The Philadelphia Athletics won their fourth pennant in five years, then were beaten by the surprising Boston Braves in the World Series. This defeat marked the end of the first great Athletics' dynasty, and the beginning of many losing seasons for the franchise.
        Connie Mack was both the owner and manager of the Athletics. He was a great manager, and built a great team that won three World Series. But as an owner, he didn't have deep pockets. Player salaries skyrocketed this season after the debut of the Federal League created an increased demand for players, and Mack couldn't afford all of his stars. Eddie Collins was sold after the season, while Frank Baker sat out a full year in a salary dispute. The Athletics finished in last place, 56 games worse than this year.
        Mack rebuilt his team in the late 1920's, and won two more World Series titles. He was then faced with money problems again, and again sold off all of his stars. After that, he was never able to rebuild the team. The Athletics remained one of the worst teams in baseball for almost 40 years, until Charlie Finley bought the team in the late 1960's.

         Eddie Collins had probably the best season of his career, and was clearly the league's best infielder. He was the winner of the last Chalmers Award, and is my choice for this year's MVP. After the season, Collins was sold to the Chicago White Sox, where he won another World Series in 1917, and remained one of the best players in the league for the next dozen years.
        Frank Baker had the last truly outstanding year of his career, leading the AL in homers for the fourth straight season. Mack didn't sell Baker, but wouldn't pay him enough money, either, so Baker sat out all of next season. He was eventually sent to the Yankees in 1916, but the lost season took its toll. When Baker returned, he was never again the great player that he had been.
        Wally Schang was another outstanding player for the Athletics. Like most catchers of the era, he didn't play on a full-time basis, but he was one of the few catchers who could actually hit. He played with the Athletics until 1917, then was sent to Boston in 1918, and ended up playing with almost every team in the league during his career. Schang played for 19 seasons, retiring when he was 41 years old with just over 1500 hits.
        The other notable catcher in the AL was Ray Schalk, whose career was almost exactly concurrent with Schang's. The two are fascinating to compare; both played in the same league for the same time period; they were both catchers; their names are eerily identical. Schalk is in the Hall Of Fame, Schang is not. Schang was a much better hitter, however; look at their numbers above. Schang's season was an average one for him; he had many others like it. But Schalk had a great year by his own standards.
        Even if Schalk was better defensively, it is likely that Schang was the better all-around player. Then why is Schalk in the Hall Of Fame? It probably helped that Schalk played for one team, wheras Schang moved around a lot. Schalk played for 18 years, all but one with the White Sox. And it unquestionably helped that Schalk was a member of the 1919 Black Sox team, but was not one of the conspirators. In a sense, he was rewarded for not being a crook.
        Ray Schalk is among the weaker players in the Hall Of Fame; he was a good player but not any better than Tony Pena or Jim Sundberg. Wally Schang, at least, was as good as Thurman Munson. It is also interesting how successful Schang was in different cities; in his rookie year in Philadelphia in 1913, the Athletics won the World Series. His first year in Boston, 1918, the Red Sox won the World Series. Schang joined New York in 1921, and the Yankees won their first pennant, then another in 1922 and their first World Series in 1923.
        Tris Speaker was clearly the best outfielder this year; his only rival on offense was Ty Cobb, who missed time with injury. Speaker was also the best defensive outfielder in the league, and his team (the Red Sox) had a great year. Speaker led the league in total bases, and was second in OPS and runs produced. Sam Crawford wasn't as good as teammate Cobb, but he was in the lineup more often, and gets my vote behind Speaker.