it was a big turnaround for New Orleans, as they won only 66 and 59 games in the prior two seasons. Last place Chicago notably allowed 920 runs, a new NL worst.

Leading Boston’s all-time season was LF Mike Tiernan, who ended his historic run as NL Batter of the Month in September with a .387 average, 13 home runs, 29 RBI, and 25 runs scored. The 22-year old lefty re-wrote the record book with easily the best batting season in MLB history. Tiernan had the first-ever Triple Crown season and set new MLB records for runs scored (166), total bases (462), home runs (62), RBI (174), hitting WAR (12.88), slugging (.787), and OPS (1.239).




Tiernan also was the league leader in hits (226), average (.385), OBP (.452), and wRC+ (229). The WAR was the second-best single season among all players, as Charlie Ferguson had 13.1 as a two-way player in 1884. Tiernan shattered the homer record of 52 by Hugh Duffy. In only five seasons, “Silent Mike” has 916 hits, 599 runs, 239 homers, 652 RBI, 1.130 OPS, 204 wRC+, and 45.7 WAR.

NL Pitcher and Rookie of the Month for September was Brooklyn’s George Davies with a 0.60 ERA over 45 innings, 39 strikeouts, and 5-0 record. His historic scoreless innings streak ended on September 4 at 48 innings. Davies set a single-season record with nine shutouts and finished the year as the NL’s Pitching WARlord at 8.2. It’s likely him or Indy’s Pete Meegan as Pitcher of the Year, with the latter leading in ERA (2.39) and wins (25-7). Meegan was second in WAR at 7.9.

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The 1889 American League Championship Series had Boston in it for the fifth time in six years, returning after a miss the prior year. The Red Sox were shooting for their third pennant in four years and had home field advantage over Minnesota. It was the first appearance for the Twins, who did narrowly win the season series 4-2 against Boston.

Game one opened with an extra inning tied at 2-2. In the bottom of the tenth, Boston’s Ed Swartwood had a leadoff single and was bunted into scoring position. With two outs, Charlie Householder knocked him in with an RBI single to give the Red Sox a 3-2 home win to start the series.



The Twins were up 4-1 early in game two, but it was tied up 5-5 after the sixth. Boston got two more runs after that and held on for a 7-5 win, taking the 2-0 series advantage.



Minnesota won game three at home 6-3. Boston had a three-run top of the eighth inning to tie the game at 3-3, but the Twins countered with their own three runs on five hits. Charley Radbourn, whom Minnesota got from St. Louis in a deadline trade, tossed a complete game with seven strikeouts.



The Twins tied the series with a 10-2 beat down in game four. Emil Gross went 3-4 with two homers and five RBI. Toad Ramsey tossed a complete game win with four strikeouts.



Boston earned the first road win of the series in game five, although the 11-3 final score doesn’t fully tell the story. This game was tied 3-3 after regulation, but the Red Sox unloaded with an eight-run tenth inning. It was a collapse for the Twins, as the inning only had five hits. They had two errors and five walks.



Despite their game six breakdown, Minnesota bounced back to win game six 2-1 on the road. Charlie Buffinton won the pitcher’s duel with a complete game, allowing four hits and six walks, but only one run with five strikeouts. This marked the second time in ALCS history that a game seven was needed, joining Boston’s 1886 triumph over Chicago.



Boston’s offense struck early and hard, going up 7-2 by the end of the fourth inning. The Red Sox lead held to take game seven by a 10-4 margin, earning their third American League pennant in four years. Leadoff man Chicken Wolf was 4-5 in the game with two doubles, three RBI, and two runs. The 27-year old CF was the ALCS MV, going 9-32 with six RBI and four runs.

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The 1889 National League Championship Series had the 114-48 Boston Braves looking to continue the record-breaking season with their second pennant, having also won in 1886. This was New Orleans’ first NLCS trip and they had played Boston competitively in the regular season, as the Braves only won the season series 5-4.

The Pelicans immediately showed they weren’t going to be a pushover, upsetting Boston 5-2 on the road to start the series. Pretzels Getzien pitched eight innings with six hits and three walks allowed with three strikeouts. His only two runs allowed were solo homers by Mike Tiernan.



Game two was a pitcher’s duel between Boston’s Jim Devlin and New Orleans’ Al Mays. The former prevailed in a 2-1 Braves win to even the series, giving up just an unearned run and three hits with two strikeouts and one walk. Mays allowed 11 hits, but only two runs and one earned. Three singles and a passed ball brought in both Boston runs in the eighth inning.



Boston took its first series lead with a 10-8 road win in the Bayou. The Braves had a seven-run sixth inning which allowed them to fend off a strong Pelicans offense. New Orleans’ Frank Grant set the NL playoff record for runs scored in the defeat, going 4-4 with four runs and two solo homers.



New Orleans tied the series with an 8-3 victory in game four. Frank Grant for back-to-back games scored four times and homered twice, going 4-4 with three RBI. Ben Sanders pitched a complete game win.



Boston rolled 8-1 in game five to take the 3-2 series lead back to Massachusetts. Jim Devlin tossed his second gem of the series, giving up one run and five hits with two strikeouts in the complete game victory. Mike Tiernan was 4-4 with a homer and four RBI. Reddy Mack scored four times and had a homer and two singles.



In game six, both teams had solo runs in the second and fourth innings. It stayed tied 2-2 until the tenth inning, which saw a two-run walkoff homer by Alex McKinnon to win both the game and series 4-2 for Boston. Mike Tiernan was series MVP, going 12-23 with four homers and eight RBI. With their second pennant, the Braves now have a chance to stake a claim as the greatest team in MLB history.

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Boston was abuzz for the sixth World Series, a rematch of the 1886 battle between the Red Sox and Braves. The first meeting went to the Red Sox, the first of their repeat titles. After a playoff miss in 1888, the Red Sox are back in 1889 looking to resume the dynasty for a historic third title in four years. The Braves are looking for their own history with their 114-48 record, 12 wins better than the next best. Capping that off with a ring would certainly give them an easy claim for being the best team ever for years to come.

The Braves opened the series with a 6-0 win as Jim Devlin had his best outing yet of a stellar postseason. The 23-year old lefty tossed a four-hit shutout with two walks and six strikeouts. Mike Tiernan went 3-4 with a homer, three RBI, and two runs.



The Red Sox countered with their own 7-0 shutout win in game two to even the series. Bill Sowders was an unlikely stud, considering he tossed only 31.2 innings in the regular season. He pitched eight shutout innings in game two, scattering seven hits and one walk with four strikeouts. 1B Cap Anson homered twice and singled with three RBI and two runs.



Game three was another shutout, this time 5-0 in favor of the Red Sox on their home diamond. Larry McKeon threw a five-hitter with zero walks and five strikeouts. Chicken Wolf doubled and singled, scoring twice.



Both offenses finally succeeded concurrently in game four, which was tied 6-6 after the fifth inning. John Peltz’ two RBI single in the seventh inning put the Braves up 8-6, which held for the road win to even the series. Peltz was 4-5, doubling twice with four RBI.



The Red Sox snagged a 4-1 road win in game five, taking the 3-2 series lead back to the Braves’ South End Grounds. Someone finally got to Braves ace Jim Devlin in the postseason, who allowed 11 hits and four runs over his complete game. Bill Wise gave up one run over seven innings for the Red Sox, while Billy O’Brien tossed the final two innings clean in relief. Bill Stemmyer were 4-4 with a homer and three RBI.



The 1889 World Series was the first to not need all seven games. The Red Sox completed the upset of the 114-win Braves, denying them the top prize in their record-setting season. This also resumed a dynasty run for the Red Sox with their third title in four years. Game six had a 7-3 final score with the breakaway moment a four-run eighth inning that included a three-run Sam Thompson homer, which just snuck by the left field foul pole at 293 feet.

Thompson homered twice in game with four RBI and two runs. Cap Anson also was 3-4 with a solo homer, two runs, and two RBI. Anson was the World Series MVP just as in 1887, becoming the first player to earn the honor twice. In the series, the 37-year old was 11-23 with three homers and five RBI.



In other playoff notables, Braves MVP Mike Tiernan had six home runs for a new postseason record; he and Thompson both had the previous high of five. Jim Delvin was the third pitcher with four CGs and the seventh with three wins in a playoff run. Meanwhile, New Orleans 2B Frank Grant had a .954 slugging in the NLCS, which ties the playoff record (20+ plate appearances required).

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Shocking no one, Braves LF Mike Tiernan was the unanimous National League Most Valuable Player. It was his first time with the top award, although he has won a Silver Slugger in each of his five seasons. The 22-year old set single-season records for home runs (62), RBI (174), runs scored (166), slugging (.787), OPS (1.239), and WAR for a position player (12.9). Tiernan also had the first Triple Crown season with a .385 average.

