After the 1904 Legacy Cup was placed in the trophy room at Boeselager Stadium, many fans wondered if the four trophies would need rearrangement. Philadelphia’s front office failed to sign significant improvements. Bradley Miller was the only free agent joining their ranks.
The biggest Eastern League rivals stepped up. Many saw Brooklyn’s signing of Jackie Priest as the most significant attempt to knock the Brewers off the throne, but Richmond hiring the services of Albert Willis caused equal concern in Pennsylvania.
When Troy Bujak commented on the season goals, he simply said that the Brewers would attempt to defend the title. “It will be a tough ride to battle a stronger competition, but if we can win the division I see us as contenders because the Western League is the Western League.”
The Regular Season
While the Eastern League rivals stacked their rosters with talent and lusted for their confrontations with the Brewers, Philadelphia shocked everyone. In the first month of the season, Philadelphia won 21 out of 26 games. At the beginning of May, the Brewers played the Boston Banshees and lost their first series, but a week later swept the Whales. The rising self-confidence by winning five of the first six games was good for the team. After 55 games, Philadelphia dominated the Eastern League with a 41-14 record.
June and July got a bit hairy. In June, the Brewers lost three series to Providence, Baltimore, and Boston. Also, the pitching staff took a hit when Stephen Millington had to leave the game on June 2nd. A herniated disk would make him miss the rest of the regular season. Until then, he was 12-5 with a 2.28 ERA. The 38-year-old rookie Bradley Miller would have to step in. Still, they managed to sweep Brooklyn and Richmond. June 17th marked a special day for Lambert Holmes, who pitched a no-hitter against Boston. If it weren’t for errors by Stapleton and Bankhead, it would have been a perfect game.
The Postseason
After the final game of the season, which was a 4-3 win over Brooklyn, the Brewers joined the Whales on their trip back to Brooklyn. Here they would start their postseason campaign. After a win and a loss, both teams went back to Philadelphia. The series’ highlight was a 15-inning thriller that ended in a 6-5 win for the Brewers. Lambert Holmes secured the final win to advance to the Legacy Cup.
The Legacy Cup was a repeat of 1904. At Boeselager Stadium, Bradley Miller collected his first postseason win by leading his team to a 2-1 victory. But Twin City struck back and won three close games in a row in which they kept the Brewers down to seven runs. The Empire’s pitching machine worked like a charm.
Efficient Brewers bats Twin City’s matchpoint by scoring five runs out of seven hits and tied the series in game six with a stellar performance by Stephen Millington and an unusual error-prone Empire defense for a 7-0 win. Game seven was a slugfest. The attendance witnessed 27 hits, seven errors, and fifteen runs. The fourth inning was eventful as Twin City scored four runs for a 5-0 lead, but the Brewers turned things around with eight runs, including a two-run home run by Mose Rylance.
Lambert Holmes got the honor of finishing yet another chapter this season. Holmes pitched the final game of the regular season, the final game of the League Cup, and now it was his chance to end the Legacy Cup, too. Although Mose Rylance and Leo McKenzie were hitless, the Brewers’ offense drove in three runs. Enough to back Holmes, who kept the Empire down with four hits and no runs.
After the match, Mose Rylance received the Legacy Cup MVP trophy. He played in all eight games and was 10-for-29 with one homerun, three triples, and six RBI.
The Keys to Success
Several aspects led to the success that was never ruled out but not entirely expected.
The Starting Rotation
From day one, the starting rotation formed by Stephen Millington, Danny Edgerton, and Lambert Holmes performed outstandingly. But the merits went to Lambert Holmes, who earned the Pitcher of the Year award. He won 26 out of 32 starts and only lost three – never had a pitcher in a three-man rotation collected more Ws. The only pitchers with more wins were Jesse Smith (27), Jim Nemmers (33), and Danny Edgerton (34). Smith and Nemmers had 48, and Edgerton had 49 games started. In addition, his postseason record was 4-1 with a 2.00 ERA.
Stephen Millington was on the way to another career-best season until a herniated disk ended his season after 19 games. Although the Brewers failed to sign a pitcher to replace the aging Edgerton slowly, 39-year-old Bradley Miller was a solid replacement.
In the end, the Brewers fielded the second-best pitching staff in the Eastern League.
The Return of a Lost Son
Nowadays, players earn immense sums of money, primarily due to a loophole allowing large signing bonuses. But in 1902, George Singleton’s five-year contract worth $86,000 was among the highest. After a great start, Singleton’s batting and fielding performances dropped rapidly. Bujak would bench him for two-thirds of the 1904 season while Robert Dibb’s star rose. In the offseason, Pitsch was after a new shortstop who could field and hit like the old 1902 Singleton but couldn’t sign one due to Singleton’s $16,000 annual salary blocking more enormous investments.
After Dibb’s slump at the beginning of the season wouldn’t come to an end, Bujak threw Singleton back in the game. This move came with great success. Singleton had a .313/.357 year with four home runs and 43 RBI. His glove wasn’t as good as in his rookie season, but it came close.
Dominating the Whales
In the past years, the Brooklyn Whales became the feared rival of the Philadelphia Brewers. Especially in Brooklyn’s championship seasons from 1900-1902, the Whales fought heavy battles with the Brewers but ultimately destroyed them in the postseason. During the two encounters in the 1900 and 1902 Eastern League Cup, Brooklyn outscored Philadelphia 50-28 and only lost twice.
This changed in 1904 and 1905 when Philadelphia eliminated them from the postseason and tied the record to 8-8.
What was different this season was the dominance over Brooklyn during the regular season. The Brewers won twelve out of fifteen matchups against their rivals, including two sweeps. The last time the Brewers swept the Whales was in May 1901. With the Richmond Rifles seven games behind, the dominance over the Whales secured the division title for Philadelphia.
The Outlook
The front office hasn’t given an official outlook on the 1906 season, but the Reserve League will alter the strategy. “As long as we can compete, we will compete,” the Brewers GM explained. “But it’s foolish to ignore the future. Moriarty Stapleton and Rusty Hall know that their time is slowly ending. We will not force them out, but we want them to help youngsters grow. Moriarty is doing this right now with Paul Butler.” The Germantown Gazette expects to see little change in the major league roster, but a significant build-up of the minor league team.
