1927 New York Yankees
110-44 (.714)
World Champions.
Swept Pittsburgh Pirates 4-0.
Won AL pennant by 19 games.
Led AL in scoring (976) and fewest runs allowed (599).
Also led in Batting Average (.307), On-Base Percentage (.384) and Slugging (.488), as well as Home Runs (158), and strikeouts (610), 134 more than any other team in AL.
Led in ERA (3.20). League Avg. 4.14.
1894 Baltimore Orioles
89-39 (.695)
NL champions
Scored 1171 runs (3rd), allowed 819 runs (2nd).
Second in NL Batting Average (.343), 1st On-Base Percentage (.418), 2nd in Slugging (.483). 3rd in Stolen Bases (324). 1st in Triples (150).
Won 24 of last 25 games to take the pennant.
“What do I think about playing the 1894 Orioles?” Says Waite Hoyt. “I think we’re gonna annihilate them.”
The Baltimore Orioles are perhaps the most famously remembered team of the 1890s. The Boston Bean-eaters actually dominated the decade with six pennants to the Orioles' three. But for some reason, the 1894-6 three year run garnered them more attention, at least in retrospect. A swinging bunt even today is still called a Baltimore Chop. The Orioles line-up started off with two diminutive Hall-of-Famers, John McGraw and Wee Willie Keeler, 5'7" and 5'4" respectfully. Together they weighed less than CC Sabathia or Prince Fielder. Each used his slight stature to great advantage and success. McGraw's on-base percentage is still the 3rd highest ever, behind two guys named Williams and Ruth. Keeler chopped, slapped and poked his way to a lifetime .340-plus average and one .400 season.
The two were followed by a big bruiser, Dan Brouthers, also a Hall-of-Famer, also a lifetime .340-plus hitter. Brouthers (Bill James says it's pronounced 'Broo-thers') was actually an old pro among youngsters in '94... a five-time batting champ with power. He bombed doubles, triples and homers for Detroit, Boston and Buffalo before coming to Baltimore as a veteran. His 128 RBI (in only 123 games!) for the 1894 pennant winners were a career high. The 1894 season turned out to be his last full season as his career wound down.
Each member of the entire starting line-up batted over .300, as did backup infielder Frank Bonner and four pitchers. One who did not was the back-up catcher, who still deserves mention for having one of the greatest baseball names of all time: .240 hitter Boileryard Clarke.
Interesting foot notes:
Kid Gleason - The would-be skipper of the ill-fated 1919 Chicago Black Sox, was a pitcher for this scrappy squad. Was he any good? Well in 1890 he pitched 506 innings for the Phils. He won 38 games and dropped 17 with a 2.63 ERA. Of course this was the era of iron moundmen. For the 1894 Orioles he went 15-5 but his ERA jumped to 4.45 over 172 innings. Remember - he was pitching ten feet further back. His 4.45 ERA was actually quite good. Apparently his arm gave out from the 506 innings, the extra ten feet or both. In 1895 he gave up pitching and took up 2nd base. He wasn't a really heavy hitter but his competitive fire stayed stoked. Back with the Phils the Kid led the NL in games played and plate appearances... at the age of 38.
The New York Highlanders - formed in 1903, were moved from Baltimore after the 1902 season. The Orioles, dumped from the National League after the 1899 season, were resurrected in the brand-new American League in 1901, with McGraw as their 28-year-old player-manager. He continued in 1902 before jumping back to the NL, taking over the sadsack NY Giants. Ironically, the Orioles, by now a trainwreck of a team, followed him, becoming the Highlanders, and ultimately the most successful team in baseball history as the New York Yankees.
“What do I think about playing the 1894 Orioles?” Says Waite Hoyt. “I think we’re gonna annihilate them.”
Game 10 Baltimore.
New York - 1 1 1 0 0 2 4 0 0 - 9 12 2
Baltimore - 1 0 0 2 7 0 5 5 x - 20 22 0
Babe and Lou Gehrig each homer twice. Gehrig also doubles and drives in five. But it isn't nearly enough. The Orioles, apparently not pleased with Hoyt's pre-season prediction, have been doing the annihilating themselves. They come into the game with a 4-5 record, and into the fifth tied with the 1927 Champs. Humbled Hoyt comes into the game with a 7.30 ERA, over 2 starts and 12 innings. Even though he is 1-0, Waite Hoyt has been rocked. He won on opening day despite giving up 7 runs in 7-1/3 because five different Yankees drove in runs. Earle Combs and Bob Meusel plated three apiece; catcher Pat Collins and the Babe two each. Ruth and Combs both homer in a 12-8 win.
