Bill James NL 1900-1909 All Decade Team

[Old Sweater]

Third Team, Center Fielder, Cy Seymour

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cy_Seymour

James Bentley "Cy" Seymour (December 9, 1872 in Albany, New York - September 20, 1919 in New York, New York) was an American center fielder and pitcher in Major League Baseball. From 1896 through 1913, Seymour played for the New York Giants (1896-1900, 1906-1910), Baltimore Orioles (1901-1902), Cincinnati Reds (1902-1906) and Boston Braves (1913). He batted and threw left-handed.

Primarily a center fielder, Seymour was a pitcher for the first five years of his career, ending with a 61-56 record and a 3.76 ERA in 140 appearances (123 as a starter).

Seymour enjoyed his best season in 1905, when he led the National League in batting average (.377), hits (219) RBIs (121), doubles (40), triples (21) and slugging percentage (.559). He would have nabbed the Triple Crown for the year, but he finished second in home runs with 8, behind Fred Odwell's 9. It was one of Odwell's only two full seasons.

Seymour also set a record which has been tied but never beaten, after hitting four sacrifice flies in one game (July 25, 1902).

In a 16-year career, Seymour hit 52 home runs with 799 RBIs and a .303 average (1723-for-5682). He also collected 222 stolen bases.

Teams

New York Giants (1896-1900, 1906-1910)
Baltimore Orioles (1901-1902)
Cincinnati Reds (1902-1906)
Boston Braves (1913)

Career highlights and awards

National League strikeout champion: 1898
National League batting champion: 1905
National League RBI champion: 1905
National League hits leader: 1905
National League doubles leader: 1905
Cincinnati Reds Career Leader in Batting Average (.332)
Holds Reds' single season record for Batting Average (.377 in 1905)

[Old Sweater]

Third Team, Right Fielder, George Browne

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_...%28baseball%29

George Edward Browne (January 12, 1876 – December 9, 1920) was a professional baseball player. He was an outfielder over parts of twelve seasons (1901-1912) with the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Giants, Boston Doves, Chicago Cubs, Washington Senators, Chicago White Sox and Brooklyn Dodgers. He was the National League leader in runs scored in 1904 with New York. For his career, he compiled a .273 batting average, 303 runs batted in, 614 runs scored, and 190 stolen bases. Browne was a member of the 1905 World Series Champion Giants, hitting .227 with 1 RBI and 2 runs scored in the World Series.

He was born in Richmond, Virginia and later died in Hyde Park, New York at the age of 44.

Teams

Philadelphia Phillies (1901-1902, 1912)
New York Giants (1902-1907)
Boston Doves (1908)
Chicago Cubs (1909)
Washington Senators (1909-1910)
Chicago White Sox (1910)
Brooklyn Dodgers (1911)

Career highlights and awards

World Series champion (1905)
National League pennant: 1904

[Old Sweater]

Third Team, Pitcher, Jack Taylor

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Ta...00s_pitcher%29

John W. "Jack" Taylor (January 14, 1874 – March 4, 1938) was an award-winning right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Chicago Cubs baseball team.

He was born in New Straitsville, Ohio.

Career

He made his major league debut with the Cubs on September 25, 1898. His best years as a pitcher were 1900 (2.55 earned run average), 1902 (1.33 ERA with 7 shutouts; #1 in the league), 1903 (2.45 ERA), and 1906 (1.99 ERA). His career average was 2.66 ERA.

In 1904, Taylor set a major league record by pitching 39 consecutive complete games. Taylor actually threw 187 consecutive complete games between June 1901 and August 1906.[1], but this streak was interrupted by 15 additional relief appearances. Thus Taylor appeared in 202 consecutive games without being relieved himself.

Taylor and fellow Cub Larry McLean were traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in return for Mordecai Brown and Jack O'Neill in December 1903; he was then traded back to Chicago in July 1906 (in return for Fred Beebe and Pete Noonan).

Thus he was part of the wonder team of the 1906 Cubs; that year the ERA for the entire pitching staff was 1.76. He also contributed to the World Series-winning season in 1907.

Taylor died in Columbus, Ohio at the age of 64.

Teams

Chicago Orphans/Cubs (1898-1903, 1906-1907)
St. Louis Cardinals (1904-1906)

Career highlights and awards

MLB record 187 consecutive complete games
World Series champion: 1907
National League pennant: 1906
National League ERA champion: 1902
Four 20-win seasons

[Old Sweater]

Third Team, Pitcher, Bob Ewing

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Ewing

George Lemuel "Bob" Ewing (April 24, 1873 in New Hampshire, Ohio - June 20, 1947 in Wapakoneta, Ohio), is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He played in the majors from 1902-1912 for the Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, and St. Louis

Early life

Bob Ewing was born on April 24, 1873 as George Lemuel Ewing in New Hampshire, Ohio. He grew up on a farm in Auglaize County where as a young boy, he pitched potatoes against a target on a barn. The nickname Long Bob came about due to him being 6'6". Later he would be given the moniker of 'Old Wapak', in reference to the town he called home.

