Greatest American League
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Yeah, with that many teams, I will approach the Yankees differently. With, at last count, 27 world championship teams, I will have each team play the other in six game series. This will mean each team will play a 156 game play-in season, so the representative from the Yankees franchise will be richly deserved. I will do updates after every Yankees series since it will probably take 18 months to 2 years to complete. Two other teams have to be figured out first: the Astros, which will be taken care of this week, and the Philadelphia/Oakland Athletics who have nine teams themselves, so in reality I’m still several months away from tackling the massive Yankee project.
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The best of 11 series between the 2017 and 2022 Houston Astros went back and forth and came down to the last game. In the end, the 2017 Astros prevailed and will represent Houston in the Greatest American League.
The 2K17 Astros won the first three games at home; they won game one 5-3 on the strength of a bases-clearing triple by Jose Altuve in the 4th. They trailed 5-1 in the 7th inning of game two but came roaring back with three runs in the bottom of the 7th and went ahead for good 6-5 in the bottom of the eighth on a George Springer two-run dinger. They won game three with less drama 7-2; Brian McCann homered and drove in three runs.
The 2K22 Astros won two of the next three games at home; They pounded the 2K17 ‘Stros 11-2 in game four. Yordan Alvarez hit a grand slam in the game. Game five was rained out, taking out the teams’ aces for the rescheduled game five. The 2017 Astros jumped out with four runs in the first inning and held on to win game five 5-2. The 2K22 Astros came back to win game six 9-8 in a wild one that had several lead changes. Kyle Tucker hit two homers and drove in four in the win.
After the 2K17 Astros won game seven 7-2 to take a 5-2 series lead, the 2K22 Astros won the next three games to force a final game 11. Cristian Javier introduced pitching into the series with a 3-hit, 9 strikeout gem in game 8 in a 5-0 win. They held on to win game nine 5-4 despite a three-run rally in the 9th by the 2K17 'Stros. Michael Brantley hit a two-run walk off homer in the 9th of game ten 5-3.
In the final game of the series, Yulieski Gurriel blasted a three run homer to give the 2K17 Astros a 4-2 lead; they would hold on to win 5-4.
Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve led the 2K17 Astros offense that scored 52 runs in the series. Correa hit .390 with 2 HRs, 10 RBI, 9 runs scored and a 1.176 OPS. Altuve hit .289 with 2 HRs, 8 RBI, 9 runs scored, and a .979 OPS. Dallas Kuechel was the diamond in a starting rotation full of coal in this series. Kuechel finished 3-0 with a 2.55 ERA. The other starters, Justin Verlander, Charlie Morton, and Mike Fiers combined for a 6.24 ERA. Ken Giles was a perfect 4-4 in save opportunities with four scoreless innings.
The 2022 Astros also scored 52 runs in the series. Michael Brantley led the team in hitting at .382 with a 1.035 OPS. Yordan Alvarez hit .286 with 5 HRs, 12 RBI and a 1.042 OPS. Alex Bregman hit .275 with 3 HRs and led the team in runs scored with 9. Cristian Javier won both of his starts with a 1.00 ERA. The rest of the staff, Justin Verlander, Framber Valdez, and Jose Urquidy had a combined 5.92 ERA.
Two more franchises are left to fill for the Greatest American League. The next franchise is the Philadelphia/Oakland Athletics. Like Boston, they have nine championship teams. The first five (1910, 1911, 1913, 1929, and 1930) were all managed by legend Connie Mack. The early Mack teams were led by pitching; The highest ERA from the top four starters of the 1910 team was Eddie Plank at 2.01. Sheesh! The ironically nicknamed Home Run Baker hit 11 of those for the 1911 team. That was Barry Bonds 2000s back in the day. Charles Bender was a dual threat pitcher for the 1913 team: 21 wins in 21 starts and 13 saves along with a 2.21 ERA. The 1929 and 1930 A’s had more firepower at the plate with Mickey Cochrane, Jimmie Foxx, and Al Simmons and the legendary Lefty Grove on the mound. They dominated the early 1970s with three straight titles in 1972, 1973, and 1974: Reggie, Catfish, Vida Blue, Rollie Fingers. Finally, you have the 1989 team that was supposed to be a burgeoning dynasty with the Bash Brothers (Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire) and Rickey Henderson. On paper, one of the 1970s teams looks like the most balanced, but the 1910 squad with their brick walls on the mound will be tough to beat.
