AL Season Wrap-up
After two winning streaks of 10 games or more in the first half of the season, the White Sox won 10 of 11 games over a 12 day stretch in early September to seal their second straight AL pennant. Boston heated up late in the second half, but the White Sox still managed to capture the pennant by a wide 10-game margin. The Chicago offense had a down year, ranking just 4th in the league, but the team's pitching was outstanding and posted an amazing 2.84 team ERA that easily out paced the rest of the MLHR.
Reb Russell (18-5, 2.41 ERA) led the American League in ERA and finished second in wins to teammate
Joe Benz (19-6, 2.92 ERA). Meanwhile, the Chicago bullpen finished the season with an incredible 1.96 ERA. Setup man
Mellie Wolfgang was the best reliever in the league this season, posting an 8-2 record with a 0.99 ERA in 118.1 innings!
The Red Sox were disappointed with a second straight 2nd-place finish, but they were just one game above .500 going into July. They led the AL with an impressive 230 home runs, thanks primarily to the slugging prowess of
Babe Ruth (.305, 68 HR, 144 RBI). Ruth set a new MLHR record with 68 home runs. He also broke his own record for walks in a season with 154. The Red Sox also ranked 2nd in pitching, but reigning AL PoY
Ray Collins (13-11, 4.11 ERA) struggled to match the fantastic season he had last year. However,
"Smoky Joe" Wood (19-6, 2.78 ERA) pitched superbly, as did sophomore
Carl Mays (14-7, 2.49 ERA), who moved into the rotation in July after losing his rotation spot late last year.
In Oakland, the team led the AL in offense with the trio of
Eddie Collins (.325, 66 RBI, 108 R, 58 SB),
Joe Jackson (.340, 30 HR, 102 RBI, 21 SB) and
Frank Baker (.302, 43 HR, 136, RBI, 16 SB) continuing to lead the charge. Unfortunately, the team's pitching staff backslid to an overall 4th place ranking. The bullpen was their primary issue, ranking 5th overall. 28-year-old closer
Harry Krause (7-7, 27 SV, 4.28 ERA) had the fewest saves and worst ERA of his career as a reliever.
Detroit's pitching staff got worse in the second half of the season and wound up ranked 7th in the league. Only one starting pitcher,
Hooks Dauss (14-10, 3.59 ERA), posted an ERA below 4.00. The offense ranked 2nd in the league, and everyone in Detroit knows that if this team had decent pitching, they would be a legitimate pennant contender every year. For the second straight season, right fielder
Harry Heilmann (.344, 42 HR, 144 RBI, 102 R) had arguably a better season than his more well-known teammate
Ty Cobb (.335, 38 HR, 120 RBI, 131 R, 61 SB).
Standings
Batting Leaders
Pitching Leaders
National League Rosters
