It was the year of the Miracle Braves, as manager George Stallings embarked on a remarkable set of platooning, which had been tried in small amounts but never in this kind of volume. Stallings did the kind of juggling job Casey Stengel would later become famous for, although Stallings had fewer people to juggle. Only three players, Rabbit Maranville, Johnny Evers, and 1B Butch Schmidt, played every day. Career years from some pitchers completed the Miracle, and the Braves then swept the mighty A's in the World Series. New York ran second, and St. Louis improved all the way to third. Chicago was fourth. Brooklyn, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Cincinnati trailed.
Statistical leaderboard: Jake Daubert led the league with a .329 average, followed by Beals Becker at .325. Casey Stengel led in on-base, Sherry Magee in slugging, and Gavy Cravath in OPS. George Burns led with 100 runs scored and 62 steals, Magee with 171 hits, 39 doubles, and 103 RBI, and Cravath with 19 homers. Magee led in runs created, Joe Connolly in OPS+.
Pete Alexander led in wins with 27 and strikeouts with 214. Bill James, Dick Rudolph, and Jeff Tesreau each won 26. Bill Doak posted a 1.72 ERA to take honors there. James posted a 1.90 mark, Jeff Pfeffer 1.97. Tesreau struck out 189. Tesreau had eight shutouts, Alexander 32 complete games.
Win Shares leaderboard:
Players; George Burns (New York) 31, Sherry Magee (Philadelphia) 29, Gavy Cravath (Philadelphia) 28, Tommy Leach (Chicago) 27, Zack Wheat (Brooklyn) 26, Joe Connolly and Johnny Evers (Boston) 25, Rabbit Maranville (Boston) and Vic Saier (Chicago) 24.
Pitchers; Bill James (Boston) 36, Dick Rudolph (Boston) 29, Jeff Pfeffer (Brooklyn), Jeff Tesreau (New York) and Pete Alexander (Philadelphia) 26, Slim Sallee (St. Louis) 25, Bill Doak (St. Louis) 24.
WARP3: Burns 6.8 (best year), Wheat 6.5, Heinie Groh (Cincinnati) 5.5, Miller Huggins (St. Louis) 5.1, Magee 5.0, Maranville 4.2, Connolly (career year), Dots Miller (St. Louis) and Jake Daubert (Brooklyn) 4.1, Art Fletcher (New York) 4.0, Leach (the last good year of a long career), Saier, and Honus Wagner (Pittsburgh) 3.9, Cravath 3.6.
Pitchers: Alexander 11.1, James (his only good year) and Erskine Mayer (Philadelphia) 8.6, Pfeffer 7.6 (rookie, best year), Rudolph 7.0, Tesreau 6.5, Sallee 6.1, Doak 4.9, Babe Adams (Pittsburgh) 4.4, Bob Harmon (Pittsburgh) 4.1.
WAR leaders, position players: Burns 7.8, Magee 6.3, Herzog 6.2, Wheat 5.9, Cravath, Maranville, and Evers, 5.5, Huggins 5.4, Saier 5.2, Smith 5.0. Pitchers: James 7.4, Alexander 7.0, Pfeffer 6.9, Rudolph 5.9, Doak 4.9, Sallee and Tesreau 4.8, Mayer 4.7, Adams 3.6, Perrit 3.4.
Award Voting (MVP top 10):
Place Name Team 1st place Points
1 Johnny Evers BSN 0 50
2 Rabbit Maranville BSN 0 44
3 Bill James BSN 0 33
4 George Burns NYG 0 31
5 Dots Miller STL 0 18
6 Jeff Tesreau NYG 0 15
7 Sherry Magee PHI 0 14
7 Dick Rudolph BSN 0 14
9 Zack Wheat BRO 0 10
10 Pete Alexander PHI 0 9
You can tell the shock at the Miracle Braves: the top 3 in the MVP voting came from Boston.
Top player: George Burns was the best overall player in the league, leading in runs and steals and 3rd in doubles. At the time, I would have been tempted to select a Boston player, but Connolly was a platoon player, Evers and Maranville didn't hit enough. I'd have to put Sherry Magee 2nd, Zack Wheat 3rd, Gavy Cravath 4th and Johnny Evers 5th.
Top pitcher: Pete Alexander at the beginning of his run as top NL pitcher. It's tempting to pick James or even Rudolph, but Alexander was better. James would rank #2, Jeff Pfeffer #3, Dick Rudolph #4, and Jeff Tesreau #5. The Braves triumph was a true team effort, which is why the true honor to bestow is...
Top manager: George Stallings. He used platooning like no one had before, and got a couple of career years that the Boston Braves rode to the World Championship.
Top rookie was pitcher Jeff Pfeffer, not the same as the earlier Big Jeff Pfeffer.
27 July 2007
1914 Federal League
Here come the Feds! They burst onto the scene in 8 cities; Baltimore, Brooklyn, Buffalo, Chicago, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Pittsburgh and St. Louis. They were well-financed, built new ballparks, and posed a threat to the status quo. Of course, the AL and NL attempted to circle the wagons. With an economic downturn, the Feds lasted only two years, but they shook things up. Indianapolis won the pennant in a close race with Chicago; Baltimore and Buffalo were not far behind.
Statistical leaderboard: Benny Kauff led the league in hitting at .370, with Steve Evans second at .348. Evans led in slugging, Kauff in on-base and OPS. Kauff led in most categories, including runs (120), hits (211), doubles (44), and steals (75). Frank LaPorte of Indianapolis had 107 RBI. Claude Hendrix led the league with 29 wins and a 1.69 ERA, while Cy Falkenberg led in strikeouts with 236.
Win Shares leaderboard; Players--Benny Kauff (Indianapolis) 38, Steve Evans (Brooklyn) and Bill Kenworthy (Kansas City) 30, Charlie Hanford (Brooklyn) and Dutch Zwilling (Chicago) 29, Art Wilson (Chicago) 27, Doc Crandall (St. Louis) 26. Pitchers--Claude Hendrix (Chicago) 37, Cy Falkenberg (Indianapolis) 34, Jack Quinn (Baltimore) 32, Russ Ford (Buffalo) 29, George Suggs (Baltimore) 28.
WARP3: Wilson 6.2 (career year), Kauff 5.6, Evans 4.2, Kenworthy 3.9, Ed Lennox (Pittsburgh) 3.1. Pitchers, Suggs 7.6, Quinn 7.4, Hendrix 6.8, Falkenberg 6.7, Ford 5.5.
WAR leaders, position players: Kauff 11.1, Zwilling 7.7, Kenworthy 7.5, Evans 7.4, Wilson 6.8, Lennox 6.5, McKechnie 6.1, Wickland 6.0. Pitchers: Falkenberg 9.3, Hendrix 9.2, Ford 7.5, Quinn 6.9, Suggs 6.6, Krapp 5.7, Lafitte 5.4, Watson 5.2.
Most FL players had little careers in the majors, or were much better in the FL than in the AL or NL. It was really a marginal major league.
Best player: Benny Kauff. Propelled Indy to the pennant. Led the league in OPS, runs, hits, doubles, and steals. Steve Evans, a strong hitter but poor defender, #2, with Kenworthy #3, Wilson #4, and Zwilling #5.
Best pitcher: Claude Hendrix. The major league vet led the league in wins (29) and ERA (1.69). Falkenberg #2 and Quinn #3, Russ Ford #4, George Suggs #5.
Best rookie: Max Flack hit .247 in 134 games for Chicago.
Best manager: Bill Phillips of Indianapolis for guiding his team to the pennant.
Statistical leaderboard: Benny Kauff led the league in hitting at .370, with Steve Evans second at .348. Evans led in slugging, Kauff in on-base and OPS. Kauff led in most categories, including runs (120), hits (211), doubles (44), and steals (75). Frank LaPorte of Indianapolis had 107 RBI. Claude Hendrix led the league with 29 wins and a 1.69 ERA, while Cy Falkenberg led in strikeouts with 236.
Win Shares leaderboard; Players--Benny Kauff (Indianapolis) 38, Steve Evans (Brooklyn) and Bill Kenworthy (Kansas City) 30, Charlie Hanford (Brooklyn) and Dutch Zwilling (Chicago) 29, Art Wilson (Chicago) 27, Doc Crandall (St. Louis) 26. Pitchers--Claude Hendrix (Chicago) 37, Cy Falkenberg (Indianapolis) 34, Jack Quinn (Baltimore) 32, Russ Ford (Buffalo) 29, George Suggs (Baltimore) 28.
WARP3: Wilson 6.2 (career year), Kauff 5.6, Evans 4.2, Kenworthy 3.9, Ed Lennox (Pittsburgh) 3.1. Pitchers, Suggs 7.6, Quinn 7.4, Hendrix 6.8, Falkenberg 6.7, Ford 5.5.
WAR leaders, position players: Kauff 11.1, Zwilling 7.7, Kenworthy 7.5, Evans 7.4, Wilson 6.8, Lennox 6.5, McKechnie 6.1, Wickland 6.0. Pitchers: Falkenberg 9.3, Hendrix 9.2, Ford 7.5, Quinn 6.9, Suggs 6.6, Krapp 5.7, Lafitte 5.4, Watson 5.2.
Most FL players had little careers in the majors, or were much better in the FL than in the AL or NL. It was really a marginal major league.
Best player: Benny Kauff. Propelled Indy to the pennant. Led the league in OPS, runs, hits, doubles, and steals. Steve Evans, a strong hitter but poor defender, #2, with Kenworthy #3, Wilson #4, and Zwilling #5.
Best pitcher: Claude Hendrix. The major league vet led the league in wins (29) and ERA (1.69). Falkenberg #2 and Quinn #3, Russ Ford #4, George Suggs #5.
Best rookie: Max Flack hit .247 in 134 games for Chicago.
Best manager: Bill Phillips of Indianapolis for guiding his team to the pennant.
1914 American League
Philadelphia won the pennant, their fourth in five years. In the World Series, they got swept by the "Miracle Braves." The Red Sox were a strong second in the AL, but they were the only other really good team. Washington and Detroit were a little over .500, St. Louis, Chicago and New York were a bit below. Cleveland occupied the basement. This was the first year of the rival Federal League, and salaries began to skyrocket as the Feds made offers to lure stars over. Some teams lost significant talent, others traded valuable players rather than lose them.
Statistical leaderboard: Ty Cobb led in the percentage categories, but lost a lot of time to injuries. He batted .368 to Eddie Collins' .344. Tris Speaker and Joe Jackson were at .338. Collins led with 122 runs, Speaker with 193 hits and 46 doubles, Sam Crawford with 26 triples and 104 RBI, Fritz Maisel with 74 steals.
Walter Johnson led in strikeouts with 225, and with 28 wins, as Stan Coveleski was second with 22. Dutch Leonard posted the all-time low, a 0.96 ERA. Rube Foster was second at 1.70. Johnson also led with 33 complete games, 9 shutouts, and 372 innings.
Win Shares leaderboard:
Players; Tris Speaker (Boston) 45, Eddie Collins (Philadelphia) 43, Frank Baker (Philadelphia) 35, Sam Crawford (Detroit) 31, Tilly Walker (St. Louis) 28, Ty Cobb (Detroit) and Del Pratt (St. Louis) 26, Eddie Murphy (Philadelphia) and Eddie Foster (St. Louis) 23, Donie Bush (Detroit) 22.
Pitchers; Walter Johnson (Washington) 38, Dutch Leonard (Boston) 29, Carl Weilman (St. Louis) 24, Harry Coveleski (Detroit) 23, Ray Caldwell (New York) and Earl Hamilton (St. Louis) 22.
WARP3: Speaker 10.2, Collins 8.1, Crawford 6.9, Baker 6.1 (last year before his first career interruption), Walker 6.0 (best year), Bush 5.6, Pratt 5.1, Cobb 4.7 (he played only 98 games), Wally Schang (Philadelphia) 4.1, Ray Schalk (Chicago) 3.9.
Pitchers; Johnson 13.3, Leonard 8.2 (best year, his 0.96 ERA season), Caldwell 6.4, Bill Steen (Cleveland) 6.1, Coveleski 6.0, Weilman 5.9, Hamilton 4.7 (best year), Chief Bender (Philadelphia) 4.5, Ray Fisher (New York) 4.4, Rube Bressler (Philadelphia) and Eddie Cicotte (Chicago) 4.2.
WAR, position players: Speaker 9.3, Collins 8.5, Baker 6.4, Crawford 5.8, Walker 5.2, Bush 5.1, Jackson 4.3, Pratt 3.9, Moriarty 3.6, Gandil 3.4. Pitchers: Johnson 9.9, Leonard 7.9, Caldwell and Weilman 5.4, Coveleski 4.1, Fisher and Hamilton 3.8, Bender 3.7, Bressler 3.5, Steen 3.2.
Award voting:
MVP
Place Name 1st Place Team Points
1 Eddie Collins PHA 7 63
2 Sam Crawford DET 0 35
3 Frank Baker PHA 0 17
3 Donie Bush DET 0 17
5 Joe Jackson CLE 0 15
6 Ray Schalk CHW 0 13
7 Eddie Foster WSH 0 11
7 Stuffy McInnis PHA 0 11
7 Buck Weaver CHW 0 11
10 Del Pratt SLB 0 10
10 Wally Schang PHA 0 10
12 Tris Speaker BOS 0 9
12 Tilly Walker SLB 0 9
14 Ty Cobb DET 0 7
14 Everett Scott BOS 0 7
16 Jack Barry PHA 0 6
16 Dutch Leonard BOS 0 6
18 George McBride WSH 0 5
18 Eddie Plank PHA 0 5
Speaker or Collins, Collins or Speaker.....the voters at the time thought it was clearly Collins. I'm not so sure, but I'll go with it.
