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Posted By: PC

Mathewson was already a great pitcher when McGraw came to the Giants, although Matty's career had only just begun -- he had a great '01 followed by a mediocre '02 (by Big Six standards).

However, I think it is definitely true that the Giants were a much better team under McGraw, and that certainly helped Mathewson's numbers.

The Mathewson-McGraw realtionship is covered well in "The Old Ball Game" by Frank Deford. A very enjoyable read, with many players in the old tobacco sets making an appearance. Quite a cast of characters!