The pitcher in question was Elon Hogsett of the Detroit Tigers. Elon had reached the bigs in 1929, making four appearances. All four were as a starter, and Hogsett posted an earned run average of 2.83.
Progress could be said to have been made, depending on what stats we are talking about. Elon won nine games in 1930, but had a high ERA, and made only seventeen starts. That year sort of started him on a trek that would see Hogsett pitch a lot, but mostly in relief.
Come 1934, though, Elon Hogsett was playing a huge role with Detroit. He was pretty much the go-to man of the bullpen, despite his earned run average of 4.29. There was Firpo Marberry, bullpen ace of the Washington Senators, and now primarily a starter. Marberry started nineteen of his thirty-eight appearances with Detroit in '34, winning fifteen and losing just five.
So the one-time ace of the Sens, who went 1-0 with two saves in the 1924 World Series (Four appearances, one start) was now in the rotation more often than not, and a big winner. Elon Hogsett had to contend with just a 3-2 record in twenty-six appearances, being used exclusively out of the bullpen.
Reality hit home for Detroit in the World Series vs. St. Louis. The Cardinals wasted little time in making it clear to the Tigers who the better team was. Detroit had the home field advantage. Did it matter? The St. Louis Cardinals had Dizzy and Paul Dean. That seemed to be the only thing that mattered.
The visitors were rude in the opening tilt. General Crowder was routed in his five innings of work. The Tigers made an odd move and brought in Firpo Marberry to pitch the sixth inning instead of Elon Hogsett. This move by catcher / manager Mickey Cochrane was one that I guess you'd expect a rookie to make. It was, indeed, Cochrane's first year as skipper.
Well, this move was a bad one. Marberry lasted 2/3 of an inning, giving up four hits. It was only the top of the sixth, but the score was already 6-1 and runners were on the corners. Finally, the call went for Elon Hogsett. But he started off rusty. Bill DeLancey greeted him with a double that scored Joe Medwick and Ripper Collins. The game was obviously over, 8-1.
Ernie Orsatti grounded out, so the top of the sixth was finally over. But there was still 3 1/2 innings to play, so it wasn't as if there couldn't be some entertainment left in this contest. Goose Goslin did single home a run in the last of the sixth to make it a little closer. The Cardinals had gotten ten hits off General Crowder and Firpo Marberry in just 5 2/3 innings. They had still another hit off Elon Hogsett in just a third of an inning.
But to Hogsett's credit, he bore down. St. Louis was retired 1-2-3 in the top of the seventh, not even getting the ball out of the infield. Jack Rothrock started the top of the eighth inning off for St. Louis with a single. A bunt moved him to second. There, Rothrock stayed. All Jack saw was Elon Hogsett retire Joe Medwick on a fly (Which actually got Rothrock to third) and Ripper Collins on a grounder.
So the score remained 8-2 for the Cards. Hank Greenberg hit a solo home run in the bottom of the frame to make it 8-3. Hogsett retired the side in the ninth, allowing just one hit and no runs.
It didn't seem to matter much, as Dizzy Dean also allowed just one hit in a scoreless ninth. The Tigers won the second contest, but Elon Hogsett did not appear. That fine 3 1/3 scoreless inning relief stint in the first contest must have impressed manager Mickey Cochrane. In game three, things got tough for Detroit. And this time, the manager made sure Hogsett was the first call out off the 'pen.
It was 4-0 for the St. Louis Cardinals in the bottom of the fifth inning at Sportsman's Park. The fans were really enjoying this one. Tommy Bridges, the Detroit starting pitcher, had allowed three straight hits by St. Louis that inning before he was yanked.
Well, our boy Hogsett came in, and with an inherited runner at first. Joe Medwick hit into a double play. Ripper Collins then reached on an error, but inning ended as he tried to steal second. Mickey Cochrane gunned him out.
