Though the newly formed American League took some quality players from the National, most of the best baseball players in the country were still playing in the Senior Circuit. The Pirates won the pennant, and would remain the best team in the league for the decade. They were led by young superstar Honus Wagner, the best National League player of the dead-ball era.

        Bobby Wallace was fixture in St. Louis for two decades. He began his career in 1894 as a pitcher with Cleveland. After a couple of seasons he switched to the field, and would play close to 2000 games at shortstop. He joined the Cardinals in 1899; after this season, he moved across town and joined the St. Louis Browns in the American League. He spent 15 years with the Browns, then ended his 25-year career back with the Cardinals.
        If you were to try to name, from memory, all of the shortstops in the Hall Of Fame, chances are that Wallace is the one guy you would miss. He was a good player; his defensive reputation was outstanding, and he could hit a little more than the typical shortstop. But Wallace spent most of his career with a hopeless Browns team, and would probably be forgotten had he not been inducted into the Hall. Wallace did about everything you can do in baseball; in addition to his 25 years as a player, he also worked as a manager, coach, umpire, scout and anything else you can think of. You can always spot Wallace in old pictures because of his protruding nose, hence his nickname.
        The premier shortstop in the league was Honus Wagner, who was also the league's best player. The Pirates knew that the Dutchman was a great hitter, but had not yet decided on Wagner's position; he played 61 games at short, but also 54 in the outfield and some more at third base. This was Wagner's fifth season, and it is hard to believe that he had never played a game at shortstop before this year. A couple of years later he became the team's regular shortstop, and played almost 2000 games at the position.
        Jesse Burkett and Ed Delahanty are in the Hall Of Fame, and deservedly so. Big Ed Delahanty was the oldest and the best of five ballplaying brothers. Jim Delahanty was also a pretty good player, but Joe, Tom and Frank Delahanty all had short careers. Ed played for 16 years, was a career .346 hitter who won two batting titles. He was also one of the top power hitters in the game, and stole 455 lifetime bases.
        Burkett was near the end of a great career that had begun in 1890. As a hitter, Burkett was similar to Tony Gwynn, and just missed getting 3000 hits; three times in his career he batted over .400. Burkett Delahanty, Burkett was affectionately nicknamed "The Crab", due to his unpleasant personality. Actually, from all accounts, he was downright nasty. Burkett starred in an era, the 1890's, when baseball players were rough and violent, and he was no exception. After he retired, John McGraw hired him as a coach, though his primary duty was to serve as an enforcer.
        Burkett, Delahanty and Sheckard were all very good this season, and could be arranged in any order. Delahanty's team had the best record, so I'll give him the edge.