OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - The National Pastime: The United States Baseball Federation rises

KCRoyals15 · 11-24-2024, 12:20 PM

1920

As the Roaring Twenties began, a fundamental change in how the game was played began. A new livelier ball was introduced and the league batting average soared by 15 points from the year prior...with scoring and home runs ticking up as well.

In the standings, Kansas City cruised to a league-leading 104 wins, taking their fourth-straight Western League crown. Baltimore won the Eastern League for the second straight year at 100 wins.

Over in the Midwest Association, the St. Louis Browns snapped an eight-year drought, winning the MWA for the third time. Lastly, in the best pennant race of the season, Newark earned their first New England League pennant in 11 years (second overall), edging out both Boston clubs by one game.

The Semifinals were a snoozer on both sides as KC and St. Louis both romped to first-round sweeps—just the second time that's happened in USBF history. The championship series was much better, as the so-called Victory Highway Series saw Kansas City defeat St. Louis in a seven-game clash.

While offense did perk up, it was a disciple of the old way who cleaned up the hardware. Baltimore outfielder Dave Finney did crack 10 home runs, but he also stole 76 bases, while swatting a USBF-best 235 hits for a .357/.402/.485 line. That earned him both MVP and Rookie of the Year honors. Finney never reached those heights again, though he turned in six solid seasons before moving down to the minors and playing a dozen years in the Great Lakes League until he was 44 years old.

Milwaukee ace Justin Rodrigues had taken home Pitcher of the Year three times in four years from 1910-13, but while he hadn't won anything more, he continued to be dominant throughout the decade. The 36-year-old, though, turned in one more award-winning campaign, going 24-10 and led the Federation with a 1.91 ERA, striking out 165 batters in 329.0 innings in his last truly great season of a 16-year career that saw him win 311 games.

1920 saw two pitchers win their 300th game, as Andy Epperson reached that milestone on June 1 and David Devlin followed on August 28.

Minor League Champions
Pacific Coast League: Sacramento Solons, 130-70, defeats Los Angeles (2nd straight)
Southeastern League: Atlanta Crackers, 95-45, defeats New Orleans (2nd straight)
Colonial League: Reading Keystones, 79-47, defeats Albany
Texas League: Oklahoma City Indians, 80-46, defeats Galveston
River Valley League: Dayton Inventors, 90-50, defeats Toledo
Rocky Mountain League: Salt Lake City, 73-53 defeats Ft. Collins
Coastal League: Jacksonville Tars, 88-52, defeats Mobile
Northern League: Sioux City Cornhuskers, 74-52, defeats Duluth
Great Lakes League: Grand Rapids Griffins, 80-60, defeats Youngstown (2nd straight)

11-24-2024, 12:20 PM	#21
KCRoyals15 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Oct 2020 Location: A lot of them Posts: 123	Roaring Twenties and Rabbit Ball 1920 As the Roaring Twenties began, a fundamental change in how the game was played began. A new livelier ball was introduced and the league batting average soared by 15 points from the year prior...with scoring and home runs ticking up as well. In the standings, Kansas City cruised to a league-leading 104 wins, taking their fourth-straight Western League crown. Baltimore won the Eastern League for the second straight year at 100 wins. Over in the Midwest Association, the St. Louis Browns snapped an eight-year drought, winning the MWA for the third time. Lastly, in the best pennant race of the season, Newark earned their first New England League pennant in 11 years (second overall), edging out both Boston clubs by one game. The Semifinals were a snoozer on both sides as KC and St. Louis both romped to first-round sweeps—just the second time that's happened in USBF history. The championship series was much better, as the so-called Victory Highway Series saw Kansas City defeat St. Louis in a seven-game clash. While offense did perk up, it was a disciple of the old way who cleaned up the hardware. Baltimore outfielder Dave Finney did crack 10 home runs, but he also stole 76 bases, while swatting a USBF-best 235 hits for a .357/.402/.485 line. That earned him both MVP and Rookie of the Year honors. Finney never reached those heights again, though he turned in six solid seasons before moving down to the minors and playing a dozen years in the Great Lakes League until he was 44 years old. Milwaukee ace Justin Rodrigues had taken home Pitcher of the Year three times in four years from 1910-13, but while he hadn't won anything more, he continued to be dominant throughout the decade. The 36-year-old, though, turned in one more award-winning campaign, going 24-10 and led the Federation with a 1.91 ERA, striking out 165 batters in 329.0 innings in his last truly great season of a 16-year career that saw him win 311 games. 1920 saw two pitchers win their 300th game, as Andy Epperson reached that milestone on June 1 and David Devlin followed on August 28. Minor League Champions Pacific Coast League: Sacramento Solons, 130-70, defeats Los Angeles (2nd straight) Southeastern League: Atlanta Crackers, 95-45, defeats New Orleans (2nd straight) Colonial League: Reading Keystones, 79-47, defeats Albany Texas League: Oklahoma City Indians, 80-46, defeats Galveston River Valley League: Dayton Inventors, 90-50, defeats Toledo Rocky Mountain League: Salt Lake City, 73-53 defeats Ft. Collins Coastal League: Jacksonville Tars, 88-52, defeats Mobile Northern League: Sioux City Cornhuskers, 74-52, defeats Duluth Great Lakes League: Grand Rapids Griffins, 80-60, defeats Youngstown (2nd straight) Last edited by KCRoyals15; 12-11-2024 at 01:32 AM.