AMERICAN LEAGUE
The Chicago White Sox would go on to win the A.L. Pennant with a 97-57 (.630 pct) record). The season certainly didn't start well for the White Sox, as they barely hovered over the .500 mark, 45 games in. The White Sox decided to make a move at that moment by acquiring Lefty Williams from the Philadelphia Athletics, in a three-way deal that involved Chicago, Philadelphia & the Cleveland Blues. And for the majority of time after the deal, the White Sox would still trail in the American League behind Cleveland. Cleveland was looking really good at the time, and it appeared that Chicago might once again barely miss out on the World Series. The move cost the White Sox, their big prospect Bunny Brief (who went to Cleveland). The White Sox also added RP Bill Fincher, P Larry Cheney & OF Armando Marsans.
The Cleveland Blues (92-62) spent the majority of the season in 1st place, and appeared to be a World Series contender, especially adding SP Al Mamaux, RP George Cunningham, C Bill Wagner & 2B/3B Alex McCarthy. The move cost them the MLB's #1 prospect in OF Hack Miller, who was sent to Pittsburgh. The Blues would fade down the stretch, finishing in 3rd place. The White Sox and Red Sox would pass Cleveland in the standings.
The Boston Red Sox (93-61) near the end of the season, finally had Dutch Leonard come off the Disabled List just in time for the Pennant, only to lose him again for the season. It didn't seem to hinder their starting pitching who had three 20-game winners in Ernie Shore (20-15), Babe Ruth (21-11), and Buddy Nappier (22-13). The team also lost Carl Mays early in the season, finishing with a 7-5 record and 2.20 ERA. Tris Speaker's late injury didn't help the team. Speaker finished the season with a .357 batting average, 1 HR, 75 RBI & 35 stolen bases, all while leading the league with 42 doubles. Speaker has the chance to win his 3rd MVP Award during a 6-year stretch,
The Washington Senators (85-69) who finished in 4th place, jumped out of the gates by winning their first 8 games. Walter Johnson did his thing, sporting a 26-7 record with a 2.18 ERA & 199 strikeouts -- winning the A.L. Pitching Triple Crown. The Senators will have to improve their starting & relief pitching during this upcoming off-season.
The New York Yankees suffered a lot of injuries during the 1917 season, particularly their pitching. Ray Caldwell, who won 19 games in back-to-back seasons (15', 16'), was injured for almost the entire season. Caldwell was spectacular in his 4 starts this season, going 3-1 with a 0.50 ERA (35.2 IP) -- which included 3 complete games and a shutout. Last season's MLB breakout pitcher Frank Allen followed last season with another strong year (17-17, 2.34 ERA, 166 K's). Allen has 10.9 WAR over the past two seasons. The Yankees acquired P Lefty Gervais (12-10, 2.96 ERA & 3 SV) from Brooklyn, in exchange for LF Hugh High. Gervais was brought in to the bleeding coming from the oft-injured rotation.
The Detroit Tigers' Ty Cobb had another spectacular season, winning his 9th Batting Title (.390), while leading the league in runs (130), walks (105) & On-Base percentage (.486), all while showing off a 1.013 OPS (also tops). Cobb's stats didn't help the Tigers though, who finished 6th with a 80-74 record. The Tigers' George H Burns led the American League with 106. Detroit's pitching and fielding were in the lower third of the A.L.
The St. Louis Browns (68-86) had no lineup, pitching & fielding, while finishing in 7th place. Both George Sisler (.353, 2 HR, 52 RBI & 37 SB) and Del Pratt (.298, 6 HR & 88 RBI) once again put together strong seasons, while being a few of the bright spots from the franchise. The Browns finished 12 games behind Detroit.
Batting average and homers were up for the Philadelphia Athletics, while the pitching was awful. The Athletics acquired OF Duffy Lewis from the Red Sox prior to the 1917 season, while acquiring OF Billy Southworth from Cleveland during the season. Southworth was one of the players involved in the White Sox-Athletics-Blues three-team trade. The A's (61-93) finished in 8th place.
The Kansas City Packers (49-105) finished dead last, failing to reach 50 wins. The team's top prospect Ross Eldred had a productive season, and looks to do more in 1918. Eldred batted .267 with 3 HR & 48 RBI through 128 games.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
The Boston Braves (97-57) would end the season hot, while passing the defending champs Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia Phillies along the way. The Braves would win the division 9 games over the Reds. Boston was solid all around in every aspect of the game. Tom L Hughes led the National League (for the second straight year) with 200 strikeouts. Hughes also had a 23-11 record and 2.41 ERA. Dick Rudolph (22-13, 1.57 ERA), Art Nehf (26-10, 1.81 ERA), and Lefty Tyler (18-17, 2.25 ERA) were also amazing for the Braves.
For a little while it appeared that the Cincinnati Reds (88-66) were on their way to a 2nd consecutive N.L. Pennant, but ended up faded down the stretch. The Reds' pitching wasn't as great as their 1916 World Championship year, but still was pretty good. Phil Douglas put together another strong season, going 22-11 with a 2.14 ERA & 141 K's. Douglas now has a 48-17 record (.738) over the past two seasons. Rube Benton and Win Noyes each won over 20 games for the Reds. Closer Pete Schneider went from19 losses in 1915 to 14 Saves in 1917.
Carried by some great pitching, the New York Giants would finish in 3rd place at 81-73. Rube Marquard led the team with 21 wins (21-14) with a 2.35 ERA. Also Jeff Tesreau (20-18, 2.59 ERA) & Ferdie Schupp (17-11, 2.18 ERA) were just as good, while Pol Perritt (7-8, 2.84 ERA & 8 Saves) was the team's stopper. The Giants started the season off with a 9-0 record.
The 4th place Philadelphia Phillies (80-74) had a tough lineup that led the National League in Runs Scored, Batting Average & Home Runs. The starting rotation was the Phillies' problem in 1917. The Phils' Gavvy Cravath blasted 14 HR this season, while he has contributed by hitting 48 round-trippers over the past 3 seasons. Philadelphia benefitted by signing Bill Kay (.251, 7 HR & 63 RBI).
The Indianapolis Hoosiers finished in 5th place, while recording their first winning record (78-76). The team last year came close to a winning record its first season in the Majors. The team appears to be further along than Baltimore, Buffalo & Kansas City (the other Federal merger teams) right now. CF Bernie Kauff had another great season, batting .323 with 12 HR, 12 triples, 70 RBI, 93 runs & 67 stolen bases. Kauff once again over .400 for his on-base percentage. Indy's rookie starting pitcher Urban Shocker lived up tp the hype by recording a 23-15 record, 2.93 ERA & 154 K's in 43 starts this season.
The Buffalo Bisons finished at .500 & a game behind Indianapolis. The team signed SP Charley Hall in the offseason, in which he thanked Buffalo with a 21-18 record and 2.54 ERA & 124 ERA+ -- although Hall will have to work on his command, leading the league with 130 bases on balls. Starter Fred Anderson improved this season to 20-15 with a 2.11 ERA & 154 K's.
The St. Louis Cardinals (71-83) finished in 7th place. The only plus signs that came out of the Cards' season is that their pitching has come around. The team was 2nd in bullpen ERA & 4th in Starting Pitchers ERA. Ace Bill Doak (21-19, 2.26 ERA) had his best season to date with a 4.7 WAR, while leading the league in Games Started (44). Although his league leading 24 losses wouldn't suggest so, Lee Meadows (12-24, 3.81 ERA) has only improved, while pitching 110 more innings than last season. Dan Griner led the league with 16 Saves, while shining with a 1.29 ERA.
The Chicago Cubs finished 8th with 71 wins. The Cubs are not sure if they want to add some pieces or might just start rebuilding now. The Cubs' Cy Williams led the league with 15 HR, while knocking in 75 runs. Cy batted .293 while he improved his on-base percentage tremendously over the years, from .305 (1915) to .328 (1916) and to .365 this season. Jim Bagby led the team with 9 saves, while having a 2.43 ERA. Bagby could be slated for a rotation spot next season.
With the Brooklyn Dodgers finishing 9th (66-88), the Zack Wheat trade rumors have started to circulate this off-season. The Dodgers' brass have not confirmed that they will try to trade Wheat, but have also mentioned that big changes could come this off-season. The Dodgers' Casey Stengel led the team in home runs (8) and RBI (83), while stealing 23 bases.
The Pittsburgh Pirates (61-93) may have finished in the cellar, but many scouts feel the team is better than the record suggests. Plus the team has prospects on the rise, especially after acquiring the top prospect in baseball in outfielder Hack Miller. Honus Wagner will likely retire, although he hit .294.
* * * That completes the 1917 Season Recap. * * *
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