[abell1198]

The 1930's Division has proven to be very interesting. In the American League, only one team in this division is under .500. Of the five Yankees teams, four of them are at the top of the division. In the National League, there is the good, the bad and the ugly.

The 1938 New York Yankees lead the American League 1930's Division with a 20-8 record. They've only lost one series, to the 1981 New York Yankees and have swept the 2010 Texas Rangers and 1935 Detroit Tigers. LF George Selkirk leads the team with a .360 average. SP Lefty Gomez leads the starting pitching staff at 4-1, 1.80 ERA with 40 strikeouts. CL Johnny Murphy is 2-0, with a 0.69 ERA and 7 saves in 11 appearances.

The 1939 New York Yankees and 1936 New York Yankees are tied for second at 18-10, 2 GB. The 1939 Yankees are the favorites to win this division and looked the part as they started the season 9-3 with a seven game winning streak. CF Joe DiMaggio is the only hitter over .300, batting .362. SP Lefty Gomez is 4-1, 1.68 ERA and 53 strikeouts to lead the pitching staff. The 1936 Yankees started out their season 5-0 after opening the year by sweeping the 1962 Yankees. They also completed a sweep of the 1985 Kansas City Royals. 1B Lou Gehrig is batting .340 and the pitchers are led by SP Pat Malone, who is 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA.

In fourth place are the 1932 New York Yankees at 17-11, 3 GB. They got off to a slow start at 1-6 and were swept by the 1971 Baltimore Orioles. Since then, they've swept both the 1925 Chicago White Sox and 2008 Tampa Bay Rays. Their pitching staff is one of the best in the American League. The starters are 8th in the AL with a 3.00 ERA, while the bullpen ranks 3rd in the AL with a 1.90 ERA. RF Babe Ruth is hitting .361 with 9 HR and 32 RBI. Ruth is tied for 2nd in the AL for RBI. SP Lefty Gomez (4-1, 1.91 ERA) is 6th in the AL in strikeouts with 60. SP George Pipgras is also 4-1, with a 2.27 ERA. SP Red Ruffing is second in the AL with 65 strikeouts.

The 1930 Philadelphia Athletics are in fifth place at 16-12, 4 GB. The Athletics are 9th in the AL in batting average, with 3B Jimmy Dykes hitting .355, while three others are also batting over .300. 2B Max Bishop is tied for fifth in the AL with 29 walks. Starting pitching has been decent so far and is led by SP Lefty Grove (3-2, 1.09 ERA, 61 K's). Grove is tied for 4th in the AL for strikeouts and is 2nd in the AL in ERA. But the bullpen is what is holding this team back. If it can improve, the Athletics might have a chance.

Three teams are tied for sixth place in the division at 15-13, 5 GB. The first of these teams is the 1933 Washington Senators. The Senators are 2nd in the AL in batting average and 4th in OBP. SS Joe Cronin (.384 avg) and four others are hitting over .300. CF Fred Schulte is 4th in the AL with four triples, while RF Goose Goslin is tied for 5th in the AL with 31 RBI. Unfortunately for the Senators, their pitching staff hasn't performed as well, with the exception of starting pitchers Earl Whitehill (4-1, 2.88 ERA) and Monte Weaver (3-1, 3.38 ERA).

Next is the 1931 Philadelphia Athletics. 2B Max Bishop leads the team in hitting with a .351 batting average. CL Jim Peterson has been impressive (2-0, 0.95 ERA) and is tied for 3rd in Saves with 10.

The 1934 Detroit Tigers are the third team at 15-13. They have no hitters batting over .300, but their starting pitching is 3rd in the AL with a 2.62 ERA.

In ninth place are the 1937 New York Yankees at 14-14, 6 GB. C Bill Dickey is leading the team with a .330 batting average. The starting pitching has been poor, but the bullpen has been decent enough to keep the team competitive. The team is currently on a four game winning streak.

In last place are the 1935 Detroit Tigers at 12-16, 8 GB. The team has five players batting .300 or better, led by LF Goose Goslin at .358. As a matter of fact, the team is 5th in the AL in batting average and 1st in OBP. However, the pitching has been horrible and will need to improve if they're going to contend.

In the National League, an old rivalry is showing it's true colors, as the 1934 St. Louis Cardinals and the 1932 Chicago Cubs share the lead at 19-9. The Cardinals have four players over .300, led by LF Joe Medwick at .361. SP Paul Dean (5-1, 2.19) and SP Flint Rhem (5-1, 2.66) lead the pitching staff. Dean is sixth in the NL with 58 strikeouts. CL Bill Walker (0-0, 1.35 ERA) is tied for 1st in the Majors with 11 saves. The Cardinals swept the 1905 New York Giants, 1946 Cardinals and 1985 Cardinals, but were swept by the 2012 San Francisco Giants.

The Cubs have been a huge surprise, as they were picked to finished tied for last in the division. The team started the year 5-1 as they opened up the season by sweeping the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks. The Cubs are currently ninth in the NL in batting average. Five players are batting over .300, led by CF Danny Taylor at .388. Taylor also had a 20 game hit streak in April. SP Pat Malone (5-0, 2.23 ERA) leads a solid pitching staff. The team has won the close games this month, as shown by their three game sweep of the 1983 Philadelphia Phillies by a total of four runs.

The 1938 Chicago Cubs, also picked to finish in the basement of the division, are holding on to third place at 15-13, 4 GB. LF Augie Galam is the only .300 hitter at .307. The starting pitching has been average, but their bullpen has been weak so far.

The favorites to win the division are the 1931 St. Louis Cardinals, who are currently 14-14, 5 GB. The team has no .300 hitters and the bullpen has been problematic. The starting pitching has been solid, led by Syl Johnson (4-1, 2.36 ERA).

Two other teams are tied for fourth place with the Cardinals. The 1937 New York Giants and the 1935 Chicago Cubs. The Giants hitters are led by 2B Burgess Whitehead, who is hitting .333. The starting pitching staff is 4th in the NL with a 2.74 ERA, led by Slick Castleman at 3-1, 1.18 ERA. The Giants have won 7 of their last 8 games. The Cubs are riding a five game winning streak. 3B Stan Hack is hitting .326 to lead the team in hitting. The starting pitching has been good and the bullpen has been even better. CL Fabian Kowalik (0-0, 0.75 ERA, 6 SV) leads a bullpen which is ninth in the NL in ERA.

In seventh place are the 1933 New York Giants at 13-15, 6 GB. RF Mel Ott is hitting .333 and SP Carl Hubbell leads the pitching staff at 4-1, 2.13 ERA. The bullpen has been trouble and needs to perform better.

Tied for eighth place are the 1930 St. Louis Cardinals and 1936 New York Giants at 12-16, 7 GB. The Cardinals hitters are led by C Gus Mancuso with a .341 average, while SP Bill Hallahan is 2nd in the NL with 61 strikeouts. The Giants have no hitters over .300 and their pitching has been average at best.

The downright ugly team, the worst in the National League, are the last place 1939 Cincinnati Reds, who come in at 6-22, 13 GB. Their lone bright spot has been 3B Billy Werber (.303 avg). The team is last in the NL in homeruns with five. They lost eight games in a row in the middle of April and are currently in a five game losing streak.