Tex Vache … Perfect Against Lefty Grove
Boston Red Sox outfielder Ernest Lewis “Tex” Vache faced Hall of Fame southpaw Lefty Grove just four times in his MLB career – but went four-for-four (three singles and a double) – the most hits against Grove of any player to put up a 1.000 batting average against him.
Vache (who served on a U.S. Navy minesweeper in World War I and left the Navy in 1919) did not make his professional (minor-league) debut until age 31 and made his first MLB roster in 1925 (at age 35). Vache played just one MLB season, hitting .313-3-48 in 110 games for the Red Sox. After the season,Vache was traded to the Tigers, who then sent him on to Fort Worth of the Texas League. (Vache eventually played the 1926 season with the Pacific Coast League Mission Bells, hitting .302 in 88 games). He toiled in the minor leagues until 1929, but never appeared in the majors again (most often attributed to his age and fielding issues.)
From Ted Vache’s one-season MLB career, we segue into the Lefty Grove Edition of the Baseball Roundtable’s “Who’s Your Daddy?” series.
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Who’s Your Daddy? What’s it all about?
In this series, BBRT presents lineups of players who performed unexpectedly well against baseball’s top pitchers. (An explanation of the inspiration behind the Who’s Your Daddy? series can be found the end of this post.) As always, I would stress that the pitchers included in the Who’s Your Daddy? series are among the “best in the business.” They are selected not because of the players who performed well against them, but rather because success among hitters when they were on the mound was the exception rather than the rule. We’ve looked at pitchers from a wide range of eras – from Bob Feller to Nolan Ryan to Max Scherzer. We going even farther back in this post – to the players who seemed to be able to deal with the offerings of Hall of Famer Robert Moses “Lefty” Grove.
Before we get started on this edition, focusing on the Hall of Fame southpaw, here are links to the previous editions of this series:
- Nolan Ryan, click here.
- Sandy Koufax, click here.
- Pedro Martinez, click here.
- Bob Gibson, click here.
- Randy Johnson, click here.
- Greg Maddux, click here.
- Justin Verlander, click here.
- Bob Feller, click here.
- Roger Clemens, click here.
- Max Scherzer, click here.
- Tom Seaver, click here.
- Mariano Rivera, click here.
- Warren Spahn, click here.
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Photo by rchdj10 
Lefty Grove – considered by many to be the best left-handed pitcher of all time – was known for having a white-hot fastball and a red-hot temper.
Grove finished his 17-season (1925-41) MLB career with 300 wins and a .680 winning percentage (141 losses). The six-time All Star (remember, the first All Star Game took place in 1935) led the American League in wins four times, winning percentage five times, earned run average nine times, complete games three times, shutouts three times and strikeouts seven times.
Going deeper, Grove also led the league in WHIP five times, strikeouts per nine innings five times and strikeouts-to-walks ratio seven times. His nine ERA titles are the most all time.
I’ll Take Grove for the Win
Lefty Grove’s .680 winning percentage is the best among pitchers with 300 or more MLB victories.
Grove won 20 or more games in seven seasons and threw 20 or more complete games in nine campaigns. He was 4-2, 1.75 in eight World Series appearances (five starts).
MVP-MVP
Lefty Grove was the 1931 American League MVP, when he went 31-4, 2.06 for the Philadelphia Athletics – winning one of his two pitching Triple Crowns (Wins-ERA-Strikeouts). That season, he ran off a sixteen-decision winning streak (June 8-August 19), during which he started 14 games and relieved in four (two saves), He notched 13 complete games (with a 2.30 ERA in that span). The streak was broken on August 23, when Grove lost a 1-0 complete game to Dick Coffman and the St. Louis Browns. (Coffman pitched a three-hit shutout.) After that tough loss, Grove went on to win his next six decisions – during which he threw five complete games in six starts and notched an even stringier 1.61 ERA.
Grove did not get his first taste of organized ball until he was 19 (town ball), where he quickly earned a reputation for dispatching hitters via the strikeout, He was signed at the age of 20 by the Class D Martinsburg Mountaineers – and went 3-3, 1.68, with 60 strikeouts in 59 innings before the International League (Double-A) Baltimore Orioles came calling. That season, Grove went 12-2, 3.80 at Baltimore, where he stayed until 1924. (From 1920-24, he went 111-39, 2.90 in the minors.) Before the 1925 season, Grove was purchased from the Orioles by the Philadelphia Athletics for $100,600 (just under $1.5 million in today’s dollars) and started his MLB career in 1925. The rest, as they say, is history.
