The 1915 Philadelphia Athletics season was a season in American baseball. After the team won the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

pennant in 1914, the team dropped all the way to last place with a record of 43 wins and 109 losses.

Offseason

* December 8, 1914: Eddie Collins was purchased from the Athletics by the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

. * January 1915,

Nap Lajoie Napoléon "Nap" Lajoie (; September 5, 1874 – February 7, 1959), also known as Larry Lajoie and nicknamed "The Frenchman", was an American professional baseball second baseman and player-manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for t ...

was purchased by the Athletics from the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

Regular season

The

Federal League The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs, known simply as the Federal League, was an American professional baseball league that played its first season as a minor league in 1913 and operated as a "third major league", in competition with the e ...

had been formed to begin play in 1914. As the A.L. had done 13 years before, the new league raided existing A.L. and N.L. teams for players. Athletics owner

Connie Mack Cornelius McGillicuddy (December 22, 1862 – February 8, 1956), better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball catcher, manager, and team owner. The longest-serving manager in Major League Baseball history, he holds untoucha ...

refused to match the offers of the F.L. teams, preferring to let the "prima donnas" go and rebuild with younger (and less expensive) players. The result was a swift and near-total collapse, a "first-to-worst" situation. The Athletics went from a 99–53 (.651) record and a pennant in

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...

to a record of 43–109 (.283) and 8th (last) place in 1915. At the time, it was the third-worst winning percentage in American League history. The infield of

Whitey Witt Lawton Walter "Whitey" Witt (born ''Ladislaw Waldemar Wittkowski'', September 28, 1895 – July 14, 1988) was an American professional baseball outfielder. He played all or part of ten seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Philadelphia A ...

, Charlie Pick and

was derisively known as the "$10 Infield".

Season highlights

* June 23, 1915: Athletics pitcher

Bruno Haas Bruno Philip Haas (May 5, 1891 – June 5, 1952) was a Major League Baseball pitcher, minor league baseball executive, and a pro football player in the NFL. His baseball career lasted 37 years. At Worcester Academy, he met Roy McGillicuddy, the s ...

set an American League record by walking 16

Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

in one game.''Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures'', 2008 Edition, p. 25, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York,

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Roster

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''

Other batters

''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Pitching

Starting pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Other pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Relief pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Awards and honors

League top five finishers

Rube Bressler Raymond Bloom "Rube" Bressler (October 23, 1894 – November 7, 1966) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Athletics from 1914 to 1916 and Cincinnati Reds from 1917 to 1920, before being converted to an ...

* #2 in AL in earned runs allowed (103)

Bullet Joe Bush Leslie Ambrose "Bullet Joe" Bush (November 27, 1892 – November 1, 1974) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, St. Louis Browns, Washington Senators, Pittsburgh Pirate ...

* #3 in AL in wild pitches (10) Rube Oldring * #2 in AL in home runs (6)

Weldon Wyckoff John Weldon Wyckoff (February 19, 1893 – May 8, 1961) was a professional baseball pitcher. He played all or part of six seasons in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Athletics (1913–16) and Boston Red Sox (1917-18). Wyckoff batted an ...

* AL leader in losses (22) * AL leader in earned runs allowed (108) * AL leader in walks allowed (165) * AL leader in wild pitches (14) * #3 in AL in strikeouts (157)

References

External links

1915 Philadelphia Athletics team page at Baseball Reference1915 Philadelphia Athletics team page at www.baseball-almanac.com
{{Oakland Athletics Oakland Athletics seasons Philadelphia Athletics season 1915 in sports in Pennsylvania