On Friday, Major League Baseball celebrated the life of Lou Gehrig, the New York Yankees Hall of Famer whose career and life were cut short by the disease that came to bear his name.
Gehrig died June 2, 1941 at his New York home 17 days short of his 38th birthday. His death came 16 years and one day after his consecutive games streak began with a pinch hitting assignment on June 1, 1925. He took over as a regular one day later.
An appropriate way of honoring Gehrig would be to take a look at the 10 greatest games of his memorable career.
This is not a subjective ranking; rather, it is based on Gehrig’s contributions to victory in each game he played based on Win Probability Added.
Win Probability Added is used because it isolates the individual’s role in influencing the game’s outcome. For that reason, it emphasizes late-inning game-turning accomplishments. It judges the player’s contribution within the broader context of winning the game.
In the case of Gehrig, that creates an odd dichotomy: The New York Yankees were so great that Gehrig’s accomplishments were often subsumed by the team’s dominance. The 1927 season is a wonderful example of this ‘problem.’
In 1927, Lou Gehrig batted .373 with 47 home runs and a league-leading 173 RBI. He had a career-high 1.240 OPS and was voted Most Valuable Player.
Yet only one Gehrig performance from 1927 makes this ‘’10 greatest’ list, and it comes in at the bottom of the list. How can this be?
It’s no slap at Gehrig, but rather a testament to the team’s overall excellence. The 1927 Yanks got so many great performances from so many guys that even efforts as statistically superior as Gehrig’s only occasionally were pivotal to the game’s outcome.
With that as an introduction, here are the 10 greatest games in the career New York Yankees legend Lou Gehrig.
10. May 10, 1927, Yankees 8, Browns 7. Through eight innings at Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis, Gehrig contributed nothing of substance against Milt Gaston, and his team trailed 7-5 as a result. Then in the ninth, Gaston began to lose it. He walked Cedric Durst, allowed a single to Johnny Grabowski, and, one out later, walked Earle Combs to load the bases.
Mark Koenig’s sacrifice fly pulled the Yanks within a run … but at the cost of a second out. Gaston “unintentionally” walked Babe Ruth to load the bases for Gehrig, and this time he came through. His base hit scored pinch runner Mike Gazella and Combs with the tying and eventual winning runs. Win Probability Added: 0.516.
9. July 23, 1925. Yankees 11, Senators 7. Gehrig was less than two months into his taking over at first base when he starred in a free-wheeling match at Yankee Stadium. His third-inning single drove in Earle Combs to pull New York within a run at 4-3. Two innings later, he followed Bob Meusel’s base hit with a home run into the right field seats, again pulling the Yanks within a run, this time at 6-5.
In the seventh, walks to Aaron Ward and Babe Ruth plus a hit batter filled the bases for Gehrig, who delivered a grand slam down the short left field line. That put New York in front 9-7 and keyed what became a six-run inning. Win Probability Added: 0.521.
8. Aug. 26, 1935, White Sox 9, Yankees 8. Strangely, four of Gehrig’s greatest games came in Yankee defeats, this being one of them. At Comiskey Park, the Yankees trailed 5-1 when Gehrig’s single to right scored Red Rolfe. His eighth-inning home run pulled New York another run closer.
New York tied the game with two runs in the ninth, but wasted a Gehrig leadoff double in the 10th. Intentionally walked with a runner in scoring position and two out in the 13th, he scored on George Selkirk’s hit. But Chicago scored twice in the bottom of the 13th. In the 15th, Gehrig homered to again put the Yankees in front, this time 8-7. But the Sox responded with two runs in the bottom of the 15th. Win Probability Added: 0.526.
7. June 3, 1932, Yankees 20, Athletics 13. This is perhaps Gehrig’s most famous game. With Jack Saltzgaver on base, Gehrig homered off George Earnshaw in the first to shoot New York into the lead. Gehrig led off the fourth with his second home run off Earnshaw, and in the fifth followed Babe Ruth’s home run with his third of the day.
The Yankees still trailed 8-7 at that point, and they were down 10-9 when Gehrig came up for a fourth time, now facing Roy Mahaffey. His blast carried the high right field wall for Gehrig’s fourth home run of the game, making him only the third person to accomplish that feat and the first to do so in the 20th century.
After a groundout, Gehrig came up one final time in the ninth, but could manage nothing more damaging than a run-scoring sacrifice fly. Win Probability Added: 0.539.
6. July 10, 1931, Athletics 8, Yankees 6. With his team trailing 4-1 entering the sixth inning at Yankee Stadium, Gehrig led off with a base hit and came around to score on Lyn Lary’s double. The Yanks trailed 6-4 with two out in the ninth and Ruth on first when Gehrig came up representing their last hope. He delivered, sending a George Earnshaw pitch deep into the right field seats for a game-tying home run.
But Gehrig’s leadoff hit in the 12th was wasted and, in the top of the 14th, Philadelphia rode triples by Max Bishop and Jimmie Foxx to the two game-winning runs. Win Probability Added: 0.552.
5. July 24, 1937, White Sox 6, Yankees 5. This was yet another extra-inning loss in which Gehrig played the hero in defeat. His first inning home run off Thornton Lee came with Red Rolfe and Joe DiMaggio on base and gave the Yankees a 3-0 advantage. Walked in the third and fifth, he came up with Rolfe at second base in the seventh inning, and produced a home run that tied the game 5-5.
Gehrig’s one out single in the 10th plus a wild pitch put him in scoring position, but his teammates could not get him home. In the bottom of the inning, Rip Radcliffe’s base hit won the game for Chicago. Win Probability Added: 0.634.
4. July 31, 1930. Yankees 14, Red Sox 13. Gehrig’s first-inning fly ball scored Babe Ruth. And he got a bonus gift when center fielder Tom Oliver dropped the ball for an error. Two innings later, trailing 3-2, Gehrig doubled to score Lyn Lary, then came around himself on Tony Lazzeri’s base hit.
With the game tied 6-6 in the sixth, Gehrig’s line double to right scored Ed Wells and Earle Combs, and touched off a four-run inning. In the seventh, as New York clung to a 10-9 lead, Gehrig came up with the bases loaded and homered into Fenway’s right field seats. Those runs would prove to be just enough. Win Probability Added: 0.656.
3. Sept. 9, 1932, Tigers 14, Yankees 13. Gehrig’s third-inning grand slam broke a scoreless tie and set in motion a slugfest. His seventh-inning groundout pushed a run across but, by this time, the Yanks trailed 9-6. With two out and runners at second and third in the eighth inning of a 9-7 game, Tiger manager Mickey Cochrane gave Gehrig an intentional pass, turning the issue over to Tony Lazzeri, who singled two runs in. Bill Dickey’s base hit scored Gehrig with the go-ahead run.
But the Tigers fought back and led 13-10 when Gehrig came up again, this time with the bases loaded and one out in the ninth. His double into the left-center gap allowed all three baserunners to score, tying the game. But the Yankees were unable to score Gehrig and, after four scoreless extra innings, the Tigers finally walked it off on Heine Schuble’s base hit. Win Probability Added: 0.667.
2. Aug. 23, 1935, Yankees 6, Browns 3. At Sportsman’s Park, Gehrig’s first-inning walk contributed to a go-ahead Yankee run. He homered in the fifth to pad New York’s lead to 2-0, but the Browns fought back to forge a 3-3 tie after the regulation nine innings. Gehrig came up with two out in the ninth and the lead run at third, but was retired on a foul pop.
Gehrig got a second chance when he came up with two runners on base and two out in the 13th. This time he didn’t miss, sending a three-run home run into the sun deck in deep right field. Win Probability Added: 0.705.
1. Aug. 30, 1932, Yankees 6, White Sox 5. The Yankees trailed 1-0 when Gehrig came up with two out and Earle Combs and Babe Ruth on base. His center field blast reached the deepest bleachers at Yankee Stadium for a prodigious three-run home run.
But the Sox fought back to build a 5-4 lead entering the eighth inning. After retiring the first two batters, Chicago reliever Paul Gregory made the mistake of walking Babe Ruth and giving Gehrig a chance. He homered to thrust the Yankees ahead 6-5. Win Probability Added: 0.822.