New York Yankees - The World War II Era (1940-1949)

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1940

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Championships

Top New York Players of the Forties

1941 - World Champs (Beat Dodgers)

1942 - American League Champs (Lost to Cardinals)

Pitchers:

1943 - World Champs (Beat Cardinals)

Spud Chandler (18.87) - 58

1947 - World Champs (Beat Dodgers)

Tiny Bonham (19.38) - 45

1949 - World Champs (Beat Dodgers)

Joe Page (7.59) - 37

Hank Borowy (9.39) - 36

BallPark:

Allie Reynolds (6.56) - 34

Yankee Stadium

Red Ruffing (8.52) - 32

Bill Bevens (6.44) - 28

Team Name:

Vic Raschi (5.71) - 28

Yankees

Atley Donald (3.46) - 21

Marius Russo (5.14) - 19

Owner:

Johnny Murphy (4.49) - 19

Jake Ruppert Estate (1940 - 1944)

Ed Lopat (4.75) - 18

Larry MacPhail, Del Webb & Dan Topping (1945-1949)

Monk Dubiel (1) - 17

Spec Shea (3.7) - 14

General Managers:

Marv Breuer (1.23) - 11

Ed Barrow (1940-1945) President & General Manager

Tommy Byrne (2.95) - 9

George Weiss (1946-1949) General Manager

Lefty Gomez (0.18) - 9

Ed Barrow (1945-1946) Chairman of the Board

Jim Turner (0.53) - 3

Larry MacPhail (1945-1947) President

Bobo Newsom (2.1) - 2

Dan Topping (1948-1949) President

Catchers:

Managers:

Bill Dickey (10.04) - 23

Joe McCarthy (1940-1946)

Yogi Berra (6.76) - 23

Bill Dickey (1946)

Aaron Robinson (7.28) - 15

Johnny Neun (1946)

Bucky Harris (1947-1948)

First Basemen:

Casey Stengel (1949)

Nick Etten (11.96) - 24

George McQuinn (5.02) - 18

Hall of Famers:

Red Ruffing

Second Basemen:

Lefty Gomez

Joe Gordon (28.02) - 62

Bill Dickey

Snuffy Stirnweiss (27.7) - 59

Yogi Berra

Jerry Coleman (2.43) - 8

Joe DiMaggio

Jerry Priddy (1,53) - 2

Joe Gordon

Phil Rizzuto

ShortStop:

Phil Rizzuto (20.63) - 67

Rookie of the Year:

Frank Crosetti (4.85) - 21

None

Third Base:

MVP:

Billy Johnson (9.39) - 29

Joe DiMaggio (1941)

Oscar Grimes (5.41) - 14

Joe Gordon (1942)

Bobby Brown (4.08) - 13

Spud Chandler (1943)

Joe DiMaggio (1947)

Outfield:

Joe DiMaggio (43.59) - 102

No Hitters:

Charlie Keller (37.28) - 68

None

Tommy Henrich (27.46) - 62

Johnny Lindell (13) - 39

Notable Events:

Hershell Martin (4.65) - 15

Bud Metheny (0.33) - 10

1940 - The Yankees come into the decade riding a four World Championship

Hank Bauer (0.56) - 6

streak. After a down year in 1940, the inherent talent of the squad bubbles back

Gene Woodling (1.27) - 2

up to the top in '41 and the Yankees win three more pennants and two world titles

giving them seven pennants and six world titles in eight years ==> dynasty.

Notable Events:

The 1940 roster contains high callibre, mostly young talent:

□ HOF catcher Bill Dickey, 33

1945 - GM Larry MacPhail, Del Webb and Dan Topping buy the club from

□ HOF 2B Joe Gordon, 25

the Ruppert estate. They have two brilliant baseball men to head up the

□ SS Frank Crosetti, 29

operation, George Weiss as General Manager (promoted from farm Director),

□ 3B Red Rolfe, 31

and MacPhail's son Lee as Director of Farm Operations and Scouting.

□ OF Charlie Kellier, 23

Ed Barrow is promoted to Chairman of the Board, however he's part of the

□ HOF OF Joe DiMaggio, 25

old guard and not really part of the active management team any longer.

□ OF Tommy Henrich, 27

Barrow resigns a year later.

□ Righthander Red Ruffing, 35

□ Righthander Tiny Bonham, 26 - rookie up from Kansas City in 1940

1946 - HOF catcher Yogi Berra. 21. is a rookie up from Newark.

He had spent the previous two years in the military.

