1925 AL Stargell Award

The Washington Senators won their second straight pennant, finishing well ahead of the Athletics. But the biggest story of the year was the self-destruction of Babe Ruth and the Yankees. After two years of good behaviour, Ruth's excessive lifestyle caught up with him, and he missed a large part of the season.
This is the year of "the belly-ache heard round the world", when Ruth missed time supposedly because he ate too many hot dogs. Of course, the hot dog story was probably invented to protect the Babe's image; you can make your own guess about what the problem really was. Anyway, it was a disastrous season for Ruth, and for the Yankees, who finished near last place.

American League 1925

			AVG	OBA	SLU	AB	HIT	DB	TP	HR	RUN	RBI	BB	SB	OPS
RF	H HEILMANN	DET	393	457	569	573	225	40	11	13	97	134	67	6	1026
LF	G GOSLIN	WAS	334	394	547	601	201	34	20	18	116	113	53	26	941
LF	B MEUSEL	NY	290	348	542	624	181	32	12	33	101	138	54	10	889
RF	S RICE	WAS	334	382	443	646	216	39	14	1	106	76	46	24	831
LF	A WINGO	DET	370	456	527	440	163	34	10	5	104	68	69	14	983

CF	T COBB	DET	378	468	598	415	157	31	12	12	97	102	65	13	1066
CF	T SPEAKER	CLE	389	479	578	429	167	35	5	12	79	87	70	5	1057
CF	B JACOBSON	STL	341	392	513	540	184	30	9	15	103	76	45	8	905

CF	A SIMMONS	PHI	387	419	599	654	253	43	12	24	122	129	35	7	1018
CF	J MOSTIL	CHI	299	400	421	605	181	36	16	2	135	50	90	43	822
2B	M MCMANUS	STL	288	371	457	587	169	44	8	13	108	90	73	5	828
2B	E COLLINS	CHI	346	461	442	425	147	26	3	3	80	80	87	19	904
SS	J SEWELL	CLE	336	402	424	608	204	37	7	1	78	98	64	7	827
SS	R PECKINPAUGH	WAS	294	367	379	422	124	16	4	4	67	64	49	13	746
CA	M COCHRANE	PHI	331	397	448	420	139	21	5	6	69	55	44	7	845

        What a great year for the old men. Ty Cobb was 38 years old, and in his 21st season. Tris Speaker was 37, and in his 19th year. They were arguably the two best hitters in the league; the only thing they couldn't do was stay in the lineup for a full season. Both were managers as well as players, and those extra duties probably cut into their playing time as much as the nagging injuries of middle age.
        The two most productive hitters of this group, then, were Harry Heilmann and Al Simmons. Both were potent hitters; Simmons had a few more hits, Heilmann drew a few more walks. Simmons led the AL in both total bases and runs produced. I'll give a slight edge to Simmons, who at age 23 had a remarkable sophomore season.
        After those two, the best candidates are Speaker and Cobb, and Goose Goslin. Though the two older players had significantly better numbers, Goslin was very good, was in the lineup more often, and helped the Senators win the pennant. He gets my vote behind Simmons and Heilmann.
        Sam Rice was orphaned at a young age when a tornado killed most of his family. He started playing ball in semi-pro leagues, then joined the Senators as a pitcher at age 25. He had his first full year as a hitter at age 27. Despite the late start, Rice had 2987 hits in his career, just short of 3000. Hewas a good defensive player who hit lots of singles and triples, and stole a few bases. Rice didn't retire until he was 44 years old.
        Speaking of old men, Eddie Collins was still playing great at age 38, in his 20th season. He also had trouble staying healthy, though, so I think the best player of the group was Joe Sewell. Roger Peckinaugh played for the Senators, and won the league MVP Award that was handed out. While it was noble of the voters to choose a defensive specialist as the MVP, I don't think Peckinpaugh was anywhere as near as good as Sewell. Peckinpaugh had been a great defensive player in the past, but I'm not sure he was now; he was in his mid-30's, and this was his last full season. He was out of the league in two years.