The Cubs won 100 games and the pennant, beating out defending champs St. Louis by four games. Came up short in the Series, though. New York was third, and Pittsburgh a solid 4th, followed by Brooklyn, Cincinnati, and Philadelphia, with Boston having one of the all-time worst seasons and losing 115 games in spite of stellar play from Wally Berger again. Most important, the first official major league night game was played, in Cincinnati. It would do a lot to boost attendance during the Depression, and after.
Arky Vaughan had a huge year, winning the batting title with a .385 average, leading the league in walks so that he was getting on base in nearly half his plate appearances, and also leading the league in slugging and OPS. He played a good shortstop, too. Joe Medwick was second in average with a .355 mark, and Gabby Hartnett third with a .344. Augie Galan led in runs with 133 and steals with 22. Billy Herman led in hits with 227 and doubles with 57. Ival Goodman had 18 triples. Wally Berger had 34 homers and 130 RBI for the sad-sack Braves. Mel Ott was second with 31 homers and Medwick second with 126 RBI.
Cy Blanton of Pittsburgh, no apparent relation to current pitcher Joe Blanton, led the league with a 2.58 ERA. Dizzy Dean had another great year, with 28 wins and 190 strikeouts to lead the league. Carl Hubbell was second with 23 wins, Paul Derringer third with 22. Bill Swift was second with a 2.70 ERA, Hal Schumacher third at 2.89.
Win Shares leaders, players; Arky Vaughan (Pittsburgh) 39, Mel Ott (New York) 35, Joe Medwick (St. Louis) 33, Augie Galan and Billy Herman (Chicago) 32, Hank Leiber (New York) and Rip Collins (St. Louis) 28, Gabby Hartnett (Chicago) 26, Jo-Jo Moore (New York) 24, Bill Terry (New York) 23, Stan Hack (Chicago) and Paul Waner (Pittsburgh) 22, Wally Berger (Boston) 21.
Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Dizzy Dean (St. Louis) 31, Carl Hubbell (New York) 26, Cy Blanton (Pittsburgh) 24, Hal Schumacher (New York) 23, Lon Warneke (Chicago) and Paul Dean (St. Louis) 22, Bill Lee (Chicago) and Curt Davis (Philadelphia) 21, Paul Derringer (Cincinnati) and Bill Swift (Pittsburgh) 20.
WARP3 scores: Vaughan 12.2 (best year), Ott 10.4, Herman 8.0 in his first big year, Galan 7.6 in his first full season, Hartnett 7.3, Medwick 6.8, Berger 5.8, Moore 5.5, Leiber 5.4 in his first full season, Collins (last good year) and Waner 5.2, Hack 5.1, Terry 4.9 in his last full season, Dick Bartell (New York) 4.6.
Pitchers, D. Dean 8.0, Davis 7.3, Blanton 6.4 as a rookie in his best year, Warneke 5.3, Hubbell and Swift in his best year 5.0, Schumacher, P. Dean in his last good year, and Syl Johnson (Philadelphia) 4.9, Derringer 4.8, Bob Smith (Boston) 4.5, Van Lingle Mungo (Brooklyn) 4.4.
WAR leaders, position players: Vaughan 9.7, Ott 7.8, Herman 7.3, Medwick 6.5, Galan 6.1, Berger 5.7, Leiber 5.2, Hartnett 5.1, Terry 5.0, Collins and Hack 4.8, Waner 4.4, Moore 3.7. Pitchers: Dean 7.1, Blanton 6.5, Davis 5.6, P. Dean 5.5, Schumacher and Swift 5.0, Hubbell 4.9, Warneke 4.7, French 4.6, Johnson 4.1.
Actual award voting: MVP Top 10
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+---+--+-----+-----+---
1 Gabby Hartnett CHC 0 75 80 0.94 | 413 142 13 .344 .949 1
2 Dizzy Dean STL 0 66 80 0.82 | 128 30 2 .234 .559 2| 28-12 325 3.04 1.233 190 5
3 Arky Vaughan PIT 0 45 80 0.56 | 499 192 19 .385 1.098 4
4 Billy Herman CHC 0 38 80 0.48 | 666 227 7 .341 .859 6
5 Joe Medwick STL 0 37 80 0.46 | 634 224 23 .353 .962 4
6 Wally Berger BSN 0 20 80 0.25 | 589 174 34 .295 .903 3
6 Carl Hubbell NYG 0 20 80 0.25 | 109 26 1 .239 .556 0| 23-12 303 3.27 1.199 150
6 Bill Terry NYG 0 20 80 0.25 | 596 203 6 .341 .834 7
9 Augie Galan CHC 0 18 80 0.22 | 646 203 12 .314 .866 22
10 Pepper Martin STL 0 16 80 0.20 | 539 161 9 .299 .789 20
Top player: Arky Vaughan had one of the all-time great seasons for Pittsburgh. His .385 average led the league by 32 points, and he also led in walks, OPS and OPS+ while playing a strong shortstop. 19 HR and 99 RBI with 105 runs are also strong credentials. Mel Ott gets my #2 spot with the second-best OPS+ and 31 HR with 114 RBI. Billy Herman's .341 average for the pennant winners plus defense at second base gets him #3. Medwick is #4 with a .353-23-126 line, then Augie Galan's league-leading 133 runs for the Cubs gets him #5. Gabby Hartnett won the MVP mostly for sentimental reasons, although he did play well. I'd put him sixth.
Top pitcher: Dizzy Dean again, leading in wins and strikeouts with a 28-12 record and 3.04 ERA. Carl Hubbell ranks #2 with a 23-12 record and 3.15 ERA. Cy Blanton ranked #3 at 18-13 while leading the league with his 2.58 ERA. Hal Schumacher #4 at 19-9, 2.89. Lon Warneke's 20 wins for #5.
Top rookie: Blanton, but his career would decline from here. He was a 26-year old rookie.
Top manager: Charlie Grimm gets this award for managing the pennant winners.
26 March 2008
1935 American League
The Tigers won their second straight pennant by again bludgeoning the league into submission with a superior offense. The Yankees were just three games back with the best pitching in the league. Babe Ruth was gone, off playing his final season with the Boston Braves. Cleveland ran third, and Boston played their best ball in nearly two decades to finish fourth. Then came Chicago, followed by Boston, St. Louis, and Philadelphia. Detroit topped one million in attendance, but the Browns slipped below 100K.
Buddy Myer of Washington won the batting title at .349, edging Joe Vosmik at .348 and Jimmie Foxx at .346. Lou Gehrig led in on-base, while Foxx led in slugging and OPS. Gehrig led in runs with 125, Vosmik in hits with 216 (beating Myer by one this time), and also led in doubles with 47 and triples with 20. Foxx and Hank Greenberg tied with 36 home runs, but Greenberg was all by himself with 170 RBI. Billy Werber led in steals again with 29.
Wes Ferrell topped the league with 25 wins (and also with 38 starts), Tommy Bridges led with 163 strikeouts, and Lefty Grove with a 2.70 ERA. With Grove and Ferrell, Boston had two top pitchers.
Win Shares leaders, players: Hank Greenberg (Detroit) and Lou Gehrig (New York) 34, Buddy Myer (Washington) 33, Charlie Gehringer (Detroit) 31, Jimmie Foxx (Philadelphia) 30, Joe Vosmik (Cleveland) 28, Luke Appling (Chicago) and Mickey Cochrane (Detroit) 24, Billy Rogell (Detroit) 23, Earl Averill (Cleveland) and Red Rolfe (New York) 22.
Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Wes Ferrell (Boston) 35, Lefty Grove (Boston) 29, Mel Harder (Cleveland) 27, Schoolboy Rowe (Detroit) 23, Red Ruffing (New York) 22, Willis Hudlin (Cleveland) and Ivy Andrews (St. Louis) 21, Ted Lyons (Chicago) 20.
WARP3 scores: Gehrig 8.4, Foxx 8.0 in his last season in Philly, Greenberg 7.6, Gehringer 7.0, Appling 6.7, Vosmik 6.4 in his best season, Rolfe 5.3 in his first full season. Myer 5.1 (his best season, at age 31), Cochrane 4.6 in his last full season, Bob Johnson (Philadelphia) 4.5, George Selkirk (New York) 4.3, Rogell 3.7.
For the pitchers, Ferrell 9.2, Grove 7.6, Harder 6.5, Rowe 5.5, Andrews 5.1 (best year), Johnny Marcum (Philadelphia) 4.8, Hudlin 4.7 in his last good year, Ruffing 4.2, Tommy Bridges (Detroit) and Bobo Newsom (St. Louis/Washington) 3.6, Lyons and Elden Auker (Detroit) 3.4.
WAR leaders, position players: Gehrig 9.6, Foxx 9.4, Greenberg 8.4, Gehringer 8.1, Appling 7.3, Myer 6.9, Vosmik 6.6, Rogell 5.2, Cochrane 5.1, Johnson 4.7, Hale 4.6. Pitchers: Grove 7.7, Ferrell 6.9, Harder 6.3, Andrews 5.3, Rowe 4.3, Lyons 4.2, Hudlin, Ruffing, and Whitehead 4.1, Gomez 3.8.
Actual award voting, for MVP: (Top 10)
Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+---+--+-----+-----
1 Hank Greenberg DET 8 80 80 1.00 | 619 203 36 .328 1.039 4
2 Wes Ferrell BOS 0 62 80 0.78 | 150 52 7 .347 .960 0| 25-14 322 3.52 1.378 110
3 Joe Vosmik CLE 0 39 80 0.49 | 620 216 10 .348 .946 2
4 Buddy Myer WSH 0 36 80 0.45 | 616 215 5 .349 .907 7
5 Lou Gehrig NYY 0 29 80 0.36 | 535 176 30 .329 1.049 8
6 Charlie Gehringer DET 0 26 80 0.32 | 610 201 19 .330 .911 11
7 Mickey Cochrane DET 0 24 80 0.30 | 411 131 5 .319 .902 5
8 Doc Cramer PHA 0 18 80 0.22 | 644 214 3 .332 .789 6
9 Rollie Helmsley SLB 0 16 80 0.20 | 504 146 0 .290 .730 3
9 Moose Solters TOT 0 16 80 0.20 | +631 201 18 .319 .854 11
Top player: Hank Greenberg. Greenberg, Foxx and Gehrig are in almost a dead heat statistically, but Greenberg's team won. Also, those 170 RBI look mighty impressive. Make Foxx #2 with his tie with Greenberg for the home run lead, and I'll put Gehrig #3. Gehringer makes a fine #4 with his .330 average, and Buddy Myer gets #5 with his batting title. Vosmik would be sixth.
Top pitcher: Wes Ferrell had an impressive 25 wins for the rebuilding Red Sox, and teammate Lefty Grove edges Mel Harder for the #2 spot. Schoolboy Rowe is 4th with Red Ruffing 5th.
Top rookie: Wally Moses batted .325 in 85 games for Philadelphia. He had a good if unspectacular career and was a long-time hitting coach.
Top manager: Mickey Cochrane for bringing the Tigers home again.
Buddy Myer of Washington won the batting title at .349, edging Joe Vosmik at .348 and Jimmie Foxx at .346. Lou Gehrig led in on-base, while Foxx led in slugging and OPS. Gehrig led in runs with 125, Vosmik in hits with 216 (beating Myer by one this time), and also led in doubles with 47 and triples with 20. Foxx and Hank Greenberg tied with 36 home runs, but Greenberg was all by himself with 170 RBI. Billy Werber led in steals again with 29.
Wes Ferrell topped the league with 25 wins (and also with 38 starts), Tommy Bridges led with 163 strikeouts, and Lefty Grove with a 2.70 ERA. With Grove and Ferrell, Boston had two top pitchers.
