Outfielder, Pittsburgh
Pirates
Age: 24 (April 16)
2nd season
with Pirates
Bats – Left,
Throws – Left
Height: 5’8” Weight: 153
Prior to 1927:
An Oklahoma
native, Waner graduated from Central High School in Oklahoma City and moved on
to East Central State Teachers College (now East Central University) where he
pitched for the baseball team. He produced a 23-4 record with a 1.70 ERA in
1922, after which he signed a contract with Joplin of the Class A Western
League. Choosing to finish his college studies, he never played for Joplin, and
his contract was sold to the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League in
1923. Still a pitching prospect, Waner developed a sore arm and was shifted to
the outfield. A fine line-drive hitter, he batted .369 in 112 games. Still with
the Seals in 1924 he hit .356 with 46 doubles, 5 triples, and 8 home runs. Joined
on the Seals by his younger brother Lloyd in 1925, Waner batted .401 with 280
hits that included 75 doubles, 7 triples, and 11 home runs. Purchased by the
Pirates, the physically unimposing Waner had an excellent rookie season in 1926
in which he batted .336 with 35 doubles, a NL-leading 22 triples, 8 home runs,
and 79 RBIs. He was joined on the Pirates by brother Lloyd in 1927.
1927 Season Summary
Appeared in 155
games
RF – 143, 1B –
14
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 709 [1]
At Bats – 623 [3]
Runs – 114 [4]
Hits – 237 [1]
Doubles – 42 [2]
Triples – 18
[1]
Home Runs – 9 [15,
tied with four others]
RBI – 131 [1]
Bases on Balls
– 60 [10]
Int. BB – N/A
Strikeouts – 14
Stolen Bases – 5
Caught Stealing
– N/A
Average - .380
[1]
OBP - .437 [2]
Slugging Pct. -
.549 [3]
Total Bases – 342
[1]
GDP – N/A
Hit by Pitches
– 3 [20, tied with nine others]
Sac Hits – 23 [11,
tied with George Grantham, Joe Harris & Woody English]
Sac Flies – N/A
League-leading
plate appearances were +4 ahead of runner-up Sparky Adams
League-leading hits
were +14 ahead of runner-up Lloyd Waner
League-leading
triples were +3 ahead of runner-up Jim Bottomley
League-leading
RBIs were +2 ahead of runner-up Hack Wilson
League-leading batting
average was +.019 ahead of runner-up Rogers Hornsby
League-leading
total bases were +9 ahead of runner-up Rogers Hornsby
Midseason
snapshot: 3B – 14, HR – 5, RBI - 79, AVG - .385, SLG – .612
---
Most hits, game
– 4 on five occasions
Longest hitting
streak – 23 games
HR at home – 6
HR on road – 3
Most home runs,
game – 1 on nine occasions
Multi-HR games
– 0
Most RBIs, game
– 6 vs. Phila. Phillies 8/3
Pinch-hitting –
No appearances
Fielding (OF)
Chances – 353
Put Outs – 326
Assists – 20
Errors – 7
DP – 4
Pct. - .980
Postseason
Batting: 4 G (World Series vs. NY Yankees)
PA – 17, AB – 15,
R – 0, H – 5, 2B – 1, 3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 3, BB – 0, IBB – 0, SO – 1, SB – 0,
CS – 0, AVG - .333, OBP - .333, SLG - .400, TB – 6, GDP – N/A, HBP – 0, SH – 0,
SF – N/A
Awards & Honors:
NL MVP: League
Award
Top 5 in NL MVP
Voting:
Paul Waner,
Pitt.: 72 pts. - 90% share
Frankie Frisch,
StLC.: 66 pts. – 83% share
Rogers Hornsby,
NYG: 54 pts. – 68% share
Charlie Root,
ChiC.: 46 pts. – 58% share
Travis Jackson,
NYG: 42 pts. – 53% share
---
Pirates went 94-60
to win NL pennant by 1.5 games over the St. Louis Cardinals, while leading the
NL in runs scored (817, tied with the New York Giants), hits (1648), doubles
(236), batting (.305), and OBP (.361). The Pirates went 22-9 in September to
edge the Cardinals for the pennant. Lost World Series to the New York Yankees,
4 games to 0.
Aftermath of ‘27:
Waner followed
up with another solid season in 1928 in which he led the NL with 142 runs
scored and 50 doubles in addition to batting .370 with 223 hits, 19 triples, 6
home runs, and 86 RBIs. By this point the Waner brothers were called “Big
Poison” (Paul) and “Little Poison” (Lloyd) for their combined effect on
opponents. The brothers staged a joint holdout for more money during spring
training in 1929. They eventually came to terms although Paul got off to a slow
start. He still batted .336 for the year with 200 hits, 131 runs scored, 43
doubles, 15 triples, 15 home runs, and 100 RBIs. His production remained strong
in 1930 as he hit .368 with 58 extra base hits. Vacationing in Florida in the
offseason, Waner suffered an ankle injury that resulted in a comparative
off-year in 1931 in which he batted .322 with 180 hits including 51 for extra
bases and 70 RBIs, although he had a fine year in right field with 28 assists
and 8 double plays. Waner rebounded in 1932 with a .341 batting average and 215
hits that included a league-leading 62 doubles. After some down years, the
Pirates rose to second place and Waner finished fourth in NL MVP voting. He was
named to the first All-Star Game in 1933 on his way to batting .309 with 38
doubles, 16 triples, 7 home runs, and 70 RBIs. He won a second league batting
title in 1934 by hitting .362 and also topping the circuit with 122 runs and
217 hits. The hard-partying and hard-drinking Waner was a .321 hitter in 1935
and won his third batting title in 1936 with a .373 average and 218 hits that
included 53 doubles. He had one last big year at age 34 in 1937 as he batted
.354 and placed eighth in NL MVP balloting. The Pirates narrowly missed the NL
pennant in 1938 while Waner’s average dropped to .280 and he scored 77 runs. He
hit better in 1939 with a .328 average. After suffering a knee injury in 1940,
Waner became a part-time player and was limited to 89 games. Released in the
offseason, he played for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Boston Braves in 1941 and hit
a combined .267. With the Braves in 1942 he achieved his 3000th
career hit in a year in which he batted .258 in 114 games. Let go by the Braves
in the offseason, Waner returned to Brooklyn in 1943 and batted .311 in 82
games. He spent 1944 with the Dodgers and New York Yankees, who wanted him as a
bat off the bench in the final month of the season. He came to bat once for the
Yankees in 1945 and retired. For his major league career, Waner batted .333
with 3152 hits that included 605 doubles, 191 triples, and 113 home runs. He
reached 200 hits eight times. His excellence at hitting in the gaps and down
the lines to maximize his hits resulted in his high totals of doubles and
triples. He topped the NL twice apiece in doubles and triples and reached
double figures in triples ten times. He further compiled 1309 RBIs and scored
1627 runs while drawing 1091 walks. With the Pirates he batted .340 with 2868
hits, 558 doubles, 187 triples, 109 home runs, 1177 RBIs, with 1493 runs. 1927
marked his only World Series appearance. Waner was a four-time All-Star who
finished in the top 15 in NL MVP voting seven times. He was inducted into the
Baseball Hall of Fame in 1952 and his brother Lloyd joined him in 1967, two
years after “Big Poison” died at age 62. The Pirates belatedly retired his #11 in
2007.
--
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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