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THE 30's: - 1932 - 1936 - 1937 - 1938 - 1939
Complete Composite Statistics and
Box Scores at Baseball-Almanac.com
1932 World Series
"What do you think of the nerve of
that big monkey (Babe Ruth) calling his shot (in
Game 3) and getting away with it?" - Lou Gehrig
(October 1, 1932)
PINSTRIPE PERSPECTIVES: Events off
the field
Charles A. Lindbergh, the American
aviator who made the first solo, nonstop
transatlantic flight from New York to Paris, faced
every parent's nightmare after his child was
kidnapped and murdered. In March, Lindberg's son
was abducted from his own bedroom with a ransom
demand of $50,000 for his release. After paying the
sum, Lindberg's son was not returned infuriating
the country and sparking one of the largest
manhunts in modern history. In September, the
missing child's battered body was found near
Hopewell and further investigation revealed a
suspect named Bruno Richard Hauptmann, who was
found in possession of the ransom. In a sensational
trial at Flemington, New Jersey, Hauptmann was
convicted of murder and electrocuted on April 3rd,
1936.
FALL CLASSIC: Chicago Cubs (0) vs.
New York Yankees (4)
Anger, emotion and controversy were
the big stories of the 1932 Series and that was
before the first pitch was ever even thrown. Babe
Ruth, the most beloved (and hated) player in all of
baseball, lived up to his reputation by ripping
apart the Chicago Cubs organization in the press
while sticking up for one of his former teammates.
Remembering the contributions of shortstop Mark
Koenig to the Yankees' great teams of 1926-1928,
several New York players berated the National
League champions for only offering him a half-share
of the World Series payoff. Although he had been a
late season acquisition, the former Yankee had
batted .353 in thirty-three games for his new team
and many felt that he was being cheated.
Chicago tempers were also flared by
the return of Joe McCarthy, who had been fired by
the Cubs after the 1930 season. Many around the
league had felt that the Yankees' new skipper had
been unfairly treated after winning the pennant in
'29 and taking his team to second place the
following year. However, many of his supporters
quickly turned on him after he accepted a position
with the hated American League powerhouse. Two
years later he walked back onto Wrigley Field in a
New York uniform determined to get the "last laugh"
over his former employer. He certainly had the
advantage this time as the Yankees won the first
two games back home in the Bronx and were now
locked in a 4-4 stalemate. What would follow has
become one of the most memorable and controversial
moments in the history of baseball.
With one out in the fifth inning,
Babe Ruth stepped up to the plate and prepared to
stare down Chicago's Charlie Root. "The Bambino"
had launched a three-run rocket off the Cub's
veteran in the first inning, but took a called
strike on the first pitch. Two balls and another
strike followed as "The Babe" acknowledged it with
a raised hand. Confident that a "K" was coming, the
Cubs fans started taunting Ruth from the stands. As
the noise level rose to a deafening roar, Ruth
pointed to center field (although some contest that
he was pointing back at Root) and prepared his
wind-up. Whatever the gesture, it certainly
silenced the fans as he delivered the next pitch
over the centerfield wall for the go-ahead score.
Even Lou Gehrig (who was on-deck at the time)
maintained that Ruth had definitely "called his
shot" although Root wasn't buying into the "Sultan
of Swing" sensationalism. He was quoted as saying,
"If he had, I would have knocked him down with the
next pitch." Ruth never expounded upon the matter
and was content with another contribution to
baseball folklore. It still remains a
mystery.
Gehrig and Ruth both traded
two-homer days in a close Game 3 that ended 7-5 in
the Yankees' favor. New York prepared the next day
to close out the Cubs for their third consecutive
sweep, but did not get off to a good start as they
fell behind 4-1 when Chicago's Frank Demaree
knocked a three-run homer in the first inning.
Despite the Cubs' strong start, New York stormed
back, thanks in part to the bat of Tony Lazzeri,
who had two two-run homers during a late Yankees
rally. In a game that was tied 5-5 for six innings,
the Yanks wound up with a 13-6 win and another
World Championship. Although Ruth's "called shot"
was the most widely contested and celebrated moment
of the 1932 Series, it was Lou Gehrig who was,
without a doubt, the biggest hitter. Gehrig went
nine-for-seventeen with a .529 average, slugged
three homers, scored nine runs and tallied eight
RBIs. He was backed up by Bill Dickey, who batted
.438, Earle Combs, who hit .375 and Joe Sewell and
"the Babe" who both finished with a .333 average.
Strangely, the "called shot" would be Ruth's last
homerun in World Series play.
BOMBER BYTES: from
Baseball-Almanac.com
The called shot during Game 3 is
probably one of the most hotly debated items in
World Series (and baseball history for that matter)
history. One of the more reputable accounts of the
event was published in The Sporting News. It
stated, "The Yankees had won the first two games of
the Series in New York, and this game was tied 4-4
with one out in the fifth as (Babe) Ruth positioned
himself in the batter's box and awaited the first
delivery from Cubs pitcher Charlie Root. The
Bambino, who had smashed a three-run homer off Root
in the first inning, took a called strike. Then
Root missed with two pitches. Another called strike
followed, and Ruth acknowledged it - just as he had
strike one - with a raised hand. By now, Cubs
players and fans alike were taunting the big guy;
they had fresh ammunition, too, since the Babe had
missed on a shoestring catch in the previous
inning. The noise level was increasing
dramatically. Ruth then seemingly gestured toward
center field - as if to indicate that's where he
planned to deposit Root's next pitch. Or was he
merely pointing at Root? Or addressing the Cubs'
bench with an exaggerated sweeping motion? Or
showing one and all that he still had one strike
left? Whatever the message, Ruth delivered on
Root's next offering. He swung viciously, and the
ball arced toward center field and went over the
wall near the base of the flagpole. The blast put
the Yankees ahead 5-4."
The Chicago Cubs were swept making
this the third American League sweep. All three (3)
sweeps were dealt out by the New York Yankees.
However, the 1907 Chicago Cubs were the first team
from either league to sweep an opponent during a
World Series.
1936 World Series
"As great as (Joe) DiMaggio was, he
likely would have been greater at most other times
and in many other places." - Historian
Bill James
PINSTRIPE PERSPECTIVES: Events off
the field
Democratic President Franklin
Delano Roosevelt was re-elected with a whopping 61%
of the vote. His immense popularity around the
country was attributed to his successful efforts in
helping the American economy out of the depression
with his New Deal programs. Later, he went on to
provide strong leadership in the winning of World
War II, and was the only president to be elected
four times. At the turn of the millennium, Time
Magazine selected him as a runner-up for Person of
the Century.
"Dust Bowl" problems continued to
plague the Midwest and U.S. prairie states.
Initially caused by the over-planting in support of
World War I, farmers were encouraged to grow more
wheat by plowing and seeding areas in Kansas,
Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico, which were
formerly used only for grazing. After years of
adequate yields, livestock were returned to graze
the areas, and their hooves pulverized the
unprotected soil. Strong winds blew the soil into
huge clouds, and in the succeeding years, from
December to May, the dust storms recurred. As a
result, miles and miles of crops and pasturelands
were ruined and many farmers and their families
experienced severe health problems.
FALL CLASSIC: New York Giants (2)
vs. New York Yankees (4)
In 1936, the New York Yankees were
not only without their best player, but also
perhaps the greatest player in the history of the
game. Prior to 1935, the Yankees had released the
legendary Babe Ruth, who went on to play briefly
for the Boston Braves, and shortly thereafter
retired from baseball. Many felt that "The Babe"
was directly responsible for the Yankees' dominance
of the late 20's and 30's and the prospect of
returning to post-season glory without him was
grim. If New York would be able to prosper without
Ruth in the lineup, it would be a tremendous boost
for the future of the franchise. Ruth's
"replacement" was an up-and-coming rookie
outfielder named Joe DiMaggio who hit twenty-nine
homers and one hundred twenty-nine RBIs in his
debut season. Third only to Lou Gehrig and Bill
Dickey, "Joe 'D" as he would later be called, was a
perfect fit for the old "Bronx Bombers". Gehrig was
coming off of a MVP season in which he hit
forty-nine homeruns and drove in one hundred
fifty-two with a .354 batting average. Dickey hit
twenty-two homers with one hundred seven RBIs and
led the team with a .362.
Pitching was also a major player in
the Yankees 1936 season as six hurlers finished the
regular season with double-digit wins. Their
records include Red Ruffing (20-12, 3.85ERA), Monte
Pearson (19-7, 3.71 ERA), Bump Hadley (14-4, 4.34
ERA), Lefty Gomez (13-7, 4.38 ERA), Pat Malone
(12-4, 3.80 ERA), and Johnny Broaca (12-7, 4.24
ERA). Not only had New York proven themselves to be
worthy without Ruth during the regular season, but
they were on the verge of a World Series streak
that would last for the next four years. The
Yankees return to the Series also coincided with
the comeback of the National League champion New
York Giants, who were returning to the big show
after a three year hiatus. Although the Giants did
not share the dominant pennant run that the Yanks
had (winning by only five games), they did have the
most dangerous pitcher in all of baseball. Carl
Hubbell, a thirty-three-year-old lefty, had just
won his last sixteen games and finished the season
26-6 with a 2.31 ERA.
Hubbell had more than earned the
start for Game 1 and went up against twenty-game
winner Red Ruffing. Mid-season acquisition, Jake
Powell (who came over from Washington) was
obviously not intimidated by the Giants' "giant"
and managed three base hits in his first three
attempts. It mattered little as Ruth's replacement
in right field, George Selkirk, scored the Yankees'
only run with a homer in the third inning. Hubbell
struck out eight and only allowed seven hits (none
of which flew past the infield) on his way to a 6-1
opening lead. Despite the miserable debut, the
Yankees went on to win four of the next five games
while paying back the Giants' pitching staff for
Hubbell's performance. In Game 2, they took Hal
Schumacher and four relievers for seventeen hits,
including the second grand slam in World Series
history by Tony Lazzeri. The entire lineup (all
nine) had at least one hit and scored one run in
the 18-4 massacre (Bill Dickey and Lazzeri each had
five runs batted in apiece). The following day,
newly acquired Bump Hadley delivered a 2-1 victory
with a tie-breaking run knocked in by Frankie
Crosetti in the eighth and solid relief from Pat
Malone in the ninth.
Hubbell returned to seek revenge
for his counterparts in Game 4, but suffered their
same fate, allowing four Yankee runs (two off
Gehrig's second homer in as many days) in the first
three innings. Despite his best efforts, the
Giants' ace was bested 5-2 by Monte Pearson, a
recent trade acquisition from Cleveland. On the
brink of elimination, the Giants managed to stay
alive with a crucial 5-4 ten inning victory in Game
5, but it only postponed the obvious. Once again,
the Yankee sluggers stepped up to the plate and
blasted their cross-town rival's pitching staff in
an embarrassing 13-5, Game 6 romp. Powell, Lazzeri,
DiMaggio and Rolfe each had three hits (with Powell
adding a homer and four RBIs) as the Yankees
wrapped up the Giants and another World Series
title. In the end, the Yankees had finished the
contest with an amazing sixty-five hits. Powell
batted .455. Rolfe hit .400. DiMaggio batted .346
and Gehrig knocked in seven runs while boosting his
RBI total in Series play to 31 in 25 games. The
only highlight for their opponents came on opening
day as Hubbell's Game 1 masterpiece ended the newly
crowned champion's twelve-game winning streak.
However, it would be of little consolation to the
fallen Giants (and the rest of the National League)
as the Yankees were about to start a new winning
streak of a different kind.
BOMBER BYTES: from
Baseball-Almanac.com
Game 1 of the 1936 World Series was
the first Fall Classic for future Hall of Famer and
Yankee legend Joe DiMaggio.
This was this first of four
consecutive New York Yankees World Championships
and the birth of what some experts believe is the
greatest baseball dynasty of all time.
