1939 NL Stargell Award

National League 1939

			AVG	OBA	SLU	AB	HIT	DB	TP	HR	RUN	RBI	BB	SB	OPS
1B	J MIZE	STL	349	444	626	564	197	44	14	28	104	108	92	0	1070
1B	D CAMILLI	BRO	290	409	524	565	164	30	12	26	105	104	110	1	933
1B	F MCCORMICK	CIN	332	374	495	630	209	41	4	18	99	128	40	1	869
RF	M OTT	NY	308	449	581	396	122	23	2	27	85	80	100	2	1030
RF	I GOODMAN	CIN	323	401	515	470	152	37	16	7	85	84	54	2	916
LF	H LEIBER	CHI	310	411	556	365	113	16	1	24	65	88	59	1	967
LF	J MEDWICK	STL	332	380	507	606	201	48	8	14	98	117	45	6	886

3B	S HACK	CHI	298	364	398	641	191	28	6	8	112	56	65	17	762
RF	E SLAUGHTER	STL	320	371	482	604	193	52	5	12	95	86	44	2	852

2B	Bi HERMAN	CHI	307	378	453	623	191	34	18	7	111	70	66	9	830
2B	L FREY	CIN	291	387	452	484	141	27	9	11	95	55	72	5	840
3B	B WERBER	CIN	289	388	389	599	173	35	5	5	115	57	91	15	777
SS	A VAUGHAN	PIT	306	385	424	595	182	30	11	6	94	62	70	12	808
SS	B MYERS	CIN	281	369	393	509	143	18	6	9	79	56	71	4	762
CA	E LOMBARDI	CIN	287	342	487	450	129	26	2	20	43	85	35	0	829
CA	H DANNING	NY	313	359	479	520	163	28	5	16	79	74	35	4	838

        Clearly, Mize was the NL's top hitter this year. Only Mel Ott approaches The Big Cat's numbers, and Ott missed a lot of games. I would rate Dolph Camilli behind Mize, and then Frank McCormick behind Camilli. McCormick may not have had numbers as good as the other players, but he was dependable and stayed in the lineup and was a great defensive first baseman. Ival Goodman also played very well for the Reds.
        The Baseball Writers have done a pretty good job electing players to the Hall Of Fame; but somehow, Johnny Mize slipped through the cracks, and had to wait to be inducted by the Veteran's Committee. Mize was an awesome power hitter, in the same class as Hank Greenberg or Willie McCovey. Mize hit 359 home runs, despite losing three full years to service in World War Two; four times he led the league in home runs, including 51 dingers in 1947. He was also a career .312 hitter, and won a batting title this year. On other occasions he led the league in doubles and triples.
        His salad days were with the Cardinals and Giants. In 1949, Mize joined the Yankees, the same year as Casey Stengel. Casey used Mize in a platoon role, and the Yankees won the World Series all five years he was there. Mize capped his career achievements when he hit three home runs in the 1952 World Series, and was the Series MVP. Mize retired after the 1953 season; the Yankees in 1954 did not even win the pennant.
        The Reds had an impressive infield that included Lonnie Frey, Billy Werber, Billy Myers and Ernie Lombardi. Only Myers finished among the top 15 in the MVP vote, which seems strange because he appears to be the weakest player of the group.
        Frey was outstanding at the plate, and was likely the league's best defensive second baseman as well. The only knock against him is that he missed 30 games. Werber was very good, too, though I don't think he was as good all around as Frey. As usual, Lombardi had a terrific year at the plate, but he was also the slowest moving object in the game and scored only 43 runs.
        I'm selecting Mize as the MVP; he had a huge year, and led his team (the Cardinals) to a close second place finish. I think I have to put Billy Herman ahead of Frey as the best of the glovemen. Arky Vaughan was also very good, but I'll give the edge to Frey because he played for a winner.