Scott’s Olde Tyme Baseball: 1905 Season Update through May

by Scott Fennessy

Well it took a while but I finally have busted through the stack of stats and have the update for the season. Pitching and speed are kings so far. This is the year of the no hitter to be certain. Cy Young after 4 near misses in 01 finally breaks through on opening day. He was joined by Ed Reulbach of the Cubs and Christy Mathewson for the trifecta of opening day no hitters. There have been two more since by Bill Duggleby of the Phillies and Frank Smith of the White Sox. Here is my team by team accounting for the year to date.

American League

Chicago White Sox

This is a team that needs pitching to win, and they have the horses to make it work. Despite having a .198 team batting average they are in first, and quite frankly unless the A’s make a move there is not anyone else that can stay with them. None of the hitters cards are overly impressive, and they have only 3 reserves, and all of those have spent time on the DL. George Rhoe has only played in two games while Lee Tannehill was on the DL went 2 for 5 with 2 home runs despite having a 7-2 0-1 card and is in the top 10.

James “Nixey” Callahan, who was my opening day starting pitcher in my 01 replay has given up pitching and is now the everyday centerfielder. He is not hitting for average, but does have a team high 13 steals. Ed McFarland has been the closest thing to a hitter with a .261 average, 14 RBI and 5 steals despite only having 11’s in the second column.

This is a staff that is the best overall in the game. Guy “Doc” White is an A&C, Frank Smith, Frank Owen and Nick Altrock are also A’s. Ed Walsh and Roy Patterson are B’s to round up the staff. Of this rotation Frank Smith has been the biggest star. He is 7-1 for the year with a 1.27 ERA. He recently set a record that will be tough to beat. After no hitting the Tigers he went 5 innings in his next start for 14 consecutive no hit innings total.

Philadelphia A’s

A team that has enough to take the White Sox down, but have been hampered by severely underperformers. Rube Waddell A&C is tearing up the league (5-3 48 K 3 shutouts) Andy Coakley is the unsung hero going 6-1 with 40 strikeouts in 64 innings.

Jasper Davis is very disappointing to date, and even more so is Ossee Schreckengost. “Schreck” has an 0-2, 0-2, 0-2, but with 7’s at 15, 22, 44 and 55 he should be hitting much better than the .195 he has mustered so far. “Socks” Seybold is also not doing a lot either. 0-1 0-2 0-1 0-1 and yet only .235 with 1 homer. The rest of the team needs to help also or a second place finish is the best they can hope for.

Boston Red Sox

A team that is also not performing as expected. While they don’t have the guns on the hill like the White Sox and A’s, they are not bad either. Cy Young (6-3, no hitter and 9 complete games)and Jesse Tannehill are A’s and Winter is a B. But the hitting is off to a slow start. Jimmy Collins is presently the only hitter in the entire AL with an average over .300 (.319) is the only stand out so far.

Cleveland Indians

This is a team I had some interest in. Elmer Flick and Napoleon Lajoie coming aboard and combining with Bill Bradley, Harry Bemis and Terrance Turner should have provided some sparks. Instead it has been inconsistent at best. Lajoie and Flick were almost nonexistent in April, and Lajoie had to go on a bit of a tear just to get to his present mark of .268. I see things going right for him but Flick has yet to get untracked. Thankfully for Cleveland they have a real pitching staff. Earl Moore is 6-1 and Addie Joss and Robert Rhoades join Moore with sub 2 era’s. The future looks bright for this rotation.

Detroit Tigers

A team that has potential. 3 A starters in Killian, Donovan and Mullin, but no real bats to support them so the season has been a roller coaster ride so far. They have had a couple of winning streaks immediately followed by losing streaks. Herman Shchaeffer has been a pleasant surprise with his .270 average and 10 steals. Christian Lindsay has been an even bigger surprise hitting .288 and a team high 14 RBI. Sam Crawford has struggled mightily hitting just .228. Rookie Ty Cobb had a horrible April, but a strong May has boosted his average up to .225.

New York Yankees

The first early year Yankee team I have played. What a difference 100 years makes. This is a really bad team. I know in reality John McGraw basically took every good player he could when the team moved to NY from Baltimore and it shows. Only Jimmy Williams and Pat Dougherty remain from the old O’s team. No hitter really deserves mention. Even Willie Keeler is barely above .200. While the pitching has not been bad, the lack of bats and bad fielding have hurt their efforts greatly. Jack Chesbro has a 1.82 era and 9 complete games.

Washington Senators

Another pretty awful Sens team, but “Long Tom” Hughes has been a refreshing sight for fans of good pitching. His 3-5 record is not a complete image of how good he has been so far. His 2.24 ERA and 32 K with almost no support would be even better with any help with the bats.

St. Louis Browns

Well I thought the 01 Reds were the worst team APBA ever created, and based off the cards that is still true, but somehow the brownies are determined to have a worse record. They actually have some decent players, and unlike the 01 Reds they actually have some pitching “Handsome Harry” Howell is an A, and they have two B’s as well. Emil Frisk SHOULD be a great hitter, but is totally not playing up to his card, neither is Bobby Wallace. Perhaps the most interesting moment ever when opening the envelope for the first time on this team was outfielder George Stone. A respectable 3 0 card. I think in reality he finished in the top 10 in homers this year, but the first thing that popped into my head was that scene in the movie “The Untouchables” Stone? George Stone? From the south side? What was your name before you changed it? He has struggled greatly, but has started to hit a little recently and finally cracked the “Mendoza Line”.