But the Orioles come back and actually win the five-game series, sweeping the last three. Then moving to Baltimore, and from 1927 to 1894, the Yanks take three of four. They win Hoyt's 2nd start but Hoyt is again not sharp, giving up three in five innings. The Yanks again come to his aid, scoring 13. Combs hits his 3rd three-bagger of the young season, gets three hits and three RBI. Tony Lazzeri also collects three hits, all singles. He and Pat Collins both plate two, as does pinch-hitter Ben Paschal, whose two-run single puts NY ahead to stay.
For Baltimore, John McGraw has been a thorn in the Yankees side. He comes into game ten with 9 stolen bases and a .375 average. Then he collects four hits and steals two more bags here.
As stated above the two teams come into the 5th tied 3-3. Then the roof caves in... Batimore sends 14 men to the plate. Joe Kelley and Wilbert Robinson both triple. Steve Brodie and Heinie Reitz both double. And Baltimore starter Bill Hawke drives NY starter Waite Hoyt from the game with a three-run homer, part of a five RBI day. The Yanks hardly lie down. As mentioned, Gehrig also drives home five to give him 17. The Yanks, down 10-3, score six with Ruth and Gehrig each going deep for the 2nd time in the game. But the balanced attack of the Orioles... 22 hits and RBI from eight different people, are too much for even the Murderers' Row to overcome.
(Note: for those new to Mac's Legendary Baseball, the two teams play 154 game seasons, alternating 5-game series in each team's ballpark. When the two teams travel, it's time travel... thus, this season's Orioles home games take place in 1894).
10 Games Two teams tied 5-5
PLAYER.... BA/SA........ HR RBI SB
Combs...... .340/.574......... 1... 8
Ruth......... .286/.762......... 6... 8
Gehrig...... .500/1.000....... 4.. 17
Meusel..... .308/.538......... 0 ... 9
Lazzeri..... .302/.302......... 0... 7..... 1
McGraw... .413/.457......... 0... 2... 11
Keeler...... .304/.326......... 0... 6..... 4
Kelley...... .395/.579......... 0... 5 .... 2
Brouthers. .227/.409........ 0... 12.... 2
Jennings... .512/.585........ 0.... 6..... 3
With the teams tied at 7-7 going into game 15, Waite Hoyt has a chance to put the Yankees up. Instead the Orioles annihilate him once more. He lasts six innings but gives up 6 runs, though only three are earned. He gets cuffed around for 11 hits before yielding to the bullpen. Dan Brouthers drives in four of the Orioles' 13 runs as they squeeze past NY in a wild 10-inning affair, 13-12.
Behind the cage at BP before game 18:
“Hey, Mac!” Boomed the Babe
“How are things, Babe?” Answered John McGraw.
“Neer seen you look so skinny! You been working out?”
“Yeah!” Cracked McGraw. “Doin’ wind sprints! On the bases! Or haven’t you been watching?” Ruth grinned.
“Yeah, I been noticing. Just ain’t used to seeing you so fast. Usually you’re pointin’ at other people… telling them to move fast!” Now McGraw grinned.
“Babe, you never saw me in my youth. I’m 21.”
“Twenty-one! Damn that’s a great age, ain’t it, Mac?”“Could do this forever, Babe.”
Mac is in good spirits because his team is 9-8. The Babe is cheery because the Yanks' bats exploded the day before in a 26-6 rout of Mac's Orioles.
New York - 3 3 1 0 1 5 2 11 0 - 26 21 0
Baltimore - 0 0 1 1 0 0 3 0 1 - 6 11 2
The Babe singled four times in four tries and scored four times... chiefly through the efforts of Lou Gehrig and Tony Lazzeri. Poosh 'em up Lazzeri pushed across seven with a homer, double and single. Columbia Lou did even better, knocking two out of Yankee Stadium, doubling and singling twice. He knocks in NINE. Five come in the 11-run eighth on a two run single and a three run homer. Catcher Pat Collins, quietly having a great season, singles home his 19th run of the season.
After the Babe's batting cage pleasantries with McGraw, he went out and had himself a day, homering and knocking home five in a 12-4 win, squaring the two teams again at 9-9. The Yanks win again (game 19).
But then in game 20 a capacity crowd of 40,000 Baltimoreans come to see Waite Hoyt again face the Baltimore Orioles of 1894. They are not disappointed when the Orioles again rout the man who said “we’ll annilihilate them…” Hoyt only lasts into the 4th, giving up 9 runs (all earned) on 8 hits. EEyah Hugh Jennings goes five-for-five with a double and four driven in. Steve Brodie doubles in two help the Orioles to a 13-8 win, again putting the two teams into a tie at 10-10.
Team Leaders at 20 games.
