New Metaphysical League Baseball (MLB) with random introduction feature opens in 1901

[CT Wolverine]

Cleveland Naps 1909 Season Addendum

When the Naps finished 15-9 in the exhibition season, tops in the AL, there was excitement in Cleveland. However, Cleveland’s hopes were damaged early in the regular season by injuries to starting position players. On 4/14, RF Kiki Cuyler went down for 2 weeks. On 4/20, 2B Art Phelan went out for 38 days. On 4/21, 1B Tony Solaita was lost for 25 days. By the time they all were healthy at the beginning of June, Cleveland stood at 16-27, in 7th place, 11 ½ games behind the 1st place White Sox. From June 1 on, however, Cleveland went 60-51, to finish 76-78, tied for 4th in the AL. The Indians scored 185 more runs in 1910 than in 1909, improved their bullpen ERA from 8th to 5th and their defense from 6th to 4th. They still need improvement to contend, but some of that will come through maturity of young players , and some will come if they can stay healthier in future and build more depth. This club made a 17-game improvement in record in 1910. Another 17-game improvement next season would have them vying for first place.

[CT Wolverine]

Chicago Cubs 1910 Season Addendum

The Cubs transactions this past year are indicative of a desperate move to grab young players and hope for something big. They have some solid starting pitchers, and their SP ERA improved accordingly, but they made only marginal progress in runs allowed due to a league-worst bullpen. They also still trail the league in every offensive category except SBs. The Cubs lost 2 more games in 1910 than in 1909. The rebuilding process is going to be a long one. Rookies Dick McBride, Adonis Terry and Sherry Magee all made positive contributions to the club, but none were bid enough to help the club turn the corner into a winner.

[CT Wolverine]

Metaphysical League Baseball (MLB)
New York Giants

We left off following the New York Giants around the 1907 season as they continued to sit around the .500 mark. In 1910, several of their moves over the past few seasons came to fruition, along with a few key lineup changes to get them to the top of the NL in 1910.

Foremost has been the Giants draft history, starting with their initial pick in 1901, Early Wynn. All Wynn has done over 9 seasons is go 168-148, 2.29, giving them a durable starter who has averaged nearly 19 wins per season over 9 seasons. In the 1903 draft, they added Jimmy Wynn. In 1904 it was Johnny Bench, who had barely turned 18 years old, and Monte Ward in Round 2. In 1905 they added Lou Whitaker in Round 9. In 1906 they found Justin Duchscherer in Round 4. 1908 brought Vito Tamulis, followed by Chief Meyers in 1909.

In their League Championship season of 1910, Bench, at the age of 24, blossomed into the league’s best power hitter with 13 HRs, leading the NL in Hrs for the 2nd year in a row. Rookie catcher Myers was so good that the Giants could afford to move Bench to RF to get more pop in the lineup. Monte Ward blossomed into the league’s best SP, leading the NL in both wins and ERA. Duchscherer, in his first season in the bigs, had a 0.91 ERA out of the pen. Tamulis became a 20-game winner in his 2nd season. Whitaker’s excellent defense at 2B and decent bat allowed Green to move to SS, providing another lift to the offense. Wynn excelled with his all-around play.

But even all these performances may not have put the Giants over the top. Tow big trades also helped make the difference:
1. On 7/4/08 they obtained Nemo Leibold for Alexi Casilla and Andres Thomas. Leibold worked his way into a near full-time job in LF in 1910 with stellar defense and solid all-around play.
2. On 7/13/10, with the Giants several games off the pace, they dealt Don Lock and Ed Lyons for SP Buddy Napier. Napier replaced Ewald Pyle (14-18), and went 7-6 the rest of the way to solidify the 4th spot in the Giants rotation.

The Giants are still a relatively young club and their future looks rather bright. Their biggest weakness is a lack of team speed, and to some extent, mediocre batting average. Both flaws are generally overcome by their league-leading HR power, resulting in a #2 spot in the league in runs scored. Combined with a #1 rating in runs allowed and the Giants are tough to beat.

[CT Wolverine]

Metaphysical Baseball League (MLB)
Career Leaders through 1910*

*for rate stats, min 3000 Pas or 1000 IP; players actively as of season end 1910 unless otherwise indicated. Rookie year after 1st instance of player name

Avg: Steve B Dunn .321 1902; Ed Swartwood .309 1901; Pete Browning .308 1901

OBP: Roy Cullenbine .391 1901-07; Ed Swartwood .385; Joey Votto .381 1901

SLG: Harold Baines .409 1901; George Wright .404 1901

OPS: Ed Swartwood .773; Joey Votto .756

Runs: Ray Chapman 769 1901; Nemo Leibold 692 1901

Hits: Edd Roush 1549 1902; Joey Votto 1508

HR: Joey Votto 57; Harold Baines 54 1901; David Justice 51 1901

RBI: Joey Votto 712; Harold Baines 605

SB: Steve B Dunn 661; Nemo Leibold 565; Edd Roush 564

VORP: Joey Votto 291; Edd Roush 254; Mickey Cochrane 252 1901

WAR: Mickey Cochrane 49; Salvador Perez 40 1903; Scott Rolen 40 1902

ERA: Stephen Strasburg 1.65 1905; Harry Salisbury 1.80 1904; Ray Collins 1.82 1904

Wins: Anibal Sanchez 176 1902; Early Wynn 168 1902; Harry Salisbury 164

Saves: Sergio Romo 54 1902; Steve larkin 24 1905; Alex Malloy 24 1906

Complete Games: Anibal Sanchez 274; Early Wynn 265

Shutouts: Anibal Sanchez 45; Harry Salisbury 40

IP: Anibal Sanchez 2941; Early Wynn 2815.1

Ks: Juan Pizarro 1720 1903; Anibal Sanchez 1625

VORP: Anibal Sanchez 520; Harry Salisbury 454; Early Wynn 385

WAR: Anibal Sanchez 97; Scott Stratton 82 1904; Harry Salisbury 82

[CT Wolverine]

Metaphysical Baseball League (MLB)
Single Season Leaders through 1910

Avg: Benny Kauff .383 1901; Bobby Tolan .3607 1901; Edd Roush .3606 1906

OBP: Benny Kauff .458 1901; Dusty Cooke .444 1901; Bobby Tolan .436 1901

SLG: George Wright .552 1901; Benny Kauff .512 1901; George Wright .496 1903

OPS: Benny Kauff .970 1901; George Wright .967 1901; Dusty Cooke .899 1901

Runs: Nemo Liebold 112 1902; Ray Chapman 106 1905; Sammy Strang 106 1901; Ward Miller 106 1905

Hits: Steve B Dunn 223 1905; Mike Hargrove 207 1907; Steve B Dunn 206 1903

HR: Bob Horner 14 1905; Johnny Bench 13 1910; Bob Horner 1902 11; Eric Soderholm 1901 11

RBI: Joe Carter 110 1901; Benny Kauff 100 1901; Cleon Jones 97 1910; Dustin Ackley 97 1905

SB: Steve B Dunn 118 1903; Steve B Dunn 108 1905; Otis Clymer 106 1908

VORP: Benny Kauff 77 1901; George Wright 57 1901; Edd Roush 57 1906

WAR: Edd Roush 7.64 1906; Benny Kauff 7.52 1901; Salvador Perez 6.97 1910

ERA: John Fulgham 1.16 1907; Rick Reed 1.19 1907; Stephen Strasburg 1.25 1909

Wins: Rick Reed 31 1907; Danny Friend 29 1902; Harry Salisbury 28 1906; John Fulgham 28 1907

Saves: Sergio Romo 19 1908; Armando Benitez 13 1910; Steve larkin 12 1908

Complete Games: Preacher Roe 38 1909; Doc White 37 1904; Juan Pizarro 37 1908

Shutouts: Tim Belcher 9 1904; Mike Regan 9 1903; Pascual Perez 9 1906; Harry Salisbury 9 1907

IP: Glenn J Liebhardt 381 1904; Petie Behan 368 1904; Curt Davis 365 1904

Ks: Juan Pizarro 327 1904; Doc White 312 1904; Danny Friend 308 1902

VORP: Stephen Strasburg 86 1909; Danny Friend 85 1902; Jerry Garvin 83 1902

WAR: Danny Friend 15.49 1902; Doc White 14.88 1903; Doc White 14.42 1904

[CT Wolverine]

Metaphysical League Baseball (MLB)
Detroit Tigers


The Detroit Tigers have been a lower middle tier club in their first 10 seasons, with an overall 722-776-.482 record. They have twice (1906 & 1909 finished within a game of 1st) and 3 times, including 1910, finished in last place.

The Tigers 2011 lineup is expected to be (1910 #s):
C: Salvador Perez 3-61-.289
1B: Mike Jurgenson 8-63-.256 (challenged by Round 2 pick Lee May)
2B: Rico Petrocelli 5-61-.265
SS: Frank Fennelly 2-50-.226-36 SB
3B: Scott Rolen 0-14-.300 due to injury but 45-459-.257-98 career at age of 29
LF: George R Stone (overall #2 pick)
CF: Wally Westlake 4-45-.243
RF: Harry Hooper (age 37) 1-27-.264 and Matt Stairs (age 28) 3-14-.289

The staff (career #s):
SP: Stephen Strasburg (1904 R#1) 107-86-1.65, return from 7/1/10 ruptured finger tendon
SP: J.A. Happ 78-81-2.75
SP: John Fulgham 121-102-2.32
SP: Jake Wade, 29, 0-2-4.43 obtained in 1/3/11 trade
SP: Frank Hiller, 29, 1-3-3.99
CL: Steve Larkin 26-43-24-2.44 2nd(tied) in career saves
SP Bill Doak 23-27-2.96 starts the season with a bad ankle sprain, returning late May

The Tigers were very active in the off-season. First they fired Manager Armando Viera. They traded SP Virgil Barnes, 22, 10-20-3.51 for 4 porspects. They dealt OFs Ted Uhlaender, 28 and Art Allison, 23 for LF Joe Connolly, 33, 0-10-.267 in 1910, 11-316-.289-143 lifetime, hoping for a resurgence, but he has not cracked the starting lineup coming out of spring training. They dealt LF Johnny Lewis 6-49-.278 to Pit for RP Hipolito Pichardo, 29, and SS Wally Dashiell, 20. They obtained SP Jake Wade, 29 from the Cubs for 3B Danny Valencia, 25 and SS Wally Dashiell. Finally, they dealt Vinnie Pestano, 8-7-4-2.09 to the Cards for 5 prospects. The consensus, however, was that the Tigers’ moves were made out of desperation, and that the players they got had no significant upside with respect to those they gave up. The club was rated far and away the worst in MLB in their off-season moves.

Of all the players obtained, only Jake Wade earned a starting spot (in the rotation), which he may give up with the return of Bill Doak from the DL. On the position player side, Tigers’ two major additions are their #1 and #2 draft picks, George Stone and Lee May. The entire league is high on Stone, considered a 4-tool player. May has high potential and will challenge Jorgenson at 1B. The return of Scott Rolen, hopefully for the full year (he was out from the middle of May on in 1910) will help. Overall, however, there is very little hope that the Tigers’ offense will be enough improved from 1910 to put them in the hunt.
The Club’s SP ERA was 7th in 1910. If they can get a full yea from Strasburg and a bounce-back from Fulgham, they can improve on that, but again, not enough to contend, given that the Tigers have two question marks in their 4th and 5th SP slots.

