The 1905 Season
Posted 12-09-2017 at 08:38 AM by bjohn13
Opening Day Lineup
C Lave Cross
1B Jake Beckley
2B Shad Barry
3B Terry Turner
SS Joe Tinker
LF Charlie Hickman
CF Davy Jones
RF Billy Hamilton
SP Jerry Nops
Most Common Lineup
C Lave Cross
1B Johnny Lush
2B Heinie Wagner
3B Shad Barry
SS Joe Tinker
LF Willie Keeler
CF Davy Jones
RF Billy Hamilton
Pitching Staff
SP Rube Waddell
SP Jerry Nops
SP Cy Young
SP Tom Hughes
SP Barney Pelty
RP Highball Wilson
RP Lave Winham
RP Andy Coakley
RP Charlie Smith
April
Brooklyn struggled in April. Freddy Parent and Willie Keeler started the year on the disabled list, and they were soon joined by Billy Hamilton, Lave Cross, and Shad Barry. Parent and Cross, along with Charlie Hickman, just couldn’t get their bats going when they were playing.
It didn’t take long for Brooklyn to dip into their farm system for relief, either. Mike McCormick, Joe Cassidy, Art McGovern, Johnny Lush, and Chub Aubrey all got playing time in April.
Brooklyn finished the month in sixth place, six games behind the Cincinnati Reds.
May
Brooklyn went on a tear in May, aided by a phenomenal showing by their pitching staff. Rube Waddell won the National League Pitcher of the Month Award. He was tied for the league lead in wins at the end of the month. Considering that he had one game on April 22 where he gave up 10 earned runs in 3 2/3 innings, his performances in his other games have been absolutely dominant. When Rube Waddell pitched a shutout on May 23 to give Brooklyn their 26th win, 14 of Brooklyn’s 26 wins at that point in the season were shutouts. Waddell contributed five.
On offense, there was Willie Keeler and pretty much no one else. Keeler was hitting .323 at the end of May. If he had enough at bats to qualify for the batting title, he would have ranked 2nd.
Overall, Brooklyn was 18-8 in May. They pulled up into third place in the National League, four games behind Cincinnati.
June
Brooklyn continued to put wins on the board in June, but they couldn’t keep pace with a Cincinnati team that won 17 games on the month. An injury to Cy Young meant that the Superbas were using Barney Pelty and Otto Hess in spot starts.
From an offensive standpoint, Brooklyn just wasn’t producing. Brooklyn’s manager elected to put a defensive unit on the field instead which severely limited the playing time of Billy Hamilton and Jake Beckley. At the end of the month, Brooklyn found themselves 7 games out of first place.
1905 All Star Roster
July
Brooklyn took care of business in July including winning 5 of 7 games against first place Cincinnati. Unfortunately, Cincinnati only won two other games all month. Brooklyn finished the month with a 17-8 record, and Cincinnati finished the month with an 18-8 record. Therefore, despite an impressive month, Brooklyn fell to 7 ½ games out of first place.
A big part of the reason for Brooklyn’s success lied in Barney Pelty playing extremely well for the injured Cy Young. When young returned from the disabled list, Pelty replaced Tom Hughes in the rotation. By the end of July, Pelty was 7-1 with a 0.73 ERA. Meanwhile, Rube Waddell and Jerry Nops were both in the hunt for a 20-win season. They both finished July with 14.
August
Billy Hamilton had lost his job as a starter in the Brooklyn lineup, but then he started hitting in the month of August. After being reinstated as the starting right fielder, he went on an offensive tear, winning the National League Player of the Month Award for August, hitting .361 on the month with 18 runs scored. Charlie Hickman also had a good month, and Brooklyn finished of a run where they won 16 of 18 in early August. This winning spree helped them to chip away at Cincinnati’s lead, and by the time Brooklyn and Cincinnati met for a three game series on August 18th, Brooklyn had taken the National League lead by a game. Cincinnati took 2 of 3 in that series, but they only won 2 of their next 8 to cede the lead back to Brooklyn. Brooklyn finished the month with a two-game lead in the National League. With 22 games to go, they had three games left with Cincinnati commencing on September 12.
