August 23, 2026
August 23, 2026
1927 New York Yankees: Murderer’s Row
It can be argued that no other championship-winning team in Major League Baseball history has come close to making the type of impact the 1927 New York Yankees made when they did their damage on the baseball diamond, striking fear into opponents with the way they mashed the baseball on offense. Owner Jacob Ruppert and general manager Ed Barrow are mostly credited for the construction of a team that was nearly unbeatable during the 1920s and throughout the 1930s.
There was actually a “Murderer’s Row” lineup that preceded the 1927 group, which played for the 1918 New York Yankees. As for the 1927 club, they were by far some of the best talent to ever step foot on a baseball diamond, as four of these six men are enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Center fielder Earle Combs, shortstop Mark Koenig, right fielder George Herman “Babe” Ruth, first baseman Lou Gehrig, left fielder Bob Meusel, and second baseman Tony Lazzeri were the ones who relentlessly pounded the baseball like there was no tomorrow.
The 1927 New York Yankees went 110-44, easily winning the American League pennant by 19 games over the Philadelphia Athletics. The Yankees went 14-8-1 against the Athletics in head-to-head play, 57-19 at home, and 53-25 on the road. The club was consistently great month after month, going 9-5 in April, 19-9 in May, 21-6 in June, 24-7 in July, 16-10 in August, and 20-7 in September. The most telling statistic of all is how impressive the Yankees were in blowout games, where the winning team had a margin of five or more runs — New York went 43-8 in such contests.
Lou Gehrig batted .373 with 47 home runs and 173 RBIs off 218 hits, 52 doubles, 18 triples, and 10 stolen bases. Babe Ruth batted .356 with an astonishing 60 home runs and 165 RBIs off 192 hits, 29 doubles, 8 triples, and 7 stolen bases. Ruth separated himself from the other sluggers as the American League home run champion, while Gehrig became the American League RBI champion. Though Ruth’s 60 home runs were unprecedented and warranted consideration for the American League Most Valuable Player award, a rule at the time barred repeat winners — Ruth had already won it in 1926 — so Gehrig took home the honor in 1927.
Earle Combs batted .356 with 64 RBIs, 231 hits, 36 doubles, 23 triples, and 15 stolen bases. His 23 triples led the American League and set a Yankees franchise record. Bob Meusel batted .337 with 103 RBIs, 174 hits, 47 doubles, 9 triples, and 24 stolen bases. Tony Lazzeri batted .309 with 18 home runs and 102 RBIs off 176 hits, 29 doubles, 8 triples, and 22 stolen bases. Shortstop Mark Koenig batted .285 with 62 RBIs, 150 hits, 20 doubles, and 11 triples. Catcher Pat Collins batted .275 with 69 hits and 9 doubles in 92 games, and third baseman Joe Dugan collected 104 hits and 24 doubles in 112 games.
Though New York’s offense received most of the attention, the pitching staff was never to be overlooked, doing its part in securing plenty of amazing victories. Starting pitcher Waite Hoyt went 22-7 with 86 strikeouts and a 2.63 ERA, recording 23 complete games, 3 shutouts, and 1 save. Herb Pennock went 19-8 with a 3.00 ERA, recording 18 complete games, 1 shutout, and 3 saves. Urban Shocker went 18-6 with a 2.84 ERA, recording 13 complete games and 2 shutouts. Walter Henry “Dutch” Ruether went 13-6 with a 3.38 ERA, recording 12 complete games and 3 shutouts. George Pipgras went 10-3 with 81 strikeouts, recording 9 complete games and 1 shutout.
Closer Wilcy Moore went 19-7 with 13 saves and a 2.28 ERA, recording 6 complete games and 1 shutout in the 12 games he started. Relief pitcher Myles Thomas went 7-4 with 1 save and 1 complete game, and Bob Shawkey recorded 2 saves and a 2.89 ERA despite going 2-3.