[CT Wolverine]

Metaphysical League Baseball (MLB)
Cincinnati Reds


The Cincinnati Reds have been MLBs most successful franchise in the league’s first 10 seasons, with an overall 832-666-.555 record. The Reds are the only franchise to win their league 3 times (2002, 2006, 2008). The Reds won the World Series in 2008. They have never finished worse than 4th, nor worse than .500. The Reds finished 3rd in 1910.

The Reds 2011 lineup is expected to be (1910 #s):
C: Mike Gonzalez 1-50-.264
1B: Dick Hoblitzell 0-1-.353 and Lyle Overbay 4-47-.240
2B: Troy Glaus 6-70-.242
SS: Bob W Johnson 4-48-.295
3B: Roy Sievers (1910 R#1 pick) backed up by Enos Cabell 1-55-.270-53 SB
LF: John Kruk (1909 R#1 pick) 4-54-.266-28
CF: Grady Sizemore 5-77-.249-31
RF: Mickey Rivers 1-45-.288-43

The staff (career #s):
SP: Harry Salisbury (1903 R#1) 164-103-1.80, 20-game winner in each of 7 seasons
SP: Roy Patterson (1904 R#1) 91-80-2.28
SP: Vic Aldridge 144-111-2.48, 24-game winner in 1910
SP: Tex Shirley 26-24-2.47
SP: Oswaldo Peraza 127-125-2.20
CL: Tom Henke (1907 R#1) 10-11-17-2.07

The Reds were content to largely stand pat in the offseason. The addition of 21-year-old Roy Sievers at 3B is expected to add some power to a lineup that already finished 2nd in the NL in HRs in 1910. The OF of Kruk, Sizemore, and Rivers, all of whom are between 23 and 25 years old, is expected to continue to mature and improve in all aspects of the game. The Reds do still miss Pete Browning who was the face of the franchise for years. Browning, with career 16-494-.308-423 #s, averaged only .196 in 1910. He is still on the roster but has not looked much better in Spring Training.

The Reds bread and butter, however, has always been its pitching staff. That staff slumped in 1910, when the SP ERA was 5th in the league. The 1911 season will see Tex Shirley replace Ike Delock (10-14-2.97) in the rotation. With the career track records of the other starters, and a bullpen that finished 1st in the NL with a 1.81 ERA, the Reds expect again to ride their pitching staff back to into the NL pennant race.

[CT Wolverine]

Metaphysical League Baseball (MLB)
1911 Season


Going into the 1911 season the experts consensus top prospects included:
1. SP Doc McJames, 19, Chicago Cubs, overall #1 pick
2. LF George R Stone, 25, Detroit Tigers, overall #2 pick
3. 2B Tim Raines Sr, 18, New York Highlanders, pick 1-4
4. SS Ryne Sandberg, 20, Boston Red Sox, pick 1-7
7. CF Roy Sievers, 21, Cincinnati Reds
Each would play a prominent role in their teams’ fortunes in 1911.

Early on, the defending champion Philadelphia Athletics dominated the AL. The A’s were 29-14 through May with a 4 game lead on Boston. By July, however, the lead seesawed between the A’s, Red Sox and Senators. The A’s faded, while the Red Sox and Senators were tied for 1st on Labor Day. Then, in the 3rd week of September, the Red Sox strung together 5 wins while the Senators were losing 5 in a row and pulled away, eventually winning by a 4-game margin.

A big side-story in the AL was the emergence of rookie George R Stone of Detroit. Stone was named Batter of the Month in April, hitting .438, then Rookie of the Month in May, finishing the 1st 2 months of the season at 2-30-.412 with 16 SBs. Stone ended the year leading the league in batting average and winning Batter of the Year and Rookie of the Year honors with a 4-67-.356-67 stat line. He led the resurgent Tigers to an 84-70 4th place finish.

The NL race was a shocker. The perennial doormat Chicago cubs, 56-98 in 1910, opened a big lead with a 16-2 April mark behind the pitching of Adonis Terry and David Price. The Cubs continued to hold the lead, entering September at 74-48, 5 ½ game ahead of the Cincinnati Reds. In the first 5 days of the month, the Reds closed the gap to 2 games. The Reds then came to Chicago on 9/6-9 and swept the Cubs to take a 1-game lead. But the Cubs were not finished. With 1 game to play, on 10/12, the Cubs trailed by 1, and that game was Chicago @ Cincinnati. The Cubs’ Adonis Terry pitched a shutout for his 30th victory to force a playoff at Chicago. Cincinnati led 5-4 with 2 out, bottom of the 9th, men on 2nd & 3rd, SP Tiant still on the mound vs Eric Young Jr. Young lined to CF and the Reds won the pennant.

Adonis Terry of the Cubs, only 24 and in his 5th season, had one of the best MLB seasons ever. He won the Pitching Triple Crown with 30 wins, 1.93 ERA and 245 Ks. He was of course voted Best Pitcher in the NL by a wide margin.

The Reds and Red Sox advanced to the World Series, where the Red Sox were heavy favorites based on their offense and the fact that Reds SPs Roy Paterson and Fritz Peterson were out with injuries. The Red Sox did not disappoint, winning handily in 5 games for their 2nd world title and first since 1902.

The Red Sox had many standouts on the year. To name a few:
• SP Jason Hammel, 23-8, 2.64 (AL Best Pitcher award)
• SP Russ Christopher, 23-14, 2.73
• RF Mike Tiernan, who broke MLB season records for Runs Scored, 116, and Total Bases, 288, with a 10-62-.293-71 line
• CF Tim Hendryx, 2-76-.324-30
• 1B Mike Hargrove 5-58-.301, .408 OBP, 91 R
• Rookie SS Ryne Sandberg, 7-81-.319, 30
• 3B Mark McGwire, 11-81-.222
• Closer Ramon Hernandez, 4-1-11, 1.78

This Red Sox team may be the most balanced to win the MLB World Title in the league’s eleven seasons.

Other Individual Season and Career Records Broken or Tied in 1911:

Season:
• RBI: Brandon Belt, Pit, 112
• Games Pitched: Colby Lewis, NYA, 75
• HR Allowed: Pascual Perez, Cle, 22

Career:
• RBI: Joey Votto (38), NYA, retires with 750
• HR: David Justice, Pit, & Frank J Thomas (1950’s), ChW, tie Joey Votto, NYA, 58

[CT Wolverine]

Metaphysical League Baseball (MLB)
1912 Season


The top 5 picks in the 2011 draft were:
1. 1B Frank E Thomas, 20, New York Highlanders
2. 3B Jim Thome, 19, St. Louis Cardinals
3. SP Jumbo McGinnis, 26, Cleveland Naps
4. SP Larry French, 20, Boston Braves
5. SP Pete Donohue, 19, Philadelphia Phillies

Thomas, Thome and Donohue were rated the top 3 prospects going into Opening Day 1912. None would disappoint, but Thomas and Donohue would prove to exceed all expectations.

The 1912 season was a Tale of Two Cities – New York and Philadelphia.

New York fancied itself the center of American sport. But baseball in New York was on the wane. Two of the Metaphysical League’s greatest players had retired from the Highlanders one before the 1911 season and one after the 1911 season:
• George Wright, 37, retired before the 1911 season with 11 HR, 359 RBI, .280 avg. and 111 SB. He won the AL Outstanding Hitter award in 1901.
• 1B Joey Votto, 38, retired with 58 HR, 750 RBI, and a .289 avg. His HR total at his retirement was tied with David Justice for the all-time high., and his RBI total still stands as the all-time record. He won the 1908 and 1909 AL Outstanding Hitter awards.
These two players had contributed to one World Championship and one League Championship for their team.
Without Their stars, the Highlanders struggled to their 2nd consecutive last place finish, this time with a 58-96 record. They suffered from the worst defense and the worst starting pitching in the league, surrendering the league’s most runs. Even the blossoming of Rookie of the Year Frank E Thomas did very little to improve the team. At the end of the year, owner ship changed the team name to the New York Yankees in hopes of garnering a fresh image and insisted that all awards be announced with the new club Moniker.

The cross-town New York Giants fared better by comparison, but were a considerable disappoint, given the talent on the club. With young stars like Johnny Bench, Jim Wynn and Bill Singer, the Giants were expected to be strong contenders. However, they got off to an atrocious start, losing one close game after another. They closed strongly to get back to 76-78, but were a pitiful 17-33 in one-run games. Management was under considerable criticism for continuing to play Bench at 3B and in the OF rather at catcher. Fans were crying for a trade of C Chief Meyers to put Bench behind the plate and more talent elsewhere.

The City of Brotherly Love, on the other hand, has arguably become the hotbed of Metaphysical League Baseball. In the NL, the Phillies took the lead midway through May at 18-9 and were never headed, clinching the pennant with 5 games remaining, and finishing at 93-61 for their 3rd NL title. They were led by Rookie of the Year Pete Donohue, 25-8-1.87. Donohue’s ERA led all of MLB and his 25 wins tied the high mark.

The AL race was a tighter affair. Cleveland led through most of the first half of the season. The Washington took the lead in July and August. The Philadelphia Athletics took the lead early in September and clinched with 4 games remaining, finishing 87-67.

This marked the third time that the A’s and the Phillies each had made it to the World Series in 12 seasons. Each held 1 World Championship in their first 2 visits. In all, the World Series had now entertained at least one team from Philadelphia in 5 of 12 World Series.

This World Series was an exciting one. Led by their pitching and Ken Caminiti, the Phillies won the first two and home and the first game at the A’s home for a 3 games to 0 lead. But the A’s bounced back to take the next 3 games to set up the decisive Game 7 with Doc White on the mound for the A’s and Donohue on the hill for the Phillies. They had split their forst two outings. The A’s took a 5-3 lead into the bottom of the 7th when Ken Caminiti deposited a 3- run 308’ drive over the short left-center-field fence at the Baker Bowl for a 6-5 Phillies lead. The Phillies added an insurance run and held on behind Malloy’s 2nd save. Caminiti was the series MVP with 3 HR, 8 RBI and a .333 avg. Donohue went 2-1-1.78. Alex Malloy recorded 2 saves with a 2.08 ERA.

The World Champions Phillies Lineup included:
• C Jake Gibbs, 1B Chris Chambliss, 2B Martin Prado, 3B Ken Caminiti, SS George Myatt, LF Alex Johnson, CF Curt Welch, RF Johnny Mostil
• SPs: Pete Donohue, Dennis Ribant, Bob Anderson, Russ Miller
• CL: Alex Malloy

Individual Season and Career Records/Milestones Broken or Tied in 1911:

Season:
• 3B: Ed Stroud, Ph A’s, 31
• SB: Max Carey, Bos Braves, 123
• Hits – NL: John Kruk, Cin, 209
• Walks: Frank E Thomas, NY Yankees, 114
• Wins Above Replacement: Salvador Perez, Detroit, 7.9
• Games Pitched: Chief Yellow Horse, Pittsburgh, 77

Career:
• RBI: Joey Votto (38), NYA, retires with 750
• HR: Frank J Thomas, ChW, 61
• Wins: Anibal Sanchez, Pittsburgh, 1st to reach 200 Wins, 4/20/12. All-time leader @ 218 Wins
• Wins: Harry Salisbury, Cincinnati, 2nd to reach 200 Wins on6/15/12. Second all-time @ 210 wins

Awards
• Avg: AL Salvador Perez, Det, .342 NL: John Kruk, Cin, .348
• Rookie of Year: AL Frank E Thomas, NY Yankees, 11-93-.317, .436 OBP, 61 R
• Rookie of Year: NL Pete Donohue, PH Phillies, 25-8-1.87
• Best Pitcher: AL Fleury Sullivan, ChW, 24-14-2.15 NL Pete Donohue, Ph Phillies see above
• Best Hitter: AL Mickey Mantle, Cle, 9-89-.315. ,491 SLG, .901 OPS, 88 R
• Best Hitter: NL John Kruk, Cin, 4-68-.348-12, 209 H (NL record), 22 2B, 22 3B, 102 R

[CT Wolverine]

Metaphysical League Baseball (MLB)
1913 Season


The top 5 picks in the 2012 draft were:
1. RF Harry Lumley, 22, St. Louis Cardinals
2. SP Jered Weaver, 22, New York Yankees
3. SP Kevin Brown, 19, Pittsburgh Pirates
4. SP Hiroki Kuroda, 31, St. Louis Browns
5. LF Carlos May, 18, Cincinnati Reds

Lumley, Weaver and May were rated the top 3 prospects going into Opening Day 1913. None would disappoint, but Lumley and Weaver would exceed expectations.