Win Shares leaders, players: Hank Greenberg (Detroit) and Lou Gehrig (New York) 34, Buddy Myer (Washington) 33, Charlie Gehringer (Detroit) 31, Jimmie Foxx (Philadelphia) 30, Joe Vosmik (Cleveland) 28, Luke Appling (Chicago) and Mickey Cochrane (Detroit) 24, Billy Rogell (Detroit) 23, Earl Averill (Cleveland) and Red Rolfe (New York) 22.
Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Wes Ferrell (Boston) 35, Lefty Grove (Boston) 29, Mel Harder (Cleveland) 27, Schoolboy Rowe (Detroit) 23, Red Ruffing (New York) 22, Willis Hudlin (Cleveland) and Ivy Andrews (St. Louis) 21, Ted Lyons (Chicago) 20.
WARP3 scores: Gehrig 8.4, Foxx 8.0 in his last season in Philly, Greenberg 7.6, Gehringer 7.0, Appling 6.7, Vosmik 6.4 in his best season, Rolfe 5.3 in his first full season. Myer 5.1 (his best season, at age 31), Cochrane 4.6 in his last full season, Bob Johnson (Philadelphia) 4.5, George Selkirk (New York) 4.3, Rogell 3.7.
For the pitchers, Ferrell 9.2, Grove 7.6, Harder 6.5, Rowe 5.5, Andrews 5.1 (best year), Johnny Marcum (Philadelphia) 4.8, Hudlin 4.7 in his last good year, Ruffing 4.2, Tommy Bridges (Detroit) and Bobo Newsom (St. Louis/Washington) 3.6, Lyons and Elden Auker (Detroit) 3.4.
WAR leaders, position players: Gehrig 9.6, Foxx 9.4, Greenberg 8.4, Gehringer 8.1, Appling 7.3, Myer 6.9, Vosmik 6.6, Rogell 5.2, Cochrane 5.1, Johnson 4.7, Hale 4.6. Pitchers: Grove 7.7, Ferrell 6.9, Harder 6.3, Andrews 5.3, Rowe 4.3, Lyons 4.2, Hudlin, Ruffing, and Whitehead 4.1, Gomez 3.8.
Actual award voting, for MVP: (Top 10)
Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+---+--+-----+-----
1 Hank Greenberg DET 8 80 80 1.00 | 619 203 36 .328 1.039 4
2 Wes Ferrell BOS 0 62 80 0.78 | 150 52 7 .347 .960 0| 25-14 322 3.52 1.378 110
3 Joe Vosmik CLE 0 39 80 0.49 | 620 216 10 .348 .946 2
4 Buddy Myer WSH 0 36 80 0.45 | 616 215 5 .349 .907 7
5 Lou Gehrig NYY 0 29 80 0.36 | 535 176 30 .329 1.049 8
6 Charlie Gehringer DET 0 26 80 0.32 | 610 201 19 .330 .911 11
7 Mickey Cochrane DET 0 24 80 0.30 | 411 131 5 .319 .902 5
8 Doc Cramer PHA 0 18 80 0.22 | 644 214 3 .332 .789 6
9 Rollie Helmsley SLB 0 16 80 0.20 | 504 146 0 .290 .730 3
9 Moose Solters TOT 0 16 80 0.20 | +631 201 18 .319 .854 11
Top player: Hank Greenberg. Greenberg, Foxx and Gehrig are in almost a dead heat statistically, but Greenberg's team won. Also, those 170 RBI look mighty impressive. Make Foxx #2 with his tie with Greenberg for the home run lead, and I'll put Gehrig #3. Gehringer makes a fine #4 with his .330 average, and Buddy Myer gets #5 with his batting title. Vosmik would be sixth.
Top pitcher: Wes Ferrell had an impressive 25 wins for the rebuilding Red Sox, and teammate Lefty Grove edges Mel Harder for the #2 spot. Schoolboy Rowe is 4th with Red Ruffing 5th.
Top rookie: Wally Moses batted .325 in 85 games for Philadelphia. He had a good if unspectacular career and was a long-time hitting coach.
Top manager: Mickey Cochrane for bringing the Tigers home again.
25 March 2008
1934 National League
The "Gas House Gang" Cardinals won a close pennant race by two games over the Giants, powered by a free-wheeling lineup and the Dean brothers on the mound. Chicago was third, eight games back. Boston was 4th, Pittsburgh 5th, followed by Brooklyn and Philadelphia. Cincinnati was again last.
Paul Waner won the batting title with a .362 average, just ahead of Bill Terry's .354. Waner also led in runs with 122 and hits with 217. Arky Vaughan led in on-base, while Rip Collins led in slugging and OPS. Ethan Allen and Kiki Cuyler had 42 doubles each, while Joe Medwick had 18 triples. Collins tied Mel Ott with 35 homers, while Ott led with 135 RBI. Pepper Martin led with 23 steals.
Dizzy Dean put up a big 30-win year, and also led with 195 strikeouts. Carl Hubbell led in ERA at 2.30. Hubbell also led the league in saves with 8, as well as complete games with 25. It was a different time then. Most games were loaded onto the weekend during the Depression, so that somebody would come out, so doubleheaders on both Saturday and Sunday were common. Aces might start on Friday and relieve on Sunday, or vice-versa.
Win Shares leaders, players; Mel Ott (New York) 38, Arky Vaughan (Pittsburgh) 36, Wally Berger (Boston) 33, Ripper Collins (St. Louis) 32, Paul Waner (Pittsburgh) 30, Bill Terry (New York) 29, Jo-Jo Moore (New York) 26, Billy Urbanski (Boston) 25, Gabby Hartnett (Chicago) and Ducky Medwick (St. Louis) 24.
WS leaders, pitchers; Dizzy Dean (St. Louis) 37, Carl Hubbell (New York) 32, Lon Warneke (Chicago) 26, Hal Schumacher (New York) and Curt Davis (Philadelphia) 24, Van Lingle Mungo (Brooklyn) and Paul Dean (St. Louis) 22.
WARP3: Ott 10.3, Vaughan 10.1, Waner 8.6, Hartnett 7.0, Len Koenecke (Brooklyn) and Dick Bartell (Philadelphia) 6.0, Collins 5.5 (career year), Kiki Cuyler (Chicago) 4.6, Urbanski (career year), Frankie Frisch (St. Louis) and Chuck Klein (Chicago) 4.5, Moore 4.4, Terry 4.2.
Pitchers; D. Dean 9.7, Davis 8.1 (as a 30-year-old rookie), Hubbell 7.6, Mungo 7.2, Benny Frey (Cincinnati) 6.8, Paul Derringer (Cincinnati) 6.5, Warneke 5.8, P. Dean 5.4 (as a 20-year-old rookie), Ed Brandt (Boston) 5.0, Schumacher and Waite Hoyt (Pittsburgh) 4.8.
WAR leaders, position players: Ott 7.5, Vaughan 7.2, Collins 6.8, Waner 6.5, Terry 6.1, Koenecke and Berger 5.1, Leslie 4.3, Cuyler and Jackson 4.0, Hartnett 3.9. Pitchers: D. Dean 8.1, Hubbell 7.4, Davis 6.8, Mungo and Warneke 5.0, P. Dean 4.8, Hoyt 4.4, Frey 3.8, Derringer 3.7, Collins and Walker 3.5.
Actual MVP voting (top 15):
Place Name Team Points
1 Dizzy Dean STL 78
2 Paul Waner PIT 50
3 Jo-Jo Moore NYG 42
4 Travis Jackson NYG 39
5 Mel Ott NYG 37
6 Ripper Collins STL 32
7 Bill Terry NYG 30
8 Curt Davis PHI 18
9 Paul Dean STL 16
9 Carl Hubbell NYG 16
9 Hal Schumacher NYG 16
12 Wally Berger BSN 13
13 Lon Warneke CHC 10
14 Gabby Hartnett CHC 9
15 Gordon Slade CIN 5
Best player: Mel Ott, although Arky Vaughan would make a good choice too. Ott was clearly the best hitter in the league, with a .326-35-135 line. Vaughan gets the #2 spot with his .333-12-94 season, although he got just one MVP vote. Paul Waner is #3 after leading the league in average and going .362-14-90. Ripper Collins of the pennant winner was #4 with a tie for Ott for the home run lead and a .333-35-128 line. Gabby Hartnett's .299-22-90 coupled with his excellent defense puts him 5th.
Best pitcher: Dizzy Dean, of course. His 30-7 year, plus a 2.66 ERA. Carl Hubbell led the league in ERA at 2.30 and went 21-12. Curt Davis was 19-17 with a 2.95 ERA in the hitter's haven of Philadelphia. Lon Warneke was 21-10, 3.21 for 4th, Van Lingle Mungo 18-16, 3.37 for 5th.
Best rookie: Paul Dean (or Daffy, if you prefer) since he was 20 to the more productive Curt Davis' 30. Didn't help him have a better career, though. Paul was 19-11 and had a 3.43 ERA. He had the most promise, but ended with 50 career wins to Davis' 158.
Best manager: Frankie Frisch had to coordinate the St. Louis wild bunch. That was a full-time job in itself.
Paul Waner won the batting title with a .362 average, just ahead of Bill Terry's .354. Waner also led in runs with 122 and hits with 217. Arky Vaughan led in on-base, while Rip Collins led in slugging and OPS. Ethan Allen and Kiki Cuyler had 42 doubles each, while Joe Medwick had 18 triples. Collins tied Mel Ott with 35 homers, while Ott led with 135 RBI. Pepper Martin led with 23 steals.
Dizzy Dean put up a big 30-win year, and also led with 195 strikeouts. Carl Hubbell led in ERA at 2.30. Hubbell also led the league in saves with 8, as well as complete games with 25. It was a different time then. Most games were loaded onto the weekend during the Depression, so that somebody would come out, so doubleheaders on both Saturday and Sunday were common. Aces might start on Friday and relieve on Sunday, or vice-versa.
Win Shares leaders, players; Mel Ott (New York) 38, Arky Vaughan (Pittsburgh) 36, Wally Berger (Boston) 33, Ripper Collins (St. Louis) 32, Paul Waner (Pittsburgh) 30, Bill Terry (New York) 29, Jo-Jo Moore (New York) 26, Billy Urbanski (Boston) 25, Gabby Hartnett (Chicago) and Ducky Medwick (St. Louis) 24.
WS leaders, pitchers; Dizzy Dean (St. Louis) 37, Carl Hubbell (New York) 32, Lon Warneke (Chicago) 26, Hal Schumacher (New York) and Curt Davis (Philadelphia) 24, Van Lingle Mungo (Brooklyn) and Paul Dean (St. Louis) 22.
WARP3: Ott 10.3, Vaughan 10.1, Waner 8.6, Hartnett 7.0, Len Koenecke (Brooklyn) and Dick Bartell (Philadelphia) 6.0, Collins 5.5 (career year), Kiki Cuyler (Chicago) 4.6, Urbanski (career year), Frankie Frisch (St. Louis) and Chuck Klein (Chicago) 4.5, Moore 4.4, Terry 4.2.
Pitchers; D. Dean 9.7, Davis 8.1 (as a 30-year-old rookie), Hubbell 7.6, Mungo 7.2, Benny Frey (Cincinnati) 6.8, Paul Derringer (Cincinnati) 6.5, Warneke 5.8, P. Dean 5.4 (as a 20-year-old rookie), Ed Brandt (Boston) 5.0, Schumacher and Waite Hoyt (Pittsburgh) 4.8.
WAR leaders, position players: Ott 7.5, Vaughan 7.2, Collins 6.8, Waner 6.5, Terry 6.1, Koenecke and Berger 5.1, Leslie 4.3, Cuyler and Jackson 4.0, Hartnett 3.9. Pitchers: D. Dean 8.1, Hubbell 7.4, Davis 6.8, Mungo and Warneke 5.0, P. Dean 4.8, Hoyt 4.4, Frey 3.8, Derringer 3.7, Collins and Walker 3.5.