After a rather uneventful sixth inning in which Elon retired the Cards 1-2-3, the seventh frame looked like a potential big inning for St. Louis. With one out, Pepper Martin walked. An error by shortstop Billy Rogell (His second in three innings) put two on.
But again, our boy did the trick. Martin tried to swipe third, but was gunner out. Frankie Frisch hit one back to the mound, which resulted in a 1-3 putout.
All this fine pitching had kept Detroit somewhat in this contest. However, St. Louis still led 4-0 going into the bottom of the eighth. Ripper Collins got a hit off Hogsett, but nothing came of it. The superb relief outing by the Detroit reliever told a great story: Four innings pitched, no runs, one hit, one walk and two strikeouts!
The Tigers finally pried a run off Paul Dean in the top of the ninth, but the contest ended 4-1 for the Cardinals. The 1934 World Series would see-saw from there, however Detroit actually led 3-2 after five games. A 4-3 win by St. Louis in the sixth contest would be the last drama for this Fall Classic.
Game seven was settled quickly. For two innings it was scoreless. But then came the top of the top of th third. The wheels really came off the chariot for the Tigers. The Cardinals knocked starter Elden Auker out of the ballgame with three hits. Frankie Frisch provided the knockout blow with a three-run double. St. Louis was ahead for good.
Schoolboy Rowe came in. He retired one batter, and then gave up a single to Ripper Collins that scored Frisch. A double by Bill DeLancey scored another run, and Rowe was sent to the showers. Finally, Elon Hogsett was brought in.
It was too late. The Cards led 5-0. Hodgett faced four batters. A walk. A single. A double. Another walk. By the time new pitcher Tommy Bridges got the side retired, St. Louis had scored seven runs on seven hits and three walks.
There wasn't much that went on after that, although St. Louis added four more runs. A triple by Joe Medwick in the top of the sixth resulted in him sliding hard into Detroit's third basemen Marv Owen. That didn't go unnoticed. And the Tigers' fans didn't take the losing and slide with good grace, believe me. The pelted Medwick in the outfield with everything they could grab (Fruit, vegetables, bottles). Medwick had to be removed from the game for his own protection. It mattered little in a contest that ended 11-0 for the Cardinals.
The Deans, Dizzy and Paul, had each won two games. They had almost single-handedly beaten Detroit. Because of that, and some stellar performances from Pepper Martin, Ripper Collins and Medwick (Plus his antics) made St. Louis look like a powerhouse. The Tigers got some amazing performances from Hank Greenberg and Charlie Gehringer. Little attention was paid to the Detroit pitching, since each Dean brother was so dominating. Paul posted an earned run average of just 1.00 in his two starts. Dizzy went 2-1 and had an ERA of 1.73 himself.
Schoolboy Rowe led all Tigers' pitchers (Min. 9 IP) with an ERA of 2.95 in the 1934 World Series. Yet, the best pitcher was probably Elon Hogsett. Elon had made three appearances, pitched 7 1/3 innings, posting a 1.23 earned run average. Elon's efforts were not in vain. While Detroit lost this Fall Classic, they would not be denied the next year, besting the Chicago Cubs in six games. And while Hogsett was only 63-87 with a 5.02 ERA, he added a scoreless appearance in the 1935 World Series. For his postseason career, Elon's earned run average was just 1.08
References
Enders, Eric. 100 years of the World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005.
Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball 1992. St. Martin's Press, 1992.
--------------. The World Series: Complete Play-By-Play of Every Game, 1903-1989, St. Martin's Press, New York, 1990.
Nemec, et al. The Baseball Chronicle: Year-By-Year History of Major League Baseball. Publications International, Ltd., 2008.
Society for American Baseball Research, SABR, https://sabr.org/. 06 Feb. 2023.
Snyder, John S. World Series!: Great Moments and Dubious Achievements. San Francisco: Chronicle, 1995.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. https://www.baseball-reference.com/. 02 Feb. 2023.
Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, https://en.wikipedia.org/. 06 Feb. 2023.
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