17. 1929 World Champion Philadelphia Athletics v. 81. 1943 World Champion New York Yankees
Three Region 1 teams are in the books - one is left to move forward. Either way, the only teams left standing in the next round in Region 1 will be World Champs; one of these two teams will face the '75 Reds.
A's 104-46 Mgr. Connie Mack
Won AL Pennant
d. Cubs in WS
d. #112 1997 Braves (MVP-Mickey Cochrane/Jimmy Dykes)
Hall of Famers: Mickey Cochrane, Eddie Collins, Jimmie Foxx, Lefty Grove, Al Simmons, Connie Mack
Yankees 98-56 Mgr. Joe McCarthy
Won AL Pennant
d. Cardinals in WS
d. #48. 1935 Tigers (MVP-Hank Borowy)
All-Stars: SP Tiny Bonham, SP Spud Chandler (AL MVP) C Bill Dickey, 2B Joe Gordon, OF Charlie Keller, OF Johnny Lindell
Hall of Famers: Bill Dickey, Joe Gordon, Joe McCarthy
Yankees Lineup
2B Gordon (28) 126 6.1
C Dickey (36) 173 4
LF Keller (26) 168 6.5
1B Etten (29) 125 2.2
3B Johnson (24) 107 3.5
CF Lindell (26) 102 1.2
RF Metheny (28) 112 .7
SS Stirnweiss (24) 82 1.3
P Chandler (35) 198 7.7
Bench
CF Weatherly (28) 103 .7
SP2 Bonham (29) 142 4.6
SP3 Borowy (27) 115 1.1
McCarthy's platooning in CF; all the Yankee starters are RH
Athletics Lineup
C Cochrane (26) 124 4.9
1B Foxx (21) 173 7.2
LF Simmons (27) 159 7.4
3B Dykes (32) 139 3.9
CF Haas (25) 114 2
RF Miller (34) 119 3.3
2B Bishop (29) 83 2
SS Boley (32) 71 .4
P Grove (LH) (29) 149 6.4
Bench
SP2 Earnshaw (29) 128 4.3
SP3 Walberg (LH) (32) 117 4.3
Mack will send the same 8 up, probably in the same order, every day.
WAR Advantage:
C Athletics
1B Athletics
2B Yankees
SS Yankees
3B Athletics
LF Athletics
CF Athletics
RF Athletics
SP1 Yankees
SP2 Yankees
SP3 Athletics
Bullpen (est) Athletics
A's 8 Yankees 4
Athletics have the seed advtantage and a solid WAR advantage; they have the two best position players in the series - they are solid favorites to advance here. We obviously just saw this Yankee team but two years earlier - here they are again, but its the war - no DiMaggio, no Henrich. This team just is not as good as the '41 team and, on paper, not as good as the '29 A's.
GAME ONE
1st: The great Lefty Grove gets the ball for Connie Mack in Game 1 - 29 years old, 20-6, 2.81 -- Grove came up in '25 and went right into the rotation for the A's and led the league in Ks, in his second season he led the league in ERA; this year - he led the league in starts, ERA and Ks (Grove led the league in Ks each of his first 7 seasons) and two years from now he wins the MVP. Grove will win exactly 300 games over his 17 year career. He walks both Joe Gordon and Bill Dickey to open, after an out, he gives up a run scoring single to Nick Etten. Billy Johnson then walks and Johnny Lindell singles home a run. Yankees 2 A's 0
1st: It's testament, at least in part (probably large part) to the talent drain of the war years that 35 year old Spud Chandler has video game numbers in 1943 -- 20-4, 1.98. We just saw Chandler, of course, pitch twice with the '41 Yankees in the prior series. 1-2-3
2nd: 24 year old Stuffy Stirnweiss is given the shortstop spot, ahead of the veteran Frankie Crosetti, for this series, this his rookie year - he will have two really strong seasons (again, it's the war years) in '44 and '45 finishing in the top 5 in the MVP vote both years and then immediately drop off following. He singles, but that's all.
2nd: 1-2-3
3rd: Bill Dickey and Charlie Keller single - that brings to the plate first baseman Nick Etten -- Etten came up with the A's in '38, was the cross-town Phillies starter at first base in both '41 and '42 - was sold to the Yankees prior to this season and he finished 7th in the AL MVP race -- Etten makes his old organization pay here -- he htis a 3 run homer -- the Yankees have jumped - jumped out to a starting 5 run bulge on the A's. Grove walks Johnson, gets an out - and then gives up a 2 run homer to Bud Metheny - I'll tell you what, this sold out Philadelphia crowd is shocked - they were solid, solid favorites coming into the series and their ace has just gotten bombed here. Grove is replaced by 31 year old RH Eddie Rommel, 12 wins and a 2.85 ERA. He gets through it. Yankees 7 A's 0
3rd: Max Bishop is the first A's baserunner, he gets hit. But that's all.
4th: Dickey singles with one out, after the second out Etten singles and then Bill Johnson singles and that's another run. Yankees 8 A's 0
4th: The first Philadelphia hit is a leadoff double by Mickey Cochrane. Cochrane's 26 and has been the A's catcher since his rookie year in 1925 when he finished 10th in the AL MVP race; he finished 4th in '27 and won the AL MVP last year. 6 years from now he wins a second MVP as the catcher/manager for the Tigers. He moves to third on a Jimmie Foxx single and then scores on an Al Simmons groundout. Yankees 8 A's 1
5th: Metheny walks, Stirnweiss singles, but Rommel holds the line.
5th: Joe Boley, 32 year old shortstop, hits a 2 out double. Boley was a 30 year old rookie two years prior and he'll be out of the league after the '32 season - he's stranded at second.
6th: 28 year old lefty Ossie Orwoll had a 4.80 ERA and he's next. This is his second - and last - year in the bigs. 1-2-3
6th: Cocrhane singles - that's all.
7th: 25 year old RH Bill Shores is the 4th A's pitcher; 11 wins, 3.60 -- Shores is also in his second big league season, he gives up a Metheny single, but that's all.
7th: Jimmy Dykes singles and after an out, Bing Miller drives him home with a double. Miller's 34, became an Athletic in 1922, his second season - during the '26 season, they send him to the Browns for Baby Doll Jacobson and then got him back at the end of the '27 season for Sam Gray. He'll be an A until he's 40 years old, when he finishes his career with the Red Sox. Max Bishop then singles to put men on the corners and a Joe Boley single plates Philadelphia's third run. After the second out - Cochrane clears the bases with a double - and, I mean, I don't want to be an alarmist here, Yankee fans - but it's 8-5. And then Jimmie Foxx doubles and it's 8-6 and this Philly crowd is fully back into the game. Yankees 8 A's 6
8th: Dickey singles and two outs later Johnson walks - but that's all - we head to the bottom of the 8th and momentum is not real but it feels real and the A's have it.
8th: 1-2-3 and then they dont.
9th: 26 year old lefty Carroll Yerkes is the 5th Philadelphia pitcher; 1-2-3 and we head to the bottom of the 9th.
9th: Chandler remains in the game - Max Bishop is first and he flies to center.
Joe Boley is next and he grounds to first.
Lefty pinch hitter Homer Summa is the A's last hope - he grounds to Gordon, onto first, ballgame.
Yankees 8
Athletics 6
WP Chandler
LP Grove
A's comeback falls short -
Dickey reached 4 times,
Etten had 3 hits, 4 RBI, and that homer
Johnson reached 4 times
Metheny reached 3 times and he homered
Stirnweiss reached twice
For the A's..
Cochrane had 3 hits, 2 doubles
Foxx had 2 hits
Boley had 2 hits
One more at Shibe Park, can the A's salvage a split?
LF Keller (26) 168 6.5
C Dickey (36) 173 4
1B Etten (29) 125 2.2
2B Gordon (28) 126 6.1
RF Metheny (28) 112 .7
CF Weatherly (28) 103 .7
3B Johnson (24) 107 3.5
SS Stirnweiss (24) 82 1.3
SP2 Bonham (29) 142 4.6
C Cochrane (26) 124 4.9
1B Foxx (21) 173 7.2
LF Simmons (27) 159 7.4
3B Dykes (32) 139 3.9
CF Haas (25) 114 2
RF Miller (34) 119 3.3
2B Bishop (29) 83 2
SS Boley (32) 71 .4
SP2 Earnshaw (29) 128 4.3
GAME TWO
1st: Big start here for 29 year old RH George Earnshaw, the A's do not want to go down 2-0 and head to Yankee Stadium; the Reds pulled it off, but will it happen twice in a row? 24-8, 3.29. He's just in his second year in the bigs and led the league in wins, this will be the best season of his 9 year career. 1-2-3
1st: We saw 29 year old RH Tiny Bonham from the '41 Yankees bullpen, this year he's 15-8, 2.29. In between that '41 season and this '43 season he finished 5th in the AL MVP in '42. He's going to be dead in 6 years - during the 1949 season he went into the hospital for an appendecotmy and never came out, a previously undetected cancer the cause of death. Mickey Cochrane reaches by error and then Double X, Jimmie Foxx, hits a two run shot to give the A's their first lead of the series. Al Simmons hits the next pitch over the wall in left and the Philadelphia Hall of Fame sluggers have gone back to back. Yankees 0 A's 3
2nd: Joe Gordon walks/Bud Metheny singles. That's all Earnshaw allows.
2nd: Max Bishop singles, he came up in '24 and had his career year last year when he hit .316, the only time in his 12 year big league career he will break .300. He's stranded at second.
3rd: Bonham and Keller walk, Dickey then singles and the Yankees have loaded the bases, but Earnshaw really buckles down here - he gers out of another inning.
3rd: Jimmy Dykes singles with two out, he's a utility man for this A's team, getting the start at third in this series, Dykes came up way back in 1918, this is his career best season with the bat, that's all Bonham allows.
4th: Stirnweiss singles with 2 out, nothing else.
4th: 1-2-3
5th: Dickey/Etten single with one out, again - Earnshaw keeps them off the board.
5th: After an out, Cochrane singles and Foxx walks - Foxx is just 21 and already a monster bat, he came up when he was 17 years old - this year he led the league with a .463 OBP. He's going to win the MVP Award in '32 and then again in '38 with the Red Sox. Al Simmons then singles and the 3 Philly Hall of Famers are all on base - Dykes grounds out, it scores another run. Yankees 0 A's 4
6th: Bill Johnson singles with one out and an out later so does Bonham, again -- again Earnshaw works his way out of trouble.
6th: Bishop hits a one out single, that's all.
7th: With one out, Etten walks and then Joe Gordon hits a bomb - a two run shot to left - it cuts the A's lead in half. Yankees 2 A's 4
7th: 1-2-3, nice inning for Bonham.
8th: Johnson walks, after an out, Johnny Lindell pinch singles, Keller then singles home a run -- and then Dickey triples home both the tying run....and the go ahead run...Bill Shores enters for the A's and gets out of it - but the comeback is complete and now it's Yankees 5 A's 4
8th: The Yankees really have only one effective bullpen arm, RH Johnny Murphy is now 34, a dozen wins and a 2.51 ERA - he strikes out the side, the A's are in trouble.
9th: 1-2-3, Shores pitched well in game one and again today.
9th: Bishop is first -- he leads off with a single, tying run on base.
Boley grounds to third -- over to second -- onto first. Double Play.
Sammy Hale is sent up to hit for the pitcher - last chance here for the A's - and he doubles down the right field line - Hale safely standing up into second.
Tying run in scoring position. Two outs - Cochrane to the plate; Marius Russo was the Yankees top starter two years ago, he was 5-10 this year and didn't get a spot in the series, but McCarthy brings him in right now -- and he pops out to Gordon.
Yankees 5
A's 4
WP Bonham
LP Earnshaw
The Yankees took the big game one lead and held on - today, they made the big comeback. The result - they go home needing just one win to advance.
Keller reached twice today
Dickey has now reached 7 times with a triple
Etten has reached 5 times, hit that homer
Gordon reached twice today with a homer
Johnson has reached 6 times
Metheny has reached 4 times and he homered
For the A's..
Cochrane has 4 hits, 2 doubles
Foxx has 4 hits with a homer
Simmons had 2 hits today with a homer
Bishop had 3 hits today
We go to Yankee Stadium. Yankees up 2-0.
C Cochrane (26) 124 4.9
1B Foxx (21) 173 7.2
LF Simmons (27) 159 7.4
3B Dykes (32) 139 3.9
CF Haas (25) 114 2
RF Miller (34) 119 3.3
2B Bishop (29) 83 2
SS Boley (32) 71 .4
SP3 Walberg (LH) (32) 117 4.3
2B Gordon (28) 126 6.1
C Dickey (36) 173 4
LF Keller (26) 168 6.5
1B Etten (29) 125 2.2
3B Johnson (24) 107 3.5
CF Lindell (26) 102 1.2
RF Metheny (28) 112 .7
SS Stirnweiss (24) 82 1.3
SP3 Borowy (27) 115 1.1
GAME THREE
1st: Hank Bowory was the MVP of the Yankees first round series; during the regular season, the 27 year old RH was 14-9, 2.82 - he's in his second season, all of his good years will happen through '45 when he finishes 6th in the MVP race. Jimmie Foxx reached on a one out error and Al Simmons singles, but that's all.
1st: 32 year old lefty Rube Walberg goes for Connie Mack, the A's backs against the wall - 18-11, 3.60 -- he came to the A's during his rookie season in '23, he'll be in the rotation from '25-33. 1-2-3
2nd: 1-2-3
2nd: Billy Johnson singles with one out, that's all.
3rd: Fox walks with two out, Al Simmons singles - and then Jimmy Dykes, the MVP from their round 1 series win doubles both men home and the A's are on top - Mule Haas then singles home Dykes; it's Haas's second year with the A's, he's about to lead the league in sac bunts for 5 straight years - like game 2, the A's take control early Athletics 3 Yankees 0
3rd: 1-2-3
4th: 1-2-3
4th: Joe Gordon doubles and an out later Charlie Keller walks, Etten then walks and now the bases are loaded. Billy Johnson singles - it's 3-1. Johnny Lindell walks - its 3-2. After the second out Stirnweiss walks and the Yankees have tied it up - Hank Borowy then helps himself and maybe ends this series with a bases clearing double; the Yankees have plated 6th in the 4th and that could be the end of this. Eddie Rommel again has an early entrance into a game Athletics 3 Yankees 6
5th: 1-2-3
5th: 1-2-3
6th: Haas walks - that's it.
6th: 1-2-3
7th: Foxx singles with two and he will come all the way around to score on an Al Simmons double. Simmons has been starting for this team since he was a 22 year old rookie, he's had 3 top 5 MVP finishes. He's never hit below .300 and won't until '35 when he's with the White Sox. Athletics 4 Yankees 6
7th: Borowy doubles again, with one out and then after the second out Dickey doubles him home and that sure looks like it's the end of this series. Bill Shores is back on for the A's and the inning ends Athletics 4 Yankees 7
8th: Mule Haas homers down the right field line to get the run back - can the A's come back from the dead? Miller walks and two out later, Shores, hitting for himself - singles. The A's have them on the corners - tying runs on base with two out and Cochrane coming to the plate. The Yankees go to the pen for Johnny Murphy -- big, big spot - Cochrane singles -- that scores Miller and now it is 7-6. Tying run 90 feet away and Jimmy Foxx strolling to the plate. Foxx hits a rocket to right center - splits the outfield - Shores scores the tying run - Cochrane is held at third, he might have had a chance there - but with the score tied and Al Simmons on deck, holding at third makes sense. Murphy gets Simmons, A's 7 Yankees 7
8th: Etten walks and after an out Lindell reaches by error - Bud Metheny then drives a ball down the right field line - it clears the bases and the Yankees have jumped back on top. Carroll Yerkes comes on for the A's, he gets the second out then walks Roy Weatherly, hitting for Murphy. He then walks Gordon to load the bases - but it ends there. A's 7 Yankees 9
9th: Marius Russo ended game 2 and he's on again here - Dykes is first - he flies to Lindell, one away. Haas is next and he singles. Miller grounds wide of first - Etten throws to short to get the lead runner. Two away. One out from the sweep. Russo walks Bishop. Two on, two out. Joe Boley flies to left and it is done.
Huge celebration on the Yankee Stadium mound - the '41 Yankees were up 2-0 and blew their series - this Yankee team was a sizeable underdog and they sweep the A's.
A's 7
Yankees 9
WP Murphy
LP Shores
Dickey reached 8 times with a triple
Etten reached 7 times, hit that big homer
Johnson reached 8 times
Let's say Nick Etten is the MVP, hitting that 3 run game 2 homer against his old club.
Region 1 is set.
1984 Tigers v. 1977 Yankees
1975 Reds v. 1943 Yankees
28 spots left. Onto Region 2.
