Eddie Cicotte began his career with the Detroit Tigers in 1905. He moved
to Boston a year later, and spent a number of unremarkable seasons there. In
1912 he was traded to Chicago, and his career took off. Cicotte had some
brilliant seasons with the White Sox, including this one, and twice led the
AL in wins.
In his prime, Cicotte was perhaps the greatest master of "trick" pitches; he was one of the first pitchers to regularly throw a knuckleball, and is often credited with inventing the "shine ball" as well. He was durable, had outstanding control, and was very tough to
hit. He was clearly the best pitcher in the league this year. Unfortunately,
Cicotte had only three seasons left; in 1920, he was banned for life for his
involvement in the Black Sox scandal.
Boston had the next best team in the league, and
the next best pitchers. Carl Mays and Babe Ruth were a pair of young studs
who anchored the Red Sox rotation; Mays was a hard-throwing right-hander
who threw submarine-style. He was only 25, and had his best season in a Boston
uniform; two years later, in 1919, he was traded to the Yankees. Ruth was only 22,
and already had 67 career victories; he was well on his way to becoming baseball's
greatest star and legend. But two years later, in 1919, he too was sold to
the Yankees.
There isn't much to distinguish between the
remaining pitchers. Jim Bagby and Stan Coveleski were both Cleveland hurlers,
and both had breakthrough seasons. Bagby was 25, Coveleski 26; both were
outstanding, and three years later would lead the Indians to their first
World Series. Walter Johnson also had a fine season, though not quite at
his usual level. Of those three pitchers, I think Bagby had the best overall
numbers, and I'm choosing him ahead of the two Hall Of Famers.
