Greatest American League
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After 17 straight series of either losing or splitting, the 1943 Yankees finally won a series! They won four of six games against the 1951 Yankees to improve their record to 59-91 with just six games left to play in their season. The '51 Yankees dropped to 7-5.
They won this series because their offense had their best series of the season. Despite being no-hit by Ed Lopat in Game Two 7-0, the '43 Yankees averaged five runs a game in the series. They took a 2-1 lead in the series by winning Game Four 4-3 in 10 innings. Johnny Murphy blew the save in the 9th when Johnny Hopp hit a pinch-hit homerun to tie the game 3-3, but Bill Dickey hit a walk-off double with two outs in the 10th to win it. The '51 Yankees won the next game 9-7, but the '43 Yankees won the final two games to win the series. In Game Five, Billy Johnson and Frankie Crosetti each had three RBI in a 9-4 win. Hank Borowy pitched a 2-hit shutout to win the finale 4-0. Johnny Lindell drove in three of the four runs.
Dickey hit .480 in the series with seven RBI to raise his average to .315 with 91 RBI and 39 doubles. Borowy’s shutout improved his record to 7-11 with a 4.66 ERA.
Johnny Mize leads the '51 Yankees in hitting at .348 and RBI with 12. Gil McDougald is hitting .313 with a 1.056 OPS. Lopat’s no-hitter gives him a 2-0 record with a 1.08 ERA. The '51 Yankees will battle with the 38-58 1977 Yankees in the next series.
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After losing two of the first three games, the 1951 Yankees beat the 1977 Yankees in the last three games to win the series four games to two and improve their record to 11-7. The '77 Yankees dropped to 40-62.
Reggie Jackson came out on fire in the first two games; he went '77 World Series in Game One with three homeruns and six RBI, but it wasn’t enough as the '51 Yankees won 7-6. Jackson hit a two-run homerun in Game Two to help the '77 Yankees even the series 3-1. Ron Guidry nearly no-hit the '51 Yankees in Game Three, a 6-1 win. The one hit was a two out double in the 8th inning. The '51 Yankees scored 26 runs in the final three games, winning all three. In Game Four, Hank Bauer went 4-5 with a homerun and three RBI in a 6-4 win. They pumped out 19 hits in Game Five for a 12-0 bludgeoning. While Vic Raschi pitched a two-hit shutout, Yogi Berra went 3-5 with a homerun and five RBI and Joe Dimaggio was 5-6 with four RBI.
Berra is hitting .290 and leads the '51 Yankees in homeruns (4) and RBI (18). Raschi’s shutout evened his record to 2-2 and lowered his ERA to 3.00.
Jackson hit .318 in the series to raise his average to .296. His four homeruns and eight RBI give him 28 homeruns and 69 RBI on the season. Guidry improved his record to 9-7 with a 3.45 ERA. The '77 Yankees will take on the 22-20 1999 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1999 Yankees beat the 1977 Yankees four out of six games to improve their record to 26-22. The '77 Yankees dropped to 42-66.
None of the games were remotely close. The closest game was Game Three won by the '99 Yankees 7-3. The '77 Yankees scored double figures in their two wins: 15-5 in Game Two and 17-4 in Game Four. Hideki Irabu provided some pitching in this series with a six-hit shutout in Game Five for a 8-0 win. The '77 Yankees hit into five double plays in that game.
Paul O’Neill leads the '99 Yankees in hitting at .313. Chuck Knoblauch leads the team in runs scored with 41 despite hitting just .224. Bernie Williams is hitting .291 and leads the team in homeruns with 14 and RBI with 45. El Duque won both of his starts to raise his record to 7-2 with a 2.15 ERA.
Reggie Jackson raised his average to .299 and hit his 30th homerun in this series. He drove in five runs to give him 74 for the season. Ron Guidry picked up his 10th win of the season. The '77 Yankees will battle the 10-8 1941 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1941 Yankees won four of six games from the 1977 Yankees to improve their record to 14-10. The '77 Yankees dropped to 44-70.
The '41 Yankees won the first two games thanks to their offense. Joe Dimaggio, Charlie Keller, and Joe Gordon homered in Game One to lead the to a 8-2 win. They pounded the '77 Yankees 17-7 in Game Two in which every player scored or drove in a run. The '77 Yankees won both of their games in extra innings. In Game Three, Dave Kingman tied the game 6-6 in the 9th with a solo homerun, and Willie Randolph hit a walk-off double in the 10th for a 7-6 win. They won Game Five 4-3 in 10 innings thanks to a go-ahead homerun by Reggie Jackson. Marius Russo threw in a gem in the last game to give the '41 Yankees the series; Russo pitched a two-hitter with 12 strikeouts in a 2-0 win.
Dimaggio is hitting .371 with nine homeruns, 27 RBI, 25 runs scored, and a 1.194 OPS, all team highs. Keller (.326), Gordon (.319) and Red Rolfe (.300) are also hitting .300 or better. Russo’s shutout improved his record to 3-2 with a 2.63 ERA. Spud Chandler is 3-1 in four starts with a 1.75 ERA.
Jackson holds steady at .298 with 31 homeruns, 75 RBI, and 78 runs scored, all team highs. Three of their five starters, Ed Figueroa, Don Gullett, and Catfish Hunter, all have ERAs above 5. The '77 Yankees will take on the 15-9 2009 Yankees in the next series.
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The 2009 Yankees won four of their six games against the 1977 Yankees to improve their record to 19-11. The '77 Yankees dropped to 46-74.
This series had a little bit of everything. C.C. Sabathia shut down the '77 Yankees in Game One with a four-hit shutout in a 3-0 win. Game Two was drunk. The '77 Yankees scored six runs in the first. The 2K9 Yankees came back with five in the second, capped off by a grand slam by Alex Rodriguez. A Rod later hit another homerun and a bases-clearing triple on his way to a 12-9 win. A Rod’s final statline: 4-4, 2 homeruns, a triple, and nine RBI! Dave Kingman led the '77 Yankees to their first win in the series in Game Three 5-4 with a homerun and four RBI. The 2K9 Yankees picked up a couple of dramatic wins in Games Four and Five. Hideki Matsui hit two homeruns and Mark Teixeira hit a go-ahead two run dinger in the 7th inning for a 6-4 win. Mariano Rivera pitched out of a bases-loaded nobody out jam in the 9th by striking out the side. After Chris Chambliss gave the '77 Yankees a 2-1 lead in the 9th off Rivera with a RBI single, the 2K9 Yankees tied the game in the bottom of the inning on a RBI double by Johnny Damon. Backup catcher Francisco Cervilli hit a walk-off double in the 10th to give them a 3-2 win. It was a hard luck outing for Sparky Lyle who blew the save and lost the game on two unearned runs. The '77 Yankees won the final game 10-0. Ed Figeuroa pitched a three hit shutout while Thurman Munson 4-5 at the plate with a triple and four RBI.
Derek Jeter leads the 2K9 in both hitting (.309) and homeruns (9). A Rod only had one hit and RBI in the other five games of the series that wasn’t his monster 9 RBI day. Still, he is hitting .296 with 28 RBI, to lead the team along with Jorge Posada. Sabathia reduced his ERA to 2.81 while raising his record to 4-3. Rivera is 2-0 with six saves in nine appearances with a 1.73 ERA. Reggie Jackson’s average dropped to .292 with 31 homeruns, still team bests. Munson took over the team lead in RBI with 76 while hitting .276 and 16 homeruns. Kingman is hitting .277 with 11 homeruns in 100 plate appearances. Figueroa’s shutout reduced his ERA to 4.75 while improving his record to 6-16. The '77 Yankees will battle with the 1996 Yankees in the next series.
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In a somewhat surprising turn of events, the 1977 Yankees dominated their series with th 1996 Yankees, winning five of six games. The '77 Yankees improved their record to 51-75 while the '96 Yankees dropped to 13-11.
The offense was humming for the '77 Yankees as they scored 42 runs in their five wins. After trailing 4-1 in four innings of Game One, they came back to win 6-4 thanks to Reggie Jackson’s go-ahead two run homer off Mariano Rivera in the 8th inning. Mickey Rivers was 4-4 at the plate in Game Two with a homerun and five runs scored in a 13-5 pounding. The only win for the '96 Yankees came in Game Four. The game was scoreless until the 8th when they scored three runs after a two out error by Bucky Dent, including a two-run dinger by Paul O’Neill. The final two games were full of drama. The '77 Yankees won Game Five 7-6, a game that changed leads five times. They victimized '96 Yankee closer John Wetteland in the 9th with two runs, back-to-back doubles by Willie Randolph and Dent and Jackson beating out an attempted double play that scored Dent. In Game Six, the lead changed hands only four times. Jackson hit a two-run homer in the 7th to give them a 7-6 lead on their way to an 8-6 win. Roy White went 3-4 with a homerun, a stolen base, three RBI, and three runs scored.
Jackson had a strange series; his average dropped seven more points to .285 but he had key plate appearances that led to three wins. He upped his homerun total to 33 and leads the team in runs scored with 84. Thurman Munson leads the team in RBI with 83 while hitting .277 and 17 homeruns. Dave Kingman hit two more homeruns in this series to give him 13 in 109 at bats and raise his OPS to 1.013. Ken Holtzman reduced his ERA to 3.99, only the second starting pitcher with an ERA under 4; Ron Guidry (3.75) is the other.
Derek Jeter leads the '96 Yankees in hitting at .318. Mariano Duncan is hitting .308 and leads the team in RBI with 17. Bernie Williams is hitting .278 and leads the team in homeruns with eight. Dwight Gooden and David Cone remain undefeated; each are 2-0. Rivera and Wetteland both have two losses early in their play-in season. The '96 Yankees will play the 28-38 1952 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1952 Yankees and 1996 Yankees split their six game series with the road team winning every game. The '52 Yankees remained 10 games under .500 at 31-41 while the '96 Yankees stayed two games over .500 at 16-14.
The '52 Yankees won the first three games of the series 7-2. 14-1 and 3-2. Every player scored or drove in a run in Game Two. The '96 Yankees won the final three games, starting with a dramatic 7-5 Game Four victory. Darryl Strawberry broke a 5-5 tie in the 9th inning with a two-out two-run single.
Mickey Mantle leads the '52 Yankees in hitting at .312 with 10 homeruns, 52 RBI, and 52 runs scored. Yogi Berra leads the team in runs scored with 55 despite hitting just .229. Joe Collins is hitting .271 while leading the team in homeruns (16) and RBI (66). Allie Reynolds continued his amazing season with his 11th win (against two losses) with a 2.68 ERA.
Derek Jeter leads the ‘96 Yankees in hitting at .308. Bernie Williams’ average dropped 11 points to .267 but hit his 9th homerun and he leads the team in runs scored with 26. Mariano Duncan’s average dropped to .295 but he leads the team in RBI with 21. Andy Pettite remains undefeated in eight starts with a 4-0 record and a 1.92 ERA. The '96 Yankees will battle with the 30-36 1958 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1958 Yankees cruised past the 1996 Yankees winning five of their six games to improve their record to 35-37. The '96 Yankees fell below .500 at 17-19.
The '58 Yankees won the first three games of the series by an astonishing 48-4 combined score. They won Game One 16-3; every player scored or drove in a run, led by Elston Howard who went 5-6 with two RBI and two runs scored. Whitey Ford pitched a two-hit shutout in a 6-0 win in Game Two. They won Game Three 26-1 on the strength of 25 hits. 15 of their runs were scored in the 9th inning alone. Mickey Mantle went 3-5 with five RBI. Yogi Berra went 3-6 with six RBI. The '96 Yankees got some revenge in Game Four, winning 12-0. Andy Pettitte pitched a four=hit shutout while the offense scored in seven out of nine innings. Paul O’Neill went 4-5 with a homerun and four RBI. The '58 Yankees won the final two games 8-3 and 5-2. Norm Siebern led the offense in Game Five with a 4-5, two double, homerun, three RBI performance.
