1903 American League Rookies
Chief Bender, SP, Age 18, Athletics
From Bender's SABR bio:
"American Indian. Innovator. Renaissance man. Charles Albert “Chief” Bender lived a unique American life, fashioned a Hall of Fame career, and was an important member of modern baseball’s first dynasty. He silently struggled against racial prejudice, became a student of the game, and was a lifetime baseball man. His legacy, however, is less nuanced than all of that. Bender is known foremost for a rare ability to pitch under pressure. “If I had all the men I’ve ever handled, and they were in their prime, and there was one game I wanted to win above all others,” said Philadelphia Athletics icon Connie Mack, who managed fellow all-time pitching greats Lefty Grove, Herb Pennock, Eddie Plank, and Rube Waddell, “Albert would be my man.”
The A's continue to add top shelf pitching talent - and very young talent too. Sooner or later it should pan out for them, right? Well, Bender may be the best of them all. The MLB HOF'er joins
Eddie Plank (14-8, 3.04 ERA),
Tom Walker (11-12, 2.24 ERA),
Highball Wilson (11-15, 3.34 ERA) and
Andy Coakley (11-13, 3.42 ERA) to form a formidable rotation. Now, if only Oakland would add some offense!
Doc Gessler, RF, Age 22, Tigers
Gessler hits for average and has a decent eye for the strike zone. He has above-average speed and is a decent defender. In the offensive starved AL, he should thrive. Expect him to takeover right field duties for the defending AL champion Tigers this season.
Ed Killian, SP, Age 24, Indians
Like Oakland, Cleveland has a formidable pitching rotation. Killian joins that crew this season, likely as the #5 starter. He will pitch alongside
Addie Joss (15-12, 3.02 ERA), PoY
Earl Moore (19-6, 2.64 ERA),
Otto Hess (16-9, 2.77 ERA) and RoY
Charlie Smith (14-13, 2.58 ERA). This is also a young group, although not quite as young as Oakland's. But also like the A's, the Indians have yet to address their offensive needs. However, the Indians offense fared much better than Oakland's last season which gives them an advantage going into this season.
Cy Morgan, SP, Age 24, Orioles
Morgan is a fine pitcher who should immediately settle in as one the top pitchers on the Orioles' staff, perhaps their ace.
Pete Dowling (16-7, 2.65 ERA) was superb for the O's last season, and the team's offense wasn't bad either. That gives Baltimore fans reason to hope that this could be their year.
Barney Pelty, SP, Age 22, Orioles
Of course, the MLB Orioles franchise began as the St. Louis Browns and Pelty was one of their aces for nearly a decade. He and Morgan (above) immediately make the MLHR Orioles rotation much better and, in doing so, improves the quality of the bullpen with two former starters likely relocating there. The Orioles offense wasn't too bad last season, so the team does have legitimate pennant potential.
George Stone, LF, Age 24, Red Sox
With last season's top offensive AL rookie
Patsy Dougherty (.313, 15 HR, 50 RBI) in left field, Stone will likely be moved to right field. He has less experience in right, but his offensive potential is too much to overlook and so the team must find a spot for him. Stone had all of 2 MLB at-bats with Boston and then played the rest of his fine, albeit short, career with the Browns. He is a fine all-around hitter, though, and should make an immediate offensive impact for the Red Sox. He could challenge for a batting title and Rookie of the Year status right away. The team's pitching staff was middle of the road last season and no upgrades were made this offseason, but the likes of
Nick Altrock (13-12, 2.71 ERA) and
George Winter (14-12, 3.00 ERA) just might provide enough pitching to get Boston into the pennant race.
