Jan 24 2025 10 mins 1
On January 25, 1943, the Yankees sell future Hall of Famer Lefty Gomez to the rival Boston Braves. Gomez will never pitch in a game for the Braves, who decided to release the veteran southpaw. Gomez will eventually sign with the Washington Senators. Gomez will make 1 start for the Senators, and never pitch again allowing 3 runs over 4.2 innings.
Years before Joe DiMaggio came out of SF, the Bay Area produced Vernon Louis Gomez, a talented and colorful left-handed hurler. "Lefty" starred for the Yankees during the 1930s and early 1940s, teaming with Red Ruffing to form one of the best pitching duos in baseball history. Gomez posted a 6-0 record in the Fall Classic, winning five rings with the Yankees. Originally a hard thrower, Gomez suffered arm injuries in 1933, 1936 and 1939, eventually re-tooling himself as a finesse pitcher. He enjoyed a 165-89 record for the Yankees for the decade of the 1930s, finishing in the top ten in MVP voting three times.
He won the triple crown twice, 7X All Star, 2x Era Title he will eventually be inducted into the hall of fame in 1972, The Mel Ott Podcast features multiple at bats against Lefty and we have dozens of Classic Radio Broadcasts including the 36 & 39 World Series as well as multiple All Star Games from the 30’s featuring Lefty who ironically is the last pitcher to go 6 innings of an all star game , there is also a great full featured interview you don’t want to miss!
Mentioned in this episode:
