1939 New York Yankees | |
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Lou Gehrig's Number is retired 1939 American League Champions 1939 World Series Champions |
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Other information | |
Owner(s) | Estate of Jacob Ruppert |
General manager(s) | Ed Barrow |
Manager(s) | Joe McCarthy |
Local radio | WABC (AM) (Arch McDonald, Garnett Marks, Mel Allen) |
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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.
Contents
Regular season[edit]
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 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 Luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth"[edit]
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Lou Gehrig's number 4 was retired by the New York Yankees in 1939. |
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[edit]
American League | W | L | Pct. | GB |
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New York Yankees | 106 | 45 | .702 | -- |
Boston Red Sox | 89 | 62 | .589 | 17 |
Cleveland Indians | 87 | 67 | .565 | 20.5 |
Chicago White Sox | 85 | 69 | .552 | 22.5 |
Detroit Tigers | 81 | 73 | .526 | 26.5 |
Washington Senators | 65 | 87 | .428 | 41.5 |
Philadelphia Athletics | 55 | 97 | .362 | 51.5 |
St. Louis Browns | 43 | 111 | .279 | 64.5 |
Record vs. opponents[edit]
1939 American League Records
Sources: |
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Team | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | NYY | PHI | STL | 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[edit]
- April 8, 1939: Len Gabrielson was traded by the Yankees to the Philadelphia Phillies for Pete Sivess and cash.[2]
Roster[edit]
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[edit]
Batting[edit]
Starters by position[edit]
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 |
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C | Dickey, BillBill Dickey | 128 | 480 | 145 | .302 | 24 | 105 |
1B | Dahlgren, BabeBabe Dahlgren | 144 | 531 | 125 | .235 | 15 | 89 |
2B | Gordon, JoeJoe Gordon | 151 | 567 | 161 | .284 | 28 | 111 |
3B | Rolfe, RedRed Rolfe | 152 | 648 | 213 | .329 | 14 | 80 |
SS | Crosetti, FrankieFrankie Crosetti | 152 | 656 | 154 | .233 | 10 | 56 |
OF | DiMaggio, JoeJoe DiMaggio | 120 | 462 | 176 | .381 | 30 | 126 |
OF | Selkirk, GeorgeGeorge Selkirk | 128 | 418 | 128 | .306 | 21 | 101 |
OF | Keller, CharlieCharlie Keller | 111 | 398 | 133 | .334 | 11 | 83 |
Other batters[edit]
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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Henrich, TommyTommy Henrich | 99 | 347 | 96 | .277 | 9 | 57 |
Rosar, BuddyBuddy Rosar | 43 | 105 | 29 | .276 | 0 | 12 |
Powell, JakeJake Powell | 31 | 86 | 21 | .244 | 1 | 9 |
Gallagher, JoeJoe Gallagher | 14 | 41 | 10 | .244 | 2 | 9 |
Gehrig, LouLou Gehrig | 8 | 28 | 4 | .143 | 0 | 1 |
Knickerbocker, BillBill Knickerbocker | 6 | 13 | 2 | .154 | 0 | 1 |
Jorgens, ArtArt Jorgens | 3 | 0 | 0 | ---- | 0 | 0 |
Pitching[edit]
Starting pitchers[edit]
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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Ruffing, RedRed Ruffing | 28 | 233.1 | 21 | 7 | 2.93 | 95 |
Gomez, LeftyLefty Gomez | 26 | 198 | 12 | 8 | 3.41 | 102 |
Hadley, BumpBump Hadley | 26 | 154 | 12 | 6 | 2.98 | 65 |
Donald, AtleyAtley Donald | 24 | 153 | 13 | 3 | 3.71 | 55 |
Pearson, MonteMonte Pearson | 22 | 146.1 | 12 | 5 | 4.49 | 76 |
Hildebrand, OralOral Hildebrand | 21 | 126.2 | 10 | 4 | 3.06 | 50 |
Ferrell, WesWes Ferrell | 3 | 19.3 | 1 | 2 | 4.66 | 6 |
Other pitchers[edit]
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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Sundra, SteveSteve Sundra | 24 | 121.2 | 11 | 1 | 2.76 | 27 |
Russo, MariusMarius Russo | 21 | 116 | 8 | 3 | 2.41 | 55 |
Relief pitchers[edit]
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
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Murphy, JohnnyJohnny Murphy | 38 | 3 | 6 | 19 | 4.40 | 30 |
Chandler, SpudSpud Chandler | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2.84 | 4 |
Breuer, MarvMarv Breuer | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 0 |
1939 World Series[edit]
AL New York Yankees (4) vs. NL Cincinnati Reds (0)
Game | Score | Date | Location | Attendance |
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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[edit]
Greatest teams of all time rank[edit]
The book Baseball Dynasties: The Greatest Teams of All Time ranked the 1939 New York Yankees the greatest MLB team of all time. 538 also ranked the 1939 New York Yankees greatest MLB team of all time, according to ELO.
Farm system[edit]
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Augusta[3]
Notes[edit]
- ^ 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