Howard hit .367 with two homeruns and nine RBI in the series to raise his average to .335. Mantle hit .423 to raise his average to .254 with 46 runs scored to lead the team. Andy Carey leads the team in homers (16) and RBI (52) while hitting .248. Ford’s shutout improved his record to 5-4 and lowered his ERA to 2.67.
Mariano Duncan raised his average 10 points to .305 to lead the '96 Yankees along with 25 RBI. Bernie Williams hit his 10th homerun, but his average plummeted 35 points to .232. Pettitte is now 5-0 with a 1.67 ERA. The '96 Yankees will take on the 24-24 1947 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1947 Yankees beat the 1996 Yankees four out of six games to move their record two games over .500 at 28-26. The '96 Yankees fell to 19-23.
The '47 Yankees won the first three games of this series mainly because of pitching. Allie Reynolds and Spec Shea pitched back-to-back four hit shutouts in identical 4-0 wins. It took 11 innings for the ‘96 Yankees to win their first game of the series in Game Four. Bernie Williams’ RBI single in the 11th led them to a 4-3 win. Mike Aldrete broke open a close game in Game Five with a pinch-hit grand slam in the 8th for a 7-1 win. The final game was full of drama. George McQuinn hit a three-run homer off Mariano Rivera in the 8th to give the '47 Yankees a 4-3 lead. Tino Martinez answered with a solo homerun in the 9th off closer Joe Page, his second homer of the game, to send the game into extras. Tommy Henrich singled in Joe Dimaggio in the 11th for a walk-off 5-4 win.
Dimaggio leads the '47 Yankees in batting average at .296 and RBI with 35. McQuinn is hitting .293 and leads the team in homeruns (6) and runs scored (40). Reynolds leads the staff with a 7-2 record and a 2.12 ERA. Shea’s shutout reduced his ERA to 5.26.
Mariano Duncan’s average fell to .300, still best on the ‘96 Yankees; he also leads in RBI with 26. Bernie Williams’ average continued to fall to .213 with a team high in runs scored (30) and homers (10). Andy Pettitte picked up his first loss, but he is still 5-1 with a 2.16 ERA. Rivera’s ERA ballooned to 4.79. The '96 Yankees will battle the 25-23 2000 Yankees in the next series.
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The 2000 Yankees won four of their six games with the 1996 Yankees to improve their record to 29-25. The '96 Yankees dropped to 21-27.
The 2K Yankees won the first four games of this series that featured three grand slams and a no-hitter. In Game One, Derek Jeter was 2-4 with a Granny, six RBI, and three runs scored while leading the 2K Yankees to a 14-9 win. Chuck Knoblauch added a 5-6 performance at the plate with a double and three RBI. Mariano Duncan had six RBI in a losing cause while going 3-4 with three doubles. Andy Pettitte no-hit the '96 Yankees in Game Two for a 2-0 win. Knoblauch hit the second grand slam of the series in Game Four to cap off a six run fourth inning for a 7-4 win. The '96 Yankees won the final two games of the series. Wade Boggs went 5-5 with a double and and four RBI for a 8-2 win. Cecil Fielder blasted the third grand slam of the series in the final game, turning a 3-1 deficit in the 7th inning to a 5-3 lead on the way to a 6-4 win.
Knoblauch hit .478 in the series with seven RBI; he raised his overall average to .254. Jeter hit .320 to raise his team leading average to .290 along with 52 runs scored. David Justice leads the team in homeruns (14) and RBI (41) despite hitting just .210. Pettitte’s no no improved his record to 6-2 with a 2.70 ERA. Mariano Rivera picked up a couple of more saves to give him 15 for the season with a 1.88 ERA.
Duncan continues to lead the '96 Yankees in hitting at .293 and his seven RBI in the series gives him a team best 33 for the season. Bernie Williams leads the team in homeruns (10) and runs scored (34), despite hitting just .208. '96 Pettitte is not doing shabby either; he is now 5-2 with a 2.14 ERA. Dwight Gooden evened his record to 3-3 with a 2.36 ERA. The '96 Yankees will take on the 16-14 1932 Yankees in the next series.