April 23rd, 1934 - AL Player of the Week

AL Player of the Week: Earl Averill
Ed note: every so often, we'll feature profiles of the leading ball players of the 1930s.

“I thank the good Lord he wasn't twins. One more like him would probably have kept me out of the Hall of Fame.”
-Lefty Gomez

Earl Averill (HA14) was an outfielder with the Cleveland Indians from 1929-1939. He was traded to Detroit in the middle of the 1939 season, and played in Boston (NL) briefly in 1941 before retiring. Averill is notable for his relatively late start in major league baseball (at the ripe age of 27). Prior to joining the San Francisco Seals, his first professional team, in 1926 Averill was a florist.

Averill was an early objector to the contract system baseball operated at the time. When Averill found that he had been "sold" by the Seals to the Indians for $50,000, he asked his manager whether he got a cut. When told he didn't, Averill replied that he would simply go back home. The Seals, who stood to lose $50,000 if Averill failed to report, tried to convince him that he was not entitled to a share. Interestingly, one of Averill's supporters was Commission Landis, who believed players should get a cut of their contract's sale price. In the end, Averill accepted a $5,000 bonus and agreed to report.

Averill is among the all-time great Indians. A lefty, he played in the first six All-Star games (starting in center for the first five), and could hit for both average and power. In his thirteen big league seasons, Averill batted over .300 eight times, scored 100+ runs nine times, and hit 100+ RBIs five times. He led the American League in hits in 1936 (232) and triples (15). He had ten or more triples eight times and thirty or more doubles nine times

Averill was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1975. He still shares the American League record for most RBIs in a double header (11) with Boog Powell and Jim Tabor.