NL Player of the Week“King Carl” Hubbell (HA13) pitched for the New York Giants from 1929 through 1943. He won 2 NL MVP awards and was a 9 time All Star.
In 1934 Hubbell was coming off his first MVP year (his second would be 1936). He was 21-12 with a 2.30 ERA. He led the NL in ERA and WHIP. Lifetime, Hubbell was 253-154 with an ERA of 2.98 for an almost unheard of ERA+ of 130.
Hubbell is known for his use of the screwball, which is generally thought to be the reinvention of the "fadeaway" pitch made famous by Christy Mathewson. After Mathewson retired, the pitch fell into disuse. Hubbell's use of the term "screwball" for the pitch may have caused confusion with another pitch of the same name from the 1920s, according to pitching expert and historian Rob Neyer, which was actually closer to what we now call a sinker. One possible explanation for why Hubbell's screwball was different from Mathewson's fadeaway was that the seams on the ball in the 1930s were raised, allowing for similar mechanics to produce different results. Hubbell, with his long wrists, could get an exceptional "snap" to the ball. GOI1, p. 163.
The single feat for which he is perhaps most remembered was striking out Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin, all Hall of Fame hitters, in order, during the 1934 All Star game.
After retiring as a player, Hubbell became director of the Giants farm system until 1977, and then became a team scout. A "baseball man" through and through, Hubbell spent roughly 60 years with the Giants organization. According to baseball historian Bill James, during Hubbell's tenure running the Giant's scouting outfit, "the farm system was producing ballplayers like McDonald's produces hamburgers." Some of the players that emerged during Hubbell's tenure include Willie McCovey, Juan Marichal, the Alou brothers, Orlando Cepeda and Gaylord Perry.
Hubbell was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1947.
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