The newsletter spends several months examining the greatness of the past. It focuses on 50 baseball clubs in history (collectively the best 50), which is determined by my new book The best team in baseball. We were ranked seventh on the 1927 New York Yankees’ all-time roster.
Here is a quick boilerplate note attached to each story I have in this series:
I compiled the best 50 by analyzing 2,544 major league teams from 1903 to 2024. (The historical percentile for a given club is the percentage of its other 2,543 teams.)
Please refer to my book to explain my TS calculations. The book also offers a separate breakdown of the best and worst clubs every decade, along with a comprehensive overview of the best 50 (including a position-by-position lineup and more information than you will find in this newsletter), and a similar summary of the 10 worst teams of all time.
Now enter today’s profile.
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Team: 1927 New York Yankees Team
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Team score: 91.389 points
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Ranking History: 7 of 2,544
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Historical percentile: 99.76%
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Seasonal record: 110-44 (.714)
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Season position: No. 1 in the American League
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Final identity: World Champion
The Yankees have become the outstanding team in the American League in 1927 (a champion of four of the last six pennants), but their playoff record is not strong. Three of their four World Series ended in a defeat, including a showdown with the St. Louis Cardinals the previous year.
Critics have found several weaknesses. “Of course, a team has only one reliable pitcher, no reliable shortstop, [and] An inexperienced youth cannot be rated as dangerous at second base. ” Sports News Columnist John Sheridan dismissed in late 1926.
However, the Yankees chose Pat in 1927, starting the same eight-position player and relying on the same three main shots spin.
Everything clicked. Baby Ruth and Lou Gehrig Combined as 107 home runs and pitchers Waite Hoyt and Wilsey Moore Lead AL Victory (22) and ERA (2.28) respectively. The Yankees took a 10-game lead by the end of June and then entered their fifth No since 1921.
Get a complete low in 50 greatest (and 10 weakest) clubs of all time
The recent playoff failures – especially their heartbreaking Game 7 of 1926 – covered the Yankees’ 1927 World Series. They expect another tough battle. Their opponent, Pirates, won the world championship two years ago, and both clubs seem to match it. Their collective batting averages in 1927 were actually the same: .307 in New York, .305 in Pittsburgh.
The first and final game of the series is determined by a run, with the other two games being right until later. But history will remember a core fact-the Yankees swept the Pirates.
Victory incites New York manager Miller Huggins Call his team the dominant force in baseball. “Some fans said we were tired of home in the American League because we didn’t object,” he said. “But I’m sure we could have won the championship in the National League.”
The 1927 Yanks stood out among the greatest clubs of all time, although I ranked six teams ahead.
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Judge Joethe senior first baseman of the Washington Nationals was in awe of the Yankees’ batting orders in 1927. “Those guys not only beat you,” the judge said, “but they tear your heart apart.”
The most destructive force of the lineup is the right outfielder Babe Ruth, who set a single-season record of 59 home runs in 1921. Ruth has been targeting 60 points since then, which is what he achieved in his penultimate game in 1927. “Will I break this again?” he shouted happily. “I don’t know, I don’t care.”
First baseman Lou Gehrig stays in sync with Ruth. As of Labor Day, everyone had 44 home runs, although Gehrig trailed the final 47. He did lead the American League with 173 runs.
Two little-known batsmen also hit triple digits in RBI. Left fielder Bob Meusel (103) is the polar opposite of the fanatical Ruth who earned the nickname of Silent Bob. Second baseman Tony Lazzeri (102) Suffering from epilepsy. “There has never been a time when I haven’t looked at Lazzeri with the greatest worries about him having a seizure on the court,” said Yankees General Manager Ed Barrow. “He never did.”
The mound staff in New York are very in-depth. Four pitchers won at least 18 games, with an average running average of 3.00 or higher per game.
