Spring 2020: Home Run Parity Among Deadball Era Teams
The idea for this 36,000-word report (Vol. 16, No. 2 of the American Association Almanac) came about as the result of a discussion with my wife about the teams with the most home runs in the American Association. The question came up about how a team's home run output might look good on paper, but what about the home runs it gave up? The only way to know is to collect the data and compare it. The results were surprising in some areas, not so surprising in others, but making distinct conclusions required a protracted, sustained effort over a period of four-plus months of work laying the groundwork. Fun work, but arduous and intricate...and at times frustrating, esp. with the way box scores can differ from one publication to the next.
Writing for this issue began in late-January. After editing and production (including layout), the issue was complete and ready for mailing two months later, a six-month project.
There was no way I could collect the data for each season for of the eight American Association teams, so I selected one season per team. The season that made the most sense to analyze was the one in which that team collected its highest number of home runs for the 19-year period, 1902 to 1920.
During the course of data organization it made sense to find out how teams performed at home with respect to home runs made and home runs allowed, so this theme was followed as well.
In the last blog entry the spreadsheet for Toledo's home runs was featured. Each of the eight teams of the American Association through 1920 was given the same treatment. The data were collected and organized until each team was given a final score consisting of the difference between the number of home runs they gave up versus the number of their own. This score reflects the level of parity between the home run hitting capabilities of both the sample team and the opposing teams.
Some discussion of each team's leading home run hitter is included in the report. The player's record, dubbed his "homerography," is included as a spreadsheet with the text and provides a bookend to each team's report. In the spreadsheet are two key categories which indicate whether the team won when that player homered and whether the opposing team homered in the same game. In the case of the latter, a distinction is created between an "opposed" home run and an "unopposed," leading to the notion that the home runs of player with more "unopposed" home runs had greater value.
One of the key findings of this project, which culminated with the publication of my print version of the American Association Almanac at the end of March of this year, was how low the home runs totals were for each team. For example, the 1916 Columbus Senators registered only 37 home runs for the entire season, a far cry from the production of modern teams, but that's comparing apples and oranges.
If this topic interests you and you would like to order a copy of this issue, please contact me at pureout@msn.com. You may be eligible for a senior discount. In addition, those who order a two-year subscription have the choice of ordering one free copy of a back issue (back issues list available), including Vol. 16, No. 1.
Front cover for Vol. 16, No. 1
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