Chandler broke into the league in 1937, at the tender age of
thirty. His manager, Joe McCarthy, didn't give him too many starts, but
when Chandler pitched he usually won. Given a chance to be the ace of the
rotation, Chandler responded with a monster season. Chandler made one
start in 1944, then joined the service. He came back from the war in 1946.
and posted a 20-8 record at age 39, then retired after the 1947 season. Chandler
retired with 109 wins, and only 43 losses; his career .717 winning percentage
is among the best ever.
Other good pitchers in the league included
Dizzy Trout of the Tigers. Dizzy was a good pitcher, but had been the victim
of bad luck; after four seasons with Detroit, Trout was still without a winning
record, though he had pitched well. Trout lost 18 games in 1942, but this year
turned things around, and led the league in wins. Next year, he won 27 games,
and remained a fine pitcher for many years, winning 170 games in his career.
Dizzy's son, Steve Trout, also became a fine major league pitcher.
Early Wynn had his first good year,
at age 23. This was the best year he would have with the Washington
Senators, before achieving greater glory with Cleveland and Chicago. While
Wynn was on his way up, Tigers' star Tommy Bridges ended his career with
a terrific season. Bridges joined the service after this season, and tried
to make a brief comeback after returning, then retired with 194 career wins.
This was the last pennant that the Yankees
won with Joe McCarthy as their manager. McCarthy took over as manager in
1931; in his tenure with the Yankees, the team won eight pennants and
seven World Series. McCarthy joined the Red Sox later in the decade, and
almost won the pennant in 1948. He finally retired in 1950, with one of
the best managerial records in baseball history.
