After a three-year hiatus, the Yankees won another pennant and another World Series, their first of four in a row. The Yankees had successfully survived the departure of Babe Ruth; this year they had a spectacular rookie named Joe DiMaggio, and a new era in Yankee history began.
        Pitchers had a tough time this year. The league ERA rose above five runs per game, the first time it had ever gone that high. The Yankees had the lowest ERA in the league, led by a solid collection of pitchers. But the best pitcher in the AL was a familiar name, Lefty Grove.

         Surprisingly, the Boston Red Sox also had awesome pitching. Their staff ERA was almost as low as the Yankees, despite having to play their home games in Fenway Park, a hitter's haven. The Sox were led by a pair of aces, Lefty Grove and Wes Ferrell. Grove was now 36 years old, and had adapted very well to his new surroundings at Fenway. He was the only pitcher in the league with an ERA under 3.00, and he led the league in shutouts. Ferrell didn't pitch quite at the same level, but was still among the better pitchers in the league. It was Ferrell's last good season.
        Both Grove and Ferrell had more than Fenway Park to deal with. The Red Sox hitters this year could best be described as "putrid"; they had acquired Jimmie Foxx in the off-season, and without him they might have had the worst offense in baseball history. Nevertheless, both ace pitchers managed to post winning records; though Grove fared poorly in the MVP vote, I think he was clearly the best pitcher in the league.
        Vern Kennedy led all pitchers in the MVP vote; he probably had the worst strikeout/walk ratio of any pitcher who's ever won 20 games in a season. Kennedy spent twelve years in the majors, and had three winning seasons. Kennedy was followed in the voting by Tommy Bridges, the outstanding Detroit hurler who set a career high in wins. This was the third straight year that Bridges won 20+ games, and it was probably his best season. Bridges spent all 16 years of his career with the Tigers, winning 194 games for them, and ranks among the best pitchers in franchise history.
        Vern Kennedy was just one of a mixed bag of pitchers who had good years this season. Before the season, the Yankees and Indians swapped pitchers, Monte Pearson and Johnny Allen. Both teams benefitted from the exchange; the was Pearson's best year with the Yanks, though he remained a solid pitcher for several seasons. Harry Kelley was a teenager when he joined the Washington Senators; they released him a year later. Now, after an absence of ten years, Kelley returned to the big leagues and had his only good season.
         Pete Appleton also had his best year; Appleton was a journeyman who was used sparingly by most of his managers, but whose career spanned almost two decades, pitching only in very limited roles.