September
Brooklyn’s pitching staff wasn’t able to keep it together in September. The Superbas held a three game lead over Cincinnati going into their final series of the year, but Cincinnati exploded for 20 runs in the first two games to pull within a game. While Brooklyn did take the third game of the series to avert disaster, they would proceed to lose their next three to drop out of first place anyway. Brooklyn took four in a row to pull within a virtual tie for first with five games to go, but Brooklyn then proceeded to lose four of those last five games to finish a full two games out of first place.
1905 Final Standings
1905 Hitting Leaders
1905 Pitching Leaders
1905 Team Hitting
1905 Team Pitching
Brooklyn Hitting
Brooklyn Pitching
World Series
The Cleveland Naps represented the American League for the second straight season while the National League was represented by the Cincinnati Reds in the 1905 World Series. It was Cleveland’s second World Series appearance overall while Cincinnati made their fourth appearance.
The defending champion Naps had a potent offense led by the bats of MVP candidate Gene DeMontreville, Sam Mertes, Solly Hoffman, and Bill Bradley. The pitching staff was anchored by Cy Young candidate Red Ames, who won 29 games on the season. Closer Ralph Caldwell turned in 39 saves. If there was one weakness on this Cleveland team, it was the starting pitching behind Ames.
Cincinnati’s offense, though not quite as potent, had some pop. Sherry Magee, George Davis, and Jesse Hoffmeister provided solid production at the top of the lineup. Cincinnati’s pitching staff was led by 27 game winner Chief Bender followed by the solid arms of Orval Overall and Doc White.
Red Ames went up against Orval Overall in game one. Cleveland got off to a 3 run lead in the top of the 4th behind a 2-RBI single by Jack McCarthy. Cincinnati responded with two in the bottom of the fourth highlighted by an RBI double by Sherry Magee, but that’s all Cincinnati would get. Red Ames would pitch 7 innings, giving up the two earned runs for the victory while Ralph Caldwell pitched two innings for the save.
George Winter started game two for Cleveland against Doc White. Cincinnati got to Winter early putting up two runs in the first highlighted by a solo home run by Jesse Hoffmeister. Cleveland chipped away at that lead getting one in the third and tying with another in the fifth. In the top of the sixth, Cleveland took the lead off a Gene DeMontreville RBI single, but Cincinnati came back with two in the bottom of the 6th to re-establish a 4-3 lead. Sherry Magee tacked on another with a solo home run in the bottom of the 8th to give Cincinnati a 5-3 lead going to the ninth. Pinch hitter Jay Clarke drove one in for Cleveland with an RBI double in the bottom of the ninth, and then two batters later, Bill Bradley drove him in with his third hit of the game, a game tying RBI-single. In the bottom of the 9th, Al Bridwell won the game in walk-off fashion with his third hit of the game, an RBI single to win the game.
Charles Bender started game three against 40-year old veteran George Cobb. Sherry Magee drove in a run with an RBI double in the first, and Frank Bowerman added on an RBI double in the 6 to help Cincinnati get off to a 4-0 lead. Cleveland chipped away by a run in the 8th and another run in the 9th, but Ollie Johns came on to earn the save for Cincinnati in a 4-2 victory to take a 2-1 lead in the series. Al Bridwell had three hits again for Cincinnati.
Orval Overall and Red Ames squared off in a pitchers’ duel in game four. Cincinnati got on the board first in the fifth inning when Lew Drill drove in Ike Rockenfield. In the bottom of the sixth, Emmett Heidrick doubled in Gene Demontreville to tie the game at one. In the bottom of the ninth, Stan Mertes drove in Heidrick for the game winning run to give Cleveland a 2-1 victory, evening the series at two games apiece. Red Ames went the distance for Cleveland giving up one run on four hits and striking out 10. DeMontreville and Heidrick each had three hits for Cleveland.
Doc White faced George Winter in game five. Cleveland struck first with a Bill Bradley home run in the first. Cincinnati tied the game with a George Davis RBI single in the top of the second, and then they took the lead thanks to two errors and an RBI triple by Sherry Magee in the third. Cincinnati would not relinquish the lead. White went on to pitch 7 2/3, giving up three runs, and Ollie Johns came out to earn the save. With the 4-3 victory, Cincinnati took a 3-2 series lead.
With the series going back to Cincinnati, Cleveland sent George Cobb to the mound to try to keep the series alive. Cincinnati exploded for four runs in the bottom of the fourth, though, and George Davis added a home run in the fifth. Cincinnati would go on to win 9-4 to take their second franchise World Series championship. Sherry Magee won the World Series MVP Award.
1905 Awards
C Lave Cross
1B Jake Beckley
2B Shad Barry
3B Terry Turner
SS Joe Tinker
LF Charlie Hickman
CF Davy Jones
RF Billy Hamilton
SP Jerry Nops
Most Common Lineup
C Lave Cross
1B Johnny Lush
2B Heinie Wagner
3B Shad Barry
SS Joe Tinker
LF Willie Keeler
CF Davy Jones
RF Billy Hamilton
Pitching Staff
SP Rube Waddell
SP Jerry Nops
SP Cy Young
SP Tom Hughes
SP Barney Pelty
RP Highball Wilson
RP Lave Winham
RP Andy Coakley
RP Charlie Smith
April
Brooklyn struggled in April. Freddy Parent and Willie Keeler started the year on the disabled list, and they were soon joined by Billy Hamilton, Lave Cross, and Shad Barry. Parent and Cross, along with Charlie Hickman, just couldn’t get their bats going when they were playing.
It didn’t take long for Brooklyn to dip into their farm system for relief, either. Mike McCormick, Joe Cassidy, Art McGovern, Johnny Lush, and Chub Aubrey all got playing time in April.
Brooklyn finished the month in sixth place, six games behind the Cincinnati Reds.
May
Brooklyn went on a tear in May, aided by a phenomenal showing by their pitching staff. Rube Waddell won the National League Pitcher of the Month Award. He was tied for the league lead in wins at the end of the month. Considering that he had one game on April 22 where he gave up 10 earned runs in 3 2/3 innings, his performances in his other games have been absolutely dominant. When Rube Waddell pitched a shutout on May 23 to give Brooklyn their 26th win, 14 of Brooklyn’s 26 wins at that point in the season were shutouts. Waddell contributed five.
On offense, there was Willie Keeler and pretty much no one else. Keeler was hitting .323 at the end of May. If he had enough at bats to qualify for the batting title, he would have ranked 2nd.
Overall, Brooklyn was 18-8 in May. They pulled up into third place in the National League, four games behind Cincinnati.
June
Brooklyn continued to put wins on the board in June, but they couldn’t keep pace with a Cincinnati team that won 17 games on the month. An injury to Cy Young meant that the Superbas were using Barney Pelty and Otto Hess in spot starts.
From an offensive standpoint, Brooklyn just wasn’t producing. Brooklyn’s manager elected to put a defensive unit on the field instead which severely limited the playing time of Billy Hamilton and Jake Beckley. At the end of the month, Brooklyn found themselves 7 games out of first place.
1905 All Star Roster
July
Brooklyn took care of business in July including winning 5 of 7 games against first place Cincinnati. Unfortunately, Cincinnati only won two other games all month. Brooklyn finished the month with a 17-8 record, and Cincinnati finished the month with an 18-8 record. Therefore, despite an impressive month, Brooklyn fell to 7 ½ games out of first place.
A big part of the reason for Brooklyn’s success lied in Barney Pelty playing extremely well for the injured Cy Young. When young returned from the disabled list, Pelty replaced Tom Hughes in the rotation. By the end of July, Pelty was 7-1 with a 0.73 ERA. Meanwhile, Rube Waddell and Jerry Nops were both in the hunt for a 20-win season. They both finished July with 14.
August
Billy Hamilton had lost his job as a starter in the Brooklyn lineup, but then he started hitting in the month of August. After being reinstated as the starting right fielder, he went on an offensive tear, winning the National League Player of the Month Award for August, hitting .361 on the month with 18 runs scored. Charlie Hickman also had a good month, and Brooklyn finished of a run where they won 16 of 18 in early August. This winning spree helped them to chip away at Cincinnati’s lead, and by the time Brooklyn and Cincinnati met for a three game series on August 18th, Brooklyn had taken the National League lead by a game. Cincinnati took 2 of 3 in that series, but they only won 2 of their next 8 to cede the lead back to Brooklyn. Brooklyn finished the month with a two-game lead in the National League. With 22 games to go, they had three games left with Cincinnati commencing on September 12.
September
Brooklyn’s pitching staff wasn’t able to keep it together in September. The Superbas held a three game lead over Cincinnati going into their final series of the year, but Cincinnati exploded for 20 runs in the first two games to pull within a game. While Brooklyn did take the third game of the series to avert disaster, they would proceed to lose their next three to drop out of first place anyway. Brooklyn took four in a row to pull within a virtual tie for first with five games to go, but Brooklyn then proceeded to lose four of those last five games to finish a full two games out of first place.
