Greatest American League
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Once again, the 1958 Yankees split a six game series while alternating wins; this time it was with the 1951 Yankees. The '58 Yankees stayed two games under .500 at 50-52 while the '51 Yankees remained eight games over .500 at 28-20.
All three '58 Yankee wins were of the spectacular kind. In Game One, Mickey Mantle hit two homeruns to give them an early 3-1 lead. The '51 Yankees tied the game with a run in the 8th and a pinch-hit RBI single by Johnny Hopp in the 9th. Hank Bauer ended the game for the '58 Yankees with a walk-off homer in the bottom of the 9th for a 4-3 win. In Game Three, they took a 4-0 1st. inning lead on an Andy Carey grand slam. The '51 Yankees scored eight unanswered runs to lead 8-4 after seven innings. Carey hit his second homerun of the game, a two-run blast, to trim the deficit to 8-6 in the 8th, but the '51 Yankees tacked two more in the 9th on back-to-back bases loaded walks to lengthen the lead to 10-6. The game ended with fireworks as the '58 Yankees pounded three homeruns, a pair of two-run dingers by Gil McDougald and Yogi Berra to tie the game. After Berra tied the game, Moose Skowron hit a walk-off tater for an amazing 11-10 win. In Game Five, the '58 Yankees jumped out to a 5-0 lead. Once again, the '51 Yankees came roaring back, scoring six unanswered runs, culminated by a pinch hit two-run homer by McDougald in the 8th to take a 6-5 lead. McDougald’s homerun was part of a bench performance that also included Hopp and Johnny Mize that combined to go 3-3 with a homerun, three runs scored and four RBI. Berra put the '58 Yankees back in the lead to stay in the 9th on a two-run single for a 7-6 win. All of the '51 Yankee wins came in pitching duels; 3-2 in Game Two, 2-0 in Game Four, and 3-2 in 15 innings in Game Six.
Mantle leads the '51 Yankees in hitting at .296. Berra leads the team in homeruns with nine and RBI with 40 while hitting .254. Vic Raschi is 8-3 with a 1.70 ERA. Tom Morgan pitched a one hit shutout in Game Four to pick up his first win; he reduced his ERA to 5.21.
Carey hit his 20th homerun in the series; he leads the the '58 Yankees in RBI with 73 while hitting .249. Ryne Duren picked up his 19th save in this series; he also lowered his ERA to 2.02. The '58 Yankees will face the 34-20 1936 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1936 Yankees dominated their series with the 1958 Yankees, winning five of six games to raise their record to 39-21, seventh best by percentage. The '58 Yankees fell further behind .500 at 51-57.
Red Ruffing did damage on the mound and the plate in the '36 Yankees 4-3 Game One win; he got the win thanks to his game-winning solo homerun in the 8th to break a 3-3 tie. Joe Dimaggio broke out in Game Two with five RBI on a triple and homerun for a 12-6 win. The '36 Yankees overcame a 4-2 deficit in Game Three to win 5-4 thanks to Red Rolfe’s two-run single in the 8th inning. They won their fourth straight in Game Four with more late inning dramatics. The game was tied 1-1 in the 9th when the '58 Yankees went ahead 2-1 on an Enos Slaughter pinch-hit sac fly. In the bottom of the inning, Jake Powell laced a two-out RBI single to tie the game and pinch hitter Roy Johnson followed with a walk-off double for a 3-2 win. The '58 Yankees picked up their only win in Game 5. Elston Howard hit a pinch-hit three run homerun in the 7th to give them a 6-2 lead. They held on for a 6-5 win. The final game went extra innings. The '36 Yankees jumped out to a 5-0 lead on the strength of a Tony Lazzeri grand slam in the 2nd inning. The '58 Yankees came back to tie the game in the 7th when Andy Carey hit a two-run dinger. The two teams exchanged runs in the 8th which sent the game to extras. The '36 Yankees won in bizarre fashion as Rolfe scored from second after passed balls on back-to-back pitches for a 7-6 win.
