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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

1930 National League

St. Louis won a wild and woolly pennant race where five teams finished within 12 games of the lead. Chicago was 2nd, 2 games out, while New York and Brooklyn were 5 and 6 games out respectively, with Pittsburgh 12 back. Boston, Cincinnati, and a 102-loss Philadelphia team brought up the rear. The Giants and Pittsburgh broke on top, Brooklyn held the lead for much of mid-summer, and the Cardinals played .500 ball much of the season, then put on a big finish to rise from fourth place to the pennant.

Bill Terry set a mark as the last of the .400 hitters, though no one knew it at the time, of course. Terry won the batting title with a .401 average for the Giants. It was a big year for NL offense, as Babe Herman hit .393, Chuck Klein .386, and Lefty O'Doul .383. It tells you something about the Phillies that both Klein and O'Doul played for them, hit like that, and they went 52-102. Mostly, it tells you they played in an extreme hitters' park and had a team 7.69 RA and 6.71 ERA.

Mel Ott led in on-base average, and Hack Wilson in slugging and OPS. Klein led the league with 158 runs, Kiki Cuyler had 155. Terry had 254 hits, Klein 250. Klein had 59 doubles. Adam Comorosky had 23 triples. Wilson had 56 homers and 191 RBI. The RBI is still a single-season record. Cuyler led with 37 steals, more than double the second-place guy.

That kind of hitting means there wasn't much pitching. Dazzy Vance led the league with a 2.61 ERA, while second place was Carl Hubbell at 3.87. Ray Kremer and Pat Malone had 20 wins, Fred Fitzsimmons 19. Wild Bill Hallahan led with 177 strikeouts, Vance was second with 173.

Win Shares leaders, players; Hack Wilson (Chicago) 35, Babe Herman (Brooklyn) and Bill Terry (New York) 32, Kiki Cuyler and Gabby Hartnett (Chicago) 29, Woody English (Chicago), Freddy Lindstrom and Mel Ott (New York) and Chuck Klein (Philadelphia) 28.

WS leaders, pitchers; Dazzy Vance (Brooklyn) 26, Pat Malone (Chicago) 24, Socks Seibold (Boston) 20, Larry French (Pittsburgh) 19, Freddie Fitzsimmons, Carl Hubbell and Bill Walker (New York) and Erv Brame (Pittsburgh) 18 each.

WARP3: Wilson 6.5, Glenn Wright (Brooklyn) 6.4, Terry, Lindstrom, and Johnny Frederick (Brooklyn) 6.3, Hartnett, English (best year), and Frankie Frisch (St. Louis) 6.2, Ott 6.1, Travis Jackson (New York) 5.6, Cuyler 5.2, Herman 5.0, Klein 4.3.

Pitchers, Phil Collins (Philadelphia) 6.2, Vance 4.6, Benny Frey (Cincinnati) 4.3, Malone and Burleigh Grimes (St. Louis) 4.1, French 4.0, Seibold 3.7 (best year), Bob Smith (Boston) 3.6, Ray Kolp (Cincinnati) 3.4, Charlie Root (Chicago), Red Lucas (Cincinnati), and Ray Benge (Philadelphia) 3.2, Brame 3.1.

WAR, position players: Terry 8.9, Wilson 8.8, Herman 8.5, Cuyler 7.8, Lindstrom 7.6, Ott 7.5, Klein 7.3, English 6.7, Wright 6.4, Hartnett 6.3, Frisch 6.1, Jackson 5.8. Pitchers: Vance 7.3, Collins 4.5, Malone 4.4, Seibold 4.1, Hubbell and Smith 3.9, French 3.6, Hallahan 3.5, Elliott 3.4, Root 3.2.

The Cardinals won the pennant without having any of the real standout players. They were a more balanced team. Frankie Frisch led the players with 25 Win Shares, Burleigh Grimes led the pitchers with 16 Win Shares.

Best player: Hack Wilson. Wilson set the single-season RBI mark (191) that still stands. Chuck Klein and Bill Terry (.401) were also impressive, but Wilson was the OPS+ leader. Klein was also hitting in a tremendous hitters' park. I would rank Terry #2, Gabby Hartnett #3, Freddy Lindstrom #4, and Woody English #5.

Best pitcher: Dazzy Vance. Led in ERA by over a run, 2.61 to Carl Hubbell's 3.87. Also 2nd in strikeouts and tied for 4th in wins. Cub ace Pat Malone tied for the league lead in wins and ranks #2. An up-and-coming Hubbell ranks #3. Larry French #4, Socks Seibold #5.

Best rookie: Wally Berger, .310 with 38 HR and 110 RBI for Boston at age 24.

Best manager: Gabby Street, guiding that balanced Cardinals team.

1930 American League

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1929 National League

The Cubs won the pennant by a comfortable margin over the Pirates and Giants. Chicago would now embark on a string of winning the pennant every three years: 1929, 32, 35, 38. The Cubs won 98 games and put up a 10.5 game advantage over the Pirates, with New York third and St. Louis, winners of two of the previous three pennants, fourth. Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Cincinnati, and Boston rounded out the league.

It was a big offensive year, and Lefty O'Doul led the way with a .398 batting average, followed by Babe Herman at .381 and Rogers Hornsby at .380. O'Doul led in on-base, while Hornsby led in slugging and OPS. Hornsby's 156 runs edged O'Doul's 152, while O'Doul's 254 hits set the pace. Johnny Frederick led with 52 doubles, Paul Waner with 20 triples, Kiki Cuyler with 43 steals. Chuck Klein had 43 homers to 42 by Mel Ott, and Ott was also second in RBI with 151 while Hack Wilson led the way with 159.

Pat Malone led with 22 wins, Bill Walker had a 3.09 ERA to 3.13 by Burleigh Grimes, and Malone had 166 strikeouts. Charlie Root and Red Lucas were second in wins with 19. Root was third with a 3.47 ERA. Guy Bush and Johnny Morrison each had 8 saves. A variety of circumstances favored the hitters, but NL pitching was also at a low ebb.

Win Shares leaders, players; Rogers Hornsby (Chicago) 42, Hack Wilson (Chicago) 32, Mel Ott (New York) and Lefty O'Doul (Philadelphia) 31, Paul Waner (Pittsburgh) 30, Lloyd Waner (Pittsburgh) 27, Babe Herman (Brookyn), Riggs Stephenson (Chicago) and Chuck Klein (Philadelphia) 26 each, Kiki Cuyler (Chicago) 25, Bill Terry (New York) 24.

WS leaders, pitchers; Red Lucas (Cincinnati) 26, Watty Clark (Brooklyn), Pat Malone and Charlie Root (Chicago), and Burleigh Grimes (Pittsburgh) 23 each, Guy Bush (Chicago) 21, Dazzy Vance (Brooklyn) and Carl Hubbell (New York) 19, Erv Brame (Pittsburgh) 18.

WARP3: Hornsby 9.7 (last 400-AB season), Ott 8.2, Travis Jackson (New York) 7.4, O'Doul 6.9 (best season), Wilson 5.6, Pie Traynor (Pittsburgh) 5.2, Pinky Whitney (Philadelphia) 5.1, Freddy Lindstrom (New York) 4.5, George Grantham (Pittsburgh) and Rabbit Maranville (Boston) 4.2, P. Waner and Cuyler 4.0, Stephenson and Johnny Frederick (Brooklyn) 3.9, Jimmie Wilson (St. Louis) 3.7, Terry 3.6, Herman 3.4.

Pitchers, Lucas 6.1 (best year), Clark 5.6, Vance 4.9, Malone 4.6 (best year), Root 4.2, Grimes 4.0, Les Sweetland and Claude Willoughby (both Philadelphia) 3.9, Clarence Mitchell (St. Louis) 3.4, Bush and Socks Seibold (Boston) 3.2, Hubbell and Syl Johnson (St. Louis) 3.1.

WAR leaders, position players: Hornsby 11.9, Ott 8.9, O'Doul 8.4, Wilson 7.3, Jackson 7.2, Waner 6.4, Cuyler 6.3, Terry 6.2, Klein 6.1, Herman 6.0, Stephenson 5.8. Pitchers, Root 5.5, Clark and Lucas 5.4, Malone 5.2, Grives 4.8, Vance 4.7, Hubbell 4.3, Walker 4.1, Bush 4.0, Kremer 3.6.

Actual MVP voting (top 16):
Place Name Team Points
1 Rogers Hornsby CHC 60
2 Lefty O'Doul PHI 54
3 Bill Terry NYG 48
4 Burleigh Grimes PIT 35
5 Lloyd Waner PIT 30
6 Red Lucas CIN 29
7 Pie Traynor PIT 27
8 Babe Herman BRO 24
8 Hack Wilson CHC 24
10 Guy Bush CHC 16
11 Chuck Klein PHI 15
11 Mel Ott NYG 15
13 Taylor Douthit STL 14
14 Charlie Grimm CHC 13
15 Travis Jackson NYG 8
15 Rabbit Maranville BSN 8

Best player: Rogers Hornsby. I'll agree with the voters and pick the best hitter in the league (.380-49-159) on the best team in the league. Add in defense and Ott has a claim, but I will put him 2nd in this year. Ott (.328-42-151) was also the 2nd-youngest player in the league, according to baseball-reference.com....and the only guy younger than him batted only 29 times. Lefty O'Doul was impressive as well with a .398 average and 254 hits. Hack Wilson drove in 159 in a prelude to his record the next year. Paul Waner at #5.

Best pitcher: Red Lucas. Tough call with no clear standout, but I'll go for the guy the MVP voters also ranked as top pitcher, or at least top vote-getter among pitchers. Lucas led the league in complete games and WHIP, tied for 2nd in wins and 5th in ERA. He was 19-12 with a 3.60 ERA. Watty Clark ranks #2, he led in innings and was 2nd in strikeouts with a mediocre Brooklyn team and went 16-19 with a 3.74 ERA. Pat Malone led in wins and strikeouts for the pennant winners, going 22-10, 3.57 to earn third place. Charlie Root #4, Dazzy Vance #5.

Best rookie: Johnny Frederick hit .328 for Brooklyn in 148 games, playing CF as a 27-year-old rookie.

Best manager: Joe McCarthy, Chicago skipper and one of the best ever.

1929 American League

Philadelphia took the first of three consecutive pennants, and they did it in a runaway. The Yankees' failure to build a pitching staff to match the Ruth-led offense cost them. The A's had offense and pitching both, and lapped the league with 104 wins, followed by New York (88 wins), Cleveland and St. Louis. Below .500 and in the second division were Washington, Detroit, Chicago, and Boston.

Lew Fonseca of the Indians won the batting title at .369, one of the few seasons he played regularly. Al Simmons was a close second at .365. Jimmie Foxx led in on-base percentage, Babe Ruth in slugging and OPS. Charlie Gehringer led in runs (131), triples (19) and stolen bases (27) and tied for the lead in hits and doubles. Teammate Dale Alexander tied Gehringer with 215 hits, and another teammate Roy Johnson as well as Heinie Manush tied with Gehringer at 45 doubles. The Babe led with 46 homers, Simmons with 157 RBI to edge Ruth's 154. Foxx, Ruth, and Simmons were all in a flat-footed tie with 148 runs created, a very unusual situation.

George Earnshaw led pitchers with 24 wins, and was 4th in ERA and second in strikeouts. Teammate Lefty Grove won 20 for third place and led in ERA (2.81) and strikeouts (170). Fred "Firpo" Marberry led in saves with 11 and was second to Grove with a 3.06 ERA. Marberry was also fourth in wins at 19. Wes Ferrell's 21 wins were second in the league.

Win Shares leaders, players; Jimmie Foxx and Al Simmons (Philadelphia) 34, Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth (New York) 32, Tony Lazzeri (New York) 30, Charlie Gehringer (Detroit) and Mickey Cochrane (Philadelphia) 27, Earl Averill (Cleveland) 26, Lew Fonseca (Cleveland) and Earle Combs (New York) 25.

WS leaders, pitchers; Lefty Grove (Philadelphia) 28, Firpo Marberry (Washington) 26, Wes Ferrell and Willis Hudlin (Cleveland) 25, Dolly Gray (St. Louis) 24, George Earnshaw (Philadelphia) 23, Rube Walberg (Philadelphia) 22, Tommy Thomas (Chicago) and Alvin "General" Crowder (St. Louis) 20.

WARP3: Ruth 7.9, Simmons 7.5 (best season), Lazzeri 7.3, Foxx and Cochrane 6.3, Gehrig 6.2, Gehringer 4.9, Red Kress (St. Louis) 4.7, Bill Dickey (New York) 4.6, Jimmy Dykes (Philadelphia) 4.2, Joe Cronin (Washington) 3.6.

Pitchers, Hudlin 7.4 (best year), Ferrell 6.4 (Rookie? Not sure; three games in previous two years), Marberry 6.2 (best year), Grove 4.9, George Uhle (Detroit) 4.4, Jake Miller (Cleveland) and Milt Gaston (Boston) 4.3, Walberg (best year) and Danny MacFayden (Boston) 3.9, Gray 3.7, Thomas (last good year) and Earl Whitehill (Detroit) 3.5, Earnshaw 3.4 (best year).

WAR leaders, position players: Foxx 8.1, Simmons 8.0, Ruth 7.8, Gehrig 7.3, Lazzeri 7.2, Gehringer and Fonseca 5.0, Cochrane 4.6, Alexander and Combs 4.5, Blue 4.2. Pitchers: Grove 6.8, Hudlin 6.3, Marberry 5.5, Walberg 5.3, Gray 5.2, Earnshaw and Ferrell 4.9, Miller 3.9, Crowder 3.7, Thomas 3.6.

No MVP voting this year, at least not officially. 1931 marks the beginning of the "modern" award.

Best player: Al Simmons. Only 3rd on the OPS list, but he was the best defensively of the league's top hitters. Overall, he was the best in the league, although the margin is thin over Ruth, Foxx and Gehrig. I'd rank Simmons (.365-34-157), the RBI leader, as #1, with Ruth (.345-46-154) #2. #3 Foxx (.354-33-118), #4 Gehrig (.300-35-126) #5 Tony Lazzeri (.354-18-106),

Best pitcher: Firpo Marberry, the Senators' swingman. 2nd in ERA to Grove, Marberry had less of a team behind him but put up equally impressive stats. Marberry was 19-12 with 11 saves and a 3.06 ERA, Grove was 20-6 with 4 saves and a league-leading 2.81 ERA, and I'll put him #2. Wes Ferrell was 21-10, 3.60 for third place, and Willis Hudlin 17-15, 3.34 for 4th place. George Earnshaw 24-8, 3.29 for the winners in 5th.

Best rookie: Wes Ferrell, I believe, was a rookie and will take first place. Second is Earl Averill, a .332 average with 18 homers and 43 doubles in his first MLB season. Roy Johnson of Detroit had a strong season too, batting .314 with 128 runs.

Best manager: Connie Mack, as the A's ran away with the pennant and then won the World Series.

1928 National League

Odd year in the NL, with 6 teams over .500, and two terrible teams in the Boston Braves and Philadelphia Phillies. St. Louis won the pennant in a close race, with New York 2 games behind, Chicago four games behind, and Pittsburgh 9 games back. Cincinnati and Brooklyn were in the second division, but over .500. The Braves lost 103 and the Phillies 109.

Rogers Hornsby won the batting title with a .387 average, with Paul Waner second at .370. Hornsby led in all the percentage categories, on-base, slugging, and OPS, as well as walks. Waner led with 142 runs and 50 doubles. Fred Lindstrom collected 231 hits. Jim Bottomley led with 20 triples, 31 homers, and 136 RBI, while Hack Wilson tied in homers. Kiki Cuyler led with 37 steals.

On the pitching side, Larry Benton and Burleigh Grimes tied with 25 wins, while Dazzy Vance led with a 2.09 ERA and 200 strikeouts. Benton and Grimes also led in complete games, while Grimes led in innings.

Win Shares leaders, players; Paul Waner (Pittsburgh) 34, Rogers Hornsby (Boston) 33, Freddy Lindstrom (New York) 32, Jim Bottomley (St. Louis) 30, Hack Wilson (Chicago) 28, Gabby Hartnett (Chicago) and Lloyd Waner (Pittsburgh) 26, Del Bissonette (Brooklyn) and Chick Hafey (St. Louis) 25, Bill Terry (New York) and Taylor Douthit (St. Louis) 24.

WS leaders, pitchers; Dazzy Vance (Brooklyn) 32, Larry Benton (New York) and Burleigh Grimes (Pittsburgh) 30, Sheriff Blake (Chicago) and Bill Sherdel (St. Louis) 24, Pat Malone (Chicago) 23, Eppa Rixey (Cincinnati) 22, Pete Alexander and Jesse Haines (St. Louis) 19.

WARP3: Hornsby 9.4 (only year in Boston), Lindstrom 7.5 (best year), P. Waner 7.0, Hartnett 6.7, Travis Jackson (New York) 6.1, Bottomley 5.5 (best year), Douthit (best year) and Frankie Frisch (St. Louis) 5.4, Wilson 4.8, Pie Traynor (Pittsburgh) 4.3, Mel Ott (New York) 4.1, Bissonette (rookie, best year) and Harvey Hendrick (also Brooklyn) 4.0 , Hafey 3.8.

Pitchers, Vance 9.6, Benton (career year) and Grimes (best year) 6.3, Blake 5.8 (career year), Sherdel 5.1 (best year), Rixey 4.9 (last big year), Malone 4.6 (rookie), Art Nehf (Chicago) and Ray Kolp (Cincinnati) 4.3, Watty Clark (Brooklyn) 4.1, Doug McWeeny (Brooklyn) 3.9, Alexander 3.8 (last good year), Haines and Red Lucas (Cincinnati) 3.6.

WAR leaders, players: Hornsby 9.8, Waner 7.8, Lindstrom 7.6, Bottomley 6.5, Jackson 6.3, Wilson 6.2, Hafey 6.0, Bissonette 5.5, Terry and Frisch 5.1, Hartnett and Richbourg 4.9. Pitchers, Vance 9.0, Benton 6.9, Blake 5.4, Grimes 5.3, Sherdel 5.0, Haines 4.3, Clark 4.2, Rixey 4.1, Malone 3.9, McWeeny 3.8.

Actual MVP voting (top 13):
Place Name Team Points
1 Jim Bottomley STL 76
2 Freddie Lindstrom NYG 70
3 Burleigh Grimes PIT 53
4 Larry Benton NYG 37
4 Hughie Critz CIN 37
6 Pie Traynor PIT 28
7 Hack Wilson CHC 21
8 Shanty Hogan NYG 17
9 Travis Jackson NYG 16
10 Rabbit Maranville STL 14
11 Dazzy Vance BRO 13
12 Chick Hafey STL 11
13 Rogers Hornsby BSN 10

Best player: Rogers Hornsby. The choice: Hornsby, excellent with a horrible club; Bottomley, the league RBI leader for the pennant winners; or Waner, best all-around for a team that failed to repeat their pennant. I'll go with the guy who led in OPS by a mile. Hornsby's triple crown stats were .387-21-94. Waner is #2, he hit .370 with 142 runs scored. I'll put Fred Lindstrom #3 in his career year, he batted .358 with 231 hits. Bottomley #4, Gabby Hartnett #5.

Best pitcher: Dazzy Vance, in a year that might have been better than 1924's 28-win season. His ERA+ was 191, compared to 171 in 1924. Led league in ERA and strikeouts, 3rd in wins with 22. Rube Benton #2, he was 25-9 with a 2.73 ERA. Burleigh Grimes #3, he was 25-14 with a 2.99 ERA. Sheriff Blake #4, Bill Sherdel #5.

Best rookie: Del Bissonette, a 28-year old rookie in his only good major league year. He hit .320 with 25 HR and 106 RBI. Pat Malone gets second place, 18-13 with a 2.84 ERA.

Best manager: Bill McKechnie guided St. Louis back to the winners' circle.

1928 American League

New York won a second straight pennant with 101 victories, but had to fight off a Philadelphia team that finished just 2.5 games behind. It was a terrific pennant race between an aging Yankees team and an up-and-coming A's squad. 3rd place St. Louis was the only other team over .500. The Yankees then swept St. Louis in the World Series. Washington, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, and Boston rounded out the standings in that order.

Goose Goslin's .379 edged Heinie Manush's .378 for the batting title, with Lou Gehrig close behind at .374. Gehrig edged Babe Ruth in on-base, but the Babe still took the slugging title. Ruth scored the most runs, Manush had the most hits, Ruth led in total bases, Gehrig and Manush tied with 47 doubles. Earle Combs led with 21 triples, one more than Manush. Ruth led with 54 homers, and Ruth and Gehrig tied with 142 RBI. Buddy Myer of Boston led with 30 steals.

Among pitchers, Lefty Grove and George Pipgras tied with 24 wins. Garland Braxton of Washington led in ERA with a 2.51 mark, edging Herb Pennock of New York at 2.56 and Grove at 2.58. Grove led with 183 strikeouts. Red Ruffing of Boston had 25 losses.

Win Shares leaders, players; Babe Ruth (New York) 45, Lou Gehrig (New York) 42, Heinie Manush (St. Louis) 35, Earle Combs (New York) 28, Goose Goslin (Washington) 26, Willie Kamm (Chicago) and Max Bishop (Philadelphia) 24, Joe Sewell (Cleveland), Charlie Gehringer (Detroit), Al Simmons (Philadelphia) and Lu Blue (St. Louis) 23.

WS leaders, pitchers; Lefty Grove (Philadelphia) 27, Tommy Thomas (Chicago) 26, Dolly Gray (St. Louis) 23, Waite Hoyt (New York) and Sad Sam Jones (Washington) 22, Ed Morris and Red Ruffing (Boston), George Pipgras (New York) and Garland Braxton (Washington) 21.

WARP3: Ruth 8.9, Gehrig 8.6, Goslin 6.9, Sewell 6.0, Bishop (best year) and Tony Lazzeri (New York) 5.6, Combs 5.3, Manush 5.2, Jimmie Foxx (Philadelphia) 5.1, Mickey Cochrane (Detroit) 5.0, Kamm 4.3, Ossie Bluege (Washington) 4.0, Gehringer 3.8, Simmons 3.6.

Pitchers, Thomas 6.4, Grove 5.6, Herb Pennock (New York) 5.5, Ruffing 5.0, Ownie Carroll (Detroit) 4.8, Jones 4.7, Braxton 4.6 (career year), Gray and Morris (best year), 4.4, Hoyt and Willis Hudlin (Cleveland) 4.1, George Uhle (Cleveland) 4.0. Pipgras posted a 3.3 in his career year.

WAR leaders, position players: Ruth 11.0, Gehrig 10.1, Goslin 7.6, Manush 7.3, Bishop 5.4, Sewell 5.1, Combs 4.9, Simmons 4.8, Blue 4.7, Gehringer 4.4, Bluege 4.2. Pitchers, Grove 6.3, Thomas 5.7, Pennock 5.3, Braxton 5.2, Jones 4.5, Carroll and Gray 4.4, Pipgras 4.2, Hoyt 4.0, Crowder 3.9.

Actual MVP voting (top 14): previous winners Ruth and Gehrig were not eligible. About now they started rethinking the rules.
Place Name Team Points
1 Mickey Cochrane PHA 53
2 Heinie Manush SLB 51
3 Joe Judge WSH 27
3 Tony Lazzeri NYY 27
5 Willie Kamm CHW 15
6 Earle Combs NYY 13
6 Goose Goslin WSH 13
8 Charlie Gehringer DET 12
9 Buddy Myer BOS 11
10 Waite Hoyt NYY 8
11 Jimmie Foxx PHA 7
12 Joe Sewell CLE 6
12 Luke Sewell CLE 6
14 Ira Flagstead BOS 5

Best player: Babe Ruth by a hair over Lou Gehrig. Ruth holds a bit of an edge in OPS, but by this time he was getting pretty slow in the field. I think Lou almost makes it up on defense. Gehrig's triple crown numbers were .374-27-142, Ruth's .323-54-142. Heinie Manush #3 at .378-13-108, Goose Goslin #4 at .379-17-102. Goslin won the batting title. Max Bishop, Camera Eye, at #5.

Best pitcher: Lefty Grove, starting a tradition. Grove was 24-8, 2.58. Tommy Thomas #2 at 17-16, 3.08. Sam Jones #3 at 17-7, 2.84, and Dolly Gray and his 20 wins at #4, George Pipgras' 24 wins at #5. Pipgras was helped a lot by having that Yankee team behind him.

Best rookie: Ed Morgan hit .313 in 76 games for Cleveland.

Best manager: Miller Huggins got his team to 1st in a close pennant race.

1927 National League

Pittsburgh won an exciting pennant race by outlasting St. Louis (by 1.5 games) and New York (by two games). Chicago finished a strong fourth. The Pirates and Cubs traded the lead for much of the summer, with New York coming on at the end, and St. Louis strong all the way through. It was the Pirates that prevailed in a great race. Cincinnati was 5th, followed by Brooklyn and Boston, while Philadelphia lost 103 games. The National League was still not dominated by power the way the American was, but batting averages were becoming quite fat. This trend would continue through 1930, then break.

Paul Waner won the league batting title with a .380 average, and also led with 237 hits, 18 triples, 131 RBI, and tied for the lead with 133 runs. He also led in total bases with 342. Rogers Hornsby led in on-base and OPS, and also tied with 133 runs and was second with a .361 average. Rookie Lloyd Waner was third with a .355 batting mark. Chick Hafey led in slugging. Hack Wilson and Cy Willimas had 30 homers each, Hornsby 26. Riggs Stephenson led with 46 doubles, and Frankie Frisch with 48 steals.

Charlie Root led with 26 wins to Jesse Haines' 24, Carmen Hill won 22 and Pete Alexander 21. Ray Kremer led with a 2.47 ERA to Alexander's 2.52, Dazzy Vance third at 2.70 and Haines fourth with 2.72. Vance led with 184 strikeouts followed by Root with 145.

Win Shares leaders, players; Rogers Hornsby (New York) 40, Paul Waner (Pittsburgh) 36, Frankie Frisch (St. Louis) 34, Hack Wilson (Chicago) 31, Riggs Stephenson (Chicago) and Bill Terry (New York) 27, George Harper (New York), Pie Traynor (Pittsburgh) and Jim Bottomley (St. Louis) 26, Lloyd Waner (Pittsburgh) 25.

WS leaders, pitchers; Pete Alexander and Jesse Haines (St. Louis) 28, Dazzy Vance (Brooklyn) 25, Red Lucas (Cincinnati) 23, Carmen Hill and Ray Kremer (Pittsburgh) 22, Jesse Petty (Brooklyn) and Charlie Root (Chicago) 21, Lee Meadows (Pittsburgh) 20.

WARP3: Hornsby 9.9 (his only year with New York), Frisch 8.8 (first year in St. Louis), P. Waner 7.6, Traynor 7.0, Harper 6.2 (career year), Chuck Dressen (Cincinnati) 6.0, Travis Jackson (New York) 5.9, Wilson 5.6, Stephenson 5.1 (best year), Terry and Gabby Hartnett (Chicago) 4.7, Chick Hafey (St. Louis) 4.5, Bottomley 4.4.

Pitchers, Vance 6.8, Alexander 6.0, Lucas 5.9, Haines 5.1 (best year), Dutch Ulrich (Philadelphia) 4.9, Petty 4.8, Kremer 4.7, Bob Smith (Boston) 4.3, Burleigh Grimes (New York) 3.6, Dolf Luque (Cincinati) 3.5, Kent Greenfield (Boston) 3.2.

WAR, position players: Hornsby 10.8, Frisch 10.0, P. Waner 7.7, Wilson 6.9, Harper 6.0, Terry 5.7, Stephenson 5.6, Jackson 5.5, Bottomley 5.2, Dressen 4.9, Traynor 4.5. Pitchers: Vance 6.3, Kremer 6.1, Alexander 5.6, Haines 5.4, Petty 5.2, Meadows 4.8, Ulrich 4.2, Hill 4.1, Lucas 3.7, Bush 3.4.

Actual MVP voting (top 17):
Place Name Team Points
1 Paul Waner PIT 72
2 Frankie Frisch STL 66
3 Rogers Hornsby NYG 54
4 Charley Root CHC 46
5 Travis Jackson NYG 42
6 Lloyd Waner PIT 25
7 Pie Traynor PIT 18
8 Jesse Haines STL 16
9 Ray Kremer PIT 14
10 Gabby Hartnett CHC 12
11 Red Lucas CIN 10
12 Hack Wilson CHC 9
13 Jim Bottomley STL 6
13 Bubbles Hargrave CIN 6
13 Jakie May CIN 6
13 Bill Terry NYG 6
13 Cy Williams PHI 6

Top player: Rogers Hornsby. I'd like to go with Waner, but all three meta-stats agree on the same guy and that's hard to ignore. Hornsby was a real SOB and only lasted with John McGraw the one year in New York, but he was excellent on the field as always.
#1 Rogers Hornsby, #2 Frankie Frisch, #3 Paul Waner, #4 Hack Wilson, #5 George Harper.

Top pitcher: Pete Alexander. It's a tough call, with no standout, but I'll go with the old veteran in one last hurrah. Alex was 21-10 with a 2.52 ERA (2nd in the league). Jesse Haines, 24-10 with a 2.72 ERA, is 2nd. Strikeout leader Dazzy Vance, 16-15 with a 2.70 ERA, ranks 3rd. Red Lucas 4th, Ray Kremer 5th.

Top rookie: Lloyd Waner, .355 for the pennant winners playing beside his brother.

Top manager: Donie Bush, longtime Detroit shortstop, winning the pennant in his first season with the Pirates.

1927 American League

The year of *60*. The Yankees ran away with the pennant, winning 110 games. Philadelphia was second, 19 games behind. Washington was third, 25 games behind. Detroit was the other team over .500. Boston languished in the basement with 103 losses, while Chicago, Cleveland and St. Louis were in between. New York was far and away the best team in the league in offense and in pitching/defense, so it was not a suspenseful race.

Harry Heilmann batted .398 with Al Simmons at .392, but this was the year of 60, the magical 60 home runs of Babe Ruth. Ruth led in the percentage categories, on-base, slugging, and OPS, as well as homers and walks. Lou Gehrig, hitting behind him, actually led in RBI with 175 to Ruth's 164. Gehrig also led the league with 52 doubles and 447 total bases, while Ruth led with 158 runs to Gehrig's 149. Their teammate Earle Combs led with 231 hits and 23 triples. George Sisler led with 27 steals.

Waite Hoyt and Ted Lyons tied for the league lead with 22 wins, and Wilcy Moore, working mostly out of the bullpen, led the league in ERA at 2.28, with Hoyt second at 2.64. Moore also tied Garland Braxton for the saves lead with 13. Lefty Grove topped the league with 174 strikeouts.

Win Shares leaders, players; Babe Ruth (New York) 45, Lou Gehrig (New York) 44, Harry Heilmann (Detroit) 32, Earle Combs (New York) 31, Goose Goslin (Washington) 28, Al Simmons (Philadelphia) 26, Tony Lazzeri (New York) 24, Mickey Cochrane (Philadelphia) 23, Bob Fothergill (Detroit) and Ty Cobb (Philadelphia) 22.

WS leaders, pitchers; Ted Lyons (Chicago) 30, Tommy Thomas (Chicago) 27, Wilcy Moore (New York) and Lefty Grove (Philadelphia) 24, Waite Hoyt (New York) 23, Willis Hudlin (Cleveland), Earl Whitehill (Detroit) and Bump Hadley (Washington) 19.

WARP3: Ruth 12.1, Gehrig 11.1, Lazzeri 7.0, Combs 6.8 (best year), Heilmann 5.4, Simmons 5.3, Goslin 5.0, Cochrane 4.8, Sammy Hale (Philadelphia) and Bibb Falk (Chicago) 4.2, Fothergill (best year) and Joe Sewell (Cleveland) 4.1, Muddy Ruel (Washington) 4.0, Cobb (last good year) and Ossie Bluege (Washington) 3.8.

Pitchers, Thomas 6.6 (best year), Lyons 6.4, Moore 5.3 (30-year old rookie, career year), Hudlin 5.1 (rookie), Hoyt 4.6 (best year), Grove 4.4, Hadley 4.3 (rookie), Whitehill 4.2 (best year), Jack Quinn (Philadelphia) 3.8, Jake Miller (Cleveland) and Lefty Stewart (St. Louis) 3.6.

WAR, Position players: Ruth 13.8, Gehrig 13.2, Combs 7.6, Heilmann 7.5, Lazzeri 7.0, Goslin 5.7, Falk 5.1, Cobb, Meusel, and Cochrane 4.8, Metzler and Fothergill 4.7. Pitchers, Thomas 7.4, Lyons 7.0, Hoyt 5.6, Moore 5.4, Grove 5.0, Hadley 4.7, Quinn 4.5, Whitehill 3.9, Hudlin and Miller 3.8.

Actual MVP voting, remembering previous winner Ruth was ineligible under the arcane rules of the time (top 14):
Name Team 1st place Points
1 Lou Gehrig NYY 7 56
2 Harry Heilmann DET 0 35
3 Ted Lyons CHW 0 34
4 Mickey Cochrane PHA 0 18
4 Al Simmons PHA 0 18
6 Goose Goslin WSH 0 15
6 Muddy Ruel WSH 0 15
8 Jimmie Dykes PHA 0 14
9 Luke Sewell CLE 0 13
10 Joe Sewell CLE 0 9
11 Tony Lazzeri NYY 1 8
12 Bobby Reeves WSH 0 7
13 Frank O'Rourke SLB 0 6
13 Jackie Tavener DET 0 6

I don't know what the guy who put Lazzeri first was thinking.

Best player: Babe Ruth. Gehrig was close, but the Babe was the best, 60 homers and all. Babe #1, Gehrig #2, Heilmann #3, Combs #4, Lazzeri #5.

Best pitcher: Ted Lyons. Teammate Tommy Thomas was close, and Lefty Grove is making noise here, but Lyons was the AL's best pitcher in 1927. Lyons #1, Thomas #2, Moore #3, Grove #4, Hoyt #5.

Best rookie: Wilcy Moore gave the Yankees' staff a big boost, mostly coming out of the bullpen.

Best manager: Miller Huggins. Who else could you give it to in this year?

1926 National League

The Cardinals won the pennant and then the World Series, thanks to some heroics from veteran Grover Cleveland Alexander. The NL was tightly bunched, as second-place Cincinnati was 2 games back, Pittsburgh was 4.5 back, and Chicago was 7 back. New York was 5th, followed by Brooklyn, Boston, and Philadelphia. Brooklyn led the early going, then Cincinnati, then Pittsburgh, before the Cardinals surged to the front at the end.

The top two in the batting race were Reds Bubbles Hargrave and Cuckoo Christensen, neither of whom would be eligible for the title under today's rules. Neither reached today's mark of at-bats, though both had 100 games, which was the requirement at the time. The veteran catcher and 26-year old rookie outfielder made their biggest splashes in this season. The #3 and #4 men, Earl Smith of Pittsburgh and Cy Williams of Philadelphia, wouldn't have enough at bats under today's rules either. Under current rules, the batting titlist would be rookie Paul Waner of Pittsburgh, at .336. Waner also led in triples with 22 and runs created with 116. Christensen also led in on-base, and Williams in slugging. Under modern rules, Waner would lead those categories as well.

Kiki Cuyler led the league in runs with 113, Eddie Brown in hits with 201, Jim Bottomley in total bases, doubles with 40, and with 120 RBI. Hack Wilson led with 21 homers, Cuyler with 35 steals. Waner scored 101, Wilson drove in 109, Les Bell had 100 RBI.

For the pitchers, Ray Kremer led in ERA with 2.61, and also led in winning percentage and tied for the lead in wins with 20. Other 20-game winners were Pete Donohue, Lee Meadows, and Flint Rhem. Carl Mays won 19. Dazzy Vance led in strikeouts with 140. Charlie Root was second in ERA at 2.82, Jesse Petty was third at 2.84. Root was second in strikeouts with 127.

Win Shares leaders, players: Paul Waner (Pittsburgh) 28, Hack Wilson (Chicago) and Kiki Cuyler (Pittsburgh) 26, Les Bell (St. Louis) 25, Jim Bottomley and Bob O'Farrell (St. Louis) 23, Curt Walker (Cincinnati) and Pie Traynor (Pittsburgh) 22, Sparky Adams (Chicago), Edd Roush (Cincinnati) and Rogers Hornsby (St. Louis) 21 each. Hughie Critz, 2nd in the MVP vote, had 19 Win Shares for Cincinnati.

WS leaders, pitchers: Ray Kremer (Pittsburgh) 25, Jesse Petty (Brooklyn) 24, Hal Carlson (Philadelphia) 23, Charlie Root (Chicago) 22, Pete Donohue (Cincinnati) 21, Carl Mays (Cincinnati) 20, Flint Rhem (St. Louis) 18, Doug McWeeny (Brooklyn), Freddie Fitzsimmons (New York) and Bill Sherdel (St. Louis) 17.

WARP3: O'Farrell 5.5 (last big year), Waner 5.2 (rookie), Frankie Frisch (New York) 5.1, Traynor 4.9, Freddie Lindstrom (New York) 4.5, Bell and Hornsby 4.4, Walker 4.3 (best year), Travis Jackson (New York) 4.0, Wilson 3.9 (breakthrough year), Cuyler 3.8, Rube Bressler (Cincinnati) 3.7, Hughie Critz (Cincinnati) 3.6.

Pitchers, Carlson 8.6 (peak year), Petty 5.4 (best year), Kremer 5.3 (best year), Root 4.9 (best year), Mays 4.7 (last good year), Bob Smith (Boston) 4.4, Johnny Werts (Boston) 3.9, McWeeny 3.6, Burleigh Grimes (Brooklyn) 3.5.

WAR leaders, position players: Wilson 6.1, Waner 5.8, Cuyler 5.5, Adams and Frisch 5.3, Bell 5.2, Hornsby 4.9, Southworth and Walker 4.3, Blades 4.2, Bancroft 4.1, Critz 4.0. Pitchers: Carlson 6.0, Kremer 5.5, Root 4.9, Petty 4.7, Mays 4.0, McWeeny 3.3, Bush and Fitzsimmons 3.1, Alexander and Sherdel 3.0.

Actual MVP vote:
1 Bob O'Farrell STL 79
2 Hughie Critz CIN 60
3 Ray Kremer PIT 32
4 Tommy Thevenow STL 30
5 Hack Wilson CHC 25
6 Les Bell STL 24
6 Bubbles Hargrave CIN 24
8 Flint Rhem STL 20
9 Dave Bancroft BSN 17
9 Freddie Lindstrom NYG 17
11 Hal Carlson PHI 16
12 Paul Waner PIT 15
13 Pie Traynor PIT 14
14 Wally Pipp CIN 12
15 Eddie Brown BSN 10

Best player: Bob O'Farrell. It seems an odd choice, but there were no true standouts in this year with Hornsby hurt and below par. Hack Wilson was probably the best hitter, and Cy Williams succeeded in a reduced role at age 38, but O'Farrell was the driving force on the pennant winners. He only dented the leaderboard by tying Hornsby for 6th in walks, but he had a 112 OPS+ and excellent defense. He batted .293 and drove in 68 runs. I'll put Hack Wilson #2, he hit .321 with 21 HR and 109 RBI. Rookie Waner led the league in triples and hit .336 with 101 runs. Kiki Cuyler shifted to CF for Waner, he's #4, and Les Bell at #5.

Top pitcher: Ray Kremer, ERA leader and tied for the lead in victories. Again, no clear winner. Kremer was 20-6 with a 2.61 ERA. Hal Carlson #2, he was 17-12 with a 3.23 ERA for a last-place team. Veteran Carl Mays #3, he was 19-12 with a 3.14 ERA. Jesse Petty #4 and Charlie Root #5.

Top rookie: Paul Waner. Led league in Win Shares in his first try.

Top manager: Rogers Hornsby, an odd choice, but his team won a close pennant race even though their best player, himself, was hurt much of the time.

1926 American League

The Yankees returned to first place after a two-year absence, thanks to the return of Babe Ruth and the emergence of Lou Gehrig. 1926 was an odd race in the AL, as the Yankees got off to a terrific start, and were playing .700 ball into June, but faded as the year went along and allowed other teams to make a run, with Cleveland second and 3 games back, Philadelphia third and six back, Washington fourth and eight back, and Chicago fifth and 9.5 back. Sixth-place Detroit was just 12 back. St. Louis was lousy and Boston was horrible, losing 107 games.

Heinie Manush hit .378 to edge Ruth's .372 for the batting race, while Ruth led by miles in on-base, slugging, and OPS. Ruth also led with 139 runs, 365 total bases, 47 homers and 150 RBI. George Burns and Sam Rice tied with 216 hits, while Burns led with 64 doubles. Lou Gehrig had 20 triples. Johnny Mostil led the way with 35 steals. It was the era of the mega-offense.

From the mound, slider specialist George Uhle won 27 games and Herb Pennock 23, while Lefty Grove had 194 strikeouts and a 2.51 ERA. Uhle was second with a 2.83 ERA and Ted Lyons third at 3.01. Uhle was also second with 159 strikeouts. Firpo Marberry had 22 saves.

Win Shares leaders, players: Babe Ruth (New York) 45, Goose Goslin (Washington) 33, Lou Gehrig (New York) 30, Joe Sewell and Tris Speaker (Cleveland) 29, Johnny Mostil (Chicago) 28, Harry Heilman (Detroit) and Al Simmons (Philadelphia) 27, Heinie Manush (Detroit) 26, Bibb Falk (Chicago) and George Burns (Cleveland) 24.

WS leaders, pitchers: George Uhle (Cleveland) 32, Lefty Grove (Philadelphia) 25, Ted Lyons (Chicago) 24, Urban Shocker (New York) and Tom Zachary (St. Louis) 19, Herb Pennock (New York) and Eddie Rommel (Philadelphia) 18, Dutch Levsen (Cleveland) 17.

WARP3: Ruth 11.6, Gehrig 6.8, Sewell 6.7, Goslin, Mostil, and Willie Kamm (Chicago) 6.2, Falk 5.4 (best year), Topper Rigney (Boston) 5.1, Heilmann 4.9, Pat Collins (New York) 4.2, Eddie Collins (Chicago) 4.0, Speaker (last All-Star level year) and Manush 3.6.

Pitchers, Uhle 6.4, Lyons 5.7, Grove 5.5, Zachary 4.7, Shocker 4.4, Rommel 4.3, Stan Coveleski (Washington) 3.9, Fred "Firpo" Marberry (Washington) and Sam Gibson (Detroit) 3.6, Walter Johnson (Washington) 3.4.

WAR leaders, position players: Ruth 12.6, Gehrig 7.7, Goslin 7.3, Mostil 6.9, Sewell 6.0, Falk and Simmons 5.9, Speaker 5.7, Heilmann 5.5, Manush 5.4, Burns and Kamm 5.3. Pitchers: Uhle 7.2, Grove 6.1, Lyons 5.5, Rommel 4.3, Shocker 4.0, Johnson 3.5, Zachary 3.2, Pate 3.1, Smith and Thomas 3.0.

Actual MVP voting, top 15: (previous winners, like the Babe, were ineligible)
1 George Burns CLE 63
2 Johnny Mostil CHW 33
3 Herb Pennock NYY 32
4 Sam Rice WSH 18
5 Harry Heilmann DET 16
5 Heinie Manush DET 16
5 Al Simmons PHA 16
8 Lefty Grove PHA 12
9 Goose Goslin WSH 9
10 Lou Gehrig NYY 7
10 Tony Lazzeri NYY 7
12 Bibb Falk CHW 6
12 Bob Fothergill DET 6
12 Ski Melillo SLB 6
12 Harry Rice SLB 6


Best player: Babe Ruth. A return to the everyday lineup makes this basically a foregone conclusion. George Burns is an odd selection, and hard to defend. Guess all those doubles made an impression. Gehrig would have been a much better choice, or even repealing the rule to make Ruth eligible. Ruth hit .372, 2nd in the league, and led the league with 47 HR and 150 RBI. My #2 would be Gehrig, the league leader in triples with 20, he hit .313 with 16 HR and 112 RBI. I'd rank Goose Goslin #3, he hit .354 with 17 HR and 108 RBI. Joe Sewell at #4 with a .324 average and 65 walks to go with strong shortstop play. Johnny Mostil would be #5, he batted .328 with 79 walks and scored 120 runs.

Best pitcher: George Uhle. Leader in wins, 2nd to Grove in ERA and strikeouts. Uhle was 27-11 with a 2.83 ERA. Grove, at #2, was 13-13 with a 2.51 ERA. Ted Lyons ranks #3, he was 18-16 with a 3.01 ERA. Urban Shocker #4, Herb Pennock #5.

Best rookie: Tony Lazzeri hit .275 with 114 RBI for the Yankees.

Best manager: Miller Huggins pushed the right buttons for the Yankees to win the pennant.

1925 National League

Pittsburgh charged to a pennant, their first since 1909, and then a World Series title. New York fell from its four-year reign to second place. The Giants led in the early going, but the Pirates surged ahead in mid-summer and steadily built their lead. Cincinnati was third and St. Louis fourth. Boston was fifth, Brooklyn and Philadelphia tied for sixth, while Chicago was last. The Cubs would contend soon.

Rogers Hornsby followed up his .424 average year with a Triple Crown, batting .403 with 39 HR and 143 RBI. He also took over as Cardinals manager during the season. Hornsby also led in on-base, slugging, OPS, and total bases. Kiki Cuyler led in runs with 144 and triples with 26, Jim Bottomley had 227 hits and 44 doubles, and Max Carey had 46 steals. Bottomley was second in batting average with a .367 mark, Zack Wheat was third at .359, Cuyler fourth at .357.

For pitchers, Dazzy Vance's 22 wins edged Reds Pete Donohue and Eppa Rixey at 21, while Red Dolf Luque led in ERA at 2.63. Rixey was 2nd (2.88) and Donohue 3rd (3.08). Vance led with 221 strikeouts.

Win Shares leaders, players; Rogers Hornsby (St. Louis) 36, Kiki Cuyler (Pittsburgh) 34, Jack Fournier (Brooklyn) 29, Zack Wheat (Brooklyn) and Jim Bottomley (St. Louis) 27, Max Carey and Pie Traynor (Pittsburgh) 26, Glenn Wright (Pittsburgh) 24, Edd Roush (Cincinnati) 23, Dave Bancroft (Boston) and George Kelly (New York) 22.

WS leaders, pitchers; Pete Donohue (Cincinnati) 28, Dolf Luque (Cincinnati) 27, Eppa Rixey (Cincinnati) 26, Jack Scott (New York) 25, Dazzy Vance (Brooklyn) and Pete Alexander (Chicago) 20, Johnny Cooney (Boston) and Bill Sherdel (St. Louis) 19, Lee Meadows (Pittsburgh) 18.

WARP3: Hornsby 8.7 (Triple Crown and his third .400 average in four years), Bancroft 7.0, Cuyler 6.8, Traynor 6.1, Fournier 5.0 (last good year), Wright 4.9, Ray Blades (St. Louis) 4.5, Bottomley and Gabby Hartnett (Chicago) 4.2, Carey 3.6 (last good year), Wheat 3.2 (last good year).

Pitchers, Vance 6.4, Luque 6.3, Scott 6.2, Donohue 5.5 (best year), Rixey 5.2, Alexander 4.2, Sherdel and Larry Benton (Boston) 4.1, Hal Carlson (Philadelphia) 4.0, Jimmy Ring (Philadelphia) 3.4.

WAR leaders, position players: Hornsby 11.0, Cuyler 7.7, Bottomley 6.1, Fournier 6.0, Wheat 5.4, Bancroft 5.2, Blades 5.1, Carey 5.0, Wright 4.8, Walker and Frisch 4.3. Pitchers: Luque 6.2, Rixey 5.9, Vance 5.7, Donohue 5.5, Scott 5.0, Sherdel 4.8, Alexander 4.2, Carlson 4.0, Aldridge and Benton 4.0.

Actual award voting, MVP (top 11):
Place Name Team Points
1 Rogers Hornsby STL 73
2 Kiki Cuyler PIT 61
3 George Kelly NYG 52
4 Glenn Wright PIT 43
5 Dazzy Vance BRO 42
6 Dave Bancroft BSN 41
7 Jim Bottomley STL 28
8 Pie Traynor PIT 27
9 Frankie Frisch NYG 13
10 Edd Roush CIN 12
11 Max Carey PIT 11

Best player: Rogers Hornsby. The voters went for the spectacular performance of the triple crown winner for a .500 team over a strong performance for a player on the pennant winner, and I will too. .403, 39 HR, 143 RBI. #2 is Kiki Cuyler of the pennant winners, he hit .357 with 18 HR and 102 RBI. Hits and doubles leader Jim Bottomley is #3. Jack Fournier ranks #4. #5 Zack Wheat in a last great effort.

Best pitcher: Eppa Rixey, 21-11 with a 2.88 ERA for punchless Cincinnati. Pete Donohue was #2, he was 21-14 with a 3.08 ERA for the same team. #3 is the third Reds pitcher, Dolf Luque, 16-18 but the ERA leader at 2.63. Dazzy Vance was the wins and strikeouts leader at 22-9 and 3.53. Jack Scott #5.

Best rookie: Jimmy Welsh hit .312 in 122 games as Brooklyn's RF.

Best manager: Bill McKechnie led Pittsburgh to the title.

1925 American League

Washington won their second straight pennant, while Philadelphia climbed back into the fray and finished second. The Yankees slipped all the way to seventh with Babe Ruth injured and ineffective, and Boston was horrible. The loss of Ruth makes the "MVP" contest wide open. St. Louis, Detroit, and Chicago were also over .500, Cleveland was 6th, while the Red Sox lost 105 games for last.

Harry Heilmann won the batting title at .393 in a year of high averages, followed by Tris Speaker at .389, Al Simmons at .387, and and Ty Cobb at .378. Speaker led in on-base, Ken Williams in slugging in St. Louis' bandbox, and Cobb in OPS. Johnny Mostil led with 135 runs and 43 steals, Simmons with 253 hits and 392 total bases, Marty McManus with 44 doubles, Goose Goslin with 20 triples, and Bob Meusel with 33 homers and 138 RBI. Ruth tied Williams for second in homers at 25, and Heilmann was second in RBI at 134.

Ted Lyons and Eddie Rommel tied for the pitching lead with 21 wins, and Senators Walter Johnson and Stan Coveleski each won 20. Coveleski topped the loop with a 2.84 ERA with Herb Pennock second at 2.96 and Ted Blankenship at 3.03. Lefty Grove led with 116 strikeouts followed by Johnson with 108, and Fred "Firpo" Marberry amassed 15 saves. Herb Pennock hurled the most innings at 277.

Win Shares leaders, players; Al Simmons (Philadelphia) 34, Goose Goslin (Washington) 31, Harry Heilmann (Detroit) 30, Tris Speaker (Cleveland) and Ty Cobb (Detroit) 25, Joe Sewell (Cleveland) and Sam Rice (Washington) 24, Johnny Mostil (Chicago) and Baby Doll Jacobson (St. Louis) 23, Eddie Collins (Chicago) and Al Wingo (Detroit) 22.

WS leaders, pitchers; Walter Johnson (Washington) 26, Ted Lyons (Chicago), Herb Pennock (New York), and Stan Coveleski (Washington) 23, Ted Blankenship (Chicago) 22, Slim Harriss and Eddie Rommel (Philadelphia) 21, Dutch Ruether (Washington) 20.

WARP3: Sewell 7.7, Simmons 6.5, Heilmann 5.6, Goslin 5.5, Wingo 4.9 (career year), Speaker 4.8, Muddy Ruel (Washington) 4.0, Willie Kamm (Chicago) 3.8, Cobb 3.7, Rice 3.5.

Pitchers, Pennock 5.8, Urban Shocker (New York) 5.3, Lyons (first big year) and Ted Wingfield (Boston) 5.1, Howard Ehmke (Boston) 5.0, Blankenship 4.9 (career year), Johnson 4.7 (last great year), Waite Hoyt (New York) 4.2, Coveleski 3.8, Harriss 3.6 (career year), Rommel and Jake Miller (Chicago) 3.5.

WAR leaders, position players: Simmons 7.4, Goslin 7.0, Heilmann 6.9, Speaker 6.7, Cobb 5.7, Wingo 5.4, Sewell 5.3, Collins 5.1, Rice 4.9, Mostil 4.8, Combs 4.2. Pitchers: Coveleski 6.0, Pennock 5.8, Blankenship 5.3, Lyons 5.1, Harriss 5.0, Rommel 4.7, Shocker 4.6, Gray 4.5, Johnson 4.4, Ehmke and Miller 3.9.

Actual MVP voting (top 20):
Name Team Points
1 Roger Peckinpaugh WSH 45
2 Al Simmons 41
3 Joe Sewell 21
4 Harry Heilmann 20
5 Harry Rice 18
6 Earl Sheely 17
7 Ira Flagstead 10
7 Baby Doll Jacobson 10
7 Johnny Mostil 10
10 Ossie Bluege 8
10 Mickey Cochrane 8
12 Lu Blue 7
12 Stan Coveleski 7
12 Willie Kamm CHW 7
12 Eddie Rommel PHA 7
12 Ray Schalk CHW 7
12 Al Wingo DET 7
18 Earle Combs NYY 6
18 Bob Meusel NYY 6
20 Ted Lyons CHW 5

This was one of the strangest MVP votes ever, Peckinpaugh winning despite not even being one of the best players on his team, with 15 Win Shares at age 34. Apparently it was a "leadership" thing which evaporated based on his 8 World Series errors.

Best player: Al Simmons. The choice is between Simmons and Goslin of the pennant winners, and I think it's Bucketfoot Al to win. Simmons batted .387 with 24 HR and 129 RBI, and led the league in hits and total bases. Goslin, in a tough hitters' park, hit .344 with 12 HR and 129 RBI, and led the league in triples. Batting average leader Harry Heilmann #3, #4 to Joe Sewell, a fine shortstop with a .316 average and 102 RBI. Tris Speaker #5.

Best pitcher: Walter Johnson. Another wide-open category, and I'll go with the sentimental choice. Johnson was 20-7 with a 3.07 ERA. #2 to Herb Pennock, 16-17 with a 2.96 ERA in his first year in New York. 3rd to Ted Lyons, 21-11 with a 3.26 ERA establishing himself as a star. #4 Stan Coveleski, #5 Ted Blankenship in his biggest year.

Best rookie: Mickey Cochrane hit .331 in 134 games for the A's, a major reason for their resurgance. Lefty Grove and Jimmie Foxx also debuted this year as Connie Mack prepared a powerhouse.

Best manager: Mack, pushing to another dynasty.

1924 National League

The Giants won their fourth straight pennant, fighting off Brooklyn and Pittsburgh to do so. Cincinnati and Chicago were also over .500. New York took the approach of outscoring everyone again, and it worked. The Dodgers were just 1.5 games behind, and Pittsburgh finished three games back. St. Louis trailed, Philadelphia was 7th with 96 losses, and Boston lost 100 games.

The Cardinals were just 6th, but had one of the great one-season performances from second baseman Rogers Hornsby. Hornsby set the 20th century record with a .424 batting average for the season, a mark hard to fathom today. It was 227 hits in 536 at bats, and his 222 OPS+ was the highest of his career. Hornsby also led in on-base, slugging, OPS, hits, total bases, walks, and tied Frankie Frisch for the lead in runs with 121. The few categories not led by Hornsby include triples, where Edd Roush had 21, home runs, where Jacques Fournier had 27, and RBI, led by George Kelly with 136. Max Carey had 49 steals.

Pitching was also dominated by one individual, as Dazzy Vance won the pitching Triple Crown with 28 wins, a 2.16 ERA, and 262 strikeouts. He won by wide margins, as second place in those categories went to Burleigh Grimes' 22 wins, Hugh McQuillan's 2.69 ERA, and Grimes' 135 Ks. Grimes did edge Vance in shutouts, and tied him in complete games.

Win Shares leaders, players: Rogers Hornsby (St. Louis) 38, Zack Wheat (Brooklyn) 35, Jack Fournier (Brooklyn) 34, Frankie Frisch (New York) 30, Ross Youngs (New York) 29, Andy High (Brooklyn) 28, George Kelly (New York) 26, Max Carey (Pittsburgh) 25, Kiki Cuyler (Pittsburgh) 24, Glenn Wright (Pittsburgh) 22.

WS leaders, pitchers: Dazzy Vance (Brooklyn) 36, Wilbur Cooper (Pittsburgh) 24, Jesse Barnes (Boston), Burleigh Grimes (Brooklyn), Eppa Rixey (Cincinnati), and Ray Kremer (Pittsburgh) 21 each, Carl Mays (Cincinnati) 20, Emil Yde (Pittsburgh) 19.

WARP3: Hornsby 12.2 (the .424 average year, and his best), Frisch 7.1, Youngs 6.8 (last big year before Bright's disease struck), Wheat 6.2, Fournier 6.1, Kelly 5.0, Heinie Groh (New York) and Babe Pinelli (Cincinnati) 4.7, Wright 4.6 (rookie), Cuyler 4.2 (rookie), Carey and Pie Traynor (also Pittsburgh) 3.8.

Pitchers, Vance 9.9, J. Barnes 6.2 (last good year), Rixey 4.7, Bill Doak (St. Louis/Brooklyn) 4.1, Mays and Jimmy Ring (Philadelphia) 3.9, Hal Carlson (Philadelphia) 3.5, Bill Hubbell (Philadelphia) 3.3, Burleigh Grimes (Brooklyn) 3.2, Virgil Barnes (New York) 2.8.

WAR leaders, position players: Hornsby 12.4, Frisch 7.6, Wheat 6.9, Fournier 6.6, Youngs 6.2, Wright 5.6, Kelly 5.1, High 5.0, Cuyler 4.9, Grantham 4.4, Carey, Williams, and Jackson 4.1. Pitchers: Vance 9.1, Rixey 4.5, J. Barnes 4.2, V. Barnes and Kremer 3.6, Doak and Yde 3.3, McQuillan 3.1, Aldridge 2.9, Cooney and Mays 2.7.

Actual award voting (MVP)- top 9
Name Team Points
1 Dazzy Vance 74
2 Rogers Hornsby 62
3 Frankie Frisch 40
3 Zack Wheat 40
5 Ross Youngs 35
6 George Kelly 34
7 Rabbit Maranville 33
8 Kiki Cuyler 25
9 Jack Fournier 21
Not very close this year.

Best player: Rogers Hornsby. Was top player in MVP voting (2nd to Vance) in spite of playing for 6th place team. Hornsby batted .424 for a record that still stands. Frankie Frisch #2, he tied Hornsby for the lead in runs. Zack Wheat #3, he was 2nd with a .375 average. Ross Youngs #4 and Jack Fournier #5.

Best pitcher: Dazzy Vance. A spectacular 28-6 year with a 2.16 ERA in a hitter's era lifted Brooklyn to within 1.5 games of the pennant. Jesse Barnes was 2nd best, which sounds odd since he was 15-20 with his 3.23 ERA...but that was for the sad-sack Braves. His team dragged him down. Eppa Rixey #3, Wilbur Cooper #4, Burleigh Grimes #5.

Best rookie: Kiki Cuyler. Had 43 previous MLB at bats, presumably would have had rookie status. Hit .354 in 117 games for Pirates.

Best manager: Wilbert Robinson nearly rode Dazzy Vance to a pennant.

1924 American League

The first pennant ever for the Washington Senators highlighted the 1924 AL season, and a World Series win topped it off! The Senators held a two-game margin over the Yankees, with Detroit a strong third. Detroit had the offense and the Senators the pitching, and pitching won in this year. The rest of the league was under .500, though no one lost more than 87 games, as St. Louis, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Boston, and Chicago followed in order.

Babe Ruth led in nearly every offensive category, starting with batting average (.378), on-base, slugging, OPS (1252), runs (143), homers (46), and OPS+ (220) which was way ahead of second-place Harry Heilmann at 148. Nobody else was close to Ruth, making Washington's pennant all the more amazing. Sam Rice led with 216 hits, Heilmann and Joe Sewell tied with 45 doubles, Wally Pipp with 19 triples, and Goose Goslin with 129 RBI. Charlie Jamieson was second in average at .359, Joe Hauser second in homers with 27, Ruth was second in RBI with 121 and Bob Meusel third with 120.

Washington's Walter Johnson won the pitching Triple Crown, with 23 wins, a 2.72 ERA, and 158 strikeouts. Teammate Fred "Firpo" Marberry, a pioneering relief pitcher, led with 15 saves. Howard Ehmke led in innings pitched. Herb Pennock was second in wins with 21, Sloppy Thurston and Joe Shaute won 20. Tom Zachary was second with a 2.75 ERA, Pennock third at 2.83. Ehmke was second in strikeouts with 119, Bob Shawkey third with 114.

Win Shares leaders, players; Babe Ruth (New York) 45, Harry Heilmann (Detroit) 30, Goose Goslin (Washington) 29, Ty Cobb (Detroit) 27, Eddie Collins (Chicago) 25, Sam Rice (Washington) 24, Baby Doll Jacobson (St. Louis) 23, Joe Sewell (Cleveland), Topper Rigney (Detroit) and Roger Peckinpaugh (Washington) 22.

WS leaders, pitchers; Walter Johnson (Washington) 29, Herb Pennock (New York) 27, Howard Ehmke (Boston) 25, Joe Bush (New York) 23, Joe Shaute (Cleveland) 22, Eddie Rommel (Philadelphia) and Tom Zachary (Washington) 21.

WARP3: Ruth 11.7, Peckinpaugh 6.5 (last good year, although he would win the 1925 MVP), Sewell 6.0, Goslin 5.8, Heilmann and Rigney 5.7, Cobb and Jacobson (last good year) 4.7, Johnny Bassler (Detroit) 3.9, Rice 3.8.

Pitchers: Pennock and Ehmke (best year) 7.2, Shaute 6.5 (career year), Bush and Sloppy Thurston (Chicago) 5.8, Sherry Smith (Cleveland) 5.7, Johnson 4.8 (for his first pennant winner!), Rommel 4.6, Jack Quinn (Boston) 4.4, Alex Ferguson (Boston) 4.3.

WAR leaders, position players: Ruth 13.1, Goslin 7.1, Heilmann 6.9, Cobb 5.9, Collins 5.6, Rice and Hooper 5.2, Rigney 5.0, Peckinpaugh, Jamieson, and Speaker 4.9. Pitchers: Pennock 7.0, Ehmke 6.8, Johnson 6.2, Smith 4.9, Shaute 4.4, Ferguson and Quinn 4.3, Baumgartner and Zachary 4.2, Wingard 3.9.

Actual award voting, MVP (top 8)--previous winners (Ruth and Sisler) not eligible.
Place Name Team Points
1 Walter Johnson WSH 55
2 Eddie Collins CHW 49
3 Charlie Jamieson CLE 25
4 Herb Pennock NYY 24
5 Johnny Bassler DET 22
6 Hank Severeid SLB 17
7 Joe Hauser PHA 13
8 Baby Doll Jacobson SLB 11

Top player: Babe Ruth, by a mile. He wasn't eligible for the official award, but he deserved it as usual. Missed triple crown by 8 RBI to Goslin, led in BA and HR. Ruth led in average, runs, homers and OPS. I'll put RBI leader Goslin #2. Heilmann is #3, he led in doubles and was 2nd in OPS. Ty Cobb at #4, while Eddie Collins tied Heilmann for the doubles lead and is #5.

Top pitcher: Walter Johnson, at age 36, won the pitcher's triple crown. That's good enough for me. 23-7, 2.72. Howard Ehmke was 2nd in strikeouts, 19-17, 3.46 record for #2. Herb Pennock ranks #3 with a 21-9 record and 2.83 ERA for a better team. Joe Shaute #4 and Joe Bush #5.

Top manager: Bucky Harris, the 27-year-old skipper of the pennant winners.

Top rookie: Al Simmons, a .308 hitter with 102 RBI for the A's.

1923 National League

The Giants won their third straight, with Cincinnati charging into 2nd and Pittsburgh 3rd. Chicago and St. Louis were also over .500, with Brooklyn just below that mark. Boston and Philadelphia were everyone's patsies. The Giants had hitting and decent pitching, the Reds great pitching but little offense.

Rogers Hornsby won the batting title at .384, but was limited to 107 games. He would have qualified by today's rules, but just barely. Jim Bottomley was second in batting at .371. Hornsby also led in the other percentage categories, on-base, slugging, and OPS. Ross Youngs edged Max Carey in runs 121-120, Frankie Frisch led with 223 hits and 311 total bases, Edd Roush had 41 doubles, Carey and Pie Traynor had 19 triples apiece. Cy Williams hit 41 homers in Philadelphia's bandbox, Irish Meusel led the league in RBI with 125, Carey had 51 steals, and Frisch tied Jacques Fornier with 122 runs created, although they didn't know that at the time.

Dolf Luque led the league with 27 wins and a 1.93 ERA, and was second in strikeouts to Dazzy Vance's 197. Luque's 201 ERA+ was way ahead, with teammate Eppa Rixey second at 139. Johnny Morrison was second in wins with 25, Eppa Rixey was second in ERA with a 2.80 mark.

Win Shares leaders, players: Frankie Frisch (New York) 31, Max Carey (Pittsburgh) 29, Edd Roush (Cincinnati) and Pie Traynor (Pittsburgh) 28, Jack Fournier (Brooklyn) 27, Jigger Statz (Chicago) and Rogers Hornsby (St. Louis) 26, Bob O'Farrell (Chicago), Bubbles Hargrave (Cincinnati) and Ross Youngs (New York) 25 each, Jim Bottomley (St. Louis) 24.

WS leaders, pitchers: Dolf Luque (Cincinnati) 39, Pete Alexander (Chicago) 27, Eppa Rixey (Cincinnati) 26, Johnny Morrison (Pittsburgh) 23, Burleigh Grimes (Brooklyn) and Pete Donohue (Cincinnati) 21.

WARP3: Frisch and Hornsby 6.4, Traynor 5.9, O'Farrell 5.7, Hargrave 5.0 (best season), Fournier 4.6, Dave Bancroft (New York) 4.2, Youngs 3.8, Bottomley (first full year) and Heinie Groh (New York) 3.7.

Pitchers, Luque 9.7 (career year), Jimmy Ring (Philadelphia) 8.1, Bernie Friberg (Chicago) 6.2, Rixey and Grimes 4.9, Dazzy Vance (Brooklyn) 4.6, Joe Genewich (Boston) 4.4, Jesse Barnes (Boston) 4.2, Wilbur Cooper and Lee Meadows (both Pittsburgh) 3.6.

WAR leaders, position players: Frisch 7.8, Hornsby 7.3, Fournier 6.1, Carey 5.7, Roush and Traynor 5.0, O'Farrell 4.9, Statz and Johnston 4.6, Bottomley and Youngs 4.5. Pitchers: Luque 9.9, Ring 6.4, Rixey 5.7, Alexander 5.1, Morrison 4.4, Vance 4.3, Cooper 4.0, Haines 3.6, McQuillan 3.5, Keen 3.4.

Best player: Frankie Frisch. Tough choice with Hornsby limited to 107 games by injuries. Frisch led the league in hits and total bases, was 3rd in runs and RBI, 5th in steals and average. He also played a strong 2B. Hornsby, even with the missed time, was #2. Carey led in triples and steals, he's #3. Jack Fournier is #4, Bob O'Farrell #5.

Best pitcher: Dolf Luque had the greatest single season ever by a 20th century Reds pitcher. 27-8, 1.91 ERA, leading in wins, ERA, shutouts, 2nd in strikeouts. Reds also had the second-best pitcher in Eppa Rixey, 20-15 and 2.80. Pete Alexander is #3 at 22-12, 3.19. Jimmy Ring #4, Johnny Morrison #5.

Best rookie: Gus Felix hit .273 in 139 games for Boston, in a bad year for NL rookies.

Best manager: Pat Moran, nearly getting the Reds to the pennant with an offense of Edd Roush and not much else.

1923 American League

The Yankees won their third straight pennant, and finally took the World Series, their first of 26 in the century. Detroit was second but 16 games back. The Yanks lapped the field, winning 98 games. Detroit won 83 and Cleveland 82, and were the only other teams above .500. The rest were mediocre, not really bad, with Washington, St, Louis, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Boston in that order.

Harry Heilmann won the batting title at .403, Charlie Jamieson of Cleveland led with 222 hits, Tris Speaker was second with 218 hits and led with 59 doubles, while Washington's Sam Rice and Goose Goslin led with 18 triples, and Eddie Collins paced the loop with 48 steals. Everything else was all Babe Ruth, all the time. Ruth was second in batting at .393, led in runs with 151, homers with 41, RBI with 131. He drew 170 walks, and his 239 OPS+ easily outpaced Heilmann's 194.

For the pitchers, George Uhle's 26 wins easily led the league over the 21 of Hooks Dauss and Sam Jones, Stan Coveleski's 2.76 ERA topped Waite Hoyt's 3.02, while Walter Johnson led with 130 strikeouts.

Win Shares leaders, players; Babe Ruth (New York) 55, Tris Speaker (Cleveland) and Harry Heilmann (Detroit) 35, Joe Sewell (Cleveland) and Ken Williams (St. Louis) 29, Charlie Jamieson (Cleveland) 25, Eddie Collins (Chicago), Ty Cobb (Detroit) and Sam Rice (Washington) 24.

WS leaders, pitchers; George Uhle (Cleveland) 29, Howard Ehmke (Boston), Hooks Dauss (Detroit) and Eddie Rommel (Philadelphia) 25, Joe Bush (New York) 24, Herb Pennock (New York) and Elam Vangilder (St. Louis) 23.

WARP3: Ruth 15.4 (arguably his best year), Heilmann 8.7, Speaker 8.6, Sewell 7.3, Williams 6.5, Collins 6.1, Muddy Ruel (Washington) and Willie Kamm (Chicago) 5.4, Jamieson 5.0 (best year), Aaron Ward (New York) 4.9, Cobb and Johnny Bassler (also Detroit) 4.8, Johnny Mostil (Chicago) 4.7, Rice 4.3.

Pitchers, Uhle 7.7, Ehmke 7.1, Dauss 6.2, Rommel 6.1, Walter Johnson (Washington) 5.4, Urban Shocker (St. Louis) 5.3, Jack Quinn (Boston) 5.0, George Mogridge (Washington) 4.9, Sloppy Thurston (Chicago) 4.8, Vangilder 4.7, Bush 4.4, Pennock 4.3.

WAR leaders, position players: Ruth 15.4, Heilmann 9.7, Speaker 9.2, Williams 7.9, Sewell 7.4, Collins 6.3, Cobb 5.6, Jamieson 5.5, Ward 4.9, Kamm and Harris 4.8. Pitchers: Uhle 5.1, Pennock and Shocker 5.0, Vangilder 4.7, Dauss and Ehmke 4.6, Rommel 4.4, Thurston 4.3, Bush 4.2, Coveleski 4.1.

Actual MVP voting:
Place Name Team 1st place Points
1 Babe Ruth NYY 8 64
2 Eddie Collins CHW 0 37
3 Harry Heilmann DET 0 31
4 Wally Gerber SLB 0 20
4 Joe Sewell CLE 0 20
6 Charlie Jamieson CLE 0 19
7 Johnny Bassler DET 0 17
8 Chick Galloway PHA 0 13
8 George Uhle CLE 0 13
10 George Burns BOS 0 8
11 Howard Ehmke BOS 0 7
11 Muddy Ruel WSH 0 7
13 Roger Peckinpaugh WSH 0 6
14 Urban Shocker SLB 0 5
15 Joe Judge WSH 0 4
15 Marty McManus SLB 0 4
15 Ken Williams SLB 0 4
18 Bucky Harris WSH 0 3
18 Joe Harris BOS 0 3
20 Joe Hauser PHA 0 1
20 Walter Johnson WSH 0 1
20 Cy Perkins PHA 0 1

Top player: Umm, let me think........OK, Babe Ruth. Back to full health, the Babe was easily the best in the league. He had perhaps the finest year ever: .393, 1309 OPS. Heilmann and his .403 average #2, Speaker with his .380 average and league lead in doubles fits at #3, Joe Sewell and his .353 average with good defense at shortstop will fit at #4, while Ken Williams, 4th in OPS+, is #5.

Top pitcher: George Uhle. Big lead in wins and innings, the quantity leader. Uhle was 26-16, 3.77. Hooks Dauss, 21-13, 3.62, is #2. Howard Ehmke was 20-17, 3.78 for #3. Urban Shocker is #4, Herb Pennock #5.

Top rookie: Willie Kamm, .292 in 149 games for Chicago with terrific defense at third base, over Heinie Manush, .334 in 109 games for Detroit. Manush never was much of a fielder.

Top manager: Miller Huggins guided the Yankees to their first World Series victory.

1922 National League

The New York Giants again outlasted their pursuers, which included Cincinnati, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, and Chicago in a pretty good race. Brooklyn was just under .500 with Philadelphia and Boston were at the bottom. The Giants then won another World Series over the Yankees.

Rogers Hornsby dominated the league's stat leader boards. He won the Triple Crown quite easily, and led in slugging percentage by 150 points over second-place Ray Grimes. Hornsby also led in runs, hits, and doubles. About the only key categories Hornsby didn't take were triples, led by Jake Daubert with 22, and steals, led by Max Carey with 51. For an idea of Hornsby's domination, he led the league with 202 Runs Created, and the next guy on the list was Carey with 127. Hornsby nearly lapped the field.

Eppa Rixey led pitchers with 25 wins, followed by Wilbur Cooper at 23 and Dutch Ruether with 21. Phil Douglas led with a 2.63 ERA. Rosy Ryan was a distant second at 3.01 and Pete Donohue third with 3.12. Dazzy Vance topped the loop with 134 strikeouts. Cooper was second with 129.

Win Shares leaders, players; Rogers Hornsby (St. Louis) 47, Ray Grimes (Chicago) and Max Carey (Pittsburgh) 29, Zack Wheat (Brooklyn) and Dave Bancroft (New York) 27, Bob O'Farrell (Chicago) 26, Charlie Hollocher (Chicago) and Jake Daubert (Cincinnati) 24.

WS leaders, pitchers; Wilbur Cooper (Pittsburgh) 27, Eppa Rixey (Cincinnati) 23, Art Nehf (New York), Johnny Morrison (Pittsburgh) and Jeff Pfeffer (St. Louis) 21, Dutch Ruether (Brooklyn) 20.

WARP3: Hornsby 9.5, Bancroft 6.0, O'Farrell 5.3 (best year), Grimes 5.0 (best year, last good year), Frankie Frisch (St. Louis) 4.9, Hollocher 4.7 (best year, last good year), Babe Pinelli (Cincinnati) 4.2, Ross Youngs (New York) 3.8, Rabbit Maranville (Pittsburgh) 3.6, Carey 3.5.

Pitchers, Cooper 6.1 (best year), Ruether 5.1, Pfeffer (last good year) and Lee Meadows (Philadelphia) 5.0, Morrison 4.2 (best year), Pete Alexander (Chicago) 3.6, Babe Adams (Pittsburgh) and Dazzy Vance (Brooklyn) 3.5.

WAR leaders, position players: Hornsby 11.0, Bancroft 7.2, Grimes 6.3, Carey 6.0, Hollocher 5.5, Frisch 5.1, Bigbee, Kelly, and Wheat 4.9, Daubert, O'Farrell, and Youngs 4.8. Pitchers: Cooper 6.0, Morrison 5.4, Ruether 4.6, Alexander 4.4, Rixey 3.9, Meadows and Pfeffer 3.8, Douglas 3.6, Aldridge and Nehf 3.5.

Actual award voting: the AL began MVP voting again in 1922, but the NL didn't start until 1924.

Best player: Rogers Hornsby had one of the all-time great seasons, batting .401 with 42 homers and 152 RBI, easily winning the triple crown. The closest race was RBI, with Irish Meusel 20 behind him. Ray Grimes #2, Bob O'Farrell #3, Max Carey #4, and Dave Bancroft #5.

Best pitcher: Wilbur Cooper was 2nd in wins and strikeouts, 4th in ERA, and the best all-around at 23-14, 3.18. Eppa Rixey #2 at 25-13, 3.53. Pete Donohue at #3, with Dutch Ruether #4 and Johnny Morrison #5.

Best rookie: Andy High, .283 for Brooklyn.

Best manager: John McGraw again. Hard to ignore a World Championship.

1922 American League

The Yankees win their second straight pennant in a tremendous race with the St. Louis Browns decided by a single game. The Browns led as late as September 7h, though the Yankees had compiled a decent lead with a week to go. Detroit, Cleveland, and Chicago were just above .500. Washington and Philadelphia were in the second division, and Boston, having sold off their best players, sank to last. Babe Ruth had a series of problems that limited him to 110 games, which no doubt made the race closer.

George Sisler won the batting title at .420, with Ty Cobb second at .401. Not often a .400 hitter finishes second in batting average. Tris Speaker hit .378, Harry Heilmann .356. Sisler also led in runs with 134, hits with 246, triples with 18, and steals with 51. Lu Blue was second with 131 runs, Cobb was second with 211 hits, Cobb and Baby Doll Jacobson second with 17 triples. Ken Williams second with 37 steals. Sisler's teammate Williams led in homers with 39 and RBI with 155. Tillie Walker was second with 37 homers, Ruth third in spite of missed time with 35 HR. Tris Speaker led in doubles with 48, while injury-hampered Babe Ruth still led in OPS, and edged Speaker in OPS+. Sisler and Williams played in a pretty serious hitters' park.

Eddie Rommel led with 27 wins, followed by Joe Bush at 26 and Urban Shocker 24. George Uhle won 22 and Red Faber 21. Faber led in ERA at 2.81, just ahead of Herman Pillette at 2.85. Then came Bob Shawkey at 2.91 and Rasty Wright at 2.92. Urban Shocker's 149 strikeouts edged Faber's 148. Shawkey was third with 130.

Win Shares leaders, players: Tris Speaker (Cleveland) and Ken Williams (St. Louis) 30, Ty Cobb (Detroit), Babe Ruth (New York) and George Sisler (St. Louis) 29, Harry Heilmann (Detroit) 24, Eddie Collins (Chicago) 23, Ray Schalk (Chicago), Bobby Veach (Detroit), Wally Pipp (New York), Bing Miller and Tilly Walker (Philadelphia) 22 each.

WS leaders, pitchers: Red Faber (Chicago) 31, Urban Shocker (St. Louis) 29, Bob Shawkey (New York) and Erwin Rommel (Philadelphia) 27, Joe Bush (New York) 26, Stan Coveleski and George Uhle (Cleveland), Herman Pillette (Detroit), and Elam Vangilder (St. Louis) 22 each.

WARP3: Williams 6.9, Sisler 6.6, Ruth 6.5, Speaker 5.9, Cobb 5.6, Veach 4.9 (last big season), Heilmann and Schalk (best season) 4.7, Chick Galloway (Philadelphia) 4.1, Pipp 3.9 (best year), Baby Doll Jacobson (St. Louis) and Earl Sheely (Chicago) 3.7.

Pitchers, Faber 8.1, Rommel 7.6 (best year), Coveleski 6.5, Uhle and Walter Johnson (Washington) 6.1, Shocker and Pillette (career year) 6.0, Tom Zachary (Washington) 5.3, Vangilder 5.0 (best year), Shawkey and Jack Quinn (Boston) 4.8, Bush 4.6.

WAR leaders, position players: Sisler 8.7, Williams 7.9, Speaker 7.0, Ruth and Cobb 6.7, Heilmann 5.4, Veach 4.9, Pipp 4.7, Miller 4.4, McManus 4.3. Pitchers: Faber 7.9, Shocker 6.5, Shawkey 5.9, Rommel 5.7, Pillette 5.2, Coveleski 4.9, Johnson 4.6, Hoyt, Leverett, and Quinn 3.7.

Actual award voting, MVP:
Place Name Team Points
1 George Sisler SLB 59
2 Eddie Rommel PHA 31
3 Ray Schalk CHW 26
4 Joe Bush NYY 19
5 Eddie Collins CHW 18
6 Johnny Bassler DET 13
6 Steve O'Neill CLE 13
8 Joe Judge WSH 12
8 Wally Pipp NYY 12
10 Lu Blue DET 11
11 Chick Galloway PHA 10
12 Harry Heilmann DET 8
13 Del Pratt BOS 7
13 Wally Schang NYY 7
15 Bob Meusel NYY 6
15 Everett Scott NYY 6
17 Walter Johnson WSH 5
17 Urban Shocker SLB 5
19 Charlie Jamieson CLE 4
19 Joe Sewell CLE 4
21 George Burns BOS 2
21 Jimmie Dykes PHA 2
21 Bucky Harris WSH 2
21 Roger Peckinpaugh WSH 2
21 Bill Wambsganss CLE 2
26 George Cutshaw DET 1
26 Cy Perkins PHA 1

Best player: I will go with the voters and say George Sisler wins, though the top five are very close. St. Louis played in a very good hitters' park for the time, so the stats of Sisler and Williams are boosted a bit. I will still pick Sisler #1, with Speaker #2, Williams #3, Cobb #4, and Ruth #5.

Best pitcher: Red Faber, again. Led league in ERA, 2nd in strikeouts, 5th in wins. Either Rommel or Bush would have won in real life, due to more impressive win totals. Faber was boosting up a still-depleted White Sox team. I'd put Urban Shocker #2 and Rommel #3, followed by Bob Shawkey and Pillette.

Best rookie: Joe Hauser, a .323 hitter for the A's, with Vangilder in his only good year close behind. Hauser is better known as a minor league slugger.

Best manager: Lee Fohl for almost getting the Browns into the winner's circle.