Actual MVP voting (top 15):
Place Name Team Points
1 Dizzy Dean STL 78
2 Paul Waner PIT 50
3 Jo-Jo Moore NYG 42
4 Travis Jackson NYG 39
5 Mel Ott NYG 37
6 Ripper Collins STL 32
7 Bill Terry NYG 30
8 Curt Davis PHI 18
9 Paul Dean STL 16
9 Carl Hubbell NYG 16
9 Hal Schumacher NYG 16
12 Wally Berger BSN 13
13 Lon Warneke CHC 10
14 Gabby Hartnett CHC 9
15 Gordon Slade CIN 5
Best player: Mel Ott, although Arky Vaughan would make a good choice too. Ott was clearly the best hitter in the league, with a .326-35-135 line. Vaughan gets the #2 spot with his .333-12-94 season, although he got just one MVP vote. Paul Waner is #3 after leading the league in average and going .362-14-90. Ripper Collins of the pennant winner was #4 with a tie for Ott for the home run lead and a .333-35-128 line. Gabby Hartnett's .299-22-90 coupled with his excellent defense puts him 5th.
Best pitcher: Dizzy Dean, of course. His 30-7 year, plus a 2.66 ERA. Carl Hubbell led the league in ERA at 2.30 and went 21-12. Curt Davis was 19-17 with a 2.95 ERA in the hitter's haven of Philadelphia. Lon Warneke was 21-10, 3.21 for 4th, Van Lingle Mungo 18-16, 3.37 for 5th.
Best rookie: Paul Dean (or Daffy, if you prefer) since he was 20 to the more productive Curt Davis' 30. Didn't help him have a better career, though. Paul was 19-11 and had a 3.43 ERA. He had the most promise, but ended with 50 career wins to Davis' 158.
Best manager: Frankie Frisch had to coordinate the St. Louis wild bunch. That was a full-time job in itself.
1934 American League
The Tigers won the pennant by a seven-game margin over the Yankees, with an exceptional offense and good pitching. They lost the World Series in seven games, though. The emergence of a young Hank Greenberg gave the Tigers the push they needed. Cleveland was a distant third, while Boston was just at .500 and in fourth place. Philadelphia, St. Louis, Washington (in a big falloff from the previous year's pennant) and Chicago made up the second division.
In a display of how different things were in 1934, consider these things: it was the middle of the depression, and before night baseball started, no team drew one million fans. The Tigers led in attendance with a little over 900,000. Only the Yankees and Tigers averaged over 11,000 fans per game. The Browns drew just over 100,000, or about 1500 per game. It was a tough time at the box office.
Mickey Cochrane won the MVP for the pennant winners, but Lou Gehrig won the Triple Crown for the second-place team. Gehrig had a .363 average, just ahead of the Tigers' Charlie Gehringer at .356, hit 49 homers to best Jimmie Foxx's 44, and drove in 165 runs to finish ahead of Hal Trosky's 142. Gehrig also led in on-base, slugging, OPS, and total bases. Gehringer led with 134 runs and 214 hits, Hank Greenberg had 63 doubles, Ben Chapman had 13 triples, and Billy Werber stole 40 bases.
The Yankees had another Triple Crown winner in pitcher Lefty Gomez, who had 26 wins, 158 strikeouts, and a 2.33 ERA to lead the league. Second-place finishers were Schoolboy Rowe with 24 wins, Tommy Bridges with 151 strikeouts, and Mel Harder with a 2.61 ERA.
Win Shares leaders, players; Lou Gehrig (New York) 41, Charlie Gehringer (Detroit) 37, Earl Averill (Cleveland) 33, Jimmie Foxx (Philadelphia) 32, Hank Greenberg (Detroit) 31, Hal Trosky (Cleveland) 28, Bill Werber (Boston) 26, Billy Rogell (Detroit) 24, Al Simmons (Chicago), Mickey Cochrane and Marv Owen (Detroit) 23.
WS leaders, pitchers; Lefty Gomez (New York) 31, Schoolboy Rowe (Detroit) 28, Mel Harder (Cleveland) 27, Tommy Bridges (Detroit) 22, Bobo Newsom (St. Louis) 21, Wes Ferrell (Boston) and Johnny Murphy (New York) 18, Fritz Ostermueller (Boston), Monte Pearson (Cleveland) and Red Ruffing (New York) 17.
WARP3: Gehrig 10.1, Gehringer 8.6, Averill 7.4 (best year), Foxx 6.4, Bob Johnson (Philadelphia) 5.2, Werber 5.0, Greenberg 4.7, Cochrane and Babe Ruth (New York) 4.6, Tony Lazzeri (New York) 4.5, Bill Dickey (New York) 4.4, Simmons 3.8 (last big year), Rogell and Rollie Helmsley (St. Louis) 3.7.
Pitchers; Gomez 6.6, Harder 6.5, Rowe 5.7 (first full year), Ostermueller 4.4 (rookie), Ferrell 4.3, Bobby Burke (Washington) 4.2, Newsom 4.1 (rookie), Bridges 3.8, George Earnshaw (Chicago) 3.4, Murphy (rookie, best year, by far his most use), and Johnny Welch (Boston) 3.3.
WAR leaders, position players: Gehrig 11.5, Foxx 9.6, Gehringer 9.2, Averill 7.4, Greenberg 7.1, Werber 6.3, Trosky 6.1, Rogell 5.4, Simmons and Johnson 5.3, Manush 5.2. Pitchers: Gomez 8.1, Harder 6.8, Rowe 5.8, Bridges 5.7, Newsom 4.9, Ostermueller 4.6, Murphy 4.4, Burke and Ferrell 3.9, Blaeholder 3.8.
Actual MVP voting(top 15):
Place Name Team Points
1 Mickey Cochrane DET 67
2 Charlie Gehringer DET 65
3 Lefty Gomez NYY 60
4 Schoolboy Rowe DET 59
5 Lou Gehrig NYY 54
6 Hank Greenberg DET 29
7 Hal Trosky CLE 18
8 Wes Ferrell BOS 16
9 Marv Owen DET 13
10 Jimmie Foxx PHA 11
11 Al Simmons CHW 9
12 Roy Johnson BOS 8
12 Billy Werber BOS 8
14 Goose Goslin DET 6
15 Sam West SLB 5
The voters zeroed in on a top five of three Tigers and two Yankees. Three more Tigers came in down-ballot. The Detroit team really impressed the BBWAA voters.
Best player: Lou Gehrig. Larrupin' Lou won the Triple Crown, but couldn't win the MVP. He gets this award, though, but I was tempted to vote for Gehringer. Gehrig's .363-49-165 line is too hard to ignore. Gehringer didn't have the same power, but his defense supplements his .356-11-127 line as he was second in batting average. Earl Averill had a terrific year at .313-31-113 and nets third place, with Jimmie Foxx #4 at .334-44-130. Hank Greenberg's first big year, with a .339-26-138 line and all those doubles, gets him #5.
Best pitcher: Lefty Gomez. Again, Lefty is the best pitcher in the league, but this time it is Gomez putting up Grove-like stats, with a 26-5 record and a league-leading ERA of 2.33. Mel Harder places second with a 20-12, 2.61 season. Schoolboy Rowe places 3rd in his first full year with a 24-8 record and 3.45 ERA. Tommy Bridges' 22-11, 3.67 earns him 4th, with Bobo Newsom's 16-20, 4.01 for the lowly Browns good enough for 5th.
Best rookie: Hal Trosky made a strong showing in his first full year, going .330-35-142. Bobo Newsom second with a 16-20 record and 4.01 ERA, which still meant a 124 ERA+. Johnny Murphy and Fritz Ostermueller also earn notice.
Best manager: Mickey Cochrane will take this trophy, for guiding the Tigers to their first pennant since 1909.
In a display of how different things were in 1934, consider these things: it was the middle of the depression, and before night baseball started, no team drew one million fans. The Tigers led in attendance with a little over 900,000. Only the Yankees and Tigers averaged over 11,000 fans per game. The Browns drew just over 100,000, or about 1500 per game. It was a tough time at the box office.
Mickey Cochrane won the MVP for the pennant winners, but Lou Gehrig won the Triple Crown for the second-place team. Gehrig had a .363 average, just ahead of the Tigers' Charlie Gehringer at .356, hit 49 homers to best Jimmie Foxx's 44, and drove in 165 runs to finish ahead of Hal Trosky's 142. Gehrig also led in on-base, slugging, OPS, and total bases. Gehringer led with 134 runs and 214 hits, Hank Greenberg had 63 doubles, Ben Chapman had 13 triples, and Billy Werber stole 40 bases.
The Yankees had another Triple Crown winner in pitcher Lefty Gomez, who had 26 wins, 158 strikeouts, and a 2.33 ERA to lead the league. Second-place finishers were Schoolboy Rowe with 24 wins, Tommy Bridges with 151 strikeouts, and Mel Harder with a 2.61 ERA.
Win Shares leaders, players; Lou Gehrig (New York) 41, Charlie Gehringer (Detroit) 37, Earl Averill (Cleveland) 33, Jimmie Foxx (Philadelphia) 32, Hank Greenberg (Detroit) 31, Hal Trosky (Cleveland) 28, Bill Werber (Boston) 26, Billy Rogell (Detroit) 24, Al Simmons (Chicago), Mickey Cochrane and Marv Owen (Detroit) 23.
WS leaders, pitchers; Lefty Gomez (New York) 31, Schoolboy Rowe (Detroit) 28, Mel Harder (Cleveland) 27, Tommy Bridges (Detroit) 22, Bobo Newsom (St. Louis) 21, Wes Ferrell (Boston) and Johnny Murphy (New York) 18, Fritz Ostermueller (Boston), Monte Pearson (Cleveland) and Red Ruffing (New York) 17.
WARP3: Gehrig 10.1, Gehringer 8.6, Averill 7.4 (best year), Foxx 6.4, Bob Johnson (Philadelphia) 5.2, Werber 5.0, Greenberg 4.7, Cochrane and Babe Ruth (New York) 4.6, Tony Lazzeri (New York) 4.5, Bill Dickey (New York) 4.4, Simmons 3.8 (last big year), Rogell and Rollie Helmsley (St. Louis) 3.7.
Pitchers; Gomez 6.6, Harder 6.5, Rowe 5.7 (first full year), Ostermueller 4.4 (rookie), Ferrell 4.3, Bobby Burke (Washington) 4.2, Newsom 4.1 (rookie), Bridges 3.8, George Earnshaw (Chicago) 3.4, Murphy (rookie, best year, by far his most use), and Johnny Welch (Boston) 3.3.
WAR leaders, position players: Gehrig 11.5, Foxx 9.6, Gehringer 9.2, Averill 7.4, Greenberg 7.1, Werber 6.3, Trosky 6.1, Rogell 5.4, Simmons and Johnson 5.3, Manush 5.2. Pitchers: Gomez 8.1, Harder 6.8, Rowe 5.8, Bridges 5.7, Newsom 4.9, Ostermueller 4.6, Murphy 4.4, Burke and Ferrell 3.9, Blaeholder 3.8.
Actual MVP voting(top 15):
Place Name Team Points
1 Mickey Cochrane DET 67
2 Charlie Gehringer DET 65
3 Lefty Gomez NYY 60
4 Schoolboy Rowe DET 59
5 Lou Gehrig NYY 54
6 Hank Greenberg DET 29
7 Hal Trosky CLE 18
8 Wes Ferrell BOS 16
9 Marv Owen DET 13
10 Jimmie Foxx PHA 11
11 Al Simmons CHW 9
12 Roy Johnson BOS 8
12 Billy Werber BOS 8
14 Goose Goslin DET 6
15 Sam West SLB 5
The voters zeroed in on a top five of three Tigers and two Yankees. Three more Tigers came in down-ballot. The Detroit team really impressed the BBWAA voters.
