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1909 Pittsburgh Pirates season
Major League Baseball season
Major League Baseball season
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Pittsburgh Pirates |
| season | 1909 |
| image | Pirates 1908.png |
| misc | World Series champions |
| National League champions | |
| league | National League |
| ballpark | Exposition Park (since 1891) |
| Forbes Field | |
| city | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| owners | Barney Dreyfuss |
| managers | Fred Clarke |
National League champions Forbes Field |}} The 1909 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 28th season for the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise, during which they won the National League pennant with a record of 110–42 and their first World Series over the Detroit Tigers. Led by shortstop Honus Wagner and outfielder-manager Fred Clarke, the Pirates scored the most runs in the majors. Wagner led the league in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and runs batted in. Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss opened the Pirates' new ballpark, named Forbes Field, on June 30, 1909.
The Pirates' 110 wins remain a team record, a record they set in the last game of the season by beating the Cincinnati Reds 7–4 in muddy conditions on October 5. It is in fact the best regular season win percentage by any World Series winning team.
Regular season
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Notable transactions
- May 28, 1909: Ward Miller and cash were traded by the Pirates to the Cincinnati Reds for Blaine Durbin.
Roster
| 1909 Pittsburgh Pirates |
|---|
| **Roster** |
| **Pitchers** |
Player stats
| = Indicates team leader |
|---|
Batting
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | 150 | 510 | 135 | .265 | 2 | 52 | |
| 1B | 137 | 512 | 133 | .260 | 1 | 70 | |
| 2B | 151 | 560 | 156 | .279 | 3 | 87 | |
| 3B | 91 | 350 | 77 | .220 | 0 | 25 | |
| SS | 137 | 495 | 168 | .339 | 5 | 100 | |
| OF | 151 | 587 | 153 | .261 | 6 | 43 | |
| OF | 152 | 550 | 158 | .287 | 3 | 68 | |
| OF | 154 | 569 | 155 | .272 | 4 | 59 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3B | 46 | 168 | 43 | .256 | 0 | 7 | |
| 1B, 3B | 37 | 118 | 30 | .254 | 0 | 12 | |
| 2B, SS | 36 | 87 | 20 | .230 | 1 | 16 | |
| 1B | 49 | 67 | 20 | .299 | 0 | 7 | |
| OF | 15 | 56 | 8 | .143 | 0 | 4 | |
| C | 12 | 18 | 3 | .167 | 0 | 2 | |
| C | 9 | 16 | 5 | .313 | 0 | 3 | |
| PR | Blaine Durbin | 1 | 0 | 0 | ---- | 0 | 0 |
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 39 | 289.2 | 22 | 11 | 2.24 | 95 | |
| 41 | 283.0 | 25 | 6 | 1.62 | 133 | |
| 31 | 203.1 | 13 | 8 | 2.21 | 56 | |
| 32 | 201.2 | 19 | 8 | 2.37 | 43 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | 131.2 | 8 | 3 | 2.32 | 38 | |
| 25 | 130.0 | 12 | 3 | 1.11 | 65 | |
| 19 | 70.0 | 8 | 1 | 2.83 | 23 | |
| 13 | 40.2 | 1 | 0 | 1.11 | 21 | |
| 8 | 36.1 | 2 | 1 | 2.48 | 11 | |
| 3 | 7.1 | 0 | 1 | 3.68 | 2 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.50 | 1 | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18.00 | 2 |
Awards and honors
League top five finishers
Howie Camnitz
- #2 in NL in wins (25)
- #4 in NL in ERA (1.62)
Fred Clarke
- #2 in NL in runs scored (97)
- #4 in NL in on-base percentage (.384)
Tommy Leach
- MLB leader in runs scored (126)
Dots Miller
- #3 in NL in RBI (87)
Honus Wagner
- NL leader in batting average (.339)
- NL leader in RBI (100)
- NL leader in on-base percentage (.420)
- NL leader in slugging percentage (.489)
- #3 in NL in runs scored (92)
Vic Willis
- #4 in NL in wins (22)
1909 World Series
Main article: 1909 World Series
In the World Series, Pittsburgh faced the American League champion Detroit Tigers, led by triple crown winner Ty Cobb. The matchup was largely billed as one between the major leagues' two superstars. Wagner thoroughly outplayed Cobb, and rookie Babe Adams won all three of his starts, as the Pirates won in seven games.
Game 1
October 8, 1909, at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit (AL) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | **1** | **6** | **4** |
| **Pittsburgh (NL)** | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | X | **4** | **5** | **0** |
| **W**: Babe Adams (1–0) **L**: George Mullin (0–1) | ||||||||||||
| **HR**: PIT – Fred Clarke (1) |
Game 2
October 9, 1909, at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Detroit (AL)** | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | **7** | **9** | **2** |
| Pittsburgh (NL) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | **2** | **5** | **1** |
| **W**: Bill Donovan (1–0) **L**: Howie Camnitz (0–1) |
Game 3
October 11, 1909, at Bennett Park in Detroit, Michigan
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Pittsburgh (NL)** | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | **8** | **10** | **2** |
| Detroit (AL) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | **6** | **11** | **5** |
| **W**: Nick Maddox (1–0) **L**: Ed Summers (0–1) |
Game 4
October 12, 1909, at Bennett Park in Detroit, Michigan
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh (NL) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | **0** | **5** | **6** |
| **Detroit (AL)** | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | **5** | **8** | **0** |
| **W**: George Mullin (1–1) **L**: Lefty Leifield (0–1) |
Game 5
October 13, 1909, at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit (AL) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | **4** | **6** | **1** |
| **Pittsburgh (NL)** | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | X | **8** | **10** | **2** |
| **W**: Babe Adams (2–0) **L**: Ed Summers (0–2) | ||||||||||||
| **HR**: **DET** – Davy Jones (1), Sam Crawford (1) **PIT** – Fred Clarke (2) |
Game 6
October 14, 1909, at Bennett Park in Detroit, Michigan
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh (NL) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | **4** | **8** | **1** |
| **Detroit (AL)** | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | X | **5** | **10** | **2** |
| **W**: George Mullin (2–1) **L**: Vic Willis (0–1) |
Game 7
October 16, 1909, at Bennett Park in Detroit, Michigan
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Pittsburgh (NL)** | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | **8** | **7** | **0** |
| Detroit (AL) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | **0** | **6** | **3** |
| **W**: Babe Adams (3–0) **L**: Bill Donovan (1–1) |
Notes
References
References
- Crazy '08: How a cast of Cranks, Rogues, Boneheads and Magnates created the Greatest Year in Baseball History, p. 105, by Cait Murphy, Smithsonian Books, a Division of Harper Collins, 2007, {{ISBN. 978-0-06-088937-1
- "Ward Miller Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More".
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