1928 Yankees Pitching Trio

George Pipgras won 24 games in . Waite Hoyt won 23. Herb Pennock went 17-6 with a 2.56 ERA. Together, the three right-handers (well, Pennock was a lefty -- every good staff needs one) combined for 64 regular-season wins and then pitched all 36 innings of the World Series without a single reliever warming up behind them. The New York Yankees' offense gets all the attention from 1928 -- and his 54 home runs, and his .374 average -- but the arms were the reason the team won 101 games. Bats win headlines. Pitching wins pennants.

Pipgras: The Ace Nobody Expected

Pipgras had been an afterthought in . He went 10-3 with a 4.11 ERA that year, working behind Hoyt and Pennock in a rotation that didn't need him to carry much weight. The 1928 season asked for something entirely different, and Pipgras responded with one of the best pitching seasons in the American League.

Twenty-four wins. Staff leader. He threw hard (for the era), kept the ball down, and benefited from a lineup that scored 894 runs behind him. That last point matters -- nobody wins 24 games without run support -- but Pipgras earned the starts and finished the games. In 1928, completing what you started wasn't optional. It was the job description.

The Red Sox had let him go. (The Red Sox let everyone go in the 1920s.) Ed Barrow, the Yankees' general manager who'd previously managed in Boston, knew exactly what Pipgras could become. He'd seen the arm. He'd seen the makeup. He brought him to the Bronx and waited for the breakout. It took a year longer than expected. Then it came all at once.

Hoyt: The Steadiest Hand

Hoyt was the anti-Pipgras -- no breakout, no surprise, just consistent excellence year after year. His 23 wins in 1928 followed a 22-win campaign in 1927. He'd been pitching in the big leagues since 1918 and in pinstripes since 1921 (acquired from -- where else -- the Red Sox). By 1928, he was the veteran anchor, the guy who'd seen everything and shook off nothing.

His World Series Game 1 performance told you everything you needed to know. Complete-game three-hitter. Yankees 4, Cardinals 1. Hoyt walked to the mound like a man going to the office, retired the first hitter he faced, and kept doing it for nine innings. No drama. No heroics. Just competence so thorough it looked easy.

The secret of success as a pitcher lies in getting a job with the Yankees.

The quote was self-deprecating -- Hoyt credited the lineup behind him -- but it was also half-true. Pitching with Ruth and Gehrig in the order meant you never needed to be perfect. You just needed to be good enough to stay close, and the bats would do the rest. Hoyt was better than good enough. He was a Hall of Famer.

Pennock: Brilliance Cut Short

Pennock's 1928 numbers -- 17-6, 2.56 ERA -- were the best rate stats on the staff. His ERA led the regular rotation. His winning percentage was elite. On a per-start basis, Pennock was the most effective pitcher the Yankees had.

The arm trouble changed everything. As the season ground on, Pennock's left arm started failing him. The crafty lefty who'd been a cornerstone since his acquisition from Boston in January 1923 couldn't sustain the workload through September. By October, the damage was severe enough that he didn't pitch in the World Series at all. Tom Zachary stepped in, and the trio that handled all 36 October innings was Hoyt, Pipgras, and Zachary -- not Pennock.

It was a bitter end to Pennock's 1928 season. Seventeen wins and a 2.56 ERA, and he had to watch the World Series from the dugout.

The Boston Pipeline

Here's the part that should make Red Sox fans lose sleep, even a century later. All three pitchers had roots in the Boston organization.

Hoyt came over from the Red Sox in December 1920. Pennock arrived from Boston in January 1923. Pipgras had been in the Red Sox system before finding his way to the Bronx. Ed Barrow, who'd managed the Red Sox through 1920, moved to the Yankees as general manager and systematically raided his former club's talent. He knew which arms were ready. He knew which ones Boston was undervaluing. He took them all.

The result: a championship pitching staff built almost entirely from players Boston had developed and then surrendered. (The Yankees' dynasty of the 1920s was, in significant part, a Red Sox construction project -- just built on the wrong side of the rivalry.)

The at four different positions and still won it all. Pennock's arm was one of those injuries -- and the staff absorbed it without missing a beat. Zachary stepped in and held. Hoyt and Pipgras pitched like men who didn't know what a bullpen was for.

Sixty-four wins from three starters. Every October inning handled without help. That's not a pitching rotation. That's a pitching monopoly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who were the top pitchers on the 1928 Yankees?

George Pipgras led the staff with 24 wins. Waite Hoyt added 23 wins. Herb Pennock went 17-6 with a 2.56 ERA -- the best among the regular starters. Together, the trio combined for 64 wins during the regular season.

Did the 1928 Yankees use relievers in the World Series?

No. The three starters -- Hoyt, Pipgras, and Tom Zachary (who replaced the injured Pennock) -- pitched all 36 innings of the four-game World Series sweep without bullpen assistance. Each World Series game was a complete-game effort.

Why didn't Herb Pennock pitch in the 1928 World Series?

Pennock developed arm trouble during the 1928 season that worsened as the year progressed. Despite finishing the regular season with a 17-6 record and a staff-best 2.56 ERA, his arm couldn't handle postseason duty. Tom Zachary took his place in the World Series rotation.