1909 Pittsburgh Pirates season

1909 Pittsburgh Pirates 1909 World Series Champion 1909 National League Champion
Major league affiliations
National League (Since 1887)
Location
Exposition Park (since 1891) Forbes Field (Since 1909) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Since 1887)
1909 Information
Owner(s)	Barney Dreyfuss
Manager(s)	Fred Clarke
Previous season     Next season

The 1909 Pittsburgh Pirates won the National League pennant with a record of 110–42 and their first World Series over the Detroit Tigers. Led by shortstop Honus Wagner and outfielder-manager Fred Clarke, the Pirates scored the most runs in the majors. Wagner led the league in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and runs batted in. Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss opened the Pirates’ new ballpark, named Forbes Field, on June 30, 1909.

The Pirates’ 110 wins remain a team record, a record they set in the last game of the season by beating the Cincinnati Reds 7-4 in muddy conditions on October 5. It is in fact the best regular season win percentage by any World Series winning team.

Regular season

Season standings

National League	W	L	GB	Pct.
Pittsburgh Pirates	110	42	--	.724
Chicago Cubs	104	49	6.5	.680
New York Giants	92	61	18.5	.601
Cincinnati Reds	77	76	33.5	.503
Philadelphia Phillies	74	79	36.5	.484
Brooklyn Superbas	55	98	55.5	.359
St. Louis Cardinals	54	98	56	.355
Boston Doves	45	108	65.5	.294

Notable transactions

• May 28, 1909: Ward Miller and cash were traded by the Pirates to the Cincinnati Reds for Kid Durbin.

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
C	Gibson, GeorgeGeorge Gibson	150	510	135	.265	2	52
1B	Abstein, BillBill Abstein	137	512	133	.260	1	70
2B	Miller, DotsDots Miller	151	560	156	.279	3	87
3B	Barbeau, JapJap Barbeau	91	350	77	.220	0	25
SS	Wagner, HonusHonus Wagner	137	495	168	.339	5	100
OF	Leach, TommyTommy Leach	151	587	153	.261	6	43
OF	Clarke, FredFred Clarke	152	550	158	.287	3	68
OF	Wilson, ChiefChief Wilson	154	569	155	.272	4	59

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
Byrne, BobbyBobby Byrne	46	168	43	.256	0	7
Abbaticchio, EdEd Abbaticchio	36	87	20	.230	1	16
Hyatt, HamHam Hyatt	49	67	20	.299	0	7
Miller, WardWard Miller	15	56	8	.143	0	4

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
Willis, VicVic Willis	39	289.2	22	11	2.24	95
Camnitz, HowieHowie Camnitz	41	283	25	6	1.62	133
Maddox, NickNick Maddox	31	203.1	13	8	2.21	56
Leifield, LeftyLefty Leifield	32	201.2	19	8	2.37	43

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
Adams, BabeBabe Adams	25	130	12	3	1.11	65
Leever, SamSam Leever	19	70	8	1	2.83	23
Brandom, ChickChick Brandom	13	40.2	1	0	1.11	21
Frock, SamSam Frock	8	36.1	2	1	2.48	11
Powell, BillBill Powell	3	7.1	0	1	3.68	2

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Camnitz, HarryHarry Camnitz	1	0	0	0	4.50	1
Wacker, CharlieCharlie Wacker	1	0	0	0	0.00	0
Moore, GeneGene Moore	1	0	0	0	18.00	2

Awards and honors

League top five finishers

Howie Camnitz

• #2 in NL in wins (25)
• #4 in NL in ERA (1.62)

Fred Clarke

• #2 in NL in runs scored (97)
• #4 in NL in on-base percentage (.384)

Tommy Leach

• MLB leader in runs scored (126)

Dots Miller

• #3 in NL in RBI (87)

Honus Wagner

• NL leader in batting average (.339)
• NL leader in RBI (100)
• NL leader in on-base percentage (.420)
• NL leader in slugging percentage (.489)
• #3 in NL in runs scored (92)

Vic Willis

• #4 in NL in wins (22)

1909 World Series

The 1909 Pirates in a poster celebrating their National League pennant. Frank Chance of the Chicago Cubs and John McGraw of the New York Giants, two teams the Pirates beat for the pennant, are being made to walk the plank.

Main article: 1909 World Series

In the World Series, Pittsburgh faced the American League champion Detroit Tigers, led by triple crown winner Ty Cobb. The matchup was largely billed as one between the major leagues’ two superstars. Wagner thoroughly outplayed Cobb, and rookie Babe Adams won all three of his starts, as the Pirates won in seven games.

Game 1

October 8, 1909 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Detroit (AL)	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	6	4
Pittsburgh (NL)	0	0	0	1	2	1	0	0	X	4	5	0
W: Babe Adams (1–0)  L: George Mullin (0–1)
HR: PIT – Fred Clarke (1)

Game 2

October 9, 1909 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Detroit (AL)	0	2	3	0	2	0	0	0	0	7	9	3
Pittsburgh (NL)	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	5	1
W: Bill Donovan (1–0)  L: Howie Camnitz (0–1)

Game 3

October 11, 1909 at Bennett Park in Detroit, Michigan

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Pittsburgh (NL)	5	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	8	10	2
Detroit (AL)	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	2	6	11	5
W: Nick Maddox (1–0)  L: Ed Summers (0–1)

Game 4

October 12, 1909 at Bennett Park in Detroit, Michigan

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Pittsburgh (NL)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	6
Detroit (AL)	0	2	0	3	0	0	0	0	X	5	8	0
W: George Mullin (1–1)  L: Lefty Leifield (0–1)

Game 5

October 13, 1909 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Detroit (AL)	1	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	4	6	1
Pittsburgh (NL)	1	1	1	0	0	0	4	1	X	8	10	2
W: Babe Adams (2–0)  L: Ed Summers (0–2)
HR: DET – Davy Jones (1), Sam Crawford (1)  PIT – Fred Clarke (2)

Game 6

October 14, 1909 at Bennett Park in Detroit, Michigan

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Pittsburgh (NL)	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	4	7	3
Detroit (AL)	1	0	0	2	1	1	0	0	X	5	10	3
W: George Mullin (2–1)  L: Vic Willis (0–1)

Game 7

October 16, 1909 at Bennett Park in Detroit, Michigan

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Pittsburgh (NL)	0	2	0	2	0	3	0	1	0	8	7	0
Detroit (AL)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	3
W: Babe Adams (3–0)  L: Bill Donovan (1–1)

References

• 1909 Pittsburgh Pirates team page at Baseball Reference
• 1909 Pittsburgh Pirates Page at Baseball Almanac

Preceded by Chicago Cubs 1908

National League Championship Season 1909

Succeeded by Chicago Cubs 1910