[Dukie98]

In a stunning upset, the light-hitting Detroit Tigers shocked the heavily favored Pittsburgh Pirates, winning the last four games after dropping the first two games. Shortstop Kid Elberfeld, who hit .423 with 11 hits, was named the MVP of the series. After convincingly winning games 1 and 2 by four runs apiece, the Pirates' bats went silent, scoring just eight runs in the final four games.

25-game winner George Mullin won game 5 in relief, and threw a complete game victory in game 6. The Pirates were led by Jesse Tannehill, who had a 1.00 ERA in three starts, and by third baseman Tommy Leach who led all batters with two homers and six RBI's. Meanwhile, 31-game-winner Deacon Philippe was hit hard, dropping both of his decisions and sporting a 3.94 ERA. (In a curious move, both managers opted to have their winningest pitchers during the regular season start the series in the bullpen, rather than in the rotation).

Throughout the season, the Tigers were carried by their remarkably consistent starting pitching: all four pitchers -- Moredecai "Three Finger" Brown, George Mullin, Ed Murphy, and Jack Cronin, totaled between 5.2 and 5.6 WAR, with Mullin tallying 25 wins, Murphy winning 24, and Brown sporting a 23-15 record and a sparkling 1.88 ERA. Conversely, their offense was downright unimpressive, as they finished 7th in the American League in batting average and OBP, stole the fewest bases in the league, and finished fourth in runs. Remarkably, outfielder Harry Arndt led the Tigers' hitters with a relatively pedestrian 2.4 WAR, and the Tigers only had three position players who tallied even 1.0 WAR on the season (outfielders Jimmy Barrett and Matty McIntyre in addition to Arndt).