Indians set AL record with 21st straight win
Actually, that ties the 1935 Cubs for the all-time record for consecutive wins, rather than just setting the AL record. The fabled 1916 Giants never had more than 14 wins in a row.
Here is what happened in 1916. The Giants won 12 in a row, then played a tie. (There were no lights in those days, so ties were common. They would quit at darkness or to catch a train or whatever.) The Giants then won another 14 in a row.
The oddest thing about that Giants team - they weren't really very good. The only managed to finish fourth, despite that amazing run. Excluding the 26-0-1 streak, they won 60 and lost 66. None of their four main starters had an ERA better than the league average, and their best hitter posted only 74 RBI with a .264 batting average.
(To be fair, nobody in the league topped 83 RBI, and the top batting average was only .339. The dead ball was .. well ... dead, and the American League had all the studs: Cobb, Speaker, Sisler, Crawford, Shoeless Joe, Home Run Baker, Eddie Collins, etc.
Within a few years, John McGraw would rebuild the Giants into an NL juggernaut, but this was between his great Mathewson teams of the early century and his great dynasty of the early 20s, when they won four consecutive pennants and beat Babe Ruth's Yankees in the World Series two years in a row, including a sweep in 1922.)
26 is the major league record. Your non-recognition of the 26 is your opinion, not a fact.
ReplyDeleteThat is quite wrong. In fact, it is exactly the opposite of the truth. The FACT is that they never got more than 14 Ws in a row. The OPINION is that the 12 plus the 14 with a tie in the middle should count as a winning streak.
DeleteIt is however, a fact that MLB's opinion, and not objective reality, determines the official record. Their rules; their record.