HITTING MACHINE ROGERS HORNSBY IS BEST WITH A BAT Baseball fans in the early 1920s would probably finish well ahead of the pack did not have to wonder who was going to lead the National League NL in hitting They knew St Louis Cardinals slugger Rogers Hornsby The Texas native posted the highest batting average in the league every season from 1920 to 1925 But he was not just a singles hitter He paced the NL in doubles four times averaging 42 per year He twice led the league in home runs And he Rogers Hornsby swings at a pitch in 1917 had the most runs batted in RBIs four times His 424 batting average in 1924 still ranks as the second best for one season in Major League Baseball MLB Hornsby was also part of the Cardinals first World Series win They beat the New York Yankees in
Rogers Hornsby in 1926 Hornsby thought about nothing but baseball even when the snow was falling People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball he once said I'll tell you what I do I stare out the window and wait for spring When spring rolled around he was ready He used his bat like a magic wand His 358 career batting average is second in the history of the sport ardinals Seasons in which Rogers Hornsby led the NL in batting average home runs and RBIs That s called the Triple Crown THINK ABOUT IT Hornsby played all the infield positions but was mostly a second baseman He played with four other teams including the St Louis Browns from 1933 to 1937 He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1942 What are the qualities a baseball player needs to be a great hitter Which of those skills are physical Which ones are mental and emotional 5
THE GAS HOUSE GANG WINS IT ALL The Great Depression hit the United The Cardinals earned that nickname States in 1929 Life was hard for for their wacky personalities and many Americans over the next rough play Their stars were also decade Money was tight Luxuries given colorful nicknames Their top were few In St Louis a team known hitters were Joe Ducky Medwick as The Gas House Gang lifted Johnny Pepper Martin and James spirits in 1934 Anthony Ripper Collins Their best pitchers were brothers Jay Dizzy Dean and Paul Daffy Dean They don't look like a major league Daffy Dean left and Dizzy Dean ball club wrote sportswriter Frank Graham of the New York Sun Their in 1934 uniforms are stained and dirty arding
Dizzy Dean plays a tuba at the ballpark in 1934 They spit out of the sides of their mouths They are not afraid of anybody The 1934 Cardinals closed out the regular season strong They beat the Cincinnati Reds in four straight games to win the NL pennant Then they captured the World Series title Dizzy Dean shut out the Detroit Tigers in Game 7 But the Gas House Gang will always be remembered for more than their success on the field 799 DANDY DIZZY DEAN The Cardinals of the 1920s Runs scored by the Cardinals in 1934 to lead the NL St Louis finished with a record of 95 58 and 1930s boasted many great players But none was better or more colorful than pitcher Dizzy Dean He averaged 26 wins a year from 1933 to 1936 He peaked in 1934 Dean had a 30 7 record and won the NL Most Valuable Player MVP Award He would also mock Ripper Collins led the Cardinals in batting average 333 home runs 35 and RBIs 128 Dizzy Dean led the team in wins 30 earned run average 2 66 and strikeouts 195 opposing hitters He sometimes laughed at them when they struck