New York
BA: Gehrig - .429, Ruth - .376.
HR: Gehrig and Ruth - 8.
RBI: Gehrig - 34, Collins - 23, Lazzeri - 21, Ruth - 20.
Baltimore
BA: McGraw - .433, Jennings - .400, Kelley - .351.
HR: Keeler - 2. (The 5'4" mite has Baltimore's only two homers).
RBI: Brouthers - 27, Keeler - 15.
SB: McGraw - 11, Brouthers - 6, Jennings and Kelley - 5.
The Yankees have only two stolen bases, less than six members of the Orioles.
Ruth and Gehrig each have more home runs than the Orioles and the rest of the Yankees combined.
Game 30. Waite Hoyt drops to 1-3. He only allows 3 runs, and they all come on one swing... Dan Brouthers line-drive home run to deep right-center in the 4th. Unfortunately for Hoyt, Baltimore right-hander Bill Hawke is masterful, scattering six hits over eight frames to beat Hoyt and the Yankees 3-1. Hoyt had also been rocked five games earlier (11 hits and 8 runs, 5 earned in 5-2/3 innings), but the powerful Murderer's Row had bailed him out, coming back late to win it 9-8. Bob Meusel tripled, homered, and drove in four.
Baltimore springboards their latest win into a four game streak, culminating with a 15-5 pounding in front of 44,221 Yankee fans. Dan Brouthers collects four hits, two doubles and three ribbies. It's a balanced, deadly attack. Nine different Orioles drive in runs, with Wee Willie Keeler, Joe Kelley, Hughie Jennings, and Steve Brodie bagging two each. The four game streak puts the Orioles at 16-17.
HOYT WINS! HOYT WINS! HOYT WINS!
Game 35. Yankee Stadium. The Bronx, 1927.
Waite goes eight... allowing only an earned run when McGraw sigles home catcher Wilbert Robinson in the 6th. Run scoring singles from Mark Koenig, Tony Lazzeri and Pat Collins help Waite win a close one, 3-2. Wilcy Moore comes on in the 9th to pick up his 6th save. Waite's record improves to just 2-3, and his ERA lowers to 7.36. But his victory puts the Yankees up 19-16 in the win column.
Preseason prediction:
“What do I think about playing the 1894 Orioles?” Says Waite Hoyt. “I think we’re gonna annihilate them.”
Camden Yards
Behind the BP cage before game 36
“How are you doing, Waite?”
“Hello, Mac!” Hoyt shakes hands with McGraw.
“Still think you’re gonna annihilate us?” Waite Hoyt shakes his head. McGraw grins.
“I can’t believe this, Mac!”
“You remember who signed you first, don’t you?”
“Yep. You. I was a 15 year-old punk kid out of Brooklyn.”
“You were never a punk kid, Waite.”
“You ain’t sore at me, Mac?”
“You kidding? We’ve been beating you like a bass drum.”
“That’s true.” Hoyt smiled. “I’m a dumbass.”
“Look, Waite, how many games you win in your career?”
“Umm… 200-something. Maybe 235?”
“Two hundred thirty-seven. And not a one for me. So who’s the dumbass?” Now both men grinned. “So… you haven’t answered my question, Waite?”
“Seriously, Mac?” McGraw nodded.
“I still think we’re gonna kick your butts. Else wise, why even take the field?” McGraw grinned again.
“Atta boy, Waite.” Hoyt grinned as well.
“Whattaya mean, boy, Mac? You’re only 21. I’m 27!”
“I know, Waite. That might be why you were so confident. You were imagining 50-year old McGraw wheezing and staggering around at third-base.”
Both men laughed.
“Glad you ain’t sore, Mac.”
“Listen, Waite, you can tell everyone who cares to listen… we intend to kick your butts. You know I’m a sore loser. But I hate quitters… not competitors.”
“Mac… I don’t have to tell anybody anything you just said. They already know.” The two men grinned and shook hands.
Earle Combs, the Yankees' adept lead-off man, usually sets the table for the big boys. Today he is the big man. He doubles and homers, driving home six. The Babe and Bob Meusel get three hits apiece and each plate three as the New Yorkers roll 16-2. Baltimore is unfazed by the beating. They take the next two (games 37-38) to climb back within two of the Yanks at 18-20. The latter game goes eleven innings. Baltimore wins it when John McGraw singles, steals second, and comes home on a Dan Brouthers single to send 37,411 Orioles fans home happy.
WAITE HOYT WINS AGAIN!
Game 40. Orioles Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore.
The Yankees' ace wins another pitchers duel, 4-2. He allows only one earned run on six hits. He's backed by home runs from - GUESS! - Ruth and Gehrig.
