Age: 30 (June 22)
6th season
with Giants
Bats – Right,
Throws – Left
Height: 6’0” Weight: 170
Prior to 1933:
Born in
Missouri, Hubbell grew up in Meeker, Oklahoma, where he pitched well in high
school with a fastball and curve. Following graduation, he joined Cushing of
the Oklahoma State League in 1923. By 1925 Hubbell was with Oklahoma City of
the Class A Western League where, having added a screwball to his repertoire,
he produced a 17-13 record with a 4.01 ERA. The Detroit Tigers purchased his
contract after the season, but during 1926 spring training he was forbidden
from using the screwball due to the increased prospect of suffering an arm
injury. Sent to Toronto of the Class AA International League, Hubbell was a
disappointing 7-7 with a 3.77 ERA while disallowed from throwing the screwball.
Demoted to Decatur of the Illinois-Indiana-Iowa (or Three-I) League in 1927,
Hubbell was a respectable 14-7 with a 2.53 ERA, but the Tigers sold his
contract to the Beaumont Exporters of the Class A Texas League in 1928 where he
was able to again utilize the screwball. Compiling a 12-9 record with a 2.97
ERA by midseason his contract was purchased by the Giants for $30,000. Hubbell
ended up going 10-6 for the Giants with a 2.83 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 124
innings pitched. He followed up with an
18-11 record in 1929 with a 3.69 ERA and 106 strikeouts over 268 innings. Along
the way he pitched a no-hitter against Pittsburgh. The lanky southpaw was 17-12 for the third
place Giants in 1930, with a 3.87 ERA (which ranked second in the NL in a year
dominated by hitting in which the league mien ERA was 4.97) and 117 strikeouts.
His 1931 record was 14-12 with a 2.65 ERA and 155 strikeouts. 1932 was a year
of transition for the Giants as the talented but irascible long-time manager
John McGraw was replaced by Bill Terry during the season. Hubbell contributed
an 18-11 record for the sixth-place club with a 2.50 ERA and 137 strikeouts.
1933 Season Summary
Appeared in 45
games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Pitching
Games – 45 [3,
tied with Ad Liska]
Games Started –
33 [6, tied with Tex Carleton, Paul Derringer & Hal Schumacher]
Complete Games
– 22 [4]
Wins – 23 [1]
Losses – 12
[19, tied with Guy Bush, Hal Schumacher & Steve Swetonic]
PCT - .657 [3]
Saves – 5 [2,
tied with Dizzy Dean, Hi Bell & Bill Harris]
Shutouts – 10
[1]
Innings Pitched
– 308.2 [1]
Hits – 256 [8,
tied with Ed Brandt]
Runs – 69
Earned Runs – 57
Home Runs – 6
Bases on Balls
– 47
Strikeouts – 156
[2]
ERA – 1.66 [1]
Hit Batters – 3
Balks – 0
Wild Pitches – 3
League-leading wins
were +3 ahead of runners-up Dizzy Dean, Guy Bush & Ben Cantwell]
League-leading
shutouts were +3 ahead of runner-up Hal Schumacher
League-leading
innings pitched were +15.2 ahead of runner-up Dizzy Dean
League-leading
ERA was -0.34 lower than runner-up Lon Warneke
Midseason
Snapshot: 11-5, ERA - 1.84, SO - 87 in 156.1 IP
---
Most
strikeouts, game – 13 (in 9 IP) vs. Boston Braves 4/20
10+ strikeout
games – 3
Fewest hits
allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 4 (in 9 IP) vs. Bos. Braves 4/20, (in 9 IP) vs.
Brooklyn 4/24, (in 9 IP) vs. Brooklyn 7/27, (in 10 IP) at Bos. Braves 9/1
Batting
PA – 116, AB –
109, R – 6, H – 20, 2B – 2, 3B – 1, HR – 1, RBI – 12, BB – 2, SO – 18, SB – 0, CS
– N/A, AVG - .183, GDP – 2, HBP – 0, SH – 5, SF – N/A
Fielding
Chances - 119
Put Outs – 23
Assists – 94
Errors – 2
DP – 5
Pct. - .983
Postseason
Pitching: G – 2 (World Series vs. Washington)
GS – 2, CG – 2,
Record – 2-0 PCT – 1.000, SV – 0, ShO – 0, IP – 20, H – 13, R – 3, ER – 0, HR –
0, BB – 6, SO – 15, ERA – 0.00, HB – 0, BLK – 0, WP – 0
Awards & Honors:
NL MVP: BBWAA
All-Star
Top 5 in NL MVP
Voting:
Carl Hubbell,
NYG: 77 pts. – 96% share
Chuck Klein,
PhilaP.: 48 pts. – 60% share
Wally Berger,
BosB.: 44 pts. – 55% share
Bill Terry, NYG:
35 pts. – 44% share
Pepper Martin,
StLC.: 31 pts. – 39% share
---
Giants went 91-61
to win the NL pennant by 5 games over the Pittsburgh Pirates. The pitching
staff led the league in ERA (2.71), shutouts (23), fewest hits allowed (1280),
batting (.286), and fewest runs allowed 514). Won World Series over the
Washington Senators, 4 games to 1. Hubbell’s two wins included an 11-inning 2-1
contest in Game 4.
Aftermath of ‘33:
The Giants were
strong contenders again in 1934 and Hubbell compiled a 21-12 record with a
league-leading 2.30 ERA and 25 complete games. During the All-Star Game at the
Polo Grounds, he struck out five consecutive future Hall of Fame batters (Babe
Ruth and Lou Gehrig of the Yankees, Jimmie Foxx of the A’s, Al Simmons of the
White Sox & Joe Cronin of the Senators). Hubbell, who came to be referred
to as “King Carl” and “the Meal Ticket” due to his consistency and reliability,
was outstanding again in 1935 as he went 23-12 with a 3.27 ERA and 150
strikeouts while pitching 302.2 innings. The Giants returned to the top of the
NL in 1936 and Hubbell was the league MVP for the second time thanks to a 26-6
record, including wins in his last 16 decisions of the season, and league-best
2.31 ERA. The Giants made it two straight pennants in 1937 as Hubbell’s regular
season winning streak reached 24 games as he prevailed in his first 8 decisions
on his way to a 22-8 tally and 3.20 ERA while topping the NL with 159
strikeouts. In 1938, elbow pain due to throwing the screwball prematurely ended
Hubbell’s season with a 13-10 record and 3.07 ERA as he needed surgery to
remove bone chips. He remained with the Giants until 1943 and continued to be
an effective, if no longer dominant, pitcher. He won 11 games each year from
1939 to ’42, and his 11-12 record in 1940 was the only sub-.500 performance of
his career. His 2.75 ERA in 1939 was his best during the same four-year time
period. His career came to an end after the 1943 season, by which point his
left hand was deformed from years of throwing the screwball. Upon his
retirement following 16 seasons with the Giants, Hubbell had a 253-154 record
with five 20-win records, a 2.98 ERA, 36 shutouts, and 1677 strikeouts over
3590.1 innings pitched. In the postseason, he produced a 4-2 record with four
complete games and 32 strikeouts over 50.1 innings. In addition to being a
two-time MVP, he was a nine-time All-Star. Hubbell was elected to the Baseball
Hall of Fame in 1947 and the Giants retired his #11. Upon the end of his
playing career, the Giants made Hubbell the team’s director of player
development, a position he held for 35 years, well after the franchise’s move
to San Francisco. He remained a scout for the club until his death in 1988 at
the age of 85.
--
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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