- Murderers' Row
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This article is about the baseball team. For the 1962 novel, see Murderers' Row (novel). For the 1966 motion picture based on the novel, see Murderers' Row (film). For the group of boxers, see Murderers' Row (boxing).
The 1927 New York Yankees.Murderers’ Row was the nickname given to the New York Yankees baseball team of the late 1920s, in particular the first six hitters in the 1927 team lineup: Earle Combs, Mark Koenig, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Bob Meusel and Tony Lazzeri.
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Original "Murderers' Row"
The term was originally coined in 1918 by a sportswriter to describe the pre-Babe Ruth Yankee lineup of 1918. A 1918 newspaper article described it: "New York fans have come to know a section of the Yankees' batting order as 'murderers' row.' It is composed of the first six players in the batting order -- Gilhooley, Peckinpaugh, Baker, Pratt, Pipp, and Bodie. This sextet has been hammering the offerings of all comers."[1]
1927 Yankees
The term was eternally associated with the advent of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig Yankee teams beginning in the mid-1920s, and is commonly recognized to refer specifically to the core of the 1927 Yankee hitting lineup.
Owner Jacob Ruppert is the man most often credited with building the team, although general manager Ed Barrow may have had as much to do with it. In a game of a July series against the Washington Senators, the Yankees beat their opponents 21-1, and prompted Senators’ first baseman Joe Judge to say, “Those fellows not only beat you but they tear your heart out. I wish the season was over.”[2]
Season results
The 1927 season was particularly spectacular by baseball standards for the Yankees. After losing in the 1926 World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals, they went 110-44 the next year, winning the A.L. Pennant by 19 games and sweeping the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1927 World Series. Only four teams have won more regular season games: the 1906 Chicago Cubs and the 2001 Seattle Mariners with 116, the 1998 Yankees with 114 and the 1954 Cleveland Indians with 111. However, the 1998 Yankees and 2001 Mariners played in 162-game schedules. Both the Cubs and the Indians lost the World Series in their years, and the Mariners did not reach the World Series in 2001, losing to the Yankees in the American League Championship Series. The 1998 Yankees went 11-2 in the playoffs, sweeping the San Diego Padres in the World Series.
The 1927 Yankees batted .307, slugged .489, scored 975 runs, and outscored their opponents by a record 376 runs. Center fielder Earle Combs had a career best year, batting .356 with 231 hits, left fielder Bob Meusel batted .337 with 103 RBIs, and second baseman Tony Lazzeri drove in 102 runs. Gehrig batted .373, with 218 hits, 52 doubles, 18 triples, 47 home runs, a then record 175 RBIs, slugged at .765, and was voted A.L. MVP. Ruth amassed a .356 batting average, 164 RBIs, 158 runs scored, walked 137 times, and slugged .772. Most notably, his 60 home runs that year broke his own record and remained the Major League mark for 34 years until Roger Maris broke it.
The pitching staff led the league in ERA at 3.20, and included Waite Hoyt, who went 22-7, which tied for the league lead, and Herb Pennock, who went 19-8. Wilcy Moore won 16 as a reliever. The 1927 Yankees would eventually send six players along with manager Miller Huggins and president Ed Barrow to the Baseball Hall of Fame; only the 1928 Yankees had more with 9 players along with Huggins and Barrow. Three other Yankee pitchers had ERAs under 3.00 that season. After sweeping the Pirates in the Series, the Yankees repeated the feat by sweeping the Cardinals in the 1928 World Series. The Yankees remain the only team to ever sweep the World Series in consecutive years; the Yankee teams of 1938-1939 and 1998-1999 repeated the feat.
Roster
- Key
‡ Elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame Starting lineup
# Player Position Games AB Hits Batting average On-Base % Slugging % Home runs Runs batted in 1 Earle Combs‡ Center fielder 152 648 231 .356 .414 .511 6 64 2 Mark Koenig Shortstop 123 526 150 .285 .320 .382 3 62 3 Babe Ruth‡ Right fielder 151 540 192 .356 .486 .772 60 164 4 Lou Gehrig‡ First baseman 155 584 218 .373 .474 .765 47 175 5 Bob Meusel Left fielder 135 516 174 .337 .393 .510 8 103 6 Tony Lazzeri‡ Second baseman 153 570 176 .309 .383 .482 18 102 7 Joe Dugan Third baseman 112 387 104 .269 .321 .362 2 43 8 Pat Collins Catcher 92 251 69 .275 .407 .418 7 36 Bench
Player Position Games AB Hits Batting average Home runs Runs batted in Benny Bengough Catcher 31 85 21 .247 0 10 Johnny Grabowski Catcher 70 195 54 .277 0 25 Mike Gazella Infielder 54 115 32 .278 0 9 Ray Morehart Infielder 73 195 50 .256 1 20 Julie Wera Infielder 38 42 10 .238 1 8 Cedric Durst Outfielder 65 129 32 .248 0 25 Ben Paschal Outfielder 50 82 26 .317 2 16 Pitchers
Player Role G IP W L ERA SO Waite Hoyt‡ Starting pitcher 36 256 1⁄3 22 7 2.63 86 Herb Pennock‡ Starting pitcher 34 209 2⁄3 19 8 3.00 51 George Pipgras Starting pitcher 29 166 1⁄3 10 3 4.11 81 Dutch Ruether Starting pitcher 27 184 13 6 3.38 45 Urban Shocker Starting pitcher 31 200 18 6 2.84 35 Myles Thomas Relief pitcher 21 88 2⁄3 7 4 4.87 25 Bob Shawkey Relief pitcher 19 43 2⁄3 3 4 2.89 23 Joe Giard Relief pitcher 16 27 0 0 8.00 10 Walter Beall Relief pitcher 1 1 0 0 9.00 0 Wilcy Moore Relief pitcher 50 213 19 7 2.28 75 Legacy
The term "Murderers' Row" is commonly used as a descriptor for teams with formidable talent.[3][4]
The dominant and feared trio of Ryan Kibiloski, Michael Swanson and Sam Reindl of the Little Lebowski Urban Achiever organization have been nicknamed "Murderers' Row", paying homage to the 1927 Yankee lineup.
See also
References
- ^ The Big Apple: Murderers' Row. Barry Popik. Accessed October 29, 2007.
- ^ http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=awtbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LU4NAAAAIBAJ&pg=1186,85065
- ^ http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/mound+dropping+talent/3987018/story.html
- ^ http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40A1EFF3E5C0C758EDDA90994D1494D81
Categories:- New York Yankees
- Nicknamed groups of baseball players
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