About Me

I am a long time baseball fan who became interesting in documenting the "missing" batter strikeouts a few years back as an outgrowth of my interest in the 1899 Cleveland Spiders. Grew up w/ the Big Red Machine. I now follow them and my new hometown, Detroit Tigers. Member of SABR off and on since 1979.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

1900 - Batter Strikeouts Year in Review


Season Comments:
Over the fall/winter of 1899-1900, the National League contracted to 8 teams.   Most of Louisville’s players ended up with Pittsburgh, while players from Cleveland, Washington, and Baltimore scattered to the 4 winds (so to say), some ending up with other NL teams, some in the various minor leagues (including the recently renamed American League), and the rest gone forever.
As for 1900, there were a few highlights to the 8 team circuit:
       
                      
  1. The number of games was scaled back to 140 (20 per opponent) from the 154 (14 per opponent) of the previous 2 seasons.
  2. Brooklyn Superbas won their 2nd straight pennant with an 82-54 record.  Pittsburgh, strengthened by the addition of Wagner, Clarke, Waddell, & Leach finished 2nd, 4 ½ out.   The last place NY Giants, were only 23 games out – meaning a respite from the St. Louis Browns/Cleveland Spiders-type teams of the previous few seasons.
  3. Rightfielder Honus Wagner won the 1st of his 8 batting titles, with a .381 average.  With league leading 45 doubles and 22 triples, his OPS+ of 175 also led the circuit.
  4. John McGraw, who landed in St. Louis after some early season holding out, ended with a .344 BA and a league leading .505 OBA (85 bb in 99 games).   After debuting as a manager for the Baltimore Orioles the previous season, McGraw would not manage, and it would be the last season that he would not manage until 1933.
  5. Philadelphia’s Elmer Flick continued to blossom (.342 in 1899), finishing 2nd in BA with a .367 average and a WAR with 6.7 (Wagner had 7.1).
  6. Noodles Hahn won his 2nd of 3 straight K titles with 132, in this last year before the institution of the foul strike rule(NL).
  7. Pittsburgh’s Rube Waddell led the league with a 2.37 ERA and 5.6 K/9IP.
  8. 33 year old Cy Young, in spite of a pedestrian looking 19-19, 3.00 (121 ERA+) record, led the league with a 6.5 WAR by pitchers.

Total Pct Completed:   98.7%

Hardest to Strike Out (BK+):

Team:
Brooklyn - 270 k’s

Individual:
  1. Willie Keeler, Brook  - 4 k’s in 136 games  (814 BK+)
  2. Lave Cross, St.L/Brook – 7 k’s in 133 g (454)
  3. Claude Ritchey, Pitt  - 8 k’s in 123 g (376)
  4. Napoleon Lajoie, Phil – 8 k’s in 102 g (310)
  5. Jimmy Collins, Bos – 13 k’s in 142 g (270)

1900 would mark the only season (or part of a season) where the 1 & 2 BK+ leaders would come from the same team – the convergence of the 2 top “hardest to strikeout” players for part of the season, as Cross was purchased by Brooklyn from St. Louis in mid-May and would jump to the AL Philadelphia A’s for 1901.


 Keeler's 4 k's:
  1. May 14 (at St.L, Jack Powell, 1st)
  2. June 23 (at NY, Ed Doheny, 1st)
  3. August 25 (at Bos, Vic Willis, 1st)
  4. September 18 (vs. St.L, Cy Young, 1st)
Interestingly, all 4 of Keeler’s K’s occurred in the 1st inning.



Most Strikeouts:

Team:
Cincinnati – 411 k’s

Individual:
  1. Jimmy Barrett, Cin – 63
  2. Bill Bradley, Chi –61
  3. Roy Thomas, Phil – 52
  4. Monte Cross, Phil – 51
  5. Barry McCormick, Chi - 44

Most Strikeouts by a Pitcher:
Season:
Noodles Hahn - 132

Game:
June 19 – Rube Waddell, Pitt, 12 (at Chi –Green(3), Nichols(2), Griffith(2), Childs, Mertes, McCarthy, McCormick, Clingman)
October 11 – Rube Waddell, Pitt, 12 (vs. Chi – Strang(3), C Dolan(2), McCarthy(2), Green(2), Garvin(2), Bradley)

This marked the 2nd straight year that Rube Waddell had the high K mark for a pitcher and was against the same opponent in all 3 occurrences.  Only Danny Green (7 k’s) appeared in all 3 games.



4 or more Strikeouts by Batter:

July 8 – Noodles Hahn, Cin (4) vs. Brook (Brickyard Kennedy/Frank Kitson)
August 1 – Bill Carrick, NY (4) vs. Chi (Jack W. Taylor)

Resources:
Brooklyn and New York home & away - New York Evening Telegram (play-by-play)
Boston home - Boston Globe
Cincinnati – Cincinnati Commercial-Tribune
Philadelphia home – Philadelphia Inquirer
Pittsburgh home – Pittsburgh Press & Post
Chicago home & away – Chicago Tribune
St. Louis home – St. Louis Globe Democrat


Help Wanted Section:

NONE!    This has been one of only 2 seasons during my research period (1897-1910, so far), in which I have found explicitly documented batter strikeouts in EVERY cities’ newspaper (1908 NL, the other).    1901 would proved to be an entirely different story, as you will find out.


Other Individual Player Comments:
-          The #6 & #7 leaders in most strikeouts were both pitchers.  Noodles Hahn, with 43 k’s in 40 games held down the #6 position, while the previous season’s #6, Bill Carrick, checked in with 38 k’s in 45 games for the 7th most in the league.
-          Former K leaders
o   Tommy McCreery, Pit – 23 (in 42 games)
o   Billy Clingman, Lou – 18 (47 g)


-          Other “Future” Hall of Famers: 
o   Sam Crawford, Cin – 36
o   Ed Delahanty, Phil – 36
o   Jesse Burkett, St. L – 35
o   Elmer Flick, Phil – 30
o   Hughie Jennings, Brook – 29
o   George Davis, NY – 23
o   Billy Hamilton, Bos – 23
o   Wilbert Robinson, St.L – 20
o   Fred Clarke, Pitt – 20
o   Joe Kelley, Brook – 18
o   Jake Beckley, Cin – 18
o   Jack Chesbro, Pitt – 17
o   Joe McGinnity, Brook – 17
o   Bobby Wallace, St.L – 17
o   Honus Wagner, Pitt – 17
o   Rube Waddell, Pitt – 15
o   Frank Chance, Chi – 12
o   Vic Willis, Bos – 10
o   John McGraw, St.L – 9 (BK+ of 273 in 99 games)
o   Kid Nichols, Bos – 8
o   Clark Griffith, Chi – 7
o   Cy Young, St.L – 7
o   Hugh Duffy, Bos – 5
o   Christy Mathewson, NY – 2 (1st season, 5 games)
o   Roger Bresnahan, Chi – 0 (2 games)
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