The great pennant race you probably haven't heard of

Le Grande Orange · 01-03-2006, 11:27 PM

Everyone's pretty much familiar with the numerous great pennant races that have happened in the major leagues over the years. There have been some great comebacks, and some thrilling finishes.

But here's an amazing pennant race from the minors that probably not a lot of people know about. So sit back and enjoy the tale.

It's the 1920 season in the International League. The Baltimore Orioles and the Toronto Maple Leafs have been waging a two-horse race through most of the season. The two clubs are separated by just a few winning percentage points at the end of August, and both teams readied themselves for the decisive September battles.

It is at this time that the Maple Leafs get hot. Very hot. The start racking up win after win, and continue to do so right up until the last day of the season. The Leafs go 20-2 in their last 22 games to finish with an impressive 108-46 record for a .701 winning percentage. In any other year, you'd have been very safe in concluding that such a great stretch drive turned a close pennant race into a cake walk.

In any other year. But not this one.

The Leafs finished hot, no doubt about it, but the Orioles, incredibly, finished even hotter. The blazing Baltimore club went 25-0 in their final 25 games. That's right, the Orioles won 25 games in a row to finish the season. It gave them a 110-43 record, a .719 winning percentage, and a 2½ game lead on top of the standings to take the IL pennant.

Some of the stand-out performances on the Oriole club:

Code:

                      GP   AB  R   H  2B 3B HR SB   BA
Merwin Jacobson (OF) 154  581 161 235 35 16  7 18 .404
Jack Bentley (1B,P)  145  622 109 231 39 12 20 13 .371
Fritz Maisel (3B)    154  640 145 204 33 10  2 45 .319

               W  L   G CG  IP  BB  SO   ERA
John Ogden    27  9  45 31 321 100 137  3.25
Harry Frank   25 12  48 18 270  71  96  3.87
Jack Bentley  16  3  22 15 167  29  97  2.11

Some of the stand-out performances on the Maple Leaf club:

Code:

                      GP   AB  R   H  2B 3B HR SB   BA
Ed Onslow (1B)       135  511  87 173 23 12  7 31 .339
Frank O'Rourke (SS)  148  615 130 201 37 11  4 37 .327
Lena Blackburne (3B) 150  545  91 171 19  7  1 34 .314

               W  L   G CG  IP  BB  SO   ERA
Pat Shea      27  7  43 25 298 122 131  2.63
Bill Ryan     19  9  44 21 261 119 113  2.73
Lore Bader    19  9  39 15 229  77  94  2.91

reds1 · 01-06-2006, 02:18 PM

A 108 wins and still no pennant victory? Wow.

But I'd like to see that Oriole club try and take on the Guzzlers!

01-03-2006, 11:27 PM	#1
Le Grande Orange Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Up There Posts: 15,642	The great pennant race you probably haven't heard of Everyone's pretty much familiar with the numerous great pennant races that have happened in the major leagues over the years. There have been some great comebacks, and some thrilling finishes. But here's an amazing pennant race from the minors that probably not a lot of people know about. So sit back and enjoy the tale. It's the 1920 season in the International League. The Baltimore Orioles and the Toronto Maple Leafs have been waging a two-horse race through most of the season. The two clubs are separated by just a few winning percentage points at the end of August, and both teams readied themselves for the decisive September battles. It is at this time that the Maple Leafs get hot. Very hot. The start racking up win after win, and continue to do so right up until the last day of the season. The Leafs go 20-2 in their last 22 games to finish with an impressive 108-46 record for a .701 winning percentage. In any other year, you'd have been very safe in concluding that such a great stretch drive turned a close pennant race into a cake walk. In any other year. But not this one. The Leafs finished hot, no doubt about it, but the Orioles, incredibly, finished even hotter. The blazing Baltimore club went 25-0 in their final 25 games. That's right, the Orioles won 25 games in a row to finish the season. It gave them a 110-43 record, a .719 winning percentage, and a 2½ game lead on top of the standings to take the IL pennant. Some of the stand-out performances on the Oriole club: Code: GP AB R H 2B 3B HR SB BA Merwin Jacobson (OF) 154 581 161 235 35 16 7 18 .404 Jack Bentley (1B,P) 145 622 109 231 39 12 20 13 .371 Fritz Maisel (3B) 154 640 145 204 33 10 2 45 .319 W L G CG IP BB SO ERA John Ogden 27 9 45 31 321 100 137 3.25 Harry Frank 25 12 48 18 270 71 96 3.87 Jack Bentley 16 3 22 15 167 29 97 2.11 Some of the stand-out performances on the Maple Leaf club: Code: GP AB R H 2B 3B HR SB BA Ed Onslow (1B) 135 511 87 173 23 12 7 31 .339 Frank O'Rourke (SS) 148 615 130 201 37 11 4 37 .327 Lena Blackburne (3B) 150 545 91 171 19 7 1 34 .314 W L G CG IP BB SO ERA Pat Shea 27 7 43 25 298 122 131 2.63 Bill Ryan 19 9 44 21 261 119 113 2.73 Lore Bader 19 9 39 15 229 77 94 2.91

01-06-2006, 02:18 PM	#2
reds1 Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2002 Location: Winnipeg Posts: 3,985	A 108 wins and still no pennant victory? Wow. But I'd like to see that Oriole club try and take on the Guzzlers!