The War was heating up in Europe and in the Pacific, and more healthy young men, such as baseball players, were being called into service. A few remained, though. The Cardinals took the pennant again with 105 wins, far ahead of Cincinnati, Brooklyn, and Pittsburgh. The Cardinals lost the World Series to the Yankees. Chicago, Boston, and Philadelphia were in the second division, while New York dropped to last, losing 98.
Stan Musial easily won the batting title at .357, outdistancing Babe Herman at .330. Musial also led in on-base, slugging, and OPS. He also led with 220 hits, 48 doubles, and 20 triples. Arky Vaughan led with 112 runs and 20 steals, even though he was 31. Bill "Swish" Nicholson led with 28 HR and 128 RBI. He was the only guy over 20 HR and one of three to top 100 RBI. The others were Bob Elliott at 101 and Herman with 100.
Max Lanier led pitchers with a 1.90 ERA, and the three-way tie for the lead in wins included Mort Cooper, Elmer Riddle, and Rip Sewell all with 21. Johnny Vander Meer led with 174 strikeouts and Les Webber had 10 saves.
Win Shares leaders, players; Stan Musial (St. Louis) 39, Bill Nicholson (Chicago) 31, Augie Galan (Brooklyn) 29, Arky Vaughan (Brooklyn) 28, Billy Herman (Brooklyn) and Eric Tipton (Cincinnati) 27, Lonnie Frey (Cincinnati), Bob Elliott (Pittsburgh) and Lou Klein (St. Louis) 25, Ray Mueller (Cincinnati) 24, Tommy Holmes (Boston) 23.
Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Mort Cooper (St. Louis) 28, Nate Andrews (Boston) 25, Jim Tobin (Boston) 24, Elmer Riddle (Cincinnati), Rip Sewell (Pittsburgh) and Max Lanier (St. Louis) 23, Al Javery (Boston) 20, Hiram Bithorn (Chicago), Johnny Vander Meer (Cincinnati) and Schoolboy Rowe (Philadelphia) 19.
WAR (Wins Against Replacement) scores: Musial 8.9, Nicholson 6.8, Galan 6.0, Vaughan 5.7 (last year as regular), Herman (last good year) and Klein (only year as regular) 5.3, Elliott 4.9, Tipton (career year) and Frey (last good year) 4.7, Elbie Fletcher (Pittsburgh) 4.4.
Pitchers, Cooper 4.9, Bithorn 4.8, Sewell 4.0, Lanier 3.9 (best year), Andrews and Whit Wyatt (Brooklyn) 3.8, Riddle 3.4, Claude Passeau (Chicago) and Max Butcher (Pittsburgh) 3.3, Vander Meer 3.2, Howie Pollet (St. Louis) 3.1, Rowe 3.0.
Actual award voting: (MVP Top 11) 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 Stan Musial STL 13 267 336 0.79 617 220 13 .357 .988 9
2 Walker Cooper STL 5 192 336 0.57 449 143 9 .318 .812 1
3 Bill Nicholson CHC 5 181 336 0.54 608 188 29 .309 .917 4
4 Billy Herman BRO 0 140 336 0.42 585 193 2 .330 .815 4
5 Mort Cooper STL 0 130 336 0.39 100 17 1 .170 .416 0 21-8 274 2.30 1.120 141 3
6 Rip Sewell PIT 0 127 336 0.38 105 30 0 .286 .642 7 21-9 265 2.54 1.289 65 3
7 Elmer Riddle CIN 0 68 336 0.20 93 18 0 .194 .461 0 21-11 260 2.63 1.314 69 3
8 Bob Elliott PIT 0 52 336 0.15 581 183 7 .315 .820 4
9 Frank McCormick CIN 0 26 336 0.08 472 143 8 .303 .758 2
10 Eddie Miller CIN 0 24 336 0.07 576 129 2 .224 .564 8
10 Clyde Shoun CIN 1 24 336 0.07 42 13 0 .310 .689 0 14-5 147 3.06 1.204 61 7
Top player: Stan Musial by a large margin. Musial led in average, doubles, triples, hits, and OPS. He also led the pennant winners. Not even a close race.
#1 Stan Musial, #2 Bill Nicholson, the home run and RBI leader, #3 Augie Galan the walks leader, #4 Arky Vaughan in his last year as a regular, #5 Billy Herman.
Top pitcher: Mort Cooper, leader in wins, 2nd in ERA and strikeouts. He did benefit from the stellar Cardinal defense, but his other numbers make it impossible to pick anyone else.
#1 Mort Cooper, #2 Hiram Bithorn (the pride of the Dominican Republic), #3 Nate Andrews, #4 Rip Sewell, #5 Max Lanier.
Top rookie: Most young players were in the service. Lou Klein debuted at 24 and hit .287 and played 2B everyday for the pennant-winning Cardinals.
Top manager: Billy Southworth brought his team home on top. Hard to argue with that.
29 June 2008
1943 American League
Most of the best players in the league were off fighting a war, and most of the minor leaguers who would otherwise have replaced them were gone too. Those who remained were injured in some way, or older veterans not as much in demand by the armed forces. Many minor league veterans got a second chance during this period. The New York Yankees won the pennant again, 13.5 games ahead of the Senators, with Cleveland third, Chicago fourth, and Detroit fifth. St. Louis and Boston trailed, while the Philadelphia A's were last.
Luke Appling at 36 years old won the batting title with a .328 average, as just four qualifiers batted .300. Dick Wakefield, Ralph Hodgin, and Doc Cramer were the other .300 hitters. Appling led in on-base, Rudy York in slugging, and Charlie Keller in OPS. George Case scored 102 runs and stole 62 bases, as his type of running game came back into vogue with offense generally down. Wakefield led in hits with 200 and doubles with 38. York led with 34 homers and 118 RBI. Johnny Lindell and Wally Moses tied for the triples lead with 12.
Spud Chandler led pitchers with 20 wins and a 1.64 ERA. Dizzy Trout tied him with his own 20 wins. Allie Reynolds led with 151 strikeouts, and Gordon Maltzberger had 14 saves. Bet you never heard of him before.
Win Shares leaders, players; Luke Appling (Chicago) 40, Charlie Keller (New York) 36, Lou Boudreau (Cleveland) 32, Joe Gordon (New York) and Stan Spence (Washington) 28, Roy Cullenbine (Cleveland) 27, Rudy York (Detroit) 26, George Case (Washington) 25, Bobby Doerr (Boston), Jeff Heath (Cleveland) and Dick Wakefield (Detroit) 24, Vern Stephens (St. Louis) 23.
Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Spud Chandler (New York) 29, Dizzy Trout (Detroit) 23, Tex Hughson (Boston) and Tiny Bonham (New York) 20, Early Wynn (Washington) 19, Orval Grove (Chicago) 18, Tommy Bridges (Detroit) 17, Virgil Trucks (Detroit) and Butch Wensloff (New York) 16.
WAR (Wins Against Replacement) scores: Boudreau 6.7, Appling and Keller 6.5, Gordon 5.7 (then off to the service), York 5.5, Spence 4.4, Cullenbine 4.2, Case and Doerr 4.0, Bill Dickey (New York) 3.6, Heath 3.5, Bob Johnson (Washington) 3.3, Stephens 3.2, Wakefield (rookie) and Jerry Priddy (Washington) 3.0.
Pitchers, Chandler 6.0, Trout 4.6, Bonham 4.5, Hughson and Bridges (last good year) 4.4, Johnny Niggeling (St. Louis/Washington) 3.6, Denny Galehouse (St. Louis) 3.5, Trucks (then into the service) and Jesse Flores (Philadelphia) 3.3, Nels Potter (St. Louis) 3.1.
Actual award voting (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 Spud Chandler NYY 12 246 336 0.73 97 25 2 .258 .658 0 20-4 253 1.64 0.992 134
2 Luke Appling CHW 5 215 336 0.64 585 192 3 .328 .825 27
3 Rudy York DET 1 152 336 0.45 571 155 34 .271 .893 5
4 Billy Johnson NYY 3135 336 0.40 592 166 5 .280 .710 3
5 Bob Johnson WSH 1 116336 0.35 438 116 7 .265 .762 11
6 Dick Wakefield DET 0 72 336 0.21 633 200 7 .316 .811 4
7 Nick Etten NYY 0 61 336 0.18 583 158 14 .271 .775 3
8 Bill Dickey NYY 2 58 336 0.17 242 85 4 .351 .937 2
9 Vern Stephens SLB 0 49 336 0.15 512 148 22 .289 .839 3
10 Lou Boudreau CLE 0 40336 0.12 539 154 3 .286 .776 4
Top player: Luke Appling, batting champ, 4th in steals, and the White Sox' 36-year-old shortstop. He went into working for the war effort for the duration after this season.
#1 Luke Appling, #2 Lou Boudreau, #3 Charlie Keller, #4 Joe Gordon, #5 Rudy York.
Top pitcher: Spud Chandler dominated the league with a 20-4 record, leading in wins, ERA, and WHIP.
#1 Spud Chandler, #2 Dizzy Trout, #3 Tiny Bonham, #4 Tex Hughson, #5 Tommy Bridges.
Top rookie: Dick Wakefield got a big bonus to sign, but never did much outside of this season.
Top manager: Joe McCarthy kept the Yankees on top in spite of depleted ranks. This would be the last World Series win of McCarthy's illustrious managerial career.
Luke Appling at 36 years old won the batting title with a .328 average, as just four qualifiers batted .300. Dick Wakefield, Ralph Hodgin, and Doc Cramer were the other .300 hitters. Appling led in on-base, Rudy York in slugging, and Charlie Keller in OPS. George Case scored 102 runs and stole 62 bases, as his type of running game came back into vogue with offense generally down. Wakefield led in hits with 200 and doubles with 38. York led with 34 homers and 118 RBI. Johnny Lindell and Wally Moses tied for the triples lead with 12.
Spud Chandler led pitchers with 20 wins and a 1.64 ERA. Dizzy Trout tied him with his own 20 wins. Allie Reynolds led with 151 strikeouts, and Gordon Maltzberger had 14 saves. Bet you never heard of him before.
Win Shares leaders, players; Luke Appling (Chicago) 40, Charlie Keller (New York) 36, Lou Boudreau (Cleveland) 32, Joe Gordon (New York) and Stan Spence (Washington) 28, Roy Cullenbine (Cleveland) 27, Rudy York (Detroit) 26, George Case (Washington) 25, Bobby Doerr (Boston), Jeff Heath (Cleveland) and Dick Wakefield (Detroit) 24, Vern Stephens (St. Louis) 23.
Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Spud Chandler (New York) 29, Dizzy Trout (Detroit) 23, Tex Hughson (Boston) and Tiny Bonham (New York) 20, Early Wynn (Washington) 19, Orval Grove (Chicago) 18, Tommy Bridges (Detroit) 17, Virgil Trucks (Detroit) and Butch Wensloff (New York) 16.
WAR (Wins Against Replacement) scores: Boudreau 6.7, Appling and Keller 6.5, Gordon 5.7 (then off to the service), York 5.5, Spence 4.4, Cullenbine 4.2, Case and Doerr 4.0, Bill Dickey (New York) 3.6, Heath 3.5, Bob Johnson (Washington) 3.3, Stephens 3.2, Wakefield (rookie) and Jerry Priddy (Washington) 3.0.
