NL Season Wrap-up
As the season wore on, the Pirates slowly began to pull away from the rest of the league. At the end of August, they held a 5-game lead and then they went 20-7 in September to quickly nail down their first pennant since 1885. Interestingly enough, the MLB Pirates also won the pennant in 1901. The difference in MLHR is that there will be a World Series in 1901.
The Pirates were dominant all around this season, ranking 2nd in offense, defense and pitching. Their bullpen was truly the best in baseball with a 2.82 ERA.
Patsy Flaherty (5-4, 44 Sv, 3.01 ERA) led the league in saves, tying for 2nd most all-time behind only
Jack Cattanach's 45 in 1892.
Rube Waddell (18-8, 3.10 ERA, 299 K's) had another dominant season as team ace while the rest of the rotation struggled somewhat. Offensively, the Pirates surprised everyone by leading the league in home runs. The top six batters in their lineup each hit 20+ home runs. Shortstop
Honus Wagner (.333, 30 HR, 97 RBI, 24 SB) had a breakout season, and 24-year-old second baseman
Jimmy Williams (.253, 28 HR, 92 RBI) also had a superb year.
Despite falling short of the pennant, the Phillies had strong seasons from
Ed Delahanty (.312, 19 HR, 91 RBI) and
Elmer Flick (.301, 24 HR, 102 RBI), while first baseman
Nap Lajoie (.298, 52 2B, 26 HR, 141 RBI) led the league in doubles and RBI. On the pitching side,
Ned Garvin (14-8, 3.05 ERA) led the league in ERA and 37-year-old
Ben Sanders (17-7, 3.51 ERA) had another solid year. Fellow 37-year-old
Bill Vinton (12-18, 4.66 ERA) is the active leader with 271 career wins, just 7 wins away from setting the all-time record. However, he struggled this season making us wonder how long he will remain in the rotation and whether or not he will be the first pitcher to reach 300 wins.
The Cubs faded down the stretch as their vaunted offense was unable to capitalize on career seasons from several of the team's pitchers. Last season's BoY
Bill Lange (.303, 28 HR, 94 RBI, 73 SB) had his second career hitting streak of 20+ games, but as a whole the team scored just the 4th most runs. While they stole the most bases in the league, their power plummeted to the 3rd lowest league total.
Clark Griffith (16-9, 3.23 ERA) and
Buttons Briggs (14-7, 3.43 ERA) had big years in the rotation, and 38-year-old
Jocko Flynn (15-9, 3.88 ERA) continued to defy time with another impressive season even if his rough final two months ballooned his ERA in the end.
The Cardinals finished with the top offense, led by
Mike Donlin (.309, 36 HR, 127 ERA) and
Jimmy Bannon (.281, 38 HR, 117 RBI). However, the pitching staff was mediocre.
Cy Young (16-8, 3.34 ERA) had a bounce-back season after going 11-16 with a 4.07 ERA last year. Rookie
Bob Wicker (16-11, 3.52 ERA) also had a solid season, but other key pitchers like
Joe Corbett (9-15, 5.04 ERA) and closer
Willie Sudhoff (9-11, 23 Sv, 6.05 ERA) really struggled.
Standings
Batting Leaders
Pitching Leaders
