1917 International League season

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The 1917 International League season was the 6th season under the IL name. The big story of the year was Nap Lajoie; the four-time American League batting champion with over 3,000 major league hits had finished his big league career the year before. Now 42 years old, Lajoie was signed by the Toronto Maple Leafs as player-manager. The move was a superb one, as Lajoie led the league in doubles (39, 7 more than George Whiteman and Hack Eibel), hits (221, 3 ahead of Turner Barber) and average (the highest average in the circuit since Dan Brouthers in similar circumstances in 1897; 24 points better than runner-up Ross Youngs). Several teams held days in Lajoie's honor as he was a major calling card around the IL. Not only did he dominate the league offensively, but he also piloted his Maple Leafs to a close title.

Final standings

	W	L	Pct.	GB	Manager	Affiliation
Toronto Maple Leafs	93	61	.604	--	Nap Lajoie
Providence Grays	90	61	.594	1.5	Jack Egan
Baltimore Orioles	88	61	.594	2.5	Jack Dunn
Newark Bears	86	68	.558	7	Tom Needham
Rochester Hustlers	72	82	.468	21	Mickey Doolan
Buffalo Bisons	67	84	.444	24.5	Patsy Donovan
Montreal Royals	56	94	.373	35	Dan Howley
Richmond Virginians	53	94	.361	36.5	William Smith/Otto Knabe

League Leaders

Batting

• Batting Average Nap Lajoie, Toronto .380
• Runs Scored Merito Acosta, Baltimore, 119
• Hits Lajoie, 221
• Doubles Lajoie, 39
• Triples Guy Tutwiler, Providence, 17
• Home Runs Harry Damrau, Montreal, 16
• Stolen Bases Merlin Kopp, Buffalo, 57

Pitching

• Wins Harry Thompson, Toronto, 25
• Earned Run Average Vean Gregg, Providence, 1.72
• Shutouts Thompson, 5
• Strikeouts Gregg, 249

References

• The International League: Year-by-Year Statistics Marshall Wright. McFarland, 1998