Going into the 1913 season, the defending champion Phillies and A’s were widely expected to repeat. However, The Phillies were hit badly by injuries. In February, SP Russ Miller had a setback in his recovery from a torn ligament and wouldn’t return until August. Early in April starters 2B Rich Rollins and OF Andy Pafko each went down for 4-5 weeks. Early in May, SS Floyd Baker went out for 3-4 weeks. By the end of May, the Phillies found themselves in 7th place at 19-27, 12 games behind streaking Brooklyn. Things weren’t much better for the A’s. They lost their most valuable player, Cleon Jones, for 5 weeks on 4/24, and by 5/30 were tied for 2nd at 24-22, 7 ½ games behind the White Sox.

The White Sox continued to lead the AL through the end of July, with the A’s, Senators and Yankees all within striking distance. The surprising Yankees, behind emerging superstar 1B Frank Thomas, 22, and their young rotation of Josh Johnson, John Smoltz and Jered Weaver, surged past the White Sox by Labor Day and won going away, clinching with 6 games remaining. New York finished at 89-65, with a 5-game margin over Chicago, 9 over Philadelphia.

In the NL, the Brooklyn Superbas led wire-to-wire, finishing at 100-54, 16 games ahead of Philadelphia and Chicago. Brooklyn’s pitching dominated, with starters Larry Christenson, Bret Saberhagen, Paul Rigdon and Rip Egan combining for a 2.24 ERA. The offense led the league in scoring, led by 2B Nap Lajoie, CF Willie Davis and C Elston Howard.

This marked the third time that AL New York franchise would appear in the World Series (defeating Brooklyn in 1909 and once losing as Baltimore in 1901). For Brooklyn it would be their second World Series appearance (having lost to NY in 1909).

Brooklyn (100-54) was heavily favored over New York (89-65) going into the World Series.
As it turned out, however, the series was one of the closest in the history of the league, going a full 7 games, with each of the first 6 games decided by 1 or 2 runs.. Some highlights:
• Game 3: After Brooklyn had taken a 2-game lead, NY rallies for 2 runs in the bottom of the 9th to win 4-3 on a Frank Thomas walk-off 1B.
• Game 4: Brooklyn turns a TRIPLE PLAY in the 1st, sparked by Lajoie, and wins, 4-2.
• Game 6: Bottom 12th, Tim Raines Sr scores on a passed ball for NY to send the series to a 7th game
• Game 7: NY (Weaver 0-2, 1.59) @ Bro (Christenson 2-0, 0.00). NY scores 1st on a Montero 2-run 1B in the 2nd. They add 4 more, the last 2 unearned, in the 4th, and coast to an upset 7-2 victory. MVP Montero goes 3-5, 2B, 4 RBI, R in the finale.


Individual Season and Career Records/Milestones Broken or Tied in 1913:

Season:
• OBP: Frank Thomas, NYY, .468
• OPS: Frank Thomas, NYY, .978
• AB: Willie Davis, Bro, 681
• TB: Max Carey, Bos Braves, 291
• HR: Mark McGwire, Bos Red Sox, 16
• SB: Sherry Magee, Chi Cubs, 129
• BB: Frank Thomas, NYY, 120
• K: Harry Lumley, St.L Cardinals, 110
Career:
• Games: Ray Chapman, St.L Browns, 1595 (retired 10/13)
• AB: Ray Chapman, St.L Browns, 6401 (retired 10/13)
• R: Ray Chapman, St.L Browns, 936 (retired 10/13)
• 2B: Ray Chapman, St.L Browns, 296 (retired 10/13)
• RBI: Pedro Guerrrero, Boos Braves, 797, surpassing Joey Votto
• HR: Mark McGwire, Bos Red Sox, 67, surpassing Frank J Thomas
• Wins: Harry Salisbury, Cin, 233, surpassing Anibal Sanchez

Awards
• Avg: AL Frank Thomas, NYY, .355; NL Sherry Magee, ChC, .359
• Rookie of Year: AL Jered Weaver, NYY, 18-11-2.47
• Rookie of Year: NL Harry Lumley, St.LN, 10-89-.311-82, 174 H, 96 R
• Best Pitcher: AL John Smoltz, NYY, 24-15-2.50, led league in wins
• Best Pitcher: NL Larry Christenson, Bro, 25-7-1.89
• Best Hitter: AL Frank Thomas, NYY, 12-90-.355, 197 H, 32 2B, 9 3B, 107 R, .468 OBP, ,510 SLG. Led league in RBI, Avg, OBP, SLG
• Best Hitter: NL Sherry Magee, ChC, 7-89-.359-129, 208 H, 28 2B, 15 3B, 100 R, .420 OBP, .496 SLG. Led league in Avg, OBP, SLG, SB

[CT Wolverine]

Metaphysical League Baseball (MLB)
1914 Season


The 1914 MLB season was the most interesting yet, as it combined historical perspective with a couple of the greats of the early seasons retiring, filled rosters during the 1913 draft for the 1914 season with the best prospect draft to date, marked in-season milestones for several of the league’s long-time stars, showcased rising stars and rising teams for the first time, and crowned a first-time World Series champion.

Three of the league’s all-time greats retired shortly after the 1913 season.
• Ray Chapman split 1901 between the Phillies and Braves, the spent the next 12 seasons as the anchor of the Browns franchise. Upon retirement he held the league record for games played: 1595! His career stat line was 9-633-.279-604. He was a World Series winner and Gold Glove SS in 1905, leading the league in runs scored and AB. He also led the league in runs scored and 2B in 1903, and was an 11-time Player of the Week.
• Steve B Dunn played his entire career with the Philadelphia A’s from 1902-1910. He finished with a 9-464-.312-661 stat line. He is the career leader in batting avg, and at the end of 1910 was the career leader in SB (since passed by Max Carey). He was named the AL Outstanding Hitter and 1B Gold Glove in 1903, had a 39-game hit streak in 1905, longest in MLB history,. Dun was a member of the 1910 World Championship team. He led the AL in hits 1902-05, SB in 1902-07. In both 1902 and 1905 he led the AL in avg & 2B.
• Pete Browning played for Cincinnati from 1901-1912. He finished 16-508-.308-423, 3rd lifetime in career avg. He led the NL in hits in 1903-04, avg 1903 & 1905, OBP 1903 & 1908. He had hitting streaks >= 20 games 3 times and was Batter of the Month 7 times.

The top 5 picks in the much-anticipated 2013 draft were:
1. SS Gary Sheffield, 17, Pirates
2. LF Miguel Cabrera, 18, Tigers
3. SP Moe Drabowsky, 19, Naps
4. SP Junior Thompson, 20, Braves
5. 1B Cecil Fielder, 20, Cardinals

Sheffield and Cabrera were rated the top 2 prospects going into Opening Day 1913. Sheffield played the entire season as a 18-year old, starting at SS for the Pirates. Many first-round players saw late-season action with the big clubs, including Cabrera and Fielder.

Going into the 1914 season, the defending world champion Yankees were heavily favored to become the first team in the 14-year history of the MLB to repeat a league title. In the NL, the race was expected to be a wide-open affair.

The Yankees, however, ran into trouble before the season even began as their ace, John Smoltz went out for 6 month in early April with shoulder inflammation. Smoltz’ injury notwithstanding, NY held a 5-game cushion on Cleveland by the end of May. Over in the NL, the Reds led from nearly the beginning and were up by 2 ½ over the Boston and Brooklyn.

On June 16, Vic Aldridge of the Cardinals became the 3rd pitcher in MLB history to notch win #200, holding a career 200-173-2.69 line.

At the end of June, the Yankees’ lead was 4 games over the Indians, while Brooklyn had taken a 3-game lead over Cincinnati.

July was Cleveland’s month as they pulled within percentage points of New York. In the NL, Brooklyn lengthened it’s lead to 7 ½ games.

On August 2, promising Kevin Brown, 21, of the troubled Pirated franchise, a R1-3 pick in 1912, ruptured a finger tendon so badly that it was career-ending after only 46 career starts and a 17-24-3.35 record.
August 14 was an historic day for MLB and Harry Salisbury of Cincinnati. Salisbury (249-154-2.04) and Anibal Sanchez (236-210-2.21), the two winningest pitchers in MLB history, matched up for the greatest game in league history to date. Salisbury came away with a milestone victory #250, 6-1, on a complete game 5-hitter. Sanchez allowed all 6 runs but only 1 was earned.

Back to the pennant races, Cleveland passed NY on 8/18, and the Browns passed the faltering Yankees on 8/22, with Cleveland holding a 2 ½ game lead over the Browns at the end of August. In the NL, Brooklyn was still holding on, but the Cubs were making a big move and the lead was down to 2 games.

On September 3, Early Wynn became the 4th pitcher to win #200 with a 3-0 shutout of Brooklyn.

September saw NY, Cleveland and St. Louis see-saw back and forth with the lead in an exciting race. But the Browns lost 2 starting pitchers in the last 2 weeks, and were the first eliminated. Cleveland clinched it’s first pennant on it’s 153rd game. The Yankees then faded to finish behind the Browns. In the NL the Cubs shot past Brooklyn on 9/21 but still needed a victory in their final game to win their first NL title.

Two newcomers, the Chicago Cubs (88-66) and Cleveland Indians (92-62) met for the world title. Some highlights:
• Game 1: Cleveland’s Bill Sarni wins it, 6-5, on a 2-out, 3-2 count, 2-run walk-off 2B. Mickey Mantle earlier hit a 439’ 2-run HR for Cleveland.
• Game 2: Big day for the Cubs at the plate. They win 9-1, as Adonis Terry shuts down the Tribe.
• Game 3: Cleveland takes an early lead and wins 4-2
• Game 4: 9th inning RBI 1b by Gary Geiger wins it for Chicago, 2-1
• Game 5: Another Cubs blowout behind Terry. Chicago 10, Cleveland 0
• Game 6: Easy Cleveland victory. Phil Coridan leads the way, 2-4, 2B, 3 RBI, SB, R .
• Game 7: More of the same from Corigan, 3-5, 3B, SB, 3 RBI, leading Cleveland to an 8-4 victory and the 1914 World Series title, 4 games to 3.
• Corigan is named the series MVP for his Game 6 & 7 heroics. He finishes the series with a .467 average and 6 RBIs.


