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Dukie98 · 03-27-2018, 12:15 AM

The Indians' rebuilding efforts were interrupted by an unexpected event: contention. Despite the Indians' efforts to get younger at several positions while shopping their veterans, they rallied their way into the mix for the American League pennant, going 18-10 in July, and they ended the month tied for fourth place, just 2 1/2 games behind the first place Yankees. The highlights of the month were a 7-game winning streak and a 4-game sweep of the then-first place Senators, with each game being decided by a run. The Tribe ended July with a 52-46 record.

The Indians had a strong teamwide effort offensively. Third baseman Russ Wrightstone led the way, hitting .354 with a team-high four homers and 23 RBI's. Left fielder Bobby Veach hit .361 and slugged .530 with three homers and 13 RBI's. Third baseman Riggs Stephenson hit .370, scored a team-high 23 runs, and ripped nine doubles while slugging .500. Center fielder Sam Rice hit .346 with ten extra-base hits and 20 RBI's out of the leadoff slot. Only rookie right fielder Kiki Cuyler struggled, hitting just .227 with a soft .307 slugging percentage. Catcher Ray Schalk, who gradually took over a majority of the playing time from veteran Ted Easterly, hit a modest .277 with ten RBI's

The Indians' pitching was solid if unspectacular -- effective enough to allow their explosive offense to do its job. They were led by Joe Genewich, who had his strongest month of the season, going 4-3 with a 3.86 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. George Uhle went 2-1 with a 3.81 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP. Southpaw Eppa Rixey went 2-1 as well, with a 3.99 ERA and a mediocre 1.50 WHIP. Dickie Kerr went 3-1, despite a middling 4.54 ERA and 1.46 WHIP. Jim Bagby enjoyed tremendous offensive support, going 4-1 despite a hefty 4.78 ERA (plus an additional ten unearned runs in 49 innings), a 1.51 WHIP, and he surrendered a MLB-worst nine homers for the month.

The Indians' rebuilding plan would have to go on hiatus for a few months. Before rattling off the 7-game winning streak at the start of the month, the Tribe planned to shop veteran outfielders Bobby Veach and Sam Rice, along with struggling first baseman Wally Pipp. In light of the team's offensive resurgence, however, management decided to once again delay the inevitable rebuild. Once again, more than half of the American League was in pennant contention, with five teams separated by just two and a half games, and the sixth and seventh place Browns and Tigers were not altogether eliminated from contention. By comparison, the seventh-place Tigers were closer to first place than the second-place Cardinals were to the dominant Pirates in the National League. The Pirates' star right fielder Babe Ruth once again flirted with a triple crown, and he ended July with 38 homers and 100 RBI's - exceeding the power output of four teams.

03-27-2018, 12:15 AM	#355
Dukie98 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2016 Posts: 902	July 1923 The Indians' rebuilding efforts were interrupted by an unexpected event: contention. Despite the Indians' efforts to get younger at several positions while shopping their veterans, they rallied their way into the mix for the American League pennant, going 18-10 in July, and they ended the month tied for fourth place, just 2 1/2 games behind the first place Yankees. The highlights of the month were a 7-game winning streak and a 4-game sweep of the then-first place Senators, with each game being decided by a run. The Tribe ended July with a 52-46 record. The Indians had a strong teamwide effort offensively. Third baseman Russ Wrightstone led the way, hitting .354 with a team-high four homers and 23 RBI's. Left fielder Bobby Veach hit .361 and slugged .530 with three homers and 13 RBI's. Third baseman Riggs Stephenson hit .370, scored a team-high 23 runs, and ripped nine doubles while slugging .500. Center fielder Sam Rice hit .346 with ten extra-base hits and 20 RBI's out of the leadoff slot. Only rookie right fielder Kiki Cuyler struggled, hitting just .227 with a soft .307 slugging percentage. Catcher Ray Schalk, who gradually took over a majority of the playing time from veteran Ted Easterly, hit a modest .277 with ten RBI's The Indians' pitching was solid if unspectacular -- effective enough to allow their explosive offense to do its job. They were led by Joe Genewich, who had his strongest month of the season, going 4-3 with a 3.86 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. George Uhle went 2-1 with a 3.81 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP. Southpaw Eppa Rixey went 2-1 as well, with a 3.99 ERA and a mediocre 1.50 WHIP. Dickie Kerr went 3-1, despite a middling 4.54 ERA and 1.46 WHIP. Jim Bagby enjoyed tremendous offensive support, going 4-1 despite a hefty 4.78 ERA (plus an additional ten unearned runs in 49 innings), a 1.51 WHIP, and he surrendered a MLB-worst nine homers for the month. The Indians' rebuilding plan would have to go on hiatus for a few months. Before rattling off the 7-game winning streak at the start of the month, the Tribe planned to shop veteran outfielders Bobby Veach and Sam Rice, along with struggling first baseman Wally Pipp. In light of the team's offensive resurgence, however, management decided to once again delay the inevitable rebuild. Once again, more than half of the American League was in pennant contention, with five teams separated by just two and a half games, and the sixth and seventh place Browns and Tigers were not altogether eliminated from contention. By comparison, the seventh-place Tigers were closer to first place than the second-place Cardinals were to the dominant Pirates in the National League. The Pirates' star right fielder Babe Ruth once again flirted with a triple crown, and he ended July with 38 homers and 100 RBI's - exceeding the power output of four teams.