At the 40-game mark the Yankees are 22-18. The difference in the season is games 21-30, where the Yanks took 7 of 10. The other three ten-game stretches have all ended in 5-5 splits.
Game 45. Yankee Stadium. New York.
Waite Hoyt seems to have found his rhythm. Today he lasts into the 7th, allowing only two runs. He leaves with a 2-2 tie, however. Wilcy Moore comes on to hold the fort. Lou Gehrig comes along with a 2-run homer in the 8th to ice it, 4-3. The win puts New York at 25-20, and up five games for the 1st time all year.
The series moves back to Baltimore. Pat Collins, who has been quietly having a good year, makes noise, lining a grand slam to deep left, propelling New York to a 10-1 romp in game 46.
Games 47-60:
Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig go ballistic.
A 28-55 (.509) hitting surge over the next 14 games raises the Bambino to .416 for the season. He accumulates 60 total bases over that span, (1.091 slugging).
Lou Gehrig is just as hot, going 28-57 (.491), also getting 60 total bases (1.053 Slugging). He drives in a super-human 31 runs in the 14 games. Both the Iron Horse and the Bambino knock seven out of the park, with the Babe hitting five over three games.
And the Yanks begin to take control of the season.
Gehrig’s biggest day in a streak of big days happens at Yankee Stadium before 46,411 New Yorkers (game 54). He goes four for four with two doubles and knocks in six teammates. The Yanks need every bit of Columbia Lou’s production… and everybody else’s as the Yanks win a wild one, 11-9.
Gehrig hits two homers twice. One of the two games he is joined by the Babe. Yet Baltimore tenaciously wins both games. Game 50, in Baltimore, shows how a balanced, relentless attack can overcome one man’s greatness. Six Orioles drive in runs. Joe Kelley, Hugh Jennings and Steve Brodie each drive in two teammates. Each steals a bag and score themselves. They knock Waite Hoyt out in two innings (to the delight of 36,786 Baltimoreans), then rough up George Pipgras in an emergency relief role as the Orioles win 10-6.
Game 59 has both Gehrig and Ruth each hit two out of Camden Yards. Each drive in four, yet lose to the Orioles 11-9. Yet even though the Murderer’s Row boys lose, there are signs that they are beginning to assert their dominance. For one, even with the loss the Yanks take 3 of 4 in games 57-60. Secondly, even in this win, the Orioles jump out to a quick 9-0 lead in front of a deliriously happy home crowd… only to have the crowd nearly choke on their Cracker Jack as the Babe and Lou nearly lead their team all the way back.
Gehrig drives in 11 runs in three games (57-59) while the Babe hits five homers in three (58-60). In game 58, Gehrig and Ruth drive in seven in an 8-1 win which also features Tony Lazzeri swiping three sacks. Ruth hits two out and drives in four, as he would the next day. Game 60 brings a solo shot from the Babe as the Yanks win a close one 3-2. Combs singles one in, but the story this day is George Pipgras, who goes 6-plus strong innings AND singles home Pat Collins with the game winner in the top of the 7th.
Games 61-77:
Ruth hits six homers. Lou his five. Ruth drives home 18, Lou 22. And Earle Combs, the LEADOFF man, drives in 19! And most importantly for New York, they begin to put space between themselves and the Orioles. They split ten games, but then the Yankees win 6 of 7 to get to the halfway point of the season 45-32… 13 games ahead for the first time.
In game 77 the Yanks put their stamp firmly on the season, and their collective feet on the necks of the Orioles, smashing the Baltimore pitching staff to the tune of 24 hits and 22 runs, including nine in the 9th to win 22-5. Every member of the NY starting eight collects two hits, scores at least once, and drives in at least one run. Gehrig leads the parade with his 26th and 27th homers, driving in six. Joe Dugan and Tony Lazzeri add four apiece. Ruth collects 4 singles, scores four, plates two teammates, and ends the day at .405 for the year. He has 29 home runs and 85 ribbies. Running buddy Gehrig has 27 long ones, but a gaudy 112 RBIs!
Gehrig became the 1st on either squad to go over the 100 RBI mark six games earlier (game 72). It’s a 9-2 Yankee win that also features Combs homering and hitting his 15th triples. But the Babe steals the show, hitting for the cycle and driving home four.
Six games before that… Earle Combs, the leadoff hitter, drives in eight! The six men who follow him also drive in runs, with Meusel getting three. Combs homers (among his five hits) along with Ruth and Meusel. The beneficiary of all of this offensive largess? None other than Waite Hoyt, who goes eight innings, allows seven hits and four runs (only one earned). He ups his record to 6-4 on the season as the Yanks roll 16-7.
