Giants of the Nineteenth Century

The 1888 New York Giants

Despite a sluggish start the New York Giants of 1888 emerged as champions, winning the National crown with an 84-47 record, 9 games better than Cap Anson's Chicago White Stockings. Led by the pitching of Tim Keefe (35-12, 1.74 ERA), the catching and the batting (.306) of Buck Ewing, and the slugging of Roger Connor (14 home runs and 79 RBI), combined with the decline of the White Stockings, who were the perennial baseball power of the 1880s, the Giants took the crown easily. The Giants' success was rather remarkable considering Hall of Famer John Montgomery Ward's batting average slipped 87 points from the previous season to .251 and his fielding errors led all shortstops in the league.

A best of ten game "world series" was arranged with Chris Von der Ahe's St. Louis Browns of the American Association. The first six games of the series were to be played in the East (four games at the Polo Grounds in New York, one in Brooklyn, and one in Philadelphia) with the remaining four to be played in St Louis. The Giants headed for St. Louis with a 5-1 lead in games and required only the first two games in St Louis to secure the championship. They then played the remaining two games of the ten-game set and graciously lost both by football scores. Not surprisingly Tim Keefe again led the way, compiling a 4-0 record (ERA 0.51) along with his battery mate Ewing's batting average of .345 (.615 SA). The surprise of the series was Art Whitney, a lifetime .223 hitter, who led the team in RBI with 12, almost one-half as many as he had for the entire 1888 campaign.

The 1898 New York Giants

The Giants finished the 1989 season mired in seventh place, 25.5 games behind the dominant team of the 1890s, the Boston Beaneaters. Despite having two of the best pitchers of the day, future Hall of Famer Amos Rusie (20-11, ERA 3.03) and strikeout king (239) Cy Seymour(25-19, ERA 3.18 ), and a Hall of Fame shortstop in George Davis(.307), the Giants were an unhappy lot, reflecting the mismanagement of their owner, the notorious Andrew Freedman. Freedman, whose arrogance, wealth, and ego make the present-day New York American League owner look rather tepid, alienated the fans, the media, and the players.

The 1898 season suffered a substantial drop in attendance, in part because of the Spanish-American War, which ended during midseason, and the antics of Freedman and the inability of fellow magnates to control him had a dissolute impact on the game. The following season Freedman attempted to cut the salaries of both Rusie and Seymour. Rusie choose to retire, and Seymour sat out the first month of the season.

Rusie was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1977, and George Davis was elected in 1998. Cy Seymour burned his arm out in 1900, was converted to an outfielder by John McGraw, and won the National League batting crown in 1905. He was the only player other than Babe Ruth to have more than 100 pitching decisions and 1,500 hits in his career. All three players suffered from historical neglect partly because of the reprehensible behavior of the Giants owner.

For more about the Giants, see "The Giants Journal" Web site by Jay Roberts, http://members.aol.com/Jaybird926/homepage.htm . [Begin Page 179]