SEASON WRAP UP
Connie Mack’s experiment of hiring several Negro League stars to his Philadelphia Athletics roster, proved a huge success, as the newcomers led the team to a 102 and 52 record. The result was the American League Pennant, with the Athletics finishing a full six games ahead of the New York Yankees.
Two of the players most instrumental in the team’s success, were catcher, Josh Gibson and pitcher, Satchel Paige. In Gibson’s case, had Boston’s Ted Williams, not had such a historic season by batting .406; Gibby would be a strong candidate for Most Valuable Player. He will certainly get some votes, as will Joe DiMaggio of New York, who’s exciting, 56 game hit streak, kept fans enthralled all summer.
As for Gibson, he merely put up a slash line of, .387/.472/.792. Along with that, he smashed a league leading, 43 home runs. He scored 107 runs and drove in 121, while playing at a high level behind the plate.
The other player who put up big numbers was Satchel Paige. In my opinion, Paige should not only be Pitcher of the Year, he should win it unanimously. He posted a 23 and 3 record, along with an ERA of 1.73. He struck out 207 batters and walked just 56. Satchel posted 11 shutouts, three of them consecutively. Both the ERA and the shutout total are house records.
The other Negro Leaguers chipped in as well. James “Cool Papa” Bell made the offense go, from the top of the order. He hit .303, scoring 92 runs, second only to Gibson. He also stole 16 bases and showed some pop, with eleven home runs.
Ray Dandridge hit .309, while Buck Leonard batted .237, but clubbed 22 homers. Biz Mackey had a .269 average, mostly spelling Gibson behind the plate.
The Athletics will now play the National League Champion, Brooklyn Dodgers, for the World Series title.
FINAL AMERICAN LEAGUE STANDINGS
PHILADELPHIA/154/102/52/0/.662/—
NEW YORK/156/96/58/2/.615/6
BOSTON/155/76/78/1/.490/26
CHICAGO/156/74/80/2/.474/28
DETROIT/155/70/84/1/.452/32
CLEVELAND/155/69/86/0/.445/33.5
ST. LOUIS/157/68/87/2/.433/34.4
WASHINGTON/156/67/87/2/.429/35
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