Toastometer case study · No. 11
1934 National League Pennant St. Louis Cardinals vs. New York Giants
The Gashouse Gang Stayed Above the Line
- Peak deficit
- 7 games
- Lowest TM
- +0.8
- Days Toast
- 0
- Outcome
- Won NL Pennant
The Race
The Gashouse Gang Stayed Above the Line
The defending champion Giants led the National League through most of the summer and carried a 5½-game advantage into September.
St. Louis kept winning behind Dizzy and Paul Dean. New York still led by three with five to play, then lost every remaining game.
Toastometer Timeline
The race, one playing day at a time
PCR is fixed at .400. Shared off-days are omitted; playoff rows have no TM.
| Date | STL | NYG | GB | GR | TM | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1 | 75–51 | 81–46 | 5.5 | 27 | +5.8 | Warming |
| Sep 2 | 75–51 | 81–47 | 5.0 | 27 | +6.3 | Warming |
| Sep 3 | 75–53 | 81–47 | 6.0 | 25 | +4.5 | Browning |
| Sep 4 | 75–53 | 83–47 | 7.0 | 25 | +3.5 | Browning |
| Sep 5 | 76–53 | 84–47 | 7.0 | 24 | +3.1 | Browning |
| Sep 6 | 77–53 | 85–47 | 7.0 | 23 | +2.7 | Browning |
| Sep 7 | 77–53 | 85–48 | 6.5 | 23 | +3.2 | Browning |
| Sep 9 | 79–53 | 85–49 | 5.0 | 21 | +3.9 | Browning |
| Sep 10 | 80–53 | 85–50 | 4.0 | 20 | +4.5 | Browning |
| Sep 11 | 81–54 | 86–50 | 4.5 | 18 | +3.2 | Browning |
| Sep 12 | 81–55 | 87–50 | 5.5 | 17 | +1.8 | Toasty |
| Sep 13 | 82–55 | 87–51 | 4.5 | 16 | +2.4 | Browning |
| Sep 14 | 82–56 | 88–51 | 5.5 | 15 | +1.0 | Toasty |
| Sep 16 | 84–56 | 88–53 | 3.5 | 13 | +2.2 | Browning |
| Sep 18 | 84–56 | 89–54 | 3.5 | 13 | +2.2 | Browning |
| Sep 19 | 84–56 | 90–54 | 4.0 | 13 | +1.7 | Toasty |
| Sep 20 | 86–56 | 91–54 | 3.5 | 11 | +1.4 | Toasty |
| Sep 21 | 88–56 | 92–54 | 3.0 | 9 | +1.1 | Toasty |
| Sep 22 | 88–56 | 92–55 | 2.5 | 9 | +1.6 | Toasty |
| Sep 23 | 89–57 | 93–56 | 2.5 | 7 | +0.8 | Toasty |
| Sep 24 | 90–57 | 93–56 | 2.0 | 6 | +0.9 | Toasty |
| Sep 25 | 91–57 | 93–57 | 1.0 | 5 | +1.5 | Toasty |
| Sep 26 | 91–58 | 93–58 | 1.0 | 4 | +1.1 | Toasty |
| Sep 27 | 92–58 | 93–58 | 0.5 | 3 | +1.2 | Toasty |
| Sep 28 | 93–58 | 93–58 | 0.0 | 2 | +1.3 | Toasty |
| Sep 29 | 94–58 | 93–59 | −1.0 | 1 | +1.9 | Leading |
| Sep 30 | 95–58 | 93–60 | −2.0 | 0 | +2.5 | Leading |
Toast Margin Chart
How close the chase came to Toast
The zero line separates an achievable closing pace from Toast.
The Turning Points
How the race changed
- Sep. 12The squeeze begins
Five and a half back with 17 Cardinals games left cut TM to +1.8.
- Sep. 23The minimum
Two and a half back with seven left produced TM +0.8.
- Sep. 30A two-game pennant
St. Louis finished its surge while New York completed an 0–5 ending.
What Happened
Won NL Pennant
The Cardinals won the pennant at 95–58. The Giants finished 93–60 after losing their last five games.
St. Louis then defeated Detroit in seven games to win the World Series.
Toastometer Verdict
Great Chase — Never Toast
St. Louis never became Toast. Its minimum was +0.8, close enough to be Toasty but never negative.
The result says the Giants’ late collapse was severe, yet the Cardinals always retained a plausible path through the remaining schedule.
Daily records and results verified against the official MLB schedules for St. Louis Cardinals and New York Giants. Records are shown after play on each date.