The Giants won the pennant, led by a powerhouse offense that led the league in runs scored. The Cardinals had a disappointing year; they had the top three hitters in the league, and the best team offensive numbers, but failed to push across as many runs as the Giants. The Cardinals still did have the league's best player, in Rogers Hornsby.

         As a hitter, Hornsby was a country mile ahead of any other player at any position. He may not have been a very good defensive player, but he was certainly good enough to remain the NL's MVP.
     Both Dave Bancroft and Frankie Frisch played for the Giants. The big question is who should rank ahead of whom. Frisch had better offensive numbers, produced more runs, and was a fine defensive second baseman. But the veteran Bancroft was maybe the best defensive infielder in the NL. It's a tough choice, but I'll take Frisch by a hair.
        This was Bancroft's best year as a hitter, though he had some other good ones. He had a great defensive reputation, and his defensive statistics are very impressive as well. Like many of his teammates, he was elected to the Hall Of Fame many years later. Though he was a very good player, I don't think he was a great one. Great shortstops are guys like Honus Wagner, Joe Cronin, and Cal Ripken; Bancroft was more similar to Tony Fernandez or Dave Concepcion.
        Two top hitters were Jacques Fournier and Austin McHenry, both of whom played for the Cardinals. Fournier showed great promise early in his career as a part-time player, then missed almost two full seasons from 1917-18 (I don't know why). He finally established himself at age 28, and for six years was an outstanding, Don Mattingly-type player.
        McHenry was 25 years old; he had been a decent player for three years, then exploded with a great season. To this point in his career he was similar to Harry Heilmann, who also had a big season in the AL after the introduction of the lively ball. But next year, McHenry starting having trouble seeing the ball, then died shortly after from a brain tumour.
        Irish Meusel and George Kelly both played for the Giants. Kelly, like Bancroft, was elected to the Hall Of Fame when the Veterans Committee decided there weren't enough Giants from the 1920's in the Hall. Kelly was a good player, like Wally Joyner, but was nowhere near a Hall Of Famer. He is probably the weakest member in the Hall right now. Jacques Fournier was a much greater player than Kelly.