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Lou Gehrig, the Triple Crown, and the MVP Award

Posted on August 28, 1994 by Sean Lahman

In 1934, Yankee first baseman Lou Gehrig won the American League batting title with a .363 average. It was his only batting title in a 17 year career. Gehrig also led the league with 49 home runs and 165 RBI. At the time, he was only the fourth AL hitter to win the triple crown, a feat that has been matched only five times in the sixty years that followed. Gehrig was in his tenth year as the starting first baseman for New York. During that time, the Yankees had won 4 World Championships and Gehrig had once been designated the league’s Most Valuable Player.

But despite his outstanding season. Gehrig did not win the MVP award in 1934. And he did not finish second in the voting. And he did not finish third in the voting, Gehrig was not even the leading Yankee vote getter. The triple crown winner finished fifth in the 1934 MVP balloting. A look at the players who received more votes than Gehrig:

1 Mickey Cochrane – Detroit (67 points) .320 BA, 2 HR, 76 RBI

Cochrane was in his first season with Detroit after 9 years as the Philadelphia A’s starting catcher. His totals were a significant drop from his previous season’s .322 BA, 15 HR, 60 RBI or his 1932 numbers .293 BA, 23 HR, 112 RBI. Cochrane was clearly on a downward slide and would in fact spend only one more season as a starter. In Cochrane’s favor was the fact that he not
only took over the Tiger’s catching duties but was also their manager. He guided the Tigers to a 101-53 record, their first winning record in seven years and first pennant in 25 years. His Tigers beat Gehrig’s Yankees by seven games for the AL pennant before losing the World Series to St Louis.

2 Charlie Gehringer – Detroit (67 points) .356 BA, 11 HR, 127 RBI

He was the Tiger’s starting secondbaseman. He lead the league in hits and runs that year and finshed second to Gehrig in batting. He was the leading offensive player on the Tigers, but certainly not the only great hitter on a great team.

3 Lefty Gomez – New York (60 points) 26-5 record, 2.33 ERA

Gomez won the pitcher’s triple crown, leading the league in wins, ERA, & strikeouts (158 in 282 innings). He was the 5th AL pitcher to accomplish the feat, which has been done by only 15 pitchers since 1900. He was the ace of an average pitching staff.

4 Schoolboy Rowe – Detroit (59 points) 24-8 record, 3.45 ERA

Rowe was in his first full season with the Tigers. Like Gomez, he was the ace of an average pitching staff. He is the only one of the four players that finished ahead of Gehrig that has not been inducted into the Hall of Fame.

5 Lou Gehrig – New Tork (54 points) .363 BA, 49 HR, 165 RBI

Besides Gehrig & Gomez, four other Yankees from the 1934 squad made the Hall of Fame (Tony Lazzeri, Babe Ruth, Bill Dickey, and manager Joe McCarthy). There must have been some anti-Yankee sentiment among the voters, feeling that Gehrig’s numbers were in part a reflection of his teammates’ skills. But Gehrig was not the only triple crown winner to be overlooked. In total, fifteen players have won the triple crown award. Six of those men played before the MVP award was established. Of the remaining nine, only five won the award.

Triple Crown Winners

     American League
     Player           Team  Year HR   RBI  BA   MVP Rank
     Nap Lajoe         Phi  1901 14   125  .422   n/a
     Ty Cobb           Det  1909  9   115  .377   n/a
     Jimmie Foxx       Phi  1933 48   163  .356   1st
     Lou Gehrig        NY   1934 49   165  .363   5th
     Ted Williams      Bos  1942 36   137  .356   2nd
     Ted Williams      Bos  1947 32   114  .343   2nd
     Mickey Mantle     NY   1956 52   130  .353   1st
     Frank Robinson    Bal  1966 49   122  .316   1st
     Carl Yastrzemski  Bos  1967 44   121  .326   1st

     National League
     Player           Team  Year HR   RBI  BA   MVP Rank
     Paul Hines        Prov 1878 4    50   .358   n/a
     Hugh Duffy        Bos  1894 18   145  .438   n/a
     Rogers Hornsby    StL  1922 42   152  .401   n/a
     Rogers Hornsby    StL  1925 39   143  .403   1st
     Chuck Klein       Phi  1933 28   120  .368   2nd
     Joe Medwick       StL  1937 31   154  .374   1st

     Note: The MVP award was established in 1922 for AL, 1924 for NL

Ted Williams won the triple crown twice, but failed to win the award each time. His adversarial relationship with the press no doubt was a significant factor.In 1942, he lost out in a close vote to secondbaseman Joe Gordon of the Yankees (270-249).

Gordon’s numbers were .322 BA, 18 HR, 103 RBI as his Yankees finished in first and Williams’ Red Sox finished second. In 1947, Williams was edged by Yankee Joe DiMaggio , who had captured the nation’s attention with his 56 consecutive game hitting streak.

DiMaggio’s numbers were .305 BA, 21 HR, 114 RBI. The vote was 202-201. The Red Sox finished third behind New York & Detroit.

In 1933, Chuck Klein of the Phillies lost the MVP to New York Giants’ pitcher Carl Hubbell (77-48 points) Hubbell’s numbers were 23-12 record, 1.66 ERA, and 10 shutouts He led the league in wins, innings, ERA, and shutouts. His Giants finished second, Klein’s Phillies third.

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