1906 Season
Real Life -
The Pilgrims would run up an incredible 20 game losing streak that was finally snapped by Jesse Tannehill in a 3-0 victory over the White Sox. Their National League counterpart, the Beaneaters, would run up a 19 game losing streak themselves that finally ended on June 9, 1906 in a win over St. Louis. On August 13th, when Chicago's Jack Taylor failed to last through the third inning of a game against Brooklyn, it ended his record complete game streak at 187.
On August 23, the Washington Senators ended Chicago's 19 game winning streak. On September 1st, the Philadelphia Athletics scored three times in the top of the 24th inning and claimed a 4-1 victory over Boston in the longest game in Major League history. The White Sox clinched the A.L. pennant for the first time since 1901 while their citymates in the N.L. notched an incredible 116 wins and a team ERA of 1.76 to win the senior circuit.
The White Sox would stun the Cubs in an intra-city World Series, posting a six-game victory. The turning point in the series was an eight-run explosion in game five by the light hitting White Sox, led by Frank Isbell's four doubles and 2 RBI. Leading the way for the White Sox were 'Big Ed' Walsh (2-0, 1.80 ERA) and George Rohe (.333, 4 RBI) while Ed Reulbach (Game Two 1-hitter) starred for the Cubs.
George Stone from St. Louis won the A.L. batting crown with a .358 average while Philadelphia's Harry Davis led the power categories for the third year in a row, notching 12 HR and 96 RBI. Al Orth from New York was dominating with a 27-17 record and 338.2 IP. Chicago's Doc White led the circuit with a 1.52 ERA and Rube Waddell from Philadelphia was the strikeout leader again with 196. In the N.L., Honus Wagner's .339 average and 103 runs were league leaders. Brooklyn's Tim Jordan was the homerun king with 12 while Pittsburgh's Jim Nealon and Chicago's Harry Steinfeldt led the way with 83 RBI. The Cubs Mordecai Brown was incredible in 1906, with a 26-6 record and an amazing 1.04 ERA.
The Recreation -
Key Retirements:
Cy Young, SP
343-233, 2.97 ERA, 632G, 572 GS, 5161.2 IP, 5163 H, 968 BB, 1633 K, 534 CG, 38 SHO
#2 All-Time W, #6 ERA, #4 K, #2 CG, #2 SHO
Jesse 'Crab' Burkett, LF
.340, 8105 AB, 2755 H, 1624 R, 329 2B, 171 3B, 77 HR, 1054 RBI, 923 BB, 402 K, 454 SB
#2 All-Time AVG, #4 H, #5 R, #11 2B, #6 3B, #14 HR, #9 RBI, #6 BB, #16 SB
Hugh Duffy, CF
.314, 8500 AB, 2673 H, 1730 R, 384 2B, 141 3B, 111 HR, 1446 RBI, 761 BB, 332 K, 631 SB
#8 All-Time AVG, #5 H, #4 R, #4 2B, #13 3B, #2 HR, #3 RBI, #12 BB, #5 SB
'Sliding Billy' Hamilton, CF
.331, 8030 AB, 2660 H, 1931 R, 311 2B, 124 3B, 51 HR, 925 RBI, 1421 BB, 435 K, 1101 SB
#3 All-Time AVG, #6 H, #1 R, #17 2B, #19 3B, #19 RBI, #1 BB, #1 SB
George 'Rip' Van Haltren, CF
.313, 8967 AB, 2807 H, 1753 R, 325 2B, 184 3B, 76 HR, 1164 RBI, 886 BB, 448 K, 601 SB
#10 All-Time AVG, #3 H, #3 R, #13 2B, #4 3B, #16 HR, #7 RBI, #7 BB, #7 SB
Lave Cross, 3B
.292, 7835 AB, 2289 H, 1126 R, 350 2B, 123 3B, 54 HR, 431 BB, 258 K, 271 SB
#10 All-Time H, #6 RBI, #8 2B, #20 3B, #19 R
Tommy 'Corky' Corcoran, SS
.248, 7826 AB, 1941 H, 1053 R, 238 2B, 154 3B, 27 HR, 386 BB, 419 K, 330 SB
#22 All-Time H, #18 RBI, #9 3B, #24 R
Brickyard Kennedy, SP
224-183, 3.89 ERA, 470 G, 410 GS, 3535.2 IP, 3800 H, 1267 BB, 1003 K, 347 CG, 14 SHO
#21 All-Time ERA, #5 W, #7 K, #7 CG
Nig Cuppy, SP
178-107, 3.47 ERA, 338 G, 286 GS, 2522.0 IP, 2764 H, 659 BB, 626 K, 245 CG, 11 SHO
#16 All-Time ERA, #10 W, #18 CG
Top Preseason Prospects:
1. Ed 'Rube' Kinsella, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates, 24
2. Lefty Leifield, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates, 22
3. Babe Adams, SP, St. Louis Cardinals, 23
4. Carl 'Collie' Druhot, SP, Cincinnati Reds, 23
27. Mike Mowrey, 3B, Cincinnati Reds, 21
April 10, 1906: LF Jimmy Sheckard from the Brooklyn Superbas hits for the cycle in a 6-3 victory over the Phillies.
