A season that has arguably been our most consistent and least complicated reverses itself a bit in both of these regards down the stretch.
Once again, we look to be cruising with a 7-game win streak early in September. But then our form and luck turn somewhat against us and things become a bit of a struggle. Although neither are serious nor long-term, injuries to Train and Charlie come just at the least opportune moment. We give Walter a precautionary IL stint, but opt to try and nurse Oscar through his.
All the while our comfortable lead becomes decidedly less so as the Braves inch closer. Then Cobb and Marcell both pick up niggles. Again, nothing serious but certainly putting our depth to a stern test, and I’m suddenly thankful for my “umbrellas on a sunny day” philosophy of roster management.
A 4-day break toward the end of the month comes in very handy, but really it is a testament to the heart of this group that we steady and clinch our 6th straight NL Pennant and 11th overall with roughly a week to spare. We end the season with a 94-60 record.
This allows us to sit back and watch the AL race – which, and this is saying something – is perhaps the tightest we’ve seen. The Browns and Sens are never separated by more than a game down the stretch, with their results more often than not mirroring each other—loss for loss, win for win.
Entering the final week, the two sides are tied at 88-59. Sadly, for the neutrals at least, they are not scheduled to face each other again. That would have been some series.
It matters not, as they remain joined at the hip like the Bunker brothers for the remainder.
On the next-to-last day, the Sens lead by a half-game with their MN at 2. Both win tight affairs, meaning a Browns win the following day at home to the White Sox would force a tiebreaker. A 3-0 shutout win behind former Pirate farm player Jim Bagby keeps them alive and they go on to beat the Senators in Washington by 4 to 2 in a 10-inning game that has to be seen to be believed.
From what they’ve been put through these past few seasons, one can safely assume that the heart inside every Browns and Senators fan is twice as old as the rest of their body.
Here are the final stats for our group. Five of our regulars - Cobb, Charleston, Carey, Williams and Traynor - hit 300 or better, while Lundy misses that mark by just 3 points. Cooper is simply outstanding, winning 4 monthly awards and 29 games. A Waddell Medal would be a fitting end to his stellar campaign.
And here are the final standings, September awards and final leaders. Ty Cobb wins another batting title (his 8th, combined), while Heavy Johnson is king of the AL. He also extends his season record for HR to 30 and sets a new season record for SLG with 657, with Elmer Smith belting 19 in the time he is with the Yanks. His teammate the Babe has 17 and it seems that, for as long as he continues to be required for two-way duty, his offensive numbers will suffer a bit. That said, he slashes 378/499/648 while driving in a career-high 83 and scoring 94 - good for 7.6 batting WAR to go with the 4.0 he earns as a pitcher. Bob Meusel, the third member of their outfield, puts in arguably the best rookie season in history, driving in 126 runs with 15 HR and a BA of 342. One would think it only a matter of time before that franchise begins to dominate this league, as it did IRL.
In MiLB news, while the Austin Senators take the ALAAA easily, our farm club Wilkes-Barre stages a mighty late charge in the NLAAA, only to come up a game short behind the Syracuse Chiefs, who would go on to win the inaugural AAA World Series 3 games to 2.
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