It must not be forgotten, too, that the New York team had the benefit of excellent pitching throughout the year. In the new record for pitchers, which has been established this season by Secretary Heydler of the National League, and which in part was the outcome of the agitation in the GUIDE for a new method of records, in which the various Base Ball critics of the major league cities so ably contributed their opinions, Tesreau leads all the pitchers in the matter of runs which were earned from his delivery. Mathewson is second, Ames is fifth, Marquard seventh and Wiltse and Crandall lower, and while both the latter were hit freely in games in which they were occasionally substituted for others, they pitched admirably in games which they won on their own account.
In the opinion of the writer this new method, which has been put into usage by Secretary Heydler, is far superior to anything which has been offered in years as a valuable record of the actual work of pitchers. It holds the pitcher responsible for every run which is made from his delivery. It does not hold him responsible for any runs which may have been made after the opportunity has been offered to retire the side, nor does it hold him responsible for runs which are the result of the fielding errors of his fellow players. On the other hand, if he gives bases on balls, if he is batted for base hits, if he makes balks, and if he makes wild pitches, he must stand for his blunders and have all such runs charged against him as earned runs.
Nothing proves more conclusively the strength of this manner of compiling pitchers' records than that Rucker, by the old system, dropped to twenty-eighth place in the list of National League pitchers, finished third in the earned run computation, showing that if he had been given proper support he probably would have been one of the topmost pitchers of the league, even on the basis of percentage of games won, which is more vainglorious than absolutely truthful.
The Giants are to be commended for playing clean, sportsmanlike Base Ball. There were less than a half dozen instances in which they came into conflict with the umpires. The president of the National League complimented Manager McGraw in public upon the excellent conduct of his team upon the field and the players deserved the approbation of the league's chief executive.
The general work of the Pittsburgh team throughout the year was good. It must have been good to have enabled the players to finish second in the championship contest, but the team, speaking in the broadest sense, seemed to be just good enough not to win the championship. As one man dryly but graphically put it: "Pittsburgh makes me think of a wedding cake without the frosting."
Fred. Clarke, manager of the team, adhered resolutely to his determination not to play. It was not for the reason that the impulse to play did not seize upon him more than once, but he had formed a conviction, or, at least, he seemed to have formed one, that it would be better for the organization if the younger blood were permitted to make the fight. It was the opinion of more than one that Clarke incorrectly estimated his own ball playing ability, in other words, that he was a better ball player than he credited himself with being.
As batters the Pittsburghs were successful. As fielders they were superior to the team that won the championship. As run-getters they were not the equal of the Giants. In brief, fewer opportunities were accepted to make runs by a much larger percentage than was the case with the New York club, which can easily be verified by a careful study of the scores of the two teams as they opposed one another, and as they played against the other clubs of the league.
It took more driving power to get the Pittsburgh players around the bases than it did those of New York. In tight games, where the advantage of a single run meant victory, the greater speed of the New York players could actually be measured by yards in the difference of results. Naturally it was not always easy for the Pittsburgh enthusiasts to see why a team, which assuredly fielded better than the champions and batted almost equally as well, could not gain an advantage over its rivals, but the inability of Pittsburgh Base Ball patrons to comprehend the lack of success on the part of their team existed in the fact that they had but few opportunities, comparatively speaking, to watch the New York players and found it difficult to grasp the true import of that one great factor of speed, which had been so insistently demanded by the New York manager of the men who were under his guidance.
Pittsburgh had an excellent pitching staff. Even better results would have been obtained from it if Adams had been in better physical condition. An ailing arm bothered him. While he fell below the standard of other years, one splendid young pitcher rapidly developed in Hendrix, and Robinson, a left-hander, with practically no major league experience, pushed his way to a commanding position in the work which he did.