Damn Yankees by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview

Damn Yankees

Page 96

later, and provided the exclamation point on the season’s penultimate day with their 111th win; the percentage an AL record that still stands.

Though just 11-11 against each of the AL’s two other quality teams; the Yankees and the Chicago White Sox, the Indians feasted off a menu of five downtrodden teams that made up the rest of the league, firmly evidenced by an 89-21 record against the second division plus one.

Pitching was undoubtedly the Indians’ strength. The team’s 2.78 earned run average was the lowest of any AL team since the dead ball era. Lemon and Wynn won 23 games apiece to co-lead the AL; Mike Garcia won 19 and led the league with a 2.64 ERA. Bob Feller, playing out the string of a quickly deteriorating career,

rose to the occasion and won 13 of his 19 starts, losing only three. The Cleveland bullpen, meanwhile, became the heart of that supporting cast the Indians were looking for. It was headed by two rookies; left hander Don Mossi and right hander Ray Narleski, who combined to save 20 games while opposing batters hit under .200. If that wasn’t enough, the bullpen was also anchored by former two time MVP Hal Newhouser, who’d been discarded the year before by the Tigers and, like Feller, gave

it one last hurrah by winning seven and saving seven in 25 relief appearances.