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And here we go...1924 season
In April we had a fast start by the Giants, which close the month with a 3 game lead on the Reds and a 13-2 record. Cardinals the only other team at .500. Things were more levelled in AL, with 4 teams in half-game (White Sox, Yankees, Indians, Red Sox). Talking about stats, there was an incredible .508 BA by Judge (Senators) in AL, while in NL Waner continued his great 1923 season batting .468 after the first month. Leading in HR was a sophomore, have someone heard of Lou Gehrig? 4 HR in April for this Phillies guy. And there were also two great hitting streaks: Sisler 27 games and counting while Collins stopped at 26.
The first full month, May, saw the Giants mantaining their lead in NL, heading to June with a 32-12 record, 6 games ahead of Cardinals and 10 games on the Cubs. Despite their wonderful kids, Gehrig and Simmons (a cycle for Simmons in may), Phillies fell last in standings. In AL Yankees gained a 4 game lead on the champs (29-17 vs 25-21) with Browns and White Sox in the hunt. Both Judge and Waner saw their BA dropping under .400, but the real suprise was Babe Ruth not in HR lead --> Lazzeri (CHC) led the majors with 9, followed by Hornsby (STL), Dykes (PHA), Hauser (BOS), Meusel (NYY) and Hartnett (PHI) with 7. Eddie Collins Sr. took in May a 31 game streak, beating Sisler while on the mound we had Giants pitcher, Jesse Barnes, with a ERA under 2.00.
June seemed to be the deciding month for the NL: Giants dug a gigantic hole in the division, gaining a wonderful 15 and a half game lead on the Cubs (52-19 vs 36-34), leaving Cardinals on third place and rebounding Phillies fourth. AL was more equilibrated: Indians closed the month with a 1 game lead on the Yankees; third place for White Sox, fourth for Red Sox. Like Napoleon after the first jail period, Babe Ruth restored his reign closing June with a leading 15 HR, with Lazzeri and Hartnett tied at 10. Waner had a hot month, pushing his BA to .399. Jesse Barnes saw his ERA going over 2.00, but he had a 12 innings shutout this month against the Cardinals.
Next post...1924 season PART II
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