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Forgotten Seasons

© Harold Friend

Many players, some famous stars and some little known, have had a great season that is rarely remembered. The following are a few players who had such a season.

BEAU BELL-1936

Roy Chester "Beau" Bell is one of the least known of all those who ever played the game, yet he had a season that is worth remembering. Bell batted only .250 in his rookie year of 1935 and was sent to the minors, but when he returned the following season, Bell applied the teachings of the greatest second baseman of all time, Rogers Hornsby, and he became one of the most feared hitters in the American League.

In 1936, Beau Bell hit .344 with 11 home runs, 123 RBIs, and a .502 slugging average. His 212 hits placed him fourth in the league, behind Earl Averill, Charlie Gehringer, and Hal Trosky.

The 1936 Browns, like so many Browns teams throughout history, finished in seventh place, winning only 57 games, but baseball people knew that Bell was a fine hitter on a bad team. In 1937 he had another great season, batting .340, but it was the last time he would be a feared hitter. Beau had a drinking problem. He never approached his 1936 season and was out of the major leagues after hitting .192 with the Indians in 1941.

HAL TROSKY-1936

Hal Trosky had a fine career that is all but unknown or forgotten by most fans. Trosky had the same lifetime batting average as Willie Mays (.302) and in his rookie season of 1934 with the Indians, the powerful left handed hitting Trosky hit .330 with 35 home runs, but it was his 1936 that was one of the great forgotten seasons of all time.

Trosky batted .343, hit 42 home runs, had 162 RBIs, an Indians' record that stood until Manny Ramirez had 165 RBIs in 1999, and had a .644 slugging average. As icing on the cake, Trosky had a 28 game hitting streak that season.

Many players of the past have, as a famous general once said, slowly faded away, but some players have hurt their legacy by taking an unpopular stance. The 1940 Indians were favored to win the pennant, especially since in December, 1939, seven American League owners created a new rule that prevented the American League champion (guess who) from making any trades within the league.

Oscar Vitt managed the Indians and some of his players didn't take too kindly to his acerbic and tyrannical approach to managing. All twenty five Cleveland players, including Bob Feller, Lou Boudreau, and Mel Harder (all Hall of Famers) petitioned Indians' owner Alva Bradley to fire Vitt, which he didn't do.

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