1949 New York Yankees: Bronx Bulldogs

1949 New York Yankees: Bronx Bulldogs

Though they had been winning World Series Championships left and right, the New York Yankees had somehow become decisive underdogs in the 1949 regular season, which in part was thanks to a roster that didn’t have as much star power as it did in years past. Star center fielder Joe DiMaggio was still on the team, but he only appeared in 76 regular season games. The Yankees were in a dog fight against their bitter rivals the Boston Red Sox for the American League pennant right down to the wire.

The Yankees went 97-57 in 1949 and went 13-9 against the Boston Red Sox in head-to-head play. This is significant because it would take the Yankees all the wins they could get to slip past the Red Sox as the Yankees edged out the Red Sox for the pennant on the very last day of the regular season. The Red Sox had a 1 game lead going into October 1, but they would lose to the Yankees 5-4 on that day and then lose again to the pinstripes 5-3 on October 2.

An interesting note in 1949 is that Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey and Yankees general manager Larry MacPhail had reached a verbal agreement to swap Joe DiMaggio and Boston left fielder Ted Williams, but that agreement never became official because of the fact that the Red Sox also wanted catcher Yogi Berra included in the trade. The Yankees of course refused to give up their valuable starting catcher.

Joe DiMaggio batted .346 with 14 home runs and 67 RBI’s off 94 hits, 14 doubles and 6 triples. First baseman Tommy Henrich batted .287 with 24 home runs and 85 RBI’s off 118 hits and 20 doubles in 115 games. Third baseman Bobby Brown batted .283 with 97 hits and 14 doubles. Catcher Lawrence Peter “Yogi” Berra, known for creating his own sayings, batted .277 with 20 home runs and 91 RBI’s off 115 hits and 20 doubles in 116 games. Shortstop Phil Rizzuto batted .275 with 65 RBI’s, 169 hits, 22 doubles, 7 triples and 18 stolen bases.

Second baseman Jerry Coleman batted .275 with 123 hits, 21 doubles, 5 triples and 8 stolen bases. Right fielder Hank Bauer batted .272 with 10 home runs, 82 hits and 11 doubles in 113 games. Left fielder Gene Woodling batted .270 with 80 hits, 13 doubles and 7 triples in 112 games. Outfielder Cliff “Tiger” Mapes had 75 hits and 13 doubles in 111 games. Corner infielder Billy Johnson had 8 home runs, 82 hits and 11 doubles in 113 games.

Starting pitcher Vic Raschi went 21-10 with 124 strikeouts and a 3.34 ERA, recording 21 complete games and 3 shutouts. Allie Reynolds went 17-6 with 105 strikeouts and a 4.00 ERA, recording 4 complete games, 2 shutouts and 1 save. Tommy Byrne went 15-7 with 129 strikeouts and a 3.72 ERA, recording 12 complete games and 3 shutouts. Eddie Lopat went 15-10 with a 3.26 ERA, recording 14 complete games, 4 shutouts and a 1 save. Fred Sanford went 7-3 with 3 complete games.

Closer Joe Page went 13-8 with 27 saves, 99 strikeouts and a 2.59 ERA. Relief pitcher Clarence “Cuddles” Marshall went 3-0 with 3 saves. Ralph Buxton had 2 saves. Francis Joseph “Spec” Shea went 1-1 with 1 save.

The New York Yankees would square off once again with their in-city rivals the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1949 World Series, and in Game 1 on October 5 at Yankee Stadium the Yankees blanked the Dodgers 1-0. A great pitcher’s duel took place as Allie Reynolds pitched a complete game, giving up 2 hits and 4 walks while recording 9 strikeouts. Reynolds was opposed by Brooklyn stud pitcher Don Newcombe who pitched 8 innings, giving up 5 hits and 1 run while recording 11 strikeouts. The game itself was a struggle of a grind for both teams, and then finally Tommy Henrich became the hero for the Yankees in the bottom of the 9^th, hitting a walk-off solo home run.

The Dodgers returned the favor as they blanked the Yankees 1-0 in Game 2 on October 6. Another great pitcher’s duel took place as Brooklyn’s Elwin “Preacher” Roe pitched a complete game, giving up 6 hits and recording 3 strikeouts. Opposing him was Vic Raschi who pitched 8 innings and gave up 6 hits, 1 walk and 1 run while recording 4 strikeouts. Dodgers first baseman Gil Hodges had an RBI single in the top of the 2^nd inning, and that would be the game’s only run.

As the Fall Classic shifted to Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field, so did the momentum of the series as the Yankees beat the Dodgers 4-3 in Game 3 on October 7. In the top of the 3^rd inning Phil Rizzuto had a sacrifice fly to score Tiger Mapes. In the bottom of the 4^th shortstop Harold Henry “Pee Wee” Reese hit a solo home run. In the top of the 9^th first baseman Johnny Mize, who had the great nickname of “The Big Cat”, had a 2-run single, and then Jerry Coleman followed with an RBI single. In the bottom of the 9^th the Dodgers tried to come back with back-to-back solo home runs by left fielder Luis Olmo and catcher Roy Campanella, but Brooklyn fell 1 run short.

The Yankees then won Game 4 on October 8 by the score of 6-4. In the top of the 4^th inning Mapes had a 2-run double, and Eddie Lopat followed with an RBI double. In the top of the 5^th Bobby Brown had a 3-run triple. The Dodgers attempted to mount a valiant comeback in the bottom of the 6^th as they strung together 4 consecutive RBI singles by second baseman Jackie Robinson, Luis Olmo, Roy Campanella, and right fielder Gene Hermanski. However, they fell just 2 runs short.

In Game 5 on October 9 the Yankees secured yet another World Series Championship with a 10-6 victory. In the top of the 1^st inning Joe DiMaggio had a sacrifice fly to score Phil Rizzuto, and then Bobby Brown followed with an RBI single. In the top of the 3^rd Jerry Coleman had a 2-run single, and then Vic Raschi followed with an RBI single. In the bottom of the 3^rd Pee Wee Reese had an RBI single. In the top of the 4^th DiMaggio hit a solo home run, and in the top of the 5^th Coleman had an RBI groundout. In the top of the 6^th Yogi Berra had a sacrifice fly to score Rizzuto, and Brown followed with a 2-run triple. In the bottom of the 6^th Hermanski had an RBI single, and the Dodgers continued to battle in the bottom of the 7^th as Robinson had a sacrifice fly to score third baseman John “Spider” Jorgenson, and then Hodges creamed a 3-run home run. However, Brooklyn fell 4 runs short of tying the game.

Joe Page would win the Babe Ruth Award for his great performances in the Fall Classic. The 1949 championship would be the start of 5 consecutive World Series Championship victories for the New York Yankees.