Top player; Eddie Collins, mainly because his team won. Collins led the league in runs, was 2nd in batting and on-base. Speaker is #2. He led in hits and total bases, was second in slugging and OPS. Sam Crawford #3, Frank Baker #4, Tilly Walker #5.
Top pitcher; Walter Johnson. Walter looks great, except in comparison with himself the year before. Sure, Dutch Leonard had an 0.96 ERA, and he also had Speaker to run everything down behind him. Walter pitched over 100 more innings. Johnson was 28-18 with a 1.72 ERA. Leonard was 19-5 with a 0.96 ERA. Johnson #1, Leonard #2, Carl Weilman #3, Harry Coveleski #4, Ray Caldwell #5.
Top rookie: George Burns hit .291 in 137 games for Detroit.
Top manager: Connie Mack, extending a terrific run.
Statistical leaderboard: Ty Cobb led in the percentage categories, but lost a lot of time to injuries. He batted .368 to Eddie Collins' .344. Tris Speaker and Joe Jackson were at .338. Collins led with 122 runs, Speaker with 193 hits and 46 doubles, Sam Crawford with 26 triples and 104 RBI, Fritz Maisel with 74 steals.
Walter Johnson led in strikeouts with 225, and with 28 wins, as Stan Coveleski was second with 22. Dutch Leonard posted the all-time low, a 0.96 ERA. Rube Foster was second at 1.70. Johnson also led with 33 complete games, 9 shutouts, and 372 innings.
Win Shares leaderboard:
Players; Tris Speaker (Boston) 45, Eddie Collins (Philadelphia) 43, Frank Baker (Philadelphia) 35, Sam Crawford (Detroit) 31, Tilly Walker (St. Louis) 28, Ty Cobb (Detroit) and Del Pratt (St. Louis) 26, Eddie Murphy (Philadelphia) and Eddie Foster (St. Louis) 23, Donie Bush (Detroit) 22.
Pitchers; Walter Johnson (Washington) 38, Dutch Leonard (Boston) 29, Carl Weilman (St. Louis) 24, Harry Coveleski (Detroit) 23, Ray Caldwell (New York) and Earl Hamilton (St. Louis) 22.
WARP3: Speaker 10.2, Collins 8.1, Crawford 6.9, Baker 6.1 (last year before his first career interruption), Walker 6.0 (best year), Bush 5.6, Pratt 5.1, Cobb 4.7 (he played only 98 games), Wally Schang (Philadelphia) 4.1, Ray Schalk (Chicago) 3.9.
Pitchers; Johnson 13.3, Leonard 8.2 (best year, his 0.96 ERA season), Caldwell 6.4, Bill Steen (Cleveland) 6.1, Coveleski 6.0, Weilman 5.9, Hamilton 4.7 (best year), Chief Bender (Philadelphia) 4.5, Ray Fisher (New York) 4.4, Rube Bressler (Philadelphia) and Eddie Cicotte (Chicago) 4.2.
WAR, position players: Speaker 9.3, Collins 8.5, Baker 6.4, Crawford 5.8, Walker 5.2, Bush 5.1, Jackson 4.3, Pratt 3.9, Moriarty 3.6, Gandil 3.4. Pitchers: Johnson 9.9, Leonard 7.9, Caldwell and Weilman 5.4, Coveleski 4.1, Fisher and Hamilton 3.8, Bender 3.7, Bressler 3.5, Steen 3.2.
Award voting:
MVP
Place Name 1st Place Team Points
1 Eddie Collins PHA 7 63
2 Sam Crawford DET 0 35
3 Frank Baker PHA 0 17
3 Donie Bush DET 0 17
5 Joe Jackson CLE 0 15
6 Ray Schalk CHW 0 13
7 Eddie Foster WSH 0 11
7 Stuffy McInnis PHA 0 11
7 Buck Weaver CHW 0 11
10 Del Pratt SLB 0 10
10 Wally Schang PHA 0 10
12 Tris Speaker BOS 0 9
12 Tilly Walker SLB 0 9
14 Ty Cobb DET 0 7
14 Everett Scott BOS 0 7
16 Jack Barry PHA 0 6
16 Dutch Leonard BOS 0 6
18 George McBride WSH 0 5
18 Eddie Plank PHA 0 5
Speaker or Collins, Collins or Speaker.....the voters at the time thought it was clearly Collins. I'm not so sure, but I'll go with it.
Top player; Eddie Collins, mainly because his team won. Collins led the league in runs, was 2nd in batting and on-base. Speaker is #2. He led in hits and total bases, was second in slugging and OPS. Sam Crawford #3, Frank Baker #4, Tilly Walker #5.
Top pitcher; Walter Johnson. Walter looks great, except in comparison with himself the year before. Sure, Dutch Leonard had an 0.96 ERA, and he also had Speaker to run everything down behind him. Walter pitched over 100 more innings. Johnson was 28-18 with a 1.72 ERA. Leonard was 19-5 with a 0.96 ERA. Johnson #1, Leonard #2, Carl Weilman #3, Harry Coveleski #4, Ray Caldwell #5.
Top rookie: George Burns hit .291 in 137 games for Detroit.
Top manager: Connie Mack, extending a terrific run.
25 July 2007
1913 National League
New York won another easy pennant, by 12.5 games over surprising Philadelphia. Chicago was 3rd and Pittsburgh 4th. Boston, Brooklyn, Cincinnati, and St. Louis made up the second division. The MVP voters picked an odd candidate, Brooklyn 1B Jake Daubert, the batting average leader at .350. The MVP voter's pick of Daubert is an historical hiccup caused by a complete dearth of star players in the NL. That's what you notice looking at this period of National League history, the quality of play was not that good. The AL was much better. New York lost another World Series in October, and the NL would win only two WS in the 1910s, one of those the tainted 1919 affair.
Statistical leaderboard: Daubert at .350 and Gavy Cravath at .341 were far ahead of the rest, including Jim Viox and Joe Tinker at .317 in third place. Cravath led in slugging and OPS, Miller Huggins in on-base. Max Carey and Tommy Leach tied with 99 runs, Cravath led with 179 hits, 19 homers, and 128 RBI. Red Smith had 40 doubles, Vic Saier 21 triples, and Carey 61 steals.
Tom Seaton of the Pirates led with 27 wins, ahead of Christy Mathewson's 25. Mathewson led with a 2.06 ERA followed by Babe Adams at 2.15. Seaton edged Jeff Tesreau 168 strikeouts to 167. Larry Cheney had 11 saves. Pete Alexander had nine shutouts, Lefty Tyler 28 complete games. Seaton led with 322 innings to Adams's 314.
Win Shares leaderboard:
Players; Gavy Cravath (Philadelphia) 29, Vic Saier (Chicago) 26, Heinie Zimmerman (Chicago) 25, Tommy Leach (Chicago) and Art Fletcher (New York) 24, Tilly Shafer (New York) and Jim Viox (Pittsburgh) 23, George Burns (New York) 22, Larry Doyle and Fred Snodgrass (New York) 21.
Pitchers; Christy Mathewson (New York) 30, Tom Seaton (Philadelphia) and Babe Adams (Pittsburgh) 29, Pete Alexander (Philadelphia) 27, Rube Marquard (New York) 26, Larry Cheney (Chicago) and Jeff Tesreau (New York) 25, Slim Sallee (St. Louis) 22.
WARP3 scores: Chief Meyers (New York) 5.6, Fletcher 4.8, Joe Tinker (Cincinnati) 4.7, Cravath 4.5, Jake Daubert (Brooklyn) and Ed Konetchy (St. Louis) 4.4, Zack Wheat (Brooklyn) 4.1, Rabbit Maranville (Boston) 4.0, Shaffer, Saier (best year) and Honus Wagner (Pittsburgh) 3.9, Zimmerman and Leach 3.6. It really says something that two of the top three in WARP and six of the top eight are not among the leaders in Win Shares.
Pitchers; Adams 8.9, Sallee 7.9, Seaton 7.3 (best year), Alexander 7.0, Mathewson 6.8 (last great year), Cheney 6.1, Dick Rudolph (Boston) 6.0, Lefty Tyler (Boston) 5.4, Tesreau 5.1, Ad Brennan (Philadelphia) and Claude Hendrix (Pittsburgh) 4.8, Nap Rucker (Brooklyn) 4.5, Marquard 4.4.
WAR, position players: Cravath 6.6, Fletcher and Zimmerman 5.6, Smith 5.3, Daubert 5.0, Lobert and Saier 4.9, Viox 4.7, Shafer and Veach 4.6. Pitchers: Adams 7.6, Mathewson 6.8, Alexander 6.5, Seaton 6.3, Sallee 5.4, Marquard 5.1, Tesreau 5.0, Cheney 4.7, Rucker 4.3, Demaree 4.0.
Award voting (MVP only):
Place Name Team Points
1 Jake Daubert BRO 50
2 Gavvy Cravath PHI 40
3 Rabbit Maranville BSN 23
4 Christy Mathewson NYG 21
5 Chief Meyers NYG 20
6 Vic Saier CHC 15
7 Larry Cheney CHC 12
8 Dots Miller PIT 11
8 Honus Wagner PIT 11
10 Johnny Evers CHC 10
11 Tom Seaton PHI 9
12 Art Fletcher NYG 7
13 Jimmy Archer CHC 6
13 Mickey Doolan PHI 6
13 Bill Sweeney BSN 6
13 Jim Viox PIT 6
17 Larry Doyle NYG 5
17 Tillie Shafer NYG 5
19 Otto Knabe PHI 4
19 Red Murray NYG 4
19 Heinie Zimmerman CHC 4
22 Babe Adams PIT 3
22 George Cutshaw BRO 3
24 George Burns NYG 2
24 Bert Humphries CHC 2
24 Armando Marsans CIN 2
27 Mordecai Brown CIN 1
Daubert, the contemporary voters' choice for MVP, collected 17 Win Shares. Rabbit Maranville, 3rd in the voting, also had 17 Win Shares in his first full season. Maranville always did much better in the voting than his stats supported.
Best player: um, nobody? For lack of a truly good alternative, I pick Gavy Cravath, who was certainly the best player of an overall poor lot. Heinie Zimmerman #2, Jake Daubert #3, Art Fletcher #4, Vic Saier #5.
Best pitcher: Babe Adams, 2nd in ERA on a fading team. Christy Mathewson #2, Tom Seaton #3, Pete Alexander #4, Slim Sallee #5.
Best rookie: I have to go with Les Mann, .253 average in 120 games with Boston. Not much to work with here.
Best manager: Red Dooin of the surprising Philadelphia team.
Statistical leaderboard: Daubert at .350 and Gavy Cravath at .341 were far ahead of the rest, including Jim Viox and Joe Tinker at .317 in third place. Cravath led in slugging and OPS, Miller Huggins in on-base. Max Carey and Tommy Leach tied with 99 runs, Cravath led with 179 hits, 19 homers, and 128 RBI. Red Smith had 40 doubles, Vic Saier 21 triples, and Carey 61 steals.
Tom Seaton of the Pirates led with 27 wins, ahead of Christy Mathewson's 25. Mathewson led with a 2.06 ERA followed by Babe Adams at 2.15. Seaton edged Jeff Tesreau 168 strikeouts to 167. Larry Cheney had 11 saves. Pete Alexander had nine shutouts, Lefty Tyler 28 complete games. Seaton led with 322 innings to Adams's 314.
Win Shares leaderboard:
Players; Gavy Cravath (Philadelphia) 29, Vic Saier (Chicago) 26, Heinie Zimmerman (Chicago) 25, Tommy Leach (Chicago) and Art Fletcher (New York) 24, Tilly Shafer (New York) and Jim Viox (Pittsburgh) 23, George Burns (New York) 22, Larry Doyle and Fred Snodgrass (New York) 21.
Pitchers; Christy Mathewson (New York) 30, Tom Seaton (Philadelphia) and Babe Adams (Pittsburgh) 29, Pete Alexander (Philadelphia) 27, Rube Marquard (New York) 26, Larry Cheney (Chicago) and Jeff Tesreau (New York) 25, Slim Sallee (St. Louis) 22.
WARP3 scores: Chief Meyers (New York) 5.6, Fletcher 4.8, Joe Tinker (Cincinnati) 4.7, Cravath 4.5, Jake Daubert (Brooklyn) and Ed Konetchy (St. Louis) 4.4, Zack Wheat (Brooklyn) 4.1, Rabbit Maranville (Boston) 4.0, Shaffer, Saier (best year) and Honus Wagner (Pittsburgh) 3.9, Zimmerman and Leach 3.6. It really says something that two of the top three in WARP and six of the top eight are not among the leaders in Win Shares.
Pitchers; Adams 8.9, Sallee 7.9, Seaton 7.3 (best year), Alexander 7.0, Mathewson 6.8 (last great year), Cheney 6.1, Dick Rudolph (Boston) 6.0, Lefty Tyler (Boston) 5.4, Tesreau 5.1, Ad Brennan (Philadelphia) and Claude Hendrix (Pittsburgh) 4.8, Nap Rucker (Brooklyn) 4.5, Marquard 4.4.
