1909 Pittsburgh Pirates season

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.
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

Notable transactions

May 28, 1909: Ward Miller and cash were traded by the Pirates to the Cincinnati Reds for Blaine 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		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
#4 in NL in ERA

Fred Clarke

#2 in NL in runs scored
#4 in NL in on-base percentage

Tommy Leach

MLB leader in runs scored

Dots Miller

#3 in NL in RBI

Honus Wagner

NL leader in batting average
NL leader in RBI
NL leader in on-base percentage
NL leader in slugging percentage
#3 in NL in runs scored

Vic Willis

#4 in NL in wins

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 7

October 16, 1909, at Bennett Park in Detroit, Michigan