Red Sox Memoirs - 1918 Red Sox and On

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Indains and it's funny how they kill you year 1 like in your last dynasty hopefully you get them year 2

Yeah, I noticed that too, lol. It was a good race though. Just looking over their team I can't point to one thing and say that was the reason they beat us. Our line-ups were equally good, our starting rotations were equally good, and our bullpen's were equally good. I guess it just boils down to injuries and luck, but oh well. I'll get 'em next time.

[OldYankFan]

Ok I'll take St. Louis

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

I'm about to get to work on writing up the deciding games, so if you want to take a stab do it soon!

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Okay, it's all written up. But I'm gonna wait a while to post it and see if I can get some more guesses. I'll put the results up at around 2:00 no matter if there are more guesses or not.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

1918 WORLD SERIES
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS vs. CLEVELAND INDIANS
(89-66) (99-55)

Game 5:

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 +  R  H  E
       Indians (CLE) 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0    2  4  0
     Cardinals (STL) 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 x    4  9  1

St. Louis takes the 3-2 series lead on an excellent start by Bill Doak. Doak went all nine and allowed just two runs on four hits while striking out an impressive six batters.

Players of the Game:

       ST. LOUIS   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
         B. Doak  9.0  4  2  0  2  2  6 124   2.74

=============================================

Game 6:

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 +  R  H  E
     Cardinals (STL) 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 0 0    7 11  1
       Indians (CLE) 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 2    6 10  2

Red Ames allows six runs in eight innings, but the offense picks him up to send St. Louis home the World Series victor! Dots Miller goes 2-5 and drives in three to earn POTG honors.

Players of the Game:

ST. LOUIS            ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
D. Miller (2B)        5  2  0  1  0  3  0  0    .259

=============================================

~THE ST. LOUIS CARDINALS ARE YOUR~ ~1918~
~WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS~

The World Series MVP goes to second baseman Del Pratt. Pratt batted .389/.421/.556/.997 with four RBI's and two steals in the series!

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

AMERICAN LEAGUE
STANDINGS AND LEADERS

STANDINGS

BATTING LEADERS

PITCHING LEADERS

NATIONAL LEAGUE
STANDINGS AND LEADERS

STANDINGS

BATTING LEADERS

PITCHING LEADERS

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

EXPIRING CONTRACTS
1918 OFF-SEASON

(A) = Arbitration

Catchers:

Wally Schang (86), 29 years old

Schang had an excellent year in 1918. He put up the highest OPS he's had since becoming a starting catcher at .783, and his 38 doubles are as many as he had in the prior three seasons COMBINED. He's also got a hose behind the plate and he blocks a lot of balls. Only problem is, he's gonna be looking for roughly a $7,000 raise for about four years, and I'm not sure about giving four years at $16,000 per to a 29 year old catcher.

VERDICT - Want to keep, may not be able to.


Corner Infielders:

Del Gainer (67), 31 years old

Really, no incentive for me to keep him. I'll keep him if he'll take less money than he was making before, but if not, he gone.

VERDICT - Probably gone.

Frank Baker (78), 32 years old

He was great after coming over to Boston. He hit at a .330/.372/.446/.818 clip with six homers and 75 RBI's in 114 games. The question is, at 32 years old can he repeat that? His career numbers seem to indicate so. If he doesn't ask for too much of a raise I'll probably hold on to him.

VERDICT - Probably coming back.

Heinie Wagner (57), 38 years old

Yeah, he ain't coming back.

VERDICT - Donezo


Middle Infielders:

Jack Barry (67), 31 years old

He had an OPS of .626 last season, so that's not good. But regardless, I do want to bring him back, at the right price. I think he'd be good as a bench player and a pinch-runner, and assuming that there's nothing out there for Free Agent second baseman or trade opportunities, he'd probably start again.

VERDICT - Probably coming back.

Everett Scott (73/84), 25 years old

Definitely coming back. One reason being if I decide to let Barry go, he'd probably be my next option at second base. And at worst he's a good fill-in all-around the infield. Not to mention the next guy on this list....

VERDICT - Coming back.

(A) Dave Bancroft (84), 27 years old

So he's arbitration eligible, which is good. The problem, however, is that he's gonna be able to ask for a lot of money. And I'm already gonna have a lot of money going around from what I've already written about and what I have yet to write about. Obviously I really, really want to bring him back, and I probably will, but it's probably gonna be a steep price tag.

VERDICT - Most likely coming back, albeit very expensively.


Outfielders:

Babe Ruth (98), 23 years old

Yeah, that guy. With the record-breaking year he had it only makes sense that he'll be looking for a record-breaking contract. And I'm definitely gonna give it to him, there's no question about it, he's just gonna break me financially.

VERDICT - Coming back no matter the cost.

Harry Hooper (79), 31 years old

Hooper had the best year of his career. He posted career highs in batting average (.319), slugging percentage (.441), OPS (.831), hits (196), RBI's (71), and doubles (38), so obviously I want to bring him back. But he's 31 years old and I doubt he'll be able to keep up that kind of performance much longer, and I do have some decent alternatives, and I'm sure there will be outfielders available in Free Agency.

VERDICT - Probably not coming back.


Pitchers:

Joe Bush (93/96), 25 years old

Yep, the team MVP AND Cy Young are up for new contracts this off-season. Obviously I'm keeping him, but he's already making a pretty penny ($18,200 to be exact) and he'll be looking for a hefty raise as well.

VERDICT - Coming back no matter the cost.

(A) Carl Mays (93), 26 years old

He's arbitration eligible, so he'll be coming back, it's just a matter of cost. 1918 was somewhat of a down year for him, so hopefully he won't ask for too much, but in all likelyhood he will.

VERDICT - Coming back.

Herb Pennock (92), 24 years old + Dutch Leonard (86), 26 years old

That's right, the whole starting rotation is up for new contracts. And one of these two guys isn't coming back, especially with Syl Johnson around. I lean toward letting Leonard go due to relative age and talent, but it will probably boil down almost purely to money.

VERDICT - Hopefully Pennock stays and Leonard goes, but it's anyone's guess.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Retirements:

Nick Altrock (P)           (1905-1918)   82-73   2.64 ERA
Kaiser Wilhelm (P)         (1910-1918)   56-105  3.44 ERA
Charley O'Leary (SS)       (1908-1918)  .226 AVG    3 HR   74 SB
Germany Schaefer (LF)      (1904-1918)  .257 AVG    9 HR  200 SB
George McBride (SS)        (1905-1918)  .219 AVG    7 HR  132 SB
Charlie Pick (3B)          (1915-1918)  .248 AVG    0 HR   26 SB
Nig Clarke (C)             (1911-1918)  .256 AVG    6 HR   15 SB
Joe Kelly (LF)             (1915-1918)  .227 AVG    6 HR   52 SB
Chet Chadbourne (CF)       (1914-1918)  .255 AVG    2 HR   73 SB
Benny Meyer (RF)           (1915-1918)  .265 AVG    7 HR   47 SB
Oscar Dugey (2B)           (1913-1918)  .194 AVG    1 HR   17 SB
Fred Carisch (C)           (1911-1918)  .227 AVG    1 HR   16 SB
Jack Coffey (SS)           (1917-1918)  .187 AVG    0 HR    2 SB
Frank Truesdale (2B)       (1915-1918)  .217 AVG    1 HR   40 SB
Ray Demmitt (RF)           (1913-1918)  .251 AVG    6 HR   29 SB
Hughie Jennings (SS)       (1902-1918)  .311 AVG   18 HR  360 SB
Tommy Leach (CF)           (1900-1918)  .270 AVG   64 HR  361 SB
Bill Donovan (P)           (1901-1918)  185-139  2.69 ERA
Bert Niehoff (2B)          (1913-1918)  .242 AVG   12 HR   69 SB
Jimmy Archer (C)           (1907-1918)  .252 AVG   16 HR   36 SB
Davy Jones (LF)            (1904-1918)  .270 AVG    9 HR  207 SB
Bobby Schang (C)           (1916-1918)  .188 AVG    0 HR    3 SB
Ham Hyatt (1B)             (1912-1918)  .273 AVG    8 HR   10 SB
Paddy O'Connor (C)         (1913-1918)  .213 AVG    0 HR    4 SB
Bobby Wallace (3B)         (1894-1918)  .270 AVG   34 HR  200 SB
Hi Jasper (P)              (1915-1918)    6-7    3.43 ERA
Gabby Street (C)           (1911-1918)  .208 AVG    2 HR   17 SB
Jack Quinn (P)             (1911-1918)   79-73   3.08 ERA
Morrie Rath (2B)           (1914-1918)  .244 AVG    2 HR   57 SB
Wally Mattick (CF)         (1916-1918)  .230 AVG    1 HR   18 SB
Alex Main (P)              (1916-1918)   19-20   2.59 ERA
Dave Shean (2B)            (1911-1918)  .225 AVG    6 HR   54 SB
Rip Williams (1B)          (1912-1918)  .269 AVG    2 HR   25 SB
Jim Thorpe (LF)            (1914-1918)  .225 AVG    5 HR   19 SB
Doc Johnston (1B)          (1912-1918)  .248 AVG    8 HR   84 SB
Heinie Wagner (3B)         (1907-1918)  .249 AVG   10 HR  144 SB
Rudy Sommers (P)           (1916-1918)    2-8    4.02 ERA   2 SV
Lefty George (P)           (1915-1918)    6-16   4.29 ERA
Mickey Doolan (SS)         (1906-1918)  .233 AVG   15 HR  169 SB
Eddie Matteson (P)         (1917-1918)    3-4    2.89 ERA
Johnny Evers (2B)          (1902-1918)  .271 AVG   12 HR  337 SB
Roy Mitchell (P)           (1913-1918)   28-35   3.56 ERA
Lena Blackburne (SS)       (1914-1918)  .210 AVG    2 HR   45 SB
Bob Bescher (LF)           (1908-1918)  .257 AVG   28 HR  426 SB
Charley Hall (P)           (1910-1918)   54-46   3.03 ERA
Chick Keating (SS)         (1917-1918)  .093 AVG    0 HR    1 SB
Ike McAuley (SS)           (1917-1918)  .167 AVG    0 HR    0 SB
Fritz Mollwitz (1B)        (1913-1918)  .242 AVG    1 HR   36 SB
Jack Hammond (2B)          (1917-1918)  .214 AVG    0 HR    0 SB
George Gibson (C)          (1905-1918)  .236 AVG   15 HR   40 SB
John Hummel (2B)           (1907-1918)  .251 AVG   30 HR  122 SB
Babe Adams (P)             (1908-1918)  113-84   2.58 ERA
Jimmy Austin (3B)          (1909-1918)  .245 AVG   12 HR  228 SB
Lefty Leifield (P)         (1909-1918)  116-87   2.42 ERA
Frank Schulte (LF)         (1904-1918)  .270 AVG   92 HR  229 SB

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Resignings:

C Wally Schang (86) signed a 4-year extension at $12,000/yr
I was really surprised at this one. Originally he was asking for $16,000-17,000, but he accepted my first offer at $12,000, which I was more than happy to give him.

2B Jack Barry (67) signed a 2-year extension at $4,500/yr
Less than he made last season, so I was more than happy to give it to him.

SS Dave Bancroft (84) awarded $13,000 for 1 year
Just about what I was expecting to give him. He made around $4,000 last year, so that's not too bad I suppose.

SS Everett Scott (73/84) awarded $4,900 for 1 year
Almost exactly what he made last year, maybe even a tad less. Needless to say this one didn't hurt.

LF Babe Ruth (98) awarded $40,000 for 1 year
That accounts for about 1/4th of my payroll, but he's well worth it. And honestly, I'm a little surprised he didn't ask for more. Next step: sign him to a long-term deal.

RF Harry Hooper (79) contract expired
He actually didn't ask for as much as I thought he would, but it was still too rich for my blood.

C Sam Agnew (69) contract expired
Didn't say his contract was up before, but regardless, wasn't worth the coin.

3B Frank Baker (79) contract expired
He wanted like $15,000, and I didn't want to give him more than like $12,000 so I had to let him go. Maybe if I'm lucky I'll be able to bring him back if no one else signs him throughout the course of the off-season.

3B Walter Barbare (64) contract expired
Yeah, didn't know his was up either. But he wasn't worth it to me either.

1B Del Gainer (67) signed a 2-year extension at $1,100/yr
Actually less than he made last season, so obviously I was happy to give it to him.

SP Joe Bush (93/96) signed a 4-year extension at $18,000/yr
This is actually a little less than what he made last year. Anytime you get an ace to accept a pay DEDUCTION after a great season is always a great thing.

SP Carl Mays (93) awarded $12,000 for 1 year
That's only about a $3,000 raise if I'm not mistaken. Not bad at all for a guy who won 21 games last season.

SP Dutch Leonard (86) contract expired
The way it ended up Leonard was willing to take a big pay-cut to stay and I probably could have kept him and Pennock, but it still would've put me a little more over-budget than I want to be, so I had to let him go.

SP Herb Pennock (92) signed a 4-year extension at $11,000/yr
Quite a bit less than I was expecting him to ask for, not a bad deal at all.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

American League Award Winners:

MVP - BOS LF Babe Ruth (.362/.482/.638/1.120, 34 HR, 138 RBI)
CYA - CLE SP Joe Wood (18-7, 2.71 ERA, 249.1 IP, 205 K, .215 BAA)
ROTY - CLE LF Riggs Stephenson (.313/.367/.413/.780, 3 HR, 93 RBI)

GG Pitcher - DET Hooks Dauss
GG Catcher - BOS Wally Schang
GG First Baseman - BOS Stuffy McInnis
GG Second Baseman - BOS Jack Barry
GG Third Baseman - CHW Buck Weaver
GG Shortstop - BOS Dave Bancroft
GG Outfielder - SLB Baby Doll Jacobson
GG Outfielder - BOS Harry Hooper
GG Outfielder - NYY Duffy Lewis

(I have no idea how we won those Gold Gloves. All those guys defensive ratings were rather bad.)


National League Award Winners:

MVP - CHC SP Pete Alexander (23-8, 1.97 ERA, 319.0 IP, 170 K, .240 BAA)
CYA - CHC SP Pete Alexander (23-8, 1.97 ERA, 319.0 IP, 170 K, .240 BAA)
ROTY - NYG 1B Bill Terry (.320/.355/.463/.818, 6 HR, 81 RBI)

GG Pitcher - CIN Fred Toney
GG Catcher - STL Frank Snyder
GG First Baseman - PIT Wally Pipp
GG Second Baseman - PIT George Cutshaw
GG Third Baseman - NYG Heinie Zimmerman
GG Shortstop - STL Rogers Hornsby
GG Outfielder - NYG George Burns
GG Outfielder - CHC Max Flack
GG Outfielder - CHC Les Mann

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

OFF-SEASON OUTLOOK
1918

Holes:

Third base and outfield

Due to some decent depth in the minors and on the bench, we actually have no need to address this via free agency or trade. In the outfield we'll be able to plug in the forgotten Amos Strunk to take the departed Harry Hooper's place. As for third base, we have a fellow down at AAA who we will now plan on starting at third base named Ray Grimes. Grimes is a first baseman by nature, but in light of the departure of Baker I've decided to move him across the diamond. He's a butcher defensively no matter what position he plays, but he can hit with the best of 'em.

We still may bring someone in as insurance in case Grimes doesn't get the job done or he's just too horrific to stomach defensively. The most likely scenario is Gold Glove winner Buck Weaver. Weaver's on the free agent market, has interest in coming to Boston, is reasonably cheap, and provides what Grimes doesn't -- defense.

The Starting Rotation

With the departure of Dutch Leonard it effectively creates two holes in the starting rotation. Top prospect Syl Johnson will be bumped up to the #4 slot Leonard was occupying. That leaves the little used #5 starting pitching slot in question. For the moment we're slotting in 30 year old Jean Dubuc. Dubuc has had a solid major league career, and last season at AAA he had an ERA a tick over 2.00 in 18 starts, so he should be able to provide us some solid innings when needed. In the event that he can't, we should have enough depth to cover it. However, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't gonna look into acquiring another established arm like Walter Johnson or Joe Wood or other guys in that upper-echelon of starting pitchers.

Second base

Jack Barry has no business being a starting major league second baseman. I don't mind him off the bench, but starting every day isn't happening any more. Fortunately I've decided to address this from within as well. Evertt Scott will be moved from shortstop to second base. His defense doesn't suffer too much by the move, and he actually gains some value offensively due to the position change.


Contracts:

LF Babe Ruth

I definitely have to get this guy signed. There's no doubt he's the best hitter in the game right now, it's not even a discussion, and there's no way he's wearing another uniform between now and the time he's in his late-30's or early-40's (especially not a New York Yankees one ). I'm expecting the contract to be for five or more years, and in excess of $40,000 per year.

SP Carl Mays

With Joe Bush and Pennock locked up, it only makes sense to lock up Carl Mays too. He'll probably be looking for four years and at least $10,000 per, probably more like $15,000 per. He's worth it though. He led the team and American League in wins and innings pitched last year, and there's no reason to doubt he'll do that again this season.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

SOX AND RUTH GET DEAL DONE
RUTH TO STAY FOR NEXT SEVEN YEARS

Just days into the off-season we get Ruth to sign an extension at what is probably less than market value. We signed Ruth to a seven year deal, through 1925, at $35,000 per year, which is a little less than what we settled for in arbitration. I was expecting to give him at least $40,000, possibly even as much as $50,000, in signing him to an extension. Needless to say I'm happy with the fact that he was willing to go as low as $35,000. The deal does include a no-trade clause, but I wouldn't want to be tempted to trade him anyways.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

FIRST MONTH OF OFF-SEASON

Contracts:

St. Louis Cardinals Sign SP Dutch Leonard and 3B Buck Weaver
The reigning champs got just a little bit better with these signings. Leonard's deal is 3 years at $12,100 per year, and Weaver is also 3 years at $11,600 per year. The deal gives them a bit more offense as well as addressing a hole at third base, and deepens an already strong starting rotation.

Braves Sign C Ray Schalk and 3B Frank Baker
The Braves were reasonably competitive last season, finishing at 74-80, and these signings might just be good enough to help them contend for a Pennant. The signings solidifies their line-up a little more, and they already possess a pitching staff capable of contention. Keep an eye on the Braves next season.

Phillies Sign Free Agent Gem LF Bobby Veach
The Phillies land arguably the biggest free agent on the market this off-season in Bobby Veach. Last season Veach hit .335/.380/.476/.856 with six homers and 99 RBI's for the Tigers. They get him for two years at $25,300 per year.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

SOX SIGN OUTFIELDER
LEIBOLD TO BOSTON

We made a minor signing by signing outfielder Nemo Leibold to a two year deal. Leibold is essentially a poor man's Harry Hooper. He provides the same good batting eye and speed Harry did, as well as a great arm. His contact isn't what Harry's was, but we brought him on to be a 4th/5th outfielder anyways, not a starting outfielder.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

SECOND MONTH OF OFF-SEASON

Contracts:

New York Yankees sign former Sox outfielder Harry Hooper
The New York Yankees have signed ex-Red Sox outfielder Harry Hooper to a three year deal at $17,700 per year. Good for them. I think it's a bad signing. Hooper's 31 and I think his best days are behind him.

Pittsburgh Pirates sign CF Happy Felsch
The Pittsburgh Pirates signed Happy Felsch to a two year deal at $17,400 per year. Felsch is coming off a season in which he hit .313 and drove in over 100 runs.