Dynasties in Pittsburg and Cleveland Clash in ‘07
Pittsburg reclaimed the top spot in the National League standings by edging out a surprising Brooklyn squad. Pittsburg again did it with pitching, this time finding a rising star in Ed “Loose” Karger, who in his first year tied Rube Waddell for wins in a season with 28.
Heinie Berger, who had toiled in Columbus for three years and pitched in relief last year with the Pirates, finally got his shot as a starter, with emery ball in hand, and racked off 22 wins. Brooklyn was led by Jimmy Sheckard’s league high batting average of .372. His mark was nearly 60 points higher than the next best hitter, and nearly 100 points better than his mark last year. Christy Mathewson quietly put together his best season for the Giants, who always seem a couple hitters away from toppling Pittsburg.
Final National Club Standings 1907
Code:
Club Won Lost Pct G.B. Avg. ERA
Pittsburg 99 55 .643 - .246 2.23
Brooklyn 94 60 .610 5 .255 2.50
New York 85 69 .552 14 .241 2.19
Cincinnati 74 80 .481 25 .240 2.67
Philadelphia 72 82 .468 27 .233 2.15
St. Louis 71 83 .461 28 .242 2.71
Chicago 58 96 .377 41 .222 2.97
Cleveland again reached the American League flag in 1907, on the shoulders of the league’s best offense and the rescue of
Noodles Hahn from disarray in California. Hahn, another spitballer to call Cleveland home, enjoyed the same success as his predecessors by recording his best season with 29 wins against 10 losses. Philadelphia may have found some offense (finally) in newcomer Eddie Collins to help a talented pitching staff through the long season and seriously contend for a pennant in the coming years. Meanwhile New York fell dramatically no thanks in part to trading
Jack Chesbro back to the PCL for peanuts. Chesbro responded with his best professional season, winning 39 against 5 losses.
Final American Club Standings 1907
Code:
Club Won Lost Pct G.B. Avg. ERA
Cleveland 94 60 .610 - .264 2.24
Philadelphia 87 67 .565 7 .251 2.28
Boston 85 69 .552 9 .247 2.32
Washington 80 74 .519 14 .235 2.11
Detroit 79 75 .513 15 .241 2.35
Chicago 76 78 .494 18 .240 2.32
New York 61 93 .396 33 .249 2.69
St. Louis 54 100 .351 40 .220 2.65
World’s Series 1907 Recap: Pittsburg ends its campaign victorious against Cleveland in 6 games, 4 to 2. A game 4 melt down by American League’s best
Noodles Hahn leads to a 13-6 defeat that the Naps never recover from. Bill Bradley goes 11 for 19 but its Pittsburg’s pitching, notably that of late-season call-up, rookie Ed Summers, that wins championships. It is the Pirates third such claim on the world’s best base ball team.