The 1923 Yankees had a 3-1 lead in their six game series with the 1950 Yankees only to drop the final two games to settle for a split. The '50 Yankees remain 10 games over .500 at 41-31 while the '23 Yankees stay two games over at 58-56.
Offense was plentiful in this series; the winning team in each game scored six or more runs. The '23 Yankees walloped the '50 Yankees in Game One 12-4; Bob Meusel led the way with a double, triple, home run and four RBI. The '50 Yankees pounded back in Game Two with a 17-1 slaughter. Every player either scored or drove in a run, led by Yogi Berra who went 3-6 with a home run and five RBI. The '23 Yankees delivered the next haymakers in Game Three with five home runs, leading to an 18-5 win. Babe Ruth hit two of the home runs as part of a four hit day with four RBI and four runs scored. After winning Game Four 6-2, the '23 Yankees had a 3-1 edge in the series. Joe Dimaggio led the '50 Yankees back in Game Five with a 3-3 day with two home runs, three RBI and three runs scored in a 8-6 win. Pitching looked like it wanted a say in the final game as Vic Raschi staked a 3-0 lead for the '50 Yankees in the 8th inning. That’s when the '23 Yankees rallied to score four runs in the 8th, then add a fifth on Wally Schang’s solo home run in the 9th to take a 5-3 lead. Thanks to an Aaron Ward error, the '50 Yankees came back to score two in the 9th, capped off by a two-out RBI single by Hank Bauer. Jerry Coleman hit a walk-off homer in the 10th to complete a wild 6-5 win to split the series.
Johnny Hopp leads the '50 Yankees in hitting at .353 with 51 runs scored and a .942 OPS. Dimaggio is hitting .335 with 16 home runs, 75 RBI, 61 runs scored, and a .995 OPS. Yogi Berra is hitting .297 with 65 RBI and 51 runs scored. Phil Rizzuto his hitting .294 with 56 runs scored. Ed Lopat picked up his 10th win; he is 10-2 with a 3.36 ERA.
After hitting .500 in the series (11/22 with four homers and seven RBI), Ruth is now hitting .401 with 42 games left to play. He also has 39 home runs, 105 RBI, 115 runs scored, 10 triples, 10 stolen bases, 111 walks, and a 1.383 OPS. Other than that, he is slacking. Meusel hit .444 in the series with 13 RBI to bring his average up to .313 with 84 RBI. Whitey Witt is hitting .278 with 80 runs scored. The '23 Yankees will take on the 57-39 1937 Yankees in the next series.