Bob started his baseball career at a relatively late age, 24, before signing his first contract. Long Bob played his first fame away from New Hampshire in 1895 at the Wapakoneta fairgrounds. He came played for Wapakoneta from 1896-1897.

Ewing's first semi-pro experience was in August 1897, when he joined the Toledo Mud Hens team in the Interstate League. His professional debut with a 9-4 victory over Springfield, OH. He was consistently the best pitcher in the league, going 21-9 and 25-13 in consecutive seasons. Over the next three seasons, Ewing pitched nearly 900 innings and won more than 20 games annually for Toledo.

In 1901, he next went out to Kansas City in the Western League where he went 21-5 and led the Western League in winning percentage. With Ewing, the Blues won the pennant by 10 games. Ewing later recalled that Kansas City was "...the only pennant winning team I ever played on."

The Cincinnati Reds

While at home from Kansas City, Bob played ball with a local club in Sidney, Ohio. On October 10, 1901, the Cincinnati Reds arrived in Sidney after going through local Ohio teams looking to find some competition with the Sidney semi-pro team. As the Reds warmed up, they could not have anticipated what they were about to see. The visitors were up to bat first. On the mound stood all six feet six inches of Long Bob Ewing. Ewing dueled Schwab, his Reds counterpart, to a 3 to 3 tie when the game was called because of darkness after eight innings. Ewing struck out many more batters than Schwab. Within two weeks he was under contract to the Cincinnati Reds.

Long Bob Ewing made his major league game debut on April 19, 1902. He walked ten batters, seven of them in one inning, in a 9-5 loss to Chicago. It was nearly a month before he gained his first victory; then he missed the second half of the season with a sore arm.

Bob fought for a place on the roster the next two seasons before establishing himself as one of the Reds' top pitchers. Ewing finished with a 6 and 6 won-lost record. He pitched ten complete games in twelve starts and compiled a fine 2.98 earned run average. A sore arm limited his playing time toward the end of the season.

In 1903, Long Bob developed into the workhorse of the staff. Completing 27 of the 28 games he started, Ewing posted 14 wins and lowered his ERA to 2.73. He delivered at the plate as well. That season, Ewing hit an impressive .253.

The season's highlight came on August 18, 1903. The headline in the "Cincinnati Post" told the story: "Kelley Claims Ewing Pitched a No-Hitter" He blanked the New York Giants 7 to 0, giving up one infield hit by Jack Dunn in the eighth inning. The official scorer recorded the play as an out, but was ordered to score it as a hit. A dispatch from New York after the game stated: "Long Bob Ewing, fed on raw meat and clams for a week, was taken out of his cage and sent against the Giants...Old Wapak fired the leather down the alley so fast that the haze in its wake looked like the smoke in a shooting gallery." A seasoned and confident Bob Ewing barnstormed with the Reds after the season concluded.

On September 30, 1903, the Cincinnati Reds came to Sidney for a rematch. Long Bob was on the mound for Reds, which had just pummeled Lima 9 to 1 the day before. After the game, the "Journal's" editor, William Binkley, wryly observed that the Reds came to town to show "...what a difference there is between a professional team and pumpkin puller aggregations in smaller towns...and to prick what bubbles of vanity they entertain." After Long Bob took his seat at the end of the first inning, Sidney led 5 to 1. Binkley chortled: "The Reds were amazed, and in a figurative sense, more blue than red."

The Reds outfielders were "as busy as a cow's tail in fly time," according to Binkley, while Sidney's infielders "guarded the infield like watch dogs fed on electricity." In the end, Long Bob and the Reds absorbed a 14 to 2 beating. Mr. Binkley appropriately summed up the event: "In short, the Reds were outclassed, the spectators were given a treat of rare sport, and the visitors gracefully acknowledged the corn."

The Cincinnati Reds returned to Sidney the next year for what the Wapakoneta newspaper described as "Ewing Day in Sidney." Fifty wagons circled the court square, and banners proclaiming 'Ewing Day' were hung everywhere. A local baker sold 'Ewing pies' and bartenders served 'Ewing highballs.' Two thousand fans jammed the ball field. As the first Sidney batter whiffed, the crowd screamed: "Don't throw so hard, you'll kill the catcher!" Ewing and the Reds prevailed, 6 to 1.

In professional baseball after the turn of the century, the spitball was a legal pitch and Ewing was known as having one of the best in the majors. By late 1904 Ewing became one of the National League's first notable exponents of the wet one. A newspaper writer of the era described him as also having "great speed and a puzzling drop curve." With that new weapon he enjoyed his best year in 1905, securing his 20th victory in the last game of the season. Long Bob won 20 games in 34 starts with only 11 losses during the 1905 season. He still batted over .250.

