1902 American League
Code:
Team W L % GB
Philadelphia Athletics 81 59 .579 -
St. Louis Browns 78 62 .557 3
Boston Somersets 77 63 .550 4
Baltimore Orioles 76 64 .543 5
Washington Senators 70 70 .500 11
Chicago White Sox 62 78 .443 19
Detroit Tigers 59 81 .421 22
Cleveland Bronchos 57 83 .407 24
League AVG: .253
League ERA: 2.82
Philadelphia Athletics
There is no doubt that The A's biggest strength was pitching. Their 2.41 team ERA was the best mark in the majors. Frank Kitson went 18-13 and led the majors with a 1.86 ERA. Eddie Plank (21-14, 2.45) and "Frosty Bill" Duggleby (19-10, 2.51) were right behind him. The offense was no slouch, scoring the 2nd most runs per game in the AL even though their .258 team batting average was just 5th among the 8 AL teams. The outfield of Matty McIntyre (.310), Socks Seybold (.309), and Dave Fultz (.301) were the team's only .300 hitters. But 1B Dan McGann hit .299 with 60 RBI. 3B "Princeton Charlie" Reilly hit .277 and led the team with 61 RBI.
St. Louis Browns
After playing their first season in Milwaukee, the Brewers moved to St. Louis and became known as the Browns. The move seemed to do them some good because their offense was 3rd in the league and their pitching staff was 2nd only to the A's. All four of their regular starting pitchers had great seasons: Silver King (21-12, 2.21), Hal Mauck (19-14, 2.33), Billy Rhines (17-15, 2.94) and Pete Dowling (11-6, 2.58). LF Tom O'Brien hit .321 with 68 RBI but was the team's only consistent hitter.
Boston Americans
Buttons Briggs (20-14, 2.22) and Jake Volz (17-8, 2.68) led a solid rotation. CF Charlie Hemphill (.325) and SS Freddy Parent (.284, 63 RBI) were the offensive leaders. Catcher Ossee Schreckengost (.281) and rookie LF Patsy Dougherty (.279, 55 RBI) were also key contributors.
Baltimore Orioles
The Orioles had the #1 offense in the AL. CF Cy Seymour hit .325 with 71 RBI and was named Top Batter. RF Jimmy Bannon hit .309 with 68 RBI, and 2B Gene DeMontreville hit .287. Ed Stein (21-15, 2.32 ERA) and Wiley Piatt (16-16, 2.57) formed a strong duo from the mound.
Washington Senators
The Senators pitching staff was 3rd best in the league and helped the team move out of last place and improve 10 games in the standings. Davey Dunkle (23-16, 2.60), Tom Smith (18-18, 2.64) and Cannonball Titcomb (8-9, 2.29) had fine seasons. Unfortunately, the offense was last in the league. LF Jimmy Slagle's .292 average led the team, and 1B Frank Motz led them with just 52 RBI.
Chicago White Sox
After finishing just 1 game back in 1901, the White Sox lost 14 more games in 1902 and finished 19 games out. SS Shorty Fuller (.301, 63 RBI) was the team's most productive hitter. RF Tommy Dowd (.305) and 1B Harry Davis (.285, 67 RBI) also had good seasons. Sam Leever (22-11, 2.30) and Kid Carsey (17-14, 2.49) led an otherwise lousy pitching staff.
Detroit Tigers
After winning the AL's first pennant, the Tigers lost 18 more games this year and fell to 7th place. Oddly enough, they had three hitters over .300. CF Roy Thomas won his 2nd AL batting title with a .349 average. SS Kid Elberfeld hit .315 and led the team with 69 RBI. 3B Doc Casey was second with 64 RBI despite a .265 average. RF Ollie Pickering hit .312, and 39-year-old LF Tommy McCarthy hit .293. Frank Owen (17-21) led the team with a 2.92 ERA that was above the league average of 2.82. The rest of the rotation had much higher ERA's.
Cleveland Bronchos
Not much can be said for the newly named Bronchos. 2B Sam Mertes (.286) and CF Charlie Abbey (.265) led the team with 61 RBI each. 1B Klondike Douglass (.297) and RF Sport McAllister (.295) led the team in average. Rookie Addie Joss led the team with a 2.58 ERA and went 17-19. Earl Moore (2.98) won 19 games on a last place team, but he also lost 19. After going 20-16 with a 2.80 ERA last season, Tom Colcolough went 10-27 with a 3.59 ERA. Those 27 losses tied him for the most ever since the beginning of the 3 and 4-man rotations after 1879. Here are the top loss counts for reference:
45 in 577.1 IP - George Bradley, 1876
42 in 578.1 IP - Jim Devlin, 1876
37 in 528.2 IP - George Bradley, 1877
31 in 471.1 IP - Al Spalding, 1879
27 in 321.1 IP - Tom Colcolough, 1902
27 in 306.0 IP - Adonis Terry, 1893
27 in 325.1 IP - Bill Hawke, 1892
27 in 334.2 IP - George Zettlein, 1878
Batting AVG
.349 Roy Thomas, DET
.325 Cy Seymour, BLA
.325 Charlie Hemphill, BOS
.321 Tom O'Brien, SLB
.315 Kid Elberfeld, DET
HOMERUNS
7 Freddy Parent, BOS
7 Socks Seybold, PHA
7 Jimmy Mathison, BLA
7 Danny Murphy, PHA
RBI
71 Cy Seymour, BLA
69 Kid Elberfeld, DET
68 Jimmy Bannon, BLA
68 Tom O'Brien, SLB
67 Harry Davis, CHW
OPS
.849 Roy Thomas, DET
.822 Cy Seymour, BLA
.805 Socks Seybold, PHA
.772 Kid Elberfeld, DET
.766 Jimmy Bannon, BLA
STEALS
67 George Flynn, CHW (67-33, 67.00%)
60 Dave Fultz, PHA (60-38, 61.22%)
53 Tommy Dowd, CHW (53-26, 67.95%)
51 Sam Mertes, CLE (51-16, 76.12%)
51 Gene DeMontreville, BLA (51-17, 75.00%)
ERA
1.86 Frank Kitson, PHA (18-13)
2.21 Silver King, SLB (21-12)
2.22 Buttons Briggs, BOS (20-14)
2.29 Cannonball Totcomb, WSH (8-9)
2.30 Sam Leever, CHW (22-11)
2.32 Ed Stein, BLA (21-15)
WINS
23 Davey Dunkle, WSH (23-16, 2.60)
22 Sam Leever, CHW
21 Eddie Plank, PHA (21-14, 2.45)
21 Silver King, SLB
21 Ed Stein, BLA
STRIKEOUTS
144 Davey Dunkle, WSH
124 Eddie Plank, PHA
118 Addie Joss, CLE (17-19, 2.58)
116 Frank Owen, DET (17-21, 2.92)
114 Wiley Piatt, BLA (16-16, 2.57)
112 Earl Moore, CLE (19-19, 2.98)
POY: Sam Leever, 30, CHW, 22-11, 2.30 ERA, 54 BB, 105 K, .257 OAVG, 1.14 WHIP
BOY: CF Cy Seymour, 29, BLA, .325, 71 RBI, 33 SB, .822 OPS
ROY: Zeke Wilson, 32, BLA, 17-14, 3.20 ERA, 59 BB, 51 K, .256 OAVG, 1.16 WHIP