1927 New York Yankees season

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1927 New York Yankees
1927 World Series Champions
1927 American League Champions
Major League affiliations
  • American League (since 1901)
Location
  • Yankee Stadium (since 1923)
  • New York City, New York (since 1903)
Other information
Owner(s)Jacob Ruppert
General manager(s)Ed Barrow
Manager(s)Miller Huggins
Local televisionnone
Local radionone
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The 1927 New York Yankees season was the 25th season of the New York Yankees of the American League. The team finished with a record of 110–44, winning their fifth pennant and finishing 19 games ahead of the Philadelphia Athletics and were tied for first or better for the whole season.[1] New York was managed by Miller Huggins. The Yankees played at Yankee Stadium. In the 1927 World Series, they won, sweeping the Pittsburgh Pirates. This Yankees team was known for their feared lineup, which was nicknamed "Murderers' Row", and is widely considered to be the greatest baseball team in MLB history.[2][3][4]

Regular season[]

Yankee Stadium in 1927.

The Yankees' 110 victories broke the previous American League mark of 105 (set by the 1912 Boston Red Sox) and would stand as the American League single-season record until it was broken by the Cleveland Indians in 1954.

This was the first year the Yankees acknowledged their team nickname on their uniforms, albeit their road uniforms. Their home uniforms remained free of any kind of logo except for the "NY" on their caps.

The roster included seven future Hall of Famers: Pitchers Herb Pennock and Waite Hoyt, Infielders Lou Gehrig and Tony Lazzeri, outfielders Babe Ruth and Earle Combs, and Manager Miller Huggins.

Babe Ruth[]

With the race long since decided, the nation's attention turned to Babe Ruth's pursuit of his own home run mark of 59, set in 1921. Early in the season, Ruth expressed doubts about his chances: "I don't suppose I'll ever break that 1921 record. To do that, you've got to start early, and the pitchers have got to pitch to you. I don't start early, and the pitchers haven't really pitched to me in four seasons. I get more bad balls to hit than any other five men...and fewer good ones." Ruth was also being challenged for his slugger's crown by teammate Lou Gehrig, who nudged ahead of Ruth's total in midseason, prompting the New York World-Telegram to anoint Gehrig the favorite. But Ruth caught Gehrig (who would finish with 47), and then had a remarkable last leg of the season, hitting 17 home runs in September. His 60th came on September 30, in the Yankees' next-to-last game. Ruth was exultant, shouting after the game, "Sixty, count 'em, sixty! Let's see some other son of a bitch match that!"[5] In later years, he would give Gehrig some credit: "Pitchers began pitching to me because if they passed me they still had Lou to contend with." In addition to his career-high 60 home runs, Ruth batted .356, drove in 164 runs and slugged .772.

Babe Ruth's 60 home runs[]

HR Date Pitcher Threw Team Location W/L Score
1 April 15, 1927 Howard Ehmke Right Philadelphia Athletics Yankee Stadium Won 6-3
2 April 23, 1927 Rube Walberg Left Philadelphia Athletics Shibe Park Lost 3-4
3 April 24, 1927 Sloppy Thurston Right Washington Senators Griffith Stadium Won 6-2
4 April 29, 1927 Slim Harriss Right Boston Red Sox Fenway Park Won 9-0
5 May 1, 1927 Jack Quinn Right Philadelphia Athletics Yankee Stadium Won 7-3
6 May 1, 1927 Rube Walberg Left Philadelphia Athletics Yankee Stadium Won 7-3 (2nd HR)
7 May 10, 1927 Milt Gaston Right St. Louis Browns Sportsman's Park Won 8-7
8 May 11, 1927 Ernie Nevers Right St. Louis Browns Sportsman's Park Won 4-2
9 May 17, 1927 Rip Collins Right Detroit Tigers Navin Field Won 9-2
10 May 22, 1927 Benn Karr Right Cleveland Indians Dunn Field Won 9-2
11 May 23, 1927 Sloppy Thurston Right Washington Senators Griffith Stadium Lost 2-3
12 May 28, 1927 Sloppy Thurston Right Washington Senators Yankee Stadium Won 1st Game 9-2
13 May 29, 1927 Danny MacFayden Right Boston Red Sox Yankee Stadium Won 15-7
14 May 30, 1927 Rube Walberg Left Philadelphia Athletics Shibe Park Won 2nd Game 6-5
15 May 31, 1927 Jack Quinn Right Philadelphia Athletics Shibe Park Won 1st Game 10-3
16 May 31, 1927 Howard Ehmke Right Philadelphia Athletics Shibe Park Won 2nd Game 18-5
17 June 5, 1927 Earl Whitehill Left Detroit Tigers Yankee Stadium Won 5-3
18 June 7, 1927 Tommy Thomas Right Chicago White Sox Yankee Stadium Won 4-1
19 June 11, 1927 Garland Buckeye Left Cleveland Indians Yankee Stadium Won 6-4
20 June 11, 1927 Garland Buckeye Left Cleveland Indians Yankee Stadium Won 6-4 (2nd HR)
21 June 12, 1927 George Uhle Right Cleveland Indians Yankee Stadium Lost 7-8
22 June 16, 1927 Tom Zachary Left St. Louis Browns Yankee Stadium Won 8-1
23 June 22, 1927 Hal Wiltse Left Boston Red Sox Fenway Park Won 1st Game 7-4
24 June 22, 1927 Hal Wiltse Left Boston Red Sox Fenway Park Won 1st Game 7-4 (2nd HR)
25 June 30, 1927 Slim Harriss Right Boston Red Sox Yankee Stadium Won 13-6
26 July 3, 1927 Hod Lisenbee Right Washington Senators Griffith Stadium Lost 5-6
27 July 8, 1927 Don Hankins Right Detroit Tigers Navin Field Won 2nd Game 10-8
28 July 9, 1927 Ken Holloway Right Detroit Tigers Navin Field Won 1st Game 19-7
29 July 9, 1927 Ken Holloway Right Detroit Tigers Navin Field Won 1st Game 19-7 (2nd HR)
30 July 12, 1927 Joe Shaute Left Cleveland Indians Dunn Field Won 7-0
31 July 24, 1927 Tommy Thomas Right Chicago White Sox Comiskey Park Won 3-2
32 July 26, 1927 Milt Gaston Right St. Louis Browns Yankee Stadium Won 1st Game 15-1
33 July 27, 1927 Milt Gaston Right St. Louis Browns Yankee Stadium Won 1st Game 15-1 (2nd HR)
34 July 28, 1927 Lefty Stewart Left St. Louis Browns Yankee Stadium Won 9-4
35 August 5, 1927 George Smith Right Detroit Tigers Yankee Stadium Won 5-2
36 August 10, 1927 Tom Zachary Left Washington Senators Griffith Stadium Won 4-3
37 August 16, 1927 Tommy Thomas Right Chicago White Sox Comiskey Park Won 8-1
38 August 17, 1927 Sarge Connally Right Chicago White Sox Comiskey Park Won 3-2
39 August 20, 1927 Jake Miller Left Cleveland Indians Dunn Field Lost 8-14
40 August 22, 1927 Joe Shaute Left Cleveland Indians Dunn Field Lost 4-9
41 August 27, 1927 Ernie Nevers Right St. Louis Browns Sportsman's Park Won 14-4
42 August 28, 1927 Ernie Wingard Left St. Louis Browns Sportsman's Park Won 10-6
43 August 31, 1927 Tony Welzer Right Boston Red Sox Yankee Stadium Won 10-3
44 September 2, 1927 Rube Walberg Left Philadelphia Athletics Shibe Park Won 12-2
45 September 6, 1927 Tony Welzer Right Boston Red Sox Fenway Park Won 1st Game 14-2
46 September 6, 1927 Tony Welzer Right Boston Red Sox Fenway Park Won 1st Game 14-2 (2nd HR)
47 September 6, 1927 Jack Russell Right Boston Red Sox Fenway Park Lost 2nd Game 2-5
48 September 7, 1927 Danny MacFayden Right Boston Red Sox Fenway Park Won 12-10
49 September 7, 1927 Slim Harriss Right Boston Red Sox Fenway Park Won 12-10 (2nd HR)
50 September 11, 1927 Milt Gaston Right St. Louis Browns Yankee Stadium Lost 2-6
51 September 13, 1927 Willis Hudlin Right Cleveland Indians Yankee Stadium Won 1st Game 5-3
52 September 13, 1927 Joe Shaute Left Cleveland Indians Yankee Stadium Won 2nd Game 5-3
53 September 16, 1927 Ted Blankenship Right Chicago White Sox Yankee Stadium Won 7-2
54 September 18, 1927 Ted Lyons Right Chicago White Sox Yankee Stadium Won 2nd Game 5-4
55 September 21, 1927 Sam Gibson Right Detroit Tigers Yankee Stadium Lost 1-6
56 September 22, 1927 Ken Holloway Right Detroit Tigers Yankee Stadium Won 8-7
57 September 27, 1927 Lefty Grove Left Philadelphia Athletics Yankee Stadium Won 7-4
58 September 29, 1927 Hod Lisenbee Right Washington Senators Yankee Stadium Won 15-4
59 September 29, 1927 Paul Hopkins Right Washington Senators Yankee Stadium Won 15-4 (2nd HR)
60 September 30, 1927 Tom Zachary Left Washington Senators Yankee Stadium Won 4-2

