What If? Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig's 1927 Season

As I've done before with fantasy football and basketball, I'm going to start with the What If? edition of fantasy baseball. In case you're not familar with this concept, this is where I look back at a season long before fantasy baseball became a prominent or permanent fixture in American society. I'll calculate the numbers on what that player's season would have looked like if the game existed then or wasn't as known. I think it's only fitting that I start this edition out by looking back at two players who combined to have what I think is the best season for a duo of teammates. Today, we look back at the 1927 season of both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig as they led the New York Yankees to a season for the ages that year. But before we do that, let's look at the Sporting News fantasy scoring system in place for this.

Point system for Sporting News(batting):
Out: -2 points
Run Scored: 5 points
Single: 5 points
Double: 10 points
Triple: 15 points
Home Run: 20 points
Run Batted In: 5 points
Walk or Hit By Pitch: 3 points
Strikeout: -1 point
Stolen Base: 10 points
Caught Stealing: -5 points

Point system for Sporting News(pitching):
Win: 30 points
Save: 30 points
Hold: 5 points
Loss: -15 points
Inning Pitched: 15 points
Hit Allowed: -5 points
Earned Run Allowed: -10 points
Walk or Hit Batsman: -3 points
Strikeout: 3 points



Here are the stats and SN points for Babe Ruth's 1927 season:
Outs: 348 = -696 points
Runs Scored: 158 = 790 points
Singles: 95 = 475 points
Doubles: 29 = 290 points
Triples: 8 = 120 points
Home Runs: 60 = 1,200 points
Runs Batted In: 164 = 820 points
Walks + Hit By Pitches: 137 = 411 points
Strikeouts: 89 = -89 points
Stolen Bases: 7 = 70 points
Caught Stealing: 6 = -30 points
Total SN Points: 3,361 points
Points Per Game: 22.26
Note: Ruth played in 151 of the 154 scheduled regular season games.



Here are the stats and SN points for Lou Gehrig's 1927 season:
Outs: 366 = -732 points
Runs Scored: 149 = 745 points
Singles: 101 = 505 points
Doubles: 52 = 520 points
Triples: 18 = 270 points
Home Runs: 47 = 940 points
Runs Batted In: 175 = 875 points
Walks + Hit By Pitches: 112 = 336 points
Strikeouts: 84 = -84 points
Stolen Bases: 10 = 100 points
Caught Stealing: 8 = -40 points
Total SN Points: 3,435 points
Pointss Per Game: 22.16
Note: According to baseball-reference, Gehrig is credited for playing in 155 games in 1927.

Oh yeah, the Roaring 20s. Anyone that knows anything about sports in the 1920s in America knows that Babe Ruth was the icon of baseball that the sport needed after turmoil during the 1919 Black Sox scandal. It was a time where sports legends such as Jack Dempsey, Bobby Jones, and Red Grange captured the hearts of fans everywhere, too. But there wasn't anyone quite like Babe Ruth, who forever left his mark on the game of baseball by leading it into the "live ball era". And in 1927, the legend of Lou Gehrig had joined Ruth as they went on to have what I think was the best season for a duo of teammates in the history of the game in 1927. The lineup of "Murderer's Row" for the Yankees made this team one of the most popular ever, too.

The numbers are just staggering for both players, and would have given any fantasy owner a fighting chance to win their league if you had one of them. If you had both of them in either DNT(Draft N Trade) or salary cap league, then your offense wouldn't have had much trouble scoring points with the numbers they put up in 1927. In fact(unless your pitching wasn't strong), I would have a hard time believing that you wouldn't win your league if you had both Ruth and Gehrig. As most SN members know, any player averaging 22 points a game for any season as a batter doesn't come very often. Yet, two of them came from the same team in the same year!

With Gehrig batting fourth behind him, Ruth was able to challenge his own single-season record of 59 home runs that he set in 1921. It didn't appear that Ruth would get the record when he had 43 home runs going into September, but pitchers also couldn't pitch around him because of what Gehrig was doing. Ruth finished the season on a tear by hitting 17 home runs in the month of September as the Yankees had already clinched the American League pennant. On September 30 in the next-to-last game of the season, Ruth hit his 60th home run breaking his own mark.

The New York Yankees finished with a 110-44 regular season record as Ruth and Gehrig powered the Yankees to one of the best teams in baseball history capped by a convincing World Series sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Yankees lost the 1926 World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals and Ruth made the final out when he was caught stealing in Game 7 with two outs in the 9th inning. But Ruth and the Yankees would not be denied in 1927.

The team also had second baseman Tony Lazzeri and outfielder Bob Meusel, who both had over 100 runs batted in for the 1927 season. Earle Combs also led the team in hits with 231 and batted .356, too. Waite Hoyt won 22 games and had an ERA of 2.63 as a pitcher for the Yankees. So the Yankees had some other fantasy choices that would have helped your team in 1927.

Ruth and Gehrig combined for 107 home runs and 339 runs batted in during their magical season. In the World Series, Ruth batted .400 with two home runs and seven runs batted in. Gehrig batted .308 and all four of his hits were for extra bases(two doubles and two triples) in the World Series.

The 1927 Yankees are still considered one of the best, if not the best, baseball team ever. The dynasty of the Yankees began in the roaring 20s with Ruth leading the way, and continued on even in the Great Depression in the 1930s. This was one of American sport's most popular teams, and the lineup of "Murderer's Row" will forever be remembered in baseball folklore.

Eventually, I will add the Yahoo! scoring in for this.

I'll do these every so often during the season. Anyone can request a player and season by commenting, but I would like to keep it before the 1980s if possible since that is when fantasy baseball started really gaining popularity.

Thanks for viewing the first installment of What If? fantasy baseball!

Posted in: Babe Ruth, baseball, fantasy baseball, Lou Gehrig, Major League Baseball, MLB, New York Yankees, Sporting News

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