1932 Baseball Season Headlines

The Yankees took back the pennant this year but wouldn't win it again until 1936 -- without the Babe. Below are some other headlines from the 1932 baseball season.

Wes Ferrell Wins 23

Wes Ferrell may have won 20 games for the Indians in each of his first four seasons (he also took 23 games in 1932), yet manager Roger Peckinpaugh thought he had a bad attitude. Hence, he gave the coveted starting assignment on July 31, 1932, to Mel Harder, as the Tribe played its inaugural game in Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

Mel Ott Smacks 38 Homers

Mel Ott neither played a single day in the minors nor for any team other than the Giants. When he joined the club as a 17-year-old in 1926, John McGraw said, "No minor league manager is going to have a chance to ruin him." Ott nailed 38 home runs in 1932, tied for first in the National League. He tallied 511 career round-trippers, the most by any National League player prior to expansion.

Joe McCarthy Propels Yanks to Top

In 1926, Joe McCarthy's first year at the helm of the Yankees, New York finished 131/2 games behind the A's. In 1932, the Yankees nearly reversed the record, topping the A's by 13 games.

Paul Waner Tops National League in Doubles

Paul Waner ranks ninth in career doubles, tenth in triples, and 11th in hits, yet just 26th in runs. The reason for the disparity is partly explained by his ranking 24th in games played; more to the point, however, is the fact that the Pirates were not a high-scoring team in his prime and never had a real slugger. In 1932, Waner hit .341 with a National League-high 62 doubles.

Johnny Burnett Racks Up Nine Hits

On July 10, 1932, Johnny Burnett of the Indians banged out nine hits in an extra-inning game against the A's. The game went into extra frames when Cleveland first baseman Eddie Morgan fumbled Jimmy Dykes's two-out dribbler in the ninth inning. The botched play allowed the tying Philadelphia run to score and send the game into overtime.

Jimmy Dykes Heads for Chicago

Jimmy Dykes may have welcomed his trade from the contending A's to the seventh-place White Sox after the 1932 season, a year in which he hit .265 and collected seven home runs and 90 RBI. In Philadelphia, Dykes became the target of the notorious Kessler brothers, who hounded him so relentlessly from their seats behind third base that the A's considered barring

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