Gehrig and DiMaggio 1937: lefty & righty both have great seasons.

The original Yankee Stadium was the House that Ruth Built. It's also the house built for Ruth. So is the current Yankee Stadium, which introduces randomness and makes the current Yankees vulnerable to weaker teams. The home run distance to right field is short; this was good for lefty sluggers. The rest of the fences were far from home plate and bad for righty sluggers.

https://www.ballparksofbaseball.com/ballparks/old-yankee-stadium/

Given the name Yankee Stadium, it was completed in only 284 days, opening on April 18, 1923. Original dimensions at Yankee Stadium were 295 ft. (right), 490 ft. (center), and 281 ft. (left). Centerfield became known as “Death Valley” because of its distance from homeplate.

Since the Yankees achieved great such tremendous success in attracting fans at Yankee Stadium, it was not long before the stadium was expanded. The triple decked grandstand was extended into left field in 1928 and the same extension was completed down the right field line in 1937.

___________________________

1937 is the only year when both Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio had great seasons. Like Babe Ruth (1934 was his last Yankee season), Lou Gehrig batted and threw left handed. Joe DiMaggio batted and threw right handed.

So how many home runs did Babe Ruth hit into the upper deck in Yankee Stadium? Zero, because there was no upper deck in right field when Ruth played there.

Click this link to view data derived from baseball-reference.com used in this post. It contains multiple tabs. Here is the comparison of their road numbers:

	Split	G	GS	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	TB
Gehrig	Away	78	78	355	294	70	96	24	6	13	65	3	1	58	26	.327	.442	.582	1.024	171
DiMaggio	Away	74	73	339	315	67	110	19	7	27	86	1	0	22	19	.349	.395	.711	1.106	224
	G-D	4	5	16	-21	3	-14	5	-1	-14	-21	2	1	36	7	-.022	.047	-.129	-.082

Google AI search result:

During the 1937 season, the eight American League teams played across nine ballparks, with the Cleveland Indians splitting their home schedule between League Park and Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Outfield measurements in this era varied dramatically due to tight urban city blocks and recent stadium renovations. [1, 2, 3, 4]

1937 American League Ballpark Dimensions

Ballpark	Team	Left Field	Center Field	Right Field	Notable 1937 Configuration Details
Fenway Park	Boston Red Sox	315 ft	390 ft	334 ft	Straightaway center was 390 ft, while the deep right-center triangle reached 420 ft; right field was not shortened to 302 ft until 1940.
Comiskey Park	Chicago White Sox	352 ft	440 ft	352 ft	Surrounded by a double-decked grandstand with 9-foot outfield walls, making it a notoriously difficult park for home runs.
League Park	Cleveland Indians	375 ft	420 ft	290 ft	Used primarily for weekday games; featured a cavernous left-center gap (460 ft at its deepest) and a 45-foot right-field wall.
Cleveland Municipal Stadium	Cleveland Indians	322 ft	463 ft	322 ft	Used for weekends and large crowds; the original unshortened outfield featured massive 450-foot power alleys.
Navin Field	Detroit Tigers	340 ft	440 ft	325 ft	Completed a major right-field expansion by April 1937 that shortened the line to 325 ft with an overhanging upper deck; renamed Briggs Stadium in 1938.
Yankee Stadium	New York Yankees	301 ft	461 ft	296 ft	Concrete bleachers replaced the original wooden ones, bringing deep left-center ("Death Valley") in from 490 ft to 461 ft.
Shibe Park	Philadelphia Athletics	334 ft	447 ft	331 ft	Featured a deep square corner in center field (468 ft at the deepest point) and a 34-foot right-field wall to prevent cheap home runs onto 20th Street.
Sportsman's Park	St. Louis Browns	351 ft	420 ft	310 ft	Shared with the NL Cardinals; featured a 33-foot right-field barrier (an 11.5-foot wall topped by a 21.5-foot screen).
Griffith Stadium	Washington Senators	402 ft	421 ft	320 ft	Left field was reconfigured from an earlier 358-foot marker to 402 ft at the bleacher wall; featured a 31-foot right-field wall and a notch in center field built around neighborhood houses.

