League Changes
In 1903, the Baltimore Orioles became the New York Highlanders. Also, the Cleveland Bronchos became the Cleveland Naps and the Chicago Orphans became the Chicago Cubs.
World Series Results
1902- The Philadelphia Phillies (82-58) defeated the Detroit Tigers (82-58) 4 games to 1
1903- The Chicago White Sox (87-53) defeated the Cincinnati Reds (76-64) 5 games to 2 (Best of 9 series)
1904- The St. Louis Browns (92-62) defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates (94-60) 4 games to 2
1905- The Boston Beaneaters (90-64) defeated the St. Louis Browns (93-61) 4 games to 0
In the AL, the White Sox and Browns have each made the Series twice, while in the NL no team got there more than once. No team has won the World Series more than once yet, however. The White Sox and Pirates have been the best two teams so far based on overall records, with Chicago having a .559 Winning Percentage and Pittsburgh at .556. The Orioles/Highlanders have been the worst team so far at .440.
Award Winners
Rookie of the Year
1902 AL ROY- SS Phil Rizzuto (CWS)- .328/.359/.426, 96 R, 23 doubles, 16 triples, 1 HR, 49 RBI, 29 SB….1st round draft pick….won both the Gold Glove and Platinum Stick at SS….finished 2nd in MVP voting…. led league in AB (591) and Hits (194)
1903 AL ROY- 1B Ed Stevens (PHA)- .292/.353/.472, 69 R, league leading 39 doubles, 16 triples, 7 HR, 90 RBI, 7 SB….3rd round draft pick….led league in ISO (.180)
1904 AL ROY- C Bruce Edwards (SLA)- .309/.368/.429, 55 R, 21 doubles, 9 triples, 4 HR, 58 RBI, 3 SB….2nd round draft pick….won the Platinum Stick at C
1905 AL ROY- 3B Miguel Andujar (BOS)- .327/.355/.470 (led league in BA and SLG), 81 R, league leading 49 doubles, 14 triples, 3 HR, 79 RBI, 14 SB….1st round draft pick….won the Platinum Stick at 3B….hit for the cycle….led league in Total Bases (282), XBH (66), RC (90.08), RC/27 (5.47), wOBA (.394), OPS (.825) and wRC+ (155.7)
1902 NL ROY- C Jim O’Rourke (CIN)- .335/.393/.472, 77 R, 38 doubles, 10 triples, 4 HR, 75 RBI, 27 SB….1st round draft pick….3rd in MVP voting
1903 NL ROY- OF Emmet Heidrick (CIN)- .296/.326/.386, 94 R, 21 doubles, 12 triples, 2 HR, 35 RBI, league leading 63 SB….1st round draft pick
1904 NL ROY- 3B Art Devlin (NYG)- .288/.364/.372, 86 R, 23 doubles, 12 triples, 1 HR, 60 RBI, 61 SB….1st round draft pick….won the Platinum Stick at 3B
1905 NL ROY- OF Paul Waner (CHC)- .327/.385/.436, 81 R, 32 doubles, 13 triples, 2 HR, 93 RBI, 15 SB….1st round draft pick….won the Platinum Stick at RF
Some great players in this group, but it seems like because of his really good rookie season in 2018 (47 doubles, 27 HR, .297 BA, .527 SLG), Miguel Andujar came out as the best of the bunch. The Reds got two in a row with O’Rourke and Heidrick….and were in the World Series in 1903 as well, so those two guys obviously helped them. The Brewers/Browns have also had 2 ROY and so have the Giants. It hasn’t helped NY yet, as they continue to flounder at the bottom of the standings.
Reliever of the Year- As soon as a reliever really stands out, I will name this award after them
At this point in the league, there are not award winners selected every year. In fact, there have only been 2 winners so far, both in the AL.
1904 AL Reliever of the Year- Jim Poole (CLE)- 2-3, league leading 5 Saves, 71.1 IP, 1.39 ERA, .93 WHIP, 30 Ks….Drafted in the 3rd round of the 1902 draft….led the league in Relief Appearances (42) and Games Finished (35)
1905 AL Reliever of the Year- Dutch Kemner (NYH)- 3-3, league leading 6 Saves, 48.1 IP, 2.42 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 33 Ks….Drafted in the 4th round of the 1904 draft….led the league in Relief Appearances (39) and Games Finished (34)
Most Valuable Player
1902 AL MVP- OF Fred Snodgrass (BAL)- .354/.432/.476 (led league in BA and SLG), league leading 101 R, league leading 33 doubles, 15 triples, 1 HR, 84 RBI, league leading 73 SB….Drafted in the 1st round of the inaugural draft….won Platinum Stick at RF, led league in Plate Appearances (622), Total Bases (258), XBH (49), RC (118.56), RC/27 (8.23), wOBA (.433), OPS (.908), wRC+ (165.8) and WAR (9.1)
1903 AL MVP- OF Fred Snodgrass (NYH)- .314/.393/437, 93 R, 33 doubles, 13 triples, 2 HR, 94 RBI, league leading 84 SB….won the Platinum Stick at RF, led league in Sac Flys (9)
1904 AL MVP- OF Fred Snodgrass (NYH)- .303/.382/.446 (led league in OBP and SLG), league leading 97 R, 30 doubles, league leading 23 triples, 3 HR, 90 RBI, league leading 68 SB….won the Platinum Stick in RF, lead the league in Hits (180), Total Bases (265), Walks (65), XBH (56), RC (100.57), RC/27 (5.84), ISO (.143), wOBA (.389), OPS (.828), wRC+ (158.6) and WAR (9.0)
1905 AL MVP- SS Buck Weaver (DET)- .310/.334/.408, 89 R, 36 doubles, 12 triples, 1 HR, 72 RBI, 54 SB….Drafted in the 1st round of the inaugural draft….won the Platinum Stick at SS….led the league in AB (639) and Hits (198)
1902 NL MVP- C Roger Bresnahan (PIT)- .347/.443/.483 (led league in OBP), 100 R, league leading 40 doubles, 10 triples, 2 HR, 78 RBI, 37 SB….Drafted in the 1st round of the inaugural draft (1st overall pick)....won the Platinum Stick at C….led the league in RC/27 (7.92), wOBA (.434), OPS (.925), wRC+ (166.4) and WAR (7.2)
1903 NL MVP- C Jim O’Rourke (CIN)- .347/.387/.538 (led league in BA and SLG), 84 R, 31 doubles, 19 triples, 9 HR, 92 RBI, 42 SB….Drafted in the 1st round of the 1901 draft….won the Platinum Stick at C….won the Gold Glove at C….led the league in Total Bases (270), XBH (59), RC/27 (7.11), wOBA (.428), OPS (.925), wRC+ (166.7) and WAR (7.5)
1904 NL MVP- OF Roger Bresnahan (PIT)- .313/.394/.444 (led league in SLG), 94 R, 26 doubles, 19 triples, 3 HR, 92 RBI, 34 SB….first player to win an MVP at two different positions….won the Platinum Stick at RF….led the league in RC (98.59), RC/27 (6.45), wOBA (.397), OPS (.838), wRC+ (163.7) and WAR (9.0)
1905 NL MVP- OF Jason Heyward (CHC)- .315/.389/.494 (led league in SLG), 103 R, 33 doubles, 18 triples, 11 HR, 78 RBI, 25 SB….Drafted in the 1st round of the 1903 draft….won the Platinum Stick at CF….led the league in Total Bases (282), RC (104.69), ISO (.179), wOBA (.421), OPS (.883), wRC+ (173.0) and WAR (9.9)
The AL was dominated by Fred Snodgrass, even though his teams were usually at the bottom of the league. He dropped off quite a bit in 1905, although still led the league in steals with 79, so we’ll see if he can bounce back or if someone else will step up. I don’t see Weaver repeating as an MVP, but you never know. In the NL, Roger Bresnahan was the only one to win more than one and he’s got strong competition with Heyward and O’Rourke….plus a few others like Heyward’s teammate and 1905 ROY, Paul Waner.
