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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 -
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 -
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 -
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 -
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 -
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 -
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 -
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 -
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 -
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 -
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 -
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 -
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 - 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
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.
These rankings are part of The Baseball Scholar’s MLB All-Decade Teams, which evaluates the greatest players in Major League Baseball history across every position.
Catcher
First Base
Second Base
Third Base
Shortstop
Outfield
Outfield
Outfield
Starting Pitcher
Starting Pitcher
Starting Pitcher
Starting Pitcher
Starting Pitcher
Honorable Mention
All underlying data used in this analysis is available in The Baseball Scholar Data Library.
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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
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).
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.
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.