On November 28, 1944, Detroit Tigers pitcher Hal Newhouser was named the American League’s Most Valuable Player, gathering four more votes than teammate Dizzy Trout. Newhouser collected 29 wins on the season, as well as a league-leading 187 strikeouts. His 2.22 ERA was bettered by Trout (2.12 ERA), though Trout “only” collected 27 wins.
In a trade with the Athletics on October 19, 1949, the Chicago White Sox added second baseman Nellie Fox to their roster, in exchange for catcher Joe Tipton. Fox would go on to lead the league in hits four times, winning the 1959 American League MVP during his fourteen-year tenure with the Sox.
On June 6, 1913, the New York Yankees lost 2-1 against the Cleveland Indians at the Polo Grounds. This game marked 14 consecutive games played without a win, setting a franchise record. The streak included 13 losses and one tie (a 3-3 game against Boston on May 24th). The team would finish the season with a record of 57–94, coming in 7th place in the American League.
On Opening Day, April 16, 1926, rookie Earl Averill became the first American Leaguer to hit a home run in his first major league at-bat. The Indians center fielder’s blast came on an 0-2 count against Detroit pitcher Earl Whitehill as Cleveland defeated the Tigers, 5-4.
On November 20, 1958, outfielder Jackie Jensen of the Boston Red Sox was named American League Most Valuable Player. Jensen managed to beat out Bob Turley, Rocky Colavito, and Bob Cerv for the award, finishing the season with a .286 batting average, a league-leading 122 RBIs, and also earning 99 walks, 35 home runs, 31 doubles, 293 total bases, and a .396 on-base percentage.
On November 11, 1941, the American League Most Valuable Player Award went to Joe DiMaggio, who hit 30 home runs, 125 RBIs, and collected 348 total bases. DiMaggio also led the Yankees to a 101-53 season that culminated with their ninth World Series title. In the midst of all of this, the Yankee Clipper also had a Major League-record 56-game hitting streak along the way.
DiMaggio edged out Ted Williams in the voting for the award. Williams remains the last player to finish a season with a .400 average, doing so when he hit .406 in 1941. Williams’s season won him the American League batting title by a whopping 47 points that year, however, his efforts fell short in the league’s MVP voting.
In spite of a couple delays in the Division Series games, the winners of each series have been determined, and tonight kicks off the American League and National League Championship Series. Here is the schedule for the ALCS and NLCS, all times Eastern.
Tuesday, Oct. 18
NLCS Game 1, Phillies @ Padres, 8:03 p.m., FS1
Wednesday, Oct. 19
NLCS Game 2, Phillies @ Padres, 4:35 p.m., FOX or FS1
ALCS Game 1, Yankees @ Astros, 7:37 p.m., TBS
Thursday, Oct. 20
ALCS Game 2, Yankees @ Astros, 7:37 p.m., TBS
Friday, Oct. 21
NLCS Game 3, Padres @ Phillies, 7:37 p.m., FS1
Saturday, Oct. 22
ALCS Game 3, Astros @ Yankees, 5:07 p.m., TBS
NLCS Game 4, Padres @ Phillies, 7:45 p.m., FOX
Sunday, Oct. 23
NLCS Game 5, Padres @ Phillies, 2:37 p.m., FS1 (if necessary)
ALCS Game 4, Astros @ Yankees, 7:07 p.m., TBS
Monday, Oct. 24
ALCS Game 5, Astros @ Yankees, 4:07 p.m., TBS (if necessary)
NLCS Game 6, Phillies @ San Diego, 8:03 p.m., FS1 (if necessary)
Tuesday, Oct. 25
ALCS Game 6, Yankees @ Astros, 6:07 p.m., TBS (if necessary)
NLCS Game 7, Phillies @ Padres, 8:03 p.m., FOX or FS1 (if necessary)
Wednesday, Oct. 26
ALCS Game 7, Yankees @ Astros, 7:37 p.m., TBS (if necessary)
After winning a record-tying (at that time) 16 consecutive games on the mound, Lynwood Thomas “Schoolboy” Rowe finally lost to the Athletics, 13-5, at Philadelphia’s Shibe Park on August 29, 1934. The Tigers’ right-hander’s mark tied the American League record for consecutive wins shared by Smoky Joe Wood, Walter Johnson, and Lefty Grove.
On August 17, 1904, Boston Americans pitcher Jesse Tannehill no-hit the White Sox at Chicago’s South Side Park to win, 6-0. The 30-year-old lefty issued only one walk, hit a batter, and struck out three as he tossed just the third no-hitter in American League history.
You know how the foul poles at a ballfield have those screen extensions sticking out of them? Those screens were born on July 15, 1939. National League president Ford Frick ordered the two-foot screens affixed inside all foul poles following a dispute between Billy Jurges of the Giants and umpire George Magerkurth. It seems that Jurges and Magerkurth spit at each other after a disputed call down the left-field line at the Polo Grounds. The American League would install the screens on the foul poles in their own ballparks shortly thereafter.
