Washington DC Baseball

ValKehl · #1 06-21-2022, 02:06 PM

Delete - wrong forum!

GeoPoto · #2 06-22-2022, 05:18 AM

Val, that's a very nice Lee! Thank you for posting it. I don't have Lee, but I do have:

Player #25: Albert L. "Al" Orth. Pitcher with the Washington Senators in 1902-1904. 204 wins and 6 saves in 15 MLB seasons. He was the MLB wins leader in 1906. He was known as "The Curveless Wonder" relying on control and differing speed. His best season may have been 1901 with Philadelphia as he posted a 20-12 record with a 2.27 ERA in 281.2 innings pitched. He umpired, when necessary, as a player and in one game umpired and pinch-hit in the same game. He debuted with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1895-1901. He finished his career with the New York Highlanders in 1904-1909. He debuted as an umpire in the NL in 1912 and in 1917 was the umpire when Toney and Vaughn each pitched 9 innings of no-hit baseball, the only time it has happened.

Orth's SABR biography relates how his time in Washington ended as his discovery of a new pitch came too late: Like many of his Philadelphia teammates, following the 1901 season Orth jumped to the American League, signing with the Washington Senators. Orth again posted the lowest walk rate in his league in 1902, with just 40 base-on-balls allowed in 324 innings. Unfortunately, Orth only struck out 76 batters that year, finishing with a 19-18 record and subpar 3.97 ERA. He was even worse in 1903, winning 10 games against 22 losses while posting a horrendous 4.34 ERA. After starting the 1904 campaign 3-4 with a 4.76 ERA, Orth was traded to the New York Highlanders.

Shortly after his arrival with the Highlanders, Orth turned his season around, helping to keep New York in the pennant race until the last day of the season with an 11-6 record and league-average 2.68 ERA. Orth�s turnaround was probably due in part to teammate Jack Chesbro, who rode the spitball to a 41-win season that year. Orth himself said he first used the spitball at the end of the 1904 season and considered the pitch �more effective than a curve� with a �quicker break.� Orth threw it �regularly� in the 1905 season, as he posted an 18-16 record with a 2.86 ERA for the sixth place Highlanders.

https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1655892966
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GeoPoto · #3 06-23-2022, 04:30 AM

Player #26: Albert K. "Kip" Selbach. Outfielder with the Washington Senators in 1894-1898 (NL) and 1903-1904 (AL). 1,807 hits and 334 stolen bases in 13 MLB seasons. He had a career OBP of .377. He led the NL in triples in 1895. Among his many good seasons was 1900 with the New York Giants as he posted a .425 OBP with 98 runs scored and 36 stolen bases in 611 plate appearances. His final seasons were with the Boston Americans in 1904-1906.

From Selbach's SABR biography: During 1902 it became known that the American League would not have a team in Baltimore in 1903. On August 26 Clark Griffith � acting as an agent for the league � signed Selbach, Billy Gilbert, and Jimmy Williams; all expected to play for the new team that was thought to be placed in New York. �Selbach and Williams said they are under guaranteed two-years� contract to the Baltimore Club, which they would insist upon being fulfilled to the letter. Selbach says he called upon Johnson and Griffith merely to see if the American League would voluntarily increase his salary as a reward for his loyalty.�

In early December Selbach himself said he had not signed with Griffith. There were rumors that there wouldn�t even be a team in Washington and that the AL would place a team in Pittsburgh instead. Concerns among Washington area fans were assuaged on December 28, when Selbach signed a two-year contract � with the Washington Senators. Since he remained popular in the area (because of his previous stint with Washington's NL team), that seemed like a bonus.

Note that the back of the card was blank until its early owner took advantage of the spot to attach return instructions should it ever become lost.

https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1655976558
https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1655976567

GeoPoto · #4 06-24-2022, 04:46 AM

The 1905 Washington Senators won 64 games, lost 87, and finished in seventh place in the American League. They were managed by Jake Stahl and played home games at National Park.

Prior to the start of the 1905 season, Washington's new ownership group attempted to put the club's recent history behind it by inviting baseball fans to submit their suggestions for a new name. "The Nationals" was selected as most acceptable but did not truly take. The name was ill-suited in the first place, as it suggested a National League team, and merely represented an oddly nostalgic longing for the bad ballclubs of the 1880s and 1890s. (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)

https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1656063845

GeoPoto · #5 06-25-2022, 03:53 AM

The 1906 Washington Senators won 55 games, lost 95, and finished in seventh place in the American League. They were managed by Jake Stahl and played home games at National Park.

The highlight of Washington's 1906 season came in late August when the Senators brought an end to the 19-game winning streak of the "hitless wonders", the Chicago White Sox. This White Sox squad eventually won the pennant despite maintaining a .230 team batting average, the worst in the league by far. The White Sox took the 1906 World Series in six games from their crosstown rivals the Cubs, despite hitting just .198 in the fall classic. (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)

https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1656147114
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GeoPoto · #6 06-26-2022, 05:06 AM

Player #27: Lafayette N. "Lave" Cross. Born Vratislav Kriz. Third baseman/catcher with the Washington Senators in 1906-1907. 2,651 hits, 47 home runs, and 303 stolen bases in 21 MLB seasons. He debuted with the Louisville Colonels in 1887-1888. In 1894 with the Philadelphia Phillies, he had one of his most productive seasons as he posted a .424 OBP with 128 runs scored and 132 RBIs in 593 plate appearances. At retirement in 1907, he ranked fifth in MLB history in hits and runs batted in. He captained the Philadelphia Athletics teams which captured two of the first five AL pennants.

Cross' SABR biography summarizes his brief, career-ending time in Washington: Cross was 39 years old. The strains of captainship, upon his own game and in relations with teammates and ownership, wore upon him. Yet, even as he sought a younger third baseman, Mack was grateful for Cross�s contributions. Consequently, he allowed Cross to come to an agreement with Washington, then released him to the Senators with no compensation in return that December.

Although Washington had finished in seventh place in 1905, and their promising young shortstop Joe Cassidy died before the 1906 campaign launched, the Senators played .500 ball through the first month. Cross started well, hitting .333 and scoring 16 runs through Washington�s first 21 games. But the team soon sank out of contention and finished seventh again. Cross contributed a .263 average (an OPS+ of 100) and led AL third basemen in fielding percentage, although his range metrics were below average.

https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1656237968

RUKen · #7 06-26-2022, 08:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeoPoto

Prior to the start of the 1905 season, Washington's new ownership group attempted to put the club's recent history behind it by inviting baseball fans to submit their suggestions for a new name. "The Nationals" was selected as most acceptable but did not truly take.

I am doubtful that the name "did not truly take", as the team wore "NATIONALS" on their home uniforms that year. The newspapers adopted the name, which was often shortened to "Nats", a nickname that persisted for decades even after everyone stopped calling them the Nationals.

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