Rudy York had a fantastic rookie season in 1937, smashing 35 home runs
in only 104 games. York hit 18 home runs in one month, a record that lasted
until 1998, when it was broken by Sammy Sosa. York followed up with another
monster season in 1938, driving in 127 runs. But he was a big man, and not
a very good catcher. So the Tigers moved him to first this year, and the
big guy responded with his best season. He was only 27, but for some reason
York's bat went into decline; even during the war years, he was not as effective
as he had been. He retired with 277 career home runs.
Barney McCosky also played for the Tigers, in centre field.
At age 23, he had his best season. He remained a .300 hitter, but
had trouble staying in the lineup. The war also cut into his
career, and he was finished by age 30.
Man, there were a lot of good infielders in this league.
Gehringer was 37, and had his last big year for the Tigers. Charlie played
for 19 years in total, all of them in Detroit, and has a reputation for
being the best defensive second baseman of the era, if not all time. He
was nicknamed "The Mechanical Man", partly because he was so durable and
consistent, but also because he almost never changed expression. Look at
old pictures of Gehringer, and you will see that he has the same dour
look in each one.
I don't know how great
Gehringer's defence really was, but the man could hit. He was a career
.320 hitter, had over 2800 hits in his career. Six times Gehringer had
200+ hits; twelve times he scored over 100 runs. He also had seven 100+
RBI seasons; he hit a whole bunch of doubles, and once had 60 in a season,
but he also hit 184 lifetime home runs. To top it all off, Gehringer
walked three times for every strikeout. Sure, this was a great era for
hitters... but those numbers are great for anyone, especially a second
baseman.
Among the all-time second
basemen, Gehringer might rank in the top five. I don't think he was as good
as Collins, Hornsby, or Morgan, unless his defence was truly spectacular.
I think he ranks a step down, in a class with Lajoie, Frisch and Sandberg.
Detroit fans may disagree vehemently, and they might be right. In any case,
he was a great player, and is in the Hall Of Fame.
Gehringer had probably been passed by both Bobby Doerr and Joe Gordon
as the AL's top defensive infielder. Amazingly, Gehringer and Gordon
got only three votes each;
Doerr didn't get any votes at all. Apparently, voters at the time weren't impressed by
slick-fielding, hard-hitting second basemen.
I think Greenberg and Joe DiMaggio were clearly the best of
the sluggers. From the glovemen, I'll take Gordon and Lou
Boudreau. Both Doerr and Joe Cronin had superficially better
numbers, but both were helped a lot by the friendly confines of
Fenway Park.
