’65 Yanks in Trouble

June 1, 1965 - On the first day of June, the American League standings showed the New York Yankees in eighth place with 19 victories and 25 defeats, 9½ games behind league-leading Minnesota. That is the worst record and position for a Yankee team on June 1 since 1925.

In fact, it is only the third time since then that the Yankees have reached June 1 with more defeats than victories. In 1940, that date found them with a 17-18 record, in fourth place; in 1959, they were 19-23, in sixth. Both those clubs finally finished third.

In 1925, their record on June 1 was 14-26, and things never got better. They wound up seventh — the last time any Yankee team finished out of the first division. It was the year Babe Ruth was incapacitated and fined, and that Lou Gehrig started to take charge of first base, replacing Wally Pipp on June 1 and starting his streak of 2,130 consecutive games.

Since then, the Yankees have always been in a contending position right after Memorial Day.

The three exceptions have ominous overtones for this year, but not necessarily for the future.

In 1925, the Yankees were fresh from their first taste of success. They had won three straight pennants — in 1921, 1922, and 1923 — after having spent their first two decades as a doormat. (Babe Ruth had been purchased from Boston in 1920.) They had been nosed out by the Washington Senators in 1924 but were still considered the team to beat. 

However, after the 1925 debacle, they bounced back with three pennants in a row. Leading them were Ruth, Gehrig, and the same manager, Miller Huggins.

In 1940, manager Joe McCarthy’s Yankees had just established a record by winning four straight World Series. That season they collapsed early, came on strong, and wound up only two games out. Then they reeled off three more pennants in a row.

In 1959, Casey Stengel was the manager. The Yankees had won four straight pennants again and nine in the last 10 years. This time the pitching collapsed, regulars suffered serious injuries, and everything went to pieces. But the following year, Stengel’s Yankees won the pennant again, and they haven’t stopped since.

Until now, that is.

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