Appendix: James Bentley vs. William Henry, John Joseph, and Edward James

This article was written by Herm Krabbenhoft

This is the online appendix to Herm Krabbenhoft’s article “James Bentley vs. William Henry, John Joseph, and Edward James: An Irresistible Force vs. Three Immovable Objects,” which was published in the Spring 2025 edition of the Nineteenth Century Committee newsletter.

Click on a link below to scroll down to that appendix:


Explanatory Information for Appendix A Tables

For the (Game) “Date” column, an entry bracketed with asterisks indicates that there is a discrepancy between the stats from my research and the ICI stats for either Innings Pitched, Hits, and/or Walks. The pertinent information for the discrepancies is provided in Appendix B.

For the “OPP” column, an asterisk indicates the game was played at the opponent’s ballpark.

For the “IP (S/R)” column, IP gives the innings pitched by Seymour; S indicates that Seymour was the starting pitcher; R indicates that Seymour was a relief pitcher; an asterisk indicates that Seymour pitched a complete game.

The ICI pitching sheets for Seymour do not provide stats for AB, TB, and HBP. The AB and TB stats can be calculated from the ICI batting sheets for the players who participated in the games.

Explanatory Information for Appendix B Tables

For the “Discrepancy” columns, the “MR” column gives the stats ascertained in My Research based on the relevant newspaper game accounts (text descriptions and box scores); the “ICI” column gives the stats shown on the ICI sheets; the PBP column gives the stats according to the Play-By-Play information deduced by either Cliff Blau and/or Dick Cramer. The PBP information is unpublished was graciously provided to me by Cliff and Dick.

For the “Player (Seymour IP)” column, the player entered is the player for whom there is a discrepancy between my stats and the ICI stats; when “(Seymour IP)” is entered, it indicates that there is a discrepancy between my IP information and the ICI IP information. The details for the IP discrepancy are described in the specific NOTE after Table B-5.

For the “Details” column, the player’s performance in each of the plate appearances he had against Seymour is given; the inning is given in parentheses. Here are the relevant codes: S, single; D, double; T, triple; W, walk; HP, hit by pitch; SOE, safe on error; O, out.

The detailed description of my determination of the stats for one game with a discrepancy (9-23-1896, New York at Washington) is also provided.


APPENDIX A — Game-By-Game Pitching Stats for Cy Seymour (1896-1900)

Table A-1a. Game-By-Game Pitching Stats for Cy Seymour (1896) 

DATE

OPP

IP (S/R)

AB

H

TB

W

HBP

* 4-22 *

PHI

6.0 (R)

22

6

7

7

1

5-18

CHI*

6.0 (S)

24

8

10

10

1

6-11

PIT

8.0 (S)

32

12

19

7

1

8-24 (1)

LOU

9.0 (S*)

35

10

11

7

8-27

STL

9.0 (S*)

33

5

8

1

8-28

STL

5.0 (R)

20

2

2

3

9-01 (1)

CLE

9.0 (S*)

35

7

10

4

9-04

CIN

3.0 (S)

15

4

7

4

9-12

BOS

1.1 (S)

13

8

12

2

* 9-23 *

WAS*

8.0 (S*)

31

8

16

4

9-25

BAL

6.0 (R)

23

6

11

3

1

TOTAL

11 G

70.1

283

76

113

52

4


Table A-2a. Game-By-Game Pitching Stats for Cy Seymour (1897 — through June 18)

DATE

OPP

IP (S/R)

AB

H

TB

W

HBP

4-28

WAS

9.0 (S*)

29

4

6

5

* 5-06 *

BRK

7.0 (R)

24

4

5

6

* 5-10 *

LOU*

9.0 (S*)

36

8

12

6

2

* 5-15 *

CIN*

9.0 (S*)

33

10

11

9

1

5-19

PIT*

0.0 (R)

1

0

0

2

1

* 6-03 (2) *

LOU

7.0 (S)

28

6

7

5

1

6-07

CHI

4.1 (R)

14

2

2

1

2

* 6-14 *

ATL

9.0 (S*)

34

11

11

7

1

6-18

CLE

9.0 (S*)

28

3

5

7

1


Table A-2b. Game-By-Game Pitching Stats for Cy Seymour (1897 — June 22 – Sept. 22) 

DATE

OPP

IP (S/R)

AB

H

TB

W

HBP

6-22

BAL*

9.0 (S*)

30

8

8

6

1

6-26 (1)

WAS*

9.0 (S*)

27

2

3

5

* 6-30 *

BAL

9.0 (S*)

35

6

8

11

7-05 (2)

BRK

9.0 (S*)

33

10

11

1

7-09

PIT*

9.0 (S*)

35

10

12

4

* 7-13 *

CIN*

8.0 (S*)

29

9

14

5

1

7-16 (1)

LOU*

8.0 (S*)

34

10

15

1

* 7-21 (1) *

STL*

4.0 (S)

16

5

5

4

7-28

CLE*

2.0 (S)

10

5

5

3

* 8-02 *

BRK*

9.0 (S*)

37

8

11

4

1

8-06

PHI

9.0 (S*)

26

3

3

6

* 8-10 *

BOS*

8.0 (S*)

27

6

7

4

1

* 8-12 (2) *

BOS*

6.2 (S)

24

3

5

7

* 8-17 *

PHI

9.0 (S*)

38

12

17

5

* 8-20 *

LOU

3.0 (S)

13

4

8

4

* 8-25 *

CLE

9.0 (S*)

30

3

3

4

2

* 8-28 *

CHI

8.0 (S*)

29

8

8

4

1

* 8-30 *

CHI

6.0 (R)

22

8

9

3

* 9-01 *

CIN

9.0 (S*)

36

10

17

5

* 9-04 *

STL

9.0 (S*)

33

6

6

3

1

* 9-07 (1) *

CLE

9.0 (S*)

34

9

12

4

1

* 9-09 (2) *

PIT

7.0 (S*)

27

5

8

1

9-13

BRK*

1.0 (R)

4

2

3

9-14 (1)

BRK*

8.0 (S*)