June 8, 1906: 'Big Ed' Delahanty from the Phillies becomes the first Major Leaguer to reach the magical 3000 hit mark in a 5-2 victory over Brooklyn.
July 3, 1906: Washington LF Elmer Smith nails career hit 2000.
July 9, 1906: The Senators Beany Jacobson pitches a beauty, giving up only 7 hits in 14 shutout innings in a 1-0 win over Philadelphia.
July 29, 1906: Pittsburgh manager/LF Fred Clarke strokes his 2000th career hit in a 7-6 victory over the Giants.
September 13, 1906: Giants manager/LF John 'Mugsy' McGraw becomes the third player this season to reach 2000 career hits.
September 23, 1906: St. Louis Cardinals 1B Roy Brashear goes 3-5 with 4 runs, 2 HR and 6 RBI in a 13-4 victory over the Beaneaters.
September 24, 1906: Detroit ends St. Louis' dominance in the American League by winning their first pennant by 7 games over the Browns. The Pirates win their third pennant in a row with a Major League record tying 99 wins (St. Louis Browns 1904).
October 1, 1905: Pittsburgh wins their second straight World Championship in 5 games over the young Detroit Tigers. Stars for Pittsburgh included CF Ginger Beaumont (.389, 2 HR, 3 RBI) and rookie hurler Ed Karger (2-0 1.80 ERA). 1B Chris 'Pinky' Lindsay (.375, 2 RBI) was the lone bright spot for the Tigers.
Code:
Final Standings
American League W L PCT GB
Detroit Tigers 91 63 .591 -
St. Louis Browns 84 70 .545 7
Philadelphia Athletics 83 71 .539 8
New York Highlanders 75 79 .487 16
Chicago White Sox 73 81 .474 18
Boston Pilgrims 71 83 .461 20
Washington Senators 71 83 .461 20
Cleveland Indians 68 86 .442 23
National League W L PCT GB
Pittsburgh Pirates 99 55 .643 -
Chicago Cubs 92 62 .597 7
Philadelphia Phillies 78 76 .506 21
Brooklyn Superbas 77 77 .500 22
New York Giants 76 78 .494 23
Cincinnati Reds 69 85 .448 30
St. Louis Cardinals 63 91 .409 36
Boston Beaneaters 62 92 .403 37
World Series Championship
Game 1: Pittsburgh 4, Detroit 0 (W: D. Phillippe, L: F. Owen)
Game 2: Pittsburgh 4, Detroit 2 (W: E. Karger, L: J. Dunleavy)
Game 3: Pittsburgh 6, Detroit 4 (W: O. Jones, L: B. Raymond)
Game 4: Detroit 2, Pittsburgh 0 (W: F. Owen, L: D. Phillippe)
Game 5: Pittsburgh 5, Detroit 3 (W: E. Karger, L: J. Dunleavy)
Pittsburgh Pirates win World Series 4-3
Regular Season Leaders
American League National League
BA: Willie Keeler, NYH, .330 BA: Del Howard, PIT, .324
Runs: Patsy Dougherty, BOS, 93 Runs: Fred Clarke, PIT, 101
Hits: Willie Keeler, NYH, 187 Hits: Nap Lajoie, PIT, 179
TB: Benny Bowcokc, STL, 245 TB: Nap Lajoie, PIT, 277
HR: Buck Freeman, BOS, 21 HR: Roy Brashear, STL, 17
Joe Kelley, BRO, 17
RBI: Willie Keeler, NYH, 80 RBI: Nap Lajoie, PIT, 104
SB: Patsy Dougherty, BOS, 49 SB: Danny Green, CHI, 58
Doc Casey, DET, 49
Wins: Eddie Plank, PHI, 26 Wins: Tully Sparks, BOS, 22
Tom Hughes, CHI, 22
Oscar Jones, PIT, 22
Ed Pinnance, CHI, 22
ERA: Chief Bender, PHI, 1.93 ERA: Tom Hughes, CHI, 1.69
CG: Eddie Plank, PHI, 37 CG: Oscar Jones, PIT, 36
IP: Frank Smith, CHI, 352.1 IP: Oscar Jones, PIT, 338.2
SO: Jake Weimer, PHI, 187 SO: Noodles Hahn, CIN, 128
Mordecai Brown, STL, 128
20-Game Winners
American League National League
Eddie Plank, PHI, 26-13 Tully Sparks, BOS, 22-14
Bert Husting, STL, 22-12 Tom Hughes, CHI, 22-11
Frank Owen, DET, 21-15 Oscar Jones, PIT, 22-16
Addie Joss, CLE, 21-16 Ed Pinnance, CHI, 22-14
Frank Smith, CHI, 20-16 Ed Reulbach, CHI, 20-10
Jake Weimer, PHI, 20-15 Christy Mathewson, NYG, 20-13
100 RBIs
American League National League
None Nap Lajoie, PIT, 104
Notable Player Performances
RF 'Wee Willie' Keeler, 34, New York Highlanders
.330 AVG, 567 AB, 187 H, 71 R, 16 2B, 9 3B, 1 HR, 80 RBI, 24 BB, 40 K, 11 SB
2B Nap 'Larry' Lajoie, 32, Pittsburgh Pirates
.311 AVG, 576 AB, 179 H, 86 R, 32 2B, 12 3B, 14 HR, 104 RBI, 30 BB, 42 K, 18 SB
Notable Pitching Performances
SP 'Gettysburg Eddie' Plank, 31, Philadelphia Athletics
26-13, 2.49 ERA, 39 GS, 343.0 IP, 260 H, 46 BB, 126 K, 37 CG, 3 SHO
SP 'Long Tom' Hughes, 27, Chicago Cubs
22-11, 1.69 ERA, 36 GS, 320.0 IP, 237 H, 46 BB, 117 K, 33 CG, 5 SHO
Notable Rookie Performances
SP Ralph Glaze, 24, Boston Pilgrims
19-17, 2.47 ERA, 37 GS, 320.2 IP, 282 H, 86 BB, 105 K, 35 CG, 2 SHO
SP 'Loose' Ed Karger, 23, Pittsburgh Pirates
17-10, 2.45 ERA, 36 GS, 268.2 IP, 226 H, 60 BB, 95 K, 7 CG, 1 SHO
Prospect Watch
Ed 'Rube' Kinsella: AAA (Pirates System)
11-3, 3.39 ERA, 25 G, 11 GS, 106.1 IP, 96 H, 28 BB, 146 K, 5 CG, 2 SHO
Lefty Leifield: Pittsburgh Pirates
10-6, 2.78 ERA, 24 G, 19 GS, 142.1 IP, 116 H, 42 BB, 33 K, 1 CG, 0 SHO
Babe Adams: AA (Cardinals System)
8-7, 2.65 ERA, 19 GS, 142.2 IP, 102 H, 30 BB, 122 K, 5 CG, 1 SHO
Carl 'Collie' Druhot: St. Louis Browns (traded in-season)
16-15, 4.07 ERA, 38 GS, 278.1 IP, 295 H, 97 BB, 87 K, 9 CG, 1 SHO
Mike Mowrey: Cincinnati Reds
.246 AVG, 61 AB, 15 H, 6 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 6 RBI, 3 BB, 10 K, 0 SB
Records Set in 1906
In the American League, Buck Freeman of the Pilgrims became the first Major Leaguer to crack the 20-Home Run barrier, nailing 21 on the season. Washington Senators CF Roy Thomas set the 'modern day' mark for walks in the A.L. with 101.
In the N.L., the Pirates set the record for team wins with 99. Roy Brashear from St. Louis nailed 17 home runs to set that league mark, while Johnny Evers from Chicago set the rookie home run record with 6. Phillies hurler Andy Coakley's 39 complete games set a record as well.