MVP Profile: Gabby Hartnett, 1935

Catcher, Chicago Cubs

Age:  34

13^th season with Cubs

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’1”    Weight: 195

Prior to 1935:

Born in Rhode Island, Hartnett was raised in Millville, Massachusetts, where his father played semipro baseball. Nicknamed “Dowdy” in his youth, he became a member of the town baseball team where he impressed as a catcher with his strong throwing arm. Hartnett first played professionally for the Worcester Boosters of the Class A Eastern League in 1921 at age 20 and he appeared in all 100 of the team’s games and batted .264. Offered a $2500 contract to sign with the Cubs, he made the team in spring training for the 1922 season and served as a backup to starting catcher Bob O’Farrell. Quiet at this point in his life, especially with sportswriters, he was ironically nicknamed “Gabby” by reporters, a name he would grow into as he displayed a more gregarious personality over time. Hartnett appeared in 31 games in ’22 and batted just .194 in 72 at bats with no home runs and 4 RBIs. He played well defensively when called upon, thus allowing him to stay with the Cubs in 1923, when he was much improved as a hitter as his batting average rose to .268 and he hit 8 home runs. He also became the preferred catcher for star RHP Grover Cleveland “Pete” Alexander. An injury to O’Farrell opened the door for Hartnett in 1924 and he hit .299 with 16 home runs and 67 RBIs while appearing in 111 games. A fast start in 1925 led to his setting a new home run record for major league catchers with 24, also producing another 67 RBIs and a .289 batting average. He hit .275 in 1926 while his home run total dropped to 8 and continued to be outstanding defensively as he threw out 61 percent of baserunners who attempted to steal on him and ranked third among NL catchers in both assists (86) and put outs (307, tied with Pittsburgh’s Earl Smith). Hartnett rebounded offensively in 1927 as he batted .294 with 10 home runs and 80 RBIs. He hit .302 with 14 home runs and 57 RBIs in 1928 and picked up another nickname, “Old Tomato Face”, due to his increasingly ruddy complexion. Hartnett suffered a setback in 1929 due to an injury to his throwing arm that limited him to one appearance behind the plate and 25 pinch-hitting appearances during the season, in which he batted .273. The Cubs won the NL pennant and Hartnett struck out in each of his pinch-hitting at bats in the World Series loss to the Philadelphia Athletics. He recovered in 1930 to play in 141 games (136 as catcher) and batted .339 with 37 home runs and 122 RBIs. He also led NL catchers in put outs (646), assists (68), and fielding percentage (.989). While the home runs dropped to 8 in 1931, he still hit a respectable .282 and remained among the top defensive catchers. In addition to his formidable throwing ability, Hartnett used his size to excellent advantage in blocking the plate.  The Cubs won the NL pennant in 1932 and Hartnett contributed 12 home runs, 52 RBIs, and a .271 batting average offensively, and was second in the NL in put outs (484), third in assists (75), and first in percentage of runners thrown out stealing (64 %) defensively. Hartnett hit .313 in the World Series loss to the Yankees. In 1933 he was a participant in the first All-Star Game in a year in which he batted .276 with 16 home runs and 88 RBIs and continued to rank among the league leaders as a defensive catcher. Hartnett had another strong season in 1934 as he hit .299 with 22 home runs and 90 RBIs, and he was the starting catcher for the NL in the All-Star Game.

1935 Season Summary

Appeared in 116 games

C – 110, PH – 6

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 461

At Bats – 413

Runs – 67

Hits – 142

Doubles – 32 [16, tied with Bill Terry]

Triples – 6

Home Runs – 13 [13]

RBI – 91 [9]

Bases on Balls – 41

Int. BB – N/A

Strikeouts – 46

Stolen Bases – 1

Caught Stealing – N/A

Average - .344 [3]

OBP - .404 [4]

Slugging Pct. - .545 [5]

Total Bases – 225

GDP – 13 [11, tied with eight others]

Hit by Pitches – 1

Sac Hits – 6

Sac Flies – N/A

Midseason snapshot: HR – 8, RBI – 42, AVG - .329, SLG PCT - .551

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 4 AB) at Brooklyn 5/13, (in 5 AB) vs. Pittsburgh 6/29, (in 4 AB) at Phila. Phillies 8/18

Longest hitting streak – 14 games

HR at home – 7

HR on road – 6

Most home runs, game – 1 on thirteen occasions

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 6 vs. Cincinnati 6/4

Pinch-hitting – 1 of 3 (.333) with 1 RBI

Fielding

Chances – 563

Put Outs – 477

Assists – 77

Errors – 9

DP – 11

Pct. - .984

Postseason Batting: 6 G (World Series vs. Detroit)

PA – 25, AB – 24, R – 1, H – 7, 2B – 0, 3B – 0, HR – 1, RBI – 2, BB – 0, IBB – N/A, SO – 3, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .292, OBP - .292, SLG - .417, TB – 10, GDP – 2, HBP – 0, SH – 1, SF – N/A

Awards & Honors:

NL MVP: BBWAA

All-Star

Top 5 in NL MVP Voting:

Gabby Hartnett, ChiC.: 75 pts. - 94% share

Dizzy Dean, StLC.: 66 pts. – 83% share

Arky Vaughan, Pitt.: 45 pts. – 56% share

Billy Herman, ChiC.: 38 pts. – 48% share

Joe Medwick, StLC.: 37 pts. – 46% share

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Cubs went 100-54 to win the NL pennant by 4 games over the St. Louis Cardinals while leading the league in runs scored (847), doubles (303), walks drawn (464), batting (.288), and OBP (.347). A 21-game September winning streak propelled them to the pennant. Lost World Series to the Detroit Tigers, 4 games to 2.

Aftermath of ‘35:

Hartnett continued to be a top offensive and defensive catcher in 1936 and ’37 who finished second in NL MVP voting in the latter year. Midway through the 1938 season with the Cubs running third in the NL pennant race, Hartnett became player/manager of the club and rallied them to within a half-game of first-place Pittsburgh on Sept. 28 when in the second game of a three-game series against the Pirates and with the score tied and darkness descending on Chicago, Hartnett hit a dramatic walk-off home run long remembered as “the homer in the gloaming” that fueled a Chicago sweep. The Cubs won the pennant and the 37-year-old player manager caught 83 games and contributed 10 home runs, 59 RBIs, and a .274 batting average. The World Series resulted in a loss to the Yankees and Hartnett remained as player/manager in 1939 and ’40 after which he was fired having compiled a 203-176 managerial record with the one pennant. Overall with the Cubs he hit .297 with 1867 hits that included 391 doubles, 64 triples, and 231 home runs. He also knocked in 1153 RBIs. He signed with the New York Giants to be a player/coach in 1941 and batted .300 with 5 home runs and 26 RBIs while appearing in 64 games in his final season. For his complete major league career, he hit .297 with 1912 hits that included 396 doubles, 64 triples, and 236 home runs, along with 1179 RBIs and his 1787 appearances at catcher with the Cubs and Giants were a major league record at the time. Hartnett was a six-time All-Star and finished in the Top 10 of NL MVP voting four times, winning once. He became a minor league manager for five years following his retirement as a player and much later became a coach and scout with the Kansas City Athletics. He died on his 72^nd birthday in 1972, 17 years after his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.  

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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.