My first Great Teams of the Past season, which featured competitors from 1902 to 1917, came down to the final week of the 32-game campaign. Four teams were still in contention, and as fate would have it, the first-place squad faced one of two second-place teams, while the other second-place team took on the fourth-place squad.
First, the 1911 Philadelphia Athletics and the 1909 Detroit Tigers eliminated the other with a four-game split. Then, the 1912 New York Giants took to the field with a two-game lead over the 1917 Chicago White Sox. The Giants won the first two contests in extra innings, wrapping up the title with their 21st win. Chicago won the next two, but it was too little, too late.
The Giants didn’t have close to the best batting average or team ERA, and in fact had the worst fielding performance of any of the nine teams, but still managed to come out on top.
| FINAL | W | L | PCT | GB | Run Diff. | AVG | ERA | FLD | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1912 New York Giants | 21 | 11 | .656 | — | +9 | .237 | 2.94 | .974 | Stats |
| 1917 Chicago White Sox | 19 | 13 | .594 | 2.0 | +39 | .235 | 2.08 | .979 | Stats |
| 1911 Philadelphia Athletics | 19 | 13 | .594 | 2.0 | +29 | .247 | 2.28 | .985 | Stats |
| 1909 Detroit Tigers | 18 | 14 | .563 | 3.0 | -8 | .243 | 3.21 | .979 | Stats |
| 1912 Boston Red Sox | 16 | 16 | .500 | 5.0 | +5 | .225 | 3.14 | .982 | Stats |
| 1902 Pittsburgh Pirates | 14 | 18 | .438 | 7.0 | +6 | .239 | 2.91 | .975 | Stats |
| 1914 Boston Braves | 14 | 18 | .438 | 7.0 | -26 | .213 | 3.52 | .980 | Stats |
| 1906 Chicago Cubs | 13 | 19 | .406 | 8.0 | +1 | .226 | 2.97 | .979 | Stats |
| 1915 Philadelphia Phillies | 10 | 22 | .313 | 11.0 | -55 | .198 | 3.52 | .978 | Stats |
| BATTING | AVG | R | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SLG | OBP | SB | BB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1912 New York Giants | .237 | 119 | 42 | 17 | 14 | 113 | .346 | .307 | 65 | 100 |
| 1917 Chicago White Sox | .235 | 115 | 26 | 20 | 3 | 105 | .306 | .306 | 56 | 104 |
| 1911 Philadelphia Athletics | .247 | 111 | 42 | 17 | 6 | 106 | .331 | .301 | 50 | 73 |
| 1909 Detroit Tigers | .243 | 112 | 42 | 7 | 3 | 109 | .304 | .303 | 59 | 82 |
| 1912 Boston Red Sox | .225 | 113 | 44 | 15 | 7 | 107 | .316 | .290 | 39 | 92 |
| 1902 Pittsburgh Pirates | .239 | 112 | 37 | 13 | 3 | 106 | .308 | .300 | 53 | 80 |
| 1914 Boston Braves | .213 | 104 | 37 | 10 | 3 | 98 | .277 | .283 | 38 | 99 |
| 1906 Chicago Cubs | .226 | 106 | 34 | 11 | 3 | 105 | .287 | .281 | 44 | 78 |
| 1915 Philadelphia Phillies | .198 | 75 | 48 | 5 | 11 | 72 | .284 | .255 | 16 | 77 |
| PITCHING | ERA | CG | ShO | H | BB | K | BAA | WHIP | K/BB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1912 New York Giants | 2.94 | 23 | 5 | 256 | 68 | 192 | .230 | 1.091 | 2.82 |
| 1917 Chicago White Sox | 2.08 | 28 | 5 | 221 | 70 | 132 | .214 | 1.006 | 1.89 |
| 1911 Philadelphia Athletics | 2.28 | 23 | 2 | 215 | 97 | 187 | .203 | 1.039 | 1.93 |
| 1909 Detroit Tigers | 3.21 | 22 | 2 | 253 | 96 | 108 | .237 | 1.209 | 1.13 |
| 1912 Boston Red Sox | 3.14 | 24 | 3 | 248 | 86 | 117 | .240 | 1.176 | 1.36 |
| 1902 Pittsburgh Pirates | 2.91 | 22 | 1 | 242 | 88 | 218 | .230 | 1.148 | 2.48 |
| 1914 Boston Braves | 3.52 | 19 | 4 | 275 | 85 | 171 | .253 | 1.236 | 2.01 |
| 1906 Chicago Cubs | 2.97 | 24 | 4 | 194 | 115 | 194 | .190 | 1.050 | 1.69 |
| 1915 Philadelphia Phillies | 3.52 | 15 | 0 | 285 | 80 | 135 | .265 | 1.273 | 1.69 |
TEAM NOTES
1912 New York Giants: Christy Mathewson led the league in wins (7-1 in his eight starts) … Larry Doyle led the league in home runs (six in 32 games, he had 10 in 143 in real life) … The Giants didn’t have a single .300 hitter in the starting lineup (Doyle was tops at .298), but they also didn’t have anyone hitting in the .100s … What they lacked in average, they made up for in power (14 home runs, .346 slugging) and speed (65 stolen bases), all league bests … Rube Marquard led the league in strikeouts (70).
