Out of Bounds JASON SNYDER
Yankees considered one of
baseball’s best teams
Arc the 1 998 New York Yankees
the greatest baseball team to ever
take the diamond ’ That seems to
be the golden question in the world
of sports today. So being as inquisi
tive about the history of sports as I
am. I decided to begin my expedi
tion into the past to see how this
Yankees' team compares to Major
League Baseball’s top contenders.
My journey into the past began
when my parents asked me the ques
tion. "who do vou think is the
greatest team ever’.’" Fueled
by the fact that I had no idea
what other teams qualified
for such recognition. 1 real-
ized that in order to answer
such a question I needed to
evaluate these teams position
by position, player by player.
manager bv manager, com-
petition by competition. Ev
cry aspect of the game
needed to be examined. Af
ter all. I never saw the Ice
endary Babe Ruth and his
1427 New hoik Yankees or
Joe Morgan and his 1 ‘>7s Cincinnati
Reds. So how could I give a lair
answer without looking at the cir
cumstances these dilferent teams
faced’.’
This 1948 New York Yankees
team without a doubt finished one
of the creates! seasons ever wit-
nessed By sweeping the San Di
ego Padres, the hanks have the right
to be considered one ot the top teams
MLB has ever seen. The question
is. are they the "greatest 7"
In order to answer that question.
I had to ask. "what does it mean to
truly be the greatest team ever ’
What qualities must a team possess
to be regarded w ith such admiration
and respect.’ How do you compare
teams that played under totally dit
ferent circumstances in totally dif
ferent tunes and places with totally
different mindsets."
The only \\a> to truly find the-best---that gives them a spot in- this debate* but
baseball team ever would be tofu# the names and way in w'hich they did ir.
all the great teams on some "Held As if Hall of Fame pitchers Waite Hoyt
of dreams" and let them answer the and Herb Pennoek, 2B Tony Lazzeri, and
question that no one can seem to CF Earle Combs weren't enough, the ’27
answer with certainty. But the tact Yanks had two of the biggest names in
that such a moment couldn't exist baseball history on their roster. Lou
makes this "ereat debate even more Gehrig and Babe Ruth led this team of
superstars to a 4-0 sweep of the Pittsburgh
Pirates in the World Series.
The 1939 New York Yankees included
the next generation of Yankee greats. But
this team was special in more than their
106-45 record. The '39 Yanks battled
mysterious.
What a moment it would be to see
the great 1927 Yankees Babe Ruth
in the batter's box in the World Se
ries of all World Series lacing 98
Yankees' closer Mariano Rivera. Or
the 1975 Cincinnati Reds' Joe Mor
gan having a sluglest with the 1939
Yankees' Joe DiMaggio. Who
would win the pitcher's duel be
tween the 1910 Philadelphia Athlet
ics' Jack Coombs and the l9o6Chi
cago Cubs' Three l inger Brown '
As fans, we can only speculate
what would happen between these
six teams. Of the thousands ol dit
to rent teams that have taken the
field, these six teams stick out as
having the best seasons Ml.B has
ever witnessed. The 1906 Chicago
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Cubs. I ‘>lo Philadelphia Athletics, 1927
New York Yankees. 1939 New York Yan
kees. 1973 Cincinnati Reds, and the 1998
New York Yankees all have the right to
be considered the greatest teams in his
tory.
The 1906 Chicago Cubs were one of
the winningest teams ever. They went
116-36 in the regular season featuring
Hall of Earners such as shortstop Joe
Tinker. 2B Johnny Evers. IB Frank
Chance, and pitcher Three Finger Brown.
Their overall record of 118-40 equals a
.747 winning percentage, which still
stands as the highest in MLB history.
However, the Cubs’ 4-2 World Series loss
to the Chicago White Sox could be the
final factor in this dispute. How can they
be considered the greatest ever, if they
couldn't win when the time was right?
The 1910 Philadelphia Athletics
brought about the first debate of who the
greatest team ever really was. The 1906
Cubs had a challenge in the form of the
102-48 Athletics. Hall of Famcrs Eddie
Collins. 3B Home Run Baker, pitchers
Eddie Plank and Chief Bender heated up
the debate the best way they could...by
beating the Cubs four games to one in the
1910 World Scries. A’s pitcher Jack
Coombs finished the season with 31 wins.
The 1927 New York Yankees are prob
ablv the most storied team in the history
of baseball. "Murderer's Row," they were
called. It wasn't just their 114-44 record
through us much adversity as any team
can handle. Not only were they going for
their fourth straight World Scries cham
pionship. which involves enough pres
sure. but they were forced to do it with
out the ill Lou Gehrig. League MVP Joe
DiMuggio only played in 120 of the
games and the team had just lost Hall of
Lamer Tony La/./.cri. The Yankees still
went on to win the World Series by
sweeping Cincinnati 4-0 behind the pitch
ing of seven pitchers with 10 or more
wins.
