#10: 1932 Philadelphia Athletics, 55.8 WAR162<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The 1932 Athletics were the final highly competitive A’s team in an impressive stretch starting with the 1925 season. Their 94-60 mark fell far short of the Yankees’ 107 wins, although the gap between the teams was not that large – win projections had them separated by just 4 games, not the 13-game difference in the standings.<\/p>\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nThe A’s had a powerful offense, evidenced by their 981 runs, just 21 shy of the Yankees’ league-leading total. They actually out-homered the Yanks 172-160, and ranked first in BA, second in OBP, and second in OPS. The A’s didn’t run a lot; their 37 steals ranked last in the AL. The A’s pitching was their weak link in 1932 – they ranked third in WHIP, fifth in ERA, and a distant second in strikeouts behind the Yankees.<\/p>\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nJimmie Foxx<\/a> put together a massive 1932 campaign, crushing 58 homers, scoring 151 runs, compiling 169 RBI, and posting a 1.218 OPS, all tops in the AL. He also had a .364 batting average. Foxx was assisted by catcher Mickey Cochrane<\/a>, who owned a .412 OBP with 23 homers and 112 RBI, and Al Simmons<\/a>, who led the AL with 216 hits. Simmons belted 35 homers to go with his 151 RBI and 144 runs scored. Lefty Grove<\/a> was his typical all-world self in 1932, winning 25 games with a league-best 2.84 ERA, 27 complete games, and 4 shutouts. Unfortunately for the A’s, Grove received minimal help from the rest of the staff – Tony Freitas<\/a> won 12 as a fifth starter, and Rube Walberg<\/a> (17) and George Earnshaw<\/a> (19) combined for 36 wins, but with rather high ERAs, even for the 1930s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 1935 Cubs claimed the NL pennant by 4 games over the defending champion Cardinals, only to fall to the Detroit Tigers in a 6-game World Series. The Cubs led the NL both in runs scored and runs allowed in 1935.<\/p>\n\n\n The Cubs’ 847 runs scored topped the Cardinals by 18, while their 88 homers ranked third in the league. Doubles were their forte, as they stroked 303, easily topping the NL. They also made a clean sweep of BA, OBP, and OPS; this was a strong offensive team despite their middling power credentials. The pitching staff easily compiled the best ERA in the league and placed second in both WHIP and strikeouts per 9 innings.<\/p>\n\n\n Billy Herman<\/a> led a balanced offensive crew with four position players above 5 WAR162 for the season. Herman stroked 227 hits with 57 doubles (both NL-bests) while batting .341. Auge Galan led the NL with 22 steals and sported a .314 BA, while veteran catcher Gabby Hartnett<\/a> batted .344 with 91 RBI. Third baseman Stan Hack<\/a> was the final big offensive contributor, batting .311 with a .406 OBP. The Cubs’ pitching featured three strong starters, led by Lon Warneke<\/a> (20-13, 3.06ERA). Larry French<\/a> posted a 17-10 mark with a 2.96 ERA, and Bill Lee<\/a> went 20-6 with the same 2.96 ERA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 1930 Nationals were an excellent team that had the misfortune to finish 8 games back of a quite lucky Athletics squad. According to Pythagorean projections, the A’s should have won 93 rather than 101 games. In any case, the AL pennant race should have been much tighter.<\/p>\n\n\n The Nationals’ 892 runs placed them well back of both the Yankees and A’s. Their .302 BA placed second in a very high-scoring season; they also placed second in triples and OBP, but just fourth in OPS. This rather ordinary offense was offset by a first-rate pitching staff that led the AL in ERA, WHIP, complete games, and hits per 9 innings.<\/p>\n\n\n Shortstop Joe Cronin<\/a> had a marvelous age-23 season, batting .346 with 127 runs scored and 126 RBI. The 40-year-old Sam Rice<\/a> batted .349 with 121 runs scored, and 13 triples (and just 14 strikeouts!), and Joe Judge<\/a> batted .326 in his age-36 campaign. Bump Hadley<\/a> led a rather no-name pitching staff with a 15-11 mark and 3.73 ERA. General Crowder<\/a> (15-9), Lloyd Brown<\/a> (16-12), Firpo Marberry<\/a> (15-5), and Sad Sam Jones<\/a> (15-7) contributed to one of the most balanced groups in history – no stars, but five men with 15+ wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 1932 edition of the Yankees rolled to the AL title after three years looking up at the Athletics. Their 107 wins were well above their Pythagorean projection of 99; in any case, they bested the A’ by 13 games and went on to sweep the Cubs in the World Series.<\/p>\n\n\n The Yankees’ 1002 runs topped the league, although their 160 homers trailed the A’s by 12. The New Yorkers led the AL in OBP and OPS, and ranked second in BA. It was a very potent offense, even considering the high-scoring context of the 1932 season. Pitching was again a strength, with an AL-best 3.98 ERA. The Yankees staff also led the AL in WHIP, complete games, strikeouts, and strikeout-to-walk rate.<\/p>\n\n\n Babe Ruth<\/a> put together one more terrific season at age 37, swatting 41 homers with 137 RBI, 120 runs scored, and AL-bests in walks (130) and OBP (.489). Lou Gehrig<\/a> belted 34 homers and 42 doubles to go with a .349 BA and 1.072 OPS, while Earle Combs<\/a> batted .321 with 143 runs scored. Tony Lazzeri<\/a> (113 RBI, .399 OBP) and Ben Chapman<\/a> (AL-best 38 steals) were also major contributors. The pitching was led by Red Ruffing<\/a> (18-7, 3.09 ERA, AL-best 190 strikeouts) and Johnny Allen<\/a> (17-4, 3.70 ERA). Lefty Gomez<\/a> won 24 games despite an elevated 4.21 ERA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 1937 Yankees were the second of four consecutive pennant winners, coasting to the AL pennant by 13 games over the Tigers. They then claimed New York bragging rights by defeating the Giants in a 5-game World Series.<\/p>\n\n\n The Yankees led the league in both run scoring and run prevention. The team’s 979 runs easily topped the Tigers, as did their 174 homers. The New Yorkers ranked third in BA, second in OBP, and first in OPS. The pitching was even more impressive, with a team ERA (3.65) more than half a run better than their closest rival. They also led the AL in complete games, WHIP, and strikeout-to-walk rate.<\/p>\n\n\n Joe DiMaggio<\/a> was in the process of assuming the lead role that Lou Gehrig had held for several years, batting .346 with an AL-best 46 homers and 151 runs scored. DiMaggio also totaled 167 RBI and played great defense in center field. Gehrig led the league in walks (127), OBP (.473), and OPS (1.116) while driving in 158 runners and batting .351. Bill Dickey<\/a> was the third starter with impressive numbers, including a .332 BA, 29 homers, and 133 RBI from his catcher position. George Selkirk<\/a> added 18 home runs in limited duty. Lefty Gomez was the ace in 1937, winning 21 games with a league-best 2.33 ERA and 194 strikeouts. Red Ruffing had another fine season, posting a 20-7 mark with a 2.98 ERA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That’s it for this entry in our MLB Team Rankings for the 1930s decade! Stay tuned for the countdown from #5 to #1, arriving in a few days. As always, thanks for reading!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Welcome to the next countdown post in our series of MLB team rankings for the 1930s. As a reminder, the teams are ranked from #20 through #1 based on aggregate WAR162. For the 1930s (1930-1939), a total of 160 teams were eligible (16 teams x 10 seasons), so the top 20 teams are a fairly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[70,41,66,47,64],"class_list":["post-3110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dashboards","tag-1930s","tag-mlb-statistics","tag-rankings","tag-team-war","tag-war162"],"yoast_head":"\n#9: 1935 Chicago Cubs, 55.9 WAR162<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n#8: 1930 Washington Nationals, 56.1 WAR162<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n#7: 1932 New York Yankees, 56.7 WAR162<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n#6: 1937 New York Yankees, 56.8 WAR<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nSummary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n