Chapter V: Introduction (3)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- EASTERN CLUBS WESTERN CLUBS. P h i W P C L B l a C i i o a N a B s l t n u l e d r h e t C c i ST. LOUIS t w B e o i v s h i s i o l o n e b i n v vs. m Y s p k g l u c n i o o t h l t a r a a l r r o i y o n g g t l e k n a n n d h o i e Grand Total Total Total --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Series won 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 Series lost 1 1 0 0 1 0 3 1 0 0 1 0 2 5 Series tied 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 0 1 1 0 1 3 5 Series unfinished 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 "Chicago" victories 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 "Chicago" defeats 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 1 0 4 5 Single figure victories 0 5 5 3 3 2 18 1 4 4 4 4 17 35 Single figure defeats 7 5 0 2 3 3 20 7 4 3 5 6 25 45 Double figure victories 2 0 1 4 1 4 12 2 2 2 1 2 9 21 Double figure defeats 3 2 6 3 5 3 22 2 2 3 2 0 9 31 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The St. Louis "Browns" did well in winning one of their Eastern series--that with Philadelphia--and tieing with Boston and Washington. But the Baltimores gave them a bad whipping, and the Brooklyns and "Phillies" took them into camp easily. Against their Western adversaries, however, they failed to win a single series; but they only lost one--that with Cleveland--as they tied with Pittsburgh, Chicago and Louisville.

THE CINCINNATI CLUB'S CAMPAIGN.

The Cincinnati club did not begin their opening campaign until April 20th, and during that month's short campaign they occupied third place on April 24th, and retained their position among the leaders to the end of the month. In May, however, they fell back into the ranks of the second division clubs, and remained there until May 16th, when they occupied sixth place in the first division. By the end of that month, however, they had been pushed back to ninth position. There they remained during the whole of the June campaign. During July they improved their position by getting into eighth position, where they stood on July 31st. August's campaign did not improve their standing; on the contrary, they fell back into ninth place, where they stood on August 31st. During September they were almost anchored in that position, but on the very last day of the race they let their old rivals, the "Browns," beat them out, and Comiskey had to finish tenth in the race, and then he said he'd had enough, and he concluded to "go West," where he will remain for 1895.

Here is the Cincinnati club's record:

THE CINCINNATI CLUB'S RECORD.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
EASTERN CLUBS. WESTERN CLUBS.
P
h
i W P L
B l a C i o
a N a B s l t S u
l e d r h e t C t i
CINCINNATI t w B e o i v s h . s
i o l o n e b i L v
vs. m Y s p k g l u c o i
o o t h l t a r a u l
r r o i y o n g g i l
e k n a n n d h o s e
Totals Total
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Victories 2 5 4 2 6 7 26 3 5 6 7 7 28
Defeats 10 7 8 8 6 5 44 8 7 6 5 5 31
Games played 12 12 12 10 12 12 70 11 12 12 12 12 59
Per cent. of
Victories .167 .417 .338 .200 .500 .583 .371 .273 .417 .500 .583 .588 .475
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- EASTERN CLUBS WESTERN CLUBS. P h i W P L B l a C i o a N a B s l t S u l e d r h e t C t i CINCINNATI t w B e o i v s h . s i o l o n e b i L v vs. m Y s p k g l u c o i o o t h l t a r a u l r r o i y o n g g i l e k n a n n d h o s e Grand Total Total Total --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Series won 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 2 3 Series lost 1 1 1 1 0 1 5 1 1 0 0 0 2 7 Series tied 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 Series unfinished 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 "Chicago" victories 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 3 4 "Chicago" defeats 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 2 2 Single figure victories 1 5 2 3 3 5 19 2 2 2 5 6 17 36 Single figure defeats 4 4 3 2 1 5 19 4 3 2 4 5 18 37 Double figure victories 1 0 2 1 3 2 9 1 3 4 2 1 11 20 Double figure defeats 6 3 5 6 5 0 25 4 4 4 1 0 13 38 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

THE WASHINGTON CLUB'S CAMPAIGN.

The season of 1894 was made noteworthy in the annals of the Washington club, owing to their being able to pay off their six years' mortgage on the last ditch, and transferred it to the Louisville club. The "Senators" opened the season in a very lively style, inasmuch as they stood a tie for first place at the end of the first day of the campaign, and had the credit of winning their first games with the "Phillies," the New York and Boston clubs. After this dash at the start they settled down among the second division clubs for the season, resigned to everything but the fate of again being tail-enders. Chicago kept them out until May, when the "Senators" fell into their old quarters, the tail-end place, where they remained until August 23d, when, to the great joy of Manager Schmelz, they had a wrestle with Louisville and threw the "Colonels" into the last ditch.