Individual Season and Career Records/Milestones Broken or Tied in 1914:

Season:
• 2B: Nap Lajoie, Brooklyn, 46
• RBI: Donn Clendenon, St. Louis Cardinals, 118
• BB: Billy Lush, St. Louis Cardinals, 125
• Appearances: Lou Fiene, Philadelphia Phillies, 94
Career:
• 250 Wins: Harry Salisbury, Cincinnati (finishes season at 256 wins)
• 200 Wins: Vic Aldridge, St. Louis Cardinals (3rd pitcher in MLB history)
• 200 Wins: Early Wynn, New York Giants (4th pitcher in MLB history)

Awards
• Avg: AL George R Stone, Det, .342; NL Sherry Magee, ChC, .346
• Rookie of Year: AL Andy Benes, Boston, 19-14-2.79
• Rookie of Year: NL Junior Thompson, Boston, 17-11-2.15
• Best Pitcher: AL Parke Swartzel, Philadelphia, 23-13-2.48; led league in Wins
• Best Pitcher: NL Doc McJames, Chicago, 25-12-2.59; led league in Wins, K’s, Shutouts
• Best Hitter: AL Mickey Mantle, Cleveland, 6-71-.318-8; led league in OBP
• Best Hitter: NL Sherry Magee, Chicago; led league in Avg, OBP, SLG, OPS

[CT Wolverine]

Metaphysical League Baseball (MLB)
1915 Season


The 1914 draft was rather light. The top 6 picks were:
1. LF Gavvy Cravath, 25, Senators
2. CF Hack Miller, 21, Pirates
3. LF Red Murray, 20, Phillies
4. SP Bob Ewing, 27, Indians
5. SP Cliff P Lee, 22, White Sox
6. SP Dean Chance, 18, Red Sox

Several interesting players went later in the draft:
• Jonathan Papelbon, 22, Yankees #16
• Ryan Zimmerman, 19, Reds, #2-11
• Adrian Beltre, 17, Senators, #3-1

Going into the 1915 season, the defending world champion Indians were heavily favored to repeat in the AL. In the NL, the defending champion Cubs looked strong, but many were impressed with the Cardinals. The Cards had a couple of significant lineup changes. Lead-off hitter Hans Lobert shifted from 3B to Lf, making room for 22-year-old slugger Jim Thome at 3B. Rookie Pat Donahue (#3-11) earned the starting C job. Finally Andy O’Connor gained the 4th starter’s spot on a rotation anchored by #3 all-time winner Vic Aldridge (211 wins).

April saw rookie Dean Chance, Bos, dazzle the AL, going 4-0-1.06 garnering Pitcher and Rookie of Month awards, leading surprising Boston to an early tie for 1st in the AL.

By the end of May, however, the cream had risen to the top of both leagues. Cleveland @ 31-15 led the AL by 2 games over Boston. In the NL, Brooklyn @30-13 led St. Louis by 5 games. In the AL, Cleveland continued to pull away in a race that was never close. The NL was another story. By the end of July, Brooklyn and St. Louis were in a daily see-saw for the lead. St. Louis had a hot August, pulling ahead by as much as 6 ½ games before Brooklyn’s September run brought them within 2 ½. Finally, St. Louis held on and clinched the pennant with 3 games remaining.

The Cards, however, paid a price, as 3 of their starters, CF Billy Lush, C Donahue and SS Yunel Escobar were all injured in the final week of September and would miss the World Series against Cleveland.

The defending champion Cleveland Indians (93-61) and St. Louis Cardinals (94-60) met for the world title. The Indians came in fully healthy, while as mentioned above, the Cards were down 3 position players. Some highlights:

• Game 1: Pitching Triple Crown winner Vinegar Bend Mizell (26-8-1.46) dominated for Cleveland, with a 9 5 0 0 0 6 line in an easy win, Cleveland 4, St. Louis 0
• Game 2: Tex Hughson of Cleveland makes it look nearly as easy with a 9 7 2 2 0 3 line, while Lefty Marr sets an AL playoff record with 2 3B. Cle 3, StL 2
• Game 3: StL takes the lead for the first time in the series in the top of the first but Cleveland wipes that out with 3 runs of their own in the bottom of the inning and Casey Coleman coast from there. Cle 4, StL 2
• Game 4: Clendenon puts StL on top with a 2-run HR off Mizell in the top of the 1st. Cleveland gets 1 back in the 1st then attacks with Covington’s 2-run HR in the 3rd, 1 in the 4th and 1 in the 5th for a 5-2 lead. StL gets 2 in the 8th, but it is too late.
Cle 5, Stl 4

MVP: MIzell, 2-0-2.00. Mantle (0-4-.429) and Covington (1-6-.235) also star.

Cleveland becomes the only team in the 15-year history of MLB to repeat as World Champions!

Individual Season and Career Records/Milestones Broken or Tied in 1915:

Season:
• 1B: Nap Lajoie, Brooklyn, 182
• HR: Jim Thome, SLN, 17 (breaking Mark McGwire’s record on final day)
• Games: U Larkin, SLA/NYY, 155
• No-hitters:
o Denny Galehouse, SLA, 1-0 vs NYY, 0 BB, 4K (2 errors)
o Bill C Lee, NYG, 7-0 vs SLN, 4 BB, 3K (1st start of year)
o Andy Benes, BosA, 4-0 vs SLA, 3 BB, 6K
o Tom Candiotti, SLA, 1-0 vs NYY, 4 BB, 4K
• 6-hit game: Frank Taveras, Pit, (7-8-.875 for year) all 1Bs in Pit 6-5 loss to ChC
Career:
• 250 Wins: Anibal Sanchez, Pit (2nd pitcher in MLB history)
Note: The rivalry between Sanchez, 34, 1902-15and Harry Salisbury, 35, 1904-15 for the claim of MLBs best all-time pitcher continues. Some #s:
o Ks: Sanchez 2354; Salisbury 2353
o W: Salisbury 274; Sanchez 261
o ERA: Salisbury 2.10; Sanchez 2.19
o W%: Salisbury .613: Sanchez .540
o GS: Sanchez 518; Salisbury 469
o CG: Salisbury 375; Sanchez 363
o SHO: Salisbury 60; Sanchez 59
o IP: Sanchez 4434; Salisbury 4102
• 200 Wins: Aaron Harang, BosA (5th pitcher in MLB history)
• 2000 Hits: Salvador Perez, Det

Awards
• Avg: AL Mickey Mantle, Cle, .332; NL Nap Lajoie, Bro, .323
• Rookie of Year: AL Dean Chance, Bos,20-11-2.50
• Rookie of Year: NL Jim Lefebvre, Phil, 6-85-.269-5, 156 H, 73 R
• Pitching Triple Crown!: AL Vinegar Bend Mizell, Cle, 26-8-1.46
• Best Pitcher: NL Bill Vinton, NYG, 22-15-2.07, led league in wins
• Best Hitter: AL Mickey Mantle, Cle, 4-48-.332-13, led league in avg, BB, OBP, OPS
• Best Hitter: NL Donn Clendenon, StL, 884-.319-11, led league in SLG, OPS, 3B, R, XBH, TB

[CT Wolverine]

Metaphysical League Baseball (MLB)
1916 Season


The 1915 draft was exciting! Top 10 Picks:
1. SS Rogers Hornsby, 17, Yankees (#1 rated on Opening Day)
2. 1B Honus Wagner, 21, Pirates (great to see this!) (#6 rated on Opening Day)
3. CF Fred Lynn, 20, Braves (#7 rated on Opening Day)
4. SP Justin Verlander, 20, A’s (#3 rated on Opening Day)
5. 1B Hal Chase, 20, Reds
6. RF Don Baylor, 19, Senators
7. SP J.R. Richard, 19, Cubs (#4 rated on Opening Day)
8. SP Johnny Marcum, 22, Browns
9. 3B Doug Rader, 22, Braves
10. LF Gus Zernial, 24, Phillies

The two-time defending champion Cleveland Indians were looking to make it 3 in a row in the AL, and were expected to be challenged by the A’s and Red Sox. In the NL, the defending champion Cardinals looked strong, overall they league looked balanced at the top of the standings going in.

Brooklyn’s Willie Davis got off to a great start on Opening day, hitting for the cycle, his final hit a HR.

On April 20th, 31-year-old Mark McGwire of the Red Sox hit career HRs #82 and #83 in the same game off Chris Nabholz to tie and then surpass the all-time mark previously held by Jim Wynn.

At the end of April, the Red Sox, paced by Pitcher of the Month Virgil Barnes, 4-1-2.08, sat atop the AL @ 11-6. The Boston Braves, paced by Rookie of the Month Doug Rader, 0-7-.356, 4 2B, 4 3B, 13 R, sat atop the NL @ 10-6.

May individual highlights:
• Brett Lawrie, Yankees– single-game record 4 triples in 16-inning victory @ Fenway
• Pedro Guerrero, Braves – hit #2000 (#2 all-time) in 1777 gms.
• Nap Lajoie, Brooklyn – 26-game hitting streak

By the end of May, the A’s led the AL @ 26-18, with the Yankees 1 back and Red Sox 3 back.
The Cubs led the NL @ 31-16 with the Reds 4 back. The Braves fell apart to 18-25.

June saw new leaders emerge in the Tigers and Giants, but both held tenuous ½ game leads over their predecessors. By the end of July, the A’s and Cubs had re-emerged.

Individual August highlights:
• Rig Egan, Brooklyn, win #200 (6th all-time). Career: 200-121-2.30
• Buck Herzog, Braves, 24-game hitting streak

In the AL, the A’s carried their lead the rest of the way, although always challenged, and they clinched the pennant with 2 games remaining. In the NL, the Cubs were still 2 games up on the Giants going into September with a 75-52 record, but then lost 14 in a row, and the Giants coasted to win the pennant by 5 games.

The Philadelphia Athletics (89-65) and New York Giants (90-64) met for the world title. This would be the A’s 4th appearance and the Giants 3rd appearance. Each held one previous championship.

This series was one of the most one-sided to date, as the A’s easily swept by scores of 5-2,
5-0, 3-2 and 4-2.
MVP: Parke Swartzel, 2-0-1.00 in 18 IP.
For the A’s, Jim Gilliam went 7-13, .538/.600/846; Harry Taylor hit the game-winning HR in Game 3 and had 4 RBIs in the series.
For the Giants, Bill Vinton had a 1.20 ERA in a losing cause. Every regular but 1 hit <.200.

Philadelphia is World Champions for the 2nd time in 4 tries, the last time in 1910.

