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Tony Lazzeri Has One of the Greatest Days in Major League History!
“Tony Lazzeri was a money player almost without equal and one of the smartest athletics ever to patrol the diamond.” – New York Times columnist Arthur Daley
My friend, author Larry Baldassaro, who happens to be a regular reader of our Baseball History Comes Alive website, has turned out another gem to add to his collection of outstanding baseball books. His most recent effort is Tony Lazzeri: Yankee Legend and Baseball Pioneer (University of Nebraska Press, 2021). I’ve got a feeling this book will come to be regarded as the definitive book on the great Hall-of-Famer.
I’m planning to write a detailed review of the book, but before I do, I wanted to say a few words about Lazzeri’s great day, one of the greatest in baseball history, which was detailed in Larry’s book.
Talk about being “overshadowed!
Whenever I write about Tony Lazzeri, I always like to mention how hard it must have been to get noticed when you batted in the same lineup with teammates Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Joe DiMaggio. That’s some pretty heavy-duty competition for the baseball spotlight! The only person who may have had it worse was Dom DiMaggio, brother of American icon Joe DiMaggio, and teammate and co-outfielder with Ted Williams.
And as someone who played alongside the two Yankee greats for many years, “Poosh ‘Em Up” Tony Lazzeri, born 117 years ago on December 6, 1903, knew what he was saying talking about when he said this about his two famous teammates:
“They didn’t get along. Gehrig thought Ruth was a big-mouth, and Ruth thought Gehrig was cheap. They were both right!”
But while Tony may have been overshadowed, he had an excellent career in his own right that landed him a spot in Cooperstown, even though he had to deal with epilepsy his entire life. Author Baldassaro, in his outstanding earlier book, Beyond DiMaggio, provided a nice summary of Lazzeri’s career:
“Tony Lazzeri is one of the best ‘forgotten’ players in Major League history. He was a key player on a Yankee team that won six pennants and five World Series in his twelve years in New York. In fact, Lazzeri’s home run and RBI statistics between 1926 and 1937 put him in the company of the game’s most elite sluggers of that time. In that same span, Lazzeri hit more home runs than all but six American Leaguers: Ruth, Gehrig, Foxx, Simmons, Averill, and Goslin. Lazzeri’s name stands out in that list because as a second baseman, he played a position typically associated with defensive prowess…Lazzeri was the third most dangerous hitter in one of the most potent lineups in the history of baseball and one of the most feared clutch hitters of his era.”
Tony’s Great Day
Not many fans know that one day back in 1936, Tony had one of the greatest days in major league history. At Shibe Park, almost eighty-five years ago (May 25, 1936), the Yankees routed the A’s 25-2. Tony Lazzeri had a pretty good game that day. He went 4-5 with three home runs (two being Grand Slams, and a third solo shot), a triple that just missed being the fourth home run, a walk, and four runs scored. He became the first major leaguer to hit two grand slams in the same game, and established a new American League record with 11 RBIs in a single game that still stands (the major league record is 12, by Jim Bottomly and Mark Whitten). In addition, that month, he also set records for most home runs in three consecutive games (6) and four consecutive games (7).
Tony Lazzeri’s Outstanding Career
Tony Lazzeri played 14 years (1926-1939) in the major leagues and put up solid numbers. Over his career, he hit .292 with 178 home runs and 1192 RBIs. He was part of the famed 1927 “Murderers’ Row” along with Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Bob Meusel. As a Yankee, he averaged 79 runs, 14 home runs, 96 RBIs, and 12 stolen bases, including seven seasons with over 100 RBI and five seasons batting .300 or higher (including a high of .354 in 1929).
Tony Lazzeri passed away in 1946 at the age of 43. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1991.
Stay tuned for a lot more about Tony Lazzeri in my forthcoming view of Larry Baldassaro’s great new book: Tony Lazzeri: Yankee Legend and Baseball Pioneer
Gary Livacari
It really was hard for Tony to get noticed:
June 3, 1932 – John McGraw retired, Lou Gehrig hit four home runs and Tony Lazzeri hit for a natural cycle, going 5 for 6 with a grand slam and six rbis. Everyone remembers Lou’s four homers being overshadowed by McGraw’s retirement, but few think of Tony’s cycle.
Tony often lamented that all anybody remembered about him was that G C Alexander struck him out in Game 7 of the 1926 World Series.
Thanks, Ed. Larry Baldassaro mentioned all that in his book, and I’ll be mentioning it in my review, too.
Many years ago Sport magazine had an article about the 1936 Yankees that delved into Lazzeri’s personality a little. Apparently he and Frankie Crosetti had to chauffeur DiMaggio cross-country from San Francisco to spring training in Florida because after the two veterans took turns driving and it was DiMaggio’s turn he told them, “I don’t drive.” According to the article, the trip was made mostly in silence.
Lazzeri was very close-mouthed. A reporter watched him sit with Crosetti and DiMaggio in a hotel lobby for hours without so much as a word passing among them. When Crosetti cleared his throat and DiMaggio said, “What?”, Lazzeri said, “Shut up, he didn’t say anything.”
Thanks Andy, those are great points, mentioned in Larry Baldassaro’s book.
Nice remembrance about a player who is largely forgotten and shouldn’t be. Certainly wasn’t easy getting notice when you play in the shadow of Ruth and Gehrig. Love both comments by Ed and Andy. Would loved to have been there when Lazzeri said, “Shut up, he didn’t say anything.” Great stuff.
I’m not sure of the game situation, but once when Lefty “El Goofo” Gomez was pitching he pivoted and threw the ball to Lazzeri when there was no play to be made.
Lazzeri went to the mound and asked Gomez, “What are you doing. Why are you throwing to me?” Gomez: “Well, I keep hearing how smart you are and I just wanted to see what you would do.”
Yeah, I’ve read that too, a great line.
I was listening to a game (Rangers-Indians) on the radio a few years back when Cleveland’s Lonnie Chisenhall went 5-for-5 with three homers and nine RBIs. Wonder where he is now.
Chisenhall became a free agent at the end of the 2018 season. He signed a contract with the Pirates for the 2019 season, got injured in spring training and never got to play
in 2019 and retired after that season.