{"id":2101,"date":"2026-02-09T08:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T08:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/visual-baseball.com\/wordpress\/?p=2101"},"modified":"2026-02-07T20:34:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T20:34:08","slug":"mlb_team_rankings_1900s_20_16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/visual-baseball.com\/wordpress\/2026\/02\/09\/mlb_team_rankings_1900s_20_16\/","title":{"rendered":"MLB Team Rankings Countdown: 1900s 20 through 16"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Welcome to the first countdown post in our series of MLB team rankings by decade. As a reminder, the teams are ranked from #20 through #1 based on aggregate WAR162. For the 1900s (1901-1909), a total of 144 teams were eligible (16 teams x 9 seasons), so the top 20 teams are a fairly exclusive group. We&#8217;ll summarize each team, including portions of their team dashboard, and explain how they attained their ranking. So, without further ado, here are the teams ranked #20 through #16. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here&#8217;s the interactive dashboard at Tableau Public: <a href=\"https:\/\/public.tableau.com\/views\/Top20MLBTeams1901-1909\/Dashboard1?:language=en-US&amp;publish=yes&amp;:sid=&amp;:redirect=auth&amp;:display_count=n&amp;:origin=viz_share_link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">1900s Top 20 MLB Teams Dashboard<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-e97f15047e9a6a58369bb8c5bf5c45f0\" style=\"color:#2a35ff\">#20: 1904 Cleveland Napoleons, 48.1 WAR162<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Napoleons would eventually become the Naps, then the Indians, and most recently, the Guardians. In 1904, they were named after their star player, Napoleon Lajoie, a Hall of Fame second baseman. Here&#8217;s a glance at some of their team numbers:<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image image-spacer-10\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"716\" height=\"182\" src=\"https:\/\/visual-baseball.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-14.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2136\" srcset=\"https:\/\/visual-baseball.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-14.png 716w, https:\/\/visual-baseball.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-14-300x76.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 716px) 100vw, 716px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:40px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>With a record of 86-65, the Naps managed just a 4th place finish in the American League. The team had an unusually unlucky season &#8211; their Pythagorean expected record (based on runs scored vs. allowed) was 95-56, a whopping nine-game difference. Cleveland led the AL in batting average and OPS, and finished 2nd in ERA.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image image-spacer-10\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"708\" height=\"415\" src=\"https:\/\/visual-baseball.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2104\" srcset=\"https:\/\/visual-baseball.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-1.png 708w, https:\/\/visual-baseball.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-1-300x176.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 708px) 100vw, 708px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:40px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/l\/lajoina01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=visual-baseball.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-02-05_br\">Nap Lajoie<\/a> led the AL in multiple categories, with a .376 BA, .959 OPS, 102 RBI, and 49 doubles. He received strong support from <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/f\/flickel01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=visual-baseball.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-02-05_br\">Elmer Flick<\/a> (.306 BA, 38 SB) and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bradlbi01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=visual-baseball.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-02-05_br\">Bill Bradley<\/a> (.300 BA). <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bernhbi01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=visual-baseball.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-02-05_br\">Bill Bernhard<\/a> won 23 games, and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jossad01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=visual-baseball.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-02-05_br\">Addie Joss<\/a> led the AL with a 1.59 ERA within a balanced pitching rotation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-03ab568087cacca5fc8474a906f50aa9\" style=\"color:#2a35ff\">#19: 1903 Pittsburgh Pirates, 49.9 WAR162<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The 1903 edition of the Pirates is one of multiple seasons in the top 20 MLB Team Rankings for the 1900s decade. This version of the team finished first in the NL, but was not quite as good as their record based on runs scored and allowed.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image image-spacer-10\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"725\" height=\"188\" src=\"https:\/\/visual-baseball.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-15.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2137\" srcset=\"https:\/\/visual-baseball.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-15.png 725w, https:\/\/visual-baseball.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-15-300x78.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 725px) 100vw, 725px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:40px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The Pirates&#8217; .286 average was good for 2nd in the NL, as was their .734 OPS, both just behind the Reds. They also placed 2nd in ERA while leading the NL with 16 shutouts.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image image-spacer-10\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"708\" height=\"408\" src=\"https:\/\/visual-baseball.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-5.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2117\" srcset=\"https:\/\/visual-baseball.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-5.png 708w, https:\/\/visual-baseball.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-5-300x173.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 708px) 100vw, 708px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:40px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/w\/wagneho01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=visual-baseball.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-02-05_br\">Honus Wagner<\/a> was the clear leader in WAR162 on the basis of his league-best .355 BA and 19 triples. His .931 OPS was also near the top of the NL. Wagner received ample support from <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/c\/clarkfr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=visual-baseball.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-02-05_br\">Fred Clarke<\/a> (NL-best .946 OPS, .351 BA), <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/r\/ritchcl01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=visual-baseball.