Baseball's Best Decade (15 page)

During the 1920s, the New York Yankees scored more runs than any other team. And from 1920-1928, Babe Ruth scored more runs than
any other Yankee player – or any other player in the American League – in 7 of those years.

The Boston Red Sox scored the most runs in the 1940s, led by Ted Williams (left) and Bobby Doerr. This pair between them had 12 seasons with 100 or more RBIs during the 1940s.

     Lou Gehrig                  Joe DiMaggio              Tony Lazzeri

                           Bill Dickey             George Selkirk

The 1936 New York Yankees had five players – the most ever – with 100 or more RBIs: Lou Gehrig (152), Joe DiMaggio (125), Tony Lazzeri (109), Bill Dickey (107), George Selkirk (107).

The Detroit Tigers finished second in scoring to the New York Yankees for the 1930s. The 1934 Tigers, American League pennant winners, featured 4 players with 100 or more RBIs: (left to right) Hank Greenberg (139), Charlie Gehringer (127), Billy Rogell (100) and Goose Goslin (100).

1920s –
The New York Yankees of “Murderers Row” fame were – no surprise – the highest scoring team of the 1920s. The Yankees averaged 5.5 runs per game, and led the American League in runs scored 4 times during the decade. The 1927 Yankees set a major league record by scoring 975 runs, but that record didn’t outlast the decade, as the Chicago Cubs scored 982 runs in 1929.

Who almost made the list?
Cleveland Indians at 7,772, St. Louis Browns at 7,767, Washington Senators at 7,413.

1930s –
Total runs scored in the 1930s (121,478) exceeded the total number of runs scored in the 1920s (118,883) by only 2%. Yet the New York Yankees’ major league leading total of 9,695 runs bested its 1920s total by 14% as the Bronx Bombers dominated nearly every offensive category for the decade. The Yankees led the American League in runs scored 8 times during the decade, finishing 2nd to the Detroit Tigers the other 2 seasons. The Yankees set the major league record for scoring in a season with 1,067 runs in 1931, a record that still stands. The National League’s highest scoring team for the decade, the St. Louis Cardinals, ranked sixth among all major league teams.