Pitchers, Chandler 6.0, Trout 4.6, Bonham 4.5, Hughson and Bridges (last good year) 4.4, Johnny Niggeling (St. Louis/Washington) 3.6, Denny Galehouse (St. Louis) 3.5, Trucks (then into the service) and Jesse Flores (Philadelphia) 3.3, Nels Potter (St. Louis) 3.1.
Actual award voting (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 Spud Chandler NYY 12 246 336 0.73 97 25 2 .258 .658 0 20-4 253 1.64 0.992 134
2 Luke Appling CHW 5 215 336 0.64 585 192 3 .328 .825 27
3 Rudy York DET 1 152 336 0.45 571 155 34 .271 .893 5
4 Billy Johnson NYY 3135 336 0.40 592 166 5 .280 .710 3
5 Bob Johnson WSH 1 116336 0.35 438 116 7 .265 .762 11
6 Dick Wakefield DET 0 72 336 0.21 633 200 7 .316 .811 4
7 Nick Etten NYY 0 61 336 0.18 583 158 14 .271 .775 3
8 Bill Dickey NYY 2 58 336 0.17 242 85 4 .351 .937 2
9 Vern Stephens SLB 0 49 336 0.15 512 148 22 .289 .839 3
10 Lou Boudreau CLE 0 40336 0.12 539 154 3 .286 .776 4
Top player: Luke Appling, batting champ, 4th in steals, and the White Sox' 36-year-old shortstop. He went into working for the war effort for the duration after this season.
#1 Luke Appling, #2 Lou Boudreau, #3 Charlie Keller, #4 Joe Gordon, #5 Rudy York.
Top pitcher: Spud Chandler dominated the league with a 20-4 record, leading in wins, ERA, and WHIP.
#1 Spud Chandler, #2 Dizzy Trout, #3 Tiny Bonham, #4 Tex Hughson, #5 Tommy Bridges.
Top rookie: Dick Wakefield got a big bonus to sign, but never did much outside of this season.
Top manager: Joe McCarthy kept the Yankees on top in spite of depleted ranks. This would be the last World Series win of McCarthy's illustrious managerial career.
25 June 2008
1942 National League
The U.S. had entered the war in Europe and Asia, making it truly a World War. Ballplayers were getting drafted into the military, but it didn't affect the NL as much yet, as many of the National's stars were veterans beyond prime drafting age. That would change as the war went on and demand for manpower increased. On the field, the Cardinals outlasted the Dodgers in one of the great pennant races, with St. Louis winning 106 games to Brooklyn's 104. The Dodgers were probably the best second-place team ever. St. Louis also beat the Yankees in the World Series. New York was 3rd and Cincinnati 4th. Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Boston were also-rans, while Philadelphia lost 109 and finished dead last. The continually downtrodden Phillies were to undergo a nickname change to Blue Jays, and be operated by the league for awhile as the owner went bankrupt.
Ernie Lombardi, now with Boston, won the batting title at .330. Enos Slaughter was second at .318, Stan Musial third at .315. Elbie Fletcher led in on-base, Johnny Mize in slugging, Mel Ott in OPS. Ott also led with 118 runs and 30 HR. Mize and Dolph Camilli had 26 homers for second. Mize led with 110 RBI, Camilli had 109. Slaughter led with 188 hits, 17 triples, and 292 total bases. Marty Marion led with 38 doubles, Pete Reiser with 20 steals.
Mort Cooper led the league with 22 wins and a 1.78 ERA, while Johnny Vander Meer led with 186 strikeouts. Johnny Beazley won 21. He was also second in ERA with a 2.13 mark, and Curt Davis third at 2.36. Cooper had 10 shutouts and Jack Tobin 28 complete games. Hugh Casey led with 13 saves.
Win Shares leaders, players; Enos Slaughter (St. Louis) 37, Mel Ott (New York) 35, Johnny Mize (New York) 32, Dolph Camilli and Pete Reiser (Brooklyn), Bill Nicholson (Chicago) and Stan Musial (St. Louis) 28, Pee Wee Reese (Brooklyn) 27, Stan Hack (Chicago) and Elbie Fletcher (Pittsburgh) 26, Lonny Frey (Cincinnati) 23, Bob Elliott (Pittsburgh) and Marty Marion (St. Louis) 22.
Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Mort Cooper (St. Louis) 29, Johnny Beazley (St. Louis) 22, Ray Starr and Johnny Vander Meer (Cincinnati) 21, Bucky Walters (Cincinnati) 20, Claude Passeau (Chicago) 19, Curt Davis (Brooklyn) and Tommy Hughes (Philadelphia) 18, Larry French (Brooklyn) 18.
WARP3 scores: Slaughter 7.1 (career best year, and off to the military), Ott 7.0 (last big year), Mize 6.6 (and into the service), Reese 6.2, Camilli 5.9 (last good year), Musial 5.8 (rookie), Nicholson 5.5, Reiser 5.4 (and into the military), Fletcher 4.9, Marion 4.8 (best season), Hack 4.6, Frey 4.5, Billy Herman (Brooklyn) 3.8.
Pitchers, Cooper 6.8 (career year), Starr 4.4 (career year at age 36), Beazley 4.1 (rookie, off to war and never the same), Vander Meer 3.8 (best year), Davis 3.6, French 3.2 (final year), Bill Lohrmann (St. Louis/New York) 2.8, Howie Krist (St. Louis) 2.6, Max Lanier (St. Louis) 2.5.
WAR, position players: Slaughter 7.0, Ott 6.6, Nicholson 6.1, Mize 6.0, Musial 5.7, Reese 5.6, Frey 5.5, Hack 5.3, Camilli 5.2, Fletcher 5.1, Marion 5.0, Reiser 4.6. Pitchers, Cooper 6.8, Starr 4.4, Beazley 4.1, Vander Meer 3.8, Davis 3.6, French 3.2, Lohrman 2.8, Krist 2.6, Lanier 2.5.
Actual award voting: (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 Mort Cooper STL 13 263 336 0.78 | 103 19 0 .184 .402 0| 22-7 279 1.78 0.987 152
2 Enos Slaughter STL 6 200 336 0.60 | 591 188 13 .318 .906 9
3 Mel Ott NYG 4 190 336 0.57 | 549 162 30 .295 .912 6
4 Mickey Owen BRO 0 103 336 0.31 | 421 109 0 .259 .642 10
5 Johnny Mize NYG 0 97 336 0.29 | 541 165 26 .305 .901 3
6 Pete Reiser BRO 0 91 336 0.27 | 480 149 10 .310 .838 20
7 Marty Marion STL 1 81 336 0.24 | 485 134 0 .276 .718 8
8 Dolph Camilli BRO 0 42 336 0.12 | 524 132 26 .252 .843 10
9 Bob Elliott PIT 0 39 336 0.12 | 560 166 9 .296 .774 2
10 Claude Passeau CHC 0 33 336 0.10 | 105 19 2 .181 .429 0| 19-14 278 2.68 1.286 89
Top player: Enos Slaughter was 5th in OPS+, but it was close, and he was a far better defensive player than the guys ahead of him. Slaughter led in hits, total bases and triples, was 2nd in batting average and runs.
#1 Enos Slaughter, #2 Mel Ott, #3 Johnny Mize, #4 Bill Nicholson, #5 Stan Musial.
Top pitcher: Mort Cooper led in wins and ERA, 2nd in strikeouts.
#1 Mort Cooper, #2 Johnny Beazley, #3 Johnny Vander Meer, #4 Whit Wyatt, #5 Curt Davis.
Top rookie: Stan Musial hit .315 for the pennant winners, while Johnny Beazley was #2 in wins and ERA.
Top manager: Billy Southworth guided the Cardinals in to the winner's circle.
Ernie Lombardi, now with Boston, won the batting title at .330. Enos Slaughter was second at .318, Stan Musial third at .315. Elbie Fletcher led in on-base, Johnny Mize in slugging, Mel Ott in OPS. Ott also led with 118 runs and 30 HR. Mize and Dolph Camilli had 26 homers for second. Mize led with 110 RBI, Camilli had 109. Slaughter led with 188 hits, 17 triples, and 292 total bases. Marty Marion led with 38 doubles, Pete Reiser with 20 steals.
Mort Cooper led the league with 22 wins and a 1.78 ERA, while Johnny Vander Meer led with 186 strikeouts. Johnny Beazley won 21. He was also second in ERA with a 2.13 mark, and Curt Davis third at 2.36. Cooper had 10 shutouts and Jack Tobin 28 complete games. Hugh Casey led with 13 saves.
Win Shares leaders, players; Enos Slaughter (St. Louis) 37, Mel Ott (New York) 35, Johnny Mize (New York) 32, Dolph Camilli and Pete Reiser (Brooklyn), Bill Nicholson (Chicago) and Stan Musial (St. Louis) 28, Pee Wee Reese (Brooklyn) 27, Stan Hack (Chicago) and Elbie Fletcher (Pittsburgh) 26, Lonny Frey (Cincinnati) 23, Bob Elliott (Pittsburgh) and Marty Marion (St. Louis) 22.
Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Mort Cooper (St. Louis) 29, Johnny Beazley (St. Louis) 22, Ray Starr and Johnny Vander Meer (Cincinnati) 21, Bucky Walters (Cincinnati) 20, Claude Passeau (Chicago) 19, Curt Davis (Brooklyn) and Tommy Hughes (Philadelphia) 18, Larry French (Brooklyn) 18.
WARP3 scores: Slaughter 7.1 (career best year, and off to the military), Ott 7.0 (last big year), Mize 6.6 (and into the service), Reese 6.2, Camilli 5.9 (last good year), Musial 5.8 (rookie), Nicholson 5.5, Reiser 5.4 (and into the military), Fletcher 4.9, Marion 4.8 (best season), Hack 4.6, Frey 4.5, Billy Herman (Brooklyn) 3.8.
Pitchers, Cooper 6.8 (career year), Starr 4.4 (career year at age 36), Beazley 4.1 (rookie, off to war and never the same), Vander Meer 3.8 (best year), Davis 3.6, French 3.2 (final year), Bill Lohrmann (St. Louis/New York) 2.8, Howie Krist (St. Louis) 2.6, Max Lanier (St. Louis) 2.5.
WAR, position players: Slaughter 7.0, Ott 6.6, Nicholson 6.1, Mize 6.0, Musial 5.7, Reese 5.6, Frey 5.5, Hack 5.3, Camilli 5.2, Fletcher 5.1, Marion 5.0, Reiser 4.6. Pitchers, Cooper 6.8, Starr 4.4, Beazley 4.1, Vander Meer 3.8, Davis 3.6, French 3.2, Lohrman 2.8, Krist 2.6, Lanier 2.5.