American League MVP was also unanimous and a repeat for Cleveland two-way man George Van Haltren, who had a combined 11.9 WAR. At the plate playing left field, the 23-year old lefty had 164 hits, 97 runs, 40 home runs, 101 RBI, .958 OPS, 161 wRC+, and 6.4 WAR over 134 games. On the mound, Van Haltren had a 3.66 ERA over 290.1 innings, 21-13 record, 262 strikeouts, 123 ERA+, 81 FIP-, and 5.5 WAR.

AL Pitcher of the Year and Rookie of the Year both went to St. Louis lefty Frank Knauss, who set the single-season ERA record at 2.08. It was still competitive as he had 15 first place votes and Minnesota’s Toad Ramsey had 9 for POTY. The #2 draft pick was 23-5 with 12 saves, 251 innings, 194 strikeouts, and 5.3 WAR. He had a shockingly big gap between ERA+ (226) and FIP- (74).

Indianapolis righty Pete Meegan won NL Pitcher of the Year with 12 first place votes. Brooklyn rookie George Davies had seven and Boston’s Ed Morris had four. The 26-year old Meegan was the leader in wins (25-7), ERA (2.39) and quality starts (28). “Steady Pete” struck out 187 in 283 innings with a 180 ERA+, 74 FIP-, and 7.9 WAR. He is under contract one more year with the Clowns, a potential free agent after the 1890 season.

Davies notably set a record for shutouts (9) and was the WARlord (8.2), yet he was also the Rookie of the Year runner-up with eight first place votes. 15 went to New Orleans RF Jocko Halligan, who had 178 hits, 116 runs, 25 doubles, 31 home runs, 99 RBI, .931 OPS, 157 wRC+, and 5.5 WAR.

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Below are the other awards winners from the 1889 season.



For American League Silver Sluggers, Boston’s Sam Thompson won his fifth as a DH. St. Louis’s Hugh Duffy won his fourth straight in CF. Minnesota C Emil Gross and Baltimore RF Bug Holliday became three-time winners. In the National League, both Boston LF Mike Tiernan and Louisville RF Jimmy Ryan became five-time winners. Becoming three-time Slugger winners was New Orleans’ 2B Frank Grant and 3B/SS Oyster Burns, plus Indianapolis SS Frank Fennelly.

Chicago SS Germany Smith became the first to win six Gold Gloves. Philadelphia C John Kerins won his fifth in the AL and Kansas City 2B Danny Richardson got his fourth. In the NL, St. Louis 1B Roger Connor won his fifth Gold Glove and Buffalo C Fred Carroll got his fifth.

Both Boston skippers won their first Manager of the Year. It was a big one for Red Sox rookie manager Gat Stires, who controversially took the job after three-time MOTY winner John McKelvey was fired. Stires had only been a hitting coach with the Phillies before getting the Red Sox gig. Braves manager Jon Smith has the most wins of any manager in MLB history at 528-444 in six seasons, just ahead of the Cardinals’ James McDermott by two wins.

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Milwaukee was the 1888 World Series champ, but their 1889 struggle led to the firing in the offseason of both manager Andy Allison and general manager George Popplein. Buffalo’s Mike Seider had two playoff trips in his six year Bisons tenure, but he was canned after a 71-91 mark in 1889. The Yankees also fired manager Ham Allen after six seasons without a playoff trip.

Below are the top picks from the 1889 Amateur Draft, which had enough players for only four rounds of selections. The Philadelphia Athletics had the #1 pick and picked RF Jesse Burkett. The Phillies had the #2 slot and grabbed SP Cy Young.



MLB has now completed six seasons and six years is the minimum service time required for free agency. Thus, the 1889-90 winter was the first time with a notably large group of free agents on the market. Below are the top signings sorted by their overall rating.



The biggest contract went to former Baltimore two-way man Guy Hecker, who signed at five years and $187,200 with New Orleans. His $38,400 salary for 1890 is the richest in baseball history by a healthy margin. Only Orioles 3B Pete Browning is above $30,000. Browning signed an eight-year, $246,400 extension last April, which is the richest overall deal in league history. The inflation calculator places that around $8.77 million in 2026 money.

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Below are the top-rated batters in professional baseball entering the 1890 season.



Below are the top-rated pitchers.

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Defending World Series champ Boston was the American League’s top team in April at 15-7 atop the East Division. Washington, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and New York were each at 12-10. In the AL West, Minnesota and Detroit were tied for first at 12-10. St. Louis had a rough start at 6-16. Louisville was by far the top team in the majors in April at 19-3. That gave them a five game National League West Division lead over 14-8 St. Louis. Boston and Buffalo at 14-8 were tied for the NL East lead.

