The 1939 Yankees defeated the 1951 Yankees in their six game series four games to two. The '39 Yankees improved their record to 52-38, 10th best. The '51 Yankees record dropped to 54-48.
Pitching was strong for both teams in the first four games with only 14 runs scored by both teams combined. The '39 Yankees won three of those four games 4-1, 2-1, and 2-1 in 11 innings. Joe Gordon provided late game heroics in Game Three with a go-ahead RBI single in the 9th for a 2-1 win and a walk-off home run in Game Four in the 11th for a 2-1 win. The '51 Yankees won a back-and-forth thriller in Game Five 7-6 in 13 innings. They led 6-1 after four innings. The '39 Yankees came back to tie the game in the 8th on a Red Rolfe RBI triple followed by a Charlie Keller RBI single. Mickey Mantle drove in the winning run for the '51 Yankees with a RBI single in the 13th. The '39 Yankees clinched the series in the finale 7-5 thanks to a pair of two-run homers by George Selkirk.
Keller leads the '39 Yankees in hitting at .344 with 14 home runs, 52 RBI, 67 runs scored, and a .993 OPS. Joe Dimaggio is hitting .305 with 19 home runs, 68 RBI, 71 runs scored, and a .962 OPS. Red Rolfe is hitting .294 with 50 RBI and 69 runs scored. Bill Dickey is hitting .291 with 18 home runs, 81 RBI, and a .943 OPS. Joe Gordon is hitting .231 with 12 home runs and 53 RBI. Red Ruffing split his two starts; he is 14-3 with a 2.02 ERA.
Yogi Berra’s average drooped slightly to .288 with 19 home runs, 81 RBI, and 50 runs scored. Allie Reynolds split his two starts; he is 7-6 with a 2.81 ERA. The '51 Yankees will face the 46-32 1998 Yankees in the next series.