1920 BBW Replay World Series and Conclusion

After a rambunctious and topsy-turvy regular season, it was time for the 1920 BBW Replay World Series. Last year's combatants, the Chicago White Sox and the Cincinnati Reds will reprise their roles as their respective league champions. A letter signed by both league presidents stated the order and dates of games would be the same as last season, so Cincinnati would be the home team for games one through three, followed by a travel day, and then Chicago would host the final four (as needed).

Besides just pennant races, a lot had happened over this previous year. While Cincinnati had won the 1919 World Series, in just the past week they had learned that Chicago may have thrown the World Series to the benefit of gamblers. The Reds were convinced they were good enough to have won it to begin with, but now, doubt had been cast on the population at large, and the Reds knew they needed to get this win now to if nothing else, restore their own reputation.

 

Baseball and the World Series were pretty important in 1920, but now with a gambling scandal thrown in the middle of it, the whole country has cast their eyes upon Cincinnati and Game One, so that could only mean it was time to play …

 

Tuesday, October 5, 1920 - Game One

 

Chicago (AL) 4 Cincinnati (H) 2 (17)

 

The 1920 World Series got started with a seventeen-inning nail-biter, with both starters - Chicago's Red Faber and Cincinnati's Dutch Ruether, going fifteen innings but neither getting a decision.

 

Ray Schalk

The White Sox got on the board first when Ray Schalk sliced a two-out two-run double down the right-field line to score Amos Strunk and Hervey McClellan with the first two runs of the game. The Reds cut into that lead in the bottom of the fourth when Morrie Rath singled, stole second, and then scored easily on a single from Jake Daubert.

 

There the score stayed until the bottom of the eighth when Ruether was allowed to remain in the game, and he showed his appreciation by slapping a double to right-center. Rath sacrificed Ruether to third, and then Ruether scored when Daubert hit a fly ball that was caught at the wall, deep enough for Ruether to score with ease and to tie the game at 2-2.

 

Nobody knew it yet, but the game was only half-over at this point and both teams flashed their defensive prowess to hold off the other. The Reds bunted into three double plays and Heinie Groh was caught stealing in the thirteenth inning in a bang-bang play at home, but the White Sox hit into three double plays in the game to kill scoring opportunities for the visitors.

 

In the top of the seventeenth, now facing Hod Eller (0-1, 9.00), Chicago got on the board when Schalk came through again, this time with a run-scoring two-out single. Roy Wilkinson (1-0, 0.00), having earlier relieved Faber, then added an insurance run when his sharp single to left center plated Schalk to give the White Sox a 4-2 lead. Wilkinson put two Reds runners on base in the bottom half of the inning but then got a pop-up and an easy fly-ball to end the game.

 

Wednesday, October 6, 1920 - Game Two

 

Chicago (AL) 4 Cincinnati (H) 3 (10)

 

Another extra-inning affair, another road win, another nail-biter, and another White Sox victory to give the White Sox a 2-0 lead. Dickey Kerr (1-0, 3.60) went all the way for the win, although he was forced to pitch out of several critical situations to earn the victory.

 

Dickey Kerr

The Reds scored first when Jake Daubert tripled in the third and was then bunted home by Heinie Groh for the early 1-0 lead. That didn’t last long though as Chicago scored three times in the top of the sixth to take a 3-1 lead. Ted Jourdan singled, was bunted to second, and then one out later Bibb Falk stroked a two-out triple to tie the game up at 1-1. Dolf Luque then loaded the bases with an HBP and a walk and Ray Schalk, the hero of game one, came through again, this time with a two-run single to give Chicago a 3-1 lead.

Groh and Edd Roush started off the bottom half of the sixth with singles and Pat Duncan drove home Groh to keep Cincinnati in the game, but Kerr buckled down and got through the rest of the inning with no more damage.

 

Chicago kept up the pressure when Jourdan singled in the top of the seventh, and Eddie Collins tried to scoot him over with a hit-and-run. The batted ball was an easy bouncer back to the mound, Luque fielded it cleanly and saw that he couldn't get the runner at second, so instead he went to first and proceeded to throw the ball down the right field line. Jourdan came all the way around to score and the White Sox now owned a 4-2 lead in the middle of the seventh.

 

In the bottom of the seventh Nick Allen batted for Luque and singled to start the inning. Allen moved to second on an infield out, and following a fly out, Groh singled home Allen to cut the lead to 4-3. Again Kerr was able to get through the remainder of the inning without further issue.

 

Cincinnati finally tied the game at 4-4 in the bottom of the eighth when Duncan dribbled a single to left, went to second on a sacrifice bunt, and then scored on an Earle "Greasy" Neale single. And, as before, Kerr was able to pitch out of trouble and the game moved on. Neither team scored in the ninth and we were off to extra-innings for the second game in a row.

