Ranking every World Series winners in history
By Staff
81. 1906 Chicago White Sox
93-58, AL Champions, Won World Series 4-3 Over Chicago
Sure, it was the middle of the dead-ball era in baseball, but even by those standards the 1906 Chicago White Sox struggled to collect base hits. Nicknamed the “Hitless Wonders,” the 93-58 White Sox captured the American League pennant despite finishing dead last in the league batting average (.230), slugging percentage (.286), OPS (.588), and home runs (7), but led the league in walks (453) and made the most of the base runners they had to finish third in runs scored (567).
A great pitching staff certainly helped as well. Frank Owen (22-13, 2.33) and Nick Altrock (20-13, 2.06) headlined a pitching staff that allowed the fewest runs in the league. Ed Walsh (17-13, 1.88) and Doc White (18-6, 1.52) were also key members of the rotation that tossed an American League best 32 shutouts – ten by Walsh alone.
That pitching staff also neutralized the powerful Chicago Cubs in the crosstown World Series, with the White Sox winning four games to two and limiting the 116-win Cubs to 18 runs total.