1909 Pittsburgh Pirates: Swashbuckling

1909 Pittsburgh Pirates: Swashbuckling

[paypal_donation_button]1909 Pittsburgh Pirates: Swashbuckling

A team filled with personality just by looking at their nicknames, the Pittsburgh Pirates of the 1900’s were a fun bunch to be around. They were also a dominant baseball team on the field of play as they went 110-42, winning the National League pennant by 6.5 games over the Chicago Cubs. The Pirates went 13-9 against the Cubs in head-to-head play. The Pirates were dominant both at their home of Forbes Field and on the road as they went 56-21 at home and 54-21 on the road.

Leading the swashbuckling charge at the plate was shortstop Honus Wagner, who was more well known than just being on a baseball trading card. Wagner batted .339 with 5 home runs and 100 RBI’s off 168 hits, 39 doubles, 10 triples and 35 stolen bases. Left fielder Fred Clarke batted .287 with 158 hits, 16 doubles, 11 triples and 31 stolen bases. Second baseman John “Dots” Miller batted .279 with 87 RBI’s off 156 hits, 31 doubles, 13 triples and 14 stolen bases.

Right fielder John “Chief” Wilson batted .272 with 155 hits, 22 doubles, 12 triples and 17 stolen bases. Catcher George Gibson had 135 hits, 25 doubles, 9 triples and 9 stolen bases. Center fielder Tommy Leach had 153 hits, 29 doubles, 8 triples and 27 stolen bases. First baseman Bill Abstein had 70 RBI’s off 133 hits, 20 doubles, 10 triples and 16 stolen bases. Third baseman William “Jap” Barbeau had 77 hits, 16 doubles and 19 stolen bases.

Pittsburgh’s pitching staff was second to none in Major League Baseball. Starting pitcher Vic Willis went 22-11 with 95 strikeouts and a 2.24 ERA, recording 24 complete games and 4 shutouts. Howie Camnitz went 25-6 with 133 strikeouts and a 1.62 ERA, recording 20 complete games and 5 shutouts. Nick Maddox went 13-8 with a 2.21 ERA, recording 17 complete games and 4 shutouts. Albert “Lefty” Leifield went 19-8 with a 2.37 ERA, recording 13 complete games and 3 shutouts. Charles “Deacon” Phillippe went 8-3 with a 2.32 ERA, recording 7 complete games and 1 shutout. Relief pitcher Charles “Babe” Adams went 12-3 with a 1.11 ERA, recording 7 complete games and 3 shutouts as a starter in 25 games. Sam Leever went 8-1 with a 2.83 ERA and 2 complete games in 19 games. Chester “Chick” Brandom went 1-0 with a 1.11 ERA.

A classic 7-game battle unfolded in the 1909 World Series between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the American League Champion Detroit Tigers. In Game 1 on October 8 at Forbes Field the Pirates won 4-1. Babe Adams pitched a complete game, giving up 6 hits, 4 walks and 1 run while recording 2 strikeouts. In the bottom of the 1st inning Tigers second baseman Jim Delahanty had an RBI single, but Pittsburgh took control after that. Fred Clarke hit a solo home run in the bottom of the 4th, George Gibson had an RBI double in the bottom of the 5th, and Tommy Leach followed with a sacrifice fly. Bill Abstein topped things off with an RBI groundout in the bottom of the 6th.

In Game 2 on October 9 the Tigers won 7-2. In the bottom of the 1st inning Leach and John Miller both had RBI doubles, but then Detroit would take over. In the top of the 2nd catcher Charles “Boss” Schmidt had a 2-run double, and then Delahanty had his own 2-run double in the top of the 3rd. Right fielder Ty Cobb followed that up by stealing home plate. In the top of the 5th Schmidt would get an 2-run single.

In Game 3 on October 11 at Bennett Park the Pirates won 8-6. Honus Wagner reached on an error to score Leach in the top of the 1st inning, and then on a double steal with Clarke, Wagner would steal home plate. A wild pitch would later score Clarke. Abstein and Wilson proceeded to get RBI singles afterward. In the top of the 2nd Leach got caught stealing, but he reached home plate on a throwing error. In the bottom of the 7th first baseman Tom Jones had an RBI single, shortstop Donie Bush had a 2-run single, and Cobb had an RBI single. In the top of the 9th Clarke had a sacrifice fly and Wagner had an RBI single. In the bottom of the 9th Cobb had a ground rule RBI double and center fielder Sam Crawford had an RBI groundout.

The Tigers bounced back to blank the Pirates 5-0 in Game 4 on October 12. Detroit’s George Mullin pitched a complete game, giving up 5 hits and 2 walks while recording 10 strikeouts. In the bottom of the 2nd inning catcher Oscar Stanage had a 2-run single. In the bottom of the 4th Bush had an RBI double and Cobb had a 2-run double.

Back at Forbes Field for Game 5 on October 13, the Pirates won 8-4. In the top of the 1st inning left fielder Davey Jones hit a solo home run, but Abstein countered with a bases loaded walk to score third baseman Bobby Byrne in the bottom of the 1st. In the bottom of the 2nd a wild pitch scored Gibson, and in the bottom of the 3rd Miller had an RBI groundout. In the top of the 6th Crawford had an RBI double, and then Delahanty reached on an error to score Crawford. In the bottom of the 7th Clarke launched a 3-run home run, and then after stealing third base, Wagner reached home plate on a throwing error. After Crawford hit a solo home run in the top of the 8th, Gibson had an RBI single in the bottom of the 8th.

Back at Bennett Park for Game 6 on October 14, the Tigers evened the series at 3 games apiece with a 5-4 victory. Clarke had an RBI single and Wagner had a 2-run double in the top of the 1st inning, and in the bottom of the 1st Crawford had an RBI double. In the bottom of the 4th third baseman George Moriarty and Tom Jones both had RBI singles, and in the bottom of the 5th Delahanty had an RBI double. In the bottom of the 6th Cobb had a ground rule RBI double. Laying down a sacrifice bunt and reaching on an error in the top of the 9th to score Dots Miller, Chief Wilson couldn’t spark a late rally.

In the deciding Game 7 on October 16 the Pirates blanked the Tigers 8-0 to complete their swashbuckling adventure and win their first World Series title in franchise history. Babe Adams pitched another complete game, giving up 6 hits and 1 walk while recording 1 strikeout. In the top of the 2nd inning center fielder Robert “Ham” Hyatt had a sacrifice fly, and then Fred Clarke drew a bases loaded walk to score Chief Wilson. In the top of the 4th Dots Miller had a 2-run single, and then in the top of the 6th Honus Wagner had a 3-run triple. Miller would reach on an error to score Clarke in the top of the 8th to finish the scoring.