Greatest American League
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The 1937 Yankees split their six game series with the 1943 Yankees. The '43 Yankees were an unspectacular team on paper; Joe Dimaggio was busy serving in the military during World War II. Yet, they held on despite an unreal series by '37 Dimaggio.
The '37 Yankees won Game One 4-3 after George Selkirk’s three-run homer gave them the lead in the bottom of the 8th. The '43 Yankees won the next two games 7-1 and 7-4. In Game Three, the '43 Yankees scored five runs in the 9th after trailing 4-2. Dimaggio carried the '37 Yankees to a 11-7 win in Game Four with three homeruns, including a grand slam, and NINE RBI! The '43 Yankees came back with a dramatic 5-4 comeback win in Game Five; They scored three runs in the bottom of the 8th to tie the game 4-4, and Bud Metheny hit a walkoff homer in the 9th. Dimaggio struck again for the '37 Yankees in the final game, a 14-3 blowout. Dimaggio went 4-6 with a double and a homer and seven more RBI.
Metheny had a great series for the '43 Yankees, hitting .346 with three homeruns, seven RBI, and a 1.064 OPS. Charlie Keller hit .364 with a 1.027 OPS. Ace Spud Chandler had two disappointing starts, going 0-2 with a 4.91 ERA.
Dimaggio hit .333 for the '37 Yankees with six homeruns and an insane 19 RBI in six games to boost his overall numbers to .296 with 15 homers, 45 RBI and a 1.066 OPS. Lou Gehrig leads the team in hitting at .333 with 12 homeruns, 23 RBI, 33 runs scored, and a 1.297 OPS. Johnny Murphy has been as much of an opener as a closer. He has four saves and three losses with a 13.50 ERA in eight innings. The '37 Yankees remain four games under .500 at 13-17 after the split. They will face the 1947 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1937 Yankees won five of six games from the 1947 Yankees thanks to their pitching. Lefty Gomez pitched a four-hit shutout in a 1-0 Game One win; Red Rolfe hit a walkoff double scoring Joe Dimaggio. The '47 Yankees were shutout in back-to-back games when Red Ruffing pitched a one-hitter in an 8-0 win in Game Two. After Lou Gehrig crushed two homeruns and drove in four RBI in a 5-2 Game Five win, Ivy Andrews pitched the third shutout of the series, a six-hitter, in a 3-0 win.
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@ncord The 1947 Yankees edged the 1949 Yankees four games to two in their series. After getting shutout in three of their previous six games, they scored 19 runs in their first two games. Billy Johnson went 3-5 with a double, triple, homer and 5 RBI in a 11-8 Game One win. After losing 8-6 in Game Two, the '49 Yankees won the next game 9-3; Eddie Lopat pitched a complete game and hit a two-run homer. The '47 Yankees won two of the final three games to boost their overall record to 5-7.
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@ncord The 1949 Yankees split a six game series with the 1950 Yankees. This was a back-and-forth series. It began with the '49 Yankees scoring four runs in the bottom of the 7th in Game One to win 6-4. The '50 Bronx Bombers won the next three games. Johnny Mize drove in all four runs with a pair of two-run homers for a 4-1 win in Game Two. Tommy Byrne pitched a three-hit shutout in a 5-0 win in Game Three. Game Four was drunk; The '49 Yankees staked a 7-0 lead early only to see the '50 Yankees score seven runs in the 4th and 13 of the last 14 runs scored in the game to win a wild 13-8 slugfest. The '49 Yankees rebounded to win the final two games including a 10-2 blowout in Game Six in which every player either scored or drove in a run.
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@ncord The 1951 Yankees dominated the 1949 Yankees, winning five of their six games. The '51 Yankees won 10-3 in the opener and 5-2 in Game Two when '49 Yankees starter Tommy Byrne walked eight batters in 4 1/3 innings. They won their third in a row 7-2, a game in which starting pitcher Allie Reynolds pitched a complete game and hit a two-run homer. After losing game four, they won the final two games 9-5 and 3-1. The 1949 Yankees will take on the 1952 Yankees in the next series.
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@ncord The 1949 Yankees beat the 1952 Yankees four games to two after winning four of the first five games. The series had many offensive fireworks. In Game Four, the '49 Yankees won 7-6 thanks to a pair of homeruns by Yogi Berra. Joe Dimaggio led the '49 Bronx Bombers to a 10-1 in Game Five on the strength of 5-5 with a homerun and four RBI. The '52 Yankees won the final game of the series 11-4. Joe Collins drove in six runs while going 3-5 with a homerun. Gene Woodling and Gil McDougald combined to go 10-10 with four runs scored and three RBI.