Best player: Lou Gehrig. Larrupin' Lou won the Triple Crown, but couldn't win the MVP. He gets this award, though, but I was tempted to vote for Gehringer. Gehrig's .363-49-165 line is too hard to ignore. Gehringer didn't have the same power, but his defense supplements his .356-11-127 line as he was second in batting average. Earl Averill had a terrific year at .313-31-113 and nets third place, with Jimmie Foxx #4 at .334-44-130. Hank Greenberg's first big year, with a .339-26-138 line and all those doubles, gets him #5.
Best pitcher: Lefty Gomez. Again, Lefty is the best pitcher in the league, but this time it is Gomez putting up Grove-like stats, with a 26-5 record and a league-leading ERA of 2.33. Mel Harder places second with a 20-12, 2.61 season. Schoolboy Rowe places 3rd in his first full year with a 24-8 record and 3.45 ERA. Tommy Bridges' 22-11, 3.67 earns him 4th, with Bobo Newsom's 16-20, 4.01 for the lowly Browns good enough for 5th.
Best rookie: Hal Trosky made a strong showing in his first full year, going .330-35-142. Bobo Newsom second with a 16-20 record and 4.01 ERA, which still meant a 124 ERA+. Johnny Murphy and Fritz Ostermueller also earn notice.
Best manager: Mickey Cochrane will take this trophy, for guiding the Tigers to their first pennant since 1909.
24 March 2008
1933 National League
New York took the pennant in the first year of the post-McGraw era, with Bill Terry in charge. This despite an off year by Giants star Mel Ott. The Giants led most of the way but the competition kept close, with Pittsburgh finishing five games back, Chicago six back, Boston nine of the pace and St. Louis 9.5 away. Brooklyn was a poor sixth. Chuck Klein won the triple crown although the Phillies slipped back to 7th, ahead of only Cincinnati.
Chuck Klein's Triple Crown was significantly park-aided, but he still edged Wally Berger for the OPS+ lead. Klein's .368 average was ahead of teammate Spud Davis at .349, his 28 HR edged Berger's 27, and his 120 RBI was ahead of Berger's 106. Klein also led in on-base, slugging, OPS, hits (223) and doubles (44). Pepper Martin had 26 steals and 122 runs, while Arky Vaughan led with 19 triples.
Carl Hubbell was nearly taking a pitching triple at the same time, leading in wins with 23 and ERA at 1.66, and finishing second in strikeouts. Dizzy Dean led that with 199. Ben Cantwell, Guy Bush, and Dean each won 20, with Lon Warneke second in ERA at 2.00 and Hal Schumacher third at 2.16.
Win Shares leaders, players; Wally Berger (Boston) 36, Arky Vaughan (Pittsburgh) 34, Mel Ott (New York) 31, Chuck Klein (Philadelphia) 30, Pepper Martin (St. Louis) 29, Paul Waner (Pittsburgh) 28, Joe Medwick (St. Louis) 24, Babe Herman (Chicago), Chick Hafey (Cincinnati) and Freddie Lindstrom (Pittsburgh) 23.
WS leaders, pitchers; Carl Hubbell (New York) 33, Ed Brandt (Boston) and Lon Warneke (Chicago) 29, Hal Schumacher (New York) 23, Dizzy Dean (St. Louis) 22, Ben Cantwell (Boston) and Larry French (Pittsburgh) 21.
WARP3: Vaughan 9.4, Klein 8.6, Berger 7.7, Ott 6.5, Martin 5.6, Lindstrom (last good year) and Gabby Hartnett (Chicago) 5.3, Waner 5.2, Frankie Frisch (St. Louis) and Al Lopez (Brooklyn) 5.1, Riggs Stephenson (Chicago) 4.7, Herman and Billy Jurges (also Chicago) 4.6.
Pitchers: Hubbell 10.8 (best year), Warneke 8.6, Brandt 8.4 (best year), Schumacher 7.0 (best year), Van Lingle Mungo (Brooklyn) 6.7, Dean 6.2, Huck Betts (Boston) 5.3, French, Tex Carleton (St. Louis) and Ed Holley (Philadelphia) 4.7, Cantwell 4.5 (best year).
WAR, position players: Klein 7.8, Vaughan and Berger 6.6, Martin 5.8, Ott 5.6, Davis 4.5, Waner 4.4, Herman 4.2, Jurges and Lindstrom 4.0, Terry and Medwick 3.9. Pitchers: Hubbell 8.2, Warneke 6.1, Brandt 5.4, Schumacher 5.3, Dean 4.6, French and Mungo 4.4, Betts 3.6, Root 3.4, Carleton 3.2.
Actual MVP vote (top 15):
Place Name Team Points
1 Carl Hubbell NYG 77
2 Chuck Klein PHI 48
3 Wally Berger BSN 44
4 Bill Terry NYG 35
5 Pepper Martin STL 31
6 Gus Mancuso NYG 24
7 Dizzy Dean STL 23
8 Pie Traynor PIT 20
9 Blondy Ryan NYG 19
10 Ben Cantwell BSN 18
10 Al Lopez BRO 18
12 Guy Bush CHC 11
12 Rabbit Maranville BSN 11
12 Hal Schumacher NYG 11
15 Larry French PIT 10
Best player: Chuck Klein. Even with the hitter's park, he led the league in OPS+. Berger and Vaughan (in his second year) were great too. Klein had a .368-28-120 line to finish ahead of Wally Berger's .312-27-106. Arky Vaughan led in triples and ranks third. Ott is #4 at .283-23-103. Pepper Martin (.316, 122 runs) 5th.
Best pitcher: Carl Hubbell over a strong field. The NL is definitely getting more competitive about now, and Hubbell shone with a 23-12 record and 1.66 ERA. Lon Warneke ranked #2 with an 18-13 record and 2.00 ERA. #3 was Ed Brandt at 18-14, 2.60 ERA. Hal Schumacher was #4 at 19-12, 2.16. Dizzy Dean's first 20-win season earns him 5th.
Best rookie: None I could find. The best rookies were in the AL.
Best manager: Bill Terry won the pennant in his first full season on the job.
Chuck Klein's Triple Crown was significantly park-aided, but he still edged Wally Berger for the OPS+ lead. Klein's .368 average was ahead of teammate Spud Davis at .349, his 28 HR edged Berger's 27, and his 120 RBI was ahead of Berger's 106. Klein also led in on-base, slugging, OPS, hits (223) and doubles (44). Pepper Martin had 26 steals and 122 runs, while Arky Vaughan led with 19 triples.
Carl Hubbell was nearly taking a pitching triple at the same time, leading in wins with 23 and ERA at 1.66, and finishing second in strikeouts. Dizzy Dean led that with 199. Ben Cantwell, Guy Bush, and Dean each won 20, with Lon Warneke second in ERA at 2.00 and Hal Schumacher third at 2.16.
Win Shares leaders, players; Wally Berger (Boston) 36, Arky Vaughan (Pittsburgh) 34, Mel Ott (New York) 31, Chuck Klein (Philadelphia) 30, Pepper Martin (St. Louis) 29, Paul Waner (Pittsburgh) 28, Joe Medwick (St. Louis) 24, Babe Herman (Chicago), Chick Hafey (Cincinnati) and Freddie Lindstrom (Pittsburgh) 23.
WS leaders, pitchers; Carl Hubbell (New York) 33, Ed Brandt (Boston) and Lon Warneke (Chicago) 29, Hal Schumacher (New York) 23, Dizzy Dean (St. Louis) 22, Ben Cantwell (Boston) and Larry French (Pittsburgh) 21.
WARP3: Vaughan 9.4, Klein 8.6, Berger 7.7, Ott 6.5, Martin 5.6, Lindstrom (last good year) and Gabby Hartnett (Chicago) 5.3, Waner 5.2, Frankie Frisch (St. Louis) and Al Lopez (Brooklyn) 5.1, Riggs Stephenson (Chicago) 4.7, Herman and Billy Jurges (also Chicago) 4.6.
Pitchers: Hubbell 10.8 (best year), Warneke 8.6, Brandt 8.4 (best year), Schumacher 7.0 (best year), Van Lingle Mungo (Brooklyn) 6.7, Dean 6.2, Huck Betts (Boston) 5.3, French, Tex Carleton (St. Louis) and Ed Holley (Philadelphia) 4.7, Cantwell 4.5 (best year).
WAR, position players: Klein 7.8, Vaughan and Berger 6.6, Martin 5.8, Ott 5.6, Davis 4.5, Waner 4.4, Herman 4.2, Jurges and Lindstrom 4.0, Terry and Medwick 3.9. Pitchers: Hubbell 8.2, Warneke 6.1, Brandt 5.4, Schumacher 5.3, Dean 4.6, French and Mungo 4.4, Betts 3.6, Root 3.4, Carleton 3.2.
Actual MVP vote (top 15):
Place Name Team Points
1 Carl Hubbell NYG 77
2 Chuck Klein PHI 48
3 Wally Berger BSN 44
4 Bill Terry NYG 35
5 Pepper Martin STL 31
6 Gus Mancuso NYG 24
7 Dizzy Dean STL 23
8 Pie Traynor PIT 20
9 Blondy Ryan NYG 19
10 Ben Cantwell BSN 18
10 Al Lopez BRO 18
12 Guy Bush CHC 11
12 Rabbit Maranville BSN 11
12 Hal Schumacher NYG 11
15 Larry French PIT 10
Best player: Chuck Klein. Even with the hitter's park, he led the league in OPS+. Berger and Vaughan (in his second year) were great too. Klein had a .368-28-120 line to finish ahead of Wally Berger's .312-27-106. Arky Vaughan led in triples and ranks third. Ott is #4 at .283-23-103. Pepper Martin (.316, 122 runs) 5th.
Best pitcher: Carl Hubbell over a strong field. The NL is definitely getting more competitive about now, and Hubbell shone with a 23-12 record and 1.66 ERA. Lon Warneke ranked #2 with an 18-13 record and 2.00 ERA. #3 was Ed Brandt at 18-14, 2.60 ERA. Hal Schumacher was #4 at 19-12, 2.16. Dizzy Dean's first 20-win season earns him 5th.
Best rookie: None I could find. The best rookies were in the AL.
Best manager: Bill Terry won the pennant in his first full season on the job.
15 March 2008
1933 American League
The Washington Senators took the pennant by seven games over the Yankees, using a good offense and the best pitching in the league. This was the last pennant by a Washington team to date. Jimmie Foxx won the Triple Crown (again, sort of), and the first All-Star Game was played. Philadelphia was a distant third, the only other team over .500. Cleveland and Detroit were close to .500, with Chicago, Boston and St. Louis trailing.
Foxx really won the Triple Crown this year, with the batting title at .356, 48 homers, and 163 RBI. Heinie Manush was second in batting at .336 followed by Lou Gehrig at .334. Gehrig was second in homers and RBI at 34 and 139. Foxx led in slugging and OPS, while Mickey Cochrane led in on-base. Gehrig led with 138 runs, Manush with 221 hits and 17 triples, Joe Cronin with 45 doubles. Ben Chapman had 27 steals.
Lefty Grove and Alvin Crowder each had 24 wins, Lefty Gomez had 163 strikeouts, Mel Harder a 2.95 ERA, and Jack Russell 13 saves. He was a real terrier on the mound, heh, heh, heh. Earl Whitehill won 22, Tommy Bridges was second with a 3.09 ERA, Gomez third at 3.18. Bump Hadley was second with 149 strikeouts.
Win Shares leaders, players; Jimmie Foxx (Philadelphia) 41, Lou Gehrig (New York) 36, Joe Cronin (Washington) 34, Babe Ruth (New York) 29, Charlie Gehringer (Detroit) 28, Heinie Manush (Washington) 27, Earl Averill (Cleveland), Mickey Cochrane (Philadelphia) and Joe Kuhel (Washington) 26.
WS leaders, pitchers; Mel Harder (Cleveland) 24, Lefty Grove (Philadelphia), Bump Hadley (St. Louis) and Earl Whitehill (Washington) 23, General Crowder (Washington) 21, Tommy Bridges and Firpo Marberry (Detroit) 20, Wes Ferrell (Cleveland) 18.
WARP3: Foxx 8.6, Cronin 7.9, Gehrig 7.3, Gehringer 6.6, Ruth 6.0 (and fading), Bill Dickey (New York) 5.4, Billy Rogell (Detroit) 5.2, Al Simmons (Chicago) 5.1, Luke Appling (Chicago) 4.9, Cochrane 4.8.
Pitchers: Grove 6.0, Hadley 5.8 (best year), Harder 4.6, George Blaeholder (St. Louis) 3.8, Bridges 3.7, Monte Pearson (Cleveland) 3.4, Marberry 3.3 (last good year), Jack Russell (Washington) and Red Ruffing (New York) 3.2, Whitehill and Ferrell 3.1.
WAR leaders, position players: Foxx 11.0, Cronin 8.5, Gehrig 8.3, Gehringer 8.2, Ruth 7.7, Cochrane 7.1, Rogell 6.2, Simmons and Chapman 5.8, Appling 5.6, Dickey and Myer 5.4. Pitchers: Grove 6.9, Hadley 6.3, Whitehill 5.1, Marberry 5.0, Harder 4.9, Bridges 4.3, Crowder and Pearson 4.1, Brown 3.6, Gomez and Weaver 3.5.
Actual award voting: MVP top 10.
Place Name Team 1st place votes Total votes
1 Jimmie Foxx PHA 4 74
2 Joe Cronin WSH 2 62
3 Heinie Manush WSH 2 54
4 Lou Gehrig NYY 0 39
5 Lefty Grove PHA 0 35
6 Charlie Gehringer DET 0 32
7 Alvin Crowder WSH 0 28
8 Al Simmons CHW 0 19
9 Earl Whitehill WSH 0 18
10 Ski Melillo SLB 0 12
Best player: Jimmie Foxx. The A's finished only 3rd, as Connie Mack's second fire sale was under way, but Foxx was dominating the league, a fearsome hitter at .356-48-163. Joe Cronin of the pennant winners rates 2nd at .309 with 118 RBI. Lou Gehrig 3rd at .334-32-139. Charlie Gehringer rates #4 with .325-12-105. Aging Babe Ruth is still #5, at .301-34-103.
Best pitcher: Lefty Grove. He wasn't as dominating as before, and the signs of 1934's troubles are there, but he was still the best in the league. Grove would have only been #3 or #4 in the NL this year. Grove was 24-8, 3.30. Mel Harder ranks #2 by leading the league in ERA despite a 15-17 record. Earl Whitehill's 22-8 3.33 is 3rd. Bump Hadley's 15-20 3.92 for the Browns ranks 4th. Alvin Crowder #5 with a 24-15 record and 3.97 ERA.
Best rookie: Indian Bob Johnson debuted at age 27 and batted .290 with 21 HR and 93 RBI for the A's, giving them a sweep of the player awards. Wasn't enough.
Best manager: Joe Cronin guided his aging team to a last-hurrah pennant.
Foxx really won the Triple Crown this year, with the batting title at .356, 48 homers, and 163 RBI. Heinie Manush was second in batting at .336 followed by Lou Gehrig at .334. Gehrig was second in homers and RBI at 34 and 139. Foxx led in slugging and OPS, while Mickey Cochrane led in on-base. Gehrig led with 138 runs, Manush with 221 hits and 17 triples, Joe Cronin with 45 doubles. Ben Chapman had 27 steals.
Lefty Grove and Alvin Crowder each had 24 wins, Lefty Gomez had 163 strikeouts, Mel Harder a 2.95 ERA, and Jack Russell 13 saves. He was a real terrier on the mound, heh, heh, heh. Earl Whitehill won 22, Tommy Bridges was second with a 3.09 ERA, Gomez third at 3.18. Bump Hadley was second with 149 strikeouts.
Win Shares leaders, players; Jimmie Foxx (Philadelphia) 41, Lou Gehrig (New York) 36, Joe Cronin (Washington) 34, Babe Ruth (New York) 29, Charlie Gehringer (Detroit) 28, Heinie Manush (Washington) 27, Earl Averill (Cleveland), Mickey Cochrane (Philadelphia) and Joe Kuhel (Washington) 26.
WS leaders, pitchers; Mel Harder (Cleveland) 24, Lefty Grove (Philadelphia), Bump Hadley (St. Louis) and Earl Whitehill (Washington) 23, General Crowder (Washington) 21, Tommy Bridges and Firpo Marberry (Detroit) 20, Wes Ferrell (Cleveland) 18.
WARP3: Foxx 8.6, Cronin 7.9, Gehrig 7.3, Gehringer 6.6, Ruth 6.0 (and fading), Bill Dickey (New York) 5.4, Billy Rogell (Detroit) 5.2, Al Simmons (Chicago) 5.1, Luke Appling (Chicago) 4.9, Cochrane 4.8.
Pitchers: Grove 6.0, Hadley 5.8 (best year), Harder 4.6, George Blaeholder (St. Louis) 3.8, Bridges 3.7, Monte Pearson (Cleveland) 3.4, Marberry 3.3 (last good year), Jack Russell (Washington) and Red Ruffing (New York) 3.2, Whitehill and Ferrell 3.1.
WAR leaders, position players: Foxx 11.0, Cronin 8.5, Gehrig 8.3, Gehringer 8.2, Ruth 7.7, Cochrane 7.1, Rogell 6.2, Simmons and Chapman 5.8, Appling 5.6, Dickey and Myer 5.4. Pitchers: Grove 6.9, Hadley 6.3, Whitehill 5.1, Marberry 5.0, Harder 4.9, Bridges 4.3, Crowder and Pearson 4.1, Brown 3.6, Gomez and Weaver 3.5.
Actual award voting: MVP top 10.
Place Name Team 1st place votes Total votes
1 Jimmie Foxx PHA 4 74
2 Joe Cronin WSH 2 62
3 Heinie Manush WSH 2 54
4 Lou Gehrig NYY 0 39
5 Lefty Grove PHA 0 35
6 Charlie Gehringer DET 0 32
7 Alvin Crowder WSH 0 28
8 Al Simmons CHW 0 19
9 Earl Whitehill WSH 0 18
10 Ski Melillo SLB 0 12
Best player: Jimmie Foxx. The A's finished only 3rd, as Connie Mack's second fire sale was under way, but Foxx was dominating the league, a fearsome hitter at .356-48-163. Joe Cronin of the pennant winners rates 2nd at .309 with 118 RBI. Lou Gehrig 3rd at .334-32-139. Charlie Gehringer rates #4 with .325-12-105. Aging Babe Ruth is still #5, at .301-34-103.
Best pitcher: Lefty Grove. He wasn't as dominating as before, and the signs of 1934's troubles are there, but he was still the best in the league. Grove would have only been #3 or #4 in the NL this year. Grove was 24-8, 3.30. Mel Harder ranks #2 by leading the league in ERA despite a 15-17 record. Earl Whitehill's 22-8 3.33 is 3rd. Bump Hadley's 15-20 3.92 for the Browns ranks 4th. Alvin Crowder #5 with a 24-15 record and 3.97 ERA.
Best rookie: Indian Bob Johnson debuted at age 27 and batted .290 with 21 HR and 93 RBI for the A's, giving them a sweep of the player awards. Wasn't enough.
Best manager: Joe Cronin guided his aging team to a last-hurrah pennant.
09 March 2008
1932 National League
Chicago won the pennant in a close race with Pittsburgh, as Brooklyn ran third. Philadelphia was a surprise 4th. The second division was Boston (at .500), New York and St. Louis (tied with 82 losses) with Cincinnati dead last. The Cubs switched managers, replacing Rogers Hornsby with Charlie Grimm for the stretch run, which culminated in a furious Cubs charge to the finish.
Lefty O'Doul won the batting title at .368, followed by Bill Terry at .350. Mel Ott edged O'Doul by one point in on-base, and Chuck Klein led in slugging and OPS. Klein led with 152 runs and 226 hits in Philadelphia's bandbox of a ballpark, and tied Ott with 38 homers. Teammate Don Hurst led with 143 RBI, beating out Klein by six. Klein also led with 20 steals. Paul Waner led with 62 doubles and Babe Herman with 19 triples.
Lon Warneke led pitchers with 22 wins and a 2.37 ERA, while Dizzy Dean led with 191 strikeouts. Watty Clark won 20 and Guy Bush 19. Carl Hubbell was second with a 2.50 ERA and Huck Betts third at 2.80. Hubbell was second in strikeouts at 137.
Win Shares leaders, players; Lefty O'Doul (Brooklyn) and Mel Ott (New York) 33, Bill Terry (New York) and Paul Waner (Pittsburgh) 32, Chuck Klein (Philadelphia) 31, Wally Berger (Boston) 26, Babe Herman (Cincinnati) 24, Billy Herman and Riggs Stephenson (Chicago), Don Hurst (Philadelphia) and Lloyd Waner (Pittsburgh) 23 each.
WS leaders, pitchers; Lon Warneke (Chicago) 31, Carl Hubbell (New York) 25, Dizzy Dean (St. Louis) 24, Red Lucas (Cincinnati) 23, Larry French (Pittsburgh) 22, Watty Clark (Brooklyn) 20, Huck Betts (Boston) 18, Tom Zachary (Boston) 17.
WARP3: Ott 9.7, O'Doul 7.3 (last big year), Terry and Babe Herman 6.9, Dick Bartell (Philadelphia) 6.1, Klein and Pie Traynor (Pittsburgh) 5.4, P. Waner and Arky Vaughan (also Pittsburgh) 4.9, Gabby Hartnett (Chicago) 4.8, L. Waner 4.6 (best year), Tony Piet (Pittsburgh) 4.4, Danny Taylor (Brooklyn) 4.3, Berger, Hurst (career year), and Pinky Whitney (Philadelphia) 4.2, Billy Herman (rookie, I believe) and Tony Cuccinello (Brooklyn) 4.1, Stephenson 4.0.
Pitchers, Hubbell 9.0, Dean 8.1 (rookie year), Warneke 7.5 (breakthrough year), Lucas 6.5, Clark 5.0 (last big year), Bill Hallahan (St. Louis) 4.4, Betts and Zachary (last good year) 4.3, Ben Cantwell (Boston) and Tex Carleton (St. Louis) 4.1.
WAR, position players: Ott 8.3, Terry 7.4, Klein 7.3, O'Doul and Herman 6.8, Waner 5.8, Hurst 5.2, Bartell 4.5, Berger 4.2, Vaughan 3.9, Wilson and L. Waner 3.7. Pitchers: Warneke 7.2, Hubbell 6.8, Dean 5.1, Lucas 4.9, Rhem 4.3, Betts 4.2, Holley, Swetonic, and Zachary 3.7, Clark 3.4.
Actual MVP vote (top 10):
Place Name Team Points
1 Chuck Klein PHI 78
2 Lon Warneke CHC 68
3 Lefty O'Doul BRO 58
4 Paul Waner PIT 37
5 Riggs Stephenson CHC 32
6 Bill Terry NYG 25
7 Don Hurst PHI 24
8 Pie Traynor PIT 17
9 Billy Herman CHC 16
10 Mel Ott NYG 15
Best player: Mel Ott. This was the first MVP award Ott was jobbed out of, though it wouldn't be the last. Chuck Klein won by leading in HR and hits, even though he played in the best hitters' park in the league. But, his team played a surprising .500 (78-76) and finished 4th, while Ott's Giants were a disappointing 6th (tied), but only 6 games worse than the Phils. Ott was the leader in OBP, and in OPS+. Ott finished with a stat line of .318-38-123. Put Klein #2 with his .348-38-137. Batting champ Lefty O'Doul is #3 at .368-21-90, and Bill Terry ranks #4 with a .350-28-117 line. Paul Waner and his .341 average #5.
