Ranking every World Series winners in history
By Staff
12. 1909 Pittsburgh Pirates
110-42, NL Champions, Won World Series 4-3 Over Detroit
The are other more famous Pittsburgh Pirates’ teams, but there was no better squad in franchise history than the 1909 Bucs, who established the best winning percentage (.724) ever for a World Series winner. And the Pirates needed almost every win as the Chicago Cubs finished 104-49, just 4.5 games out of first place.
Hall of Fame shortstop Honus Wagner led the National League in batting average (.339), on-base percentage (.420), slugging percentage (.489), doubles (39) and RBI (100). Wagner also stole 35 bases and scored 92 runs for the league’s highest scoring team. The Pirates led the NL in runs (701), hits (1,332), doubles (218), triples (92), batting average (.260) and slugging percentage (.353).
Howie Camnitz (25-6, 1.62) and Vic Willis (22-11, 2.24) headlined a pitching staff that compiled a 2.07 ERA, which was the second best in the NL. Babe Adams (12-3, 1.11) was fantastic in 25 regular season games, including 12 starts, and proved to be a late-season ace in the World Series with a 3-0 record and a 1.33 ERA in three starts against the Detroit Tigers, including a six-hit shutout in Game 7.