Medwick’s reputation as a bad-ball hitter who slashed doubles to all fields got him into the Hall of Fame, but he is most often remembered for his unusual removal from Game Seven of the 1934 World Series. With the Cardinals winning a blowout in Detroit, he slid hard into Tiger third baseman Marv Owen on his sixth-inning triple, even though the throw hadn’t come in yet. When Medwick went out to left field with the score 9-0, Detroit fans threw bottles, food, and garbage at him. Commissioner Landis, in attendance as always at the Series game, ordered Medwick from the field for his own safety so the game could be resumed, and Chick Fullis replaced him in left field. Medwick hit .379 with five RBI for the Series, including four hits, one a HR, in the opener.
Medwick came up in September 1932 and hit .349 to win the job. He hit .300 his first 11 seasons, and won the NL’s last Triple Crown in 1937 with career highs of 31 HR, 154 RBI, and a .374 BA. He was NL MVP that year, also leading in slugging, runs, and doubles. For three straight years, 1936-38, he led the NL in both RBI and doubles. He drove in at least 100 runners six straight seasons (1934-39), scored 100 runs six times, including five consecutive years (1934-38), hit 40 doubles seven straight years (1933-39), and had seven seasons of 10 or more triples.
His prime seasons came with the Cardinals. After dropping off slightly in 1939, he was sold to the Dodgers in mid-1940 for the then-astronomical sum of 125,000. He helped Brooklyn to their first pennant in over 20 years in 1941 with his last great season, but suffered a life-threatening beaning by former teammate Bob Bowman after quarreling with him in an elevator; Branch Rickey thought it was an attempt by St. Louis to ruin Medwick. He had decent seasons in 1942 and, after a trade to the Giants, in 1944, but was never the same after the beaning. The Hall of Fame Veterans Committee selected him in 1968.
