As far as I can tell, the three best pitchers in the league this year
were Jim Turner, Cliff Melton, and Lou Fette, and I don't know who any of
them were. They were all rookies, and none had pitched even an inning before this
year. Turner and Fette both pitched for Boston, and the Braves actually
had a winning season, despite having a terrible offense. Melton pitched
for the Giants, and had a better year than Hubbell.
The success of the three rookies was fleeting.
Turner had a weird career; despite being a rookie, he was already 34 years
old. He lost 18 games next year, and had only one more good season, with Cincinnati
in 1940, and that was it (though he did manage to lead the AL in saves in
1945, his last year, while pitching for the Yankees).
Melton was only 25; he pitched for eight
more years, all of them with the Giants. He struggled the next three years,
then pitched well in 1941 and 1942. He then began to struggle again in 1943,
despite the fact that the war was on, and his career quickly ended.
Lou Fette was 30 years old. He pitched very
well in 1938, though the dreadful Braves stuck him with a losing record. In
1939, Fette led the NL in shutouts. Then in 1940, something went horribly
wrong; Fette started five games, and lost all of them; he walked 18 batters,
and struck out only 2. His career ended...well, almost. Five years later,
in the final year of the war, the Braves must have been desperate for pitching,
because they brought Fette back, and he lost 2 games. Then his career ended.
And I really have nothing more to say about
this year; Russ Bauers was also a rookie, and had another good year before
fading quickly. Tex Carleton had his last good year. Carl Hubbell led all
pitchers in the MVP vote, but as good as King Carl was, I think it is difficult
to argue that he was better than any of the three rookies.
