First Baseman, Boston Red Sox
Age: 30
3rd season
with Red Sox
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’0” Weight: 195
Prior to 1938:
A native of
Maryland (hence one of his later nicknames, “the Maryland Strong Boy”), Foxx
was the son of tenant farmers and played baseball for a town team in his youth.
A strong and powerfully-built athlete who was a deceptively fast runner, he
excelled in soccer and track as well as baseball in school. Signed as a catcher
by the nearby Easton team of the Class D Eastern Shore League, the 16-year-old
Foxx appeared in 76 games and batted .296 with 10 home runs. Manager Frank
“Home Run” Baker recommended him to his former team, the Athletics, who he
joined in 1925. With no question as to his ability to hit while playing as a
reserve catcher and pinch-hitter, Foxx was sent to Newark/Providence of the
International League to get more playing time. He hit .327 while missing time
due to an injured shoulder. Sticking with the A’s in 1926, Foxx was stuck
behind up-and-coming star catcher Mickey Cochrane and was occasionally used in
the outfield. Appearing in 26 games he batted .313. Still a part-time player in
1927, Foxx began to be used at first base and hit .323 with three home runs and
20 RBIs while accumulating 130 at bats. Splitting time at first and third base
in 1928, he batted .328 with 29 doubles, 10 triples, 13 home runs, and 79 RBIs.
He received MVP votes for the first time as the rising A’s contended for the
pennant. The A’s won the pennant in 1929 with Foxx as the regular first baseman
and he contributed 33 home runs, 118 RBIs, and a .354 batting average and
league-leading .463 on-base percentage. In the five-game World Series triumph
over the Cubs Foxx hit .350 with two home runs and 5 RBIs. 1930 was another
pennant-winning year for the A’s and Foxx batted .335 with 37 home runs and 156
RBIs. In the six-game World Series triumph over the St. Louis Cardinals, Foxx’s
two-run ninth inning home run in Game 5 broke up a scoreless game and put
Philadelphia in command of the Series. The A’s made it three straight pennants
in 1931 while the slugging first baseman hit .291 with 30 home runs and 120
RBIs. He added a home run, three RBIs, and .348 average in the World Series
rematch with the Cardinals, won by St. Louis in seven games. Good-natured and
generous to a fault off the field, Foxx earned the nickname “The Beast” for his
prodigious hitting on the field, including long and towering home runs that
rivaled those of Babe Ruth of the Yankees. The A’s dropped to second in 1932
but Foxx received AL MVP honors as he batted .364 while leading the league with
151 runs scored, 58 home runs, 169 RBIs, a .749 slugging percentage, and 438
total bases. “Double X” followed up with another MVP season in 1933 in which he
also won the AL Triple Crown with 48 home runs, 163 RBIs, and a .356 batting
average. He also topped the circuit with a .703 slugging percentage and 403
total bases. Along the way Foxx was selected for the first All-Star Game. With
the A’s selling off top talent due to the Depression, the club dropped to third
in ’33 and fifth in 1934 when Foxx batted .334 with 44 home runs and 130 RBIs
while drawing 111 walks. He started at third base in the All-Star Game due to
the presence of New York’s Lou Gehrig at first, although he rarely played that
position. He was back at catcher to start the 1935 season, although he later
returned to first base in a year in which he hit .346 while tying for the AL
lead in home runs with 36 and accumulating 115 RBIs. The A’s dropped into last
place, after which they dealt Foxx, the last remaining star from the 1929, ’30,
and ‘31 pennant-winning teams, to the Red Sox for two players and $150,000. In
1936 with his new club, where he received a raise in pay to $25,000, “The
Beast” batted .338 with 41 home runs and 143 RBIs, while leading the AL by
striking out 119 times. Troubled by sinus problems in 1937 he dropped to .285
with 36 home runs and 127 RBIs as speculation grew that he was on the downside
of his career at age 29.
1938 Season Summary
Appeared in 149
games
1B – 149
[Bracketed
numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 685 [9]
At Bats – 565 [18]
Runs – 139 [2]
Hits – 197 [3,
tied with Mel Almada]
Doubles – 33 [13,
tied with Red Kress]
Triples – 9 [9,
tied with four others]
Home Runs – 50
[2]
RBI – 175 [1]
Bases on Balls
– 119 [1, tied with Hank Greenberg]
Int. BB – 12
[2]
Strikeouts – 76
[5]
Stolen Bases – 5
Caught Stealing
– 4
Average - .349
[1]
OBP - .462 [1]
Slugging Pct. -
.704 [1]
Total Bases – 398
[1]
GDP – N/A
Hit by Pitches
– 0
Sac Hits – 1
Sac Flies – N/A
League-leading
RBIs were +28 ahead of runner-up Hank Greenberg
League-leading
batting average was +.006 ahead of runner-up Jeff Heath
League-leading
OBP was +.008 ahead of runner-up Buddy Myer
League-leading
slugging percentage w+18 as +.021 ahead of runner-up Hank Greenberg
League-leading
total bases were +18 ahead of runner-up Hank Greenberg
Midseason
snapshot: 2B – 13, HR – 23, RBI – 89, AVG – .347., SLG – .705, OBP – .461
Most hits, game
– 4 (in 4 AB) at Chi. White Sox 6/19, (in 4 AB) vs. St. Louis Browns 7/17, (in
4 AB) at Cleveland 9/17
Longest hitting
streak – 10 games
HR at home – 35
HR on road – 15
Most home runs,
game – 2 on ten occasions
Multi-HR games
– 10
Most RBIs, game
– 8 vs. NY Yankees 9/7
Pinch-hitting –
No appearances
Fielding
Chances – 1417
Put Outs – 1282
Assists – 116
Errors – 19
DP – 153
Pct. - .987
Awards & Honors:
AL MVP: BBWAA
All-Star (Started
for AL at 1B)
Top 5 in AL MVP
Voting:
Jimmie Foxx,
Bos.: 305 points - 19 of 22 first place votes, 91% share
Bill Dickey,
NYY.: 196 points – 3 first place votes, 58% share
Hank Greenberg,
Det.: 162 points – 48% share
Red Ruffing,
NYY: 146 points – 43% share
Bobo Newsom,
StLB.: 111 points – 33% share
Red Sox went 88-61 to finish second in the AL, 9.5 games behind the
pennant-winning New York Yankees, while leading the league in batting (299) and
on-base percentage (.378).
Aftermath of ‘38:
Foxx was MVP
runner-up in 1939 when he topped the circuit with 35 home runs and further hit
.360 with 105 RBIs. His .464 on-base percentage and .694 slugging percentage
were also AL-topping numbers in a year in which he was joined in the lineup by
rookie outfielder Ted Williams. “Double X” remained a solid, All-Star caliber
player in 1940, when he batted .297 with 36 home runs and 119 RBIs, and 1941
when he hit .300 with 19 home runs and 105 RBIs, although he was drinking
heavily and having sinus and vision difficulties. Challenged for the starting
first base job in 1942 by young Tony Lupien, Foxx also suffered a broken rib
and was waived by the Red Sox on June 1. Sold to the Chicago Cubs, he appeared
in 100 games during the season and hit a combined .226 with 8 home runs and 33
RBIs. After announcing his retirement, Foxx missed the 1943 season before
returning to the Cubs in 1944. He was released in July and returned to
Philadelphia, this time with the Phillies, in 1945, where he finished his
career by batting .268 with 7 home runs and 38 RBIs. For his major league
career, Foxx batted .325 with 2646 hits that included 458 doubles, 125 triples,
and 534 home runs, which were the second most in major league history until
1966. He scored 1751 runs and compiled 1922 RBIs while drawing 1452 walks. He
had a .428 on-base percentage and .609 slugging percentage. With the Red Sox
his totals were .320 with 1051 hits, 181 doubles, 45 triples, 222 home runs, 721
runs scored, 788 RBIs, and 624 walks. He reached 50 home runs twice, 40 on five
occasions, and 30 twelve times. In 18 World Series games (all with the A’s) he
hit .344 with 4 home runs and 11 RBIs. In addition to his three MVP awards,
Foxx was a nine-time All-Star (the first nine ever played, three with the A’s).
He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1951. After his playing
career he briefly coached and managed in the minor leagues and he also managed
the Fort Wayne Daisies of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
in 1952. He drifted from job to job and struggled financially until his death
at age 59 in 1967.
---
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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