Nine Major League Baseball Players who debuted in 1925
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Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1925
Jimmie Foxx
Mickey Cochrane
Lefty Grove
Buddy Myer
Leo Durocher
Billy Rogell
Freddie Fitzsimmons
Mule Haas
Chuck Dressen
Lefty Grove starred for the great Orioles teams of the 1920s, delaying his appearance in the major leagues until he was 25. But he made up for the lost time, winning 300 games and posting an amazing .681 winning percentage. He was the ace of Connie Mack’s 1929-1931 American League champion Philadelphia A’s, and won 105 games for the Boston Red Sox after he was sold and had arm trouble. An intense competitor who destroyed his share of clubhouses after tough losses, Grove was considered the greatest left-handed pitcher of his time, and one of the best in history.
One of the most prolific sluggers in baseball history, Jimmie Foxx rivaled Lou Gehrig throughout much of the 1930s as the sportâs most dominant hitter.  Playing first for the Philadelphia Athletics, and then for the Boston Red Sox, Foxx captured three Most Valuable Player Awards during the decade and became the first man ever to hit more than 50 home runs for two different teams.  Often referred to as âthe righthanded Babe Ruth,â Foxx helped lead the Athletics to three straight American League pennants and two world championships between 1929 and 1931.
One of the greatest catchers in baseball history, Mickey Cochrane is considered by many historians of the game to be the finest receiver to play in the major leagues during the first half of the 20th century. An exceptional line-drive hitter, Cochrane posted the highest lifetime batting average (.320) and on-base percentage (.419) of any catcher with more than 5,000 career at-bats. An outstanding team leader as well, Cochrane played for five pennant-winning teams and three world championship squads in his 13 major league seasons. He helped lead Connie Mackâs Philadelphia Athletics to three straight pennants and two world championships from 1929 to 1931, before piloting the Detroit Tigers to back-to-back pennants in 1934 and 1935, and to victory in the 1935 World Series as the teamâs player-manager.
One of many talented infielders under contract to the Senators, Buddy Myer was traded to Boston by Clark Griffith in 1927. Almost immediately, the Washington owner scrambled to reacquire Buddy, finally succeeding in 1929, when he gave up five players for him. Myer made the move a smart one, winning a batting title and earning two All-Star selections as a second baseman for the Nats. The career .303 hitter was overshadowed by Charlie Gehringer, the superstar second baseman for the Tigers, but he was immensely popular in D.C., where he played until he retired at the outbreak of World War II.
Leo Durocher may best be remembered for uttering the famous phrase, âNice guys finish last.â Yet he was far more than a footnote person in baseball history. He roomed with Babe Ruth, won a World Series title with Dizzy Dean, tutored Pee Wee Reese, dated and married movie starlets, was suspended for a full year for consorting with gamblers, gave Roy Campanella the Dodgersâ catching job, was friends with gangster Bugsy Siegel, managed the Giants to the famous playoff game that produced Bobby Thomsonâs âShot Heard âRound the Worldâ, led the Giants to their last World Series title in New York City, nearly coaxed the Cubs to a pennant in 1969, and wore the orange and black of the Houston Astros. When the dust had settled on his controversial and colorful career, Durocher had played in more than 1,600 games and won 2,008 as a skipper. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1994.
The keystone combo of Rogell and Charlie Gehringer was a key factor in the Tigers’ 1934 and 1935 pennants. Switch-hitter Rogell had four RBI in Game Four of the 1934 WS as the Tigers won 10-4. He led AL shortstops in fielding for three years, 1935-37, and in assists for two, 1934-35. He injured his shoulder playing handball after the 1938 season; in 1939, his arm went dead. After the season, he was swapped to the Cubs for Dick Bartell, a trade accurately characterized as “one worn-out shortstop for another.”
Fred Fitzsimmons was a portly pitcher with excellent control despite relying heavily on a knuckleball. He combined with Carl Hubbell to form a tough righty/lefty duo on the New York Giants of the 1930s, and his trade to the rival Dodgers in 1937 was a shock to his fans. He pitched in three World Series, and won 217 games with a winning percentage near .600 for his career. After his pitching days ended, he managed and coached in three different decades.
Haas had a great outfield tutor in Tris Speaker with the Athletics in 1928. He adopted Speaker’s style of playing shallow, loping back to catch fly balls over his shoulder or dashing in for shoetop grabs. He learned bench jockeying from another master, Eddie Rommel. Haas, Al Simmons, and Jimmy Dykes were sold to the White Sox for $100,000 in 1932.
Dressen never doubted his own baseball savvy. “Hold them, boys,” he often told his team. “I’ll think of something.” The 5’5′ 146-lb extrovert took up diverse challenges: picking racetrack winners, quarterbacking George Halas’s Decatur Staleys (forerunner of the Chicago Bears) and the Racine Legion of the early NFL, and playing eight years as a NL third baseman.
He is most famous as a major-league manager. He managed successive pennant winners for the Dodgers in 1952-53, but bucked owner Walter O’Malley’s policy by asking for a multi-year contract. O’Malley replaced him with Walter Alston. Dressen spent a year at Oakland of the Pacific Coast League, then returned to the majors with the talent-less Senators. Two seasons after leading Brooklyn to 105 victories, the same tactician took Washington to 101 losses. A second losing season and a poor 1957 start cost Dressen his job.
In 1960, he took over the Milwaukee Braves. Late in 1961, with the team in third place, he was summoned to the front office. Expecting photographers to record his signing of a new contract, he dressed in his best suit. Instead, he was told he was being let go.
Dressen managed Toronto in the minors the next season, then joined the Dodgers as a special scout in 1963. In June, he received his fourth major-league command, with the ninth place Tigers. He brought them in fifth and followed with two straight fourth-place finishes. On May 15, 1966 the 67-year-old Dressen managed his last victory. The next day he checked into a hospital. Twelve weeks later he died of a heart attack.
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