First Baseman, Philadelphia
Athletics
Age: 24
6th season
with Athletics
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’0” Weight: 195
Prior to 1932:
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.
1932 Season Summary
Appeared in 154
games
1B – 141, 3B –
13
[Bracketed
numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 702 [4]
At Bats – 585 [13]
Runs – 151 [1]
Hits – 213 [3]
Doubles – 33 [19,
tied with Jack Burns]
Triples – 9 [16,
tied with six others]
Home Runs – 58
[1]
RBI – 169 [1]
Bases on Balls
– 116 [2]
Int. BB – N/A
Strikeouts – 96
[2]
Stolen Bases – 3
Caught Stealing
– 7 [15, tied with four others]
Average - .364
[1]
OBP - .469 [2]
Slugging Pct. -
.749 [1]
Total Bases – 438
[1]
GDP – N/A
Hit by Pitches
– 0
Sac Hits – 0
Sac Flies – N/A
League-leading runs
scored were +7 ahead of runner-up Al Simmons
League-leading home
runs were +17 ahead of runner-up Babe Ruth
League-leading
RBIs were +18 ahead of runners-up Al Simmons & Lou Gehrig
League-leading
batting average was +.015 ahead of runner-up Lou Gehrig
League-leading
slugging percentage was +.088 ahead of runner-up Babe Ruth
League-leading
total bases were +68 ahead of runner-up Lou Gehrig
Midseason
snapshot: HR – 30, RBI – 93, AVG – .375., SLG – .769
---
Most hits, game
– 6 (in 9 AB) at Cleveland 7/10 – 18 innings
Longest hitting
streak – 15 games
HR at home – 31
HR on road – 27
Most home runs,
game – 3 (in 9 AB) at Cleveland 7/10 – 18 innings
Multi-HR games
– 5
Most RBIs, game
– 8 at Cleveland 7/10 – 18 innings
Pinch-hitting –
No appearances
Fielding (1B)
Chances – 1416
Put Outs – 1328
Assists – 79
Errors – 9
DP – 115
Pct. - .994
Awards & Honors:
AL MVP: BBWAA
Top 5 in AL MVP
Voting:
Jimmie Foxx, PhilaA.:
75 pts. - 94% share
Lou Gehrig, NYY.:
55 pts. – 69% share
Heinie Manush,
Wash.: 41 pts. – 51% share
Earl Averill,
Clev.: 37 pts. – 46% share
Lefty Gomez,
NYY: 27 pts. – 34% share
---
A’s went 94-60
to finish second in the AL, 13 games behind the pennant-winning New York
Yankees while leading the league in hits (1606), home runs (172), batting
(.290), batter strikeouts (629), slugging (.457), and total bases (2529).
Aftermath of ‘32:
“Double X”
followed up with another MVP season in 1933 in which he also won the AL Triple
Crown with 48 home runs, 163 RBIs, and a .356 batting average. He also topped
the circuit with a .703 slugging percentage and 403 total bases. Along the way
Foxx was selected for the first All-Star Game. With the A’s selling off top
talent due to the Depression, the club dropped to third in ’33 and fifth in
1934 when Foxx 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.
--
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.
