1920 International League season

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The 1920 International League season marked the start of the live ball era, as it did across baseball. The league went from a .268 average and 183 home runs in 1919 to .290 and 405 HR in 1920. The league saw some shuffling, with Syracuse returning to replace Binghamton and the Akron Buckeyes replacing Newark. The league saw an exciting pennant race as Toronto won 20 of their last 22 games, but still fell 2 1/2 behind Baltimore, which won their last 25 games. Toronto set a IL record for winning percentage by a second-place team. The league had a clear break between its top four teams (88 to 110 wins each) and bottom four (33 to 65 wins, 85 to 116 losses), with last-place Syracuse finishing 75 games out.

Lefty Grove made his IL debut, going 12-2 with a 3.81 ERA for the Baltimore juggernaut, but the big star was his teammate Jack Bentley, who not only led in ERA (2.11) but also hit .371 with 20 home runs. The league's home run record fell, no surprise in the 1920 year of the live ball, as Jake Drauby's 1894 record of 21 was eclipsed by Mike Konnick and Frank Brower; their mark held just two years.

Final standings

	W	L	Pct.	GB	Manager	Affiliation
Baltimore Orioles	110	43	.719	--	Jack Dunn
Toronto Maple Leafs	108	46	.701	2.5	Hugh Duffy
Buffalo Bisons	96	57	.627	14	Hooks Wiltse
Akron Buckeyes	88	63	.583	21	Dick Hoblitzel
Reading Marines	65	85	.433	33.5	John Hummel
Jersey City Skeeters	62	91	.405	48	Bill Donovan
Rochester Hustlers	45	106	.298	63.5	George Stallings
Syracuse Stars	33	116	.221	75	Tony Cummings - Amby McConnell - John Engman - Bunny Madden

League Leaders

Batting

• Batting Average Merwin Jacobson, Baltimore, .404
• Runs Scored Jacobson, 161
• Hits Jacobson, 235
• Doubles Bill Holden, Baltimore, 49
• Triples Al White, Rochester, 17
• Home Runs Mike Konnick, Reading & Frank Brower, Reading, 22
• Stolen Bases Snooks Dowd, Baltimore, 59

Pitching

• Wins Jack Ogden, Baltimore & Red Shea, Toronto, 27
• Earned Run Average Jack Bentley, Baltimore, 2.11
• Shutouts Shea, 7
• Strikeouts Virgil Barnes, Rochester, 142

References

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