Two games before that the Babe and Lou go a collective two-for-seven. But their ‘two’ are a pair of three run home runs. Each goes over the right-center field fence near the 429 sign, reminding the 1927 crowd how massive the new Bronx ball yard is… and reminding the Baltimore pitchers what these two brawny men can do to a baseball. The Yanks roll 13-5.
Game 68. Baltimore’s Camden Yards. Tony Lazzeri, who stole three bases in game 58, steals four more today. He also homers and drives home five as the Yanks win 11-5.
The Second Half:
As stated above, the Yankees win 6 of 7 to get to the half-way point of the season 45-32… 13 games ahead for the first time. The Orioles show their tenacity and resilience, opening up the 2nd half of the season with four straight victories. The 4th is the most resounding, a 14-2 drubbing at Yankee Stadium. Hughie “Eeyah” Jennings gets three hits, two doubles, and drives home five. Waite Hoyt lasts only two outs into the 2nd frame, gets pounded for seven runs (five earned) on seven hits, and drops to 8-5. The Yanks win one, but then Baltimore takes two more to climb within nine games (37-46). Game 83 features Wee Willie Keeler going deep for the 3rd time of the season. He adds a single and drives in four in a 12-4 romp. John McGraw swipes his 51st bag and scores 2 of the Orioles 12 runs. The next day it’s Hughie Jennings again, plating three runs on three hits in an 8-5 win.
Game 89. Camden Yards. Baltimore. The Yanks open the game with a six run 1st and close the game with a six run game 9th. Tony Lazzeri hits a grand slam and drives home five. Ben Paschal comes off the bench and lines a 3-run shot in the 9th. Gehrig and Combs each collect four hits, with one of Lou’s being a 2-run homer. The romp is the 50th win for New York and puts them eleven over the Orioles. The next day Gehrig drives home five, giving him eight in two days. He and the Babe both homer. Each gets three hits. But Baltimore edges the Yankees 11-10. McGraw, Keeler, Joe Kelley, Jennings and Steve Brodie combine for 11 hits and nine RBI.
At the 90-game juncture the Yankees are 50-40. Of course, that makes Baltimore 40-50. Winning 4 of 9 against the Yanks must be respected – the entire American League only won 2 of 7 over a 154-game stretch in ’27.
Ruth has 30 home runs. Gehrig has 29. Believe it or not, New York catcher Pat Collins is 3rd – with four. Gehrig has run away with the RBI race – his 127 put him 39 over the Babe and 49 over Orioles leader Dan Brouthers.
110 games. The home run boys are tied at 31 apiece. Over the most recent 20 games Ruth and Gehrig have combined for three homers. Ruth has become the 2nd player to pass the century mark in RBI. But Gehrig has 151. For the Orioles, John McGraw has stolen 61 bags… on a team running wild Mac has about as many as any two teammates. Though McGraw’s average has slipped below .300, he continues to walk and run – and score.
The Yankees continue to win 3 of 5, 6 of 10, and 12 of 20… not dominating, but slowly pulling away. Baltimore has their moments. Game 110 at Camden Yards delights the Baltimore faithful – an 18-2 beating of the Yanks. As has become typical, McGraw has only one hit… but two walks, a stolen sack (his 64th), and three runs scored. Hitters 2 through 6 combine for 11 RBI.
Game 106 was again the Wee Willie Keeler show. He tripled twice, singled twice more, and drove home four. Baltimore wins a wild one 14-13. Hoyt is the losing pitcher, lasting only into the fourth inning. But the next day Waite shows some resilience of his own. With the score tied 9-9 after nine, Gehrig doubles home Combs with the go-ahead run. Miller Huggins then sends in Waite Hoyt, who retires the side to win his 12th against seven losses. After starting the season 1-3, he’s gone 11-4.
Game 111. Kid Gleason, quietly having a fine campaign, ups his record to 10-4, going six innings, and allowing only eight hits and three earned runs to perhaps the deadliest line-up ever to take the field. And the Orioles? Their typical angry bee-hive swarm attack prevails… McGraw and Steve Brodie each steal two. McGraw and Joe Kelley each drive home two and score two themselves. And the O’s win 10-7.
Game 113. The game goes into the bottom of the 10th at Yankee Stadium tied 8-8. Joe Dugan has driven in four for New York on three timely singles. Baltimore’s big man is big Dan Brouthers with two singles producing three Baltimore runs. But all the 48,654 New Yorkers will remember here is the 10th. That’s when Lou Gehrig waits on a Bill Hawke curve and lines it down the right field line for the game-winning home run, his 32nd.
