Lefty Gomez

Position: Pitcher

Bats: Left • Throws: Left

6-2, 173lb (188cm, 78kg)

Born: November 26, 1908 in Rodeo, CA us

Died: February 17, 1989 (Aged 80-083d) in Greenbrae, CA

Ted Williams hit .394 in 1941 against teams not the Yankees. Monday, August 15, 2016

Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941. Williams is the last batter to qualify for league lead in averages with a batting average (BA) of at least .400.

Williams had his highest BA (.471) against the New York Yankees (101-53-2) who won the American League pennant by 17 games over Boston (84-70-1) and then the World Series in 1941 4-1 over Brooklyn...

Ted Williams hit .394 in 1941 against teams not the Yankees. Against the Yankees Williams had his lowest SLG .632 (many singles) and his highest BAbip (Batting Average on balls in play) .492: maybe lucky against the Yankees. Against teams not the Yankees his BAbip was .321; .115 lower than the .492 against the Yankees...

... the biggest culprit was Hall of Famer Lefty Gomez.

________________________

1941 was the last significant season for Lefty Gomez. He put Ted Williams over .400.

Williams had his highest BA in 1941 against the Yankees but it wasn't the Yankee pitchers (.471) who put Williams over. It was one Yankee pitcher: Lefty Gomez:

10 for 14: .714

Without that Williams against the other Yankee pitchers: .407.

Ted Williams 1941:

I	Split	G	GS	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	TB
	1941 Totals	143	133	606	456	135	185	33	3	37	119	2	4	147	27	.406	.553	.735	1.287	335

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/16/2025.

Subtract Gomez from Williams totals:

(185-10)/(456-14)=.39592760181

.396

Williams against lefties: 39/86=.454 But if we subtract Gomez: (39-10)/(86-14)=.40277

Williams against American League (AL) teams in 1941:

	Split	BA	G	GS	PA	AB	R	H	1B	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	OBP	SLG	OPS	TB
1	New York Yankees	.471	22	21	92	68	23	32	25	5	0	2	14	0	2	24	5	.609	.632	1.241	43
2	Philadelphia Athletics	.444	19	18	85	63	19	28	15	5	0	8	22	0	0	21	1	.588	.905	1.493	57
3	St. Louis Browns	.426	21	18	83	61	17	26	14	3	0	9	26	1	2	22	4	.578	.918	1.496	56
4	Cleveland Indians	.414	18	18	82	58	20	24	17	4	0	3	9	0	0	24	5	.585	.638	1.223	37
5	Washington Senators	.381	22	18	81	63	16	24	14	6	1	3	12	0	0	18	3	.519	.651	1.169	41
6	Chicago White Sox	.377	20	19	86	69	19	26	13	5	1	7	17	0	0	16	5	.500	.783	1.283	54
7	Detroit Tigers	.338	21	21	97	74	21	25	14	5	1	5	19	1	0	22	4	.495	.635	1.130	47
	Totals	.406	143	133	606	456	135	185	112	33	3	37	119	2	4	147	27	.553	.735	1.287	335
	Teams not Yanks	.394	121	112	514	388	112	153	87	28	3	35	105	2	2	123	22

		BA	G	GS	PA	AB	R	H	1B	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	OBP	SLG	OPS	TB
	WP < .500	.398	101	93	428	319	93	127	74	23	2	28	88	2	2	107	17	.551	.746	1.297	238
	WP > .500+	.423	42	40	178	137	42	58	38	10	1	9	31	0	2	40	10	.556	.708	1.264	97

Williams batted against 74 pitchers (unfortunately, teams are not listed) in 1941: https://stathead.com/tiny/l6mwC

He had fewer than 5 Plate Appearances (PA) against 28 of the 74.

He had at least 10 Plate Appearances against 19 of the 74.

If we sort all 74 on Batting Average (BA) at least .667:

Rk	Player	T	PA	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA ▼	OBP	SLG	OPS
1	Phil Marchildon	R	5	1	1	1	0	0	1	4	0	1.000	1.000	2.000	3.000
2	Joe Krakauskas	L	2	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	1.000	1.000	1.000	2.000
3	George Caster	R	2	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	1.000	1.000	1.000	2.000
4	Cal Dorsett	R	2	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	1.000	1.000	1.000	2.000
5	Porter Vaughan	L	2	2	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	1.000	1.000	1.000	2.000
6	Dick Fowler	R	2	2	2	0	0	1	1	0	0	1.000	1.000	2.500	3.500
7	Johnny Allen	R	5	5	4	1	0	0	1	0	0	.800	.800	1.000	1.800
8	Lefty Gomez	L	18	14	10	2	0	1	3	4	0	.714	.778	1.071	1.849
9	Ted Lyons	R	9	6	4	1	0	0	2	3	0	.667	.778	.833	1.611
10	Atley Donald	R	7	3	2	1	0	0	0	4	0	.667	.857	1.000	1.857
11	Charley Stanceu	R	6	3	2	0	0	0	1	3	0	.667	.833	.667	1.500
12	Al Benton	R	5	3	2	0	1	1	1	2	1	.667	.800	2.333	3.133
13	Fred Caligiuri	R	3	3	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	.667	.667	1.000	1.667
14	Steve Peek	R	3	3	2	1	0	0	1	0	0	.667	.667	1.000	1.667

Gomez is the only one with BA against over .600 and more than 9 PA.

At least 10 PA:

Rk	Player	T	PA ▼	AB	H	2B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
1	Johnny Gorsica	R	24	15	9	3	2	4	8	0	.600	.750	1.200	1.950
2	Bob Feller	R	22	18	8	1	0	2	4	2	.444	.545	.500	1.045
3	Johnny Rigney	R	19	15	8	1	6	10	3	0	.533	.632	1.800	2.432
4	Lefty Gomez	L	18	14	10	2	1	3	4	0	.714	.778	1.071	1.849
5	Johnny Niggeling	R	18	12	3	0	3	7	6	1	.250	.500	1.000	1.500
6	Al Milnar	L	16	12	4	0	0	1	4	2	.333	.500	.333	.833
7	Spud Chandler	R	14	10	5	0	0	3	4	2	.500	.643	.500	1.143
8	Marv Breuer	R	14	9	1	0	0	2	5	1	.111	.429	.111	.540
9	Jim Bagby	R	13	8	4	0	1	2	5	0	.500	.692	.875	1.567
10	Bobo Newsom	R	13	12	2	0	0	1	1	1	.167	.231	.167	.397
11	Marius Russo	L	12	12	7	1	0	2	0	2	.583	.583	.667	1.250
12	Eddie Smith	L	12	11	6	1	0	0	1	1	.545	.583	.636	1.220
13	Elden Auker	R	12	8	4	1	1	4	4	1	.500	.667	1.000	1.667
14	Bob Muncrief	R	12	11	4	1	0	0	1	2	.364	.417	.455	.871
15	Tiny Bonham	R	11	9	3	0	1	2	2	0	.333	.455	.667	1.121
16	Dutch Leonard	R	11	9	3	1	0	2	2	0	.333	.455	.444	.899
17	Hal Newhouser	L	11	9	2	0	0	2	2	0	.222	.364	.222	.586
18	Bob Harris	R	10	7	2	0	0	2	3	0	.286	.500	.286	.786
19	Red Anderson	R	10	7	2	0	1	1	3	0	.286	.500	.714	1.214

Gomez has the highest BA: .714.

Second is Johnny Gorsica, who has the most PA: .600. Gorsica pitched his entire career with Detroit. Gorsica pitched in the 1940 World Series. Gorsica would also put Williams under .400: (185-9)/(456-15) = .3990.

Marv Breuer had the lowest BA: .111. Breuer pitched his entire career with the Yankees. He pitched very briefly in the 1941 and 1942 World Series.

Other Yankees among the 19 with the most PA:

Chandler .500
Russo .583
Bonham .333

Williams hit one home run off Gomez in 1941. Those who allowed more than one to Williams:

Rk	Player	T	PA	AB	H	2B	HR ▼	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
1	Johnny Rigney	R	19	15	8	1	6	10	3	0	.533	.632	1.800	2.432
2	Johnny Niggeling	R	18	12	3	0	3	7	6	1	.250	.500	1.000	1.500
3	Johnny Gorsica	R	24	15	9	3	2	4	8	0	.600	.750	1.200	1.950
4	Bump Hadley	R	8	6	3	0	2	5	1	0	.500	.625	1.500	2.125

Six? Rigney allowed SIX home runs to Ted Williams in 1941? In only 15 At Bats (AB)?

Johnny Rigney pitched his entire career for the Chicago White Sox. In 1941 he threw 237 innings and allowed a league leading 21 home runs. In the preceding three full seasons he had ERA+: 139, 129, 143. Career ERA+ 122. Of the six homers that Williams hit in 1941: 3 home, 3 road. Rigney's most home runs allowed career:

Jimmie Foxx	10
Ted Williams	7
Rudy York	6
Bobby Doerr	4
Bob Johnson	4

Ted Williams vs. Lefty Gomez
Regular Season: 32 PA , .481/.563/.778, 2 HR, 1 K

Year	PA	AB	H	2B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
1939	11	10	3	0	1	5	1	1	.300	.364	.600	.964
1941	18	14	10	2	1	3	4	0	.714	.778	1.071	1.849
1942	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000
Totals	32	27	13	2	2	8	5	1	.481	.563	.778	1.340

Provided by Stathead.com: Found with Stathead. See Full Results.
Generated 3/16/2025.