Note on Historical Measurements: Early 20th-century ballparks frequently adjusted inner fences, bleacher railings, and posted markers. Distances listed reflect the primary posted or documented configurations for the 1937 season. [1, 2]

________________________________

In 1937 the Yankees played only one game in Cleveland Municipal Stadium, the rest in League Park II. 

The parks that were short in right tended to have high walls in right. Boston was the reverse. See the notes above. High right field walls: Cleveland, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Washington.

Based on distance:

Favoring lefties like Gehrig: Yankee Stadium, Cleveland, St. Louis, Washington.

Favoring righties like DiMaggio: Boston

Neutral: Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia.

Their ballpark stats sorted by OPS:

Gehrig:

Split	G	GS	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS ▼	TB
League Pk II	10	10	44	35	10	16	4	1	1	11	0	1	9	3	.457	.568	.714	1.282	25
NYY-Yankee Stad	79	79	345	275	68	104	13	3	24	93	1	2	69	23	.378	.504	.709	1.213	195
BOS-Fenway Pk	11	11	55	42	11	13	4	3	1	12	0	0	12	3	.310	.473	.619	1.092	26
STL-Sportsman Pk	12	12	58	52	14	17	5	0	4	8	0	0	5	4	.327	.397	.654	1.050	34
DET-Navin Field	11	11	50	45	11	15	3	1	3	13	0	0	5	1	.333	.400	.644	1.044	29
CHW-ComiskeyPk 1	11	11	51	44	8	15	2	0	3	12	1	0	7	4	.341	.431	.591	1.022	26
PHA-Shibe Pk	11	11	46	40	6	13	4	0	0	6	1	0	6	7	.325	.413	.425	.838	17
WSH-GriffithStad	11	11	46	34	10	7	2	1	1	3	0	0	12	3	.206	.413	.412	.825	14
CLE-ClevelandStd	1	1	5	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	1	.000	.600	.000	.600	0

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/13/2026.

DiMaggio:

Split	G	GS	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS ▼	TB
CLE-ClevelandStd	1	1	5	5	1	3	1	1	1	5	1	0	0	0	.600	.600	1.800	2.400	9
WSH-GriffithStad	9	8	37	34	7	12	4	1	4	13	0	0	3	5	.353	.405	.882	1.288	30
STL-Sportsman Pk	12	12	59	53	14	18	1	1	8	19	0	0	6	5	.340	.407	.849	1.256	45
CHW-ComiskeyPk 1	11	11	51	49	11	17	1	3	5	15	0	0	1	1	.347	.373	.796	1.168	39
BOS-Fenway Pk	9	9	45	41	6	16	4	0	2	7	0	0	4	1	.390	.444	.634	1.079	26
NYY-Yankee Stad	77	77	353	306	83	105	16	8	19	80	2	0	42	18	.343	.427	.634	1.061	194
League Pk II	10	10	44	39	10	14	5	0	1	6	0	0	4	1	.359	.432	.564	.996	22
DET-Navin Field	11	11	51	49	9	16	1	1	4	13	0	0	2	4	.327	.353	.633	.986	31
PHA-Shibe Pk	11	11	47	45	9	14	2	0	2	8	0	0	2	2	.311	.340	.489	.829	22

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/13/2026.

