The Yanks' 17 Runs Against the Sox
The Defending Champs Blasted An Also-Ran
In 1954, the World Champions overwhelmed a team that would finish 42 games out of first. In 2008, the struggling Yanks annihilated the team that won the 2007 Series.
On July 7, 1954, the defending World Champion Yankees scored 17 runs against the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium, hitting 3 home runs and 3 triples in a 17 hit barrage against four Boston hurlers. The Yankees wouldn't come close to battering Boston pitching so wonderfully at the Stadium until April 16, 2008, when they scored 15 runs against the defending World Champions.
Mickey Mantle Hit His Nineteenth Home Run and Tenth Off Red Sox Pitching
Rain caused the 1954 game to be stopped in the top of the eighth inning with Boston having no outs, 3 runs scored, and a runner on second but stilltrailing, 17-9. Red Sox manager Lou Boudreau did not protest and neither did what remained of the 12,910 paying customers. Every Yankees' starter hit safely, led by Mickey Mantle. Mickey hit his 19th home run and 2 singles. It was his 10th home run off Boston pitching. Right fielder Irv Noren had 4 hits, including 2 triples, and Yogi Berra chipped in with a three run home run and a triple. First baseman Joe Collins had a home run.
An Eight Run Second Inning
The Red Sox jumped on Yankees' starter Allie Reynolds early and often, scoring three runs in the first inning, highlighted by a prodigious Ted Williams home run but the Yankees had an eight run second inning and were never headed. In the 2008 game, the Yankees led 7-3 after four innings when theSox scored six runs in the top of the fifth and the Yankees answered with a four spot to take the lead for good. Bobby Abreu and Alex Rodriguez hit Yankees' home runs, and journey man catcher Chad Moeller had 3 hits.
Youngsters Hughes, Kennedy, and Bob Grim
The 2008 Yankees are supposed to be an offensive powerhouse, led by Alex Rodriguez, Bobby Abreu, Derek Jeter, Hideki Matsui, Jorge Posada, Robinson Cano, and Johnny Damon, but they are a team with some starting pitching problems. Chien Ming Wong, who started against the Red Sox, is the ace, followed by Andy Pettitte, Mike Mussina, and youngsters Philip Hughes and Ian Kennedy.
The 1954 Yankees were a balanced team with an offense led by Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, Hank Bauer, Gene Woodling, Joe Collins, Gil McDougald, and surprisingly to some, Irv Noren. Whitey Ford, Eddie Lopat, and Allie Reynolds led the pitching staff entering the season, but it was 24 year old rookie Bob Grim became the ace, winning 20 games. The 2008 Yankees hope that Hughes, Kennedy, or both can emulate the 1954 Bob Grim.
A Tight 2008 Race
The 2008 Yankees will be involved in a tight division race with the Red Sox and probably Blue Jays, and will be involved in the wild card race. The 1954 team won 103 games, which was more than any other Casey Stengel team, but they finished 8 games behind the Indians. There was no division champion, wild card, or playoffs in those days.
Boston Was NOT the Yankees' Primary Rival
The Yankees' primary rivals during the late 1940s and 1950s were Brooklyn and Cleveland, not Boston. In 1954, the Yankees scoring 17 runs against Boston was newsworthy since there was much less offense in the game, but Boston won only 69 games in 1954 and finished 42 games out of first place. The Indians finished second to the Yankees in 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, and 1956. In 1954, they stopped the Yankees' streak of five consecutive pennants. The Yankees faced Brooklyn in the World Series in 1949,1952, 1953, 1955, and 1956, winning all the Series but 1955.
It is Different in 2008
In 2008, things are different. The game is extremely offensive, the Yankees haven't won the World Series in seven years, and the Red Sox have won more World Series in the last four years than they have since the glory days of the dead ball era. Scoring 17 runs is nice, but pitching wins championships.
References:
Sheehan, Joseph M. "Bombers' 17-Hit Attack Subdues Boston in Abbreviated Game, 17-9." New York Times. 8 July 1954, p. 27.
