Postseason Best Batters 1900s

When the postseason bandwagon began again after an eleven year absence, we finally began to see what most baseball fans consider the World Series format for almost all years since, with a few exceptions when there was none, 1904 for one and 1994 for another. But the first decade of World Series play between the American and National Leagues certainly began in an era without the long ball. Of note below, only two home runs hit among the top ten postseasons of the decade. But we do begin to see the names we've come to associate with baseball history and lore. Most notable among them, Honus Wagner, of Pittsburgh. But the best season of the first decade of AL vs NL play was Roger Bresnehan. Although the numbers listed below may not seem too impressive, it's the numbers beneath them that tell the whole story, including a 0.500 OBP, plus a series that saw little offensive production, outside of Roger. Only 18 runs were scored during the 5 games of the series; that's both teams! The SLG% for the series was 0.225 (Roger 0.438) and that OBP for the series, 0.242.

Rk Year Name Tm HR RBI Ave. PEVA
1 1905 Bresnahan Roger NY1 0 1 0.313 61.259
2 1906 Rohe George CHA 0 4 0.333 39.810
3 1908 Schulte Frank CHN 0 2 0.389 38.101
4 1907 Steinfeldt Harry CHN 0 2 0.471 38.023
5 1905 Donlin Mike NY1 0 1 0.263 33.566
6 1909 Wagner Honus PIT 0 6 0.333 29.815
7 1908 Chance Frank CHN 0 2 0.421 29.657
8 1905 McGann Dan NY1 0 4 0.235 26.689
9 1909 Clarke Fred PIT 2 7 0.211 26.084
10 1903 Parent Freddy BOS 0 4 0.290 25.794


Coming Next: The 1960s.