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 reached No. 31 on the 1937 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: 1937 New York Yankees Team
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Team Score: 86.498
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Ranking History: 31 of 2,544
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Historical percentile: 98.82%
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Seasonal record: 102-52 (.662)
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Season position: No. 1 in the American League
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Final identity: World Champion
The 1937 Yankee version appears to be a carbon copy of the 1936 model. Both clubs won 102 games, scoring more goals than any other American League team and finished first in May.
But there are two profound differences. Joe Dimaggio and Left-handed Gomez Appeared in 1937 as a catalytic player. Dimaggio improves his Basic Value From 1936 to 185, Gomez soared to 37 to 199.
Dimaggio spent most of his rookie season in Left Field and is now the center of roaming. He hit .346 and showed dazzling tricks with his gloves and right arm. “He does things you’ve never seen before day after day.” Bill Dickya nine-year veteran.
Gomez has only 13 victories in 36 years, with his record of 21-11. He won the treble to pitch.
The Yankees locked in Al Tennant with a hot summer. From early June to the end of August, they scored 57-25 in 82 games.
Get a complete low in 50 greatest (and 10 weakest) clubs of all time
The Yankees repeated the 1936 American League color flag in 1937, and the Giants did the same in the National League. They laid the foundation for another meaningful world contest.
The Giants improved the regular season record with three wins, which performed better in the 37 Series. They did do worse. The Yankees annihilated their osstown rivals with 8-1 scores in Game 1 and 2. Lefty Gomez threw a full game and drove home to win the championship in Game 5.
Giant Manager Bill Terry Recognize the obvious advantages of Yankees. “They beat us like they beat all the clubs in their league,” he said.
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The Yankees adjusted their roster in a smaller way in 1937. Jack Powell For most of 1936, patrolled on the left and midfield respectively. They flipped in the new season. A broken collarbone retains the right fielder George Selkirk Stayed on the sidelines for two and a half months. Research Myril Hoag Hit .301.
Dimaggio is about to win the Triple Crown in his second year in his major. He ranked in the American League with 46 home runs, second in (167) and third in batting averages (.346). Lou GehrigIt’s the first baseman, Dimaggio’s first baseman at .351, although he’s slightly behind in the rest of the categories (37 home runs, 158 RBIs).
Another New York player did win another triple-champ in 1937. Left-handed Gomez leads all American League pitchers (21), runs on average (2.33) and strikeouts (194). Gomez was unshakable and never at all at a loss. When a sick Lou Gehrig substituted his consecutive winning streak in 1939, his teammates would be speechless. Only Gomez spoke. “Hell, Lou, it took 15 years to get you out of the roster,” he said. “Sometimes I’ll go out in 15 minutes.” Everyone laughed, including Gehrig.
manager Joe McCarthy It took three years of decoration Johnny Murphy Beginning as a field, Murphy lacks the necessary durability. McCarthy started using him almost entirely as a reliefist in 1937, a move that brought dividends. Bullpen Ace won 13 games and saved 10 games. “We would never have finished first without Murphy,” McCarthy said. Gomez responded skillfully to this sentiment, attributeing his success to “clean life, fast outfield and Johnny Murphy.”
