1927 New York Yankees: Murderer’s Row

1927 New York Yankees: Murderer’s Row

1927 New York Yankees: Murderer’s Row

It can be argued that no other championship-winning team in Major League Baseball has come close to making the type of impact the 1927 New York Yankees made when they did their damage on the baseball diamond, striking fear into opponents with the way they mashed the baseball on offense. Owner Jacob Ruppert and general manager Ed Barrow are mostly credited for the construction of a team that was nearly unbeatable during the 1920’s and throughout the 1930’s.

There was actually a “Murderer’s Row” group in the starting lineup that preceded the 1927 group. That group played for the 1918 New York Yankees. As for this 1927 group they were by far some of the best talent to ever step foot on a baseball diamond as 4 of these 6 men are in Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Center fielder Earle Combs, shortstop Mark Koenig, right fielder George Herman “Babe” Ruth, first baseman Lou Gehrig, left fielder Bob Meusel and second baseman Tony Lazzeri were the ones who relentlessly pounded the baseball like there was no tomorrow.

The Yankees went 110-44 in 1927, easily winning the American League pennant by 19 games over the Philadelphia Athletics. The Yankees went 14-8-1 against the Athletics in head-to-head play. The Yankees went 57-19 at home and 53-25 on the road. The Yankees were consistently great month after month as they went 9-5 in April, 19-9 in May, 21-6 in June, 24-7 in July, 16-10 in August, and 20-7 in September. The most telling statistic of all is how impressive the Yankees were in blowout games where the winning team had a margin of 5 or more runs. The Yankees went 43-8 in blowout games.

Lou Gehrig batted .373 with 47 home runs and 173 RBI’s off 218 hits, 52 doubles, 18 triples and 10 stolen bases. Babe Ruth batted .356 with an astonishing 60 home runs and 165 RBI’s off 192 hits, 29 doubles, 8 triples and 7 stolen bases. Ruth separated himself from the other sluggers as the American League Home Run Champion while Gehrig became the American League RBI Champion. Though Ruth’s 60 home runs were unprecedented and warranted consideration for the American League Most Valuable Player award, due to a rule which stated that there couldn’t be a repeat winner of the award (as Ruth was AL MVP in 1926), Gehrig would win the award in 1927.

Earle Combs batted .356 with 64 RBI’s, 231 hits, 36 doubles, 23 triples and 15 stolen bases. The 23 triples Combs hit led the American League and set a Yankees franchise record. Bob Meusel batted .337 with 103 RBI’s, 174 hits, 47 doubles, 9 triples and 24 stolen bases. Tony Lazzeri batted .309 with 18 home runs and 102 RBI’s off 176 hits, 29 doubles, 8 triples and 22 stolen bases. Shortstop Mark Koenig batted .285 with 62 RBI’s, 150 hits, 20 doubles and 11 triples. Catcher Pat Collins batted .275 with 69 hits and 9 doubles in 92 games. Third baseman Joe Dugan had 104 hits and 24 doubles in 112 games.

Though New York’s offense received most of the attention, the pitching staff for the Yankees were never to be overlooked as they did their part in securing plenty of amazing victories. Starting pitcher Waite Hoyt went 22-7 with 86 strikeouts and a 2.63 ERA, recording 23 complete games, 3 shutouts and 1 save. Herb Pennock went 19-8 with a 3.00 ERA, recording 18 complete games, 1 shutout and 3 saves. Urban Shocker went 18-6 with a 2.84 ERA, recording 13 complete games and 2 shutouts. Walter Henry “Dutch” Ruether went 13-6 with a 3.38 ERA, recording 12 complete games and 3 shutouts. George Pipgras went 10-3 with 81 strikeouts, recording 9 complete games and 1 shutout.

Closer Wilcy Moore went 19-7 with 13 saves and a 2.28 ERA, recording 6 complete games and 1 shutout in 12 games he started. Relief pitcher Myles Thomas went 7-4 with 1 save and 1 complete game. Bob Shawkey had 2 saves and a 2.89 ERA despite going 2-3.

The 1927 regular season produced a familiar theme for opponents of the New York Yankees, which would be that their spirits would get crushed in blowout defeats. Some of the more notable blowout victories for the Yankees include a 14-2 win over the Boston Red Sox on April 17 and an 11-4 win over the Red Sox at Fenway Park on June 23. The Yankees then destroyed the Washington Senators in a doubleheader on July 4, pounding them 12-1 in the first game, and then 20-1 in the second game. Following the second game Senators first baseman Joe Judge was prompted to say “Those fellows not only beat you but they tear your heart out. I wish the season was over.”

The Yankees were far from done in pounding opponents. On July 9 at Detroit’s Navin Field the Yankees crushed the Detroit Tigers 19-7 in the first game of a doubleheader. On July 26 the Yankees humbled the St. Louis Browns in a doubleheader, demolishing them 15-1 in the first game and 12-3 in the second game. On August 31 the Yankees pounded the Red Sox again by the score of 10-3, and on September 12 the Yankees shredded the Philadelphia Athletics at Shibe Park 12-2. On September 6 the Yankees pounded the Red Sox yet again at Fenway Park 14-2, and then shut down the Senators again on September 29 by the score of 15-4.

Knowing how powerful the club in pinstripes were, it came as no surprise that the Yankees swept the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1927 World Series 4 games to none. In Game 1 on October 5 at Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field, the Yankees won 5-4. In the top of the 1st inning Lou Gehrig had an RBI triple, and in the bottom of the 1st shortstop Glenn Wright tied the game with a sacrifice fly. In the top of the 3rd Bob Bob Meusel drew a bases loaded walk to score Mark Koenig, Tony Lazzeri grounded into a forceout at second base to score Babe Ruth, and then on a play where a baserunner advanced a catching error led to Gehrig scoring.

In the bottom of the 3rd right fielder Paul Waner had an RBI single. In the top of the 5th Gehrig had a sacrifice fly, and in the bottom of the 5th left fielder Clyde Barnhart had an RBI single. In the bottom of the 8th first baseman Joe Harris had an RBI single, but the Pirates would fall 1 run short.

In Game 2 on October 6 the Yankees won 6-2. In the bottom of the 1st inning Barnhart had a sacrifice fly, but the Yankees swiftly took over. In the top of the 3rd Koenig had an RBI single, and then Ruth and Lazzeri both had sacrifice flies. In the top of the 8th a wild pitch scored Meusel, and then Earle Combs got hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to score Joe Dugan. Koenig topped things off with an RBI single, and though Waner got a sacrifice fly for Pittsburgh in the bottom of the 8th, it wouldn’t nearly be enough.

In Game 3 on October 7 at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees squashed the Pirates 8-1. Herb Pennock pitched a complete game for the Yankees, giving up 3 hits and 1 run while recording 1 strikeout. In the bottom of the 1st inning Gehrig had a 2-run triple, and scoring wouldn’t resume until the bottom of the 7th when Pennock himself grounded into a fielder’s choice at second base to score Lazzeri. Combs followed with an RBI single, Koenig had an RBI double, and then came The Bambino swatting a 3-run home run. Ruth’s shot stunned the Pirates so much that only Barnhart could must an RBI double in the top of the 8th.

Game 4 on October 8 wasn’t a convincing blowout victory for the Yankees as the Pirates did make it very interesting. In the top of the 1st inning Glenn Wright had an RBI single, and then Ruth responded with an RBI single of his own in the bottom of the 1st. Ruth came back in the bottom of the 5th to swat a 2-run home run. However, Pittsburgh wouldn’t go away quietly this time. In the top of the 7th Clyde Barnhart had an RBI single and Paul Waner had a sacrifice fly. With the game tied at 3-3 going into the bottom of the 9th, fans wondered who on the Yankees would step up to deliver that game-winning hit. It turned out that only a wild pitch was needed to bring home the winning run in Earle Combs.

The 1927 World Series Champion New York Yankees remain as one of the best and most highly regarded World Series Champions in baseball history. Having iconic players such as The Bambino (Babe Ruth), The Iron Horse (Lou Gehrig), The Kentucky Colonel (Earle Combs), “Long” Bob Meusel, “Push Em Up” Tony Lazzeri, and Mark Koenig (who had no nickname) certainly help make such a case.