The Yankees won their third straight pennant and World Series this year. They did it in typical Yankee fashion, leading the AL in both runs scored and team ERA. The World Series was barely a contest, as the Yanks swept the Cubs in four games. New York's outstanding pitching staff was led by their aces Red Ruffing and Lefty Gomez, both of whom had outstanding years.

         Red Ruffing led all pitchers in the MVP voting, which is not surprising because I think he was clearly the best pitcher in the AL. Ruffing led the league in wins and winning percentage; only Lefty Grove, a part-time pitcher for Boston, had a lower ERA. Red was at the top his game at this time; the Yankees won four straight pennants from 1936-1939, and Ruffing won 20 games in each of those four seasons.
        In the MVP voting, Ruffing was followed by St. Louis pitcher Bobo Newsom. The Browns were a terrible team, and Newsom deserves credit for winning 20 games with them, but his ERA was very high, and I don't believe that he was one of the league's very best pitchers. On the other hand, Lefty Gomez had an outstanding year for the Yankees, and was almost as good as Ruffing. Gomez received only one vote this year; he rarely seemed to get much respect from the writers, probably because he was a complete flake. But he was an outstanding pitcher, and a big winner.
        After Ruffing and Gomez, I will complete the top four with hurlers Lefty Grove and Mel Harder. Grove was 38 years old, and near the end of his career; he didn't pitch as often as the others, but he was brilliant when on the mound. As the decade drew to a close, it is fitting that the four pitchers I have chosen this year - Ruffing, Gomez, Grove, and Harder - were perhaps the best AL hurlers of the decade; the only other really outstanding ones were Tommy Bridges and Wes Ferrell. All four pitchers would begin to decline within the next couple of seasons.
        But while the older pitchers were having their last great seasons, the new stars were making their debuts. One of the most remarkable young pitchers in baseball history was Bob Feller of the Indians. Feller had debuted in 1936, at age 17, and pitched well in a few games. The Indians gave him a few more starts in 1937, then gave Feller regular duty this year, at age 19. Rapid Robert quickly established himself as the top power pitcher in the game; he didn't have much of a clue where the ball was going when he released it, but he was still a fine pitcher, and he would improve quickly as he grew older.