Murderer's Row

From SoSH

Contents 1 Overview 2 Season Statistics 3 Murderer's Row by Position and Batting Order 3.1 Fielding Positions 3.2 Line-up 4 Famous Quotes 5 External Links

Overview

The 1927 New York Yankees earned the nickname Murderer's Row because of their incredible line up that year. In 1927 the Yankees led the league in almost every major hitting statistic and is often considered one of the best, if not the best team of all-time. The Yankees, managed by Miller Huggins, ended the year 110-44 a winning percentage of .714. At that time, only the 1906 Chicago Cubs had won more games in a season than the Yankees had. The Yankees finished the regular season 19 games ahead of the second place Philadelphia Athletics. In the World Series, the Yankees capped off their season with a sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates in four games.

Season Statistics

The 1927 New York Yankees led the league in nearly every offensive category that season. The team led the American League in runs scored, hits, triples, home runs, RBI’s, bases on balls, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging average, and OPS. The Yankees scored 975 runs and hit 158 home runs. Both of those totals were more than 100 more than the next team. The closest team was the second place Philadelphia Athletics with only 56 HR's. Furthermore, the Yankees were second in the league in AB’s to the Washington Senators and second only to the Cleveland Indians in doubles.

This was also the year that Babe Ruth set a long standing Major League record with 60 home runs. Sixty home runs was more than every other team in the American League. To go along with his home runs, Ruth also lead the Major Leagues in OBP (.486), SLG (.771), OPS (1.258), runs (158), HR’s, walks (137), K’s (89), and was second to Gehrig in total bases and RBI’s. Ruth had 417 total bases and 164 RBI’s. Despite Ruth’s great season, Lou Gehrig, who batted behind Ruth and made $62,000 less, won the MVP. Gehrig led the American League with 447 total bases, 52 doubles, and 175 RBI’s. He also ranked second in SLG (.765), OPS (1.240), runs (149), hits (218), triples (18), home runs (47), walks (109), and K’s (84). Aside from Ruth and Gehrig, Earle Combs also had a great year. The Yankee lead off hitter led the AL in at-bats with 648, hits with 231, singles with 166, and triples with 23. He also ranked third in the American League in runs with 137 and total bases with 331.

Other than Ruth and Gehrig, no other player in the American League hit as many as twenty home runs. The closest to Ruth and Gehrig's totals in the National League was Cy Williams and Hack Wilson, who hit 30 each.

Murderer's Row by Position and Batting Order

Fielding Positions

Line-up

1. Earle Combs
2. Mark Koenig
3. Babe Ruth
4. Lou Gehrig
5. Bob Meusel
6. Tony Lazzeri
7. Joe Dugan
8. Pat Collins/John Grabowski

Famous Quotes

• "The 1927 Pittsburgh Pirates were an outstanding team as the presence of Pie Traynor, Paul and Lloyd Waner and Glenn Wright would indicate. The Pirates were talented enough, in fact, to win the National League pennant, finishing 1 1/2 games ahead of the defending World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals and two in front of the New York Giants. There was one major problem confronting manager Donie Bush's Pirates, though, as they prepared for the World Series. Their postseason opponent would be a truly great team -- quite possibly the best club in the history of the sport." -- The Sporting News

• "The '27 Yankees were an exceptional team because they met every demand. There wasn't any requirement that was necessary at any particular moment that they weren't up to." -- USA Today

External Links

• 1927 NY Yankees Roster and Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
• 1927 American League Standings and League Leaders Baseball-Reference.com
• Murderer's Row Quotes