1932 NL Stargell Award

The Cubs won the pennant this season, then were swept in the World Series by the Yankees (they were victims of Babe Ruth's famous "called-shot" home run, not to mention Lou Gehrig's eight RBI). The Yankees were managed by the Cubs' former manager, Joe McCarthy. This year, the Cubs were managed for 99 games by Rogers Hornsby, who was fired in midseason because no one could stand him. Charlie Grimm took over as manager, and steered the Cubbies to the pennant.
Chuck Klein won the MVP, but I don't think he was a good choice.

National League 1932

			AVG	OBA	SLU	AB	HIT	DB	TP	HR	RUN	RBI	BB	SB	OPS
RF	C KLEIN	PHI	348	404	646	650	226	50	15	38	152	137	60	20	1050
RF	M OTT	NY	318	424	578	566	180	30	8	38	119	123	100	6	1025
LF	L O'DOUL	BRO	368	423	555	595	219	32	8	21	120	90	50	11	978
1B	B TERRY	NY	350	382	580	643	225	42	11	28	124	117	32	4	962
RF	Ba HERMAN	CIN	326	389	541	577	188	38	19	16	87	87	60	7	930
1B	D HURST	PHI	339	412	547	579	196	41	4	24	109	143	65	10	959
RF	P WANER	PIT	341	397	510	630	215	62	10	8	107	82	56	13	906

3B	P TRAYNOR	PIT	329	373	433	513	169	27	10	2	74	68	32	6	806
CF	W BERGER	BOS	307	346	468	602	185	34	6	17	90	73	33	5	815

SS	D BARTELL	PHI	308	379	414	614	189	48	7	1	118	53	64	8	792
SS	A VAUGHAN	PIT	318	375	412	497	158	15	10	4	71	61	39	10	787
2B	Bi HERMAN	CHI	315	358	404	656	206	42	7	1	102	51	40	14	762
2B	T CUCCINELLO	BRO	281	337	415	597	168	32	6	12	76	77	46	5	752
CF	L WANER	PIT	333	367	430	565	188	27	11	2	90	38	31	6	798
CA	G HARTNETT	CHI	271	354	436	406	110	25	3	12	52	52	51	0	790
CA	E LOMBARDI	CIN	303	371	479	413	125	22	9	11	43	68	41	0	851

        Klein had his numbers greatly enhanced by the park in which he played, the Baker Bowl. On the other hand, his team (the Phillies) managed to post a winning record, which was kind of amazing for the Phillies. So Klein may have had a fair bit of value. He hit .423 with 29 homers at home, but only .266 with nine homers on the road. The Baker Bowl was kind to all left-handed hitters, including Klein's teammate Don Hurst, who drove in 143 runs this year.
        I think the best two hitters in the league were Mel Ott and Bill Terry. This was Terry's best year as a power hitter; he was 34 years old, and his career went into decline after this season. "Memphis Bill" played for only 14 years, all of them with the Giants; he was a career .341 hitter, once hit .400 in a season, and also set an NL record for hits in a season. He was a line-drive hitter, didn't hit many home runs, and pounded out over 2100 hits in his short career. Terry is in the Hall Of Fame; I would describe him as the Cecil Cooper of his time.
        The Cubs had great pitching, but had no one who resembled an MVP candidate. The Pirates finished second; their best players were Paul Waner and Arky Vaughan, who both had good-not-great years. Next came the Dodgers, whose best player was Lefty O'Doul. This was O'Doul's fourth big season in the majors, and his last.
        I'm just going to choose who I think the league's best player was. In this case, I think it was Mel Ott. even though the Giants had a poor season. As for Klein...I still think you gotta hit more than nine home runs on the road.