The Hitters
Two of the surprise performers in the tournament thus far, Charlie Keller and Hall-of-Famer John McGraw have the top two seeds in this season. They’ll face HOFers Harmon Killebrew, and Max Carey, as well as Bob Johnson, John Kruk, George Foster, and Chuck Knoblauch. Given this lineup, I expect both power and speed. The top four finishers move on to Round 7.
Learn more about the Round 5 pitchers
Charlie Keller Round One S19 Round Two Round 3 S43 Round 4 | W – L 97-57 BYE 108-46 BYE | ![]() |
John McGraw Round One S2 Round Two Round 3 S55 Round 4 | W – L 105-49 BYE 95-59 BYE | ![]() |
Bob Johnson Round One S40 Round Two Round 3 S38 Round 4 | W – L 85-69 BYE 86-68 BYE | ![]() |
Harmon Killebrew Round One S25 Round Two Round 3 S38 Round 4 | W – L 81-73 BYE 86-68 BYE | ![]() |
John Kruk Round One S36 Round Two Round 3 S10 Round 4 | W – L 79-75 BYE 77-77 BYE | ![]() |
George Foster Round One S54 Round Two Round 3 S49 Round 4 S16 | W – L 77-77 BYE 74-80 BYE | ![]() |
Max Carey Round One S71 Round Two Round 3 S1 Round 4 S17 | W – L 88-66 BYE 70-84 80-74 | ![]() |
Chuck Knoblauch Round One S31 Round Two Round 3 S61 Round 4 S17 | W – L 76-78 BYE 65-89 80-74 | ![]() |
The Results

It was a tough battle but McGraw held on to first despite losing his last 4 games. His lead was too large for the surging Charlie Keller nine to catch. The Big Red Machine’s George Foster acquitted himself well and is joined by Bob Johnson as they journey directly to Round 7. The others try their fortune in the Round 6 elimination seasons.

Season Highlights
- John McGraw showed he wasn’t just one of the all-time great managers, leading all teams with an even .300 batting average, over 30 points ahead of the second-place Keller and Kruk. McGraw7 led the individual batters and 4 other McGraws were the only hitters to finish above .300.
- The McGraw squad also played to type, drawing plenty of walks and having 6 batters with .400+ OBP.
- Killebrew99 led the league lead in homers with 41.
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- In a 27-inning marathon – enough for THREE games – Chuck Knoblauch outlasted John Kruk 7-6. I’ve included the box score below; check out that relief pitching! Bob Caruthers5 pitched 9 1/3 shutout innings before letting the winning run score and Frank Killen2 did himself proud with 10 innings of shutout ball.
- The next night, Max Carey embarrassed George Foster with a 20-1 drubbing.
- Two Charlie Kellers and Killebrew3 had 3-HR games. George Foster5 did it twice.
- In a 17-2 slaughter of John Kruk, Keller5 and Keller99 each had 7 RBIs.
- Knoblach8 had 6 stolen bases in a game.
No-Hitters
None
