Five years after their first National League pennant, the 1920 Phillies hardly looked like that World Series team when they opened Spring Training at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Ala.
The season
Not a very good one, 62-91, last place (eight-team league) ... Manager: Gavvy Cravath ... Stadium: Baker Bowl ... Team batting average: .363 ... Team ERA: 3.63 ... Attendance: 330,998, seventh in NL but their highest total for the next 22 seasons ... One coach: Jesse Tannehill.
Remaining from 1915 champs
RF Cravath, the power hitter who led the league with 24 homers, was on the active roster in 1920 after he took over as manager at midseason the previous year. ... Inserted himself as a pinch-hitter in the fifth game of the season and homered, his career-last 119th, a Major League record that Babe Ruth would break in 1921. ... Gavvy had 11 other pinch-hits to lead the league in his last season as a player or manager.
1B Fred Luderus hit the first World Series home run in franchise history (Game 5). ... Didn’t start on Opening Day in 1920, ending a club-record 533 consecutive game streak that stood until Richie Ashburn broke it the 1950s. ... Claimed on waivers by Cincinnati in July.
SS Dave Bancroft, a rookie in 1915 whose career in Philadelphia ended in June when he was traded to the New York Giants, for whom he played in the 1921-22-23 World Series. ... Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971.
Eppa Rixey, a 6-foot-5 lefty, was 11-12 in 1915. He won 22 games the following season but lost 21 in 1917 and 22 in 1920. ... Traded to Cincinnati after the season; won 179 games for the Reds in 13 seasons and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1963.
Other notable players
RHP Lee Meadows, 16-14, 2.84 ERA. Of the 11 pitchers on the staff, he was the only one with a winning record. ... As a rookie with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1915 he became the first Major Leaguer to wear eyeglasses while playing, earning the nickname “Specs”. ... His other claim to fame -- so to speak: He was the losing pitcher when the Phillies played the fastest game in history, 51 minutes, against the Giants in New York, in the first game of a season-ending doubleheader. And it was his 20th loss (12 wins).
In RF, none other than 29-year-old Casey Stengel, who was enshrined in Cooperstown in 1966 mainly for his outstanding managerial career. ... A left-handed hitter, Stengel hit .292. ... Traded to the Giants in midseason of 1921. Played in two World Series with them.
CF Cy Williams, the 32-year-old power hitter, led the club in hitting (.325), doubles (36), triples (10), league-leading home runs (15) and RBIs (72).
LF Irish Meusel rounded out the best part of the club, the outfield, hitting .309, 14 home runs. ... Traded to the Giants in July 1921 and played in four World Series with them.
1920 nuggets
That season was considered the last of the dead-ball era. A total of 261 homers were hit in the Majors. The following season, 460. ... It was the last season in which the spitball was legal for pitchers. ... It was common for a baseball to be in play for more than 100 pitches. ... A rule change stated that balls hit over the fence in fair territory but landing foul were fair, and hence were home runs rather than foul balls. ... RBI (Run Batted In) became an official statistic.
