Once again, Nap Lajoie was clearly the best player in the league. He was a vastly
better hitter than any other player; his OPS was more than
100 points better than anyone else's. Add in the fact that Lajoie was possibly the best defensive
player in the league, and you've got an excellent choice for the MVP.
The next best players of this group were
Lajoie's teammate, Bill Bradley, and Philadelphia's Danny Murphy. Their
credentials are about the same, but I'll give the edge to Murphy, who had
surprising power for an infielder. Murphy was a good hitter who played
for 16 years, most of them with the Athletics. In mid-career he was switched
to the outfield so that Eddie Collins could play second base. Murphy continued
to hit well, and was a key member of Philadelphia's championship teams
of 1910-11.
Elmer Flick also played for Cleveland. He had a lot of power,
and was also a fine base runner. He is in the Hall Of Fame, despite
having his last good year at age 31. Flick's hitting credentials are certainly
impressive; he won a batting title, was one of the premier power hitters
in the league, and also one of the better base stealers. Of course, we
have to remember that he was playing in an expansion league, though he did have some
very good years in the NL early in his career.
Wee Willie Keeler was 32 years old, and
had his best year in the AL. Keeler was a little singles hitter, famous
for his ability to direct hits between fielders (
"hitting them where they
ain't"). He tore up the NL in the 1890's, compiling eight straight 200-hit
seasons, including a .424 average in 1897. Surprisingly, he wasn't much
of a player past age 30, though he managed to have one more big
season this year. Keeler played 19 years in total, and rung up 2932
career hits.
Chick Stahl was Boston's best player. He
wasn't as good as either Flick or Keeler, but gets my vote just behind
them. Stahl was a fine player, and was named Boston's manager in 1906.
In 1907, he committed suicide, apparently because of
the pressure caused by various bad relationships. One woman tried to
shoot him, and another demanded marriage after he impregnated her. Of
course, he was already married. I guess this type of behaviour
wouldn't be suitable for the manager of the Boston Puritans, as
they were called for short time.