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The 1953 Yankees dominated their series with the 1952 Yankees, winning the first five games before losing the final game 10-1. They scored two runs in the top of the 9th to win Game One 6-4. Every starter scored or drove in a run in their 9-5 win in Game Two. They pulled off the same trick in a 13-1 blowout in Game Four. They scored double figures in runs again in Game Five, a 10-2 win on the strength of Yogi Berra ( a grand slam and 5 RBI) and Joe Collins (two homeruns and 4 RBI).
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After dropping five of six games in their last series, the 1952 Yankees took five of six from the 1956 Yankees. The two teams split the first two games. The '52 Yankees took Game Three 8-4 after a 6th inning Bill Skowron error led to a six run inning, all unearned. Mickey Mantle had a MONSTER Game 5 won by the '52 Yanks 13-4: Mantle hit the cycle while going 5-5, two homeruns, five RBI and five runs scored.
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The 1956 Yankees took four of six games from the 1958 Yankees to improve their record to 5-7. The '56 Yankees won Game One 4-3 on a walkoff single by Yogi Berra with two outs in the 9th. They won in walkoff fashion again in Game Two 3-2 in 10 innings on a single by Enos Slaughter. Slaughter helped the '58 Yankees win Game Three 4-3 when he hit a go-ahead pinch hit two-run homer in the 7th. After the '58 Yankees tied the series in Game Four, the '56 Bombers won the final two games 6-5 and 9-1.
Mickey Mantle leads the '56 Yankees in hitting at .333 with 11 runs scored and a 1.032 OPS in 12 games. Berra has 15 RBI with a .261 average. Whitey Ford has started the play in season with three straight complete games, all wins, and a 2.00 ERA. The rest of the starting pitching has been mostly shaky, as their team 4.54 ERA would suggest.
Hank Bauer had a great series for the '58 Yankees, hitting .417 with a 1.083 OPS. Mantle hit just .200 but had a .500 OBP thanks to nine walks. Bob Turley was terrible in his two starts, going 0-2 with a 6.03 ERA. The '58 Yankees will take on the 1961 Yankees in the next series.
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After dropping the first game, The 1961 Yankees won three in a row against the 1958 Yankees on their way to winning the series 4-2. Tony Kubek had a huge Game Two for the '61 Yankees 10-4 win in which he hit 4-5 with a double, triple and five RBI. Game Three was deadlocked 2-2 until the 13th inning where Johnny Blanchard and Mickey Mantle hit back-to-back homeruns to give the '61 Yankees a 4-2 win. Mantle helped the '58 Yankees close the gap to 3-2 in Game Five when he hit a go-ahead homer in the 9th to beat the '61 Yankees 3-2. The '61 Yankees won the final game convincingly 5-1.
The '61 Yankees averaged five runs a game in the series despite just hitting .225 and shut down the '58 Yankees offense with a team 1.74 ERA. Mantle hit .417 with five homeruns, seven RBI, eight runs scored, and a 1.542 OPS. Whitey Ford had a 0.56 ERA in his two starts. Rollie Sheldon and Bill Stafford each gave up only one run in eight innings for their two starts.
Hank Bauer cooled off for the '58 Yankees as his average dropped to .354, while Mantle’s average plummeted below the Mendoza line at .189. Mantle has twice as many walks (14) as hits (7). Ryne Duren is off to a good start as the closer; he has four saves in five appearances and six scoreless innings. The '58 Yankees will take on the 1962 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1958 Yankees won their first series, beating the 1962 Yankees four out of six games, improving their record to 8-10. After dropping the first game 7-4, the '58 Yankees won the next four games. Game Two was a thriller. The '58 Yankees had a 4-1 lead only to give up six unanswered runs to the '62 Yankees to trail 7-4. Yogi Berra tied the game in a three-run 8th inning rally with a pinch hit two-run homer. One inning later, Bill Skowron hit a walkoff two-run homer for a 9-7 win. In their 3-1 Game Four win, Bob Turley pitched a one-hit complete game; the only hit given up was a 9th inning homerun by Johnny Blanchard. Whitey Ford made it back-to-back complete games for the '58 Yankees in Game Five with a 6-2 win in which Ford also went 3-4 at the plate with two RBI. Ralph Terry broke the four game losing streak for the '62 Yankees with a five-hit, seven strikeout shutout in a 1-0 win.
