Greatest American League
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The 1961 Yankees beat the 1952 Yankees four games to two in their series to improve their record to 13-11. The '52 Yankees dropped to 21-33.
The '52 Yankees came out of the gates fast in Game One with a 8-0 win. Vic Raschi pitched a five-hit shutout. The '61 Yankees evened the series in Game Two 3-2 in 10 innings in a game that went back and forth; Johnny Blanchard hit a pinch hit two-run homer to give them a 2-1 lead in the 8th. Yogi Berra came back in the 9th to tie the game for the '52 Yankees with a solo homerun. The '61 Yankees won the game in the bottom of the inning when Mickey Mantle dropped a routine fly ball with the bases loaded and two outs. Whitey Ford shut out the '52 Yankees in Game Three 3-0 on just five hits. After the '52 Yankees evened the series in Game Four 8-2, the '61 Yankees won the final two games 5-4 and 7-5. Elston Howard gave the '61 Yankees the lead for good on a grand slam homerun in the 7th inning when they were down 4-1.
Mantle continues to lead the '61 Yankees in hitting at .378 with 10 homeruns, and team bests in runs scored (24) and OPS (1.235). Roger Maris raised his average to .262 and leads the team in homers with 11. Howard is hitting .356 and leads the team in RBI with 24. Ford’s shutout improved his record to 2-1 and lowered his ERA to 2.86.
Mantle leads the '52 Yankees hitting at .346; he, Gene Woodling, and Yogi Berra all have scored 39 runs to lead the team. Joe Collins has 12 homeruns and 47 RBI to lead the team while hitting .250. Allie Reynolds continues to carry this pitching staff with a 7-1 record and a 2.36 ERA. No other starter has an ERA below 4.44. The '52 Yankees will battle the 9-9 1943 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1952 Yankees defeated the 1943 Yankees four games to two in their series to improve their overall record to 25-35. The '43 Yankees dropped two games under .500 at 11-13.
It looked like it was going to be a rout initially as the '52 Yankees dominated the first three games of the series. Allie Reynolds held the '43 Yankees to three runs in Game One despite walking 10 batters and went 3-5 at the plate with three runs scored and two RBI to lead the '52 Yankees to a 14-3 blowout. This game started a streak of 28 (!) straight innings the '43 Yankees were held scoreless. Neither team scored in Game Two for 10 innings; Yogi Berra hit a walkoff single in the 11th for a 1-0 win. Johnny Sain pitched a six-hit shutout in Game Three and hit a two-run dinger in a 13-0 win in which six of the runs scored were unearned. The '43 Yankees came back with two straight wins, starting with a shutout of their own in Game Four; Spud Chandler pitched a four-hitter in their 4-0 win. Nick Etten was 3-5 with a double, HR, and four RBI to lead them to a 8-2 win in Game Five. The '52 Yankees clinched the series with a 8-3 win in the final game.
Mickey Mantle remains the only '52 Yankee hitting over .300 at .328. Despite hitting just .223, Berra leads the team in runs scored with 44. Joe Collins hit .435 in the series to raise his overall average to .269. He hit two more homeruns to give him 14 for the season and drove in 10 to give him 57 RBI in 60 games. Reynolds won both of his starts to jack his record up to 9-1 with a 2.47 ERA.
Bill Dickey is the only regular hitting above .250 for the '43 Yankees at .333. Etten has 21 RBI in 24 games despite hitting just .222. Chandler’s shutout dropped his ERA to 2.66 with a 3-2 record. He has the only ERA under 4 for the staff so far. The 1943 Yankees will battle with 18-24 1958 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1943 Yankees beat the 1958 Yankees four out of six games in their series to even their record to 15-15. The '58 Yankees dropped to 20-28.
The first two games were a pair of tight 2-1 games; the '43 Yankees won Game One thanks to Bill Dickey’s pinch hit RBI single in the bottom of the 8th. The '58 Yankees won the next game after Andy Carey’s solo homerun in the 8th broke a 1-1 tie. The '58 Yankees took a 2-1 lead in the series with a 4-2 win that went 10 innings. Mickey Mantle gave them the lead in the 10th with a RBI triple. The '43 Yankees won the final three games to win the series. They nearly gave away Game Four when they led 8-1 but allowed the '58 Yankees to score six runs in the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings. Mantle grounded out with two outs and the tying run on second in the 9th as the '43 Yankees escaped with a 8-7 win. Hank Borowy shut down the '58 Yankees in Game Five with 10 strikeouts in a 4-1 win and they clinched the series with a 5-2 win in the final game.
Dickey’s average dropped to .302, still best on the team. Johnny Murphy picked up four saves in the series to give him seven in 11 appearances with a 3.27 ERA.
Mantle continues to struggle at the plate, hitting just .226 but he has a .407 OBP thanks to 49 walks and leads the team in runs scored with 31. Carey leads the team in homeruns (11) and RBI (32) while hitting .257. Whitey Ford has suffered from some lack of run support with a 2-4 record in 10 starts and a 3.12 ERA. The '58 Yankees will take on the 16-14 1999 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1958 Yankees split their six game series with the 1999 Yankees in a series with big swings, literally and figuratively. The '58 Yankees remain eight games under .500 at 23-31 while the '99 Yankees stay two games over .500 at 19-17.
The '58 Yankees came out big in Game One, winning 8-0 behind Don Larsen’s five-hit shutout and Elston Howard’s four RBI while going 2-4 with a homerun. The ‘99 Yankees won the next three games in the series. Bernie Williams’ two-run single in the top of the 10th inning gave them a 3-1 win in Game Two. Tino Martinez hit a go-ahead two-run double in the 9th inning to cap off a 3-5 day in a 9-5 win in Game Three which also included a homerun and four RBI. After taking a 3-1 lead in the series with a 3-2 win in Game Four, Andy Carey almost single-handedly brought the '58 Yankees back to tie the series. Carey hit a three-run homer in the first inning of Game Five, and they held on for a 5-3 win. Carey hit two more homers in Game Six. The first was another three-run blast that gave the '58 Yankees a 5-0 lead. The '99 Yankees came back and tied the game in the 8th on a Martinez two-run tater. Carey hit his second homer in the 10th, followed by another by Yogi Berra to give them a 7-5 win.
Paul O’Neill leads the '99 Yankees in hitting at .320. Chuck Knoblauch has scored 32 runs in 36 games while hitting .234. Williams has 10 homeruns and 32 RBI to lead the team while hitting .281. Orlando Hernandez has been the most reliable starting pitcher so far at 4-1 with a 2.04 ERA. Mariano Rivera saved two games to give him 11 for the season but he also lost the final game of the series.
Carey hit .280 in the series to raise his average to .260. He hit four homers and drove in 10 RBI in the series to up his team leading totals to 15 HR and 41 RBI. Larsen’s shutout was his fifth win, against four losses. Ryne Duren picked up his 11th save with a miniscule 1.01 ERA. The ;58 Yankees will battle the 16-14 2000 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1958 Yankees beat the 2000 Yankees four games to two in their series to improve their record to 27-33 while the 2000 Yankees dropped back to .500 at 18-18.
The 2K Yankees won two of the first three games in the series. After losing Game One 5-3, they won a slugfest in Game Two 13-9. Both teams combined to hit five homeruns. Derek Jeter went 3-4 with a double, homerun, and five RBI in the win. Yogi Berra was 3-5 with two homers and five RBI in a losing cause. The '58 Yankees won the next two games by identical 3-2 scores. In Game Five, Hank Bauer’s two-out RBI single in the 9th gave them the lead for good. There was no drama in the final game; Johnny Kucks (who got ejected for arguing balls and strikes ), Murry Dickson, and Johnny James pitched a combined five-hit shutout in a convincing 7-0 win, Elston Howard was 3-5 at the plate with a homerun and five RBI.
Howard leads the '58 Yankees in OPS at .888 in 35 games while hitting .328. Ryne Duren picked up three saves in this series to give him 14 for the season while reducing his ERA to 0.91 in 29 2/3 innings.
Jeter has 31 runs scored in 36 games while hitting .247. David Justice is hitting just .214 but leads the team in homeruns with 8 and RBI with 26. The bullpen has been outstanding; Mariano Rivera has nine saves and a 2.57 ERA. Jeff Nelson has a 0.80 ERA in 16 appearances. Mike Stanton has a 0.61 ERA in eight appearances. Jason Grimsley is 3-0 with a 1.14 ERA in seven games. The 2000 Yankees will face the 25-35 1952 Yankees in the next series.
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The 2000 Yankees split their six game series with the 1952 Yankees. The 2K Yankees remain .500 at 21-21 while the '52 Yankees stay 10 games under at 28-38.
The '52 Yankees won two of the first three games with solid pitching: 7-3 and 2-1. The 2K Yankees won their three games by scoring an average of nine runs a game. They won Game Two 12-5; Jorge Posada went 2-4 with a double, HR, and five RBI while Derek Jeter went 3-4 with a homer, four RBI, and three runs scored. They won Game Four 8-3 thanks to Tino Martinez who went 3-5 with two dingers, a triple, and three RBI. The 2K Yankees took a 3-2 lead in the series with a wild 7-6 win in which all of the runs by both teams were scored in the first four innings. Game Six was the wildest game of the series by far; The '52 Yankees won 9-8 in a game that had four lead changes. Posada who went 2-3 with two homeruns and five RBI, hit a three-run homer in the 8th to tie the game 8-8. Mickey Mantle blasted a solo shot in the bottom of the inning to give them the lead for good.
Mantle’s homer was his 10th of the season; he leads the team in hitting at .320 and OPS at .972. Yogi Berra leads the team in runs scored with 49 despite hitting just .229. Joe Collins is hitting .265 while leading the team in homeruns (14) and RBI (58). Allie Reynolds picked up his 10th win in relief and even though he gave up three runs in two innings, his ERA is still an impressive 2.67.
Posada hit .300 in the series with three homers and 12 RBI to raise his average to .260, doubling his homer total to six and nearly doubling his RBI total to 27. Paul O’Neill leads the team in RBI with 31 while hitting .253. Mariano Rivera picked up his 10th save in the series with a 2.40 ERA. The 2000 Yankees will take on the 15-15 1943 Yankees in the next series.
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The 2000 Yankees cruised to a 4-2 series win over the 1943 Yankees by winning the first four games. The 2K Yankees moved to two games over .500 at 25-23 while the '43 Yankees dropped to 17-19.
David Justice briefly broke out of his slump for the 2K Yankees in Game One with a 3-5, two homerun, and five RBI performance in Game One to lead them to a 9-6 win. Justice followed that up with a two-run dinger in Game Two for the only runs in the game, a 2-0 win led by Roger Clemens who pitched a three-hitter. After winning Game Three 9-7, the 2K Yankees clinched the series in Game Four 6-4 after scoring three runs in the top of the 9th, two of them coming on a Frank Crosetti error with the bases loaded to break the tie. The '43 Yankees finally won a game in Game Five 1-0 in 10 innings, despite committing five errors! Charlie Keller hit a sac fly for the walkoff win. They won the final game 8-3 on the strength of Nick Etten who hit two homeruns while batting 3-5 with four RBI.
Derek Jeter leads the 2K Yankees in hitting (.286) and runs scored (43). Justice increased his power numbers to 12 homeruns and 36 RBI but is still hitting just .204. Clemens’ shutout was his 5th win, and it reduced his ERA to 2.68. Orlando Hernandez remains winless at 0-5 with a 7.16 ERA.
Bill Dickey is the only regular for the '43 Yankees hitting above .250 at .269. Etten leads the team in homers and RBI with six and 29 respectively while hitting just .216. Spud Chandler (2.50 ERA) and Tiny Bonham (2.73 ERA) have continued to keep their team in games on the mound. The '43 Yankees will battle with the 26-28 1962 Yankees in the next series.
Thankfully the Dodgers put the Yankees away last night so that I will not have to add another team in this Yankees tournament and play a 162 game play in season for the Greatest American League!
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The 1943 Yankees evened their record to 21-21 by beating the 1962 Yankees four out of six games to drop them to 28-32.
The '43 Yankees won the first three games of the series by locking down the ‘62 Yankees’ bats for 22 straight scoreless innings. Spud Chandler pitched a four-hit shutout and struck in 10 in Game One for a 7-0 win. Butch Wensloff followed that gem with another in Game Two, a two-hitter in a 6-0 win. In Game Three, the '43 Yankees overcame a 5-2 deficit with two runs in the 8th and two in the 9th, capped off by a walk-off sac fly by Bill Dickey for a 6-5 win. The '62 Yankees won their first game of the series 6-5 in 11 innings by overcoming a 5-2 deficit of their own; They tied the game 5-5 in the 7th on a pinch-hit two-run homer by Joe Pepitone and a solo blast by Mickey Mantle. Johnny Blanchard hit a walk-off homer in the 11th for the win. Game Five went 12 innings with the '43 Yankees coming out on top 2-1 on a go-ahead sac fly by Billy Johnson. The '62 Yankees salvaged a second win in the last game that was wild. The '43 Yankees broke a 3-3 tie in the 9th with three runs, two on a bases-loaded double by Bud Matheny. The '62 Yankees countered with four in the bottom of the 9th off closer Johnny Murphy; Mantle hit a two-run single and Elston Howard followed with a two-run walk-off homerun to give them a 7-6 win.
Dickey leads the '43 Yankees in hitting at .299. Nick Etten is hitting .217 and leads the team in homers (7) and RBI (31). Chandler’s shutout reduced his ERA to 2.16 while Wensloff’s ERA dropped to 4.26 as his record improved to 5-3. Murphy had a rough series as he picked up two losses while jacking his ERA up to 5.28.
Tom Tresh leads the '62 Yankees in hitting at .292 with 10 homeruns. Mantle is hitting .282 with 17 homeruns, 41 RBI, 46 runs scored, and a 1.011 OPS, all team highs. Mantle is tied with Roger Maris for RBI; he missed most of the series with injuries. Jim Bouton and Roland Sheldon are a combined 0-12 in 22 starts with a 5.71 ERA. The '62 Yankees will take on the 13-11 1947 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1962 Yankees outlasted the 1947 Yankees in their series, winning four games to two. The '62 Yankees moved to within a couple of games under .500 at 32-34 while the '47 Yankees dropped back to .500 at 15-15.
The '62 Yankees won a couple of close games 4-3 and 6-4 before being clobbered by the '47 Yankees in Game Three 10-3. The '62 Yankees took a 3-1 lead in the series in Game Four when Joe Pepitone hit a pinch-hit two-run double in the 8th to break a 1-1 tie in a 4-2 win. After the '47 Yankees narrowly won Game Five 2-1, the '62 Yankees ended the series with a huge 17-4 blowout. Roger Maris and Johnny Blanchard each hit two homeruns in the game and combined for nine RBI.
Maris leads the '62 Yankees in RBI with 51 while hitting .248 with 14 homeruns. Mickey Mantle is hitting .283 and leads the team in homeruns (18) and runs scored (52). Ralph Terry had a rare rough start for his second loss but still has a solid 3.05 ERA to go with a 6-2 record. Roland Sheldon remains winless in 12 starts (0-4) with a 6.82 ERA.
Joe Dimaggio and George McGwinn are each hitting .317 to pace the '47 Yankees. There has been a lack of homerun power in the lineup with the leading homerun hitter having just three, shared by Billy Johnson, Tommy Henrich, and Aaron Robinson. Allie Reynolds and Bobo Newsom both boast ERAs under 3 at 2.81 and 2.37 respectively. Joe Page has 11 saves in 12 appearances with a 1.35 ERA. The '47 Yankees will compete against the 34-56 1977 Yankees in the next series.
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The 1977 Yankees beat the 1947 Yankees in their series four games to two to improve their record to 38-58. The '47 Yankees dropped to two games under .500 at 17-19.
Game One was wild. The '47 Yankees lost catchers Aaron Robinson and Yogi Berra to injury on back-to-back pitches. The injury bug also caught Phil Rizzuto and Bobby Brown later in the series. Still, the '47 Yankees came back from 3-0 down to tie the game 3-3 in the 7th. Two of the runs came on a homer by Tommy Henrich. The game went to extra innings where the '77 Yankees went ahead for good with two runs, including a go-ahead solo homer by Willie Randolph for a 5-3 win. The '77 Yankees won the next two games 9-1 and 3-1. The '47 Yankees won the next two games 4-1 and 8-2. The '77 Yankees won the final game, the only one by a home team, 2-0. Ed Figueroa pitched a two-hit shutout while Graig Nettles provided the runs with a two-run homer.
Reggie Jackson continues to lead the '77 Yankees in most offensive categories including average (.295), homeruns (24), runs scored (62), OPS (.937), and RBI (61, along with Thurman Munson). Figueroa won both of his starts to improve his record to 5-12, and he lowered his ERA to 4.10.
Joe Dimaggio and George McQuinn are both hitting over .300 at .311 and .303 respectively. McQuinn leads the team in runs scored with 25 while Dimaggio leads the team in RBI with 26. Joe Page picked up his 12th save in 14 appearances with a 1.17 ERA. The '47 Yankees will take on the 27-33 1958 Yankees in the next series.