Individual Season and Career Records/Milestones Broken or Tied in 1916:

Season:
• 1B: Nap Lajoie, Brooklyn, 202
Career:
• 200 Wins: Rip Egan, Brooklyn (6th pitcher in MLB history)
• 2000 Hits: Pedro Guerrero (2nd all-time)

Awards
• Avg: AL rookie Rogers Hornsby, NYY, ; NL rookie Doug Rader, Braves, .333
• Rookie of Year: AL Johnny Marcum, Browns, 21-17-1.97
• Rookie of Year: NL Doug Rader, Braves, 1-60-.333 (LL), 70 R, 153 gms
• Best Pitcher: AL Jered Weaver, NYY, 22 (LLt)-11-1.87
• Best Pitcher: NL Bill Vinton, NYG, (2nd straight), 23-9-1.97 (LL)
• Best Hitter: AL Rogers Hornsby, NYY, 8-81-.335 (LL)-23, led league in avg, SLG, OPS
• Best Hitter: NL Doug Rader, Braves, 1-60-.333. led league in avg, SLG, OPS, 2B, XBH, TB

[CT Wolverine]

Metaphysical League Baseball (MLB)
1917 Season


The 1916 draft did not have many big marquee names but made up for that by being one of the deepest in years.. Some highlights:
1. SP Harry Howell, 19, Senators (#6 rated on Opening Day)
2. LF Charley Jones, 23, Pirates (#1 rated on Opening Day)
3. 2B Roberto Alomar, 18, Braves (#8 rated on Opening Day)
4. SP Paul Derringer, 23, Phillies (#4 rated on Opening Day)
8. 1B Willie McCovey, 19, White Sox (#5 rated on Opening Day)
9. LF Moises Alou, 22, Cardinals (#7 rated on Opening Day)
11. SS Alex Rodriguez, 17, Robins
2-2. RF Paul Waner, 21, Pirates
2-4. C Josh Willingham, 24, Phillies
2-10. SS Elvis Andrus, 19, Redlegs

In the offseason, one of the greats of the game, Sergio Romo, 39, retired. Romo holds the MLB career Saves record with 77. His final line: 57-45-77-2.23 in 442 appearances.

Unlike past reports, this season we will follow two possible contenders, one in each league, through their 1917 season. In the NL, we’ll watch the Brooklyn Robins, 81-73, 3rd, 9 GB in 1916. In the AL, it will be the Chicago White Sox, 77-77, 4th, 12 GB in 1916.

During the offseason, Brooklyn largely remained static, only dealing RP Joel Hanrahan and a prospect for C Jake Gibbs. The Robins were counting on development of their youthful but relatively experienced roster (only 2 starting position players and 2 SPs over 30), led by star Nap Lajoie, and their draft to propel them to the top. They were, however, unable to sign their #1 draft pick SS Alex Rodriguez. They went into the season with this lineup:

C: Buster Posey
1B: Joe Foy
2B: Sam F McConnell
3B: Grady Hatton
SS: Nap Lajoie (1-61-.331-52 in 1916)
LF: Pete Reiser
CF: Willie Davis
RF: Frank Gilhooley (#2 pick)/Jeff Heath
SP: Bret Saberhagen
SP: Rube Vickers
SP: Larry Christenson
SP: Rip Egan (202 wins, MLB #6 all-time)
SP: Frank Tanana
CL: Turk Farrell
RP: Bob Lawrence

The White Sox’ offseason formula was not much different from Brooklyn’s. They made a couple of deals, acquiring veteran 2B Dustin Ackley for SS John Ake and 2 prospects for fading CF Mickey Rivers. Their starting players were younger than Brooklyn’s, with only 1 position player (injured Dutch Zwilling) and 2 pitchers over 30. Chicago’s lineup:

C: Clint Courtney
1B: Willie McCovey (#1 pick)
2B: Bobby Doerr
3B: Chipper Jones (9-56-.234 in 1916)
SS: Bill Hall
LF: Ralph Pond (for inj Bankston/Zwilling)
CF: Bill North
RF: Bob Allison
SP: Fleury Sullivan
SP: Kerry Wood
SP: Preacher Roe
SP: Cliff P Lee
SP: Ron Deagle
CL: Jason Motte
RP: German Jimenez

Veteran CF Dutch Zwilling (76-714-.252-585 in 13 seasons), the Sox’ team leader, was injured and not expected to return until the beginning of July, when he would take over CF with North returning to LF.

Brooklyn came out of the gates in good shape, led by LF Pete Reiser, whose .407 avg and .514 OBP earned him NL April Player of the Month. At month’s end the Robins stood 10-7, 3 games back of the Cards.

Surprisingly, even without Zwilling, the Sox were also good. It helped to get Bankston back on the 20th, but the real keys were excellent performances by AL Pitcher of the Month Fleury Sullivan, 2-2-1.27, and NL Rookie of the Month Willie McCovey, 2-9-.225, 9 runs. The Sox stood 11-8, 1 game behind the A’s and Yankees.

May saw both clubs continue their solid play. Brooklyn ended May in 3rd place, 28-19, 1 game behind the Giants and Cubs. The White Sox, getting a lift by insertion of rookie C Orie Kerlin, moved up to 2nd, 28-20, ½ game behind the A’s. However, trouble was brewing for the Sox, as OF’s Bankston (5/21, 4 weeks) and his replacement Lohr (5/30, 3-4 weeks) both went down with injuries.

Buoyed by prospects so far, each club made significant trades in the middle of June:
• Brooklyn dealt starting 2B Sam McConnell for RP terry Leach and RF Joe Borchard. The big news surrounding that deal, however, was the insertion of Bud Harrelson at SS, moving Nap Lajoie to 2B, where he would win the Gold Glove.
• With the return of Zwilling imminent, the Sox traded Bankston for RP Tom Henke (MLB #3 all-time in saves) to set up for Motte. This would help the Sox lead the league in Runs-Against, offsetting their anemic offense.
• Finally, on 6/24, Brooklyn acquired SP Bill Doak for 2B Jeff Huson & Joe Borchard. Doak replaced Christenson in the rotation.

The Robins were setback on 6/19 when Pete Reiser lost a month with a fractured foot. Others, however, picked up the pace. On 6/22, Willie Davis went 5-6, 2 2B, 3B, 3 RBI to crush the Phillies. On 7/1, Rip Egan was named NL Player of the Week, going 2-0-0.00 in 14.2 IP. Brooklyn finished June 42-30, 2 games behind the Cubs.

The White Sox were equally impressive. Led by Rookie of the Month (2nd time) Willie McCovey, 0-10-.290, 5 2B, 3 3B 11 R, the White Sox finished 43-33, % points behind NY.

July and August saw the teams make their moves. Zwilling returned to CF for the Sox on July 1. Despite Zwilling’s slow start, the Sox largely held their ground in July, led by Batter of the Month Bobby Doerr, 2-15-.358, 14 R, 8 BB, .395 OBP, and 3rd-time Rookie of the Month Willie McCovey, 0-10-.355. They finished at 58-46, 2nd, 2 ½ games behind the A’s. On July 16, just when Brooklyn was about to get back to full strength, Frank Tanana, 10-3-1.56, was lost for the season with a torn labrum. Christenson returned to the rotation in his place. Two days later, Reiser returned from the DL. Despite the Tanana loss, Brooklyn kept surging. On 7/24, the Robins passed the Cubs to take 1st by ½ game, and finished the month 3 ½ games ahead. The Robins would not be caught again, winning the pennant by 4 games over the Giants and the Cubs.
The White Sox still had work to do. A 6-3 streak at the beginning of August, coupled with an A’s stumble put the White Sox in 1st place on August 10th. However, 10 days later they were passed again, then on 8/26, they lost SS Bill Hall for 4-5 weeks with a herniated disk. Despite brilliant performances by Pitcher of the Month Fleury Sullivan, 6-2-2.18, and 4th-time Rookie of the Month Willie McCovey, 2-15-.304, 17 R, the Sox finished August in the tight AL race tied for 3rd with Cleveland, 2 games behind NY and % points behind the A’s.

The Sox run was hindered by more injuries. On 8/30, OF Bill North was lost for 5 weeks to a fractured rib. Two days later, SP Preacher Roe sprained his elbow and was lost for 4 weeks. Still, Chicago fought gamely. The Sox went into their final 3-game series at NY 1½ games behind both NY and the A’s. In a scheduling quirk, the Yankees and A’s would meet in a final 3-game series after the Sox season concluded. Chicago had to win at least 2 vs the Yankees to stay alive, more if the A’s won any games vs Detroit. Unfortunately, in Game 1 the Yankees defeated the White Sox, 2-0 behind Jered Weaver (21-13), then in Game 2 they won again, 2-1 behind Larry Jansen (20-11) to eliminate the White Sox with 1 game to play.

Fleury Sullivan was again incredible down the stretch for the White Sox, named Pitcher of the Month, 6-1-0.91 in 49.2 IP.

1917 World Series: Brooklyn Robins (89-65) vs New York Yankees (92-62)

This would be the Brooklyn’s 3rd appearance in the World Series, and New York’s 4th (once losing as the Baltimore Orioles in 1901). New York defeated Brooklyn in 1909 and 1913.

Game 1: NY 6, Bro 2, behind Jered Weaver’s complete game and timely hitting by Berghammer (2-4, RBI, R, BB) and Raines (1-3, 3B, 2 RBI, R).

Game 2: NY 7, Bro 6 (10 inn). Brooklyn takes 6-1 lead after 3 innings. NY draws to 6-6 in 5th. Woody English’s 2-out walk-off RBI 1B wins it in the 10th. W: Papelbon, L: Egan

Game 3: Bro 6, NY 5. NY takes 5-0 lead in 2nd. Craig Wilson’s 473’ Grand Slam ties it 5-5 in 8th. Posey GW RBI 1B puts Bro ahead to stay.

Game 4: NY 3, Bro 1. Weaver CG win. English 2-3, RBI, R; Ramsey 3-4, 2B.

Game 5: NY 10, Bro 1. NY scored 7 in first 3 innings and wins in a walk. Smoltz CG. Quinn 3-4, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R; Raines 3-5, 3B, 2 RBI

New York is World Champions for the 3rd time, each time defeating Brooklyn.
MVP: Jered Weaver: 2-0-1.50 in 18 IP.

Milestones/Achievements

Season:
• WHIP: 0.902, Willie E Adams (prev held by Rick Reed, 0.903 in 1907)
• No-hitter: Willie E Adams, 10/2 vs Red Sox @ Fenway; 9 0 0 0 0 4, 2 HBP
Career:
• 300 Wins: Harry Salisbury, Cincinnati (#1 pitcher in MLB history). On 6/17/17, 2.2 IP in relief (6th of career) in 12-inning 3-2 home win over Philadelphia. Career: 300-196-2.14 in 528 G, 522 GS. Finished 1917: 308-212-2.15 over 14 years. (11 straight 20-win seasons at start of career).
Retirement:
• Aaron Harang, Red Sox, 205-178-2.45 (6th all-time in wins)
• Doc White, A’s, 191-187-2.37 (t-9th all-time in wins)
• Pedro Guerrero, Braves, 53-925-.288-159 (#1 career RBI, 1906 NL Player of Yr)

Awards
• Avg: AL Tim Raines Sr, NYY, .301 ; NL Pete Reiser, Bro, .327
• Rookie of Year: AL Brickyard Kennedy, Det, 17-19-4-2.43
• Rookie of Year: NL Roberto Alomar, Braves, 0-54-.300-54, 75 R, 147 g
• Best Pitcher: AL Willie E Adams, Was, 22-9-4-1.73
• Best Pitcher: NL Monty Stratton, Pit, 26-8-6-2.10 (LL wins)
• Best Hitter: AL Frank E Thomas, NYY, 7-69-.299, led league in OBP, BB
• Best Hitter: NL Pete Reiser, Bro, 1-75-.327-11, led league in avg.

[CT Wolverine]

Metaphysical League Baseball (MLB)
1918 Season


The 1917 draft was not particularly deep but will be a memorable one. Several players to note:
1. 1B Jackie Robinson, 26, Phillies
2. SS Alex Rodriguez, 18, Red Sox (not signed previous year) (#1 rated on Opening Day)
3. CF Hack Wilson, 21, Tigers will not be signed)
7. SP Bobo Newsom, 20, Indians (#2 rated on Opening Day)
8. LF George Anderson, 23, Braves
11. C Mike Napoli, 23, Indians (#10 rated on Opening Day)

This season we will follow the Cleveland Indians into battle. The Indians have been a contending team for the past few seasons. They are the MLBs only repeat World Champions, in 1914 and 1915. They finished a disappointing 4th in 1917, 8 GB @ 84-70. The Indians are led by 3-time Batter of the Year Mickey Mantle (1912, ’14, ’15). Their biggest competition will come from the defending World Champion and favored New York Yankees and from the dark-horse Chicago White Sox.

The Indians were relatively quiet in the off-season. They made two minor deals:
• Acquired OFs Ira Flagstead and Tommy Madden for 3B Billy Lush
• Acquired 2B Dick Schofield for 2B Ed Giavanola and RP Edgar Ramos
They had already acquired three player midway the previous year expected to start. Their biggest additions, however, were #1 draft picks SP Bobo Newsom and C Mike Napoli They went into the season with this lineup:

C: Mike Napoli SP: Tex Hughson
1B: Tony Solaita 8-59-.272 SP: Vinegar Bend Mizell
2B: Al Dark 2-67-.263 SP: Scott Bankhead
3B: Pepper Martin (acq 6/17) SP: Bobo Newsom
SS: Frank Smykal (acq 7/1917) SP: Joel Pineiro
LF: Wes Covington 3-31-.298 CL: Henry Jones
CF: Bill Bankston (acq 6/1917) RP: Dan Bickham
RF: Mickey Mantle (28) 11-66-.291-14

Not a single starter had won more than 17 games the previous year. They needed an ace.

The first two months of the season went largely as expected, with New York ending May on top by 3 ½ games over Cleveland. The Indians had lost Dark for 6 weeks on 5/12 (Schofield to 2B) and Bankston for 4 months on 5/25 (J. Sandberg to 3B, P Martin to OF), but they continued to play well.

Led by June Batter of the Month Mantle: 2-14-.307, 23 R, Pitcher of the Month Hughson: 6-2-2.77, and Dark’s return, the Indians went 20-8 to overtake NY and build a 1 ½ game lead by July 1. Management, spurred by these hopes, on 7/8 dealt Swigler and Lachemann to the A’s for Rich Rollins, who was promptly inserted into the lineup at 2B for Dark on the very day that the Yankees again passed the Indians in the standings.

July continued to be a month of ups and downs for Cleveland. On 7/22 they lost 1B Solaita for 5 weeks (Rob Sasser 1B). But on 7/23 they acquired closer Dave Lemonds (lifetime 30 saves, 2.82 ERA) from the Phillies. By the end of the month, they were hanging on, still in 2nd, but 3 ½ games back. Fighting through additional injuries, and again led by Pitcher of the Month Hughson, the Indians drew within a game by the end of August.

Next commenced the best September/October finish in MLB history to date:
• 1st week in Sept, Pepper Martin goes crazy, hitting .556, Cle closes to % behind
• 2nd week, Cle goes 5-1, NY 1-5, both look up and White Sox won 11 straight, 1 ½ bk
• 9/21: Chicago wins 15th in row, Cle loses to propel Chi into 1st by 1 game, 10 rem
• 9/23: Cle & Chi tied 1st @ 84-61, NY 5 ½ GB, 9 to play
• 9/25, Chi goes up by 2 games.
• 9/29: Chi def Cle 5-0 to clinch tie for pennant w 3 games rem
• 10/6: (final day). Cle wins 3rd straight, playing earlier in day. Chi has lost 2 straight. Chi loses to St. Louis 3-2 in 31 innings and Cle and Chi tie for the pennant.
• In the ensuing playoff game, Cleveland, behind Tex Hughson, 26-14, wins relatively easily, 5-2, to advance to the World Series.

1918 World Series: Cleveland Indians (90-65) vs Boston Braves (100-54)

Cleveland appears in its unprecedented 3rd Fall Classic in five seasons, having won in both 1914, and 1915. The Braves make their 1st appearance in the World Series in the league’s 18-year history.

The Indians are without SP Vinegar Bend Mizell (11-12-2-3.03, Sept. elbow surgery) and 3B/OF Pepper Martin (0-35-.311-6). The Braves are without SP/RP Phil Knell (19-8-8-1.57, NL ERA and saves leader).

Game 1: Bos 4, Cle 3. In a battle of 2 rookie SPs, Boston’s Lefty Chambers (18-10-2.41) bests Newsom (21-11-3-2.20) as Bos jumps out with 4 runs in the first 3 innings then holds off Cle rally. POG: Doug Radar 3-4, 2 RBI. Batting champ George Anderson 2-4, 2B, RBI, 2 R.

Game 2: Bos 7, Cle 5. Dan Casey bests Scott Bankhead (17-13-1-2.17). Cle scores in the 1st on a Solaita infield 1B. But Bos ties it in its half of the 1st, goes ahead in the 2nd, and builds a big lead before a late Cle comeback makes it close. POG: Gerald Young 2-4, 3B, 2 RBI, R.

Game 3: Cle 3, Bos 0. Ace Tex Hughson (26-14-4-2.50) spins a 5-hit shutout. Mantle goes 3-4, 2B; Rich Rollins 1-3, 2 RBI, R.

Game 4: Cle 4, Bos 3. Best game of the series to date. Tied 3-3 into the bottom of the 9th. Smykal reaches on an error on SS Myatt, steals second and scores on Dark’s walk-off 1B. W: Dave Lemonds, (1 perfect IP in relief). POG: Alvin Dark.

Game 5: Bos 4, Cle 2. Casey again bests Bankhead with his 2nd CG. Same Bos formula, and early 3-0 lead, hold on for the win. POG: Casey. Radar 2-3, 3B, RBI, R BB. Danzig 3-4, RBI.

Game 6: Bos 2, Cle 0. Hughson vs Boston’s Junior Thompson (14-6-1-2.56). A scoreless duel through 7. In the 8th, Bos finally gets to Hughson after 17 IP in the series with a Myatt leadoff 2B, Danzig BB, Nick Hundley RBI 2B, Hector Lopez SF for a 2-0 lead. Thompson finishes the 3-hit shutout to win the game and the series and garner the series MVP award.

The Boston Braves win the World Championship for their 1st try, after an 18-year wait!

Milestones/Achievements

Season:
• No-hitter: Dan Casey, Braves, vs Giants @ Polo Grounds, 4/22, 9 0 0 0 2 7.
• No-hitter: Monty Stratton, Pirates, vs Cubs @ Wrigley, 8/11, 9 0 0 0 2 4
• 2B: Honus Wagner, Pit, 51
• 3B: Charley Jones, Pit, 33
Career:
• 300 wins: Anibal Sanchez (2nd all-time), Pit, 10/6 (final day of season), 2-1 over Cubs @ Wrigley. 8.2 12 1 1 0 3. Year: 22-8-1.94. Career: 300-251-2.20.
• 200 wins: Stephen Strasburg (7th all-time), Det, 4/20, 4-3 over White Sox @ Comiskey. 8.2 IP. Career: 200-182-2.33. Suffered torn labrum during the game and is out 7-8 months.
• 200 wins: Preacher Roe (8th all-time), ChW, 5/4, 3-1 over Det @ Navin Field. 9 7 1 1 0 1. Career: 200-152-2.48.
• 2000 Hits: Nap Lajoie (2nd all-time), Bro, 6/21, @ Ebbets Field, 1-3 in 4-2 win vs Giants. Career: 33-767 (6th)-.303 (7th), 2000 H, 573 SB (14th), 869 R (5th), 1612 G.
Retirement:
• Edd Roush: 32-660-.295-637. Sixteen seasons with Washington., on 2 pennant winners, World Series winner in 1906. AL Batter of Year 1902 & 1906, led league in H 3 times, TB 4 times, Avg 2 times. Career: 4th in H & TB, 7th in SB, 8th in R.
Awards
• Avg: AL Bill North, ChW, .313 ; NL George Anderson (rookie), Bos, .355
• Rookie of Year: AL Bobo Newsom, Cle, 21-11-3-2.20
• Rookie of Year: NL Charley Jones, Pit, 2-65-.270-25, 86 R, .351 OBP
• All-Time Rookie of Year: Jackie Robinson, Phillies, 2-55-.277-34, 63 R (compared with real-life debut 29 years later: 12-48-.297-29, 125 R)
• Best Pitcher: AL Larry Jansen, NYY, 28-11-1.94 (LL wins, ERA)
• Best Pitcher: NL Bret Saberhagen, Bro, 24-10-4-1,66 (LL wins(t))
• Best Hitter: AL Mickey Mantle, Cle, 13-68-.308-23 (LL HR, R, BB, OBP, SLG, OPS, K), 4th time awarded Best Hitter award in last 7 seasons (’12, ’14, ’15)
• Best Hitter: NL Pete Reiser, Bro, 1-75-.327-15. (2nd consecutive Best Hitter award; amazingly, exactly same # of HR, RBI and Avg as previous season).

[CT Wolverine]

Metaphysical League Baseball (MLB)
1920 Season


The 1919 draft was light except for a couple of outstanding names. There was a surprise at the top. Highlights:
1. CF Braggo Roth, 20, Red Sox
2. LF Frank Robinson, 19, Senators
3. 2B Rod Carew, 20, Pirates
4. 1B Andre Thornton, 22, Tigers
5. 3B Bill Madlock, 20, Browns
6. SP Ben Sheets, 21, Cardinals
7. SP Andy Pettitte, 21, Robins

The 1920 pennant races were similar in character. The early going in the AL was dominated by the White Sox and the upstart Browns. As the White Sox faded, the Browns found themselves with a 2 ½ game margin over the Tigers at the end of July. But the Browns gave up their lead with a 4-9 spell in the first two weeks of August. The Tigers were never caught again, winning their first pennant by a 6-game margin over the Senators.

Back in the NL, the Reds held 1st place from the opening bell through late July. Then they dropped 7 in a row while the Robins won 6 in a row and the Robins took a 1 ½ game lead into August. Although the race was close, the Robins were never headed, finishing 3 games ahead of the Pirates and 4 games in front of the Reds. This was the Robins fourth pennant.

1920 World Series: Brooklyn Robins (84-70) vs Detroit Tigers (90-64)

This series was to be a best-of-nine affair. Each team was looking for its first World Championship, the Tigers on their first try, the Robins on their fourth try. The Tigers HR star RF Jerry Lynch was only at 70% but would still play in the series. The Robins, on the other hand, found themselves without 3 key players:
OF/3B Pete Reiser: 2-78-.345-19; 2B Nap Lajoie: 2-70-.318-16; and
SS Bud Harrelson: 1-50-.275-7

The clubs split the first two games in Detroit as the Tigers’ Johnny Marcum shut out the Robins in Game 1 and the Robins’ Don Gullett and Hector Carrasco combined to shut out the Tigers in Game 2. But then the Tigers reeled of 3 straight wins by scores of 6-2, 4-1 and 4-2, and it looked like the series was over. However the Robins bounced back behind Peavy and Saberhagen to take games 6 & 7 to pull with 4 games to 3. Game 8 was the only slugfest of the series. The Tigers outlasted the Robins 7-5 due to the bats of Player-of-the-Game Ryan Braun 3-5, RBI, 3 R; Rod Myers 3-4, 2B, 2 RBI; and Jerry Lynch 3-4, 3B, RBI, 2 R.

Detroit won the World Series on their first try. Series MVP was Johnny Marcum, 2-1-1.38.

