January 1, 1938
Happy New Year! let's meet the 20 top players for 1938:
Code:
NO PLAYER TEAM AGE POS LY AVG HR RBI
1 Josh Gibson POR 25 C 1 .360 37 139
2 Buck Leonard NYY 30 1B 4 .367 50 151
3 Harlond Clift DET 25 3B 3 .314 34 114
4 Joe DiMaggio SAC 23 LF 5 .307 46 119
5 Bob McBryde WAS 25 C 7 .331 12 79
6 Lou Gehrig PIT 34 1B 2 .360 48 154
7 Dave LaPointe HOL 24 CF 17 .365 15 92
8 Jimmie Foxx KC 30 1B 9 .300 45 115
9 Johnny Mize DET 24 1B 13 .367 44 141
10 Earl Averill STL 35 CF 10 .313 17 76
11 Chuck Klein POR 33 RF 8 .350 41 140
12 Arky Vaughan CHW 25 SS 6 .314 20 104
13 Hank Greenberg MIL 27 1B 12 .310 46 127
14 Roy Weatherly POR 22 LF 15 .372 19 94
15 Ray Dandridge POR 24 3B 18 .318 4 62
16 Mule Suttles WAS 36 LF NR .325 36 137
17 Hal Trosky CHC 25 1B NR .323 34 136
18 Jim Bottomley WAS 37 1B 16 .334 24 124
19 Buzz Boyle BOS 29 LF 19 .322 12 74
20 Jose Sanchez CLE 29 RF NR .335 15 101
Lou Gehrig produces a monster year in 1937, and he falls four spots on the list. Are there some concerns that Lou could be entering his decline phase? Still, being the sixth best player in baseball is far from a bad thing.
Chuck Klein continues to slide down the list, despite putting up big numbers year after year. I'm not sure why.
Look at how many great young hitters seem to be emerging! Granted, 1937 was a great year for offense, but Gibson, Clift, DiMaggio, McBryde, LaPointe, Mize, Vaughan, Weatherly, and Dandridge are all 25 years old or younger.
McBryde, LaPointe, and Sanchez are fictional players.
Here are the 20 top pitchers in the game:
Code:
NO PITCHER TEAM AGE LY W-L ERA K
1 Satchel Paige BOS 31 1 15-16 3.83 253
2 Tommy Bridges PHI 31 2 17-14 3.06 207
3 Gene Schott KC 24 4 22-7 2.70 135
4 Cliff Melton SD 25 7 18-13 2.65 170
5 Ray Brown CHW 29 12 18-8 3.80 170
6 Whit Wyatt SF 30 5 16-8 3.56 121
7 Bob Feller NYG 19 NR 18-11 3.77 229
8 Ed Brandt BOS 32 10 20-6 2.94 146
9 Dutch Leonard SD 28 15 16-13 3.91 61
10 Spud Chandler LA 30 13 17-15 2.98 127
11 Johnny Allen SEA 33 11 13-18 3.55 186
12 Stephen Jennings CHC 26 6 19-7 2.60 129
13 Enrique Hernandez PHI 27 NR 18-9 3.59 188
14 Fred Barnes SAC 29 17 18-9 2.94 118
15 Bill Swift SAC 29 18 11-17 4.22 70
16 Carl Hubbell HOL 34 8 13-17 4.39 116
17 Roy Weir SD 26 16 15-10 3.16 136
18 Quincy Dorst CHC 38 9 12-13 3.90 125
19 Jim Turner WAS 34 20 15-11 4.64 106
20 Ricardo Morales SEA 31 NR 11-16 4.41 116
- It's hard to believe there's not a single Portland pitcher on the list. It's clear that the experts are unwilling to show Pat Caraway (21-7, 3.68) any love. I'd put Paul Baker (16-13, 3.10) on my top 20 list, too.
- Dizzy Dean appears to be in the process of dropping off the radar once again. After recovering from serious arm problems, Diz is losing his skills at a rapid pace. He's only 27, and he hasn't been hurt, so I'm not sure why it's happening this time.
- Jennings, Hernandez, Barnes, Dorst, and Morales are all fictional pitchers.
And, let's meet the ten brightest prospects in baseball:
Code:
1 Willard Brown CHC 22 CF
2 Bobby Doerr BOS 19 2B
3 Pedro Alba POR 18 P
4 Valentyn Santos NYG 23 P
5 Enos Slaughter BKN 21 RF
6 Joe Gordon SAC 22 2B
7 Frankie Kelleher BKN 21 RF
8 Leon Day KC 19 P
9 Lou Boudreau STL 20 SS
10 Ken Keltner OAK 21 3B
- Brown ranked #2 on this list last year. He won a regular job in the Cubs' outfield this spring, hit four homers in 11 games, tore his biceps, and missed the rest of the year. He looks like he's recovered fully, so look for him to pick up where he left off in 1938.
- Doerr hit .309-5-42 with a .378 OBP in 349 AB with the Red Sox in 1937. He's still a teenager, so I put him on the list. He's projected to add power as he matures, too.
- Alba, a native of the Dominican Republic, signed with the Beavers in June, and pitched the rest of the year for Class A Lynn. He should develop better-than-average stuff, and nothing he throws is straight. Like many pitchers his age, he's wild, but experience should fix that problem.
- Santos went 15-9, 3.51 for the Giants' division-winning club, so he's more experienced than the guys on this list usually are. I included him because we've been tracking him for a while, and I thought you might be interested to see how well he's developed.
- Highly touted Slaughter didn't disappoint, reporting straight to the Dodgers after the draft and hitting .284 in 168 AB. He's got some pop, and he's a better-than-average outfielder with a strong arm.
- Gordon flashed some power in 42 games with the Solons, cracking nine homers. His .235 batting average should improve, since Joe makes good contact and judges the strike zone well.
- The Dodgers promoted Kelleher to Class AAA Montreal for 1937, and he responded with a .314-9-67 line. His power stroke is beginning to emerge, and he looks like he'll be a clubhouse leader, too.
- It looks like the A's struck it rich with Day, who struck out a batter per inning for York (A) this year. His 0.84 WHIP indicates his ability to dominate hitters, and the A's hope he'll continue to do so as he moves up the ladder.
- Boudreau hit .281-6-25 for Spokane (A) in 58 games, and played brillant defense at shortstop. The Cardinals need a replacement for 40-year-old 2B Kenny Hopkins, so Lou might force Glenn Myatt to move to the other side of the bag before long.
- The Oaks resisted the temptation to promote Keltner last September, choosing to let him enjoy the afterglow from his .295-7-58 season with AAA Louisville rather than having him stew in the bitter atmosphere surrounding the sad-sack big league club. Ken's ready for full-time duty in Oakland now, however.