"Hit 'em where they ain't." - Wee Willie Keeler.
It’s Christmas Eve, but I could not resist completing my cycle on the historic all-star teams by taking on the 19th century icons who started it all for the great game of baseball. My only trouble here was finding a lefty I preferred to any of the wildly famous righties we all mostly know about. So, in a growing mood of seasonal generosity and complete reversal on reality, I chose to select four pitchers, all right handers, to my 19th century team from the era. So, the team that often made it through whole seasons with only one starter and a talented backup, hereby gets a lights-out stable of four great ones on my club.
A little irony is a nice seasoning almost every time.
For starters, I had to go with the man who won 48 games in 1883 and then followed that by posting 59 victories in 1884, the great Old Hoss Radbourn. My next guy eventually became more famous for making balls then throwing them. That would be Al Spalding, who went 252-65 with a 2.13 ERA in only seven 19th century seasons of work. 19th Century hurler # 3 is the man we annually associate with “best two pitchers in the major leagues this year.” – Cy Young had an incredible 511-316, 2.63 record over 22 seasons in the big leagues. His service time in seasons split equally between the 19th and 20th centuries, but his best winning years came early. 372 of his wins came in the 19th century. Finally, my fourth guy, Tim Keefe, would most likely be my first guy, if you really pushed me to picked one from the litter. From what I’ve read, many people far closer to that era than any of us shall ever be considered Keefe to have been the best pitcher of his time.
At any rate, here are my guys. Not surprisingly, all are members of the Hall of Fame. If you have time on this bust Christmas Eve, please, feel free to post yours here too. If not, and God Willing, we’ll still be here after cross over the holiday season bend.
Meanwhile, here is My 19th Century MLB All Star Club:
RH Pitcher # 1 – Charles “Old Hoss” Radbourn (309-194, 2.68 ERA in 11 19th century seasons)
RH Pitcher # 2 – Al Spalding (252-65, 2.13 in 7 19th century seasons)
RH Pitcher # 3 – Cy Young (511-316, 2.63 in 22 total seasons; 372 wins in 11 19th century seasons)
RH Pitcher # 4 – Tim Keefe (342-225, 2.63 in 14 19th century seasons)
C – Mike “King” Kelly (.308 BA)
1B – Dan Brouthers (.342 BA)
2b – Ed Delahanty (.346 BA)
3B – John “Muggsy” McGraw (.334 BA)
SS – Hugh Jennings (.313 BA)
LF – Joe Kelley (.321 BA)
CF – Wee Willie Keeler (.341 BA)
RF – Billy Hamilton (.344 BA)
Happy Christmas, Everybody! ~ And may your days be merry and bright!
Tags: 19th century all stars, Baseball, History
The Pecan Park Eagle 
December 24, 2010 at 3:49 pm |
Bill, got to disagree with you putting Ed Delahanty at 2b on this team. He played 130 games (in his whole career) at 2b and averaged only about 20 per season in his 19th century years. I would put him in OF for Joe Kelley and make Cupid Childs (1393g in 19th century… with .308 average in at second. (I jumped on this because a read a book on Delahanty last year and while he was versatile he was by far mostly an outfielder.)
December 25, 2010 at 5:15 am |
Greg: I completely respect your differing opinion on 2nd base, but I will stick with the troubled, but versatile Mr. Delahanty.
December 25, 2010 at 3:17 am |
Keeler was a RF and Hamilton a CF, so switch those, at least.
Agree there were no real worthy LHP; Ted Breitenstein or Ed Morris would be the picks if you need one. But I’ll go with two RHP, neither of whom you chose- John Clarkson and Kid Nichols.
Catcher- Buck Ewing (Kelly played a lot more RF than catcher and Ewing was the premier defensive catcher and a great leader.)
1B- Cap Anson (any of the ABC guys would be ok)
2B- Bid McPhee (or maybe Fred Dunlap)
SS- Pebbly Jack Glasscock
3B- Deacon White (really more valuable as a catcher) or McGraw or Billy Nash
LF- Ed Delahanty
CF- Billy Hamilton
RF- King Kelly or Sam Thompson
December 25, 2010 at 5:31 am |
Cliff: You made some excellent picks. I almost took Ewing and placed Mike Kelly in right, but didn’t. Also, I like Clarkson and Nichols too – just not as much as my guys. I’d go with Keefe and Old Hoss if I had to narrow my four picks to a pair. I also know that I wouldn’t mind watching a series between your guys and mine, if it were possible. One more note: I’m comfortable playing the slack on the guys I change from one position to another. (i.e., Hamilton and Keeler, for example). It came up several times between us in this exercise, but that’s OK with me. Maybe I could’ve established more stringent selection parameters by position. I just did not do it this time. – Merry Christmas early. We’re only thirty minutes away in Houston. – Bill
December 25, 2010 at 6:58 am |
I second the selection of Deacon White at catcher, with emphasis. After reading Peter Morris’ awesome book, “Catcher”, I’m a Deacon White believer. While he played nearly twice as many games at 3B, White was predominantly a catcher the first decade of his career, when catchers wore nothing on their hands for protection. (1871 – 1879 and 1882 – 1883). That he caught as long as he did is a miracle unto itself. Most of the catchers from that era were dead before White retired in 1890. He was a remarkable competitor and absolutely belongs on the HOF. He was slighted by the HOF selection committee in 1939 when it voted in Spaulding but snubbed White. He was Spaulding’s batterymate in 1875, when Spaulding went 54 – 5 with a 1.59 ERA. No pitcher could succeed in that era without a catcher who could hold onto his pitches. Spaulding owed at least half his success to White.