HI Folks! It has been awhile but it is Harry Musgrave back once again to shed some light on 1909 St. Louis Reds. They had a surprisingly good season last year, one in which they finished with the second best record in the Western League but a quite a distance behind Cleveland. If it had…
Author: Brendan H
A Captain’s Duty
It had been four straight years of playoff disappointment, but the streak looked like it could extend to half of a decade. For the second consecutive year, Brooklyn and Richmond had battled to a standstill in the Eastern League Cup 2-2. The Western League Champion–a familiar foe from 1901 and 1902–had already been declared with…
New Cranes Take-Off
With the 16th pick of the 1908 amateur draft, the Brooklyn Whales selected 18 year old outfielder Erwin Ford. Ford, a tall and slender switch hitter with a sweet swing had proven himself to be an excellent hitter in the Legacy Baseball Academy League with a career slash line of .278/.409/.524 (152 wRC+) with 47…
Called In On The Carpet
by John M. It seemed strange leaving my team in mid-season, but I had received a summons- the kind of summons one could not refuse. A summons from Jack Vaughn, the owner of the Doves, to visit him and explain the direction the team was taking. Mr. Vaughn was currently residing at the famous sanitarium…
Spring (Allegro)
As the soft hues of dawn painted the sky, the newly minted Eastern League Most Valuable Player ventured out onto the streets of Brooklyn. It was the spring of 1908, and the early morning air held a crispness that invigorated Charlie Taylor’s senses, awakening in him the natural rhythm that had captivated fans across the…
Brooklyn Whales: Comings and Goings
So Long, Farewell August 5, 1907 Today, 40 year old Creighton Lucas, an icon in St. Louis baseball (having played for both the Beavers and the Reds) and a stabilizing member of the Brooklyn Whales in the wake of the 1902 game fixing scandal, was released by the Jersey City Chicks today. The 13 year…
The End of Scouting Season
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…
George Cook Gets the Call
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…
Exclusive Interview with Manager Kevin Bentley
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…
Reflections from the Station
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…