by Paul Semendinger
March 18, 2024
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NOTE - I penned this article, in a slightly different format for the IBWAA newletter, Here's The Pitch. It was published on March 8, 2024
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We've been having fun making positional lists of Yankees players:
Here is a completely different type of list.
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I love watching baseball, but sometimes I think I like researching baseball history even more.
The other day I discovered an original list of Yankees that is quite unique. I encourage fans of other teams to find similar lists in their team's histories. When one seeks information, he never knows what he'll find. This is list of Yankees is one that I do not believe anyone, anywhere, has ever compiled.
In the history of the Yankees, there have been eight times when one single player played every inning of every game at a specific position. These are the Yankees who didn't share. No player ever did this more than once, and the most famous Iron Man in Yankees history, Lou Gehrig, never did it even once. (It's absolutely true, you could look it up. I did.)
I have coined the term "Exclusive Seasons" for players who have accomplished this feat.
On this list of Yankees, there are only two Hall of Famers. Two of the other players are little known Yankees in spite of this unique accomplishment.
Without further ado, here is the list of the Yankees who didn't share, ones that are in exclusive company:
Roger Peckinpaugh, shortstop - 1914
Wally Pipp, first base - 1917
Red Rolfe, third base - 1939
Joe Gordon, second base - 1940
Joe DiMaggio, centerfield - 1942
Billy Johnson, third base - 1943
Nick Etten, first base - 1944
Snuffy Stirnweiss, second base - 1944
The first question, I suspect one might ask, is how close did Lou Gehrig ever get to having a "selfish season?" He came pretty close four times:
In 1926, Gehrig played all but nine innings at first base for the Yankees. The other two players that spent time there were Babe Ruth (believe it or not) and Fred Merkle, who gain gained infamy for his base runner blunder in 1908.
In 1927, Gehrig played first base in 1,386 innings, but little-known Cedric Durst covered the position in three innings. In 1929, Durst again played first base in three innings depriving Gehrig of this honor (one invented be me almost a century later).
In 1933, Gehrig came within 10 innings of having an "Exclusive Season." Infielder Lyn Lary and good ol' Babe Ruth covered those other innings.
One might also note that no Yankees player did that in the post-World War II years.
The player who came the closest was Roy White who, in 1972, played 1,370.1 innings in left field for the Yankees. Rusty Torres played all of three innings that season to deprive Roy White of this distinction.
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Paul Semendinger has authored numerous books. His newest, 365.2: Going The Distance. A Runner's Journey hits the bookshelves on March 12. Paul also wrote Scattering the Ashes, The Least Among Them, Impossible is an Illusion, and he worked with Roy White on his autobiography From Compton to the Bronx. Paul runs the Yankees site Start Spreading the News.
