The 1953 Yankees
The 1953 Yankees were one of the finest of all Yankees teams and won the last of five straight Yankees World Championships. The Yankees scored 801 runs in 151 games, had a batting average of .273, an on base average of .355, a slugging average of .417, and an earned average of 3.20. These statistics compare favorably with other great Yankees teams, but the two significant numbers are the 801 runs scored and the 3.20 earned run average. Scoring a lot and preventing your opponent from scoring a lot translates into many victories.
There were no super stars on the 1953 Yankees, partially because there were no SUPER stars in 1953, and primarily because the Yankees were well balanced and didn’t depend on one or two great players. There were great players in baseball, including Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Al Rosen, Minnie Minoso, Ralph Kiner, and Ted Kluszewski, but they were not referred to as super stars. They were the best players. They were the stars.
The Yankees had Yogi Berra at catcher and Mickey Mantle, who was in his third season, in centerfield, but neither batted .300. Berra hit .296 with 27 home runs while Mantle, who was still struggling to achieve the greatness predicted for him, batted .295 with 21 home runs. The only .300 hitters were outfielders Hank Bauer (.304) and Gene Woodling (.306), but both had fewer than 450 official plate appearances. Only Berra batted in over 100 runs. Joe Collins played first base and shared playing time with Don Bollweg, who would soon go to the Athletics, and Johnny Mize, who was 40 and in his last season. Yankees manager Casey Stengel often platooned his players, using left handed hitters against right handed pitchers and right handed hitters against lefties, but in 1953, all his first baseman batted left handed. There was no platooning at first base.
Stengel’s favorite, Billy Martin, played second base, hitting 15 home runs, which was a high total for a second baseman when the strike zone was enforced as stated in the rule book, the pitcher’s mound was still at height of 15 inches, the ball was not as lively as in the days of McGwire, Sosa, and Bonds, and the only steroids players used were those produced by their own endocrine glands. Gil McDougald played third base with Phil Rizzuto at shortstop. Stengel frequently pinch hit for Rizzuto, which gave Willie Miranda, who was as great defensively as almost any shortstop who ever played the position, some playing time.
Latest Articles