1913 Season Recap - Northern League
Year of the Antelopes (yet again)
Two teams ran away with the Northern League this season, defending champion Payson and perennial power Prescott. The Antelopes beat the Longhorns for the division title but both will advance to the playoffs.
Prescott had the top pitching staff in the NL, led by flamethrower
Christy Matthewson, who finished an amazing 30-7. "Big Six" Matthewson, age 33, was a nice pick-up for the Antelopes before last year's trading deadline. He appeared to be on the decline and missed the last month of the 1912 season with an elbow ligiment injury that could have ended his career.
But he rebounded to have the best season of his life. His previous best record was 28-12 way back in his debut year of 1901. Matthewson boasted an ERA of 2.15, also stellar. He was September's Pitcher of the Month after going 5-1 with a 2.03 ERA. An Ironman indeed.
Other solid pitchers for the 'Lopes included
Russ Ford (24-15) and
Happy Townsend (18-14). Ford, who hurled a no-hitter in 1912, was on fire in July of this year, going 7-0 with a 0.44 ERA. Yowzers!
Third baseman
Germany Schaeffer carried some heavy lumber for Prescott, finishing with a .299 average, 11 homers and 105 RBIs. He had a six RBI game against Cottonwood in June. OF
Danny Green batted a cool .326 with 65 RBIs. Green, who had his 2,000th hit last season (can't remember if that got reported or not), had a pair of five-hit games this season. CF
Fred Snodgrass and 1B
Tim Jordan each had 85 RBIs, making Prescott one of the most potent offensive teams in the league this season...
Payson also rode strong pitching to the top of the NL. The Longhorns had the second best team ERA in the league (2.95) behind Prescott.
"Sleepy Bill" Burns was wide awake on the hill, winning 24 games.
Lefty Leifield had 21 wins. This was Burns' fourth-straight season of winning 22 or more games.
CF
Tris Speaker was solid, though maybe not spectacular as in season's past. Maybe Payson fans have gotten spoiled but he likely won't win Big Stick honors again with a .303 batting average and 65 RBIs. He did bat .346 over the final month, so maybe The Grey Eagle is heating up at just the right time. Payson did beat Prescott in a late September game in which Speaker had six RBIs.
Payson 2B
Jimmy Williams had 13 homers and 89 RBIs. 1B
Jake Daubert added 86 RBIs. RF
Wilbur Good never hit one out of the park and had just one stolen base. But he was good (pun intended) with men on base in front of him, recording 88 RBIs. 3B
Del Paddock had the top batting average among the regulars at .308.
The NL championship series should be a good one - 'Lopes vs. Longhorns.
Commissioner Victory is quite concerned that Sedona and Kayenta continue to struggle to field competitive teams. Sedona has been seventh or eighth each of the past five years after its one division title. Kayenta has been last four out of the past seven years, with one playoff berth in that span. The Turquoise Warriors were third the first three or four seasons but could never get over the hump. Now they are under the hump...
Final 1913 NL Standings
Code:
Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10
Prescott 97 65 .599 - 100-62 -3 51-30 46-35 12-13 33-33 * L1 7-3
Payson 91 71 .562 6.0 98-64 -7 46-35 45-36 7-9 31-32 - L1 7-3
Flagstaff 86 76 .531 11.0 85-77 1 39-42 47-34 4-6 23-27 - L1 2-8
Jerome 81 81 .500 16.0 76-86 5 44-37 37-44 14-7 25-25 - W1 5-5
Grand Canyon 76 86 .469 21.0 84-78 -8 38-43 38-43 9-9 23-28 - W1 6-4
Cottonwood 75 87 .463 22.0 72-90 3 45-36 30-51 10-11 26-25 - W2 5-5
Sedona 75 87 .463 22.0 75-87 0 38-43 37-44 6-9 25-27 - L2 3-7
Kayenta 67 95 .414 30.0 62-100 5 35-46 32-49 7-5 30-19 - W1 5-5