1911 BBW Replay Regular Season Recap

The 1910 season ended with Philadelphia (AL) and Chicago (NL) both winning their league comfortably and the young and up and coming A's won the World Series in five games over the perennial NL champion Cubs. For 1911 Philadelphia was a consensus favorite in the AL while in the NL it wasn't quite as clear. Could the Cubs repeat? The Giants were picked by many as the favorite, and what about Pittsburgh? The Pirates have found a way to be in contention since the current AL/NL structure was put in place for the 1901 season. 

The big news in baseball heading into the 1911 season was the decision to use a new cork-center baseball (Note: the linked article says 2011 instead of 1911). It is one thing, in theory, to tweak the baseball as a way to attempt to meet a stated goal, but these decisions can often result in unexpected consequences. But without history to impact their thinking on the matter, the decision was made to try and introduce a little more offense into the game. The results were as follows:

 

Season	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	Runs
1910 AL	.243	.308	.321	.621	4573
1911 AL	.273	.338	.358	.696	5655
1911 AL Replay	.275	.338	.361	.699	5772
1910 NL	.256	.328	.338	.666	5004
1911 NL	.260	.335	.356	.691	5506
1911 NL Replay	.260	.333	.359	.692	5673

 

There was definitely a boost to the offense, especially in the AL, but not really much of an explosion. That would come in another ten years. The replay results came out quite close to the actual results, as they are supposed to.

 

1911 is not advertised as a revised set, but it does state that all 535 players are carded. The cards do include all the Master Game ratings/symbols, plus I am positive this set had been run through the new algorithms for pitcher’s grades, etc. Example: Buck O'Brien of the Red Sox made five starts, 47.2 innings, with an ERA of 0.38, and got a grade of A&B(XW) … that is definitely not an old-school pitching grade.

 

Defensive grades definitely took a hit in this set:

 

Three C8's, twenty-three C7's, and all the catcher arms are between +3 and -3 only.

 

One 1B5 (Ed Konetchy), five 1B4's, 22 1B3's

 

One 2B9 (Eddie Collins), three 2B8's, ten 2B7's

 

Two 3B5's (Larry Gardner, Terry Turner), twelve 3B4's

 

Zero SS9's, seven SS8's

 

One OF3 (Owen "Chief" Wilson w/39 Arm), 47 OF2's

 

With a dearth of good fielding that meant that every game would ultimately be an adventure in fielding. My results came up with about half the errors as actual, but the games never felt that way as there were always plenty of errors to go around. The best part was that over the course of a season you eventually crawl into those deep dark corners of the results boards / rare play boards to unearth results you might never see in a draft league. There were a lot of steal attempts in 1911 and that meant there were plenty of errors on dropped throws to second and third or catchers airmailing their throws into the outfield. You might expect that the poorer fielding ratings might impact the number of double plays, but those numbers actually came out pretty good.

 

There were two no-hitters as Chicago (NL) hurler Lew Richie no-hit Philadelphia on July 30 for a 10-0 victory, the second being St. Louis (NL) pitcher Slim Sallee no-hitting Brooklyn on August 21, just a few weeks before the Cardinals suspended Sallee because of his ongoing drinking issues. No one hit for the cycle in this replay, which was a bit of a surprise.

 

Overall, the replay went very well. Philadelphia easily won the AL and a surprising Pittsburgh squad held off New York to capture the NL flag, so we will have an all-Pennsylvania World Series. The team-by-team writeups below go into a lot more depth on the coming and goings of the 1911 replay.

 

As far as what's next, the 1911 Replay World Series still needs to be played, so more to come. Beyond that, a 1941 replay is in the docket, so stay tuned.

 

American League

 

The American League in the 1911 BBW replay centered around three main storylines: The first story was the truly amazing season of Cleveland outfielder Joe Jackson, the second was the domination of the AL eastern teams over their Midwestern opponents, and lastly was the Athletics domination over the league as a whole. And even with Philadelphia running away with the AL pennant, there was still plenty of excitement as the teams below them stayed clustered closely together as they all fought to climb over each other to reach the upper half of the division.

 

Philadelphia Athletics (Actual: 101-50, Replay: 108-43, +7)

 

The A's were challenged by Chicago and Cleveland early, but by the end of Week Five they were in first place all by themselves and there they stayed for the remainder of the season. Boston was able to stay within single digits through the mid-point of the season, but even as Boston continued to play well it was the Athletics that eventually expanded their lead to a staggering 23.0 games by season's end.

 

The A's dominated in all aspects of the game. Offensively, they led the AL by hitting .306 as a team and their 856 runs scored led the league as well. Third baseman Frank "Home Run" Baker led the league in RBI's (147) but also lead the league in runners left on base (272). That means that there were always - always - men on base in front of him. Eddie Collins (.379, .459, .511, .970), Rube Oldring (.309, .338, .390, .728), and Bris Lord (.341, .392, .429, .821) served as the prime table setters for Baker.

 

The A's real strength was their pitching staff as their 2.77 ERA led the league. Jack Coombs (31-7, 2.45), Eddie Plank (20-8, 2.53), and Charles "Chief" Bender (19-4, 1.53) led the rotation and they were able filled in by Cy Morgan (19-7, 3.16), and Harry Krause (14-6, 2.66). Coombs was also helpful at the plate (.372, .399, .449, .847) as he drove in 30 runs in only 156 AB's.

 

Boston Red Sox (Actual: 78-75, Replay: 86-67, +8)

 

The Red Sox were a bit of a surprise. They never really challenged Philadelphia for the top spot in the AL, but they also maintained a healthy lead over whoever was in third place on any given day. The Red Sox were OK in batting (.269, 5th, and 753 runs scored, 4th) and in fielding, but finished second in pitching with an ERA of 3.17.

 

The offensive leader for the Red Sox was Tris Speaker (.351, .442, .545, .987) who hit 11 homeruns to finish second in the homerun race behind Joe Jackson. The team MVP might have been Duffy Lewis (.302, .363, .434, .797) though Lewis went on a homerun and RBI tear in June that propelled Boston into second place and kept them out of the muck that was behind them. Lewis did cool off later in the season plus he missed almost a whole month late in the season due to injury, but by then the Red Sox were fully secure in second place in the AL standings.

 

The pitching staff was led by Smoky Joe Wood (23-13, 2.29) and Eddie Cicotte (15-9, 2.40), and was ably abetted by Ray Collins (11-10, 2.94), Larry Pape (11-11, 3.45), and Ed Karger (10-5, 3.51). While not of the same caliber as the Philadelphia rotation, they still proved that if you can keep your offense within striking distance, you have a good chance of coming out ahead.

 

Chicago White Sox (Actual: 77-74, Replay 79-72, +2)

 

The White Sox got off to a fast start and competed for first place for the first few weeks of the season, but offensive woes and injuries plagued them throughout the season and ultimately doomed their chances. They did put on a late-season spurt to grab third place, so despite everything else they did fight to the end.

 

Chicago finished seventh in team batting (.264) and sixth in runs scored (660), barely edging out New York for that sixth spot. Harry Lord (.325, .364, .456, .820) was the offensive spark plug, and outfielders Matty McIntyre (.308, .379, .396, .774) and Ping Bodie (.284, .355, .416, .772) chipped in as well, but there were often just too many holes in the lineup for a consistent attack.

 

The offensive problems of the White Sox bled over into their pitchers results as well as Ed Walsh (20-17, 2.44), Jim Scott (15-11, 2.08), Doc White (16-11, 3,37), and Frank Lange (12-8, 4.30) often pitched well enough to capture a win but were often left holding the bag. Chicago wasn’t afraid to try other pitchers to help bolster their staff, but mostly to no avail.

 

Detroit Tigers (Actual: 89-65, Replay: 74-80, -15)

 

Before the start of the 1911 season the powers that be had announced that henceforth the baseball would be juiced in order to produce more offense. The team that expected to benefit the most from this was the Tigers as they had several thumpers that would be able to take advantage of this and in the first few weeks of the 1911 season, they did by getting off to an extremely fast start and then riding that out to a second-place finish. In the replay, Detroit’s hitting got off to a great start as expected, but their pitching never fully clicked and the Tigers spent most of the season mired in the second division of the AL.

 

For much of the season, the Tigers led the AL in hitting (.295) but ended the season second behind Philadelphia. Detroit scored 815 runs, also second to Philadelphia. Ty Cobb (.407, .438, .586, 1.024), Jim Delahanty (.345, .401, .468, .870), and Sam Crawford (.338, .397, .464, .861) powered the Detroit offense, and shortstop Donie Bush, batting ahead of them, chipped in with a league-leading 84 walks and scored 114 runs (well behind Cobb’s 135 runs scored). First baseman Del Gainer missed the middle third of the season due to an injury.

 

The lively ball of 1911 was a blessing to the Tigers' offense but was also a curse to the Tigers' pitching staff as Detroit finished seventh in pitching with a 4.29 ERA. Veteran Tigers hurlers George Mullin (15-16, 3.37), Ed Summers (11-11, 3.82), and Ed Willett (17-7, 4.06) all did their best, but all missed some time during the season and the backups were unable to come through. Veteran warhorse Bill Donovan (8-11, 4.71) and Payson IL. native Ralph Works (6-9, 3.85) tried to chip in but only in limited duty. Detroit was counting on Jack Lively (4-9, 5.60) to carry some of the load as well, but he soon lost his spot in the rotation because he got lit up too often.

 

Cleveland Naps (Actual: 80-73, Replay: 76-77, -4)

 

Cleveland was another team that expected to be able to take advantage of the new lively ball as they had 36-year-old Nap Lajoie on the roster. Lajoie ended up missing half the season due to injury, although he did hit .401 when he played, the real beneficiary turned out to be a young outfielder named Shoeless Joe Jackson. Jackson hit over .500 for most of the replay, only falling short over the final month of the season, finishing at .473. Besides leading the league in average, Jackson also led in runs scored (147), was third in RBI’s (131), led in hits (275), led in doubles (69), led in homeruns (12), and finished tied for third in triples (21). That adds up to 102 total extra-base hits and 422 total bases, both amazing numbers.

 

The Naps did finish third in hitting (.284) and finished third in runs scored (759) with Lajoie and Jackson in the lineup, but after that, the Cleveland offense was pretty dormant. Most of the rest of the lineup missed time due to injuries as well as struggled at the plate.

 

The other Cleveland surprise was rookie pitcher Vean Gregg (17-11, 2.37), but that might have been the only bright spot in the Naps rotation as Gene Krapp (10-16, 3.21) and Fred Blanding (12-9, 4.49) did the best they could. Cleveland wasn’t afraid to give young pitchers an opportunity, but as their fifth-place finish in ERA (4.10) showed, it was to no avail. They even resuscitated old warhorse Cy Young (5-1, 1.48) to maybe settle down some of the young pitchers, but when the team’s fate seemed certain, Young was released to later sign with Boston (NL) to end his career.

 

New York Highlanders (Actual: 76-76, Replay: 73-79, -3)

 

The pre-Yankees New York Highlanders were a team of largely forgotten has-beens and never-weres, yet they fought to finish at .500 in the regular season and just below that in the replay, although that may have been more of a testament to the teams below them in the standings. This team also suffered through serious injury droughts throughout the season, but through it all they were a hard-working group that never gave up and was willing to work for everything they got.

 

The Highlanders did finish fourth in hitting (.272), but also finished seventh in runs scored (650). Most teams had that star in the middle of their lineup that could drive in that run when they needed it, but New York didn’t have that player. Birdie Cree (.318, .369, .476, .855) led the team with 31 doubles and finished second in the AL with 22 triples and Roy Hartzell (.308, .375, .426, .801) led the team with 81 RBI’s. Player/Manager and first baseman Hal Chase was probably the best-known player on the roster, although his career ended early when he later became embroiled in a gambling scandal.

 

New York did finish fourth in ERA (4.05) and allowed the fewest walks (390) of the AL teams, but a sputtering offense couldn’t always take advantage of the above-average pitching. Russ Ford (23-9, 2.20) was the big arm in the rotation with Ray Fisher (7-14, 3.17) and Ray Caldwell (14-12, 3.71) right behind him. Caldwell also started ten games in the outfield out of need plus he took on pinch-hitting duties as needed as well. Jack Warhop and Jack Quinn both added nine wins, with the 27-year-old Quinn already in his third year in the majors and would play until 1933 (age 49).

 

Washington Senators (Actual: 64-90, Replay: 72-82, +8)

 

The AL East teams started a western road trip on July 6, 1911. This road trip was completed on July 24, 1911, but in an unusual move, the Midwest teams and the East teams all moved to the east coast to continue their intra-regional play. This second set of games was completed on August 10, 1911, and during this entire time, the AL East teams went a collective 93-45 (.674) versus their Midwestern counterparts, a pretty thorough spanking.

 

The Senators were able to join the party and by the time spate of games was over Washington had managed to improve their record to .500 and had climbed up the standings from seventh into third place. In fact, all four teams from the AL East all had ownership of the top four spots in the standings. It was also during this time that teams #3 through #7 often found themselves with only a 2.0 to 3.0 game difference between the top and the bottom. Any one of these teams that might happen to win two or three in a row would suddenly find themselves at the top of the pile, while conversely, a team that might lose two or three in a row could immediately find themselves at the bottom. Of course, once this period passed and Washington and New York suddenly had to start playing Philadelphia and Boston again their good fortune quickly ended, but it was fun while it lasted.

 

The Washington offense keyed off of Clyde Milan (.329, .408, .390, .798) as Milan got extremely hot right as the Senators began their crushing of the Midwestern opponents. Milan came out of nowhere to temporarily bump his average up to ~.350 and for most of the final third of the season, Milan led the AL in runs scored, only falling behind Joe Jackson late in the season. Kid Elberfeld (.287, .417, .371, .788) contributed in his own way by getting hit-by-pitch 39 times (Actual: 25).

 

After a slow start in April and then missing most of May due to injury, Walter Johnson (30-7, 1.71). singlehandedly dragging along the rest of the staff - Tom Hughes (11-15, 3.48), Dixie Walker (11-12, 4.12), and Bob Groom (12-18, 4.85) - towards some level of respectability.

 

St. Louis Browns (Actual: 45-107, Replay: 42-110, -3)

 

The Browns were one of the worst teams I have ever played. To their credit though, they knew they were bad and weren't afraid to make changes. Five different players played ten or more games at first base, four players played twenty or more games in right field, plus they had the usual number of injuries like everybody else, so plenty of players got to don the uniform of the Browns. The Browns got off to a bad start, dropped and added players to cobble together a new lineup, and when that didn't work, they did it again before the end of the season.

 

Despite all the roster turmoil the standout of the Browns lineup was Frank Laporte (.349, .385, .454, .839), while Burt Shotton (.248, .317, .283, .600) and Jimmy Austin (.232, .322, .342, .664) helped out as best they could. The Browns hit .238 as a team, last in the AL, and their 559 runs scored were the fewest in the AL as well.

 

The Browns' team ERA of 5.08 was three-quarters of a run worse than seventh-place Detroit. Joe Lake (11-13, 3.98) stood out among the pitchers, but he was one of six pitchers with double figures in losses. Again, the Browns were well aware of their shortcomings and were not afraid to give youngsters their opportunity as nineteen pitchers in all took to the mound for the Browns in 1911.

 

National League

 

Pittsburgh Pirates (Actual: 85-69, Replay: 105-49, +20)

 

To be blunt, the Pirates had an amazing season. They finished with 20 more wins in the replay than they had in 1911 and won the NL Pennant. They took sole possession of first place by the end of Week 4 and they never relinquished that lead. To describe them, the word “tenacious” is the best descriptor I can come up with. The second-place Giants led the NL in team hitting, pitching, and fielding, with the Pirates finishing in second place in all those categories, but the difference between the two was negligible. The big difference was that Pittsburgh went 16-6 versus New York over the course of the season, winning the key games when they had to, and then withstanding a late seasons Giants’ rush to claim the pennant.

 

Pittsburgh hit .272 as a team and finished second with 817 runs scored. The Pirates had two proper MVP candidates. Owen “Chief” Wilson (.341, .401, .582, .984) led the league in homeruns (21) and finished second in RBI’s (118), with a large number of both of those coming in May and June when the Pirates grabbed the lead and then steadily built on it. When Wilson began to level off it was Honus Wagner who came to the forefront, ending the season leading the league in hitting (.358) and RBI’s (121), as he carried the team through July and August. The team did struggle to some degree in September and October, but the rest of the lineup all took turns chipping in and their pitching held firm and they were able to claim the pennant with three days remaining in the season.

 

Babe Adams (26-8, 2.32), Lefty Leifield (25-9, 2.59), and Howie Camnitz (20-9, 2.46) were the strength of the pitching staff, leading the team to a final team ERA of 2.90. They also received timely help from Elmer Steele (13-7, 2.33) and even though his numbers may not show it, Claude Hendrix (5-7, 5.80) came through with several key victories late in the season when the starters began to tire.

 

New York Giants (Actual: 99-52, Replay: 100-53, +1)

 

The Giants actually won the NL in 1911, and while they did get off to a good start in the replay, they simply could not keep up with Pittsburgh. New York led the NL in hitting (.288), OBP (.364), slugging (.403), and runs scored (893), and they also led the NL with 343 steals. That was 68 more stolen bases than second-place Cincinnati, and 148 more stolen bases than third-place Chicago. The Giants ran like a demon, always had men on base, hit for plenty of power and average, plus they had good pitching and defense, but the one thing they couldn’t do was actually catch Pittsburgh. Several times during the season they would get on a hot streak and make a dent in the Pirates' lead, but then they would fall back further behind than they were previously, meaning they would have to try and dig themselves out of that same hole all over again. It was truly a frustrating year for John McGraw and his Giants.

 

Red Murray (.336, .388, .510, .898), Jack "Chief" Meyers (.331, .390, 424, .814), and Fred Merkle (.314, .365, .447, .812) led the hit parade for New York. Meyers, who batted in the eighth spot all season, hit over .400 for the first half of the year and despite slipping back to the norm after that still came through with numerous key hits.

 

New York’s ERA of 2.81 was good enough to lead the NL. Christy Mathewson (29-11, 2.57) and Rube Marquard (20-11, 1.92) led the pitching staff, with Red Ames (15-5, 2.87) and Hooks Wiltse (13-9, 3.07) rounding out the rotation. Doc Crandall (14-8, 3.21) made 24 relief appearances, second in the NL, plus Crandall made spot starts in both the infield and the outfield as needed as well as made multiple pinch-hit attempts.

 

Chicago Cubs (Actual: 92-61, Replay: 89-65, -3)

 

The 1911 Cubs finished in second place, ahead of Pittsburgh but behind New York. In the replay, they slid comfortably into third place after the first few weeks of the season and then stayed there all year. They did manage to draw with 3.0 games of New York at one point later in the season, but for the most part, New York and Pittsburgh were off and running in their own pennant race and no one else was welcome. Behind Chicago, St. Louis and Philadelphia spent most of the season swapping the fourth and fifth place spots, with neither mounting much a charge upward. Basically, the Cubs were stuck in third place, and they weren’t going anywhere in either direction.

 

In keeping with their third-place motif, the Cubs finished third in team hitting (.271) and in runs scored (744). Lead-off hitter Jimmy Sheckard (.268, .426, .450, .875) accumulated 151 walks, leading the league by a wide margin. Sheckard also finished fourth in the NL in extra-base hits (54), including 24 doubles, 14 triples, and sixteen homeruns. Frank “Wildfire” Schulte (.311, .376, .531, .907) finished second with 71 extra-base hits and led the team in RBI’s (108). With these two at the top of the lineup, Heinie Zimmerman (.317, .355, .450, .805) was able to drive in 102 runs. Hall-of-Fame trio Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers, and player/manager Frank Chance were all healthy and starting at the beginning of the season, but Chance and Evers both soon succumbed to injuries and missed most of the season.

 

The Cubs finished third (3.05) in the NL ERA race, with Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown (19-14, 2.51), Lew Richie (18-12, 2.52), King Cole (15-6, 2.64), and Ed Reulbach (13-13, 2.72) heading the rotation. Chicago used thirteen pitchers over the course of the season but didn’t get much help otherwise.

 

St. Louis Cardinals (Actual: 75-76, Replay: 72-77, -3)

 

The Cardinals were picked to finish towards the bottom of the 1911 standings, but they proved to be more resilient than expected and finished in fourth place, just ahead of Philadelphia. St. Louis did get off to a slow start, including spending time in last place, but then in Week 8 they had doubleheaders on four consecutive days, all games against Cincinnati, and the Cardinals went 6-1-1 in these eight games. They then finished the week with a three-game sweep over Brooklyn, giving them a 9-1-1 record for the week. St. Louis used this spurt to propel themselves up into the middle of the standings, but that was all the spurt could do for them, and they spent the remainder of the season swapping the fourth and fifth spots with Philadelphia.

 

St. Louis finished fifth in hitting (.251) and fifth in runs scored (.575). The Cardinals were a solid if unspectacular team, with Ed Konetchy (.307, .0375, .440, .814) leading the team with 95 runs scored and 88 RBI’s. Other than their season-long battle for fourth place with the Phillies, the Cardinals were essentially doomed to stay right where they were, unable to move up, but too good to move down.

 

St. Louis’s 3.89 ERA was good for fifth place in the NL. Slim Sallee (17-11, 2.16) led the pitching staff, although Sallee was suspended by the team for drinking and missed the last quarter of the season. Bill Steele (20-13, 3.43) and Bob Harmon (17-20, 3.44), along with Sallee, did most of the heavy lifting for the pitching staff.  Every replay has that one pitcher that just gets routinely lit up, regardless of whatever else might be happening, and in this replay, it was Roy Golden (5-18, 6.18). The Cardinals did throw a total of eighteen pitchers over the course of the season, looking for long-term help, but not much help was found.

 

Philadelphia Phillies (Actual: 79-73, Replay: 73-79, -6)

 

As opposed to St. Louis, the early season prognosticators picked the Phillies to provide a challenge for the title in 1911, but a series of major injuries hampered their performance and while they didn’t hang around the bottom of the standings, they soon settled into fourth place and then spent most of the season tangling with the Cardinals in the middle of the pack.

 

The offense was supposed to be Phillies' strong point, but they finished seventh in hitting (.248) and seventh in runs scored (621), although they tied with Chicago for the lead in homeruns (68). John Titus (.262, .352, .365, .717) broke his leg early in the season, missed three months, and then never really got back on track. Player/manager Red Dooin (.331, .361, .446, .807) broke his leg in mid-season and he was done for the season. Sherry Magee (.280, .350, .495, .846, 19 HR) slugged an umpire at mid-season and was suspended for the remainder of the season, although the suspension was lifted after a month. Hans Lobert (.302, .370, .438, .809) and Fred Luderus (.298, .336, .430, .765) led the offense in the absence of their key teammates.

 

For all the struggles the Philadelphia pitchers had, they did manage to finish fourth in ERA (.3.71). A rookie by the name of Grover Cleveland “Pete” Alexander (29-10, 2.53) performed well beyond anyone’s wildest expectations. George Chalmers (15-7, 2.25) and Earl “Crossfire” Moore (8-24, 4.67) were the other key starters for Philadelphia. Moore walked 194 batters in his 298.2 innings (Actual: 164 walks), repeatedly spoiling otherwise strong performances.

 

Cincinnati Reds (Actual: 69-83, Replay: 60-93, -9)

 

Cincinnati wasn’t supposed to be a horrible team – they were essentially a middle-of-the-pack team that if things went well perhaps could move up to the lower end of the top half of the division. In the replay, they got off to a horrible start, and then things got worse. They spent most of the first half of the season tangling with Boston as both teams tried to stay out of last place. The Reds finally stabilized somewhat around mid-season, so while they were able to move away from eighth place, they had trouble moving up in the standings. They finished in sixth place, mostly because of the collapse of the Brooklyn team. Did the Dodgers finally “catch” the Reds on their way down or did the Reds “catch” the Dodgers on their way up? The two swapped sixth and seventh place for most of the two final months of the season, with the Reds finally capturing the sixth spot and holding it until the end.

 

Cincinnati finished sixth in hitting (.250) and sixth in runs scored (623), barely edging out Philadelphia in both cases. Dick Hoblitzell (.294, .337, .399, .735), Johnny Bates (.278, .411, .340, .736), and Bob Bescher (.253, .353, .357, .711) led the Reds offense. Bescher finished the replay with 75 steals, below his actual number of steals (81). His offense collapsed in the final two weeks of the season and of course, if he wasn’t on base, he couldn’t get any steals … c’est la vie.

 

The Reds finished seventh with a team ERA (4 4.44). Bobby Keefe (13-11, 3.07), George Suggs (9-19, 3.73), Harry Gaspar (14-17, 3.79), and Quincy, IL native Art Fromme (10-14, 4.99) did their best to hold up their end of the Reds attack. If I were to say that having a superstar hitter in the middle of your average or even mediocre lineup would make you a better team, you would say “of course that’s true.” This point is made here as Cincinnati (St. Louis too) had a solid if unspectacular team that, without a real thumper in the middle of their lineup, was condemned to never be able to rise above their circumstances.

 

Brooklyn Dodgers (Actual: 62-86, Replay: 56-94, -6)

 

Brooklyn actually got off to a roaring start in the replay. At one point early in the season, the Dodgers were in fourth place, one game behind third-place Cubs, and with a game in Chicago that day they had a chance to move into a tie for third place. They lost that day though and then spent the next two months in a total free fall. The Dodgers eventually fell into a battle for sixth place with Cincinnati, and they were able to end their swoon, although the Reds finally captured the sixth spot by season end.

 

The offense was Brooklyn’s problem as they finished last in hitting (.245) and runs scored (584). Jake Daubert (.355, .405, .458, .908) had a great season and was abetted by John Hummel (.281, .470, .400, .769) and Zack Wheat (.264,.332, .382, .714). There were too many holes in the Brooklyn lineup to really be competitive though – Bert Tooley (.182, .264, .236, .500) often batted in the leadoff spot – so perhaps their problems lay elsewhere.

 

Brooklyn finished with a team ERA of 4.24, good for sixth place in the NL. Nap Rucker (20-9, 2.13) had an outstanding season, but he was often on an island. Elmer Knetzer (9-13, 3.70), Cy Barger (12-16, 4.08), and Bill Schardt (8-16, 4.45) rounded out the rotation, but after that, the remaining pitchers really fell off and could only account for the team’s remaining seven wins.

 

Boston Rustlers (Actual: 44-107, Replay: 53-98, +9)

 

Boston spent almost all of the season in last place in the NL. They jettisoned off several players early through trades or releases, but their lineup for the second third of the season wasn’t much better, so they built a new lineup for the final third of the season, and while their offensive production improved, their pitching was mostly hopeless. The Boston management was willing to make changes and build something did better. They did win the 1914 World Series, so maybe they were on to something.

 

Despite the finish at the bottom of the NL standings, the Rustlers finished fourth in hitting (.260) and fourth in runs scored (723), in both cases just behind the Chicago Cubs. Boston also led the league with 247 doubles. Doc Miller (.331, .378, .441, .719) and Bill Sweeney (.303, .423, .399, .822) were the two mainstays of the Boston lineup, with late-season acquisitions Mike Donlin (.322, .379, .477, .855) and George Jackson (.322, .380, .421, .801) providing some additional late-season firepower.

 

The weakness of the 1911 Rustlers was their pitching as they finished last with a team ERA of 5.85, a run-and-a-half worse than the #7 ERA (Cincinnati, 4.44). Hub Perdue (11-8, 4.66) joined the rotation full-time towards the middle of the season and benefitted most from Boston’s lineup changes. Buster Brown (9-19, 5.19), Al Mattern (5-15, 5.86), Lefty Tyler (8-10, 6.60), and Orlie Weaver (2-14, 7.15) was the balance of the Braves rotation. It is also worth noting that Cy Young (3-7, 4.72) was brought in for the final month of the season, Young’s final major league appearances in a long and storied career.