In 1896, Pond started 26 games, in which he compiled a 16-8 with a 3.49 ERA. The Orioles finished the season with the best record in the National League and swept the Cleveland Spiders to win the Temple Cup (Pond did not pitch in the series). In 1897, Hanlon became the first manager to use a four-man starting rotation, which consisted of Pond, Bill Hoffer, Joe Corbett, and Jerry Nops. Pond started 28 games and finished with a career-best record of 18-9 and a 3.52 ERA. During the 1898 season, Pond pitched sparingly. Poor attendance in Baltimore meant that team had to reduce expenses. As a result, Pond was released on June 13, 1898. He was later re-signed by the Orioles and pitched a five-hit shutout against the Philadelphia Phillies. However, Pond could not remain with the team because on July 5, 1898, he had received an appointment as acting assistant surgeon of the United States Army and was ordered to report to Fort Myer the following Saturday. After the Spanish–American War, Pond wanted to return to baseball. In February 1900, he wrote a letter to his old teammate John McGraw, who had taken over as manager of the Orioles, expressing his desire to return to the game. However, Pond would never appear in another major league game. In 1902, while in stationed in Malabon, Pond served as manager of the all-black 25th Infantry Regiment's baseball team. Medical career While in Baltimore, Pond took post-graduate courses at Johns Hopkins University, performed his residency at St. Joseph's Hospital and interned at Baltimore City Hospital. On July 5, 1898, Pond was appointed an acting assistant surgeon of the United States Army. He was sent to the Philippines with the 10th Pennsylvania Regiment. The United States Senate's decision to keep the Philippines as an American colony resulted in a guerilla war with the Filipino nationalists who had been fighting the Spaniards. When his regiment returned to the United States, Pond was ordered to stay in the Philippines with a regiment from Colorado. Pond was later assigned to the 4th Infantry Division. On July 2, 1900, Pond married Elizabeth Gambrill in Rutland. By 1902, the United States had suppressed the efforts of the Filipino nationalists. The United States Government in the Philippines, led by Governor-General William Howard Taft, then began working on to stop the spread of disease on the islands, including bubonic plague,