AL Batter of the Month went to Nationals LF Scott Stratton with a .367 average, 5 home runs, 22 RBI, and 15 runs. Reigning MVP Mike Tiernan of the Braves took the NL honor on a .303 average, 8 homers, 25 RBI, and 20 runs. The Red Sox’s Charlie Ferguson was AL Pitcher of the Month on a 4-1 record, 3.51 ERA, and 31 strikeouts in 41 innings. Buffalo’s Jack Sharrott was the NL’s best pitcher and rookie on a 5-0 record, 1.91 ERA, and 27 Ks in 47 innings. AL Rookie of the Month was Yankees pitcher Billy Rhines with a 2.13 ERA, 2-2 record, and 13 Ks in 38 innings.

The bad injury luck continued for Brooklyn two-way star Bob Caruthers, who suffered a torn flexor tendon in mid-April with a nine month recovery time. It is the third straight year that the 26-year old lefty will miss well over half of the season. “Parisian Bob” had shoulder inflammation in 1888 and a partially torn labrum in 1889.

Tiernan and Buffalo’s Fred Carroll both had 20-game hitting streaks ended in April that carried over from 1889. White Sox C Jocko Milligan also had a 20-game hit streak. Giants star Dan Brouthers and Cubs 2B John Grim both hit for the cycle.
In bad news for Cleveland, 2B Lou Bierbauer, an all-star last year, is out five months on a ruptured foot tendon. The Phillies lost their all-star 2B Chick Fulmer for the season to a torn ACL.

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Milwaukee went on a 23-6 tear in May to assume the American League’s best record at 32-19. The Brewers were five games ahead of 27-24 Detroit in the AL West Division with everyone else below .500, including last year’s division champ Minnesota at 23-28. The AL East was hyper-competitive with Boston and Cleveland tied for first at 29-22. New York was only one back with Philadelphia two back and Baltimore four away.

AL Batter of the Month was Kansas City 1B Otto Schomberg with a .389 average, 6 home runs, 32 RBI, and 16 runs. #7 draft pick Billy Rhines for the Yankees was both Pitcher and Rookie of the Momth with a 5-1 record, 1.68 ERA, and 28 strikeouts over 53.2 innings in May.

Milwaukee did get bad news though at the end of the month with former MVP 1B Denny Lyons suffering a fractured hand, knocking him out three months. The Tigers also lost ace Lee Viau for five weeks to a strained shoulder.

The top two records in the National League through May were in the East Division with Buffalo (33-18) just ahead of Boston (32-19). Brooklyn was third at 27-24. Louisville’s big lead in the West vanished with an 11-18 struggle in May. St. Louis moved into first at 31-20 with both the Colonels and New Orleans one behind at 30-21. Part of Louisville’s fall in May was the loss of ace pitcher Ledell Titcomb. He will require elbow ligament reconstruction surgery and is out for a calendar year.

Defending MVP Mike Tiernan was NL Batter of the Month with the Braves star posting a .417 average, 45 hits, 10 home runs, 28 RBI, and 27 runs. Brooklyn’s Mickey Welch was Pitcher of the Month on a 6-1 record, 61 innings, 34 Ks, and 2.21 ERA. Cardinals rookie Duke Esper was Rookie of the Month with the #10 pick posting a stellar 0.67 ERA over 54 innings with 22 Ks and a 4-1 record. Esper is the NL leader in ERA through two months.

1890’s first no-hitters both came on May 9. Washington’s Gus Weyhing did it with two strikeouts and three walks facing Philadelphia. Meanwhile, the Giants’ Fred Tenney did it with five strikeouts and three walks facing the Braves. Elsewhere, Cleveland’s Henry Moore had a 22-game hitting streak.

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Boston and Cleveland remained neck-and-neck in the American League East Division heading into the all-star break. The Red Sox narrowly hold the AL’s best record at 48-35 with the Spiders one back at 47-36. Philadelphia is a close third at 44-39, while the rest of the group lost some ground in June. Milwaukee maintained its AL West lead at 47-36, six ahead of Detroit and seven ahead of Kansas City.

Browns CF Hugh Duffy was AL Batter of the Month in June with a .347 average, 7 home runs, 23 RBI, and 25 runs. Duffy leads AL batters at the break with 4.3 WAR. Minnesota’s Toad Ramsey was Pitcher of the Month with a 2.13 ERA in 55 innings, 5-1 record, and 47 strikeouts. Brewers #8 draft pick Ed Stein was Rookie of the Month with a 2.91 ERA in 43.1 innings with 36 Ks and a 4-1 record.

Both Buffalo and Boston went on a tear heading into the break, growing their National League East Division lead to ten games with both teams at 51-32. New Orleans moved into first in the NL West at 49-34 with Louisville at 47-36 and St. Louis at 45-38.

