MVP Profile: Joe Medwick, 1937

Outfielder, St. Louis Cardinals

 Age:  25

6^th season with Cardinals

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 5’10” Weight: 187

Prior to 1937:

A native of Carteret, New Jersey, Medwick was a four-sport star in high school, participating in track, football, and basketball, as well as baseball. Preferring baseball, he signed with the Cardinals as an 18-year-old in 1930. Playing under an assumed name to protect his amateur status (since he harbored an unrealized ambition to play football for Notre Dame), Medwick was first assigned to the Scottdale Scotties of the Class C Middle Atlantic League where, in 75 games, he batted .419 with 22 home runs. Advancing to the Houston Buffaloes of the Class A Texas League in 1931, he hit .305 with 47 doubles and 19 home runs, leading the league with 308 total bases. Still with Houston in 1932, Medwick batted .354 with 46 doubles, 10 triples, and 26 home runs, thus leading the league with a .611 slugging percentage. During his time in Houston he was tagged with the nickname “Ducky Wucky” that was shortened to “Ducky” due to his duck-like walk. He disliked the monicker, but it stuck with sportswriters from then on. Receiving a late-season call-up from the Cardinals, he hit .349 in 26 games with 12 RBIs and a .538 slugging percentage. A capable defensive outfielder with a strong arm in addition to his batting prowess, he stuck with the Cardinals in 1933 and batted .306 with 40 doubles, 10 triples, 18 home runs, and 98 RBIs. As the left fielder for the 1934 pennant-winning club known as the “Gas House Gang”, Medwick was an All-Star for the first time and hit .319 with 40 doubles, a league-leading 18 triples, 18 home runs, and 106 RBIs. Known for his hot temper and aggressive play, he enraged Detroit fans in Game 7 of the World Series against the Tigers with his hard slide into third baseman Marv Owen. When he next took his position in left field, the fans greeted him with a barrage of garbage, mostly fruit and soda bottles, in addition to raucous booing which caused play to be halted and Commissioner Landis removed him from the game, which the Cardinals won. St. Louis slipped to second in 1935 but Medwick batted .353 with 46 doubles, 13 triples, 23 home runs, 126 RBIs, and a league best 365 total bases. He placed fifth in league MVP voting. “Muscles” (his preferred nickname) had another big year in 1936, leading the NL in hits (223), doubles (a record 64), RBIs (138), and total bases (367) to go along with 13 triples and 18 home runs. He placed fourth in National League MVP balloting. By 1937 Medwick was one of the top hitters in the NL and one of the most despised by opposing players and even some of his teammates, who he also fought with.  

1937 Season Summary

Appeared in 156 games

LF – 156

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 677 [5]

At Bats – 633 [1]

Runs – 111 [1]

Hits – 237 [1]

Doubles – 56 [1]

Triples – 10 [6, tied with six others]

Home Runs – 31 [1, tied with Mel Ott]

RBI – 154 [1]

Bases on Balls – 41

Int. BB – 13 [2, tied with Elbie Fletcher & Gabby Hartnett]

Strikeouts – 50

Stolen Bases – 4

Caught Stealing – 5

Average - .374 [1]

OBP - .414 [3]

Slugging Pct. - .641 [1]

Total Bases – 406 [1]

GDP – 11

Hit by Pitches – 2

Sac Hits – 1

Sac Flies – N/A

League-leading at bats were +14 ahead of runner-up Paul Waner

League-leading runs scored were +5 ahead of runners-up Stan Hack & Billy Herman

League-leading hits were +18 ahead of runner-up Paul Waner

League-leading doubles were +16 ahead of runner-up Johnny Mize

League-leading RBIs were +39 ahead of runner-up Frank Demaree

League-leading batting average was +.010 ahead of runner-up Johnny Mize

League-leading slugging percentage was +.046 ahead of runner-up Johnny Mize

League-leading total bases were +73 ahead of runner-up Johnny Mize

Midseason snapshot: HR - 17, RBI - 81, AVG - .404, SLG PCT - .697

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Most hits, game – 4 on eight occasions

Longest hitting streak – 15 games

Most HR, game – 2 (in 5 AB) at Phila. Phillies 5/12, (in 5 AB) vs. Boston Bees 6/19, (in 5 AB) vs. Phila. Phillies 8/7, (in 4 AB) vs. Phila. Phillies 8/8

HR at home – 18

HR on road – 13

Multi-HR games – 4

Most RBIs, game – 5 at Boston Bees 5/5, at Phila. Phillies 5/12, vs. Boston Bees 6/19, vs. Phila. Phillies 8/7

Pinch-hitting – 2 of 4 (.500) with 1 R

Fielding

Chances – 342

Put Outs – 329

Assists – 9

Errors – 4

DP – 1

Pct. - .988 

Awards & Honors:

NL MVP: BBWAA

All-Star (Started for NL in LF)

Top 5 in NL MVP Voting:

Joe Medwick, StLC.: 70 pts. - 2 of 8 first place votes, 88% share

Gabby Hartnett, ChiC.: 68 pts. – 3 first place votes, 85% share

Carl Hubbell, NYG: 52 pts. – 1 first place votes, 65% share

Jim Turner, BosB.: 30 pts. – 38% share

Lou Fette, BosB.: 29 pts. – 36% share

(1 first place vote apiece for Dick Bartell, NYG, who ranked sixth and Harry Danning, NYG, who ranked 14^th)

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Cardinals went 81-73 to finish fourth in the NL, 15 games behind the pennant-winning New York Giants, while leading the league in doubles (264) and stolen bases (78). The fast-starting Cardinals were in first place at the end of April and were a close second on June 27 before falling out of contention despite Medwick’s Triple Crown heroics.

Aftermath of ‘37:

Medwick’s hitting remained impressive in 1938 as he led the NL with 47 doubles and 122 RBIs while batting .322 with 21 home runs. He placed eleventh in league MVP voting. With his salary lowered from $20,000 to $18,000 in 1939 by tight-fisted St. Louis owner Sam Breadon, his relationship with the club soured while he still hit .332 with 48 doubles, 14 home runs, and 117 RBIs and his on-base percentage rose from .369 to .380. During the 1940 season, Medwick was traded to the Brooklyn Dodgers along with RHP Curt Davis for four players and cash. The first time he faced the Cardinals he was severely beaned by RHP Bob Bowman, which ignited a brawl and put Medwick in the hospital with a concussion. He quickly returned to action and was an All-Star for the seventh consecutive season on his way to batting .301 with 17 home runs and 86 RBIs for the year. With the pennant-winning Dodgers in 1941, he hit .318 with 33 doubles, 10 triples, 18 home runs, and 88 RBIs. He batted only .235 in the five-game World Series loss to the Yankees. With his home run total dropping to four in 1942, Medwick still hit .300 with 37 doubles and 96 RBIs. Waived by the Dodgers midway through the 1943 season, he moved across town to the New York Giants and for the year hit .278 with 30 doubles, 5 home runs, and 70 RBIs. With the Giants in 1944 his average jumped to .337 with 7 home runs and he was an All-Star for the last time. Traded to the Boston Braves during the 1945 season, the fading Medwick batted a combined .290 with 20 extra base hits. He returned to Brooklyn in 1946 and finished his career back with the Cardinals in 1947 and ’48 at age 36. For his major league career, Medwick batted .324 with 2471 hits that included 540 doubles, 113 triples, and 205 home runs. He scored 1198 runs and compiled 1383 RBIs and a .362 OBP with a .505 slugging percentage. With the Cardinals he batted .335 with 811 runs scored, 1590 hits, 377 doubles, 81 triples, 152 home runs, 923 RBIs, a .372 OBP, and a .545 slugging percentage. Appearing in 12 World Series games, he hit .326 with a home run and 5 RBIs. A 10-time All-Star, Medwick finished in the top 10 in MVP voting four times, with the one win. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1968. He became a minor league player/manager in the years immediately following the end of his major league career. He later served as a spring batting instructor for the Cardinals until his death in 1975 at age 63. A pugnacious player, he came to be more appreciated long after his career ended and his surliness faded from memory.

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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.