Projo Sox Blog

The 2009 Yankees are one of the best teams ever assembled. How do they compare with the 1927 Yankees -- generally regarded as the best team in baseball history?

Here's a position-by-position breakdown:

Catcher -- This was the only weak spot on the '27 powerhouse, as duties behind the plate were divided between Benny Bengough, Pat Collins, and John Grabowski. Jorge Posada is much better than any of them.

First Base -- Lou Gehrig, on his way to playing in 2,130 consecutive games, hit .373 with 47 homers, and drove in 175 runs. Mark Teixeira is a very good player, but he's not a legend.

Second Base -- I'll give the nod to Robinson Cano, who hit. 320, with 25 homers, over Tony Lazzeri, even though Lazzeri is in the Hall of Fame. Wouldn't argue, however, with anyone who'd say Lazzeri was better.

Shortstop -- Speaking of the Hall of Fame...Derek Jeter should be a first-ballot selection. Without a doubt, he's one of the all-time great Yankees. Mark Koenig was the SS in '27.

Third Base -- A-Rod, too, may be a Hall of Famer. In any event, he's much better than Joe Dugan, who manned the hot corner for the Bronx Bombers in '27.

Left Field -- Bob Meusel hit "only" .337 in '27, which was the lowest average among NY's starting outfielders. He also had an exceptional throwing arm -- unlike Johnny Damon. I'd take Meusel over Hideki Matsui, too.

Center Field -- Earle Combs hit .356, with 23 triples, as the best leadoff hitter of his era. Huge edge here to '27 Yanks, but still not as big as in...

Right Field -- George Herman Ruth broke his own record by hitting 60 home runs while batting .356.

Pitching -- The '27 Yanks are best remembered for their powerful bats, but they also had outstanding pitching, so it was hardly surprising that they won 110 games and lost only 44, finishing 19 games of the second-place Athletics and sweeping the Pirates in the World Series.
Waite Hoyt won a league-high 22 games while losing only 7. Herb Pennock won 19, as did bullpen ace Wilcey Moore, who also led the majors in ERA (2.28) Urban Shocker won 18.
Good as that staff was, the current staff, featuring C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Andy Pettite, with future Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera as the closer, is better.

As to which was the better team...

Ruth headed an outfield for the ages, the Iron Horse was at first base, and the pitching was first-rate. The '27 Yanks are still the best..

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