2/23 N1: The 1939 Yankees giving Frank Crosetti, who had a .233 average in a .286-non pitcher league, 152 starts in the leadoff position, reminds me of the 1930 New York Giants case, who faithfully made Hughie Critz their leadoff hitter despite his 58 OPS+.
Interesting research David. 1946 popped out at me given that it was the lowest rate for SB in the AL and that teams weren't hitting home runs. I don't think of 1946 as a low point in offense in MLB and wonder if overall it correlates?
That's a good close reading of the league data and something that I had missed. While in 1946, in addition to Williams, you had Greenberg and Vernon putting up triple crown numbers with some sizzle, and in 1947, you had only Williams even driving in 100 runs, runs were actually up in 1947 from 1946. The league E.R.A. in 1946 was 3.50, so that was part of the carryover of the pitcher's era that was WW II Baseball. AL E.R.A. would peak at 4.58 in 1950, and it was actually on the way up in 1947.
Interesting research David. 1946 popped out at me given that it was the lowest rate for SB in the AL and that teams weren't hitting home runs. I don't think of 1946 as a low point in offense in MLB and wonder if overall it correlates?
That's a good close reading of the league data and something that I had missed. While in 1946, in addition to Williams, you had Greenberg and Vernon putting up triple crown numbers with some sizzle, and in 1947, you had only Williams even driving in 100 runs, runs were actually up in 1947 from 1946. The league E.R.A. in 1946 was 3.50, so that was part of the carryover of the pitcher's era that was WW II Baseball. AL E.R.A. would peak at 4.58 in 1950, and it was actually on the way up in 1947.