84: Gil McDougald-MLB

When you think of the New York Yankees of the 1950s the names that come to mind are those of Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra and Whitey Ford. One name that very few mention, or even remember, is that of Gil McDougald. And, that’s a shame because McDougald was just as important to that dynasty as anyone else. Sure, he didn’t slug homeruns at the prodigious rate of Mantle, nor did he hit the ball like Berra or bring the heat like Ford. But what he did do was this: come through in the clutch, play a solid defense at second, third and short, made very few errors, had as accurate an arm as anyone in the game, showed up to play every day, and by many accounts, he was one of the key ingredients to a team that won eight pennants during his 10-years in pinstripes to go along with five World Series Championships. McDougald made his debut with the Yankees in 1951 and won Rookie of the Year honors by leading the Bronx Bombers with a .306 batting average. This, after he skyrocketed his way through the minor leagues. Known for a most unusual batting stance, many thought he’d never make it, but two of the biggest names in the game were thoroughly impressed with his approach to the game: Rogers Hornsby and Casey Stengel. Both took Gil under their wings and let him develop into a five-time all-star. Bill Lamb who most notably writes about baseball players from the dead-ball era, was a fan of McDougald’s (despite the fact that Lamb loved his New York Giants and despised the Yankees) because they were members of the same parish. So, Lamb put aside his research on the dead-ball era and put pen to paper to write about McDougald and now he joins SFH for a wonderful discussion about one of the most overlooked stars and forgotten heroes of the New York Yankees – Gil McDougald.

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