1913 Washington Senators

From BR Bullpen

1913 Washington Senators / Franchise: Minnesota Twins / BR Team Page[edit]

Record: 90-64, Finished 2nd in American League (1913 AL)

Managed by Clark Griffith

Coach: Nick Altrock

Ballpark: Griffith Stadium

History, Comments, Contributions[edit]

The 1913 Washington Senators finished second in the American League, 6 1/2 games behind the Philadelphia Athletics, their second straight season finishing in second place. Their 90 wins were good, but there was never really much of a pennant race. On July 3rd, the traditional midway point of the season, they were 11 1/2 games behind Philadelphia and in third place, and while they managed to make the race closer over the final three months, they never really threatened to take the pennant. They made up three games in the standings by sweeping the A's in the final week while Connie Mack was resting his regulars in anticipation of the World Series.

The Senators were one of the great running teams of the Deadball Era - and thus of all time - with 287 stolen bases. That was 66 more than the second-best team, the Athletics. However, all that base-stealing did not make them a great offensive team, as they scored just 596 runs, which was below average. The best base thieves were OFs Clyde Milan and Danny Moeller, with 75 and 62 respectively, with seven other players in double figures: all the regulars except for C John Henry and their two most-used substitutes, including back-up catcher Eddie Ainsmith.

If it wasn't the hitting that made the Senators good, it must have been the pitching, and that was indeed the case with the great Walter Johnson having his best season, going 36-7 with a 1.14 ERA. He led the AL in complete games, shutouts, innings pitched and strikeouts and won the Chalmers Award as the league's MVP. When someone other than the "Big Train" was on the mound, the Senators actually had a losing record. Johnson had a scoreless streak of 55 2/3 innings that started after he gave up a run on Opening Day, breaking the American League record set by Jack Coombs in 1910; he allowed just 2 earned runs over his first 70 innings. He won his first 10 decision, then on June 16th started a 14-game winning streak, lasting into late August. Next best on the mound was rookie Joe Boehling, who won his first 11 decisions, not losing a game until late July, and finishing at 17-7, 2.14.

Awards and Honors[edit]

Standings[edit]

American League W L Pct. GB
Philadelphia Athletics 96 57 .627 --
Washington Senators 90 64 .584
Cleveland Naps 86 66 .566
Boston Red Sox 79 71 .527 15½
Chicago White Sox 78 74 .513 17½
Detroit Tigers 66 87 .431 30
New York Yankees 57 94 .377 38
St. Louis Browns 57 96 .373 39