Season standings[]

  • v
  • t
American League 		W L Pct. GB Home Road
New York Yankees 110 44 0.714 — 57–19 53–25
Philadelphia Athletics 91 63 0.591 19 50–27 41–36
Washington Senators 85 69 0.552 25 51–28 34–41
Detroit Tigers 82 71 0.536 27½ 44–32 38–39
Chicago White Sox 70 83 0.458 39½ 38–37 32–46
Cleveland Indians 66 87 0.431 43½ 35–42 31–45
St. Louis Browns 59 94 0.386 50½ 38–38 21–56
Boston Red Sox 51 103 0.331 59 29–49 22–54

Record vs. opponents[]

1927 American League Records
  • v
  • t

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
Team BOS CWS CLE DET NYY PHI STL WSH
Boston — 11–11 15–7 5–17 4–18 6–16 6–16 4–18
Chicago 11–11 — 8–14 13–8 5–17 8–14 15–7 10–12
Cleveland 7–15 14–8 — 7–15 10–12 10–12 10–11 8–14
Detroit 17–5 8–13 15–7 — 8–14 9–13 14–8–1 11–11–2
New York 18–4 17–5 12–10 14–8 — 14–8–1 21–1 14–8
Philadelphia 16–6 14–8 12–10 13–9 8–14–1 — 16–6 12–10
St. Louis 16–6 7–15 11–10 8–14–1 1–21 6–16 — 10–12–1
Washington 18–4 12–10 14–8 11–11–2 8–14 10–12 12–10–1 —


Roster[]

1927 New York Yankees
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders Manager
  • Miller Huggins

Coaches

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 Pat Collins 92 251 69 .275 7 36
1B Lou Gehrig 155 584 218 .373 47 175
2B Tony Lazzeri 153 570 176 .309 18 102
3B Joe Dugan 112 387 104 .269 2 43
SS Mark Koenig 123 526 150 .285 3 62
OF Earle Combs 152 648 231 .356 6 64
OF Babe Ruth 151 540 192 .356 60 164
OF Bob Meusel 135 516 174 .337 8 103

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
Johnny Grabowski 70 195 54 .277 0 25
Ray Morehart 73 195 50 .256 1 20
Cedric Durst 65 129 32 .248 0 25
Mike Gazella 54 115 32 .278 0 9
Benny Bengough 31 85 21 .247 0 10
Ben Paschal 50 82 26 .317 2 16
Julie Wera 38 42 10 .238 1 8

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
Waite Hoyt 36 256.1 22 7 2.63 86
Urban Shocker 31 200 18 6 2.84 35
Herb Pennock 34 209.2 19 8 3.00 51
Dutch Ruether 27 184 13 6 3.38 45
George Pipgras 29 166.1 10 3 4.11 81

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
Wilcy Moore 50 213 19 7 2.28 75
Myles Thomas 21 88.2 7 4 4.87 25

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
Bob Shawkey 19 2 3 4 2.89 23
Joe Giard 16 0 0 0 8.00 10
Walter Beall 1 0 0 0 9.00 0

1927 World Series[]

Main article: 1927 World Series
Game Date Visitor Score Home Score Record

(NYY-PIT)

Attendance
1 October 5 New York Yankees 5 Pittsburgh Pirates 4 1–0 41,467
2 October 6 New York Yankees 6 Pittsburgh Pirates 2 2–0 41,634
3 October 7 Pittsburgh Pirates 1 New York Yankees 8 3–0 60,695
4 October 8 Pittsburgh Pirates 3 New York Yankees 4 4–0 57,909
New York Yankees win 4–0

Awards and honors[]

  • Lou Gehrig, AL MVP Award

Since a voter could select only one player per team, two good candidates from the same team could find their votes split and both of their chances of winning hurt. In addition, the clause prohibiting repeat winners led to unusual results like Babe Ruth's 1927 (one of the greatest offensive seasons of all time) not being eligible for the award. As The New York Times wrote in 1925, "[T]he purpose, of course, is to pass the honor around, but the effect is to pass an empty honor around."[6]

League leaders[]

  • Babe Ruth, Major League Baseball home run champion (60)
  • Earle Combs, American League leader, triples (23)[7]
  • Lou Gehrig, American League RBI champion (175)

Franchise records[]

  • Earle Combs, Yankees single season record, triples in a season (23)

In popular culture[]

In 2016, ESPN announced 1927: The Diary of Myles Thomas, part a new genre of storytelling known as "real-time historical fiction."[8] The core of the project is a historical novel in the form of a diary of Myles Thomas, written by Douglas Alden, complemented by a wealth of fact-based content from the season, all published along the same timeline as the events unfolded almost 90 years ago. Through Myles Thomas's diary entries, additional essays and real-time social-media components (including Twitter[9]) "re-living" that famous Yankees season, the goal is to explore the rarefied nexus of baseball, jazz and Prohibition — defining elements of the remarkable world that existed in 1927. The diary runs the length of the full 1927 season, from April 13 through October 10, 1927.[10]

Notes[]

  1. ^ "1927 New York Yankees Schedule".
  2. ^ "Tom Verducci's Top 10 Teams of All Time". SportsIllustrated.com https://www.si.com/mlb/photos/2010/03/30tom-verduccis-top-10-teams-of-all-time/1
  3. ^ "The Best Major League Baseball Team Ever from 1902–2005". BaseballAlmanac.com. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/articles/best_major_league_teams_ever.shtml
  4. ^ Bryson, Bill (2013), One Summer: America 1927, Doubleday, ISBN 978-0767919401, OCLC 841198242
  5. ^ Creamer, Robert W. (1974). Babe: The Legend Comes to Life. Holtzman Press. p. 400. ISBN 978-0671760700. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  6. ^ "Review-The Week In Sports-Outlook". (September 28, 1925). The New York Times, Sports, p. 17.
  7. ^ Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p.98, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
  8. ^ 1927: The Diary of Myles Thomas
  9. ^ 1927: The Diary of Myles Thomas on Twitter
  10. ^ About the Diary of Myles Thomas

References[]

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