Turn Back The Clock: October 12th, 1948-A Changing Of The Guard
By Billy Brost
Unfortunately for New York Yankees’ manager Bucky Harris, every move he made and thus, the production of his teams, were compared to former manager Joe McCarthy. In parts of 16 seasons at the helm, McCarthy won seven World Series titles, and eight American League pennants. His word was the law, and it worked as the second dynasty in team history was intact. McCarthy left the Bombers, and was temporarily relieved by former backstop and Hall of Fame catcher, Bill Dickey, and ever so briefly by Johnny Neun. The following season in 1947, Harris was brought in to bring the Yankees back to prominence.
The Yankees’ patience with their new manager was not nearly as long as it was with McCarthy, who finished third only once during his tenure. While Harris won the World Series in his first season at the helm, the Yankees dropped to third place the following year in 1948, and players simply didn’t like him, or his methods. Harris lost the clubhouse and a change had to be made.
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In an a move reminiscent to modern fans of when Joe Torre was hired by George Steinbrenner, and the New York media labeled him “Clueless Joe”, the Yankees made a previously unsuccessful manager in his two previous stops with the Braves and Dodgers, their new leader. It was this day, back in 1948, that the “Old Professor”, Casey Stengel was made the fifteenth manager in New York Yankees history. Several around baseball openly questioned the move, as Stengel was viewed as incompetent, aloof, and incapable of returning the Yankees back to their expected position atop the baseball world. How wrong did the experts turn out to be.
Over the next twelve years, Stengel made the Yankees the most dominant team in professional sports history. Not only that, he helped to usher in a new era of baseball. During his dozen years at the helm, Stengel’s Yankees finished second once, third once, and won the American League pennant every other season in which he was the manager. Stengel implemented his mentor’s use of the platoon system, changed the way bullpens were used, and held “spring” camps for his rookies. It was also Stengel’s idea to switch a wild throwing shortstop into his future Hall of Fame center fielder in Mickey Mantle.
During his tenure in New York, the “Old Professor” won seven World Series crowns, and was the first manager in big league history to win five straight championships from 1949 through 1953. No team has even come close since. Given his advanced age, Yankees’ management thought it was time to make a change at the helm, after the Yankees lost a memorable seven-game World Series to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1960 on the Bill Mazeroski home run. Upon being dismissed, Stengel commented: “I’ll never make the mistake of being 70 again.” The now Hall of Fame manager would later go on to take the reigns of the New York Mets after both the Dodgers and Giants moved to California.
The Yankees, like with Torre, knew back on this day in 1948, that Casey Stengel had “it” and that his knowledge and eye for talent was enough to build the Bronx Bombers into a dynasty that has yet to be matched. It was one of the best moves the team has made in their history.