1917 AL Stargell Award

The Chicago White Sox won the pennant, and their second World Series. As of 2000, it is also their last, a drought of over 80 years. They won the pennant again in 1919, but lost in the World Series when eight members of the team helped fix the games. The Curse of the "Black Sox" set in, and the White Sox have yet to win another World Series. They have won only one other pennant, that in 1959.

Offensive Positions (LF, CF, RF, 1B)

			AVG	OBA	SLU	AB	HIT	DB	TP	HR	RUN	RBI	BB	SB	OPS
CF	T COBB	DET	383	444	570	588	225	44	24	6	107	102	61	55	1014
CF	T SPEAKER	CLE	352	432	486	523	184	42	11	2	90	60	67	30	918
LF	B VEACH	DET	319	393	457	571	182	31	12	8	79	103	61	21	850
1B	G SISLER	STL	353	390	453	539	190	30	9	2	60	52	30	37	843
LF	J JACKSON	CHI	301	375	429	538	162	20	17	5	91	75	57	13	805
CF	P BODIE	PHI	291	356	418	557	162	28	11	7	51	74	53	13	774
CF	H FELSCH	CHI	308	352	403	575	177	17	10	6	75	102	33	26	755

The White Sox led the AL in runs scored, led by solid hitters like Joe Jackson and Happy Felsch. But Ty Cobb didn't leave too much room for discussion over who the best player in the league was. Cobb had one of his best years, which should tell you right away who the MVP is. He led the AL in runs produced and total bases by wide margins.
The next best player of the group was clearly Tris Speaker. He now played for Cleveland, and led them to a solid third place finish. Bobby Veach, Cobb's teammate, also had a fine season, and produced more runs than Speaker. But Speaker had better offensive percentages, and was a much better defensive player.

Defensive Positions (2B, 3B, SS, CA)

			AVG	OBA	SLU	AB	HIT	DB	TP	HR	RUN	RBI	BB	SB	OPS
SS	R CHAPMAN	CLE	302	370	409	563	170	28	13	2	98	36	61	52	779
SS	D BUSH	DET	281	370	322	581	163	18	3	0	112	24	80	34	691
2B	E COLLINS	CHI	289	389	363	564	163	18	12	0	91	67	89	53	752
3B	F BAKER	NY	282	345	365	553	156	24	2	6	57	71	48	18	710
3B	L GARDNER	BOS	265	341	345	501	133	23	7	1	53	61	54	16	686
CA	W SCHANG	PHI	285	362	415	316	90	14	9	3	41	36	29	6	776

The two best players of this group were Ray Chapman and Eddie Collins. Chapman played for Cleveland, and had his best year at the plate. He was probably the best defensive shortstop in the AL as well. Collins was 30 years old, and midway through his career. This was his third year with the White Sox, and he was probably their best player, leading them to the World Series.
Chapman played for only nine years, all of them with Cleveland, and was consistently among the best shortstops in the league. In 1920, the Indians were the best team in the league, and Chapman was having a great year. But on a drizzly day in August, Chapman was struck in the head by a pitch and died. He is the only on-field fatality in major league baseball history. Today, Chapman is usually only remembered as the guy who was killed by a pitch, but the truth is he was the AL's best shortstop of the era, and likely would be in the Hall Of Fame had he survived.