Can someone explain to me why Mickey Cochrane won the 1934 MVP over teammate Charlie Gehringer?

Question

check stats online

Answer 1

i checked the stats and by conventional standards gehringer had better numbers in every category..my reasoning for it was the fact that Cochrane was not only the Catcher but also the manager, and he did lead them to the World Series that year..maybe being the player/manager that went to the World Series with the 2nd best stats was enough to get an MVP award back then over the player-only with the best stats

Answer 2

Notice Lou Gehrig wins the TRIPLE CROWN

363/.465/.706 in 579 AB 210 H 49 HR 165 RBI

Only comes in 5th in VOTING and the Yankees finsh second with 94 wins but are, of course, 7 GB of Detroit.

edit: Lou finish first in BA, OBP, SLG, Hits [second place], HR, RBI.

Just an interesting note not really relavent to the question though.

Answer 3

That's one of the better questions I read on here lately.  I don't know for sure so I can only offer my opinion.

It was a very close vote between the top 5:

1 Cochrane 67 points

2 Gehringer 65 points

3 Lefty Gomez 60 points        

4 Schoolboy Rowe 59 points

5 Gehrig 54 points

My guess would be because of his leadership and handling of the Tigers pitchers.  It's weird because Cochrane put up better HR, RBI, and BA numbers in 1933 and finished 15th while Gehringer had worse numbers in 1933 but still finished 6th.  Maybe Cochrane had some compromising photos of some of the voters.

edit: Sandman - good catch.  I didn't notice that Cochrane was the manager in 1934.  The Tigers went from 75-79 in 1933 to 101-53 in 1934.  Doesn't seem right that managing ability should be considered in MVP voting though.

Answer 4

This is why baseball needs a Player of the Year award. No one alive is aware of what was going on in baseball in 1934. Cochrane was also a catcher, a more difficult position, so a direct comparison of the stats is silly. Gehringer was a second baseman, which is perhaps why he got more votes than Gehrig, a first baseman; the easiest to field of the 9 positions.

The trouble is that MOST VALUABLE is not necessarily the guy with the biggest numbers, which is why pitchers will occasionally win.