Carl Mays and Waite Hoyt were the Yankees' best pitchers. Mays
was at his peak as a pitcher. The year before, he threw the pitch
that struck Ray Chapman in the head and killed him. Mays didn't let
it bother him, however, and had his best season.
This was Hoyt's first big season with the Yankees; he pitched
more than twenty years in his career, and is in the Hall Of Fame.
The truth, however, is that Hoyt wasn't that great a pitcher. Carl
Mays, in fact, was a much better pitcher during his career than Hoyt
was, but Mays was shunned by the Hall Of Fame, perhaps because of
the Chapman incident. Hoyt won 20 games only twice in his career,
despite pitching for Babe Ruth's Yankees, one of the most dominant
dynasties ever. He was a right-handed Jerry Koosman, a good
pitcher, but not a great one.
Mays, on the
other hand, a terrific pitcher, though he didn't last long enough to compile
big career totals. He was a right-handed, submarining Ron Guidry,
and has a decent case for the Hall.
However interesting the argument between Hoyt and Mays may be,
I'm not choosing either of them for the Award this season. Red Faber still
pitched with the Chicago White Sox, a great team the previous few
years. But during the off-season, eight of their players were
banished for throwing the 1919 World Series; the Sox, needless to
say, went to hell in a hand basket.
Faber remained, and had a great year. His ERA is by far the
best in the league, more then half a run better than George
Mogridge's. His won-loss record isn't quite as good as Mays', but
it is very good. And whereas Mays had Babe Ruth on his team, Faber
was no longer supported by Shoeless Joe Jackson. The White Sox had
a terrible offense.
After Faber and Mays, I'll choose Urban Shocker and Sad Sam
Jones. Shocker's ERA was a little high, but all of his other
numbers were great. Incidentally, Hoyt and George Mogridge had
almost the exact same season.