Lou Gehrig leads the '36 Yankees in hitting at .346 with 31 homeruns, 80 RBI, 73 runs scored and a 1.235 OPS. Dimaggio his hitting .328 with 14 homeruns, 55 runs scored and a .992 OPS. Bill Dickey is also hitting .328 with 11 homeruns, 56 RBI and a .932 OPS. George Selkirk is hitting .315 with a .928 OPS. Powell is hitting .300. Ruffing is now 10-2 with a 4.14 ERA. Pat Malone picked up a couple of saves to give him 13 for the season with a 2.20 ERA
Howard is hitting .352 for the '58 Yankees with a .972 OPS. Norm Siebern and Mickey Mantle lead the team in runs scored with 74. Carey now has 22 homeruns and a team leading 77 RBI. Ryne Duren saved their only win, his 20th of the season. The '58 Yankees will take on the 27-15 1923 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1923 Yankees beat the 1958 Yankees four games to two in their six game series. The '23 Yankees improved their record to 31-17 while the '58 Yankees dropped to 53-61.
The '58 Yankees took the first game 5-4 in a marathon 16 inning affair. The '23 Yankees jumped out to a 3-0 lead in a bizarre 1st. inning that included an error, three walks, and no hits. After the '58 Yankees came back to tie the game the '23 Yankees went back in front 4-3 in the 9th after Lou Gehrig hit a pinch-hit triple and scored on a single by Whitey Witt. Tony Kubek sent the game into extras with a solo homerun. After six scoreless extra innings, the '58 Yankees finally prevailed when Moose Skowron hit a solo walk-off homerun. After that homerun, the offense for the '58 Yankees dried up. They were shut out for the next 25 innings, including back-to-back shutouts in Games Two and Three by Joe Bush and Sam Jones. Mickey Mantle ended the drought in Game Four with a two-run homer, but it was in a losing cause as the '23 Yankees won 3-2. The '23 Yankees clinched the series in Game Five with a 4-2 win. The '58 Yankees won the final game 6-4 after trailing 4-0 after two innings.
Babe Ruth is hitting a ridiculous .420 with 25 homeruns, 61 RBI, 55 runs scored, and a 1.556 OPS. No other player has more than 35 runs scored and RBI. Waite Hoyt remains undefeated at 7-0 with a 1.01 ERA. The shutout by Bush improved his record to 6-4 with a 3.15 ERA. Jones’s shutout boosted his record to 6-1 with a 2.03 ERA.
Mantle now has 27 homeruns while hitting .261 with a .927 OPS. Whitey Ford continues to lead the starters in ERA at 2.77 while sporting a 9-6 record. The '58 Yankees will face the 28-14 1938 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1938 Yankees and 1958 Yankees split their six game series. The '38 Yankees stayed 14 games over .500 at 31-17 while the '58 Yankees remained eight games under at 56-64.
The '58 Yankees looked like they were going to take this series as they won three of the first four games. In Game Two, Mickey Mantle went 2-3 with a double, homerun, three RBI, and three runs scored in a 9-2 win. In Game Three, Norm Siebern went 3-4 with a double, his 13th triple of the season and three RBI in a 7-3 win. Yogi Berra belted two homeruns in Game Four for another 9-2 win. The '38 Yankees came back to win the final two games 7-3 and 3-2. In the finale, Myril Hoag hit a walk-off RBI single in the 9th.
Bill Dickey leads the '38 Yankees in hitting at .330 with 17 homeruns, 55 RBI, and a 1.100 OPS. Joe Dimaggio is hitting .315 with 13 homeruns and a .987 OPS. Lou Gehrig leads the team in runs scored with 46 despite hitting just .220. Lefty Gomez has completed half of his 12 starts; he is 6-3 with a 2.31 ERA.
Mantle hit .556 in the series with two homeruns and eight RBI to raise his overall average to .273 with 29 homeruns, 73 RBI, 82 runs scored, and a .960 OPS. Whitey Ford lost both of his starts to fall to 9-8 with a 2.72 ERA. The '58 Yankees will take on the 36-18 1932 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1932 Yankees cruised to a four games to two series win over the 1958 Yankees by winning the first four games. The '32 Yankees improved their record to 40-20, fourth place by winning percentage. The '58 Yankees fell to 58-68 with five series left to play.