Here is their record:

THE WASHINGTON CLUB'S RECORD.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
EASTERN CLUBS. WESTERN CLUBS.
P
h
i P C L
B l C i S i o
a N a B l t t n u
l e d r e t C . c i
WASHINGTON t w B e o v s h i s
i o l o e b i L n v
vs. m Y s p k l u c o n i
o o t h l a r a u a l
r r o i y n g g i t l
e k n a n d h o s i e
Totals Total
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Victories 1 2 3 4 3 13 4 4 5 6 5 8 32
Defeats 11 10 9 8 9 47 8 8 7 6 7 4 40
Games played 12 12 12 12 12 60 12 12 12 12 12 12 72
Per cent. of
Victories .083 .167 .250 .333 .250 .217 .333 .333 .417 .500 .147 .667 .444
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- EASTERN CLUBS WESTERN CLUBS P h i P C L B l C i S i o a N a B l t t n u l e d r e t C . c i WASHINGTON t w B e o v s h i s i o l o e b i L n v vs. m Y s p k l u c o n i o o t h l a r a u a l r r o i y n g g i t l e k n a n d h o s i e Grand Total Total Total --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Series won 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 Series lost 1 1 1 1 1 5 1 1 1 0 1 0 4 9 Series tied 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 Series unfinished 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 "Chicago" victories 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 "Chicago" defeats 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 3 Single figure victories 0 1 2 3 1 7 4 0 4 3 5 5 21 28 Single figure defeats 3 7 0 3 3 16 4 3 1 2 5 3 18 34 Double figure victories 1 1 1 1 2 6 0 4 1 3 0 3 11 17 Double figure defeats 8 3 9 5 6 31 4 5 6 4 2 1 22 53 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The "Senators" won but one series in the whole campaign, and that was with the Louisvilles. They managed to tie with the St. Louis "Browns," but all the rest knocked them out--the Baltimores by 11 to 1.

THE LOUISVILLE CLUB'S CAMPAIGN.

The Louisville club started in the race with better prospects than they had for years past, they being tied for first place on April 20th, but they only remained in the first division a few days, after which they took up their home position among the tail-enders, which they occupied from April 30th to September 30th, never once getting back to the ranks of the first division. Gradually, during the May campaign they worked their way down towards the last ditch, they having a close fight for the ditch with Washington during June. But July saw them rolled into the tail-end position, and there they remained until the ending of the championship campaign. The Louisvilles had the consolation of tieing the the St. Louis "Browns" in their series, and of "Chicagoing" the Boston champions, and also in defeating them in another game by 11 to 1. Here is their record:

THE LOUISVILLE CLUB'S RECORD.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
EASTERN CLUBS. WESTERN CLUBS.
P
h
i W P C
B l a C i i
a N a B s l t S n
l e d r h e t C t c
LOUISVILLE t w B e o i v s h . i
i o l o n e b i L n
vs. m Y s p k g l u c o n
o o t h l t a r a u a
r r o i y o n g g i t
e k n a n n d h o s i
Totals Total
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Victories 2 0 2 3 4 4 15 3 3 4 6 5 21
Defeats 10 12 10 8 8 8 56 8 9 8 6 7 38
Games played 12 12 12 11 12 12 71 11 12 12 12 12 59
Per cent. of
Victories .167 .000 .167 .273 .333 .333 .211 .273 .250 .333 .500 .417 .356
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- EASTERN CLUBS WESTERN CLUBS. P h i W P C B l a C i i a N a B s l t S n l e d r h e t C t c LOUISVILLE t w B e o i v s h . i i o l o n e b i L n vs. m Y s p k g l u c o n o o t h l t a r a u a r r o i y o n g g i t e k n a n n d h o s i Grand Total Total Total --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Series won 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Series lost 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 1 1 1 0 1 4 10 Series tied 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 Series unfinished 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 "Chicago" victories 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 "Chicago" defeats 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 2 3 Single figure victories 1 0 1 0 1 3 6 1 3 3 6 5 18 24 Single figure defeats 8 8 5 2 4 5 32 6 7 6 4 6 29 61 Double figure victories 1 0 1 3 3 1 9 2 0 1 0 0 3 12 Double figure defeats 2 5 5 6 4 3 25 2 2 2 2 1 9 34 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The nearest the Louisvilles came to a series victory was in their series with the St. Louis club, which they tied; all the others they lost, they being "shut out" by the "Giants," with which club they lost thirteen successive games, one of which was thrown out. The Club Management of 1894.

