Age: 27
5th season
with Yankees
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 5’10” Weight: 180
Prior to 1942:
Born in Los
Angeles, Gordon grew up in Arizona and Portland, Oregon, where he played center
field at Jefferson High School. Moving on to the University of Oregon, he
played shortstop and batted .380 in 1934 and .415 in ’35. Nicknamed “Flash”,
Gordon was also a member of the gymnastics team where he developed the
acrobatic skills that would help to make him an exceptional second baseman.
After playing winter ball in Los Angeles, he signed with the Yankees in 1936.
That year he was assigned to the Oakland Oaks of the Class AA Pacific Coast
League. An injury to the starting shortstop gave him an opportunity to appear
in the starting lineup and Gordon hit .300 with 33 doubles and 6 home runs.
Groomed to replace the aging Tony Lazzeri at second base for the Yankees,
Gordon was sent to the Newark Bears of the International League in 1937. While
honing his skills as a second baseman, Gordon batted .280 with 26 home runs as
a leadoff hitter. He took over for Lazzeri in 1938, hitting .255 with 25 home
runs and 97 RBIs. The quick and agile Gordon also quickly established himself
as one of the AL’s best defensive second basemen and placed twelfth in league
MVP voting. He was an All-Star for the first time in 1939 as he batted .284
with 28 home runs and 111 RBIs for a Yankee team that won its fourth straight World
Series title. In 1940 Gordon hit .281 with 30 home runs, 103 RBIs, and 18
stolen bases while scoring 112 runs. Having dealt first baseman Babe Dahlgren
in the offseason, the Yankees shifted Gordon to first in 1941 before returning
him to second base in May (where his successor had fallen short) and he had
another fine year with the bat posting a .276 average with 24 home runs and 87
RBIs. By 1942 he was a three-time All-Star with speed and a potent bat who had
demonstrated excellence in the field.
1942 Season Summary
Appeared in 147
games
2B – 147
[Bracketed
numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 625 [22, tied with Bobby Doerr]
At Bats – 538
Runs – 88 [11]
Hits – 173 [8]
Doubles – 29 [14,
tied with Johnny Pesky & Joe DiMaggio]
Triples – 4
Home Runs – 18
[6]
RBI – 103 [4]
Bases on Balls
– 79 [9]
Int. BB – 7 [9,
tied with Bob Johnson, Phil Rizzuto & Bill Dickey]
Strikeouts – 95
[1]
Stolen Bases – 12
[13, tied with Oris Hockett & Johnny Pesky]
Caught Stealing
– 6
Average - .322
[4]
OBP - .409 [5]
Slugging Pct. -
.491 [6]
Total Bases – 264
[6]
GDP – 22 [1]
Hit by Pitches
– 1
Sac Hits – 7
Sac Flies – N/A
League-leading batter
strikeouts were +7 ahead of runner-up Chet Laabs
League-leading times
grounded into DPs were +1 ahead of runners-up Pinky Higgins & Glenn
McQuillen
Most hits, game
– 4 (in 5 AB) vs. St. Louis Browns 6/13, (in 4 AB) vs. Detroit 7/13, (in 5 AB)
at Washington 9/6
Longest hitting
streak – 29 games
HR at home – 7
HR on road – 11
Most home runs,
game – 2 (in 4 AB) at Chicago White Sox 5/20
Multi-HR games
– 1
Grand Slams – 2
Most RBIs, game
– 5 vs. Cleveland 6/7, at St. Louis Browns 9/9
Pinch-hitting –
No appearances
Fielding
Chances - 824
Put Outs – 354
Assists – 442
Errors – 28
DP – 121
Pct. - .966
Postseason
Batting: 5 G (World Series vs. St. Louis Cardinals)
PA – 21, AB – 21,
R – 1, H – 2, 2B – 1,3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 0, BB – 0, IBB – 0, SO – 7, SB – 0, CS
– 0, AVG - .095, OBP - .095, SLG -.143, TB – 3, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF – N/A
Awards & Honors:
AL MVP: BBWAA
All-Star (started
for AL at 2B)
Top 5 in AL MVP
Voting:
Joe Gordon, NYY:
270 pts. - 12 of 24 first place votes, 80% share
Ted Williams,
BosRS.: 249 pts. –9 first place votes, 74% share
Johnny Pesky,
BosRS.: 143 pts. – 2 first place votes, 43% share
Vern Stephens,
StLB.: 140 pts. – 1 first place vote, 42% share
Ernie Bonham,
NYY: 102 pts. – 30% share
---
Yankees went 103-51
to win the AL pennant by 9 games over the Boston Red Sox, while leading the
league in home runs (108) and RBIs (744). Lost
the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals, 4 games to 1.
Aftermath of ‘42:
The Yankees won
the AL pennant again in 1943 and Gordon contributed a .249 batting average, 17
home runs, and 69 RBIs, as well as outstanding play at second base. He added a
home run and two RBIs in the World Series rematch with the Cardinals, won by
the Yanks in five games. He joined the Army Air Force in 1944 and missed the
’44 and 1945 seasons due to World War II service. Returning to the Yankees in
1946, Gordon had a poor season at the plate, batting just .210 with 11 home
runs and 47 RBIs, although he was still an All-Star selection in an
injury-riddled year in which he appeared in only 112 games. In the offseason
Gordon was traded to the Cleveland Indians for RHP Allie Reynolds. He rebounded
in 1947 to hit .272 with 29 home runs and 93 RBIs, while also leading AL second
basemen with 466 assists. A classy team leader, he also helped smooth the arrival
of infielder Larry Doby, the first black player in the American League, who
joined the club during the season. Part of an outstanding middle infield with
shortstop Lou Boudreau, Gordon contributed to a pennant in 1948 as he batted
.280 with 32 home runs and 124 RBIs. In 1949, his last All-Star season, he hit
.251 with 20 home runs and 84 RBIs. Gordon played one last major league season
in 1950, hitting .236 in 119 games with 19 home runs and 57 RBIs. Giving way to
the up-and-coming Bobby Avila at second base, Gordon was released in the
offseason. He was player/manager of the Sacramento Solons in the Pacific Coast
League in 1951 where he led the circuit with 43 home runs and 136 RBIs.
Following a lesser year in 1952, he became a scout for the Detroit Tigers and
later returned to the Indians as manager until he was dealt to Detroit during
the 1960 season for manager Jimmy Dykes in an unusual managerial swap. Gordon
later managed the Kansas City Athletics and was the original manager of the
Kansas City Royals. For his major league playing career he batted .268 with
1530 hits that included 264 doubles, 52 triples, and 253 home runs. Gordon also
scored 914 runs and compiled 975 RBIs and 89 stolen bases. With the Yankees he
accumulated 1000 hits over 1000 games, for a .271 average with 186 doubles, 38
triples, and 153 home runs. He further scored 596 runs for the Yanks with 617
RBIs and 68 stolen bases. Appearing in 29 World Series games he hit .243 with
four home runs and 16 RBIs. A nine-time All-Star, Gordon finished in the Top 10
in MVP voting five times. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in
2009, 31 years after his death at age 63.
--
MVP Profiles feature players in the National or
American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award
(1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present)
as Most Valuable Player.
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