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Nine teams battled in an 80 game play-in season for the representative from the Philadelphia/Oakland Athletic franchise. One thing was clear; the Connie Mack-led Philadelphia A’s teams between 1910 and 1930 was one of the more overlooked dynasties in the history of baseball. These five teams dominated the Oakland teams in the standings. In the end, it was the 1929 Philadelphia A’s narrowly coming out on top. Here were the final standings:
1929 A’s: 54-26
1930 A’s: 52-28
1913 A’s: 46-34
1910 A’s: 45-35
1911 A’s: 41-39
1972 A’s: 34-46
1974 A’s: 34-46
1989 A’s: 28-52
1973 A’s: 26-54The 1929 A’s averaged 4.6 runs a game despite hitting just .230 as a team and had a team ERA of 3.24. Bing Miller led the team in hitting at .301 with 11 triples. Jimmy Dykes hit .284 with 11 homers, 10 triples, 26 doubles, 52 RBI, and 61 runs scored. Mule Haas hit .268 with 49 RBI. Al Simmons hit .264 with 13 homeruns and a team-leading 80 RBI. Jimmie Foxx led the team in homeruns with 14 and runs scored with 63 while hitting .254. On the mound, Lefty Grove led the way with a 13-4 record and a 2.69 ERA. Bill Shores finished 10-3 with a 2.99 ERA. George Earnshaw was erratic but often effective; he finished 9-8 with a 3.49 ERA. He walked 106 batters in 170 1/3 innings and gave up 116 hits.Eddie Rommel turned out to be the best closer as he finished 5-2 with 25 saves and a 2.17 ERA.
The 1930 A’s finished second on the strength of a juggernaut offense that averaged 5.4 runs a game while hitting .250. Their team ERA was identical with the 1929 A’s at 3.24. The 1930 Al Simmons card is the greatest I’ve ever seen (1s at 11 and 66, 2 at 33, 6’s at 22, 44 and 55!) and his production didn’t disappoint. Simmons hit .317 with 25 homeruns, 90 RBI, 71 runs scored, and a 1.001 OPS. Simmons wasn’t the only one who raked. Mickey Cochrane hit .300 with 10 homers, 68 runs scored, and 51 RBI. Jimmie Foxx hit .284 with 23 homeruns 79 RBI, 67 runs scored and a 1.006 OPS. Pitching was Lefty Grove, George Earnshaw, and pray. Grove dominated with a 14-3 record and a 1.54 ERA. Earnshaw finished 12-4 with a 2.45 ERA. six of the other seven pitchers on the staff had ERAs of 4.09 or higher.
The 1913 A’s had the best team batting average at .256 and stole 139 bases while averaging 4.5 runs scored a game. Homerun Baker hit only three, but he drove in 60 while hitting .326 with 22 doubles and 26 stolen bases. Danny Murphy hit .317 with 11 triples and 49 RBI. Eddie Collins hit .288 with 53 RBI, 50 runs scored and 38 stolen bases. Starters Chief Bender, Eddie Plank, and Boardwalk Brown had ERAs below 3. Bender was 14-5 with a 2.34 ERA, Plank was 11-6 with a 2.66 ERA, and Brown was 9-6 with a 2.76 ERA.
