1919 Philadelphia Athletics season
The 1919 Philadelphia Athletics season involved the A's finishing last in the American League with a record of 36 wins and 104 losses. It was their fifth consecutive season in the cellar after owner-manager Connie Mack sold off his star players.
| 1919 Philadelphia Athletics | |
|---|---|
| Major League affiliations | |
| |
| Location | |
| |
| Other information | |
| Owner(s) | Connie Mack, Benjamin Shibe, Tom Shibe and John Shibe |
| Manager(s) | Connie Mack |
| < Previous season Next season > | |
Philadelphia led the AL in fewest runs scored and most runs allowed, and they did so by wide margins. Their team ERA was 4.26, nearly a full run higher than the second worst team in the league that year.[1] The A's team batting average of .244 was the lowest in both leagues.[1] The pitching staff pitched only one shutout in the entire season.[1]
In July 1919, a newspaper reported, "Veteran Harry Davis has been coaxed out of his retirement and has been made assistant manager of the Athletics."[2] Although Connie Mack was the team's manager, the report said, "Mack hereafter will devote most of his time to business affairs of the club" and that the understanding was that Davis "really is in full charge of the team."[2]
Regular season
Season standings
| American League | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago White Sox | 88 | 52 | 0.629 | — | 48–22 | 40–30 |
| Cleveland Indians | 84 | 55 | 0.604 | 3½ | 44–25 | 40–30 |
| New York Yankees | 80 | 59 | 0.576 | 7½ | 46–25 | 34–34 |
| Detroit Tigers | 80 | 60 | 0.571 | 8 | 46–24 | 34–36 |
| St. Louis Browns | 67 | 72 | 0.482 | 20½ | 40–30 | 27–42 |
| Boston Red Sox | 66 | 71 | 0.482 | 20½ | 35–30 | 31–41 |
| Washington Senators | 56 | 84 | 0.400 | 32 | 32–40 | 24–44 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 36 | 104 | 0.257 | 52 | 21–49 | 15–55 |
Record vs. opponents
1919 American League Records Sources: | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | NYY | PHI | STL | WSH | |||||
| Boston | — | 9–11 | 4–15 | 9–11 | 10–9 | 14–6 | 9–10–1 | 11–9 | |||||
| Chicago | 11–9 | — | 12–8 | 11–9 | 12–8 | 17–3 | 11–9 | 14–6 | |||||
| Cleveland | 15–4 | 8–12 | — | 8–12 | 13–7 | 16–4 | 11–9 | 13–7 | |||||
| Detroit | 11–9 | 9–11 | 12–8 | — | 8–12 | 14–6 | 14–6 | 12–8 | |||||
| New York | 9–10 | 8–12 | 7–13 | 12–8 | — | 18–2 | 12–8 | 14–6–2 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 6–14 | 3–17 | 4–16 | 6–14 | 2–18 | — | 7–13 | 8–12 | |||||
| St. Louis | 10–9–1 | 9–11 | 9–11 | 6–14 | 8–12 | 13–7 | — | 12–8 | |||||
| Washington | 9–11 | 6–14 | 7–13 | 8–12 | 6–14–2 | 12–8 | 8–12 | — | |||||
Notable transactions
- June 13, 1919: Roy Grover was traded by the Athletics to the Washington Senators for Harry Thompson.[3]
Roster
| 1919 Philadelphia Athletics | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | Catchers
Infielders
|
Outfielders
|
Manager | ||||||
Player stats
Batting
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Cy Perkins | 101 | 305 | 77 | .252 | 2 | 29 |
| 1B | George Burns | 126 | 470 | 139 | .296 | 8 | 57 |
| 2B | Red Shannon | 39 | 155 | 42 | .271 | 0 | 14 |
| 3B | Fred Thomas | 124 | 453 | 96 | .212 | 2 | 23 |
| SS | Joe Dugan | 104 | 387 | 105 | .271 | 1 | 30 |
| OF | Tilly Walker | 125 | 456 | 133 | .292 | 10 | 64 |
| OF | Merlin Kopp | 75 | 235 | 53 | .226 | 1 | 12 |
| OF | Whitey Witt | 122 | 460 | 123 | .267 | 0 | 33 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amos Strunk | 60 | 194 | 41 | .211 | 0 | 13 |
| Roy Grover | 22 | 56 | 13 | .232 | 0 | 2 |
| Frank Welch | 15 | 54 | 9 | .167 | 2 | 7 |
| Bob Allen | 9 | 22 | 3 | .136 | 0 | 0 |
| Johnny Walker | 3 | 9 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rollie Naylor | 31 | 204.2 | 5 | 18 | 3.34 | 68 |
| Scott Perry | 25 | 183.2 | 4 | 17 | 3.58 | 38 |
| Bob Hasty | 2 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 5.25 | 5 |
| Dave Keefe | 1 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 4.00 | 5 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Socks Seibold | 14 | 45.2 | 2 | 3 | 5.32 | 19 |
| Bob Geary | 9 | 32.1 | 0 | 3 | 4.73 | 9 |
| Charlie Eckert | 2 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 3.94 | 6 |
| Dan Boone | 3 | 14.2 | 0 | 1 | 6.75 | 1 |
| Bob Grevell | 5 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 14.25 | 3 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walter Anderson | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.86 | 10 |
| Harry Thompson | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6.75 | 1 |
| Mike Kircher | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.88 | 2 |
| Willie Adams | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.86 | 0 |
Awards and honors
References
- Hollingsworth, Harry (1994). The Best & Worst Baseball Teams of All Time: From the '16 A's to the '27 Yanks to the Present!. United States: SPI Books. p. 187. ISBN 1561713082.
- "Harry Davis Has Been Made Assistant Manager of Philadelphia Athletics". Iowa, Iowa City. Iowa City Press-Citizen. July 14, 1919. p. 5. Retrieved March 23, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- Roy Grover page at Baseball Reference