I think Burleigh Grimes was probably the best pitcher in the league.
He received the most vote among pitchers
in the MVP balloting, so I guess he's The Man. Grimes was 36 years old, and probably
had his best season. Grimes' success stemmed from his mastery of the spitball;
the spitter had been banned in 1920, but pitchers who already used it as their
bread-and-butter pitch were allowed to continue using it. So Grimes kept pitching
for another fifteen years, and as far as I know was the last pitcher to throw
a legal spitter.
Grimes finished his career with 270 wins, and
was elected to the Hall Of Fame. His credentials, I think, are roughly the
same as those of Jim Kaat or Tommy John; he was very good, but is not
among the betters pitchers who are in the Hall.
The Cubs' big three were Charlie Root, Pat
Malone, and Guy Bush. Malone was a sophomore; he began his career with three
terrific seasons, and this may have been his best. He became very erratic
after that, and I'm not sure why; there's no evidence that he had anything
seriously wrong with his arm. Guy Bush also had his best season, compiling a fine
record and leading the league in saves.
Red Lucas probably had his best season; a case
could be made that he deserves to rank among the top four pitchers in the
league. Lucas was nicknamed "The Nashville Narcissus", so I guess he must
have been a pretty handsome guy.