WAR, position players: Cravath 6.6, Fletcher and Zimmerman 5.6, Smith 5.3, Daubert 5.0, Lobert and Saier 4.9, Viox 4.7, Shafer and Veach 4.6. Pitchers: Adams 7.6, Mathewson 6.8, Alexander 6.5, Seaton 6.3, Sallee 5.4, Marquard 5.1, Tesreau 5.0, Cheney 4.7, Rucker 4.3, Demaree 4.0.
Award voting (MVP only):
Place Name Team Points
1 Jake Daubert BRO 50
2 Gavvy Cravath PHI 40
3 Rabbit Maranville BSN 23
4 Christy Mathewson NYG 21
5 Chief Meyers NYG 20
6 Vic Saier CHC 15
7 Larry Cheney CHC 12
8 Dots Miller PIT 11
8 Honus Wagner PIT 11
10 Johnny Evers CHC 10
11 Tom Seaton PHI 9
12 Art Fletcher NYG 7
13 Jimmy Archer CHC 6
13 Mickey Doolan PHI 6
13 Bill Sweeney BSN 6
13 Jim Viox PIT 6
17 Larry Doyle NYG 5
17 Tillie Shafer NYG 5
19 Otto Knabe PHI 4
19 Red Murray NYG 4
19 Heinie Zimmerman CHC 4
22 Babe Adams PIT 3
22 George Cutshaw BRO 3
24 George Burns NYG 2
24 Bert Humphries CHC 2
24 Armando Marsans CIN 2
27 Mordecai Brown CIN 1
Daubert, the contemporary voters' choice for MVP, collected 17 Win Shares. Rabbit Maranville, 3rd in the voting, also had 17 Win Shares in his first full season. Maranville always did much better in the voting than his stats supported.
Best player: um, nobody? For lack of a truly good alternative, I pick Gavy Cravath, who was certainly the best player of an overall poor lot. Heinie Zimmerman #2, Jake Daubert #3, Art Fletcher #4, Vic Saier #5.
Best pitcher: Babe Adams, 2nd in ERA on a fading team. Christy Mathewson #2, Tom Seaton #3, Pete Alexander #4, Slim Sallee #5.
Best rookie: I have to go with Les Mann, .253 average in 120 games with Boston. Not much to work with here.
Best manager: Red Dooin of the surprising Philadelphia team.
1913 American League
Philadelphia jumped back into the pennant-winning seat with 96 wins as Boston slipped back to 4th. Washington was a surprising second with 90 wins mostly on the strength of Walter Johnson's arm. Cleveland was a solid 3rd. Chicago also finished over .500, followed by Detroit, New York, and St. Louis. The A's then beat the Giants in the World Series.
Statistical leaderboard: Ty Cobb won the batting title at .390, with Joe Jackson at .373 and Tris Speaker at .363. Cobb also led in on-base percentage. Eddie Collins (125) led in runs scored, Jackson in hits (197) and doubles (39), Sam Crawford with 23 triples, Clyde Milan with 75 steals, and Home Run Baker with 117 RBI. Jackson led in slugging, OPS, and runs created.
Walter Johnson blew every other pitcher out of the water, with 36 wins to Cy Falkenberg's 23, a 1.14 ERA to Eddie Cicotte's 1.58, and 243 strikeouts to Falkenberg and Vean Gregg's 166. Chief Bender led with 13 saves. Johnson had 29 complete games, 11 shutouts, and pitched 346 innings.
Win Shares leaderboard:
Players; Eddie Collins (Philadelphia) 39, Frank Baker (Philadelphia) 38, Tris Speaker (Boston) and Joe Jackson (Cleveland) 36, Ty Cobb (Detroit) 31, Clyde Milan (Washington) 28, Sam Crawford (Detroit) 27, Stuffy McInnis (Philadelphia) 26, Buck Weaver (Chicago), Nap Lajoie (Cleveland), Burt Shotton (St. Louis) and Chick Gandil (Washington) 23.
Pitchers; Walter Johnson (Washington) 54, Reb Russell (Chicago) 32, Eddie Cicotte and Jim Scott (Chicago) 27, Cy Falkenberg (Cleveland) 25, Vean Gregg (Cleveland) and Joe Boehling (Washington) 23, Willie Mitchell (Cleveland) and Chief Bender (Philadelphia) 20.
WARP3 scores: Collins 10.6, Baker 8.9, Speaker 7.9, Jackson 7.1, Cobb 7.0, Jack Barry (Philadelphia) 6.2, McInnis 5.1, Rube Oldring (Philadelphia) 4.3, Donie Bush (Detroit) 3.8, Crawford 3.7, Weaver and Lajoie (last good year) 3.5.
Pitchers, Johnson 14.7 (in maybe the best season ever by a pitcher), Russell 8.6 in his rookie year, Cicotte 7.0 (comeback year), Falkenberg 6.8, Scott 6.6 (career year), Ray Collins (Boston) 5.3, Mitchell 5.3 (best year), Ray Caldwell (New York) 4.7, Gregg 4.5 (last good year), Hugh Bedient and Dutch Leonard (both Boston) 4.4.
WAR, position players: Collins 9.9, Speaker 9.3, Baker 8.6, Jackson 8.3, Cobb 7.9, Shotton 5.7, McInnis 5.6, Lajoie 5.3, Crawford 5.1, Milan and Barry 4.8. Pitchers: Johnson 12.4, Russell 7.3, Falkenberg 6.5, Scott 6.3, Cicotte and Mitchell 6.0, Collins 4.7, Gregg 4.4, Bedient 3.6, Bender 3.4.
Award voting (MVP, top ten only):
Place Name Team Points
1 Walter Johnson WSH 54
2 Joe Jackson CLE 43
3 Eddie Collins PHA 30
4 Tris Speaker BOS 26
5 Frank Baker PHA 21
6 Chick Gandil WSH 14
7 Stuffy McInnis PHA 12
8 Wally Schang PHA 11
9 Jack Barry PHA 8
9 Clyde Milan WSH 8
Top player: Eddie Collins, star of the pennant winners and leader in runs. Home Run Baker #2, Speaker #3, Jackson #4, Cobb #5.
Top pitcher: Walter Johnson. If anyone ever had a better year than Walter's 36-7, 1.14 ERA, it must have been on another planet. Reb Russell #2, Eddie Cicotte #3, Jim Scott #4, Cy Falkenberg #5.
Top rookie: Reb Russell, outstanding for the Chisox at 22-16, 1.90 ERA.
Top manager: Clark Griffith of the surprising Senators.
Statistical leaderboard: Ty Cobb won the batting title at .390, with Joe Jackson at .373 and Tris Speaker at .363. Cobb also led in on-base percentage. Eddie Collins (125) led in runs scored, Jackson in hits (197) and doubles (39), Sam Crawford with 23 triples, Clyde Milan with 75 steals, and Home Run Baker with 117 RBI. Jackson led in slugging, OPS, and runs created.
Walter Johnson blew every other pitcher out of the water, with 36 wins to Cy Falkenberg's 23, a 1.14 ERA to Eddie Cicotte's 1.58, and 243 strikeouts to Falkenberg and Vean Gregg's 166. Chief Bender led with 13 saves. Johnson had 29 complete games, 11 shutouts, and pitched 346 innings.
Win Shares leaderboard:
Players; Eddie Collins (Philadelphia) 39, Frank Baker (Philadelphia) 38, Tris Speaker (Boston) and Joe Jackson (Cleveland) 36, Ty Cobb (Detroit) 31, Clyde Milan (Washington) 28, Sam Crawford (Detroit) 27, Stuffy McInnis (Philadelphia) 26, Buck Weaver (Chicago), Nap Lajoie (Cleveland), Burt Shotton (St. Louis) and Chick Gandil (Washington) 23.
Pitchers; Walter Johnson (Washington) 54, Reb Russell (Chicago) 32, Eddie Cicotte and Jim Scott (Chicago) 27, Cy Falkenberg (Cleveland) 25, Vean Gregg (Cleveland) and Joe Boehling (Washington) 23, Willie Mitchell (Cleveland) and Chief Bender (Philadelphia) 20.
WARP3 scores: Collins 10.6, Baker 8.9, Speaker 7.9, Jackson 7.1, Cobb 7.0, Jack Barry (Philadelphia) 6.2, McInnis 5.1, Rube Oldring (Philadelphia) 4.3, Donie Bush (Detroit) 3.8, Crawford 3.7, Weaver and Lajoie (last good year) 3.5.
Pitchers, Johnson 14.7 (in maybe the best season ever by a pitcher), Russell 8.6 in his rookie year, Cicotte 7.0 (comeback year), Falkenberg 6.8, Scott 6.6 (career year), Ray Collins (Boston) 5.3, Mitchell 5.3 (best year), Ray Caldwell (New York) 4.7, Gregg 4.5 (last good year), Hugh Bedient and Dutch Leonard (both Boston) 4.4.
WAR, position players: Collins 9.9, Speaker 9.3, Baker 8.6, Jackson 8.3, Cobb 7.9, Shotton 5.7, McInnis 5.6, Lajoie 5.3, Crawford 5.1, Milan and Barry 4.8. Pitchers: Johnson 12.4, Russell 7.3, Falkenberg 6.5, Scott 6.3, Cicotte and Mitchell 6.0, Collins 4.7, Gregg 4.4, Bedient 3.6, Bender 3.4.
Award voting (MVP, top ten only):
Place Name Team Points
1 Walter Johnson WSH 54
2 Joe Jackson CLE 43
3 Eddie Collins PHA 30
4 Tris Speaker BOS 26
5 Frank Baker PHA 21
6 Chick Gandil WSH 14
7 Stuffy McInnis PHA 12
8 Wally Schang PHA 11
9 Jack Barry PHA 8
9 Clyde Milan WSH 8
Top player: Eddie Collins, star of the pennant winners and leader in runs. Home Run Baker #2, Speaker #3, Jackson #4, Cobb #5.
Top pitcher: Walter Johnson. If anyone ever had a better year than Walter's 36-7, 1.14 ERA, it must have been on another planet. Reb Russell #2, Eddie Cicotte #3, Jim Scott #4, Cy Falkenberg #5.
Top rookie: Reb Russell, outstanding for the Chisox at 22-16, 1.90 ERA.
Top manager: Clark Griffith of the surprising Senators.
23 July 2007
1912 National League
The Giants won the pennant again, with 103 victories to outdistance Pittsburgh by 10 games. Chicago was close behind in third. Everyone else was below .500; Cincinnati, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Brooklyn, with Boston bringing up the rear again with 101 losses. The Giants dropped the World Series, but it was a hard-fought battle with the Red Sox.
Statistical leaders: Heinie Zimmerman took the batting title at .372 for Chicago, ahead of Chief Meyers' .358. Meyers led in on-base, Zim in slugging. Zimmerman also led in hits (207), doubles (41) and homers (14). Chief Wilson of Pittsburgh set a record that still stands with 36 triples, an astonishing feat. Honus Wagner drove in 102 runs, followed by Bill Sweeney with 100, and Bob Bescher stole 67 bases and scored 120 runs. Zimmerman dominated the league offensively, with a big margin in runs created and OPS+.
From the mound, Larry Cheney and Rube Marquard led with 26 victories each. Claude Hendrix won 24. Jeff Tesreau's 1.96 ERA edged Christy Mathewson's 2.12, with Nap Rucker third at 2.21. Pete Alexander led with 195 strikeouts, followed by Hendrix with 176 and Marquard with 175. Slim Sallee had six saves, Rucker six shutouts, Cheney 28 complete games. Alexander edged Mathewson by 1/3 of an inning pitched.
Win Shares leaderboard:
Players; Honus Wagner (Pittsburgh) 35, Heinie Zimmerman (Chicago) 34, Larry Doyle (New York) 29, Johnny Evers (Chicago) 27, Dode Paskert (Philadelphia) and Chief Wilson (Pittsburgh) 24, Bob Bescher (Cincinnati) and Chief Meyers (New York) 23, Max Carey (Pittsburgh) and Ed Konetchy (St. Louis) 22.
Pitchers; Christy Mathewson (New York) 31, Claude Hendrix (Pittsburgh) 29, Larry Cheney (Chicago) 27, Rube Marquard (New York) 26, Nap Rucker (Brooklyn) and Pete Alexander (Philadelphia) 24, Howie Camnitz (Pittsburgh) 23, George Suggs (Cincinnati) 22.
WARP3 scores: Wagner 10.5, Zimmerman 6.6 (best year), Evers 5.8 (best year), Joe Tinker (Chicago) 4.6, Meyers 4.5, Carey and Bill Sweeney (Boston) 4.2, Konetchy 3.7, Jimmy Sheckard (Chicago) 3.6, Doyle, Wilson, Art Fletcher (New York) and Zack Wheat (Brooklyn) 3.5.
Pitchers; Rucker 9.2, Mathewson 7.2, Alexander and Suggs 6.4, Slim Sallee (St. Louis) 6.0, Hendrix 5.8, Marquard 5.7, Art Fromme (Cincinnati) 5.2, Rube Benton (Cincinnati) 4.6, Cheney 4.5, Eppa Rixey (Philadelphia) 4.3, Jeff Tesreau (New York) 4.0, Camnitz (his last good year), Hank Robinson (Pittsburgh) and Otto Hess (Boston) 3.8.
WAR for position players: Wagner 9.3, Zimmerman 8.3, Evers 6.8, Doyle 6.6, Sweeney 6.2, Paskert 5.5, Wilson 5.2, Konetchy 5.0, Carey 4.9, Bescher 4.8.
WAR for pitchers: Rucker 7.4, Mathewson 7.2, Marquard 5.8, Alexander 5.7, Sallee 5.5, Fromme and Tesreau 5.0, Cheney 4.9, Hendrix and Suggs 4.7.
Award voting (MVP only)
Place Name Team Points (64 possible)
1 Larry Doyle NYG 48
2 Honus Wagner PIT 43
3 Chief Meyers NYG 25
4 Joe Tinker CHC 22
5 Bob Bescher CIN 17
6 Bill Sweeney BSN 16
6 Heinie Zimmerman CHC 16
8 Jake Daubert BRO 13
8 Rube Marquard NYG 13
8 Chief Wilson PIT 13
11 Otto Knabe PHI 10
12 Ed Konetchy STL 8
12 Christy Mathewson NYG 8
14 Dode Paskert PHI 6
14 Jeff Tesreau NYG 6
16 Miller Huggins STL 5
16 Red Murray NYG 5
18 Armando Marsans CIN 4
18 Fred Merkle NYG 4
20 Johnny Evers CHC 2
20 Claude Hendrix PIT 2
22 Pete Alexander PHI 1
22 Jimmy Archer CHC 1
Best Player: Honus Wagner, having his last great year at age 38. Oddly, Zimmerman did not do very well in the voting although he was the batting champ. Doyle won the award he could have taken in 1911, for the champs.
Wagner #1, Zimmerman #2, Evers #3, Doyle #4, Wilson #5.
Best pitcher: Christy Mathewson, 4th in wins and 2nd in ERA. WARP likes Nap Rucker again, but he pitched his heart out for another poor Brooklyn team. Put Rucker #2 with Claude Hendrix a distant third, Pete Alexander 4th and Rube Marquard 5th.
Best rookie: Jeff Tesreau, filling out a terrific Giants rotation andP leading the league in ERA.
Best manager: John McGraw for another Giants pennant.
Statistical leaders: Heinie Zimmerman took the batting title at .372 for Chicago, ahead of Chief Meyers' .358. Meyers led in on-base, Zim in slugging. Zimmerman also led in hits (207), doubles (41) and homers (14). Chief Wilson of Pittsburgh set a record that still stands with 36 triples, an astonishing feat. Honus Wagner drove in 102 runs, followed by Bill Sweeney with 100, and Bob Bescher stole 67 bases and scored 120 runs. Zimmerman dominated the league offensively, with a big margin in runs created and OPS+.
From the mound, Larry Cheney and Rube Marquard led with 26 victories each. Claude Hendrix won 24. Jeff Tesreau's 1.96 ERA edged Christy Mathewson's 2.12, with Nap Rucker third at 2.21. Pete Alexander led with 195 strikeouts, followed by Hendrix with 176 and Marquard with 175. Slim Sallee had six saves, Rucker six shutouts, Cheney 28 complete games. Alexander edged Mathewson by 1/3 of an inning pitched.
Win Shares leaderboard:
Players; Honus Wagner (Pittsburgh) 35, Heinie Zimmerman (Chicago) 34, Larry Doyle (New York) 29, Johnny Evers (Chicago) 27, Dode Paskert (Philadelphia) and Chief Wilson (Pittsburgh) 24, Bob Bescher (Cincinnati) and Chief Meyers (New York) 23, Max Carey (Pittsburgh) and Ed Konetchy (St. Louis) 22.
Pitchers; Christy Mathewson (New York) 31, Claude Hendrix (Pittsburgh) 29, Larry Cheney (Chicago) 27, Rube Marquard (New York) 26, Nap Rucker (Brooklyn) and Pete Alexander (Philadelphia) 24, Howie Camnitz (Pittsburgh) 23, George Suggs (Cincinnati) 22.
WARP3 scores: Wagner 10.5, Zimmerman 6.6 (best year), Evers 5.8 (best year), Joe Tinker (Chicago) 4.6, Meyers 4.5, Carey and Bill Sweeney (Boston) 4.2, Konetchy 3.7, Jimmy Sheckard (Chicago) 3.6, Doyle, Wilson, Art Fletcher (New York) and Zack Wheat (Brooklyn) 3.5.
Pitchers; Rucker 9.2, Mathewson 7.2, Alexander and Suggs 6.4, Slim Sallee (St. Louis) 6.0, Hendrix 5.8, Marquard 5.7, Art Fromme (Cincinnati) 5.2, Rube Benton (Cincinnati) 4.6, Cheney 4.5, Eppa Rixey (Philadelphia) 4.3, Jeff Tesreau (New York) 4.0, Camnitz (his last good year), Hank Robinson (Pittsburgh) and Otto Hess (Boston) 3.8.
WAR for position players: Wagner 9.3, Zimmerman 8.3, Evers 6.8, Doyle 6.6, Sweeney 6.2, Paskert 5.5, Wilson 5.2, Konetchy 5.0, Carey 4.9, Bescher 4.8.
WAR for pitchers: Rucker 7.4, Mathewson 7.2, Marquard 5.8, Alexander 5.7, Sallee 5.5, Fromme and Tesreau 5.0, Cheney 4.9, Hendrix and Suggs 4.7.
Award voting (MVP only)
Place Name Team Points (64 possible)
1 Larry Doyle NYG 48
2 Honus Wagner PIT 43
3 Chief Meyers NYG 25
4 Joe Tinker CHC 22
5 Bob Bescher CIN 17
6 Bill Sweeney BSN 16
6 Heinie Zimmerman CHC 16
8 Jake Daubert BRO 13
8 Rube Marquard NYG 13
8 Chief Wilson PIT 13
11 Otto Knabe PHI 10
12 Ed Konetchy STL 8
12 Christy Mathewson NYG 8
14 Dode Paskert PHI 6
14 Jeff Tesreau NYG 6
16 Miller Huggins STL 5
16 Red Murray NYG 5
18 Armando Marsans CIN 4
18 Fred Merkle NYG 4
20 Johnny Evers CHC 2
20 Claude Hendrix PIT 2
22 Pete Alexander PHI 1
22 Jimmy Archer CHC 1
Best Player: Honus Wagner, having his last great year at age 38. Oddly, Zimmerman did not do very well in the voting although he was the batting champ. Doyle won the award he could have taken in 1911, for the champs.
Wagner #1, Zimmerman #2, Evers #3, Doyle #4, Wilson #5.
Best pitcher: Christy Mathewson, 4th in wins and 2nd in ERA. WARP likes Nap Rucker again, but he pitched his heart out for another poor Brooklyn team. Put Rucker #2 with Claude Hendrix a distant third, Pete Alexander 4th and Rube Marquard 5th.
Best rookie: Jeff Tesreau, filling out a terrific Giants rotation andP leading the league in ERA.
Best manager: John McGraw for another Giants pennant.
1912 American League
The Boston Red Sox won the pennant and the World Series, breaking up a streak by Philadelphia which finished third behind Washington. The Red Sox ran away with the pennant, taking charge of the race in June and cruising to the flag, beating second-place Washington by 14 games and the A's by 15. Chicago and Cleveland followed, then Detroit. St. Louis and New York each lost 100 games.
Statistical leaders: Ty Cobb led the league with a .409 average, ahead of Joe Jackson's .395 and Tris Speaker's .383. Speaker led in on-base (.464) and doubles (53), Eddie Collins in runs (137), Jackson in triples (26), Clyde Milan in steals (88). Home Run Baker drove in 130 runs. Cobb and Jackson tied with 226 hits, Speaker and Baker had 10 HR each. Cobb led in slugging and OPS, while Speaker led in runs created.
Pitchers had big years too, as Smoky Joe Wood edged Walter Johnson 34 wins to 33, but Walter led Wood in ERA by 1.39 to 1.91, and in strikeouts 303 to 258. Those were the two top pitchers, although Ed Walsh won 27 and saved 10 more with a 2.15 ERA and 254 strikeouts, pitching an astonishing 62 games. Walsh led in innings with 393, Johnson 369 and Wood 344. Wood pitched ten shutouts.
Win Shares leaderboard:
Players; Tris Speaker (Boston) 51, Ty Cobb (Detroit) 40, Frank Baker (Philadelphia) 39, Joe Jackson (Cleveland) 37, Eddie Collins (Philadelphia) 36, Clyde Milan (Washington) 33, Larry Gardner (Boston) 29, Morrie Rath (Chicago) and Eddie Foster (Washington) 26, Sam Crawford (Detroit) and Stuffy McInnis (Philadelphia) 24.
Pitchers; Walter Johnson (Washington) 47, Joe Wood (Boston) 44, Ed Walsh (Chicago) 40, Eddie Plank (Philadelphia) 25, Buck O'Brien (Boston), Vean Gregg (Cleveland), and Bob Groom (Washington) 23.
WARP3 scores: Jackson 9.2, Speaker 9.0, Baker 8.6, Cobb 7.9, Collins 7.8, Gardner 5.5, McInnis 4.8, Donie Bush (Detroit) 4.7, Amos Strunk (Philadelphia) 3.9, Nap Lajoie (Cleveland) 3.8.
Pitchers; Johnson 12.7, Walsh 11.5, Wood 8.8, Jack Warhop (New York) 6.3, Russ Ford (New York) 5.9, Gregg 5.8, Jean Dubuc (Detroit) 5.4, Plank 5.0, Fred Blanding (Cleveland) 4.3, George McConnell (New York) 4.1.
WAR for pitchers: Johnson 11.8, Walsh 9.9, Wood 9.6, Gregg 6.1, O'Brien 5.3, Collins 5.1, Warhop 4.9, Plank 4.7, Groom 4.2, Bedient 4.1.
WAR for players: Speaker 11.0, Cobb 9.5, Jackson 9.4, Baker 9.3, Collins 8.8, Gardner 6.0, Milan 5.5, McInnis 5.2, Foster 4.8, Lajoie 4.7.
Award voting (MVP only):
Place Name Team Votes
1 Tris Speaker BOS 59
2 Ed Walsh CHW 30
3 Walter Johnson WSH 28
4 Clyde Milan WSH 23
5 Joe Wood BOS 22
6 Eddie Collins PHA 18
7 Frank Baker PHA 17
7 Ty Cobb DET 17
9 Joe Jackson CLE 16
10 Heinie Wagner BOS 12
11 Chick Gandil WSH 7
12 Burt Shotton SLB 6
13 Del Pratt SLB 5
14 Jack Barry PHA 4
14 Sam Crawford DET 4
14 Eddie Foster WSH 4
14 Larry Gardner BOS 4
18 Bill Carrigan BOS 3
18 George Moriarty DET 3
20 Joe Birmingham CLE 2
21 Bert Daniels NYY 1
21 George McBride WSH 1
21 Stuffy McInnis PHA 1
21 Danny Moeller WSH 1
Best player: Tris Speaker had an absolutely amazing season both ways for the pennant winners. Best overall player in the league. Led the league in OBA, doubles, times on base, and tied for the home run lead. Cobb led in OPS and hits and is #2. Frank Baker #3, Joe Jackson #4, Eddie Collins #5.
Best pitcher: Walter Johnson, the first of many incredible years, led the Senators to a surprise 2nd place. Smokey Joe Wood was astonishingly good. Johnson was even better, maybe the best year ever for a pitcher at 33-12 with a league leading 1.39 ERA. Wood is #2, he led in wins and was 2nd in ERA. Walsh was 3rd in wins and ERA, and 3rd here. Eddie Plank #4, Vean Gregg #5.
Best rookie: Senators 3B Eddie Foster, who may or may not qualify after 30 games and 84 AB in 1910. He batted .285 with 98 runs.
Best manager: Chick Stahl of Boston, stealing the only pennant from Philadelphia in five years.
Statistical leaders: Ty Cobb led the league with a .409 average, ahead of Joe Jackson's .395 and Tris Speaker's .383. Speaker led in on-base (.464) and doubles (53), Eddie Collins in runs (137), Jackson in triples (26), Clyde Milan in steals (88). Home Run Baker drove in 130 runs. Cobb and Jackson tied with 226 hits, Speaker and Baker had 10 HR each. Cobb led in slugging and OPS, while Speaker led in runs created.
Pitchers had big years too, as Smoky Joe Wood edged Walter Johnson 34 wins to 33, but Walter led Wood in ERA by 1.39 to 1.91, and in strikeouts 303 to 258. Those were the two top pitchers, although Ed Walsh won 27 and saved 10 more with a 2.15 ERA and 254 strikeouts, pitching an astonishing 62 games. Walsh led in innings with 393, Johnson 369 and Wood 344. Wood pitched ten shutouts.
Win Shares leaderboard:
Players; Tris Speaker (Boston) 51, Ty Cobb (Detroit) 40, Frank Baker (Philadelphia) 39, Joe Jackson (Cleveland) 37, Eddie Collins (Philadelphia) 36, Clyde Milan (Washington) 33, Larry Gardner (Boston) 29, Morrie Rath (Chicago) and Eddie Foster (Washington) 26, Sam Crawford (Detroit) and Stuffy McInnis (Philadelphia) 24.
Pitchers; Walter Johnson (Washington) 47, Joe Wood (Boston) 44, Ed Walsh (Chicago) 40, Eddie Plank (Philadelphia) 25, Buck O'Brien (Boston), Vean Gregg (Cleveland), and Bob Groom (Washington) 23.
WARP3 scores: Jackson 9.2, Speaker 9.0, Baker 8.6, Cobb 7.9, Collins 7.8, Gardner 5.5, McInnis 4.8, Donie Bush (Detroit) 4.7, Amos Strunk (Philadelphia) 3.9, Nap Lajoie (Cleveland) 3.8.
