1939 New York Yankees season

1939  New York Yankees
World Series champions American League champions
League	American League
Ballpark	Yankee Stadium
City	New York City, New York
Owners	Estate of Jacob Ruppert
General managers	Ed Barrow
Managers	Joe McCarthy
Radio	WABC (AM) (Arch McDonald, Garnett Marks, Mel Allen)
←  1938 Seasons 1940  →

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.

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

• v
• t
• e

American League

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
New York Yankees	106	45	.702	—	52‍–‍25	54‍–‍20
Boston Red Sox	89	62	.589	17	42‍–‍32	47‍–‍30
Cleveland Indians	87	67	.565	20½	44‍–‍33	43‍–‍34
Chicago White Sox	85	69	.552	22½	50‍–‍27	35‍–‍42
Detroit Tigers	81	73	.526	26½	42‍–‍35	39‍–‍38
Washington Senators	65	87	.428	41½	37‍–‍39	28‍–‍48
Philadelphia Athletics	55	97	.362	51½	28‍–‍48	27‍–‍49
St. Louis Browns	43	111	.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) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Stadium Attendance Record 1 April 20 Red Sox 2–0 Ruffing (1–0) Grove (0–1) Yankee Stadium 30,278 1–0 2 April 21 @ Senators 6–3 Gomez (1–0) Krakauskas (0–1) Griffith Stadium 32,000 2–0 3 April 22 @ Senators 1–3 Leonard (1–0) Hildebrand (0–1) Griffith Stadium 12,000 2–1 4 April 23 @ Senators 7–4 Sundra (1–0) Chase (0–1) Griffith Stadium 22,000 3–1 5 April 24 Athletics 2–1 Pearson (1–0) Dean (0–1) Yankee Stadium 5,820 4–1 6 April 25 Athletics 8–4 Ruffing (2–0) Thomas (0–1) Hadley (1) Yankee Stadium 7,268 5–1 7 April 29 Senators 1–3 Chase (1–1) Gomez (1–1) Yankee Stadium 11,473 5–2 8 April 30 Senators 2–3 Krakauskas (1–2) Hildebrand (0–2) Carrasquel (1) Yankee Stadium 23,712 5–3
May: 24–4 (Home: 12–1; Away: 12–3) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Stadium Attendance Record 9 May 2 @ Tigers 22–2 Ruffing (3–0) Kennedy (0–2) Briggs Stadium 11,379 6–3 10 May 3 @ Tigers 10–6 Sundra (2–0) Benton (0–1) Murphy (1) Briggs Stadium 14,136 7–3 11 May 4 @ Indians 10–6 (10) Murphy (1–0) Feller (3–1) League Park 12,000 8–3 12 May 5 @ Indians 1–2 (11) Milnar (1–0) Gomez (1–2) League Park 9,000 8–4 13 May 6 @ Indians 5–1 Pearson (2–0) Sullivan (0–1) League Park 10,000 9–4 14 May 7 @ White Sox 15–4 Ruffing (4–0) Whitehead (0–2) Comiskey Park 35,000 10–4 15 May 8 @ White Sox 3–5 Smith (2–0) Ferrell (0–1) Comiskey Park 6,000 10–5 16 May 9 @ White Sox 8–6 Donald (1–0) Lee (3–2) Murphy (2) Comiskey Park 7,000 11–5 17 May 10 @ Browns 7–1 Hadley (1–0) Marcum (2–3) Sportsman's Park 3,782 12–5 18 May 11 @ Browns 10–8 Pearson (3–0) Pyle (0–2) Murphy (3) Sportsman's Park 3,167 13–5 19 May 14 @ Athletics 10–0 Ruffing (5–0) Caster (3–3) Shibe Park 15,509 14–5 20 May 15 @ Athletics 3–0 Ferrell (1–1) Ross (0–3) Murphy (4) Shibe Park 5,000 15–5 21 May 16 Browns 7–5 Hadley (2–0) Kramer (3–1) Donald (1) Yankee