July 22, 1907 – by Ronald Schmidt

1906 gave Philadelphia a taste of what was coming. An aging team that spectacularly won two championships suddenly struggled to the postseason. The disadvantage was too significant without Leo McKenzie and Alfred Gilling, and the Brewers finally lost to the Empire. 

In a recent meeting with the club leadership, Karl Boeselager, the Prussian-born co-owner of the Philadelphia baseball club, struggled to explain the cause. “After the past few weeks, we concluded that the players were… saturated.” Mr. Boeselager said that the majority of players needed more hunger for titles. “Our team had the most experience for quite a while. By that, I mean that we had the oldest team.” 

This season, the Brewers brought up three promising youngsters who will lead the team through the transition. 

3B Paul Butler (25)

Late May 1907. After a promising start, Moriarty Stapleton’s batting average plunged from .264 to .229. Considering Stapleton’s limited defensive capabilities, Troy Bujak and Martin Pitsch grew frustrated with him. “If success is on the line, we cannot set the lineup based on merit.” Then 24-year-old Paul Butler’s promotion from the Langhorn Goats to the majors added a better glove and bat. Butler is familiar with the Boeselager Stadium, occasionally residing here in the past two seasons but failed to leave a mark. Until the end of June, Butler’s BA was at .325, and Moriarty Stapleton became a Langhorn Goat.

1B Milan Featherstone (21)

At the beginning of June, McKenzie suffered from a sprained wrist. After a week, the club gave him a break to recover fully. McKenzie didn’t like the decision, but there was more to it. The club saw it as an opportunity to test the post-McKenzie option on first base. So instead of calling up veteran first baseman Lionel Lyon, Milan Featherstone, 21, got the call thanks to 60 RBI in 59 games of AAA. Featherstone delivered. Although he only played in 30 games, he’s leaving a mark that will pressure McKenzie for better performance. Good performances against Richmond (4-for-11, 2 RBI) and Brooklyn (9-for-17) were a promising start. Featherstone is .361/.409, while McKenzie is having his second-worst season with .310/.452.

P Winfield Clark (20)

Pitching was one of the strengths that brought the 1906 Brewers to the postseason. However, the club knew the rotation would only be for one or two more seasons. Two of the starting pitchers were 40 years of age or older. Then, just before the season began, Danny Edgerton announced it would be his last season as a professional baseball player. Management scrambled to find replacements. An ace will be on the club’s wishlist for the next free agency.

Just before the draft, first basemen Basil Brown and Leonard Vodden made their way to Cleveland in return for Reinhold Rogers. At first, it looked like a trade that would benefit in 1908, but Pitsch sent Stephen Millington, who until then was 11-7 with a 3.30 ERA, to Langhorn right away. Then, after Lambert Holmes also breached the 3.00 ERA barrier, Clark got the call. “For years, our team had a rotation that wouldn’t seek strikeouts but get weak balls into play,” Bujak explained the move. “After Batkin punished us on multiple occasions (9-for-97, 49 K, 1 RBI against Philadelphia), we realized we needed a different breed of a pitcher on the mound.” Clark’s year in AAA has been impressive. 20-2, 1.95 ERA, and 204 Ks in 231 IP. He had a dream start in the LBL: A 3-hit shutout against the Baltimore Clippers with 7 Ks. After the close 1-0 win, he added another hard-earned win to his record. Clark struggled against Brooklyn and allowed five runs, including a solo HR by Nicky Thompson. 

An Outlook

The Brewers brought in three young players that could play an essential role for the foreseeable future. Butler immediately gained a guaranteed full-time job, while Featherstone must wait until the giant tumbles. Clark, on the other hand, can decide his destiny. If he can keep it up, Millington and Holmes will have to fight over the future vacant position.

Also, the Brewers, aside from the division, lost another lead this year. Philadelphia no longer has the oldest team. Before the changes, the Brewers’ average team age was over 34. It dropped to 31.93, and the Brewers reside in third, behind Detroit (33.09) and Richmond (33.36).