Colonels slugger Jimmy Ryan was AL Batter of the Month with a .412 average, 6 home runs, 26 RBI, and 22 runs. Louisville also had Pitcher of the Month Jesse Duryea with a 4-2 record, 2.05 ERA, and 33 Ks in 52.2 innings. Buffalo pitcher Jack Sharrott was the top rookie as the #6 pick posted a 3.02 ERA over 53.2 innings for a 4-1 record and 39 Ks.



Cubs LF Dave Orr was the first player with a six-hit game in 1890, going 6-6 against New Orleans on June 3. The Braves had two notable hitting streaks end in June with Mike Tiernan at 24 games and Ed Crane at 22. The reigning MVP Tiernan leads the majors at the all-star break in home runs (30), RBI (78), and OPS (1.128).

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Below are the rosters for the 1890 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. Athletics LF Ad Gumbert won the Home Run Challenge, winning 14-10 in the final round against 1885 winner Ed Crane of the Braves. There have yet to be any repeat winners in the event.

The 1890 All-Star Game was at Brooklyn’s Washington Park and the American League’s dominance continued, making them 7-0 in the game over the National League. This time it was a 5-2 result with the big swing coming in a four-run fifth inning with a three-run homer by Twins 3B Charley Bassett. His teammate Emil Gross earned MVP honors, going 3-4 with a double, RBI, and run.

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Cleveland gained some ground over Boston in the American League East Division, going 12-8 after the all-star break in July while the Red Sox were 9-11. The Spiders have the AL’s top record at 59-44, but Boston is two away at 57-46. Both Philadelphia and New York are seven back at 52-51. Milwaukee was sub .500 since the break, but still holds a five-game AL West lead at 56-47. St. Louis is 51-52 while both Chicago and Detroit are 50-53.

AL Batter of the Month for July was a repeat win for Browns CF Hugh Duffy, as he hit .347 with six home runs, 27 RBI, and 16 runs. The Yankees’ Bert Dorr was Pitcher of the month with a 2.15 ERA over five wins with 31 strikeouts and 46 innings. The Yankees also had Rookie of the Month Billy Rhines, as the #7 draft pick had a 3.00 ERA over 51 innings with 23 Ks and a 3-3 record.

Buffalo and Boston remained deadlock in the National League East Division, going into August tied at 61-42. They’re both ten games better than the next teams Pittsburgh and Brooklyn. Louisville has been the best NL team since the break at 13-7, pushing them to first place at 60-43. New Orleans is one away at 59-44 with St. Louis three behind at 57-46. Cincinnati at 33-70 by far as the worst mark in the majors, as every other team has at least 41 wins.

Colonels RF Jimmy Ryan was a repeat NL Batter of the Month winner, hitting .374 in July with 34 hits, 7 homers, 24 RBI, and 28 runs. The Pelicans’ Guy Hecker was the top arm with a 1.34 ERA and 5-0 record with 32 Ks and 47 innings. Buffalo’s Jack Sharrott repeated as Rookie of the Month on a 2.37 ERA, 4-0 record, and 25 Ks in 38 innings.



There was a genuine blockbuster trade before the deadline with 1888 AL Pitcher of the Year Toad Ramsey on the move. Minnesota had the worst record in the AL and Ramsey was due free agency at the end of the year. Thus, they traded him straight up to the Boston Braves for RF John Kelty. The 19-year old Kelty was a first rounder by the Braves in 1887 who had seen limited MLB time to this point. Through July, Ramsey’s 1426 career strikeouts are second-most in MLB history.

Another big deal saw three-time all-star SP Pud Galvin on the move, as the 33-year old was sent from Kansas City to Cleveland for prospect RHP Babe Doty. Like with Ramsey, Galvin is due free agency in the winter and the Royals haven’t been particularly competitive. The Spiders hope Galvin’s arm can give them the extra push needed to hold off the Red Sox in the AL East.



Tragic news out of Philadelphia regarding Phillies rookie Cy Young, the #2 pick from the last draft. He suffered a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his July 21 start against the Braves. Despite being only a partial tear, doctors informed Young that he had to retire. It was a shockingly abrupt end for a prospect many expected to become an all-time great. Young finished his career with 141 innings, a 5-10 record, 3.38 ERA, 59 strikeouts, and 1.6 WAR.

*programming note, I almost didn’t save the game after seeing that news because Cy Young was actually one of this era’s guys I was most interested in seeing play out. I don’t think anyone is going to name any awards after him in this universe. Them’s the breaks.