The All-Time Yankees Tournament Semifinals: 1932 vs. 1951

Ah yes, down to the Final Four. And it wouldn't be March/April Madness without an upset or two, which brings us to our first semifinal: The 1932 Yankees (who upset the 1927 team) vs. the 1951 Yankees. 

Ruth and Gehrig vs. DiMaggio and Mantle.

Click below to see the results:

Game 1: 1951 wins, 8-5

The 1951 teams jumps out to a 6-0 lead in the first 3 innings, thanks in part to solo HRs by Hank Bauer and Joe Collins. After the '32 team pulls to within 6-3, Phil Rizzuto adds a 2-run triple in the 7th. Vic Raschi has been money so far in the tournament. He tossed a complete game (though a 2-out, 2-run HR to Ben Chapman in the 9th hurt his line for the game) and is now 5-0 in the tournament.

Game 2: 1951 wins, 11-4

Another fast start for the 1951 team, with 3 runs in the second inning off Lefty Gomez. Yogi started the scoring with a solo HR, then Mantle tripled and came in on a Gene Woodling groundout. Rizzuto had an RBI single later in the inning. Later, a bases-loaded triple buy Woodling put the game away. Hank Bauer added another HR, and Allie Reynolds went 7-1/3 for the win. Bill Dickey drove in a pair of runs for 1932.

Game 3: 1932 wins, 7-1

The 1932 team gets on the board as Johnny Allen tossed a complete-game 3-hitter and a bases-loaded double by Lou Gehrig sparked a 6-run 7th inning. Eddie Lopat takes the loss.

Game 4: 1932 wins, 3-1

A 2-run first-inning HR from Babe Ruth was all the support George Pipgras would need as the 1932 team evened the series. Pipgras scattered 5 hits over 7-2/3 innings, allowing only an RBI single from Phil Rizzuto before Jumbo Brown came in to get the save.  

Game 5: 1951 wins, 12-4

Yogi Berra hit a third-inning grand slam to put the 1951 team on the road to a rout. Gene Woodling added 3 RBIs and Mickey Mantle drove in a pair, while Joe Collins added a solo HR and Hank Bauer an RBI triple for the 1951 team. Vic Raschi improved to 6-0 in the tournament, allowing 4 runs over 8-1/3 innings. Lou Gehrig and Samuel Byrd had HRs for '32, and Red Ruffing allowed 6 runs in 5 innings and took the loss.  

Game 6: 1932 wins, 2-1

Lefty Gomez and Jumbo Brown combined on a 1-hitter as the 1932 team forces a seventh game. An RBI single by Phil Rizzuto in the 3rd inning (scoring Bobby Brown, who had walked) was the only hit the 1951 team would get. A solo HR by Tony Lazzeri and an RBI single by Samuel Byrd was the offense for the 1932 team. Allie Reynolds was the hard-luck loser, tossing a complete-game 6-hitter.

Game 7: 1951 wins, 3-1, wins series 4 games to 3

Eddie Lopat scattered 5 hits over 7 innings and the 1951 team scored the deciding runs without putting the bat on the ball as '51 advanced to the championship round. The '32 team took the early lead on a solo HR by Frankie Crosetti in the top of the second. The 1951 team tied it up in the bottom of the inning when Mickey Mantle doubled in Gene Woodling, who had tripled. Then, in the bottom of the fifth inning, after singles by Hank Bauer, Yogi Berra, and Woodling loaded the bases, losing pitcher Johnny Allen walked Mantle to plate the go-ahead run. Allen followed that by hitting Bobby Brown with a pitch to give the 1951 team an insurance run. Joe Ostrowski came in and pitched the final two innings for the save.

The computer gave Bauer the series MVP for hitting .406 with 2 HRs and 4 RBIs, but Woodling hit .360 and drove in 9 runs and Raschi won 2 games, so they probably would have been better choices. Gehrig drove in 7 runs for the 1932 team. 

So, the 1951 team moves on the final round, where it will face the winner of the 1998 vs. 1947 teams.

The bracket so far: