1917 New York Yankees

The final standing	6th in AL (Did not qualify for World Series)
Regular season record	71-82 (.464)
Post-season record	(Not played)
AL rank	6th
World Series record and opponent	(Not played)
Manager	Bill Donovan
Captain	Roger Peckinpaugh
Top batter	Home runs: Wally Pipp (9), Home Run Baker (6), Tim Hendryx (5) BA: Home Run Baker (.282), Les Nunamaker (.261), Roger Peckinpaugh (.260) Runs: Wally Pipp (82), Roger Peckinpaugh (63), Home Run Baker (57)  RBI: Home Run Baker (71), Wally Pipp (70), Tim Hendryx (44)
Top pitcher/ (W-L, ERA)	Bob Shawkey: 13-15, 2.44
Attendance record	330,294 (5th of 8)

1917 New York Yankees Season: A brief summary

The 1917 season of the New York Yankees, marking their 15th year, was a challenging period for the storied franchise. Finishing with a record of 71 wins and 82 losses, the team found itself lagging significantly behind in the American League, trailing the champion Chicago White Sox by a substantial 28½ games. This performance was a reflection of the team’s struggles both on and off the field.

Managed by Bill Donovan, the Yankees faced various hurdles throughout the season. Their performance at the Polo Grounds, their home grounds, did not provide the advantage they might have hoped for. The team’s overall play was inconsistent, lacking the cohesive teamwork and standout performances needed to climb the league standings. The pitching staff and batting lineup did not deliver at crucial moments, leading to a disappointing season finish.

The 1917 season, though lackluster for the Yankees, was set against a backdrop of significant historical events, including World War I. These external factors, while not directly influencing the team’s performance, were part of the larger context in which the season unfolded.

While not a memorable year in terms of success, the 1917 season was a part of the Yankees’ early years, a time when the franchise was still developing its identity and laying the groundwork for future success. The lessons learned during this challenging season likely contributed to the team’s growth and evolution in subsequent years. Despite the setbacks, the 1917 season remains a notable chapter in the rich history of the New York Yankees.

Opening Day 1917: A blend of baseball and patriotism at the Polo Grounds

The opening game of the 1917 New York Yankees season, held on April 11th at the Polo Grounds in New York, was a memorable event, steeped in both baseball tradition and patriotic fervor reflective of the era’s national sentiments. The game, which attracted a sizeable crowd of 16,000 fans, saw the Yankees face off against their formidable rivals, the Boston Red Sox.

This particular game was noteworthy not just for the sporting rivalry it showcased but also for the presence of a distinguished guest, Major General Leonard Wood. General Wood, a prominent military figure of the time, added a touch of ceremonial grandeur to the occasion by throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. His participation in the event was a significant nod to the patriotic spirit that permeated the nation, as the United States was deeply involved in World War I during this period.

Adding to the unique atmosphere of the day was an unusual spectacle involving drill sergeant Gibson, a recruiting officer from Macon, Georgia. It’s worth noting that Macon was where the Yankees had conducted their spring training, a critical period of preparation for the upcoming season. In a display that combined military discipline with sports, Sergeant Gibson led the Yankees players across the field in a disciplined formation, with the players carrying rifles. This march across the field was not just a symbolic gesture of patriotism but also a nod to the discipline and teamwork that both baseball and military service required.

This blend of baseball and military display was emblematic of the times, reflecting the broader national context in which sports were being played. The game, despite its final score of 10-3 in favor of the Boston Red Sox, remained a significant event for the fans and players alike. It was an intersection of sports, military honor, and national pride, making the opening game of the 1917 New York Yankees a notable moment in the annals of baseball history.