Actual award voting: (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 Mort Cooper STL 13 263 336 0.78 | 103 19 0 .184 .402 0| 22-7 279 1.78 0.987 152
2 Enos Slaughter STL 6 200 336 0.60 | 591 188 13 .318 .906 9
3 Mel Ott NYG 4 190 336 0.57 | 549 162 30 .295 .912 6
4 Mickey Owen BRO 0 103 336 0.31 | 421 109 0 .259 .642 10
5 Johnny Mize NYG 0 97 336 0.29 | 541 165 26 .305 .901 3
6 Pete Reiser BRO 0 91 336 0.27 | 480 149 10 .310 .838 20
7 Marty Marion STL 1 81 336 0.24 | 485 134 0 .276 .718 8
8 Dolph Camilli BRO 0 42 336 0.12 | 524 132 26 .252 .843 10
9 Bob Elliott PIT 0 39 336 0.12 | 560 166 9 .296 .774 2
10 Claude Passeau CHC 0 33 336 0.10 | 105 19 2 .181 .429 0| 19-14 278 2.68 1.286 89
Top player: Enos Slaughter was 5th in OPS+, but it was close, and he was a far better defensive player than the guys ahead of him. Slaughter led in hits, total bases and triples, was 2nd in batting average and runs.
#1 Enos Slaughter, #2 Mel Ott, #3 Johnny Mize, #4 Bill Nicholson, #5 Stan Musial.
Top pitcher: Mort Cooper led in wins and ERA, 2nd in strikeouts.
#1 Mort Cooper, #2 Johnny Beazley, #3 Johnny Vander Meer, #4 Whit Wyatt, #5 Curt Davis.
Top rookie: Stan Musial hit .315 for the pennant winners, while Johnny Beazley was #2 in wins and ERA.
Top manager: Billy Southworth guided the Cardinals in to the winner's circle.
1942 American League
Some of the top players were off to military service. Hank Greenberg was discharged the day before Pearl Harbor was attacked, and reenlisted the day after. Bob Feller and Cecil Travis, as well as many lesser stars, shipped out. On the field, it was the Yankees again, by 9 games over Boston. The Browns climbed to a third place finish, and the other teams were below .500. In order: Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, Washington, Philadelphia.
Ted Williams won the Triple Crown, with a .356 average, 36 HR, and 137 RBI. He led in on-base, slugging, and OPS, in total bases and walks, and in runs with 141. Johnny Pesky led in hits with 205 and was second in average at .331. Chet Laabs was second in homers with 27, Joe DiMaggio second in RBI with 114. Don Kolloway had 40 doubles, Stan Spence 15 triples, and George Case 44 steals.
Tex Hughson led pitchers with 22 wins, followed by Tiny Bonham's 21. Ted Lyons had a 2.10 ERA, followed by Bonham at 2.27 and Spud Chandler at 2.38. Hughson and Bobo Newsom had 113 strikeouts, and Johnny Murphy 11 saves.
Win Shares leaders, players; Ted Williams (Boston) 46, Charlie Keller (New York) 34, Joe DiMaggio (New York) 32, Joe Gordon (New York) 31, Les Fleming (Cleveland) and Stan Spence (Washington) 29, Dom DiMaggio and Johnny Pesky (Boston) 28, Bob Johnson (Philadelphia) 26, Phil Rizzuto (New York) and Walt Judnich (St. Louis) 25.
Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Tex Hughson (Boston) 28, Ted Lyons (Chicago) and Tiny Bonham (New York) 21, Johnny Humphries (Chicago) and Jim Bagby, Jr. (Cleveland) 20, Spud Chandler (New York) 19, Hal White (Detroit) 18, Al Benton and Hal Newhouser (Detroit) and Johnny Niggeling (St. Louis) 17.
WAR (Wins Against Replacement): Williams 11.0 (then off to war), Gordon 8.4, Keller 7.2, J. DiMaggio 6.8 (then into the military), Pesky (rookie, then into the military) and Rizzuto (then into the military) 5.4, Judnich 5.0 (then off to war), D. DiMaggio (then off to war) and Bobby Doerr (also Boston) 4.6, Fleming 4.1 (rookie, then off to war. It was his only year as an everyday player.), Harlond Clift (St. Louis) 3.8, Chet Laabs (St. Louis) 3.7, Lou Boudreau (Cleveland) 3.6, Johnson 3.3, Jeff Heath (Cleveland) 3.2.
Pitchers, Hughson 5.6, Bonham and White (rookie, career year) 4.4, Lyons 4.3 (last full season), Benton 4.2, Niggeling 3.8, Humphries 3.4 (career year), Tommy Bridges (Detroit) 3.3, Newhouser, Chandler 5.5, and Virgil Trucks (Detroit) 3.2, Hank Borowy (New York) 3.0.
Actual award voting: 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 Joe Gordon NYY 12 270 336 0.80 | 538 173 18 .322 .900 12
2 Ted Williams BOS 9 249 336 0.74 | 522 186 36 .356 1.147 3
3 Johnny Pesky BOS 2 143 336 0.43 | 620 205 2 .331 .791 12
4 Vern Stephens SLB 1 140 336 0.42 | 575 169 14 .294 .774 1
5 Tiny Bonham NYY 0 102 336 0.30 | 74 9 0 .122 .288 0| 21-5 226 2.27 0.987 71
6 Tex Hughson BOS 0 92 336 0.27 | 102 18 0 .176 .442 0| 22-6 281 2.59 1.185 113 4
7 Joe DiMaggio NYY 0 86 336 0.26 | 610 186 21 .305 .875 4
8 Stan Spence WSH 0 65 336 0.19 | 629 203 4 .323 .817 5
9 Phil Marchildon PHA 0 39 336 0.12 | 84 20 0 .238 .535 0| 17-14 244 4.20 1.455 110 1
10 Lou Boudreau CLE 0 34 336 0.10 | 506 143 2 .283 .749 7
Top hitter: Ted Williams. Everyone thinks he was robbed in 1941, but he really was ripped off in 1942, winning the Triple Crown but losing the MVP in a close vote. Gordon was great, but Teddy Ballgame was better. Most of the top players were drafted or volunteered after this season. Many had cushy duty, and continued to play ball while in uniform, but some like Williams served combat duty.
#1 Ted Williams, #2 Joe Gordon, #3 Charlie Keller, #4 Joe DiMaggio, #5 Johnny Pesky.
Top pitcher: Tex Hughson. Without Bob Feller, this was a wide-open field. Hughson led in wins, tied for the lead in strikeouts, and was 2nd in ERA.
#1 Tex Hughson, #2 Tiny Bonham, #3 Ted Lyons, #4 Johnny Niggeling, #5 Spud Chandler.
Top rookie: Johnny Pesky delivered a .331 average and led the league in hits. Hal White turned in a solid year on the mound.
Top manager: Joe McCarthy pushing the buttons again.
Ted Williams won the Triple Crown, with a .356 average, 36 HR, and 137 RBI. He led in on-base, slugging, and OPS, in total bases and walks, and in runs with 141. Johnny Pesky led in hits with 205 and was second in average at .331. Chet Laabs was second in homers with 27, Joe DiMaggio second in RBI with 114. Don Kolloway had 40 doubles, Stan Spence 15 triples, and George Case 44 steals.
Tex Hughson led pitchers with 22 wins, followed by Tiny Bonham's 21. Ted Lyons had a 2.10 ERA, followed by Bonham at 2.27 and Spud Chandler at 2.38. Hughson and Bobo Newsom had 113 strikeouts, and Johnny Murphy 11 saves.
Win Shares leaders, players; Ted Williams (Boston) 46, Charlie Keller (New York) 34, Joe DiMaggio (New York) 32, Joe Gordon (New York) 31, Les Fleming (Cleveland) and Stan Spence (Washington) 29, Dom DiMaggio and Johnny Pesky (Boston) 28, Bob Johnson (Philadelphia) 26, Phil Rizzuto (New York) and Walt Judnich (St. Louis) 25.
Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Tex Hughson (Boston) 28, Ted Lyons (Chicago) and Tiny Bonham (New York) 21, Johnny Humphries (Chicago) and Jim Bagby, Jr. (Cleveland) 20, Spud Chandler (New York) 19, Hal White (Detroit) 18, Al Benton and Hal Newhouser (Detroit) and Johnny Niggeling (St. Louis) 17.
WAR (Wins Against Replacement): Williams 11.0 (then off to war), Gordon 8.4, Keller 7.2, J. DiMaggio 6.8 (then into the military), Pesky (rookie, then into the military) and Rizzuto (then into the military) 5.4, Judnich 5.0 (then off to war), D. DiMaggio (then off to war) and Bobby Doerr (also Boston) 4.6, Fleming 4.1 (rookie, then off to war. It was his only year as an everyday player.), Harlond Clift (St. Louis) 3.8, Chet Laabs (St. Louis) 3.7, Lou Boudreau (Cleveland) 3.6, Johnson 3.3, Jeff Heath (Cleveland) 3.2.
Pitchers, Hughson 5.6, Bonham and White (rookie, career year) 4.4, Lyons 4.3 (last full season), Benton 4.2, Niggeling 3.8, Humphries 3.4 (career year), Tommy Bridges (Detroit) 3.3, Newhouser, Chandler 5.5, and Virgil Trucks (Detroit) 3.2, Hank Borowy (New York) 3.0.
Actual award voting: 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 Joe Gordon NYY 12 270 336 0.80 | 538 173 18 .322 .900 12
2 Ted Williams BOS 9 249 336 0.74 | 522 186 36 .356 1.147 3
3 Johnny Pesky BOS 2 143 336 0.43 | 620 205 2 .331 .791 12
4 Vern Stephens SLB 1 140 336 0.42 | 575 169 14 .294 .774 1
5 Tiny Bonham NYY 0 102 336 0.30 | 74 9 0 .122 .288 0| 21-5 226 2.27 0.987 71
6 Tex Hughson BOS 0 92 336 0.27 | 102 18 0 .176 .442 0| 22-6 281 2.59 1.185 113 4
7 Joe DiMaggio NYY 0 86 336 0.26 | 610 186 21 .305 .875 4
8 Stan Spence WSH 0 65 336 0.19 | 629 203 4 .323 .817 5
9 Phil Marchildon PHA 0 39 336 0.12 | 84 20 0 .238 .535 0| 17-14 244 4.20 1.455 110 1
10 Lou Boudreau CLE 0 34 336 0.10 | 506 143 2 .283 .749 7
Top hitter: Ted Williams. Everyone thinks he was robbed in 1941, but he really was ripped off in 1942, winning the Triple Crown but losing the MVP in a close vote. Gordon was great, but Teddy Ballgame was better. Most of the top players were drafted or volunteered after this season. Many had cushy duty, and continued to play ball while in uniform, but some like Williams served combat duty.
#1 Ted Williams, #2 Joe Gordon, #3 Charlie Keller, #4 Joe DiMaggio, #5 Johnny Pesky.
Top pitcher: Tex Hughson. Without Bob Feller, this was a wide-open field. Hughson led in wins, tied for the lead in strikeouts, and was 2nd in ERA.
#1 Tex Hughson, #2 Tiny Bonham, #3 Ted Lyons, #4 Johnny Niggeling, #5 Spud Chandler.
Top rookie: Johnny Pesky delivered a .331 average and led the league in hits. Hal White turned in a solid year on the mound.
Top manager: Joe McCarthy pushing the buttons again.
19 June 2008
1941 National League
Brooklyn's Dodgers won their first pennant in 21 years after a furious pennant race with the Cardinals, finishing 2.5 games ahead. The two teams were obviously the class of the league, trading the lead back and forth all season, and at no time did more than four games separate them. Two-time defending champ Cincinnati placed third. Pittsburgh was 4th, followed by New York, Chicago and Boston. Philadelphia brought up the rear, dropping 111 games. Brooklyn featured a four-man gang of Dixie Walker, Joe Medwick, Dolph Camilli and Pete Reiser, and strong pitching from Kirby Higbe and Whit Wyatt.