31

7

8

4

2

* 9-18 *

BOS*

8.0 (S*)

32

11

14

7

9-22

BAL

9.0 (S*)

37

9

12

7


Table A-2c. Game-By-Game Pitching Stats for Cy Seymour (1897 — Sept. 24 – 30)

DATE

OPP

IP (S/R)

AB

H

TB

W

HBP

9-24 (2)

WAS

8.0 (S*)

31

9

9

3

* 9-29 *

PHI

2.0 (R)

7

1

1

1

9-30

PHI

9.0 (S*)

35

8

14

4

TOTAL

43 G

275.0

1029

245

315

168

20


Table A-3a. Game-By-Game Pitching Stats for Cy Seymour (1898 — through July 04)

DATE

OPP

IP (S/R)

AB

H

TB

W

HBP

4-18

BOS

9.0 (S*)

32

6

9

5

1

* 4-21 *

PHI*

7.1 (S*)

31

8

12

7

3

4-27

WAS*

7.0 (S*)

29

9

14

7

* 5-05 *

BOS*

7.0 (R)

21

3

3

5

1

5-07

BOS*

5.0 (S)

27

11

13

2

5-12

BRK*

8.0 (S*)

32

9

11

3

1

5-17 (2)

WAS

9.0 (S*)

34

9

10

5

1

5-21

STL*

8.0 (S*)

30

10

17

10

* 5-26 *

CIN*

3.0 (S)

16

11

14

2

1

* 5-30 (1) *

CLE

9.0 (S*)

27

3

4

7

1

6-02

CIN

9.0 (S*)

33

5

6

7

6-07

CHI

9.0 (S*)

27

4

6

7

2

* 6-11 *

BRK

9.0 (S*)

34

7

7

6

6-16

PHI

9.0 (S*)

33

7

8

5

6-20

PIT

8.0 (S*)

32

8

9

7

* 6-22 *

PIT*

7.2 (R)

27

6

7

5

6-24

CLE*

9.0 (S*)

34

9

9

7

3

6-28 (2)

CLE*

8.0 (S*)

27

8

8

4

2

* 6-30 *

CHI*

8.0 (S*)

29

7

8

7

1

7-04 (1)

BOS

9.0 (S*)

41

12

13

1


Table A-3b. Game-By-Game Pitching Stats for Cy Seymour (1898 — July 08 – Oct. 12) 

DATE

OPP

IP (S/R)

AB

H

TB

W

HBP

7-08

BRK

9.0 (S*)

31

5

6

2

7-18

LOU

9.0 (S*)

28

1

1

3

7-21 (1)

PIT

9.0 (S*)

28

3

4

5

2

7-23

BAL

9.0 (S*)

33

8

8

4

1

7-29

LOU*

9.0 (S*)

38

8

16

6

2

8-05 (2)

CIN*

2.0 (S)

6

1

3

3

8-07 (1)

STL*

9.0 (S*)

30

5

5

5

8-11 (1)

WAS*

9.0 (S*)

32

7

8

9

1

8-15

CHI

10.0 (S*)

36

8

8

8

8-18

CIN

9.0 (S*)

32

5

6

3

1

8-24

CLE*

6.0 (S*)

24

10

13

3

8-27

CHI*

8.0 (S*)

38

14

23

3

2

8-31

PIT*

9.0 (S*)

33

5

5

2

 * 9-03 *

BOS

9.0 (S*)

33

7

11

4

1

9-08

BOS*

8.0 (S*)

30

12

16

5

9-11

WAS

9.0 (S*)

30

4

6

4

1

* 9-15 (1) *

PIT

9.0 (S*)

33

10

13

2

1

9-19

STL

9.0 (S*)

33

1

1

3

9-26 (1)

PHI

9.0 (S*)

35

8

9

4

* 9-29 *

WAS*

6.0 (S*)

26

12

17

5

10-03

PHI*

9.0 (S*)

29

4

4

4

2

10-07

BAL

6.0 (S*)

22

5

9

7

10-11 (2)

BAL*

2.0 (R)

7

0

0

10-12 (1)

BAL*

8.1 (S*)

31

7

9

4

10-12 (2)

BAL*

6.0 (S*)

23

7

8

2

TOTAL

47 G

355.1

1317

309

397

209

31


Table A-4a. Game-By-Game Pitching Stats for Cy Seymour (1899 — through Sept. 19)

DATE

OPP

IP (S/R)

AB

H

TB

W

HBP

5-21

STL*

9.0 (S*)

28

3

9

9

5-24

CIN*

10.0 (S*)

36

7

11

13

6-03

LOU

9.0 (S*)

29

8

11

4

3

6-08

CLE

9.0 (S*)

38

15

19

2

1

6-13

BOS

9.0 (S*)

35

8

9

2

6-19

PIT*

8.0 (S*)

31

6

10

2

1

6-22

PIT*

9.0 (S*)

31

5

8

4

* 6-25 (1) *

STL*

10.0 (S*)

33

9

13

6

7-04 (2)

WAS

9.0 (S*)

30

6

6

4

7-10 (1)

BOS*

8.0 (S*)

27

6

7

6

7-13

PIT

9.0 (S*)

38

14

19

5

1

7-20

CHI

9.0 (S*)

33

7

9

1

2

7-26

STL*

8.0 (S*)

30

8

9

8

7-30

CIN*

8.1 (S*)

27

4

4

7

1

8-04

BRK*

8.0 (S*)

31

8

10

3

8-09

LOU

9.0 (S*)

30

10

13

3

8-13

LOU

9.0 (S*)

34

8

11

4

2

8-17 (1)

CIN

9.0 (S*)

36

5

5

4

8-21 (1)

PHI

9.0 (S*)

32

9

10

7

8-25

CLE

8.0 (S*)

33

9

11

2

8-28 (1)

CHI*

9.0 (S*)

33

9

11

4

8-31

PIT*

8.0 (S*)

33

14

19

3

1

* 9-04 (2) *

BRK

9.0 (S*)

33

6

7

6

1

9-09 (1)

BAL

9.0 (S*)

30

4

6

6

9-13

CHI

9.0 (S*)

37

7

8

7

1

* 9-19 *

STL

3.0 (S)

11

6

10

3

1


Table A-4b. Game-By-Game Pitching Stats for Cy Seymour (1899 — Sept. 23 – Oct. 13)

DATE

OPP

IP (S/R)

AB

H

TB

W

HBP

9-23

BOS

9.0 (S*)

33

6

8

6

9-28

PHI

8.0 (S*)

28

4

4

10

10-02 (2)

BOS*

6.0 (S*)

27

11

11

4

1

* 10-05 *

BOS*

8.0 (S*)

32

11

20

8

2

10-10

BRK*

7.0 (S*)

27

5

5

4

3

10-13

WAS*

7.0 (S*)

22

5

7

11

2

TOTAL

32 G

268.1

988

243

320

168

23


Table A-5. Game-By-Game Pitching Stats for Cy Seymour (1900)

DATE

OPP

IP (S/R)

AB

H

TB

W

HBP

4-20

BRK

2.0 (S)

8

2

2

5

1

4-27

BOS

2.0 (S)

7

4

5

1

1

5-07

BOS*

4.0 (R)

16

4

9

4

5-12

CHI*

3.0 (R)

11

4

7

2

1

5-15

CHI*

5.0 (S)

21

6

9

9

1

5-26

PIT*

1.0 (S)

3

3

2

* 5-28 *

PIT*

5.0 (R)

21

6

9

5

2

6-01

PIT

9.0 (S*)

31

6

7

9

6-07

STL

9.0 (S*)

32

10

10

11

9-10

STL

6.0 (R)

28

7

8

1

3

* 9-12 (1) *

CHI

2.0 (R)

8

4

4

2

* 9-24 *

BOS*

0.1 (R)

2

1

1

1

* 9-26 *

BOS*

7.2 (S)

29

7

7

9

1

TOTAL

13 G

56.0

217

61

78

62

12

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Appendix B — Discrepancies Between the Pitching Stats from My Research and ICI Pitching Stats for Cy Seymour’s Games (1896-1900)

Table B-1. Discrepancies Between the Pitching Stats from My Research and ICI Pitching Stats for Cy Seymour’s Games (1896) 

Date

Player

(or Seymour IP)

Discrepancies

Details

MR

ICI

PBP

4-22

Delahanty

2H

1H

2H

S (5); O (6); D (9)

9-23

Cartwright

3W

2W

2W

W (2); W (4); W (8)


Table B-2a. Discrepancies Between the Pitching Stats from My Research and ICI Pitching Stats for Cy Seymour’s Games (1897, through August 17)

Date

Player

(or Seymour IP)

Discrepancies

Details

MR

ICI

PBP

5-06

(Seymour IP)

Anderson

7.0

2W

7.2

1W

7.0

2W

NOTE [1]

W (4); W (7)

5-10

Wilson

1H

2H

1H

O (2); W (4); SOE (6); W (7); S (9)

5-15

Miller

Vaughn

2W

2W

3W

0W

2W

2W

O (1); W (3); W (4); O (6); O (8)

S (1); W (3); O (4); W (6); O (9)

6-03 (2)

Dexter

Cunningham

1H

1H

0H

0H

1H

1H

W (2); S (3); W (5); O (7)

S (2)

6-14

Hartman

3H

2H

3H

S (1), S (2); O (5); O (7); S (9)

6-30

Bowerman

Clarke

Reitz

1H

0H

0H

2H

1H

1H

1H

0H

0H

O (2); O (5); O (6); SOE (8); S (9)

O (2); O (4); SOE (5); O (7); O (9)

W (2); O (4); O (5); W (8); SOE (9)

7-13

Ritchey

0W

1W

0W

O (2); S (4); SOE (6); SH (8)

7-21 (1)

Grady

Harley

Hartman

Hallman

0H

2W

1W

1W

1H

2W

2W

2W

0H

2W

1W

1W

O (1); O (3)

W (1); O (2); W (4)

O (1); W (3); O (4)

SOE (2); W (4)

8-02

LaChance

0H

1H

0H

SOE (1); SOE (3); HP (5); O (7); O (9)

8-10

Collins

2W

1W

2W

W (2); HP (4); W (6); O (8)

8-12 (2)

Stahl

Collins

0H

0H

1H

1H

0H

0H

W (2); O (4); SOE (7)

O (2); O (4); O (7)

8-17

Nash

2W

1W

2W

S (2); W (4); O (6); W (8); S (9)


Table B-2b. Discrepancies Between the Pitching Stats from My Research and ICI Pitching Stats for Cy Seymour’s Games (1897, August 20 through September 29)

Date

Player

(or Seymour IP)

Discrepancies

Details

MR

ICI

PBP

8-20

Werden

0H

1H

0H

SOE (1); SOE (3)

8-25

Tebeau

1W

0W

1W

W (2); O (4); O (6); S (9)

8-28

Ryan

1H

2H

1H

O (1); S (4); SOE (6); O (8)

8-30

Ryan

1H

2H

1H

O (1); S (3); O (5); SOE (8)

9-01

Irwin

McPhee

0H

1H

1H

2H

0H

1H

SH (2); O (4); SH (6); O (7); O (9)

S (2); SOE (3); O (5); O (7); W (9)

9-04

Hart

0H

1H

0H

SOE (3); O (5); O (6); O (9)

9-07 (1)

Tebeau

1W

0W

1W

W (2); O (4); S (6); S (8)

9-09 (2)

Hoffmeister

0H

1H

0H

O (2); O (4); SOE (6)

9-18

Yeager

2W

1W

2W

W (1); W (4); T (6); S (8)

9-29

Taylor

1H

0H

1H

S (9)


Table B-3a. Discrepancies Between the Pitching Stats from My Research and ICI Pitching Stats for Cy Seymour’s Games (1898, through June 11)

Date

Player

(or Seymour IP)

Discrepancies

Details

MR

ICI

PBP

4-21

Abbatacchio

2W

1W

2W

W (2); W (4); O (6); S (8)

5-05

Bergen

1H

2H

1H

S (2)

5-26

(Seymour IP)

Holliday

Beckley

3.0

2H

1H

4.0

1H

0H

3.0

2H

1H

NOTE [2]

W (1); S (3); S (3)

ID (1); SH (2); D (3)

5-30 (1)

O’Connor

Tebeau

0H

0H

1H

1H

0H

0H

O (2); SOE (4); W (7); O (9)

SOE (2); O (5); O (7); O (9)

6-11

Smith

1H

0H

1H

O (7); S (9)


Table B-3b. Discrepancies Between the Pitching Stats from My Research and ICI Pitching Stats for Cy Seymour’s Games (1898, June 22 through September 29). 

