In some ways, 1922 was a step back for the New York Yankees. Babe Ruth had a monster year, but it was muted due to a six week suspension he served to begin the season. The suspension was handed down by Commissioner Judge Landis and it related to his barnstorming tours. These paid, post-season exhibitions cost the Babe 42 games during the season. Despite this, Ruth fell just four homers short of leading the league (35 vs. Ken Williams 39), he did lead the league in OPS (1.106), Slugging (.672) and adjusted OPS+ (182). Needless to say, this was Ruth’s worst season of the decade, and it was still a great one by any measure.
On the pitching side, the Yankees were led by Bob Shawkey and Joe Bush. Shawkey finished the season 20-12 and he was third in the league with 130 strikeouts. Joe Bush was 26-7 and those 26 wins were good for second in the American League. The team’s 3.39 ERA was second best in the league, just trailing the St. Louis Brown’s 3.38, and they led the league in WHIP (1.309).
The Yankees made things very interesting for their fans as they dropped three straight games in late September. With two games left in the season, the Yankees led the St. Louis Browns by two games and clinched their second straight pennant with a win over the Red Sox. They lost their final game and ended up with only a one game lead over the Browns at season’s end. In the National League, the New York Giants had wrapped up their second straigh pennant earlier in the week, and the two teams were set for a Polo Grounds rematch.
Game 1 Highlights
Giants 3, Yankees 2 Giants Lead Series 1-0
Game 1 was your standard pitchers dual. Neither team scored until the Yankees finally got to Giant’s starter Art Nehf in the sixth inning. Whitey Witt tripled with one out but was gunned down at home on Joe Dugan’s groundout. Dugan advanced all the way to second base while Witt was caught in a pickle and scored on Babe Ruth’s single.
The Yankees added a run in the seventh inning when Bob Meusel scored on Aaron Ward’s sacrafice fly. Meusel singled earlier in the inning and reached third when the Giants misplayed Wally Schang’s bunt attempt.
Last year’s champions appeared to be just biding their time, and they finally struck in the bottom of the eighth inning. Joe Bush gave up two runs on four consecutive hits to start the innings before getting pulled for reliever Waite Hoyt. The go ahead run then scored on Ross Youngs’ sacrafice fly.
The Yankees went down quietly in the ninth inning to end the game. In all, the Yankees only managed seven hits and to make matters worse, they didn’t really capitalize on the Giant’s three errors.
Game 2 Highlights
Yankees 3, Giants 3 (10 Innings) Giants Lead Series 1-0-1
In game two, it was the Yankees who staged the comeback. The Giants were looking to bury the Yankees in game two, and they jumped out to an early 3-0 lead after just half an inning. Starter Bob Shawkey would calm down and give up just five hits the rest of the game.
The Yankees got on the board in the bottom of the first. Joe Dugan reached first base on another Giants error and he moved over to second on a ground out by Babe Ruth. Wally Pipp then came through with two outs and singled home Dugan to shave the lead to 3-1.
Aaron Ward homered in the fourth inning and Yankees trailed by a mere run. They’d get that run in the eighth inning and it was Babe Ruth who came up big. He doubled with one out, then scored on Bob Meusel’s double.
With the game tied 3-3, the two teams went into extra frames. After playing the tenth inning, home plate umpire George Hildebrand made a controversial move and called the game due to darkness and it ended in a tie.
Game 3 Highlights
Giants 3, Yankees 0 Giants Lead Series 2-0-1
There’s not a lot of good that came out of this game. The Yankees managed a mere four hits and only one of those was for extra bases (a double by Wally Schang). The only inning they threated to score was in the seventh when they had runners on second and third with one out, but a strikeout and a ground out later ended that threat.
Waite Hoyt only gave up three runs, but he got out of a few jams as the Giants had eleven hits. Aaron Ward’s third inning error helped contribute to the Giant’s one big inning in which they scored two runs.
Game 4 Highlights
Giants 4, Yankees 3 Giants Lead Series 3-0-1
As in game 1, one big inning off of starter Carl Mays was the ultimate difference in the game. The Yankees took a 2-0 lead in the first inning when Wally Pip and Bob Meusel both had RBI singles. That lead would stand until the Giants busted the game open in the fifth inning by scoring four runs. The Yankees cut the lead to 4-3 on Aaron Ward’s second homer of the series in the seventh.
The Yankees went into the ninth down by a single run and Wally Pip doubled to lead off the inning. Bob Meusel grounded to short, and Wally Pip was caught in a rundown and eventually tagged out. Wally Schang singled to center but was cut down trying to stretch the hit into a double. Then with Meusel on third, Aaron Ward flew out to left field to end the threat.
Had Pip only stayed home, or Schang not tried to stretch his single into a double, the Yankees might have finally taken a game and maybe created some momentum. Instead, they were faced with the reality of winning four straight games to win their first World Series.
Game 5 Highlights
Giants 5, Yankees 3 Giants Win Series 4-0-1
For the third game in this series, the Giants came from behind to win the game. The Yankees got on the board first when Wally Pipp singled home Joe Dugan. The Giants answered in the second inning with two runs and the score stood at 2-1.
The Yankees tied the game in the fifth inning but once again, a running mishap may have cost them more. With one out, Aaron Ward singled and Everett Scott walked to put runners at first and second. Joe Bush singled and drove in Aaron Ward, but Scott was caught in a run down between third and home and was tagged out at home. A groundout later, and the Giants escaped with only one run given up.
The Yankees took the lead in the seventh inning. Bob Meusel scored on Everett’s Scott’s sacrafice fly and the Yankees had a 3-2 lead.
As in game one, Joe Bush ran out of gas. In the bottom of the eighth, the Giants tagged Bush for three runs on four hits. The Yankees went down 1-2-3 in the top of the ninth and the series was over.
Most disconcerting about the sweep was the disappearance of the team’s leader, Babe Ruth. Ruth was only 2 for 17 with a single RBI in the five game. He walked twice, and that all equated to an OPS of .426. The Yankees had a good core of players though, and there was no doubt they’d be back in the pennant mix next year.
