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- #1. The Pirates Stole 18 Bases In the Series
- #2. Honus Wagner Redeemed Himself From The 1903 World Series
- #3. Ty Cobb Had A Terrible Series
- #4. Detroit Would Be The First Team To Get To Three Straight World Series And Lose Each Of Them.
- #5. Detroit And Pittsburgh Professional Sports Teams Would Not Meet Again Until 2008.
- #6. Babe Adams Locked The Tigers Down
- #7. 1909 Was The First Game 7 Deciding Game In World Series History
#1. The Pirates Stole 18 Bases In the Series
The Detroit Tigers had a weak catching unit, and the Pirates stole bases at will against them. This continuously put runners in scoring positions and forced the pitchers to be precise.
Any mistake could drive in a run.
Detroit's pitching did well in the series but not enough to stifle Honus Wagner and the Pirates.
#2. Honus Wagner Redeemed Himself From The 1903 World Series
The 1903 World Series performance from Honus Wagner always bothered him. The year after, he would not take any honors from the Hall of Fame due to his lackluster performance.
His 1908 season is considered by many as the greatest season in baseball history, and his 1909 season was not far off from it. He came in with a hot bat prior to the series, and he continued that run.
He outplayed Detroit's Ty Cobb by hitting .333 and stealing 6 bases. He scored 4 runs while driving in 6.
#3. Ty Cobb Had A Terrible Series
Detroit's young star could not get anything going. He batted a purtrid .231 and stole 2 bases while being thrown out once. He did manage to drive in 5 runs.
Cobb struggled in 1907, bounced back in 1908, and then struggled again in 1909.
While it is to be expected that averages will drop in a World Series, Cobb did not play well by his standards, especially after winning the Triple Crown that season.
This would be his last World Series appearance.
#4. Detroit Would Be The First Team To Get To Three Straight World Series And Lose Each Of Them.
The Detroit Tigers could have been the earliest dynasty in Baseball. However, they did not. The 1909 World Series was their best shot to win a pennant as they took the Pirates to seven games.
Unfortunately, the seventh game was a blowout, and the winner was determined early.
The colorful Hugh Jennings would be remembered as one of the great Detroit Tiger managers, especially for his management of Ty Cobb, but he would never win a World Series trophy.
#5. Detroit And Pittsburgh Professional Sports Teams Would Not Meet Again Until 2008.
This would be the only time the cities of Detroit and Pittsburgh would play against each other in a championship in any sport in the 20th century.
The next time these two would meet would be the 2008 Stanley Cup, with the city of Detroit edging out Pittsburgh in 6 games.
This would also be the only time that Ty Cobb and Honus Wagner would play each other for a championship.
#6. Babe Adams Locked The Tigers Down
The best pitcher in the series was Babe Adams, who went 3-0 and pitched games 1, 5, and 7.
He struggled a bit early in Game 5, but the Pittsburgh offense picked him up, and he was the winning pitcher. However, in Game 1, he only allowed 1 run and proceeded to shut the Detroit offense out in Game 7.
He did not do much on the offensive side, although he did draw a walk.
#7. 1909 Was The First Game 7 Deciding Game In World Series History
With the exception of the 1903 World Series, which was a best-of-nine series that ended in 8, the 1909 World Series featured the first deciding Game 7 game.
Pittsburgh's Fred Clarke went with two-game winner Babe Adams as his pitcher, while Detroit Manager Hugh Jennings decided on Bill Donovan, a complete-game winner in Game 2.
Donovan got off to a miserable start. He hit the first Pirate batter and went on to walk six in the first two innings. He was pulled after three, with Adams confidently holding a 2–0 lead. Pittsburgh never looked back, as Babe nailed his third six-hitter and third win of the Series for an 8–0 championship victory.