1919 AL Preseason Predictions
1919 was a remarkable season in MLB history. It's known for the Black Sox scandal, but this is also the season that
Babe Ruth finally gave up pitching and became a regular outfielder. It also was Ruth's final season in Boston before being sold to the Yankees in December of 1919. However, this is MLHR and Ruth already has 319 career home runs. He will play his whole career in Boston. No one will be throwing the World Series, and no players will be banned for gambling. Now on to the season at hand...
After slipping to second place last year, the White Sox are again favored to win the pennant. They have the top pitching staff in the league and a good offense as well. Their bullpen slumped last year, so if they bounce back as expected, you can plan on seeing Chicago in first place for much of the season. And I admit, it would be fun to see the White Sox face the Reds in the 1919 MLHR World Series.
Despite the preseason predictions, Detroit is the defending World Series champions. While I do expect them to backslide, if their pitching staff can continue to perform well - thanks in large part to a much improved defense - then this team will stay in the mix all season. After all, they have a fantastic offense.
Both Oakland and Boston will be in the pennant chase, as usual. Both teams have strong pitching staffs, although both pitching staffs had some unexpected struggles last season - especially Oakland's bullpen. There's no reason to expect that bullpen to be much better this year. That puts pressure on the offenses, and Oakland's may be the best in the league, or at least second to Detroit's. Boston, on the other hand, should play good defense, but their offense rests on the shoulders of a few select men, like Ruth. They do not have the offensive depth that the other three contenders have.
Keep an eye on the Yankees this year. While I do not believe they have enough to capture the pennant, they just might be a surprise contender after making major upgrades to their offense over the winter.
Predicted Standings
(Scale of 1-12)
| Rank | Team | Rotation | Bullpen | Offense | Bench | Speed | Defense | Totals | Grade | Predicted Record |
| 1 | Chicago White Sox | 9 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8.2 | A- | 95 | 67 |
| 2 | Oakland Athletics | 8 | 6 | 10 | 12 | 7 | 6 | 7.9 | B+ | 91 | 71 |
| 3 | Boston Red Sox | 8 | 8 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 7.7 | B+ | 89 | 73 |
| 4 | Detroit Tigers | 6 | 6 | 10 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 7.7 | B+ | 88 | 74 |
| 5 | New York Yankees | 6 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 7.0 | B- | 81 | 81 |
| 6 | Cleveland Indians | 8 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6.4 | C+ | 74 | 88 |
| 7 | Minnesota Twins | 7 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 6.0 | C | 70 | 92 |
| 8 | Baltimore Orioles | 5 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 5.2 | C- | 60 | 102 |
MLB results for the AL in 1919
Champs: Chicago White Sox, (88-52, .629)
World Series: Reds defeated White Sox 5-3
For players who appear below on a team they are not playing with in MLHR, their MLHR team is listed in parenthesis
Combined WAR: Babe Ruth, Red Sox, 9.4
Offensive WAR: Babe Ruth, Red Sox, 8.6
Defensive WAR: Del Pratt, Yankees (Orioles), 2.7
Batting Title: Ty Cobb, Tigers, .384
On-Base%: Babe Ruth, Red Sox, .456
Slugging%: Babe Ruth, Red Sox, .657
Runs: Babe Ruth, Red Sox, 103
RBI: Babe Ruth, Red Sox, 113
SB: Eddie Collins, White Sox (Athletics), 33
OPS+: Babe Ruth, Red Sox, 217
AB/HR: Babe Ruth, Red Sox, 14.9
Pitching WAR: Walter Johnson, Twins, 10.5
Win%: Eddie Cicotte, White Sox (Tigers), .806
WHIP: Walter Johnson, Twins, 0.985
K/9: Eric Erickson, Tigers and Twins (Giants), 5.523
Innings: Eddie Cicotte, White Sox (Tigers) and Jim Shaw, Twins, 306.2
K/BB: Walter Johnson, Twins, 2.882
ERA+: Walter Johnson, Twins, 215
FIP: Walter Johnson, Twins, 2.07
MLHR Milestone Watch
3000 Hits
Ty Cobb, DET, Age 32, 2986 Hits
117 Triples
Ty Cobb, DET, Age 32, 109 Triples - This will tie him for the all-time record!
500 Home Runs
Frank Baker, OAK, Age 32, 464 Home Runs
1500 RBI
Frank Baker, OAK, Age 32, 1491 RBI
Gavvy Cravath, BOS, Age 35, 1373 RBI
1500 Runs
Tris Speaker, BOS, Age 30, 1402 Runs
500 Stolen Bases
Fritz Maisel, NYY, Age 29, 447 SB
700 Games Pitched
Tom Walker, OAK, Age 37, 685 G
Ray Fisher, NYY, Age 31, 626 G
Bugs Raymond, DET, Age 36, 618 G
250 Wins
Addie Joss, CLE, Age 38, 232 W
Walter Johnson, MIN, Age 31, 192 W
Joe Wood, BOS, Age 29, 184 W
4000 Innings Pitched
Chief Bender, OAK, Age 34, 3784.2 IP
3000 Innings Pitched
Walter Johnson, MIN, Age 31, 2972.0 IP
Tom Walker, OAK, Age 37, 2968.2 IP
Jimmy Dygert, OAK, Age 34, 2882.2 IP
3500 Strikeouts
Chief Bender, OAK, Age 34, 3470 K
Ed Walsh, CHA, Age 37, 3418 K
3000 Strikeouts
Walter Johnson, MIN, Age 31, 2935 K
Jimmy Dygert, OAK, Age 34, 2901 K
Joe Wood, BOS, Age 29, 2890 K