The 1910 A’s struggled a little more to score runs but had dominant pitching (2.68 team ERA). Rube Oldring led the team in hitting at .298 with 14 triples, 12 stolen bases, and 54 runs scored.Danny Murphy hit .293 with 12 triples, 17 steals, 45 runs scored and 46 RBI. Two of their four starters had ERAs below 2! Jack Coombs was 10-8 with a 1.88 ERA. Charley Bender was 10-3 with a 1.37 ERA.
The 1911 A’s averaged 4 runs scored a game with a 3.73 team ERA. Charley Bender led an otherwise mediocre starting pitching staff with a 8-2 record and a 1.83 ERA.
The Oakland teams all struggled to score runs; the 1989 team actually scored less than three runs a game. Some highlights: Joe Rudi hit .255 with 27 doubles and 50 RBI for the '74 A’s while Reggie Jackson hit .252 with 17 homers, 19 stolen bases, and 46 RBI. Dave Stewart, Mike Moore, and Storm Davis combined for a 20-34 record despite ERAs of 3.16, 3.02, and 3.32 respectively. Catfish Hunter was 7-10 with a 2.29 ERA for the '74 A’s and 7-10 with a 2.56 ERA for the '72 A’s. Rollie Fingers was surprisingly erratic across the board; he was 2-2 with 19 saves and a 3.33 ERA for the '74 A’s, 1-6 with 15 saves and a 3.92 ERA for the '73 A’s and 4-5 with 15 saves and a 3.45 ERA for the '72 A’s.
Meanwhile, a thirteenth team will enter the Greatest American League in the form of the 2023 Texas Rangers. That leaves the New York Yankees and their 27 title teams. Ruth, Gehrig, Dimaggio, Mantle, Reggie, Jeter. This will be fun and very long. Each team will play the other in six games apiece, totally 156 games per team. I will provide updates after every six game series; otherwise you may never hear from me again!
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Before I report on the first Yankee series, I will be handling the pitching staffs differently compared to all of the other previous franchises. I had been going with four-man staffs, but since all of the Yankee teams will be playing 156 games, all of the Yankees pitchers will have approximately the same amount of starts they had from their respective seasons.
The first Yankee series was between the first two titleholders: The 1923 and the famous “murderer’s row” from 1927. Like most baseball fans, I knew about the Lou Gehrig replacing Wally Pipp story, but I never knew that Pipp was a part of the first Yankee championship team in 1923. His squad took three of the first four games in this series before the '27 Yankees won the final two games to split the series.
Waite Hoyt, the staff ace for the '27 Yankees, was the standout player in this series. He won both of his starts, a 3-hit shutout in a 3-0 game one win and he gave up only one run in their game six 6-1 win. Hoyt has a 0.50 ERA with a 0.50 WHIP and 10 strikeouts in 18 innings pitched. Hoyt was one of the few pitchers that was effective in a series that averaged 10 runs scored a game.
After getting shut out in game one, the '23 Yankees offense went off in the next three games. They overcame a 5-0 deficit in game two and scored six runs in the 7th inning, three from a homerun by Babe Ruth, to win 9-6. After winning game three 7-2, they took a 9-0 lead in game four. The '27 Yankees battled back and cut the lead to 9-7 with six runs scored in the 7th inning. The '23 Yankees scored six runs of their own in the following inning to seal a 15-8 win. The '27 Yankees cooled off the '23 Yankees bats in the final two games, a 4-3 12 inning game won on an Earle Combs walkoff double and 6-1.
Here were some of the other standout performances: 1923 Babe Ruth hit just …211, but walked 9 times and hit 3 homers for a 1.201 OPS. He scored six runs and drove in nine. 1927 Ruth hit .318 with two homeruns, six RBI, and a 1.172 OPS. Bob Meusel hit .304 for the '27 Yankees and drove in nine runs in the series. 1923 Waite Hoyt also pitched well, winning his only start and compiling a 1.64 ERA in two appearances.