Still, Grove didn’t dominate every hitter who stepped into the batter’s box. There were these batmen:
Note on chart: Baseball-References indicates game logs before 1973 are not complete. In the chart above, game logs (versus Grove) are missing for Charlie Gehringer (four games); Hank Greenberg (two games); Fred Schulte (one game); and Billy Rogell (three games). Throughout this post, I have noted instances of incomplete game logs.
Now, let’s take a look at the Lefty Grove “Who’s Your Daddy?” position-by-position line up.
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Catcher – Rollie Hemsley (.353 average)
In 1938, a season in which Lefty Grove went 14-4 and had the American League’s lowest qualifying earned run average at 3.08, Indians’ catcher Rollie Hemsley faced him in just one game (June 27). At the time, Grove was 11-2 on the season with a 2.98 earned run average. Hemsley, batting in the eight-hole, came into the game hitting .215 on the season and had played in just 20 the team’s first 58 contests. In the course of the game, Hemsley would go four-for-four (a double and three singles), raising his average 46 points. In the eight seasons he faced Grove, Hemsley hit .333 or better in four.
The Right Place at the Right Time
Rollie Hemsley caught Bob Feller’s (April 16, 1940) Opening Day no-hitter – the only Opening Day No-No in MLB history. That, of course, makes Hemsley the only MLB player to catch an Opening Day no-hitter. Hemsley also had two of the Indians’ six hits and drove in the game’s only run with a two-out, fourth-inning triple. Side note: Hemsley did gain some notoriety as Feller’s “personal catcher.”
Hemsley played 19 major league seasons (1928-44 … missing 1945 due to military service). He suited up for the Pirates, Cubs, Reds, Browns, Indians, Yankees and Phillies. (Hemsley played in 100 or more games in just six of those 19 seasons.) He was a five-time All Star, with a final career stat line of .262-31-555. His best season was 1934, when he hit .309, with 31 doubles, seven triples, two home runs, 52 RBI and six steals for the Saint Louis Browns. (The average, triples, RBI and steals were all career highs.)
Honorable Mention: Rick Ferrell, a career .281 hitter, hit .313, with one home run and ten RBI in 29 games versus Grove. Note: Two games (logs) versus Grove are missing from Ferrell’s totals.
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First Base – Hank Greenberg (nine home runs, 33 RBI)
Hank Greenberg’s nine home runs versus Lefty Grove tied him for the most career long balls against the Hall of Fame southpaw. The others with nine dingers against Grove are Yankee stars Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Greenberg, however, faced Grove in 38 fewer games than Gehrig and 13 fewer games than Ruth. Greenberg’s 32 RBI versus Grove also trail only Gehrig (45) and Ruth (33).
As noted earlier, two games (logs) versus Grove are missing from Greenberg’s totals.
Tea (me up) – for Two…
Hank Greenberg is one of only six players with a season of 60 or more doubles. Here they are: Earl Webb (1931 – 67 doubles); George Burns (1926 – 64 doubles); Joe Medwick (1936 – 64 doubles); Hank Greenberg (1934 – 63 doubles); Paul Waner (1932 – 62 doubles); Charlie Gehringer (1936 – 60 doubles).
Greenberg played 13 MLB seasons (1933-47, missing 1942-44 for military service). He played all but his final season with the Tigers … suiting up for the Pirates in 1947. The Hall of Famer was a career .313 hitter (.412 on-base percentage), with 331 home runs, 1,274 RBI and 1,046 runs scored. Greenberg was a two-time AL Most Valuable Player and a four-time All Star. He led the American League in home runs four times (a high of 58 in 1938), RBI four times (topping 100 in seven seasons), doubles twice (topping 40 five times) and runs scored once (with 100+ in six seasons). His best season could be called for either 1937 (.337-40-184) or 1938 (.315-58-147). Take your pick.
All or Nothing
On September 21, 21, 1937, Hank Greenberg had a truly “all or nothing” game against Grove. He came to the plate five times versus the Hall of Fame southpaw and went: strikeout; strikeout; two-run home run; three-run home run; strikeout. (It was one of two multi-home games Greenberg had against Grove.) Grove, by the way, went the distance in a 12-7 Red Sox win over Greenberg’s Tigers – giving up seven runs (four earned).
