While the names of sluggers from Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig to Mickey Mantle, Reggie Jackson, and A-Rod dominate historical accounts of the Bronx Bombers, the storied franchise also had its share of outstanding pitchers. Waite Hoyt, Herb Pennock, Red Ruffing, Lefty Gomez, Ron Guidry, and Roger Clemens made many of the world championships possible. But a convincing case can be made that none contributed as much to the unique baseball legacy as Whitey Ford.
The Youngster Takes Over
The defending champion Yankees were in a dogfight in mid-1950 with the Detroit Tigers. Despite the reliable performances of baseball's premier pitching trio of Vic Raschi, Allie Reynolds, and Ed Lopat, who would combine for 55 wins that season, manager Casey Stengel was looking for an extra insurance edge for the stretch drive. In July, he called the 21-year-old Ford up from the minor leagues.
The young left-hander coolly proceeded to win his first nine decisions, suffering his only loss in his last game. Stengel did not hesitate to start the rookie in the fourth and final game of the World Series. The apparently unflappable Ford breezed through eight innings as the Yankees built a 5-0 lead. However, when two runs scored on a misplayed fly ball in the ninth inning, Stengel relieved Ford with the veteran Reynolds to get the final out. It was Whitey's first of a record 10 World Series victories.
Ford's ascension was delayed by Korean War service in 1951 and 1952, but he returned to a significantly changed pitching staff in 1953. The Reynolds-Raschi-Lopat trio's production had fallen to 42 wins, with Reynolds now relieving more often than starting. Ford led the mound corps in starts with 30 and victories with 18.
Following that with 16, 18, and 19-win seasons, he had clearly become the new Yankees ace. He kept his earned run average consistently below 3.00 and just as consistently vindicated Stengel's confidence in him as his "big game" pitcher. In fact, some observers felt that Ford's failure to achieve 20 victories during Stengel's tenure stemmed from the wily manager's practice of skipping his turn in the rotation to have him available for the crucial matches with contenders.
Chairman of the Board
That little quirk in Whitey's career pattern ended with Ralph Houk's succession as manager in 1961. Houk kept him in his regular turn and Ford responded with a Cy Young Award-winning 25-4 record. In that year's World Series, be broke Babe Ruth's Fall Classic record for most consecutive scoreless innings with 32.
He added another league-leading 24-victory season two years later, and remained as the acknowledged team leader as the Yankees were in the midst of another five-pennant streak in the early 1960's. But this time, unlike their unparalleled five world championships streak of the 1950's, they won only two of the five World series this time, and the signs of wear were increasingly evident.
Even as they finally fell from dominance to a fifth-place finish in 1965, Ford reeled off 16 wins. That was to prove his last winning season. With his pitching brilliance clearly fading, he posted only two victories in each of the next two years and called it quits after the 1967 campaign.
Ford finished with a record of 236-106, with a winning percentage of .690 and a lifetime earned run average of 2.75, both placing him in the top ranks of all major league pitchers, especially if the pre-1920 "dead ball" era statistics are ignored. Only Spud Chandler's .717 topped Ford's winning percentage among Yankees, and Chandler won just over 100 games. Guidry had several seasons more spectacular than Whitey's, but his prime lasted barely a decade. The best arguments for rivals could be made for Ruffing and Gomez, each with four 20-victory seasons and powerful World Series performances, but even their consistently excellent years fell short of Ford's total.
Source: Baseball-Reference.com