The 1927 Yankees will play the 1928 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1927 Yankees took on their next door neighbor, the 1928 Yankees, and came away with another six game split.
Three of the games were one-run games, including Game One won by the '28 Yankees 3-2. Game Two was the most dramatic contest of the series; the game was either tied or changed leads six times before the '27 Yankees won 5-4 on a Lou Gehrig walk off double. Game Three was an outlier blowout won by the '28 Yankees 14-5 in which every player either scored or drove in a run. The '27 Yankees won the next two games 5-4 and 6-3. In the latter game, Babe Ruth drove in four of the runs with a homerun and a triple. The '28 Yankees forged a split in the series with a 8-6 triumph.
'27 Ruth hit .428 in the series with three homeruns and eight RBI to bring his overall numbers to .372 with five HRs, 14 RBI, 13 runs scored, and a 1.393 OPS. Earle Combs is off to a good start, hitting .321 with 10 runs scored. Bob Meusel’s average dropped to .289, but he still has a .950 OPS and 12 RBI. Lou Gehrig is off to a solid start, hitting .295 with three HR and 11 RBI. Waite Hoyt is off to a dominant beginning; he won his third start to bring his record to 3-0 with a 0.69 ERA. Bob Shawkey has pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings out of the bullpen and has earned two wins and two saves.
'28 Combs hit .414 in the series and tied Ruth for the most runs scored with seven. Ruth hit .300 with three homers and a team-leading six RBI along with Gehrig who hit .391 in the series. George Pipgras won both of his starts with a 3.05 ERA. The 1928 Yankees will take on the 1932 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1928 Yankees flexed their muscles by beating the 1932 Yankees five out of six games to boost their record to 8-4.
They won the first two games 6-1 and 6-3 respectively. Lou Gehrig drove in four of the runs in game two with a double and a homerun. The '32 Yankees won their lone contest in game three 9-2; Bill Dickey had five RBI on a two-run double and a three-run homer. After a rain out, the '28 Yankees beat the '32 Yankees in a 10-6 shootout in game four; Bob Meusel hit a grand slam and drove in six runs. George Pipgras introduced pitching in game 5 as he pitched a two-hit shutout in a 4-0 win. The '28 Yankees closed out the series with a 7-5 win, a series they averaged seven runs scored a game!
'28 Babe Ruth had a monster series: .550 with three homeruns and eight RBI. He is now hitting .425 overall with six homeruns, 19 runs scored, 14 RBI, and a 1.524 OPS.Ruth is one of five players currently hitting above .320. Tony Lazzeri is hitting .358 with a 1.007 OPS. Earle Combs is hitting .327 with 11 runs scored. Lou Gehrig is hitting .326 with 14 RBI and a .994 OPS. Joe Dugan is also hitting .326.With the shutout, George Pipgras ran his record to 3-0 with a 1.89 ERA.
1932 Ruth and Lazzeri were the only players to hit above .300 in the series. '32 Lazzeri hit .360 with a 1.087 OPS while Ruth hit .350 with a 1.031 OPS. '32 Pipgras won their only game and has a 2.01 ERA with four appearances; overall their pitching struggled mightily with a team 4.75 ERA. The 1932 Yankees will face the 1936 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1932 Yankees rebounded by taking five out of six games from the 1936 Yankees, the first championship team without Babe Ruth and with Joe Dimaggio, to even their record at 6-6.
The '32 Yankees won the first five games of this series: They won Game One 16-7; Ruth hit two homeruns and Bill Dickey drove in five runs with a triple and a homer. They won Game Three 6-5 after trailing 5-0; they scored three in the 7th on a two-run homer by Dickey and a solo blast by Joe Sewell back-to-back. The '36 Yankees avoided a sweep by winning game six 14-4; Bob Seeds came off the bench for an injured George Selkirk and hit two homeruns in that game.
