Baseball...numbers, stories and analysis: 1931

1931: Lefty, Writers and a teenager...

The 1931 baseball season featured two runaway teams. Both the St. Louis Cardinals and the Washington Senators won their league pennant easily. As a result of this, attendance in both leagues plummeted to near record lows, down 16.4% over the record setting 1930 attendance figures. The average game attendance was 6,850, the lowest average since the pandemic recovery year of 1919, when the game average was 5,842.

And while we look back at this era as ‘glory days’, actually the league attendance continued to drop. The depression, obviously, took a great toll on those figures. Baseball’s attendance numbers would eventually rebound by 1937.

What is also surprising is the Yankees. For all the offense they created (1,067 runs in 1931), they were not pennant winners. Despite have two of the greatest hitters in the middle of their line-up, (Ruth and Gehrig) they managed just four pennants over a ten-year span.

After Ruth left, they won four World Series titles over the next five years.

In 1931, the Philadelphia A’s, led by the Pitching dominance of Lefty Grove, along with the hitting of Al Simmons and Jimmie Foxx, led to 107 wins, which out-paced the second place Yankees by thirteen and a half games. The previous season, they won 102 games, beating the second place Washington Senators by eight games.

They were shut out just twice during the season, and one of them was a 0-0 tie game. The other was a 1-0 loss.

The A’s won 313 games between 1929 and 1931, winning 2 World Series titles and a third American League Championship in the process, but their greatness somehow gets overshadowed by the Yankees, who won 312 games between 1926 and 1928. Also winning 2 World Series titles and an American League championship.

Robert Moses “Lefty” Grove had the best season of his storied career in 1931. In fact, one of the top season ever for a left-handed pitcher in the Live Ball Era. He went 31-4, and amazing twenty-seven game win differential. His 2.06 ERA was 1.41 runs lower than the league average (68% better than the AL) and he led the league in strikeouts, winning him the pitching triple crown for the third straight season.

Grove won his twentieth game on July 25^th, the earlies to that mark in American League history.

Grove’s father was a coal miner in Maryland and hoped his son would follow in his footsteps. It was hard tedious work, but it was honest work for honest pay. Young Robert decide that he was not cut out for coal mining and would rather play baseball. He definitely had a talent for it.

He pitched well for a small semi-pro team and caught the attention of Martinsburg Mountaineers of the Blue Ridge League. They were impressed enough with the youngster that they offered him a contract that would pay him $125 a month. That amount was much more than his father made at the coal mines, so Lefty instantly signed, and entered the professional ranks.

He pitched very well for the Mountaineers, appearing in six games. The team went 3-3, but Groves’ ERA was 2.06.

As luck (or fate) would have it, Jack Dunn Jr., the son of the owner of the Baltimore Orioles, who were a minor league juggernaut at the time (from where Babe Ruth emerged) was visiting Martinsburg on a scouting trip. He saw Lefty pitch and was intrigued. He was also intrigued by the Mountaineer’s monetary issues. Namely, the team was still losing money, and was in deep debt because of repairs that were made to their outfield fence.

Three thousand dollars to pay off the fence debt later, and Lefty Grove was a member of the Baltimore Orioles. He pitched for the Orioles for five years all told, including the 1921 team, which is regarded as the greatest minor league team assembled, winning 119 games. The 1922 team won 115 games, the 1923 team that won 111 games and the 1924 team that won 117 games.

Including his time with the Orioles in 1920 (who won 107 games), Lefty went 108-36, for a >750 winning percentage.

With the success of the Baltimore Franchise, who was independently owned and operated, Jack Dunn Sr. was in no hurry to sell off his most important player. In fact, with the selling of Babe Ruth ever etched into his psyche, he was determined that he would get proper compensation for his star player.

After the 1924 season, Dunn agreed to sell Grove to Connie Mack and the Philadelphia A’s. Mack aware of the talent agreed to pay the amount of $100,600, which was $100 more than the Yankees paid for Babe Ruth.

And it all started because of a fence.

Special shout out to Gary Cierdakowski, who featured this story in his book, "The League of Outsider Baseball", along with a story below...

The mighty A’s would lose to the St. Louis Cardinals in the Series in seven games. It was just the second time in history that the batting leader for each league faced off in the Fall Classic, Al Simmons of the A’s, and Chick Hafey of the Cardinals.

The team offensive top three rankings were:

American League	National League
Yankees	Cardinals
Indians	Cubs
Giants	Senators

And the pitching rankings were:

A’s	Cardinals
Senators	Giants
Yankees	Brooklyn

Which brings the top five ‘power ranking’ to these teams:

Yankees	2^nd place in the American League
A’s	American League Champion
Cardinals	World Series Champion
Senators	3^rd place in the American League
Giants	2^nd place in the National League

One of those instances where the more ‘potent’ team fails to win a championship.

Coming out of Spring Training, like most teams, the Yankees had a small barnstorming tour through the south on their way to the Bronx. One of these stops was in Chattanooga, where the Bombers played an exhibition game against the home team Chattanooga Lookouts.

Joe Engel, owner of the team, which played their home games in the eponymous Engel Stadium, realized that while the New York Yankees were going to be a big draw, he needed an angle of his own to create that much more of a buzz.

Jackie Mitchell, a left-handed throwing high school student was signed by Engle before the contest, and Engel slated Mitchell, a seventeen-year-old to pitch against ‘Murderer’s Row’.

Mitchell, who was taught to pitch by a neighbor, Dazzy Vance, who was a star for the Brooklyn Dodgers years before and would eventually become inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Mitchell stared down the legendary Babe Ruth. The first pitch was outside. The Babe swung and missed at the next two pitches.

The third pitch, Babe pulled back on, thinking it was inside, but was called strike three by the umpire. Babe threw his bat down in anger, said a few vaguely unseemly words to the umpire, and sloughed back towards the Yankees dugout, demonstrably mumbling, and grumbling all the way.

Next to dig in was Lou Gehrig.

While not as demonstrative as the Babe was, Gehrig also struck out on three pitches.

Tony Lazzeri was the nest man up, and he promptly walked on the next four pitches, and Jackie was removed from the game

Incredibly, these two legends were struck out on six pitches by a teen-ager named Jackie Mitchell.

Even more incredible, was that Jackie Mitchell was a seventeen-year-old girl.

Headlines screamed around the nation of this teenage girl striking out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, garnering tons publicity for those involved.

However, there are some that say that the whole stunt was just that…a stunt. In “The League of Outsider Baseball”, author Gary Cierdakowski writes that baseball researcher Scott Simkus’ research led him to believe that it was a publicity gimmick, shown by Jackie’s underwhelming pitching record in the semi-pro ranks.

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-League-of-Outsider-Baseball/Gary-Cieradkowski/9781476775234

However, an article in Smithsonian magazine states that Mitchell insisted that the only instructions the Yankee hitter were given was to try not to hit the ball directly at her.

Regardless of whether if it was a set-up or not, it does make for a fun story.

As I do research into these articles, I stumble onto small items that sometimes turn into bigger items. Some lead to dead ends, but some grow into bigger things.

Such is the case with the 1931 Mobile Marines of the Southern Association.

I am not sure where I found it, or even why, but during the 1931 minor-league season, the Mobile Marines were voted out of the league, with a 34-61 record. The franchise was moved to Knoxville, and resumed play as the Knoxville Smokies, where they went 23-33 for the rest of the season.

I made several attempts to find out exactly why the Mobile team were ousted from the league. But it did lead me to the team roster, and then to a name I recognized…Sy Rosenthal.

Sy was nearing the end of his baseball career. Born Simon Rosenthal in Boston, he would go on to play another four years in the minors. He would finish his minor league career with a very respectable lifetime .333 batting average.

He began the 1931 season with the Galveston Buccaneers of the Texas League before moving to the Mobile club. He finished his Southern Association season with a .347 average.

Sy did play two seasons for the Boston Red Sox, in 1925 -26. He is one of only sixteen Boston-born players to appear for the Red Sox and earned the most plate appearances in that illustrious group. He and Jack Slattery are the only Sox players to be born, and subsequently die in Boston.

But there is more to his story…much more.

Sy (as he preferred to spell his nickname) was the first Jewish player for the Red Sox, as his family was Orthodox Jews. His father emigrated from Russia, his mother from Austria. He played in the semi-pro ranks and was actually discovered by the Red Sox public address announcer, who got him a tryout.

He related a story that when he was signed to the Sox by Hugh Duffy, Duffy tried to convince Sy to change his name to Rose, because Duffy said it “…would be easier to fit in the box score.” But Sy declined, saying, “I was born with the name Rosenthal. It won’t make any difference if my name is Rose, Rosenthal, or O’Brien. I’ll rise and fall on my own name.”

He was invited to spring training in 1922 and traveled with the Red Sox on their pre-season barnstorming tour through Kentucky, where he turned heads with his hitting and fielding. The eighteen-year-old outfielder was returned to the minor leagues, playing for the Hartford Senators of the Eastern League.

He would spend two more seasons in the Eastern League, before moving to the San Antonio Bears of the Texas League. His hitting continued to garner attention, as did his demeanor. He began the 1924 season on a hot streak, getting eleven straight hits at one point, with an early season batting average of over .700. He was mentioned in “The Sporting News”, where it was noted that he was ‘drawing Jewish fans’ to the ballpark.

Sy’s contract was purchased by the Red Sox, and he was transferred to Boston, with his newly wed bride in tow, the daughter of a Rabbi, the former Josephine Lubel. Sy arrived on September 7^th and was in the lineup on September 8^th.

The Red Sox of 1924 were not a particularly good team. They finished eighth in the league, forty-nine and a half games out of first place. They were also dead last in attendance, drawing a little over 260,000 fans to Fenway Park. Across town, the Braves were faring a little better at the box office, a little over 313,000. With that being said, the Sox decoded to take advantage of their new local star.

Even though he had barely more than two weeks major league experience, the Red Sox held a “Simon Rosenthal Day” in his honor on September 26^th., and was feted between games of that day’s doubleheader.

Sy became a semi-regular in 1926, appearing in one hundred four games, and batting .267. His final big league home run came against Cleveland, the lone run in a 6-1 loss. He was returned to the minors the next season, playing for the Louisville Colonels of the American Association.

As his baseball career came to an end, he returned to Boston, and worked for Wolf Clothiers, and volunteered his time to help youth sports in Boston and Dorchester. Then, he went into the tin can manufacturing business. He and Josephine had a son, Irwin, who went by “Buddy”.

“Buddy” enlisted in the Marine Corps and fought during World War II. Sy tried to enlist after Pearl Harbor, but the thirty-eight-year-old’s knee cartilage was in bad shape, so he was refused. So, he liquidated his business. Then, using his own money, Sy paid to have his knees repaired, and tried to enlist again, and was accepted into the Navy.

In 1944, he was at sea, serving aboard a minesweeper, when the ship returned to Norfolk. Awaiting him at port was a stack of returned correspondences from Buddy.

Tragically, Sy learned that on December 25^th or 26^th, Buddy had been on a mission at Cape Gloucester in the Solomon Islands, attempting to capture the airfields. Buddy and his team were walking through the tall grass, trying to locate the enemy to no avail. Finally, in an attempt to discover their position, Buddy stood for an instant, and was killed instantly.

The Marine Corps lost 325 men during that battle.

Sy was aboard ship during the D-Day invasion on June 6^th, 1944. And was serving aboard the USS Miantonomah on September 25^th, 1944 when the ship was struck by a German mine about a mile from the French coast, near Le Havre. Fifty-eight soldiers died that day, and Sy was severely injured, which rendered him a paraplegic and used a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

On September 13^th, 1947, the Red Sox held “Simon Rosenthal Day raising money for the man who sold his business to be able to fight in the war. The money raised allowed a committee to present Sy with a deed for a house, equipped with wheelchair ramps and other fixtures.

Sy became known for his charitable works. While in the hospital in Framingham, Massachusetts, Sy learned of a family in Needham, whose home had been destroyed by a fire, and offered up his home for them until they could get themselves situated.

Sy served as President of the New England Chapter of Paralyzed Veterans of America for three terms. He devoted himself to helping others. He was honored during a testimonial dinner held in his honor in Boston in 1960. The event drew 500 patrons, and included the host, Al Schact, along with Yankee manager Casey Stengel, Red Sox manager Billy Jurges, American League umpire chief Cal Hubbard and a variety of religious and clergy leaders from throughout the community.

His work with Little League organizations within the greater Boston area led to the building of the “Sy Rosenthal Little League Stadium” in Dorchester. He was also honored by the Disabled American Veterans for his work in ‘fostering brotherhood’ in 1963.

To that end, Rosenthal said, “We wouldn’t have to set up a Brotherhood Week if we observed the basic tenets of our faith, whatever it may be. If you have good will in your heart, you don’t need a special week.”

Most notably, to me anyway, was the money he helped raise in 1966, along with Father Charles D. Burns, an African American priest. Together, they helped raise $55,000 to build a gymnasium for the St. Augustine seminary in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The seminary was the first in the nation to accept African American men to be trained and ordained to be Catholic priests.

The cost of the project was budgeted at $125,000, and Rosenthal donated $5,000 of his own money, and raised thousands more from friends throughout the country.

The gymnasium was dedicated to Sy Rosenthal, and a special plaque was installed, remembering the sacrifice of Irwin “Buddy” Rosenthal.

According to a letter sent to his testimonial dinner by Father Owen McGrath, Sy's favorite quote was, "Keep the faith, and keep smiling."

https://www.baseballsgreatestsacrifice.com/wounded_in_combat/rosenthal-sy.html

https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/sy-rosenthal/

Back to 1931.

In the spring the Chicago White Sox played the New York Giants in an exhibition game in Houston, Texas. It was the first night game involving two major league teams.

And in the fall, major league baseball players played a series of exhibition games in Japan, against a collection of Japanese players. The major league roster included Lefty O’Doul, Lou Gehrig, Lefty Grove, Al Simmons, Mickey Cochrane, Rabbit Maranville and Frankie Frisch, among others.

The major leaguers went 17-0 during that tour.

The St. Louis Browns and the White Sox played a twelve-inning game, won by the Browns 10-8. It remains the longest game played where no strikeouts were recorded by either team.

Boston Red Sox right-fielder Earl Webb (the Earl of Doublin') hit 67 doubles, which remains the record today. Only five other players have hit sixty.

Brooklyn Robins (soon to be Dodgers) outfielder Babe Herman hits for the cycle. It was his second cycle, and he was the first to accomplish this feat twice in the twentieth century.

Chicago White Sox Smead Jolley batted a robust .467 as a pinch-hitter, which remains the American League record.

Cleveland Indians pitcher Wes Ferrell, widely regarded as one of the best hitting pitchers, collected 80 total bases as a pitcher, which is the major league record. He hit a record 9 homeruns during the season, including the first hit by a pitcher who threw a no-hitter.

That feat has been done just three more times, Jim Tobin (1944), Earl Wilson (1962) and Rick Wise (1971).

St. Louis Cardinals (and Fordham Ram alumni) Frankie Frisch became the first switch-hitter to win an MVP award, the first of the official MVP Awards voted on by the BBWAA (Baseball Writers Association of America). Lefty Grove won the American League MVP.

Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Buzz Arlett, a thirty-two-year-old rookie batted .313. It was his only season in the major leagues, and he is the only player to bat over .300 in his only season (minimum 100 games/300 at bats)

Pittsburgh Pirates center-fielder Adam Comorosky completed 2 unassisted double plays that season.

In New York, Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig tied for the home-run championship with 46 each. Gehrig should have won the title outright, except for a baserunning blunder by teammate Lyn Lary.

In a game at Washington with Lary on base, Gehrig launched a ball into deep right field. Lary Was running with the hit and looked back to see the right-fielder catching the ball, which in actuality was the rebound after the ball hit the seats in the stands for a homer. Lary touched third, and then jogged into the dugout where, according to Yankee pitcher Lefty Gomez, he got a drink from the water fountain. Gehrig, his head down, completed running the bases, inadvertently passing Lary, causing him to be called out, and the home run nullified.

Gehrig did play in his one-thousandth consecutive game during this season., while also setting the American League Runs Batted In record with 185 on the year. He reached the 200 hit/100 walks plateau for the third time, tying Babe Ruth for the most times. Lou would then later accomplish the feat four more times.

Lou became the first American Leaguer to reach 400 total bases in consecutive seasons and is still the only AL hitter to reach 400 total bases more than twice. He did it five times.

He was the second player to reach 200 hits and 40 homers in a season three times and is the only player to have done that five times.

Babe Ruth, having already founded the 200-home run club, the 300-home run club, the 400-home run club, and the 500-home run club, then established the 600-home run club in 1931. He would remain that only occupant until Willie Mays joined him in 1969.

Hall of Fame catcher Bill Dickey led the Yankee catching corps by recording no passed balls for the entire season, in a total of 862 chances.

Now, let us analyze the season’s top pitching performers, beginning in the National League, the initial top ten pitchers were:

Pitcher	Team	W-L	ERA
Bill Walker	Giants	16-9	2.26
Jesse Haines	Cardinals	12-3	3.02
Ed Brandt	Braves	18-11	2.98
Heinie Meine	Pirates	19-13	2.98
Carl Hubbell	Giants	14-12	2.65
Freddie Fitzsimmons	Giants	18-11	3.05
Bill Hallahan	Cardinals	19-9	3.29
Paul Derringer	Cardinals	18-8	3.36
Burleigh Grimes	Cardinals	17-9	3.65
Bob Smith	Cubs	15-12	3.22

Then, as compared to their team’s average performances, we get this next top ten list:

Ed Brandt	Above
Red Lucas	Reds	14-13	3.59
Ray Benge	Phillies	14-18	3.17
Heinie Meine	Above
Tom Zachary	Braves	11-15	3.10
Bill Walker	Above
Larry Benton	Reds	10-15	3.35
Bob Smith	Above
Jesse Haines	Above
Charlie Root	Cubs	17-14	3.48

As mentioned earlier, 1931 was the first season where each league awarded a Most Valuable Player Award that was voted on by the BBWAA. With that being said, herewith is the top ten overall pitchers in the National League, with their MVP voting position:

Ed Brandt	No votes
Bill Walker	No votes
Jesse Haines	No votes
Heinie Meine	No votes
Carl Hubbell	No votes
Freddie Fitzsimmons	25^th (tie)
Red Lucas	14^th place
Ray Benge	No votes
Bill Hallahan	No votes
Bob Smith	No votes

No surprise by the lack of pitchers garnering MVP votes. In the National League, only 8 of the 29 players receiving votes were pitchers, or 27.6% of the ballot.

The National League pitchers held a 13% statistical advantage over their American League counterparts.

So, to the American League, where we will see just how dominant Lefty Grove was, our initial list of top ten performers was:

Lefty Grove	A’s	31-4	2.06
Lefty Gomez	Yankees	21-9	2.67
George Earnshaw	A’s	21-7	3.67
Wes Ferrell	Indians	22-12	3.75
Firpo Marberry	Senators	16-4	3.45
Rube Walberg	A’s	20-12	2.74
George Uhle	Tigers	11-12	3.50
Lloyd Brown	Senators	15-14	3.20
Roy Mahaffey	A’s	15-4	4.21
Eddie Rommel	A’s	7-5	2.97

And against their team’s averages, we get this list:

Red Faber	White Sox	10-14	3.82
George Uhle	Above
Wes Ferrell	Above
Lefty Grove	Above
Danny MacFayden	Red Sox	16-12	4.02
Lefty Gomez	Above
Dick Coffman	Browns	9-13	3.88
Vic Frazier	White Sox	13-15	4.46
Earl Whitehill	Tigers	13-16	4.08
Vic Sorrell	Tigers	13-14	4.15

And the final top ten list is as follows:

Lefty Grove	AL MVP
Lefty Gomez	No votes
Wes Ferrell	11^th place (tied)
George Uhle	No votes
George Earnshaw	11^th place (tied)
Red Faber	No votes
Danny MacFayden	20^th place (tied)
Firpo Marberry	13^th place
Lloyd Brown	No votes
Rube Walberg	No votes

And over to the offensive side, again starting in the National League, our initial top ten list is as follows:

Player	Team	HR	RBI	AVG	RC/G
Chuck Klein	Phillies	31	121	.337	1.43
Chick Hafey	Cardinals	16	95	.349	1.42
Bill Terry	Giants	9	112	.349	1.46
Rogers Hornsby	Cubs	16	90	.331	1.38
Mel Ott	Giants	29	115	.292	1.38
Jim Bottomley	Cardinals	9	75	.348	1.29
Kiki Cuyler	Cubs	9	88	.330	1.23
Frankie Frisch	Cardinals	4	82	.311	1.33
Babe Herman	Brooklyn	18	97	.313	1.14
Lefty O’Doul	Brooklyn	7	75	.336	1.14

The National League batting race came down to the last games of the season, with four hitters jockeying for the title: Bottomley, Hafey, Klein, and Terry. Klein’s Phillies were playing the Cardinals in a doubleheader. Chuck went 0 for 8 in the twin-bill to finish at .337. Terry’s Giants were playing in Brooklyn, where he went 1-4, to finish. Hafey took an 0fer in the opener, while Bottomley got two hits, In the nightcap, Bottomley again got two hits, while Hafey got three.