1917 Chicago White Sox: They had the best pitching in the league, led by Red Faber (six wins and a 1.65 ERA, second in the league, plus three shutouts) … Cy Williams had a stat line that doesn’t make any sense, as with a CY rating he posted a 1.77 ERA but finished with a 2-5 record … Shoeless Joe Jackson had a shot at the batting title but finished third at .360 (pretty good considering he was at .301 in real life) … Swede Risberg was good (.279 here, .203 in real life), Happy Felsch was not (.207 here, .308 in real life).
1911 Philadelphia Athletics: The league ERA title wasn’t won by an A-rated pitcher. That went to Chief Bender and his BXZ rating, as he went 4-2 in eight starts with a 1.36 ERA … Despite having the team’s highest ERA at 3.17, Jack Coombs won a team-best six games … Rube Oldring had nine extra-base hits and six of them were triples (the league’s best) … Though the A’s hit a league-best .247, only one of their eight regulars posted a higher batting average than what they had in real life.
1909 Detroit Tigers: Ty Cobb was hitting better than .400 for most of the season, but finished at a league-best .391. He also led the league in hits (50), doubles (15), total bases (69) and stolen bases (16) … Tom Jones was a surprising .300 hitter (.302 here, .259 real life) … The Tigers couldn’t overcome mediocre pitching, as three of their four starters had over a 3.00 ERA.
1912 Boston Red Sox: The Red Sox had three good hitters, most notably Tris Speaker (.380 average, second in the league, and league bests of 28 runs, .574 slugging and .460 on-base), but their 4-8 hitters ranged from .228 to .132 … Duffy Lewis led the league with 24 RBI.
1902 Pittsburgh Pirates: The Pirates had four .300 hitters in real life, but they all disappointed and Ginger Beaumont was the only one to reach that mark, hitting .300 exactly … Honus Wagner was mediocre for his stats, batting .289 … The Pirates had two A-rated pitchers but Deacon Phillippe and Jesse Tannehill both finished 4-4 with ERAs in the 2s.
1914 Boston Braves: The Braves had the second-worst hitting team and tied for the worst ERA but managed to avoid the cellar … Their best hitter was Joe Connolly at .277 … Poor Dick Crutcher went 0-7 with an 8.20 ERA in eight starts.
1906 Chicago Cubs: On paper, I thought the Cubs would be one of the favorites, but it didn’t pan out … They had a few good hitters, led by Johnny Kling (.336), but three regulars hit in the .100s … Despite having one of the best pitching ratings in the game, Three-Finger Brown went just 3-5 with a 2.79 ERA, though he led the league with a .168 batting average against … Despite being six games below .500 they had a positive run differential on the season.
1915 Philadelphia Phillies: The Phillies finished second in the league in homers and Fred Luderus (.310) had a good season, but that was about it … Five of the eight starters finished with averages in the .100s and a sixth was at .217 … The run support wasn’t there for Grover Cleveland Alexander, who went 4-4 with a 2.30 ERA.
BATTING LEADERS
| AVERAGE .391 Ty Cobb, 1909 Tigers .380 Tris Speaker, 1912 Red Sox .360 Joe Jackson, 1917 White Sox .336 Johnny Kling, 1906 Cubs .314 Larry Gardner, 1912 Red Sox .310 Fred Luderus, 1915 Phillies .306 Harry Steinfeldt, 1906 Cubs .305 Stuffy McInnis, 1911 Athletics .305 Danny Murphy, 1911 Athletics .302 Tom Jones, 1909 Tigers RUNS 28 Tris Speaker, 1912 Red Sox 22 Donie Bush, 1909 Tigers 21 Larry Doyle, 1912 Giants 21 Honus Wagner, 1902 Pirates 21 Nemo Leibold, 1917 White Sox 20 Ginger Beaumont, 1902 Pirates 20 Rube Oldring, 1911 Athletics 19 Frank Chance, 1906 Cubs 19 Harry Hooper, 1912 Red Sox 18 several HITS 50 Ty Cobb, 1909 Tigers 45 Joe Jackson, 1917 White Sox 41 Tris Speaker, 1912 Red Sox 39 Larry Doyle, 1912 Giants 39 Ginger Beaumont, 1902 Pirates 39 Rube Oldring, 1911 Athletics 39 Danny Murphy, 1911 Athletics 39 Johnny Kling, 1906 Cubs 38 Sam Crawford, 1909 Tigers 37 Harry Steinfeldt, 1906 Cubs DOUBLES 15 Ty Cobb, 1909 Tigers 14 Fred Luderus, 1915 Phillies 9 Duffy Lewis, 1912 Red Sox 8 Tris Speaker, 1912 Red Sox 8 Swede Risberg, 1917 White Sox 8 Fred Merkle, 1912 Giants 7 several TRIPLES 6 Rube Oldring, 1911 Athletics 5 Tris Speaker, 1912 Red Sox 5 Honus Wagner, 1902 Pirates 4 Joe Connolly, 1914 Braves 4 Harry Hooper, 1912 Red Sox 4 Buck Herzog, 1912 Giants 3 several HOME RUNS 6 Larry Doyle, 1912 Giants 4 Gavvy Cravath, 1915 Phillies 3 Beals Becker, 1915 Phillies 3 Heinie Wagner, 1912 Red Sox 2 several | RBI 24 Duffy Lewis, 1912 Red Sox 23 Johnny Kling, 1906 Cubs 22 Kitty Branfield, 1902 Pirates 21 Sam Crawford, 1909 Tigers 19 Swede Risberg, 1917 White Sox 19 Harry Steinfeldt, 1906 Cubs 19 Claude Ritchey, 1902 Pirates 18 Rube Oldring, 1911 Athletics 18 Frank Schulte, 1906 Cubs 17 several TOTAL BASES 69 Ty Cobb, 1909 Tigers 66 Larry Doyle, 1912 Giants 62 Tris Speaker, 1912 Red Sox 60 Fred Luderus, 1915 Phillies 58 Rube Oldring, 1911 Athletics 53 Joe Jackson, 1917 White Sox 52 Honus Wagner, 1902 Pirates 51 Sam Crawford, 1909 Tigers 50 Johnny Kling, 1906 Cubs 50 Eddie Collins, 1911 Athletics SLUGGING PCT. .574 Tris Speaker, 1912 Red Sox .539 Ty Cobb, 1909 Tigers .517 Fred Luderus, 1915 Phillies .504 Larry Doyle, 1912 Giants .432 Swede Risberg, 1917 White Sox .431 Johnny Kling, 1906 Cubs .430 Honus Wagner, 1902 Pirates .426 Rube Oldring, 1911 Athletics .424 Joe Jackson, 1917 White Sox .410 Eddie Collins, 1911 Athletics ON-BASE PCT. .460 Tris Speaker, 1912 Red Sox .444 Ty Cobb, 1909 Tigers .417 Joe Jackson, 1917 White Sox .404 Frank Chance, 1906 Cubs .381 Honus Wagner, 1902 Pirates .373 Johnny Evers, 1914 Braves .369 Tom Jones, 1909 Tigers .367 Fred Luderus, 1915 Phillies .366 Larry Doyle, 1912 Giants .366 Eddie Collins, 1911 Athletics STOLEN BASES 16 Ty Cobb, 1909 Tigers 15 Nemo Leibold, 1917 White Sox 15 Eddie Collins, 1917 White Sox 14 Beals Becker, 1912 Giants 13 Ginger Beaumont, 1902 Pirates 12 Frank Chance, 1906 Cubs 11 Donie Bush, 1909 Tigers 11 Fred Snodgrass, 1912 Giants 11 Home Run Baker, 1911 Athletics |
