1938 BBW Replay - World Series

After a long and exciting regular season, it is time for the 1938 World Series. The Yankees powered their way to the American League pennant and have spent the past few weeks resting players and getting their pitching rotation set up. The NL went down to the last game of the regular season, with Pittsburgh getting a win on Sunday in Cincinnati while Chicago was losing their season finale in St. Louis, giving Pittsburgh its first NL Pennant since 1927.

The first World Series game was scheduled to start in an NL park, so it was a short ride from Cincinnati for the Pirates, while the Yankees had to train it in from Boston. Pittsburgh was the easternmost member of the western clubs, so it was a shorter train ride than one to Chicago or St. Louis. Both teams made it into town on Monday, and a short workout on Tuesday was scheduled for both teams. Plenty of reporters and photographers covered the workouts, so plenty of articles and pictures were gathered.

 

The Pirates had last been to the World Series in 1927, and their opponent then, like this year, was the Yankees. The 1927 Yankees were considered to be one of the strongest teams of all time, and the 1927 Bronx Bombers quickly swept the 1927 Pirates in four games. According to most of the media, this 1938 Yankees team resembled that 1927 squad with its surplus of power and good pitching, and most had little doubt that the Yankees would rule again. Pittsburgh scribes tried to be a little more positive about the chances of the home club, and, after all, it is baseball, and anything could happen.

 

Game One, Wednesday, October 5, 1938

 

Pittsburgh (H) 5 New York (AL) 0

 

New York shortstop Frank Crosetti led off the game with a sharp single to left, but he was soon erased when third baseman Red Rolfe bunted into a double play. New York's second - and final - hit of the game wouldn't come until the seventh inning as Russ Bauers (1-0, 0.00) overpowered the visiting Yankees and was able to go all the way for the Game One win.

Red Ruffing (0-1, 6.43) experienced control problems in the bottom of the first and loaded the bases by giving up two walks and a single, and then first baseman Gus Suhr gave Pittsburgh the lead with a two-run double. One out later, second baseman Pep Young came through with a two-run single, and suddenly the Pirates were up 4-0 at the completion of the first inning.

 

Ruffing settled down after that, but the damage was done, and Bauers refused to bend as he shut down the New York attack for the rest of the game. So, with that, the underdog Pirates grabbed the Game One win and took a 1-0 in the 1938 World Series.

 

Game Two, Thursday, October 6, 1938

 

New York (AL) 7 Pittsburgh (H) 4

 

This time it was the Yankees' turn to strike first, and they did so with three runs in the top of the first, the big hit being a two-out two-run homerun by first baseman Lou Gehrig. The rowdy Pittsburgh fans gave Gehrig a respectable round of applause as baseball could only assume the aging veteran was coming towards the end of his career. They did so again later in the game when Gehrig took an inside fastball off his hand and was replaced by Babe Dahlgren for the final few innings of the game.

 

Lou Gehrig

Armed with a three-run lead, Lefty Gomez (1-0, 2.00) took command and kept the Pirates' bats quiet for the first four innings, but then Pittsburgh began to crawl back into the game. Second baseman Pep Young got the scoring started with a solo homerun in the fifth, and then in the sixth, Young's line drive to right was misplayed by Tommy Henrich, and two more runs scored. The Yankees added a few runs as well, and after the seventh, the New Yorkers had a one-run lead at 5-4.

Gomez was left into pitch, mainly because of the preponderance of left handed batters in the Pittsburgh lineup, and he responded by shutting down the Pirates attack for the final two innings The Yankees added two timely insurance runs in the top of the ninth, so New York was able to knot the series at 1-1 with a hard fought 7-4 victory, and the two teams would be moving back to Yankee Stadium for Game Three on Saturday.

 

Game Three, Saturday, October 8, 1938

 

New York (AL) (H) 10 Pittsburgh 1

 

Game Three had all the makings of another close one, but the Yankees broke open a scoreless tie in the bottom of the third when Pirates starter Bob Klinger (0-1, 9.95) tried to get cute when facing opposing pitcher Monte Pearson (1-0, 0.72) and issued a two-out walk to load the bases. Frank Crosetti then doubled home three runs and the Yankees were off and running.

 

Bill Dickey extended the New York lead with a two-run homerun in the sixth, and then in the sixth, Dickey knocked a two-run double, and a few batters later, George Selkirk put the game out of reach with a three-run homerun. Pearson gave up two singles in the ninth, giving Pittsburgh six hits in the game, but he was able to get out of it with no further damage for the complete-game win.

Behind a masterful pitching performance by Pearson, New York won Game Three by the score of 10-1 and now led the series 2-1, with Game Four scheduled for Sunday afternoon in Yankee Stadium.

 

Game Four, Sunday, October 9, 1938

 

New York (AL) (H) 8 Pittsburgh 6

 

New York starter Red Ruffing (1-1, 4.20) experienced a rough first inning again, but this time he was able to get out of it by only allowing a sacrifice fly. Ruffing got into trouble again in the top of the fifth, and a two-out three-run homerun by Arky Vaughan gave the Pirates a surprising 5-0 lead. Russ Bauers (1-1, 3.68) appeared to be cruising towards his second win of the series, but this time the Yankees had an answer. After having loaded the bases in the bottom of the fifth, Ruffing came to the plate and lined a two-run double to make the score 5-3. Frank Crosetti bounced a slow infield grounder, and Joe Gordon dashed home from third and jarred the ball loose from catcher Al Todd in a collision at home, pulling the Yankees to within one run.

 

Red Ruffing

New York was able to complete its comeback when Bill Dickey socked a two-run homerun in the bottom of the sixth, and the Yankees now had a 6-5 lead. New York was able to add a few more runs, which were necessary when the Pirates loaded the bases in the top of the ninth, but were held to only one run.

Ruffing was shaky again, but with the Yankees' power at his back, got the 8-6 Game Four victory, and New York now led the series 3-1, and hoped to close out the World Series with a win at home on Monday.

 

Game Five, Monday, October 10, 1938

 

New York (AL) (H) 2 Pittsburgh 1

 

In the most exciting game of the 1938 World Series, the Yankees scored first with a run in the bottom of the first, but Pittsburgh tied it back up with a run in the top of the third. There, the score stayed as Lefty Gomez (2-0, 1.50) and Jim Tobin (0-2, 4.20) dueled it out, and neither team was able to grab the lead.

 

Lefty Gomez

Finally, with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, Red Rolfe lined a double down into the right field corner, and Lefty Gomez, who had previously been walked, was able to come all the way around from first base and score the run that gave the Yankees a 2-1 lead.

 The Yankees were limited to four hits in the game, but Gomez was able to get a 1-2-3 top of the ninth and the New York Yankees had the win and the World Series championship. Gomez got a few of the MVP votes, but Bill Dickey was named MVP because of his big homeruns in games three and four.