Greatest American League
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The 1923 Yankees split another series, this one with the 1953 Yankees. The '53 Yankees stayed 16 games over .500 at 44-28 while the '23 Yankees remained two games under at 65-67.
The two teams split the first two games with the '23 Yankees winning Game One 5-2 and the '53 Yankees winning Game Two 2-0 behind a three-hit shutout by Vic Raschi. They took the lead in the series with a 7-1 win in Game Three; Joe Collins and Phil Rizzuto each drove in three RBI. The ‘23 Yankees evened the series again in Game Four with a 4-2 win; Aaron Ward was 4-5 with two doubles, two RBI, and two runs scored. They won 4-2 again in Game Five, this time on the strength of a Babe Ruth three-run homer in the 1st. inning. Both teams’ offenses exploded in the final game with the '53 Yankees winning by a ridiculous score of 24-14. They had 28 hits, including seven home runs. They scored nine runs in the first inning alone. Mickey Mantle went 4-6 with three home runs, including a grand slam, and eight RBI.
Gene Woodling leads the '53 Yankees in hitting at .344 with 54 RBI, 59 runs scored, and a .972 OPS. Mantle is hitting .328 with 24 home runs, 69 RBI, 67 runs scored, and a 1.036 OPS. Hank Bauer is hitting .311 with 62 runs scored. Yogi Berra is hitting .252 with 12 home runs and 62 RBI. Raschi’s shutout improved his record to 8-4 with a 2.73 ERA. Ed Lopat picked up another win to go to 9-1 with a 2.90 ERA.
Ruth continues to hang around .400 at .394 with 42 home runs, 122 RBI, 127 runs scored, 12 triples, 11 steals, and a 1.347 OPS. Bob Meusel cracked the 100 RBI mark with 102 while hitting .316 with 10 triples and 11 steals. Whitey Witt stayed at .290 with 97 runs scored. Ward raised his average to .260 with 86 RBI. Waite Hoyt picked up his 15th win; he is 15-7 with a 2.91 ERA. The '23 Yankees will battle the 39-21 1936 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1936 Yankees dominated their six game series with the 1923 Yankees by taking five out of six. The '36 Yankees moved to third place with a 44-22 record while the '23 Yankees dropped further below .500 with three series left at 66-72.
The '36 Yankees jumped out to an 11-0 lead in Game One and held on for an 11-7 win. Babe Ruth led a furious comeback by the '23 Yankees with two home runs and five RBI. Red Ruffing picked up the win and slashed four hits at the plate. They needed a late rally to win Game Two 7-4. The game was tied 2-2 in the 7th when Whitey Witt gave the '23 Yankees a 4-2 lead with a two-run homer. The '36 Yankees rallied for five runs in the 8th, capped by a George Selkirk grand slam to take the lead for good. The '36 Yankees jumped out to an 8-2 lead after five innings in Game Three. The '23 Yankees chipped away with four runs in the 6th, three on a pinch hit homer by Lou Gehrig. They tied the game 8-8 in the 8th on a Ruth single. The game went into extras briefly when the '36 Yankees exploded for six runs for a 14-8 win. Selkirk and Jake Powell hit the last of the team’s six homeruns in the 10th. Bill Dickey hit two home runs with three RBI and three runs scored. The '23 Yankees won their only game in the series in Game Four by a score of 7-1; the '36 Yankees committed four errors, two by Joe Dimaggio of all people, which led to four unearned runs. Herb Pennock pitched a complete game and had two hits and two RBI at the plate. The '36 Yankees clinched the series in Game Five with a 6-2 win. Red Rolfe’s three-run homer capped a four run third inning. Dickey went 4-4 with a triple and three RBI in the final game for a 6-5 win.
Dickey hit .652 (!) (15-23) in the series with eight RBI and the two homers to raise his average to .355 with 13 home runs, 65 RBI, and a .992 OPS. Gehrig is hitting .347 with 32 home runs, 82 RBI, 79 runs scored, and a 1.263 OPS. Dimaggio is hitting .332 with 16 homers, 50 RBI, 64 runs scored, and a 1.009 OPS. Selkirk is hitting .299 with 10 home runs and 53 runs scored. Red Ruffing is 11-2 with a 4.07 ERA.
Ruth hit .478 with two home runs and nine RBI in the series to bring his average back up to .398 with 44 home runs, 131 RBI, 133 runs scored, 12 triples, and a 1.346 OPS. Witt went over the 100 run mark at 104 while hitting .292. Pennock improved his record to 14-5 with a 3.34 ERA. The '23 Yankees will face the 40-20 1932 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1932 Yankees beat the 1923 Yankees four games to two in their six game series to move into a tie for third place at 44-22. The '23 Yankees slumped to 68-76 with two more series left to play.
The '32 Yankees opened the series with an 18-4 pounding of the hapless '23 Yankees pitching. Normally hitting the cycle is a difficult feat; Tony Lazzeri and Ben Chapman did it in the same game! Lazzeri went 4-5 with five runs scored and four RBI while Chapman went 5-6 with two triples and seven RBI. His two three-baggers were part of five the team had in this game. After an offensive display like that, it made sense that they were shut out by Waite Hoyt in Game Two 1-0. Hoyt pitched a two-hitter and scored the only run in the game. Offense was back on display in Game Three was the '32 Yankees won a wild 12-10 slugfest in 11 innings. After trailing 4-0 after two innings, they came back with five unanswered runs, including a couple by Babe Ruth. The '23 Yankees responded with four runs in the bottom of the 7th to take an 8-5 lead. Joe Sewell homered in the 8th to trim the deficit to 8-6 and Earle Combs tied the game in the 9th with a two-run single. The two teams exchanged runs in the 10th. Sewell hit his second home run of the day, a three run blast to put the '32 Yankees ahead for good. The homerun capped off a 5-5 day for Sewell who had four RBI. The '32 Yankees won another high scoring affair in Game Four, this one 9-8. Ruth went 5-5 for the '32 Yankees with a home run and five RBI. The game ended when Bill Dickey threw out Joe Dugan trying to steal second. The clinched the series in Game Five with a 14-4 win; Dickey led the way going 3-5 with a triple and a home run and six RBI.
Ruth leads the '32 Yankees in hitting at .369 with 25 home runs, 71 RBI, 69 runs scored, and a 1.209 OPS. Lou Gehrig is hitting .356 with 11 home runs, 68 RBI, 63 runs scored, and a 1.088 OPS. Combs is hitting .353 with 62 runs scored and a .909 OPS. Lazzeri is hitting .350 with 14 triples, 57 RBI, 68 runs scored and a 1.047 OPS. Dickey is hitting .320 with 14 home runs, 73 RBI, and a .922 OPS. Chapman is hitting .302 with 50 RBI and 21 stolen bases. So six of their starters are hitting .300 or better and four of them are hitting at least .350. WOW! Ironically Lefty Gomez has the team’s best ERA at 2.57 but only has a 6-5 record to show for it. Red Ruffing, George Pipgras, and Johnny Allen are a combined 24-5.
Ruth’s average for the '23 Yankees slipped back to .395 with 45 home runs, 133 RBI, 139 runs scored, and a 1.339 OPS. Bob Muesel is hitting .319 with 12 homers, 107 RBI, 75 runs scored, 10 triples, and 12 stolen bases. Aaron Ward cracked the 100 RBI mark while hitting .269. Hoyt’s shutout improved his record to 16-7 with a 2.95 ERA. The '32 Yankees will battle the 33-15 1998 Yankees in the next series.
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After losing or splitting the last eight series, the 1923 Yankees finally won a series, beating the 1998 Yankees four games to two. The '23 Yankees improved their record to 72-78 with one series left to play, while the '98 Yankees fell to 35-19, 5th best by winning percentage.
Bernie Williams hit two two-run homers in Game One to lead the '98 Yankees to a 6-4 win. The '23 Yankees evened the series with a 4-2 win in Game Two. Whitey Witt had an odd stat line: 0-1. 3 walks, 3 runs scored. They won the next three games to clinch the win in this series. Game Four was their chance to put a whipping on the other team’s pitching instead of the other way around. They cranked out 30 hits, including five homeruns, for a 25-3 win. Aaron Ward hit the cycle while batting a perfect 6-6 with six RBI and four runs scored. Bob Meusel hit two home runs and had seven RBI and Wally Schange was 3-6 with a home run and seven RBI. The '98 Yankees won the final game 14-3; Tino Martinez hit two home runs, including a grand slam, and has seven RBI.
Babe Ruth’s average dropped a couple of more points to .393 with 47 homeruns, 138 RBI, 148 walks, and a 1.341 OPS. Meusel raised his average to .323 with 14 home runs, 117 RBI, and 81 runs scored. White Witt is hitting .288 with 116 runs scored. Aaron Ward is hitting .278 with 110 RBI.
Derek Jeter leads the '98 Yankees in hitting at .364 with 13 homers, 51 runs scored, and a 1.018 OPS. Williams is hitting .351 with 17 home runs, 57 RBI, 10 steals, and a 1.084 OPS. Mariano Rivera picked up his 15th save to go with a 1.45 ERA. The '98 Yankees will face the 62-70 1952 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1998 Yankees split their six game series with the 1952 Yankees to stay in 5th place in 38-22. The '52 Yankees remain eight games under .500 at 65-73.
The '98 Yankees overcame a 4-3 deficit in Game One with a six run 8th inning, capped by a three-run homer by Derek Jeter for a 9-4 win. Hank Bauer carried the '52 Yankees to a 5-1 win in Game Two; Bauer drove in all five runs with two homers, including a grand slam. The '52 Yankees won Game Three 5-2, but the '98 Yankees evened the series again in Game Four in a 12-8 shootout. Paul O’Neill went 2-4 with a double and four RBI. The '98 Yankees blew a 10-4 lead in the 9th inning of Game Five when the '52 Yankees rallied for six runs, including a two-out, two-run homer by Yogi Berra off Mariano Rivera to send the game into extra innings. The '98 Yankees took an 11-10 lead in the 11th thanks to a two-out RBI single by Bernie Williams. The game ended when Mickey Mantle grounded out into a double play with the bases loaded. Mantle redeemed himself in the final game; he went 3-5 with a triple, three RBI, and two runs scored as the '52 Yankees won 10-3 for a series split.
Mantle leads the '52 Yankees in hitting at .312 with 19 home runs, 15 triples, 105 RBI, 103 runs scored, and a .930 OPS. Bauer is hitting .300 with 21 home runs and 88 RBI. Gene Woodling is hitting .298 with 101 walks, 106 runs scored, and 75 RBI. Joe Collins is hitting .277 with 32 home runs, 11 triples, 122 RBI, and 87 runs scored. Berra is hitting just .237 but has 27 home runs, 92 RBI, and 102 runs scored. Allie Reynolds is one win away from 20 wins as he improved his record to 19-8 with a 2.47 ERA.
Williams raised his average to .359 with 18 home runs, 63 RBI, 51 runs scored, 11 stolen bases, and a 1.089 OPS. Jeter’s average dropped to .347 with 15 home runs, 55 runs scored, 11 stolen bases, and a .994 OPS. The '98 Yankees will play the 63-63 1941 Yankees in the next series.
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These have been interesting to read. One little question: are you consistent with the home venues? I mean, did the Giants have any games at the Polo Grounds? Did the Tigers play in different stadia? Did the Red Sox play at Huntington Grounds?
Just curious.
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Honestly, the authentic home parks didn’t occur to me at all. APBA Go community, is this a thing? If so, I will keep that in mind when I finally have the World Series between the Greatest National League team versus the Greatest American League team. However, that will be several years away!
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The 1941 Yankees climbed back over .500 by beating the 1998 Yankees four games to two, improving their record to 67-65. The '98 Yankees fell to 40-26.
Charlie Keller’s 1st. inning three-run homer was all the '41 Yankees needed in Game One as they won going away 10-1. Marv Breuer had a magnificent outing as he pitched a complete game and struck out 13 batters. The '98 Yankees gifted the '41 Yankees Game Two with four errors that led to five unearned runs in a 7-5 loss in 13 innings. Paul O’Neill had two errors himself that enabled the '41 Yankees to eventually turn a 3-1 deficit to a 4-3 lead. Bernie Williams briefly gave them a chance to win with an 8th inning two-run homer to retake the lead 5-4. However, Williams made an outfield blunder of his own in the 9th that led to Mariano Rivera “blowing” the save and sending the game into extras. Last and worst, Derek Jeter committed an error to lead off the 13th which led to two runs for the win for the '41 Yanks. Keller hit another three-run homer in Game Three along with Joe Gordon as the '41 Yankees won their third straight by a score of 10-4. The '98 Yankees finally broke through with a win in a big way in Game Four with a 13-4 blow out. Jeter and Williams both had three hits and combined for two doubles, a triple, a home run, seven runs scored, and five RBI. The '41 Yankees clinched the series in Game Five with a 6-4 win. The '98 Yankees won the final game 6-0 thanks to a brilliant three-hit shutout by David Wells.
Joe Dimaggio leads the '41 Yankees in hitting at .365 with 42 home runs, 124 RBI, 121 runs scored, 11 triples, and a 1.150 OPS. Keller is hitting .277 with 30 home runs, 15 triples, 118 RBI, 92 runs scored, 10 stolen bases, and a .950 OPS. Phil Rizzuto is hitting .263 with 10 triples and 25 stolen bases. Bill Dickey is hitting .263 with 80 runs scored. Gordon is hitting .256 with 20 home runs, 89 RBI, and 79 runs scored. Tommy henrich is hitting .250 with 29 home runs, 97 RBI, and 115 runs scored. Johnny Murphy picked up two saves to give him 31 for the season with a 3.87 ERA.
Williams is now hitting .357 with 20 home runs, 71 RBI, 59 runs scored, 11 stolen bases, and a 1.059 OPS. Jeter’s average dropped more to .334 with 16 homers, 53 RBI, 60 runs scored, 12 stolen bases, and a .959 OPS. O’Neill is hitting .276 with 13 home runs, 53 RBI, and 51 runs scored. Tino Martinez is hitting .244 with 19 home runs and 55 RBI. The shutout by Wells improved his record to 8-2 with a 2.83 ERA. The '98 Yankees will take on the 40-38 1978 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1978 Yankees won the first two games of the their six game series with the 1998 Yankees and the last two to win the series four games to two and improve their record to 44-40. The '98 Yankees fell to 42-30.
Five of the six games were decided by three runs or less. The '78 Yankees scored five runs in the first two innings and held on for a 5-2 win. In Game Two, Mickey Rivers broke a 2-2 tie in the 9th with a two-out RBI single against Mariano Rivera for a 3-2 win. The '98 Yankees evened the series with a 6-3 win in Game Three and a 3-2, 12 inning victory in Game Four. Chad Curtis hit a two-out RBI single in the 12th for the win, spoiling Jim Beattie’s 10 strikeout outing for the '78 Yankees. It appeared the '98 Yankees would win their third straight game in Game Five, but Graig Nettles hit a walk-off two-run homer off Rivera for a dramatic come-from-behind 4-3 win for the '78 Yankees. They won the final game by the largest margin of the series, 5-1. Ron Guidry pitched a complete game and struck out nine.
Reggie Jackson leads the '78 Yankees in hitting at .328 with 25 home runs, 61 RBI, 62 runs scored, and a 1.011 OPS. Rivers is hitting .326 with 27 stolen bases. Nettles is hitting .277 with 17 home runs and 50 RBI. Guidry moved over .500 at 8-7 with a 2.45 ERA. Goose Gossage picked up a couple of more saves to give him 27 on the season with a 2.93 ERA.
Bernie Williams had his average drop to .349 with 22 home runs, 75 RBI, 61 runs scored, and a 1.072 OPS. Derek Jeter’s average dropped to .324 with 18 homers, 57 RBI, 62 runs scored, 13 stolen bases, and a .937 OPS. Paul O’Neill raised his average to .289. Tino Martinez hit his 20th home run. It was a rocky series for Rivera who picked up two saves but also two losses, including the blown save in Game Five; he is now 2-3 with 17 saves and a 2.52 ERA. The '98 Yankees will battle with the 49-41 1947 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1998 Yankees cruised to a series win over the 1947 Yankees by winning the first four games while the '47 Yankees won the final two. The '98 Yankees improved their record to 46-32 while the '47 Yankees dropped to 51-45.
The '98 Yankees averaged NINE runs a game in their four wins. Paul O’Neill went 4-5 with two home runs and six RBI in a 10-7 win in Game One. In Game Two, Tino Martinez hit a grand slam, and Jorge Posada went 4-4 with three doubles and three RBI in an 8-2 win. They broke double digits again in Game Three with an 11-6 win, and they triumphed 7-3 in Game Four; Bernie Williams blasted a three-run homer in the 9th inning to break open a slimmer 4-3 lead. The '47 Yankees took out their frustrations in Game Five with a 20-5 walloping. They hit seven home runs in the game; Tommy Henrich and Billy Johnson hit two dingers apiece and drove in five RBI. Even starting pitcher Vic Raschi got into the act with a home run. They won the final game 5-2.
Williams saw his average drop another 18 points to .331 with 23 home runs, 80 RBI, 63 runs scored, 11 steals, and a 1.024 OPS. Derek Jeter’s average slid slightly to .322 with 19 home runs, 62 RBI, 69 runs scored. O’Neill hit .500 in the series with two homers and seven RBI to raise his average to .304 with 15 home runs, 61 RBI, and 61 runs scored. Martinez is hitting .252 with 21 home runs, and 62 RBI. El Duque Hernandez split his two starts for a 6-3 record and a 2.97 ERA.
Joe Dimaggio leads the '47 Yankees in hitting at .293 with 15 home runs, 76 RBI, and 68 runs scored. Phil Rizzuto is hitting .290 with 16 stolen bases. George McQuinn is hitting .286 with 70 runs scored. Henrich is hitting .270 with 10 homers, and 70 RBI. Johnson is hitting .261 with 54 RBI. Snuffy Stirnweiss is hitting .260 with 61 runs scored. Allie Reynolds split his two starts, bringing his record to 17-6 with a 2.82 ERA. Joe Page picked up his 26th save; his ERA is 1.74. The '47 Yankees will play the 44-40 1978 Yankees in the next series.