Stadium 6,503 16–5 22 May 17 Browns 4–3 Pearson (4–0) Kennedy (0–4) Yankee Stadium 7,576 17–5 23 May 18 Browns 8–1 Donald (2–0) Mills (0–2) Yankee Stadium 6,870 18–5 24 May 19 White Sox 4–2 Ruffing (6–0) Smith (2–2) Yankee Stadium 9,755 19–5 25 May 20 White Sox 5–2 Hildebrand (1–2) Lee (3–4) Murphy (5) Yankee Stadium 18,371 20–5 26 May 21 Indians 12–6 Hadley (3–0) Humphries (1–3) Yankee Stadium 37,531 21–5 27 May 23 Indians 7–3 Donald (3–0) Allen (0–2) Yankee Stadium 5,058 22–5 28 May 24 Tigers 1–6 Trout (1–2) Ferrell (1–2) Yankee Stadium 10,875 22–6 29 May 25 Tigers 5–2 Ruffing (7–0) McKain (1–1) Yankee Stadium 12,087 23–6 30 May 26 Athletics 1–0 Hildebrand (2–2) Pippen (0–2) Yankee Stadium 5,139 24–6 31 May 27 Athletics 8–2 Gomez (2–2) Parmelee (1–6) Yankee Stadium – 25–6 32 May 27 Athletics 11–9 Sundra (3–0) Dean (1–2) Murphy (6) Yankee Stadium 30,358 26–6 33 May 28 Athletics 9–5 Donald (4–0) Nelson (2–1) Yankee Stadium 14,670 27–6 34 May 29 @ Red Sox 6–1 Hadley (4–0) Bagby (3–2) Murphy (7) Fenway Park 17,000 28–6 35 May 30 @ Red Sox 4–8 Weaver (1–0) Ruffing (7–1) Fenway Park – 28–7 36 May 30 @ Red Sox 17–9 Pearson (5–0) Wilson (2–3) Murphy (8) Fenway Park 35,000 29–7
June: 21–7 (Home: 9–3; Away: 12–4) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Stadium Attendance Record 37 June 1 @ Indians 8–3 Gomez (3–2) Milnar (3–1) League Park 3,500 30–7 38 June 2 @ Indians 17–5 Donald (5–0) Allen (1–3) League Park 8,000 31–7 39 June 3 @ Indians 3–2 Hadley (5–0) Harder (0–3) Murphy (9) League Park 6,000 32–7 40 June 4 @ Tigers 8–4 Ruffing (8–1) Trout (2–3) Murphy (10) Briggs Stadium 44,190 33–7 41 June 5 @ Tigers 0–3 Bridges (7–1) Pearson (5–1) Briggs Stadium 9,910 33–8 42 June 6 @ Tigers 2–6 Newsom (6–3) Hildebrand (2–3) Briggs Stadium 11,924 33–9 43 June 7 @ White Sox 5–2 Gomez (4–2) Lee (4–6) Murphy (11) Comiskey Park 8,000 34–9 44 June 8 @ White Sox 7–2 Donald (6–0) Smith (3–4) Comiskey Park 7,500 35–9 45 June 11 @ Browns 8–5 Ruffing (9–1) Whitehead (0–5) Sportsman's Park – 36–9 46 June 11 @ Browns 5–1 Hadley (6–0) Mills (1–4) Sportsman's Park 7,810 37–9 47 June 14 Indians 2–4 Feller (10–2) Murphy (1–1) Milnar (1) Yankee Stadium 11,301 37–10 48 June 15 Indians 1–0 Gomez (5–2) Harder (1–4) Yankee Stadium 9,619 38–10 49 June 16 Indians 4–3 Donald (7–0) Milnar (4–3) Russo (1) Yankee Stadium 10,171 39–10 50 June 17 Tigers 1–0 Ruffing (10–1) Newsom (7–4) Yankee Stadium 18,599 40–10 51 June 18 Tigers 5–8 Rowe (2–5) Hadley (6–1) Yankee Stadium 32,679 40–11 52 June 19 Tigers 8–5 Hildebrand (3–3) Trout (4–4) Yankee Stadium 6,469 41–11 53 June 20 White Sox 13–3 Pearson (6–1) Knott (2–2) Yankee Stadium 5,892 42–11 54 June 21 White Sox 9–8 Sundra (4–0) Brown (4–1) Murphy (12) Yankee Stadium 10,045 43–11 55 June 22 White Sox 6–1 Donald (8–0) Smith (3–5) Yankee Stadium 8,337 44–11 56 June 24 Browns 