1920 AL Preseason Predictions
After upsetting Detroit in the regular season and winning last season's World Series, the Red Sox are favored to win the pennant again this year. Their once mighty offense had been eroding for several years, relying almost exclusively on three key players to create runs, primarily 5-time BoY
Babe Ruth (.331, 69 HR, 136 RBI). This offseason, they strengthened their attack with the addition of rookie first baseman
Ray Grimes (9-8-6-7-6 ratings). The team is already known for having one of the better pitching staffs in the league.
Winning the AL pennant will be no easy task this season because there are more contenders than ever before. For most of the AL's history, there has been a clear division between the have's and have not's. The have's have always been a small, select group of teams - often only 2 or 3 teams. In recent years, there have been four legitimate contenders, but this season I believe the New York Yankees are finally ready to join those ranks.
In my calculations, the Yankees are actually one of the most dangerous teams this year. Their pitching rotation and defense could be a weakness, but both areas have the potential to be surprisingly good. The team has long had one of the top bullpens in the AL, but this year for the first time, New York feels like it has a legitimate offense that can keep up with other AL contenders. You can base that conclusion on two key facts: first the addition of last season's Rookie of the Year
Lefty O'Doul (.341, 26 HR, 90 RBI), who won the batting title in his first season, was a big boost along with fellow rookie
Curt Walker (.273, 14 HR, 77 RBI). Second is the addition of rookie
Bob Meusel (8-9-8-5-4 ratings) who joins the team this year and will bat 4th. The unfortunate news is the fact that Meusel must play third base, a position he will likely struggle at defensively. It is also helpful to point out that the Yankees have added another rookie,
Rip Collins (7-7-5 ratings), to their pitching rotation.
The White Sox, Athletics and Tigers will all be battling for the pennant, as we have come to expect in recent years. Chicago does it with exceptional pitching and defense. Detroit's strategy is based upon having perhaps the most formidable offense in the AL. Oakland is the most balanced of these three teams and may be the most serious challenge to Boston's chances of repeating. After all, Oakland upgraded their aging pitching staff with the addition of rookies
Slim Harriss (7-7-6 ratings) and
Roy Moore (7-8-4 ratings) to their rotation.
I honestly believe that any of these teams could win the pennant. When you consider the improvements made by the Twins, Indians and Orioles as well, the AL could be so competitive that no one wins 90 games. That would be an incredible change from ten years ago when Oakland won 117 games and Boston won 110 while the third place Tigers finished below .500 and were 37 games out of first place.
Predicted Standings
(Scale of 1-12)
| Rank | Team | Rotation | Bullpen | Offense | Bench | Speed | Defense | Totals | Grade | Predicted Record |
| 1 | Boston Red Sox | 8 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 8.0 | A | 91 | 71 |
| 2a | New York Yankees | 6 | 9 | 11 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 7.8 | A- | 88 | 74 |
| 2b | Chicago White Sox | 8 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 7.8 | A- | 88 | 74 |
| 4 | Oakland Athletics | 8 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 7.6 | B+ | 87 | 75 |
| 5 | Detroit Tigers | 5 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 7.6 | B+ | 86 | 76 |
| 6a | Minnesota Twins | 8 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 6.7 | B- | 76 | 86 |
| 6b | Cleveland Indians | 8 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 6.7 | B- | 76 | 86 |
| 8 | Baltimore Orioles | 5 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 4.9 | D+ | 55 | 107 |
MLB results for the AL in 1920
Champs: Cleveland Indians, (98-56, .636)
World Series: Indians defeated Robins (Dodgers) 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: Babe Ruth, Yankees (Red Sox), 11.9
Offensive WAR: Babe Ruth, Yankees (Red Sox), 11.8
Defensive WAR: Roger Peckinpaugh, Yankees (Indians) and Everett Scott, Red Sox, 2.7
Batting Title: George Sisler, Orioles, .407
On-Base%: Babe Ruth, Yankees (Red Sox), .532
Slugging%: Yankees (Red Sox), .847 (215 points ahead of Sisler in second place!)
Runs: Babe Ruth, Yankees (Red Sox), 158
RBI: Babe Ruth, Yankees (Red Sox), 135
SB: Sam Rice, Twins, 63
OPS+: Babe Ruth, Yankees (Red Sox), 255
AB/HR: Babe Ruth, Yankees (Red Sox), 8.5 (more than 4 times as frequent as Sisler in second place!)
Pitching WAR: Stan Coveleski, Indians (Athletics), 8.5
Win%: Jim Bagby, Indians (Reds), .721
WHIP: Stan Coveleski, Indians (Athletics), 1.108
K/9: Doc Ayers, Tigers (Twins), 4.443
Innings: Jim Bagby, Indians (Reds), 339.2
K/BB: Jack Quinn, Yankees, 2.104
ERA+: Bob Shawkey, Yankees (Athletics), 156
FIP: Stan Coveleski, Indians (Athletics), 2.81
MLHR Milestone Watch
700 Doubles (Good enough for 4th all-time!)
Tris Speaker, BOS, Age 32, 647 doubles
118 Triples (Good enough for #1 all-time!)
Ty Cobb, DET, Age 33, 115 triples
80 Triples (Top 8 all-time!)
Eddie Collins, OAK, Age 32, 77 triples
Joe Jackson, OAK, Age 32, 72 triples
1500 RBI
Gavvy Cravath, BOS, Age 37, 1482 RBI
Joe Jackson, OAK, Age 32, 1444 RBI
1500 Runs
Joe Jackson, OAK, Age 32, 1437 R
1000 Walks
Donie Bush, DET, Age 32, 923 BB
700 Games Pitched
Harry Krause, OAK, Age 31, 662 G
Harry Suter, CHA, Age 32, 638 G
250 Wins
Addie Joss, CLE, Age 39, 246 W
400 Saves
Harry Krause, OAK, Age 31, 356 Sv
4000 Innings Pitched
Ed Walsh, CHA, Age 38, 3935.2 IP
3000 Innings Pitched
Hippo Vaughn, NYA, Age 31, 2845.1 IP
Joe Wood, BOS, Age 30, 2774.2 IP