1905 Final Standings
1905 Hitting Leaders
1905 Pitching Leaders
1905 Team Hitting
1905 Team Pitching
Brooklyn Hitting
Brooklyn Pitching
World Series
The Cleveland Naps represented the American League for the second straight season while the National League was represented by the Cincinnati Reds in the 1905 World Series. It was Cleveland’s second World Series appearance overall while Cincinnati made their fourth appearance.
The defending champion Naps had a potent offense led by the bats of MVP candidate Gene DeMontreville, Sam Mertes, Solly Hoffman, and Bill Bradley. The pitching staff was anchored by Cy Young candidate Red Ames, who won 29 games on the season. Closer Ralph Caldwell turned in 39 saves. If there was one weakness on this Cleveland team, it was the starting pitching behind Ames.
Cincinnati’s offense, though not quite as potent, had some pop. Sherry Magee, George Davis, and Jesse Hoffmeister provided solid production at the top of the lineup. Cincinnati’s pitching staff was led by 27 game winner Chief Bender followed by the solid arms of Orval Overall and Doc White.
Red Ames went up against Orval Overall in game one. Cleveland got off to a 3 run lead in the top of the 4th behind a 2-RBI single by Jack McCarthy. Cincinnati responded with two in the bottom of the fourth highlighted by an RBI double by Sherry Magee, but that’s all Cincinnati would get. Red Ames would pitch 7 innings, giving up the two earned runs for the victory while Ralph Caldwell pitched two innings for the save.
George Winter started game two for Cleveland against Doc White. Cincinnati got to Winter early putting up two runs in the first highlighted by a solo home run by Jesse Hoffmeister. Cleveland chipped away at that lead getting one in the third and tying with another in the fifth. In the top of the sixth, Cleveland took the lead off a Gene DeMontreville RBI single, but Cincinnati came back with two in the bottom of the 6th to re-establish a 4-3 lead. Sherry Magee tacked on another with a solo home run in the bottom of the 8th to give Cincinnati a 5-3 lead going to the ninth. Pinch hitter Jay Clarke drove one in for Cleveland with an RBI double in the bottom of the ninth, and then two batters later, Bill Bradley drove him in with his third hit of the game, a game tying RBI-single. In the bottom of the 9th, Al Bridwell won the game in walk-off fashion with his third hit of the game, an RBI single to win the game.
Charles Bender started game three against 40-year old veteran George Cobb. Sherry Magee drove in a run with an RBI double in the first, and Frank Bowerman added on an RBI double in the 6 to help Cincinnati get off to a 4-0 lead. Cleveland chipped away by a run in the 8th and another run in the 9th, but Ollie Johns came on to earn the save for Cincinnati in a 4-2 victory to take a 2-1 lead in the series. Al Bridwell had three hits again for Cincinnati.
Orval Overall and Red Ames squared off in a pitchers’ duel in game four. Cincinnati got on the board first in the fifth inning when Lew Drill drove in Ike Rockenfield. In the bottom of the sixth, Emmett Heidrick doubled in Gene Demontreville to tie the game at one. In the bottom of the ninth, Stan Mertes drove in Heidrick for the game winning run to give Cleveland a 2-1 victory, evening the series at two games apiece. Red Ames went the distance for Cleveland giving up one run on four hits and striking out 10. DeMontreville and Heidrick each had three hits for Cleveland.
Doc White faced George Winter in game five. Cleveland struck first with a Bill Bradley home run in the first. Cincinnati tied the game with a George Davis RBI single in the top of the second, and then they took the lead thanks to two errors and an RBI triple by Sherry Magee in the third. Cincinnati would not relinquish the lead. White went on to pitch 7 2/3, giving up three runs, and Ollie Johns came out to earn the save. With the 4-3 victory, Cincinnati took a 3-2 series lead.
With the series going back to Cincinnati, Cleveland sent George Cobb to the mound to try to keep the series alive. Cincinnati exploded for four runs in the bottom of the fourth, though, and George Davis added a home run in the fifth. Cincinnati would go on to win 9-4 to take their second franchise World Series championship. Sherry Magee won the World Series MVP Award.
1905 Awards
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