Most best associations of the early Washington Senators teams are to Walter Johnson, the Big Train, and to few others. As baseball started to honor its players in its Hall of Fame, many players had to wait a long time before they had a chance to be honored. Sam Rice and Goose Goslin were the two best offensive players the team had during that time. Both appeared, with Goslin playing every inning, in all three World Series the team made it to (1924, 1925 and 1933). Rice made it to the Hall in 1963, while Goslin went in 1968.
Sam Rice was a RF who played from 1915 to 1934, playing every season but his last with the Senators. He played for the Indians in 1934 under his longtime teammate Johnson. Rice actually came up as a pitcher, appearing in 9 games in 1915 and 1916. He pitched in 39 1/3 innings to a 2.52 ERA before making the full time move to the OF. In his 20 seasons, he hit .322 with 2987 hits and 351 SB. He also finished with 1514 RS, 498 2B, 184 3B, 34 HR and 1078 RBI. His .374 OBP, .427 SLG added to his career .801 OPS, good for a non HR hitter. Rice was a main contributor for the 1924 WS winning team as well as the 1925 AL Pennant winners. He got a hit in his only AB in the 1933 WS, where at age 42, was at the twilight of his career.
Goslin had the benefit of playing in the beginning of the live ball era, as his career started in 1921, six years after Rice started playing. Goslin was more of a power hitter, finishing his career with 248 career HR. He played with the Senators on three separate occasions, from 1921-1930, 1933 and 1938, being the only position player to be a regular on all three pennant winning teams. After playing for the Browns from 1930-1932, and returning to the Senators in 1933, he joined the Detroit Tigers where he was part of the 1934 AL Pennant winning team which lost to the St Louis Cardinals and the 1935 Tigers team which beat the Chicago Cubs. Goslin hit .316, with 2735 hits, 1483 RS, 500 2B, 173 3B and 1609 RBI, as he had over 100 RBI 13 times in his career. His .387 OBP and .500 SLG equaled his .887 career OPS.
The Senators had their corner OF set for just about the entire 1920s. Rice and Goslin had as much to do with the team's little success as Johnson did. Johnson, rightly so, gets all the credit because he was an all time great pitcher and one of only two pitchers to win 400 games in MLB history. However, the Senators were known as a notoriously bad baseball team. Because of that, players like Rice and Goslin get little credit for what they did to not only help Washington stay competitive during that time, but they were a factor in allowing the city to enjoy its only postseason success in the history of its franchise.
Of course, the Senators remained around until they moved to Minnesota after the 1960 season. A second Washington Senators expansion started in 1961 and stayed there until 1971, when they moved to Texas. After the Montreal Expos moved to Washington after the 2004 season, they continued to struggle until winning the NL East last season. Lets see if they can win 1 World Series and two other league Pennants like in 10 years like the Senators did during the times of Rice and Goslin.
Sam Rice was a RF who played from 1915 to 1934, playing every season but his last with the Senators. He played for the Indians in 1934 under his longtime teammate Johnson. Rice actually came up as a pitcher, appearing in 9 games in 1915 and 1916. He pitched in 39 1/3 innings to a 2.52 ERA before making the full time move to the OF. In his 20 seasons, he hit .322 with 2987 hits and 351 SB. He also finished with 1514 RS, 498 2B, 184 3B, 34 HR and 1078 RBI. His .374 OBP, .427 SLG added to his career .801 OPS, good for a non HR hitter. Rice was a main contributor for the 1924 WS winning team as well as the 1925 AL Pennant winners. He got a hit in his only AB in the 1933 WS, where at age 42, was at the twilight of his career.
Goslin had the benefit of playing in the beginning of the live ball era, as his career started in 1921, six years after Rice started playing. Goslin was more of a power hitter, finishing his career with 248 career HR. He played with the Senators on three separate occasions, from 1921-1930, 1933 and 1938, being the only position player to be a regular on all three pennant winning teams. After playing for the Browns from 1930-1932, and returning to the Senators in 1933, he joined the Detroit Tigers where he was part of the 1934 AL Pennant winning team which lost to the St Louis Cardinals and the 1935 Tigers team which beat the Chicago Cubs. Goslin hit .316, with 2735 hits, 1483 RS, 500 2B, 173 3B and 1609 RBI, as he had over 100 RBI 13 times in his career. His .387 OBP and .500 SLG equaled his .887 career OPS.
The Senators had their corner OF set for just about the entire 1920s. Rice and Goslin had as much to do with the team's little success as Johnson did. Johnson, rightly so, gets all the credit because he was an all time great pitcher and one of only two pitchers to win 400 games in MLB history. However, the Senators were known as a notoriously bad baseball team. Because of that, players like Rice and Goslin get little credit for what they did to not only help Washington stay competitive during that time, but they were a factor in allowing the city to enjoy its only postseason success in the history of its franchise.
Of course, the Senators remained around until they moved to Minnesota after the 1960 season. A second Washington Senators expansion started in 1961 and stayed there until 1971, when they moved to Texas. After the Montreal Expos moved to Washington after the 2004 season, they continued to struggle until winning the NL East last season. Lets see if they can win 1 World Series and two other league Pennants like in 10 years like the Senators did during the times of Rice and Goslin.
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