1933 – New York Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert refuses to release Babe Ruth from his contract, thus preventing him from becoming the manager of the Cincinnati Reds. Ruth will never receive a chance to manage a major league team.
The Washington Senators topped 90 wins for a fourth straight season in 1933 and beat out the Yankees and Athletics for the American League pennant. Washington player-manager Joe Cronin hit .309 with 118 runs batted in while OF Heinie Manush was second in the league with a .336 average. The New York Giants edged the…
Cronin had plenty of help offensively. Outfielder Heinie Manush hit .336 and knocked in 95 runs, first baseman Joe Kuhel finished at .322 and drove in 107 runs and second baseman Buddy Myer contributed a .302 mark. And outfielders Goose Goslin and Fred Schulte, obtained after the 1932 season from the St. Louis Browns,…
1933 – The major leagues agree on a uniform ball to be livelier than the National League ball of recent seasons, to match the American League balls. Owners also agree to ban Sunday doubleheaders until after June 15th.
Goose Goslin of the Washington Senators is sent to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for John Stone.
In an extended trade, the St. Louis Browns acquire Smead Jolley, Ivy Andrews, and $40,000 from the Boston Red Sox for Carl Reynolds. St. Louis then sends Jolley, plus Jim Levey and Wally Hebert to Hollywood (Pacific Coast League) for Alan Strange. Strange will go to the Senators for Lyn Lary before the end of the season. Levey, meanwhile, will return east in the fall to join the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he will play halfback for three seasons.
At the major leagues’ annual meeting, the owners vote Judge Landis another seven-year contract as commissioner. Will Harridge gets a new five-year pact as American League president.
Connie Mack is still selling. First he sells Lefty Grove, the A’s top winner in each of the past five seasons, along with Max Bishop and George Walberg, to the Boston Red Sox for $125,000 and two players, pitcher Bob Kline and infielder Rabbit Warstler. Next, catcher Mickey Cochrane goes to Detroit, then George Earnshaw and backstop Johnny Pasek, just acquired from the Tigers, go to the White Sox for $20,000 and catcher Charlie Berry. Berry once led the NFL in scoring and will become a major league umpire in the 1940s. The day will be known as “Black Tuesday” in Philadelphia.
For the second time, Connie Mack begins to dismantle a dynasty he has built, deciding to sell Mickey Cochrane to the Tigers for $100,000. Although the A’s have won three American League pennants and two World Series titles, dating back to 1929, with the Great Depression looming, the Philadelphia owner needs cash in the face of a failing economy.
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