Postseason result

(Did not qualify – Eliminated in Regular Season)

1917 New York Yankees roster

Name	Age	B	T	Ht	Wt	DoB	Yrs	G	GS	WAR	Salary
Walt Alexander	26	R	R	5′ 10″	165	Mar 5, 1891	5	20	17	-0.4	$3,000
Ángel Aragón	26	R	R	5′ 5″	150	Aug 2, 1890	3	14	9	-0.7	$2,400
Home Run Baker	31	L	R	5′ 11″	173	Mar 13, 1886	9	146	146	4.5	$9,167
Paddy Baumann	31	R	R	5′ 9″	160	Dec 20, 1885	7	49	20	-0.4	$3,000
Neal Brady	20	R	R	6′ 0″	197	Mar 4, 1897	2	2	1	0.3	$1,500
Ray Caldwell	29	L	R	6′ 2″	190	Apr 26, 1888	8	63	34	3.7	$8,000
Howie Camp	23	L	R	5′ 9″	169	Jul 1, 1893	1st	5	5	0.1	$1,200
Nick Cullop	29	L	L	5′ 11″	172	Sep 17, 1887	5	30	18	0.3	$4,500
Jack Enright	21	R	R	5′ 11″	177	Nov 29, 1895	1st	1	1	-0.2	$1,800
Chick Fewster	20	R	R	5′ 11″	160	Nov 10, 1896	1st	11	11	-0.1	$1,500
Ray Fisher	29	R	R	5′ 11″	180	Oct 4, 1887	8	23	18	2.3	$6,333
Joe Gedeon	23	R	R	6′ 0″	167	Dec 5, 1893	4	33	31	0	$4,000
Frank Gilhooley	25	L	R	5′ 8″	155	Jun 10, 1892	7	54	46	0.6	$3,600
Tim Hendryx	26	R	R	5′ 9″	170	Jan 31, 1891	5	125	103	2.9	$2,100
Hugh High	29	L	L	5′ 7″	155	Oct 24, 1887	5	103	98	0.6	$3,000
Bill Lamar	20	L	R	6′ 1″	185	Mar 21, 1897	1st	11	11	-0.2	$1,800
Slim Love	26	L	L	6′ 7″	195	Aug 1, 1890	3	33	9	1.5	$2,400
Lee Magee	28	B	R	5′ 11″	165	Jun 4, 1889	7	51	46	-1	$8,333
Fritz Maisel	27	R	R	5′ 7″	170	Dec 23, 1889	5	113	104	-0.5	$4,800
Armando Marsans	29	R	R	5′ 10″	157	Oct 3, 1887	7	25	25	0.3	$4,000
Bob McGraw	22	R	R	6′ 2″	160	Apr 10, 1895	1st	2	2	0	$1,800
Elmer Miller	26	R	R	6′ 0″	175	Jul 28, 1890	4	114	106	0.7	$1,800
George Mogridge	28	L	L	6′ 2″	165	Feb 18, 1889	5	29	25	1.4	$2,800
Ed Monroe	22	R	R	6′ 5″	187	Feb 22, 1895	1st	9	1	-0.2	$1,500
Les Nunamaker	28	R	R	6′ 2″	190	Jan 25, 1889	7	104	82	2.1	$5,000
Roger Peckinpaugh	26	R	R	5′ 10″	165	Feb 5, 1891	7	148	148	4	$6,000
Bill Piercy	21	R	R	6′ 1″	170	May 2, 1896	1st	1	1	0.2	$2,400
Wally Pipp	24	L	L	6′ 1″	180	Feb 17, 1893	4	155	155	3.2	$4,500
Muddy Ruel	21	R	R	5′ 9″	150	Feb 20, 1896	2	6	6	-0.2	$2,100
Allen Russell	23	B	R	5′ 11″	165	Jul 31, 1893	3	30	10	1.6	$2,500
Bob Shawkey	26	R	R	5′ 11″	168	Dec 4, 1890	5	32	26	4.1	$5,000
Urban Shocker	26	R	R	5′ 10″	170	Sep 22, 1890	2	26	13	1	$2,100
Walt Smallwood	24	R	R	6′ 2″	190	Apr 24, 1893	1st	2	0	0.1	$1,500
Herb Thormahlen	20	L	L	6′ 0″	180	Jul 5, 1896	1st	1	1	0.1	$1,800
Sammy Vick	22	R	R	5′ 10″	163	Apr 12, 1895	1st	10	10	-0.1	$300
Roxy Walters	24	R	R	5′ 8″	160	Nov 5, 1892	3	61	50	1.2	$3,000
Aaron Ward	20	R	R	5′ 10″	160	Aug 28, 1896	1st	8	6	-0.4	$1,200

1917 New York Yankees player additions, transactions, and trades

Before 1917 Season:

• Mike Cantwell player rights sold to Newark (International).

