point, but finished second to the Chicago White Stockings, who finished with a record of 87–25. Welch had negotiated a clause in his contract, beginning in 1884, that prevented the team from pitching him more than every other day. After the 1885 season, Welch was one of nine Giants players to form baseball's first union, which was known as the Brotherhood of Professional Base Ball Players. The players were upset about the way they had been treated by baseball owners. The reserve clause, which restricted player movement and tempered increases in player salaries, had been instituted in 1880. The union spent the next several years recruiting new members and talking about the cause of player salaries. Though Welch was still an active player, he began saving money with the goal of opening a hotel. In 1886, Welch won 33 games, which was second on the Giants to Keefe's 44 victories. Despite this win total from Welch and Keefe, the team fell to third place in the league. Though they enjoyed a 47–12 record at the Polo Grounds, they were 28–32 while on the road that year. As Keefe and Welch were so overworked by 1887, the Giants picked up young pitchers Bill George and Ledell Titcomb, but both of them struggled and the Giants finished fourth. Later career On September 10, 1889, he is credited as having become the first pinch hitter in major league history; he batted for Hank O'Day and struck out. Conventional wisdom indicates that this must have been an injury situation since a rule allowing pinch hitters in non-injury situations was not instituted until 1892. The first pinch-hitter under that rule is generally agreed to be Jack Doyle‚ on June 7‚ 1892. The Giants won the 1889 World Series, but morale was low on the club. Relationships had become strained between players and owners across the league. The league was planning to implement a system of player ratings which would be used to determine player salaries. Welch and the other members of the Brotherhood were outraged by such a system and they began to plan a new baseball league, inviting players to join even if they were not Brotherhood members. The new eight-team league became known as the Players' League. Before the Players' League began its season in 1890, Welch realized that he was coming to the end of his playing career. Saying that he was