Pitchers; Johnson 12.7, Walsh 11.5, Wood 8.8, Jack Warhop (New York) 6.3, Russ Ford (New York) 5.9, Gregg 5.8, Jean Dubuc (Detroit) 5.4, Plank 5.0, Fred Blanding (Cleveland) 4.3, George McConnell (New York) 4.1.
WAR for pitchers: Johnson 11.8, Walsh 9.9, Wood 9.6, Gregg 6.1, O'Brien 5.3, Collins 5.1, Warhop 4.9, Plank 4.7, Groom 4.2, Bedient 4.1.
WAR for players: Speaker 11.0, Cobb 9.5, Jackson 9.4, Baker 9.3, Collins 8.8, Gardner 6.0, Milan 5.5, McInnis 5.2, Foster 4.8, Lajoie 4.7.
Award voting (MVP only):
Place Name Team Votes
1 Tris Speaker BOS 59
2 Ed Walsh CHW 30
3 Walter Johnson WSH 28
4 Clyde Milan WSH 23
5 Joe Wood BOS 22
6 Eddie Collins PHA 18
7 Frank Baker PHA 17
7 Ty Cobb DET 17
9 Joe Jackson CLE 16
10 Heinie Wagner BOS 12
11 Chick Gandil WSH 7
12 Burt Shotton SLB 6
13 Del Pratt SLB 5
14 Jack Barry PHA 4
14 Sam Crawford DET 4
14 Eddie Foster WSH 4
14 Larry Gardner BOS 4
18 Bill Carrigan BOS 3
18 George Moriarty DET 3
20 Joe Birmingham CLE 2
21 Bert Daniels NYY 1
21 George McBride WSH 1
21 Stuffy McInnis PHA 1
21 Danny Moeller WSH 1
Best player: Tris Speaker had an absolutely amazing season both ways for the pennant winners. Best overall player in the league. Led the league in OBA, doubles, times on base, and tied for the home run lead. Cobb led in OPS and hits and is #2. Frank Baker #3, Joe Jackson #4, Eddie Collins #5.
Best pitcher: Walter Johnson, the first of many incredible years, led the Senators to a surprise 2nd place. Smokey Joe Wood was astonishingly good. Johnson was even better, maybe the best year ever for a pitcher at 33-12 with a league leading 1.39 ERA. Wood is #2, he led in wins and was 2nd in ERA. Walsh was 3rd in wins and ERA, and 3rd here. Eddie Plank #4, Vean Gregg #5.
Best rookie: Senators 3B Eddie Foster, who may or may not qualify after 30 games and 84 AB in 1910. He batted .285 with 98 runs.
Best manager: Chick Stahl of Boston, stealing the only pennant from Philadelphia in five years.
07 July 2007
1911 National League
New York outdistanced Chicago for the pennant, winning by 7.5 games. Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and St. Louis were above .500, Cincinnati and Brooklyn were also-rans, while Boston lost 107 games. The Braves had horrid pitching and hitting.
The Numbers Game---
Statistical leaders: Offense didn't pick up in the NL quite as much as it did in the AL, but it did some. Honus Wagner was back on top with a .334 average, edging Doc Miller by a point with Chief Meyers another point behind. Jimmy Sheckard led in runs, Miller in hits, Frank "Wildfire" Schulte in total bases, home runs, and RBI (tied), Ed Konetchy in doubles, Larry Doyle in triples, Bob Bescher in steals, and Chief Wilson tied for the RBI lead.
Pete Alexander led with 28 wins, followed by Christy Mathewson with 26 and Rube Marquard with 24. Mathewson led with a 1.99 ERA, trailed by Lew Richie with a 2.31 mark and Babe Adams at 2.33. Rube Marquard took the strikeout lead with 237, followed by Alexander at 227. Alexander had seven shutouts, 31 complete games, and 367 innings. Mordecai Brown led the league with 13 saves, which established a new single-season record, though no one was counting at the time. The record would stand until 1924.
Win Shares leaderboard:
Players; Frank (Wildfire) Schulte (Chicago) 31, Jimmy Sheckard (Chicago) and Honus Wagner (Pittsburgh) 30, Larry Doyle (New York) 28, Ed Konetchy (St. Louis) 26, Johnny Bates (Cincinnati) and Fred Snodgrass (New York) 23, Heinie Zimmerman (Chicago), Chief Wilson (Pittsburgh) and Steve Evans (St. Louis) 22.
Pitchers; Pete Alexander (Philadelphia) 34, Christy Mathewson (New York) 32, Nap Rucker (Brooklyn) 31, Rube Marquard (New York) 26, Miner Brown (Chicago) and Babe Adams (Pittsburgh) 25, Earl Moore (Philadelphia) and Lefty Leifield (Pittsburgh) 24.
WARP3: Wagner 7.0, Sheckard 6.8, Schulte 5.1, Joe Tinker (Chicago) 4.6, Chief Meyers (New York) 4.5, Konetchy 4.2, Fred Clarke (Pittsburgh) and Jake Daubert (Brooklyn) 3.6, L. Doyle, Art Fletcher (New York) and Jim Doyle (Chicago) 3.5.
Pitchers; Rucker 9.7, Alexander 8.2 in his rookie year, Mathewson 7.2, Marquard 5.7, Adams and Leifield (best year) 5.5 , George Suggs (Cincinnati) 5.4, Moore 5.0 (last good season), Bob Harmon (St. Louis) 4.5, Bobby Keefe (Cincinnati) 4.3, Jeff Tesreau (New York) 4.0, Lew Richie (Chicago) 3.6, Brown 3.4.
WAR, players: Wagner 7.5, Doyle 6.5, Sheckard and Schulte 6.4, Konetchy 5.9, Bates 5.3, Snodgrass and Tinker 4.9, Merkle 4.8, Herzog 4.7.
Pitchers: Alexander 7.8, Rucker 7.7, Mathewson 7.3, Adams 6.5, Leifield 6.2, Marquard 6.0, Moore 5.4, Richie 5.0, Keefe 4.5.
1911 was also the first year of "official" awards. 8 voters, one from each city (counting Brooklyn as a separate city) cast ballots. Here are the results, from baseball-reference.com:
Place Name Team 1st place Points
1 Frank Schulte CHC 0 29
2 Christy Mathewson NYG 0 25
3 Pete Alexander PHI 0 23
3 Larry Doyle NYG 0 23
3 Honus Wagner PIT 0 23
6 Miller Huggins STL 0 21
7 Rube Marquard NYG 0 19
7 Fred Merkle NYG 0 19
9 Jake Daubert BRO 0 16
10 Chief Meyers NYG 0 11
10 Joe Tinker CHC 0 11
12 Mike Mitchell CIN 0 9
12 Jimmy Sheckard CHC 0 9
14 Mickey Doolan PHI 0 6
14 Bob Harmon STL 0 6
16 Jimmy Archer CHC 0 5
17 Bob Bescher CIN 0 4
17 Mordecai Brown CHC 0 4
17 George Gibson PIT 0 4
17 Hans Lobert PHI 0 4
21 Bill Sweeney BSN 0 3
22 Josh Devore NYG 0 2
22 Dick Hoblitzel CIN 0 2
22 Otto Knabe PHI 0 2
22 Ed Konetchy STL 0 2
22 Jimmy Walsh PHI 0 2
27 Babe Adams PIT 0 1
27 Johnny Kling TOT 0 1
27 Fred Luderus PHI 0 1
27 Nap Rucker BRO 0 1
Don't understand the lack of first-place votes. Could be a typo, or perhaps voters voted for both leagues together, as in the original Cy Young voting.
Top player: Honus Wagner returned to his accustomed place as the finest player in the National League. Frank Schulte was terrific for the Cubs, Larry Doyle excellent offensively (he never was good with the glove) for the winning Giants, Sheckard as usual an on-base machine, and Ed Konetchy is a terrific unrecognized player.
#1 Wagner, #2 Schulte, #3 Doyle, #4 Sheckard, #5 Konetchy.
Top pitcher: Christy Mathewson. Big Six was getting by more on guile and less on stuff at this point, but his big year for the pennant winners should not be overlooked. Pete Alexander came up big as a rookie, Nap Rucker had a solid year as the usually hard-luck pitcher won 22, and Rube Marquard won 24 for his first big year.
#1 Mathewson, #2 Alexander, #3 Marquard, #4 Rucker, #5 Adams.
Top rookie: Grover Cleveland Alexander. Led NL in wins his first year in the league.
Top manager: John McGraw leads the Giants back to the top.
The Numbers Game---
Statistical leaders: Offense didn't pick up in the NL quite as much as it did in the AL, but it did some. Honus Wagner was back on top with a .334 average, edging Doc Miller by a point with Chief Meyers another point behind. Jimmy Sheckard led in runs, Miller in hits, Frank "Wildfire" Schulte in total bases, home runs, and RBI (tied), Ed Konetchy in doubles, Larry Doyle in triples, Bob Bescher in steals, and Chief Wilson tied for the RBI lead.
Pete Alexander led with 28 wins, followed by Christy Mathewson with 26 and Rube Marquard with 24. Mathewson led with a 1.99 ERA, trailed by Lew Richie with a 2.31 mark and Babe Adams at 2.33. Rube Marquard took the strikeout lead with 237, followed by Alexander at 227. Alexander had seven shutouts, 31 complete games, and 367 innings. Mordecai Brown led the league with 13 saves, which established a new single-season record, though no one was counting at the time. The record would stand until 1924.
Win Shares leaderboard:
Players; Frank (Wildfire) Schulte (Chicago) 31, Jimmy Sheckard (Chicago) and Honus Wagner (Pittsburgh) 30, Larry Doyle (New York) 28, Ed Konetchy (St. Louis) 26, Johnny Bates (Cincinnati) and Fred Snodgrass (New York) 23, Heinie Zimmerman (Chicago), Chief Wilson (Pittsburgh) and Steve Evans (St. Louis) 22.
Pitchers; Pete Alexander (Philadelphia) 34, Christy Mathewson (New York) 32, Nap Rucker (Brooklyn) 31, Rube Marquard (New York) 26, Miner Brown (Chicago) and Babe Adams (Pittsburgh) 25, Earl Moore (Philadelphia) and Lefty Leifield (Pittsburgh) 24.
WARP3: Wagner 7.0, Sheckard 6.8, Schulte 5.1, Joe Tinker (Chicago) 4.6, Chief Meyers (New York) 4.5, Konetchy 4.2, Fred Clarke (Pittsburgh) and Jake Daubert (Brooklyn) 3.6, L. Doyle, Art Fletcher (New York) and Jim Doyle (Chicago) 3.5.
Pitchers; Rucker 9.7, Alexander 8.2 in his rookie year, Mathewson 7.2, Marquard 5.7, Adams and Leifield (best year) 5.5 , George Suggs (Cincinnati) 5.4, Moore 5.0 (last good season), Bob Harmon (St. Louis) 4.5, Bobby Keefe (Cincinnati) 4.3, Jeff Tesreau (New York) 4.0, Lew Richie (Chicago) 3.6, Brown 3.4.
WAR, players: Wagner 7.5, Doyle 6.5, Sheckard and Schulte 6.4, Konetchy 5.9, Bates 5.3, Snodgrass and Tinker 4.9, Merkle 4.8, Herzog 4.7.
Pitchers: Alexander 7.8, Rucker 7.7, Mathewson 7.3, Adams 6.5, Leifield 6.2, Marquard 6.0, Moore 5.4, Richie 5.0, Keefe 4.5.
1911 was also the first year of "official" awards. 8 voters, one from each city (counting Brooklyn as a separate city) cast ballots. Here are the results, from baseball-reference.com:
Place Name Team 1st place Points
1 Frank Schulte CHC 0 29
2 Christy Mathewson NYG 0 25
3 Pete Alexander PHI 0 23
3 Larry Doyle NYG 0 23
3 Honus Wagner PIT 0 23
6 Miller Huggins STL 0 21
7 Rube Marquard NYG 0 19
7 Fred Merkle NYG 0 19
9 Jake Daubert BRO 0 16
10 Chief Meyers NYG 0 11
10 Joe Tinker CHC 0 11
12 Mike Mitchell CIN 0 9
12 Jimmy Sheckard CHC 0 9
14 Mickey Doolan PHI 0 6
14 Bob Harmon STL 0 6
16 Jimmy Archer CHC 0 5
17 Bob Bescher CIN 0 4
17 Mordecai Brown CHC 0 4
17 George Gibson PIT 0 4
17 Hans Lobert PHI 0 4
21 Bill Sweeney BSN 0 3
22 Josh Devore NYG 0 2
22 Dick Hoblitzel CIN 0 2
22 Otto Knabe PHI 0 2
22 Ed Konetchy STL 0 2
22 Jimmy Walsh PHI 0 2
27 Babe Adams PIT 0 1
27 Johnny Kling TOT 0 1
27 Fred Luderus PHI 0 1
27 Nap Rucker BRO 0 1
Don't understand the lack of first-place votes. Could be a typo, or perhaps voters voted for both leagues together, as in the original Cy Young voting.
Top player: Honus Wagner returned to his accustomed place as the finest player in the National League. Frank Schulte was terrific for the Cubs, Larry Doyle excellent offensively (he never was good with the glove) for the winning Giants, Sheckard as usual an on-base machine, and Ed Konetchy is a terrific unrecognized player.
#1 Wagner, #2 Schulte, #3 Doyle, #4 Sheckard, #5 Konetchy.
Top pitcher: Christy Mathewson. Big Six was getting by more on guile and less on stuff at this point, but his big year for the pennant winners should not be overlooked. Pete Alexander came up big as a rookie, Nap Rucker had a solid year as the usually hard-luck pitcher won 22, and Rube Marquard won 24 for his first big year.