1940 - the yankees go from 967 runs scored down to 817 and go up from

556 runs given up to 671. That's a run a game in each direction -- and they

1946 - After three seasons in the military, righty Vic Raschi, 27,

still finished third!

comes up as a rookie from Newark.

The big culprits for the decline were Lefty Gomez, missing the season

due to injury, and lesser dropoffs by several others on the staff and

1946 - The first night game is played at Yankee Stadium

a huge decline by catcher Bill Dickey who was thirty three and

by shortstop Frank Crosetti who got old at age twenty nine.

1946 - New York finishes third. They're a little short on starting pitching.

1941 - outfielder Johnny Lindell, 24, is a rookie out of Newark

1947 - The Yanks get righty Allie Reynolds, 30, from Cleveland for Joe Gordon

1941 - The Yanks bounce back to win the pennant, altho' their runs scored

1947 - New York obtains catcher Sherman Lollar, 22, from Cleveland

and against 830-631 resemble third place 1940 totals a lot more than

in a trade. Lollar would be dealt to the Browns two years later rather

championship 1939 totals.

than having an all-star callibre talent riding the pines behind Yogi Berra

Phil Rizzuto, 23, is a rookie up from Newark replacing Crosetti at shortstop

Phil hits .307 as opposed to Crosetti's .194 in 1940, Another major factor in the

1947 - Despite losing Bill Bevens' no hitter (and the game) with two

improvement from 1940 is that Lefty Gomez returns from injury and goes 15-5

outs in the bottom of the ninth of game four and Al Gionfriddo robbing

Joe DiMaggio of a game winning hit in game six, the Yanks beat the

1941 - Joe DiMaggio hits safely in 56 consecutive games

Dodgers to win the world series.

1941 - Lou Gehrig dies

1947 - Larry MacPhail, a brilliant baseball man, but a loose cannon,

drunkenly fights with every one in sight at the Yankees World Series

1941 - Mickey Owen's passed ball leads to the Yankees beating the

Championship celebration that night. He's bought out of his share of the

Dodgers in the World Series

club by Del Webb and Dan Topping the following day.

1942 - Righthander Hank Borowy, 26, is a rookie up from Newark. He is a

1948 - Casey Stengel replaces Bucky Harris as Manager.

late comer to pro ball as he graduated from Fordham University first.

People thought GM George Weiss was nuts for hiring Stengel who

was percievied as a losing manager and a clown. Give Weiss all the

1943 - second baseman Snuffy Stirnweiss, 24, is a rookie out of Newark

credit in the world on this one. Stengel was a true baseball genius / savant.

During the Yankees' incredible run of championships in the Fifties,

1943 - The Yankees win their seventh pennant and sixth world series in an

the club usually barely eked out the titles, never bludgeoned the rest of

eight year stretch beating the Cards (who they lost to in '42).

the league, and never looked better than their main opposition on paper.

New York is carried by some good pitching throughout the season as

Stengel's machinations made the difference every season.

Spud Chandler (20-4), Tiny Bonham (15-8), Hank Borowy (14-9) and

Johnny Murphy (12-4) carry the load.

1948 - The Yanks steal righty Ed Lopat, 30, from Chicago

The everyday lineup stilll features a number of legitimate big leaguers in

for catcher Aaron Robinson

catcher Bill Dickey, 2B Joe Gordon, shortstop Frank Crosetti, outfielders

Charlie Keller and Johnny Lindell and infielders Snuffy Stirnweiss and

1948 -Outfielder Hank Bauer, 26, is a rookie up from Kansas City.

Billy Johnson as more players go to war.

He was never happy being a platoon player under Stengel.

I'll go with Casey's perspective on this one, Bauer was wrong.

1944 - righty reliever Joe Page, 26, is a rookie from Newark

1948 - First baseman Joe Collins, 26, is a rookie.

1944/45 - The Yanks fall back due to attrition from the war.

Casey had his reasons for keeping Collins around for years.

They are still a first division club, but not a contender.

Joe was a platoon first baseman whose hitting more resembled someone

who should have been on the lowly Browns, A's or Senators during

1945 - Ace righty Hank Borowy is inexplicably dealt to the Cubs in mid season.

those years. Collins was a slick fielder, tho', and I won't argue with

Casey who apparently felt that was important.

1948 - Babe Ruth dies

1949 - The Yankes purchase outfielder Gene Woodling, 26, from

San Francisco of the PCL.

Gene had knocked around with the Pirates and Cleveland earlier.

Woodling was a flat out professional hitter, but was doomed, in his eyes,

to be a platoon outfielder with Hank Bauer in New York.

1949 - The Yanks come back from a 12 game deficit to beat the

Red Sox on the final day of the season for the pennant