Mickey Mantle hit .348 in the series for the '58 Yankees to raise his average to .250. Hank Bauer continues to lead the team in hitting at .342. After a slow start, Turley evened his record to 2-2 and dropped his ERA to 3.55. Ford boosted his record to 2-1 with a 2.18 ERA.
Roger Maris hit .400 for the '62 Yankees in the series and drove in five RBI but also missed a couple of games due to injury. Mantle hit just .158. Terry carried the team in this series, winning both of his starts with a 1.72 ERA. The '62 Yankees will take on the 1977 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1962 Yankees split their six game series with the 1977 Yankees, the first modern DH-era championship Yankee team. The '62 Yankees remained two games under .500 at 5-7.
The series featured mostly low scoring games. The '62 Yankees won the first two games 4-2 and 6-2. The '77 Yankees won the next three games. They won Game Four in dramatic fashion 3-1 in 12 innings with Graig Nettles hitting a two-run walkoff homer. The '62 Yankees evened the series in the final game 3-1 when Elston Howard hit the go-ahead two run double in the 9th inning.
Reggie Jackson led the '77 Yankees in hitting at .304 for the series with a .993 OPS. Nettles had six RBI in the series. Staff ace Ed Figuerora struggled in his two starts, going 0-2 with a 3.71 ERA. They got great pitching from Ron Guidry, Don Gullett, and Catfish Hunter in their starts. They combined for only three earned runs in 26 innings pitched.
Roger Maris was quieter in this series for the '62 Yankees; his average dropped to .256; he also has yet to hit a homerun. Mickey Mantle raised his average to .220 and has 10 runs scored in 12 games. Ralph Terry lost his first start but still has an ERA below 2 (1.90). Whitey Ford is undefeated (2-0) with a 2.82 ERA. The '62 Yankees will take on the 1978 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1978 Yankees won four of six games from the 1962 Yankees, dropping them to 7-11.
The '62 Yankees won the first game 2-1 when Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris hit back-to-back homeruns against Ron Guidry in the 7th. The '78 Yankees won the next two games 3-1 and 3-0 in 10 innings. Willie Randolph broke the tie in the 10th with a three-run bomb. After dropping Game Four 3-2, the offense for the '78 Yankees woke up as they won the last two games 9-7 and 9-3.
Randolph hit .375 for the '78 Yankees in the series with a .944 OPS. Reggie Jackson scored six runs in the series while Thurman Munson drove in six runs; both hit .250. Guidry struck out 16 batters in 16 innings pitched. Goose Gossage saved three games in three appearances.
Maris hit his first two homeruns of the play in season and upped his RBI total to 12. Whitey Ford got rocked in his last start, surrendering six runs in one inning to baloon his ERA to 5.32. Meanwhile, Ralph Terry and Bill Stafford continue to baffle hitters with ERAs at 1.99 and 1.84 respectively. The '62 Yankees will battle the 1996 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1996 Yankees won their first series four games to two over the 1962 Yankees who dropped to a dead last 9-15.
Two of the first three games went to extra innings. The '62 Yankees won Game One 2-1 in 11 innings on a walkoff solo homer by Mickey Mantle. They won again in extras again in Game Three 6-3 in 13 innings in a game that had more than one dramatic twist; Mariano Duncan hit a three-run homerun in the 8th to tie the game 3-3. Johnny Blanchard later won the game for the '62 Bombers with a pinch hit three run blast. The '96 Yankees won the final three games of the series. They wiped out a 3-1 deficit in the bottom of the 8th in Game Four with a three run rally, capped off by a two run single by Derrick Jeter, for a 4-3 win. Andy Pettite pitched a strange shutout in their 3-0 Game Six win: Pettite gave up nine hits, but left 10 on base and had two base runners thrown out at the plate.
Duncan and Jeter had big series for the '96 Yankees; Duncan hit .375, Jeter hit .348, and they both had 5 RBI to lead the team. Pettite surrendered only one earned run in 17 innings pitched in the series.
Elston Howard hit .320 in the series to raise his average to .274. Mantle hit .300 to move his average to .244 with 25 walks, 18 runs scored, and a .940 OPS. Jim Bouton is 0-4 in five starts with a 3.00 ERA. The '62 Yankees will take on the 1998 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1998 Yankees beat the 1962 Yankees four out of six games to drop them two more games under .500 at 11-19.