The management of the twelve League clubs in 1894 was, in but few instances, in advance of that of 1893; and in a minority of cases it was worse. The experience of the past season in the management of club teams, points out the indisputable fact that the majority of managers are blind to the folly of condoning drinking offences in the ranks, for one thing, and equally ignorant of the damaging effects, in lessening the reputable patronage of their grounds, of countenancing that phase of "hoodlumism" in teams known as "kicking against the decisions of umpires." Despite of the costly experience of the past five years in the countenancing of drunkards in the League ranks, we see, this season of 1895, club teams including players notorious for their old drunken habits. Why managers cannot perceive the folly of re-engaging such men is a mystery. No matter what their skill at the bat or in the field may be, their drinking habits, with the demoralizing effect on the teams at large which follows, more than offset the advantage of their alleged ability in the field. Despite this obvious fact, however, club officials--either presidents, directors or managers--still blunder on in having these drunkards on their teams, even after condoning their offences time and again, on the promise of reform, which in no single instance has ever taken place that I am aware of. But surpassing this folly, is that of engaging ugly and vicious tempered players for their teams, who are simply demoralizing agents in any team on which they are engaged. These ill-tempered fellows are not only death to necessary discipline, but they are sure to find occasions to form cliques in a team, which war against the best interests of the club at large, and are obnoxious in the extreme to the pennant winning rule of _playing for the side_, a rule as important to the success of a club team in a pennant race, as the reserve rule is to the life of the professional club business at large. Bad management of clubs involves a variety of blunders, not only in the running of the team without regard to business principles--sadly neglected by a majority of the League clubs in 1894--but especially in the making up of teams in the spring months, in which one blunder is conspicuous, viz., that of selecting players for each team without regard to their ability to play in _harmony together_, but solely by the records made in the unreliable table of averages of the past season, in which everything in the way of scoring figures tends to aid the mere record player and throws obstacles in the way of team work players' records. Another managerial blunder is shown in the gathering together of a long list of signed players, with the view of selecting a strong team of a dozen players from the crowd for the serious work of the campaign. For instance, in the makeup of many of the League teams of 1894, the blunder of getting together six or eight pitchers and occupying the whole of the early part of the season's campaign in experiments with them was positive folly. It has never paid in a single instance. It was, in fact, death to the success of at least four League teams last season, Cincinnati in particular. Many of last year's team managers failed to realize the important fact that in testing the merits of pitchers in the spring season they need to be given a fair trial, and not dismiss them after the hasty judgment of their ability of a few games of trial. Pitchers need to be thoroughly tested before they are released, after engagement, and this testing process cannot at the shortest be done in less than a month's trial. No pitcher can do his best while in doubt all the while as to the result of a single day's play on his engagement. Five pitchers are amply sufficient to begin a season with, and at most three catchers. But one of the greatest and most costly blunders in team management made in 1894 was that of encouraging "hoodlumism" by the countenancing of blackguard kicking, in defiance of the laws of the game, which presidents and directors, as well as managers and captains, were alike guilty of to a more or less extent. The rules of the game positively prohibit any player of a nine on the field from disputing any decision of the umpire except the captain, and he only in certain exceptional cases, and yet not only did captains of teams allow this rule to be violated in every game of the season, but they were openly countenanced in it by not only their managers, but in many cases by club presidents and directors. Under such circumstances is it any wonder that the season of 1894 stands on record as being marked by more disgraceful kicking, rowdy play, blackguard language and brutal play than that of any season since the League was organized? And all this was the result of a neglect of business principles in club management, and in the blunders in managing teams committed by incompetent managers and captains--an arraignment of the National League which we hope never to have to record again.

THE MONTHLY CAMPAIGNS.

THE APRIL CAMPAIGN.

The short April campaign of 1894 began on April 19th, on which date eight of the twelve clubs opened the season; New York losing at Baltimore, Brooklyn at Boston, Philadelphia at Washington, and Pittsburgh at St. Louis, rain preventing the games scheduled for Louisville and Cincinnati. On the 20th Chicago opened at Cincinnati with a defeat, as did Cleveland at Louisville. By the end of the month's campaign, on April 30th, the games played left the Boston, Cleveland and St. Louis clubs tied for first place in the month's record, with Philadelphia fourth, Baltimore fifth, and Pittsburgh sixth the second division clubs being headed by Cincinnati--tied with Pittsburgh for sixth place--and followed by Louisville, New York and Brooklyn tied for ninth position, Washington and Chicago, the latter club being a bad tail-ender with a record of eight defeats out of nine games played.

Here is the complete record of the thirteen days' campaign of the opening month of the season, fifty victories and as many defeats having been recorded:

THE APRIL RECORD. -------------------------------------------------- P P P e P e l r l r L a c L a c W o y e W o y e o s e n o s e n Clubs. n t d t Clubs. n t d t -------------------------------------------------- Boston 6 2 8 .750 Cincinnati 4 4 8 .500 Cleveland 6 2 8 .750 Louisville 4 5 9 .444 St. Louis 6 2 8 .750 New York 3 5 8 .375 Philadelphia 6 3 9 .667 Brooklyn 3 5 8 .375 Baltimore 5 3 8 .625 Washington 2 7 9 .174 Pittsburgh 4 4 8 .500 Chicago 1 8 9 .111 --------------------------------------------------

It had been confidently expected that Boston would be in the lead and Cleveland not far off; but that St. Louis should be tied with both for the lead was a surprise. Philadelphia was in its anticipated place, but Baltimore was lower than the club officials had looked for, as also New York, while the fact that the tail-ender of 1893 led the Chicago "Colts" of 1894 was a disagreeable ending of the month's play for the Chicago cranks.

THE MAY CAMPAIGN.

The May campaign changed the relative positions of the twelve clubs materially. By May 31st, Pittsburgh had pulled up to the leading position, having won 18 out of 23 games; and while Cleveland had held its position fairly well, Baltimore had done better than Boston, and New York had won more games than Brooklyn. Chicago, too, had rallied, while St. Louis had fallen off badly, as also Cincinnati and Louisville; the Washingtons winning but 4 games out of 23, that club ending the second month's campaign a bad tail-ender in the figures of May. Here is the record for May:

THE MAY RECORD. -------------------------------------------------------- P P P e P e l r l r L a c L a c W o y e W o y e o s e n o s e n Clubs. n t d t Clubs. n t d t -------------------------------------------------------- Pittsburgh 18 5 28 .783 Brooklyn 12 11 23 .522 Cleveland 13 7 20 .684 Chicago 9 12 21 .429 Baltimore 12 6 18 .667 St. Louis 9 16 25 .360 Boston 14 8 22 .636 Cincinnati 7 13 20 .350 Philadelphia 12 7 19 .632 Louisville 6 14 20 .300 New York 13 11 24 .542 Washington 4 19 23 .174 --------------------------------------------------------

The monthly record differs in its percentage figures from the pennant race record, as the latter gives the totals of the games played from April 19th, while the former gives the totals of each month's games only. A hundred and twenty-nine games, resulting in victories, were played in May, with, of course, the same number of defeats. Seven of the twelve clubs won more games than they lost.

THE JUNE CAMPAIGN.

The June campaign opened with Cleveland in the van in pennant race percentages, the other clubs in the first division being the Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Boston and Brooklyn clubs in order; New York leading the second division, followed by St. Louis, Cincinnati, Louisville, Chicago and Washington; the leader in the race having a percentage of .690, and the tail-ender .212, a difference in percentage figures of 478 points, showing a poorly contested race thus far. Only two Western clubs by this time remained in the first division, viz., Cleveland and Pittsburgh; New York and Washington being the two Eastern clubs in the second division. Baltimore overtook and passed Cleveland in the first week of the June campaign, and closed the month in the lead. Boston, too, rallied and pulled up in the race from fifth place on June 4th to second position by June 11th, and remained there to the end of the month. Brooklyn also took a jump from sixth place on June 18th to third position on June 29th; New York not getting out of the second division until the last of the month. In the meantime the two Western teams of Cleveland and Pittsburgh began to lose ground, and by the 21st of June they occupied fifth and sixth positions in the race, Cleveland leading their rivals of Pittsburgh by 13 points. On the same date Philadelphia was in third place, but the "Phillies" fell off to fifth position by the end of the month. In victories won during June Brooklyn led with 18 games won out of 23 played, Baltimore being second with 20 victories and 6 defeats, and Boston third with 18 games won to 8 lost. On June 8th Washington had pushed Louisville into the last ditch, and also led Chicago; but the "Colts" got ahead of the "Senators" by the end of the month. On June 30th Baltimore held the lead in the pennant race with the percentage figures of .712 to Louisville's .255, a difference of 457 points, only one Western club being in the first division at the end of the month.

Here is the record of the June campaign, showing which club led in won games during the month.

THE JUNE RECORD. -------------------------------------------------------- P P P e P e l r l r L a c L a c W o y e W o y e o s e n o s e n Clubs. n t d t Clubs. n t d t -------------------------------------------------------- Brooklyn 18 5 28 .789 Philadelphia 11 12 23 .478 Baltimore 20 6 26 .769 Cleveland 9 13 22 .409 Boston 18 8 26 .692 St. Louis 10 15 25 .406 New York 15 8 23 .686 Washington 9 15 24 .375 Pittsburgh 13 13 26 .500 Chicago 8 17 25 .320 Cincinnati 12 13 25 .480 Louisville 4 22 26 .154 --------------------------------------------------------

It will be seen that out of the twelve clubs but four won more games than they lost, the Louisvilles ending the month's play with a record of but 4 games won out of 26 played, the poorest record of any single month of the season.

