The BBWAA did know how to use the English language. The fact that you and tec and Mike don't doesn't make their utilization of the language incorrect.
The word "outstanding," aside from the sense of "current," e.g. an outstanding debt, was extremely uncommon in the early 20th century. Why would they use a word that nobody understood instead of a word that everyone understood? The problem is that the utilization of language changes in 100 years. We're basically arguing about whether the original meaning or the original wording is more relevant to modern voting.