PENNANT RACES NEAR THEIR END AS LEAGUES TELL DIFFERENT TALES
By Charles H. Wentworth, Sporting Times
October 1st, 1915
With the long campaign now drawing toward its conclusion, the two major leagues present sharply contrasting pictures as the final handful of games comes into view.
In the American League, the race remains very much alive and unresolved. The Washington Senators continue to occupy first place, but their margin is a slender one, holding just a single game advantage over their long-time rivals, the St. Louis Browns. Adding further intrigue to the closing days are the Cleveland Indians, who have surged late and now sit only two and a half games behind the leaders. With so little separating the top three clubs, the coming contests promise tension and consequence, and it remains to be seen whether the Senators can fend off both challengers to secure the flag. At the foot of the table, the Philadelphia Athletics remain last, yet they have acquitted themselves respectably through September and stand only fifteen and a half games behind the leaders.
The National League, by contrast, has already rendered its verdict. The Brooklyn Robins put the matter beyond doubt on the 25th of September, when they were officially confirmed as pennant winners. As the season plays out its remaining dates, Brooklyn now enjoys an advantage of eleven and a half games over the second-placed New York Giants. At the other extreme, the Cincinnati Reds have endured a season of unrelenting hardship and remain rooted to the bottom, now fully forty-five games adrift of the leaders.
As September closes, individual excellence has also been recognised in the monthly honours. In the American League, Bill Hinchman of the Boston Red Sox led all batsmen with a .405 mark, adding one home run, fourteen runs batted in, and nineteen runs scored. Cleveland’s Tom Seaton claimed top pitching honours with a 4–2 record and a 1.78 earned run average, while fellow Indian Juan Padron was named rookie of the month after posting a 4–1 mark with a 1.72 ERA.
In the National League, Brooklyn’s Eddie Collins earned top batting honours with sixteen runs batted in and sixteen runs scored while hitting .296. Philadelphia’s Pete Dowling stood tallest among pitchers with a 5–1 record and a 2.01 ERA, and rookie recognition went to Pittsburgh’s Jimmy Lavender, who fashioned a perfect 5–0 record alongside a 2.06 ERA.
With October upon the game, only a few days remain to determine the American League’s fate, while Brooklyn’s supporters can already savour a season crowned in success.