National League

Chicago Cubs

FINALLY a season where the Cubs are the dominant team. Well until I saw the Giants team, but this is the ONLY team that can run with them. Playing the games was enough to convince me the Giants and Cubs were the best in the league, but after reviewing the League Leaders I found out just how much better they were than the rest.

Armed with an A&C, 2 A’s and 4 B’s they have the pitching to survive any injuries. Offensively they run link nobody’s business, and pound you into submission. Billy Maloney and Johnny Evers set the table and are almost always on base. “Circus Solly” Hoffman has a 0-2 0-2 0-1 card but already 2 homers. Frank Chance as 6 14’s on his card and is using them like a champ on the hit and run. Joe Tinker was off to a real bad start, but an 8 game hitting streak has him up to .221 and climbing. Reulbach had his opening day no hitter and another one hitter also this season. 3 Finger Brown was not getting the wins at first, but has really turned things around. Jake Weimer was unknown to me prior to this season, but so far he is a bona fide ace to date.

New York Giants

The team to beat, but the Cubs are extremely close in terms of talent. Christy Mathewson is an A&B starter (9-1 opening day no hitter, 46 K 9 complete games) but is pretty good as a hitter (.313 AVG. 1 HR and 2 SB) Mike Donlin is on pace for a BIG MVP season .371 AVG 1 HR 22 RBI 11 SB. Mike Bowerman has been a big surprise behind the plate hitting .322 with 3 homers. George Browne was off to a horrible start but has really turned it around with a monster May bring him from .205 all the way to .284. John McGraw has 6 stolen bases in just 9 games. Joe McGinnity is 8-1 with a 1.72 ERA.

Philadelphia Phillies

Hugh Duffy has an odd card 6 6 2 and is hitting .303. John Titus has been a big surprise with his .323 14 RBI start. Duggleby has a no hitter, Tully Sparks has a 1.50 ERA, and Frank Corridon is 5-3 with a 2.03 ERA, and his 2 homers has him in the top 10 for the season.

Pittsburgh Pirates

This is a team that I had hoped would be better off than they are, but their current position is not a complete surprise. Once again “Ginger” Beaumont is the surprise star on the team. I know he is in the hall of fame, but I never expect him to carry the team on his back like he always seems to. “Honus” Wagner has improved lately but is still struggling mightily. Player-manager Fred Clarke continues to rake and is an MVP candidate as well. Dave Brain has 2 homers, but also 2 trips to the DL. Bill Clancey has been a quiet producer at .271 with 2 homers as well. Bob Ganley has been tough to keep out of the lineup. He has an interesting 2 column card with one 0, but 7’s at 11, 22, 25, 33, 55 and 55 and has played well when others are out of the lineup. Charles “Deacon” Phillippe gets all the press on the hill, but Sam Leever has pitched brilliantly and has numbers nearly as good.

Boston Braves

Although nobody on this team has had a trip to the DL for more than 5-6 days this is a team that has had several players go down already. Their bats are weak already, and their bench pretty bad, but their pitching is good. If Irv Young (6-4 1.18 ERA) goes down the cellar is not out of the question for this bunch.

Cincinnati Reds

This is a team that should be making a run towards a third place finish, but the bats have mysteriously underperformed their cards. James Seymour is hitting just over 200 with a card that I need to submit for monster Monday with 4 0’s an 11 and 7’s at 25, 44, 55 and 51 I expect more. Jimmy Sebring is another that has a good card that just cannot buy a hit at present, and has seen his average drop from .315 down to .261. “Happy” Steinfeldt is another that has a strong card but just does not get on base, hitting just .241 is below what I expect from this card. He is currently on the DL, and I am hoping his return helps him come back fresh.

Pitching is going to make or break their chances. Bob Ewing had tough luck his first 3 starts and hopes never to face Jake Weimer again but has really shined otherwise, even though his W-L does not reflect this. Orval Overall is probably the best performing B pitcher in the game so far and is racking up the K’s at an excellent clip.

Brooklyn Dodgers

This is a team I don’t expect much from. Harry Gessler and Jimmy Sheckard are playing way over their heads right now, and the bums better hope they don’t slow down, because with Harry Lumley being the only other hitter over .200 right now it’s “cellar here we come” if they do. This is one of the worst staffs in the game, but some of the weaker pitchers have had their moments. John McIntire is one of only 2 C starters in the game but has managed a shutout, and Oscar “Flip-Flop” Jones is a D currently covering for the injured William Scanlan that managed a complete game victory.

St. Louis Cardinals

The redbirds are presently in last, and playing like they want to challenge for worst record ever. I work hard to try and win, but they have a staff just as bad as the Dodgers with the only other C starter in a game dominated by A level pitchers and it shows on the field. Catcher Mike Grady has improved since a slow start and is up to .261 and the extra bases are starting to come around. Harry Smoot has struggled a bit at .250, but he does have 16 RBI. Bad hitting and terrible defense has cost John Taylor (1-8 despite a 3.14 ERA and 1.01 WHIP) several times. They better hope the Dodgers and Braves get some injuries to key players, because that may be the only thing that gets them out of the last place.