Two days later, Columbia Lou does it again. With the score tied 6-6 in the eighth, and the Babe on 1st with a walk, Gehrig smashes a drive deep into the right field bleachers. The Yanks win 8-6, and leave for Baltimore up 17 games (66-49) for the first time.
Game 116. Camden Yards, Baltimore.
The Babe hits his 1st home run in 17 games. It is a majestic, monstrous shot in the 1st that soars across Eutaw Street and smashes against the B & O warehouse. Everyone stands and cheers for the hometown boy who grew up literally a few feet from where the baseball lands. Even the Oriole players shake their heads. Some smile as Ruth circles the bases. They smile some more in the 4th when Brouthers nearly matches the Babe. Big Dan’s shot doesn’t hit the warehouse. But it sends two men home ahead of him. Brouthers’ five RBI help Baltimore overcome an early 5-0 deficit and win 14-11. They also put Big Dan at 100 RBI for the year, the 1st Orioles hitter to hit that mark.
But the Yanks then take three of the next four, closing the five-game set in Baltimore at 69-51. They come back to New York needing only nine victories to clinch the season.
At 120 games:
Ruth leads with a .370 batting average
Gehrig leads in slugging (.704), home runs (34), and RBI (158).
Combs has 19 triples, far ahead of everybody.
McGraw has 69 stolen bases; next closest is Joe Kelley with 42.
Game 121. Yankee Stadium.
Brooklyn native (and former NY Highlander) Willie Keeler, immensely popular in the Big Apple, has another big day. He drives in three and scores two to help stake the Orioles to a 6-4 lead. Unfortunately, the Yankees get to bat last. In the bottom of the 9th, lead-off man Earle Combs leads off, doing what he does best… lining his 20th triple between Brodie in center and Kelley in left. By itself of course, Combs’ run means nothing. McGraw reminds hurler George Hemming of that and Hemming uses the full windup against Mark Koenig. But Koenig lines a shot to deep right and pulls into 2nd standing up. Combs scores easily of course. Koenig’s run means everything. The next hitter is hitless on the day. But he’s also the Babe. Hemming now pitches from the stretch. After he checks Koenig, he tries to get Ruth to chase a low and away curve. Ruth does, lining a low liner down the left field line. Koenig scores the tying run as the Babe pulls up at 2nd. With 52,890 screaming New Yorkers standing and cheering one of their own, Lou Gehrig lines a rifle-shot deep over the head of center-fielder Steve Brodie. Ruth comes around with the game-winner. Gehrig, who likely would have scored as well, instead tags 2nd base, and then trots toward the Yankee dugout, credited with a game-winning (7-6) double.
The next three games each feature a Lou Gehrig three base hit… his 10th, 11th and 12th. He knocks home four in the three games to give him 164 on the year. Baltimore takes two of the three, however. Brodie reaches the 100 RBI mark in game 123, a 7-3 win.
Gehrig hits triple number 13 when the squads return to Baltimore (game 126). But John McGraw comes up big… two doubles and four ribbies. He supplies half of Baltimore’s offense. Kid Gleason is the beneficiary in an 8-2 win. He earned it, going six shutout innings, allowing just three hits, and raising his record to 12-5… the best record of any pitcher on either side.
Urban Shocker returns the favor, going eight strong shutout innings as New York wins going away, 8-1. The Yanks drop game 128, but close out the 5-game set with two wins, leaving them 20 games up (75-55). Ruth homers in game 129, but the big shot, and big shock, is Wilcy Moore’s two-run homer in the top of the 10th. It breaks up a 10-10 tie, and ultimately wins it 12-10. Moore is one of the worst hitters in baseball history. Lazzeri becomes the 3rd Yankee to reach 100 RBI with a sac fly in game 130, a 4-1 NY win. Lazzeri has only three home runs – but 24 stolen bases.
Game 131. Yankee Stadium.
The Orioles knock out Yankees ace Waite Hoyt in the first two innings, building an 8-0 lead on 9 hits, including 3 triples… one a run scoring shot by Wee Willie Keeler, and two by Big Dan Brouthers, who drove in a total of three with his three baggers. Many of the 70,000 standing-room only Yankee Stadium crowd are probably already making alternate plans as Hoyt exits the mound with no outs in the top of the 2nd.
Myles Thomas comes on in emergency relief. Mark Koenig immediately bobbles a routine groundball off the bat of Hugh Jennings to let in the 8th Orioles run. The chorus of boos is deafening. Thomas then gets three outs to end the carnage.
