1939 New York Yankees season
| 1939 New York Yankees | ||
|---|---|---|
| Lou Gehrig's Number is retired 1939 American League Champions 1939 World Series Champions | ||
| File:NY Yankees Logo.png | ||
| Ballpark | Yankee Stadium | |
| City | New York City, New York | |
| Owners | Estate of Jacob Ruppert | |
| Managers | Joe McCarthy | |
| Radio | WABC (AM) (Arch McDonald, Garnett Marks, Mel Allen) | |
| ||
The 1939 New York Yankees season was the team's 37th season in New York, and its 39th overall. The team finished with a record of 106–45, winning their 11th pennant, finishing 17 games ahead of the Boston Red Sox. New York was managed by Joe McCarthy. The Yankees played their home games at Yankee Stadium. In the World Series, they beat the Cincinnati Reds in 4 games. This marked the first time any team had won four consecutive World Series.
Regular season
The 1939 New York Yankees are one of only three teams (the 1927 and 1998 Yankees being the others) to ever finish the regular season with over a .700 winning percentage, lead the league in runs scored and runs allowed, and go on to sweep the World Series. The 1939 Yankees are the only team to ever outscore their regular season opponents by over 400 runs (967–556).
"The Luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth"
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On June 21, the New York Yankees announced first baseman Lou Gehrig's retirement and proclaimed July 4, 1939, "Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day" at Yankee Stadium. Between games of the Independence Day doubleheader against the Washington Senators, the poignant ceremonies were held on the diamond. In its coverage the following day, The New York Times said it was "Perhaps as colorful and dramatic a pageant as ever was enacted on a baseball field [as] 61,808 fans thundered a hail and farewell".[1] Dignitaries extolled the dying slugger and the members of the 1927 Yankees World Championship team, known as "Murderer's Row", attended the ceremonies. New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia called Gehrig "the greatest prototype of good sportsmanship and citizenship" and Postmaster General James Farley concluded his speech by predicting, "For generations to come, boys who play baseball will point with pride to your record."[1]
Yankees manager Joe McCarthy, struggling to control his emotions, then spoke of Lou Gehrig, with whom there was a close, almost father and son-like bond. After describing Gehrig as "the finest example of a ballplayer, sportsman, and citizen that baseball has ever known", McCarthy could stand it no longer. Turning tearfully to Gehrig, the manager said, "Lou, what else can I say except that it was a sad day in the life of everybody who knew you when you came into my hotel room that day in Detroit and told me you were quitting as a ballplayer because you felt yourself a hindrance to the team. My God, man, you were never that."
The Yankees retired Gehrig's uniform number "4", making him the first player in history to be afforded that honor. Gehrig was given many gifts, commemorative plaques, and trophies. Some came from VIPs; others came from the stadium's groundskeepers and janitorial staff. Footage of the ceremonies shows Gehrig being handed various gifts, and immediately setting them down on the ground, because he no longer had the arm strength to hold them.
Season standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees | 106 | 45 | .702 | — | 52–25 | 54–20 |
| Boston Red Sox | 89 | 62 | .589 | 17 | 42–32 | 47–30 |
| Cleveland Indians | 87 | 67 | .565 | 20½ | 44–33 | 43–34 |
| Chicago White Sox | 86 | 69 | .555 | 22 | 50–27 | 36–42 |
| Detroit Tigers | 81 | 73 | .526 | 26½ | 42–35 | 39–38 |
| Washington Senators | 65 | 87 | .428 | 41½ | 37–39 | 28–48 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 55 | 97 | .362 | 51½ | 28–48 | 27–49 |
| St. Louis Browns | 43 | 111 | .279 | 64½ | 18–59 | 25–52 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | NYY | PHA | SLB | WSH | |||||
| Boston | — | 8–14 | 11–11 | 10–12 | 11–8–1 | 18–4 | 16–6 | 15–7 | |||||
| Chicago | 14–8 | — | 12–10 | 12–10 | 4–18 | 11–11 | 18–4 | 14–8–1 | |||||
| Cleveland | 11–11 | 10–12 | — | 11–11 | 7–15 | 18–4 | 16–6 | 14–8 | |||||
| Detroit | 12–10 | 10–12 | 11–11 | — | 9–13 | 11–11 | 14–8–1 | 14–8 | |||||
| New York | 8–11–1 | 18–4 | 15–7 | 13–9 | — | 18–4 | 19–3 | 15–7 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 4–18 | 11–11 | 4–18 | 11–11 | 4–18 | — | 13–9–1 | 8–12 | |||||
| St. Louis | 6–16 | 4–18 | 6–16 | 8–14–1 | 3–19 | 9–13–1 | — | 7–15 | |||||
| Washington | 7–15 | 8–14–1 | 8–14 | 8–14 | 7–15 | 12–8 | 15–7 | — | |||||
Notable transactions
- April 8, 1939: Len Gabrielson was traded by the Yankees to the Philadelphia Phillies for Pete Sivess and cash.[2]
Roster
| 1939 New York Yankees | |||||||||
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| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders | Manager
Coaches
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Player stats
Batting
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Bill Dickey | 128 | 480 | 145 | .302 | 24 | 105 |
| 1B | Babe Dahlgren | 144 | 531 | 125 | .235 | 15 | 89 |
| 2B | Joe Gordon | 151 | 567 | 161 | .284 | 28 | 111 |
| 3B | Red Rolfe | 152 | 648 | 213 | .329 | 14 | 80 |
| SS | Frankie Crosetti | 152 | 656 | 154 | .233 | 10 | 56 |
| OF | Joe DiMaggio | 120 | 462 | 176 | .381 | 30 | 126 |
| OF | George Selkirk | 128 | 418 | 128 | .306 | 21 | 101 |
| OF | Charlie Keller | 111 | 398 | 133 | .334 | 11 | 83 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tommy Henrich | 99 | 347 | 96 | .277 | 9 | 57 |
| Buddy Rosar | 43 | 105 | 29 | .276 | 0 | 12 |
| Jake Powell | 31 | 86 | 21 | .244 | 1 | 9 |
| Joe Gallagher | 14 | 41 | 10 | .244 | 2 | 9 |
| Lou Gehrig | 8 | 28 | 4 | .143 | 0 | 1 |
| Bill Knickerbocker | 6 | 13 | 2 | .154 | 0 | 1 |
| Art Jorgens | 3 | 0 | 0 | ---- | 0 | 0 |
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Ruffing | 28 | 233.1 | 21 | 7 | 2.93 | 95 |
| Lefty Gomez | 26 | 198 | 12 | 8 | 3.41 | 102 |
| Bump Hadley | 26 | 154 | 12 | 6 | 2.98 | 65 |
| Atley Donald | 24 | 153 | 13 | 3 | 3.71 | 55 |
| Monte Pearson | 22 | 146.1 | 12 | 5 | 4.49 | 76 |
| Oral Hildebrand | 21 | 126.2 | 10 | 4 | 3.06 | 50 |
| Wes Ferrell | 3 | 19.3 | 1 | 2 | 4.66 | 6 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steve Sundra | 24 | 121.2 | 11 | 1 | 2.76 | 27 |
| Marius Russo | 21 | 116 | 8 | 3 | 2.41 | 55 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johnny Murphy | 38 | 3 | 6 | 19 | 4.40 | 30 |
| Spud Chandler | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2.84 | 4 |
| Marv Breuer | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 0 |
1939 World Series
AL New York Yankees (4) vs. NL Cincinnati Reds (0)
| Game | Score | Date | Location | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reds – 1, Yankees – 2 | October 4 | Yankee Stadium | 58,541 |
| 2 | Reds – 0, Yankees – 4 | October 5 | Yankee Stadium | 59,791 |
| 3 | Yankees – 7, Reds – 3 | October 7 | Crosley Field | 32,723 |
| 4 | Yankees – 7, Reds – 4 (10 innings) | October 8 | Crosley Field | 32,794 |
Awards and honors
Greatest teams of all time rank
The book Baseball Dynasties: The Greatest Teams of All Time ranked the 1939 New York Yankees the greatest MLB team of all time.
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Augusta[3]
Notes
- ^ a b John Drebinger, "61,808 Fans Roar Tribute to Gehrig", The New York Times, July 5, 1939.
- ^ Len Gabrielson page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007