Tainted by a Scandal
1919 Cincinnati RedsHome Field: Crosley Field
World ChampionsHit: #2 R; #2t BA
W - 96 L - 44Pitch: #1 OR; #2 ERA
Manager: Pat MoranDef: #1 FA

When the 1919 World Series is discussed, the focus is almost always on the Black Sox scandal, whereby eight Chicago White Sox players are said to have thrown the series to Cincinnati. Who's to say what may have transpired in the absence of such a blemish. While the scandal tainted baseball's image, it also does an injustice to the team that defeated Chicago. The 1919 Cincinnati Reds won 96 and lost just 44, for a .686 winning percentage. As a result of the Black Sox, their story remains largely untold.

A year earlier, the Reds had finished third after owning the league's best hitting team. Problem was, the pitching ranked second to last. During the offseason, the team underwent a major facelift. Hod Eller, the staff ace, remained but was joined by Dutch Ruether, Slim Sallee, and Ray Fisher. Ruether had missed most of 1918 while serving in the military. Sallee and Fisher were veterans picked up in trades. The infield was also revamped, with two time batting champion Jake Daubert picked up in a trade, while Larry Kopf returned from war duty to play shortstop. The Reds also took a chance on Morrie Rath at second. Rath had not played in the majors since 1913. On top of all that, the Reds had a new manager in Pat Moran, who had managed the Phillies to the 1915 pennant.

What transpired must have surprised even the most optimistic of Reds fans. Cincinnati won the pennant by nine games as the pitching made a dramatic reversal, ranking second in ERA as the team allowed fewer runs than any other NL team. Sallee led the way with a 21-7 mark, followed by Eller at 20-9 and Ruether with 19 wins and a staff leading 1.82 ERA. Center fielder Edd Rousch won the batting title with a .321 average, and third sacker Heinie Groh wasn't far behind at .310.

The players on Cincinnati felt that they would have beaten Chicago with or without the help of the traitors. Many observers theorize that after Game 1 was thrown and the players failed to receive what was promised them, the series was played on the level. Joe Jackson and Buck Weaver, two of the men banished for life, hit .375 and .324 respectively during the series. It is impossible to tell to what extent the series was thrown or to say what may have happened if gamblers had not intervened.


Pos Player Bats AB H R HR RBI BA    NL Rank
C Ivy Wingo L 245 67 30 0 27 .273  
1B Jake Daubert L 537 148 79 2 44 .276    #2t R
2B Morrie Rath L 537 142 77 1 29 .264    #4 R
SS Larry Kopf B 503 136 51 0 58 .270  
3B Heinie Groh R 448 139 79 5 63 .310     #4 BA, #2t R, #5 RBI
LF-P Rube Bressler R 165 34 22 2 17 .206  
CF Edd Rousch L 504 162 73 4 71 .321    #1 BA, #2t RBI
RF Greasy Neale L 500 121 57 1 54 .242  
                   
C Bill Rariden R 218 47 16 1 24 .216  
OF Sherry Magee R 163 35 11 0 21 .215  
OF Pat Duncan R 90 22 9 2 17 .244  
OF Manuel Cueto R 88 22 10 0 4 .250  
3B-SS Hank Schreiber R 58 13 5 0 4 .224  
3B-SS-2B Jimmy Smith B 40 11 9 1 10 .275  
                   
Total: Team   4577 1204 578 20 489 .263  
  League   37284 9603 4071 206 3460 .258  

Pitcher Throw G IP W L ERA PCT    NL Rank
  Slim Sallee L 29 228 21 7 2.06 .750    #2t W
  Hod Eller R 38 248 20 9 2.39 .690    #4 W, #2 K
  Dutch Ruether L 33 243 19 6 1.82 .760    #3 ERA
  Ray Fisher R 26 174 14 5 2.17 .737  
  Jimmy Ring R 32 183 10 9 2.26 .526  
  Dolf Luque R 30 106 9 3 2.63 .750  
  Rube Bressler R 13 42 2 4 3.43 .333  
                   
Total: Team       96 44 2.23    
  League           2.91    

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