The final results, the closest three-man race for the title:

Chick Hafey .3489

Bill Terry .3486

Jim Bottomley .3482

Now, we will look at how the batters fared against their team’s average performances, we get this list:

Wally Berger	Braves	19	84	.323	1.04
Chuck Klein	Above
Bill Terry	Above
Harvey Hendrick	Reds	1	75	.315	1.08
Mel Ott	Above
Pie Traynor	Pirates	2	103	.298	1.17
Tony Cuccinello	Reds	2	93	.315	1.03
Joe Stripp	Reds	3	42	.324	1.05
Babe Herman	Above
Lefty O’Doul	Above

So, combining and analyzing, our final top ten National League hitters is as such:

Chuck Klein	2^nd place
Bill Terry	3^rd place
Chick Hafey	5^th place
Rogers Hornsby	No votes
Mel Ott	No votes
Jim Bottomley	15^th place (tie)
Wally Berger	No votes
Babe Herman	No votes
Kiki Cuyler	12^th place
Lefty O’Doul	25^th place (tie)

As I stated earlier, Cardinal’s second baseman Frankie Frisch was voted the National League Most Valuable Player.

Looking at the American League, where these batters fared 13% better than the National League batters, statistically speaking, and also fared 38.9% better than the AL pitchers, we get this initial top ten list:

Lou Gehrig	Yankees	46	185	.341	1.95
Babe Ruth	Yankees	46	162	.373	1.83
Al Simmons	A’s	22	128	.390	1.65
Earl Averill	Indians	32	143	.333	1.62
Mickey Cochrane	A’s	17	89	.349	1.30
Ben Chapman	Yankees	17	122	.315	1.51
Goose Goslin	Browns	24	108	.328	1.31
Jimmie Foxx	A’s	30	120	.291	1.32
Joe Cronin	Senators	12	126	.306	1.39
Earl Webb	Red Sox	14	103	.333	1.23

Then, compared to their team averages, our next top ten list is:

Earl Webb	Above
Al Simmons	Above
Goose Goslin	Above
Dale Alexander	Tigers	3	87	.325	1.18
Lou Gehrig	Above
Mickey Cochrane	Above
Babe Ruth	Above
Earl Averill	Above
Red Kress	Browns	16	114	.311	1.23
Charlie Gehringer	Tigers	4	53	.311	1.12

These numbers bring us to our final ranking. The top hitters in the American League were:

Lou Gehrig	2^nd place
Babe Ruth	5^th place
Al Simmons	3^rd place
Earl Averill	4^th place
Mickey Cochrane	9^th place (tied)
Goose Goslin	20^th place (tied)
Earl Webb	6^th place
Ben Chapman	15^th place
Jimmie Foxx	25^th place
Joe Cronin	7^th place

As I mentioned earlier, this was the first year of the BBWAA officially voting for each league’s Most Valuable Player. The rules were fairly simple, yet so complicated at the same time.

One writer from each city was asked to fill out a ten-player ballot. Each position was then awarded points inversely related to that ranking. Ten points for first place down to one point for tenth place. Then those points were tallied to reach an end result.

However, there was no definitive explanation of their qualifications. Does it measure the best player in the league? Can a player whose team finishes in last place truly be the most valuable player? Should staring pitcher, who played every four or five days get the same consideration as an everyday player?

The debate goes on forever.

In my list, I try to call out the best player in each league, regardless of how their team finished in the standings. I designate these players as Players of the year and chose a hitter and a pitcher. There was no separate pitching award issued until the Cy Young Award was first issued in 1956.

That Award, which is also voted on by the BBWAA, was named to honor Cy Young, who died in 1955. His 511 major league wins is a record that will never be topped.

Here are my top overall players from each league. Beginning with the National League, where Cardinal’s second-baseman Frankie Frisch (a.k.a. The Fordham Flash) finished the voting as the Most Valuable Player, this is my list: