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Season for the Major League Baseball team the New York Yankees From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1939 New York Yankees season was the team's 37th season. 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 four games. As the Yankees had won each World Series dating back to 1936, this marked the first time any team had won four consecutive World Series. This was the first season for the Yankee's radio gameday broadcasts.
1939 New York Yankees | ||
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World Series Champions American League Champions | ||
League | American League | |
Ballpark | Yankee Stadium | |
City | New York City, New York | |
Owners | Estate of Jacob Ruppert | |
General managers | Ed Barrow | |
Managers | Joe McCarthy | |
Radio | WABC (AM) (Arch McDonald, Garnett Marks, Mel Allen) | |
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The 1939 New York Yankees are one of only three Yankees 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 fewest 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 1939 season would be the final time Yankees fans saw the team's starting veteran first baseman Lou Gehrig in action and in the uniform of the team he played for many years, given his declining health. On June 21, the New York Yankees announced his official 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.
Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
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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 |
1939 game log: 106–45 (Home: 52–25; Away: 54–20) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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April: 5–3 (Home: 3–2; Away: 2–1)
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May: 24–4 (Home: 12–1; Away: 12–3)
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June: 21–7 (Home: 9–3; Away: 12–4)
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July: 16–12 (Home: 6–7; Away: 10–5)
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August: 21–10 (Home: 8–5; Away: 13–5)
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September: 19–9 (Home: 14–7; Away: 5–2)
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Sources: | |||||||||||||
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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 | — |
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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= Indicates team leader |
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 |
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 |
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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 |
Arndt Jorgens | 3 | 0 | 0 | ---- | 0 | 0 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
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Red Ruffing | 28 | 233.1 | 21 | 7 | 2.93 | 95 |
Lefty Gomez | 26 | 198.0 | 12 | 8 | 3.41 | 102 |
Bump Hadley | 26 | 154.0 | 12 | 6 | 2.98 | 65 |
Atley Donald | 24 | 153.0 | 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 | 19.1 | 1 | 2 | 4.66 | 6 |
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 | 116.0 | 8 | 3 | 2.41 | 55 |
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 |
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 |
The book Baseball Dynasties: The Greatest Teams of All Time ranked the 1939 Yankees the greatest MLB team of all time. In 2017, website FiveThirtyEight ranked the 1939 Yankees as the greatest team of all time (across major North American sports leagues), based on Elo rating.[3]
In the MLB modern era (since 1900), the 1939 Yankees have recorded the best run differential, +411, having scored 967 runs while allowing 556.[4]
The Yankees, in hosting the 1939 All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium, were represented by Red Ruffing, Joe DiMaggio, Joe Gordon, Bill Dickey, Lefty Gomez, Frankie Crosetti, George Selkirk and Johnny Murphy.[5] Lou Gehrig attended the game as part of the AL reserves and did not play.
Joe DiMaggio won his first of three Most Valuable Player (MVP) Awards, though he only played 120 games due to injury. He batted .381 and averaged over one RBI per game.
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Augusta[6]
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