Lou Gehrig went 3-5 with a triple, homerun, three RBI and two runs scored in a 7-5 Game One win. Game Three was a laugher as the '32 Yankees won 12-0 on the strength of a 20 hit attack. George Pipgras pitched a three-hit shutout and Joe Sewell went 3-5 at the plate with a homerun and five RBI. They won the series in Game Four 6-3; Johnny Allen got the win on the mound and went 1-1 with two walks, two RBI, and two runs scored at the plate. Whitey Ford stopped the losing streak for the '58 Yankees with a three-hit shutout in a 9-0 Game Five win; Yogi Berra homered and drove in four RBI. Trailing 4-3 in the 9th inning of Game Six, Mickey Mantle blasted a three-run homerun for a come-from-behind 6-4 victory.
Five of the eight everyday starters for the '32 Yankees continue to hit over .300, led by Babe Ruth at .360 with 22 homeruns, 62 RBI, 61 runs scored and a 1.197 OPS. Tony Lazzeri is hitting .352 with 12 triples, 51 RBI, 59 runs scored and a 1.041 OPS. Gehrig is hitting .348 with 10 homeruns, 59 RBI, 54 runs scored and a 1.062 OPS. Earle Combs is hitting .338 with 54 runs scored. Bill Dickey is hitting .310 with 13 homeruns, 64 RBI and a .910 OPS. The shutout by Pipgras improved his record to 8-1 with a 3.83 ERA.
Norm Siebern is hitting .301 with 90 runs scored and 14 triples. Mantle is hitting .270 with 32 homeruns, 80 RBI, 85 runs scored and a .961 OPS. Andy Carey has 26 homeruns and 85 RBI. Ford’s shutout improved his record to 10-8 with a 2.59 ERA. The '58 Yankees will battle the 40-20 1927 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1927 Yankees and the 1958 Yankees split their six game series. The '27 Yankees stayed 20 games over .500 at 43-23 while the '58 Yankees remain 10 games under .500 at 61-71.
The '27 Yankees got their offense rolling early, scoring nine runs in each of the first two games in 9-7 and 9-3 wins. In Game Two, Babe Ruth put his stamp on the team’s five run first inning with a three-run homerun. The '58 Yankees got their first win in Game Three in a back-and-forth affair. The '27 Yankees scored four runs in the 7th to take a 5-3 lead. The '58 Yankees tied the game with two runs in the 8th and won it 6-5 on a walk-off solo homerun by Andy Carey. The '58 Yankees evened the series in Game Four with a 5-3 win; Mickey Mantle belted two solo homeruns in the game. Speaking of homers, the '27 Yankees blasted four from Earle Combs, Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Tony Lazzeri in a, you guessed it, 9-3 win. Bobby Shantz shut out that prolific offense with a five-hitter in a 3-0 to even the series for the '58 Yankees.
Combs leads the '27 Yankees in hitting at .363 with 11 stolen bases and 62 runs scored. Ruth is hitting .355 with 31 homeruns, 84 RBI, 82 runs scored, and a 1.327 OPS. Gehrig is hitting .351 with 20 homeruns, 75 RBI, 73 runs scored, and a 1.174 OPS. Bob Meusel is hitting .313 with 60 RBI and 51 runs scored. Lazzeri is hitting .306 with 12 homeruns, 56 RBI and 10 stolen bases. Waite Hoyt went 1-1 in his two starts to improve his record to 11-3 with a 2.65 ERA.
Norm Siebern raised his average to .305; he hit his 10th homerun and has 93 runs scored. Mantle has 35 homeruns and 85 RBI while hitting .274 with 14 stolen bases, 89 runs scored, and a .968 OPS. Carey hit his 30th homerun in this series and has 91 RBI despite hitting .235. Whitey Ford won his start to improve his record to 11-8 with a 2.53 ERA. The '58 Yankees will take on the 30-24 1978 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1978 Yankees beat the 1958 Yankees four games to two in their six game series. The '78 Yankees improved their record to 34-26. The '58 Yankees fell to 63-75.
Ron Guidry dominated this series for the '78 Yankees, winning both of his starts. He put up double digit strikeouts in Games One and Six; 11 in a 4-1 win in Game One and 12 in a 4-3 win in Game Six. Guidry wasn’t the only standout pitcher in the series. Games Three, Four, and Five all ended in shutouts. Whitey Ford pitched a three-hitter for the '58 Yankees in Game Three for a 1-0 win; the only run came from a Mickey Mantle homerun in the 7th. Art Ditmar then scattered seven hits for an 8-0 shutout win in Game Four. The '78 Yankees countered with a two-hitter by Catfish Hunter in Game Five for a 2-0 win.
Mickey Rivers leads the '78 Yankees in hitting at .324 with 14 stolen bases. Reggie Jackson is hitting .319 with 19 homeruns and a .997 OPS. Guidry’s two wins improved his record to 6-3 with a 2.35 ERA. He has 124 strikeouts in 110 2/3 innings. Ed Figueroa improved his record to 10-1 with a 2.32 ERA. Goose Gossage saved two games to give him 21 for the season. Hunter’s shutout was his first complete game of the season and lowered his ERA to 6.13.
Norm Siebern’s average dropped to .295 with 94 runs scored. Mantle now has 37 homeruns with 88 RBI, 92 runs scored and a .974 OPS. Yogi Berra has 19 homeruns and 75 RBI to go with a .254 average. Ford’s shutout improved his record to 12-8 with a 2.42 ERA. Ditmar’s shutout improved his record to 6-8 with a 4.05 ERA. The '58 Yankees will battle the 33-15 1928 Yankees in the next series.
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Interesting, I would not have thought the '78 team would match up with the 50s and 60s teams very well
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They have a lot of games still to play, but the '78 team has fared a lot better than the '77 team that is 60-90 with one series left. They have yet to lose a series. Guidry and Figueroa are a combined 16-4 in their 26 starts with a 2.33 ERA, and I expect Guidry to be even better now that I am playing with the Master Rules; I feel like it rewards the dominant pitchers more.
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The 1928 Yankees bested the 1958 Yankees four games to two to improve their record to 37-17, third place by percentage. The '58 Yankees fell to 65-79 with two series left to play.
The '58 Yankees took Game One 7-5 on a walk-off two-run dinger by Yogi Berra. The '28 Yankees won the next four games. In Game Two, Lou Gehrig hit a 9th inning two-run homer after trailing 3-2 for a come-from-behind 4-3 win. Al Shealy pitched a complete game and hit a solo homerun in Game Five for a 6-1 win to clinch the series.
Tony Lazzeri leads the '28 Yankees in hitting at .371 with eight triples and a 1.030 OPS. Earle Combs is hitting .320 with 55 runs scored and six triples. Gehrig is hitting .312 with seven triples and a .972 OPS. Babe Ruth is hitting .311 with 25 homeruns, 58 RBI, 62 runs scored, and a 1.261 OPS. George Pipgras and Waite Hoyt remain undefeated; Pipgras is 10-0 with a 2.88 ERA while Hoyt is 8-0 with a 1.65 ERA. Wilcy Moore picked up a couple of saves to give him 12 for the season with a 1.32 ERA.
Mickey Mantle hit his 40th homerun in this series; he is hitting .277 with 92 RBI, 98 runs scored, 15 stolen bases, and a .987 OPS. Berra’s walk-off homer was his 20th of the season. Whitey Ford continued his stellar season with another win to move to 13-8 with a 2.37 ERA. The '58 Yankees will face the 17-7 1998 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1998 Yankees dominated their six game series with the 1958 Yankees, winning five of six games. The '98 Yankees improved to 22-8, tied for first place by winning percentage with the 1953 Yankees. The '58 Yankees dropped to 66-84 with one series left against the '53 Yankees.
The '58 Yankees won the first game of the series 4-2. Four pitchers combined for 10 strikeouts while Mickey Mantle provided the offense with a pair of two-run homers. The '98 Yankees won the final five games, including back-to-back 6-5 contests in 10 innings in Games Two and Three. In Game Two, Homer Bush pinch ran on second base in the 10th for Jorge Posada; he stole third and scored on a sacrifice fly for the go-ahead run. In Game Three, Hank Bauer tied the game for the '58 Yankees 5-5 with a three-run homer. The '98 Yankees went back out in front for good in the 10th on a two-out RBI single by Posada. The '98 Yankees won another tight one in Game Four 3-2 on a walk-off single by Derek Jeter in the 9th. The offense kicked in the final two games, scoring 10 runs in each game with wins of 10-1 and 10-3. Bernie Williams and Scott Brosius had four RBI each in Game Five while Game Six was tight until the 8th inning when they broke open a 4-3 lead with six runs, including a grand slam by Darryl Strawberry.
Jeter leads the '98 Yankees in hitting at .359 with a 1.009 OPS. Williams is hitting .336 with 10 homeruns and a 1.059 OPS. Orlando Hernandez and David Wells are a combined 8-0 in their 10 starts with ERAs of 2.13 and 2.65 respectively. In 10 appearances, Mariano Rivera has a win and eight saves in 10 2/3 scoreless innings.
Mantle hit .364 in the series with three homeruns and seven RBI. He raised his average to .280 with 43 homeruns, 99 RBI, 106 runs scored, 15 stolen bases, and a 1.005 OPS. Ryne Duren picked up his 25th save of the season in Game One.
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The 1958 Yankees finished their play in season with a winning series by beating the 1953 Yankees four games to two to finish their season with a 70-86 record, tied with the 2000 Yankees. The '53 Yankees fell to 24-12.
Two of the '58 Yankee wins in this series were from explosive performances by their offense. They won Game One 28-8, scoring at least one run in every inning. They had 26 hits and 13 walks. Gil McDougald drove in eight RBI while going 4-5 with two walks. They won Game Five 13-2 after scoring eight runs in the third inning. Hank Bauer went 3-5 with a homerun, three RBI and three runs scored. The '53 Yankees split the first four games with wins of 6-2 in Game Two and 9-4 in Game Four, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, and Billy Martin ALL hit two-run homers in a six-run third inning. The only close game of the series was Game Three won by the '58 Yankees 5-3 in 10 innings. Berra tied the game 3-3 in the 8th for the '53 Yankees with a two out two-run homer. Moose Skowron won the game for the '58 Yankees with a walk-off two-run homer of his own. The '58 Yankees clinched the series with a 7-1 win in the final game.
The 1958 Yankees hit .252 as a team, 16th best, and scored 724 runs, an average of 4.64 runs a game. Here are the final numbers for the starting lineup.
C: Yogi Berra: .259, 21 HRs, 80 RBI.
C: Elston Howard: .320, 11 HRs, 56 RBI.
1B: Bill Skowron: .249, 15 HRs, 80 RBI.
2B: Gil McDougald: .223, 19 HRs, 78 RBI, 82 runs scored.
SS: Tony Kubek: .214, 3 HRs, 45 RBI.
3B: Andy Carey: .239, 32 HRs, 102 RBI, 92 runs scored.
LF: Norm Siebern: .295, 11 HRs, 15 triples, 104 runs scored.
CF: Mickey Mantle: .283, 44 HRs, 102 RBI, 111 runs, 134 walks.
RF: Hank Bauer: .261, 13 HRs, 11 triples.The '58 Yankees finished with a team ERA of 3.93, 11th best. Here are the final numbers for the top five starters and their closer.
Bob Turley: 7-16, 4.54 ERA, 27 HRs, 142 walks.
Whitey Ford: 13-9, 2.48 ERA, 8 complete games,163 strikeouts.
Don Larsen: 9-7, 3.60 ERA.
Johnny Kucks: 4-8, 3.50 ERA.
Art Ditmar: 6-8, 3.86 ERA.
Ryne Duren: 7-7, 25 saves, 3.23 ERA.Hank Bauer leads the '53 Yankees in hitting at .333 with a .983 OPS. Mickey Mantle is hitting .331 with a team-leading nine homeruns and a 1.032 OPS. Gene Woodling is hitting .328 with a .931 OPS. Johnny Sain and Ed Lopat remain undefeated on the mound. Sain is 5-0 with a 2.94 ERA while Lopat is 4-0 with a 3.55 ERA. Whitey Ford had a disastrous series, losing both of his starts and getting knocked out early to drop his record to 2-5 with a 5.83 ERA. The '53 Yankees will continue their season with the 59-91 1943 Yankees who play their final series of the season.
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The 1953 Yankees and the 1943 Yankees split their six game series. The '53 Yankees stayed 12 games over .500 at 27-15 while the '43 Yankees finished their play in season with a record of 62-94, next to last of the Yankee championship teams.
Vic Raschi won two of the three games for the '53 Yankees, including Game One 6-5; Raschi not only got the win, but he also scored two runs. The '43 Yankees won the next two games 3-2 and 5-3. Spud Chandler capped his fantastic season in Game Three with a win and a 2-3, double and RBI performance at the plate. The '53 Yankees tied the series with a vengeance in Game Four with a 25-3 blowout. They tallied 29 hits with no homeruns. Hank Bauer, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, and Phil Rizzuto all had four hits, and Berra and Don Bollweg has six RBI apiece. The '43 Yankees came back to win a thriller in Game Five 8-7 in 10 innings in a game in which the game was tied or the lead changed hands six times. Bill Dickey won the game with a two-out bases-loaded walk-off walk. Raschi won the final game to earn a split for the '53 Yankees 16-0. Raschi pitched a four-hit shutout while the offense cranked out another 21 hits. Berra went 4-5 with two homeruns, four RBI, and four runs scored.
The 1943 Yankees hit .230 as a team, third from the bottom, and scored 576 runs, an average of 3.69 runs a game. They hit just 78 homeruns as a team. Here are the final numbers for the starters.
C: Bill Dickey: .316, 41 doubles, 92 RBI, .410 OBP.
1B: Nick Etten: .222, 16 HRs, 77 RBI, 91 runs scored.
2B: Joe Gordon: .220, 13 HRs, 93 runs scored, 98 walks.
SS: Frankie Crosetti: .196, 1 HR, 36 RBI.
3B: Billy Johnson: .247, 5 HRs, 66 RBI.
LF: Charlie Keller: .258, 23 HRs, 89 RBI, 17 triples, 93 walks.
CF: Johnny Lindell: .203, 3 HRs, 33 RBI.
RF: Bud Metheny: .230, 10 HRs, 62 RBI.The '43 Yankees had a team ERA of 4.38, 18th best, and gave up 180 homeruns, currently second worst. Here are the final numbers for the top five starters and closer.
Spud Chandler: 16-10, 1.98 ERA, 13 complete games, 175 Ks.
Butch Wensloff: 9-15, 3.58 ERA, 32 homeruns
Hank Borrowy: 7-11, 4.91 ERA.
Tiny Bonham: 9-11, 3.68 ERA, 32 homeruns.
Atley Donald: 3-10, 5.19 ERA.
Johnny Murphy: 5-5, 27 saves, 2.74 ERA.Hank Bauer hit .379 in the series with five RBI to raise his average to .341 with a .990 OPS. Berra hit .346 in the series with 11 RBI to raise his average to .220 . Gene Woodling hit .400 in the series with seven RBI to raise his average to .340 with a .957 OPS. Mantle hit his 10th homerun of the season; he is hitting .327 with a .997 OPS. With his two wins, Raschi improved his record to 6-2 with a 2.99 ERA. Johnny Sain and Ed Lopat picked up their first loss of the season. The '53 Yankees will move on to play another team finishing their season, the 1977 Yankees who are 60-90.
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The 1953 Yankees and the 1977 Yankees split their six game series. The '53 Yankees stayed 12 games over .500 at 30-18. The '77 Yankees finished their play-in season with a 63-93 record, third worst among the Yankee championship teams.
The '53 Yankees won the first two games of the series, 8-1 and 6-5. Mickey Mantle went 5-5 in Game One with a homerun, three RBI, and two runs scored. Game Two was wild in that the '77 Yankees scored all five of their runs in the top of the 6th inning, only for the '53 Yankees to counter with all six of their runs in the bottom of the inning. The '77 Yankees won the next two games 12-4 and 4-3 in 11 innings. In Game Three, Thurman Munson went 5-5 at the plate and Graig Nettles hit a grand slam. In Game Four, the '53 Yankees took a 3-2 lead in the 11th inning when a Reggie Jackson two base error led to a go-ahead sac fly. The '77 Yankees snatched the win in the bottom of the inning on a well-coordinated two-run walk-off homerun by Mickey Klutts. Despite blowing a 7-0 lead, the '53 Yankees won Game Five 9-8 in 10 innings. The '77 Yankees rallied for six runs in the 9th to tie the game. The '53 Yankees scored two in the top of the 10th and held on tight in the bottom of the inning to pull out the win. The '77 Yankees won the final game 8-5 to pull out the split. This game had more heroics with a poetic ending as Jackson hit a walk-off three-run homerun to break a 5-5 tie. The '77 Yankees may not have had the season they wanted, but what could be more appropriate than their final at bat be a homerun by Mr. October to win a game.
The 1977 Yankees finished with a team batting average of .247, 18th best. They scored 680 runs for an average of 4.36 runs per game. They hit 164 homeruns. Here are the final numbers for their starting lineup.
C: Thurman Munson: .274, 19 HRs, 98 RBI, 89 runs.
1B: Chris Chambliss: .247, 13 HRs, 75 RBI.
2B: Willie Randolph: .232, 3 HRs, 40 RBI.
SS: Bucky Dent: .234, 4 HRs, 51 RBI.
3B: Graig Nettles: .196, 28 HRs, 82 RBI.
LF: Roy White: .240, 20 HRs, 103 runs, 25 stolen bases.
CF: Mickey Rivers: .273, 79 runs scored, 10 triples, 25 steals.
RF: Reggie Jackson: .281, 39 HRs, 98 RBI, 103 runs, 26 steals.
DH: Lou Piniella: .310, 9 HRs, 48 RBI.
DH: Dave Kingman: .261, 14 HRs, 35 RBI, .920 OPS.The '77 Yankees had a team ERA of 4.86, fourth worst among the championship teams. Here are the final numbers among the top five starters and their closer.
Ed Figueroa: 7-21, 4.67 ERA, 8 complete games.
Mike Torrez: 10-14. 4.64 ERA, 105 walks.
Ron Guidry: 12-10, 3.71 ERA, 124 strikeouts.
Don Gullett: 5-16, 6.00 ERA, 1.74 WHIP.
Catfish Hunter: 7-15, 5.93 ERA.
Sparky Lyle: 5-4, 23 saves, 2.82 ERA.Mantle hit .407 in the series for the '53 Yankees to raise his average to .338 with 12 homeruns and a 1.020 OPS. Hank Bauer hit his 10th homerun in this series. He is hitting .318 with a .931 OPS. The 1953 Yankees will take on the 61-83 1996 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1996 Yankees defeated the 1953 Yankees four games to two in their six game series. The '96 Yankees improved their record to 65-85 with one more series left to play while the '53 Yankees dropped to 32-22.
The '96 Yankees needed 13 innings to win Game One. They had a 2-0 lead in the 8th until Yogi Berra hit a two-run homer to tie the game. The two teams exchanged runs in the 12th inning. Finally, they put across three runs in the 13th to prevail 6-3; two of the runs came on a two-out Tino Martinez double. The '53 Yankees evened the series in Game Two 8-5 despite two homeruns by Tim Raines. They overcame a 4-0 deficit with six runs in the 6th inning, three coming on a bases-clearing triple by pinch hitter Don Bollweg. The '96 Yankees won Game Three 3-2, ruining a gem by Whitey Ford who struck out 13 batters in 8 innings. Doc Gooden scattered eight hits in Game Four in a 3-0 shutout. The '53 Yankees came back to win Game Five in a 9-4 slugfest that featured a total of six homeruns. Once again, Raines hit two homeruns in a losing cause thanks to Mickey Mantle who also went double taters. The '96 Yankees clinched the series in the final game with a resounding 9-1 win. Martinez and Paul O’Neill hit two run homers as part of a five run 4th inning.
Mariano Duncan leads the '96 Yankees in hitting at .298 with 55 doubles and 110 RBI. Andy Pettite won one of his two starts to improve his record to 17-7 with a 2.97 ERA. John Wetteland picked up a couple of more saves to give him 34 for the season with a 2.27 ERA.
