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| Decade: The Roaring Twenties (1920-1929) |
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1910's Decade Page |
1930's Decade Page |
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| Team Decade Pages (Average Win Shares / Points per year in decade): |
Top Team Builders In Decade: |
| AMERICAN LEAGUE: |
NATIONAL LEAGUE: |
1 - Branch Rickey (GM) -
Cards |
| New York Yankees - 122 |
New York Giants - 117 |
2 - Jacob Ruppert (Owner), Ed Barrow (GM), Miller
Huggins (Manager) - Yankees |
| Washington Senators - 104 |
Pittsburgh Pirates - 115 |
3 - John McGraw (Manager),
Charles Stoneham (Owner) - Giants |
| Cleveland Indians - 103 |
St. Louis Cardinals - 107 |
4 - Fred Clarke (VP), Barney Dreyfuss (Owner) -
Pirates |
| Philiadelphia A's - 101 |
Chicago Cubs - 105 |
5 - William Wrigley (Owner),
Bill Veeck Sr (GM), Joe McCarthy (Manager)
- Cubs |
| St. Louis Browns - 99 |
Cincinnati Reds - 104 |
6 - Clark Griffith (Owner), Bucky Harris (Manager)-
Washington |
| Detroit Tigers - 99 |
Brooklyn Robins (Dodgers) - 100 |
7 - Connie Mack (Manager, Owner) - A's |
| Chicago White Sox - 96 |
Boston Braves - 79 |
8 - Garry Herrman (Owner) -
Reds |
| Boston Red Sox - 77 |
Philadelphia Phillies - 74 |
9 - Jim Dunn (Owner), Ernest S Barnard (GM) -
Cleveland |
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| Decade Highlights |
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| □ Baseball changed dramatically in the
Twenties. The Dead Ball Era turned into the Live Ball Era. |
| Yankee pitcher Carl
Mays killed Cleveland Shortstop Ray Chapman with a pitch. |
| The Major Leagues
modified their policy on baseball's as a result, replacing the old decrepit rocks that had
been |
| used for the entire game with new ones that
could be seen by batters. |
| The spitball and defacing the ball by
pitchers was also banned so that they could control their pitches better.
That certainly helped the hitters. |
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| Simultaneously, Babe
Ruth arrived on the scene as an unprecendented slugger for the Yankees. |
| In 1920, he outhomered, by himself, every
team in baseball with his 54. |
| Everybody wanted to
be like Babe. Baseball reflected the era as it was now a high scoring
game, |
| a perfect complement to the Roaring
Twenties. |
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| □ The other huge change was the invention of
the farm system by the Cardinals's Branch Rickey. |
| The Cards were one
of the worst teams in baseball over the first two decades of the
century. |
| Rickey was hired
away from owner Phillip Ball and the St. Louis Browns by Cards owner Sam
Breadon. |
| Breadon was open to
Rickey's idea of creating a farm system. Breadon had to sell his stadium
Robison Field |
| in order to finance
Rickey's venture and then leased Sportsman's Park from Ball. |
| The result was a Cardinal near dynasty over
the next two and a half decades while |
| Rickey was their GM.
It wasn't long before everybody had a farm system. |
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| □ The Yankees emerged as a near dynasty. Jacob Ruppert had bought the club in 1915,
but was going nowhere. |
| However, Red Sox owner Harry Frasee saved
the day for Ruppert. Frasee wanted to finance his Broadway Play |
| Fueled by all of the old Boston stars, the
Yankees went on to dominate the Twenties. |
| Ruppert also got Red
Sox manager Ed Barrow to be his GM. |
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| □ As the decade went on, the A's became
relevent again. Connie Mack, a baseball genius, was a master at |
| building powerhouse teams. Mack had lost interest in putting a winning
team on the field from 1915-1921. |
| The A's average a beyond putrid 46-108
record during that period. |
| After co-owner, Ben
Shibe died in 1922, Mack came back to life and by 1925 was fielding a
contending team. |
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| Mack had the knack. Washington owner Clark Griffith also
fielded competitive teams in the Twenties. Cleveland too. |
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| □ In the National League, John McGraw of the
Giants, helped by predatory trades with the hapless Braves and the Reds, |
| put together a string of titles early in the
decade. McGraw, however, never liked the live ball era game much and the |
