When the Yankees Scored 1,067 Runs
The Philadelphia Athletics Won the Pennant by 13 1/2 Games.
Seven teams have scored over 1,000 runs in a season. Only the 1932 and 1936 teams won the World Series.
The 1931 New York Yankees scored 1,067 runs, which is the most runs ever scored by a major league team in a season. They led the league in batting average (.297), home runs (155), on base average (.380), slugging average (.457), and stolen bases (138). Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig tied for the home run championship with 46 each, Gehrig set the all time American League record for RBIs with 184, and Lefty Gomez won 21 games. The Yankees finished a distant second, 13 ½ games behind Philadelphia.
The Yankees Won Fourteen Games by at Least Ten Runs
The 94-59 Yankees had a run differential of 1,067 runs scored to 760 runs allowed, for a Pythagorean W-L of 100-53. The 107-45 Athletics scored 858 runs and allowed 626 runs for a Pythagorean W-L of 97-55. The Yankees won fourteen games by at least 10 runs, including beating Detroit 20-8, the Indians 19-2 and 18-1, the White Sox 22-5, and the Browns 17-0. Statistics must be viewed in the proper context.
The Yankees Scored 209 Runs More Than the Athletics
The Athletics’ offense was solid, but it was clearly not as good as the Yankees’ firepower. Philadelphia had Jimmie Foxx, Mickey Cochrane, and Al Simmons, all Hall of Famers, but they scored 209 fewer runs than the Yankees. The reason they won the pennant so easily was their pitching.
The A's Great Pitching
Lefty Grove, probably the greatest of all left handers, won 31 games with a 2.06 ERA. The league ERA was 4.51. Right hander George Earnshaw won 21 games and lefty Rube Walberg won 20. Philadelphia’s team ERA was 3.47. Lefty Gomez ‘ 21 wins and 2.67 ERA led the Yankees’ pitching, but he was the only Yankees’ pitcher who had a solid season. Hall of Famers Red Ruffing and Herb Pennock pitched below par and no one picked up the slack.
Yankees' Pitching Was Not As Good
Philadelphia and Washington were the only teams with ERAs less than 4.00 and the A’s were the only team whose pitchers allowed fewer hits than innings pitched. They walked an average of three hitters a game. The Yankees’ team ERA was 4.20. They allowed more hits than innings pitched and yielded an average of 3.5 walks a game.
More Than 1,000 Runs But No Championship
The first time a team scored at least 1,000 runs in a season was in 1930, when the Yankees scored 1,062 runs and the Cardinals scored 1,004 runs. The Yankees finished third, 16 games behind the A’s, and the Cardinals lost the World Series to the A’s. The 1950 Red Sox scored 1,027 runs and finished third, while the 1999 Indians scored 1,009 and finished first in the Central Division. but the Yankees had a better record and the Red Sox beat the Indians in the first round of the playoffs.
The 1932 and the 1936 Yankees Won the World Series
The only teams to score over 1,000 runs in a season and win the World Series were the 1932 and 1936 Yankees. In 1932 the Yankees scored 1,002 runs and swept the Cubs in the Series, but that Yankees’ team led the league with a 3.98 ERA and allowed the fewest hits of any pitching staff. The 1936 Yankees scored 1,065 runs and beat New York in a six game World Series. They had a 4.17 ERA, which led the league and was almost one run lower than the league ERA. Once again, it is illustrated that pitching, not hitting, wins championships.
