Historic Photos: 1918 Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox were baseball's dominant team in the first couple decades of the 20th century; they won the first ever World Series in 1903, and would go on to win again in 1912, 1915, 1916, and finally in 1918. It meant out of 15 World Series, Boston won a third of them (there was no World Series in 1904, although Boston won the AL pennant that year). But, as any baseball fan is aware, it would be the last time the team would win in the 20th century. In many ways, this was the end of an era - in just over a year, pitcher Babe Ruth would be sold to the Yankees, which changed the way the game was played and marked the end of the Dead Ball Era.  In the meantime, though, the Red Sox were baseball's best team in 1918, and they beat the Chicago Cubs in six games.

Historic Photos: 1916 Boston Red Sox

The 1916 World Series champion Boston Red Sox, who defeated the Brooklyn Robins 4 games to 1; to this day, the 1915 and 1916 teams are the only Red Sox teams to win back-to-back World Series titles.

Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Historic Photos: 1915 Boston Red Sox

The 1915 World Series champion Boston Red Sox; it was the second of four championships that the Red Sox would win between 1912 and 1918, when they beat the Phillies 4 games to 1.

Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Historic Photos: 1912 Boston Red Sox

The 1912 World Series champion Boston Red Sox, taken shortly before the Series, in which they defeated the New York Giants in eight games (including one tie), culminating in a walk-off sacrifice fly by Larry Gardner.

The player identification, courtesy of the Library of Congress:

Top row (left to right): Joseph Quirk (trainer), Tris Speaker, unidentified girl, Joe Wood, Hick Cady, Pinch Thomas, Buck O'Brien, Hugh Bradley, Duffy Lewis. Middle row: Harry Hooper, Bill Carrigan, Steve Yerkes, Olaf Henriksen, Clyde Engle, Les Nunamaker, Charlie Hall, Larry Gardner, Ray Collins, Jake Stahl. Front row: Heinie Wagner, Hugh Bedient, mascot, Larry Pape, Marty Krug.

Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Historic Photos: Babe Ruth and Teammates, c.1915-1917

Babe Ruth would eventually go on to become arguably the greatest player in baseball history, a right fielder who absolutely shattered the previous home run record, and whose single-season and career home run records stood for many years after his death.  However, in the mid 1910's, he was just another young pitcher on the Red Sox.  Here, he is seated alongside (left to right) fellow pitchers Ernie Shore and Rube Foster, and backup first baseman Del Gainer.  Like Ruth, Shore and Foster were effective pitchers who helped lead the Red Sox to back to back World Series titles in 1915 and 1916 - together, they accounted for 109 wins in those two seasons.  But, their pitching careers didn't last much longer.  Shore was ineffective after 1917 and out of the majors by 1920, and Foster was done after 1917.  Ruth's last season as a regular pitcher was in 1919, after which he was to the Yankees, with well-known ramifications for both teams.  As for Del Gainer on the far right, he was likewise done with baseball by the early 1920's.

Babe Ruth and Ernie Shore, when referred to together, are best known as having thrown one of the most unusual combined no-hitters in baseball history.  On June 23, 1917, Babe Ruth started against the Washington Senators.  He walked the first batter he faced, and then argued with the umpire over the calls.  After being ejected, he punched the umpire on his way out.  Shore came on in relief, the runner was caught stealing, and Shore pitched the remainder of the game without allowing a baserunner.

Incidentally, although their careers ended far sooner than Ruth's, Shore and Foster both outlived him by a significant margin - Ruth died in 1948 (a year after Del Gainer), but Shore died in 1980 at the age of 89, and Foster in 1976 at the age of 88.

Historic Photos: Mayor John F. Fitzgerald, c.1910

John F. Fitzgerald was an avid Red Sox fan; he was a member of the Royal Rooters fan club in the early 1900s, and served as mayor of Boston from 1906 to 1908 and 1910 to 1914.  At some point during his second term, he threw out the first ball at Huntington Avenue Grounds.  Several years later, in 1912, he would throw out the first ball at the opening day of Fenway Park.  Fitzgerald died in 1950, and ten years later, his grandson, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, was elected President of the United States.

Photo courtesy of Boston Public Library.

