Tinker to Evers to Chance
1906 Chicago CubsHome Field: West Side Grounds
N.L. ChampionsHit: #1 R, BA
W - 116 L - 36Pitch: #1 OR, ERA
Manager: Frank ChanceDef: #1 FA

The 1906 Cubs won 116 games, more than any team in baseball history. Although the Cubs scored 80 runs more than any other team in the league, that might have been because they didn't have to play against their pitching staff. Chicago's moundsmen boasted a 1.76 staff ERA and the loop's top three individual marks. Three Finger Brown won 26 games and had a 1.04 ERA. Jack Pfiester was 20-8 with a 1.56 ERA and Ed Reulbach was 19-4 and 1.65. Only one pitcher in the whole league, Pittsburgh's Vic Willis with a 1.73 ERA, had a lower ERA than Chicago's staff!!

The offense wasn't too shabby either. This is the team with the famous double play team of shortstop Joe Tinker, second baseman Johnny Evers, and first baseman Frank Chance. Chance, catcher Johnny Kling, and third baseman Harry Steinfeldt all topped the .300 mark. Steinfeldt led the National League in hits, ranked second in average, and tied for the lead in RBIs.

The Cubs had outscored their opponents 705-381 en route to a 20 game lead over the National League's second best team. They were a confident team, perhaps too much so, as they met the other Chicago team in baseball's third World Series. The White Sox had crept to the American League pennant with a team batting average of just .230, the second lowest mark in baseball. In perhaps the greatest upset in post-season history, the Cubs lost the World Series four games to two.

The loss didn't destroy the team's spirit. The Cubs won pennants in 1907 and 1908, then breezed past Detroit in both World Series.



Pos Player Bats AB H R HR RBI BA    NL Rank
C Johnny Kling R 343 107 45 2 46 .312  
1B Frank Chance R 474 151 103 3 71 .319 #1 R; #5 BA, RBI
2B Johnny Evers L 533 136 65 1 51 .255  
SS Joe Tinker R 523 122 75 1 64 .233  
3B Harry Steinfeldt R 539 176 81 3 83 .327 #1-t RBI; #2 BA
LF Jimmy Sheckard L 549 144 90 1 45 .262 #3 R
CF Jimmy Slagle L 498 119 71 0 33 .239  
RF Wildfire Schulte L 563 158 77 7 60 .281 #4 HR
                 
C Pat Moran R 226 57 22 0 35 .252  
OF-1B-SS Solly Hofman R 195 50 30 2 20 .256  
OF Doc Gessler L 83 21 8 0 10 .253  
                   
TOTAL: Team   5018 1316 704 20 539 .262  
  League Average   39649 9693 4388 126 3556 .244  

Pitcher Throw G IP W L ERA PCT    NL Rank
  Three Finger Brown R 36 277 26 6 1.04 .813    #1 ERA; #2 W
  Jack Pfeister L 31 242 20 8 1.56 .714    #2 ERA; #4 K
  Ed Reulbach R 33 218 19 4 1.65 .826    #3 ERA
  Carl Lundgren R 27 208 17 6 2.21 .739  
  Jack Taylor R 17 147 12 3 1.84 .800  
  Orvie Overall R 18 144 12 3 1.88 .800  
  Fred Beebe R 14 70 7 1 2.70 .875  
                   
TOTAL: Team       116 36 1.76    
  League Average           2.63    

Back to the Mike & Maria Home Page

Back to the Greatest Teams of All Time

You are visitor number: .