#1 Mathewson, #2 Alexander, #3 Marquard, #4 Rucker, #5 Adams.
Top rookie: Grover Cleveland Alexander. Led NL in wins his first year in the league.
Top manager: John McGraw leads the Giants back to the top.
1911 American League
Philadelphia won the pennant and then the World Series again, with a 101-50 regular season record. Detroit was second, while Cleveland, Boston, Chicago, New York, and Washington were around .500, and St. Louis lost 107 games again to finish last. The A's were best in the league in both offense and pitching/defense, while Detroit had hitting but not so much pitching.
On to the numbers:
Statistical leaders: With some rule changes, it was a breakout year for offense. Ty Cobb (.420) and Joe Jackson (.408) each topped .400, followed by Sam Crawford at .378. Jackson led in on-base, Cobb in slugging and OPS. Cobb also led with 147 runs, 248 hits, 47 doubles, 24 triples, 127 RBI, and 83 steals. Home Run Baker had 11 home runs. Jackson and Donie Bush tied for second in runs with 126. Crawford and Baker tied for second in RBI with 115.
Jack Coombs again led pitchers in wins, this time with 28, while Ed Walsh had 27 and Walter Johnson had 25. Vean Gregg led with a 1.80 ERA, followed by Johnson at 1.90 and then Joe Wood at 2.02. Walsh led in strikeouts with 255, then came Wood at 231 and Johnson at 207. Walsh led with 369 innings, then came Coombs at 337 and Johnson at 322.
Win Shares leaders---
Players; Ty Cobb (Detroit) 47, Joe Jackson (Cleveland) 39, Frank Baker and Eddie Collins (Philadelphia) 35, Sam Crawford (Detroit) 32, Tris Speaker (Boston) and Clyde Milan (Washington) 27, Birdie Cree (New York) and Danny Murphy (Philadelphia) 25.
Pitchers; Ed Walsh (Chicago) and Walter Johnson (Washington) 31, Vean Gregg (Cleveland) and Russ Ford (New York) 28, Joe Wood (Boston) 26, Ray Caldwell (New York) and Jack Coombs (Philadelphia) 23.
WARP3 leaders: Cobb 9.4, Jackson 7.6 (first full season), Collins 7.3, Baker 6.7, Speaker and Cree (career year) 4.3, Milan 3.5 (best year), Germany Schaefer (Washington), Matty McIntyre (Chicago), and Bris Lord (Philadeliphia) 3.4, Crawford, Ira Thomas (Philadelphia), Jim Delahanty (Detroit), and Jimmy Austin (St. Louis) 3.2.
For pitchers, Walsh 9.0 (last great year), Johnson 8.8, Gregg 8.0 (rookie, best year), Wood 7.2, Ford 5.8, Eddie Plank (Philadelphia) and George Mullin (Detroit) 5.5, Caldwell 5.0, Chief Bender (Philadelphia) 4.7, Larry Pope (Boston) 4.1, Ray Collins (Boston) 3.8.
WAR, players: Cobb 11.6, Jackson 9.9, Collins 7.4, Baker 7.0, Crawford 6.4, Speaker 6.3, Cree 6.2, Milan 5.5, McIntyre, Hooper, and Murphy 4.6.
Pitchers: Walsh 8.2, Gregg 7.8, Johnson 7.2, Plank 6.1, Bender and Ford 5.8, Mullin and Wood 4.7, Caldwell 4.6, Scott 4.2.
This was also the first year for "official" balloting for a league award, in this case the league MVPs. There were 8 voters, one for each league city. Here are the results, from baseball-reference.com:
Place Name Team 1st-place votes Total points.
1 Ty Cobb DET 8 64
2 Ed Walsh CHW 0 35
3 Eddie Collins PHA 0 32
4 Joe Jackson CLE 0 28
5 Walter Johnson WSH 0 19
6 Birdie Cree NYY 0 16
6 Tris Speaker BOS 0 16
8 Ira Thomas PHA 0 12
9 Clyde Milan WSH 0 10
10 Vean Gregg CLE 0 9
11 Frank Baker PHA 0 8
12 Jack Coombs PHA 0 6
13 Nap Lajoie CLE 0 5
14 Donie Bush DET 0 4
14 Sam Crawford DET 0 4
14 John Knight NYY 0 4
14 Bris Lord PHA 0 4
18 Jack Barry PHA 0 3
18 Russ Ford NYY 0 3
20 Jimmy Austin SLB 0 2
20 Frank LaPorte SLB 0 2
22 George McBride WSH 0 1
22 Stuffy McInnis PHA 0 1
In case you wanted to know what the contemporary voters thought.
Best player: I agree with the contemporary voters, Ty Cobb was the best in the league. Joe Jackson was great, but Cobb was better. Cobb led in OPS, runs, hits, doubles, triples, RBI, and steals. Jackson #2, Collins #3, Baker (home run leader) #4, Sam Crawford #5.
Best pitcher: Interestingly, the 1911 voters favored Ed Walsh, 2nd in wins and 6th in ERA, over other pitchers, placing him 2nd in the MVP voting. I agree, Big Ed was the top pitcher. Walter #2, Gregg #3, Wood #4, Russ Ford #5.
Best Rookie: Vean Gregg, leader in ERA and WHIP.
Best manager: Has to be A's skipper Connie Mack.
On to the numbers:
Statistical leaders: With some rule changes, it was a breakout year for offense. Ty Cobb (.420) and Joe Jackson (.408) each topped .400, followed by Sam Crawford at .378. Jackson led in on-base, Cobb in slugging and OPS. Cobb also led with 147 runs, 248 hits, 47 doubles, 24 triples, 127 RBI, and 83 steals. Home Run Baker had 11 home runs. Jackson and Donie Bush tied for second in runs with 126. Crawford and Baker tied for second in RBI with 115.
Jack Coombs again led pitchers in wins, this time with 28, while Ed Walsh had 27 and Walter Johnson had 25. Vean Gregg led with a 1.80 ERA, followed by Johnson at 1.90 and then Joe Wood at 2.02. Walsh led in strikeouts with 255, then came Wood at 231 and Johnson at 207. Walsh led with 369 innings, then came Coombs at 337 and Johnson at 322.
Win Shares leaders---
Players; Ty Cobb (Detroit) 47, Joe Jackson (Cleveland) 39, Frank Baker and Eddie Collins (Philadelphia) 35, Sam Crawford (Detroit) 32, Tris Speaker (Boston) and Clyde Milan (Washington) 27, Birdie Cree (New York) and Danny Murphy (Philadelphia) 25.
Pitchers; Ed Walsh (Chicago) and Walter Johnson (Washington) 31, Vean Gregg (Cleveland) and Russ Ford (New York) 28, Joe Wood (Boston) 26, Ray Caldwell (New York) and Jack Coombs (Philadelphia) 23.
WARP3 leaders: Cobb 9.4, Jackson 7.6 (first full season), Collins 7.3, Baker 6.7, Speaker and Cree (career year) 4.3, Milan 3.5 (best year), Germany Schaefer (Washington), Matty McIntyre (Chicago), and Bris Lord (Philadeliphia) 3.4, Crawford, Ira Thomas (Philadelphia), Jim Delahanty (Detroit), and Jimmy Austin (St. Louis) 3.2.
For pitchers, Walsh 9.0 (last great year), Johnson 8.8, Gregg 8.0 (rookie, best year), Wood 7.2, Ford 5.8, Eddie Plank (Philadelphia) and George Mullin (Detroit) 5.5, Caldwell 5.0, Chief Bender (Philadelphia) 4.7, Larry Pope (Boston) 4.1, Ray Collins (Boston) 3.8.
WAR, players: Cobb 11.6, Jackson 9.9, Collins 7.4, Baker 7.0, Crawford 6.4, Speaker 6.3, Cree 6.2, Milan 5.5, McIntyre, Hooper, and Murphy 4.6.
Pitchers: Walsh 8.2, Gregg 7.8, Johnson 7.2, Plank 6.1, Bender and Ford 5.8, Mullin and Wood 4.7, Caldwell 4.6, Scott 4.2.
This was also the first year for "official" balloting for a league award, in this case the league MVPs. There were 8 voters, one for each league city. Here are the results, from baseball-reference.com:
Place Name Team 1st-place votes Total points.
1 Ty Cobb DET 8 64
2 Ed Walsh CHW 0 35
3 Eddie Collins PHA 0 32
4 Joe Jackson CLE 0 28
5 Walter Johnson WSH 0 19
6 Birdie Cree NYY 0 16
6 Tris Speaker BOS 0 16
8 Ira Thomas PHA 0 12
9 Clyde Milan WSH 0 10
10 Vean Gregg CLE 0 9
11 Frank Baker PHA 0 8
12 Jack Coombs PHA 0 6
13 Nap Lajoie CLE 0 5
14 Donie Bush DET 0 4
14 Sam Crawford DET 0 4
14 John Knight NYY 0 4
14 Bris Lord PHA 0 4
18 Jack Barry PHA 0 3
18 Russ Ford NYY 0 3
20 Jimmy Austin SLB 0 2
20 Frank LaPorte SLB 0 2
22 George McBride WSH 0 1
22 Stuffy McInnis PHA 0 1
In case you wanted to know what the contemporary voters thought.
Best player: I agree with the contemporary voters, Ty Cobb was the best in the league. Joe Jackson was great, but Cobb was better. Cobb led in OPS, runs, hits, doubles, triples, RBI, and steals. Jackson #2, Collins #3, Baker (home run leader) #4, Sam Crawford #5.
Best pitcher: Interestingly, the 1911 voters favored Ed Walsh, 2nd in wins and 6th in ERA, over other pitchers, placing him 2nd in the MVP voting. I agree, Big Ed was the top pitcher. Walter #2, Gregg #3, Wood #4, Russ Ford #5.
Best Rookie: Vean Gregg, leader in ERA and WHIP.
Best manager: Has to be A's skipper Connie Mack.
1910 National League
Chicago got catcher Johnny Kling back and roared to another pennant, winning 104 games. They lost the World Series to Philadelphia, though. New York and Pittsburgh were the other good teams again, with Philadelphia and Cincinnati around .500. Brooklyn, St. Louis, and Boston trailed. The Cubs had their best offense in years, topping the league in runs per game as well as their usual fielding dominance, but were an old team that would soon need rebuilt.
Statistical leaders: Sherry Magee batted .331 to beat out Vin Campbell's .326 and Solly Hofman's .325. Magee also led in on-base, slugging, total bases, runs (110), and RBI (123 to Mike Mitchell's 88). Bobby Byrne led in doubles with 43, Mitchell in triples with 18, and Bob Bescher in steals with 70. Byrne and Honus Wagner tied for the hits lead with 178.
Christy Mathewson led the way with 27 wins to Mordecai Brown's 25, while King Cole led with a 1.80 ERA to edge Brown's 1.86 and Mathewson's 1.89. Earl Moore had 185 strikeouts to edge Matty by one. Nap Rucker pitched 320 innings, Mathewson 318.
Win Shares leaderboard:
Players; Sherry Magee (Philadelphia) 36, Solly Hofman (Chicago) 31, Honus Wagner (Pittsburgh) 30, Bobby Byrne (Pittsburgh) and Ed Konetchy (St. Louis) 27, Wildfire Schulte (Chicago) 26, Larry Doyle (New York) 25, Dode Paskert (Cincinnati) and Johnny Bates (Philadelphia) 24.
Pitchers; Christy Mathewson (New York) 30, Mordecai Brown (Chicago) 29, King Cole (Chicago) 25, Nap Rucker (Brooklyn) 23, Earl Moore (Philadelphia) and Babe Adams (Pittsburgh) 21.
WARP3 leaderboard: Wagner 6.6 (an off-year for him), Magee 6.1, Konetchy 6.0 (best year), Hofman 5.4, George Gibson (Pittsburgh) 4.7, Schulte 4.4, Bates 4.3, Fred Snodgrass (New York) 4.2, Byrne and Mike Mowrey (St. Louis) 4.1, Paskert 4.0 (best year), Joe Tinker (Chicago) 3.9.
For the pitchers, Mathewson 9.2, Rucker 6.7, Moore 6.3, George Suggs (Cincinnati) 6.1, Brown 5.7, Cy Barger (Brooklyn) 5.4, Harry Gaspar (Cincinnati) 4.9, Cole 4.8 (rookie, best year), Mordecai Brown (Chicago) 4.7, Louis Drucke (New York) 4.6, Doc Scanlan (Brooklyn) and Al Mattern (Boston) 4.4.
WAR leaders, players: Magee 8.8, Wagner 7.3, Hofman 6.7, Byrne and Konetchy 6.3, Snodgrass 6.1, Paskert 5.8, Bates 5.7, Doyle 5.5.
Pitchers: Mathewson 7.2, Rucker 6.2, Cole 5.9, Moore 5.6, Brown 5.4, Suggs 4.4, Drucke 4.3, Barger, McQuilan, and Scanlan 4.3.
Best Player: Sherry Magee by default. He was the best hitter, though a butcher afield. Magee led in RBI by a margin of 35, and that's quite impressive. I'd like to pick a Cub, but again no one stands out from the rest. They had a team effort all the way, as usual. Honus Wagner fell out seriously but was still #2. Ed Konetchy #3, Solly Hofman #4, Fred Snodgrass #5.