Best pitcher: Lon Warneke pitched the Cubs to the pennant and led the league in wins and ERA. He was 22-6, 2.37 in his first full season. Carl Hubbell ranks #2 with his 18-11 record and 2.50 ERA. Red Lucas #3 despite his 13-17 record for a last-place team, but with a 2.94 ERA. Dizzy Dean 4th with an 18-15 record, Watty Clark 5th with 20 wins.
Best rookie: Dizzy Dean. The Cardinals slid from the pennant to the second division, but came up with a prize pitcher in Ol' Diz.
Best manager: Could be Grimm, but I'll give it to Burt Shotton for a full-season surprise in Philly.
Lefty O'Doul won the batting title at .368, followed by Bill Terry at .350. Mel Ott edged O'Doul by one point in on-base, and Chuck Klein led in slugging and OPS. Klein led with 152 runs and 226 hits in Philadelphia's bandbox of a ballpark, and tied Ott with 38 homers. Teammate Don Hurst led with 143 RBI, beating out Klein by six. Klein also led with 20 steals. Paul Waner led with 62 doubles and Babe Herman with 19 triples.
Lon Warneke led pitchers with 22 wins and a 2.37 ERA, while Dizzy Dean led with 191 strikeouts. Watty Clark won 20 and Guy Bush 19. Carl Hubbell was second with a 2.50 ERA and Huck Betts third at 2.80. Hubbell was second in strikeouts at 137.
Win Shares leaders, players; Lefty O'Doul (Brooklyn) and Mel Ott (New York) 33, Bill Terry (New York) and Paul Waner (Pittsburgh) 32, Chuck Klein (Philadelphia) 31, Wally Berger (Boston) 26, Babe Herman (Cincinnati) 24, Billy Herman and Riggs Stephenson (Chicago), Don Hurst (Philadelphia) and Lloyd Waner (Pittsburgh) 23 each.
WS leaders, pitchers; Lon Warneke (Chicago) 31, Carl Hubbell (New York) 25, Dizzy Dean (St. Louis) 24, Red Lucas (Cincinnati) 23, Larry French (Pittsburgh) 22, Watty Clark (Brooklyn) 20, Huck Betts (Boston) 18, Tom Zachary (Boston) 17.
WARP3: Ott 9.7, O'Doul 7.3 (last big year), Terry and Babe Herman 6.9, Dick Bartell (Philadelphia) 6.1, Klein and Pie Traynor (Pittsburgh) 5.4, P. Waner and Arky Vaughan (also Pittsburgh) 4.9, Gabby Hartnett (Chicago) 4.8, L. Waner 4.6 (best year), Tony Piet (Pittsburgh) 4.4, Danny Taylor (Brooklyn) 4.3, Berger, Hurst (career year), and Pinky Whitney (Philadelphia) 4.2, Billy Herman (rookie, I believe) and Tony Cuccinello (Brooklyn) 4.1, Stephenson 4.0.
Pitchers, Hubbell 9.0, Dean 8.1 (rookie year), Warneke 7.5 (breakthrough year), Lucas 6.5, Clark 5.0 (last big year), Bill Hallahan (St. Louis) 4.4, Betts and Zachary (last good year) 4.3, Ben Cantwell (Boston) and Tex Carleton (St. Louis) 4.1.
WAR, position players: Ott 8.3, Terry 7.4, Klein 7.3, O'Doul and Herman 6.8, Waner 5.8, Hurst 5.2, Bartell 4.5, Berger 4.2, Vaughan 3.9, Wilson and L. Waner 3.7. Pitchers: Warneke 7.2, Hubbell 6.8, Dean 5.1, Lucas 4.9, Rhem 4.3, Betts 4.2, Holley, Swetonic, and Zachary 3.7, Clark 3.4.
Actual MVP vote (top 10):
Place Name Team Points
1 Chuck Klein PHI 78
2 Lon Warneke CHC 68
3 Lefty O'Doul BRO 58
4 Paul Waner PIT 37
5 Riggs Stephenson CHC 32
6 Bill Terry NYG 25
7 Don Hurst PHI 24
8 Pie Traynor PIT 17
9 Billy Herman CHC 16
10 Mel Ott NYG 15
Best player: Mel Ott. This was the first MVP award Ott was jobbed out of, though it wouldn't be the last. Chuck Klein won by leading in HR and hits, even though he played in the best hitters' park in the league. But, his team played a surprising .500 (78-76) and finished 4th, while Ott's Giants were a disappointing 6th (tied), but only 6 games worse than the Phils. Ott was the leader in OBP, and in OPS+. Ott finished with a stat line of .318-38-123. Put Klein #2 with his .348-38-137. Batting champ Lefty O'Doul is #3 at .368-21-90, and Bill Terry ranks #4 with a .350-28-117 line. Paul Waner and his .341 average #5.
Best pitcher: Lon Warneke pitched the Cubs to the pennant and led the league in wins and ERA. He was 22-6, 2.37 in his first full season. Carl Hubbell ranks #2 with his 18-11 record and 2.50 ERA. Red Lucas #3 despite his 13-17 record for a last-place team, but with a 2.94 ERA. Dizzy Dean 4th with an 18-15 record, Watty Clark 5th with 20 wins.
Best rookie: Dizzy Dean. The Cardinals slid from the pennant to the second division, but came up with a prize pitcher in Ol' Diz.
Best manager: Could be Grimm, but I'll give it to Burt Shotton for a full-season surprise in Philly.
08 March 2008
1932 American League
It was the Yankees' only pennant from 1929-35, due to the A's dynasty and the lack of a solid Yankee pitching staff, as well as the twilight of Babe Ruth. Still, the triple crown winner (Jimmie Foxx) will get the MVP. The Yankees had a 13-game margin over three-time previous winner Philadelphia, and 14 games over Washington, in a year of haves and have-nots. Chicago and Boston both lost over 100 games. Cleveland was 4th, Detroit 5th, and St. Louis 6th. The Depression was hitting some teams particularly hard.
Dale Alexander was the batting titlist, under the rules of the time, with a .367 average. He played 124 games, with 392 at bats. He won the championship since he played 100 games, but did not have 3.1 plate appearances per game as is now required. Foxx was second at .364. Foxx led the league with 58 home runs (challenging Ruth's single-season record) and 169 RBI. He also led in runs with 151, slugging, and OPS. Babe Ruth led in on-base, Eric McNair in doubles, Joe Cronin in triples, and Al Simmons in hits. Ben Chapman led in steals.
Alvin "General" Crowder led the league with 26 wins, and Lefty Grove was second with 25. Grove led in ERA 2.84, and was also second in strikeouts with 188 to Red Ruffing's 190. Ruffing was second with a 3.09 ERA, Ted Lyons third at 3.28. Fred "Firpo" Marberry led the league with 13 saves.
Win Shares leaders, players; Jimmie Foxx (Philadelphia) 40, Lou Gehrig (New York) 38, Babe Ruth (New York) 36, Joe Cronin (Washington) 33, Earl Averill (Cleveland) and Mickey Cochrane (Philadelphia) 30, Heinie Manush (Washington) 28, Tony Lazzeri (New York) 27, Charlie Gehringer (Detroit) and Earle Combs (New York) 25.
WS leaders, pitchers; Lefty Grove (Philadelphia) 33, General Crowder (Washington) 30, Wes Ferrell (Cleveland) and Red Ruffing (New York) 26, Clint Brown and Mel Harder (Cleveland) 21, Monte Weaver (Washington) 19, Lefty Gomez (New York) and Lefty Stewart (St. Louis) 17.
WARP3: Foxx 9.3 (peak year), Ruth 8.5, Gehrig and Cronin 7.8, Cochrane 7.2, Lazzeri 5.2, Willie Kamm (Cleveland) 4.8, Joe Vosmik (Cleveland) 4.7, Ossie Bluege (Washington) 4.4, Gehringer and Max Bishop (Philadelphia) 3.7, Averill and Dale Alexander (Boston) 3.5.
Pitchers, Grove 7.5, Ruffing 6.3, Ted Lyons (Chicago) 5.9, Ferrell 5.4, Crowder 5.2, Stewart 4.3, Harder 4.2, Brown 3.9 (best year), and Tommy Bridges (Detroit) 3.2.
WAR leaders, position players: Foxx 12.1, Ruth 9.4, Gehrig 8.9, Cronin 6.7, Cochrane 6.3, Lazzeri 5.9, Manush 5.8, Averill 5.7, Combs 5.5, Simmons and Gehringer 5.4, Chapman 5.2, Vosmik 4.9. Pitchers: Grove 8.5, Crowder 6.6, Ruffing 6.0, Ferrell 5.7, Harder 5.0, Lyons 4.7, Bridges and Brown 3.9, Stewart 3.6, Allen and Sorrell 3.4.
Actual MVP voting (top 12):
Place Name Team Points
1 Jimmie Foxx PHA 75
2 Lou Gehrig NYY 55
3 Heinie Manush WSH 41
4 Earl Averill CLE 37
5 Lefty Gomez NYY 27
6 Joe Cronin WSH 26
6 Babe Ruth NYY 26
8 Tony Lazzeri NYY 21
9 Charlie Gehringer DET 13
9 Al Simmons PHA 13
11 Dale Alexander TOT 10
11 Bill Cissell TOT 10
Best player: Jimmie Foxx. He was technically behind Dale Alexander in average, but Alexander would not qualify under today's rules: too few PA. Foxx's line was .364-58-169, and there was a lot of excitement in his challenge to Ruth's record of 60 homers. I'll put Gehrig #2 with his .349-34-151 stats, and Ruth #3 at .341-41-137. Mickey Cochrane #4 at .293-23-112, and Joe Cronin #5 as the triples leader.
Best pitcher: Lefty Grove, leader in ERA and CG, 2nd in wins and strikeouts. Grove was 25-10, 2.84. General Crowder ranks #2 at 26-13, 3.33, while Red Ruffing was #3 and 18-7, 3.03. Wes Ferrell #4, Mel Harder #5. Lefty Gomez won a lot of games (24) but didn't pitch all that well.
Best rookie: Johnny Allen, 17-4, 3.70 ERA for the Yankees.
Best manager: Joe McCarthy led that Yankee team, finally putting together a pitching staff.
Dale Alexander was the batting titlist, under the rules of the time, with a .367 average. He played 124 games, with 392 at bats. He won the championship since he played 100 games, but did not have 3.1 plate appearances per game as is now required. Foxx was second at .364. Foxx led the league with 58 home runs (challenging Ruth's single-season record) and 169 RBI. He also led in runs with 151, slugging, and OPS. Babe Ruth led in on-base, Eric McNair in doubles, Joe Cronin in triples, and Al Simmons in hits. Ben Chapman led in steals.
Alvin "General" Crowder led the league with 26 wins, and Lefty Grove was second with 25. Grove led in ERA 2.84, and was also second in strikeouts with 188 to Red Ruffing's 190. Ruffing was second with a 3.09 ERA, Ted Lyons third at 3.28. Fred "Firpo" Marberry led the league with 13 saves.
Win Shares leaders, players; Jimmie Foxx (Philadelphia) 40, Lou Gehrig (New York) 38, Babe Ruth (New York) 36, Joe Cronin (Washington) 33, Earl Averill (Cleveland) and Mickey Cochrane (Philadelphia) 30, Heinie Manush (Washington) 28, Tony Lazzeri (New York) 27, Charlie Gehringer (Detroit) and Earle Combs (New York) 25.
WS leaders, pitchers; Lefty Grove (Philadelphia) 33, General Crowder (Washington) 30, Wes Ferrell (Cleveland) and Red Ruffing (New York) 26, Clint Brown and Mel Harder (Cleveland) 21, Monte Weaver (Washington) 19, Lefty Gomez (New York) and Lefty Stewart (St. Louis) 17.
WARP3: Foxx 9.3 (peak year), Ruth 8.5, Gehrig and Cronin 7.8, Cochrane 7.2, Lazzeri 5.2, Willie Kamm (Cleveland) 4.8, Joe Vosmik (Cleveland) 4.7, Ossie Bluege (Washington) 4.4, Gehringer and Max Bishop (Philadelphia) 3.7, Averill and Dale Alexander (Boston) 3.5.
Pitchers, Grove 7.5, Ruffing 6.3, Ted Lyons (Chicago) 5.9, Ferrell 5.4, Crowder 5.2, Stewart 4.3, Harder 4.2, Brown 3.9 (best year), and Tommy Bridges (Detroit) 3.2.
WAR leaders, position players: Foxx 12.1, Ruth 9.4, Gehrig 8.9, Cronin 6.7, Cochrane 6.3, Lazzeri 5.9, Manush 5.8, Averill 5.7, Combs 5.5, Simmons and Gehringer 5.4, Chapman 5.2, Vosmik 4.9. Pitchers: Grove 8.5, Crowder 6.6, Ruffing 6.0, Ferrell 5.7, Harder 5.0, Lyons 4.7, Bridges and Brown 3.9, Stewart 3.6, Allen and Sorrell 3.4.
Actual MVP voting (top 12):
Place Name Team Points
1 Jimmie Foxx PHA 75
2 Lou Gehrig NYY 55
3 Heinie Manush WSH 41
4 Earl Averill CLE 37
5 Lefty Gomez NYY 27
6 Joe Cronin WSH 26
6 Babe Ruth NYY 26
8 Tony Lazzeri NYY 21
9 Charlie Gehringer DET 13
9 Al Simmons PHA 13
11 Dale Alexander TOT 10
11 Bill Cissell TOT 10
Best player: Jimmie Foxx. He was technically behind Dale Alexander in average, but Alexander would not qualify under today's rules: too few PA. Foxx's line was .364-58-169, and there was a lot of excitement in his challenge to Ruth's record of 60 homers. I'll put Gehrig #2 with his .349-34-151 stats, and Ruth #3 at .341-41-137. Mickey Cochrane #4 at .293-23-112, and Joe Cronin #5 as the triples leader.
Best pitcher: Lefty Grove, leader in ERA and CG, 2nd in wins and strikeouts. Grove was 25-10, 2.84. General Crowder ranks #2 at 26-13, 3.33, while Red Ruffing was #3 and 18-7, 3.03. Wes Ferrell #4, Mel Harder #5. Lefty Gomez won a lot of games (24) but didn't pitch all that well.
Best rookie: Johnny Allen, 17-4, 3.70 ERA for the Yankees.
Best manager: Joe McCarthy led that Yankee team, finally putting together a pitching staff.
04 March 2008
1931 National League
The Cardinals won the pennant for a second straight year, this time by a comfortable margin, then won the World Series in 7 games. New York was 2nd, Chicago 3rd, and Brooklyn 4th. Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Boston followed, while Cincinnati brought up the rear. Offense was down significantly after a robust 1930, a trend that would generally continue through 1968 with brief interruptions.
Chick Hafey edged Bill Terry for the batting title by a fraction of a point: both hit .349. Jim Bottomley was just behind at .348. Rogers Hornsby led in on-base and OPS, Chuck Klein in slugging. Klein and Bill Terry tied with 121 runs. Paul Waner's 214 hits edged Terry by one. Sparky Adams had 46 doubles and Terry had 20 triples. Klein led with 31 homers and 121 RBI, playing in a bandbox of a ballpark. Mel Ott was second in both categories, with 29 HR and 115 RBI. Frankie Frisch led with 28 steals.
No 20-game winners, but three guys tied at 19: Jumbo Elliott, Bill Hallahan, and Heinie Meine. Hallahan led in strikeouts, his 159 edging Carl Hubbell's 155. Bill Walker of New York had the best ERA at 2.26, with Hubbell at 2.65 and Ed Brandt at 2.92, and veteran Jack Quinn had 15 saves.
Win Shares leaders, players; Wally Berger (Boston) 31, Bill Terry (New York) 29, Babe Herman (Brooklyn), Kiki Cuyler (Chicago), Mel Ott (New York) and Paul Waner (Pittsburgh) 26 each, Chuck Klein (Philadelphia) and Chick Hafey (St. Louis) 25, Woody English (Chicago) and Lloyd Waner (Pittsburgh) 24. Frankie Frisch, voted MVP by the BBWAA, had 21.
WS leaders, pitchers; Ed Brandt (Boston) 27, Watty Clark (Brooklyn) and Heinie Meine (Pittsburgh) 22, Bill Walker (New York), Ray Benge (Philadelphia), and Wild Bill Hallahan (St. Louis) 21, Tom Zachary (Boston) and Carl Hubbell (New York) 20.
Odd that Boston had the top player and pitcher in Win Shares, but finished with 90 losses. Aside from one other pitcher among the top performers, they really didn't have anything else.
WARP3: Travis Jackson (New York) 7.0, Ott 6.7, Berger 6.5, English 5.9, Terry 5.8, Rogers Hornsby (Chicago) 5.2, P. Waner 5.0, Tony Cuccinello (Cincinnati) 4.9, Cuyler 4.8, Gabby Hartnett (Chicago) 4.5, Hafey 4.0, Joe Stripp (Cincinnati) 3.8, Klein 3.6, Frisch had 3.1.
Pitchers: Benge 7.2 (career year), Clark 6.7, Brandt 6.0 (breakthrough year), Phil Collins (Philadelphia) 4.7, Zachary 4.5, Hubbell 4.3, Hallahan 4.0 (best year), Red Lucas (Cincinnati) 3.8, Syl Johnson (St. Louis), Dazzy Vance (Brooklyn), and Clise Dudley (Philadelphia) 3.7, Meine (career year) and Bob Smith (Chicago) 3.6.
WAR leaders, players: Terry 6.7, Berger 6.6, Ott 6.2, English 6.0, Jackson 5.8, Cuyler 5.5, Waner 5.4, Klein 5.1, Cuccinello and Hafey 5.0, Frisch 4.4, Herman 4.2. Pitchers: Walker 5.3, Benge 5.2, Clark 5.1, Brandt and Hubbell 4.7, Zachary 4.2, Hallahan 4.1, Meine and Smith 3.8, Root 3.6.
Actual award voting: the BBWAA MVP vote that continues to this day started in 1931.
Place Name Team Points (top 16 listed)
1 Frankie Frisch STL 65
2 Chuck Klein PHI 55
3 Bill Terry NYG 53
4 Woody English CHC 30
5 Chick Hafey STL 29
6 Jimmie Wilson STL 28
7 Travis Jackson NYG 24
8 Charlie Grimm CHC 21
9 Sparky Adams STL 18
10 Ed Brandt BSN 15
10 Rabbit Maranville BSN 15
12 Kiki Cuyler CHC 14
13 Pie Traynor PIT 12
14 Red Lucas CIN 10
15 Jim Bottomley STL 8
15 Lloyd Waner PIT 8
Top player: Wally Berger. He had a terrific year offensively and defensively, in a pitchers' park, for a terrible team. Didn't draw a single MVP vote, although teammate and .260 hitter Rabbit Maranville did. Hornsby led the league in OPS plus, but batted only 357 times. (He would never reach 100 AB again.) Chuck Klein was a zero defensively, as was Chick Hafey. Frisch won the vote as the veteran on the pennant-winner, and the "inspirational leader." The best alternative to Berger is Bill Terry, on the 2nd place Giants. Berger's numbers, .323-19-84, were superficially less impressive than his rookie year numbers from 1930, but his OPS+ was actually higher due to the overall offensive depression. Terry's line was .349-9-112, and also looked a lot less impressive than the previous year. It was all a matter of context, though. #3 would be Mel Ott, .292-29-115, and #4 would be Paul Waner, .322-6-70. Kiki Cuyler, .330 with 110 runs, 5th.
Top pitcher: Ed Brandt, like Berger with the Braves. Brandt did get the attention of the MVP voters, finishing tied for 10th with teammate Maranville, and the highest-finishing pitcher. Brandt was 3rd in ERA, 4th in wins (1 behind the leaders, with 18), 3rd in WHIP. Brandt went 18-11, 2.92 ERA. Watty Clark was second best, he was 14-10 with a 3.20 ERA. Ray Benge was 14-18 for a lousy Phillies team with a 3.17 ERA for 3rd. Carl Hubbell would soon start to dominate the league, but was #4 this year, 14-12, 2.65. #5 is Bill Walker, ERA leader at 16-9, 2.26.
Top rookie: Paul Derringer was 18-8 for the Cardinals.
Top manager: Gabby Street again led the Cardinals to the pennant.
Chick Hafey edged Bill Terry for the batting title by a fraction of a point: both hit .349. Jim Bottomley was just behind at .348. Rogers Hornsby led in on-base and OPS, Chuck Klein in slugging. Klein and Bill Terry tied with 121 runs. Paul Waner's 214 hits edged Terry by one. Sparky Adams had 46 doubles and Terry had 20 triples. Klein led with 31 homers and 121 RBI, playing in a bandbox of a ballpark. Mel Ott was second in both categories, with 29 HR and 115 RBI. Frankie Frisch led with 28 steals.
No 20-game winners, but three guys tied at 19: Jumbo Elliott, Bill Hallahan, and Heinie Meine. Hallahan led in strikeouts, his 159 edging Carl Hubbell's 155. Bill Walker of New York had the best ERA at 2.26, with Hubbell at 2.65 and Ed Brandt at 2.92, and veteran Jack Quinn had 15 saves.
Win Shares leaders, players; Wally Berger (Boston) 31, Bill Terry (New York) 29, Babe Herman (Brooklyn), Kiki Cuyler (Chicago), Mel Ott (New York) and Paul Waner (Pittsburgh) 26 each, Chuck Klein (Philadelphia) and Chick Hafey (St. Louis) 25, Woody English (Chicago) and Lloyd Waner (Pittsburgh) 24. Frankie Frisch, voted MVP by the BBWAA, had 21.
WS leaders, pitchers; Ed Brandt (Boston) 27, Watty Clark (Brooklyn) and Heinie Meine (Pittsburgh) 22, Bill Walker (New York), Ray Benge (Philadelphia), and Wild Bill Hallahan (St. Louis) 21, Tom Zachary (Boston) and Carl Hubbell (New York) 20.
Odd that Boston had the top player and pitcher in Win Shares, but finished with 90 losses. Aside from one other pitcher among the top performers, they really didn't have anything else.
WARP3: Travis Jackson (New York) 7.0, Ott 6.7, Berger 6.5, English 5.9, Terry 5.8, Rogers Hornsby (Chicago) 5.2, P. Waner 5.0, Tony Cuccinello (Cincinnati) 4.9, Cuyler 4.8, Gabby Hartnett (Chicago) 4.5, Hafey 4.0, Joe Stripp (Cincinnati) 3.8, Klein 3.6, Frisch had 3.1.
Pitchers: Benge 7.2 (career year), Clark 6.7, Brandt 6.0 (breakthrough year), Phil Collins (Philadelphia) 4.7, Zachary 4.5, Hubbell 4.3, Hallahan 4.0 (best year), Red Lucas (Cincinnati) 3.8, Syl Johnson (St. Louis), Dazzy Vance (Brooklyn), and Clise Dudley (Philadelphia) 3.7, Meine (career year) and Bob Smith (Chicago) 3.6.
WAR leaders, players: Terry 6.7, Berger 6.6, Ott 6.2, English 6.0, Jackson 5.8, Cuyler 5.5, Waner 5.4, Klein 5.1, Cuccinello and Hafey 5.0, Frisch 4.4, Herman 4.2. Pitchers: Walker 5.3, Benge 5.2, Clark 5.1, Brandt and Hubbell 4.7, Zachary 4.2, Hallahan 4.1, Meine and Smith 3.8, Root 3.6.