Best Pitcher Award- Once a pitcher really stands out, I’ll rename this after them
1902 AL Best Pitcher- Bob Welch (DET)- 24-11, league leading 4 Saves, 318 IP, league leading 1.98 ERA, league leading 1.06 WHIP, 111 Ks….led league in Winning Percentage (.686), RA/9 (9.79), H/9 (7.53), Quality Starts (29), QSP (.829) and Shutouts (5)
1903 AL Best Pitcher- Claude Hendrix (WAS)- 26-9, 308.1 IP, league leading 1.75 ERA, league leading 1.04 WHIP, 175 Ks….Drafted in the 1st round of the 1901 draft….led the league in BABIP (.240), RA/9 (9.52), H/9 (6.92), Complete Games (34), CGP (.971) and Shutouts (6)
1904 AL Best Pitcher- Whit Wyatt (PHA)- 23-18, 3 Saves, league leading 372.1 IP, league leading 1.69 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, league leading 260 Ks….Drafted in the 1st round of the 1901 draft….led the league in Games (56), Batters Faced (1507), K/9 (6.28), Quality Starts (32) and QSP (.842)
1905 AL Best Pitcher- Pedro Martinez (SLA)- 31-10 (led league in wins), 363 IP (led league), 1.59 ERA (led league), .90 WHIP (led league), 215 Ks….Drafted in the 1st round of the inaugural draft….2nd in MVP voting….led league in Winning Percent (.756), K/BB (4.67), RA/9 (8.43), BB/9 (1.14), FIP- (71.1), Complete Games (33), Shutouts (8) and WAR (10.3)
1902 NL Best Pitcher- Smoky Joe Wood (CHC)- 24-8 (led league in wins), 304.1 IP, 2.19 ERA, 1.00 WHIP (led league), 164 Ks (led league)....Drafted in the 1st round of the inaugural draft….won the Platinum Stick Award at P (.317/.387/.500, 18 R, 4 doubles, 3 triples, 3 HR, 24 RBI, 7 SB)....lead league in Winning Percent (.750), K/BB (2.88), RA/9 (9.52), K/9 (4.85), FIP- (76.8), Quality Starts (29), QSP (.829), Shutouts (5) and WAR (7.8)
1903 NL Best Pitcher- Smoky Joe Wood (CHC)- 21-15, 2 Saves, 311.2 IP, 2.57 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 203 Ks (led league)....won the Platinum Stick at P (.256/.307/.365, 38 R, 12 doubles, 8 triples, 2 HR, 33 RBI, 5 SB….Started 50 games in the OF….led league in K/BB (2.71), K/9 (5.86), FIP- (82.9) and WAR (6.9)
1904 NL Best Pitcher- Domingo German (PIT)- 26-11 (led league in wins), 339.1 IP, 2.36 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 156 Ks….Drafted in the 7th round of the inaugural draft
1905 NL Best Pitcher- Jim Bunning (BSN)- 28-12 (led league in wins), 351.2 IP, 2.05 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 226 Ks….Drafted in the 1st round of the 1903 draft….led the league in K/9 (5.78), FIP- (82.4), Quality Starts (32), Complete Games (35), Shutouts (9) and WAR (7.8)
The AL has been all over the place with no repeat winners. Pedro and Whit look like they are the best bets to repeat by far among the winners we’ve had. In the NL, it was the Smokey Joe Wood show for the first 3 seasons. Now he has moved into more of a 2-way player…he started 78 games in the OF in 1904 and 57 in 1905. As a result (a least possibly) he’s suffered a couple of long term injuries, missing the last month or so of 1904 with a strained hip muscle and from July 25th on in 1905 with a torn PCL ….he may even miss the beginning of 1906. We’ll see if the Cubs can get him back to focusing on pitching so he can stay healthy. German won’t be much of a challenge to him I don’t think, but Bunning might be in the mix going forward.
Other Accomplishments
In the AL, 3 players have stood out for their fielding by winning multiple Gold Gloves. At 3B, Ke’Bryan Hayes is up to 4 Gold Gloves out of the first 5 seasons, including 3 with the Baltimore/NY Highlander franchise. At SS, Phil Rizzuto has won 3 Gold Gloves in his first four years of his career, all of them with the White Sox. Finally, in the outfield, Alejandro De Aza has won 4 Gold Gloves, all with the Boston Americans. More impressively, he has 3 in LF and 1 in RF. He was recently traded to the Reds, so we’ll see if he can start another run in the NL.
Speaking of the NL, they have had 2 players win multiple Gold Glove Awards so far. At 3B is Hank Majeski of the Reds who has won 4 awards in his 4 years in the league. In CF, Mike Lum of the Cubs won 4 awards before being traded to the Superbas this past season. He lost the award to former ROY, Emmet Heidrick of the Reds. That means the Reds defense will have Majeski, De Aza and Heidrick….9 Gold Gloves among them with the potential for many more.
Kirk Gibson and Bill Buckner are the only two players to have 6 hits in a game so far. They both went 6-9. Kirk did it as a member of the White Sox against the Highlanders in 1903 and Bill did it in 1905 as a member of Cleveland against the Athletics.
There have been 5 No-Hitters so far in the league. Roy Halladay was mentioned in the 1901 report….his only blemish was an error he made. In 1903, Roy Sanders of the Reds made it hard on himself by walking 8 batters and striking out 4 against the Cardinals. 1905 saw three no-no’s- Mark Mulder of Pittsburgh against the Beaneaters, Ralph Glaze of the Cardinals also against the Beaneaters and Billy Loes of Detroit over the Highlanders.
