An important year in baseball history, to say the least. The American League was born, founded by league President Ban Johnson. It was a smash hit; of the eight new teams, six were very successful. One team in Baltimore only lasted two years, before it had to shift to New York and become the Yankees. Another team played one year in Milwaukee before moving to St Louis.

         The new league was basically an assemblage of guys you have never heard of. But a few NL stars were lured away, including none other than Cy Young himself, who played for Boston. Obviously, Denton True Young was a little strong for the rest of the league, and would remain so for a couple more years, until age began to catch up with him.
        Two other Hall Of Famers crossed over as well. Clark Griffith had been one of the best pitchers in the NL in the 1890's. This year was one of the best in his career, leading the White Sox to their first pennant. Griffith was also manager of the team; it was a good career move, as Griffith was soon finished as a pitcher, but would manage for 20 years.
        "Iron Man" Joe McGinnity debuted in the National League in 1899, and had a stellar rookie season. He had another great year in 1900, then followed manager John McGraw to the new Baltimore team in the AL. Curiously enough, McGinnity struggled in the new league; he still threw lots of innings, but his other numbers weren't great. McGinnity continued to struggle next year; both him and McGraw then got tired of the new league, and went back to the NL to join the New York Giants, a great career move for both.
        Nixey Callahan also had a fine season for the White Sox. Roscoe Miller had a great rookie year, then quickly disappeared.