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.