The 1902 Cleveland Bronchos season was a season in American baseball. The team, known during this season as the "Bronchos" (or "Broncos"), finished in fifth place in the American League with a record of 69–67, 14 games behind the Philadelphia Athletics.
Regular season
In 1902, the National League's Philadelphia Phillies obtained an injunction, effective only in Pennsylvania, barring Nap Lajoie from playing baseball for any team other than the Phillies.[1] The American League responded by transferring Lajoie's contract to the Cleveland Indians, then known unofficially as the Bronchos and subsequently renamed the "Naps" in Lajoie's honor for several seasons.
Season standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Athletics | 83 | 53 | .610 | — | 56–17 | 27–36 |
| St. Louis Browns | 78 | 58 | .574 | 5 | 49–21 | 29–37 |
| Boston Americans | 77 | 60 | .562 | 6½ | 43–27 | 34–33 |
| Chicago White Stockings | 74 | 60 | .552 | 8 | 48–20 | 26–40 |
| Cleveland Bronchos | 69 | 67 | .507 | 14 | 40–25 | 29–42 |
| Washington Senators | 61 | 75 | .449 | 22 | 40–28 | 21–47 |
| Detroit Tigers | 52 | 83 | .385 | 30½ | 34–33 | 18–50 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 50 | 88 | .362 | 34 | 32–31 | 18–57 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BAL | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | PHA | SLB | WSH | |||||
| Baltimore | — | 4–16 | 8–11–1 | 9–11 | 10–10 | 6–13 | 2–18–1 | 11–9–1 | |||||
| Boston | 16–4 | — | 12–8 | 6–14 | 11–7–1 | 9–11 | 15–5 | 8–11 | |||||
| Chicago | 11–8–1 | 8–12 | — | 12–7 | 12–7–1 | 10–10 | 9–9–1 | 12–7–1 | |||||
| Cleveland | 11–9 | 14–6 | 7–12 | — | 8–10 | 8–12 | 9–10–1 | 12–8 | |||||
| Detroit | 10–10 | 7–11–1 | 7–12–1 | 10–8 | — | 4–16 | 5–15 | 9–11 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 13–6 | 11–9 | 10–10 | 12–8 | 16–4 | — | 9–10–1 | 12–6 | |||||
| St. Louis | 18–2–1 | 5–15 | 9–9–1 | 10–9–1 | 15–5 | 10–9–1 | — | 11–9 | |||||
| Washington | 9–11–1 | 11–8 | 7–12–1 | 8–12 | 11–9 | 6–12 | 9–11 | — | |||||
Notable transactions
- May 31, 1902: Nap Lajoie was signed as a free agent by the Cleveland club.[2]
Roster
| 1902 Cleveland Bronchos | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | Catchers
Infielders |
Outfielders | Manager | ||||||
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
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Harry Bemis | 93 | 317 | 99 | .312 | 1 | 29 |
| 1B | Charlie Hickman | 102 | 426 | 161 | .378 | 8 | 94 |
| 2B | Nap Lajoie | 86 | 348 | 132 | .379 | 7 | 64 |
| SS | John Gochnaur | 127 | 459 | 85 | .185 | 0 | 37 |
| 3B | Bill Bradley | 137 | 550 | 187 | .340 | 11 | 77 |
| OF | Elmer Flick | 110 | 424 | 126 | .297 | 2 | 61 |
| OF | Jack McCarthy | 95 | 359 | 102 | .284 | 0 | 41 |
| OF | Harry Bay | 108 | 455 | 132 | .290 | 0 | 23 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ollie Pickering | 69 | 293 | 75 | .256 | 3 | 26 |
| Bob Wood | 81 | 258 | 76 | .295 | 0 | 40 |
| Frank Bonner | 34 | 132 | 37 | .280 | 0 | 14 |
| Jack Thoney | 28 | 103 | 30 | .286 | 0 | 11 |
| Charlie Hemphill | 25 | 94 | 25 | .266 | 0 | 11 |
| Ossee Schrecongost | 18 | 74 | 25 | .338 | 0 | 9 |
| Zaza Harvey | 12 | 46 | 16 | .348 | 0 | 5 |
| Hal O'Hagan | 3 | 13 | 5 | .385 | 0 | 1 |
| Peaches Graham | 2 | 6 | 2 | .333 | 0 | 1 |
| George Starnagle | 1 | 3 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earl Moore | 36 | 293.0 | 17 | 18 | 2.95 | 84 |
| Addie Joss | 32 | 269.1 | 17 | 13 | 2.77 | 106 |
| Bill Bernhard | 27 | 217.0 | 17 | 5 | 2.20 | 57 |
| Gene Wright | 21 | 148.0 | 7 | 10 | 3.95 | 52 |
| Oscar Streit | 8 | 51.2 | 0 | 7 | 5.23 | 10 |
| Gus Dorner | 4 | 36.0 | 3 | 1 | 1.25 | 5 |
| Luther Taylor | 4 | 34.0 | 1 | 3 | 1.59 | 8 |
| Charlie Smith | 3 | 20.0 | 2 | 1 | 4.05 | 5 |
| Dike Varney | 3 | 14.2 | 1 | 1 | 6.14 | 7 |
| Lou Polchow | 1 | 8.0 | 0 | 1 | 5.63 | 2 |
| Ed Walker | 1 | 8.0 | 0 | 1 | 3.38 | 1 |
| Charlie Hickman | 1 | 8.0 | 0 | 1 | 7.88 | 1 |
| George Leitner | 1 | 8.0 | 0 | 0 | 4.50 | 0 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Otto Hess | 7 | 43.2 | 2 | 4 | 5.98 | 13 |
| Jack Lundbom | 8 | 34.0 | 1 | 1 | 6.62 | 7 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cal Vasbinder | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 2 |
| Ginger Clark | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6.00 | 1 |
Notes
References
- 1902 Cleveland Bronchos season at Baseball Reference
- Snyder, John (2008). Indians Journal: Year by Year & Day by Day with the Cleveland Indians since 1901. Cincinnati, Ohio: Clerisy Press. ISBN 978-1-57860-308-4.
- Schneider, Russell (2005). The Cleveland Indians Encyclopedia (3 ed.). Champaign, Illinois: Sports Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-58261-840-1.
now known as “Guardians”