Dickey had a tremendous series for the '32 Yankees; he hit .376 with two homeruns and nine RBI. Overall, he is hitting .304 with four HRs and 18 RBI. Ruth dropped to .289 but has six homeruns, 14 RBI, and a 1.122 OPS. Tony Lazzeri leads the team in hitting at .367 with 10 RBI and a 1.022 OPS. George Pipgras has two complete games in two starts and is 2-0 with a 2.81 ERA. Jumbo Brown has been solid in a mixture of starts and the bullpen, 1-0 with a 2.80 ERA.
Lou Gehrig had a ridiculous series for the '36 Yankees; he hit .542 with four homeruns, seven RBI, 12 runs scored and a 1.746 OPS! Dimaggio hit .444 with a 1.168 OPS. The '36 pitching staff was woeful with a team ERA of 7.00. They will face the 1937 Yankees in the next series.
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The series between the 1936 and 1937 Yankees had a lot of fireworks; the teams combined for 20 homeruns in the six game series, with the '36 Yankees winning four out of six to improve their record to 5-7.
The '37 Yankees won the first two games; Joe Dimaggio hit a go-ahead two-run homer in game one to give them a 5-3 win and Red Ruffing narrowly missed a no-hitter in game two, a 12-0 blowout. The no no was broken up in the 9th on a Lou Gehrig double. Tony Lazzeri led the offense with two homers, a triple and 5 RBI. The '36 Yankees won the remaining four games of the series. Game four went 14 innings with the '36 Yankees scoring six runs in the 14th to win 11-5. Dimaggio hit two homeruns for the '36 Yankees in a 11-6 win in game five. Game six was the most dramatic one of the series; the lead changed hands four times. Jake Powell gave the '36 Yankees a 5-3 lead in the 6th with a three-run homerun. The '37 Yankees put five runs across in the 7th on a bases-clearing double by Bill Dickey and a two-run dinger by Dimaggio to put them in front 9-6. That lead didn’t last long as George Selkirk hit a two-out three run tater to tie the game. The '36 Yankees went back out in front for good in the 9th when Powell lined a RBI single that led to another run on a throwing error by Selkirk for an 11-9 win.
It’s not often you can say a hitter’s average dropped nearly 100 points and is still hitting well over .400, but that’s what Lou Gehrig is doing for the '36 Yankees. Gehrig is hitting .457 with six homeruns, 16 RBI, 17 runs scored an a 1.500 OPS. Likewise, Dimaggio “dropped” to .364 with four homers, 10 RBI, 10 runs scored, and a 1.084 OPS. Powell hit .348 in the series to boost his overall average to .326 with three homeruns and 10 RBI. Pitching continues to be rough; Johnny Broaca is 2-1 with a 2.93 ERA, but the rest of the staff and it’s 6.15 team ERA has been mostly trash.
The 1937 Yankees hit .271 in the series with 12 homeruns. Dimaggio hit .407 with four dingers, nine RBI, and a 1.374 OPS. Gehrig hit .364 with a 1.412 OPS. Two more starters had a 1.0 or better OPS: Tommy Henrich (.318, 1.263 OPS) and Lazzeri (.292, 1.039 OPS). Ruffing (1-0 1.50 ERA in one start and three appearances ) provided one of the few quality starts for a staff that had a 4.76 team ERA in the series. The '37 Yankees will take on the 1938 Yankees in the next series.
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Pitching made a comeback in the series between the 1937 and 1938 Yankees, a six game split between the two teams.
Red Ruffing kicked things off for the '37 Yankees with a 5-hit shutout in a 2-0 win. They won the second game 2-1, but the '38 Yankees won the next three games. Game Five had a number of dramatic twists: The '37 Yankees took a 4-2 lead in the top of the 9th on back-to-back homeruns by Lou Gehrig and Joe Dimaggio, The '38 Yankees tied the game on a two-run dinger by Dimaggio followed by back-to-back doubles by Red Rolfe and George Silkirk to walk off with a 5-4 win. Ruffing was the hero again for the '37 Yankees in the last game of the series but in a different way; Ruffing not only pitched a complete game, but he hit a two-out solo homerun in the top of the 9th to lead his team to a 4-3 win.
