Warren Spahn led all pitchers in the MVP vote, followed by Don Newcombe,
Ken Heintzelman, and Howie Pollet. Looking at the numbers, I'm inclined to
think that Pollet had the best season; he didn't throw as many innings as
Spahn, but he had a better won-loss record and ERA. Pollet had spent the previous
two seasons struggling, after pitching brilliantly in 1946. Once again, his
success was brief; Pollet pitched fairly well in 1950, then endured a series
of losing seasons before ending his career with 131 wins.
Spahn, on the other hand, was still just getting
warmed up. Warren was 28 this year; he won 20 games for the second time, a feat
he would accomplish on eleven more occasions. This was also the first time
Spahn led the NL in wins, something he would do eight times; it
was the first time Spahn led the league complete games, a feat he would accomplish
nine times in his long, great career. All this for a guy who missed three full
years to war service.
The Dodgers' best pitchers were Don Newcombe
and Preacher Roe. Roe was 34 years old, and was just entering the best phase
of his career. A pair of rough seasons in Pittsburgh earned Roe a ticket to
Brooklyn; he turned things around, and this was the first of four straight
years he made the All-Star team. Big Don Newcombe was only 23, and was the
Rookie Of The Year. After Jackie Robinson broke the colour barrier, the
Dodgers were busy acquiring outstanding black players; Newcombe fit that
description, and joined a Dodgers roster that already included Robinson
and Roy Campanella. Newcombe pitched brilliantly the next two seasons, then
lost two full seasons to service in the Korean War. He came back and pitched
very well again, and established a reputation as one of the best hitting
pitchers ever.
The pitching-poor Phillies got a pair of fine
seasons from some unlikely sources. Ken Heintzelman was a one-year wonder;
he pitched for 13 years, and his only other winning season was a 1-0 record
in 1937. Russ Meyer was nicknamed "The Mad Monk" because he once grabbed his
crotch on national television. He was a decent pitcher, and had some good
years with the Dodgers in the 1950's. Both Meyer and
Heintzelman struggled mightily in 1950- yet, somehow, the Phillies would
win the pennant without them!
