DiMaggio and those '36 Yankees

Spring training has begun and another baseball season is right around the corner.

So, what are the headlines we've been reading? Steroids ... Jason Giambi says he wants to tell all, but can't just yet ... Jose Canseco writes a tell-all book ... Rafael Palmeiro threatens to sue Jose Canseco over the tell-all ...

Please! Are you as tired of all this as I am? If so, please allow me to share a column I wrote for the Appeal on March 15, 1999, after Joe DiMaggio passed away:

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With the passing of Joe DiMaggio this week, baseball lost one of its legends from a time when the game was played for love rather than for business.

It also marked the passing of another link to one of the greatest teams - and greatest seasons - in major league history.

The New York Yankees of 1998, winners of 125 games, were compared to such great teams as the '27 Yankees and the Big Red Machine of the early '70s. The 1998 Yankees won 114 games during the regular season and their .714 winning percentage was the best in the majors since the Murderers' Row club of 1927.

Now, just for the heck of it, let's take a look at the Yankees of 1936.

As a team, these Yankees batted .314. They hit for 2,703 total bases, an average of nearly 18 bases a game. Five men drove in more than 100 runs, a lineup that included Lou Gehrig, Tony Lazzeri, Frank Crosetti and Bill Dickey.

Despite having such great players, the Yankees' entrance into that 1936 season was one Rodney Dangerfield could relate to. They got no respect.

After Babe Ruth departed, the team slipped to second-place in 1934 and then to third in 1935. The Detroit Tigers - who had Hank Greenburg and Mickey Cochrane - won the 1935 World Series and were favored to repeat the following year. If there was to be a challenge, the most likely candidate looked like the Boston Red Sox, who had Lefty Grove and Jimmy Foxx.

Instead, the Yankees had the pennant clinched on Sept. 9, the earliest any team had ever clinched at that time, and wound up winning by 19 1/2 games.

The Yankees went on to win the World Series in six games against a New York Giants team that featured Carl Hubbell, Bill Terry and Mel Ott. The world championship was the first of four straight the Yankees would win.

Gehrig led the majors with 49 home runs, plus he hit .354 with 152 RBIs and walked off with the American League MVP award.

Dickey, the Yankees' fabled catcher, hit .362 with 22 homers and 107 RBIs, despite missing 41 games.

Lazzeri, one of baseball's all-time greats at second base, hit three home runs during a May 23 double header against the Philadelphia Athletics, then went deep three times and drove in 11 runs the next day - a game the Yankees won 25-2.

Lazzeri was the No. 8 hitter in the lineup and his .287 batting average was the lowest among the everyday starters.

Red Ruffing pitched 25 complete games and logged a 20-12 record. Monte Pearson, Lefty Gomez, Bump Hadley and Pat Malone rounded out a formidable starting rotation to go with bullpen ace Johnny Murphy.

Manager Joe McCarthy was the force that instilled perfectionism, desire, pride, invincibility, and above all, team play as opposed to individualism.

And waiting in the wings was DiMaggio, a 21-year-old outfielder who went on to have a brilliant rookie season. After he was sidelined by a string of ailments, DiMaggio hit a triple and two singles in his debut as a Yankee on May 3.

Four days later in a game against Detroit, the Yankees took a 4-3 lead to the ninth. Pete Fox doubled and advanced to third with one out when Charlie Gehringer drove a fly to deep center field. DiMaggio, in just his fourth major league game, caught the ball and threw home. His throw came in low and straight - with no bounce - right to Dickey in time to catch the speedy Fox and complete the game-ending double play.

DiMaggio hit .323 that season with 29 home runs and 125 RBIs in 138 games. His 15 triples and 132 runs scored were rookie records.

Granted, those Yankees didn't have to play against such stars as Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson, who were relegated to a league of their own. And granted, the ball players of today may have an advantage in size, strength, speed and technology (and more as the public has learned since 1999).

Never mind any of that. The accomplishments of the '36 Yankees are such that ought to draw a tip of the cap from anyone who appreciates the game of baseball.

n Contact Dave Price at dprice@nevadaappeal.com or call 881-1220.