Two Giants

by David Marasco

At the dawn of baseball the Giants had a pair of hurlers who dominated the game. They formed a one-two punch that pitched its way into the Hall of Fame. Mathewson and McGinnity? They were pretty good, but not the topic of this discussion. The Giants rode the arms of Tim Keefe and Smiling Mickey Welch.

The story begins not in New York City, but in Troy. In 1880 Troy had a National League franchise in a circuit that also included Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Providence and Worcester. Baseball was very different. At the time the mound was only 45 feet from the plate. Cap Anson instituted the game's first pitching rotation by hiring two pitchers rather than just going with one man. Eight balls were required for a walk. That year the Haymakers had a pair of rookies for their pitching chores. Mickey Welch took a majority of the work, starting and completing 64 games. He notched an amazing 574 innings, no doubt assisted by the fact that only underhand pitching was legal. Mickey finished with a 34-30 record with a 2.54 ERA. He had a secret weapon - he is said to be the inventor of the screwball. Tim Keefe came in later in the season and got into only 12 games, but posted a 0.86 ERA. This was a sign of things to come.

In 1881 the mound was moved to 50 feet. Welch and Keefe switched roles. Keefe this year pitched more innings, recording over 400. Unfortunately he would end the year at 19-27. Welch, probably feeling the effects of his overwork the year before, could only toss 368 innings, finishing 20-18. 1882 was a bad year for baseball in Troy. With the American Association looming large as competition for the National League, the powers that be decided it was high time to expand to the nation's largest city, New York. This was done at the cost of the struggling Troy franchise. Only 25 people showed up for the Haymaker's final game. Keefe and Welch had combined for 110 wins between 1880 and 1882, and now they were headed for New York.

But not for the same team! John B. Day was the man who promised to bring baseball to New York. He did, but not in the way that the National League bosses had planned. In 1883 Day entered the New York Gothams into the National League and the New York Mets into the American Association. He took the roster from the old Troy franchise and placed the talent on both of his new teams. The Gothams received Welch who in 1883 topped 400 innings for 27 wins and a 2.73 ERA. He became the first of many great New York pitchers to post a win in the Polo Grounds. Keefe dominated the AA with 41 wins and a 2.41 ERA. He led the league with 619 innings pitched, 68 starts (all completed) and 361 strikeouts.

The next year Keefe won 37 games to take the Mets to the AA pennant, New York's first baseball title. He fell just short of 500 innings with a 2.29 ERA. Welch would win almost two games for every loss, 39-21 with a 2.50 ERA. In one game Mickey struck out the first nine men he faced. Both had great years, but the best was yet to come.

John Day decided to open the 1885 season with a stacked team. He looted his Mets team to the advantage of his National League franchise, now known as the Giants. Not only were Welch and Keefe reunited, but also Hall-of-Famers Roger Conner, John Montgomery Ward, Buck Ewing, and Jim O'Rourke were regular players. Mickey Welch had completed his last 105 starts and was a little worried about his arm. He went to management and got a special clause inserted into his contract: He was promised that he would not have to pitch in more than one game every two days. The fresh arm and the overhand pitch carried him to a 17-game winning streak and an amazing 44-11 record with a 1.66 ERA, good for second in the league. Keefe stayed with what made him great, the underhand pitch. He ended the year at 32-13, leading the league with a 1.58 ERA. Just as Welch had the first screwball, Keefe pioneered the changeup. Not only that, but Keefe was the first to throw all of his pitches with the same motion. That is one of the reasons he had 6 straight 30+ win seasons in the 1880's. The 1885 team would finish at 85-27, but finish second to Chicago.

1886 was an off year for the duo's ERA, but each finished with 500+ innings. Keefe notched 42 wins to lead the league and Welch would crank out 23 victories. The Giants would finish a disappointing third. The next year they would fade to fourth featuring 35 wins from Keefe and 23 from Welch.

Both men were nearing the end of their careers as the 1890's approached. Year after year of 500 innings will take its toll on an arm, even if it is allowed a day of rest. But in 1888 the pair put it together one last time for a run at the National League title. Not only did they take the pennant, but when they defeated the AA's St. Louis Browns the Giants had won New York's first World title. Tim Keefe would hold out at the beginning of the season for the princely sum of $4,000. He was worth every penny as he put together a 19-game winning streak on his way to a 35-12 year. Once again he took the ERA crown with a 1.74 mark. He completed all 51 of his starts. Welch was winding down with a 26-19 record, but his 1.93 ERA was good enough for fourth in the NL.

1889 saw baseball use 4 balls for a walk and 3 strikes for an out. These numbers had bounced around for most of Keefe and Welch's careers, but since 1889 they have remained unchanged. That year would see another historic first. The Giants took the pennant on the final day of the year and faced the Brooklyn team for the World title. Giant fans will be happy to learn that the Giants took the series. Welch would have his last 20-win year at 27-12. Keefe would hold out at the beginning of the year, and with a final record of 28-13 that probably cost him his 7th straight 30 win season. Shed no tears for Tim, he became the first man to pass up 2000 strike outs and posted his third 300 strikeout season, a feat rarely repeated in the history of baseball.

1890 was a bad year for the Giants. Most of the team jumped their contracts for Buck Ewing's New York Giants in the Player's League. Keefe was one of these players, going 17-11 in the other league. Welch couldn't take up the slack, going only 18-13. The next year the Player's League collapsed and the New York team was swallowed back into the Giants. But the reunion of Keefe and Welch didn't return the magic. Welch would go 6-9 in 1891 and play in only one game in 1892. Keefe would play 8 games for the Giants in 1891 before being shipped off to Philadelphia. He would win another 33 games over the next three years, but was a hollow shell of his former self.

Keefe and Welch spent most of their careers with the Giants. They came up with Troy, which was the fore-runner of the Giants. Keefe pitched for the AA's Mets and the PL's Giants, two teams that due to their ownership and rosters could be reasonably taken under the umbrella of Giants baseball. Welch would post 307 wins, good enough for 18th all-time. Keefe had 342, placing him 8th. Counting wins in the Mets and PL Giants uniform, Keefe had 309 wins as a Giant, two more than his partner. They stand behind on Christy Mathewson who posted 372 wins in the orange and black. These three men combined won 988 games for one franchise, a number not approached by any other team.