AL Season Wrap-up
The Indians trimmed Minnesota's lead to just one game by the end of July, but by the end of August, the Twins had expanded that lead to three games. The two teams faced each other for the final time in the first series of September with the Indians winning 2-of-3 games at home. However, the Twins then went on to win 19 of their next 23 games and finished the season with a commanding 7-game lead over the Indians and Tigers. This is the first pennant the Twins have won since the inaugural 1901 season. How oddly fitting that they would now face off against the Pirates, the same team who beat them in 1901 and have not won another World Series since.
It's also worth mentioning that the last time the Twins came close to winning the pennant was in 1907. That was
Walter Johnson's rookie season in which he set a record with 25 wins. The team lost in a 1-game playoff to the Athletics for the pennant that year and they have not had a winning season since, until now. Twins rookie
Goose Goslin (.315, 54 HR, 121 RBI) was a huge reason why the team won this year's pennant. The Twins also have
Irish Meusel (.306, 43 HR, 129 RBI) and sophomore first baseman
Frank Brower (.283, 32 HR, 84 RBI) in their lineup, but they have little pop elsewhere. Instead, it was their pitching staff that led the way this year. Johnson (20-8, 2.49 ERA) led the staff as usual, but
Marv Goodwin (16-9, 3.28 ERA) and
Doc Ayers (14-10, 3.18 ERA) also pitched well.
Cleveland rookie
Riggs Stephenson (.356, 25 HR, 107 RBI) fell just one double short of the MLHR record of 66. He also won the batting title and led the AL in hits. Voters will have a tough time picking between him and Minnesota's Goslin for Rookie of the Year. The Indians offense was impressive this season. If they can improve their last-ranked bullpen, I believe they could be the team to beat next year.
There were other exciting milestones in the AL to mention:
Oakland pitcher
Chief Bender (13-13, 2.93 ERA) got his 300th win, becoming just the second pitcher to ever reach that mark. He is now just 5 wins away from tying Bill Vinton's all-time record of 307.
Detroit's
Ty Cobb (.324, 23 HR, 68 RBI, 127 R, 69 SB) became the all-time triples leader with 120. He also surpassed 3500 hits, 2000 Runs and 1000 SB this season. He is now 3rd all-time in hits and on pace to be the first player to reach 4000. He is also now 2nd all-time in runs and 3rd in stolen bases.
Babe Ruth (.317, 56 HR, 135 RBI) passed the 500 HR mark at the amazingly young age of 26!! That is just astounding, but keep in mind that he began his career as a hitter, not a pitcher as he did in MLB. Also, remember that there are no injuries in MLHR (but they do get tired), so players are able to play more often in MLHR.
Ruth's teammate
Tris Speaker (.333, 23 HR, 94 RBI, 106 R) passed Hall of Famer Ross Barnes for 3rd on the all-time Doubles list with 748, but Ty Cobb is right behind with 731 of his own.
And finally, little known Indians reliever
Oscar Harstad (5-12, 5.02 ERA) became the first pitcher to ever reach 101 games in a season. It is particularly astounding that the Cleveland skipper kept turning to Harstad considering his ERA. That is something the Indians need to remedy in their last ranked bullpen.
Standings
Batting Leaders
Pitching Leaders
National League Rosters