Historic Photos: 1911 Huntington Avenue Grounds

These two photos aren't quite as well known as the famous one from the 1903 World Series, but these were taken during an actual game, in 1911, its 11th and final year in existence.  It was the original home of the Red Sox, and was where they won their first World Series, in 1903, and was replaced after the 1911 season by Fenway Park, just a short distance away.

Aside from the baseball element of the photo, I also find the advertisements on the walls to be interesting. There are long-lost beverages with such unappetizing names as Pureoxia Ginger Ale and Dr. Swett's Original Root Beer, questionable products such as Old Grist Mill Dog Bread, and defunct breweries like Harvard Brewing Company.  One company that survived a while, though, has an ad barely visible just to the right of the centerfield flagpole - Narragansett Brewing Company, which would remain a Red Sox sponsor well into the 1960s.

Photo courtesy of Boston Public Library.

Historic Photos: 1903 World Series

Taken at Boston's Huntington Avenue Grounds, this photo shows the two teams that competed in the first World Series: the Boston Americans and the Pittsburgh Pirates.  It was a best of 9 series, which Boston won in 8 games.

The players, according to the description provided by the Boston Public Library, are as follows:

The Pirates: (Top, left to right)- second baseman Claude Ritchey, catcher Harry Smith, catcher Eddie Phelps, outfielder Ginger Beaumont, pitcher Deacon Phillippe, pitcher Sam Leever, pitcher Bucky Veil, pitcher Gus Thompson, outfielder Tommy Leach, outfielder Jimmy Sebring, pitcher Brickyard Kennedy, catcher Fred Carisch and shortstop Honus Wagner. Middle: Pirate manager and outfielder Fred Clarke. Boston players: third baseman-manager Jimmie Collins, outfielder Chick Stahl, pitcher Bill Dineen, outfielder Buck Freeman, pitcher Cy Young, first baseman Candy LaChance, outfielder Patsy Dougherty, pitcher George Winter, catcher Duke Farrell, outfielder Jack O'Brien, pitcher Long Tom Hughes. Bottom: shortstop Fred Parent, catcher Lou Criger, second baseman Hobe Ferris.

Photo courtesy of the Boston Public Library

Historic Photos: 1901 Boston Americans

This is the first of what I hope will be a series of posts highlighting historic images from baseball's past.  Every so often, I come across a photo that I find interesting or intriguing, so I figured this would be a good opportunity to share some of them.  All of the photos that I post are either in the public domain, or are reproduced under non-commercial licenses.

This particular photo is the team photo from the 1901 Boston Americans (later known as the Red Sox).  It was the first year of the team's storied existence.  They were established to compete with the extraordinarily successful National League Boston Beaneaters team, and almost immediately they became a fan favorite in Boston.  Much of this had to do with the team's talent - Cy Young (third from left in the middle row) went 33-10 to win the Pitching Triple Crown, first baseman Buck Freeman (middle, top row) finished second in the league with 12 home runs, and third baseman/manager/future Hall of Famer Jimmy Collins (middle, front row, with arms crossed), recruited from the Beaneaters, would have an excellent season as well.

The names of all of the players in the photo:

Top row, Left to right: Kit McKenna, Buck Freeman,Charlie Hemphill. Second row: Fred Parent, George Cuppy, Cy Young, Abrose Kane, Tommy Dowd, Chick Stahl. Third row, seated: Hobe Ferris, Lou Criger, catcher, Jimmie Collins, Ossie Schreckengost, Fred Mitchell. Front: Larry McLean, first baseman.

Photo courtesy of Boston Public Library

Worst Red Sox Team Ever

Today, Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine remarked that the Red Sox currently have the weakest roster in team history.  Given their thoroughly underwhelming 64-80 record, they are certainly the worst Red Sox team in recent history.  In fact, their .444 winning percentage is worse than any Red Sox team since 1966, when they had the same percentage.  However, do they actually have a chance at being the worst Red Sox team ever?

Actually, they won't even break the top ten.

Provided the Red Sox win one more of their remaining 18 games (admittedly a difficult challenge for this team), they can rest assured knowing they will be guaranteed to finish above .400 (someone forgot to tell them that hitting .400 doesn't mean reaching it in the standings).  This will put them ahead of 11 other Red Sox teams, mostly from the 1920s, that reached even lower points of futility.  The worst, however, is the team that I am focusing this blog post on, the 1932 Red Sox

The early 1930s is remembered as the low point of the Great Depression, and for Red Sox fans, that term described the era in more ways than one.  To fully appreciate the situation, it is important to note that in the ten seasons prior to 1932, the Red Sox had finished with a winning percentage lower than this year's team, every year.  The best season in that time period was 1924, when they managed a 67-87 record and didn't finish in last place (which was quite the accomplishment for them back then).  All of this to say, there wasn't much in the way of expectations for the Red Sox in 1932.  But I doubt that anyone was expecting a season quite as bad as what they experienced.

Since most of you (including myself) did not have the great fortune of watching this team in action, here are some facts and highlights from the season:

• The team went through 2 managers; Shano Collins was fired after an 11-44 start, and was succeeded by Marty McManus, who was able to improve the team enough to go 32-67 with them for the rest of the season.  I guess the one advantage to being hired midseason after an 11-44 start is that there can't be a whole lot of expectations on you.
• At the end of the first half of the season, the team had a 15-59 record, good for a .203 winning percentage.  However, they went on a tear, going 28-52 the rest of the way to finish 43-111.  Had they kept up the pace from the first half, they would have finished with the worst winning percentage in post-1900 MLB history.
• They finished the season a mere 64 games out of first place.
• They managed to put together a three game winning streak during the season.  And they did it twice!
• The star of the team was first baseman Dale Alexander, who was traded in mid-June and hit .372 for the team, the fourth highest single-season batting average in Red Sox history.
• The starting second baseman, shortstop, and centerfielder combined for zero home runs.
• The starting shortstop was Rabbit Warstler, whose name sounds like what a redneck would call someone who tackles hares.  In any case, he hit .211 with 0 home runs, 34 RBI, and an astonishingly low OPS+ of 42.  But, at least his defense was good, right?  Except for those 41 errors that he made...
• In 1932, the team hit a combined total of 53 home runs.  Jimmie Foxx, first baseman for the A's, hit 58.
• The "ace" of the staff was Ed Durham, whose 3.80 ERA was lowest on the team.  However, he also had a 6-13 record.
• The leader in wins was Bob Kline, who went 11-13 as both a starter and reliever.
• Starting pitchers Gordon Rhodes and Danny MacFayden had a combined win-loss record of 2-18.

1949 Cy Young Awards

1949 American League - Mel Parnell, Boston Red Sox

25-7, 2.77 ERA, 122 K

As previously mentioned, the Cincinnati Reds are one of only two current teams that have existed since 1901 or earlier that have not yet had a pitcher win at least 200 games for them.  The other team is the Red Sox, whose all-time wins leaders are Cy Young and Roger Clemens, with 192 each.  Next comes Tim Wakefield with 186, and after that it drops steeply to 123, which is Mel Parnell's win total.  He didn't have a long career, but for five seasons from 1949 to 1953 he was one of the best pitchers in the league, and in 1949 he was the best.  He led the league in wins and innings pitched (295.1), which are two statistics that often go hand in hand.  However, he also finished second in ERA (to a pitcher with over 100 fewer innings), second in ERA+ (158), and second in winning percentage, behind teammate Ellis Kinder.  Everyone knows that 1949 was the year that kicked off the Yankees' first of five consecutive World Series titles, but even Red Sox fans tend to forget how good Boston was back then.  After winning the AL pennant in 1946, the Red Sox finished one game out of first place in both 1948 and 1949, and this year Mel Parnell and Ellis Kinder had a lot to do with the close finish; together they had a record of 48-13, but they ended up a game back of the Yankees.

1949 National League - Warren Spahn, Boston Braves

21-14, 3.07 ERA, 151 K

This was a tough call between Spahn and 1946 winner Howie Pollett, but I decided to give it to Spahn on the basis of his greater number of innings pitched (302.1 to Pollett's 230.2).  Pollett did have a better ERA, but Spahn pitched more innings, and he led the league in wins and strikeouts.  Overall, it was one of those years when nobody stood out as amazing, so it was more a matter of finding a pitcher who had a good balance of all of the stats.  Interestingly, although Spahn had a higher ERA, he had a lower WHIP at 1.221, and by far the most complete games (25).  As far as I know, this is the first year that there have been winners from both Boston teams, although it was the 1948 season when it was nearly a Boston v. Boston World Series; the Braves won the NL pennant in 1948, and the Red Sox lost a one-game playoff against the Indians.  They would never face each other in the World Series, though, neither before the Braves moved, nor since.

1942 Cy Young Awards

1942 American League - Tex Hughson, Boston Red Sox

22-6, 2.59 ERA, 133 K

This was the first year that World War II affected Major League Baseball, and in the AL this was evident by the fact that the two best pitchers in the league were Tex Hughson and Tiny Bonham, two otherwise mediocre pitchers who benefited greatly from the reduced talent pool.  Regardless though, Hughson was the better of the two (slightly), leading the league in wins and strikeouts, and finishing sixth in ERA.  However, he also led the league in innings pitched (281.0), and as I have mentioned before, I am more likely to defer to pitchers who have a slightly higher ERA but far more innings pitched.  He ended up finishing sixth in MVP voting, the second highest ranked pitcher just behind Bonham, but I think Hughson was probably the marginally better player; among other things, he led the league in WAR with 5.7, over Bonham's seventh place 3.7.  And for the record, Tiny Bonham was not exactly tiny; he was listed as 6'2" and 215 pounds.  Tex Hughson, however, was from Texas, so I'll give him extra credit for having a nickname that actually makes sense.


1942 National League - Mort Cooper, St. Louis Cardinals

22-7, 1.78 ERA, 152 K

Speaking of pitchers who benefited from the better players being away at war.  He was barely an above average player both before and after the war, but from 1942-1944, he looked like Walter Johnson.  He was an All Star twice in that period, finishing in the top 10 in MVP voting all three seasons, and in 1942 was voted the NL MVP.  He led the league in wins, ERA, ERA+ (192), shutouts (10), and WHIP (0.987), so there was little doubt that he was the best pitcher in the league, and the best in the majors in 1942.  He led the Cardinals to a World Series title, and he finished miles ahead of any other pitcher in MVP voting. 

1940 Cy Young Awards

1940 American League - Bob Feller, Cleveland Indians

27-11, 2.61 ERA, 261 K

Not much of a contest here; as good as Bob Feller was in 1939, he was even better in 1940, winning the Triple Crown easily, with six more wins, an ERA nearly a quarter run lower, and 97 more strikeouts than anyone else in the league.  Feller never won an MVP Award in his career, but 1940 was the closest he came, finishing second to Hank Greenberg.  It would end up being probably his best season, but he certainly had a lot that were very similar, and it's amazing to consider what he might have been capable of, had he not missed three and a half years of his prime due to his service in World War II.  After all, his best seasons came immediately before and after the war, so who knows what he could've done in between

1940 National League - Bucky Walters, Cincinnati Reds

22-10, 2.48 ERA, 115 K

This was a fairly close call between Walters and Chicago's Claude Passeau, but in the end I decided to give it to Walters because 1) his numbers in most major stats were slightly better, 2) he helped lead the Reds to their first World Series victory since 1919, and 3) the contemporary sportswriters clearly thought he was the better pitcher; he finished third in MVP voting, with Passeau in a distant 16th place.  Walters very nearly won his second consecutive Triple Crown; he led in wins and ERA, but finished fifth in strikeouts.  However, he also led in ERA+ (154), complete games (29), WHIP (1.092), and hits per 9 innings (7.112).  He went on to have a few more decent seasons after 1940, but his relatively late start in pitching (he didn't pitch regularly until he was 26) and fairly early decline (he never won more than 10 games in a season after the age of 35) meant that he is a borderline Hall of Famer, but it's unlikely he will ever be elected.

1936 Cy Young Awards

1936 American League - Lefty Grove, Boston Red Sox

17-12, 2.81 ERA, 130 K

I used to think that Bill James ranked Lefty Grove a bit too high when he put him as the #2 greatest pitcher of all time in his Baseball Abstract, but the more I look at just how dominant Grove was for so many years, I'm starting to think maybe James ranked him too low.  This is now the ninth time that I have ranked him as the best pitcher in the AL, and while the choice was not quite as clear-cut as other seasons, I think it's a pretty safe bet.  Grove was ranked 15th in MVP voting in 1936, behind two other pitchers.  However, it appears that a greater emphasis was placed on wins and winning percentage; Grove had a rather pedestrian record, but I think the more important stat is his league-leading 2.81 ERA, more than a half run lower than anyone else.  His ERA+ was 190, 41 points higher than anyone else.  He also pitched a league-leading six shutouts, but had the misfortune of playing on a mediocre sixth place Boston team.  So, the question may be whether he was the greatest AL pitcher in 1936, but I think an even better question is, is he the greatest pitcher ever?  Because I think the answer might be yes...


1936 National League - Carl Hubbell, New York Giants

26-6, 2.31 ERA, 123 K

There were some great pitching seasons in the NL in 1936; the winner the previous two seasons, Dizzy Dean, had another great season, and one of the greatest names in baseball history, Van Lingle Mungo, struck out an astonishing 248 batters.  However, Carl Hubbell was even better, leading the league in wins, ERA, winning percentage (.813), WHIP (1.059), and ERA+ (169), capturing the MVP Award over second place finisher Dizzy Dean.  It was his second MVP, and the fourth year in a row (out of five) that he finished in the top 10 for MVP voting, and he made his fourth of nine All-Star appearances on his way to a great Hall of Fame career.  He is generally considered to be one of the greatest screwball pitchers (as in pitchers who threw primarily a screwball, not pitchers who were screwballs, otherwise that award would probably go to Bill Lee), and according to Joe DiMaggio, he was the toughest pitcher he ever faced.

1935 Cy Young Awards

1935 American League - Lefty Grove, Boston Red Sox

20-12, 2.70 ERA, 121 K

With his eighth award, Lefty Grove now ties Christy Mathewson for the most that I have given out to one pitcher on this blog.  It was his first full season on his new team, the Boston Red Sox, and while his numbers after leaving Philadelphia were never quite the same, he was still the best pitcher in the league in 1935.  Along with leading the league in ERA (his sixth time doing so) by nearly a third of a run, he also finished first in WHIP (1.223), ERA+ (175), and WAR (7.7), and fourth in both wins and strikeouts.  Apparently, even pitching half of his games in hitter-friendly Fenway Park didn't hurt his ERA too much.

1935 National League - Dizzy Dean, St. Louis Cardinals

28-12, 3.04 ERA, 190 K

It wasn't quite the same as his 1934 season, but Dean still followed it up with another great one, leading the NL (by a lot) in wins in strikeouts, and finishing sixth in ERA (but third in ERA+ at 135).  After winning the MVP Award in 1934, he came in second this year to Gabby Harnett.  Much like Sandy Koufax 30 years later, Dean was a dominant pitcher for several years, but ended up with a Hall of Fame career that was severely shortened by injury; he played his last full MLB season at the age of 27 and was essentially done by the time he turned 30.  But, in the mid 1930's, he was better than anyone else.

Designated Winner

One baseball phenomenon that has always interested me is when position players are called upon to pitch.  It's relatively uncommon; typically it will only happen a few times a year.  Understandably so, because it's almost always preferable to use a legitimate professional pitcher instead of taking a huge chance either giving up a lot of runs and/or injuring a position player.  Consequently, position players who pitch are usually bench players, and they are usually used as pitchers for one of three reasons:

1. The team is so far behind that a comeback is virtually impossible; done to avoid wasting/potentially injuring relief pitchers on meaningless innings.
2. The team is completely out of viable pitchers and is essentially conceding defeat.
3. (Rarely) A team is trying out a position player as a potential pitcher, usually in a meaningless game or situation.

Because of this, it is even rarer to see two position players pitch in the same game on opposing teams.  In fact, it had not been done since 1925, until last night, at least.  In the situation in question, the Red Sox and Orioles were tied in the bottom of the 16th, with both teams having depleted their bullpens.  The Orioles chose to bring in designated hitter Chris Davis, who had no previous MLB pitching experience.  He pitched a scoreless inning, and in the top of the 17th, the Red Sox chose to bring in utility outfielder Darnell McDonald, who had all of one inning of MLB pitching experience, in a blowout game last year.  McDonald allowed three runs, and in the bottom of the 17th Chris Davis pitched another scoreless inning, becoming only the fourth position player since 1968 to win a MLB game.

The question is, was this a wise decision by Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine?  He obviously was out of arms in the bullpen, but would it have been unreasonable to bring in a starter to pitch a couple innings?  I had a hunch that it would have been a good idea, but I decided to take a closer look at the numbers.  After all, an extra inning game being pitched on one side by a professional pitcher and on the other side by a designated hitter should not have lasted much longer, right?

With the help of the Non-pitchers with pitching appearances page on Baseball Reference, I decided to take a look at what the results have been in the past when teams use position players to pitch.  I focused the list on just those who have played since 1968, and I removed as many as I could find who (like Rick Ankiel) were at one point considered MLB-caliber pitchers.  Here's what I found:

Win-Loss Record: 4-6

Games: 208
Games Started: 1
Games Finished: 190
Innings Pitched: 223.2
Earned Runs: 194
ERA: 7.81

Notice how the numbers confirm the fact that most position players are used in meaningless situations; in 208 appearances, only 10 have received decisions.  Furthermore, 190 of those 208 games were finished by the position player in question, presumably when the outcome had long-since been obvious.  So, what relevance does this have in last night's game?

Well, probably the best option for the Red Sox (in my opinion) would have been to pitch Felix Doubront, today's scheduled starter.  That would've affected today's game, but that's something that could've been sorted out later.  Granted, Doubront's 5.19 ERA so far this season doesn't inspire much confidence, but the odds certainly would have been in Boston's favor against the 7.81 average ERA of position players who pitch.  Instead, Bobby Valentine essentially evened the odds, presumably in the interest of maintaining the pitching matchup for today.  Meaning that he gave up a near-certain victory yesterday in order to have basically even odds at winning today.  Doesn't seem to make much sense to me.

1916 Cy Young Awards

1916 American League - Babe Ruth, Boston Red Sox

 23-12, 1.75 ERA, 170 K

People tend to forget that before Babe Ruth was a great hitter, he was a great pitcher.  His pitching career was essentially over once he was sold to New York, but in the meantime he helped Boston win the World Series in 1915, 1916, and 1918.  His 1916 season was definitely his best in terms of pitching though; he led the league in ERA, hits per 9 innings (6.396), shutouts (9), and ERA+ (158).  He was also second in WAR (7.4 to Walter Johnson's 7.8), and third in wins and strikeouts.  It could be argued that Johnson was as good as Ruth, but Ruth's lower ERA gives him the advantage.  It has been argued that, had he not been moved to the outfield, Ruth might have ended up in the Hall of Fame as a pitcher.  We'll never know for sure; he could've just as easily blown his arm out in 1920 and been yet another "no-name pitcher" who happened to have one good season.

1916 National League - Grover Cleveland Alexander, Philadelphia Phillies

33-12, 1.55 ERA, 167 K

For the second year in a row, not only was Grover Cleveland Alexander the best pitcher in the NL; he was a Triple Crown winner for the second year in a row.  However, perhaps most impressive of all was his 16 shutouts.  Not only did he tie a MLB record that will likely never be broken; he pitched ten more shutouts than anyone else in the NL in 1916.  By way of comparison, Roy Halladay is the active MLB leader in career shutouts, with 20.  It took Halladay 291 starts to pitch 16 shutouts; in 1916, it took Alexander 45 starts to do so, meaning he did not give up a single run in 35% of his starts.  With that many shutouts, it's amazing that his ERA was even as high as 1.55.  The only other pitcher to throw 16 shutouts in a season was George Bradley, way back when the NL was first founded in 1876.  In the modern era, the next highest single-season total is 13, set by Jack Coombs in 1910 and Bob Gibson in 1968, and the most in the past 20 years is Cliff Lee, with 6 last year.

1914 Cy Young Awards

1914 American League - Dutch Leonard. Boston Red Sox

19-5, 0.96 ERA, 176 K

Walter Johnson, the winner in the previous two years, had another good season in 1914, but there was no way it could possibly compare to how well Dutch Leonard pitched.  No pitcher in modern baseball history (since 1893) has won the ERA title with an earned run average of less than 1.00.  None, except for Dutch Leonard, of course.  Only Tim Keefe in 1880 had a lower ERA (0.86), and it was in only 105 innings - less than half of the number that Leonard pitched (224.2).  Since the pitchers mound was moved to its current location 60'6" from home plate though, the closest anyone has come to Leonard's record was Mordecai Brown in 1906, when he had an ERA of 1.04.  Leonard's ERA was 0.74 runs lower than anyone else, and his ERA+  of 279 was over 100 points higher than anyone else and the third best of all-time (behind Keefe in 1880 and Pedro Martinez in 2000).  In addition, he led the league in WHIP (0.886), hits per 9 innings (5.568; 6th all-time), strikeouts per 9 innings (7.050), and finished second in shutouts, pitching 7 in 25 starts.  He didn't rank as high in counting stats like wins because he pitched fewer innings than some of the leaders (he pitched 224.2, compared to Walter Johnson's 371.2) but he was so dominating that nobody else even came close to being as valuable to their team as he was.  Apparently the MVP voters in 1914 agreed as well - although he finished a dismal 16th place, it was higher than any other pitcher.  It was definitely the high point of his career, though.  Despite helping Boston win three World Series titles in the four years following his 1914 season, he never again had an ERA that was even under 2.00 (something that was not at all uncommon in the early 20th century) and his ERA+ never went above 123 again.  After Boston, he spent his remaining five seasons as a moderately effective starter in Detroit.


1914 National League - Bill James, Boston Braves

26-7, 1.90 ERA, 156 K

No, not that Bill James.  I had never even heard of this particular Bill James before I started doing research on the 1914 season.  And there isn't much reason why I would have heard of him; unique among all of the pitchers that I've featured so far, his Retroactive Cy Young Award winning season was also his only full season in the majors. However, he was certainly effective, finishing second in wins and ERA (and ERA+ with 150), fifth in strikeouts, and first in winning percentage and WAR.  There were other pitchers who did well in 1914, but overall James was the best.  His successful season didn't come in vain either; he was the ace of the "Miracle Braves."  In early July, the Braves were 26-40 and in last place; they then went 70-19 for the rest of the season and won the pennant by 10.5 games, and beat the A's in the World Series, for the only title that the Braves won while in Boston.  It was his second year in the majors, and his first full season (he pitched 135.2 innings in 24 games in 1913), but the next year he pitched just 68.1 ineffective innings, and other than a one game stint in 1919, was out of the majors after that.  As far as one hit wonders go, it was a pretty good season though.  In addition to winning my Retroactive Cy Young Award, he finished third in MVP voting (the real one), behind two of his teammates, Hall of Famers Johnny Evers and Rabbit Maranville, making James the highest-ranked pitcher in the league.

1914 Federal League - Claude Hendrix, Chicago Chi-Feds

29-10, 1.69 ERA, 189 K

 The Federal League was the most recent "third league" to compete with the AL and NL, playing for two seasons from 1914 to 1915.  In 1914, their best pitcher was Claude Hendrix of Chicago's unusually-named Chi-Feds (which were renamed the Chicago Whales the next season).  The Chi-Feds played at a brand-new ballpark named Weeghman Park, which was later sold to the Cubs after the Federal League folded and renamed Wrigley Field.  Hendrix, who had previously pitched for the Pirates, was the winning pitcher in the first game ever played at the ballpark, and in 1914 he led the league in wins, ERA, games pitched (49), and complete games (34).  He also finished second in WHIP (0.934), WAR (9.2), and third in strikeouts and shutouts (6).  It would be by far the best season of his career though; the following year his ERA was significantly under the league average (ERA+ of 93), and after the Federal League folded he spent his last three years in the majors with the Cubs as a moderately effective if unspectacular starter.

