The Cubs had an outstanding pitching staff, though their success
was short-lived. Ray Prim was a one-year wonder who was out of the league
a year later. Hank Wyse pitched well during the war, and had another solid
season in 1946 before his career deteriorated. Claude Passeau was a legitimately
fine pitcher who had his last good year; Passeau was 36 years old, and would
retire in a couple of seasons. I think Wyse has the best overall numbers,
slightly ahead of Passeau.
Despite their strong pitching, it was not an
easy win for the Cubs. The Cardinals still a strong team; midway through the
season, Chicago decided to acquire Hank Borowy from the Yankees. Borowy had
a great rookie season for New York in 1942, and had pitched very well since
then. This was his best year; he won 10 games in New York, plus 11 more
in Chicago, and had a 21-7 record overall. He was a sensation with the Cubs,
and led all pitchers in the MVP vote (reminiscent of the season Rick Sutcliffe
had for the Cubs in 1984).
Even if you combine his numbers from both
leagues, I'm not sure that Borowy pitched better than Wyse, or even Passeau
or Red Barrett. Prim also pitched extremely well in a similar number of innings,
but I will give the edge to Borowy. After four good seasons in the majors
with two high-profile teams, Borowy was now a minor star. But his success
ended here; Borowy began to struggle in 1946, and his career went into a
free-fall afterwards.
Red Barrett, Hal Gregg, and Ken Burkhart all
had career years. Gregg and Burkhart were one-year wonders; Barrett was
a decent pitcher who had the good fortune to be traded to St. Louis at
the right time. But next year he was injured, and his career came to a quick
end.
