1920 NL Preseason Predictions
The Giants have won seven of the past eight NL pennants and there is no sign of them slowing down. They are on pace to equal or surpass the dominance of the Philadelphia Phillies, who won ten pennants over fifteen seasons from 1888-1902. The biggest frustration for San Francisco is the fact that they have won only two of their six World Series appearances, a challenge that the old Phillies only faced once, when they won the 1902 World Series against the fledgling American League. The Giants did not add any new talent this offseason, but they did not need to. They have the most balanced lineup in the National League. They have a solid pitching staff and now they have a fine young closer in 22-year-old
Rosy Ryan (4-5, 43 Sv, 2.12 ERA), who should be closing out games for the next decade.
St. Louis and Pittsburgh are considered to be the Giants' main competition. In my preseason rankings, both teams are tied for 2nd place. The Cardinals proved last season that they were on the verge of unseating the Giants, but this offseason, the Pirates added a great deal of talent to their team and made three key moves to upgrade their offense. Those moves were the addition of third baseman
Pie Traynor (8-7-4-4-9 ratings), who will bat leadoff, second baseman
Cotton Tierney (7-7-6-3-6) and
Clyde Barnhart (7-6-4-6-8 ratings), who takes over in left field and allows
Beals Becker (.232, 23 HR, 70 RBI) to move to first base where the team needed an upgrade. On the pitching side, where Pittsburgh was already dominant, they added
Johnny Morrison (7-7-6 ratings) and
Whitey Glazner (7-6-6 ratings) to the end of their rotation which allows
Hank Robinson (14-10, 3.35 ERA as a starter) to take over as the team's new closer and 2-time PoY
Claude Hendrix (6-5, 4.43 ERA) to try to revitalize his career in long relief. As for the Cardinals, they believe they already have the talent needed to compete again this year and they made no significant changes.
The next tier of challengers contains the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds. The Cubs are closer to being a legitimate challenger with their powerful offense led by home run king
Cy Williams (.236, 63 HR, 141 RBI). However, they continue to age and their pitching is not getting any better. As for Cincinnati, they hope to perform better this year if their pitching staff regains its dominant form. Unfortunately, their offense is still mainly a one-man show with 2-time BoY
Ken Williams (.331, 48 HR, 116 RBI) leading the way. Williams, who is also a 3-time Gold Glove winner, will move from left field to center field this season as well.
Predicted Standings
(Scale of 1-12)
| Rank | Team | Rotation | Bullpen | Offense | Bench | Speed | Defense | Totals | Grade | Predicted Wins |
| 1 | San Francisco Giants | 7 | 7 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 8.8 | A | 101 | 61 |
| 2a | St. Louis Cardinals | 7 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8.1 | A- | 93 | 69 |
| 2b | Pittsburgh Pirates | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8.1 | A- | 93 | 69 |
| 4 | Chicago Cubs | 6 | 5 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7.8 | B+ | 90 | 72 |
| 5 | Cincinnati Reds | 9 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 8 | 7.2 | B | 83 | 79 |
| 6 | Los Angeles Dodgers | 4 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6.0 | C | 68 | 94 |
| 7 | Atlanta Braves | 7 | 6 | 2 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 5.7 | C | 66 | 96 |
| 8 | Philadelphia Phillies | 8 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 4.9 | D+ | 56 | 106 |
MLB results for the NL in 1920
Champs: Brooklyn Robins (Dodgers), (93-61, .604)
World Series: Indians defeated Robins 5-2
For players who appear below on a team they are not playing with in MLHR, their MLHR team is listed in parenthesis
Combined WAR: Rogers Hornsby, Cardinals, 9.6
Offensive WAR: Rogers Hornsby, Cardinals, 9.0
Defensive WAR: Dave Bancroft, Phillies and Giants, 4.0
Batting Title: Rogers Hornsby, Cardinals, .370
On-Base%: Rogers Hornsby, Cardinals, .431
Slugging%: Rogers Hornsby, Cardinals, .559
Runs: George Burns, Giants, 115
RBI: Rogers Hornsby, Cardinals and "High Pockets" Kelly, Giants, 94
SB: Max Carey, Pirates, 52
OPS+: Rogers Hornsby, Cardinals, 185
AB/HR: Irish Meusel, Phillies (Twins), 37.0
Pitching WAR: Grover Cleveland Alexander, Cubs (Phillies), 12.1
Win%: Burleigh Grimes, Dodgers (Pirates), .760
WHIP: Babe Adams, Pirates (Cardinals), 0.981
K/9: Al Mamaux, Dodgers (Pirates), 4.768
Innings: Grover Cleveland Alexander, Cubs (Phillies), 363.1
K/BB: Babe Adams, Pirates (Cardinals), 4.667
ERA+: Grover Cleveland Alexander, Cubs (Phillies), 166
FIP: Babe Adams, Pirates (Cardinals), 2.62
MLHR Milestone Watch
80 Triples (Top 8 All-Time!)
Sherry Magee, PHI, Age 36, 77 triples
500 Home Runs
Fred Luderus, CHN, Age 34, 496 HR
Cy Williams, CHN, Age 32, 463 HR
1000 Walks
Sherry Magee, PHI, Age 36, 949 BB
700 Games Pitched
Chick Brandom, PIT, Age 33, 643 G