The 1927 regular season followed a familiar pattern for Yankees opponents: their spirits were crushed in blowout defeats. Some of the more notable blowout victories include a 14-2 win over the Boston Red Sox on April 17 and an 11-4 win over the Red Sox at Fenway Park on June 23. The Yankees then destroyed the Washington Senators in a doubleheader on July 4, pounding them 12-1 in the first game and 20-1 in the second. Following the second game, Senators first baseman Joe Judge was prompted to say, “Those fellows not only beat you but they tear your heart out. I wish the season was over.”
The Yankees were far from done pounding opponents. On July 9 at Detroit’s Navin Field, they crushed the Detroit Tigers 19-7 in the first game of a doubleheader. On July 26 the Yankees humbled the St. Louis Browns in a doubleheader, demolishing them 15-1 in the first game and 12-3 in the second. On August 31 the Yankees pounded the Red Sox again by a score of 10-3, and on September 12 they shredded the Philadelphia Athletics at Shibe Park 12-2. On September 6 the Yankees pounded the Red Sox yet again at Fenway Park, 14-2, and then shut down the Senators once more on September 29 by a score of 15-4.
Knowing how powerful the club in pinstripes was, it came as no surprise that the Yankees swept the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1927 World Series four games to none.
In Game 1 on October 5 at Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field, the Yankees won 5-4. In the top of the 1st inning, Lou Gehrig had an RBI triple, and in the bottom of the 1st, shortstop Glenn Wright tied the game with a sacrifice fly. In the top of the 3rd, Bob Meusel drew a bases-loaded walk to score Mark Koenig, Tony Lazzeri grounded into a forceout at second base to score Babe Ruth, and Gehrig scored on a catching error committed during a baserunner’s advance. In the bottom of the 3rd, right fielder Paul Waner had an RBI single. In the top of the 5th, Gehrig had a sacrifice fly, and in the bottom of the 5th, left fielder Clyde Barnhart had an RBI single. In the bottom of the 8th, first baseman Joe Harris had an RBI single, but the Pirates fell one run short.
In Game 2 on October 6, the Yankees won 6-2. In the bottom of the 1st inning, Barnhart had a sacrifice fly, but the Yankees swiftly took over. In the top of the 3rd, Koenig had an RBI single, and then Ruth and Lazzeri both had sacrifice flies. In the top of the 8th, a wild pitch scored Meusel, and Earle Combs got hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to score Joe Dugan. Koenig topped things off with an RBI single, and though Waner had a sacrifice fly for Pittsburgh in the bottom of the 8th, it wasn’t nearly enough.
In Game 3 on October 7 at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees squashed the Pirates 8-1. Herb Pennock pitched a complete game, giving up 3 hits and 1 run while recording 1 strikeout. In the bottom of the 1st inning, Gehrig had a 2-run triple, and scoring didn’t resume until the bottom of the 7th, when Pennock himself grounded into a fielder’s choice at second base to score Lazzeri. Combs followed with an RBI single, Koenig had an RBI double, and then came the Bambino, swatting a 3-run home run. Ruth’s shot stunned the Pirates so much that only Barnhart could muster an RBI double in the top of the 8th.
Game 4 on October 8 wasn’t a convincing blowout victory for the Yankees, as the Pirates made it very interesting. In the top of the 1st inning, Glenn Wright had an RBI single, and Ruth responded with an RBI single of his own in the bottom of the 1st. Ruth came back in the bottom of the 5th to swat a 2-run home run. Pittsburgh wouldn’t go away quietly, though — in the top of the 7th, Clyde Barnhart had an RBI single and Paul Waner had a sacrifice fly. With the game tied 3-3 going into the bottom of the 9th, fans wondered who on the Yankees would step up to deliver the game-winning hit. It turned out that only a wild pitch was needed to bring home Earle Combs with the winning run.
The 1927 New York Yankees remain one of the best and most highly regarded World Series champions in baseball history. Having iconic players such as the Bambino (Babe Ruth), the Iron Horse (Lou Gehrig), the Kentucky Colonel (Earle Combs), “Long” Bob Meusel, “Push ‘Em Up” Tony Lazzeri, and Mark Koenig — who had no nickname — certainly helps make such a case.
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