Five Greatest New York Yankees Team Lineups of All Time

It's always a touchy subject in baseball when you mention the New York Yankees. They are single-handedly the most loved and the most hated franchise in baseball history. So I don't expect that all of you will necessarily enjoy this article, but hopefully, true Yankees fans everywhere as well as true fans of the game of baseball and its history will take this with more than a grain of salt and get some pleasure out of its contents.

The "givens" in the equation are 26 World Series championships, 39 World Series appearances, and an array of some of the greatest talent in all of baseball. They've won the series five straight years (1949-53), four straight years (1936-39), most recently three straight (1998-2000) and are the only team in baseball history to accomplish that feat. In addition, they have also won back-to-back titles in 1927-28, 1961-62, and 1977-78. With the 5, 4, and 3 in a row added to the back-to-back performances, these account for 18 of their 26 world titles and with the exception of the 80's, they have won a championship in every decade from the 1920's to the present.

For all intensive purposes, the five teams that I have chosen have probably been mentioned before. So is the suspense killing you yet? Here are my choices --- 1927, 1939, 1953, 1961, and 1998, with the '27 and '98 teams being a toss-up for greatest Yankee teams of all time in my book.

Touted for one of the most lethal batting orders that the game has ever seen, the 1927 Yankees played 154 games that season and won 110 of them for a .714 winning percentage --- an ironic ending number for their winning percentage when you consider the 714 home runs that Babe Ruth hit in his career. Ruth hit his record 60 home runs that year and was part of a devastating lineup that was referred to as "Murderer's Row" --- Ruth (RF), Gehrig (1B), Combs (CF), Koenig (SS), Meusel (LF), and Lazzeri (2B).

Ruth (60), Gehrig (47), and Lazzeri (18) led the team in home runs, but more notably was the total runs batted in. Gehrig (175), Ruth (164), Meusel (103), and Lazzeri (102) accounted for 544 of the 945 total runs the Yanks scored in the '27 season. Worthy of mention here also is the fact that the team batting average was .307 and they outscored their opponents by nearly 400 runs.

They finished 19.0 games ahead of the second place Philadelphia Athletics in the AL standings, but the statement attesting to their greatness that year was sweeping the Pittsburgh Pirates in four straight games during the World Series. This would cap off a season that was marked by the Yanks sheer dominance. Not only did they have a potent batting order, but their pitching staff left nothing to be desired. Waite Hoyt (22-7), Herb Pennock (19-8), and Urban Shocker (18-6) were the key starters accounting for a total of 69 victories against only 21 defeats.

Adding Dutch Ruether (13-6) and George Pipgras (10-3) to the mix accounted for another 23 victories. Oddly enough, Wilcy Moore, a relief pitcher won 19 games, losing only seven, and recorded 13 saves as well. Other than Hoyt, Moore was the winningest pitcher in the entire rotation (along with Pennock) and he had an ERA of 2.28 which was the best on the staff.

In 1939, the country was in its tenth year of the Great Depression, and WWII was right around the corner. There wasn't much to enjoy at the time and baseball was an inexpensive form of entertainment. Gone were the days of Ruth, Gehrig and Murderer's Row. They were replaced with names like Crosetti, Dickey, Keller, and Rolfe. It was a new era and there was a new star that would soon become the focal point of the team --- "Joltin'" Joe DiMaggio.

Lou Gehrig retired during the season having played only eight games and was diagnosed with ALS, the disease that would kill him and later be named after him. July 4^th, 1939 was proclaimed Lou Gehrig Day and his number "4" would be retired making him the first player in history to be granted that honor. It would be the first time since 1923 that the Yankees would appear in the post season without Gehrig.

The Yanks stormed through the regular season winning 106 games and losing only 45 and won their 11^th AL pennant. They finished the season 17.0 games ahead of Boston, and then swept the Cincinnati Reds in the World Series. It was the fourth year in a row that they grabbed baseball's most coveted crown and one more of what would grow to eight World Series' sweeps before the end of the 20^th Century.

The pitching rotation had a new look as well and actually boasted a total of seven starters --- Red Ruffing (21-7), Atley Donald (13-3), Monte Pearson (12-5), Bump Hadley (12-6), and Lefty Gomez (12-8) were the key figures. Oral Hildebrand (10-4) and Marius Russo (8-3) were the other two. Their main reliever was Steve Sundra who won 11 games and lost only one, but waiting in the wings was "Spud" Chandler in his third of 11 seasons with the Yankees. Chandler would go on to become the MVP of the 1943 World Series.

We now move ahead to 1953 when the Yankees had two young phenoms paving the way for them --- one in the outfield (Mickey Mantle) and one on the mound (Whitey Ford). New York finished 8.5 games ahead of the Indians that year at 99-52 and would lay claim to their 20^th AL pennant. Though Mantle was by far the player that received the most attention, he was surrounded by other talent like Bauer, Berra, Martin, and Rizzuto. Of interesting note here is that buried in the roster as a bullpen catcher was a man named Ralph Houk who would later skipper the Yankees for the 1961 season in the aftermath of Stengel's firing.

For the Yankees, the 1953 season was crowned by another World Series title. It was the second subway series in a row against Brooklyn and their fifth appearance in a row, all of which ended in victory for the Pinstripers. This feat is the only one of its kind accomplished by any team prior to or since. With free agency and two playoff series in the post season now, it is difficult to imagine even winning a back-to-back championship.

Their main four man starting rotation consisted of Whitey Ford (18-6), Ed Lopat (16-4), Vic Raschi (13-6), and Jim McDonald (9-7). Notable relievers were Allie Reynolds (13-7) and Johnny Sain (14-7) who combined for a total of 22 of the 32 saves from the bullpen that year. Sain had joined the Yanks in 1951 after six seasons with the Braves and Reynolds would hang up his glove and cleats after the 1954 season.

For the Dodgers, the 1953 World Series would be the third time they faced the Yankees in that five year run with every outcome being the same, namely a loss. They would face each other again in back-to-back seasons (1955-56) with the Dodgers winning in 1955 four games to three, and the Yanks returning the favor in 1956. For the Dodgers, 1955 would be their last hurrah as World Series champs in Brooklyn.

Bring on the 1961 season and my third favorite Yankees squad of the five. It was one of the most exciting years in baseball for me as an 11 year old and removed the horrible memory of that 1960 series when Mazeroski destroyed my beloved Yanks with one swing of his bat. The Yanks finished 8.0 games ahead of the Tigers with a 109-53 record in the first of the newly anointed 162 game season. It would also equate to being their 26^th AL pennant.

It was by far the most exciting home run chase since 1927, only instead of Ruth and Gehrig it would be the "M & M" boys going at it. Mantle and Maris brought full attention to the Yankees that year, even for non-Yankee fans. Maris would break Ruth's 34 year old home run record by hitting his 61^st on the final day of the season, and Mantle would finish with 54. Maris would account for 142 RBI's while Mantle finished with 128.

Some speculate that if Mantle had taken better care of his health during the season and not succumbed to an abscess on his left hip due to a flu shot that he might have challenged Maris and maybe even overtaken him for the lead in the home run race. Regardless, the two of them accounted for nearly 50% of the Yankees team total of 240 home runs that season.

Until 1991, Maris' home run record was tainted by an asterisk courtesy of Ford Frick then commissioner of baseball. Frick did everything in his power to ensure that Ruth's record would stand alone in the record books primarily due to his blatant lack of respect for Maris and his abilities. In 1991, the asterisk was dropped and the home run record was unified into one statistic. Unfortunately, Maris never lived to see that happen as he died six years earlier in December of 1985 at the age of 51. His record of 61 homers in a season lasted 37 years until 1998 when Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa would both break it. Also, Maris is one of only two, two time MVP recipients along with Dale Murphy to not be members of the Hall of Fame.

Though Mantle and Maris received most of the media's attention, they played in one of the better lineups in Yankees history. Howard (C), Skowron (1B), Richardson (2B), Boyer (3B), Kubek (SS), and Berra (LF) all were names to be reckoned with in their own right. Notwithstanding, the Yankees infield composition was one of the all time greatest defenses the game has ever seen. "Kubek to Richardson to Skowron" had replaced "Tinker to Evers to Chance" as the consummate double play combination. Throw in Clete Boyer at the hot corner (3B) and you had a smothering defense that just didn't give other teams a chance when anything was hit on the ground.

