Greatest American League
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The 1927 Yankees dominated their six game series with the 1977 Yankees, winning five of six games to improve their record to 26-10, the identical record of the 1928 Yankees at the top of the standings. The '77 Yankees moved to the second worst record at 54-84.
Murderer’s Row scored double figures in three of their four wins, starting with Game One. Earle Combs went 3-5 with a triple, homerun, three RBI, and three runs scored in a 10-5 win. They won Game Three 13-1 thanks to Bob Muesel who went 2-4 with a homerun, three RBI, and three runs scored. The lone '77 Yankee win was in Game Four, a thrilling 7-6 battle in which the game had six times where the score was tied or the lead changed hands. The '77 Yankees went ahead for good in the eighth on a Bucky Dent two-run homer to go-ahead 7-6. The '27 Yankees clinched the series with a 14-4 walloping after trailing 4-3 in the 6th inning. They scored 10 runs in the sixth and seventh innings to pull away. The '27 Yankees pulled off a unique offensive feat in the final game of the series, a 6-1 win; They broke a 1-1 tie in the fifth inning with five runs while hitting the cycle as a team. Combs tripled, Muesel doubled, Babe Ruth homered, Lou Gehrig singled and Tony Lazzeri homered for good measure.
Ruth’s average actually dropped to .388, but he continues to rake nonetheless with 21 homeruns, 59 RBI, 53 runs scored, and a 1.457 OPS. Gehrig is hitting .372 with 10 homeruns, 41 RBI, 46 runs scored, and a 1.271 OPS. Combs is hitting .351 with 42 runs scored. Muesel is hitting .315 with 42 RBI and a .951 OPS. Lazzeri is hitting .309 with 37 RBI and a .922 OPS. Waite Hoyt remains undefeated at 7-0 with a 1.52 ERA. Wilcy Moore picked up a save and a complete game win; he is now 1-0 with seven saves and a 1.05 ERA.
Reggie Jackson raised his average slightly to .283, hit his 35th homerun, and scored five runs to give him 92 for the season. Ed Figueroa lost again, making him 6-20 on the season with a 4.86 ERA. Sparky Lyle picked up his 20th save in the series. He is 4-2 with a 2.81 ERA. The '77 Yankees will take on the 13-5 1953 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1953 Yankees outlasted the 1977 Yankees four games to two in their six game series. The '53 Yankees improved their record to 17-7 while the '77 Yankees dropped to 56-88.
After losing the first game 6-1, the '53 Yankees won the next four games in a row. They needed 12 innings to win Game Two 8-4; Joe Collins hit two homeruns including a three-run blast to cap off the four run 12th inning. The clinching win, Game Five, was a real back breaker for the '77 Yankees. The '53 Yankees trailed early 4-0 and 5-3 in the bottom of the ninth. Then Phil Rizzuto, Billy Martin, and pinch hitter Andy Carey hit back-to-back-to-back doubles to tie the game. Roy White misplayed Irv Noren’s fly ball for an error and a walk-off 6-5 win.
Hank Bauer leads the '53 Yankees in hitting at .349 with seven homeruns, 22 runs scored, and a 1.049 OPS. Gene Woodling is hitting .337 with a .980 OPS. Mickey Mantle is hitting .305 with seven homeruns, 25 RBI, 25 runs scored, and a 1.018 OPS. Collins is hitting .284 with 24 RBI and a .915 OPS. Johnny Sain and Ed Lopat have identical 3-0 records; Sain’s ERA is 2.90 while Lopat’s is 3.94. Allie Reynolds has pitched eight scoreless innings in eight appearances with seven saves.
Reggie Jackson’s average fell below .280 at .276. He is stuck on 35 homeruns with 87 RBI and 93 runs scored. Thurman Munson is hitting .271 with 18 homeruns and leads the team in RBI with 91. Ron Guidry picked up his 12th win in this series and is the only starter with at least 10 starts to have an ERA under 4 (3.83). The '77 Yankees will take on their next door neighbors, the 13-5 1978 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1977 Yankees lost the first two games of their six game series with their next door neighbors, the 1978 Yankees. After that, they reeled off four straight wins to win the series and improve their record to 60-90. The '78 Yankees fell to 15-9.
A Reggie Jackson defensive blunder cost the '77 Yankees in Game One as his error led to two unearned runs in a tight 2-1 win for the '78 Yankees. The '78 Yankees won Game Two 7-2, but the '77 Yankees locked it down after that. They tied the series in Game Four with a 11-5 slugfest in which Lou Pinella homered and drove in five RBI. Jackson redeemed himself for the '77 Yankees in Game Five when he hit a solo homerun off Goose Gossage in the 9th to break a 2-2 tie for a 3-2 win. They clinched the series in the final game by scoring three off Ron Guidry in the first inning, two by a two-run triple by Mickey Rivers, for a 4-1 win.
Jackson’s average held steady at .276 with 36 homeruns, 91 RBI, and 98 runs scored. Thurman Munson raised his average slightly to .273 and drove in a couple of more runs to give him 93 for the season. Sparky Lyle picked up three saves to give him 23 for the season to go with a 4-3 record and a 2.82 ERA.
Jackson continues to stir the drink for the '78 Yankees at the plate as well; he is hitting .312 after 24 games with seven homeruns, 18 RBI, 20 runs scored, and a .978 OPS. Willie Randolph is hitting .268 with 16 runs scored and 11 stolen bases. '78 Ed Figueroa is undefeated at 4-0 with a 1.62 ERA. 21 game loser '77 Figueroa is jealous. Gossage suffered his first loss and his ERA jumped to 2.25, but he has 10 saves in 12 appearances. The '78 Yankees will play the 38-52 1952 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1952 Yankees and 1978 Yankees split their six game series. The '78 Yankees remain six games over .500 at 18-12 while the '52 Yankees stay 14 games under at 41-55.
The '52 Yankees won two of the first three games in the series they won Game Three 13-6 despite two Reggie Jackson homeruns; Joe Collins and Irv Noren each homered and combined for nine RBI. The '78 Yankees evened the series in Game Four 9-5 thanks to a six run onslaught in the 5th inning. The '52 Yankees took a 3-2 lead in the series in Game Five with a 1-0 11 inning win. Ron Guidry’s 11 strikeout, nine shutout inning performance was ruined when Collins hit a walk-off triple in the 11th. The '78 Yankees came back to even the series in the final game with a 9-8 that was a back-and-forth affair. Graig Nettles blasted two homeruns to give them an early 5-1 lead. The '52 Yankees came back to tie the game with four runs in the 4th. The '78 Yankees used key hits by Willie Randolph to build the lead back up to 9-5 before holding off a late '52 Yankee comeback for the win. Both Nettles and Randolph ended up with four RBI in the game.
Mickey Mantle leads the '52 Yankees in hitting at .293 with 10 homeruns, 63 RBI, and 60 runs scored. Collins drove in seven runs in the series to give him 84 for the season to go with a .268 average, 21 homeruns and 10 triples. Gene Woodling is hitting .288 with 69 runs scored. Allie Reynolds picked up another win to improve his record to 15-3 with a 2.59 ERA.
Jackson hit .409 in the series with three homeruns and seven RBI to boost his overall average to .330 with 10 homeruns, 25 RBI, and a 1.045 OPS. Ed Figueroa picked up two more win for a 6-0 record with a 2.25 ERA. Goose Gossage notched a couple of more saves to give him 12 with a 1.93 ERA. The '78 Yankees will face the 47-55 1961 Yankees in the next series.