 

The White Sox wasted no time as Amos Strunk singled to lead off the top of the tenth, he was then sacrificed to second, and Schalk did it again when he singled home Strunk to give Chicago a 4-3 lead. Kerr wasted no time either as he shut down the Reds 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning to give the White Sox a 2-0 lead in the World Series.

 

Ray Schalk went 5-for-11 in the first two games and drove in six runs to give him the early lead in the MVP voting.

 

Thursday, October 7, 1920 - Game Three

 

The Cincinnati fans were desperate as now the "crippled" White Sox had won Games One and Two of the World Series in Crosley Field and with the final four games (as needed) to be played in Chicago, they needed a win right now at home to be able to salvage any opportunity at consecutive titles, plus maybe a little revenge. With their two best starters out of the way, Chicago planned to start Roy Wilkinson, a reliever all season but pressed into service as a starter today because he had the most experience, while spitballer Ray Fisher was to take the mound for the Reds.

 

Chicago may not have expected to have been up 2-0 at this point of the series, but they wanted to press their luck and got off to a hot start in Game Three. Eddie Murphy walked to start off the top of the first, was sacrificed to second by Ted Jourdan, and then moved to third on an infield out. John "Shano" Collins then slapped a two-out single to left and the White Sox were up 1-0. Bibb Falk followed with a single to put runners on first and second, and then Amos Strunk singled home Collins to put Chicago up 2-0.

 

As had happened in the earlier games, Cincinnati came right back to keep it close. Jake Daubert drew a one-out walk, advanced to second on an infield out, and Edd Roush provided a two-out single to score Daubert and make the score 2-1. There the score stayed until the bottom of the fifth when Ivey Wingo singled, was sacrificed to second by Fisher, and one out later Daubert singled him home to tie the score at 2-2.

 

And then things got interesting. Eddie Collins started off the top of the sixth with a single, stole second, and then scored on a Shano Collins double. Falk hit an easy fly to left, but Pat Duncan muffed it, leaving the White Sox with runners on first and third. A sacrifice fly off the bat of Strunk scored Shano Collins and made the score 4-2, but then light-hitting Hervey McClellan tripled home Strunk and suddenly the White Sox were up 5-2. Before things got out of hand Hod Eller was brought in to relieve Fisher, but Eller got touched when Ray Schalk hit a sacrifice fly to score McClellan, Schalk's seventh RBI of the series.

 

With time starting to run out the Reds finally put on their hitting shoes. Roush singled to lead off the inning, and Duncan walked right behind him. A fielder's choice saw Roush thrown out at third, but Greasy Neale then singled home Duncan, and that was followed by another run-scoring single, this one off the bat of Wingo, making the score 6-4 and with only one out in the inning and runners on first and third.

 

Clarence "Shovel" Hodge was called upon to relieve Wilkinson while Cincinnati called upon Charlie See to pinch-hit for Eller. It wasn't much, but See's infield chopper scored Neale from third and allowed Wingo to advance to second, the score now being 6-5 with the top of the Reds lineup coming to bat. Dodge got the third out and the game moved into the seventh with the White Sox leading by one.

 

Buddy Napier took the mound for Cincinnati and Murphy led off the seventh with a single, was sacrificed to second, and following a strikeout Shano Collins hit a bouncer to third that bounced off Groh's glove for an E5 and Murphy came around to score, Chicago now up 7-5.

 

Hodge and Napier finished strong and neither got into any more trouble. Hodge pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to secure the win for Wilkinson and Chicago found itself up 3-0 and returning home for the World Series finale. Reds fans were noticeably disconsolate, while White Sox fans crowded Union Station the next morning to welcome home their newfound heroes.

 

Saturday, October 9, 1920 - Game Four

 

Chicago (AL) 4 Cincinnati 3 (11)

 

The series resumed in Chicago, with the Cincinnati team looking a bit shell-shocked as they got off the train at Union Station yesterday morning, trailing the hometown White Sox 3-0. The Reds had fought so hard for this opportunity, they were expected to win, especially with the White Sox team decimated by the suspensions and banishment of the eight players responsible for the Black Sox scandal of last year's World Series, and now they saw their hopes slipping through their fingers.

 

Reds manager Pat Moran had been brutally honest with his charges, reminding them they weren't going to win four games at once, but rather they were going to have to win one game at a time, so all they could do now was to start today. White Sox manager Kid Gleason had told his team from the start that they had the pitching to get them through and so far their strategy had worked, so he instructed them to keep it up and to "let's close this thing out."

 

Today's pitchers were a repeat of the Game One hurlers, Red Faber for Chicago and Dutch Ruether for Cincinnati. After a scoreless first, Pat Duncan knocked a one-out single and was then promptly moved along to third when Larry Kopf singled behind him. While trying to induce a ground ball Faber accidentally got a pitch up in the zone and Greasy Neale made it a 3-0 game when he deposited the pitch in the right field stands for a three-run homerun (the first homerun of the series).

 

Both pitchers then went to work as Ruether didn’t give up a hit to the White Sox until the sixth and Faber matched him pitch-for-pitch, not allowing the Reds to expand that three-run lead. Chicago finally got on the board in the eighth. Eddie Murphy led off the bottom of the eighth with a single but then proceeded to get himself picked off first. Ted Jourdan singled and was then moved along to second on an infield out. Shano Collins lined a two-out single down the line to score Jourdan, and the White Sox were finally on the board with Collins ending up on second base during the throw home. Bibb Falk then blooped a single into short right, but it was enough to chase Falk home and make the score 3-2 in Cincinnati's advantage. Ruether got out of the inning with no further damage, but the White Sox faithful had now been aroused.

 

Eddie Murphy

The Reds went scoreless in the top of the ninth, but the White Sox got off to a good start when Hervey McClellan singled to start off the inning. He was then sacrificed to second, and Kid Gleason, sensing a chance at a victory to end this thing entirely, sent up Byrd Lynn to pitch-hit for Faber. Lynn could only pop up for out #2, leaving things up to lead-off hitter Murphy. Murphy wasted no time and singled to right, scoring McClellan and tying the game up a 3-3. A dejected Ruether got the third out with no more runs coming home, and it was off to extra innings for the third time in four games.

With Faber now out of the game, Roy Wilkinson came in out of the bullpen to take his place. Wilkinson already had two of the three White Sox wins, so he had earned himself the title of a good luck charm for the White Sox. The tenth inning went by quickly with no runs scored by either team, and Cincinnati went scoreless in the top of the eleventh as well.

 

Ray Schalk led off the bottom of the eleventh with a walk, #8 given up by Ruether, and Wilkinson successfully bunted Schalk over the second. Lead-off hitter Murphy wasted no time as he slapped the first pitch he saw into right and scored Schalk with the game-winner, and just like that, Chicago had improbably swept all four games from their NL counterparts to claim an even more improbable World Series victory.

 

It was later said that at that moment an eerie silence settled over the city of Chicago, followed by a cacophony of yells, screams, train whistles, car horns, and boat horns heard even on the north side of the city. A World Series victory, and under the most unbelievable conditions any baseball fan could imagine. Unofficially, prohibition was suspended for one night in Chicago, although no one would ever admit to having permitted such a thing.

 

There was a fervent discussion in the press box as the game ended: who was the World Series MVP? In a four-game series, the stats are compressed and the opportunities for greatness are minimized, so the primary choices were:

 

Eddie Murphy played 23 games in the outfield and three games at third base during the regular season as Murphy spent most of the season as a left-handed swinging pinch-hitter. Murphy did end the season with a .300 average, but his three appearances at third base all came on the final three days of the season, so how would he react when given the opportunity to man the hot corner in the World Series? Murphy went 5-for-23 (.217) in the lead-off spot, handled fourteen defensive chances without an error, but came through with two crucial Game Four hits - he had tied the game in the bottom of the ninth and then he had singled home the game-winner in the eleventh.

 

Ray Schalk caught 150 games during the season, hit .301, and handled the arguably best pitching staff in the AL. In the World Series, Schalk accumulated seven RBI's in the first three games of the series to spark the White Sox to a quick 3-0 lead. Schalk also cut off the Cincinnati running game, a major portion of the Reds attack during the regular season.

 

Roy Wilkinson

Roy Wilkinson made a dozen starts early in the regular season, along with twenty-one relief appearances, but with two of their regular starting pitchers no longer available, Chicago allowed Wilkinson to make a start in Game Three. Wilkinson had picked up a win in relief in Game One, the seventeen-inning mail-biter, and while his Game Three start Wilkinson wasn't necessarily impressive, he did pick up his second win of the series regardless. He went five-plus innings in his start, so when a reliever was needed in Game Four Wilkinson answered the call again the White Sox came through and Wilkinson had his third win in the four-game series.

After much deliberation, the decision to give Ray Schalk the MVP award. Maybe it was because of his regular season record, or maybe it was a thanks for noting having gotten involved in the Black Sox scandal, but these crucial RBI's in the first three games were more than enough.

 

White Sox fans may have eagerly looked forward to the next season, but White Sox management (and the rest of the AL), knew this group would be lucky to finish the 1921 season with sixty wins, so now that the season was over it was time for the White Sox brain trust to get busy and see what they could do to bolster the team in preparation for the upcoming season.

 

1920 BBW Replay Conclusion

 

This 1920 BBW Replay turned out to be a bit of a surprise for me. I was looking forward to Babe Ruth's first year with the Yankees, there were a myriad of Hall-of-Fame players I wanted to see, and I wanted to see how the whole Black Sox scandal would play out. What I didn't count on was such an exciting pennant race in both leagues, followed by what would likely qualify as the biggest upset in World Series history. All in all, a very exciting and enjoyable replay.

 

So what is next? My next replay will be 1967, but I haven’t decided on whether it will be done using APABGO and BBW. No hurry (said the retired guy). Before that, I want to write up a summary of my 1901-1911-1920-1930-1942-1949-1957 replay arc. Based on my experience gained from these replays I have also compiled a list of things to consider for those wanting to do a replay, so I need to finish that as well.

 

Obviously, I enjoy doing replays, and I enjoy sharing my results as well. Thanks to all who have followed me and offered questions, critiques, or comments. Now, let's go play …

 

1920 BBW Replay End of Season Team-by-Team Review

American League

Chicago (Replay: 98-56, Actual: 96-58, +2)

 

The 1920 White Sox were a very good team and worthy of repeating as AL champions, but mostly they were tenacious. They were stuck in second place for most of the season, perched right on New York's tail, but never faltered in their pennant quest. Twice during the season, they caught and passed New York, even if only for a few days, only to see the Yankees regain the top spot, but with a month to go in the season they seized the top spot a third time and this time they were able to hold off furious rally attempts from both New York and Cleveland to claim the AL title for the second consecutive year.

 

Chicago led the league in Team ERA (2.95) and Team fielding percentage (.987) and was third in hitting (.295) and runs scored (729). Offensively, the White Sox offense was anchored by Eddie Collins (.340) and Shoeless Joe Jackson (.390), but the real offensive MVP in the replay was Buck Weaver. Weaver actually hit .331, but he got off to a red-hot start and hit in the .380's for most of the season, and occasionally flirted with .400 over the course of the season, and finished at .386. Weaver also led the team in RBI's with 121, just ahead pf Jackson (117) and Happy Felsch (116), and Weaver finished second on the team in runs scored (103), trailing only Collins (118). Jackson led the league with 50 doubles, ahead of Felsch, although Felsch (.338) led the team in homeruns (16), just ahead of Jackson (12).

 

Right fielder Nemo Leibold batted leadoff in front of all this firepower, even though Leibold only hit .206 and had an OBP of .273. I realize the concept of Sabermetrics was still some sixty years away, but even then, someone must have had the thought that perhaps catcher Ray Schalk (BA: .301 OBP: .399) might have been a better choice.

 

The real strength of the White Sox might have been their pitching. They were in a protracted battle all season long for the ERA title, but they never blinked and finally came out ahead at the end of the season. Red Faber (25-15, 2.03), Eddie Cicotte (23-8, 2.60), Lefty Williams (20-18, 4.02), and Dickey Kerr (19-7, 2.51) combined for 87 of Chicago's 98 wins and totaled 98 complete games, and most importantly, they kept their team in every game. Kerr had won two games for the White Sox in the 1919 World Series, but started off the season working out of the bullpen and making occasional spot starts, but once moved into the rotation he was rock solid, only failing to reach the twenty wins mark when he couldn’t get a win in his two starts during the final week of the season. Cicotte threw the second of two AL no-hitters on 08/21/1920 versus Washington.

 

The Black Sox scandal came to a head when eight players were indicted on the final Monday of the regular season. Chicago had already clinched the AL pennant just the day before, a possibility I had pondered before the replay started. I had previously stated that if this exact situation did occur, the White Sox would play in the World Series as the AL representative, using whatever unsuspended players that remained. The White Sox did have three more games after the suspensions, so there is a lineup template to be followed.

 

Still, after having had such a great season, it was a shame to see such a great team effectively dismantled and such a great legacy effectively just trashed. Baseball obviously recovered and life went on, but this blot on history still remains.

 

New York (R: 97-57, A: 95-59, +2)

 

The Yankees did go to the World Series in 1921, 1922, and 1923, so 1920 was supposed to be a year to early, the year needed to prepare the team for their run of pennants and beyond. The first step was to bring in Babe Ruth, a move that made an immediate impact. Ruth had set the new homerun record the previous year with 29, he actually hit out 54 in 1920, and finished with 61 in the replay. Ruth was also second in hitting (.399), led in runs (150) and RBI's (156), and was third in doubles (45). Ruth also led in walks (146) and strikeouts (84). All that adds up to 115 total extra-base hits, with a total of 427 total bases - a phenomenal season by any standards.

 

Having played the entire season, it appeared the replay pitchers figured out about halfway through the season that it was less painful to semi-intentionally walk Ruth than to let him actually bat. But the one thing that really made Ruth the AL MVP was that very few of those homeruns were wasted. Whether getting the Yankees the early lead or cementing a close win late in the game, Ruth's clutch ability was tremendous.

 

As a team, the Yankees finished sixth in the AL in team hitting (.265), but not only did Ruth have more homeruns than any team (Cleveland was second in the AL with 57 and New York led the NL with 60), but the remainder of the Yankees team hit a total of 67 homeruns all by themselves. Whether it was Ruth's example or the friendly confines of the Polo Grounds, New York ended fourth in runs scored (721), just eight behind Chicago.

 

New York finished second in Team ERA (3.13) and threw a league-leading 27 shutouts, five more than Chicago. Bob Shawkey (24-9. 1.92), Carl Mays (27-12, 2.68), and Jack Quinn (20-7, 2.12) led the Yankees pitching corps. New York spent most of the season residing in first place and leading the league in ERA, but they didn’t have much help in the rotation after these three, something they would rectify before next season.

 

Cleveland (R: 95-59, A: 98-56, -3)

 

Cleveland actually won the World Series in 1920, but problems with the backend of their pitching rotation ultimately doomed them in this replay. The Indians weren't helpless - they led the AL in hitting (.299) and in runs scored (786), but they settled into third place early and even though they made several attempts to move up in the standings, both Chicago and New York always managed to hold them off.

 

Player-manager Tris Speaker (.388, 120 RBI's) led the Cleveland offense, and was supplemented by Larry Gardner (.308, 122 RBI's), and Elmer Smith (.298, 98 RBI's). Ray Chapman (.284) was hit in the head by a pitched ball on 08/16/1920 and died the following day, and the Indians lost the next five games. Joe Sewell (.342) soon came up from the minors to replace him and immediately endeared himself to the fans by providing several key hits and serving as a spark plug on their final late season push for the pennant on his way eventually to the Hall of Fame.

 

Jim Bagby (27-10, 2.54), Stan Coveleski (27-9, 3.08), and Ray Caldwell (17-12, 3.51) led the Cleveland pitching staff to a 3.68 team ERA, good for fourth place in the AL. Late in the season Duster Mails (7-1, 1.52) joined with Sewell to help lead their late season surge, but before Mails pitchers Elmer Myers (3-3, 4.05) and Guy Morton (1-12, 7.70) had failed to lock down the fourth spot in the Indians rotation and placed Cleveland square behind the eight ball.

 

St. Louis (R: 78-75, A: 76-77, +2)

 

The "Big Browns Machine" finished second in hitting (.298) and second in runs scored (751) as they rumbled their way to a winning record and fourth place. Unfortunately for St. Louis, their offense was often a hot and cold thing, but when they were hot, they could really pound the baseball, and no one was safe from their wrath.

 

The St. Louis outfield consisted of Baby Doll Jacobson (.375), Jack Tobin (.332), and Ken Williams (.296), who hit a combined .335 as a unit. And right there in the midst of these three was George Sisler, who led the league with a .433 average. Sisler led the league in hits (269), was second in runs (134), and was tied with teammate Jacobson with 133 RBI's. Sisler finished second in total bases (416) and extra-base hits (88), finishing behind Ruth (as you might expect).

 

Where St. Louis suffered was in the pitching department as they finished seventh in the AL with a 4.27 ERA. Urban Shocker (21-7, 2.59), Dixie Davis (19-10, 3.30), and Bill Bayne (9-4, 3.35) led the way, but their success only makes the rest of the staff look that much worse. To their credit, St. Louis management was willing to look at different players and by the end of the season eighteen different pitchers stepped up to toe the rubber for the Browns.

 

Washington (R: 71-81, A: 68-84, +3)

 

Washington spent the first half of the season tangling with St. Louis as both teams swapped fourth and fifth place in the standings as both teams fought to keep their win/loss percentage above .500. St. Louis succeeded on both counts, but injuries during the second half of the season mounted up and the Senators simply couldn't maintain. However, like St. Louis, neither team was an instant win for the better teams to pick on. Wins had to be earned and opposition teams had to fight for their wins. Washington finished fourth in ERA (4.14) and sixth in team batting average (.278), good enough for fifth place.

 

Sam Rice (.342, 58 steals) and Bucky Harris (.305) led the offensive charge for the Senators, but second half injuries to Joe Judge (.386) and Clyde Milan (.252) created gaps in the Washington offense that were hard to overcome. Multiple injuries at third base and shortstop eventually forced Washington to resurrect 39-year-old third base coach George McBride (.270) to take to the field for a few weeks until they could get some of their regulars back out there.

 

Walter Johnson (8-7, 2.92) came out of spring training with a sore arm, which required him to sporadically miss starts, and eventually he was shut down for the remainder of the season with the final third of a season remaining. During the 1920 season Johnson still managed to throw a no-hitter, despite his arm issues. Tom Zachary (21-13, 3.94) and Eric Erickson (15-10, 3.46) stepped up and did as best as they could, but with no help forthcoming Washington started bringing in additional bodies to see if they could find anyone worth keeping.

 

Boston (R: 64-89, A: 72-81, -8)

 

It's hard to imagine that Boston went to the World Series in 1918, just two years previous. I suppose it's also hard to imagine they would trade away Babe Ruth in the first place, but what was left after the trade was pretty bleak. Boston finished seventh in team hitting (.253), but did manage to finish third in Team ERA (3.66), just ahead of Cleveland. Boston finished the season with only 22 homeruns, which matched the number they actually hit in the 1920 season.

 

The Boston offense was led by Harry Hooper (.313, 20 triples), Wally Schang (.314, 8 homeruns), and Stuffy McInnis (.305, 45 sacrifice hits). Everett Scott (.231, SS10), who was in the middle of his 1307 consecutive games played streak (link), chipped in as well. The Red Sox had trouble finding a permanent replacement and second, third, and center field

 

Herb Pennock (16-15, 3.00), Sad Sam Jones (10-20, 4.59), and Bullet Joe Bush (10-21, 4.59) anchored the Red Sox rotation, with Harry Harper (11-10, 2.96) helping out with spot starts and bullpen duties. Of course, Pennock and Waite Hoyt (4-8, 4.89) would soon find their way to the Yankees and eventually into Cooperstown, so this was just the start of a long drought for Boston fans.

 

Detroit (R: 58-96, A: 61-93, -3)

 

Detroit had finished in third place in 1919 with a 80-60 record (shortened season because of the war) and was looking forward to another successful season in 1920, but it was not to be. Pitching problems, the team was unsettled at several positions, and injuries all kept the Tigers at the back of the pack. And if things hadn’t gone bad enough to begin with, they finished the replay with a fourteen-game losing streak. The Tigers finished fifth in team hitting (.268) and sixth in runs scored (626), but their league worst ERA (4.31) really put them in a hole.

 

Ty Cobb (.302) was hitting in the .330 for most of the first half of the season, but then he twisted his knee in an outfield collision and missed three weeks. After two weeks back he then missed another two-week period, and he then spent the remainder of the season fighting to keep his average over .300. Bobby Veach (.325, 118 RBI's) and Harry Heilmann (.346, 98 RBI's) tried to fill the void, and lead-off hitter Ralph Young 9.268) finished second in the league with 90 walks while, right behind him in the lineup, Donie Bush (.280) had 48 sacrifice hits.

 

Howard Ehmke (12-21, 3.18), Doc Ayers (11-11, 3.44), and Hooks Dauss (11-20, 4.28) occasionally pitched well, but were often betrayed by a lack of offensive support. Dutch Leonard (7-18, 5.46) got hammered way too often until he was finally sat down for the final month of the season.

 

Philadelphia (R: 53-101, A: 48-106, +5)

 

Philadelphia was on the middle of a Connie Mack rebuilding decade and they looked it. They didn't get any draft picks for having the worst record, so they had to do all this one their own. They did bring up Jimmy Dykes and Eddie Rommel to mark the official start of the bringing in the pieces of the team that would dominate the AL by the end of the decade.

 

The A's finished last in hitting (.239) in the AL but finished fifth in team ERA (3.87), although Philadelphia did give up 138 unearned runs on the season, and Philadelphia finished last in team fielding. Jumping Joe Dugan (.311) and Cy Perkins (.278) led the offense, but Tillie Walker (.247, 14 homeruns) was a bit of a disappointment.  Behind these guys, the A's were rolling through players being given their big-league opportunity, but when these players didn’t work out Mack wasn't afraid to reach out and give someone else their chance.

 

Rollie Naylor (11-20. 3.27) and Scott Perry (11-20, 3.48) led the pitchers, with Dave Keefe checking in at 11-3, 2.58) in relief and in spot starts. Naylor also threw the first AL no-hitter in a win over New York on 06/30/1920.

 

National League

 

Cincinnati (Replay: 91-62, Actual: 82-71, +9)

 

Cincinnati had won the World Series in 1919 and was looking to repeat in 1920, and while they got off to a good start, unfortunately they were caught behind a buzzsaw named the New York Giants. The Reds never gave up, hung around in second place, and waited and hoped for the Giants to finally cool off, which they finally did over the last month of the season. Once Cincinnati did move into first place they sometimes found it just as hard to stay there as it was to get there. The Reds finally clinched the NL Pennant on the next-to-last day of the season, and they did it in a most unconventional way - they won all three games of a tripleheader over Pittsburgh. The Reds finished second in the league in hitting (.294), were fourth in pitching (3.06), and in the final count they led the NL in fielding (.987).

 

Edd Roush (.355, 93 RBI's) was the power in the middle of their lineup, with Jake Daubert (.344, 100 runs) and Heinie Groh (.302, 93 runs) batting in front of him. Cincinnati finished with 659 runs scored (third) and 143 stolen bases (second) so while they may not have had the power options like the Giants did, they did the best with what they had.

 

At the halfway point of the season Dutch Ruether (17-11, 1.87) appeared to be a lock to get twenty, maybe even twenty-five wins, but even while Ruether continued to pitch well, the wins stopped coming his way. This, in turn, benefitted the Reds relievers who were able to scarf up wins when the Reds rallied. Ray Fisher (17-10, 3.99) and Hod Eller (14-10, 3.35) also performed well in the starters role, although Eller was able to pick up several of those wins that didn’t get to go to Ruether. Dolf Luque (13-8, 2.14) was somewhat limited in appearances, but managed to throw a no-hitter on 08/01/1920 versus New York. The unsung hero was Buddy Napier (5-0, 0.99) who made five starts the last month of the season and won them all.

 

Cincinnati players and fans spent the past year believing they had fairly won the 1919 World Series, only to find out just a week ago that now the general perception of the baseball world was they hadn't won anything, but rather, Chicago had lost it. And now, after having fought their way through a new season and having come out on top again, they find themselves in a no-win situation. If they beat up a severely crippled White Sox team, their win will be cheapened, and if they were to lose to that same crippled team they will be the ones thought of as somehow unworthy.

 

New York (R: 89-65, A: 86-68, +3)

 

New York did go to the World Series in each of the next three seasons, but this was a season too early for setting such expectations. However, Brooklyn stumbled out of the game and the Giants got off to a roaring start and sat atop the NL until the last month of the season. John McGraw saw his opportunity to get to the NL pennant right now and applied the whip hand as best he could, but by the end of the season the Giants couldn't maintain the pace and Cincinnati was able to slip by and grab the golden ring. New York finished fourth in hitting (.278), second in runs scored (729), and finished third in ERA (2.85). New York had spent most of the summer leading in all these categories, but a cool September knocked them back.

 

George J. Burns (.285, 119 runs) and Dave Bancroft (.296) batted 1-2 and set the table for those behind them. Ross Youngs (.362, 13 homeruns, 106 runs, 91 RBI's) and George "High Pockets" Kelly (.301, 12 homeruns, 99 RBI's) provided the pop behind them and were the main drivers of the New York offense. Batting in between Youngs and Kelly was Frankie Frisch (.273) who missed a month early in the season, came back with a red hot bat, but then had a poor September to close things out. New York tried several different center fielders and second baseman Larry Doyle (.261) often struggled in his final major league season.

 

Jesse Barnes (22-12, 2.22), Fred Toney (23-14, 2.56), and Art Nehf (20-9, 2.85) led the New York pitching staff, with Phil Douglas (13-9, 3.49) helping out in spot starts and relief. Rube Benton (8-14, 3.19) pitched well, but served as the hard-luck hurler in the Giants' rotation.

 

Brooklyn (R: 86-66, A: 93-61, -7)

 

The Robins got off to a horrible start and found themselves wandering around in seventh place early in the season. They then went on a hot streak and climbed back up to second place and getting to within 0.5 games of first place New York at one point, but they soon settled down and took over third place. They then spent much of the remainder of the season not fighting for second place, but rather, fighting off incursions from St. Louis and Pittsburgh as they struggled to keep their hold on to the third spot. Brooklyn finished third in hitting (.282), fourth in runs scored (621), and was second in ERA (2.82).

 

The big three in the middle of the Brooklyn lineup was Zack Wheat (.321, 88 runs, 93 RBI's), Hi Myers (.329, 91 runs, 103 RBI's), and Ed Konetchy (.313, 73 RBI's), but things fell of pretty quickly after that. They lacked a solid lead-off hitter, second base was a hole offensively and defensively, and right field was unsettled all season. For a team that was supposed to win the pennant, this was not an impressive bunch.

 

Solid pitching carried Brooklyn as far as they could. Burleigh Grimes (20-12, 2.27), Leon Cadore (20-8, 2.71), and Jeff Pfeffer (14-8, 3.36) led the starters, while Sherry Smith (10-6, 2.34) helped out with spot starts and relief. Rube Marquard (9-14, 3.78) had the role of hard-luck loser for this team.

 

St. Louis (R: 86-68, A: 75-79, +11)

 

St. Louis was another team that got off to a poor start but after a month they had figured out their starting rotation and then their hitting went meteoric, and they spent most of the second half of the season fighting with Pittsburgh for fourth place while they both took their turns bedeviling Brooklyn. The Cardinals ended up leading the NL in hitting (.302) and runs scored (754) but finished sixth in ERA (4.01).

 

Jack Fournier (.353, 99 runs, hit for the season's only cycle), Milt Stock (.349, 114 runs), and Rogers Hornsby (.413, 100 runs, 153 RBI's), the 2-3-4 hitters in the St. Louis lineup, spent all summer hitting in the .380's. Over the last month of the season Stock and Fournier cooled off a bit, but Hornsby went the other way to pass the .400 mark. Jack Smith (.391) provided pop at the top of the lineup, but unfortunately was unable to stay healthy throughout much of the season, including missing the final weeks of the season as well.

 

Jesse Haines (24-8, 2.84) and Bill Doak (22-12, 2.06) were the mainstays of the St. Louis rotation, with Bill Sherdel (13-6, 3.39) helping out with spot starts and reliever duties. Every replay has a pitcher (or two) that will get just lit up in every game they appear in, regardless of team or grade, and Ferdie Schupp (10-22, 5.63) played that role this season.

 

Pittsburgh (R: 82-72, A: 79-65, +3)

 

Similar to St. Louis, Pittsburgh was a team that had two good pitchers and a decent lineup but was seemingly destined for the lower half of the NL Standings. The Pirates fought for every game and spent most of the season tangling with St. Louis for fourth place. The Pirates led the NL with a 2.64 ERA but finished sixth with a team batting average of .267, tied with Chicago, while the speedy Pittsburghers led the NL with 176 stolen bases,

 

George "Possum" Whitted (.274, 82 RBI's) and Billy Southworth (.325, 76 runs, 79 RBI's) were the offensive leaders, with Carson Bigbee (.284, 82 runs) leading off most of the season. Hall-of-Famer Max Carey (.262, 47 steals) missed much of the second half of the season, although Fred Nicholson (.364) was able to cover all three outfield positions as needed. The Pirates often had trouble scoring runs - they lacked a real thumper in the middle of their lineup (like say, a Rogers Hornsby for St. Louis), but this was the core of a Pittsburgh team that would make World Series appearances by the middle of the decade. They added Pie Traynor (as a shortstop) this season and the Waner's (Paul and Lloyd) and others were yet to come.

 

Babe Adams (17-13, 1.39) and Wilbur Cooper (25-9, 1.51) had great seasons, but were often shackled by a lack of run support. Elmer Ponder (16-7, 1.95) moved into the regular rotation around mid-season to help shore up the backend of the rotation. Adams threw two no-hitters in May, one a perfect game.

 

Chicago (R: 76-78, A: 75-79, +1)

 

Chicago had been in the 1918 World Series, but by this year they spent most of the season battling with a .500 record, occasionally rising above it, then falling well below it, but then they rallied back late in the season to finish just short. The Cubs finished fifth in hitting (.267), fifth in runs scored (615), and fifth in Team ERA (3.32). They were good enough to give teams fits but just not consistent enough to make something of it.

 

Chicago had trouble settling on a regular outfield and a regular a regular first baseman, while the rest of the infield wasn't much to write home about either. Dave Robertson (3.14, 70 RBI's) provided some pop from the outfield while Max Flack (.312, 81 runs) led from the top of the lineup. Charlie Hollocher (appendicitis) missed the entire second half of the season but bounced back to have a fine 1921 season.

 

Pete Alexander (23-17, 1.78) and Hippo Vaughn (21-16, 2.63) led the Cubs pitchers, and Lefty Tyler (12-11, 3.17) chipped in as well, but things got bleak after that. Alexander hit six homeruns during the season, two of which came as walk-off homeruns while in extra-innings.

 

Boston (R: 54-98, A: 62-90, -8)

 

Boston finished seventh in the NL in hitting (.256), eight in runs scored (516), seventh in Team ERA (4.14), and seventh in fielding, so a seventh-place finish in the NL seemed appropriate. The Braves spent much of the season shuffling players in and out of the lineup, with only three players finishing the season with more than 500 at-bats. Obviously, the shuffling didn't help much, and Boston would sit in the lower half of the NL for a long time to come.

 

Walter Holke (.345, 65 runs, 69 RBI's) and Tony Boeckel (.288, 63 runs, 64 RBI's) anchored the corners of the Boston infield as well as the middle of the batting order for the Braves. Ray Powell (.238, 58 runs) led the team with 612 at-bats and held down centerfield, while the corner spots were covered by a rotating group of similarly unproductive players. Rabbit Maranville (2.56) - only 28-years-old, but seemingly having been around a lot longer than that - played strong at shortstop

 

Joe Oeschger (11-16, 3.51) and Dana Fillingim (14-19, 3.65) led the pitching staff, with Jack Scott (6-24, 4.80) and Hugh McQuillan (8-17, 5.15) bringing up the rear. Braves hurlers often faced the double whammy of giving up too many runs but also in being further shackled by a lack of run support.

 

Philadelphia (R: 48-105, A: 62-91, -14)

 

The Phillies were not a good team in 1920, and they still managed to lose fourteen more games than their real-life counterparts. Last in hitting (.256), last in pitching (4.58), and last in fielding with 156 errors and 160 unearned runs allowed. Similar to Boston, Philadelphia was turning into a perennial cellar-dweller in the NL.

 

Cy Williams (.317, 87 runs, 78 RBI's) led the NL in homeruns (17) and outfield mate Irish Meusel (.310, 70 runs, 73 RBI's) added 13 homeruns, but things tailed off after that. Art Fletcher (.315), acquired from New York (NL) earlier in the season in a trade for Dave Bancroft, made his swan song. Casey Stengel (.286) didn't play badly but was benched for most of the last quarter of the season to make way for Bevo Lebourveau (.290) to get some playing time.

 

As you might expect, the Philadelphia pitchers really suffered. Eppa Rixey (10-22, 4.55), Lee Meadows (8-21, 3.91), and George Smith (9-16, 4.35) were the primary starters, with Red Causey (7-20, 4.70) helping out in spot starts, relief, and the occasional pinch-runner duty.

 

1920 BBW Replay End of Season League Leaders