Year	Date		Inn	RoB	Play Description
1941	1941-05-12	tied 0-0	b1	-2-	Walk
1941	1941-05-12	ahead 0-5	b2	---	Single to RF
1941	1941-05-12	ahead 3-8	b3	1--	Groundout: 2B-P
1941	1941-05-24	tied 0-0	t1	---	Walk
1941	1941-05-24	tied 0-0	t3	---	Single
1941	1941-05-24	ahead 2-3	t5	---	Single
1941	1941-05-24	ahead 3-4	t7	---	Walk
1941	1941-07-02	tied 0-0	t1	---	Single to RF
1941	1941-07-02	down 1-0	t3	-2-	Flyball: LF
1941	1941-07-02	down 8-0	t6	12-	Groundout: 2B-SS/Forceout at 2B; D. DiMaggio to 3B
1941	1941-08-07	down 2-0	b2	---	Home Run (Deep RF)
1941	1941-08-07	down 2-1	b4	1-3	Reached on E3 (Ground Ball); P. Fox Scores; J. Cronin to 2B
1941	1941-08-07	tied 3-3	b6	---	Single to RF
1941	1941-08-07	ahead 4-6	b7	1--	Single to RF; J. Cronin to 3B
1941	1941-09-07	tied 0-0	t1	---	Double to RF
1941	1941-09-07	down 2-0	t3	---	Single to RF
1941	1941-09-07	down 5-0	t5	---	Double to CF
1941	1941-09-07	down 8-2	t6	123	Walk; M. Ryba Scores; S. Newsome to 3B; L. Finney to 2B

Lefty Gomez:

Best season: 1934:

Split	W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	WHIP
1934 Totals	26	5	.839	2.33	38	33	5	25	6	2	281.2	223	86	73	12	96	158	1.133

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/16/2025.

1934 MVP vote:

Rank	Name	Tm	Vote Pts	Share	WAR
1	Mickey Cochrane	DET	67.0	84%	4.5
2	Charlie Gehringer	DET	65.0	81%	8.9
3	Lefty Gomez	NYY	60.0	75%	7.9
4	Schoolboy Rowe	DET	59.0	74%	6.9
5	Lou Gehrig	NYY	54.0	68%	*10.0*

Gomez had the pitching triple crown and teammate Lou Gehrig had the batting triple crown but Detroit won the pennant. Tough league.

Gomez was 6-0 in the World Series:

Season	Age	Team	Lg	W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR
1932	23	NYY	WS	1	0	1.000	1.00	1	1	0	1	0	0	9.0	9	2	1	0

1936	27	NYY	WS	2	0	1.000	4.70	2	2	0	1	0	0	15.1	14	8	8	1
1937	28	NYY	WS	2	0	1.000	1.50	2	2	0	2	0	0	18.0	16	3	3	1
1938	29	NYY	WS	1	0	1.000	3.86	1	1	0	0	0	0	7.0	9	3	3	0
1939	30	NYY	WS	0	0		9.00	1	1	0	0	0	0	1.0	3	1	1	0
5 Yr	5 Yr	5 Yr	5 Yr	6	0	1.000	2.86	7	7	0	4	0	0	50.1	51	17	16	2
162	162	162	162	29	0	1.000	2.86	34	34	0	19	0	0	243	248	83	78	10

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/16/2025.

1941:

I	Split	W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
	1941 Totals	15	5	.750	3.74	23	23	0	8	2	0	156.1	151	76	65	10	103	76

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/16/2025.

Gomez led AL in W-L% in 1941. He pitched 80 innings in 1942 but his last Yankee game was:

Friday, August 14, 1942

Attendance: 17,956

Venue: Shibe Park

Game Duration: 2:15

Night Game, on grass

Yankees 11, Athletics 2

Pitching	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA	BF
Lefty Gomez, W (6-4)	6	4	2	2	7	4	4.28	24
Johnny Murphy, S (10)	3	3	0	0	0	0	2.63	10
Team Totals	9	7	2	2	7	4	2.00	34

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/16/2025.

Hall of Fame: Inducted as Player in 1972. (Voted by Veteran's Committee)
View Lefty Gomez's Page at the Baseball Hall of Fame (plaque, photos, videos).

Ted Williams: the mythology of the final games of 1941. Thursday, October 13, 2011

Ted Williams final 84 plate appearances in 1941: .406 Batting Average. Monday, March 17, 2025