MVP Profile: Bob O’Farrell, 1926

Catcher, St. Louis Cardinals

Age:  29

2^nd season with Cardinals (1^st complete)

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 5’9”    Weight: 180 

Prior to 1926:

A native of Waukegan, Illinois, O’Farrell participated in sports throughout his youth up through high school. Joining Waukegan’s semipro baseball team after high school he showed enough talent as a catcher to gain the notice of future Hall of Famer Roger Bresnahan, who was finishing his career with the Chicago Cubs when they arrived for an exhibition game against the Waukegan team in 1915. Signed by the Cubs, O’Farrell appeared in two late-season games. Acting as a bullpen catcher for the Cubs in 1916, he was sent down to Peoria of the Class B Illinois-Indiana-Iowa (or Three I) League where he batted .287 and honed his skills behind the plate. Still with Peoria in 1917, O’Farrell hit .300 with 28 doubles and 5 triples. Returning to the Cubs in 1918, he was backup to regular catcher Bill Killefer and saw action in 52 games and batted .283 during the war-shortened season. The Cubs won the NL pennant and O’Farrell was hitless in three at bats during the World Series loss to the Boston Red Sox. He was again the backup catcher in 1919 and hit just .216 while appearing in 49 games. An injury to Killefer in 1920 allowed O’Farrell to start in 75 games and he went on to bat .248 with 29 runs scored and 19 RBIs while performing well defensively. Killefer became player/manager of the Cubs during the 1921 season and O’Farrell saw more action behind the plate. He hit .250 with 23 extra-base hits and 32 RBIs. Laid-back and not prone to arguing with umpires, he became known for his defensive prowess which included a strong throwing arm and the ability to block pitches in the dirt. He was also an able handler of pitchers. In 1922 his batting average rose to .324 while he produced 18 doubles, 8 triples, 4 home runs, and 60 RBIs. He also led NL catchers with 119 starts, 446 putouts, 143 assists, and 22 double plays while also throwing out 66% of baserunners attempting to steal. O’Farrell followed up with another strong season in 1923, batting .319 with 25 doubles, 12 home runs, and 84 RBIs. He again led NL catchers by appearing in 124 games and totaling 118 assists. During the 1924 season, a concussion knocked him out of action for three weeks and he lost his starting job to Gabby Hartnett. Limited to 71 games, his average dropped to .240. During the 1925 season the Cubs traded O’Farrell to the Cardinals for two players. Back in a starting role in St. Louis, he hit .278 in 94 games for his new club and impressed with his defensive prowess as well. The Cardinals were very much a team on the rise heading into 1926.   

1926 Season Summary

Appeared in 147 games

C – 146, PH – 2

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 567

At Bats – 492

Runs – 63

Hits – 144

Doubles – 30 [13, tied with Heinie Sand & Charlie Grimm]

Triples – 9 [18, tied with Fred Lindstrom, Rube Bressler & Bill Marriott]

Home Runs – 7

RBI – 68

Bases on Balls – 61 [6, tied with Rogers Hornsby]

Int. BB – N/A

Strikeouts – 44 [12, tied with Johnny Butler]

Stolen Bases – 1

Caught Stealing – N/A

Average - .293

OBP - .371 [12]

Slugging Pct. - .433 [17]

Total Bases – 213

GDP – N/A

Hit by Pitch – 0

Sac Hits – 14

Sac Flies – N/A

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 13, 3B – 5, HR - 4, RBI - 30, AVG - .268, OBP – .362

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 5 AB) at Chi. Cubs 5/31

Longest hitting streak – 7 games

HR at home – 4

HR on road – 3

/Most home runs, game – 1 on seven occasions

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 4 vs. Phila. Phillies 5/21

Pinch-hitting: 1 for 2 (.500) with 1 RBI

Fielding

Chances – 593

Put Outs – 466

Assists – 117

Errors – 10

Passed Balls – 4

DP – 12

Pct. - .983

Postseason Batting: 7 G (World Series vs. NY Yankees)

PA – 26, AB – 23, R – 2, H – 7, 2B – 1, 3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 2, BB – 2, IBB – 0, SO – 2, SB – 0, CS – N/A, AVG - .304, OBP - .360, SLG - .348, TB – 8, GDP – N/A, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF – N/A

Awards & Honors:

NL MVP: League Award

Top 5 in NL MVP Voting:

Bob O’Farrell, St.LC.: 79 points – 99% share

Hughie Critz, Cin.: 60 points – 75% share

Ray Kremer, Pitt.: 32 points – 40% share

Tommy Thevenow, StLC.: 30 points – 38% share

Hack Wilson, ChiC.: 25 points – 31% share

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Cardinals went 89-65 to win the NL pennant by two games over the Cincinnati Reds, while leading the league in runs scored (817), hits (1541), home runs (90), RBIs (756), bases on balls drawn (478), and slugging (.415). The Cardinals, locked in a tight race with the Reds, benefited from the acquisition of 39-year-old, but still effective RHP Grover Cleveland “Pete” Alexander from the Cubs in June, who was utilized as a spot starter and reliever. A game up on the Reds on Sept. 1, the Cards finished the regular season with 24 straight road games and went 13-11 to hold off Cincinnati and nail down the franchise’s first pennant. Won World Series over the New York Yankees, 4 games to 3. Alexander’s complete game win in Game 6 was followed by his entering Game 7 with the bases loaded in the seventh inning; he struck out hard-hitting 2B Tony Lazzeri and finished the game, which ended with O’Farrell throwing out a stealing Babe Ruth to nail down the Series.

Aftermath of ‘26:

With the trade of player/manager Rogers Hornsby to the Giants in the offseason, O’Farrell was named player/manager of the Cardinals for 1927. Battling shoulder and thumb injuries, he was limited to 61 games and batted .264 while guiding the Cardinals to a second-place finish, close behind Pittsburgh. Relieved of his managerial duties in 1928, he was dealt to the Giants where he backed up starting catcher Shanty Hogan, and while still an adept fielder, his average dropped to .200. He rebounded to .306 in 91 games in 1929 and .301 in 94 games in 1930. O’Farrell remained with the Giants through 1932 after which he was traded back to the Cardinals. A backup catcher for the Cards in 1933, he was dealt to Cincinnati in 1934, where he once again became a player/manager. With the Reds at 30-60 in late July, O’Farrell was fired and joined the Cubs in August. For the year he played in a total of 66 games and hit .237. He returned to the Cardinals in 1935, appeared in only 14 games and retired at age 39. For his major league career, O’Farrell batted .273 with 1120 hits that included 201 doubles, 58 triples, and 51 home runs. He scored 517 runs and compiled 549 RBIs along with a .360 on-base percentage and .388 slugging percentage. Always valued for his defensive prowess, he had a lifetime fielding percentage of .976 and threw out 48% of baserunners who attempted to steal against him. With the Cardinals he batted .271 with 329 hits, 58 doubles, 14 triples, 12 home runs, 142 RBIs, 141 runs scored, a .357 OBP, and a .372 slugging percentage. Appearing in 10 World Series games with the Cubs and Cardinals, he hit .269 with two RBIs. Following his playing career, he returned to Waukegan where the avid bowler operated a bowling and billiards hall. O’Farrell died in 1988 at the age of 91.   

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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.