Greatest American League
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The 1928 beat the 1943 Yankees five out of six games to raise their record to 13-5, the best record by win differential so far. The '43 Yankees dropped to 40-56, third worst of all the Yankee teams.
The '28 Yankees pitching held the '43 Yankees offense down the whole series; the '43 Yankees only scored seven runs the entire series and were shut out twice. The first time was in Game One, a 10-0 win; George Pipgras pitched a four-hitter while Earle Combs, Babe Ruth, and Lou Gehrig each homered and drove in three RBI. Hank Johnson pitched a two-hitter in Game Four, a 2-0 win. The '28 Yankees completed their dominance in the final game in which they won 5-2 in 10 innings; Bob Meusel hit a walk-off homerun to win the game.
Tony Lazzeri leads the '28 Yankees in hitting at .375 with a 1.124 OPS. Ruth is hitting .365 and leads the team in homeruns (9), RBI (19), runs scored (23), walks (18), and OPS (1.363). Pipgras is off to a great start at 4-0 with a 1.37 ERA. Johnson’s shutout gave him his first win (1-2) and reduced his ERA to 3.27.
Bill Dickey’s average dropped slightly to .313 for the '43 Yankees. He leads the team in RBI with 67. Spud Chandler picked up the only win in the series; he is now 12-5 with a 1.84 ERA. Johnny Murphy picked up his 15th save. The '43 Yankees will battle with the 8-4 1998 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1998 Yankees beat the 1943 Yankees five out of six games to improve their record to 13-5, tied for third best with the '28 Yankees. The '43 Yankees dropped to 20 games under .500 at 41-61.
The '98 Yankees scored 25 runs in the first two games, 16-1 in Game One in which they had 25 hits and 9-1 in Game Two led by Paul O’Neill who hit three homeruns with five RBI. Game Three was a pitcher’s duel. David Wells gave up 10 hits in eight innings but kept the '43 Yankees off the scoreboard as the '98 Yankees won 1-0 despite getting only one hit themselves. The '43 Yankees won their only game of the series in Game Four 4-2; then the '98 Yankees offense exploded again. O’Neill hit a grand slam in Game Five to break a 3-3 tie and give them a 7-4 win. They scored six runs in the 4th inning in the final game to win 9-6. Derek Jeter hit two homeruns and every player either scored or drove in a run.
Jeter hit .360 in the series with three homers and seven RBI. He leads the team in hitting at .364, homeruns with seven, runs scored with 16 and OPS at 1.094. O’Neill hit .379 in the series with four homeruns and 10 RBI. He raised his overall average to .328 with a 1.003 OPS. Bernie Williams drove in nine more runs to give him 25 in 18 games to lead the team. Three of the Yankees starters, Wells, Andy Pettite, and Orlando Hernandez are undefeated with a combined eight wins. Wells reduced his ERA to 2.45 with his last start. Mariano Rivera has six saves in seven appearances with 7 2/3 scoreless innings.
Bill Dickey holds steady for the '43 Yankees at the plate, hitting .318 and a team high 71 RBI. Johnny Murphy picked up his 16th save in their only win of the series. The '43 Yankees will take on the 8-4 1996 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1996 Yankees defeated the 1943 Yankees four games to two in their series to raise their record to 12-6. The '43 Yankees dropped to 43-65.
Andy Pettitte gave up just one run in 17 innings over his two starts. He shut out the '43 Yankees in Game One 7-0, giving up just two hits on the mound and going 1-4 with three runs scored and a RBI at the plate. The '43 Yankees evened the series in Game Two 5-3; Billy Johnson led the offense, going 3-4 with two doubles and four RBI. The teams split the next two games; the '43 Yankees won Game Four 5-2 in 11 innings when they scored three runs with two outs in the 11th on a Joe Gordon RBI double and a Nick Etten two-run homer. The '96 Yankees won Game 5 7-1; David Cone struck out 10 in a complete game while they had eight hits and 12 walks at the plate. They clinched the series with a 3-1 10 inning win. Tino Martinez hit a walk-off two rub blast for the win.
Derek Jeter leads the '96 Yankees in hitting at .323. Bernie Williams is hitting .297 and leads the team in runs scored (17), homeruns (7), RBI (13), and OPS (1.043). After five starts, Pettitte is 3-0 with a 0.63 ERA. The five starters, including Kenny Rogers, David Cone, Dwight Gooden, and Jimmy Key are a combined 10-1.
Bill Dickey continues to lead the '43 Yankees in hitting at .316 and in RBI with 72. Johnny Murphy picked up two more saves to give him 18 for the season. The '43 Yankees will battle the 8-4 1950 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1950 Yankees defeated the 1943 Yankees four games to two in their six game series. The '50 Yankees improved their record to 12-6 while the '43 Yankees fell to 45-69, second from the bottom in the Yankee standings.
The 1950 Yankees pitching dominated this series as they shut out the '43 Yankees four times! It started with Game One as four pitchers combine to three-hit the '43 Yankees in a 1-0 win. They obliterated the '43 Yankees in Game Two 15-0; Eddie Lopat pitched a four hitter and went 2-5 at the plate with a double and four RBI. Joe Dimaggio pitched in four hits, including a homerun with six RBI. The '43 Yankees won the next two games 5-1 and 4-3. They were shut out in the final two games 1-0 and 6-0; Dimaggio hit a walk-off sac fly in Game Five while three pitchers combined for a five-hit shutout in the final game.
Johnny Mize continues to lead the '50 Yankees in most offensive categories: hitting at .329, homeruns with 8, RBI with 20, runs scored with 16, and OPS at 1.087. Ed Lopat and Whitey Ford both boast ERAs below 2; Lopat is 4-0 with a 1.95 ERA while Ford is 1-1 with a 1.90 ERA.
Bill Dickey continues to hit, despite the ‘43 Yankees’ offensive woes. He leads the team in hitting at .317 and RBI with 72. Charlie Keller hit his 15th triple to go along with his team leading 20 homeruns. Spud Chandler is stuck on 12 wins at 12-7, but his ERA remains under 2 after 23 starts at 1.86. The '43 Yankees will take on the 8-4 1978 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1978 Yankees dominated their series with the 1943 Yankees, winning five of six games. The '78 Yankees improved their record to 13-5, tied for third place, while the '43 Yankees dropped further below .500 at 46-74.
The '78 Yankees overcame a 3-0 deficit in Game One to win 4-3. Mickey Rivers and Bucky Dent hit back-to-back RBI singles to tie the game in the 7th inning and Graig Nettles drove in the go-ahead run in the 8th. It took 12 innings for the '43 Yankees to win their lone game of the series 3-2. Roy Weatherly hit a pinch hit walk-off RBI single. The '78 Yankees pounded the '43 Yankees in Game Three 13-3. Thurman Munson had a unique stat line: 4-4, a double, three stolen bases (including one at home!), two runs scored and two RBI. Dent was 3-5 with two doubles and four RBI. They won the next two games 3-2; it took them 11 innings to win Game Five. Nettles hit two solo homeruns in regulation and '43 Yankees reliever Jim Turner balked in the winning run in the 11th. They won the final game 7-4 thanks to Reggie Jackson who hit a three-run homer in the first and finished 3-5 with three runs scored and three RBI.
Jackson leads the team in most offensive categories: average (.324), homeruns (6), RBI (16), runs scored (17), and a 1.045 OPS. Ed Figueroa is 3-0 with four starts with a 1.50 ERA. Goose Gossage has saved nine of the team’s 13 wins with a 1.80 ERA.
Bill Dickey’s average dropped slightly to .313 but added two more RBI to give him 74 for the season. Charlie Keller hit his 21st homerun to lead the team. Spud Chandler can’t seem to pick up that 13th win; his record dropped to 12-8 with a 1.93 ERA. The '43 Yankees will challenge the 12-6 1927 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1927 Yankees beat the 1943 Yankees four games to two to improve their record to 16-8. The '43 Yankees fell to 48-78.
The '43 Yankees run scoring problems continued in this series. They were shut out in the first two games 1-0 and 9-0. Waite Hoyt pitched a three-hitter in Game One while Urban Shocker did the same in Game Two. The '27 Yankees had 15 hits in Game Two with batters 1-7 all having at least two hits. Even when the '43 Yankees broke their drought in Game Three 2-0, another Spud Chandler shutout, their two runs were only scored thanks to two back-to-back two out errors by the '27 Yankees defense. Babe Ruth put his stamp on the series with a grand slam and five RBI in Game Four, an 8-3 win. The '43 Yankees had their best offensive outing in Game Five, overcoming a 3-0 deficit to win 8-5. Bud Matheny hit a grand slam of his own; the score would have been more lopsided had it not been for the triple play the '27 Yankees pulled off in the sixth inning. They nearly escaped this series with a split as they held a 1-0 lead in the ninth, but the '27 Yankees swiped victory away with a Ruth walk, a Lou Gehrig infield hit, and RBI single by Bob Meusel and a walk-off sac fly by Tony Lazzeri for a 2-1 win.
After 24 games, six '27 Yankees hitters are hitting over .300 with three over .360! Ruth is hitting .385 with 11 homeruns, 35 RBI and a 1.394 OPS. Meusel is hitting .365 with 33 RBI and a 1.103 OPS. Gehrig is hitting .363 with, along Ruth, the team lead in runs scored with 34 and a 1.260 OPS. Hoyt’s shutout continues his white-hot start: 5-0 in six starts with a 0.87 ERA. Shocker’s shutout improved his record to 3-2 with a 3.85 ERA.
Bill Dickey’s average dropped five more points to .308 and increased his team lead in RBI to 77. Joe Gordon broke the 80 runs scored mark with 81 while hitting .224 with 12 homeruns. Chandler picked up that elusive 13th win and lowered his ERA to 1.84. The '43 Yankees will battle with the 12-6 1939 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1943 Yankees and the 1939 Yankees split their six game series. The '39 Yankees remain six games over .500 at 15-9 while the '43 Yankees remain 30 games under at 51-81.
Red Ruffing had quite a performance in Game One; he lead the '39 Yankees to a 7-0 win pitching a three-hit shutout and going 5-5 at the plate. The '43 Yankees evened the series in Game Two with a 2-1 win; Frankie Crosetti drove in both runs, including the go-ahead run in the 8th. The '39 Yankees shut out the '43 Yankees again in Game Three 4-0; Atley Donald pitched a four-hitter. The '43 Yankees evened the series again with a wild 9-6 10 inning win. The 6-6 tie was broken in the 10th when Crosetti made a two out error which led to the three runs. The '43 Yankees took a 3-2 lead in the series in Game Five by overcoming a 1-0 deficit with four runs in the 8th to win 4-3. Bud Matheny slugged a three-run homer to cap off the rally. The '39 Yankees earned a split in the last game that was filled with drama. They trailed 3-1 in the 9th but tied the game on a pinch hit two-run single by Ken Sears. Joe Dimaggio hit a walk-off three run dinger to give them a 6-3 win. Dimaggio drove in five of the six runs in the game.
Charlie Keller leads the '39 Yankees in hitting at .374 and runs scored with 23 while sporting a 1.064 OPS. Dimaggio is hitting .366 and leads the team in homeruns (9), RBI (33), and OPS (1.166). Ruffing is 2-0 with a 2.97 on the mound and hitting .524 at the plate. Donald has won all four of his starts with a 1.60 ERA.
Bill Dickey’s average for the '43 Yankees dropped to .305 but added a couple of more RBI to give him 79. Spud Chandler picked up another win to improve his record to 14-8 with a 1.81 ERA. Johnny Murphy picked up a couple more saves to give him 23 to go along with a 2.64 ERA. The '43 Yankees will take on the 12-6 1938 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1943 Yankees lost five of six games to the 1938 Yankees and split their six game series with the 1923 Yankees. The '38 Yankees improved their record to 17-7 while the '23 Yankees remain six games over .500 at 15-9. The '43 Yankees dropped to 55-89 with two series left.
Spud Chandler pitched a three-hit shutout to give the '43 Yankees their only win in the series against the '38 Yankees. That series was dominated by the homerun muscle of the '38 Yankees; Joe Dimaggio hit two homeruns and drove in five in a 14-3 blowout win in Game One. They won Games Five and Six 3-1 in 12 innings and 8-6 on late inning homeruns. Bill Dickey hit a walk-off homer in Game Five, and Lou Gehrig hit a go-ahead two run homer in Game Six. In their series with the '23 Yankees, the '43 Yankees overcame a 4-2 deficit in Game One with a five run rally in the 7th to win 7-6. After losing the next two games, they won Game Four 4-3 on a go-ahead Roy Weatherly pinch hit single in the 8th. They had by far their best offensive performance in the last game, winning 14-3. They had 21 hits in that game; Nick Etten and Charlie Keller, who hit a grand slam both had four RBI in the game.
Dickey leads the '38 Yankees in hitting at .364, homeruns with nine, runs scored with 25 and OPS at 1.185. Dimaggio is hitting .314 with a 1.055 OPS and leads the team in RBI with 28. Gehrig hit his first three homeruns of the season and raised his average from an inconceivable .100 to .146. Monte Pearson is undefeated at 4-0 with a 2.25 ERA.
Babe Ruth leads the '23 Yankees in just about everything: average .354, homeruns 13, RBI 37, runs scored 28, OPS 1.527. On the mound, Waite Hoyt and Sam Jones are a combined 7-0 with ERAs of 1.50 and 2.20 respectively.
Dickey’s average for the '43 Yankees rose slightly to .307. Keller is hitting .263 with 23 homers and caught Dickey for the team lead in RBI with 84. Joe Gordon raised his average to .220 and leads the team in runs scored with 89. Chandler is now 15-10 with a 1.90 ERA. Johnny Murphy has 25 saves to go with a 5-5 record and 2.86 ERA. The '43 Yankees will take on the 5-1 1951 Yankees in the next series.
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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.