June 1917:

• June 23: Purchased Howie Camp and Aaron Ward from Charleston (South Atlantic).

July 1917:

• July 5: Traded Tom Blodgett (minors), Dazzy Vance, and $4,250 to Memphis (Southern Association). Received Sammy Vick.
• July 15: Traded Lee Magee to the St. Louis Browns. Received Armando Marsans.

August 1917:

• August 14: Purchased Bill Lamar, Herb Thormahlen, and Chick Fewster from Baltimore (International) for $20,000.
• August 21: Purchased Muddy Ruel from the St. Louis Browns.

September 1917:

• September 15: Walt Alexander player rights sold to Toledo (American Association).
• September 20: Drafted Zinn Beck from Milwaukee (American Association) in the 1917 Rule 5 draft.

1917 New York Yankees player debuts

• Howie Camp – 09-19-1917 – 24 years old
• Jack Enright – 09-26-1917 – 21 years old
• Chick Fewster – 09-19-1917 – 20 years old
• Bill Lamar – 09-19-1917 – 20 years old
• Bob McGraw – 09-25-1917 – 22 years old
• Ed Monroe – 05-29-1917 – 22 years old
• Bill Piercy – 10-03-1917 – 21 years old
• Walt Smallwood – 09-19-1917 – 24 years old
• Hank Thormahlen – 09-29-1917 – 21 years old
• Sammy Vick – 09-20-1917 – 22 years old
• Aaron Ward – 08-14-1917 – 20 years old

1917 New York Yankees team stats (batting)

Pos	Name	Age	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	BA
C	Les Nunamaker	28	104	341	310	22	81	9	2	0	33	5	21	25	0.261
1B	Wally Pipp	24	155	669	587	82	143	29	12	9	70	11	60	66	0.244
2B	Fritz Maisel	27	113	466	404	46	80	4	4	0	20	29	36	18	0.198
SS	Roger Peckinpaugh	26	148	629	543	63	141	24	7	0	41	17	64	46	0.26
3B	Home Run Baker	31	146	613	553	57	156	24	2	6	71	18	48	27	0.282
OF	Tim Hendryx	26	125	478	393	43	98	14	7	5	44	6	62	45	0.249
OF	Elmer Miller	26	114	450	379	43	95	11	3	3	35	11	40	44	0.251
OF	Hugh High	29	103	432	365	37	86	11	6	1	19	8	48	31	0.236
OF	Frank Gilhooley	25	54	202	165	14	40	6	1	0	8	6	30	13	0.242
OF	Lee Magee	28	51	200	173	17	38	4	1	0	8	3	13	18	0.22
C	Roxy Walters	24	61	187	171	16	45	2	0	0	14	2	9	22	0.263
2B	Joe Gedeon	23	33	131	117	15	28	7	0	0	8	4	7	13	0.239
2B	Paddy Baumann	31	49	115	110	10	24	2	1	0	8	2	4	9	0.218
OF	Armando Marsans	29	25	100	88	10	20	4	0	0	15	6	8	3	0.227
C	Walt Alexander	26	20	60	51	1	7	2	1	0	4	1	4	11	0.137
UT	Ángel Aragón	26	14	50	45	2	3	1	0	0	2	0	2	2	0.067
OF	Bill Lamar	20	11	42	41	2	10	0	0	0	3	1	0	2	0.244
2B	Chick Fewster	20	11	41	36	2	8	0	0	0	1	1	5	5	0.222
OF	Sammy Vick	22	10	38	36	4	10	3	0	0	2	2	1	6	0.278
SS	Aaron Ward	20	8	27	26	0	3	0	0	0	1	0	1	5	0.115
OF	Howie Camp	23	5	22	21	3	6	1	0	0	0	0	1	2	0.286
C	Muddy Ruel	21	6	20	17	1	2	0	0	0	1	1	2	2	0.118
P	Ray Caldwell	29	63	140	124	12	32	6	1	2	12	2	16	16	0.258
P	Bob Shawkey	26	32	91	84	3	16	4	0	0	8	0	3	15	0.19
P	George Mogridge	28	29	76	69	6	11	0	3	0	3	0	1	15	0.159
P	Urban Shocker	26	26	53	45	0	8	0	0	0	6	0	1	17	0.178
P	Ray Fisher	29	23	52	50	6	9	0	1	1	3	0	0	14	0.18
P	Nick Cullop	29	30	49	44	1	7	1	0	0	2	0	3	14	0.159
P	Slim Love	26	33	39	36	2	6	0	0	0	1	0	1	6	0.167
P	Allen Russell	23	30	36	31	3	10	2	0	0	1	0	4	12	0.323
P	Ed Monroe	22	9	12	12	1	2	1	0	0	1	0	0	6	0.167
P	Bob McGraw	22	2	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
P	Bill Piercy	21	1	3	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
P	Neal Brady	20	2	2	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.5
P	Herb Thormahlen	20	1	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
P	Jack Enright	21	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
P	Walt Smallwood	24	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Team Totals	26.8	155	5872	5136	524	1226	172	52	27	445	136	496	535	0.239
	Rank in 8 AL teams				2	7	7	7	8	1		6	4	5	8
	Non-Pitcher Totals	26.7	155	5313	4631	490	1124	158	47	24	408	134	466	415	0.243
	Pitcher Totals	27.2	155	559	505	34	102	14	5	3	37	2	30	120	0.202