Honorable Mention: Lou Gehrig hit .306 against Grove over his career. In addition, Gehrig’s nine home runs tied for the most career long balls versus Grove (with Babe Ruth and Hank Greenberg, pretty good company); his 45 RBI against Grove were the highest of any hitter; his twelve doubles third; his 66 hits second; and his 26 walks first. Still, Greenberg gets this spot in the lineup for having done his damage in far fewer games and plate appearances. Consider: Gehrig’s slugging percentage against Grove was .551 to Greenberg’s .632 and his .380 on-base percentage versus Grove trailed Greenberg’s .395). In addition, Greenberg had more walks (18) than strikeouts (14) versus Grove, while Gehrig fanned 47 times (versus 26 walks) versus Lefty.
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Second Base – Aaron Ward (.342 average/.409 on-base percentage.
Aaron Ward reached Lefty Grove for a .342 average and .409 on-base percentage in 17 games – getting off to a good start by collecting a bases-loaded walk and a three-run home run in his two plate appearances in his first game against Grove (May 4, 1925 (Grove’s rookie campaign.) In three seasons facing Grove, Ward (a .268 career hitter) put up averages of .313, .333 and .368.
Note: One game (log) is missing from Ward’s totals versus Grove.
House the Ruth Built
It may have been “The House the Ruth Built,” but the first Yankee to collect a hit in the original Yankee Stadium was second baseman Aaron Ward – a single to lead off the third inning. (The first hit, overall, was off the bat of Red Sox’ first baseman George Burns in the top of the second. Side note: The Yankees, behind Bob Shawkey’s complete game, won 4-1 – and Babe Ruth hit the first home run in the new ballpark, a three-run shot in the bottom of the third inning.
Ward played 12 MLB seasons (1917-1928), the first ten with the Yankees and then one season each with the White Sox and Indians. Known as one the best fielders of his era, Ward played in 1,059 games, hitting .268 with 50 home runs and 446 RBI. In 1923, he led AL second baseman in fielding percentage and assists and was second in both putouts and double plays. He also led the league in assists in 1923 and was in the top-three AL second basemen in fielding percentage four times. His best offensive season was 1922, when he hit .284 with 10 home runs and 81 RBI.
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Third Base – Ken Keltner (.419, three home runs)
Ken Keltner hit .419, with power, in nine games versus Grove. His batting average was the fifth-highest among players with at least 25 at bats versus Grove and his .871 slugging percentage was tops among that group. Keltner had only one hit in his first seven at bats (first two games) versus Grove – and went 12-for-24 in his next seven contests against him.
Keltner played 13 MLB seasons (1937-50, missing 1945 due to military service). He played all but his final season with the Indians. Keltner, a seven-time All Star and one of the slickest fielding third basemen of his time, was a career .276 hitter (1,526 games), with 163 home runs and 852 RBI. His best campaign was 1946, when he went ..297-31-119 (with career highs in home runs and RBI). He twice topped 100 RBI and hit a high of .325 in 1939. Keltner led American League third basemen in double plays five times, assist four times, fielding percentage three times and putouts once.
The Culprit
Joe DiMaggio often referred to Keltner as “The Culprit.” On July 17. The Yankees were playing the Indians in Cleveland and DiMaggio was looking to extend his record-setting hitting streak to 57 games. He went zero-for-three (with a walk) in that game and two of the three outs were the result of exceptional backhand grabs (and throws) on sharp ground balls down the third baseline – Keltner’s territory. (DiMaggio, by the way, famously hit safely in his first sixteen games after the streak was halted.)
Honorable Mention: Ben Chapman suited up against Lefty Grove in 35 games between 1930 and 1940, picking up 33 hits in 100 at bats (.330), with six doubles, one triple, two home runs and 15 RBI.
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Shortstop Lyn Lary (.338 average)
Lyn Lary, a .269 career hitter over 12 MLB seasons, hit .338 in 30 games against Lefty Grove. He also drew ten walks against Grove, for a .414 career on-base percentage.
Lary played 12 MLB seasons (1929-40), taking the field for the Yankees, Indians, Senators, Browns, Dodgers and Cardinals. He played 1,302 games, hitting .269 with 38 home runs, 526 RBI, 805 runs and 162 stolen bases. His best season was for the 1931 Yankees, when he .280, with 10 long balls, 107 RBI and 100 runs scored in 155 games.
One for the Bombers
Lyn Lary drove in 107 runs for the Yankees in 1931 – still the most RBI in a season ever for a Yankee shortstop. (Derek Jeter is second with 102 in 1999.) In his first three season in the major leagues – Yankees … 1929-31 – Lary hit .289-18-185 in 352 games.
