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One bridge to MLB's early Live Ball Era left


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The 1920s and 1930s are among one the greatest eras of baseball. The New York Yankees had greats such as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, and Bill Dickey (including Murderer's Row). The Detroit Tigers and St. Louis Cardinals were prepared to make runs for championships. The Cubs were still relevant. Walter Johnson slowly ended his career. The Hall of Fame opened in 1936 with five of the greatest of all-time elected.

 

But one thing the 1920s and '30s have in common is how no player is able to tell any more personal stories of life in baseball. Today, they can only be told by family, people who went to the games, and historians. Former Go Go Sox manager Al Lopez died at 99 in 2005, the last ballplayer alive in the 1920s.

 

But one from the 1930s is alive today: Hall-of-Famer Bobby Doerr.

 

Bobby_Doerr.jpg

 

At nineteen years old, he first broke into the Majors with the Boston Red Sox and played there through his whole career, from 1937 to 1951, not playing in 1945 while on WWII duty. When his career ended, he was considered to be one of the greatest defensive and offensive second baseman of all-time; at a .980 fielding percentage, it was an all-time record until 1953 and was involved in the most double plays turned as second baseman (1,507) until 1963. He played no other position other than second base. Offensively, his 223 career home runs were third-most all-time by second basemen at the time, hit for the cycle, and had a .315 career home BA. In 1986, the Veterans Committee elected him to the Hall of Fame, and Boston retired his #1 jersey in 1988.

 

Today, this Red Sox legend is the last player connecting Baseball's beginning of the Live Ball Era (the only living former player from the 1930s). At 96, he's the oldest living Hall of Famer and oldest former Red Sock.

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I caught a special on MLB Network about Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams' 1941 season (56 game hitting streak; batting over .400 for a season). Doubtful we'll ever see quite that level of prolonged (and legitimate) dominance.

 

Funny to think of the Cubs as a powerhouse franchise back in the early 20th century.

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