1915 NL Stargell Award

The Philadelphia Phillies won their first pennant, then lost in the World Series to the Red Sox. For the Phillies, pennant victories have been few and far between. The club actually began operation in 1883; this was their first pennant in 32 years of play. They would not return to the playoffs until 1950, 35 years later. The Phillies finally won their first World Series in 1980, 97 years after the team's inception.

National League 1915

			AVG	OBA	SLU	AB	HIT	DB	TP	HR	RUN	RBI	BB	SB	OPS
RF	G CRAVATH	PHI	285	393	510	522	149	31	7	24	89	115	86	11	902
1B	F LUDERUS	PHI	315	376	457	499	157	36	7	7	55	62	42	9	833
RF	J HINCHMAN	PIT	307	368	438	577	177	33	14	5	72	77	48	17	807
RF	T GRIFFITH	CIN	307	355	436	583	179	31	16	4	59	85	41	6	790
LF	S MAGEE	BOS	280	350	392	571	160	34	12	2	72	87	54	15	742
1B	V SAIER	CHI	264	350	445	497	131	35	11	11	74	64	64	29	795

2B	L DOYLE	NY	320	358	442	591	189	40	10	4	86	70	32	22	799
SS	H WAGNER	PIT	274	325	422	566	155	32	17	6	68	78	39	22	747
SS	D BANCROFT	PHI	254	346	330	563	143	18	2	7	85	30	77	15	676
SS	A FLETCHER	NY	254	280	326	562	143	23	8	3	53	66	13	15	606
3B	H GROH	CIN	290	354	390	587	170	32	9	3	72	50	50	12	745
CA	F SNYDER	STL	298	353	387	473	141	22	7	2	41	55	39	3	740

         The Phillies missed leading the NL in runs scored by one run. Their top hitters were Gavy Cravath and Fred Luderus. Cravath hit most of his home runs in the cozy confines of his home park; he was a big strong guy who took advantage of the Baker Bowl's short right-field fence. Good for him; part of being a successful hitter is the ability to take advantage of your home park. Cravath's home run total was the highest of the century at this time. He led the NL in OPS and runs produced by a wide margin, and his team won the pennant. He is my choice for MVP.
        Fred Luderus had the next best hitting numbers in the league. Luderus had a decent career; he could be described as the Wally Joyner of the dead-ball era. I'm choosing Luderus as the next best player in the group behind Cravath.
        Laughing Larry Doyle of the Giants had a great year at the plate; he was easily the best hitting infielder in the NL. His team had an awful year, mostly because their two top pitchers (Christy Mathewson and Rube Marquard, two Hall Of Famers) both declined at the same time. Despite his team's poor finish, I think Doyle was good enough that he should be runner-up in the MVP vote.
        Honus Wagner was 41 years old this year, and was still one of the best players in the league. Those 17 triples of his were second in the NL, and help separate him from the other good infielders in the league. I'm ranking him behind Doyle among the league's best infielders.
        Wagner played fairly well next year with reduced playing time, then finally retired after the 1917 season at the age of 43. He retired with 3415 hits, and had a career .327 batting average. He won eight batting titles, an NL record that was tied by Tony Gwynn in 1997. He is among the top ten in hits, doubles, triples, and stolen bases, and among the top twenty in runs scored and RBI. In my mind, Wagner is the greatest shortstop in major league history.