Over his career, Lary scored 100 or more runs in three seasons, stole 20+ bases in four seasons (leading the AL with 37 steals in 1936) and hit .280 or higher in five campaigns.
Honorable Mention: Luke Appling (.324-0-14 in 39 games against Grove). Note: Two games (logs) are missing from Appling’s totals versus Grove.
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Outfield – Harry Heilmann (33 hits – 11 for extra bases – and a .440 average)
Harry Heilmann hit .440 against Lefty Grove, second only to Tris Speaker’s .444 among hitters with at least 25 at bats against the Hall of Fame lefty. Heilmann also tied for the fifth-most regular season home runs versus Grove and had the second-highest on-base percentage and second-highest slugging percentage (again among those with at least 25 at bats versus Grove). Heilmann drops to fourth in batting average and on-base percentage if you drop the qualifying at bats to twenty. In the five seasons he faced Grove (1925-20), Heilmann hit under .400 against him only once (.278 in 1928) and hit .500 or better in three seasons.
Note: Three games (logs) are missing from Heilmann’s totals versus Grove.
Heilmann played 17 MLB season (1914, 1916-29 for the Tigers and 1930 and 1932 for the Reds). The Hall of Famer collected 2,660 hits for a .342 average – winning four batting titles along the way (and hitting a high of .403 in 1932.). Heilmann’s final line was .342-183-1,543. He led the AL in hits once (and topped 200 hits in four seasons); led the league in RBI once (with 100+ RBI eight times); topped the AL in doubles once (with 40 or more two-baggers in eight seasons); scored 100+ ruins in four seasons; stole 10+ bases in four; and recorded double digits in triples nine times.
Just Your Oddly AVERAGE Guy
In the seven seasons from 1921-1927, Harry Heilmann hit .380, with 104 home runs, 815 RBI and 727 runs scored. He won the American League batting title in each odd-numbered years during that span.
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Outfield – Babe Ruth (Nine homers, .311 average)
Babe Ruth tied Lou Gehrig and Hank Greenberg for the most home runs against Lefty Grove (nine) and only Gehrig drove in more runs against Grove (45) than Ruth (33) – and Ruth put up this numbers in 25 fewer games and 97 fewer at bats against Grove than Gehrig. While Grove held Ruth below his .342 career average, the Bambino hit a respectable .311 versus Lefty. Ruth had a pair of multiple home run games against Grove.
Ouch:
In 1933, Babe Ruth blasted off to a good start against Lefty Grove, homering in his first two at bats against him. He came to the plate against Grove 15 more times that season and collected just one hit (a single) and one walk, while fanning eight times and getting the ball out of the infield just twice (his lone single and a fly out to RF). To be fair, Ruth did go eight-for-eighteen (.444) against Grove in 1926.
What can’t you say about the Babe? He put up a .342-714-2,214 line, and recorded a record 12 home run crowns (11 seasons of 40 or more long balls); eight times led the league in runs scored (12 season of 100+); five times topped the league in RBI (11 season of 100+); led his league 11 time in walks; and captured one batting crown.
- In 1920, Babe Ruth popped 54 home runs for the Yankees – more than any other TEAM in the American League.
- Babe Ruth put up a 0.87 World Series earned run average, giving up just three runs in 31 WS innings pitched. His World Series batting average (in 41 games) was .326.
- In 1918, Babe Ruth led the American league in home runs (11) and hit an even .300, while also gong 13-7, 2.22 and tossing 18 complete games (19 starts) as a pitcher.
- Babe Ruth broke the all -time MLB Home run record in three straight seasons (1919-1920-1921).
- Babe Ruth still holds the record for the longest mound outing in a World Series game – going 14 innings in a 2-1 complete-game win (for Boston) in the 1916 World Series.
Comparing Strong Left Arms
Babe Ruth’s pitching skills mirrored those of Lefty Grove. Ruth was 94-46, for a .671 winning percentage, just shy of Grove’s .680. Ruth completed 72.7 percent of his 147 starts, while Grove finished 65.2 percent of his 457 starting assignments. Ruth did put up a 2.28 ERA to Groves’ 3.06 – but Ruth pitched primarily before the live ball ERA. When you look at their earned run averages versus standards of their time, Grove has a bit of an edge. Grove did hold a notable edge in strikeouts averaging 5.2 per nine innings to Ruth’s 3.6 whiffs per nine innings. Note: Ruth was a two-time 20-game winner and topped the American league in ERA, complete games and shutouts once each (in just three seasons of more than 20 starts).