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-02-05_br\">Claude Ritchey<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/b\/beaumgi01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=visual-baseball.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-02-05_br\">Ginger Beaumont<\/a> (.341 BA), and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/l\/leachto01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=visual-baseball.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-02-05_br\">Tommy Leach<\/a>. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/l\/leevesa01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=visual-baseball.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-02-05_br\">Sam Leever<\/a> (25-7, NL-best 2.06 ERA) and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/p\/phillde01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=visual-baseball.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-02-05_br\">Deacon Phillippe<\/a> (25-9, 2.43 ERA, NL-best 1.03 WHIP) dominated on the mound for the NL champs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-945b752abcd56b091ee1241c564ccb77\" style=\"color:#2a35ff\">#18: 1901 Boston Americans, 50.7 WAR162<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Americans were the predecessor to the Red Sox, finishing 2nd in the AL with a 79-57 record, 3 games worse than their predicted Pythagorean mark of 82-54. This earns them the #18 slot in our 1900s MLB Team Rankings.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image image-spacer-10\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"709\" height=\"185\" src=\"https:\/\/visual-baseball.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-16.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2138\" srcset=\"https:\/\/visual-baseball.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-16.png 709w, https:\/\/visual-baseball.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-16-300x78.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 100vw, 709px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:40px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The team was just slightly better than league average in most offensive categories, although they did have higher rankings in triples (2nd) and home runs (1st). Pitching carried the team, as they placed 2nd in ERA and 1st in strikeouts, largely thanks to the legendary <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/y\/youngcy01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=visual-baseball.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-02-05_br\">Cy Young<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image image-spacer-10\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"721\" height=\"419\" src=\"https:\/\/visual-baseball.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-17.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2139\" srcset=\"https:\/\/visual-baseball.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-17.png 721w, https:\/\/visual-baseball.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-17-300x174.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 721px) 100vw, 721px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:40px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Four offensive players carried the load for the Americans, with WAR162 values &gt; 5; no other batters topped 2 WAR for the season. Third baseman <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/c\/colliji01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=visual-baseball.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-02-05_br\">Jimmy Collins<\/a> led the way in WAR (7.9) with a .332 BA, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/p\/parenfr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=visual-baseball.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-02-05_br\">Freddy Parent<\/a> batted .306 from his shortstop position, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=freembu02,freembu01&amp;search=Buck+Freeman&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=visual-baseball.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-02-05_br\">Buck Freeman<\/a> batted .339 with a .920 OPS, and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/stahlch01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=visual-baseball.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-02-05_br\">Chick Stahl<\/a> hit for a .303 average. On the mound, it was Cy Young with some help from <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/l\/lewiste01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=visual-baseball.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-02-05_br\">Ted Lewis<\/a> (16 wins) and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/w\/wintege01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=visual-baseball.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-02-05_br\">George Winter<\/a> (16 wins, 2.80 ERA). Young posted a 33-10 mark with a league-best 1.62 ERA and 0.97 WHIP across 371 innings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-ac018c76587e04d27a5182609b6c0e54\" style=\"color:#2a35ff\">#17: 1901 Chicago White Sox, 50.8 WAR<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The White Sox claimed first place in the 1901 AL pennant race, 4 games ahead of the Americans, although their WAR totals were nearly identical.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image image-spacer-10\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"724\" height=\"181\" src=\"https:\/\/visual-baseball.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-18.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2140\" srcset=\"https:\/\/visual-baseball.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-18.png 724w, https:\/\/visual-baseball.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-18-300x75.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 724px) 100vw, 724px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:40px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p> The Chicago squad led the AL in runs scored, stolen bases, and ERA, while ranking in the middle of the pack in BA, HR, and OPS. They also drew a high number of walks; between the walks and stolen bases, the team was able to generate 6 runs per game.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image image-spacer-10\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"712\" height=\"416\" src=\"https:\/\/visual-baseball.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-19.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2141\" srcset=\"https:\/\/visual-baseball.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-19.png 712w, https:\/\/visual-baseball.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-19-300x175.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 712px) 100vw, 712px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:40px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The White Sox had no single offensive standout, but enjoyed productive seasons from several batters, including <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hoydu01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=visual-baseball.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-02-05_br\">Billy Hoy<\/a>, who drew a league-best 86 walks at age 39. Hoy also led the team with an .807 OPS figure. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jonesfi01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=visual-baseball.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-02-05_br\">Fielder Jones<\/a> batted .311 with 38 steals and 84 walks, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hartmfr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=visual-baseball.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-02-05_br\">Fred Hartman<\/a> hit .309 with 31 steals and 13 triples, and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/m\/mertesa01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=visual-baseball.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-02-05_br\">Sam Mertes<\/a> had 17 triples and 46 stolen bases. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/m\/mcfarhe01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=visual-baseball.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-02-05_br\">Herm McFarland<\/a> contributed with 75 walks and 33 steals and a .767 OPS. Three pitchers stood out for the Chicagoans, led by <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/g\/griffcl01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=visual-baseball.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-02-05_br\">Clark Griffith<\/a>, who compiled a 24-7 record and 2.67 ERA. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/c\/callani01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=visual-baseball.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-02-05_br\">Jimmy Callahan<\/a> posted a 15-8 mark, with a 2.42 ERA, and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/p\/pattero01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=visual-baseball.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-02-05_br\">Roy Patterson<\/a> won 20 games and led the team with 30 complete games and 312 innings on the mound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-abe2383a4c01c5c160ba4ac5f44a199b\" style=\"color:#2a35ff\">#16: 1905 Philadelphia Athletics, 51.0 WAR<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Athletics placed multiple squads in the top 20 for the 1900s decade, with the 1905 edition placing 16th. The A&#8217;s bested the White Sox by 2 games for the AL pennant, although the Chicago team had the better Pythagorean win expectation of the two teams.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image image-spacer-10\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"721\" height=\"188\" src=\"https:\/\/visual-baseball.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-13.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2127\" srcset=\"https:\/\/visual-baseball.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-13.png 721w, https:\/\/visual-baseball.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-13-300x78.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 721px) 100vw, 721px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:40px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>In a season where pitching dominated, the Athletics&#8217; .255 BA (2nd) and .648 OPS (1st) were at the top, as was their 256 doubles, 45 more than any other competitor. The team&#8217;s 2.19 ERA was second-best for the season, and their 895 strikeouts were far ahead of the 652 posted by the Boston Americans.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image image-spacer-10\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"708\" height=\"415\" src=\"https:\/\/visual-baseball.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-12.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2124\" srcset=\"https:\/\/visual-baseball.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-12.png 708w, https:\/\/visual-baseball.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-12-300x176.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 708px) 100vw, 708px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:40px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The Athletics boasted a balanced lineup, with 7 batters earning WAR162 values of 2 or better, including 3 batters who topped 5 WAR apiece. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=davisha02,davisha01&amp;search=Harry+Davis&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=visual-baseball.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-02-05_br\">Harry Davis<\/a> topped the AL with 8 homers, 47 doubles, and 83 RBI to lead the way. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=murphda04,murphda02,murphda01,murphy018dan&amp;search=Danny+Murphy&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=visual-baseball.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-02-05_br\">Danny Murphy<\/a> batted .277 from his second base position, and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hartsto01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=visual-baseball.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-02-05_br\">Topsy Hartsel<\/a> earned a league-best 121 walks and .409 OBP. The pitchers were led by a pair of left-handers; <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/w\/wadderu01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=visual-baseball.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-02-05_br\">Rube Waddell<\/a> posted a 27-10 record with an AL-best 1.48 ERA and 287 strikeouts. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/p\/planked01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=visual-baseball.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-02-05_br\">Eddie Plank<\/a> earned 24 wins with a 2.26 ERA and 210 strikeouts of his own. Beyond the big two, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/c\/coaklan01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=visual-baseball.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-02-05_br\">Andy Coakley<\/a> picked up 18 wins with a fine 1.84 ERA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>That&#8217;s it for the first entry in our MLB Team Rankings for the 1900s decade! Stay tuned for the countdown from #15 to #11, arriving in a few days. As always, thanks for reading!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome to the first countdown post in our series of MLB team rankings by decade. As a reminder, the teams are ranked from #20 through #1 based on aggregate WAR162. For the 1900s (1901-1909), a total of 144 teams were eligible (16 teams x 9 seasons), so the top 20 teams are a fairly exclusive [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2079,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[65,41,66,47,64],"class_list":["post-2101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dashboards","tag-1900s","tag-mlb-statistics","tag-rankings","tag-team-war","tag-war162"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>MLB Team Rankings Countdown: 1900s 20 through 16 - Visual-Baseball<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"View a countdown through MLB Team Rankings for the 1900s decade, with teams 16-20 featured in this post\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/visual-baseball.com\/wordpress\/2026\/02\/09\/mlb_team_rankings_1900s_20_16\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"MLB Team Rankings Countdown: 1900s 20 through 16 - 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