The starting rotation was a solid one headed up by 25 game winner Whitey Ford (25-4), Ralph Terry (16-3), Bill Stafford (14-9), Rollie Sheldon (11-5), and Bud Daley (8-9). Their closer, Luis Arroyo would win 15 games, losing only five, and accumulate 29 saves to solidify one of the best bullpens in all of baseball at that time. Ace starter Whitey Ford would be handed the ball for Game 1 of the World Series and would not disappoint the fans as he held Cincinnati to two singles, shutting them out 2-0 to win the opener on their road to victory.

The 1961 World Series was lackluster at best compared to the regular season primarily due to Mantle and Maris, and it was amusing that the two teams in the series would be called "Yanks" and "Reds" seeing as how the Cold War was in full swing. But nonetheless, the Yankees would dominate in the series. When they split the first two games, New York winning the first and Cincy winning the second, some fans thought that the series would go back and forth and prove to be pretty exciting. But it would never happen. The Yankees went on to outscore the Reds 28-7 in Games 3, 4, and 5 dashing the Reds hopes of winning a title for what would have been the first time since 1940.

The 1927 Yankees were considered by many to not only be the greatest Yankee team ever, but also the greatest World Series team. Then there's the other school of thought or who I refer to as the more modern day thinkers. For them, the 1998 team will be the greatest in both categories probably because it happened during their lifetimes. And that is the double bladed sword for me as well. On the one hand there's Murderer's Row with the '27 team, and other the hand there's the '98 team captained by Derek Jeter, the second greatest shortstop in baseball history (Ozzie Smith being the best and all of this being my opinion of course).

What a season 1998 was. The Yankees would set the all time season wins record with 114 losing only 48 games, and would finish 22.0 games ahead of the Red Sox in the AL East. It would equate to their 36^th AL pennant in their 96^th historical season. The Yanks opened with a losing start in the month of April and then all hell broke loose. After losing four of the first five games, they went on an eight game tear, lost one game and then followed it up by winning six in a row. They ended April and started May with another eight game streak, and by the time May was over they had win streaks of 3, 5, and 4 games, bringing their record to 37-13 at the start of June.

June started with a nine game win streak. They bounced back and forth between winning and losing but managed a four game streak near month's end. June 30^th saw the month end with the beginning of a 10 game winning streak and they would end July at 76-27. August would start with a three game streak, a loss, and then another nine game streak. A four game and three game streak would end the month having seen their record improve to 98-37.

September was not an exciting month vacillating between winning and losing until September 22^nd when they would put together a seven game streak to end the season and finish with 114 wins and only 48 losses. They terrorized the Royals and Devil Rays to the tune of 21-1 and had a winning record against every team they faced except the Angels who won the season match up 6-5.

The potent lineup consisted of Posada (C), Martinez (1B), Knoblauch (2B), Brosius (3B), Jeter (SS), Curtis (LF), Williams (CF), O'Neill (RF), and Strawberry (DH). In what has become known by Yankees fans as the year of the "pinstriped homer", the team had a total of 270 round-trippers besting their record from 1961 and scored a total of 956 runs erasing the 1927 mark of 945. The pitching staff wasn't half bad either with Cone (20-7), Wells (18-4), Pettitte (16-11), Irabu (13-9), and Hernandez (12-4). They would carry these credentials into the playoffs sweeping Texas in the ALDS 3-0 and defeating Cleveland in the ALCS 4-2 on their way to the World Series.

The World Series proved to be an interesting match up against San Diego's Padres, but the season that Padre Fans had enjoyed for the first time since 1984 would end just as miserably. The Padres proved to be no more of a match for New York than a minor league last place team losing four straight. For the Yankees, it would be their 24^th world title and their eighth World Series sweep.

So there you have it. As always, you can e-mail me at no1nyyfan55@yahoo.com with any comments or questions you might have regarding the topic. And I will be sure and respond as quickly as I can.

Sources:

Baseball Almanac http://baseball-almanac.com

Baseball Library http://www.baseballlibrary.com

Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.com