Date

Player

(or Seymour IP)

Discrepancies

Details

MR

ICI

PBP

6-22

(Seymour IP)

Donovan

O’Brien

Gray

McCarthy

Davis

Bowerman

Ely

7.2

2H

1W

2H

0H

0H

1H

0H

8.0

3H

2W

3H

1H

1H

2H

1H

7.2

2H

1W

2H

0H

0H

1H

0H

NOTE [3]

S (1); O (3); S (6); W (8)

W (1); O (4); O (6); S (8)

S (1); SOE (4); O (6); D (8)

O (2); O (4); O (6); O (8)

O (2); O (5); W (7)

SOE (3); S (5); O (7)

O (3); ) (5); O (8)

6-30

McCormick

3W

4W

4W

W (2); HP (4); W (6); W (7)

9-03

Duffy

2H

1H

1H

S (2); O (4); S (6); O (8)

9-15 (1)

Clark

Schriver

0W

1W

1W

2W

0W

0W

O (1); S (4); S (6); O (8)

O (2); W (4); On (6); D (9)

9-29

Wrigley

0W

1W

1W

O (2); S (4); SH (5)


Table B-4. Discrepancies Between the Pitching Stats from My Research and ICI Pitching Stats for Cy Seymour’s Games (1899)

Date

Player

(or Seymour IP)

Discrepancies

Details

MR

ICI

PBP

6-25 (1)

Criger

Wallace

0W

1H

1W

2H

0W

1H

D (2); O (4); ) (6); O (8)

O (2); SOE (4); W (6); S (8)

9-04 (2)

Casey

0H

1H

1H

SOE (2); O (4); O (7); O (8)

9-19

O’Connor

0H

1H

0H

HP (2)

10-05

Duffy

1W

2W

1W

HP (1); O (2); S (4); W (6); T (8)

10-13

O’Brien

1H

2H

2H

HP (2); O (3); D (5); O (7)


Table B-5. Discrepancies Between the Pitching Stats from My Research and ICI Pitching Stats for Cy Seymour’s Games (1900)

Date

Player

(or Seymour IP)

Discrepancies

Details

MR

ICI

PBP

5-28

Williams

Wagner

0H

1W

2H

2W

0H

1W

HP (4); O (6); O (8)

HP (4); O (4); W (6); O (8)

9-12 (1)

Strang

McCormick

1H

1W

0H

0W

0H

1W

S (9)

W (8); O (9)

9-24

(Seymour IP)

0.1

1.0

0.1

NOTE [4]

9-26

(Seymour IP)

Freeman

7.2

2H

8.0

1H

7.2

1H

NOTE [5]

S (1); S (4); W (5); SOE (8)


NOTES for Tables B-1 through B-5 

[1] 5-06-1897: The ICI sheets show 7.2 IP for Seymour. According to the text descriptions given in the relevant newspaper articles, Seymour actually had 7.0 IP. Here is the pertinent information:

Brooklyn Daily Eagle — “[Manager] Joyce also presented a youngster in the person of Cy Seymour after the third.”

Brooklyn Standard Union — “Cy Seymour took Clarke’s place in the box in the fourth inning and held the visitors down to two runs [scored in the ninth inning].”

Brooklyn Times Union — “The Giants’ southpaw [Seymour] took Clarke’s place on the slab in the fourth inning.”

New York Times — “Cy Seymour took Clarke’s place in the box in the fourth inning and held the visitors down to two runs [scored in the ninth inning].”

New York World — “By this time [i.e., at the conclusion of the third inning] Manager Joyce was satisfied that Clarke was not in invincible form, and the crowd cheered madly when the little boyish figure of Cy Seymour meandered towards the pitcher’s box at the opening of the fourth inning.”

New York Evening Post — “Clarke pitched his first game for the New Yorks this season, and after having been batted all over the field in the first three innings, was excused, and Seymour took his place.”

[2] 5-26-1898: The ICI sheets show 4.0 IP for Seymour. According to the text descriptions given in the relevant newspaper articles, Seymour actually had 3.0 IP. Here’s the pertinent information:

New York Evening Journal — “Fourth Inning [TOP] — Grady marched to first on a quad of misfits. Seymour was sent to the bench in disgrace, and Warner batted in his place. Warner forced Grady, and was himself doubled, Steinfeldt, McPhee, and Beckley participating in the play. … [BOTTOM] — Gettig replaced Seymour [in the pitcher’s box], and Grady gave way to Warner behind the bat, and Grady took charge of first mound.”

New York Sun — “In the fourth, the New Yorks presented a changed front. Gettig went into the box, Joyce covered second, and Warner donned the mask and wind pad, and Grady went to first.”

New York Times — Sub-Headline — “Getting Pitched Six Innings” [It is pointed out that Gettig actually pitched only 5 innings since Cincinnati did not bat in the bottom of the 9th inning because they were ahead.] — “Seymour was found for eleven hits and eleven runs in three innings today. Gettig relieved him and did much better.”

New York Tribune — “Seymour was not himself, and was batted for eleven hits and as many runs in the first three innings. He was ordered out of the box by Manager Joyce, and Gettig was sent in to pitch, Warner coming in to catch, Joyce going to second base, and Grady to first base.”

Cincinnati Enquirer — “In three innings they [the Cincinnatis] made 11 hits and 11 runs off Seymour, but were only able to get one run and three hits in the succeeding five innings of Cy’s successor.”

[3] 6-22-1898: The ICI sheets show 8.0 IP for Seymour as the starting pitcher throwing a complete game. According to the text descriptions given in the relevant newspaper articles, Seymour actually had 7.2 IP as a relief pitcher. Here’s the pertinent information:

New York Evening Journal — “First Inning [TOP] — Donovan landed on the sphere with a mighty swing, lamming it to [the] right patch for three-quarters of the circuit. [Starting pitcher] Gettig had difficulty locating the platter and O’Brien walked down the aisle. … [With one out, umpire] Cushman ordered [Manager, first baseman] Joyce from the game for questioning his decision on Gray. Gettig was shifted to the initial cushion and Seymour went out to pitch. Tannehill placed the pellet in Hartman’s glove and Bowerman perished.”

New York Sun — “Seymour, who took Gettig’s place in the first inning after the benching of Joyce, which necessitated a change in the team, was a mystery to the Pirates, [and] prevented them from scoring until the eighth.”

New York Times — Sub-Headline — “Gettig Was An Easy Mark” — Sub Sub-Headline — “He Was Relieved by Seymour Too Late to Save the Game” — “Manager Anson sent Gettig against the Pittsburgs, but Gettig had to be relieved by Seymour in the first inning.”

New York Tribune — “Gettig lasted one-half [should be one third] of an inning and was replaced by Seymour after Pittsburg had won the game.”

Pittsburg Press — “… Joyce, Anson, and others abused [umpire] Cushman, with the result that Joyce was put out of the game, Gettig going to first and Seymour to the rubber.”

Pittsburg Post — “The spectators began to yell for [manager] Anson [to put himself in the game at first base following the ejection of first baseman Joyce], but that famous individual made a lightening change by sending Gettig to first and placing Seymour on the rubber.”

[4] 9-24-1900: The ICI sheets show 1.0 IP for Seymour as a relief pitcher. According to the text descriptions given in the relevant newspaper articles, Seymour actually had 0.1 IP as a relief pitcher. Here’s the pertinent information:

New York Evening World — “Second Inning [TOP] — Murphy struck out. Grady walked. Seymour was a surprise when he came to the bat in place of Carrick [the starting pitcher]. He hit the first ball pitched for a single, and Van Haltren placed a beauty to centre, scoring Grady. … [BOTTOM] — [With Seymour now pitching] Tenney fouled out to Grady, and Collins walked. He went to third on a passed ball. Freeman hit safely, scoring Collins. Taylor took the slab and Seymour the bench. Lowe walked and Connor and Pittinger struck out.”

Boston Globe — “One inning was enough for Carrick, and Seymour took his place and couldn’t pitch strongly enough to break the frost on a wedding cake. Manager Davis yanked Cy out and turned Taylor loose, who finished the game.”

Boston Herald — “Carrick was taken out in the second and replaced by Seymour. The latter was scarcely in the box before he gave a base on balls and made a wild pitch. That was enough for his sponsors and … Taylor was put in.”

Boston Daily Advertiser — “Seymour found it so hard to get the ball anywhere near the plate that he retired before a single inning had been pitched.”

[5] 9-26-1900: The ICI sheets show 8.0 IP for Seymour as the starting pitcher throwing a complete game. According to the text descriptions given in the relevant newspaper articles, Seymour actually had 7.2 IP as the starting pitcher; he did not have a complete game. Here’s the pertinent information:

New York Evening World — “Eighth Inning [BOTTOM] — Freeman hit to Murphy, who fumbled. Lowe forced Freeman at second. Clarke batted for Connor. Clarke hit to Davis, who tried in vain to catch Lowe at third. Lowe scored and Clarke was forced out at second on Dinneen’s hit to [? — incomplete prepositional phrase]. Hamilton and Long walked. Barry singled, scoring Dinneen and Hamilton. Carrick [should be Mercer] was then put in the box and caught Barry napping at first.”

New York Sun — The text account provides no details about the eighth inning. NOTE — The New York Sun box score shows only Seymour as a pitcher for New York.

New York Times — “Thinking the game was clinched, Capt. Davis substituted Mathewson for Seymour in the fifth inning. His wildness, combined with Boston’s batting, drove him from the box in the eighth inning. Mercer replaced him when it was too late to save the game. NOTE — The New York Times box score shows Seymour, Mathewson, and Mercer as having participated in the game as pitchers. Only one other box score shows Mathewson as a participant in the game (New York Tribune; see below). The Batter-By-Batter Play-By-Play given in the New York Evening World has no mention of Mathewson having played in the game in the fifth inning or any other inning. On the contrary, it is stated that in the top of the fifth inning, “Seymour flied to Tenney [for the third out].” And, in the top of the eighth inning, it is stated that, “Seymour was retired, Tenney to Dinneen [for the second out].”

New York Tribune — “Seymour was retired in the fifth inning and Mathewson took his place. The latter was wild. Mercer relieved Mathewson in the eighth, but the change came too late to do any good.” The New York Tribune box score shows Seymour, Mathewson, and Mercer as having participated in the game as pitchers. Only one other box score shows Mathewson as a participant in the game (New York Times; see above).

Boston Globe — “Bases on balls to Hamilton and Long and Barry’s single to center put the Bostons in the lead, as Dinneen and Hamilton scored. Seymour was then replaced by Mercer and on the first ball pitched Barry tried to steal second and was put out by Davis and Doyle.” NOTE — The Boston Globe box score shows only Seymour as the pitcher; Mercer is not shown as playing in the game; likewise for Garrick.

Boston Herald — “It was not until the Bostons drew two bases on balls and made runs in the eighth inning, enough to put them in the lead, that Manager Davis took Seymour out of the box and substituted Mercer.” NOTE — The Boston Herald box score shows both Seymour and Mercer as pitchers.

Boston Journal — “Bases on balls to Hamilton and Long and a short hit to centre by Barry brought in two more runs. Mercer then went in to pitch, but before he had a chance to do anything Barry was caught between first and second, trying to give Long a chance to score.” NOTE — The Boston Journal box score shows only Seymour as the pitcher; Mercer is not shown as playing in the game; likewise for Garrick.


