1914 Boston Braves season
Major League Baseball season
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The 1914 Boston Braves season was the 44th season of the franchise. The team finished first in the National League, winning the pennant by 10½ games over the New York Giants after being in last place in the NL at midseason. The team, which became known as the 1914 Miracle Braves, went on to sweep the Philadelphia Athletics in the World Series.
Fenway Park
| 1914 Boston Braves | |
|---|---|
| World Series champions National League champions | |
| |
| League | National League |
| Ballpark | South End Grounds (since 1871) Fenway Park |
| City | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Record | 94–59 (.614) |
| League place | 1st |
| Owners | James Gaffney |
| Managers | George Stallings |
Offseason
- Prior to 1914 season: Guy Zinn jumped from the Braves to the Baltimore Terrapins.[1]
Regular season
The Braves performed one of the most memorable reversals in major league history, going from last place to first place in two months, becoming the first team to win a pennant after being in last place on the Fourth of July.[2] After finishing in fifth place in 1913 with a record of 69 wins and 82 losses, the Braves were not expected to be contenders. They spent the first part of the season in last place, posting a record of 26 wins and 40 losses in early July.[3] Led by three pitchers, Dick Rudolph, Bill James, and Lefty Tyler, the team began to win games, taking over first place for good on September 8.[4] Their record over their final 87 games was 68–19 for a winning percentage of .782.[4] Infielders Johnny Evers and Rabbit Maranville led the league in double plays. The Braves went on to sweep Connie Mack's heavily favored Athletics in four games in the 1914 World Series.[5] The team became known as the "Miracle" Braves and remain one of the most storied comeback teams in baseball history. The franchise would not win another pennant until 1948.
Season standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Braves | 94 | 59 | .614 | — | 51–25 | 43–34 |
| New York Giants | 84 | 70 | .545 | 10½ | 43–36 | 41–34 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 81 | 72 | .529 | 13 | 42–34 | 39–38 |
| Chicago Cubs | 78 | 76 | .506 | 16½ | 46–30 | 32–46 |
| Brooklyn Robins | 75 | 79 | .487 | 19½ | 45–34 | 30–45 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 74 | 80 | .481 | 20½ | 48–30 | 26–50 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 69 | 85 | .448 | 25½ | 39–36 | 30–49 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 60 | 94 | .390 | 34½ | 34–42 | 26–52 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BSN | BRO | CHC | CIN | NYG | PHI | PIT | STL | |||||
| Boston | — | 9–13 | 16–6 | 14–8–2 | 11–11–1 | 12–10 | 17–5–1 | 15–6–1 | |||||
| Brooklyn | 13–9 | — | 10–12 | 11–11 | 9–13 | 11–11 | 16–6 | 5–17 | |||||
| Chicago | 6–16 | 12–10 | — | 17–5 | 9–13 | 12–10 | 12–10 | 10–12–2 | |||||
| Cincinnati | 8–14–2 | 11–11 | 5–17 | — | 9–13 | 9–13 | 8–14–1 | 10–12 | |||||
| New York | 11–11–1 | 13–9 | 13–9 | 13–9 | — | 12–10 | 13–9–1 | 9–13 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 10–12 | 11–11 | 10–12 | 13–9 | 10–12 | — | 12–10 | 8–14 | |||||
| Pittsburgh | 5–17–1 | 6–16 | 10–12 | 14–8–1 | 9–13–1 | 10–12 | — | 15–7–1 | |||||
| St. Louis | 6–15–1 | 17–5 | 12–10–2 | 12–10 | 13–9 | 14–8 | 7–15–1 | — | |||||
Roster
| 1914 Boston Braves | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | Catchers
Infielders |
Outfielders | Manager | ||||||
Player stats
| = Indicates team leader |
Batting
Starters by position
Note: Pos. = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; Avg. = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases
| Pos. | Player | G | AB | R | H | Avg. | HR | RBI | SB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Hank Gowdy | 128 | 366 | 42 | 89 | .243 | 3 | 46 | 14 |
| 1B | Butch Schmidt | 147 | 537 | 67 | 153 | .285 | 1 | 71 | 14 |
| 2B | Johnny Evers | 139 | 491 | 81 | 137 | .279 | 1 | 40 | 12 |
| 3B | Charlie Deal | 79 | 257 | 17 | 54 | .210 | 0 | 23 | 4 |
| SS | Rabbit Maranville | 156 | 586 | 74 | 144 | .246 | 4 | 78 | 28 |
| OF | Larry Gilbert | 72 | 224 | 32 | 60 | .268 | 5 | 25 | 3 |
| OF | Les Mann | 126 | 389 | 44 | 96 | .247 | 4 | 40 | 9 |
| OF | Joe Connolly | 120 | 399 | 64 | 122 | .306 | 9 | 65 | 12 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Possum Whitted | 66 | 218 | 57 | .261 | 2 | 31 |
| Red Smith | 60 | 207 | 65 | .314 | 3 | 37 |
| Bert Whaling | 60 | 172 | 36 | .209 | 0 | 12 |
| Herbie Moran | 41 | 154 | 41 | .266 | 0 | 4 |
| Ted Cather | 50 | 145 | 43 | .297 | 0 | 27 |
| Josh Devore | 51 | 128 | 29 | .227 | 1 | 5 |
| Jim Murray | 39 | 112 | 26 | .232 | 0 | 12 |
| Oscar Dugey | 58 | 109 | 21 | .193 | 1 | 10 |
| Jack Martin | 33 | 85 | 18 | .212 | 0 | 5 |
| Tommy Griffith | 16 | 48 | 5 | .104 | 0 | 1 |
| Wilson Collins | 27 | 35 | 9 | .257 | 0 | 1 |
| Fred Tyler | 6 | 19 | 2 | .105 | 0 | 2 |
| Clarence Kraft | 3 | 3 | 1 | .333 | 0 | 0 |
| Billy Martin | 1 | 3 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dick Rudolph | 42 | 336.1 | 26 | 10 | 2.35 | 138 |
| Bill James | 46 | 332.1 | 26 | 7 | 1.90 | 156 |
| Lefty Tyler | 38 | 271.1 | 16 | 13 | 2.69 | 140 |
| Otto Hess | 14 | 89.0 | 5 | 6 | 3.03 | 24 |
| Hub Perdue | 9 | 51.0 | 2 | 5 | 5.82 | 13 |
| Tom Hughes | 2 | 17.0 | 2 | 0 | 2.65 | 11 |
| Ensign Cottrell | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 1 | 9.00 | 1 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dick Crutcher | 33 | 158.2 | 5 | 7 | 3.46 | 58 |
| George Davis | 9 | 55.2 | 3 | 3 | 3.40 | 26 |
| Paul Strand | 16 | 55.1 | 6 | 2 | 2.44 | 33 |
| Gene Cocreham | 15 | 44.2 | 3 | 4 | 4.84 | 15 |
| Dolf Luque | 2 | 8.2 | 0 | 1 | 4.15 | 1 |
1914 World Series
Boston Braves (4) vs Philadelphia Athletics (0)
| Game | Score | Date | Location | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston Braves – 7, Philadelphia Athletics – 1 | October 9 | Shibe Park | 20,562 |
| 2 | Boston Braves – 1, Philadelphia Athletics – 0 | October 10 | Shibe Park | 20,562 |
| 3 | Philadelphia Athletics – 4, Boston Braves – 5 (12 innings) | October 12 | Fenway Park | 35,520 |
| 4 | Philadelphia Athletics – 1, Boston Braves – 3 | October 13 | Fenway Park | 34,365 |