1925
With the Roaring Twenties a roarin', so does the Kansas City dynasty, as the Blues win their ninth-straight Western League pennant, though they had to fight off the Columbus Cyclones (one game back) to do so.
Meanwhile, the Providence Patriots return to the top of the Eastern League for the third time in five years and the Boston teams once again finish 1-2 in New England. This time, though, the Beaneaters storm to an 18-game victory in the NEL, their third pennant in four years. Lastly, the Detroit Wolverines, long a doormat (20 straight losing seasons to start the century), win their first pennant in emphatic fashion, winning 102 games to take the Midwest Association flag.
Detroit apparently likes this brand-new winning thing, and the Wolverines brush aside Kansas City in five games. Meanwhile, the Beaneaters down Providence in six games, ensuring someone will win their first national title. That someone would be Boston, as they down Detroit to take the National Championship trophy back to Beantown.
Not much success has taken place in the Twin Cities, so it's easy to forget about the teams up there, but the national writers took notice this year. Minneapolis shortstop
Kevin Penhorwood turned in a monster season, slashing .387/.446/.618 with 236 hits, 124 runs, 50 doubles, 20 triples, 17 homers, and 144 RBI. Amazingly, none of that led the USBF, but the body of work (plus a Great Glove at SS) was more than enough to tip the scales in his favor.
On the hill, the incredible
Eric Miranda did it again. The Boston Beaneaters ace went 27-5 with a 2.62 ERA, leading the Federation in wins and striking out 153 batters over 316.1 innings as he took home his third-straight Pitcher of the Year award.
Another 300-game winner was added, as longtime St. Louis stalwart
Leon Estrada earned the historic win on May 14. It was another twist of the knife for Milwaukee and Louisville fans, as both teams gave him up in 1908-09 for virtually nothing (he didn't even get into a game for Milwaukee). With St. Louis, Estrada won 322 games over 18 seasons as the Browns won five pennants and a National Championship.
Chicago's
Andy Epperson went out with a bang. Not only did he earn his 350th win on June 22 (the second pitcher to do so), he went 20-9 at 43 years old. Unfortunately, his career abruptly ended as his elbow gave out during spring training the following season, ending a stellar run with 359 wins, still the third-most in USBF history.
Minor League Champions
Pacific Coast League: Los Angeles Angels, 124-76, defeats San Francisco
Southeastern League: Nashville Vols, 88-52, defeats Atlanta
Colonial League: Albany Adirondacks, 75-51, defeats Hartford
Texas League: Galveston Hurricanes, 76-50, defeats San Antonio
River Valley League: Wichita Larks, 83-57, defeats Evansville
Rocky Mountain League: Salt Lake City, 72-54, defeats Colorado Springs
Coastal League: Macon Peaches, 80-60, defeats Mobile
Northern League: La Crosse Loggers, 76-50, defeats Cedar Rapids (2nd straight)
Great Lakes League: Grand Rapids Griffins, 78-62, defeats Flint (2nd straight)
Southwest League: Phoenix Firebirds, 86-68, defeats San Bernardino
Southern Association: Jackson Junebugs, 79-47, defeats Little Rock
In the PCL, the LA Angels drew 1,054,704 fans, not only a minor league record, but the most ever drawn by a baseball team to that point, regardless of league. The Angels pulled off the unfathomable feat of a
minor league team (albeit in name only, perhaps) leading the entire country in attendance.