THE JULY CAMPAIGN.

The July campaign opened with the Baltimore and Boston clubs as apparent fixtures for the two leading positions, the "Orioles" leading the champions on July 5th by seven points only, viz., .679 to .672. On the 2d of July New York was sixth and Brooklyn third in the race. By July 5th, however, the "Giants" had jumped into third place, and Brooklyn had fallen back to sixth position. On the same date Baltimore, Boston and New York occupied the three leading positions, and though three more months of the season still remained, the other nine clubs were even then virtually out of the race, the only other point of interest left in the championship contest being that of the fight for the last three places in the first division, Pittsburgh being at that time the only Western club out of the second division. Of course, such a one-sided condition of things in the pennant race led to a falling off in the interest in the championship contests, especially out West, where the clubs of that section lost patronage greatly, four of the six Western clubs being virtually out of the race as early as May, as far as winning the pennant was concerned. During July there were only two points of interest in the race outside of the fight for first place between the three leaders, viz., the struggle between the Brooklyn and Philadelphia clubs for fourth place in the race, and that between the Cleveland and Pittsburgh clubs to retain a place in the first division. Cleveland lost its position in the first division the first week in July, Pittsburgh on July 2d being in fourth place. By the 6th of that month the "Phillies" had overtaken them, and by the 9th the Pittsburghs were down to sixth place, the Clevelands then heading the second division. The "Pirates" then rallied and got ahead of Brooklyn, the latter being driven into the second division by July 17th, Cleveland rallying and getting among the six leaders again by the 18th of July, after which date they remained in that division to the close of the season, A feature of the July campaign among the six tail-end clubs was the close fight between Washington and Louisville on the edge of the last ditch. First one club would cross the goal line and make a touch-down--as the foot ball men have it--and then the other, Louisville being in eleventh place at the end of the month, while the "Senators" rolled about in the last ditch. When the July campaign ended Boston was in the van with the percentage figures of .659, Baltimore being second with .618, and New York third with .613. It looked at that time pretty sure for Boston.

Here is the record of the month's play, showing which club won the most games during July:

THE JULY RECORD. -------------------------------------------------------- P P P e P e l r l r L a c L a c W o y e W o y e o s e n o s e n Clubs. n t d t Clubs. n t d t -------------------------------------------------------- New York 18 7 25 .720 Philadelphia 12 14 26 .462 Boston 16 9 25 .640 Baltimore 10 14 24 .417 Cleveland 18 11 29 .621 Pittsburgh 10 16 26 .385 Chicago 16 10 26 .615 St. Louis 10 17 27 .370 Cincinnati 16 11 27 .593 Brooklyn 9 16 25 .360 Louisville 13 15 28 .464 Washington 8 16 24 .331 --------------------------------------------------------

But five clubs out of the twelve won more games than they lost during the July campaign, but there was a little improvement shown in the difference of percentage points between the leader and tail-ender, the figures being .363. The Baltimores made the poorest record in July for a month's campaign of any they made during the season; while New York made the best show of any one of their four months' campaigns up to the close of July. Chicago also made their best monthly record in July, likewise Cincinnati and Louisville.

THE AUGUST CAMPAIGN.

Baltimore rallied in fine style in August, that club winning 22 out of 29 games that month, while New York won 20 out of 28; but Boston won only 15 out of 25, Philadelphia pulling up with 19 out of 29. Chicago also won a majority of their August games, these being the only clubs of the twelve which won more games during the month than they lost. When the August campaign opened the first division clubs included Boston, Baltimore, New York, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Brooklyn, the "Phillies" being in the second division; but the latter soon took Brooklyn's place and sent them to seventh place in the race. But before the first week of the month had ended, Brooklyn replaced Pittsburgh in the first division. The "Pirates," however rallied and drove their Eastern opponents back again; Brooklyn ending the month in sixth place, and after that the "Pirates" remained at the head of the second division to the finish. The 31st of August saw the first division clubs fixed for the season, as far as first and sixth places in the race were concerned, the interesting point in the month's campaign being the struggle between the New York and Boston clubs for second place and that between Brooklyn and Philadelphia for fourth position. There was but one Western club in the first division at the end of August, the other five staying in the second division to the finish, a result that was ruinous to the financial interests of the Western clubs, and to a large extent to the clubs of the East, all of which clubs played to "small houses" out West, especially at Louisville, the cranks of "Breckinridgeville" being disgusted with their local club team during the last three months of the season.

