PTWSW #27: The 1930 Philadelphia Athletics

Manager: Connie Mack
Record: 102-52
Ballpark: Shibe Park
Owner: Connie Mack and The Shibe Family
Coaches: Eddie Collins, Kid Gleason, Earle Mack

Future Hall of Famers: Mickey Cochrane, Eddie Collins, Jimmie Foxx, Lefty Grove, Al Simmons

Team Leaders, Batting

BA: Al Simmons, .381 (AL leader)
OBP: Jimmie Foxx, .429
SLG: Al Simmons, .708
OPS: Al Simmons, 1.130
2B: Mickey Cochrane, 42
3B: Al Simmons, 16
HR: Jimmie Foxx, 37
RBI: Al Simmons, 165
BB: Max Bishop, 128
SB: Bing Miller, 13

Team Leaders, Pitching

W: Lefty Grove, 28 (AL leader)
SO: Lefty Grove, 209 (AL leader)
ERA: Lefty Grove, 2.54 (AL leader)
IP: George Earnshaw, 296
CG: Lefty Grove, 22
SHO: George Earnshaw, 3 (AL leader)
K/BB: Lefty Grove, 3.48 (AL leader)
SV: Lefty Grove, 9 (AL leader)

Tidbits

Oldest Player: Jack Quinn (b. July 1, 1883)

Youngest Player: Glenn Liebhardt (b. July 31, 1910)

First to Leave Us: Jack Quinn (d. April 17, 1946). Not exactly a shocker, as he was the oldest guy on the team.

Last Survivor: Dib Williams (d. April 2, 1992). Williams, the second-youngest player on the team, died less than a month after Liebhardt, the youngest player.

First in Majors: Technically it was player-coach Eddie Collins on September 17, 1906. For guys who had a more significant on-field contribution than three measly pinch-hitting appearances it was Jack Quinn on April 15, 1909.

Last in Majors: Doc Cramer (final game May 12, 1948)

First to Play For the Franchise: Collins again on the same date as before, but excepting him it was Wally Schang on May 9, 1913.

Last to Play For the Franchise: Al Simmons (July 1, 1944)

Pre-union Team: None had more than two. The ones with two include the 1918 White Sox, 1921 Yankees, 1923-25 Red Sox, 1925-26 White Sox and 1926-27 Browns.

Reunion Team: The 1936-37 Red Sox had six each: Doc Cramer, Jimmie Foxx, Lefty Grove, Pinky Higgins (1937), Eric McNair, Bing Miller (1936) and Rube Walberg. Like the previous A's dynasty, Connie Mack had to dismantle the team after a few years. Also like last time, the Red Sox were happy to load up on his players. The White Sox were a prominent buyer too, with Jimmie Dykes, George Earnshaw, Mule Haas and Al Simmons playing for the 1934-35 Pale Hose.

Accomplishments

Lefty Grove, Pitching Triple Crown

Season Summary

Like the previous year, the Athletics led the league in strikeout-to-walk ratio. It was the only statistic where they dominated; however, they had no real weaknesses elsewhere. Their ERA+ was second in the AL and they also allowed the second-fewest runs. Lefty Grove was the undisputed ace of staff, leading the league in wins, strikeouts and ERA. Their offensive picture looked strikingly similar; they were second-best in both team OPS+ and runs scored, with Al Simmons and Jimmie Foxx once again serving as the main power sources. Mickey Cochrane also made a significant contribution with his bat, while Jimmie Dykes and Max Bishop utilized their on-base skills to keep the machine rolling. Defensively they were strong too, with the third-best DER and the top fielding percentage. While they spent the first half battling the Indians and Senators for first place, an eight-game winning streak in July put them on top for good. They won the pennant by eight games.

The A's beat the Cardinals in six games to win their second straight World Series. If they'd awarded the World Series MVP in those days it surely would've gone to George Earnshaw. The tall right-hander pitched a complete game victory in Game 2, threw seven shutout innings in Game 5 (which the A's later won) and came back on only a day's rest to pitch another complete game victory in the clinching Game 6. In 25 World Series innings he struck out 19, walked seven and allowed only two earned runs.

Acknowledgements:

Baseball Reference
Baseball Almanac
Google News Archives