Tony Lazzeri - New York Yankees

New York Yankees

After the 1925 season, Barrow purchased Lazzeri from Salt Lake City in exchange for the rights to Frank Zoeller and Mack Hillis and $50,000 ($662,619 in current dollar terms). Lazzeri signed a contract with the Yankees worth $5,000 ($66,262 in current dollar terms).

Lazzeri debuted in the major leagues in 1926 as a member of the Yankees. Manager Miller Huggins moved Lazzeri from shortstop to second base. Huggins paired Lazzeri with Mark Koenig, also a rookie, as his double play combination. In his rookie season, playing all 155 games, Lazzeri hit 18 home runs and had 114 RBIs. He finished third in the American League (AL) in home runs behind Babe Ruth and Al Simmons, and tied for third in RBIs with George Burns, trailing only Ruth. The Yankees reached the 1926 World Series, losing to the St. Louis Cardinals. In a bases loaded situation in the eighth inning of the deciding game, Grover Cleveland Alexander struck out Lazzeri to save the series for the Cardinals.

With the 1927 Yankees, known as "Murderer's Row" due to the strength of their batting lineup, Lazzeri batted .309 with 18 home runs and 102 RBIs. He finished third in the AL in home runs, behind only teammates Ruth and Lou Gehrig. The Yankees finished the season with an 110-40 win-loss record, and defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1927 World Series. Baseball experts solicited by Billy Evans named Lazzeri the consensus best second baseman in the AL. He suffered a muscle injury that threatened to end his season. Nevertheless, Lazzeri returned to the team, and hit a key double off of Alexander in the 1928 World Series, which the Yankees won. Despite the games he missed, Lazzeri tied Joe Judge for third place in Most Valuable Player voting, with the award being won by Mickey Cochrane.

Lazzeri had his career-high batting average of .354 in 1929. He hit two home runs for the Yankees in the 1932 World Series. In 1933, Lazzeri was named to appear in the first MLB All-Star Game, representing the AL against the National League (NL). He suffered a knee injury during the 1934 season.

Lazzeri set an AL single-game record on May 24, 1936, when he recorded eleven RBIs. That month, he also set records for most home runs in three consecutive games (6) and four consecutive games (7). He hit a grand slam during the 1936 World Series, only the second grand slam in World Series history. Lazzeri scored the deciding run in the 1937 World Series, as the Yankees defeated the New York Giants.

As a member of the Yankees through 1937, 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). During this period, the Yankees won six American League pennants (1926, 1927, 1928, 1932, 1936 and 1937) and five World Series championships (1927, 1928, 1932, 1936 and 1937).