Welcome to the World Baseball League

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Eddie Plank has had an excellent career in the WBL and he has not always played on teams as powerful as MLB's Phialdelphia A's. He's never been to a World Series, having left Baltimore just before they made a run and left the Highrisers before their 1914 win. Unfortunately he is 16 wins short of 300 and is not being used much in Chicago even though his stuff is still pretty good. He's actually riding the bench along with Christy Matthewson.

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The 1915 draft class has to be the weakest yet seen. A few first-rounders late in the round are notable: Urban Shocker, Charlie Grimm, Bucky Harris. But the top 8 picks are pretty weak and for the third time in recent memory, New Orleans got a less than impressive overall #1 with Jing Johnson, who won 24 games in MLB.The Jazzcats have not won more than 82 games since 1903 and have never won a pennant.



You sure don't see this anymore...from SABR: "Grimm was one of baseball’s premier entertainers, and not just for his acrobatic play. He would serenade fans before games with his singing and banjo playing. “In the on-deck circle he might brandish two bats in imitation of a butcher sharpening his knives. He and [Cubs catcher Gabby] Hartnett liked to play ‘burnout’ in front of the fans, advancing up the line and firing the ball toward each other at closer and closer quarters. To the roars of the crowd, he might mimic an umpire’s walk behind his back — an act that at least once earned him an ejection as a manager.”

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Babe Ruth has not played badly but he has had a lot of injuries in his young career. His current torn back muscle has him out for 4 months. So far he is 24-20 2.55 on the bad SF Aftershocks,

Meanwhile it looks like New York is going to repeat in the Eastern League, they have a 5 game lead on Cambridge and Ty Cobb is having a bigger season than his past few. They are still all hit, no pitch. First in the majors at the bat and 16th on the mound.

Cleveland and LA are in a dogfight out west, although I'm not sure Cleveland is for real.

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It's been a long time since the Cleveland Timbers were in the race. They won the Western League pennant in 1901, 1903 and 1904, losing in the World Series in all 3 years. Nap Lajoie, Ed Delahanty, Sam Crawford and Dan McGann made for a fearsome lineup in those days. The new Timbers aren't as scary but Jack Qunn, Bob Steele and Rube Bressler have been solid on the mound and the team leads the majors in ERA. They have a 3 game lead with a month to go.



A bit on Jack Quinn from SABR: "As for his age, it was a popular topic of speculation among baseball writers as Quinn was getting along in years. Many were of the opinion that he was at least three or four years older than the age given in most record books. Quinn did nothing to end the controversy. “I’ll tell my age when I quit,” he once said. “Nobody’s going to know before that.”1 Eventually, the old spitballer did retire, but he reneged on his promise and even then he did not reveal his true age.

He told another interviewer, “I’m not as old as they try to make out….Some of these newspaper fellows had me forty years old ten years ago. I’d be wearing long white whiskers like Santa Claus if I had kept pace with all the dope that’s been written about my age. I’m old enough, and there’s no argument on that point. But why confine me to the boneyard before my time?"

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The Cleveland Timbers will make their first World Series appearance since 1904. They are 0-3 in Series play and will be facing the defending champion New York Highrisers with Cobb and Shoeless Joe. Cleveland was definitely a surprise pennant winner and seem like a bit of a fluke. Their star was little known Bob Steele, who had a 16-38 MLB career but everything lined up for the 2 1/2 star pitcher this year and he ended up 27-13 with a 1.89 ERA. He seems likely to win the Western Ace Award.
New York is a strange team as well though. They won the World Series last year and the pennant this year but their pitching is really quite terrible.They ended up 14th in ERA. So who knows?

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The Highrisers and Timbers go to 7 games but New York has their second straight title. It was actually the first 7 game series in WBL history. The Cleveland Timbers are now 0-4 in World Series play, having lost in 1901 to Buffalo, 1903 to Brooklyn, 1904 to Boston and 1915 to NY.

