Murderer's row
Murderer's row was the nickname given to the New York Yankees baseball team of the late 1920s, in particular their 1926, 1927 and 1928 line-ups. The team is recognized as one of the best teams in modern baseball history, alongside the Big Red Machine of the Cincinnati Reds, the late 1980s teams of the Oakland A's and others.
Colonel Jacob Ruppert is the man most often credited for building the line-up of the murderer's row team.
The 1927 season was particularly spectacular by baseball standards for the Yankees. After losing in the 1926 World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals, the 1927 Yankee Stadium residents posted a record of 110 wins and 44 losses, one of the best records in baseball history. Although the team was nicknamed murderer's row primarly because of their offense, their pitching was also one of the best ever, ranking first in the major leagues in lowest run earned average (ERA) that season.
The 1927 Yankees won the American League pennant by one of the largest margins ever, 19 games. Then, they swept the Pittsburgh Pirates to win the World Series, and they repeated as World Series champion in 1928.
Many other teams have been nicknamed Murderer's row (although they have generally had much less success) since then, as well as a music band and a book about Richard Ramirez's killing spree.
Player list and 1927 notes
- Pat Collins, catcher, hit .275 in 1927
- Lou Gehrig, first baseman, hit .373 in 1927, with 47 home-runs and 175 runs batted in
- Tony Lazzeri, second base, short stop, third baseman, hit .309 in 1927, with 18 home runs and 102 runs batted in
- Mark Koenig, short stop, hit .282 in 1927
- Joe Dugan, third base, hit .269 in 1927
- Bob Meusel, left fielder, hit .337, with 102 runs batted in in 1927
- Earle Combs, center fielder, hit .356 in 1927
- Babe Ruth, right fielder, hit .356 in 1927, establishing a then record of 60 home runs and producing 164 runs batted in
- Ray Morhart, second baseman, hit .256 in 1927
- Johnny Grabowski, catcher, hit .277 in 1927
- Cedric Durst, outfielder
- Mike Gazella, short stop, third baseman, hit .278 in 1927
- Benny Bengough, catcher
- Ben Paschal, outfielder, hit .317 in 1927
- Waite Hoyt, pitcher, 22-7 in 1927, with a 2.64 ERA
- Herb Pennock, pitcher, 19-8 in 1927, with a 3.00 ERA
- Urban Shocker, pitcher, 18-6 in 1927, with a 2.84 ERA
- Wilcy Moore, pitcher, 19-6 in 1927, with a 2.28 ERA, the best ERA in the major leagues in 1927
- Dutch Ruether, pitcher, 13-6 in 1927, with a 3.38 ERA
- George Pipgras, pitcher, 10-3 in 1927
- Myles Thomas,pitcher, 7-4 in 1927
Referenced By
Babe Ruth | George Herman Ruth | Jacob Ruppert
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