MVP Profile: Dolph Camilli, 1941

First Baseman, Brooklyn Dodgers

Age:  34 (April 23)

4^th season with Dodgers

Bats – Left, Throws – Left

Height: 5’10” Weight: 185

Prior to 1941:

A native of San Francisco, Camilli first played professionally at age 19 in 1926 with the Logan Collegians of the Class C Utah-Idaho League where he hit .311 in 68 games and then returned home to the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League where he batted .312 in 81 games. He split his time between both teams again in 1927 and while he again hit .311 for Logan he dropped to .244 with the Seals. Moving on to Salt Lake City of the Utah-Idaho League in 1928 and slugging 20 home runs on his way to a .333 average, Camilli returned to the Pacific Coast League, this time with the Sacramento Senators. He spent five years with Sacramento, from 1929 to ’33, and averaged .297 during that time and hit 82 home runs with a high of 20 in 1933, after which he was signed by the Chicago Cubs, who he joined in September. He appeared in 16 games with the Cubs and batted .224 with two home runs and 7 RBIs. He started the 1934 season with the Cubs but was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in June. In 102 games with the Phils Camilli batted .265 with 12 home runs and 68 RBIs. A fixture at first base with the lowly Phillies, he appeared in every game in 1935 and hit .261 with 25 home runs and 83 RBIs, also leading the NL by striking out 113 times.  Camilli followed up in 1936 with 28 home runs, 102 RBIs, and a .315 average, also drawing 116 walks as pitchers, wary of his power, tended to pitch around him. A good fielder as well as productive hitter, Camilli achieved a career high in 1937 by batting .339 and also hit 27 home runs with 80 RBIs. Drawing 90 walks, his .446 on-base percentage was the highest in the NL. Holding out for a better contract in 1938, the Phillies traded Camilli to the Dodgers for $45,000 and a marginal player. He hit .251 with 24 home runs and 100 RBIs in his first season with the Dodgers as he provided much-needed punch in the middle of the batting order. He followed up with another strong season in 1939, hitting .290 with 26 home runs and 104 RBIs. Camilli also topped the NL in walks drawn (110) and batter strikeouts (107) and was named as an All-Star for the first time. The Dodgers finished in third place as well. They finished second in 1940 with Camilli contributing 13 triples, 23 home runs, and 96 RBIs while batting .287.   

1941 Season Summary

Appeared in 149 games

1B – 148, PH – 1

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 641 [7, tied with Elbie Fletcher]

At Bats – 529

Runs – 92 [6]

Hits – 151 [13]

Doubles – 29 [11, tied with four others]

Triples – 6 [16, tied with Danny Litwhiler & Bama Rowell]

Home Runs – 34 [1]

RBI – 120 [1]

Bases on Balls – 104 [2]

Int. BB – N/A

Strikeouts – 115 [1]

Stolen Bases – 3

Caught Stealing – N/A

Average - .285 [18, tied with Billy Herman]

OBP - .407 [3]

Slugging Pct. - .556 [2]

Total Bases – 294 [2]

GDP – 5

Hit by Pitches – 4 [5, tied with five others]

Sac Hits – 4

Sac Flies – N/A

League-leading home runs were +7 ahead of runner-up Mel Ott

League-leading RBIs were +16 ahead of runner-up Babe Young

League-leading batter strikeouts were +15 ahead of runner-up Vince DiMaggio

Midseason snapshot: HR – 16, RBI – 54, AVG – .283, SLG PCT – .538

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Most hits, game – 5 (in 7 AB) vs. Bos. Braves 9/1 – 15 innings

Longest hitting streak – 8 games

HR at home – 19

HR on road – 15

Most home runs, game – 2 (in 3 AB) at St. Louis Cards 7/29 – 12 innings, (in 4 AB) vs. NY Giants 9/7

Multi-HR games – 2

Most RBIs, game – 5 at NY Giants 4/22, vs. NY Giants 9/7

Pinch-hitting – 0 of 1 (.000)

Fielding

Chances – 1493

Put Outs – 1379

Assists – 98

Errors – 16

DP – 107

Pct. - .989

Postseason Batting: 5 G (World Series vs. NY Yankees)

PA – 19, AB – 18, R – 1, H – 3, 2B – 1, 3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 1, BB – 1, IBB – 0, SO – 6, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .167, OBP - .211, SLG - .222, TB – 4, GDP – 1, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF – N/A

Awards & Honors:

NL MVP: BBWAA

All-Star

Top 5 in NL MVP Voting:

Dolph Camilli, Brook. : 300 pts. - 19 of 23 first place votes, 89% share

Pete Reiser, Brook.: 183 pts. – 2 first place votes, 54% share

Whit Wyatt, Brook.: 151 pts. – 45% share

Jimmy Brown, StLC.: 107 pts. – 1 first place vote, 32% share

Elmer Riddle, Cin.: 98 pts. – 29% share

(1 first place vote for Dixie Walker, Brook., who ranked tenth)

Dodgers went 100-54 to win NL pennant by 2.5 games over the St. Louis Cardinals. They led the NL in runs scored (800), hits (1494), doubles (286), triples (69) home runs (101), batting (.272), OBP (.347), and slugging (.405) on the way to winning their first pennant in 21 years. Lost World Series to the New York Yankees, 4 games to 3. The turning point in the Series came in the 9^th inning of Game 4 when, on the cusp of victory with a 4-3 lead a third strike passed ball by Brooklyn catcher Mickey Owen sparked a 4-run Yankee rally that put the Yanks up by a 3-games-to-1 margin from which there was no coming back.

Aftermath of ‘41:

Camilli followed up with another strong season for the second place Dodgers in 1942, hitting .252 with 26 home runs and 109 RBIs. Midway through the 1943 season he was traded to the Giants and refused to report to Brooklyn’s arch rival. His rights were traded to the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League who made him player/manager in 1944. Fired as manager in 1945, he signed with the Boston Red Sox in the last World War II-affected season, after which he was released, thus ending his playing career. For his major league career Camilli batted .277 with 1482 hits that included 261 doubles, 86 triples, and 239 home runs. He also accumulated 950 RBIs and 60 stolen bases. With the Dodgers he hit .270 with 809 hits, 151 doubles, 55 triples, 139 home runs, 572 RBIs, and 31 stolen bases. He was a two-time All-Star, both while with Brooklyn. Following his playing career, he managed a few more times at the minor league level, and was later a scout for the Yankees, A’s, and Angels. His son Doug was a catcher for the Dodgers and expansion Senators in the 1960s.

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MVP Profiles feature players in the National or American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award (1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present) as Most Valuable Player.