Nowlin: How the 1917 season unfolded
From SABR member Bill Nowlin at The National Pastime Museum on September 12, 2017:
In 1916, John McGraw’s New York Giants had finished in fourth place, but they dominated in 1917. Only the Cincinnati Reds gave them trouble in head-to-head matchups, both teams winning 11 games. All the way through June, however, the Giants had to fight to maintain first place. Only once (on May 17) did they have a lead as large as three games. On 10 days they were tied for first, but most of the time they were in second place—though very close (some 14 days saw them in second by only half a game). There were days they took the lead, but from their April 12 Opening Day through June 30, there were only eight days that saw them as more than one full game out of first, one way or the other.
The Red Sox had won both the AL pennant and the World Series in 1915 and 1916, but even though they won 90 games in 1917, the Chicago White Sox won 10 more, for an even 100 wins. Boston finished second, nine games behind Chicago. Tied or in the lead, the White Sox were only out of first place for one day in April but spent 15 days in May trailing, by as many as 3½ games on May 11 and 12. A week later, on May 18, they took the lead and only one day (June 7) saw them dip out of first.
Read the full article here: https://www.thenationalpastimemuseum.com/article/how-1917-season-unfolded
Originally published: September 14, 2017. Last Updated: September 14, 2017.