The Yankees' string of five consecutive World Series victories finally came to an end. It took a Herculean effort by the Cleveland Indians to beat them; the Indians won 111 games, a major league record that lasted until the Yankees won 114 in 1998. For years, the Indians had had one of the greatest pitching staffs in history, and this year was no exception. Cleveland had the top three pitchers in the league, two of whom are in the Hall Of Fame.

         Early Wynn and Bob Lemon are both in the Hall Of Fame; they were also the top two vote getters among pitchers in the MVP balloting. Both Wynn and Lemon matched career highs in wins, with 23. Both pitchers were 34 years old; Lemon had two more good seasons before his career ended abruptly, and he finished with 207 career wins. Wynn, on the other hand, hung on another decade to win 300.
         But I think that the league's best pitcher was another Indian, Mike Garcia. Garcia is not in the Hall of Fame, but he was a hell of a pitcher. He didn't win 20 games, but he led the league in ERA and shutouts, allowed the fewest baserunners per nine innings, and picked up five saves as well. The past six years, Garcia had been as good as any of the other Indian greats; but this was his last big season.
         Another team with an outstanding pitching staff were the Chicago White Sox. Their best pitcher was Virgil Trucks, who I would rate behind Garcia, Wynn, and Lemon. You could also make a case for Yankees' rookie Bob Grim, who won 20 games. Grim struggled the next year, and never had a comparable season, though he had a couple of good years as a reliever before being banished to Kansas City.
        After the big three, the Cleveland rotation was rounded out by two other pretty good pitchers, Art Houtteman and Bob Feller. This was Feller's last good year; he was 35 years old, and had almost run out of steam. But he was still crafty enough to get people out, and had even developed very good control.