Shane Spencer got the '98 Yankees off to a dramatic start with a pinch-hit grand slam in the 8th to lead the to an 8-5 win in Game One. After losing Game Two 4-3, the '98 Yankees overcame a 5-1 deficit with a six run rally in the 6th inning on their way to a 10-8 win. Jorge Posada hit two homeruns including a walkoff solo blast in the 9th for a 6-5 win in Game Four. The '62 Yankees struck back in Game Five with late heroics when Roger Maris hit a solo bomb in the top of the 11th for a 4-3 win. The '98 Yankees clinched the series win in the final game with no drama; a 9-1 drubbing.
The '98 Yankees were unbelievable at the plate: .309, 12 homeruns, and 39 runs scored. Five of their starters hit over .300 in the series led by Scott Brosius at .481 with nine runs scored. Bernie Williams hit .370 with three homeruns and nine RBI. Starting pitching wasn’t sterling, but Mariano Rivera picked up two saves in three appearances in 3 2/3 scoreless innings.
Bobby Richardson hit .455 in the series for the '62 Yankees to raise his overall average to .319. Maris hit .294 with two homers and seven RBI to give him a team-leading 23 RBI for the season. Jim Bouton and Roland Sheldon are now a combined 0-7 on the mound; Bouton has had bad luck with a 2.84 ERA while Sheldon has been awful with a 6.19 ERA. The '62 Yankees will take on the 1999 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1962 Yankees won their first series as they beat the 1999 Yankees four games to two. Tom Tresh hit a two-run walkoff HR off Mariano Rivera in the 11th to give the '62 Yankees a 2-1 Game One win. There were two more extra inning games in this series. The '62 Yankees won 7-5 in 10 innings in Game Five to take a 4-1 series lead. The '99 Yankees won a wild 4-3 14 inning marathon that featured six homeruns, including a walkoff bomb by Jim Leyritz.
The '62 Yankees improved their record to 15-21. Bobby Richardson leads the team in hitting at .314. Mickey Mantle leads the team in runs scored with 27 while hitting .258 with eight homeruns. Roger Maris drove in five more runs to give him a team-leading 28 on the season. In his seven starts, Ralph Terry is 4-1 with a 2.03 ERA. Jim Bouton remains winless at 0-5 with a 2.92 ERA. Marshall Bridges reduced his ERA to 3.38 while picking up his 9th save. The '99 Yankees will take on the 2000 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1999 Yankees defeated the 2000 Yankees four games to two to even their record to 6-6.
After dropping Game One 8-2, the '99 Yankees ripped off the next four games in a row. Game Two, a 9-8 slugfest, was wild. '99 starter Andy Pettite put his team in a hole early by walking home THREE consecutive runs. After rallying to tie the game, '99 closer Mariano Rivera gave up a go-ahead RBI double by Scott Brosius. '00 Rivera fared even worse when he gave up a two-run walkoff homer by Bernie Williams. They won Game Four by an identical 9-8 score in 12 innings thanks to go-ahead Ricky Ledee RBI single. In their final win, a 3-2 nailbiter, '00 starter Denny Neagle walked eight batters in six innings, including four in a row in the fifth to give the '99 Yankees the go-ahead run.
Derek Jeter leads the '99 Yankees in hitting after 12 games at .302. Williams leads the club in runs scored (10), homeruns (3) and RBI (8). Roger Clemens and Orlando Hernandez have combined for a 3-0 record and a 1.31 ERA in their five starts. Allen Watson has pitched 10 1/3 scoreless innings in relief.
Luis Polonia and Tino Martinez hit over .300 in the series (.316 for Polonia and .304 for Martinez). Williams had a .410 On base percentage despite hitting only .190. He scored seven runs to lead the team. Paul O’Neil made his .214 average count with a team-leading seven RBI. Clemens won both of his starts with a 3.38 ERA and struck out 14 batters in 16 innings. The 2000 Yankees will take on the final Yankee championship team from 2009 in the next series.
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The 2000 Yankees and the 2009 Yankees split their six game series, keeping the 2000 Yankees two games under .500 at 5-7.
The 2000 Yankees won Game One 2-1 thanks to Derek Jeter’s two-run go-ahead homer in the 5th. The '09 Yankees won Game Two 9-2 as Alex Rodriguez went 2-3 with a triple, homerun and five RBI. Both teams went back and forth from there.
