Widely known for "5-o¡¯clock lightning", the 1927 New York

Yankees boasted awesome offensive power. Intimidating all of

baseball with the bats of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, this team

was unstoppable. Many of their opponents built up hope slowly

in the early stages of a contest, only to be "struck" with an

unceasing barrage some time around 5-o¡¯clock. Baseball games

routinely started at 3:30 pm back in the 1920s and generally

ended somewhere around 6:00 pm. The '27 Yanks usually

delivered a crippling offensive blow to their opponents in the

late innings, thus the phrase "5-o'clock lightning." Of course,

they had no lights for playing at night, all games were day

games. Major League Baseball was settling into its widely held

superstitions and routine, repetitiveness and all of the mythical

and obsession-based ceremonial acts that still exist to this day.

The 3:30 start time was one of those mystified traditions that

players did not like to break from. Many considered it bad luck if

a game was to start at any other time, or to start early or late if

scheduled for 3:30 pm.

"Murderers¡¯ Row" was actually a nickname for the New York

Yankees first used in 1919 before Babe Ruth was imported from

the Boston Red Sox. A sports reporter had used it as he was

describing the spring training projected line-up. It was actually

hype more than anything else, although the 1919 line-up was

very good, even without Ruth. The Babe arrived and the term

was used loosely here and there, but never really took root until

it was widely used in the 1927 season. Babe Ruth hit his high

mark of 60 homeruns in ¡¯27 and the New York Yankees won 110

games, losing only 44 times. They also swept the World Series

against the Pittsburgh Pirates and then repeated the feat again

in 1928. Babe Ruth hit 161 homers from the 1926 season

through the 1928 season. The Babe also hit for a high average

during this period, with a three-year batting average of .350.

During this stretch, he collected 452 RBIs as well. His single

season home run mark of 60 would stand for 34 years.

Lou Gehrig, believe it or not, was voted the American League

Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 1927. He hit .373 that year, better

than Ruths¡¯ .356. He also added 47 homeruns and 175 RBIs. The

combination of Ruth and Gehrig struck fear into all of the Major

League players that were playing the game in the "Murderers¡¯

Row" era. These two players, however, weren¡¯t all the ¡¯27

Yankees had. It seemed they had all the best players of the

time, and not just offensive players but solid defensive players

as well. However, the most astonishing numbers from this

alleged "greatest team ever" came from the offense; the lead

off hitter and centerfielder, Earle Combs, had an on-base

percentage of .414, hit .356 and had 62 walks and 231 hits.

Tony Lazzeri played second base and hit 18 homers that year,

finishing third in the American League home run race. Ruth and

Gehrig, of course, were I-2. Bob Meusel played the outfield (left

or right) and batted .337 with 103 runs batted in. He also piled

up 24 stolen bases. Lazzeri had 22 swipes. Other notable

offensive minded "Murderers¡¯ Row" members were Johnny

Grabowski, Joe Dugan, Pat Collins and Mark Koenig. As a team,

the ¡¯27 Yankees¡¯ batting average was a staggering .307. They

out-scored their opponents by 376 runs and broke a lot of

defensive-minded hearts by scoring 975 runs that year.

"Murderers¡¯ Row" also boasted some of the best pitching in the

Major Leagues in 1927; Dutch Ruether, Waite Hoyt, Herb

Pennock and Wilcy Moore, an early relief prot¨¦g¨¦. Hoyt, Shocker

and Moore were the top three pitchers in the league, based on

wins and earned run average (ERA). These three amassed a

combined total in wins of 59. Defensively, the very same players

that drew massive crowds with their legendary "5-o¡¯clock

lightning" were making a statement with their gloves as well.

Fielding the ball was not as big of an attention-getter as their

explosive offense, but they did it well enough to hold their

opponents to 599 total runs scored.

These trends were not just evident in the 1927 Yankees, but all

through the middle of the decade. The Yankees¡¯ success

continued, and the term "Murderers¡¯ Row" stuck. It was carried

all the way to the 1936-39 Yankees, who won 4 World Series in

a row. Professional Baseball officially "crowned" the 1927

Yankees as the best overall team of all-time in 1969, during the

Centennial celebration of Major League Baseball.