Here is the record of the August campaign, showing each club's victories and defeats for August;

THE AUGUST RECORD. ----------------------------------------------------------- P P P e P e l r l r L a c L a c W o y e W o y e o s e n o s e n Clubs. n t d t Clubs. n t d t ----------------------------------------------------------- Baltimore 22 7 29 .759 Washington 13 14 27 .481 New York 20 8 28 .714 St. Louis 9 13 22 .409 Philadelphia 19 10 29 .655 Cleveland 9 15 24 .375 Boston 15 10 25 .600 Pittsburgh 8 16 24 .333 Chicago 15 12 27 .556 Cincinnati 7 19 26 .269 Brooklyn 14 14 28 .500 Louisville 5 18 23 .217 -----------------------------------------------------------

It will be seen that August was a bad month for the Boston champions, while it was the very reverse for the Chicago "Colts," the latter making their best monthly record in August. The difference in percentage points between the leader and the tail-ender at the close of the August campaign was 355 points, the best of the season to that date. Still the figures showed a comparatively poor race, several of the minor league races being more evenly contested. Cleveland and Pittsburgh were behind Washington in percentage of victories during the August campaign, the latter making their best monthly record in August, thereby escaping their old place in the last ditch.

THE SEPTEMBER CAMPAIGN.

Baltimore virtually had the pennant in their hands the first week of the September campaign, the only point of interest in the race left at that time being the struggle for second place between New York and Boston; all of the other clubs had long been practically out of the race, a result which involved considerable loss for the majority of the twelve League clubs. This state of things in the major league pennant race is the result of the selfish policy of a minority in trying to monopolize the cream of the playing element in the League ranks without regard to the saving clause of the League organization, the principle of "_One for all and all for one_," the very essence of the plan of running the League on true business principles.

During September the Brooklyn club tried their best to oust the "Phillies" out of fourth place, while the Clevelands worked hard to take Brooklyn's position in fifth place, but both clubs failed in their projects. Up to September 6th the "Giants" tried in vain to send the Bostons down to third place, but it was not until the 7th of September that they were able to oust the champions out of second place in the race, and when they did so they kept them out to the finish, the champions failing to rally after they had lost the position. It was a close fight, however, as on September 10th New York led Boston in percentage of victories by only 3 points, viz., .655 to .652, Baltimore leading at that date with .684. By September 19th, however, the Bostons had got down to .631, and New York's figures were .667, with "the country safe." Boston's lowest score in percentage figures for the month was reached on September 25th, when they touched .623. By that time the places in the first division were all settled, and all of those in the second division also, except Cincinnati and St. Louis. On September 29th Cincinnati led St. Louis by the percentage figures of .424 to .415, but two victories by St. Louis over Washington, against a drawn game by Cincinnati with Cleveland on the 30th, gave St. Louis the lead by .424 to .419, and Comiskey's "Reds" had to finish in tenth position, beaten in the race by Von der Abe's "Browns," a galling fact for the Cincinnati cranks.

Here is the month's record of victories and defeats in September:

THE SEPTEMBER RECORD. -------------------------------------------------------- P P P e P e l r l r L a c L a c W o y e W o y e o s e n o s e n Clubs. n t d t Clubs. n t d t -------------------------------------------------------- Baltimore 20 3 23 .870 Philadelphia 13 12 25 .520 New York 20 6 26 .769 St. Louis 11 13 24 .458 Boston 14 11 25 .560 Cincinnati 10 16 26 .385 Cleveland 13 11 24 .542 Chicago 9 17 26 .346 Brooklyn 14 12 26 .538 Washington 8 16 24 .333 Pittsburgh 12 11 23 .522 Louisville 5 21 26 .192 --------------------------------------------------------

The appended summary shows the progress of each club from the opening to the close of the season, as also in what month each club made its best and worst record during the championship campaign:

SUMMARY OF VICTORIES AND DEFEATS. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- T S h e e p A t F A u e i p J J g m n r M u u u b i i a n l s e s l y e y t r h Clubs. W. L. W. L. W. L. W. L. W. L. W. L. W. L. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Baltimore 5 3 12 6 20 6 10 14 22 7 20 3 89 39 New York 3 5 13 11 15 8 18 7 20 8 20 6 88 44 Boston 6 2 14 8 18 8 16 9 15 10 14 11 83 49 Philadelphia 6 3 12 7 11 12 12 14 19 10 13 12 71 56 Brooklyn 3 5 12 11 18 5 9 16 14 14 14 12 70 61 Cleveland 6 2 13 7 9 13 18 11 9 15 13 11 68 61 Pittsburgh 4 4 18 5 13 13 10 16 8 16 12 11 65 65 Chicago 1 8 9 12 8 17 16 10 15 12 9 17 57 75 St. Louis 6 2 9 16 10 15 10 17 9 13 11 13 56 76 Cincinnati 4 4 7 13 12 13 16 11 7 19 10 16 54 75 Washington 2 7 4 19 9 15 8 16 13 14 8 16 45 87 Louisville 4 5 6 14 4 22 13 15 5 18 5 21 36 94 Totals 50 50 129 129 147 147 156 156 156 156 149 149 782 782 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

MONTHLY RECORD OF PERCENTAGE.