September 11, 1906, Ewing duels Deacon Phillippe and Vic Willis to a scoreless tie in Pittsburgh, scattering eight hits over fifteen innings. He ended 2006 with an ERA of 2.38 and almost 300 innings pitched.

The highlight of the 1907 season came early when he was handed the ball for opening day on April 11, 1907. The opponent was the Pittsburgh Pirates, led by the immortal future hall-of-famer Honus Wagner. Ewing pitched a complete game, four hit, 4 to 3 victory. In what he always viewed as the highlight of his career, Ewing fanned the first six Pirate batters he faced, including such outstanding hitters as Wagner, Fred Clarke and Ginger Beaumont. The Cincinnati Enquirer reported that "He used the spitball when he found himself in a tight place and it was very effective in his hands." The Reds come from behind with two runs in the ninth inning.

Long Bob did his best to ensure his own success in 1907. Pitching over 330 innings, he compiled a career-best ERA of 1.73 and averaged almost twice as many strikeouts as bases on balls. Although he won 17 games, little offensive help from his teammates resulted in 19 losses. Ewing accomplished all this at the age of 34 that year.

Bob Ewing concluded his career with the Reds after the 1909 season. In his eight year stint with the Cincinnati club, he compiled an overall earned run average of 2.37. Almost 90 years later, it still stands as the best Reds' career ERA record ever compiled.

Life After Baseball

Ewing returned home and agreed to pitch two games for his hometown team, the Wapakoneta Reds. He had just turned forty years old when he took the mound to face the Findlay semi-pro team on May 17, 1913. Five hundred paying fans saw Ewing strike out twelve batters while strolling to a 10 to 0 win. The most important game was to follow, for next up was Wapak's dreaded arch rival, the Botkins Reds.

To turn the pressure up a notch on Botkins, Wapak declared game day to be 'Ewing Day'. As he stepped in for his first at bat, time was called and Ewing was presented with a horn-grip, gold-mounted umbrella engraved "Bob, 1913." The crowd cheered lustily. Ewing struck out. Wapak eked out a 4 to 3 win. It was Long Bob's last local pitching appearance.

After hanging up his baseball spikes, Ewing returned to his off-season occupation of farming. He was an expert horseman as well, raising trotters which competed in races throughout the Midwest. Bob Ewing was elected to two terms as the Auglaize County Sheriff and later ran the Brunswick Cigar Store in Wapak.

Long Bob Ewing died of cancer on June 20, 1947, at age 74.

Nelle, his wife of 42 years, survived him by a quarter-century, becoming something of a celebrity in Wapakoneta. She also remained an avid Reds fan, living to meet Pete Rose and Johnny Bench and to see the dawn of the Big Red Machine dynasty of the 1970s. She attended more than 60 consecutive opening day games before her own death Feb. 15, 1972 at age 91.

Bob and Nelle Ewing are buried in Walnut Hill Cemetery near New Hampshire, Ohio under a common headstone decorated with a baseball and bat.

Teams

Cincinnati Reds (1902-1909)
Philadelphia Phillies (1910-1911)
St. Louis Cardinals (1912)

Career highlights and awards

August 18, 1903: Ewing pitches a one-hit shutout in New York, allowing only an infield single by Jack Dunn in the eighth inning. Teammates argue that if the play had been scored correctly, Ewing would have been credited with a no-hitter.
September 11, 1906: Ewing duels Deacon Phillippe and Vic Willis to a scoreless tie in Pittsburgh, scattering eight hits over fifteen innings.
April 11, 1907: Ewing beats Pittsburgh 4-3 on opening day in Cincinnati as the Reds come from behind with two runs in the ninth inning.
Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame Member (inducted on August 12, 2001)

[Old Sweater]

Third Team, Pitcher, Noodles Hahn

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noodles_Hahn

Frank George (Noodles) Hahn (April 29, 1879 - February 6, 1960) was a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Cincinnati Reds (NL, 1899–1905) and New York Highlanders (AL, 1906). Hahn batted and threw left-handed. He was born in Nashville, Tennessee.

In an eight-season career, Hahn posted a 130-94 record with 917 strikeouts and a 2.55 ERA in 1020-1/3 innings pitched.

Hahn died in Candler, North Carolina at the age of 80.

He was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 1963.

Teams

Cincinnati Reds (1899-1905)
New York Highlanders (1906)

Career highlights and awards

National League strikeout champion: 1899-1901
4 20-win seasons

More Highlights

3-times led National League in strikeouts (1899–1901)
Led NL in shutouts (1900)
Led NL in innings pitched (1901)
Had 4 20-win seasons (3 consecutive) (1899, 1901–1903)
Posted 212 complete games in 231 starts
Pitched a no-hitter against the Philadelphia Phillies (July 12, 1900)

And this completes the Bill James NL 1900-1909 All Decade Team.

[Mudge]

Love that picture of "Noodles."