Pitcher, New
York Yankees
Age: 36 (Sept. 12)
7th season
with Yankees
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’0” Weight: 181
Prior to 1943:
A native of
Georgia, Spurgeon Chandler (he picked up the nickname “Spud” in his youth) excelled
at baseball and football, where his competitive zeal and determination were
noteworthy (and would remain as part of his character). He was a star
triple-threat back playing football at the Univ. of Georgia before signing with
the Yankees in 1932. He was first assigned to the Binghamton Triplets of the Class
B New York-Pennsylvania League, went 8-1 with a 2.76 ERA and then moved up to
Springfield of the Class A Eastern League where he produced a 4-0 record in as
many starts. His best pitch, a sinking fastball, put great stress on his arm, which
would be a cause of problems for Chandler throughout the decade. He returned to
Binghamton in 1933 since the New York-Pennsylvania League was now Class A and
put together a 10-8 record with a 4.23 ERA. He finished off the year with the
Newark Bears of the International League where he was 1-4 with a 3.86 ERA in
seven appearances. Chandler returned to Newark in 1934 and also pitched for
Syracuse in the International League and Minneapolis of the American
Association. Plagued by elbow pain he went a combined 2-4 with an ERA over
6.00. The Yankees sent Chandler to the Pacific Coast League in 1935 where his
record was a combined 7-9 with the Oakland Oaks and Portland Beavers. Returning
to Newark in 1936 he produced a 14-13 record with a 3.33 ERA. Chandler started
the 1937 season with Newark but was called up to the Yankees in May and,
utilized primarily as a spot starter, he went 7-4 with a 2.84 ERA until he was
sidelined by a sore shoulder in August. As a member of the starting rotation in
1938 he started 23 games and was 14-5 with a 4.03 ERA until an elbow injury
finished his season. Chandler broke his ankle prior to the 1939 season and didn’t
pitch until the end of July. Utilized out of the bullpen he appeared in 11
games and produced a 3-0 record and 2.84 ERA for the club that won its fourth
consecutive World Series. The Yankees dropped to third place in 1940 and
Chandler had an 8-7 tally and 4.60 ERA while starting 24 games and pitching 172
innings. He was utilized as a reliever and occasional starter early in the 1941
season but rode a strong second half to a 10-4 record with a 3.19 ERA as the
Yanks returned to the top in the AL. He also saw his first postseason action
but lost his only World Series start against Brooklyn. Chandler was 16-5 with a
2.38 ERA in 1942 and was chosen as an All-Star for the first time. An intense
competitor on the mound Chandler had excellent control of his fastball, sinker,
and curve. He was also a good hitting pitcher with some power and an excellent
fielder as well.
1943 Season Summary
Appeared in 30
games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]
Pitching
Games – 30
Games Started –
30 [4, tied with Dizzy Trout & Dutch Leonard]
Complete Games
– 20 [1, tied with Tex Hughson]
Wins – 20 [1,
tied with Dizzy Trout]
Losses – 4
PCT - .833 [1]
Saves – 0
Shutouts – 5 [1,
tied with Dizzy Trout]
Innings Pitched
– 253 [4]
Hits – 197 [13,
tied with Ernie Bonham & Eddie Smith]
Runs – 62
Earned Runs – 46
Home Runs – 5
Bases on Balls
– 54
Strikeouts – 134
[3]
ERA – 1.64 [1]
Hit Batters – 4
[10, tied with six others]
Balks – 1 [5,
tied with many others]
Wild Pitches – 3
[18, tied with thirteen others]
League-leading
win percentage was +.125 ahead of runner-up Al Smith
League-leading
ERA was +0.63 lower than runner-up Ernie Bonham
---
Midseason
Snapshot: 10-2, ERA - 2.11, SO - 69 in 132 IP
---
Most
strikeouts, game – 8 (in 10 IP) vs. Phila. A’s 7/18, (in 9 IP) at Bos. Red Sox
9/11, (in 14 IP) vs. Detroit 9/25
10+ strikeout
games – 0
Fewest hits
allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 1 (in 9 IP) vs. Washington 4/24
Batting
PA – 104, AB –
97, R – 9, H – 25, 2B – 5, 3B – 0, HR – 2, RBI – 7, BB – 1, SO – 22, SB – 0, CS
– 0, AVG - .258, GDP – 4, HBP – 3, SH – 3, SF – N/A
Fielding
Chances – 76
Put Outs – 10
Assists – 63
Errors – 3
DP – 4
Pct. - .961
Postseason
Pitching: G – 2 (World
Series vs. St. Louis Cards)
GS – 2, CG – 2,
Record – 2-0, PCT – 1.000, SV – 0, ShO – 1, IP – 18, H – 17, R – 2, ER – 1, HR
– 0, BB – 3, SO – 10, ERA – 0.50, HB – 0, BLK – 0, WP – 0
Awards & Honors:
AL MVP: BBWAA
Major League
Player of the Year: Sporting News
All-Star
Top 5 in AL MVP
Voting:
Spud Chandler,
NYY: 246 pts. – 12 of 24 first place votes, 73% share
Luke Appling, ChiWS.:
215 pts. – 5 first place votes, 64% share
Rudy York, Det.:
152 pts. – 1 first place vote, 45% share
Billy Johnson,
NYY: 135 pts. – 3 first place votes, 40% share
Bob Johnson,
Wash.: 116 pts. – 1 first place vote, 35% share
(2 first place
votes for Bill Dickey, NYY, who ranked eighth)
---
Yankees went 98-56
to win the AL pennant by 13.5 games over the Washington Senators while the pitching
staff led the league in ERA (2.93), complete games (83), and fewest runs
allowed (542). Won World Series over the St. Louis Cardinals, 4 games to 1 as
Chandler won both of his starts.
Aftermath of ‘43:
Chandler was
drafted into the Army and missed virtually all of the 1944 and ’45 seasons
while remaining stateside. Discharged in September of 1945 he started
four-late-season games for the Yankees and produced a 2-1 record with a 4.65
ERA. Pitching in pain in 1946 and referred to in print as “the Angry Ace” due
to his demeanor, Chandler, who was 39 by season’s end, was 20-8 with a 2.10 ERA
while pitching a career-high 257.1 innings. He had surgery to remove bone chips
from his elbow in the offseason and came back at age 39 in 1947 to produce a 9-5
record with a league-leading 2.46 ERA although he pitched sparingly late in the
season due to lingering arm trouble. An ineffective relief appearance in the
World Series marked the end of Chandler’s career as the Yankees released him in
1948. For his major league career, spent entirely with the Yanks, Chandler compiled
a 109-43 record for an outstanding .717 won-lost percentage (the best for any
major league pitcher with at least 100 wins) with a 2.84 ERA and 614 strikeouts
over 1485 innings pitched. He topped the AL in ERA twice and was a four-time
All-Star. In World Series play Chandler was 2-2 with a 1.62 ERA and one save. Following
his playing career Chandler became a scout and coached and managed at the minor
league level as well, retiring from organized baseball altogether at age 77,
five years before his death in 1990. He was inducted into the Georgia Sports
Hall of Fame in 1969.
--
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.
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