1937 World Series
"The Yankees had the horses, all
right. And you could start with the Iron Horse,
(Lou) Gehrig, who enjoyed his last magnificent
season before amyotrophic lateral sclerosis began
to take its toll on his career and, all too soon,
his life." - The Sporting News
PINSTRIPE PERSPECTIVES: Events off
the field
On May 6th, the German blimp
"Hindenburg" burst into flames two-hundred feet
over its intended landing spot at New Jersey's
Lakehurst Naval Air Station. Thirty-five people on
board the flight were killed (thirteen passengers
and twenty-two crewmen), along with one crewman on
the ground. The giant flying zeppelin measured
eight-hundred three feet in length and weighed
approximately two-hundred forty-two tons, but still
managed a top speed of just over eighty miles per
hour. As it reached its final destination in New
Jersey, it hovered over its landing spot and was
beginning to be pulled down to the ground by
landing lines by over two-hundred crewmen when
disaster struck. A small burst of flame started
just forward of the upper fin, then blossomed into
an inferno that quickly engulfed the dirigible's
tail.
Once again, tragedy struck in the
skies as America's first female pilot pioneer,
Amelia Earhart, was lost over the Pacific during
her attempt to make an around-the-world flight
along the equator. The flight, which began in
Miami, had made it around the world to Lae before
she and her Lockheed Electra mysteriously vanished.
Her last communication by radio was "we are flying
northeast."
FALL CLASSIC: New York Giants (1)
vs. New York Yankees (4)
Once again, Joe McCarthy's New York
Yankees dominated the American League for the
second consecutive season, winning the American
League pennant by a thirteen-game margin with
league-leading hitting by three of the games
greatest players. Second-year man Joe DiMaggio
drove in one hundred sixty-seven runs, veteran Lou
Gehrig added one hundred fifty-nine and Bill Dickey
contributed one hundred thirty-three, for an
amazing four hundred fifty-nine runs batted
in.
Gehrig, known as the "Iron Horse,"
had enjoyed a magnificent season that would sadly
be his last, before amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
(later named Lou Gehrig's disease) began to take
its toll on his career and his life. He batted .351
and recorded thirty-seven homers, his
protégé "Joe D," hit .346 with
forty-six homers and Dickey came in third with a
.332 and twenty-nine. The three were without equals
at the plate, although George Selkirk was on pace
(eighteen homers in sixty-eight games) and may have
made it four, if not for missing half a season due
to injuries. The Yankees also had the American
League's only twenty-game winners with Lefty Gomez
(21-11) and Red Ruffing (20-7) as well as standout
relief in Johnny Murphy, who recorded twelve saves
and thirteen overall.
However, the Yankees weren't the
only repeaters in '37, as the National League's
Giants returned for a classic rematch against their
hated cross-town rivals. Unlike the Yankees, Bill
Terry's club did not possess the dominant hitting
(Mel Ott was closest, with thirty-one home runs and
ninety-five runs batted in), but they did boast two
twenty-game winners with Carl Hubbell (22-8) and
rookie Clift Melton (20-9).
Game 1 echoed the previous Series
opener, with the Giants on top 1-0 going into the
sixth inning. But before the inning concluded, the
Yankees struck for seven runs on their way to a
six-hit, 8-1 victory for Gomez. Game 2 started the
same, as the Giants led 1-0 going into the bottom
of the fifth inning. This time the American
Leaguers struck for two in the fifth inning, two
more in the sixth and headed for their second
consecutive 8-1 comeback that featured a
seven-hitter from Red Ruffing. Things also didn't
get any better for the National Leaguers in Game 3,
as Monte Pearson won, getting last-out relief help
from Murphy in the ninth, despite the fact that the
Giants had loaded the bases.
As the Yanks prepared to go for
their fourth sweep in their last five World Series
appearances, the Giants were still trying to get
their first win in their last four Series games.
Things seemed to finally turn in their favor for
Game 4, as they managed six runs in the second
inning. Center fielder Hank Leiber got things going
with a base hit and then capped the rally with a
two-run single. Hubbell went on to record a 7-3
victory while throwing a clutch six-hitter. In the
ninth inning, the last he would pitch in a Series,
he allowed a homerun to Lou Gehrig, the last he
would hit in a Series. Once again, the Giants had
come back from the brink of elimination, and once
again, the Yankees had an answer the following day.
