1918 Season Recap — Southern League
Tucson reigns supreme, again (But can they win the big one?)
Like the Northern League, the final SL standings had a familiar team sitting on top by early October. The Tucson Saguaros won their fifth title since the 1911 season and earned their seventh playoff berth during that time. A pretty impressive resume for sure.
Like Payson, the Cactus Kids had a pretty comfortable lead down the home stretch, topping Bisbee by eight games.
Centerfielder
Ty Cobb, now age 31, continues to power the attack in Tucson. Cobb rapped 186 hits this season, drove home 96 runs, scored 95 times and stole 43 bases. He had 41 doubles and 15 triples, batting a cool .307. His tallies have bumped his career numbers up to 2,311 hits, 432 doubles, 147 three-baggers, 1,021 RBIs and 511 stolen bases. Hall of Fame, here we come for the Georgia Peach.
What rhymes with Peach and hits just as well?
Bobby Veach (.307 average, 81 RBIs) gave the Saguaros a potent left-fielder to go with Cobb in center. 1B
Jack Fournier drove home 80 runs for the Saguaros.
Tucson combined some of the best hitting (.255 average, second best in the AZL) with ace pitching (2.97 ERA, third best).
Dick Rudolph posted an 18-6 record (missing a little time with back problems).
Willie Mitchell won 23 games (though he lost 18). This might not be one of the vintage Tucson teams that could tear up the competition when hot, but the Saguaros should be in the hunt for a Cactus Cup if they can keep it together mentally.
Bisbee will be the team opposing the Saguaros in the Divisional playoffs. The Prospectors haven't been to the playoffs since 1911, but won the Cactus Champions Cup that year over Prescott. Bisbee, which also won the 1905 Cup, actually has more Arizona League titles than the Saguaros, who have only won one (in 1914).
Pitching has been Bisbee's strength all season.
Smokey Joe Wood and
Bert Gallia both won 27 games (Wood lost 10 and Gallia 7).
This is a team that
Big Six of
Pat O'Farrell dynasty fame might love. Not only is Joe Wood on the squad, but so is
Bill "Rough" Carrigan, who has been Bisbee's starting catcher since 1911. Rough didn't have that impressive offensive numbers (.229 average, 39 RBIs) but was a team leader and stout defensive presence. (Had I read the O'Farrell dynasty thread sooner, I would have put him in my league as well...)
1B
Dick Hoblitzel, 2B
Rogers Hornsby, CF
Benny Kauff and RF
Happy Felsch were among the offensive leaders. Kauff batted .301 with 71 RBIs. He could flat out fly around the bases, stealing successfully 82 times. Hoblitzel drove in 74 runs, Felsch had 72 RBIs, while Hornsby had 70.
Should be an interesting playoff series between the two teams. I'd have to give the edge to Tucson based on offense. Pitching is pretty similar.
The Carefree Blues had another "almost" finish to their season. The close-but-no-quite franchise finished just one game away from tying Bisbee for second place. The Blues could have forced a one-game playoff but lost in extra innings on the final day of the regular season to Yuma. "It's the team's nickname," long-time fan Don Gustafson tells everyone within earshot. "It gets in the players' heads that they're going to 'sing the blues just like always' and they collapse in a clutch moment."
It was definitely a disappointing season for defending champion Tempe. Look at their Pythagorean difference of minus-15. Talk about underachieving! Tempe could have been right in the thick of the playoff hunt. RF
Babe Ruth had a solid year (25 HRs, .298 average, 91 RBIs), and
Howie Camnitz won 26 games from the hill. But these two didn't have much around them...
Tempe owners were frustrated at the lack of attendance once the team dropped out of playoff contention. They are opening a new ballpark next season and needed the fans to pour in to help pay for it. Some of the creditors are getting nervous, too, and itching for repayment...
Here are the complete standings for the SL in 1918.
Code:
Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10
Tucson 99 63 .611 - 98-64 1 46-35 53-28 10-8 31-20 * W1 5-5
Bisbee 91 71 .562 8.0 86-76 5 43-38 48-33 12-10 42-22 - L1 6-4
Carefree 90 72 .556 9.0 93-69 -3 42-39 48-33 18-13 34-33 - L1 5-5
Nogales 82 80 .506 17.0 76-86 6 41-40 41-40 11-5 31-24 - W1 6-4
Tempe 75 87 .463 24.0 90-72 -15 41-40 34-47 8-12 17-31 - W1 6-4
Yuma 74 88 .457 25.0 73-89 1 34-47 40-41 9-14 24-29 - W2 5-5
Phoenix 69 93 .426 30.0 70-92 -1 30-51 39-42 5-4 21-31 - L1 4-6
Tombstone 68 94 .420 31.0 66-96 2 27-54 41-40 5-12 25-35 - L3 3-7