24 February 2008

1930 American League

Philadelphia beat out Washington by 8 games, with New York in 3rd. New York led in runs and Washington in ERA, but the A's were 2nd in both and won with their balance. Cleveland was 4th, Detroit 5th, with Chicago, St. Louis, and Boston bringing up the rear.

Al Simmons at .381 edged Lou Gehrig at .379 for the batting title. Babe Ruth led the percentage categories of on-base, slugging, and OPS, per usual. Simmons edged Ruth in runs scored, 152 to 150. Johnny Hodapp of Cleveland led with 225 hits and with 51 doubles. Earle Combs led with 22 triples, Marty McManus with 23 steals. Ruth led with 49 homers, Gehrig with 174 RBI.

Lefty Grove won the pitching Triple Crown, with 28 wins, 203 strikeouts, and a 2.54 ERA. Wes Ferrell was second with 25 wins and a 3.31 ERA, while George Earnshaw was second in strikeouts with 193. Grove also led with 9 saves. Pitching was different then.

Win Shares leaders, players; Lou Gehrig (New York) 39, Babe Ruth (New York) 38, Al Simmons (Philadelphia) 36, Jimmie Foxx (Philadelphia) 34, Joe Cronin (Washington) 33, Mickey Cochrane (Philadelphia) 31, Charlie Gehringer (Detroit) 29, Ed Morgan (Cleveland) 28, Carl Reynolds (Chicago) and Johnny Hodapp (Cleveland) 25.

WS leaders, pitchers; Lefty Grove (Philadelphia) 37, Wes Ferrell (Cleveland) 32, Lefty Stewart (St. Louis) 28, Ted Lyons (Chicago) 26, George Uhle (Detroit) 23, George Earnshaw (Philadelphia) and Bump Hadley (Washington) 21, Milt Gaston (Boston) 20.

WARP3: Cronin 9.6, Ruth 8.7, Gehrig 8.6, Cochrane 6.4, Gehringer 5.5, Simmons 5.4, Foxx 5.2, Max Bishop (Philadelphia) 4.3, Goose Goslin (St. Louis) 4.0, Reynolds and Marty McManus (Detroit) 3.9, Sam West (Washington) 3.7, Hodapp (career year) and Earle Combs (New York) 3.6.

Pitchers, Ferrell 7.7, Grove 7.6, Stewart 7.1 (best year), Lyons 6.9, Uhle 5.2, Pat Caraway (Chicago) 4.3, Vic Sorrell (Detroit) 3.8, Gaston 3.4, Red Ruffing (Boston/New York) 3.2, Earnshaw 3.0.

WAR leaders, position players: Ruth 10.3, Gehrig 9.4, Cronin 8.0, Simmons 7.5, Foxx 6.9, Reynolds and Gehringer 5.8, Cochrane and Morgan 5.1, Combs and Goslin 4.8. Pitchers: Grove 9.1, Ferrell 6.9, Stewart 6.8, Uhle 5.4, Crowder 5.1, Lyons 4.7, Sorrell 4.5, Hadley 4.4, Gaston 4.3, Earnshaw 4.0.

Best player: Lou Gehrig, with a .379-41-174 line leading the league in RBI. I'd rank it Gehrig, Ruth, Simmons this year, but Babe and Lou didn't have the supporting cast that Bucketfoot Al did. Ruth is #2 with a .359-47-153, while Simmons led in average and was .381-36-165. I'll put Joe Cronin, with a .346 average and 126 RBI plus strong defense at shortstop, 4th. Mickey Cochrane in 5th.

Best pitcher: Lefty Grove. Won pitching triple crown, pretty much silencing all debate here. Also led in saves. Grove was 28-5, 2.54. The #2 pitcher was Wes Ferrell, second in wins and ERA with a 25-13, 3.31 result. Lefty Stewart is third with a 20-12 record and 3.45 ERA. Ted Lyons ranks fourth with a 22-15, 3.78 season. George Uhle 5th.

Best rookie: Ben Chapman, a .316 average and 116 OPS+ as Yankees 3B, moved in 1931 to the outfield.

Best manager: Connie Mack, outpacing the league again. The A's also won the World Series.

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