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 the 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 12.9, Gehrig 11.5, Cronin 10.5, Simmons 9.7, Averill 8.5, Cochrane 9.1, Blue 5.5 (last good year), Webb 6.5 (his 67 double season, and only season with 500 ABs), Bishop 8.0, Goslin 7.5. Pitchers, Grove 12.4, Earnshaw 6.9, Ferrell 11.0, Walberg 5.5 (last good season), Gomez 8.3 (his first full year, 60 IP in 1930), Marberry 5.5, Uhle 6.8 (last good year), Brown 5.6 (best year).

Actual award voting (1931 was the first BBWAA "official" MVP award voting):

MVP

Code:

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

16 John Stone        DET        6

17 Lu Blue           CHW        4

17 Charlie Gehringer DET        4

19 Red Kress         SLB        3

20 Goose Goslin      SLB        2

20 Danny MacFayden   BOS        2

20 Tom Oliver        BOS         2

20 Carl Reynolds     CHW        2

20 Lefty Stewart     SLB      2

25 Jimmie Foxx       PHA        1 

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.