| Giants lost their dominance as the decade
wore on. Barney Dreyfuss and Fred Clarke got the Pirates back on their feet
and the |
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| Bucs were competitive in the Twenties. |
| The Cubs re-emerged as a top club, as well,
during the decade. |
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| A series of
one-sided deals by Cubs GM Bill Veeck Sr. made a huge difference. |
| And, of course, St. Louis, with Branch
Rickey now at the helm as GM, became a top contender. |
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| □ Gambling was a real problem for baseball in
the Twenties. The 1919 World Series had been thrown by the White Sox. |
| There was also a lot of other minor betting
scandals and rumor |
| had it that gambling
was rampant. It all stemmed from the mistreatment of players by owners after
the Federal League folded |
| as a number of owners slashed salaries
vindictively as was their prerogative as a monopoly. |
| Lots of salary disputes and bad blood. |
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| White Sox owner
Charles Commiskey cavalierly played favorites with his salary structure and
never quite seemed to recover |
| Baseball appointed it's first Commissioner,
Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, to clean things up. |
| Gambling was about
to destroy the game. |
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| □ The automobile was now getting more
prevelant in America, altho' teams still travelled by train. |
| Radio was beginning to broadcast baseball
games, but was still not prevalent. |
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| Players (Win
Shares / Points and WAR (in parentheses) for Decade ): |
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| All Positions - Top 50 |
Top Starting Pitchers |
Top Catchers |
Top Outfielders |
| 1 - Babe Ruth Yankees (102.3) - 185 |
2 - Burleigh Grimes Brooklyn (38.43) - 136 |
49 - Wally Schang Yankees (24.94) - 71 |
1 - Babe Ruth Yankees (102.3) - 185 |
| 2 - Burleigh Grimes Brooklyn (38.43) - 136 |
7 - Eppa Rixey Reds (39.47) - 116 |
Muddy Ruel Washington (17.64) - 59 |
5 - Sam Rice Washington (36.19) - 118 |
| 3 - Frankie Frisch Cards (54.12) - 129 |
9 - Grover Cleveland
Alexander Cards (48.62) - 109 |
Johnny Bassler Detroit (19.52) -
55 |
6 - Ty Cobb Detroit (41.14) - 117 |
| 4 - Rogers Hornsby Cards (93.16) - 129 |
12 - Pop Haines Cards (24.21) - 103 |
Gabby Hartnett Cubs (16.28)
- 49 |
8 - Tris Speaker Cleveland (51.36) - 110 |
| 5 - Sam Rice Washington (36.19) - 118 |
13 - Herb Pennock Yankees (39.59) - 103 |
Mickey Cochrane (17.94) - 49 |
10 - Ken Williams Browns (40.97) - 107 |
| 6 - Ty Cobb Detroit (41.14) - 117 |
14 - Dazzy Vance Brooklyn (50.11) - 102 |
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11 - Max Carey Pirates (25.68) - 103 |
| 7 - Eppa Rixey Reds (39.47) - 116 |
16 - Dolf Luque Reds (37.22) - 98 |
Top First Basemen |
15 - Harry Heilmann Detroit (56.81) - 99 |
| 8 - Tris Speaker Cleveland (51.36) - 110 |
18 - Urban Shocker Browns (45.09) - 97 |
25 - George Sisler Browns (30.92) - 90 |
19 - Bob Meusel Yankees (27.63) - 96 |
| 9 - Grover Cleveland
Alexander Cards (48.62) - 109 |
21 - Red Faber Chicago (46.76) - 95 |
40 - Jack Fournier Brooklyn (28.87) - 76 |
20 - Edd Roush Reds (27.2) - 95 |
| 10 - Ken Williams Browns (40.97) - 107 |
22 - Eddie Rommel A's (45.53) - 93 |
43 - Highpockets Kelly Giants
(27.04) - 75 |
24 - Goose Goslin Washington (39.76) - 90 |
| 11 - Max Carey Pirates (25.68) - 103 |
23 - Waite Hoyt Yankees (35.9) - 90 |
47 - Lu Blue Detroit (30.23) - 72 |
27 - Johnny Mostil Chicago (24.09) - 87 |
| 12 - Pop Haines Cards (24.21) - 103 |
26 - Wilbur Cooper Pirates (24.26) - 87 |
Lou Gehrig Yankees (39.33) - 65 |
31 - Cy Williams Phillies (27.36) - 84 |
| 13 - Herb Pennock Yankees (39.59) - 103 |
28 - Sad Sam Jones Yankees (26.24) - 86 |
Jim Bottomley Cards (28.73) - 59 |
36 - Kiki Cuyler Pirates (25.43) - 80 |
| 14 - Dazzy Vance Brooklyn (50.11) - 102 |
29 - Bill Sherdel Cards (24.65) - 86 |
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37 - Bing Miller A's (23.35) - 79 |
| 15 - Harry Heilmann Detroit (56.81) - 99 |
30 - George Uhle Cleveland (31.74) - 86 |
Top Second Basemen |
41 - Baby Doll Jacobson
Browns (23.68) - 76 |
| 16 - Dolf Luque Reds (37.22) - 98 |
32 - Pete Donohue Reds (17.11) - 83 |
3 - Frankie Frisch Cards (54.12) - 129 |
