The Yankees returned to the World Series this year, ending a string of three straight pennants by the Philadelphia Athletics. Both teams had formidable offenses that rank among the greatest ever; what put the Yankees over the top was a better pitching staff. Though the Athletics had the greatest pitcher in baseball history in Lefty Grove, they didn't have much else, whereas the New Yorkers had a deep staff.

         In the MVP vote, the pitcher who received the most votes was another Lefty, Lefty Gomez of the Yankees. Though Gomez was a great pitcher, this was not one of his best years; he was okay, but his 24-7 record was clearly influenced by the fact his team scored more than a thousand runs this year. Lefty Grove, on the other hand, was still clearly the best pitcher in the league. Grove's outstanding season brought his 1930's won-loss record to 84-19, after just three seasons.
         The Yankees' best pitcher this season was Red Ruffing; Red was 28 years old, and this was his first big year. He had started his career with Boston in 1924; his career with the Red Sox was disastrous, and he was traded to the Yankees in 1930 with a career record of 39-96. After joining the Yankees he mysteriously evolved into a great pitcher, ringing up 273 career wins, and was inducted into the Hall Of Fame.
         Was he really a great pitcher? Well, despite his awful start, Ruffing is not the worst pitcher in the Hall; he was a legitimately outstanding pitcher for the rest of the decade. His credentials as a great pitcher are about the same as Jack Morris', which is to say they are not very clear. I think Ruffing was very good, and a borderline Hall Of Famer; the biggest knock against Red is that his career winning percentage was worse than that of the teams he pitched for.
         I'm taking Ruffing third in the vote, behind Grove and General Crowder; the General was a pretty good pitcher who was durable, and who pitched for a pretty good Washington team. And after Ruffing I'll take the dependable Wes Ferrell, who had his fourth straight 20+ win season. Three other pitchers had breakthrough seasons: Tommy Bridges of the Tigers, who would emerge as one of the best pitchers of the decade; Johnny Allen, who had a interesting though inconsistent career; and Monte Weaver, who had his only big year.