1915 San Francisco Seals season
| 1915 San Francisco Seals | |
|---|---|
| League | Pacific Coast League |
| Ballpark | Recreation Park |
| City | San Francisco |
| Record | 118–89 |
| League place | 1st |
| Managers | Harry Wolverton |
The 1915 San Francisco Seals season was the 13th season in the history of the San Francisco Seals baseball team. The team won the Pacific Coast League (PCL) pennant with a 118–89 record. Harry Wolverton was the team's manager, and shortstop Roy Corhan was the team captain. The season ran from March 30 to October 24, 1915.
Infielders
[edit]First baseman Harry Heilmann appeared in 98 games and led the team, and ranked second in the PCL, with a .365 batting average. He appeared in only one game after July 26 due to illness.[1][2] Heilmann later won four American League batting crowns and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. During Heilmann's illness, Paul "Molly" Meloan played 55 games at first base for the Seals.[3]
Second baseman Red Downs appeared in 182 games and compiled a .282 batting average.[4] Defensively, he led the PCL's second basemen with 519 putouts and ranked fifth with 517 assists and third with 46 errors.[3] Bill Leard also appeared in 67 games at second base for the Seals.[3]
Shortstop Roy Corhan appeared in 185 games and compiled a .276 batting average. Defensively, he led the PCL's shortstops with 433 putouts and 83 errors and ranked third with 715 assists.[3]
Third baseman Bob Jones appeared in 191 games and compiled a .277 batting average. Defensively, he led the PCL's third basemen with 224 putouts, 335 assists, and 48 errors.[3]
Catcher Walter Schmidt appeared in 127 games and compiled a .245 batting average.[4] He was also one of the best defensive catchers in the PCL with 504 putouts, 159 assists, and 12 errors for a .982 fielding percentage.[3] Also sharing the catching duties were Lou Sepulveda (68 games) and George Block (57 games).[3]
Outfielders
[edit]Left fielder Biff Schaller appeared in 208 games, compiled a .301 batting average, and led the PCL with 20 home runs.[4][1] Defensively, he tallied 441 putouts, 20 assists, 21 errors, and a .957 fielding percentage.[3]
Center fielder Ping Bodie appeared in 192 games, compiled a .325 batting average and .485 slugging percentage, led the team with 232 hits and 52 doubles, and ranked second in the PCL with 19 home runs.[4] He was also one of the best defensive outfielders in the PCL with 410 putouts, 29 assists, and 13 errors for a .971 fielding percentage.[3]
Mike Fitzgerald (.321 batting average, .957 fielding percentage in 169 games in the outfield) and Paul Meloan (.285 batting average, .959 fielding in 86 games in the outfield) shared the right field position.[4][3]
Pitchers
[edit]Spider Baum appeared in 55 games and compiled a 30–15 record and 2.45 earned run average (ERA) with 153 strikeouts.[4][3]
Charles Fanning appeared in 58 games, ranked second in the PCL with 202 strikeouts, and compiled a 25–15 record and 2.65 ERA.[4][3]
Charlie Smith appeared in 47 games and compiled a 17–8 record with a 3.09 ERA and 66 strikeouts.[4][3]
1915 PCL standings
[edit]| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco Seals | 118 | 89 | .570 | -- |
| Salt Lake City Bees | 108 | 89 | .548 | 5.0 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 110 | 98 | .529 | 8.5 |
| Venice/Vernon Tigers | 102 | 104 | .495 | 15.5 |
| Oakland Oaks | 93 | 113 | .451 | 24.5 |
| Portland Beavers | 78 | 116 | .402 | 33.5 |
Statistics
[edit]Batting
[edit]Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; SLG = Slugging percentage
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | Harry Heilmann | 98 | 371 | 135 | .364 | 12 | .544 |
| CF | Ping Bodie | 192 | 720 | 234 | .325 | 19 | .485 |
| RF | Mike Fitzgerald | 169 | 697 | 224 | .321 | 9 | .426 |
| LF | Biff Schaller | 208 | 770 | 232 | .301 | 20 | .458 |
| 1B, RF | Paul Meloan | 141 | 417 | 119 | .285 | 11 | .432 |
| 2B | Red Downs | 182 | 642 | 181 | .282 | 9 | .393 |
| 3B | Bob Jones | 192 | 674 | 187 | .277 | 9 | .369 |
| SS | Roy Corhan | 185 | 604 | 167 | .276 | 4 | .358 |
| C | Walter Schmidt | 127 | 416 | 102 | .245 | 2 | .293 |
| C | Lou Sepulveda | 68 | 160 | 38 | .238 | 0 | .256 |
| C | George Block | 58 | 164 | 37 | .226 | 0 | .274 |
| 2B | Bill Leard | 115 | 324 | 69 | .213 | 1 | .262 |
Pitching
[edit]Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; PCT = Win percentage; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | PCT | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spider Baum | 55 | 382.0 | 30 | 15 | .667 | 2.45 | 153 |
| Charles Fanning | 58 | 364.0 | 25 | 15 | .625 | 2.65 | 202 |
| Charlie Smith | 47 | 221.1 | 17 | 8 | .680 | 3.09 | 66 |
| Curly Brown | 29 | 176.2 | 11 | 8 | .579 | 2.75 | 91 |
| Bill Steen | 19 | 122.1 | 10 | 5 | .667 | 1.54 | 64 |
| Johnny Couch | 21 | 91.1 | 6 | 5 | .545 | 2.66 | 34 |
| Pug Cavet | 18 | 94.1 | 5 | 6 | .455 | 4.29 | 28 |
| Bugs Reisigl | 27 | 147.0 | 4 | 10 | .286 | 3.80 | 51 |
References
[edit]- ^ a b "American League Discards Head Coast Batters". News-Journal. November 3, 1915. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Ness Retains Big Lead in Bat Race". The San Francisco Examiner. July 27, 1915. p. 10.(Heilmann had already appeared in 97 games as of July 27)
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Here Are Official Coast Fielding, Hurling Records". Los Angeles Express. November 13, 1915. p. Sporting 2 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "1915 San Francisco Seals Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
- ^ "1915 Pacific Coast League". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 26, 2020.