The 1941 Yankees climbed back over .500 by beating the 1998 Yankees four games to two, improving their record to 67-65. The '98 Yankees fell to 40-26.
Charlie Keller’s 1st. inning three-run homer was all the '41 Yankees needed in Game One as they won going away 10-1. Marv Breuer had a magnificent outing as he pitched a complete game and struck out 13 batters. The '98 Yankees gifted the '41 Yankees Game Two with four errors that led to five unearned runs in a 7-5 loss in 13 innings. Paul O’Neill had two errors himself that enabled the '41 Yankees to eventually turn a 3-1 deficit to a 4-3 lead. Bernie Williams briefly gave them a chance to win with an 8th inning two-run homer to retake the lead 5-4. However, Williams made an outfield blunder of his own in the 9th that led to Mariano Rivera “blowing” the save and sending the game into extras. Last and worst, Derek Jeter committed an error to lead off the 13th which led to two runs for the win for the '41 Yanks. Keller hit another three-run homer in Game Three along with Joe Gordon as the '41 Yankees won their third straight by a score of 10-4. The '98 Yankees finally broke through with a win in a big way in Game Four with a 13-4 blow out. Jeter and Williams both had three hits and combined for two doubles, a triple, a home run, seven runs scored, and five RBI. The '41 Yankees clinched the series in Game Five with a 6-4 win. The '98 Yankees won the final game 6-0 thanks to a brilliant three-hit shutout by David Wells.
Joe Dimaggio leads the '41 Yankees in hitting at .365 with 42 home runs, 124 RBI, 121 runs scored, 11 triples, and a 1.150 OPS. Keller is hitting .277 with 30 home runs, 15 triples, 118 RBI, 92 runs scored, 10 stolen bases, and a .950 OPS. Phil Rizzuto is hitting .263 with 10 triples and 25 stolen bases. Bill Dickey is hitting .263 with 80 runs scored. Gordon is hitting .256 with 20 home runs, 89 RBI, and 79 runs scored. Tommy henrich is hitting .250 with 29 home runs, 97 RBI, and 115 runs scored. Johnny Murphy picked up two saves to give him 31 for the season with a 3.87 ERA.
Williams is now hitting .357 with 20 home runs, 71 RBI, 59 runs scored, 11 stolen bases, and a 1.059 OPS. Jeter’s average dropped more to .334 with 16 homers, 53 RBI, 60 runs scored, 12 stolen bases, and a .959 OPS. O’Neill is hitting .276 with 13 home runs, 53 RBI, and 51 runs scored. Tino Martinez is hitting .244 with 19 home runs and 55 RBI. The shutout by Wells improved his record to 8-2 with a 2.83 ERA. The '98 Yankees will take on the 40-38 1978 Yankees in the next series.