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Outfield – Al Simmons (.436 average).
Al Simmons .436 average against Grove is the fifth-highest among hitters with at least 20 at bats versus Grove (if you set the bar at 25 at bats, he moves up to third.) Among those with at least 20 at bats against Grove, Simmons’ .691 slugging percentage is the fourth-highest and his .466 on-base percentage ranks fifth. In addition, Simmons drove in 14 runs against Grove in just 17 games. Simmons faced Grove in six seasons (1933-38) and hit .357 or better versus Grove in all of those campaigns. In 1936, he went .467 (seven-for-fifteen) versus Grove, with two home runs and six RBI in five contests.
Note: Two games (logs) are missing from Simmons’ totals versus Grove.
Simmons played in 20 MLB seasons (1924-41, 1943-44), playing for the Athletics, White Sox, Senators, Braves, Red Sox and Reds. He complied a .334 career average, hitting .300+ in 13 full seasons and winning a pair of batting titles (.381 in 1930 and .390 in 1931). The three-time All Star led the league in hits twice (collecting 200 or more safeties in six seasons), runs scored once (topping 100 runs in six seasons) and RBI once (topping 100 in 12 seasons). He had four seasons of 40+ doubles, seven season with double-digits in triples and three seasons of 30+ home runs. His best campaign was 1931, when he hit .381, with 36 home runs, 165 RBI and 152 runs scored in 138 games. His career stat line was .334-307-1,828, with 1,507 runs scored.
That’s Right!
Al Simmons’ 253 base hits in 1925 are the most ever for a right-handed hitter and the fifth-most all-time behind lefty swingers Ichiro Suzuki (262 in 2004), George Sisler (257 in 1920), Lefty O’Doul (254 in 1929) and Bill Terry 254 in 1930).
Honorable Mentions: Honorable mentions in the outfield include: Tris Speaker, who hit .444-0-7 in eight games against Grove (and who needed more games or a bit more power to crack this lineup); Joe DiMaggio (.361-2-10 in 22 games versus Grove); and Harry Rice (.324-3-15 in 29 games against Grove. Note: Three games (logs) are missing from Rice’s totals versus Grove.
Joe D Finds His Grove Groove
In 1939, when Lefty Grove went 15-4 with an AL-best 2.54 earned run average, Joe DiMaggio raked him for nine hits in five games (a nifty .692 average), with two doubles, one home run, two walks and just one whiff. That season, the Yankee Clipper led the American League with a .381 average.
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Pitcher – Jimmie DeShong
Righty Jimmy DeShong (47-44, 5.08 in seven MLB seasons) found himself on the mound and at the plate against Lefty Grove just twice in his career. He took the loss in both games – but, the career .198 hitter acquitted himself well at the plate, going three-for-six (all singles). In DeShong’s best season (1936), he went 18-10, 4.63 for the Washington Senators.
A Big Oh-Fer
Pitcher Red Faber set the record for futility against Lefty Grove. Faber faced Grove 16 times and drew one walk, while fanning 12 times (without getting a single hit.) Two other players, Johnny Allen (pitcher) and Dick Bartell (shortstop) also managed to put up a .000 average in 16 plate appearances against Lefty.
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Who’s Your Daddy? The Inspiration.
On September 24, 2004, in the middle of a tight pennant race, the Yankees handed future Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez and the Boston Red Sox a tough 6-4 loss. Martinez went 7 1/3 innings giving up nine hits and five earned runs. The game came just five days after (in his previous start) Martinez had lasted just five frames against the Bronx Bombers (eight hits, eight earned runs) in a 16-7 loss.
After that second loss, Martinez candidly commented, “What can I say? I just tip my hat and call the Yankees my daddy.” Little did he know that his comment – and a Yankee fans’ chant of “Who’s your daddy?” would follow him into future starts in New York (all the way to his final MLB start – against the Yankees for the Phillies – in Game Six of the 2009 World Series.)
The concept of “Who’s your daddy?” became the inspiration for Baseball Roundtable to take a look at the players who “had the number” of some of MLB’s premier pitchers. Again, you can find links to the previous “editions” of “Who’s Your Daddy?” near the top of this post.
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Primary Resource: Baseball Reference.com; MLB.com; Baseball-Almanac.com; New England Historical Society.
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