World Series: New York (NL) declined challenge by Boston (AL)
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Major league baseball final standings
American League final standings
National League final standings
Events
January
January 4 – The New York Highlanders of the American League announce plans to play on Sundays at Ridgewood Park in Queens, NY, but the National League Brooklyn Superbas object the proposal. By the time Sunday's games are legal only in the cities of Detroit, St. Louis, Chicago and Cincinnati.[1]
February
February 29 – Pepper Martin is born in Temple, Oklahoma. Amazingly, with more than 19,000 different Major League Baseball players in the sport's history, between 1836 and 2018, only 11 have been born on a Leap Day.[2][3] Dubbed as the Wild Horse of the Osage because of his daring and aggressive baserunning abilities,[4] Martin played as a third baseman and an outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals in a span of 13 seasons between 1928 and 1944, earning two World Series titles, four All-Star Game selections and four National League stolen bases titles. But Martin is probably best known for his heroics in the 1931 World Series, when he led the Cardinals in average (.500), hits (12), doubles (4), runs (5), RBI (5), stolen bases (5) and added one home run in the seven-game triumph over the highly favored Philadelphia Athletics, making also a running catch to cut a ninth-inning rally by the Athletics in the decisive Game 7.[4]
May 11 – Following his perfect game against the Philadelphia Athletics six days before, Cy Young of the Boston Americans pitched another six hitless innings against the Detroit Tigers, until Sam Crawford stroked a single to end the string. Before his perfection start, Young had already pitched eighth consecutive innings without allowing a base hit. On April 25, he pitched two innings at Philadelphia, then he hurled six innings in relief against the Washington Senators. As a result, the record books credited Young with 23 consecutive hitless innings based on these four games, which is considered a record in Major League Baseball history. No one has ever equaled that mark.[8]
May 27 – New York Giants first baseman Dan McGann set a Major League Baseball record with five stolen bases in a single-game, a feat not matched until Davey Lopes did it for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1974, and not surpassed until Atlanta Braves' Otis Nixon stole six bases in 1991.[10]
June
June 11 – Chicago Cubs pitcher Bob Wicker pitches nine innings without allowing a hit. He surrenders a hit in the 10th inning, but it would be the only hit he allows in the game. The Cubs would go on the beat the New York Giants, 1–0, in 12 innings.
September 1 – The New York Giants selected Moonlight Graham in the Rule five draft. This is the same Moonlight Graham that is fictionalized in the movie Field of Dreams.
September 5 – At the Polo Grounds, the New York Giants swept a doubleheader from the Boston Beaneaters in front of 37,000 fans. Christy Mathewson won a pitching duel with Kaiser Wilhelm in the opener, 1–0, when Jim Delahanty scored on a triple by Tom Needham in the bottom of the ninth inning. The second game of the Labor Day twin-bill was won on a Sam Mertes single in the bottom of the ninth that brought Red Ames with the winning run. The climax to the successful day inspired a group of fans to carry Giants manager John McGraw off the field on their shoulders; McGraw was dropped during the excitement and suffered a sprained ankle.[13]
October
October 3 – Christy Mathewson of the New York Giantsstrikes out 16 in a 3–1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at Polo Grounds. His 16 strikeouts set a new record in the major leagues as he finishes the game in one hour and 15 minutes.[14]
October 8 – Jack Chesbro earned his 41st victory of the season as the New York Highlanders defeated the Boston Americans, 3–2. The 41 wins by a pitcher in a season are a modern record in Major League history. Previously, the future Hall of Famer won his 14th consecutive game on August 10 (a record at the time), pitched 30 consecutive complete games at a time, and would complete 48 of his 51 starts of the season.[15]
October 10 – The regular season ends with a doubleheader at Hilltop Park in New York City. The Boston Americans clinched the American League pennant in the opener with a 3–2 victory over the New York Highlanders, while New York won the second game, 1–0, in 10 innings.[7] It would also be the last time for a full century that the Boston AL team, who would later formally become the Boston Red Sox in 1908, would beat the New York AL team in a pennant-deciding game.
Postseason
The World Series was cancelled due to a business rivalry between the two leagues. During spring training, New York Giants owner John T. Brush said that there will never be a series between two clubs based in the same city, in response to a preseason offer from New York Highlanders co-owner Frank J. Farrell.[16] Nevertheless, the Boston Americans pennant victory over the Highlanders had historical significance in several ways. Although Boston had won instead, Brush and team's manager John McGraw refused to face the Americans in what would've been the second World Series.[17] Brush announced "There is nothing in the constitution or playing rules of the National League which requires its victorious club to submit its championship honors to a contest with a victorious club in a minor league," according to his biography at SABR.[18] The resulting backlash by the press caused Brush to take a stance and lead the committee to formalize the rules governing the future World Series.[18] This would be the last time for 90 years that a World Series was not played, when it was canceled on September 14 of 1994 due to an MLB Players Association strike. It would also be the last time for 100 years that the Boston AL team, who would later formally become the Boston Red Sox in 1908, would beat the New York AL team in a pennant-deciding game until the 2004 American League Championship Series.
October 16 – Mike Slattery, 37, center fielder who hit .251 in five seasons and was a member of the New York Giants World Champion teams of 1888 and 1889.
October 25 – Cornelius Van Cott, 66, owner of the New York Giants from January 1893 to January 1895.
October 28 – Sam Field, 56, catcher who hit .146 for three different teams between 1875 and 1876.
December 18 – John Clapp, 53, catcher and manager for several teams from 1872 through 1883, who hit a career .283 average in 588 games, including three .300 seasons.
