1909 NL Stargell Award

National League 1909

			AVG	OBA	SLU	AB	HIT	DB	TP	HR	RUN	RBI	BB	SB	OPS
SS	H WAGNER	PIT	339	420	489	495	168	39	10	5	92	100	66	35	909
SS	A BRIDWELL	NY	294	386	338	476	140	11	5	0	59	55	67	32	724
2B	L DOYLE	NY	302	360	419	570	172	27	11	6	86	49	45	31	779
2B	J EVERS	CHI	263	369	337	463	122	19	6	1	88	24	73	28	705
2B	D MILLER	PIT	279	329	396	560	156	31	13	3	71	87	39	14	725
3B	A DEVLIN	NY	265	362	336	491	130	19	8	0	61	56	65	26	698

RF	M MITCHELL	CIN	310	378	430	523	162	17	17	4	83	86	57	37	808
1B	E KONETCHY	STL	286	366	396	576	165	23	14	4	88	80	65	25	762
1B	D HOBLITZEL	CIN	308	364	418	517	159	23	11	4	59	67	44	17	782
LF	F CLARKE	PIT	287	384	373	550	158	16	11	3	97	68	80	31	756
RF	T LEACH	PIT	261	337	368	587	153	29	8	6	126	43	66	27	705
LF	S MAGEE	PHI	270	339	398	522	141	33	14	2	60	66	43	38	737
CF	S HOFMAN	CHI	285	351	351	527	150	21	4	2	60	58	53	20	702

        Honus Wagner played for 23 years, beginning his career with Louisville in 1897. He moved to Pittsburgh in 1900 after the Louisville club folded. He played the rest of his career with the Pirates, leading them to their first World Series championship in 1909. He briefly managed the Pirates after he retired, then later served as a coach on the team for almost two decades.
        Wagner pounded out 3415 hits in his career, a total that still puts him in the top ten. He was a pretty good power hitter for his time, spiking his game with 640 doubles (eighth all-time) and 252 triples (third all-time). Wagner also ranks among the top ten in stolen bases, with 722 in his career.
        Wagner won eight batting championships; he led the league in on-base percentage four times, in slugging percentage six times, in OPS eight times. He won five RBI titles and led the league in runs scored twice; he led the league in doubles seven times, in triples three times, in total bases six times, in stolen bases five times. The raw statistics may be a little tedious, but are also essential for understanding the scope of Wagner's career.
        This year, Wagner was again the dominant player in the league. He led the league in OPS by a wide margin, and led in runs produced and total bases as well. He was an anchor at shortstop; he led his team to the pennant. Wagner is the an easy choice for MVP.
        The Chicago Cubs won 104 games, one of the best totals ever for a second place team. The Cubs had an awesome pitching staff, but had no star offensive players, and no good MVP candidates. The Giants finished third with 92 wins; their best player was Larry Doyle, whom I'm choosing as runner-up for the award.
        Laughing Larry Doyle was a power hitting second baseman, one of the best hitting infielders of the era. How good - or great - a player he was, I'm not really sure. As a hitter, he was as good as guys like Charlie Gehringer and Lou Whitaker, better than Frankie Frisch or Billy Herman.
        As a defensive player...it's difficult to say. He had weak defensive statistics, but those can be unreliable for second basemen, especially from this era. He never played another position, not even an inning, so his manager didn't seem to mind his glovework. The Giants almost always had excellent teams with fine pitching staffs. The evidence suggests to me that Doyle was an extremely valuable player, and I have treated him as such.
        Whether or not he was a great player... I think he was in his prime. His career was kind of short; he played for 14 years, and had less than 2000 hits despite twice leading the league. I don't think he should be in the Hall Of Fame, but he was better than many of his contemporaries who are in, guys like Johnny Evers and Joe Tinker and Harry Hooper.
        Mike Mitchell had a short career, but had a couple of fine years. This one was his best. Ed Konetchy had a long, good career; he was kind of a dead-ball era Kent Hrbek. This was Konetchy's first good season; he played for 15 years (including one in the Federal League), and pounded out over 2000 lifetime hits.