They look about even. Neither liked Philadelphia. It was a hitting era and these two could really hit.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/1937.shtml

Rk	Tm	W	L	W-L%	GB	GBsum	R	RA	Rdiff	SOS	SRS	pythWL	Luck	Home	Road
1	New York Yankees	102	52	.662	--		6.2	4.3	2.0	-0.3	1.7	103-51	-1	57-20	45-32
2	Detroit Tigers	89	65	.578	13.0	13.0	6.0	5.4	0.6	-0.1	0.5	84-70	5	49-28	40-37
3	Chicago White Sox	86	68	.558	16.0	19.0	5.1	4.7	0.3	0.0	0.3	82-72	4	47-30	39-38
4	Cleveland Indians	83	71	.539	19.0	28.0	5.2	4.9	0.3	0.0	0.3	81-73	2	50-28	33-43
5	Boston Red Sox	80	72	.526	21.0	36.0	5.3	5.0	0.3	0.0	0.3	80-72	0	44-29	36-43
6	Washington Nationals	73	80	.477	28.5	73.5	4.8	5.3	-0.5	0.1	-0.5	69-84	4	43-35	30-45
7	Philadelphia Athletics	54	97	.358	46.5	181.5	4.5	5.5	-1.0	0.1	-0.9	62-89	-8	27-50	27-47
8	St. Louis Browns	46	108	.299	56.0	248.0	4.6	6.6	-2.0	0.3	-1.7	53-101	-7	25-51	21-57
	Average	76	76	.500			5.2	5.2				76-76		42-33	33-42

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/13/2026.

Only the bottom three teams averaged fewer than 5 runs scored per game.

The Yankees won the pennant (and World Series) only once in Ruth's final six Yankee seasons (1929-1934): 1932. But starting in DiMaggio's rookie 1936 season, the Yankees won four consecutive World Series 1936-1939. That has been matched or exceeded only once: Yankees 1949-1953.

DiMaggio batted third. Gehrig batted fourth. Bold indicates leading the league:

	Player	Age	Pos	WAR	OPS+	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	TB
3	Joe DiMaggio	22	OF	8.4	166	151	692	621	151	215	35	15	46	167	3	0	64	37	.346	.412	.673	1.085	418
4	Lou Gehrig*	34	1B	8.2	176	157	700	569	138	200	37	9	37	158	4	3	127	49	.351	.473	.643	1.116	366

Gehrig led AL in OPS+, DiMaggio in WAR, HR and Total Bases.

Bold below simply differentiates but is not necessarily leading AL.

	Split	G	GS	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	TB
Gehrig	vs RHP	131		492	396	102	137	26	7	24	105	2	3	93	35	.346	.474	.629	1.102	249
Gehrig	vs LHP	73		208	173	36	63	11	2	13	53	2	0	34	14	.364	.471	.676	1.147	117
	R-L															-.018	.003	-.047	-.045
	Split	G	GS	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	TB
Gehrig	Home	79	79	345	275	68	104	13	3	24	93	1	2	69	23	.378	.504	.709	1.213	195
Gehrig	Away	78	78	355	294	70	96	24	6	13	65	3	1	58	26	.327	.442	.582	1.024	171
	H-A															.051	.062	.127	.189
	Split	G	GS	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	TB
DiMaggio	vs RHP	128		489	443	103	152	26	13	34	124	2	0	40	29	.343	.402	.691	1.093	306
DiMaggio	vs LHP	67		203	178	47	63	9	2	12	42	1	0	24	8	.354	.433	.629	1.063	112
	R-L															-.011	-.031	.062	.030
	Split	G	GS	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	TB
DiMaggio	Home	77	77	353	306	83	105	16	8	19	80	2	0	42	18	.343	.427	.634	1.061	194
DiMaggio	Away	74	73	339	315	67	110	19	7	27	86	1	0	22	19	.349	.395	.711	1.106	224
	H-A															-.006	.032	-.077	-.045

Yankee totals:

Split	G	GS	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	TB
vs RHP	135		4,427	3,854	727	1,115	202	51	132	684	41	29	501	430	.289	.375	.471	.846	1,815
vs LHP	78		1,864	1,633	252	439	81	22	42	236	20	7	208	180	.269	.353	.423	.776	690
Split	G	GS	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	TB
Home	807	79	3,111	2,693	520	786	121	37	94	488	34	18	370	274	.292	.381	.469	.850	1,263
Away	826	78	3,180	2,794	459	768	162	36	80	432	27	18	339	336	.275	.357	.445	.801	1,242

American League Home Run leaders Home and Away:

Rk	Player	Split	Year	G	HR	GS	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	TB
1	Hank Greenberg	Home	1937	77	25	77	348	295	81	113	27	8	101	4	1	50	56	.383	.476	.783	1.259	231
2	Lou Gehrig	Home	1937	79	24	79	345	275	68	104	13	3	93	1	2	69	23	.378	.504	.709	1.213	195
3	Bill Dickey	Home	1937	72	21	71	311	271	47	94	13	1	86	1	0	39	15	.347	.431	.635	1.066	172
4	Joe DiMaggio	Home	1937	77	19	77	353	306	83	105	16	8	80	2	0	42	18	.343	.427	.634	1.061	194
5	Jimmie Foxx	Home	1937	71	18	71	313	253	60	80	11	3	57	4	3	58	42	.316	.446	.597	1.042	151
6	Hal Trosky	Home	1937	76	17	75	330	289	56	94	17	6	64	1	1	39	31	.325	.405	.602	1.008	174
7	Rudy York	Home	1937	53	17	51	223	200	38	61	7	1	56	2	2	23	26	.305	.377	.605	.982	121
8	Earl Averill	Home	1937	78	15	78	352	311	66	112	19	5	60	3	5	38	24	.360	.430	.598	1.028	186
9	Gee Walker	Home	1937	75	15	75	340	313	58	115	22	3	74	10	2	24	30	.367	.418	.601	1.018	188
Rk	Player	Split	Year	G	HR	GS	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	TB
1	Joe DiMaggio	Away	1937	74	27	73	339	315	67	110	19	7	86	1	0	22	19	.349	.395	.711	1.106	224
2	Jimmie Foxx	Away	1937	79	18	79	361	315	52	82	13	3	69	7	6	43	54	.260	.349	.492	.841	155
3	Rudy York	Away	1937	51	18	43	194	175	34	54	11	2	45	1	0	18	26	.309	.373	.703	1.076	123
4	Harlond Clift	Away	1937	78	15	78	342	281	54	82	17	5	53	4	3	53	48	.292	.413	.548	.961	154
5	Hank Greenberg	Away	1937	77	15	77	353	299	56	87	22	6	83	4	2	52	45	.291	.398	.555	.953	166
6	Wally Moses	Away	1937	75	15	75	355	322	65	100	17	4	42	2	4	30	14	.311	.371	.528	.899	170
7	Moose Solters	Away	1937	74	15	71	307	283	47	91	19	6	58	4	5	19	33	.322	.368	.590	.959	167
8	Hal Trosky	Away	1937	77	15	77	339	312	48	85	19	3	64	2	0	25	30	.272	.328	.497	.825	155
9	Lou Gehrig	Away	1937	78	13	78	355	294	70	96	24	6	65	3	1	58	26	.327	.442	.582	1.024	171

DiMaggio had 86 RBI on the road. 86! Joe led AL with 46 HR. The only other season he hit more than 32 was 1948 when hit 39, his only other AL leading total. He retired after 1951 with 361 HR, 5th most all time.

https://www.sports-reference.com/stathead/tiny/OXmYH

For combined seasons, up to 1951, in the regular season, requiring Home Runs >= 300 and Adjusted OPS+ >= 0, sorted by descending Home Runs.

