Some seasons go criminally underrated in baseball history. For the Yankees, that's an easy thing to do when you've won more than twice the amount of titles than anyone else. But even among some of the most exciting years for the Bronx Bombers, 1949 should get more love.
The Yankees fought down to the wire for the 1948 pennant, but failed in the final series to the Red Sox. Unacceptable. So out went Bucky Harris, and in came Casey Stengel as Manager. Expectations were low for New York; Stengel was seen as a poor choice, Joe DiMaggio would be injured to start the year while dealing with a bone spur in his heel, and the Red Sox were locked and loaded to win now.
Even without the Yankee Clipper, the Yankees held their own, then when he returned in late June they took off, leaving Boston in the dust. A late swoon paired with a Red Sox surge led to drama as Boston came surging back and brought the entire season, once again, down to the wire as the two teams faced off in the final series of the year. Boston led the Yankees by 1 game with 2 to play. The Yankees trailed 4-0 in the first game, but rallied and won 5-4 to force a winner-take-all season finale at Yankee Stadium.
In the final game, the Yankees took a 1-0 lead to the bottom of the 8th where Tommy Henrich hit a homer to give a cushion before they loaded the bases with 2 outs. Jerry Coleman would then hit a blooper slicing away from Rightfielder Al Zarilla that he *barely* missed and rolled away as the Yankees scored 3 more runs. The Red Sox would rally in the 9th for 3 runs of their own, but that bloop hit made the difference as the Yankees prevailed 5-3 and won the pennant.
The World Series featured another rematch against the Brooklyn Dodgers, and would feature a familiar ending with the Yankees claiming victory in just 5 games. 1949 would mark the start of many great eras. It was the beginning of a Hall of Fame tenure for Stengel as Manager where the world would take notice of his unparalleled style. It was also the first year of an incredible streak where at least one NYC team would be featured in the World Series that would last 10 years, winning 8 in a row and 9 of the 10. Most importantly, it was the beginning of a legendary 5 straight World Series titles for the Yankees.
With DiMaggio hurt until July, the Yankees needed a leader to emerge, and Tommy Henrich stepped up. His 24 Home Runs and .287 BA led the team, but no hit was bigger than in Game 1 of the World Series as he hit the first walk-off homer in WS history, breaking a scoreless tie in the bottom of the 9th. The all star would also finish top 10 for MVP.
The Yankee leadoff hitter was starting to show off his MVP form in '49; leading the team with 18 Stolen Bases, 110 Runs and 169 Hits while leading all of baseball with 25 Sacrifices. He would finish 2nd for MVP this year, but next year would see an improvement in his voting.
No more splitting time at other positions for Berra, he was purely a Catcher for 1949. His Hall of Fame trend would continue to ascend as he made his 2nd all star team and finished top 15 for MVP. His team high 91 RBI helped hold down the fort while DiMaggio was recovering.
Other regulars in the champion lineup. Colemans bloop hit turned out to be the difference maker for the pennant as the rookie finished 3rd in Rookie of the Year voting.
Off the bench. Johnny Mize was on the other end of his Hall of Fame career when the Yankees purchased him in hopes he could add depth to the bench.
The Yankees ace in the hole for pitching was the guy they marched out from the bullpen. Page led baseball with 27 Saves while finishing 48 in total, helping him finish 3rd in MVP voting. He was called upon early in a 1-1 tie in Game 3 of the World Series as he would hold the Dodgers at bay and be the winner of a 5-4 victory, putting the Yankees up 2-1 in the series.
The all star ace of the staff, Raschi would lead with 21 Wins and 274.2 Innings. He'd grind out another victory in the clinching Game 5 of the World Series.
The rest of the rotation. Reynolds would join Reynolds in the all star game, and get the ball to start the World Series, which he would pitch a Shutout and win. Lopat would lead the team with a 3.26 ERA, and pick up a Win of his own in the World Series. Byrnes features an interesting chart with so much Walk potential before you can get a hit off him, which was indicative of his 179 Walks which led baseball. At least he also led the team with 129 Strikeouts.
Relievers and other such arms for the Yankees.
The profound effect of Joe DiMaggio can not be undersold. Without his presence, the general opinion was the Yankees had no chance in the standings. Then, he returned with such a bang that he still made the all star team and was a mainstay in the lineup the rest of the way, hitting .346 with 14 Home Runs in just 272 At Bats. He'd add another blast in the World Series.
