There’s just one week left in the season and although five of the nine teams are mathematically alive for a shot at the pennant, it’s basically coming down to two teams: the 1920 Cleveland Indians have a one-game lead over the 1927 New York Yankees. Unfortunately, they aren’t playing each other.
Here’s how things look:
- The Indians (19-9) and Yankees (18-10) have similar opponents in the final week of the season. Cleveland plays the sixth-place 1922 New York Giants (14-14) and the Yankees face seventh-place 1925 Washington (13-15).
- The 1927 Pirates and 1929 Cubs, tied for fourth place at 16-12, meet each other. They are three games back of the Indians and two behind the Yankees with four to play.
- The 1930 Cardinals have the bye in week 9 and they have finished their season with a 19-13 record. To get into a playoff, they need a lot to go their way. The Indians would have to be swept, the Yankees could win no more than one game and the Cubs-Pirates series couldn’t result in a sweep.
- That leaves the 1922 Browns and 1919 Reds, who meet with last place on the line.
Several individual races are up for grabs:
- Elmer Smith of the Indians has a narrow lead in the batting average category over the Yankees’ Bob Meusel, .380 to .375.
- George Watkins of the Cardinals is in the clubhouse with the lead in home runs (11) and RBI (33). The Yankees’ Babe Ruth has 10 homers and Meusel is at 28 RBI.
- Burleigh Grimes of the Cardinals will be the only starting pitcher to finish without a loss, as he went 7-0 in his eight starts. Waite Hoyt of the Yankees will try to match his seven wins. Hoyt (2.04) also has a slim lead in the ERA category.
In week 9, rather than posting series-by-series, I’ll be posting gameday-by-gameday so that everything is happening in real time. That will include YouTube broadcasts, so keep an eye on the channel for potential pennant-winning games.
| Week 8 | W | L | PCT | GB | Run Diff. | AVG | ERA | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920 Cleveland Indians | 19 | 9 | .679 | — | +35 | .278 | 3.02 | Stats |
| 1927 New York Yankees | 18 | 10 | .643 | 1.0 | +26 | .270 | 3.79 | Stats |
| 1930 St. Louis Cardinals | 19 | 13 | .594 | 2.0 | +27 | .278 | 3.51 | Stats |
| 1927 Pittsburgh Pirates | 16 | 12 | .571 | 3.0 | 0 | .251 | 2.76 | Stats |
| 1929 Chicago Cubs | 16 | 12 | .571 | 3.0 | +4 | .238 | 3.61 | Stats |
| 1922 New York Giants | 14 | 14 | .500 | 5.0 | -10 | .237 | 3.41 | Stats |
| 1925 Washington Senators | 13 | 15 | .464 | 6.0 | -4 | .216 | 3.31 | Stats |
| 1922 St. Louis Browns | 7 | 21 | .250 | 12.0 | -39 | .226 | 4.39 | Stats |
| 1919 Cincinnati Reds | 6 | 22 | .214 | 13.0 | -39 | .208 | 3.61 | Stats |
Week 8 recaps:
> Browns-Senators
> Reds-Giants
> Pirates-Indians
> Cardinals-Cubs
Week 8 featured YouTube broadcasts:
> Browns-Senators game 1
> Reds-Giants game 1
> Pirates-Indians game 1
> Pirates-Indians game 4
> Cubs-Cardinals game 4
BATTING LEADERS
Average
.380 Elmer Smith, 1920 Indians
.375 Bob Meusel, 1927 Yankees
.355 Lloyd Waner, 1927 Pirates
.348 Paul Waner, 1927 Pirates
.348 Tris Speaker, 1920 Indians
.347 Frankie Frisch, 1930 Cardinals
.343 George Kelly, 1922 Giants
.341 Earle Combs, 1927 Yankees
.339 Sam Rice, 1925 Senators
.336 George Watkins, 1930 Cardinals
Runs
29 Chick Hafey, 1930 Cardinals
28 Lou Gehrig, 1927 Yankees
22 Babe Ruth, 1927 Yankees
21 Bob Meusel, 1927 Yankees
21 Earle Combs, 1927 Yankees
Hits
46 Elmer Smith, 1920 Indians
43 Frankie Frisch, 1930 Cardinals
43 Lloyd Waner, 1927 Pirates
42 Bob Meusel, 1927 Yankees
42 Earle Combs, 1927 Yankees
42 George Watkins, 1930 Cardinals
Doubles
16 Frankie Frisch, 1930 Cardinals
15 Bob Meusel, 1927 Yankees
15 Tris Speaker, 1920 Indians
14 Lou Gehrig, 1927 Yankees
13 Sparky Adams, 1930 Cardinals
13 Norm McMillan, 1929 Cubs
Triples
4 Lou Gehrig, 1927 Yankees
4 Edd Roush, 1919 Reds
4 Earle Combs, 1927 Yankees
3 many
Home Runs
11 George Watkins, 1930 Cardinals
10 Babe Ruth, 1927 Yankees
9 Chick Hafey, 1930 Cardinals
7 Bob Meusel, 1927 Yankees
7 Hack Wilson, 1929 Cubs
RBI
33 George Watkins, 1930 Cardinals
28 Chick Hafey, 1930 Cardinals
28 Bob Meusel, 1927 Yankees
23 Babe Ruth, 1927 Yankees
23 Tris Speaker, 1920 Indians
Stolen Bases
8 Tony Lazzeri, 1927 Yankees
8 Sam Rice, 1925 Senators
8 Kiki Cuyler, 1929 Cubs
6 several
PITCHING LEADERS
Wins
7 Burleigh Grimes, 1930 Cardinals
6 Syl Johnson, 1930 Cardinals
6 Waite Hoyt, 1927 Yankees
5 Jesse Haines, 1930 Cardinals
5 Pat Malone, 1929 Cubs
5 Lee Meadows, 1927 Pirates
5 Guy Morton, 1920 Indians
ERA
2.04 Waite Hoyt, 1927 Yankees
2.10 Lee Meadows, 1927 Pirates
2.11 Stan Coveleski, 1925 Senators
2.30 Stan Coveleski, 1920 Indians
2.45 Vic Aldridge, 1927 Pirates
2.55 Burleigh Grimes, 1930 Cardinals
2.57 Art Nehf, 1922 Giants
2.64 Pat Malone, 1929 Cubs
2.79 Jim Bagby, 1920 Indians
2.83 Walter Johnson, 1925 Senators
Complete Games
6 Waite Hoyt, 1927 Yankees
5 Pat Malone, 1929 Cubs
4 many
Shutouts
2 Guy Bush, 1929 Cubs
1 many
Saves
7 Flint Rehm, 1930 Cardinals
7 Johnny Miljus, 1927 Pirates
5 Duster Mails, 1920 Indians
3 Firpo Marberry, 1925 Senators
3 Wilcy Moore, 1927 Yankees
Strikeouts
69 Bill Hallahan, 1930 Cardinals
57 Pat Malone, 1929 Cubs
52 Syl Johnson, 1930 Cardinals
42 Charlie Root, 1929 Cubs
43 Hod Eller, 1919 Reds
ROGER SPORTS & GAMES 