Author: Brendan H

May 24, 1907 Malcolm Franklin was tired.  He and his team had spent the better part of the last year travelling the country and evaluating, cross-checking, and then re-evaluating and re-cross-checking the 1907 draft class.  As he boarded the eastbound train back to Brooklyn, he looked forward to the quiet of the carriage car and…

Written by Sean, GM of the St. Louis Reds. The plan was to allow George Cook to play this season in Lafayette and then give him a chance to make the Reds next season or even more likely the season after that. What was the rush? Cook was the Red’s first ever draft pick – 7th overall…

Written by Sean, GM of the St. Louis Reds Hello there Red fans! It is a very exciting day as today yours truly, Harry Musgrave, has a one on one interview with Reds manager Kevin Bentley. He rarely does one on one interviews so it is quite an honour for me to be able to…

It was a cold, rainy day in New York when the train from Chicago arrived at Grand Central Station. The basic structure of the station, which he had visited for the first time many years prior, remained the same. However, layers of smoke and soot from the endless parade of locomotives had stripped the place…

Below is an excerpt from the 1907 OSA Eastern League Guide. Brooklyn Whales – LBL No significant changes have occurred to the major league roster with the off-season focused on talentacquisition for the farm system. The plan appears to be to continue to feature strong infield defensebehind the gloves of Tinker Taylor, Clovis Juby and…

Hello! Harry Musgrave with you again. The Reds finished the 1906 campaign at 60-60. In third place and a mile behind Cleveland. Today I am going to grade each position based on the season. Catcher – CHunter Vigors was solid offensively but pretty terrible defensively. Despite hitting .274 the team was disappointed since it was a big drop…

Overview of the 1906 Brooklyn Whales The 1906 Whales were a team hoping to professionalize.  Rooters for the Whales had gladly cheered on the band of weirdos and misfits that characterized the team’s success in the early part of the decade.  However, now under League ownership, word was that Madigan’s Hall had been hoping Brooklyn…

An excerpt from the personal diary of Brooklyn Whales’ scout Malcolm Franklin. June 18, 1906 Heading into the draft, Skip [ed note: Whales’ GM/Manager Marques Williams] had made clear his wishes. Top-to-bottom throughout the organization, he wanted to emphasize players with strong fundamentals with the glove and to be opportunistic with any pitchers with projectable…

In the concrete bunker in Brooklyn doubling as GM/Manager Marques Williams’ office beneath the Field of the Whales, two men with an uneasy history sat across from another. Like two boxers, they were sizing up their adversary for any sign of weakness. Williams, the legendary baseball man and profane giant charged with running the Brooklyn baseball operations…