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Hal Trosky Photo Gallery
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Let’s Recall the 1940 “Cry-Babies Incident” and the Principal Player Involved, Hal Trosky!
Hal Trosky: “The Best Player Who Was Never An All-Star”
Hal Trosky’s Fine Career
What Does It Take To Be An All-Star?
The Start of Migraines, 1936
The “Cry-Babies Incident”
In 1940, Trosky was named the team captain. He probably regretted accepting the honorary position and the $500 stipend that came with it. He became embroiled in the infamous “Cry-Babies Incident,” as Indian players staged what was later called an “insurrection” against their acerbic, unpopular manager, Ossie Vitt. This paragraph from Wikipedia best describes the incident:
On June 11, 1940, matters came to a head when Vitt went to the mound to remove Mel Harder. “When are you going to start earning your salary?” asked Vitt of Harder, who had won at least 15 games for eight consecutive seasons, including two 20-win seasons. After the incident with Harder, a dozen veteran players signed a petition to have Vitt removed. They requested a meeting with owner Alva Bradley to state their grievances against Vitt, whom they described as a “wild man.” In the closed-door meeting between Indians players and owner, Harder told Bradley: “We think we have a good chance to win the pennant, but we’ll never win it with Vitt as manager. If we can get rid of him, we can win. We feel sure about that.” (1)
A Career Cut Short
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Good stuff here Gary. Hal Trosky had a short career much like that of Hack Wilson. Wilson is a HOFer for his extraordinary 5 year run from 1926-31. But overall their careers are not vastly different statistically at least.
Thanks as always for your fine writing.
Mark
Thanks a lot Mark, I wasn’t aware of his stats being similar to Hack Wilson. Reminds me of my post the other day in which I discovered Billy Pierce’s stats are remarkedly similar to Don Drysdale. In both cases, one guy is in the Hall, and the other isn’t. Hard to figure…
Thanks for the thoughtful piece on Hal Trosky. Those Indians teams of the mid- to late ’30s had some excellent players (Trosky, Joe Vosmik, Earl Averill, Odell Hale, Mel Harder, a young Bob Feller) but weren’t in the same class as the Yankees. From what I have read and heard about Mel Harder, he was an honorable and much beloved player and even better pitching coach. I am inclined to believe that if he supported the removal of Vitt in 1940, he was probably on the right side. I had the pleasure of meeting Harder’s granddaughter last summer, and she told me that for Mel’s 80th birthday, just about all the pitchers he had developed or helped (Bob Lemon, Sam McDowell, et al) showed up for the celebration.
Very interesting Cary, thanks for sharing. I agree with what you said about Mel Harder…he was an honorable guy and great pitching coach. For him to come out against Vitt, there must have been a good reason. How did you meet his granddaughter? I’d love to contact her for an interview about her granddad.
Gary, I’m sorry to say that I don’t even remember her (married) name. My neighbor invited me to Progressive Field in their company suite, and I met her there. I can ask and will get back to you if I find out anything.
OK thanks!
I remember reading that Vitt was spoiled by being the manager of the 1937 Newark Bears, maybe the greatest minor league team of all time. He would sit in the dugout and say things like, “My Bears would’ve made that play.” He wasn’t going to win the players over to his side with that attitude.
When I was about eight years old Santa brought me a copy of ‘Strikeout Story’ purportedly written by Bob Feller (still have it, autographed). That’s where I first learned of the Crybaby Indians, although it was unclear to me what it was all about.
Fast forward through my life and have really never known the details of the turmoil’s causes. Until today. Thanks, Gary, for a cogent yet complete account of that infamous drama in Tribe history.
Thanks Tom!
This is a great eye-opener, Gary! Thank you for it.
Among many other good points, you note that Trosky was frozen out of the ’36 All-Star game, and perhaps others for which he was eminently qualified as well, by the likes of Lou Gehrig, or Jimmie Foxx, or Hank Greenberg. No doubt. The same sort of fate has probably betrayed other worthy candidates for this or that honor down through the years.
As an example, if he didn’t know better, somebody poring through Juan Marichal’s stats might think the voters were nutty to deny “The Dominican Dandy” even a single Cy Young Award in his entire career. A kewpie doll to the first guy who can explain that one away.
There you have it, Maestro! One great essay leads to another: Spectacular achievements by guys who had the crummy fortune to be outdone by once-in-a-lifetime competitors. (Story of our lives.)
Vitt said he was undermined by the Cleveland front office, which, Vitt claimed, did not stand by his decisions to discipline his players. It seems a verbal attack on Mel Harder was perhaps misplaced, considering Harder’s reputation.
Vitt’s overall character and personality through his very long baseball career would seem to be of utmost interest. Was he a Billy Martin type who wore out his welcome wherever he went, or was his Cleveland experience an aberration?
He appeared to always carry great affection for the 1937 Newark Bears, who lost the first three games of the Little World Series but came back to win the next four and the title. It didn’t hurt that it was a Yankees farm team that included pitchers Spud Chandler, Atley Donald, and Marius Russo, outfielders Tomy Henrich ad Charley Keller, and infielders Joe Gordon and Babe Dahlgren.
In fact, it was supposedly the Yankees who had recommended Vitt to the Indians as manager, based on his minor-league success.
It appears Vitt would not be remembered at all if not for the “cry babies” of the 1940 Cleveland Indians. The only question is whether that is a justified opinion. The answer seems honestly unknown.
Thanks George, great insights!
Gary, my wife popped into the computer room and said, “Who’s a crybaby?” I had to explain but it broke my concentration. Soon I must decide: my marriage or Baseball History. (Hey, Keedy, no Kewpie doll here. Looked at Juan’s record and he should have won the Cy, sometime somehow).
1936 was such a prolific year for hitters, especially the AL. No less than 60, count ’em, .300 hitters in the majors. 32 over .320, 15 over .340, 11 over .350. Luke Appling (White Sox) lead everybody at .388. “Old aches and pains” was a good lifetime .310, but c’mon now. Gene Walker (Tigers) hit .350, lifetime .299.
After the offensive explosion in 1930, they wondered what was going on. John McGraw exclaimed, “It has taken the confidence out of the pitchers. The ball is so lively the fielders cannot handle it.” Spaulding stoutly maintained there were no changes. “No change in the wrapping, cover, rubber or cork center.” Liar, liar, pants on fire!
The NL did add a slightly thicker cover and raised the seams. But not the junior circuit. In 1936, the American League averaged 5.67 runs per game, only fractionally under the 5.68 for both leagues in 1930.
Best, Bill
Anyhow, I felt sorry for Trosky, particularly with those migraines.
Thanks…and I hope you make the right choice, Bill. This site is good, but…
After his playing days, Trosky found out his migraines were caused by dairy products.