Pete Reiser won the batting title at .343, and also led in slugging and OPS. He just couldn't break the habit of running into outfield walls. Reiser led in runs with 117 and triples with 17. Elbie Fletcher led in on-base, Stan Hack in hits with 186, Reiser and Johnny Mize tied with 39 doubles, Danny Murtaugh led with 18 steals. Dolph Camilli had the finest season of his career, leading the NL with 34 homers and 120 RBI.
For the pitchers, Kirby Higbe and Whit Wyatt won 22 games each, while Elmer Riddle and Bucky Walters won 19. Riddle had a 2.24 ERA with Wyatt second at 2.34 and Ernie White third at 2.40. Johnny Vander Meer had 202 strikeouts with Wyatt second again at 176.
Win Shares leaders, players; Pete Reiser (Brooklyn) 34, Stan Hack (Chicago) 30, Dolph Camilli (Brooklyn) 29, Elbie Fletcher (Pittsburgh) 28, Dixie Walker (Brooklyn), Mel Ott (New York) and Johnny Mize (St. Louis) 26, Joe Medwick (Brooklyn), Lonnie Frey (Cincinnati) and Vince DiMaggio (Pittsburgh) 24.
Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Whit Wyatt (Brooklyn) 28, Bucky Walters (Cincinnati) 27, Elmer Riddle (Cincinnati) 26, Ernie White (St. Louis) 22, Kirby Higbe (Brooklyn) 21, Johnny Vander Meer (Cincinnati) and Lon Warneke (St. Louis) 19.
WARP3 scores: Reiser 8.2 (career year of an injury-riddled career), Camilli 6.8, Hack 6.4, Fletcher 6.3, Walker 5.9, Mize 5.4, Medwick 5.0, Arky Vaughan (Pittsburgh) 4.9, Ott 4.5, Bill Nicholson (Chicago) 4.2, Frey and Jimmy Brown (St. Louis) 4.1, DiMaggio 4.0.
Pitchers, Wyatt 6.7 (career year), Walters 5.6, Riddle 5.1(rookie), White 4.4 (rookie, career year), Vander Meer 4.0, Jim Tobin (Boston) 3.9, Hal Schumacher (New York) 3.8, Higbe and Warneke (last good year) 3.6.
WAR leaders, position players: Reiser 7.7, Camilli 7.1, Fletcher 5.9, Hack 5.8, Mize 5.6, Walker 5.5, Ott 5.0, Medwick 4.6, Brown 4.2, Jurges and V. DiMaggio 4.0. Pitchers: Wyatt 6.7, Walters 5.6, Riddle 5.1, White 4.4, Vander Meer 4.0, Tobin 3.9, Schumacher 3.8, Higbe and Warneke 3.6, Derringer and Melton 3.2.
Actual award voting: 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 Dolph Camilli BRO 19 300 336 0.89 | 529 151 34 .285 .962 3
2 Pete Reiser BRO 2 183 336 0.54 | 536 184 14 .343 .964 4
3 Whit Wyatt BRO 0 151 336 0.45 | 109 26 3 .239 .639 0| 22-10 288 2.34 1.058 176 1
4 Jimmy Brown STL 1 107 336 0.32 | 549 168 3 .306 .769 2
5 Elmer Riddle CIN 0 98 336 0.29 | 71 16 0 .225 .538 0| 19-4 217 2.24 1.103 80 1
6 Ernie White STL 0 77 336 0.23 | 79 15 0 .190 .460 0| 17-7 210 2.40 1.138 117 2
7 Kirby Higbe BRO 0 64 336 0.19 | 112 21 0 .188 .448 0| 22-9 298 3.14 1.262 121 3
8 Johnny Hopp STL 0 61 336 0.18 | 445 135 4 .303 .813 15
9 Johnny Mize STL 0 48 336 0.14 | 473 150 16 .317 .941 4
10 Dixie Walker BRO 1 34 336 0.10 | 531 165 9 .311 .843 4
Top player: Pete Reiser. Not sure why the hustling batting champ didn't win the vote, but the veteran HR and RBI champ Camilli did. This was the only year Reiser could stay healthy the whole season. It was pretty close, but Reiser's defensive value in CF puts him over the top.
#1 Pete Reiser, #2 Dolph Camilli, #3 Stan Hack, #4 Elbie Fletcher, #5 Dixie Walker, #6 Johnny Mize.
Top pitcher: Whit Wyatt had the year of his lifetime, tying teammate Higbe for the lead in wins and placing #2 in ERA and strikeouts.
#1 Whit Wyatt, #2 Bucky Walters, #3 Elmer Riddle, #4 Ernie White, #5 Johnny Vander Meer.
Top rookie: Elmer Riddle, just barely a rookie, had a strong season.
Top manager: Leo Durocher brought the Dodgers home in front.
Pete Reiser won the batting title at .343, and also led in slugging and OPS. He just couldn't break the habit of running into outfield walls. Reiser led in runs with 117 and triples with 17. Elbie Fletcher led in on-base, Stan Hack in hits with 186, Reiser and Johnny Mize tied with 39 doubles, Danny Murtaugh led with 18 steals. Dolph Camilli had the finest season of his career, leading the NL with 34 homers and 120 RBI.
For the pitchers, Kirby Higbe and Whit Wyatt won 22 games each, while Elmer Riddle and Bucky Walters won 19. Riddle had a 2.24 ERA with Wyatt second at 2.34 and Ernie White third at 2.40. Johnny Vander Meer had 202 strikeouts with Wyatt second again at 176.
Win Shares leaders, players; Pete Reiser (Brooklyn) 34, Stan Hack (Chicago) 30, Dolph Camilli (Brooklyn) 29, Elbie Fletcher (Pittsburgh) 28, Dixie Walker (Brooklyn), Mel Ott (New York) and Johnny Mize (St. Louis) 26, Joe Medwick (Brooklyn), Lonnie Frey (Cincinnati) and Vince DiMaggio (Pittsburgh) 24.
Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Whit Wyatt (Brooklyn) 28, Bucky Walters (Cincinnati) 27, Elmer Riddle (Cincinnati) 26, Ernie White (St. Louis) 22, Kirby Higbe (Brooklyn) 21, Johnny Vander Meer (Cincinnati) and Lon Warneke (St. Louis) 19.
WARP3 scores: Reiser 8.2 (career year of an injury-riddled career), Camilli 6.8, Hack 6.4, Fletcher 6.3, Walker 5.9, Mize 5.4, Medwick 5.0, Arky Vaughan (Pittsburgh) 4.9, Ott 4.5, Bill Nicholson (Chicago) 4.2, Frey and Jimmy Brown (St. Louis) 4.1, DiMaggio 4.0.
Pitchers, Wyatt 6.7 (career year), Walters 5.6, Riddle 5.1(rookie), White 4.4 (rookie, career year), Vander Meer 4.0, Jim Tobin (Boston) 3.9, Hal Schumacher (New York) 3.8, Higbe and Warneke (last good year) 3.6.
WAR leaders, position players: Reiser 7.7, Camilli 7.1, Fletcher 5.9, Hack 5.8, Mize 5.6, Walker 5.5, Ott 5.0, Medwick 4.6, Brown 4.2, Jurges and V. DiMaggio 4.0. Pitchers: Wyatt 6.7, Walters 5.6, Riddle 5.1, White 4.4, Vander Meer 4.0, Tobin 3.9, Schumacher 3.8, Higbe and Warneke 3.6, Derringer and Melton 3.2.
Actual award voting: 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 Dolph Camilli BRO 19 300 336 0.89 | 529 151 34 .285 .962 3
2 Pete Reiser BRO 2 183 336 0.54 | 536 184 14 .343 .964 4
3 Whit Wyatt BRO 0 151 336 0.45 | 109 26 3 .239 .639 0| 22-10 288 2.34 1.058 176 1
4 Jimmy Brown STL 1 107 336 0.32 | 549 168 3 .306 .769 2
5 Elmer Riddle CIN 0 98 336 0.29 | 71 16 0 .225 .538 0| 19-4 217 2.24 1.103 80 1
6 Ernie White STL 0 77 336 0.23 | 79 15 0 .190 .460 0| 17-7 210 2.40 1.138 117 2
7 Kirby Higbe BRO 0 64 336 0.19 | 112 21 0 .188 .448 0| 22-9 298 3.14 1.262 121 3
8 Johnny Hopp STL 0 61 336 0.18 | 445 135 4 .303 .813 15
9 Johnny Mize STL 0 48 336 0.14 | 473 150 16 .317 .941 4
10 Dixie Walker BRO 1 34 336 0.10 | 531 165 9 .311 .843 4
Top player: Pete Reiser. Not sure why the hustling batting champ didn't win the vote, but the veteran HR and RBI champ Camilli did. This was the only year Reiser could stay healthy the whole season. It was pretty close, but Reiser's defensive value in CF puts him over the top.
#1 Pete Reiser, #2 Dolph Camilli, #3 Stan Hack, #4 Elbie Fletcher, #5 Dixie Walker, #6 Johnny Mize.
Top pitcher: Whit Wyatt had the year of his lifetime, tying teammate Higbe for the lead in wins and placing #2 in ERA and strikeouts.
#1 Whit Wyatt, #2 Bucky Walters, #3 Elmer Riddle, #4 Ernie White, #5 Johnny Vander Meer.
Top rookie: Elmer Riddle, just barely a rookie, had a strong season.
Top manager: Leo Durocher brought the Dodgers home in front.
1941 American League
The War raging in Europe since 1939 began to take a toll on the National Pasttime, as a few players, most notably Hank Greenberg, entered military service. The big wave would not hit until the next year, and would then begin to affect the quality of the game. Stateside, the Yankees ran away with the pennant and then won the World Series, although Ted Williams hit .406 for the second-place Red Sox. Joe DiMaggio set a record with his 56-game hitting streak. Only the Yankees and Red Sox finished over .500, with the White Sox at that mark, as the Tigers sank with the absence of Greenberg and the aging of Charlie Gehringer. Cleveland tied Detroit at fourth, St. Louis and Washington tied for 6th, and Philadelphia was last.
Ted Williams became the last .400 hitter, batting .406 for the season. He led in on-base, slugging, and OPS. Williams also led with 135 runs and 37 homers. Cecil Travis had 218 hits, Lou Boudreau 45 doubles, Jeff Heath 20 triples. George Case stole 33 bases. Joe DiMaggio had 348 total bases and 125 RBI in addition to a long hitting streak.
Among pitchers, Bob Feller had 25 wins and 260 strikeouts, while Thornton Lee led with a 2.37 ERA. Lee also had 22 wins for second place. Al Benton was second in ERA at 2.97, Charlie Wagner third at 3.07. Bobo Newsom was second in strikeouts with 175. Feller threw 343 innings. Johnny Murphy led with 15 saves. Lee pitched 30 complete games.
Win Shares leaders, players; Ted Williams (Boston) 42, Joe DiMaggio (New York) 41, Cecil Travis (Washington) 34, Charlie Keller (New York) 32, Luke Appling (Chicago) 29, Jeff Heath (Cleveland) 28, Tommy Henrich (New York) 26, Taffy Wright (Chicago) and Sam Chapman (Philadelphia) 25, Joe Gordon (New York) 24.
Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Thornton Lee (Chicago) 32, Bob Feller (Cleveland) 30, Eddie Smith (Chicago) and Al Benton (Detroit) 20, Dutch Leonard (Washington) 19, Bob Muncrief (St. Louis) 18, Sid Hudson (Washington) 17, Marius Russo (New York) 16.
WAR scores: Williams 11.3, DiMaggio 9.4, Travis 6.8 (then went to war and came back well past his prime), Keller 6.6, Gordon 5.1, Joe Cronin (Boston) 4.9, Appling and Chapman (then lost his prime to the war) 4.9, Heath 4.7 (career year), Henrich 4.4, Phil Rizzuto (New York) 4.3, Jimmie Foxx (Boston) 4.0.
Pitchers, Lee 8.2 (career year), Feller 7.5 (some say his war service saved his arm---I don't know), Smith 5.1 (best year), Muncrief 4.4 (rookie), Benton and Leonard 4.3, Charlie Wagner (Boston) 4.2, Denny Galehouse (St. Louis) 3.8, Mickey Harris (Boston) 3.6, Phil Marchildon (Philadelphia) and Tommy Bridges (Detroit) 3.4.
Actual award voting: 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 Joe DiMaggio NYY 15 291 336 0.87 | 541 193 30 .357 1.083 4
2 Ted Williams BOS 8 254 336 0.76 | 456 185 37 .406 1.287 2
3 Bob Feller CLE 0 174 336 0.52 | 120 18 1 .150 .459 0| 25-13 343 3.15 1.394 260 2
4 Thornton Lee CHW 1 144 336 0.43 | 114 29 0 .254 .578 0| 22-11 300 2.37 1.166 130 1
5 Charlie Keller NYY 0 126 336 0.38 | 507 151 33 .298 .996 6
6 Cecil Travis WSH 0 101 336 0.30 | 608 218 7 .359 .930 2
7 Joe Gordon NYY 0 60 336 0.18 | 588 162 24 .276 .824 10
8 Jeff Heath CLE 0 37 336 0.11 | 585 199 24 .340 .982 18
9 Dick Newsome BOS 0 32 336 0.10 | 78 19 0 .244 .545 0| 19-10 214 4.13 1.469 58
10 Roy Cullenbine SLB 0 29 336 0.09 | 501 159 9 .317 .917 6
Top player: Ted Williams. Much has been made of this MVP vote over the years, and how Williams in his .406 season was robbed by DiMaggio's streak, or not. While Williams was certainly ahead offensively, when you add in defense they come in at a virtual dead heat, as shown by the WS and WAR numbers. Williams comes out slightly ahead in Win Shares, with a larger margin in WAR.
#1 Ted Williams, #2 Joe DiMaggio, #3 Cecil Travis, #4 Charlie Keller, #5 Joe Gordon.
Top pitcher: Thornton Lee, a fine pitcher, had to have the year of his life to beat out fireballing Bob Feller. It's close, with Feller's wins and strikeouts advantage balancing Lee's ERA lead, but both WS and WARP point to Lee by a nose.
#1 Thornton Lee, #2 Bob Feller, #3 Eddie Smith, #4 Dutch Leonard, #5 Al Benton.
Top rookie: Bob Muncrief turned in a fine year. He was never able to build on it, but was a member of the 1944 Browns' pennant winning rotation.
Top manager: Joe McCarthy returns to the top with the Yankees.
Ted Williams became the last .400 hitter, batting .406 for the season. He led in on-base, slugging, and OPS. Williams also led with 135 runs and 37 homers. Cecil Travis had 218 hits, Lou Boudreau 45 doubles, Jeff Heath 20 triples. George Case stole 33 bases. Joe DiMaggio had 348 total bases and 125 RBI in addition to a long hitting streak.
Among pitchers, Bob Feller had 25 wins and 260 strikeouts, while Thornton Lee led with a 2.37 ERA. Lee also had 22 wins for second place. Al Benton was second in ERA at 2.97, Charlie Wagner third at 3.07. Bobo Newsom was second in strikeouts with 175. Feller threw 343 innings. Johnny Murphy led with 15 saves. Lee pitched 30 complete games.
Win Shares leaders, players; Ted Williams (Boston) 42, Joe DiMaggio (New York) 41, Cecil Travis (Washington) 34, Charlie Keller (New York) 32, Luke Appling (Chicago) 29, Jeff Heath (Cleveland) 28, Tommy Henrich (New York) 26, Taffy Wright (Chicago) and Sam Chapman (Philadelphia) 25, Joe Gordon (New York) 24.
Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Thornton Lee (Chicago) 32, Bob Feller (Cleveland) 30, Eddie Smith (Chicago) and Al Benton (Detroit) 20, Dutch Leonard (Washington) 19, Bob Muncrief (St. Louis) 18, Sid Hudson (Washington) 17, Marius Russo (New York) 16.
WAR scores: Williams 11.3, DiMaggio 9.4, Travis 6.8 (then went to war and came back well past his prime), Keller 6.6, Gordon 5.1, Joe Cronin (Boston) 4.9, Appling and Chapman (then lost his prime to the war) 4.9, Heath 4.7 (career year), Henrich 4.4, Phil Rizzuto (New York) 4.3, Jimmie Foxx (Boston) 4.0.
Pitchers, Lee 8.2 (career year), Feller 7.5 (some say his war service saved his arm---I don't know), Smith 5.1 (best year), Muncrief 4.4 (rookie), Benton and Leonard 4.3, Charlie Wagner (Boston) 4.2, Denny Galehouse (St. Louis) 3.8, Mickey Harris (Boston) 3.6, Phil Marchildon (Philadelphia) and Tommy Bridges (Detroit) 3.4.
Actual award voting: 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 Joe DiMaggio NYY 15 291 336 0.87 | 541 193 30 .357 1.083 4
2 Ted Williams BOS 8 254 336 0.76 | 456 185 37 .406 1.287 2
3 Bob Feller CLE 0 174 336 0.52 | 120 18 1 .150 .459 0| 25-13 343 3.15 1.394 260 2
4 Thornton Lee CHW 1 144 336 0.43 | 114 29 0 .254 .578 0| 22-11 300 2.37 1.166 130 1
5 Charlie Keller NYY 0 126 336 0.38 | 507 151 33 .298 .996 6
6 Cecil Travis WSH 0 101 336 0.30 | 608 218 7 .359 .930 2
7 Joe Gordon NYY 0 60 336 0.18 | 588 162 24 .276 .824 10
8 Jeff Heath CLE 0 37 336 0.11 | 585 199 24 .340 .982 18
9 Dick Newsome BOS 0 32 336 0.10 | 78 19 0 .244 .545 0| 19-10 214 4.13 1.469 58
10 Roy Cullenbine SLB 0 29 336 0.09 | 501 159 9 .317 .917 6
Top player: Ted Williams. Much has been made of this MVP vote over the years, and how Williams in his .406 season was robbed by DiMaggio's streak, or not. While Williams was certainly ahead offensively, when you add in defense they come in at a virtual dead heat, as shown by the WS and WAR numbers. Williams comes out slightly ahead in Win Shares, with a larger margin in WAR.
#1 Ted Williams, #2 Joe DiMaggio, #3 Cecil Travis, #4 Charlie Keller, #5 Joe Gordon.
Top pitcher: Thornton Lee, a fine pitcher, had to have the year of his life to beat out fireballing Bob Feller. It's close, with Feller's wins and strikeouts advantage balancing Lee's ERA lead, but both WS and WARP point to Lee by a nose.
#1 Thornton Lee, #2 Bob Feller, #3 Eddie Smith, #4 Dutch Leonard, #5 Al Benton.
Top rookie: Bob Muncrief turned in a fine year. He was never able to build on it, but was a member of the 1944 Browns' pennant winning rotation.
Top manager: Joe McCarthy returns to the top with the Yankees.
12 June 2008
1940 National League
The Cincinnati Reds won their second straight pennant, and second ever World Series. This was their first untainted World's Championship, as the first time had been over the 1919 Black Sox. The Reds outpaced Brooklyn by 12 games. St. Louis was 3rd and Pittsburgh 4th, followed by Chicago, New York, and Boston. Philadelphia lost 103 games to finish last. Cincinnati won with pitching and defense, a hallmark of manager Bill McKechnie, but would become infected with another McKechnie hallmark, the sacrifice of too much offense to get defense. The offense was already slipping.
Debs Garms ran away with the batting title at .355: Ernie Lombardi was second at .319. Elbie Fletcher led in on-base, while Johnny Mize topped the slugging and OPS boards. Mize led with 43 HR and 137 RBI, and also in total bases. Arky Vaughan led with 113 runs and also 15 triples. Stan Hack and Frank McCormick tied with 191 hits, while Lonny Frey stole 22 bases.
Bucky Walters led with 22 wins and a 2.48 ERA, while Kirby Higbe led with 137 strikeouts. Claude Passeau was second in strikeouts and ERA and tied for second in wins. The league lead in saves was seven.
Win Shares leaders, players; Johnny Mize (St. Louis) 33, Arky Vaughan (Pittsburgh) 31, Frank McCormick and Billy Werber (Cincinnati) 27, Elbie Fletcher (Pittsburgh) 26, Dolph Camilli (Brooklyn) and Stan Hack (Chicago) 25, Chet Ross (Boston), Lonnie Frey (Cincinnati) and Mel Ott (New York) 24, Dixie Walker (Brooklyn), Terry Moore and Enos Slaughter (St. Louis) 22.
Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Bucky Walters (Cincinnati) 32, Claude Passeau (Chicago) 28, Paul Derringer (Cincinnati) 24, Kirby Higbe (Philadelphia) 21, Hugh Mulcahy (Philadelphia) 19, Dick Errickson (Boston), Larry French (Chicago), Junior Thompson and Jim Turner (Cincinnati), and Lon Warneke (Chicago) 18.
WAR scores: Vaughan 7.4, Mize 7.0, Frey 6.6, McCormick 6.0, Fletcher 5.5, Hack 5.4, Camilli, Ott, and Eddie Miller (Boston) 5.1, Werber 5.0 (last good year), Moore (career year) and Debs Garms (Pittsburgh) 4.3, Ross 4.1 (rookie, only year as regular), Slaughter and Jimmy Gleeson (Chicago) 4.0.
Pitchers, Walters 6.4, Passeau 6.2 (career year), French 4.5, Derringer 4.3, Rip Sewell (Pittsburgh) 4.2, Errickson 4.1 (career year), Higbe, Warneke, Whit Wyatt and Freddie Fitzsimmons (both Brooklyn) and Mort Cooper (St. Louis) 3.7.
Actual award voting: 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 Frank McCormick CIN 16 274 336 0.82 | 618 191 19 .309 .850 2
2 Johnny Mize STL 6 209 336 0.62 | 579 182 43 .314 1.039 7
3 Bucky Walters CIN 0 146 336 0.43 | 117 24 1 .205 .488 2| 22-10 305 2.48 1.092 115
4 Paul Derringer CIN 1 121 336 0.36 | 108 18 0 .167 .370 0| 20-12 297 3.06 1.105 115
5 Freddie Fitzsimmons BRO 0 84 336 0.25 | 47 5 0 .106 .304 0| 16-2 134 2.81 1.080 35 1
6 Dixie Walker BRO 0 71 336 0.21 | 556 171 6 .308 .793 3
7 Harry Danning NYG 0 64 336 0.19 | 524 157 13 .300 .803 3
8 Stan Hack CHC 0 61 336 0.18 | 603 191 8 .317 .834 21
9 Ernie Lombardi CIN 1 38 336 0.11 | 376 120 14 .319 .871 0
10 Billy Werber CIN 0 36 336 0.11 | 584 162 12 .277 .777 16
Top player: Johnny Mize led in homers and OPS by large margins, and also led in RBI. He was 5th in average.