The 1975 Cincinnati Reds finished their
Maddoy
Thanks for believing in
me. You are the BEST.
Jules, Tom & Pat
Thanks for always being
there. Your support and your
brothers’ support meant the world to
season with a 108-54 record. Joe Mor
gan, arguably the best baseball player
in the country at the time, led the Reds
to a World Series championship by
beating the Boston Red Sox four games
to three. One of the greatest catchers
of all time, Johnny Bench, also con
tributed as the controversial Pete Rose
added to the explosive offense.
This brings us to the 1998 New York
Yankees. These Yankees finished the
regular season with 114 wins, the most
ever for an American
League team. Their suc
cess continued through
the playoffs and the
World Series, going 11-2
in the postseason. But
putting their record aside,
the ’9B Yankees can take
credit for having the most
balanced line-up in base
ball history. The thing
that made this New York
team so good was that
there wasn’t a weakness
in their batting order or
pitching rotation.
1 r
Tino Martinez and Paul O’Neill both
hit more than 100 RBl’s for the year,
and ten other players hit at least ten
homers. Bemie Williams had the high-
est batting average in the AL with .339
as Derek Jeter, Paul O’Neill and Scott
Brosius also hit above .300 for the year.
The Yankees backed up their great
offense with great pitching. David
Wells, David Cone, Andy Pettitte, “El
Duque” Hernandez, and Hideki Irabu
combined for a 79-35 record, with all
five winning at least ten games. Closer
Mariano Rivera recorded 36 saves on
the year.
Certainly, the 1998 Yankees can hold
their own in this “Great Debate of ’98.”
Their 125 total wins is a mark that had
never been reached. Granted, they
played in an expansion year that saw
two other teams reach the century mark
for wins, but that is a fact that is be-
yond their control. The Yankees
'•proved their point by sweeping the
"'Padrifc, the team that beat both of those
100 win teams in the National League
playoffs.
Just as we look back and marvel at
baseball's great teams, so will sports’
fans decades from now. The only dif
ference will be that, when they look
back in the past and search for the
greatest teams that ever took the dia
mond, the 1998 New York Yankees will
have to be among their elite groups.
Like them or not, this Yankees’ team
was special and they didn’t disappoint
any baseball fan that was hoping for a
miracle finish to this magical season.
This Yankee team performed plenty of
magic from David Wells’ perfect game
to Scott Brosius’ unlikely heroics in the
World Series. The Yanks were great
from the top of the order to the bot
tom, an accomplishment that most
teams can only dream of.
Snxder is the sports editor of The Bea
con. His column appears weekly.
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Volleyball team struggles
through challenging week
By Jamie Salapek
staff writer
The Behrend volleyball team has
begun to wind down their 1998 vol
leyball season with another busy
week. The women struggled through
the Juniata Tournament last weekend,
losing 3 matches, but came back to
sweep a match last Monday against
Pitt-Grecnsburg.
On October 23-24, Behrend ven
tured down to the Juniata Tournament.
Their first opponent was Division II
ranked Clarion. Bchrend’s Division
111 team won the first game 16-14 yet
fell in the last three games. The Li
ons played well against Clarion but
couldn’t convert the crucial points of
the match.
Behrend’s second match of the tour
nament was against Muskingum Uni
Mary Good spikes the ball during a home game last week
October 29, 1998 - The Behrend College Beacon - page 9
versity. The match was very quick
paced. The Lions' setting was excep
tional, but not enough to get the win
as Muskingum won three matches to
The final match of the tournament
was in the silver medal round against
St. John Fisher. Behrend was not able
to recover from its previous two
losses. Their setting, was still consis
tent but the Lions were unable to pro
duce a win and lost in three straight
games.
The Lions challenged Pitt-
Greensburg on their home court on
October 26. Greensburg had some
intimidating players, including one
measuring 6’4".
Behrend came in with their guard
up and played a smart match. In the
first game, the Lions continued their
impressive setting and added strong
serving to their game. In games two
and three, the Lions again took con
trol of the court. The women worked
well to produce good sets and hard
hits. Behrend played strong defense,
digging many of Pitt-Greensburg’s
hits. The Lions headed to the locker
room with a three game sweep of their
AMCC opponents.
Tiffany Beers led the team with
seven kills. Tanya Dcats and Heather
Lerch each added six kills. Sarah Fry
provided 26 assists, and Mary Good
delivered seven digs. Behrend had
many standouts that worked together
to come away with the victory.
The Lions will now finish their sea
son on the road. They will face
Laßoche on Halloween and then fin
ish the season facing off with Lake
Erie College.
photo by Jason Blake