1903 Cy Young Awards

1903 American League - Cy Young, Boston Americans

28-9, 2.08 ERA, 176 K

This was a close call between Young and Cleveland's Earl Moore.  Moore led the league in ERA by a decent margin, 1.74 to Young's second-place 2.08, and led the league in hits per 9 innings.  However, Young pitched a league-leading 341.2 innings, nearly 100 more than Moore.  He also led the league in wins (28, 8 more than Moore), win-loss percentage (.757), complete games (34), and shutouts (7).  He also placed ahead of Moore in both WHIP (finishing second to Addie Joss with 0.969 walks & hits per inning) and strikeouts, and he helped lead Boston to victory against the Pirates in the first World Series.  This is now the third consecutive year that, in my opinion, Young has been the best pitcher in the league, and the fifth time in his career that I have retroactively gave him the award that is named for him.


1903 National League - Christy Mathewson, New York Giants

30-13, 2.26 ERA, 267 K

This year there was situation in the NL similar to what happened in the AL; one pitcher (in this case Pittsburgh's Sam Leever) had a fairly low ERA (2.06 to Mathewson's second-place 2.26), but also pitched nearly 100 fewer innings.  As I have said before, I believe that a pitcher with a slightly higher ERA but far more innings pitched is more valuable than the one with the slightly lower ERA but far fewer innings pitched.  In this case, future Hall of Fame pitcher Christy Mathewson had an impressive season, finishing second in ERA, hits per 9 innings (7.886), innings pitched (366.1), and WAR (8.9).  Although he did not lead in any of those categories, nobody else finished in the top three for each of them.  However, possibly the most impressive thing about Mathewson's season was his strikeout totals.  Normally, I don't like to put too much emphasis on strikeout totals; just because a pitcher is capable of striking out a lot of batters doesn't necessarily make him a great pitcher.  However, not only was Mathewson a great pitcher in 1903, but he also had extraordinary strikeout totals; his 267 strikeouts led the league by nearly 100, and he was by far the leader in strikeouts per 9 innings, averaging a little over 6.5 every 9 innings.  Overall, Sam Leever and other pitchers, such as the Giants' Joe McGinnity, had impressive seasons, but I believe that, even excluding strikeouts completely, Christy Mathewson was the best in the league.

1902 Cy Young Awards

1902 American League - Cy Young, Boston Americans

32-11, 2.15 ERA, 160 K

This one was a close call between Young and Philadelphia's Rube Waddell.  Waddell had a slightly better ERA (2.05 to 2.15), a better win-loss record, more strikeouts (he led the league, and young finished a distant second), and a marginally better WHIP (1.042 to 1.048).  However, there were several factors that gave Young the advantage: he led the league in wins by 8 over the second-place Waddell, and he led the league in innings pitched, with over 100 more than Waddell.  I have said it before, but I believe that if two pitchers have similar stats, but one has slightly better average stats (like ERA), but the other has substantially more innings pitched, the award should go to the one with more innings.  After all, I feel that someone who provides his team with 384.2 innings pitched with a 2.15 ERA is more valuable than someone who pitches 276.1 innings with a 2.05 ERA.  That's of course not to take anything away from Waddell; he certainly had a strong season, but in the end I believe Young's was superior.

1902 National League - Jack Taylor, Chicago Orphans

23-11, 1.29 ERA, 88 K

Compared to most of the other pitchers who have been featured here as the best of each year, Jack Taylor is a relatively unknown pitcher today.  However, his performance during the 1902 season certainly earned him a spot here and a retroactive Cy Young Award.  His win total wasn't impressive - he finished fourth in the league - and he didn't even come close to the top 10 in strikeouts, but his ERA set him far above everyone else in terms of overall performance.  This season was in the midst of a stretch from 1901 to 1906 when he started 107 games, and completed all 107 of them.  Among his 34 starts/complete games in 1902 were 8 shutouts, tying him for the lead league.  In addition, his ERA+ was far above the rest of the league at 209, with 100 being league average.  There were certainly plenty of other great pitchers in the NL in 1902, some of whom exceeded Taylor in strikeouts, hits per 9 innings, etc. but what Taylor did far better than anyone else was the ultimate goal of any pitcher - to avoid giving up runs.  And that was something that he did very well at in 1902.