Philadelphia Athletics | |
Season: | 1931 |
Misc: | American League Champions |
League: | American League |
Ballpark: | Shibe Park |
City: | Philadelphia |
Owners: | Connie Mack, Tom Shibe and John Shibe |
Managers: | Connie Mack |
The 1931 Philadelphia Athletics season involved the A's finishing first in the American League with a record of 107 wins and 45 losses. It was the team's third consecutive pennant-winning season and its third consecutive season with over 100 wins. However the A's lost the 1931 World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games. The series loss prevented the Athletics from becoming the first major league baseball team to win three consecutive World Series; the New York Yankees would accomplish the feat seven years later. The Athletics, ironically, would go on to earn their own threepeat in 1974, some forty-three years after the failed 1931 attempt.
1931 was also the A's final World Series appearance in Philadelphia. Their next AL pennant would be in 1972, after they had moved to Oakland.
1931 was the greatest season of Lefty Grove's career. He went 31–4, with a 2.06 ERA and 175 strikeouts, easily winning the pitching triple crown. He was voted league Most Valuable Player. Combined with the efforts of 21- and 20-game winners George Earnshaw and Rube Walberg, Philadelphia allowed the fewest runs of any AL team.
Slugger Al Simmons won the batting title with a .390 average and came in third in MVP voting.
1931 Philadelphia Athletics | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers | CatchersInfielders | Outfielders | ManagerCoaches |
= Indicates team leader |
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
C | 122 | 459 | 160 | .349 | 17 | 89 | ||
1B | 139 | 515 | 150 | .291 | 30 | 120 | ||
2B | 130 | 497 | 146 | .294 | 5 | 37 | ||
3B | 101 | 355 | 97 | .273 | 3 | 46 | ||
SS | 86 | 294 | 79 | .269 | 6 | 40 | ||
LF | 128 | 513 | 200 | .390 | 22 | 128 | ||
CF | 102 | 440 | 142 | .323 | 8 | 56 | ||
RF | 137 | 534 | 150 | .281 | 8 | 77 |
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
79 | 280 | 76 | .271 | 5 | 33 | ||
67 | 224 | 51 | .228 | 0 | 20 | ||
65 | 223 | 58 | .260 | 2 | 20 | ||
62 | 197 | 48 | .244 | 5 | 44 | ||
49 | 143 | 32 | .224 | 2 | 21 | ||
42 | 113 | 27 | .239 | 1 | 12 | ||
19 | 44 | 10 | .227 | 0 | 4 | ||
9 | 24 | 9 | .375 | 0 | 3 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
44 | 291.0 | 20 | 12 | 3.74 | 106 | ||
41 | 288.2 | 31 | 4 | 2.06 | 175 | ||
43 | 281.2 | 21 | 7 | 3.67 | 152 | ||
30 | 162.1 | 15 | 4 | 4.21 | 59 | ||
16 | 111.0 | 10 | 5 | 4.22 | 30 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
25 | 118.0 | 7 | 5 | 2.97 | 18 | ||
19 | 70.1 | 2 | 4 | 3.71 | 23 | ||
6 | 16.0 | 0 | 3 | 5.06 | 2 | ||
6 | 13.0 | 0 | 1 | 6.23 | 7 | ||
3 | 11.0 | 1 | 0 | 4.09 | 1 |
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
See main article: 1931 World Series. NL St. Louis Cardinals (4) vs. AL Philadelphia Athletics (3)
Game | Score | Date | Location | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Athletics – 6, Cardinals – 2 | October 1 | Sportsman's Park | 38,529 |
2 | Athletics – 0, Cardinals – 2 | October 2 | Sportsman's Park | 35,947 |
3 | Cardinals – 5, Athletics – 2 | October 5 | Shibe Park | 32,295 |
4 | Cardinals – 0, Athletics – 3 | October 6 | Shibe Park | 32,295 |
5 | Cardinals – 5, Athletics – 1 | October 7 | Shibe Park | 32,295 |
6 | Athletics – 8, Cardinals – 1 | October 9 | Sportsman's Park | 39,401 |
7 | Athletics – 2, Cardinals – 4 | October 10 | Sportsman's Park | 20,805 |
See also: Minor League Baseball.
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Harrisburg[4]