A Rod hit .364 in the series for the '09 Yankees with seven runs scored, five RBI, and a 1.143 OPS. Jorge Posada hit .333 with six RBI and a 1.051 OPS. CC Sabathia lost both of his starts despite a 2.12 ERA.
Jose Canseco is hitting .357 in his four starts with a 1.366 OPS. Luis Polonia (.269) is the only regular hitting above .250. Andy Pettite won both of his starts for a 2-0 record and 2.57 ERA. David Cone, Denny Neagle, and Orlando Hernandez have been tattooed to ERAs of 6.35, 6.97, and 10.80.
Every Yankee team has now played at least one series. The 1951 and 1953 Yankees both have 5-1 records. The 2000 Yankees will take on the 1962 Yankees in the next series.
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The 2000 Yankees won four out of six games with the 1962 Yankees to even their overall record to 9-9. The '62 Yankees dropped to 17-25, last among all the Yankee teams.
This was a fun series with big offensive and pitching performances. The 2K Yankees won a wild Game One 10-9 in 11 innings, a game that featured five homeruns, two by David Justice, and five lead changes. Every player on both teams except Elston Howard either scored or drove in a run. Derek Jeter won the slugfest with a walkoff double. Game Two was almost as wild; the '62 Yankees won 12-11 despite four more homers by the 2K Bombers, two by Bernie Williams. Mickey Mantle drove in five RBI in the game. The baseballs remained juiced in Game Three as the ‘62 Yankees won 6-5 thanks to Roger Maris’ second tater of the game, a solo shot off 2K closer Mariano Rivera in the 9th. Five total homers were hit in this game. Roger Clemens had enough of the fireworks and shut down the '62 Yankees in Game Four with a complete game and 12 strikeouts in a 5-1 win. The 2K Yankees won the final two games 8-2 and 5-2 in 10 innings.
Jose Canseco, platooning as the DH, is hitting .421 with a 1.605 OPS in 22 plate appearances. Williams is hitting .257 and leads the club in homeruns (4), runs scored (15) and RBI (14) along with Paul O’Neill and Tino Martinez. Clemens and Andy Pettitte are a combined 6-1 with a 2.60 ERA. The other three starters, Orlando Hernandez, Denny Neagle, and David Cone are a combined 1-5 with a 8.81 ERA.
Mantle hit .417 in the series for the '62 Yankees with three homers and 12 RBI to raise his average to .284 with a team leading 11 homeruns and 32 runs scored. Maris still leads the team in RBI with 34 while hitting .245 with nine homers. Ralph Terry continues to be reliable on the mound with a 4-1 record and 2.52 ERA in nine starts. Jim Bouton and Roland Sheldon continue to be winless at 0-6 and 0-4 with ERAs of 3.42 and 6.46 respectively. Marshall Bridges has 11 saves but also three losses with a 4.74 ERA. The 1962 Yankees will play the 1949 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1962 Yankees won five of six games in their series with the 1949 Yankees to boost their record to 22-26. The 1949 Yankees dropped to 11-19, last place in the standings.
The '62 Yankees scored 47 runs in the series, nearly eight runs a game. They started with a bang in Game 1 with three homeruns and five runs in the first inning on their way to a 7-3 win. Elston Howard banged two homers. They hit four more homers in a 15-7 win in Game Two. The '49 Yankees got their only win in Game 3, 19-7, a game with 18 hits and 13 walks! Jerry Coleman and Gene Woodling scored five runs apiece in the game. Mickey Mantle did a little of everything in the '62 Yankees 2-1 win in Game 5; Mantle drove in both runs and threw out '49 Yankees pinch runner George Stirnweiss at the plate to end the game.
Mantle had another monster series for the ‘62 Yankees. Mantle hit .500 with four homers and eight RBI to bring his overall average up to .310. He leads the team in homeruns with 15, runs scored with 41 and OPS at 1.096. Roger Maris’ average dropped to .238 but hit his 10th homer and leads the team in RBI with 36. Ralph Terry picked up his fifth win as his ERA dropped to 2.36.
Tommy Henrich is raking for the '49 Yankees; he leads the team in hitting at .316, homeruns with 10, runs scored with 29 and RBI with 37 in 30 games with a 1.156 OPS. Joe Dimaggio missed a couple of games due to injury but is hitting .290 with a 1.032 OPS. Pitching has been horrific; after 30 games, they have a 5.86 team ERA. Fred Sanford and Tommy Byrne are both 0-5 with ERAs of 9.52 and 9.59 respectively. The '49 Yankees will take on the 1947 Yankees in the next series.