73 Red Sox At White Sox, 31 July, 1936, Lefty Groves' Pitching Masterclass

4 March 2024

Album art features Lefty Groves.

Who’s the best pitcher baseball ever saw? There's a lot of names to cosndier. Who's the best left-handed pitcher baseball ever saw? That list is a lot shorter, and near the top - perhaps at the very top - is Lefty Grove.

There’s ’s no louder-than-life personality to help us remember him by; there’s no stunning images on early TV coverage, nor are there mythical stories to pass on. As the image of baseball moved on in the fifties, the exploits of Grove and many of his compatriots faded from sight.

Yet Grove's numbers show we're missing something. He has 300 career wins, four times annual winner in the American League, nine times the annual ERA leader, and seven times the strikeout leader. Throw in six All-Star call-ups, and you have a storied career.

We join Grove on the mound in 1936. He's moved on from the record-breaking days of the Philadelphia Athletic to the Boston Red Sox… and still breaking records. 1935 saw a 20-12 season a league-winning ERA of 2.90. 1936 is shaping up to be more of the same.

The Chicago White Sox welcome Grove and the Red Sox, and George Watson and Hal Totten are taking us through the plays.

You can find the boxscore here.

This game was played on 31 July, 1936.