Rk	Player	HR	OPS+	From	To	Age	G	PA	AB	R	H	1B	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	TB
1	Babe Ruth	714	206	1914	1935	19-40	2503	10628	8399	2174	2873	1517	506	136	714	2214	2062	1330	.342	.474	.690	1.164	5793
2	Jimmie Foxx	534	163	1925	1945	17-37	2317	9677	8134	1751	2646	1529	458	125	534	1922	1452	1311	.325	.428	.609	1.038	4956
3	Mel Ott	511	155	1926	1947	17-38	2730	11347	9456	1859	2876	1805	488	72	511	1860	1708	896	.304	.414	.533	.947	5041
4	Lou Gehrig	493	179	1923	1939	20-36	2164	9665	8001	1888	2721	1531	534	163	493	1995	1508	790	.340	.447	.632	1.080	5060
5	Joe DiMaggio	361	155	1936	1951	21-36	1736	7672	6821	1390	2214	1333	389	131	361	1537	790	369	.325	.398	.579	.977	3948
6	Johnny Mize	351	160	1936	1951	23-38	1725	7104	6202	1103	1949	1160	355	83	351	1281	833	492	.314	.400	.568	.968	3523
7	Hank Greenberg	331	159	1930	1947	19-36	1394	6098	5193	1046	1628	847	379	71	331	1274	852	844	.313	.412	.605	1.017	3142
8	Ted Williams	323	190	1939	1951	20-32	1421	6439	5086	1273	1763	1013	366	61	323	1261	1327	442	.347	.484	.633	1.117	3220
9	Al Simmons	307	133	1924	1944	22-42	2215	9520	8759	1507	2927	1932	539	149	307	1828	615	737	.334	.380	.535	.915	4685
10	Rogers Hornsby	301	175	1915	1937	19-41	2259	9481	8173	1579	2930	1919	541	169	301	1584	1038	679	.358	.434	.577	1.010	4712
11	Chuck Klein	300	137	1928	1944	23-39	1753	7172	6486	1168	2076	1304	398	74	300	1201	601	521	.320	.379	.543	.922	3522

Provided by Stathead: Found with Stathead. See Full Results.
Generated 11/13/2026.

Gehrig played only 8 games in 1939 due to his fatal illness; no HR. Most career HR through 1939:

https://www.sports-reference.com/stathead/tiny/l3caX

For combined seasons, up to 1939, in the regular season, requiring Home Runs >= 250, sorted by descending Home Runs.

Rk	Player	HR	OPS+	From	To	Age	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	TB
1	Babe Ruth	714	206	1914	1935	19-40	2503	10628	8399	2174	2873	506	136	714	2214	2062	1330	.342	.474	.690	1.164	5793
2	Lou Gehrig	493	179	1923	1939	20-36	2164	9665	8001	1888	2721	534	163	493	1995	1508	790	.340	.447	.632	1.080	5060
3	Jimmie Foxx	464	170	1925	1939	17-31	1834	7859	6583	1485	2217	377	112	464	1625	1193	1007	.337	.439	.640	1.079	4210
4	Mel Ott	369	158	1926	1939	17-30	1864	7808	6544	1332	2061	359	63	369	1386	1135	566	.315	.419	.558	.977	3653
5	Al Simmons	305	134	1924	1939	22-37	2125	9263	8515	1489	2869	529	149	305	1794	602	706	.337	.383	.542	.924	4611
6	Rogers Hornsby	301	175	1915	1937	19-41	2259	9481	8173	1579	2930	541	169	301	1584	1038	679	.358	.434	.577	1.010	4712
7	Chuck Klein	292	143	1928	1939	23-34	1557	6647	6018	1122	1986	382	72	292	1158	547	478	.330	.387	.563	.950	3388
8	Cy Williams	251	125	1912	1930	24-42	2002	7727	6780	1024	1981	306	74	251	1005	690	721	.292	.365	.470	.835	3188

Provided by Stathead: Found with Stathead. See Full Results.
Generated 11/13/2026.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/about/bat_glossary.shtml

OPS+

1. Using these adjusted values compute what the league average player would have hit lgOBP*, lgSLG* in a park.
2. Take OPS+ = 100 * (OBP/lgOBP* + SLG/lgSLG* - 1)

__________________________

Don't ask me to explain it.

***   The End   ***