RECORD: 62-58 (.516)PLACE: 2nd Summary A down year for the Men in Maroon, the Rifles wandered through a frustrating spring and early summer behind a weak arsenal of bats and the devastating injury of rookie sensation Scud “Sweetheart” Scranton. Richmond managed the best ERA in the Eastern League, but allowed the third-most hits due to…
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Grading the 1906 St. Louis Reds’ Season
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…
1906: Brooklyn Whales’ Season Recap
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…
Robbing the courier
On August 24, 1906, after the fourth inning in game three of the League Cup series against the Brooklyn Whales, Alfred Gilling complained about back problems and didn’t return to the field. Gilling missed the remaining games, and the medical staff worked hard to cure him so he could step on the field again. Four…
A chat between veterans
August 23, 1906. It was noon when McKenzie woke up. He wasn’t in his bed, and his body ached from sleeping in a sitting position. The 35-year-old tried to get up but only managed to grunt. After his injury early in the season, he couldn’t do much and was in bad shape. Last night didn’t…
The Beverly Pinch
If you casually perused the game log of the 1906 Western League Cup opener, you may have asked the same question I did: “Why in the world did Cleveland pinch Constant Payne, the roadrunner of the Frontier, for hapless backup tortoise (and Catcher) James Beverly?“ The Short Answer is “injury.” But the detailed story is…
A New Kingdom
Preston T. Kirby, 57, sat in the shade of a weary willow oak, no longer attempting to fan himself with a crumpled program featuring old the Iron Horse, Ivy Maw. The fading sun set the apex of Libby Hill in a scarlet shroud, nearly matching the sagging Rifles banners that loomed like gallows over the…
The Taxonomy of a Whale
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…
Marty Harris becomes Brewers’ First-Round Pick
June 25, 1906 – by Ronald Schmidt Since this season, Philadelphia Brewers General Manager Martin Pitsch has faced more challenges by fielding a complete team of prospects rather than having a bunch of worn-out reservists. Philadelphia could sign three players for this draft in the first two rounds. In late November 1905, Philadelphia sent Junius…
Cherry Picked
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…