The New York Giants won the pennant this year, after a couple of shaky seasons. The Giants had stumbled a bit after the retirement of Christy Mathewson, but manager John J. McGraw quickly whipped them back into shape. Led by a group of outstanding hitters and pitchers, the Giants easily won the pennant, then fell to the Chicago White Sox in the World Series.

        Rogers Hornsby's sophomore season was a doozy, and I think this was the first year that the "Rajah" was clearly the best player in the league. He was only 21, and combined a high batting average with lots of triples, and a few homers. When the lively-ball era began a few years later, Hornsby was quick to adjust his style, and developed into a prodigious home run hitter. Though he was a second baseman for most of his career, Hornsby played only shortstop this year; his defensive statistics were very good, which isn't surprising. Horsnby was an outstanding athlete, but his defensive reputation took a beating in later years, because he spent more time in the batting cage than fielding ground balls.
        The Giants' best player was an outfielder named George Burns, who probably had his best season. This is George J Burns; he is not to be confused with George H Burns (or, "Tioga George"), who was a first baseman for the Tigers. This George Burns was an outstanding player who led the NL in runs scored five times. He also led in walks five times, and in stolen bases twice. Burns played for 15 years, most of them with the Giants; he was in his prime when the dead-ball era ended, and he couldn't take advantage of the lively ball like some other players. He was an ideal leadoff hitter, and finished his career with over 2000 career hits.
        Another Giants' outfielder who had his best year was Benny Kauff. Well, this was sort of his best season. Kauff debuted with the Yankees in 1912, and played five games. He didn't play in the majors at all in 1913; presumably frustrated with his inability to get a job, he joined the new Federal League in 1914. His first year, he played for Indianapolis, and won the batting title with a .370 average. His numbers included 211 hits, 120 runs scored, 95 RBI, and 75 stolen bases. In 1915, Kauff won another batting title with a .342 average. The Federal League then folded, and Kauff got a regular job with the Giants.
        The Federal League is usually considered to be a major league, though I haven't written much about it. It lasted only two years, and its best player was Benny Kauff, and that is all most people want to know. But Kauff could play; his first two seasons with the Giants were good ones. In 1918 he continued to improve, but missed half the season, probably called to duty in the war. He returned in 1919 and played well, but for some reason his career ended in 1920. Kauff played his last game at age 30, and just missed his chance to show what he could do with a lively ball.