1937 NL Stargell Award

National League 1937

			AVG	OBA	SLU	AB	HIT	DB	TP	HR	RUN	RBI	BB	SB	OPS
LF	J MEDWICK	STL	374	414	641	633	237	56	10	31	111	154	41	4	1056
1B	J MIZE	STL	364	427	595	560	204	40	7	25	103	113	56	2	1021
1B	D CAMILLI	PHI	339	446	587	475	161	23	7	27	101	80	90	6	1034
RF	M OTT	NY	294	408	523	545	160	28	2	31	99	95	102	7	931
RF	P WANER	PIT	354	413	441	619	219	30	9	2	94	74	63	4	855
RF	F DEMAREE	CHI	324	382	485	615	199	36	6	17	104	115	57	6	866
LF	J MOORE	NY	310	364	440	580	180	37	10	6	89	57	46	7	804

RF	G MOORE	BOS	283	358	456	561	159	29	10	16	88	70	61	11	814
3B	S HACK	CHI	297	388	375	582	173	27	6	2	106	63	83	16	762

SS	D BARTELL	NY	306	367	469	516	158	38	2	14	91	62	40	5	836
SS	A VAUGHAN	PIT	322	394	463	469	151	17	17	5	71	72	54	7	876
2B	Bi HERMAN	CHI	335	396	479	564	189	35	11	8	106	65	56	2	875
2B	T CUCCINELLO	BOS	271	341	405	575	156	36	4	11	77	80	61	2	746
CA	G HARTNETT	CHI	354	424	548	356	126	21	6	12	47	82	43	0	971
CA	E LOMBARDI	CIN	334	362	473	368	123	22	1	9	41	59	14	1	835

        This was Paul Waner's last big season, at age 34. Waner was a notorious drunk; legend has it that he tried to sober up once, but his hitting suffered, and he didn't start to play well again until he resumed drinking. Well, maybe. Waner was a great player, and was also an exceptionally consistent and durable player for many years, not the traits you associate with alcoholism. There are no nasty stories about Waner that I am aware of; he appears to have been some sort of amiable drunkard who went about his business without ever bothering anybody. I'm skeptical.
        On the other hand, it doesn't appear that Waner went to any great lengths to dispel the stories of his drinking problem. It also seems to me that age 34 is an awfully young age for a great line drive hitter to stop hitting; these guys usually go on forever. There could have been other reasons for his decline, I suppose; I suspect that if Waner had a drinking problem of any magnitude, it did not develop until later in his career.
        Gabby Hartnett of the Cubs was runner-up in the MVP vote, only two votes behind Medwick. Hartnett was great, and I love to see catchers do well in the voting, but he was not very durable at this stage in his career. Hartnett missed 40 games, and batted less than 400 times. He may have been among the top ten players in the league, but not among the top five.
        This is one year in which I think Dick Bartell was better than Arky Vaughan. Their hitting stats are very similar, and they both missed almost 30 games. Bartell was a superior defensive player (maybe the best in the league), and he helped lead the Giants to the pennant.
        But I think that Billy Herman was better than Bartell. Herman was a better hitter, was more durable, and was also a great defensive player. And he played for the Cubs, who had a great year. Herman and Hartnett were teammates; I think the voters picked the wrong one.