Sherry Magee was named World Series MVP. Magee was a 3 time champion in his days in the outfield in St. Louis and now has a title with New York as a shortstop.



Wow, leatherbelts in the clubhouse: "But as he reached stardom, Sherry also developed a reputation as a troublemaker. “On the ball field Magee is so fussy most of the time that people who do not know him naturally form the opinion from his actions that he is a born grouch,” wrote the Philadelphia Times after the 1908 season. “That he is one of the most hot-headed players in either big league is admitted; it couldn’t be denied, because the records, showing how often he has been suspended for scrapping with the umpires, speak for themselves.” Off the field, the young slugger could be just as difficult. The captain of the Phillies during Magee’s early years was Kid Gleason, who kept an old leather belt in his locker that he used on young players who misbehaved, and on several occasions Magee literally felt the captain’s wrath. Sherry also became known for “crabbing” at teammates. “Magee, like Evers, has an unusual amount of base ball gray matter and spirit,” explained one reporter. “This spirit plays for victories and is easily upset when ‘bones’ are pulled.”

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Bad news in SF: Babe Ruth had a setback with his back injury. The Bambino sure has been hurt a lot in his first couple years. But the good news for the Aftershocks is the signing of free agent Tris Speaker. SF has never won a pennant and had another poor season, finishing 6th. But they now have Babe Ruth, Rogers Hornsby and Tris Speaker. The future is bright.

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Christy Matthewson's career is over. After a year in which he was hardly used by Chicago, Big Six retires with a win-loss record of 208-196. He won a single Ace Award in 1901 and was a four-time all-star. Although he won two championships with the Chicago Midways, he was not a major factor on either team. It was certainly an underwhelming career compared to his MLB 373 wins but he pitched for a weak SF Aftershocks team in his best years. Overall his ERA was 2.58 as compared to 3.01 in the MLB so the team he was on was clearly a big factor.Should be interesting as to whether he is a Hall of Famer.

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The NY Highrisers have the biggest payroll, Ty Cobb, Joe Jackson and the 1914 and '15 championships. They are also starting to get some pitching, which is what they have historically lacked. Salida Tom Highes won the 1914 Ace Award and since joining NY has had two good seasons. He is 15-5 with a 1.96 ERA, which is the exact same stats as Ed Klepfer, the #2 starter. Urban Shocker has also joined the rotation.

NY has run out to a big lead in the EL and Cleveland is up by 7 in the WL so it is looking like a rematch of the series that went 7 games last year.



More on Salida Tom: "In 1916 Hughes posted a 16-3 record, leading the National League in winning percentage (842.). On June 16 he threw the second no-hitter of his career when he blanked Pittsburgh 2-0. The game ended with a flourish, Hughes recording the final out by fanning Honus Wagner.17

With his effort against Cleveland in 1910 recognized as a no-hitter at the time, Hughes became only the second pitcher besides Cy Young to throw a hitless games in both the American and National Leagues. His record-setting efforts did not stop with the no-hitter. A week after his hitless gem, he entered a game in relief against Philadelphia, and held the Phillies hitless for 3 1/3 innings before allowing a hit that ended a streak of 15 1/3 hitless innings over four games including the no-hitter. "

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Already the class of the WBL, New York adds Larry Doyle in a trade with Buffalo. At 74-35, the Highrisers look to be cruising to another World Series appearance. Cleveland may face them again but the Timber's lead has dropped to 5 games over up and coming San Francisco. With Babe Ruth back healthy in the rotation and free agent pick up Tris Speaker hitting 4th and Rogers Hornsby hitting 3rd, the Aftershocks may have a pennant in their future, this year or next.



From SABR: "Doyle arrived in New York on July 21, 1907. “The train from Springfield dumped me off in Jersey City because Grand Central wasn’t even built then,” he recalled. “When I got off the ferry, I walked over to a cop. ‘How do I get to the Polo Grounds?’ I asked. ‘See that El over there? Take it to the last stop,’ he said. I got off at the last stop and looked around. I didn’t see any Polo Grounds. All I saw was the ocean. I was at South Ferry, the wrong end of the line.”