2–1 Ruffing (11–1) Harris (1–2) Yankee Stadium 11,382 45–11 57 June 25 Browns 3–7 Kramer (6–6) Murphy (1–2) Mills (1) Yankee Stadium – 45–12 58 June 25 Browns 11–2 Hildebrand (4–3) Kennedy (4–8) Yankee Stadium 40,861 46–12 59 June 26 @ Athletics 2–3 Pippen (1–5) Hadley (6–2) Shibe Park 33,074 46–13 60 June 28 @ Athletics 23–2 Pearson (7–1) Nelson (5–3) Shibe Park – 47–13 61 June 28 @ Athletics 10–0 Gomez (6–2) Caster (5–8) Shibe Park 21,612 48–13 62 June 29 @ Senators 1–2 (12) Leonard (7–2) Ruffing (11–2) Griffith Stadium – 48–14 63 June 29 @ Senators 7–0 (6) Donald (9–0) Chase (3–9) Griffith Stadium 6,500 49–14 64 June 30 @ Senators 10–2 (7) Hildebrand (5–3) Carrasquel (4–5) Griffith Stadium 6,000 50–14
July: 16–12 (Home: 6–7; Away: 10–5) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Stadium Attendance Record 65 July 1 @ Red Sox 3–5 Ostermueller (4–1) Russo (0–1) Fenway Park 12,000 50–15 66 July 2 @ Red Sox 3–7 Grove (8–2) Gomez (6–3) Fenway Park – 50–16 67 July 2 @ Red Sox 9–3 Hadley (7–2) Auker (6–4) Fenway Park 35,000 51–16 68 July 4 Senators 2–3 Leonard (8–2) Pearson (7–2) Yankee Stadium – 51–17 69 July 4 Senators 11–1 Sundra (5–0) Carrasquel (4–6) Yankee Stadium 61,808 52–17 70 July 5 Senators 6–4 Donald (10–0) Chase (3–10) Yankee Stadium 3,874 53–17 71 July 7 Red Sox 3–4 Dickman (2–1) Ruffing (11–3) Yankee Stadium 6,588 53–18 72 July 8 Red Sox 1–3 Ostermueller (5–1) Hildebrand (5–4) Yankee Stadium – 53–19 73 July 8 Red Sox 2–3 Galehouse (3–3) Russo (0–2) Yankee Stadium 27,539 53–20 74 July 9 Red Sox 3–4 Dickman (3–1) Pearson (7–3) Yankee Stadium – 53–21 75 July 9 Red Sox 3–5 Wilson (5–5) Hadley (7–3) Heving (4) Yankee Stadium 47,652 53–22 7th All-Star Game in The Bronx, New York 76 July 13 @ Tigers 6–10 Thomas (5–1) Murphy (1–3) Benton (2) Briggs Stadium 25,764 53–23 77 July 14 @ Tigers 6–3 Ruffing (12–3) Rowe (2–8) Briggs Stadium 19,279 54–23 78 July 15 @ Tigers 10–7 Pearson (8–3) Bridges (11–3) Murphy (13) Briggs Stadium 31,253 55–23 79 July 16 @ Indians 5–2 Gomez (7–3) Eisenstat (4–4) Cleveland Stadium – 56–23 80 July 16 @ Indians 8–3 Russo (1–2) Harder (3–7) Cleveland Stadium 63,064 57–23 81 July 17 @ Indians 3–0 Hadley (8–3) Feller (14–4) Cleveland Stadium 10,000 58–23 82 July 18 @ Browns 9–0 Donald (11–0) Mills (2–6) Sportsman's Park – 59–23 83 July 18 @ Browns 4–3 Hildebrand (6–4) Kramer (6–9) Murphy (14) Sportsman's Park 4,853 60–23 84 July 20 @ Browns 2–1 Ruffing (13–3) Harris (2–5) Sportsman's Park 3,100 61–23 85 July 21 @ White Sox 1–4 Smith (6–5) Pearson (8–4) Comiskey Park 10,000 61–24 86 July 23 @ White Sox 5–8 Lyons (10–2) Gomez (7–4) Comiskey Park – 61–25 87 July 23 @ White Sox 5–4 Hadley (9–3) Brown (7–4) Murphy (15) Comiskey Park 51,000 62–25 88 July 25 Browns 5–1 Donald (12–0) Harris (2–6) Yankee Stadium 6,076 63–25 89 July 26 Browns 14–1 Ruffing (14–3) Gill (1–9) Yankee Stadium 4,843 64–25 90 July 28 White Sox 2–1 Hildebrand (7–4) Smith (6–6) Yankee Stadium 7,946 65–25 91 July 30 White Sox 4–3 Gomez (8–4) Lyons (10–3) Murphy (16) Yankee Stadium – 66–25 92 July 30 White Sox 1–5 Lee (9–8) Hadley (9–4) Yankee Stadium 35,256 66–26
August: 21–10 (Home: 8–5; Away: 13–5) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Stadium Attendance Record 93 August 1 Tigers 2–5 Trout (6–7) Ruffing (14–4) McKain (3) Yankee Stadium 10,382 66–27 94 August 2 Tigers 2–7 Rowe (4–9) Donald (12–1) Yankee Stadium 12,341 66–28 95 August 3 Tigers 12–3 Pearson (9–4) Newsom (12–8) Yankee Stadium 9,010 67–28 96 August 4 Indians 5–4 Hildebrand (8–4) Milnar (6–8) Russo (2) Yankee Stadium 6,263 68–28 97 August 5 Indians 6–1 Ruffing (15–4) Eisenstat (5–5) Yankee Stadium 13,207 69–28 98 August 6 Indians 4–5 Feller (16–6) Gomez (8–5) Yankee Stadium – 69–29 99 August 6 Indians 1–7 Harder (7–7) Hadley (9–5) Yankee Stadium 76,753 69–30 100 August 8 @ Senators 4–7 Krakauskas (9–11) Donald (12–2) Appleton (5) Griffith Stadium 12,000 69–31 101 August 9 @ Senators 13–8 Ruffing (16–4) Chase (7–14) Hildebrand (1) Griffith Stadium 14,000 70–31 102 August 10 @ Senators 5–7 Leonard (13–4) Pearson (9–5) Appleton (6) Griffith Stadium 14,000 70–32 103 August 11 @ Athletics 9–5 Gomez (9–5) Potter (6–8) Hadley (2) Shibe Park 14,116 71–32 104 August 12 @ Athletics 18–4 Sundra (6–0) Joyce (3–5) Shibe Park 4,000 72–32 105 August 13 @ Athletics 9–12 Nelson (7–7) Russo (1–3) Shibe Park – 72–33 106 August 13 @ Athletics 21–0 (8) Ruffing (17–4) Pippen (2–9) Shibe Park 34,570 73–33 107 August 15 Senators 3–2 (10) Gomez (10–5) Chase (7–15) Yankee Stadium 8,049 74–33 108 August 16 Senators 4–0 Russo (2–3) Leonard (13–5) Yankee Stadium 6,607 75–33 109 August 17 Senators 9–8 (10) Murphy (2–3) Appleton (3–8) Yankee Stadium 6,704 76–33 110 August 18 Athletics 5–0 Ruffing (18–4) Pippen (2–10) Yankee Stadium 6,041 77–33 111 August 20 Athletics 4–5 Ross (5–11) Gomez (10–6) Yankee Stadium – 77–34 112 August 20 Athletics 5–1 Sundra (7–0) Nelson (8–8) Yankee Stadium 33,562 78–34 113 August 22 @ White Sox 14–5 Russo (3–3) Marcum (5–7) Comiskey Park 50,000 79–34 114 August 23 @ White Sox 7–2 Donald (13–2) Smith (8–8) Comiskey Park – 80–34 115 August 23 @ White Sox 16–4 Ruffing (19–4) Lee (11–9) Comiskey Park 27,000 81–34 116 August 24 @ Browns 11–5 Pearson (10–5) Mills (3–9) Murphy (17) Sportsman's Park 1,225 82–34 117 August 25 @ Browns 11–0 Sundra (8–0) Kennedy (8–16) Sportsman's Park – 83–34 118 August 25 @ Browns 8–2 Gomez (11–6) Gill (1–11) Sportsman's Park 2,182 84–34 119 August 26 @ Browns 6–1 Hadley (10–5) Harris (2–10) Sportsman's Park 2,967 85–34 120 August 27 @ Tigers 13–3 Ruffing (20–4) Rowe (7–10) Briggs Stadium 47,966 86–34 121 August 28 @ Tigers 18–2 Russo (4–3) Bridges (16–5) Briggs Stadium 14,281 87–34 122 August 29 @ Tigers 6–7 McKain (3–4) Murphy (2–4) Briggs Stadium 11,397 87–35 123 August 30 @ Indians 3–4 (10) Eisenstat (7–6) Murphy (2–5) Cleveland Stadium 35,336 87–36
