1962 Yankees

The 1962 New York Yankees went 96-66, won their 27th American League pennant by five games over Minnesota, and beat the San Francisco Giants in seven games for the franchise's 20th World Series championship. The defining image isn't a home run or a strikeout -- it's a line drive settling into Bobby Richardson's glove with the tying and winning runs 180 feet from home plate. One catch. One inch in a different direction, and we're telling a completely different story.

Defending the Title

Ralph Houk returned for his second season as skipper, and the core that had demolished the Reds in five games the previous October came back intact. was still dealing with the psychic hangover of chasing Ruth's ghost. was still the best player in baseball when his legs cooperated. was still the Chairman of the Board. The difference in 1962 wasn't the names -- it was who stepped forward.

Ralph Terry had been carrying a ghost of his own. Two years earlier, Bill Mazeroski's walk-off home run in the 1960 World Series had landed on Terry's permanent record. He'd spent two seasons trying to outrun that pitch. In 1962, he stopped running and started dominating -- 23 wins, a league-best total, and the kind of ace-level season that makes a rotation breathe easier.

The Regular Season

The lineup scored 817 runs, best in the American League. The power came from everywhere. Mantle, Maris, Tom Tresh, Elston Howard, Bill Skowron, Clete Boyer -- six guys with 20-plus home runs on one roster. The team clubbed 199 as a group, one shy of a round number that somebody should've done something about in September.

Tresh was the fresh face. The rookie shortstop-turned-outfielder hit over 20 home runs and gave Houk a lineup card that read like a batting practice home run derby from top to bottom.

Mantle's Efficiency Masterpiece

was a strange kind of greatness. He played only 123 of 162 games -- injuries kept pulling him off the field -- but when he was in the lineup, nobody in the American League could touch him. He led the league in walks (122), on-base percentage (.486), and slugging (.605). His .321 average led the team. The MVP voters didn't care about the missed games. They cared about the damage he did in the ones he played.

Maris After 61

asked an impossible question: what do you do after hitting 61 home runs? The answer was 33 homers, 100 RBI, and a second straight World Series ring. By any normal standard, that's a terrific year. By the standard Maris had set, the press treated it like a decline. The man couldn't win.

October Against San Francisco

The Giants had clawed their way to the NL pennant through a three-game playoff against the Dodgers after the two clubs tied in the regular season. Willie Mays, Orlando Cepeda, Juan Marichal -- San Francisco had the talent to match the Yankees punch for punch. The stretched over 13 days thanks to weather postponements, and it went the full seven games.

Ford opened the series with a victory, earning his record 10th World Series win. Chuck Hiller became the first National League player to hit a grand slam in the Fall Classic during Game 4. The series swung back and forth in a way the '61 sweep never allowed -- real tension, real doubt, the kind of October where you couldn't breathe between pitches.

The Game That Defined a Career

landed on October 16. Terry against Jack Sanford. Two aces, no margin, winner take all. Terry pitched the game of his life -- a complete-game shutout against a Giants lineup that included Mays and McCovey. The Yankees scratched across a single run, and Terry made it hold.

The bottom of the ninth nearly killed every Yankee fan watching. Giants on second and third, two outs, Willie McCovey at the plate. McCovey smashed a line drive toward right field -- the kind of ball that splits the gap and wins a championship for San Francisco. Richardson reached up at second base and caught it. The whole thing was over.

Here's the part that doesn't get mentioned enough: the Giants actually outperformed the Yankees across the seven games. Higher batting average, lower ERA, more hits, more runs, more home runs. San Francisco won the stat sheet and lost the series. Baseball doesn't care about aggregate numbers. It cares about who wins each individual game.

After what happened in 1960, I wanted that ball more than anything. You don't get many chances to rewrite the ending.

Frequently Asked Questions

Did the 1962 Yankees win the World Series?

Yes. The 1962 Yankees defeated the San Francisco Giants four games to three in the World Series. Ralph Terry pitched a 1-0 complete-game shutout in Game 7 on October 16, 1962, at Candlestick Park. Willie McCovey's line drive was caught by Bobby Richardson with the tying and winning runs on base to end the series. It was the franchise's 20th championship.

Who won the 1962 World Series MVP?

Ralph Terry won the 1962 World Series MVP award. He went 2-1 with a 1.80 ERA and 16 strikeouts across 25 innings in three games. His Game 7 shutout -- two years after Bill Mazeroski's walk-off home run ended his 1960 World Series -- stands as one of baseball's greatest redemption stories.

How many games did Mickey Mantle play in 1962?

Mantle played 123 of 162 games in 1962 due to injuries, but he still won the AL MVP -- his third and final time earning the award. He led the American League in walks (122), on-base percentage (.486), and slugging percentage (.605), while batting .321 for the Yankees.

What was the 1962 Yankees record?

The 1962 Yankees finished 96-66, winning the American League pennant by five games over the Minnesota Twins. They scored 817 runs (most in the AL) and hit 199 home runs as a team before defeating the San Francisco Giants in seven games for the World Series title.