Second Baseman,
St. Louis Cardinals
Age: 34 (Sept. 9)
5th season
with Cardinals
Bats – Both,
Throws – Right
Height: 5’11” Weight: 165
Prior to 1931:
A native of New
York City who was born and raised in the Bronx, Frisch proved to be an
outstanding all-around athlete at Fordham Prep and Fordham University, where he
earned the nickname “the Fordham Flash” for his track and football exploits, as
well as excelling at shortstop on the baseball team. Signed by the Giants just
prior to his graduation from college in 1919, Frisch bypassed the minors and,
under the supervision of manager John McGraw, he received coaching to develop
his skills while with the Giants. A switch-hitter, Frisch batted .226 while
appearing in 54 games during the 1919 season, splitting time between second and
third base. Playing at third base in 1920, the energetic and aggressive young
player improved his batting average to .280. Frisch broke out in 1921, a season
in which the Giants won the NL pennant, and he contributed a .341 average with
31 doubles, 17 triples, and a league-leading 49 stolen bases. Frisch batted
.300 in the World Series triumph over the Yankees, the Giants’ co-tenants at
the Polo Grounds. Primarily a second baseman by 1922, Frisch still often
appeared at third base. Using his speed and entire body to knock down batted
balls in the field and throw out baserunners, he lacked finesse in the middle
of the infield. A natural leader with a good head for baseball, McGraw made
Frisch the team captain. An effective clutch hitter who lacked power and was a
good bunter, he batted .327 in 1922 with 5 home runs, 51 RBIs, 31 stolen bases,
and 101 runs scored. The Giants again won the NL pennant and “the Fordham
Flash” hit .471 in another World Series triumph over the Yankees. Frisch topped
the NL with 223 hits in 1923 and also compiled 32 doubles, 10 triples, 12 home
runs, 29 stolen bases, 116 runs, 111 RBIs, and a .348 average. The Giants won a
third straight pennant but lost to the Yankees in the World Series, although
Frisch hit .400 over the six games. In 1924 he topped the NL in runs scored
with 121 while batting .328 with 33 doubles, 15 triples, 7 home runs, and 69
RBIs. The Giants were once again pennant winners but this time lost to the
Washington Senators in the World Series where Frisch hit .333. The team dropped
to second place in 1925 but “the Fordham Flash” batted .331 with 11 home runs,
48 RBIs, and 89 runs scored. In the field he split his time almost equally at
second, third, and short. In 1926 the situation with the temperamental McGraw
came to a head when the manager berated Frisch, who was playing hurt, after a
tough loss after which the star second baseman briefly jumped the team in
response. He finished up by hitting .314 in 135 games. With relations with
McGraw strained beyond the breaking point, in the offseason the Giants
engineered a blockbuster trade with the Cardinals that chiefly involved two
future Hall of Fame second basemen, with Frisch being exchanged for Rogers
Hornsby, a great hitter who had directed St. Louis to a World Series title as
player/manager in 1926, but who also wore out his welcome with the team’s owner.
Frisch had an excellent first season with the Cardinals in 1927, batting .337
with 208 hits, 10 home runs, 78 RBIs, 112 runs scored, and a league-leading 48
stolen bases. In the field he set a record for second basemen with 641 assists.
Frisch placed second in NL MVP voting. The Redbirds returned to the top in the
National League standings in 1928 and Frisch hit .300 with 10 home runs and 86
RBIs. He was a .334 hitter in 1929 for the fourth place Cardinals. As he had
been in New York, Frisch was the team’s leader on the field and they won the NL
pennant in 1930, a year in which he batted .346 with 46 doubles, 9 triples, 10
home runs, 114 RBIs, and 121 runs scored. He hit .208 in the six-game World
Series loss to the Philadelphia Athletics.
1931 Season Summary
Appeared in 131
games
2B – 129, PH – 2
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 570
At Bats – 518
Runs – 96 [7]
Hits – 161 [18]
Doubles – 24
Triples – 4
Home Runs – 4
RBI – 82 [13]
Bases on Balls
– 45
Int. BB – N/A
Strikeouts – 13
Stolen Bases – 28
[1]
Caught Stealing
– N/A
Average - .311 [14]
OBP - .368 [15]
Slugging Pct. -
.396
Total Bases – 205
GDP – N/A
Hit by Pitches
– 2
Sac Hits – 5
Sac Flies – N/A
League-leading stolen
bases were +11 ahead of runner-up Babe Herman
Midseason
snapshot: HR - 2, RBI - 33, SB – 8, AVG - .274, OBP - .339
---
Most hits, game
– 4 (in 5 AB) vs. Brooklyn 6/9, (in 5 AB) vs. Chicago Cubs 8/8
Longest hitting
streak – 23 games
Most HR, game –
1 (in 4 AB) vs. Phila. Phillies 6/16, (in 5 AB) at NY Giants 6/30, (in 4 AB) at
Brooklyn 8/13, (in 4 AB) at NY Giants 8/16
HR at home – 1
HR on road – 3
Multi-HR games
– 0
Most RBIs, game
– 4 at NY Giants 6/30
Pinch-hitting –
0 of 1 (.000)
Fielding
Chances – 733
Put Outs – 290
Assists – 424
Errors – 19
DP - 93
Pct. - .974
Postseason
Batting: 7 G (World Series vs. Phila. A’s)
PA – 29, AB – 27,
R – 2, H – 7, 2B – 2,3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 1, BB – 1, IBB – N/A, SO – 2, SB – 1,
CS – 0, AVG - .259, OBP - .286, SLG - .333, TB – 9, GDP – N/A, HBP – 0, SH – 1,
SF – N/A
Awards & Honors:
NL MVP: BBWAA
Top 5 in NL MVP
Voting:
Frankie Frisch,
StLC.: 65 pts. – 81% share
Chuck Klein,
PhilaP.: 55 pts. – 69% share
Bill Terry, NYG:
53 pts. – 66% share
Woody English,
ChiC.: 30 pts. – 38% share
Chick Hafey,
StLC.: 29 pts. – 36% share
---
Cardinals went 101-53
to win the NL pennant by 13 games over the New York Giants while leading the
league in doubles (353) and stolen bases (114). Won World Series over the Philadelphia
Athletics, 4 games to 3. In a Series dominated by the exciting play of rookie outfielder
Pepper Martin, the Cardinals avenged their World Series loss to the A’s of the
previous year.
Aftermath of ‘31:
The Cardinals
dropped to sixth place in 1932 and Frisch batted .292 while playing in 115
games. Having taken an around-the-world tour in the offseason after the World
Series triumph, he was out of shape and failed to get on track in ’32. He
rebounded in 1933 to hit .303 with 32 doubles, 6 triples, 4 home runs, and 66
RBIs. He was selected for the first All-Star Game and hit a home run during
that contest. Shortly after the All-Star Game Frisch became player/manager of
the Cardinals. Only a game over .500 when he took over the managerial reins,
the Cards went 36-26 the rest of the way to finish fifth in the NL standings.
In 1934 the Frisch-managed team known as the “Gas House Gang” won the pennant
while the player/manager batted .305 while scoring 74 runs and knocking in 75
RBIs. Still a formidable fielder he placed second among the league’s second basemen
with 294 put outs and 74 double plays. Frisch most significantly set the tone
for the aggressive group of colorful characters who went on to defeat the
Detroit Tigers in the World Series. He spent three more seasons as a playing
manager with his production and playing time declining until he ended his
playing career in 1937, a year before his managerial tenure in St. Louis came
to an end. For his playing career, Frisch batted .316 with 2880 hits that
included 466 doubles, 138 triples, and 105 home runs. He further scored 1532
runs and compiled 1244 RBIs as well as 419 stolen bases and struck out only 272
times. With the Cardinals he batted .312 with 1577 hits, 286 doubles, 61
triples, 51 home runs, 720 RBIs, 831 runs scored, and 195 stolen bases. Frisch
appeared in eight World Series (four each with the Giants and Cardinals), totaling
50 games in which he batted .294 with 10 RBIs and 16 runs scored. Selected to
each of the first three All-Star Games, Frisch was inducted into the Baseball
Hall of Fame in 1947. Following his retirement as a player and additional year
as field manager of the Cardinals, Frisch went on to manage three other teams,
with his longest tenure being seven years with the Pittsburgh Pirates. His
overall managerial record was 1138-1078, and the victory in the 1934 World
Series remained the only such title won by any of his teams. A popular figure
in the baseball world thanks to his good humor and talent for telling stories, he
went on to become a member of the Hall of Fame’s Veterans Committee until his
death as the result of a car accident in 1973 at age 75.
--
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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