Ken Bowen provided this 1920 Tris Speaker card and it’s a very good one. This era is a pretty interesting one when it comes to baseball. It is seen as the transition to the sluggers’ dynasty. That is certainly true to a point. Hitters like Babe Ruth stand out. Here is Ruth’s 1920 APBA card which some see as one of the best ever.
But this transition to a sluggers game did not come quick. The big numbers appeared for the stars like Ruth and Gehrig and franchises like New York. Even in the late 20’s most teams were hitting 30-40 homers per season.
Which makes this 1920 Tris Speaker APBA card so much more valuable.
With the Indians, the “Grey Eagle” led the AL with 50 doubles. It would be one of five times he would hit at least 50 doubles in a season. In fact, his 792 career doubles still has not been eclipsed by modern stars.
Speaker hit .388 in 1920 while scoring 137 runs and driving in 107. This was in 154 games, folks.
His 97 walks contributed to an insane .483 OBP. In case you’re wondering, Speaker did not lead the league in hitting in 1920. That was the same year George Sisler safely hit 257 times and hit .407. You can see Sisler’s 1920 card here.
| Split | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920 Totals | 150 | 674 | 552 | 137 | 214 | 50 | 11 | 8 | 107 | 12 | 97 | 13 | .388 | .483 | .562 |
The first thing I noticed about Speaker’s 1920 card is that he has three 31s. Great for the hit and run!
His four zeros will most likely lead to an extra base hit… he has just single in the second column, a 41-7. That’s apropos for Speaker’s 50 doubles. After that, it’s 7s until the 25 save for the 15-10 which he earns for his 10 steals.
I looked hard for a 13 and couldn’t find one. With only thirteen strikeouts in 1920, that seems appropriate. Speaker’s bat control was on point!
Speaker was rated as a fast baserunner and of course an OF-3. No 24s, either.
Here’s some footage of a 1920 Indians-Yankees. That Tris Speaker swing!
Great card for a great player! Thanks, Ken!
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Another great article Tom. These cards are a ton of fun to play with!
“His 97 walks contributed to an insane .483 OBP. ” Speaking of OBP, an underrated great season by a player is John McGraw’s 1899 year (although no “card” exists for it, you can generate one by using “Steve’s APBA Card Computer”). He led the league in runs and walks (so he was definitely “full-time”) while having an OBP of .547! Throw in a batting average of .391 and 73 steals and that would be a great entry for a Monster Card Monday.
Now…to put on my proofreader’s hat. :)
“His four zeros will most likely lead to an extra base hit… he has just single in the second column, a 41-7.”
“This should probably read “His four zeros will most likely lead to an extra base hit… he has just ONE single in the second column, a 41-7.”
Other than the missing word “one”, that statement is not correct. He has a 65-8 in the second column.
Again – this was a really fun article.