PITCHING LEADERS
| WINS 7 Christy Mathewson, 1912 Giants 6 Red Faber, 1917 White Sox 6 Jack Coombs, 1911 Athletics 5 several ERA 1.36 Chief Bender, 1911 Athletics 1.65 Red Faber, 1917 White Sox 1.77 Lefty Williams, 1917 White Sox 1.79 Bill James, 1914 Braves 1.82 Jack Pfiester, 1906 Cubs 2.01 Christy Mathewson, 1912 Giants 2.01 Cy Morgan, 1911 Athletics 2.09 Smoky Joe Wood, 1912 Red Sox 2.15 Eddie Cicotte, 1917 White Sox 2.27 Deacon Phillippe, 1902 Pirates COMPLETE GAMES 8 Red Faber, 1917 White Sox 8 Christy Mathewson, 1912 Giants 8 Mordecai Brown, 1906 Cubs 7 several SHUTOUTS 3 Red Faber, 1917 White Sox 2 Christy Mathewson, 1912 Giants 2 Jack Pfiester, 1906 Cubs 2 Ed Reulbach, 1906 Cubs 2 Lefty Tyler, 1914 Braves 2 Buck O’Brien, 1912 Red Sox SAVES 2 George McQuillan, 1915 Phillies 2 Jack Taylor, 1906 Cubs INNINGS PITCHED 79.7 Chief Bender, 1911 Athletics 77.3 Mordecai Brown, 1906 Cubs 76.0 Christy Mathewson, 1912 Giants 74.0 Jack Pfiester, 1906 Cubs 72.0 Dick Rudolph, 1914 Braves 71.3 Lefty Williams, 1917 White Sox 71.3 Deacon Phillippe, 1902 Pirates 71.0 Red Faber, 1917 White Sox 71.0 Jack Coombs, 1911 Athletics 71.0 Eddie Cicotte, 1917 White Sox | STRIKEOUTS 70 Rube Marquard, 1912 Giants 63 Jack Chesbro, 1902 Pirates 61 Deacon Phillippe, 1902 Pirates 56 Mordecai Brown, 1906 Cubs 53 Chief Bender, 1911 Athletics 53 Jack Pfiester, 1906 Cubs 50 Lefty Tyler, 1914 Braves 48 Grover C Alexander, 1915 Phillies 47 Cy Morgan, 1911 Athletics 42 several BATTING AVERAGE AGAINST .168 Mordecai Brown, 1906 Cubs .169 Red Faber, 1917 White Sox .174 Jack Pfiester, 1906 Cubs .178 Eddie Cicotte, 1917 White Sox .178 Eddie Plank, 1911 Athletics .183 Bill James, 1914 Braves .192 Ed Reulbach, 1906 Cubs .194 Chief Bender, 1911 Athletics .195 Deacon Phillippe, 1902 Pirates .195 Ed Killian, 1909 Tigers WHIP 0.859 Red Faber, 1917 White Sox 0.868 Christy Mathewson, 1912 Giants 0.873 Eddie Cicotte, 1917 White Sox 0.878 Jack Pfiester, 1906 Cubs 0.879 Mordecai Brown, 1906 Cubs 0.891 Chief Bender, 1911 Athletics 0.955 Eddie Plank, 1911 Athletics 0.981 Bill James, 1914 Braves 0.981 Grover C Alexander, 1915 Phillies 0.995 Deacon Phillippe, 1902 Pirates K/BB 5.71 Christy Mathewson, 1912 Giants 3.33 Lefty Tyler, 1914 Braves 3.15 Jack Chesbro, 1902 Pirates 3.12 Chief Bender, 1911 Athletics 3.00 Erskine Mayer, 1915 Phillies 2.92 Smoky Joe Wood, 1912 Red Sox 2.80 Rube Marquard, 1912 Giants 2.77 Red Ames, 1912 Giants 2.71 Dick Rudolph, 1914 Braves 2.65 Deacon Phillippe, 1902 Pirates |
ROGER SPORTS & GAMES 