page_title: 1927 World Series
section_title: The New York Yankees
hierarchical_section_title: 1927 World Series / The teams / The New York Yankees
caption_attribution_description: English: Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig at United States Military Academy, West Point, NY
context_page_description: In the 1927 World Series, the New York Yankees won, sweeping the Pittsburgh Pirates in four games. This was the first sweep of a National League team by an American League team.
  That year, the Yankees led the American League in runs scored, hits, triples, home runs, base on balls, batting average, slugging average and on-base percentage. It featured legends Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig at their peaks. The team won a then-league record 110 games, finished with a 19-game lead over second place, and are considered by many to be the greatest team in the history of baseball.
  The 1927 Pittsburgh Pirates, with MVP Paul Waner, led the National League in runs, hits, batting average and on-base percentage.
context_section_description: The 1927 New York Yankees had perhaps the most feared line-up in the history of baseball. Nicknamed "Murderers Row," their batting order boasted the all-time great Babe Ruth at the top of his considerable powers, hitting .356 with a then-record 60 home runs and 164 RBI that year. He was complemented by future Hall of Famers Lou Gehrig at first base, who hit .373 with 47 home runs and a league-leading 175 RBI, Tony Lazzeri at second base who drove in 102 runs with a .309 average, and center fielder Earle Combs, who hit .356 and scored 137 runs as the team's leadoff hitter. Left fielder Bob Meusel also drove in over 100 runs, with a .337 average.
  The team's pitching staff was led by another Hall of Famer, Waite Hoyt, who had his best season with a 22–7 record and a league-leading 2.63 ERA to add to his league-leading wins total. Three more pitchers won 18 or more games, rookie Wilcy Moore (19–7, 2.28), Herb Pennock (19–8, 3.00) and Urban Shocker (18–6, 2.84). Moore would have won the ERA title under current rules, but in those days qualification was based on the number of complete games pitched, and he made only 12 starts all year: 13 of his wins and a league-leading 13 saves (figured retroactively) came during his 38 relief appearances. Rounding out the staff were veteran Dutch Ruether (13–6, 3.38), George Pipgras (10–3, 4.11) and swingman Myles Thomas (7–4, 4.87).
  Not surprisingly, the Yankees ran away with the pennant under the leadership of manager Miller Huggins. They finished with a record of 110–44, 19 games in front of the second-place Philadelphia Athletics. They were overwhelming favorites to win the World Series.
caption: Ruth and Gehrig at a 1927 exhibition game
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