Grove’s 30th win highlighted historic 1931 effort

Even in an era where a 30-win season wasn’t that unusual, Lefty Grove’s 1931 campaign made headlines.

On Sept. 18, 1931, Grove and the Philadelphia Athletics defeated the White Sox 3-1 in front of an announced crowd of 1,000 fans at Shibe Park. Grove struck out six and allowed just five hits to improve his record to 30-3, becoming the first 30-game winner in the big leagues since Jim Bagby Sr. of Cleveland in 1920.

Including Bagby, 10 other pitchers had reached the 30-win mark since the beginning of the 20th century. But none of those were left-handers – with Pittsburgh’s Frank Killen having been the last lefty to win 30 games in 1896.

But despite an Associated Press wire story that ran in papers across the country celebrating the victory, Grove himself was unimpressed.

“It was just another game,” Grove told The Boston Globe in 1968 after Denny McLain’s 30th victory for the Tigers that season drew national attention. “I just don’t think about it. It’s way back. And what about the guys before me?”

There would be two more 30-game winners after Grove, starting with Dizzy Dean in 1934 and then McLain in 1968. But there have been none since McLain.

Grove faced two fellow future Hall of Famers during his momentous day against the White Sox: He retired Luke Appling each of the three times he faced him and bested Red Faber – who started that day for Chicago – on the mound. Grove would win his next start to improve to 31-3 before being tagged for four earned runs over three innings in a 13-1 loss to the Yankees on Sept. 27 on the last day of the regular season – an outing that was nothing more than a workout in advance of Grove’s start in Game 1 of the World Series on Oct. 1.

That game against the Yankees, however, pushed Grove’s ERA over two as he finished at 2.06. The league average ERA in the AL that year was 4.38. When McLain won 31 games in the Year of the Pitcher in 1968, the AL league ERA was 2.98.

“McLain’s a great pitcher,” the 68-year-old Grove would tell The Globe late in the 1968 season. “I got a kick out of seeing him win.”

The Athletics would fall to the Cardinals in the 1931 World Series despite Grove winning Game 1 and Game 6 in complete game efforts. But in Game 3 – starting on three days rest just as he did in Game 1 and would again in Game 6 – Grove allowed four runs over eight innings in a 5-2 St. Louis victory.

With Grove unavailable for Game 7, the Cardinals beat Philadelphia 4-2. In 26 innings in the Fall Classic, Grove was 2-1 with a 2.42 ERA and 16 strikeouts. Counting the postseason, Grove worked 314.2 innings in 1931.

Over 17 big league seasons, Grove won 300 games while losing just 141 for a .680 winning percentage that is easily the best of any 300-game winner. He captured a record nine ERA titles and led the AL in strikeouts for each of his first seven seasons.

“I missed Walter Johnson, but Grove was the fastest pitcher and best pitcher I’ve ever seen,” Tommy Thomas, a 12-year big league pitcher and longtime scout for the Red Sox told The Globe in 1968. “He had a great arm and a sullen disposition.

“Bill Dickey once told me nobody could throw a fastball past him if he knew it was coming – and then Grove threw three past him on one time at bat.”

Craig Muder is the director of communications for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum