Mordecai Brown by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview

Mordecai Brown

Page 27

Downstairs, the landlady is arguing with a tenant about late rent. The smell of boiled cabbage drifts up the stairwell. Brown exhales slowly.

Tomorrow he’ll throw early, before the sun gets high. He’ll find the feel of the ball again. He always does. The world may see a man with a mangled hand, but he knows what that hand can do when the seams catch just right.

He turns down the lamp, listens to the city settle into its nighttime hum, and lets the day finally loosen its grip.

After the 1903 season, Brown and catcher Jack O’Neill were traded to the Chicago Cubs, the team Brown beat in his rookie appearance and the team for which he would set records that have not been broken to date. The Cardinals received veteran pitcher Jack Taylor, who was suspected of throwing games, and rookie catcher Larry McLean. The Cardinals, being the last place team, were probably desperate for an experienced pitcher, and Brown had not yet proven himself. It was the Cubs, however, who benefited the most by the trade because Brown had his greatest years while pitching for Chicago, and that he was simply better.

Age 26, Brown posted a league eighth lowest 2.60 ERA over 201 innings for a terrible, last place Cardinals team that finished