The 1909 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 28th season for the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise, during which they 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.Crazy '08: How a cast of Cranks, Rogues, Boneheads and Magnates created the Greatest Year in Baseball History, p. 105, by Cait Murphy, Smithsonian Books, a Division of Harper Collins, 2007,
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
Record vs. opponents
Notable transactions May 28, 1909: Ward Miller and cash were traded by the Pirates to the Cincinnati Reds for Blaine Durbin.
Roster 1909 Pittsburgh Pirates Roster Pitchers Catchers
Infielders Outfielders
Other batters Manager
Player stats = Indicates team leader
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 150 510 135 .265 2 52 1B 137 512 133 .260 1 70 2B 151 560 156 .279 3 87 3B 91 350 77 .220 0 25 SS 137 495 168 .339 5 100 OF 151 587 153 .261 6 43 OF 152 550 158 .287 3 68 OF 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 Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI 3B 46 168 43 .256 0 7 1B, 3B 37 118 30 .254 0 12 2B, SS 36 87 20 .230 1 16 1B 49 67 20 .299 0 7 OF 15 56 8 .143 0 4 C 12 18 3 .167 0 2 C 9 16 5 .313 0 3 PR Blaine Durbin 1 0 0 ---- 0 0
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 39 289.2 22 11 2.24 95 41 283.0 25 6 1.62 133 31 203.1 13 8 2.21 56 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 22 131.2 8 3 2.32 38 25 130.0 12 3 1.11 65 19 70.0 8 1 2.83 23 13 40.2 1 0 1.11 21 8 36.1 2 1 2.48 11 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 1 0 0 0 4.50 1 1 0 0 0 0.00 0 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
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 Team123456789RHEDetroit (AL)100000000164Pittsburgh (NL)00012100X450W: 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 Team123456789RHEDetroit (AL)023020000792Pittsburgh (NL)200000000251W: Bill Donovan (1–0) L: Howie Camnitz (0–1)
Game 3 October 11, 1909, at Bennett Park in Detroit, Michigan Team123456789RHEPittsburgh (NL)5100000028102Detroit (AL)0000004026115W: Nick Maddox (1–0) L: Ed Summers (0–1)
Game 4 October 12, 1909, at Bennett Park in Detroit, Michigan Team123456789RHEPittsburgh (NL)000000000056Detroit (AL)02030000X580W: George Mullin (1–1) L: Lefty Leifield (0–1)
Game 5 October 13, 1909, at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Team123456789RHEDetroit (AL)100002010461Pittsburgh (NL)11100041X8102W: 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 Team123456789RHEPittsburgh (NL)300000001481Detroit (AL)10021100X5102W: George Mullin (2–1) L: Vic Willis (0–1)
Game 7 October 16, 1909, at Bennett Park in Detroit, Michigan Team123456789RHEPittsburgh (NL)020203010870Detroit (AL)000000000063W: Babe Adams (3–0) L: Bill Donovan (1–1)
Notes
References
External links 1909 Pittsburgh Pirates team page at Baseball Reference 1909 Pittsburgh Pirates Page at Baseball Almanac