Cavarretta was exceptionally popular in Chicago, and how could he not be? He was from Chicago, and he was the type of player who gave everything he had on every play.
He first saw Major League action at 17 with the Cubs in 1935. The following season, he was their starting First Baseman, and he batted over .270 the next two years. Cavarretta suffered a plethora of injuries over the next five years, and he was not playing full time, but he was healthy by 1942, and he was one of the few stars to stay stateside as his hearing problem kept him from being drafted to serve the American military in World War II.
From 1944 to 1947, Cavarretta was an All-Star, winning the National League MVP in 1945. In that season, he won the Batting Title (.355), the OBP Title (.449), and he had a .500 Slugging Percentage. He had helped the Cubs reach the World Series that year, where he batted .423, similar to the .462 he batted in the 1938 World Series. The Cubs did not win either of them, but he proved he was a clutch player, which only added to his legacy.
Cavarretta suffered more injuries from 1948 on, and he played less and less. He became the Cubs Player/Manager in 1951, but he was fired before the 1954 season began. The crosstown White Sox signed him, and he played two final years there before retiring.
While Cavarretta was statistically not at the level of others around him on this list, his desire to play and effort on the field had few equals. That latter fact is why he once had 35.6% of the Hall of Fame ballot.
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