#1 Johnny Mize, #2 Arky Vaughan, #3 Frank McCormick, #4 Billy Werber, #5 Stan Hack.
Top pitcher: Bucky Walters again, a big reason the Reds won these two pennants.
#1 Bucky Walters, #2 Claude Passeau, #3 Paul Derringer, #4 Lon Warneke, #5 Whit Wyatt.
Top rookie: Chet Ross had a strong rookie year for Boston but could never repeat it.
Top manager: Bill McKechnie, but his style would soon overwhelm the team.
Debs Garms ran away with the batting title at .355: Ernie Lombardi was second at .319. Elbie Fletcher led in on-base, while Johnny Mize topped the slugging and OPS boards. Mize led with 43 HR and 137 RBI, and also in total bases. Arky Vaughan led with 113 runs and also 15 triples. Stan Hack and Frank McCormick tied with 191 hits, while Lonny Frey stole 22 bases.
Bucky Walters led with 22 wins and a 2.48 ERA, while Kirby Higbe led with 137 strikeouts. Claude Passeau was second in strikeouts and ERA and tied for second in wins. The league lead in saves was seven.
Win Shares leaders, players; Johnny Mize (St. Louis) 33, Arky Vaughan (Pittsburgh) 31, Frank McCormick and Billy Werber (Cincinnati) 27, Elbie Fletcher (Pittsburgh) 26, Dolph Camilli (Brooklyn) and Stan Hack (Chicago) 25, Chet Ross (Boston), Lonnie Frey (Cincinnati) and Mel Ott (New York) 24, Dixie Walker (Brooklyn), Terry Moore and Enos Slaughter (St. Louis) 22.
Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Bucky Walters (Cincinnati) 32, Claude Passeau (Chicago) 28, Paul Derringer (Cincinnati) 24, Kirby Higbe (Philadelphia) 21, Hugh Mulcahy (Philadelphia) 19, Dick Errickson (Boston), Larry French (Chicago), Junior Thompson and Jim Turner (Cincinnati), and Lon Warneke (Chicago) 18.
WAR scores: Vaughan 7.4, Mize 7.0, Frey 6.6, McCormick 6.0, Fletcher 5.5, Hack 5.4, Camilli, Ott, and Eddie Miller (Boston) 5.1, Werber 5.0 (last good year), Moore (career year) and Debs Garms (Pittsburgh) 4.3, Ross 4.1 (rookie, only year as regular), Slaughter and Jimmy Gleeson (Chicago) 4.0.
Pitchers, Walters 6.4, Passeau 6.2 (career year), French 4.5, Derringer 4.3, Rip Sewell (Pittsburgh) 4.2, Errickson 4.1 (career year), Higbe, Warneke, Whit Wyatt and Freddie Fitzsimmons (both Brooklyn) and Mort Cooper (St. Louis) 3.7.
Actual award voting: 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 Frank McCormick CIN 16 274 336 0.82 | 618 191 19 .309 .850 2
2 Johnny Mize STL 6 209 336 0.62 | 579 182 43 .314 1.039 7
3 Bucky Walters CIN 0 146 336 0.43 | 117 24 1 .205 .488 2| 22-10 305 2.48 1.092 115
4 Paul Derringer CIN 1 121 336 0.36 | 108 18 0 .167 .370 0| 20-12 297 3.06 1.105 115
5 Freddie Fitzsimmons BRO 0 84 336 0.25 | 47 5 0 .106 .304 0| 16-2 134 2.81 1.080 35 1
6 Dixie Walker BRO 0 71 336 0.21 | 556 171 6 .308 .793 3
7 Harry Danning NYG 0 64 336 0.19 | 524 157 13 .300 .803 3
8 Stan Hack CHC 0 61 336 0.18 | 603 191 8 .317 .834 21
9 Ernie Lombardi CIN 1 38 336 0.11 | 376 120 14 .319 .871 0
10 Billy Werber CIN 0 36 336 0.11 | 584 162 12 .277 .777 16
Top player: Johnny Mize led in homers and OPS by large margins, and also led in RBI. He was 5th in average.
#1 Johnny Mize, #2 Arky Vaughan, #3 Frank McCormick, #4 Billy Werber, #5 Stan Hack.
Top pitcher: Bucky Walters again, a big reason the Reds won these two pennants.
#1 Bucky Walters, #2 Claude Passeau, #3 Paul Derringer, #4 Lon Warneke, #5 Whit Wyatt.
Top rookie: Chet Ross had a strong rookie year for Boston but could never repeat it.
Top manager: Bill McKechnie, but his style would soon overwhelm the team.
1940 American League
The Detroit Tigers won the pennant, the only interruption of the Yankees' run of six pennants in seven years. It wasn't easy, as this was the best AL pennant race in years, with the Indians one game back and the Yankees two games back. Chicago and Boston tied for 4th, just 8 behind. Boston led the early going, then Detroit and Cleveland swapped the lead back and forth. The Yankees made a run at the end. St. Louis and Washington were also-rans, while Philadelphia lost 100. The Yankee offense struggled as the loss of Lou Gehrig was felt, especially when Bill Dickey got old and Frankie Crosetti hit just .194. The pitching also struggled a bit.
Joe DiMaggio won another batting title at .352, edging Luke Appling at .348 and Ted Williams at .344. Williams led in on-base, while Hank Greenberg led in slugging and OPS, as well as total bases, doubles (50), home runs (41) and RBI (150). Williams led with 134 runs. Playing in the toughest hitters' park, DiMaggio led in OPS+. Barney McCoskey led with 19 triples and George Case with 35 steals.
Bob Feller dominated the pitching categories again with another Triple Crown. He had 27 wins, 261 strikeouts, and a 2.61 ERA. Bobo Newsom was second in all categories with 21 wins, 164 strikeouts, and a 2.83 ERA. Al Benton led with 17 saves.
Win Shares leaders, players; Hank Greenberg (Detroit) and Joe DiMaggio (New York) 31, Ted Williams (Boston) and Lou Boudreau (Cleveland) 30, Luke Appling (Chicago) 28, Hal Trosky (Cleveland) 27, Rudy York (Detroit) and Joe Gordon (New York) 26, Joe Cronin and Jimmie Foxx (Boston), Barney McCosky (Detroit) and Charlie Keller (New York) 24.
Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Bob Feller (Cleveland) 34, Bobo Newsom (Detroit) 26, Johnny Rigney (Chicago) 24, Eldon Auker (St. Louis) 22, Dutch Leonard and Ken Chase (Washington) 20, Thornton Lee (Chicago) 19, Eddie Smith (Chicago) and Schoolboy Rowe (Detroit) 18.
WAR scores: DiMaggio 7.3, Greenberg 6.4, Williams 6.0, Gordon 5.8, Appling 5.6, Boudreau (first year as regular) and Keller 5.4, Foxx 4.6, York 4.4, McCosky 4.0, Harlond Clift (St. Louis) 3.9, Joe Kuhel (Chicago) 3.5, Trosky (last good year), Frankie Hayes (Philadelphia) and Charlie Gehringer (Detroit) 3.4.
Pitchers, Feller 9.4, Newsom 7.3, Rigney 6.0, Auker 5.0 (last good year), Leonard and Rowe 4.9, Chase (career year) and Tommy Bridges (Detroit) 4.8, Lee and Johnny Babich (Philadelphia) 4.4, Smith 3.9.
Actual award voting: 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 16 292 336 0.87 | 573 195 41 .340 1.103 6
2 Bob Feller CLE 6 222 336 0.66 | 115 18 2 .157 .481 0| 27-11 320 2.61 1.133 261 4
3 Joe DiMaggio NYY 0 151 336 0.45 | 508 179 31 .352 1.051 1
4 Bobo Newsom DET 1 120 336 0.36 | 107 23 0 .215 .484 0| 21-5 264 2.83 1.269 164
5 Lou Boudreau CLE 1 119 336 0.35 | 627 185 9 .295 .814 6
6 Jimmie Foxx BOS 0 110 336 0.33 | 515 153 36 .297 .993 4
7 Schoolboy Rowe DET 0 62 336 0.18 | 67 18 1 .269 .752 1| 16-3 169 3.46 1.260 61
8 Rudy York DET 0 61 336 0.18 | 588 186 33 .316 .993 3
9 Rip Radcliff SLB 0 55 336 0.16 | 584 200 7 .342 .858 6
10 Luke Appling CHW 0 54 336 0.16 | 566 197 0 .348 .862 3
Top player: Hank Greenberg. Almost a dead heat between Greenberg and DiMaggio, but Greenberg holds the trump card of the pennant-winning team.
#1 Hank Greenberg, #2 Joe DiMaggio, #3 Ted Williams, #4 Lou Boudreau, #5 Luke Appling.
Top pitcher: Bob Feller by a margin rarely seen. Triple crown winner.
#1 Bob Feller, #2 Bobo Newsom, #3 Johnny Rigney, #4 Elden Auker, #5 Dutch Leonard.
Best rookie: Walt Judnich edges out Dom DiMaggio. Both lost significant parts of their careers, and a shot at the Hall of Fame, to war service. Judnich hit .303 with 24 HR and 89 RBI for St. Louis, and DiMaggio hit .301 and played great defense for Boston.
Best manager: Del Baker brought the Tigers home in front after a terrific pennant race.
Joe DiMaggio won another batting title at .352, edging Luke Appling at .348 and Ted Williams at .344. Williams led in on-base, while Hank Greenberg led in slugging and OPS, as well as total bases, doubles (50), home runs (41) and RBI (150). Williams led with 134 runs. Playing in the toughest hitters' park, DiMaggio led in OPS+. Barney McCoskey led with 19 triples and George Case with 35 steals.
Bob Feller dominated the pitching categories again with another Triple Crown. He had 27 wins, 261 strikeouts, and a 2.61 ERA. Bobo Newsom was second in all categories with 21 wins, 164 strikeouts, and a 2.83 ERA. Al Benton led with 17 saves.
Win Shares leaders, players; Hank Greenberg (Detroit) and Joe DiMaggio (New York) 31, Ted Williams (Boston) and Lou Boudreau (Cleveland) 30, Luke Appling (Chicago) 28, Hal Trosky (Cleveland) 27, Rudy York (Detroit) and Joe Gordon (New York) 26, Joe Cronin and Jimmie Foxx (Boston), Barney McCosky (Detroit) and Charlie Keller (New York) 24.
Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Bob Feller (Cleveland) 34, Bobo Newsom (Detroit) 26, Johnny Rigney (Chicago) 24, Eldon Auker (St. Louis) 22, Dutch Leonard and Ken Chase (Washington) 20, Thornton Lee (Chicago) 19, Eddie Smith (Chicago) and Schoolboy Rowe (Detroit) 18.
