1920 Debut League Results

1920

The 1920 MLB Season for the Debut League has ended. One thing to remember, this is a project based on where players debuted during their MLB careers, and where they will play their entire careers, so Babe Ruth is Red Sox player for life.

The Boston Red Sox won the American League Pennant with a 88-66 record, winning the league by 3 games over the Detroit Tigers and 4 games over the Cleveland Indians. The New York Giants (103-51) will play the Red Sox in the World Series, as they won the pennant over the Chicago Cubs by 4 games. The Pittsburgh Pirates won 94 games & finished 9 games out in 3rd place.

The winning teams in the National League have higher wins totals than the American League, thanks mostly to the two awful N.L. teams at the bottom in the Philadelphia Phillies (49-105) & Cincinnati Reds (40-114).

Another thing to take note, I turned the injury factor off for now as some of these teams could barely field a team, such as those Phillies.

The Philadelphia Athletics were a disappointing 72-82 -- they are better than that!

The Power of the Babe

Babe Ruth predictably had a solid season, leading the American League in Home runs (43), RBI (167), Runs (140), Bases On Balls (138), On-Base Percentage (.521), Slugging Percentage (.742), On Base + Slugging [OPS] (1.263) & WAR (15.8). The biggest surprise may be the fact that Ruth batted .396 for the season & still fell short of the batting title.

George Sisler would win the A.L. Batting Title by batting just a point higher at .397 for the Browns.

Ruth's 43 HR was double the amount of the next-closest A.L. rival, which was the Cleveland Indians' Elmer Smith with 19. What was more impressive is that Ruth's total doubled the N.L. HR leader in the Chicago Cubs' Cy Williams, who like Smith, also hit 19 homers.

Ruth also collected 58 more RBI than the next A.L. player, the Browns' Jack Tobin (109), while the N.L. RBI leader was the New York Giants' High Pockets Kelly at 99.

The Three Bears

The Chicago Cubs' Claude Hendrix, Hippo Vaughn & Dutch Ruether were a trio of dominance for the Cubs' pitching staff. Hendrix went 29-14, with 2.05 ERA & 157 K in 390.2 innings, while Hippo Vaughn tied Hendrix with a league-leading 29 wins, while Vaughn came 2nd in strikeouts (194) & 2nd in ERA (1.89). Ruether placed 3rd in ERA (1.97), while going 24-12 with 124 K.

Other standout pitchers included - The Pirates' Al Mamaux (25-14) while leading the N.L. in ERA (1.80), while striking out 180 batters. Eight N.L. pitchers had ERAs of 2.18 or lower (thanks to Cincy & Phillies), while the A.L. ERA leader - Bob Shawkey of the Philadelphia Athletics led the league with a 2.70 ERA.

The Reds' Hod Eller lead the majors with 199 strikeouts, while his teammate Jim Bagby Sr led the league in a not-so-braggy category, with 30 losses (while only winning 10 games).

Pittsburgh's Wilbur Cooper led the league with 9 shutouts, while winning 27 games & striking out 183 batters.

Standout Rookies

• 2B - Russ Wrightstone (PHI-N): Led all rookies with .334 batting average, with 6 HR, 59 RBI & .794 OPS.
• OF - Bob Meusel (NYY): Led all rookies in home runs (15) & 2nd in RBI (88), while batting .327 for the Yankees.
• SS - Joe Sewell (CLE): Batted .324 with 192 hits, 72 RBI, 88 runs & .826 OPS.
• 1B - Ray Grimes (BOS-A): .309 BA, 2 HR, 93 RBI & .815 OPS (.398 OBP).
• P - Johnny Miljus (BRO): Led all rookie pitchers in ERA (3.15) with 8 wins in 194 innings.
• P- Rip Collins (NYY): Led all rookies in wins (13) & losses (16), while he sported a 3.76 ERA, while leading all rookies in innings pitched (277.2).

The 1920 World Series

The Boston Red Sox down 4-1 in a best-of-nine series, comes back and wins the World Series 5-4!

Season Awards

A.L. MVP - Babe Ruth - OF (BOS-A)
N.L. MVP - Hippo Vaughn - P (CHI-N)
A.L. Cy Young - Walter Johnson (WAS)
N.L. Cy Young - Hippo Vaughn (CHI-N)
A.L. Rookie of the Year - Bob Meusel (NYY)
N.L. Rookie of the Year - Russ Wrightstone - 2B (PHI-N)
A.L. Reliever of the Year - Benn Karr (BOS-A)
N.L. Reliever of the Year - George Mohart (BRO)