Best Pitcher: Christy Mathewson. Christy is always a safe pick, in 1910 he led in wins, 2nd in strikeouts, 3rd in ERA. Mordecai Brown was 2nd in wins, 2nd in ERA, and second on my ballot. Earl Moore, the strikeout leader, #3 with Nap Rucker #4 and King Cole #5.
Rookie of the Year: King Cole. Here's a Cub! The young pitcher was 20-4 with a league-leading 1.80 ERA. He walked 130 against 114 Ks, though. Bad omens for the future.
Best manager: Frank Chance guided this Cub team with a steady hand.
Statistical leaders: Sherry Magee batted .331 to beat out Vin Campbell's .326 and Solly Hofman's .325. Magee also led in on-base, slugging, total bases, runs (110), and RBI (123 to Mike Mitchell's 88). Bobby Byrne led in doubles with 43, Mitchell in triples with 18, and Bob Bescher in steals with 70. Byrne and Honus Wagner tied for the hits lead with 178.
Christy Mathewson led the way with 27 wins to Mordecai Brown's 25, while King Cole led with a 1.80 ERA to edge Brown's 1.86 and Mathewson's 1.89. Earl Moore had 185 strikeouts to edge Matty by one. Nap Rucker pitched 320 innings, Mathewson 318.
Win Shares leaderboard:
Players; Sherry Magee (Philadelphia) 36, Solly Hofman (Chicago) 31, Honus Wagner (Pittsburgh) 30, Bobby Byrne (Pittsburgh) and Ed Konetchy (St. Louis) 27, Wildfire Schulte (Chicago) 26, Larry Doyle (New York) 25, Dode Paskert (Cincinnati) and Johnny Bates (Philadelphia) 24.
Pitchers; Christy Mathewson (New York) 30, Mordecai Brown (Chicago) 29, King Cole (Chicago) 25, Nap Rucker (Brooklyn) 23, Earl Moore (Philadelphia) and Babe Adams (Pittsburgh) 21.
WARP3 leaderboard: Wagner 6.6 (an off-year for him), Magee 6.1, Konetchy 6.0 (best year), Hofman 5.4, George Gibson (Pittsburgh) 4.7, Schulte 4.4, Bates 4.3, Fred Snodgrass (New York) 4.2, Byrne and Mike Mowrey (St. Louis) 4.1, Paskert 4.0 (best year), Joe Tinker (Chicago) 3.9.
For the pitchers, Mathewson 9.2, Rucker 6.7, Moore 6.3, George Suggs (Cincinnati) 6.1, Brown 5.7, Cy Barger (Brooklyn) 5.4, Harry Gaspar (Cincinnati) 4.9, Cole 4.8 (rookie, best year), Mordecai Brown (Chicago) 4.7, Louis Drucke (New York) 4.6, Doc Scanlan (Brooklyn) and Al Mattern (Boston) 4.4.
WAR leaders, players: Magee 8.8, Wagner 7.3, Hofman 6.7, Byrne and Konetchy 6.3, Snodgrass 6.1, Paskert 5.8, Bates 5.7, Doyle 5.5.
Pitchers: Mathewson 7.2, Rucker 6.2, Cole 5.9, Moore 5.6, Brown 5.4, Suggs 4.4, Drucke 4.3, Barger, McQuilan, and Scanlan 4.3.
Best Player: Sherry Magee by default. He was the best hitter, though a butcher afield. Magee led in RBI by a margin of 35, and that's quite impressive. I'd like to pick a Cub, but again no one stands out from the rest. They had a team effort all the way, as usual. Honus Wagner fell out seriously but was still #2. Ed Konetchy #3, Solly Hofman #4, Fred Snodgrass #5.
Best Pitcher: Christy Mathewson. Christy is always a safe pick, in 1910 he led in wins, 2nd in strikeouts, 3rd in ERA. Mordecai Brown was 2nd in wins, 2nd in ERA, and second on my ballot. Earl Moore, the strikeout leader, #3 with Nap Rucker #4 and King Cole #5.
Rookie of the Year: King Cole. Here's a Cub! The young pitcher was 20-4 with a league-leading 1.80 ERA. He walked 130 against 114 Ks, though. Bad omens for the future.
Best manager: Frank Chance guided this Cub team with a steady hand.
1910 American League
Philadelphia ran away with the 1910 pennant, winning 102 games and piling up a 14.5 game margin over previous three-time winner Detroit. Ty Cobb's teams would never win another pennant. Detroit was a solid third, followed by Boston, Cleveland, Chicago, and Washington, while at the low end of the spectrum St. Louis lost 107 games for last place.
Statistical leaders: Nap Lajoie edged Ty Cobb .384 to .383 for a highly contested batting title. Cobb led in on-base and slugging, with Lajoie second in both categories. Cobb led in runs, Lajoie in hits, doubles and total bases, Sam Crawford in triples and RBI, Eddie Collins with 81 steals. Lajoie edged Cobb in runs created and batting runs.
Jack Coombs had 31 wins and was second with a 1.30 ERA, while Ed Walsh led in that stat with a 1.27. Walter Johnson, the Senators' young flamethrower, led in strikeouts with 313. Johnson pitched 1/3 of an inning more than Walsh, with Coombs close behind. The three were well ahead of anyone else.
The Win Shares leaderboard:
Players; Nap Lajoie (Cleveland) 47, Ty Cobb (Detroit) 45, Eddie Collins (Philadelphia) 39, Tris Speaker (Boston) 34, Frank Baker and Rube Oldring (Philadelphia) 25, Donie Bush (Detroit) and Danny Murphy (Philadelphia) 24, Sam Crawford (Detroit), John Knight (New York) and Clyde Milan (Washington) 23.
Pitchers; Jack Coombs (Philadelphia) 37, Ed Walsh (Chicago) and Walter Johnson (Washington) 36, Russ Ford (New York) 35, Chief Bender (Philadelphia) 26, Cy Morgan (Philadelphia) 20, George Mullin (Detroit) and Jack Quinn (New York) 19.
WARP3 leaders: Cobb 11.1, Lajoie 11.0, Collins 10.1, Speaker 8.2, Baker 6.6, Murphy 6.0, Bush 5.6, Oldring 4.5 (best season), Jake Stahl (Boston) 4.3, Harry Wolter (New York) 4.2, Heinie Wagner (Boston) 4.1, Knight (career year) and Larry Gardner (Boston) 4.0.
Pitchers: Walsh 12.8, Johnson 11.7, Ford 10.6 (rookie, best year), Coombs 10.0 (career year), Bender 6.5 (best year), Quinn 5.5 (first full year), Joe Lake (St. Louis) 4.5, Ray Collins (Boston) 4.4, Hippo Vaughn (New York) 4.1, Doc White (Chicago) and Jack Powell (St. Louis) 3.9.
WAR leaders, players: Cobb 10.8, Collins 10.1, Lajoie 9.8, Speaker 7.9, Bush 5.7, Baker 5.0, Milan 4.7, Oldring 4.5, Murphy 4.4, Barry 4.3.
Pitchers: Coombs 9.2, Johnson 9.1, Ford 9.0, Walsh 8.7, Bender 5.2, Collins 4.6, Vaughn 3.8, Collins 3.6, Quinn 3.2.
Best Player: Eddie Collins from the pennant-winning A's. It was a tremendous season from the old pro Lajoie, and Cobb led in many categories, but Collins led in steals, and was 3rd in hits and RBI, 4th in OPS+, and was incredible afield and he played for the pennant winners. Lajoie #2 and Cobb #3, Tris Speaker #4 and Frank Baker #5.
Best Pitcher: Ed Walsh rated so well because he led the league in ERA despite an 18-20 record, owing to a 6th place team. He was certainly the best in the league, although any writers' vote would not have chosen him. The award would have gone to the second-best pitcher, Jack Coombs of the pennant-winning Athletics in his career-best amazing season, 31-9 with a 1.30 ERA. Walter Johnson was third, Russ Ford fourth, and Chief Bender 5th.
Best Rookie: Russ Ford, 26-5 in by far his best season. He and teammate one-year wonder John Knight helped propel the Highlanders to second place.
Best manager: Connie Mack, constructing his first great team.
Statistical leaders: Nap Lajoie edged Ty Cobb .384 to .383 for a highly contested batting title. Cobb led in on-base and slugging, with Lajoie second in both categories. Cobb led in runs, Lajoie in hits, doubles and total bases, Sam Crawford in triples and RBI, Eddie Collins with 81 steals. Lajoie edged Cobb in runs created and batting runs.
Jack Coombs had 31 wins and was second with a 1.30 ERA, while Ed Walsh led in that stat with a 1.27. Walter Johnson, the Senators' young flamethrower, led in strikeouts with 313. Johnson pitched 1/3 of an inning more than Walsh, with Coombs close behind. The three were well ahead of anyone else.
The Win Shares leaderboard:
Players; Nap Lajoie (Cleveland) 47, Ty Cobb (Detroit) 45, Eddie Collins (Philadelphia) 39, Tris Speaker (Boston) 34, Frank Baker and Rube Oldring (Philadelphia) 25, Donie Bush (Detroit) and Danny Murphy (Philadelphia) 24, Sam Crawford (Detroit), John Knight (New York) and Clyde Milan (Washington) 23.
Pitchers; Jack Coombs (Philadelphia) 37, Ed Walsh (Chicago) and Walter Johnson (Washington) 36, Russ Ford (New York) 35, Chief Bender (Philadelphia) 26, Cy Morgan (Philadelphia) 20, George Mullin (Detroit) and Jack Quinn (New York) 19.
WARP3 leaders: Cobb 11.1, Lajoie 11.0, Collins 10.1, Speaker 8.2, Baker 6.6, Murphy 6.0, Bush 5.6, Oldring 4.5 (best season), Jake Stahl (Boston) 4.3, Harry Wolter (New York) 4.2, Heinie Wagner (Boston) 4.1, Knight (career year) and Larry Gardner (Boston) 4.0.
Pitchers: Walsh 12.8, Johnson 11.7, Ford 10.6 (rookie, best year), Coombs 10.0 (career year), Bender 6.5 (best year), Quinn 5.5 (first full year), Joe Lake (St. Louis) 4.5, Ray Collins (Boston) 4.4, Hippo Vaughn (New York) 4.1, Doc White (Chicago) and Jack Powell (St. Louis) 3.9.
WAR leaders, players: Cobb 10.8, Collins 10.1, Lajoie 9.8, Speaker 7.9, Bush 5.7, Baker 5.0, Milan 4.7, Oldring 4.5, Murphy 4.4, Barry 4.3.
Pitchers: Coombs 9.2, Johnson 9.1, Ford 9.0, Walsh 8.7, Bender 5.2, Collins 4.6, Vaughn 3.8, Collins 3.6, Quinn 3.2.
Best Player: Eddie Collins from the pennant-winning A's. It was a tremendous season from the old pro Lajoie, and Cobb led in many categories, but Collins led in steals, and was 3rd in hits and RBI, 4th in OPS+, and was incredible afield and he played for the pennant winners. Lajoie #2 and Cobb #3, Tris Speaker #4 and Frank Baker #5.
Best Pitcher: Ed Walsh rated so well because he led the league in ERA despite an 18-20 record, owing to a 6th place team. He was certainly the best in the league, although any writers' vote would not have chosen him. The award would have gone to the second-best pitcher, Jack Coombs of the pennant-winning Athletics in his career-best amazing season, 31-9 with a 1.30 ERA. Walter Johnson was third, Russ Ford fourth, and Chief Bender 5th.
Best Rookie: Russ Ford, 26-5 in by far his best season. He and teammate one-year wonder John Knight helped propel the Highlanders to second place.
Best manager: Connie Mack, constructing his first great team.
04 July 2007
1909 National League
The Pirates break the Cubs' stranglehold on the pennant, while Cubs' catcher Johnny Kling takes a year off. The Pirates won 110 games to the Cubs' 104, while New York won 92. Cincinnati was just above .500, Philadelphia just below, and Brooklyn, St. Louis, and Boston brought up the rear. The Pirates and veteran Honus Wagner then beat the Tigers of youngster Ty Cobb in the World Series.
Wagner won the batting title at .339, with Cincinnati's tandem of Mike Mitchell and Dick Hoblitzell were second and third at .310 and .308, and Larry Doyle rounded out the .300 hitters at .302. Tommy Leach led the league in runs at 126, followed by Fred Clarke at 97. Doyle had 172 hits and Eddie Grant 170. Wagner led with 39 doubles, Mitchell with 17 triples. Wagner also led with 100 RBI, followed by Red Murray's 91. Bob Bescher had 54 steals and Murray 48. Wagner led in on-base, slugging, OPS, and runs created.
Mordecai Brown topped the loop with 27 wins, followed by Howie Camnitz and Christy Mathewson with 25 each. Mathewson led with a 1.14 ERA, followed by Brown at 1.31 and Orval Overall at 1.42. Overall led in strikeouts with 205, then came Nap Rucker at 201. Overall had nine shutouts, Brown and Mathewson eight each.
Win Shares, players: Honus Wagner (Pittsburgh) had 42 Win Shares, to teammate Fred Clarke's 31 and Mike Mitchell's 28 for Cincinnati. They were followed by Johnny Evers and Solly Hofman (Chicago) and Larry Doyle (New York) with 27 each, Tommy Leach (Pittsburgh) 26, and Harry Steinfeldt (Chicago) 25. WARP3 leaders: Wagner 10.0 at age 35, Mitchell 6.5 (he was 29 in this, his best year), George Gibson (Pittsburgh) 6.3, Clarke 5.5 at age 36, Hofman 5.2, Ed Konetechy (St. Louis) 5.1, Dots Miller (Pittsburgh) and Dick Hoblitzel (Cincinnati) 4.7, Art Devlin (New York) 4.6, John Titus (Philadelphia) 4.2, Al Bridwell (New York) 4.1.
