There's not much to choose between Johnson and Coveleski.
Johnson was still one of the top strikeout men in the game, and was
the toughest pitcher in the league to hit. Coveleski was tough to
hit, too; he also had better control, and a slightly better ERA.
I'll give a slight edge to Johnson; in addition to his pitching
accomplishments, The Big Train had 42 hits during the year, giving
him a .433 batting average. That's called helping your own cause!
The Senators lost the World Series to Pittsburgh. Johnson was
brilliant in his first two starts, then got clobbered for nine runs
in Game Seven. He retired two years later with 417 wins, the second
most ever, and 3509 strikeouts, a record that wasn't broken until
1983. Coveleski retired three years later; he too had a brilliant
career, though nowhere near as good as Johnson. Coveleski was more
like Catfish Hunter, or Bob Lemon.
While Johnson and Coveleski were finishing their careers, Ted
Lyons was just beginning his; this was his first big season. He was
a workhouse for the next few years, then suffered a mid-career
crisis that included four straight losing seasons. He would have to
have been considered a longshot for the Hall Of Fame at that
point... but he then settled down for ten years as an old guy who
only pitched on Sundays, and usually very well. It is this image of
Ted Lyons, I think, that is most remembered today.
Herb Pennock may have been the best pitcher in the league, but
was stuck with a bad team- the New York Yankees. The Yanks were in
transition, while Babe Ruth struggled with tummy aches and Lou
Gehrig learned the ropes at first base. Both the Yankees and
Pennock would be back in the World Series next year.