Milestones
• 5/22 - Preacher Roe, 34, ChW, win #250 (4th all-time), 3-1 over Was @ Griffith Stadium. Line: 9 11 1 1 1 2. Career: 250-176-2.44



Records
• Rod Carew, Pit, NL single-season record: 215 H

Retirement:
• Jim Wynn, 36, NYG, 87-792-.256-338, 993 R, 1887 H, 1162 BB, 1042 K. Career: 1st BB & K; 4th R; 4th(t) HR; 5th G & AB; 7th RBI & TB; 9th H; LL HR ‘12-’14; 5-time Gold Glove
• Stephen Strasburg, 36, Det, 200-182-3-2.33. Career: 6th ShO; 7th GS; 8th IP; 9th W; 10th K; AL Pitcher of Year (& ERA) 1909
• Joel Hanrahan, 35, PhiN, 21-29-48-3.10. Career: 6th Sv; LL 1915

Other Events
• 5/23 - Rogers Hornsby, NYY, walk-off HR leading off bottom of 15th to complete cycle for 5-4 win over SLA
• 5/31 - Frank Snyder,. ChC, 23-game hitting streak (finished season hitting .348)

Awards
• Avg: AL Ty Cobb, Bos, .370 ; NL Rod Carew (rookie), Pit, .354
• Rookie of Year: AL Eppa Rixey, StL, 21-16-4-3.07, 32 GS, 275.1 IP, 270 H, 77 BB, 83 K, .257 avg.
• Rookie of Year: NL Rod Carew, Pit, 1-70-.354-26, 215 H, 102 R
• Best Pitcher: AL Fleury Sullivan, ChW, 21-12-3-2.33, 37 GS, 322.1 IP, 330 H, 66 BB, 110 K, .264 avg.
• Best Pitcher: NL Pud Galvin, ChC, Pitching Triple Crown, 24-16-5-2.47, 36 GS, 328.1 IP, 83 BB, 249 K, .236 avg.
• Best Hitter: AL Mickey Mantle, Cle, 12-77-.329-4, 192 H, 29 2B, 3 3B, 75 R; LL: OBP, BB, H
• Best Hitter: Rod Carew, Pit, 1-70-.354-26, 215 H, 34 2B, 16 3B, 102 R: NL Record: H; LL: Avg, R, TB

[CT Wolverine]

Metaphysical League Baseball (MLB)
The First Two Decades: 1901 - 1920


The first twenty years of Metaphysical League Baseball (MLB), a Random Debut league starting in 1901, has had its share of surprise stars and flops, along with it’s expected superstars. We will highlight these players here, along with 20-year and decade All-Star Teams, and a couple of clubs that dominated the scene.

Sizzlers and Fizzlers

The stars and flops. Some will shock you, some will not. All records, unless otherwise noted, are career totals.

Pitchers

• Harry Salisbury, Cin, 1904-, 324-239-2.28. Career W leader, 14 consecutive 20-win seasons (real-life Christy Mathewson holds record with 12 consecutive years over which he won 337 games). NL Outstanding Pitcher 1906-1908.
• Anibal Sanchez, Pit, 1902-, 315-263-2.26. 2nd career W. Salisbury’s rival. Oddly never won Outstanding Pitcher, led league in W once and ERA once but consistent.
• Preacher Roe, Cin, 1907-, 261-188-2.49. Youngest of the lot at 34, so still may hit 300 wins and challenge leaders. As Brave, ROY 1907 and Outstanding Pitcher 1909.
• Early Wynn, Cin, 1902-, 268-273-2.77. Everyman pitcher, 3rd in W, but with a losing record. Spent most of career with Giants.
• Stephen Strasburg, Det, 1905-19, 200-182-2.33. 9th in career W. Still, a sad story. Won his 200th Opening Day 1918 at Age 33, but suffered a torn labrum in the process and only pitched 5 more MLB innings before retiring at the end of 1920.
• Sergio Romo, -, 1902-14, 57-45-77-2.23. LL Sv 4 times. Career Saves leader by 11 over Alex Malloy.
• Rube Waddell, ChN, 1902-03, 2-3-4.91, 7 G, 55 IP
• Bob Feller, Cle/SLA, 1901-02, 23-24-3.35, 391.2 IP, 459 H, 117 BB, 77 K
• Ed Walsh, SLA, 1901-02, 33-27-2.76

Position Players

• George R Stone, LF, Det/Was, 1911-, 35-455-.328-467. Career Leader in Avg (.328), OBP (.397), SLG (.439) & OPS (.836). AL ROY & Outstanding Hitter 1911 (Det). LL H & TB 1914-16, , SLG 1911, ’14 & ’15; SB 1912 & ’14; Avg 1911 & ’14; OPS 1911 & ’14.
• Salvador Perez, C, Det, 1903-, 34-941-.288-1. Twice led AL in Avg: .342 in 1912, .329 in 1919. 4-time Gold Glove. Career: 1st in G, AB, H, 1B, 3B, TB; 2nd RBI, 2B, R. 35-game hitting streak in 1919 (@ age 36) 2nd longest in MLB history.
• Mickey Mantle, CF, Cle, 1909-, 94-755-.295-133. 5 times AL Outstanding Hitter in 12 seasons. Career: 2nd OBP, 2nd(t) HR, 3rd OPS & BB, 5th SLG & TB, 7th R, 8th H, 10th RBI; LL OBP 5 times , HR 1916-18, R 1918-19.
• Johnny Bench, C, NYG, 1905-, 94-907-.249-56. Career: 2nd G, 2nd(t) HR. 3rd AB & 2B, 4th H & RBI, 5th R; LL HR 1909-11, 3-time Gold Glove
• Nap Lajoie, 2B, Bro, 1907-, 37-942-.301-628, 1075 R. Career: 1st in RBI & R. 2nd H, 7th Avg. NL Outstanding Hitter 1908. 6-time Gold Glove. LL RBI 4 times, H 3 times, Avg twice.
• Sherry Magee, LF, ChC, 1910-, 53-782-.302-788. 2-time NL Outstanding Hitter 1913-14. LL Avg 1913 (.359) & 1914 (.346). LL SLG 4 consecutive yrs: 1911-14.
Career: 2nd SLG & SB, 4th OPS, 6th Avg.
• Ralph Kiner, LF, several, 19-202-.221-6
• Mark McGwire, 1B, Bos, 1906-, 99-744-.215-7 (.291 SLG) Career leader in HR but terrible Avg and SLG
• Carl Yastrzemski, LF, SLA, 1901-02, 0-62-.274-4 (late start, retired at age 38)
• Lou Brock, LF, Bos, 1901-03, 0-62-.360-52 (late start, retired at age 35)
• Kirby Puckett, CF, ChN, 6-88-.312-18 (late start, retired at age 34)


All-Star Teams (all records are career totals)

AL

First 20 Years 1901-1910 1911-1920

C Salvador Perez 34-941-288-1 Mickey Cochrane 20-539-.267-62 Salvador Perez

1B Frank Thomas 65-615-.282-22 Joey Votto 58-750-.289-81 Frank Thomas

2B Dutch Ussat 23-672-.272-57 Dutch Ussat Dutch Ussat

3B Scott Rolen 55-635-.252-118 Scott Rolen David Wright 74-674-.275-255

SS Ray Chapman 9-633-.279-604 Ray Chapman Al Dark 28-623-.282-59

OF Mickey Mantle 94-755-.295-133 Harold Baines 63-735-.273-106 Mickey Mantle

OF Edd Roush 32-660-.295-637 Edd Roush GeorgeRStone 35-455-.328-467

OF Dutch Zwilling 87-892-.252-642 Hal Warnock 14-384-.279-26 Tim Raines Sr 38-590-.298-693

SP Stephen Strasburg 200-182-2.33 Stephen Strasburg Parke Swartzel 176-143-12-2.49

SP Fluery Sullivan 194-151-16-2.38 Scott Stratton 124-131-2.68 Fluery Sullivan

SP Pascual Perez 163-199-2.61 Frank Knaus 124-120-2.22 Tex Hughson 156-114-19-2.49

SP Jim Scott 191-173-2.75 Harey Moran 146-128-2.96 Jered Weaver 147-115-2.44

SP Rick Reed 190-138-8-2.34 Jake Westbrook 105-127-2.57 John Smoltz 143-127-11-2.71

CL Gary Ryerson 64-42-60-2.32 Sergio Romo 57-45-77-2.23 Gary Ryerson

NL

First 20 Years 1901-1910 1911-1920

C Charlie Lindstrom 26-712-.254-5 Charlie Lindstrom Chief Meyers 13-405-.271-49

1B Donn Clendenon 37-659-.292-196 Chris Chambliss 31-663-.281-19 Donn Clendenon

2B Nap Lajoie 37-942-.301-628 Carlos Rodriguez 4-360-.286-7 Nap Lajoie

3B Doug Rader 22-351-.283-11 Graig Nettles 32-418-.234-52 Doug Rader

SS Bud Harrelson 4-377-.274-94 Don Buddin 8-385-.250-7 Bud Harrelson

OF Sherry Magee 53-782-.302-788 Ron Fairly 18-429-.271-2 Sherry Magee

OF Jim Wynn 87-792-.256-338 Jim Wynn John Kruk 31-492-.296-92

OF Pedro Guerrero 53-925-.288-159 Pedro Guerrero Max Carey 26-643-.288-888

SP Harry Salisbury 324-239-10-2.28 Harry Salisbury Harry Salisbury

SP Anibal Sanchez 315-263-4-2.26 Anibal Sanchez Adonis Terry 206-186-17-2.60

SP Early Wynn 268-273-10-2.77 Early Wynn Doc McJames 145-110-5-2.80

SP Rip Egan 244-152-4-2.46 Juan Pizarro 171-156-4-2.51 MontyStratton 132-134-17-2.70

SP Preacher Roe 261-188-4-2.49 Monte Ward 147-95-0-2.13 Larry Christenson 189-134-2.57

CL Alex Malloy 58-46-66-2.89 Joe Nuxhall 30-30-15-2.78 Alex Malloy


Noticeably, the American League gravitated more toward hitting in the first 20 seasons, while the National League became known as the pitchers’ league. How did this play out in the baseball clubs and the World Series winners?

The Champs

The Philadelphia Athletics were the iconic team of the first twenty years, with a .548 winning percentage, 62 wins than any other club, more World Series appearances (5) and more World Championships (3). They only finished out of the first division 4 times. The A’s have always featured a balanced offense that is usually 1st or 2nd in the league. In the early days the leaders were Steve B Dunn and Cleon Jones. In the teens, David Wright and Pee Wee Reese, and more recently by Matt Holliday stepped up. The pitching has always been solid, early on led by Jim Scott. More recently, Wilbur Cooper has been a star, with Parke Swartzel and Justin Verlander developing as young studs behind him. Unlike most clubs, the A’s have also emphasized closers. They have owned at various times the top 2 of the top 3 guys in Saves in the game: Sergio Romo, and Gary Ryerson.


The Best of the Rest

The Cincinnati Reds have had the 3rd best winning percentage, .524 (to the A’s and Robins). The Reds have been World Champions once (1908) and League Champions on 3 other occasions. They have done it with superb pitching, led by all-time Wins leader Harry Salisbury, and a willingness to trade for veterans to keep winning (they currently have 3 of the top 4 pitchers in career wins on their roster, Salisbury, Preacher Roe and Early Wynn).