Pitching is a bit closer. The Win Shares leaders are: Mordecai Brown (Chicago) 36, Christy Mathewson (New York) 34, Orval Overall (Chicago) and Howie Camnitz (Pittsburgh) 30, Earl Moore (Philadelphia) and Vic Willis (Pittsburgh) 24 each, Nap Rucker (Brooklyn) and Hooks Wiltse (New York) 22. WARP3 leaders: Mathewson 11.5, Rucker 8.0, Brown 7.8, Overall 7.4, Art Fromme (Cincinnati) 6.6, Al Mattern (Boston) 5.6, Camnitz (best year), Wiltse and Ed Reulbach (Chicago) 4.9, George Bell (Brooklyn) 4.4.
WAR, position players: Wagner 10.6, Clarke 6.7, Mitchell and Bridwell 6.6, Konetchy 5.7, Miller 5.5, Devlin and Doyle 5.4, Tinker 5.3.
WAR, pitchers: Brown 8.7, Mathewson 8.5, Overall 7.1, Rucker 6.5, Camnitz 6.4, Willis 5.7, Reulbach 5.5, Fromme 5.3, Moore 5.1.
Best Player: Honus Wagner is the clear leader. Led in batting average, on-base, slugging, OPS, total bases, RBI, and OPS+ with 173. Second best was Mike Mitchell of Cincinnati at 152. I would rank Clarke #2 and Mitchell #3 with Larry Doyle #4 and Ed Konetchy #5.
Brown's 27 wins and second-place ERA probably would have won him the vote, and I'll take him too, as though Mathewson was better at rate, Brown pitched quite a few more innings and that counts. Earl Moore wins a Comeback Award, returning to effectiveness after years of struggle. Put Brown #1 with Mathewson #2 and Overall #3, Camnitz #4 and Rucker #5.
For top rookie, Dots Miller batted .279 for Pittsburgh and played a respectable second base for the pennant winners. Zack Wheat batted .304 but played only 26 games.
Top manager to Fred Clarke, guiding the Pirates back into the pennant circle.
Wagner won the batting title at .339, with Cincinnati's tandem of Mike Mitchell and Dick Hoblitzell were second and third at .310 and .308, and Larry Doyle rounded out the .300 hitters at .302. Tommy Leach led the league in runs at 126, followed by Fred Clarke at 97. Doyle had 172 hits and Eddie Grant 170. Wagner led with 39 doubles, Mitchell with 17 triples. Wagner also led with 100 RBI, followed by Red Murray's 91. Bob Bescher had 54 steals and Murray 48. Wagner led in on-base, slugging, OPS, and runs created.
Mordecai Brown topped the loop with 27 wins, followed by Howie Camnitz and Christy Mathewson with 25 each. Mathewson led with a 1.14 ERA, followed by Brown at 1.31 and Orval Overall at 1.42. Overall led in strikeouts with 205, then came Nap Rucker at 201. Overall had nine shutouts, Brown and Mathewson eight each.
Win Shares, players: Honus Wagner (Pittsburgh) had 42 Win Shares, to teammate Fred Clarke's 31 and Mike Mitchell's 28 for Cincinnati. They were followed by Johnny Evers and Solly Hofman (Chicago) and Larry Doyle (New York) with 27 each, Tommy Leach (Pittsburgh) 26, and Harry Steinfeldt (Chicago) 25. WARP3 leaders: Wagner 10.0 at age 35, Mitchell 6.5 (he was 29 in this, his best year), George Gibson (Pittsburgh) 6.3, Clarke 5.5 at age 36, Hofman 5.2, Ed Konetechy (St. Louis) 5.1, Dots Miller (Pittsburgh) and Dick Hoblitzel (Cincinnati) 4.7, Art Devlin (New York) 4.6, John Titus (Philadelphia) 4.2, Al Bridwell (New York) 4.1.
Pitching is a bit closer. The Win Shares leaders are: Mordecai Brown (Chicago) 36, Christy Mathewson (New York) 34, Orval Overall (Chicago) and Howie Camnitz (Pittsburgh) 30, Earl Moore (Philadelphia) and Vic Willis (Pittsburgh) 24 each, Nap Rucker (Brooklyn) and Hooks Wiltse (New York) 22. WARP3 leaders: Mathewson 11.5, Rucker 8.0, Brown 7.8, Overall 7.4, Art Fromme (Cincinnati) 6.6, Al Mattern (Boston) 5.6, Camnitz (best year), Wiltse and Ed Reulbach (Chicago) 4.9, George Bell (Brooklyn) 4.4.
WAR, position players: Wagner 10.6, Clarke 6.7, Mitchell and Bridwell 6.6, Konetchy 5.7, Miller 5.5, Devlin and Doyle 5.4, Tinker 5.3.
WAR, pitchers: Brown 8.7, Mathewson 8.5, Overall 7.1, Rucker 6.5, Camnitz 6.4, Willis 5.7, Reulbach 5.5, Fromme 5.3, Moore 5.1.
Best Player: Honus Wagner is the clear leader. Led in batting average, on-base, slugging, OPS, total bases, RBI, and OPS+ with 173. Second best was Mike Mitchell of Cincinnati at 152. I would rank Clarke #2 and Mitchell #3 with Larry Doyle #4 and Ed Konetchy #5.
Brown's 27 wins and second-place ERA probably would have won him the vote, and I'll take him too, as though Mathewson was better at rate, Brown pitched quite a few more innings and that counts. Earl Moore wins a Comeback Award, returning to effectiveness after years of struggle. Put Brown #1 with Mathewson #2 and Overall #3, Camnitz #4 and Rucker #5.
For top rookie, Dots Miller batted .279 for Pittsburgh and played a respectable second base for the pennant winners. Zack Wheat batted .304 but played only 26 games.
Top manager to Fred Clarke, guiding the Pirates back into the pennant circle.
1909 American League
The Tigers won their third pennant in a row by 3.5 games over Philadelphia. A rebuilt Boston ran a solid third. Boston had the best offense, Philly the best run-prevention crew, but Detroit the best combination. Chicago was a solid fourth, followed by New York, Cleveland, and St. Louis. Washington lost 110 games as the AL laughingstock. The Tigers then lost their third straight World Series as well, although they took this one to seven games.
Ty Cobb led the league with a .377 average, followed by Eddie Collins at .347 and Nap Lajoie at .324. Cobb scored 116 runs and teammate Donie Bush 114. Cobb had 216 hits followed by Collins at 198. Cobb had 107 RBI, followed by teammate Sam Crawford at 97, and Cobb had 76 stolen bases, followed by Collins at 67. Crawford had 35 doubles, while Lajoie and Cobb had 33, and "Home Run" Baker had 19 triples, followed by Crawford and Danny Murphy at 14. Cobb also led in on-base, slugging, OPS, and runs created.
George Mullin led the league with 29 wins, Frank Smith won 25, and Ed Willett won 21 to round out the 20-game winners. Harry Krause's 1.39 ERA edged Ed Walsh at 1.41, with Chief Bender third at 1.66. Smith led in strikeouts at 177, and Walter Johnson had 164. Smith had a big lead with 365 innings, and Mullin was a distant second at 304.
Ty Cobb led in just about every offensive category that means anything, but in Win Shares it was Cobb 44, Collins 43, with Tris Speaker at 34 and Sam Crawford at 32. Other top Win Shares placers were Nap Lajoie of Cleveland, Donie Bush of Detroit, and Frank Baker of Philadelphia, all at 27. Patsy Dougherty of Chicago posted a 25. This influx of young talent, with Collins and Speaker in their first full years and Baker a rookie, would serve to make the AL the dominant league for the next several years, extending through the Babe Ruth Era.
WARP3 leaders for position players: Collins 12.5, Cobb 11.3, Speaker 8.4, Bush 6.8, Crawford 6.4, Lajoie 6.3, Jake Stahl (Boston) 4.6, Freddy Parent (Cleveland) 4.5, Danny Murphy (Philadelphia) 4.4, Harry Davis (Philaelphia) 4.1.
Pitchers are more of a challenge. The Win Shares leaders are Frank Smith (Chicago) 31, George Mullin (Detroit) 28, Ed Walsh (Chicago) 23, Chief Bender and Eddie Plank (Philadelphia) 22, Ed Summers (Detroit) 21, Addie Joss and Cy Young (Cleveland) and Harry Krause (Philadelphia) 20.
Rated by WARP3 they shape up as Smith 8.2, Walsh 7.8, Joss 5.6, Barney Pelty (St. Louis) 4.9, Mullin 4.8, Jack Powell (St. Louis) 4.7, Krause 4.4 (career year), Bender and Jack Warhop (New York) 4.3, Plank and Cy Morgan (Philadelphia) 4.2.
WAR, top position players: Collins 11.1, Cobb 10.8, Bush 7.4, Speaker 7.1, Lajoie and Speaker 6.7, Crawford 6.4, Parent 5.4, Lord 4.8.
WAR, top pitchers: Morgan 6.0, Smith 5.3, Walsh 5.1, Krause 5.0, Bender and Plank 4.5, Joss 4.3, Mullin 4.2.
Top player: Ty Cobb, as much as I would like to choose Collins. Cobb led the league in so many categories while playing for the pennant winners, it is impossible to choose anyone else. Make Collins #2, Speaker #3, Lajoie #4, and Crawford #5.
I'll go for Frank Smith as the top pitcher. He led in strikeouts, also games, starts and complete games, and was second in wins. Walsh gets my #2 vote, with Mullin #3, Joss #4 and Plank #5.
Harry Krause was the top rookie, going 18-8 and leading the league with a 1.39 ERA after pitching in 4 games the year before. Bush and Baker would be #2 and #3 in a strong year for rookies.
Top manager: Hughie Jennings, holding Detroit together for another pennant.
Ty Cobb led the league with a .377 average, followed by Eddie Collins at .347 and Nap Lajoie at .324. Cobb scored 116 runs and teammate Donie Bush 114. Cobb had 216 hits followed by Collins at 198. Cobb had 107 RBI, followed by teammate Sam Crawford at 97, and Cobb had 76 stolen bases, followed by Collins at 67. Crawford had 35 doubles, while Lajoie and Cobb had 33, and "Home Run" Baker had 19 triples, followed by Crawford and Danny Murphy at 14. Cobb also led in on-base, slugging, OPS, and runs created.
George Mullin led the league with 29 wins, Frank Smith won 25, and Ed Willett won 21 to round out the 20-game winners. Harry Krause's 1.39 ERA edged Ed Walsh at 1.41, with Chief Bender third at 1.66. Smith led in strikeouts at 177, and Walter Johnson had 164. Smith had a big lead with 365 innings, and Mullin was a distant second at 304.
Ty Cobb led in just about every offensive category that means anything, but in Win Shares it was Cobb 44, Collins 43, with Tris Speaker at 34 and Sam Crawford at 32. Other top Win Shares placers were Nap Lajoie of Cleveland, Donie Bush of Detroit, and Frank Baker of Philadelphia, all at 27. Patsy Dougherty of Chicago posted a 25. This influx of young talent, with Collins and Speaker in their first full years and Baker a rookie, would serve to make the AL the dominant league for the next several years, extending through the Babe Ruth Era.
WARP3 leaders for position players: Collins 12.5, Cobb 11.3, Speaker 8.4, Bush 6.8, Crawford 6.4, Lajoie 6.3, Jake Stahl (Boston) 4.6, Freddy Parent (Cleveland) 4.5, Danny Murphy (Philadelphia) 4.4, Harry Davis (Philaelphia) 4.1.
Pitchers are more of a challenge. The Win Shares leaders are Frank Smith (Chicago) 31, George Mullin (Detroit) 28, Ed Walsh (Chicago) 23, Chief Bender and Eddie Plank (Philadelphia) 22, Ed Summers (Detroit) 21, Addie Joss and Cy Young (Cleveland) and Harry Krause (Philadelphia) 20.
Rated by WARP3 they shape up as Smith 8.2, Walsh 7.8, Joss 5.6, Barney Pelty (St. Louis) 4.9, Mullin 4.8, Jack Powell (St. Louis) 4.7, Krause 4.4 (career year), Bender and Jack Warhop (New York) 4.3, Plank and Cy Morgan (Philadelphia) 4.2.
WAR, top position players: Collins 11.1, Cobb 10.8, Bush 7.4, Speaker 7.1, Lajoie and Speaker 6.7, Crawford 6.4, Parent 5.4, Lord 4.8.
WAR, top pitchers: Morgan 6.0, Smith 5.3, Walsh 5.1, Krause 5.0, Bender and Plank 4.5, Joss 4.3, Mullin 4.2.
Top player: Ty Cobb, as much as I would like to choose Collins. Cobb led the league in so many categories while playing for the pennant winners, it is impossible to choose anyone else. Make Collins #2, Speaker #3, Lajoie #4, and Crawford #5.
I'll go for Frank Smith as the top pitcher. He led in strikeouts, also games, starts and complete games, and was second in wins. Walsh gets my #2 vote, with Mullin #3, Joss #4 and Plank #5.
Harry Krause was the top rookie, going 18-8 and leading the league with a 1.39 ERA after pitching in 4 games the year before. Bush and Baker would be #2 and #3 in a strong year for rookies.
Top manager: Hughie Jennings, holding Detroit together for another pennant.
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