This was the year of the "Miracle Braves". The Boston Braves, after spending the better part of a decade in last place, won the pennant. They then defeated the mighty Philadelphia Athletics to win their first World Series. The Braves weren't loaded with stars; they had a pair of Hall Of Famers in their infield, but elsewhere, manager George Stallings had to be creative. He was the first manager to platoon extensively, and got the most out of what he had.
        The strategy of platooning later became commonplace in baseball. Stallings, however, never had much luck as a manager. His first job was with the Yankees, and he had two good seasons with them, only to be fired (and replaced by Hal Chase, of all people). Stallings joined the Braves, and won the World Series this year; but his best pitcher went lame, and the Braves slowly sunk back to the basement. Stallings was fired in 1920, and never managed in the big leagues again. But platooning lives on.

        Two of the key figures in the Braves' lineup were their middle infielders. Rabbit Maranville was a young guy, 22 years old, a lousy hitter but a spectacular defensive shortstop. Johnny Evers was an old guy, a former star for the Cubs several years earlier. In the Chalmers Award vote, Evers was the winner, and Maranville was a close second. I'm choosing Maranville as the MVP; he wasn't as good a hitter as Evers, but he was great defensive player, and he played in almost every game.
        This is probably the only year I have chosen a below-average hitter as the league MVP, but I think I can justify the selection. The best hitters in the NL were Sherry Magee and Gavy Cravath, both of whom played for a poor Phillies team. And Cravath, at least, was greatly helped by his home park. George J. Burns had a fine year for the second place Giants, but he didn't have overwhelming numbers.
        Defensively, Maranville was the Ozzie Smith of his era. He peaked defensively this season; his totals in putouts and assists both rank among the top ten all-time for a single season. He also led the NL in double plays. He did this while using a flimsy piece of leather for a glove (which is also why he made 65 errors).
        Maranville had a long career, and is in the Hall Of Fame. He was never a good hitter, but his glovework kept him in the league for 23 years, long enough to compile over 2600 hits. Though he peaked defensively this year, he remained among the better shortstops in the league for the next 20 years. I don't think he is a great choice for the Hall, but he's far from the worst. He's like Luis Aparicio and Bill Mazeroski; some of these guys get in the Hall, some of them don't.
        As I have mentioned, Gavy Cravath was helped a great deal by his home park in Philadelphia. I don't have a home/road breakdown for his career, but I seem to remember reading that all 19 of his home runs were hit at home this year. This is not surprising, for Cravath played his home games at the Baker Bowl, a park with a short right-field fence that was very friendly towards such left-handed Phillies as Chuck Klein, Don Hurst, Cy Williams, and Lefty O'Doul.
        Cravath was a right-hander, who apparently muscled home runs over the short fence in the opposite field. It was a unique talent; his outstanding teammate, Sherry Magee, does not appear to have been helped to such a great extent. Magee was also right-handed, but chose not to try to clear the short opposite field wall. It raises an interesting question about greatness. Some players look great because their numbers are inflated by their home parks; such was the case of Chuck Klein in Philadelphia, or any current member of the Colorado Rockies.
         On the other hand, some players are able to exploit the peculiarities of their home parks, gaining an advantage that no other player in the league has. Such was the case with Cravath; he was a unique player, someone who likely would have been a star had he played during the lively ball era. He was a power hitter who had the misfortune to play in a game that was built for speed; yet, with some luck and his own skill, he still found a way to hit home runs.