Lefty Gomez- Fast Pitcher with a Quick Wit

Lefty Gomez never took himself too seriously, but American League batters sure did. In fourteen seasons, Lefty Gomez won twenty games four times and the pitcher's Triple Crown for most wins, strikeouts, and lowest earned run average twice went to Gomez. Of Mexican descent, Lefty Gomez was known for his quick wit and quirky ways, and he played with the likes of Ruth, Gehrig, and DiMaggio, entertaining them all. But make no mistake. Lefty Gomez was as accomplished a pitcher as the game knew, with a fastball that was surpassed by only a handful during his time in the game.

Vernon Louis "Lefty" Gomez was born in Rodeo, California in 1908. By the age of 21 he was pitching for the Yankees, who purchased his contract from the Pacific Coast League, but the slightly built left-hander went just 2-5 in fifteen appearances that year, 1930. New York's general manager, Ed Barrow, suggested strongly that Gomez gain some weight, and after he put on twenty pounds in the off-season there was a marked change in his results. In 1931, Gomez vaulted to a 21-9 mark, with a 2.67 earned run average. The next year Lefty was even better, posting a standard of 24-7. He received ample runs to work with that year, as evidenced by his ERA, which was over four runs per game. In the World Series against the Cubs, Gomez won his start, allowing just one run in a complete game effort as the Yanks swept.
There was no situation that was too critical or serious as to cause Gomez not to make light of it. Once, in the midst of a Series game, Gomez held the tilt up while on the mound to watch an airplane flying overhead. His manager, Joe McCarthy, laid into him when he came back into the dugout, wondering out loud if Lefty was trying to lose the game. Gomez countered that "he never heard of a pitcher losing while he held onto the ball". When a despondent Lou Gehrig finally took himself out of the lineup after his record 2,130 games played in a row, Gomez tried to cheer him up by saying "Hell, Lou it took fifteen years to get you out of a game. Sometimes I'm out in fifteen minutes."
The Yankees didn't lose when Gomez threw the ball a whole lot either. After a mundane 16-10 record in 1933, Gomez responded with his best season, a sparkling 26-5 effort in '34. He won the pitcher's Triple Crown, with a 2.33 ERA and 158 strikeouts. Gomez always deflected praise with self deprecating humor, saying things such as "I want to thank all my teammates who scored so many runs and Joe DiMaggio, who ran down so many of my mistakes" and "The secret of my success was clean living and a fast outfield." Gomez slumped somewhat in 1935 and '36, going a combined 25-22, but once again took all the pitching honors in '37 when he was 21-11 with a 2.33 ERA. He combined with right-handed Red Ruffing to form a deadly one-two punch at the top of the Yankee rotation.
Later in his career Gomez would encounter arm trouble, but he made an adjustment from power pitcher to finesse pitcher, developing a slow curveball. From 1936 through 1939, Lefty Gomez made six Fall Classic starts, winning five of them without a loss. His 6-0 record in the World Series is the best undefeated mark on baseball's biggest stage. He also started five All-Star Games, picking up three wins in those Midsummer Classics as well. In the 1936 World Series, Gomez won his starts by 18-4 and 13-5 scores, and he "complained" to the press about a lack of run support. A horrible hitter, Gomez would occasionally get lucky. "They throw, I swing. Every once in a while they're throwing where I'm swinging and I get a hit." Babe Ruth once bet him $500 he wouldn't get ten hits for the year. After he got four somehow in one game, he went into what he called "a 42 game hitting slump".
A 15-5 record in 1941 was his last fine season, and after a brief stint with the Senators, Lefty Gomez retired from baseball with a lifetime record of 189-102, pitching to a 2.33 earned run average for his over 2,500 innings on the mound. He was actually drafted into the military at the age of 36 in 1944, and when he returned from the service Gomez went to work for the Wilson Sporting Goods Company. Lefty was highly coveted on the dinner speaking circuit. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1972 by the Veteran's Committee, and had a plaque placed in Yankee Stadium's Monument Park in his honor in 1987. Gomez passed away two years later at the age of 80 in Greenbrae, California.
As Lefty Gomez was beginning to lose something off of his fastball late in his pitching career, Joe McCarthy came up to him and told him that he was no longer throwing as hard as in previous years gone by. Gomez told the Yankee skipper that he was wrong. "I'm throwing as hard as I ever did", Lefty deadpanned. "But the ball is just not getting there as fast."