We start off Award Season with the
All Rounder Award, given to the players who are the most perfect mix of offense, defense, speed, and everything else.
The three finalists here were
Eddie Collins (Chicago),
Willie Mays (New York Gothams), and
Mike Epstein (Homestead).
Here's the relevant info:
Code:
Name POS Slash SB CS ZR Eff
Eddie Collins 2B 315/409/513 61 13 6.6 1.054
Mike Epstein 1B 316/420/528 0 0 1.6 1.006
Willie Mays CF 322/384/516 11 6 9.6 1.028
ZR=Zone Rating; Eff=Defensive Efficiency
So, yeah, the committee pulling this together (a) clearly thought Epstein just deserved some recognition for a great season on a bad team and (b) doesn't believe much in the power of speed.
Eric Davis (New York Black Yankees) and
Ty Cobb (Detroit Wolverines) probably deserved serious consideration here.
But in the end it never really mattered: Eddie Collins was built for this award, and easily took down its first offering.