In Game 5, Myril Hoag whacked a second inning homer
for the Yanks and DiMaggio connected in the top of
the third. Ott returned fire with a two-run blast
in the bottom of the inning, but Lazerri hit a
leadoff triple in the fifth and scored on Gomez's
single due to second baseman Burgess Whitehead's
fielding error. Two outs later, Gehrig doubled home
Gomez on the way to a 4-2 Series ending
victory.
The back-to-back titleists had won
their sixth World Series championship, (breaking
the mark they had shared with the Philadelphia
Athletics) and they were only getting started.
Believe it or not, the four-games-to-one
humiliation that the New York Giants were forced to
endure was only the tip of the iceberg and the
defending champions' next two opponents would not
find themselves as fortunate.
BOMBER BYTES: from
Baseball-Almanac.com
Game 4 featured the final World
Series innings ever pitched by Hall of Famer Carl
Hubbell who, during the ninth inning, threw a pitch
that Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig hit for his final
World Series home run.
New York Giant outfielder Jo-Jo
Moore might have played on the losing team, but he
still managed to tie World Series (5-Games Long)
records for: most at-bats (twenty-three), most hits
(nine) and most singles (five).
The New York Yankees won their
record sixth World Championship with this victory
breaking the Major League record for titles held
which they had shared with the Philadelphia
Athletics.
1938 World Series
"[The public] had marveled for
thirteen years at his sublime strength; now they
were marveling at his stunning weakness."
- Eleanor Gehrig on Gehrig's
progressing, yet-to-be-diagnosed ALS affecting his
play
PINSTRIPE PERSPECTIVES: Events off
the field
On October 30th, actor Orson Wells
broadcasted his own adaptation of the H.G. Wells
classic "War of the Worlds". His original
"news-style" format proved more than a little
convincing and created a nationwide panic as many
listeners actually believed that alien invaders had
landed in New Jersey. After the controversial
program established him as a creative genius, Wells
was signed by RKO pictures where he co-wrote,
produced, directed, and starred in his first film,
"Citizen Kane" (1941) which is still considered by
many to be the greatest movie ever made.
The Fair Labor Standards Act of
1938 was passed to establish minimum living
standards for workers engaged directly or
indirectly in interstate commerce. A major
provision of the act was the establishment of a
Minimum Wage, initially $0.25 an hour, along with a
maximum workweek of forty-four hours. These went on
to become $0.40 an hour and forty hours after seven
years.
FALL CLASSIC: Chicago Cubs (0) vs.
New York Yankees (4)
After a six-year hiatus, the
Chicago Cubs managed to top the National League,
despite making it there by the slimmest of margins.
After a ninth-inning, 6-5 win over the Pittsburgh
Pirates (who had led the National League for
2½ months) on September 28th, the Cubs managed
to hold onto first place while winning the pennant
by a mere two games. Rip Collins led the team in
homers with thirteen, and outfielder Augie Galan
topped the Cubs in runs-batted-in with sixty-nine.
Stan Hack batted .320 and led the National League
with sixteen stolen bases, and Carl Reynolds hit
.302. Bill Lee and Clay Bryant were the staff
pitching aces with twenty-two and nineteen
victories. Dizzy Dean, who tried to come back too
soon after his All-Star Game toe injury of 1937
(and injured his arm), had been obtained from the
St. Louis Cardinals in April and won 7 of 8
decisions.
Their opponents, the two time
defending champion Yankees, were still dominating
teams on the American League side. This time five
New Yorkers compiled RBI totals over ninety, and
those five; Joe DiMaggio, Bill Dickey, Lou Gehrig,
rookie Joe Gordon and Tommy Henrich, had home run
totals ranging from thirty-two to twenty-two. Red
Ruffing led the American League in victories with
twenty-one, followed in the rotation by Lefty Gomez
(eighteen wins), Monte Pearson (sixteen wins) and
Spud Chandler (fourteen wins). The result was a
9½ game lead over the Boston Red Sox for the
American League pennant.
