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tm1681 · 09-11-2023, 05:31 PM

FISK WINS SEAL PITCHING TRIPLE CROWN FOR OLD DOMINION
LORDS NEARLY COMPLETE HISTORIC “WORST TO FIRST” SEASON

Going into the 1901 Southeastern & Atlantic League season, the recent history of the Old Dominion Lords wasn’t pretty:

If you’re counting, that’s eight consecutive last place finishes. EIGHT. In the Lords’ first season in the SEAL – 1890 – they finished fourth with a 68-58 record. However, their downhill slide was a fast one and within a few years they were easily the worst team in the league. Once Old Dominion was in the cellar they stayed there for the better part of a decade.

Going into the 1901 season southeastern baseball experts were actually a bit bullish on Old Dominion, projecting them to finish fourth after third-year GM George Stephanopoulos’ efforts in building a quality young roster appeared to be bearing quite a bit of talented fruit. Six of the eight regular position players and all four starting pitchers were under 30. The centerpiece of the group of young players was Charles Fisk, a third-year pitcher who improved significantly from his first year to his second and looked to take another big leap in his third pro season.

To say Fisk took a big leap in 1901 is an understatement. Here was his 1900 season:

289 IP, 17-19, 3.19 ERA (115 ERA+), 30 CG, 4 SHO, 106 BB, 167 K, 1.36 WHIP, 3.1 BB/9, 4.8 K/9, 1.6 K/BB, -0.8 WPA, 6.1 WAR, 6.3 R/9 WAR

And here was his 1901 season as Old Dominion’s 23-year-old ace:

330.1 IP, 28-10, 2.56 ERA (150 ERA+), 32 CG, 4 SHO, 82 BB, 215 K, 1.20 WHIP, 2.2 BB/9, 5.9 K/9, 2.6 K/BB, 2.6 WPA, 9.7 WAR, 10.6 R/A WAR

That’s the SEAL Pitching Triple Crown and leads in seven other categories above, as well as #1 in games pitched (50) and games started (36).

At the same time, the Old Dominion team was taking an incredible leap of its own. At the end of May, they were neck-and-neck with defending champions Charleston atop the SEAL standings. OD was then three games ahead at the end of June, and the same at the end of July. However, the young team started to falter a bit and found themselves back even with Charleston a couple of weeks into August.

In the end, the youngest team in the SEAL couldn’t keep the momentum going and the experience of the defending champions won out, with Charleston winning the SEAL by three games over the young OD team.

The Lords couldn’t quite complete pro baseball’s maiden “worst to first” championship run, but they still completed one of the sport’s greatest turnarounds with a 25-win improvement over the previous season.

09-11-2023, 05:31 PM	#98
tm1681 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 1,472	FISK WINS SEAL PITCHING TRIPLE CROWN FOR OLD DOMINION LORDS NEARLY COMPLETE HISTORIC “WORST TO FIRST” SEASON Going into the 1901 Southeastern & Atlantic League season, the recent history of the Old Dominion Lords wasn’t pretty: If you’re counting, that’s eight consecutive last place finishes. *EIGHT. In the Lords’ first season in the SEAL – 1890 – they finished fourth with a 68-58 record. However, their downhill slide was a fast one and within a few years they were easily the worst team in the league. Once Old Dominion was in the cellar they stayed there for the better part of a decade. Going into the 1901 season southeastern baseball experts were actually a bit bullish on Old Dominion, projecting them to finish fourth after third-year GM George Stephanopoulos’ efforts in building a quality young roster appeared to be bearing quite a bit of talented fruit. Six of the eight regular position players and all four starting pitchers were under 30. The centerpiece of the group of young players was Charles Fisk, a third-year pitcher who improved significantly from his first year to his second and looked to take another big leap in his third pro season. To say Fisk took a big leap in 1901 is an understatement. Here was his 1900 season: 289 IP, 17-19, 3.19 ERA (115 ERA+), 30 CG, 4 SHO, 106 BB, 167 K, 1.36 WHIP, 3.1 BB/9, 4.8 K/9, 1.6 K/BB, -0.8 WPA, 6.1 WAR, 6.3 R/9 WAR And here was his 1901 season as Old Dominion’s 23-year-old ace: 330.1 IP, 28-10, 2.56 ERA (150 ERA+), 32 CG, 4 SHO, 82 BB, 215 K, 1.20 WHIP, 2.2 BB/9, 5.9 K/9, 2.6 K/BB, 2.6 WPA, 9.7 WAR, 10.6 R/A WAR* That’s the SEAL Pitching Triple Crown and leads in seven other categories above, as well as #1 in games pitched (50) and games started (36). At the same time, the Old Dominion team was taking an incredible leap of its own. At the end of May, they were neck-and-neck with defending champions Charleston atop the SEAL standings. OD was then three games ahead at the end of June, and the same at the end of July. However, the young team started to falter a bit and found themselves back even with Charleston a couple of weeks into August. In the end, the youngest team in the SEAL couldn’t keep the momentum going and the experience of the defending champions won out, with Charleston winning the SEAL by three games over the young OD team. The Lords couldn’t quite complete pro baseball’s maiden “worst to first” championship run, but they still completed one of the sport’s greatest turnarounds with a 25-win improvement over the previous season. Last edited by tm1681; 09-11-2023 at 05:43 PM.