SEMIFINALS: Cleveland won its third straight game 7 to advance to the World Series. The series alternated wins and losses: the Indians took games 1, 3, 5 and 7, while the Yankees were victorious in games 2, 4 and 6. Cleveland’s comeback and walk-off victory in the crucial game 5 was one of the most dramatic endings of the tournament.
Pre-Expansion Greats Tournament
Game 1: Cleveland 3, New York 1
Game 2: New York 9, Cleveland 5
Game 3: Cleveland 4, New York 1
Game 4: New York 3, Cleveland 2
Game 5: Cleveland 5, New York 4
Game 6: New York 6, Cleveland 3
Game 7: Cleveland 5, New York 1
Series MVP: Stan Coveleski, Cleveland
Coveleski won his game 1 and 7 starts with complete games, limiting the Yankees to just one run in each contest. He was also highly effective in a game 4 loss. In 26 innings, he gave up 20 hits, eight walks and just five runs, posting a 1.73 ERA. He struck out 10 Yankees.
Batting Statistics
Pitching Statistics
Game 1: Cleveland 3, New York 1
Stan Coveleski kept the Yankee batters at bay and led the Indians to the series-opening win. He gave up six hits and three walks in the complete-game effort. New York’s only run came in the bottom of the first when Joe DiMaggio homered to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. New York threatened in the third (putting runners on first and second with two out) and the eighth (getting runners on second and third with two outs), but Coveleski recorded the inning-ending out both times. Cleveland tied the game on an Al Rosen solo homer in the top of the fourth. In the fifth, Lou Boudreau led off with a single and was sacrificed to second. He scored on an RBI single by Nap Lajoie, and Tris Speaker followed with an RBI double to make it 3-1.
00 CLEVELAND INDIANS (3) AT 00 NEW YORK YANKEES (1) 00 CLEVELAND INDIANS AB R H BI 00 NEW YORK YANKEES AB R H BI Joe Jackson 3 0 0 0 Tony Lazzeri 4 0 0 0 Nap Lajoie 4 1 2 1 Joe DiMaggio 4 1 2 1 Tris Speaker 4 0 2 1 Mickey Mantle 4 0 2 0 Hal Trosky 4 0 0 0 Babe Ruth 3 0 1 0 Al Rosen 4 1 1 1 Lou Gehrig 4 0 0 0 Rocky Colavito 3 0 0 0 Yogi Berra 4 0 0 0 Larry Doby 4 0 0 0 Roger Maris 3 0 0 0 Lou Boudreau 4 1 1 0 Red Rolfe 3 0 1 0 Steve ONeill 2 0 1 0 Phil Rizzuto 4 0 0 0 TOTALS 32 3 7 3 TOTALS 33 1 6 1 00 CLEVELAND INDIANS 000 120 000 -- 3 00 NEW YORK YANKEES 100 000 000 -- 1 LOB--00 CLEVELAND INDIANS 6, 00 NEW YORK YANKEES 8. 2B--Tris Speaker (2), Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio. HR--Al Rosen, Joe DiMaggio. HBP--Joe Jackson. SACB--Steve ONeill. SB--Babe Ruth. 00 CLEVELAND INDIANS IP H R ER BB SO HR Stan Coveleski [W] 9.00 6 1 1 3 3 1 00 NEW YORK YANKEES Whitey Ford [L] 7.00 7 3 3 2 2 1 Allie Reynolds 2.00 0 0 0 0 1 0 SO--Rocky Colavito, Larry Doby, Hal Trosky, Tony Lazzeri, Red Rolfe, Babe Ruth. BB--Rocky Colavito, Steve ONeill, Red Rolfe, Babe Ruth, Roger Maris.
Game 2: New York 9, Cleveland 5
The Yankees’ offense awoke to the tune of five home runs, two of them by Mickey Mantle. Lefty Gomez pitched a three-hitter, but five walks and an error contributed to a five-run effort by the Indians. The Yankees took a 3-1 lead in the second inning after a three-run homer by Roger Maris, and made it 4-1 in the third on a Lou Gehrig sacrifice fly. The Indians scored four runs in the fifth and sixth innings, including a two-run homer by Rocky Colavito. But the Yankees outpaced them with two in the fifth on back-to-back homers by Joe DiMaggio and Mantle, one in the sixth on a solo shot by Yogi Berra, and two in the seventh on Mantle’s second homer.
00 CLEVELAND INDIANS (5) AT 00 NEW YORK YANKEES (9) 00 CLEVELAND INDIANS AB R H BI 00 NEW YORK YANKEES AB R H BI Joe Jackson 3 1 1 1 Tony Lazzeri 4 0 1 0 Nap Lajoie 4 0 0 0 Joe DiMaggio 3 3 2 1 Tris Speaker 3 0 0 1 Mickey Mantle 4 2 3 3 Hal Trosky 4 0 0 0 Babe Ruth 4 0 0 0 Al Rosen 3 1 0 0 Lou Gehrig 2 1 0 1 Rocky Colavito 2 2 1 2 Yogi Berra 4 2 2 1 Larry Doby 4 1 1 0 Roger Maris 3 1 1 3 Lou Boudreau 4 0 0 0 Red Rolfe 4 0 0 0 Steve ONeill 1 0 0 0 Phil Rizzuto 4 0 0 0 TOTALS 28 5 3 4 TOTALS 32 9 9 9 00 CLEVELAND INDIANS 100 022 000 -- 5 00 NEW YORK YANKEES 031 021 20x -- 9 LOB--00 CLEVELAND INDIANS 3, 00 NEW YORK YANKEES 3. ERR--Lou Boudreau, Red Rolfe. 2B--Tony Lazzeri, Yogi Berra, Joe DiMaggio. 3B--Joe Jackson. HR--Rocky Colavito, Mickey Mantle (2), Yogi Berra, Roger Maris, Joe DiMaggio. SACF--Joe Jackson, Tris Speaker, Lou Gehrig. SB--Mickey Mantle. 00 CLEVELAND INDIANS IP H R ER BB SO HR Bob Feller [L] 5.00 7 7 7 2 5 4 Bob Lemon 1.33 2 2 2 0 1 1 George Uhle 1.67 0 0 0 1 1 0 00 NEW YORK YANKEES Lefty Gomez [W] 9.00 3 5 4 5 6 1 SO--Al Rosen (2), Hal Trosky, Nap Lajoie, Steve ONeill, Tris Speaker, Mickey Mantle, Red Rolfe, Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth (2), Roger Maris, Phil Rizzuto. BB--Rocky Colavito (2), Al Rosen, Steve ONeill (2), Lou Gehrig, Roger Maris, Joe DiMaggio.
Game 3: Cleveland 4, New York 1
Addie Joss shut down the Yankees with a three-hitter to give the Indians the series lead again. The Yankees grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the second when Lou Gehrig homered. But, the Indians got a two-run homer from Rocky Colavito in the bottom of the second to take the lead for good. Hal Trosky had a two-out RBI single in the fifth to make it 3-1, and Al Rosen homered for the fourth run in the eighth inning. Joss stranded New York runners on first and second in the fifth and on third base in the sixth.
00 NEW YORK YANKEES (1) AT 00 CLEVELAND INDIANS (4) 00 NEW YORK YANKEES AB R H BI 00 CLEVELAND INDIANS AB R H BI Tony Lazzeri 4 0 0 0 Joe Jackson 4 1 2 0 Joe DiMaggio 3 0 0 0 Nap Lajoie 4 0 0 0 Mickey Mantle 3 0 0 0 Tris Speaker 4 0 1 0 Babe Ruth 3 0 1 0 Hal Trosky 4 0 2 1 Lou Gehrig 3 1 1 1 Al Rosen 3 2 1 1 Yogi Berra 4 0 0 0 Rocky Colavito 4 1 2 2 Roger Maris 3 0 0 0 Larry Doby 2 0 0 0 Red Rolfe 2 0 0 0 Lou Boudreau 2 0 0 0 Phil Rizzuto 3 0 1 0 Steve ONeill 3 0 1 0 TOTALS 28 1 3 1 TOTALS 30 4 9 4 00 NEW YORK YANKEES 010 000 000 -- 1 00 CLEVELAND INDIANS 020 010 01x -- 4 LOB--00 NEW YORK YANKEES 5, 00 CLEVELAND INDIANS 5. 2B--Rocky Colavito, Steve ONeill. 3B--Babe Ruth. HR--Lou Gehrig, Rocky Colavito, Al Rosen. SACB--Lou Boudreau. SB--Hal Trosky. 00 NEW YORK YANKEES IP H R ER BB SO HR Jack Chesbro [L] 8.00 9 4 4 2 3 2 00 CLEVELAND INDIANS Addie Joss [W] 9.00 3 1 1 5 6 1 SO--Mickey Mantle, Tony Lazzeri, Red Rolfe, Yogi Berra, Babe Ruth, Phil Rizzuto, Larry Doby, Al Rosen, Tris Speaker. BB--Mickey Mantle, Red Rolfe, Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Larry Doby, Al Rosen.
Game 4: New York 3, Cleveland 2
The Yankees scored one run in each of the first three innings and that was enough to even the series at two games apiece. Babe Ruth had an RBI double in the first, while Yogi Berra slugged a solo home run in the second and drove home the third run with a two-out single in the third. The Indians got a Hal Trosky home run in the second inning, but didn’t score again until the seventh when Lou Boudreau provided an RBI single.
00 NEW YORK YANKEES (3) AT 00 CLEVELAND INDIANS (2) 00 NEW YORK YANKEES AB R H BI 00 CLEVELAND INDIANS AB R H BI Tony Lazzeri 5 0 0 0 Joe Jackson 4 0 1 0 Joe DiMaggio 3 2 2 0 Nap Lajoie 4 0 1 0 Mickey Mantle 4 0 1 0 Tris Speaker 4 0 1 0 Babe Ruth 4 0 1 1 Hal Trosky 4 1 1 1 Lou Gehrig 3 0 1 0 Al Rosen 4 1 0 0 Yogi Berra 4 1 2 2 Rocky Colavito 2 0 2 0 Roger Maris 4 0 1 0 Larry Doby 3 0 0 0 Red Rolfe 4 0 1 0 Lou Boudreau 3 0 1 1 Phil Rizzuto 4 0 0 0 Steve ONeill 3 0 0 0 TOTALS 35 3 9 3 TOTALS 31 2 7 2 00 NEW YORK YANKEES 111 000 000 -- 3 00 CLEVELAND INDIANS 010 000 100 -- 2 LOB--00 NEW YORK YANKEES 7, 00 CLEVELAND INDIANS 3. ERR--Tony Lazzeri. 2B--Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Joe Jackson. HR--Yogi Berra, Hal Trosky. 00 NEW YORK YANKEES IP H R ER BB SO HR Whitey Ford [W] 8.00 6 2 1 1 2 1 Bob Shawkey [S] 1.00 1 0 0 0 0 0 00 CLEVELAND INDIANS Stan Coveleski [L] 8.00 9 3 3 2 3 1 Mike Garcia 1.00 0 0 0 0 0 0 SO--Mickey Mantle, Tony Lazzeri, Phil Rizzuto, Nap Lajoie, Steve ONeill. BB--Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Rocky Colavito.
Game 5: Cleveland 5, New York 4
Three outs away from going down 3-2 in the series, the Indians sent the home fans into a frenzy by scoring three runs in the bottom of the ninth for the win. Trailing 4-2, Cleveland’s Al Rosen led off the ninth with a walk, and then Rocky Colavito tied it with a two-run homer. The Yanks brought in reliever Ed Lopat, but Larry Doby deposited his first pitch over the right-field wall for the walk-off home run. New York had taken a 3-1 lead in the top of the sixth on a two-run single by Babe Ruth. Cleveland made it a one-run game in the bottom of the eighth when Nap Lajoie (who went 4-for-4) tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly. The Yanks added what they thought was an insurance run in the top of the ninth on Phil Rizzuto’s RBI double.
00 NEW YORK YANKEES (4) AT 00 CLEVELAND INDIANS (5) 00 NEW YORK YANKEES AB R H BI 00 CLEVELAND INDIANS AB R H BI Tony Lazzeri 4 1 1 0 Joe Jackson 4 0 1 0 Joe DiMaggio 3 1 0 0 Nap Lajoie 4 1 4 1 Mickey Mantle 4 0 0 0 Tris Speaker 3 0 0 1 Babe Ruth 4 0 2 2 Hal Trosky 4 0 0 0 Lou Gehrig 3 1 1 0 Al Rosen 3 1 0 0 Yogi Berra 4 0 1 1 Rocky Colavito 3 1 1 2 Roger Maris 4 0 2 0 Larry Doby 4 1 1 1 Red Rolfe 3 1 0 0 Lou Boudreau 3 0 0 0 Phil Rizzuto 4 0 1 1 Steve ONeill 3 1 1 0 TOTALS 33 4 8 4 TOTALS 31 5 8 5 00 NEW YORK YANKEES 010 002 001 -- 4 00 CLEVELAND INDIANS 001 000 013 -- 5 LOB--00 NEW YORK YANKEES 6, 00 CLEVELAND INDIANS 5. 2B--Tony Lazzeri, Lou Gehrig, Roger Maris, Phil Rizzuto, Steve ONeill. 3B--Babe Ruth, Nap Lajoie. HR--Rocky Colavito, Larry Doby. HBP--Joe DiMaggio. SACF--Tris Speaker. SB--Nap Lajoie. 00 NEW YORK YANKEES IP H R ER BB SO HR Lefty Gomez 8.00 7 4 4 2 4 1 Ed Lopat [L] 0.00 1 1 1 0 0 1 00 CLEVELAND INDIANS Bob Feller 8.67 8 4 4 3 9 0 Wes Ferrell [W] 0.33 0 0 0 0 0 0 PB--Steve ONeill. SO--Tony Lazzeri, Yogi Berra, Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, Roger Maris, Joe DiMaggio (2), Phil Rizzuto (2), Larry Doby, Al Rosen, Joe Jackson, Steve ONeill. BB--Tony Lazzeri, Red Rolfe, Lou Gehrig, Rocky Colavito, Al Rosen.
Game 6: New York 6, Cleveland 3
Mickey Mantle went 4-for-4 with two home runs and two doubles to help the Yankees extend the series to a seventh game. The Indians led 3-1 after five innings, but the Yankees tied it in the sixth on a two-run home run by Mantle. New York then went ahead in a three-run eighth inning that saw Joe DiMaggio and Mantle hit back-to-back solo homers, while Yogi Berra would notch his second RBI double of the contest. Nap Lajoie led the Indians with a pair of run-scoring hits.
