1900s All-Decade Team

This is when the modern game, the one we know today consisting of the American and National League was born. It was 1901 when Ban Johnson made the AL a serious competitor of its big brother the NL. They quickly learned that not only was it better to play nice but they found they could thrive. The World Series was initiated and became a hit. With very few exceptions the game was dominated by the men on the mound. Honus Wagner might be the sole hitting star who played for the entire decade. We saw the beginnings of all-time great careers like Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, and Christy Mathewson. This decade is the initial chapter in a story that is still being written.

Catcher

Roger BresnahanHOF

Age: 24-30
Years: 1903-1909
Positions: C
Teams: New York Giants, St. Louis Cardinals

Roger Bresnahan Hitting Stats
WAR	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
27.8	772	2,555	449	737	130	33	14	292	123		440	227	.288	.403	.382	.785

First Base

Frank ChanceHOF

Age: 24-32
Years: 1901-1909
Positions: 1B
Teams: Chicago Cubs

Frank Chance Hitting Stats
WAR	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
39.2	981	3,399	621	1,019	163	60	17	488	351		446	256	.300	.396	.398	.794

Second Base

Nap LajoieHOF

Age: 26-34
Years: 1901-1909
Positions: 2B
Teams: Philadelphia Athletics, Cleveland Indians

Nap Lajoie Hitting Stats
WAR	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
65.1	1,122	4,344	711	1,509	328	75	40	701	180		253	155	.347	.391	.485	.876

Third Base

Art Devlin

Age: 24-29
Years: 1904-1909
Positions: 3B
Teams: New York Giants

Art Devlin Hitting Stats
WAR	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
30.3	874	3,013	412	812	106	37	8	347	229		392	240	.269	.366	.337	.703

Shortstop

Honus WagnerHOF

Age: 27-35
Years: 1901-1909
Positions: SS
Teams: Pittsburgh Pirates

Honus Wagner Hitting Stats
WAR	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
79.3	1,256	4,727	907	1,646	327	126	47	856	449		477	321	.348	.415	.501	.915

Outfield

Mike Donlin

Age: 23-30
Years: 1901-1908
Positions: OF
Teams: Cincinnati Reds, New York Giants

Mike Donlin Hitting Stats
WAR	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
25.0	725	2,803	516	950	133	75	29	395	162		236	205	.339	.394	.471	.865

Outfield

Elmer FlickHOF

Age: 25-33
Years: 1901-1909
Positions: OF
Teams: Philadelphia Phillies, Philadelphia Athletics, Cleveland Indians

Elmer Flick Hitting Stats
WAR	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
38.0	1,060	4,046	657	1,231	196	123	26	460	240		403	460	.304	.375	.433	.808

Outfield

Sam CrawfordHOF

Age: 21-29
Years: 1901-1909
Positions: OF
Teams: Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers

Sam Crawford Hitting Stats
WAR	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
43.2	1,309	5,082	745	1,576	248	152	50	743	176		362	329	.310	.358	.448	.806

Starting Pitcher

Christy MathewsonHOF

Age: 20-28
Years: 1901-1909
Positions: SP
Teams: New York Giants

Christy Mathewson Pitching Stats
WAR	G	GS	W	L	ERA	IP	CG	SHO	SV	R	ER	BB	SO	SO/9	WHIP
68.0	383	344	236	109	1.94	2,941	281	61	16	920	635	624	1,784	5.5	1.028

Starting Pitcher

Mordecai BrownHOF

Age: 26-32
Years: 1903-1909
Positions: SP
Teams: St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs

Mordecai Brown Pitching Stats
WAR	G	GS	W	L	ERA	IP	CG	SHO	SV	R	ER	BB	SO	SO/9	WHIP
38.6	246	195	144	65	1.63	1,827.2	170	41	19	517	331	356	799	3.9	0.984