1917 New York Yankees team stats (pitching)

Pos	Name	Age	W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER
SP	Bob Shawkey	26	13	15	0.464	2.44	32	26	5	16	2	0	236.1	207	81	64
SP	Ray Caldwell	29	13	16	0.448	2.86	32	29	3	21	1	0	236	199	92	75
SP	George Mogridge	28	9	11	0.45	2.98	29	25	4	15	1	0	196.1	185	82	65
SP	Nick Cullop	29	5	9	0.357	3.32	30	18	8	5	2	1	146.1	161	70	54
SP	Ray Fisher	29	8	9	0.471	2.19	23	18	3	12	3	0	144	126	49	35
RP	Urban Shocker	26	8	5	0.615	2.61	26	13	6	7	0	1	145	124	59	42
RP	Slim Love	26	6	5	0.545	2.35	33	9	18	2	0	1	130.1	115	50	34
RP	Allen Russell	23	7	8	0.467	2.24	25	10	10	6	0	2	104.1	89	42	26
RP	Ed Monroe	22	1	0	1	3.45	9	1	8	1	0	1	28.2	35	15	11
	Bob McGraw	22	0	1	0	0.82	2	2	0	1	0	0	11	9	5	1
	Neal Brady	20	1	0	1	2	2	1	1	0	0	0	9	6	2	2
	Bill Piercy	21	0	1	0	3	1	1	0	1	0	0	9	9	3	3
	Herb Thormahlen	20	0	1	0	2.25	1	1	0	0	0	0	8	9	3	2
	Jack Enright	21	0	1	0	5.4	1	1	0	0	0	0	5	5	5	3
	Walt Smallwood	24	0	0		0	2	0	2	0	0	0	2	1	0	0
	Team Totals	26.9	71	82	0.464	2.66	155	155	68	87	9	6	1411.1	1280	558	417
	Rank in 8 AL teams		6	3		5				2	7	8	5	6	4	5

1917 New York Yankees record vs. opponents/ Team splits

Opponent (Games)	Won	Lost	WP
Boston Red Sox (23)	9	13	0.409
Chicago White Sox (22)	10	12	0.455
Cleveland Indians (22)	7	15	0.318
Detroit Tigers (23)	9	13	0.409
Philadelphia Athletics (22)	15	7	0.682
St. Louis Browns (22)	13	9	0.591
Washington Senators (21)	8	13	0.381

1917 New York Yankees monthly Record

Month (Games)	Won	Lost	WP
April (12)	7	5	0.583
May (25)	13	11	0.542
June (28)	15	13	0.536
July (31)	14	16	0.467
August (27)	7	20	0.259
September (28)	12	16	0.429
October (4)	3	1	0.750

How do you rate the 1917 New York Yankees?