[Jamee999]

1916

Changes

• Free agent draft - This was not particularly interesting, because the reserve clause is still in effect. The Giants picked veteran catcher Charlie Graham with the first pick.
• Retire random ranked - Orval Overall (Cubs), the #17 ranked pitcher, a two-time All-Star and fearsome strikeout pitcher, was retired, aged 34.
• Add fictional player - I decided to insert second baseman Pat O'Farrell from the awesome dynasty thread, one of the first I ever read on the forums. In the original thread, Pat was born in 1887, which would make him 28. I decided to push his birth back ten years in this world, meaning he is an 18-year-old prospect. I based his ratings on Eddie Collins, though I did reduce them a little. Pat signed with the New York Giants, placing him on the same team as Tris Speaker, but also making him a rival of Joe Wood, who married Pat's sister in the original story!

American League
Cleveland Indians (86-54)
Philadelphia Athletics (86-54)
Minnesota Twins (80-60)
Providence Angels (78-62)
Baltimore Orioles (75-65)
Detroit Tigers (75-65)
Boston Red Sox (74-66)
Chicago White Sox (74-66)
Washington Senators (74-66)
Milwaukee Brewers (73-67)
St. Louis Browns (59-81)
New York Yankees (53-87)
Rochester Red Wings (52-88)
Philadelphia Quakers (41-99)

AL MVP: Rogers Hornsby (Rochester)
AL CYA: Ed Walsh (Cleveland)
AL ROY: Earl Smith (Minnesota)

National League
Boston Braves (86-54)
Buffalo Bisons (83-57)
Louisville Colonels (80-60)
New Jersey Nationals (73-67)
Cincinnati Reds (71-69)
Brooklyn Dodgers (70-70)
Chicago Cubs (68-72)
New York Giants (64-76)
Philadelphia Phillies (64-76)
Kansas City Packers (62-78)
Pittsburgh Pirates (60-80)
St. Louis Cardinals (59-81)

NL MVP: Zack Wheat (Louisville)
NL MOP: Guy Morton (Kansas City)
NL ROY: High Pockets Kelly (Philadelphia)

Statistical Leaders
Batting Average: Jack Fournier (St. Louis) .338, Zack Wheat (Louisville) .354
Home Runs: Jack Fournier (St. Louis) 12, Babe Ruth (Buffalo) 18
Runs Batted In: Jack Fournier (St. Louis) 72, Babe Ruth (Buffalo) 87
Stolen Bases: Donie Bush (Cleveland) 45, Tris Speaker (New York) 34
WAR: Art Fletcher (Providence) 8.2, Eddie Collins (Boston) 7.7

Wins: Ed Walsh (Cleveland) / Carl Weilman (Providence) 23, Heinie Berger (Boston) 22
ERA: Ed Walsh (Cleveland) 1.68, Harry Suter (New York) 1.70
Strikeouts: Dutch Leonard (Baltimore) 207, Vean Gregg (Boston) 177
Saves: Rube Vickers (Minnesota) 28, Tim McCabe (New Jersey) 33
WAR: Dutch Leonard (Baltimore) 9.2, Joe Wood (Brooklyn) 7.5

Notes
- Cleveland and the Athletics tied for the best record in the AL.
- Jack Fournier became the first hitter to win the Triple Crown since Jimmy Williams of Baltimore in 1910 and 1911, but his Browns finished towards the bottom of the standings.
- The world champion White Sox fell to finish just 8th in the AL.
- The Bisons made the postseason for the first time, behind the power hitting of Babe Ruth, whose 18 homers have only been surpassed by Nap Lajoie's 26 in 1901.
- Zack Wheat (Louisville) hit .354/.409/.514, but the Colonels couldn't make the playoffs.
- Rookie Pat O'Farrell (NY Giants) hit .272 and played a good second base.
- Rochester traded starter Ed Reulbach to Louisville for two prospects.

Achievements & Milestones
- Larry Gardner (Braves) and Zack Wheat (Louisville) both had six hits in a game. Wheat's came during a 19 inning marathon in New Jersey.
- Elmer Smith (Cardinals), Tommy Griffith (White Sox), Sam Rice (Tigers) and Jack Fournier (Browns) all hit for the cycle.
- Eppa Rixey (Minnesota) threw a no-hitter.
- Ginger Beaumont (Pittsburgh) became the first man to pass 2500 hits.
- John Anderson (Milwaukee) was the first hitter to break the 500 doubles barrier.
- Bill Donovan (Brooklyn) passed 2000 strikeouts.
- Ralph Caldwell (NY Giants) became the first closer to total 300 saves.

ALCS
- Cleveland defeated Philadelphia, 3 games to 2.
- Billy Southworth won MVP, going 7-19 with two homers and six men driven in.
- In Game Three, Cleveland came back from 5-0 down after seven innings to win 9-5.
- Ed Walsh (Cleveland) threw a shutout in Game Four to set up a deciding final game.
- Cleveland scored two runs in each of the first two innings of Game Five, to come back from 2-0 down in the series.
- Cleveland won the AL for the first time.
NLCS
- Buffalo defeated Boston, 3 games to 1.
- Babe Ruth was the MVP, going 6-15 with a pair of bombs.
- Boston won Game Two in eleven innings, as good base-running by Eddie Collins allowed Ivey Wingo to hit a sacrifice fly and win the game, 5-4.
- Jack Scott won Games One and Four for the Bisons.
- Buffalo became the first NL expansion team to win the pennant.

World Series
- Cleveland beat Buffalo, 5 games to 4.
- Donie Bush was MVP, as the shortstop batted 12-31.
- Jack Scott (Buffalo) threw a Game Eight shutout to keep the Bisons alive.
- Ernie Groth and Ed Walsh combined to allow just a single run in Game Nine, as the Indians won 3-1.
- Walsh took the victory in Games One and Nine.
- Johnny Rawlings (Cleveland) went 10-33 with 6 RBI.
- Babe Ruth (Buffalo) batted only .226 with a single home run.
- Cleveland's first world championship.

Retirements
- John Anderson. Milwaukee 1B, who led the AL in doubles three times, and made four All-Star bids.
- Gene DeMontreville. Veteran second baseman who was a stalwart for the Cardinals. Totaled 2278 hits, with five All-Star selections, four Silver Sluggers, and a Gold Glove.
- Tommy Leach. Pittsburgh's third baseman for a generation, winning three rings. 1443 career hits, and a lifetime .274 average.
- John McGraw. Baltimore third baseman, who made nine All-Star appearances. An exceptionally patient hitter, who lead his league in OBP ten straight times, runs nine times, and walks eight times.
- Jimmy Williams. One of the finest hitters of his generation, winning three MVPs for the Orioles, with Triple Crowns in 1910 and 1911. Four-time batting champion, and eleven-time All-Star.
- Joe Yeager. Hurler for the Tigers and Red Sox. 195-159 record, 2.53 ERA, four world titles and two All-Star visits.

Off-Season
- The Philadelphia Quakers picked Ross Youngs first overall.
- Rochester chose Ira Flagstead at #2.
- The Yankees drafted Aaron Ward third.
- Kansas City traded pitcher Jean Dubuc to Louisville for second base prospect Red Shannon.
- The Packers also traded outfielder Baby Doll Jacobson to the Boston Braves for Wally Gerber and Joe Gedeon.
- Minnesota traded Eppa Rixey to the White Sox for hitters Luke Boone and Merwin Jacobson.


Jack Fournier won the AL Triple Crown, but the Browns struggled.


Ed Walsh won the AL Cy Young Award, and led the Indians to the World Series.