[cwehaar]

Season 16 (2002)

The 1930s don’t make the postseason very often, but when they do, they make the best of it. It took them 14 games to do it, but the 1930s upset the top two regular season teams (1990s and 1980s) each in a 7 game series to win their 2nd championship in 2 postseason appearances.

During the 2002 season, Bob Meusel (1930s) had the longest hitting streak in league history having recorded a hit in 33 consecutive games. Meusel is the first batter to record a hitting streak of 30+ games. High Pockets Kelly (1920s) had the most prolific offensive season for a 1B with 63 HR and 166 RBI. The 1940s returned to the postseason for the first time since the 1987 inaugural season of the league. While they didn’t win the series, they recorded their first ever postseason victory.

Notable Milestones from 2002
500 HR
Steve Garvey (1970s)
Paul Hines (Pre1890s)

600 HR
Harmon Killebrew (1960s)
Sherry Magee (1910s)

700 HR
Willie Mays (1950s)

2,000 Hits
Dustin Pedroia (2000s)
Luis Arraez (2010s)

2,500 Hits
Steve Garvey (1970s)

250 Wins
Toad Ramsey (Pre1890s)

300 Saves
Trevor Hoffman (1990s)

No Hitters
Doug Drabek (1990s) - 5/27/02 vs 1920s (2nd career no-hitter)
Shelby Miller (2010s) - 6/20/02 vs 1950s
Nolan Ryan (1960s) - 8/27/02 vs 2010s

Final Standings
Golden League W-L
1940s 88-74
1930s 87-75
1920s 84-78
1890s 83-79
Pre1890s 82-80
1900s 76-86
1910s 74-88

Modern League W-L
1990s 100-62
1980s 97-65
2010s 83-79
2000s 81-81
1960s 81-81
1970s 73-89
1950s 45-117

Round 1 Playoffs
1980s over 1940s (4-1): Ron Gant hit a grand slam in the 7th inning of Game 5 leading the 1980s to the World Series with a 7-2 victory over the 1940s. Gary Matthews (1980s) won the series MVP hitting .571 with 2 HR and 5 RBI. Glenn Davis (1980s) added 3 HRs and 8 RBI in the winning effort. Jay Tibbs (1980s) went 2-0 with a 0.52 ERA, including a 3 hit shutout with 8 K’s in Game 1 of the series.

Round 1 Playoffs
1930s over 1990s (4-3): Bob Meusel (1930s) hit 2 HR in an 8-2 Game 7 victory leading the 1930s to their 2nd World Series. Meusel earned the series MVP honors with 5 HR and 9 RBI leading the offensive attack. Bob Klinger (1930s) was 2-0 with a 0.55 ERA and 15 Ks in the series. Travis Fryman (1990s) had 14 RBI in the series for the 1990s.

2002 World Series
1930s over 1980s (4-3): Whit Wyatt (1930s) threw 8 strong innings allowing only 1 run and striking out 9 batters leading the 1930s to a 2-1 Game 7 victory over the 1980s. While Oil Can Boyd (1980s) also threw 8 strong innings, solo HRs in the 2nd inning by Travis Jackson (1930s) and Ken Keltner (1930s) proved to be enough offense to secure the victory. Jackson had 11 hits in the series which earned him the World Series MVP award.

Awards
MVP - Ginger Beaumont (1900s) - .352 BA; 41 HR; 143 RBI; 127 R
Cy Young - Ed Killian (1910s) - 17-12; 2.74 ERA; 263 K
Rookie of the Year - Russ Bauers (1940s) - 16-9; 3.16 ERA; 225 K

League Leaders
BA - Ginger Beaumont (1900s) - .352 BA
OPS - High Pockets Kelly (1920s) - 1.038 OPS
HR - High Pockets Kelly (1920s) - 63 HR
RBI - High Pockets Kelly (1920s) - 166 RBI
SB - Hugh Nichol (Pre1890s) - 57 SB

W - Bob Welch (1990s) & Whit Wyatt (1930s) - 20 W
ERA - Ed Killian (1910s) - 2.74 ERA
K - Nolan Ryan (1960s) - 453 K
Saves - Emmett O’ Neill (1940s) - 39 SV
Shutouts - Slim Harriss (1920s) - 6 SO

2002 Draft
1st round picks and key additions
Pre1890s - Adonis Terry, P
1890s - Farmer Weaver, CF
1900s - Jimmy Burke, 3B
1910s - John Leary, 1B
1920s - Russ Scarritt, LF
1930s - Vic Sorrell, P
1940s - Snuffy Stirnweiss, SS
1950s - Sherm Lollar, C
1960s - Bob Shaw, P
1970s - Mike Cuellar, P
1980s - Randy Bush, LF
1990s - John Smoltz, P
2000s - Jon Lieber, P
2010s - George Kontos, P

Notable Retirements
-Joe Kelley (1900s) - 2354 H; 429 HR; 1316 RBI; 1626 R; 390 SB; 10 All-Star appearances
-Clark Griffith (1900s) - 192 W; 3364 K; 1 All-Star appearance
-Billy Wagner (2000s) - 177 SV; 3 All-Star appearances
-Chipper Jones (2000s) - 2284 H; 552 HR; 1402 RBI; 1477 R; 5 All-Star appearances; 1 MVP
-Tug McGraw (1970s) - 135 SV; 5 All-Star appearances
-Richie Zisk (1970s) - 2432 H; 595 HR; 1671 RBI; 1389 R; 7 All-Star appearances
-Vida Blue (1970s) - 187 W; 3972 K; 7 All-Star appearances; 1 Cy Young award
-John Candelaria (1980s) - 179 W; 3939 K; 6 All-Star appearances
-Lon Warneke (1940s) - 174 W; 3558 K; 2 All-Star appearances
-Bob Turley (1950s) - 177 W; 3390 K; 1 All-Star appearance
-Bobby Thomson (1950s) - 516 HR; 1349 RBI; 4 All-Star appearances

HOF Inductees
John Ewing (1890s) - SP (99.5%)
Jesse Tannehill (1900s) - SP (75.6%)