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Was curious how long it would take a team that now has Ruth, Speaker and Hornsby would take to get to first place. The answer? Not long. At the beginning of August, Cleveland had a 5 game lead., San Fran on Sept 2 is up 3.5 now. The Aftershocks also signed 31 year-old free agent Nap Rucker in August and have acquired some pieces like Buck Weaver and Fred Luderus.

Since 1912, the Aftershocks have finished 7th, 8th, 6th and 6th and have never won a pennant.



Luderus was an iron man: "Ludy became known for his dependability after his home-run hitting dropped off. From 1916 to 1919 he played in 533 consecutive games, considered “the greatest streak of continuous play by a modern major leaguer.” -SABR

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I was looking back in the first 16 years of the league to see who has won multiple MVPs or Ace Awards (Our version of the Cy Young). Biggest surprise might be Cambridge's Dutch Leonard who has won the last three Ace Awards on a team that has not won a pennant.

Ty Cobb (6)
Joe Jackson (5)
Walter Johnson (4)
Dutch Leonard (3)
Eddie Collins (3)
Ed Walsh (3)
Honus Wagner (3)
Chief Bender (3)
Frank Baker (2)
Rube Waddell (2)
Doc White (2)
Hooks Wiltse (2)
Nap Lajoie (2)
Sam Crawford (2)
Smoky Joe Wood (2)

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It was a strange year for pitchers with nobody on the hill particularly dominant. In the Eastern League, the WAR leader was Boston's Fred Anderson and Chicago's Guy Morton in the Western. WL leader Red Causey won 23 for SF and Addie Joss, long since dead in MLB, managed the ERA title. Dutch Leonard, looking for a fourth straight Ace Award was the ERA leader in the Eastern but was only 18-16. Tom Hughes won 25 for New York but hurt himself just before the World Series. It was Walter Johnson's worst season since his rookie campaign but he still has an outside shot at a 5th Ace Award.

New York and San Francisco to play in the World Series. The Highrisers want three straight. If SF wins, it could be the first of many.



From SABR: "Joss’s funeral was held in Toledo on April 17, a day when Cleveland had a scheduled game against Detroit. Despite orders from American League President Ban Johnson for the Naps to play the game, all of Joss’s Cleveland teammates insisted on attending the funeral. George Stovall, the Naps team captain, declared his team on strike, proclaiming, “I may be captain, but I’m still a ballplayer.” Finally Johnson relented, and the game was postponed. Former ballplayer turned evangelist Billy Sunday delivered Addie’s eulogy at the funeral, which at the time was the second-largest in Toledo’s history. “Joss tried hard to strike out death, and it seemed for a time as though he would win,” Sunday proclaimed. “The bases were full. The score was a tie, with two outs. Thousands, yes, millions in a nation’s grandstands and bleachers sat breathless watching the conflict. The great twirler stood erect in the box. Death walked to the plate.”

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The NY Highrisers, who spent big money for so many years but had underwhelming teams, have put those days behind them. Ty Cobb leads New York to their third straight World Series crown. It wasn't easy though, for the second year in a row, the series went 7 games. Larry Doyle just escaped being an all-time goat after he made a 9th inning error with 2 outs that let SF win game 6. Both Cobb for NY and Rogers Hornsby, for SF, hit the cover off the ball. Sure seems like the Aftershocks will be back again though.

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Some big names hanging up the cleats after 1916:
Sam Crawford finishes just shy of 3000 hits. He never quite won a championship but he was an 11 time All-Star and 2 time MVP.
Big Ed Walsh won 3 Ace Awards, was a 6 time All-Star and led Baltimore to the 1908 championship.
Roger Breshnahan won the MVP in 1903 and led Brooklyn to its only title. He was a 10 time all-star.
Those three seem like Hall of Famers. Joe Tinker probably not so much although he was a 2 time All-Star.
Meanwhile, Cobb wins his 7th MVP award for 1916 and Babe Ruth has started planning the outfield as well as pitching for San Francisco.