The following table shows the monthly record of percentage of victories in the campaign from April to September.

---------------------------------------------- 1894. S e p A t A u e p J J g m r M u u u b i a n l s e Clubs. l y e y t r --------------------------------------------- Baltimore .625 .654 .712 .618 .657 .695 New York .375 .500 .564 .613 .639 .667 Boston .750 .645 .667 .659 .645 .629 Philadelphia .667 .643 .569 .526 .562 .559 Brooklyn .375 .500 .623 .545 .533 .534 Cleveland .750 .679 .549 .575 .529 .527 Pittsburgh .500 .710 .614 .531 .491 .500 Chicago .111 .333 .327 .430 .458 .432 St. Louis .750 .455 .431 .412 .411 .421 Cincinnati .500 .393 .434 .488 .434 .419 Washington .222 .188 .281 .296 .343 .341 Louisville .444 .345 .255 .325 .302 .277 ---------------------------------------------

It will be seen that in percentage figures of each month's play, Boston, Cleveland and St. Louis were tied in April. In May, Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Baltimore led. In June, Baltimore, Boston and Brooklyn were in the van. In July, the three leaders were Boston, Baltimore and New York. In August, also, the same three were nearest the goal, and September saw Baltimore carrying off the pennant, followed by New York and Boston.

THE CAMPAIGN RECORD OF 1894.

We introduce in the GUIDE for 1895 a new and important record, which shows, at a glance almost, the total score of each championship game _won_, _lost_ and _drawn_ from April 19th to September 30th, inclusive, and also gives the names of the pitchers who were credited with pitching in a victory, or charged with pitching in a defeat. The record of each month's campaign, too, is given, with the position in the pennant race each of the twelve clubs occupied at the close of each month's campaign of the six comprising the championship season. This record in full will be found to be the most complete table of the statistics of the League season yet published in the GUIDE series, and especially valuable as a reference record.

THE APRIL RECORD.

The League championship season of 1894 began on April 19th and ended on September 30th, the April campaign opening at Boston, Baltimore, Washington and St. Louis on the 19th, at Cincinnati and Louisville on the 20th, and at Philadelphia and Brooklyn on the 21st, while the opening games at New York, Pittsburgh and Chicago were not played until the 24th, 25th and 28th of April respectively, and not at Cleveland until May 3d. Fifty games were played in April, the twelve clubs of the two divisions of the League being engaged in playing their respective home-and-home series. Here is the complete record of the April campaign, showing the pitchers of each side and the total score of each contest of the month:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date Contesting Clubs. City. Pitchers. Score. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- April 19 Boston vs. Brooklyn Boston Stivetts Kennedy 13-2 19 Baltimore vs. New York Baltimore McMahon Rusie 8-3 19 Washington vs. Philadelphi Washington Esper Weyhing 4-2 19 St. Louis vs. Pittsburgh St. Louis Breitenstein Killen 11-3 20 Baltimore vs. New York Baltimore Mullane Clark 12-6 20 Philadelphia vs. Washi'g'n Washington Taylor Stephens 9-8 20 Cincinnati vs. Chicago Cincinnati Parrott Hutchinson 10-6 20 Louisville vs. Cleveland Louisville Menafee Young 10-3 21 Boston vs. Brooklyn Brooklyn Nichols Stein 3-0 21 Baltimore vs. New York Baltimore Inks Westervelt 4-3 21 Philadelphia vs. Washi'g'n Philadelphia Carsey Esper 10-2 21 Cincinnati vs. Chicago Cincinnati Chamberlain Abbey 8-0 21 Cleveland vs. Louisville Louisville Cuppy Hemming 5-1 21 Pittsburgh vs. St. Louis St. Louis Gumbert Gleason 7-2 22 Cincinnati vs. Chicago Cincinnati Dwyer McGill 5-4 22 Cleveland vs. Louisville Louisville Clarkson Kilroy 3-2 23 Boston vs. Brooklyn Brooklyn Lovett Daub 7-4 23 Philadelphia vs. Washi'g'n Washington Weyhing Stockdale 8-4 23 St. Louis vs. Pittsburgh St. Louis Breitenstein Ehret 4-3 24 Baltimore vs. Boston Baltimore McMahon Stivetts 15-3 24 Washington vs. New York Washington Petty Rusie 6-3 24 Philadelphia vs. Brooklyn Brooklyn Carsey Korwan 22-5 24 Cleveland vs. Cincinnati Cincinnati Young Parrott 1-0 24 Louisville vs. Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Menafee Nicol 7-3 24 St. Louis vs. Chicago Chicago A. Clarkson McGill 9-5 25 New York vs. Washington Washington German Maul 14-5 25 Brooklyn vs. Philadelphia Brooklyn Stein Taylor 8-2 25 Boston vs. Baltimore Baltimore Nichols Mullane 6-3 25 Cleveland vs. Cincinnati Cincinnati Cuppy Chamberlain 12-6 25 Pittsburgh vs. Louisville Louisville Gumbert Hemming 2-1 25 St. Louis vs. Chicago Chicago Hawley Hutchinson 13-3 26 New York vs. Washington Washington Meekin Stockdale 7-5 26 Philadelphia vs. Brooklyn Brooklyn Weyhing Sharrott 13-3 26 Boston vs. Baltimore Baltimore Staley Brown 13-7 26 Cleveland vs. Cincinnati Cincinnati Clarkson Cross 12-4 26 Pittsburgh vs. Louisville Louisville Killen Kilroy 3-1 26 St. Louis vs. Chicago Chicago Gleason Abbey 10-4 27 No games scheduled ----------- ---- 28 New York vs. Baltimore New York Rusie McMahon 9-6 28 Brooklyn vs. Washington Washington Stein Petty 10-9 28 Philadelphia vs. Boston Philadelphia Carsey Stivetts 14-3 28 St. Louis vs. Cleveland St. Louis Breitenstein Young 7-1 28 Cincinnati vs. Pittsburgh Cincinnati Parrott Terry 10-5 28 Chicago vs. Louisville Louisville McGill Menafee 2-1 29 Cleveland vs. St Louis St. Louis Cuppy A. Clarkson 5-2 29 Louisville vs. Chicago Louisville Hemming McGill 8-3 30 Baltimore vs. New York New York Mullane German 10-6 30 Brooklyn vs. Washington Washington Gastright Mercer 15-10 30 Boston vs. Philadelphia Philadelphia Nichols Weyhing[1] 6-5 30 Pittsburgh vs. Cincinnati Cincinnati Nicol Chamberlain 15-6 30 Louisville vs. Chicago Louisville Stratton McGill 8-2

