Greatest American League
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The 1996 Yankees won their first series in over 40 games by defeating the 1950 Yankees five games to one. The '96 Yankees improved their record to 61-83 while the '50 Yankees fell to 22-14.
The '96 Yankees won the first five games of the series. In Game One, the game was either tied or the lead changed hands eight times. Joe Girardi gave the the lead for good on a RBI double in the 8th that scored Derek Jeter for a 7-6 win. In Game Two, the '96 Yankees broke a 1-1 tie in the 5th with four runs on the strength of five doubles on their way to a 8-5 win. Mariano Duncan went 4-5 with a double, three RBI, and two runs scored. Duncan hit a grand slam and drove in five runs in Game Four for a 6-3 win. They came back from a 5-1 deficit in the 8th inning of Game Five with a four run rally, capped off by a Jeter two-run homer. They scored three in the 11th to earn an 8-5 victory. The '50 Yankees avoided a sweep by winning 9-2 in the final game. Joe Dimaggio drove in five runs on a double and homerun.
Duncan hit .500 in the series with 11 RBI to boost his average over .300 at .301 with 14 homeruns, 107 RBI, and 53 doubles. John Wetteland picked up three more saves to give him 33 while lowering his ERA to 1.98.
The '50 Yankees are led at the plate by Hank Bauer wo is hitting .339. Dimaggio is hitting .319 with nine homeruns, 44 RBI and a .978 OPS. Ed Lopat picked up his first launch to fall to 5-1 with a 2.81 ERA. The '50 Yankees will battle the 44-58 1952 Yankees in the next series.
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For the second consecutive series, the 1950 Yankees lost five of six games. This time, it was to the 1952 Yankees. The '50 Yankees have now lost 10 of their last 12 games as they fell to 23-19. The '52 Yankees improved their record to 49-59.
The '52 Yankees scored 52 runs in their five wins. In Game Two, they scored seven runs in the second inning, six of them unearned thanks to a Phil Rizzuto error, en route to a 10-2 win. They had another seven run bender in the 8th inning of Game Three, capped off by a Joe Collins homerun to break a 1-1 tie for a 8-1 win. Collins was a perfect 8-8 at the plate in the final two and a half games. Both teams scored double figures in Games Four and Five. The '52 Yankees jumped out to a 10-1 lead after four innings. The '50 Yankees came roaring back with five runs in the 5th and four in the 8th to tie the game 11 on a pinch hit two run homer by Tommy Henrich. Hank Bauer hit a solo homerun in the bottom of the 8th to give them the lead for good in a 12-11 win. The '52 Yankees scored nine runs in the first inning in which the first six batters reached safely. The '50 Yankees came back with seven runs in the third and one in the fourth to cut the lead to 9-8. The '52 Yankees scored five more in the fourth to keep their distance and win 15-10. Collins went 5-5 with two homeruns, four RBI, and three runs scored. The '52 Yankees won the final game in less dramatic fashion 7-2. Mickey Mantle hit two triples and drove in three runs.
Mantle leads the '52 Yankees in hitting at .303 with 13 homeruns, 12 triples, 79 RBI and a .916 OPS. Gene Woodling is hitting .300 with 81 runs scored. Collins hit .417 in the series with three homeruns and 10 RBI. He is now hitting .281 with 26 homeruns, 101 RBI and a .934 OPS. Allie Reynolds won another start to go to 16-4 with a 2.61 ERA.
Johnny Hopp leads the '50 Yankees in hitting at .350 with 27 runs scored and a .980 OPS. Phil Rizzuto is hitting .310 with 38 runs scored. Joe Dimaggio’s average dropped to .301 with 10 homeruns, 48 RBI and a .946 OPS. Their pitching continues to get hammered; Vic Raschi, Allie Reynolds, and Tommy Byrne have ERAs of 6.01, 5.56, and 5.90. The '50 Yankees will take on the 54-60 1961 Yankees in the next series.