Lou Gehrig lines a solo homer down the RF line leading off the bottom of the 2nd, seemingly a futile gesture. Baltimore 8, Yanks 1. But the Murderers’ Row gang chips away at the big Baltimore lead. A single run in the 4th and 2 in the 5th make the score 8-4. A Joe Dugan RBI single in the 6th… 8-5. After the 7th inning stretch, the huge crowd who has mostly stayed is rewarded. The Babe smacks a home run down the RF line with Earle Combs aboard. Suddenly, Baltimore’s insurmountable eight run cushion is down to one.
Myles Thomas, George Pipgras, and then relief ace Wilcy Moore are magnificent, holding the Orioles to no runs on 5 hits through 8 innings.
9th inning. With two out and two on, Pat Collins is at the plate. With the count 2-2, Miller Huggins starts the runners. Collins swings at a George Hemming curve and hits a grounder to deep short. If the runners had stayed put, an easy flip to second ends the game on a fielder’s choice. Instead, Jennings, who had reached on a Koenig error earlier, has to make a long, hurried throw. His long throw to 1st sails high, pulling Dan Brouthers off the bag. Collins is safe on the error, and Lou Gehrig, getting a great jump on the pitch, scores all the way from 2nd with the tying run.
In the 10th, Wilcy Moore retires the Orioles, stranding the go-ahead Baltimore run at 3rd. Then, in the bottom of the inning, Huggins sends up Mike Gazella to hit for Wilcy Moore. Huggins is at his managerial best, pushing all the right buttons and not letting his charges quit. Gazella, facing Baltimore ace Sadie McMahan, lines a deep drive to the cavernous left-center field alley at Yankee Stadium, and pulls in standing at 3rd with a triple. Baltimore pulls the infield in. And Earle Combs completes the total team comeback, slapping a sharp grounder between a drawn in McGraw and Jennings, to win a thriller 9-8.
Game 133. Yankee Stadium.
This one went back and forth… a 4-4 tie after the 3rd… Baltimore jumping out to an 8-4 lead after seven, and then tacking on another run in the 8th. The score remained 9-4 going into the bottom of the 9th.
Earle Combs opens up the frame by working out a walk against Baltimore reliever Stubs Brown. Baltimore skipper Ned Hanlon tells Bert Inks to start loosening up. Then Mark Koenig slaps a fastball past the mound and into centerfield. Combs rounds 2nd and glides into 3rd. Time is called as Hanlon sends in Inks to relieve Brown.
Inks takes six warm up tosses as the Bambino loosens up in the on-deck circle.
Pitching carefully, Bert Inks tosses a slow curve that just misses on 3-1, and Ruth trots to 1st, loading the bases. Next is the Iron Horse. Inks decides to use the full wind-up. His first pitch to Lou Gehrig is a low, slow cure. Gehrig waits, then lines a shot 448 feet over the fence in deep right center. Gehrig, the major league all-time leader in grand slams with twenty-three, hits his 2nd game winning grand slam of the year.
The win is New York’s 77th of the season, clinching a tie. Except 21-year-old John McGraw states… there will be no tie… we will play an extra game.” McGraw said it evenly and calmly… as if he fully expected the Orioles (56-77) to rip off 21 straight wins. When Waite Hoyt hears of McGraw’s statement, he shakes his head. A small wry grin creases his face.
“I wouldn’t bet against these guys. They can beat you so many ways… and you never feel like any lead is safe. Even when we beat them, it’s a hard, exhausting day.” Then after a pause. “These guys would win in any era.”
Game 135. Yankee Stadium.
McGraw did all he could the day before. He stole his 80th base, knocked home a run and scored twice, leading the Orioles to a 6-3 win. But not even McGraw can forestall the inevitable. The Yanks chase Kid Gleason in the 2nd, with four runs on five hits. It’s not their biggest output of the season, but Herb Pennock makes it stand up with seven fine innings of one-run ball. The Yanks hold on, 6-3 with Ruth and Koenig each knocking home a pair.
The teams return to Baltimore. And it seems that the season-clinching has an effect on the Orioles. The bottom drops out and they lose all five games at Camden Yards. The 1st of the losses is a hard-fought beauty, going into the 10th a scoreless tie. For Baltimore only Steve Brodie gets as far as 2nd, with a 2nd inning double. Bob Meusel manages two singles. His 2nd comes in the top of the 10th and delivers the Babe with the game-winner.
Earle Combs knocks home six the next day, the 2nd time he’s done it (he also plated eight once). The Kentuckian also smacks his 23rd three-bagger, tying his 1927 AL-leading total. The Yanks win going away, 16-6. Bob Meusel knocks home two, giving him 101, and making him the 4th Yankee to surpass the century mark, after Gehrig, Ruth and Lazzeri.
140 games. Yankees record 83-57.
Batting Leaders:
Batting Average – Gehrig (NY) .357, Ruth (NY) .356, Kelley (Balt.) .347, Combs (NY) .344.