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The San Francisco Aftershocks now have a core of three players who are locked up contractually until 1921. Tris Speaker and Rogers Hornsby are dominating WL pitching with Hornsby leading in RBI and Speaker in batting average. Hornsby has won the MVP in his first two years. Babe Ruth is on another level. Here in 1917, he is pitching and playing the outfield. He is tied for the lead in home runs and second in RBI plus he has a 1.70 ERA (2nd) and is 10-3. Wow. Needless to say, San Fran is in first place.

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Perhaps the most underwhelming player so far in comparison to his MLB career has been Grover Cleveland Alexander. Drafted by a weak Detroit team, he largely rode the bench before being dealt to Cambridge, another generally poor club. At 30 years old, he is 122-120 with a 3.11 ERA. He has never led the league in anything except games started in 1912 and losses in 1915. He has yet to make an all-star team.

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The Detroit Pinstripes are now leading the Western League over San Francisco and they have caught every break. With just a +29 RD whereas SF is +117, the Pinstripes have no business being in first. But Lady Luck have given them a +6 record. It will be interesting to see if they can hold the lead down the stretch. The team's best players, Pat Ragan, Jim Shaw, Benny Kauff and Tony Boeckle are not exactly huge names compared to Hornsby, Speaker and Ruth for SF.

Meanwhile, Washington is 83-53 and look like they will end NY's run of 3 straight championships. Stan Coveleski on the hill and Eddie Collins, Heinie Groh and Jack Fournier have led at the plate.



Benny Kauff has a very interesting bio on SABr. Here's the beginning: "A flashy dresser and world-class trash talker, Benny Kauff was the Deion Sanders of the Deadball Era. “I’ll make them all forget that a guy named Ty Cobb ever pulled on a baseball shoe,” the brash 26-year-old told reporters on his arrival with the New York Giants in 1916. Kauff’s boastfulness was not without some justification. Dubbed “The Ty Cobb of the Federal League,” Kauff was the most heralded young player of his generation, a five-tool star whose unique combination of speed and power defied his stocky 5’8″ frame. Though he performed well in the National League’s faster company, Kauff never did match the high expectations he and others had set for him, and his career ended prematurely in 1921 with his controversial banishment from the game."

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The San Francisco Aftershocks got a scare from Detroit but they swept the Pinstripes in a 3 game series down the stretch and won the WL. What a year for Babe Ruth. At the plate, he led the majors with 15 home runs, quite a tally for the deadball era. He was third in the Western League in RBI. But he also had a huge season on the mound, going 23-10 with a 2.30 ERA. 6th in ERA and 3rd in wins. Amazingly despite San Francisco's great lineup they were no hit in September by St. Louis's Bill Sherdel.



A bit about Bill Sherdel: "A student of the game, Sherdel once recalled that he constantly talked about the art of pitching and batters’ expectations, especially with his longtime roommate Haines and also Grover Cleveland Alexander, his teammate from 1926 to 1929. “Alexander taught me more about pitching than any manager or coach,” said Sherdel.19 Sherdel was also one of the first ex-big leaguers to admit that he regularly threw the spitball after it was banned in 1920. “I think the pitch still should be allowed,” he told sportswriter Bob Broeg in 1962."

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The Washington Potomacs take their second championship with a 4-1 series victory over the SF Aftershocks. San Francisco was the loser in last year's series to New York. Eddie Collins was the series MVP for Washington. It was sweet revenge for a Potomacs team who had to overcome the free agency loss of Tris Speaker to San Fran. Collins hit 2 home runs and .455 for the series. Speaker hit .444 but Babe Ruth was just 2/15 and was hit hard in his start.