1910: Giants Postmortem

John McGraw’s Giants were the last team eliminated from World Series contention in the National League. They finished the season in second place, 13 games back. Their record was 91-63, one game worse than 1909. But the Giants were a team on the rise.

They were also a typical McGraw team, with the emphasis on team not individual. Of the eight everyday starters only Fred Snodgrass and Josh Devore hit .300, but every other starter was between .292 and .260. There were a lot of stolen bases with Red Murray leading the team with 57, second in the NL. It was a team effort rather than one or two great players with a bunch of role players helping them out.

The Giants had one of the better benches in the league. Of six players getting into 20 or more games (and only 6th place Brooklyn had more bench players with 20 or more games), three hit over .250 (as did pitcher Doc Crandall). Both Beals Becker and Cy Seymour had double figure stolen bases and slugging  percentages over .325 (a good percentage in the Deadball Era).

Of course the key to a McGraw team was the pitching staff. The Giants were good without being great. Christy Mathewson led the NL with 27 wins, second in strikeouts, and had only 60 walks in 318 innings. The rest of the staff wasn’t nearly that good, but Crandall was 17-4 in 42 games (but only 18 starts). The other three men starting 20 games or more were 14-12, 12-11, and 2-10, but all had more innings than hits and more strikeouts than walks. Additionally 23-year-old Rube Marquard was 4-4 with a 2.47 ERA and would come into his own in 1911 (24-7 and a league leading 237 strikeouts).

If 1910 was a disappointment to the Giants, there were signs that they would be good in 1911. Unlike the Pirates they were rising. It so happened that the Cubs were also ready to fall off, thus 1911 would be a banner year for New York.

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Opening Day, 1910: New York (NL)

John J. McGraw

In 1908 the Giants lost the National League pennant on the last day of the season (the so called “Merkle Game”). They slipped in 1909, finishing third, 12 games out of second. John McGraw, never content with anything but first place, began retooling his team for the 1910 pennant run.

He did it by going with a group of bench players who replaced the more established players in the field. In doing so he dropped the average age of his postion players from 28 to 26 years of age, the youngest in the league (actually tied wth Cincinnati).  Gone were first baseman Fred Tenney, center fielder Bill O’Hara, and left fielder Moose McCormick. In their place came new first baseman and seven hitter Fred Merkle (of “Bonehead” infamy), Fred Snodgrass in center and hitting third, and Josh Devore the left fielder and new lead off man.

Staying in the starting line up were two hitter and second baseman Larry Doyle (the 1909 league leader in hits), shortstop and five hitter Al Bridwell, Art Devlin the third baseman and six hitter, and right fielder Red Murray who hit clean up. The 1909 backup catcher had been Chief Meyers. He now took over the starting spot, and the eight hole. Former starter Admiral Schlei slid onto the bench. Holdover Cy Symour and newcomer Beals Becker (from National League rival Boston) were the substitute outfielders, while Art Fletcher and Tilly Shafer remained backup infielders.

The pitching staff was the heart of a McGraw team. Christy Mathewson was the ace. He led the NL in winning percentage and ERA in 1909. Hooks Wiltse, Red Ames, and Bugs Raymond remained from the ’09 team. Reliever Doc Crandall stayed in the bullpen, and newcomer Rube Marquard was on the roster as a spot starter.

As usual for the Giants of the era, the team was built around pitching, defense, and speed. It was younger, faster, and hit better. Most New Yorkers expected it to compete for a pennant and a return to the World Series, the Giants’ first since 1905.

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