Major League Baseball team season
The 1931 Philadelphia Athletics season involved the A's finishing first in the American League with a record of 107 wins and 45 losses. It was the team's third consecutive pennant -winning season and its third consecutive season with over 100 wins. However the A's lost the 1931 World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games. The series loss prevented the Athletics from becoming the first major league baseball team to win three consecutive World Series; the New York Yankees would accomplish the feat seven years later. The Athletics, ironically, would go on to earn their own threepeat in 1974, some forty-three years after the failed 1931 attempt.
1931 was also the A's final World Series appearance in Philadelphia. Their next AL pennant would be in 1972 , after they had moved to Oakland.
Offseason
Regular season
1931 was the greatest season of Lefty Grove 's career. He went 31–4, with a 2.06 ERA and 175 strikeouts , easily winning the pitching triple crown . He was voted league Most Valuable Player . Combined with the efforts of 21- and 20-game winners George Earnshaw and Rube Walberg , Philadelphia allowed the fewest runs of any AL team.
Slugger Al Simmons won the batting title with a .390 average and came in third in MVP voting.
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
Team
BOS
CWS
CLE
DET
NYY
PHA
SLB
WSH
Boston
—
12–10–1
13–9
12–10
6–16
4–16
8–14
7–15
Chicago
10–12–1
—
7–15–1
11–11
6–15
3–19
12–10
7–15
Cleveland
9–13
15–7–1
—
13–9
13–9
4–18
16–6
8–14
Detroit
10–12
11–11
9–13
—
8–14
4–18
11–11
8–14
New York
16–6
15–6
9–13
14–8
—
11–11
16–6
13–9–1
Philadelphia
16–4
19–3
18–4
18–4
11–11
—
14–8
11–11–1
St. Louis
14–8
10–12
6–16
11–11
6–16
8–14
—
8–14
Washington
15–7
15–7
14–8
14–8
9–13–1
11–11–1
14–8
—
Roster
1931 Philadelphia Athletics
Roster
Pitchers
Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
Manager
Coaches
Player stats
Batting
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Note: George Earnshaw was team leader in saves with 6.
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Awards and honors
League top five finishers
Mickey Cochrane
#4 in AL in batting average (.349)
George Earnshaw
#2 in AL in strikeouts (152)
#3 in AL in wins (21)
Jimmie Foxx
#4 in AL in home runs (30)
Lefty Grove
AL leader in wins (31)
AL leader in ERA (2.06) (Grove's 2.06 ERA was 2.32 runs below the league average.[3] )
AL leader in strikeouts (175)
Al Simmons
AL leader in batting average (.390)
#3 in AL in slugging percentage (.641)
#4 in AL in RBI (128)
#4 in AL in on-base percentage (.444)
1931 World Series
NL St. Louis Cardinals (4) vs. AL Philadelphia Athletics (3)
Game
Score
Date
Location
Attendance
1
Athletics – 6, Cardinals – 2
October 1
Sportsman's Park
38,529
2
Athletics – 0, Cardinals – 2
October 2
Sportsman's Park
35,947
3
Cardinals – 5, Athletics – 2
October 5
Shibe Park
32,295
4
Cardinals – 0, Athletics – 3
October 6
Shibe Park
32,295
5
Cardinals – 5, Athletics – 1
October 7
Shibe Park
32,295
6
Athletics – 8, Cardinals – 1
October 9
Sportsman's Park
39,401
7
Athletics – 2, Cardinals – 4
October 10
Sportsman's Park
20,805
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Harrisburg [4]
Notes
^ Homer Summa page at Baseball Reference
^ Cy Perkins page at Baseball Reference
^ Baseball's Top 100: The Game's Greatest Records , p.51, Kerry Banks, 2010, Greystone Books, Vancouver, BC, ISBN 978-1-55365-507-7
^ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball , 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007
References
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World Series Champions (9) American League Championships (15) AL West Division Championships (17) AL Wild Card (4) Minors
Seasons (124)
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