1939 New York Yankees season

The 1939 New York Yankees season was the team's 37th season. The team finished with a record of 106–45, winning their 11th pennant, finishing 17 games ahead of the Boston Red Sox. New York was managed by Joe McCarthy. The Yankees played their home games at Yankee Stadium. In the World Series, they beat the Cincinnati Reds in four games. As the Yankees had won each World Series dating back to 1936, this marked the first time any team had won four consecutive World Series. This was the first season for the Yankee's radio gameday broadcasts.

1939 New York Yankees
Lou Gehrig's number is retired
1939 American League Champions
1939 World Series Champions
Major League affiliations
Location
Other information
OwnersEstate of Jacob Ruppert
General managersEd Barrow
ManagersJoe McCarthy
Local radioWABC (AM)
(Arch McDonald, Garnett Marks, Mel Allen)
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Regular season

The 1939 New York Yankees are one of only three Yankees teams (the 1927 and 1998 Yankees being the others) to ever finish the regular season with over a .700 winning percentage, lead the league in runs scored and fewest runs allowed, and go on to sweep the World Series. The 1939 Yankees are the only team to ever outscore their regular season opponents by over 400 runs (967–556).

"The Luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth"
The Yankee duo reunited – Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth (r) on Lou Gehrig Day (July 4, 1939).
Lou Gehrig's number 4 was retired by the New York Yankees in 1939.

The 1939 season would be the final time Yankees fans saw the team's starting veteran first baseman Lou Gehrig in action and in the uniform of the team he played for many years, given his declining health. On June 21, the New York Yankees announced his official retirement and proclaimed July 4, 1939, "Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day" at Yankee Stadium. Between games of the Independence Day doubleheader against the Washington Senators, the poignant ceremonies were held on the diamond. In its coverage the following day, The New York Times said it was "Perhaps as colorful and dramatic a pageant as ever was enacted on a baseball field [as] 61,808 fans thundered a hail and farewell".[1] Dignitaries extolled the dying slugger and the members of the 1927 Yankees World Championship team, known as "Murderer's Row", attended the ceremonies. New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia called Gehrig "the greatest prototype of good sportsmanship and citizenship" and Postmaster General James Farley concluded his speech by predicting, "For generations to come, boys who play baseball will point with pride to your record."[1]

Yankees manager Joe McCarthy, struggling to control his emotions, then spoke of Lou Gehrig, with whom there was a close, almost father and son-like bond. After describing Gehrig as "the finest example of a ballplayer, sportsman, and citizen that baseball has ever known", McCarthy could stand it no longer. Turning tearfully to Gehrig, the manager said, "Lou, what else can I say except that it was a sad day in the life of everybody who knew you when you came into my hotel room that day in Detroit and told me you were quitting as a ballplayer because you felt yourself a hindrance to the team. My God, man, you were never that."

The Yankees retired Gehrig's uniform number "4", making him the first player in history to be afforded that honor. Gehrig was given many gifts, commemorative plaques, and trophies. Some came from VIPs; others came from the stadium's groundskeepers and janitorial staff. Footage of the ceremonies shows Gehrig being handed various gifts, and immediately setting them down on the ground, because he no longer had the arm strength to hold them.

Season standings
American League W L Pct. GB Home Road
New York Yankees 10645 0.702 — 52–25 54–20
Boston Red Sox 8962 0.589 17 42–32 47–30
Cleveland Indians 8767 0.565 20½ 44–33 43–34
Chicago White Sox 8669 0.555 22 50–27 36–42
Detroit Tigers 8173 0.526 26½ 42–35 39–38
Washington Senators 6587 0.428 41½ 37–39 28–48
Philadelphia Athletics 5597 0.362 51½ 28–48 27–49
St. Louis Browns 43111 0.279 64½ 18–59 25–52

Game log
1939 game log: 106–45 (Home: 52–25; Away: 54–20)
April: 5–3 (Home: 3–2; Away: 2–1)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecord
1April 20Red Sox2–0Ruffing (1–0)Grove (0–1)Yankee Stadium30,2781–0
2April 21@ Senators6–3Gomez (1–0)Krakauskas (0–1)Griffith Stadium32,0002–0
3April 22@ Senators1–3Leonard (1–0)Hildebrand (0–1)Griffith Stadium12,0002–1
4April 23@ Senators7–4Sundra (1–0)Chase (0–1)Griffith Stadium22,0003–1
5April 24Athletics2–1Pearson (1–0)Dean (0–1)Yankee Stadium5,8204–1
6April 25Athletics8–4Ruffing (2–0)Thomas (0–1)Hadley (1)Yankee Stadium7,2685–1
7April 29Senators1–3Chase (1–1)Gomez (1–1)Yankee Stadium11,4735–2
8April 30Senators2–3Krakauskas (1–2)Hildebrand (0–2)Carrasquel (1)Yankee Stadium23,7125–3
May: 24–4 (Home: 12–1; Away: 12–3)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecord
9May 2@ Tigers22–2Ruffing (3–0)Kennedy (0–2)Briggs Stadium11,3796–3
10May 3@ Tigers10–6Sundra (2–0)Benton (0–1)Murphy (1)Briggs Stadium14,1367–3
11May 4@ Indians10–6 (10)Murphy (1–0)Feller (3–1)League Park12,0008–3
12May 5@ Indians1–2 (11)Milnar (1–0)Gomez (1–2)League Park9,0008–4
13May 6@ Indians5–1Pearson (2–0)Sullivan (0–1)League Park10,0009–4
14May 7@ White Sox15–4Ruffing (4–0)Whitehead (0–2)Comiskey Park35,00010–4
15May 8@ White Sox3–5Smith (2–0)Ferrell (0–1)Comiskey Park6,00010–5
16May 9@ White Sox8–6Donald (1–0)Lee (3–2)Murphy (2)Comiskey Park7,00011–5
17May 10@ Browns7–1Hadley (1–0)Marcum (2–3)Sportsman's Park3,78212–5
18May 11@ Browns10–8Pearson (3–0)Pyle (0–2)Murphy (3)Sportsman's Park3,16713–5
19May 14@ Athletics10–0Ruffing (5–0)Caster (3–3)Shibe Park15,50914–5
20May 15@ Athletics3–0Ferrell (1–1)Ross (0–3)Murphy (4)Shibe Park5,00015–5
21May 16Browns7–5Hadley (2–0)Kramer (3–1)Donald (1)Yankee Stadium6,50316–5
22May 17Browns4–3Pearson (4–0)Kennedy (0–4)Yankee Stadium7,57617–5
23May 18Browns8–1Donald (2–0)Mills (0–2)Yankee Stadium6,87018–5
24May 19White Sox4–2Ruffing (6–0)Smith (2–2)Yankee Stadium9,75519–5
25May 20White Sox5–2Hildebrand (1–2)Lee (3–4)Murphy (5)Yankee Stadium18,37120–5
26May 21Indians12–6Hadley (3–0)Humphries (1–3)Yankee Stadium37,53121–5
27May 23Indians7–3Donald (3–0)Allen (0–2)Yankee Stadium5,05822–5
28May 24Tigers1–6Trout (1–2)Ferrell (1–2)Yankee Stadium10,87522–6
29May 25Tigers5–2Ruffing (7–0)McKain (1–1)Yankee Stadium12,08723–6
30May 26Athletics1–0Hildebrand (2–2)Pippen (0–2)Yankee Stadium5,13924–6
31May 27Athletics8–2Gomez (2–2)Parmelee (1–6)Yankee Stadium–25–6
32May 27Athletics11–9Sundra (3–0)Dean (1–2)Murphy (6)Yankee Stadium30,35826–6
33May 28Athletics9–5Donald (4–0)Nelson (2–1)Yankee Stadium14,67027–6
34May 29@ Red Sox6–1Hadley (4–0)Bagby (3–2)Murphy (7)Fenway Park17,00028–6
35May 30@ Red Sox4–8Weaver (1–0)Ruffing (7–1)Fenway Park–28–7
36May 30@ Red Sox17–9Pearson (5–0)Wilson (2–3)Murphy (8)Fenway Park35,00029–7
June: 21–7 (Home: 9–3; Away: 12–4)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecord
37June 1@ Indians8–3Gomez (3–2)Milnar (3–1)League Park3,50030–7
38June 2@ Indians17–5Donald (5–0)Allen (1–3)League Park8,00031–7
39June 3@ Indians3–2Hadley (5–0)Harder (0–3)Murphy (9)League Park6,00032–7
40June 4@ Tigers8–4Ruffing (8–1)Trout (2–3)Murphy (10)Briggs Stadium44,19033–7
41June 5@ Tigers0–3Bridges (7–1)Pearson (5–1)Briggs Stadium9,91033–8
42June 6@ Tigers2–6Newsom (6–3)Hildebrand (2–3)Briggs Stadium11,92433–9
43June 7@ White Sox5–2Gomez (4–2)Lee (4–6)Murphy (11)Comiskey Park8,00034–9
44June 8@ White Sox7–2Donald (6–0)Smith (3–4)Comiskey Park7,50035–9
45June 11@ Browns8–5Ruffing (9–1)Whitehead (0–5)Sportsman's Park–36–9
46June 11@ Browns5–1Hadley (6–0)Mills (1–4)Sportsman's Park7,81037–9
47June 14Indians2–4Feller (10–2)Murphy (1–1)Milnar (1)Yankee Stadium11,30137–10
48June 15Indians1–0Gomez (5–2)Harder (1–4)Yankee Stadium9,61938–10
49June 16Indians4–3Donald (7–0)Milnar (4–3)Russo (1)Yankee Stadium10,17139–10
50June 17Tigers1–0Ruffing (10–1)Newsom (7–4)Yankee Stadium18,59940–10
51June 18Tigers5–8Rowe (2–5)Hadley (6–1)Yankee Stadium32,67940–11
52June 19Tigers8–5Hildebrand (3–3)Trout (4–4)Yankee Stadium6,46941–11
53June 20White Sox13–3Pearson (6–1)Knott (2–2)Yankee Stadium5,89242–11
54June 21White Sox9–8Sundra (4–0)Brown (4–1)Murphy (12)Yankee Stadium10,04543–11
55June 22White Sox6–1Donald (8–0)Smith (3–5)Yankee Stadium8,33744–11
56June 24Browns2–1Ruffing (11–1)Harris (1–2)Yankee Stadium11,38245–11
57June 25Browns3–7Kramer (6–6)Murphy (1–2)Mills (1)Yankee Stadium–45–12
58June 25Browns11–2Hildebrand (4–3)Kennedy (4–8)Yankee Stadium40,86146–12
59June 26@ Athletics2–3Pippen (1–5)Hadley (6–2)Shibe Park33,07446–13
60June 28@ Athletics23–2Pearson (7–1)Nelson (5–3)Shibe Park–47–13
61June 28@ Athletics10–0Gomez (6–2)Caster (5–8)Shibe Park21,61248–13
62June 29@ Senators1–2 (12)Leonard (7–2)Ruffing (11–2)Griffith Stadium–48–14
63June 29@ Senators7–0 (6)Donald (9–0)Chase (3–9)Griffith Stadium6,50049–14
64June 30@ Senators10–2 (7)Hildebrand (5–3)Carrasquel (4–5)Griffith Stadium6,00050–14
July: 16–12 (Home: 6–7; Away: 10–5)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecord
65July 1@ Red Sox3–5Ostermueller (4–1)Russo (0–1)Fenway Park12,00050–15
66July 2@ Red Sox3–7Grove (8–2)Gomez (6–3)Fenway Park–50–16
67July 2@ Red Sox9–3Hadley (7–2)Auker (6–4)Fenway Park35,00051–16
68July 4Senators2–3Leonard (8–2)Pearson (7–2)Yankee Stadium–51–17
69July 4Senators11–1Sundra (5–0)Carrasquel (4–6)Yankee Stadium61,80852–17
70July 5Senators6–4Donald (10–0)Chase (3–10)Yankee Stadium3,87453–17
71July 7Red Sox3–4Dickman (2–1)Ruffing (11–3)Yankee Stadium6,58853–18
72July 8Red Sox1–3Ostermueller (5–1)Hildebrand (5–4)Yankee Stadium–53–19
73July 8Red Sox2–3Galehouse (3–3)Russo (0–2)Yankee Stadium27,53953–20
74July 9Red Sox3–4Dickman (3–1)Pearson (7–3)Yankee Stadium–53–21
75July 9Red Sox3–5Wilson (5–5)Hadley (7–3)Heving (4)Yankee Stadium47,65253–22
7th All-Star Game in The Bronx, New York
76July 13@ Tigers6–10Thomas (5–1)Murphy (1–3)Benton (2)Briggs Stadium25,76453–23
77July 14@ Tigers6–3Ruffing (12–3)Rowe (2–8)Briggs Stadium19,27954–23
78July 15@ Tigers10–7Pearson (8–3)Bridges (11–3)Murphy (13)Briggs Stadium31,25355–23
79July 16@ Indians5–2Gomez (7–3)Eisenstat (4–4)Cleveland Stadium–56–23
80July 16@ Indians8–3Russo (1–2)Harder (3–7)Cleveland Stadium63,06457–23
81July 17@ Indians3–0Hadley (8–3)Feller (14–4)Cleveland Stadium10,00058–23
82July 18@ Browns9–0Donald (11–0)Mills (2–6)Sportsman's Park–59–23
83July 18@ Browns4–3Hildebrand (6–4)Kramer (6–9)Murphy (14)Sportsman's Park4,85360–23
84July 20@ Browns2–1Ruffing (13–3)Harris (2–5)Sportsman's Park3,10061–23
85July 21@ White Sox1–4Smith (6–5)Pearson (8–4)Comiskey Park10,00061–24
86July 23@ White Sox5–8Lyons (10–2)Gomez (7–4)Comiskey Park–61–25
87July 23@ White Sox5–4Hadley (9–3)Brown (7–4)Murphy (15)Comiskey Park51,00062–25
88July 25Browns5–1Donald (12–0)Harris (2–6)Yankee Stadium6,07663–25
89July 26Browns14–1Ruffing (14–3)Gill (1–9)Yankee Stadium4,84364–25
90July 28White Sox2–1Hildebrand (7–4)Smith (6–6)Yankee Stadium7,94665–25
91July 30White Sox4–3Gomez (8–4)Lyons (10–3)Murphy (16)Yankee Stadium–66–25
92July 30White Sox1–5Lee (9–8)Hadley (9–4)Yankee Stadium35,25666–26
August: 21–10 (Home: 8–5; Away: 13–5)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecord
93August 1Tigers2–5Trout (6–7)Ruffing (14–4)McKain (3)Yankee Stadium10,38266–27
94August 2Tigers2–7Rowe (4–9)Donald (12–1)Yankee Stadium12,34166–28
95August 3Tigers12–3Pearson (9–4)Newsom (12–8)Yankee Stadium9,01067–28
96August 4Indians5–4Hildebrand (8–4)Milnar (6–8)Russo (2)Yankee Stadium6,26368–28
97August 5Indians6–1Ruffing (15–4)Eisenstat (5–5)Yankee Stadium13,20769–28
98August 6Indians4–5Feller (16–6)Gomez (8–5)Yankee Stadium–69–29
99August 6Indians1–7Harder (7–7)Hadley (9–5)Yankee Stadium76,75369–30
100August 8@ Senators4–7Krakauskas (9–11)Donald (12–2)Appleton (5)Griffith Stadium12,00069–31
101August 9@ Senators13–8Ruffing (16–4)Chase (7–14)Hildebrand (1)Griffith Stadium14,00070–31
102August 10@ Senators5–7Leonard (13–4)Pearson (9–5)Appleton (6)Griffith Stadium14,00070–32
103August 11@ Athletics9–5Gomez (9–5)Potter (6–8)Hadley (2)Shibe Park14,11671–32
104August 12@ Athletics18–4Sundra (6–0)Joyce (3–5)Shibe Park4,00072–32
105August 13@ Athletics9–12Nelson (7–7)Russo (1–3)Shibe Park–72–33
106August 13@ Athletics21–0 (8)Ruffing (17–4)Pippen (2–9)Shibe Park34,57073–33
107August 15Senators3–2 (10)Gomez (10–5)Chase (7–15)Yankee Stadium8,04974–33
108August 16Senators4–0Russo (2–3)Leonard (13–5)Yankee Stadium6,60775–33
109August 17Senators9–8 (10)Murphy (2–3)Appleton (3–8)Yankee Stadium6,70476–33
110August 18Athletics5–0Ruffing (18–4)Pippen (2–10)Yankee Stadium6,04177–33
111August 20Athletics4–5Ross (5–11)Gomez (10–6)Yankee Stadium–77–34
112August 20Athletics5–1Sundra (7–0)Nelson (8–8)Yankee Stadium33,56278–34
113August 22@ White Sox14–5Russo (3–3)Marcum (5–7)Comiskey Park50,00079–34
114August 23@ White Sox7–2Donald (13–2)Smith (8–8)Comiskey Park–80–34
115August 23@ White Sox16–4Ruffing (19–4)Lee (11–9)Comiskey Park27,00081–34
116August 24@ Browns11–5Pearson (10–5)Mills (3–9)Murphy (17)Sportsman's Park1,22582–34
117August 25@ Browns11–0Sundra (8–0)Kennedy (8–16)Sportsman's Park–83–34
118August 25@ Browns8–2Gomez (11–6)Gill (1–11)Sportsman's Park2,18284–34
119August 26@ Browns6–1Hadley (10–5)Harris (2–10)Sportsman's Park2,96785–34
120August 27@ Tigers13–3Ruffing (20–4)Rowe (7–10)Briggs Stadium47,96686–34
121August 28@ Tigers18–2Russo (4–3)Bridges (16–5)Briggs Stadium14,28187–34
122August 29@ Tigers6–7McKain (3–4)Murphy (2–4)Briggs Stadium11,39787–35
123August 30@ Indians3–4 (10)Eisenstat (7–6)Murphy (2–5)Cleveland Stadium35,33687–36
September: 19–9 (Home: 14–7; Away: 5–2)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecord
124September 1@ Indians11–8Chandler (1–0)Eisenstat (7–7)Russo (3)Cleveland Stadium20,00088–36
125September 2@ Red Sox7–12Ostermueller (11–3)Ruffing (20–5)Heving (7)Fenway Park12,50088–37
126September 3@ Red Sox11–12Auker (9–8)Murphy (2–6)Heving (8)Fenway Park–88–38
127September 3@ Red Sox5–5 (7)Fenway Park27,00088–38
128September 4@ Athletics7–6Chandler (2–0)Potter (7–10)Murphy (18)Shibe Park–89–38
129September 4@ Athletics2–0Russo (5–3)Nelson (9–10)Shibe Park24,12690–38
130September 6Red Sox2–1Gomez (12–6)Grove (13–4)Yankee Stadium11,71591–38
131September 7Red Sox5–2Pearson (11–5)Ostermueller (11–4)Hildebrand (2)Yankee Stadium9,37992–38
132September 8Red Sox4–1 (7)Ruffing (21–5)Galehouse (7–9)Yankee Stadium8,45793–38
133September 9Senators5–2Sundra (9–0)Haynes (6–12)Yankee Stadium7,40194–38
134September 10Senators4–3Russo (6–3)Appleton (4–10)Yankee Stadium–95–38
135September 10Senators6–2Hadley (11–5)Leonard (17–7)Murphy (19)Yankee Stadium12,08896–38
136September 12Indians3–4 (10)Harder (12–8)Gomez (12–7)Yankee Stadium4,63896–39
137September 13Indians4–9Feller (21–8)Ruffing (21–6)Yankee Stadium9,89896–40
138September 14Tigers1–6Newsom (17–11)Donald (13–3)Yankee Stadium10,93896–41
139September 15Tigers10–3Sundra (10–0)Rowe (8–11)Yankee Stadium10,53897–41
140September 16Tigers8–5Russo (7–3)Pippen (4–12)Yankee Stadium10,62698–41
141September 17Browns4–8Kramer (9–14)Ruffing (21–7)Yankee Stadium–98–42
142September 17Browns1–3Mills (4–11)Gomez (12–8)Yankee Stadium21,02798–43
143September 18Browns6–2Hadley (12–5)Wade (1–5)Yankee Stadium1,67899–43
144September 19White Sox6–2Hildebrand (9–4)Smith (9–10)Yankee Stadium3,608100–43
145September 20White Sox8–4Sundra (11–0)Lyons (13–6)Yankee Stadium2,977101–43
146September 21White Sox5–2Russo (8–3)Dietrich (7–8)Yankee Stadium2,150102–43
147September 23@ Senators7–1Pearson (12–5)Leonard (19–8)Griffith Stadium8,000103–43
148September 24@ Senators3–2Chandler (3–0)Chase (10–19)Griffith Stadium12,000104–43
149September 28Athletics8–4Hildebrand (10–4)McCrabb (1–2)Yankee Stadium–105–43
150September 28Athletics4–5Caster (9–9)Hadley (12–6)Yankee Stadium4,187105–44
151September 30Red Sox5–4Murphy (3–6)Bagby (5–5)Yankee Stadium–106–44
152September 30Red Sox2–4 (7)Wilson (11–11)Sundra (11–1)Yankee Stadium7,501106–45

Record vs. opponents
1939 American League record

Sources:
Team BOS CWS CLE DET NYY PHA SLB WSH
Boston —8–1411–1110–1211–8–118–416–615–7
Chicago 14–8—12–1012–104–1811–1118–414–8–1
Cleveland 11–1110–12—11–117–1518–416–614–8
Detroit 12–1010–1211–11—9–1311–1114–8–114–8
New York 8–11–118–415–713–9—18–419–315–7
Philadelphia 4–1811–114–1811–114–18—13–9–18–12
St. Louis 6–164–186–168–14–13–199–13–1—7–15
Washington 7–158–14–18–148–147–1512–815–7—

Notable transactions

Roster
1939 New York Yankees
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

 Outfielders Manager

Coaches

Player stats

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
CBill Dickey128480145.30224105
1BBabe Dahlgren144531125.2351589
2BJoe Gordon151567161.28428111
3BRed Rolfe152648213.3291480
SSFrankie Crosetti152656154.2331056
OFJoe DiMaggio120462176.38130126
OFGeorge Selkirk128418128.30621101
OFCharlie Keller111398133.3341183

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
Tommy Henrich9934796.277957
Buddy Rosar4310529.276012
Jake Powell318621.24419
Joe Gallagher144110.24429
Lou Gehrig8284.14301
Bill Knickerbocker6132.15401
Art Jorgens300----00

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Red Ruffing28233.12172.9395
Lefty Gomez26198.01283.41102
Bump Hadley26154.01262.9865
Atley Donald24153.01333.7155
Monte Pearson22146.11254.4976
Oral Hildebrand21126.21043.0650
Wes Ferrell319.1124.666

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Steve Sundra24121.21112.7627
Marius Russo21116.0832.4155

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G W L SV ERA SO
Johnny Murphy3836194.4030
Spud Chandler113002.844
Marv Breuer11009.000

1939 World Series
Main article: 1939 World Series

AL New York Yankees (4) vs. NL Cincinnati Reds (0)

GameScoreDateLocationAttendance
1Reds – 1, Yankees – 2October 4Yankee Stadium58,541
2Reds – 0, Yankees – 4October 5Yankee Stadium59,791
3Yankees – 7, Reds – 3October 7Crosley Field32,723
4Yankees – 7, Reds – 4 (10 innings)October 8Crosley Field32,794

Awards and honors

Team

The book Baseball Dynasties: The Greatest Teams of All Time ranked the 1939 Yankees the greatest MLB team of all time. In 2017, website FiveThirtyEight ranked the 1939 Yankees as the greatest team of all time (across major North American sports leagues), based on Elo rating.[3]

In the MLB modern era (since 1900), the 1939 Yankees have recorded the best run differential, +411, having scored 967 runs while allowing 556.[4]

Individuals

The Yankees, in hosting the 1939 All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium, were represented by Red Ruffing, Joe DiMaggio, Joe Gordon, Bill Dickey, Lefty Gomez, Frankie Crosetti, George Selkirk and Johnny Murphy.[5] Lou Gehrig attended the game as part of the AL reserves and did not play.

Joe DiMaggio won his first of three Most Valuable Player (MVP) Awards, though he only played 120 games due to injury. He batted .381 and averaged over one RBI per game.

Farm system
See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AA Kansas City Blues American Association Billy Meyer
AA Newark Bears International League Johnny Neun
A Binghamton Triplets Eastern League Bruno Betzel
B Norfolk Tars Piedmont League Ray White
B Augusta Tigers Sally League Lefty Jenkins
B Wenatchee Chiefs Western International League Glenn Wright
C Amsterdam Rugmakers Canadian–American League Eddie Sawyer
C Akron Yankees Middle Atlantic League Pip Koehler
C Joplin Miners Western Association Claude Jonnard
D Newport Canners Appalachian League Pete Doyle, Clarence Harris, Bob O'Brien,
Ken Mackes and Art Ruble
D El Paso Texans Arizona–Texas League Ted Mayer
D Neosho Yankees Arkansas–Missouri League Dennis Burns
D Easton Yankees Eastern Shore League Ray Powell
D Butler Yankees Pennsylvania State Association Tom Kain
D Big Spring Barons West Texas–New Mexico League Tony Rego
D Norfolk Elks Western League Doc Bennett

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Augusta[6]

Notes
  1. John Drebinger, "61,808 Fans Roar Tribute to Gehrig", The New York Times, July 5, 1939.
  2. Len Gabrielson page at Baseball Reference
  3. Paine, Neil (June 14, 2017). "The Warriors Are Great, But Are They Better Than The 1939 Yankees?". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
  4. "which mlb team had the best run differential season". statmuse.com. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
  5. "1939 MLB All-Star Game Roster - Major League Baseball - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  6. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007

References
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