Yankees History

April 30, 1937 at Griffith Stadium

Senators 4, Yankees 1  (5-2)

The Yankees five gave winning streak came to end in a game that saw only five Yankee hits.  George Selkirk drove home Lou Gehrig in the sixth inning for the team’s only run of the game and Gehrig finished the game with two hits.

Kemp Wicker was hit hard early and he took the loss.  He gave up all four runs in the first two innings to dig a hole that the Yankees couldn’t climb out of.

April 29, 1937 at Griffith Stadium

Yankees 4, Senators 2  (5-1)

The Yankees doubled up the Senators today and the offense was primarily provided by Red Rolfe and Roy Johnson.  Rolfe finished the game with two hits, two RBIs and a run while Johnson had a single hit and two RBIs.  George Selkirk also had a nice game and he led all Yankees with three hits.

Monte Pearson went the distance and he picked up the win for the Yankees.  He gave up two runs on six hits and four walks with seven strikeouts in the win.

April 28, 1937 at Griffith Stadium

Yanees 6, Senators 1  (4-1)

Lefty Gomez threw a gem today for the Yankees as he picked up his first win of the season.  He gave up just a single run on five hits and four walks with four strikeouts.

It was a complete team effort for the Yankees as all six runs were driven in by different players and only Red Rolfe finished the game with two hits.  Tony Lazzeri continued his hot hitting and he was once of the players with an RBI.

April 26, 1937 at Yankee Stadium

Yankees 7, Athletics 1  (3-1)

The Yankees made it three straight wins with some more good hitting.  Tony Lazzeri remained hot and he had three hits and two RBIs while Lou Gehrig joined him with the same stat line.  Gehrig also scored two times in the game.

Johnny Broaca threw a nice game for the Yankees and he went the distance for the win.  He gave up a single run on six hits and he also benefited from a triple play in the eighth inning.

April 25, 1937 at Fenway Park

Yankees 9, Red Sox 3  (2-1)

The Yankees ran up the score today against the Red Sox.  Roy Johnson had a big day at the plate with three hits and two RBIs while Tony Lazerri had two hits and two RBIs.  George Selkirk also had a nice game with two hits and two runs.

Bump Hadley got the start but he didn’t get a decision when he ran into trouble in the fifth inning.  Pat Malone picked him up and threw 4 1/3 innings to pick up the win.

April 24, 1937 at Fenway Park

Yankees 6, Red Sox 5  (1-1)

It took ten innings but the Yankees won their first game of the season against the Red Sox.  Tony Lazerri and Myril Hoag led the way on offense for the Yankees.  Lazerri had two hits and he scored three times while Hoag had two hits, a run and an RBI.

Monte Pearson threw a solid game and he lasted 7 2/3 innings before handing the ball to Murphy out of the pen.  Johnny Murphy put a scare into Yankees’ fans by getting into trouble in the bottom of the ninth but he buckled down and picked up the win.

April 20, 1937 at Yankee Stadium

Senators 3, Yankees 2  (0-1)

The Yankees began their defense of the baseball world championship on a less then solid note as they could never get their bats going in a loss to the Senators.  Lou Gehrig had a nice day at the plate with three hits and an RBI while the Yankees other run was driven in by Bill Dickey.

Lefty Gomez had a solid start but it wasn’t good enough for the win.  He gave up three runs on ten hits and three walks in the loss.

In a lot of ways, 1937 was Lou Gehrig’s last hurrah.  1938 would be one of his worst seasons (although it was still very good by most standards) and of course 1939 was the season we saw Gehrig’s career cut short.   Man, did he come out in 1937 though.

While a lot was made about DiMaggio’s breakout season in 1937 in which he finished second for the MVP, it was actually Gehrig that led the team in OPS (1.116) and who finished fourth, providing one of the best one/two punches since, well, Ruth and Gehrig.  He finished second in hitting (.351), first in OBP (.473), first in OPS, third in runs (138), third in homeruns (37), first in walks (127) and third in RBIs (159).  Not too shabby for the Iron Horse.

Gehrig also got it done in the post season.  He hit an impressive .294/.455/.647 clip in the World Series with four runs and three RBIs.

Here are Gehrig’s numbers in 1937:

Games 157
AB 569
Runs 138
Hits 200
Doubles 37
Triples 9
Homeruns 37
RBIs 159
Walks 127
Strikeouts 49
Stolen Bases 4
Caught Stealing 3
BA .351
OBA .473
SLG% .643
OPS 1.116
RC 185
RCAA 100
RCAP 79
RC/G 12.93
ISO .292

If Joe DiMaggio’s rookie season in 1936 was a good one, his second season in 1937 was even better.  DiMaggio developed his power stroke in 1937 and he set a career high and led the American League with 46 homeruns.  For the second straight year, DiMaggio finished in double figured in doubles (35), triples (15), and homeruns.  He led the league in runs (151 – career high) and he was second in RBIs (167 – also a career high).

Almost as impressive was the fact that DiMaggio walked 64 times versus only 37 strikeouts.  That would be the first of twelve consecutive seasons he’d walk more then he struck out.  This resulted in a .412 OBP.  DiMaggio’s .346 batting average was sixth in the league while his .673 slugging led the league.  All this put at second place for the Most Valuable Player, and in my opinion, he got jobbed.  The mechanical man, Charlie Gehringer, edged DiMaggio by a mere four points.

DiMaggio was the man, and 1937 might have been his best season ever and it’s not too bad for a 21 year old.  Here’s a look at DiMaggio’s 1937 numbers.

Games 151
AB 621
Runs 151
Hits 215
Doubles 35
Triples 15
Homeruns 46
RBIs 167
Walks 64
Strikeouts 37
Stolen Bases 3
Caught Stealing 0
BA .346
OBA .412
SLG% .673
OPS 1.085
RC 178
RCAA 85
RCAP 80
RC/G 11.34
ISO .327