Actual award voting: the BBWAA MVP vote that continues to this day started in 1931.
Place Name Team Points (top 16 listed)
1 Frankie Frisch STL 65
2 Chuck Klein PHI 55
3 Bill Terry NYG 53
4 Woody English CHC 30
5 Chick Hafey STL 29
6 Jimmie Wilson STL 28
7 Travis Jackson NYG 24
8 Charlie Grimm CHC 21
9 Sparky Adams STL 18
10 Ed Brandt BSN 15
10 Rabbit Maranville BSN 15
12 Kiki Cuyler CHC 14
13 Pie Traynor PIT 12
14 Red Lucas CIN 10
15 Jim Bottomley STL 8
15 Lloyd Waner PIT 8
Top player: Wally Berger. He had a terrific year offensively and defensively, in a pitchers' park, for a terrible team. Didn't draw a single MVP vote, although teammate and .260 hitter Rabbit Maranville did. Hornsby led the league in OPS plus, but batted only 357 times. (He would never reach 100 AB again.) Chuck Klein was a zero defensively, as was Chick Hafey. Frisch won the vote as the veteran on the pennant-winner, and the "inspirational leader." The best alternative to Berger is Bill Terry, on the 2nd place Giants. Berger's numbers, .323-19-84, were superficially less impressive than his rookie year numbers from 1930, but his OPS+ was actually higher due to the overall offensive depression. Terry's line was .349-9-112, and also looked a lot less impressive than the previous year. It was all a matter of context, though. #3 would be Mel Ott, .292-29-115, and #4 would be Paul Waner, .322-6-70. Kiki Cuyler, .330 with 110 runs, 5th.
Top pitcher: Ed Brandt, like Berger with the Braves. Brandt did get the attention of the MVP voters, finishing tied for 10th with teammate Maranville, and the highest-finishing pitcher. Brandt was 3rd in ERA, 4th in wins (1 behind the leaders, with 18), 3rd in WHIP. Brandt went 18-11, 2.92 ERA. Watty Clark was second best, he was 14-10 with a 3.20 ERA. Ray Benge was 14-18 for a lousy Phillies team with a 3.17 ERA for 3rd. Carl Hubbell would soon start to dominate the league, but was #4 this year, 14-12, 2.65. #5 is Bill Walker, ERA leader at 16-9, 2.26.
Top rookie: Paul Derringer was 18-8 for the Cardinals.
Top manager: Gabby Street again led the Cardinals to the pennant.
03 March 2008
1931 American League
The third of three consecutive pennants by the A's, and by a comfortable margin over the Yankees and Senators. The Depression and success were making economic times hard for owners like Connie Mack, and the dynasty ended after this season. They even lost the World Series. Offense receded some after the high-water mark of 1930, but was still at a high level. Philadelphia won 107 games, New York 94, Washington 92, Cleveland 78 to finish just over .500, then St. Louis, Boston and Detroit all about even, with Chicago last.
Al Simmons won the batting title at .390, followed by Babe Ruth at .373. Ed Morgan of Cleveland was next at .351. Ruth led in on-base, slugging, and OPS. Lou Gehrig led with 163 runs, followed by Ruth at 149 and Earl Averill at 140. Gehrig edged Averill in hits, 211 to 209. Earl Webb set a single-season record for doubles that still stands with 67. Roy Johnson had 19 triples. Gehrig and Ruth tied with 46 homers, while Gehrig had 184 RBI to Ruth's 163. Ben Chapman had 61 steals.
Lefty Grove dominated the pitching stats, with 31 wins (against just 4 losses), 175 strikeouts, and a 2.06 ERA. The best anyone else could do was 22 wins for Wes Ferrell, 152 strikeouts for George Earnshaw, and a 2.67 ERA for Lefty Gomez. Wilcy Moore had 10 saves for Boston.
Win Shares leaders, players; Babe Ruth (New York) 38, Lou Gehrig (New York) 36, Joe Cronin (Washington) 35, Al Simmons (Philadelphia) 34, Earl Averill (Cleveland) 30, Mickey Cochrane (Philadelphia) 28, Lu Blue (Chicago) 27, Earl Webb (Boston), Max Bishop (Philadelphia) and Goose Goslin (St. Louis) 25 each.
WS leaders, pitchers; Lefty Grove (Philadelphia) 42, George Earnshaw (Philadelphia) 29, Wes Ferrell (Cleveland) 28, Rube Walberg (Philadelphia) 24, Lefty Gomez (New York) and Firpo Marberry (Washington) 20, George Uhle (Detroit) and Lloyd Brown (St. Louis) 19.
WARP3: Ruth 10.1, Gehrig 8.1, Cronin 8.0, Simmons 7.1, Cochrane 6.4, Lyn Lary (New York) 6.3, Bishop 5.9, Bill Dickey (New York) 5.2, Ben Chapman (New York) 4.6, Sam West (Washington) 4.4, Goslin 4.1, Averill 3.7.
Pitchers, Ferrell 7.6, Grove 6.8, Gomez (his first full year, 60 IP in 1930) and Uhle (last good year) 4.6, Lefty Stewart (St. Louis) 3.7, Wilcy Moore (Boston) 3.5, Vic Sorrell (Detroit) 3.4, Dick Coffman (St. Louis) and Earl Whitehill (Detroit) 3.3.
WAR, position players: Ruth 11.3, Gehrig 9.8, Simmons 8.4, Cronin 7.5, Bishop and Chapman 6.7, Averill 6.6, Cochrane 6.0, Goslin 5.9, Foxx 5.6, Webb 5.4, Lary 5.3. Pitchers: Grove 9.4, Gomez 6.0, Ferrell 5.6, Walberg 5.1, Earnshaw 4.8, Marberry 4.4, Uhle 4.2, Brown 4.0, Sorrell 3.7, Coffman 3.5.
Actual award voting (1931 was the first BBWAA "official" MVP award voting):
MVP (Top 15)
Place Name Team Points
1 Lefty Grove PHA 78
2 Lou Gehrig NYY 59
3 Al Simmons PHA 51
4 Earl Averill CLE 43
5 Babe Ruth NYY 40
6 Earl Webb BOS 22
7 Joe Cronin WSH 18
8 Ski Melillo SLB 17
9 Mickey Cochrane PHA 16
9 Sam West WSH 16
11 George Earnshaw PHA 12
11 Wes Ferrell CLE 12
13 Firpo Marberry WSH 11
14 Hal Rhyne BOS 10
15 Ben Chapman NYY 7
Best player: Babe Ruth. The Babe couldn't really run any more, but he hit so well it didn't matter. Gehrig had more RBI, but that's because he was driving in Ruth in front of him. Ruth was .373-46-163, while #2 Gehrig was .341-46-184. Al Simmons ranks #3 with a batting title and .390-22-128 line. I'll rank Joe Cronin #4 on the strength of defense plus a .306-12-126 line, and put A's catcher Mickey Cochrane #5.
Best pitcher: Lefty Grove, in his 31-4 season with a 2.06 ERA, winning the pitching Triple Crown. No one else was close. Wes Ferrell ranks #2 at 22-12 and 3.75, while Lefty Gomez is #3 at 21-9, 2.67. George Earnshaw #4, George Uhle #5.
Best rookie: None, really. Marv Owen hit .223 in 105 games, if you insist.
Best manager: Connie Mack, for the final time. He never got back to the winner's circle.
Al Simmons won the batting title at .390, followed by Babe Ruth at .373. Ed Morgan of Cleveland was next at .351. Ruth led in on-base, slugging, and OPS. Lou Gehrig led with 163 runs, followed by Ruth at 149 and Earl Averill at 140. Gehrig edged Averill in hits, 211 to 209. Earl Webb set a single-season record for doubles that still stands with 67. Roy Johnson had 19 triples. Gehrig and Ruth tied with 46 homers, while Gehrig had 184 RBI to Ruth's 163. Ben Chapman had 61 steals.
Lefty Grove dominated the pitching stats, with 31 wins (against just 4 losses), 175 strikeouts, and a 2.06 ERA. The best anyone else could do was 22 wins for Wes Ferrell, 152 strikeouts for George Earnshaw, and a 2.67 ERA for Lefty Gomez. Wilcy Moore had 10 saves for Boston.
Win Shares leaders, players; Babe Ruth (New York) 38, Lou Gehrig (New York) 36, Joe Cronin (Washington) 35, Al Simmons (Philadelphia) 34, Earl Averill (Cleveland) 30, Mickey Cochrane (Philadelphia) 28, Lu Blue (Chicago) 27, Earl Webb (Boston), Max Bishop (Philadelphia) and Goose Goslin (St. Louis) 25 each.
WS leaders, pitchers; Lefty Grove (Philadelphia) 42, George Earnshaw (Philadelphia) 29, Wes Ferrell (Cleveland) 28, Rube Walberg (Philadelphia) 24, Lefty Gomez (New York) and Firpo Marberry (Washington) 20, George Uhle (Detroit) and Lloyd Brown (St. Louis) 19.
WARP3: Ruth 10.1, Gehrig 8.1, Cronin 8.0, Simmons 7.1, Cochrane 6.4, Lyn Lary (New York) 6.3, Bishop 5.9, Bill Dickey (New York) 5.2, Ben Chapman (New York) 4.6, Sam West (Washington) 4.4, Goslin 4.1, Averill 3.7.
Pitchers, Ferrell 7.6, Grove 6.8, Gomez (his first full year, 60 IP in 1930) and Uhle (last good year) 4.6, Lefty Stewart (St. Louis) 3.7, Wilcy Moore (Boston) 3.5, Vic Sorrell (Detroit) 3.4, Dick Coffman (St. Louis) and Earl Whitehill (Detroit) 3.3.
WAR, position players: Ruth 11.3, Gehrig 9.8, Simmons 8.4, Cronin 7.5, Bishop and Chapman 6.7, Averill 6.6, Cochrane 6.0, Goslin 5.9, Foxx 5.6, Webb 5.4, Lary 5.3. Pitchers: Grove 9.4, Gomez 6.0, Ferrell 5.6, Walberg 5.1, Earnshaw 4.8, Marberry 4.4, Uhle 4.2, Brown 4.0, Sorrell 3.7, Coffman 3.5.
Actual award voting (1931 was the first BBWAA "official" MVP award voting):
MVP (Top 15)
Place Name Team Points
1 Lefty Grove PHA 78
2 Lou Gehrig NYY 59
3 Al Simmons PHA 51
4 Earl Averill CLE 43
5 Babe Ruth NYY 40
6 Earl Webb BOS 22
7 Joe Cronin WSH 18
8 Ski Melillo SLB 17
9 Mickey Cochrane PHA 16
9 Sam West WSH 16
11 George Earnshaw PHA 12
11 Wes Ferrell CLE 12
13 Firpo Marberry WSH 11
14 Hal Rhyne BOS 10
15 Ben Chapman NYY 7
Best player: Babe Ruth. The Babe couldn't really run any more, but he hit so well it didn't matter. Gehrig had more RBI, but that's because he was driving in Ruth in front of him. Ruth was .373-46-163, while #2 Gehrig was .341-46-184. Al Simmons ranks #3 with a batting title and .390-22-128 line. I'll rank Joe Cronin #4 on the strength of defense plus a .306-12-126 line, and put A's catcher Mickey Cochrane #5.
Best pitcher: Lefty Grove, in his 31-4 season with a 2.06 ERA, winning the pitching Triple Crown. No one else was close. Wes Ferrell ranks #2 at 22-12 and 3.75, while Lefty Gomez is #3 at 21-9, 2.67. George Earnshaw #4, George Uhle #5.
Best rookie: None, really. Marv Owen hit .223 in 105 games, if you insist.
Best manager: Connie Mack, for the final time. He never got back to the winner's circle.
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