Bill Lee got the call for the Cubs
in the Series opener and while the big right-hander
pitched well, he did not pitch well enough to win.
Bill Dickey went four-for-four against him, scoring
a run and driving home another as the Yankees
pulled ahead with a "predictable" 3-1 triumph.
Nothing changed for Game 2, although the Cubs'
Dizzy Dean appeared in control almost until the
end. He contained the Yankees for seven innings at
Wrigley Field and had given up only three hits
while leading the contest, 3-2. George Selkirk
added the Yankees' fourth hit as the leadoff man in
the eighth inning, but two force-outs left Dean in
a position to escape with one more out. Frankie
Crosetti (who was on the bottom of the Yank's
home-run list with nine) stepped up with Myril Hoag
leading off of first base. Swinging at the first
pitch, the unlikely hero sent a shockwave through
the stands with a bomb over the left field wall.
Dean and his teammates stood in disbelief and were
unable to answer the call in the ninth inning, as
the Yankees held on for the 6-3 victory.
Ahead two games to none, with the
Series shifting to Yankee Stadium, the New Yorkers
seemed to be a lock. Games 3 and 4 were quick (and
painful), as the home team's momentum carried them
to 5-2 and 8-3 finales that featured solid hitting
by Crosetti, who added a double, triple and four
runs-batted-in to his stats. On a somber note, the
ailing Lou Gehrig went four for fourteen (all
singles) for his last Series appearance. The
Yankees had completed their fourth Series sweep in
their last six appearances and became the first
team to win the World Series in three consecutive
years. The American Leaguers appeared unstoppable
and most felt that the Cubs never had a
chance.
BOMBER BYTES: from
Baseball-Almanac.com
With this World Championship the
New York Yankees became the first team to win three
(3) consecutive Fall Classics.
During Game 4, Tex Carleton of the
Chicago Cubs became the fifth pitcher in World
Series history to toss two (2) wild pitches during
the same game.
Red Ruffing started two (2) games,
completed both games and won each of them. He also
tied the World Series record for innings pitched
and shattered the record for most hits allowed in a
four-game Series.
MORE HERE: The Iron Horse:
Lou Gehrig
1939 World Series
"That the Reds had made it into
their first Series since 1919, the year of the
Black Sox scandal, was an amazing advance,
considering Cincinnati had finished in the National
League basement in 1937. For the Yankees, it was
business as usual." - The Sporting
News
PINSTRIPE PERSPECTIVES: Events off
the field
"The Daughters of the American
Revolution", a colonial patriotic society in the
United States open to women having one or more
ancestors who aided the cause of the Revolution
refused to allow Marian Anderson to perform at
Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. Anderson was
the first African American to be named a permanent
member of the Metropolitan Opera Company, as well
as the first black woman to perform at the White
House. In protest of their protest, First Lady
Eleanor Roosevelt resigned her DAR membership and
sponsored Anderson's concert at the Lincoln
Memorial.
On August 12th, Louis B. Mayer and
his staff at MGM released what is considered to be
one of the greatest movies ever made, the classic
musical version of "The Wizard of Oz". Although the
lavish production of L. Frank Baum's children's
book originally lost a million dollars on its
initial release, its musical score, technical
artistry, star-making performance from Judy
Garland, and unexpected TV success turned it into a
perennial classic.
FALL CLASSIC: Cincinnati Reds (0)
vs. New York Yankees (4)
The Cincinnati Reds returned to the
big show for the first time since 1919, when they
were the beneficiaries of the famous "Black Sox
Scandal" in which their opponents, the Chicago
White Sox, intentionally threw the Series. After a
lengthy investigation in 1920, the members of
Chicago's team were amazingly acquitted the
following year, despite their own confessions
(which were recanted later). Many Reds fans later
realized that their "championship title" had been
tainted and were anxious to see their team win one
on their own terms. Their sudden rise to the top of
the National League was more than impressive (after
finishing at the bottom of the National League in
1937) and their "Cinderella season" featured the
two winningest pitchers in all of baseball. Bucky
Walters led the major leagues with twenty-seven
wins and Paul Derringer backed him up with
twenty-five of his own. For their opponents, the
perennial championship Yankees, it was business as
usual. New York finished the regular season with a
106-45 record and won their fourth consecutive
pennant by seventeen games.