Mantle leads the '53 Yankees in hitting, .327, and homeruns. 14. Ed Lopat, Vic Raschi, and Johnny Sain have combined to win 18 of their 30 starts. The '53 Yankees will face the 57-63 1961 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1953 Yankees defeated the 1961 Yankees four games to two in their six game series. The '53 Yankees improved their record to 36-24 while the '61 Yankees dropped to 59-67 with five series left to play.
The '61 Yankees won the first game 11-3; Whitey Ford got the win on the mound and delivered three RBI at the plate. The '53 Yankees won the next three games in the series. In Game Three, they overcame a 3-1 deficit when Gene Woodling hit a three-run homer in the third for a 4-3 win. Ed Lopat pitched a two-hit shutout in Game Four for a 2-0 win. The '61 Yankees won a thrilling Game Five 8-6 in 10 innings; it was a game that featured five lead changes and multiple two-run dingers. Roger Maris hit a two-run blast in the 3rd inning to give them a 2-1 lead. Yogi Berra countered with a two-run tater of his own in the 5th to retake the lead for the '53 Yankees 3-2. The '61 Yankees have a Berra too, and he hit a two-run homer as part of a three-run 6th inning to give the '61 Yankees the lead back at 5-3. The '53 Yankees came back with three runs in the 8th inning, two by a pinch hit two-run blast by Don Bollweg to retake the lead again 6-5. That lead didn’t last long as Maris hit a sac fly in the bottom of the inning to tie the game 6-6. The '61 Yankees walked it off in the bottom of the 10th with another Berra blast, yes another two-run homer, for the 8-6 win. There was no drama in the final game as the '53 Yankees won 9-0 on a Jim McDonald five-hit shutout.
Woodling is hitting .332 with a .957 OPS. Mickey Mantle is hitting .323 with 16 homeruns, 52 RBI, 52 runs scored, and a .980 OPS. Hank Bauer is hitting .308 with 12 homeruns, 52 runs scored, and a .918 OPS. Berra has 11 homeruns and 51 RBI while hitting just .231. Lopat’s shutout improved his record to 7-1 with a 3.31 ERA. McDonald’s shutout improved his record to 6-3 with a 4.44 ERA.
Elston Howard leads the '61 Yankees in hitting at .332 with 32 homeruns, 87 RBI, 89 runs scored and a .941 OPS. Mickey Mantle is hitting .326 with 48 homeruns, 100 RBI, 115 runs scored, 105 walks, and a 1.140 OPS. Moose Skowron is hitting .245 with 24 homeruns and 84 RBI. Roger Maris is hitting .241 with 53 homeruns, 116 RBI, 95 runs scored, and a .967 OPS. Whitey Ford is 13-7 with a 3.81 ERA. Closer Luis Arroyo has 30 saves to go with a 4-5 record and a 3.08 ERA. The '61 Yankees will take on the 26-16 2009 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1961 Yankees defeated the 2009 Yankees four games to two in their six game series. The '61 Yankees improved their record to 63-69 with four series remaining. The 2K9 Yankees fell to 28-20, 10th best by winning percentage.
The '61 Yankees won this series on the strength of their pitching. In their four wins, they only allowed seven runs. One game in which they put it all together was in Game Five, a 10-2 blowout. Whitey Ford pitched a complete game and struck out 10 batters while Johnny Blanchard went 3-5 with two homeruns, three RBI, and three runs scored at the plate. The 2K9 Yankees scored 19 runs in their two wins. Nick Swisher hit two doubles and drove in four RBI in Game Two for a 6-4 win. Andy Pettitte pitched a five-hit shutout in a 13-0 Game Three win.
Elston Howard raised his average to .334 and now has 92 runs scored. Ford is now 14-7 with a 3.74 ERA and 154 strikeouts. Luis Arroyo picked up a couple of more saves to give him 32 for the season with a 3.34 ERA.
Derek Jeter leads the 2K9 Yankees in hitting at .326 with 11 homeruns, 12 stolen bases, and a 1.004 OPS. Jorge Posada is hitting .285 with 10 homeruns and a .926 OPS. Pettitte’s shutout evened his record to 3-3 with a 2.89 ERA. The 2K9 Yankees will face the 49-59 1952 Yankees in the next series.