MVP Profile: Mickey Cochrane, 1928

Catcher, Philadelphia Athletics

Age:  25 (April 6)

4^th season with Athletics

Bats – Left, Throws – Right

Height: 5’10” Weight: 180 

Prior to 1928:

Cochrane, from Bridgewater, Massachusetts, played sandlot baseball and also excelled in football and basketball in high school and at Boston University. With baseball being the athletic option that had the best economic potential in the 1920s, he played under an assumed name with Dover of the Eastern Shore League while still in college in 1923, where he hit .322 in 65 games while performing at the unfamiliar position of catcher. Cochrane then signed with the Portland Beavers of the Pacific Coast League in 1924. Initially a poor fielding catcher, he established himself as a hitter, batting .333 for the Beavers. Drawing the attention of Philadelphia Athletics owner/manager Connie Mack, he joined the A’s in 1925 where he was painstakingly developed into a catcher, taking advantage of his excellent throwing arm, sharp mind, and leadership skills. He hit .331 as a rookie with 6 home runs and 55 RBIs. By 1928 Cochrane was a key player on an Athletics club that was on the rise and an excellent all-around catcher who was a fine handler of pitchers.

1928 Season Summary

Appeared in 131 games

C – 130, PH – 2

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 571

At Bats – 468

Runs – 92 [10]

Hits – 137

Doubles – 26

Triples – 12 [10, tied with Willie Kamm & Harry Rice]

Home Runs – 10 [12, tied with Tony Lazzeri, Pinky Hargrave & Otis Brannan]

RBI – 57

Bases on Balls – 76 [8]

Int. BB – 3 [8, tied with fourteen others]

Strikeouts – 25

Stolen Bases – 7

Caught Stealing – 5

Average - .293

OBP - .395 [10, tied with Charlie Gehringer]

Slugging Pct. - .464 [10]

Total Bases – 217

GDP – N/A

Hit by Pitches – 3

Sac Hits – 21 [12, tied with Bill Regan, Fred Schulte & Joe Boley]

Sac Flies – N/A

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 11, 3B – 7, HR - 7, RBI - 29, AVG. - .308, OBP – .422, SLG - .523

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 5 AB) vs. St. Louis Browns 5/10, (in 5 AB) at Cleveland 6/14

Longest hitting streak – 9 games

HR at home – 6

HR on road – 4

Most home runs, game – 1 on ten occasions

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 4 at Cleveland 6/14

Pinch-hitting – 0 for 2 (.000) with 1 RBI

Fielding

Chances – 741

Put Outs – 645

Assists – 71

Errors – 25

Passed Balls – 8

DP – 8

Pct. - .966

Awards & Honors:

AL MVP: League Award 

Top 5 in AL MVP Voting:

Mickey Cochrane, PhilaA: 53 points – 83% share

Heinie Manush, StLB.: 51 points – 80% share

Joe Judge, Wash.: 27 points – 42% share

Tony Lazzeri, NYY: 27 points – 42% share

Willie Kamm, ChiWS: 15 points – 23% share

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Athletics went 98-55 to finish second in the AL, 2.5 games behind the pennant-winning New York Yankees while leading the league in doubles (326). The A’s were 13.5 games behind the Yankees after losing a double header at Yankee Stadium on July 1, but the club overcame nagging injuries to go 25-8 in July and 19-9 in August to climb into contention as the Yankees slumped. Moving into first place on September 8, the A’s lost three straight in New York and went 9-5 the rest of the way to finish a close second.

Aftermath of 1928:

The presence of the tenacious Cochrane played no small part in the A’s winning three straight pennants from 1929 to ’31, including two World Series triumphs. He remained with the Athletics through 1933, a season in which he hit .322 and drew 106 walks. He had an excellent batting eye and rarely struck out. With the A’s shedding talent to stay afloat financially, Cochrane was traded to Detroit for a player and $100,000. The Tigers named him player/manager, hoping his intensity and winning background would help to elevate a team that had not won a pennant since 1909. The result was a first place finish for Detroit in 1934 and MVP recognition for Cochrane, who batted .320 with 32 doubles, 2 home runs, 75 RBIs, and a .428 OBP while performing well behind the plate. Detroit lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in a seven-game World Series. The Tigers won the pennant again in 1935, with Cochrane batting .319 and finishing seventh in the AL MVP voting. This time Detroit went on to defeat the Cubs in the World Series where Cochrane hit .292. For his efforts he was promoted to general manager in addition to his manager and player duties which caused him to suffer a nervous breakdown in 1936, a season in which he hit .270 in 44 games and Detroit finished in second place. Upon returning to action in 1937 a severe beaning nearly killed him and finished off his playing career. He managed again in 1938 until he was fired in August, leaving the Tigers with a 348-250 record that included two pennants and a World Series title. Overall, as a player, Cochrane batted .320 with 1652 hits that included 333 doubles, 64 triples, and 119 home runs. He also accumulated 830 RBIs and drew 857 walks while rarely striking out (217 strikeouts in 5169 at bats). His production with the A's alone amounted to a .321 average on 1317 hits with 250 doubles, 59 triples, 108 home runs, and 680 RBIs. Appearing in 31 World Series games, he hit .245 with 2 home runs and 7 RBIs. His value as an on-field leader and abilities as a catcher were the key factors in his winning two MVP awards during his career. In retirement Cochrane joined the Navy during World War II and managed the baseball team at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center. Later he briefly returned to the Athletics in a front office role. Widely considered to be the best catcher of his era, Cochrane was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1947, 15 years before his death from cancer at age 59.  

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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.