The aces of the Yankee pitching staff were Lefty Gomez and Red Ruffing,
both Hall Of Famers. This was "Goofy" Gomez's fourth and last 20+ win season;
it may also have been his best, and I think he was clearly the best in the AL
this year. Gomez would have a few more good seasons before his career drew
to a close; though he finished with only 189 wins, Gomez had enough big seasons
to gain entrance into the Hall Of Fame. Playing with the Yankees surely helped
his cause, but I think Gomez was a legitimately great pitcher, the AL's best
pitcher in the 1930's after Lefty Grove. Though he had a reputation for doing
crazy, daredevil stunts, Gomez managed to lead a long life, passing away at age 80.
In the MVP vote, Ruffing led all pitchers with
146 votes, while Gomez received only one. I presume this was because Gomez
was a flake, and the writers didn't like to take him seriously as a great pitcher (just
a theory; Gomez did very well in award voting in his earlier years, put perhaps
his act was wearing thin). Ruffing, on the other hand, was in cruise control; this was his second straight 20+
win season, and he would follow up with two more. Despite the opinions of
the writers at the time, I'm sticking with Gomez as the top pitcher.
Of course, if I had my choice of any of the pitchers
listed above, I would take Lefty Grove. He may not have been as dominant as
he once was, but Grove was still a fantastic pitcher. He was playing with
Boston at this time, a left-hander pitching in Fenway Park. The Red Sox had
added another ex-Athletic, Jimmie Foxx, to their lineup, and their hitting improved
from "miserable" to "inadequate". Grove continued to win regardless. Though he
was 37 years old and losing his fastball, Grove was far from finished; he
still had two ERA titles left.
To round out the top four, I think I will take either Monty Stratton or
Johnny Allen. Allen had a weird career; he had a brilliant rookie year with
the Yankees in 1932, at age 27. He didn't pitch so well after that, and
was dealt to Cleveland, where he had two more brilliant seasons. This, I think,
is the one he is remembered best for; the Indians didn't have a great team,
but Allen went almost the whole season without losing.
Nevertheless, I'm going to take Stratton instead. This
was the best season in Stratton's short career; he had a better ERA than
Allen, and also threw five shutouts. But perhaps this is my heart talking more than
my head; Stratton is probably best known from the movie
The Stratton Story,
in which he was portrayed by Jimmy Stewart. After a solid 1939 season, Stratton
was shot in a hunting accident, and his leg was amputated. He came back
to pitch in the minor leagues, and coach in the majors. I haven't seen the
movie, but you can't help but feel inspired anyway, can you?