Slugging Average – Gehrig (NY) .710, Ruth (NY) .650, Combs (NY) .489.
Home Runs – Gehrig (NY) 37, Ruth (NY) 36, Collins (NY) and Jennings (Balt.) 4.
RBI – Gehrig (NY) 174, Ruth (NY) 133, Brouthers (Balt.) 122, Brodie (Balt.) 109.
Stolen Bases – McGraw (Balt.) 81, Kelley (Balt.) and Brodie (Balt.) 45.
Triples – Combs (NY) 23, Gehrig (NY) 13.
Game 143. Yankee Stadium.
Waite Hoyt could use today’s game to vindicate himself. But the long time ace and later beloved broadcaster of the Cincinnati Reds is magnanimous. “These guys are great. I’m proud to have played on the same field with them.” And Hoyt nods toward the Baltimore visitors’ bench.
The Yanks have just shellacked the Orioles 18-1… without the help of a single home run. Combs tripled twice. Koenig and Meusel also hit three-baggers. Meusel cracks out five hits and Combs four. Pat Collins leads the parade with 4 RBI. Lazzeri and Mark Koenig each plate 3 more. And Waite Hoyt goes seven solid innings to put his record at 14-9.
The next day, still at Yankee Stadium, Baltimore jumps all over Urban Shocker to the tune of 10 hits and seven runs in four innings. Kelley and Brodie each drive in 3. But the 5’4” 140 lb. Willie Keeler, a Brooklyn native and former New York Highlander, gets an immense ovation from the NY crowd when he doubles home McGraw and becomes the 3rd Oriole to reach 100 RBI. The Orioles win 11-3.
Game 145 features six Yankees triples, including Combs’ 26th and 27th. But Baltimore piles up 14 runs to outslug NY 14-10. Joe Kelley gets 4 hits. Six different Orioles drive home runs to help win their 60th game.
Back in Baltimore Kelley continues whipping his hot bat. Three hits and four driven lead Baltimore to an 18-8 laugher. Brodie drives home three and swipes his 47th base. On the losing end Yankee leadoff man Earle Combs slams three triples and a double, driving in three. He now has 30 three-baggers and 91 RBI.
Game 147 is Kid Gleason’s finest day in a fine year. He gives up a single to Bob Meusel in the 4th… and that’s all! He drives in two himself, one more than needed as he coasts to an 11-0 win. In going the distance the Kid needs only 85 pitches to throttle the Murderers’ Row.
Game 151. Yankee Stadium. As each Baltimore Orioles hitter came to bat for the 1st time in the game, they were accorded long, loud ovations from the partisan New York crowd. Most of the players were slightly startled, but each tipped his cap in a return of salute. Baltimore wins a lively game 12-10 as Hughie Jennings becomes the 3rd Orioles hitter to reach 100 RBI.
Game 153. Camden Yards.
Waite Hoyt completes his comeback, upping his record to 15-9, allowing just one run in five innings as the Yanks win 4-1. Then, before the final game:
“What do I think about playing the 1894 Orioles?” Says Waite Hoyt. “I think we’re gonna annihilate them.”
Before the final game, at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Waite Hoyt wears not his New York Yankee road gray flannels, but a suit and tie. He appears much older. He carries a microphone as he stands in front of the Yankee dugout.
“Ladies and Gentlemen!” Said the man behind the microphone, broadcaster Waite Hoyt. “Please welcome one more time… one of the greatest teams ever to take the field… your 1894 Champions… the great Baltimore Orioles!”
The Orioles take the field for the final time. The fans stand and give a long, loud ovation that lasts for several minutes. At 3rd, McGraw tips his cap at the crowd. Then he points it at Hoyt and winks. Hoyt nods and grins. And the crowd of 40,000 continues to cheer their heroes.
154 games Final Records
Yankees 89-65
PLAYER….BA/SA……HR…..RBI….....SB
Combs....... .351/.516.... 7 HR.....97 RBI (33 3B)
Ruth.......... .345/.621.... 37....... 138
Gehrig....... .371/.718.... 39....... 188
Meusel...... .326/.475...... 2....... 118...... 17
Lazzeri...... .303/.412...... 3....... 118...... 30
Collins..... 6 HR 93 RBI
McGraw..... .303/.364..... 0 HR..49 RBI... 87 SB
Keeler........ .302/.394..... 3...... 106.......... 37
Kelley........ .351/.457..... 0........ 98.......... 51
Brouthers... .283/.432.... 1....... 133......... 36
Jennings..... .311/.386.... 4....... 100......... 40
Brodie........ .354/.431.... 1....... 123......... 50
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