The Yankees won their second straight pennant and World Series. 22-year-old Joe Dimaggio had perhaps his best season, and Lou Gehrig had his typically great season as well. Detroit's Hank Greenberg chipped in with 183 RBI, one short of Gehrig's American League record. But another Tiger, second baseman Charlie Gehringer, won the MVP.

        Gehringer had a fine year, but this was possibly the best year Joe DiMaggio's career. Joe set career highs in hits, home runs, runs scored and slugging; he was 22 years old, and a premier defensive centre field. Given that his team won the World Series, this seems to be about as obvious an MVP choice as you can get. Gehringer, however, won accolades for his fielding his first batting title at age 34, and copped the award.
Gehrig was probably the best hitter in the league, followed closely by another first baseman, Greenberg. Of the three, DiMaggio was easily the best defensive player; Gehringer also deserves to be in the mix, with his fielding and .458 on-base percentage. Catcher Bill Dickey also had a great year, and played for the champions. But something inside me, whether rational or not, thinks that I have to go with the guy who drove in 183 runs. So I will take Big Hank. I hate to leave out Dickey, but it was that kind of year.
        One unusual name among the MVP candidates this season was Luke Sewell, who tied for fifth in the voting with Dickey. He was 36 years old, and was in his last full season. Of course, he was not as good as Dickey, but he was a survivor who had been in the league a long time. The White Sox were climbing back to respectability after 15 years in the gutter, and Sewell received much credit for the performance of their fine pitching staff.

        Luke Sewell was 2 1/2 years younger than his brother Joe, the Hall-of-Fame shortstop. Both brothers went to Wetumpka High, and then the University of Alabama; both played baseball and football (a third brother, Tommy, also played in the minors). Luke moved behind the plate after an ankle injury; he followed Joe to Cleveland, but was blocked by Steve O'Neill. He spent the 1921-22 seasons moving between Cleveland and Indianapolis; he stuck as the third catcher in 1923, but batted only ten times.
        He spent the next two years as the second-stringer, then finally got his chance as a regular in 1926. He was saddled with a reputation as a good-field, no-hit catcher until 1927, when he hit .294, a career-high; after the season, Luke and Joe held out after the season together for more money. In 1930, Joe was traded; Luke struggled with the bat from 1929-30, and his playing time dropped, but he rebounded with a good year in 1931. After the 1932 season, Luke was dealt to Washington.
        In his first year in Washington, Luke had one of his best years, and the Senators won the pennant. He played in 141 games, a career-high; he hit only .264. but contributed 30 doubles and 48 walks, which was about as good as he could do with the bat. In a game against the Yankees, he tagged out two runners at home plate on one play. He had only three hits in the World Series, in which the Senators were defeated by the Giants. A year later, both Sewell and the team struggled, and he was traded to the Browns.
        In his late 30's, he spent three years as the regular catcher with the White Sox. He retired after the 1939 season and returned to Cleveland as the third base coach. It was widely rumoured that Sewell would replace Ossie Vitt as manager after the 1940 season, but the Indians hired Roger Peckinpaugh instead. Sewell stayed on as a coach, but on June 5, 1941, accepted an offer to manage the St. Louis Browns.
        The Browns had been the worst team in the league for a decade, and were considered a hopeless situation; Sewell had to answer questions about why he took the job. But they played .500 ball the rest of the season; in 1942, they had a winning year, and Sewell was dubbed "Houdini". Insisted Sewell, "I have nothing up my sleeve."
        They struggled in 1943, but in 1944, the unthinkable happened - the Browns won the pennant. They trailed only Boston in runs scored; shortstop Vern Stephens led the league in RBI. They trailed only Detroit in team ERA; staff ace Nelson Potter won 19 games, despite a ten-game suspension for wetting his fingers on the mound. Said Sewell, "the Browns are not going to do a skid just to please those who think they should skid." They won 14 of their last 17 games and edged Detroit by one game.
        They faced with cross-town rivals, the Cardinals, in the World Series, and lost in six games. The Browns fell to third place in 1945, then slipped badly in 1946; Sewell was fired during the season after clashing with owner Richard C. Muckerman. Sewell retired from baseball, but was lured back as third base coach for the Reds in 1949. He took over as manager after Bucky Walters was fired; the Reds were another hopeless situation, but this time, Sewell couldn't work his magic. He resigned after the 1952 season.
        Sewell managed in the International League for two seasons, then in the PCL, before finally retiring from the game. He played for 20 seasons, caught 1562 games behind the plate and batted .259 lifetime. As a manager, he lost more than he won, but holds the distinction of leading the Browns to their first and only American League pennant. His brother is in the Hall of Fame, but Luke has a very respectable place in baseball history.

        Rudy York was 24, and had an amazing rookie season with the bat. He split his playing time almost evenly between catcher and third base, and was a poor defensive player at both positions. Eventually, York would thrive as a big, lumbering first baseman.
        This was Gehrig's last great season. He was fairly good in 1938, but his average slipped below .300 and his power dropped as well. By 1939, he could barely field a ground ball. The man who played in 2130 consecutive games, earning the nickname "The Iron Horse", was diagnosed with ALS, an incurable disease that destroys the body's muscles. Gehrig retired in 1939, and died in 1941, just days before his 38th birthday.
        On July 4, 1939 Gehrig had a final opportunity to appear before the fans at Yankee Stadium. It was on that day that he delivered his famous speech, when he declared that "Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth." ALS is now widely known as Lou Gehrig's Disease; in 1999, the disease claimed the life of another baseball Hall-Of-Famer, Catfish Hunter.