New York GIANTS: What is the Key to Their Success?

March 5, 1908
The New York Giants seem eager to win yet another game here in 1908, and it seems very likely that they have quite a chance. It was not always this way though, because several years ago they did not have this same confidence and they did not have a winning streak. The team is led by a man by the name of John J. McGraw. In 1904 the Giants obtained 2 National League (NL) titles, and in 1905, they won the World Series. However, in 1900 and 1902 they came in eighth place and last in the National League. In 1901 they did slightly better, but not by a lot when they got second to last in the NL. There are two pitchers on the Giants team, one is named Joe McGinnity, but the more memorable player who contributed more to the team is a young man by the name of Christopher Mathewson. His nickname is “Sixer” because of his height of 6’2. He was 19 years old, going on 20, and was an amazing pitcher when he started pitching in 1900. He can strike out many people who are professionals and who were a lot older than him. He has 4 major pitches: the incredibly fast fastball, the big curve, the change of pace, and a new pitch that no one has ever seen before, which he like to call his fadeaway pitch, which we now call the screwball. Many people truly believe that he is the best pitcher of all time, and this might be true, seeing as how well he is doing as a pitcher.

A man named George Stovey tried to join the Giants, but he was rejected by another man named Adrian Anson. George Stovey probably had great potential as a baseball player, but the reason he was rejected was because he was black. Soon after his rejection, many more blacks decided to form a baseball club of their own, and became very experienced and were better than some professionals.

The Yankees: The First Seven Years

July 3, 1910
The Yankees first started on January 9, 1903 when Frank Farrell and Bill Devery bought the useless Baltimore franchise for $18,000 and started the team in Manhattan. From 1903 to 1910, the Yankees best season was 1904, where they had 92 wins, and only 59 losses. It is a good thing when a team has more wins than losses, but it is embarrassing if a team’s amount of wins is less than half of that of a team’s losses. The Yankees worst season was in 1908, where their wins were 51, but their losses were 103. This was by far their worst season, and they had more than twice the amount of losses than wins. Their first game that they played was on April 22, 1903. They lost this game, however, in a 3-1 loss against Washington. The next day the Yankees played Washington again, and won 7-2.

The Yankees were not actually called the Yankees at first; they were called the Highlanders and they played on Hilltop Park, which was made of wood and could seat 10,000 people. Their first coach was named Clark Griffith who also played as a pitcher and won 14 games for them in 1903. Their first year they came up in fourth place, and the next year they came in second, eventhough they played well. Soon the Highlanders would evolve into a better, more organized team and be one of the most successful.