The 1938 Yankees only hit .175 in the series. Tommy Henrich (.304) was the only player to hit above .250 in the series. Spud Chandler won his only start with a 1.13 ERA. Johnny Murphy saved two of their wins in two scoreless innings.
Gehrig’s average for the '37 Yankees dropped to .341 with five homers, 11 runs scored, and a 1.280 OPS. Dimaggio’s average dropped to .278 with five homers and 10 RBI. Henrich is now hitting .278 with a 1.006 OPS. Ruffing’s two stellar starts now has him 3-0 with a 1.50 ERA. Bump Hadley is 1-1 in two starts with a 1.80 ERA. The 1937 Yankees will face the 1939 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1937 Yankees split another series, this one with the 1939 Yankees. The '39 Yankees were a remarkable team when you consider that they had to overcome the abrupt retirement of Lou Gehrig when his body was stricken with ALS. As dramatic as his “Luckiest Man” speech was, there were many dramatic games in this series.
The combination of Gehrig and Joe Dimaggio brought the '37 Yankees back from a 5-2 deficit in Game One to win 8-5 on a walk-off grand slam by Dimaggio. Gehrig hit two homers including a two-run blast that closed the gap to 5-4 in the 8th. The two teams traded 4-2 wins in Games Two and Three. The '37 Yankees took a 3-1 lead in the series on the arm and bat of Lefty Gomez. Gomez pitched a complete game in which he gave up one earned run, struck out 10, and went 3-4 at the plate with a double and four RBI in a 12-4 blowout. Bill Dickey brought the '39 Yankees back in the series with two dingers and four RBI including a go-ahead two run shot in the 8th to give them a 6-5 win. Game Six was ridiculous. The '39 Yankees won 10-9 in a game with seven homeruns hit by both teams combined. Dimaggio hit a three-run tater in the first for the '39 Yankees; they led by 8-2 at one point. In the 7th inning, the '37 Yankees roared back with seven runs including a three-run homer by Tommy Henrich, his second of the game, and a two-run goner by '37 Dimaggio to take a 8-7 lead. '39 Dimaggio had the last word with a walk-off two run bomb in the 9th, his second of the game. Playing with these Yankee teams has been even more fun than expected, and I’ve only scratched the surface!
The ‘39 Yankees’ Dimaggio had an amazing series: .478, six HRs, 16 RBI, and a 1.973 OPS. Dickey hit .316 with a pair of homers and a 1.269 OPS. Red Ruffing had a couple of rough (get it?) starts with a 7.87 ERA in 14 2/3 innings.
Gehrig picked up his 10th homerun for the '37 Yankees in this series, while hitting .333 with17 RBI, 18 runs scored, and a 1.334 OPS. Dimaggio is hitting .289 with eight homers and 20 RBI. Ruffing and Gomez continue to deliver quality starts with a combined 5-1 record and ERAs of 2.61 and 2.81 respectively. The '37 Yankees will take on the 1941 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1941 Yankees won three straight games from the 1937 Yankees after dropping two of the first three to win this series 4-2.
The '41 Yankees pounded an 11-4 win in Game One thanks in large part to Charlie Keller who hit two homeruns and drove in five RBI. The '37 Yankees won the next two games 13-3, in which every Yankee starter either scored or drove in a run, and 3-0 on a Lefty Gomez two-hit shutout. Joe Dimaggio took over the rest of the series for the '41 Yankees. In their Game Four 7-4 win, Dimaggio hit three dingers and drove in five RBI. After winning Game Five 7-0 on an Atley Donald three-hit shutout, Dimaggio hit a game-tying two-run homer in the bottom of the 8th in Game Six, and Phil Rizzuto followed with a go-ahead RBI single for a series-clinching 3-2 win.
