1903 saw three different division champions compared to the previous season. Unfortunately, the Eastern League Liberty Division crowned a king, too. The Richmond Rifles reclaimed the throne and crushed the Philadelphia Brewers’ season goals of defending the title.
New players
As soon as the Brewers played their final game in 1902, Kirby Hocking was on the train again to find good and cheap players to sign. To allow the Brewers some breathing room for the upcoming financial restrictions imposed by the league, Hocking had to go through his whole list of contacts to find two cheap additions.
OF Enrique Johnson
In Kansas, Hocking convinced 24-year-old Enrique Johnson to come to Philadelphia. Johnson wasn’t on anyone’s lists. For cheap $3,000, Ronnie Arrington now has a better option compared to Junius Bembridge, who covered more of the outfield but is an inferior hitter. In addition, Johnson is an incredible baserunner.
Johnson had an unimpressive start. In his first 24 games, Johnson only had a .244 BA and a .300 OBP. May looked better (.290/.353), but an injury pulled him out of the game for five weeks. After that, the sprained thumb kept bothering him, which showed in June when he was only 9-for-44. Then, when everyone thought that his signing might have been a misunderstanding, he flourished in the season’s last month. In his last 18 games, he hit his first two home runs, stole almost as many bases (17) as in the previous 45 games (18), and was .342/.415.
If Johnson can pick up where he left off, keep healthy, and be more consistent, Arrington and Pitsch will have one position less to worry about for years to come.
LF/RF John Walshaw
Hocking labeled Walshaw as a signing for the future. Not quite there yet, but good enough to get some time on the field. It would not be easy to go by Rusty Hall and Leo McKenzie. Still, Walshaw spent 245 innings in right field and 103 in left field, mainly due to McKenzie’s move to first base. Walshaw’s rookie season ended with a BA of .266, but his numbers against righties were explosive: .406/.431. His time will come, but it will depend on for much longer Hall and McKenzie start in the outfield.
The Season
Off to a good start?
The season began surprisingly well. The first three series were wins. 3-1 against Baltimore, 2-1 against Brooklyn, and 3-1 against Richmond. The fans were ecstatic. Winning a four-game series against the division rivals meant a lot. Could it be the season?
Trailing the Rifles
Philadelphians had to sober up quickly. The next 21 games turned the good record around. From 8-3 to 15-17. In the meantime, Richmond overtook the Brewers, who were now five games behind on May 9th. From then on, the Brewers never got closer than three games to Richmond.
Philadelphia seemed to turn things around. From May 10th to June 14th, Arrington’s team won 19 out of 31 games, including their first sweep. However, the Rifles were still three wins away.
Setback
With the Rifles in striking distance and finishing off the New York Kings with a sweep, the Brewers swam in self-confidence. And a series against the Rifles was coming up the following week. But losing two out of three to Baltimore increased the distance to 4 GB. Then, the Whales swept the Brewers. But because the Rifles struggled in Providence and lost the series to the Brewers, there was some damage control.
Finally, after winning only two games in the final six games in June, the Brewers were seven games behind – almost an impossible task with only 18 games left.
Helping Providence
Sweeping the Kings and Bakers didn’t help much because Richmond only lost one game in that period. The Brewers then lost another series to Baltimore, and on July 15th, after a 2-8 loss to Richmond, the hunt for the division title was officially over.
At least the Brewers helped elevate the Angels over the Whales. Brooklyn lost two out of three to the Brewers, and Providence swept Philadelphia in the season’s final three games. In the end, Providence won the Ivy Division by two games.
Poor hitting, good pitching
If one thing was functioning last season, it was pitching. Returning to a three-man rotation, Pitsch wanted another starter but had to settle with Lambert Holmes, who transitioned from starter to reliever in 1902. Although he had a 15-17 record, he had the lowest ERA (2.41)of all starters. Danny Edgerton had the best record (19-14), while Stephen Millington’s 16-14 record included his 150th career win.
For years, the Brewers fielded the most potent offense in the LBL. However, in 1903, the club racked up the least amount of runs in the franchise’s history. With 399 runs, it’s almost a hundred runs less than the previous worst year (1901: 496 runs). In addition, there were only two losses in which the Brewers scored more than five runs. Rumors say the club will terminate hitting coach Philip Selvey’s contract a year before it runs out.
Every batter had fewer RBIs than in 1902, and only McKenzie, Stapleton, and Rylance improved their batting average. Most other players had significant performance issues. The major issues were with some big names:
George Singleton
Singleton entered his second year in Philadelphia with high expectations. As the Brewers’ top and LBL’s #8 earner, it’s natural that fans and owners want to see something from it. In 1902, he had a great start to his career. A batting average of .295, an on-base percentage of .349, and 51 RBIs earned him the Golden Bat in his position. But the main reason for his signing was his defense capabilities, which fixed a critical gap in the infield.
In 1903, people saw a completely different George Singleton. April was a rough start for him. His 15 hits in 81 at-bats only brought in two runs. Then, a month later, things looked much different, and everyone thought Singleton was back. 32-for-104 and 22 RBIs, but it was a ruse. In the following 160 at-bats, he had 36 hits and 22 RBIs. A .241/.285 year will raise question marks in Philadelphia.
Lionel Lyon
Lionel Lyon used to be the synonym for consistency. Arrington knows that, and in April, he let him start in 21 out of 24 possible games. Finally, after May 2nd (Lyon went 0-for-3 in the 8-0 win over Baltimore), the manager had enough. He lost his starting spot and started only four more times for the rest of the month. So Arrington demoted Lyon to train with the reserves at the beginning of June. At that time, Lyon had a batting average of .198 and an on-base percentage of .243. The break in the reserved helped because Lyon launched a comeback. Since June 22nd, he played 25 games, out of which he started 22 times. In this period, he improved his numbers to .277/.333.
Average at best
Being fourth in the EL in runs scored and runs against, the Philadelphia Brewers turned into an average team. The fans were furious, and the attendance numbers reflected the mood.
Outlook to the offseason
New financial restrictions will force the Brewers to focus on trading instead of signing expensive free agents. “More teams will be in a similar situation, where they have to take a second look at some contracts,” Pitsch explained when asked about the new regulations. “Obviously, I’m talking about Gilling and Singleton. We can afford both contracts, but the players will have to justify the dollars they earn.”
What wasn’t so obvious is that he talked exclusively about Singleton, who didn’t justify the hefty $16,000 salary. Trading Singleton will be an ambitious project and might only work if the Brewers cover part of the salary.
Nonetheless, Alfred Gilling, an extremely popular player, might depart the Brewers this season. Sir Patrick William Downing, who holds an 85% share of the team ownership, wants Gilling gone. According to Sir Downing, Alfred Gilling is an overpaid veteran. The Boeselager brothers, who hold the other 15%, and their general manager disagreed.
Some definite changes will happen in the Brewers staff. For years, the goal was the bring in the best coaches, but in the past years, the personnel poorly worked together. Martin Pitsch and Bobby Orgeron initiated the first steps and already signed the first addition. Jason Selep, Philadelphia Brewers bench coach since 1902, had to make room for Thomas Bryan, who had previously worked as a first base coach in Providence.