44 - Zack Wheat Brooklyn (27.41) - 75 |
| 17 - Joe Sewell Cleveland (44.1) - 98 |
33 - Lee Meadows Pirates (23.91) - 81 |
4 - Rogers Hornsby Cards (93.16) - 129 |
45 - Charlie Jamieson
Cleveland (23.63 )- 73 |
| 18 - Urban Shocker Browns (45.09) - 97 |
34 - Walter Johnson
Washington (32.58) - 80 |
50 - Eddie Collins
Chicago (39.35) - 70 |
46 - Al Simmons A's (31.45) - 73 |
| 19 - Bob Meusel Yankees (27.63) - 96 |
38 - Howard Ehmke A's (36.77) - 78 |
Marty McManus Borwons (22.47) - 62 |
Joe Judge Washington (31.77) - 69 |
| 20 - Edd Roush Reds (27.2) - 95 |
39 - Stan Coveleski Cleveland
(38.3)- 77 |
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Ross Youngs Giants (24.8) - 66 |
| 21 - Red Faber Chicago (46.76) - 95 |
42 - Art Nehf Giants (12.65) - 75 |
Top Shortstops |
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| 22 - Eddie Rommel A's (45.53) - 93 |
50 - Bullet Joe Bush Yankees (20.07) - 70 |
17 - Joe Sewell Cleveland (44.1) - 98 |
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| 23 - Waite Hoyt Yankees (35.9) - 90 |
50 - Ted Lyons Chicago (24.39) - 70 |
35 - Dave Bancroft Giants (34.93) -80 |
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| 24 - Goose Goslin Washington (39.76) - 90 |
Carl Mays Yankees (23.62) - 69 |
Travis Jackson Giants (27.64) - 63 |
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| 25 - George Sisler Browns (30.92) - 90 |
Tom Zachary Washingyon (25.78) - 69 |
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| 26 - Wilbur Cooper Pirates (24.26) - 87 |
Ray Kremer Pirates (23.96) - 67 |
Top Third Basemen |
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| 27 - Johnny Mostil Chicago (24.09) - 87 |
Jack Quinn A's (37.14) - 67 |
48 - Pie Traynor Pirates (23.05) - 72 |
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| 28 - Sad Sam Jones Yankees (26.24) - 86 |
Lefty Grove A's (29.04) - 63 |
Marty McManus Detroit (22.47) - 62 |
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| 29 - Bill Sherdel Cards (24.65) - 86 |
Bob Shawkey Yankees (26.61) - 56 |
Jimmy Dykes A's (22.52) - 61 |
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| 30 - George Uhle Cleveland (31.74) - 86 |
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Willie Kamm Chicago (24.51) - 43 |
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| 31 - Cy Williams Phillies (27.36) - 84 |
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| 32 - Pete Donohue Reds (17.11) - 83 |
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| 33 - Lee Meadows Pirates (23.91) - 81 |
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| 34 - Walter Johnson
Washington (32.58) - 80 |
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| 35 - Dave Bancroft Giants (34.93) -80 |
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| 36 - Kiki Cuyler Pirates (25.43) - 80 |
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| 37 - Bing Miller A's (23.35) - 79 |
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| 38 - Howard Ehmke A's (36.77) - 78 |
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| 39 - Stan Coveleski Cleveland
(38.3)- 77 |
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| 40 - Jack Fournier Brooklyn (28.87) - 76 |
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| 41 - Baby Doll Jacobson
Browns (23.68) - 76 |
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| 42 - Art Nehf Giants (12.65) - 75 |
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| 43 - Highpockets Kelly Giants
(27.04) - 75 |
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| 44 - Zack Wheat Brooklyn (27.41) - 75 |
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| 45 - Charlie Jamieson
Cleveland (23.63 )- 73 |
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| 46 - Al Simmons A's (31.45) - 73 |
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| 47 - Lu Blue Detroit (30.23) - 72 |
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| 48 - Pie Traynor Pirates (23.05) - 72 |
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| 49 - Wally Schang Yankees (24.94) - 71 |
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| 50 - Eddie Collins
Chicago (39.35) - 70 |
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| 50 - Bullet Joe Bush Yankees (20.07) - 70 |
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| 50 - Ted Lyons Chicago (24.39) - 70 |
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