1945 American League - Hal Newhouser, Detroit Tigers
25-9, 1.81 ERA, 212 K
Hal Newhouser had an amazing season in 1944, but missed out on a retroactive Cy Young Award only because of an equally great season from teammate Dizzy Trout. In 1945, however, he left no doubt that he was the best pitcher in the league. He won the Triple Crown by healthy margins in every category, and he won his second consecutive MVP Award. His strong pitching was one of the reasons why the Tigers won the AL pennant, and he went 2-1 in the World Series for them against the Cubs, despite a 6.10 ERA. Newhouser would later return to the World Series in 1954, where he was part of a pitching staff that included three other future Hall of Famers: Early Wynn, Bob Lemon, and Bob Feller. The Cubs, however, have not returned to the World Series since. On an interesting side note, many years later Hal Newhouser was working as a scout for the Astros, where he urged them to draft a young shortstop that he had discovered. They ignored him, however, and drafted Phil Nevin. Instead, the Yankees ended up drafting Derek Jeter, and the rest is history...
1945 National League - Hank Wyse, Chicago Cubs
22-10, 2.68 ERA, 77 K
The National League winner wasn't quite as clear cut as in the AL; several pitchers had decent seasons, but none really stood out above the rest. Wyse didn't lead the league in a single category, but he was right near the top in most of them, finishing second in wins and innings pitched (278.2), and finishing fifth in ERA and WHIP (1.175), and the other pitchers ahead of him in those two categories all pitched fewer innings, with two of them pitching over 100 fewer innings. Overall he was the best of a weak field, and although he didn't have a particularly memorable career (he finished 79-70 in eight seasons with a 3.52 ERA), he did help the Cubs to their last NL pennant ever, although he had an atrocious World Series, with a 7.10 ERA in 7.2 innings pitched.
Showing posts with label Tigers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tigers. Show all posts
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Friday, June 8, 2012
1944 Cy Young Awards
1944 American League - Dizzy Trout, Detroit Tigers
27-14, 2.12 ERA, 144 K
Just a look at the above stat line makes it seem like this was an easy decision, but it was actually a pretty tough call. I had actually started writing this post with Hal Newhouser as the winner, but as I wrote more I realized I didn't have much of a defense for choosing him over his own teammate Dizzy Trout, so I changed my mind and rewrote it. They had remarkably similar seasons, with Trout leading the league and finishing second, in both cases to Newhouser, in the other two Triple Crown categories. The one edge that Newhouser had was a better win-loss record; he went 29-9, which is good enough to earn a retroactive Cy Young Award in almost any season. However, Trout had a slightly lower ERA in far more innings pitched (352.1!), and led Newhouser in WAR 8.9 to 7.4. The two of them deservedly finished first and second in MVP voting, although Newhouser barely won it, 236 to 232 points. The twin aces helped Detroit achieve the lowest ERA in the league and kept them in contention all year, although they ended up finishing second in the pennant race to the St. Louis Browns.
1944 National League - Bucky Walters, Cincinnati Reds
23-8, 2.40 ERA, 77 K
It's been a few years since we've heard from Bucky Walters. He had previously won in 1939 and 1940, but went on to have a few average seasons before again becoming the best in the league in 1944. The National League didn't have quite the same caliber of pitching that the AL did with Trout and Newhouser, but Walters nonetheless put up a respectable season, leading the league in wins and hits per 9 innings (7.358), and finishing second in ERA and ERA+ (146), behind only fellow teammate Ed Heusser, who pitched nearly 100 fewer innings. He also tied for fifth in the MVP voting, tied for first among pitchers along with New York's Bill Voiselle, and he made his sixth and final All Star appearance. Unlike in his other two award-winning seasons though, the Reds didn't win the NL pennant, and instead they finished in third, behind the NL champion and ultimately World Series champion Cardinals.
27-14, 2.12 ERA, 144 K
Just a look at the above stat line makes it seem like this was an easy decision, but it was actually a pretty tough call. I had actually started writing this post with Hal Newhouser as the winner, but as I wrote more I realized I didn't have much of a defense for choosing him over his own teammate Dizzy Trout, so I changed my mind and rewrote it. They had remarkably similar seasons, with Trout leading the league and finishing second, in both cases to Newhouser, in the other two Triple Crown categories. The one edge that Newhouser had was a better win-loss record; he went 29-9, which is good enough to earn a retroactive Cy Young Award in almost any season. However, Trout had a slightly lower ERA in far more innings pitched (352.1!), and led Newhouser in WAR 8.9 to 7.4. The two of them deservedly finished first and second in MVP voting, although Newhouser barely won it, 236 to 232 points. The twin aces helped Detroit achieve the lowest ERA in the league and kept them in contention all year, although they ended up finishing second in the pennant race to the St. Louis Browns.
1944 National League - Bucky Walters, Cincinnati Reds
23-8, 2.40 ERA, 77 K
It's been a few years since we've heard from Bucky Walters. He had previously won in 1939 and 1940, but went on to have a few average seasons before again becoming the best in the league in 1944. The National League didn't have quite the same caliber of pitching that the AL did with Trout and Newhouser, but Walters nonetheless put up a respectable season, leading the league in wins and hits per 9 innings (7.358), and finishing second in ERA and ERA+ (146), behind only fellow teammate Ed Heusser, who pitched nearly 100 fewer innings. He also tied for fifth in the MVP voting, tied for first among pitchers along with New York's Bill Voiselle, and he made his sixth and final All Star appearance. Unlike in his other two award-winning seasons though, the Reds didn't win the NL pennant, and instead they finished in third, behind the NL champion and ultimately World Series champion Cardinals.
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