Season Wrap-up
No team in MLB history won more than 5 straight pennnants in the pre-divisional era. Beginning in 1947, the Yankees won 15 pennants in 18 seasons, but even they never won more than 5 in a row. In MLHR, the Phillies have now won 6 in a row and extended a record that we may never see broken. During this six season stretch, the Phillies have never won less than 100 games in a season. They finished each season with a lead of between 9 to 18 games with only one exception, 1897, when they finished just 4 games ahead of the Cardinals.
This season's Phillies added their names to yet another record. While the team was slowly expanding their league lead through July and August, they were swept in late August by the Cardinals and then dropped 2-of-3 to the lowly Giants. On August 29th, they began a series at home against Cincinnati where they would right the ship and win 2-of-3. They then won 2-of-3 in Pittsburgh. What happened next, though, was nothing short of amazing.
After a day off, the Phillies began a 2-game series in Chicago on September 6th. They won that first game 11-3 and would not lose another game until the final game of a series in Cincinnati on September 29th - 23 days later! That's right, with just one day off during that span, the amazing Phillies rolled off an unprecedented 22-game winning streak. During that stretch, they swept series against the Braves, Cardinals, Dodgers, Giants and twice against the Cubs. They then won the first two games of the series in Cincy before
Lee Viau (7-14, 4.92 ERA) and the Reds broke the streak.
The team clearly ran away with the pennant at that point. [b]Nap Lajoie[b] (.347, 24 HR, 142 RBI, 100 R) went on to win the batting title in his third season while also leading the league in SLG, OPS, hits and doubles. In doing so, he became the first player to break up
Ross Barnes' string of the top eight single season hit totals.
Lajoie also tied his RBI total from last season that happens to be the 2nd highest RBI total of all-time.
In addition to this, Phillies starter
Ben Sanders, who won the PoY Award in 1894 and 1895, bounced back to dominant form after two straight above-average seasons. He led the league with a 2.22 ERA and tied Pittsburgh's
Rube Waddell for the league lead with 23 wins. That win total just happens to be tied for 2nd best all-time.
Meanwhile, the Cubs had a strong second half to finish 2nd. Their resurgence was in part led by first baseman
Tom Parrott (.332, 29 HR, 76 RBI in 382 AB) returning to the lineup on a regular basis.
Frank Chance (.246, 11 HR, 46 RBI, 33 SB in 378 AB) still led the team in steals despite playing part time in the second half. His future is now unclear since the team clearly cannot afford to have Parrott's production on the bench. 23-year-old
Buttons Briggs (15-8, 2.87 ERA) has essentially assumed the team's role of rotation ace after two strong seasons.
Standings
Batting Leaders
Pitching Leaders
Records
Singles: Willie Keeler, SFG, 189 (previous record was 184 set by Ross Barnes in 1878)
Games Pitched: Wild Bill Widner, LAD, 83
Walks Allowed: Bill Smith, CIN, 135
Career Stolen Bases: Billy Hamilton, PHI, 750