THE OLD(EST) and most Reliable source of information on the 1938 and 1939 Yankees can vouch for just how strong and deep those clubs really were. The starting rightfielder on the 1938 team, a New York staple for a decade, didn’t get to bat once in the 1939 World Series.
“We had a guy named Charlie Keller come along,” recalls Tommy Henrich. “And [leftfielder] George Selkirk had a good streak going coming into the Series and it turned out we didn’t need me to pinch hit.
“I was disappointed, sure, but it was no embarrassment waiting to play on that team. Everybody respected [manager] Joe McCarthy’s judgment. We thought like a team. And that was part of what made us what we were.”
One year after a 4-game demolition of the Cubs, the Yankees also smoked the Reds in the minimum to become the last team before the 1998-99 Yankees to run the table in consecutive years. Even way back then, years before the invention of the broom, these guys were doing some serious sweeping with a bucket-and-pail mentality that Henrich says has become as long gone as the deepest home run ever hit.
“I don’t watch baseball as much as you think,” said Old Reliable, 86, from his home in Arizona. “My thoughts are that players today are chasing the dollar bill and I don’t think it’s a sport anymore, so I don’t get all that excited. I will say the Yankees sound like a pretty classy bunch of guys.”
That established, Henrich wouldn’t have to dress up the 1938-39 teams in any of the comparisons he steadfastly refuses to make. The 1938 club, which won 99 games and the pennant by 9.5 games over the Red Sox, was strong enough to dominate an 89-win Cub team in the series, but the 1939 crew, which finished 17 games up on Boston and polished off the Reds, was one of the most powerful of all time.
The 1939 Yankees lost Lou Gehrig, one of the 10 best players of all time, early in the season to what would prove to be a fatal disease and still won 106 games. They had four future Hall of Famers – centerfielder Joe DiMaggio, catcher Bill Dickey, pitchers Red Ruffing and Lefty Gomez.
Ruffing won 21 games, his fourth consecutive 20-plus season. Gomez, a four-time 20-game winner just past his prime, won 12, one of seven Yankee pitchers in double-figure victories.
DiMaggio, the league MVP, hit 30 home runs, drove in 126 runs and won the batting title with a .381 average. Third baseman Red Rolfe led the league in runs and hits. Keller had a rookie of the year season before they bothered to name such a thing, hitting .324. And Dickey, left fielder George Selkirk and second baseman Joe Gordon all joined DiMaggio in driving in 100-plus runs.
The Yankees led the league in home runs, RBI, slugging percentage, walks, runs, ERA, complete games, shutouts and fielding percentage.
“We didn’t have a weakness,” said Henrich. “[Leadoff man] Gordon was so darn good, right off the bat. Rolfe never made an mental error. [Shortstop] Frank Crosetti was a another smart guy. DiMaggio was the most complete player I’ve ever seen. We had smart players who were very dedicated. Joe McCarthy had you indoctrinated in the total game.
“Gehrig got sick and [Babe] Dahlgren stepped in had a good [15 home runs, 89 RBI] year. Played a good first base, too, even though McCarthy didn’t have too much love for him and [in 1941] got rid of him. Maybe Joe couldn’t get used to playing without Lou, I don’t know. Joe always said Babe’s arms were too short.”
So were the Red outfielders’ arms in Game 1 at Yankee Stadium, in which Red starter Paul Derringer dueled Ruffing 1-1 into the bottom of the ninth. “[Keller] hit a fly ball to right field that should have been caught by either [Harry] Craft or [Ival] Goodman and got all the way to third,” recalled Henrich.
“Of course, they walked DiMaggio, leaving them the choice of pitching to Dickey or walking him, too, to pitch to Selkirk, who could run faster than Dickey and was no slouch with the bat either. Tough choice, but as soon as I saw they were pitching to Dickey, I went to get my glove off the [dugout] hook, saying, “this game is over.” Dickey hit a clean single to center and it was.
“I don’t know why [Monte] Pearson [12-5] went in Game 2 instead of Gomez. Lefty had started to lose his fastball and never did have much of a curve, maybe that’s why. Pearson was smooth as they come, had three pitches and could look beautiful throwing them.”
Pearson, staked to a lead on two RBIs by Dahlgren, took a no-hitter into the seventh and finished with a two-hit, 4-0 victory.
In Game 3 at Crosley Field, Keller hit two homers and drove in four runs. Gomez, who struggled early, settled down, and with late help from Bump Hadley, won 7-3. An error by Reds shortstop [Billy] Myers enabled the Yankees to tie Game 4 in the ninth and the Reds crumbled in the tenth.
“Goodman misplayed another one, hit by DiMaggio and Keller barreled into Lombardi and scored,” said Henrich. “It stunned him, almost knocked him out, and DiMaggio kept coming. Lombardi kind of came to, lunged at the last second, and Joe slid to the inside of the base.” Fireman Johnny Murphy, the best reliever of his day, finished up and the Yankees took the train home to an expectant, spoiled, but still adoring, New York. There were no parades down the Canyon of Heroes back then, only a big blowout at the Commodore Hotel where the members of The Dynasty celebrated the fourth in a string of championships that Henrich felt would never end.”We had a strong, strong team. I don’t know how you can compare a home run hit in 1939 with that ball with the ones hit with that ball today. All I know is that we were a club that didn’t suffer anyplace.”