NL Season Wrap-up
There was no dominant team in the NL, but that certainly made for an exciting pennant race. In early August, there were six teams within six games of first place. However, by late August that had changed as the Phillies came crashing back down to earth with an 8-16 record in July and then a 9-19 record in August. On September 1st, the Giants led the Cubs by 2 games, the Reds by 5.5 games and the Braves by 6 games. A week later, the Giants had a 6-game lead.
On September 24th, San Francisco hosted the Cubs for a huge 3-game series. All three games were battles but the Giants came out on top in all three, winning by scores of 2-1, 8-7 and 4-3. Once that sweep was complete, the Giants had clinched their 3rd consecutive pennant. That tied them with their franchise's only other pennant winning group who won three consecutive titles from 1881-83. The worrisome part is the fact that the Giants did not run away from a weak National League this year, and they should expect to face stiff competition from the American League in the World Series. Their bullpen was ranked just 5th in the league this year. That unit was a big part of the reason why they lost last year's World Series and they will be key to whether or not the team can win this year.
In Philadelphia, 40-year-old
Nap Lajoie hit .310 in 76 August at-bats and .278 in September. He surpassed the 900 doubles mark and he is just 2 hits shy of 3700. It is unlikely that he will return next season, but then again we said that last year. He is 184 hits away from the all-time mark set by
John McGraw.
It's worth mentioning that with an 80-82 record, the Pirates posted their first losing season since 1896... yes, 19 years ago! Their pitching staff did their part, ranking 2nd in the NL, and rookie
Dazzy Vance (21-6, 2.66 ERA) was fantastic. However, the offense scored the second fewest runs in the league. To compete next year, they need an infusion of young offensive talent.
Standings
Batting Leaders
Pitching Leaders
National League Rosters
