This was the year of "The Gas House Gang", a crazy bunch of guys who led the Cardinals to the World Series. The craziest of them all was Dizzy Dean, a star pitcher who went 30-7; he is the last NL pitcher to win 30 games. He was also the MVP.

        Paul Waner was second in the vote, followed by Jo-Jo Moore. The Sporting News saw it slightly differently, taking Dean, Waner and then Moore's outfield mate, Mel Ott. The Sporting News got it right; Ott was the Giants' best player. But for a few years, Moore electrified fans at the Polo Grounds. He played for 12 seasons, all of them with the Giants; he was born in Gause, Texas, and was nicknamed "The Gause Ghost", a reference to his thin frame. This was his best year; he hit for a decent average, and had some line drive power. But he his skills were limited; he didn't have much speed, and failed to make it defensively in centre field. And his best days were done by age 29. But he was an All-Star six times, and he Ott were fixtures in left and right field for a Giants team that won back-to-back pennants in 1936 and '37..
        Ripper Collins didn't reach the majors until he was 27; this was his big year, at age 30; he provided the power for the Gas-House Gang, complementing all of their hell-bent baserunners (he reminds me of Jack Clark of the 1985 Cardinals, stuck in the middle of a lineup of road-runners). Collins had one more good season, then quickly faded away.
        Among the infielders, Arky Vaughan was the only true MVP candidate. Travis Jackson finished fourth in the voting, but at age 30 he had a down year by his own standards, and his career would be over a couple of years later. Vaughan's team, the Pirates, were an average team. I think Vaughan was the best player in the league, and by a reasonably large margin. He produced almost as many runs as the big guys, and played a far more demanding defensive position. And I think he was the MVP.
        Al Lopez had one his better years with the bat, and was an All-Star. When he retired, Lopez held the record for career games caught by a catcher, and the held record for four decades until he was passed by Bob Boone and Carlton Fisk. Lopez was essentially the Bob Boone of his era, and there is not much to distinguish him from Rick Ferrell or Muddy Ruel or Luke Sewell or some others.
        Lopez is in the Hall Of Fame, partly because of his playing accomplishments, but also because he was a good manager. He won pennants with Cleveland in 1954, and Chicago in 1959; from 1949-1964, those were the only non-Yankee teams to win the AL pennant. Thanks to the Yankees, Lopez' teams finished in second place ten times. Without checking, my guess is that that is a record for runner-ups by one manager. For fifteen straight years, Lopez' teams in Cleveland and Chicago had winning seasons, and that's a pretty good accomplishment.