1939 AL Stargell Award

American League 1939

			AVG	OBA	SLU	AB	HIT	DB	TP	HR	RUN	RBI	BB	SB	OPS
1B	J FOXX	BOS	360	464	694	467	168	31	10	35	130	105	89	4	1158
LF	T WILLIAMS	BOS	327	436	609	565	185	44	11	31	131	145	107	2	1045
LF	B JOHNSON	PHI	338	440	553	544	184	30	9	23	115	114	99	15	993
1B	H GREENBERG	DET	312	420	622	500	156	42	7	33	112	112	91	8	1042
1B	H TROSKY	CLE	335	405	589	448	150	31	4	25	89	104	52	2	994
OF	G SELKIRK	NY	306	452	517	418	128	17	4	21	103	101	103	12	969

3B	R ROLFE	NY	329	404	495	648	213	46	10	14	139	80	81	7	899
3B	B LEWIS	WAS	319	402	478	536	171	23	16	10	87	75	72	10	879

CF	J DIMAGGIO	NY	381	448	671	462	176	32	6	30	108	126	52	3	1119
CF	B MCCOSKY	DET	311	384	430	611	190	33	14	4	120	58	70	20	814
2B	J GORDON	NY	284	370	506	567	161	32	5	28	92	111	75	11	876
2B	C GEHRINGER	DET	325	423	544	406	132	29	6	16	86	86	68	4	967
SS	J CRONIN	BOS	308	407	492	520	160	33	3	19	97	107	87	6	899
SS	L APPLING	CHI	314	430	368	516	162	16	6	0	82	56	105	16	798
3B	K KELTNER	CLE	325	379	489	587	191	35	11	13	84	97	51	6	868
CA	B DICKEY	NY	302	403	512	480	145	23	3	24	98	105	77	5	915

        This was Ted Williams' rookie year, at age 21. Like DiMaggio, Williams had begun his pro career on the West Coast, in the Pacific Coast League (DiMaggio played for the San Francisco Seals, Williams with the San Diego Padres). As you can see, the young Splinter made quite a splash in his debut with the Red Sox, and was well on his way to becoming perhaps the greatest hitter in baseball history.
        Some of the older guys, like Jimmie Foxx and Hank Greenberg, could still hit as well. Foxx was the best hitter in the league, but he too missed a lot of games. For this reason, I think Williams should rank ahead of Foxx. But I would still put DiMaggio ahead of everybody else; he wasn't too far behind Williams in run production, and he was way ahead in defense and leadership.
        Joe Gordon, Red Rolfe, and Bill Dickey all played for the Yankees. Gordon was the best defensive player of that group, and Rolfe led the league in three important stats. But next to DiMaggio, I think Dickey was the Yankees' best player; he had a great year, and was clearly the dominant catcher in the league.
        This was Joe Gordon's sophomore season, at age 24. The previous year, he had replaced an aging Tony Lazzeri at second base. For the next five years, Gordon was one of the best players in baseball, a power-hitting second baseman who was also a brilliant defensive player. He hit 30 home runs in 1940, and won the MVP Award in 1942. He lost two years of his career to the war, then struggled in 1946 when he returned. The Yankees dealt Gordon to the Indians, where he had two more brilliant seasons; he drove in 124 runs in 1948, when the Indians won their last World Series.
        Gordon faded after that; he played only 11 years but finished with 253 homers in his career. He was an All-Star nine times, and he ranks with Boston's Bobby Doerr as the best second baseman of the era. Doerr was elected to the Hall Of Fame, as was Gordon's double play partner, Phil Rizzuto. His predecessor, Tony Lazzeri, was also elected. Gordon is still waiting, though I would say that he was at least as good as either Doerr or Lazzeri, and perhaps even better than Rizzuto.