Example of the Resolution of Discrepancies Between the Stats from My Research and the ICI Stats

The statistical information given in this article was derived by my examination of the game accounts (i.e., text descriptions and box scores) provided in various relevant newspapers (see list below), the ICI statistical information, and the deduced PBP accounts generated by Dick Cramer and/or Cliff Blau.

The ICI (Information Concepts Incorporated) Stats are those which were generated in the creation of The Baseball Encyclopedia (Macmillan, 1969) and subsequently incorporated by Pete Palmer in his data base of baseball statistics, which is utilized on the Baseball Reference, Retrosheet, and MLB websites.

Relevant Newspapers used in this work — those available on newspapers-dot-com and genealogybank-dot-com:

New York — Times, Tribune, Sun, American, Journal, Herald, Post.

Baltimore — Sun

Boston — Globe, Herald, Daily Advertiser, Journal

Brooklyn — Daily Eagle, Times Union, Citizen, Daily Times, Standard Union

Chicago — Tribune, Interocean, Chronicle, Chronicle

Cincinnati — Enquirer, Post

Cleveland — Plain Dealer, Leader

Louisville — Courier-Journal

Philadelphia — Inquirer, Times

Pittsburgh — Post, Press, Post-Gazette

St. Louis — Globe-Democrat, Post-Dispatch

Washington — Post, Times, Evening Star, Times-Herald

9-23-1896 Game [New York at Washington] — The ICI stats give a total of 32 at bats and a total of 3 walks for the 11 players who participated for Washington in the game. According to the box scores provided in the Washington Times and the New York Tribune, the total number of at bats is 31. According to the box score provided in the Washington Post, the total number of at bats is 32. Similarly, the box scores in the Washington Times and the New York Tribune show that Seymour issued 4 walks, while the Washington Post box score shows Seymour with 3 bases on balls issued. The differences are attributable to Cartwright — the Washington Times and New York Tribune box scores show Cartwright with 1 at bat; the Washington Post box score shows Cartwright with 2 at bats. The ICI sheets show Cartwright with 2 at bats and 2 walks. According to my interpretation of the available information, Cartwright had 1 official at bat and 3 walks in his 4 plate appearances.

The discrepancy is likely due to the base on balls Cartwright received in the 4th inning. According to the text description given in the Washington Post, he was picked off first base, effectively rendering his walk a putout. Here’s the text description of the 4th inning given in the Washington Post — “O’Brien and Brown were victims of left-handed deception. They fanned out. Cartwright walked and was caught in a trance off Beckley’s base.” The 3 walks issued to Washington’s batters were, according to the ICI stats, received by Cartwright (2) and Lush. According to my interpretation of the information, Cartwright received 3 walks — in the second inning, in the fifth inning, and in the 8th inning; see below for complete details.

The box scores in the Washington and New York newspapers do not identify the players who received walks; they merely state the number of walks issued by each pitcher. Thus, for example, the Washington Times and New York Tribune box scores have “First base on balls — off Seymour, 4.” However, in contrast, the Washington Post box score has “First base on balls — off Seymour, 3.”

Significantly, the Boston Globe box score identifies the players who received walks: “First base on balls, by Seymour, Cartwright 3, Lush.”

The following Tables (BEX-1 through BEX-7) collect the relevant statistical information (AB, H, TB, W, HBP, SH, and FBOE — First Base On Errors) for each Washington player who participated in this game.

Explanatory Information for the Tables BEX-1 through BEX-7:

The codes for the newspapers are: (a) Washington — Post (WP), Evening Star (WES), Times (WT); (b) New York — Times (NYT), Sun (NYS), Journal (NYJ), Tribune (NYB), World (NYW); Boston — Globe (BG).

The ICI column gives the ICI stats.

The PBP column gives the stats provided in the deduced PBP generated by Dick Cramer.

A zero (0) entry is indicated by a dash (—). Thus, for example, King had zero (0) at bats in the game; this is indicated by a dash (—). Analogously, the box score in the Washington Evening Star did not include at bats; thus the entire column is blank. King was not included in the BG box score; his AB cell is left blank.

A blank cell or column indicates that the player was not included in the box score or the category was not included in the box score. Thus, for example, King was not included in the box scores in the Washington Evening Star, the New York World, and the Boston Globe.

The players who received bases on balls were identified in only the Boston Globe box score.

The only box scores that provided AB information are the WP, WT, NYB, and BG.


Table BEX-1 — AB for Each Washington Player in September 23, 1896 Game

Player (#)

ICI

Newspaper Box Score Information

PBP

WP

WES

WT

NYT

NYS

NYJ

NYB

NYW

BG

Lush (1)

3

3

 

3

     

3

 

3

3

DeMontreville (2)

4

4

 

4

     

3

 

4

4

Selbach (3)

3

3

 

3

     

3

 

3

3

McGuire (4)

4

4

 

4

     

4

 

4

4

Smith (5)

4

4

 

4

     

4

 

4

4

O’Brien (6)

4

4

 

4

     

4

 

4

4

Brown (7)

4

4

 

4

     

4

 

4

4

Cartwright (8)

2

2

 

1

     

1

 

1

2

Norton (9)

3

3

 

3

     

3

 

3

3

     Farrell (9)

1

1

 

1

     

1

 

1

1

     King (9)

 

 

     

     

TOTAL

32

32

 

31

     

31

 

31

32

Table BEX-2 — H for Each Washington Player in September 23, 1896 Game

Player (#)

ICI

Newspaper Box Score Information

PBP

WP

WES

WT

NYT

NYS

NYJ

NYB

NYW

BG

Lush (1)

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

DeMontreville (2)

2

2

2

3

1

1

1

1

2

2

3

Selbach (3)

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

McGuire (4)

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

Smith (5)

O’Brien (6)

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

Brown (7)

Cartwright (8)

Norton (9)

     Farrell (9)

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

     King (9)

 

     

TOTAL

8

8

9

10

8

8

8

9

9

9

10


Table BEX-3 — TB for Each Washington Player in September 23, 1896 Game

Player (#)

ICI

Newspaper Box Score Information

PBP

WP

WES

WT

NYT

NYS

NYJ

NYB

NYW

BG

Lush (1)

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

DeMontreville (2)

5

2

5

6

4

4

4

4

5

5

6

Selbach (3)

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

McGuire (4)

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

Smith (5)

O’Brien (6)

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

Brown (7)

Cartwright (8)

Norton (9)

     Farrell (9)

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

     King (9)

 

     

TOTAL

16

16

17

18

16

16

16

16

17

17

18


Table BEX-4 — W for Each Washington Player in September 23, 1896 Game

Player (#)

ICI

Newspaper Box Score Information

PBP

WP

WES

WT

NYT

NYS

NYJ

NYB

NYW

BG

Lush (1)

1

               

1

1

DeMontreville (2)

               

 

Selbach (3)

               

 

McGuire (4)

               

 

Smith (5)

               

 

O’Brien (6)

               

 

Brown (7)

               

 

Cartwright (8)

2

               

3

2

Norton (9)

               

 

     Farrell (9)

               

 

     King (9)

                   

TOTAL

3

3

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

3


Table BEX-5 — HBP for Each Washington Player in September 23, 1896 Game

Player (#)

ICI

Newspaper Box Score Information

PBP

WP

WES

WT

NYT

NYS

NYJ

NYB

NYW

BG

Lush (1)

                     

DeMontreville (2)

                     

Selbach (3)

                     

McGuire (4)

                     

Smith (5)

                     

O’Brien (6)

                     

Brown (7)

                     

Cartwright (8)

                     

Norton (9)

                     

     Farrell (9)

                     

     King (9)

                     

TOTAL

 

1

1

1

1

 


Table BEX-6 — SH for Each Washington Player in September 23, 1896 Game

Player (#)

ICI

Newspaper Box Score Information

PBP

WP

WES

WT

NYT

NYS

NYJ

NYB

NYW

BG

Lush (1)

                     

DeMontreville (2)

                     

Selbach (3)

 

1

 

1

1

1

1

1

 

1

1

McGuire (4)

                     

Smith (5)

                     

O’Brien (6)

                     

Brown (7)

                     

Cartwright (8)

                     

Norton (9)

                     

     Farrell (9)

                     

     King (9)

                     

TOTAL

 

1

1

1

1

1

1

 

1

1


Table BEX-7 — FBOE for Each Washington Player in September 23, 1896 Game

Player (#)

ICI

Newspaper Box Score Information

PBP

WP

WES

WT

NYT

NYS

NYJ

NYB

NYW

BG

Lush (1)

                     

DeMontreville (2)

                     

Selbach (3)

                     

McGuire (4)

                     

Smith (5)

                     

O’Brien (6)

                     

Brown (7)

                     

Cartwright (8)

                     

Norton (9)

                     

     Farrell (9)

                     

     King (9)

                     

TOTAL

 

3

 

1

2

2

2

2

 

2

1

Inspection of the Tables BEX-1 through BRX-7 reveals several discrepancies between the various box scores. Thus, DeMontreville is shown 1, 2, or 3 hits — 1 in the NYT, NYS, NYJ, and NYB; 2 in the WP, WES, NYW, and BG; 3 in the WT. Perhaps connected with the discrepancies in hits are the discrepancies in the FBOE stats — 1 (WT); 2 (NYT, NYS, NYJ, NYB, and BG), 3 (WP).

With regard to the bases on balls received by Cartwright, here’s relevant text information:

The Washington Post described the first inning as follows — “Lush singled to left, reached third on a wild pitch and scored on DeMontreville’s out, Seymour to Beckley. Selbach struck out. McGuire singled to left, and was forced by Smith.” Thus, the first three batters in the second inning were O’Brien, Brown, and Cartwright.

For the second inning, the Washington Post game story included this — “Cartwright drew a gift in the second, but was [left] anchored at Beckley’s base.” I interpret “drew a gift” to mean “drew a base on balls.”

As mentioned previously, the Washington Post included this description for the fourth inning — “O’Brien and Brown were victims of left-handed deception. They fanned out. Cartwright walked and was caught in a trance off Beckley’s base.”

Cartwright next batted in the seventh inning, which the Washington Post detailed as follows — “Two were out when Lush came to the bat in the seventh. He lifted the ball into the left field bleachers and swung around the circuit.” Thus, the two players who batted before Lush had been retired. Those two batters were Cartwright and Norton. I interpret “Two were out” to mean that Cartwright was retired in this plate appearance, which is an at bat.

Cartwright’s final plate appearance was in the eighth inning — “McGuire and Smith were put out, the former on a grounder to Joyce and Smith on a fly to Beckley. O’Brien hit the ball to Gleason. It came on an easy bound. Gleason reeled and fell over the ball, a ghastly error that left O’Brien safe at second with Brown in Beckley’s corner. … Cartwright, the next batter to face Seymour was given a base on balls. The bases were filed and Farrell was ordered to bat in Norton’s place.”

Thus, according to my interpretation of the information, Cartwright had 1 at bat (in the 7th inning) and 3 walks (in the 2nd, 4th, and 8th innings). Thus, the total number of at bats by the Washington players was 31.

With regard to the hits surrendered by Seymour, I have chosen 8 — i.e., 2 hits by DeMontreville, but no (0) hits for Selbach. Here’s my rationale (based on text descriptions given in the various newspapers, particularly the Washington newspapers because the game was played in Washington) —

DeMontreville had 4 at bats —

In the 1st inning, he was retired on a ground out (Seymour to Beckley), driving in Lush. [WP]

In the 3rd inning, he got an infield single — “Lush took a walk. DeMontreville hit slowly toward second, and Lush reached second before Davis planted his foot on the base.” [WP]

In the 5th inning, he was safe on a fielding error — “DeMontrevile gave [shortstop] Davis an easy chance on a grounder, but the ball bore under Davis and bounded serenely into the short field.” [WP]

In the 7th inning, he hit a home run — “DeMontreville sent the ball to deep left field for another homer” (i.e., immediately after Lush had homered). [WP]

Selbach had 4 plate appearances —

In the 1st inning, he struck out — “Selbach struck out.” [WP]

In the 3rd inning, he sacrificed — “They [Lush and DeMontrville] moved along on Selbach’s sacrifice.” [WP]

In the 5th inning, he was safe on a fielding error — “Selbach hit to Davis, who juggled the ball, leaving Selbach and DeMontrevile safe at first and second respectively.” [WP]

In the 7th inning, he was retired for the final out — this is my deduction based on the following:

  • There were two outs in the 7th when Selbach stepped into the batter’s box (following the back-to-back homers hit by Lush and DeMontreville (as described above).
  • The 8th inning rally began with the first two batters having been retired — i.e., McGuire and Smith were put out (as already described above).
  • Thus, Selbach must have been the final batter in the 7th inning — he had to have been retired, either as a batter or as base runner after reaching first base. Since none of the newspaper accounts mention anything about Selbach’s performance in the 7th inning, I’ve chosen to have Selbach having been retired as a batter.

That’s my rationale — for DeMontreville and Selbach. For the 3 FBOE plays given in the WP box score, I assigned them to DeMontreville and Selbach in the 5th inning and Brown in the 8th inning. Of course, others, focusing on other box scores, may arrive at different interpretations for DeMontreville and Selbach — and the entire game. The originally-generated official game-by-game stats are no longer extant; only the official full-season statistics remain, since they were reported in The Sporting News, The Sporting Life, and the after-the-season Spalding Base Ball Guide and Reach Base Ball Guide. For his deduced PBP of the game, Dick Cramer chose to credit both DeMontreville and Selbach with hits (singles) in the 5th inning. That’s his prerogative.  As indicated by the various box scores, DeMontreville was credited with either 1, 2, or 3 hits in the game. Similarly, the ICI team that produced the statistics for The (Macmillan) Baseball Encyclopedia (aka “Big-Mac”), credited DeMontreville with 2 hits and Selbach with 1 hit — and Cartwright with 2 at bats and 2 walks.

There are other items that are not yet resolved for this game. For example, according to the box scores in four New York newspapers (NYT, NYS, NYJ, and NYB), one Washington player was hit by a pitched ball by Seymour. However, none of the box scores in the three Washington newspapers show Seymour with any batter hit by a pitched ball. Likewise, for the box score given in the Boston Globe. Perhaps something went awry when the game information was transferred from Washington to New York (probably via telegraph). Neither I nor Dick Cramer assigned an HBP to a Washington player in our deduced PBPs.

Concluding Remarks for Appendix B

A number of discrepancies have been identified in this Appendix. As it has transpired over the 50+ years since Big-Mac was published, it is not unusual for the appearance of reports of discrepancies between the ICI stats and stats generated by carefully scrutinizing the game accounts provided in relevant newspapers — i.e., those newspapers from the cities of the two teams competing in the game. For example, there have been several reports on such discrepancies with the ICI stats in the 19th century and the Deadball Era (1901-1919) for runs batted in — i.e., before RBI became an official stat in 1920. Moreover, the Discrepancy File on the Retrosheet website identifies a vast number of discrepancies for the period from 1915-1919.


Explanatory Information for Appendices C, D, and E

Game-By-Game stats for the 1896 and 1900 seasons are shown in italics and the rows are shaded.

The last row gives the totals for Seymour’s 5 seasons — i.e., 1896-1900. The entries are shown in boldface italics and the row is shaded.

Game-By-Game stats for the 1897-1900 seasons are shown in boldface.

The penultimate row gives the totals for Seymour’s 3 full-time full-season years — i.e., 1897-1899. The entries are shown in boldface.

Click here to scroll back to the top.


Appendix C — Game-By-Game Pitching Stats for Seymour vs. Willie Keeler (1896-1900)

Game

PA

AB

H

D

T

HR

W

HBP

SH

K

9-25-96

4

2

1

1

6-22-97

5

5

1

6-30-97

Did Not Play in the Game

9-22-97

5

5

1

1

1

7-23-98

5

5

3

10-07-98

Did Not Play in the Game

10-11-98 (2)

Did Not Play in the Game

10-12-98 (1)

4

4

3

10-12-98 (2)

Did Not Play in the Game

8-04-99

4

3

2

1

1

9-04-99 (2)

4

3

1

1

10-10-99

4

3

2

1

4-20-00

2

1

1

1897-1899

31

28

13

1

1

3

1

1

1896-1900

37

31

13

1

1

4

1

1

1

Click here to scroll back to the top.


Appendix D — Game-By-Game Pitching Stats for Seymour vs. John McGraw (1896-1900) 

Game

PA

AB

H

D

T

HR

W

HBP

SH

K

9-25-96

4

3

1

6-22-97

5

2

1

2

1

6-30-97

6

3

3

1

9-22-97

5

4

2

1

7-23-98

5

4

1

1

1

10-07-98

4

4

1

1

1

10-11-98 (2)

1

1

10-12-98 (1)

4

4

1

1

10-12-98 (2)

3

2

1

9-09-99 (1)

Did Not Play in the Game

6-07-00

5

1

4

9-10-00

3

2

1

1897-1899

33

24

6

2

6

1

1

3

1896-1900

45

30

6

2

11

2

2

3

Click here to scroll back to the top.


Appendix E — Game-By-Game Pitching Stats for Seymour vs. Ed Delahanty (1896-1900) 

Game

PA

AB

H

D

T

HR

W

HBP

SH

K

4-22-96

3

3

2

1

8-06-97

4

3

1

1

8-17-97

4

4

1

9-29-97

1

1

9-30-97

5

4

2

1

1

1

4-21-98

5

4

1

6-16-98

4

3

1

1

1

9-26-98 (1)

5

4

1

10-03-98

4

3

1

1

1

8-21-99 (1)

5

4

1

9-28-99

4

3

1

1

1897-1899

41

32

6

1

8

1

4

1896-1900

44

35

8

2

8

1

4

 

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