The Results

After the first 8 seasons, in which the National league won 5 World Championships, the American League philosophy has been dominating. The American League has won 10 of the last 12 World Series, the only exceptions in 1912 and 1918.

The Stars

The American League has stars such as Willie McCovey, Frank Robinson, Ty Cobb, Rogers Hornsby and Mickey Mantle, who has been good enough to beat out Hornsby for the Outstanding Hitter award in 1918 and both Hornsby and Cobb for the award in 1920. The National League has Honus Wagner and his rookie teammate Rod Carew, who beat out Wagner for the batting title. They also have hitters such as Nap Lajoie, Jackie Robinson, Cecil Fielder, Pete Reiser, Matty Alou, and Tim Raines, but nowhere near the pop of the AL.

On the pitching side, the National League had had the advantage with their 200-game winners, but they are getting old. Their places are being taken by the likes of Pud Galvin, Paul Derringer and Claude Hendrix. The American League has aces Fluery Sullivan and Wilbur Cooper and up-and-comers John Smoltz, Justin Verlander and Jered Weaver. The American League future looks brighter.

[CT Wolverine]

Metaphysical League Baseball (MLB)
1921 Season


1921 was a magical season! Offense blossomed like it never had before, with league batting averages jumping 15-20 points and league ERAs jumping by .5 to .7 runs per game. Young players who had been showing potential for several seasons finally broke out, and the old guard was turned on its ear.

It started with the draft, when 1920 cellar-dwelling Red Sox selected SP Bob Black, 19, overall #1, and the equally dismal Boston Braves picked 20-year-old RF Beals Becker #2. The likes of Harmon Killebrew and Bill Madlock would follow, making this one of the most fun drafts to date.

Led by their #1 picks and offensive explosions from the likes of Ty Cobb for the Sox and Roberto Alomar for the Braves, these clubs were in the heat of the pennant races from the beginning. No team could be counted out. But even more exciting for the fans were the individual performances that were being followed all over baseball in 1921.

By the end of April, Ty Cobb was hitting .500 for the Red Sox, while Mickey Mantle of the Indians was closing in on the All-Time Home Run record. The previously lowly Browns were leading the American League, and 6 clubs were within 1 ½ games of first place in the National League.

On May 6, Mickey Mantle shattered the career Home Run record, previously held by Mark McGwire, by hitting his 100th HR. At age 31, Mantle is expected to add many more HRs before he is through.

Only 6 days later, the great Nap Lajoie, 34, of the Brooklyn Robins, got hit #2500, going 3-4 @ Ebbets Field. His lifetime line: 37-963-.302-629, 2502 H, 1092 R, leaves him #1 all-time in RBI and R, #2 in H, and #9 in avg.

Three days after that, on May 15, Fleury Sullivan, ChW, won his 200th game, tied for 9th on the all-time list with Stephen Strasburg.

The end of May found Cleveland, led by Mantle, and Pittsburgh, led by Honus Wagner and Rod Carew, atop the standings. However, by the end of June, both the previous season’s cellar-dwelling Boston clubs had taken the lead. Ty Cobb, who hit an amazing .450 in June, led the Red Sox. Roberto Alomar’s league-leading RBI total sparked the Boston Braves.

July brought on more individual milestones:
• Mickey Mantle got hit #2000 on July 9, going 2-3 in a 9-8 win vs. the A’s @ League Pk
His lifetime line to date: 109-808-.296-133, 248 2B, 107 3B, 959 R.
• Wid Conroy, Browns, a lifetime .252 hitter, went on an inexplicable 33-game hitting streak that ended 7/17 with an 0-5 day. He finished the day hitting .274. He would be one of 10 players with hitting streaks of 20 games or more during the year.
• 7/18: Mickey Mantle hits HR #17 to tie Jim Thome, Cardinals, (1915) for most HRs in a season;

August continued the individual record assault:
• 8/3: Willie McCovey, ChW, hits HR #17 to tie Mantle and Thome.
• 8/14: McCovey hits HR #18 to break the single season HR record. He would go on to hit 24 HRs for the season.
• 8/29: Hack Wilson, Phillies, set a new NL single season HR record with 19 HRs.

By the end of August, both the Boston clubs had built nearly insurmountable leads in their respective pennant races, the Red Sox by 12 games and the Robins by 9 games.

September saw the following individual single season records fall:
• Roberto Alomar broke the single season record for RBI with 129
• Alex Rodriguez broke the single season AL record for RBI with 11
• Braggo Roth broke the single season record for runs, 136 and total bases, 371, and 2B, 53
• Rod Carew broke the NL single season record for hits with 232
• Ty Cobb broke the single season record for hits with 258, slugging percentage with .601 and OPS with 1.057.
• Most amazingly, Ty Cobb easily surpassed .400 for the first time, hitting .419!


1921 World Series: Boston Braves (92-62) vs. Boston Red Sox (100-54)

This series was to be a best-of-nine affair. The Red Sox had won twice previously in 1902 and 1911, while the Braves had won in 1918. After the exciting regular season of individual achievements, the World Series could have been anti-climatic, but that was not to be the case.

The clubs split the first 4 games of the series without much fanfare except for a big game by the Red Sox’ Alex Rodriguez in a 10-2 Red Sox win in Game 3. Game 5 was tied 1-1 in the 12th when ARod hit a walk-off 2-run HR for a 3-1 Red Sox win and a 3-2 series lead. #1 draft pick Bob Black won in relief, his second victory in the series after a complete-game victory in Game 3. The Braves, however, came back from a 4-0 deficit to win Game 6, 5-4 in 10 innings, on a solid pitching performance from Phil Knell, Roberto Alomar’s game-winning RBI in the 10th, and a Jimmy O’Connell throw to nail the potential tying run at the plate in the 10th.
The Braves took the series lead in Game 7 on the strength of Bill Dammann’s 3rd series win, 6-5. But the Red Sox won big in Game 8, 9-2 to force a winner-take-all final.
The Red Sox were again too much in Game 9, taking a 5-1 lead after 3 innings and winning easily, 8-1, for their 3rd World Championship.

The MVP was Rookie overall #1 pick Bob Black, 3-0 with a 1.37 ERA in 19.2 IP.


Retirement:
• Anibal Sanchez, 318-266-5-2.28. Career: 1st G, GS, IP, Pitcher VORP; 2nd Wins, ShO, Pitcher WAR; 3rd CG, K
• John Skopec, 82-68-1-2.10. Career: 1st ERA (1375.2 IP)
• Rick Reed, 190-138-8-2.34. 1st single season W: 31
• Rip Egan, 245-154-5-2.53. Career: 2nd K; 3rd Win %; 6th W
• Max Carey, 26-643-.288-888. Career: 1st SB; 2nd sing. sea. SB

Awards
• Avg: AL Ty Cobb, Bos, .419 ; NL Nap Lajoie, Bro, .381
• Rookie of Year: AL Fred Nicholson, Cle, 11-76-.363-10, 94 R, .425 OBP
• Rookie of Year: NL Bill Madlock, Phil, 9-93-.357-7, 109 R, 214 H, .391 OBP
• Best Pitcher: AL Bob Black (#1 overall pick), Bos, 23-12-9-3.08
• Best Pitcher: NL Pud Galvin (2nd yr in row), Chc, 23-14-1-3.42
• Best Hitter: AL Ty Cobb, Bos, 15-113-.419-52, 258 H, 35 2B, 16 3B, 114 R, .601 SLG, 1.057 OPS. Set Records: Avg, H, SLG, OPS, also LL: SB
• Best Hitter: NL Honus Wagner, Pit, 7-106-.354-49, 219 H, 45 2B, 24 3B, 103 R, .539 SLG, .953 OPS. LL: SLG, OPS, 2B, XBH

[CatKnight]

Looks like a real fun season you had in 1921. Congrats!

[CT Wolverine]

Metaphysical League Baseball (MLB)
1922 Season


The highlight of the 1922 season was the emergence of several sluggers who challenged for the single-season HR record. Gary Sheffield, Pit, hit his 20th HR on 9/18 to break the NL record previously set by Hack Wilson (in 1921). Sheffield finished with 22 HRs. In the AL, Gavvy Cravath, Was, hit his 25th HR on 9/21 off Jack Morris to break the MLB record previously set by Willie McCovey (in 1921). Hot on Cravath’s heals were Rogers Hornsby, NYY, and Jim Rice, Was. Cravath finished the season with 27 HRs, Hornsby with 26, and Rice with 25.

The pennant races unfolded much like the previous season, with the Red Sox and Braves dominating their respective leagues, winning by 17 and 15 games respectively and setting up a World Series rematch.

The 1922 World Series was shortened to a best of 7 series. Just like the previous season, it took the full schedule of games to crown a champion. Again the Red Sox prevailed behind the pitching of Bob Black, who went 30-3.76 and was named the series MVP for the 2nd consecutive year. This time the vote was close between Black and teammate Ty Cobb, who hit .481 with 1 HR, 6 RBIs, 3 SB and 8 runs scored in the series. The Red Sox hardly missed SS Alex Rodriguez, who was out with a concussion.

Fans witnessed other major player milestones and records in 1922:
• Chipper Jones, CHW, & Sherry Magee, ChC, each garnered hit # 2000. Jones would finish the season 6th on the all-time list with 2086 hits, with Magee 7th with 2041 hits
• Parke Swartzel, A’s, gained win #200, finishing the year with 210 wins, 9th all-time.
• Ryne Sandberg, Red Sox, drove in 116 runs, breaking by 1 the AL record set by his teammate Alex Rodriguez the previous season.


Awards
• Avg: AL Ty Cobb, Bos, .389 (3rd consecutive); NL Honus Wagner, Pit, .363
• Rookie of Year: AL Orlando Cepeda, ChW, 20-94-.338-23, 123 R, 221 H
• Rookie of Year: NL Beals Becker, Braves, 17-101-.338-22, 100 R, 185 H
• Best Pitcher: AL John Smoltz, NYY, 22-13-5-2.60
• Best Pitcher: NL Jered Weaver, ChC, 26-15-7-2.53
• Best Hitter: AL Ty Cobb, Bos, 12-109-.389-50, 246 H, 46 2B, 21 3B, 125 R (2nd consecutive)
• Best Hitter: NL Honus Wagner, Pit, 6-86-.363-57, 225 H, 45 2B, 15 3B, 122 R (2nd consecutive)

Hall of Fame
First Hall of Fame inductee in MLB:
Aaron Harang, SP, Bro 1904-09, PhA 1910-12, BosA 1913-17
205-178-2.45, 444 App, 422 GS, 3617 IP, 1625 K, .242 Opp Avg
4-time 20-game winner, 1 World Championship (A’s), 9th all-time in Wins, 8th in GS and IP, 9th in WAR for pitchers.


Retirees
• Harry Salisbury, Cin, 1907-22, sure-fire HOF. 326-241-13-2.31, 20-game winner 1st 11 straight seasons in MLB, 1st all-time in Wins, Games, ShO, K, pitcher WAR
• Adonis Terry, ChC, 1906-22, 211-198-18-2.80. Won Outstanding Pitcher in 1911 with 30 wins and 1.93 ERA. Led league in ShO 4 times and IP & WAR 3 times each.
• Mark McGwire, Red Sox, 1906-20, all-or-nothing HR hitter. 99-744-.215. Held both single-season (16) and career (99) HR records, since broken.
• Hack Wilson, Phillies, 1919-21, promising career cut short by injury. 30-218-.289/.373/.455. Set NL single-season HR record (19 in 1921), since broken.