One of the Ruth books that I read mentioned that he blew out his other knee in September of 1932 and was never again the same player. Also, his manager forbade him from playing golf, which probably had a hand in Ruth blowing out his knee that year. This caused me to look at Ruth's stats in 1932. He was still chugging along nicely until September. I use the term chugging because Ruth had an impossible time running the bases. It only got worse when he injured his other knee in September.
Despite his achy knees, his stats through August were at .351/.498/.677 with 39 HRS and 132 RBI. In September, he went .212/.366/.455 with 2 HRS and 5 RBI. He blew out his knee that month and missed 16 days. Also, Ruth could no longer run. That paltry line of .351/.498/.677 was a Ruth that was slowed down so much, that he could only run out 13 doubles and 5 triples for the whole season. Even Mantle would be embarrassed that low of a number for combined doubles and triples.
It's interesting, because I think Ruth had a shot at MVP in 1932 until he injured his knee, despite Foxx's insane year. Foxx through August was at 48 HRS, 142 RBI, .359/.466/.739. Sure, he was ahead of Ruth. But the gap isn't that big. But here's the kicker. Let's look at their road stats for the entire year.
Ruth: 61 games, 22 HR, 68 RBI, .358/.496/.720, sOPS+ of 239
Foxx: 77 games, 27 HR, 74 RBI, .341/.427/.682, sOPS+ of 208
Despite his achy knees, his stats through August were at .351/.498/.677 with 39 HRS and 132 RBI. In September, he went .212/.366/.455 with 2 HRS and 5 RBI. He blew out his knee that month and missed 16 days. Also, Ruth could no longer run. That paltry line of .351/.498/.677 was a Ruth that was slowed down so much, that he could only run out 13 doubles and 5 triples for the whole season. Even Mantle would be embarrassed that low of a number for combined doubles and triples.
It's interesting, because I think Ruth had a shot at MVP in 1932 until he injured his knee, despite Foxx's insane year. Foxx through August was at 48 HRS, 142 RBI, .359/.466/.739. Sure, he was ahead of Ruth. But the gap isn't that big. But here's the kicker. Let's look at their road stats for the entire year.
Ruth: 61 games, 22 HR, 68 RBI, .358/.496/.720, sOPS+ of 239
Foxx: 77 games, 27 HR, 74 RBI, .341/.427/.682, sOPS+ of 208
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