WAR scores: DiMaggio 7.3, Greenberg 6.4, Williams 6.0, Gordon 5.8, Appling 5.6, Boudreau (first year as regular) and Keller 5.4, Foxx 4.6, York 4.4, McCosky 4.0, Harlond Clift (St. Louis) 3.9, Joe Kuhel (Chicago) 3.5, Trosky (last good year), Frankie Hayes (Philadelphia) and Charlie Gehringer (Detroit) 3.4.
Pitchers, Feller 9.4, Newsom 7.3, Rigney 6.0, Auker 5.0 (last good year), Leonard and Rowe 4.9, Chase (career year) and Tommy Bridges (Detroit) 4.8, Lee and Johnny Babich (Philadelphia) 4.4, Smith 3.9.
Actual award voting: 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 16 292 336 0.87 | 573 195 41 .340 1.103 6
2 Bob Feller CLE 6 222 336 0.66 | 115 18 2 .157 .481 0| 27-11 320 2.61 1.133 261 4
3 Joe DiMaggio NYY 0 151 336 0.45 | 508 179 31 .352 1.051 1
4 Bobo Newsom DET 1 120 336 0.36 | 107 23 0 .215 .484 0| 21-5 264 2.83 1.269 164
5 Lou Boudreau CLE 1 119 336 0.35 | 627 185 9 .295 .814 6
6 Jimmie Foxx BOS 0 110 336 0.33 | 515 153 36 .297 .993 4
7 Schoolboy Rowe DET 0 62 336 0.18 | 67 18 1 .269 .752 1| 16-3 169 3.46 1.260 61
8 Rudy York DET 0 61 336 0.18 | 588 186 33 .316 .993 3
9 Rip Radcliff SLB 0 55 336 0.16 | 584 200 7 .342 .858 6
10 Luke Appling CHW 0 54 336 0.16 | 566 197 0 .348 .862 3
Top player: Hank Greenberg. Almost a dead heat between Greenberg and DiMaggio, but Greenberg holds the trump card of the pennant-winning team.
#1 Hank Greenberg, #2 Joe DiMaggio, #3 Ted Williams, #4 Lou Boudreau, #5 Luke Appling.
Top pitcher: Bob Feller by a margin rarely seen. Triple crown winner.
#1 Bob Feller, #2 Bobo Newsom, #3 Johnny Rigney, #4 Elden Auker, #5 Dutch Leonard.
Best rookie: Walt Judnich edges out Dom DiMaggio. Both lost significant parts of their careers, and a shot at the Hall of Fame, to war service. Judnich hit .303 with 24 HR and 89 RBI for St. Louis, and DiMaggio hit .301 and played great defense for Boston.
Best manager: Del Baker brought the Tigers home in front after a terrific pennant race.
10 June 2008
1939 National League
The Cincinnati Reds won their first pennant in 20 years by beating out the Cardinals; the margin was 4.5 games. The Reds had a comfortable lead for much of the summer, with the Cardinals making a run at the end. Brooklyn was third, Chicago fourth, and New York 5th. Pittsburgh and Boston trailed, while Philadelphia finished last, losing 106 times. Cincy and St. Louis fought it out, with the best pitching defeating the best hitting. But each team was 2nd in the other's specialty.
Johnny Mize won the batting title at .349, and also led with 28 home runs. He led the league in slugging, OPS, and total bases as well. Billy Werber led with 115 runs, Frank McCormick with 209 hits and 128 RBI. Enos Slaughter had 52 doubles, Billy Herman 18 triples, while Stan Hack and Lee Handley tied with 17 steals.
Bucky Walters won a pitching Triple Crown, leading the league with 27 wins and a 2.29 ERA, and tying Claude Passeau with 117 strikeouts. Paul Derringer had 25 wins, Curt Davis 22, Luke Hamlin 20. Bob Bowman had a 2.60 ERA, Carl Hubbell 2.75.
Win Shares leaders, players; Johnny Mize (St. Louis) 33, Dolph Camilli (Brooklyn) and Mel Ott (New York) 28, Harry Danning (New York) 27, Billy Herman (Chicago), Lonnie Frey, Ival Goodman, Frank McCormick, and Billy Werber (all Cincinnati) and Arky Vaughan (Pittsburgh) 25, Joe Medwick (St. Louis) 24.
Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Bucky Walters (Cincinnati) 38, Paul Derringer (Cincinnati) 26, Curt Davis (St. Louis) 22, Hugh Casey (Brooklyn) and Claude Passeau (Philadelphia/Chicago) 21, Bill Lee (Chicago) 20, Luke Hamlin (Brooklyn) and Bob Bowman (St. Louis) 19, Mort Cooper (St. Louis) 18.
WAR scores: Mize 7.4, Camilli 6.2, Frey 6.0, Ott 5.8, Goodman 5.4, McCormick and Billy Myers (Cincinnati) 5.2, Vaughan 4.9, Werber 4.5, Herman 4.3, Danning (career year), Max West (Boston) and Billy Jurges (New York) 4.2, Medwick 4.1.
Pitchers, Walters 7.7 (career year), Passeau 5.3, Derringer 4.8, Bowman 4.6 (rookie, only good year), Lee 4.5, Casey 4.4 (rookie), Hamlin 4.1 (career year), Larry French (Chicago) 3.7, Junior Thompson (Cincinnati) 3.2, Cooper 3.1 (rookie).
WAR, position players: Mize 7.9, Camilli 6.8, Frey 6.2, Ott 5.9, Goodman and Myers 5.5, McCormick 5.4, Vaughan 5.3, Werber 4.8, Medwick 4.7, West 4.6, Herman 4.4, Slaughter 4.3. Pitchers: Walters 7.7, Passeau 5.3, Derringer 4.8, Bowman 4.6, Lee 4.5, Casey 4.4, Hamlin 4.1, French 3.7, Thompson 3.2, Cooper 3.1.
Actual award voting: 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 Bucky Walters CIN 18 303 336 0.90 | 120 39 1 .325 .790 1| 27-11 319 2.29 1.125 137
2 Johnny Mize STL 1 178 336 0.53 | 564 197 28 .349 1.070 0
3 Paul Derringer CIN 2 174 336 0.52 | 110 23 0 .209 .453 0| 25-7 301 2.93 1.183 128
4 Frank McCormick CIN 2 159 336 0.47 | 630 209 18 .332 .869 1
5 Curt Davis STL 0 106 336 0.32 | 105 40 1 .381 .855 0| 22-16 248 3.63 1.319 70 7
6 Jimmy Brown STL 1 99 336 0.29 | 645 192 3 .298 .719 4
7 Joe Medwick STL 0 81 336 0.24 | 606 201 14 .332 .886 6
8 Leo Durocher BRO 0 52 336 0.15 | 390 108 1 .277 .695 2
9 Harry Danning NYG 0 33 336 0.10 | 520 163 16 .313 .838 4
10 Luke Hamlin BRO 0 32 336 0.10 | 103 13 1 .126 .319 0| 20-13 270 3.64 1.146 88
Top hitter: Johnny Mize, the top man on the top offense. If the Cards win the pennant, he wins the MVP. The pitcher from the pennant winners beat him out. Mize led the league in average and homers, and was 3rd in RBI.
#1 Johnny Mize, #2 Dolph Camilli, #3 Mel Ott, #4 Lonny Frey, #5 Ival Goodman, #6 Frank McCormick.
Top pitcher: Bucky Walters swept the Reds along to the pennant, winning the pitchers' triple crown.
#1 Bucky Walters, #2 Paul Derringer, #3 Claude Passeau, #4 Bill Lee, #5 Hugh Casey.
Top rookie: Hugh Casey of Brooklyn was quite effective, beating out one-year wonder and reliever Bowman. Mort Cooper would have the best career.
Top manager: Bill McKechnie got the Reds back to the top.
Johnny Mize won the batting title at .349, and also led with 28 home runs. He led the league in slugging, OPS, and total bases as well. Billy Werber led with 115 runs, Frank McCormick with 209 hits and 128 RBI. Enos Slaughter had 52 doubles, Billy Herman 18 triples, while Stan Hack and Lee Handley tied with 17 steals.
Bucky Walters won a pitching Triple Crown, leading the league with 27 wins and a 2.29 ERA, and tying Claude Passeau with 117 strikeouts. Paul Derringer had 25 wins, Curt Davis 22, Luke Hamlin 20. Bob Bowman had a 2.60 ERA, Carl Hubbell 2.75.
Win Shares leaders, players; Johnny Mize (St. Louis) 33, Dolph Camilli (Brooklyn) and Mel Ott (New York) 28, Harry Danning (New York) 27, Billy Herman (Chicago), Lonnie Frey, Ival Goodman, Frank McCormick, and Billy Werber (all Cincinnati) and Arky Vaughan (Pittsburgh) 25, Joe Medwick (St. Louis) 24.
Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Bucky Walters (Cincinnati) 38, Paul Derringer (Cincinnati) 26, Curt Davis (St. Louis) 22, Hugh Casey (Brooklyn) and Claude Passeau (Philadelphia/Chicago) 21, Bill Lee (Chicago) 20, Luke Hamlin (Brooklyn) and Bob Bowman (St. Louis) 19, Mort Cooper (St. Louis) 18.
WAR scores: Mize 7.4, Camilli 6.2, Frey 6.0, Ott 5.8, Goodman 5.4, McCormick and Billy Myers (Cincinnati) 5.2, Vaughan 4.9, Werber 4.5, Herman 4.3, Danning (career year), Max West (Boston) and Billy Jurges (New York) 4.2, Medwick 4.1.
Pitchers, Walters 7.7 (career year), Passeau 5.3, Derringer 4.8, Bowman 4.6 (rookie, only good year), Lee 4.5, Casey 4.4 (rookie), Hamlin 4.1 (career year), Larry French (Chicago) 3.7, Junior Thompson (Cincinnati) 3.2, Cooper 3.1 (rookie).
WAR, position players: Mize 7.9, Camilli 6.8, Frey 6.2, Ott 5.9, Goodman and Myers 5.5, McCormick 5.4, Vaughan 5.3, Werber 4.8, Medwick 4.7, West 4.6, Herman 4.4, Slaughter 4.3. Pitchers: Walters 7.7, Passeau 5.3, Derringer 4.8, Bowman 4.6, Lee 4.5, Casey 4.4, Hamlin 4.1, French 3.7, Thompson 3.2, Cooper 3.1.
Actual award voting: 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 Bucky Walters CIN 18 303 336 0.90 | 120 39 1 .325 .790 1| 27-11 319 2.29 1.125 137
2 Johnny Mize STL 1 178 336 0.53 | 564 197 28 .349 1.070 0
3 Paul Derringer CIN 2 174 336 0.52 | 110 23 0 .209 .453 0| 25-7 301 2.93 1.183 128
4 Frank McCormick CIN 2 159 336 0.47 | 630 209 18 .332 .869 1
5 Curt Davis STL 0 106 336 0.32 | 105 40 1 .381 .855 0| 22-16 248 3.63 1.319 70 7
6 Jimmy Brown STL 1 99 336 0.29 | 645 192 3 .298 .719 4
7 Joe Medwick STL 0 81 336 0.24 | 606 201 14 .332 .886 6
8 Leo Durocher BRO 0 52 336 0.15 | 390 108 1 .277 .695 2
9 Harry Danning NYG 0 33 336 0.10 | 520 163 16 .313 .838 4
10 Luke Hamlin BRO 0 32 336 0.10 | 103 13 1 .126 .319 0| 20-13 270 3.64 1.146 88
Top hitter: Johnny Mize, the top man on the top offense. If the Cards win the pennant, he wins the MVP. The pitcher from the pennant winners beat him out. Mize led the league in average and homers, and was 3rd in RBI.
#1 Johnny Mize, #2 Dolph Camilli, #3 Mel Ott, #4 Lonny Frey, #5 Ival Goodman, #6 Frank McCormick.
Top pitcher: Bucky Walters swept the Reds along to the pennant, winning the pitchers' triple crown.
#1 Bucky Walters, #2 Paul Derringer, #3 Claude Passeau, #4 Bill Lee, #5 Hugh Casey.
Top rookie: Hugh Casey of Brooklyn was quite effective, beating out one-year wonder and reliever Bowman. Mort Cooper would have the best career.
Top manager: Bill McKechnie got the Reds back to the top.
1939 American League
The Yankees won their fourth straight pennant and then won their fourth straight World Series by sweeping the Reds. They took the pennant by a 17-game margin, with Lou Gehrig forced to the sidelines by the disease that would take his life and now bears his name. It was easy to believe that New York would continue to win the Series for the foreseeable future. Boston finished second, followed by Cleveland, Chicago and Detroit, all over .500. Washington was mediocre, Philadelphia lost 97 games, and St. Louis lost 111.
Joe DiMaggio won the batting title with a .381 average. Veteran Jimmie Foxx was second at .360, and led in other percentage categories; on-base, slugging, and OPS. Yankees third baseman and leadoff man Red Rolfe led in runs with 139, hits with 213, and doubles with 46. Foxx led in home runs with 35, and rookie teammate Ted Williams led in RBI with 145. DiMaggio had 126, Bob Johnson 114, Hank Greenberg 112. George Case led with 51 steals.
Veteran Lefty Grove led in ERA with a 2.51 mark, but phenom Bob Feller led in innings, wins with 24 and strikeouts with 246. Feller and Bobo Newsom tied for the lead in complete games, while Red Ruffing led with five shutouts. Johnny Murphy led with 19 saves, edging Clint Brown at 18.
Win Shares leaders, players; Joe DiMaggio (New York) 34, Ted Williams (Boston) 32, Jimmie Foxx (Boston) and Red Rolfe (New York) 30, Bob Johnson (Philadelphia) 29, Bill Dickey (New York) 27, Ken Keltner (Cleveland) 26, Joe Gordon and George Selkirk (New York) 25, Luke Appling (Chicago) and Hank Greenberg (Detroit) 24.
Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Bob Feller (Cleveland) 32, Bobo Newsom (St. Louis/Detroit) 26, Lefty Grove (Boston) 23, Red Ruffing (New York) 22, Dutch Leonard (Washington) 21, Ted Lyons and Johnny Rigney (Chicago) 20, Tommy Bridges (Detroit) 19, Thornton Lee (Chicago) and Al Milnar (Cleveland) 18.
WAR (Wins Against Replacement) scores: DiMaggio 8.9, Foxx 7.1, Rolfe 6.9, Williams 6.8 (rookie), Gordon 6.5, Johnson 6.0 (best year), Selkirk 5.9 (best year), Dickey (last great season) and Buddy Lewis (Washington) 5.3, Greenberg 5.2, Hal Trosky (Cleveland) and Charlie Keller (New York) 5.1, Keltner (breakthrough year) and Charlie Gehringer (Detroit) 4.6, Appling 4.3.
Pitchers, Feller 8.6, Newsom 7.5, Grove 6.5 (last strong year), Ruffing 5.1 (last 20-win season), Bridges 4.8, Leonard 4.6, Mel Harder (Cleveland) 4.5, Lyons 4.4, Rigney 4.3, Milnar 3.9 (best year), Lefty Gomez (New York) 3.8, Lee 3.7.
WAR, position players: DiMaggio 9.1, Foxx 8.0, Williams 7.9, Gordon and Rolfe 7.3, Johnson 7.2, Greenberg 6.6, Selkirk 6.4, Lewis 6.2, Dickey and Trosky 5.9, Keller and Keltner 5.5. Pitchers: Feller 8.6, Newsom 7.5, Grove 6.5, Ruffing 5.1, Bridges 4.8, Leonard 4.6, Harder 4.5, Lyons 4.4, Rigney 4.3, Milnar 3.9, Gomez 3.8, Lee 3.7.
Actual award voting: 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 Joe DiMaggio NYY 15 280 336 0.83 | 462 176 30 .381 1.119 3
2 Jimmie Foxx BOS 1 170 336 0.51 | 467 168 35 .360 1.158 4| 0-0 1 0.00 0.000 1
3 Bob Feller CLE 3 155 336 0.46 | 99 21 0 .212 .599 0| 24-9 297 2.85 1.244 246 1
4 Ted Williams BOS 0 126 336 0.38 | 565 185 31 .327 1.045 2
5 Red Ruffing NYY 0 116 336 0.35 | 114 35 1 .307 .689 1| 21-7 233 2.93 1.226 95
6 Bill Dickey NYY 3 110 336 0.33 | 480 145 24 .302 .915 5
7 Dutch Leonard WSH 1 71 336 0.21 | 95 21 0 .221 .482 0| 20-8 269 3.54 1.233 88
8 Bob Johnson PHA 0 52 336 0.15 | 544 184 23 .338 .993 15
9 Joe Gordon NYY 0 43 336 0.13 | 567 161 28 .284 .876 11
10 Mike Kreevich CHW 1 38 336 0.11 | 541 175 5 .323 .826 23
Top player: Joe DiMaggio, as the voters were right on the money. Joe D. was right behind Foxx in OPS, and was also one of the greats with the glove.
#1 Joe DiMaggio, #2 Jimmie Foxx, #3 Ted Williams, #4 Red Rolfe, #5 Bob Johnson, #6 Bill Dickey.
Top pitcher: Bob Feller led in wins and strikeouts and was 3rd in ERA, and threw a lot more innings than the guys ahead of him.
#1 Bob Feller, #2 Bobo Newsom, #3 Lefty Grove, #4 Red Ruffing, #5 Dutch Leonard.
Top rookie: Ted Williams posted one of the great rookie seasons ever.
Top manager: Joe McCarthy guided the Yankees to the pinnacle again.
Joe DiMaggio won the batting title with a .381 average. Veteran Jimmie Foxx was second at .360, and led in other percentage categories; on-base, slugging, and OPS. Yankees third baseman and leadoff man Red Rolfe led in runs with 139, hits with 213, and doubles with 46. Foxx led in home runs with 35, and rookie teammate Ted Williams led in RBI with 145. DiMaggio had 126, Bob Johnson 114, Hank Greenberg 112. George Case led with 51 steals.
Veteran Lefty Grove led in ERA with a 2.51 mark, but phenom Bob Feller led in innings, wins with 24 and strikeouts with 246. Feller and Bobo Newsom tied for the lead in complete games, while Red Ruffing led with five shutouts. Johnny Murphy led with 19 saves, edging Clint Brown at 18.
Win Shares leaders, players; Joe DiMaggio (New York) 34, Ted Williams (Boston) 32, Jimmie Foxx (Boston) and Red Rolfe (New York) 30, Bob Johnson (Philadelphia) 29, Bill Dickey (New York) 27, Ken Keltner (Cleveland) 26, Joe Gordon and George Selkirk (New York) 25, Luke Appling (Chicago) and Hank Greenberg (Detroit) 24.
Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Bob Feller (Cleveland) 32, Bobo Newsom (St. Louis/Detroit) 26, Lefty Grove (Boston) 23, Red Ruffing (New York) 22, Dutch Leonard (Washington) 21, Ted Lyons and Johnny Rigney (Chicago) 20, Tommy Bridges (Detroit) 19, Thornton Lee (Chicago) and Al Milnar (Cleveland) 18.
WAR (Wins Against Replacement) scores: DiMaggio 8.9, Foxx 7.1, Rolfe 6.9, Williams 6.8 (rookie), Gordon 6.5, Johnson 6.0 (best year), Selkirk 5.9 (best year), Dickey (last great season) and Buddy Lewis (Washington) 5.3, Greenberg 5.2, Hal Trosky (Cleveland) and Charlie Keller (New York) 5.1, Keltner (breakthrough year) and Charlie Gehringer (Detroit) 4.6, Appling 4.3.
Pitchers, Feller 8.6, Newsom 7.5, Grove 6.5 (last strong year), Ruffing 5.1 (last 20-win season), Bridges 4.8, Leonard 4.6, Mel Harder (Cleveland) 4.5, Lyons 4.4, Rigney 4.3, Milnar 3.9 (best year), Lefty Gomez (New York) 3.8, Lee 3.7.
WAR, position players: DiMaggio 9.1, Foxx 8.0, Williams 7.9, Gordon and Rolfe 7.3, Johnson 7.2, Greenberg 6.6, Selkirk 6.4, Lewis 6.2, Dickey and Trosky 5.9, Keller and Keltner 5.5. Pitchers: Feller 8.6, Newsom 7.5, Grove 6.5, Ruffing 5.1, Bridges 4.8, Leonard 4.6, Harder 4.5, Lyons 4.4, Rigney 4.3, Milnar 3.9, Gomez 3.8, Lee 3.7.
Actual award voting: 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 Joe DiMaggio NYY 15 280 336 0.83 | 462 176 30 .381 1.119 3
2 Jimmie Foxx BOS 1 170 336 0.51 | 467 168 35 .360 1.158 4| 0-0 1 0.00 0.000 1
3 Bob Feller CLE 3 155 336 0.46 | 99 21 0 .212 .599 0| 24-9 297 2.85 1.244 246 1
4 Ted Williams BOS 0 126 336 0.38 | 565 185 31 .327 1.045 2
5 Red Ruffing NYY 0 116 336 0.35 | 114 35 1 .307 .689 1| 21-7 233 2.93 1.226 95
6 Bill Dickey NYY 3 110 336 0.33 | 480 145 24 .302 .915 5
7 Dutch Leonard WSH 1 71 336 0.21 | 95 21 0 .221 .482 0| 20-8 269 3.54 1.233 88
8 Bob Johnson PHA 0 52 336 0.15 | 544 184 23 .338 .993 15
9 Joe Gordon NYY 0 43 336 0.13 | 567 161 28 .284 .876 11
10 Mike Kreevich CHW 1 38 336 0.11 | 541 175 5 .323 .826 23
Top player: Joe DiMaggio, as the voters were right on the money. Joe D. was right behind Foxx in OPS, and was also one of the greats with the glove.
#1 Joe DiMaggio, #2 Jimmie Foxx, #3 Ted Williams, #4 Red Rolfe, #5 Bob Johnson, #6 Bill Dickey.
Top pitcher: Bob Feller led in wins and strikeouts and was 3rd in ERA, and threw a lot more innings than the guys ahead of him.
#1 Bob Feller, #2 Bobo Newsom, #3 Lefty Grove, #4 Red Ruffing, #5 Dutch Leonard.
Top rookie: Ted Williams posted one of the great rookie seasons ever.
Top manager: Joe McCarthy guided the Yankees to the pinnacle again.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)