Reds manager, Bill McKechnie, went
with Derringer for Game 1 and Joe McCarthy selected
Series regular, Red Ruffing. The Yankee veteran
played true to form with an opening four-hit, 2-1
victory that featured a last-inning, tiebreaker on
a Bill Dickey single. Cincinnati was down, but not
out, as they had shown that they could stand tall
against the three-time defending champions.
Unfortunately for Reds fans, nothing changed the
following day as Monte Pearson beat out Walters
with a two-hit, 4-0 masterpiece that put his team
up two games to none. Babe Dahlgren (who had
replaced Lou Gehrig for the Yankees) doubled and
homered in support. The first baseman had taken
over May 2, when failing health and an accompanying
decline in skills had forced the "Iron Horse" out
of the New York lineup after 2,130 consecutive
games. Not since 1923 had the Yankees engaged in
postseason play without Gehrig, and fans and
players alike dearly missed his
presence.
For Game 3, the Reds came out
swinging and finally generated some offense against
the Yankees pitching staff, while out-hitting the
Bronx Bombers by more than a 2 to 1 margin.
However, as in most sports, "quality" mattered more
than "quantity" as all ten of Cincinnati's hits
resulted in mere singles. New York, on the other
hand, got two-run homers from rookie Charlie Keller
in the first and fifth innings, a two-run blast
from Joe DiMaggio (who batted a career-high .381 in
the regular season) in the third and a bases-empty
shot from Bill Dickey in the fifth. The final was a
7-3 romp that put the Yanks one game away from
their fourth consecutive championship.
Game 4 was a tense 0-0 standoff
until the seventh inning, when Charlie Keller and
Bill Dickey both launched bases-empty homers off of
the returning Derringer. The Reds quickly answered
back in their half of the inning for three unearned
runs off reliever Steve Sundra, who had replaced
ailing starter Oral Hildebrand in the fifth. Johnny
Murphy tacked on an "insurance" run in the eighth
inning, but shortstop Billy Myers' error on
Dickey's potential double-play ball in the ninth
enabled the Yankees to move within one. Then, New
York scored again when DiMaggio beat a throw to the
plate on Joe Gordon's grounder for the 4-4 tie.
With runners on the corners and one out in the
tenth inning, "Joe D" came up big again and singled
to right for the game winner. That would have been
trouble enough for Cincinnati, but right fielder
Ival Goodman misplayed the ball and another run
headed home. That, too, would have been trouble
enough for Cincinnati, but catcher Ernie Lombardi
not only failed to hold Goodman's throw to the
plate, but was also knocked down by the onrushing
Keller and the ball rolled away.
As a result, DiMaggio was able to
circle the bases untouched, as the Reds' receiver
lay stunned. "Schnozz's snooze" the play was
called, and it won a special place in baseball
folklore despite its minimal impact overall. In the
bottom of the tenth inning, Cincinnati managed to
send the tying run to the plate three times, but
were unable to finish the job as Johnny Murphy
protected the Yankees' 7-4 lead for their second
consecutive sweep, and fourth consecutive World
Series title. Keller, the Series star, led the
contest in runs scored (eight), hits (seven), home
runs (three), runs-batted-in (six) and batting
average (.438). In the end, the Yankees had won
thirteen of their last fourteen Series games and
twenty-eight of their last thirty-one games in
baseball's premier event.
BOMBER BYTES: from
Baseball-Almanac.com
Prior to this Fall Classic the
record for most home runs hit during any single
Series game by a rookie was one (1). Charlie Keller
broke that record during Game 3 when he went deep
twice.
During Game 3, Junior Thompson gave
up five (5) hits in 4.2 innings worked. Four (4) of
those five (5) hits were home runs tying the record
for longs balls allowed during a Series game set by
Charlie Root during the 1932 World
Series.
END 30's
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