Roaring Twenties Ultimate Playoff

Roaring Twenties Ultimate Playoff

The Roaring Twenties Ultimate Playoff pits the top 2 American League as well as the top 2 National League teams of the 1920’s in a 3 series battle to determine the team of the decade. The franchises with the 2 best winning records in each league who also won the championship for that year battle their league counterpart in a best of seven series. The winner from each league will then compete in a best of seven series to determine who gets the crown as the Roaring Twenties Champion. Let’s meet our 4 teams.

World Series Champion 1921 New York Giants had a record of 94-59 on their way to the second best National League and World Series winning record of the decade. Led by third baseman Frankie Frisch’s team leading .341 average and High Pockets Kelly’s 23 homers, the Giants defeated the Yankees 5 games to 3 in the last best of nine series in fall classic history.

Widely regarded as the greatest MLB team of all time, the 1927 New York Yankees sported a decade best 110 wins and 44 loses. In the World Series they swept a good Pittsburgh Pirates team on their way to the championship. The Mighty Babe Ruth set a record of 60 home runs that stood until another Yankee, Roger Maris, broke it with 61 in ’61, and Lou Gehrig took home AL MVP honors with a .373 batting average, 47 homers, and 175 RBI’s.

After finishing in 2nd place behind the 1927 and 1928 Yankees, the 1929 Philadelphia Athletics finally broke through with 104 wins and 46 losses beating the second place Yanks by 18 games. In the World Series they defeated the Chicago Cubs 4 games to 1. The Athletics allowed the fewest runs of any AL team in 1929 behind ace starter Lefty Grove’s best in the league ERA and strikeout numbers along with number two pitcher Big George Earnshaw leading the league with wins at 24 and second in strikeouts to Grove.

The 1925 Pittsburgh Pirates had the best record of any National League team who won the world series in the twenties with 95 wins and 58 losses. They were led by future hall of famers Max Carey, Pie Traynor, and the league leader in triples that year Kiki Cuyler. In a dramatic World Series, the Pirates came back from being down 3 games to 1 to defeat the defending champion Washington Senators in seven games and take the crown.

Roaring Twenties American League

  1. 1929 Philadelphia Athletics at 1927 New York Yankees: 6-3
  2. 1929 Philadelphia Athletics at 1927 New York Yankees: 3-2
  3. 1927 New York Yankees at 1929 Philadelphia Athletics: 3-1
  4. 1927 New York Yankees at 1929 Philadelphia Athletics: 7-9
  5. 1927 New York Yankees at 1929 Philadelphia Athletics: 1-3

The 1929 Philadelphia Athletics defeat the 1927 New York Yankees 4 games to 1 thanks to solid pitching. One of the greatest offenses of all time that included Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig at arguably the best of the careers seemed no match for the arms of the A’s who had a team ERA of 3.00 throughout the series. Lefty Grove earns the series MVP with an ERA of 2.00 in 18 innings pitched with 2 wins. They will move on to face the winner of the NL Roaring Twenties Winner.

Lefty Grove

Roaring Twenties National League

  1. 1921 New York Giants at 1925 Pittsburgh Pirates: 5-3
  2. 1921 New York Giants at 1925 Pittsburgh Pirates: 2-5
  3. 1925 Pittsburgh Pirates at 1921 New York Giants: 2-3
  4. 1925 Pittsburgh Pirates at 1921 New York Giants: 5-4
  5. 1925 Pittsburgh Pirates at 1921 New York Giants: 3-5
  6. 1921 New York Giants at 1925 Pittsburgh Pirates: 12-6

The 1921 Giants snag the NL Roaring Twenties Pennant after dispatching of the 1925 Pittsburgh Pirates 4 games to 2. The series saw back and forth victories until, up 3 games to 2, New York dominated in the late innings of game six, securing a 12-6 victory. Similar to the AL series, it was pitching on the mound as opposed to offensive slugging that won the day for the 1921 World Series Champions. Giant Johnny Rawlings gets the series MVP with a .500 batting average, a 1.18 OPS, 6 runs, 5 RBI’s and leading the team with 4 extra base hits.

Johnny Rawlings

Roaring Twenties Championship

  1. 1921 New York Giants at 1929 Philadelphia Athletics: 7-2
  2. 1921 New York Giants at 1929 Philadelphia Athletics: 2-6
  3. 1929 Philadelphia Athletics at 1921 New York Giants: 1-2
  4. 1929 Philadelphia Athletics at 1921 New York Giants: 10-7
  5. 1929 Philadelphia Athletics at 1921 New York Giants: 3-10
  6. 1921 New York Giants at 1929 Philadelphia Athletics: 2-9
  7. 1921 New York Giants at 1929 Philadelphia Athletics: 4-2

You could not ask for a better championship for the Roaring Twenties Ultimate playoff as both the Giants and Athletics traded wins throughout the series, but in the end it was the 1921 New York Giants taking the crown as the greatest team of the decade scoring only 1 more run in the series than the Athletics. As with every series in this playoff, it was on the mound that New York was able to strut there stuff with a pair of wins both from Art Nehf and Jesse Barnes. Barnes, however earns the Championship Series MVP with wins in games 3 and the critical 7th clincher sporting 2 complete games while only giving up 15 hits, 2 runs with 3 strikeouts and 4 walks for an impressive 1.00 ERA.

Jesse Barnes