, 1889-09-22
PENNANT FIGHTS.
How the Detroits Won the
Contest in 1887.
THE WAR WAS A LIVELY ONE.

The WAX WAS A LIZ ONE-
Batting and Strength In batteries Won
the Day-rhe Seasons Work Followed
from Start to Finish-How the Lead
Fluctuates from Club to Club.
after a successful season and a close struggle.
The club won through its superior batting
powers and its strength In batteries. 1t was
more evenly balanced thhn any Of its compel
Itors. The Philadelphias were a splendid sec
ond, but the clubs strength lay In its batteries
and in the splendid support rendered Like
the Clevelands of this year they were weak at
the bat, and this kept them from passing the
leaders At the close of the season the De
troits had won 10 games and lost As TO rs won
md IS lost for the Philadelphias. In the series
between the two clubs, Philadelphia won s
games out of IS. The champion nine consist
ell Of G~etzein, Baldwin, Conway, Twitchell,
Weidman, pitchers; Bennett, Briody, CAMEL,
catchers; Brouthers, lb. Dunlap, 2b. White,
Sb. Rowe, S. s.; Richardson, l. T.; Hancock,
C. T.. Thompson, T.. T.
The Philadelphia nine was composed OF
Ferguson, DALEY, Casey, Tftcomb, Murphy
and. Henry, pitchers; Clements, Cusick, Nc
Guire, Dallas and Sailing, catchers; Farrnr,
LIST b. Bastian. 2b. Mulvey, 3D.. Irwin, =
e.; Wood, /. f.; Fogarty, c. T.; McCanley,
T. T., and Andrews spare man. The sensa-
ton Of the season was the purchase OF Kelly
from the Chicago club for $4,000. Great
things were expected of the Boston club, but
IT finished fifth, barely winning more games
than IL lost. II started out grandly, winning
nineteen games out of twenty-seven in April
and May, being u splendid second, and rails
ing the hopes of its admirers to a very high
extent. The pace was too hot, however, and
the club failed to keep up with the leaders,
though at the end OF June it was still in the
second place. Chicago passed it in July, and
Now York was close at hand.
In August the Philadelphia club made its
brilliant squirt and won 10 games out of %.
This placed it ahead OF Boston. Had Phila-
delphia begun the season as 1t ended, It would
nave won the championship, for during Au-
gust and September, and the one week in
October, it won 3S games and lost but u to
IS games won and 10 lost for Detroit. Chi
cago ended third, and a good third, winning
20 games and losing 80, or eight victories be-
hind Detroit and four behind Philadelphia.
The percentage OF victories of these three
clubs was as follows; Detroit, d3.7; Philadel-
phia, 600; Chicago, $50. 1t was the great
infield of Chicago and the twirling work OF
Il lCutI Alul hrOlls Vi TINT Nluus luhN tIlAhktNl
1t to make as good a showing rs wns the case.
After losing IS out of the first 90 played, the
club won 81 out Of the next a. New York
ors1ed well.
1t should ave made n far better showing
than was the case, but there were lacking the
coherency and harmony that were visible in
the other leading mines. keefe and WEIGH
were a pair of pitchers who should nave
taken the championship for any club. There
were two newcomers in the League race-the
Pittsburgs and Indianapolis-and both fell
far short of expectations. The former made
a squirt at the end of the season, winning six
games out of seven in that month.
The season was an exciting one, even
though the Detroits maintained the lead
without interruption. The other
clubs made desperate endeavors to get TO the
front. Boston, Philadelphia and Chicago
were close rivals at one time or another, but
each was triumphantly shaken off.
In June the Detroits met with the most re-
verses and Chicago with a great deal OF good
fortune, the figures on July | being: Detroits
won A, lost 20; Chicagos won AZ, lost 2S,
The Detrofts forged ahead in the next month,
while the Philadelphias took the place of
the Chicagos as chief rivals OF the leaders.
Sept. 1 Detroit had a long lead, with 50 vic
tories, IS defeats to 50 victories, 80 defeats
for Chicago, and So victories, 43 defeats for
Philadelphia. Detroit held its vantage in
September, winning is games out of 81, while
the Philndelphihs won 10 out 81, and the Chi
Cages 10 out of %.
The Chicagos fell off greatly from their
record of the preceding year, while the De
troits won with n poorer percentage. New
York fell behind also, and though Boston
won Ave games more and lost one less its rec
ord was not at all commensurate with the
efforts to strengthen the nine. The Chicagos
proved to be, as usual, a thorn in the sid of
the Detroits, winning 10 out of the 1s games
in the series, and the Ph~iladelphians found
Anson's men altogether too strong for them,
winning but o out of the IS games, while
the Chicagos were so strong against the De-
troits and Philadelphia they won but 8
games out of II from the Pittsburgs, and it
Is a strange fact that the latter won more
games from the Chicagos than from any
other club.
Philadelphia won the series from New
York, 10 games to Z, and tied with Boston, o
and o, and New York won from Boston 10
games to z. The weakness Of the Bostons In
the games away from home was as note
worthy as It Is today. They won % games
away from home to q for the Pittsburgs
and % for the Washingtons, and they lost IS
away from home to 80 for the Pittsburgs and
"A for the Washingtons. At home they won
SO games to ~ for Chicago and Detroit, IS
for Philadelphia and so for New York, and
at home they lost but % games to IT for De-
troit, IS for Chicago, % for Philadelphia and
% for New York. NELsE INNEs.
George Kerr.