1917 Cincinnati Reds | |
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Owner(s) | Garry Herrmann |
Manager(s) | Christy Mathewson |
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The 1917 Cincinnati Reds season was a season in American baseball. The team finished fourth in the National League with a record of 78–76, 20 games behind the New York Giants.
It was a very quiet off-season for the Reds heading into the 1917 season. Cincinnati purchased the contract of pitcher Roy Sanders from the Kansas City Blues of the American Association (20th century) for $7500. In 45 games with the Blues, Sanders was 18-16 with a 3.80 ERA, pitching 277 innings for the club.
On April 23, the Reds purchased the contract of legendary athlete Jim Thorpe from the New York Giants. Thorpe, known for winning two gold medals at the 1912 Summer Olympics, also played with the Canton Bulldogs football club in the Ohio League. He had minimal playing time with the Giants from 1913–1915 before spending the 1916 season in the minor leagues.
On May 2, in the "double no-hitter" between Fred Toney of the Reds and Hippo Vaughn of the Chicago Cubs, Thorpe drove in the winning run in the 10th inning. Late in the season, he was sold back to the Giants. It is still the only occasion in major league history in which a regulation nine innings was played without either team logging a hit.
The Reds picked up pitcher Dutch Ruether from the Chicago Cubs on July 17 off of waivers. In 10 games with Chicago, Ruether was 2-0 with a 2.48 ERA. Just over two weeks later, on August 1, the Reds make another waiver claim, picking up outfielder Sherry Magee from the Boston Braves. Magee, in his 14th season in the National League, had a .256 average with one home run and 21 RBI when he was picked up. Over his career, Magee led the NL in RBI three times (1907, 1910 and 1914). His best season was in 1910 with the Philadelphia Phillies, as Magee led the league with a .331 batting average, scored 110 runs and drove in 123 runners.