Major League Baseball team season
The
1917
Cincinnati Reds
season
was a season in American baseball. The team finished fourth in the
National League
with a record of 78?76, 20 games behind the
New York Giants
.
Off-season
[
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]
It was a very quiet off-season for the Reds heading into the 1917 season. Cincinnati purchased the contract of pitcher
Roy Sanders
from the
Kansas City Blues
of the
American Association (20th century)
for $7500. In 45 games with the Blues, Sanders was 18-16 with a 3.80 ERA, pitching 277 innings for the club.
Regular season
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On April 23, the Reds purchased the contract of legendary athlete
Jim Thorpe
from the
New York Giants
. Thorpe, known for winning two gold medals at the
1912 Summer Olympics
, also played with the
Canton Bulldogs
football club in the
Ohio League
. He had minimal playing time with the Giants from 1913?1915 before spending the 1916 season in the minor leagues.
On May 2, in the "double
no-hitter
" between
Fred Toney
of the Reds and
Hippo Vaughn
of the
Chicago Cubs
, Thorpe drove in the winning run in the 10th inning.
[1]
Late in the season, he was sold back to the Giants. It is still the only occasion in major league history in which a regulation nine innings was played without either team logging a hit.
The Reds picked up pitcher
Dutch Ruether
from the
Chicago Cubs
on July 17 off of waivers. In 10 games with Chicago, Ruether was 2-0 with a 2.48 ERA. Just over two weeks later, on August 1, the Reds make another waiver claim, picking up outfielder
Sherry Magee
from the
Boston Braves
. Magee, in his 14th season in the
National League
, had a .256 average with one home run and 21 RBI when he was picked up. Over his career, Magee led the NL in RBI three times (1907, 1910 and 1914). His best season was in 1910 with the
Philadelphia Phillies
, as Magee led the league with a .331 batting average, scored 110 runs and drove in 123 runners.
On August 18, the Reds returned
Jim Thorpe
to the
New York Giants
. In 77 games, Thorpe batted .247 with four home runs and 36 RBI.
Season summary
[
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]
Cincinnati had a tough start to the season, as after 44 games, the team sat in seventh place with a poor 18-26 record. The team turned their season around, putting together a run of 36-17 over their next 53 games to improve their overall record to 54-43 and moved into second place in the
National League
, however, the team was 7.5 games behind the first place
New York Giants
. Over the next few weeks, Cincinnati struggled and fell completely out of the pennant race. The club finished the year with a 78-76 record and in fourth place. The 78 wins was the Reds highest total since winning 79 games in 1905. This also was the first time since 1909 that the team finished with a winning record. Cincinnati's attendance also rose to 269,056, their highest total since 1912.
Outfielder
Edd Roush
led the National League with a .341 batting average, and added four home runs and 67 RBI in 136 games in his first full season with the Reds. Third baseman
Heinie Groh
hit .304 with one home run and 53 RBI in 156 games. First baseman
Hal Chase
tied for the team lead with four home runs, and led the club with 86 RBI while batting .277. Outfielder
Greasy Neale
led Cincinnati with 25 stolen bases, and had a .294 batting average with three home runs and 33 RBI.
The pitching staff was led by
Fred Toney
, who put together a 24-16 record and a 2.20 ERA in 43 games. Toney led the Reds in innings pitched at 339.2 and had 31 complete games.
Pete Schneider
joined Toney in the 20 win club, as he went 20-19 with a 2.10 ERA in 46 games. Schneider pitched 333.2 innings, had 24 complete games and led the Reds by striking out 138 batters.
Hod Eller
spent most of his time pitching in relief, as he put together a 10-5 record with a 2.36 ERA in 37 games, 26 in relief.
Season standings
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Record vs. opponents
[
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]
Sources:
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
[8]
|
Team
|
BOS
|
BR
|
CHC
|
CIN
|
NYG
|
PHI
|
PIT
|
STL
|
Boston
|
?
|
13?9?1
|
11?11
|
10?12?2
|
7?15
|
11?11
|
14?8
|
6?15?1
|
Brooklyn
|
9?13?1
|
?
|
7?15
|
10?12
|
9?13?2
|
9?11?1
|
16?6?1
|
10?11
|
Chicago
|
11?11
|
15?7
|
?
|
8?14?1
|
7?15?1
|
6?16?1
|
17?5
|
10?12
|
Cincinnati
|
12?10?2
|
12?10
|
14?8?1
|
?
|
11?11
|
8?14
|
12?10
|
9?13
|
New York
|
15?7
|
13?9?2
|
15?7?1
|
11?11
|
?
|
14?8
|
16?6?1
|
14?8
|
Philadelphia
|
11?11
|
11?9?1
|
16?6?1
|
14?8
|
8?14
|
?
|
14?8
|
13?9
|
Pittsburgh
|
8?14
|
6?16?1
|
5?17
|
10?12
|
6?16?1
|
8?14
|
?
|
8?14?1
|
St. Louis
|
15?6?1
|
11?10
|
12?10
|
13?9
|
8?14
|
9?13
|
14?8?1
|
?
|
Notable transactions
[
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Roster
[
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1917 Cincinnati Reds
|
Roster
|
Pitchers
|
|
Catchers
Infielders
|
|
Outfielders
|
|
Manager
|
Player stats
[
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Batting
[
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Starters by position
[
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]
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Other batters
[
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]
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
[4]
Pitching
[
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]
Starting pitchers
[
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]
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Other pitchers
[
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]
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Relief pitchers
[
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]
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Notes
[
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]
References
[
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]
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American League
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National League
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- Established in
1882
- Formerly the
Cincinnati Red Stockings
and the
Cincinnati Redlegs
- Based in
Cincinnati, Ohio
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