1907: The Reds go for the Repeat
The Cincinnati Reds had a sleepy start to the season but the Johnny Hopp led offense and Harvey Haddix led pitching eventually pulled away from the pack in the National League to finish off with a 93-61 record, 10 games clear of anyone else. Once again, hitting more runs and conceding less than anyone else.
The only hiccup on their way to a second straight World Series title was Harvey Haddix injuring himself running the basepaths after hitting a triple. He was told that he'd be out of action for six weeks, pretty much the exact timeframe of the World Series.
Over in the American League, it turned into a fight between the Cleveland Naps and St. Louis Browns. The two teams put themselves out front early in the competition and no one else had a shot. The Browns had probably the best defensive infield ever assembled and their pitchers thrived. RF Gorgeous George Sisler was an exciting young talent with the bat as well.
The Cleveland Naps were the most exciting team in the American League. Led by 1B Rod Carew, they led the AL in runs and stolen bases. The support players of SS Jose Reyes (76 stolen bases!) and two-way sensation LF Perry Werden meant there was plenty of action when Cleveland showed up to party.
As we end the month of September. The Reds had mathematically clinched the National League while the Browns held a two game lead over the Naps. 92-55 vs 90-57. The Browns went into a slide, they lost two games against the Highlanders and only won one game in three against the Americans. The Naps lost two games to the Senators but a 3 game sweep of the Athletics left the two teams tied with two games to go.
The Browns had the Tigers to contend with while the Naps had the White Sox. Both teams lost their first game, with the Browns going down in the 12th. The Browns would smash the Tigers the next game 10-2, forcing the Naps to win their game to force the tiebreaker.
They left it late (top of the 8th) but the Naps did pull through to win their game 5-4. A Rod Carew triple a key component of that win. They nearly screwed it up in the bottom of the 9th when they loaded the bases with only one out but they made their way through it and stayed alive.
Unfortunately they encountered St. Louis pitcher John Shaffer pitching one of his best games of the year as he only allowed 4 hits, 2 walks, and absolutely zero runs throughout the game. The Browns would get three runs in the top of the 2nd and that'd be all they need to secure their spot in their first World Series.
