1938 Yankees

The 1938 New York Yankees went 99-53, won the pennant by 9.5 games over Boston, and swept the Chicago Cubs in four straight to claim their third consecutive World Series championship -- something no team in modern baseball had ever done. Joe DiMaggio led the American League in home runs with 32 despite missing the first 13 games in a salary holdout. Lou Gehrig hit .295 with 29 homers -- his worst numbers in 13 years, and the first public evidence that something wasn't right. Five different hitters drove in 90 or more runs. The pitching staff allowed the fewest runs in the league. Joe McCarthy's club didn't just win. They made the rest of the American League look like it was playing a different sport.

A Holdout and a Handoff

The offseason brought two disruptions that ended up defining the season. DiMaggio wanted $40,000 after a monster 1937 campaign. The Yankees offered $25,000. Neither side budged, and DiMaggio sat out spring training and the first 13 games of the regular season. When he finally accepted the club's number on April 25, Yankee Stadium fans booed their own star -- a 23-year-old who'd asked for a raise during the Depression. The reception wasn't warm.

The other change was quieter but just as significant. Joe Gordon replaced Tony Lazzeri at second base, ending Lazzeri's 12-year run in the Bronx. Gordon was 23, powerful for a middle infielder, and ready. He didn't inherit the job -- he seized it, hitting 25 home runs with 97 RBI as a rookie. The Yankees' farm system had produced another weapon before the old one wore out. That wasn't an accident. That was McCarthy's operation running exactly as designed.

DiMaggio's Rough Return

DiMaggio's first game back produced one of the stranger scenes of the season. Chasing a pop fly alongside Gordon, the two collided and both were knocked unconscious on the field. The superstar and the rookie, sprawled on the outfield grass -- it was the kind of moment that felt like a metaphor for something (even if nobody could agree on what).

The boos didn't last long. DiMaggio hit .324 with 32 home runs, 140 RBI, and 13 triples, leading the AL in the first and last of those categories. He'd missed 13 games and still put up numbers nobody else in the league could touch. Whatever the fans thought of his contract demands, his bat answered louder than any argument.

Gehrig at the Crossroads

Gehrig's 1938 season is the chapter of his story nobody wants to read too closely. Through June 22, he was hitting .267 -- a number that would've gotten most first basemen a pat on the back and a cold beer, but for Gehrig, it was alarming. This was a man who'd averaged .340 with 40-plus homers across the previous five seasons. Something had changed. Teammates saw it. Reporters saw it.

On May 31, Gehrig played his 2,000th consecutive game -- a milestone that still seemed superhuman. Then on June 23, he went 3-for-5 with a home run and hit .310 the rest of the way. The late surge salvaged a .295 final average with 29 homers and 114 RBI. Respectable numbers. Numbers that would've been celebrated from anyone else. But not from the Iron Horse. In hindsight, 1938 was the last season Gehrig could contribute at anything close to his standard. Within a year, the streak would end and the diagnosis would follow.

The Lineup Nobody Could Solve

The depth of this offense was absurd. Five players topped 90 RBI:

Bill Dickey hit .313 with 27 home runs and 115 RBI from behind the plate -- the kind of production that would've made him the best hitter on most rosters. Tommy Henrich contributed 22 homers and 91 RBI in his first full-time season. Opponents couldn't pitch around anyone. Drop one hitter and two more stood waiting.

The Arms

Red Ruffing anchored the rotation with a 21-7 record and a 3.31 ERA, leading the league in wins. Lefty Gomez went 18-12. Monte Pearson filled the third spot and threw the first no-hitter in Yankee Stadium history on August 27 -- a detail that sometimes gets lost in a season this stacked. The staff's run prevention (710 runs allowed, fewest in the AL) was as responsible for the pennant as the offense. McCarthy didn't just have hitters. He had pitchers who wouldn't give anything back.

October

The 1938 World Series was a mismatch from the first pitch. The Cubs had Dizzy Dean, but Dean's arm was shot -- he'd hurt it in the 1937 All-Star Game and was pitching on guile and memory. The rest of Chicago's roster couldn't match the Yankees at any position.

Ruffing set the tone in Game 1 at Wrigley Field, scattering eight hits in a 3-1 complete-game win. Gomez followed with a Game 2 victory, 6-3, with Frank Crosetti's two-run homer off Dean in the eighth and DiMaggio's blast in the ninth putting it away. Monte Pearson dominated Game 3 at Yankee Stadium -- a complete game, five hits, nine strikeouts, 5-2 Yankees. Gordon homered in the fifth to spark the offense. Ruffing came back on three days' rest for Game 4 and threw another complete game, winning 8-3. Two starts, two complete games, two wins. The Cubs managed just nine runs across four games.

The sweep made the Yankees the first team in modern baseball history to win three consecutive World Series championships. They'd also swept four of their last six Fall Classics -- 1927, 1928, 1932, and now 1938. The dynasty wasn't slowing down. It was accelerating.

I don't play hunches. I play the percentages.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many games did the 1938 Yankees win?

The 1938 Yankees went 99-53 during the regular season, finishing 9.5 games ahead of the Boston Red Sox. They swept the Chicago Cubs 4-0 in the World Series (3-1, 6-3, 5-2, 8-3), becoming the first team in modern baseball history to win three consecutive World Series championships.

Did the 1938 Yankees win the World Series?

Yes. The Yankees swept the Chicago Cubs in four games in the 1938 World Series. Red Ruffing won Games 1 and 4 with complete-game performances, Lefty Gomez won Game 2, and Monte Pearson won Game 3. The Cubs scored only nine runs across the four games.

Why did Joe DiMaggio hold out in 1938?

DiMaggio wanted a $40,000 salary after hitting .346 with 46 home runs in 1937. The Yankees offered $25,000. DiMaggio held out through spring training and the first 13 games of the regular season before accepting the club's offer on April 25, 1938. Fans booed him upon his return, viewing his demands as selfish during the Great Depression.

What happened to Lou Gehrig in 1938?

Gehrig hit .295 with 29 home runs and 114 RBI -- his worst season in 13 years. He struggled badly through June 22 (batting .267) before a mid-season surge brought his average up. He played his 2,000th consecutive game on May 31. In hindsight, the decline was likely the earliest sign of the ALS that would be diagnosed in 1939.