Baseball in Boston -- 1901 & Beyond

[OmahaBaseball]

Received the following message from Boston American's owner Kevin Kunz following the team's 73-67 regular season record.

My Season Score was 546 with the owner stating "this is a very fine score Sussex, good job"

[OmahaBaseball]

While not the regular season outcome I was hoping for, the fans apparently still have faith as their loyalty rating increased to "Very Good."

[OmahaBaseball]

The end of season prospect ranking is out and the St. Louis Browns enjoy the top 2 spots with pitchers Mario Rios and Sergio Chico (both international scouting discoveries). The Boston Americans and St. Louis Cardinals each have multiple players in the top 10.

[OmahaBaseball]

The winner of the 1903 American League Fireman of the Year award is Boston Americans closer Jose Ramos. For the year, Ramos posted a record of 2-2 with 2 saves, 8 "shutdown" outings, 2.05 ERA, and 0.2 WAR in 22 innings of work (league leading 17 relief appearances).

[OmahaBaseball]

Boston Beaneaters closer Ed Scott put together an outstanding season in which he saw his team win the World Series. For his efforts, Scott was recognized as the National League Fireman of the Year. On the season, Scott posted a record of 1-1 with 5 saves, 6 "shutdown" outings, 0.3 WAR and a 1.56 ERA in 17 1/3 innings of play.

[OmahaBaseball]

The American League Gold Glove winners were announced today, with the New York Highlanders fielding 4 and the Boston Americans with 3. Of the 9 players, 3 fielders are multi-year recipients of the Award in Lave Cross (1902, 1903), John Farrell (1901, 1902, 1903) and Jimmy Bannon (1901, 1903).

[OmahaBaseball]

The National League Gold Glove winners are out, and the Boston Beaneaters top the list with 3 players. Multi-time winners now include Johnny Evers (1902, 1903), Joe Tinker (1902, 1903), and Fielder Jones (1901, 1902, 1903).

[OmahaBaseball]

The American League Silver Slugger awards are out, and the New York Highlanders, Boston Americans, and Washington Senators each placed 2 players on the list. Repeat winners include Frank Chance (1902, 1903), Charlie Hickman (1901, 1902, 1903), Jimmy Collins (1902, 1903), Honus Wagner (1901, 1902, 1903), Fred Clarke (1901, 1902, 1903), and Danny Green (1901, 1902, 1903).

[OmahaBaseball]

National League Silver Slugger awards are out, and the only repeat batter is Nap Lajoie (1901, 1902, 1903).

[OmahaBaseball]

Cleveland Naps ace Jake Weimerwas named the American League Rookie of the Year. In picking up the Award, Weimer posted a 19-15 record with a 2.19 ERA in 317 innings pitched. For the season, he recorded 7.0 WAR and 1.6 WPA.

[OmahaBaseball]

The Philadelphia Phillies had high hopes for Red Ames when they selected him as the 2nd overall selection in last year's draft. Suffice it to say, Ames exceeded all expectations with a terrific regular season performance in which he posted a 22-14 record with a 1.97 ERA and 8.2 WAR. For his efforts, Ames was named the National League Rookie of the Year.

[OmahaBaseball]

After his two prior mediocre seasons, New York Highlanders pitcher Wiley Piatt began to question whether he could be a dominate pitcher. Well, the stars aligned and Piatt found his mojo such that he took home the American League Platinum Pitcher award. For the season, Piatt led the AL in Wins, ERA, BABIP, Quality Starts, and Shutouts while finishing with 4.6 WPA and 9.3 rWAR.

[OmahaBaseball]

Building off of his Rookie of the Year award, Red Ames was named the National League Platinum Pitcher for the 1903 regular season. There is no two-ways about it; Ames is an ace and has the skills to be "The Guy" for years to come.

[OmahaBaseball]

One of the veterans of baseball, Ed Delahanty demonstrated age doesn't matter as he took home the American League Most Valuable Player award for his tremendous 1903 regular season. On the year, Delahanty smashed the ball to a league-leading .345 batting average (201 for 583) with 58 Doubles, 12 Triples, 7 Homeruns, 84 Runs, 98 RBIs, and 48 Walks which led to a slashline of .345/.393/.521 that generated 6.2 WAR and 7.24 WPA. Delahanty led the league in Hits, Doubles, RBIs, Batting Average, Slugging, OPS, Total Bases, Extra-Base Hits, wOBA, ISO, and wRC+.

[OmahaBaseball]

Was there any doubt who would win the National League Most Valuable Player award? For the 3rd consecutive year, Cincinnati Reds infielder Nap Lajoie was presented with the MVP award for his tremendous regular season which included a league-leading .338 batting average (205 for 606) with 47 Doubles, 12 Triples, 7 Homeruns, 97 Runs, 97 RBIs, and 23 Walks which churned out a slashline of .338/.370/.490 that resulted in 7.5 WAR and 4.59 WPA. Lajoie led the NL in ABs, Hits, Doubles, Batting Average, Total Bases, and Extra-Base Hits.

[OmahaBaseball]

When 53-year old Jim O'Rourke came up on the free agent list, I had to make a minor league offer. Nothing lost and could be fun to see how he does.

The real life O'Rourke appeared in one game in 1904 for the New York Giants and went 1-4 (single) while starting behind the plate.

bRef link: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/o/o'rouji01.shtml

[OmahaBaseball]

There are the "meh" trades; the "okay, I can see why they did that" trades; the "what were they thinking" trades; the "wow, that is going to be fun to see play out" trades; and the "holy *^%#*&^, that is bonkers" trade. In my opinion, the trade that the Philadelphia Phillies and the Washington Senators agreed to today falls in the latter category.

The Philadelphia Phillies acquired Cy Seymour [the 1903 American League WAR (7.2) and Homerun (8) leader; AL Silver Slugger; 3rd Place finish in AL MVP voting] and 23-year old catching prospect Paddy Livingston (ranked #76) in return for sending pitching prospect Lew Moren (ranked #4), infield prospect Tim Jordan (ranked #32), and catching prospect Fred Carisch (ranked #65) to the Senators. The added prospect depth vaults Washington up the minor-league rankings board to now have the 3rd best farm system to go along with a dominant pitching staff of Rube Waddell, Doc Scanlan, and Carl Lundgren.

[OmahaBaseball]

Clearwater Hooks 2nd-baseman Harry Truby was named Most Valuable Player for his outstanding season. Rumor has it that the Boston Americans' minor leaguer is looking for a change to prove he can produce at the major league level. The Americans front-office may look to move on from Truby while his value is at its peak.

[OmahaBaseball]

If there was any question which "mode" the Boston Americans are in, that was resolved today as they have clearly embraced "rebuilding" by dealing away fan-favorite pitcher Cy Young, along with outfielders Cozy Dolan and Chick Pedroes to the "win-now" Cincinnati Reds. In return, Boston received a 1st-round pick (#6 overall) in the upcoming draft, along with relief pitchers Ambrose Puttmann and Harvey Cushman. The Reds retained Puttmann's salary.

While I really struggled with the idea of trading Young, it is difficult for me to see where the Americans will be competitive in the near term of the 1904 season. If I can draft well and parlay the relief pitchers into a package deal to shore up the starting rotation, perhaps I can make some noise again in the 2 to 4 year range. As shown, my Assistant GM was not happy with what I gave up in the deal.

[OmahaBaseball]

New York Highlanders skipper Brian Zoch was named the American League Manager of the Year after leading his team to an 82-win season and an appearance in the World Series.