Record Book
Single Season and Career Records
Single Game Records- Records held by more than 2 players will not be listed
AL Doubles- Jose Pagan (1902-WAS)- 4
AL Triples- Paul Blair (1905-DET)- 4
AL Batting Ks- Jesus Luzardo (1903-BOS)- 5
AL Pitching Walks- Mario Soto (1902-BOS)- 11
AL Pitching Ks- Hal Newhouser (1903-NYH)- 13
NL Triples- Jarren Duran (1904-NYG) and JD Drew (1903-BRO)- 3
NL RBI- Elmer Smith (1901-BSN)- 8
NL SB- Harry Spratt (1902-CIN)- 5
NL Pitching Ks- Gus Weyhing (1905-NYG)- 13
Longest Streaks- Only a few of the most notable streaks will be listed…these are with the AL and NL combined
AL Hit Streak- Ken Griffey (1901-BRO)- 30 Games
AL On-Base Streak- Denis Menke (1903-SLA)- 46 Games
AL Run Streak- John McGraw (1901-CLE)- 12 Games
AL Winning Streak- Claude Hendrix (1903-WAS)- 15 Games
AL Scoreless Innings- Joe Magrane (1904-PHI)- 43 Innings
Retired Players- This will usually be a place to show possible future HOFers and other players of note who have retired over the period being reported on. In this case, it will be the latter, as no one here will likely end up a HOFer based on such little playing time.
SP Dutch Leonard retired in 1905. He was a key pitcher on the World Champions of the inaugural season, the Chicago Orphans. He went 19-16 in 1901 and 20-14 in 1902. However, at the end of 1902 he tore his flexor tendon and missed all of 1903. At age 44, he tried to come back in 1904 and wasn’t bad as he had a 3.23 ERA. The Cubs were a much worse team, however, so he only had a 5-13 record. At the trade deadline, he was dealt to the crosstown White Sox where he went 3-5 with a still solid 3.20 ERA……until on 9/1/1904 when he tore the flexor tendon again. He would have to miss all of 1905 no matter what, but he still waited until the end of the season to officially announce.
SP Jack Morris is a recent HOFer in real life, but came into this league at 39 years old. He was OK in 1901, going 10-14 with a 3.13 ERA for the Giants. He was then traded to the Athletics, but struggled in both 1902 and 03. He had one last gasp in 1904, going 5-2 with a 2.37 ERA and 1.16 WHIP as a swingman. However, in September, much like Dutch Leonard, he tore his flexor tendon and would have to miss about 10 months. He did make it back to pitch 16 innings in 1905, but then…at age 43….decided to call it quits.
SP Darren Oliver entered the league at age 40, so it was clear he wouldn’t last too long. He was very effective, despite a poor record from playing on some bad teams. In fact, his age 43 season in 1904 was his best yet. He only went 14-21, but threw 312 innings with a 2.80 ERA and 1.04 WHIP and 132 Ks. He came into Spring Training in 1905 ready to prove the doubters wrong at age 44, but joined the above players by tragically suffering a ruptured UCL before the regular season even started. Instead of trying to come back at 45, he unsurprisingly decided to retire.
SP Mel Parnell of the Highlanders suffered a career ending elbow injury in September of 1904 and was forced to retire at age 35. He wasn’t having a great career, but had a .500 record for one of the worst teams in the league. He also won a Platinum Stick at P in 1903.
SP Eric Show was the ERA champion in 1901, then went 9-23 with a 4.08 ERA and 1.49 WHIP in 1902….and never pitched again after that season. He hung around for a few more years and finally retired this past season in 1905 at only age 35. So strange with the success he had that first season.
C Charlie O’Brien was the only player to retire in 1901 after the inaugural season. He actually won the Gold Glove at C that season, so at least he made his mark!
1B Joe Morgan is better known as one of the best secondbasemen who ever played the game. However, in this league, he came in at age 40 and mostly played 1B. He led the league in walks that first year and was able to hang around until age 43, but never really did anything else of note. A shame, since a young Morgan could have been one of the best in the league.
SS Brendan Ryan may be the namesake for this league’s version of the Mendoza line. Ryan started at SS for 5 years for the Orphans/Cubs. He was a member of that 1901 World Champion team and won 2 Gold Gloves at SS. His career BA, though, was .193. He had no power, no speed and wasn’t good at drawing walks….a true defense first (and only) player. He retired in 1905 after a .452 OPS….which was actually better than his 1904 season where his OPS was .403! The Ryan Line just doesn’t have a great ring to it though.
OF Lloyd Waner was a HOFer in real life, but just came in too far past his time of effectiveness. He was 38 in 1901 and managed just 46 AB in his career over just two seasons when he retired in 1902. It looks like his brother will make up for his poor showing, though.