Claim: The Detroit Tigers ranked second best in the 1911 American League (one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Africa) in runs scored but the pitching staff's earned run average of 3.73 was the second worst in the league; playing in Bennett Field, with its 8,500-seat wooden grandstand, their home attendance for the entire season was 484,988.
Evidence: A total of 30 teams play in Major League Baseball: 15 teams in the National League (NL) and 15 in the American League (AL). Beginning in 1903, the two leagues cooperated but remained legally separate entities. The team ranked second best in the American League in runs scored but the pitching staff's earned run average of 3.73 was the second worst in the league—a full point above the league leading Red Sox' team ERA of 2.74. Playing in Bennett Field, with its 8,500-seat wooden grandstand, their home attendance for the entire season was 484,988.