Countdown to Christmas - 33 Days

1933 in baseball history.... yawn..... Triple Crown winner takes MVP award.... wake me up..... new strike out record....sigh.... New York wins another World Series..... Gehrig sets record..... come on, give us something new!!

Well how about this for something new: a mid summer game held at Comisky Park, with one team comprised of starters like Pepper Martin, Frankie Frisch, Chuck Klein, Chick Hafey, Bill Terry, Wally Berger, Dick Bartell, Jimmie Wilson, Bill Hallahan and Carl Hubbell in relief, vs the likes of Ben Chapman, Charlie Gehringer, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Al Simmons, Jimmy Dykes, Joe Cronin, Rick Ferrell, and Lefty Gomez? And... the AL team didn't even play the league's ultimate triple crown winner that year! Let's call it... the All Star game!! Yep, the first ever, watched by nearly 48,000, won by the AL 4-2!

So what about this triple crown winner that didn't even play that day for the AL? The A's Jimmie Foxx, who ended the season hitting .356 with 48 HR and 163. Not only did he win the Triple Crown but took home the league MVP honors. His cross town rival in Philly, playing for the Phillies, Chuck Klein, also won the Triple Crown, hitting .368 with 28 round trippers and driving in 120. But Klein wasn't so lucky in the MVP voting, as King Carl Hubbell with his amazing 1.66 ERA and 23 wins (10 by shutout) took the MVP honors for the Giants.

Dizzy Dean broke the modern single game strike out record fanning 17 batters in an 8-2 win over the Cubs. The previous mark was held by four other pitchers, but fell short of the all time record of 19 set by Charlie Sweeney of Providence in 1884.

Gehrig played in his 1,308th consecutive game on August 17, topping Everett Scott's previous endurance record. And NY won the World Series.... oh, not THAT NY team.... the Giants make quick work of Washington, 4 games to 1 to take the fall classic, with Carl Hubbell picking up the victories in games one and four. In game four, Hubbell went all 11 innings and picked up the 2-1 decision.