1920 Season Recap:
Final 1920 Standings:
1920 New York Yankees Leaders & Rankings:
1920 Year In Review:
So this was obviously not a good season for the Yankees. We hung around the .500 mark until that awful July, then finished up with winning records the final 2 months of the year. I was probably worrying too much about Ruth, Alexander, & Johnson and not paying enough attention to how the rest of the team was playing. At least we get a decent draft pick for the first time in a while.
Babe Ruth:
As I've discussed the last few posts, Ruth doesn't seem to be progressing. I'm going to try to give him another season or 2 to show me he can improve, but I can't keep having 1 guy committing so many errors in the field. This year Ruth had 28 errors in RF. But the good news is he did finally show a RF rating at the end of the season. For the year Ruth hit .281 with 34 doubles, 6 triples, 5 homers, & 50 RBIs. He walked 40 times, and struck out 83 times. His VORP was 5.6. His potentials are still 10/9/11/10/7, so there's still hope he can develop properly.
Walter Johnson:
The Big Train was pretty good, despite a 12-17 record. He won 3 of his last 4 starts. Johnson put up a 3.62 ERA with 82 strikeouts & 81 walks. If he can bring the walks down, I think he still has a chance.
Grover Cleveland Alexander:
Alexander wasn't very good for the times, but I still hold out hope. He went 8-9 with a 3.91 ERA, 37 strikeouts & 46 walks. I'll give him another season to see if he can improve.
Bob Meusel:
Well, the rookie definitely proved he can play. Now I have to find a spot for him in the outfield. For the season Meusel hit .349 with 17 homers & 70 RBIs and wasn't even starting every day. Ken Williams is up for a new contract this year, and I'm probably going to let him walk and replace him with Meusel.
1920 New York Yankees Transactions:
June 23, 1920: Signed P Hank Robinson to a 2 year contract extension @ $52,000 per year
The roller coaster ride that is Rube Robinson's career continued this season with a down year. But he's still got tons of talent and is only 31 years old. It made sense to extend him, and he only needed a $7,000 per year raise to stay (although he did as for more).
July 6, 1920: Signed 3B Charlie Deal to a 2 year contract extension @ $5,000 per year (year 2 being a mutual option)
Deal wasn't great at the plate, but he was gold glove quality in the field. Because of his defense he earned an extension.
Stuffy McInnis:
The one name you didn't see signing an extension was Stuffy McInnis. He's just asking for too much money. His latest demand was for $60,000 per year, which is an amount I'm not willing to pay him. He's too streaky. But, I couldn't find an acceptable trade offer before the deadline, so he'll be hitting the free agent market.
1920 World Series Recap:
The Pittsburgh Pirates are making their 3rd straight WS appearance and 11th trip since 1903. Going into the series the Pirates are 3-7 in their first 10 trips. It's the 3rd WS appearance for Cleveland, who are 1-1 so far. This series was another best of 9 series.
The Indians won the series 5 games to 3.