00 CLEVELAND INDIANS (3) AT 00 NEW YORK YANKEES (6) 00 CLEVELAND INDIANS AB R H BI 00 NEW YORK YANKEES AB R H BI Joe Jackson 4 0 1 0 Tony Lazzeri 4 0 0 0 Nap Lajoie 4 1 2 2 Joe DiMaggio 3 2 1 1 Tris Speaker 4 0 0 0 Mickey Mantle 4 3 4 3 Hal Trosky 4 0 1 1 Babe Ruth 4 0 0 0 Al Rosen 3 0 0 0 Lou Gehrig 4 1 1 0 Rocky Colavito 4 0 0 0 Yogi Berra 4 0 2 2 Larry Doby 3 0 1 0 Roger Maris 4 0 0 0 Lou Boudreau 3 0 0 0 Red Rolfe 3 0 0 0 Steve ONeill 1 2 1 0 Phil Rizzuto 3 0 0 0 TOTALS 30 3 6 3 TOTALS 33 6 8 6 00 CLEVELAND INDIANS 002 010 000 -- 3 00 NEW YORK YANKEES 000 102 03x -- 6 LOB--00 CLEVELAND INDIANS 4, 00 NEW YORK YANKEES 4. ERR--Lou Boudreau. 2B--Larry Doby, Nap Lajoie, Steve ONeill, Mickey Mantle (2), Yogi Berra (2). 3B--Hal Trosky. HR--Mickey Mantle (2), Joe DiMaggio. 00 CLEVELAND INDIANS IP H R ER BB SO HR Addie Joss [L] 7.67 8 6 6 1 5 3 Mel Harder 0.33 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 NEW YORK YANKEES Jack Chesbro [W] 9.00 6 3 3 4 6 0 SO--Rocky Colavito (4), Larry Doby, Nap Lajoie, Tony Lazzeri (2), Babe Ruth, Roger Maris, Phil Rizzuto. BB--Larry Doby, Al Rosen, Steve ONeill (2), Joe DiMaggio.
Game 7: Cleveland 5, New York 1
The Indians battered Whitey Ford for five runs in the first four innings, while Stan Coveleski kept the Yankees off the board until the ninth inning, helping Cleveland capture the AL title in seven games. Joe Jackson tripled, Nap Lajoie doubled and Hal Trosky singled to give the Indians two runs in the top of the first. Trosky hit a two-run homer in the third inning, and Steve O’Neill had an RBI single in the fourth inning to make it 5-0. Coveleski didn’t give up a hit until the fifth inning. The Yankees broke up the shutout in the ninth on an RBI double by Babe Ruth, but that was it. Coveleski gave up five hits and three walks while striking out four.
00 CLEVELAND INDIANS (5) AT 00 NEW YORK YANKEES (1) 00 CLEVELAND INDIANS AB R H BI 00 NEW YORK YANKEES AB R H BI Joe Jackson 5 1 1 0 Tony Lazzeri 4 0 0 0 Nap Lajoie 4 2 2 1 Joe DiMaggio 4 0 0 0 Tris Speaker 4 0 0 0 Mickey Mantle 4 1 2 0 Hal Trosky 4 1 2 3 Babe Ruth 4 0 2 1 Al Rosen 4 0 0 0 Lou Gehrig 4 0 0 0 Rocky Colavito 4 0 0 0 Yogi Berra 2 0 0 0 Larry Doby 3 1 1 0 Roger Maris 4 0 1 0 Lou Boudreau 4 0 0 0 Red Rolfe 4 0 0 0 Steve ONeill 2 0 1 1 Phil Rizzuto 2 0 0 0 TOTALS 34 5 7 5 TOTALS 32 1 5 1 00 CLEVELAND INDIANS 202 100 000 -- 5 00 NEW YORK YANKEES 000 000 001 -- 1 LOB--00 CLEVELAND INDIANS 5, 00 NEW YORK YANKEES 7. ERR--Lou Boudreau, Phil Rizzuto. 2B--Larry Doby, Nap Lajoie, Babe Ruth. 3B--Joe Jackson. HR--Hal Trosky. 00 CLEVELAND INDIANS IP H R ER BB SO HR Stan Coveleski [W] 9.00 5 1 1 3 4 0 00 NEW YORK YANKEES Whitey Ford [L] 3.33 7 5 5 2 0 1 Waite Hoyt 5.67 0 0 0 1 1 0 SO--Larry Doby, Red Rolfe, Lou Gehrig, Roger Maris (2). BB--Larry Doby, Steve ONeill (2), Yogi Berra (2), Phil Rizzuto.
ROGER SPORTS & GAMES 