1915 AL Stargell Award

The Boston Red Sox won the pennant and the World Series. It was their third Series win since the Fall Classic began in 1903. They had a great combination of hitting and pitching, including a 20-year-old pitcher named Babe Ruth, who hit 4 home runs in only 92 at bats (the league leader had 7).

American League 1915

			AVG	OBA	SLU	AB	HIT	DB	TP	HR	RUN	RBI	BB	SB	OPS
CF	T COBB	DET	369	486	487	563	208	31	13	3	144	99	118	96	973
1B	J FOURNIER	CHI	322	429	491	422	136	20	18	5	86	77	64	21	920
CF	B SHOTTON	STL	283	409	360	559	158	18	11	1	93	30	118	43	769
LF	B VEACH	DET	313	390	434	569	178	40	10	3	81	112	68	16	824
RF	S CRAWFORD	DET	299	367	431	612	183	31	19	4	81	112	66	24	799

CF	T SPEAKER	BOS	322	416	411	547	176	25	12	0	108	69	81	29	827
2B	E COLLINS	CHI	332	460	436	521	173	22	10	4	118	77	119	46	896
2B	D PRATT	STL	291	323	394	602	175	31	11	3	61	78	26	32	717
SS	R CHAPMAN	CLE	270	353	370	570	154	14	17	3	101	67	70	36	723
3B	O VITT	DET	250	348	334	560	140	18	13	1	116	48	80	26	682
CA	W SCHANG	PHI	248	385	343	359	89	9	11	1	64	44	66	18	728
CA	R SCHALK	CHI	266	366	327	413	110	14	4	1	46	54	62	15	693

         Ty Cobb was the best hitter in the league. The other two great outfielders at the time, Tris Speaker and Joe Jackson, had off years by their own standards. Cobb set a major league record with 96 stolen bases, a record that wouldn't be broken until Maury Wills stole 104 in 1962. Cobb's team, the Tigers, also had a great year. They won 100 games, finishing two games behind the Red Sox.
        Though Speaker may not have had one of his best years, it was still a pretty good one. He was one of the better hitters in the league, and his team won the pennant. And he was a great defensive player. I'll place Speaker as a distant second to Cobb among this group.
        Cobb's teammate, Bobby Veach, had his first big season. And it was one of his best ones, the first of three years that he led the AL in RBI. Veach had a long career, and had over 2000 hits in his career, with a fair number of doubles and triples. He wasn't a great player, but he was a pretty good one, a guy like Harold Baines or Chili Davis.
        This was Eddie Collins' first year with the Chicago White Sox. He was the best hitting infielder in the league, by a good margin, and was good defensively, too. The White Sox finished third in the division, 23 games better than they had been the previous year. Collins is my runner-up choice behind Cobb.