The Greatest Teams (according to TCMA) - 1907 Cubs

 

Edit: This is a series of posts about TCMA's set from 1987 highlighting some of the best ever teams in MLB history.

Obviously, I wasn't around in 1907 to see what all the excitement was about when the Cubs won their first World Series.  I only get to read about these things in books, or as brought to my attention, through baseball cards.  And to be honest, nothing really excites me about this team.

This set of cards had me doing something I rarely do - looking at Baseball-reference.com for stats on an old, old baseball team which told me that percentage wise, the 1907 Cubs had one of the best seasons ever with a .704 winning percentage and their record was an impressive 107-45-3.

The hitters were less than stellar. With a team BA of just .250 and a slugging percentage of .318, one has to wonder how they won all those games?

The answer to that is of course, pitching.  With two 20 game winners in Overall (23) and Brown (20), the pitching staff had an impressive 1.73 ERA and 30 complete game shutouts (wow).  The pitching staff was ranked #1 in earned runs, innings pitched, runs and gave up only 11 HR's all season.  But it did rank a lowly 3rd in walks.  So in terms of pitching, certainly this team was impressive.

The cards are your usual TCMA quality, and the design isn't terrible.  I like the B&W photos but don't know why the background was cut out from Harry Steinfeldt's card.  This is a neat little set for you Cubs fans, but of course is part of a larger set.  Next time we'll look at the 1927 Yankees.