[Footnote 1: Ten innings.] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The record showing the total victories and defeats scored by each of the twelve clubs during the April campaign is as follows. The names are given in the order of the percentage of victories scored in the pennant race:

APRIL PENNANT RACE RECORD. ------------------------------------------------------- V V i P i P c D e c D e t e P r t e P r o f l o f l r e a c r e a c i a y e i a y e e t e n e t e n CLUBS s s d t CLUBS s s d t ------------------------------------------------------ Boston 6 2 8 .750 Cincinnati 4 4 8 .500 Cleveland 6 2 8 .750 Louisville 4 5 9 .444 St. Louis 6 2 8 .750 New York 3 5 8 .375 Philadelphia 6 3 9 .667 Brooklyn 3 5 8 .375 Baltimore 5 3 8 .625 Washington 2 7 9 .222 Pittsburgh 4 4 8 .500 Chicago 1 8 9 .111

Fifty games were played from April 19th to April 30th, inclusive. None were drawn or forfeited. ------------------------------------------------------

The first month of the championship campaign, short as it was, was marked by the largest attendance for the month of April known in the history of the League, an aggregate of 188,509 people patronizing the twenty-five games played in the East and 82,719 for the twenty-five played in the West. The largest aggregate attendance on a single day was 45,332 on April 21st, on which date 40,324 people patronized the three games played at Brooklyn, Philadelphia and Baltimore, and 5,008 the three games played at Cincinnati, St. Louis and Louisville. Though three Western clubs occupied positions in the first division--Cleveland and St. Louis tieing Boston for first place--the attendance in the West, as will be seen above, did not compare with that at the three games in the East, the terribly hard times out West greatly affecting everything in the amusement line in the Western League club cities.

Boston, Cleveland and St. Louis started off well in the pennant race in April, these three clubs ending the April campaign tied for first place; with the "Phillies" a good fourth, Baltimore fifth, and Pittsburgh and Cincinnati tied for sixth position, Louisville being eighth, with New York and Brooklyn tied for ninth place, and Washington on the edge of the last ditch, the Chicago "Colts" being last on the list, they having won but one game out of nine played during the opening month of the season. During April the clubs of the two sections took part in their first home-and-home series, this series of games lasting into May.

THE MAY CAMPAIGN RECORD.

The following is the complete record of the campaign of May, which proved to be a very interesting one: