MVP Profile: Jimmie Foxx, 1933

First Baseman, Philadelphia Athletics

Age:  25

7^th season with Athletics

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’0”    Weight: 195 

Prior to 1933:

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 A’s, 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.

1933 Season Summary

Appeared in 149 games

1B – 149, SS – 1

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 670 [10]

At Bats – 573 [13]

Runs – 125 [2]

Hits – 204 [2, tied with Charlie Gehringer]

Doubles – 37 [9]

Triples – 9 [20, tied with Marv Owen]

Home Runs – 48 [1]

RBI – 163 [1]

Bases on Balls – 96 [4]

Int. BB – 9 [1, tied with Bill Dickey]

Strikeouts – 93 [1]

Stolen Bases – 2

Caught Stealing – 2

Average - .356 [1]

OBP - .449 [2]

Slugging Pct. - .703 [1]

Total Bases – 403 [1]

GDP – N/A

Hit by Pitches – 1

Sac Hits – 0

Sac Flies – N/A

League-leading home runs were +14 ahead of runner-up Babe Ruth

League-leading RBIs were +23 ahead of runner-up Lou Gehrig

League-leading batter strikeouts were +3 ahead of runner-up Babe Ruth

League-leading batting average was +.020 ahead of runner-up Heinie Manush

League-leading slugging percentage was +.098 ahead of runner-up Lou Gehrig

League-leading total bases were +44 ahead of runner-up Lou Gehrig

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 21, 3B – 4, HR – 24, RBI – 69, AVG - .365, SLG - .744, OBP - .462

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Most hits, game – 5 (in 5 AB) at Bos. Red Sox 4/24, (in 5 AB) at St. Louis Browns 6/30

Longest hitting streak – 19 games

HR at home – 31

HR on road – 17

Most home runs, game – 3 (in 4 AB) vs. NY Yankees 6/8

Multi-HR games – 7

Most RBIs, game – 9 at Cleveland 8/14

Pinch-hitting – No appearances

Fielding

Chances – 1510

Put Outs – 1402

Assists – 93

Errors – 15

DP – 98

Pct. - .990

Awards & Honors:

AL MVP: BBWAA

All-Star

Top 5 in AL MVP Voting:

Jimmie Foxx, PhilaA.: 74 points – 4 of 8 first place votes, 93% share

Joe Cronin, Wash.: 62 points – 2 first place votes, 78% share

Heinie Manush, Wash.: 54 points – 2 first place votes, 68% share

Lou Gehrig, NYY: 39 points – 49% share

Lefty Grove, PhilaA.: 35 points – 44% share

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Athletics went 79-72 to finish third in the AL, 19.5 games behind the pennant-winning Washington Senators while leading the league in doubles (298), batter strikeouts (620), slugging (.441), and total bases (2348). The A’s started slowly during a 6-10 April but pulled into contention in May. Mediocre during the summer months, an 18-9 finish and Foxx’s Triple Crown performance couldn’t pull the good-hitting but error-prone and pitching-challenged club above third place.

Aftermath of 1933:

With the Athletics selling off talent due to the Depression, the club dropped to fifth in 1934 when “Double X” 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 1929-30-31 pennant-winning teams, to the Boston 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. Foxx followed up with his third MVP season in 1938 as he led the league by batting .349 with 175 RBIs and he also clubbed 50 home runs for the second place Red Sox. He 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 A’s his totals were .339 with 1492 hits, 257 doubles, 79 triples, 302 home runs, 975 runs scored, 1075 RBIs, and 781 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 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.

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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.