This may, or may not, have been Mathewson's best year; a few years later,
he won 37 games in a season. But this is the season for which he is best
remembered. Not only was he the best pitcher in the league, but Matty also
had the single greatest World Series that any pitcher has ever had. Three
starts, three wins, three shutouts. No other pitcher, before or since, has
ever thrown three shutouts in a World Series.
Mathewson was only 25 years old; he had already
been in the league for six years, and now had had three consecutive 30+ win
seasons. He was originally signed by Cincinnati, but Giants' owner Andrew
Freedman was a shady dealer who often got his own way. The Giants already had
a great pitcher, Amos Rusie, whose arm was burnt out after throwing 500 innings
in a season. Freedman rigged a deal with the Cincinnati owner that saw Rusie
go to Cincy, in return for Mathewson. Rusie never won another game, while
Matty won 373 in his career. Crooked or not, it is the most lopsided deal
in baseball history.
A number of Cincinnati's better players wound
up in New York uniforms. Freedman also managed to get control of Baltimore
in the AL, where he plucked away pitcher Joe McGinnity and manager John
McGraw. McGraw would manage the Giants for Mathewson's entire career, and
it would be hard to find two people in the game who were more dissimilar. Mathewson was the good
Christian son, the most admired and gentlemanly player of the era. McGraw,
on the other hand, was a bully who continually threatened the lives of umpires,
and was known on occasion to go into the stands and beat up a fan or opposing
owner. Despite their vastly different temperaments, Mathewson and McGraw formed
a close, father-son relationship; no manager ever got so many wins
out of one pitcher.
This was Ed Reulbach's rookie year. Reulbach was
a terrific pitcher, and had the good fortune to pitch for the Cubs at a time
when they were the best team in baseball. Though this may have been his best
season, Reulbach would post some spectacular won-loss records the next few
years; in his career he won 182 games, and lost only 106. Reulbach was usually
one of the toughest pitchers in the league to hit, though there is some
evidence that the Cubs often saved Ed to pitch against the weaker teams
in the league, while using Mordecai Brown to face off against pitchers
like Mathewson.
Other good pitchers in the league include
Matty's teammate, Red Ames, who had the first big season of his career.
Ames never again won 20 games in a season, though he would last long enough
to win 183 games in his career. Two Pittsburgh hurlers, Sam Leever and
Deacon Phillippe, both had fine years; this was the last big one in Phillippe's
career. Bob Ewing of Cincinnati also had his best season; Ewing was a pretty
good pitcher for a few years with a mediocre Cincinnati team, though this
was his only 20-win season.
