Top 5 Players of the 1931 World Series

Originally published on Apr. 5, 2019

By Zane Miller

On Saturday, October 10th, 1931, the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Philadelphia (now Oakland) Athletics at Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis to win the 28th World Series four games to three. It was the second World Series championship for the Cardinals franchise and the second that was won in Missouri. These are the top five players that I felt most stood out during the series.

5. Pepper Martin (Cardinals)- CF

Martin was player of the game in game five, getting four RBIs with a run and three hits in the Cardinals’ 5-1 victory.

4. George Earnshaw (Athletics)- P

Earnshaw earned player of the game in game four, pitching a complete game shutout with two hits and a walk, as the Athletics went on to take the 3-0 win.

3. Bill Hallahan (Cardinals)- P

Hallahan claimed player of the game in game two, with a complete game shutout, giving up three hits and seven walks in the Cardinals’ 2-0 win.

2. Al Simmons (Athletics)- P

Simmons took player of the game in games one and six, with three RBIs and a run, a hit and a walk as the Athletics claimed the 6-2 win in game one, followed by a two RBI performance in game six with a run and a hit and a walk as the Athletics won it 8-1.

1. Burleigh Grimes (Cardinals)- P

Grimes picked up player of the game in games three and seven with a complete game allowing two earned runs on two hits and four walks in game three as the Cardinals won it 5-2, followed up by pitching eight and two-thirds innings in game six, allowing two earned runs on seven hits and five walks as the Cardinals went on to win 4-2 to clinch the series.

Players of the Game Breakdown:

Link to stats database: https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1931_WS.shtml