The Bronx Daily

The first New York Pennant

Through the years New York baseball fans have rooted for the Yankees, the Mets, Dodgers or Giants.  But, before these teams even existed there were the New York Mutuals of the NA and NL and in the 1880's a team called the New York Metropolitans who played in the American Association.

The Metropolitans were the first New York MLB team to win a pennant which they did in 1884, the year there were 3 Major Leagues competing for fans.  The NL, the American Association and the Union Association competed heavily for fans and their money.  In the end the UA was destroyed and the AA hurt by this baseball war. 

But, in New York there were two teams.  The Gothams in the NL (they are today's Giants) and the American Association's New York Metropolitans.  While the Gothams had a very good year, the Metropolitans did even better winning the American Association pennant with a 75-32 .701 +6.5 record.

it was a unique situation for the Metropolitans for they and the Gothams were owned by John Day who had a team in both leagues.  They shared the Polo Grounds with two diamonds being built there with the outfield wall between the two fields.   I wonder what happened if a ball was hit over from one park to other during play?  I bet it was interesting when both teams were playing at the same time.  But Day was a smart man, he hedged his bets in that if both leagues succeeded he would have it made and if one failed he would still have another team to fall back on.

Both New York teams were good in 1884 but for one year the Metropolitans were the toast of the town.  The team leaders were as follows;  RF Steve Brady 485 AB, 1b Dave Orr with 162 H (led the league), 32 doubles, 13 triples, 9 HR, 112 RBIs, .354 BA (led league) and a .539 SA, SS Candy Nelson with 114 runs and 74 SB (led league) in hitting.  On the staff Time Keefe led with 57 G, 57 GS, 56 CG, 37 W, 17 L, 317 Ks, 75 BB, and a 2.29 ERA and Jack Lynch led with 496 IP and 5 SHO.  The 111 CG by the staff led the AA.

Against the rest of the AA the Metropolitans had the following record;
Columbus Buckeyes  5-4, Louisville Eclipse 7-3, St. Louis Browns (today's Cardinals) 5-4, Cincinnati Reds (todays Reds) 6-4, Baltimore Orioles 5-5, Philadelphia Athletics 8-2, Toledo Blue Stockings 5-4, Brooklyn Grays 9-1, Virginia 2-0, Pittsburgh Alleghenys (today's Pirates) 9-1, Indianapolis Hoosiers 8-2 and the Washington Statesmen 6-2.

Having won the AA Pennant next came the pre-1900 World Series.  A best of 5 series it pitted the Providence Grays of the NL against the New York AA Champions.  The Series was over in 3 games with the first game at the Polo Grounds going to the Grays 6-0, the second at the Polo Grounds again going ot the Grays 3-1 with Keefe losing both games for the Metropolitans.  The third game also at the Polo Grounds was a 12-2 Providence blowout with the losing pitcher being Becannon. 

The New York nine only hit a .143 BA in the series with a team ERA of 5.57.  Provdence hit .235 with a 0.00 ERA with all three wins being by the first ironman pitcher Hoss Radbourn. 

So, the first pennant by a New York team was in the bag.  By the time the Giants won the Series in a few years the Metropolitans would be out of business and the AA just about done. 

Yankees World Series MVPs

Since Matsui won the Series MVP this year I thought we would post all the past Yankee World Series MVPs. The award was started in 1955.  Here is the list;

1956 Don Larsen
1958 Bob Turley
1960 Bobby Richardson
1961 Whitey Ford
1962 Ralph Terry
1977 Reggie Jackson
1978 Bucky Dent
1996 John Wetteland
1998 Scott Brosius
1999 Mariano Rivera
2000 Derek Jeter
2009 Hideki Matsui

The Babe Ruth Era, part 4

1923 came and the fans were brushing off the disappointment of the previous two years of losing the World Series to the Giants.  Would the Browns remain a viable threat to the Yankees?  Could they win their third straight AL pennant? Could they win the Series for the first time?

The answer to the first question is that the Browns fell back to 5th place to a 74-78 record.  There was no real challenger to the Yankees for the pennant this season as they roared to their third straight pennant with a 98-54 .645 record leading the poor second place Detroit Tigers by 16 games! So far the first two questions were answered with a resounding yes.

Before we answer the last question lets cover the 1923 season.  This season was the first in the then new Yankee Stadium which is now called the old Yankee Stadium. No longer did the Yanks share the Polo Grounds with the cranky John McGraw and his Giants.  Now they were right across the river in plain view in a new stadium that was a right in your face move to the Giants and their great manager who scoffed at the Yankees and the AL in general.

As a team the Yankees hit .291 (3rd in the AL), led the AL with 105 HR, were 2nd in RBIs with 770, led the AL with a .422 SA and were 3rd scoring 823 runs.  The staff led the AL with 102 CG, 1381 IP, 506 Ks, a 3.92 ERA and were 4th with 9 SHO.  While the Babe was the big star and the offense fearsome the little known fact is that the pitching was the best in the AL, a fact very much overlooked in today's world.

Leading the Yanks with 151 Runs (1rst in AL), 205 hits, 45 doubles, 13 triples, 41 HR (1rst in AL), 131 RBIs (1rst in AL), 170 BB (1rst in AL), 93 Ks (1rst in AL), 17 SB, a .393 BA and a .764 SA (1rst in AL) was none other than.. you guessed it, the Babe.  3rd baseman Joe Dugan led the team in the only other hitting category available with 644 AB which also led the AL.  A great year by the Babe coupled with great pitching propelled the Bombers to their 3rd straight pennant in 1923.

The staff leaders were Sad Sam Jones with 21 wins, 39 G and 3 SHO,  Herb Pennock with a AL leading .760 Winning Pct, Bullet Joe Bush with 23 CG, 276 IP, 3 SHO and 125 Ks, Waite Hoyt with a 3.01 ERA, Bob Shawkey with 31 GS and 125 Ks.  A nicely balanced pitching staff, as you can see, was a key to this season's success.

But, the final question.  Could the Yankees win it all for the first time ever in the new Yankee Stadium?  The Giants came in for the first game and beat the Yankees 5-4 to open the Stadium and the fans were fidgeting.  But the Yanks returned the favor at the Polo Grounds taking a 4-2 decision.  The Giants then shutout the Yanks at the Stadium to go up 2-1 in the Series and thoughts of a third straight failure at the Series were haunting some Yankee fans. 

But, the Yanks battered the Giants 8-4 in the Polo Ground and then achieved their first World Series win at Yankee Stadium stomping the Giants 8-1.  The next day at the Polo Grounds the Yankees achieved revenge on John McGraw and his Giants winning 6-4 to take their first of 27 World Championships.  To beat the Giants was sweet for the Yankees, but to do it in the Polo Grounds made it even better.

In the Series 2b Aaron Ward led the Yankees with 10 hits and a .417 BA, OF Bob Meusel led the team with 2 Triples and 8 RBIs, 3rd baseman Joe Dugan and OF Whitey Witt led the team with 2 doubles and the Babe led the Yankees with 8 Runs and 3 HR.  The Babe hit .368 for the Series.

The staff was led in the Series by Herb Pennock with 3 G, 17.1 IP, 8 Ks and 2 Wins, by Bullet Joe Bush with 3 G and Sad Sam Jones with a 0.90 ERA.

The Yankees had finally won it all!  Yankees fans were rejoicing and looking forward to 1924.  Could the Yankees make it 4 straight pennants and win back to back World Championships?  Come back to find out!  Thank you for reading!

Yankee Stadium Opening Day 1923

Yankee Tidbits

The season the Yanks won their most games ever was in 1998 when they won 114.

The longest winning streak in Yankees history was in 1947 when they won 19 straight.

 Pinstripes first appeared on their uniforms in 1912.

That the first game at Yankee Stadium was played on April 18, 1923 against the Red Sox and that Babe Ruth hit the first homer in the Stadium as the Yankees won 4-1. The first pitch thrown out at Yankee Stadium was by Gov. Al Smith.

Yankee Stadium was the first stadium to have three levels or decks.

Yankee Stadium was the first to have a electronic scoreboard and instant replay.

The biggest shutout win ever by the Bombers was a 21-0 pounding of the Philadelphia A's on August 13, 1939.

The highest team batting average by a Bombers team was in 1930 when as a team they hit .309.

In 1987 the Yankees hit a team total of 10 Grand Slams.

The Babe Ruth Era, part 3

The year 1922 came and the Yankee fans were ready.  Coming off their first world Series they were sure they would go again.  After all, they had the best hitter in the Babe.  Well, they were right for the 1922 Yankees did win the pennant.  But, not as easily as everyone thought they would.  The Babe and Bob Meusel were suspended till May 20 for barnstorming and the St. Louis Browns roared out of the gate with a great offense and very good pitching. 

The race was close and for a few days in July the Browns took over the top of the Al before the Yanks took the lead back for good.  In the end, when the smoke cleared won the pennant by one game over the St. Louis Browns with a 94-60 .610 +1 record!

To show how close it was, the Browns led the AL with 96 dingers to the Yanks 95, the Browns led the league in RBIs while the Yanks were third, the Browns led the AL with a .315 BA the Yanks were 3rd and it was like that all through the offensive categories. 

It was the same way in pitching with the Browns leading the AL in ERA by 0.01 over the Bombers, by 1 shutout, had more Ks, but the Yankees had more complete games, allowed 10 less hits and had two 20 game winners to the Browns one.  The biggest difference was Bullet Joe Bush who led the Bombers staff going 26-7 3.32 followed by Bob Shawkey 20-12 2.91 then Waite Hoyt who was 19-12 3.43.  The Yankees had more solid pitching in the end and edged the Browns out for the Pennant.

In Hitting while the Browns won most team honors, the Yankees were led by the Babe who had a off year leading the team with 35 HR, 99RBI and a .672 SA.  Wally Pipp led the team with a 190 hits, 32 doubles, 96 runs and a .329 BA.  Bob Meusel led the Yanks with 11 triples and 13 SB. 

With the Giants repeating as NL Champions the World Series was once again the Subway Series with the games all held at the Polo Grounds. 

This Series wasn't even close as the Giants swept the Yankees 4-0 with one tie game.  While the games were close the outcome wasn't.  Ruth hit .118 with 1 run, 1 rbi and 2 hits. The team hit .203 and had 2 HR both by Ward. 

It was a disappointing end to a season that had started out with such high hopes.  What would 1923 bring?  The Yankees were leaving the Polo Grounds to begin play in a new stadium called Yankee Stadium.  Would they repeat for their third straight pennant? Could they win the Series?  Come back and find out!

Wally Pipp, while replaced by Gehrig he was one heck of a ballplayer in his own right...

Ruth vs. Hornsby

As we sit around the hot stove tonight lets compare Babe Ruth and Rogers Horsnby to see who was better.  Hornsby had over a .400 average from 1921-1925, not even the highest BA lifetime leader Ty Cobb could do that!  Hornsby could hit for power and very high averages.   So, was he as good or better than the Babe?  Lets find out.  We will compare lifetime numbers and 162 game averages (in parentheses) to find out. We will discuss our findings... hope you enjoy.

While the Rajah played 23 seasons to the Babe's 22 the Babe played his first 5 seasons as a pitcher. However, Rajah lost 8 seasons to injuries and being a manager and injuries, so the years aren;t to far apart. 

Starting with hits Hornsby cranked out 2930 lifetime and (210) 162 game average to the Babe's 2873 (186) to give the Rajah a 1-0 lead.  Runs scored has Hornsby with 1579 (113) to Babe's 2174 (141) which evens the score to 1-1. Hitting  Doubles show Hornsby with 541 (39) to Ruth's 506 (33) to put Hornsby back on top 2-1.

Running out Triples has Hornsby's numbers at 169 (12) and Ruth with 136 (9) to put the tough hitting Hornsby up 3-1.  Home Runs as we all know will have Ruth winning.  Hornsby smacked 301 (22) to Ruth's 714 (46) to make it Hornsby 3, Ruth 2. 

RBI's shows Hornsby has 1584 (114) to the Babe's 2217 (143) bringing the score even at 3 each!
Stealing bases had the tough as nails Hornsby with 135 (10) to the Babe's 123 (8) putting Hornsby up 4-3. 

Batting Average should prove interesting since Hornsby in the early twenties hit like no one else did before or since.  He has the second highest lifetime BA in the history of MLB at .358 to Ruth's .342.  Hornsby is now up 5-3. 

Next is OBP.  The Babe walked heavily really inflating his OBP but the Rajah was a tough cookie at the plate.  He worked the pitchers over and intimidated the heck out of many of them.  Hornsby had a lifetime OBP of .434 to the Babe's .474 bringing Ruth up one to make it 5-4 Hornsby in the lead.

SLG is next. This should prove interesting since Hornsby led the NL in SLG 9 times in his career.  The Babe however led the AL 14 times in his career.  The lifetime SLG for Hornsby is .577 but Ruth had a incredible .690!  5-5 so far.

Now we move on to the stats that will make or break this.  OPS when used usually has the best players over .900 and those who score around 1.000 usually, but not always lead their league.  Hornsby had a 1.010 which is excellent. But, the Babe has the highest OPS lifetime with a amazing 1.164! Ruth 6-5.

Finally we come to OPS+. OPS+ now takes in adjustments for the park and the league.  This I feel is a much truer comparison and a score of 100 is considered average and 150 or more is considered to be great.  So how do these two fare here? Hornsby roars into this category with a 175 but the Babe has the highest lifetime OPS+ in baseball history with a 207!

So, what does this all show us?  That Rogers Hornsby, not Ty Cobb is probably the third greatest hitter in history behind Gehrig and Ruth.  It also shows us that the Rajah was very, very good in all hitting areas!  Unlike Cobb he had very good power but also unlike Cobb he wasn't a fast baserunner.  But, he was respectable a bit better than the Babe.  He made a steadier connection with the bat, hit more doubles and Triples and got on base more than the Bat by using his bat to do so.  He was tough as nails at the plate and a fierce competitor.  He was great!

However, the Babe like the Rajah made things happen with the bat not on the basepaths.  The Babe hit more homers, walked more, hit with more power, drove in more runs and scored more.  Not by huge amounts, but by a good amount.  The Rajah was great, probably the best hitter the NL ever had in the modern era.  But, I would choose the Babe and Lou over him.  However if I was in a position where I needed someone to go out and work over a pitcher, this is the guy I would choose for he was one mean tough hombre. 

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed tonight's comparison.

Hot Stove Chat

Well now as we sit around the glowing red hot stove relishing the World Championship our Yankees won we'll go over some of the news.

First, Jeter and Tex take home Silver Bat awards for their offense and Gold Gloves for their defense!

On the rumor front it is being whispered that Halladay from Toronto may be traded and if so the top two to go into a bidding war for him will be the Bombers and Red Sawx!  It is also being rumored about that if Cliff Lee goes free agency the Yankees will chase him also.  Interesting, going after more pitching....

Another rumor, and remember these are Hot Stove rumors is that Andy Pettitte may retire. 

In Free Agency the following Yankees have filed....Damon, Hinske, Hairston, Matsui,  Molina and Nady have filed for FA.  Pettitte could do so, but has not yet. 

Well, thats all from around the Hot Stove today..... if anything breaks, which is doubtful this time of year we'll let you know.  Enjoy being fans of the World Champions!!!

GO YANKEES!!!

Babe Ruth vs. Ty Cobb, who is better?

Here in Michigan if you ask who the greatest baseball player ever was they immediately say Ty Cobb.  Yeah, he hit a phenomenal .367 (.366 is the actual number according to new research) lifetime, stole 892 bases and was hated by everyone including his mother who by the way shot his father to death, but I digress.  Really?  He was a great player.. but the greatest?  Perhaps in the teens, but forever?  I am not so sure about that.  Perhaps the following will lay this dispute to rest.

Comparing Ruth and Cobb can be difficult for Cobb played most of his career with a dead ball, while Ruth pitched most of his dead ball years.  Cobb was getting past his prime in the live ball era while Ruth was hitting his.  There are statistics that now are claimed to overcome these differences, those being OPS and OPS+. That is of course disputed also. WE will get to those stats in a bit, but how else do we compare?  After all Ruth only had one full season in the dead ball era as a full-time hitter. 

If we just use the live ball era Cobb was 33 and over in age during that time.  Doesn't seem fair to compare the two here either since Ruth was only 25 and up during this era.  So, lets do this, compare lifetime stats and those stats divided up so we get a average season of 162 games.  Then we can comment on this as we progress.  162 game averages will be in (parentheses) below.  As we go through these numbers do remember this fact, Cobb played for 24 seasons, 18 of which he played 100 games or more.  Ruth played for 22 seasons, 15 of which he played in 100 games or more. 

Hits, Cobb wins this one with 4189 (224!) to Ruth's 2873 (186).  Runs scored has Cobb with 2246 (120) to Ruth's 2174 (141) which while Cobb because of longevity has the higher total Ruth actually wins because he was more productive in a 162 game average.  Hitting Doubles has Cobb at 724 (39) to Ruth's 506 (33) giving Cobb a 2-1 lead.  Legging it out for Triples has Cobb at 295 (16) with Ruth at 136 (9) putting Cobb up 3-1. 

Home Runs is no contest at all for not only did Ruth hits tons more, but he also hit 29 in his only full season in the dead ball era while Cobb could only muster 9 during the dead ball era and 12 in the live ball era.  Home Runs hit by Cobb were 117 (6) to Ruth's 714 (46!) making it Cobb 3, Ruth 2. 

RBIs has Cobb at 1937 (103) to Ruth's 2217 (143) making it 3-3.  Stolen Bases are next and we all know Cobb was a great base stealer with those razor sharp spikes slashing as he slid into the base.  One of the smartest base runners ever Cobb had 892 (48!) stolen bases to Ruth's 123 (8).  Cobb up 4-3.

Batting Average of course goes to Cobb who hit a phenomenal .366 to Ruth's fantastic .343.  Cobb up 5-3.  Next comes OBP which in my opinion shows more accurately how well a batter does at getting on base. Ruth walked more than Cobb but I don't include that stat since Walks are not controlled by a hitter, or are they?  But in OBP Cobb had .433 to Ruth's .474.  Cobb 5, Ruth 4.  SLG is a big number also and while Cobb had a .512 Ruth had a .690!  Tied up at 5.

Now we move on to the stats that will make or break this.  OPS when used usually has the best players over .900 and those who score around 1.000 usually, but not always lead their league.  OPS for Cobb is a .945 putting him in the best players category.  Ruth however has a OPS of 1.164 which by the way is the highest for any player lifetime ever.  Ruth 6-5. 

OPS+ now takes in adjustments for the park and the league.  This I feel is a much truer comparison and a score of 100 is considered average and 150 or more is considered to be great.  So how do these two fare here?  Cobb comes in at 168 which is excellent.  Ruth however blows by Cobb with a 207 the highest again ever recorded lifetime.  Ruth goes up 7-5. 

What does this all tell us?  First that Cobb was better at getting on base by hitting the ball and was a better base runner. It also tells us Cobb didn't hit with as much power and didn't hit the ball as far.  Cobb made things happen on the base paths. 

However it does tell us this also. Ruth got on base more often percentage wise (look at OBP) and was a much more productive hitter, look at RBIs, SLG, OPS, OPS+ and Runs.  He not only hit the ball further, when he did he had more of a impact with his bat. While Cobb was exciting and one heck of a hitter, he hit to get on and then made things happen on the base paths.  Ruth made things happen with his bat and didn't worry about making his impact in running the bases, he just drove the runs in and scored himself.

So, Ruth won the stats score.  But, who is the greatest?  Well, if your looking for a great lead-off hitter Cobb is your guy. He would make things happen.  If your looking for a guy to make it happen when he comes to the plate, a guy who will win it in one swing of the bat, a guy who will get the most production out of at-bat offensive wise, Ruth is your guy!  Who would you choose?  I choose Ruth!

 

Who was the greatest? Ruth or Gehrig?

Most people consider the greatest hitter of all-time to be Babe Ruth.  However, some at the time argued that Gehrig was the superior bat of the two.  So, why not compare I thought. Which player will come out on top when all of the stats are compared?  We shall see!

To compare I will take three different levels of statistics.  One is lifetime totals, one is the average season numbers for a 162 game season and the other the team records they hold with the bat.  Hopefully we can draw some conclusions by using these numbers.

Here are the lifetime totals for Ruth and Gehrig, now remember these numbers are skewed a bit for Ruth played 22 seasons and Gehrig 17. However, Ruth spent  his first 5 years as a pitcher so perhaps it evens out?  In (Parentheses) below will be the 162 game season average to give us a season comparison.

Ruth had 2174 Runs lifetime (141)  compared to Gehrig's 1888 (141).  While Ruth has a higher lifetime total if you divide their totals by 162 game season their averages are a tie!  Gehrig scored as often as Ruth!   Next is hits, Ruth 2873 (186), Gehrig 2721 (204). While Ruth has more lifetime hits the average is a clear win for Gehrig!  Doubles has Ruth at 506 (33), Gehrig with 534 (40) giving Gehrig another win!  Triples have Ruth at 136 (9) and Gehrig 163 (12) for another Gehrig win!  Surprised? I know I am.

  Now we come to Home Runs with Ruth at 714 (46!) and Gehrig 493 (37) for a clear cut win for the Babe.  With RBIs Ruth has 2217 (143!) to Gehrig's 1995 (149!!) giving Ruth the higher lifetime totals but Gehrig the better 162 game average!  Perhaps those claiming Gehrig was a better hitter had it right?  Well, lets continue. 

With Stolen Bases Ruth had 123 (8) compared to Gehrig's  102 (8) for a 162 game average tie and a Ruth higher lifetime total.  Next is Batting Average with Ruth hitting .342 lifetime, Gehrig .340 for a edge by the Babe.  Slugging pct. has Ruth with a lifetime average of .690 to Lou's .632. 

OPS has Ruth at a 1.164 compared to Gehrig's  1.080 for a Ruth victory in this category.  OPS+ has Ruth at 207 to Gehrig's 179 for another Ruth win.  In Total Bases Ruth had 5793 (375) to Gehrig's  5060 (379) for a Ruth lifetime win but a Gehrig better 162 game average. 

So where does this leave us?  Well if you take the 12 categories and just look at lifetime stats Ruth wins 10 of the 12 categories.  However, if you take the 12 categories for the best 162 game season averages it comes out with Ruth with 5 wins, Gehrig with 5 wins and 2 ties!!! 

So, they tie in statistics for a average season!  I know this came as a surprise to me.  But, what does it prove?  Well, if Gehrig had only played 10 years I would challenge his comparison to Ruth. However, he played 17 seasons.  So, that argument is out the window.  Here is what I found by the numbers.

First Ruth was a better Home Run hitter by far. That drove up his OPS and OPS+ numbers significantly and also his slugging pct. also. His batting average was .002 better than Gehrig's but does that prove he was the better hitter? 

The two were tied in the 162 game average in Runs and Stolen Bases.  So, both were prolific Runs scorers.   However, Gehrig had better 162 game averages with Hits, 2bs, 3bs, RbIs and Total Bases.  So, it would appear while Ruth was the better home run hitter, Gehrig was the better all around hitter.

But, lets throw this into the mix.  Ruth batter third in the lineup and Gehrig batted 4th.  Ruth cleared the bases many times leaving Gehrig less runners to drive in.  Or did he?  Ruth also walked a ton leaving him on base many times for Gehrig. He also walked a lot with runners already on. Did this make Gehrig a luckier hitter with all those base runners or a unluckier hitter with the lack of all those base runners.  My opinion is it evened out in the wash during their careers.

So, who is the greatest?  I think Ruth wins the Home Run title for sure.  However, I think Gehrig was the better all-around hitter.  I can hear the hollering now, but think about it.  Gehrig may not have had some of the unbelievable numbers in a season like Ruth, but then he didn't have some of the bad seasons either. He was remarkably steady in his production.  He was a equal to Ruth or better in all things except power!  I know one thing, having one of these guys on a team would be a big bonus for a team, but having these two on the same team hitting back-to-back would a dream for a team and a nightmare for any other team to pitch too.  Whoever you choose as the greatest please share your thoughts here. There is really no right or wrong answer, but it sure is interesting to contemplate isn;t it?

Ruth played 15 years for the Yankees and Gehrig 17.  Here are the comparisons on lifetime numbers as  members of the Yankees.  Does this change your opinion any on who is the greatest?
BA- Ruth .349, Gehrig .340.
Hits-Gehrig 2721, Ruth 2518.
HR-Ruth 659, Gehrig 493
RBI-Gehrig 1995, Ruth 1971
2B-Gehrig 534, Ruth 424
3B-Gehrig 163, Ruth 106
Runs-Ruth 1959, Gehrig 1888
SLG-Ruth .711, Gehrig .632
OBP-Ruth .484, Gehrig .447
OPS-Ruth 1.195, Gehrig 1.080

Ruth has 6 of the 10 Yankees categories.....
So, who do you choose as the Greatest?  Ruth or Gehrig?  Let us know.  Ruth's top seasons were phenomenal! Gehrig was more steady. Both were great.  But, which one was the greatest?

Thanks for reading and I hope you found this interesting and thought provoking.

Babe Ruth the Greatest or....

Lou Gehrig?

Let us know!

The Babe Ruth Era, part 2

The 1921 season dawned with the Yankee faithful's hopes high for their first pennant. Manager Miller Huggins had the team to do it with too and they didn't disappoint taking their first pennant with a 98-55 .641 +4.5 record.  The Yankees as a team led the AL with 948 Runs, 134 HR, 861 RBI, .464 SA and a .300 BA. 

It was a dynamo year for the Babe as he led the AL with 177 Runs, 59 HR, 171 RBI and a .846 SA.  He also led the Yankees with 204 hits, 44 2B, 16 3B and tied with 2 others with 17 SB.  Bob Meusel and Wally Pipp were those two who also stole 17 bases.  Bob Meusel also had 16 3B to tie Babe for the lead of the team.

But, the Bombers weren't just a hitting team.  Their pitching was very good with the staff leading the AL in CG with 92, a 3.79 ERA and 481 Ks.  Leading the Yankee staff was Carl Mays who was 27-9 3.04 on the year. His 27 wins led the AL as well as his 49 G and his 337 IP.  Mays led the Yankees with 38 GS, 30 CG and a 3.04 ERA. Bob Shawkey led the team with 126 Ks.

1921 also saw the New York Giants take the NL pennant with their manager John McGraw making them the complete opposite of the Yankees They played inside baseball and scraped and clawed for each run.  The biggest irony of all is that the Yankees played at the Polo Grounds, the park owned by the Giants.  So, the Subway Series was played not only in NYC but in the same ballpark.

The 1921 Series was a best of nine affair and when the dust had settled the Giants had taken the Series 5 games to 3 to become World Champions.  The Babe only played in 6 games as he hurt his arm. He did hit .313 scoring 3 runs, hitting 1 homer and driving in 4.  Not a bad Series for the Babe.  However, the Yankees fell short of their goal of winning it all this season.  However, the Yankee faithful were looking forward to 1922 for this team they knew would be back.  Thank you for reading and please check back for part 3 soon.