MVP Profile: Roger Peckinpaugh, 1925

Shortstop, Washington Senators

Age:  34

4^th season with Senators

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 5’10” Weight: 165

 

Prior to 1925:

An Ohio native, Peckinpaugh grew up in the same Cleveland neighborhood in which star second baseman Nap Lajoie resided, and who the youthful Peckinpaugh much admired. A good all-around athlete in high school, he played football and basketball as well as baseball. After graduating high school in 1909, Lajoie’s Cleveland Naps signed Peckinpaugh for $125 per month. Starting out with the New Haven Prairie Hens of the Class B Connecticut State League in 1910, the rangy young shortstop batted .255 with 17 doubles, 9 triples, and 5 home runs, earning a late-season trial with Cleveland, during which he hit .200 in 15 games. In need of further seasoning, he was sent to the Portland Beavers of the Pacific Coast League in 1911 where he batted .258 with 38 doubles, 15 triples, and 7 home runs. Earning a spot with Cleveland in 1912, Peckinpaugh hit just .212 in 70 games. Losing the starting shortstop job in 1913, he was traded to the New York Yankees in May and took over at shortstop there, hitting .268 and performing well defensively. With a strong arm and excellent range, he continued to develop in 1914, a year when he was named team captain due to his calm demeanor and natural leadership abilities, although his average dropped to .223. He stole 38 bases and ranked 23^rd in league MVP voting. He also served as player/manager for the last three weeks of the season following manager Frank Chance’s departure and despite his being only 23. Signed to a three-year deal at $6000 per year to keep him from potentially jumping to the rival Federal League, Peckinpaugh batted .220 in 1915 with 18 doubles, 7 triples, and 5 home runs while remaining proficient in the field. His glove work continued to outpace his hitting in 1916 as he topped AL shortstops in assists (468) and placed second in chances (796) and put outs (285), while batting .255 with 22 doubles, 8 triples, 4 home runs, and 58 RBIs. In 1917 Peckinpaugh’s average rose to .260 with 24 doubles and 7 triples. In the field he led league shortstops with 84 double plays while ranking third in chances (813), assists (467), and put outs (292). The results were similar in 1918 as his average dropped back to .231 and he topped AL shortstops in assists (439) and DPs (75). In 1919 Peckinpaugh hit .305 with 7 home runs while once again leading AL shortstops in assists (434) and double plays (64). With the Yankees in pennant contention in 1920, “Peck” batted .270 with 26 doubles, 6 triples, 8 home runs, and 54 RBIs. He was again among the league leaders defensively. The club won its first pennant in 1921 and the star shortstop hit .288 with 25 doubles, 7 triples, 8 home runs, and 72 RBIs. He also drew 84 walks, which helped him to a .380 OBP. In the World Series loss to the Giants, he performed poorly at bat and in the field and he was dealt to the Red Sox in the offseason, who turned around and traded him to the Senators. With his new club in 1922, Peckinpaugh batted .254 and provided solid defense and effective leadership. He followed up by hitting .264 in 1923 and, in 1924, Washington won the AL pennant while the veteran shortstop batted .272. He had an outstanding World Series performance against the Giants, batting .417 and making significant plays at shortstop while dealing with a left thigh injury.

 

1925 Season Summary

Appeared in 126 games

SS – 124, 1B – 1, PH – 1

 

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

 

Batting

Plate Appearances – 494

At Bats – 422

Runs – 67

Hits – 124

Doubles – 16

Triples – 4

Home Runs – 4

RBI – 64

Bases on Balls – 49

Int. Walks – N/A

Strikeouts – 23

Stolen Bases – 13 [15, tied with Bob Meusel & Ty Cobb]

Caught Stealing – 4

Average - .294

OBP - .367

Slugging Pct. - .379

Total Bases – 160

GDP – N/A

Hit by Pitches – 0

Sac Hits – 22 [12, tied with Bibb Falk & Bing Miller]

Sac Flies – N/A

 

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 6, HR – 1, RBI – 34, SB – 10, AVG – .278, OBP – .353

 

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 5 AB) at Cleveland 8/20 – 12 innings

Longest hitting streak – 7 games

HR at home – 0

HR on road – 4

Most home runs, game – 2 (in 4 AB) at Phila.A’s 9/9

Multi-HR games – 1

Most RBIs, game – 6 at Phila. A’s 9/9

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

 

Fielding

Chances – 588

Put Outs – 215

Assists – 345

Errors – 28

DP – 71

Pct. - .952

 

Postseason Batting: 7 G (World Series vs. Pittsburgh)

PA – 27, AB – 24, R – 1, H – 6, 2B – 1,3B – 0, HR – 1, RBI – 3, BB – 1, IBB – 0, SO – 2, SB – 1, CS – 1, AVG - .250, OBP - .280, SLG - .417, TB – 10, GDP – N/A, HBP – 0, SH – 1, SF – N/A

 

Awards & Honors:

AL MVP: League Award

 

Top 5 in AL MVP Voting:

Roger Peckinpaugh, Wash.: 45 pts. – 70% share

Al Simmons, PhilaA.: 41 pts. – 64% share

Joe Sewell, Clev.: 21 pts. – 33% share

Harry Heilmann, Det.: 20 pts. – 31% share

Harry Rice, StLB.: 18 pts. – 28% share

 

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Senators went 96-55 to win the AL pennant by 8.5 games over the Philadelphia Athletics while leading the league in stolen bases (135). The Senators built upon a 52-26 first half to cruise to a second straight pennant. Lost World Series to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4 games to 3, with Peckinpaugh, who already had been named AL MVP, committing a record 8 errors, three of which directly led to Washington losses, including one in the deciding seventh game that was played in inclement weather.

 

Aftermath of ‘25:

With his legs increasingly causing him trouble, Peckinpaugh played one more season for the Senators in 1926 and finished his playing career with the Chicago White Sox in 1927. For his major league career, Peckinpaugh batted .259 with 1876 hits that included 256 doubles, 75 triples, and 48 home runs. He scored 1006 runs and compiled 740 RBIs and 205 stolen bases. With the Senators he batted .267 with 293 runs scored, 583 hits, 72 doubles, 18 triples, 11 home runs, 261 RBIs, and 46 stolen bases. He appeared in three World Series, in which his performances were a mixed bag, in the field and at bat. He hit .250 in 19 games with a home run and 5 RBIs. Peckinpaugh received MVP votes after four seasons. Much respected for his leadership qualities, he went on to manage the Cleveland Indians from 1928 to ’33, and then again in 1941. His overall major league managerial record, including his brief stint with the Yankees in 1914, was 500-491. Afterward he also managed minor league teams until leaving baseball in 1946. Peckinpaugh died in 1977 at age 86.

 

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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.

 

MVP Profile: Rogers Hornsby, 1925

 Second Baseman, St. Louis Cardinals

Age:  29 (April 27)

10^th season with Cardinals

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 5’11” Weight: 175

 

Prior to 1925:

A Texas native, Hornsby grew up in Fort Worth where he played youth baseball with a local team in his neighborhood. At 15 he joined an adult team in the Fort Worth City League. He would occasionally hire out to play for other area teams. In 1909 Hornsby entered North Side High School where he played football in addition to baseball. Tall and skinny, at this point he was more adept as a fielder than as a hitter. Following a short, failed trial with the Dallas Steers of the Texas League in 1914, Hornsby caught on with a team in Hugo, Oklahoma that was part of the Class D Texas-Oklahoma League. He played shortstop at $75 per month until the club folded after 51 games. The Denison Champions of the same circuit purchased his contract. He remained with Denison, now in the Class D Western Association, in 1915 where he batted .277. Despite committing 58 errors at shortstop, he received a late-season call-up to the Cardinals where he hit .246 in 18 games and remained error-prone in the field. After an offseason of building himself up working on his uncle’s farm, Hornsby made the Cardinals in 1916, the cocky 20-year-old impressing with his exuberant attitude and hustle. Choking up on the bat and standing deep in the batter’s box, he began hitting effectively to all fields. He split time in the field between shortstop and third base. For the year he batted .313 with 17 doubles, 15 triples, 6 home runs, and 65 RBIs. Playing exclusively at shortstop in 1917, Hornsby topped the NL with 17 triples, a .484 slugging percentage, and 253 total bases, to go along with 8 home runs, 66 RBIs, a .327 batting average, and a .385 on-base percentage. The Cards were a last-place club in 1918 and Hornsby’s performance dropped off to .281 with 19 doubles, 11 triples, 5 home runs, and 60 RBIs. Still primarily playing at shortstop, he committed 46 errors in the war-shortened 115-game season. Hornsby followed up with a better season in 1919, hitting .318 with 9 triples, 8 home runs, and 71 RBIs while splitting time at third base, shortstop, and second base. His defense remained the weakest part of his game. He was the full-time second baseman in 1920, leading the league in hits (218), doubles (44), RBIs (94), batting (.370), OBP (.431), slugging (.559), and total bases (329). He also led all NL second basemen by committing 34 errors, but his offensive production more than made up for it. 1920 marked the beginning of a stretch of six consecutive batting titles for Hornsby (.397 in 1921, .401 in 1922, .384 in 1923, .424 in 1924, and .403 in 1925). In 1921 and ’22 he also led the circuit in runs scored (131 and 141, respectively), hits (235 and 250), doubles (44 and 46), RBIs (126 and 152), and total bases (378 and 450). Hitting more for power as well as average, Hornsby led the NL with 42 home runs in 1922. Off the field, his first marriage ended in divorce amid a flurry of legal actions. In addition he feuded with Cardinals management and was fined $500 and suspended for five games during the 1923 season. A fanatic for conditioning, he consumed red meat in copious amounts  and also abstained from drinking and tobacco, refusing to attend movies because he feared they would damage his eyesight. Following the 1924 season he was rewarded with a three-year, $100,000 contract which made him one of the four highest paid players in the National and American Leagues.  

 

 

1925 Season Summary

Appeared in 138 games

2B – 136, PH – 2

 

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

 

Batting

Plate Appearances – 606 [16]

At Bats – 504

Runs – 133 [2]

Hits – 203 [4]

Doubles – 41 [4, tied with Dick Burrus]

Triples – 10 [12, tied with Glenn Wright, Dick Cox & Howard Freigau]

Home Runs – 39 [1]

RBI – 143 [1]

Bases on Balls – 83 [2]

Int. BB – N/A

Strikeouts – 39 [15, tied with Jack Fournier]

Stolen Bases – 5

Caught Stealing – 3

Average - .403 [1]

OBP - .489 [1]

Slugging Pct. - .756 [1]

Total Bases – 381 [1]

GDP – N/A

Hit by Pitches – 2

Sac Hits – 16 [7, tied with Howard Freigau]

Sac Flies – N/A

 

League-leading home runs were +15 ahead of runner-up Gabby Hartnett

League-leading RBIs were +13 ahead of runner-up Jack Fournier

League-leading batting average was +.036 ahead of runner-up Jim Bottomley

League-leading OBP was +.043 ahead of runner-up Jack Fournier

League-leading slugging percentage was +.158 ahead of runner-up Kiki Cuyler

League-leading total bases were +12 ahead of runner-up Kiki Cuyler

 

Midseason snapshot: HR - 22, RBI - 75, AVG - .425., SLG - .799

 

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Most hits, game – 4 on five occasions

Longest hitting streak – 14 games

HR at home – 24

HR on road – 15

Most home runs, game – 2 (in 5 AB) vs. Chi. Cubs 5/3, (in 5 AB) vs. NY Giants 6/4, (in 5 AB) vs. Pittsburgh 6/24, (in 4 AB) vs. Phila. Phillies 8/9

Multi-HR games – 4

Most RBIs, game – 4 on five occasions

Pinch-hitting – 0 of 2 (.000) with 1 RBI & 1 BB

 

Fielding

Chances – 737

Put Outs – 287

Assists – 416

Errors – 34

DP – 95

Pct. - .954

 

Awards & Honors:

NL MVP: League Award

 

Top 5 in NL MVP Voting:

Rogers Hornsby, StLC.: 73 pts. - 91% share

Kiki Cuyler, Pitt.: 61 pts. – 76% share

George Kelly, NYG: 52 pts. – 65% share

Glenn Wright, Pitt.: 43 pts. – 54% share

Dazzy Vance, Brook.: 42 pts. – 53% share

 

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Cardinals went 77-76 to finish fourth in the NL, 18 games behind the pennant-winning Pittsburgh Pirates. Mired at 13-25 when Branch Rickey was removed as manager (staying on as general manager) and replaced by Hornsby, the Cardinals went 64-51 the rest of the way, boosted by the player/manager’s Triple Crown-winning performance.

 

Aftermath of ‘25:

Remaining as player/manager in 1926, “the Rajah” (short for “Rajah of Swat” in contrast to Babe Ruth’s “Sultan of Swat”) guided the Cardinals to their first pennant while hindered by various injuries. He batted .317 with 11 home runs and 93 RBIs. St. Louis went on to defeat the Yankees in the World Series. Having received accolades for his performance as player/manager, Hornsby sought a major raise and angrily rejected a counter-offer from owner Sam Breadon. The result was that the Cardinals dealt the cantankerous Hornsby to the New York Giants for star second baseman Frankie Frisch. Hornsby hit well for his new club in 1927, batting .361 with 26 home runs and 125 RBIs. He also drew a league-leading 86 walks, which helped him to a NL-high .448 on-base percentage. He also clashed with manager John McGraw and owner Horace Stoneham. Hornsby enjoyed horse racing and tended to bet heavily on the horses, which got him called on the carpet by Commissioner Landis, who he dressed down for his stock market investing. Despite his solid season with the bat (he was much improved with the glove by this point as well), Hornsby was traded again, this time to the Boston Braves for 1928. The Braves were a weak team and Hornsby became player/manager during the season on his way to winning his seventh NL batting championship at .387, along with 21 home runs and 94 RBIs. In the offseason he was dealt once again, this time to the Chicago Cubs, who won the NL pennant in 1929. “The Rajah” batted .380 with 39 home runs and 149 RBIs while leading the circuit with 156 runs scored, a .679 slugging percentage, and 409 total bases. He was once again the NL MVP. Following surgery to remove bone spurs from his heel in the offseason, Hornsby had difficulty in 1930, further exacerbated by a broken ankle, and ended up appearing in only 42 games in which he batted .308 with just eight extra base hits. He played in 100 games in 1931 and hit .331 with 16 home runs and 90 RBIs. Hornsby was named player/manager of the Cubs for 1932 and clashed with many of his best players prior to being fired with the club in second place, just five games off the lead. He had played in 19 games during the season which ended with the Cubs winning the pennant under the direction of Hornsby’s successor, Charlie Grimm, a far more genial person (the Cubs lost the World Series and refused to vote him a share of their World Series money). The 37-year-old Hornsby found himself back with the Cardinals in 1933, where he appeared in 46 games, primarily as a pinch-hitter, and hit .325 while dealing with foot and leg injuries prior to being waived at midseason. Picked up by the AL’s St. Louis Browns he was made manager and played minimally the rest of the way. Hornsby remained as manager of the Browns until 1937, playing occasionally until the conclusion of his managerial tenure. For his major league career, he batted .358 with 2930 hits that included 541 doubles, 169 triples, and 301 home runs. Hornsby further scored 1579 runs and compiled 1584 RBIs, 135 stolen bases, and drew 1038 walks, ending up with a .434 OBP. With the Cardinals he batted .359 with 1089 runs scored, 2110 hits, 367 doubles, 143 triples, 193 home runs, 1072 RBIs, 118 stolen bases, 660 walks drawn, and a .427 OBP. He won seven batting titles, two Triple Crowns, and was a two-time league MVP. Appearing in 12 World Series games, “the Rajah” hit .245 with 5 RBIs. Hornsby was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1942. He coached and managed with minor league teams after leaving the Browns and operated a baseball school in Arkansas. He also became a major league hitting instructor prior to returning to the Browns as manager in 1952, a stint that lasted only 51 games. Hired to manage the seventh-place Cincinnati Reds a few weeks later, he became mired in controversy as well as losing in his last managerial position. Hornsby remained an irascible presence in the baseball world until his death in 1963 at age 66. Often considered the greatest righthanded hitter in baseball history, he had difficulty dealing with teammates, managers, owners, and even the commissioner of baseball. His major league managerial record was only 701-812, despite the one World Series title-winning year with the Cardinals.

 

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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.