[jksander]

September 27, 1916: It’s been a long season, and we have just a week’s worth of games before we can start putting it behind us and working toward the new start seven months from now. It’s now our final four-game home series, against the Washington Senators, and though only a few thousand of our die-hard fans showed up, we got a good pop from the crowd when Stuffy McInnis hit an RBI double in the bottom of the first to put us into the lead. A Johnny Bassler groundout drove home Alex McCarthy to extend the lead to 2-0 after two innings, but in the top of the fifth Ray Morgan singled in a run and George McBride singled in another to tie us up at 2-2. In the bottom of the sixth Bill Lamar reached on an E4 error and both Rube oldring and Nap Lajoie managed to score in the melee, and a two-run homer for Amos Strunk (his sixth!) extended our lead to four runs heading into the eighth inning. We’d hold our ground from there, winning 6-2. Gene Packard got the win, improving to 11-9 thanks to a six hit two walk two run effort, neither of his runs being earned, and though they outhit us 6-5, Strunk’s homer and leadoff man Mike Mowrey’s two hits and two runs propelled us to victory.

September 28, 1916: Washington built a 4-0 lead in the top of the second, when they got a three-run triple from Eddie Foster and an RBI double by Clyde Milan. By the time Alex McCarthy scored in the bottom of the eighth -- merely off a wild pitch -- we were in a 6-1 hole, and that’s where we’d finish. What a brutal way to get hammered on our own field. They outhit us 9-3, McCarthy getting us our only offense almost by accident, and Speed Martin took the loss with a 5.2 inning seven hit effort, walking three and allowing all six runs, though only one was earned ... our defense, so strong all season, has turned into a hot mess as the year comes to a close.

September 29, 1916: In the bottom of the fifth we broke through with a two-run homer by Wally Schang and an RBI double by Stuffy McInnis, and that was the only offense for either team the entire night. We shut them out 3-0 to win the game, outhitting them 8-3 thanks to Schang who had two hits, a run and two RBIs. Pedro Dibut improved to 18-18 with a 2.52 ERA and pitched a complete game three hitter, walking one and striking out three on 109 pitches, his third complete game shutout of the season!

September 30, 1916: Washington took the lead in the top of the first with an RBI single by Howie Shanks, but we answered in the bottom of the third when Wally Schang hit an RBI single to tie it up 1-1. Danny Moeller put them back on top with an RBI single in the top of the sixth, but again we answered in the bottom of the seventh with another RBI single by Wally Schang to tie the game up 2-2! Rip Williams hit an RBI single to put the Senators back on top in the top of the eighth, however, and we didn’t have any more tricks up our sleeves, losing this one 3-2 to split the series. They outhit us 14-7, with Schang’s two hits, a walk and two RBIs being our only offense. Dick Rudolph allowed all 14 hits in a complete game start, with four walks, two strikeouts and three earned runs. He’ll finish the season with an 18-16 record overall, a 2.20 ERA and 145 strikeouts through 352.1 innings pitched here and in Boston.

We’ll finish our season in Boston against the 75-76 Red Sox, and with our team just a game up on them, it is a battle for bragging rights and momentum between our two teams ... if we can win the series we’ll maintain our third place finish, but if they win the series we’ll be tied ... and if they sweep, they’ll knock us into fourth place. We can’t fall to fifth, as St. Louis (75-79) already has completed their season, and we’ve got one mor win than they do, regardless of this series’ results.

October 2, 1916: We took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first thanks to an RBI double by McInnis and an RBI single from Rube Oldring, but Boston got back in the game in the bottom of the second with a single by Harry Hooper to trail just 2-1 heading into the top of the third. They tied it in the bottom of the fourth with a double by Pinch Thomas, and in the bottom of the fifth they took the lead off a single by Tillie Walker. Gene Packard walked in a run to tie it in the sixth, and Nap Lajoie gave us the lead off a wild pitch. And we held that lead until the bottom of the ninth, when with two outs we completely choked -- Jack Barry reached on an E6 error to let Duffy Lewis tie the game, and a minute later Larry Gardner scored off a passed ball to walk it off, literally, 5-4. Bill Morrisette took the loss, pitching two innings with three hits, two walks, a strikeout and a pair of unearned runs, and they outhit us 12-10. McInnis led the way, hitting twice with a run and an RBI.

October 3, 1916: Boston took the lead in the bottom of the first with an RBI single by Tillie Walker, and our bats were silent until the top of the seventh, when Alex McCarthy hit an RBI single and Speed Martin hit a sac-fly for the lead, Mike Mowrey scoring the go-ahead from third. But Boston came back from the stretch with an RBI single by Al Birdwell, and they took the lead when Del Gainer hit into a fielder’s choice and we failed to get Chick Shorten out at the plate. That was all they’d need, as the Red Sox stifled us 3-2. Speed Martin took the loss, falling to 1-4 with a 4.01 ERA after 6.2 innings with six hits, three walks and three runs (two earned), and we outhit them 8-7, led by Walsh and Strunk who had four hits combined and yet managed to score nothing.

October 4, 1916: Pedro Dibut got the start in the last game of our season, and Rube Oldring reached on an E5 error in the top of the third, giving him a 1-0 lead when he pitched his 300th inning as a rookie in the bottom of the frame! We added on in the fifth with an RBI triple by Schang, an RBI single by Strunk and a sac-fly for Oldring, and Dibut completed the 4-0 shutout victory by pitching a two-hitter, striking out two runners without a walk. His final two games of this season combined for 18 shutout innings with five hits, one walk and five strikeouts, and he finishes the season with a 19-18 record, a 2.44 ERA and 81 K’s through 306 innings. That’s a hell of a rookie season, and his 3.2 WAR should put him in the conversation for Rookie of the Year at the least. It helped that we outhit them 11-2, led by Jimmy Walsh who had three hits, two walks and two runs scored as our leadoff hitter.

We finished the season with a 77-77 record, tied for third with Boston, seven games back of New York (84-78) and 16 games behind the pennant winning White Sox (93-61). But we won 34 more games than last year, finishing four spots higher in the standings than we did in that disaster of a season. And we’ve got a team that can build on this foundation and get us back to the glory of the three World Series we won in 1910, 1911 and 1913. Now we get to sit back and see if the White Sox have what it takes to take down the Brooklyn Robins, who finshed with a 101-53 record, running away with the NL’s pennant after a close race with the Giants turned into a nine-game beatdown.
 
1916 Final Season Standings

American League
1. Chicago White Sox (93-61)
2. New York Yankees (84-78, 9 GB)
3. Boston Red Sox (77-77, 16 GB)
4. Philadelphia Athletics (77-77, 16 GB)
5. St. Louis Browns (75-79, 18 GB)
6. Washington Senators (71-83, 22 GB)
7. Detroit Tigers (71-83, 22 GB)
8. Cleveland Indians (68-86, 25 GB)

National League
1. Brooklyn Robins (101-53)
2. New York Giants (92-62, 9 GB)
3. Philadelphia Phillies (86-67, 14 GB)
4. Chicago Cubs (82-72, 19 GB)
5. Boston Braves (78-75, 22 GB)
6. Pittsburgh Pirates (66-88, 35 GB)
7. St. Louis Cardinals (62-92, 39 GB)
8. Cincinnati Reds (48-106, 53 GB)

The World Series will take place starting October 8th, with Brooklyn having home field advantage. If the series goes the distance, it’ll wrap up with game seven in Brooklyn on October 16th.