1925 SEASON RECAP
Major League Baseball
1925 represented a period of change for Major League Baseball, as the Detroit Tigers and St. Louis Cardinals squared off in the World Series. The Tigers were looking to capture their first title in franchise history, and it was the first World Series appearance for the franchise since 1909, where they came up unsuccessful after winning the AL Pennant for the third time in a row. The Cardinals won their first ever NL Pennant to earn the right to square off with the Tigers.
The 96-58 Cardinals would take home the hardware, winning their first ever World Series and leaving Detroit cursed. St. Louis was led by 29-year-old second baseman Rogers Hornsby, who took home the NL Batting Title that year after hitting .390. He also blasted 25 homers and drove in 121 runs, good enough to win him the 1925 NL MVP Award. "Rajah" had plenty of help in the lineup. First baseman Jim Bottomley led the NL in homers and RBIs with 34 and 128 respectively. Catcher Lefty O'Doul batted 363 with 15 homers, and third baseman Les Bell batted .347 with 16 homers.
While the lineup was vaunted, the pitching was good enough. The rotation featured two twenty game winners, Bunny Hearn and and Bill Sherdel, who won 25 and 22 games respectively, but they didn't have too much help after them. Paired with that lineup, it was still enough to win the World Series.
Similar to the Cardinals, offense was the story for Detroit. Led by an aging Ty Cobb, the Tigers finished 90-65, outpacing the defending champion Washington Senators. Cobb was magnificent, batting .354 and collecting 220 hits at the age of 38. 220 hits wasn't enough to even lead his team, however, as fellow outfielder Harry Heilmann collected 222 hits on the year, batting .365. Heinie Manush, Lu Blue, and Johnny Bassler all batted well over .300 as well, giving the Tigers a scary lineup.
The rotation was led by Dutch Leonard, who won 19 games with a 3.95 ERA. Earl Whitehill was the only hurler on Detroit with an ERA better than Leonard at 3.61.
Despite winning the AL Pennant, no star on Detroit was good enough to bring home the AL MVP Award, which went to none other than New York Yankees outfielder Babe Ruth. Ruth won his second MVP Award in 1925 after bringing home his first in 1923. He earned the honors after winning the Triple Crown. He hit .385 with 42 homers and 133 RBIs. 37-year-old Walter Johnson brought home the AL Cy Young Award. "The Big Train" won the pitching triple crown after winning 25 games, striking out 173 hitters, and limiting his ERA to 2.65. During the year he also eclipsed 400 wins, joining Cy Young as the only pitchers in professional history with 400 or more wins.
The NL Cy Young went to Brooklyn Robins starter Dazzy Vance. Dazzy won 23 games, struck out 234 hitters, and had an ERA of 2.67.
Liga Mexicana de Béisbol
The Mexican Baseball League kicked off it's first ever season in 1925, sporting a six-team league. The six teams were the Mexico City Diablos Rojos, Mexico City Conquistadors, Monterrey Industriales, Veracruz Azules, Puebla Pericos, and Aguascalientes Estrellas.
Veracruz set themselves apart in the early going, finishing 75-39, 14 games in front of the second place Monterrey Industriales, who they would defeat in Serie del Rey, "The King's Series."
Despite having the best team, it was Monterrey who owned the best player in Mexico in starting pitcher Omar Alvarado. Alvarado took home the Most Valuable Player and Pitcher of the Year Awards after going 20-11 with a 2.51 ERA and 98 strikeouts in 33 games started. He would pitch well in Serie del Rey as well, but it wasn't enough as Veracruz dispatched of the Industriales in six games.