'41 Dimaggio was the latest Dimaggio to have a dominant series: He hit .478 with five homeruns, nine RBI, eight runs scored and a 1.729 OPS. Rizzuto hit .364. Keller hit .292 with seven runs scored and six RBI. Besides Donald, the '41 Yankees got solid pitching from ace Marius Russo who was 1-0 with a 2.92 ERA in two starts. Johnny Murphy picked up two saves in two opportunities.
For the '37 Yankees, Lou Gehrig continues to lead the way at .333 with 11 HRs, 18 RBI, 24 runs scored, and a 1.312 OPS. Dimaggio continues to hover around .290, hitting .286 with nine HRs, 26 RBI, 16 runs scored, and a .982 OPS. On the mound, Red Ruffing and Lefty Gomez are a combined 6-2 with a 2.65 ERA. Monte Pearson and Bump Hadley are a combined 2-5 with a 5.18 ERA. The '37 Yankees dropped to 10-14 after this series, and will face the 1943 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1937 Yankees split their six game series with the 1943 Yankees. The '43 Yankees were an unspectacular team on paper; Joe Dimaggio was busy serving in the military during World War II. Yet, they held on despite an unreal series by '37 Dimaggio.
The '37 Yankees won Game One 4-3 after George Selkirk’s three-run homer gave them the lead in the bottom of the 8th. The '43 Yankees won the next two games 7-1 and 7-4. In Game Three, the '43 Yankees scored five runs in the 9th after trailing 4-2. Dimaggio carried the '37 Yankees to a 11-7 win in Game Four with three homeruns, including a grand slam, and NINE RBI! The '43 Yankees came back with a dramatic 5-4 comeback win in Game Five; They scored three runs in the bottom of the 8th to tie the game 4-4, and Bud Metheny hit a walkoff homer in the 9th. Dimaggio struck again for the '37 Yankees in the final game, a 14-3 blowout. Dimaggio went 4-6 with a double and a homer and seven more RBI.
Metheny had a great series for the '43 Yankees, hitting .346 with three homeruns, seven RBI, and a 1.064 OPS. Charlie Keller hit .364 with a 1.027 OPS. Ace Spud Chandler had two disappointing starts, going 0-2 with a 4.91 ERA.
Dimaggio hit .333 for the '37 Yankees with six homeruns and an insane 19 RBI in six games to boost his overall numbers to .296 with 15 homers, 45 RBI and a 1.066 OPS. Lou Gehrig leads the team in hitting at .333 with 12 homeruns, 23 RBI, 33 runs scored, and a 1.297 OPS. Johnny Murphy has been as much of an opener as a closer. He has four saves and three losses with a 13.50 ERA in eight innings. The '37 Yankees remain four games under .500 at 13-17 after the split. They will face the 1947 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1937 Yankees won five of six games from the 1947 Yankees thanks to their pitching. Lefty Gomez pitched a four-hit shutout in a 1-0 Game One win; Red Rolfe hit a walkoff double scoring Joe Dimaggio. The '47 Yankees were shutout in back-to-back games when Red Ruffing pitched a one-hitter in an 8-0 win in Game Two. After Lou Gehrig crushed two homeruns and drove in four RBI in a 5-2 Game Five win, Ivy Andrews pitched the third shutout of the series, a six-hitter, in a 3-0 win.
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@ncord The 1947 Yankees edged the 1949 Yankees four games to two in their series. After getting shutout in three of their previous six games, they scored 19 runs in their first two games. Billy Johnson went 3-5 with a double, triple, homer and 5 RBI in a 11-8 Game One win. After losing 8-6 in Game Two, the '49 Yankees won the next game 9-3; Eddie Lopat pitched a complete game and hit a two-run homer. The '47 Yankees won two of the final three games to boost their overall record to 5-7.
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@ncord The 1949 Yankees split a six game series with the 1950 Yankees. This was a back-and-forth series. It began with the '49 Yankees scoring four runs in the bottom of the 7th in Game One to win 6-4. The '50 Bronx Bombers won the next three games. Johnny Mize drove in all four runs with a pair of two-run homers for a 4-1 win in Game Two. Tommy Byrne pitched a three-hit shutout in a 5-0 win in Game Three. Game Four was drunk; The '49 Yankees staked a 7-0 lead early only to see the '50 Yankees score seven runs in the 4th and 13 of the last 14 runs scored in the game to win a wild 13-8 slugfest. The '49 Yankees rebounded to win the final two games including a 10-2 blowout in Game Six in which every player either scored or drove in a run.
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@ncord The 1951 Yankees dominated the 1949 Yankees, winning five of their six games. The '51 Yankees won 10-3 in the opener and 5-2 in Game Two when '49 Yankees starter Tommy Byrne walked eight batters in 4 1/3 innings. They won their third in a row 7-2, a game in which starting pitcher Allie Reynolds pitched a complete game and hit a two-run homer. After losing game four, they won the final two games 9-5 and 3-1. The 1949 Yankees will take on the 1952 Yankees in the next series.
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@ncord The 1949 Yankees beat the 1952 Yankees four games to two after winning four of the first five games. The series had many offensive fireworks. In Game Four, the '49 Yankees won 7-6 thanks to a pair of homeruns by Yogi Berra. Joe Dimaggio led the '49 Bronx Bombers to a 10-1 in Game Five on the strength of 5-5 with a homerun and four RBI. The '52 Yankees won the final game of the series 11-4. Joe Collins drove in six runs while going 3-5 with a homerun. Gene Woodling and Gil McDougald combined to go 10-10 with four runs scored and three RBI.
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The 1953 Yankees dominated their series with the 1952 Yankees, winning the first five games before losing the final game 10-1. They scored two runs in the top of the 9th to win Game One 6-4. Every starter scored or drove in a run in their 9-5 win in Game Two. They pulled off the same trick in a 13-1 blowout in Game Four. They scored double figures in runs again in Game Five, a 10-2 win on the strength of Yogi Berra ( a grand slam and 5 RBI) and Joe Collins (two homeruns and 4 RBI).
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After dropping five of six games in their last series, the 1952 Yankees took five of six from the 1956 Yankees. The two teams split the first two games. The '52 Yankees took Game Three 8-4 after a 6th inning Bill Skowron error led to a six run inning, all unearned. Mickey Mantle had a MONSTER Game 5 won by the '52 Yanks 13-4: Mantle hit the cycle while going 5-5, two homeruns, five RBI and five runs scored.
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The 1956 Yankees took four of six games from the 1958 Yankees to improve their record to 5-7. The '56 Yankees won Game One 4-3 on a walkoff single by Yogi Berra with two outs in the 9th. They won in walkoff fashion again in Game Two 3-2 in 10 innings on a single by Enos Slaughter. Slaughter helped the '58 Yankees win Game Three 4-3 when he hit a go-ahead pinch hit two-run homer in the 7th. After the '58 Yankees tied the series in Game Four, the '56 Bombers won the final two games 6-5 and 9-1.
Mickey Mantle leads the '56 Yankees in hitting at .333 with 11 runs scored and a 1.032 OPS in 12 games. Berra has 15 RBI with a .261 average. Whitey Ford has started the play in season with three straight complete games, all wins, and a 2.00 ERA. The rest of the starting pitching has been mostly shaky, as their team 4.54 ERA would suggest.
Hank Bauer had a great series for the '58 Yankees, hitting .417 with a 1.083 OPS. Mantle hit just .200 but had a .500 OBP thanks to nine walks. Bob Turley was terrible in his two starts, going 0-2 with a 6.03 ERA. The '58 Yankees will take on the 1961 Yankees in the next series.