Starting Pitcher

Addie JossHOF

Age: 22-29
Years: 1902-1909
Positions: SP
Teams: Cleveland Bronchos / Naps

Addie Joss Pitching Stats
WAR	G	GS	W	L	ERA	IP	CG	SHO	SV	R	ER	BB	SO	SO/9	WHIP
43.5	273	248	155	92	1.87	2,219.2	225	44	5	695	461	346	871	3.5	0.963

Starting Pitcher

Cy YoungHOF

Age: 34-42
Years: 1901-1909
Positions: SP
Teams: Boston Red Sox / Americans, Cleveland Naps

Cy Young Pitching Stats
WAR	G	GS	W	L	ERA	IP	CG	SHO	SV	R	ER	BB	SO	SO/9	WHIP
69.4	362	331	211	127	2.02	3,022.2	305	41	9	982	680	358	1,450	4.3	0.983

Starting Pitcher

Rube WaddellHOF

Age: 24-32
Years: 1901-1909
Positions: SP
Teams: Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Athletics, St. Louis Browns

Rube Waddell Pitching Stats
WAR	G	GS	W	L	ERA	IP	CG	SHO	SV	R	ER	BB	SO	SO/9	WHIP
55.4	356	306	175	126	2.09	2,626.2	235	47	3	904	611	717	2,121	7.3	1.098

Honorable Mention

Catcher – Johnny Kling
First Base- Harry Davis
Second Base- Danny Murphy
Third Base- Tommy Leach
Shortstop- Bobby Wallace
Outfield – Fred Clarke
Outfield – Sherry Magee
Starting Pitcher – Ed Reulbach
Starting Pitcher – Ed Walsh

All underlying data used in this analysis is available in The Baseball Scholar Data Library.

4 responses to “1900s All-Decade Team”

Garry Harris

December 8, 2017 at 6:48 pm

The 1900s has the best keystone combo with Wagner and LaJoie as obvious choices. This is the greatest decade for pitching; the list goes 20 deep. There’s only one great catcher in this era, Roger Bresnahan is the first great super-sub.

C Johnny Kling

1B Harry Davis
2B Napoleon LaJoie
3B Bill Bradley. Before his back injury.
SS Honus Wagner

LF Jimmy Sheckard
CF Roy Thomas
RF Sam Crawford

SP Christy Mathewson
SP Cy Young
SP Addie Joss
SP Doc White
SP Mordecai Brown
SP Eddie Plank

RP Doc Crandell

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Jay

January 10, 2018 at 11:01 am

Cy Seymour should be in CF – .311, 43 HR, 685 RBI, 197 SB, 127 OPS+, and 31.8 WAR in the decade…and a batting title; Thomas’ numbers are inflated by a single stat (BB).

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1. GarryHarris
  
  January 12, 2018 at 9:34 am
  
  On most days, I agree with you. Cy Seymour was a great player. He started out as a pitcher and became the best offensive CF of the decade. His 1905 season was exceptional.
  
  OF was a hard decision. On any given day, I go back and forth on Cy Seymour, Ginger Beaumont, Fielder Jones and Roy Thomas in CF. On this day, I chose Thomas for his superior defense. However, any of these are just as good choices. I go back and forth in LF too. I considered Fred Clarke, Sherry Magee and Jimmy Sheckard. Sheckard was one of the greatest leadoff hitters and also a great defensive LF. Moreover, I just like him. In RF, I looked at Elmer Flick, Willie Keeler and Socks Seybold. Sam Crawford was known as a RF but, he was the regular CF during all three of Detroit’s World Series appearance. He needs to be on this team.
  
  In truth, most days I have LF Fred Clarke, CF Cy Seymour and RF Sam Crawford on the all-decade team.
  
  There were a few players such as George Stone, Mike Donlin and Jimmy Barrett who had 2-3 great seasons but, short careers to add to the greatest decade team.
  
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elton

June 7, 2023 at 10:19 am

to carry the website up a level / a index about the players and there gloves or mitts would be nice .along with batt types information.maybe links to manufacturer of equipment catalog history. this is a great site.

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