If Lefty Grove doesnt get MVP for 1931, im going to pull my hair out.
Im watching you
If Lefty Grove doesnt get MVP for 1931, im going to pull my hair out.
o
Prepare to pull your hair out.Originally Posted by ragecage
If Lefty Grove doesnt get MVP for 1931, im going to pull my hair out.
o
1931:
AL MVP: Babe Ruth
NL MVP: Chuck Klein
AL Cy: Lefty Grove
NL Cy: Bill Walker
Lefty Grove did have a truly fantastic season, and won the BBWAA AL MVP, as he had a silly 219 ERA+ in 288.2 innings. I wanted to give him the MVP, but we're entering Babe Ruth's years, and Babe Ruth in 1931 was, well, Babe Ruth. .373/.495/.700, 46 HR, 163 RBI, 218 OPS+. Grove, obviously, gets the AL Cy. The 1931 NL MVP from the BBWAA went to Frankie Frisch, but, I don't see it, at all. After losing his 1932 MVP, Chuck Klein gets this one, on the basis of extra playing time over Mel Ott, dampening the difference on defense. Bill Walker, my NL Cy Young, had a 164 ERA+ in 239.1 innings, edging out teammate Carl Hubbell.
o
Having reached 1931, I'll now compare my choices to those of the BBWAA. I've gone through 78 years, so that comes out to a total of 156 awards. I agreed on 77, about 49%. I had agreed on the Cy Young awards 59% of the time. I'd say that's about right, as the Cy Young is usually more clear-cut than the MVP, on the simple basis that there's less of a pool of players and less factors to consider.
So, basically, I agree with the BBWAA roughly 55% of the time, which is actually a lower percentage of agreement than I was expecting before embarking on this project.
As stated earlier, I'm going to continue going back in time...tomorrow.
o
1930:
AL MVP: Babe Ruth
NL MVP: Hack Wilson
AL Cy: Lefty Grove
NL Cy: Dazzy Vance
Babe Ruth was Babe Ruth, etc. Hack Wilson set a still-standing record for RBI in a single season, putting up a 178 OPS+. The difference in defense makes it close between him and guys like Mel Ott, but I still give the slight edge to Wilson. Lefty Grove and Dazzy Vance were both heads and shoulders above the rest of their league. Vance had a 188 ERA+ in 258.2 innings. The next highest ERA+ was Pat Malone's 124. Grove had a 185 ERA+ in 291 innings. Wes Ferrell placed second with a 146 ERA+.
o
1929:
AL MVP: Babe Ruth
NL MVP: Rogers Hornsby
AL Cy: Lefty Grove
NL Cy: Charley Root
I don't know what else I can say about Babe Ruth. As for the NL, Rogers Hornsby posted a 178 OPS+, leading the league. His defense wasn't very good, but his bat more than made up for it. Lefty Grove with a 151 ERA in 275.1 innings takes home his 5th consecutive and 7th overall HGM Cy Young. Charley Root in the NL threw 272 innings and had a 133 ERA+. Burleigh Grimes threw 40 less innings with an ERA+ 20 points higher, but was greatly assisted by his defense, and thus comes in 2nd to Root.
o
1928:
AL MVP: Babe Ruth
NL MVP: Rogers Hornsby
AL Cy: Lefty Grove
NL Cy: Dazzy Vance
I have a feeling that the 1920's, as a whole, are going to be incredibly easy calls. Ruth hit .323/.463/.709 for a 208 OPS+. Hornsby matched him hitting .387/.498/.632 for a 200 OPS+, as a second basemen. Grove gets Cy Young #8, putting up a 155 ERA+ in 261.2 innings. Dazzy Vance outdid him, with a silly 191 ERA+ in 280 innings.
o
1927:
AL MVP: Babe Ruth
NL MVP: Rogers Hornsby
AL Cy: Tommy Thomas
NL Cy: Dazzy Vance
*Yawn* to the MVP's, again. Tommy Thomas and Dazzy Vance both won their Cy's in very close battles, narrowly edging out Ted Lyons and Pete Alexander, respectively. Both came down to the difference in their fielding-independent pitching stats and unearned runs, which just goes to show how close I had each pair.
o
1926:
AL MVP: Babe Ruth
NL MVP: Paul Waner
AL Cy: Lefty Grove
NL Cy: Charley Root
Ruth wins again. Paul Waner breaks Rogers Hornsby's 3-award streak. Waner's 147 OPS+ trailed league leader Hack Wilson by just 4 points, while he played excellent defense in the outfield. The AL Cy goes to Lefty Grove, again, for putting up a 166 OPS+ in 258 innings. George Uhle had a really strong season, putting up a 143 OPS+ in 318 innings, but Grove combined relieving with starting, making a portion of his innings at a much higher leverage. Combine that with the quality advantage, and I'm giving it to Grove. Charley Root wins his 2nd HGM Cy Young, narrowly edging out a close pack of pitchers including Ray Kremer, Jesse Petty, and Hal Carlson.
o
1925:
AL MVP: Al Simmons
NL MVP: Rogers Hornsby
AL Cy: Herb Pennock
NL Cy: Dolf Luque
Babe Ruth had an off-year this year, and while there were a handful of players that had better rate stat seasons than Al Simmons (Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker, Harry Rice), Simmons trumped them in playing time by a large margin. Harry Heilmann was up there with him, but the defensive difference puts Simmons on top. Rogers Hornsby grabs his 4th HGM MVP. On the pitching side of things, both my Cy Young winners had sub-.500 records. Pennock put up a 144 ERA+ in 257 innings, while doing double-duty with 31 starts and 16 relief appearances. Dolf Luque made 36 starts, pitching 291 innings at a 156 ERA+ level.
o
1924:
AL MVP: Babe Ruth
NL MVP: Rogers Hornsby
AL Cy: Walter Johnson
NL Cy: Dazzy Vance
Back to the Babe and Rogers. Vance had another awesome season for the Robins, putting up a 174 ERA+ in 308 innings. 36 year old Walter Johnson pitched 277.2 innings with a 149 ERA+, edging out Herb Pennock for the award.
o
1923:
AL MVP: Babe Ruth
NL MVP: Dolf Luque
AL Cy: Elam Vangilder
NL Cy: Dolf Luque
Ruth, again. Dolf Luque had a sick season. In 322 innings, he had a 201 ERA+. With a weak crop of position players, that easily allows him to take home by the MVP and the Cy Young. Elam Vangilder, what a name, had a 137 ERA+ in 282 innings, good enough for the AL Cy.
o
1922:
AL MVP: George Sisler
NL MVP: Rogers Hornsby
AL Cy: Red Faber
NL Cy: Wilbur Cooper
This is the year Sisler hit .420, and his other stats were good enough to warrant his MVP. Hornsby takes home his 6th HGM MVP. Red Faber tossed 352 innings with a league-leading ERA+. Wilbur Cooper had a 128 ERA+ in 294 innings in the NL.
o
1921:
AL MVP: Babe Ruth
NL MVP: Rogers Hornsby
AL Cy: Red Faber
NL Cy: Burleigh Grimes
More easy calls. Ruth and Hornsby were once again 1-2 in OPS+ in the majors, without anybody close. Red Faber had another awesome season - a 171 ERA+ in 330 innings. Burleigh Grimes had a 138 ERA+ in just over 300 innings.
o
1920:
AL MVP: Babe Ruth
NL MVP: Rogers Hornsby
AL Cy: Stan Covelski
NL Cy: Pete Alexander
This may well have been the easiest year so far.
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