September: 19–9 (Home: 14–7; Away: 5–2) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Stadium Attendance Record 124 September 1 @ Indians 11–8 Chandler (1–0) Eisenstat (7–7) Russo (3) Cleveland Stadium 20,000 88–36 125 September 2 @ Red Sox 7–12 Ostermueller (11–3) Ruffing (20–5) Heving (7) Fenway Park 12,500 88–37 126 September 3 @ Red Sox 11–12 Auker (9–8) Murphy (2–6) Heving (8) Fenway Park – 88–38 127 September 3 @ Red Sox 5–5 (7) Fenway Park 27,000 88–38 128 September 4 @ Athletics 7–6 Chandler (2–0) Potter (7–10) Murphy (18) Shibe Park – 89–38 129 September 4 @ Athletics 2–0 Russo (5–3) Nelson (9–10) Shibe Park 24,126 90–38 130 September 6 Red Sox 2–1 Gomez (12–6) Grove (13–4) Yankee Stadium 11,715 91–38 131 September 7 Red Sox 5–2 Pearson (11–5) Ostermueller (11–4) Hildebrand (2) Yankee Stadium 9,379 92–38 132 September 8 Red Sox 4–1 (7) Ruffing (21–5) Galehouse (7–9) Yankee Stadium 8,457 93–38 133 September 9 Senators 5–2 Sundra (9–0) Haynes (6–12) Yankee Stadium 7,401 94–38 134 September 10 Senators 4–3 Russo (6–3) Appleton (4–10) Yankee Stadium – 95–38 135 September 10 Senators 6–2 Hadley (11–5) Leonard (17–7) Murphy (19) Yankee Stadium 12,088 96–38 136 September 12 Indians 3–4 (10) Harder (12–8) Gomez (12–7) Yankee Stadium 4,638 96–39 137 September 13 Indians 4–9 Feller (21–8) Ruffing (21–6) Yankee Stadium 9,898 96–40 138 September 14 Tigers 1–6 Newsom (17–11) Donald (13–3) Yankee Stadium 10,938 96–41 139 September 15 Tigers 10–3 Sundra (10–0) Rowe (8–11) Yankee Stadium 10,538 97–41 140 September 16 Tigers 8–5 Russo (7–3) Pippen (4–12) Yankee Stadium 10,626 98–41 141 September 17 Browns 4–8 Kramer (9–14) Ruffing (21–7) Yankee Stadium – 98–42 142 September 17 Browns 1–3 Mills (4–11) Gomez (12–8) Yankee Stadium 21,027 98–43 143 September 18 Browns 6–2 Hadley (12–5) Wade (1–5) Yankee Stadium 1,678 99–43 144 September 19 White Sox 6–2 Hildebrand (9–4) Smith (9–10) Yankee Stadium 3,608 100–43 145 September 20 White Sox 8–4 Sundra (11–0) Lyons (13–6) Yankee Stadium 2,977 101–43 146 September 21 White Sox 5–2 Russo (8–3) Dietrich (7–8) Yankee Stadium 2,150 102–43 147 September 23 @ Senators 7–1 Pearson (12–5) Leonard (19–8) Griffith Stadium 8,000 103–43 148 September 24 @ Senators 3–2 Chandler (3–0) Chase (10–19) Griffith Stadium 12,000 104–43 149 September 28 Athletics 8–4 Hildebrand (10–4) McCrabb (1–2) Yankee Stadium – 105–43 150 September 28 Athletics 4–5 Caster (9–9) Hadley (12–6) Yankee Stadium 4,187 105–44 151 September 30 Red Sox 5–4 Murphy (3–6) Bagby (5–5) Yankee Stadium – 106–44 152 September 30 Red Sox 2–4 (7) Wilson (11–11) Sundra (11–1) Yankee Stadium 7,501 106–45

Record vs. opponents

1939 American League record v t e Sources:
Team	BOS	CWS	CLE	DET	NYY	PHA	SLB	WSH
Boston	—	8–14	11–11	10–12	11–8–1	18–4	16–6	15–7
Chicago	14–8	—	12–10	12–10	4–18	11–11	18–4	14–8–1
Cleveland	11–11	10–12	—	11–11	7–15	18–4	16–6	14–8
Detroit	12–10	10–12	11–11	—	9–13	11–11	14–8–1	14–8
New York	8–11–1	18–4	15–7	13–9	—	18–4	19–3	15–7
Philadelphia	4–18	11–11	4–18	11–11	4–18	—	13–9–1	8–12
St. Louis	6–16	4–18	6–16	8–14–1	3–19	9–13–1	—	7–15
Washington	7–15	8–14–1	8–14	8–14	7–15	12–8	15–7	—

Notable transactions

• April 8, 1939: Len Gabrielson was traded by the Yankees to the Philadelphia Phillies for Pete Sivess and cash. ^[2]

Roster

1939 New York Yankees
Roster
Pitchers 24 Marv Breuer 21,27 Spud Chandler 28 Atley Donald 25 Wes Ferrell 11 Lefty Gomez 14 Bump Hadley 20 Oral Hildebrand 19 Johnny Murphy 16 Monte Pearson 15 Red Ruffing 22 Marius Russo 32 Steve Sundra		Catchers  8 Bill Dickey 18 Arndt Jorgens 26 Buddy Rosar Infielders  1 Frankie Crosetti 12 Babe Dahlgren  4 Lou Gehrig  6 Joe Gordon 10 Bill Knickerbocker  2 Red Rolfe		Outfielders  5 Joe DiMaggio 27 Joe Gallagher  7 Tommy Henrich  9 Charlie Keller 17 Jake Powell  3 George Selkirk		Manager -- Joe McCarthy Coaches 30 Earle Combs 29 Art Fletcher 31 Johnny Schulte

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

Batting

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
C	Bill Dickey	128	480	145	.302	24	105
1B	Babe Dahlgren	144	531	125	.235	15	89
2B	Joe Gordon	151	567	161	.284	28	111
3B	Red Rolfe	152	648	213	.329	14	80
SS	Frankie Crosetti	152	656	154	.233	10	56
OF	Joe DiMaggio	120	462	176	.381	30	126
OF	George Selkirk	128	418	128	.306	21	101
OF	Charlie Keller	111	398	133	.334	11	83

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 Henrich	99	347	96	.277	9	57
Buddy Rosar	43	105	29	.276	0	12
Jake Powell	31	86	21	.244	1	9
Joe Gallagher	14	41	10	.244	2	9
Lou Gehrig	8	28	4	.143	0	1
Bill Knickerbocker	6	13	2	.154	0	1
Arndt Jorgens	3	0	0	----	0	0

Pitching

= Indicates league leader

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 Ruffing	28	233.1	21	7	2.93	95
Lefty Gomez	26	198.0	12	8	3.41	102
Bump Hadley	26	154.0	12	6	2.98	65
Atley Donald	24	153.0	13	3	3.71	55
Monte Pearson	22	146.1	12	5	4.49	76
Oral Hildebrand	21	126.2	10	4	3.06	50
Wes Ferrell	3	19.1	1	2	4.66	6

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 Sundra	24	121.2	11	1	2.76	27
Marius Russo	21	116.0	8	3	2.41	55

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 Murphy	38	3	6	19	4.40	30
Spud Chandler	11	3	0	0	2.84	4
Marv Breuer	1	1	0	0	9.00	0

1939 World Series

Main article: 1939 World Series

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

Game	Score	Date	Location	Attendance
1	Reds – 1, Yankees – 2	October 4	Yankee Stadium	58,541
2	Reds – 0, Yankees – 4	October 5	Yankee Stadium	59,791
3	Yankees – 7, Reds – 3	October 7	Crosley Field	32,723
4	Yankees – 7, Reds – 4 (10 innings)	October 8	Crosley Field	32,794

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 Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 22, 2025.
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

• 1939 New York Yankees at Baseball Reference
• 1939 World Series
• 1939 New York Yankees team page at www.baseball-almanac.com