The St. Louis Cardinals won the pennant, edging the Reds by two games, then beat the Yankees in the World Series. St. Louis' hitters were the best in the league; the pitching staff was not as spectacular, though they had such solid citizens as Pop Haines, Bill Sherdel, and Flint Rhem. Still, the Cardinals felt that their pitching needed a boost. So in mid-season they acquired 39-year-old Pete Alexander from the Cubs. It turned out to be a good trade, as Alexander pitched well during the season. He then pitched brilliantly in the World Series, winning both his starts, then entering Game Seven in relief with the bases loaded, and saving the Series.

         The best pitcher in the league this year was Ray Kremer. Kremer was 33 years old, but only in his third season. He had spent his youth pitching in the minors, then made a spcetacular debut as a rookie with the Pirates in 1924. That was the first of seven straight winning seasons for Kremer; during that time he helped the Pirates win two pennants, and won two games in their 1925 World Series victory. By 1930, Kremer was 37 years old, and had a career record of 127-67, almost twice as many wins as losses. Father Time caught up to him after that, and he won only 16 more games the rest of his career.
        Entering the season, the Cardinals' aces were Sherdel and Haines. But neither of those two had great seasons; that left Flint Rhem as the team's top pitcher. Rhem was 25, in his third season, and he had his best year. But I gather that manager Rogers Hornsby didn't have a great deal of confidence in him; Rhem started only one game in the World Series, with the others started by Haines, Sherdel, and Alexander. Rhem pitched twelve years in the majors, and was a mostly inconsistent pitcher.
        The Reds also had an outstanding team, and a very good pitching staff. Pete Donohue was only 25, and had his fifth straight outstanding season. Despite his young age, Donohue already had 103 career wins, and could have rolled on to many more had he not injured his arm in 1927. Donohue suffered through a series of miserable seasons before retiring with 134 career wins.
        The other Cincinnati ace was Carl Mays, who was 34 years old. Mays was also having injury problems, and had lost two of the past three seasons. But when healthy, he was still among the best in the league. This too was Mays' last good season; he pitched for three more years in a limited role, then retired with 207 career wins. Though Mays was among the best pitchers of the era, a better pitcher than Pop Haines (who is in the Hall Of Fame), today is mostly remembered as the man who threw the pitch that killed Ray Chapman. It's ironic how one, misdirected pitch can overshadow an entire, brilliant career.
        It could be argued that Charlie Root and Jesse Petty were the best pitchers in the league. Both were very good, but pitched for lousy teams, and did not have great won-loss records. Root had been exiled to the minor leagues after his disastrous debut in 1923; now he made a comeback, and would eventually win over 200 games in his career. Petty was a terrific pitcher for a dreadful Dodgers team; "The Silver Fox" didn't win a game in the majors till he was past 30, and finished his career with a losing record. But for four years, he was a heck of a pitcher, stuck with a bad team.