1907 Major League Preview

Another winter has turned into spring, and with it starts the 1907 Major League Baseball season.  With the St. Louis Cardinals still enjoying their World Series victory from last year, the seven other National League teams have their eyes locked on the new champions.  In the American League, the Cleveland Naps showed that even a team that has struggled for most of the decade can rise up from the bottom, which has given hope to the current bottom of the barrel teams in the American League.  Who do the experts think will represent the AL and the NL in the 1907 World Series?  Their predictions are below.

In the American League, the experts are predicting a close race, with seven of the ten clubs finishing within ten games of each other.  However, when everything is said and done, it appears that the Cleveland Naps are the favorite to win the pennant for the second straight season.  While Cleveland's offense leaves a lot to be desired, their pitching staff is the best in the American League by far.  Ed Walsh, Addie Joss and Red Ames have shown time and time again that great pitching can defeat good hitting.  Speaking of good hitting, the New York Highlanders are projected to finish in a second place tie with the Washington Senators, who have only finished higher than third place one time since the turn of the century.  New York's high powered offense still boasts Mike Donlin, Cy Seymour and Jimmy Williams, but they will need some help from their pitchers if they want to catch the Naps.

In Washington, the Senators are hoping that a good pitching staff, led by Mordecai Brown, and a retooled offense with rookie Clyde Milan leading off, will be enough to take them to the top of the American League.  The Senators have struggled for years behind some of the upper level American League teams, and with the talent that they now have in place, there are those that believe this could be the year that the Senators make their first trip to the World Series.  

Rounding out the American League predictions, the Philadelphia Athletics and Detroit Tigers are both seen as middle of the pack teams, while the St. Louis Browns and Chicago White Sox are at least another year away from making a run at the pennant.  At the very bottom, once again, sit the Boston Americans, who haven't won more that 63 games since the 1903 season.  It doesn't look much better this year, American fans.  Maybe in another year or two, the team will be better suited to compete.

The National League predictions are calling for more of the same at the top of the standings, as the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals are seen as the top two teams in the Senior Circuit.  Rube Waddell is expected to have another outstanding year, while reigning National League Most Valuable Player Honus Wagner is predicted to have another MVP like season in 1907.  If Pittsburgh can get what is predicted out of their top two players, and the rest of the offense and pitching can support Wagner and Waddell, then the Pirates should have no problem at all in challenging the Cardinals for the top spot in the National League.  

In St. Louis, the defending champions are confident, and they should be, thanks to a pitching staff that is one of the best in all of baseball.  Doc White, Jimmy Dygert, Bob Wicker and Bill Bernhard give St. Louis outstanding depth on the pitcher's mound, and while the Cardinals might not have anyone at the level of Honus Wagner at the plate, 22 year old Sherry Magee isn't too far behind.  The young left fielder has thrived since arriving in St. Louis, and his star is likely to be shining very brightly for many, many years to come.  If the Cardinals are going to live up to their spring predictions, Magee is going to have to be outstanding at the plate.

Rounding out the National League, the Cincinnati Reds are seen as having an outside chance to compete for the pennant this year, providing that their pitching outside of Orval Overall can produce enough wins.  The New York Giants, who have struggled every season since winning the National League in 1904, are predicted to have a nice recovery season this year and finish in fourth place.  Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Doves (formerly Beaneaters) and Brooklyn Superbas are all expected to be in a scrum for the middle positions in the National League.  At the very bottom rests the Chicago Cubs, who, along with the Chicago White Sox, seem to have given the fans in Chicago very little to cheer for in this upcoming season.

Of course, these are just predictions, and whether or not any of them come to pass remains to be seen.  With the start of the 1907 season just one day away, however, people across the country are excited to see what will happen this upcoming year.